cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toxicity of carbaryl and malathion to two federally endangered fishes, as estimated by regression and anova

Toxicity of technical carbaryl, Sevin®-4-Oil, and technical malathion to federally endangered Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius) and bonytail (Gila elegans) was estimated by 4-d renewal-acute and 32-d early life-stage (ELS) tests. Median lethal concentrations were estimated by probit analysis. Effect concentrations for ELS tests were estimated by ANOVA and an alternative procedure using a linear-plateau regression model. Linear-plateau regression estimated a threshold concentration above which toxic effects began to occur. Median lethal concentrations and 95% confidence limits (in parentheses) for carbaryl, Sevin-4-Oil, and malathion were 1.31 (1.23, 1.40), 3.18 (2.87, 3.52), and 9.14 mg/L (8.36, 10.0) for Colorado squawfish and 2.02 (1.78, 2.25), 3.31 (3.06, 3.55), and 15.3 mg/L (14.4, 16.4) for bonytail. NOECs for Colorado squawfish were 445 μg/L carbaryl and 1,680 μg/L malathion. The NOECs for bonytail were 650 μg/L carbaryl and 990 μg/L malathion. Threshold concentrations for Colorado squawfish in ELS tests were 364 μg/L carbaryl and 455 μg/L malathion. Threshold concentrations for bonytail were 217 μg/L carbaryl and 521 μg/L malathion. Estimates of effect concentrations from linear-plateau regression were consistently lower than those estimated by hypothesis testing. Linear-plateau regression models accounted for a significant amount of total variation and adequately described the observed concentration-response relation.
Using a Critical Race Praxis to Examine and Resist the Discursive Practices That Reproduce Racism, Misogyny, and Homophobia:

In this article, I discuss the use of a critical race praxis (CRP) and how I applied it in an English Language Arts high school class. I am guided by Yamamoto’s definition of CRP: a critical pragma...
Measurement and analysis of global IP-usage patterns of fast-flux botnets

This paper considers the global IP-usage patterns exhibited by different types of malicious and benign domains, with a focus on single and double fast-flux domains. We have developed and deployed a lightweight DNS probing engine, called DIGGER, on 240 PlanetLab nodes spanning 4 continents. Collecting DNS data for over 3.5 months on a plethora of domains, our global vantage points enabled us to identify distinguishing behavioral features between them based on their DNS-query results. To help us analyze the enormous amount of data, we have quantified these features and designed an effective classifier capable of accurately discriminating between different types of domains. Applying the classifier on the 3.5-month DNS data allows us to reveal the relative prevalence of different fast-flux domains and conduct detailed studies on them separately. These results provide insight into the current global state of fast-flux botnets and their range in implementation, revealing potential trends for botnet-based services. We also uncover previously-unseen domains whose name servers alone demonstrate fast-flux behavior and a new, cautious IP management strategy currently employed by criminals to evade detection.
Referral, enrollment, and completion in developmental education sequences in community colleges

Abstract After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and determinants of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral. Our results indicate that fewer than one half of the students who are referred to remediation actually complete the entire sequence to which they are referred. About 30 percent of students referred to developmental education do not enroll in any remedial course, and only about 60 percent of referred students actually enroll in the remedial course to which they were referred. The results also show that more students exit their developmental sequences because they did not enroll in the first or a subsequent course than because they failed or withdrew from a course in which they were enrolled. We also show that men, older students, African American students, part-time students, and students in vocational programs are less likely to progress through their full remedial sequences.
Effect of membrane microheterogeneity and domain size on fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

Studies of multicomponent membranes suggest lateral inhomogeneity in the form of membrane domains, but the size of small (nanoscale) domains in situ cannot be determined with current techniques. In this article, we present a model that enables extraction of membrane domain size from time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) data. We expand upon a classic approach to the infinite phase separation limit and formulate a model that accounts for the presence of disklike domains of finite dimensions within a two-dimensional infinite planar bilayer. The model was tested against off-lattice Monte Carlo calculations of a model membrane in the liquid-disordered (ld) and liquid-ordered (lo) coexistence regime. Simulated domain size was varied from 5 to 50 nm, and two fluorophores, preferentially partitioning into opposite phases, were randomly mixed to obtain the simulated time-resolved FRET data. The Monte Carlo data show clear differences in the efficiency of energy transfer as a function of domain size. The model fit of the data yielded good agreement for the domain size, especially in cases where the domain diameter is <20 nm. Thus, data analysis using the proposed model enables measurement of nanoscale membrane domains using time-resolved FRET.
Technical and anatomical aspects of novalis stereotactic radiosurgery sphenopalatine ganglionectomy

