cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Soft-decision decoding using punctured codes

Let a q-ary linear (n,k)-code be used over a memoryless channel. We design a soft-decision decoding algorithm that tries to locate a few most probable error patterns on a shorter length s /spl isin/ [k,n]. First, we take s cyclically consecutive positions starting from any initial point. Then we cut the subinterval of length s into two parts and examine T most plausible error patterns on either part. To obtain codewords of a punctured (s,k)-code, we try to match the syndromes of both parts. Finally, the designed codewords of an (s,k)-code are re-encoded to find the most probable codeword on the full length n. For any long linear code, the decoding error probability of this algorithm can be made arbitrarily close to the probability of its maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding given sufficiently large T. By optimizing s, we prove that this near-ML decoding can be achieved by using only T/spl ap/q/sup (n-k)k/(n+k)/ error patterns. For most long linear codes, this optimization also gives about T re-encoded codewords. As a result, we obtain the lowest complexity order of q/sup (n-k)k/(n+k)/ known to date for near-ML decoding. For codes of rate 1/2, the new bound grows as a cubic root of the general trellis complexity q/sup min{n-k,k}/. For short blocks of length 63, the algorithm reduces the complexity of the trellis design by a few decimal orders.
Spurious Genotypes in Female Nematodes Resulting From Contamination with Male DNA

Females of many invertebrates contain stored sperm or fertilized eggs or both, causing potential genotyping errors. We investigated errors caused by male DNA contamination by amplifying 5 microsatellites in DNA isolated from various tissue types in the nematode Ascaris lumbricoides. We observed additional alleles in 30/135 uterus-derived samples when compared with muscle controls, resulting in 20/135 (15%) incorrect genotypes and an underestimation of inbreeding. In contrast, we observed additional alleles in only 5/143 ovary-derived samples, resulting in 4/143 (3%) incorrect genotypes and no significant influence on inbreeding estimates. Because uterus constitutes ∼17% of a female's organ weight, a substantial proportion of samples isolated from female tissue may contain male-derived DNA. Male contamination is easily avoided when using large nematodes such as A. lumbricoides. However, we urge caution for studies using DNA isolated from small invertebrates that store sperm or fertilized eggs or both.
Oscillatory Control of Separation at High Reynolds Numbers

An experiment conducted in a pressurized, cryogenic wind tunnel demonstrates that unsteady flow control using oscillatory blowing (with essentially zero mass flux) can effectively delay flow separation and reattach separated flow on an airfoil at chord Reynolds numbers as high as 38 × 10 6 . Oscillatory blowing at frequencies that generate one to three vortices over the controlled region at all times are effective over the entire Reynolds number range, in accordance with previous low-Reynolds-number tests. Stall is delayed and poststall characteristics are improved when oscillatory blowing is applied from the leading-edge region of the airfoil, whereas flap effectiveness is increased when control is applied at the flap shoulder. Similar gains in airfoil performance require steady blowing with a momentum coefficient that is two orders of magnitude greater. A detailed experimental and theoretical investigation was undertaken to characterize the oscillatory blowing disturbance, in the absence of external flow, and to estimate the oscillatory blowing momentum coefficient used in the cryogenic wind tunnel experiment. Possible approaches toward closed-loop active separation control are also presented
Inclusion of Crawl Tests and Long-Term Health Monitoring in Bridge Serviceability Analysis

Due to limited resources, structural health monitoring (SHM) of highway bridges has to be integrated in structural performance assessment in a cost-effective manner. The instrumentation and the long-term SHM procedures are generally chosen with emphasis on most critical bridge components for a particular failure mode. However, global structural analysis is necessary to obtain useful structural performance information. It is then a major challenge to use monitoring data at some locations to perform a structural reliability analysis at other locations. In this paper, a methodology for lifetime serviceability analysis of existing steel girder bridges including crawl tests and long-term monitoring information is presented. The case where the initial goal of monitoring is to provide data for a fatigue analysis of some bridge components is considered. The monitoring results are used to perform a structural reliability analysis of different sections that are critical considering serviceability of the bridge. Limit state equations are used firstly by adhering to the load and strength formulas and requirements set forth in AASHTO specifications, and secondly by integrating monitoring information. Serviceability with respect to permanent deformation under overload is estimated for the girders with these two different methods and a time-dependent performance analysis is conducted by considering corrosion penetration. The proposed approach is applied to the I-39 Northbound Bridge over the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin. A monitoring program of that bridge was performed by the Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems Center at Lehigh University.
An analysis of mode-locked arrays of automatic level control oscillators

