cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A round robin approach to the analysis of bisphenol a (BPA) in human blood samples

Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) is ubiquitous, yet there are concerns about whether BPA can be measured in human blood. This Round Robin was designed to address this concern through three goals: 1) to identify collection materials, reagents and detection apparatuses that do not contribute BPA to serum; 2) to identify sensitive and precise methods to accurately measure unconjugated BPA (uBPA) and BPA-glucuronide (BPA-G), a metabolite, in serum; and 3) to evaluate whether inadvertent hydrolysis of BPA-G occurs during sample handling and processing. Four laboratories participated in this Round Robin. Laboratories screened materials to identify BPA contamination in collection and analysis materials. Serum was spiked with concentrations of uBPA and/or BPA-G ranging from 0.09-19.5 (uBPA) and 0.5-32 (BPA-G) ng/mL. Additional samples were preserved unspiked as ‘environmental’ samples. Blinded samples were provided to laboratories that used LC/MSMS to simultaneously quantify uBPA and BPA-G. To determine whether inadvertent hydrolysis of BPA metabolites occurred, samples spiked with only BPA-G were analyzed for the presence of uBPA. Finally, three laboratories compared direct and indirect methods of quantifying BPA-G. We identified collection materials and reagents that did not introduce BPA contamination. In the blinded spiked sample analysis, all laboratories were able to distinguish low from high values of uBPA and BPA-G, for the whole spiked sample range and for those samples spiked with the three lowest concentrations (0.5-3.1 ng/ml). By completion of the Round Robin, three laboratories had verified methods for the analysis of uBPA and two verified for the analysis of BPA-G (verification determined by: 4 of 5 samples within 20% of spiked concentrations). In the analysis of BPA-G only spiked samples, all laboratories reported BPA-G was the majority of BPA detected (92.2 – 100%). Finally, laboratories were more likely to be verified using direct methods than indirect ones using enzymatic hydrolysis. Sensitive and accurate methods for the direct quantification of uBPA and BPA-G were developed in multiple laboratories and can be used for the analysis of human serum samples. BPA contamination can be controlled during sample collection and inadvertent hydrolysis of BPA conjugates can be avoided during sample handling.
Application of ultrasonic thermal imaging in IVUS systems

Sudden disruption of vulnerable coronary plaque is considered by pathologists as the most frequent cause of acute coronary syndromes. These plaques are characterized by a large lipid-rich core with abundant inflammatory cells and a thin fibrous cap, which can be potentially detected with thermal strain imaging (TSI) using IVUS. A phantom experiment using an IVUS array demonstrates the concept and results agree reasonably well with predictions. The in vivo application of this technique faces the major challenge of tissue motion. We propose a practical imaging scheme to minimize mechanical strains caused by tissue motion based on a linear least squares fitting strategy. To test this scheme, thermal strains were artificially superimposed on computed mechanical strain images from clinical data, and results suggest a 1-2/spl deg/C temperature rise is possible for in vivo plaque detection.
N-variant systems: a secretless framework for security through diversity

We present an architectural framework for systematically using automated diversity to provide high assurance detection and disruption for large classes of attacks. The framework executes a set of automatically diversified variants on the same inputs, and monitors their behavior to detect divergences. The benefit of this approach is that it requires an attacker to simultaneously compromise all system variants with the same input. By constructing variants with disjoint exploitation sets, we can make it impossible to carry out large classes of important attacks. In contrast to previous approaches that use automated diversity for security, our approach does not rely on keeping any secrets. In this paper, we introduce the N-variant systems framework, present a model for analyzing security properties of N-variant systems, define variations that can be used to detect attacks that involve referencing absolute memory addresses and executing injected code, and describe and present performance results from a prototype implementation.
The press and “delusive theories of equality and fraternity” in the age of emancipation

Important insight into race relations during Reconstruction might be gained by examining racial ideologies present in newspaper content, as black and white Americans attempted to establish new social, political, legal, and economic relations in the aftermath of the end to slavery. Nine leading newspapers‐four in the North, two in border states and three in the South‐were examined for language about African American civil rights in coverage of three post‐Civil War amendments, passed in an attempt to guarantee black Americans the full privileges of American citizenship. Findings suggest that the diminishing concern for African American civil rights conveyed in Northern papers, coupled with the increasing language in border and Southern papers suggesting that blacks were not worthy of equal rights, likely thwarted growth of egalitarian racial attitudes among whites.
Perspective: Health Care Reform In Rural Areas

