cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Verification of micro-beam irradiation

Micro-beam Radiation Therapy (MRT) is an experimental radiation therapy with provocative experimental data indicating potential for improved efficacy in some diseases. Here we demonstrated a comprehensive micro-beam verification method utilizing high resolution (50pm) PRESAGE/Micro-Optical-CT 3D Dosimetry. A small PRESAGE cylindrical dosimeter was irradiated by a novel compact Carbon-Nano-Tube (CNT) field emission based MRT system. The Percentage Depth Dose (PDD), Peak-to-Valley Dose Ratio (PVDR) and beam width (FWHM) data were obtained and analyzed from a three strips radiation experiment. A fast dose drop-off with depth, a preserved beam width with depth (an averaged FWHM across three beams remains constant (405.3um, sigma=13.2um) between depth of 3.0~14.0mm), and a high PVDR value (increases with depth from 6.3 at 3.0mm depth to 8.6 at 14.0mm depth) were discovered during this verification process. Some operating procedures such as precise dosimeter mounting, robust mechanical motions (especially rotation) and stray-light artifact management were optimized and developed to achieve a more accurate and dosimetric verification method.
Molecular regulation of autophagy and its implications for metabolic diseases.

Purpose of reviewAutophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular programme for the turnover of organelles, proteins, and other macromolecules, involving the lysosomal degradation pathway. Emerging evidence suggests that autophagy can play a central role in human metabolism as well as impact divers
Mohs micrographic surgery for lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma using Mel-5 immunostaining: University of Minnesota experience.

BACKGROUND Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) continues to become a more common and accepted treatment for lentigo maligna (LM) and lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM). The primary difficulty encountered lies in the accurate identification of atypical single melanocytes to determine tumor-free margins. Numerous methods have been used to better visualize single melanocytes, with varying results. We present our experience using Mel-5 immunostaining in MMS of LM and LMM. METHODS Two hundred patients with primary or recurrent LM or LMM were treated using MMS from 1999 to 2003 at the University of Minnesota. The initial clinical margins were determined by Wood's light examination, and an initial debulk specimen was taken and sent for formalin fixation and later reviewed by a dermatopathologist. The first Mohs layer was then taken, and staining with hemotoxylin and eosin as well as Mel-5 immunostaining was performed. All patients were followed up to evaluate for recurrence, with a mean follow-up time of 38.4 months. RESULTS Of the 200 patients treated, only one recurrence was noted. This patient had been treated with excision followed by radiation before MMS. Use of Mel-5 immunostaining added approximately 40 minutes to each stage. Use of the Autostainer Immunostaining System (DAKO, Carpenterina, CA, USA) shortened the added time to 20 minutes. CONCLUSIONS MMS with Mel-5 immunostaining yielded excellent results in the treatment of LM and LMM, with only one recurrence noted in 200 patients. When an automated immunostainer was used, minimal time was added to each Mohs stage.
First-pass perfusion of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with 64-detector-row CT: a study of technique repeatability and intra- and interobserver variability

Purpose This study was done to prospectively assess the repeatability and intra- and interobserver variability of first-pass perfusion with 64-detector-row computed tomography (CT) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a maximum diameter of up to 8 cm.
Histological comparison of the thymus of germfree (axenic) and conventional CFW mice.

The histology of the thymus of both germfree and conventional mice at days 0, 14, 50, and 168 supports the interpretation of the growth pattern of the thymus as a reflection of the lymphocyte population of the cortex and medulla. In general the conventional thymus has more small lymphocytes in the cortex and more lymphocytes migrating into the medulla than in its germfree counterpart. Hence it would seem that antigenic challenge stimulates lymphocyte production in the thymus cortex and initiates a chain of events that may eventually result in thymus lymphocytes populating the other lymphoid tissues of the body, or that may result in lymphocyte degeneration in the thymus and the subsequent releas of a humoral factor that may stimulate the other lymphoid tissue to lymphocytopoiesis.
Laboratory Technique for Obtaining Fathead Minnow Eggs for Use in Toxicity Experiments

A laboratory technique for collecting freshly fertilized eggs of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) has been developed for use in toxicity testing of radioactive materials or other environmental pollutants. The fathead minnow egg was selected as a test organism because the period of embryogenesis is relatively short, the number of eggs per spawning is sufficiently large to provide a test group and a control group, and the size of the parent fish is compatible with laboratory facilities. Under a controlled laboratory environment, eggs are available all year. Nesting sites were constructed by cutting plastic pipe in half and covering the inside of the pipe with 1-mm-thick translucent polyethylene. The polyethylene with the eggs attached was removed from the shelter and cut into two pieces, each piece containing approximately the same number of eggs. One piece of polyethylene was floated in the test solution, and the other in spring water as a control. Hatching occurs in 168 h at 24/sup 0/C. Toxicity of the test solution may be scored on the percentage of eggs hatching, the number of abnormal larvae produced, and larval survival.
A geopause satellite system concept

