cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flows on graphs applied to diagonal similarity and diagonal equivalence for matrices

Abstract Three equivalence relations are considered on the set of n × n matrices with elements in F 0 , an abelian group with absorbing zero adjoined. They are the relations of diagonal similarity, diagonal equivalence, and restricted diagonal equivalence. These relations are usually considered for matrices with elements in a field. But only multiplication is involved. Thus our formulation in terms of an abelian group with o is natural. Moreover, if F is chosen to be an additive group, diagonal similarity is characterized in terms of flows on the pattern graph of the matrices and diagonal equivalence in terms of flows on the bipartie graph of the matrices. For restricted diagonal equivalence a pseudo-diagonal of the graph must also be considered. When no pseudo-diagonal is present, the divisibility properties of the group F play a role. We show that the three relations are characterized by cyclic, polygonal, and pseudo-diagonal products for multiplicative F . Thus, our method of reducing propositions concerning the three equivalence relations to propositions concerning flows on graphs, provides a unified approach to problems previously considered independently, and yields some n, w or improved results. Our consideration of cycles rather than circuits eliminates certain restrictions (e.g., the complete reducibility of the matrices) which have previously been imposed. Our results extend theorems in Engel and Schneider [5], where however the group F is permitted to be non-commutative.
Absolutely 3‐chromatic graphs

A fold is a sequence of simple folds (elementary homomorphisms in which the identified vertices are both adjacent to a common vertex). It was shown in (C. R. Cook and A. B. Evans, Graph folding. Proceedings of the South Eastern Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing, Boca Raton, 1979, pp. 305–314) that all connected n-chromatic graphs can be folded onto Kn. A connected n-chromatic graph is called absolutely n-chromatic if it can only be folded onto Km when m = n. Some classes of absolutely n-chromatic graphs were given in Cook and Evans. In this paper, we classify the absolutely 3-chromatic graphs.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency: a historical perspective

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency serves as a prototype of the many human enzyme deficiencies that are now known. Since its discovery more than 50 years ago, the high prevalence of the defect and the easy accessibility of the cells that manifest it have made it a favorite tool of biochemists, epidemiologists, geneticists, and molecular biologists as well as clinicians. In this brief historical review, we trace the discovery of this defect, its clinical manifestations, detection, population genetics, and molecular biology.
Modeling computer virus prevalence with a susceptible-infected-susceptible model with reintroduction

Abstract Computer viruses are an extremely important aspect of computer security, and understanding their spread and extent is an important component of any defensive strategy. Epidemiological models have been proposed to deal with this issue, and we present one such here. We consider a modification of the Susceptible–Infected–Susceptible (SIS) epidemiological model as a model of computer virus spread. This model includes a reintroduction parameter, which models the rerelease of a computer virus, or the introduction of a new virus. This is a more realistic model of computer virus spread than the standard SIS model, and can be used to understand the behavior of the quasi-stationary regime of the SIS model.
Generalized ordinal sums and translations

We extend the lattice embedding of the axiomatic extensions of the positive fragment of intuitionistic logic into the axiomatic extensions of intuitionistic logic to the setting of substructural logics. Our approach is algebraic and uses residuated lattices, the algebraic models for substructural logics. We generalize the notion of the ordinal sum of two residuated lattices and use it to obtain embeddings between subvariety lattices of certain residuated lattice varieties. As a special case we obtain the above mentioned embedding of the subvariety lattice of Brouwerian algebras into an interval of the subvariety lattice of Heyting algebras. We describe the embeddings both in model theoretic terms, focusing on the subdirectly irreducible algebras, and in syntactic terms, by showing how to translate the equational bases of the varieties.
SEEMORE: combining color, shape, and texture histogramming in a neurally inspired approach to visual object recognition

Severe architectural and timing constraints within the primate visual system support the conjecture that the early phase of object recognition in the brain is based on a feedforward feature-extraction hierarchy. To assess the plausibility of this conjecture in an engineering context, a difficult three-dimensional object recognition domain was developed to challenge a pure feedforward, receptive-field-based recognition model called SEEMORE. SEEMORE is based on 102 viewpoint-invariant nonlinear filters that as a group are sensitive to contour, texture, and color cues. The visual domains consists of 100 real objects of many different types, including rigid (shovel), nonrigid (telephone cord), and statistical (maple leaf cluster) objects and photographs of complex scenes. Objects were individually presented in color video images under normal room lighting conditions. Based on 12 to 36 training views, SEEMORE was required to recognize unnormalized test views of objects that could vary in position, orientation in the image plane and in depth, and scale (factor of 2); for nonrigid objects, recognition was also tested under gross shape deformations. Correct classification performance on a test set consisting of 600 novel object views was 97 percent (chance was 1 percent) and was comparable for the subset of 15 nonrigid objects. Performance was also measured under a variety of image degradation conditions, including partial occlusion, limited clutter, color shift, and additive noise. Generalization behavior and classification errors illustrated the emergence of several striking natural shape categories that are not explicitly encoded in the dimensions of the feature space. It is concluded that in the light of the vast hardware resources available in the ventral stream of the primate visual system relative to those exercised here, the appealingly simple feature-space conjecture remains worthy of serious consideration as a neurobiological model.
Functional requirements and conceptual design of the feature-based modelling system

