cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Point target detection in IR image sequences based on target and clutter temporal profile modeling

In this paper, we approach the problem of point target detection in IR image sequences by modeling the temporal behavior of clutter and targets on a single pixel basis. These models, which are experimentally verified, are then used to develop a temporal likelihood ratio test and drive the corresponding decision rule. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique by applying it to real IR image sequences containing targets of opportunity and evolving cloud clutter. The physical models and resulting hypothesis testing approach could also be applicable to other image sequence processing scenarios. Using acquisition system besides IR imaging, such as detection of small moving objects or structures in a biomedical or biological imaging scenario, or the detection of satellites, meteors or other celestial bodies in night sky imagery acquired using a telescope.
A simple algorithm for solving the cable equation in dendritic trees of arbitrary geometry

We present an efficient algorithm for solving the one-dimensional cable equation in the Laplace (frequency) domain for an arbitrary linear membrane. This method, a reformulation and extension of the geometrical calculus developed by Butz and Cowan (1974), solves for the transfer impedance between any two points in a branched cable structure of arbitrary geometry (but without loops) by the repetitive application of four simple equations. Such an algorithm is used to analyze the electrical behaviour of nerve cells with highly branched dendritic trees. The algorithm can be implemented using a language such as C, PASCAL or LISP and runs on small machines.
Metabolic regulation of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase formation in bacteria

Abstract The cellular levels of several aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases vary with the rate of growth of Salmonella , typhimurium and of Escherichia , coli in different media. Over a seven-fold range in growth rate the levels of arginyl- and of valyl-tRNA synthetase change approximately 2.5-fold; leucyl-tRNA synthetase varies less. The apparent differential rate of formation of arginyl-tRNA synthetase changes to its new, rapid steady state rate immediately after cells are shifted from poor to rich media. This new aspect of synthetase control is provisionally called metabolic regulation.
Mediation in Coastal and Water Resource Disputes

AbstractThe principles of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can and should be used as the first attempt at resolving coastal zone conflicts and environmental disputes. These disputes can happen both on small and large scales—from individuals to multiple sovereign states. In the United States, formal environmental dispute resolution (EDR) programs currently exist in 24 states, but other states also have informal programs or outside mediation consultants to handle environmental disputes fairly and expeditiously. As an example of the effectiveness of an ADR framework, this paper discusses a dispute between environmental conservationists and dike construction proponents in Germany. In this conflict, the mediator established a relationship, determined the root of the conflict, and reframed the issue, resulting in a win-win outcome. In contrast, this paper demonstrates the wasteful consequences of a lack of ADR framework—a litigated dispute that went to the U.S. Supreme Court that arguably resulted in a lose...
Differential projections of ciliated and microvillous olfactory receptor cells in the catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

The primary olfactory projections of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus have been examined with postmortem tracing by using either 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate or 1,1-dilinoleyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI). Following DiI deposition into small areas in different parts of the posterior olfactory bulb, olfactory sensory neurons always were labeled throughout the olfactory epithelium. No obvious topographical mapping exists between the epithelium and olfactory bulb. The different dye placements, however, did result in labeling of different morphologies of receptor cells, depending on the site of injection. Retrogradely labeled neurons in the olfactory epithelium were classified into three types on the basis of their height: tall, intermediate, and short. Tall olfactory sensory neurons had perikarya at the bottom one-fourth of the epithelium, extended slender dendrites to the epithelial surface, and possessed numerous cilia on the apical dendritic tips. These tall olfactory sensory neurons were labeled predominantly following DiI applications to the ventral part of the posterior olfactory bulb. In contrast, the short olfactory sensory neurons had perikarya situated within the superficial half of the epithelium and with short apical dendrites bearing microvilli. These short olfactory sensory neurons projected predominantly to the dorsal, posterior olfactory bulb. Thus, short microvillous receptor cells and tall ciliated receptor cells connect to different parts of the olfactory bulb, although the receptor cells are intermingled within the olfactory epithelium. Because different parts of the olfactory bulb are thought to respond preferentially to different classes of odorants, these results suggest that receptor cell morphology may be related to odorant quality detection. In addition, to compare this study with previous in vivo studies, Fluoro-Gold was injected in vivo into either the olfactory bulb or intraperitoneally. These in vivo studies show that so-called "type II ciliar receptor cells" of the nonsensory epithelium are labeled nonselectively by blood-borne substances, but they are not labeled by postmortem injections of DiI anywhere in the olfactory bulb.
Capture Zones for Passive Wells in Heterogeneous Unconfined Aquifers