The locking region for beat frequency entrained, or mode-locked arrays of discrete microwave oscillators, is exceedingly small, which presents great difficulty in array design. This paper shows that introducing a time-delayed gain control loop can enhance the entrainment region and that this region is maximized for a coupling phase of 90 degrees. For this value of coupling phase the location, size, shape, and orientation of the stable mode locking region is derived for arrays of arbitrary size. A study of the dependence of the stable mode locking region on the number of array elements shows that the region becomes highly eccentric as the number increases, thus making array tuning difficult and causing high sensitivity to particular oscillator tuning errors. The analysis is confirmed with a low frequency realization of a three-element array. >
The identification of Y chromosome translocations following Distamycin A treatment

Pretreatment of PHA-stimulated lymphocyte cultures from normal males with 100 micrograms/ml Distamycin A for the final 24 h of incubation led to a striking decondensation of the heterochromatic portion of the long arm of the Y chromosome. The despiralized region of Yq maintained its fluorescent properties in this altered morphologic state. Two cases of Y chromosome translocation (Y/22 and Y/X) were identified with this technique. A review of the literature revealed 62 similar cases in which the phenotypic-karyotypic correlations were instrumental in the prenatal counseling of the family with the Y/22 translocation.
Biochemical and physiologic consequences of carnitine palmityltransferase deficiency

A patient with a long history of exercise-induced pain developed myoglobinuria and respiratory failure following extensive exercise (football). Although muscle histochemistry was normal, tissue oxidation of 14Clabeled palmitate was decreased, and muscle carnitine palmityltransferase (CPT) activity was one-tenth of normal. During fasting, his creatine kinase (CK) rose from 127 mu/ml to 278 mu/ml and blood ketones failed to exhibit a normal rise. Triglycerides were normal, as was fatty-acid mobilization. Prolonged exercise resulted in an inordinately increased CK with only moderate elevations in lactate. Treatment with medium-chain triglycerides did not alter his symptoms or improve exercise performance. Pain on exercise is a common complaint, but the occurrence of myoglobinuria points to a defect of energy metabolism. Screening for defects of fat utilization may be accomplished by the prolonged-exercise test, invitro oxidation of 14C-labeled substrates, and prolonged fasting.
Miniaturization methods for narrowband and ultrawideband antennas

A strong interest exists in the commercial and military sectors for small ultra-wide band antennas, such as the spiral. In this paper, we consider novel methods for miniaturizing spirals and other antennas using dielectric loading, artificial lumped loads, textured dielectrics and other approaches within the context of metamaterials. Our aim is to achieve miniaturization without compromising gain and by retaining as much bandwidth as possible. The spiral antenna, operating in the slot or wire mode, is a good choice to start with.
Stability conditions for discrete orthogonal polynomial deconvolution

Discrete orthogonal polynomial deconvolution (DOPD) is an accurate and robust method for signal recovery under certain conditions. However, practical applications have been limited by unpredictable instability. The origins of instability, noise effects on the inverse solution, and appropriate selection of the basis set for DOPD are addressed. >
USE OF TIME TO PREGNANCY TO STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES

There is need in reproductive epidemiology for sensitive and convenient screening tools that can be used to study environmental and occupational exposures. The measurement of fecundability (the probability of pregnancy in each cycle) by ascertaining how long it takes couples to conceive, may be useful for this purpose. Theoretically, exposures that interfere with any of the biologic processes involved in achieving pregnancy could lower fecundability among exposed men or women. To evaluate problems with collecting data on time to pregnancy, telephone interviews were conducted with nearly 700 pregnant women who reported having planned their pregnancies. Power curves were developed based on the distribution of time to pregnancy in the interviewed population. These curves indicate that relatively small sample sizes are sufficient for investigating an exposure. For example, the authors estimate that to detect a given 50% drop in mean fecundability with 80% power would require data from 55 exposed and 55 unexposed women who are pregnant. Disadvantages of using time to pregnancy as a reproductive endpoint include susceptibility to selection bias and need for data on several potential confounding variables. The next step in evaluating time to pregnancy as a reproductive endpoint is to apply it in studies of environmental or occupational exposures.
Self-assembled semiconductor structures: electronic and optoelectronic properties

Strained epitaxy has been shown to produce pyramidal-shaped semiconductor dot structures by single-step epitaxy. The very high density of these dots (approaching per wafer) and their ever improving uniformity suggest that these features could have important applications in future microelectronics. Understanding the structural and electronic properties of these quantum dots is therefore of great importance. In this paper, we examine some of the physics controlling the performance of devices that could be made from such structures. The self-assembled quantum dots are highly strained and we will examine the strain tensor in these quantum dots using a valence force-field model. In this paper we will address the following issues: (1) What is the general nature of the strain tensor in self assembled quantum dots? (2) What are the electron and hole spectra for InAs-GaAs quantum dots? (a) What are the important intersubband radiative and nonradiative scattering processes in the self assembled quantum dots? In particular, we will discuss how the electron-phonon interactions are modified in the quantum dot structures. Consequences for uncooled intersubband devices such as lasers, detectors, and quantum transistors will be briefly discussed.
Application of sliding mode control to electrostatically actuated two-axis gimbaled micromirrors

