cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characteristic Background Activities of Amplitude-Integrated Electroencephalogram in Neonates with Hypo-xic-Ischemic Encephalopathy at Recovery Phase

Objective To study characteristic background activities of amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram(aEEG) in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy(HIE) at recovery phase.Methods Forty-six HIE neonates with gestational age of 37-41 weeks were chosen as HIE group,and all of them were hospitalized in NICU of Guangzhou Women and Children′s Hospital from Mar.2009 to Dec.2010.At the same time,28 normal term neonates were chosen as control group.The aEEG was performed with cerebral function monitor.Background activities such as continuity,sleep-wake cycling(SWC),maximal voltage,as well as minimal voltage between 2 groups were compared.Results As to the background activities in HIE group at recovery phase,30 cases were discontinuous,while those in the control group were all continuous.There were significant differences between 2 groups(χ2=30.71,P0.05).In the HIE group,only 9 cases had mature SWC,while in control group,all had mature SWC.There were significant differences between 2 groups(χ2=45.04,P0.05).The maximal voltage in HIE group was(56.53±19.34) μV,while that in control group was(37.78±2.77) μV.There were significant differences between them(t=5.09,P0.05).Minimal voltage in HIE group was(4.27±1.24) μV,while that in control group was(7.74±0.68) μV.There were significant differences between them(t=-13.62,P0.05).Conclusions The characteristic background activities of HIE patients at recovery phase are discontinuous,without mature SWC,with higher maximal voltage and lower minimal voltage than those of normal term infants.aEEG for HIE patients and analysis for the continuity,SWC,maximal and minimal voltage of aEEG can provide useful information for the prognosis of infants.
Incorporating Authorial Intent into Generative Narrative Systems.

One of the major themes to emerge in interactive narrative research is authorability and authorial intent. With interactive narratives, the human author is not present at run-time. Thus authoring interactive narratives is often a process of anticipating user actions in different contexts and using computational mechanisms and data structures for responding to the participant. Generative approaches to interactive narrative, in which an automated narrative generation system assumes some of the authoring responsibility, further decouple the human designer from the participants experience. We describe a general mechanism, called author goals, which can be used by human authors to assert authorial intent over generative narrative systems.
CHAPTER 5 – APPLICATIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the applications of real-valued function using graphs. One consequence of being able to draw an accurate graph is that one is able to find precisely the relative maximum and relative minimum points. This ability can in turn be used to solve a host of interesting problems drawn from different fields. One is interested, when drawing a graph of y = F(x), to know the intervals on which F is increasing and the intervals on which F is decreasing. This is particularly easy to determine if the function is differentiable in the interval on which it is being studied. One would expect in this case that as (x) gives the slope of the line tangent to the graph of F at x, a positive value of (x) on an interval would indicate an increasing function; and negative values of (x) on the interval would indicate a decreasing function.
Three Methods, Intuition, and Commonsense

Egoism is the view that the ultimate end of an individual’s acts is that person’s happiness or pleasure, and that one ought to act so that one can accomplish this end (see, for example, ME Bk. 1 Ch. 7 p. 89 and Bk. 2 Ch. 1 p. 119). ‘The ultimate end’ means an end that should be sought in itself, that is, not as a means to any other ends. We should also note that the above view is a normative claim about what one ought to do, and not a psychological claim that one does always seek one’s own happiness in his voluntary actions.
PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA AJAR INTERAKTIF BERBASIS “WII-MOTE” UNTUK MENDUKUNG LABORATORIUM VIRTUAL PADA MATA PELAJARAN ELEKTRONIKA DIGITAL DI SMK

Pengembangan Media Ajar Interaktif Berbasis “Wii-Mote” untuk Mendukung Laboratorium Virtual pada Mata Pelajaran Elektronika Digital di SMK. Laboratorium virtual dikembangkan menggunakan langkah-langkah yang dimulai dari analisis kebutuhan mengenai kelengkapan peralatan praktikum yang ada di SMK, dan dengan memperhatikan aspek-aspek metodologis laboratorium virtual. Integrasi metodologi virtual dilakukan melalui arsitektur yang meliputi studio room, user interface, simulation modelling, interactive tools, visual representation, virtual workspace, dan authoring tools. Laboratorium virtual yang dikembangkan bersifat aplikatif, komunikatif, interaktif, dan mampu mengembangkan keterampilan berfikir kritis. Keefektifan penggunaan laboratorium virtual menunjukkan rerata skor keseluruhan hasil penilaian dinilai sangat baik. Kata kunci: elektronika digital, laboratorium virtual
16S rRNA Gene-Based Metagenomic Analysis of Ozark Cave Bacteria

