cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Matched filtering for generalized stationary processes

The methods for solving optimal filtering problems in the case of the classical stationary processes have been well known since the late 1940s. Practice often gives rise to what is not a classical stationary process but a generalized one, and white noise is one simple example. Hence, it is of interest to describe the system action on the generalized stationary processes, and then to carry over filtering methods to them. For arbitrary generalized stochastic processes this seems to be a challenging problem. In this correspondence, we identify a rather general class of S/sub J/-generalized stationary processes for which the desired extension can be done for matched filters. This class can be considered as a model of colored noise, and it is wide enough to include white noise, positive frequencies white noise, as well as certain generalized processes occurring in practice, namely, when the smoothing effect gives rise to the situation in which the distribution of probabilities may not exist at some time instances. One advantage of the suggested model is that it connects optimal filter design with inverting of integral operators; the methods for the latter can be found in the extensive literature.
New State and Provincial North American Records for 100 Ephemeroptera Species

ABSTRACT A total of 143 new USA state and Canadian province records of mayfly species are given based on initial published data. One hundred species and 34 states and provinces are represented in the new data. The most cited species (with four or more new state and provincial records each) include Acentrella nadineae, Iswaeon anoka, Leucrocuta maculipennis, Paracloeodes minutus, Procloeon viridoculare, and Pseudocentroptiloides usa. The most cited regions (with five or more new species records each) include Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Vermont. While the first record of Spinadis simplex is given for Arkansas, the former incorrect Arkansas record for the latter is shown to be attributable to Raptoheptagenia cruentata.
Emergent U(1) gauge theory with fractionalized boson/fermion from the Bose condensation of excitons in a multiband insulator

Fractionalized phases are studied in a low energy theory of exciton Bose condensate in a multiband insulator. It is shown that U(1) gauge theory with either fractionalized boson or fermion can emerge out of a single model depending on the coupling constants. Both the statistics and spin of the fractionalized particles are dynamically determined, satisfying the spin-statistics theorem in the continuum limit. We present two mutually consistent descriptions for the fractionalization. In the first approach, it is shown that fractionalized degree of freedom emerges from reduced phase space constrained by strong interaction and that the U(1) gauge field arises as a collective excitation of the low energy modes. In the second approach, complementary descriptions are provided for the fractionalization based on world line picture of the original excitons. The emergent gauge structure is identified from the fluctuating web of exciton world lines which, in turn, realizes the string net condensation in a space-time picture.
Fast algorithm for finite-length MMSE equalizers with application to discrete multitone systems

This paper presents a new, fast algorithm for finite-length minimum mean square error (MMSE) equalizers. The research exploits the asymptotic equivalence of Toeplitz and circulant matrices to estimate the Hessian matrix of a quadratic form. Research shows that the Hessian matrix exhibits a specific structure. As a result, when combined with the Rayleigh minimization algorithm, it provides an efficient method to obtain the global minimum of constrained optimization problem. A salient feature of this algorithm is that extreme eigenvector of the Hessian matrix can be obtained without direct computation of the matrix. In comparison to the previous methods, the algorithm is more computationally efficient and highly parallelizable, which makes the algorithm more attractive for real time applications. The algorithm is applied for equalization of discrete multitone (DMT) systems for asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) applications.
Context-Dependent Fusion for mine detection using Airborne Hyperspectral Imagery

We present a method for fusing the decisions of multiple algorithms that use different hyperspectral imagery (HI) classification methods and apply it to mine detection. The proposed fusion method, called Cumulative Separation-Based (CSB) method, is embedded into our Context-Dependent Fusion for Multiple Algorithms(CDF-MA) framework. The CDF-MA is motivated by the fact that the relative performance of different algorithms can vary significantly depending on the type of the different targets and other environmental conditions. Results on real world HI data show that the proposed method can identify meaningful and coherent clusters and that different expert algorithms can be identified for the different contexts. Our initial experiments have also indicated that the proposed method outperforms all individual algorithms and the global weighted average fusion method.
Creep deformation in an alumina-silicon carbide composite produced via a directed metal oxidation process

Flexural creep studies were conducted in a commercially available alumina matrix composite reinforced with SiC particulates (SiC{sub p}) and aluminum metal at temperatures from 1,200 to 1,300 C under selected stress levels in air. The alumina composite (5 to 10 {micro}m alumina grain size) containing 48 vol% SiC particulates and 13 vol% aluminum alloy was fabricated via a directed metal oxidation process (DIMOX{trademark}) and had an external 15 {micro}m oxide coating. Creep results indicated that the DIMOX Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-SiC{sub p} composite exhibited creep rates that were comparable to alumina composites reinforced with 10 vol% (8 {micro}m grain size) and 50 vol% (1.5 {micro}m grain size) SiC whiskers under the employed test conditions. The DIMOX Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-SiC{sub p} composite exhibited a stress exponent of 2 at 1,200 C and a higher exponent value (2.6) at {ge}1,260 C, which is associated with the enhanced creep cavitation. The creep mechanism in the DIMOX alumina composite was attributed to grain boundary sliding accommodated by diffusional processes. Creep damage observed in the DIMOX Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-SiC{sub p} composite resulted from the cavitation at alumina two-grain facets and multiple-grain junctions where aluminum alloy was present.
Quorum Sensing Controls Biofilm Formation in Vibrio cholerae through Modulation of Cyclic Di-GMP Levels and Repression of vpsT