Background: Several techniques have been applied for destruction of the sphenopalatine ganglion to control cluster headache and ocular pain with sympathetic component. Cluster headache has responded to radiofrequency ablation or phenol destruction. Radiosurgery of the sphenopalatine ganglion is promising due to the excellent visualization of the target on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and skull X-rays. Material and Methods: Six patients and one cadaver head were analyzed in this study. The cadaver-head dissection confirmed the location of the sphenopalatine ganglion on X-rays and CT imaging. One patient undergoing radiofrequency sphenopalatine ablation participated for confirmation of the location of the ganglion on plain X-rays. Five patients received radiosurgery of the sphenopalatine ganglion. One patient had classic unilateral cluster headache. Two patients had neuropathic pain and 1 had bilateral migrainous neuralgia. The fifth patient had bilateral atypical facial pain. All received a single maximal dose of 90 Gy with a 5- or 7.5-mm circular collimator. MRI, CT, and skull X-rays identified and confirmed the target. Results: The sphenopalatine fossa is seen in the skull X-ray as an inverse tear drop just caudal to the sphenoid sinus. This location is readily correlated to the CT target by the stereotactic coordinates and confirmed with the presence of the ganglion visualized in the MRI scan. Only the patient with cluster headache experienced lasting pain relief. Conclusion: Multiple imaging modalities confirmed the location of the sphenopalatine ganglion for radiosurgery. The procedure was performed safely with CT and MRI fusion. Radiosurgery was significantly beneficial only on classic cluster headache.
Initial conditions for a perturbed spherically symmetric collapsing star

The initial-value problem, for a collapsing star perturbed linearly from its spherical symmetry is solved in a quasi-Newtonian background. There are three types of initial matter asymmetries: density asymmetries, differential rotation, and convective motion. The corresponding initial asymmetries in the metric are exhibited in terms of the three corresponding types of multiple moments.
Improving Device Driver Reliability through Decoupled Dynamic Binary Analyses

Device drivers are Operating Systems (OS) extensions that enable the use of I/O devices in computing systems. However, studies have identified drivers as an Achilles’ heel of system reliability, their high fault rate accounting for a significant portion of system failures. Consequently, significant effort has been directed towards improving system robustness by protecting system components (e.g., OS kernel, I/O devices, etc.) from the harmful effects of driver faults. In contrast to prior techniques which focused on preventing unsafe driver interactions (e.g., with the OS kernel), my thesis is that checking a driver’s execution for correctness violations results in the detection and mitigation of more faults. To validate this thesis, I present Guardrail, a flexible and powerful framework that enables instruction-grained dynamic analysis (e.g., data race detection) of unmodified kernel-mode driver binaries to safeguard I/O operations and devices from driver faults. Guardrail decouples the analysis tool from driver execution to improve performance, and runs it in user-space to simplify the deployment of new tools. Moreover, Guardrail leverages virtualization to be transparent to both the driver and device, and enable support for arbitrary driver/device combinations. To demonstrate Guardrail’s generality, I implemented three novel dynamic checking tools within the framework for detecting memory faults, data races and DMA faults in drivers. These tools found 25 serious bugs, including previously unknown bugs, in Linux storage and network drivers. Some of the bugs existed in several Linux (and driver) releases, suggesting their elusiveness to existing approaches. Guardrail easily detected these bugs using common driver workloads. Finally, I present an evaluation of using Guardrail to protect network and storage I/O operations from memory faults, data races and DMA faults in drivers. The results show that with hardware-assisted logging for decoupling the heavyweight analyses from driver execution, standard I/O workloads generally experienced negligible slowdown on their end-to-end performance. In conclusion, Guardrail’s high fidelity fault detection and efficient monitoring performance makes it a promising approach for improving the resilience of computing systems to the wide variety of driver faults.
Patient visits to a national practice-based research network: comparing pediatric research in office settings with the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

OBJECTIVE.Our objective with this study was to assess the extent to which patients who are seen by practitioners in Pediatric Research in Office Settings, a national primary care practice‐based research network, are representative of those who are seen in ambulatory office‐based pediatric primary care in the United States. METHODS.Pediatric Research in Office Settings patient data were collected from the offices of 57 randomly selected network practitioners as part of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality‐funded effort to describe primary care visits and replicate the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey in primary care practice‐ based research networks. These data were from 1706 randomly selected pediatric patient visits that occurred between March and June 2002. National comparison data were 948 randomly selected pediatric patient visits that occurred between March and June 2000 in the offices of the 33 primary care pediatric practitioners who had participated in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The groups were compared on patient demographics (age, gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, as represented by Medicaid status), visit characteristics (percentages of patients referred, practitioner designation of visit as acute versus nonacute, and continuity of care), the top patient/parent-articulated reasons for visit, and the top practitioner diagnoses. RESULTS.Comparisons revealed substantial similarities between Pediatric Research in Office Settings and national data, including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and visit characteristics. Differences were noted for age and race, with Pediatric Research in Office Settings children approximately 1 year older and comprising a significantly lower proportion of black patients than their National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey counterparts. Although the top 6 reasons that were articulated by parents for outpatient visits in the 2 groups were remarkably similar in rank order and proportions, there were overall differences, mostly
Chronic Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia associated with extensive pneumatocele formation in a child with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