The microbial diversity within cave ecosystems is largely unknown. Ozark caves maintain a year-round stable temperature (12–14 °C), but most parts of the caves experience complete darkness. The lack of sunlight and geological isolation from surface-energy inputs generate nutrient-poor conditions that may limit species diversity in such environments. Although microorganisms play a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth and impacting human health, little is known about their diversity, ecology, and evolution in community structures. We used five Ozark region caves as test sites for exploring bacterial diversity and monitoring long-term biodiversity. Illumina MiSeq sequencing of five cave soil samples and a control sample revealed a total of 49 bacterial phyla, with seven major phyla: Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, and Nitrospirae. Variation in bacterial composition was observed among the five caves studied. Sandtown Cave had the lowest richness and most divergent community composition. 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomic analysis of cave-dwelling microbial communities in the Ozark caves revealed that species abundance and diversity are vast and included ecologically, agriculturally, and economically relevant taxa.
Impact of a historical fire event on pyrogenic carbon stocks and dissolved pyrogenic carbon in spodosols in northern michigan

Inventories of fire-derived (pyrogenic) C (PyC) stocks in soils remain incomplete for many parts of the world, yet are critical to reduce uncertainties in global PyC estimates. Additionally, PyC dynamics in soils remain poorly understood. For example, dissolved PyC (DPyC) fluxes from soil horizons, as well as the influence of historical fire events on these fluxes and soil PyC stocks remain poorly quantified. In this study, we examined stock and concentration differences in soil PyC and leached DPyC, respectively, between two forest types in the Great Lakes region (USA): (1) a red pine (Pinus resinosa) forest planted after the site had experienced post-logging slash burning in the late 19th century (100yr-burned site), and (2) a sugar maple (Acer saccharum) forest that showed no evidence of burning in the past 250 years (unburned site). We hypothesized that the 100yr-burned site would have greater PyC stocks and concentrations of DPyC compared to the unburned site. We measured PyC in soil, as well as DPyC in soil water leaching from O and E horizons following a spring snowmelt event in both 100yr-burned and unburned sites. Additionally, we measured DPyC drained from B horizons in 100yr-burned site. In organic horizons, PyC stocks were 1.8 (Oi) and 2.3 (Oe) times greater in the 100yr-burned site than in the unburned site. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, DPyC concentrations did not differ between sites. On average, DPyC leached from all sites contributed 3.11±0.27% of the total dissolved organic carbon pool. In the 100yr-burned site, a significant decline in concentrations of DPyC leaving the B horizon was attributed to the immobilization of this C pool in the Al and Fe oxides-rich subsoil. Even though PyC stock in O horizons was higher in 100yr-burned than in unburned site, our results did not support our initial hypothesis that the 100yr-burned site would have greater DPyC concentrations than the unburned site, suggesting that any differences in DPyC resulting from a single fire event are either not detectable after >100 years post-burn, and/or that the release of DPyC is a continuous, long-term process resulting from the degradation of historically accumulated PyC.
Reversal of Carbon Monoxide-Cytochrome C Oxidase Binding by Hyperbaric Oxygen In Vivo

The classic mechanism of CO toxicity is tight binding of CO to hemoglobin which decreases the O2 carrying capacity of arterial blood and produces tissue hypoxia (1). In vitro effects, such as the shift of the oxygen hemoglobin dissociation curve to the left and CO binding to metallo-enzymes including cytochrome c oxidase are recognized but of uncertain physiological significance (2,3). Not all of the toxic effects of CO however, can be explained on the basis of the classic mechanism (4,5). Observations of CO toxicity at low HbCO may be the result of an effect of CO at the tissue level. Tissue uptake of CO in vivo has been demonstrated for myoglobin (4,5), but binding of CO to cytochrome c oxidase has not been confirmed previously in vivo. The purposes of this study were to document in vivo oxidation-reduction (redox) responses of brain cytochrome c oxidase to CO hypoxia, to identify formation and reversal of the CO-cytochrome a,a 3 ligand and to correlate those findings with the cardiovascular responses, measured HbCO, and arterial pH and blood gas values in a rat model of CO poisoning.
Walking and Being Outdoors in Nature Increase Positive Affect and Energy

Abstract This study investigated the effect of outdoor exercise on measures of mood, energy, tiredness, and attention. One hundred eighty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of four expe...
Examination of Near-Electrode Concentration Gradients and Kinetic Impacts on the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 using Surface-Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy

Localized concentration gradients within the electrochemical double layer during various electrochemical processes can have wide-ranging impacts; however, experimental investigation to quantitatively correlate the rate of surface-mediated electrochemical reaction with the interfacial species concentrations has historically been lacking. In this work, we demonstrate a spectroscopic method for the in situ determination of the surface pH using the CO2 reduction reaction as a model system. Attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy is employed to monitor the ratio of vibrational bands of carbonate and bicarbonate as a function of electrode potential. Integrated areas of vibrational bands are then compared with those obtained from calibration spectra collected in electrolytes with known pH values to determine near-electrode proton concentrations. Experimentally determined interfacial proton concentrations are then related to the resultant concentration overpotentials to exam...
Biosorption of Hydrophobic Organic Pollutants

