cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Some Issues When Remotely-Sensing the Carbon Balance of Forest Ecosystems

Leaf area index (LAI) and species composition are two ecological parameters that influence atmosphere-biosphere exchange of CO, and which can be estimated from remote sensing techniques. A process model of biosphere-atmosphere CO, exchange was used to examine the importance of LA1 and species composition when estimating canopy CO, assimilation in 21 black spruce, white spruce, quaking aspen, paper birch, and balsam poplar forests near Fairbanks, Alaska. Model sensitivity analyses showed that LA1 was the single most important parameter determining canopy assimilation. The sensitivity of canopy assimilation to species-dependent physiology was greater between life-forms than within life-forms. These analyses show that canopy assimilation in the boreal forests near Fairbanks is very sensitive to the specification of LA1 and physiological differences between coniferous and deciduous trees.
Technology is a Critical Game Changer to the Practice of Dental Hygiene

Abstract Dental hygienists will need to embrace 21st century technology to adapt to workplace settings. Background and Purpose To stay relevant in the workforce, dental hygienists need mastery of new skills and technologies. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the vast array of technological advances impacting dental practice and the consequent implications for oral health care providers. Critical Analysis New technologies have provided unparalleled opportunities for degree and career advancement for dental hygienists. Advances in science and technology are providing patients with better quality and more convenient oral health care. Dental hygienists need technological skills that enable them to fully utilize technology as a strategy for consultation with dentists and other health care professionals and for other purposes. Continuing education and life-long learning factor into preparing dental hygienists for 21st century technologies. Conclusion With technological advances, less adaptive professionals could potentially see a decrease in demand for their services. Possessing a high level of knowledge of dentistry and dental hygiene does not ensure a position in the workforce. Knowledge of technologies and associated skills are required for quality patient care and career and personal growth.
Ceruloplasmin Alters the Tissue Disposition and Neurotoxicity of Manganese, but not its Loading onto Transferrin

Manganese (Mn) is a redox-active element, and whereas its uptake, disposition, and toxicity in mammals may depend in part on its oxidation state, the proteins affecting manganese oxidation state and speciation in vivo are not well known. Studies have suggested that the oxidase protein ceruloplasmin (Cp) mediates iron and manganese oxidation and loading onto plasma transferrin (Tf), as well as cellular iron efflux. We hypothesized that ceruloplasmin may also affect the tissue distribution and eventual neurotoxicity of manganese. To test this, aceruloplasminemic versus wild-type mice were treated with a single i.p. (54)Mn tracer dose, or elevated levels of manganese subchronically (0, 7.5, or 15 mg Mn/kg s.c., three doses per week for 4 weeks), and evaluated for transferrin-bound manganese, blood manganese partitioning, tissue manganese disposition, and levels of brain glutathione, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and protein carbonyls as measures of oxidative stress, and open arena activity. Results show that ceruloplasmin does not play a role in the loading of manganese onto plasma transferrin in vivo, or in the partitioning of manganese between the plasma and cellular fractions of whole blood. Ceruloplasmin did, however, affect the retention of manganese in blood and its distribution to tissues, most notably kidney and to a lesser extent brain and lung. Results also indicate that ceruloplasmin interacted with chronic elevated manganese exposures to produce greater levels of brain oxidative stress. These results provide evidence that metal oxidase proteins play an important role in altering neurotoxicity arising from elevated manganese exposures.
The Average Cost Optimality Equation and Critical Number Policies

We consider a Markov decision chain with countable state space, finite action sets, and nonnegative costs. Conditions for the average cost optimality inequality to be an equality are derived. This extends work of Cavazos-Cadena [8]. It is shown that an optimal stationary policy must satisfy the optimality equation at all positive recurrent states. Structural results on the chain induced by an optimal stationary policy are derived. The results are employed in two examples to prove that any optimal stationary policy must be of critical number form.
Signal detection in sparse multipath channels

In this paper, we revisit the problem of signal detection in multipath environments. Existing results implicitly assume a rich multipath environment. Our work is motivated by physical arguments and recent experimental results that suggest physical channels encountered in practice exhibit a sparse structure, especially at high signal space dimension (i.e., large time-bandwidth product). We first present a model for sparse channels that quantifies the independent degrees of freedom (DoF) in the channel as a function of the physical propagation environment and signal space dimension. The number of DoF represents the delay-Doppler diversity afforded by the channel and, thus, critically impacts detection performance. Our focus is on two types of non-coherent detectors: the energy detector (ED) and the optimal non-coherent detector (ONCD) that assumes full knowledge of channel statistics. Results show, for a uniform distribution of paths in delay and Doppler, the channel exhibits a rich structure at low signal space dimension and then gets progressively sparser as this dimension is increased. Consequently, the performance of the detectors is identical in the rich regime. As the signal space dimension is increased and the channel becomes sparser, the ED suffers significant degradation in performance relative to the ONCD. Finally, our results show the existence of an optimal signal space dimension — one that yields the best detection performance — as a function of the physical channel characteristics and the operating signal to noise ratio (SNR).
Establish a globally consistent order of discrete events in distributed robotic systems

