cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vibrational Dynamics at the Adsorbate-Substrate Interface

Vibrational relaxation of molecules on surfaces [1] plays the same central role in surface chemistry (microscopic rates, catalytic reactions [2], photochemistry [3], desorption [4] ) and surface spectroscopy [5] as does intramolecular energy transfer in isolated-molecule chemistry [6, 7], While much theoretical attention has been paid to vibrational excitation in moleculesurface collisions [8], an understanding of vibrational decay processes at surfaces has been hampered by the difficulty in unambiguously establishing the nature and time scales of the relaxation processes [9]. The damping of vibrations on surfaces has often been studied by spectral measurements, and there are many different theories relating spectral widths and shifts to the characteristic times and mechanisms of vibrational energy transfer ([9]–[16]). For instance, the insight provided by the line shape of an adsorbate vibrational mode promises to be very powerful [17]. Despite substantial theoretical and experimental efforts in monitoring the decay of population in a set of vibrationally excited, adsorbed oscillators ([9], [13]– [15], [17]), a comprehensive understanding of relaxation time scales has remained elusive. In this context, time resolved measurements offer the ability to measure directly the relaxation rate of vibrationally excited adsorbate ([18] – [21]); and represent the most promising direction in vibrational spectroscopy and reaction dynamics at surfaces ([22] – [24]).
Idiographic and Nomothetic Assessment

Idiographic and nomothetic research and assessment strategies differ in several ways. They differ in the degree to which their methods are standardized across clients, in the degree to which their strategies focus on groups versus individuals, the degree to which inferences about one person depend on comparisons with persons, and in the generalizability of inferences across persons. Nomothetic research strategies focus on identifying covariations between variables using data from groups of persons. They are used to develop models of behavior problems that are generalizable to the “average” person.
Synthetic Reinforcement of Diaphragm Closure for Large Hiatal Hernia Repair

Repair of large hiatal hernias has traditionally been a difficult procedure and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Repair via thoracotomy or laparotomy leads to morbidity and mortality rates of 20% and 2% respectively.1,2 With more modern perioperative care and minimally invasive techniques, morbidity and mortality have improved. Perhaps for this reason and also the increased life expectancy of patients, attention has focused more on longer term outcomes, including recurrence.
Scalable Clustering of High Dimensional Data

Existing data collections can be large in both number of samples and in number of attributes per sample. In either case, we have found that many advanced techniques in numerical linear algebra can be used to design efficient algorithms for clustering and exploring these datasets. We illustrate this point with the method of Principal Direction Divisive Partitioning, a scalable unsupervised clustering algorithm which has been found to give high quality clusters. We show how the scalability to large sizes is achieved using those advanced linear algebra techniques. These techniques also lead to an alternate representation of the dataset which is close enough to the original for the purposes of clustering while occupying a much smaller memory footprint.
Search and Rescue Techniques in the Aftermath of Earthquakes

Search and rescue (S&R) need to start as early as possible. Possibility of finding survivors beneath the rubble is directly proportional to time (Fig. 11.1).
On Tail Dependence Matrices -- The Realization Problem for Parametric Families

Among bivariate tail dependence measures, the tail dependence coefficient has emerged as the popular choice. Akin to the correlation matrix, a multivariate dependence measure is constructed using these bivariate measures, and this is referred to in the literature as the tail dependence matrix (TDM). While the problem of determining whether a given ${d\times d}$ matrix is a correlation matrix is of the order $O(d^3)$ in complexity, determining if a matrix is a TDM (the realization problem) is believed to be non-polynomial in complexity. Using a linear programming (LP) formulation, we show that the combinatorial structure of the constraints is related to the intractable max-cut problem in a weighted graph. This connection provides an avenue for constructing parametric classes admitting a polynomial in $d$ algorithm for determining membership in its constraint polytope. The complexity of the general realization problem is justifiably of much theoretical interest. Since in practice one resorts to lower dimensional parametrization of the TDMs, we posit that it is rather the complexity of the realization problem restricted to parametric classes of TDMs, and algorithms for it, that are more practically relevant. In this paper, we show how the inherent symmetry and sparsity in a parametrization can be exploited to achieve a significant reduction in the LP formulation, which can lead to polynomial complexity of such realization problems - some parametrizations even resulting in the constraint polytope being independent of $d$. We also explore the use of a probabilistic viewpoint on TDMs to derive the constraint polytopes.
Host-Derived Metabolites Modulate Transcription of Salmonella Genes Involved in l-Lactate Utilization during Gut Colonization

During Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection, host inflammation alters the metabolic environment of the gut lumen to favor the outgrowth of the pathogen at the expense of the microbiota. Inflammation-driven changes in host cell metabolism lead to the release of l-lactate and molecular oxygen from the tissue into the gut lumen. Salmonella utilizes lactate as an electron donor in conjunction with oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor to support gut colonization. Here, we investigated transcriptional regulation of the respiratory l-lactate dehydrogenase LldD in vitro and in mouse models of Salmonella infection. The two-component system ArcAB repressed transcription of l-lactate utilization genes under anaerobic conditions in vitro The ArcAB-mediated repression of lldD transcription was relieved under microaerobic conditions. Transcription of lldD was induced by l-lactate but not d-lactate. A mutant lacking the regulatory protein LldR failed to induce lldD transcription in response to l-lactate. Furthermore, the lldR mutant exhibited reduced transcription of l-lactate utilization genes and impaired fitness in murine models of infection. These data provide evidence that the host-derived metabolites oxygen and l-lactate serve as cues for Salmonella to regulate lactate oxidation metabolism on a transcriptional level.
Beta-Blocker Overdose: “You know, the green pill.”

Beta-blocker overdose is potentially fatal and requires a high index of suspicion and quick action by emergency physicians. Patients can be asymptomatic, but quickly become bradycardic, hypotensive, and altered with subsequent cardiac arrest. If treated quickly and aggressively, beta-blocker overdoses can have good clinical outcomes.
The Role of Endothelin and Endothelin Antagonists in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background Endothelins (ET) are a family of peptides that act as potent vasoconstrictors and pro-fibrotic growth factors. ET-1 is integral to renal and cardiovascular pathophysiology and exerts effects via autocrine, paracrine and endocrine signaling pathways tied to regulation of aldosterone, catecholamines, and angiotensin. In the kidney, ET-1 is critical to maintaining renal perfusion and controls glomerular arteriole tone and hemodynamics. It is hypothesized that ET-1 influences the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the objective of this review is to discuss the pathophysiology, and role of ET and endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) in CKD. Summary The use of ERAs in hypertensive nephropathy has the potential to decrease proteinuria, and in diabetic nephropathy has the potential to restore glycocalyx thickness, also decreasing proteinuria. Focal segmental glomerular sclerosis has no specific Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy currently, however, ERAs show promise in decreasing proteinuria and slowing tissue damage. ET-1 is a potential biomarker for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease progression and so it is thought that ERAs may be of some therapeutic benefit. Key messages Multiple studies have shown the utility of ERAs in CKD. These agents have shown to reduce blood pressure, proteinuria, and arterial stiffness. However, more clinical trials are needed, and the results of active or recently concluded studies are eagerly awaited.
Other Selected Topics

Chapter 12 includes some other important subjects not discussed in previous chapters; these include project management (Section 12.1), fault-tolerant system design (Section 12.2), and discrete event simulation (Section 12.3).
Autonomous pH control by reinforcement learning for electroplating industry wastewater

Abstract The electroplating industry, due to steps such as pickling, generates acid pH wastewater. Its treatment is important for environmental preservation and the future recovery of metals. Therefore, the main objective of this work was the development of an autonomous pH controller for electroplating industry liquid effluents, based on fully automated Reinforcement Learning (RL). In order to do that, a Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor (CSTR) neutralization simulator, and an adapted Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to automate the choice of RL hyperparameters were developed. The controller was developed and validated when it stabilized the effluent's pH in a neutral range in different scenarios during the regulatory and servo operations better than a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller. The development of autonomous wastewater pH control systems in coated surface treatment units is a significant advancement, as it reduces human intervention and allows the monitoring of variability associated with the electroplating industry.
Resilience of phosphorus cycling

A new approach to analysing resilience reveals changes in China’s phosphorus system and suggests ways to improve it.
Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement: Mental Training for Athletes and Coaches

In Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement: Mental Training for Athletes and Coaches, Keith A. Kaufman, Carol R. Glass, and Timothy R. Pineau (2018) describe and explain in detail their systematic mi...
Abscisic acid regulates dormancy of prostate cancer disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow.

Prostate cancer (PCa) commonly metastasizes to the bone where the cells frequently undergo dormancy. The escape of disseminated tumor cells from cellular dormancy is a major cause of recurrence in marrow. Abscisic acid (ABA), a phytohormone, is known to regulate dormancy of plant seeds and to regulate other stress responses in plants. Recently, ABA was found to be synthesized by mammals cells and has been linked to human disease. Yet the role of ABA in regulating tumor dormancy or reactivation is unknown. We found that ABA is produced by human marrow cells, and exogenous ABA inhibits PCa cell proliferation while increasing the expression of p27, p21, and p16 and decreasing the expression of the proliferation marker, Ki67. Further, ABA significantly increased the percentage of PCa cells in the G0 phase of the cell cycle as well as the duration the cells were arrested in G0. We found that ABA regulates an increase of PPARγ receptor expression and suppressed phosphorylation of mTOR/p70S6K signaling and resulting in the induction of the cellular dormancy. We then confirmed that ABA regulates G0 cell cycle arrest through PPARγ receptor signaling in vitro and under co-culture conditions with osteoblasts. Finally, we demonstrate that ABA regulates PCa dormancy in vivo following intratibial injection in an animal model. Together these data suggest that the ABA and PPARγ signaling pathways contribute to the establishment of PCa cellular dormancy in the bone marrow microenvironment. These findings may suggest critical pathways for targeting metastatic disease.
Biased Pol II fidelity contributes to conservation of functional domains in the Potato spindle tuber viroid genome

Accurate calculation of mutation rates for viruses and viroids is necessary for evolutionary studies and to evaluate adaptation potential. However, estimation of in vivo mutation rates is complicated by selection, which leads to loss or proliferation of certain mutations. To minimize this concern, lethal mutations, including nonsense and non-synonymous mutations, have been used to determine mutation rates for several viruses and viroids, including Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). However, this approach has limitations, including focus on a relatively small number of genome sites and the possibility that mutations may not actually be lethal or may be maintained by wild type individuals. To avoid selection bias altogether, we sequenced minus-strand PSTVd dimers from concatemeric replication intermediates. The underlying rationale is that mutations found in only one of the monomers were likely generated de novo during RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription of the circular plus-strand RNA genome. This approach yielded an apparent Pol II error rate of ~1/1837 nucleotides per transcription cycle, and an estimated mutation rate of ~1/919 nucleotides for a single replication cycle. Remarkably, de novo mutations were nearly absent from the most conserved, replication-critical regions of the PSTVd genome, suggesting that sequence conservation is a consequence of both essential function and template optimization for greater Pol II fidelity. Such biased fidelity may constitute a novel strategy to ensure population success while allowing abundant sampling of sequence space in other genome regions. Comparison with variants in progeny populations derived from a cloned, wild type PSTVd master sequence revealed that most de novo mutations were lost through selection.
Modeling the thermal energy storage capability of a phase change material confined in a rectangular cavity

Abstract Phase change materials (PCM) may be used as a thermal energy barrier for applications requiring insulation. This project explores the behavior of pure PCM within a two-dimensional rectangular cavity as a thermal barrier using a new thermal barrier efficiency metric. The dimensionless parameters are determined that dictate the efficiency for one-dimensional transport with cyclical heat flux loading on one side and a convective boundary condition on the opposite side. Two limiting conditions for the PCM behavior (No Phase Change and Full Phase Change) are studied analytically, and numerical models show that the predicted thermal barrier efficiency exceeds these limits, suggesting that the limiting conditions provide useful conservative estimates of PCM performance in designing PCM thermal barriers. Results show that both the No Phase Change limit and Full Phase Change efficiencies decrease with increasing Fourier and decreasing Biot numbers. An expression is derived for the CFD-predicted thermal barrier efficiency as a function of No Phase Change and Full Phase Change efficiencies and the Fourier number when Bi = 0.2.
Teaching Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Teachers’ Burnout Profiles and Classroom Management:

Teachers may have affective responses to teaching students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) that influence their effectiveness. We used latent profile analysis to examine the burnout profi...
Experiencing the Civil Rights Movement Together: How Two Schools Bridged the Racial and Cultural Divide

This study explores an innovative Civil Rights program, one that brings together students from two Midwestern high schools, a majority Black public charter school and a majority white Jewish privat...
Scientist Civic Engagement and the US EPA’s “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” Rule

BACKGROUND AND AIM: For decades, vested interests, including tobacco and oil companies, have sought access to data used by observational epidemiologists, even when involving private health data. Th...
Global Trade and the Dollar

We document that the U.S. dollar exchange rate drives global trade prices and volumes. Using a newly constructed data set of bilateral price and volume indices for more than 2,500 country pairs, we establish the following facts: 1) The dollar exchange rate quantitatively dominates the bilateral exchange rate in price pass-through and trade elasticity regressions. U.S. monetary policy induced dollar fluctuations have high pass-through into bilateral import prices. 2) Bilateral non-commodities terms of trade are essentially uncorrelated with bilateral exchange rates. 3) The strength of the U.S. dollar is a key predictor of rest-of-world aggregate trade volume and consumer/producer price inflation. A 1 percent U.S. dollar appreciation against all other currencies in the world predicts a 0.6-0.8 percent decline within a year in the volume of total trade between countries in the rest of the world, controlling for the global business cycle. 4) Using a novel Bayesian semiparametric hierarchical panel data model, we estimate that the importing country's share of imports invoiced in dollars explains 15 percent of the variance of dollar pass-through/elasticity across country pairs. Our findings strongly support the dominant currency paradigm as opposed to the traditional Mundell-Fleming pricing paradigms.
Reconciliation of local and long-range tilt correlations in underdoped La2-xBaxCuO4(0 ≤ x ≤ 0.155)

A long standing puzzle regarding the disparity of local and long range CuO₆ octahedral tilt correlations in the underdoped regime of La₂₋xBaxCuO₄ is addressed by utilizing complementary neutron powder diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) approaches. Long-range and static CuO₆ tilt order with orthogonally inequivalent Cu-O bonds in the CuO₂ planes in the low temperature tetragonal (LTT) phase is succeeded on warming through the low-temperature transition by one with orthogonally equivalent bonds in the low temperature orthorhombic (LTO) phase. In contrast, the signatures of LTT-type tilts in the instantaneous local atomic structure persist on heating throughout the LTO crystallographic phase on the nanoscale, although becoming weaker as temperature increases. Analysis of the INS spectra for the x = 1/8 composition reveals the dynamic nature of the LTT-like tilt fluctuations within the LTO phase and their 3D character. The doping dependence of relevant structural parameters indicates that the magnitude of the Cu-O bond anisotropy has a maximum at x = 1/8 doping where bulk superconductivity is most strongly suppressed, suggesting that the structural anisotropy might be influenced by electron-phonon coupling and the particular stability of the stripe-ordered phase at this composition. The bond-length modulation that pins stripe order is found to more » be remarkably subtle, with no anomalous bond length disorder at low temperature, placing an upper limit on any in-plane Cu-O bondlength anisotropy. The results further reveal that although appreciable octahedral tilts persist through the high-temperature transition and into the high temperature tetragonal (HTT) phase, there is no significant preference between different tilt directions in the HTT regime. As a result, this study also exemplifies the importance of a systematic approach using complementary techniques when investigating systems exhibiting a large degree of complexity and subtle structural responses. « less
Antigen binding to lymphoid cells of unimmunized mice. V. Use of pure in vitro colony-derived cell populations in studies of the identification and clonal distribution of multiple antigen-binding cells.

SUMMARY In order to determine the cell type responsible for the antigen-binding reaction in the bone marrow and spleen of mice, cells derived from pure in vitro derived colonies of neutrophils, eosinophils, macrophage-megakaryocytes and B lymphocytes were tested for their ability to bind fluorescent protein antigens. Only B lymphocytes bound antigen. An unexpectedly high percentage of bone marrow B lymphocytes (20%) bound a given antigen. This frequency was considerably higher than that found for spleen cells. As might be expected from such high binding frequencies, some cells bound two fluorchromated antigens when these are added together. As a direct test of the clonality of antigen binding to bone marrow B lymphocytes, whole colonies of B cells were tested for antigen binding of two non-cross-reacting protein antigens. The frequency of antigen-binding clones, including double antigen-binding clones, reflects exactly the frequencies observed for dispersed colony B cells and for in vivo derived Ig-bearing bone marrow B cells. The frequency of double antigen-binding colonies was equal to the product of the frequencies of the colonies binding each of the two antigens alone. No ‘mixed’ colonies containing single binding cells for each antigen were found. Thus, the ability to bind any two given antigens is a clonally distributed property of the bone marrow B lymphocyte population. Heterogenous receptors for multiple antigen binding on each cell are either randomly distributed among the B cell population, or homogenous antigen-binding receptors on each cell have a random chance of cross-reaction with the two antigens tested.
Periodic Slow Earthquakes from the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Continuous geodetic measurements from convergent margins have shown that deep transient creep events can release large amounts of strain energy without detectable seismic shaking, and they are thus known as slow or silent earthquakes. Because subduction zones generate the largest earthquakes,
Initiation of flight in the unrestrained fly, Drosophila melanogaster

Using high speed cinematography and videography, we determined that unrestrained Drosophila melanogaster can initiate flight in two different ways, which we have designated Type 1 and Type 2 flight initiation. Type 1 behaviour is executed when the fly initiates flight ‘voluntarily’. Type 2 behaviour is executed in response to a visual stimulus and is presumably an escape response. During both types of flight initiation, the fly pushes off from the substratum using only the mesothoracic legs. The mesothoracic legs extend at the coxo-trochanteric, femoro-tibial and tibio-metatarsal joints. Although the movements of the legs are similar during both Type 1 and Type 2 flight initiation, the movements of the wings are different. Prior to the onset of leg extension, during Type 1 flight initiation, the wings are raised and rotated from their resting position to a preflight position dorsal to the thorax. The wings are held in this upright position for several milliseconds and then rapidly depressed during leg extension. Prior to Type 2 flight initiation, by contrast, the wings are not raised and rotated, nor are the wings depressed during leg extension. Thus Type 1 flight initiation involves simultaneous leg extension and wing depression, whereas Type 2 flight initiation involves only leg extension.
Genetic functions and cell-cell interactions in the pheromone-inducible plasmid transfer system of Enterococcus faecalis

Summary Pheromone-inducible plasmid transfer is a novel form of bacterial conjugation which has, to date, been observed only in Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis. This process includes several important stages of interaction between the donor and recipient cell. The initial interaction is the transmission of a chemical signal from the recipient to the donor cell. Recent evidence has shown that the signal is in the form of a small hydrophobic peptide, which is capable of inducing a complex mating response in the donor cell at concentrations as low as 1–5 molecules per responder cell. Most E. faecalis strains produce multiple pheromones, each of which induces a response only in cells carrying a particular plasmid (or member of a family of related plasmids). Genetic functions ascribed to the pheromone response include: (i) cell-cell aggregation, which promotes initial close contact between mating cells; (ii) surface exclusion, which prevents plasmid transfer between aggregated donor cells; and (iii) highly efficient DNA transfer, which requires other unidentified functions in addition to aggregation. The first two processes appear to be mediated by proteinaceous surface antigens.
The gods must be crazy: a matter of time in collaborative systems

The concept of time in traditional distributed systems has been inherited in the Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) literature. The following assumptions have generally been made: (1) Events are atomic and their durations do not matter. (2) Total ordering of events can be achieved by some mechanical algorithm. (3) The relationship between events is determined solely by time (causal relationship). However, we observe that these assumptions are not appropriate if the goal is to faithfully preserve user intentions in collaborative systems. In particular, we discuss why and how these assumptions should be relaxed or removed in the design of collaborative editing systems.
On the Nature of nontypable Haemophilus influenzae

193 Haemophilus cultures, including 71 nontypable H. influenzae isolates, were examined with respect to phage HP1 sensitivity, lysogeny for this and for other phages and for excretion of bacteriocins. Fifty of the 71 nontypable cultures were sensitive to phage HP1 but only three produced plaques. The other 47 isolates were thus probably not non-encapsulated derivatives of H. influenzae serotypes a, b, d, and e, which have discrete and characteristic phage HP1 restriction and modification systems, or serotype c which appears to be restriction negative. They could be derivatives of serotype f which does not give plaques with phage HP1. The nontypable three cultures that plated phage HP1 efficiently could be non-encapsulated serotype c derivatives. Fourteen of the phage HP1 insentitive nontypable cultures were found to be defectively lysogenic for this phage. Five of these were genetically transformed to wild type lysogens. Their phage produced plaques efficiently only on Rc strains and on a restriction-negative mutant of serotype d. These lysogenic nontypable isolates are thus modification (and restriction) negative and they are thus probably not nonencapsulated derivatives of serotypes a, b, d, e, or f. Fifty three of 56 serotype b cultures were found to excrete a bacteriocin, to which all other nonproducing Haemophilus cultures were more or less sensitive. The three restriction-negative nontypable H. influenzae cultures also excreted this bacteriocin but the other cultures listed did not do this. The tentative conclusion from this study is that nontypable H. influenzae isolates are probably not derivatives of the six known encapsulated strains.
Cochlear pathology induced by aminoglycoside ototoxicity during postnatal maturation in cats

Cochlear pathology resulting from neonatal administration of the aminoglycoside antibiotic, neomycin sulfate, was studied in young kittens at 15-24 days postnatal. Hearing thresholds showed severe to profound hearing loss in all but one animal. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that initial hair cell degeneration occurred in the extreme base (hook region) of the cochlea and sequentially progressed to the basal, middle, then the apical coil of the cochlea. The first row of outer hair cells degenerated first, followed by row 2, then row 3; the last cells to degenerate in a given region were the inner hair cells. This pattern of hair cell degeneration is similar to that seen in adults with neomycin ototoxicity. In contrast, the spiral ganglion exhibited a different pattern of degeneration with initial cell loss occurring in the middle of the cochlea, about 40-60% from the base (approximately 2.8-8 kHz). Thus, neuronal degeneration apparently is not secondary to sensory cell loss, but rather comprises an independent process in these neonatal animals. Taken together, the findings suggest that the spiral ganglion cell loss in the middle cochlear turn results from increased aminoglycoside sensitivity associated with an earlier initial onset of function in these neurons as compared to other cochlear regions.
Simultaneous utilization of acetate and hydrogen by Geobacter sulfurreducens and implications for use of hydrogen as an indicator of redox conditions.

Dissolved hydrogen concentrations, in conjunction with other geochemical indicators, are becoming an accepted means to determine terminal electron acceptor processes (TEAPs) in groundwater aquifers. Aqueous hydrogen concentrations have been found to fall within specific ranges under methanogenic, sulfate-reducing, iron-reducing, and denitrification conditions. Although hydrogen is gaining in acceptance for determining subsurface TEAPs, there is a dearth of data with regards to the kinetic coefficients for hydrogen utilization in the presence or absence of an additional electron donor under different TEAPs. This study expands the kinetic data for hydrogen utilization through a series of batch experiments, which were conducted to study the utilization of acetate and hydrogen by Geobacter sulfurreducens under iron-reducing conditions. The results of these experiments indicate that the kinetic coefficients (cell yield and first-order degradation rate) describing the rate of hydrogen utilization by G. sulfurre...
Dictyostelium Myosin Bipolar Thick Filament Formation: Importance of Charge and Specific Domains of the Myosin Rod

Myosin-II thick filament formation in Dictyostelium is an excellent system for investigating the phenomenon of self-assembly, as the myosin molecule itself contains all the information required to form a structure of defined size. Phosphorylation of only three threonine residues can dramatically change the assembly state of myosin-II. We show here that the C-terminal 68 kDa of the myosin-II tail (termed AD-Cterm) assembles in a regulated manner similar to full-length myosin-II and forms bipolar thick filament (BTF) structures when a green fluorescent protein (GFP) “head” is added to the N terminus. The localization of this GFP-AD-Cterm to the cleavage furrow of dividing Dictyostelium cells depends on assembly state, similar to full-length myosin-II. This tail fragment therefore represents a good model system for the regulated formation and localization of BTFs. By reducing regulated BTF assembly to a more manageable model system, we were able to explore determinants of myosin-II self-assembly. Our data support a model in which a globular head limits the size of a BTF, and the large-scale charge character of the AD-Cterm region is important for BTF formation. Truncation analysis of AD-Cterm tail fragments shows that assembly is delicately balanced, resulting in assembled myosin-II molecules that are poised to disassemble due to the phosphorylation of only three threonines.
A PSO algorithm for constrained redundancy allocation in multi-state systems with bridge topology

Bridge topology is a commonly used structure for load balancing and control in applications such as electric power generation and transmission, transportation and computer networks, and electronic circuits. The reliability performance of engineering systems with bridge topology can be characterized by multi-state models and enhanced by allocating redundant elements. The redundancy allocation problem, which aims at finding the optimal trade-off between system performance and investment costs, is proved difficult to solve and has received much attention in the literature. This paper advances a meta-heuristic approach called particle swarm optimization and applies it to effectively solve for near-optimal solutions to the redundancy allocation problem of multi-state systems with bridge topology. Two typical redundancy allocation problem formulations, i.e., minimizing the system cost while satisfying required system availability and maximizing the system availability with a limited budget, are studied. Heterogeneous redundancy, i.e., the mixture of redundant element types in each subsystem, is allowed in the formulations. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach are validated by the case studies of a bridge-structured coal conveyor multi-state system with extra constraints. The research results have practical meaning to the design and improvement of engineering systems with bridge topology.
Multimodal treatment for the locally advanced stage IB, IIA, IIB patients of cervical cancer

By employing neoadjuvent chemotherapy (NCT) before radical hysterectomy (RS) and pelvic radiotherapy (RT) in bulky locally advanced cervical cancer (IB, IIA, IIB), the study was focused to update the results of the author's therapeutic experience with multimodal treatment by observing tumor free survivals along with related prognostic factors in different treatment modalities with NCT. The chemotherapy regimen for induction is composed of Vinblastin, Bleomycin and cis-Platin regimen (VBP). The effect of neoadjuvent chemotherapy was evaluated by the WHO definition of clinical response (CR, PR, ST, PG). As a result of NCT study in the stage IA, IIA, and IIB cervical cancer patients recurrence occurred in 50 out of 138 patients (35.5%) treated with radical hysterectomy only (RS) compared with 17 out of 92 patients (18.5%) treated with NCT followed by radical surgery. In conjunction with the NCT study in the cervical cancer, another two groups of patients who were treated by neoadjuvent chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy (NCST) and adjuvent radiation (NCSRT) were evaluated in the high-risk patients of cervical cancer with stage IB, IIA, and IIB. Primary responses in the NCST group (n = 61) were CR (68.9%), PR (22.9%), ST (4.9%) and PG (3.3%) respectively, while the chemoresponse of the NCSRT group (n = 101) were CR (65.3%), PR (18.9%), ST (4.9%) and PG (10.9%), respectively. The survival rates of the NCSRT group (n = 101) were 100% in all 1-5 years in CR group, while the rate of the NCST group was 100% at 1 year and 98.5% at 5 years in the CR group of patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Nuclear dynamics and quasi-elastic electron scattering

We present results of calculations of the longitudinal and transverse response function for inelastic electron scattering from $^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$ and $^{12}\mathrm{C}$. In the impulse approximation it is found that the calculated longitudinal response is approximately forty percent too large for $^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$. We discuss those aspects of nuclear dynamics which could account for this discrepancy and suggest that the depletion of the shell model orbitals through various (short-range) correlation effects may play an important role. It is suggested that a significant longitudinal response may exist at energies above the quasi-elastic domain; this response would involve the excitation of 2p-2h states. In our model there is a significant disagreement between theory and experiment for the transverse response. We ascribe this disagreement to meson-exchange-current effects; however, we present no calculations of such effects in this work. Quantitative studies of these effects in finite nuclei are required. If our model for the quenching of the longitudinal response in the quasi-elastic domain proves to be correct, we can infer that quasi-elastic electron scattering studies may provide a measurement of the average probability of the occupation of a shell model orbital.
Mayo Clinic Validation of the D’Amico Risk Group Classification for Predicting Survival Following Radical Prostatectomy

Purpose: The D’Amico risk group classification was originally developed to estimate the risk of biochemical recurrence following treatment for localized prostate cancer. We externally validated the ability of the risk groups to predict clinical progression, and cancer specific and overall survival following radical prostatectomy, and identify predictors of outcome in patients with high risk disease.Materials and Methods: We evaluated the records of 7,591 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at our institution between 1987 and 2003. Postoperative survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the ability of the risk groups to predict survival and to evaluate the impact of clinicopathological factors on outcome in patients at high risk.Results: Preoperative risk group stratification predicted the patient risk of biochemical and local recurrence, systemic progression, and cancer specific and overall survival (each p <0....
Effect of wall shear layers on the sound attenuation in acoustically lined rectangular ducts

Abstract This paper deals with the manner in which a shear layer proximate to the wall of an acoustically treated rectangular duct modifies the attenuation spectra. The restriction of this shear layer to the region near the lined duct walls is aimed at simulating boundary layer effects on the attenuation. Theoretical results show that shear significantly changes the peak attenuation, causing a frequency shift of this peak. For the inlet mode, i.e. flow against the direction of sound propagation, both results are a strong function of Mach number and layer thickness. For the exhaust mode, i.e. flow in the direction of propagation, these effects are relatively weak. The theory set forth in this paper is also compared with experimental data obtained from flow duct facilities. Inclusion of shear definitely improves agreement with experimental data of the attenuation for the inlet mode but slightly worsens agreement with the experiments for the exhaust mode.
Computer Troubleshooting Tips for Librarians

Abstract The computer has penetrated every facet of library services and has affected how we interact with library services and how libraries are perceived. As modern information professionals, we are increasingly required to manage not only information itself, but also its supporting technologies. The tips presented cover computer maintenance, computer lock-up, illegal operation messages, various booting problems, and errors reading from the floppy drive. The important thing to remember is there is always a logical reason for a computer not working, and it is not difficult to find out the solution and solve the problem on your own.
Active displacement partitioning and arc-parallel extension of the Aleutian volcanic arc based on Global Positioning System geodesy and kinematic analysis

Global Positioning System geodesy and structural analysis of parts of the Aleutian island chain support the interpretation of forearc migration westward along right-lateral transcurrent faults. Measured displacements are essentially arc parallel in the eastern (Unalaska Island) and western (Attu Island) parts of the arc and vary from 3.1 mm/yr to 31.4 mm/yr, respectively. At the center of the arc (Adak) subduction of the Amlia fracture zone disrupts the pattern of arc-parallel displacement and records an upper plate velocity of 9.6 mm/yr parallel to plate motion. Where active, displacement partitioning accommodates 30%–50% of the strike-slip component of plate convergence. In the area of impeded subduction partitioning ceases, suggesting that the process is sensitive to the degree of coupling across the plate-boundary megathrust. The differential arc-parallel displacements observed at the ends of the arc together with structural relations indicate substantial arc-parallel extension, which may play an important role in exhumation of high-pressure–low-temperature metamorphic rocks in ancient arc systems.
GPU-accelerated image reconstruction for optical and infrared interferometry

The advent of GPU hardware and associated software libraries for scientific computing renders possible acceleration of parallelisable problems by a typical factor of 10-100. We present the first GPU-accelerated and open source image reconstruction software for optical/infrared interferometry, making use of the OpenCL library. Finally we evaluate how this improvement in speed may translate in terms of improvement in image reconstruction quality for currently computationnally intensive algorithms.
Scene-Aware Video Modeling and Compression

We describe a video compression methodology that exploits the structure of the data formation process, whereby the ``source'' is the scene, and the ``channel'' includes scaling and occlusion phenomena that are critical elements of image formation. Thus our scheme involves occlusion detection, optical flow computation, texture/structure partition, and a notion of proper sampling. We show preliminary but promising results that exceed baseline compression performance, albeit at an increased computational cost.
Some of David Byar's work: in appreciation.

Abstract David Byar wrote and thought with great clarity about randomized clinical trials(RCTs), pointing to their strengths—and to the limitations of alternative investigative approaches. An issue that he treated quite briefly in the seven publications that I review here is the possible gains to be had from post hoc covariate adjustment of RCT results. Calculations that I offer suggest that for realistic sample sizes and covariates of modest strength, those gains cannot be large, on average. The price to be paid for them is to replace the clear, cogent RCT paradigm with a more complex and diffuse one; this seems just cause for unease.
Software assurance in academia

There is a great need in industry to mitigate the risks and threats that our computer infrastructure faces. The answer is to incorporate a better strategy of software assurance within the development process. This requires knowledge and skills that is not offered to many college level students. A software assurance course offered at a university was observed and evaluated on the course content and the learning strategy. The content was compared to the Software Assurance: A Curriculum Guide to the Common Body of Knowledge to Produce, Sustain, and Acquire Software. The course content focuses on security principles and vulnerabilities in coding. The laboratory exercises require students to develop an application, learn formalized testing methods, and then evaluate and fix the vulnerabilities found from the testing methods. The course was very effective in teaching students the importance of software assurance. The observation of the course found that with additional areas added to the course content a well rounded course in software assurance could be offered to students.
A reconstruction-independent method for computerized mass detection in digital tomosynthesis images of the breast

We developed a two-stage computerized mass detection algorithm for digital tomosynthesis images of the breast. Rather than analyze the reconstructed 3D breast volume, our algorithm operates on each of the 2D projection images directly. We chose this approach because reconstruction algorithms for breast tomosynthesis are still being optimized, which can alter the appearance of the 3D reconstructed breast volume. Furthermore this approach allows us to take advantage of mass detection methods already developed for conventional two-view projection mammography, which are similar to projection images for digital tomosynthesis. We applied our algorithm to two tomosynthesis image sets, one of which was a computer simulated 3D breast phantom, and one was a clinical image set. In both cases, the lesion was detected in the first stage of the algorithm, while the second stage of the algorithm efficiently reduced false positive detections.
Response: effect of HCV monoinfection and HIV coinfection in kidney transplant recipients-the role of diabetes.

Keywords: clinical research/practice; kidney transplantation/nephrology; diabetes; infection and infectious agents; viral: hepatitis C
Wavelength-agile sensor applied for HCCI engine measurements

Abstract Wavelength-agile laser sources enable continuous monitoring of multiple spectral features, and are of high interest for spectroscopic sensing of combustion processes. Here, we present a tunable external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) based on a rapidly vibrating diffraction grating. The laser scanned from 1374 to 1472 nm every 85 μs; the wavelength range was chosen to encompass the P-branch of the ν 1 + ν 3 band of H 2 O, and the scan rate was fast enough to monitor transient processes as in internal combustion engines. During combustion, gas temperature and H 2 O mole fraction can be inferred from each scan of the laser by use of absorption spectroscopy techniques. In this case, we directed the laser through an engine operating on heptane/air at an equivalence ratio of 0.16 in homogeneous-charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode. During the final 35 crank-angle degrees of a single compression stroke, the measured temperature and H 2 O mole fraction rose from 800 K and 0.3% to 1350 K and 2.7%, respectively. The details of such records show promise for contributing to the fundamental understanding of HCCI combustion processes. In addition, the sensing strategy shows promise in its own right: although the ECDL we built exhibits high intensity noise, and multi-spectral and -spatial-mode output, the wavelength-agile approach and robust data reduction techniques form a reliable sensor appropriate to a wide range of combustion applications.
A Boundary Element Method Without Internal Cells for Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Elastoplastic Problems

In this paper, a new and simple boundary element method without internal cells is presented for the analysis of elastoplastic problems, based on an effective transformation technique from domain integrals to boundary integrals. The strong singularities appearing in internal stress integral equations are removed by transforming the domain integrals to the boundary. Other weakly singular domain integrals are transformed to the boundary by approximating the initial stresses with radial basis functions combined with polynomials in global coordinates. Three numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method. ©2002 ASME
Signal-to-noise ratio analysis of the computed-tomography imaging spectrometer

We report results from a simple signal-to-noise analysis of the computed tomography imaging spectrometer (CTIS). The CTIS is non-scanning high-sped imaging spectrometer capable of simultaneously recording spatial and spectral information about dynamic events. This instrument is based on computed- tomography concepts and operates in the visible. The numerical estimate of the noise equivalent spectral radiance for the CTIS is 1.6 nanowatts per centimeter squared per steradian per micrometer.
Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma: Review of the literature and report of a case associated with an apical periodontal cyst

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma arising centrally within the jaws is a rare lesion which exhibits considerable histologic variability and an unpredictable clinical course. Its specific pathogenesis is unknown, although speculation has centered on the pluripotential capabilities of the epithelial lining of odontogenic cysts. The case presented here illustrates the relationship of such a lesion arising from the cyst wall of an apical periodontal cyst.
Thermal dilation of copper

Abstract The prediction that certain cubic metals may not be precisely cubic throughout a range of temperature below their melting points led to the present investigation. Pure copper was chosen as the cubic metal to examine for anisotropy in its thermal dilation, and the (024) and the (331) planes were chosen in the lattice. Temperatures for examination ranged between 18°–770°C, using a 19-cm high-temperature powder camera by Unicam of Cambridge, England. Plotting the lattice constant vs. temperature, the thermal dilation of pure copper was found to be isotropic throughout the temperature range investigated.