cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Not all butterfly eyes are created equal: Rhodopsin absorption spectra, molecular identification, and localization of ultraviolet-, blue-, and green-sensitive rhodopsin-encoding mRNAs in the retina of Vanessa cardui

Surveys of spectral sensitivities, visual pigment spectra, and opsin gene sequences have indicated that all butterfly eyes contain ultraviolet-, blue-, and green-sensitive rhodopsins. Some species also contain a fourth or fifth type, related in amino acid sequence to green-sensitive insect rhodopsins, but red shifted in absorbance. By combining electron microscopy, epi-microspectrophotometry, and polymerase chain reaction cloning, we found that the compound eye of Vanessa cardui has the typical ultrastructural features of the butterfly retina but contains only the three common insect rhodopsins. We estimated lambda-max values and relative densities of the rhodopsins in the Vanessa retina (0.72, P530; 0.12, P470; and 0.15, P360) from microspectrophotometric measurements and calculations based on a computational model of reflectance spectra. We isolated three opsin-encoding cDNA fragments that were identified with P530, P470, and P360 by homology to the well-characterized insect rhodopsin families. The retinal mosaic was mapped by opsin mRNA in situ hybridization and found to contain three kinds of ommatidia with respect to their patterns of short wavelength rhodopsin expression. In some ommatidia, P360 or P470 was expressed in R1 and R2 opposed receptor cells; in others, one cell expressed P360, whereas its complement expressed P470. P530 was expressed in the other seven cells of all ommatidia. P470-expressing cells were abundant in the ventral retina but nearly absent dorsally. Our results indicated that there are major differences between the color vision systems of nymphalid and papilionid butterflies: the nymphalid Vanessa has a simpler, trichromatic, system than do the tetrachromatic papilionids that have been studied.
Group histories and offspring sex ratios in ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

Birth sex ratios were examined for ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Duke University Primate Center. This population provides a long-term database of births under a variety of demographic and management conditions, including two semi-freeranging groups between which males transfer freely and females defend stable territorial boundaries. We examined three hypotheses usually considered in studies of primate sex ratio bias. The Trivers-Willard hypothesis predicts that dominant females produce males, local resource competition at the population level (LRC-population) predicts that the dispersing sex (males) will be overproduced in dense populations, and local resource competition among individuals (LRC-individual) predicts that dominant females overproduce the philopatric sex (females). We also examined a fourth hypothesis, local resource enhancement (LRE), which is usually subsumed under LRC-individual in studies of primate sex ratio evolution. LRE predicts that under certain conditions, females will produce the sex that provides later cooperative benefits, such as alliance support for within- or between-group competition. Our data provide support for LRE: females overproduce daughters given prospects of new group formation, either through group fission or threatened expulsion of young mothers. Behavioral data from Duke and also wild populations show that daughters serve mothers as important allies in this context and LRE effects also have been documented in other mammals that experience similar group histories. Nonsignificant trends in the data supported the LRC-population hypothesis, and we suggest that LRC interacts with LRE to explain offspring sex ratios in ringtailed lemurs.
The accelerated integer GCD algorithm

Since the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two integers is a basic arithmetic operation used in many mathematical software systems, new algorithms for its computation are of widespread interest. The accelerated integer GCD algorithm discussed here is based on a reduction step proposed by Sorenson (k-ary reduction), coupled with the dmod operation similar to Norton's smod. Some practical limitations of Sorenson's reduction have been eliminated. Worst-case complexity is still O(n2) for n-bit input, but actual implementations given input about 4096 bits long perform over 5.5 times as fast as the binary GCD on one computer architecture having a multiply instruction. Independent research by Jebelean points to the same conclusions.
Competitive Fitness of Influenza B Viruses with Neuraminidase Inhibitor-Resistant Substitutions in a Coinfection Model of the Human Airway Epithelium

ABSTRACT Influenza A and B viruses are human pathogens that are regarded to cause almost equally significant disease burdens. Neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors (NAIs) are the only class of drugs available to treat influenza A and B virus infections, so the development of NAI-resistant viruses with superior fitness is a public health concern. The fitness of NAI-resistant influenza B viruses has not been widely studied. Here we examined the replicative capacity and relative fitness in normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells of recombinant influenza B/Yamanashi/166/1998 viruses containing a single amino acid substitution in NA generated by reverse genetics (rg) that is associated with NAI resistance. The replication in NHBE cells of viruses with reduced inhibition by oseltamivir (recombinant virus with the E119A mutation generated by reverse genetics [rg-E119A], rg-D198E, rg-I222T, rg-H274Y, rg-N294S, and rg-R371K, N2 numbering) or zanamivir (rg-E119A and rg-R371K) failed to be inhibited by the presence of the respective NAI. In a fluorescence-based assay, detection of rg-E119A was easily masked by the presence of NAI-susceptible virus. We coinfected NHBE cells with NAI-susceptible and -resistant viruses and used next-generation deep sequencing to reveal the order of relative fitness compared to that of recombinant wild-type (WT) virus generated by reverse genetics (rg-WT): rg-H274Y > rg-WT > rg-I222T > rg-N294S > rg-D198E > rg-E119A ≫ rg-R371K. Based on the lack of attenuated replication of rg-E119A in NHBE cells in the presence of oseltamivir or zanamivir and the fitness advantage of rg-H274Y over rg-WT, we emphasize the importance of these substitutions in the NA glycoprotein. Human infections with influenza B viruses carrying the E119A or H274Y substitution could limit the therapeutic options for those infected; the emergence of such viruses should be closely monitored. IMPORTANCE Influenza B viruses are important human respiratory pathogens contributing to a significant portion of seasonal influenza virus infections worldwide. The development of resistance to a single class of available antivirals, the neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors (NAIs), is a public health concern. Amino acid substitutions in the NA glycoprotein of influenza B virus not only can confer antiviral resistance but also can alter viral fitness. Here we used normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells, a model of the human upper respiratory tract, to examine the replicative capacities and fitness of NAI-resistant influenza B viruses. We show that virus with an E119A NA substitution can replicate efficiently in NHBE cells in the presence of oseltamivir or zanamivir and that virus with the H274Y NA substitution has a relative fitness greater than that of the wild-type NAI-susceptible virus. This study is the first to use NHBE cells to determine the fitness of NAI-resistant influenza B viruses.
Teaching About Organized Religion in Social Work: Lessons and Challenges

Abstract Schools of social work commonly teach that the origin of the profession lies in the humanistic principles of the many world faith traditions. However, beginning as early as the days of the Charity Organization Societies (COS) in the late nineteenth century and the Social Security Act of 1935, social work education, research, and practice have increasingly disassociated themselves from religion and its contribution to the profession. Furthermore, a large number of social workers, regardless of their personal religious affiliations, were trained to think that their religion has no relevance for their everyday professional practice. Meanwhile, society, especially in the last two decades, is marching toward greater integration between social services and organized religion. The rift between religion and professional social work practice, extenuated in the past fifty years, is being challenged by devolutionary trends of government funding and social service delivery that encourage faith-based social s...
A CHILD-ORIENTED APPROACH TO TOILET TRAINING

Results of toilet training obtained from the records of 1,170 children in pediatric practice over a 10-year period are summarized. The suggested method stressed the child9s interest and compliance in developing autonomous control. This was instituted at about 2 years of age and depended on his physiologic and psychologic readiness. Initial success was achieved simultaneously in both bowel and urinary control in 79.5% of the cases, 12.3% in bowel control alone, and 8.2% in urinary control. This first accomplishment was reached at an average age of 27.7 months. Daytime training was completed between 2 and 2½ years of age in 80.7% of this group. The average age for day training was 28.5 months; males and females showed no significant difference; first children were 1.2 months slower than their siblings. Night training was accomplished by 3 years in 80.3% of cases. The average age for completion of all training was 33.3 months. Males took 2.46 months longer for complete training. First children were delayed 1.7 months in complete training in relation to their siblings. Of the children who had chronic difficulties in this area, 76 (6.5%) were untrained at 4 years, and 16 (1.4%) were failures by the age of 5 years. The value of such a child-oriented program in preventing residual symptoms is stressed.
Membership function generator circuit for a fuzzy logic controller

A CMOS integrated circuit implementation of a membership function for a fuzzy controller is presented in this paper. The design is based on analog circuits. This circuit accepts analog inputs in real time, invokes a triangular membership function and produces an analog output appropriate to the degree of membership of the input. The analog design results in a circuit which is very efficient in terms of transistor count and chip area. Each rule for error or change of error can be programmed individually in the rule generator. The slope of the membership function and the value of the peak voltage can be altered. The membership function circuit can utilize fuzzy linguistic information in the form of NL (negative large), NM (negative medium), NS (negative small), ZR (zero), PS (positive small), PM (positive medium), PL (positive large). >
Sweet entanglements – protein:glycan interactions in two HIV-inactivating lectin families

Structures and sugar binding by members of two lectin families, Cyanovirin-N homolog (CVNH) and Oscillatoria Agardhii agglutinin homolog (OAAH), were determined to elucidate the basis for recognition of high-mannose glycans on the HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120. We solved NMR solution and/or crystal structures for several lectins and delineated their carbohydrate specificity by array screening and direct NMR titrations. Both families recognize different epitopes on high-mannose glycans, namely, Manα(1-2)Man units at the end of the D1 and D3 arms and α3,α6-mannopentaose at the central branch point of Man-8 or Man-9 for CVNH and OAAH lectins, respectively. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 99: 196–202, 2013.
Moving furniture with teams of autonomous robots

The authors wish to organize furniture in a room with a team of robots that can push objects. The authors show how coordinated pushing by robots can change the pose (position and orientation) of objects and then they ask whether planning, global control, and explicit communication are necessary for cooperatively changing the pose of objects. The authors answer in the negative and present, as witnesses, four cooperative manipulation protocols that use different amounts of state, sensing, and communication. The authors analyze these protocols in the information invariant framework. The authors formalize the notion of resource tradeoffs for robot protocols and give the tradeoffs for the specific protocols discussed here.
Acoustic cavity transducers for the manipulation of cells and biomolecules

A novel fluidic actuator that is simple to fabricate, integrate, and operate is demonstrated for use within microfluidic systems. The actuator is designed around the use of trapped air bubbles in lateral cavities and the resultant acoustic streaming generated from an outside acoustic energy source. The orientation of the lateral cavities to the main microchannel is used to control the bulk fluid motion within the device. The first order flow generated by the oscillating bubble is used to develop a pumping platform that is capable of driving fluid within a chip. This pump is integrated into a recirculation immunoassay device for enhanced biomolecule binding through fluid flow for convection limited transport. The recirculation system showed an increase in binding site concentration when compared with traditional passive and flow-through methods. The acoustic cavity transducer has also been demonstrated for application in particle switching. Bursts of acoustic energy are used to generate a second order streaming pattern near the cavity interface to drive particles away or towards the cavity. The use of this switching mechanism is being extended to the application of sorting cells and other particles within a microfluidic system.
Soil amplification with a strong impedance contrast: Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract In this study, we evaluate the effect of strong sediment/bedrock impedance contrasts on soil amplification in Boston, Massachusetts, for typical sites along the Charles and Mystic Rivers. These sites can be characterized by artificial fill overlying marine sediments overlying glacial till and bedrock, where the depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 80 m. The marine sediments generally consist of organic silts, sand, and Boston Blue Clay. We chose these sites because they represent typical foundation conditions in the City of Boston, and the soil conditions are similar to other high impedance contrast environments. The sediment/bedrock interface in this region results in an impedance ratio on the order of ten, which in turn results in a significant amplification of the ground motion. Using stratigraphic information derived from numerous boreholes across the region paired with geologic and geomorphologic constraints, we develop a depth-to-bedrock model for the greater Boston region. Using shear-wave velocity profiles from 30 locations, we develop average velocity profiles for sites mapped as artificial fill, glaciofluvial deposits, and bedrock. By pairing the depth-to-bedrock model with the surficial geology and the average shear-wave velocity profiles, we can predict soil amplification in Boston. We compare linear and equivalent-linear site response predictions for a soil layer of varying thickness over bedrock, and assess the effects of varying the bedrock shear-wave velocity (VSb) and quality factor (Q). In a moderate seismicity region like Boston, many earthquakes will result in ground motions that can be modeled with linear site response methods. We also assess the effect of bedrock depth on soil amplification for a generic soil profile in artificial fill, using both linear and equivalent-linear site response models. Finally, we assess the accuracy of the model results by comparing the predicted (linear site response) and observed site response at the Northeastern University (NEU) vertical seismometer array during the 2011 M 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake. Site response at the NEU vertical array results in amplification on the order of 10 times at a period between 0.7–0.8 s. The results from this study provide evidence that the mean short-period and mean intermediate-period amplification used in design codes (i.e., from the Fa and Fv site coefficients) may underpredict soil amplification in strong impedance contrast environments such as Boston.
The histopathology of lesions in the bone marrow of patients having active brucellosis.

1. Aspirated sternal bone marrow was studied in 9 patients with active brucellosis. Eight of the 9 patients had a demonstrable bacteremia due to Br. abortus. 2. Particles of marrow in 4 of the 9 patients revealed the presence of granulomatous lesions. In 1 case, the presence of a relatively large lesion permitted the study of the lesion in detail by means of serial sections. The alterations in the cellular pattern of the marrow and of the peripheral blood of the 9 patients were described. 3. The histopathology of the marrow in active brucellosis has been compared with the alterations in the other organs and tissues as reported in the literature. Comparisons have also been made between the granulomatous lesions in the marrow of brucellosis and those found in tuberculosis and sarcoidosis. 4. Aspirated sternal marrow for cultural and histological purposes merits further consideration as a diagnostic aid in active brucellosis.
Biogeochemistry of Ethanol and Acetaldehyde in Freshwater Sediments

This study reports the first ethanol and acetaldehyde measurements in sediment porewaters collected at multiple freshwater locations. Ethanol concentrations ranged from 11 to 2535 nM and acetaldehyde concentrations ranged from 6 to 320 nM. A significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) was observed between ethanol concentrations and the percent organic carbon content of sediments (TOC). Porewater depth profiles at two sites within the same lake indicated potential diffusion of ethanol into sediments from the overlying water at a lower TOC site and upwards diffusion from sediment into the water column at a higher TOC site. Diffusion of water column ethanol into sediments was observed at individual sites from October to January, whereas the opposite was true from June to August indicating the seasonal variability of ethanol flux from sediments. Changes in ethanol concentrations during a long-term sediment incubation experiment showed an inverse relation with acetaldehyde concentrations. The lack of a quantitative conversion was likely due to other sources and sinks that control their abundance. Our study provided new information on the biogeochemistry of ethanol in freshwater sediments and shed light on the potential role of ethanol in the global carbon cycle.
Cell Cycle Kinetics of Epidermal Cells in Developing Artemia: in Situ Analysis

ABSTRACT DNA content and BrdUrd incorporation were compared to the area of the nucleus of epidermal cells of larval Artemia to test the suitability of nuclear area as a criterion for distinguishing the cell cycle phases in developing tissues in situ. Nuclei in cells in G1 increased in area without increase in DNA content. During the transition from G1 through S to G2, the nuclear area increased as the DNA content doubled. The nuclear area of S phase cells which had incorporated BrdUrd was also determined by measuring the quenched fluorescence of bisbenzimide or immunochemically with a monoclonal antibody to BrdUrd. With both methods, the transition from G1 to S phase could be predicted from the area of the nucleus. Initiation of G2 phase was not clearly defined by nuclear area and there was overlap of the nuclear area of cells in late S, G2, and early prophase. The cell cycle phase profiles of cells in the anteroventral, posteroventral, and dorsal regions of the developing thorax during the first 2 instars were determined using nuclear area. Each region demonstrated different cell cycle kinetics with the greatest amount of proliferation occurring in the region of the developing limb buds in the first segment. The posterior region of the ventral and dorsal surfaces contained cells that demonstrated slower cell cycle transit times as well as cells in G2 that did not proliferate.
Bollworm: Peanut Foliage Consumption and Larval Development

Peanut foliage consumption by bollworm larvae, Heliothis zea (Boddie), increased from 176.1 to 195.1 cm2 and larval developmental time decreased from 35.3 to 30.2 days at 26° and 30°C, respectively. Pupal weights also increased with temperature. Larval instars ranged from 5 to 9 with no apparent change due to temperature. The penultimate and ultimate larval instars collectively consumed 73–97% of the total foliage consumed. The ultimate instar had the highest consumption rates ranging from 9.20–30.57 cm2/day at 26°C to 13.52–20.22 cm2/day at 30°C. Larval mortality was 73.4% at 26°C to 66.3% at 30°C. Mortality rates for specific larval age intervals increased for the latter instars.
Abstract 805: mTORC protein levels affect class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and antibody production

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulates cell growth, cell cycle, and survival through two main complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. In our previous studies, striking decreases in both size and number of B cells were seen in mice with constitutive reductions in protein levels of both mTOR complexes. In addition, there were alterations in B cell differentiation with partial blocks in B cell development in the bone marrow. In our current studies, we have focused on their defect in antibody production. When challenged with either NP-CGG (T-dependent antigen) or NP-LPS (T-independent antigens), reduced IgG antibody titers to NP antigens were seen in mice with constitutive reductions in mTOR protein levels, despite equivalent levels of total antibody production; high affinity antibody production was also less. The numbers of germinal centers were reduced in the spleens of the mTORC1/2-compromised mice compared to their wild-type littermates. Fewer B cells from the mTORC1/2-compromised mice were able to undergo class switching from IgM to IgG. In addition, germinal center B cells from these mice exhibited reductions in somatic hypermutation rates of their immunoglobulin loci. Studies are currently underway to evaluate the ability of these mice to respond to an in vivo challenge of live bacteria. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 805. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-805
Dynamic Spectrum Co-Access

We present another spectrum sharing architecture called dynamic spectrum co-access (DSCA), to enable secondary users to simultaneously access spectrum with primary users, to create a win-win situation for both. In this architecture, the secondary user uses a portion of its transmit power to provide incentives to primary users. Different from the IC-DSA architecture introduced in the last chapter, in the DSCA architecture, the secondary user communication is transparent to the primary user.
An Ultimate Trade-Off in Propositional Proof Complexity.

We exhibit an unusually strong trade-off between resolution proof width and tree-like proof size. Namely, we show that for any parameter k = k(n) there are unsatisfiable k-CNFs that possess refutations of width O(k), but such that any tree-like refutation of width n1− /k must necessarily have double exponential size exp(nΩ(k)). Conceptually, this means that there exist contradictions that allow narrow refutations, but in order to keep the size of such a refutation even within a single exponent, it must necessarily use a high degree of parallelism. Viewed differently, every tree-like narrow refutation is exponentially worse not only than wide refutations of the same contradiction, but of any other contradiction with the same number of variables. This seems to significantly deviate from the established pattern of most, if not all, trade-off results in complexity theory. Our construction and proof methods combine, in a non-trivial way, two previously known techniques: the hardness escalation method based on substitution formulas and expansion. This combination results in a hardness compression approach that strives to preserve hardness of a contradiction while significantly decreasing the number of its variables. ∗University of Chicago, razborov@math.uchicago.edu; part of this work was done at Steklov Mathematical Institute, Moscow, and at Toyota Technological Institute, Chicago. Supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant # 14-50-00005.
WAN capacity forecasting for large enterprises

Large enterprises require reliable and scalable network connectivity which relies heavily on correct network design for LAN and ample bandwidth on WAN. The latter is mostly affected by external market-defined prices, which, absent careful optimization and estimation, can result in unnecessary business expenses. This paper presents a framework for network capacity forecast of a large enterprise to enable accurate and reliable prediction of WAN requirements for all enterprise offices. Quarterly forecasts are generated for individual offices in an enterprise network using historical bandwidth utilization for each office and their associated usage headcount. This framework is currently used to inform WAN circuit upgrade/downgrade decisions for more than 70 offices, and more than 200 associated circuits. The framework uses statistical regression models to create 6, 12, and 24 months forecast for each office, and rigorously evaluates the forecast accuracy with real data going back to 2014Q1. This office-centric approach makes the framework applicable to any corporate network or any large/distributed network-dependent organization.
Propane Clathrate Hydrate Formation Accelerated by Xenon

Experiments are reported that show propane is incorporated into clathrate hydrate cages much more rapidly using propane-xenon mixtures than for pure propane gas. Uptake rates for pure propane type II clathrate hydrate, pure xenon type I clathrate hydrate, and propane and xenon binary type II clathrate were studied for several different synthesis procedures. Upon adding a 0.92 xenon:propane ratio gas mixture to ice particles, the time required for achieving 62% of the theoretical yield of propane enclathration is 20 min, versus 3 days for pure propane. Although the acceleration of clathrate formation decreases as xenon is depleted, enhancement continues even after the composition falls below 3% Xe. It appears that xenon serves to nucleate the dodecahedral 5 12 cages while propane nucleates the larger 5 12 6 4 cages. The type II xenon-propane structure is not only more thermodynamically stable than either pure hydrate; it is also formed much more quickly than propane clathrate, nearly as fast as type I xenon clathrate.
Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Is a Thymus (T cell) Dependent Disorder.

Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a drug-dependent immune disorder caused by autoantibodies to Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) and heparin. The immune basis of HIT is poorly understood. Recent studies describing transient antibody responses and absence of immunologic memory in HIT suggest that PF4/heparin autoantibodies may develop independently of T cell help. To investigate the cellular basis of the HIT immune response, we have developed a murine autoimmune model in which anti-murine PF4/heparin (anti-mP+H) arise de novo . Cohorts of BALB/c mice were immunized daily either intravenously (IV, n=10) or intraperitoneally (IP, n=10) for five days with complexes of murine (m) PF4/heparin (IV, n=5 or IP, n=5), heparin alone (IV, n= 2) or buffer (IV, n=3 or IP, n=5). Mice were screened for anti-mP+H for four weeks after immunization using a murine PF4/heparin ELISA. Peak antibody responses to antigen were seen at 11–15 days in 2/5 mice injected with IV mP+H (Day 11, mouse IV P+H #0 peak A450nm =0.34±0.01; Day15 mouse IV P+H #2 peak A450nm =0.69±0.01), and at days 22–25 in 2/5 mice injected by IP route (Day 22, mouse IP P+H #0 peak A450nm =0.37±0.01; Day 25 mouse IP P+H #2 peak A450nm =0.78±0.02). Anti-mP+H were not detected in mice injected with heparin alone or buffer alone at any time point (peak maximum IV A450nm= 0.1±0.001, Control #2; mouse IP P+H Control #2 A450nm =0.04±0.002). Serologically, murine autoantibodies were similar to anti-human (h) PF4/heparin. Anti-mP+H reactivity was specific for murine antigen (mouse IV P+H #2 A450nm=0.65±0.06), and was reduced with antigen in the presence of excess heparin (A450nm=0.38±0.01). Minimal reactivity was seen with wells coated with hP+H (A450nm=0.09±0.005), albumin (mouse IV P+H #2 A450nm=0.15±0.03), or PBS alone (mouse IV P+H #2 A450nm =0.16±0.01). Similar to human HIT antibodies, anti-mP+H were of IgG1 subclass. To determine if T cells are required for development of anti-mP+H, mice lacking T cell function (BIG:BALB/c-Nu, n=10) were injected IV with mP+H daily for five days. Unlike euthymic mice, nude mice did not manifest any antibody responses to IV injections of mP+H. In summary, we have developed a novel murine autoimmune model of anti-PF4/heparin that recapitulates many salient features of the human immune syndrome. Using this murine model, we demonstrate that T cells are essential for development PF4/heparin autoantibodies. Studies are currently underway to delineate mechanisms of T cell regulation and peripheral tolerance in HIT.
A Computational Framework to Accurately Predict Enthalpy and Configurational Entropy Landscapes of Multivalent Interactions of Cell Mimetics

We present a multiscale modeling framework to predict the adhesion of a model particles from nano-to-micron scales of different shapes and compliances that mimic functionalized nanoparticles to biological cells by virtue of being decorated with receptors/antibodies in their surface. The model derives cell surface receptor interactions with functionalized peptides using atomistic simulations. These interaction potentials are then fit to predefined functions which are used to characterize the interaction between the particle/cells with substrates and to measure the free energy of adhesion/binding constants. Further, in this framework we also account for variations in the receptor ligand interactions due to the inherent compliance in the bilayer membranes on which the receptors are tethered. These calculations are performed using a standalone framework for estimating effect of membrane shape/curvature on the flexibility of the receptors. This membrane-compliance effect shows that decrease in membrane area results in increased receptor rigidity which ends up limiting the overall adhesion of the receptors to the functionalized surfaces or in other words much weaker dissociation constants (i.e. mM as opposed to microM). In this work we show a computational tool where we couple chemistry of peptide, membrane fluctuations and cellular sizes to estimate the overall binding affinities of these model cells to functionalized surfaces. We also showcase the power of this framework in simulating realistic heterogeneity in cell surface receptors by demonstrating effect of a combination of weak and strong receptors in modulating the overall binding affinity of the cell. The model as it stands can be a tool for development of functionalized surfaces aimed at cell based assays and or cell based therapies.
Change across the lifespan in a psychological measure of life history strategy

Abstract Life history theory predicts that people calibrate their reproductive strategies to local levels of environmental harshness and unpredictability. While previous research has established the importance of early life cues in the development of life history strategy, the degree to which life history strategy exhibits plasticity later in life is unclear. Using longitudinal data (total N =479) from four archival studies and a recently validated psychological measure of life history strategy, we examined mean-level trends in life history strategy at the level of psychological phenotype between the ages of 7 and 60 and found that life history strategy slowed down linearly as a function of age. Highlighting the importance of sexual selection in shaping life history strategy, we also found that men had a faster life history strategy than women at all ages and that the magnitude of this difference was constant across the lifespan. Our findings suggest that life history strategy development continues even in older adulthood. We discuss the possibility that this occurs in response to the accumulation of biological and social (e.g. offspring, relationships) capital and information about local risks and incentives.
Diverted Dreams, Cruel Hoaxes, and Institutional Ineffectiveness: The Community College “Failure” Narrative

As a consequence of a profound misunderstanding related to graduation rates at open admissions institutions, a “failure” narrative has developed about community colleges that has been remarkably long-lived and persistent. This chapter examines the history of this popular “failure” narrative and seeks to challenge our long-standing reliance on deficit-model thinking applied to community colleges and the students who attend them.
Daily Total Physical Activity and Incident Stroke: The Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study

Background and Purpose—There is limited evidence on the association between total physical activity and stroke in Asian populations experiencing a greater burden of hemorrhagic stroke than Western ...
Understanding Patient Preference in Female Pelvic Imaging: Transvaginal Ultrasound and MRI.

Rationale and Objectives Women with pelvic pain or abnormal uterine bleeding may undergo diagnostic imaging. This study evaluates patient experience in transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and explores correlations between preference and symptom severity. Materials and Methods Institutional review board approval was obtained for this Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant prospective study. Fifty premenopausal women with pelvic symptoms evaluated by recent TVUS and MRI and without history of gynecologic cancer or hysterectomy were included. A phone questionnaire used validated survey instruments including Uterine Fibroid Symptoms Quality of Life index, Testing Morbidities Index, and Wait Trade Off for TVUS and MRI examinations. Results Using Wait Trade Off, patients preferred TVUS over MRI (3.58 vs 2.80 weeks, 95% confidence interval [CI] −1.63, 0.12; P = .08). Summary test utility of Testing Morbidities Index for MRI was worse than for TVUS (81.64 vs 87.42, 95%CI 0.41, 11.15; P = .03). Patients reported greater embarrassment during TVUS than during MRI (P Conclusion Women with pelvic symptoms had a slight but significant preference for TVUS over MRI. Identifying specific distressing aspects of each test and patient factors contributing to negative perceptions can direct improvement in both test environment and patient preparation. Improved patient experience may increase imaging value.
Gardening Experience Is Associated with Increased Fruit and Vegetable Intake among First-Year College Students: A Cross-Sectional Examination.

Abstract Background Gardening interventions have been shown to increase fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake among school-aged children. It is unknown whether these effects persist into later adolescence or adulthood, and little is known about whether gardening in later adolescence is related to F/V intake. Objective To identify the relationship between both childhood and recent (within the past 12 months) gardening experiences and current F/V intake among college students. Design/participants A cross-sectional evaluation of 1,121 college freshmen with suboptimal F/V consumption from eight US universities. Main outcome measures Participants completed the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable Screener and questions about gardening experiences. Respondents were grouped as having gardened or not gardened during childhood and recently. Statistical analyses performed A linear mixed model was used to evaluate the relationship between childhood and recent gardening and current F/V intake. Results Of the student participants, 11% reported gardening only during childhood, 19% reported gardening only recently, 20% reported gardening both as a child and recently, and 49% of students reported never having gardened. Students who gardened both during childhood and recently had a significantly higher mean current intake of F/V compared with students who never gardened (2.5±0.6 vs 1.9±0.5 cup equivalents [CE], respectively; P P Conclusions This analysis suggests that the combination of childhood and recent gardening experience is associated with greater current F/V intake among first-year college students not currently meeting national F/V recommendations. In addition, a greater frequency of gardening experience may further enhance this effect.
Critical Curriculum Studies: Education, Consciousness, and the Politics of Knowing

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2012! Critical Curriculum Studies offers a novel framework for thinking about how curriculum relates to students’ understanding of the world around them. Wayne Au brings together curriculum theory, critical educational studies, and feminist standpoint theory with practical examples of teaching for social justice to argue for a transformative curriculum that challenges existing inequity in social, educational, and economic relations. Making use of the work of important scholars such as Freire, Vygotsky, Hartsock, Harding, and others, Critical Curriculum Studies, argues that we must understand the relationship between the curriculum and the types of consciousness we carry out into the world.
Aperiodic x-ray multilayer interference coatings with high reflectance and large field of view

Aperiodic multilayer interference coatings are of particular interest for a variety of hard x-ray applications, including target diagnostics, astrophysics, high energy physics and free-electron lasers. Such applications require large field of view along with the highest achievable photon efficiency for their optical components, pushing reflective multilayer coatings to their limits. This work investigates the design, experimental performance, modeling and optimization of high-reflectance aperiodic multilayers. Multilayer design starts with the implementation of an analytical method developed in the literature, which calculates the most efficient coating, featuring the highest achievable reflectivity with the least number of layers. A numerical optimization step is added for smoothing of high-frequency "ripples" or to comply with any specific requirement in terms of spectral or angular response. The design process also includes material-dependent specificities (e.g. typical roughness, interlayer formation) which are often crucial for accurate prediction of actual coating performance. We applied this method to develop novel high-reflectance broadband multilayers at 17.4 keV (Mo Kα emission line), working at angles of grazing incidence up to 0.6 degrees. The design methods employed in this work are presented, as well as the results obtained for a few multilayer systems, including Mo/Si, W/Si and W/SiC.
Specification of Potential Indications and Contraindications of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer

The promising results of various studies applying different methods of SN biopsy in heterogeneous patient subpopulations, show that sentinel lymph node biopsy is a reliable and minimally invasive method for the determination of the nodal status in breast cancer patients. While multicenter studies for the evaluation of the method’s accuracy are still ongoing, future indications and contraindications are discussed. Based on our own experience, we try to give an actual overview of the potentials and problems of sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer.
Intelligent Information Sharing Among IoT Devices: Models, Strategies, and Language

Various smart objects are connected in the invisible and intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) network to share information. However, considering the heterogeneity of Internet of Things devices, connecting devices with differences in capabilities-processing, storage, energy, and communication bandwidth- and programming methods-language, compiler, and tools-can burden developers with the complexities caused by interoperability. This paper proposes a solution to address this interoperability issue when sharing information among IoT devices. We model information sharing as the communication between a sender and a receiver with constraints from application requirements. We explore tradeoffs from constraints to propose three strategies to hide technical details of various data representations to meet their application needs. We propose the Chitchat Information Sharing Language (CISL) for developing IoT applications so that IoT developers can focus solely on their applications by delegating the control of information sharing details to the features that the CISL language provides.
Non-metallic behavior of cesium on GaAs(110)

Abstract The Cs/GaAs(110) interface provides a model system for investigations into the initial stages of metallization of a semiconductor surface. We have examined the valence states of both clean GaAs(110) and Cs/GaAs(110) by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. For Cs exposures at room temperature, the Cs coverage does not exceed one monolayer and the resulting interface is non-metallic. The Cs coverage can be increased by cooling the substrate to ∼ 190 K, whereupon the second Cs layer is metallic.
Development of the Concept of Spoce

The blind child's concept of space and how this concept develops has been relatively little explored. Using the cognitive theory of Jean Piaget as a base, an overview of the conceptual development ...
Abstract 641: Oral contraceptive use and risk of highly fatal ovarian cancer: Evidence from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium

Objectives: While oral contraceptives (OC) use is associated with lower risk of ovarian cancer compared to non-users, its role in the etiology of aggressive and highly fatal disease has not been determined. Thus, we utilized data from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) to evaluate the association between pre-diagnostic OC use and highly fatal ovarian cancer. Methods: Data were pooled from 20 case-control studies participating in OCAC to examine the association between oral contraceptive use and risk of highly fatal ovarian cancer; defined as dying within 12 or 18-months of diagnosis. Controls were frequency matched to cases (4:1) on five-year age categories, race, and study site. The study samples included 579 patients who died within 12 months of their diagnosis, matched to 2279 controls as well as 1294 patients who died within 18-months, matched to 5095 controls. Analyses were performed using unconditional logistic regression, and separate models were run for any use of OC and duration of OC use per five year increase. Race, education, prior hysterectomy or tubal ligation, parity, age at menarche, menopausal status, and smoking status were assessed as potential confounders of the association. Results: After adjusting for age, site, and parity, any OC use was associated with a 46% reduction in the odds of death within 12-months after adjusting for age, site, and parity (OR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.43-0.68). There was also a significant trend of decreased odds with increased duration of OC use. Among those who used OC for over 10 years, a 66% reduction in the odds of death within 12-months was observed (OR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.23-0.49) while there was no significant benefit from use of OC for 1 year or less (OR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.60-1.14). Similar trends were observed among those who died within 18-months, although OC use appeared to be more protective among highly fatal cases. Use of OC was most protective for endometrioid subtypes among both those who died within 12-months (OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.20-0.93) and 18-months (OR=0.39, 95% CI: 0.23-0.65). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first large, multi-center study to investigate the association between OC use and risk of highly fatal ovarian cancer. These results are in line with current evidence that has demonstrated a substantial decrease in risk of ovarian cancer with OC use for five or more years. Future research should aim at understanding the mechanisms behind this association and identifying specific subpopulations that may benefit most from this chemopreventive strategy. Citation Format: Jennifer M. Mongiovi, Janine M. Joseph, Albina N. Minlikeeva, Ahmad AlSulimani, Hani Almohanna, Kirsten B. Moysich. Oral contraceptive use and risk of highly fatal ovarian cancer: Evidence from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 641.
High throughput screening of cancer cells using holographic cytometry (Conference Presentation)

In order to advance quantitative phase microscopy as a significant clinical tool, we have implemented a new modality, holographic cytometry, which provides high resolution phase maps at high frame rates using several novel advances such as high speed line scan cameras integrated with microfluidic and illuminated with pulsed light source. The system is used to examine carcinogenic changes in epithelial cells which have been exposed to heavy metals in population sizes that are diagnostically relevant.
Prospects for high carrier mobility in the cubic germanates

High-mobility wide-band-gap oxides are essential materials for device applications in high-frequency and power electronics. We use first-principles calculations to evaluate the potential of two cubic perovskite germanates, SrGeO3 and BaGeO3, for these applications. We find their effective masses to be small, both for electrons and holes. The prospect of p-type conductivity renders the germanates attractive for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. We calculate the electron drift mobility in SrGeO3 to lie between 400 and 500 cm2V-1s-1 for a range of accessible carrier concentrations; this mobility is as much as 50% larger than in BaSnO3, which has the highest room-temperature electron mobility among perovskite oxides. Our results suggest that the germanates hold promise for high-mobility electronic applications.
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is strongly associated with higher prevalence of aortic valve disease.

Aortic valve disease (AVD) has similarities to atherosclerosis in the case of aortic stenosis. The important role of platelet in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is known. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether platelet disorders play any role in aortic valve disease. We used patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) for this study. We evaluated any association between ITP and AVD using a large inpatient database. The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, and Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes for ITP and AVD from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database were used for this study. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed on data from 2002 to 2011 to evaluate any association between ITP and AVD. In the 2002 database, AVD was present in 1.73% of ITP patients versus 1.12% in the control population (odds ratio [OR], 1.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34–1.81; p < 0.001). In the 2011 database, AVD was present in 1.96% of ITP patients versus 1.33% in the control population (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.30–1.68; p < 0.001). ITP remained independently associated with AVD following a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, gender, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in 2002 (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.16–1.57; p < 0.001) with a trend of this association in 2011 (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.98–1.27; p = 0.096). ITP was strongly associated with AVD over the 10-year period analyzed in a large inpatient database. The reason for this association is not known warranting further investigations.