cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Response of chlorophyll a to total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in lotic ecosystems: a systematic review protocol

Eutrophication of freshwater ecosystems resulting from nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is a major stressor across the globe. Despite recognition by scientists and stakeholders of the problems of nutrient pollution, rigorous synthesis of scientific evidence is still needed to inform nutrient-related management decisions, especially in streams and rivers. Nutrient stressor-response relationships are complicated by multiple interacting environmental factors, complex and indirect causal pathways involving diverse biotic assemblages and food web compartments, legacy (historic) nutrient sources such as agricultural sediments, and the naturally high spatiotemporal variability of lotic ecosystems. Determining nutrient levels at which ecosystems are affected is a critical first step for identifying, managing, and restoring aquatic resources impaired by eutrophication and maintaining currently unimpaired resources. The systematic review outlined in this protocol will compile and synthesize literature on the response of chlorophyll a to nutrients in streams, providing a state-of-the-science body of evidence to assess nutrient impacts to one of the most widely-used measures of eutrophication. This review will address two questions: “What is the response of chlorophyll a to total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in lotic ecosystems?” and “How are these relationships affected by other factors?” Searches for published and unpublished articles (peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed) will be conducted using bibliographic databases and search engines. Searches will be supplemented with bibliography searches and requests for material from the scientific and management community. Articles will be screened for relevance at the title/abstract and full text levels using pre-determined inclusion criteria; 10% (minimum 50, maximum 200) of screened papers will be examined by multiple reviewers to ensure consistent application of criteria. Study risk of bias will be evaluated using a questionnaire developed from existing frameworks and tailored to the specific study types this review will encounter. Results will be synthesized using meta-analysis of correlation coefficients, as well as narrative and tabular summaries, and will focus on the shape, direction, strength, and variability of available nutrient-chlorophyll relationships. Sensitivity analysis and meta-regression will be used to evaluate potential effects of study quality and modifying factors on nutrient-chlorophyll relationships.
EFFECTS OF FEEDING BY THREECORNERED ALFALFA HOPPER NYMPHS (HOMOPTERA: MEMBRACIDAE) ON HYPOCOTYLS OF V1 AND V3 STAGE SOYBEAN PLANTS

Hypocotyls of vegetative V1 and V3 stage soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill were subjected to feeding by third, fourth, and fifth instars of the threecornered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus (...
Genetic Variations Associated with Anti-Tuberculosis Drug-Induced Liver Injury

In order to combat the development of drug resistance, the clinical treatment of tuberculosis requires the combined use of several anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) drugs, including isoniazid and rifampicin. Combinational treatment approaches are suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) and are widely accepted throughout the world. Unfortunately, a major side effect of the treatment is the development of anti-tuberculosis drug-induced liver injury (AT-DILI). Many factors contribute to isoniazid- and rifampicin-mediated AT-DILI and genetic variations are among the most common factors. The purpose of this review is to provide information on genetic variations associated with isoniazid- and rifampicin-mediated AT-DILI. The genetic variations associated with AT-DILI have been identified in the genomic regions within or near genes encoding proteins in the following pathways: drug metabolizing enzymes (NAT2, CYP2E1, and GSTs), accumulation of bile acids, lipids, and heme metabolites (CYP7A1, BSEP, UGTs, and PXR), immune adaptation (HLAs and TNF-α), and oxidant challenge (TXNRD1, SOD1, BACH1, and MAFK). The information summarized in this review considers the genetic bases of risk factors contributing to AT-DILI and provides information that may help for future studies. Some of the implicated genetic variations can be used in the design of genetic tests and serve as biomarkers for the prediction of isoniazid- and rifampicin-mediated AT-DILI risk in personalized medicine.
The Integration of Biology Into the Treatment of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: A Review of the North American Clinical Trial Perspective.

Dramatic advances in the molecular analysis of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma have occurred over the last decade and resulted in the identification of potential therapeutic targets. In spite of these advances, no significant improvement in the outcome has been achieved and median survival remains approximately 10 months. An understanding of the approaches that have been taken to date, why they failed, and how that information can lead the field forward is critical if we are to change the status quo. In this review, we will discuss the clinical trial landscape in North America with an overview of historical approaches that failed and what might account for this failure. We will then provide a discussion of how our understanding of the genotype of this disease has led to the development of a number of trials targeting the mutations and epigenome of DIPG and the issues related to these trials. Similarly, the introduction of methodologies to address penetration across the blood brain barrier will be considered in the context of both targeted approaches, epigenetic modification and immune surveillance of these tumors. The comprehensive analysis of this data, generated through cooperative groups, collaborative clinical trials and pilot studies in North America will be the focus of the IVth Memorial Alicia Pueyo international symposium in Barcelona on March 12th, 2018 and will be compared and contrasted with a similar comprehensive analysis of the European data with the goal of bringing all of this data together to develop a uniform platform on which new rational trials can be based.
Failures of critical systems at airports: Impact on aircraft operations and safety