We describe a 12-year-old boy with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia complicated by extensive pneumatocele formation as the presenting manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus infection. This report emphasizes the importance of considering Pneumocystis carinii infection in the differential diagnosis of pneumonia associated with pneumatocele formation in children.
Olefin Polymers, Introduction

Polyolefin resins are a large family of semicrystalline and amorphous polymers and copolymers used as commodity plastics, engineering plastics, and elastomers. Industry produces a broad variety of polyolefin resins. They differ in chemical structure, molecular weight, stereoregularity, and crystallinity. Polyolefin resins are manufactured by a number of technological processes. They include polymerization with radical initiators in supercritical ethylene at 150–350°C and a variety of catalytic polymerization processes in hydrocarbon slurry, in a neat monomer, in solution, and in the gas phase, using Ziegler–Natta catalysts, chromium oxide-based catalysts and metallocene catalysts. Polyolefin resins enjoy a large range of applications, both as commodity resins, engineering resins, elastomers, synthetic rubbers, and as specialty polymers. These applications include film, coatings, wire insulation, household and industrial containers, pipe and tubing of various types, as well as components of engineering articles. Because of their versatility, polyolefin resins have become the largest commercially manufactured polymer products in the world: the combined 2004 world capacity was ∼100 × 106 metric tons, nearly 50% of the total production of all plastics. Keywords: polyethylene (PE) resins; polypropylene (PP) resins; poly(1-butene) resins; poly(cycloolefins); polyolefins (PO); ethylene-propylene elastomers (EPM, EPDM)
Change in spring snowmelt timing in Eurasian Arctic rivers

[1] Changes in the amount and timing of the discharge of major Eurasian Arctic rivers have been well documented, but whether or not these changes can be attributed to climatic factors or to the construction of manmade reservoirs remains unclear. Here we endeavor to identify the key processes (snow cover and air temperature) that have regulated seasonal streamflow fluctuations in the Eurasian Arctic over the last half-century (1958–1999) and to understand the regional coherence of timing trends, using a set of Eurasian Arctic rivers selected specifically because they are free of known effects of dams. We find a shift toward earlier onset of spring runoff as measured by a modest change in the spring pulse onset (26 of 45 stations) and a strong change in the centroid of timing (39 of 45 stations). Winter streamflows increased over the period of record in most rivers, suggesting that trends observed by others in larger regulated Eurasian Arctic rivers may not be entirely attributable to reservoir construction. Upward trends in air temperature appeared to have had the largest impact on spring and summer flows for tributaries in the coldest of the major Eurasian Arctic river basins (e.g., the Lena). While the overall duration of snow cover has not significantly changed across the Eurasian Arctic, snow cover disappearance has trended earlier in the year and appears to be related to the increased May and snowmelt season fractional flows.
Solid-state NMR investigations of cellulose structure and interactions with matrix polysaccharides in plant primary cell walls

Until recently, the 3D architecture of plant cell walls was poorly understood due to the lack of high-resolution techniques for characterizing the molecular structure, dynamics, and intermolecular interactions of the wall polysaccharides in these insoluble biomolecular mixtures. We introduced multidimensional solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy, coupled with (13)C labelling of whole plants, to determine the spatial arrangements of macromolecules in near-native plant cell walls. Here we review key evidence from 2D and 3D correlation NMR spectra that show relatively few cellulose-hemicellulose cross peaks but many cellulose-pectin cross peaks, indicating that cellulose microfibrils are not extensively coated by hemicellulose and all three major polysaccharides exist in a single network rather than two separate networks as previously proposed. The number of glucan chains in the primary-wall cellulose microfibrils has been under active debate recently. We show detailed analysis of quantitative (13)C SSNMR spectra of cellulose in various wild-type (WT) and mutant Arabidopsis and Brachypodium primary cell walls, which consistently indicate that primary-wall cellulose microfibrils contain at least 24 glucan chains.
Complementarity, Improvement Programs and Queuing Technology