The databases of contemporary CAD systems cannot be used to drive most CAE and CAM systems in an automated manner since CAD systems do not produce a complete product definition. The information that is supported is in the form of low-level details, from which higher-level information such as form features cannot be obtained easily. This paper describes the functional requirements of a system that will be capable of overcoming these deficiencies. FBMS consists of an advanced solid modelling shell and a feature mapping shell, offering richer data structures and the application of artificial intelligence techniques to geometric modelling.
Frontiers of Family Life: Early Modern Atlantic and Indian Ocean Worlds

Families, while usually thought of in local terms, also have their global dimension: some families stretch around the world, while families anywhere are affected by worldwide declines in mortality. This study addresses the local and global changes brought to family structures by migration. Through comparisons of five pairs of regions from the early modern Indian Ocean world and Atlantic basin, the study shows how migration created distinctive regional age and sex ratios. It also traces the flows of migrants between Atlantic and Indian Ocean and compares the intensity of migration in each zone. It argues that expanding migration reinforced familial mixing and family frontiers in virtually every region and every social grouping. The resulting complexity in family mixes often caused families to become smaller, yet brought new criteria (birthplace, colour, religion, etc.) for hierarchy and social order.
Comparative Sequence Analysis of Plant Nuclear Genomes: Microcolinearity and Its Many Exceptions

The flowering plants comprise some 250,000 species and are tremendously diverse in growth habit, environmental adaptation, and nuclear genome structure. Plant genomes tend to be large and complex, varying in size from ∼38 Mb (1 C ) for the crucifer Cardamine amara to >87,000 Mb for Fritillaria
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: a family of lipid-activated transcription factors

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a family of nuclear transcription factors that belong to the steroid receptor superfamily. This family of PPARs includes PPARa ,P PARd ,P PARg1, and PPARg2. These PPARs are related to the T3 and vitamin D3 receptors and bind to a hexameric direct repeat as a heterodimeric complex with retinoid receptor X a. PPARs regulate the expression of a wide array of genes that encode proteins involved in lipid metabolism, energy balance, eicosanoid signaling, cell differentiation, and tumorigenesis. A unique feature of these steroid-like receptors is that the physio- logic ligands for PPARs appear to be fatty acids from the n 26 and n23 families of fatty acids and their respective eicosanoid prod- ucts. This review describes the characteristics, regulation, and gene targets for PPARs and relates their effects on gene expression to physiologic outcomes that affect lipid and glucose metabolism, thermogenesis, atherosclerosis, and cell differentiation. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:566-71.
Iatrogenic ascent of the testis: an under‐recognized complication of inguinal hernia operation in children

Objective To determine the incidence of iatrogenic ascent of the testis following inguinal hernia repair in children. Patients and methods A total of 62 7 children underwent 747 groin explorations for inguinal hernia between January 1981 and December 1984. A retrospective review of their charts until December 1991 was undertaken. Results Nine patients subsequently required orchidopex-ies at a mean interval of 3 years 171 days (range 229 days - 6 years 6 months). The incidence of iatrogenic ascent of the testis was 1.3% (6/459) for patients under 2 years of age at the initial operation, 1.3% (2/155) for those between 2 years and 5 years and 0.75% (1/133) for those above 5 years. Conclusion The incidence of iatrogenic ascent of the testis was 1.2% after groin exploration for inguinal herniotomy in children, indicating the need for long-term follow-up.
Adolescent Oral Sex, Peer Popularity, and Perceptions of Best Friends' Sexual Behavior

Objective To provided initial descriptive information regarding adolescents' engagement in oral sex and to investigate adolescents' perceptions of their best friends' sexual behavior and peer-reported popularity as two social mechanisms that may influence engagement in oral sex. Methods A total of 212 tenth graders reported their engagement in oral sex and intercourse, number of sexual partners, and use of sexually transmitted infection (STI) protection, as well as perceptions of their best friends' sexual behaviors. Sociometric assessment yielded peer-reported measures of adolescents' preference- and reputation-based popularity. Results Adolescents were more likely to report engagement in oral sex than intercourse, report more oral sex partners than intercourse partners, and were unlikely to report use of STI protection during oral sex. Perceptions of best friends' behavior were significantly associated with adolescents' own oral sex behavior, but not intercourse. Adolescents who reported sexual activity had high levels of reputation-based popularity, but not likeability among peers; however, sex with more partners was associated with lower levels of popularity. Conclusions Implications for prevention programs are discussed.
Climate specific thermomechanical fatigue of flat plate photovoltaic module solder joints

