cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prognostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with aortic regurgitation

Evaluation of: Myerson SG, d’Arcy J, Mohiaddin R et al. Aortic regurgitation quantification using cardiovascular magnetic resonance: association with clinical outcome. Circulation 126(12), 1452–1460 (2012). Guidelines on valve replacement recommend aortic valve replacement for patients with severe aortic regurgitation (AR) with symptoms or left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. However, the optimal timing of surgery for asymptomatic AR patients without LV dilation or dysfunction is not known. There are data to suggest that excess volume load imposed by AR may not only produce subclinical LV dysfunction, but produce neurohormonal activation similar to the heart failure syndrome resulting in reduced survival. The study by Myerson et al. is the first to investigate the predictive ability of cardiac MRI (CMR) for the outcome of asymptomatic patients with AR. They studied 113 asymptomatic patients with moderate-to-severe AR on echocardiography in four centers. A total of 39 (35%) patients developed symptoms or an ...
On Monitoring the top-k Unsafe Places

In a city, protecting units like police cars move around and protect places such as banks and residential buildings. Different places may have different requirements in how many protecting units should be nearby. If any place has less protecting units around than it requires, it is an unsafe place. This paper studies the Continuous Top-k Unsafe Places (CTUP) query, which continuously monitors the k least safe places while the protecting units keep sending their location updates to the server. The CTUP query is a novel addition to the family of continuous location-based queries, an emerging area due to the recent advances in dynamic location-aware environments. Solutions to existing continuous location-based queries and to the traditional top-k queries do not apply. This paper proposes two solutions to this new query, the BasicCTUP scheme and the OptCTUP scheme. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the proposed solutions.
Abstract 5220: Reciprocal regulation of MYC and LKB1 modulates cell survival and differentiation in lung cancer

MYC and LKB1 are important regulators of cell survival and differentiation. Although recent studies have been shown oncogenic cooperation between MYC and LKB1 loss, their relationship is unclear. In this study, we report a reciprocal regulation between MYC and LKB1 which modulates cell survival and differentiation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We found that MYC regulates LKB1 expression via miR-17. Specifically, luciferase activity was reduced in cells transfected with miR-17, LKB1 3′ UTR constructs compared with scrambled control. Mutation of miR-17 interaction sites rescued the luciferase activity, thus confirming that miR-17 directly interacts with the LKB1 3´ UTRs. In agreement with our reporter gene assay results, enforced overexpression of miR-17 decreased the expression of LKB1 mRNA and protein levels compared with scrambled control. Conversely, miR-17 inhibition promoted upregulation of LKB1 expression in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, miR-17 expression was inversely correlated with LKB1 expression in 532 patients with NSCLC from The Cancer Genome Atlas data (TCGA). MYC and miR-17 overexpression promoted mTOR pathway activation, increased cell proliferation and colony formation in NSCLC cells. In line with these findings, similar results were obtained when we knockdown LKB1 expression, suggesting that MYC promotes mTOR pathway and cell survival, at least in part, via LKB1 regulation. Reciprocally, we found upregulation of MYC expression in NSCLC cell lines with LKB1 mutation or low expression compared to LKB1 wild-type (total n=78) via reverse phase protein array (RPPA) analysis. We validated these findings by analyzing MYC expression via western blotting in LKB1-knockdown and LKB1-ovexpressing stable cell lines. Mechanistically, we found that LKB1 downmodulates MYC expression via Yes-Associated protein 1 (YAP) phosphorylation at Ser127 site, which results in YAP cytoplasmic retention inhibiting transcription activation of its targets. In addition, we found that LKB1 also regulates ID2, a negative regulator of cell differentiation, via YAP/MYC axis. Taken together, our study reveals a reciprocal regulation between MYC and LKB1 offering additional mechanistic insights how MYC promotes cell survival and differentiation in lung cancer. Citation Format: Maria A. Cortez, Chao Yang, Lauren Averett Byers, Lixia Diao, Thaddeus Allen, Uma Giri, Jing Wang, James Welsh, John Victor Heymach. Reciprocal regulation of MYC and LKB1 modulates cell survival and differentiation in lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5220. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5220
Biocidal activity of plasma modified electrospun polysulfone mats functionalized with polyethyleneimine-capped silver nanoparticles.