During the past two decades firms have adopted many types of functional improvement programs. A goal of this paper is to study interactions of operations programs with improvement programs in other functions. An important issue is whether these programs are complements (or substitutes): that is, whether implementation of a pair of programs adds more value (or loses value) than the sum of the individual programs. Recent advances based upon Topkis’s (1998) theory of supermodularity have created a framework to establish sufficient conditions to guarantee that two interacting activities or programs are complementary. But not all programs can be characterized by supermodularity. In particular, I show that programs that involve uncertainty reduction do not fit the supermodularity framework with respect to other programs. In the absence of supermodularity, complementarity properties can sometimes be established, but some assumption about the production function must be assumed. Assuming that production is based upon queuing technology, three programs are studied and I show that complement/substitute properties can be established. The three programs are uncertainty reduction about a key demand parameter, elimination of biased estimates of cost and direct cost savings. I show that uncertainty reduction and bias removal can be complements or substitutes; but, uncertainty reduction and cost estimation bias elimination are both complementary to direct cost savings. Also, several operations improvement programs are shown to be complementary to each other. The fact that the operations improvement programs are complementary to all other programs is significant for the organizational design of capital budgeting, as this assures that the true project value is higher than its standalone net present value. Results are generalized by presenting conditions that assure the complementarity or substitutability of these three types of programs. Because batching/lot sizing and any fixed charge problem (such as facility location) have cost structures similar to queuing, the results are shown to apply to a broad range of technologies.
Making superconductors hard

Superconducting properties are conveniently divided into three groups. Primary properties are those, like Tc and Hc, that are relatively structure and composition-insensitive. Secondary properties are those, like Hc1 and Hc2, that are composition-sensitive through dependence on normal state resistivity. Primary and secondary properties are both equilibrium properties. Tertiary properties are non-equilibrium properties, like Ic and magnetic hysteresis, that are extremely structure-sensitive, being controlled by internal structural heterogeneities. The relationships among the various properties are shown schematically in Fig. 11.
A test of the carbonic anhydrase-dependent model for emergence and hatching in the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana (Kellogg, 1906) (Branchiopoda: Anostraca)

Heavy metals and organic pollutants are present in commercially harvested embryos of the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana (Kellogg, 1906) from the Great Salt Lake, UT, USA, which raises questions about the long-term viability of this commercially important population. More information about hatching physiology is required to address this toxicological question. Bicarbonate deficiency, low culture density, and heavy metals all induce similar aberrant morphology during early development of the post-diapause embryo. Previous studies suggest that the common link among these treatments is a failure in the physiological mechanisms that facilitate emergence from the first embryonic cuticle. It is possible that bicarbonate deprivation and heavy metal exposure have similar effects on emergence and hatching because they target a single enzyme. The present work tests the long-standing hypothesis that a carbonic anhydrase drives ion transport required for the final phase of osmotic swelling during emergence and hatching. Data presented provide the first evidence of an acetazolamide-sensitive carbonic anhydrase in developing embryos, but do not support the hypothesis that a carbonic anhydrase is required to generate osmotic pressure for emergence or hatching. Acetazolamide treatment increases hatching of E2-Oval prenauplii under culture conditions that promote the development of aberrant emergence morphology. Progression through the E1 and E2 emergence stages is also accelerated by acetazolamide in a concentration-dependent manner when embryos are cultured under conditions that promote normal development, emergence, and hatching. These results are contrary to predictions of the carbonic anhydrase-dependent hatching model proposed by Trotman (1991), and indicate that a carbonic anhydrase is not the common target of diverse treatments known to impair emergence and/or hatching. Standardized culture conditions and alternative physiological targets for future studies are discussed.
IL-6 secreted by astroglial cells regulates Na-K-Cl cotransport in brain microvessel endothelial cells

We showed previously that cerebral microvessel endothelial cells (CMEC) exhibit a prominent Na-K-Cl cotransporter that functions to regulate intracellular volume and may also mediate vectorial ion transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Astrocytes and their conditioned media induce BBB properties of the endothelium. Our previous studies demonstrated that exposure of CMEC to astroglial cells markedly increases cotransport activity, upregulates cotransporter protein expression, and also increases cotransporter protein phosphorylation. In the present study, we evaluated the possibility that astroglial effects on the Na-K-Cl cotransporter are mediated by astroglial cell-secreted interleukin-6 (IL-6). Cotransporter activity was assessed as bumetanide-sensitive K influx, and protein expression was evaluated by Western blot analysis. Exposing CMEC to IL-6 for 48 h caused a dose-dependent stimulation of Na-K-Cl cotransport activity. Both C6 glial cell-conditioned medium (C6CM)-induced and IL-6-induced increases in cotransport activity were neutralized by anti-IL-6 antibodies. A 48-h exposure of cells to IL-6 or C6CM also resulted in increased cotransporter protein expression. Furthermore, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for IL-6, we found significant amounts of IL-6 in C6CM. These data suggest that astroglia-secreted IL-6 may mediate the observed astroglial cell effects on CMEC Na-K-Cl cotransport and further support the hypothesis that astrocytes participate in maintenance of cerebral ionic homeostasis by regulating Na-K-Cl cotransporter function at the BBB.
Case Study: Evaluation of a Floating Steel Fender System for Bridge Pier Protection against Vessel Collision

