cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On decentralized optimal control and information structures

A canonical decentralized optimal control problem with quadratic cost criteria can be cast as an LQR problem in which the stabilizing controller is restricted to lie in a constraint set. We characterize a wide class of systems and constraint sets for which the canonical problem is tractable. We employ the notion of operator algebras to study the structural properties of the canonical problem. Examples of some widely used operator algebras in the context of distributed control include the subspace of infinite and finite dimensional spatially decaying operators, lower (or upper) triangular matrices, and circulant matrices. For a given operator algebra, we prove that if the trajectory of the solution of an operator differential equation starts inside the operator algebra, it will remain inside for all times. Using this result, we show that if the constraint set is an operator algebra, the canonical problem is solvable and equivalent to the standard LQR problem without the information constraint.
After Tantura/after Auschwitz: Trauma, postcoloniality and the (un)writing of the Nakbah in the documentary film Paradise Lost

Ebtisam Mara'na's documentary film Paradise Lost (2002) foregrounds the struggles of Palestinians in Israel for national identity and equal civil rights. Moreover, it simultaneously offers a postmodern critique of the foundational significance of the Nakbah master narrative in Palestinian collective memory. It inscribes the memory of the Nakbah as more contradictory and polysemic; valorizes personal traumas over national ones; and asserts the limits of witness testimony, rendering the Nakbah unrepresentable. In resolving the contradictions between postcoloniality and postmodernity within which the film is framed, however, the film's conclusion posits the need merely for transcendence of the Nakbah. A more productive reframing of the Nakbah should instead insist not only on the power of critical appropriation of the dominant terms and concepts in trauma and Holocaust studies, but also on the power of interruption that disavows any closure, any final solution, to the problem of representing the disaster.
Lifestyle physical activity for individuals with spinal cord injury: a pilot study.

Abstract Purpose. To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a lifestyle physical activity program for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods. Sixteen nonexercising adult volunteers with SCI participated in a single group pre-post–test of the “Be Active in Life Program” comprising stage-matched educational materials, home visit by a nurse, construction of a personal plan to increase activity, and four follow-up phone calls. Program acceptability, stage of change, barriers to health-promoting activities, abilities for health practices, health, depression, and muscle strength were rated. Physical activity was monitored using actigraphy and a self-report record. Results. Participants rated the program positively, although some preferred a structured exercise approach. Eighty-one percent of participants progressed in stage of change and 60% increased physical activity. There were significant changes in motivational barriers, exercise self-efficacy, self-rated health, and muscle strength. Discussi...
Floating point arithmetic and digital filters

The roundoff noise properties of floating point digital filters are examined. To make the analysis tractable, a high level model to deal with the errors in the inner product operation is developed. This model establishes a broad connection between coefficient sensitivity and roundoff noise. Along with the model, an efficient procedure to keep track of the addition scheme used in the inner product, and to compute the statistics of the errors is introduced. A systematic procedure based on the model is then developed to derive general expressions for the roundoff noise of FIR, direct form IIR, and state-space filters. The expressions in the context of state space filters are explored in some detail. Optimality issues are considered, and it is shown that when double precision accumulation is used, the optimal filters are similar in nature to those derived in the context of fixed point arithmetic with the essential difference that they also do depend on the spectrum of the input signal. Optimality with respect to addition schemes, and second-order filters are also examined in some detail. >
Analysis of Parasitic PNP Bipolar Transistor Mitigation Using Well Contacts in 130 nm and 90 nm CMOS Technology

Three-dimensional TCAD models are used in mixed- mode simulations to analyze the effectiveness of well contacts at mitigating parasitic PNP bipolar conduction due to a direct hit ion strike. 130 nm and 90 nm technology are simulated. Results show careful well contact design can improve mitigation. However, well contact effectiveness is seen to decrease from the 130 nm to the 90 nm simulations.
Security service level agreements: quantifiable security for the enterprise?

A popular business paradigm for information systems treats the information infrastructure as a corporate utility. In this model, a fixed Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is associated with a given workstation, the network infrastructure, user applications, and personnel required for operational support. Related to the TCO model is the Seat Management model, which exploits the economies of standardization and scale to reduce information technology expenses. In both of these models, a defined, measurable, service level is applied as a cost metric, For example, seven days per week, twenty-four hour help desk support is more costly than five clays per week, business hours support. These measurable service levels are defined as Service Level Agreements. Few security services have been specified in terms that are amenable to Service Level Agreements. This raises the question -- can security be adequately expressed in a Service Level Agreement context. This paper looks at a derivation of security related service level agreements for a large enterprise. The possible applications of this approach are presented, as is a discussion of the caveats an information technology organization should consider prior to adopting security service level agreements.
Can Perpetual Learning Explain the Forward Premium Puzzle

