cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of individual genotypes of measles virus using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

A spectroscopic assay based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been developed for rapid genotyping of the measles virus (MeV). Silver nanorods fabricated using an oblique angle vapor deposition method acted as the SERS-active substrate. The SERS spectra of four separate MeV genotypes, i.e. A, H1, D4 and D9, and two separate negative media control samples were analyzed using multivariate statistical methods. Principal components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) successfully separated three of the four MeV genotypes studied. The MeV genotypes used in this study had >96% sequence similarity as monitored using the MeV hemagglutinin (H) gene, and the clustering seen in PCA and HCA mirrored this sequence diversity. For example, the MeV genotypes with the highest sequence diversity (∼3%, A and H1) were the most widely separated in the PCA scores plot and HCA dendogram. Conversely, the MeV genotypes with the lowest sequence diversity (∼0.5%, D4 and D9) could not be statistically differentiated. However, a supervised chemometric method, partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was able to separate each of the four MeV strains, the two negative controls, and the background, with >90% sensitivity and >96% selectivity based solely on their inherent SERS spectra. These results demonstrate that SERS, in combination with multivariate statistical methods, is a highly sensitive and rapid viral identification and classification method that can be applied to MeV genotyping.
A Numerical Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport on the CRAY T3D and C90 Supercomputers

Numerical simulations of groundwater flow and chemical transport through three-dimensional heterogeneous porous media are described. The authors employ two CRAY supercomputers for different parts of the decoupled calculation: the flow field is computed on the T3D massively parallel computer, and the contaminant migration is simulated on the C90 vector supercomputer. The authors compare simulation results for subsurface models based on homogeneous and heterogeneous conceptual models and find that the heterogeneities have a profound impact on the character of contaminant migration.
The fruitless Gene Is Required for the Proper Formation of Axonal Tracts in the Embryonic Central Nervous System of Drosophila

The fruitless (fru) gene in Drosophila melanogaster is a multifunctional gene that has sex-specific functions in the regulation of male sexual behavior and sex-nonspecific functions affecting adult viability and external morphology. While much attention has focused on fru's sex-specific roles, less is known about its sex-nonspecific functions. We have examined fru's sex-nonspecific role in embryonic neural development. fru transcripts from sex-nonspecific promoters are expressed beginning at the earliest stages of neurogenesis, and Fru proteins are present in both neurons and glia. In embryos that lack most or all fru function, FasII- and BP102-positive axons have defasciculation defects and grow along abnormal pathways in the CNS. These defects in axonal projections in fru mutants were rescued by the expression of specific UAS-fru transgenes under the control of a pan-neuronal scabrous-GAL4 driver. Our results suggest that one of fru's sex-nonspecific roles is to regulate the pathfinding ability of axons in the embryonic CNS.
Turbo codes for PCS applications

Turbo codes are the most exciting and potentially important development in coding theory in many years. They were introduced in 1993 by Berrou, Glavieux and Thitimajshima, and claimed to achieve near Shannon-limit error correction performance with relatively simple component codes and large interleavers. A required E/sub b//N/sub o/ of 0.7 dB was reported for BER of 10/sup -5/ and code rate of 1/2. However, some important details that are necessary to reproduce these results were omitted. This paper confirms the accuracy of these claims, and presents a complete description of an encoder/decoder pair that could be suitable for PCS applications. We describe a new simple method for trellis termination, we analyze the effect of interleaver choice on the weight distribution of the code, and we introduce the use of unequal rate component codes which yields better performance. Turbo codes are extended to encoders with multiple codes and a suitable decoder structure is developed, which is substantially different from the decoder for two-code based encoders.
Accuracy Evaluation of Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems in Children on Overnight Closed-Loop Control

This pilot study evaluated the difference in accuracy between the Bayer Contour® Next (CN) and HemoCue® (HC) glucose monitoring systems in children with type 1 diabetes participating in overnight closed-loop studies. Subjects aged 10-18 years old were admitted to a clinical research center and glucose values were obtained every 30 minutes overnight. Glucose values were measured using whole blood samples for CN and HC readings and results were compared to Yellow Springs Instrument (YSI) reference values obtained with plasma from the same sample. System accuracy was compared using mean absolute relative difference (MARD) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) accuracy standards. A total of 28 subjects were enrolled in the study. Glucose measurements were evaluated at 457 time points. CN performed better than HC with an average MARD of 3.13% compared to 10.73% for HC (P < .001). With a limited sample size, CN met ISO criteria (2003 and 2013) at all glucose ranges while HC did not. CN performed very well, and would make an excellent meter for future closed-loop studies outside of a research center.
Strategies for modulating innate immune activation and protein production of in vitro transcribed mRNAs

