cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The zebrafish slow-muscle-omitted gene product is required for Hedgehog signal transduction and the development of slow muscle identity

Hedgehog proteins mediate many of the inductive interactions that determine cell fate during embryonic development. Hedgehog signaling has been shown to regulate slow muscle fiber type development. We report here that mutations in the zebrafish slow-muscle-omitted (smu) gene disrupt many developmental processes involving Hedgehog signaling. smu(-/-) embryos have a 99% reduction in the number of slow muscle fibers and a complete loss of Engrailed-expressing muscle pioneers. In addition, mutant embryos have partial cyclopia, and defects in jaw cartilage, circulation and fin growth. The smu(-/-) phenotype is phenocopied by treatment of wild-type embryos with forskolin, which inhibits the response of cells to Hedgehog signaling by indirect activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Overexpression of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) or dominant negative PKA (dnPKA) in wild-type embryos causes all somitic cells to develop into slow muscle fibers. Overexpression of Shh does not rescue slow muscle fiber development in smu(-/-) embryos, whereas overexpression of dnPKA does. Cell transplantation experiments confirm that smu function is required cell-autonomously within the muscle precursors: wild-type muscle cells rescue slow muscle fiber development in smu(-/-) embryos, whereas mutant muscle cells cannot develop into slow muscle fibers in wild-type embryos. Slow muscle fiber development in smu mutant embryos is also rescued by expression of rat Smoothened. Therefore, Hedgehog signaling through Slow-muscle-omitted is necessary for slow muscle fiber type development. We propose that smu encodes a vital component in the Hedgehog response pathway.
Variation in barley yellow dwarf virus transmission efficiency by Rhopalosiphum padi (Homoptera: Aphididae) after acquisition from transgenic and nontransformed wheat genotypes.

Abstract The effects of different acquisition access periods (AAPs) and inoculation access periods (IAPs) on the transmission efficiency of barley yellow dwarf luteovirus (BYDV) by Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) after feeding on transgenic or nontransformed wheat, Triticum aestivum L., genotypes were studied. Three wheat genotypes were tested as virus sources: virus-susceptible ‘Lambert’ and ‘Lambert’-derived transgenic lines 103.1J and 126.02, which express the BYDV-PAV coat protein gene. Lower virus titers were measured in BYDV-infected transgenic plants compared with Lambert. No significant differences in transmission efficiency were detected for R. padi after varying IAPs, regardless of genotype. Transmission efficiency increased with an increase in AAP in all genotypes tested. However, AAPs ranging from 6 to 48 h on Lambert resulted in significantly greater transmission efficiency than similar periods on transgenic 103.1J. Maximum transmission efficiency (70%) was observed after a 48-...
Computationally optimized antigens to overcome influenza viral diversity

The world is facing an impending crisis and immediate threat. As the novel H1N1 outbreak of 2009 demonstrated, a pandemic influenza virus can emerge from almost any part of the world without warnin...
Unified, flavor symmetric explanation for the t t ¯ asymmetry and W j j excess at CDF

We present a simple, perturbative, and renormalizable model with a flavor symmetry which can explain both the $t\overline{t}$ forward-backward asymmetry and the bump feature present in the dijet mass distribution of the $W+jj$ sample in the range 120--160 GeV that was recently reported by the CDF collaboration. The flavor symmetry not only ensures the flavor/$CP$ safety of the model, but also relates the two anomalies unambiguously. It predicts a comparable forward-backward asymmetry in $c\overline{c}$. The forward-backward asymmetry in $b\overline{b}$ is, however, small. A bump in the dijet mass distribution in $Z+jj$ sample is also predicted but with a suppressed cross section.
Signaling Theory: A Review and Assessment

Signaling theory is useful for describing behavior when two parties (individuals or organizations) have access to different information. Typically, one party, the sender, must choose whether and how to communicate (or signal) that information, and the other party, the receiver, must choose how to interpret the signal. Accordingly, signaling theory holds a prominent position in a variety of management literatures, including strategic management, entrepreneurship, and human resource management. While the use of signaling theory has gained momentum in recent years, its central tenets have become blurred as it has been applied to organizational concerns. The authors, therefore, provide a concise synthesis of the theory and its key concepts, review its use in the management literature, and put forward directions for future research that will encourage scholars to use signaling theory in new ways and to develop more complex formulations and nuanced variations of the theory.
Effects of elevated temperature and carbon dioxide on seed-set and yield of kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