The forthcoming 10 cm range tracking accuracy capability holds much promise in connection with a number of Earth and ocean dynamics investigations. These include a set of earthquake-related studies of fault motions and the Earth's tidal, polar and rotational motions, as well as studies of the gravity field and the sea surface topography which should furnish basic information about mass and heat flow in the oceans.
Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy of Isolated and Aggregated Fibronectin Proteins on Negatively Charged Surfaces in Aqueous Liquids

Plasma fibronectin (FN) was adsorbed to negatively charged surfaces, and the mechanical behavior of both isolated and aggregated FN molecules was observed using molecular force spectroscopy. Images of FN molecules show that the isolated proteins are already partially denatured, and mechanically pulling on them yields force transitions at distance intervals significantly shorter than the domains' contour lengths. Only when FN was aggregated on the surface did force transitions occur at length intervals corresponding to Type III domain lengths. Apparently, FN's density on the surface plays a critical role in protein stabilization. The dependence of the transition forces on the loading rates was also measured and modeled. In measurements done on single proteins in aggregates, one barrier in the direction of the applied force was observed, which arose from domain denaturation; however, studies of isolated, single molecules revealed two barriers, where both arise from protein−surface interactions.
Regulation of CRAC Channel Activity by Recruitment of Silent Channels to a High Open-probability Gating Mode

CRAC (calcium release-activated Ca(2+)) channels attain an extremely high selectivity for Ca(2+) from the blockade of monovalent cation permeation by Ca(2+) within the pore. In this study we have exploited the blockade by Ca(2+) to examine the size of the CRAC channel pore, its unitary conductance for monovalent cations, and channel gating properties. The permeation of a series of methylammonium compounds under divalent cation-free conditions indicates a minimum pore diameter of 3.9 A. Extracellular Ca(2+) blocks monovalent flux in a manner consistent with a single intrapore site having an effective K(i) of 20 microM at -110 mV. Block increases with hyperpolarization, but declines below -100 mV, most likely due to permeation of Ca(2+). Analysis of monovalent current noise induced by increasing levels of block by extracellular Ca(2+) indicates an open probability (P(o)) of approximately 0.8. By extrapolating the variance/mean current ratio to the condition of full blockade (P(o) = 0), we estimate a unitary conductance of approximately 0.7 pS for Na(+), or three to fourfold higher than previous estimates. Removal of extracellular Ca(2+) causes the monovalent current to decline over tens of seconds, a process termed depotentiation. The declining current appears to result from a reduction in the number of active channels without a change in their high open probability. Similarly, low concentrations of 2-APB that enhance I(CRAC) increase the number of active channels while open probability remains constant. We conclude that the slow regulation of whole-cell CRAC current by store depletion, extracellular Ca(2+), and 2-APB involves the stepwise recruitment of silent channels to a high open-probability gating mode.
Noncommutative geometry and Higgs mechanism in the standard model

Abstract We study a model that is based on the idea of noncommutative geometry. In this approach, space-time is extended to include new coordinates that are elements of a noncommutative algebra. Taking this algebra to be that Pauli matrices, we construct a generalized gauge potential that incorporates both the Yang-Mills and the Higgs sector of the standard model. The lagrangian constructed from the generalized field strength contains the Higgs potential that leads to spontaneous symmetry breaking. The model also predicts sin 2 θ w to be about 0.26 and the Higgs mass to be about 80 GeV after including renormalization group corrections.
Nonlinear Input/Output Modeling

Abstract This paper gives a highly abbreviated overview of some of the key issues in empirical nonlinear modeling for chemical process applications. This task is complicated by the inherent nature of nonlinearity: the term describes a class of systems by the one feature they lack. In fact, this division — linear vs. nonlinear — suggests a “unity” or “homogeneity” of the class of nonlinear systems that does not exist. Consequently, this review will focus on specific sub-classes of nonlinear models that have analytically useful structural characteristics and comparisons will be made both between theses classes and with the more familiar linear models. Length limitations restrict these discussions somewhat, but it is hoped that the range of examples will be great enough to demonstrate how nonlinear model identification is both similar to and different from linear model identification. The general conclusion of this paper is that nonlinear input/output modeling is a vitally important practical art with many unresolved issues; the principal objective of this paper is to elucidate some of these issues.
The bilayer nature of deposits occurring in Gaucher's disease.