Abstract FEM simulations of PbSn solder fatigue damage are used to evaluate seven cities that represent a variety of climatic zones. It is shown that the rate of solder fatigue damage is not ranked with the cities' climate designations. For an accurate ranking, the mean maximum daily temperature, daily temperature change and a characteristic of clouding events are all required. A physics-based empirical equation is presented that accurately calculates solder fatigue damage according to these three factors. An FEM comparison of solder damage accumulated through service and thermal cycling demonstrates the number of cycles required for an equivalent exposure. For an equivalent 25-year exposure, the number of thermal cycles (− 40 °C to 85 °C) required ranged from roughly 100 to 630 for the cities examined. It is demonstrated that increasing the maximum cycle temperature may significantly reduce the number of thermal cycles required for an equivalent exposure.
Children and national health care reform.

Foundation's Center for the Future of Children, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. T he Summer/Fall 1993 issue of The Future of Children examined how to make the overall process of reforming the health care system Twork for the benefit of children. That earlier issue discussed the ways in which a health care benefits package might be tailored for children, the effects of managed care on children and pregnant women, ways to reform the private health insurance market, how to pay for children's health care, the impact of alternative health care funding arrangements on families with children, and other topics.
Bacteriophage Research: Gateway to Learning Science: Students in the Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education program learn about science by doing research on phages

When asked how they became involved in science, it is not unusual to hear microbiologists say that it was their early exposure to research that proved crucial. Doing research enhances science education and can promote a lifelong interest in science. However, academic institutions often select only the most gifted to do research. This bias is troubling because the skills needed to do research can be different from those used to measure academic success. Thus, while conformity and memorization are key at the high school and undergraduate levels, research success depends on challenging what we think we know.
Fukushima Daiichi reactor source term attribution using cesium isotope ratios from contaminated environmental samples

Source term attribution of environmental contamination following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) disaster is complicated by a large number of possible similar emission source terms (e.g. FDNPP reactor cores 1–3 and spent fuel ponds 1–4). Cesium isotopic analyses can be utilized to discriminate between environmental contamination from different FDNPP source terms and, if samples are sufficiently temporally resolved, potentially provide insights into the extent of reactor core damage at a given time. Rice, soil, mushroom, and soybean samples taken 100–250 km from the FDNPP site were dissolved using microwave digestion. Radiocesium was extracted and purified using two sequential ammonium molybdophosphate-polyacrylonitrile columns, following which 135Cs/137Cs isotope ratios were measured using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Results were compared with data reported previously from locations to the northwest of FDNPP and 30 km to the south of FDNPP. 135Cs/137Cs isotope ratios from samples 100–250 km to the southwest of the FDNPP site show a consistent value of 0.376 ± 0.008. 135Cs/137Cs versus 134Cs/137Cs correlation plots suggest that radiocesium to the southwest is derived from a mixture of FDNPP reactor cores 1, 2, and 3. Conclusions from the cesium isotopic data are in agreement with those derived independently based upon themore » event chronology combined with meteorological conditions at the time of the disaster. In conclusion, cesium isotopic analyses provide a powerful tool for source term discrimination of environmental radiocesium contamination at the FDNPP site. For higher precision source term attribution and forensic determination of the FDNPP core conditions based upon cesium, analyses of a larger number of samples from locations to the north and south of the FDNPP site (particularly time-resolved air filter samples) are needed. Published in 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.« less
Hypoxia promotes noncanonical autophagy in nucleus pulposus cells independent of MTOR and HIF1A signaling

Nucleus pulposus (NP) cells reside in the avascular and hypoxic microenvironment of intervertebral discs. Importantly, many activities related to survival and function of NP cells are controlled by the HIF-family of transcription factors. We hypothesize that NP cells adapt to their hypoxic niche through modulation of macroautophagy/autophagy. In various cell types, hypoxia induces autophagy in a HIF1A-dependent fashion; however, little is known about hypoxic regulation of autophagy in NP cells. Hypoxia increases the number of autophagosomes as seen by TEM analysis and LC3-positive puncta in NP cells. Hypoxic induction of autophagy was also demonstrated by a significantly higher number of autophagosomes and smaller change in autolysosomes in NP cells expressing tandem-mCherry-EGFP-LC3B. Increased LC3-II levels were not accompanied by a concomitant increase in BECN1 or the ATG12-ATG5 complex. In addition, ULK1 phosphorylation at Ser757 and Ser777 responsive to MTOR and AMPK, respectively, was not affected in hypoxia. Interestingly, when MTOR activity was inhibited by rapamycin or Torin1, LC3-II levels did not change, suggesting a novel MTOR-independent regulation. Noteworthy, while silencing of HIF1A affected hypoxic induction of BNIP3, it did not affect LC3-II levels, indicating hypoxia-induced autophagy is HIF1-independent. Importantly, there was no change in the number of LC3-positive autophagosomes in NP-specific Hif1a null mice. Finally, inhibition of autophagic flux did not affect the glycolytic metabolism of NP cells, suggesting a possible nonmetabolic role of autophagy. Taken together, our study for the first time shows that NP cells regulate autophagy in a noncanonical fashion independent of MTOR and HIF1A signaling.
Relationship between Metabolic Rate, Free Radicals, Differentiation and Aging: A Unified Theory

