cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thymosin β4 Is Present in a Subset of Oligodendrocytes in the Normal Human Brain

Thymosin β4, a polypeptide extracted from the original thymosin fraction 5 (Hopper et al., 1975), has been characterized, sequenced, and synthesized (Low and Goldstein, 1981, 1982). Thymosin β4 affects the early stages of T-cell differentiation, has a MIF-like activity (Low and Goldstein, 1981), and may play a role in cellular immune mechanisms (Hannappel et al., 1982). It has been found in a variety of rat and mouse tissue extracts including spleen, thymus, brain, liver, and peritoneal macrophages (Hannappel et al., 1982), but its cellular distribution and presence in human tissues are unknown.
Androgens Throughout the Life of Women

Androgens consist of 19 carbon steroids that are synthesized in endocrine tissues from cholesterol as substrate or via conversion from other androgens or precursor steroids in the periphery, including liver, gonads, and adrenals. The commonly studied androgens and androgen metabolites in the human include dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its metabolite dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), androstenedi-one (A4), and testosterone and its 5α-reduced metabolite, the potent androgen 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Circulating levels of androgens are equally low in male and female children prior to adrenarche. During adrenarche, plasma levels of DHEA and DHEAS achieve adult levels at an earlier stage of development than do those of testosterone. Production of androgens in the human female occurs to varying extents as a function of age and physiological status. DHEA and DHEAS are primarily products of the adrenal zona reticularis, whereas A4 and testosterone are synthesized in both the ovary and adrenal; substantial quantities of testosterone arise from peripheral conversion from A4. Modest changes in circulating levels of testosterone occur during the ovarian cycle of women during the reproductive years, with the highest levels seen at mid-cycle; plasma levels of DHEA, DHEAS, and A4 show little change during the ovarian cycle. The suppression that occurs with oral contraceptive use is associated with reductions in plasma levels of androgens, including those produced by the adrenal. Circulating levels of testosterone and A4 increase during pregnancy, probably as a result of human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation of the ovary and increased protein binding. There is also increased production of adrenal androgens in pregnancy through unknown mechanisms, but because of the increased conversion of DHEAS to estrogen in the placenta, plasma levels of this steroid decline during pregnancy. Although the ovary is an important source of androgens in women, there seems to be little impact of menopause on circulating levels of A4 and testosterone. Striking reductions in plasma DHEA and DHEAS occur during aging in women, and these changes appear independent of ovarian status. The best evidence to date is suggestive of a selective deficiency in the Δ5 steroid pathway in the zona reticularis during aging, and this may be because of a loss of cells in this zone. Finally, estrogen treatment of postmenopausal women has not been shown to have consistent effects on the androgenic milieu of women.
The Role of Neuropeptide Y in Energy Homeostasis

When administered into the brain, NPY acts at Y1 and Y5 receptors to increase food intake. The response occurs with a short latency and is quite robust, such that exogenous NPY is generally considered to be the most potent of a growing list of orexigenic compounds that act in the brain. The role of endogenous NPY is not so straightforward, however. Evidence from diverse types of experiments suggests that rather than initiating behavioral eating per se, endogenous NPY elicits autonomic responses that prepare the individual to better cope with consuming a calorically large meal.
μ-Pair Theories and the π-Meson

The $\ensuremath{\mu}$-pair theory suggests the interpretation of the $\ensuremath{\pi}$-meson as a pair of $\ensuremath{\mu}'\mathrm{s}$ bound together by a nucleon pair field. Only a non-relativistic description, involving a cut-off in the momentum spaces, is attempted. Various $\ensuremath{\pi}$-meson types, such as are well known from the conventional Yukawa theories, can be constructed, depending on the type of coupling adopted in the interaction Hamiltonian of the pair theory. It appears, however, that only the pseudoscalar coupling, which leads to a pseudoscalar $\ensuremath{\pi}$-meson, is consistent with the experimental data; e.g., on the nuclear scattering of $\ensuremath{\mu}'\mathrm{s}$, which indicate that the interaction of $\ensuremath{\mu}'\mathrm{s}$ with nucleons, at least in such processes, is rather weak. Then, also, the creation of $\ensuremath{\mu}$-pairs in high energy nuclear collisions is expected to be an infrequent event, compared to the $\ensuremath{\pi}$-creation. Nonetheless, the $\ensuremath{\mu}$-pair production should furnish a crucial experimental test. Another process predicted is the dissociation of a fast $\ensuremath{\pi}$-meson, passing through matter, into a pair. The existence of heavier mesons, involving more than two $\ensuremath{\mu}'\mathrm{s}$, seems likely.
Essential roles of mitochondrial biogenesis regulator Nrf1 in retinal development and homeostasis