AbstractVessel collisions with bridges occur frequently worldwide and have the potential to cause enormous casualties, substantial property loss, and environmental destruction. Physical protection systems designed for bridge piers against vessel collisions are viable solutions to alleviate/prevent those disruption costs. This paper introduces a floating steel fender system for bridge pier protection and evaluates the performance using an explicit dynamic finite-element analysis code. The analysis method is validated against available drop-weight impact tests of a steel box module, because the steel fender system is constructed by repeatedly stacking and aligning a similar subassembly. The introduced fender system noticeably reduced the peak impact force applied on a bridge pier by approximately 55.3% and on the colliding vessel by approximately 56.2% while extending the impact duration approximately 273.1% as compared to the head-on collision without any protection. It was also shown that the initial kine...
Prospective Study of Wound Infections in Mohs Micrographic Surgery Using a Single Set of Instruments.

BACKGROUND Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) has a low rate of surgical site infections (SSI). To date, there are variations in the measures surgeons take to prevent SSI, although these may be costly without benefit to patients. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to evaluate the rate of SSI in MMS performed with a clean technique using a single set of instruments for both tumor extirpation and reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS The author prospectively evaluated 338 patients undergoing MMS using a single set of instruments for SSI. RESULTS There were 7 SSI among 332 patients, with an overall infection rate of 2.1% (7/332). Graft closures had an SSI rate of 3.1% (2/64) and flap closures had an SSI rate of 1.9% (5/268). CONCLUSION Using a single set of sterile surgical instruments for both the tumor extirpation and repair stages of MMS leads to cost savings without harming patients and maintains SSI rates within an acceptable range.
A radical proposal for direct democracy in large societies

It is argued direct democracy is attainable but only in ways that connect to the experiences of daily life. By modifying existing institutions of governance it is pragmatically possible to achieve a society resembling distant utopias. One proposal is based on the argument that all electoral systems are inherently fraudulent under any regime. Rather, direct democracy alone can provide substantive equality. Therefore it is suggested legislative and judicial branches be filled by lottery while leaving the demos as the executive through internet voting modeled on the principle of state propositions.
aptMTVL: Nailing Interactions in Multi-Task Multi-View Multi-Label Learning using Adaptive-basis Multilinear Factor Analyzers

We investigate a new direction of multi-task multi-view learning where we have data sets with multiple tasks, multiple views and multiple labels. We call this problem a multi-task multi-view multi-label learning problem or MTVL learning for short. There is a wide application of MTVL leaning where examples include Internet of Things, brain science, and document classification. In designing effective MTVL learning algorithms, we hypothesize that a key component is to "disentangle" interactions among tasks, views, and labels, or the Utask-view-label interactions. For that purpose we have developed an adaptive-basis multilinear analyzers(aptMLFA) that utilizes a loading tensor to modulate interactions among multiple latent factors. With aptMLFA we designed a new MTVL learning algorithm, aptMTVL, and evaluated its performance on 3 real-world data sets. The experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed method as compared to the state-of-the-art MTVL learning algorithm.
Prebreakdown events and breakdown involving solid-liquid interfaces

Recently, we have correlated impulse strength of oils with measurements of prebreakdown streamer velocities.1 This paper extends such work to composite solid-liquid systems. The methods for measuring streamer velocities by shadowgraphy have been described previously.2 The creepage fixture utilizes two cylindrical electrodes (1.27 cm diameter) resting on the solid dielectric whose other surface is a ground plane (cf. Figure 1). In order to facilitate streamer initiation, a 3 µm radius point was inset into the high voltage electrode to protrude 0.5 mm into the gap, 0.25 mm above the insulating surface. Because shadowgraphy requires transparency, most work has been done using a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) slab with an indium-tin oxide transparent ground electrode. In one case, streamer velocities were measured on paper by laying 10 µm thick capacitor tissue on the PMMA surface, adhesion being provided by the surface tension of the oil.
Optimized parameter selection reveals trends in Markov state models for protein folding.