Health care reform presents a critical opportunity for addressing fundamental problems in the rural health care delivery system. That was the major theme that emerged from the March 1993 invitational conference, “Health Care Reform in Rural Areas,” cosponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Arkansas Department of Health. The purpose of the meeting was to develop a cogent statement of the major issues that should be addressed in developing health care reform as it would affect rural health care specifically, and to offer recommendations for consideration by the administration and Congress. This essay highlights the cross-cutting themes and describes the major recommendations that emerged from the conference. Crafting the thirteen policy recommendations described here was a collaborative effort that involved more than 100 conference attendees who participated in workgroup sessions at the meeting. These participants represented a diverse range of health professions, provider organizations, and state and federal agencies responsible for the delivery of health services in rural areas. Additionally, members of the conference planning committee and the work-group facilitators and recorders offered their comments and editorial advice as we prepared the final conference report.
Estimation of mesoscale thermospheric wind structure using a network of interferometers

We introduce a technique for estimating the regional thermospheric wind field from measurements made by a network of interferometers. Unlike previous work, this technique does not make assumptions about the functional form of the wind field and instead uses inverse theory to find the smoothest wind field that agrees with the measurements. This technique is general and applies to any network making radial velocity measurements. We show reconstructions of the thermospheric wind field over the eastern United States and over eastern Brazil, using data from two distinct networks of Fabry-Perot interferometers measuring the Doppler shift of the 630.0 nm airglow emission. In Brazil, we find direct evidence of a convergent wind field during the period of rapid thermospheric temperature increase associated with the equatorial midnight temperature maximum.
A rotatable reconfigurable antenna for cognitive radio applications

This paper presents an antenna scheme suitable for cognitive radio applications. A UWB sensing antenna and a frequency reconfigurable communicating antenna are incorporated together into the same antenna substrate. The UWB antenna searches for available spectrum holes while the reconfigurable antenna simultaneously tunes its operating frequency to the corresponding frequency determined by the sensing antenna. A new technique to achieve the required frequency reconfigurability is implemented via a rotational motion of a series of antenna patches. This eliminates the use of any bias lines as with the case of RF MEMs, PIN diodes and lumped elements. A prototype antenna was fabricated to test the proposed method. In the fabricated prototype, a stepper motor is incorporated and controlled via a computer. The use of this antenna structure in a cognitive radio communication link is demonstrated.
Matching pursuit video coding .I. Dictionary approximation

We have shown in previous works that overcomplete signal decomposition using matching pursuits is an efficient technique for coding motion-residual images in a hybrid video coder. Others have shown that alternate basis sets may improve the coding efficiency or reduce the encoder complexity. In this work, we introduce for the first time a design methodology which incorporates both coding efficiency and complexity in a systematic way. The key to the method is an algorithm which takes an arbitrary 2-D dictionary and generates approximations of the dictionary which have fast two-stage implementations according to the method of Redmill et al. (see Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Image Processing, p.769-773, 1998). By varying the quality of the approximation, we can explore a systematic tradeoff between the coding efficiency and complexity of the resulting matching pursuit video encoder. As a practical result, we show that complexity reduction factors of up to 1000 are achievable with negligible coding efficiency losses of about 0.1-dB PSNR.
Sex Differences in ACTH Pulsatility following Metyrapone Blockade in Patients with Major Depression

Summary Numerous studies suggest that increased central drive to the hypothalamic–pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis occurs in patients with major depression. To determine if increased central drive occurs throughout the 24 h, we evaluated ACTH secretion under metyrapone blockade of cortisol production. We collected blood every 10 min for measurement of ACTH and data were analyzed for ACTH pulsatility using the pulse detection algorithm deconvolution. We studied 28 patients with major depression and 28 age and sex-matched control subjects, of which 9 pairs were men and 19 pairs were women. We found a significant group×sex interaction with number of ACTH pulses ( p =0.04); depressed men showed more ACTH pulses over 24 h than matched control men ( p =0.02). There was also a significant sex difference in AUC pulses with men showing a smaller AUC ACTH than women. Previous analyses of these data with RM-ANOVA showed a smaller ACTH response in depressed men compared to control men. These data suggest that pulsatility and mean ACTH levels are examining different aspects of HPA axis function, and that the types of HPA axis dysregulation in depression may differ between men and women.
Decreased Hippocampal 5-HT 2A Receptor Binding in Older Depressed Patients Using [ 18 F]Altanserin Positron Emission Tomography

Serotonin receptor changes have been associated with the pathophysiology and treatment of major depression. Only one other study has investigated serotonin receptor changes in older depressed patients. We used positron emission tomography (PET) and [18F]altanserin, a ligand with high affinity for the 5-HT2A receptor, to examine the relationship between 5-HT2A receptor density and depression. Depressed subjects (n=16), age>50 years, were recruited as part of a larger study. Older depressed subjects consisted of early-onset recurrent depression (EORD, n=11) and late-onset depression (LOD, n=5). An age-matched control group (n=9) was also recruited. All subjects were right-handed, nonsmokers and antidepressant-free. Regions of interest were determined on a summed MPRAGE scan transformed into Talairach space and coregistered with the PET images. Depressed subjects had less hippocampal 5-HT2A receptor binding than controls (p=0.05). No significant differences in receptor binding were found between EORD and LOD subjects. Depressed subjects not previously treated for depression (n=6) had less hippocampal 5-HT2A receptor binding (p=0.04) than previously treated subjects (n=10). It may be that prior medication treatment provides a compensatory upregulation of the 5-HT2A receptor.
pbX Marks the Spot

Pbx and Meis proteins act as cofactors to various transcription factors, but their exact functions have been unclear. A report by Berkes et al. in Molecular Cell now demonstrates that Pbx and Meis may penetrate repressive chromatin to mark specific genes for activation.
Emission and Propagation Properties of Midinfrared Quantum Cascade Lasers

We report divergence, astigmatism, and beam propagation factor (M2) measurements of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) with emission wavelengths of 8.77 mum. Emission profiles from the facet showed full-width at half-maximum divergence angles of 62deg and 32degplusmn2deg for the fast and slow axes, respectively. Diffraction-limited Ge aspheric microlenses were designed and fabricated to efficiently collect, collimate, and focus QCL emission. A confocal system comprised of these lenses was used to measure M2 yielding 1.8 and 1.2 for the fast and slow axes, respectively. Astigmatism at the exit facet was calculated to be about 3.4 mum, or less than half a wave. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental measurement of astigmatism and M2 reported for midinfrared QCLs.
A hierarchical fire frequency model to simulate temporal patterns of fire regimes in LANDIS

Fire disturbance has important ecological effects in many forest landscapes. Existing statistically based approaches can be used to examine the effects of a fire regime on forest landscape dynamics. Most examples of statistically based fire models divide a fire occurrence into two stages—fire ignition and fire initiation. However, the exponential and Weibull fire-interval distributions, which model a fire occurrence as a single event, are often inappropriately applied to these two-stage models. We propose a hierarchical fire frequency model in which the joint distribution of fire frequency is factorized into a series of conditional distributions. The model is consistent with the framework of statistically based approaches because it accounts for the separation of fire ignition from fire occurrence. The exponential and Weibull models are actually special cases of our hierarchical model. In addition, more complicated non-stationary temporal patterns of fire occurrence also can be simulated with the same approach. We implemented this approach as an improved fire module in LANDIS and conducted experiments within forest landscapes of northern Wisconsin and southern Missouri. The results of our experiments demonstrate this new fire module can simulate a wide range of fire regimes across heterogeneous landscapes with a few parameters and a moderate amount of input data. The model possesses great flexibility for simulating temporal variations in fire frequency for various forest ecosystems and can serve as a theoretical framework for future statistical modeling of fire regimes. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Optical Behavior of Elliptical Lenses Made of DNG Metamaterial

The two-dimensional problem of radiation from an isotropic line source located at one of the two focal lines of an elliptic cylinder made of double-negative (DNG) metamaterial is considered in the frequency domain and in the optical limit. The radiated field appears to emanate from a virtual line source located at the other focal line of the DNG elliptical cylinder. Some derivative structures are also examined, leading to a far field whose source appears to be outside the radiating structure.
Simulating forest fuel and fire risk dynamics across landscapes—LANDIS fuel module design

Understanding fuel dynamics over large spatial (10 3 –10 6 ha) and temporal scales (10 1 –10 3 years) is important in comprehensive wildfire management. We present a modeling approach to simulate fuel and fire risk dynamics as well as impacts of alternative fuel treatments. The approach is implemented using the fuel module of an existing spatially explicit forest landscape model, LANDIS. The LANDIS fuel module tracks fine fuel, coarse fuel and live fuel for each cell on a landscape. Fine fuel is derived from vegetation types (species composition) and species age, and coarse fuel is derived from stand age (the oldest age cohorts) in combination with disturbance history. Live fuels, also called canopy fuels, are live trees that may be ignited in high intensity fire situations (such as crown fires). The amount of coarse fuel at a given time is the result of accumulation and decomposition processes, which have rates defined by ecological land types. Potential fire intensity is determined by the combination of fine fuel and coarse fuel. Potential fire risk is determined by the potential fire intensity and fire probability, which are derived from fire cycle (fire return interval) and the time since last fire. The LANDIS fuel module simulates common fuel management practices including prescribed burning, coarse fuel load reduction (mechanical thinning), or both. To test the design of the module, we applied it to a large landscape in the Missouri Ozarks. We demonstrated two simulation scenarios: fire suppression with and without fuel treatment for 200 years. At each decade of a simulation, we analyzed fine fuel, coarse fuel, and fire risk maps. The results show that the fuel module correctly implements the assumptions made to create it, and is able to simulate basic cause–effect relationships between fuel treatment and fire risk. The design of the fuel module makes it amendable to calibration and verification for other regions. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Target Acquisition Cooperative Unmanned Vehicle System

[Abstract] The goal of the Target Acquisition Cooperative (TAC) Unmanned Vehicle System (UVS) is to provide a group of autonomous vehicles that can work cooperatively to identify and classify targets in a predefined target area. TAC outlines three classes of vehicle: Eagle, Strike, and Rover. The first class, TAC Eagle, would be an eight foot wingspan aircraft that can fly high above the target area to identify possible targets. The second class is the TAC Strike, which would have a five foot wingspan,and provide the capability of target identification. The third class is TAC Rover, which would drive to identified targets and collect close range data. With the number of natural disasters that have happened over the past few years (Tsunamis in Indonesia, hurricanes in USA, earthquakes in Iran and Pakistan, etc.), the task of search and rescue operations has become an important element of initial activities, which could result in a reduction of fatalities. However, due to the environmental challenges and the magnitude of destruction, sometimes it is impossible for human search and rescue teams to penetrate the disaster area. Unmanned systems are an obvious solution to this problem; in particular autonomous unmanned systems, which could be sent out in large swarms to perform collaborative searches with very little manpower. With fewer operators able to operate a larger number of vehicles at once, increased autonomy is attractive. It is this interest in autonomous systems that is driving research at schools like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). In the ERAU Computer and Software Engineering (CSE) department, a group of students have been working on various projects over the past few years focusing on research and development of autonomous ground and air vehicles. A working TAC UVS is clearly ambitious for a small group of students, and it will probably be another year before the team accomplishes its goals. This report will focus on the journey thus far. The TAC team has attempted to gain a head start by integrating with the existing projects, although the integration itself presented some unexpected challenges over and above the project’s requirements. At this stage in the project, the team is evaluating various autonomous control methods with respect to their usefulness on the TAC project and has started work on creating new software to adapt the existing autonomous vehicle systems. Of course, the makeup of the development team has strongly influenced its approach to the problem. The development team is made up of computer and software engineering students; as a result the team tends to avoid hardware based solutions and would rather avoid working with the mechanical aspects of the vehicles. This has resulted in the use of off-the-shelf components wherever possible.
CONTESTING THE RACIAL DIVISION OF LABOR FROM BELOW

Popular discourse and academic scholarship both accent divisions between African American and immigrant workers. These debates most often focus on the question of job competition, positioning African Americans and immigrant workers as a priori adversaries in the labor market. We take a different tack. Drawing upon a case study of hotel workers in Chicago, we identify ways in which workers themselves challenge and bridge these divisions. Specifically, we reveal how union organizing activities, such as diverse committee representation and inclusion of diversity language in contracts, counter notions of intergroup competition in an effort to build common cause that affirms rather than denies differences. We argue that these activities represent political efforts on the part of workers to contest and even reshape the racial and ethnic division of labor, thereby revealing competition as a socially contingent and politically mediated process.
Tropical Upper-Tropospheric Potential Vorticity Intrusions during Sudden Stratospheric Warmings

AbstractThe intrusion of lower-stratospheric extratropical potential vorticity into the tropical upper troposphere in the weeks surrounding the occurrence of sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) is examined. The analysis reveals that SSW-related PV intrusions are significantly stronger, penetrate more deeply into the tropics, and exhibit distinct geographic distributions compared to their climatological counterparts. While climatological upper-tropospheric and lower-stratospheric (UTLS) PV intrusions are generally attributed to synoptic-scale Rossby wave breaking, it is found that SSW-related PV intrusions are governed by planetary-scale wave disturbances that deform the extratropical meridional PV gradient maximum equatorward. As these deformations unfold, planetary-scale wave breaking along the edge of the polar vortex extends deeply into the subtropical and tropical UTLS. In addition, the material PV deformations also reorganize the geographic structure of the UTLS waveguide, which alters where synopti...
Self-assembly of gemini surfactants: a computer simulation study.

The self-assembly behavior of gemini (dimeric or twin-tail) dicarboxylate disodium surfactants is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. A united atom model is employed for the surfactants w...
Phase Evolution During Crystallization of Amorphous Titanium Aluminide Thin Films: Effect Mn and Nb Additions

Thin films of Ti-aluminides have been sputter deposited using a binary γ-TiAl based target and a quaternary γ-TiAl based target containing alloying additions of Nb and Mn. The as-deposited binary film consisted of microcrystalline agglomerates of α-Ti(Al) embedded in an amorphous matrix whereas the as-deposited quaternary film was found to be amorphous. These films have been annealed in a furnace under a protective Ar atmosphere (referred to as ex situ annealing) as well as on a hot stage in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), referred to as in situ annealing, to study the crystallization behavior of these films and also the effect of Nb and Mn additions on the same. Ex situ annealing of both binary and quaternary films resulted in a nanocrystalline microstructure consisting of primarily γ-TiAl with a small amount of finely dispersed α2-Ti3Al. During in situ annealing of the binary film, at 753 K (stage temperature), growth of the α-Ti(Al) phase was observed together with crystallization of a second phase in relatively thicker regions of the specimen. The first crystalline phase to appear during in situ annealing of the quaternary film was a surface crystallized metastable tetragonal phase at 873 K. Prolonged annealing at the same temperature resulted in the transformation of the amorphous region between grains of the tetragonal phase into γ-TiAl. Formation of the tetragonal and intergranular γ-TiAl phases were also observed in the thin regions of the binary film when it was heated to 873 K.
All-Optical Zero to π Phase Jump

By performing a pre-selection, an optically-induced unitary transformation, and then a postselection on the polarization degree of freedom, the phase of the output beam acquires either a zero or π phase shift. The scheme is experimentally demonstrated using a coherently prepared dark-state in a warm atomic cesium vapor.
UNORTHODOXIES IN THE FIRST FORMULATION OF NATURAL SELECTION.

bearing on the problem of speciation in the mulleri subgroup. Univ. Tex. Publ. 4720:41-77. PATTERSON, J. T., AND W. S. STONE. 1952. Evolution in the Genus Drosophila. Macmillan, N.Y. PYLE, D. W., AND M. H. GROMKO. 1981. Genetic basis for repeated mating in Drosophila melanogaster. Amer. Natur. 117:133-146. SMITH, R. L. (ed.). In press. Sperm Competition and the Evolution of Animal Mating Systems. Academic Press, N.Y. SPIETH, H. T. 1952. Mating behavior within the genus Drosophila (Diptera). Bull. Amer. Mus. Natur. Hist. 99:395-474. THROCKMORTON, L. H. 1975. The phylogeny, ecology, and geography of Drosophila, p. 421469. In R. C. King (ed.), Handbook of Genetics, vol. 3. Plenum, N.Y. TOMPKINS, L., AND J. C. HALL. 1981. The different effects on courtship of volatile compounds from mated and virgin Drosophila females. J. Insect Physiol. 2 7:17-2 1. WHEELER, M. R. 1947. The insemination reaction in intraspecific matings of Drosophila. Univ. Tex. Publ. 4720:78-115.
Infrared Studies of the Reaction of Methanesulfonic Acid with Trimethylamine on Surfaces

Organosulfur compounds generated from a variety of biological as well as anthropogenic sources are oxidized in air to form sulfuric acid and methanesulfonic acid (MSA). Both of these acids formed initially in the gas phase react with ammonia and amines in air to form and grow new particles, which is important for visibility, human health and climate. A competing sink is deposition on surfaces in the boundary layer. However, relatively little is known about reactions after they deposit on surfaces. We report here diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectrometry (DRIFTS) studies of the reaction of MSA with trimethylamine (TMA) on a silicon powder at atmospheric pressure in synthetic air and at room temperature, either in the absence or in the presence of water vapor. In both cases, DRIFTS spectra of the product surface species are essentially the same as the transmission spectrum obtained for trimethylaminium methanesulfonate, indicating the formation of the salt on the surface with a lower limit to the reaction probability of γ > 10(-6). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first infrared study to demonstrate this chemistry from the heterogeneous reaction of MSA with an amine on a surface. This heterogeneous chemistry appears to be sufficiently fast that it could impact measurements of gas-phase amines through reactions with surface-adsorbed acids on sampling lines and inlets. It could also represent an additional sink for amines in the boundary layer, especially at night when the gas-phase reactions of amines with OH radical and ozone are minimized.
Preliminaries for Abstract Evolution Equations

In Chapter I we were concerned with a physical system whose time behavior could be described by an ordinary differential equation on the n-dimensional space χ = ℛ sun , $$\begin{array}{*{20}c} {\dot x\left( t \right) = f\left( {x\left( t \right),t} \right),} \hfill & {t \geqslant t_0 \in \mathcal{R}} \hfill \\ {x\left( {t_0 } \right) = x_0 \in X} \hfill & {} \hfill \\ \end{array}$$ (1) We now wish to consider this type of equation with χ denoting some type of abstract space. Roughly speaking, we hope to describe the evolution in time of almost any physical system by an evolution equation similar to (1); we hope to obtain much information about the time behavior of the system, this information being of the same type as we obtained in Chapter I for physical systems described by differential equations on ℛ n . In order to do this, it will be necessary to define and briefly illustrate a considerable amount of mathematical language. Hence, it may be helpful to describe some of the problems that we hope to be able to discuss intelligently by using this language.
Paclitaxel Enhances Carboplatin-DNA Adduct Formation and Cytotoxicity

This rapid report focuses on the pharmacodynamic mechanism of the carboplatin/paclitaxel combination and correlates it with its cytotoxicity. Consistent with the synergistic to additive antitumor activity (the combination index ranging from 0.53 to 0.94), cells exposed to this combination had significantly increased carboplatin-DNA adduct formation when compared to that of carboplatin alone (450 ± 30 versus 320 ± 120 adducts per 10(8) nucleotides at 2 h, p = 0.004). Removal of paclitaxel increased the repair of carboplatin-DNA adducts: 39.4 versus 33.1 adducts per 10(8) nucleotides per hour in carboplatin alone (p = 0.021). This rapid report provides the first pharmacodynamics data to support the use of carboplatin/paclitaxel combination in the clinic.
Abstract LB-235: IGF-1R/mTOR blockade and mechanisms of resistance in Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma (ES), the second most common bone cancer in adolescents and young adults, is dependent upon the insulin-like growth factor receptor 1 (IGF-1R) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) cell-signaling axis for malignancy, survival, and metastasis. Therapies co-targeting IGF-1R and mTOR have demonstrated remarkable, although ephemeral, clinical responses in a subset of ES patients. However, the mechanisms of resistance and applicable strategies for overcoming drug resistance to IGF-1R/mTOR blockade are still undefined. To elucidate predominant mechanism(s) of acquired drug resistance, while identifying synergistic drug combinations that improve clinical efficacy, we generated ES cell lines resistant to IGF-1R or mTOR targeted therapy. Two small-molecule inhibitors of IGF-1R were chosen, NVP-ADW-742 (IGF-1R-selective) and OSI-906 (a dual IGF-1R/insulin receptor alpha [IR-α] inhibitor). Chronic ridaforolimus exposure led to mTOR-resistant ES cell lines. Reverse phase protein lysate arrays (RPPA) revealed proteomic changes linked to IGF-1R/mTOR resistance and selected proteins were validated using in vitro cell-based assays, xenografts, and human clinical samples. Novel mechanisms of resistance (MOR) occurred in NVP-ADW-742-, OSI-906-, and ridaforolimus-resistant cells. Of particular clinical relevance given OSI-9069s ongoing phase 1b/2 clinical trials, the MOR varied depending upon whether IGF-1R or both IGF-1R and IR-α were targeted. Key proteomic alterations present in vitro also occurred in ES xenografts and human tumor specimens exposed to these agents. Novel synergistic drug combinations (e.g., inhibitors of Mnk and mTOR) were identified in vitro that are currently undergoing prospective validation. In conclusion, we discovered new druggable targets expressed by chemo-resistant ES cells, xenografts, and relapsed human tumors. Joint suppression of these newfound targets with IGF-1R or mTOR enhanced the antineoplastic effect of IGF-1R/mTOR blockade and suggests the need for in vivo validation. Citation Format: Salah-Eddine LAMHAMEDI CHERRADI, Brian Menegaz, Vandhana Ramamoorthy, Joseph Ludwig. IGF-1R/mTOR blockade and mechanisms of resistance in Ewing sarcoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-235.
Nursing victims of violence.

Nurse executives are key to providing quality care to patients affected by violence, with the growth in crime being a critical consideration in designing patient care and fostering collaboration across teams. Language: en
International Law and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Chapter 2

This is Chapter 2 of the book International Law and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Oxford University Press, 2009). Chapter 2 is entitled: “The Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Regime.”
Proteins as pH Sensors and Switches

Ionizable residues buried in dry or hydrophobic environments in proteins can have extremely anomalous pKa values (pKa > 10 for Asp and Glu, pKa 5 for Lys). These buried ionizable groups are involved in many forms of biological energy transduction. Their anomalous pKa values are usually essential for function in many pH-driven processes. Anomalous pKa values impart unusual pH sensitivity to the stability of the folded state. Previously we examined energetic consequences of burial of Lys, His, Arg, Asp and Glu in hydrophobic environments systematically, using staphylococcal nuclease (SNase) as a model system. With NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography we have now characterized a variety of different types of conformational reorganization coupled to the ionization of these buried groups. Not only are conformational transitions driven by the binding or release of an H+ the basis of many H+-coupled energy transduction processes (e.g. ATPase), the detailed structural characterization of locally, partially or subglobally unfolded forms of SNase has also contributed a unique perspective on its folding landscape. When they occur, these structural transitions determine the magnitude of the shift in the pKa of internal groups. We have now also demonstrated that the unusual properties of buried ionizable groups can be harnessed to engineer proteins capable of acting as pH sensors and pH-driven switches. These switch proteins are sensitive to changes in pH in the physiological range despite using Asp, Glu or Lys residues for purposes of pH sensing. I will describe specific examples illustrating general and transferable engineering principles that may be used to turn any protein into a pH-sensitive protein with structure or function that can be modulated by small changes in pH in the physiological range.
One-Step Toughening of Soy Protein Based Green Resin Using Electrospun Epoxidized Natural Rubber Fibers

Epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) fibers (ENRFs) were electrospun to obtain diameters ranging from a few hundred nanometers to a few micrometers by changing the ENR solution concentration. ENRFs were used to toughen soy protein isolate (SPI) based resin. A facile 1-step process was developed for wet electrospinning and blending the ENRFs directly into SPI resin. As the ENR concentration increased from 0.1% to 5%, the surface topography of ENRFs changed from irregular to somewhat bumpy. The average diameter of ENRFs also increased from 250 nm to 17 μm. Increased ENRF (electrospun from 3% concentration) loading from 0 to 20% in SPI resin increased the fracture strain significantly from 1.7 to 18.8% and increased the toughness by a factor of 10. Interestingly, tensile strength and Young’s modulus decreased only slightly compared to the increase in the toughness. Cross-linking between the epoxy groups in ENR and amine and/or carboxylic groups in SPI as well as the high aspect ratio of the ENRFs contributed to i...
Decomposing core energy factor structure of U.S. commercial buildings through clustering around latent variables with Random Forest on large-scale mixed data