Abstract Under rational expectations and risk neutrality the linear projection of exchange-rate change on the forward premium has a unit coefficient. However, empirical estimates of this coefficient are significantly less than one and often negative. We show that replacing rational expectations by discounted least-squares (or “perpetual”) learning generates a negative bias that becomes strongest when the fundamentals are strongly persistent, i.e. close to a random walk. Perpetual learning can explain the forward-premium puzzle while simultaneously replicating other features of the data, including positive serial correlation of the forward premium and disappearance of the anomaly in other forms of the test.
Damage Assessment using Generalized State-Space Correlation Features

Recently, damage detection capability has been demonstrated successfully using state-space based algorithms. These methods are advantageous because they rely on data-driven techniques that do not conform to models or assumptions like linearity. State-space-based features traditionally involve comparisons between measurements taken at the same location but at different times to determine if a change has taken place. However, if features such as state-space cross-prediction error and generalized interdependence are formulated such that they instead employ comparisons between simultaneous measurements at different locations, a fuller assessment of structural damage is possible. In addition to the presence of damage, other characteristics such as the extent, location, and type of damage can be revealed from these features. This approach is validated through a multi-degree-of-freedom oscillator and an experimental frame structure.
A scheme for real-time channel establishment in wide-area networks

Multimedia communication involving digital audio and/or digital video has rather strict delay requirements. A real-time channel is defined as a simplex connection between a source and a destination characterized by parameters representing the performance requirements of the client. A study is made of the feasibility of providing real-time services on a packet-switched store-and-forward wide-area network with general topology. A description is given of a scheme for the establishment of channels with deterministic or statistical delay bounds, and the results of the simulation experiments run to evaluate it are presented. The results are judged encouraging: the approach satisfies the guarantees even in worst case situations, uses the network's resources to a fair extent, and efficiently handles channels with a variety of offered load and burstiness characteristics. Also, the packet transmission overhead is quite low, and the channel establishment overhead is small enough to be acceptable in most practical cases. >
Relationships among characiform fishes inferred from analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences.

Suprafamilial relationships among characiform Wshes and implications for the taxonomy and biogeographic history of the Characiformes were investigated by parsimony analysis of four nuclear and two mitochondrial genes across 124 ingroup and 11 outgroup taxa. Simultaneous analysis of 3660 aligned base pairs from the mitochondrial 16S and cytochrome b genes and the nuclear recombination activating gene (RAG2), seven in absentia (sia), forkhead (fkh), and -tropomyosin (trop) gene loci conWrmed the non-monophyly of the African and Neotropical assemblages and corroborated many suprafamilial groups proposed previously on the basis of morphological features. The African distichodontids plus citharinids were strongly supported as a monophyletic Citharinoidei that is the sistergroup to all other characiforms, which form a monophyletic Characoidei composed of two large clades. The Wrst represents an assemblage of both African and Neotropical taxa, wherein a monophyletic African Alestidae is sister to a smaller clade comprised of the Neotropical families Ctenolucidae, Lebiasinidae, and the African Hepsetidae, with that assemblage sister to a strictly Neotropical clade comprised of the Crenuchidae and Erythrinidae. The second clade within the Characoidei is strictly Neotropical and includes all other Characiformes grouped into two well supported major clades. The Wrst, corresponding to a traditional deWnition of the Characidae, is congruent with some groupings previously supported by morphological evidence. The second clade comprises a monophyletic Anostomoidea that is sister to a clade formed by the families Hemiodontidae, Parodontidae, and Serrasalmidae, with that assemblage, in turn, the sistergroup of the Cynodontidae. Serrasalmidae, traditionally regarded as a subfamily of Characidae, was recovered as the sistergroup of (Anostomoidea (Parodontidae + Hemiodontidae)) and the family Cynodontidae was recovered with strong support as the sistergroup to this assemblage. Our results reveal three instances of trans-continental sistergroup relationships and, in light of the fossil evidence, suggest that marine dispersal cannot be ruled out a priori and that a simple model of vicariance does not readily explain the biogeographic history of the characiform Wshes.
Advanced High-Voltage 4H-SiC Schottky Rectifiers

This paper presents advanced 4H-SiC high-voltage Schottky rectifiers with improved performance when compared to conventional 4H-SiC Schottky rectifiers. Two types of 4H-SiC junction barrier Schottky (JBS) rectifiers have been explored. These rectifiers offer Schottky-like ON-state and fast switching characteristics, while their OFF-state characteristics have a low leakage current similar to that of the PiN junction rectifier. Planar 4H-SiC JBS rectifiers, with more than 1-kV blocking capability and orders of magnitude lower reverse leakage current than that of conventional SiC Schottky rectifiers, have been demonstrated. In addition, a novel device structure, called lateral channel JBS rectifier, was designed and experimentally demonstrated in 4H-SiC with up to 1.5-kV blocking capability and pinlike reverse characteristics.
Beware misleading cues: Perceptual similarity modulates the N2/P3 complex

