cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Special session paper 3D nanosystems enable embedded abundant-data computing

The world’s appetite for abundant-data computing, where a massive amount of structured and unstructured data is analyzed, has increased dramatically. The computational demands of these applications, such as deep learning, far exceed the capabilities of today’s systems, especially for energy-constrained embedded systems (e.g., mobile systems with limited battery capacity). These demands are unlikely to be met by isolated improvements in transistor or memory technologies, or integrated circuit (IC) architectures alone. Transformative nanosystems, which leverage the unique properties of emerging nanotechnologies to create new IC architectures, are required to deliver unprecedented functionality, performance, and energy efficiency. We show that the projected energy efficiency benefits of domain-specific 3D nanosystems is in the range of 1,000x (quantified using the product of system-level energy consumption and execution time) over today's domain-specific 2D systems with off-chip DRAM. Such a drastic improvement is key to enabling new capabilities such as deep learning in embedded systems.
Peer Play as a Context for Identifying Profiles of Children and Examining Rates of Growth in Academic Readiness for Children Enrolled in Head Start.

Research has shown that early interventions are most successful when they have a comprehensive focus that is individualized to children’s needs. The present study employed a person-centered approach to identify profiles, or subgroups, of children displaying early patterns of peer play behaviors in an ethnically and linguistically diverse Head Start program, and examined the academic trajectories of these children during one school year. Four profile groups were identified, and analyses revealed that these profiles were invariant across ethnicity and dual language learner status. Most children were represented in a group who engaged in behaviors that facilitated peer interactions. These children had the highest academic skills across the preschool year. Interestingly, children in a profile characterized by a combination of play interaction skills and play disruption had the second highest academic skills throughout the year compared with children in a profile characterized by below-average play interaction skills but low disruptive behavior during play. A small number of children were represented in a profile characterized by low interactive, disconnected, and high disruptive behavior with peers and had the lowest academic skills throughout the year. The mean differences in academic skills across profiles of peer play behaviors remained the same across the year. These findings have implications for future research and educational practice surrounding the role of peer play in the Head Start classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Identification of the new chymotrypsin inhibitor micropeptin 996 by metabolomics-guided analysis

Abstract An untargeted metabolomics approach was used to investigate a cultured strain of Microcystis aeruginosa (UTEX LB2386) known to be a prolific producer of a diverse class of cyanopeptides. Identification of a putative new compound with a molecular weight of 996 led to the purification and structure elucidation of this new member of the micropeptin class of cyanopeptides. Micropeptin 996 displayed potent inhibition of the serine protease enzyme chymotrypisin relative to structurally related members of this class.
Magnetic activated carbon as a sustainable solution for removal of micropollutants from water

A new hydrothermal method was developed to prepare magnetic activated carbon nanocomposite to remove six micropollutants (Triclosan, Bisphenol-A, Tonalide, Metolachlor, Ketoprofen and Estriol) from water. These emerging pollutants are mainly coming from anthropogenic sources. Results indicated that the synthesized magnetic activated carbon was successfully used as a separable adsorbent for removing the micropollutants from water. Adsorption results were modeled by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, which showed a better fit of data to the Langmuir model. The adsorbent showed good adsorption performance in which Bisphenol-A and Tonalide were the most effectively removed compounds, with 96 and 93% removal using 0.35 mg of the adsorbent within 40 min in a 50-mL sealed glass vial, respectively. Sedimentation studies were performed to compare the settleability of the adsorbent with powdered activated carbon revealing the superiority of the adsorbent. Thermodynamics of the adsorption of the micropollutants onto the magnetic activated carbon showed the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. Adsorbent regeneration studies were performed with methanol, ethanol, HCl, NaOH and H2O2 in five regeneration cycles. Methanol treatment ensured the highest level of restoration. Overall, the adsorbent can be used as a sustainable treatment to remove studied micropollutants from aqueous solutions.
Uncertainty analysis: influence of hydraulic fracturing on overlying aquifers in the presence of leaky abandoned wells

Model uncertainty analysis can quantify uncertainty both prior to calibration and postcalibration if the calibration dataset appropriately informs parameter estimates and model predictions. In certain cases calibration data (observations or measurements) may not be immediately apparent, but calibration datasets can be developed from related data for model interrogation and quantification and minimization of uncertainty. This study applies a series of techniques to investigate uncertainty in a simple numerical model of upward flow (leakage) through an abandoned oil and gas well converted into a water well in hydraulically fractured shale. Model calibration was achieved by developing a limited calibration dataset from well-specific measurements at a horizontal well in the Eagle Ford Shale play. Uncertainty in the calibrated model was interrogated using sensitivity, linear, and nonlinear analyses available in the PEST suite. Sensitivity analysis suggests that flowback after hydraulic fracturing could be crucial in reducing leakage. Linear analyses indicate horizontal-well production rates and long-term reservoir pressures are valuable measurements to collect when evaluating potential leakage. Nonlinear analyses identify the range in predictive uncertainty of potential leakage. The results underscore the need to evaluate and include additional types of well data in public records, such as flowback and produced water volumes. Overall, the results of this study illustrate the utility of uncertainty analyses with a limited calibration dataset applied to a simple model.
Interpolation of Multidimensional Potential Surfaces by Polynomial Roots