Hydrophobic organic chemicals are hazardous pollutants because of their toxicity and a strong tendency to concentrate in food chains. Biosorption is an important mechanism for the removal of these compounds in activated sludge systems. Measurement, modelling, thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of biosorption and the effect of biosorption on the biodegradation of hydrophobic organic pollutants are discussed in this review.
Real Time Characterization of Solid/Liquid Interfaces During Directional Solidification

A X-Ray Transmission Microscope (XTM) has been developed to observe in real time and in-situ solidification phenomenon at the solid/liquid interface. Recent improvements in the horizontal Bridgman furnace design provides real-time magnification (during solidification) up to 12OX. The increased magnification has enabled for the first time the XTM imaging of real-time growth of fibers and particles with diameters of 3-6 micrometers. Further, morphological transitions from planar to cellular interfaces have also been imaged. Results from recent XTM studies on Al-Bi monotectic system, Al-Au eutectic system and interaction of insoluble particles with s/I interfaces in composite materials will be presented. An important parameter during directional solidification of molten metal is the interfacial undercooling. This parameter controls the morphology and composition at the s/I interface. Conventional probes such as thermocouples, due to their large bead size, do not have sufficient resolution for measuring undercooling at the s/I interface. Further, the intrusive nature of the thermocouples also distorts the thermal field at the s/I interface. To overcome these inherent problems we have recently developed a compact furnace which utilizes a non-intrusive technique (Seebeck) to measure undercooling at the S/I interface. Recent interfacial undercooling measurements obtained for the Pb-Sn system will be presented. The Seebeck measurement furnace in the future will be integrated with the XTM to provide the most comprehensive tool for real time characterization of s/I interfaces during solidification.
Housing Topics: Utilizing the Basic Model

In this chapter I discuss common topics in the housing literature that deal with certain housing policies, utilizing the model presented in Chapter 4. The coverage is not intended to be comprehensive but simply to look at policies that present interesting theoretical problems and issues. Part of the discussion concerns normative issues dealing with externalities in the housing market, and part concerns positive issues dealing with the impacts of actual types of government policies. In Section 1 of the chapter, I examine housing market externalities, land use regulation, home improvement loans, and urban renewal. In Section 2,1 look at the impact of rent control on housing markets, under various institutional regimes. In the final section I look at the economic impacts of zoning policies that attempt to regulate housing inputs and quality such as minimum lot-size zoning.
Study, build, repeat: Using online communities as a research platform

Research on online communities raises a number of challenges. It is difficult to get access to usage data, to users (to interview), and to the system itself to introduce new features (e.g., participation incentive mechanisms). One solution is for researchers to create an online community themselves. Although this provides more control and access, it also requires additional resources (e.g., for staff to maintain the community) and consideration of the needs of the user community after the research is completed.
Changes in network topology during the replication of kinetoplast DNA.

Abstract Kinetoplast DNA of Crithidia fasciculata is a network containing several thousand topologically interlocked DNA minicircles. In the prereplicative Form I network, each of the 5000 minicircles is intact and linked to an average of three neighbors (i.e. the minicircle valence is 3). Replication involves the release of minicircles from the interior of the network, the synthesis of nicked or gapped progeny minicircles and the attachment of the progeny to the network periphery. The ultimate result is a Form II network of 10,000 nicked or gapped minicircles. Our measurements of minicircle valence and density, and the network's surface area, revealed striking changes in network topology during replication. During the S phase, the peripheral newly replicated minicircles have a density twice that of minicircles in Form I networks, which suggests that the valence might be as high as 6. Most of the holes in the central region that occur from the removal of intact minicircles are repaired so that the central density and valence remain the same, as in prereplicative networks. When minicircle replication is complete at the end of the S phase, the isolated network has the surface area of a prereplicative network, despite having twice the number of minicircles. During the G2 phase, the Form II network undergoes a remodeling in which the area doubles and the valence is reduced to 3. Finally, the interruptions in the minicircles are repaired and the double-sized network splits in two.
Inward Currents in Cat Neocortical Neurons Studied In Vitro

Two distinct types of clinical recurrent seizures or epilepsy have been identified: those that begin focally in cortex (partial seizures) and those that appear to begin synchronously in both hemispheres (generalized seizures). Because most experimentalists use focal physical or chemical techniques to initiate seizures, our concepts about epileptic mechanisms are, therefore, more applicable to clinical partial epilepsy.
Magneto-Optical Properties

