cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
AXaaS (Acceleration as a service): Can the Telecom Service Provider rent a cloudlet?

As the capabilities of smartphones expand, so do consumers' expectations for resource-intensive mobile applications. However, mobile devices are ill-suited to execute most these applications due to their hardware limitations. Computational offloading offers a way to augment mobile computation power, but it introduces a communication latency, potentially weakening or negating its advantages. To meet the user demand for high performance, we propose a new service architecture called Acceleration as a Service (AXaaS). We formulate AXaaS based on the observation that most resource-intensive applications, such as real-time face-recognition and augmented reality, have similar resource-demand characteristics: a vast majority of the program execution time is spent on a limited set of library calls, such as Generalized Matrix-Multiply operations (GEMM), or FFT. Our AXaaS model suggests accelerating only these operations by the Telecom Service Providers (TSP). We envision the TSP offering this service through a monthly computational service charge, much like their existing monthly bandwidth charge. We demonstrate the technological and business feasibility of AXaaS on a proof-of-concept real-time face recognition application.
Towards a ptolemaic model for OCR

In style-constrained classification often there are onlya few samples of each style and class, and the correspondencesbetween styles in the training set and the test setare unknown. To avoid gross misestimates of the classifierparameters it is therefore important to model the patterndistributions accurately. We offer empirical evidence for intuitivelyappealing assumptions, in feature spaces appropriatefor symbolic patterns, for (1) tetrahedral configurationsof class means that suggests linear style-adaptive classification,(2) improved estimates of classification boundariesby taking into account the asymmetric configuration of thepatterns with respect to the directions toward other classes,and (3) pattern-correlated style variability.
Gifted Education and Discrimination: The Role of the Office for Civil Rights.

A recurrent problem in gifted education has been charges of discriminatory practices. In recent years the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Education, has been active in examining gifted programs to determine whether they are operating in a nondiscriminatory manner. The purpose of this article is to examine the amount of activity by the OCR involving gifted programs through the years 1985–1991. Using the Freedom of Information Act, 48 letters of findings were obtained from the OCR. The letters were analyzed as to the issues involved, protected classes, the geographic regions, and the results of the investigations.
Neural correlates of the aural combination tone 2f 1 - f 2

Physiological studies confirm the nineteenth-century view that the phenomenon of aural combination tones has important implications for the understanding of the auditory system. Responses of single fibers in the auditory nerve of anesthetized cats were studied for evidence of combination tones when the acoustic stimulus consisted of two sinusoidal tones. The stimulus frequencies were chosen so that the combination frequency 2f 1 - f 2 , where 1 2 /f 1 1 - f 2 ) were found for every fiber, 2) the time-locked response could be cancelled by adding a combination tone (2f 1 - f 1 ) to the stimulus, 3) the stimulus frequencies could be chosen to obtain responses that were predominantly time locked to the reference combination tone, and 4) the rates of discharge for both single and two-tone stimuli show a similar dependence upon sound level. These characteristics of the neural responses are similar to those expected from acoustic stimuli that contain a combination tone (2f 1 - f 2 ) of amplitude approximately proportional to the actual stimulus amplitude. Therefore, these findings do not reflect an overloading type of distortion but rather some normal operating property of the auditory system. The physiological findings bear a close relation to those of psychophysical experiments on combination tones.
Science for African Food Security

Most Africans farm small plots of land that have the potential to feed one family and generate income but, until recently, seldom do. Low soil fertility and crop losses from pests and droughts have reduced harvests to below subsistence levels, and many families have remained in poverty, unable to pay for education or health care. Fortunately, their lives are now improving because of a science-based "Doubly Green Revolution" taking place in parts of Africa. It combines elements of ecological agriculture with crop varieties designed to perform well under low-input and stress conditions, uses inorganic inputs very judiciously, and engages farmers themselves in analyzing their needs and adapting new varieties and agronomic practices to their own conditions. Greater commitments and new partnerships are needed to sustain and expand this revolution in agriculture to small-scale farming families all across Africa.
High Renesting Rates in Arctic-Breeding Dunlin (Calidris alpina): A Clutch-Removal Experiment

ABSTRACT. The propensity to replace a clutch is a complex component of avian reproduction and poorly understood. We experimentally removed clutches from an Arctic-breeding shorebird, the Dunlin (Calidris alpina arcticola), during early and late stages of incubation to investigate replacement clutch rates, renesting interval, and mate and site fidelity between nesting attempts. In contrast to other Arctic studies, we documented renesting by radiotracking individuals to find replacement clutches. We also examined clutch size and mean egg volume to document changes in individual females' investment in initial and replacement clutches. Finally, we examined the influence of adult body mass, clutch volume, dates of clutch initiation and nest loss, and year on the propensity to renest. We found high (82–95%) and moderate (35–50%) rates of renesting for early and late incubation treatments. Renesting intervals averaged 4.7–6.8 days and were not different for clutches removed early or late in incubation. Most pair...
MSM waveguide photodetectors optimized for monolithic integration with HEMTs

The authors describe the design of two MSM waveguide photodetectors which share their layer structure with high electron mobility transistors. This design makes these detectors particularly suited to integration with HEMTs in OEIC's. Resistive loss at the electrode surface, radiation loss into the substrate, and scattering loss are all accounted for in the optimization for internal detection efficiency of these 50 GHz detectors. >
Migration and fertility in Thailand 1960-1970.

A full assessment of the changing levels and rates of urbanization in less developed countries must include an evaluation of the roles of migration and fertility with particular attention to the comparative fertility of nonmigrant and migrant women in both urban and rural places. The present research draws data from sample tapes of the 1960 and 1970 Censuses of Thailand to analyze the fertility of migrants to Bangkok in relation to that of migrant women in smaller urban places and in rural areas and in comparison to nonmigrant women in the various residence categories. Account is taken on the timing of migration and the place of origin. Fertility is measured in terms of total children ever born. The findings indicate almost no differences between the fertility levels of lifetime migrants and those of native residents at place of destination. By contrast the fertility of 5-year migrants is below that of nonmigrants at both destination and origin with the lowest fertility characterizing women moving to Bangkok from other urban places. Overriding the differences by migraton status are the urban-rural differentials. Considerably higher rural fertility persists even after migration status is controlled. Fertility is higher in smaller urban places than in Bangkok. Morevover urban-origin migrants have lower fertility than those from rural places in each residence category but the lowest fertility is found among urban-origin migrants to Bangkok and the highest among rural-origin migrants to other rural areas suggesting that factors associated with both the selection and the adjustment of migrants have joint impact on fertility levels. (Authors modified)
Translation, Commentary and Textual Notes

Praise be to God for perpetually bestowing upon us His gifts and favors, and for His benevolence. After this follow our prayers for our lord Muhammad and his family. Peace be upon them!
In Vivo Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging with an αvβ6 Specific Peptide Radiolabeled using 18F-“Click” Chemistry: Evaluation and Comparison with the Corresponding 4-[18F]Fluorobenzoyl- and 2-[18F]Fluoropropionyl-Peptides

Numerous radiolabeled peptides have been utilized for in vivo imaging of a variety of cell surface receptors. For applications in PET using [18F]fluorine, peptides are radiolabeled via a prosthetic group approach. We previously developed solution-phase 18F-“click” radiolabeling and solid-phase radiolabeling using 4-[18F]fluorobenzoic and 2-[18F]fluoropropionic acids. Here we compare the three different radiolabeling approaches and report the effects on PET imaging and pharmacokinetics. The prosthetic groups did have an effect; metabolites with significantly different polarities were observed.
Mapping of Variable DNA Methylation Across Multiple Cell Types Defines a Dynamic Regulatory Landscape of the Human Genome

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification involved in many biological processes and diseases. Many studies have mapped DNA methylation changes associated with embryogenesis, cell differentiation, and cancer at a genome-wide scale. Our understanding of genome-wide DNA methylation changes in a developmental or disease-related context has been steadily growing. However, the investigation of which CpGs are variably methylated in different normal cell or tissue types is still limited. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of 54 single-CpG-resolution DNA methylomes of normal human cell types by integrating high-throughput sequencing-based methylation data. We found that the ratio of methylated to unmethylated CpGs is relatively constant regardless of cell type. However, which CpGs made up the unmethylated complement was cell-type specific. We categorized the 26,000,000 human autosomal CpGs based on their methylation levels across multiple cell types to identify variably methylated CpGs and found that 22.6% exhibited variable DNA methylation. These variably methylated CpGs formed 660,000 variably methylated regions (VMRs), encompassing 11% of the genome. By integrating a multitude of genomic data, we found that VMRs enrich for histone modifications indicative of enhancers, suggesting their role as regulatory elements marking cell type specificity. VMRs enriched for transcription factor binding sites in a tissue-dependent manner. Importantly, they enriched for GWAS variants, suggesting that VMRs could potentially be implicated in disease and complex traits. Taken together, our results highlight the link between CpG methylation variation, genetic variation, and disease risk for many human cell types.
Paramagnetic Resonance Hyperfine Structure of V 50 and V 51

The paramagnetic resonance has been observed of a magnetically dilute crystal of vanadium Tutton salt containing 23 percent of the isotope ${\mathrm{V}}^{50}$. The hfs of ${\mathrm{V}}^{50}$ was completely resolved, enabling us to conclude that its spin $I=6$. The ratio of the nuclear $g$ factors, $\frac{g({\mathrm{V}}^{50})}{g({\mathrm{V}}^{51})}$, was measured with the result 0.3792 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0008, in good agreement with the value determined directly by nuclear magnetic resonance experiments.
Abstract 1948: Pvt1-encoded microRNA miR-1204 in tumorigenesis of human ovarian and breast cancer

Amplification at chromosome 8q24 is one of the most frequent genomic abnormalities in human cancers and is associated with reduced survival duration in ovarian and breast cancers. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) at 8q24 have been identified in the PVT1 locus. Herein, we explored the biological functions of one miRNA, miR-1204, residing within the exon1B of PVT1. Mature hsa-mir-1204 is over-expressed in PVT1 amplified ovarian and breast cancer cell lines (HEY, OVCAR8, SUM-159PT and MDA-MB231). In vitro treatment with antagomir against hsa-mir-1204 inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in the four PVT1 amplified ovarian and breast cancer lines. Conversely, over-expression of miR-1204 promoted cell growth in PVT1 non-amplified ovarian and breast cancer lines (OV90 and MCF10A) and cooperated with c-Myc to potentiate Rat1A cell colony growth in soft agar assays. Since an inverse expression pattern is often present between miRNA and its target genes, we used computational approaches (miRanda, TargetScan, Pita) to identify distinct miR-1204 candidate target genes from two independent expression microarray datasets, one with significantly down-regulated genes by PVT1 copy number gain in 147 breast tumors and the other involving genes significantly repressed by miR-1204 overexpression and derepressed by silencing of miR-1204 in ovarian and breast cancer cells. Thirty putative target genes of miR-1204 were empirically verified by Q-RT-PCR method, and this group of genes was enriched with genes regulating cell death, cell growth and proliferation, cell cycle, cellular assembly and organization. Combined, these data suggest that human miR-1204 contributes to ovarian and breast tumor proliferation and survival and down-regulates distinct targets including multiple tumor suppressor genes and serves as a potential therapeutic target against tumors with 8q24 amplification. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1948.
Effectiveness of Sofosbuvir, Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir, or Paritaprevir/Ritonavir/Ombitasvir and Dasabuvir Regimens for Treatment of Patients With Hepatitis C in the Veterans Affairs National Health Care System

Background & Aims We investigated the real-world effectiveness of sofosbuvir, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, and paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir and dasabuvir (PrOD) in treatment of different subgroups of patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1, 2, 3, or 4. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of data from 17,487 patients with HCV infection (13,974 with HCV genotype 1; 2131 with genotype 2; 1237 with genotype 3; and 135 with genotype 4) who began treatment with sofosbuvir (n = 2986), ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (n = 11,327), or PrOD (n = 3174), with or without ribavirin, from January 1, 2014 through June 20, 2015 in the Veterans Affairs health care system. Data through April 15, 2016 were analyzed to assess completion of treatments and sustained virologic response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12). Mean age of patients was 61 ± 7 years, 97% were male, 52% were non-Hispanic white, 29% were non-Hispanic black, 32% had a diagnosis of cirrhosis (9.9% with decompensated cirrhosis), 36% had a Fibrosis-4 index score >3.25 (indicator of cirrhosis), and 29% had received prior antiviral treatment. Results An SVR12 was achieved by 92.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 92.3%–93.2%) of subjects with HCV genotype 1 infection (no significant difference between ledipasvir/sofosbuvir and PrOD regimens), 86.2% (95% CI, 84.6%–87.7%) of those with genotype 2 infection (treated with sofosbuvir and ribavirin), 74.8% (95% CI, 72.2%–77.3%) of those with genotype 3 infection (77.9% in patients given ledipasvir/sofosbuvir plus ribavirin, 87.0% in patients given sofosbuvir and pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin, and 70.6% of patients given sofosbuvir plus ribavirin), and 89.6% (95% CI 82.8%–93.9%) of those with genotype 4 infection. Among patients with cirrhosis, 90.6% of patients with HCV genotype 1, 77.3% with HCV genotype 2, 65.7% with HCV genotype 3, and 83.9% with HCV genotype 4 achieved an SVR12. Among previously treated patients, 92.6% with genotype 1; 80.2% with genotype 2; 69.2% with genotype 3; and 93.5% with genotype 4 achieved SVR12. Among treatment-naive patients, 92.8% with genotype 1; 88.0% with genotype 2; 77.5% with genotype 3; and 88.3% with genotype 4 achieved SVR12. Eight-week regimens of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir produced an SVR12 in 94.3% of eligible patients with HCV genotype 1 infection; this regimen was underused. Conclusions High proportions of patients with HCV infections genotypes 1–4 (ranging from 75% to 93%) in the Veterans Affairs national health care system achieved SVR12, approaching the results reported in clinical trials, especially in patients with genotype 1 infection. An 8-week regimen of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir is effective for eligible patients with HCV genotype 1 infection and could reduce costs. There is substantial room for improvement in SVRs among persons with cirrhosis and genotype 2 or 3 infections.
Coagulation signaling to epithelia.

In this issue of Blood , [Le Gall et al][1] show that matriptase, a member of the type II transmembrane serine protease family, is a key coordinator of tissue factor (TF)–dependent activation of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR2) on epithelial cell lines by coagulation proteases.[1][2] ![Figure
Increased seroprevalence of Enterovirus 71 IgE antibodies in asthmatic compared with non-asthmatic children.

Asthma is a common pediatric chronic inflammatory airway disease. Respiratory viral infections are frequent infectious triggers for exacerbations of asthma. We sought to determine whether Enterovirus 71 (EV71), a ubiquitous virus that causes systemic inflammatory responses in children but is not a known respiratory pathogen, can also serve as an infectious trigger for asthma. Specific EV71 IgE and IgM antibodies (Abs), total serum IgE, and IL-2 and IL-4 cytokine levels in serum of asthmatic and non-asthmatic children (N = 42, ages 5–19; N = 35, ages 1–20, respectively) were measured (ELISA). Asthmatic children had higher EV71 IgE Ab levels than non-asthmatic (P < 0.001). Non-asthmatic children had significantly higher EV71 IgM Ab levels than asthmatic (P < 0.001). Despite low serum IgE levels of non-asthmatic, compared with asthmatic (P < 0.001), the non-asthmatic children produced significantly more IL-2 and IL-4 than asthmatic (P < 0.001; P < 0.001). The ages of the asthmatics, but not the non-asthmatics had a significant effect on the levels of EV 71 IgE Abs (P = 0.02; P = 0.356). A test of difference between these two slopes was significant. However, the ages of the non-asthmatic, but not the asthmatic children had a significant effect on the levels of EV 71 IgM Abs; a test of difference between these two slopes was significant. Increased specific EV71 IgE Ab responses may indicate that EV71 infection may also be an infectious trigger in asthma. However, the role of specific EV71 IgM Abs, Th2 cytokines, and age in non-asthmatic children should be further studied.
Signal Delay in VLSI Systems

In order to understand the timing characteristics of a synchronous digital system—specifically, the delays within the data paths and clock distribution network—a more complete understanding of the properties of signal delay in VLSI systems is necessary. The topic of signal delay in VLSI-based systems is examined in detail in this chapter. Delay metrics are first analyzed and certain definitions are introduced in Section 3.1. A more thorough analytical treatment of the subject of computing delay in CMOS integrated circuits is presented in Section 3.2.
The Present Status of Anthropology as an Explanatory Science

The enterprise undertaken in this paper is a brief exploration of the epistemological status of the various kinds of sentences which typically appear in the body of anthropological studies. Since this analysis presupposes a view of what science is, a few remarks should be made by way of preface in order to make this view explicit. No attempt will be made, however, to defend it.1
Advocacy efforts in trauma and acute care surgery: learning to walk.

In modern American politics, advocacy is a focused and dynamically charged process. Despite the intense interplay in Washington, DC, advocacy efforts and activities remain more opaque for the majority of frontline healthcare providers. Advocacy efforts are not generally considered an essential element of daily practice. Instead, many providers may derive comfort from the belief that someone else will have the knowledge, desire, commitment, and time to speak and act on their behalf. Each of us are faced with challenges on a daily basis that relate to market, resource, access, or finance issues—all of which are reasonable advocacy targets.1 Limited engagement in advocacy by surgical care providers as a group is perhaps an indicator of disinterest, discomfort, or perhaps even apathy among members concerning advocacy and its impact on preserving current or garnering additional resources critical to our profession. While patient care activities must remain firmly planted at the pinnacle of our charge, one approach to consider is that advocacy efforts targeted at clearly defined aspects of care should be considered a professional activity, and given equal footing with administration, academic productivity, and teaching.2 While there may be knowledge deficits regarding advocacy, there appears to also be the concept that advocacy is ‘someone else's’ job. It is important to learn from previous advocacy efforts that involved the trauma community. The Roundtable for Critical Care assembled a multiprofessional group of individuals and partnered them with a bipartisan, experienced advocacy team that led to actionable legislation and a critical care relevant bill put before Congress: the Critical Care Assessment and Improvement Act of 2014. This bill was in keeping with the Roundtable's tripartite focus of advanced care and ethics, innovation and outcomes, and disaster preparedness. This paradigm—partnering local and national expertise with professional advocacy experts—merits further exploration. One method of starting …
Self-Capacitance of Single-Layer Inductors With Separation Between Conductor Turns

This letter presents the technique for estimating the self-capacitance of single-layer air-core solenoid inductors with separation between the insulated turns. In single-layer air-core inductors, the self-capacitance is due to the conductor turn-to-turn capacitances. The analytical framework to determine the turn-to-turn capacitances of single-layer air-core inductors with uniformly and nonuniformly separated conductor turns is established. The influence of the wire insulation coating is taken into consideration. A representative design example of a single-layer air-core inductor is presented and its self-capacitance and self-resonant frequency are predicted. The presented analytical approach was tested by experimental measurements on the designed inductor. The derived analytical expressions are useful for designing air-core inductors for high frequency (HF) and very HF applications such as electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility filters and radio and TV transmitters.
Comparative Huntington And Parkinson Disease mRNA Analysis Reveals Common Inflammatory Processes

Huntington's and Parkinson's Diseases (HD and PD) are neurodegenerative disorders that share some pathological features but are disparate in others. For example, while both diseases are marked by aberrant protein aggregation in the brain, the specific proteins that aggregate and types of neurons affected differ. A better understanding of the molecular similarities and differences between these two diseases may lead to a more complete mechanistic picture of both the individual diseases and the neurodegenerative process in general. We sought to characterize the common transcriptional signature of HD and PD as well as genes uniquely implicated in each of these diseases using mRNA-Seq data from post mortem human brains in comparison to neuropathologically normal controls. The enriched biological pathways implicated by HD differentially expressed genes show remarkable consistency with those for PD differentially expressed genes and implicate the common biological processes of neuroinflammation, apoptosis, transcriptional dysregulation, and neuron-associated functions. Comparison of the differentially expressed (DE) genes highlights a set of consistently altered genes that span both diseases. In particular, processes involving nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFkB) and transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) are the most prominent among the genes common to HD and PD. When the combined HD and PD data are compared to controls, relatively few additional biological processes emerge as significantly enriched suggesting that most pathways are independently seen within each disorder. Despite showing comparable numbers of DE genes, DE genes unique to HD are enriched in far more coherent biological processes than the DE genes unique to PD, suggesting that PD may represent a more heterogeneous disorder.
Rural America and Evidence-Based Assessment: The Potential for a Happy Marriage

Mental health practitioners should strive to use the most valid assessment methods to increase the probability of proper diagnosis and successful treatment. Evidence-based assessment improves statistical confidence in diagnoses through accurate measurement of an individual’s symptoms and risk factors, quantifying the resulting changes in probability of diagnoses. Greater precision in diagnosis and decision making enhances the treatment guidance process. In this chapter we outline the procedures of working within an evidence-based assessment framework. Further, we explain how such a model reduces time and expense, concerns that are crucial when working within a rural setting. Finally, we highlight the model’s accuracy, cost-effectiveness, feasibility, and generalizability to various contexts.
Male success against con- and heterospecific competitors indicates a positive but modest role for sexual selection as driver of speciation

For sexual selection within species to drive the evolution of reproductive isolation between lineages, sexually selected and reproductive isolating traits must both share underlying mechanisms and operate in the same direction. While some work has been done to evaluate mechanistic overlap, fewer studies have evaluated whether intraspecific sexually-selected variation is associated with elevated reproductive isolation between species. Here we evaluate this association by assessing the relationship between male reproductive success against conspecifics versus heterospecific males at each of two different mating stages. We find that male precopulatory performance (remating success following a conspecific versus a heterospecific first mating) was not associated between conspecific and heterospecific contexts, but postcopulatory success (sperm competition against conspecific versus heterospecific males) was modestly positively correlated. We discuss two lines of evidence that suggest this modest association is due to incomplete mechanistic overlap between postcopulatory competition in conspecific and heterospecific mating contexts. This study provides an explicit test of a necessary condition for sexual selection to drive speciation, and finds that while sexual selection is not individually sufficient to explain the magnitude of reproductive isolation in this system, it could nonetheless facilitate the evolution of isolation via postcopulatory sperm competition.
Degassing of copper wires in an ultrahigh vacuum: II. Surface phenomena☆

Abstract An ultrahigh vacuum system has been used to study the degassing characteristics of copper over the temperature range 735–945°C. Activation enthalpies for the evolution of oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and water were measured as 80, 25, 40, 75 and 40 kcal mole , respectively. These activation enthalpies suggest that the controlling mechanisms may be desorption of carbon monoxide from copper, thermal reduction of cuprous oxide to form oxygen, reaction of carbon monoxide with cuprous oxide to form carbon dioxide, desorption of hydrogen from carbon patches and the reaction of hydroxyl groups on cuprous oxide to form water. In addition small quantities of methane were evolved, but an activation enthalpy for methane was not measured.
It's not just the food you eat: Environmental factors in the development of food allergies

The dramatic rise in the prevalence of food allergy and food allergy-associated anaphylaxis in the past few decades has fueled investigative interest into understanding this puzzling trend. Here, we review the question as to whether important external environmental determinants beyond dietary habits and exposure to food allergens are involved. This review will summarize our current understanding of these environment determinants, derived from the latest experimental and epidemiological research. Specifically, we will review the role of exposures that affect skin barrier function, development of a diverse microbiome, and food processing. Additional exposures of concern are insufficient sunlight, endocrine disrupting chemicals and pesticides, and use of specific pharmaceutical agents that may drive or modify the risk for food allergy. Despite limitations in the quantity and quality of research to date, many new epidemiological associations and experimental data in support of this paradigm have emerged.
A PHOSPHOLIPID-PROTEIN MODEL OF NEUROTRANSMITTER RECEPTOR ACTIVITY

The receptor-specific, neurotransmitter-stimulated synthesis of cyclic-AMP, and other secondary messengers, provides the only chemical model currently used to study neurotransmitter receptor activity. In the present paper, a phospholipid-protein model is proposed which appears to be associated predominantly with the action of a group of receptors not utilizing secondary messengers.
Modulation of Thyroid Epithelial Differentiation by Two Viral Oncogenes

The loss of the expression of a differentiated phenotype is one of the most interesting features of many tumors, either spontaneously occurring in humans, or experimentally induced into laboratory animals.
Nanodiamonds as antioxidant carriers: applications for drug delivery

Tiopronin is a small-molecular weight thiol drug used clinically to treat cystinuria and rheumatoid arthritis. Its thiol moiety confers antioxidant properties, enabling it to scavenge free radicals as well as reduce and chelate transition metal ions, and undergo thiol-disulfide exchange, which can serve to spare or restore levels of endogenous thiols, including GSH. Its primary metabolite, thiolactic acid (TLA) retains these properties. In addition, experiments conducted in our lab suggest that both the DPPH radical scavenging and CUPRAC reducing power of tiopronin and TLA exceed that of the well-known and widely used N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Thus, tiopronin possesses several characteristics that make it an attractive candidate for development as a treatment for oxidative stress-related conditions, such as cataracts. However, its labile thiol group represents a double-edged sword for implementation in living systems and ultimately the clinic because thiol drugs are often oxidized before they reach the proposed site of action, rendering them ineffective or even detrimental. Therefore, drug delivery strategies can be employed to safeguard and mediate sustained release of tiopronin. For this purpose, nanodiamonds represent a nearly ideal platform, as they are inert and biocompatible, with highly tailorable surface chemistry and extremely favorable surface area-to-mass ratio. Moreover, preliminary results in our laboratory suggest that detonation nanodiamonds synergistically increase the radical scavenging ability of tiopronin. Comparisons between nanodiamonds with different surface functionalization and specific current and potential applications will be discussed.
Magnetic Field Diffusion in Medium-Walled Conductors

The diffusion of transient magnetic fields through the walls of a hollow conductive shell is an important phenomenon of interest throughout a variety of pulsed power applications. Basic solutions do exist for cylindrical geometries in the limiting case that the skin depth is much larger than the wall thickness; however, in many pulsed applications, the transient skin depth is often similar to the conductor thickness. As the underlying thin-wall assumption begins to breakdown, the production of complex eddy current distributions in the conductor walls results in deviation from these simplified analytical solutions of the diffused field. Precise calculation of these current distributions is essential for many applications including inductive shielding and magnetic field diagnostics near conductors. Electromagnetic simulations using the finite-element method provide a more accurate picture of the diffusion process in this regime. A high magnetic field testbed facilitates measurement of the diffused fields in order to verify simulation accuracy. The effect of material conductivity, wall thickness, and conductor geometry on the diffusion process is examined.
The Relationship Between Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among New Salespeople

AbstractThe area of salesforce turnover has emerged in recent years as a topic of considerable interest among both researchers and managers. The problem of turnover is considered to be especially acute among new salespeople. This study investigates the relationship between organizational commitment, major facets of job satisfaction (pay, promotion, supervisor, work, and coworkers) and turnover among new salespeople from a cross-sectional as well as longitudinal perspective. Among other findings, the results indicate significant differences between stayers and leavers in their level of organizational commitment very early in their tenure with the organization.
Management of S-ICD lead in a patient requiring sternotomy

Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillators (S‐ICD) have become a reasonable alternative to single‐chamber transvenous ICD systems for patients who pass the screening protocol.1, 2 There is limited experience however in managing patients who require a sternotomy who have previously had a S‐ICD placed. Concerns over lead damage, lead positioning poststernotomy, and possible contact between the lead and the sternotomy wires are the main concerns that may result in device malfunction.
Datasets describing hydrogel properties and cellular metrics for modeling of tumor dormancy.

Abstract Breast cancer dormancy is an underlying challenge toward targeting and controlling metastatic recurrence and disease progression. Development of engineered, well-defined in vitro models is necessary to systematically recapitulate tumor dormancy and investigate potential therapeutic strategies. Toward this end, a set of sixteen hydrogel formulations with varying degrees of adhesivity and crosslink density was developed for encapsulation, three-dimensional (3D) culture, and phenotypic assessment of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The hydrogel adhesivity was regulated by incorporation of RGDS peptide conjugated to acrylate poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-RGDS) and the crosslink density by incorporation of N-vinyl pyrrolidinone (NVP). Here, we present data concerning the characterization of hydrogel properties (PEG-RGDS incorporation, hydrogel crosslink density, and hydrogel diffusivity as a function of NVP concentration) and phenotypic metrics (viability, early apoptosis, proliferation, metabolic activity, viable cell density, and morphological features) of encapsulated MDA-MB-231s over 15 days in culture. Interpretation of this data can be found in a research article titled “Tunable Hydrogels for Controlling Phenotypic Cancer Cell States to Model Breast Cancer Dormancy and Reactivation” (Pradhan et al., 2019) [1].
Role of natural killer cells in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 mutant glioma pathogenesis and emerging therapies

Gliomas are the most common primary central nervous system malignancy and have an overall poor prognosis, despite aggressive treatment. Understanding the immune microenvironment of these fatal tumors will advance discovery of immune-related therapeutic targets. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphoid cells that constitute the first line of host-tumor immune responses since these cells do not require prior sensitization or tumor antigen recognition to kill. NK cells kill tumor cells by recognizing stress-induced ligands expressed on tumor cells, thereby providing an efficient path to early tumor cytolysis. Dysregulation of NK-mediated immunity plays a prominent role in immune escape for glioblastoma (World Health Organization Grade IV gliomas) and for various low-grade diffuse gliomas. Thus, the biology of NK cells is fertile ground for identifying novel immunotherapeutic targets in glioma. This review discusses the biology of NK cells as well as the potential applications for immunotherapy in the treatment of gliomas.
A new Pseudopyrochroa Pic, 1906 from Yunnan, China with a key to adult Pseudopyrochroa males from the Province and correction on type repository for Frontodendroidopsis pennyi Young (Coleoptera: Pyrochroidae: Pyrochroinae)

A new species of the fire-colored beetle genus Pseudopyrochroa Pic, 1906, is described from northwestern Yunnan Province, China. The new species, Pseudopyrochroa grzymalae, is superficially similar to P. cardoni (Fairmaire), known from Kashmir and Sikkim. A complete species diagnosis is presented along with a key to adult males of the five known Yunnan Pseudopyrochroa species. The repository for the holotype of Frontodendroidopsis pennyi Young is corrected from the California Academy of Sciences to the Institute of Zoology, Bejing.
A scalable stochastic number generator for phase change memory based in-memory stochastic processing: work-in-progress

Stochastic computing based Processing-In-Memory (PIM) architectures (e.g., [1]) can provide massive parallelism with higher energy-efficiency, for implementing complex computations in main memory. However, stochastic computing arithmetic requires random bit streams generated by stochastic number generators (SNGs), which account for significant area and energy consumption. Moreover, SNGs' numerical precision needs improvement to reduce errors in stochastic computations [1]. Thus, low numerical precision and high implementation overheads of SNGs can offset the benefits of adopting stochastic computing in PIM architectures. In this paper, we exploit the inherent stochasticity of Phase Change Memory (PCM) cells to design a scalable and area-energy efficient SNG for PCM-based stochastic PIM architectures. Our designed SNG can achieve up to ~300× lower area and up to ~250× lower energy consumption with better numerical precision, compared to the Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) based conventional SNG from [2].
What the Twenty-First Century Engaged Journalism can Learn from the Twentieth Century Public Journalism

Engaged journalism emerging today bears a striking resemblance to the public journalism movement of the twentieth century in the United States. They have similar values and spirits, believing that ...
Profiling Thrift Store Shoppers with a Decision Tree Predictive Model

This study determines which factors influence thrift store clothing shopping behavior based on retail attributes (self-oriented) and personal orientations (others-oriented) using a decision tree model. An online consumer panel survey was distributed to individuals in the US via MTurk. A decision tree of thrift store shopping (TS) is created with RPART. The target variable is the number of items purchased at a thrift store within the past 12 months. The results indicate that membership in the High TS occurs when consumers value the self-oriented attribute of the treasure hunting experience and display the other-oriented attribute of the responsible behavior to some extent. While TS shoppers are generally conscious about the price point in their consumption behavior, the modest influence of the name brand is apparent in consumers’ TS purchase behavior.
Machine Learning Techniques for Mitigating Sensor Ionizing Dose Failures in Robotic Systems

Machine learning is used to extend performance in robotic systems suffering from TID sensor failure. The method is implemented on a robotic manipulator to demonstrate reconstruction of encoder signals submitted to simulated radiation effects.
Redefining chronic endometritis: the importance of endometrial stromal changes

Objective To develop diagnostic criteria for chronic endometritis and compare the prevalence of chronic endometritis between women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and controls. Design Cohort study. Setting Single academic fertility center. Patients Women with unexplained RPL (two or more pregnancy losses) and prospectively recruited controls without a history of RPL or infertility. Interventions Endometrial samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and CD138. A pathologist blinded to patient history recorded the number of plasma cells per 10 high-power fields (HPFs). In addition, the presence or absence of endometrial stromal changes was documented. Main Outcome Measure Prevalence of chronic endometritis. Results Endometrial samples from 50 women with unexplained RPL and 26 controls were evaluated. When chronic endometritis was defined as the presence of one or more plasma cells per 10 HPFs, 31% of controls and 56% of women with RPL met the criterion. When both endometrial stromal changes and plasma cells were required for a diagnosis of chronic endometritis, no controls and 30% of women with RPL met the criteria. Conclusions Although rare plasma cells were found in biopsy samples from controls, the presence of both plasma cells and endometrial stromal changes was limited to the RPL cohort. We propose that chronic endometritis be defined as the presence of one or more plasma cells per 10 HPFs in the setting of endometrial stromal changes. With the use of these strict diagnostic criteria, women with RPL have a significantly higher rate of chronic endometritis, supporting an association between chronic endometritis and RPL.
Une enroullure de sapience : Instituting Princely Virtues at the Court of Charles V

Roy, duc et conte, donc pensez A ce miroir, et sagement Vous i mirez So, king, duke, and count, think About this mirror, and wisely look at yourself in it The advent of the New Iconography of the Cardinal Virtues, around the turn of the fifteenth century, heralds a technologically informed vision of human behavior, morality, and intellect. Even before this iconographic commingling of virtues and machines, though, it is possible to track changing conceptions of virtue and cognition – especially princely cognition – by examining representations of the virtues in conduct manuals. Showing a marked Aristotelian influence from the middle of the thirteenth century (as do many other learned genres), mirrors for princes accord an ever more prominent place to Prudence and the related virtue of Sapience (Wisdom). In the corpus of political and pedagogical texts translated into French at the behest of Charles V, the iconography of the virtues, discourses on virtue ethics, and the inorganic metaphor of the intellect as engin converge to precipitate a discussion of political virtue and personal vice, the latter of which is assimilated to oxidation. Mirrors for princes and other treatises on education propose to counteract these corrosive influences, but they cannot always compensate for princely imprudence. Prudence's Mirrors for Princes Mirrors for princes, which are conduct manuals addressed to a noble readership, are the most widespread textual vehicle of late medieval political theory. Beginning in earnest with John of Salisbury's mid-twelfth-century Policraticus , such texts’ popularity blossomed in the thirteenth century with a number of mirrors inspired by the newly available Latin translations of Aristotle's Ethics and Politics : Vincent of Beauvais's De eruditione filiorum nobilium and De morali principis institutione , Giles of Rome's De regimine principum , which was translated into French quite early and often, and the pseudo-Aquinas’ De eruditione principum , among others. Vernacular mirrors are presented at the French court from the mid-thirteenth century onward. A greater number of the Latin mirrors were translated into French in the fourteenth century, followed by a flurry of mostly vernacular composition in the fifteenth.
Lessons Learned: Creation and Testing of a New Instrument (Sex Offenders Grooming Assessment) for Measuring Sex Offenders' Perceptions of Their Grooming Behaviors.

Grooming is a process whereby an individual who plans to commit a sexual crime uses deception with the victim as well as the people in the environment (such as the victim’s family members, the offe...
Risk Prediction of Coronary Flow Reserve is Strongly Influenced by the Burden of Coronary Calcification

653 Background: The predictive significance of coronary flow reserve (CFR) and coronary artery calcium (CAC) is well established. However, the added value of CFR over CAC for the prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) has not been investigated. Methods: We retrospectively identified 408 patients with native hearts undergoing cardiac PET/CT for evaluation of known or suspected coronary artery disease between 2012-2015 (mean age 58 ± 11 years; ejection fraction 65 ± 11%; creatinine 1.47 ± 1.7 mg/dL; male 36%; prior myocardial infarct 16%; prior stroke 9.1%, kidney disease 27%; diabetes 47%, hypertension 85%). CAC was visually estimated from ungated cardiac/chest CT into CAC 0-10, 11-400 and g P l 16%), including all-cause death (n=17; 4%), acute coronary syndrome (n=31; 8%) and/or stroke (n=22; 5%). Results: The combination of CAC and CFR yielded the following groups: 1) CAC ≤ 10 & CFR g 2) CAC ≤ 10 & CFR ≤ 1.5 (n=34); 3) CAC g and 4) CAC g P=0.037) and CAC g P &lt 0.0001) were important predictors of MACE. However, in a risk-adjusted model, CFR had comparable risk of MACE in patients with CAC ≤ 10 and only provided additional risk stratification in patients with CAC &gt 10 (Figure 1). Conclusions: Coronary flow reserve helps to risk stratify patients with CAC &gt 10. These findings have significant clinical implications but will need confirmation in larger studies.
The metacognitive knowledge of adolescent students during the information search process

The study used naturalistic methods to investigate the metacognitive knowledge of 10 adolescents as they searched for, selected, evaluated, and used information for a school-based, inquiry project. The study identified thirteen attributes of metacognitive knowledge related to the information search process: Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, knowing that you don’t know, building a base, scaffolding, communicating, changing course, balancing, understanding curiosity, understanding time and effort, understanding memory, pulling back and reflecting, connecting, and parallel thinking. The results contribute to the understanding of adolescent informationseeking behavior and have implications for information literacy instruction.
Faint Field Galaxy Counts, Colors, and Redshifts

This paper aims to provide the non-specialist a brief overview and major highlights in the rapidly changing research area of faint field galaxy evolution. Special emphasis is given to number counts, colors, and redshifts more recent than 1992 and their interpretation, both conventional and exotic. We close with previews of new directions that exploit sizes and velocity widths to explore the nature of faint blue galaxies, a puzzle that has defied solution for 15 years. The mystery continues.