Two chemical signaling systems, quorum sensing (QS) and 3',5'-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP), reciprocally control biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae. QS is the process by which bacteria communicate via the secretion and detection of autoinducers, and in V. cholerae, QS represses biofilm formation. c-di-GMP is an intracellular second messenger that contains information regarding local environmental conditions, and in V. cholerae, c-di-GMP activates biofilm formation. Here we show that HapR, a major regulator of QS, represses biofilm formation in V. cholerae through two distinct mechanisms. HapR controls the transcription of 14 genes encoding a group of proteins that synthesize and degrade c-di-GMP. The net effect of this transcriptional program is a reduction in cellular c-di-GMP levels at high cell density and, consequently, a decrease in biofilm formation. Increasing the c-di-GMP concentration at high cell density to the level present in the low-cell-density QS state restores biofilm formation, showing that c-di-GMP is epistatic to QS in the control of biofilm formation in V. cholerae. In addition, HapR binds to and directly represses the expression of the biofilm transcriptional activator, vpsT. Together, our results suggest that V. cholerae integrates information about the vicinal bacterial community contained in extracellular QS autoinducers with the intracellular environmental information encoded in c-di-GMP to control biofilm formation.
Highly conductive nanolayers on strontium titanate produced by preferential ion-beam etching.

Developing fabrication methods for electronically active nanostructures is an important challenge of modern science and technology. Fabrication efforts1,2,3,4 for crystalline materials have been focused on state-of-the-art epitaxial growth techniques. These techniques are based on deposition of precisely controlled combinations of various materials on a heated substrate. We report a method that does not require deposition and transforms a nanoscale layer of a complex crystalline compound into a new material using low-energy ion-beam preferential etching (IBPE). We demonstrate this method by transforming a widely used5,6,7,8,9,10 insulator model system, SrTiO3, into a transparent conductor. Most significantly, the resistivity decreases with decreasing temperature as ∼T2.5±0.3 and eventually falls below that of room-temperature copper. These transport measurements imply a crystal quality in the conduction channel comparable to that obtained1 with the highest-quality growth techniques. The universality of low-energy IBPE implies wide potential applicability to fabrication of other nanolayers.
2,5-hexanedione and carbendazim coexposure synergistically disrupts rat spermatogenesis despite opposing molecular effects on microtubules.

2,5-Hexanedione (2,5-HD), a taxol-like promoter of microtubule assembly, and carbendazim (CBZ), a colchicine-like inhibitor of microtubule assembly, are two environmental testicular toxicants that target and disrupt microtubule function in Sertoli cells. At the molecular level, these two toxicants have opposite effects on microtubule assembly, yet they share the common physiologic effect of inhibiting microtubule-dependent functions of Sertoli cells. By studying a combined exposure to 2,5-HD and CBZ, we sought to determine whether CBZ would antagonize or exacerbate the effects ofaninitial2,5-HDexposure.Invitro,2,5-HD-treatedtubulinhada decreased lag time and an increased maximal velocity of microtubuleassembly.These2,5-HD-inducedinvitroalterationsinmicrotubule assembly were normalized by CBZ exposure. In vivo, adult male rats were exposed to a 1% solution of 2,5-HD in the drinking water for 2.5 weeks. CBZ was administered by gavage (200 mg/kg body weight) at the same time as unilateral surgical ligation of the efferent ducts, 24 h before evaluation of the testis. Measures oftesticulareffect(testisweight,histopathologicchanges[sloughing and vacuolization], and seminiferous tubule diameters) were all significantly altered with combined exposure. The testicular effects in the combined exposure group were either different (seminiferous tubule diameters), additive (% vacuolization), or greater than additive(%sloughing)comparedtotheeffectsoftheindividualtoxicant exposure groups referenced to the controls. Therefore, CBZ coexposuredoesnotantagonizetheeffectsofaninitial2,5-HDexposure, asmightbeexpectediftheirmoleculareffectsonmicrotubuleassembly were solely responsible for their combined toxicity; instead,
Potential contribution of β-carboxylases to photosynthetic carbon isotope fractionation in a marine diatom

Abstract In vitro activities of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) were measured in chemostat cultures of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum grown under either phosphate-or nitrate-limited conditions and at low (1 μmol kg−1) and high (70–100 μmol kg−1) CO2 concentrations. A comparison of in vitro methods for measuring PEPC activity underscored the importance of including glycerol in the reaction mixture because of its ability to stabilize the quaternary structure of PEPC. Assays for total β-carboxylase activity (PEPC + PEPCK) identified the importance of substituting Mn2+ for Mg2+ as an activator for PEPC since Mg2+ is inhibitory to PEPCK activity. Results indicated that PEPC was constitutive, that is, present in a constant ratio relative to the limiting nutrient over a wide range of growth conditions. PEPCK acclimation was greater, and its intracellular concentration was positively correlated with CO2 concentrations. In vitro β-carboxylase activi...
Ventricular tachycardia due to idiopathic pericarditis controlled by simultaneous intravenous procaine amide and quinidine.

Abstract A case of ventricular tachycardia is presented. The etiology is believed to be acute idiopathic pericarditis. This arrhythmia could not be controlled by the intravenous administration of 2 Gm. of procaine amide and 3.2 Gm. of quinidine gluconate given on separate occasions. The simultaneous administration of these drugs in a dose of 1.5 Gm. of each caused conversion to sinus rhythm.
Price Determination in the Indiana Econometric Model of the U.S.

At the end of 1995 the Bureau of Economic Analysis introduced chain weighted Fisher ideal indexes as the primary measures both for real GDP and its components and for the price data associated with the output measures. In response to these changes macroeconomic modelers were forced to rework the affected sections of their models. This paper describes the accommodation of the Indiana University Econometric Model of the U.S. (Indiana EMUS) to these changes. We briefly describe the overall structure of the Indiana EMUS and outline our overall strategy for dealing with the chain-weighted data. We chose to focus the model on output data stated in terms of chained 1992 dollars, rather than the index numbers themselves. We decided to utilize implicit deflators rather than the chain weighted indexes as our price variables. The main focus of our discussion is the price determination portion of the model, and some of the issues, in that regard, we have confronted in adjusting to the new data regime.
Preview of recommended routes in large-scale virtual environments

In large-scale virtual environments (VEs), there is often more than one possible route to a destination, and each of the VE users may have their own route preferences. In this paper, we introduce a route preview tool to help users select a desirable route out of several alternative routes, without having to first travel any of the candidate routes. The route preview tool has both a text component to highlight the quantitative features of the routes (ex. time to travel the route, distance of the route, number of turns in the route) and an image component to highlight the qualitative features (ex. scenery and objects along the route). Our experiments showed that the proposed route preview tool is informative, capable of highlighting the most salient features of the routes, and provides the necessary support to help users select an appropriate route.
Clinical presentation and outcome in a cohort of paediatric patients with membranous lupus nephritis

Background. Membranous glomerulopathy accounts for 28% of the biopsy-proven systemic lupus erythematosus nephritis in paediatric patients at the time of first biopsy, yet minimal data are available regarding outcomes in this population. Methods. We present a retrospective analysis of 26 paediatric patients with World Health Organization class V lupus nephritis. Patients were subdivided based on renal biopsy findings into the following subclasses: 16 (63%) Va, 2 (9%) Vb, 7 (26%) Vc and 1 (4%) Vd. We evaluated outcomes of renal function and urine protein to creatinine ratio (UPr/UCr). Results. Mean follow-up time was 38.6 (� 22) months. Eight patients at presentation had a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <90 ml/min/1.73 m 2 , six with Va and two with Vc. The initial presenting serum creatinine was predictive of renal function at last follow-up in class Va and Vb patients (P ¼ 0.002). Twenty-one of the 26 patients had GFR � 90 ml/min/ 1.73 m 2 at last follow-up; the five patients with GFR <90 ml/min/1.73 m 2 were all lupus class Va. Cyclophosphamide (CTX) therapy did not demonstrate a significant improvement in outcome. The following parameters failed to predict GFR at last follow-up visit: blood pressure, C3, C4 and UPr/UCr. Conclusions. The initial creatinine in patients with classes Va and Vb lupus nephritis predicted follow-up renal function. We found no correlation with outcome based on therapy with CTX and/or mycophenolate mofetil.
Decision tree-based methodology for high impedance fault detection

This paper presents a high impedance fault (HIF) detection method based on decision trees (DTs). The features of HIF, which are the inputs of DTs, are those well-known ones, including current [in root mean square (rms)], magnitudes of the second, third, and fifth harmonics, and the phase of the third harmonics. The only measurements needed in the proposed method are the current signals sampled at 1920 Hz. It will reduce the cost of hardware compared with methods that use high sampling rates. A new HIF model is also used. The data of current signals are from the simulation of Electromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP). The DT algorithm trained can successfully distinguish the HIFs from most normal operations on simulation data, including switching loads, switching shunt capacitors, and load transformer inrush currents. Testing on experimental data is recommended for future work.
Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Protein Structure

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) has proved extremely useful in the analysis of proteins in addition to the determination of molecular weight. In conjunction with peptide mapping and tandem MS, it has been used to elucidate the primary structure of peptides and proteins. ESI MS analysis alone is not sufficient for examination of secondary structure, but comparison of deuterium exchange experiments with information gained by other analytical techniques provides valuable insight. Protein tertiary structure can be examined by changing solvent temperature, pH, and organic solvent content and by changing instrumental conditions to examine shifts in the number and distribution of charge states in the resulting spectra. Metal-protein interactions have also been successfully analyzed by ESI MS to determine the specificity and stoichiometry of these interactions. Quaternary structure has been resolved for small peptides at high concentrations and for larger proteins utilizing extended m/z mass analyzers.
TIME-PRESSURE AS A FUNCTION OF SLEEP SATISFACTION CATEGORY IN UNDERGRADUATES '

The categorical answer to the question "Are you satisfied with your sleep: Yes, No, or Mixed?" is a group variable which affects measures obtained from sleep-logs (1). Here, we report our first (partially successful) effort in developing a time-use measure for categories of sleep satisfaction. Sleep-log entries were made on 14 mornings by 121 university students of both sexes. Each day they marked several response columns. Two of these were: "Time I got up" and "Time I left home to go somewhere." A onefactor analysis of variance, based on the span (in minutes) between these two times, was used to compare the sleep-satisfaction groups. The means were: Yes (94.4 + 49.9, n = 60), Mixed (83.3 f 44.3, n = 37), and No (126.0 66.9, n = 24) with F ,,,,, = 5.07, p < .01. Based on the pooled error term, t tests showed the No group to be significantly different-from either the Yes or Mixed groups at p < .02 and p < .004, respectively. Compared with home-sleep, college students may show disruptive changes in their sleep routines due to situational changes in life-style (2). Our outcomes may have basis in acquired sleep patterns. Despite the major effect shown, however, we have reservations about this measure. In talking with the subjects, we discovered that for many of them, whether or not they leave for an outside activity may not be reflective of time-pressure. Frequently, they have urgent needs (writing, studying, etc.) which are best met while staying in their quarters. This can be confounded with days when they are unproductive but go out for dinner or social contact in the evening. The "Time I left home to go somewhere" response is objective but difficult to interpret. We are now testing a new query which is taken at bedtime: "Time of your first planned daytime activity for tomorrow?" This is projective rather than empirical. We hope that it will better reflect the considerations of time-pressure of the sleep-satisfaction subgroups. The posirive outcomes of this first work indicate that such a measure should be possible.
Vibrational spectra and fragmentation pathways of size-selected, D2-tagged ammonium/methylammonium bisulfate clusters.

Particles consisting of ammonia and sulfuric acid are widely regarded as seeds for atmospheric aerosol nucleation, and incorporation of alkylamines has been suggested to substantially accelerate their growth. Despite significant efforts, little direct experimental evidence exists for the structures and chemical processes underlying multicomponent particle nucleation. Here we are concerned with the positively charged clusters of ammonia and sulfuric acid with compositions H+(NH3)m(H2SO4)n (2 ≤ m ≤ 5, 1 ≤ n ≤ 4), for which equilibrium geometry structures have been reported in recent computational searches. The computed harmonic vibrational spectra of such minimum energy structures can be directly compared with the experimental spectra of each cluster composition isolated in the laboratory using cryogenic ion chemistry methods. We present one-photon (i.e., linear) infrared action spectra of the isolated gas phase ions cryogenically cooled to 10 K, allowing us to resolve the characteristic vibrational signatu...
Assessing Metabolic Changes in Response to mTOR Inhibition in a Mantle Cell Lymphoma Xenograft Model Using AcidoCEST MRI

AcidoCEST magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has previously been shown to measure tumor extracellular pH (pHe) with excellent accuracy and precision. This study investigated the ability of acidoCEST MRI to monitor changes in tumor pHe in response to therapy. To perform this study, we used the Granta 519 human mantle cell lymphoma cell line, which is an aggressive B-cell malignancy that demonstrates activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. We performed in vitro and in vivo studies using the Granta 519 cell line to investigate the efficacy and associated changes induced by the mTOR inhibitor, everolimus (RAD001). AcidoCEST MRI studies showed a statistically significant increase in tumor pHe of 0.10 pH unit within 1 day of initiating treatment, which foreshadowed a decrease in tumor growth of the Granta 519 xenograft model. AcidoCEST MRI then measured a decrease in tumor pHe 7 days after initiating treatment, which foreshadowed a return to normal tumor growth rate. Therefore, this study is a strong example that acidoCEST MRI can be used to measure tumor pHe that may serve as a marker for therapeutic efficacy of anticancer therapies.
The bulk photovoltaic effect as a novel mechanism for sensing devices and applications

The bulk photovoltaic effect describes the generation of photocurrents and photovoltages in bulk materials lacking a center of symmetry. Its principal mechanism is “shift current,” a nonlinear-optical, inherently quantum mechanical process. While most attention has been devoted to its prospects as a means of solar energy capture, shift current bulk photovoltaic effect possesses a number of distinguishing features that make it well-suited to sensing and switching applications: photovoltages substantially exceeding the material’s band gap, response amplitudes and directions that can depend on both photon energy and polarization, and response that occurs on ultrafast timescales.
The dynamics of antegrade cardioplegia with simultaneous coronary sinus occlusion. Effects on aortic root infusion pressure, coronary sinus pressure, and myocardial cooling.

It has been suggested that antegrade cardioplegia with coronary sinus occlusion improves homogeneous myocardial cooling and reduces myocardial injury in the presence of coronary artery occlusion. Little data are available on the exact relationships among the basic elements or this intervention, including antegrade infusion rate, aortic root pressure, the degree of coronary sinus occlusion, coronary sinus pressure, and myocardial cooling. The purpose of this study was to determine these relationships and to provide some basic guidelines for better understanding of this intervention. Twenty-two sheep were placed on cardiopulmonary bypass, the distal left anterior descending artery was occluded, and the proximal coronary sinus was snared. Sixteen combinations of infusion rate (3, 5, 7, or 9 ml/kg/min) and coronary sinus occlusion (total, subtotal, or moderate occlusion or no occlusion) were adopted for each 2 minutes of antegrade cardioplegia, yielding 96 measurements. Myocardial temperatures in the occluded and nonoccluded regions, aortic root infusion pressure, and coronary sinus pressure were measured during each infusion of cardioplegic solution. Coronary sinus occlusion was then released, and the whole heart was reperfused for 30 minutes for another infusion of cardioplegic solution and measurements. Results showed good degrees of linearity between infusion rate and aortic root infusion pressure for all coronary sinus occlusion and noninfusion groups (p
Polypharmacy, Using New Treatments to Customize Care for Aging Patients and Adherence Present and Future

Nearly 50% of HIV patients in the US are now over 50, and the problem of comorbidities associated with the aging process is becoming increasingly complicated. In this chapter, we will review the challenge of polypharmacy and suggest ways of minimizing drug-drug interactions. Newer medications and combinations that reduce the pill burden, and allow the healthcare provider to customize HIV treatment while remaining mindful of other medical issues will be addressed. Adherence to medication schedules and possible future alternative drug delivery systems will also be presented.
Inflammatory markers modify the risk of recurrent coronary events associated with apolipoprotein A-I in postinfarction patients

Background Laboratory findings have suggested that systemic and vascular inflammation can impair the antiatherogenic function of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). However, evidence from population studies is sparse. Objective The objective of the study was to assess if blood inflammatory markers modify the risk of recurrent coronary events associated with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) among postinfarction patients. Methods ApoA-I, HDL-C, and inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein [CRP], serum amyloid A (SAA), fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor [vWF], and D-dimer) were measured from blood samples of 1028 patients drawn 2 months after an index myocardial infarction (MI). Patients were followed up for the composite coronary endpoint (nonfatal MI, coronary death, or unstable angina) for an average of 26 months. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess effect modifications for the association of apoA-I and HDL-C with coronary risk by each inflammatory marker. Results CRP significantly modified the risk of recurrent coronary events associated with apoA-I. Among the entire population, multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios associated with each standard deviation increase in apoA-I for those with low and high CRP levels were 0.89 and 1.35, respectively ( P value for interaction = .008). vWF was a significant effect modifier of the apoA-I/coronary risk association only among diabetic patients (hazard ratios were 0.56 and 1.43, for diabetic patients with low and high vWF levels, respectively; P value for interaction = .002). No effect modification was observed for the HDL-C/coronary risk association. Conclusion Among stable post-MI patients, CRP modified the risk of recurrent coronary events associated with apoA-I. VWF modified this association only among the diabetic subgroup.
Molecular Dissection of the Forces Responsible for Viral Capsid Assembly and Stabilization by Decoration Proteins.

Complex double-stranded DNA viruses utilize a terminase enzyme to package their genomes into a preassembled procapsid shell. DNA packaging triggers a major conformational change in the proteins assembled into the shell and most often subsequent addition of a decoration protein that is required to stabilize the structure. In bacteriophage λ, DNA packaging drives a procapsid expansion transition to afford a larger but fragile shell. The gpD decoration protein adds to the expanded shell as trimeric spikes at each of the 140 three-fold axes. The spikes provide mechanical strength to the shell such that it can withstand the tremendous internal forces generated by the packaged DNA in addition to environmental insults. Hydrophobic, electrostatic, and aromatic–proline noncovalent interactions have been proposed to mediate gpD trimer spike assembly at the expanded shell surface. Here, we directly examine each of these interactions and demonstrate that hydrophobic interactions play the dominant role. In the course ...
Suitability of jetted and grouted precast pile for supporting mast arm structures

Jetted and grouted precast piles (JGPPs) are prefabricated piles installed utilizing jetting and pressure grouting. These piles are well-suited for urban environments as they overcome the inherent ...
TRANSPORTS OF DELIGHT

It is here in my penultimate chapter, that I now need to go beyond all individual stories and beyond the simple links founded upon physical comparisons or even the intriguing spatial and temporal conjunctions.
HDAC inhibitors enhance the immunotherapy response of melanoma cells

// Laurence Booth 1 , Jane L. Roberts 1 , Andrew Poklepovic 2 , John Kirkwood 3 and Paul Dent 1 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0035, USA 2 Department of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0035, USA 3 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program, Hillman Cancer Research Pavilion Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA Correspondence to: Paul Dent, email: paul.dent@vcuhealth.org Keywords: melanoma, immunotherapy, HDAC inhibitor, pazopanib, autophagy Received: March 22, 2017 Accepted: May 03, 2017 Published: May 17, 2017 ABSTRACT We focused on the ability of the pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors AR42 and sodium valproate to alter the immunogenicity of melanoma cells. Treatment of melanoma cells with HDAC inhibitors rapidly reduced the expression of multiple HDAC proteins as well as the levels of PD-L1, PD-L2 and ODC, and increased expression of MHCA. In a cell-specific fashion, melanoma isolates released the immunogenic protein HMGB1 into the extracellular environment. Very similar data were obtained in ovarian and H&NSCC PDX isolates, and in established tumor cell lines from the lung and kidney. Knock down of HDAC1, HDAC3, HDAC8 and HDAC10, but not HDAC6, recapitulated the effects of the HDAC inhibitors on the immunotherapy biomarkers. Using B16 mouse melanoma cells we discovered that pre-treatment with AR42 or sodium valproate enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of an anti-PD-1 antibody and of an anti-CTLA4 antibody. In the B16 model, both AR42 and sodium valproate enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of the multi-kinase inhibitor pazopanib. In plasma from animals exposed to [HDAC inhibitor + anti-PD-1], but not [HDAC inhibitor + anti-CTLA4], the levels of CCL2, CCL5, CXCL9 and CXCL2 were increased. The cytokine data from HDAC inhibitor plus anti-PD-1 exposed tumors correlated with increased activated T cell, M1 macrophage, neutrophil and NK cell infiltration. Collectively, our data support the use of pan-HDAC inhibitors in combination with kinase inhibitors or with checkpoint inhibitor antibodies as novel melanoma therapeutic strategies.
Range and Precision of Formant Movement in Pediatric Dysarthria

Purpose This study aimed to improve understanding of speech characteristics associated with dysarthria in children with cerebral palsy by analyzing segmental and global formant measures in single-w...
Die Asymptoten oder Parallele dazu als Koordinatenachsen

Die gleichseitige Hyperbel erhalt eine ganz besonders einfache Gleichung, wenn man die Asymptoten als Koordinatenachsen wahlt. Das zu einem Punkt gehorige Parallelogramm ist jetzt ein Rechteck, dessen Seiten die Koordinaten des Punktes P sind (Abb. 95).
Greenway use and preferences in diverse urban communities: Implications for trail design and management

Abstract Greenways represent corridors of benefits with a unique capacity to contribute to sustainable urban development, yet more research is needed to understand the extent to which greenway-related benefits are realized and distributed across diverse populations and settings. Using intercept surveys of greenway users during summer 2015, our study explored use patterns and preferences along two trails traversing diverse neighborhoods: the Eastside Trail in Atlanta, GA (n = 505), and the Leon Creek Greenway in San Antonio, TX (n = 429). Descriptive statistics and regression-based analyses revealed that exercising and escaping the stress of city life were the top motivations for visiting both trails, and safety and security were rated as top concerns among visitors (particularly women and racial/ethnic minorities). On the urban Eastside Trail, where more users accessed the trail by foot or bicycle and engaged in a variety of trail-based activities, cultural benefits linked to social interaction and community connectivity were more widely acknowledged. On the suburban Leon Creek Greenway, where most visitors tended to travel longer distances to access the trail, typically for physically-active recreation, experiential benefits stemming from outdoor recreation in natural settings were more strongly recognized. Both trails attracted substantial numbers of racial/ethnic minorities, with Hispanics and other non-white users representing about 55% of Leon Creek Greenway and 32% of Eastside Trail visitors. Social and nature-based motivations were more common among these user groups. Planners and managers can utilize these results to identify strategies for maximizing greenway-related benefits among diverse groups of potential trail users.
New Data for Representing Irrigated Agriculture in Economy-Wide Models

We develop a framework to represent the production value and expansion potential of irrigated land within economy-wide models, providing integrated assessment capabilities for energy-land-water interactions. The scope to expand irrigated land is quantified through irrigable land supply curves for 126 water regions globally based on water availability and the annual costs of irrigation infrastructure. Upgrades in irrigation infrastructure include (1) increasing water storage, (2) improving conveyance efficiency, and (3) improving irrigation efficiency. The value of production on irrigated and rainfed cropland is computed at both a 5 arcminute by 5 arcminute level and for the 140 regions and eight crop sectors in Version 9 of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) Data Base using estimates of production quantities and prices from the year 2000. This work facilitates the representation of endogenous investment in irrigation infrastructure and allows for a more rigorous exploration of the regional and global impacts of water availability on land use, energy production, and economic activity.
Interaction, Emotion, and Collective Identities

This chapter poses the question: How do emotional aspects of social interaction affect the emergence and salience of collective identities? I assume that social interaction inherently involves an implicit or explicit joint task—namely to accomplish some result that can only be produced with others. The most fundamental “task” of social interaction can be construed as the coordination and alignment of behavior, such that actors successfully conclude the interact ion episode. Essential to this task is a working consensus about definitions of self and other in the social situation, i.e., consensual self-other identities. A central component of my argument is that social interaction has emotional effects that vary with the success of actors at accomplishing this fundamental task. This paper theorizes the conditions under which emotional effects of social interaction promote collective identities that bridge or transcend self-other role identities.
Allograft Reconstruction of the Knee—Methods and Outcomes

Although allograft usage has decreased over the past three decades in favor of segmental metal implants, they still have an important role in the reconstruction of large osteochondral defects following tumor resection. The decline of allografts in limb salvage is multifactorial and includes limited availability, technical difficulty, increased rates of infection and fracture, and unpredictable results. There are circumstances where allograft transplantation is useful around the knee resulting in improved function, bone and joint preservation, and acceptable long-term outcomes.
An assessment of the relative impact of hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriasis, and obesity on quality of life.

Abstract Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and psoriasis are inflammatory skin diseases associated with obesity. Each disease is likely to impact the quality of life of patients, but the relative impact of each disease is unknown. Objectives This study aimed to determine whether skin disease or obesity is more distressing to obese patients who have either psoriasis or HS. Methods A cohort of obese patients with psoriasis and HS was surveyed using a time-trade-off utility. T-tests and regression analysis were used to compare differences in impact on quality of life between skin disease and obesity for patients with HS and psoriasis. Further analyses were adjusted for degree of obesity and severity of disease. Results A total of 79 subjects completed the survey. Obese patients with HS were heavier than patients with psoriasis (mean body mass index 38.1 kg/m2 vs. 34.9 kg/m2). Obese patients with either HS or psoriasis were both willing to trade a significantly higher proportion of their life to live without skin disease than to live at a normal weight (p = .01). This effect persisted after controlling for disease severity and weight. Patients with HS were willing to trade significantly more years of life to live at a normal weight than obese patients with psoriasis (14 vs. 7; p Limitations This was a small study conducted at an academic institution. Conclusion In this study population, obesity was more severe in patients with HS than in those with psoriasis. Even after controlling for relative severity, HS was more problematic for subjects in this study than weight when these conditions existed concomitantly.
Vocal Stereotypy Detection: An Initial Step to Understanding Emotions of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

A system has been developed to automatically record and detect behavioral patterns and vocal stereotypy which is also known as vocal stimming, a non-verbal vocalization often observed in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The system incorporates audio, video and wearable accelerometer based sensors. Microphones and video camera were used to collect data and were used for analysis. KSVD, which is a generalized version of the k-means clustering algorithms for dictionary learning, was used to detect vocal stereotypy. Observing the subspace that the data lives in allows us to detect vocal stimming and sounds of frustration. The proposed system was able to detect vocalized stimming with detection rate between 73 – 93 percent.
Preventing Sexual Assault on College Campuses in the United States

Sexual assault of female college students is recognized as a serious public health problem in the United States (US). Available data on sexual assault likely underestimate the true scope of the problem. However, research shows that about one in five women experiences sexual assault while in college and that most of these assaults are perpetrated by someone known to the victim. In the Title IX, a law passed in 1972, requires colleges and universities to respond to and remedy hostile educational environments, including those related to sexual misconduct. In addition to Title IX, the US government instituted several federal laws and programs to address the problem. As of 2016, there were more than 200 institutions under federal investigation for mishandlings of sexual misconduct cases. However, advocate groups have called upon the government to mandate more accountability of colleges to investigate such crimes and to enforce penalties for non-compliance. Several recent high-profile cases have called attention to the pervasiveness of sexual misconduct in American society, leading to global movements such as the #MeToo campaign. While these are signs of progress, more must clearly be done to ensure that students are provided with safe learning environments at college campuses throughout the country. This chapter delineates the scope of sexual assault among college students and outlines the recent and historical steps that have been taken to address the problem. Specifically, this case analyzes the US government’s leadership role in mandating increased reporting and investigation of these crimes by colleges and universities.
Leveraging Context-Triggered Measurements to Characterize LTE Handover Performance

In cellular networks, handover plays a vital role in supporting mobility and connectivity. Traditionally, handovers in a cellular network focus on maintaining continuous connectivity for legacy voice calls. However, there is a poor understanding of how today’s handover strategies impact the network performance, especially for applications that require reliable Internet connectivity.
Architecture-Aware, High Performance Transaction for Persistent Memory