Many piezometers/wells produce at such low rates and frequency that their impact on local hydraulics is negligible, e.g. monitoring piezometers or homeowner wells installed in highly permeable soils. Defining a deterministic capture zone for such wells is often of limited utility as the capture zone is effectively a single flow line directed upgradient. In order to provide more insight into the capture zone of such wells, a statistically based capture zone, termed a “percentile capture contour” (PCC), is introduced and analyzed. The capture zone is defined by quantifying, for a given travel time, the variation of the length and orientation of the flow line emanating upgradient from the well. Capture zone variation herein depends on second-order stationary random hydraulic conductivity fields and is calculated using Monte Carlo analysis. Monte Carlo analysis yielded increases in mean travel distances as the variance and/or integral scale in log K increased, but decreases as the angle between the principal direction of the correlation structure and the regional flow increased. The average travel distance exceeded the travel distance estimated by a homogeneous solution using the geometric mean hydraulic conductivity. Transverse variation depended both on the variance and integral scale of log K, but was insensitive to the orientation of the principal correlation direction. The mean orientation of the flow path varied with the principal direction of the correlation structure, deviating up to 20° from the orientation of the hydraulic gradient. These observations are consistent with flow following preferential pathways and indicate that significant uncertainty exists for source prediction of water feeding passive wells.
Effect of nuclear polyhedrosis virus infection in Spodoptera ornithogalli larvae on post larval stages and dissemination by adults.

Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) infection in fourth-instar yellow striped armyworm, Spodoptera ornithogalli (SoNPV), larvae had little effect on individuals that survived to post larval stages. Pupal mortality, pupal sex ratio, days in the pupal and adult stages, and egg fertility were not altered by the disease. Fecundity, however, was significantly reduced in moths that had survived the viral disease as larvae (P < 0.05). Survivors did not transmit the disease to progeny, but when the virus was applied to the body surface of females by any of several methods the disease was spread to progeny in the laboratory and in field-caged soybean. Transmission by contaminated females in oviposition cages in the laboratory differed by the method of contamination. Mortality in progeny was highest (77.3%) when moths were wetted with 0.005% sodium dodecyl sulfate and dusted with 1010 polyhedral inclusion bodies per gram of SoNPV. Mortality of progeny decreased as the time moths were held in the oviposition cage increased and with moth activity prior to placing them in the oviposition cage. Viral infection was much lower in progeny on field-caged soybean with the mean mortality from SoNPV varying with the method of moth contamination from 3.3 to 19.6%.
The Pitfalls of Politicization: A Response to Conrad's “The Discovery of Hyperkinesis: Notes on the Medicalization of Deviant Behavior”

We present a critical analysis of Peter Conrad's “The discovery of hyperkinesis; Notes on the medicalization of deviant behavior” and compare medical and sociopolitical models of social deviance. After examining the dangers of medicalizing problems we discuss the risks and implications of de medicalization. The fallacies of dichtomous logic are illustrated. We question the assumption that social scientists must choose between individual-centered and society-centered perspectives, and emphasize the need for models that focus on person-by-situation interactions.
Constraint-induced movement therapy: from history to plasticity

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a rehabilitative strategy applied primarily to the post-stroke population to increase the functional use of the neurologically weaker upper extremity through massed practice, while restraining the lesser involved upper extremity. Although recent Cochrane reviews have reported success with CIMT, this therapeutic technique is difficult to deliver because it requires proper allocation of resources by both clinicians and patients. Therefore, identifying those individuals who benefit most from the intervention is essential. Since most studies include heterogeneous populations, the effect of the intervention for certain subgroups could be masked. Therefore, understanding the possible neuropredictors of recovery can help target the appropriate populations. This special report briefly presents the history of CIMT and its underpinnings in the psychology literature; however, the focus is on brain plasticity with an emphasis on the importance of the type and location of stroke and how this factor might influence outcomes following CIMT.
Evolution of sarcoid granulomas of the retina.

Abstract PURPOSE: To report a case of a young woman with a history of sarcoidosis who developed retinal granulomas. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 33-year old woman with history of sarcoidosis with involvement of the central nervous system, confirmed by skin biopsy, bronchoscopy, and neuroimaging, presented with visual loss and was found to have choroidal and optic nerve granulomas in the left eye, and subsequently developed retinal granulomas in the left eye. CONCLUSION: Retinal granuloma is a rare manifestation of sarcoidosis.
Effect of pruning severity and timing of treatment on epicormic sprout development in giant sequoia

Summary Giant sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) Buchh.) trees were pruned monthly over a 12-month period to assess the effects of timing of pruning operations on epicormic sprout development. Trees were pruned to three pruning heights in each month. Periodic counts of total sprouts and measurement of the length of the longest sprout were used to assess sprout development following pruning. Sprouting was initially delayed following pruning during growing season months as compared with non-growing season months. Six years after study initiation, greater numbers of sprouts and larger maximum branch lengths were found from pruning outside the May through September growing season. These differences were most pronounced in the fi rst years following treatment but differences diminished markedly after 6 years. However, a logistic model to predict the probability of sprouting indicates that pruning severity was a much more signifi cant explanatory variable than season of pruning. Seasonal differences in epicormic sprout development may be temporary and are of less importance in affecting sprout development than pruning severity. Epicormic sprouts also occurred with greater frequency on the south or exposed side of pruned tree boles.
Preeclampsia: Linking Placental Ischemia with Cardiovascular-Renal Dysfunction

