cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Esophageal Toxicity From High-Dose, Single-Fraction Paraspinal Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Purpose To report the esophageal toxicity from single-fraction paraspinal stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and identify dosimetric and clinical risk factors for toxicity. Methods and Materials A total of 204 spinal metastases abutting the esophagus (182 patients) were treated with high-dose single-fraction SRS during 2003-2010. Toxicity was scored using the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. Dose-volume histograms were combined to generate a comprehensive atlas of complication incidence that identifies risk factors for toxicity. Correlation of dose-volume factors with esophageal toxicity was assessed using Fisher's exact test and logistic regression. Clinical factors were correlated with toxicity. Results The median dose to the planning treatment volume was 24 Gy. Median follow-up was 12 months (range, 3-81). There were 31 (15%) acute and 24 (12%) late esophageal toxicities. The rate of grade ≥3 acute or late toxicity was 6.8% (14 patients). Fisher's exact test resulted in significant median splits for grade ≥3 toxicity at V12=3.78 cm 3 (relative risk [RR] 3.7, P =.05), V15=1.87 cm 3 (RR 13, P =.0013), V20=0.11 cm 3 (RR 6, P =0.01), and V22=0.0 cm 3 (RR 13, P =.0013). The median split for D2.5 cm 3 (14.02 Gy) was also a significant predictor of toxicity (RR 6; P =.01). A highly significant logistic regression model was generated on the basis of D2.5 cm 3 . One hundred percent ( n = 7) of grade ≥4 toxicities were associated with radiation recall reactions after doxorubicin or gemcitabine chemotherapy or iatrogenic manipulation of the irradiated esophagus. Conclusions High-dose, single-fraction paraspinal SRS has a low rate of grade ≥3 esophageal toxicity. Severe esophageal toxicity is minimized with careful attention to esophageal doses during treatment planning. Iatrogenic manipulation of the irradiated esophagus and systemic agents classically associated with radiation recall reactions are associated with development of grade ≥4 toxicity.
Mach–Zehnder Interferometric Switch Utilizing Faraday Rotation

An all-fiber interferometric switch based on Faraday rotation exhibited by magneto-optic materials in the presence of an external magnetic field is reported. The interferometer is Mach-Zehnder type and the related phase shift was obtained by the rotation of the state of polarization of a linearly polarized optical signal. The operation of the switch is demonstrated experimentally. The effect of the optical beam size on the achievable Faraday rotation is also investigated. Hysteresis is avoided as the magnetic field required for switching is much lower than the saturation field
Predictions of the effects of Mars's encounter with comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) upon metal species in its ionosphere

The infall of dust from the coma of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) and its subsequent ablation in the atmosphere of Mars has the potential to affect the abundances of metal species in the atmosphere and ionosphere. We develop relationships between properties of the dust population in the coma and densities of metal species in the atmosphere and ionosphere. These can be used to predict the abundances of metal species in the atmosphere and ionosphere during the encounter. Given postencounter observations of the atmosphere and ionosphere, they can also be used to infer relevant cometary properties. Although current predictions suggest that the influx of cometary dust will be comparable to the sporadic background, the higher entry speed involved, which leads to a greater production rate of ions during ablation, means that metal ion abundances may be enhanced during and after the encounter.
Mixing Ring-Based Source-Location Privacy in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks consist of low-cost and low- power radio devices and are deployed in open and unprotected areas. Privacy is becoming one of the major issues that jeopardize the successful deployment of wireless sensor networks. While confidentiality of the message can be ensured through content encryption, it is much more difficult to adequately address the source-location privacy. For wireless sensor networks, computa- tionally intensive cryptographic algorithms (such as public-key cryptosystems) and large scale broadcasting-based protocols are not suitable. In this paper, we propose a scheme to provide source-location privacy through a three-phase routing: routing to a randomly selected intermediate node, routing in a network mix ring, and message forwarding to the SINK node. While being able to provide source-location privacy for WSN, our simulation results also demonstrate that the proposed scheme is very efficient and can be used for practical applications. protocols, are not suitable for WSN. This makes privacy preserving communications in WSN an extremely challenging research task. To optimize the sensor nodes for the limited node capabilities and the application specific nature of the networks, traditionally, security requirements were largely ignored. This leaves the WSN under network security attacks. In the worst case, an adversary may be able to undetectably take control of some sensor nodes, compromise the cryptographic keys and reprogram the sensor nodes. In this paper, we propose a scheme that provides source- location privacy through a three-phase routing process. In the first routing phase, the message source randomly selects an intermediate node in the sensor domain and then transmits the data packet to the randomly selected intermediate node (RRIN) before it is routed to a ring node. This phase provides the local source-location privacy. In the second routing phase, the data packet will be mixed with other packets through a network mixing ring (NMR). This phase offers network-level (global) source-location privacy. Finally, the data packet will be forwarded to the SINK node from certain specific nodes on the mixing ring. While being able to provide source-location privacy for WSN, our simulation results also demonstrate that the proposed scheme is very efficient and can be used practical applications.
Analysis of rib waveguides and couplers by the propagating beam method

