cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimal Routing and Charging of an Electric Vehicle Fleet for High-Efficiency Dynamic Transit Systems

This paper proposes a framework and its mathematical model for optimal routing and charging of an electric vehicle fleet for high-efficiency dynamic transit systems, while taking into account energy efficiency and charging price. Based on an extended pickup and delivery problem, an optimization model is formulated from the transit service providers’ perspective and is applied to an electric vehicle (EV) fleet with economically efficient but small batteries in very urbanized areas. It aims to determine the best route from the origin to the final destination for each EV to satisfy the welfare of all passengers (e.g., travel time and passengers’ travel distance), while maximizing the energy efficiency (e.g., by reducing fuel and charging cost), subject to local/global constraints (e.g., EV charging station availability and battery state-of-charge dynamics). This optimization model is solved as a mixed-integer quadratically constrained programming problem. This paper also explores the potential impact of EV fleet of dynamic commuter transit services on electric distribution systems, such as increased average load.
Head Impact Exposure and Magnitude in High School Football by Player Position (IN5-1.004)

OBJECTIVE: To develop head impact exposure (frequency and magnitude) algorithms for high school football players by position through a retrospective evaluation of a head impact dataset. BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that chronic cerebral health risk may be affected by non-concussive head impact exposure, rather than just concussive injuries. Head impact exposure in high school athletes has been directly measured via the Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System, but no estimation methods for non-instrumented or former athletes exist. DESIGN/METHODS: Head impacts of 147 high school football players (16.4 years, 181.1cm, 86.0kg) from two high schools during the 2007-2011 seasons were recorded in practices and games using the HIT System. Algorithms were developed to estimate the average frequency and magnitude [linear (g9s) and rotational acceleration (rad/s/s)] of head impacts experienced by athletes by position. RESULTS: A total of 115,256 impacts were recorded with 51,586 from game sessions and 63,670 from practice sessions. When examining by player position, impact frequency and magnitude are reported as the combined practice and game mean. When all players were examined, the typical athlete sustained 14.3 impacts per session at 25.7g and 1662.3rad/s/s. When impacts by position were examined, linemen (n=59) sustained 18.4 impacts per session at 25.1g and 1620.4 rad/s/s. Quarterbacks (n=5) sustained 11.5 impacts per session at 28.0g and 1697.2rad/s/s. Receivers, corners and safeties (n=42) collectively sustained 8.6 impacts per session at 25.5g and 1684.2rad/s/s. Lastly, tight ends, linebackers, and running backs (n=41) collectively sustained 14.6 impacts per session at 25.7g and 1662.3rad/s/s. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that the number and magnitude of head impacts experienced by high school football athletes varies by position. These findings may be used to estimate head impact exposure in non-instrumented and former high school football athletes. Disclosure: Dr. Karis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Eckner9s institution has received research support from Elminda LTD. Dr. Kutcher has received personal compensation for activities with the National Hockey League Players9 Association, and the National Basketball Association Concussion Program. Dr. Kutcher has received research support from ElMindA, Ltd. Dr. Broglio has received research support from ElMindA.
Vasopressin use in critically ill cirrhosis patients with catecholamine-resistant septic shock: The CVICU cohort

Vasopressin use in critically ill cirrhosis patients with catecholamine-resistant septic shock: The CVICU cohort
Laxatives: A Review of Their Mechanisms of Action

Laxatives are a heterogeneous group of drugs used to increase the frequency of bowel movements. They have been associated with two distinct effects on the gastrointestinal tract: a laxative-induced smooth muscle electric and motor pattern in the small bowel and an accumulation of fluid in the lumen of both the small and large intestines. All laxatives tested may act by one or both of these mechanisms. In addition to these two distinct actions of quantitatively different responses in these two parameters for the small and large intestines. Reginal deiffrences within either of the intestinal organs probably also exists adding further complexity in the responses to laxative drugs.
Non-canonical activity of the podosomal formin FMNL1γ supports immune cell migration

Having previously located the formin FMNL1 in macrophage podosomes, we developed an in vivo model to assess the role of FMNL1 in the migration activities of primary macrophages. Deletion of FMNL1 in mice was genetically lethal; however, targeted deletion in macrophages was achieved by employing macrophage-specific Cre. Unchallenged FMNL1-deficient mice exhibited an unexpected reduction in tissue-resident macrophages despite normal blood monocyte numbers. Upon immune stimulus, the absence of FMNL1 resulted in reduced macrophage recruitment in vivo, decreased migration in two-dimensional in vitro culture and a decrease in the number of macrophages exhibiting podosomes. Of the three described isoforms of FMNL1 - α, β and γ - only FMNL1γ rescued macrophage migration when expressed exogenously in depleted macrophages. Surprisingly, mutation of residues in the FH2 domain of FMNL1γ that disrupt barbed-end actin binding did not limit rescue of macrophage migration and podosome numbers. These observations suggest that FMNL1 contributes to macrophage migration activity by stabilizing the lifespan of podosomes without interaction of fast-growing actin termini.
Portfolio Pumping in Mutual Fund Families