Placental ischemia during preeclampsia is thought to lead to widespread activation/dysfunction of the maternal vascular endothelium. This results in enhanced formation of endothelin and thromboxane and decreased formation of nitric oxide and prostacyclin. These endothelial abnormalities, in turn, cause hypertension by impairing renal pressure natriuresis and increasing total peripheral resistance.
Evidence that glucose is not always an inhibitor of mouse preimplantation development in vitro

A factorial experimental design was used to examine the effects of 16 combinations of four concentrations of glucose (0.20, 0.60, 1.8, 5.4 mmol/l) and four concentrations of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH(2)PO(4); 0.05, 0.15, 0.45, 1.35 mmol/l) on the development in vitro of outbred CF1 mouse zygotes. Three responses were measured: (i) the number of zona-enclosed blastocysts; (ii) the number of blastocysts that started to hatch; and (iii) the total cell counts in the blastocysts. General linear modelling was used to estimate the most parsimonious two-dimensional concentration-response surfaces that represent the three responses to the different concentrations of glucose and KH(2)PO(4). There were no significant interactions between the effects of glucose and KH(2)PO(4) in all cases. Thus, the effects of glucose and phosphate are independent. No significant effects of glucose on blastocyst formation and the initiation of hatching were observed. Increasing the concentration of KH(2)PO(4) inhibited slightly (</=20%) the development of zygotes into blastocysts and the initiation of hatching. The slight inhibitory effects of KH(2)PO(4) appeared to be due to the inhibition of the development of a few sensitive embryos. No significant effects of glucose and KH(2)PO(4) were observed on the total cell counts.
Acquired Immunity to Human Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis: Cross-Challenge of Chimpanzees with Three Infectious Human Sera

Chimpanzees that had recovered from non-A, non-B hepatitis transmitted by inoculation of serum from each of three chronically infected humans were challenged by inoculation with a second of the three infectious sera to determine whether recovery from infection caused by one serum afforded protection against later infection by another. None of the challenge inoculations caused recognizable non-A, non-B hepatitis in any of the chimpanzees, a finding suggesting that either one agent or several agents sharing a common or similar antigen were responsible for the original non-A, non-B hepatitis in fections in these chimpanzees. Although circumstantial evidence in the literature suggests the existence of more than one agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis, the fact that the three inocula were obtained from humans residing in different geographic areas of the eastern United States suggests that one agent or a group of related agents may be the cause of many cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis in the United States.
Student award‐winning papers. Sponsored by SIG ED.

Winners of the three student award competitions will be invited to present their work to the ASIST audience. They include winners of the Pratt-Severn Best Student Research Paper Award, the ISI Doctoral Dissertation Scholarship, and the UMI Doctoral Dissertation Award.
B lymphocyte lineage specification, commitment and epigenetic control of transcription by early B cell factor 1.

Early B cell factor 1 (EBF1) is a transcription factor that is critical for both B lymphopoiesis and B cell function. EBF1 is a requisite component of the B lymphocyte transcriptional network and is essential for B lineage specification. Recent studies revealed roles for EBF1 in B cell commitment. EBF1 binds its target genes via a DNA-binding domain including a unique ‘zinc knuckle’, which mediates a novel mode of DNA recognition. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of EBF1 in pro-B cells defined hundreds of new, as well as previously identified, target genes. Notably, expression of the pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR), BCR and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways is controlled by EBF1. In this review, we highlight these current developments and explore how EBF1 functions as a tissue-specific regulator of chromatin structure at B cell-specific genes.
The Value of Culinary Education: Evaluating Educational Costs, Job Placement Outcomes, and Satisfaction With Value of Associate Degree Culinary and Baking Arts Program Graduates

The cost of an associate degree in culinary or baking and pastry arts varies significantly depending on whether the program is housed in a public, private for-profit, or nonprofit institution. Rising tuition and student debt and new federal regulations concerning “gainful employment” have focused debate on the costs and value of education. This exploratory study surveyed chefs with associate degrees regarding the cost of and methods of paying for the program, first place of employment, job title, and salary, current salary, and satisfaction with the value of their education. The results showed that graduates of private for-profit schools were significantly less satisfied than those of public and private nonprofit programs.
Protein destruction: adapting roles for Cks proteins.