In the previous chapters, the emphasis is placed on the electronic origins of local and collective molecular magnetism in transition-metal oxides and their behavior in alternating magnetic fields. Models of magnetic resonance based on precessing magnetic moments provide a classical analog to quantum mechanical transitions provided that the internal magnetic fields are large enough to produce the Zeeman energy splittings for the particular frequency of interest. In the energy range that can be easily reached by fields from laboratory electromagnets, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) occur in the microwave bands. However, resonances can also occur in magnetically ordered systems at the energies of magnetic exchange. Since the exchange effects occur in the submillimeter and far-infrared bands, but have the properties of a magnetic-dipole stabilization, this topic will serve as a transition to the subject of magneto-optics that is based on magnetically polarized electric-dipole interactions with optical waves.
The Effects of a Primary Care Transformation Initiative on Primary Care Physician Burnout and Workplace Experience

Physician burnout is associated with deleterious effects for physicians and their patients and might be exacerbated by practice transformation. Assess the effect of the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative on primary care physician experience. Prospective cohort study conducted with about 500 CPC and 900 matched comparison practices. Mail surveys of primary care physicians, selected using cross-sectional stratified random selection 11 months into CPC, and a longitudinal design with sample replacement 44 months into CPC. Primary care physicians in study practices. A multipayer primary care transformation initiative (October 2012–December 2016) that required care delivery changes and provided enhanced payment, data feedback, and learning support. Burnout, control over work, job satisfaction, likelihood of leaving current practice within 2 years. More than 1000 physicians responded (over 630 of these in CPC practices) in each round (response rates 70–81%, depending on round and research group). Physician experience outcomes were similar for physicians in CPC and comparison practices. About one third of physician respondents in CPC and comparison practices reported high levels of burnout in each round (32 and 29% in 2013 [P = 0.59], and 34 and 36% in 2016 [P = 0.63]). Physicians in CPC and comparison practices reported some to moderate control over work, with an average score from 0.50 to 0.55 out of 1 in 2013 and 2016 (CPC-comparison differences of − 0.04 in 2013 [95% CI − 0.08–0.00, P = 0.07], and − 0.03 in 2016 [95% CI − 0.03–0.02, P = 0.19]). In 2016, roughly three quarters of CPC and comparison physicians were satisfied with their current job (77 and 74%, P = 0.77) and about 15% planned to leave their practice within 2 years (14 and 15%, P = 0.17). Despite requiring substantial practice transformation, CPC did not affect physician experience. Research should track effects of other transformation initiatives on physicians and test new ways to address burnout. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02320591
Conceptualizing, Planning, and Implementing Sustainability in US Cities

This chapter provides an introduction to the book and sets the context for exploring how US cities are planning for and implementing sustainability. We begin by defining sustainability in the urban context and considering how cities conceptualize their roles in these efforts. Next we discuss the rise of sustainability planning in the United States and how cities then implement these plans. We identify important cross-cutting themes that are integrated throughout the book and which highlight best practices in governance, implementation and results, education and communication, equity, innovation, and the recognition of multiple benefits to sustainability projects. We end with a discussion of the research for this project and how we selected the cities featured in the book.
Abstract TP211: Plasma Cytokine Levels Differ Between Primary and Syndromic Moyamoya and Pediatric and Adult Moyamoya Disease

Background: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a progressive intracranial arteriopathy of unknown etiology affecting adults and children. We aimed to explore plasma cytokines in pediatric and adult cases of...
Management of the Hemodialysis Patient with Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection

Despite substantial efforts over the last 15 years to increase the proportion of patients starting dialysis with an arteriovenous fistula, 80% of patients with incident ESKD and 20% of patients with prevalent ESKD in the United States still use a central venous catheter (CVC) for vascular access ([1
Neprilysin inhibition: a new therapeutic option for type 2 diabetes?

Neprilysin is a widely expressed peptidase with broad substrate specificity that preferentially hydrolyses oligopeptide substrates, many of which regulate the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems. Emerging evidence suggests that neprilysin also hydrolyses peptides that play an important role in glucose metabolism. In recent studies in humans, a dual angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) improved glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity in individuals with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. Moreover, preclinical studies have also reported that neprilysin inhibition, alone or in combination with renin–angiotensin system blockers, elicits beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis. Since neprilysin inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of heart failure, their repurposing for treating type 2 diabetes would provide a novel therapeutic strategy. In this review, we evaluate existing evidence from preclinical and clinical studies in which neprilysin is deleted/inhibited, we highlight potential mechanisms underlying the beneficial glycaemic effects of neprilysin inhibition, and discuss possible deleterious effects that may limit the efficacy and safety of neprilysin inhibitors in the clinic. We also review the favourable impact neprilysin inhibition can have on diabetic complications, in addition to glucose control. Finally, we conclude that neprilysin inhibitors may be a useful therapeutic option for treating type 2 diabetes; however, their combination with angiotensin II receptor blockers is needed to circumvent deleterious consequences of neprilysin inhibition alone.
Comparison of Two Group Interventions to Promote Forgiveness: Empathy as a Mediator of Change