There is presently no single, widely accepted, unifying theory of aging that is applicable to a wide spectrum of organisms. This fact has led many gerontologists to believe that mechanisms of aging may differ in various phylogenetic groups, albeit no compelling evidence or a priori reason has been forwarded to support this view. Given the basic similarity of molecular and cellular processes in living systems, it is indeed more probable that the contrary may be true, and that the underlying causal mechanisms of aging are essentially similar in all organisms. Conceptually, theories of aging can be assigned to two fundamentally different schools. One view regards aging as a continuation of the process of differentiation involving a programmed “shutdown” of genomic activity or a sequential activation of specific genes whose products have deleterious effects on cellular functions. Alternatively, aging is postulated to be a direct or indirect product of metabolic damage arising from the inadequacy of protective and reparative mechanisms.
Prolonged persistence of a novel replication-defective HIV-1 variant in plasma of a patient on suppressive therapy

Cell-free residual HIV-1 virions (RVs) persist in plasma below 20–50 vRNA copies/ml in most patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). How RVs are produced in the body during therapy is not fully clear. In this study, we have attempted to characterize these viruses of an ART-treated patient in vitro in order to gain insights into the mechanism of their production in vivo. We have reconstructed almost the entire genomes of RVs as DNA forms using the patient’s residual plasma vRNA by an overlapping RT-nested PCR method, and then sequence-analyzed the cloned genomes and tested them for their biological activities in vitro. We found that the reconstructed molecular clones of RVs lacked antiretroviral drug-resistant mutations, as well as G-to-A hypermutations. The vDNA clones, when transfected into TZM-bl cells, released HIV-p24 into the culture media at extremely low levels. This low-level virus production was found to be due to the presence of a unique mutation (GU-to-GC) in the conserved 5′-major splice donor (MSD) motif of the corresponding vRNAs. We found that the incorporation of this point mutation by itself could cause defects in the replication of a standard HIV strain (JRCSF) in vitro. However, this novel viral variant was intermittently detected at 5 of 7 time-points in the patient’s plasma over a period of 39 months during therapy. This is the first identification of a natural point mutation (GU-to-GC) in the conserved 5′-MSD motif of HIV genomic RNA. The intermittent but prolonged detection of this replication-defective HIV variant in the patient′s plasma among other viral populations strongly suggests that this variant is released from highly stable productively infected cells present in vivo during therapy. The potential implication of this observation is that the elimination of such productively infected cells that contribute to residual viremia during suppressive therapy could be an important first step towards achieving a cure for HIV.
Design and Technology Collaboration

With the advancement of technology into the nanometer regime, the complexity of design at advanced technology has escalated exponentially. Notable areas of difficulty are timing closure, signal integrity, power optimization etc. Advanced foundries, with estimated close to 40% of worldwide 90nm tapeouts, are taking several initiatives to help designers make best use of the technologies to produce designs that are competitive in both performance and cost structure. In this presentation, the author will discuss the key initiatives in TSMC's design collaboration and share collaboration results
Modeling Cassie droplets on superhydrophobic coatings with orthogonal fibrous structures

Abstract Superhydrophobic coatings comprised of orthogonally layered fibers are studied in this paper in terms of their ability to accommodate water droplets in the non-wetting Cassie state. The effects of microstructural properties of these coatings on droplet contact angles and Cassie state stability are investigated via numerical simulation. More specifically, mathematical expressions are derived to predict whether or not such fibrous coatings can provide sufficient capillary forces for the droplet to remain in the Cassie state. For comparison, similar coatings comprised of parallel fibers are also studied, as a droplet may only interact with the first layer of fibers (parallel fibers) when the fiber spacing is smaller than some critical spacing value. Considerable differences were observed between droplet contact angles on coatings made of orthogonally layered fibers and those having multiple layers of parallel fibers. Our numerical simulations conducted using the Surface Evolver finite element code indicated that apparent contact angle of a droplet can be different in longitudinal and transverse directions, and they both increase by decreasing the diameter of the fibers or by increasing their spacing. It was also found that contact angle in the longitudinal direction is more sensitive to the spacing or the diameter of the fibers. It was also found that a droplet may achieve higher contact angles on a coating with orthogonally layered fibers than on its parallel-fiber counterpart.
Taking Stock: Existing Resources for Assessing a New Vision of Science Learning.