As molecular dynamics simulations access increasingly longer time scales, complementary advances in the analysis of biomolecular time-series data are necessary. Markov state models offer a powerful framework for this analysis by describing a system’s states and the transitions between them. A recently established variational theorem for Markov state models now enables modelers to systematically determine the best way to describe a system’s dynamics. In the context of the variational theorem, we analyze ultra-long folding simulations for a canonical set of twelve proteins [K. Lindorff-Larsen et al., Science 334, 517 (2011)] by creating and evaluating many types of Markov state models. We present a set of guidelines for constructing Markov state models of protein folding; namely, we recommend the use of cross-validation and a kinetically motivated dimensionality reduction step for improved descriptions of folding dynamics. We also warn that precise kinetics predictions rely on the features chosen to describe the system and pose the description of kinetic uncertainty across ensembles of models as an open issue.
Constructing Error-Correcting Codes from Expander Graphs

We survey a derivation of asymptotically good error-correcting codes from expander graphs. These codes, called Expander Codes, can be decoded in linear time. We explain how to modify this construction to produce asymptotically good codes that can be encoded as well as decoded in linear time.
Hydrologic controls on junction angle of river networks

The formation and growth of river channels and their network evolution are governed by the erosional and depositional processes operating on the landscape due to the movement of water. The branching angles, i.e., the angle between two adjoining channels, in drainage networks are important features related to the network topology and contain valuable information about the forming mechanisms of the landscape. Based on the channel networks extracted from 1 m Digital Elevation Models of 120 catchments with minimal human impacts across the United States, we show that the junction angles have two distinct modes with α1‐≈49.5° and α2‐≈75.0°. The observed angles are physically explained as the optimal angles that result in minimum energy dissipation and are linked to the exponent characterizing the slope-area curve. Our findings suggest that the flow regimes, debris-flow dominated or fluvial, have distinct characteristic angles which are functions of the scaling exponent of the slope-area curve. These findings enable us to understand the geomorphic signature of hydrologic processes on drainage networks and develop more refined landscape evolution models.
Factors influencing final outcomes in patients with shoulder pain: A retrospective review.

Abstract Study Design Retrospective cohort. Introduction Rehabilitation interventions are commonly prescribed for patients with shoulder pain, but it is unclear what factors may help clinicians' prognosis for final outcomes. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to determine what factors are the best predictors of improved patient-reported outcomes at discharge in patients with shoulder pain. Methods Retrospective chart review of 128 patients presenting with shoulder pain to an outpatient physical therapy clinic. Chart review captured data regarding patient demographics, treatment interventions, patient history, and patient-reported outcome scores. The primary dependent variable was the overall change score of the QuickDASH (initial to discharge). Thirty-eight predictor variables were entered into a forward stepwise multivariate linear regression model to determine which variables and to what degree contributed to the dependent variable. Results The linear regression model identified 5 predictor variables that yielded an R = 0.74 and adjusted R2 = 0.538 (P Discussion Early change scores, equal to minimal detectable change scores on patient-reported outcomes appear to be strong indicators that patients with shoulder pain are on a positive trajectory to benefit from rehabilitation. Conclusion Using patient-reported outcomes throughout care, not just at the start and end of care, will provide therapist feedback regarding patient's progress and indicate treatment effectiveness. Levels of Evidence 4.
Redox-Specific Allosteric Modulation of the Conformational Dynamics of κB DNA by Pirin in the NF-κB Supramolecular Complex

The molecular basis of gene regulation by Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription factors and their coregulators is not well understood. This family of transcription factors controls a number of essential subcellular processes. Human Pirin, a nonheme iron (Fe) binding protein, has been shown to modulate the binding affinity between p65 homodimeric NF-κB and κB DNA. However, the allosteric effect of the active Fe(III) form of Pirin on the DNA has not been established. Here, we use multiple microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulations to explore the conformational dynamics of the free DNA, the p65–DNA complex, and the Pirin–p65–DNA supramolecular complex. We show that only the Fe(III) form of Pirin enhances the affinity between p65 and the DNA in the Pirin–p65–DNA supramolecular complex, in agreement with experiments. Additionally, the results provide atomistic details of the effect of the active Fe(III) form of Pirin on the DNA upon binding to the p65–DNA complex. In general, unlike the Fe(II) form of P...
Insight into the plasma membrane resealing and calcium signaling dynamics of sonoporation

Ultrasound (US) and microbubble (MB) treatment has been shown to be a promising approach for localized, non-viral gene delivery. The attributes of MB-target cell interactions that facilitate payload delivery across cell membranes and into extravascular cells, and hence strategies to optimize this platform, remain poorly understood. The objective of this work is to gain insight into the extent of sonoporation by assessing cell membrane dynamics and Ca2+ signaling, both known factors in cell perforation repair, and the role of gap junctional communication (GPC).
Is vlogging the new stand-up? A compare/contrast of traditional and online models of comedic content distribution

The ways in which audiences consume comedic content have drastically changed, as have the ways comedians distribute their material through user-generated content (UGC) online. In this paper, stand-...
Homogeneous Time-resolved Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-based Assay for Detection of Insulin Secretion.