It is important to quantify and understand the consequences of elevated temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) on reproductive processes and yield to develop suitable agronomic or genetic management for future climates. The objectives of this research work were (a) to quantify the effects of elevated temperature and CO2 on photosynthesis, pollen production, pollen viability, seed-set, seed number, seeds per pod, seed size, seed yield and dry matter production of kidney bean and (b) to determine if deleterious effects of high temperature on reproductive processes and yield could be compensated by enhanced photosynthesis at elevated CO2 levels. Red kidney bean cv. Montcalm was grown in controlled environments at day/night temperatures ranging from 28/18 to 40/30 °C under ambient (350 µmol mol−1) or elevated (700 µmol mol−1) CO2 levels. There were strong negative relations between temperature over a range of 28/18–40/30 °C and seed-set (slope, − 6.5% °C−1) and seed number per pod (− 0.34 °C−1) under both ambient and elevated CO2 levels. Exposure to temperature > 28/18 °C also reduced photosynthesis (− 0.3 and − 0.9 µmol m−2 s−1 °C−1), seed number (− 2.3 and − 3.3 °C−1) and seed yield (− 1.1 and − 1.5 g plant−1 °C−1), at both the CO2 levels (ambient and elevated, respectively). Reduced seed-set and seed number at high temperatures was primarily owing to decreased pollen production and pollen viability. Elevated CO2 did not affect seed size but temperature > 31/21 °C linearly reduced seed size by 0.07 g °C−1. Elevated CO2 increased photosynthesis and seed yield by approximately 50 and 24%, respectively. There was no beneficial interaction of CO2 and temperature, and CO2 enrichment did not offset the negative effects of high temperatures on reproductive processes and yield. In conclusion, even with beneficial effects of CO2 enrichment, yield losses owing to high temperature (> 34/24 °C) are likely to occur, particularly if high temperatures coincide with sensitive stages of reproductive development.
Trimalchio's Zodiac Dish (Petronius, SAT. 35. 1–5)

(1) laudationem ferculum est insecutum plane non pro expectatione magnum: novitas tamen omnium convertit oculos. (2) rotundum enim repositoriurr duodecim habebat signa in orbe disposita, super quae proprium convenien. temque materiae structor imposuerat cibum: (3) super arietem cicer arietinum, super taurum bubulae frustum, super geminos testiculos ac rienes, supei cancrum coronam, super leonem ficum Africanam, super virginem steriliculam (4) super libram stateram in cuius altera parte scriblita erat, in altera placenta super scorpionem † pisciculum marinum, super sagittarium oclopetam, supei capricornum locustam marinam,† super pisces duos mullos. (5) in medio autem caespes cum herbis excisus favum sustinebat.
Preparation of Arene Chromium Tricarbonyl Complexes Using Continuous-Flow Processing: (η6-C6H5CH3)Cr(CO)3 as an Example

Abstract A continuous-flow approach to the direct synthesis of arene chromium tricarbonyl complexes is presented. By working in flow mode, it is possible to avoid some of the problems of batch synthesis, especially sublimation of the Cr(CO)6 starting material and the competitive decomposition of the product during the lengthy reaction times. Heating at 220 °C and operating with a residence time of 10 min through the heated zone allows for the synthesis of (η6-C6H5CH3)Cr(CO)3 as an example, along with a selection of other (arene)Cr(CO)3 complexes.
Evolution of CMOS Technology at 32 nm and Beyond

Over the last 15 years, there has been a new CMOS technology node approximately every two years. The key feature of every node has been 2X density shrink and ~35% performance gain per technology node. Chip power has been increasing rapidly, approaching air cool limit. Power limit is transforming CMOS scaling to more of a density driver. As we move to 32 nm node and beyond a number of additional fundamental challenges are faced, which may force additional rethinking of how scaling has been done. This paper is an overview of some upcoming challenges and possible ways of addressing them.
Isolation and Partial Characterization of the Multiple Forms of Deoxyribonucleic Acid-dependent Ribonucleic Acid Polymerase in the Mouse Myeloma, MOPC 315

RNA polymerase has been solubilized from whole cell homogenates of the mouse myeloma tumor, MOPC 315. Four forms of the solubilized enzyme have been isolated by ion exchange chromatography and designated I, II, III a , and III b . The enzymes appear analogous to the Class I, II, and III RNA polymerases defined in other eukaryotic systems. Ionic strength optima, metal ion effects, α-amanitin sensitivities, and relative activities with poly[d(A-T)] and calf thymus DNA templates are different for Class I, II, and III RNA polymerases, but are identical for III a and III b . For the Class I and Class II enzymes ionic strength optima occur, respectively, at 0.05 and 0.09 m ammonium sulfate with either calf thymus DNA or poly[d(A-T)] as template. By contrast, the ionic strength activation profiles for Class III RNA polymerases with calf thymus DNA template are biphasic with polytima at 0.055 and 0.17 m ammonium sulfate; but with poly[d(A-T)] the profiles are monophasic with optima at 0.055 m . Although RNA polymerase I is completely resistant to α-amanitin at concentrations up to 400 µg per ml, RNA polymerases II and III can both be inhibited completely by the toxin. However, the sensitivity of RNA polymerase II (50% inhibition at 0.025 µg per ml) is much greater than that of the Class III RNA polymerases (50% inhibition at 20 µg per ml). Furthermore, the poly[d(A-T)] to calf thymus DNA activity ratios are considerably greater for the Class III RNA polymerases than for RNA polymerases I and II. By measuring RNA polymerase activity in DEAE-Sephadex fractions at α-amanitin concentrations just sufficient to inhibit RNA polympolymerase II and in the presence of poly[d(A-T)] RNA polymerase III activity has been detected in all tissues examined. When the amounts of the different enzymes were measured in subcellular fractions of myeloma cells, RNA polymerase I was found predominantly in the nucleolar fraction, II and III a predominantly in the nucleoplasmic fraction, and III b predominantly in the cytoplasmic fraction. This latter observation raises the possibility that this enzyme may be of cytoplasmic origin. Cellular levels of the RNA polymerases have been compared in MOPC 315 tissues and in normal tissues under various physiological conditions. Levels of Enzymes I and III are increased in the myeloma relative to calf thymus, mouse liver, and mouse spleen, and are increased in liver and spleen from tumor-bearing mice and younger (6 weeks) mice relative to tumor-free mice and older mice (10 meeks), respectively. Levels of Enzyme II are more invariant under these circumstances. These data are discussed in terms of possible regulatory roles of the three enzyme classes.
Functional polymorphism in human CYP4F2 decreases 20-HETE production