The propagating beam method (PBM) is known to be an accurate tool for modeling propagation in waveguides with graded-index profiles. Intuition suggests, on the other hand, that the PBM is inappropriate for waveguides such as rib waveguides that exhibit refractive-index discontinuities. We demonstrate here that the PBM is indeed applicable to rib waveguides, although extremely small longitudinal integration steps may be required. Comparison with other numerical methods for calculating mode indices for single waveguides shows good agreement. The assessment of accuracy for modeling rib-waveguide directional couplers, on the other hand, is less certain because of a general lack of consistency among the various methods used in the comparison.
The mechanical properties of single fibrin fibers

Summary. Background: Blood clots perform the mechanical task of stemming the flow of blood. Objectives: To advance understanding and realistic modeling of blood clot behavior we determined the mechanical properties of the major structural component of blood clots, fibrin fibers. Methods: We used a combined atomic force microscopy (AFM)/ fluorescence microscopy technique to determine key mechanical properties of single crosslinked and uncrosslinked fibrin fibers. Results and conclusions: Overall, full crosslinking renders fibers less extensible, stiffer, and less elastic than their uncrosslinked counterparts. All fibers showed stress relaxation behavior (time-dependent weakening) with a fast and a slow relaxation time, 2 and 52 s. In detail, crosslinked and uncrosslinked fibrin fibers can be stretched to 2.5 and 3.3 times their original length before rupturing. Crosslinking increased the stiffness of fibers by a factor of 2, as the total elastic modulus, E0, increased from 3.9 to 8.0 MPa and the relaxed, elastic modulus, E¥, increased from 1.9 to 4.0 MPa upon crosslinking. Moreover, fibers stiffened with increasing strain (strain hardening), as E0 increased by a factor of 1.9 (crosslinked) and 3.0 (uncrosslinked) at strains e > 110%. At low strains, the portion of dissipated energy per stretch cycle was small ( 100%, all fiber types dissipated about 70% of the input energy. We propose a molecular model to explain our data. Our single fiber data can now also be used to construct a realistic, mechanical model of a fibrin network.
Potential use of near, mid and far infrared laser diodes in automotive LIDAR applications

Laser infrared detection and ranging (LIDAR) may be used in on-board automotive applications for monitoring the distance to objects approaching the host vehicle and their relative velocities. The low total cost of equipping cars with LIDAR systems has motivated their development for the automotive market. We conducted an experimental study to assess the ability to detect painted car body panels and various reflectors with 850, 910, 1560, 5600 and 8100 nm LIDAR transceivers. Specular reflection from such targets was high at all wavelengths. However at 5.6 and 8.1 /spl mu/m, diffuse reflection was not detectable at meaningful distances due to (1) the high absorption of the clear paint coating of body panels and the plastic material used for making reflectors, and (2) the low detectivity achievable at such wavelengths. At 850 to 1560 nm, these targets behaved as in the visible range of the spectrum with high returns from reflectors and much weaker diffuse returns from painted panels. Nonetheless, the weak diffuse reflections were readily detectable at 850 to 1560 nm. As concern with eye safety favors wavelengths above 1.4 /spl mu/m, a 1.6 /spl mu/m LIDAR wavelength is suggested as optimum.
Graphene oxide as surfactant sheets

Graphite oxide sheet, now referred to as graphene oxide (GO), is the product of chemical oxidation and exfoliation of graphite powders that was first synthesized over a cen- tury ago. Interest in this old material has resurged in recent years, especially after the dis- covery of graphene, as GO is considered a promising precursor for the bulk production of graphene-based materials. GO sheets are single atomic layers that can readily extend up to tens of microns in lateral dimension. Therefore, their structure bridges the typical length scales of both chemistry and materials science. GO can be viewed as an unconventional type of soft material as it carries the characteristics of polymers, colloids, membranes, and as highlighted in this review, amphiphiles. GO has long been considered hydrophilic due to its excellent water dispersity, however, our recent work revealed that GO sheets are actually amphiphilic with an edge-to-center distribution of hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. Thus, GO can adhere to interfaces and lower interfacial energy, acting as surfactant. This new property insight helps to better understand GO's solution properties which can inspire novel material assembly and processing methods such as for fabricating thin films with controllable microstructures and separating GO sheets of different sizes. In addition, GO can be used as a surfactant sheet to emulsify organic solvents with water and disperse insoluble materials such as graphite and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in water, which opens up opportunities for creating functional hybrid materials of graphene and other π-conjugated systems.
Mathematical considerations of the modified normal distribution