Undergraduate student volunteers (N=97) were randomly assigned to one of two six-hour forgiveness psychoeducational seminars or to a wait-list control group. Based on attachment theory, forgiveness was conceptualized in relation to the care-giving behavioral system (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). Both the Empathy Forgiveness Seminar and the Self-enhancement Forgiveness Seminar facilitated forgiveness to a greater degree than the wait-list control group at post-test and six-week follow-up. Empathy mediated changes in participants' forgiveness scores regardless of seminar condition. Shame-proneness was negatively related to post-test forgiveness scores and guilt-proneness was positively related to forgiveness at post-test and follow-up. Implications for interventions are discussed.
The Phocian Betrayal at Thermopylae

This article makes three arguments regarding the Battle of Thermopylae. First, that the discovery of the Anopaea path was not dependent upon Ephialtes, but that the Persians were aware of it at their arrival and planned their attacks at Thermopylae, Artemisium, and against the Phocians accordingly. Second, that Herodotus’ claims that the failure of the Phocians was due to surprise, confusion, and incompetence are not convincing. And third, that the best explanation for the Phocian behavior is that they were from Delphi and betrayed their allies as part of a bid to restore local control over the sanctuary.
Linnaeus Tripe and Lightly Albumenized Prints in the 1850s: Characterization, Analysis and Process Identification

The photographic work of Captain Linnaeus Tripe (ca. 1851–1860) falls in a transitional decade in which the albumen print began to supplant the salted paper print process. In the 1850s, a wide vari...
Sublinear variance in Euclidean first-passage percolation

Abstract The Euclidean first-passage percolation model of Howard and Newman is a rotationally invariant percolation model built on a Poisson point process. It is known that the passage time between 0 and n e 1 obeys a diffusive upper bound: Var T ( 0 , n e 1 ) ≤ C n , and in this paper we improve this inequality to C n ∕ log n . The methods follow the strategy used for sublinear variance proofs on the lattice, using the Falik–Samorodnitsky inequality and a Bernoulli encoding, but with substantial technical difficulties. To deal with the different setup of the Euclidean model, we represent the passage time as a function of Bernoulli sequences and uniform sequences, and develop several “greedy lattice animal” arguments.
Glycemic control after initiating direct-acting antiviral agents in patients with hepatitis C virus and type 2 diabetes mellitus using the united states integrated healthcare system

Objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Prior studies found that the eradication of HCV with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents led to improved glycemic control in patients with T2DM. We aimed to identify the association between HCV eradication and glycemic control in patients diagnosed with HCV and T2DM. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted to identify adult patients diagnosed with HCV from January 1, 2014, to August 31, 2017. Patients were included if they were initiated on one of the following DAA agents within the study period: Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, sofosbuvir/ledispavir, elbasvir/grazopevir. Patients were also required to have the diagnosis of T2DM. The primary outcome of this study was the average change in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) pre- versus post-DAA agents. Findings: Our final cohort consisted of 996 patients diagnosed with HCV and T2DM: Patients who achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) (n = 937, 94%) and those who did not achieve SVR (n = 59, 6%). In the SVR group, there was a 0.3950% reduction in HbA1c (P
Influence of Environmental Stressors on the Microbiota of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)

Host-associated microbiota play a critical role in host fitness by providing nutrition, enhancing digestion capabilities, and by providing protection from pathogens. Here, we investigated the effects of two environmental stressors, temperature, and salinity, on the microbiota associated with zebra mussels (ZMs), a highly invasive bivalve in North America. To examine this in detail, lake-collected ZMs were acclimated to laboratory conditions, and subjected to temperature and salinity stress conditions. The impact of these stressors on the diversity, composition, and dynamics of ZM-associated microbiota were assessed by using amplicon- and shotgun-based sequencing, and qPCR-based approaches. Elevated temperature was found to be the primary driver of ZM mortality, although salinity alone also increased its likelihood. Stressor-induced ZM mortality, which ranged between 53 and 100%, was concomitant with significant increases in the relative abundance of several genera of putative opportunistic pathogens including Aeromonas. These genera were only present in low relative abundance in ZMs obtained from the control tank with 0% mortality. Shotgun sequencing and qPCR analyses indicated that the relative and absolute abundances of pathogenic Aeromonas species (particularly A. veronii) were significantly greater in temperature-induced dead ZMs. Taken together, our results show that environmental stress, especially elevated temperature (> 25 °C), is associated with the rapid mortality of ZMs as well as the proliferation of putative opportunistic bacterial pathogens.
Cross-seeding between the functional amyloidogenic CRES and CRES3 family members and their regulation of Aβ assembly