The detection of insulin secretion is critical for elucidating mechanisms of regulated secretion as well as in studies of metabolism. Though numerous insulin assays have existed for decades, the recent advent of homogeneous time-resolved Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (HTRF) technology has significantly simplified these measurements. This is a rapid, cost-effective, reproducible, and robust optical assay reliant upon antibodies conjugated to bright fluorophores with long lasting emission which facilitates time-resolved Forster Resonance Energy Transfer. Moreover, HTRF insulin detection is amenable for the development of high-throughput screening assays. Here we use HTRF to detect insulin secretion in INS-1E cells, a rat insulinoma-derived cell line. This allows us to estimate basal levels of insulin and their changes in response to glucose stimulation. In addition, we use this insulin detection system to confirm the role of dopamine as a negative regulator of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). In a similar manner, other dopamine D2-like receptor agonists, quinpirole, and bromocriptine, reduce GSIS in a concentration-dependent manner. Our results highlight the utility of the HTRF insulin assay format in determining the role of numerous drugs in GSIS and their pharmacological profiles.
Sensors for Intelligent Processing of Common Materials

Intelligence, according to a commonly used dictionary, is “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations”[1]. It is easy to argue that sensors are essential for any system to react intelligently to such situations. In fact, the absence of sensors would in most cases cause the failure to recognize the occurrence of such situations. This also applies to materials processing systems where sensors provide information, which is interpreted in terms of imbedded models and algorithms, which provide the rationale for dealing with the encountered situations.
On the Geometry of Orthogonal and Reciprocal Screws

Screw theory is an elegant method for describing the equilibrium and instantaneous motion of rigid bodies and is widely applied to the analysis of robot manipulators. The objective here is to advance the theory of screws by establishing fundamental geometric principles for orthogonal and reciprocal screws. Dualistic and reciprocal properties are delineated by considering two distinct but equivalent spaces whose fundamental elements are points and planes respectively. In projective and elliptic space, homogeneous Plucker co-ordinates are used to derive various relations for lines which are extended to screws by linear principles. In this way it is shown that the one-to-one relation between orthogonal and reciprocal screws is a transformation of elliptic polars. Euclidean space is developed and the formulation of alternative kinematic models is discussed. The results are illustrated by using the example of inserting a peg in a hole.
The Ludovisi “Suicidal Gaul” and his wife: bronze or marble original, Hellenistic or Roman?

From 1981 to 2002, in various lectures and writings, I presented my suggestion about the “Roman” conception of the Ludovisi Suicidal Gaul, without eliciting positive responses. What has prompted me to re-open this issue after the passing of so many years? Perhaps the catalyst was a major exhibition — Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World — held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from April 18 to July 17, 2016, together with its impressive catalogue. There, an essay by M. Papini reviewed present knowledge about the victory dedications of the Attalids and the stone bases for them erected at Pergamon within the precinct of Athena Nikephoros. Although admitting that certainty was impossible and that serious difficulties existed about previously attempted reconstructions, he reproduced two drawings that showed the Ludovisi Gaul atop the large cylindrical monument as well as on the long rectangular pedestal “leaving aside [other] improbable attempts … and even more the interpretation of the marble pieces as Roman works evoking Pergamon ‘in the grand manner’.” The Ludovisi Gaul was not part of the New York exhibition. Its companion piece, the Dying Gaul collapsing on a broken trumpet, did receive a catalogue entry (by E. Polito) that reiterated the difficulty of visualizing the original placement. Yet these two Gauls (the “Trumpeter” and the Ludovisi Gaul) have joined the sculptures from the Pergamon Great Altar as virtual touchstones for our understanding of Pergamene style even though they may not be “Greek” at all, let alone Pergamene.
The Dark Continent? Images of Africa in European Narratives about the Congo

The Dark Continent? is a highly ambitious book that examines at least one hundred pieces of prose from the nineteenth through the twentieth century, including travel narratives, famous and lesser-k...
Biomarker-Targeted Confirmatory Trials

The design of confirmatory phase III trials involving predictive biomarkers has a wide range from enrichment design to all-comers design. The enrichment design only enrolls patients tested positive for the biomarker and is often the most efficient and ethical approach when there is established evidence that treatment benefit is restricted to the biomarker positive group. On the other hand, when there is inadequate evidence that treatment benefit is restrictive and no concern for the safety of patients in the biomarker-negative group, an all-comer design that enrolls all patients regardless of their biomarker status will have the advantage of evaluating treatment effect concurrently in the overall population and the biomarker subgroups. An all-comer design also offers the opportunity for maximizing the size of patient population, often an important consideration for drug developers. The recent pivotal trials of PD-L1 inhibitor drugs including nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab for non-small cell lung cancer all adopted the all-comer design and enrolled both PD-L1 positive and negative patients (Brahmer et al. 2015; Borghaei et al. 2015; Fehrenbacher et al. 2016; Rittmeyer et al. 2017; Langer et al. 2016; Bylicki et al. 2018). The thresholds and utility of the PD-L1 biomarker were studied in these trials and companion diagnostic tools were developed. Patients with higher PD-L1 expression benefited more from the treatment, while treatments for patients negative on PD-L1 expression showed similar benefit as the standard of care (docetaxel). The drug was approved for the overall population regardless of the PD-L1 status, considering the better safety profiles among all patients (Borghaei et al. 2015). This chapter is devoted to statistical issues related to all-comer designs. A comprehensive review of related methods for other designs such as enrichment and biomarker-strategy designs can be found in Freidlin and Korn (2014) and Ondra et al. (2016).
First-in-human transcatheter pledget-assisted suture tricuspid annuloplasty for severe tricuspid insufficiency.