The incorporation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) into polymeric nanofibers has attracted a great deal of attention due to the strong antimicrobial activity that the resulting fibers exhibit. However, bactericidal efficacy of AgNP-coated electrospun fibrous mats has not yet been demonstrated. In this study, polysulfone (PSf) fibers were electrospun and surface-modified using an oxygen plasma treatment, which allowed for facile irreversible deposition of cationically charged polyethyleneimine (PEI)-AgNPs via electrostatic interactions. The PSf–AgNP mats were characterized for relative silver concentration as a function of plasma treatment time using ICP-MS and changes in contact angle. Plasma treatment of 60 s was the shortest time required for maximum loss of bacteria (Escherichia coli) viability. Time-dependent bacterial cytotoxicity studies indicate that the optimized PSf–AgNP mats exhibit a high level of inactivation against both Gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, and Gram positive bacteria, Bac...
The effects of checkerboard pattern check size on the VECP

Studies have shown that there is an optimal size of element in a checkerboard pattern, used to stimulate the visual system, for eliciting the visual evoked cortical potential (VECP). This size of element is between 8 and 25 min of visual angle. Since most studies have not reported fixation or location of fixation on the pattern, this study was performed in which fixation was specified at a location which ensures a constant illumination of the fovea regardless of check size. The resulting function, VECP amplitude vs. check size, resembles previously obtained functions, indicating either that previous subjects were fixating or that fixation is not important for these results.
PA200, a nuclear proteasome activator involved in DNA repair

We have identified a novel 200 kDa nuclear protein that activates the proteasome. The protein, which we call PA200, has been purified to homogeneity from bovine testis and has been shown to activate proteasomal hydrolysis of peptides, but not proteins. Following γ‐irradiation of HeLa cells the uniform nuclear distribution of PA200 changes to a strikingly punctate pattern, a behavior characteristic of many DNA repair proteins. Homologs of PA200 are present in worms, plants and yeast. Others have shown that mutation of yeast PA200 results in hypersensitivity to bleomycin, and exposure of yeast to DNA damaging agents induces the PA200 message. Taken together, these findings implicate PA200 in DNA repair, possibly by recruiting proteasomes to double strand breaks.
Engineered stabilization and structural analysis of the autoinhibited conformation of PDE4

Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) is an essential contributor to intracellular signaling and an important drug target. The four members of this enzyme family (PDE4A to -D) are functional dimers in which each subunit contains two upstream conserved regions (UCR), UCR1 and -2, which precede the C-terminal catalytic domain. Alternative promoters, transcriptional start sites, and mRNA splicing lead to the existence of over 25 variants of PDE4, broadly classified as long, short, and supershort forms. We report the X-ray crystal structure of long form PDE4B containing UCR1, UCR2, and the catalytic domain, crystallized as a dimer in which a disulfide bond cross-links cysteines engineered into UCR2 and the catalytic domain. Biochemical and mass spectrometric analyses showed that the UCR2-catalytic domain interaction occurs in trans, and established that this interaction regulates the catalytic activity of PDE4. By elucidating the key structural determinants of dimerization, we show that only long forms of PDE4 can be regulated by this mechanism. The results also provide a structural basis for the long-standing observation of high- and low-affinity binding sites for the prototypic inhibitor rolipram.
Data Adaptive Linear Decomposition Transform

Abstract Cadzow, J. A., and Yammen, S., Data Adaptive Linear Decomposition Transform, Digital Signal Processing 12 (2002) 494–523 In this paper a novel method for decomposing one-dimensional data sequences is developed. It is of the wavelet variety with important distinctions. A standard wavelet transform entails down-sampling the responses of two fixed structured filters to the sequence being decomposed to produce the half length detail sequence and a coarse sequence . The new transform entails processing down-sampled data by an optimum interpolation filter which seeks to approximate the odd indexed sequence elements by a linear combination of neighboring even indexed elements. The resulting interpolation error sequence of half length plays the role of the wavelet detail sequence. Unlike a traditional wavelet transform, the interpolation filter employed is adapted to the data being analyzed. This data dependency typically produces improved performance relative to traditional wavelet transforms. This enhanced performance is demonstrated on a number of standard test signals. Furthermore, this new transform is computationally efficient due to the inherent parallel structure of the data decomposition method.
Monolithically integrable lateral PIN detectors

Monolithically integrable detectors are defined as detectors whose fabrication is completely compatible with the design rules used in the standard integrated circuit fabrication. An interdigitated electrode geometry permits both the ready integration of these detectors into electronic IC topologies and the use of a large detection area in conjunction with a low device capacitance.
Nutritional considerations in the growth and development of pre-term, low-birth-weight infants

Objective To identifypatterns of growth, nutritional practices and/or feeding behaviors associated with normal Denver II developmental screening results at 18 months of age. Design A retrospective chart review was conducted on hospital medical records to collect discharge diagnosis and dietary data. Developmental clinic charts were reviewed to collect growth, diet. Denver 11 results, and medical data from 4. 9 and 18 month visits. Subjects/Setting Twenty-eight children were identified from a review of developmental clinic records in a mid-western children's hospital. Criteria were single or twin birth < 2000 gm. initially admitted to the hospital, and three screening visits. Statistical analyses performed Z-scores were calculated using national standards. Patterns of growth were analyzed using analysis of variance accounting for random subject effects associated with serial measurement. Stepwise forward linear regression was done to construct a model for predicting head circumference at 18 months.
Stability of isooctane mixtures with 3-pentanone or biacetyl as fluorescence tracers in combustion experiments