In this paper, we demonstrate the application of sliding mode control to a two-axis gimbaled MEMS. The micromirror is a two-axis gimbaled system electrostatically actuated by two pairs of electrodes for each axis. The paper presents a 2-dof coupled dynamic model of a micromirror. The model parameters such as the resonance frequencies, torques and damping are found numerically and verified experimentally. A sliding mode control algorithm with a first-order sliding function is used for implementation. It is shown that the sliding mode control yields a fast and robust switching performance over a range of system parameters in simulation as well as experimentation.
Complexation of Neutral Molecules by Cyclophane Hosts

Since the discovery of the crown ethers by Pedersen twenty years ago, the chemistry of synthetic hosts for the selective complexation of organic and inorganic guests has seen an extraordinarily rapid development. This article discusses in particular the contributions provided by synthetic cyclophanes as hosts to the understanding of molecular complexation of neutral organic guest molecules in aqueous and organic solvents. In aqueous solution, cyclophanes form stoichiometric complexes with neutral aromatic guests which can approach enzyme-substrate complexes in their stability. Efficient molecular complexation is also observed in organic environments. Here, as a result of large solvation effects, the strength of complexation is strongly dependent on the nature of the organic solvent. Electron donor-acceptor interactions can contribute significantly to the stability of complexes formed between cyclophane hosts and aromatic guests. Force-field calculations together with computer graphics are powerful tools in the design of water-soluble, optically active hosts for chiral recognition of complexed racemic guests. Simple and selective functionalization of the cyclophane framework leads to stable, bioorganic catalysts. Like enzymes, these catalysts bind their substrates in a rapid equilibrium prior to the reaction steps. As a perspective, some fascinating research objectives in the field of molecular recognition and catalysis which can be targeted with designed cyclophane hosts are shown.
The JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus induces a spike protein-specific Db-restricted cytotoxic T cell response

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity specific for mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) JHM strain (JHMV or MHV-4) was examined using in vitro stimulated spleen cells derived from immunized C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice. Target cells infected with JHMV were specifically recognized; however, analysis of target cells expressing the virus structural proteins via recombinant vaccinia viruses showed no recognition of the viral nucleocapsid (N), membrane (M), small membrane (sM) or haemagglutinin-esterase (HE) proteins. Only target cells expressing the virus spike (S) protein were recognized. Furthermore, the majority of CTL activity was restricted to target cells expressing the MHC class I Db molecules. Analysis of truncations and deletions of the S protein expressed by recombinant vaccinia viruses and peptide coated targets identified a single antigenic epitope, aa 510–518, conforming to the Db binding motif. These amino acids are contained within a domain deleted from a number of strains of mouse hepatitis virus, suggesting a role for immune pressure. To determine the potential for CTL specific for an epitope(s) within a non-structural protein, 24 CTL lines were established and characterized. No evidence for the induction of non-specific CTL activity or virus-specific CTL restricted to an epitope in a non-structural protein was obtained. These data indicate that the predominant CTL activity in JHMV-infected C57BL/6 mice is Db restricted and specific for a single epitope contained within aa 510–518 of the S protein.
Bone mineral density assessment in children with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract Background & Aims: Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at risk for osteoporosis because of undernutrition, delayed puberty, and prolonged corticosteroid use. The aim of this study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) in children with IBD with that in normal children and to assess the effects of nutritional and hormonal factors and corticosteroid dosages on BMD. Methods: One hundred sixty-two subjects (99 with IBD and 63 healthy sibling controls) were enrolled. Patients underwent anthropometric assessment, pubertal staging, bone age radiography, and BMD assessment by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and radius. Laboratory evaluations included serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, urinary N -telopeptides, albumin, insulin-like growth factor I, and testosterone or estradiol. Cumulative corticosteroid doses were calculated. Results: BMD Z scores at the lumbar spine and femoral neck were lower in patients with IBD, and lower in those with Crohn's disease compared with those with ulcerative colitis. Low BMD persisted after correction for bone age in girls with Crohn's disease (lumbar spine, P = 0.004; femoral neck, P = 0.002). Cumulative corticosteroid dose was a significant predictor of reduced BMD. BMD did not correlate with measures of calcium homeostasis, except elevated serum phosphate and urine calcium levels in girls. Conclusions: Low BMD occurs in children with IBD (more in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis), especially pubertal and postpubertal girls. Cumulative corticosteroid dose is a predictor of low BMD, but other factors in Crohn's disease remain undetermined. GASTROENTEROLOGY 1998;114:902-911
The effect of an aldose reductase inhibitor on cardiovascular performance in patients with diabetes mellitus

Because some aldose reductase inhibitor studies have demonstrated clinical improvement in scored neurological signs and symptoms of diabetic neuropathy, a prospective study of the effect on cardiovascular performance of sorbinil 250 mg/day for 12 months was conducted on patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy who were free of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and/or cardiomyopathy. After 1 year of treatment, the study group (n = 14) demonstrated significant improvement in both the resting cardiac output (P = 0.02), and the maximal cardiac output (P = 0.03). This observation suggests that the use of an aldose reductase inhibitor may be useful in treating suboptimal cardiovascular performance in patients with diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy.
Intramolecular Didehydro-Diels–Alder Reaction and Its Impact on the Structure–Function Properties of Environmentally Sensitive Fluorophores.