Abstract Evidence is presented for the structure of the Gaucher cell deposit existing as a series of bilayers that are each 60 A thick and are gradually twisted along their length. This evidence was obtained by freeze-etching studies and by X-ray diffraction studies that were used to calculate possible electron density profiles for each bilayer. A model is presented which shows the probable arrangement of the aggregated glucocerebroside molecules.
Phosphorescence studies of some heterocyclic and related organic compounds

Abstract The phosphorescence spectra of seven heterocyclic and related conjugated organic compounds in rigid glass solutions (EPA) have been photographed. The compounds are indence, indole, thianaphthene, fluorene, carbazole, dibenzofuran, and dibenzothiopehne. The luminescence is attributed to transitions between the lowest triplet level of each molecule and its ground state. Studies of four other compounds, namely cyclopentadiene, pyrrole, furan, and thiophene, showed that, within the limitations of the experiment, they do not phosphoresce. No evidence of n → π transitions has been found in any of the cases studied. Analyses of the spectra of six of the seven compounds which do phosphoresce are possible on the basis of vibrations known from Raman and infrared measurements. While diffuseness and frequency shifts, due to the different states of aggregation in which measurements are performed, inflict uncertainties in the correlations between phosphorescence and Raman/infrared values, generally very good internal consistencies in the analyses are found. Visual observations of lifetimes for the phosphorescence spectra show that they are in the region between 0.1 and 15 seconds. The lifetimes are usually observed to be in an inverse relationship with the mass of the heaviest atom in each of the molecules, as is to be expected from known spin-orbit interaction effects.
Impact of influenza on the functional status of frail older persons

Abstract Background: Little is known regarding the impact of influenza on functional status. We report an ongoing body of work to assess functional decline following influenza among older patients in nursing home and hospital settings. Methods: In nursing homes, a case-comparison design was used. One hundred and sixteen residents who developed influenza-like illness (ILI) during laboratory confirmed outbreaks of influenza A/H3N2 served as cases; 127 residents without ILI served as the comparison subjects. Measures of functional status before outbreak and 4 months after outbreak were collected from medical records. Matched pairs analyses were conducted to ascertain changes in measures of functional status. Results: Among case and comparison subjects, 25% and 16%, respectively, experienced decline in at least one major function (p=0.04) including bathing, dressing and mobility for a net 9% or 1 patient in 10 with decline attributable to influenza. Conclusion: Decline in major physical functions constitutes an important new and costly measure of impact of influenza on the frail elderly. A comparison study of functional decline among elders hospitalized with pneumonia during influenza season, involving 300 cases and 300 controls, is in the planning stages.
Toward quality of security service in a resource management system benefit function

Enforcement of a high-level statement of security policy may be difficult to discern when mapped through functional requirements to a myriad of possible security services and mechanisms in a highly complex, networked environment. A method for articulating network security functional requirements, and their fulfillment, is presented. Using this method, security in a quality of service framework is discussed in terms of "variant" security mechanisms and dynamic security policies. For illustration, it is shown how this method can be used to represent Quality of Security Service (QoSS) in a network scheduler benefit function.
pySolo: a complete suite for sleep analysis in Drosophila

Summary: pySolo is a multiplatform software for analysis of sleep and locomotor activity in Drosophila melanogaster. pySolo provides a user-friendly graphic interface and it has been developed with the specific aim of being accessible, portable, fast and easily expandable through an intuitive plug-in structure. Support for development of additional plug-ins is provided through a community website. Availability: Software and documentation are located at http://www.pysolo.net. pySolo is a free software released under the GNU General Public License.
In Vitro Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae Colonization of Human Airway Epithelium

ABSTRACT Mycoplasma pneumoniae is an important cause of respiratory disease, especially in school-age children and young adults. We employed normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells in air-liquid interface culture to study the interaction of M. pneumoniae with differentiated airway epithelium. These airway cells, when grown in air-liquid interface culture, polarize, form tight junctions, produce mucus, and develop ciliary function. We examined both qualitatively and quantitatively the role of mycoplasma gliding motility in the colonization pattern of developing airway cells, comparing wild-type M. pneumoniae and mutants thereof with moderate to severe defects in gliding motility. Adherence assays with radiolabeled mycoplasmas demonstrated a dramatic reduction in binding for all strains with airway cell polarization, independent of acquisition of mucociliary function. Adherence levels dropped further once NHBE cells achieved terminal differentiation, with mucociliary activity strongly selecting for full gliding competence. Analysis over time by confocal microscopy demonstrated a distinct colonization pattern that appeared to originate primarily with ciliated cells, but lateral spread from the base of the cilia was slower than expected. The data support a model in which the mucociliary apparatus impairs colonization yet cilia provide a conduit for mycoplasma access to the host cell surface and suggest acquisition of a barrier function, perhaps associated with tethered mucin levels, with NHBE cell polarization.
Delay in invasive risk stratification of women with acute coronary syndrome is associated with worse outcomes.