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathologies of a number of retinal degenerative diseases in both the outer and inner retina. In the outer retina, photoreceptors are particularly vulnerable to mutations affecting mitochondrial function due to their high energy demand and sensitivity to oxidative stress. However, it is unclear how defective mitochondrial biogenesis affects neural development and contributes to neural degeneration. In this report, we investigated the in vivo function of nuclear respiratory factor 1 (Nrf1), a major transcriptional regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in both proliferating retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) and postmitotic rod photoreceptor cells (PRs). We used mouse genetic techniques to generate RPC-specific and rod PR-specific Nrf1 conditional knockout mouse models. We then applied a comprehensive set of tools, including histopathological and molecular analyses, RNA-seq, and electroretinography on these mouse lines to study Nrf1-regulated genes and Nrf1’s roles in both developing retinas and differentiated rod PRs. For all comparisons between genotypes, a two-tailed two-sample student’s t-test was used. Results were considered significant when P < 0.05. We uncovered essential roles of Nrf1 in cell proliferation in RPCs, cell migration and survival of newly specified retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), neurite outgrowth in retinal explants, reconfiguration of metabolic pathways in RPCs, and mitochondrial morphology, position, and function in rod PRs. Our findings provide in vivo evidence that Nrf1 and Nrf1-mediated pathways have context-dependent and cell-state-specific functions during neural development, and disruption of Nrf1-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis in rod PRs results in impaired mitochondria and a slow, progressive degeneration of rod PRs. These results offer new insights into the roles of Nrf1 in retinal development and neuronal homeostasis and the differential sensitivities of diverse neuronal tissues and cell types of dysfunctional mitochondria. Moreover, the conditional Nrf1 allele we have generated provides the opportunity to develop novel mouse models to understand how defective mitochondrial biogenesis contributes to the pathologies and disease progression of several neurodegenerative diseases, including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, Parkinson’s diseases, and Huntington’s disease.
Keynotes Speaker: Energy Optimization of Wireless Sensor Networks Using Swarm Intelligence

Energy saving in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a critical problem for a diversity of applications. Data aggregation between sensor nodes is huge unless a suitable sensor data flow management is adopted. Clustering the sensor nodes is considered an effective solution to this problem. Each cluster should have a controller denoted as a Cluster Head (CH), and a number of nodes located within its supervision area. Clustering demonstrated an effective result in forming the network into a linked hierarchy. Thus, balancing the load distribution in WSN, to make efficient use of the available energy sources, and reducing traffic transmission can be achieved. In solving this problem, we need to find the optimal distribution of sensors and CHs; thus we can increase the network lifetime while minimizing the energy consumption. In this talk, we are proposing three hybrid clustering algorithms based K-Means clustering and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to achieve efficient energy management of the WSNs. Our proposed algorithms are compared to the traditional clustering techniques such as the Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) protocol and K-means clustering.
Robust Assessment of Photoplethysmogram Signal Quality in the Presence of Atrial Fibrillation

A great deal of algorithms currently available to assess the quality of photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals is based on the similarity between pulses to derive signal quality indices. This approach has limitations when pulse morphology become variable due to the presence of some arrhythmia as in the case of atrial fibrillation (AFib). AFib is a heart arrhythmia characterized in the electrocardiogram mainly by an irregular irregularity. This arrhythmicity is reflected on PPG pulses by the presence of non-uniform pulses and poses challenges in the evaluation of the signal quality. In this work, we first test the performance of few algorithms from the body of methods reported in literature using a dataset of PPG records with AFib, and demonstrate their limitation. Second, we present a novel SVM-based classifier for PPG quality assessment in 30s-long segments of PPG records extracted from pulse oximetry data of 13 stroke patients admitted to the UCSF medical center neuro ICU. 40 time-domain, frequency domain and non-linear features were extracted from all segments. Using an independent test set, the classifier reached a 0.94 accuracy, 0.95 sensitivity and 0.91 specificity. These results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method in properly evaluating PPG signal quality in the presence of atrial fibrillation.
Oil Spill Disruption and Problem Drinking: Assessing the Impact of Religious Context among Gulf Coast Residents

While a wide body of research has indicated that social resources may be enhanced through religious practice, few studies have explored how social resources are impacted by the intersection of the social and individual domains of religion. Using data from the recently conducted Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity among Neighborhoods in the Gulf, this study employs multilevel analysis to examine the impact of religious context on alcohol misuse among individuals impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Our findings indicate that residence in areas that have high levels of religious concentration may magnify the risk of problem drinking among disaster-affected individuals for whom religion is not very salient, suggesting that religious context may influence the distribution of social resources differently between the religious and irreligious.
Examining Gender- and Drug-Specific Arrest Counts: A Partial Test of Agnew’s General Strain Theory

