cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deep Voting and Structured Regression for Microscopy Image Analysis.

Abstract Robust and accurate nuclei localization in microscopy images can provide crucial clues for accurate computer-aided diagnosis. In this chapter, we present two methods that rely on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to solve this problem. The first one is named as deep voting, which is a CNN based hough voting method used to localize nucleus centroids that exhibit heavy cluttering and morphological variations. It mainly consists of the following two parts: (i) Given an input image, this model maps every local testing image patch to the proposed target information, which consists of several pairs of voting offset vectors and voting confidence. Voting offset vectors are used to specify the pixel coordinates each local testing image patch votes to, and the corresponding voting confidence is used as weight assigned to each vote. (ii) We collect the weighted votes from all the testing image patches and compute the final voting density map for the entire testing image in a way similar to Parzen-window estimation. The final nucleus positions are then identified by searching the local maxima of the density map. The second one is a novel CNN based structured regression model, which is shown to be able to handle touching cells, inhomogeneous background noises, and large variations in sizes and shapes. Given an input image patch, instead of providing a single class label like many traditional methods, it will generate the structured outputs (referred to as proximity patches). These proximity patches, which exhibit higher values for pixels near cell centers, will then be gathered from all testing image patches and fused to obtain the final proximity map, where the maximum positions indicate the cell centroids. Both methods only require a few training images with weak annotations (just one click near the center of the object). Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves significantly improved performance compared to the state-of-the-art methods and shows strong robustness when dealing with the complex touching cells, weak staining, and fuzzy boundaries.
Linking Atmospheric River Hydrological Impacts on the U.S. West Coast to Rossby Wave Breaking

AbstractAtmospheric rivers (ARs) have significant hydrometeorological impacts on the U.S. West Coast. This study presents the connection between the characteristics of large-scale Rossby wave breaking (RWB) over the eastern North Pacific and the regional-scale hydrological impacts associated with landfalling ARs on the U.S. West Coast (36°–49°N). ARs associated with RWB account for two-thirds of the landfalling AR events and >70% of total AR-precipitation in the winter season. The two regimes of RWB—anticyclonic wave breaking (AWB) and cyclonic wave breaking (CWB)—are associated with different directions of the vertically integrated water vapor transport (IVT). AWB-ARs impinge in a more westerly direction on the coast whereas CWB-ARs impinge in a more southwesterly direction.Most of the landfalling ARs along the northwestern coast of the United States (states of Washington and Oregon) are AWB-ARs. Because of their westerly impinging angles when compared to CWB-ARs, AWB-ARs arrive more orthogonally to the ...
A retrospective analysis of patients with poor-risk germ cell tumor (PRGCT) treated at Indiana University from 1990 to 2011.

4557 Background: Based on the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG), PRGCT represents 14% of germ cell tumors with a 5-year survival of only 48% and 5-year PFS of 41%. PRGCT i...
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles induce size-dependent cytotoxicity and genomic DNA hypomethylation in human respiratory cells

The widespread use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) is gradually increasing the risk of exposure to these potentially hazardous materials. Although numerous health effects of TiO2 NPs have been investigated, it remains unknown whether they could affect the respiratory cellular epigenome. We explored the viability, membrane integrity, intracellular ROS and genomic DNA methylation of human respiratory cells, as well as their expression of methylation-related genes, after treatment with TiO2 NPs with diameters of 25 nm (nanotube morphology) or 60 nm (anatase morphology). Two cell lines relevant to inhalation exposure, namely human bronchial epithelial cell line (16HBE) and human non-small cell lung cancer cells (A549), were tested, with treatment concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 100 μg mL−1. The TiO2 NPs induced time- and concentration-dependent decreases in cell viability in both A549 and 16HBE cells. The reduction in cell viability was greater for the smaller particles (size 25 nm) of the nanotube type. Cellular membrane integrity assays revealed that 16HBE cells were less sensitive to TiO2 NPs-25 nm (nanotube-type) than were A549 cells, as higher concentrations were required for cytotoxicity against the former. TiO2 NPs-25 nm (nanotube-type) showed greater toxicity against both cell lines than TiO2 NPs-60 nm (anatase-type). Intracellular ROS levels in both A549 and 16HBE cell were increased by TiO2 NPs whereas pretreatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine eliminated TiO2 NPs-induced ROS accumulation and reduced cell death. Moreover, the anatase-type TiO2 NPs resulted in decreased global DNA methylation and altered expression levels of methylation-related genes and proteins, suggesting that these NPs induce cellular epigenomic toxicity. These results allowed us to confirm the epigenetic mechanism by which TiO2 NPs damage human respiratory cells.
Attributions About Mindfulness and Religion Among University Students