ABSTRACTA new vision of science learning described in the Next Generation Science Standards—particularly the science and engineering practices and their integration with content—pose significant ch...
Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to predict HPV vaccination intentions of college men

ABSTRACTObjective: The purpose of this study was to test Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs in predicting human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination behavioral intentions of vaccine-eligible college men. Participants: Participants were unvaccinated college men aged 18–26 years attending a large public university in the southeastern United States during Spring 2015. Methods: A nonexperimental, cross-sectional study design was employed. Instrumentation comprised a qualitative elicitation study, expert panel review, pilot test, test-retest, and internal consistency, construct validity, and predictive validity assessments using data collected from an online self-report questionnaire. Results: The sample consisted of 256 college men, and the final structural model exhibited acceptable fit of the data. Attitude toward the behavior (β = .169) and subjective norm (β = 0.667) were significant predictors of behavioral intention, accounting for 58% of its variance. Conclusions: Practitioners may utilize this in...
Single-ratio fractional integer programs with stochastic right-hand sides

ABSTRACTWe present an equivalent value function reformulation for a class of single-ratio Fractional Integer Programs (FIPs) with stochastic right-hand sides and propose a two-phase solution approach. The first phase constructs the value functions of FIPs in both stages. The second phase solves the reformulation using a global branch-and-bound algorithm or a level-set approach. We derive some basic properties of the value functions of FIPs and utilize them in our algorithms. We show that in certain cases our approach can solve instances whose extensive forms have the same order of magnitude as the largest stochastic quadratic integer programs solved in the literature.
Copula index for detecting dependence and monotonicity between stochastic signals

Abstract This paper introduces a nonparametric copula-based index for detecting the strength and monotonicity structure of linear and nonlinear statistical dependence between pairs of random variables or stochastic signals. Our index, termed Copula Index for Detecting Dependence and Monotonicity (CIM), satisfies several desirable properties of measures of association, including most of Renyi’s properties, the data processing inequality (DPI), and consequently self-equitability. Synthetic data simulations reveal that the statistical power of CIM compares favorably to other state-of-the-art measures of association that are proven to satisfy the DPI. Simulation results with real-world data reveal CIM’s unique ability to detect the monotonicity structure among stochastic signals to find interesting dependencies in large datasets. Additionally, simulations show that CIM compares favorably to estimators of mutual information when discovering Markov network structure.
Ortega's razón vital and Lorca's duende in ‘Poema doble del lago Edén’*

AbstractThe present article examines two aesthetic concepts that inform Lorca's ‘Poema doble del lago Eden’ and shows how these impact the process of signification and the evolving subjectivity in the poem. The first of these is Ortega y Gasset's razon vital, which places the contemplation of the problem of life at the centre of artistic endeavour and also emphasizes the importance of circumstances in the contemplative process. The second is Lorca's duende, which identifies the struggle with a truth-bearing and creative power as the artist's essential task. In ‘Poema doble’ this power is the poet's voz antigua, and represents the early inception of what Lorca later identifies as the duende. This article, which undertakes a comparative reading of ‘Poema doble’ and the works dealing with these aesthetic theories—Ortega's ‘Adan en el paraiso’ and ‘Meditaciones del Quijote’ and Lorca's ‘Juego y teoria del duende’—re-examines the Vermont experience heretofore eclipsed by Lorca's more publicized and longer soj...
Profiling glucose-induced selective inhibition of disaccharide catabolism in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 by stable isotope labelling.

We investigated the co-catabolism of carbohydrate mixtures in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 using a 13C-assisted metabolomics profiling approach. Specifically, we monitored the ability of B. megaterium to achieve the simultaneous catabolism of glucose and a common disaccharide – cellobiose, maltose, or sucrose. Growth experiments indicated that each disaccharide alone can serve as a sole carbon source for B. megaterium, in accordance with the genetic analysis of this bacterium, which predicted diverse metabolic capabilities. However, following growth on 13C-labelled glucose and each unlabelled disaccharide, the labelling patterns of the intracellular metabolites in glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway revealed a hierarchy in disaccharide catabolism: (i) complete inhibition of cellobiose catabolism, (ii) minimal catabolism of maltose and (iii) unbiased catabolism of sucrose. The labelling of amino acids confirmed this selective assimilation of each substrate in biomass precursors. This study highlights the fact that B. megaterium exhibits a mixed-carbohydrate utilization that is different from that of B. subtilis, the most studied model Bacillus species.
Cigarette smoking and the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus, overall and by anti-double stranded DNA antibody subtype, in the Nurses’ Health Study cohorts

