cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Obtaining optimal performance with reinforcement-free concrete highway bridge decks

This article describes an application of nonlinear finite element modeling (FEM) and analysis in the selection of design details to provide desirable performance in reinforcement-free concrete highway bridge decks. The FEM approach was used to predict the ultimate capacity and failure modes of decks considered as constrained membranes. Lateral constraint of the deck (membrane) provides extra wheel load capacity for reinforcement-free bridge decks on bulb tee wide flanged concrete girders. The wide flange precast prestressed concrete girder sections currently used in bridges result in a shorter effective span for the bridge deck between the wide girder top flanges. The failure mode of concrete decks on these girders with wheel loading is expected to be punching shear. The shear forces from the vehicle wheel loads in the reinforcement-free bridge deck are designed to be carried by compressive membrane action without using reinforcing in the concrete. The compressive membrane action is enhanced by the natural lateral stiffness of the wide girder flanges and by tying adjacent girders together with steel rods placed between the webs. An experimental study of a restrained deck element was performed to identify the failure mode and to use as a basis for verifying the nonlinear properties used in finite element analysis. A parametric study using nonlinear finite element analysis was performed to investigate the factors affecting the ultimate capacity and the failure modes of reinforcement-free bridge decks on wide flange precast girders and to provide a basis for selecting desirable design details.
Supercalm Multifunctions For Convergence Analysis

Calmness of multifunctions is a well-studied concept of generalized continuity in which single-valued selections from the image sets of the multifunction exhibit a restricted type of local Lipschitz continuity where the base point is fixed as one point of comparison. Generalized continuity properties of multifunctions like calmness can be applied to convergence analysis when the multifunction appropriately represents the iterates generated by some algorithm. Since it involves an essentially linear relationship between input and output, calmness gives essentially linear convergence results when it is applied directly to convergence analysis. We introduce a new continuity concept called ‘supercalmness’ where arbitrarily small calmness constants can be obtained near the base point, which leads to essentially superlinear convergence results. We also explore partial supercalmness and use a well-known generalized derivative to characterize both when a multifunction is supercalm and when it is partially supercalm. To illustrate the value of such characterizations, we explore in detail a new example of a general primal sequential quadratic programming method for nonlinear programming and obtain verifiable conditions to ensure convergence at a superlinear rate.
A demonstration of regional differences in lysosome membrane permeability in the membrana granulosa of graafian follicles in cryostat sections of the rat ovary: A quantitative cytochemical study

In previous studies, evidence has been obtained for functional specialization of cells in different regions of the membrana granulosa of Graafian follicles. To examine this phenomenon further, a quantitative cytochemical technique was applied to cryostat sections of rat ovary to measure the relative permeability of lysosomal membranes in cells of the peripheral region, the paraantral region, and the cumulus of the membrana granulosa in the ovulable type of follicle. Measurements were made on the 4 days of the estrous cycle in cells in these three regions. The preservation of the ultrastructure of the granulosa cells in the cryostat sections was first established by electron microscopy. Lysosomal membrane permeability was evaluated by incubating serial sections of ovaries for various periods of time with leucyl-β-naphthylamidase, a substrate of naphthylamidase, a lysosomal enzyme. The reaction was measured at each time point with a scanning and integrating microdensitometer. The time required for the lysos...
New Orleans before and after Hurricanes Katrina/Rita: a quasi-experiment of the association between soil lead and children's blood lead.

Prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (HKR), significant associations were noted between soil lead (SL) and blood lead (BL) in New Orleans. Engineering failure of New Orleans levees and canal walls after HKR set the stage for a quasi-experiment to evaluate BL responses by 13 306 children to reductions in SL. High density soil surveying conducted in 46 census tracts before HKR was repeated after the flood. Paired t test results show that SL decreased from 328.54 to 203.33 mg/kg post-HKR (t = 3.296, p ≤ 0.01). Decreases in SL are associated with declines in children’s BL response (r = 0.308, p ≤ 0.05). When SL decreased at least 1%, median children’s BL declined 1.55 μg/dL. Declines in median BL are largest in census tracts with ≥50% decrease in SL. Also individual BL in children was predicted as a function of SL, adjusting for age, year of observation, and depth of flood waters. At the individual scale, BL decreased significantly in post-HKR as a function of SL, with BL decreases ranging from b = −1.20 to −...
Shape stabilization and size equalization of InGaAs self-organized quantum dots

We report a simultaneous shape stabilization and size equalization after shape transformation of InGaAs self-organized quantum dots (QDs) formed via a fractional monolayer (ML) deposition technique. The density of QD increases rapidly from an initial value of 110±10/µm2 (at a total deposition of 4 ML) to 270±30/µm2 (at 5 ML) and saturates at a level of 240±20/µm2 (at 10 ML). At an intermediate stage of 7 ML deposition, bimodal QD height (peaked at 8.5 nm and 14.5 nm) and aspect ratio (peaked at 0.18 and 0.26) distributions occur, confirming the QD shape transformation from a shallower to a steeper shape. The eventual convergence in lateral size, height and aspect ratio is the direct result of the simultaneous QD size equalization and shape stabilization. The QD size and shape evolution is also substantiated by the low temperature (4 K) photoluminescence (PL) data taken from samples with QDs capped by GaAs.
tRNA recognition by tRNA-guanine transglycosylase from Escherichia coli: the role of U33 in U-G-U sequence recognition.

In eubacteria, the biosynthesis of queuine, a modified base found in the wobble position (#34) of tRNAs coding for Tyr, His, Asp, and Asn, occurs via a multistep pathway. One of the key enzymes in this pathway, tRNA-guanine transglycosylase (TGT), exchanges the genetically encoded guanine at position 34 with a queuine precursor, preQ1. Previous studies have identified a minimal positive RNA recognition motif for Escherichia coli TGT consisting of a stable minihelix that contains a U-G-U sequence starting at the second position of its seven base anticodon loop. Recently, we reported that TGT was capable of recognizing the U-G-U sequence outside of this limited structural context. To further characterize the ability of TGT to recognize the U-G-U sequence in alternate contexts, we constructed mutants of the previously characterized E. coli tRNA Tyr minihelix. The U-G-U sequence was shifted to various positions within the anticodon loop of these mutants. Characterization of these analogs demonstrates that in addition to the normal U33G34U35 position, TGT can also recognize the U34G35U36 analog (UGU 11 ). The other analogs were not active. This indicates that the recognition of the U-G-U sequence is not strictly dependent upon its position relative to the stem. In E. coli, the full-length tRNA with a U34G35U36 anticodon sequence is one of the isoacceptors that codes for threonine. We found that TGT is able to recognize tRNA Thr(UGU) but only in the absence of a uridine at position 33. U33, an invariant base present in all tRNAs, has been shown to strongly influence the conformation of the anticodon loop of certain tRNAs. We find that mutation of this base confers on TGT the ability to recognize U34G35U36, and suggests that loop conformation affects recognition. The fact that the other analogs were not active indicates that although TGT is capable of recognizing the U-G-U sequence in additional contexts, this recognition is not indiscriminate.
The anisotropic behavior of Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus, and shear modulus in hexagonal materials

A method of calculating the anisotropy of Poisson's ratio is applied to trigonal and tetragonal crystals in the literature. The method of calculation is extended to hexagonal crystals. The results are illustrated by reference to Tl and Cd.
Characteristics of commonly-used U.S. coals—Towards a set of standard research coals

Abstract This review summarizes the selection and characterization of a set of coals commonly used in research programs in the United States. These coals have been selected from available U.S. coal data bases. Organizations that provide coal samples and/or coal characterization data include the following: (1) Pennsylvania State University, which has characterized many of the Nation's coal resources, as documented in the Penn State Coal Data Base operated by the Energy and Fuels Research Center, (2) the coal sample suite used in the Direct Utilization—Advanced Research and Technology Development program managed by the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center, and (3) Argonne National Laboratory's Premium Coal Sample Program. The selection of eleven coals from these national banks provides a standard suite of coals for the Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center of Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. These standard coals were selected according to the following criteria: (1) representative of a variety of characteristics, ranks and properties, (2) available analyses of chemical and physical properties with wide property variations among coal types and ranks, (3) availability from major producing seams, (4) future production expected, (5) wide geographical distribution within the U.S., (6) used in previous combustion research work, (7) common to existing prominent coal banks, and (8) availability of small, controlled samples. Information about the general aspects of coal characterization is summarized. Experimental data on the physical and chemical properties of these coals are documented, and the selected coals are related to the coal data banks. Major combustion research studies where these coals have been or are being used are referenced. General use of these well-characterized coals will help coordinate and integrate a national research effort in coal combustion and conversion.
The increased risk of community‐acquired methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus neck abscesses in young children

Objectives/Hypothesis: To analyze the microbiological origins of deep neck space infections requiring surgical intervention in a pediatric population. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: The study population (N = 136) included all pediatric patients surgically treated for deep neck space abscesses in a metropolitan tertiary care children's hospital over the course of 5 years (September 2004–August 2009). Demographic and clinical information was compared with microbiological isolate data. Results: Microbiological analysis of 118 bacterial isolates demonstrated 49 (42%) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 35 (30%) methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, and 34 (28%) non-S. aureus (N-SA) isolates. The median age was 16 months (range, 1 month–13years). Patients <16 months of age were 10 times more likely to have an S. aureus (SA) infection versus N-SA (P <.0001). MRSA comprised the majority of all SA isolates (58%). Eighty percent of all SA abscesses were located in the lateral neck. African American pediatric patients accounted for 70% of all deep neck space infections, and 86% of all MRSA infections. Clindamycin resistance was noted in 8% (4/49) of all community-acquired MRSA isolates. Conclusions: Children younger than 16 months and/or with lateral neck abscesses are at a significantly increased risk of having an SA infection, the majority being MRSA. Laryngoscope, 2011
Managing undergraduate CS research

The focus of this panel is the role of computer science faculty in the undergraduate research process. The panel participants will share their personal experiences to highlight different approaches in developing and encouraging undergraduate computer science research.
Visual responses with and without fixation: neurons in premotor cortex encode spatial locations independently of eye position

The ventral premotor cortex (PMv) of the macaque monkey contains neurons that respond both to visual and to tactile stimuli. For almost all of these "bimodal" cells, the visual receptive field is anchored to the tactile receptive field on the head or the arms, and remains stationary when the eyes fixate different locations. This study compared the responses of bimodal PMv neurons to a visual stimulus when the monkey was required to fixate a spot of light and when no fixation was required. Even when the monkey was not fixating and the eyes were moving, the visual receptive fields remained in the same location, near the associated tactile receptive field. For many of the neurons, the response to the visual stimulus was significantly larger when the monkey was not performing the fixation task. In control tests, the presence or absence of the fixation spot itself had little or no effect on the response to the visual stimulus. These results show that even when the monkey's eye position is continuously changing, the neurons in PMv have visual receptive fields that are stable and fixed to the relevant body part. The reduction in response during fixation may reflect a shift of attention from the visual stimulus to the demands of the fixation task.
The Past, Present, and Future of Data Converters and Mixed Signal ICs: A "Universal" Model

In both technology and business circles, much attention is paid to the trends in the electronics and semiconductor industry. It is frequently noted that the "world is going digital"-with the implication that analog circuits and data converters will ultimately be relegated to a support role for enormous digital VLSI "masters". This paper considers a number of different models for development from different fields of science, looking for possible insights or implications for the future of mixed signal processing. It then considers a brief history of converter development, and emerging data converter trends, looking for clues to the future of data converters and mixed signal ICs
Producing pleasantness: the waterworks of Isaac de Caus, outlandish engineer

As early as the fourteenth century, Piero de Cescenzi praised garden fountains in his Ruralium commodorum liber, recommending them for the herb garden where ‘if possible, a running fountain should ...
Boundary Adherence during Place-based Policing Evaluations: A Research Note

Objectives:This note explores complications with standard methods to evaluate place-based policing interventions. It identifies and explains issues of boundary misspecification during evaluation as a result of boundary adjustment by police during an intervention.Method:Using geographic data gathered during post-experiment focus groups with officers involved in the Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment, we highlight the practice of boundary adjustment on the part of officers and we explain why such adjustments occurred.Results:Officers involved in the focus groups who identified the active boundaries of their hot spot assignments (n = 124) all reported policing outside of their delineated beats. On average, their active beats were 0.13 square miles larger than the originally delineated treatment beats. Some active beats overlapped catchment and control locations.Conclusion:Boundary misspecification could cause researchers to (1) incorrectly label a direct benefit of receiving treatment as a diffusion of crim...
Hydrological Control of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in a Sierra Nevada Subalpine Meadow

Abstract Alpine and subalpine meadows are often hotspots of water availability and biodiversity in montane landscapes, but we know little about whether these attributes also make meadows hotspots of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Furthermore, many of these meadows will likely become drier during the growing season in the future because of less precipitation, earlier timing of snowmelt, and increased evapotranspiration associated with climatic warming. To evaluate the potential effects of soil drying on GHG emission, we studied a soil moisture gradient in a Sierra Nevada subalpine meadow in California. Our objectives were: (1) to assess the strength of hydrological control for soil carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes both earlier and later in the growing season; and (2) to quantify the contribution of CH4 and N2O to net GHG emission. The replicated gradient spanned 50 m, from the wet middle to dry edge of the meadow, and soil volumetric water content was measured 0 to 12 cm ...
Structural performance improvement using MR dampers with adaptive control method

During the lifetime of a structural system, many severe events such as earthquakes and strong winds may happen to that system resulting in structural characteristic changes. The use of an adaptive control strategy is particularly appropriate as it can deal with these changes. In this study, the response of a 3-story building is controlled by a direct adaptive control strategy using MR dampers. The MR damper is one of the most promising semi-active devices for mitigating the seismic response of civil structures. In the analysis of the structure, some stiffness reduction is assumed as a result of potential damage in the first story of the building. The goal of this research is to improve the performance of the structure in the presence of damage using adaptive control strategy.
Temperature Dependence of the Linkage of Quantum Yield of Photosystem II to CO2 Fixation in C4 and C3 Plants

The temperature dependence of quantum yields of electron transport from photosystem II (PSII) ([phi]II, determined from chlorophyll a fluorescence) and CO2 assimilation ([phi]CO2, apparent quantum yield for CO2 assimilation) were determined simultaneously in vivo. With C4 species representing NADP-malic enzyme, NAD-malic enzyme, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase subgroups, the ratio of [phi]II/[phi]CO2 was constant over the temperature range from 15 to 40[deg]C at high light intensity (1100 [mu]mol quanta m-2 s-1). A similar response was obtained at low light intensity (300 [mu]mol quanta m-2 s-1), except the ratio of [phi]II/[phi]CO2 increased at high temperature. When the true quantum yield for CO2 fixation ([phi]CO2*) was calculated by correcting for respiration in the light (estimated from temperature dependence of dark respiration), the ratio of [phi]II/[phi]C02* remained constant with varying temperature and under both light intensities in all C4 species examined. Because the [phi]II/[phi]CO2* ratio was the same in C4 monocots representing the three subgroups, the ratio was not affected by differences in the bio-chemical mechanism of concentrating CO2 in the bundle sheath cells. The results suggest that PSII activity is closely linked to the true rate of CO2 fixation in C4 plants. The close relationship between [phi]II and [phi]CO2* in C4 species under varying temperature and light intensity conditions is apparently due to a common low level of photorespiration and a primary requirement for reductive power in the C3 pathway. In contrast, in a C3 plant the [phi] II/[phi]CO2* ratio is higher under normal atmospheric conditions than under nonphotorespiratory conditions and it increases with rising temperature. This decrease in efficiency in utilizing energy derived from PSII for CO2 fixation is due to an increase in photorespiration. In both the C3 and C4 species, photochemistry is limited under low temperature, and thus excess energy must be dissipated by nonphotochemical means.
Heparin-endothelial cell interactions.

Recent observations have revealed that heparin influences endothelial cell proliferation in a number of ways unrelated to its anticoagulant properties. A majority of the nonanticoagulant actions of he
Problems with the use of profile similarity indices in the study of congruence in organizational research.

Profile similarity indices (PSIs) have become widely used in studies of congruence (i.e., fit, matching, similarity, agreement) in organizational research. PSIs combine two sets of measures, or profiles, from corresponding entities (e.g., the person and organization, supervisor and subordinate, organization and environment) into a single score intended to represent their overall congruence. Unfortunately, PSIs are conceptually ambiguous, discard information essential to testing congruence hypotheses, conceal the source of the difference between entities, and impose a highly restrictive set of constraints on the coefficients relating the measures comprising the PSI to the outcome. This article shows how polynomial regression analysis may be used to avoid problems with PSIs while capturing the underlying relationships PSIs are intended to represent. Limitations and extensions to the procedure are discussed.
Dual modes of membrane binding direct pore formation by Streptolysin O

Effector translocation is central to the virulence of many bacterial pathogens, including Streptococcus pyogenes, which utilizes the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin Streptolysin O (SLO) to translocate the NAD(+) glycohydrolase SPN into host cells during infection. SLO's translocation activity does not require host cell membrane cholesterol or pore formation by SLO, yet SLO does form pores during infection via a cholesterol-dependent mechanism. Although cholesterol was considered the primary receptor for SLO, SLO's membrane-binding domain also encodes a putative carbohydrate-binding site, implicating a potential glycan receptor in binding and pore formation. Analysis of carbohydrate-binding site SLO mutants and carbohydrate-defective cell lines revealed that glycan recognition is involved in SLO's pore formation pathway and is an essential step when SLO is secreted by non-adherent bacteria, as occurs during lysis of erythrocytes. However, SLO also recognizes host cell membranes via a second mechanism when secreted from adherent bacteria, which requires co-secretion of SPN but not glycan binding by SLO. This SPN-mediated membrane binding of SLO correlates with SPN translocation, and requires SPN's non-enzymatic domain, which is predicted to adopt the structure of a carbohydrate-binding module. SPN-dependent membrane binding also promotes pore formation by SLO, demonstrating that pore formation can occur by distinct pathways during infection.
Developmental Modulation of the Temporal Relationship Between Brain and Behavior

Humans and songbirds shape learned vocalizations during a sensorimotor sensitive period or “babbling” phase. The brain mechanisms that underlie the shaping of vocalizations by sensory feedback are ...
Rethinking International Human Rights: What Have We Learned, Where Are We Going?

This paper reviews and discusses the recent history of international human rights efforts, noting both its successes and failures; suggests some lessons that might be drawn from this experience, and proposes a number of steps we might take to promote wider respect for human rights. In particular, the paper suggests an informal list of lessons which might be drawn from our international human rights experience thus far. These lessons include: (1) governments do count in making human rights effective; (2) governments do care about their human rights reputation; (3) government can be honestly inconsistent or ambivalent (4) we should do what we can even if it is only partially effective; (5) we should not get discouraged by the difficulty of achieving greater human rights observance; (6) money talks; (7) institutions and precedents tend to grow; (8) even the best motivated policies may have unintended consequences; (9)we should watch out for human rights "hijackers"; and (10) patience is a virtue. The paper discusses the challenges that remain and concludes with a "To Do" list of twenty proposals for action. The paper is a shortened version of several of five lectures delivered as a course on "Rethinking International Humans Rights: What Have We Learned, Where Are We Going?", presented at the Tenth Anniversary Session on Human Rights of the Academy of European Law, held at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, summer 1999. The lectures have been submitted for publication in the Oxford University Press Series of Collected Courses of the Academy of European Law. A shortened version of another portion of the lectures dealing with the implications of the Kosovo intervention for the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, the laws of war, international criminal law, the role of the media and NGOs in humanitarian situations, and sovereignty and ethnic conflict has appeared in Richard B. Bilder, "Kosovo and the New Interventionism: Promise or Peril", Journal of Transnational Law & Policy, Vol. 9, No.1.
Dynamic model-based sensor network design algorithm for system efficiency maximization

Abstract A dynamic model-based sensor network design (DMSND) algorithm has been developed for maximizing system efficiency for an estimator-based control system. The algorithm synthesizes the optimal sensor network in the face of disturbances or set point changes. Computational expense of the large-scale combinatorial optimization problem is significantly reduced by parallel computing and by using combination of three novel strategies: multi-rate sampling frequency, model order reduction, and use of an incumbent solution that enables early termination of evaluation of infeasible sensor sets. The developed algorithm is applied to an acid gas removal unit as part of an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant with carbon capture. Even though there are more than thousand process states and more than hundred candidate sensor locations, the optimal sensor network design problem for maximizing process efficiency could be solved within couple of hours for a given budget.
Treatment of Vaginal Infections: Candidiasis, Bacterial Vaginosis, and Trichomoniasis

Objective: To describe the signs and symptoms of and recommend treatments for Candida vulvovaginitis, bacterial vaginosis, and Trichomonas vaginitis. Data Sources: Current clinical literature. Data Synthesis : Patients with candidal vulvovaginitis often present with itching, burning, white discharge, vulvar or vaginal erythema, painful intercourse, and stinging on urination. It is treated with oral or topical antifungal agents. Bacterial vaginosis is characterized by a musty or fishy vaginal odor and a thin, white vaginal discharge. It is treated with oral or topical metronidazole or clindamycin. Patients with trichomoniasis usually complain of profuse, yellow-green discharge and vaginal or vulvar irritation. The standard treatment is a single 2 gram dose of oral metronidazole for both the patient and sexual partners. Conclusion: Given the potential adverse effects of the drugs used to treat these conditions, pharmacists are in a unique position to recommend appropriate therapies and to refer patients to other health care providers as needed.
High temperature tolerance in two species of subterranean termites in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.

Field studies on the foraging activity and behavior of Heterotermes aureus (Snyder) and Gnathamitermes perplexus (Banks) have revealed that these termites occasionally work at temperatures close to 50°C. Temperature is probably the major factor regulating their activity in plant debris on the soil surface, with moisture also having a regulatory effect in upper soil levels. Their ability to work at such high temperatures led us to this brief investigation of their upper survival thresholds.
Population Dynamics, Spatial Distribution, and Sampling of the Rice Water Weevil on Resistant and Susceptible Rice Genotypes

The rice water weevil (RWW), Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, was studied on the rice plant introduction PI 321264 (moderately RWW resistant) and the variety ‘Saturn’ (RWW susceptible) in 1981 and 1982. PI 321264 sustained significantly ( P < 0.01) lower larval populations and was significantly ( P < 0.01) less preferred for feeding and oviposition than ‘Saturn.’ Manly's instar duration determination technique revealed that the length of each larval instar was 1.20 (I), 2.56 (II), 7.14 (III), and 10.33 (IV) days, respectively. Taylor's power equation and Iwao's distribution function strongly indicated a clumped distribution pattern for immature RWW on each rice genotype for both years. The equation logeTn = loge( D 2/ a / b – 2) + ( b – l/b – 2)loge n indicated that 15 samples of ‘Saturn’ and 19 samples of PI 3212564 are needed to estimate RWW larval populations with a relative variance of 10%.
StressPhone: smartphone based platform for measurement of cortisol for stress detection(Conference Presentation)

Anxiety disorders are estimated to be the most common mental illness in US affecting around 40 million people and related job stress is estimated to cost US industry up to $300 billion due to lower productivity and absenteeism. A personal diagnostic device which could help identify stressed individuals would therefore be a huge boost for workforce productivity. We are therefore developing a point of care diagnostic device that can be integrated with smartphones or tablets for the measurement of cortisol - a stress related salivary biomarker, which is known to be strongly involved in body's fight-or-flight response to a stressor (physical or mental). The device is based around a competitive lateral flow assay whose results can then be read and quantified through an accessory compatible with the smartphone. In this presentation, we report the development and results of such an assay and the integrated device. We then present the results of a study relating the diurnal patterns of cortisol levels and the alertness of an individual based on the circadian rhythm and sleep patterns of the individual. We hope to use the insight provided by combining the information provided by levels of stress related to chemical biomarkers of the individual with the physical biomarkers to lead to a better informed and optimized activity schedule for maximized work output.
Internal stability analysis of segmental geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining walls subjected to seismic loading

Geosynthetic-reinforced soil(GRS) segmental retaining wall was developed with the increasing popularity due to its good performance,low price and aesthetic appearance.It had been proved by practices and experiments that GRS retaining walls exhibited good seismic performance,however,it was still necessary to conduct seismic design of the structure.The internal stability analysis is a critical step in the seismic design,which to certain extent determines the layout and density of reinforcements.Nonlinear dynamic finite element method was used to investigate the seismic internal stabilities of this kind of earth structures with different reinforcement densities and different earthquake excitations.The effects of reinforcement creep on the seismic internal stability were also analyzed.The results were then compared to those obtained using the suggested internal stability analysis method by NCMA.It was found that with regular reinforcement the locations of the maximum reinforcement loads from the FE analysis were different to those using the suggested method,with the lower portion farther away from the facing;the distributions of the maximum reinforcement load along the height direction were considerably different;the creep of reinforcement led to load redistribution in the reinforcements.
Gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-induced vitamin K deficiency

There is a well-known association between vitamin K deficiency and haemorrhagic events including gastrointestinal bleeding. There is also a well-known association between both poor dietary intake of vitamin K and chronic antibiotic use and the development of vitamin K deficiency. Although the medical literature notes that cephalosporin antibiotics have a propensity to cause vitamin K deficiency due to the molecular structure of the medications and their ability to suppress the synthesis of clotting factors, there are other antibiotics that have also been implicated in the development of vitamin K deficiency. There are very few reports of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole causing vitamin K deficiency and further leading to bleeding episodes. We present such a case and discuss the risk factors leading to such complications.
Evidence suggesting that the minimal functional unit of a renal cystine transporter is a heterodimer and its implications in cystinuria

Cystinuria, one of the most common genetic disorders, is characterized by excessive excretion of cystine and basic amino acids in urine. The low solubility of cystine results in formation of kidney stones which can eventually lead to renal failure. Three types of cystinurias have been described. All involve defects in a high-affinity transport system for cystine in the brush border membranes of kidney and intestinal epithelial cells. The molecular properties of proteins involved in epithelial cystine transport are incompletely understood. A protein (NBAT, neutral and basic amino acid transporter), initially cloned by us from rat kidney and shown to be localized in the renal and intestinal brush border membranes, has been implicated in this transport, and mutations in human NBAT gene have been found in several cystinurics, making it a prime candidate for a cystinuria gene. However, mutations in NBAT were found only in Type I cystinurics and not in Types II and III suggesting that defects in other, as yet uncharacterized, genes may also be involved. NBAT has an unusual (for an amino acid transporter) membrane topology. We proposed that the protein contains four membrane-spanning domains, a model disputed by other investigators. We subsequently obtained experimental data consistent with a four membrane-spanning domain model. Furthermore, recently we showed that kidney and intestinal NBAT (85kDa) is associated with another brush border membrane protein (about 50kDa) and have proposed that the heterodimer represents the minimal functional unit of the high-affinity cystine transporter in these membranes. These findings raise the tantalizing possibilities that defects in the NBAT-associated protein might account for cystinurias in individuals with normal NBAT gene (such as the Types II and III cystinurics).
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, by Martin Ford

Martin Ford has spent much of his writing career chronicling the rise of technology and its potential threat to the workforce. With over 25 years of experience in computer design and software devel...
Exploring large scale security system reproducibility with the LESS simulator

Many network security systems analyze large scale data collected from multiple collaborating domains or aggregated network vantage points. Scale is clearly beneficial for these systems, however it also makes them difficult to design and test. Large scale data sets can be difficult to acquire and may not contain important meta-information (e.g. ground truth). Further, their limited availability can make it extremely difficult to understand how well experimental results would reproduce in differ- ent conditions, or at different networks. In this article, we discuss using simulation to overcome these challenges. We present an augmented version of LESS, our recently proposed agent based simulator for evaluating large scale network security systems. LESS uses publicly available data sets and high level parameters to generate synthetic traffic that models large scale, multi- network scenarios. Essentially, LESS allows researchers to "scale up" the data and statistics about networks and attacks that they have access to, so that they can be used to test large scale network security systems. Researchers can also tune LESS's high level parameters to better understand the sensitivities of their systems, and the reproducibility of their results. The version of LESS that we discuss in this article is extended to allow researchers to study an additional factor of system performance related to reproducibility: deployment location; by modeling the global Internet topology at the Autonomous System level. We demonstrate the applicability and benefits of LESS by tuning it with publicly available traces and then using generated records to reproduce and extend results from several recently proposed large scale security systems. In new experiments, we use LESS to study how deployment location affects large scale security systems. Our results demonstrate that LESS can evoke realistic performance from these systems with minimal tuning and provide insight into the network and topological factors that may affect the reproducibility of their evaluations.
Multiple Renal Neoplasms: A Case of 3 Histologically Dissimilar Primary Tumors

A 69-year-old woman who presented with bilateral renal masses and gross hematuria was found to have 3 different primary renal neoplasms. She first underwent left partial nephrectomy for an oncocytoma and subsequently right radical nephroureterectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the pelvis. An incidental angiomyolipoma was found in the specimen. Deoxyribonucleic acid image analysis of all 3 tumors is presented.
Beyond the Touchscreen: An Exploration of Extending Interactions on Commodity Smartphones

Most smartphones today have a rich set of sensors that could be used to infer input (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone); however, the primary mode of interaction is still limited to the front-facing touchscreen and several physical buttons on the case. To investigate the potential opportunities for interactions supported by built-in sensors, we present the implementation and evaluation of BeyondTouch, a family of interactions to extend and enrich the input experience of a smartphone. Using only existing sensing capabilities on a commodity smartphone, we offer the user a wide variety of additional inputs on the case and the surface adjacent to the smartphone. Although most of these interactions are implemented with machine learning methods, compact and robust rule-based detection methods can also be applied for recognizing some interactions by analyzing physical characteristics of tapping events on the phone. This article is an extended version of Zhang et al. [2015], which solely covered gestures implemented by machine learning methods. We extended our previous work by adding gestures implemented with rule-based methods, which works well with different users across devices without collecting any training data. We outline the implementation of both machine learning and rule-based methods for these interaction techniques and demonstrate empirical evidence of their effectiveness and usability. We also discuss the practicality of BeyondTouch for a variety of application scenarios and compare the two different implementation methods.
Carboplatin dosing by predictive formulae and factors related to its myelosuppressive toxicity

e19101 Background: Carboplatin is a commonly used drug in stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Its dose in typically calculated with the Calvert equation that uses the glomerular filtra...
58. Engineered Cas9 Variants with Novel PAM Specificities Expand the Targeting Range of CRISPR/Cas Nucleases

Specificity and targeting range are important considerations when selecting an engineered nuclease platform for functional studies or therapeutic applications. The use of CRISPR/Cas9 to edit virtually any genome has enabled researchers to rapidly knock out genes or to introduce precise genomic changes. A number of studies have explored and improved the specificity of the CRISPR/Cas9 platform but the targeting range remains limited to certain sequences. The most widely used Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenes (SpCas9) recognizes a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) of the form NGG, a constraint that restricts the range of sequences that can be edited. Combined with the 5’ nucleotide requirement for guide-RNA expression from a polIII promoter, this restriction can be limiting particularly when one is using CRISPR/Cas9 nucleases to introduce precise mutations by homology-directed repair (HDR), which requires that double-strand breaks be introduced very closely to the site of sequence alteration.To address this challenge, we developed a heterologous genetic system that enabled us to rapidly screen libraries of Cas9 clones and identify variants with distinct cleavage specificities. Using this technology, we identified and optimized two different Cas9 variants that recognize novel PAMs. We demonstrate that these variants enable targeting of sites with non-canonical PAM sequences that were previously inaccessible with wild-type SpCas9, more than doubling the total range of sequences that can be edited by HDR and by error-prone non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). We demonstrate that these variants can robustly modify endogenous genes in human cells and that they are compatible with previously described specificity improvements to SpCas9 such as truncated gRNAs.Furthermore, we also show Cas9 nucleases from other bacterial species such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus thermophilus can also be assessed for activity in our heterologous genetic system, suggesting that these alternative Cas9s might also be modified in their PAM specificities using the same approach we undertook with SpCas9. These orthogonal Cas9 nucleases offer the advantage of being substantially smaller in size than SpCas9, an important factor when considering packaging limits for viral delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 components. Taken together, our results more than double the targeting range of CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease platform and improve the prospects for translation of these reagents to clinical settings.
The Safety of available immunotherapy for the treatment of glioblastoma.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Current standard of care involves maximal surgical resection combined with adjuvant chemoradiation. Growing support exists for a role of immunotherapy in treating these tumors with the goal of targeted cytotoxicity. Here we review data on the safety for current immunotherapies being tested in GBM.Areas covered: Safety data from published clinical trials, including ongoing clinical trials were reviewed. Immunotherapeutic classes currently under investigation in GBM include various vaccination strategies, adoptive T cell immunotherapy, immune checkpoint blockade, monoclonal antibodies, and cytokine therapies. Trials include children, adolescents, and adults with either primary or recurrent GBM.Expert opinion: Based on the reviewed clinical trials, the current immunotherapies targeting GBM are safe and well-tolerated with minimal toxicities which should be noted. However, the gains in patient survival have be...
Abstract 168: Assessing The Utility Of The Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) At Discharge To Predict Day 90 Outcomes In Acute Stroke Registries

Objective: The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is a commonly used measure of functional stroke recovery, which is typically measured at 30 or 90 days post event. Given the difficulty of follow-up, most hospital-based stroke registries are usually limited to assessments at discharge. Studies have shown that mRS assessed 30 days post-stroke is a sufficient proxy for 90 day mRS, but little research has explored the utility of mRS assessment at discharge. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of mRS at discharge in predicting 90 day stroke outcomes. Methods: Data were obtained from a follow-up study of 373 acute stroke discharges from a statewide hospital-based acute stroke registry. Discharge mRS was obtained by chart review and 90 day outcomes data measured by the Barthel Index (BI) were obtained by phone. BI data were converted to 3 mRS levels: 0-2 (low to no), 3 (moderate), and 4-5 (severe) using validated methods. Weighted kappa was used to assess agreement between discharge and 90 day mRS. Logistic regression was used to assess the independent association between discharge mRS and disability at 90 days (defined as mRS 3-5 vs. 0-2). Results: Average age of the patients was 65 years, 56% were female, 28% were non-white, 74% had ischemic stroke, 14% had TIA, and 12% had hemorrhagic stroke. Distribution of mRS scores for 261 patients who completed the 90 day follow up is shown in Figure 1. The weighted kappa between discharge and 90 day mRS was 0.28 (95% CI 0.18, 0.38), indicating only fair agreement. After adjustment, those with moderate (3) or severe disability (4-5) at discharge were 2.49 (1.13, 5.54) and 2.55 (1.17-5.79) times more likely to have moderate to severe disability (3-5) at 90 days. (Table 1) Conclusion: Although discharge mRS was a strong independent predictor of disability at 90 days, the modest agreement between discharge and 90 day mRS indicate that it is not a sufficient proxy for 90 day outcomes. Further research is needed to identify predictors of stroke recovery based on assessments at hospital discharge.
Reproductive history and physical functioning in midlife: The Bogalusa Heart Study.

Abstract Objective To examine the relationship between reproductive history, pregnancy complications, and later physical function. Study design The Bogalusa Heart Study is a long-running study of cardiovascular health in a semirural community. 761 women were interviewed about their pregnancy history and complications, and underwent tests of physical function. Logistic models for dichotomous outcomes and linear models for continuous outcomes were used, adjusted for covariates. Main outcome measures Overall scores on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), which combines scores for balance, gait speed, and chair stands. Additional tests were a 6-min walk, knee extension strength, grip strength, and a pegboard challenge. Results Nulliparity was associated with lower scores on the walking and balance portions of the SPPB, less distance covered in the 6-min walk, less knee and grip strength, and higher pegboard time, especially among pre-menopausal women. A history of gestational diabetes was associated with more problems on the walk portion of the SPPB (aOR 2.44, 1.06–5.65), higher chair stand time, and lower knee strength. Young age at first birth ( Conclusions Nulliparity was associated with worse physical functioning, while high parity and early pregnancy were not, suggesting that fertility is associated with better health later in life. Pregnancy complications were associated with worse physical functioning, even after controlling for body mass index. Future studies should attempt to establish the pathways by which reproductive health relates to overall physical functioning.
The effect of spinal bracing on sitting function in children with neuromuscular scoliosis.

Background:Scoliosis is common in children with neuromuscular deficits. It is often associated with an asymmetric sitting position and with poor balance. Many children with neuromuscular scoliosis ...
A Model for Training Vision Functioning.

We propose a model describing relationships between vision and visually dependent behaviors, and from this we developed a basic model for the process of training vision functioning. The purpose is ...