ABSTRACTAttributions about religious traditions and their perceived openness to mindfulness are considered in this exploratory research. A Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or atheist vignette character becomes interested in mindfulness. Using a general linear model, 11 items explored how the character’s family would be expected to react. Two items showed significant differences among the vignettes traditions: K’s family will probably make an attempt to understand K’s interest in mindfulness and people from belief traditions like K’s family would tell their children that deviating from their belief traditions may have serious consequences for their (eternal) well-being.
Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Nanocoating Dramatically Reduces Bacterial Adhesion to Polyester Fabric

Bacterial adhesion to textiles is thought to contribute to odor and infection. Alternately exposing polyester fabric to aqueous solutions of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is shown here to create a nanocoating that dramatically reduces bacterial adhesion. Ten PDDA/PAA bilayers (BL) are 180 nm thick and only increase the weight of the polyester by 2.5%. The increased surface roughness and high degree of PAA ionization leads to a surface with a negative charge that causes a reduction in adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus by 50% when compared to uncoated fabric, after rinsing with sterilized water, because of electrostatic repulsion. S. aureus bacterial adhesion was quantified using bioluminescent radiance measured before and after rinsing, revealing 99% of applied bacteria were removed with a ten bilayer PDDA/PAA nanocoating. The ease of processing, and benign nature of the polymers used, should make this technology useful for rendering textiles antifouling on an i...
Comparison of supervised machine learning algorithms for waterborne pathogen detection using mobile phone fluorescence microscopy

This project was funded by the Army Research Office (ARO). The Ozcan Research Group at UCLA gratefully acknowledges the support of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the ARO (W911NF-13-1-0419 and W911NF-13-1-0197), the ARO Life Sciences Division, the National Science Foundation (NSF) CBET Division Biophotonics Program, the NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Award, the NSF EAGER Award, NSF INSPIRE Award, NSF Partnerships for Innovation:Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) Program, Office of Naval Research (ONR), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Vodafone Americas Foundation, the Mary Kay Foundation, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, and KAUST. This work is based upon research performed in a laboratory renovated by the NSF under Grant No. 0963183, which is an award funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
Immunology of Staphylococci

Staphylocci are constant residents of the skin and mucous membranes. The integument is indeed the most crucial organ system for host defense against staphylococcal disease. Once through the anatomical barrier of the skin, Staphylococcus aureus has a complex array of toxins and other mechanisms for attacking the host, so that it is a highly pathogenic invader. Staphylococcus epidermidis is much less capable of injuring the invaded host. Invasion by this organism is dangerous only in special clinical circumstances. This chapter will review the antigenic structure of staphylococci, the nature of the armament of these organisms, and the response of the human host when invaded.
Modeling and control of an LED-based airfield lighting system

Updating incandescent-based airfield taxiway and runway lighting systems with LED technology offers many advantages, including longer service life and improved efficiency. However, incorporating LEDs directly into an existing airfield infrastructure offers several challenges. Chief among these is ensuring that light output is uniform across distances that may reach several kilometers. In this research, a model has been developed to characterize the behavior of LED lighting systems for airfield applications. The model includes the saturated dynamics of isolation transformers, a distributed representation of the airfield cable, diode rectification, and the dynamics of a current-regulated isolated power supply. Herein the details of the model, including its validation, are first described. Subsequently, the model is used in the development of a controller that can overcome the problem of nonuniform lighting that results from transmission-line effects introduced by long cable runs.
Review of Climate Action Plans in 29 Major U.S. Cities: Comparing Current Policies to Research Recommendations

Abstract This study reviews the research literature's recommendations on which policies a city can pursue to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Using these recommendations, we develop a multi-parameter, analytic scoring rubric for quantifying the comprehensiveness of a city's climate action policy plans. The scoring rubric is used to assess the plans of 29 major U.S. cities revealing trends about urban climate policy in the United States. Most of these plans strongly pursue policies aimed at building quality, mass transit, non-motorized transport, and independence from automobiles. However, the general absence of dense development and parking restriction policies from U.S. cities’ climate action plans impedes their ability to leverage those strengths to achieve broad strategies that reduce building energy consumption and shift transportation modes. Moreover, low-density, high-population, high-emitting cities in energy-intensive climates – places that need greenhouse gas reductions the most – are more likely to have deficient climate action plans. These results suggest that many U.S. cities’ climate action plans lack the cohesiveness to make them fully successful. Consequently, unless they reevaluate their climate action plans, many U.S. cities might struggle to achieve the broader greenhouse gas reduction strategies needed to significantly contribute to global climate change mitigation.
Oh, Behave! Nothing in Excess or Everything in Good Order: The “Portraits” of Solon and Khilon on a Late Archaic Attic Red-Figure Cup by Oltos