A fully distributed algorithm that established a globally consistent order of discrete events in a distributed robotic system (DRS) is presented. It is assumed that discrete events can be consistently identified, but robots may have inconsistent opinions on the chronological order of them. The execution of the algorithm on a robot consists of three conceptually concurrent tasks, of which two are based on distributed mutual exclusion (DME). >
Apigenin blocks IKKα activation and suppresses prostate cancer progression

// Sanjeev Shukla 1, 2 , Rajnee Kanwal 1, 2 , Eswar Shankar 1, 2 , Manish Datt 3 , Mark R. Chance 3 , Pingfu Fu 4 , Gregory T. MacLennan 5 , Sanjay Gupta 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 1 Department of Urology, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 2 The Urology Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 3 Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 4 Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 5 Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 6 Department of Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University & University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 7 Divison of General Medical Sciences, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA 8 Department of Urology, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA Correspondence to: Sanjay Gupta, e-mail: sanjay.gupta@case.edu Keywords: prostate cancer, apigenin, NF-ĸB signaling, therapeutic target, cell cycle Received: May 19, 2015 Accepted: August 24, 2015 Published: September 05, 2015 ABSTRACT IKKα has been implicated as a key regulator of oncogenesis and driver of the metastatic process; therefore is regarded as a promising therapeutic target in anticancer drug development. In spite of the progress made in the development of IKK inhibitors, no potent IKKα inhibitor(s) have been identified. Our multistep approach of molecular modeling and direct binding has led to the identification of plant flavone apigenin as a specific IKKα inhibitor. Here we report apigenin, in micro molar range, inhibits IKKα kinase activity, demonstrates anti-proliferative and anti-invasive activities in functional cell based assays and exhibits anticancer efficacy in experimental tumor model. We found that apigenin directly binds with IKKα, attenuates IKKα kinase activity and suppresses NF-ĸB/p65 activation in human prostate cancer PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells much more effectively than IKK inhibitor, PS1145. We also showed that apigenin caused cell cycle arrest similar to knockdown of IKKα in prostate cancer cells. Studies in xenograft mouse model indicate that apigenin feeding suppresses tumor growth, lowers proliferation and enhances apoptosis. These effects correlated with inhibition of p -IKKα, NF-ĸB/p65, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and increase in cleaved caspase 3 expression in a dose-dependent manner. Overall, our results suggest that inhibition of cell proliferation, invasiveness and decrease in tumor growth by apigenin are mediated by its ability to suppress IKKα and downstream targets affecting NF-ĸB signaling pathways.
EzGraphics: Python graphics for the classroom

This paper introduces a new Python graphics module that can be used in the classroom to help illustrate and reinforce basic programming concepts and basic algorithm development. The EzGraphics module provides tools for creating either simple graphical programs that consist of basic geometric shapes and text or basic image processing programs. The module, which has been used successfully in both CS1 and CS2 courses, encapsulates the basic features of Python's standard graphics module and hides the messy details typically required of GUI applications.
Games in schools: teachers’ perceptions of barriers to game-based learning

The purpose of this study is to explore inhibiting factors teachers in the United States have personally encountered or perceived in using games for instruction, and how teacher perceptions of barriers are influenced by their gender, teaching level and experience of using games for instruction. Four factors have been found to hinder teachers’ use of games in the classroom: challenges of implementing games effectively, challenges with using technology, current educational system, and challenges with obtaining games. Male teachers, more than female teachers, regarded challenges of implementing games effectively as a serious barrier, whereas female teachers perceived challenges with using technology and obtaining games as a more serious barrier. Middle/intermediate and high school teachers believed challenges of implementing games effectively to be a more serious barrier than primary school teachers, while primary school and middle/intermediate school teachers viewed challenges with obtaining games as a more inhibiting barrier than senior high school teachers. Teachers who have used games for teaching, more so than teachers who have not used games for teaching, thought that use of games is less hindered by challenges of implementing games effectively and current educational system.
Effect of Lighting and Moving Age on Performance of Leghorn Pullets