20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) plays an important role in the regulation of renal tubular and vascular function and a deficiency in the renal formation of 20-HETE has been linked to the ...
Clinical and economic outcomes of thyroid and parathyroid surgery in children.

Context: Clinical and economic outcomes after thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy in adults have demonstrated disparities based on patient age and race/ethnicity; there is a paucity of literature on pediatric endocrine outcomes. Objective: The objective was to examine the clinical and demographic predictors of outcomes after pediatric thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy. Design: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project–National Inpatient Sample hospital discharge information from 1999–2005. All patients who underwent thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy were included. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of patient outcomes. Subjects: Subjects included 1199 patients 17 yr old or younger undergoing thyroidectomy/parathyroidectomy. Main Outcome Measures: Outcome measures included in-hospital patient complications, length of stay (LOS), and inpatient hospital costs. Results: The majority of patients were female (76%), aged 13–17 y...
A simple timing recovery scheme for SOQPSK

We consider symbol timing recovery for shaped-offset quadrature phase-shift keying (SOQPSK), a highly bandwidth-efficient and popular constant-envelope modulation scheme. The proposed timing recovery method makes use of a recent continuous phase modulation (CPM) interpretation of SOQPSK, where SOQPSK is viewed as a CPM with a constrained (correlated) ternary data alphabet. We derive a timing error detector (TED) that is an extended version of a non-data-aided (blind) TED for CPM, where the proposed extensions take the data correlation of SOQPSK explicitly into account. The merits of the modified TED are demonstrated by comparing its performance with and without taking the data correlation into account. As a further modification, we show that a quantization scheme can be used to yield an extremely low-complexity version of the system with only negligible performance losses. The S-curve of the proposed quantized TED is given, which rules out the existence of false lock points. Numerical performance results are given for the most popular SOQPSK variant: MIL-STD SOQPSK. These results show that the proposed scheme has great promise in a wide range of applications due to its low complexity, its lack of false lock points, and its blind nature; such applications include timing recovery in noncoherent detection schemes and false lock detectors.
A time-domain integral-equation based hybrid simulator for EMI analysis of twisted cables on complex platforms

A time-domain integral equation (TDIE)-based simulator for performing electromagnetic interference (EMI) analysis involving twisted cables located on complex platforms is presented. Similar to its predecessors this hybrid simulator computes external fields on the platforms, guided fields along the transmission lines (TLs), and voltages and currents on TL loads, using a time-domain adaptive integral (TD-AIM) accelerated TDIE-based field, an FFT-accelerated TDIE-based TL, and a modified nodal analysis (MNA)-based circuit solver, respectively. Unlike its predecessors, the TL-component of the proposed simulator represents twisted cables using the model of (see C.R. Paul et al., IEEE Trans. Electromagn. Compat., vol.21, no.2, p.92-114, May 1979) and thus allows their EMI analysis together with the platform (such as cars and aircraft) they are located on. The proposed simulator models twisted cables as cascaded uniform TLs that represent twisted sections and the twists are assumed to happen abruptly at TL connections.
A Life-Cycle Model of Organizational Federations: The Case of Hospitals

Hospital federations are a form of multiorganizational collaboration in which a management group coordinates and directs the activities of three or more organizations. This paper introduces a life-cycle model of federations that focuses on factors that influence the transition from one stage to another.
Family Firm and Community Culture

When a family firm is acquired, how will its culture and performance be affected by the culture of the new parent company?
Optimal partitioning of heterogeneous traffic sources in highway cellular systems

Given a linear array of n heterogeneous traffic sources which generate multiple types of traffic among themselves, we consider the problem of finding a set of disjoint clusters to cover n traffic sources such that it minimizes the total communication cost for the entire system where the cost of intra-cluster communication is usually lower than that of inter-cluster communication for each type of traffic. The optimization problem is transformed into the dual based on the relative cost which is the communication cost if a pair of nodes are in different clusters of a partition. Using the relative cost matrix, an efficient algorithm of O(mn/sup 2/), where m is the number of clusters in a partition, is designed by dynamic programming.
Vibriobactin Biosynthesis in Vibrio cholerae: VibH Is an Amide Synthase Homologous to Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase Condensation Domains†

