cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Opportunistic Energy-Aware Channel Sensing Schemes for Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks

Spectrum sensing, which finds spectrum opportunities for the secondary users (SUs), plays a pivotal role in the cognitive radio-based dynamic spectrum access networks. In this paper, we develop the optimal spectrum sensing scheduling for the energy-constraint cognitive radio networks where the SUs are not synchronized with the primary users (PUs). First, we develop the analytical models to investigate the tradeoff between the sensing energy consumption and the missed spectrum opportunity for the SUs. Second, building on top of the analytical models, we derive the optimal spectrum sensing scheduling which minimizes the sensing energy consumption while confining missed spectrum opportunity to a predefined threshold. Third, we take into account the sensing errors, namely, missed detection and false alarm, in the analytical models. In particular, we analyze the impact of the sensing errors on the energy consumption and missed spectrum opportunity when adopting the two-threshold based sequential sensing policy. Finally, we conduct simulations to validate and evaluate our proposed scheme.
RATE LIMITING MECHANISMS IN CAUSTIC POTATO PEELING

The caustic peeling rates of potatoes is considered from an analytical and experimental point of view. The analysis considers the process to be governed by the competing rates of mass transport within the potato (diffusion) and chemical reaction. The chemical reaction between caustic and chlorogenic acid is singled out for analysis since the product of this reaction is a yellow salt which is easily measured by calorimetry. Simplified equations for the concentration of the yellow salt as a function of time is obtained for the two limiting extremes of diffusion controlled rates and reaction controlled rates. Experiments on Idaho Russetts indicate that, over the first 2–3 min of immersion in caustic, the process is diffusion controlled. It is also shown that it is the outer skin which presents the large diffusion resistance. For reasonable times after this initial period the process is reaction controlled and very sensitive to temperature. The implications of these results with respect to processing techniques (e.g., the dry peel process) and sequences is considered and discussed.
Spatial Stability Analysis of Chevron Jet Profiles

We investigate the linear stability characteristics of mean flows produced by round, and chevron nozzles. We derive a Rayleigh equation for the chevron profile, which allows the fast solution of the chevron stability problem. Using PIV and RANS data, we compute the stability characteristics of various chevron/round nozzles. We find there are two main dierences between the chevron and round jet: chevron jet growth rates are highly suppressed and peak growth rates shifted to lower frequencies, and phase speeds are somewhat increased. Some preliminary implications on sound generation are discussed. We compare our instability wave results to microphone measurements taken with a phased hydrodynamic array. Our results indicate that the hydrodynamic pressure field of both round, and chevron jets is consistent with that of the instability modes of the turbulent, spreading mean flow.
Penetration of amino acids into isolated mitochondria.

SUMMARY The penetration of glycine and other amino acids into mito- chondria has been investigated, both with the techniques worked out for sucrose (isotopic dilution and osmotic swelling tech- niques) and by following the synthesis of hippurate from labeled glycine by mitochondria in viva and in vitro. It is found that glycine and some other amino acids penetrate mitochondria freely at very low concentrations, and that this penetration decreases when the external concentration of amino acids is increased, or in the presence of anesthetics. Possible mechanisms of this behavior and its significance as a homeostatic mechanism are discussed. REFERENCES 1. GARFINKEL, D., AND LAJTHA, A., J. Biol. Chem., 238, 2429 (1963). 2. SCHACHTER, D., AND TAGGART, J. V., J. Biol. Chem., 203, 925 (1953). 3. SCHACHTER, D., AND TAGGART, J. V., J. Biol. Chem., 208, 263 (1954). 4. TEDESCHI, H., AND HARRIS, D. L., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 58, 52 (1955). 5.
Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the tongue base: a cadaver feasibility study.

ObjectiveThe authors hypothesize that floor-of-mouth and tongue base anatomy can be visualized with ultrasound and that ultrasound can be used to accurately guide needle placement and dye injection into the tongue base, serving as a surrogate for fine-needle aspiration.Study DesignObservation of experimental intervention.SettingMedical school cadaver anatomy laboratory.Subjects and MethodsUltrasound imaging was performed on human cadaveric specimens to visualize the anatomy of the floor of mouth and base of tongue in a midline transcervical approach. Methylene blue dye was injected under ultrasound guidance into the base of tongue. Specimens were dissected, and results were counted and analyzed.ResultsTwenty-five of 32 (78%) cadaver specimens were found to have correct placement of dye within the posterior genioglossus and intrinsic tongue musculature. Seven cadavers did not have correct placement of dye. Of these, 3 had dye staining the walls of the oropharynx and epiglottis. Two specimens had dye inject...
The Influence of Non-Host Predators on Parasite-Induced Behavioral Changes in a Freshwater Snail