Event-related potentials were used to investigate neural processes relating perceptual similarity to action control. To assess whether perceptual overlap among targets and nontargets would modulate the N2/P3 complex, the present study used multiple nontarget categories varying in their targetlike characteristics. Participants made one (relatively rare) response to a low-probability stimulus (target), and they made a different (relatively common) response to all other stimuli (nontargets). The critical nontarget categories had equivalent probability (.10) but varied in their targetlike characteristics. Supporting the N2 component as sensitive to the strength of conflicting action imperatives, perceptual overlap among targets and nontargets elicited a prominent N2. In contrast, amplitude of the P3 component appeared most sensitive to the extent of cognitive processing needed for categorization.
Organizational cultures as agents of differential association: explaining the variation in bribery practices in Ukrainian universities

This article explores the variation in bureaucratic bribery practices of ordinary Ukrainians. Despite common arguments about corruption-generating structural constraints of economic transition and about the regional culture of corruption in Eastern Europe, interviews with university-affiliated Ukrainians reveal significant variation in rates and patterns of their engagement in bribery. This article shows that participation in corruption is closely associated with actors' exposure to organizational cultures. It uses Edwin Sutherland's differential association theory of crime to argue that the acquisition of definitions that are either favorable or unfavorable to bribery through exposure to different organizational cultures of universities leads Ukrainians to either commit or avoid bribery. Students and professors acquire crime-related definitions through (1) encounters with institutionalized bribery mechanisms, (2) conversations with peers and colleagues with more substantial experience within specific universities; and (3) observations of other students and instructors. Karl Weick's notion of organizational enactment is argued to be the mechanism whereby these learned definitions translate into specific bribery-related behaviors. Inasmuch as acting against these definitions may lead to academic or professional failure, testing their validity is risky for university members. The processes of organizational enactment of bribery-related definitions are, therefore, at the core of organizations' role as agents of differential association. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the potential synthesis of differential association and organizational theories as a powerful tool for the study of bureaucratic corruption.
ENCAPSULATION OF A WATER SOLUBLE DRUG IN A LIPOSOME PREPARATION: REMOVAL OF FREE DRUG BY WASHING

AbstractMultilamellar and unilamellar vesicles were generated by using phosphatidylcholine-phosphatidylglycerol-cholesterol formulation. Liposomes were washed with normal saline to remove non-encapsulated drug. The result of the washing technique was the removal of free (non-encapsulated) drug, in turn improved the percent drug encapsulation in washed liposome preparation. Liposome vesicles were characterized by size, lamellarity, and percent drug encapsulation. Vesicle size was assessed by light scattering, lamellarity by electron microscopy and drug concentration by HPLC techniques.
The IMF's Reserves Template and Nominal Exchange Rate Volatility

The effects of the adoption of the IMF's International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity Data Template on nominal exchange rate volatility are investigated for 48 countries. Estimation of panel data models indicates that nominal exchange rate volatility decreases following dissemination of reserves template data while the effects of indebtedness and reserve adequacy on volatility exhibit statistically significant changes.
Modified method for the determination of pyruvic acid with dinitrophenylhydrazine in the assessment of onion pungency

Modifications to the commonly used Schwimmer and Weston procedure for determining pyruvic acid in onions are proposed. These modifications involve changes in the concentrations and volumes of the reagents and the use of 515 rather than 420nm as the wavelength for measurements. These changes improve both the linearity and the sensitivity of the assay and eliminate interference from coloured material found in yellow onions. With these changes, more reliable determinations of pyruvic acid and thus of onion pungency should be possible.  2003 Society of Chemical Industry
Copper deficiency in chicks: effects of ascorbic acid on iron, copper, cytochrome oxidase activity, and aortic mucopolysaccharides.

1. Copper deficiency was induced in newly hatched chicks by feeding on a milk-based diet for 12 d; effects of supplementation with ascorbic acid were studied.2. Cu deficiency alone resulted in 30% mortality from aortic rupture. This was associated with a 20% increase in total acid mucopolysaccharides in the aorta, manifested as an increase in chondroitin sulphate and a relative decrease in hyaluronic acid. Cytochrome oxidase activity of liver and heart was less than half that of the controls.3. Supplementing the Cu-deficient diet with 0.5 % L-ascorbic acid increased mortality to 40%, raised total aortic acid mucopolysaccharides to a higher level, and increased liver iron by 36%.4. Supplementing the control diet with ascorbic acid decreased liver Cu by 30% and significantly reduced total aortic acid mucopolysaccharides.5. The enhancement of the Cu-deficiency effect by ascorbic acid probably results from interactions between ascorbic acid and absorption or metabolism of Cu; untoward effects of supplementing the control diet with ascorbic acid may be interpreted as manifestations of ascorbic acid toxicity per se.
Clinical practice: an emphasis strategy for promotion and tenure.