Evidence is presented in the literature that common fluorescence tracer/fuel mixtures used in engine experiments, 3-pentanone/isooctane and biacetyl/isooctane, may decompose during extended use and storage. Investigations presented here show that preferential evaporation of the tracer and not chemical decomposition is responsible for observed decreases in fluorescence signal strength in these experiments.
Failure of D- and L-Thyroxine to Protect Cholesterol and Oil Fed Cockerels Against Coronary Atherogenesis

In cockerels, L-thyroxine was significantly more active biologically than an equivalent dose of D-thyroxine, or even four times the dose, as demonstrated by the effects on body weights, organ weights and comb index. In cockerels fed an atherogenic diet, the plasma cholesterol concentrations in all the thyroxine-treated groups were significantly lower than in the control groups. No consistent effect of D-thyroxine on thoracic aorta atherosclerosis was observed. However, L-thyroxine had some protective action in the one experiment done. Despite suppression of hypercholester-olemia, no protection against coronary atherosclerosis was seen with the administration of either L- or D-thyroxine. In fact, with an increase in dose of D-thyroxine to 4 mg, there developed actually an increase in the percentage of coronary vessels showing atherosclerosis. These observations confirm once again the importance of avoiding reliance exclusively on blood cholesterol levels when judging the effects of hormones on atherogenesis.
Appraising Adjuvant Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy

Tamoxifen, once the gold standard adjuvant endocrine therapy for early breast cancer, is being challenged by third-generation aromatase inhibitors (AIs) that have demonstrated improved disease-free survival in a variety of adjuvant settings for early breast cancer. Tamoxifen and AIs have different safety profiles, which should allow physicians to begin to individualize treatment based on a patient’s comorbidities and risk factors. Because of its properties as a partial estrogen agonist, tamoxifen has a positive effect on serum lipids and may confer a cardioprotective benefit, as well as a beneficial effect on bone health. However, tamoxifen increases the risk for endometrial cancer and cerebrovascular/thromboembolic events. In comparison, the major side effect of AIs is increased bone loss, which may heighten the risk for osteoporotic fractures and bone pain. Because of their superefand manageable side efsIs are a cost-effective alternative to tamoxifen, and clinical guidelines now embrace AIs as appropriate adjuvant therapy for hormone-sensitive early breast cancer. The anticipated results of ongoing trials will provide further insights into the long-term safety and application of AI therapy in the adjuvant setting.
Switching Circuit Transient Performance Prediction using Empirical Mathematical Modeling Techniques

In the design and application of electronic circuits there is a need for a practical means for predicting the performance of circuits. In this paper a quasi-empirical method is presented for mathematically relating the performance parameter of interest to the pertinent variables. The technique is demonstrated for a medium-speed switching circuit. This circuit is described, the selection of models and the statistical design of the experiment are explained, descriptive component parameter and performance data are presented, models for rise time and delay time as a function of the component parameters are developed, and an analysis of these models is given. Methods for predicting the characteristics of the performance parameter distribution are presented along with a brief discussion of other uses of the models.
A model for seasonal changes in GPS positions and seismic wave speeds due to thermoelastic and hydrologic variations

It is known that GPS time series contain a seasonal variation that is not due to tectonic motions, and it has recently been shown that crustal seismic velocities may also vary seasonally. In order to explain these changes, a number of hypotheses have been given, among which thermoelastic and hydrology-induced stresses and strains are leading candidates. Unfortunately, though, since a general framework does not exist for understanding such seasonal variations, it is currently not possible to quickly evaluate the plausibility of these hypotheses. To fill this gap in the literature, I generalize a two-dimensional thermoelastic strain model to provide an analytic solution for the displacements and wave speed changes due to either thermoelastic stresses or hydrologic loading, which consists of poroelastic stresses and purely elastic stresses. The thermoelastic model assumes a periodic surface temperature, and the hydrologic models similarly assume a periodic near-surface water load. Since all three models are two-dimensional and periodic, they are expected to only approximate any realistic scenario; but the models nonetheless provide a quantitative framework for estimating the effects of thermoelastic and hydrologic variations. Quantitative comparison between the models and observations is further complicated by the large uncertainty in some of the relevant parameters. Despite this uncertainty, though, I find that maximum realistic thermoelastic effects are unlikely to explain a large fraction of the observed annual variation in a typical GPS displacement time series or of the observed annual variations in seismic wave speeds in southern California. Hydrologic loading, on the other hand, may be able to explain a larger fraction of both the annual variations in displacements and seismic wave speeds. Neither model is likely to explain all of the seismic wave speed variations inferred from observations. However, more definitive conclusions cannot be made until the model parameters are better constrained.
Impairment of cell division of Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes

The mechanisms that facilitate the adaptation of Trypanosoma cruzi to two distinct hosts, insect and vertebrate, are poorly understood, in part due to the limited ability to perform gene disruption studies by homologous recombination. This report describes a developmentally-defective phenotype that resulted from integration of a drug marker adjacent to the GAPDH gene in T. cruzi.
Muscle Delivery of Human Kallikrein Gene Reduces Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Rats

Abstract We recently found that transgenic mice expressing human tissue kallikrein develop sustained hypotension. The result suggests that a continuous supply of human tissue kallikrein could have a prolonged effect on blood pressure reduction. In the present study, we investigated the potential of using human tissue kallikrein for gene therapy by injecting a kallikrein gene construct into the skeletal muscle of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Expression of the human tissue kallikrein messenger RNA in spontaneously hypertensive rats was identified by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction with Southern blot. Human tissue kallikrein was detected in the injected animals by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Injection of the human kallikrein gene into spontaneously hypertensive rats caused a significant reduction of systemic blood pressure, ranging from 15 to 26 mm Hg, compared with the control group. The differences were significant 1 week after the injection and continued for more than 2 months. Blood pressure reduction could be reversed after the administration of the bradykinin antagonist Hoe 140. The results indicate that somatic delivery of the human tissue kallikrein gene induces a sustained reduction of systemic blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The present study raises the possibility of applying kallikrein gene therapy to the treatment of human hypertensive diseases.
On the Design of Reliable 3D-ICs Considering Charged Device Model ESD Events During Die Stacking

This paper studies charged device model electrostatic discharge (CDM-ESD) events in die stacking process of 3D-ICs and investigates CDM-ESD protection circuits for individual TSVs to prevent high voltage stress on transistor connected to TSV. The models for power, area, delay, and signal integrity of TSVs considering ESD protection are presented. The models are used to drive a methodology to design reliable 3D-ICs considering CDM-ESD while minimizing the overheads. We study the impact of ESD protection on die-to-die asynchronous interface circuit.
Mixture of Mutually Exciting Processes for Viral Diffusion

Diffusion network inference and meme tracking have been two key challenges in viral diffusion. This paper shows that these two tasks can be addressed simultaneously with a probabilistic model involving a mixture of mutually exciting point processes. A fast learning algorithms is developed based on mean-field variational inference with budgeted diffusion bandwidth. The model is demonstrated with applications to the diffusion of viral texts in (1) online social networks (e.g., Twitter) and (2) the blogosphere on the Web.
Electromagnetic radiation and scattering for a gap in a corner backed by a cavity filled with DNG metamaterial

Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union. The original version is available through American Geophysical Union at DOI: 10.1029/2010RS004471
Protein-releasing polymeric scaffolds induce fibrochondrocytic differentiation of endogenous cells for knee meniscus regeneration in sheep

Regenerationofcomplextissues,suchaskidney,liver,andcartilage,continuestobe ascientific andtranslationalchallenge. Survivalof exvivocultured, transplanted cells intissue grafts is among one of the keybarriers.Meniscus is acomplex tissue consisting of collagen fibers and proteoglycans with gradient phenotypes of fibrocartilage and functions to provide congruence of the knee joint, without which the patient is likely to develop arthritis. Endogenous stem/progenitor cells regenerated the knee meniscus upon spatially released human connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and transforming growth factor–b3(TGFb3) from a three-dimensional (3D)–printed biomaterial, enabling functional knee recovery. Sequentially applied CTGF and TGFb3 were necessary and sufficient to propel mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells, as a heterogeneous population or as single-cell progenies, into fibrochondrocytes that concurrently synthesized procollagens I and IIa. When released from microchannels of 3D-printed, human meniscus scaffolds, CTGF and TGFb3 induced endogenous stem/progenitorcellstodifferentiateandsynthesizezone-specifictypeIandIIcollagens.Wethenreplacedsheepmeniscus with anatomically correct, 3D-printed scaffolds that incorporated spatially delivered CTGF and TGFb3. Endogenous cells regenerated the meniscus with zone-specific matrix phenotypes: primarily type I collagen in the outer zone, and type II collagen in the inner zone, reminiscent of the native meniscus. Spatiotemporally delivered CTGF and TGFb3alsorestored inhomogeneous mechanical properties in the regenerated sheep meniscus. Survivaland directed differentiation of endogenous cells in a tissue defect may have implications in the regeneration of complex (heterogeneous) tissues and organs.
Composable applications using service encapsulation (CAUSE)

Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems have the potential to operate in a net-centric environment in which tasking control, collected sensor data, and intelligence feeds can be made available via web services under a service oriented architecture. Rapid composition of ISR applications from such services would enable analysts and warfighters to quickly adapt to changing missions and ISR system availability. This paper describes a composition approach in which plug-ins that encapsulate service interactions are used to build applications. This encapsulation allows for heterogeneous service technologies to be used in an application. A composition Graphical User Interface (GUI) allows the user to discover needed service plug-ins, connect outputs to inputs between services, and generate a consolidated application GUI. Semantic descriptions of the plug-ins and their inputs and outputs facilitate consistency checks that ensure proper operation of the composed application. An initial implementation of such an application composition architecture was developed and demonstrated with simulated ISR assets and data feeds.
Rigid and non-rigid medical image registration methods

Image registration is an important and usually necessary step in multi-dimensional multi-modality medical image analysis. Moreover, images from the same modality may be registered to study and analyse variability of a specific structure or information among a group of subjects to develop physiological models and computerised atlases. Multi-dimensional image registration is also an important step in therapeutic protocols including radiation treatment and evaluation. Recent advances in medical imaging and image analysis have accompanied with a number of rigid-body and non-rigidbody image registration methods and algorithms. This paper first briefly reviews some of the rigid and non-rigid image registration methods and then presents an integrated approach of rigid and elastic deformation methods suitable for dealing with registration of partially deformed and incomplete image datasets.
Muscle activity patterns of the tensor fascia latae and adductor longus for ramp and stair walking

Abstract Walking on both outdoor and indoor surfaces requires the ability to negotiate connections between vertical distances, simply known as hills and stairs. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the muscle activity patterns of the TFL and ADL during both hill and stair walking. We hypothesized that TFL and ADL activity during initial swing, initial stance, and late stance of up-ramp and up-stair walking would be greater than level walking. In contrast, we hypothesized that both TFL and ADL activity during initial swing of down-ramp and down-stair walking would be less. We utilized a 15° ramp, a 35° stair set, and for comparison of this steep angle, we also collected data on a 33° ramp. During up-ramp and up-stair walking, TFL and ADL activity during both initial swing and late stance of the up conditions were greater than level walking. For the down conditions, ADL activity during the swing phase of the steep down-ramp was less. Practically, our muscle activity results demonstrate that the hip abductors and hip adductors may provide additional pelvic stability and supplementary thigh acceleration during ramp and stair walking.
Predicting diffusion paths and interface motion in γ/γ + β, Ni-Cr-Al diffusion couples

A simplified model has been developed to predict β recession and diffusion paths in ternary γ/γ + β diffusion couples (γ: fcc, β: NiAl structure). The model was tested by predicting β recession and diffusion paths for four γ/γ + β, Ni-Cr-Al couples annealed for 100 hours at 1200 °C. The model predicted β recession within 20 pct of that measured for each of the couples. The model also predicted shifts in the concentration of the y phase at the γ/γ + β interface within 2 at. pct Al and 6 at. pct Cr of that measured in each of the couples. A qualitative explanation based on simple kinetic and mass balance arguments has been given which demonstrates the necessity for diffusion in the two-phaseregion of certain γ/γ + β, Ni-Cr-Al couples.
A Novel Cooperative Localization Algorithm for Indoor Sensor Networks

Recently, node localization for multi-hop sensor networks has attracted considerable attention. In these networks, error propagation provides a serious challenge to algorithm development and accuracy of final location estimates. In this paper we introduce a novel computationally efficient distributed algorithm, Cooperative Localization with Optimum Quality of Estimate (CLOQ) which takes advantage of the behavior of the channel to provide accurate indoor positioning. This algorithm uses the quality of ranging and positioning estimates to provide practical and accurate results and more importantly reduce error propagation substantially. Using UWB measurements and modeling of the ranging error in a typical office building we compare the performance of this cooperative localization algorithm with a non-channel based algorithm for indoor ad-hoc sensor environments.
Further studies of the helix dipole model: Effects of a free α‐NH3+ or α‐COO− group on helix stability