I document portfolio pumping at the fund family level, a strategy that non-star fund managers buy stocks held by star funds in the family to inflate their performance at the quarter end. Families that heavily employ the strategy show strong evidence of inflated performance after 2002, when the SEC increased regulation on portfolio pumping at the fund level. Non-star fund managers pumping for star funds in the family receive 1.8% ($24 million) more inflows per quarter, conditional on the performance. Furthermore, pumping is concentrated in stocks that are buried deep down in the holdings of star funds.
Rethinking barriers: a novel conceptualization of exercise barriers in cancer survivors

AbstractPrevious research suggests different types of barriers may demonstrate different relationships with intention to engage in health behaviors. This study explored global, practical, and health-related barriers’ relationships with exercise intention and behavior among cancer survivors. The mediating role of intention in the barriers-behavior relationships was also evaluated. Cancer survivors (N = 152) completed self-report measures of exercise barriers, intention, and behavior at baseline and of exercise behavior two months later. Global barriers were negatively related (p < .01) and practical and health-related barriers were unrelated (ps ≥ .07) to exercise intention. Global and practical barriers were negatively related (ps < .01) and health-related barriers were unrelated (p = .48) to subsequent exercise behavior. Exercise intention did not mediate any barriers-behavior relationships. Results suggest that global and practical barriers should be targeted in barriers reduction interventions and high...
Quality guarantees on k-optimal solutions for distributed constraint optimization problems

A distributed constraint optimization problem (DCOP) is a formalism that captures the rewards and costs of local interactions within a team of agents. Because complete algorithms to solve DCOPs are unsuitable for some dynamic or anytime domains, researchers have explored incomplete DCOP algorithms that result in locally optimal solutions. One type of categorization of such algorithms, and the solutions they produce, is k- optimality; a k-optimal solution is one that cannot be improved by any deviation by k or fewer agents. This paper presents the first known guarantees on solution quality for k-optimal solutions. The guarantees are independent of the costs and rewards in the DCOP, and once computed can be used for any DCOP of a given constraint graph structure.
Identification of Padi2 as a novel angiogenesis-regulating gene by genome association studies in mice

Recent findings indicate that growth factor-driven angiogenesis is markedly influenced by genetic variation. This variation in angiogenic responsiveness may alter the susceptibility to a number of angiogenesis-dependent diseases. Here, we utilized the genetic diversity available in common inbred mouse strains to identify the loci and candidate genes responsible for differences in angiogenic response. The corneal micropocket neovascularization assay was performed on 42 different inbred mouse strains using basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) pellets. We performed a genome-wide association study utilizing efficient mixed-model association (EMMA) mapping using the induced vessel area from all strains. Our analysis yielded five loci with genome-wide significance on chromosomes 4, 8, 11, 15 and 16. We further refined the mapping on chromosome 4 within a haplotype block containing multiple candidate genes. These genes were evaluated by expression analysis in corneas of various inbred strains and in vitro functional assays in human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs). Of these, we found the expression of peptidyl arginine deiminase type II (Padi2), known to be involved in metabolic pathways, to have a strong correlation with a haplotype shared by multiple high angiogenic strains. In addition, inhibition of Padi2 demonstrated a dosage-dependent effect in HMVECs. To investigate its role in vivo, we knocked down Padi2 in transgenic kdrl:zsGreen zebrafish embryos using morpholinos. These embryos had disrupted vessel formation compared to control siblings. The impaired vascular pattern was partially rescued by human PADI2 mRNA, providing evidence for the specificity of the morphant phenotype. Taken together, our study is the first to indicate the potential role of Padi2 as an angiogenesis-regulating gene. The characterization of Padi2 and other genes in associated pathways may provide new understanding of angiogenesis regulation and novel targets for diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of angiogenesis-dependent diseases.
TESTOSTERONE SUPPLEMENTATION AND RETINAL VASCULAR DISEASE.