Accumulating evidence shows that amyloids perform biological roles. We previously showed that an amyloid matrix composed of four members of the CRES subgroup of reproductive family 2 cystatins is a normal component of the mouse epididymal lumen. The cellular mechanisms that control the assembly of these and other functional amyloid structures, however, remain unclear. We speculated that cross-seeding between CRES members could be a mechanism to control the assembly of the endogenous functional amyloid. Herein we used thioflavin T assays and negative stain transmission electron microscopy to explore this possibility. We show that CRES3 rapidly formed large networks of beaded chains that possessed the characteristic cross-β reflections of amyloid when examined by X-ray diffraction. The beaded amyloids accelerated the amyloidogenesis of CRES, a less amyloidogenic family member, in seeding assays during which beads transitioned into films and fibrils. Similarly, CRES seeds expedited CRES3 amyloidogenesis, although less efficiently than the CRES3 seeding of CRES. These studies suggest that CRES and CRES3 hetero-oligomerize and that CRES3 beaded amyloids may function as stable preassembled seeds. The CRES3 beaded amyloids also facilitated assembly of the unrelated amyloidogenic precursor Aβ by providing a surface for polymerization though, intriguingly, CRES3 (and CRES) monomer/early oligomer profoundly inhibited Aβ assembly. The cross-seeding between the CRES subgroup members is similar to that which occurs between bacterial curli proteins suggesting that it may be an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to control the assembly of some functional amyloids. Further, interactions between unrelated amyloidogenic precursors may also be a means to regulate functional amyloid assembly.
Comparison Of Placental Pathology And Placental Culture As Predictors Of Clinical Sepsis In Neonates

Purpose: Chorioamnionitis, the inflammation of fetal membranes due to ascending bacteria from the vagina and cervix, has been shown to be a risk factor for developing neonatal sepsis. The diagnosis of chorioamnionitis relies on clinical findings of maternal fever, maternal and fetal tachycardia, and uterine tenderness. While placental pathology is used to histologically confirm the presence of chorioamnionitis, placental cultures are not currently validated as a method to diagnose chorioamnionitis or assess risk for neonatal sepsis. This study aims to evaluate the correlation of both placental culture and placental pathology with neonatal outcomes and to assess their predictive value …
Rights and Rules: An Overview

Prior to recent decades, the United States Supreme Court often invoked the political question doctrine to avoid deciding controversial questions of individual rights. For a flavor of the former view, see Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 266–330 (1962) (Frankfurter, J., joined by Harlan, J., dissenting). For the modern view, see id. at 208–37 (opinion of the Court) (holding that an equal protection challenge to state legislative apportionment did not present a political question). By the 1970s and 1980s, standing limits traced to Article III’s case-or-controversy language had replaced the political question doctrine as the favored justiciability device. See, e.g., Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490 (1975) (denying standing to low and moderate income plaintiffs claiming that town’s exclusionary zoning practices denied them housing); id. at 519 (“Standing has become a barrier to access to the federal courts, just as ‘the political question’ was in earlier decades.”) (Douglas, J., dissenting). Although both political question and standing doctrines remain tools in the Court’s arsenal of threshold decision making, See, e.g., Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224 (1993) (holding that a challenge to the Senate’s use of a committee to hear testimony for judicial impeachment presented a political question); Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) (denying standing to environmentalists suing the Secretary of the Interior to require consultation regarding the environmental impact of overseas projects). in the last decade the Court has turned with increasing frequency to the distinction between facial and as-applied challenges to perform the gatekeeping function. However, although there is a considerable body of scholarship concerning the conventional justiciability doctrines, scholars have only recently begun to address the range of questions implicated by the Court’s approach to the relation between constitutional rights and challenged legal rules—and they have generally focused on narrow doctrinal questions about the proper treatment of discrete rights such as abortion, free exercise of religion, and freedom of speech. The papers in this issue of Legal Theory and the next view these issues in a broader jurisprudential context.
Development of a Reliable Method for General Aviation Flight Phase Identification

Aircraft operations statistics have typically received significant attention from U.S. airport owners and operators and state, local, and federal agencies. Accurate operational data is beneficial in assessing airports' performance efficiency and impact on the environment, but operational statistics at nontowered general aviation airports are, for the most part, limited or not available. However, the increasing availability and economy of capturing and processing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data shows promise for improving accessibility to a wide variety of information about the aircraft operating in the vicinity of these airports. Using machine learning technology, specific operational details can be decoded from ADS-B data. This paper aims to develop a reliable and economical method for general aviation aircraft flight phase identification, thereby leading to improved noise and emissions models, which are foundational to addressing many public concerns related to airports.
A bathymetric mapping and SLAM dataset with high-precision ground truth for marine robotics:

In recent years, sonar systems for surface and underwater vehicles have increased in resolution and become significantly less expensive. As such, these systems are viable at a wide range of price p...
Experimental study of using Aerogel insulation for residential buildings

Nowadays energy saving has become one of the most compelling sectors in the world. Thermal insulation of buildings presents an effective solution for energy conservation. Aerogel insulation is the ...
Ben-Porath meets skill-biased technical change: a theoretical analysis of rising inequality