Abstract The age at which sexual maturity occurs in layers can affect flock performance, egg size, and flock income. In this study, Hy-Line W-36 pullets were moved to the lay house and light stimulated at 126, 136 or 146 days of age. Egg production, egg size and egg shell quality were measured for twelve 28-day periods starting at 126 days of age. The age at 50% production was delayed significantly by the two latter lighting ages, but no statistically significant differences could be shown in eggs per hen houses, average egg weight, egg mass per hen, or egg valued per hen housed. Eggs per hen housed, percent hen-day production and egg mass per hen were negatively correlated with age at 50% egg production. These results suggest that light stimulation at 126 days of age was the most profitable alternative of those studied with this strain.
Experimental study of soil-structure interaction at an accelerograph station

Forced harmonic vibration tests, using eccentric mass shakers, were conducted at the Jenkinsville, South Carolina, accelerograph station to determine the effect of soil-structure interaction on the motions recorded during four small magnitude earthquakes. The station consisted of a 4′ × 4′ × 2′ concrete pad that was embedded in a stiff clayey to medium sandy silt with a shear-wave velocity estimated at 500 fps. A five-foot-high wooden hut was attached to the pad and provided shelter to the SMA-1 accelerograph, which was bolted directly to the pad. The real parts of complex foundation impedance functions, which were obtained by solving the equations of motion for the vibration tests, were generally similar to the theoretical impedance functions for an embedded rectangular foundation. However, the imaginary parts, which are a measure of the foundation damping, were closer to the theoretical prediction for a surface foundation. The tests also showed that the soil-pad-hut system had two strongly coupled translational and rocking modes of vibration in the frequency range of 1 to 60 Hz. The first mode occurred at approximately 11 Hz (N40°W direction) and 17 Hz (N50°E direction) and involved mostly the response of the hut, while the second mode occurred at approximately 50 Hz in both directions and involved mostly the response of the concrete pad. Approximate transfer functions between the motions recorded at the station during the earthquakes and the free-field motions were computed from the experimental data. These functions showed significant amplification in the frequency band 20 to 50 Hz with a maximum amplification of 3 occurring at 50 Hz. Some measurable amplification also was observed at the fundamental natural frequencies in both directions. Calculations based on the transfer functions indicated that the average response spectra of the recorded earthquake motions were amplified by an average of about 30 per cent for frequencies greater than 15 Hz. These results suggest that careful attention must be given to the design of accelerograph stations if they are to record true ground motions over a wide frequency range.
Impact of the Environment: How Does Attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution Influence the Engagement of Baccalaureate-Seeking Latina/o Students?

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) enroll the majority of Latina/o students in higher education; however, it is unclear how HSIs influence Latina/os’ postsecondary experiences. In this study, we ...
Warsaw Rising: The Warsaw Stock Exchange a Successful Model for Transition Economies

Stock market exchanges in transition economies typically fail. The failure is, in part, due to weak or non-existing securities laws in the transition economy. The Warsaw Stock Exchange is the exception. The Warsaw Stock Exchange serves as a successful model for newly created stock exchanges in transition economies. The Polish Government implemented strong securities laws to attract foreign investors. Poland’s strong securities laws and the Warsaw Stock Exchange listed companies’ requisite compliance with government mandated corporate governance protocols provide a sense of legal, political, and economic stability to foreign investors that are seeking to invest in developing markets.
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

It was conventional in the first two decades of the twentieth century to refer to the Westminster parliament in London as the “imperial parliament” and to refer to the monarch (both Edward VII and George V) as the king-emperor. Neither parliament nor monarch carries those titles today. Indeed, it would be an embarrassment if either of them did, for the British Empire is now gone and the idea of empire is widely discredited, not simply in countries once subject to British rule, but also in mainland Britain. Yet it was not always so. Over the previous six centuries, the English monarchy and its London-based parliament had made more than one attempt to create an empire; had won and lost territory by its own efforts; and had, on occasion, acquired elements of empire without making any conscious effort at all. So if there was ever an empire that looked both as extensive and as accidentally created as the contemporary American one might turn out to be, it was the British Empire. Accordingly, its rise and fall has much to teach us about our condition and about the possibilities and dangers that now lie before us-more to teach us than possibly any other empire.1
Abstract 5042: A CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen identify novel drug resistance genes in AML