Objectives Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease, subtyped according to clinical manifestations and autoantibodies. Evidence concerning cigarette smoking and SLE risk has been conflicting. We investigated smoking and SLE risk, overall and by anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA) presence, in two prospective cohort studies. Methods The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) enrolled 121 701 US female nurses in 1976; Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII) enrolled 116 430 in 1989. Lifestyle, environmental and medical data were collected through biennial questionnaires. Incident SLE was confirmed by medical record review. Cox regression models estimated HRs of SLE, overall and by dsDNA subtype, in association with time-varying smoking status and cumulative smoking pack-years through the 2-year cycle prior to diagnosis, controlling for potential confounders. Results Among 286 SLE cases identified (159 in NHS (1978–2012) and 127 in NHSII (1991–2013)), mean age was 49.2 (10.3) years and 42% were dsDNA+ at SLE diagnosis. At baseline, 45% of women had ever smoked, 51% of whom currently smoked. Compared with never smokers, current smokers had increased dsDNA+ SLE risk (HR 1.86 (1.14–3.04)), whereas past smokers did not (HR 1.31 (0.85–2.00)). Women who smoked >10 pack-years (vs never) had an elevated dsDNA+ SLE risk (HR 1.60(95% CI 1.04 to 2.45)) compared with never smokers. No associations were observed between smoking status or pack-years and overall SLE or dsDNA− SLE. Conclusion Strong and specific associations of current smoking and >10 pack-years of smoking with dsDNA+ SLE were observed. This novel finding suggests smoking is involved in dsDNA+ SLE pathogenesis.
The politics of electricity reform: Evidence from West Bengal, India

Abstract Across many developing countries, the power sector persistently underperforms despite years of market reform efforts. India, where de facto responsibility for the power sector rests with subnational (state) governments, provides a useful laboratory to examine why. The state of West Bengal provides an example of public sector reform as an alternative to the so-called “World Bank template” for electricity liberalization, and a lens on the political preconditions for reform success. Drawing on 30 elite interviews in 2016 alongside comparative evidence from other Indian states, this article documents the reform design and assesses its success. West Bengal’s reforms aimed at internally strengthening the utility against political interference. The study finds that this reform model delivered initial performance among the best of any Indian utility, and that successful reforms in several other states were also more statist than often recognized. However, longer-term sustainability remains challenging. While weak rural lobbies had some effect, the study explains this trajectory as the result of the transition from one-party dominance to intensified party-political competition, a finding that resonates with evidence from other Indian states. In contrast to influential political theories developed in the Global North, this suggests that party-political competition does not make Indian politicians more likely to deliver public services, but rather leads to short-termism and political capture of utilities. Conversely, under some conditions one-party dominance can encourage longer-term reforms. The study thus assesses the promise and limits of public sector reforms as an alternative to liberalization, and suggests how electoral competition can influence development priorities in Indian states.
Varied Responses of Central Nervous System Mitochondria to Calcium

Mitochondrial dysfunction and induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) are candidate intermediate steps in both necrotic and apoptotic cell death pathways (Dubinsky and Levi, 1998; Hirsch et al., 1998; Schinder et al., 1996). In its classic definition (referred to here as the high-conductance MPT), the MPT is a nonselective, multiconductance pore in the inner mitochondrial membrane whose activation causes mitochondrial swelling and dysfunction (Nieminen et al., 1996; Schinder et al., 1996; Zoratti and Szabo, 1995). In liver and heart mitochondria, accumulation of excess matrix calcium combined with phosphate or with an oxidative event leads to opening of the high conductance MPT pore (Zoratti and Szabo, 1995). Induction of the MPT is modulated by mitochondrial membrane potential , matrix free fatty acids, redox status of mitochondrial protein thiols, and surface potential generated by the largely anionic phospholipids of the inner mitochondrial membrane (Zoratti and Szabo, 1995). Pharmacological inhibition of the MPT can be accomplished with the immunosuppressant cyclosporin and some of its analogs, adenine nucleotides, and the adenine nucleotide transporter inhibitor bongkrekic acid (Zoratti and Szabo, 1995). Mitochondrial swelling as measured by changes in absorbance has typically been studied in mitochondria after loading. High loads alone, or lower plus phosphate, uncoupler, or pro-oxidants, initiates transition, a process thought to propagate through the mitochondrial population (Bernardi, 1992; Broekemeier et al., 1989). When ruthenium red (RR) is added after to prevent its loss through reverse operation of the uniporter, application of
Study of Contouring Micro EDM Characteristics

The integration of CAD/CAM system with micro EDM has simplified the procedure for generating complex 3D shapes, using simple shaped electrodes. Therefore, it is very important to understand the behavior of the contouring micro EDM process to achieve optimized machining results. This paper reports a comprehensive study on the influence of various parameters associated with the process.
Modulation of Ca2+ sensitivity by agonists in smooth muscle.

