cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of polymerase chain reaction catalyzed by Taq DNA polymerase for site-specific mutagenesis

The polymerase chain reaction catalyzed by Taq DNA polymerase has been used for site-specific mutagenesis. The amplification was primed by two oligodeoxyribonucleotides complementary to insulin receptor cDNA. To direct the synthesis of mutant DNA, mismatches were introduced into one of the primers. Six different mutations were constructed by this technique. Of twelve clones whose sequences were determined, ten (83%) had the correct sequence. This technique, which does not require the use of single-stranded DNA templates, provides a simple and efficient approach to site-specific mutagenesis.
Cross-cultural equivalence of materialistic values scale (MVS): An exploratory study between the United States and Thailand

Owing to the theoretical and managerial importance of materialism, several attempts have been made to cross-culturally examine Richins and Dawon's Materialistic Values Scale (MVS). However, the foreign applicability of the scale remains inconclusive. The current research responded to calls related to the use of reverse-worded items and the development of a shorter version of a single scale that can be cross-culturally applicable by examining Richins and Dawson's MVS in two different countries that possess different socioeconomic conditions and cultural values. The United States (n=276) and Thailand (n=262) were examined through the use of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to assess measurement invariance. The findings revealed a reduced 10-item three-factor model of materialism that might be applicable in cross-cultural studies. Implications and future research directions are also addressed.
Perspectives of the optical coherence tomography community on code and data sharing

As optical coherence tomography (OCT) grows to be a mature and successful field, it is important for the research community to develop a stronger practice of sharing code and data. A prolific culture of sharing can enable new and emerging laboratories to enter the field, allow research groups to gain new exposure and notoriety, and enable benchmarking of new algorithms and methods. Our long-term vision is to build tools to facilitate a stronger practice of sharing within this community. In line with this goal, our first aim was to understand the perceptions and practices of the community with respect to sharing research contributions (i.e., as code and data). We surveyed 52 members of the OCT community using an online polling system. Our main findings indicate that while researchers infrequently share their code and data, they are willing to contribute their research resources to a shared repository, and they believe that such a repository would benefit both their research and the OCT community at large. We plan to use the results of this survey to design a platform targeted to the OCT research community – an effort that ultimately aims to facilitate a more prolific culture of sharing.
Mollusc and sediment contaminant levels and trends in South Florida coastal Waters

During the past 50 years, the south Florida ecosystem has been subject to an increase in human population and anthropogenic activity. Concentrations of organic and inorganic contaminants in sediments and molluscs collected in south Florida from 1986 to 1994 show temporal and spatial trends that reflect anthropogenic influence in areas removed from large population centers. Generally, contaminant levels found in south Florida sites are low compared with those found nationwide and as low as any found in uncontaminted sites in Central and South America for which bivalves were collected as part of the International Mussel Watch Program.
Pose-invariant facial verification for a controlled entry system using optical/digital processing

We describe a pose-invariant facial verification system for cooperative subjects for use in a controlled entry system. Facial images in several poses are acquired for template correlation to construct synthetic discriminate binary phase only filters (SDBPOF). SDBPOF is used to compensate for variances such as head rotation and tilt. Correlation accuracy is determined by SDBPOF construction. Subject identification based on facial appearance was performed with a digitally simulated 4-f optoelectronic correlator comparing performance between binary phase only filters (BPOFs) and SDBPOFs. Recognition accuracy and false positive rates were determined for each mode of operation.
Three-loop free energy for high-temperature QED and QCD with fermions.

We compute the free energy density for gauge theories, with fermions, at high temperature and zero chemical potential. Specifically, we analytically compute the free energy through [ital O]([ital g][sup 4]), which requires the evaluation of three-loop diagrams. This computation extends our previous result for pure gauge QCD.
Origin and Evolution of Human microRNAs From Transposable Elements

We sought to evaluate the extent of the contribution of transposable elements (TEs) to human microRNA (miRNA) genes along with the evolutionary dynamics of TE-derived human miRNAs. We found 55 experimentally characterized human miRNA genes that are derived from TEs, and these TE-derived miRNAs have the potential to regulate thousands of human genes. Sequence comparisons revealed that TE-derived human miRNAs are less conserved, on average, than non-TE-derived miRNAs. However, there are 18 TE-derived miRNAs that are relatively conserved, and 14 of these are related to the ancient L2 and MIR families. Comparison of miRNA vs. mRNA expression patterns for TE-derived miRNAs and their putative target genes showed numerous cases of anti-correlated expression that are consistent with regulation via mRNA degradation. In addition to the known human miRNAs that we show to be derived from TE sequences, we predict an additional 85 novel TE-derived miRNA genes. TE sequences are typically disregarded in genomic surveys for miRNA genes and target sites; this is a mistake. Our results indicate that TEs provide a natural mechanism for the origination miRNAs that can contribute to regulatory divergence between species as well as a rich source for the discovery of as yet unknown miRNA genes.
A fast algorithm for solving a linear feasibility problem with application to Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy

The goal of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is to deliver sufficient doses to tumors to kill them, but without causing irreparable damage to critical organs. This requirement can be formulated as a linear feasibility problem. The sequential (i.e., iteratively treating the constraints one after another in a cyclic fashion) algorithm ART3 is known to find a solution to such problems in a finite number of steps, provided that the feasible region is full dimensional. We present a faster algorithm called ART3+. The idea of ART3+ is to avoid unnecessary checks on constraints that are likely to be satisfied. The superior performance of the new algorithm is demonstrated by mathematical experiments inspired by the IMRT application.
A comparison of two methods of estimating insolation over the tropical pacific ocean using cloudiness from satellite observations

Abstract Two methods of estimating insolation over the tropical Pacific using cloud cover from satellite observations are compared with each other and with average monthly ration data from four Pacific island stations. The two methods yield comparable values for latitudes within 15° of the equator but diverge at higher latitudes. Both methods overestimate insolation in the summer and underestimate insolation in the winter for the two stations above 15° latitude. Results support reports that tropical Pacific cloud types have a high mean transparency.
Complexity and Intractability: Limitations to Implementation in Analytical Cartography

The computational complexity of algorithms is an important consideration for all computer systems, including geographic information systems and mapping systems. Mathematical cartographers and GIS professionals need to understand and to take into account the limitations imposed on problem solving by the very nature of computation itself. We look at three active research sub-areas of analytical cartography to highlight the differences between traditional mathematical solutions and solutions with computationally tractable algorithms. The three sub-areas are map projections, map feature labeling, and map generalization.
Science, Late Nineteenth-Century Rhetoric, and the Beginnings of Technical Writing Instruction in America:

Although engineering departments were dissatisfied with early twentieth-century technical writing teaching methods, those methods were not simply a result of “anti-science” attitudes. In fact, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century composition teachers tried to accommodate the influx of applied science students by teaching correctness and clarity of style and stressing the expository modes of writing. Emphasis on “clarity” was a legacy of rhetoricians like Hugh Blair of the eighteenth century. Emphasis on expository modes was a legacy of the nineteenth-century rhetoricians' interest in the inductive methodology of “pure” science, a method which implied invention by “observation” and made conclusions “self-evident”: argument was unnecessary since observations and methods only need to be explained to “convince.” Applied science departments were, in reality, dissatisfied with teaching methods based on “pure” rather than “applied” science methodology.
Savings and Loan Demand for Liquid Assets: Theory, Evidence and Implications for Policy*

In this study a model of liquid asset management for individual savings and loan associations is developed. The model combines features of portfolio theory and inventory theory and is used to draw hypotheses on the relationship between the demand for excess liquidity and a variety of independent variables. Pooled cross section-time series equations are estimated for the demand for excess liquidity of 198 S & Ls over the period 1974–1978. In addition to conclusions on the role of individual variables, the estimated equations reveal that the FHLBB can affect the portfolios of some, but not all, S & Ls. This implies that FHLBB liquidity policy can have an effect on the mortgage market.
Der Eiweißgehalt, Eiweißzucker, Kohlehydratgehalt und Kohlehydratindex der Serumeiweißkörper des arteriellen und venösen Blutes

Die Bestimmung des Eiweisgehaltes, Eiweiszuckers, des Kohlehydratgehaltes der isolierten Serumeiweiskorper bzw. des Kohlehydratindex des arteriellen und venosen Blutes bei Kaninchen, Hund und Mensch ergab:
Bombesin produces hypothermia in rats pretreated with 2-deoxy-D-glucose.

Abstract Previous research has shown that microinfusion of bombesin into the preoptic area (POA) decreases core body temperature in rats that are food-deprived or made hypoglycemie with insulin. The present study employed 2-deoxy-D-glucose, a competitive inhibitor of glycolysis, to further investigate the importance of a reduction in glucose utilization in the production of bombesin-induced hypothermia. Rats ( n = 7) were pretreated with 2-DG (0, 25, 50, 100, 200 mg/kg; IP) followed by bombesin (100 ng/1.0 μl) microinfusions into the POA. The highest dose of 2-DG (200 mg) was also tested in the absence of bombesin as a control. Pretreatment with 2-DG resulted in a dose-related reduction in T b following bombesin. Injections of 2-DG alone did not significantly alter T b . The results provide additional evidence that the production of bombesin-induced hypothermia in fasted rats is linked to a reduction in glucose utilization.
Does chemotherapy cause viral relapse in cancer patients with hepatitis C infection successfully treated with antivirals