Despite Agnew`s extension of general strain theory to the macro-level, little attention has been devoted to assessing of the link between community characteristics and gender-specific drug arrests....
A technology-augmented intervention to prevent peer violence and depressive symptoms among at-risk emergency department adolescents: protocol for a randomized control trial

Abstract Background Peer violence and depressive symptoms are increasingly prevalent among adolescents, and for many, use the emergency department (ED) as their primary source of healthcare. Brief in-person interventions and longitudinal text-message-based interventions are feasible, acceptable, and may be effective in reducing peer violence and depressive symptoms when delivered in the ED setting. This paper presents the study design and protocol for an in-ED brief intervention (BI) and text messaging program (Text). Methods This study will be conducted in a pediatric ED which serves over 50,000 pediatric patients per year. Recruitment of study participants began in August 2018 and anticipated to continue until October 2021. The study will enroll 800 adolescents (ages13–17) presenting to the ED for any reason who self-report past-year physical peer violence and past-two week mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms. The study will use a factorial randomized trial to test both overall intervention efficacy and determine the optimal combination of intervention components. A full 2 × 2 factorial design randomizes patients at baseline to 1) BI or no BI; and 2) Text or no Text. Peer violence and depressive symptoms improvements will be measured at 2, 4, and 8 months through self-report and medical record review. Discussion This study has important implications for the progress of the greater field of mobile health interventions, as well as for adolescent violence and depression prevention in general. This proposal has high clinical and public health significance with high potential scalability, acceptability, and impact.
Grilling Temperature Effects on Trained Sensory Panel and Warner Bratzler Shear Force of USDA Select Beef Striploin Steaks

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to evaluate the trained sensory panel and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) responses to 5 different grilling temperatures on USDA Select strip steaks. Materials and MethodsThirty USDA Select strip loins were collected from a major packing plant where carcass data was collected, then aged for 14 d. After aging, 10 steaks were cut 2.54 cm thick from each loin, randomized among 1 of 5 treatment grill surface temperatures (149°C, 177°C, 204°C, 232°C, or 260°C), and given a WBSF or trained sensory panel designation. Steaks were individually vacuum-packaged and placed in frozen storage until analyses were performed. Individual steaks were thawed in refrigerated storage (4°C) for 12 to 24 h prior to cooking. Steaks were cooked on a commercial flat top grill, preheated to the designated grill surface temperature treatment. All steaks were cooked to an internal end point temperature of 71°C, turning once at 35°C. Six, 1.3 cm diameter core samples were collected from each WBSF steak after being refrigerated (4°C) overnight. Steaks designated for trained panel were cut into 1.3cm cubes and served, warm, to an expert trained beef flavor descriptive panel. Each steak was evaluated on a 16-point intensity scale for 18 flavor attributes, tenderness, and juiciness. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure in SAS with significance set at an ɑ value 0.05) by grill temperature and were generally low (mean WBSF = 3.1779 kg). At lower grill temperatures, beef identity, brown, roasted, burnt, and bitter were lower (P < 0.05) and bloody/serumy, sour, and juiciness were higher (P < 0.05). As grill temperatures increased, bloody/serumy, sour, and juiciness were lower (P < 0.05) and beef identity, brown, roasted, burnt, and bitter were higher (P < 0.05). ConclusionGrill surface temperature can be used to change beef flavor trained sensory panel scores, but has no impact on tenderness.
Stop the Bleed: An Interprofessional Community Service Learning Project Assessing the Efficacy of Pharmacist-Led Hemorrhage Control Education for Laypersons.

OBJECTIVES Stop the Bleed (STB) is a national initiative that provides lifesaving hemorrhagic control education. In 2019, pharmacists were added as health-care personnel eligible to become STB instructors. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacist-led STB trainings for school employees in South Texas. METHODS Pharmacist-led STB trainings were provided to teachers and staff in Laredo, Texas. The 60-min trainings included a presentation followed by hands-on practice of tourniquet application, wound-packing, and direct pressure application. Training efficacy was assessed through anonymous pre- and postevent surveys, which evaluated changes in knowledge, comfort level, and willingness to assist in hemorrhage control interventions. Student volunteers (predominantly pharmacy and medical students) assisted in leading the hands-on portion, providing a unique interprofessional learning opportunity. RESULTS Participants with previous training (N = 98) were excluded, resulting in a final cohort of 437 (response rate 87.4%). Compared with baseline, comfort level using tourniquets (mean, 3.17/5 vs 4.20/5; P < 0.0001), opinion regarding tourniquet safety (2.59/3 vs 2.94/3; P < 0.0001), and knowledge regarding tourniquets (70.86/100 vs 75.84/100; P < 0.0001) and proper tourniquet placement (2.40/4 vs 3.15/4; P < 0.0001) significantly improved. CONCLUSIONS Pharmacist-led STB trainings are efficacious in increasing school worker knowledge and willingness to respond in an emergency hemorrhagic situation.
Identification of Structural Stiffness and Mass using Bayesian Model Updating Approach with Known Added Mass: Numerical Investigation