The fact that Ca2+ is the primary physiological regulator of smooth muscle contraction is no longer questioned. Cytoplasmic Ca2+ can be increased through electromechanical coupling and through pharmacomechanical coupling (Somlyo and Somlyo, 1968). The two components of pharmacomechanical coupling explored, until recently, are ligand-gated Ca2+ influx and G-protein coupled activation of the phosphatidylinositol cascade that results in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) -induced Ca2+-release. However, several lines of evidence suggest that cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration and force are not rigidly coupled and the Ca2+-sensitivity of the regulatory/contractile apparatus can be modified by physiological mechanisms. The force/Ca2+ ratio in intact smooth muscles studied with Ca2+-indicators is higher during agonist- than during high K+-induced contractions (Bradley and Morgan, 1987; Himpens and Casteels, 1987; Rembold and Murphy 1988; Sato et al., 1988; Himpens et al., 1990). Recently, this agonist-induced increase in Ca2+-sensitivity was unequivocally demonstrated in preparations permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin (Nishimura et al., 1988; Kitazawa et al., 1989) or with β-escin (Kobayashi et al., 1989) that retain agonist-coupled responses. Various agonists can markedly increase the contractile response of such preparations to a fixed, submaximal level of Ca2+. Therefore, we had suggested that the third excitatory component of pharmacomechanical coupling (Somlyo and Somlyo, 1968), modulation of Ca2+-sensitivity, operates by increasing myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation at a given level of cytoplasmic Ca2+ (Somlyo et al., 1989). In the following, we shall summarize our recent data (Kitazawa and Somlyo, 1990; Kitazawa et al., 1991) on the mechanism of the agonist-induced increase in Ca2+-sensitivity of force associated with increased phosphorylation of MLC. In addition, we will show that phasic contractile responses of ileum smooth muscle are due, at least in part, to a time and/or Ca2+-dependent desensitization of MLC phosphorylation (Kitazawa and Somlyo, 1990). The other two components of pharmacomechanical coupling have been described elsewhere (see Somlyo et al. this volume).
Evaluation of electric vehicle component performance over eco-driving cycles

Abstract Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are a critical pathway towards achieving energy independence and meeting greenhouse and criteria pollutant gas reduction goals in the current and future transportation sector. Emerging connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies further open the door for developing innovative applications and systems to leverage vehicle efficiency and substantially transform transportation systems. Therefore, we present a simulation study of various BEV types and compare the performance when driving on real-road drive cycles to highly optimized eco-driving cycles using advanced CAV technologies. The results demonstrate that eco-driving has a high potential to reduce energy consumption for all types of BEVs considered. The investigated BEVs include a compact vehicle, a transit city bus, and a Class 7 delivery truck. The impact of eco-driving on conventional vehicles was also compared to comparable BEVs. Compared to the BEVs, eco-driving provides a larger reduction in the conventional vehicle's braking energy loss, and also provides conventional vehicles with greater reductions in the engine mechanical energy output but the fuel savings did not show a consistent trend among all the conventional vehicle types. As part of the study, a comprehensive EV powertrain model was developed to account for key EV components and powertrain configurations.
Safety and Co-safety Comparator Automata for Discounted-Sum Inclusion

Discounted-sum inclusion (DS-inclusion, in short) formalizes the goal of comparing quantitative dimensions of systems such as cost, resource consumption, and the like, when the mode of aggregation for the quantitative dimension is discounted-sum aggregation. Discounted-sum comparator automata, or DS-comparators in short, are Buchi automata that read two infinite sequences of weights synchronously and relate their discounted-sum. Recent empirical investigations have shown that while DS-comparators enable competitive algorithms for DS-inclusion, they still suffer from the scalability bottleneck of Buchi operations.
A Knowledge Graph Based Framework for Web API Recommendation

The rapid increase in the number of functionally similar web APIs, demands some web API recommender system (RS), to reduce the myriad of web APIs, during web API selection. The use of side information to resolve cold start and data sparsity limitations in RS, as a means of improving their accuracy, is gaining much popularity these days. Knowledge graphs (KGs) have shown to be very valuable source of side information, because they allow hybrid graph-based recommendation methods, comprising both collaborative and content information. While several knowledge graphs like DBpedia and Google knowledge graph exist, they do not include data for web API recommendation. In addition, constructing and leveraging such rich information for recommendation is challenging because it requires the ability to constructively encode different relations. In this paper, we present a knowledge graph framework, built from web API and mashups data, from www.programmableweb.com, that can be used as side information when recommending web APIs. Specifically, we first present a detailed knowledge graph schema, and then show how our knowledge graph can be used as side information to improve web API recommendation. We conjecture that using our proposed knowledge graph for web API recommendation not only improves recommendation accuracy, but also, diversity.
Piperidine and piperazine inhibitors of fatty acid amide hydrolase targeting excitotoxic pathology