The Vibrio cholerae siderophore vibriobactin is biosynthesized from three molecules of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate (DHB), two molecules of L-threonine, and one of norspermidine. Of the four genes positively implicated in vibriobactin biosynthesis, we have here expressed, purified, and assayed the products of three: vibE, vibB, and vibH. All three are homologous to nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) domains: VibE is a 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate-adenosyl monophosphate ligase, VibB is a bifunctional isochorismate lyase-aryl carrier protein (ArCP), and VibH is a novel amide synthase that represents a free-standing condensation (C) domain. VibE and VibB are homologous to EntE and EntB from Escherichia coli enterobactin synthetase; VibE activates DHB as the acyl adenylate and then transfers it to the free thiol of the phosphopantetheine arm of VibB's ArCP domain. VibH then condenses this DHB thioester (the donor) with the small molecule norspermidine (the acceptor), forming N(1)-(2, 3-dihydroxybenzoyl)norspermidine (DHB-NSPD) with a k(cat) of 600 min(-1) and a K(m) for acyl-VibB of 0.88 microM and for norspermidine of 1.5 mM. Exclusive monoacylation of a primary amine of norspermidine was observed. VibH also tolerates DHB-acylated EntB and 1,7-diaminoheptane, octylamine, and hexylamine as substrates, albeit at lowered catalytic efficiencies. DHB-NSPD possesses one of three acylations required for mature vibriobactin, and its formation confirms VibH's role in vibriobactin biosynthesis. VibH is a unique NRPS condensation domain that acts upon an upstream carrier-protein-bound donor and a downstream amine, turning over a soluble amide product, in contrast to an archetypal NRPS-embedded C domain that condenses two carrier protein thioesters.
High-resolution chemostratigraphic record of late Pleistocene lake-level variability, Mono Lake, California

The study of abrupt changes in global climate requires high-resolution records for which the connection to the climate system is well understood. Because lake systems are by their nature unique, ground truthing of geochemical measurements against directly observable physical evidence is required. The Mono Lake basin exposes multiple outcrops of lake sediments deposited during the last glacial period, providing the opportunity to reconstruct lake-level changes through stratigraphy-based interpretation of high-resolution records. Here we present a record of bulk-sediment carbonate derived from overlapping sections in three outcrops around the Mono Lake basin. We interpret this record as a reflection of lake-level variation, based on well-exposed stratigraphy and sedimentary facies changes. The co-variation of lake level with Sr isotopes measured in ostracodes is interpreted to reflect increased proportion of water supplied from the eastern basin during wet times. This high carbonate–high lake-level relationship is the opposite of the high carbonate–low lake-level relationship inferred in nearby Owens Lake, a difference attributable to extreme differences in basin geometry affecting the frequency of spilling conditions and resultant lake chemistry.
Radioactively powered pressure transducer with RF pulse output

We present a self-powered reciprocating cantilever for vacuum sensing with RF pulse transmission realizing an integrated self-powered sensor and information transmission platform. By collecting electrons emitted from a radioisotope, the cantilever realizes a self-reciprocating process and the period of the reciprocation is modulated by the ambient pressure. RF pulse can be generated at the end of each cycle of the reciprocation if a dielectric plate is used as the cantilever, by impulse excitation of the dielectric waveguide. The pressure can be determined by externally detecting the period between RF pulses. Pressure measurements in the range of 15 mTorr to 800 mTorr were made, with a pressure sensitivity of 66 millisecond/mTorr.
Depth Enhancement via Low-Rank Matrix Completion

Depth captured by consumer RGB-D cameras is often noisy and misses values at some pixels, especially around object boundaries. Most existing methods complete the missing depth values guided by the corresponding color image. When the color image is noisy or the correlation between color and depth is weak, the depth map cannot be properly enhanced. In this paper, we present a depth map enhancement algorithm that performs depth map completion and de-noising simultaneously. Our method is based on the observation that similar RGB-D patches lie in a very low-dimensional subspace. We can then assemble the similar patches into a matrix and enforce this low-rank subspace constraint. This low-rank subspace constraint essentially captures the underlying structure in the RGB-D patches and enables robust depth enhancement against the noise or weak correlation between color and depth. Based on this subspace constraint, our method formulates depth map enhancement as a low-rank matrix completion problem. Since the rank of a matrix changes over matrices, we develop a data-driven method to automatically determine the rank number for each matrix. The experiments on both public benchmarks and our own captured RGB-D images show that our method can effectively enhance depth maps.
Image identification and restoration in the subband domain

When faced with a large support point spread function (PSF), the iterative expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, which is often used for PSF identification, is very sensitive to the initial PSF estimate. To deal with this problem, the authors propose to do EM image identification and restoration in the subband domain. After the image is first divided into subbands, the EM algorithm is applied to each subband separately. Since the PSF can be taken to have smaller support in each subband, these subbands should be less of a problem with the EM model identification. They also introduce an adaptive subband EM method for use in the upper frequency subbands. >
Action of excitatory amino acids on hypodermis and the motornervous system of Ascaris suum : pharmacological evidence for a glutamate transporter