The Bayesian model updating approach (BMUA) has been widely used to update structural parameters using modal measurements because of its powerful ability to handle uncertainties and incomplete data...
Varying Demands and Quality of Play Between In-Conference and Out-of-Conference Games in Division I Collegiate Women's Soccer.

Bozzini, BN, McFadden, BA, Walker, AJ, and Arent, SM. Varying demands and quality of play between in-conference and out-of-conference games in Division I collegiate women's soccer. J Strength Cond Res 34(12): 3364-3368, 2020-The purpose of this study was to assess differences in physical workloads, physiological responses, and performance variables between in-conference (IC) and out-of-conference (OC) games during a collegiate women's soccer season. Female field players (N = 11), who played a minimum of 45 minutes for >50% of games, were evaluated using an integrative GPS and HR monitoring system to determine training load (TL), exercise energy expenditure (EEE), total distance covered (DIS), sprints, time spent in HR zones 4 and 5 (HRZ4 = 80-89% HRmax; HRZ5 = 90-100% HRmax), and distance covered in speed zones 4 and 5 (DISZ4 = 15.0-19.9 km·h; DISZ5 = ≥20 km·h). In addition, percent passing accuracy (PA%), dribbling success (DS%), tackling success (TS%), and challenges won (CW%) were generated for all games. Workload data were analyzed as a rate per minute playing time (PT) per game to account for differences in game duration and PT between OC (n = 7) and IC games (n = 11). Repeated-measures multivariate analyses of variance with univariate follow-ups and effect sizes (Hedges' g) were conducted to compare conditions (OC vs. CON) (p 0.05). Based on these findings, OC games seem to be more demanding compared to IC, particularly during first half play. Emphasis should be placed on tailoring TL to the accumulating in-season demands through athlete-monitoring technology to prevent declines in performance in the latter half of the season.
Metabolomic profiles associated with a mouse model of antipsychotic-induced food intake and weight gain

Antipsychotic drugs (AP) are used to treat a multitude of psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, APs also have metabolic side effects including increased food intake and body weight, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We previously reported that minocycline (MINO) co-treatment abrogates olanzapine (OLZ)-induced hyperphagia and weight gain in mice. Using this model, we investigated the changes in the pharmacometabolome in the plasma and hypothalamus associated with OLZ-induced hyperphagia and weight gain. Female C57BL/6 mice were divided into groups and fed either i) control, CON (45% fat diet) ii) CON + MINO, iii) OLZ (45% fat diet with OLZ), iv) OLZ + MINO. We identified one hypothalamic metabolite indoxylsulfuric acid and 389 plasma metabolites (including 19 known metabolites) that were specifically associated with AP-induced hyperphagia and weight gain in mice. We found that plasma citrulline, tricosenoic acid, docosadienoic acid and palmitoleic acid were increased while serine, asparagine and arachidonic acid and its derivatives were decreased in response to OLZ. These changes were specifically blocked by co-treatment with MINO. These pharmacometabolomic profiles associated with AP-induced hyperphagia and weight gain provide candidate biomarkers and mechanistic insights related to the metabolic side effects of these widely used drugs.
MRI evaluation of solid soft tissue masses of the fingers with pathology correlation.

Abstract Objective Space occupying lesions of the fingers are commonly encountered in clinical and radiology practice. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of these lesions on MRI and to correlate with surgical pathology results. Material and methods This IRB-approved HIPAA-compliant study retrospectively evaluated the clinical, imaging and pathology findings of 100 consecutive patients referred for evaluation of solid soft tissue masses of the fingers. Only solid lesions with MR imaging prior to surgery were included in this study. MR images and when available corresponding radiographs were evaluated by two radiologist in regard to signal characteristics, relation to surrounding structures and enhancement. All masses were classified into different groups based on pathology results. Results Tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TSGCT) and fibroma of the tendon sheath were the most common solid tumors (36 %) and malignant tumors represent only 5% of the cohort. 70 % of masses with low T2 signal were TSGCT and fibroma of tendon sheath; 100 % of masses with peripheral high T2 signal and central low T2 signal/thrombus were vascular lesions, representing 41 % of the total vascular lesions in the cohort. Additionally, 100 % of serpiginous/tubular shaped masses were vascular lesions and 67 % of masses with infiltrative borders were malignant masses. Enhancement was important in identifying solid lesions but there was no statistical difference between groups related to enhancement pattern. There was a good agreement for all analyses between both readers. Conclusion Typical MR findings can help to narrow the differential diagnosis in the evaluation of finger masses and provide crucial information to guide further management.
NTRK Fusions Identified in Pediatric Tumors: The Frequency, Fusion Partners, and Clinical Outcome.

PURPOSENeurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) fusions have been described as oncogenic drivers in a variety of tumors. However, little is known about the overall frequency of NTRK fusion in u...
Smokers with and without Epilepsy show Similar Smoking Rate, Dependence Level, Cessation Attempts, and Motives.

BACKGROUND Individuals with epilepsy are up to twice as likely to be current cigarette smokers compared to those without. Moreover, one study showed current smoking is associated with an increased likelihood of seizures. However, outside of this one study, there is limited data on the presentation of specific smoking-related behaviors and cognitions in people with epilepsy, inhibiting our understanding of the severity of this behavior and our ability to formulate effective treatments for this population. PURPOSE The current study examined smoking-related behaviors and cognitions among smokers with epilepsy compared to smokers without epilepsy. METHODS Participants were 43 smokers with (Mage = 43.4, SD = 11.6) and 43 smokers without (Mage = 45.5, SD = 8.8) epilepsy recruited from an urban, academic setting within the U.S. Separate Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to evaluate differences between smokers with and without epilepsy in terms of smoking behavior (i.e., daily smoking rate, nicotine dependence, number of quit attempts, smoking duration, age of smoking onset) and smoking-related cognitive processes (i.e., smoking motives, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, cessation motives) after controlling for race and problematic alcohol use. RESULTS Smokers with epilepsy did not differ from smokers without epilepsy in terms of smoking rate (p = .51, ηp2 = .01), nicotine dependence (p = .12, ηp2 = .03), age of smoking onset (p = .42, ηp2 = .01), number of quit attempts (p = .43, ηp2 = .01), barriers to cessation (p = .30 to .80, ηp2 = .00 to .01), or cessation motives (p = .28 to .60, ηp2 = .00 to .02). Smokers without epilepsy reported higher levels of smoking for sensorimotor manipulation reasons (p = .03, ηp2 = .06) and longer smoking duration (p = .03, ηp2 = .06) than smokers with epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS Smokers with epilepsy do not appear to differ significantly from smokers without epilepsy in terms of smoking-related behaviors and cognitions, and may therefore benefit from current evidence-based treatments for smoking cessation that are not contraindicated for epilepsy (i.e., bupropion, varenicline).
Poster: Project Based Learning Using Digital Storytelling: Educational Program for Students Before Learning Full-Scale PBL Practice

This paper describes on the education program that we have developed for colleges of technology in Japan. The college of technology in Japan is Japan’s unique educational system that aims at high-school and college-age students. The five-year consistent education system specializing in engineering has garnered attention under the name of KOSEN from Asian nations. Thus, this paper assumes the second-grade students at our college of technology to be students who have not been introduced to PBL yet. The group activity-based PBL (Project Based Learning) process requires the ability to express one’s own ideas to others (communication skill), the ability to abstract problems and develop one’s thoughts (computational thinking skill), and the ability to move ahead with tasks in a planned manner (project management skill). Therefore, targeting these students, this study examines whether digital storytelling practice is feasible as an education program that broadens the above mentioned three skills. It is required in digital storytelling to condense one’s thoughts and present them as digital contents. We think that the affinity is strong between digital storytelling and PBL, as the processes that learners experience through digital storytelling activities are similar to learners’ experience in the processes of the PBL program that is based on our engineering design process. According to a questionnaire survey conducted after the class, our education program received positive feedback from 90% of the students who took the course.
Sickle Cell Disease

Acute painful episodes are by far the most common reason for ED visits among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Early and aggressive pain management, including the use of opioids when appropriate, is a key priority in these visits. However, emergency providers (EPs) must also actively seek to diagnose other emergent diagnoses such as acute chest syndrome and infection in patients with SCD and differentiate them from vaso-occlusive crisis. EPs should be especially aware of cognitive biases that may misdirect the diagnostic process. Administration of intravenous fluids should be used judiciously based on volume status, and blood transfusion may be considered while carefully weighing the impact on volume status and viscosity. Coordination of care with hematology is an important part of the effective emergency department and long-term management of patients with SCD.
PECTATE LYASE LIKE12 patterns the guard cell wall to coordinate turgor pressure and wall mechanics for proper stomatal function in Arabidopsis

Abstract Plant cell deformations are driven by cell pressurization and mechanical constraints imposed by the nanoscale architecture of the cell wall, but how these factors are controlled at the genetic and molecular levels to achieve different types of cell deformation is unclear. Here, we used stomatal guard cells to investigate the influences of wall mechanics and turgor pressure on cell deformation and demonstrate that the expression of the pectin-modifying gene PECTATE LYASE LIKE12 (PLL12) is required for normal stomatal dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using nanoindentation and finite element modeling to simultaneously measure wall modulus and turgor pressure, we found that both values undergo dynamic changes during induced stomatal opening and closure. PLL12 is required for guard cells to maintain normal wall modulus and turgor pressure during stomatal responses to light and to tune the levels of calcium cross-linked pectin in guard cell walls. Guard cell-specific knockdown of PLL12 caused defects in stomatal responses and reduced leaf growth, which were associated with lower cell proliferation but normal cell expansion. Together, these results force us to revise our view of how wall-modifying genes modulate wall mechanics and cell pressurization to accomplish the dynamic cellular deformations that underlie stomatal function and tissue growth in plants.
PageRank centrality and algorithms for weighted, directed networks

Abstract PageRank (PR) is a fundamental tool for assessing the relative importance of the nodes in a network. In this paper, we propose a measure, weighted PageRank (WPR), extended from the classical PR for weighted, directed networks with possible non-uniform node-specific information that is dependent or independent of network structure. A tuning parameter leveraging node degree and strength is introduced. An efficient algorithm based on R program has been developed for computing WPR in large-scale networks. We have tested the proposed WPR on widely used simulated network models, and found it outperformed the classical PR. Additionally, we apply the proposed WPR to the real network data generated from World Input-Output Tables as an example, and have seen the results that are consistent with the global economic trends, which renders it a preferred measure in the analysis.
Heroin addiction: Theory, research, and treatment

Examining the advances made in the last 10 years with heroin addiction, this book covers non-pharmacological interventions including cognitive behaviour therapy, theraputic communities, and family therapy. HIV and AIDS relating to hyperdermic needle use are covered, as is addicted women.
Employers hire for attitude and train for skill: Enthusiastic candidates often land the offer of a job

Purpose – Lays emphasis on the importance of presenting a positive attitude to grab an offer of employment. Design/methodology/approach – Stresses the significance of transferable skills to ensure a successful career shift from one industry to another. Findings – Argues that the judicious identification and effective deployment of inborn talents and acquired skills can help in the achievement of career success. Practical implications – Shows that these findings can be applied in any organization and sector of the economy. Social implications – Seeks support from educational institutions to make students more employable in the corporate world. Originality/value – Highlights the importance of taking an inventory of strengths and weaknesses – building on the former and seeking to rectify the latter.
Power Train Selection for Optimum Performance and Efficiency

Methods for evaluating vehicle power train components and their effect on optimum vehicle performance and efficiency are considered. The assessment of overall vehicle costs includes the evaluation of each component, and optimizing power train components and performance to provide the most cost-effective vehicle for a given job. Medium and heavy duty trucks and buses involve a great variety of vocations and performance requirements. Any effort to evaluate power train specifications must include an understanding of key parameters defining performance requirements: gross vehicle weight; on-grade startability; and capability to negotiate a given grade at a selected speed. In general, power train components include the engine, transmission, drive shafts, auxiliary transmission or transfer case, and drive axle (s). Engine characteristics critical to vehicle performance and efficiency are power and governed speed, peak torque and corresponding speed, and brake-specific fuel consumption. The transmission must match engine characteristics to the duty cycle. Changes in vehicle operations and components are occurring rapidly; they encompass the desire for bigger and heavier loads, more axles and double-triple trailers, more diesel engines, larger engines, low-speed engines, and new buses, transmissions, and axles. The computer simulation method is replacing obsolete and costly methods such as trial-and-error and actual testing for analyzing vehicle vocation variables and different types of power trains and components. Using computers should bring closer an optimum match of vehicle, engine, transmission, axle, and tire parameters for a given vocation.
A method based on cluster analysis for national and regional technology policy development

A method is proposed to evaluated strategies for national and regional technology policy development. The method uses technology forecasts and economic indicators in conjunction with a technological synergy assessment. System-level technologies are grouped using hierarchical cluster analysis techniques. Groups of system-level technologies are identified that have favorable rates of sales growth and high market share. Different technology policy strategies can be assessed by varying the criteria for technological synergy determination. An application to technology policy development for the commercial space satellite industry in the Washington, DC, region is presented. >
Modeling of Photonic Band Gap Crystals and Applications

In this work, the authors have undertaken a theoretical approach to the complex problem of modeling the flow of electromagnetic waves in photonic crystals. The focus is to address the feasibility of using the exciting phenomena of photonic gaps (PBG) in actual applications. The authors start by providing analytical derivations of the computational electromagnetic methods used in their work. They also present a detailed explanation of the physics underlying each approach, as well as a comparative study of the strengths and weaknesses of each method. The Plane Wave expansion, Transfer Matrix, and Finite Difference time Domain Methods are addressed. They also introduce a new theoretical approach, the Modal Expansion Method. They then shift the attention to actual applications. They begin with a discussion of 2D photonic crystal wave guides. The structure addressed consists of a 2D hexagonal structure of air cylinders in a layered dielectric background. Comparison with the performance of a conventional guide is made, as well as suggestions for enhancing it. The studies provide an upper theoretical limit on the performance of such guides, as they assumed no crystal imperfections and non-absorbing media. Next, they study 3D metallic PBG materials at near infrared and optical wavelengths. The main objective is to study the importance of absorption in the metal and the suitability of observing photonic band gaps in such structures. They study simple cubic structures where the metallic scatters are either cubes or interconnected metallic rods. Several metals are studied (aluminum, gold, copper, and silver). The effect of topology is addressed and isolated metallic cubes are found to be less lossy than the connected rod structures. The results reveal that the best performance is obtained by choosing metals with a large negative real part of the dielectric function, together with a relatively small imaginary part. Finally, they point out a new direction in photonic crystal research that involves the interplay of metallic-PBG rejection and photonic band edge absorption. They propose that an absolute metallic-PBG may be used to suppress the infrared part of the blackbody emission and, emit its energy only through a sharp absorption band. Potential applications of this new PBG mechanism include highly efficient incandescent lamps and enhanced thermophotovoltaic energy conversion. The suggested lamp would be able to recycle the energy that would otherwise go into the unwanted heat associated with usual lamps, into light emitted in the visible spectrum. It is estimated this would increase the efficiency over conventional lamps by about 40%.
On Du Bois’ Notion of Double Consciousness

The recent reception of Du Bois’ notion of “double consciousness” in the humanities has affirmed the notion as crucial and pivotal throughout his work. In contrast, its recent reception in the social sciences has tended to reject its centrality and importance. This essay will give general credence to the former position but, more importantly, show why a turn to Rousseau’s conception of amour-propre may illuminate the importance of “double consciousness” in and for Du Bois’ 1903 work The Souls of Black Folk (SBF), despite the fact that he never elaborated on or embraced the notion in work subsequent to SBF’s publication.
cAMP inhibits both Ras and Rap1 activation in primary human T lymphocytes, but only Ras inhibition correlates with blockade of cell cycle progression.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is a negative regulator of T-cell activation. However, the effects of cAMP on signaling pathways that regulate cytokine production and cell cycle progression remain unclear. Here, using primary human T lymphocytes in which endogenous cAMP was increased by the use of forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), we show that increase of cAMP resulted in inhibition of T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 plus CD28–mediated T-cell activation and cytokine production and blockade of cell cycle progression at the G1 phase. Increase of cAMP inhibited Ras activation and phosphorylation of mitogen-induced extracellular kinase (MEK) downstream targets extracellular signal–related kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) downstream target protein kinase B (PKB; c-Akt). These functional and biochemical events were secondary to the impaired activation of ZAP-70 and phosphorylation of LAT and did not occur when cells were stimulated with phorbol ester, which bypasses the TCR proximal signaling events and activates Ras. Increase of cAMP also inhibited activation of Rap1 mediated by TCR/CD3 plus CD28. Importantly, inhibition of Rap1 activation by cAMP was also observed when cells were stimulated with phorbol ester, although under these conditions Ras was activated and cells progressed into the cell cycle. Thus, TCR plus CD28–mediated activation of ERK1/2 and PKB, cytokine production, and cell cycle progression, all of which are inhibited by cAMP, require activation of Ras but not Rap1. These results indicate that signals that regulate cAMP levels after encounter of T cells by antigen will likely determine the functional fate toward clonal expansion or repression of primary T-cell responses.
Using linear programming techniques for scheduling-based random test-case generation

Multimedia SoCs are characterized by a main controller that directs the activity of several cores, each of which controls a stage in the processing of a media stream. Stimuli generation for such systems can be modeled as a scheduling problem that assigns data items to the processing elements of the system. Our work presents a linear programming (LP) modeling scheme for these scheduling problems. We implemented this modeling scheme as part of SoCVer, a stimuli generator for multimedia SoCs. Experimental results show that this LP-based scheme allows easier modeling and provides better performance than CSP-based engines, which are widely used for stimuli generation.
Declarative Memory, Neural Basis of

An important finding of neuropsychological studies is that memory is not a single entity but is composed of several different forms that rely on separate brain systems. The major distinction is between conscious knowledge of facts and events, referred to as declarative or explicit memory, and nonconscious knowledge systems that provide for the capacity of skill learning, habit formation, the phenomenon of priming, and certain other ways of interacting with the world, collectively referred to as nondeclarative or implicit memory. Declarative memory is dependent on the integrity of the hippocampus and anatomically related structures in the medial temporal lobe and diencephalon. It seems to be especially good at associating the various aspects of a context that are present at a particular time and place, thereby creating a memory of an episode. A particularly good example of declarative memory involves the ability to identify a recently encountered item as familiar, a capacity termed as recognition memory. Declarative memory is the kind of memory impaired in amnesia. Other characteristics of this form of memory have emerged from studies with experimental animals. Declarative memory is fast and is flexible in the sense that it is accessible to multiple response systems. It is especially suited for one-trial learning, and for forming and maintaining associations between arbitrarily different pieces of material.
ReCombinatorics: Combinatorial Algorithms for Studying the History of Recombination in Populations

The work discussed in this talk falls into the emerging area of Population Genomics. I will first introduce the area and then talk about specific problems and combinatorial algorithms involved in the inference of recombination from population data. A phylogenetic network (or Ancestral Recombination Graph) is a generalization of a tree, allowing structural properties that are not tree-like. With the growth of genomic and population data (coming for example from the HAPMAP project) much of which does not fit ideal tree models, and the increasing appreciation of the genomic role of such phenomena as recombination (crossing-over and gene-conversion), recurrent and back mutation, horizontal gene transfer, and mobile genetic elements, there is greater need to understand the algorithmics and combinatorics of phylogenetic networks. In this talk I will survey a range of our recent algorithmic, mathematical and practical results on phylogenetic networks with recombination and show applications of these results to several issues in Population Genomics. Various parts of this work are joint work with Satish Eddhu, Chuck Langley, Dean Hickerson, Yun S. Song, Yufeng Wu, V. Bansal, V. Bafna and Z. Ding. All the papers and associated software can be accessed at http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~gusfield/
Cyanide Complexes of the Transition Metals

Cyano metal complexes contain one or more bound cyanide ligands, CN−, and constitute one of the largest and longest-known classes of compounds in inorganic chemistry. Like carbon monoxide, the cyanide ion can function as a π-acid ligand, but because of its negative charge, the cyanide ion can also form strong sigma bonds. This bifunctional behavior allows CN− to stabilize both high and low oxidation states of metals. The cyanide ion can bind to metals in both terminal and bridging (MCNM′) modes; the bridges are commonly linear, and are present in Prussian blue and many other polymeric metal cyanides. Framework solids with high degrees of void space can be formed with bridging cyanide ligands. Cyano metal complexes undergo a variety of oxidation-reduction reactions, but owing to the strong σ-donor properties of CN−, only a few ligands are capable of directly replacing metal-bound cyanide. For most substitution reactions, photochemically induced dissociation of one or more of the CN− ligands is needed. Cyano complexes are used as pigments and dyes, and are being increasingly explored as electroactive, zeolitic, and chemical sensing materials. Keywords: cyano complex; Prussian blue; supramolecular complex; host-guest; mixed valence
Uptake and metabolism of L-2-oxo-[35S]thiazolidine-4-carboxylate by rat cells is slower than that of L-[35S]cysteine or L-[35S]methionine.

The uptake and metabolism of L-2-oxo-(35S)thiazolidine-4-carboxylate (OTC) was compared with that of L-(35S)cysteine and L-(35S)methionine in studies with freshly isolated rat hepatocytes, renal cortical tubules and enterocytes. All three 35S-labeled substrates were metabolized to glutathione, inorganic sulfur and taurine by hepatocytes and to inorganic sulfur by renal tubules and enterocytes. The rate of metabolite production from OTC was always less than 30% of that from cysteine or methionine. The transport rate for uptake of (35S)OTC by hepatocytes was less than that observed for uptake of (35S)cysteine or (35S)methionine. The capacity of rat hepatocytes, renal cortical tubules and enterocytes to take up and metabolize OTC is substantially lower than that for uptake and metabolism of cysteine or its normal intracellular precursor, methionine.
Intrauterine Devices and Other Forms of Contraception: thinking Outside the Pack

A variety of contraception options are available in addition to traditional combined oral contraceptive pills. Newer long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods such as intrauterine devices and subcutaneous implants are preferred because they do not depend on patient compliance. They are highly effective and appropriate for most women. Female and male sterilization are other effective but they are irreversible and require counseling to minimize regret. The contraceptive injection, patch, and ring do not require daily administration, but their typical efficacy rates are lower than LARC methods and similar to those for combined oral contraceptive pills.