ConspectusReaction discovery plays a vital role in accessing new chemical entities and materials possessing important function.1 In this Account, we delineate our reaction discovery program regarding the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of styrene-ynes. In particular, we highlight our studies that lead to the realization of the diverging reaction mechanisms of the intramolecular didehydro-Diels–Alder (IMDDA) reaction to afford dihydronaphthalene and naphthalene products. Formation of the former involves an intermolecular hydrogen atom abstraction and isomerization, whereas the latter is formed via an unexpected elimination of H2. Forming aromatic compounds by a unimolecular elimination of H2 offers an environmentally benign alternative to typical oxidation protocols.We also include in this Account ongoing work focused on expanding the scope of this reaction, mainly its application to the preparation of cyclopenta[b]naphthalenes. Finally, we showcase the synthetic utility of the IMDDA reaction by preparing n...
Effect of zinc ions on synthesis of herpes simplex virus type 2-induced polypeptides.

SummaryTreatment of herpes simplex virus-infected cells with zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) inhibited formation of virus progeny, but had little effect on virus DNA synthesis. Analysis of polypeptides synthesized in infected cells in the presence of ZnSO4 revealed a markedly reduced synthesis of virus-induced polypeptides.
A New Type of Freshman Course in Mathematics

(1926). A New Type of Freshman Course in Mathematics. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 307-315.
Social Media Utilization in the Cochlear Implant Community

Background More than 200,000 individuals worldwide have received a cochlear implant (CI). Social media Websites may provide a paramedical community for those who possess or are interested in a CI. The utilization patterns of social media by the CI community, however, have not been thoroughly investigated. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate participation of the CI community in social media Websites. Research design We conducted a systematic survey of online CI-related social media sources. Using standard search engines, the search terms cochlear implant, auditory implant, forum, and blog identified relevant social media platforms and Websites. Social media participation was quantified by indices of membership and posts. Study sample Social media sources included Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and online forums. Each source was assigned one of six functional categories based on its description. Intervention No intervention was performed. Data collection and analysis We conducted all online searches in February 2014. Total counts of each CI-related social media source were summed, and descriptive statistics were calculated. Results More than 350 sources were identified, including 60 Facebook groups, 36 Facebook pages, 48 Twitter accounts, 121 YouTube videos, 13 forums, and 95 blogs. The most active online communities were Twitter accounts, which totaled 35,577 members, and Facebook groups, which totaled 17,971 members. CI users participated in Facebook groups primarily for general information/support (68%). Online forums were the next most active online communities by membership. The largest forum contained approximately 9,500 topics with roughly 127,000 posts. CI users primarily shared personal stories through blogs (92%), Twitter (71%), and YouTube (62%). Conclusions The CI community engages in the use of a wide range of online social media sources. The CI community uses social media for support, advocacy, rehabilitation information, research endeavors, and sharing of personal experiences. Future studies are needed to investigate how social media Websites may be harnessed to improve patient-provider relationships and potentially used to augment patient education.
Processing Approaches for the Defect Engineering of Lamellar-Forming Block Copolymers in Thin Films

The in-plane connectivity and continuity of lamellar-forming polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymer domains in thin films depend on the density and relative population of defects in the self-assembled morphology. Here we varied film thickness, degree of polymerization, thermal annealing time, and annealing temperature in order to engineer the defect densities and topology of the lamellar morphology. Assembly in thicker films leads to lower defect densities and thus reduced connectivity of the lamellar domains, which is considered in the context of the activation energies and driving forces for defect annihilation. Systems with smaller degrees of polymerization were also found to achieve lower defect densities and reduced domain connectivity. Most importantly, the relative populations of each type of defect were unaffected by the defect density, and these morphologies had similar long-range continuities. Controlling processing conditions such as thermal annealing time and temperature, in com...
An implicit δf particle-in-cell method with sub-cycling and orbit averaging for Lorentz ions