In this paper, Romanowski’s modified normal distribution is considered from the mathematical standpoint. Initially, the characteristic function is computed. This function is then utilized to (1) compute moments, (2) demonstrate normal tendency as the modulating (“a”) parameter tends to infinity, (3) to formulate the modified normal distribution in terms of well known classical functions. To complete this mathematical consideration, the probability distribution is formulated in terms of tabulated functions. The paper is concluded with a discussion on the direction for further research.
Mass spectrometry of N‐nitrosamines

The preparation of a series of N-nitrosamines for carcinogenicity studies presented an opportunity to study mass spectral fragmentation schemes in detail. Condensed spectra are listed for 146 N-nitrosamines of widely differing structures, including nitroso derivatives of commercial drugs and insecticides. Aliphatic nitrosamines were generally characterized by molecular ions and loss of OH. Subsequent fragmentation via alpha-cleavage is similar to that of aliphatic amines. The loss of OH is believed to result in a cyclic ion. Subsituted aliphatic nitrosamines varied in fragmentation schemes with structure and position of the substitutent groups. However, most showed alpha-cleavage at some point in fragmentation. When substituted with aromatic groups prominent peaks due to the aromatic moiety were observed. The alicyclic nitrosamines showed losses of NO, NOH and OH and subsequent alpha-cleavages. Nitrosamides were characterized by rupture of the carbonyl to nitrogen bond. Spectra of substituted ureas usually showed charge retention by the carbonyl fragment, while carbamate esters showed ions from both fragments.
Prediction of the transport properties of a polyatomic gas

An ab initio molecular potential model is employed in this paper to show its excellent predictability for the transport properties of a polyatomic gas from molecular dynamics simulations. A quantum mechanical treatment of molecular vibrational energies is included in the Green and Kubo integral formulas for the calculation of the thermal conductivity by the Metropolis Monte Carlo method. Using CO2 gas as an example, the fluid transport properties in the temperature range of 300–1000 K are calculated without using any experimental data. The accuracy of the calculated transport properties is significantly improved by the present model, especially for the thermal conductivity. The average deviations of the calculated results from the experimental data for self-diffusion coefficient, shear viscosity, thermal conductivity are, respectively, 2.32%, 0.71% and 2.30%.
Examining the Blogging Habits of Agricultural Leadership Students: Understanding Motivation, Use, and Self-efficacy

Blogging is a form of social media and student engagement is at the center of blogging. The benefits of blogging include ease in making writing easier to share, encouraging students to write outside of the classroom, and supporting group collaboration. The findings suggest students are more passive in their blogging experiences, as the data found students generally read blogs more than they wrote blogs. The unified theory on the acceptance and use of technology and self-efficacy were used as the framework for the study. This study sought to explore agricultural leadership students’ motivations for blogging in writing intensive courses. Effort expectancy, performance expectancy, and behavioral intention were significantly correlated with self-efficacy. Teacher training could be used to increase awareness among educators about the benefits of blogging. Educators must be able to convey the benefits of educational blogging in terms of its ease and benefit in order to encourage student acceptance. Improved preparation of agricultural leadership instructors to include blogging in writing intensive courses may improve student engagement and learning, and increase our academic discipline’s knowledge of approaches that influence the practice of technology diffusion.
Direct Action of Gonadotropin Releasing-Hormone and Visualization of Its Receptors on Porcine Ovaries

Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) has direct actions on the rat ovary (1). Specific GnRH receptors have been demonstrated on rat (2) and human (3) ovaries. While hypothalamic GnRH is not believed to reach the ovary in sufficient concentration to influence its function, evidence exists for a locally made rat ovarian GnRH-like molecule (4). A GnRH-like molecule may play a role in the local control of follicular response to gonadotropins. Specific receptors for GnRH have not been detected by radioreceptor assays in porcine, equine or bovine ovaries (5). The experiments presented in this paper were aimed at examining whether GnRH or a GnRH-like molecule might play a role in regulation of follicular development in the porcine ovary.
Non-oriented and Measure Specific Models

When the health care manager is able to both reduce inputs and augment outputs simultaneously, a non-oriented model is of great use. The non-oriented model is formulated based on input and output slacks and, in the DEA literature, is called an additive model or a slack-based model. The illustrated slack-based model (SBM) assumes equal weights (e.g., 1) for all non-zero input and output slacks. However, there are weighted SBM models when a priori information on the relative importance of the slacks is available (in terms of reducing inputs or augmenting outputs). The weighted SBM models will not be pursued as DEA Solver-LV does not include this specific model.
Count-based frequency estimation with bounded memory