TOPIC Emphasizing clinical practice in promotion and tenure materials. PURPOSE To share a successful strategy centered on clinical practice with members of the tenure track, advanced practice nurse faculty. SOURCES Published literature, author's experience. CONCLUSIONS Creativity and planning can assist tenure track faculty members in emphasizing their clinical practice for promotion and tenure. Recognition and rewards for clinical practice beyond the school of nursing continue to be challenges in the larger university.
Interference Diversity in Frequency-Hopped Systems with Soft Decoding

In this paper, we analyze the effect of interference diversity on the capacity of a cellular system that employs frequency hopping, power control and bit-interleaved coded modulation. Interference is created when the hopping patterns of adjacent cells intersect with the patterns of the cell of interest, with a probability that depends on the occupancy of each cell. However, due to frequency hopping and power control, the power of the interference varies randomly across the received symbols creating what is usually named in the literature as interference diversity. We explicitly take into account this randomness and, under a channel model that accounts for fading and path loss, analyze the performance of two receivers; a receiver that tracks the variations of the interference power across the received symbols and a receiver that remains oblivious to these variations. Our results demonstrate under what circumstances the additional complexity of tracking the interference power variations is justified.
Lottery versus all-pay auction models of lobbying ∗

I first provide a complete characterization of the unique equilibrium of the lottery game by n lobbyists with asymmetric valuations, and then compare the lottery and the all-pay auction models of lobbying. I show that the exclusion principle discovered by Baye, Kovenock and de Vries (1993) for all-pay auction does not apply to lottery. I also show that the perverse effect that an exogenous cap may increase the total lobbying expenditure in a two-bidder all-pay auction discovered by Che and Gale (1998) does not apply to lottery.
Modelling the impact of pulsed CAMP volcanism on pCO2 and δ13C across the Triassic–Jurassic transition

A sharp negative δ 13 C excursion coincides with the end-Triassic mass extinction. This is followed by a protracted interval of 13 C enrichment. These isotopic events occurred simultaneously with the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). Here we use a carbon cycle box model to explore the effects of episodic carbon release – constrained by recently developed high-resolution chronology – on atmospheric p CO 2 , ocean chemistry and the δ 13 C of the ocean–atmosphere carbon pool. Our results are consistent with previous modelling efforts in suggesting that the sharp negative δ 13 C excursion and acidification event associated with the extinction are best explained by the rapid release (<20 ka) of highly 13 C-depleted carbon (−70‰). However, our model also indicates that the likely short duration of the excursion requires organic carbon burial to have closely followed carbon injection. The age within the Hettangian of the large positive δ 13 C excursion which follows is currently uncertain. If early Hettangian in age, then our modelling indicates that the interval of 13 C enrichment was closely associated with the volcanic CO 2 pulses and p CO 2 peaks. If late Hettangian in age, then the 13 C enrichment must have lagged the carbon input substantially (by hundreds of thousands of years) and was associated with CO 2 drawdown and over-cooling. Our modelling highlights the need for improved age constraints on Hettangian stratigraphic sections in order to test between two distinct and contrasting possibilities: continuing carbon cycle instability due to recurrent perturbations from CAMP activity or a delayed recovery arising from internal biosphere dynamics.
The Hammerhead Ribozyme: Structure, Catalysis, and Gene Regulation

The hammerhead ribozyme has long been considered a prototype for understanding RNA catalysis, but discrepancies between the earlier crystal structures of a minimal hammerhead self-cleaving motif and various biochemical investigations frustrated attempt to understand hammerhead ribozyme catalysis in terms of structure. With the discovery that a tertiary contact distal from the ribozyme's active site greatly enhances its catalytic prowess, and the emergence of new corresponding crystal structures of full-length hammerhead ribozymes, a unified understanding of catalysis in terms of the structure is now possible. A mechanism in which the invariant residue G12 functions as a general base, and the 2'-OH moiety of the invariant G8, itself forming a tertiary base pair with the invariant C3, is the general acid, appears consistent with both the crystal structure and biochemical experimental results. Originally discovered in the context of plant satellite RNA viruses, the hammerhead more recently has been found embedded in the 3'-untranslated region of mature mammalian mRNAs, suggesting additional biological roles in genetic regulation.
Laboratory measurement of stress-dependent coal permeability using pulse-decay technique and flow modeling with gas depletion