FAAH inhibitors offer safety advantages by augmenting the anandamide levels "on demand" to promote neuroprotective mechanisms without the adverse psychotropic effects usually seen with direct and chronic activation of the CB1 receptor. FAAH is an enzyme implicated in the hydrolysis of the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA), which is a partial agonist of the CB1 receptor. Herein, we report the discovery of a new series of highly potent and selective carbamate FAAH inhibitors and their evaluation for neuroprotection. The new inhibitors showed potent nanomolar inhibitory activity against human recombinant and purified rat FAAH, were selective (>1000-fold) against serine hydrolases MGL and ABHD6 and lacked any affinity for the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Evaluation of FAAH inhibitors 9 and 31 using the in vitro competitive activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) assay confirmed that both inhibitors were highly selective for FAAH in the brain, since none of the other FP-reactive serine hydrolases in this tissue were inhibited by these agents. Our design strategy followed a traditional SAR approach and was supported by molecular modeling studies based on known FAAH cocrystal structures. To rationally design new molecules that are irreversibly bound to FAAH, we have constructed "precovalent" FAAH-ligand complexes to identify good binding geometries of the ligands within the binding pocket of FAAH and then calculated covalent docking poses to select compounds for synthesis. FAAH inhibitors 9 and 31 were evaluated for neuroprotection in rat hippocampal slice cultures. In the brain tissue, both inhibitors displayed protection against synaptic deterioration produced by kainic acid-induced excitotoxicity. Thus, the resultant compounds produced through rational design are providing early leads for developing therapeutics against seizure-related damage associated with a variety of disorders.
Contribution of structural connectivity to MEG functional connectivity

Abstract Structural connectivity by axonal fiber bundles provides the substrate for transmission of action potentials across the brain. Functional connectivity in MEG signals is expected to arise from communication along structural connections. However, very little empirical evidence has been obtained to support this hypothesis. The main objective of this study is to use simulations and MEG data to directly evaluate the contribution of structural connectivity to MEG functional connectivity measures. Since axonal transmission is on a millisecond time scale we hypothesize that measures sensitive to phase synchronization in a frequency band, such as coherence, would have a closer relationship to structural connectivity than measures sensitive to slower time scales such as amplitude-envelope correlation. We estimate graphical models of MEG functional connectivity, i.e, the MEG effective connectivity, to reduce the influence of leakage effects and common input effects, and to explicitly model the contribution of structural connectivity to functional connectivity. Consistent with our hypothesis, networks defined by models of gamma band (> 30 Hz) coherence that incorporate phase information show the closest alignment to structural connectivity. However, at lower frequencies (1-30 Hz) there was better alignment between models of amplitude envelope correlation and structural connectivity. In simulations, summarizing network properties of graphical models using graph theoretic metrics provides a robust measure of the relationship between functional and structural connectivity that is preserved even at low signal to noise ratios. In MEG data, centrality of nodes in the gamma band networks more closely correspond to centrality of nodes in the structural networks than a direct comparison between edge weights.
Designing Robust Interventions to Control Epidemic Outbreaks.

We study the problem of controlling the spread of an epidemic outbreak on a network by deploying vaccines. Typically, the supply of vaccines is limited, and becomes available over time. Therefore, vaccination decisions have to be made in multiple stages. These are challenging optimization problems when the networks are arbitrary. Further, many components of the epidemic model, e.g., the source of the outbreak might not be known, and parameters might be not known precisely. In such a setting, a min-max objective, which minimizes the maximum outbreak size in any scenario (which corresponds to specific source or parameter setting), gives a more robust solution, than tailoring the intervention to a single scenario.
Supporting Working-Class Environmentalism

Chapter 8, which concludes the book, discusses the theoretical, practice and policy implications of this analysis. The changes needed are discussed beginning with the micro-level and moving on to the macro-level, as follows: (1) organisational changes—participatory practice (2) legislative changes—make class an equality and human rights issue (3) policy changes—reduce inequality (4) social movement changes—radicalise the environmental movement and support the environmental working-class (5) political changes—create an eco-social state based on sharing (6) cultural changes—integrate social and environmental justice (7) revolutionary changes—dismantle capitalism.
Association of overlapping cardiac surgery with short-term patient outcomes.

Abstract Objective This study seeks to assess the safety of overlap in cardiac surgery. Methods Coarsened exact matching was used to assess the impact of overlap on outcomes amongst cardiac surgical interventions (n=4463) over two years (2014-2016). Overlap was categorized as: 1) any, 2) beginning or 3) end-overlap. Study subjects were matched 1:1 on eleven variables, including Charlson comorbidity (CCI) score, surgical costs, Body Mass Index (BMI), length of postoperative hospitalization (LOS) and race, amongst others. Serious unanticipated events were studied including readmission, unplanned return to the Operating Room (OR) and mortality. Results 984 patients had any overlap and were matched to similar patients without overlap (n=1501). For beginning/end overlap, separate matched groups were created (n=462, n=329 patients respectively). Amongst matched patients, any overlap did not predict unanticipated return to surgery at 30 or 90 days. Any overlap did not predict increased readmission, reoperation, or Emergency Room (ER) visits at 30 or 90 days. Overlap did not predict higher rates of death over follow up. Beginning/end overlap had results similar to any overlap. Conclusion Non-concurrent, overlapping surgery is not associated with an increase in adverse outcomes in a large, matched cardiac surgery population.