Interactions between the α-helix peptide dipoles and charged groups close to the ends of the helix were found to be an important determinant of α-helix stability in a previous study.1 The charge on the N-terminal residue of the C-peptide from ribonuclease A was varied chiefly by changing the α-NH2 blocking group, and the correlation of helix stability with N-terminal charge was demonstrated. An alternative explanation for some of those results is that the succinyl and acetyl blocking groups stabilize the helix by hydrogen bonding to an unsatisfied main-chain NH group. The helix dipole model is tested here with peptides that contain either a free α-NH α-COO− groups, and no other charged groups that would titrate with similar pKa's. This model predicts that α-NH3α-COO- groups are helix-destabilizingand that the destabilizing interactions are electrostatic in origin. The hydrogen bonding model predicts that α-NH3 and α-COO- groups are not themselves helix-destabilizing, but that an acetyl or amide blocking group at the N- or C- terminus, respectively, stabilizes the helix by hydrogen bonding to an unsatisfied main-chain NH or CO group. The results are as follows: (1) Removal of the charge from α-NH3 and α-COO- groups by pH titration stabilizes an α-helix. (2) The increase in helix stability on pH titration of these groups is close to the increase produced by adding an acetyl or amide blocking group. (3) The helix-stabilizing effect of removing the charge from α-NH3 and α-COO- groups by pH titration is screened by increasing the NaCl concentration, and therefore the effect is electrostatic in origin. (4) Replacing the C-terminal amide blocking group with a methylester blocking group, which cannot donate a hydrogen bond, causes little change in helix stability.
Robotic assist devices for bimanual physical therapy: preliminary experiments

Preliminary experiments were performed on a dynamically simplified system consisting of two outstretched hands constrained to flexion/extension while holding an object. A prototype device was designed to measure and assist in a transport task, in which the two hands moved a pencil-like object rhythmically back and forth, and in a bimanual squeezing task, in which the two hands squeezed the object. The device, operating under simple proportional feedback control laws, could substitute completely for one hand in both tasks. When the device assisted a hand partially disabled by ischemia, it produced torque that the disabled hand did not, allowing the tasks to be performed. These results demonstrate the capability of a device, operating under simple control laws, to assist a disabled hand, allowing performance of coordinated bimanual tasks. Such a robot, extended to more useful bimanual activities of daily living, could afford cost effective, objectively measurable, self-driven therapy for a large patient population. >
I’m Not Rude, I’m Just Moody: The Impact of Affect on Politeness in Initial Interactions

A growing body of research on the role played by affect within interpersonal interaction has shown it to be a critical element in communication choices. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the specific impact of moods in this context, and as of yet no data have been published on the role of mood in shaping responses to a very common interaction event: goal interruption. This investigation relies on several theoretical frameworks to examine the impact that mood has on politeness, both in initial communication attempts and in following goal interruption. An experiment was conducted in which 99 participants attempted to persuade a confederate on a specific topic. Results show that positive-mood individuals begin persuasive attempts with less verbal politeness and less immediacy than their negative-mood counterparts. Furthermore, both positive and negative-mood individuals exhibited reductions in immediacy but increases in verbal politeness following partner interference. The findings are discusse...
Minimizing the total weighted completion time on unrelated parallel machines with stochastic times

This paper addresses the problem of batch scheduling in an unrelated parallel machine environment with sequence dependent setup times and an objective of minimizing the weighted mean completion time. Identical jobs are batched together and are available at time zero. Processing time of each job of a batch is determined according to both the machine it will be assigned to and the batch group to which the job belongs. The jobs' processing times and setup times are stochastic for better depiction of the real world. This is a NP-hard problem and in this paper, a solution heuristic is developed and compared to existing ones using simulation. The results and analysis obtained from the computational experiments proved the superiority of the proposed algorithm PMWP over the other algorithms presented.
Aerobic Fitness and Intra-Individual Variability of Neurocognition in Preadolescent Children.

This study examined behavioral and neuroelectric intra-individual variability (IIV) in preadolescent children during a task requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. The current study further examined whether IIV was moderated by aerobic fitness level. Participants performed a modified flanker task, comprised of congruent and incongruent arrays, within compatible and incompatible stimulus–response conditions. Results revealed that congruent, relative to incongruent, conditions were associated with less IIV of RT. Further, less IIV of RT, P3 amplitude, and P3 latency was observed for the compatible relative to the incompatible condition. Higher fitness was associated with shorter and less variable RT only for the incompatible condition, with no fitness-related differences observed for P3 variability. The findings suggest that conditions requiring greater cognitive control are associated with increased IIV, and that higher fitness may be associated with greater integrity of cognitive control systems during development.
In vitro 3D human small intestinal villous model for drug permeability determination.