Purpose:To determine whether testosterone supplementation is associated with retinal artery occlusion (RAO) or retinal vein occlusion (RVO).Methods:Retrospective matched cohort study using data from a large national U.S. insurance database. The testosterone cohort consisted of all male patients who
Lowering consumer search costs can lead to higher prices

We demonstrate that regulations that lower consumer search costs and make them less heterogeneous across consumers can lead to higher prices charged by firms. We estimate the distribution of consumer search costs for 366 isolated retail gasoline markets, and find that reducing the mean and standard deviation by 20% and 48%, respectively, leads to price increases in 32% of markets and an average price increase of 5.2 cents per gallon across all markets. Thus, price transparency regulation that results in higher prices may not stem from collusion, but from an equilibrium with less consumer search.
Total Quality Measurement:Issues and Methods for Measuring Productivity for Information Systems

Information Technology (I.T.) comprises an increasingly significant amount of an organizations budget each year. However, very few organizations measure how productive their programming staff is. A brief survey of seven claim information systems organizations within the property casualty insurance field uncovered only one organization that applied formal measurement techniques to their software application development. The Travelers Property Casualty Corporation Claim Information Systems unit developed a technique they refer to as complexity point calculation to measure the size (complexity) and quality (as determined by defect ratio) of each of their software versions. Complexity points are calculated by software version, providing an individual measurement scorecard of the quality of each software version. Complexity points are a streamlined version of Function Point Analysis, which was first developed by A.J. Albrecht of IBM’s Data Processing Services Division and made public in 1979. This paper will examine both function point analysis and complexity point calculation, contrasting the difference between the two techniques. In addition, the importance of software quality metrics will also be discussed.
A Formal Comparison of Ethical Systems: Guilt, Condemnation, Doubt

Recall that in the first ethical system, ‘+’ corresponds to conflict, and ‘•’ to union. In the second ethical system, the reverse holds: ‘+’ corresponds to union and ‘•’ corresponds to conflict.
Foundation of the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network and Its Tools for Research

In the past 20 years, several policy activities were undertaken that shaped today’s newborn screening (NBS) programs and their associated NBS research activities: the Newborn Screening Task Force Report; the Child Health Act of 2000, Screening for Heritable Disorders; the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics’ (ACMG’s) Newborn Screening Uniform Panel; and the ACMG expert panel to examine the development of a national collaborative study system for rare genetic diseases. These activities helped conceptualize the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network (NBSTRN) infrastructure and lay the foundation for its current activities. After 10 years, NBSTRN has grown into an organization that provides tools and resources for researchers to conduct research relevant to NBS programs for rare diseases for which data has been siloed locally. Infrastructure includes tools for the analytical and clinical validation of screening tests; the collection, analysis, sharing, and reporting of longitudinal laboratory and clinical data on newborn-screened individuals; and a web-based tool that allows researchers to acquire dried blood spots available for use in research from state NBS programs. NBSTRN also provides tools for researchers such as informed consent templates, disease registries, state NBS profiles, and consultation on planning pilot studies. In time, the growing data will become a resource itself.
From low to high gear: there has been a paradigm shift in our understanding of evolution

Experimental studies of evolution performed in nature and the associated demonstration of rapid evolution, observable on a time scale of months to years, were an acclaimed novelty in the 1980-1990s. Contemporary evolution is now considered ordinary and is an integrated feature of many areas of research. This shift from extraordinary to ordinary reflects a change in the perception of evolution. It was formerly thought of as a historical process, perceived through the footprints left in the fossil record or living organisms. It is now seen as a contemporary process that acts in real time. Here we review how this shift occurred and its consequences for fields as diverse as wildlife management, conservation biology, and ecosystems ecology. Incorporating contemporary evolution in these fields has caused old questions to be recast, changed the answers, caused new and previously inconceivable questions to be addressed, and inspired the development of new subdisciplines. We argue further that the potential of contemporary evolution has yet to be fulfilled. Incorporating evolutionary dynamics in any research program can provide a better assessment of how and why organisms and communities came to be as they are than is attainable without an explicit treatment of these dynamics.
Factors Influencing Epidural Anesthesia for Cesarean Section Outcome

This study investigates practice variance in performing epidural anesthesia for cesarean section. Specifically, we analyze the safety and efficacy of a large-dose, needle-based epidural technique where anesthetic dose is administered through an epidural needle prior to insertion of the epidural catheter. Using a data-driven informatics and machine learning approach, our findings show that the needle-based technique is faster and more dose-effective in achieving sensory level than the catheter- based approach. We also find that injecting large doses in the epidural space through the epidural needle is safe, with complication rates similar to those reported in published literature. Further, machine learning reveals that a needle dose of at most 18 ml offers lower hypotension complication. The machine learning framework can predict hypotension incidents with 85% accuracy. The findings facilitate delivery improvement and establish an improved clinical practice guideline for training and dissemination of safe practice. Successful prediction of hypotension allows for early intervention to minimize the effects of complication. Furthermore, although almost 50% of the drug combinations used involve fentanyl, our findings show that fentanyl has little effect on the outcome and should be avoided in epidural anesthesia.
Facilitating Social Interactions With Peers in Specialized Early Childhood Settings for Young Children With ASD

Young children on the autism spectrum have minimal social interaction with their peers in inclusive preschool settings, thus limiting opportunities to build social relationships. Research indicates...
Prospective evaluation of oral premalignant lesions using a multimodal imaging system: a pilot study