Count-based estimators are a fundamental building block of a number of powerful sequential prediction algorithms, including Context Tree Weighting and Prediction by Partial Matching. Keeping exact counts, however, typically results in a high memory overhead. In particular, when dealing with large alphabets the memory requirements of count-based estimators often become prohibitive. In this paper we propose three novel ideas for approximating count-based estimators using bounded memory. Our first contribution, of independent interest, is an extension of reservoir sampling for sampling distinct symbols from a stream of unknown length, which we call K-distinct reservoir sampling. We combine this sampling scheme with a state-of-the-art count-based estimator for memoryless sources, the Sparse Adaptive Dirichlet (SAD) estimator. The resulting algorithm, the Budget SAD, naturally guarantees a limit on its memory usage. We finally demonstrate the broader use of K-distinct reservoir sampling in nonparametric estimation by using it to restrict the branching factor of the Context Tree Weighting algorithm. We demonstrate the usefulness of our algorithms with empirical results on two sequential, large-alphabet prediction problems.
Fiscal decentralization and tax incentives in the developing world

ABSTRACTMany developing countries use tax incentives to attract foreign direct investment, sacrificing immediate revenue from foreign capital, even though the effects of tax incentives on investment, growth, and revenue are empirically dubious. This leads to the puzzle of why states adopt tax incentives. Extant studies of tax incentive adoption overlook the fact that many countries have decentralized fiscal authority, allowing subnational governments to offer tax incentives. Public finance scholars argue that fiscal federalism intensifies tax competition among regions. Hence, drawing on the public finance scholarship, one may ask: Does fiscal decentralization lead to a race to the top among subnational governments and an oversupply of tax incentives in a country? This article argues that fiscal decentralization affects tax incentives in complex ways. When subnational governments are authorized to set tax policies, their politicians have economic and political incentives to engage in tax competition for mo...
The Literature of the Phylum Ectoprocta: 1555–1963

Numbers of papers, subjects discussed and major workers on the Phylum Ectoprocta were compiled from the literature published from 1555 to 1963. The average yearly number of papers on ectoprocts increased greatly throughout the Nineteenth Century, stayed about constant from 1900 until after the second world war, and has been increasing modestly since then. Approximately 5500 papers have been written on ectoprocts, of which about 3600 deal with systematics and other biologic topics (excluding ecology); the remainder are on the use of ectoprocts in ecologic or stratigraphic studies. About 75 per cent of the literature is in English (50 per cent), French (15 per cent) and German (10 per cent). Since the limited catalogues published in 1900 and before, no catalogue of the literature on ectoprocts has been prepared. As a consequence, the literature on all aspects of the study of ectoprocts is poorly organized for modern workers. Probably more than any other single publication, a modern Catalogue of Ectoprocta, cross-indexed to taxonomic names and subjects, would lead to greatly increased interest and work on these animals. A journal devoted to all aspects of ectoprocts apparently has a large enough group of potential contributors (more than 100) to be viable. Since 1555, several tens of thousands of pages have been devoted to the study of the Phylum Ectoprocta (Bryozoa or Polyzoa of authors). There has, however, been no general summary of the number of papers in various subfields, major contributors, or languages of publication. And although Price (1963) and others have emphasized the exponential growth of scientific literature, that of systematics and other natural history studies is usually said to be lagging behind that of other fields. A review of the systematic and other literature of one Phylum, the Ectoprocta, can be used to test this assumption. In addition, in examining the growth of a field, it is interesting to see who has been chiefly responsible for it. By comparison of some of the trends in number of papers on ectoprocts with those of other major taxa, namely polychaete annelids, amphipods, and ostracodes, this paper may be of general interest.
Arrester Optimization of Main Transformer in 500 kV Large Scale Hydropower Station

In order to reduce the construction investment of large scale hydropower station,taking Gezhouba Dajiang hydropower station and Xiluodu Left Bank project as examples,this paper simulated and calculated the lightning invasion waves with using EMTP program. The calculation results show that the hydropower station which the connection between main transform and switch station uses overhead line can cancel the installation of arresters at busbar,but arresters should be installed at main transform; the hydropower station which the connection between main transform and switch station uses gas insulation line( GIL) can make busbar and main transform share a set of arresters. The large scale hydropower station always has lot of main transformers,and the arrester price of the gas insulated switchgear( GIS) in main transformer is expensive. So the optimization of GIS arrester in main transformer can bring great economic benefits. With the use of the optimized arrester arrangement scheme,the lightning protection reliability of 500 kV large scale hydropower station can be high enough.
An Ultrasonic Camera System for Medical Diagnosis

An ultrasonic camera system for throughtransmission as well as reflection imaging has been developed for diagnostic use. The ultrasonic camera produces real-time focused, orthographic images of a 15- x-15 cm field. A specially designed linear array of 19 2 piezoelectric detectors provides both high resolution and high sensitivity. The camera incorporates a unique wavefield deflection system which scans the focused image past the transducer array, producing 15 image-fields per second on a television display. The principles of operation of this camera system are described and demonstrated.
Egalitarian liberty and reciprocity in strategic context