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant hematopoietic disease and the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. Despite remarkable progress made in the therapy of AML, the mainstays of treatment have not significantly changed over the last 20 years. Technological advances have greatly accelerated genomic discovery and precision medicine holds promise to better tailor medications to AML with specific mutations. Importantly, one major obstacle to greater success with target therapy of leukemia is drug resistance. But the mechanisms underlying drug resistance in AML are poorly understood. The activating mutations of FLT3 are now recognized as the most common molecular abnormality in AML and FLT3ITD mutations are found in nearly 30% of AML patients. The poor prognosis of patients harboring FLT3 mutations renders FLT3 an obvious target of therapy. Quizartinib (AC220) is a potent and selective second-generation inhibitor of FLT3. It is in clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory FLT3ITD positive and negative AML patients and as a maintenance therapy. So far, those clinical trials have showed very promising result. However, drug resistance to AC220 has also been reported through the early clinical studies. To understand the underlying mechanisms of drug resistance to AC220, we undertook an unbiased approach with a novel CRISPR pooled library to screen new genes whose loss of function confer resistance to AC220. In our screen, we identified SPRY3 and GSK3 as positive hits and the related Wnt and FGF-Ras-ERK signaling activation as the major mechanisms to cause resistance to the FLT3 inhibitor AC220. In the next step, we will explore the detailed underlying mechanisms by which SPRY3 and GSK3 mutations lead to drug resistance to AC220. We will also confirm our findings in primary AML patient samples. Taken together, our study will provide new insight into signaling pathways that contribute to the acquired resistance in AML. The knowledge learned from this study may lead to the development of more efficient therapeutic avenues for AML. Citation Format: Jian Huang. A CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen identify novel drug resistance genes in AML. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 5042.
Language: Concepts and Conventions

Much of the language used to describe the effects of heat was developed at a time when it was thought that heat was itself an invisible and indestructible fluid-like substance. This caloric was able to flow into (or out of) a body, thereby raising (or lowering) its temperature. In addition, caloric could sometimes flow into a body without raising its temperature, as when ice melts into water of the same temperature. This water was then thought to contain a quantity of hidden, or latent, heat which must be extracted in order to re-freeze the water. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rise of the mechanical theory of heat in the mid-nineteenth century posed a number of conceptual and linguistic problems. First, should one even speak of heat flow? Remarkably, such language is still commonplace in the twenty-first century, despite the fact that almost nobody believes in the caloric theory of heat from which it was derived. Second, if heat itself is not a conserved substance, then what is the fate of the (so-called) heat which is added to a body—for example when a container of gas is heated over a fire? How much of the added heat goes into motion of the gas molecules (internal kinetic energy)? How much of it goes into changing the configuration of the molecules (internal potential energy)? How much of it goes into moving the walls of the container which confine the gas (external work)? And how much of it simply escapes into nearby bodies, heating them up? In the reading selection below, taken from the appendix to the sixth memoir of The Mechanical Theory of Heat, Clausius attempts to introduce terminology which more accurately reflect the new mechanical theory of heat. Has Clausius’ terminology stuck?
Coronal heating and the X-ray and microwave emission from M-dwarf flare stars

A current-dissipation model for coronal heating is used to study the conditions required for simultaneously generating the X-ray and microwave emission observed from M-dwarf flare stars. The hot X-ray emitting plasma is produced through Joule heating in the current sheets. The microwave emission may be either thermal cyclotron or gyrosynchrotron emission (Linsky and Gary 1983). If the current drift speed is on the order of the ion sound speed, in addition to heating, significant electron acceleration will also occur. It is shown that, under conditions required to heat the coronal plasma, the drift speed is likely to be greater than the sound speed and enough energetic electrons are accelerated to explain the microwave emission as gyrosynchrotron radiation from nonthermal electrons. The results are compared to the hard X-ray microflares observed on the sun.
Stroke and Sickle Cell Disease

Abstract Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a powerful risk factor for neurovascular and other neurological conditions due to vasculopathy, thrombus formation, and thromboembolic phenomenon. Cerebral ischemia may manifest in children as both silent cerebral infarcts and overt ischemic stroke. Transcranial Doppler has proven an important screening tool for identifying children with SCD at risk for ischemic stroke and who benefit from primary prevention with chronic transfusion or hydroxyurea therapy. Prompt diagnosis of ischemic stroke through a careful history, examination, and neuroimaging may lead to reduced morbidity and mortality through treatment with acute transfusion therapy or neurovascular intervention. Secondary stroke prevention relies on chronic transfusions, and to a lesser extent oral hydroxyurea therapy. Intracranial hemorrhage due to aneurysm rupture or transformation of a previous ischemic infarct may present with severe headache, altered mental status, or focal neurological signs and require exchange transfusion and additional surgical intervention. Finally, headaches and cognitive deficits may also occur in individuals with SCD independent of previous neurovascular complications.
Abstract IA26: Stroma-targeted immunotherapy