Abstract A laboratory-scale coal permeability measurement study using the pressure pulse decay method was carried out to establish the permeability variation trend impacted by the combined effects of effective stresses and coal matrix shrinkage associated with gas depletion under uniaxial strain condition for San Juan basin coal. The experimental results showed that increased effective horizontal stress negatively impacts permeability enhancement. Furthermore, effective horizontal stress dominates the permeability variation. Finally, the rate of permeability increase accelerates dramatically at low pressures as a result of decrease in effective horizontal stress due to the matrix shrinkage effect. The established pressure-dependent-permeability (PdK) was compared with modeled results using two models, Harpalani and Chen and Shi and Durucan, both based on variations in effective horizontal stress. The match with the results obtained using the Harpalani and Chen model was perfect when appropriate initial cleat porosity and matrix shrinkage strain parameters were used. However, given the analytical conditions presented, the agreement between experimental and modeled results using the Shi and Durucan model was poor. After reviewing the fundamental principles behind model development, a modification was made, based on geo-mechanical principles. The measured permeability variation matched well with the results predicted by the modified model when appropriate cleat compressibility values were used. Basically, the revised model increases the effect of matrix shrinkage on permeability changes with continued depletion. The modeled results showed a permeability trend consistent with the experimental result although the permeability of coal was overestimated at low pressures.
Spatial Multiplexer and Experimental Attenuation of a Four Channel Spatial Domain Multiplexed System in Multimode Fibers Using Fiber Taper Technology

Spatial domain multiplexing enables co-propagation of multiple spatially separated channels of same wavelength over multimode fibers. Spatial multiplexer and attenuation of four such channels over a tapered 62.5/125μm step index fiber is reported.
Preparations and Evaluations of TiN/AlN Superlattces by Arc Ion Plating

Polycrystalline TiN/AlN superlattice coatings were deposited on silicon and cemented carbide substrates using an arc ion plating system. The superlattice period was determined by the substrate holder rotation speed and the arc current. Evaluation methods including X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the superlattice coatings. Microhardness and high-temperature oxidation tests for the superlattice TiN/AlN films were also evaluated. The results obtained are as follows : The microhardness of TiN/AlN superlattice films was found to be about Hk4000. TiN/AlN superlattice films start to oxidize at a temperature level of 1203 K in hot air.
Machiavelli Re-writing Woman. A Grammaticalization of Conspiracy

“Machiavelli Re-Writing Woman. A Grammaticalization of Conspiracy” is an attempt to track Machiavelli's own meanderings and repeated ruminations on the act of conspiracy as evidenced in his writings and re-writings of the “same” story. The story involves the figure of Caterina Sforza as portrayed in the Discourses and the Florentine Histories. The purpose of this article is to shed light on a characteristic process by which Machiavelli crystallizes his own understanding of human events through language, thus offering it up to those who will read his writings. What lies at the heart of “Machiavelli Re-Writing Woman” is an effort to comprehend and articulate Machiavelli's literary performance of the act of conspiracy. The focus, therefore, is necessarily concentrated on the smallest of details within the text and between texts, as this close reading tries to scan the subtle and meaningful distinctions — Machiavellian simulations and dissimulations — that would be themselves linguistic representations of a c...
Impact of Early Detection of Respiratory Viruses by Multiplex PCR Assay on Clinical Outcomes in Adult Patients

Rapid and definitive diagnosis of viral respiratory infections is imperative in patient triage and management. We compared the outcomes for adult patients with positive tests for respiratory viruses at a tertiary care center across two consecutive influenza seasons (winters of 2010-2011 and 2012). Infections were diagnosed by conventional methods in the first season and by multiplex PCR (FilmArray) in the second season. FilmArray decreased the time to diagnosis of influenza compared to conventional methods (median turnaround times of 1.7 h versus 7.7 h, respectively; P = 0.015); FilmArray also decreased the time to diagnosis of non-influenza viruses (1.5 h versus 13.5 h, respectively; P < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression found that a diagnosis of influenza by FilmArray was associated with significantly lower odds ratios (ORs) for admission (P = 0.046), length of stay (P = 0.040), duration of antimicrobial use (P = 0.032), and number of chest radiographs (P = 0.005), when controlling for potential confounders. We conclude that the rapid turnaround time, multiplex nature of the test (allowing simultaneous detection of an array of viruses), and superior sensitivity of FilmArray may improve the evaluation and management of patients suspected of having respiratory virus infections.
Correlation of Acute ICP and CBF with CT Scan and Neuropsychological Recovery in Severe Head Injury

There is increasing evidence that intracranial pressure is a significant determinant of outcome following acute head injury (Marshall et al. 1979, Pitts et al. 1980, Narayan et al. 1982). Although the mechanism for this is not fully understood, recent reports on the relationship between CT scan and outcome (Van Dongen et al. 1983, Toutant et al. 1984), and between ICP and CT scan (Murphy et al. 1983), suggest that brain swelling accompanied by compression of the basal cisterns plays an important role. Evidence that cerebral circulatory factors contribute to brain swelling and elevations of ICP has also been reported (Bruce et al. 1981, Obrist et al. 1984). The present paper examines the interrelationship of ICP, cerebral blood flow (CBF) and CT scan evidence of brain swelling, with special emphasis on the correlation of these variables to neuropsychological outcome.
Development of powdered food with the addition of Spirulina for food supplementation of the elderly population