Abstract Failures of critical systems at airports can significantly impact aircraft operations and cause substantial safety risks. This study develops a generalized method for measuring the impacts of unscheduled communication, navigation and surveillance systems outages on airport operational performance (i.e. throughput) and safety. The proposed method consists of two separate models – the aggregate and the disaggregate model. The aggregate model is a regression model that analyzes flight data, which are averaged per quarter hour and obtained from the Aviation System Performance Metrics database, and investigates the reductions in airport throughput due to an outage. The disaggregate model analyzes individual flights using the Performance Data Analysis and Reporting System database to investigate air traffic controllers’ terminal airspace traffic management procedures during an outage by examining the time-separation (i.e. headways) between consecutive arriving aircraft on each runway. More specifically, the model calculates the changes in the probability of a loss of separation and assesses the necessity of enacting a Traffic Management Initiative. The proposed method is tested on the case of two localizer outages at Los Angeles International Airport. The case-study results reveal that the throughput decreased after air traffic controllers enacted a Ground Delay Program during the first observed outage. The probability of a loss of separation doubled and the smaller aircraft were diverted to other airports. Further results indicate that arriving headways can be better described by a combination of two probability distributions, rather than a single distribution, in order to more accurately capture a complexity of air traffic controllers’ actions. The method can help aviation regulators: (1) make better decisions about the value of equipment and redundancies, (2) analyze operational and safety degradations caused by equipment failures, and (3) develop appropriate traffic management procedures and improve existing ones.
Postoperative pulmonary infections.

Introduction Postoperative pulmonary infections are associated with cough, phlegm, shortness of breath, chest pain, temperature above 38 degrees C, and pulse rate above 100 a minute. Up to half of people may have asymptomatic chest signs after surgery, and up to a quarter develop symptomatic disease. The main risk factor is the type of surgery, with higher risks associated with surgery to the chest, abdomen, and head and neck compared with other operations. Other risk factors include age over 50 years, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), smoking, hypoalbuminemia, and being functionally dependent. Methods and outcomes We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of interventions to prevent postoperative pulmonary infections? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to May 2007 (BMJ Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Results We found 17 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. Conclusions In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: advice to stop smoking preoperatively, anaesthesia, lung expansion techniques, and postoperative nasogastric decompression.
The Green Movement and the Ordeal of Democracy

This chapter is a review of the Green Movement of 2009, which was a response to the increasing role of the Islamic Republic Guards Corp in Iranian politics. It introduces the context, discourse and strategies selected to challenge the Islamist government after the fraudulent presidential election of June 12, 2009. The leadership, organization, media and social forces involved are discussed. June 12, 2009 was a turning point in Iranian politics. When the hope for change was transformed to despair, the educated class who was the force behind the reformist movement was divided into three groups: people who thought that reform is no longer possible and left the country, people who realized that their expectations were too high and lowered the bar, and people who changed their camp and kneeled in front of the Guardian Jurist.
The Rapidly Assessed Predictor of Intraoperative Damage (RAPID) Score: An In-Clinic Predictive Model for High-Grade Acetabular Chondrolabral Disruption

Background:The preoperative assessment of cartilage lesions is critical to surgical planning and decision making. The accurate radiographic determination of acetabular cartilage damage has remained...
Vertical and temporal distribution of spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) and pollinators within cultivated raspberries

Background Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is the most prominent arthropod pest of caneberries. Current management practices rely on chemical control, which has raised concerns over the sustainability of this approach. We currently understand little about D. suzukii activity, and whether activity patterns can be exploited to improve management. In this study, we investigated the vertical and temporal distribution of D. suzukii, as well as pollinators, in cultivated raspberries. Results D. suzukii were generally crepuscular, and most active in the morning within the bottom half of the crop, and in the evening within the top half of the crop. Pollinators were most active during the day and within the top half of the canopy. Humidity and temperature were correlated with insect activity. Conclusion Pesticides applied during twilight that ensure coverage in the bottom half of the crop, or if applied in the late afternoon cover the entire crop, should improve the pesticide efficacy. However, previous studies suggest that specific D. suzukii (e.g. sex, mating status, age) may exploit different areas in the crop at different times, and more work needs to be done to understand how these aspects before a specific management program can be recommended. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
Technology and College Student Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities

In recent years, there has been an increase in symptoms of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental illnesses in college student populations. Simultaneously, there has been a steady rise in the demand for counseling services. These trends have been viewed by some as a mental health crisis requiring prompt investigation and the generation of potential solutions to serve the needs of students. Subsequently, several studies linked the observed rise in symptoms with the ubiquitous rise in use of personal computing technologies, including social media, and have suggested that time spent on these types of technologies is directly correlated with poor mental health. While use of personal computing technologies has dramatically shifted the landscape in which college students connect with one another and appears to have some detriments to mental health, the same technologies also offer a number of opportunities for the enhancement of mental health and the treatment of mental illness. Here, we describe the challenges and opportunities for college student mental health afforded by personal computing technologies. We highlight opportunities for new research in this area and possibilities for individuals and organizations to engage with these technologies in a more helpful and wellness-promoting manner.
Management of a Laryngeal Venous Malformation With Nd:YAG Laser and Bleomycin Sclerotherapy.

Literature describing neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) photocoagulation and sclerotherapy for laryngeal venous malformations (VMs) is sparse. Here we present a case in which an extensive laryngeal VM in a 28-year-old female was managed through a combination of four serial Nd:YAG laser photocoagulation sessions and four bleomycin injections over the course of 2 years. The treatment plan resulted in resulted in noticeable lesion ablation, mucosalization, and significant improvement in symptoms. To our knowledge, this case is the first instance of bleomycin injection specifically into a laryngeal VM reported in the English medical literature. Laryngoscope, 130:2199-2201, 2020.
Implementation evaluation of a professional development program for comprehensive school physical activity leaders.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to conduct an implementation monitoring evaluation of a yearlong comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) professional development program across eight multi-state physical education (PE) teacher cohorts. Mixed-method data were collected during a three-year implementation period via workshop attendance sheets and evaluations, post-workshop implementation plans and artifacts, and follow-up phone interviews to enumerate and evaluate the program’s process of recruitment, reach, dose delivered, dose received, fidelity, and context. Recruitment strategies reached a total of 234 PE teacher attendees across eight workshops, with 77 PE teachers (primarily female, elementary, public school teachers) completing all program requirements. Facilitators among full program completers were participation incentives and network opportunities, while common inhibitors were difficulty with online technology and perceptions of added workload. Completers submitted implementation plans with at least three action steps, ranging from 4 to 7 months to accomplish, that predominately commenced with securing administration approval as the first step (81%), focused on implementing student physical activity initiatives beyond PE (76%), and evidenced with mostly picture artifacts (78%). Implementation was facilitated by the presence of multilevel support at school and an elevated image of PE and PE teachers at school, and was inhibited by scheduling constraints, unrealistic planning, and conflicting perceptions of physical activity and PE. Overall, this evaluation reveals unique perspectives of PE teachers regarding schoolwide PA promotion and informs future efforts to target and effectively support CSPAP leaders.
Effect of temperature and ultraviolet light on the bacterial kill effectiveness of antibiotic-infused 3D printed implants

Drug eluting 3D printed polymeric implants have great potential in orthopaedic applications since they are relatively inexpensive and can be designed to be patient specific thereby providing quality care. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Stereolithography (SLA) are among the most popular techniques available to print such polymeric implants. These techniques facilitate introducing antibiotics into the material at microscales during the manufacturing stage and subsequently, the printed implants can be engineered to release drugs in a controlled manner. However, FDM uses high temperature to melt the filament as it passes through the nozzle and SLA relies on exposure to nanoscale wavelength ultraviolet (UV) light which can adversely affect the anti-bacterial effectiveness of the antibiotics. The focus of this article is two-fold: i) Examine the effect of high temperature on the bacterial kill-effectiveness of eluted antibiotics through Polycaprolactone (PCL) based femoral implants and ii) Examine the effect of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light on the bacterial kill-effectiveness of eluted antibiotics through femoral implants made up of a composite resin with various weight fractions of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) and Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate (PEGDA). Results indicate that even after exposing doxycycline, vancomycin and cefazolin at different temperatures between 20oC and 230oC, the antibiotics did not lose their effectiveness (kill radius of at least 0.85 cm). For doxycycline infused implants exposed to UV light, it was seen that a resin with 20 % PEGDA and 80 % PEG had the highest efficacy (1.8 cm of kill radius) and the lowest efficacy was found in an implant with 100 % PEGDA (1.2 cm of kill radius).
Pharmacological approaches to the treatment of COVID-19 patients

The current COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to the world community. No effective therapies or vaccines have yet been established. Upon the basis of homologies to similar coronaviruses, several potential drug targets have been identified and are the focus of both laboratory and clinical investigation. The rationale for several of these drug candidates is presented in this review. Emerging clinical data has revealed that severe COVID-19 disease is associated with heightened inflammatory responses and a procoagulant state, suggesting that patient treatment strategies must extend beyond antiviral agents. Effective approaches to the treatment of vulnerable patients with comorbidities will render COVID-19 substantially more manageable.
The COVID-19 Pandemic as an Imperative to Advance Medical Student Assessment: Three Areas for Change.

Conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted clinical practice and all aspects of medical education. Yet the need to continue to train physicians to care for patients and communities is greater than ever. Medical educators are responding by adapting curricula in response to requirements for social distancing, changing availability of clinical learning opportunities, and limitations on testing center availability for examinations. These disruptions require a systems approach to ensure that learners achieve competence in preparation for advancement in training toward unsupervised practice. In this article, the authors assert that medical educators, obligated by current conditions to adapt educational experiences, should seize the opportunity presented by the pandemic to make needed changes in 3 areas aligned with competency-based medical education: focusing on outcomes, broadening the assessment toolbox, and improving the undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME) transition. Defined outcomes, as exemplified by entrustable professional activities, will enable curricular designers to shorten and adapt learning experiences by focusing on students' achievement of prespecified learning outcomes. Broadening the assessment toolbox entails capturing more and different assessment information about learners to provide a well-rounded view of their strengths and areas for growth in both traditional and novel settings, such as telehealth. Limitations on available data, such as licensing examination scores and clerkship grades, heighten the urgency to revise the system for the UME to GME transition by enhancing the quality and usability of information available to residency program directors. Educators should capitalize on the opportunity presented by altered conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to make these needed changes to the educational system, in order to prepare physicians to provide health care and lead the health care system into the future.
Dye Transport through Bilayers Agrees with Lipid Electropore Molecular Dynamics.

Abstract Although transport of molecules into cells via electroporation is a common biomedical procedure, its protocols are often based on trial and error. Despite a long history of theoretical effort, the underlying mechanisms of cell membrane electroporation are not sufficiently elucidated, in part, because of the number of independent fitting parameters needed to link theory to experiment. Here, we ask if the electroporation behavior of a reduced cell membrane is consistent with time-resolved, atomistic, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of phospholipid bilayers responding to electric fields. To avoid solvent and tension effects, giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) were used, and transport kinetics were measured by the entry of the impermeant fluorescent dye calcein. Because the timescale of electrical pulses needed to restructure bilayers into pores is much shorter than the time resolution of current techniques for membrane transport kinetics measurements, the lifetimes of lipid bilayer electropores were measured using systematic variation of the initial MD simulation conditions, whereas GUV transport kinetics were detected in response to a nanosecond timescale variation in the applied electric pulse lifetimes and interpulse intervals. Molecular transport after GUV permeabilization induced by multiple pulses is additive for interpulse intervals as short as 50 ns but not 5-ns intervals, consistent with the 10–50-ns lifetimes of electropores in MD simulations. Although the results were mostly consistent between GUV and MD simulations, the kinetics of ultrashort, electric-field-induced permeabilization of GUVs were significantly different from published results in cells exposed to ultrashort (6 and 2 ns) electric fields, suggesting that cellular electroporation involves additional structures and processes.
A Novel Stochastic Cloud Model for Statistical Characterization of Wind Turbine Output

To overcome the problems of wind power forecast for the current deterministic wind power turbine output model cannot accurately describe the statistical characterization of wind turbine output, this article proposes a novel wind power stochastic cloud model. There are three steps to build this model. Firstly, it is necessary to analyze the power data and to filter out the disturbed data by utilizing the improved Bin method and data fitting. Secondly, it is available to obtain respectively two groups of the expectation, entropy and hyper entropy of the waist and upper data of stochastic cloud model by the known and unknown membership of backward cloud generators. Finally, the wind-speed data can be transformed into a stochastic cloud model, which is composed of X condition cloud generator and the positive cloud generator component. In short, the comparative data of the wind power cloud droplets and the measured data of wind power show that the line correlation coefficient of the wind power frequency of the proposed model reaches to 0.8868, which could simulate the statistical characterization of wind turbine output effectively.
Violation-guided learning for constrained formulations in neural-network time-series predictions