We present a novel method for testing drug permeability that features human cells cultured on hydrogel scaffolds made to accurately replicate the shape and size of human small intestinal villi. We compared villous scaffolds to more conventional 2D cultures in paracellular drug absorption and cell growth experiments. Our results suggest that 3D villous platforms facilitate cellular differentiation and absorption more similar to mammalian intestines than can be achieved using conventional culture. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first accurate 3D villus model offering a well-controlled microenvironment that has strong physiological relevance to the in vivo system. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012;109: 2173–2178. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Socio-technical dimensions of an outdoor mobile learning environment: a three-phase design-based research investigation

This design-based research project examines three iterations of Tree Investigators, a learning environment designed to support science learning outdoors at an arboretum and nature center using mobile devices (iPads). Researchers coded videorecords and artifacts created by children and parents (n = 53) to understand how both social and technological supports influenced observations, explanations, and knowledge about trees. In Iteration 1, families used mobile devices to learn about tree characteristics and identification in an arboretum; in Iteration 2, families used our mobile app about trees’ life cycles and completed a photo-collage task documenting life cycle phases; Iteration 3 used a refined version of the Iteration 2 mobile app with children at a nature center summer camp, along with customized tools embedded into the app for documenting photographic evidence of tree life cycle phases in the forest. Findings suggested: (a) learners engaged in science talk representing observation and explanation practices (perceptual, conceptual, connecting, affective talk), and varying learning conversational patterns emerged based on refinements to design implementations; and (b) making connections between concepts introduced on the mobile app and application of them outdoors was challenging for learners without explicit social and/or technological support during identification tasks; specifically, appropriation of scientific vocabulary, noticing relevant features, and accurately identifying life cycle stages needed structured, on-demand support. Findings point to empirically-based implications for design of socio-technical supports for mobile learning outdoors.
Urban precursors in the Horn: early 1st-millennium BC communities in Eritrea

Eritrea fought a war of liberation for three decades between the early 1960s and 1991. While professional research stagnated because of the war, amateur archaeologists provided the sole source of information for ancient material culture in the country during this era. With the coming of independence in 1993, awareness of the potential value of Eritrea’s heritage resources began to grow, leading to an initiative in 1997 to teach archaeology and heritage management at the University of Asmara. Out of the combined training and research programmes conducted by the University of Asmara have come several major discoveries that change the way that the rise of urbanism is seen in the Horn of Africa. We highlight research showing that between 800 BC and 400 BC the greater Asmara area of Eritrea supported the earliest settled agropastoralist communities known in the highlands of the Horn. These communities pre-date and are contemporaneous with Pre-Aksumite settlements in the highlands of southern Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.’ The agropastoralist settlements around Asmara were vital precursors to later 1stmillennium BC and early 1st-millennium AD urban developments in the southern highlands of Eritrea at Keskese, Matara and Qohaito. Matara, 90 km to the south of Asmara, was an urban centre of between 20 and 40 ha, possibly even larger. It was likely an Aksumite administrative centre that also had a significant Pre-Axumite settlement that has been dated to approximately 500 BC by the French archaeologist Francis Aiifray (1967; 1974), suggesting that the communities around today’s Asmara were the first in the region to show an organic 1 In rrr:eiit piiblications, Kodolfo F‘attovich contends that the ‘Pre-Aksumitc Culture’ period dates from approximately 8001700 BC to 4001300 BC (e.g. Fattovich 1997b; 2000). growth toward demographic complexity. Another urban center, Qohaito, located approximately 70 km south of Asmara, was an ancient garden city (Schmidt &Wright 1995) surrounded by hundreds of satellite towns, villages and homesteads located on the 13x3 km Qohaito plateau (Wenig 1997) and connected to a larger urban hinterland (Curtis & Libsekal 1999). Qohaito remains unexcavated, but survey evidence indicates that its urban character derives from a tradition that goes back to Matara and the communities of the Greater Asmara area. We also discuss evidence that suggests the possible presence of humped cattle (Bos indicus) in the greater Asmara area about 500 BC, revising previous ideas about the arrival of this species in the Horn and assessing what importance it has for the development of a settled agropastoral way of life.
Capillary Blood Flow Abnormalities in the Skeletal Muscle and Microvascular Complications in Diabetes. Lessons That Cannot Be Learned From Larger Vessels

The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) carries with it many serious consequences, the most serious of which is coronary artery disease ([1][1]). The outcome of diabetic patients with coronary artery disease is significantly worse than that of nondiabetic patients. In particular, it is the subset of
A prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing 3 dressing types following sternotomy.