Abstract Cks1, a subunit of cyclin-dependent kinases, has now been identified as an essential cofactor in the ubiquitination of the Cdk inhibitor p27 by the SCF Skp2 ubiquitin ligase. This activity, which can be independent of Cdk binding, links Cks to positive growth control pathways regulating the G1/S transition and to cancer.
Objective Structured Clinical Examinations Provide Valid Clinical Skills Assessment in Emergency Medicine Education

Introduction: Evaluation of emergency medicine (EM) learners based on observed performance in the emergency department (ED) is limited by factors such as reproducibility and patient safety. EM educators depend on standardized and reproducible assessments such as the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The validity of the OSCE as an evaluation tool in EM education has not been previously studied. The objective was to assess the validity of a novel management-focused OSCE as an evaluation instrument in EM education through demonstration of performance correlation with established assessment methods and case item analysis. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of fourth-year medical students enrolled in a required EM clerkship. Students enrolled in the clerkship completed a five-station EM OSCE. We used Pearson’s coefficient to correlate OSCE performance with performance in the ED based on completed faculty evaluations. Indices of difficulty and discrimination were computed for each scoring item. Results: We found a moderate and statistically-significant correlation between OSCE score and ED performance score [r(239) =0.40, p<0.001]. Of the 34 OSCE testing items the mean index of difficulty was 63.0 (SD =23.0) and the mean index of discrimination was 0.52 (SD =0.21). Conclusion: Student performance on the OSCE correlated with their observed performance in the ED, and indices of difficulty and differentiation demonstrated alignment with published best-practice testing standards. This evidence, along with other attributes of the OSCE, attest to its validity. Our OSCE can be further improved by modifying testing items that performed poorly and by examining and maximizing the inter-rater reliability of our evaluation instrument. [West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(1):–0.]
Acute alcohol intoxication increases REDD1 in skeletal muscle.

Background: The mechanism by which acute alcohol (EtOH) intoxication decreases basal muscle protein synthesis via inhibition of the Ser/Thr kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is poorly defined. In this regard, mTOR activity is impaired after over expression of the regulatory protein REDD1. Hence, the present study assessed the ability of REDD1 as a potential mediator of the EtOH-induced decrease in muscle protein synthesis. Methods: The effect of acute EtOH intoxication on REDD1 mRNA and protein was determined in striated muscle of rats and mouse myocytes using an RNase protection assay and Western blotting, respectively. Other components of the mTOR signaling pathway were also assessed by immunoblotting. For comparison, REDD1 mRNA/protein was also determined in the muscle of rats chronically fed an alcohol-containing diet for 14 weeks. Results: Intraperitoneal (IP) injection of EtOH increased gastrocnemius REDD1 mRNA in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and these changes were associated with reciprocal decreases in the phosphorylation of 4E-BP1, which is a surrogate marker for mTOR activity and protein synthesis. No change in REDD1 mRNA was detected in the slow-twitch soleus muscle or heart. Acute EtOH produced comparable increases in muscle REDD1 protein. The EtOH-induced increase in gastrocnemius REDD1 was independent of the route of EtOH administration (oral vs. IP), the nutritional state (fed vs. fasted), gender, and age of the rat. The nonmetabolizable alcohol tert-butanol increased REDD1 and the EtOH-induced increase in REDD1 was not prevented by pretreatment with the alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor 4-methylpyrazole. In contrast, REDD1 mRNA and protein were not increased in the isolated hindlimb perfused with EtOH or in C2C12 myocytes incubated with EtOH, under conditions previously reported to decrease protein synthesis. Pretreatment with the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486 failed to prevent the EtOH-induced increase in REDD1. Finally, the EtOH-induced increase in REDD1 was not associated with altered formation of the TSC1•TSC2 complex or the phosphorylation of TSC2 which is down stream in the REDD1 stress response pathway. In contradistinction to the changes observed with acute EtOH intoxication, REDD1 mRNA/protein was not changed in gastrocnemius from chronic alcohol-fed rats despite the reduction in 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. Conclusions: These data indicate that in fast-twitch skeletal muscle (i) REDD1 mRNA/protein is increased in vivo by acute EtOH intoxication but not in response to chronic alcohol feeding, (ii) elevated REDD1 in response to acute EtOH appears due to the production of an unknown secondary mediator which is not corticosterone, and (iii) the EtOH-induced decrease in protein synthesis can be dissociated from a change in REDD1 suggesting that the induction of this protein is not responsible for the rapid decrease in protein synthesis after acute EtOH administration or for the development of alcoholic myopathy in rats fed an alcohol-containing diet.
Creation and Validation of the Ohio Youth Assessment System (OYAS) and Strategies for Successful Implementation