The following study builds upon a recent examination of the komasts labeled Solon and Khilon on a late sixth century B.C. Attic red-figure kylix (London E19) by Oltos. What ensues is a reassessment of the identification of the figures as two of the traditional members of the Seven Sages. In question are the youthful appearance of the figures and their pairing on the cup in light of chronological disparities. Also under scrutiny is the sympotic setting for the gathering of these constitutional reformers. Ultimately, however, the inquiry focuses upon the meaning or purpose behind the selection of these historic figures for the cup. Reanalysis of the cup intends to strengthen the identification of Solon and Khilon as exemplars of proper sympotic behavior by drawing upon the figures’ real-life concerns and declarations for the establishment and maintenance of social order, while further reappraisal intends to establish this message by highlighting similarities in the interests of Solon and Khilon in eunomia and the current political aims of Kleisthenes for isonomia in Athens at the time of the cup’s manufacture.
An Application of a Restricted Range Version of the Differential Correction Algorithm to the Design of Digital Systems

The differential correction algorithm of Cheney and Loeb uses linear programming to find good generalized rational approximations on a finite point set. An expository discussion of numerical and theoretical results for this algorithm will be given. The application of a restricted range version of the algorithm to the design of digital filters will be considered, with a discussion of numerical results and such topics as continuity of the best approximation operator and degeneracy. A Fortran listing of this weighted, restricted range differential correction program is available upon request.
Projecting population-level response of purple sea urchins to lead contamination for an estuarine ecological risk assessment

As part of an ecological risk assessment casestudy at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), Kittery,Maine, USA, the population level effects of leadexposure to purple sea urchin, Arbaciapunctulata, were investigated using a stage-classifiedmatrix population model. The model divided the lifehistory of A. punctulata into five classes,incorporating both, the developmental stages of thisspecies and the endpoints from a laboratory bioassay. Finite population growth rate (λ) was themetric relating population level impact to leadexposure. An inverse relationship was observed betweenlead tissue residues in A. punctulata andλ. Bioassay treatments which resulted insignificant impacts on fertilization success and zygoteviability did not translate into significant effects onλ, unless those treatments also negativelyimpacted adult survival. These results paralleled theelasticity (relative sensitivity) analysis of themodel, which indicated that λ was mostsensitive to adult and subadult survival and wasrelatively insensitive to fecundity, fertilizationsuccess, or zygote survival. Model results indicatedthat the environmental lead levels observed at PNSshould not pose significant ecological risk to seaurchin populations. Additionally, the model resultsindicated that impacts to the early life stagesroutinely used in toxicity testing do not necessarilytranslate directly into impacts at the populationlevel.
Hydrolysis of untreated lignocellulosic feedstock is independent of S-lignin composition in newly classified anaerobic fungal isolate, Piromyces sp. UH3-1.

Plant biomass is an abundant but underused feedstock for bioenergy production due to its complex and variable composition, which resists breakdown into fermentable sugars. These feedstocks, however, are routinely degraded by many uncommercialized microbes such as anaerobic gut fungi. These gut fungi express a broad range of carbohydrate active enzymes and are native to the digestive tracts of ruminants and hindgut fermenters. In this study, we examine gut fungal performance on these substrates as a function of composition, and the ability of this isolate to degrade inhibitory high syringyl lignin-containing forestry residues. We isolated a novel fungal specimen from a donkey in Independence, Indiana, United States. Phylogenetic analysis of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 sequence classified the isolate as a member of the genus Piromyces within the phylum Neocallimastigomycota (Piromyces sp. UH3-1, strain UH3-1). The isolate penetrates the substrate with an extensive rhizomycelial network and secretes many cellulose-binding enzymes, which are active on various components of lignocellulose. These activities enable the fungus to hydrolyze at least 58% of the glucan and 28% of the available xylan in untreated corn stover within 168 h and support growth on crude agricultural residues, food waste, and energy crops. Importantly, UH3-1 hydrolyzes high syringyl lignin-containing poplar that is inhibitory to many fungi with efficiencies equal to that of low syringyl lignin-containing poplar with no reduction in fungal growth. This behavior is correlated with slight remodeling of the fungal secretome whose composition adapts with substrate to express an enzyme cocktail optimized to degrade the available biomass. Piromyces sp. UH3-1, a newly isolated anaerobic gut fungus, grows on diverse untreated substrates through production of a broad range of carbohydrate active enzymes that are robust to variations in substrate composition. Additionally, UH3-1 and potentially other anaerobic fungi are resistant to inhibitory lignin composition possibly due to changes in enzyme secretion with substrate. Thus, anaerobic fungi are an attractive platform for the production of enzymes that efficiently use mixed feedstocks of variable composition for second generation biofuels. More importantly, our work suggests that the study of anaerobic fungi may reveal naturally evolved strategies to circumvent common hydrolytic inhibitors that hinder biomass usage.
Colombia’s History with “Genocide”

As Colombians today debate the implementation of the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)...
Reports of three organizations' members about doctor of nursing practice project experiences and outcomes.