Authors have reported conflicting results on the persistence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients having sustained virologic response (SVR) to treatment. Therefore, we sought to determine whether chemotherapy leads to viral relapse in 30 HCV-infected patients who had SVR before cancer diagnosis. Half of them had hematologic malignancies. Most (60%) received HCV therapy with interferon and ribavirin. Chemotherapy was started at a median of 72 months after SVR and included rituximab (27%), cyclophosphamide (23%), cisplatin (17%), or corticosteroids (37%). No patient had post-SVR viral relapse. Therapeutically induced resolution of HCV appears to be permanent and not affected by chemotherapy.
Robust classification modeling on microarray data using misclassification penalized posterior

Motivation: Genome-wide microarray data are often used in challenging classification problems of clinically relevant subtypes of human diseases. However, the identification of a parsimonious robust prediction model that performs consistently well on future independent data has not been successful due to the biased model selection from an extremely large number of candidate models during the classification model search and construction. Furthermore, common criteria of prediction model performance, such as classification error rates, do not provide a sensitive measure for evaluating performance of such astronomic competing models. Also, even though several different classification approaches have been utilized to tackle such classification problems, no direct comparison on these methods have been made. Results: We introduce a novel measure for assessing the performance of a prediction model, the misclassification-penalized posterior (MiPP), the sum of the posterior classification probabilities penalized by the number of incorrectly classified samples. Using MiPP, we implement a forward step-wise cross-validated procedure to find our optimal prediction models with different numbers of features on a training set. Our final robust classification model and its dimension are determined based on a completely independent test dataset. This MiPP-based classification modeling approach enables us to identify the most parsimonious robust prediction models only with two or three features on well-known microarray datasets. These models show superior performance to other models in the literature that often have more than 40--100 features in their model construction. Availability: Our MiPP software program is available at the Bioconductor website (http://www.bioconductor.org). Contact: jaeklee@virginia.edu
Dynamic response of tubular joints with an annular void subjected to a harmonic torsional load

AbstractDynamic responses of adhesively bonded tubular joints subjected to a harmonic torsional load are evaluated. The adherents are assumed to be elastic, and the adhesive is taken to be a linear viscoelastic material. The influence of the adherents and the adhesive properties on the joint response as well as on the shear stress amplitude distribution along the overlap is investigated. Furthermore, the effects of defects such as an annular void in the bond area on the dynamic response and shear stress amplitude distribution in the bond area are studied. The results indicate that, for the tubular joint geometries and properties investigated, the natural frequencies of the joint are little affected by the adhesive loss factor. The natural frequencies of the joint initially increase rapidly with increasing adhesive shear modulus. However, the natural frequencies asymptotically approach a constant value with further increase in adhesive shear modulus. The results further show that the natural frequencies of...
Abstraction of the Communication in a Team of Robots with a Language Approach

This paper presents, first, the maam 1 project which is a self-reconfigurable robotic architecture where each module is autonomous for energy and CPU. This robot provides a full software/hardware micro-architecture that underlies a language abstraction for command/control purpose. Because the synchronization between modules (or between groups) is a crucial aspect (docking, synchronized movements ...), we focus here on the communication aspects, in particular how we abstract them with a language based solution.
MEWLANA-mobile IP enriched wireless local area network architecture

The idea of extending mobile IP capabilities to ad hoc networks introduces fast agent discovery, increases cell coverage of access points, and extends ad hoc network size by providing connection to the Internet. We aim to show that an adaptive protocol is required since different protocols are optimum for different environments. We propose two protocols called MEWLANA-TD and MEWLANA-RD based on DSDV and a novel ad hoc routing called tree based bidirectional routing (TBBR) respectively in addition to the proposed protocols based on on-demand routing. We classify the ad hoc environment into regions and present which protocol is appropriate for which region.
Correlation of Proton T1 with Polymer and Solute Waters in Starch-Sucrose Mixtures

Proton pulsed NMR methodology was applied to correlate the observed spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin (T2) relaxation times with the amount of water associated to sucrose (SOL) and that to starch (POL) in a sucrose-starch model system containing both. Sucrose, starch and four mixtures were equilibrated to four water activities (aw, 0.86-0.97). Calculations for T2 were invalid due to an undeterminable amount of molecular diffusion caused by field inhomogeneity in the magnet. Model equations were developed for calculating SOL and POL from T1 and aw; These values showed high correlations (R2>0.97) with SOL and POL as determined from sorption data for sucrose and starch. This validated the use of this instrument with the mathematical models developed.
Damage control surgery.