Objectives We report the first pledget-assisted suture tricuspid annuloplasty (PASTA) in a patient with torrential tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Background Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a common malignant disease with no commercially available transcatheter therapy. PASTA is a "percutaneous surgical" procedure using pledgeted sutures to create a double-orifice tricuspid valve. Methods An 83-year-old man had end-stage TR caused by a defibrillator lead. He consented to undergo PASTA on a compassionate basis. A double-orifice valve was created with pledgeted sutures from percutaneous right ventricular apical access. Results TR was reduced from torrential to trace. The vena contracta reduced to from 23 to 1 mm and annular area reduced from 1817 to 782 mm2 . However, the annulus dehisced and required closure with a percutaneous nitinol plug. The patient was discharged home and was alive 6 months later but with persistent symptoms. Conclusions The anatomy of a double-orifice valve can eliminate TR but a better solution is required to avoid excessive suture tension on annular tissue.
Applicability of Solar Evaporative Cooling in Greenhouses productivity Improvement

One of the main objectives of growing crops in a greenhouse is to extend the productive life of plants and to produce yields when this is not feasible in open field agriculture due to extreme ambient conditions. The energy consumed by cooling systems to reduce the greenhouse temperature comes basically from power plant using natural gas, which has direct impact on the environment. The refrigerants used in these systems have a varying degree of global warming and ozone depletion potentials, which also have a direct impact on our environment. Evaporative coolers are an excellent alternative which could be the future trends in greenhouse cooling in hot and dry climate, which is basically the two third area of the country. Also, well designed evaporative coolers have very low energy consumption, and the fluids used have no impact whatsoever on our environment. The cooling device uses hundred percent (100%) outside air, which is excellent for greenhouses ventilation requirements. In the present work, we will study the applicability of two devices, the two stage solar evaporative cooler and the solar liquid desiccant cooler in different weather conditions and investigate the various possibilities of its uses in agricultural applications.
FlowCFL: A Framework for Type-based Reachability Analysis in the Presence of Mutable Data.

Reachability analysis is a fundamental program analysis with a wide variety of applications. We present FlowCFL, a framework for type-based reachability analysis in the presence of mutable data. Interestingly, the underlying semantics of FlowCFL is CFL-reachability. We make three contributions. First, we define a dynamic semantics that captures the notion of flow commonly used in reachability analysis. Second, we establish correctness of CFL-reachability over graphs with inverse edges (inverse edges are necessary for the handling of mutable heap data). Our approach combines CFL-reachability with reference immutability to avoid the addition of certain infeasible inverse edges and we demonstrate empirically that avoiding those edges results in precision improvement. Our formal account of correctness extends to this case as well. Third, we present a type-based reachability analysis and establish equivalence between a certain CFL-reachability analysis and the type-based analysis, thus proving correctness of the type-based analysis.
Breast cancer patients’ insurance status correlates with their adherence to endocrine therapy: Analysis of ECOG-ACRIN TAILORx trial.

7041Background: Cancer patients spend substantial amounts on their healthcare services, and are at high risk for financial toxicity, a patient-reported outcome shown to be associated with care non-...
Fungal viruses: an unlikely ally

Abstract Mycoviruses (viruses of fungi) infect all forms of fungi, including those that cause diseases in humans and plants. Most mycovirus infections are symptomless and do not induce phenotypic changes in their host fungi, while some are associated with morphological changes such as hypervirulence and hypovirulence. A majority of mycoviruses (with one exception) lacks an extracellular route for infection and is transmitted vertically to the progeny through spores or horizontally by hyphal anastomosis. Mycoviruses exist in diverse genomes, with some forming true virions with or without capsids. Almost 95% of mycoviruses have RNA genomes, while 5% have DNA genomes. So far, 19 mycovirus families have been established that include seven families and one genus with dsRNA genomes, eight families with positive-sense single-stranded RNA(ssRNA) genomes, two families with positive-sense ssRNA that is reverse-transcribed, one family with a negative-sense ssRNA genome, and one family with a single-stranded DNA genome. Because of hypovirulence, mycoviruses gained popularity because of its potential use as biological control agents against plant pathogenic fungi.