Quantum mechanical calculations produce potential energy surfaces in the form of values of the energy E(q) at many geometries. The components of the vector q = q(q1, q2,...qd) are parameters which define the molecular geometry, and d is the total number of internal degrees of freedom defining the nuclear configuration space. This pointwise representation of the surface is rarely of much use either in visualization of the surface or in calculations of the reaction dynamics. A continuous representation can be derived from the given points by fitting a function to them. While the form of the function is at the disposal of the researcher, the effort required to obtain a given accuracy of fit can depend strongly on the functional form chosen. Several classes of functions have been used in interpolations, e.g., cubic splines,1 polynomials,2 Pade approximants,3 and ad hoc functions suggested by the physics of the problem.4,5 None of these, except perhaps the last, are particularly suited to the representation of potential surfaces in that these surfaces are not of the same form as the fitting function. For example, polynomials are not bounded as their arguments go to plus or minus infinity, have a fixed number of extrema and inflection points, and cannot be multi-valued as can potential surfaces if more than one state of the molecule in question is considered.
Atypical Inheritance: New Horizons for Neurology

New mechanisms of inheritance are described and illustrated in neurologic disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Prader-Willi syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Steinert myotonic dystrophy, and Zellweger syndrome. Novel genetic mechanisms include contiguous gene deletion, somatic mosaicism, genomic imprinting, triplet repeat expansion, and assembly disorders that violate the one-gene-one- enzyme hypothesis.
Foundations of Superconductivity and Extension to Less-Common Systems

The review of fundamentals of the microscopic theory of superconductivity, as a whole, serves to the purpose to elicit a knowledge about theoretical results and qualitative statements which would be robust enough to allow a judgment regarding the nature of superconductivity in such uncommon superconductors, as cuprates or superconductors of the Heavy Fermion family.
Family management and child development: Insights from social disorganization theory.

One of the most central and durable facts produced by the classic research of Shaw and McKay earlier in this century was that communities characterized by high rates of crime and delinquency are also plagued by high rates of infant mortality, low birthweight, tuberculosis, child abuse, and other detrimental aspects of child development. Indeed, Shaw and McKay argued that delinquency “is not an isolated phenomenon” (1969, 106) and went on to document the close association of delinquency rates with social problems that directly influence children. This empirical finding has remained remarkably stable over time. As but one recent example, Wallace and Wallace (1990) document that rates of violent death across communities in New York City are virtually coterminous with rates of low birthweight and infant mortality.
Determining the Associations between Dietetic-Related Activities and Undergraduate Dietetic Students’ General Cultural Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs

Background: As required by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, undergraduate dietetic programs need to include classroom learning activities to support cultural competence among dietetic students. Though these activities vary in terms of type, length, and engagement, it is not known the impact these activities have on students’ general knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) towards cultural aspects. Therefore, the study’s purpose was two-fold: (1) validate a general cultural KAB instrument for dietetic students, and (2) determine associations among dietetic-related cultural activities and students’ KAB. Methods: A general KAB instrument was developed based on a literature review and dietetic curriculum. The original instrument (34 items) consisted of two dimensions (i.e., knowledge and attitudes/beliefs) that was reviewed by content matter experts (n = 4) and a focus group with dietetic graduate students (n = 6), resulting in a 41-item tool. This instrument was further piloted in a diverse population of undergraduate dietetic students across the United States. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Cronbach alpha (α) for internal consistency were conducted. Multiple linear regressions and Spearman correlation analyses determined associations between demographics, activities, and KAB scores. Statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05. Results: Students (n = 187) completed the questionnaire. From the EFA, the Knowledge dimension included 12 items and the Attitudes/Beliefs dimension included 10 items. Internal consistency for the overall instrument (α = 0.86), Knowledge (α = 0.93), and Attitudes/Beliefs (α = 0.74) was high. Students’ cultural knowledge was associated (r = 0.30; p < 0.05) with cultural-related activities. Similarly, students who had lived or studied abroad had better attitudes and beliefs towards cultural aspects. Conclusions: The KAB had good validity. Cultural learning activities enhanced cultural knowledge, however to a lesser extent influenced the attitudes and beliefs of dietetic students.
EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REGULATION OF AGING