In this paper we present an analytically tractable general equilibrium overlapping-generations model of human capital accumulation, and study its implications for the evolution of the U.S. wage distribution from 1970 to 2000. The key feature of the model, and the only source of heterogeneity, is that individuals differ in their ability to accumulate human capital. Therefore, wage inequality results only from differences in human capital accumulation. We examine the response of this model to skill-biased technical change (SBTC) theoretically. We show that in response to SBTC, the model generates behavior consistent with the U.S. data including (i) a rise in overall wage inequality in both the short run and long run, (ii) an initial fall in the education premium followed by a strong recovery, leading to a higher premium in the long run, (iii) the fact that most of this fall and rise takes place among younger workers, (iv) stagnation in median wage growth (and a slowdown in aggregate labor productivity), and (v) a rise in consumption inequality that is much smaller than the rise in wage inequality. These results suggest that the heterogeneity in the ability to accumulate human capital is an important feature for understanding the effects of SBTC, and interpreting the transformation that the U.S. economy has gone through since the 1970s.
Combining differential expression, chromosomal and pathway analyses for the molecular characterization of renal cell carcinoma

Using high-throughput gene-expression profiling technology, we can now gain a better understanding of the complex biology that is taking place in cancer cells. This complexity is largely dictated by the abnormal genetic makeup of the cancer cells. This abnormal genetic makeup can have profound effects on cellular activities such as cell growth, cell survival and other regulatory processes. Based on the pattern of gene expression, or molecular signatures of the tumours, we can distinguish or subclassify different types of cancers according to their cell of origin, behaviour, and the way they respond to therapeutic agents and radiation. These approaches will lead to better molecular subclassification of tumours, the basis of personalized medicine. We have, to date, done whole-genome microarray gene-expression profiling on several hundreds of kidney tumours. We adopt a combined bioinformatic approach, based on an integrative analysis of the gene-expression data. These data are used to identify both cytogenetic abnormalities and molecular pathways that are deregulated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). For example, we have identified the deregulation of the VHL-hypoxia pathway in clear-cell RCC, as previously known, and the c-Myc pathway in aggressive papillary RCC. Besides the more common clear-cell, papillary and chromophobe RCCs, we are currently characterizing the molecular signatures of rarer forms of renal neoplasia such as carcinoma of the collecting ducts, mixed epithelial and stromal tumours, chromosome Xp11 translocations associated with papillary RCC, renal medullary carcinoma, mucinous tubular and spindle-cell carcinoma, and a group of unclassified tumours. Continued development and improvement in the field of molecular profiling will better characterize cancer and provide more accurate diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of drug response.
REDOR and TEDOR

The sections in this article are 1 Refocusing and Dephasing 2 REDOR Dephasing for Recrystallized Labeled Alanines 3 Long-Range Couplings and the Natural-Abundance Background 4 Coherence Transfer and Selectivity 5 Combination Experiments and Synchronous Detection 6 Acknowledgements 7 Biographical Sketch Related Articles
Origins and Development of the Contract Clause

This essay examines the origins and early construction of the contract clause of the Constitution. It points out that the contract clause must be understood in the context of the troubled economic circumstances of post-Revolutionary America. The clause, which was little debated at the Philadelphia convention, can be traced to language in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This paper focuses on the contested issue of whether the framers intended the clause to cover only contracts between private parties or to extend to public contracts between states and individuals. As asserted by the Progressive historians, it has long been the dominant position among scholars that Chief Justice John Marshall expanded the meaning of the contract clause when he ruled that the provision governed private contracts. This paper disputes that conventional wisdom and argues that the clause could fairly be construed to safeguard both public and private contracts from state abridgement. It gives attention to discussion at the state ratifying conventions as well as to the views of prominent members of the constitutional convention. The paper also considers pre-Marshall court cases that examined the meaning of the contract clause and the famous 1796 opinion letter by Alexander Hamilton. Although recognizing that it is difficult to establish a collective state of mind concerning the scope of the ban against contractual impairments, the paper concludes that there was ample support for the views later endorsed by the Marshall Court concerning the reach of this provision.
Changing the Presidential Voice: A New Path to Leadership in a Partisan Era

Defining presidential leadership has always required a multifaceted approach as the office has not been imbued with extensive constitutional power. However, since 1986 when Samuel Kernell coined the term “going public” to describe how presidents lead via rhetoric, going public became the centerpiece of understanding the behavior of the president. The central tenets of the going public model focus on presidential rhetoric and public response, from a national perspective. Regardless of where presidents speak (daycare center, oval office), the audience is national and national public opinion polling demonstrates successful leadership through movement in that audience’s attitudes. In contrast, I contend that national going public strategies alone are no longer a viable leadership approach as the political context changed. I argue instead that presidential rhetorical leadership is in fact constituency driven and thus targets multiple audiences. Using DICTION, I distinguish between a national, universally American, presidential voice and a local, partisan voice. Thus, I argue that Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama articulate different styles of public leadership, which distinguishes between a national audience and a local audience as their environment to compensate for the lack of a reliable national constituency and a favorable media environment.
MPEG-2 4:2:2 profile at main level: an emerging high-quality video compression standard