Abstract The elderly are prone to developing nutritional deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, and proteins as well as energy. The addition of Spirulina biomass to food is of interest because of the microalga's nutritional content. Therefore, this study sought to develop chocolate flavor shake-type powdered food, enriched with Spirulina. The chemical composition of the products was analyzed, and they were subjected to sensory testing and shelf life estimation. Food developed presented a mean 42% (w·w− 1) protein and 46% (w·w− 1) carbohydrates content. The average acceptance rates were 7.68 and 7.77, for shakes with and without Spirulina, respectively. The shelf life was estimated at 19 months for the product with incorporated biomass and 24 months for product without Spirulina. Sensory analysis showed that the addition of Spirulina in foods was well accepted by the target public. Products with added microalgal biomass can provide energy and protein and can contribute to the elderly population's nutritional requirements. Industrial relevance The preparation of food products for specific population groups pose major challenges for the food industry. These processes involve large investments in research, but tend to generate competitive advantages for the investing companies. One of the groups that deserve special attention are the elderly, who may present a number of specific nutritional deficiencies that must be supplied by diet. Within this scenario, the enrichment products for seniors with Spirulina becomes very interesting, because it makes food a source of protein and carbohydrates, as well as providing a number of dietary bioactive compounds, essential fatty acids and vitamins.
Staphylococcus aureus Pathogenesis: The Importance of Reduced Cytotoxicity

Toxin production clearly contributes to the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus, but that does not mean it is always in the best interest of the pathogen. Indeed, the ability to limit toxin production may provide an important mechanism for persistence, dissemination, and development of invasive disease within an individual human host.
Political Opportunities for Climate Policy: California, New York, and the Federal Government

Analysis of climate change policies focuses mainly on the prospects for international agreements or how climate policies should be designed. Yet effective domestic climate policies are essential to any global solution, and we know too little about how and why such policies are adopted. Political Opportunities for Climate Policy examines in depth the causes of effective climate policies in the United States, using a statistical analysis of all fifty states and long-term case studies of California, New York, and the federal government. Roger Karapin analyzes twenty-two episodes in which policies were adopted, blocked, or reversed. He shows that actors and events have positively affected climate policy making, despite the constraints presented by political institutions and powerful fossil fuel industries. Climate policy advocates have succeeded when they mobilized vigorously and astutely during windows of opportunity - which opened when events converged to raise both problem awareness and the political commitment to address them.
Disposition and Pharmacokinetics of a GalNAc3-Conjugated Antisense Oligonucleotide Targeting Human Lipoprotein (a) in Monkeys

Triantennary N-acetyl galactosamine (GalNAc3)-conjugated antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have greatly improved potency due to receptor-mediated uptake into hepatocyte. The disposition and pharmacokinetics of ISIS 681257, a GalNAc3-conjugated ASO, were studied in monkeys. Following subcutaneous (SC) injection, ISIS 681257 was rapidly absorbed into the systemic circulation, with peak plasma levels observed within hours after dosing. After reaching Cmax, plasma concentrations rapidly declined in a multiexponential manner and were characterized by a dominant initial rapid distribution phase in which drug transferred to tissues from circulation, followed by a much slower terminal elimination phase (half-life of 4 weeks). Intact ISIS 681257 is the major full-length oligonucleotide species in plasma (≥70%). In tissues, the conjugated-GalNAc sugar moiety was rapidly metabolized, leaving the fully unconjugated form as the only full-length oligonucleotide detected at 48 h after dosing. Unconjugated ISIS 681257 cl...
A Good Friend Will Help You Move a Body: Friendship and the Problem of Moral Disagreement

On the shared-ends account of close friendship, proper care for a friend as an agent requires seeing yourself as having important reasons to accommodate and promote the friend's valuable ends for the friend's own sake. However, that friends share ends doesn't inoculate them against disagreements about how to pursue those ends. This essay defends the claim that, in certain circumstances of reasonable disagreement, proper care for a friend as a practical and moral agent requires allowing your friend's judgment to decide what you are to do, even when you disagree with that judgment (and even when the judgment is in fact mistaken). In these instances, your friendship can make it the case that you may not act on your own practical and even moral judgments because, at those times, you have a duty as their close friend to defer to their judgments. As a result, treating your friend properly as a responsible agent can require that you assist them in committing what may in fact be serious moral wrongs.
Abstract 4874: OASIS: A centralized portal for cancer omics data analysis