The tumor-associated stroma has garnered increasing attention for its role in initiating and sustaining tumor growth. Occupying up to 90% of the tumor mass, the stroma is composed of heterogeneous cell types, of which cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are preponderant. CAFs support tumor progression directly through paracrine secretion of cytokines, growth factors etc., and indirectly by mediating resistance to chemo-, radio- and immunotherapy. Additionally, therapies directed to cancer cells often fail to eradicate CAFs, which can reinstate a tumorigenic milieu and favor recurrence. CAFs express markers that distinguish them from their normal counterparts, allowing them to be selectively targeted. One such marker is fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP), a type II dipeptidyl peptidase originally isolated from CAFs in human sarcomas. FAP expression was subsequently detected on CAFs in over 90% of common epithelial cancers including colorectal, breast, pancreatic, skin and lung tumors, and is often correlated with poor prognosis. Selective ablation of FAP-positive stromal cells in a transgenic mouse model permitted immunological control of tumor growth, indicating their significant immunosuppressive function in the microenvironment. Targeting FAP-positive CAFs therefore presents an attractive strategy to augment current cancer-targeted therapies. While ‘unarmed’ FAP-specific monoclonal antibodies had no antitumor activity in humans, several groups have demonstrated the benefit of FAP-targeted vaccines or FAP-specific immunotoxins in preclinical animal models. In this presentation we will summarize current efforts to target FAP-positive CAFs with vaccines and adoptive T-cell therapy in preclinical animal models. In addition, we will review other potential immunotherapeutic targets within the tumor stroma. Citation Format: Stephen Gottschalk, Sunitha Karkala, LaTerrica Williams, Xiao-Tong Song. Stroma-targeted immunotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Breast Cancer Research: Genetics, Biology, and Clinical Applications; Oct 3-6, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2013;11(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA26.
Sodium Channel Blockers for the Treatment of Pain

Blockade of sodium channels for the treatment of pain has been validated as a successful mechanism by a number of commercial drugs. Their therapeutic use is currently limited by lack of channel or mode specificity, low potency, and by polypharmacological toxicity. Following genetic profiling of individuals with a variety of pain conditions, a clearer understanding of the link between particular channelopathies and pain has been established. The first high-definition structures of sodium channels have been utilized by medicinal chemists, and a new generation of potent and selective channel blockers is now being developed. These typically target specific sodium channels with the greatest validation as pain targets, and are designed to engage modes of inhibition, or compartment localization, aimed at delivering an improved safety profile. This chapter analyzes chemical structures disclosed in recent papers and patent applications, and compares the medicinal chemistry approaches of different organizations and the pharmacophores and chemotypes developed for specific channels’ binding sites or inhibition mechanisms. An analysis of peptidic and antibody approaches to sodium channel therapeutics is discussed, and the current progress of clinical candidates is summarized.
Children’s physical activity levels in a sports-oriented summer day camp

Physical activity engagement during childhood helps create lifelong patterns of health and fitness. Summer camps are an important domain of influence for health promotion, with over 14 million American children attending annually. No known studies have evaluated the impact of sports-focused camps on activity levels. We test the hypothesis that children attending a sports camp (STEC) spend more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to children attending general day camps. A repeated measures design used waist-worn accelerometers to measure MVPA and vigorous physical activity (VPA) among children at a sports camp in Dorchester, Massachusetts (n = 40). We compared these data with data from a similar study at five Boston-area non-sports-focused summer day camps (BSC) (n = 142), resulting in 764 total person-days analyzed. Multivariable linear regression models estimated differences in percent of accelerometer-monitored time spent in physical activity, adjusting for potential confounders and clustering of observations. STEC children spent a higher percentage of time in MVPA and VPA compared to BSC children (MVPA: 11.4%, p = .005; VPA: 2.4%, p = .023). These findings support the hypothesis that sports-focused camps can provide children with significantly more activity than general day camps. STEC children also spend a higher percent of time in MVPA than do children in a school-day national sample (NHANES). This is the first study to document that a sports-oriented camp generates more physical activity compared to a general summer camp. Our findings are relevant for public health efforts to promote physical activity and prevent chronic disease.
Marginal cost to increase soil organic carbon using no-till on U.S. cropland

Recent global agreements on greenhouse gas emission reductions have reinforced the need to develop cost-effective offset programs that can be implemented to help augment emission reductions. One approach to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions may be to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks by reducing soil disturbance by changing from conventional tillage (CT) to no tillage (NT). In this analysis, the cost to increase SOC sequestration achieved on cropland by changing from CT to NT is estimated. The marginal cost of increasing SOC is determined by the amount SOC can be increased and the difference in profit of changing from conventional to no-till. Landowner costs and profit are derived from crop enterprise budgets, county yield data, and regional crop prices. A risk factor is also used to increase the cost of no-till adoption to account for the apparent reluctance of landowners to adopt no-till. The SOC sequestration potential on corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) cropland combined is about 49.1 Tg CO2 year−1 (1 Tg = 1012 g) of which 47.6 Tg CO2 year−1 (nearly 97%) could be attained for less than $20-Mg−1 CO2 (1 Mg = 106 g). When the risk factor is included in the assessment, over 19.7 Tg CO2 year−1 could be attained for less than $20-Mg−1 CO2. The analysis demonstrates that SOC sequestration through changes from CT to NT on corn and soybean land could economically offset a portion of CO2 emissions.
Task experience influences coordinative structures and performance variables in learning a slalom ski-simulator task.