Invasive risk stratification in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has been shown to improve outcomes. There is paucity of data on women undergoing invasive risk stratification. We investigated whether the time to coronary angiography affects survival of female patients admitted with ACS. Female patients admitted to the coronary intensive care unit with ACS between 1/1/97 and 12/31/00 and undergoing coronary angiography during same hospitalization were divided into three groups based on the time to angiography: same day, 1–2 days and >2 days. The baseline clinical features, angiography results and outcomes were compared between the angiography groups. Of the total 350 female patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 63% underwent angiography within two days of presentation. Three year mortality rates in women undergoing angiography on the same day, 1–2 days and >2-days were 7%, 7% and 22% respectively (p = 0.001). Using multivariate analysis, angiography beyond 2 days was a significant predictor of mortality among women (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3–5.0, p = 0.006) after adjusting for confounding variables. Later invasive risk stratification after 2 days of presentation in women with ACS is associated with worse survivial. Gender should not be a reason to defer early coronary angiography in these patients.
Synthesis, structure, spectroscopy and redox energetics of a series of uranium(IV) mixed-ligand metallocene complexes

Abstract A series of uranium(IV) mixed-ligand amide–halide/pseudohalide complexes (C5Me5)2U[N(SiMe3)2](X) (X = F (1), Cl (2), Br (3), I (4), N3 (5), NCO (6)), (C5Me5)2U(NPh2)(X) (X = Cl (7), N3 (8)), and (C5Me5)2U[N(Ph)(SiMe3)](X) (X = Cl (9), N3 (10)) have been prepared by one electron oxidation of the corresponding uranium(III) amide precursors using either copper halides, silver isocyanate, or triphenylphosphine gold(I)azide. Agostic U⋯H–C interactions and η3-(N,C,C′) coordination are observed for these complexes in both the solid-state and solution. There is a linear correlation between the chemical shift values of the C5Me5 ligand protons in the 1H NMR spectra and the UIV/UIII reduction potentials of the (C5Me5)2U[N(SiMe3)2](X) complexes, suggesting that there is a common origin, that is overall σ-/π-donation from the ancillary (X) ligand to the metal, contributing to both observables. Optical spectroscopy of the series of complexes 1–6 is dominated by the (C5Me5)2U[N(SiMe3)2] core, with small variations derived from the identity of the halide/pseudohalide. The considerable π-donating ability of the fluoride ligand is reflected in both the electrochemistry and UV-visible-NIR spectroscopic behavior of the fluoride complex (C5Me5)2U[N(SiMe3)2](F) (1). The syntheses of the new trivalent uranium amide complex, (C5Me5)2U[N(Ph)(SiMe3)](THF), and the two new weakly-coordinating electrolytes, [Pr4N][B{3,5-(CF3)2C6H3}4] and [Pr4N][B(C6F5)4], are also reported.
REGULATORY AUTHORITY AFFECTING AMERICAN DRUG TRIALS: ROLE OF THE HOSPITAL PHARMACIST

Clinical drug trials in the United States are influenced by many regulatory and policy–recommending organizations, chief among them are institutional review boards, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and the pharmaceutical industry.The hospital pharmacist's role is a multifaceted one ranging from protocol authorship and primary investigator status to support of institutional research programs. The latter encompasses such activities as ordering, storing, preparing, packaging, labeling, and dispensing clinical research drugs, providing investigational drug information to other health professionals associated with a particular study, and maintaining appropriate drug use accountability records. Development and maintenance of a hospital–wide quality assurance or quality improvement program as well as the provision of clinical pharmacy services to research subjec...
Dadta III: An on-Line Computerized System for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior:

A fully computerized, low-cost behavioral testing device is described which has been in continuous operation for 3 yr. Named DADTA III (Discrimination Apparatus for Discrete Trial Analysis) it is c...
The Role of Psychological Climate in Neutralizing the Effects of Organizational Politics on Work Outcomes

The present study examined the moderating impact of psychological climate on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and both commitment and turnover intent. Data were gathered from 131 restaurant employees who completed surveys at work. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a 6-factor conceptualization (supportive management, role clarity, contribution, recognition, self-expression, and challenge) provided the most adequate model representation of the psychological climate construct. Results indicate that politics perceptions interacted with each climate factor (with the exception of challenge) in predicting commitment. Conversely, politics perceptions interacted only with supportive management and self-expression to predict turnover intent. Implications for theoretical development and empirical research in this domain are provided.
Efficient compilation of process-based concurrent programs without run-time scheduling