Electrophysiological and pharmacological experiments suggest the presence of an electrogenic glutamate transporter in the motornervous system of the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum. This putative transporter occurs in hypodermis (a tissue in some respects analogous to glia) and in DE2 motorneurons, a dorsal excitatory motorneuron class which receives excitatory glutamatergic post-synaptic potentials. Glutamate application to hypodermis produced non-conductance mediated depolarizations that were smaller in amplitude and slower in rate of rise than DE2 responses where a glutamate-activated conductance occurs. The hypodermal response is sodium dependent and calcium independent. Excitatory amino acid ionotropic receptor agonists (kainate, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate) were ineffective in eliciting hypodermal responses. The ionotropic receptor antagonist, 6,7-dinitroquinoline-2,3-dione, had no effect on hypodermal glutamate responses. The L- and D-form of glutamate, aspartate and homocysteate produced hypodermal and DE2 depolarizations consistent with the pharmacological profile for glutamate transporters in other systems. Glutamate transport inhibitors (L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylate and beta-hydroxyaspartate) elicited electrogenic depolarizations in hypodermis and DE2. These results suggest that the hypodermal glutamate response has an electrogenic transporter component, while the DE2 response has 2 components, one conductance-mediated and the other due to an electrogenic transporter.
It's a bug's life.

Although the mechanisms of anterior-posterior axis formation are well understood in Drosophila , both embryological and molecular studies suggest significant variation in the mechanisms generating this axis within the Insecta class as a whole.
Effects of carriage and expression of the Tn10 tetracycline-resistance operon on the fitness of Escherichia coli K12

We have been examining the consequences of alternative modes of regulation of plasmid-borne, Tn10-encoded tetracycline resistance for the fitness of Escherichia coli. In a tetracycline-free environment, we measured the effects on fitness that were caused by (1) maximally induced expression of the resistance operon, (2) low-level constitutive expression of the resistance protein, (3) residual expression of the repressed resistance operon, (4) carriage of the resistance operon, (5) the remainder of the plasmid genome, and (6) hyperexpression of the repressor protein. We observed large reductions in fitness that were associated with induction and with constitutive expression of the tetracycline-resistance protein, but there was no discernible effect of hyperexpression of the repressor protein. We also observed a small reduction in fitness associated with the remainder of the plasmid genome. However, any reductions in fitness that were caused by residual expression and by carriage of the repressed operon were not more than 0.3%. We conclude that tight gene regulation has eliminated antagonistic pleiotropic effects of the resistance gene on fitness, so that possession of an inducible Tn10-encoded tetracycline-resistance operon imposes essentially no burden in the absence of antibiotic.
AVALIAÇÃO AERODINÂMICA DO RETROVISOR DE UM VEÍCULO HATCHBACK USANDO O MÉTODO ADJOINT DE OTIMIZAÇÃO

Hoje em dia, um dos fatores mais importantes no desenvolvimento de veiculos e o aspecto aerodinâmico. Varias iniciativas ao redor do mundo regulam emissoes de poluentes e eficiencias de veiculos tais como a EURO para o mercado europeu e o Projeto INOVAR que sera implementado no Brasil em 2017. Assim, este estudo tem como objetivo realizar uma otimizacao a fim de reduzir a forca de arrasto em um veiculo Hatchback. O principal objetivo deste trabalho e demonstrar o potencial das tecnicas de otimizacao para melhorar o perfil aerodinâmico do retrovisor do lado do motorista de um veiculo Hatchback. O metodo de otimizacao usado neste trabalho e o Adjoint, que realiza uma analise de sensibilidade da superficie do veiculo e uma reestruturacao das malhas superficiais e volumetricas. O estudo e feito usando simulacoes CFD para reduzir o arrasto aerodinâmico de um veiculo Hatchback atual de producao, que foi previamente validado e correlacionado em um teste de tunel de vento. Primeiramente, o metodo de otimizacao e utilizado para melhorar a superficie do retrovisor a fim de reduzir a forca de arrasto. Os resultados mostram que o coeficiente de arrasto do veiculo e reduzido em 0.008. Este trabalho demonstra o potencial das tecnicas de otimizacao, que podem ser aplicadas em estagios iniciais do projeto e em diversas superficies do veiculo.
Free will and the construction of options

What are the distinctive psychological features that explain why humans are free, but many other creatures, such as simple animals, are not? It is natural to think that the answer has something to do with unique human capacities for decision-making. Philosophical discussions of how decision-making works, however, are tellingly incomplete. In particular, these discussions invariably presuppose an agent who has a mentally represented set of options already fully in hand. The emphasis is largely on the selective processes that identify the options most worth doing and then execute them. But where do mentally represented sets of options come from in the first place? Once we focus on this constructive aspect of decision-making, an important fact becomes apparent: While the option sets of simpler animals are sharply limited, humans have a number of striking psychological powers—including remarkable powers of prospection and creativity—that enable them to construct option sets of unparalleled size and diversity. As a result, humans can express themselves in countless ways. This latitude for self-expression is, I argue, the distinctive feature that explains why humans are free.
Flexibility, Structure, and Linguistic Vagary in Concepts: Manifestations of a Compositional System of Perceptual Symbols

This chapter aims to develop temporary construction in working memory, derived from a larger body of knowledge in long-term memory to represent a category, where a category, roughly speaking, is a related set of entities from any ontological type. The conceptualisation of an entity or set of entities can vary widely across individuals and occasions. Numerous demonstrations of encoding variability in the memory literature reveal flexibility, illustrating that the encoding context of a word determines the conceptualisation of its referent. The primary purpose of using linguistic representations has been to express the content of people’s concepts. The haphazard nature of conceptual content is a problem for traditional theories of concepts, because they assume that a concept resides as a stable structure in long-term memory. Linguistic vagary is the problem that linguistic representations of conceptual content in long-term memory are unprincipled, haphazard, and incomplete.
Feasibility of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems in Surgical Patients.

INTRODUCTION Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for postoperative complications. Quitting or cutting down on cigarettes around the time of surgery may reduce these risks. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to help patients achieve this goal, regardless of their intent to attempt long-term abstinence. METHODS An open-label observational study was performed of cigarette smoking adults scheduled for elective surgery at Mayo Clinic Rochester and seen in the pre-operative evaluation clinic between December 2014 and June 2015. Subjects were given a supply of ENDS to use prior to and 2 weeks after surgery. They were encouraged to use them whenever they craved a cigarette. Daily use of ENDS was recorded, and patients were asked about smoking behavior and ENDS use at baseline, 14 days and 30 days. RESULTS Of the 105 patients approached, 80 (76%) agreed to participate; five of these were later excluded. Among the 75, 67 (87%) tried ENDS during the study period. At 30-day follow-up, 34 (51%) who had used ENDS planned to continue using them. Average cigarette consumption decreased from 15.6 per person/d to 7.6 over the study period (P < .001). At 30 days, 11/67 (17%) reported abstinence from cigarettes. CONCLUSION ENDS use is feasible in adult smokers scheduled for elective surgery and is associated with a reduction in perioperative cigarette consumption. These results support further exploration of ENDS as a means to help surgical patients reduce or eliminate their cigarette consumption around the time of surgery. IMPLICATIONS Smoking in the perioperative period increases patients' risk for surgical complications and healing difficulties, but new strategies are needed to help patients quit or cut down during this stressful time. These pilot data suggest that ENDS use is feasible and well-accepted in surgical patients, and worthy of exploration as a harm reduction strategy in these patients.
Tartrazine: solid-phase radioimmunoassay studies of an azo dye implicated in allergic reactions (azo dyes and allergy).

SummaryA solid-phase radioimmunoassay procedure was adapted for the haptenic study of tartrazine, an azo dye implicated in various forms of allergy. Further, the haptenic relationship of tartrazine and aspirin was investigated, since sensitivity of individuals to the two substances is often clinically associated. The specificity of antibody to tartrazine was directed strongly toward a pyrazolone intermediate of the molecule, 1-(4-sulfophenyl)-3-carboxy-5-hydroxy-pyrazole. Aspirin did not cross-react with anti-tartrazine, suggesting that the clinical association of aspirin and tartrazine sensitivity in patients is a nonimmunological phenomenon.
Simulating cardiovascular fluid dynamics by the immersed boundary method

The immersed boundary method is both a general mathematical framework and a particular numerical approach to problems of fluid-structure interaction. In this paper, we describe the application of the immersed boundary method to the simulation of cardiovascular fluid dynamics, focusing on the fluid dynamics of the aortic heart valve (the valve which prevents the backflow of blood from the aorta into the left ventricle of the heart) and aortic root (the initial portion of the aorta, which attaches to the heart). The aortic valve and root are modeled as a system of elastic fibers, and the blood is modeled as a viscous incompressible fluid. Three-dimensional simulation results obtained using a parallel and adaptive version of the immersed boundary method are presented. These results demonstrate that it is feasible to perform three-dimensional immersed boundary simulations of cardiovascular fluid dynamics in which realistic cardiac output is obtained at realistic pressures.
Spatial Patterns and Overcrowding of the Bean Leaf Roller, Urbanus proteus (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)

Twelve of 13 sets of field data from counts of eggs and all instars of the bean leaf roller, Urbanus proteus (L.), fitted the negative binomial distribution at the 95% level of confidence ( x 2). The values for K (clumping coefficient) were: eggs—1.86, 1st instar—1.01 2nd instar—1.94, 3rd instar—2.27, 4th instar—2.27, and 5th instar—3.66. Laboratory studies of overcrowding the fifth-stage larvae using from 1 to 20 larvae per container reduced pupal weight, percent pupation, and adult emergence. Increased levels of overcrowding caused increased larval mortality and pupal abnormalities.
Selective down-regulation of protein kinase c-ε by carcinogens does not prevent stimulation of phospholipase D by phorbol ester and platelet-derived growth factor