A second order implicit ?f Lorentz ion hybrid model with sub-cycling and orbit averaging has been developed to study low-frequency, quasi-neutral plasmas. Models using the full Lorentz force equations of motion for ions may be useful for verifying gyrokinetic ion simulation models in applications where higher order terms may be important. In the presence of a strong external magnetic field, previous Lorentz ion models are limited to simulating very short time scales due to the small time step required for resolving the ion gyromotion. Here, we use a simplified model for ion Landau damped ion acoustic waves in a uniform magnetic field as a test bed for developing efficient time stepping methods to be used with the Lorentz ion hybrid model. A detailed linear analysis of the model is derived to validate simulations and to examine the significance of ion Bernstein waves in the Lorentz ion model. Linear analysis of a gyrokinetic ion model is also performed, and excellent agreement with the dispersion results from the Lorentz ion model is demonstrated for the ion acoustic wave. The sub-cycling/orbit averaging algorithm is shown to produce accurate finite-Larmor-radius effects using large macro-time steps sizes, and numerical damping of high frequency fluctuations can be achieved by formulating the field model in terms of the perturbed flux density. Furthermore, a CPU-GPU implementation of the sub-cycling/orbit averaging is presented and is shown to achieve a significant speedup over an equivalent serial code.
Basal metabolic state governs AIF-dependent growth support in pancreatic cancer cells

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), named for its involvement in cell death pathways, is a mitochondrial protein that regulates metabolic homeostasis. In addition to supporting the survival of healthy cells, AIF also plays a contributory role to the development of cancer through its enzymatic activity, and we have previously shown that AIF preferentially supports advanced-stage prostate cancer cells. Here we further evaluated the role of AIF in tumorigenesis by exploring its function in pancreatic cancer, a disease setting that most often presents at an advanced stage by the time of diagnosis. A bioinformatics approach was first employed to investigate AIF mRNA transcript levels in pancreatic tumor specimens vs. normal tissues. AIF-deficient pancreatic cancer cell lines were then established via lentiviral infection. Immunoblot analysis was used to determine relative protein quantities within cells. Cell viability was measured by flow cytometry; in vitro and Matrigel™ growth/survival using Coulter™ counting and phase contrast microscopy; and glucose consumption in the absence and presence of Matrigel™ using spectrophotometric methods. Archival gene expression data revealed a modest elevation of AIF transcript levels in subsets of pancreatic tumor specimens, suggesting a possible role in disease progression. AIF expression was then suppressed in a panel of five pancreatic cancer cell lines that display diverse metabolic phenotypes. AIF ablation selectively crippled the growth of cells in vitro in a manner that directly correlated with the loss of mitochondrial respiratory chain subunits and altered glucose metabolism, and these effects were exacerbated in the presence of Matrigel™ substrate. This suggests a critical metabolic role for AIF to pancreatic tumorigenesis, while the spectrum of sensitivities to AIF ablation depends on basal cellular metabolic phenotypes. Altogether these data indicate that AIF supports the growth and survival of metabolically defined pancreatic cancer cells and that this metabolic function may derive from a novel mechanism so far undocumented in other cancer types.
Aflibercept: A Review of Its Use in the Management of Diabetic Eye Complications.

Aflibercept is the most recently approved vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) inhibitor for the management of diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. The purpose of this article is to review the efficacy and safety of aflibercept in the management of diabetic eye complications and to describe its place in therapy. Anti-VEGF agents have been noted in clinical trials to be superior to laser photocoagulation, the standard therapy ( P .50). However, in the treatment of patients with diabetic macular edema having moderate to severe visual acuity loss, aflibercept outperformed the other 2 anti-VEGF agents (aflibercept vs bevacizumab, P < .001; aflibercept vs ranibizumab, P = .003). However, additional studies are needed to fully appreciate the long-term safety and efficacy of aflibercept and the anti-VEGF therapy class.
Defending Our Life: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in an Academy Under Siege

Excerpt: In academics, these are the times that try professors’ souls. A sampling of recent book-length treatments of higher education suggests that our underachieving colleges (Bok 2006) are declining by degrees (Hersh and Merrow 2005) as our students are cast academically adrift (Arum and Roksa 2011). Faculty, responding rationally to the incentive structures in their jobs, spend so much time on research that they have little time to focus on teaching (Hacker and Dreifus 2010). Much of the responsibility for teaching ultimately falls to a poorly paid army of adjuncts toiling “in the basement of the ivory tower” with a teaching load so heavy that, of necessity, they have little time to devote to individual students, and minimal commitment to the particular institution(s) at which they work (Professor X 2011). Classes and intellectual pursuits matter little to contemporary students, who are interested in higher education not for the learning, but rather for the credentials it can offer them, for the opportunity it affords to live the “college life” and, in many cases, because there is no other logical next step in their lives after high school (Nathan 2005)....
At the Margin’s Edge: Women's Activism in Ecuador

We are telling our stories and sharing livesso that never again can the truth be deniedWe’ve untied our tongues and we’re speaking out loudwe’ve unbound our feet and we’re marching toward freedom…—...
Abstract #LB-78: Structural analysis of the CDK4/cyclin D1 substrate recognition site and basis for inhibitor selectivity

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO An alternative strategy for inhibition of the cyclin dependent kinases in anti-tumor drug discovery is afforded through the substrate recruitment site on the cyclin positive regulatory subunit. This approach offers the potential of generating cell cycle specific CDK inhibitors and to reduce the inhibition of transcription mediated through CDK7, 8 and 9, commonly observed with ATP competitive compounds. While highly potent peptide and small molecule inhibitors of CDK2/cyclin A, E substrate recruitment have been reported, little information has been generated on the determinants of inhibitor binding to the cyclin groove of the CDK4/cyclin D1 complex. CDK4/cyclin D is a validated anti-cancer drug target and continues to be widely pursued in the development of new therapeutics based on cell cycle blockade. We have therefore investigated the structural basis for peptide binding to its cyclin groove and have examined the features contributing to potency and selectivity of inhibitors. As no experimental structural information is yet available for the CDK4/cyclin D1 complex, we have generated a protein homology structure for cyclin D1 modeled on available crystal structures for other human cyclins. Based on reported peptide inhibitors of CDK4/cyclin D mediated pRb phosphorylation, peptide-cyclin complexes have been generated with cyclin A and cyclin D and used to validate the homology structure and to correlate predicted affinity with known structure-activity relationships. The results for this study reveal that a single amino acid variation in the cyclin D1 groove has a significant impact on the potency of cyclin A inhibitors and could potentially be exploited in the design of compounds with greater affinity and selectivity for D1. Exchange of Ile214 in cyclin A for valine leads to decreased interaction with the Leu-Phe motif of cyclin A inhibitory compounds. In addition, differences in charged residues between the two cyclins leads to lesser impact of positively charged inhibitory peptides in the cyclin D1 context. These results suggest that modification of appropriate peptide functionality has the potential to significantly increase affinity for cyclin D1. Elucidation of the structural basis for peptide inhibition was thus further applied to identify compounds that have increased potency and greater selectivity against CDK4 phosphorylation of the Rb protein. We have synthesized peptidic and non-peptidic compounds that have increased potency against the cyclin D1 groove which to our knowledge are the first reported examples of CDK4 selective inhibitors of substrate recruitment. Such compounds will be useful chemical biology probes to determine the cellular and anti-tumor effects of CDK inhibitors that are cell cycle specific and do not inhibit the transcriptional regulatory effects of other cyclin dependent kinases. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr LB-78.
An Analytical Expression for Bivariate Normal Distribution

An analytical expression for bivariate normal distribution function is obtained. The bivariate normal integrand is expressed as exponential expansion and the integration is analytically expressed by recurrence formulas. The desired accuracy can be reached by taking the number of expansions. The analytical approximation results from finite expansions.
The Effect of Tracheal Intubation-Induced Autonomic Response on Photoplethysmography

Introduction. Intraoperative stress responses and postoperative pain can be monitored using photoplethysmography (PPG). PPG signal has two components, AC and DC. Effects of noxious stimuli-induced stress responses have not been studied on the DC component of PPG. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a known noxious stimulus (endotracheal intubation) on both the AC and DC components of PPG. Methods. 15 surgical patients having general anesthesia were enrolled into this clinical study. PPG was recorded electronically from a pulse oximeter. Maximum changes in the AC and DC components of the PPG and pulse rate were determined in response to endotracheal intubation from high frequency (62.5 Hz) PPG recordings. Results. Endotracheal intubation-induced autonomic stress response resulted in a significant decrease in the AC component of the PPG and an increase in pulse rate in every subject (p < 0.05 for all). The decrease in the AC component of the PPG was 50 ± 12% (p < 0.05) and the increase in pulse rate was 26 ± 10 bpm (p < 0.05). The response of the DC component was variable (p = NS). Conclusion. Endotracheal intubation-induced stress response resulted in a significant and consistent change in the AC, but not the DC component of the PPG. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03032939.
Grouping Water-Demand Nodes by Similarity among Flow Paths in Water-Distribution Systems

AbstractThe identification of monitoring or sensor locations, or demand estimation, within drinking water distribution systems can be challenging given the size of realistic network models. Approac...
Photophobia in neurologic disorders

Photophobia is a common symptom seen in many neurologic disorders, however, its pathophysiology remains unclear. Even the term is ambiguous. In this paper, we review the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of photophobia in neurological disorders, including primary headache, blepharospasm, progressive supranuclear palsy, and traumatic brain injury, discuss the definition, etiology and pathogenesis, and summarize practical methods of diagnosis and treatment.
Herb Wright's contributions to archaeology

Despite the fact that Herb Wright was a geologist, it can be argued that few individuals have made greater contributions to Plains and Midwestern archaeology. The necessity of Wright’s work for mid...
Insight Gleaned from Our Participation in a Faculty Self-Study Learning Group

The first chapter in this section, written by the department chair who oversaw the formation of the Department of Instruction and Leadership in Education (DILE) self-study of teacher education practices (S-STEP) group, explored some of the challenges and opportunities in creating a place for self-study research within a school of education in the United States that, like so many others, desires to offer quality courses taught by faculty who are experts in their field and productive as educational researchers. The second chapter in this section reported on the experiences of the facilitator of the self-study group as he tried to plan and execute learning opportunities for his colleagues to help them better understand and use S-STEP methodology to advance their teaching, research, or both. The chapters immediately thereafter consisted of individual accounts from each member of the group addressing issues related to their learning of self-study and its application to their work. For this final chapter, we present the findings of a collaborative self-study focused on our experiences in the group and our collective learning of self-study research. Specifically we explore issues related to who we are as teacher educators that made us interested in self-study, what we wanted to get from our participation in the group, our collective understandings of self-study methodology, and our perceptions of the usefulness of the group in relation to facilitating such understandings of self-study.
Land use/cover change in Ghana’s oil city: Assessing the impact of neoliberal economic policies and implications for sustainable development goal number one – A remote sensing and GIS approach

Increasing levels of urbanization around the globe has contributed to the loss of agricultural lands in many exurban zones. Loss of agricultural lands, in many cases, worsens poverty levels of smallholder farmers who depend on subsistence farming – an issue that Sustainable Development Goal number one seeks to address. Land use and land cover (LULC) change studies are widely used to monitor human-induced changes in the environment. This study used multi-temporal satellite images and geographic information systems (GIS) to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of land use/cover changes in Sekondi-Takoradi, over a 30-year period (1986–2016), to understand how recent historical events and economic policies may have contributed to such changes. Our results suggest that the size of urban land area has nearly doubled through the study period to accommodate the constantly increasing population in the metropolis. This has led to a significant reduction in agricultural lands and an almost complete obliteration of standing forest. Policies enacted during the era of structural adjustment program and the current oil industry seem to have been the main drivers of LULC changes in Sekondi-Takoradi. With the prevailing antagonism between urban expansion and agricultural land use activities, our study asserts the need to control urban sprawl. This will be important to prevent loss of lands dedicated to subsistence farming, if complete eradication of poverty as stipulated by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number one will be a realistic goal for the people of Sekondi-Takoradi.
The Memory of the Past: National Memory and Commemoration

This chapter takes up two case studies involving Irish national memory and commemoration. The first explores the ways that Joyce’s works—from “The Dead” to Finnegans Wake—treat the historical memory of William III, Prince of Orange (and his horse), at the Battles of Aughrim and the Boyne, the events that sealed the future of Ireland as a British colony and as an island of divided allegiances (orange vs. green), with Unionists revering the memory of King Billy and Republicans despising it. The second case study takes up a more recent battle, the 1916 Easter Rising, and explores the varying and conflicting ways that it has been remembered for the past 100 years, including during the recent 2016 centenary commemorations.
Jumpstart program efficacy: The impact of early childhood education advancement initiatives on low-income preschool children’s literacy, agency, and social relations

The Jumpstart program is a national early childhood education program focusing on supporting children’s language skills, literacy, and social-emotional development. The present study examined the i...
Optimal Distribution Mapping for Inference Privacy

Information sanitization to protect an underlying label from being inferred through a data stream is investigated in this work. The problem is posed as an optimal mapping from an underlying distribution that reveals a class/label for the data to a target distribution with minimum distortion. The optimal sanitization operation are transformed to convex optimization problems corresponding to the domain of the source and target distributions. In particular, when one of the distributions is discrete, a parallel is drawn to a biased quantization method and an efficient sub-gradient method is proposed to derive the optimal transformation. The method is extended to a real time scenario when multiple source distributions are to be mapped to a fixed target distribution without prior knowledge of the label of the streaming data, in order to defeat any hypothesis test between the labels. It is shown that even when the source label is unknown to the sanitizer, optimal distortion is possible with perfect privacy.
Fractionated CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Perioptic Pituitary Adenomas