Currently, run-time operating systems are widely used to implement concurrent embedded applications. This run-time approach to multi-tasking and inter-process communication can introduce significant overhead to execution times and memory requirements -- prohibitive in many cases for embedded applications where processor and memory resources are scarce. In this paper, we present a static compilation approach that generates ordinary C programs at compile-time that can be readily retargeted to different processors, without including or generating a run-time scheduler. Our method is based on a novel Petri net theoretic approach.
Stubble height effects on seasonal microclimate, water balance, and plant development of no-till winter wheat

Abstract To investigate some of the effects of standing stubble on microclimate and on the energy and water balance in relation to plant development, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was seeded directly into spring wheat stubble of three heights: 0 (bare), 15–19, and 30–35 cm. The soil near Sidney, Montana was Williams loam (fine-loamy mixed, frigid family of Typic Argiborolls) a bench mark soil for dryland cropping in the northern Great Plains of the U.S.A. Total wind passage at 9 cm above ground level was 1.5 and 5 times greater over bare as compared with that over short and tall stubble, respectively. Snow accumulation after a late winter storm was 2 and 4 times greater on short and tall stubble treatments, respectively, than on the bare plots. The first overwinter soil recharge was 3 cm more on both stubble treatments, a difference that persisted throughout the growing season. The second overwinter recharge was ca. 1.5 and 4 cm more on short and tall treatments, respectively. Midday net radiation was as much as 15% higher over the bare treatment in the fall and varied from 5 to 11% lower over the bare treatment in the spring, as compared with that over stubble. Stubble albedo was as much as 1.5 times greater than bare albedo in the fall; differences in the spring were small. On heating days, maximum soil surface temperatures were as much as 10°C higher on bare as compared with stubble treatments and soil heat flow as much as 30% greater on bare as compared with stubble treatments; on freezing days, heat flow differences were small.
Application of the linear dispersion relation with respect to depth inversion and remotely sensed imagery

Remote sensing methods have been developed to estimate bathymetry through the use of a theoretical relationship between wave speed and water depth known as the linear, finite depth, dispersion equation for surface gravity waves. The authors describe a validation effort encompassing several hundred observations of wavenumber magnitude for sea-swell frequencies obtained over a wide variety of conditions to investigate possible error sources resulting from the practical application of this relationship. These wavenumber estimates were computed from pressure gauge signals using signal processing algorithms that can be equivalently applied to measurements of wave phase as imaged through remote sensors. The major goal was to determine the accuracy of the dispersion relation while attempting to minimize errors associated with sensor positioning, tidal variations, and Doppler shifts due to mean currents. For water depths outside the surf zone, the linear dispersion relation is highly accurate, with average depth estimation errors on the order of 3-9% of the observed depth. In shallower regions, nominally less than 4 m for this field site, where wave breaking is evident and nonlinear shoaling effects are more pronounced, normalized depth errors of over 50% were commonly observed with most predictions being deeper than observations. Strong correlation between these bias errors and measured wave heights emphasizes the importance of accounting for wave amplitude in the calculation of shallow water phase speeds for depth estimation. A simple depth correction is provided to allow for bathymetry estimation within the surf zone.
Judicial Review of Psychiatric Admissions: The Clinical Impact on Child and Adolescent Inpatients

Abstract This paper details and evaluates five years of clinical experience with judicial review, a process now utilized in several states by which the parental admission of children and adolescents to psychiatric facilities is examined and sanctioned or denied in courtroom proceedings. The social and constitutional issues, including the 1979 Supreme Court decision, are reviewed and the clinical by-products of hearings, as they affect children, their parents, treatment personnel, and treatment units, are examined at some length. The paper concludes with recommendations for alternatives to the adversarial hearing and suggests measures to neutralize potentially destructive outcomes.
Incomplete LU preconditioning for large scale dense complex linear systems from electromagnetic wave scattering problems

We consider the preconditioned iterative solution of large dense linear systems, where the coefficient matrix is a complex valued matrix arising from discretizing the integral equation of electromagnetic scattering. For some scattering structures this matrix can be poorly conditioned. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of a class of incomplete LU (ILU) factorization preconditioners for solving this type of matrices. We solve the electromagnetic wave equations using the BiCG method with an ILU preconditioner in the context of a multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA). The novelty of this work is that the ILU preconditioner as constructed using the near part block diagonal submatrices generated from the MLFMA. Experimental results show that the ILU preconditioner reduces the number of BiCG iterations substantially, compared to the block diagonal preconditioner. The preconditioned iteration scheme also maintains the computational complexity of the MLFMA, and consequently reduces the total CPU time.
TELOMERE LENGTH REGULATION

Telomeres are the components of chromosome ends that provide stability and allow the complete replication of the ends. Telomere length is maintained by a balance between processes that lengthen and those that shorten telomeres. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein polymerase that specifically elongates telomeres. In human cells telomere length is not maintained and telomerase is not active in some tissues. In tumors, however, telomerase is active and may be required for the growth of cancer cells. Thus understanding telomerase and telomere length regulation may help us understand tumor progression. Evidence from various organisms suggests that several factors influence telomere length regulation, such as telomere binding proteins, telomere capping proteins, telomerase, and DNA replication enzymes. Understanding how these factors interact to coordinate the regulation of telomere length will allow a more complete understanding of telomere function in the cell.
Generic Characteristics of Chrysopodes (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), with New Larval Descriptions and a Review of Species from the United States and Canada

Many of the adult features that are considered diagnostic for Chrysopodes occur in other New World chrysopid genera; a stable and phylogenetically significant generic classification requires additional definitive characters. The current study demonstrates a number of morphological characters in the larvae that provide strong evidence for the validity of the genus and also provide a foundation for broadening and refining the definition of the genus. For example, the absence of a gonapsis no longer serves as a diagnostic character for Chrysopodes. Moreover, based primarily on larval characteristics but also on adult features, the widely distributed Nearctic species Ceraeochrysa placita (Banks) is now transferred to Chrysopodes. Finally, the manuscript reviews the systematics of the two Chrysopodes species reported from the United States; the adults are characterized and illustrated, the larvae are described, and biological data are presented.
Development of an Integrated Multiplexed Low Coherence Interferometer and Fluorescence Clinical Endoscope

The performance of a novel clinical endoscope with integrated multiplexed LCI and fluorescence measurements is evaluated. Feasibility and accuracy for measuring microbicidal gel distribution and thickness in the vaginal tract will be assessed.
Minimizing tardiness and maintenance costs in flow shop scheduling by a lower-bound-based GA

We model a new extension of flow shop and maintenance scheduling as MILP.We propose a lower-bound-based genetic algorithm (LBGA) as a new solution approach.We conduct a factorial experiment and gap analysis for tuning the GA.Only population size is statistically significant in affecting quality of solutions.An optimal population size for one problem size is acceptable for all problem sizes. A permutation flow shop scheduling problem is reformulated as a mixed-integer linear program after incorporating flexible and diverse maintenance activities for minimizing total tardiness and maintenance costs. The terms "flexible" and "diverse" mean that the maintenance activities are not required to perform following fixed and predetermined time intervals, and there can be different types of maintenance activities for each machine. The problem is proved to be NP-hard and a lower bound for the problem is proposed. A lower-bound-based genetic algorithm (LBGA) is presented, in which the algorithm parameters are first tested through a factorial experiment to identify the statistically significant parameters. The LBGA algorithm self-tunes these parameters for its performance improvement based on the solution gap from the lower bound. While it is experienced that only the population size is statistically significant in improving the quality of solutions, through a computational experiment it is also shown that an optimal population size for one problem size yields the same quality of solutions for larger sizes of problems and increasing the population size beyond the optimal size for larger sizes of problems will only negatively affects the efficiency of the algorithm. Computational results that show efficiency and effectiveness of the algorithm are also provided.
Number of Factors Obtained by Chance: A Simulation Study

This simulation study examines the effects of sample size, number of initial variables, and scale range on the number of factors extracted due to chance correlation. The ANOVA results indicate that sample size has a positive, and number of variables a negative effect on the number of factors extracted. The scale range, however, has no direct effect. Instead, it acts as a covariate.
The 2014–2015 U.S. Snow Report: The Northeast Steals the Snow

Much like the previous year, the 2014–2015 snow season across the coterminous United States included a snow drought in the west and an abundance of snow further east. In particular, this season fea...
old DOI - 10.1109/MAHC.2015.42 EH Good DOI - 10.1109/MAHC.2015.1-EH "There is no saturation Point in Education": Inside IBM's Sales School, 1970s-1980s

old 10.1109/MAHC.2015.42 - Good DOI - 10.1109/MAHC.2015.1-EH The author was both a student and an instructor in IBM's training program for newly hired salesmen in the 1970s and 1980s. He describes the training these new hires received, focusing on Sales School, IBM's longest running training program.
karma : An Indian Theory of Work

Industrial and organizational psychology is one of the branches of psychology that is dedicated to the study of work and work-related psychological variables. Other areas of psychology that also cover work-related issues include human factor studies, occupational psychology, and social psychology. Work is also central to human identity, a topic that is discussed in a wide variety of literature covering psychology, sociology, political science, and literary studies (Erez & Earley, 1993; Haslam, Ellemers, Platow, & Knippenberg, 2003; Thomas, Mills, & Helms-Mills, 2004). Work leads to social stratification, which has interested sociologists from the early days of the discipline, and Weber referred to work-related stratification as the merchant class. In more recent times, countries like the USA are stratified completely on the basis of the nature of work done by people (Beeghley, 2004; Gilbert, 2002; Thompson & Hickey, 2005). Psychologists have also been interested in studying work values and cultural differences in them from various perspectives and have explored and captured various shades in the meaning of work.
A multi-dimensional extension of Sylvester’s identity

We obtain by combinatorial means, a multi-dimensional extension of Sylvester’s famous identity of 1882 that generalized Euler’s Pentagonal Numbers Theorem. We also provide a purely q-hypergeometric...
The Drama of Fear

Fear has dramatic significance for the human actor. Like the body’s immune system, fear defends the person from physical, social, and even cosmic dangers. Fears seem to be given, automatic, but also acquired through painful experiences. Fears are easily generalized and are often enduring. Fears often are institutionalized and presented as codified social regulations. Fears are part of the positive emotional bouquet of life, for they provide the material for thrills, adventures, and delightful surprises. They can also be crippling, as they develop easily into phobias or descend into an abject terror. Death can be a source of such terror, or can be approached with courage, depending entirely upon the dramatic context in which it is conceived.
Portable PVenergy conversion system suitable for educational purposes; part 1: Pollution reduction rate and reactive power delivery estimation

This paper is the first part of a three-part consecutive series regarding the design of a new portable photovoltaic (PV) generation system used for teaching the energy conversion process of a real PV system. This design is to comply with a national effort known as the SunShot initiative which aims to leverage the awareness of renewable resources, particularly PV generation systems. The experimental set for this design includes a PV panel, an inverter, a typical load, two MyDAQs as the data acquisition system, a laptop to run the LabVIEW program, and a 32" TV monitor to display the results. To be suitable for educational purposes, the system is designed to show three aspects of the system: pollution reduction rate, power conversion process, and the axillary services that a real PV generation system can offer to the grid. This paper particularly presents three objectives: 1) design the PV-powered cart, 2) analyze the pollution reduction capability, and 3) estimate the amount of reactive power available to be delivered to the grid. The specifications of the materials used for this design are presented along with the developed program used under Lab VIEW to visualize those aspects. The impact of this design on leveraging the awareness of PV generation system is significant, particularly for the next generation workforce of the power industry.
Thresher: Determining the Number of Clusters While Removing Outliers

Cluster analysis is the most common unsupervised method for finding hidden groups in data. Clustering presents two main challenges: (1) finding the optimal number of clusters, and (2) removing “outliers” among the objects being clustered. Few clustering algorithms currently deal directly with the outlier problem. Furthermore, existing methods for identifying the number of clusters still have some drawbacks. Thus, there is a need for a better algorithm to tackle both challenges. We present a new approach, implemented in an R package called Thresher, to cluster objects in general datasets. Thresher combines ideas from principal component analysis, outlier filtering, and von Mises-Fisher mixture models in order to select the optimal number of clusters. We performed a large Monte Carlo simulation study to compare Thresher with other methods for detecting outliers and determining the number of clusters. We found that Thresher had good sensitivity and specificity for detecting and removing outliers. We also found that Thresher is the best method for estimating the optimal number of clusters when the number of objects being clustered is smaller than the number of variables used for clustering. Finally, we applied Thresher and eleven other methods to 25 sets of breast cancer data downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus; only Thresher consistently estimated the number of clusters to lie in the range of 4–7 that is consistent with the literature. Thresher is effective at automatically detecting and removing outliers. By thus cleaning the data, it produces better estimates of the optimal number of clusters when there are more variables than objects. When we applied Thresher to a variety of breast cancer datasets, it produced estimates that were both self-consistent and consistent with the literature. We expect Thresher to be useful for studying a wide variety of biological datasets.
Deposition patterns on the Chukchi shelf using radionuclide inventories in relation to surface sediment characteristics

Abstract Forty sediment cores collected on the Chukchi shelf and adjacent portions of the East Siberian Sea have been assayed for the sedimentation tracer 137Cs and 34 were also assayed for 210Pb. While both sedimentation and bioturbation influence how these tracers are distributed vertically in sediment cores, only about half of the cores had distinct, single mid-depth or subsurface maximum activity peaks associated with 137Cs originating from bomb fallout. For the same reasons, only 14 of the 34 cores assayed showed a consistent decline in excess sedimentary 210Pb with depth in the core. Furthermore, sedimentation rate estimates from 210Pb assays were only consistent with estimated 137Cs sedimentation rates in 4 of the 14 cores from north of Bering Strait. A high degree of bioturbation on the shelf is primarily responsible for these patterns, but the influence of sedimentation on vertical profiles is also important, particularly in areas of low accumulation where shallow burial of maximum burdens of 137Cs in high current areas such as Herald Canyon can be observed. Shallow burial of radiocesium is also observed in comparatively low sedimentation areas such as Hanna Shoal, on the northeast Chukchi Shelf. By contrast, elsewhere on the northeast Chukchi Shelf and in productive benthic “hotspots,” the stronger influence of bioturbation leads to radiocesium that is more evenly distributed vertically within sediments, i.e., no distinct mid- or subsurface depth maximum activity associated with bomb fallout. These sediment profiles of radiocesium reflect several other sediment characteristics that are affected by current flow. These sediment characteristics in turn impact biological activity, including grain size, carbon to nitrogen ratios of the organic fraction of surface sediments and total organic carbon content. The distribution patterns of the radionuclides, particularly the depth where 137Cs reaches maximum activity, reflects sedimentation under both quiescent and strong currents. The activity of 137Cs at that depth of maximum activity provide insights on how much the vertical distribution of the radionuclide has been impacted by bioturbation, as well as the characteristics of the sediments that play a role in influencing deposition and total inventories of radiocesium on continental shelves.
Understanding site selection of for-profit educational management organization charter schools

The rise of for-profit EMOs often becomes evidence of substantial shifts in the governance of education, through which schooling may become privatized and commercialized. This study is designed to understand the economic behavior of for-profit educational management organization charter schools, by focusing on their site selection decisions as a critical factor in making a profit. Using the locations of for-profit EMO charter schools in Michigan, the study examines determinants of the location decision on charter school markets, with the choice set of potential school districts. This research finds changes of the odds ratio in the percentage of for-profit EMO charter schools, logged expenditures per pupil, and in the proportions of African-American populations, populations who have experienced higher education, and unemployed populations. Provided that for-profit EMO charter schools make a site selection decision according to areas with certain characteristics, the spatial disparity of access to charter schools can raise issues concerning unequal educational opportunities.
Red: Racism and the American Indian

How does racism work in American Indian law and policy? Scholarship on the subject has too often assumed that racism works for Indians in the same way that it does for African Americans, and has therefore either emphasized the presence of hallmarks of White-Black racism, such as uses of blood quantum, as evidence of racism, or has emphasized the lack of such hallmarks, such as prohibitions on interracial marriage, to argue that racism is not a significant factor. This Article surveys the different eras of Indian-White interaction to argue that racism has been important in those interactions, but has worked in a distinctive way. North Americans were not primarily concerned with using Indian people as a source of labor, and therefore did not have to theorize Indians as inferior individuals to control that labor. Rather, the primary concern was to obtain tribal resources and use tribes as a flattering foil for American governments. Therefore it was necessary to theorize tribal societies as fatally and racially inferior, while emphasizing the ability of Indian individuals to leave their societies and join non-Indian ones. This theory addresses the odd paradox that the most unquestionably racist eras in Indian-White interaction emphasized and encouraged assimilation of Indian individuals. It contributes to the ongoing effort to understand the varying manifestations of racism in a multi-racial America. Most important, it provides a new perspective on efforts to curtail tribal sovereignty in the name of racial equality, revealing their connection to historic efforts to maintain the inferiority of Indian tribes by treating them as racial groups rather than political entities with governmental rights.
Diversity of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Head and Neck Cancer: Cancer Stem Cells, Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition, and Tumor Microenvironment

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is increasingly recognized for its roles in head and neck cancer, a devastating malignancy that presents primarily as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Wnt/β-catenin signaling impacts multiple cellular processes that endow cancer cells with the ability to maintain and expand immature stemlike phenotypes and proliferate, extend cancer cell survival, and promote aggressive characteristics resulting from loss of epithelial features and adoption of mesenchymal traits. A central component of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway is β-catenin, which balances a role as a structural component of cadherin junctions with function as a transcriptional coactivator of numerous target genes. While β-catenin is not frequently mutated in HNSCC, its activity is enhanced by some of the more common HNSCC mutations in NOTCH1, FAT1, and AJUBA. The impact of β-catenin on a wide range of epigenetic, transcriptional, and cellular processes is mediated by its interaction with numerous transcription factors, as well as with a multitude of transcriptional coactivators and corepressors, in a cell- and tissue-context-dependent manner. In addition, intrinsic β-catenin activity plays important roles in the tumor microenvironment and thus regulates extracellular matrix remodeling and immune response. Lastly, Wnt/β-catenin signaling collaborates with, and converges on, other signaling and metabolic pathways and cellular processes that modulate outputs of its activity. Unraveling the complex circuitries of Wnt/β-catenin signaling will facilitate its effective targeting for HNSCC therapy.