BACKGROUND Multimodal optical imaging, incorporating reflectance and fluorescence modalities, is a promising tool to detect oral premalignant lesions in real-time. METHODS Images were acquired from 171 sites in 66 patient visits for clinical evaluation of oral lesions. An automated algorithm was used to classify lesions as high- or low-risk for neoplasia. Biopsies were acquired at clinically indicated sites and those classified as high-risk by imaging, at the surgeon's discretion. RESULTS Twenty sites were biopsied based on clinical examination or imaging. Of these, 12 were indicated clinically and by imaging; 58% were moderate dysplasia or worse. Four biopsies were indicated by imaging evaluation only; 75% were moderate dysplasia or worse. Finally, four biopsies were indicated by clinical evaluation only; 75% were moderate dysplasia or worse. CONCLUSION Multimodal imaging identified more cases of high-grade dysplasia than clinical evaluation, and can improve detection of high grade precancer in patients with oral lesions.
Difelikefalin for the Treatment of Uremic Pruritus

The care of patients with end-stage kidney disease is complicated; patients and clinicians alike feel frustration because of our limited options for controlling many of the symptoms associated with...
Enhanced single-cell metabolomics by capillary electrophoresis electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry with field amplified sample injection

Abstract Single-cell metabolomics provides information on the biochemical state of an individual cell and its relationship with the surrounding environment. Characterization of metabolic cellular heterogeneity is challenging, in part due to the small amounts of analytes and their wide dynamic concentration ranges within individual cells. CE-ESI-MS is well suited to single-cell assays because of its low sample-volume requirements and low detection limits. While the volume of a cell is in the picoliter range, after isolation, the typical volume of the lysed cell sample is on the order of a microliter; however, only nanoliters are injected into the CE system, with the volume mismatch limiting analytical performance. Here we developed an approach for the detection of intracellular metabolites from a single neuron using field amplified sample injection (FASI) CE-ESI-MS. Through the application of FASI, we achieved 100- to 300-fold detection limit enhancement compared to hydrodynamic injections. We further enhanced the analyte identification and quantification accuracy via introduction of two internal standards. As a result, the relative standard deviations of migration times were reduced to
Direct Catalytic Conversion of Ethanol to C 5+ Ketones: Role of Pd–Zn Alloy on Catalytic Activity and Stability

Ethanol can be used as a platform molecule for synthesizing valuable chemicals and fuel precursors. Direct synthesis of C5+ ketones, building blocks for lubricants and hydrocarbon fuels, from ethanol was achieved over a stable Pd-promoted ZnO-ZrO2 catalyst. The sequence of reaction steps involved in the C5+ ketone formation from ethanol was determined. The key reaction steps were found to be the in situ generation of the acetone intermediate and the cross-aldol condensation between the reaction intermediates acetaldehyde and acetone. The formation of a Pd-Zn alloy in situ was identified to be the critical factor in maintaining high yield to the C5+ ketones and the stability of the catalyst. A yield of >70 % to C5+ ketones was achieved over a 0.1 % Pd-ZnO-ZrO2 mixed oxide catalyst, and the catalyst was demonstrated to be stable beyond 2000 hours on stream without any catalyst deactivation.
Thoughts during a COVID nightmare.

I am happy most of the country has not gone through what we have here. However, without shared experience, how do we understand? I would like to try to convey some of my thoughts, having experienced, first hand, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic over the past 2 months in New York City. It is not easy, but I think necessary. I am worried that if we don’t communicate, it will lead to misunderstanding, and if there is misunderstanding, then more lives will be lost. Some friends and I share a text group. These friends live across the country, many are physicians. Its purpose is social. Funny memes, sarcastic comments, and occasional sincere best wishes are the mainstay. While a typical accumulation of texts flew about the other night, one of my friends wrote, “We have 11 hospitals sitting empty for a total of 45 cases treated and two were in the hospital – NYC screwed us all.” I rarely cry (except the funeral scene in My Girl ), but I teared up when I got that text. The force of what I had been experiencing the past few weeks, in contrast to my friend’s profound lack of insight, was enough to tip me over the edge. He doesn’t know what he avoided. I know he wasn’t thinking about me specifically, and he was clearly going for some amount of comic effect (in a regional pride sort of way), and I know he is a good person (before anyone guesses, he isn’t a …
The impact of light polarization effects on weak lensing systematics

A fraction of the light observed from edge-on disk galaxies is polarized due to two physical effects: selective extinction by dust grains aligned with the magnetic field, and scattering of the anisotropic starlight field. Since the reflection and transmission coefficients of the reflecting and refracting surfaces in an optical system depend on the polarization of incoming rays, this optical polarization produces both (a) a selection bias in favor of galaxies with specific orientations and (b) a polarization-dependent PSF. In this work we build toy models to obtain for the first time an estimate for the impact of polarization on PSF shapes and the impact of the selection bias due to the polarization effect on the measurement of the ellipticity used in shear measurements. In particular, we are interested in determining if this effect will be significant for WFIRST. We show that the systematic uncertainties in the ellipticity components are $8\times 10^{-5}$ and $1.1 \times 10^{-4}$ due to the selection bias and PSF errors respectively. Compared to the overall requirements on knowledge of the WFIRST PSF ellipticity ($4.7\times 10^{-4}$ per component), both of these systematic uncertainties are sufficiently close to the WFIRST tolerance level that more detailed studies of the polarization effects or more stringent requirements on polarization-sensitive instrumentation for WFIRST are required.
John Cassian’s Royal Road: Discretion, Balance, and the Tradition of the Fathers:

Throughout John Cassian’s Institutes, he regularly exhorts his readers to ascetic discretion and moderation. He refers to this path of discretion as the ‘royal road’. To the left is negligence and ...
Projected Association of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination With Oropharynx Cancer Incidence in the US, 2020-2045.

Importance Oropharynx cancer (OPC) incidence has increased for several decades in the US. It is unclear when and how this trend will be affected by current HPV vaccination trends. Objective To assess the association of HPV vaccination with future OPC incidence in the US. Design, setting, and participants This population-based age-period-cohort analysis obtained OPC incidence data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program from 69 562 patients 34 to 83 years of age diagnosed with OPC. The HPV vaccination data were obtained from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (60 124 participants) and National Health Interview Survey (16 904 participants). Data were collected from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 2017. Age-period-cohort forecasting models projected expected 2018 to 2045 OPC incidence under a counterfactual scenario of no HPV vaccination and current levels of HPV vaccination, stratifying by sex. Data analyses were completed by December 2020. Exposures Age- and sex-specific cumulative prevalence of HPV vaccination in 2016 to 2017 projected forward. Main outcomes and measures Projected OPC incidence and number of OPC cases expected to be prevented by HPV vaccination. Results Under current HPV vaccination rates, between 2018 and 2045, OPC incidence is projected to decrease in younger individuals (36-45 years of age: from 1.4 to 0.8 per 100 000 population; 46-55 years of age: from 8.7 to 7.2 per 100 000 population) but continue to increase among older individuals (70-83 years of age: from 16.8 to 29.0 per 100 000 population). The association of HPV vaccination with overall OPC incidence through 2045 will remain modest (no vaccination vs vaccination: 14.3 vs 13.8 per 100 000 population in 2045). By 2045 HPV vaccination is projected to reduce OPC incidence among individuals 36 to 45 years of age (men: 48.1%; women: 42.5%) and 46 to 55 years of age (men: 9.0%; women: 22.6%), but among those 56 years or older, rates are not meaningfully reduced. Between 2018 and 2045, a total of 6334 OPC cases will be prevented by HPV vaccination, of which 88.8% of such cases occur in younger age (≤55 years) groups. Conclusions and relevance According to the projections of this population-based age-period-cohort study, current HPV vaccination rates will have a limited association with overall OPC incidence through 2045 because older individuals who have not yet been vaccinated remain at high risk for OPC. However, reductions in OPC incidence should occur among young and middle-aged adults, the group at lowest risk of diagnosis. These findings forecast a continued shift in the landscape of OPC to an older population.
Distributed Volt-VAR Optimization based on Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based approach to solve the distributed Volt-VAR optimization (VVO) problem in distribution networks by considering the uncertainty of system load and renewable power generation. We formulate the distributed VVO problem as a non-cooperative Markov game. Specifically, we split the distribution network into multiple regions that are controlled by a group of networked agents. We consider the statuses/ratios of switchable capacitor banks (SCBs), the tap position of voltage regulators (VRs), and the reactive power of inverter-based distributed generators (DGs) as the control variables. The objective is to minimize the total system loss while maintaining bus voltages within a normal operating range. To solve the problem, a multi-agent trust region policy optimization (MATRPO) based approach is applied to learn a set of decentralized policies. Simulation results on a modified IEEE-34 test system show that the proposed approach can successfully learn a set of high-quality decentralized policies for the agents to collaboratively reduce the system loss and regulate the bus voltages. The simulation results also demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach over independent learning and the MADDPG method.
Constrained Optimization Models for Determining Economic Control Chart Parameters

This survey paper presents recent research on the design of constrained economic control charts, where control chart parameters are chosen to minimize expected hourly quality-related costs. Constraints may be placed on average run lengths while the process is in and out-of-control, on the average time to signal a shift in the process parameter, or on a percentile of the distribution of the time which the process spends in an out-of-control state. The concept is applied to control charts based on sampling by attributes and by variables. A variety of numerical examples are presented which illustrate applications of constrained designs.
SU‐E‐I‐06: A Dose Calculation Algorithm for KV Diagnostic Imaging Beams by Empirical Modeling

Purpose: To develop accurate three-dimensional (3D) empirical dose calculation model for kV diagnostic beams for different radiographic and CT imaging techniques. Methods: Dose was modeled using photon attenuation measured using depth dose (DD), scatter radiation of the source and medium, and off-axis ratio (OAR) profiles. Measurements were performed using single-diode in water and a diode-array detector (MapCHECK2) with kV on-board imagers (OBI) integrated with Varian TrueBeam and Trilogy linacs. The dose parameters were measured for three energies: 80, 100, and 125 kVp with and without bowtie filters using field sizes 1×1–40×40 cm2 and depths 0–20 cm in water tank. Results: The measured DD decreased with depth in water because of photon attenuation, while it increased with field size due to increased scatter radiation from medium. DD curves varied with energy and filters where they increased with higher energies and beam hardening from half-fan and full-fan bowtie filters. Scatter radiation factors increased with field sizes and higher energies. The OAR was with 3% for beam profiles within the flat dose regions. The heal effect of this kV OBI system was within 6% from the central axis value at different depths. The presence of bowtie filters attenuated measured dose off-axis by asmore » much as 80% at the edges of large beams. The model dose predictions were verified with measured doses using single point diode and ionization chamber or two-dimensional diode-array detectors inserted in solid water phantoms. Conclusion: This empirical model enables fast and accurate 3D dose calculation in water within 5% in regions with near charge-particle equilibrium conditions outside buildup region and penumbra. It considers accurately scatter radiation contribution in water which is superior to air-kerma or CTDI dose measurements used usually in dose calculation for diagnostic imaging beams. Considering heterogeneity corrections in this model will enable patient specific dose calculation.« less
Generation of CD8 T Cell Memory Is Regulated by IL-12

Various signals during infection influence CD8 T cell memory generation, but these factors have yet to be fully defined. IL-12 is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been shown to enhance IFN-gamma-producing T cell responses and has been widely tested as a vaccine adjuvant. In this study, we show that IL-12-deficient mice generate a weaker primary CD8 T cell response and are more susceptible to Listeria monocytogenes infection, but have substantially more memory CD8 T cells and greater protective immunity against reinfection. Kinetic analyses show that in the absence of IL-12 there is a reduced contraction of Ag-specific CD8 T cells and a gradual increase in memory CD8 T cells as a result of increased homeostatic renewal. By signaling directly through its receptor on CD8 T cells, IL-12 influences their differentiation to favor the generation of fully activated effectors, but hinders the formation of CD8 T cell memory precursors and differentiation of long-term CD8 T cell memory(.) These results have implications for understanding memory T cell development and enhancing vaccine efficacy, and offer new insight into the role of IL-12 in coordinating the innate and adaptive immune response.
Automatically Annotating and Integrating Spatial Datasets

Recent growth of the geo-spatial information on the web has made it possible to easily access a wide variety of spatial data. By integrating these spatial datasets, one can support a rich set of queries that could not have been answered given any of these sets in isolation. However, accurately integrating geo-spatial data from different data sources is a challenging task. This is because spatial data obtained from various data sources may have different projections, different accuracy levels and different formats (e.g. raster or vector format). In this paper, we describe an information integration approach, which utilizes various geo-spatial and textual data available on the Internet to automatically annotate and conflate satellite imagery with vector datasets. We describe two techniques to automatically generate control point pairs from the satellite imagery and vector data to perform the conflation. The first technique generates the control point pairs by integrating information from different online sources. The second technique exploits the information from the vector data to perform localized image-processing on the satellite imagery. Using these techniques, we can automatically integrate vector data with satellite imagery or align multiple satellite images of the same area. Our automatic conflation techniques can automatically identify the roads in satellite imagery with an average error of 8.61 meters compared to the original error of 26.19 meters for the city of El Segundo and 7.48 meters compared to 15.27 meters for the city of Adams Morgan in Washington, DC.
Obstacles in the way of love: The enslavement of intimacy in Samuel Crowther and Ama Ata Aidoo

Though less attention is generally paid to the period following the abolition of slave trade in West African history, literary and nonfictional representations of the postabolition period in West Africa can reveal much about the personal effects the slave trade had on African lives. In this paper, I discuss the effects the slave trade had on the people who were "left behind"—those Africans who did not embark on slave ships but who nonetheless experienced the constant interruption of the slave trade in their personal lives, even long after the transatlantic trade ended. This paper discusses, in particular, the effect the slave trade had on African intimate and family relations through a reading of some of Samuel Crowther's papers and of Ama Ata Aidoo's dramatic depiction entitled Anowa . In a letter he wrote from school in Sierra Leone, Samuel Crowther describes the loss of his family in a slave raid in 1821, and then in a later diary, he recounts the somewhat hesitant, bitter-sweet reunion with his family in the 1846. In Anowa , Aidoo depicts a slaveholder in the 1870s who, because of his relationship to slaves and the slave trade, is literally made impotent; though he reaches out to his slaves as if they were his family, he is not able to have a family life himself. Both the fictional and the nonfictional texts depict the endemic failure of intimacy that was engendered by the slave trade in Africa, revealing the way in which the economy of the slave trade was calculated in such a way that family bonds and human relationships were diminished in value.
Molecular cloning of the type 5, iron-containing, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase from human placenta.

Abstract The type 5, iron-containing, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TR-AP) constitutes a relatively minor intracellular isozyme of acid phosphatase in the human that is immunologically related to uteroferrin, a secreted progesterone-induced protein of the porcine uterus. Here, the purification of small amounts of TR-AP from human placenta is described. When a placental lambda gt11 cDNA library was screened with two short 32P-labeled cDNA clones from within the coding region of uteroferrin, a 1412-base pair cDNA was identified that encodes the entire human TR-AP isozyme. This cDNA contains an open reading frame of 969 base pairs, corresponding to a protein of 323 amino acids. A putative signal sequence of 19 amino acids and two potential glycosylation sites are present. The deduced amino acid sequence of the human TR-AP is 85% identical to that of porcine uteroferrin (whose sequence is also reported here in complete form for the first time) and 82% identical to the corresponding regions of a partial amino acid sequence of a bovine spleen phosphoprotein phosphatase. Northern blotting techniques employing a labeled TR-AP cDNA probe revealed the presence of a 1.5-kilobase transcript in white cells from a patient with hairy cell leukemia, in human K562 erythroleukemic cells, and in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human B-cells, but not in a human T-cell line. Culture of K562 cells in presence of 10(-8) M phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate ester for 48-72 h enhanced TR-AP activity per cell about 30-fold and led to a corresponding increase in TR-AP mRNA levels.
Influence of Geologic Discontinuities on Hydraulic Fracture Propagation (includes associated papers 17011 and 17074 )

Geologic discontinuities, such as joints, faults, and bedding planes, can significantly affect the overall geometry of hydraulic fractures. This can occur by arresting the growth of the fracture, increasing fluid leakoff, hindering proppant transport, and enhancing the creation of multiple fractures. Results from mineback experiments and laboratory tests and analyses of these data are integrated to describe this complex fracture behavior.
Two-Neutron Transfer in Pt and Os Nuclei and the IBA

Two-neutron transfer studies in Pt and Os were investigated. The extracted relative enhancement factors in Pt were found to be in excellent agreement with the O(6) limit predictions. The differences in transfer strength between Pt and Os (t, p) could not be reproduced within the present framework of the Interacting Boson Approximation Model.
Increase of the DNA strand assimilation activity of recA protein by removal of the C terminus and structure-function studies of the resulting protein fragment

A proteolytic fragment of recA protein, missing about 15% of the protein at the C terminus, was found to promote assimilation of homologous single-stranded DNA into duplex DNA more efficiently than intact recA protein. This difference was not found if Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein was present. The ATPase activity of both intact recA protein and the fragment was identical. The difference in strand assimilation activity cannot be due to differences in single-stranded DNA affinity, since both the fragment and intact proteins bind to single-stranded DNA with nearly identical affinities. However, the fragment was found to bind double-stranded DNA more tightly and to aggregate more extensively than recA protein; both of these properties may be important in strand assimilation. Aggregation of the fragment was extensive in the presence of duplex DNA under the same condition where recA protein did not aggregate. The double-stranded DNA binding of both recA protein and the fragment responds to nucleotide cofactors in the same manner as single-stranded DNA binding, i.e. ADP weakens and ATP gamma S strengthens the association. The missing C-terminal region of recA protein includes a very acidic region that is homologous to other single-stranded DNA binding proteins and which has been implicated in DNA binding modulation. This C-terminal region may serve a similar function in recA protein, possibly inhibiting double-stranded DNA invasion. The possible role of the enhanced double-stranded DNA affinity of the fragment protein in the mechanism of strand assimilation is discussed.
Comparison of two formats for student evaluation of teacher effectiveness.