Abstract Background Holders of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree were envisioned to improve health and health care outcomes by implementing quality improvement initiatives, applying evidence-based practice changes (EBP), and influencing policy. Little is known about the nature of the DNP project experience and its relationship with subsequent experiences of graduates. Filling these knowledge gaps is important because of the investment of time, faculty and student effort, expense, and the projects' potential long-term effects on the organizations in which they were conducted. Purpose (1) Describe the impetus for foci, outcomes and activities of DNP projects and (2) determine the extent to which project foci are a part of post-graduation experiences. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used and a via mailed paper and online version was sent with return options to graduates of Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The sampling technique was designed to maximize the capture of DNP graduates. Three mailings were sent to 5,830 nurse members of three national organizations with memberships that included advanced practice registered nurses, nurse administrators and nurse educators. The 1,308 DNP prepared respondents were demographically and geographically representative of organizational members. Findings Most (65.2%) reported the topic of the project was their own idea and they sought out an organization in which to conduct it. Twenty-five percent indicated not all aspects of the reorganization/initiative/policy change were completed by graduation. Five project foci emerged with the majority reporting an EBP initiative or an EBP project involving reorganization in the setting (57.7%) There was also a wide variation in the number, types and combinations of activities reported to be a part of the project. There was wide variation in the relationship of project foci and activities with reports of post-graduation experience by position title. Discussion/Conclusion Findings suggest potential avenues for innovations during the DNP project experience innovations. Long term effects of projects on organizations in which they were conducted and the relationship of project activities with post-graduation roles should be considered.
Nonequilibrum phase transition in the light-actuated self-assembly of nanoparticles: effects of surfaces and stochastic forces

When we illuminate gold nanofluids over indium-tin-oxide (ITO)-coated substrates, nanoparticle chains selfassemble via optical binding forces. We speculate that charge transfer between gold and ITO pins nanoparticles to the substrate and reduces the lateral Brownian motion as they attach to the substrate. We correspondingly model the self-assembly with additional stochastic or random forces. Simulations show a nonequilibrium-phase transition: when the stochastic force is small, nanoparticle chains align perpendicular to the light polarization and nanoparticles settle at shallow but stable nodes; when the stochastic force is large, however, the nanoparticle chains align parallel to the light polarization and nanoparticles settle at saddlepoints where the optical binding force is largely zero. Since the presence and strength of Brownian forces influence which state is formed, we reconsider the role that surfaces have—not only in relation to charge transfer but also heat transfer.
The Role of Gang Involvement as a Protective Factor in the Association Between Peer Victimization and Negative Emotionality

Gang involvement is associated with many negative outcomes. However, the social and emotional development of gang-involved youth has received little empirical investigation. This study examines the...
Environmental impacts of reduced-risk and conventional pesticide programs differ in commercial apple orchards, but similarly influence pollinator community

Insect pollinators such as bees and syrphid flies play a crucial role in pollinating many food crops, and their diversity and abundance may be influenced by pesticide application patterns. Over three years, we assessed the ecotoxicological impacts on the diversity and abundance of bees and syrphid flies between reduced-risk pesticide programs and standard, conventional pesticide programs in paired plots at six spatially distinct commercial apple orchards. In particular, we quantified pesticide inputs, environmental impact, and community response of bees and syrphids to these pesticide programs. Relative environmental impacts of reduced-risk versus conventional pesticide programs were calculated using Environmental Impact Quotient analysis, while ecological impacts were characterized by assessing the abundance, richness, and species assemblages of bees and syrphids. Adopting a reduced-risk pesticide program for apple pest management reduced the use (in terms of kg a.i./ha) of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides by approximately 97.6% and 100% respectively, but increased the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid) by 40.4% compared to the orchards under standard conventional pesticide program. Regardless of pesticide inputs, abundance, richness and species assemblages of bees and syrphids did not differ between reduced-risk and conventional pest management programs. However, the environmental impact of pesticide inputs was reduced by 89.8% in reduced-risk pesticide program. These findings suggest that the implementation of reduced-risk pesticide program may reduce pesticide environmental impact, in addition to being safer to farm workers, without adversely affecting the robust community composition of bees and syrphids in commercial apple orchards in the mid-Atlantic region.
Scalable, High-Order Continuity Across Block Boundaries of Functional Approximations Computed in Parallel