Abstract Dressings are an important aspect of post-sternotomy care. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted between July 2010 and August 2012 to compare wound and patient outcomes among 3 marketed postoperative dressings. Using convenience sampling methods, 315 patients requiring a sternotomy incision followed by hospitalization were randomly assigned to postoperative care with a dry sterile (n = 106), metallic silver-containing (n = 105), or ionic silver-containing (n = 104) dressing. Application time and ease of dressing application were assessed. The dry dressings remained in place for 24 to 48 hours. On postoperative day 5 or at time of discharge, the silver dressings were removed and wound outcomes (degree of wound approximation, skin integrity, wound exudate, presence/absence of necrotic tissue), presence/absence of surgical site infection, patient comfort, and dressing factors (ease of removal, dressing integrity) were evaluated. All participants received the same preoperative skin preparation and intravenous antibiotics. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact chi-squares and 1-way ANOVA. No statistically significant differences were found among the dressings in terms of wound healing or infection rate, but statistically significant differences were noted in patient comfort and certain dressing factors. When comparing all 3 dressings, the dry sterile dressing took less time to apply (P = 0.000) and was easiest to apply (P = 0.000). Use of the metallic silver dressing resulted in the least patient-reported pain upon removal (P = 0.015), and incision assessment was easiest with the ionic silver dressing (P = 0.000). When comparing the 2 silver dressings, the metallic silver dressing was easiest to remove (P = 0.003) but had less integrity at the time of removal (P = 0.007). None of the patients in the ionic silver and 1 patient (1%) in the metallic silver dressing group developed a deep infection. Additional research is warranted to determine best practice in postoperative, clean surgical incision management, including sternotomy wounds.
The Beet Sugar Entrepreneurs of Antebellum America: An Industry's Failure and an Economy's Success

Laymen and scholars alike often lament the failure of business firms and business historians focus most of their efforts on the small percentage of successful entrepreneurs. That is unfortunate because the failure of firms often and ironically leads to the success of economies. In a world haunted by the specter of bounded rationality, asymmetric information, nontrivial transaction costs, and uncertainty, entrepreneurs test the margins of economic reality. This paper shows how early nineteenth century America's failed agricultural manias, particularly the beet sugar craze of the late 1830s, helped the burgeoning American economy to learn where its comparative advantages lay, and where they did not. Early American beet sugar is also a story of abolition and slavery, technology diffusion and confusion, laissez faire ideology and government interference in the economy, and surprisingly advanced capital and money markets.
Nuclear Data Sheets for187Tl

Nuclear structure data pertaining to187Tl have been compiled and evaluated, and incorporated into the ENSDF data file. This evaluation of187Tl supersedes the previous publication (R. B. Fireston,Nuclear Data Sheets 62,159 (1991) (literature cutoff date September 1990)), and includes literature available by 17 February 1999. The newly incorporated references are: 98Ak04, 98Kr23, 97Au04, 95Au04, 95La08, 94Re18, 94La04, 94Re02, 92Sc25, 91Wa21.
Exploring the Cancer Experiences of Young Adults in the Context of Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background Cancer is the leading cause of nonaccidental morbidity and mortality among young adults (YAs) in the United States. Stem cell transplantation (SCT), a treatment modality for a variety of YA malignancies, often requires prolonged hospitalization and immune-compromising treatment regimens. Stem cell transplantation may isolate YAs physically and emotionally, contributing to uncertainty about treatment processes, outcomes, and long-term sequelae. Studies in this population suggest that uncertainty can contribute to difficulty accomplishing basic developmental tasks. Few studies have examined the experiences of YAs in active cancer treatment, particularly those undergoing SCT. Objectives This study explored the cancer experiences of YAs aged 18 to 25 years leading up to SCT and explored how YAs construct issues of uncertainty related to the transplantation experience. Methods Interviews with 14 YAs conducted within 24 hours of admission to undergo SCT were analyzed using thematic analysis from a medical ethnographic perspective. Results Themes emerged within 2 domains: relational and psychoemotional. The relational theme of "altered relationships" included the subthemes of "moving from" and "moving toward." The psychoemotional theme of the "power of perspective" included the subthemes of "optimism," "acknowledgment of death," "informational empowerment," and "developing a new outlook." Conclusions Our findings offer new insights into the YA experience in the context of active cancer treatment, specifically how the cancer experience impacts relationships and how this experience is influenced by YAs' perspectives. Implications for practice This study provides a foundation for addressing the psychosocial needs of YAs hospitalized for SCT, paying particular attention to the development of specific interventions.
Different strokes: IPO risk factors, investor valuation, and firm survival

As a firm prepares for initial public offering, the Securities and Exchange Commission mandates that top managers must record risks to their firms’ survival or performance in the prospectus. More specifically we propose that external risk factors (market risks, legal risks, and government regulations risks) have a more negative effect on investor optimism and initial public offering valuation, while internal risk factors (management risks, operational risks, technical risks) have a more negative effect on post-initial public offering long-term firm survival. This study illustrates a major gap between risk factors that investors initially focus on and the true determinants of long-term success.