Synthetic mRNA has recently shown great potential as a tool for genetic introduction of proteins. Its utility as a gene carrier has been demonstrated in several studies for both the introduction of therapeutic proteins and subunit vaccines. At one point, synthetic mRNA was believed to be too immunogenic and labile for pharmaceutical purposes. However, the development of several strategies have enabled mRNA technology to overcome these challenges, including incorporation of modified nucleotides, codon optimization of the coding region, incorporation of untranslated regions into the mRNA, and the use of delivery vehicles. While these approaches have been shown to enhance performance of some mRNA constructs, gene-to-gene variation and low efficiency of mRNA protein production are still significant hurdles. Further mechanistic understanding of how these strategies affect protein production and innate immune activation is needed for the widespread adoption for both therapeutic and vaccine applications. This review highlights key studies involved in the development of strategies employed to increase protein expression and control the immunogenicity of synthetic mRNA. Areas in the literature where improved understanding is needed will also be discussed.
New look at the QCD ground state in a magnetic field

We explore chiral symmetry breaking in a magnetic field within a Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of interacting massless quarks including tensor channels. We show that the new interaction channels open up via Fierz identities due to the explicit breaking of the rotational symmetry by the magnetic field. We demonstrate that the magnetic catalysis of chiral symmetry breaking leads to the generation of two independent condensates, the conventional chiral condensate and a spin-one condensate. While the chiral condensate generates a dynamical fermion mass, the new condensate gives rise to a dynamical anomalous magnetic moment for the fermions. As a consequence, the spectrum of the excitations in all Landau levels, except the lowest one, exhibits Zeeman splitting. Since the pair, formed by a quark and an antiquark with opposite spins, possesses a resultant magnetic moment, an external magnetic field can align it giving rise to a net magnetic moment for the ground state. This is the physical interpretation of the spin-one condensate. Our results show that the magnetically catalyzed ground state in QCD is actually richer than previously thought. The two condensates contribute to the effective mass of the LLL quasiparticles in such a way that the critical temperature for chiral symmetry restoration becomes enhanced.
Remarks on the Utilitarian Approach to Optimal Taxation

We show using elementary arguments that the utilitarian approach to optimal taxation leads to results that are very sensitive to the underlying formulation of the problem. In particular, we argue that there are legitimate optimal taxation problems that admit solutions of a different form than normally believed. Specifically, in this paper we provide a proof that the optimal marginal tax rates can be equal to zero for all but a measure zero set of income levels, i.e., we argue that the first order conditions derived by Mirrlees need not identify the true optima properly. Furthermore, we argue that relying on welfare functions defined with individual utilities generates internal inconsistencies and ambiguities that can be only be logically be resolved by allowing for optimal taxation problems that nearly automatically admit step functions as solutions. Our findings put into question the applicability of the utilitarian approach to optimal taxation as a basis for practical policy guidance.
Multi-level Approximate Spectral Clustering

Clustering is a task of finding natural groups in datasets based on measured or perceived similarity between data points. Spectral clustering is a well-known graph-theoretic approach, which is capable of capturing non-convex geometries of datasets. However, it generally becomes infeasible for analyzing large datasets due to relatively high time and space complexity. In this paper, we propose Multi-level Approximate Spectral (MAS) clustering to enable efficient analysis of large datasets. By integrating a series of low-rank matrix approximations (i.e., approximations to the affinity matrix and its subspace, as well as those for the Laplacian matrix and the Laplacian subspace), MAS achieves great computational and spacial efficiency. MAS provides a general framework for fast and accurate spectral clustering, which works with any kernels, various fast sampling strategies and different low-rank approximation algorithms. In addition, it can be easily extended for distributed computing. From a theoretical perspective, we provide rigorous analysis of its approximation error in addition to its correctness and computational complexity. Through extensive experiments we demonstrate superior performance of the proposed method relative to several well-known approximate spectral clustering algorithms.
A cellulose binding domain protein restores female fertility when expressed in transgenic Bintje potato

Background Expression of a gene encoding the family 1 cellulose binding domain protein CBD1, identified in the cellulosic cell wall of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans, was tested in transgenic potato to determine if it had an influence on plant cell walls and resistance to late blight.
Developing Teaching-Specific Spanish Competencies in Bilingual Teacher Education: Toward a Culturally, Linguistically, and Professionally Relevant Approach

The emergence of K-12 bilingual/dual-language schools1 1 Although we recognize the distinction between “dynamic” forms of bilingualism characteristic of bilingual education programs and “compartmentalized” forms generally characteristic of “dual-language” programs (Garcia, 2014), in this article we employ the term “bilingual/dual-language education” to include both programmatic approaches and to reclaim the term “bilingual.” in the United States require bilingual teacher education programs across the nation continue to “build on the language strengths”2 2 See Zentella (2005). of bilingual teacher candidates and provide them with ample opportunities to acquire the language competencies needed for teaching content-area knowledge across the bilingual curriculum. Although the need to prepare linguistically qualified bilingual/dual-language teachers is relevant to all language programs comprising the bilingual teacher education field, in this article the authors describe a culturally, linguistically, and profe...
Epidemiological Investigation on Helicobacter Pylori Infection of Children in Shenzhen City