In this chapter, I consider the chief alternative to the normative account of the preceding three chapters. Most philosophers and lawyers have thought that the rule of law is closely associated with an ideal of liberty. I have some skepticism about this claim (“the liberty thesis”), and aim with this chapter to subject the multiplicity of arguments for it to closer examination. To do so, this chapter introduces the transition between the purely normative and conceptual analysis of the rule of law and a strategic analysis. The full account of this book integrates the two analytic strategies, arguing that both give us reason to expect a strong association between the rule of law and equality. Here, this integration is begun. This chapter begins section I by arguing – using an elementary game theoretic model – that the rule of law actually may facilitate the control by officials over nonofficials, and thus may impair rather than advance individual liberty. This strategic argument foreshadows the later chapters of this book (especially Chapter 6), which center on the claim that the rule of law will be maintainable only in an environment in which coordinated nonofficial action holds officials to account. This tool for holding officials to the limits of the law, I argue, also can be a tool to allow officials to credibly commit to costly punishment, and hence to reliably get their orders carried out. This chapter then considers several arguments that have been offered in the philosophical and legal literature for the liberty thesis. Although, as noted, I approach them with substantial skepticism, the goal is not to refute them – all have their merits – but to find their boundaries and to consider the extent to which they apply to real-world states. In examining these arguments, the focus remains largely on the strategic context – that is, on the incentives that the rule of law and its institutional supports create, and the extent to which those incentives either facilitate or inhibit interferences with the choices of nonofficials. The chapter closes by returning to the equality thesis of the previous chapters, and to the expressive approach to interpreting value claims that those chapters emphasize. It turns out, I argue, that we can helpfully interpret compelling arguments in the domain of liberty as egalitarian appeals to the ideal of equal respect for people as autonomous decision makers.
Realizing Informed Consent in Times of Controversy: Lessons from the SUPPORT Study.

This Essay examines the elegantly simple idea that consent to medical treatment or participation in human research must be “informed” to be valid. It does so by using as a case study the controvers...
Rightholder as the Center: The DRM System in Copyright after so Many Years

Copyright holder as the center consists of two routes: a copyright holder is able to claim for remedy under copyright law and protect his work by law enforcement. On the other hand, he can employ technology to control the access to copyrighted works and enforce copyright by private implementation. Although the law enforcement is powerful and overwhelming, private implementation usually provides copyright owners with cheaper and flexible option than expensive and time-consuming judicial procedure.The digital rights management, also known as DRM, is a set of access control technologies which widely adopted by copyright owners. Major content providers such as Apple, Amazon, and Sony employ the DRM to control not only copying, but the distributing, printing, and altering of works or devices. From the perspective of copyright owners, the DRM provides another layer of security on their exclusive rights. Specifically, the DRM with accompanied technologies enable copyright owners to expand their copyright-like protection and strengthen the exclusive control on their digital works. However, the enhanced level of protection and control often leads to severe tension between copyright owners and online users because users’ freedom and experiences on works are greatly affected and limited.On the other hand, DRM is not flawless and the circumvention to DRM protected works are frequently occurred due to the technological loopholes. Therefore, DRM legislation on prohibition over the circumvention of DRM system become the second layer of protection regarding the efficiency of DRM system. In domestic perspective, the US, EU, and China respectively enacts own statutes on regulating the circumventions of DRM technology. In international area, the WIPO Internet Treaties (WCT) and Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) both introduced the protection on technological measures and rights management information.The twofold protection provided by DRM system in fact break the balance between copyright owners and online users. Being the center in copyright realm, copyright owners enjoy unprecedented power with the aid of digital technologies and legislation. However, DRM system is not as reliable and sustainable as design. Industrial practice in online music, eBooks, and PC games provides mixed results with respect to the efficiency of DRM system. Generally, the public are oppose to the implementation of DRM in online works, while the proponents such as copyright owners and third-party licensors gradually switch their stance from absolute enforcement of DRM to flexible offering DRM works to online users. Accordingly, the DRM system become less reliable and unpromising to online copyright enforcement compared to other enforcement strategies. To reach a more certain and clear conclusion, this paper looks into the DRM system with its industrial experiences in various areas.
“Maniacal slaves:” normative misogyny and female resistors of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Iran

ABSTRACTFeminist scholars the world over are increasingly aware of the importance of analyzing popular discourse, especially regarding women’s involvement in proscribed violence. Yet few have looked at Middle Eastern organizations, and fewer still at the Mojahedin-e Khalq Iran (MEK), a longstanding resistance group whose all-female leadership and sizeable female membership present a compelling challenge to prevailing gender norms. How do popular media portray female MEK resistors and what might these representations signify for our gendered conceptions of violence? In examining the MEK’s female leadership, this article undertakes a close reading of western and Iranian news coverage in an attempt to analyze the degree to which these women are painted as willful political agents or, as is often assumed, irrational actors incapable of autonomous political participation. Following Sjoberg and Gentry, I develop four cognitive frames to describe female resistors, while also challenging the media’s victimizing a...
Nuclear Localized LSR: A Novel Regulator of Breast Cancer Behavior and Tumorigenesis

Lipolysis-stimulated lipoprotein receptor (LSR) has been found in the plasma membrane and is believed to function in lipoprotein endocytosis and tight junctions. Given the impact of cellular metabolism and junction signaling pathways on tumor phenotypes and patient outcome, it is important to understand how LSR cellular localization mediates its functions. We conducted localization studies, evaluated DNA binding, and examined the effects of nuclear LSR in cells, xenografts, and clinical specimens. We found LSR within the membrane, cytoplasm, and the nucleus of breast cancer cells representing multiple intrinsic subtypes. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) showed direct binding of LSR to DNA, and sequence analysis identified putative functional motifs and post-translational modifications of the LSR protein. While neither overexpression of transcript variants, nor pharmacologic manipulation of post-translational modification significantly altered localization, inhibition of nuclear export enhanced nuclear localization, suggesting a mechanism for nuclear retention. Coimmunoprecipitation and proximal ligation assays indicated LSR–pericentrin interactions, presenting potential mechanisms for nuclear-localized LSR. The clinical significance of LSR was evaluated using data from over 1,100 primary breast tumors, which showed high LSR levels in basal-like tumors and tumors from African-Americans. In tumors histosections, nuclear localization was significantly associated with poor outcomes. Finally, in vivo xenograft studies revealed that basal-like breast cancer cells that overexpress LSR exhibited both membrane and nuclear localization, and developed tumors with 100% penetrance, while control cells lacking LSR developed no tumors. These results show that nuclear LSR alters gene expression and may promote aggressive cancer phenotypes. Implications: LSR functions in the promotion of aggressive breast cancer phenotypes and poor patient outcome via differential subcellular localization to alter cell signaling, bioenergetics, and gene expression. Mol Cancer Res; 15(2); 165–78. ©2016 AACR .
Influence of donor age on induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are being pursued as a source of cells for autologous therapies, many of which will be aimed at aged patients. To explore the impact of age on iPSC quality, we produced iPSCs from blood cells of 16 donors aged 21-100. We find that iPSCs from older donors retain an epigenetic signature of age, which can be reduced through passaging. Clonal expansion via reprogramming also enables the discovery of somatic mutations present in individual donor cells, which are missed by bulk sequencing methods. We show that exomic mutations in iPSCs increase linearly with age, and all iPSC lines analyzed carry at least one gene-disrupting mutation, several of which have been associated with cancer or dysfunction. Unexpectedly, elderly donors (>90 yrs) harbor fewer mutations than predicted, likely due to a contracted blood progenitor pool. These studies establish that donor age is associated with an increased risk of abnormalities in iPSCs and will inform clinical development of reprogramming technology.
Precision of Hubble constant derived using black hole binary absolute distances and statistical redshift information

Measured gravitational waveforms from black hole binary inspiral events directly determine absolute luminosity distances. To use these data for cosmology, it is necessary to independently obtain redshifts for the events, which may be difficult for those without electromagnetic counterparts. Here it is demonstrated that certainly in principle, and possibly in practice, clustering of galaxies allows extraction of the redshift information from a sample statistically for the purpose of estimating mean cosmological parameters, without identification of host galaxies for individual events. We extract mock galaxy samples from the 6th data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey resembling those that would be associated with inspiral events of stellar mass black holes falling into massive black holes at redshift $z\ensuremath{\approx}0.1$ to 0.5. A simple statistical procedure is described to estimate a likelihood function for the Hubble constant ${H}_{0}$: each galaxy in a LISA error volume contributes linearly to the log likelihood for the source redshift, and the log likelihood for each source contributes linearly to that of ${H}_{0}$. This procedure is shown to provide an accurate and unbiased estimator of ${H}_{0}$. It is estimated that a precision better than 1% in ${H}_{0}$ may be possible if the rate of such events is sufficiently high, on the order of 20 to $z=0.5$.
Up Close: Northwestern University Materials Research Center

The Materials Research Center at Northwestern University is an interdisciplinary center that supports theoretical and applied research on experimental advanced materials. Conceived during the post-Sputnik era, it is now in its 26th year. The Center, housed in the university's Technological Institute, was one of the first three centers funded at selected universities by the federal government in 1960. The federal government, through the National Science Foundation, now supplies $2.4 million annually toward the Center's budget, and Northwestern University supplements this amount. Approximately one third of the money is used for a central pool of essential equipment, and the other two thirds is granted to professors for direct support of their research. Large amounts of time on supercomputers are also awarded to the Materials Research Center from the National Science Foundation and other sources. The Center's role enables it to provide partial support for Northwestern University faculty working at the frontiers of materials research and to purchase expensive, sophisticated equipment. All members of the Center are Northwestern University investigators in the departments of materials science and engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, chemistry, or physics. The Materials Research Center is a major agent in fostering cross-departmental research efforts, thereby assuring that materials research at Northwestern University includes carefully chosen groups of faculty in physics, chemistry, and various engineering departments.
Carbon dioxide emissions from an oligotrophic temperate lake: An eddy covariance approach

Abstract In recent years, several studies have suggested that most lakes are net carbon sources to the atmosphere rather than carbon sinks. Quantifying and understanding the environmental drivers of carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from lakes is important in order to have a better understanding of the current and future greenhouse-gas budget of aquatic systems and the global ecosystem as a whole. In this study, we present observations of CO2 fluxes in an oligotrophic lake in Northern Michigan during two full growing seasons. We used the eddy covariance technique to measure continuous fluxes of CO2 and calculate the advective fluxes between the lake and the surrounding forest. We found that, at our measurement location far from shore, to the effects of horizontal advection were significantly lower than EC-observed vertical turbulent fluxes and contributed minimally to estimate of the seasonal totals. We found that during the summers the lake was an overall net carbon source, though at rates at much lower magnitude than nearby terrestrial ecosystems. Using a hierarchical modelling approach, we determined that net carbon flux from the lake is primarily correlated with wind speed, indicating the key role of mixing in the upper water layer. Variables indicative of microbial activity and lake gas storage were more highly correlated with the positive fraction of carbon flux than with carbon uptake.
The Social Context of Infant Imitation

The diversity in the panorama of human cultural modes of existence across geography and history is impressive; no less impressive is the ability of children born into the different regions of this panorama to acquire appropriate value orientations, modes of action, and social skills. In the literature on socialization and personality development, concepts such as imitation have been given an important place in accounting or the facility with which children’s enculturation seems to take place (e. g., Bandura & Walters, 1963; Goslin, 1969). However, there has been relatively little concern in this literature with the origin or the developmental course of the ability to learn from observing and imitating others.
Psychic investment in cruelty: three parables on race and imprisoning the mentally ill

Drawing on ethnographic and activist work in New York, I analyze three contemporary cases of mentally ill people charged violent crimes. State violence against them can be characterized as a differ...
Wide-angle diamond cell for neutron scattering

A new diamond cell with extreme apertures is described. It is tailored for a large variety of neutron scattering techniques such as inelastic neutron scattering and single-crystal diffraction both ...
State of the Art: trxG Factor Regulation of Post-embryonic Plant Development

Multicellular organisms rely on the precise and consistent regulation of gene expression to direct their development in tissue- and cell-type specific patterns. This regulatory activity involves arrays of DNA-binding transcription factors and epigenetic factors that modify chromatin structure. Among the chromatin modifiers, trithorax (trxG) and Polycomb (PcG) group proteins play important roles in orchestrating the stable activation and repression of gene expression, respectively. These proteins have generally antagonistic functions in maintaining cell and tissue homeostasis as well as in mediating widespread transcriptional reprogramming during developmental transitions. Plants utilize multiple trxG factors to regulate gene transcription as they modulate their development in response to both endogenous and environmental cues. Here, I will discuss the roles of trxG factors and their associated proteins in post-embryonic plant development.
The impact of chronic stress on the predictors of acute stress-induced eating in women

Abstract Chronic stress is associated with palatable food intake and thus, the development of obesity. This may be due to chronic stress disrupting the regulatory effects of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis on stress-induced eating. Thus, the primary objective of the current study was to investigate how chronic stress (CS) and cortisol stress reactivity affect eating behaviors following acute stress. Exploratory analyses also sought to determine the distinct psychophysiological factors driving acute stress-induced eating in women with high versus low CS. Women with high (n = 21) and low (n = 14) perceived CS were subjected to the Trier Social Stress task and a rest period on two separate days in order to assess HPA axis and subjective psychological responses to acute stress. Following either stress or rest, participants portioned and consumed snack foods. Women displaying high cortisol reactivity to acute stress ate a smaller percentage of the food they poured than low cortisol reactors, but only in the low CS group. Additionally, stress-induced eating behaviors were associated with cortisol stress reactivity, depressive symptoms, and hunger for women with low CS, but only with a reduction in negative affect for women with high CS. Results indicated that chronic stress may disrupt HPA axis regulation of acute stress-induced consummatory behavior in favor of affective regulation. Replication in women across the weight spectrum may yield a greater understanding of how chronic stress affects the mechanisms underlying acute stress-induced eating, and inform prevention and treatment efforts for conditions related to stress and obesity.
"Translingualism as Dialogism in Romanian-American Poetry"