Aging is accompanied by a decline in the regenerative potential of most tissues. The mammalian brain contains regenerative neurogenic niches composed of neural stem cells (NSCs), neural progenitors, and other cells, including microglia, and endothelial cells. Neurogenic niches become less functional with increasing age. This deterioration could underlie cognitive and sensory restriction with age, although the exact age at which it occurs is still debated in humans. How the neurogenic niche changes during aging, and whether new cell types arise in older individuals, is not known. Our lab has embarked on a global characterization of the neurogenic niche during aging. This work provides a global understanding of the old neurogenic niche and suggests possible cause for NSC decline during aging. Results from these studies could open new avenues to counter age-related decline in the neurogenic niche and brain aging.
Investigating β-lactam drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis using chemical probes

Tuberculosis is a deadly disease that requires a flexible arsenal of drugs to treat it. Although β-lactam antibiotics are rarely used to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections today, the targets of these drugs are present in the bacterium. Moreover, the cell wall peptidoglycan of Mtb contains an abundance of unusual (3 → 3) cross-links. These cross-links are formed by enzymes called L,D-transpeptidases, which are susceptible to inhibition by the carbapenem class of antibiotics. We developed new small molecule probes to investigate the L,D-transpeptidases and other β-lactam drug targets in Mtb. We synthesized probes based on three classes of antibiotics, a monobactam, cephalosporin, and carbapenem. For the carbapenem, we synthesized a meropenem analogue conjugated to a far-red fluorophore. This probe was particularly useful in identifying active L,D-transpeptidases in protein gel-resolved lysates. Next we analyzed β-lactam targets in lysates from both hypoxic and actively-replicating cultures of Mtb. We identified numerous targets, including transpeptidases, carboxypeptidases, and the β-lactamase BlaC. Overall, we provide evidence that Mtb dynamically regulates the enzymes responsible for maintaining cell wall peptidoglycan and that meropenem is a good inhibitor of those enzymes.
Journalism as an Advocacy Tool: Negotiating Boundaries of Professionalism in the 20th-Century American Environmental Movement:

Environmental nongovernmental organizations faced unprecedented opportunities after public interest in environmental issues exploded in the 1960s. Drawing on the official archives of the Wilderness...
"Stop the Bleed" Education Assessment Tool (SBEAT): Development and Validation.

As part of the national Stop the Bleed campaign in the United States, more than a million people have received bleeding control training through the work of many organizations. These public and professional educational experiences are ideally grounded in health sciences, clinical, and educational evidence to be most effective. However, there is currently no standard tool for evaluating the educational quality of these programs. We developed and validated the Stop the Bleed Education Assessment Tool (SBEAT) to provide a standard measure of life-threatening bleeding educational programs knowledge learning outcomes to aid in evaluation and development of this public health program. The SBEAT development included medical, clinical, and educational experts to derive and validate learning outcomes. Specific item writing incorporated focus groups for input on language and then pilot testing before a full community pilot test established a data set, for which a Rasch methodology was applied. The resulting tool used 34 items embedded in 19 survey questions, with item separation statistic of 5.56 (0.97 reliability) and person separation statistic of 2.09 (0.81 reliability) for 171 persons. Overall, the Cronbach Alpha (KR-20) person score "test reliability" equaled 0.85 (SEM = 2.24). The SBEAT project establishes a standardized assessment tool to evaluate the cognitive aspects of first aid for life threatening bleeding. Comparison of outcomes from different teaching styles and methods will allow for the development of best practices for future bleeding control education and help organizations demonstrate value to learners, funders, and policy makers, and advance health sciences education. SBEAT offers a measure for which educational efficiency and efficacy can be judged within a larger effort to prepare people for personal emergencies or large-scale disasters.
Greedy Algorithms for Sparse Sensor Placement via Deep Learning

We consider the exploration problem: an agent equipped with a depth sensor must map out a previously unknown environment using as few sensor measurements as possible. We propose an approach based on supervised learning of a greedy algorithm. We provide a bound on the optimality of the greedy algorithm using submodularity theory. Using a level set representation, we train a convolutional neural network to determine vantage points that maximize visibility. We show that this method drastically reduces the on-line computational cost and determines a small set of vantage points that solve the problem. This enables us to efficiently produce highly-resolved and topologically accurate maps of complex 3D environments. Unlike traditional next-best-view and frontier-based strategies, the proposed method accounts for geometric priors while evaluating potential vantage points. While existing deep learning approaches focus on obstacle avoidance and local navigation, our method aims at finding near-optimal solutions to the more global exploration problem. We present realistic simulations on 2D and 3D urban environments.
Abstract 797: Cancers of unknown primary: A descriptive study in the U.S. military health system