Context: Student evaluation of faculty is an essential part of the academic process. The study was designed to compare two formats of student evaluation of teachers (SETs) with a view to determine the method with minimum bias. Aims: To compare student ratings of teacher effectiveness obtained from two different SET formats and determine factors contributing to the student bias. Materials and Methods: Faculty members of first professional were evaluated by MBBS students using a SET-I questionnaire already in use. Faculty perceived types of bias were documented using a separate semi-structured questionnaire. Based on this, a second SET-II questionnaire with Likert scale was designed and filled out by the same students as before. The faculty was apprised of the scores granted to them, and their acceptance of the preferred SET format was determined with the help of another questionnaire. Results: Ratings obtained from 71 students using both the SET-I and SET-II formats showed no difference. However, the level of students satisfaction with teacher effectiveness, compared with the total teacher score, indicated that when a score of the faculty was below 50%, the level of students satisfaction reduced considerably. The major causes of perceived negative bias identified were strictness, seniority, gender, classes taken, less interest in the subject, and lower student grades. SET-II was preferred by faculty but didn't eliminate all bias factors. Conclusions: Although it was not possible to remove all causes of bias from the modified student questionnaire, the faculty perception of bias affecting the students rating seems to be largely ungrounded as there was no difference between the scores obtained.
Greed Is Bad, Neutral, and Good: A Historical Perspective on Excessive Accumulation and Consumption

Any investigation into the topics of greed and excess is necessarily hampered by the inability to frame and define these concepts for general application to human behaviors. These terms carry significant moral, social, political, and cultural weight, primarily used either as accusations of sin, vice, and social destruction or justified for their virtues, rewards, and social good. In trying to understand the social and economic underpinnings of the behaviors we may term as greedy and excessive, we recognize the need for also exploring why these topics have almost universally been addressed in religions, philosophies, and social rules across the world, whether in sanction and condemnation, or in tolerance or even encouragement. This article investigates the ways in which major philosophical traditions across the world have viewed greed and excess, their impacts on society, and how the meanings and connotations of these terms have changed through time, since the Bronze Age to the present. We suggest that these terms and behaviors are temporally and culturally dependent, and that any investigation into the larger topic of greed and excess must begin with understanding and accommodating the variation in their meaning and social impacts.
Interleukin 3: from colony-stimulating factor to pluripotent immunoregulatory cytokine.

IL-3 is best known as a multicolony-stimulating factor, produced by T-cells, mast cells and eosinophils. Based on its broad spectrum of hemopoietic growth factor activity, the role of IL-3 in the homeostasis of leukocytes is apparent, although the precise mechanisms of this process are yet to be determined. The fact that activated T-helper cells are one of the most potent sources of IL-3 suggests an additional role for IL-3 in the regulation of the immune response. Although the presence of IL-3 receptors on monocytes has been demonstrated, the role of IL-3 in regulating macrophage functions was not clear until recently. We have demonstrated a unique spectrum of macrophage activating properties of IL-3, distinct from that of IFN gamma, IL-4 and other CSFs. These novel macrophage activating properties of IL-3 include its capacity to directly induce the expression of Ia antigens and members of the beta 2 integrin family (e.g. CD11a/CD18[LFA-1]), as well as to contribute to the regulation of cytokine production (IL-1, IL-6 and TNF alpha). Moreover, we observed a significant synergy between IL-3 and IFN gamma in the induction of Ia and LFA-1, as well as between IL-3 and LPS in the induction of Ia and macrophage cytokines. Our data suggest that IL-3 may help control the antigen presentation (AP) capacity of macrophage via the regulation of Ia, beta 2 integrins and macrophage cytokines. It is also possible that the differential state of activation of macrophages that we demonstrated following their induction with IL-3, IFN gamma or IL-3+IFN gamma results in the development of functionally distinct AP cells. Further immunoregulatory properties of IL-3 were observed in vivo by Kimoto and colleagues when IL-3 administration led to profound enhancement of the T-cell-dependent immune response, with no changes in the antibody response to T-cell-independent antigens. Thus, in vitro and in vivo data both confer an immunoregulatory role for IL-3 in the development of the immune response, most likely via its effects on the antigen presenting cells (macrophages). This review will summarize evidence documenting a range of immunoregulatory properties of IL-3 and discuss the mechanisms of action of IL-3.
Enabling high-resolution forecasting of severe weather and flooding events in Rio de Janeiro

Safe operation of many cities is affected by relative extremes in weather conditions. With precipitation events, local topography and weather influence water runoff and infiltration, which directly affect flooding. Hence, the availability of highly focused predictions has the potential to mitigate the impact of severe weather on a city. Often, such information is simply unavailable. The initial step to address this gap is the application of state-of-the-art weather models at an urban scale calibrated to address this mismatch. The generation of operational forecasts at such a scale for the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area suggests a horizontal resolution of approximately 1 km and a vertical resolution in the lower boundary layer of tens of meters. Forecasting impacts from storm-driven flooding events requires the development of a coupled hydrological model that operates at a street scale with resolution of approximately 1 m, capturing local terrain effects and simulating surface flow and water accumulation, especially for overland flow and ponding depth. This coupled approach has enabled operational prediction of storm impacts on local infrastructure, as well as measurement of the model error associated with such forecasts.