It is well established that activators of protein kinase C (PKC) also enhance the activity of phospholipase D (PLD), and that this regulatory mechanism is altered in transformed cells. Here we used the C3H/10T1/2 mouse embryo fibroblast line, a cellular model for the study of carcinogenesis, to examine possible effects of carcinogens on the PKC isoenzyme pattern and on the regulation of PLD by the PKC activators phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). Treatment of these fibroblasts with 0.5 microgram/ml 7,12-dimethyl-benz[a]anthracene or benzo[a]pyrene for 24 h greatly decreased (> 80%) the amount of immunoreactive PKC-epsilon. Of the remaining three isoenzymes identified, carcinogens alone had no effect on the cellular status of PKC-alpha and PKC-delta, although they appeared to promote slightly PMA-induced membrane translocation of the cytosolic forms of these isoenzymes in exponentially growing cells. Carcinogens and/or PMA had no effects on the cellular content or distribution of PKC-zeta. Chronic (24 h) treatments with carcinogens resulted in increased or decreased release of [14C]ethanolamine or [14C]choline from the appropriate prelabelled phospholipids, respectively. However, carcinogens failed to block the stimulatory effects of PMA and PDGF on the hydrolysis of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine or on the synthesis of phosphatidylethanol mediated by PLD. These data indicate that in fibroblasts PKC-epsilon is not a major regulator of PLD activity.
Research on Relation Between Pumping Well Pump System Efficiency and Discharge Coefficient

According to the definitions of pump system efficiency and discharge coefficient,the mathematical relational expression between pump system efficiency and discharge coefficient is deducted.Through theoretical analysis,the major factors affecting the relation between pump system efficiency and discharge coefficient are identified and the pump system efficiency and discharge coefficient under different pumpage parameters and producing gas and oil ratios are numerical calculated.The relation graphs on pump system efficiency and discharge coefficient and stroke,stroke frequency and producing gas and oil ratio are respectively drawn to distinguish the relation between pump system efficiency and discharge coefficient.
Unilateral Multicystic Dysplasia in 1 Component of a Horseshoe Kidney: Case Reports and Review of the Literature

We report on 3 pediatric patients with multicystic dysplasia involving 1 component of a horseshoe kidney. Including our cases, 18 cases of unilateral multicystic dysplasia in a horseshoe kidney have been reported. The clinical, radiological and pathological features of these cases are briefly reviewed. The association of multicystic dysplastic kidney and horseshoe kidney presents a unique diagnostic challenge. Because of the rarity of unilateral multicystic dysplasia in a horseshoe kidney and the size of the dysplastic component, which crossed the midline in our patients, we chose to excise that component. Cross-sectional imaging techniques, that is computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, were helpful in diagnosis and in planning operative treatment.
ON PROTEIN INCLUSIONS IN BASAL TROPHOBLAST CELLS OF THE MATURE HUMAN PLACENTA

Im Cytoplasma der basalen Trophoblastzellen der reifen menschlichen Placenta wurden stark lichtbrechende, zum Teil in Vacuolen liegende Proteineinschlusse (PE) nachgewiesen. Sie waren in Placenten, die durch Kaiserschnitt vor Einsetzen der Geburtswehen gewonnen wurden, sehr reichlich, in Placenten aus Spontangeburten dagegen nur sehr sparlich oder gar nicht vorhanden. Die diese Einschlusse enthaltenden Trophoblastzellen waren sehr reich an RNS; ihre Kerne wiesen neben prominenten Nucleoli zuweilen ebenfalls runde Einschlusse auf, die sich farberisch ahnlich verhielten wie die PE. Aus den histochemischen Befunden und dem zeitlichen Vorkommen der PE wird auf ihren moglichen Zusammenhang mit einer endokrinen Funktion der basalen Trophoblastzellen am Schwangerschaftsende geschlossen. Dabei ware in erster Linie an eine Produktion von Relaxin zu denken.
Regionalized versus single-station wave-guide effects on seismic discriminants in western China

Regional seismic signals play an important role in identifying low-magnitude explosion and earthquake sources for monitoring the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). To enhance the performance of seismic discriminants, regional phases need to be corrected for propagation effects of large- and intermediate-scale crustal wave-guide heterogeneity. Multivariate regression analysis using parametric path characteristics has shown promise for reducing the propagation-induced scatter in short-period regional phase amplitude ratios. While path length is an important parameter for most seismic phase amplitudes, other parametric features of crustal wave-guide structure are often significantly correlated with regional amplitude ratios of P -wave energy ( Pn , Pg ) to S -wave energy ( Sn , Lg ) as demonstrated by our prior work on station WMQ. A question remains as to whether these effects can be regionalized so that they apply to all observations in a given region. We explore the viability of regionalization of wave-guide effects on regional seismic discriminants for frequencies of 0.75 to 6 Hz in central Asia and southwest China by analyzing single- and multi-station data. Linear regressions for single-station data indicate that the significance of specific path parameters extracted from available crustal models varies from one station to another and from one subregion to another. In general, corrections for optimal combinations of wave-guide parameters obtained from multivariate regression reduce the data variance more than conventional corrections for path length alone for both single-station and multi-station data. However, in central Asia, several stations show path dependence on certain variables with opposite signs, so regionalization with multi-station data does not perform well. This is due to highly path-specific effects. In southwest China, there is greater commonality in behavior among stations, and fairly good regionalization can be achieved. However, the resulting variance reduction is still less than that for individual stations because some path effects appear to be direction dependent. Our results indicate that individual station calibration is the preferred procedure, but this should include corrections for path effects beyond simple distance correction.
BUDGET: A Tool for Supporting Software Architecture Traceability Research