Objective Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the reference standard for radiotherapy for pituitary adenomas but has been limited to lesions with sufficient distance (i.e., >3 mm) from the optic apparatus. We used marginless, fractionated (i.e., 25–28 fractions) stereotactic radiotherapy and the CyberKnife to treat pituitary adenomas that were not eligible for SRS. We present the clinical outcomes, including local control, endocrine function, and toxicity from modern fractionated radiotherapy. Methods A total of 53 patients were treated for pituitary adenomas within 3 mm of the optic apparatus. The primary endpoint was tumor control with the secondary endpoints of vision and pituitary function preservation and endocrine control in hormone-secreting tumors. Results The tumor control rate as measured on magnetic resonance imaging as either stable or decreased in size was 98.1% (52 of 53) at a mean follow-up of 32.5 months (range, 3–77). All patients experienced preservation or improvement of their preexisting vision status. No change in pituitary function was noted in 52 of the 53 patients (98.1%). One patient experienced worsening of pituitary function secondary to pituitary apoplexy that occurred 4 months after treatment. The endocrine control rate in hormone-secreting tumors was 75% (6 of 8). Conclusions Marginless, fractionated CyberKnife radiotherapy demonstrated excellent local tumor control and endocrine control rates, comparable to those with SRS, with preservation of vision in patients with adenomas in close proximity to the optic pathway.
Just talk? Learning across political divides on college campuses:

How can universities cultivate students’ capacity to learn across political divides? While many universities affirm the importance of open exchange between people who hold different views, it is un...
Corporate ESG Profiles and Banking Relationships

We show that banking relationships act as a transmission mechanism for promoting corporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies. Specifically, banks are more likely to grant loans to borrowers with similar ESG profiles, and positively influence subsequent borrower ESG performance. This influence is more pronounced when 1) banks have significantly better ESG ratings than their borrowers, and 2) borrowers are bank-dependent. We exploit M&A among lenders as a source of quasi-exogenous variations in the lender’s ESG standard to alleviate concerns on endogeneity. Overall, our study presents the first empirical evidence on the interplay between responsible lending and borrower ESG behavior.
Claiming a Pedagogy of Interruption through International Experiences.

This essay shares impressions from French and German higher education through a comparative US lens, with a special focus on internationalization and mobility. The author integrates the theoretical...
Dopamine neurons change their tuning according to courtship context in singing birds

Attending to mistakes while practicing alone provides opportunities for learning, but self-evaluation during audience-directed performance could distract from ongoing execution. It remains unknown how animals switch between practice and performance modes, and how evaluation systems process errors across distinct performance contexts. We recorded from striatal-projecting dopamine (DA) neurons as male songbirds transitioned from singing alone to singing female-directed courtship song. In the presence of the female, singing-related performance error signals were reduced or gated off and DA neurons were instead phasically activated by female vocalizations. Mesostriatal DA neurons can thus dynamically change their tuning with changes in social context.
INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS DISCOVERY DUE TO STEMI DIAGNOSIS

Infective endocarditis (IE) rarely causes ACS from septic emboli. When this occurs, the mortality rate is very high. We present a case of STEMI secondary to IE. A 77-year-old male with hypertension and dyslipidemia presented with presyncope. ECG initially revealed normal sinus rhythm without acute
Adolescent Behavioral Characteristics Mediate Familial Effects on Alcohol Use and Problems in College-Bound Students:

Background:Studies suggest a broad spectrum of behaviors associated with drinking. Consequently, it is unclear whether patterns of familial risk for psychopathology are directly or indirectly relat...
Paternal exposure to the pesticide DDT induces intergenerational programming of breast cancer predisposition via sperm miRNA

Abstract Background DNA sequence accounts for the majority of disease heritability, including cancer. However, it is becoming clear that environmentally-induced epigenetic inheritance can also occur. Epidemiological studies have shown that maternal exposure to the pesticide DDT in pregnancy is associated with increased breast cancer risk in women. Yet, the effects of paternal exposure to this and other pesticides on the progeny’s breast cancer development has not been investigated. Methods Male mice (c57bl/6) were exposed to DDT or to a control-vehicle (CO) solution and used for sperm collection or mating with unexposed females to produce the DDT or CO daughters. In another experiment, normal mouse embryos (zygote stage) were injected with miRNA-10b and implanted into surrogate mothers to produce miR-10b offspring. DDT daughters or miRNA-10b females were used to study breast cancer development and metabolic parameters. Paternal sperm was used for RNA-seq analysis and miRNA expression levels. Results Pre-conception paternal DDT exposure altered the sperm small non-coding RNA load, with an increase in miRNAs and a specific surge in miRNA-10b levels. DDT offspring weighed less at birth and at weaning, but became overweight and showed metabolic dysfunction in adulthood compared to CO. DDT daughters also showed increased mammary tumorigenesis, developing more aggressive tumors that grew faster than in CO. This tumor phenotype was linked to suppression of the AMPK energy sensing pathway and mTOR activation in mammary tissues. Remarkably, embryonic injection of miRNA-10b recapitulated the mammary gland and tumor phenotypes observed in DDT daughters. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between paternal DDT exposure and breast cancer in offspring. Paternal DDT-induced programming of breast cancer development in daughters is mechanistically linked to sperm miRNA-10b. The impact of DDT and other endocrine disrupting chemicals on sperm and programming of breast and other cancers in offspring needs to be evaluated in humans.