As Ohio began to address the gaps in delivering effective juvenile justice programming in the state, it recognized that a statewide risk assessment system was needed. The Department of Youth Services (DYS) explored its options and determined that the best course of action was to develop a risk assessment prospectively to address the needs of youth across multiple stages of the juvenile justice system. DYS partnered with the University of Cincinnati Center for Criminal Justice Research (CCJR) to develop the Ohio Youth Assessment System (OYAS). The OYAS contains five tools: a diversion tool, a detention tool, a disposition tool, a residential tool, and a reentry tool. Each tool is used at the appropriate stage to assess the criminogenic needs of the youth at that stage and to help guide decisions for appropriate interventions. Results from receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis ranged from area under the curve (AUC) values of .611 on the diversion tool to .721 on the reentry tool, suggesting that...
A Comparison of Discriminant Analysis and Logistic Regression

Logistic regression has emerged as a robust alternative to discriminant analysis. This paper compares both statistical procedures in terms of model specification, assessment of fit, and interpretation. Although both statistics performed well as classification techniques, the logistic regression model was more parsimonious and easier to interpret. The author concludes that when choosing between these two statistics, social work researchers should consider: (1) the purpose of the analysis (classification or description); (2) the characteristics of the sample; and (3) the tenability of assumptions.
Canis latrans (Coyote) Habitat Use and Feeding Habits in Central West Virginia

Canis latrans (Coyote) populations are expanding throughout the eastern United States, making them the apex predator in many systems. Despite abundant research in the western United States, relatively little information exists on the space use or feeding patterns of Coyotes in the forested landscapes of the Appalachians. We used radio-telemetry and scat analysis to describe seasonal habitat use and feeding patterns of Coyotes in central West Virginia during 2006–2008. Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) was the most common prey, occurring in 76% of scats collected in winter and 45% of scats collected in summer. Rodents were the most common prey item in summer, occurring in 48% of scats; other prey items occurred in <20% of scats. Coyotes selected for recently harvested forest stands while avoiding intact stands in both summer and winter. Despite exhibiting seasonal prey-switching behavior, Coyotes in this region do not alter habitat-use patterns with respect to season. Coyotes in our study seem to be opportunistic feeders that prefer areas with abundant cover. Their opportunistic feeding patterns may contribute to their rapid population expansion in this region.
Expression of Novel Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Genes in Control and Alzheimer’s Disease Brains

Late onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) etiology is influenced by complex interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors. Large-scale genome wide association studies (GWAS) for LOAD have identified 10 novel risk genes: ABCA7, BIN1, CD2AP, CD33, CLU, CR1, EPHA1, MS4A6A, MS4A6E, and PICALM. We sought to measure the influence of GWAS single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and gene expression levels on clinical and pathological measures of AD in brain tissue from the parietal lobe of AD cases and age-matched, cognitively normal controls. We found that ABCA7, CD33, and CR1 expression levels were associated with clinical dementia rating (CDR), with higher expression being associated with more advanced cognitive decline. BIN1 expression levels were associated with disease progression, where higher expression was associated with a delayed age at onset. CD33, CLU, and CR1 expression levels were associated with disease status, where elevated expression levels were associated with AD. Additionally, MS4A6A expression levels were associated with Braak tangle and Braak plaque scores, with elevated expression levels being associated with more advanced brain pathology. We failed to detect an association between GWAS SNPs and gene expression levels in our brain series. The minor allele of rs3764650 in ABCA7 is associated with age at onset and disease duration, and the minor allele of rs670139 in MS4A6E was associated with Braak tangle and Braak plaque score. These findings suggest that expression of some GWAS genes, namely ABCA7, BIN1, CD33, CLU, CR1 and the MS4A family, are altered in AD brains.
Influence of the Mississippi River plume and non-bioavailable DMSP on dissolved DMSP turnover in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Environmental context Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) comprises an important fraction of the organic carbon produced by phytoplankton, and is a major source of carbon and sulfur for heterotrophic bacteria. Here, we show that a non-bioavailable fraction of DMSP recently discovered in coastal waters also exists in oligotrophic open-ocean waters. Taking account of the non-bioavailable pool improved estimates of cycling rates of DMSP and its contribution to bacterial nutrition. Abstract Microbial cycling of dissolved dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPd) and the fate of DMSP-sulfur were measured in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast in September 2011 using the tracer 35S-DMSPd. Salinity ranged from 31.2ppt in the Mississippi River plume to 36.5ppt offshore. Total DMSP concentrations were significantly higher at the river-influenced stations (12–27nM) than offshore (6–14nM). From 8.7 to 27% of the measured DMSPd, equivalent to 0.1 to 0.23nM, was refractory (i.e. non-bioavailable). We subtracted refractory DMSPd from the measured DMSPd concentrations when calculating DMSPd consumption rates with the tracer 35S-DMSPd. DMSPd consumption and bacterial production were respectively 8 and 7 times higher in the river plume compared with offshore. Incorporation of DMSP-sulfur into biomass was almost three times higher in river-influenced water, whereas the dimethylsulfide (DMS) yield was 3.5 times lower in the river plume compared with offshore. Accordingly, DMSP contributed over 3 times more to the bacterial demand for both carbon and sulfur in the river-influenced water. Despite lower DMS yields in the river plume, the fast DMSP turnover resulted in a 2.7-times higher DMS production compared with offshore waters. Mississippi River inputs and the resulting high productivity led to a rapid turnover of DMSP and high DMS production in the river plume compared with oligotrophic Gulf of Mexico waters. Failure to account for refractory DMSPd when using the 35S-DMSP method will lead to significant overestimation of the DMSPd turnover flux and its contributions to C and S cycling.
Continuous audit: Model development and implementation within a debt covenant compliance domain

Abstract Because of technological advances and the current audit environment, there is a growing interest in the concept of continuous audit. Conceptually, a continuous audit is an assurance service where the time between the occurrence of events underlying a particular subject matter and the issuance of an auditor's opinion on the fairness of a client's representation of the subject matter is eliminated. A continuous audit is the natural evolution of the integration of technology into the auditing domain. Although the concepts of continuous auditing are now more than a decade old, only recently have technologies emerged that are both widely available and affordable, making implementation of the continuous audit feasible. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants have together called on the research community to investigate the concept of continuous auditing and its implementation in various audit domains. In response to this call, we develop a conceptual model of a continuous audit, and, as proof of concept, we design and demonstrate an implementation of continuous audit within the debt covenant compliance domain. The demonstrated Web application uses digital agents and alarm triggers sent over the Internet to continuously monitor whether actual values of a client's variables are in compliance with standards for these variables set out in the debt covenant agreement.
Down Syndrome and Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Down Syndrome (DS) children have a 10- to 20-fold increase in both acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.1, 2 Prior studies with conventional dose regimens have shown that the outcome for DS children with AML is same as those without DS.3
Theory of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering in Semiconductors

We develop an analytical expression for the lowest order nonzero contribution to the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum from a system composed of a molecule adsorbed on a semiconductor nanoparticle. We consider a combined molecule-semiconductor system and include Herzberg–Teller vibronic coupling of the zero-order Born–Oppenheimer states. This follows a previous derivation for metallic SERS, but instead of a Fermi level, the semiconductor system involves a band gap and we find that the SERS enhancement is maximized at either the conduction or valence band edge. The resulting expression may be regarded as an extension of the Albrecht A-, B-, and C-terms and show that the SERS enhancement is caused by several resonances in the combined system, namely, surface plasmon, exciton, charge-transfer, and molecular resonances. These resonances are coupled by terms in the numerator, which provide strict selection rules that enable us to test the theory and predict the relative intensities of the Raman lines. Furthermor...
Research and Progress about Anthocyanins of Purple-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes

Purple fleshed sweet potatoes are ant hocyanin rich foods. Anthocyanin pigments of purple fleshed sweet potatoes show functions of anti oxidation and antimutagenicity, they also can prevent carbon tetrachloride induced acute liver dam age in t he rat and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The advantages and disadvantages of extracting methods such as organic solvent method and microwave and ultrasonic and the best technological parameter are summarized in this paper, and the results showed that microwave method are the best way according to the productivity.
Joint information from nonlinear and linear features for spoofing detection: An i-vector/DNN based approach

Sustaining automatic speaker verification(ASV) systems from spoofing attacks remains an essential challenge, even if significant progress in ASV has been achieved in recent years. In this study, an automatic spoofing detection approach using an i-vector framework is proposed. Two approaches are used for frame-level feature extraction: cepstral-based Perceptual Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (PMVDR), and non-linear speech-production-motivated Teager Energy Operator (TEO) Critical Band (CB) Autocorrelation Envelope (Auto-Env). An utterance-level i-vector for each recording is formed by concatenating PMVDR and TEO-CB-Auto-Envi-vectors, followed by linear discriminative analysis (LDA) for maximizing the ratio of between-class to within-class scatterings. A Gaussian classifier and DNN are also investigated for back-end scoring. Experiments using the ASVspoof 2015 corpus show that our proposed method successfully detects spoofing attacks. By combining the TEO-CB-Auto-Env and PMVDR features, a relative 76.7% improvement in terms of EER is obtained compared with the best single-feature system.
Peroxisomal β-ketothiolase

Abstract β-Ketothiolase was found in rat liver peroxisomes that were isolated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The presence of dithiothreitol was essential for measuring the peroxisomal thiolase, but dithiothreitol had little effect upon the thiolase activity in the mitochondria or cytosol. Dithiothreitol was not used during the isolation procedures. Acetoacetyl CoA and β-ketolauryl CoA, which was synthesized chemically, were used as substrates. The peroxisomal thiolase was active with β-ketolauryl CoA but had almost no activity with acetoacetyl CoA as the substrate. Thiolase activities in the mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions utilized both long- and short-chain substrates. The thiolases in the various fractions bound to and were purified by chromatography on calcium phosphate gel cellulose columns. The peroxisomal thiolase did not bind to phosphocellulose, whereas the mitochondrial and cytosolic activities could be chromatographed on phosphocellulose. Peroxisomal β-ketolauryl CoA thiolase activity was inhibited about 20% by 25 m m Mg 2+ , and more activity was measured in a phosphate than in a Tris buffer. In control rat livers, the total activity of β-ketolauryl CoA thiolase was 3.4 μmol/min per gram of liver in the peroxisomes and 4.9 μmol/min per gram of liver in the mitochondria, which indicates that peroxisomes contain the capacity for 40% of the total thiolase activity associated with β-oxidation systems. In addition, 6.3 μmol/min per gram of liver of β-ketolauryl CoA thiolase was found in the soluble fraction and chromatographed differently from the peroxisomal enzyme on phosphocellulose. Clofibrate in the rat diet for 6 or 21 days resulted in about a 15-fold increase in peroxisomal thiolase when assayed with β-ketolauryl CoA and somewhat less of an increase in the other fractions.
NEW DIRECTIONS IN ASTHMA DRUG THERAPY

A new generation of biologically informative treatments has altered our understanding of the disease--transforming what used to be viewed as a single entity into a family of airway disorders driven by different proinflammatory mediators. Although inhaled corticosteroids have been the treatment of choice for most patients, research is increasingly aimed at developing inhibitors targeted to specific effector systems.
Taking Disclosure Seriously

Step into any conversation about campaign finance regulation in 2016, and you’re likely to encounter the view that while the Supreme Court is well on its way to dismantling most of the legal framework that has governed money in elections for nearly forty years, disclosure requirements remain on secure constitutional footing. For many advocates of campaign finance regulation, this is a rare source of comfort in a landscape that is otherwise relentlessly bleak. But it is a decidedly second-best alternative to more robust modes of regulation. I hope in this short piece to strike a cautionary note: to suggest that, for too long, advocates of campaign finance regulation have both taken disclosure for granted and failed to take disclosure sufficiently seriously. This is understandable; until recently, disclosure questions nearly always arose in the context of challenges to other campaign finance regulations, and disclosure has invariably been treated, by both courts and advocates, as something of an afterthought. But in a dramatically shrunken regulatory landscape, there is an increasingly urgent need to develop a stronger and more fully realized set of arguments for the constitutionality of disclosure — not only with an eye to potentially expanding existing disclosure requirements, but also in order to strengthen the constitutional foundations of the existing disclosure regime.
Policy Narratives on Applied Baccalaureate Degrees: Implications for Student Access to and Progression through College in the United States.

This study analyses the perspectives of four stakeholder groups towards Applied Baccalaureate (AB) degrees in the United States. Perspectives towards AB degrees that are held by community college p...
The affirmative politics of degrowth: Miguel Brieva’s graphic narrative Memorias de la Tierra

This work explores how Miguel Brieva’s 2012 graphic narrative Memorias de la Tierra constructs social horizons for change and action - what Rosi Braidotti calls “affirmative politics” - based on a ...
Adaptations for Rural Behavior Disordered Pupils in the Mainstream.

Modifying the instructional program of mainstreamed pupils not only meets individual needs but also results in a successful school experience. This article summarizes instructional adaptations whic...
How Metamorphosis Is Different in Plethodontids: Larval Life History Perspectives on Life-Cycle Evolution

Abstract Plethodontid salamanders exhibit biphasic, larval form paedomorphic, and direct developing life cycles. This diversity of developmental strategies exceeds that of any other family of terrestrial vertebrate. Here we compare patterns of larval development among the three divergent lineages of biphasic plethodontids and other salamanders. We discuss how patterns of life-cycle evolution and larval ecology might have produced a wide array of larval life histories. Compared with many other salamanders, most larval plethodontids have relatively slow growth rates and sometimes exceptionally long larval periods (up to 60 mo). Recent phylogenetic analyses of life-cycle evolution indicate that ancestral plethodontids were likely direct developers. If true, then biphasic and paedomorphic lineages might have been independently derived through different developmental mechanisms. Furthermore, biphasic plethodontids largely colonized stream habitats, which tend to have lower productivity than seasonally ephemera...
Energy-efficient W-layer for behavior-based implicit authentication on mobile devices