Automated traceability techniques based on supervised machine learning algorithms can significantly reduce the cost and effort needed to create and maintain traceability links between requirements, architecture and source code. However, the upfront cost to train these algorithms is the main bottleneck for expanding, and validating these traceability techniques as well as applying them to complex industrial systems. In this tool demo, we present our web-based tool named BUDGET, as a solution to automate creation of training data for the problem of tracing architectural concerns. BUDGET uses Automated Web-Mining, and Big-Data Analysis techniques to generate training data for supervised architecture-traceability techniques. It uses several sampling strategies and mines ultra-large scale code repositories to generate datasets of tactical code snippets. The BUDGET falls in the research tool category and supports researchers in the area of software architecture and requirements engineering.
Safety and Health Support for Home Care Workers: The COMPASS Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives. To determine the effectiveness of the COMmunity of Practice And Safety Support (COMPASS) Total Worker Health intervention for home care workers.Methods. We randomized 16 clusters of workers (n = 149) to intervention or usual-practice control conditions. The 12-month intervention was scripted and peer-led, and involved education on safety, health, and well-being; goal setting and self-monitoring; and structured social support. We collected measures at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months, which included workers’ experienced community of practice (i.e., people engaged in a common activity who interact regularly for shared learning and improvement). Implementation occurred during 2013 and 2014 in Oregon.Results. In an intent-to-treat analysis, relative to control, the intervention produced significant and sustained improvements in workers’ experienced community of practice. Additional significant improvements included the use of ergonomic tools or techniques for physical work, safety communication w...
Frequency comb measurements through turbulent paths

Near-infrared frequency-comb spectroscopy is a powerful tool with which to measure absorption of CO 2 , CH 4 , H 2 O over turbulent paths such as meter scale paths in active furnaces or 11 km horizontal paths over cities. Work of the U.S. government, not subject to copyright.
Studies on Platelet Storage Biomarkers: Effect of Different Protein Extraction Buffers on Platelet Gelsolin and B-Actin Profiling

Abstract Platelet concentrates (PCs) are one of the blood cell components that play a major role in transfusion medicine. The shelf-life of PC is 5–7 days at 22°C. During storage PCs undergo certain morphological changes as well as physiological changes such as loosing of its surface glycoproteins, and reduced aggregation response to its agonists, which are collectively referred to as “storage lesions”. To date there is no in vitro “gold standard” that unequivocally serves as a surrogate marker to predict PC quality in vivo following transfusion. A comprehensive survey of reports in this field clearly indicate that there is some confusion with regards to the determination of which platelet protein or a panel of proteins could serve as potential markers associated with PC storage. Following a careful review of all available information, we recognized that perhaps one core issue to the observed discrepancies could be the buffer system that is being utilized by individual laboratories in extracting proteins in profiling protein alterations in PCs during storage. To address this, in the present study we analyzed two platelet proteins, b-actin and gelsolin-related 40 kDa protein. Profiles of these two proteins were previously reported by others to be altered during PC storage and hence implicated to be useful as biomarkers of platelet storage. By employing 3 different protein extraction buffer systems to isolate proteins from platelets at three storage intervals (Table 1), our results indicate that b-actin and gelsolin 40 kDa protein levels do not appear to change with time in platelet storage and therefore may not be useful as platelet storage markers and Buffer systems do make a difference in extracting different platelet proteins for analysis, for example 40 kDa gelsolin was not extractable in buffer 3 (Table 1), suggesting that one should be careful in selecting a buffer system for platelet proteomics to have meaningful results. Same level of 40 kDa Gelsolin Same level of b-actin Buffer system Day 0 Day 5 Day 16 Day 0 Day 5 Day 16 Buffer 1 Not identified Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Buffer 2 Not identified Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Buffer 3 Not identified Not identified Not identified Yes Yes Yes The findings and conclusions in this abstract have not been formally disseminated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be construed to represent any Agency determination or policy.
Frobenius Modules and Essential Surface Cobordisms

An algebraic system is proposed that represent surface cobordisms in thickened surfaces. Module and comodule structures over Frobenius algebras are used for representing essential curves. The proposed structure gives a unified algebraic view of states of categorified Jones polynomials in thickened surfaces and virtual knots. Constructions of such system are presented.
Synovial sarcoma: Evaluation of response to treatment with gemcitabin and docetaxel.

10564 Background: Synovial Sarcoma (SS) is one of the more common subtypes of soft tissue sarcomas, comprising 8-10% of this entity. It is well known that SS responds well to adriamycin/ifosfamide (AI) therapies, however responses to gemcitabine/docetaxel (GT) combination have not been well documented, although commonly used in practice. This study aimed to evaluate response to GT in patients with SS. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients diagnosed with SS from 2000 to 2012. All patients had confirmed SS by pathology review. Only patients who were metastatic and treated with GT concurrently were included. Results: The study included 51 patients with metastatic disease who received GT concurrently. Majority of patients were white (69%), with a mean age of 42 years (SD 15) when receiving GT. Median time from initial diagnosis to first metastasis was 15 months. Median overall survival from first metastasis was 2.3 years (95% CI 1.8-3.0 years). The majority of patients (96%) had rec...