We investigate the representation of discrete scientific data with a Ck functional model, where Ck denotes k-th order continuity, in a distributed-memory parallel setting. The Multivariate Functional Approximation (MFA) model is a piecewise-continuous functional approximation based on multi-variate high-dimensional B-splines. When computing an MFA approximation in parallel over multiple blocks in a spatial domain decomposition, the interior of each block will be Ck, k being the B-spline polynomial degree, but discontinuities exist across neighboring block boundaries. We present an efficient and scalable solution that involves blending neighboring approximations to ensure Ck continuity across block boundaries. We show that after decomposing the domain in structured, overlapping blocks and approximating blocks independently to high degrees of accuracy, we can extend the local solution, in a postprocessing step, to the global domain by using compact, multidimensional smoothstep functions. We prove that this approach, which can be viewed as an extended partition of unity approximation method, is scalable on high-performance computing architectures.
Emotions and activism: English language teachers’ emotion labor as responses to institutional power

ABSTRACTThis article explores the relationship between teachers’ emotions and possibilities for their activism. Using the lens of emotion labor and grounded in a discursive approach to emotions, it...
Transverse-Field Ising Dynamics in a Rydberg-Dressed Atomic Gas

We report on the realization of long-range Ising interactions in a cold gas of cesium atoms by Rydberg dressing. The interactions are enhanced by coupling to Rydberg states in the vicinity of a Forster resonance. We characterize the interactions by measuring the mean-field shift of the clock transition via Ramsey spectroscopy, observing one-axis twisting dynamics. We furthermore emulate a transverse-field Ising model by periodic application of a microwave field and detect dynamical signatures of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition. Our results highlight the power of optical addressing for achieving local and dynamical control of interactions, enabling prospects ranging from investigating Floquet quantum criticality to producing tunable-range spin squeezing.
Case of concurrent herpes simplex and autoimmune encephalitis.

An association between herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis and NDMA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis has been well described. Here, we report a rare case of HSV encephalitis occurring alongside autoimmune encephalitis with leucine-rich glioma inactivated 1 (LGI-1) and NMDAR antibodies.
Click Fraud Detection on the Advertiser Side

Click fraud--malicious clicks at the expense of pay-per-click advertisers--is posing a serious threat to the Internet economy. Although click fraud has attracted much attention from the security community, as the direct victims of click fraud, advertisers still lack effective defense to detect click fraud independently. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for advertisers to detect click frauds and evaluate the return on investment ROI of their ad campaigns without the helps from ad networks or publishers. Our key idea is to proactively test if visiting clients are full-fledged modern browsers and passively scrutinize user engagement. In particular, we introduce a new functionality test and develop an extensive characterization of user engagement. Our detection can significantly raise the bar for committing click fraud and is transparent to users. Moreover, our approach requires little effort to be deployed at the advertiser side. To validate the effectiveness of our approach, we implement a prototype and deploy it on a large production website; and then we run 10-day ad campaigns for the website on a major ad network. The experimental results show that our proposed defense is effective in identifying both clickbots and human clickers, while incurring negligible overhead at both the server and client sides.
Amine-functionalized carbon-fiber microelectrodes for enhanced ATP detection with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry

Here, we provide evidence that functionalizing the carbon-fiber surface with amines significantly improves direct electrochemical adenosine triphosphate (ATP) detection with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). ATP is an important extracellular signaling molecule throughout the body and can function as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Several methods have been developed over the years to monitor and quantitate ATP signaling in cells and tissues; however, many of them are limited in temporal resolution or are not capable of measuring ATP directly. FSCV at carbon-fiber microelectrodes is a widely used technique to measure neurotransmitters in real-time. Many electrode treatments have been developed to study the interaction of cationic compounds like dopamine at the carbon surface yet studies investigating how to improve anionic compounds, like ATP, at the carbon fiber surface are lacking. In this work, carbon-fibers were treated with N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide (EDC) which reacts with carboxylic acid groups on the carbon surface followed by reaction with ethylenediamine (EDA) to produce NH2-functionalized carbon surfaces. Overall, we a 5.2 ± 2.5-fold increase in ATP current with an approximately 9-fold increase in amine functionality, as analyzed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, on the carbon surface was observed after modification with EDC-EDA. This provides evidence that amine-rich surfaces improve interactions with ATP on the surface. This study provides a detailed analysis of ATP interaction at carbon surfaces and ultimately a method to improve direct and rapid neurological ATP detection in the future.
Book Release: : The Mark of Slavery: Disability, Race, and Gender in Antebellum America by Jenifer Barclay