Background: Cancers of unknown primary (CUP) are defined as histologically confirmed metastatic cancers that do not have an identified primary site of origin despite an appropriate diagnostic work-up. It is known that accessibility to and quality of medical care are associated with cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to describe the demographic, histologic, and temporal trend characteristics of CUP patients in the Military Health System (MHS), which provides universal healthcare access. Methods: The data were obtained from the Department of Defense (DoD)9s Automated Tumor Registry (ACTUR) which collects cancer data from beneficiaries who were diagnosed or received treatment in the (MHS). We described the demographic and histologic distributions in CUP patients aged 18 or older diagnosed from 1987-2013. We calculated the proportion of CUP patients among all metastatic cancers and the most common histologic categories of those tumors. We then evaluated whether the proportion of histologic types changed over time. Results: CUP comprised 15.1% of all metastatic cancers in ACTUR during the study period. The majority of CUP within ACTUR was well and moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (51.3%) and poorly differentiated carcinomas (23.2%) followed by squamous cell carcinomas (12.5%). The percentages of CUP among metastasized cancers of the same histologic category ranged 12-15% for well and moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas, squamous cell, and poorly differentiated carcinomas, and 41-46% for malignant neuroendocrine carcinomas and undifferentiated neoplasms. However, the percentages varied by sex, race, and age for certain pathologies. The proportion of CUP patients among all metastatic cancer patients has steadily declined from 22.4% to 8.3% from 1987 to 2013. Conclusion: The proportion and trends of CUP in the MHS were generally consistent with other descriptive CUP studies. This study provides a description of CUP in a healthcare system with universal access and provides a foundation for future studies on CUP. Citation Format: Julie A. Bytnar, Jie Lin, Joel T. Moncur, Craig D. Shriver, Kangmin Zhu. Cancers of unknown primary: A descriptive study in the U.S. military health system [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 797.
Function-Based Self-Advocacy Training for Students With or at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in General Education Settings:

This study evaluated the effects of a function-based self-advocacy (FBSA) intervention, which provided systematic and explicit instruction to three students with or at risk for emotional and behavi...
Potential surrogates for performance status and survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

170Background: Performance status (PS), a physician-based, subjective assessment of a patient’s symptoms and ambulatory state, is an eligibility criterion for most clinical trials and a key clinica...
Internal Feedback in Biological Control: Locality and System Level Synthesis

The presence of internal feedback pathways (IFPs) is an ubiquitous yet unexplained phenomenon in the brain. Motivated by experimental observations on 1) motor-related signals in visual areas, and 2) massively distributed processing in the brain, we approach this problem from a sensorimotor standpoint and make use of distributed optimal controllers to explain IFPs. We use the System Level Synthesis (SLS) controller to model neuronal phenomena such as signaling delay, local processing, and local reaction. Based on the SLS controller, we make qualitative theoretical predictions about IFPs that has strong alignment with experimental and imaging studies. In particular, we introduce a necessary `mesocircuit' for optimal performance with distributed and local processing, and local disturbance rejection; this `mesocircuit' requires extreme amounts of IFPs and memory for proper function. This is the first theory that can replicate the massive amounts of IFPs in the brain purely from a priori principles, providing a new and promising theoretical basis upon which we can build to better understand the inner workings of the brain.
Program evaluation and chronic diseases: Methods, approaches, and implications for public health

As the burden of chronic diseases in the United States continues to increase, greater efforts are being made to identify and implement interventions that successfully reduce disease risk, improve access to high-quality health care, and create sustainable health-promotion programs that ultimately improve health status and quality of life (1). Identifying effective primary and secondary prevention strategies through tailored program evaluation efforts has become an essential public health function in clinical and public health settings (2). Articles in this issue of Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) address various aspects of program evaluation, such as planning, methods, approaches, stakeholder involvement, and the use of program evaluation findings to guide the direction of future programs. The articles presented in this issue have three primary goals: 1) to provide the reader with practical examples of program evaluation that can be immediately applied in other settings; 2) to carefully discuss the way program missions and objectives, stakeholder interests, evaluation theory, and evaluation methods are considered when conducting, analyzing, and reporting the status of program outcomes; and 3) to candidly explore the use of evaluation frameworks, logic models, and organizational strategic planning to increase capacity for routinely monitoring program outcomes at the national, state, and community levels.
Climate Change Policy: A View from the US

Author(s): Kolstad, Charles D. | Abstract: The Bush Administration followed its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in March, 2001, by a February, 2002 proposal for unilateral action to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions. The February proposal has been widely criticized for having little content and no teeth. The lack of teeth is clearly a valid criticism. The proposal is unlikely to result in much in the way of changed behavior within the U.S. economy. However, a side benefit is that other actors, particularly states, are attempting to fill the void left by the Federal Government. Those actions are reviewed in this paper. Furthermore, there is an interesting idea within the Bush Proposal, an idea that may warrant further examination at the international level. Although the idea is probably not original, its emphasis by the Bush Administration gives it more prominence that it has had in the past. The idea is to focus on the rate of decline of the emissions intensity of the economy, rather than the total amount of emissions (though the two are obviously related). This has a number of advantages, including dynamic consistency, reduced uncertainty, and potential attractiveness to non-Annex I countries. These characteristics are reviewed in this paper.
A Sequent Formulation of a Logic of Predicates in HOL