Advances in cancer research and sequencing technologies have contributed to the proliferation of large-scale cancer omics data sets from both public consortia and privately funded collaborations. There are increasing demands for broadly accessible tools that enable scientists to perform ad hoc analyses of cancer omics data. Here we present OASIS (http://oasis.pfizer.com), an open-access web portal that enables complex analytical queries across somatic mutations, copy number changes (CNV) and gene expression data from public domain and Pfizer funded omics studies. OASIS was designed to perform multidimensional data integration, allowing users to analyze correlations among multiple data types, as well as visualize and compare alterations across different cancers. Users can browse alteration summary reports at the gene and sample level and perform analyses using interactive visualizations. These include the Pan-Cancer Report, a unique tool that provides a high-level overview of genetic variation across multiple cancer types. Through the use of the interactive visualizations researchers can explore differentially expressed genes, identify tumor samples for over expression, investigate the correlation between CNV and expression or survey alteration patterns for a list of genes. Users can explore molecular profiles from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and the Catalog of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC), to identify cell line models of interest. Researchers can also construct complex queries through a user-friendly web interface supported by the Biomart query engine. Programmatic access is also available through web services. OASIS is a powerful tool that enables cancer researchers to perform integrative analyses of large-scale cancer omics data sets, thereby facilitating key steps in oncology drug discovery ranging from target identification to model selection. Citation Format: Julio Fernandez-Banet, Anthony Esposito, Scott Coffin, Sabine Schefzick, Ying Ding, Keith Ching, Istvan Horvath, Peter Roberts, Paul Rejto, Zhengyan Kan. OASIS: A centralized portal for cancer omics data analysis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4874. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4874
Scientific and Regulatory Considerations for Generic Complex Drug Products Containing Nanomaterials

In the past few decades, the development of medicine at the nanoscale has been applied to oral and parenteral dosage forms in a wide range of therapeutic areas to enhance drug delivery and reduce toxicity. An obvious response to these benefits is reflected in higher market shares of complex drug products containing nanomaterials than that of conventional formulations containing the same active ingredient. The surging market interest has encouraged the pharmaceutical industry to develop cost-effective generic versions of complex drug products based on nanotechnology when the associated patent and exclusivity on the reference products have expired. Due to their complex nature, nanotechnology-based drugs present unique challenges in determining equivalence standards between generic and innovator products. This manuscript attempts to provide the scientific rationales and regulatory considerations of key equivalence standards (e.g., in vivo studies and in vitro physicochemical characterization) for oral drugs containing nanomaterials, iron-carbohydrate complexes, liposomes, protein-bound drugs, nanotube-forming drugs, and nano emulsions. It also presents active research studies in bridging regulatory and scientific gaps for establishing equivalence of complex products containing nanomaterials. We hope that open communication among industry, academia, and regulatory agencies will accelerate the development and approval processes of generic complex products based on nanotechnology.
Characterization of slow cycling corneal limbal epithelial cells identifies putative stem cell markers.

In order to identify reliable markers of corneal epithelial stem cells, we employed an inducible transgenic “pulse-chase” murine model (K5Tta × TRE-H2BGFP) to localize, purify, and characterize slow cycling cells in the cornea. The retention of GFP labeling in slowly dividing cells allowed for localization of these cells to the corneal limbus and their subsequent purification by FACS. Transcriptome analysis from slow cycling cells identified differentially expressed genes when comparing to GFP- faster-dividing cells. RNA-Seq data from corneal epithelium were compared to epidermal hair follicle stem cell RNA-Seq to identify genes representing common putative stem cell markers or determinants, which included Sox9, Fzd7, Actn1, Anxa3 and Krt17. Overlapping retention of GFP and immunohistochemical expression of Krt15, ΔNp63, Sox9, Actn1, Fzd7 and Krt17 were observed in our transgenic model. Our analysis presents an array of novel genes as putative corneal stem cell markers.
Patient-Specific Fetal Dose Determination for Multi-Target Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Computational Model and Case Report.

A 42-year-old woman at 29 weeks gestation via in vitro fertilization who presented with eight metastatic brain lesions received Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GKSRS) at our institution. In this study, we report our clinical experience and a general procedure of determining the fetal dose from patient-specific treatment plans and we describe quality assurance measurements to guide the safe practice of multi-target GKSRS of pregnant patients. To estimate fetal dose pre-treatment, peripheral dose-to-focal dose ratios (PFRs) were measured in a phantom at the distance approximating the fundus of uterus. Post-treatment, fetal dose was calculated from the actual patient treatment plan. Quality assurance measurements were carried out via the extrapolation dosimetry method in a head phantom at increasing distances along the longitudinal axis. The measurements were then empirically fitted and the fetal dose was extracted from the curve. The computed and measured fetal dose values were compared with each other and associated radiation risk was estimated. Based on low estimated fetal dose from preliminary phantom measurements, the patient was accepted for GKSRS. Eight brain metastases were treated with prescription doses of 15-19 Gy over 143 min involving all collimator sizes as well as composite sector mixed shots. Direct fetal dose computation based on the actual patient's treatment plan estimated a maximum fetal dose of 0.253 cGy, which was in agreement with surface dose measurements at the level of the patient's uterine fundus during the actual treatment. Later phantom measurements also estimated fetal dose to be in the range of 0.21-0.28 cGy (dose extrapolation curve R2 = 0.998). Using the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) population-based model, we estimate the fetal risk of secondary malignancy, which is the primary toxicity after 25 weeks gestation, to be less than 0.01%. Of note, the patient delivered the baby via scheduled cesarean section at 36 weeks without complications attributable to the GKSRS procedure. GKSRS of multiple brain metastases was demonstrated to be safe and feasible during pregnancy. The applicability of a general patient-specific fetal dose determination method was also demonstrated for the first time for such a treatment.
Paget's disease of bone: Pathogenesis and treatment

Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a skeletal disorder that usually is diagnosed in patients over 50 years of age and affects one or several bones but not the entire skeleton. Radiological and pathological studies indicate that the underlying problem is an increase in osteoclastic activity, which initially produces dominant osteolytic lesions that move slowly throughout an affected bone. Over time, the osteolytic areas are replaced by osteosclerotic bone of increased size and chaotic structure. In the lower extremities, affected bones may become bowed due to impaired biomechanical properties of the bone. The overgrowth of bone is produced by a marked proliferation of osteoblasts.
Post-operative fever in orthopaedic surgery: How effective is the ‘fever workup?’:

Background:Defining the appropriate threshold at which to initiate a fever workup is imperative to promote patient safety, appropriate resource utilization, and antibiotic stewardship. Our group pe...
Quantum States for Primitive Ontologists: A Case Study

Under so-called primitive ontology approaches, in fully describing the history of a quantum system, one thereby attributes interesting properties to regions of spacetime. Primitive ontology approaches, which include some varieties of Bohmian mechanics and spontaneous collapse theories, are interesting in part because they hold out the hope that it should not be too difficult to make a connection between models of quantum mechanics and descriptions of histories of ordinary macroscopic bodies. But such approaches are dualistic, positing a quantum state as well as ordinary material degrees of freedom. This paper lays out and compares some options that primitive ontologists have for making sense of the quantum state.
Laser spectroscopy of highly doped NV- centers in diamond

In this paper, prospects of using diamond with NV− centers as a gain medium have been studied. Spectroscopic characterization of NV− centers in diamond as well as absorption saturation and pump-probe experiments have been carried out. Absorption and emission cross-sections were estimated to be 2.8 × 10-17 cm2 and 4.3 × 10-17 cm2 at the maximum of absorption and emission bands, respectively. It was observed from emission spectra under pulse excitation that some NV− are photoionized to NV0 centers with ZPL at 575 nm. Room temperature luminescence lifetime of NV− centers was measured to be 12ns, which is close to the previously reported lifetime in bulk diamond (~13ns). Saturated transmission was only about 11% of calculated values even at energy fluence much higher than the saturation flux. Two excited state absorptions (ESAs) with different relaxation times (“fast-decay” and “slow-decay with relaxation times of ~500 ns and several tens of microseconds, respectively) were revealed in transmission decay kinetics at 632 nm. Kinetics of transmission at 670 nm was dominated by “slow-decay” ESA process. Kinetics of dk/k0 in shorter wavelength were strongly dominated by “fast-decay” ESA process. These results definitively indicate that stimulated emission of NV− centers is suppressed by photoionization and ESAs and the possibility of diamond lasers based on NV− centers is low.
Wold’s Theorem and Automorphic Factors of Endomorphisms

In this chapter, we discuss Wold’s theorem stating the existence of a decomposition of any isometry operator of a Hilbert space in a unitary part and a unilateral shift.
Development and evaluation of the Lake Macroinvertebrate Integrity Index (LMII) for New Jersey lakes and reservoirs.

In response to the recent focus by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on bioassessment of lakes, a multimetric index was developed for New Jersey lakes and reservoirs using benthic macroinvertebrates. Benthic samples were collected from reference and impaired lakes with muck and intermediate sediments in central and northern New Jersey during summer 1997. We used a stepwise process to evaluate properties of candidate metrics and selected five for the Lake Macroinvertebrate Integrity Index (LMII): Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI), percent chironomid individuals, percent collector-gatherer taxa, percent oligochaetes/leeches, and number of Diptera taxa. We scored metrics as the fraction of the best expected value (based on all sites) achieved at a site and summed them into the LMII. Evaluation of the LMII showed that it discriminated well between reference and impaired lakes and was strongly related to several potential stressors. Chemical and physical gradients distinguished between reference and impaired lakes, and the LMII summarized these gradients well. The LMII corresponded strongly with land use, but some lakes with more urban land use still achieved high scores. Based on a power analysis, the ability of the LMII to detect differences in condition was sensitive to the number of samples from each lake.