Byte-addressable non-volatile main memory (NVM) demands transactional mechanisms to access and manipulate data on NVM atomically. Those transaction mechanisms often employ a logging mechanism (undo logging or redo logging). However, the logging mechanisms can bring large runtime overhead (8%-49% in our evaluation), and 41%-78% of the overhead attributes to the frequent cache-line flushing. Such large overhead significantly diminishes the performance benefits offered by NVM. In this paper, we introduce a new method to reduce the overhead of cache-line flushing for logging-based transactions. Different from the traditional method that works at the program level and leverages program semantics to reduce the logging overhead, we introduce architecture awareness. In particular, we do not flush certain cache blocks, as long as they are estimated to be eliminated out of the cache because of the hardware caching mechanism (e.g., the cache replacement algorithm). Furthermore, we coalesce those cache blocks with low dirtiness to improve the efficiency of cache-line flushing. We implement an architecture-aware, high performance transaction runtime system for persistent memory, Archapt. Our results show that comparing with an undo logging (PMDK) and a redo logging (Mnemosyne), Archapt reduces cache-line flushing by 66% and improves system throughput by 19% on average (42% at most). Our crash tests with four hardware caching policies show that Archapt provides a strong guarantee on crash consistency.
Far-field Extrapolation of the Body-of-Revolution Parabolic Wave Equation

The parabolic wave equation (PWE) has been used extensively to model propagation in electrically large domains dominated by forward scatter. A PWE method for modeling propagation through an inhomogeneous body-of-revolution (BOR) was recently described, wherein a three-dimensional result was synthesized from a summation of independent solutions obtained with two-dimensional solvers. Far-field solutions were obtained by applying scalar diffraction theory on the axial boundary-using a cylindrical coordinate system-which required a numerical domain with a large radial extent. This paper presents an efficient method for extrapolating the field on the radial boundary into the far field, allowing for a numerical domain with a smaller radial extent, thereby increasing computational efficiency.
Associations of Amyloid, Tau, and Neurodegeneration Biomarker Profiles With Rates of Memory Decline Among Individuals Without Dementia

Importance A National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer’s Association workgroup proposed a research framework for Alzheimer disease in which biomarker classification of research participants is labeled AT(N) for amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration biomarkers. Objective To determine the associations between AT(N) biomarker profiles and memory decline in a population-based cohort of individuals without dementia age 60 years or older, and to determine whether biomarkers provide incremental prognostic value beyond more readily available clinical and genetic information. Design, Setting, and Participants Population-based cohort study of cognitive aging in Olmsted County, Minnesota, that included 480 nondemented Mayo Clinic Study of Aging participants who had a clinical evaluation and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) (A), tau PET (T), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cortical thickness (N) measures between April 16, 2015, and November 1, 2017, and at least 1 clinical evaluation follow-up by November 12, 2018. Exposures Age, sex, education, cardiovascular and metabolic conditions score,APOEgenotype, and AT(N) biomarker profiles. Each of A, T, or (N) can be abnormal (+) or normal (−), resulting in 8 AT(N) profiles. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcome was a composite memory score measured longitudinally at 15-month intervals. Analyses measured the associations between predictor variables and the memory score, and whether AT(N) biomarker profiles significantly improved prediction of memoryzscore rates of change beyond a model with clinical and genetic variables only. Results Participants were followed up for a median of 4.8 years (interquartile range [IQR], 3.8-5.1) and 44% were women (211/480). Median (IQR) ages ranged from 67 years (65-73) in the A−T−(N)− group to 83 years (76-87) in the A+T+(N)+ group. Of the participants, 92% (441/480) were cognitively unimpaired but the A+T+(N)+ group had the largest proportion of mild cognitive impairment (30%). AT(N) biomarkers improved the prediction of memory performance over a clinical model from anR2of 0.26 to 0.31 (P Conclusions and Relevance Among older persons without baseline dementia followed for a median of 4.8 years, a prediction model that included amyloid PET, tau PET, and MRI cortical thickness resulted in a small but statistically significant improvement in predicting memory decline over a model with more readily available clinical and genetic variables. The clinical importance of this difference is uncertain.
Convolutional Neural Networks for Speech Controlled Prosthetic Hands

Speech recognition is one of the key topics in artificial intelligence, as it is one of the most common forms of communication in humans. Researchers have developed many speech-controlled prosthetic hands in the past decades, utilizing conventional speech recognition systems that use a combination of neural network and hidden Markov model. Recent advancements in general-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs) enable intelligent devices to run deep neural networks in real-time. Thus, state-of-the-art speech recognition systems have rapidly shifted from the paradigm of composite subsystems optimization to the paradigm of end-to-end optimization. However, a low-power embedded GPGPU cannot run these speech recognition systems in real-time. In this paper, we show the development of deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) for speech control of prosthetic hands that run in real-time on a NVIDIA Jetson TX2 developer kit. First, the device captures and converts speech into 2D features (like spectrogram). The CNN receives the 2D features and classifies the hand gestures. Finally, the hand gesture classes are sent to the prosthetic hand motion control system. The whole system is written in Python with Keras, a deep learning library that has a TensorFlow backend. Our experiments on the CNN demonstrate the 91% accuracy and 2ms running time of hand gestures (text output) from speech commands, which can be used to control the prosthetic hands in real-time.