Book release notice for The Mark of Slavery: Disability, Race, and Gender in Antebellum America by Jenifer Barclay.
Differences in transitions of care among cancer patients with and without venous thromboembolism (VTE) events.

e18636Background: Transitions of care are an important part of medical care, as they provide opportunities to address patient concerns, refine goals to match current needs and prevent unforeseen co...
Environmental Stress Selects for Innovations That Drive Vibrio Symbiont Diversity

Symbiotic bacteria in the Vibrionaceae are a dynamic group of -Proteobacteria that are commonly found throughout the world. Although they primarily are free-living in the environment, they can be commonly found associated with various Eukarya, either as beneficial or pathogenic symbionts. Interestingly, this dual lifestyle (free-living or in symbiosis) enables the bacteria to have enormous ecological breadth, where they can accommodate a variety of stresses in both stages. Here, we discuss some of the most common stressors that Vibrio bacteria encounter when in their free-living state or in associated with an animal host, and how some of the mechanisms that are used to cope with these stressors can be used as an evolutionary advantage that increases their diversity both in the environment and within their specific hosts.
Economics of onion production in Reclaimed Soils in Fayoum Governorate

It is necessary to study Economic For Systems Of Field Irrigation the production of onion in Reclaimed Soils in Fayoum Governorate, The study has adopted a descriptive and quantitative statistical analysis method A sample of 210 farmers from new reclaimed farms in Fayoum governorate has been tested, The questionnaire has been collected during the agricultural season 2019/2020The findings of the study have indicated the relative importance of the production costs’ items of the onion crop and that the total irrigation costs are at the forefront of the variable production costs’ items and are estimated at 3297,3 pounds per feddan, at a rate of 30,2% of the variable costs in the drip irrigation system, Having studied the effect of using different irrigation systems on the production costs as well as the total revenue per feddan of the onion crop, it has been found that with respect to the cost of human work when using drip irrigation, the product achieves an estimated savings of about 410 pounds per feddan, at a rate of about 12,7%, As for the cost of the machine work, it has been found that using drip irrigation achieves for the product an estimated savings of about 72 pounds per feddan, at a rate of about 8,5%, With regard to the total revenue, it has been found that using drip irrigation achieves for the product an increase in total revenue estimated at 9973 pounds per feddan, at a rate of about 37,8%, Finally, concerning the net return, it has been found that the use of drip irrigation achieves for the product an increase in the net yield estimated at about 9155,7 pounds per feddan, at a rate of about 61,1%, compared to the flood irrigation system, The production functions have been estimated in their linear and double logarithmic image, Then the image that conforms to the economic logic has been chosen, through which it has been found that the most important factors affecting the Ibrahim et al. FJARD VOL. 35, NO. 1. PP.190-198 (2021)
Prognostic and therapeutic implications of measurable residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia

Quantification of measurable residual disease (MRD) provides critical prognostic information in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A variety of platforms exist for MRD detection, varying in their sensitivity and applicability to individual patients. MRD detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, multiparameter flow cytometry, or next-generation sequencing has prognostic implications in various subsets of AML and at various times throughout treatment. While it is overwhelmingly evident that minute levels of remnant disease confer increased risk of relapse and shortened survival, the therapeutic implications of MRD remain less clear. The use of MRD as a guide to selecting the most optimal post-remission therapy, including hematopoietic stem cell transplant or maintenance therapy with hypomethylating agents, small molecule inhibitors, or immunotherapy is an area of active investigation. In addition, whether there are sufficient data to use MRD negativity as a surrogate endpoint in clinical trial development is controversial. In this review, we will critically examine the methods used to detect MRD, its role as a prognostic biomarker, MRD-directed therapeutics, and its potential role as a study endpoint.
Individual Optical Confinement Geometry Device

In terms of structure and feature, the optical confinement geometry solar cell is classified as individual OCGPV, integrated OCGPV, and hybrid OCGPV, in which the individual OCGPV is focused on devices based on single fibers or tubes. Since the last two types, integrated OCGPV and hybrid OCGPV, are developed and studied from the single device, individual OCGPV shows some common characteristics with the other two types, such as incident angle dependence, spectral response, and equivalent circuit. In this section, the individual OCGPV is introduced via two examples of a fiber based solar cell with dip coating ITO and ITO-free Tube-based solar cell before discussing more industrialized integrated OCGPV and more special features of hybrid OCGPV. In the research of individual OCGPV, an important issue is choosing transparent electrode surround fiber or tube, because it is very hard to make smooth films on this 3D architecture surface. From year 2007 to 2012, we studied several methods for depositing anode: sol–gel ITO by dip coating, conductive PEDOT as the replacement of ITO, and the traditional method by sputtering ITO. In addition, some tools and instruments are invented to serve this 3D fabrication process in which most of them are shown in Sect. 9.1.
The Nexus of Oxidative Stress Responses and Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms in Escherichia coli and Salmonella