DAMAGE CONTROL – INTRODUCTION During the last two decades, numerous factors have resulted in the arrival of more severely injured patients. First, advances in prehospital care and the adoption of the “scoop and run” philosophy has resulted in the expedient arrival of sicker trauma patients who typically might have died in the field or en route to the hospital. Second, there has been a definite shift toward the use of more powerful rapid firing guns with the capacity for greater tissue destruction. Moreover, patients wounded with automatic weapons are arriving with multiple penetrations, often in multiple body cavities, literally exsanguinate d and physiologically depleted. The “traditional approach” to these patients is not effective. While the physical or mechanical completion of the operation is often technically possible, the pathophysiology is so extreme that death occurs despite anatomic repair. A combination of profound acidosis, hypothermia, and coagulopathy, also known as the “lethal triad” is commonly seen in these patients. It often precludes the completion of the operation. In this context, the concept of “damage control” has emerged. Borrowed from the United States Navy it represents “the capacity of a ship to absorb damage and maintain mission integrity” (1). In surgery, “damage control” refers to those maneuvers designed to ensure patient survival. It is a staged strategy for the treatment of severe exsanguinating injury occurring from either blunt or penetrating mechanisms. The concept of abdominal packing for uncontrolled hemorrhage, one of the initial damage control maneuvers, is not a new one. It has been described most often in patients with massive liver
Angiotensin II AT1 receptor antagonism prevents detrimental renal actions of acute diuretic therapy in human heart failure.

Although effective in relieving symptoms of edema in congestive heart failure (CHF), diuretic-induced natriuresis may be associated with reductions in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective...
Management of early stage Hodgkin's disease: The role of radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy

Clinical trials in early stage Hodgkin's disease comparing radiation therapy (RT) alone versus chemotherapy (CMT) have indicated fewer relapses in the CMT groups. However, none of the trials have demonstrated an overall survival difference. Risk factors for relapse in early stages include large mediastinal adenopathy, fevers, and weight loss. Ongoing clinical trials might prove less toxic CMT effective in curing occult microscopic disease, perhaps eventually obviating the need for staging laparotomy and splenectomy.
Contributions of Supportive Relationships to Heart Failure Self-Care:

Supportive relationships are known to improve outcomes for persons with heart failure (HF). Supporters may do so by improving self-care, but little is known about the influence of supportive relationships on HF self-care. The purpose of this study was to explore background characteristics associated with supportive relationships, and the contribution of supportive relationships to HF self-care. The construct ofshared care was used to operationalize supportive relationships. Shared care refers to a system of interpersonal processes (communication, decision making, and reciprocity) used in close relationships to exchange support. A cross sectional design was employed recruiting 75 HF dyads. Older patients who perceived their health as better reported better shared care communication. Spouse dyads perceived more reciprocity in their relationship than non-spouse dyads. The process of patient shared care decision making was related to HF self-care maintenance (r=0.65) and self-care confidence (r=0.52). Patient communication (r=0.24) and reciprocity (r=0.41) were related to self-care confidence. Caregiver decision making (r=0.29) contributed to self-care maintenance; and caregiver decision making (r=0.37) and reciprocity (r=0.35) contributed to self-care confidence. These findings suggest that augmenting the processes of shared care may be a valuable focus for future intervention research.
Biochar and its effects on plant productivity and nutrient cycling: a meta‐analysis

Biochar is a carbon-rich coproduct resulting from pyrolyzing biomass. When applied to the soil it resists decomposition, effectively sequestering the applied carbon and mitigating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Other promoted benefits of biochar application to soil include increased plant productivity and reduced nutrient leaching. However, the effects of biochar are variable and it remains unclear if recent enthusiasm can be justified. We evaluate ecosystem responses to biochar application with a meta-analysis of 371 independent studies culled from 114 published manuscripts. We find that despite variability introduced by soil and climate, the addition of biochar to soils resulted, on average, in increased aboveground productivity, crop yield, soil microbial biomass, rhizobia nodulation, plant K tissue concentration, soil phosphorus (P), soil potassium (K), total soil nitrogen (N), and total soil carbon (C) compared with control conditions. Soil pH also tended to increase, becoming less acidic, following the addition of biochar. Variables that showed no significant mean response to biochar included belowground productivity, the ratio of aboveground : belowground biomass, mycorrhizal colonization of roots, plant tissue N, and soil P concentration, and soil inorganic N. Additional analyses found no detectable relationship between the amount of biochar added and aboveground productivity. Our results provide the first quantitative review of the effects of biochar on multiple ecosystem functions and the central tendencies suggest that biochar holds promise in being a win-win-win solution to energy, carbon storage, and ecosystem function. However, biochar's impacts on a fourth component, the downstream nontarget environments, remain unknown and present a critical research gap.
A fractal model of HIV transmission on complex socio-geographic networks. Part 2: spread from a ghettoized 'core group' into a 'general population'.

Study of the initial stages of HIV transmission along a sociogeographic network--a large complex spatially focused social network with possibly fractal geometry--is extended to include interaction between a low-dimensional ghettoized core group within which the disease spreads very rapidly and a higher dimensional more loosely structured general population in which spread is relatively slow. A mathematical modeling exercise suggests that contextually modulated interaction between them can be highly nonlinear and may greatly increase the initial rate of disease transmission within the general population. This work contributes to a growing body of literature which suggests that programs to control HIV infection within the majority heterosexual population of the United States will fail spectacularly without particular focus on the coupled physical and social stabilization and rehabilitation of the urban ghettoes of marginalized populations which are the present and rapidly expanding disease epicenters. Evidence suggests their continued disintegration can both increase disease rates within the epicenters and increase the coupling between core groups and general populations by creating large numbers of spatially or economically displaced refugees. (EXCERPT)
An Analysis of Document Retrieval Systems Using a Generalized Model

Several document retrieval systems are analyzed in relation to their relevance to a generalized document retrieval system and in terms of their purposes, strong points, and inadequacies. The generalized model represents a flexible, comprehensive, modular structure of a retrieval system, as opposed to previous models, which generally emphasize only a specific aspect of the retrieval problem.
A Method for Estimation of Emission Control Costs

This article describes a generalized cost estimation method called "emcost" and relationships are presented for six individual particulate control methods. More useful, however, is a generalized composite relationship which consists of a single exponential equation using flue gas flow rate and recovery efficiency terms to approximate total hourly capital and operating costs for unspecified particulate pollution control equipment. Within the discretion of the user, the method is applicable to any efficiency, for any process, for which a flue gas flow rate is known or can be estimated. The described method is applied to five major sources of particulate matter: coal-burning power plants, cement plants, refuse incinerators and blast and open hearth furnaces. An expenditure amounting to one percent of product value would result in only 90% control for a coal-fired electric power plant where gas flow rate is very high. The same relative rate of expenditure could achieve 99% control in a large cement plant or over 99.9% control in the steel industry processes which have relatively small gas volumes. Although emcost can approximate the cost of any level of emission control, it does not forecast the necessity or desirability of such control.
The efficacy of a computerized assessment of medication adherence in active substance users.

Background:Self-reports of medication adherence are subject to recall errors and social desirability bias. The visual analogue scale (VAS) is a brief measure and minimally burdensome. Its accuracy among substance users needs confirmation.Methods:We administered the VAS on an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) to 102 HIV-positive active substance users. Viral load (VL) was obtained via chart review. Cohen κ assessed the overall agreement between VL suppression and adherence, and a receiver–operator characteristic (ROC) curve assessed the diagnostic performance.Results:The VAS estimates of adherence correlated with VL. Various cutoffs for adherence were associated with VL suppression, demonstrating fair to moderate agreement through κ. Area under the curve (AUC) demonstrated that the ACASI-administered VAS strongly predicted VL suppression (AUC = 0.79).Discussion:The VAS administered by ACASI is viable for measuring highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence among substance users. It...
“We Are All Gonna Get Diabetic These Days”: The Impact of a Living Legacy of Type 2 Diabetes on Hispanic Young Adults’ Diabetes Care

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how an intergenerational legacy of type 2 diabetes affected the knowledge, attitudes, and treatment strategies of Hispanic young adults with diab...
Digital communication using chaotic-pulse-position modulation

Utilization of chaotic signals for covert communications remains a very promising practical application. Multiple studies indicate that the major shortcoming of recently proposed chaos-based communication schemes is their susceptibility to noise and distortions in communication channels. In this paper, we review a new approach to communication with chaotic signals, which demonstrates good performance in the presence of channel distortions. This communication scheme is based upon chaotic signals in the form of pulse trains where intervals between the pulses are determined by chaotic dynamics of a pulse generator. The pulse train with chaotic inter-pulse intervals is used as a carrier. Binary information is modulated onto this carrier by the pulse position modulation method, such that each pulse is either left unchanged or delayed by a certain time, depending on whether "0" or "1" is transmitted. By synchronizing the receiver to the chaotic-pulse train we can anticipate the timing of pulses corresponding to "0" and "1" and thus can decode the transmitted information. Based on the results of theoretical and experimental studies we discuss the basic design principles for the chaotic-pulse generator, its synchronization, and the performance of the chaotic-pulse communication scheme in the presence of channel noise and filtering. We also discuss the possibilities of multiuser communication using CPPM and its advantages over standard communication techniques.
Conventional and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have different smoking characteristics