Time-series predictions by artificial neural networks (ANNs) are traditionally formulated as unconstrained optimization problems. As an unconstrained formulation provides little guidance on search directions when a search gets stuck in a poor local minimum, we have proposed recently to use a constrained formulation in order to use constraint violations to provide additional guidance. In this paper, we formulate ANN learning with cross-validations for time-series predictions as a non-differentiable nonlinear constrained optimization problem. Based on our theory of Lagrange multipliers for discrete constrained optimization, we propose an efficient learning algorithm, called violation guided back-propagation (VGBP), that computes an approximate gradient using back-propagation (BP), that introduces annealing to avoid blind acceptance of trial points, and that applies a relax-and-tighten (R&T) strategy to achieve faster convergence. Extensive experimental results on well-known benchmarks, when compared to previous work, show one to two orders-of-magnitude improvement in prediction quality, while using less weights.
Resolving Problems Among Neighbors in Post-Soviet Russia: Uncovering the Law of the Pod

The article explores how Russians react when flooded by their neighbors. Details of 57 incidents that are drawn from focus group discussions and interviews suggest that neighbors are guided by an informal norm in favor of working together to resolve these problems. When culpable neighbors refuse to engage with victims, the result is to "lump" the problem or to turn to third-parties for assistance. Such outcomes are more likely when the culpable neighbors are newcomers to the pod"ezd (entryway to the apartment building). The research shows that those with preexisting relationships were less likely to turn to third-parties, thereby confirming the findings of the classic studies of disputing among neighbors, albeit in a remarkably different institutional and cultural setting. Other factors, such as age, location, and seriousness of the damage, are less significant. The research provides a window into the commitment to fundamental fairness that underlies Russians' legal consciousness.
Late Life in the Living Room: Room Décor, Functional Limitations, and Personality.

Background and objectives Environmental gerontology and environmental psychology theories address adaptations of living space for disability and individual preferences. This study combines these perspectives to examine how room decor (i.e., furnishings, design, decoration) corresponds with functional limitations and personality in late life. Research design and methods Older adults aged 65+ (N = 286) completed interviews regarding living arrangements, functional limitations, personality and depressive symptoms. Participants provided three to four photographs of the room where they spend the most time. Raters coded photographs for physical adaptations for functional limitations and 19 features of decor (e.g., crowding, color), fitting three categories: a) newness, b) comfort, and c) cheerfulness. We estimated linear regression models to examine how functional limitations or personality are associated with room decor, and whether living arrangement moderates these links. We also assessed whether room decor moderates functional limitations or personality predicting depressive symptoms. Results Functional limitations were associated with greater clutter, and less brightness. Extraversion was associated with newness and cheerfulness (but not comfort); conscientiousness with newness and comfort (but not cheerfulness). Openness was associated with more newness and cheerfulness for those who live alone. Moderation models revealed functional limitations were associated with fewer depressive symptoms if the room was more cluttered. Conscientiousness was negatively associated with depressive symptoms when the room was higher on newness or comfort. Discussion Findings generally supported environmental psychology and environmental gerontology perspectives, and suggest "goodness of fit" between functional abilities, personal desires and room characteristics may contribute to benefits of aging in place.
Income as a Predictor of Self-Efficacy for Managing Pain and for Coping With Symptoms Among Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain.

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate pain self-efficacy (PSE) and coping self-efficacy (CSE) for people with chronic low back pain (CLBP), and to assess whether lower income may be associated with less PSE and CSE in the United States. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using survey data collected between June 2016 and February 2017 from n = 1364 patients with CLBP from chiropractic clinics in the United States to measure the relationship between income and both types of self-efficacy. We created 4 multivariate models predicting PSE and CSE scores. We used both a parsimonious set of covariates (age, sex) and a full set (age, sex, education, neck pain comorbidity, catastrophizing, and insurance). We also calculated effect sizes (Cohen's d) for unadjusted differences in PSE and CSE score by income. Results Lower income was associated with lower PSE and CSE scores across all 4 models. In the full models, the highest-income group had an average of 1 point (1-10 scale) higher PSE score and CSE score compared to the lowest income group. Effect sizes for the unadjusted differences in PSE and CSE scores between the highest and lowest income groups were 0.94 and 0.84, respectively. Conclusions Our findings indicate that people with lower income perceive themselves as less able to manage their pain, and that this relationship exists even after taking into account factors like health insurance and educational attainment. There is a need to further investigate how practitioners and policymakers can best support low-income patients with chronic pain.
Spatiotemporal distribution of chemical signatures exhibited by Myxococcus xanthus in response to metabolic conditions.