ObjectiveIn order to research epidemiological investigation on Hp(Helicobacter pylori) infection of children in Shenzhen City.MethodsThe level of Hp-antibodies were detected by ELISA during 20002004 in Children's Hospital.ResultsThe positive rate of boys((9.09%)) of Hp infection was similar to girls'((9.72%)) of 722 children. With the age increasing, Hp infection rate tends to increase, there was apparently positive relation. Alternatively, children's Hp infection rate out of Shenzhen((13.77%)) was higher than those of inside Shenzhen((8.11%)). In addition, there was gradually increasing with every year.ConclusionELISA is very appropriate to make epidemiological investigation on Helicobacter pylori infection of children, meanwhile, it does not neglect about the condition of Helicobacter pylori infection of children in Shenzhen City.
The crystal structure and luminescence of Ce3+, Tb3+ and Eu3+ in KBaLn3+(BO3)2 [Ln3+ = Sc, Y, Lu, Gd]

Abstract The structure of KBaLn3+(BO3)2 [Ln3+ = Sc, Lu, Gd] was solved by Rietveld refinement of the powder X-ray diffraction data. The materials crystallize with the mineral Buetschliite [K2Ca(CO3)2] structure. The lattice parameters of KBaLn3+(BO3)2 [Ln3+ = Sc, Lu, Gd] increased with increasing ionic radius of the Ln3+ cation. In this structure, the Ln3+ cations are octahedrally coordinated. The phase formation region is dependent on the ionic radii of the Ln3+ cation. The optical properties of Ce3+, Tb3+ and Eu3+ and their dependence on the host lattice composition are investigated and discussed. It is noteworthy that the optical properties of these ions are independent of the Ln3+ cation in KBaLn3+(BO3)2. It is concluded that in this family of materials, the crystalline field strength and the covalence at the rare earth site is independent of the host lattice composition.
Textile-based wideband flexible wearable dielectric resonator antennas for WLAN-band

Flexible wideband dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) are designed using textile materials for wearable application at the wireless local area network (WLAN) band. The antennas are designed with different possible feeding technique e.g. coaxial probe feeding, and the aperture coupled method when feed transmission line is embroidered using conductive thread. Before using textile materials in antenna design, the material parameters are extracted using resonance technique, which are validated with measurements. A solid ground (GND) plane is replaced with shielded fabric GND plane, for more flexibility. To counter the fabrication problems, a fabric (with dielectric constant close to air) covering the DRA and holding it to its accurate position, will be stitched around at the upper layer, that will resolve the possible DRA movement. The proposed DRA antennas provide more than 25 % matching bandwidth, 1-dB gain bandwidth of more than 20 % and the maximum radiation efficiency of 97 % (at 5.8 GHz).
Transesophageal echocardiography in aortic dissection.

Abstract Aortic dissection is an emergent and potentially fatal condition requiring prompt and accurate diagnosis. In some patients, aortic dissection is abruptly painful at onset; in others, however, it has a chronic progression—with no apparent symptoms or with symptoms mimicking those of congestive heart failure. Transesophageal echocardiography, a promising new method for diagnosis of aortic dissection, has the advantages of being performed at the patient's bedside and providing results within 15 minutes. This method utilizes endoscopy and traditional noninvasive imaging techniques to provide a definitive picture of most segments of the aorta without the limitations associated with aortography and other invasive procedures. The technique of transesophageal echocardiography and its application in the diagnosis of aortic dissection are described in this report. (Texas Heart Institute Journal 1990;17:257-60)
Critical transnational curriculum for immigrant and refugee students

This article explores the curricular approaches of three public high schools in the US that serve newly arrived immigrant and refugee youth, in order to define and illustrate a critical transnation...
Endometrial carcinoma in the Baby Boomer generation: Tumor characteristics and clinical outcome.

e15512 Background: Baby Boomers (BB) enterring retirement are representing a significant burden on medical resources. The unique lifestyle characteristics engendered by the BB may lead to different...
The case for defined protein folding pathways

We consider the differences between the many-pathway protein folding model derived from theoretical energy landscape considerations and the defined-pathway model derived from experiment. A basic tenet of the energy landscape model is that proteins fold through many heterogeneous pathways by way of amino acid-level dynamics biased toward selecting native-like interactions. The many pathways imagined in the model are not observed in the structure-formation stage of folding by experiments that would have found them, but they have now been detected and characterized for one protein in the initial prenucleation stage. Analysis presented here shows that these many microscopic trajectories are not distinct in any functionally significant way, and they have neither the structural information nor the biased energetics needed to select native vs. nonnative interactions during folding. The opposed defined-pathway model stems from experimental results that show that proteins are assemblies of small cooperative units called foldons and that a number of proteins fold in a reproducible pathway one foldon unit at a time. Thus, the same foldon interactions that encode the native structure of any given protein also naturally encode its particular foldon-based folding pathway, and they collectively sum to produce the energy bias toward native interactions that is necessary for efficient folding. Available information suggests that quantized native structure and stepwise folding coevolved in ancient repeat proteins and were retained as a functional pair due to their utility for solving the difficult protein folding problem.
Differential rate in decline in ovarian reserve markers in women with polycystic ovary syndrome compared with control subjects: results of a longitudinal study

Objective To estimate rates of ovarian aging in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) subjects versus a community control population. Design Longitudinal. Setting Tertiary academic center. Subject(s) PCOS subjects diagnosed according to the 2004 Rotterdam criteria were systematically enrolled in a PCOS cohort study. The comparison control subjects were from the Ovarian Aging study, a prospective longitudinal study of ovarian aging in healthy women with regular menstrual cycles. Intervention(s) Clinical data collection over two study visits. Main Outcome Measure(s) Antral follicle count (AFC), ovarian volume (OV), and antimullerian hormone level (AMH). Result(s) PCOS subjects were found to have higher baseline values for all ovarian reserve markers compared with control subjects. Univariate models indicated that, compared with control subjects, PCOS patients experienced significantly faster rates of decline for both AFC and AMH. Change in OV did not differ significantly. To account for potential confounder effects, multiple analysis of covariance models were evaluated for the best fit, considering age, body mass index, and baseline ovarian reserve markers. Adjusted models demonstrated that PCOS patients do not experience a significant difference in AFC decline compared with control subjects, but they do experience a faster rate of decline in AMH ( P P Conclusion(s) Ovarian aging in PCOS is characterized by a more rapid decline in AMH and a slower decline in OV compared with control subjects.
Working With Families: Opportunities for Early Intervention

The birth or arrival of a baby is a defining event for families. Most infants progress through predictable, yet individual, patterns of development. All families want the opportunity to optimize their children's futures, yet each spurt of development is a transition that can stress the child and the entire family system. These biobehavioral shifts, or "touchpoints," provide opportunities for the pediatrician to help the family understand, adapt, enhance, and promote the child's outcome. This family level approach serves as a form of anticipatory guidance that helps both parent and child successfully manage the challenging phases of development: motor, cognitive, social, and emotional. The "touchpoints" concept can be adapted for the pediatrician to help older children and their families.
Spin Control for Earth Satellites

One of the simplest and most frequently used attitude control systems for earth satellites consists of spinning the vehicle about an axis of maximum moment of inertia. Two difficulties that occur with this attitude control system are that magnetic drag will decrease the satellite spin rate and the spin axis will lose its initial orientation due to a variety of perturbing torques. A magnetic torqueing system has been developed at the Applied Physics Laboratory for controlling spin rate and spin axis orientation. The spin rate control system consists of two vector magnetometers mounted perpendicular to the satellite’s spin axis whose output is amplified and fed into the coil of an electromagnet. As the satellite spins, this system provides a constant amplitude magnetic dipole moment that is always perpendicular to the component of the earth’s magnetic field in the X–Y plane of the satellite. The resulting torque can be used to cause the satellite to spin faster or slower, depending on whether the resulting dipole moment leads or lags the component of the earth’s magnetic field in the X–Y plane. Changing from lead to lag can easily be accomplished by a reversing switch operated by radio command; thereby allowing the satellite to have a completely adjustable spin rate. Typical weight for this system is three pounds; typical power consumption, when activated, is less than 2 watts. Control of spin axis orientation is accomplished by precessing the spin axis using a large magnetic dipole mounted along the satellite’s Z-axis. This dipole can be magnetized to any state by discharging a condenser through a winding wrapped around a permanent magnet core. The magnet strength and polarity can be adjusted by radio command from a ground station. Typical weight for the spin axis orientation control system is three pounds and there is no steady drain of electrical power. An electronic digital computer has been programmed to calculate the times at which the magnet should be turned on and off to precess the spin axis to any desired orientation.
The Vacuum in Quantum Optics

… it appears that Quantum Mechanics is not a bad preparation for optics. — Dennis Gabor (1956)
KINETICS OF HYDROGEN ABSORPTION AND DESORPTION

ABSTRACT Possible slow steps for hydrogen absorption (desorption) by metals, alloys and intermetallics are considered. The sequence of steps for hydrogen solution are: mass transport of H2, dissociative chemisorption, surface migration, the transition from the chemisorbed to absorbed state, and bulk diffusion. When two solid phases coexist, the hydride phase transformation must appear in the sequence of steps. It is assumed that reaction occurs under isothermal conditions so that heat transfer can be neglected. For samples in the form of sheets, wires, etc., the slow step is often surface-control but for dispersed samples, such as activated intermetallics, where the rates may be extremely rapid, consideration must be given to mass transport control. The kinetics of hydrogen absorption (desorption) by activated LaNi5 are used to illustrate some of these considerations.
A characteristic study of parameterized unit tests in .NET open source projects

In the past decade, parameterized unit testing has emerged as a promising method to specify program behaviors under test in the form of unit tests. Developers can write parameterized unit tests (PUTs), unit-test methods with parameters, in contrast to conventional unit tests, without parameters. The use of PUTs can enable powerful test generation tools such as Pex to have strong test oracles to check against, beyond just uncaught runtime exceptions. In addition, PUTs have been popularly supported by various unit testing frameworks for .NET and the JUnit framework for Java. However, there exists no study to offer insights on how PUTs are written by developers in either proprietary or open source development practices, posing barriers for various stakeholders to bring PUTs to widely adopted practices in software industry. To fill this gap, we first present categorization results of the Microsoft MSDN Pex Forum posts (contributed primarily by industrial practitioners) related to PUTs. We then use the categorization results to guide the design of the first characteristic study of PUTs in .NET open source projects. We study hundreds of PUTs that open source developers wrote for these open source projects. Our study findings provide valuable insights for various stakeholders such as current or prospective PUT writers (e.g., developers), PUT framework designers, test-generation tool vendors, testing researchers, and testing educators.
Free radical-mediated targeting and immobilization of coupled payloads.

AbstractTargeted drug delivery is a promising approach to enhance the accumulation of therapies in diseased tissues while limiting off-site effects. Ligand-receptor interactions are traditionally i...
Testing the Role of State Mindfulness in Facilitating Autonomous Physical Activity Motivation

Consistent with early assertions of self-determination theory (SDT), researchers have provided initial evidence of the role of being more mindful in the autonomous regulation of physical activity behavior. The purpose of this study was to test whether change in need satisfaction mediates the relationship between trajectories of change in state mindfulness during yoga classes and change in autonomous physical activity motivation. In this study, 315 students (Mage = 20.46, SDage = 2.15; 87% female) in university yoga classes completed measures of state and trait mindfulness, perceived competence and autonomy (i.e., need satisfaction), and autonomous physical activity motivation multiple times over 16 weeks. A latent growth curve was modeled for state mindfulness with four time points and used to predict change in need satisfaction and autonomous motivation. Bayes estimation results showed that change in need satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between the slope of state mindfulness and change in autonomous motivation for physical activity over 16 weeks of yoga participation (DIC = 2526.382, PPP = .344). The model explained 47% of the variance in need satisfaction and 65% of the variance in autonomous physical activity motivation. These results illustrate the potential for growth in mindfulness within the context of yoga to support autonomous motivation for physical activity more generally.
The Coercion-Resistance Spectrum: Analyzing Prisoner-Functionary Behaviour in Nazi Camps

This article presents a methodology designed to yield a comprehensive and nuanced analysis of the behaviour of prisoner-functionaries in Nazi camps: the coercion-resistance spectrum. After a short ...
E-138 Safety and feasibility of transradial approach for cervical carotid stenting for treatment of carotid-artery stenosis

Background Traditionally, cervical carotid artery stenting is done through transfemoral or transcarotid approach. However, access site bleeding remains a significant challenge in both techniques, with a rate of about 4% in recent studies. In this study, we explore the feasibility of using transradial approach for cervical carotid stenting as a potential alternative. Methods We collected data from the prospectively maintained registries of 6 centers in the United States to include consecutive patients who underwent carotid stenting for treatment of symptomatic carotid-artery stenosis using transradial approach from October 2018 until June 2019. Collected data included baseline characteristics, procedural variables, whether there was a crossover to transfemoral access, and complications. Our primary outcome was the complication rate related to the access site. Results A total of 19 patients were included in this study. Mean age was 68.6 (±8), and 5 (26.3%) were females. The right radial artery access was used in all cases. Stenting of the right cervical internal carotid artery was done in 15 (78.9%) of the cases. Regarding the antispasmodic regimen used, Verapamil was used in 2 cases, Nitroglycerin was used in 6 cases, and a combination of both was used in 11 cases. Between 2000–5000 units of heparin were administered intraarterially or intravenously immediately after obtaining the access. A 6-French sheath was used in 13 cases, a 7-French sheath in 3 cases, and in 3 cases, the guide catheter (AXS Infinity, Stryker, USA) was exchanged over a 7-French sheath. Regarding guide catheters used, Benchmark (Penumbra, USA) was used in 14 cases, AXS Infinity in 3 cases, and Envoy (Codman Neuro, USA) in 2 cases. Mean contrast dose required was 93.3 (±48.4), radiation exposure was 14603 (±26118) mGy, and procedure duration was 24.6 (±14.2) min. None of the included patients had a complication related to access site, and only one patient required a crossover to transfemoral approach because of a device-related complication. Conclusion Transradial approach is a feasible and safe option for cervical carotid stenting. The complication rate in our study is lower than previously reported numbers for transfemoral and transcarotid carotid stenting, but larger-scale studies are needed to confirm our findings. Disclosures E. Almallouhi: None. S. Al kasab: None. P. Jabbour: 2; C; Medtronic and MicroVention. M. Gooch: None. A. Sweid: None. N. Chalouhi: None. S. Chen: None. Y. Li: None. E. Peterson: None. D. Yavagal: 2; C; Medtronic Neurovascular, Cerenovus, Rapid Medical and Neuralanalytics. R. Starke: 2; C; Penumbra, Abbott, Medtronic, InNeuroCo and Cerenovus. A. Spiotta: 1; C; Penumbra. 2; C; Penumbra, Stryker, Cerenovus, Terumo.
Histologic Heterogeneity of Extirpated Renal Cell Carcinoma Specimens: Implications for Renal Mass Biopsy

Pathologic characteristics of extirpated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) specimens 4 cm exhibit considerable histologic heterogeneity and may harbor elements that are not easily appreciated with limited renal sampling. Therefore, if RMB is considered for renal masses greater than 4 cm or those that abut sinus fat, a multi-quadrant biopsy approach is necessary to ensure adequate sampling and characterization of the mass.
Controlling conduction band alignment and carrier concentration in gallium-doped magnesium zinc oxide by reactive cosputtering

Gallium-doped magnesium zinc oxide (GMZO) holds promise as a UV transparent conducting oxide with tunable bandgap and conductivity, though there has been relatively limited exploration of the broad compositional space available. Conductive GMZO films were deposited by reactive cosputtering at room temperature followed by annealing. The contributions of alloying and the Burstein–Moss effect to the optical bandgap were decoupled through comparisons of as-deposited and annealed films. Compositional analysis in conjunction with electrical characterization was used to quantify the activation of Ga doping in MZO. Combinatorial synthesis was used to explore the optoelectronic performance over a broad composition space. Reactive cosputtering can be used to tailor GMZO properties for optoelectronic applications over a wide range of bandgaps (3.3–4 eV) and resistivity (10−3–>100 Ω cm) through appropriate control of the Mg/Zn ratio and Ga content, respectively.
Full-Length Spine—Clinical Correlations With Specific Phenotypes and Measurements With Classification Systems

Abstract Full-length spine imaging is indicated in several clinical scenarios in the daily practice of a spine surgeon. A detailed understanding of spinal anatomy and imaging parameters allows the surgeon to make the best clinical judgment in the care of their patients. This chapter briefly highlights specific radiographic parameters and common measurements in full-length spinal radiographs. Indications for advanced imaging techniques, including CT scans, MRI imaging, and 3-dimensional models, will also be addressed. And lastly, how these imaging parameters form the basis of widely accepted classification systems that are critical to routine clinical practice and research methodology.
JNK2 Gene Silencing for Elastic Matrix Regenerative Repair.

Elastic fibers do not naturally regenerate in many proteolytic disorders, such as in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), and prevent restoration of tissue homeostasis. We have shown drug-based attenuation of the stress-activated protein kinase, JNK-2 to stimulate elastic matrix neoassembly and to attenuate cellular proteolytic activity. We now investigate if JNK2 gene knockdown with siRNA provides greater specificity of action and improved regenerative/anti-proteolytic outcomes in a proteolytic injury culture model of rat aneurysmal smooth muscle cell (EaRASMCs). An siRNA dose of 12.5nM delivered with a transfection reagent significantly enhanced downstream elastic fiber assembly and maturation vs untreated EaRASMC cultures. The optimal siRNA dose was also delivered as a complex with a polymeric transfection vector, polyethyleneimine (PEI) in preparation for future in vivo delivery. Linear 25kDa PEI-siRNA (5:1 molar ratio of amine to phosphate) and linear 40kDa PEI-siRNA (2.5:1 ratio) were effective in downregulating the JNK2 gene, and significantly increasing expression of elastic fiber assembly proteins, and decreases in elastolytic matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-2 vs treatment controls to significantly increase mature elastic fiber assembly. The current work has identified siRNA dosing and siRNA-PEI complexing conditions that are safe and efficient in stimulating processes contributing to improved elastic matrix neoassembly via JNK2 gene knockdown. The results represent a mechanistic basis of a broader therapeutic approach to reverse elastic matrix pathophysiology in tissue disorders involving aberrations of elastic matrix homeostasis, such as in aortic aneurysms.
In Bounds but Out of the Box: A Meta-Analysis Clarifying the Effect of Ethicality on Creativity

The pervasiveness of unethical actions paired with the rising demand for creativity in organizations has contributed to an increased interest in how ethicality and creativity relate. However, there are mixed findings on whether these two fundamental pillars of the workplace relate positively, negatively, or not at all. To provide an empirical consensus to this debate, we study the directional effects of ethicality on creativity by employing meta-analytic techniques. Specifically, a series of meta-regressions, moderated meta-regressions, and individual subgroup analyses of moderators investigated the nuances of the ethicality-creativity relationship. Using a random-effects model, a quantitative review of 278 effects across 23 articles revealed that ethicality positively related to creativity. We further probed how each domain of ethicality (i.e., ethical decision-making, ethical leadership, ethical culture, ethical thought) related to creativity; the effect of ethicality on creativity remained positive, but was no longer significant. Additionally, to expand our understanding of this relationship, we offer theoretical and empirical accounts of five factors that moderate the positive association between ethicality and creativity: ethicality and creativity domains and measurement, sample culture, study characteristics, and sample characteristics. Theoretical and practical insights regarding these relationships are discussed.
Body size, nest predation, and reproductive patterns in Brown Thrashers and other mimids

We describe the breeding biology of Brown Thrashers (Toxostoma rufum) in Kansas, and combine this with data from other temperate-zone breeding Mimidae to characterize reproductive patterns in this group. Brown Thrashers produced clutches of 3 to 6 eggs, but clutches of 4 predominated. Most pairs raised 2 broods per year. Incubation required between 13 and 14 days, and hatching was usually asynchronous. Though sample size was small, asynchrony appeared to increase in frequency towards the end of the breeding season. Nestlings grew rapidly, and in 10 days or less most pre-fledging growth was completed. Young fledged normally at 11 days of age at 65% of aduli weight, but with the tarsi near adult size. Nestlings starved in 27% of nests, but predators were responsible for most nest failures. Overall nest success was 43%. Brown Thrashers are typical of other temperate-zone mimids. Modal clutch sizes are of either 3 or 4 eggs and all species are multi-brooded. Mimids from the southwestern United States and Mexico lay normally 3 egg clutches, but elsewhere 4 eggs are most common. Incubation length and nestling growth rate vary significantly with adult weight, but on average, incubation is 3 days shorter and nestlings grow 36% faster than predicted. Relative incubation length and relative fledging weight both declined significantly with adult weight, whereas daily nest mortality rate increased significantly with adult size. Although our data are consistent with the hypothesis that heavy nest predation has favored rapid nestling growth and completion of development outside of the nest, rapid growth may also function in brood reduction. Present data are insufficient to exclude conclusively either factor in the evolution of rapid development in mimids.
Chapter 5 – Primate Behavior

The order Primates comprises hundreds of species that vary widely in size, life history, ecology, and behavior. Most diurnal species and some nocturnal ones form stable social groups characterized by permanent association between males and females. Predation has been the main factor selecting for the evolution of group living. Typical group size and composition vary along with variation in predation risk, diet, food distribution, feeding competition, and mating strategies. Even in species that are mostly solitary while foraging (e.g., many nocturnal strepsirhines), individuals may associate nonrandomly and factors such as kinship can influence social structure. Social relationships within primate groups reflect complex mixes of competition and cooperation and are influenced by many factors, including variation in food distribution and resulting regimes of feeding competition, in relatedness, and in the availability and value of potential social partners; conflicts and convergences of reproductive interest between males and females; and correlated evolution of suites of behavioral traits in particular lineages. Kin biases in social behavior are common and much evidence indicates that kin selection has been important in primate evolution. Cooperation among nonkin is also common; much of this apparently is mutualism, in which cooperating individuals obtain immediate net benefits from their actions. Factors that account for permanent male–female association, whether as pairs or in groups that contain multiple females and, sometimes, multiple males, include the antipredation benefits of group living; mate guarding by males; paternal care, including protection of offspring (notably against potentially infanticidal conspecific males); and defense of food supplies on which females and their offspring rely. Social bonds among the members of primate groups vary in strength and flexibility. In many cases (e.g., female baboons, male chimpanzees), some pairs of individuals maintain long-lasting, strong bonds, and increasing evidence indicates that how successful individuals are at maintaining strong social bonds and at negotiating networks of cooperation and competition influences their fitness.
Consistency in Personality Measurement

In the last 25 years, there is no issue in personality psychology which has been as hotly debated as that of “consistency”. Many would argue that the debate over the consistency of personality has created much heat and little light. It is true that too much effort has been expended investigating unanswerable and unproductive questions (such as “How consistent is personality?”), and too little effort has been expended on more fruitful topics (such as “Where does one find consistency?”).
Lumbar spine kinematics during walking in people with and people without low back pain.

Low back pain (LBP) is a problem that can contribute to functional limitations and disability. Understanding kinematics during walking can provide a basis for examination and treatment in people with LBP. Prior research related to kinematics during walking is conflicting. However, investigators have not considered regional differences in lumbar spine kinematics or movement-based LBP subgroups. In the current study, three-dimensional kinematics of the upper and lower lumbar regions were examined in people with and without LBP. A clinical examination then was conducted to assign people with LBP to a movement-based subgroup and differences in kinematics among subgroups were examined. All subjects displayed significantly more upper than lower lumbar movement in the axial and coronal planes (P .05). Walking was limited by or provocative of pain in <25% of subjects with LBP. There were predictable differences in kinematics among some movement-based LBP subgroups that approached statistical significance (P=.09-.11). Walking was provocative of LBP in few subjects, and differences between people with and without LBP and among LBP subgroups were minimal. Limitations include that attempts to standardize gait speed may have minimized observed effects, and there was limited power to detect movement-based LBP subgroup differences.
Infrared spectroscopic studies on metal carbonyl compounds—VI . Infrared spectroscopic studies on two isomeric forms of dicobalt octacarbonyl in solutinos