Abstract By a predicate we mean a term in the HOL logic of type * → bool, where * can be any type. Boolean connectives, quantifiers and sequents in the HOL logic can all be lifted to operate on predicates. The lifted logical operators and sequents form a Logic of Predicates (LP) whose behavior resembles closely that of the unlifted HOL logic. Of the applications of LP we describe two in some detail: (1) a semantic embedding of Lamport's Temporal Logic of Actions, and (2) an alternative formulation of set theory. The main contribution of this paper is a systematic approach for lifting tactics that works in the unlifted HOL logic to ones that works in LP, so that one can enjoy the rich proof infrastructure of HOL when reasoning in LP. The power of this approach is illustrated by examples from modal and temporal logics. The implementation technique is briefly described.
Riverine C, N, Si and P Transport to the Coastal Ocean: An Overview

Terrestrial ecosystems cycle and recyle inorganic nutrients including a feedback to atmospheric dry deposition and precipitation (cf. Lewis et al., 1985). Each year, however, a small fraction per unit area of the atmosphere/plant/soil flux leaks from these land-based cycles via precipitation/runoff (Meybeck, 1982). These losses are, in general, unpreventable. Moreover, such nutrient “losses” have increased with increasing human population (Wollast, 1983); although to some extent this anthropogenic component can be controlled. Most rivers eventually flow into estuaries and the coastal ocean where their natural and anthropogenic nutrient loads continue to recycle, are lost to the atmosphere, or are buried in sediment. In one extreme, when riverine nutrient concentrations are exceedingly low, as in southwestern Canadian streams (Naiman and Sibert, 1978; Stockner and Shortreed, 1978, 1985), downstream plant biomass can be nutrient limited. In the other extreme, when these nutrient concentrations are very high such as in highly populated European river basins, downstream plant biomass can increase, perhaps intensifying natural anoxia cycles within the receiving estuarine/coastal ocean waters if these waters are stratified (Rosenberg, 1985).
Parametric and termination-sensitive control dependence

A parametric approach to control dependence is presented, where the parameter is any prefix-invariant property on paths in the control-flow graph (CFG). Existing control dependencies, both direct and indirect, can be obtained as instances of the parametric framework for particular properties on paths. A novel control dependence relation, called termination-sensitive control dependence, is obtained also as an instance of the parametric framework. This control dependence is sensitive to the termination information of loops, which can be given via annotations. If all loops are annotated as terminating then it becomes the classic control dependence, while if all loops are annotated as non-terminating then it becomes the weak control dependence; since in practice some loops are terminating and others are not, termination-sensitive control dependence is expected to improve the precision of analysis tools using it. The unifying formal framework for direct and indirect control dependence suggests also, in a natural way, a unifying terminology for the various notions of control dependence, which is also proposed in this paper. Finally, a worst-case O(n2) algorithm to compute the indirect termination-sensitive control dependence for languages that allow only “structured” jumps (i.e., ones that do not jump into the middle of a different block), such as Java and C#, is given, avoiding the O(n3) complexity of the trivial algorithm calculating the transitive closure of the direct dependence.
Heat Stability and Species Range of Purified Staphylococcal α-Toxin

Cooper, Louis Z. (New England Medical Center Hospital, Boston, Mass.), Morton A. Madoff, and Louis Weinstein. Heat stability and species range of purified staphylococcal alpha-toxin. J. Bacteriol. 91:1686-1692. 1966.-Heating of high-titer purified staphylococcal alpha-toxin at 60 and 80 C resulted in a double-sloped curve of inactivation of the hemolytic effect on rabbit erythrocytes. Early inactivation was less at the lower temperature, but activity persisted for a longer time at 80 C. Toxin inactivated at 60 C showed renewed activity when heated briefly at 80 C. A precipitate which formed during heating of alpha-toxin at 60 or 80 C yielded hemolytic activity when resuspended and heated at 80 but not at 60 C. Supernatant fluid of heat-precipitated toxin was heat-labile and did not regain activity when heated at 80 C. The results indicate that the "paradoxical effect" of heating of staphylococcal alpha-toxin is not due to a thermolabile inhibitor, but results from alteration of the toxin molecule to a heat-stable active form. Demonstration of renewed activity by 80 C heating of purified toxin requires potent toxin preparations and brief heating periods. Hemolysis of erythrocytes of several animal species by purified alpha-toxin was generally similar to that produced by impure toxin. Rabbit cells were most susceptible. Human and horse erythrocytes hemolyzed to less than 0.1% of the extent of rabbit cells. Blood cells of other species were intermediate in their response to the lytic effect of alpha-toxin.
An Automated High-Level Design Framework for Partially Reconfigurable FPGAs