Myxococcus xanthus is a common soil bacterium with a complex life cycle, which is known for production of secondary metabolites. However, little is known about the effects of nutrient availability on M. xanthus metabolite production. In this study, we utilize confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) to examine the spatiotemporal distribution of chemical signatures secreted by M. xanthus and their response to varied nutrient availability. Ten distinct spectral features are observed by CRM from M. xanthus grown on nutrient-rich medium. However, when M. xanthus is constrained to grow under nutrient-limited conditions, by starving it of casitone, it develops fruiting bodies, and the accompanying Raman microspectra are dramatically altered. The reduced metabolic state engendered by the absence of casitone in the medium is associated with reduced, or completely eliminated, features at 1140 cm-1, 1560 cm-1, and 1648 cm-1. In their place, a feature at 1537 cm-1 is observed, this feature being tentatively assigned to a transitional phase important for cellular adaptation to varying environmental conditions. In addition, correlating principal component analysis heat maps with optical images illustrates how fruiting bodies in the center co-exist with motile cells at the colony edge. While the metabolites responsible for these Raman features are not completely identified, three M. xanthus peaks at 1004, 1151, and 1510 cm-1 are consistent with the production of lycopene. Thus, a combination of CRM imaging and PCA enables the spatial mapping of spectral signatures of secreted factors from M. xanthus and their correlation with metabolic conditions.
Application of Proteomics in Bioremediation

This chapter reviews proteomics in the context of bioremediation by presenting how this approach has helped elucidate mechanisms of survival in contaminated and extreme environments, the transformation of toxic compounds, and the metabolic pathways and enzymes involved in these processes. It provides a brief review of the techniques and approaches for protein separation and identification that are employed. The chapter includes case studies of microbial community proteomics and the transformation of metals and metalloids in pure cultures. Proteomics is especially useful for examining organisms that possess a wide variety of metabolic and energetic pathways. The application of this approach to an environmental sample, “environmental proteomics,” can provide information on the proteome of the dominant microbial species or the metaproteome of the microbial community under specific environmental conditions. Gel-to-gel variation, which can impair this alignment, has been overcome through the use of precast gels and differential in gel electrophoresis (DIGE) analysis. The isolation and characterization of bacteria from contaminated environments is often the starting point for proteomic analyses. With more rapid development of analytical tools and bioinformatics comes the promise of identifying novel biomarkers relevant to bioremediation. In addition to further improvements in mass spectrometry, development of more efficient and cost-effective methods for protein extraction from microbial communities and improvement in bioinformatics tools will be needed for more accurate identification of proteins from shotgun proteomics.
Student Perceptions of Instructional Tools in Programming Logic: A Comparison of Traditional versus Alice Teaching Environments.

This research investigates the implementation of the programming language Alice to teach computer programming logic to computer information systems students. Alice has been implemented in other university settings and has been reported to have many benefits including object-oriented concepts and an engaging and fun learning environment. In this study, students were surveyed on their opinions about the effectiveness of the Alice environment and were compared to responses of students who had been taught in a more traditional environment using flowcharts and pseudocode. Analysis of data revealed there were no statistically significant differences in responses, with both groups reporting high levels of satisfaction with their respective learning experience. Discussion includes ways to potentially improve the implementation of Alice and its benefits in the classroom.
Knowledge versus search: A quantitative analysis using A∗

Abstract This paper analyzes the average number of nodes expanded by A∗ as a function of the accuracy of its heuristic estimates, by treating the errors h∗ - h as random variables whose distribution may vary over the nodes in the graph. The search model consists of an m-ary tree with unit branch costs and a unique goal state situated at a distance N from the root. The main result states that if the typical error grows like φ(h∗) then the mean complexity of A∗ grows approximately like G ( N )exp[ cφ ( N )], where c is a positive constant and G(N) is O(N 2 ). Thus, a necessary and sufficient condition for maintaining polynomial search complexity is that A∗ be guided by heuristics with logarithmic precision, e.g. φ ( N ) = (log N ) k . A∗ is shown to make much greater use of its heuristic knowledge than a backtracking procedure would under similar conditions.
Displacement Function Solutions

In Part II, we chose a representation for stress which satisfied the equilibrium equations identically, in which case the compatibility condition leads to a governing equation for the potential function. In three-dimensional elasticity, it is more usual to use the opposite approach — i.e. to define a potentia l function representation for displacement (which therefore identically satisfies the compatibility condition) and allow the equilibrium condition to define the governing equation.
Aggregation-Based Feature Invention and Relational

Due to interest in social and economic networks, relational modeling isattracting increasing attention. The field of relational datamining/learning, which traditionally was dominated by logic-basedapproaches, has recently been extended by adapting learning methods suchas naive Bayes, Baysian networks and decision trees to relational tasks.One aspect inherent to all methods of model induction from relationaldata is the construction of features through the aggregation of sets.The theoretical part of this work (1) presents an ontology of relationalconcepts of increasing complexity, (2) derives classes of aggregationoperators that are needed to learn these concepts, and (3) classifiesrelational domains based on relational schema characteristics such ascardinality. We then present a new class of aggregation functions, onesthat are particularly well suited for relational classification andclass probability estimation. The empirical part of this paperdemonstrates on real domain the effects on the system performance ofdifferent aggregation methods on different relational concepts. Theresults suggest that more complex aggregation methods can significantlyincrease generalization performance and that, in particular,task-specific aggregation can simplify relational prediction tasks intowell-understood propositional learning problems.
Principles of Verifiable RTL Design: A functional coding style supporting verification processes in Verilog

Foreword. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. The Verification Process. 3. Coverage, Events and Assertions. 4. RTL Methodology Basics. 5. RTL Logic Simulation. 6. RTL Formal Verification. 7. Verifiable RTL Style. 8. The Bad Stuff. 9. Verifiable RTL Tutorial. 10. Principles of Verifiable RTL Design. Bibliography. A. Comparing Verilog Construct Performance. B. Quick Reference. C. Assertion Monitors.
Tracking surface pollutants in Southern California coastal waters

Clean beaches and coastal waters are integral to California's economy, environment and public health. Effective management of wastewater discharges and surface runoff is crucial to the preservation of marine life and aquatic habitats as well as the prevention of contaminated food sources, drinking water and recreational waterways. Therefore, tracking surface pollution is essential to managing and protecting coastal waters in the state. Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) data and products will assist managers in tracking pollutants and coastal discharges, enabling more precise and timely management decisions.
Androgen pathway resistance in prostate cancer and therapeutic implications

Introduction: Metastatic prostate cancer is an incurable disease that is treated with a variety of hormonal therapies targeting various nodes of the androgen receptor (AR) pathway. Invariably patients develop resistance and become castration resistant. Common treatments for castration-resistant disease include novel hormonal therapies, such as abiraterone and enzalutamide, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiopharmaceuticals. As this disease generally remains incurable, understanding the molecular underpinnings of resistance pathways is critical in designing therapeutic strategies to delay or overcome such resistance.Areas covered: This review will explore the resistance mechanisms relevant to hormonal agents, such as AR-V7 expression and others, as well as discussing new approaches being developed to treat patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer that take advantage of these new insights. A literature search was performed to identify all published clinical trials related to androgen therapy mec...
Successful persuasive technology for behavior reduction: mapping to fogg’s gray behavior grid

This study evaluates 24 persuasive technologies that achieved statistically significant behavior reduction across a variety of domains. The purpose of this research was to map the 24 persuasive technology studies across the Gray Behaviors (decrease behavior) in Fogg’s Behavior Grid in order to identify commonalities and patterns in the technologies. Additionally, each persuasive technology is mapped to Fogg’s Behavior Model factors, and Fogg’s persuasive strategies. Mapping across these three dimensions provides a synthesized understanding of how persuasive technology successfully reduces behavior.
A comparative study of clock distribution approaches for WSI

Five different designs for a hypothetical five-inch wafer with an array of 8*8 cells are presented. The networks are simulated using HSPICE for comparison of power dissipation, delay, and skew. It is found that the large physical dimensions of a wafer scale system require that the signal interconnections be treated as transmission lines with finite delays in order to provide an accurate simulation of the signal wave shapes and timing. When clock distributions networks are compared, it is found that for a given power budget a tradeoff between delay and skew can be made. If a total power budget is established for the clock distribution network, then the five methods can be compared as to signal propagation delays and skew. >
The “Sommerfeld Puzzle” revisited and resolved

The exact agreement between the Sommerfeld and Dirac results for the energy levels of the relativistic hydrogen atom (the “Sommerfeld Puzzle”) is analyzed and explained.
Effect of administrative vehicle on oral 1,1-dichloroethylene toxicity.

Abstract The relationship between the acute toxicity and biologic fate of 1,1-dichloroethylene (1,1-DCE) was examined in fasted and fed male Sprague-Dawley rats given 200 mg 1,1-DCE/kg orally in a mineral oil, a corn oil, or an aqueous Tween-80 vehicle. Exhalation of unchanged 1,1-DCE by individual rats was monitored at selected 15-min intervals for 5 hr and all rats were sacrificed at 6 hr. The administrative vehicle affected the magnitude of liver injury in fasted rats; with mineral oil or corn oil, injury was massive [> 100-fold elevation of glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT)] whereas with the aqueous Tween-80 vehicle, injury was moderate t 15-fold elevation of GOT and GPT). In contrast, in all fed groups liver injury was slight (two- to threefold elevation of GOT and GPT). Rats with massive liver injury also had an ∼50-fold increase in plasma free hemoglobin and their kidneys exhibited numerous granular “heme” casts in Henle's loop without apparent degenerative changes in either glomeruli or tubular epithelium. No pathologic changes were observed in heart, lungs, spleen, adrenals, or duodenum. The administrative vehicle did not affect the total amount of 1,1-DCE exhaled, which was approximately half the given dose, nor did the vehicle affect the initial rapid phase of 1,1-DCE exhalation, which lasted ∼1 hr and had t 1 2 values ranging from 15 to 21 min for the fasted groups and from 10 to 13 min for the fed groups. In contrast, the later slow phase of 1,1-DCE exhalation was predictably affected by the administrative vehicle; t 1 2 values for the fasted and fed groups, respectively, were most prolonged with the poorly absorbed mineral oil vehicle (257 and 280 min), intermediate with the more digestable corn oil vehicle (73 and 103 min), and briefest with the more absorbable aqueous Tween vehicle (22 and 42 min). Further studies are needed to determine if the relative resistance of the fed animals to hepatic injury is due to the capacity of these animals to detoxify 1,1-DCE for a longer duration than the fasted animals.
Non-bonded affinity chromatography: a biospecific oil-soluble coated support for concanavalin A

Abstract Affinity chromatographic separations using ligands chemically bonded to supports have been performed for many years; the first non-bonded affinity chromatographic method is reported here. An oil-soluble compound containing glucosamine was synthesized. When dissolved in a grease and coated on a solid support, this compound bound concavalin A specifically. Concavalin A could be eluted by a competitively binding sugar added to the mobile phase. The column separated concavalin A from bovine serum albumin rapidly and efficiently. The solubility of the concavalin A—ligand complex in the mobile phase and dissociation of the complex during washing of the column caused a slow leakage of bound material from the column, and a slow degradation of the column performance. Non-bonded affinity chromatography offers a flexible and potentially important new method of performing biospecific separations.
Canavanine-induced fast-sedimenting complexes with Escherichia coli DNA and bacteriophage T4 DNA.

Abstract Arginine-requiring strains of Escherichia coli grown with l -canavanine formed a heavy canavanyl-protein complex with about 60% of the cell DNA as shown by zonal sedimentation in sucrose-EDTA gradients. DNA, made both during and prior to growth in canavanine, bound to this heavy complex, presumed to include cell membrane. The time course of DNA binding followed the deposition of canavanyl-protein into the complex. Both formation of the complex and canavanine death occurred in the presence or absence of DNA synthesis without apparent coordination with the DNA replication cycle. Various treatments of lysates prior to zonal sedimentation suggested that protein and perhaps lipid components were essential for binding of DNA to the heavy complex. Parental DNA of 32P-labeled bacteriophage T4 was bound to a fast-sedimentating fraction of arginine-starved E. coli dependent upon protein synthesis during infection. Cells pregrown with l -canavanine formed the heavy 32P-T4 DNA complex in the absence of protein synthesis. A canavanine-resistant mutant grown with canavanine formed a heavy protein fraction that did not complex with cellular DNA, and binding of T4 DNA required protein synthesis during infection of canavanine-grown cells. The results suggest that canavanine death of E. coli is caused by the incorporation of canavanine into a heavy membrane-protein that binds DNA abnormally.
Fourier-transform infrared absorption spectrometry measurements of a CF4 discharge in an electron cyclotron resonance reactor

Knowledge of the neutral gas composition in a discharge is important for understanding the chemical processes involved in both etching and deposition environments. We have performed Fourier‐transform infrared absorption spectrometry measurements of a CF4 plasma in an electron cyclotron etching tool. Spectral bands from both CF4 and CF3 were observed. The densities of these species were calculated from the strength of the measured absorption. It was found for typical discharge powers that the CF4 density was approximately 20% of the total density and depended only on the plasma density. This data is used to show that recycling of the daughter species (C, CFx, Fx, etc.) on the chamber walls is the major source of the CF4 observed. Thus one finds that wall conditions play a very important role in determining the plasma chemistry in this high density, ≳1011 cm−3, and low neutral pressure, <10 mTorr, discharge. Additionally, it was found that the CF3 density was approximately 20% of the total density and depen...
Moving a library collection: Impact on staff morale

Abstract A “do-it-yourself” library move may produce significant changes in the established patterns of personnel organization and staff behavior. Most previously published work on the topic of moving a library collection, however, has focused on the procedural aspects of a move. This study recounts and analyzes the impact of such a move on library staff attitudes and morale.