Parasites can have striking influences on their host's behavior that serve to increase the probability of parasite transmission. The type of behavior induced often increases the probability of an encounter with the next host in the life cycle. However non-host predators could also serve as selective forces on the manipulative strategy of the parasite. In this study, I examined the daily foraging behavior of a New Zealand fish (Gobiomorphus cotidianus), and related it to the foraging habits of a snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) infected with the trematode Microphallus sp. Previous results have demonstrated that Microphallus alters the snails' behavior in a time-specific manner: infected individuals forage on the top of rocks late into the morning, when the final host (waterfowl) is feeding most, and then move to the bottom of the rocks. Since waterfowl continue to forage (albeit at a lower rate) throughout the day, the infected snails' movement to the bottom of the rocks is perplexing. Here I examined the gut contents of fish collected at different times of the day. I found that fish feed on snails predominantly in the late morning to early afternoon hours, which corresponds to the time that infected snails move to the bottom of the rocks. I also found that snails taken from fish guts are less likely to be infected by Microphallus than snails from the overall population. Thus it would appear that the behavior induced by Microphallus decreases the probability that an infected snail will be eaten by an unsuitable host.
Ultrastructural identification of human mast cells resembling skin mast cells stimulated to develop in long-term human cord blood mononuclear cells cultured with 3T3 murine skin fibroblasts

Human mast cells developed in vitro when cord blood mononuclear cells were cocultured for 3 months with 3T3 embryonic mouse skin fibroblasts. The metachromatic cells that arose in these cultures contained histamine, a functional Fc epsilon receptor and granule proteases (tryptase, chymase), and they were definitively identified by the ultrastructural demonstration of crystal granules. We present a detailed ultrastructural analysis of this newly available system for the reliable development of human mast cells in vitro and provide criteria for definitive identification of the mast cell and basophil lineages in humans.
Cryptic and not-so-cryptic species in the complex Holothuria (Thymiosycia) impatiens (Forssk&aringl, 1775) (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

Identifying accurately species is critical for our understanding of patterns of diversity and speciation. However, for many organisms with simple and variable morphological traits, the characters traditionally used by taxonomists to identify species might lead to a considerable under appreciation of their diversity. Recent advances in molecular-data based computational methods have considerably improved our ability to identify and test species limits. Here, we use an integrative approach to delineate species in a complex of sea cucumbers. We used a three-step approach to show that Holothuria impatiens, a common, shallow-water species, occurring across the Indo-Pacific, the Western Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, targeted locally by fisheries, is a complex of at least 13 species. (1) We used the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) model to identify putative species a priori hypotheses. In the process, we also show that the number of putative species estimated with GMYC can be affected considerably by the priors used to build the input tree. (2) We assessed based on coloration patterns and distributional information, the most relevant hypothesis. This approach allowed us to identify unambiguously 9 species. However, some of the lineages consistently assigned to belong to different species using GMYC, are occurring in sympatry and are not differentiated morphologically. (3) We used Bayes factors to compare competing models of species assignment using the multispecies coalescent as implemented in *BEAST. This approach allowed us to validate that the species identified using GMYC were likely reproductively isolated. Estimates of the timing of diversification also showed that these species diverged less than 2 Ma, which is the fastest case of closely related species occurring in sympatry for a marine metazoan. Our study demonstrates how clarifying species limits contribute to refining our understanding of speciation.
Changing Exile Politics: A New Look at Cubans and Cuban Americans

Although Cuban Americans are considered to be an important political voting bloc in Florida, and much research has been conducted on the foreign policy preferences of this community, little is known about the political experiences and domestic political attitudes of Cubans who settled in the Miami-Dade area. Using an original data set compiled by the author, this study explores this question, examining the political attitudes of Cubans and Cuban Americans in this area, with particular emphasis on how issues of collective identification and social context affect Cuban attitudes towards the political parties, government, and policy issues such as fiscal policy, abortion, and health care. This analysis will provide important baseline information about Cuban and Cuban American public opinion and will allow for a more nuanced understanding of the shape and character of Cuban and Cuban American politics in the United States.
Contrasting evolutionary flexibility in sister groups: disparity and diversity in Mesozoic atelostomate echinoids

Abstract Temporal asymmetries in clade histories have often been studied in lower Paleozoic radiations. Post-Paleozoic patterns, however, are less well understood. In this paper, disparity and diversity changes in Mesozoic heart urchins were analyzed at the ordinal level, with contrasts among the sister groups Holasteroida and Spatangoida, their paraphyletic stem group Disasteroida, and the more inclusive clade, the superorder Atelostomata. A 38-dimensional landmark-based morphospace representing test architecture was used to describe morphological evolution in terms of total variance and total range. Discordances between disparity and diversity were evident and were expressed both as deceleration in morphological diversification in all groups and as disproportionately higher disparity early in the histories of the Atelostomata, Holasteroida, and Spatangoida. The finding that the early atelostomate disparity peak coincides with the origin of the orders Holasteroida and Spatangoida lends support to the per...
Design and simulation of state-of-art ZigBee transmitter for IoT wireless devices