This essay examines how translingual poetry by immigrant Romanian writers who live in or travel to the United States requires a transnational community framing rather than a national one and raises new questions about cultural and linguistic identity formation that reflect on both national and world literature issues. This analysis of the Romanian-American contemporary poets Mihaela Moscaliuc, Andrei Guruianu, Claudia Serea, and Aura Maru uses literary and rhetorical translingual theory to show that the “national literature” framing is no longer sufficient to address works created between two languages in a globalized world—Romanian and English, in this case. Born between two cultures and languages, their poetry does not belong entirely to either. In its turn, the national framing—both the Romanian and the American one—can become more porous and inclusive if read through a sociolinguistic “regime of mobility” (Blommaert) lens that gives a more powerful voice to migrant writers.
Direct-SV Radiation Produced by Land Based P Sources Part 2 – Buried Explosives

AbstractA common view of buried-explosive seismic sources is that a buried explosion is a pure-P source because it is an expanding volume of high-pressure gas. This assumption leads to a popular co...
Exercise-induced respiratory muscle work: effects on blood flow, fatigue and performance.

This is the post print version of this article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below.
Enterocolonic Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare.

A man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome underwent endoscopic evaluation of a 6week history of severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. His count of CD31CD41 T-lymphocytes was 0 cells/mL blood, and his viral load was 572 000 copies of human immunodeficiency virus 1 RNA/mL plasma. Duodenoscopy showed diffuse pale granularity and patchy erythema (Figure 1). Colonoscopy was free of gross lesions. Microscopy of specimens from enterocolonic biopsies
Spurious Topological Entanglement Entropy from Subsystem Symmetries

We demonstrate that linear combinations of subregion entropies with canceling boundary terms, commonly used to calculate the topological entanglement entropy, may suffer from spurious nontopological contributions even in models with zero correlation length. These spurious contributions are due to a specific kind of long-range string order and persist throughout certain subsystem symmetry-protected phases. We introduce an entropic quantity that measures the presence of such order, and hence should serve as an order parameter for the aforementioned phases.
An English Governess in the Great War: The Secret Diary of Mary Thorp

In May 1915, Great Britain’s Bryce Committee published its Report of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages, which contained what purportedly were eye-witness accounts of the atrocities German tr...
Multi-scale availability of neonicotinoid-treated seed for wildlife in an agricultural landscape during spring planting.

Abstract Neonicotinoid pesticides are applied to seeds and are known to cause lethal and sub-lethal effects in birds and mammals. Neonicotinoid-treated seeds could be available to wildlife through spillage or exposed seeds near or at the soil surface due to incomplete or shallow drilling. We quantified seed spills that may occur during loading or refilling the hopper at a landscape-scale using road-based surveys. We also quantified undrilled seeds in 1-m2 frames on the soil in the center and corner of fields to obtain estimates at the field scale. We broadcast seeds on the soil surface of a tilled field and left them for 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 30 days to quantify the decrease of neonicotinoids under field conditions. Lastly, we documented wildlife at neonicotinoid-treated seed spills with trail cameras. We estimated the number of spills during planting to be 3496 (95% CI: 1855–5138) and 2609 (95% CI: 862–4357) for corn, 11,009 (95% CI: 6950–15,067) and 21,105 (95% CI: 6162–36,048) for soybean, and 830 (95% CI: 160–1500) and 791 (95% CI: 0–1781) for wheat in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Exposed seeds were present at the soil surface in 35% of 71 fields. The probability that seeds were present on the soil surface was higher for soybeans (18.8 and 49.4% in the center and corners, respectively) than for corn (1.6 and 2.7%, respectively), and seed densities were also higher (1.04 vs 0.07 seeds/m2, respectively). Neonicotinoids decreased rapidly on seeds on the soil surface but persisted as long as 30 days. Over a dozen species of birds and mammals consumed seeds at simulated spills, with an average time for birds to find spills of 1.3 ± 1.5 days and an average time to consumption of 4.1 ± 3.4 days. Seeds are abundant on the soil surface for wildlife to consume during the spring planting season and should be considered in pesticide risk assessments.
Asymmetric pyrone Diels–Alder reactions enabled by dienamine catalysis

Despite the proven value in utilizing pyrone dienes to create molecular complexity via Diels–Alder reactions with varied dienophiles, few examples of effective catalytic, asymmetric variants of this process have been developed. Herein, we show that the use of Jorgensen–Hayashi-type catalysts can convert an array of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes into chiral dienamines that can formally add in a Diels–Alder fashion to a number of electron-deficient pyrones of the coumalate-type to generate optically active [2.2.2]-bicyclic lactones. In most cases, the reactions proceed with good to excellent diastereo- and enantiocontrol (up to 99% ee). Models to explain that stereoselectivity, as well as several additional transformations of the resultant products, are also presented.