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are marketed as tobacco-free nicotine delivery devices that have received little laboratory evaluation. In this study, the smoking properties of conventional and e-cigarettes were compared by examining the vacuum required to produce smoke (conventional cigarettes) or aerosol (e-cigarettes) and the density of the smoke/aerosol over time. Methods: Vacuum was measured using a manometer coupled to a smoking machine. The density of aerosol or smoke was measured spectrophotometrically. E-cigarettes were subjected to smoke-out experiments in which vacuum and aerosol density were measured until each cartridge was exhausted. Results: The vacuum required to smoke conventional cigarettes varied among the eight brands tested. Lights and ultralight brands required stronger vacuums to smoke than unfi ltered and regular fi ltered brands. Except for one brand, higher vacuums were required to smoke e-cigarettes than conventional brands. Smoke/aerosol density was stable for conventional brands and for e-cigarettes over the fi rst 10 puffs; however, aerosol density of e-cigarettes dropped during subsequent smoking, and higher vacuums were required to produce aerosol as the puff number increased. While conventional cigarettes were uniform in their smoking behavior within brands, vacuum and density varied within brands of e-cigarettes. Discussion: Generally, e-cigarettes required stronger vacuums (suction) to smoke than conventional brands, and the effects of this on human health could be adverse. The amount of aerosol produced by e-cigarettes decreased during smoking, which necessitated increasing puff strength to produce aerosol. The decreased effi ciency of aerosol production during e-cigarette smoking makes dosing nonuniform over time and calls into question their usefulness as nicotine delivery devices.
Direct Sediment Dispersal from Mountain to Shore, with Bypassing via Three Human-Modified Channel Systems to Lake Annecy, SE France

Abstract Lake Annecy in Haute Savoie, France, receives about two-thirds of its fluvial input from three rivers that flow to its southern end-point. The channels of the Eau Morte, Ire, and Bornette rivers are almost completely channelized in their lower reaches as a result of human activity, with flow contained along parallel, but separate, paths from headlands in the proximal drainage basin directly to the lake. Petrographic data from river samples collected in this study serve to differentiate sand-size material carried by each fluvial system. Proportions of the dominant (limestone) and five additional (dolomite, quartz, gypsum, rock fragments, and ‘other’) components in the 3 rivers are more closely related to source supply than to fluvial transport effects or sampling strategy. Of the 7 components, mica best records the influence of depositional mechanisms. Much of the carbonate sand and coarser material at the lake shore is derived from widespread Mesozoic outcrops. Non-carbonate sand input, partially...
Inner Circles or Hollow Cores? Elite Networks in National Policy Systems

Much of the literature on American national policy-making suggests that an important role is played by an "inner circle" of elite representatives of private interests. Using data drawn from interviews with a large sample of Washington lawyers and other representatives of private interests active in four broad policy areas (agriculture, energy, health, and labor), the authors describe the structure of relationships between a random sample of the representatives and a selected set of highly prominent or "notable" representatives. Analyses are performed individually on the four policy areas and on the overall sample. The findings indicate that the network structures do not have central cores--i.e., the structures of interest group interrelationships lack authoritative private mediators.
A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR FREEWAY INCIDENT DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION: A FUZZY APPROACH

This article introduces the Alabama Freeway Incident Detection System-Incident Detection Module (AFIDS-IDM) as a methodology for the detection of freeway incidents. AFIDS-IDM invokes fuzzy cluster analysis in the identification of lane blocking incidents from comparisons of time varying patterns of incident induced and incident free traffic states. Lane traffic counts and density, collected at successive traffic sensors, are the two primary types of input data. State variables are defined from the spatial and temporal relationships of the raw data, and then evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively to determine the decision variables necessary for the determination of lane blocking incidents. The specified decision variable is then compared to a fuzzy cluster analysis algorithm to determine the existence of a lane blocking incident.
Formulation influence on the sol–gel formation of silica-supported ionogels

Ionic liquids (ILs) present many new opportunities for the field of sol–gel chemistry. When conducted in an IL medium, sol–gel chemistry can produce novel silica structures as well as hybrid materials known as ionogels, which feature ILs supported by a solid scaffold material. In this work, the influence of reactive formulation on the properties of silica-supported ionogels is reported. A simple, non-hydrolytic sol–gel reaction between tetramethoxysilane and formic acid is employed to create silica-supported ionogels that exhibit wide variations in silica content, gelation time, and mechanical character. The influence of formulation on gelation time is demonstrated, and it is shown that a range of formulations can be used to produce soft, mechanically compliant ionogels. Furthermore, either brittle or compliant ionogels can be realized via rapid- or slow-gelling formulations. It is observed that the speed of gelation influences the pore structure in the resultant silica scaffold, thereby enabling different mechanical characters to be achieved for ionogels containing equivalent silica mass fractions.
Tumor-derived GM-CSF promotes JAK/STAT3-dependent expression of IDO and PD-L1 in myeloid suppressor cells (TUM6P.954)

Myeloid suppressor cells (MSC) are a tolerogenic population of immune cells that poses a major obstacle to cancer treatment. Intrahepatic MSC associated with liver metastases (LM) are especially detrimental by enhancing immunosuppression. We have recently found that MSC in a mouse model of LM suppress endogenous T cell function and anti-tumor cell-based immunotherapy. Mice with LM induced by a splenic injection of MC38 tumor cells, showed an expansion of MSC (5-fold, p=0.0005), while GM-CSF blockade reduced MSC frequency and increased the overall survival (6-fold, p=0.03). As MC38 and other tumors overexpress GM-CSF, we wanted to further investigate the importance of GM-CSF in MSC-driven immunosuppression. A significant proportion of MSC in LM co-expressed IDO and PD-L1 (34±5%), while maintaining high levels of pSTAT3, a transcription factor important to MSC function. Ex vivo, MSC in culture with MC38 cells or supplemented with GM-CSF maintained high IDO/PD-L1 expression. Conversely, when MSC were co-cultured with tumor cells supplemented with anti-GM-CSF, IDO/PD-L1 levels were significantly reduced (p=0.03), implicating GM-CSF in promoting IDO/PD-L1 expression in MSC. Small molecule STAT3 and JAK2 inhibitors abolished IDO/PD-L1 expression in MSC (p=0.003 and p=0.002), suggesting the importance of STAT3/JAK2 signaling pathway in IDO/PD-L1 expression. STAT3 and JAK2 pathways represent viable targets for blocking GM-CSF induced immunosuppressive pathways in liver MSC.
Work Demands, Family Demands, and BMI: A Gendered Experience

Although many scholars believe that work and family demands are negatively related to individual’s long-term physical health only few studies have examined this relationship, mostly using cross-sec...
INIE collaboration between UIUC and Purdue on virtual reactor development

In addition to the work being performed at UIUC [1-3] and Purdue [4, 5], the two groups are also collaborating to ensure that reactor CAD models developed at Purdue can be integrated in the 3D virtual environment being developed at UIUC. Recent progress made at these two universities will be separately presented in the special INIE session. Here we outline the boundaries of the collaborative work between the two groups in the area of virtual reactor modeling.
Reading beyond the lines: A critical review of cognitive approaches to literary interpretation and comprehension

Reading literature requires not only understanding the literal meaning of the text, but also constructing a nonliteral interpretation of the text’s deeper meaning yet little is known about the psychological processes involved when interpretations are constructed. The current paper presents a review of the extant work from literary theory, empirical studies of literature, and research from more general cognitive text comprehension to explore the conditions under which literary interpretations are made and what this discipline-specific reading behavior can tell us about more general text comprehension.
Insecticidal Carbamates: Position Isomerism in Relation to Activity of Substituted-Phenyl N-methylcarbamates

The anticholinesterase activity and toxicity to three species of insects were compared for 49 phenyl N -methylcarbamates substituted in ortho-, meta- and para -positions. Maximum activity as insecticides and anticholinesterases occurred when the structures exhibited the closest complementariness to the active site of cholinesterase. This was obtained with compounds which incorporated a bulky phenyl substituent group with a large Van der Waals energy of interaction, placed at a distance of about 5 A from the carbonyl group.
The Internal Anatomy of Icerya Purchasi

The external anatomy, habits and life history of Icerya purchasi are well known through the work of Riley, Comstock and others. The present paper contains notes on the internal anatomy of the female, certain details of which depart from any Coccid anatomy previously described. This work was done in the Entomological Laboratory of Stanford University.
Key Techniques for the City Public Security Video Surveillance System

The city public security video surveillance system uses the computer and network communication technology to achieve effective monitoring of urban security.It plays an important role in urban law and order management.In this paper,the construction scheme for the city police and monitoring technology system is proposed.It is based on demand and application and aims at usability,creativity and sustainability.It can serve as a reference for comprehensive city public security monitoring.
Aflatoxin Levels in Airborne Dust Generated from Contaminated Corn During Harvest and at an Elevator in 1980

of the combine, the average aflatoxin level was 2550 ng/g of dust. At one time, the operator was exposed to airborne dust containing 1360 ng/g while inside the combine cab. An airborne dust sample taken with a personal sampler during transfer of the corn to a truck had 52 000 ng/g. Airborne dusts collected while corn containing aflatoxin (1240­ 1850 ng/g) was being ground and fed had total aflatoxin levels ranging from nondetected to 43 700 ng/g. Airborne dust, bulk corn, and settled dust samples were collected at a grain elevator. Airborne dust samples collected during the delivery of corn in farm trucks to the elevator had an average of 1240 ng total aflatoxin/g. The airborne dust samples taken while corn was being unloaded from the elevator into trucks and railroad cars had lower average aflatoxin levels than those in dusts collected during delivery. Settled dusts in the elevator had 173-669 ng total aflatoxin/g. The highest aflatoxin level in the air in the elevator was 13 000 ng/cu. m near the conveyor belt. Airborne dust samples collected by personal samplers on elevator workers contained aflatoxin levels of 429-1300 ng/g; aflatoxin levels in the air were 9-1120 ng/cu.
Bacchus contra Venus: Alcoholic Husbands and their Wives

Drunkenness has long been a criterion of manliness: men keep their excesses secret from women; they describe their escape into a jovial male world in a coded language of euphemism and humour designed to shelter men’s pleasures and to keep women at bay. During the Romantic period a number of women novelists ceased to regard this secret world as a boyish indulgence, and spoke out against the damage that drunkenness caused in marriages and estates. Thus men and women developed very different approaches and tones of voice when speaking of men’s drunkenness, while the reality of drunkenness among women themselves was still almost unspoken, and the wry bitterness, the residue of years of defeat, such as that of Jean Rhys in the first epigraph to this chapter, was just beginning.1
Doing FLIPS: FLexible Interactive Presentation Synchronization

As multimedia presentation technology advances, it is possible to incorporate a wider range of media including variable duration media such as simulations and animations. At the same time, users are able to take more control over presentations by controlling the rate and selection of media being played. To make full use of these advances, multimedia systems must support flexible presentations that incorporate many variations in the way they are played. This paper identifies three requirements for flexible presentations and derives four requirements for synchronization of flexible presentations and how they can be achieved. The paper presents FLexible Interactive Presentation Synchronization (FLIPS), a model for specifying coarse synchronization for flexible presentations. FLIPS supports a wide range of temporal synchronization specifications and provides algorithms for attaining a consistent and coherent presentation state in response to user interaction (e.g., skipping to a different slide or selection) and other state-changing events. Applications of the FLIPS model are discussed.
Stigma and Recovery

The statement quoted above has many possible meanings. It could be taken, for example, to refer to the body of research reviewed in this volume that suggests that exposure over time to people in recovery who are occupying valued social roles is the most effective way to reduce stigma. Or, it could be taken to mean that recovering from a serious mental illness is the best way to disprove and dispel the stigma, shame, and self-blame that many people unfortunately have internalized from the society in which they live. Within the context in which the statement was made, though, the speaker’s intent was rather that governments and private philanthropies would be better advised to spend the resources they were considering to allocate to fighting stigma (e.g., though community education campaigns) on funding psychiatric treatment, thereby (presumably) enabling people to recover despite stigma. While there may be some merit to this sentiment—insofar as mental health care remains vastly underfunded in virtually all societies around the globe—the speaker appeared to be making at least two problematic assumptions. First, she assumed that receiving psychiatric treatment was sufficient to ensure recovery regardless of stigma and other social and environmental factors (e.g., social determinants of health). Second, she was assuming that the psychiatric treatment that would be provided would not itself be perpetuating the same stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs that she was interested in dispelling.
Winds of change in energy systems: Policy implementation, technology deployment, and regional transmission organizations

Abstract Changes in the electricity sector since the turn of the century have brought significant penetration of wind generation resources onto the electric power grid. Creating a low-carbon and sustainable electric systems to respond to climate change and meet societal energy needs requires different technologies and changes in supporting policies and institutions. But just how these institutions are creating and implementing new policies has emerged as an important area of inquiry. Changing how the electricity system works requires coordinated interaction across many different stakeholder groups and multiple levels of governance. We explore these emerging processes of policy implementation by examining how wind energy resources are changing the operation of the electric grid. To do this, we develop an in-depth, grounded case study examining decision making within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, a U.S. Regional Transmission Organization. We use a multi-method approach to the strategic action field theory (SAF; e.g. Moulton and Sandfort, 2015) to examine how MISO created and implemented policy, changing energy markets and power systems operation to allow for the integration of wind resources. Our study examines the critical and understudied role of energy policy implementation in practice and focuses on how stakeholders are making decisions which are shaping the use and value of new and existing energy technologies and, in doing so, transforming the energy system.
Autophagy core machinery: overcoming spatial barriers in neurons

Autophagy is a major degradation pathway that engulfs, removes, and recycles unwanted cytoplasmic material including damaged organelles and toxic protein aggregates. One type of autophagy, macroautophagy, is a tightly regulated process facilitated by autophagy-related (Atg) proteins that must communicate effectively and act in concert to enable the de novo formation of the phagophore, its maturation into an autophagosome, and its subsequent targeting and fusion with the lysosome or the vacuole. Autophagy plays a significant role in physiology, and its dysregulation has been linked to several diseases, which include certain cancers, cardiomyopathies, and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we summarize the key processes and the proteins that make up the macroautophagy machinery. We also briefly highlight recently uncovered molecular mechanisms specific to neurons allowing them to uniquely regulate this catabolic process to accommodate their complicated architecture and non-dividing state. Overall, these distinct mechanisms establish a conceptual framework addressing how macroautophagic dysfunction could result in maladies of the nervous system, providing possible therapeutic avenues to explore with a goal of preventing or curing such diseases.
Land Reform in Latin America: Issues and Cases

(1973). Land Reform in Latin America: Issues and Cases. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 715-718.