Abstract The doublet shape of some of the C-O stretching bands in solution spectra of Co 2 (CO) 8 has led to the assumption of the existence of two isomeric forms of this compound. Correlating its spectrum with spectra of two types of cobalt carbonyl derivatives, with and without bridging CO groups, respectively, most of the C-O stretching bands could unequivocally be assigned to one of the two forms. Isomer I possesses a structure corresponding to that of the crystalline substance, whereas for isomer II a structure could be made probable in which there is a tetragonal pyramidal configuration around the cobalt atoms, held together only by a linear metal-metal bond.
Soils : genesis and geomorphology

Part I. The Building Blocks of Soils: 1. Introduction 2. Basic concepts: soil morphology 3. Basic concepts: soil horizonation... the alphabet of soils 4. Basic concepts: soil mineralogy 5. Basic concepts: soil chemistry 6. Basic concepts: soil physics 7. Basic concepts: soil organisms 8. Soil classification and mapping 9. Weathering Part II. Soil Genesis: From Parent Material to Soil: 10. Soil parent materials 11. Pedoturbation 12. Models and concepts of soil formation 13. Soil genesis and profile differentiation Part III. Soil Geomorphology: 14. Soil geomorphology and hydrology 15. Soil development and surface exposure dating 16. Soils, paleosols, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction 17. Conclusions.
Deviation and Association Patterns for Subgroup Mining in Temporal, Spatial, and Textual Data Bases

Data mining is usually introduced as search for interesting patterns in data. It is often an explorative step iteratively performed within a process of knowledge discovery in data bases (KDD). A mining step typically relies on strategies for systematic search in large hypotheses spaces guided by the autonomous evaluation of statistical tests. We describe the subgroup mining approach that is based on deviation and association patterns. A typical database contains values of attributes for many objects (persons, transactions, documents). Interpretable subgroups of these objects are searched that deviate from a designated expected behavior. Many types of data analysis questions can be answered by subgroup mining with diverse specializations of general deviation and association patterns. Tests measure the statistical interestingness of subgroup deviations. After summarizing the approach by discussing the fundamental components of subgroup pattern classes concerning validation, search and interactive presentation of pattern instances, we explain how deviation patterns of subgroup mining are applied for temporal, spatial and textual databases.
Interpretation: Observer Effects

The tendency of human observers to interpret data in a manner consistent with their expectations and desires is well established. Scientists in many fields use blind or double-blind procedures to minimize this tendency. Forensic scientists have recently given greater attention to this issue as a result of high profile errors in forensic testing and empirical research confirming that observer effects influence forensic interpretations. To minimize such problems, forensic laboratories can separate case management from evidence interpretation or adopt sequential unmasking procedures that allow key interpretations to occur while the analyst is blind to extraneous facts. Keywords: interpretation; expectation; preconception; examiner bias; sequential unmasking; case manager; blind testing; extraneous information; junk science; psychological
Models rush in where simulators fear to tread: extending the baseband-equivalent method

Radio-frequency (RF) receiver circuits have operating characteristics that make them difficult to simulate using traditional SPICE transient analysis. Their gross operation alone, running at gigahertz frequencies, where cycle-by-cycle simulations will overwhelm the fastest computers and the results will rapidly fill disks. Another bottleneck is sifting through the data. For system design work, these problems can be overcome by using Verilog-A behavioral models to remove the high frequency carrier signal from the simulation. Based on the same concepts as the baseband-equivalent models (available in Cadence's "rfLib" library) but extended to handle interference the spectral model is based on an algebraic formula derived to model nonlinear amplification of multiple signals. To handle frequency-dependent response, filtering and impedance matching, equivalent models for linear devices are used like their baseband-equivalent counterparts to achieve correct results. This approach, wrapping a nonlinear power-series model with linear frequency-dependent components, is an equivalent circuit alternative to the generally accepted need to use Volterra series for an accurate "black box" nonlinear model. With a bit of math (and no Verilog-A code), the spectral model for an amplifier is developed and compared with the traditional approach for simulation speed and accuracy in reproducing the effects of blocking, intermodulation, and cross modulation.
Building an Open Data Repository: Lessons and Challenges

The Internet has transformed scholarly research in many ways. Open access to data and other research output has been touted as a crucial step toward transparency and quality in science. This paper takes a critical look at what it takes to share social science research data, from the perspective of a small data repository at Yale University’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies. The ISPS Data Archive was built to create an open access digital collection of social science experimental data, metadata, and associated files produced by ISPS researchers, for the purpose of replication of research findings, further analysis, and teaching. This paper describes the development of the ISPS Data Archive and discusses the inter-related challenges of replication, integration, and stewardship. It argues that open data requires effort, investment of resources, and planning. By itself, it does not enhance knowledge.