Modern field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) allow runtime partial reconfiguration (PR) of the FPGA, enabling PR benefits such as runtime adaptability and extensibility, and reduces the application's area requirement. However, PR application development requires non-traditional expertise and lengthy design time effort. Since high-level synthesis (HLS) languages afford fast application development time, these languages are becoming increasingly popular for FPGA application development. However, widely used HLS languages, such as C variants, do not contain PR-specific constructs, thus exploiting PR benefits using an HLS language is a challenging task. To alleviate this challenge, we present an automated high-level design framework -- PaRAT (partial reconfiguration amenability test). PaRAT parses, analyzes, and partitions an application's HLS code to generate the application's PR architectures, which contain the application's runtime modifiable modules and thus, allows the application's runtime reconfiguration. Case study analysis demonstrates PaRAT's ability to quickly and automatically generate PR architectures from an application's HLS code.
Murine RARbeta4 displays reduced transactivation activity, lower affinity for retinoic acid, and no anti-AP1 activity.

The biological actions of retinoic acid (RA) are mediated by retinoic acid receptors (RARalpha, beta, and gamma) and retinoid X receptors (RXR alpha, beta, and gamma). Each of the RARs is expressed as four to seven different isoforms. Four isoforms of RAR beta (beta1, beta2, beta3, and beta4), which differ only in their N-terminal sequence (A domain) have been described. These RARbeta isoforms display a specific pattern of expression in developing and adult animals and are highly evolutionarily conserved suggesting that they mediate distinct cellular effects of vitamin A. Experiments were performed to examine directly the RA-binding activity, transactivation activity, and anti-AP1 activity of each of these four RARbeta isoforms. The results demonstrate that RARbeta1, beta2, and beta3 bind RA with a similar K(d) value, have a similar EC(50) value in RA-dependent transactivation assays and inhibit AP1 activity to a similar level. By contrast, RARbeta4 has an elevated K(d) for RA, an increased EC(50) value in RA-dependent transactivation assays and does not display the ability to inhibit AP1 activity. This provides additional evidence that at least one RAR isoform, RARbeta4, may mediate distinct activities within a cell. Furthermore, these data suggest that the presence of an A domain in RARbeta is important for modulating these activities of RARs.
Measurements of argon broadened Lorentz width and pressure-induced line shift coefficients in the nu4 band of (C-12)H4

Room temperature argon broadened halfwidth and pressure-induced line shift coefficients have been determined for 118 transitions in the nu4 band of (C-12)H4 from analysis of high resolution laboratory absorption spectra recorded with the McMath Fourier transform spectrometer operated on Kitt Peak by the National Solar Observatory. Transitions up to J-double-prime = 12 have been measured using a nonlinear least-squares spectral fitting procedure. The variation of the measured halfwidth coefficients with symmetry type and rotational quantum number is very similar to that measured previously for N2 and air broadening, but the absolute values of the argon broadening coefficients are all smaller. On average, the ratio of the argon broadened halfwidth coefficient to the corresponding N2 broadened halfwidth coefficient is 0.877 + or - 0.017 (2 Sigma). More than 95 percent of the pressure-induced shifts are negative with values ranging from -0.0081 to +0.0055/cm atm. The pressure shifts in argon are nearly equal to corresponding values measured previously in N2 and air.
On the Theory of Global Attractors and Lyapunov Functionals

From the point of view of longterm dynamics, we study multivalued and single-valued semigroups of operators acting on complete metric spaces. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the global attractor under minimal requirements in terms of continuity of the semigroup. In the case of single-valued semigroups possessing a Lyapunov functional, we exhibit a simple proof of the existence and the characterization of the attractor in terms of the unstable set of stationary points. As an application, we consider the multivalued semigroup generated by the equation ruling the evolution of the specific humidity in a system of moist air, and we prove the existence of a regular global attractor.
Oxygen uptake by obligately-fermentative aquatic fungi: Absence of a cyanide-sensitive component

We have demonstrated a significant capacity for O2 uptake in Blastocladia ramosa (Chytridiomycetes, Blastocladiales), Aqualinderella fermentans (Oomycetes, Leptomitales) and Pythiogeton sp. (Oomycetes, Peronosporales), all believed from previous studies to be obligately-fermentative aerotolerant anaerobes. However, whereas O2 uptake in related aerobes is strongly inhibited by KCN, O2 utilization by these fermentative species appears to be completely insensitive to cyanide but sensitive to salicylhydroxamic acid, an inhibitor of diverse non-cytochrome oxidases. Our results therefore tend to support, rather than refute, the presumption of an obligately-fermentative metabolism. The findings are corroborative evidence than cyanide-resistant O2 uptake is a phenomenon of widespread phylogenetic significance. Although the role of O2 uptake in obligately-fermentative aquatic fungi is not clear, the observations are consistent with the general conclusion that cyanide-resistant respiration does not contribute substantially to ATP formation.
Efficient synthesis and characterization of novel bibenzimidazole oligomers and polymers as potential conjugated chelating ligands.