In this paper we describe the MPEG2 4:2:2 Profile @ Main Level (abbreviated to 422@ML), and present a study of its characteristics. The MPEG2 422@ML provides a standard based conformance point that addresses, among other applications, the needs of the professional studio and post production environment. In the paper the requirements of such an environment for compressed digital video together with a functional description of the 4:2:2 Profile are given. The 422@ML provides a flexible compression solution that allows edit-ability, supports a wide range of bit rates, and provides good to excellent quality in both intra and inter studio environment. Our experiments show that the 422@ML is very robust in a multi generation environment, provides an efficient coding solution for transmission and storage, and provides transparency or near transparency in stressing operations such as digital video transformations, quality.
Gene Expression Profiles Link Respiratory Viral Infection, Platelet Response to Aspirin, and Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background Influenza infection is associated with myocardial infarction (MI), suggesting that respiratory viral infection may induce biologic pathways that contribute to MI. We tested the hypotheses that 1) a validated blood gene expression signature of respiratory viral infection (viral GES) was associated with MI and 2) respiratory viral exposure changes levels of a validated platelet gene expression signature (platelet GES) of platelet function in response to aspirin that is associated with MI.
Enabling Intelligence through Middleware: Report of the AAAI 2010 Workshop

The AAAI 2010 Workshop on Enabling Intelligence through Middleware (held during the Twenty-Fourth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence) focused on the issues and opportunities inherent in the robotics middleware packages that we use. The workshop consisted of three invited speakers and six middleware research presenters. This report presents the highlights of that discussion and the packages presented.
Quantitative nanoparticle structures from electron crystallography data

We describe the quantitative refinement of nanoparticle structures from gold nanoparticles probed by electron diffraction in the ultrafast electron crystallography UEC geometry. We establish the equivalence between the modified radial distribution function employed in UEC and the atomic pair distribution function PDF used in x-ray and neutron powder-diffraction analysis. By leveraging PDF refinement techniques, we demonstrate that UEC data are of sufficient quality to differentiate between cuboctahedral, decahedral, and icosahedral nanoparticle models for the ground-state dark structures of the gold nanoparticles. Furthermore, we identify the signatures of systematic errors that may occur during data reduction and show that atomic positions refined from UEC are robust to these errors. This work serves as a foundation for reliable quantitative structural analysis of time-resolved laser-excited nanoparticle states.
Diagnosing error in object detectors

This paper shows how to analyze the influences of object characteristics on detection performance and the frequency and impact of different types of false positives. In particular, we examine effects of occlusion, size, aspect ratio, visibility of parts, viewpoint, localization error, and confusion with semantically similar objects, other labeled objects, and background. We analyze two classes of detectors: the Vedaldi et al. multiple kernel learning detector and different versions of the Felzenszwalb et al. detector. Our study shows that sensitivity to size, localization error, and confusion with similar objects are the most impactful forms of error. Our analysis also reveals that many different kinds of improvement are necessary to achieve large gains, making more detailed analysis essential for the progress of recognition research. By making our software and annotations available, we make it effortless for future researchers to perform similar analysis.
A comparative study of some network subsystem organizations

The impact of alternative network subsystem design for realizing low end-to-end latencies and high network throughput in a switched LAN are studied in detail through simulation. These alternatives include choices in the disposition of the network interface card (NIC), DMA priorities and OS services. Our simulation model captures the delays of OS services/software layers, message copying DMAs and, in addition, models non-network related traffic on the I/O and memory buses introduced by paging and on-chip cache misses. In a conventional setup, with the NIC placed on the I/O bus, we show that changing traffic priorities on the memory bus to speed up the transfers between the NIC and the DRAM has little impact on overall latency and network throughput as the offered network traffic increases. Improving the speed of the I/O bus produces some performance gains. These performance gains are shown to be quite limited until message demultiplexing capabilities are added to the NIC. The best performance comes from the use of dual-ported DRAMs, with a dedicated connection between the NIC and the added port.
The Brave New World of GEC Evaluation: The Experience of the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center

In 2007, the Health Resources Services Administration introduced new mandates that raised the standards on program evaluation for Geriatric Education Centers. Described in this article are the primary and secondary evaluation efforts undertaken for one program within the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center (RIGEC), the findings from these efforts, and the modifications to assessment that ensued in response to the increased accountability requirements. The evaluation focused on RIGEC's series of continuing education, day-long workshops for health and social service professionals, the completion of all seven of which leads to a Certificate in Interdisciplinary Practice in Geriatrics.