The experiment investigated the progressions of the qualitative and quantitative changes in the movement dynamics of learning the ski-simulator as a function of prior-related task experience. The focus was the differential timescales of change in the candidate collective variable, neuromuscular synergies, joint motions, and task outcome as a function of learning over 7 days of practice. Half of the novice participants revealed in day 1 a transition of in-phase to anti-phase coupling of center of mass (CoM)-platform motion whereas the remaining novices and experienced group all produced on the first trial an anti-phase CoM-platform coupling. The experienced group also had initially greater amplitude and velocity of platform motion-a performance advantage over the novice group that was reduced but not eliminated with 7 days of practice. The novice participants who had an in-phase CoM-platform coupling on the initial trials of day 1 also showed the most restricted platform motion in those trials. Prior-related practice experience differentially influenced the learning of the task as evidenced by both the qualitative organization and the quantitative motion properties of the individual degrees of freedom (dof) to meet the task demands. The findings provide further evidence to the proposition that CoM-platform coupling is a candidate collective variable in the ski-simulator task that provides organization and boundary conditions to the motions of the individual joint dof and their couplings.
Using Portfolios in a Responsibility-based Youth Development Program for Establishing Routines, Assessment and Data Collection

This article describes how one strength and conditioning youth development program implements the teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) framework with a portfolio-based system. Some scholars have noted that using portfolios helps connect assessment to instruction by promoting individualized learning for students. The purpose of this article is to share how one program is implementing TPSR by using graphic organizers that make up the portfolio system. First, the important components of TPSR, and how they guide the creation of portfolios, are described. Second, each section of a daily program format, and how a graphic organizer called the workout card guides student work in each section, is described. The workout card helps coaches capture physical activity planning, self-reflection, self-assessment, and written coach feedback. Third, a graphic organizer referred to as the zoom out is explained. This tool collects and organizes student work and coach feedback completed over an extended period o...
Ontogeny of Social Behavior

Social ontogeny is the process of becoming social. If all organisms sprang into the world Minerva-like, complete and fully equipped with adult forms and functions, social ontogeny as a discipline could not exist. If all organisms moved from conception to maturity as though every detail in their individual careers was determined from the outset by the inexorable unfolding of some grand primordial plan, it would exist as a legitimate field of inquiry, but one that held little interest for the behavioral scientist. All is not ordained, however. What makes the study of social ontogeny an absorbing and challenging field for behavioral research is the presence of ordered variability in process and outcome. Becoming social is a matter of individual history—part of the unending dialogue between the organism and its environment that is characteristic of all life processes. More than that, it is the development of competences and skills, of deficiences and aberrations, the realization of potentials whose nature can be discerned only after the fact.
Navigation Patterns from and to Social Media

With the rapid rise of social media content, the question how people navigate to and from social media becomes important in order to understand what new tools and approaches are most beneficial to allow users to discover and interact with this social media data. In this study we analyze session log data to describe navigation patterns involving these sites. Our findings suggest that there are distinct patterns of insular navigation behavior around social media, with blogs being the most transitory in the way users interact with them.
Neuroinflammation, cytokines and neuropathic pain

Many forms of neuropathic-like pain are thought to have inflammatory components. Neuro-inflammation can result secondary to nerve damage, from an immune response to an antigen located on or near the peripheral nerve or in response to a frank neuritis. These conditions have several elements in common including macrophage infiltration, increased numbers of activated T cells and up-regulation of several of the proinflammatory cytokines. The most studied neuropathic model with respect to immune activation is the chronic constriction injury (CCI) or Bennett model [1]. In the original model, four loose ligatures of chromic gut are placed around the sciatic nerve just above the knee. The ligatures are tied just tightly enough to barely constrict the nerve and importantly they reduce, but do not halt, blood flow through the epineurial vasculature. This model produces thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical allodynia and/or spontaneous pain of duration varying from one week to one month depending on the lab.
Visualization of membrane-cytoskeletal interactions during plant cytokinesis.

Publisher Summary Plant cytokinesis is a complex process that requires coordinated interactions between the cytoskeleton and the membrane-trafficking machinery. The combination of cryofixation or freeze-substitution methods with electron tomography (ET) has revealed amazing structural details of this unique cellular process. These methods have led to a wealth of information on cell plate membrane dynamics, microtubule organization, cell plate assembly matrix (CPAM) dynamics, and the distribution pattern of a number of macromolecules. This chapter focuses on the two main variables associated with these imaging techniques—sample preparation and ET of plastic sections. It also presents techniques for imaging large samples for ET such as montaged images and the assembly of serial electron tomograms. The chapter discusses different hand segmentation approaches for membranes and microtubules and strategies for the identification of macromolecules contained in reconstructed tomographic models. It also presents information on available computer programs that can be used to obtain quantitative information from tomographic models. It particularly focuses on the calculation of density, surface area, and volume of cellular structures as well as spatial relationships between organelles.
The U.S. National Sheep Improvement Program: across-flock genetic evaluations and new trait development.

The U.S. National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) began in 1987 to provide within-flock genetic evaluations for the American sheep industry. An evaluation of operating procedures and methodology for NSIP began in 1993 and has resulted in across-flock, multiple-trait EPD for three breeds: Targhee, Suffolk, and Polypay. Traits reported in the across-flock analyses included direct and maternal effects on weaning weight in all breeds, postweaning weight at 120 d in Suffolk and Polypay and at 365 d in Targhee, greasy fleece weight in Targhee and Polypay, and wool fiber diameter in Targhee. Number born per ewe lambing was also evaluated in single-trait analyses for all breeds. Genetic parameters were derived separately for each breed. Important genetic antagonisms include an unfavorable genetic correlation of .51 between fleece weight and fiber diameter in Targhee and a genetic correlation of -.55 between direct and maternal effects on weaning weight in Polypay. Estimates of genetic trends between 1987 and 1995 were consistent with perceived breed roles. In Targhee, direct and maternal effects on body weights increased, fiber diameter declined, fleece weight was maintained, and number born declined. In Suffolk, direct effects on body weight increased, but number born and maternal effects on weaning weight did not change. In Polypay, number born and maternal contributions to weaning weight increased, but direct genetic merit for body weight declined. Prospective enhancements to NSIP include methods for genetic evaluation of performance in accelerated lambing and of carcass leanness and development of breeding objectives and selection aids for various production systems.
Abstract 1641: Utilization of palliative therapies among Hispanics with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer

Background: Racial disparities in the treatment of lung cancer are well documented. However, research in disparities in palliative care is limited. Early integration of palliative care in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been proven to improve quality of life and overall survival in this subset of patients. We proposed to study the use of palliative treatments for stage IV NSCLC among Hispanic patients (pts). Methods: Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), we identified all Hispanic pts (self-reported) diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC from 2005 to 2013. Cases with incomplete data, unknown life/death status or classified as Hispanic by surname only were excluded. Hispanics were grouped based on place of origin. Pearson chi-square tests were used to estimate differences in categorical data; predictors of palliative care referral/use were determined by logistic regression analysis. Results: 10,441 pts were included. The median age was 66 years. Regarding place of origin: 15.5% of pts were from Mexico, 8% from South/Central America, 7% from Cuba, 6% from Puerto Rico, 2.4% from the Dominican Republic and 57.6% were no-otherwise specified. When all Hispanic pts were included, 3.5% received surgery, 45% radiation and 52.9% chemotherapy. Overall, 2.2% of pts received a referral for palliative pain management +/- other palliative therapies. When divided by place of origin, Dominican pts had the highest percentage of pain management referrals at 5.5% (p Citation Format: Narjust Duma, Urshila Durani, Julian Molina, Timothy J. Moynihan. Utilization of palliative therapies among Hispanics with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1641.
Automated Text Message Reminders Improve Radiation Therapy Compliance.

Purpose Protraction of radiation therapy courses can lead to lower cancer control and cancer-specific survival rates. The requirement for daily, consecutive radiation treatments coupled with the complexities of multimodality cancer care and quality assurance can occasionally lead to missed patient appointments or clinical inefficiency. To determine whether an automated text messaging (short message service [SMs]) platform could improve patient compliance with scheduled radiation therapy delivery, we created an automated SMS platform to send daily reminders of radiation therapy appointments. Methods and Materials An automated SMS text messaging program was used from July 2016 to January 2017 to deliver daily appointment time reminders to patients on an elective basis. Automated text messages were sent 2 hours before treatment appointments with appointment-specific information. We analyzed for compliance with radiation therapy appointments for patients who elected to receive SMS reminders versus those who did not. Results Multivariate analysis of >37,000 encounters involving ∼3400 patients demonstrated that of the factors considered, nonreceipt of SMS appointment reminders had a strong association with 15- to 60-minute tardiness (odds ratio [OR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-1.38; P 60-minute tardiness (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.34-1.82; P Conclusions Receipt of text messages correlates with compliance for radiation therapy appointments. Prospective randomized trials would be required to determine conclusively whether SMS is an effective intervention for improving compliance in populations at risk for being late to or missing radiation therapy appointments.
On the Tradeoffs Between Coverage Radius, Altitude, and Beamwidth for Practical UAV Deployments