Motivated by the great potential of implicit and seamless user authentication, we attempt to build an efficient middle layer running on mobile devices to support implicit authentication (IA) systems with adaptive sampling. Various activities, such as user location, application usage, user motion, and battery usage have been popular choices to generate behaviors, the soft biometrics, for implicit authentication. Unlike password-based or hard biometric-based authentication, implicit authentication does not require explicit user action or expensive hardware. However, user behaviors can change unpredictably which renders it more challenging to develop systems that depend on them. Various machine learning algorithms have been used to address this challenge. The expensive training process is usually outsourced to the remote server but this can potentially increase the chance of data leakage. In addition, mobile devices may not always have reliable network connections to send real-time data to the server for training. Motivated by these limitations, we propose a W-layer, an overlay that provides an energy-efficient solution for real-time implicit authentication on mobile devices. The size of the data the system needs to collect at different times depends on the legitimacy of the user. This in turn affects how the sampling rate is adjusted which can reduce energy consumption. To evaluate our method, we conducted several experiments on both synthetic and real datasets. The average accuracy of identifying legitimate users is 96.73% using the synthetic dataset and 96.70% using the real dataset. Furthermore, we tested the power consumption on a low-end Nexus S smartphone to obtain a more pessimistic result. We found that our method consumed 14.5% of the device's total battery usage. The power consumption performance is expected to improve significantly on high-end mobile devices.
Murine macrophage chemokine receptor CCR2 plays a crucial role in macrophage recruitment and regulated inflammation in wound healing

Macrophages play a critical role in the establishment of a regulated inflammatory response following tissue injury. Following injury, CCR2+ monocytes are recruited from peripheral blood to wound tissue, and direct the initiation and resolution of inflammation that is essential for tissue repair. In pathologic states where chronic inflammation prevents healing, macrophages fail to transition to a reparative phenotype. Using a murine model of cutaneous wound healing, we found that CCR2-deficient mice (CCR2-/- ) demonstrate significantly impaired wound healing at all time points postinjury. Flow cytometry analysis of wounds from CCR2-/- and WT mice revealed a significant decrease in inflammatory, Ly6CHi recruited monocyte/macrophages in CCR2-/- wounds. We further show that wound macrophage inflammatory cytokine production is decreased in CCR2-/- wounds. Adoptive transfer of mT/mG monocyte/macrophages into CCR2+/+ and CCR2-/- mice demonstrated that labeled cells on days 2 and 4 traveled to wounds in both CCR2+/+ and CCR2-/- mice. Further, adoptive transfer of monocyte/macrophages from WT mice restored normal healing, likely through a restored inflammatory response in the CCR2-deficient mice. Taken together, these data suggest that CCR2 plays a critical role in the recruitment and inflammatory response following injury, and that wound repair may be therapeutically manipulated through modulation of CCR2.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Control of Germline Stem Cell Regulation in the Drosophila Ovary

Germline stem cells (GSCs) in the Drosophila ovary represent one of the best studied adult stem cell types, while their regulatory microenvironment or niche is also one of the best defined ones. Due to the availability of powerful genetic tools and a large number of mutants, much progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying intrinsic and extrinsic controls of GSC regulation within the past decade. Since several excellent reviews have been written on these stem cells, this review primarily discusses progress within the last couple of years and important questions remaining to be answered.
Scanning optical coherence tomography probe for in vivo imaging and displacement measurements in the cochlea.

We developed a spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) fiber optic probe for imaging and sub-nanometer displacement measurements inside the mammalian cochlea. The probe, 140 μm in diameter, can scan laterally up to 400 μm by means of a piezoelectric bender. Two different sampling rates are used, 10 kHz for high-resolution B-scan imaging, and 100 kHz for displacement measurements in order to span the auditory frequency range of gerbil (~50 kHz). Once the cochlear structures are recognized, the scanning range is gradually decreased and ultimately stopped with the probe pointing at the selected angle to measure the simultaneous displacements of multiple structures inside the organ of Corti (OC). The displacement measurement is based on spectral domain phase microscopy. The displacement noise level depends on the A-scan signal of the structure within the OC and we have attained levels as low as ~0.02 nm in in vivo measurements. The system’s broadband infrared light source allows for an imaging depth of ~2.7 mm, and axial resolution of ~3 μm. In future development, the probe can be coupled with an electrode for time-locked voltage and displacement measurements in order to explore the electro-mechanical feedback loop that is key to cochlear processing. Here, we describe the fabrication of the laterally-scanning optical probe, and demonstrate its functionality with in vivo experiments.
Estimating the Effects of Operational Strategies on Travel-Time Reliability for Smart Mobility

Smart mobility is an essential element in building smart cities. To realize connected and automated smart mobility as a service, the capability to efficiently estimate the travel-time reliability measures responding to various operating conditions is of critical importance. This paper presents a travel-time reliability estimation system, which is applied to determine the effects of the operational changes on the travel-time reliability. The application results to the metro freeway network in Minnesota indicate the substantial improvements in travel-time reliability after the changes were introduced, indicating the possibility of modeling the causal relationship between reliability and specific operational strategies.