This chapter discusses the mechanistic overlap between seemingly separate regulatory systems, one responding to oxidative stress, the other governing antibiotic resistance mechanisms encoded in the bacterial chromosome. Oxidative stress signals activate SoxR, leading to transcriptional induction of the soxS gene. The overlap in specificity between the two systems (activation of both oxidative stress and antibiotic resistance genes) is embodied in the second-stage regulators, SoxS and MarA. These small proteins are homologous to the C-terminal domain of the AraC/XylS family of transcription activators. For the soxRS regulon , oxidative stress imposed by superoxide-generating agents or macrophagegenerated nitric oxide are the predominant known activation signals. In the absence of oxidative stress, competition of the mutant SoxR in St46 by the nonactivated wild-type protein effectively shut down soxS expression and thus antibiotic resistance. The convergence of different regulatory systems on both oxidative stress and antibiotic resistance genes was unexpected. In another collaboration with Stuart Levy, the properties of a Salmonella enterica strain (St46) that developed ciprofloxacin resistance during antibiotic therapy were examined. Analyzing the regulatory mechanisms of soxRS and marRAB and their roles in resistance to multiple antibiotics proved to be an exciting adventure. The clear relevance of this work to human health was a bonus, as was the chance to learn about whole new areas of research.
All For One... One For All? A Principal Component Analysis of the Latin American Brady Bond Debt from 1994 to 2000

We use Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to study the Brady Bond Debt of the four primary Latin American sovereign issuers: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela. Our dataset covers a period of 5 years starting in July 1994 and consists of daily sovereign ("stripped") yield levels for the par and discount debt securities of each country. We examine the behavior of the characteristic roots and eigenvectors of the empirical covariance matrices computed sequentially over different periods. We show that, by and large, there exist two statistically significant components, or factors, which explain up to 90% of the realized variance. The eigenvector with largest eigenvalue corresponds to the variance attributable to "regional" ("Latin") risk. The second component strongly suggests the existence of a volatility risk factor associated to Venezuelan debt in relation to the rest of the region. A time-dependent factor analysis reveals that the importance of the variance explained by the factor changes over time and that this variation can be interpreted, to some extent, in terms of market events. In particular, we investigate the relation between the evolution of the PCA factors with the market dislocations that occurred during the observation period, including the so-called Tequila effect, Asian flu, Ruble devaluation, and Real devaluation.
DENSIFICATION OF PAPER MILL SLUDGE MATERIALS

Dewatered paper industry primary sludges have a consistency similar to very soft remolded clays. Densification involves removal of additional water, usually by placement of a surcharge load after deposition in a landfill. Solids composition includes a noncombustible fraction, primarily kaolin clays, and the organic constituents which include wood fibers and other components. Use of kaolinite-pulp fiber mixtures to simulate these sludges permitted control over organic content, fiber type and size, and mineral type. Decomposition was accelerated by the addition of nutrients and seed microorganisms. Use of the ignition test to determine current organic fractions permitted changes in the degree of decomposition to be monitored concurrent to changes in the model sludge compressibility. The effects of organic content, pressure, and decomposition on sludge densification was shown by compression tests. Experimental data permitted development of a method for computation of void ratio as a function of pressure and organic content. Excellent agreement was observed with limited field data. Using the degree of decomposition, procedures for settlement prediction of decomposing paper mill sludges were formulated. Examples are included.
An improved synthesis of dopamine D2/D3 receptor radioligands [11C]fallypride and [18F]fallypride

Abstract Improved syntheses of dopamine D 2 /D 3 receptor radioligands [ 11 C]Fallypride and [ 18 F]Fallypride are reported. The phenolic precursor ( 9 ) for C-11 labeling and the Fallypride ( 10 ) reference standard were synthesized from the starting material 2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-5-(2-propenyl)benzoic acid methyl ester ( 1 ) in 7 and 8 steps with 16% and 5% overall chemical yields, respectively. The tosylated precursor ( 15 ) for F-18 labeling was synthesized from compound 1 in 5 steps with 32% overall chemical yield. An alternate synthetic approach for Fallypride has been developed using the same starting material 1 in 5 steps with 26% overall chemical yield. [ 11 C]Fallypride ([ 11 C] 10 ) was prepared by O -[ 11 C]methylation of the phenolic precursor with [ 11 C]methyl triflate and purified with a semi-preparative HPLC method in 50–60% radiochemical yield, decay corrected to end of bombardment (EOB), based on [ 11 C]CO 2 , and 370±185 GBq/μmol specific radioactivity at EOB. [ 18 F]Fallypride ([ 18 F] 10 ) was prepared by nucleophilic substitution of the tosylated precursor with K[ 18 F]F/Kryptofix 2.2.2 and HPLC combined with solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification in variable (up to 50%) decay corrected radiochemical yield from K[ 18 F]F and 111–222 GBq/μmol specific activity at EOB.
The effects of family participation in an outdoor adventure program