Current studies on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based cellular deployment consider UAVs as aerial base stations for air-to-ground communication. However, they analyze UAV coverage radius and altitude interplay while omitting or over-simplifying an important aspect of UAV deployment, i.e., effect of a realistic antenna pattern. This paper addresses the UAV deployment problem while using a realistic three-dimensional directional antenna model. New tradeoffs between UAV design space dimensions are revealed and analyzed in different scenarios. The sensitivity of coverage area to both antenna beamwidth and height is compared. The analysis is extended to multiple UAVs and a new packing scheme is proposed for multiple UAVs coverage that offers several advantages compared to prior approaches.
Evolution of the nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) pathway is associated with decreased cytolytic immune infiltration

Abstract Background The somatic co-evolution of tumors and the cellular immune responses that combat them drives the diversity of immune-tumor interactions. This includes tumor mutations that generate neo-antigenic epitopes that elicit cytotoxic T-cell activity and subsequent pressure to select for genetic loss of antigen presentation. Most studies have focused on how tumor missense mutations can drive tumor immunity, but frameshift mutations have the potential to create far greater antigenic diversity. However, expression of this antigenic diversity is potentially regulated by Nonsense Mediated Decay (NMD) and NMD has been shown to be of variable efficiency in cancers. Methods Using TCGA datasets, we derived novel patient-level metrics of ‘NMD burden’ and interrogated how different mutation and most importantly NMD burdens influence cytolytic activity using machine learning models and survival outcomes. Results We find that NMD is a significant and independent predictor of immune cytolytic activity. Different indications exhibited varying dependence on NMD and mutation burden features. We also observed significant co-alteration of genes in the NMD pathway, with a global increase in NMD efficiency in patients with NMD co-alterations. Finally, NMD burden also stratified patient survival in multivariate regression models. Conclusions Our work suggests that beyond selecting for mutations that elicit NMD in tumor suppressors, tumor evolution may react to the selective pressure generated by inflammation to globally enhance NMD through coordinated amplification and/or mutation.
A phase I trial using patupilone (epothilone B) and concurrent radiotherapy for CNS malignancies

e14504 Background: Based on pre-clinical data indicating the radiosensitizing potential of Epothilone B, this study was designed to evaluate the toxicity and response rate of patupilone (EPO906), a...
The Path to the Rule of Law—An Overall Review of Legal Reform, Crime and the Judicial System During the Transition Era in China:

In order to understand crime and the legal system in the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.), it is necessary to understand the components of a crime and the structure of the judicial system in the...
Chapter 6 – Continuous Time Markov Chains

Publisher Summary This chapter presents several important examples of continuous time, discrete state Markov processes. Birth and death processes form a powerful tool available to the stochastic modeler. The richness of the birth and death parameters facilitates modeling a variety of phenomena. At the same time, standard methods of analysis are available for determining numerous important quantities such as stationary distributions and mean first passage times. The traditional procedure for constructing birth and death processes is to prescribe the birth and death parameters {λi, μi}i=∞ and build the path structure by utilizing the preceding description concerning the waiting times and the conditional transition probabilities of the various states. Birth and death processes in which λ0 = 0 arise frequently and are correspondingly important. For these processes, the zero state is an absorbing state. In physics, engineering, sociology, and biology, Markov processes arise whose values are subsets of a given finite set, while in sociology, the process may track the set of people-pairs having a specified relation. These processes are finite state Markov chains.
School Nurses on the Front Lines of Healthcare: Serious Infections in Students and Their Common Presenting Complaints.

School nurses occasionally deal with students presenting with serious infections associated with common chief complaints. Although rare, the implications of missing the signs and symptoms of these ...
Recent advances in the synthesis of C-terminally modified peptides

C-Terminally modified peptides are important for the development and delivery of peptide-based pharmaceuticals because they impact peptide activity, stability, hydrophobicity, and membrane permeability. Additionally, the vulnerability of C-terminal esters to cleavage by endogenous esterases makes them excellent pro-drugs. Methods for post-SPPS C-terminal functionalization potentially enable access to libraries of modified peptides, facilitating tailoring of their solubility, potency, toxicity, and uptake pathway. Apparently minor structural changes can significantly impact the binding, folding, and pharmacokinetics of the peptide. This review summarizes developments in chemical methods for C-terminal modification of peptides published since the last review on this topic in 2003.