A simple and mild condensation route for the synthesis of novel bibenzimidazole oligomers and polymers is reported here using methyl 2,2,2-trichloroacetimidate as a key starting material. The dimer, trimer, tetramer, and polymers of bibenzimidazole were synthesized as a new series of potential conjugated chelating ligands for metallopolymer studies. The polymers show a maximum absorption at around 400 nm. The optical band gap of the polymer was estimated to be 2.68 eV.
Study of complex formation by polyethylene glycol and dimethylurea with some pharmaceuticals

The formation of molecular complexes in aqueous solution by the interaction of Pharmaceuticals and some complexing agents has been reported. However, the complexing agents used in these studies were high molecular weight compounds such as polyethylene glycol, carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and the xanthines. Experimental evidence is offered to support the existence of the formation of complexes in solution between sym-dimethylurea, a highly soluble low molecular weight compound, and p -aminobenzoic acid, p -hydroxybenzoic acid, o -hydroxybenzoic acid, m -hydroxybenzoic acid, p -aminosalicylic acid, and acetyl-salicylic acid. Phenobarbital did not undergo interaction with sym-dimethylurea. The interaction of polyethylene glycol and the parabens was also studied. The effect of such interaction on the antibacterial activity of the parabens is currently under investigation.
Molecular Variation in Isolated Plant Populations

Isolated plant populations face a series of demographic and genetic challenges. They potentially may suffer from a loss of allelic and genotypic diversity or from inbreeding depression. The demographic stability associated with migration between components of a metapopulation is lost as fragmentation increasingly isolates populations. Such isolated populations are then increasingly subject to demographic stocasticity and to more frequent population bottlenecks. Some plant species clearly endure this challenge better than others. In studies of native plant species whose populations have long endured isolation, population numbers very often appear stable and populations often contain ample genetic variation. Of course, such observations are biased, since those species which did not accommodate isolation are presumed extinct and thus not studied. When one considers species which have recently undergone habitat fragmentation and population isolation, the ability to accommodate such change is clearly not present in many species. Such populations often show a dramatic decline in numbers as well as erosion of genetic variability. In these populations the role of somatic processes in the generation of genetic variation may assume an increased importance. Since only a few isolated studies have documented such somatic genomic changes in plants, the importance of such changes is subject to speculation.
Early changes in regional and global left ventricular function induced by graded reductions in regional coronary perfusion

To determine the sequence of changes in segmental myocardial function, regional lactate metabolism and global left ventricular function induced by mild regional ischemia, blood flow in the left anterior descending coronary artery of 10 dogs was reduced by 10 percent decrements with use of a screw clamp. At each level of flow, segmental mechanical function and regional metabolism were assessed, the former with use of a mercury-in-Silastic length gauge and the latter with transmyocardial lactate balance measurements obtained with sampling from the anterior interventricular vein. Coronary arterial flow at the onset of regional lactate production was 48 ± 4 percent (mean ± standard error of the mean) of the control value. The onset of segmental mechanical dysfunction coincided with the onset of lactate production. Epicardial S-T segment abnormalities over the ischemic zone usually could not be detected until coronary flow was further reduced. After the onset of regional ischemia there was a linear correlation between coronary arterial flow and regional lactate production. At the onset of mild regional ischemia, defined as the onset of regional lactate production, no significant or directionally consistent changes were noted in standard measurements of global left ventricular performance, including heart rate, mean aortic pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, cardiac output, stroke volume, stroke work and peak positive dP/dt (maximal rate of rise of pressure). However, peak negative dP/dt (maximal rate of pressure decrease) decreased from 99 ± 2 to 89 ± 3 percent of the control value ( P
Chemical colouration of sodium beta-aluminas

A variety of experiments was performed on Na β-alumina single crystals and Na β″-alumina polycrystals of different microstructures, to clarify the nature of chemical colouration produced by contact with sodium. It was found that the colouration is due to a reduction of the electrolyte by sodium, introducing oxygen vacancies compensated by electrons. Colouration and bleaching kinetics have been determined. It was found that in polycrystals colouration proceeds along the grain boundaries. Water has no effect. The role of the colouration in electrolyte degradation is discussed.
Atopic profile of patients failing medical therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis.

Background Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory condition of the nasal airway and paranasal sinuses that can broadly be classified into CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). The relationship between CRS and atopy to inhalant allergens remains unclear. We sought to examine the presence of atopy in patients failing medical therapy for both types of CRS. The objective of this research was to analyze the frequency and distribution of allergen sensitivity in patients failing medical therapy for CRSwNP and CRSsNP in comparison to rhinitis patients without CRS and the general population. Methods A prospectively collected database of 334 consecutive CRS patients who had surgery after failing maximal medical therapy was queried to identify those who met inclusion criteria: a sinus computed tomography (CT), an endoscopy consistent with CRS, and skin-prick testing with 24 common inhalant allergens in 8 classes at our institution (n = 125). Additionally, data from these CRS patients were compared to a group of 50 patients diagnosed with rhinitis who had similar symptoms but radiologically normal CT scans, as well as published normative population skin-prick testing data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study III (NHANES III). The relationship between atopy, as assessed by the frequency of skin test positivity, and radiological disease severity, was assessed for several allergen classes in CRSwNP, CRSsNP and rhinitis patients. Results One or more positive skin results were observed in 103 of 125 (82.4%) CRS patients who underwent surgery—a prevalence significantly higher than that found in the NHANES III study (p < 0.05) but not different from the rhinitis control group (36/50, 72.0%). The most prevalent positive skin test results were to dust mites and ragweed in CRSwNP, CRSsNP, and rhinitis patients. Comparing these 3 patient groups, there were no significant differences in the rates of positive skin-test results to any single allergen. However, the median number of skin test–positive results was higher in CRSwNP patients compared to CRSsNP and rhinitis patients. Consistent with other studies, we found that CRSwNP patients were more likely to be male and have concurrent asthma. Conclusion In our series of patients failing medical therapy for CRS, we found higher rates of atopy compared with the general population but not compared with rhinitis patients. CRSwNP patients with medically refractory sinusitis were more likely to have multiple positive skin tests and asthma as compared to the general population or patients with either CRSsNP or rhinitis. Host barrier dysfunction may play a role in enabling multisensitization. © 2011 ARS-AAOA, LLC.
Sterility of the Surgical Site Marking Between the Ink and the Epidermis

Background To prevent wrong-site surgery, multiple organizations have endorsed the practice of signing the operative site with an indelible marker. Potential contamination of the surgical field and the inability to prepare the area under the ink film raises concerns. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of preoperative site marking affects the sterility of the surgical field. Study Design After institutional review board approval, 30 consecutive patients scheduled to undergo elective upper extremity surgery by the same surgeon were included. For each patient, surgical marking according to Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations guidelines were placed on more than half of the planned incision site, and the other half was left unmarked. The patients then underwent routine surgical preparation. The skin was incised, starting from the unmarked side and continuing to the marked aspect. Cultures were obtained by swabbing the skin edges: one from the unmarked side and one from the marked side. After blood agar plating, cultures were incubated for 72 hours and analyzed by a blinded observer. Results All cultures were negative, regardless of swab site (unmarked or marked location). Conclusions The practice of surgical site marking does not increase the risk of operative field contamination.
Efficient path-based computations on pedigree graphs with compact encodings

A pedigree is a diagram of family relationships, and it is often used to determine the mode of inheritance (dominant, recessive, etc.) of genetic diseases. Along with rapidly growing knowledge of genetics and accumulation of genealogy information, pedigree data is becoming increasingly important. In large pedigree graphs, path-based methods for efficiently computing genealogical measurements, such as inbreeding and kinship coefficients of individuals, depend on efficient identification and processing of paths. In this paper, we propose a new compact path encoding scheme on large pedigrees, accompanied by an efficient algorithm for identifying paths. We demonstrate the utilization of our proposed method by applying it to the inbreeding coefficient computation. We present time and space complexity analysis, and also manifest the efficiency of our method for evaluating inbreeding coefficients as compared to previous methods by experimental results using pedigree graphs with real and synthetic data. Both theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that our method is more scalable and efficient than previous methods in terms of time and space requirements.
Percutaneous interventions in adults receiving pediatric “en bloc” double renal grafts

To present technical adaptations of percutaneous interventional techniques required for the small size vessels and ureters of “en bloc” transplanted pediatric kidneys. Over a 4-year period, 12 adult patients received en bloc pediatric double renal transplants. Small system percutaneous interventional techniques were used in seven patients to approach the infantile renal arteries and urinary collecting systems for 11 percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasties, 4 antegrade pyelograms, and 3 nephrostomies. Prior to intervention, these patients averaged a creatinine of 2.5 mg%, which decreased to 1.4 mg% at 46 months (range, 22–68) following the first intervention. With a mean follow-up of 42 months (range, 5–47), 9 of 12 (75%) transplants are functioning with an average serum creatinine of 1.3 mg%. With the assistance of percutaneous management of postoperative arterial and ureteral lesions, the prognosis of en bloc renal grafts can approach that of the standard adult renal allograft.