Twenty-four families participated in an intensive 8-hour adventure program that included initiative games, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting in the mountains of central Colorado. A study examined the effects of participation on parental perceptions of family problem solving, communication, cohesiveness, and general functioning. A questionnaire was administered before and after participation; observations were collected throughout the program; and interviews were conducted with 11 families 1 month later. Results indicated significant positive change for mothers' perceptions of family cohesiveness. No significant improvements in mothers' perceptions were recorded for problem solving, communication, or general functioning. Participating fathers' perceptions significantly improved for family cohesion and communication. No significant improvements in fathers' perceptions were recorded for problem solving or general functioning. Interviews 1 month later with 11 families confirmed that participating mothers, fathers, and their children did in fact experience positive changes in family cohesiveness and that powerful memories of the program persisted. Contributions of the study to the understanding of family enrichment and adventure/challenge programs are discussed, as are recommendations for further study. Contains 67 references. (TD) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** The Effects of Family Participation in an Outdoor Adventure Program
What a Parser Can Learn from a Semantic Role Labeler and Vice Versa

In many NLP systems, there is a unidirectional flow of information in which a parser supplies input to a semantic role labeler. In this paper, we build a system that allows information to flow in both directions. We make use of semantic role predictions in choosing a single-best parse. This process relies on an averaged perceptron model to distinguish likely semantic roles from erroneous ones. Our system penalizes parses that give rise to low-scoring semantic roles. To explore the consequences of this we perform two experiments. First, we use a baseline generative model to produce n-best parses, which are then re-ordered by our semantic model. Second, we use a modified version of our semantic role labeler to predict semantic roles at parse time. The performance of this modified labeler is weaker than that of our best full SRL, because it is restricted to features that can be computed directly from the parser's packed chart. For both experiments, the resulting semantic predictions are then used to select parses. Finally, we feed the selected parses produced by each experiment to the full version of our semantic role labeler. We find that SRL performance can be improved over this baseline by selecting parses with likely semantic roles.
Toward an Authentic Ethos for Online Higher Education

The influence of capitalism on education's telos is a subject of critical concern. This article argues that a neo-liberal ideal that markets should determine educational efficacy and process is antithetical to the cultural good. The authors describe education as fundamentally teleological, responsible for defining, building and sustaining civilization. They further argue that an illusory ethos built upon the purely instrumental goals of the marketplace is replacing the authentic ethos for culture and identity building found in education's traditional telos. The authors hope to open a discussion that addresses the philosophical assumptions which underlie the emerging and burgeoning industry in online higher education. A call is made for a critical examination of the instrumental ethos and it is claimed that an authentic ethos will necessarily include a discourse that questions the goals for culture found in education. Any discussion of ethics and the issue of progress in culture, along with the problem of goods created in a culture dominated by capitalism, has to begin with the observation that, by its nature, civilization is teleological - that is, it has a purpose. Further, the goal of the civil is to determine what is good for the people. The ethos of a civil society, in our view, is the discourse that continually addresses the questions 'What is the good?' and 'How shall we live?' For every important goal, development or progress, our ethics help us choose the way. So, when we speak of the ethos, we refer to the culture of goal-oriented behavior and thought that is guided by the pursuit of human virtues. Teaching and learning, embodied in education, are an essential part of the teleological nature of being, particularly of social being. The key questions related to this aspect of being include: 'What is knowledge?'; 'Why do we engage in learning?' and 'What is the good of education?' Such questions demand responses grounded in ethical discourse and ethical action. Within the context of higher education, there is also the demand for responses that embrace acceptance of the need for cultivation of critical minds, minds that are able to discern distinctions (however subtle) between the ethical and its antithesis. As Edward LeRoy Long (1992, pp. 31-32) says, critical minds 'can guard the self against infatuation with glib answers, against the adoption of agendas that have been previously tried and found wanting, against commercialized slickness and ideological oversimplification'. In this article, we discuss the evidence of an ethical problematic in higher education's use of online education. The problematic centers on the tension between the goals of education in a capital culture and the pressure to cater to what could be called the illusory ethos of education. Peter Markie (1994) articulates succinctly the fundamentals of educational purpose, which is to communicate to students a vision for intellectual excellence and to instill in students a set of qualities necessary for the realization of intellectual excellence. As he points out: