cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reproductive Diapause and Life-History Clines in North American Populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Latitudinal clines are widespread in Drosophila melanogaster, and many have been interpreted as adaptive responses to climatic variation. However, the selective mechanisms generating many such patterns remain unresolved, and there is relatively little information regarding how basic life-history components such as fecundity, life span and mortality rates vary across environmental gradients. Here, it is shown that four life-history traits vary predictably with geographic origin of populations sampled along the latitudinal gradient in the eastern United States. Although such patterns are indicative of selection, they cannot distinguish between the direct action of selection on the traits in question or indirect selection by means of underlying genetic correlations. When independent suites of traits covary with geography, it is therefore critical to separate the widespread effects of population source from variation specifically for the traits under investigation. One trait that is associated with variation in life histories and also varies with latitude is the propensity to express reproductive diapause; diapause expression has been hypothesized as a mechanism by which D. melanogaster adults overwinter, and as such may be subject to strong selection in temperate habitats. In this study, recently derived isofemale lines were used to assess the relative contributions of population source and diapause genotype in generating the observed variance for life histories. It is shown that although life span, fecundity and mortality rates varied predictably with geography, diapause genotype explained the majority of the variance for these traits in the sampled populations. Both heat and cold shock resistance were also observed to vary predictably with latitude for the sampled populations. Cold shock tolerance varied between diapause genotypes and the magnitude of this difference varied with geography, whereas heat shock tolerance was affected solely by geographic origin of the populations. These data suggest that a subset of life-history parameters is significantly influenced by the genetic variance for diapause expression in natural populations, and that the observed variance for longevity and fecundity profiles may reflect indirect action of selection on diapause and other correlated traits.
Nitinol Self-Expanding Stents vs. Balloon Angioplasty for Very Long Femoropopliteal Lesions:

^^ Purpose: To compare the patency rates and clinical outcomes of balloon angioplasty vs. nitinol stent placement for patients with short (� 150 mm) as compared to long (.150 mm) femoropopliteal (FP) occlusive lesions. Methods: Between 2006 and 2011, 254 patients (134 men; mean age 68 years) underwent FP angioplasty. The majority of patients (64%) were treated for critical limb ischemia. One hundred thirty-nine (55%) patients had short FP lesions � 150 mm, while 115 patients had long FP lesions .150 mm. The mean lesion length was 78643 mm in the short FP lesion group and 254658 mm in the long FP lesion group. Duplex ultrasound follow-up with a peak systolic velocity ratio � 2.0 was used to define restenosis. Results: The overall procedure success rate was 98%. One hundred forty-eight (58%) patients underwent stent placement. The mean number of stents deployed for treatment of short FP lesions was 1.060.4 vs. 2.060.7 for long FP lesions (p,0.001). The primary patency rate of short FP lesions treated with balloon angioplasty vs. stenting was 66% vs. 63% at 1 year (p¼0.7). For long FP lesions, the 1-year primary patency rates of balloon angioplasty vs. stenting were 34% vs. 49% (p¼0.006). Balloon angioplasty of long FP lesions was also associated with significantly lower assisted primary and secondary patency compared to stenting (p,0.05 for all comparisons). Sustained clinical improvement was .90% at 30 days but declined to 62% to 75% at 1 year. Conclusion: Balloon angioplasty and stent placement result in similar patency rates and clinical outcomes for shorter to medium-length FP lesions. In comparison, stent placement in long FP lesions is associated with superior outcomes to balloon angioplasty, even when multiple stents are required. Procedure success and clinical improvement can be achieved in the majority of patients, but rates of restenosis remain high. J Endovasc Ther. 2014;21:34–43
Non-governmental organizations, democracy, and HIV prevalence: a cross-national analysis.

Despite the scale, reach, and global impact of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), its study has remained largely at the purview of various micro-level analyses (e.g., Gutmann 2007; Levi and Vitoria 2002). However, differences in prevalence rates at the national level suggest that other forces might be at work. Following the work of McIntosh and Thomas (2004), the only cross-national study of HIV/AIDS published to our knowledge, we conduct a cross-national analysis that examines world polity ideas that higher levels of health and women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be associated with lower levels of HIV prevalence. Initially, we find no support for these hypotheses. However, we respecify our models to test a political opportunity structure hypothesis that democracy enhances the ability of health and women’s NGOs to deal with HIV. We test this line of reasoning by including an interaction term between democracy and the health and women’s NGO variables. In doing so, we find that health and women’s NGOs are associated with lower levels of HIV prevalence in democratic rather than repressive nations.
Interpretation of X Chromosome Dose at Sex-lethal Requires Non-E-Box Sites for the Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins SISB and Daughterless

For Drosophila melanogaster flies, sexual fate is determined by the X chromosome number. The basic helix-loop-helix protein product of the X-linked sisterlessB (sisB or scute) gene is a key indicator of the X dose and functions to activate the switch gene Sex-lethal (Sxl) in female (XX), but not in male (XY), embryos. Zygotically expressed sisB and maternal daughterless (da) proteins are known to form heterodimers that bind E-box sites and activate transcription. We examined SISB-Da binding at Sxl by using footprinting and gel mobility shift assays and found that SISB-Da binds numerous clustered sites in the establishment promoter Sxl(Pe). Surprisingly, most SISB-Da sites at Sxl(Pe) differ from the canonical CANNTG E-box motif. These noncanonical sites have 6-bp CA(G/C)CCG and 7-bp CA(G/C)CTTG cores and exhibit a range of binding affinities. We show that the noncanonical sites can mediate SISB-Da-activated transcription in cell culture. P-element transformation experiments show that these noncanonical sites are essential for Sxl(Pe) activity in embryos. Together with previous deletion analysis, the data suggest that the number, affinity, and position of SISB-Da sites may all be important for the operation of the Sxl(Pe) switch. Comparisons with other dose-sensitive promoters suggest that threshold responses to diverse biological signals have common molecular mechanisms, with important variations tailored to suit particular functional requirements.
Some Comments on the Evaluation of Informal Models

Publisher Summary The need to quantify the magnitude of economic impacts for all types of policy analyses together with the increased accessibility of computer software for a menu of econometric methods has served to hasten the diffusion of econometric analysis into diverse applications. Whereas in the past, these applications were confined to areas where the analyst felt there was some established theory to guide the formulation of hypotheses, in the present time, the reach of econometric methods is both inside and outside the traditional realm of economic theory. This chapter discusses the different methodologies for dealing with informal models. For the most part, they are techniques that are not widely known by applied econometricians and have been suggested as potential additions to the methods used in empirical work. The paper on the evaluation of informal models by Wold reviews the use of iterative methods for estimating a variety of different models in which there are latent variables. While the specific formulation of partial least squares (PLS) depends on the structure under study, it can be considered as a general class of methods that calls for repeated application of ordinary least squares to a progressively altered set of variables in the estimation of both the parameters of a model and of the latent variables. These models are generalizations of the iterative methods developed by Wold and his colleagues for simultaneous equation models, for example, the fixed-point and iterative instrumental estimators. As in the case of the estimators for simultaneous equation models, it is difficult to analyze the analytical properties of PLS.
YY1 and Sp1 transcription factors bind the human transferrin gene in an age-related manner.

The iron-binding protein transferrin has major roles in transporting, delivering, and sequestering ferric ions acquired by body tissues. Yet, during aging, serum transferrin levels decrease in humans. Likewise, in transgenic mice carrying chimeric human transferrin transgenes, liver expression of transferrin transgenes decreases with age. The aging regulation is due to decreased gene transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and antibody-recognition have revealed the binding of 5' regulatory elements of the human transferrin gene by three YY1 proteins, called YY1, YYl-a, and YYl-b, and an Spl-a transcription factor. An age-related increase in YYl-a and YYl-b binding activities and a decrease in Spl-like binding activity were shown. Since Spl is a positive transcription factor and YY1 can be a negative transcription factor, the alterations in their binding with age could cause the decreased transcription of the human transferrin transgene, and also the age-related decreased serum transferrin levels in humans. TPRANSFERRIN (TF) has a central role in the manage-•- ment of the body's iron supply. TF is the major irontransport protein in serum and is essential for the appropriate tissue-distribution of iron (Bernstein, 1987). TF-bound iron is delivered to cells via membrane-bound TF receptors. The iron is used as a cofactor of many important proteins (i.e., hemoglobin, cytochromes, ribonucleotide reductase, tyrosine hydroxylase), or it is stored in the iron-storage protein ferritin. Aging, in humans, is known to be accompanied by a decrease in serum TF levels (Cohn and Kaplan, 1971; Dybkjaeretal., 1981; Yip et al., 1984; Adrian etal., 1992). The decrease, by compromising management and supply of iron, probably has adverse effects in elderly people. Our laboratory is studying the aging regulation of human TF in transgenic mice that carry chimeric human TF-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (TF-CAT) transgenes (Adrian et al., 1992). Mimicking serum TF levels in humans, expression of TF-CAT transgenes in liver decreased with age. Expression of the transgene was determined by CAT enzyme assays. Additional evidence indicated that the aging regulation was probably independent of both (a) an inflammatory process and (b) a response of the transgene to liver iron stores that had increased with age. Serum levels of two acute phase proteins, serum amyloid protein and complement component C3, which are elevated in response to inflammation in mice, were not increased in sera of the same old mice used in the aging experiments. Injections of iron salts do result in decreased liver CAT enzyme activity in the TF-CAT transgenic mice, but the iron stores did not increase with age in the TF-CAT transgenic mouse livers (Adrian et al., 1992). In addition, iron regulation is mediated through decreased translation of the messenger RNA (mRNA) (Cox and Adrian, 1993), and the aging regulation is transcriptional. These studies and others also demonstrated that the endogenous mouse transferrin (Tf) expression did not decrease with age
STUDIES CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THE SECRETORY ACTIVITY OF THE ISOLATED RINGER-PERFUSED FROG LIVER : I. THE DIFFERENTIAL SECRETION OF PAIRS OF DYESTUFFS.

The isolated Ringer-perfused frog liver is able to concentrate in its secretion several hundred or even thousand times a great number of dyestuffs. When two dyestuffs are perfused simultaneously, the liver separates them to a lower or higher degree, some times to such an extent that the secretion of one of them is entirely suppressed by the other. Which one of the two dyestuffs appears prevailingly in the secretion, does not depend upon its diffusibility or lipoid solubility, but perhaps upon its adsorbability. This is concluded from the fact that dyestuffs provided with several (4 to 5) strongly hydrophilic sulfonate groups in their molecule, are not permitted to pass the gland.
Diffusion in silicate melts: III. Empirical models for multicomponent diffusion

Empirical models for multicomponent diffusion in an isotropic fluid were derived by splitting the component's dispersion velocity into two parts: (a) an intrinsic velocity which is proportional to each component's electrochemical potential gradient and independent of reference frame and (b) a net interaction velocity which is both model and reference frame dependent. Simple molecules (e.g., MpOq) were chosen as endmember components. The interaction velocity is assumed to be either the same for each component (leading to a common relaxation velocity U) or proportional to a common interaction force (F). U or F is constrained by requiring no local buildup in either volume or charge. The most general form of the model-derived diffusion matrix [D] can be written as a product of a model-dependent kinetic matrix [L] and a model independent thermodynamic matrix [G], [D] = [L] · [G]. The elements of [G] are functions of derivatives of chemical potential with respect to concentration. The elements of [L] are functions of concentration and partial molar volume of the endmember components, Cio and Vio, and self diffusivity Di, and charge number zi of individual diffusing species. When component n is taken as the dependent variable they can be written in a common form Lij = Djδij + Cio[VnoDn − VjoDj)Ai + (pnznDn − pjzjDj)Bi] where the functional forms of the scaling factors Ai and Bi depend on the model considered. The off-diagonal element Lij (i ≠ j) is directly proportional to the concentration of component i, and thus negligible when i is a dilute component. The salient feature of kinetic interaction or relaxation is to slow down larger (volume or charge) and faster diffusing components and to speed up smaller (volume or charge) and slower moving species, in order to prevent local volume or charge buildup. Empirical models for multicomponent diffusion were tested in the ternary system CaOAl2O3SiO2 at 1500°C and 1 GPa over a large range of melt compositions. Model-derived diffusion matrices calculated using measured self diffusivities (Ca, Al, Si, and O), partial molar volumes, and activities were compared with experimentally derived diffusion matrices at two melt compositions. Chemical diffusion profiles computed using the model-derived diffusion matrices, accounting for the compositional dependency of self diffusivities and activity coefficients, were also compared with the experimentally measured ones. Good agreement was found between the ionic common-force model derived diffusion profiles and the experimentally measured ones. Secondary misfits could result from either inadequacies of the model or inaccuracies in activity-composition relationship. The results show that both kinetic interactions and thermodynamic nonideality contribute significantly to the observed diffusive coupling in the molten CaOAl2O3SiO2.
Probability of Multifault Rupture

Abstract Earthquake hazard modelers often assume that earthquake ruptures will be confined to individual faults and that earthquakes’ magnitudes will not exceed values related to the mapped fault length. However, earthquakes have been observed to jump from one fault to another, producing a rupture longer than the originating fault. The magnitudes of these earthquakes can exceed the value based on the originating fault length. We estimated the probability of jumping as a function of interfault distance, based on retrospective observations from past earthquakes. A simple model, consistent with the few available observations, suggests that an earthquake on one strike-slip fault may jump to another with a probability that decreases exponentially with separation. The scale distance is about 3 km. The model implies a nonnegligible probability of jumping as much as 10 km. Many California faults are within 10 km of one another; we identified those and wrote a simple program to calculate the interfault distance and thus the jump probabilities. We also formulated a simple way to estimate the magnitude-frequency distribution for a pair of nearby faults as a function of their independent magnitude distributions and their separation distance. Allowing for multifault rupture increases the estimated upper magnitude limits for faults, relative to a model in which faults are independent. If the magnitude-frequency distribution is constrained to be consistent with a fixed moment rate (from fault slip rates, for example) then increasing the upper magnitude limits will reduce the rate of intermediate and small events.
GFAP-positive and myelin marker-positive glia in normal and pathologic environments.

The data herein demonstrate that in addition to the well-characterized myelin marker-positive, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-negative, membrane sheet-bearing oligodendrocytes, another type of myelin marker-positive, process-bearing glia exists in normal and pathologic conditions. This second type of myelin marker-positive glia expresses GFAP, and therefore these cells have been referred to as mixed phenotype glia. Although mixed phenotype glia have been documented previously, their identity and function have remained a mystery. The goal of this immunocytochemical study was to further characterize these cells. Using the MBPlacZ transgenic mouse in which beta-galactosidase is under the control of the myelin basic protein (MBP) gene promoter, GFAP-positive/beta-galactosidase-positive and myelin/oligodendrocyte-specific protein (MOSP)-positive/beta-galactosidase-positive cells were detected in subcortical white matter and in perivascular locations within cerebral white and gray matter. In cultures prepared from highly enriched myelin marker-positive immature glia, mixed phenotype glia were detected that were GFAP-positive and either MOSP-, MBP-, O1-, and O4-positive. The expression of multiple myelin markers by mixed phenotype glia may suggest that these cells are of oligodendrocyte origin. Increased numbers of MOSP-positive/GFAP-positive mixed phenotype glia were detected in sections from adult hypomyelinated brain from shiverer, quaking, and PKU mice compared to myelinated control adult mouse brain. Similarly, cultures from control brain exposed to elevated pH for 2-3 weeks showed dramatically increased numbers of mixed phenotype glia (80%) compared to control (<10%). Increased numbers of mixed phenotype glia also were detected in shiverer cultures (40%). Since increases in the number of mixed phenotype glia occur in shiverer, quaking, and PKU mouse brain, these data suggest that mixed phenotype glia contribute to gliosis in pathologic white matter.
Online and Offline Stability Analysis Methods for the Power Electronic-Based Components in Design and Operational Stages

Power electronic-based components (PECs) are at the heart of the enabling technologies for the smart-grids. They improve the controllability of the power system and provide excellent features such as load regulation, high power factor, and transient performance. However, they can behave as negative impedance due to their capability to operate as constant power loads, and jeopardize the stability of the power systems. Therefore, stability analysis of the power electronic-based distribution systems is crucial for development of the future smart-grids. This paper provides two methods to analyze stability: real-time (online) and offline. In real-time approach, the system's small-signal stability is investigated based on $d - q$ impedance measurement and unit circle criterion and by calculating source and load impedances simultaneously and in a range of frequencies. In offline approach, the system dynamics are identified from the bode plots and then based on the eigenvalue analysis, the stability of the system under different loading conditions is analyzed. Furthermore, small-signal stability of a solid state transformer (SST) as an advanced PEC with power factor correction is investigated via the proposed methods. In addition, hardware experiment is developed though power hardware-in-the-loop experiment to assess stability of an SST in load variation and validate the real-time capability of the proposed technique.
Identification of a Small Molecule Cyclophilin D Inhibitor for Rescuing Aβ-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction.

Cyclophilin D (CypD), a peptidylprolyl isomerase F (PPIase), plays a central role in opening the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pore leading to cell death. CypD resides in the mitochondrial matrix, associates with the inner mitochondrial membrane, interacts with amyloid beta to exacerbate mitochondrial and neuronal stress and has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We report the biological activity of a small-molecule CypD inhibitor (C-9), which binds strongly to CypD and attenuates mitochondrial and cellular perturbation insulted by Aβ and calcium stress. Binding affinities for C-9 were determined using in vitro surface plasmon resonance. This compound antagonized calcium-mediated mitochondrial swelling, abolished Aβ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction as shown by increased cytochrome c oxidase activity and adenosine-5′-triphosphate levels, and inhibited CypD PPIase enzymatic activity by real-time fluorescence capture assay using Hamamatsu FDSS 7000. Compound C-9 seems a good candidate...
Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa: Tribal Demographics of Electoral Constituencies

In a context where resources are assumed to be distributed along ethnic lines, and where the fairness of the current pattern of distribution is judged by the correspondence between the share of resources that each group controls and the share of the population it can claim as members, accurate information about the ethnic composition of the country's population can be highly inflammatory (Hirschman 1987; Diamond 1988; Wright 1994; Horowitz 1985). As Horowitz puts it: “Numbers are an indicator of whose country it is” (1985: 194). For this reason, questions about respondents' ethnic backgrounds are simply not asked in the national censuses of most developing nations. In a striking departure from this norm (and for reasons I do not fully understand), the 1990 Republic of Zambia Census of Population and Housing collected data on the tribal backgrounds of census respondents. Although this information was not included in any of the descriptive tables published by the Zambia Central Statistical Office (ZCSO) – “respondent's Zambian tribe” was the only variable omitted from the otherwise comprehensive cross-tabulations – it remained in the raw data, which I was able to obtain from the ZCSO. This data set, which contains the self-reported tribal affiliations of 7,383,097 individuals, provided me with an indispensable (and unparalleled) source of information for the analyses that I undertake in this book.
Multidimensional Population “Echo” Distinguishes Between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Dynamics

Multidimensional population spectroscopy is developed as a parallel to multidimensional coherence spectroscopy. The population equivalent of a coherence “echo” discriminates between homogeneous and heterogeneous sources of nonexponential kinetics. Experiments illustrating both cases are presented.
Species of Synchytrium in Louisiana. V. A New Species on Sambucus Canadensis

(1949). Species of Synchytrium in Louisiana. V. A New Species on Sambucus Canadensis. Mycologia: Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 24-27.
A controlled trial of antimicrobial prophylaxis for Lyme disease after deer-tick bites.

Abstract Background. Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, is transmitted by deer ticks (Ixodes dammini) in the northeastern and midwestern United States. Although deer-tick bites are common in areas in which the disease is endemic, there is uncertainty about how to manage the care of persons who are bitten. Methods. To assess the risk of infection with B. burgdorferi and the efficacy of prophylactic antimicrobial treatment after a deer-tick bite, we conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in an area of southeastern Connecticut in which Lyme disease is endemic. Children and adults who had been bitten by deer ticks were randomly assigned to receive either amoxicillin or placebo for 10 days. Subjects were followed for one year for clinical manifestations of Lyme disease. Serum samples obtained at enrollment and six weeks and three months later were tested for antibodies against B. burgdorferi. Results. Of the 387 subjects, 205 (53 percent) were assigned to receive amoxicillin and 182 (...
Transition from Childhood to Adult in Patients with Muscular Dystrophy

“We were the generation that was hoped for—and now we’re here,” announced L. Vance Taylor, a successful 36-year-old man with muscular dystrophy (MDA National Neuromuscular Transitions Summit, Washington D.C., September 23, 2011). In this one phrase, Mr. Taylor voices the current achievement and challenge that our healthcare system faces: an increasing adult population of patients with muscular dystrophy and a society that lacks the structure to support them.
Cloning and Characterization of a Novel Full-Length cDNA Sequence of Venom Peptide SsmTx1 from the Centipede Scolopendra subspinipes Mutilans

A cDNA library was successfully constructed from the venom gland of the centipede Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans.A novel centipede toxin gene,named SsmTx1,was isolated and characterized from the venom gland cDNA library of the centipede Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans by PCR method.The full-length cDNA sequence of SsmTx1 has 417 nt length,including 120 nt 3′ non-coding region(UTR) and 54 nt 5′ non-coding region.Its signal tail aataaa lies at the 16 nt upstream of poly(A) tail.The cDNA sequence contains a 240 nt open reading frame(ORF) with a total encode of 80 amino acid residues including 25 amino acid residues of the signal peptide and 55 amino acid residues of the mature peptide bridged by two pairs of disulfide bonds.SsmTx1 is the first full-length toxin gene from the centipede Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans.
Intrafollicular Pressure within Preovulatory Follicles of the Pig

Antral pressure was measured within the follicles of unstimulated ovaries in prepubertal pigs and following an ovulatory stimulus with exogenous gonadotropins. No increase in intrafollicular pressure (IFP) was observed as the time of ovulation approached. A wide range of IFP was noted within follicles of the unstimulated ovary. In many follicles IFP was greater than 30 cm H2O, suggesting that the antral fluid was not in hydrostatic equilibrium with the surrounding thecal capillaries. IFP of unstimulated follicles could be increased to more than 400 cm H2O by antral injection of mineral oil without follicular rupture--a demonstration of the need for stigma formation in the release of the ovum from the follicle. Stimulated follicles were found to be more distensible than unstimulated follicles. The follicles also fell into two groups--those in which sustained versus transient elevation in IFP occurred following oil injection. It is postulated that the follicle wall develops the ability to undergo stress relaxation during follicular maturation and that this process plays a role in regulating IFP.
New Aspects of Emerging Fungal Pathogens: A Multifaceted Challenge

This article describes adventitious morphologic forms for species of Fusarium, Paecilomyces, Acremonium, and Scedosporium that can be easily mistaken on histologic, cytologic, and microbiologic examination for Candida species. These forms appear to be correlated with, and may provide explanation for, positive blood cultures in disseminated infections with these species. Adventitious histologic forms also are illustrated for Blastoschizomyces capitatus. Data from culture-proven mycoses for a 15-month period at one medical center are reviewed, and species are listed for which an increase is anticipated. These and other aspects of emerging fungal pathogens are related to the need for strengthened support of mycology training and for federal funding of a mycoses reporting program.
Bivariate Statistics—Discrete Data

In this chapter we discuss bivariate discrete distributions. Bivariate means that there are two factors (categorical variables) defining cells. The response values are frequencies, that is, counts or instances of observations, at each cell.
Disturbing Hegemonic Discourse: Nonbinary Gender and Sexual Orientation Labeling on Tumblr:

In this article, I examine lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) Tumblr bloggers’ bio boxes and “About Me” pages to show the ways gender and sexual orientation identities are constructed through community-regulated and community-generated labeling practices. Tumblr encourages counter-cultures (and labeling practices) to not only form but also to thrive due to its distinctive affordances including tagging and blog formatting. This article examines not only how these affordances shape usage and, subsequently, identity construction on Tumblr but also the ways in which Tumblr bloggers have embraced affordances to create community-accepted conventions of identity construction. Additionally, building upon online identity scholarship by Bargh, McKenna, and Fitzsimons and Tiidenberg, this article discusses true self and nonbinary gender and sexual orientation labeling as forms of identity construction that allows LGBTQIA identifying individuals a method for nuanced desc...
Optimal Tracking Control of Uncertain Systems: On-Policy and Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning Approaches

Abstract This chapter presents adaptive solutions to the optimal tracking problem of nonlinear discrete-time and continuous-time systems. These methods find the optimal feedback and feedforward parts of the control input simultaneously, without requiring complete knowledge of the system dynamics. First, an augmented system composed of the error system dynamics and the reference trajectory dynamics is formed to introduce a new nonquadratic discounted performance function for the optimal tracking control problem. This encodes the input constrains caused by the actuator saturation into the optimization problem. Then, the tracking Bellman equation and the tracking Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation for both discrete-time and continuous-time systems are derived. Finally, to obviate the requirement of complete knowledge of the system dynamics in finding the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman solution, integral reinforcement learning and off-policy reinforcement learning algorithms are developed for continuous-time systems, and a reinforcement learning algorithm on an actor-critic structure is developed for discrete-time systems.
Conjugate Gram-Schmidt Processes

We continue the study of conjugate direction methods for finding the minimum point x0 of a positive definite quadratic function $$F\left( x \right) = \frac{1}{2}x * {\rm A}x - h * x + c$$ .
Rapid prototyping of intelligent transit information systems

In this study, evaluation of impacts on users for transit information system usage is done in two stages. In the first stage, a simple transit information system was developed and tested with in-house participants (subjects). Due to the lack of literature in similar studies, the first stage experiments help in designing an actual prototype for conducting final in-lab experiments to evaluate impacts on solo drivers' and transit users' travel decisions. This paper discusses the first stage of experiments and analysis. The proposed first stage simulation experiment study will investigate the types of information sought and the time spent on each type of information by in-home participants. The experiment uses a PC-based transit information system prototype and has a menu-based information access system. This paper contains description of study area, road network, transit information system design, experiments and analysis.
Sources of Variation at the Retail Level in Bacteriological Condition of Ground Beef 1.

Ground beef from two locker plants using beef trimmings, and two retail stores, using 4.5-kg chub packs of coarse-ground centrally packaged beef as a source of meat, was evaluated microbiologically on the first Monday and Wednesday of every other month for 14 months. Only slight variations in coliform, fecal coliform, coagulase-positive staphylococci, and aerobic plate counts by plant or retail store were noted. Both retail stores using chub packs showed average total aerobic plate counts of 3.5 × 106/g while one locker plant averaged 1.7 × 106/g and the other 7.7 × 106/g. Source of meat for ground beef and holding time of the meat contributed most to differences in microbiological quality. Overall, ground meat packaged on Monday had higher (P<05) average total aerobic plate counts (5.7 × 106/g) than that packaged on Wednesday (2.5 × 106/g) when more recent beef shipments were available. Coliform, fecal coliform, and coagulase-positive staphylococcus counts followed the same patterns as noted for total aerobic plate counts. Total aerobic plate counts in beef increased slightly in the locker plants where game was processed in the fall, in addition to beef. However, game meat did not cause Salmonella contamination of ground beef in plants where both game and beef were processed. Three Salmonella positive samples out of the 112 total ground beef samples and the 112 swabs from used grinders were isolated and serotyped.
Hypocalcemia After Bariatric Surgery: Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors

The reported prevalence of hypocalcemia after bariatric surgery ranges from 1% after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) to 25% after bilio-pancreatic diversion-duodenal switch (BPD-DS). We aimed to define the prevalence of post-operative hypocalcemia and identify clinical predisposing factors. The study was conducted in an Academic Medical Center, USA. Retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing bariatric surgery from May 2008 to December 2014 at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota was performed. Patients with revision surgeries were excluded. Hypocalcemia was defined as the lowest recorded serum calcium occurring at least 2 weeks post-operatively. Nine hundred ninety-nine patients fulfilled the criteria above. After correction for serum albumin concentration, 36 patients had serum calcium ≤8.9 mg/dl. Mean serum calcium was 8.1 ± 0.6 mg/dl. The prevalence was 1.9% in the RYGB group, 9.3% in the sleeve gastrectomy (SG) group, and 10% in the BPD-DS group. In all three surgical types, patients with hypocalcemia had significantly lower serum albumin and serum 25 (OH) vitamin D concentrations when compared to their normocalcemic counterparts (P < 0.01). The presence of renal insufficiency and vitamin D deficiency was associated with the highest risk of developing hypocalcemia after surgery [OR 16.8 (6.45–47.7) and 7.1(2.9–17.3), respectively]. Pre-operative renal insufficiency increased the odds of developing hypocalcemia by 20-fold. In our series, hypocalcemia was identified in 3.6% of patients undergoing all bariatric surgery. Patients who are predisposed to developing post-operative hypocalcemia, such as those with pre-operative renal impairment, or post-operative vitamin D deficiency and renal insufficiency, may benefit from increased surveillance and prevention strategies.
Method of Usability for Mobile Robotics in a Manufacturing Environment

Abstract The future demand of customers requires an increasing variability and complexity of the fabrication process. The requirements for flexibility in the fields of logistics and handling can be met by the abilities of mobile robotics. Currently, the presented use of mobile robots is rather confined, although these machines are highly flexible. The main objective of this research paper is the generation of a general schedule of robot skills based on a flow chart. This model serves to evaluate parameters of environment and product characteristics together with robot abilities, the whole being subsequently analysed by a specific algorithm.
Context and Subcategories for Sliding Window Object Recognition

Object recognition is one of the fundamental challenges in computer vision, where the goal is to identify and localize the extent of object instances within an image. The current de facto standard for building high-performance object category detectors is the sliding window approach. This approach involves scanning an image with a fixed-size rectangular window and applying a classifier to the features extracted within the sub-image defined by the window. In this thesis, we study two important factors influencing the performance of the approach. First is the role played by context, where information outside the sliding window is used to rescore the detections output by the local window classifier. Context helps to suppress detections in regions that are less probable to contain an object and encourages those that are more plausible. In the first part of this thesis, we enumerate different sources and uses of context, and comprehensively evaluate their role in a benchmark detection challenge. Our analysis demonstrates that carefully used contextual cues serve not only to improve performance of local classifiers, but also to make their error patterns more meaningful and reasonable. Our analysis also provides a basis for assessing the inherent limitations of the existing approaches as well as the specific problems that remain unsolved. The second factor is the role played by subcategories, where information within the sliding window is used to split the training data into smaller groups, for learning multiple classifiers to model the appearance of an object category. The smaller groups have reduced appearance diversity and thus lead to simpler classification problems. In the second part of this thesis, we analyze different schemes to generate subcategories and find that unsupervised feature-space clustering produces well-performing subcategory classifiers. Beyond performance gains, subcategories are attractive for their conceptual simplicity and computational tractability. For example, we find that careful use of subcategories can potentially replace the need for deformable parts within the state-of-the-art deformable parts model detector for many object categories. Data fragmentation is an important problem associated with subcategory-based methods. We present a novel approach that circumvents this problem by allowing different subcategories to share each other's training instances.
The Impacts of Node Orientation on Radio Propagation Models for Airborne-Deployed Sensor Networks in Large-Scale Tree Vegetation Terrains

In deterministic deployment of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), nodes are carefully placed at desired locations, with careful planning for separation distances, heights, and node orientations. This deployment strategy ensures good radio communication and sensing coverage. However, deterministic deployments are impractical for harsh large tree vegetation environments that span hundreds of kilometers. In these cases, stochastic deployments may enable effective deployment strategies. When relying on stochastic deployments, nodes are likely to be positioned at un-desired locations with unknown node orientations, which can lead to suboptimal radio connectivity and network performance. This paper examines the effects of factors affecting path loss under conditions resembling stochastic aerial deployments of WSN. Unlike previous work in the existing literature, this paper takes into account important deployment factors that affect network performance, such as node orientation and positioning, energy-to-bit-rate ratio, packet loss rate, and the composition of environment. Based on experimentation, a set of path loss models are proposed to model radio signal propagation in jungle-like environments under side-effects encountered in aerial deployments. The proposed models are compared with theoretical models and with other proposed models in the literature. Results show a significant difference with improved network performance that exhibits enhanced energy-to-bit-rate ratio, reduced packet loss rate, and increased node lifetime.
“Accidental” Erasure: Relocating Shakespeare’s Women in Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War Series

This essay examines the gendered investments that participate in determining a work’s status as either “Shakespeare” or “not Shakespeare.” Using Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War novel series and The White Queen television adaptation of her book, which are constructed by its author and her critics as “not Shakespeare,” Meyer argues that these texts nevertheless function as “Shakespeare” by recalling Shakespeare’s history plays and their sources. She considers how and why Gregory’s revisionist historical novels relocate Shakespeare’s royal women—particularly Elizabeth Woodville Grey—in contrast to her redemptive alternative history of Richard III.
Environmental transformations of DPA, SOPP, benomyl, and TBZ.

Diphenylamine (DPA), sodium orthophenylphenate (SOPP), benomyl, and thiabendazole (TBZ) are frequently used to control the physical, chemical, and bacterial degradation of fruit during controlled-atmosphere storage. Once discharged to the environment, these chemicals may either be degraded or remain unaltered. Furthermore, the parent compounds and/or their metabolites may either remain at the initial point of release or be transported to other locations. In water, for example, chemicals may either stay in solution (in their original form and/or as derivatives), or they may be removed from solution by precipitation, by adsorption on suspended particles or bottom sediments, by uptake by biota, and/or by volatilization to the atmosphere.
Differential antioxidant enzyme activity in rapid-response glyphosate-resistant Ambrosia trifida

BACKGROUND The giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida L.) rapid-response (RR) biotype exhibits a sacrificial form of glyphosate resistance whereby an oxidative burst in mature leaves results in foliage loss, while juvenile leaves remain uninjured. This work investigated the safening capacity of antioxidant enzymes in RR juvenile leaves following glyphosate treatment and examined cross tolerance to paraquat. RESULTS Basal antioxidant enzyme activities were similar between glyphosate-susceptible (GS) and RR biotypes. Lipid peroxidation was first detected in RR mature leaves at 8 h after treatment (HAT) and by 32 HAT was 5.3 and 21.1 times greater than that in RR juvenile leaves and GS leaves, respectively. Preceding lipid peroxidation in the RR biotype at 2 and 4 HAT, the only increase in enzymatic activity was observed in ascorbate-glutathione cycle enzymes in RR juvenile leaves, particularly ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and glutathione reductase. Sensitivity to paraquat was similar between biotypes. CONCLUSION The RR biotype is not inherently more tolerant to oxidative stress. The difference in tissue damage between RR juvenile and mature leaves following glyphosate treatment is attributable at least partially to the transient increase in antioxidant enzyme expression in juvenile leaves (0-8 HAT), but may also be attributable to lower overall RR induction in juvenile leaves compared with mature leaves. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
Multi-occupancy Indoor Thermal Condition Optimization in Consideration of Thermal Sensitivity

The primary criterion for assessing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems regarding thermal comfort is whether they are capable of satisfying more than 80% of occupants (i.e., acceptable condition). The predicted percentage of dissatisfied model proposes this value with the assumption that a neutral state is desired. However, recent studies cast light on personalized thermal comfort which demonstrates that occupants have diverse thermal preferences and respond differently to variations in temperature (i.e., thermal sensitivity). This study aims to shed light on the importance of taking thermal sensitivity into account in a multi-occupancy space, where the same thermal condition is shared, for thermal condition optimization, which was replicated in our multi-agent based (MAB) model. Each human agent (occupants’ proxy) has its own properties (e.g., thermal preferences) and aims to create at least an acceptable condition for itself by providing feedback to a HVAC agent (HVAC systems’ proxy). The HVAC agent optimizes the thermal condition based on feedback from human agents. Using this model, two operational scenarios have been explored: human agents have (1) the same (i.e., ignoring thermal sensitivity) and (2) personalized thermal sensitivities. The assessments demonstrate that integrating thermal sensitivity results in significantly different setpoint temperatures, increased thermal satisfactions of human agents and the number of satisfied human agents. In other words, thermal sensitivity is an important factor in improving the performance of HVAC systems.
The Cornea in Diabetes Mellitus

Although the cornea may appear disease free in the diabetic, marked biochemical and ultrastructural abnormalities are present altering form and function. Awareness of these manifestations of corneal disease in diabetes can lead to steps that prevent more overt complications.
Prions of Yeast and Fungi

Yeast prions [URE3] and [PSI] were identified as nonchromosomal genes with unusual genetic properties incompatible with their being nucleic acid replicons: (1) reversible curability, (2) increased de novo generation on overproduction of a chromosomally encoded protein, and (3) similar phenotype of prion presence and mutation of a gene needed for prion propagation. [URE3], [PSI], and [PIN] are self-propagating amyloid forms of the normally soluble Ure2p, Sup35p, and Rnq1p, normally functioning in nitrogen regulation, translation termination, and unknown, respectively. Amyloids of the recombinant proteins can infect cells with the prions. Shuffling the Ure2p or Sup35p prion domains does not prevent prion formation, suggesting a parallel in-register β-sheet structure. Chaperones of the Hsp104, Hsp70, and Hsp40 families play prominent roles in prion propagation, as do Hsp90 co-chaperones. Millimolar guanidine cures these amyloid-based prions by inhibiting Hsp104. The [Het-s] prion of the filamentous fungus Podospora anserina is unique in carrying out a function for its host, namely, heterokaryon incompatibility. The N-terminal prion domains of Ure2p and Sup35p are asparagine (Asn)/glutamine (Gln)-rich as is most of Rnq1p, but neither the hets-encoded protein nor the mammalian putative prion, PrP, have Asn/Gln-rich regions. An enzyme necessary for its own precursor's activation can also be a prion.
Self-Assembled Tetrahedral Hosts as Supramolecular Catalysts.

ConspectusThe field of supramolecular chemistry has its foundation in molecular recognition and selective binding of guest molecules, often with remarkably strong binding affinities. The field evolved to leverage these favorable interactions between the host and its guest to catalyze simple, often biomimetic transformations. Drawing inspiration from these early studies, self-assembled supramolecular hosts continue to capture a significant amount of interest toward their development as catalysts for increasingly complex transformations. Nature often relies on microenvironments, derived from complex tertiary structures and a well-defined active site, to promote reactions with remarkable rate acceleration, substrate specificity, and product selectivity. Similarly, supramolecular chemists have become increasingly intrigued by the prospect that self-assembly of molecular components might generate defined and spatially segregated microenvironments that can catalyze complex transformations.Among the growing pale...