The rapid development in wireless networking has been witnessed in past several years, which aimed on high speed and long range applications. The increasing demand for low data and low power networking led to the development of ZigBee technology. This technology was developed for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), directed at control and military applications, where low cost, low data rate, and more battery life were main requirements. ZigBee is a standard, which defines set of communication protocols. ZigBee based devices operate in 868 MHz, 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands. It has maximum data rate of 250K bits per second. This paper explores the architectural blocks of digital ZigBee transmitter. The advancement in VLSI technology led to the development of more efficient, accurate, small, and fast design. ZigBee has potential application in Internet of Things (IoT), because of the fact that it is a low power and low data rate device. The main focus of the project is to design a ZigBee transmitter using Verilog for IoT applications. A basic digital ZigBee transmitter consists of cyclic redundancy check, Bit-to-Symbol block, Symbol-to-Chip block, and a Modulator. This paper presents digital design and Verilog-HDL simulation of the Cyclic Redundancy Check and Bit-to-Symbol block of the ZigBee transmitter.
Metal Organic Frameworks for Selective Adsorption of t-Butyl Mercaptan from Natural Gas

Pipeline natural gas is typically “odorized” with ∼10 ppm of sulfur-containing components, such as mercaptans, for ease of detection. Such odorants can be removed before being burned in electricity generation gas turbines to prevent or limit turbine corrosion and increase turbine lifetime. Selective adsorption of these odorants onto solid materials is an attractive approach to address this problem because of the ability to remove these trace levels of sulfur and to be operated at low temperatures, meaning that it is less energy-intensive than other traditional sulfur removal methods. Adsorbent material selection is important for this approach, and a material with high sulfur capacity, selectivity, and regenerability is desired for a practical implementation of such an adsorption system. In this study, several adsorbent materials are gravimetrically screened for t-butyl mercaptan (TBM) adsorption capacity and the best candidates, Cu-BTC, MIL-53(Al), and UiO-66(Zr), are compared to a benchmark material, zeo...
Abstract LB-414: Variation in base excision repair genes and risk of smoking-related non-small cell lung cancer

Base excision repair (BER) is the primary mechanism responsible for the repair of small base lesions in DNA caused by oxidation and alkylation. Given this role, functionally relevant polymorphisms in BER pathway genes may well affect the risk of smoking-related non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined the association between 49 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in or near 5 different BER genes ( XRCC1, LIG1, PARP1, MPG, and OGG1 ) and risk of NSCLC among Caucasians in a large case-control study. The study population consisted of 599 cases and 934 controls; all study participants were Caucasian and current or former cigarette smokers who had smoked at least 10.0 pack-years. SNPs were selected using various resources including literature review and data from the International HapMap project, and genotyping was conducted by Illumina Goldengate assay. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was evaluated with the exact method. Associations between alleles and genotypes and NSCLC risk were examined using a Pearson Chi-square test and a Cochran-Armitage trend test, respectively. Per (minor) allele odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were also calculated for each SNP. Six SNPs (rs3219073, rs747658, rs3219090, rs2048424, rs2666428, and rs8679) in PARP1 were statistically significantly ( P 2 ≥0.8) with rs747658, as were rs3219090 and rs2048424 with rs2666428. The minor alleles of these SNPs were associated with a decreased risk of developing NSCLC (rs747658, OR: 0.7, 95%CI: 0.6-0.9, P trend=0.0005; rs2666428, OR: 0.8, 95%CI: 0.7-0.9, P trend =0.005). The C allele of SNP rs8679 (3′ UTR) was associated with an increased risk of NSCLC (OR: 1.3, 95%CI: 1.1-1.5, P trend =0.005). Additionally, SNPs rs3213255 and rs1799782 (Arg194Trp) in XRCC1 and SNP rs10500298 in LIG1 were also significantly associated with NSCLC risk. The minor alleles of rs3213255 and rs10500298 were associated with an increased risk (OR: 1.3, 95%CI: 1.1-1.5; OR: 1.2, 95%CI: 1.1-1.4, respectively), while the minor allele of rs1799782 was associated with a decreased risk (OR: 0.6, 95%CI: 0.4-0.9). PARP1 polymorphisms have previously been reported associated with other cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer, but this is the first study to report associations with NSCLC risk. To conclude, our results suggest that common variation in PARP1, XRCC1 and LIG1 may be associated with risk of smoking-related NSCLC. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-414.
Epidemiological features of viral hepatitis A in Pingba county of Guizhou from 1999 to 2010

Objective To understand the epidemiological features of viral hepatitis A so as to provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control.Methods The epidemic data of viral hepatitis A from 1999 to 2010 in Pingba county was analyzed using descriptive epidemiological method.Results The prevalence of viral Hepatitis A infection fluctuated between 4.60 to 57.23 per 100 thousands population with the average annual incidence of 17.91.The epidemic cycle was about 4-5 years.During high incidence years,most infections occurred in spring and winter with clustering patients in some areas.However during low incidence years,there was no obvious seasonal distribution of patients.The infection rate was the highest among those aged 5-20 years although anyone could get HAV infection.Students were much more vulnerable to HAV infection followed by farmers,children in day-care.Conclusions The incidence of viral hepatitis A is periodically up and down in Pingba.It is still critical to strengthen conventional vaccination in order to maintain low incidence level in the future.
Informing Collaborative Interventions: Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment for Front Line Police Officers

Police officers have a unique opportunity to administer risk assessment at the scene of intimate partner violence (IPV) incidents. This article examines the predictive validity of two IPV risk assessments developed for administration by front line police officers and intended to inform collaborative interventions between the criminal justice and social service systems. The Lethality Screen and the Danger Assessment for Law Enforcement (DA-LE) are short forms of the Danger Assessment and, although similar, function differently and have different uses. The higher specificity of the DA-LE makes it appropriate for informing interventions focused on offender accountability. The high sensitivity of the Lethality Screen casts a wide net to educate and offer advocacy services to victim-survivors of IPV. Using technology to integrate IPV risk assessment within an evidence based practice framework may inform targeted collaborative interventions that reduce future IPV and femicide. Language: en
Thyroid Cancer–Specific Quality of Life and Health-Related Quality of Life in Young Adult Thyroid Cancer Survivors

Background: There is a lack of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) research in thyroid cancer (TC) survivors, especially young adults (YAs). This study aims to assess the socio-demographic and clinical factors that most influence TC-specific QOL domains and estimate the impact of different health conditions on HRQOL in a large cohort of YA TC survivors. Methods: TC survivors ≥17 years of age were recruited through the thyroid cancer survivor (ThyCa) Web site. Mean scores for the seven domains and six items of THYCA-QoL, MCS and PCS of SF-12v1, and derived SF-6D were compared between factors as well as age groups (YA: 17–39 years, adult ≥40 years), and to the normal population. Regression analyses estimated the relationship between the socio-demographic, clinical, and THYCA-QoL measures and HRQOL in YAs only. Results: Of 1028 survivors, 277 (27%) were YAs. Most YAs were female (93.5%), white (86.6%), insured (96.8%), married or in a stable relationship (69%), and listed a comorbidity (43.7%); all report...
Ultra-broadband dispersion engineering of nanophotonic devices with five zero-dispersion wavelengths

We report a novel and convenient approach for dispersion engineering over multi-octave spectral range that is able to achieve peculiar oscillatory dispersion curves with five zero-dispersion wavelengths which have never been shown before.
Association between PSA and leptin, adiponectin, HbA1c, or C-peptide among African-American and Caucasian men

A33 African-American (AA) men are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and have a poorer prognosis following treatment compared to Caucasian (CA) men. Multiple factors are probably involved, with racial differences in prostate cancer screening and detection practices contributing to observed disparities. Interestingly, obese men are also more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer, and several prior studies report a higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with lower PSA levels. However the mechanisms by which obesity may affect PSA levels among AA or CA men remain unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the association between PSA and biomarkers of obesity, including blood HbA1c, C-peptide, leptin, and adiponectin levels. Participants included a random sample of 121 AA and 121 CA men recruited as a part of the Southern Community Cohort Study. Eligible men were between 40 and 79 years of age, without a prior cancer or diabetes diagnosis, and not currently using finasteride or other medication known to affect PSA. Furthermore, AA and CA participants were frequency matched to have a similar BMI distribution. PSA values were natural log transformed prior to analysis, and age-adjusted geometric mean PSA values within quartile categories of each biomarker are reported. Among AA men, PSA levels were approximately 50% lower among men with higher C-peptide levels (PSA=0.99, 0.93, 0.75, 0.53 ng/ml across increasing quartiles of C-peptide, respectively, ptrend =0.005). This inverse trend among AA men was evident across BMI categories, although this association was statistically significant only among participants with a BMI of 30 or more. Among CA men, PSA levels were approximately 50% lower among CA men with the highest HbA1c level (PSA=0.84, 0.73, 0.77, 0.45 ng/ml across quartiles of HbA1c, respectively, ptrend =0.005). PSA was not significantly associated with leptin or adiponectin levels within either race group. To further evaluate the independence of these associations, we included HbA1c, leptin, C-peptide, and adiponectin in a single model that also controlled for age, time since last meal, and BMI. Among CA men, HbA1c was the only biomarker significantly associated with log transformed PSA levels (b=-0.27, 95% CI(-0.45, -0.08), p=0.006). Among AA men, C-peptide was the only biomarker significantly associated with log transformed PSA (b=-0.15, 95% CI(-0.25, -0.05), p=0.003). These results suggest that metabolic disturbances related to the metabolic syndrome, insulin activity, or diabetes affect the ability to detect early-stage prostate cancer. Further investigations of the race-specific relationships between steroid hormone levels, insulin activity, obesity, and PSA are warranted.
InGaN-based flexible light emitting diodes

Novel layer release and transfer technology of single-crystalline GaN semiconductors is attractive for enabling many novel applications including flexible photonics and hybrid device integration. To date, light emitting diode (LED) research has been primarily focused on rigid devices due to the thick growth substrate. This prevented fundamental research in flexible inorganic LEDs, and limited the applications of LEDs in the solid state lighting (due to the substrate cost) and in biophotonics (i.e. optogenetics) (due to LED rigidness). In the literature, a number of methods to achieve layer transfer have been reported including the laser lift-off, chemical lift-off, and Smartcut. However, the release of films of LED layers (i.e. GaN semiconductors) has been challenging since their elastic moduli and chemical resistivity are much higher than most conventional semiconductors. In this talk, we are going to review the existing technologies and new mechanical release techniques (i.e. spalling) to overcome these problems.
Erosion of Telomeric Single-Stranded Overhang in Patients with Aplastic Anemia Carrying Telomerase Mutations.

Abstract 1079 Poster Board I-101 Loss-of-function mutations in telomerase complex genes reduce telomerase activity and shorten overall telomere length in leukocytes, and they can clinically manifest as bone marrow failure (aplastic anemia and dyskeratosis congenita), familial pulmonary fibrosis, and hepatic cirrhosis. The double-stranded tandem telomeric TTAGGG repeats are followed by a 39 G-rich single-stranded overhang, a crucial structural component responsible for protective t-loop formation. We investigated the length of telomeric overhangs in 25 healthy individuals from 0 to 76 years, 16 patients with aplastic anemia, and 13 of their immediate relatives using a non-denaturing in-gel method and the telomere-oligonucleotide ligation assay (T-OLA). Among healthy controls, overall telomeric length of leukocytes shortened as a function of age. It was longest in umbilical cord blood samples and eroded as a function of a third-order polynomial until 76 years (R 2 =0.9517; Spearman=0.90; P Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu as Critic of Feminine Cultural Constraints in the TURKISH EMBASSY LETTERS

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wrote her now-famous Turkish Embassy Letters while accompanying her husband, who served as the Turkish ambassador, to Constantinople in 1717. Published posthumously in 176...
Combinatorics of Positroids

Recently Postnikov gave a combinatorial description of the cells in a totally-nonnegative Grassmannian. These cells correspond to a special class of matroids called positroids. There are many interesting combinatorial objects associated to a positroid. We introduce some recent results, including the generalization and proof of the purity conjecture by Leclerc and Zelevinsky on weakly separated sets.
The Role of Hypermasculinity, Token Resistance, Rape Myth, and Assertive Sexual Consent Communication Among College Men

Abstract Purpose A greater understanding of how college men's gendered beliefs and communication styles relate to their sexual consent attitudes and intentions is essential within the shifting context of negative to affirmative consent policies on college campuses. The results of this study can be used to help design more effective sexual consent interventions. Methods Three hundred seventy undergraduate college men completed cross-sectional online surveys. Hierarchical multiple regression examined how hypermasculinity, token resistance, rape myth acceptance, and sexual communication assertiveness were associated with consent-related attitudes, intentions, and interpretations. Results Bivariate correlations among all variables were significant. In multivariate analyses, sexual communication assertiveness was positively associated with all consent outcomes, and token resistance and rape myth acceptance were negatively associated with some. Hypermasculinity was not a significant factor. Conclusions Programs seeking to improve sexual consent communication among college men should reduce destructive beliefs and encourage sexually assertive communication.
Screening for Public Purpose: Promoting an Evidence-Based Approach to Screening of Inmates to Improve Public Health

Jail and prison screening procedures have primarily been developed to prevent transmission of communicable diseases, protect staff, and mitigate individual bad outcomes. Detention and incarceration are otherwise opportunities to impact public and individual health by offering evidence-based screening to adult persons who do may not otherwise access routine preventive care. Given the dynamic exchange between correctional facilities and medically underserved communities, effective screening in jails and prisons is generally considered a cost-effective approach to improving population health and that of the incarcerated person.
Repeated DNA Sequences and the Analysis of Host Specificity in the Rice Blast Fungus

Field isolates of the heterothallic Ascomycete, Magnaporthe grisea Barr (anamorph, Pyricularia oryzae Cav. or P. grisea), include pathogens of many grasses, with rice (Oryza sativa) being the most important example from an economic perspective. Individual field isolates have a limited host range, parasitizing one or a few grass species (MACKILL and BONMAN 1986). We have recently shown that rice pathogens from around the world contain a family of repeated DNA sequences, MGR sequences, that appear to be absent from or present in low copy number in field isolates that infect grasses other than rice (HAMER et al. 1989a). We have hypothesized that the correlation between MGR sequence conservation and rice pathogenicity is due to genetic isolation and independent evolution of rice pathogens descended from a small ancestral population. As we will discuss, MGR sequences have become useful as tools for strain identification and as genetic markers for cloning host specificity genes of interest.
The Central Amygdala Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) Neurons Modulation of Anxiety-like Behavior and Hippocampus-dependent Memory in Mice

The encoding, consolidation and retrieval of memories is a multifaceted process that depends strongly on the optimal level of arousal but high levels of arousal may trigger anxiety, which negatively impacts the memory processing by the brain. We investigated the role of CRH neurons in the central amygdala (CeA) for their capacity to modulate both, the anxiety-like behavior and hippocampus-dependent memory. First, we activated the CRH neurons in CeA using cre-dependent AAV-DREADD in CRH-cre mice. The activation of CeA CRH neurons increased the anxiety-like behavior in Elevated-O maze (O-maze) and Light-Dark box (LDB). The activation of the CeA CRH also decreased Y-maze memory performance and the discrimination index in novel object recognition test (NOR). The inhibition of CeA CRH neurons with AAV-DREADD had the opposite effects on the anxiety-like behavior and the memory tests. Next, we used a combination of retrograde cre virus injected into locus ceruleus (LC) and cre-dependent AAV-DREADD injected into the CeA. While the excitation of the CeA neurons that project to LC increased the anxiety-like behavior, it also led to a better performance on the memory tests. The behavioral and memory effects were accompanied by increased c-Fos expression in the LC region. Pretreatment with CRH1 receptor antagonist antalarmin hydrochloride blocked the effects that were observed after the activation of the CeA projections to LC. Our findings highlight the role of CeA CRH neuronal population not only as a generator of anxiety but also demonstrate their role in the control of hippocampus-dependent memory.
Producing African-descent: afro-peruvian music, intangible heritage, authenticity and bureaucracy in a Latin American music compilation

Policy and actions for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) are laced with politics of representation and meaning-making of expressive culture within and outside communities. This...
THE EFFECTS OF PAID FAMILY LEAVE ON FAMILY CAREGIVING FOR OLDER ADULTS

Currently, two in three family caregivers for older adults are in the labor force, facing the conflicting demands for work and care. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), introduced in 1993, provides 12-week time off work for workers to care for their family members. But, because it is unpaid leave offered at the discretion of employers, utilization of the FMLA are still low. Studies have shown that paid family leave, implemented in CA, NJ, and RI, promotes use of leave that positively affects working parents with a newborn and their babies. However, we know less about the impacts of paid family leave on family caregivers with older adults. This study examines the effects of access to paid family leave on care time among family caregivers with older relatives, using the 2011 American Time Use Survey and its Leave Module. Access to paid family leave is instrumented by state legislation of paid family leave, assuming that the employers in CA, NJ, and RI are more likely than the employers in other states without the paid leave law to provide paid family leave to their employees. The estimates show that access to paid family leave increases time spent caring for and helping with the older relatives outside the household. An increase in time spent helping due to access to paid family leave is marginally significant. Results also indicate that paid family leave is more beneficial for dealing with acute care needs for a non-household member than long-term care needs.
Predicting Profile Soil Properties with Reflectance Spectra via Bayesian Covariate-Assisted External Parameter Orthogonalization.

In situ, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) profile soil sensors have the potential to provide both rapid and high-resolution prediction of multiple soil properties for precision agriculture, soil health assessment, and other applications related to environmental protection and agronomic sustainability. However, the effects of soil moisture, other environmental factors, and artefacts of the in-field spectral data collection process often hamper the utility of in situ DRS data. Various processing and modeling techniques have been developed to overcome these challenges, including external parameter orthogonalization (EPO) transformation of the spectra. In addition, Bayesian modeling approaches may improve prediction over traditional partial least squares (PLS) regression. The objectives of this study were to predict soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and texture fractions using a large, regional dataset of in situ profile DRS spectra and compare the performance of (1) traditional PLS analysis, (2) PLS on EPO-transformed spectra (PLS-EPO), (3) PLS-EPO with the Bayesian Lasso (PLS-EPO-BL), and (4) covariate-assisted PLS-EPO-BL models. In this study, soil cores and in situ profile DRS spectrometer scans were obtained to ~1 m depth from 22 fields across Missouri and Indiana, USA. In the laboratory, soil cores were split by horizon, air-dried, and sieved (<2 mm) for a total of 708 samples. Soil properties were measured and DRS spectra were collected on these air-dried soil samples. The data were randomly split into training (n = 308), testing (n = 200), and EPO calibration (n = 200) sets, and soil textural class was used as the categorical covariate in the Bayesian models. Model performance was evaluated using the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP). For the prediction of soil properties using a model trained on dry spectra and tested on field moist spectra, the PLS-EPO transformation dramatically improved model performance relative to PLS alone, reducing RMSEP by 66% and 53% for SOC and TN, respectively, and by 76%, 91%, and 87% for clay, silt, and sand, respectively. The addition of the Bayesian Lasso further reduced RMSEP by 4–11% across soil properties, and the categorical covariate reduced RMSEP by another 2–9%. Overall, this study illustrates the strength of the combination of EPO spectral transformation paired with Bayesian modeling techniques to overcome environmental factors and in-field data collection artefacts when using in situ DRS data, and highlights the potential for in-field DRS spectroscopy as a tool for rapid, high-resolution prediction of soil properties.
Re(de)fining College Access and Its Association With Divergent Forms of Financial Aid: A Proposed Conceptual and Analytic Framework:

This manuscript proposes a conceptual framework to reconceptualize college access at the state level, while accounting for the heterogeneous impact different forms of financial aid have on access a...
Wake steering via yaw control in multi-turbine wind farms: Recommendations based on large-eddy simulation

Abstract The rotor area of a wind turbine must be perfectly perpendicular to the wind to deliver the most efficient performance as a single unit (i.e., yaw angle γ = 0°). When the rotor is misaligned (i.e., γ ≠ 0 ° ), the turbine power production is lower and greater structural loads may occur. However, a beneficial effect of yaw misalignment is that it steers the aerodynamic wake and, consequently, it may reduce wake losses for downstream wind turbines. To quantify and maximize such potential power gains while minimizing power losses, a wind farm with 28 wind turbines is investigated using large eddy simulations (LES). Selected turbines in the front-, mid-, and deep-rows are intentionally misaligned by positive (counter-clockwise) or negative (clockwise) yaw angles of various magnitudes. Consistent with previous studies, positive yaw misalignment angles cause net power gains, whereas negative ones cause net losses. We hypothesize that this is due to the Coriolis effect. Thus, only positive yaw misalignment angles should be considered for wake steering purposes in the northern hemisphere. Also, yawing front-row and deep-row turbines causes the overall power production to increase, while yawing mid-row turbines is not as effective. The most effective yaw misalignment angles are + 20 ° for front-row and + 10 ° for deep-row turbines.
Multimodality Imaging of Danon Disease in a Patient with a Novel LAMP2 Mutation.

Danon disease is a rare X-linked genetic disorder presenting typically as a triad of mental retardation, skeletal myopathy, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Mutations of the lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) gene lead to impaired lysosomal functioning and the accumulation of intracellular glycogen. Similarly to Pompe disease (glycogen storage disease type II), with which it was initially confused, Danon disease is seen as a glycogen storage disorder, but is not related to α-glucosidase enzyme deficiency. Instead, Danon disease results from an LAMP2-associated impairment of lysosomal membrane integrity. Cardiac involvement is a prominent clinical feature of Danon disease, in which young, often adolescent patients present with apparent left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and arrhythmias. Danon disease is commonly mistaken for sarcomeric HCM, despite being a lysosomal storage disease. The distinction between these two disorders is important because Danon disease has a more rapid disease progression and higher mortality. Here we describe the importance of multimodality imaging of Danon disease in a patient with a novel LAMP2 mutation.
Working with families displaced by Hurricane Maria

This story explores how a community-based participatory research process enhanced the resiliency and adaptation of Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria. The families became strong adv...
What Factors Drive Staghorn vs Nonstaghorn Pattern Growth in Patients with Metabolic Stones

Abstract Purpose: There has been an increase in the number of staghorn calculi that form in the absence of infection (metabolic staghorns). It is unknown why some large metabolic calculi form as so...
A Hybrid Approach Based on SVM and Bernoulli Mixture Model for Binary Vectors Classification

In the last decades, the development of generative/discriminative approaches for classifying different kinds of data has attracted scholars’ attention. Considering the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, several hybrid learning approaches which combined the desirable properties of both have been developed. Our goal in this paper is to combine Support Vector Machines (SVMs), as a powerful classification tool, and Bernoulli mixture model in order to classify binary data. We propose using Bernoulli mixture model for generating probabilistic kernels for SVM based on information divergence. These kernels make intelligent use of unlabeled binary data to achieve good data discrimination. We demonstrate the merits of the proposed hybrid learning approach for the problem of classifying binary and texture images.
Past year high-intensity drinking moderates the association between simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use and blackout frequency among college students

Objective: The role of simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use in the experience of blackouts among college students is unclear. To clarify discrepancies, the current study evaluated whether t...
QoS-Aware Network Energy Optimization for Danmu Video Streaming in WiFi Networks

Danmu (a.k.a., barrage videos or bullet comments) is a novel type of interactive video streaming, which displays instantaneous user comments flying across the screen during the video playback to better engage the users. However, such fancy experience brings a considerable burden to the battery of mobile user devices that have limited capacity. For example, WiFi testbed experiments show 15% to 35% increase in WiFi network energy consumption because of the large amount of additional network traffic for user comments. On the other hand, current network energy minimization methods adversely impact the Quality of Service (QoS) of Danmu users, because they put off the transmission and then delay the display of the user comments that should match with the timeline of the corresponding videos. In this paper, for the first time, a heuristic QoS-aware network energy optimization algorithm is proposed to reduce the WiFi network energy consumption while still maintaining the desired QoS of Danmu users. Comprehensive testbed experiments using an open-source Danmu streaming system and with real Danmu user traces indicate up to 28% WiFi network energy saving depending on different system, network, and user settings.
Does Religious Freedom Have a Future

American religious freedom arose in a political community that, although emphatically not the City of God, officially acknowledged God’s sovereignty. The nation’s commitment to religious freedom was grounded in that unambiguous (though perhaps not unambivalent) acknowledgment. And it was written into the nation’s constitutional law and tradition. Today, by contrast, religious freedom is required to make its way in what is demonstrably if not quite officially the City of Man. Although our situation is murky, the sovereignty of God is no longer officially acknowledged. Indeed, any such acknowledgment is forbidden in principle– actual practice is messier, as usual-- by the meaning currently ascribed to the First Amendment; and the inherited vestiges of such an acknowledgment are explained away as merely ceremonial. Instead, an almost opposite situation prevails: constitutional doctrines and the political order generally are regularly oriented to the sovereignty of human beings, or of “the people”– including both individual persons and the state to whom those persons are deemed to have delegated governing authority. So, can the inherited commitment to religious freedom be transplanted to, and maintained on, this new foundation of human sovereignty? It is a theoretical question with considerable practical urgency, and the answer is far from clear. This paper will reflect on that question.
In-person and cyber dating abuse: A longitudinal investigation:

While studies have identified associations between cyber and in-person dating abuse, most research has relied on cross-sectional data, limiting the ability to determine temporality. This study test...
The association of Step-based metrics and adiposity in the Hispanic community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Abstract Objective Examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of accelerometer measured step volume (steps/day) and cadence with adiposity and six-year changes in adiposity in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Methods HCHS/SOL’s target population was 60% female with a mean age of 41 years. Cross-sectional (n = 12,353) and longitudinal analyses (n = 9,077) leveraged adjusted complex survey regression models to examine associations between steps/day, and cadence with weight (kg), waist circumference (cm) and body mass index (kg/m2). Effect measure modification by covariates was examined. Results Lower steps/day and intensity was associated with higher adiposity at baseline. Compared to those in the highest quartile of steps/day those in the lowest quartile have 1.42 95% CI (1.19, 1.70) times the odds of obesity. Compared to those in the highest categories of cadence step-based metrics, those in the lowest categories had a 1.62 95% CI (1.36, 1.93), 2.12 95% CI (1.63, 2.75) and 1.41 95% CI (1.16, 1.70) odds of obesity for peak 30-minute cadence, brisk walking and faster ambulation and bouts of purposeful steps and faster ambulation, respectively. Compared to those with the highest stepping cadences, those with the slowest peak 30-minute cadence and fewest minutes in bouts of purposeful steps and faster ambulation had 0.72 95% CI (0.57, 0.89) and 0.82 95% CI (0.60, 1.14) times the odds of gaining weight, respectively. Conclusion Inverse cross-sectional relationships were found for steps/day and cadence and adiposity. Over a six-year period, higher step intensity but not volume was associated with higher odds of gaining weight.
Take Advantage of the Computing Power of DNA Computers

Ever since Adleman [1] solved the Hamilton Path problem using a combinatorial molecular method, many other hard computational problems have been investigated with the proposed DNA computer [3] [25] [9] [12] [19] [22] [24] [27] [29] [30]. However, these computation methods all work toward one destination through a couple of steps based on the initial conditions. If there is a single change on these given conditions, all the procedures need to be gone through no matter how complicate these procedures are and how simple the change is. The new method we are proposing here in the paper will take care of this problem. Only a few extra steps are necessary to take when the initial condition has been changed. This will provide a lot of savings in terms of time and cost.