Abstract Accurate selection of explanatory factors is critical for precise quantitative energy analysis (e.g. benchmarking and predicting) to support the sustainability strategy in commercial building sector. Nevertheless, the generic guiding information on factor selection lacks. This paper addresses the research gap to decompose building energy factor structure (i.e. the interaction structure among the factors which affect building energy performance) particularly at a nation level for factor selection. Specifically, an iterative approach is developed by integrating the technical strengths of Variable Clustering and Random Forest to remove collinearity, redundancy and nonrelevance. Based on a comprehensive source database extracted from a multiframe country-wide survey, the core energy factor space is revealed for 2779 commercial buildings in the U.S. In particular, 36 principal factors are identified to reliably explain building energy efficiency variations. These factors are of sufficient independence and heterogeneity which may benefit the development of parsimonious energy modeling frameworks. The robustness of the deciphered factor structure and the representativeness of the recognized critical factors are numerically validated. These acquired results can be useful for informed decision analysis and rational policy design in commercial building sector with a lighter data burden.
The Sisyphus’s Rock of Prosperity and Disparity in the Global Economy: Giovanni Arrighi and Apple Inc’s Tax Avoidance Strategies from Obama to Trump

The global value chain (GVC) perspective assumes that business firms’ occupation of high value-added nodes in the global production network can promote their countries’ socio-economic development. ...
SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award -- Supporting Password Decisions with Data

Abstract Despite decades of research into developing abstract security advice and improving interfaces, users still struggle to make passwords. Users frequently create passwords that are predictable for attackers [1, 9] or make other decisions (e.g., reusing the same password across accounts) that harm their security [2, 8]. In this thesis,1 I use data-driven methods to better understand how users choose passwords and how attackers guess passwords. I then combine these insights into a better password-strength meter that provides real-time, data-driven feedback about the user's password. I first quantify the impact on password security and usability of showing users different password-strength meters that score passwords using basic heuristics. I find in a 2,931- participant online study that meters that score passwords stringently and present their strength estimates visually lead users to create stronger passwords without significantly impacting password memorability [6]. Second, to better understand how attackers guess passwords, I perform comprehensive experiments on password-cracking approaches. I find that simply running these approaches in their default configuration is insufficient, but considering multiple well-configured approaches in parallel can serve as a proxy for guessing by an expert in password forensics [9]. The third and fourth sections of this thesis delve further into how users choose passwords. Through a series of analyses, I pinpoint ways in which users structure semantically significant content in their passwords [7]. I also examine the relationship between users' perceptions of password security and passwords' actual security, finding that while users often correctly judge the security impact of individual password characteristics, wide variance in their understanding of attackers may lead users to judge predictable passwords as sufficiently strong [5]. Finally, I integrate these insights into an open-source2 password-strength meter that gives users data-driven feedback about their specific password. This meter uses neural networks [3] and numerous carefully combined heuristics to score passwords and generate data-driven text feedback about a given password. I evaluate this meter through a ten-participant laboratory study and 4,509-participant online study [4]. Under the more common password-composition policy we tested, we find that the data-driven meter with detailed feedback leads users to create more secure, and no less memorable, passwords than a meter with only a bar as a strength indicator. In sum, the objective of this thesis is to demonstrate how integrating data-driven insights about how users create and how attackers guess passwords into a tool that presents real-time feedback can help users make better passwords.
Peer Review Systems in Psychology

Quality assessment is a process that is concerned with the measurement of the quality of care. It is a preliminary step to quality assurance, which is designed to improve the quality of care. Peer review is one method of quality assurance and occurs when the review and determination is made by a co-professional. It is concerned only with the quality of care that has been offered, not with the quality of care in the overall health delivery system, a concern that would require attention to untreated as well as treated cases.
Examining Long-Distance Biological Electron Transfer with Synthetic Model Systems

The use of synthetic model systems in elucidating pathway dependent mechanisms responsible for long-distance electron transfer is discussed. The syntheses of models composed of quinone-substituted, phenyl-linked porphyrin dimers and trimers, porphyrins with meso-substituted charge transfer complexes of Ru(bpy)3, (bpy: 2,2′-bipyridyl) and porphyrin aggregates based on multi-point hydrogen bonding are presented along with their steady-state and dynamic photophysical properties.
Development of a Web-based Decision Support Tool to Increase Use of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia Guidelines

Article-at-a-Glance Background The 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for management of hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn infant at ≥ 35 weeks of gestation recommend that clinicians systematically asses the risk of severe hyperbilirubinemia before hospital discharge. Using the guidelines requires access to the printed nomograms, calculation of the infant's age in hours, and manual plotting of total bilirubin results. The combination of a common clinical problem with the existence of guidelines for best practice is an ideal target for clinical informatics tools to help improve compliance. A Web-based clinical decision support tool was developed on the basis of a combination of published data and linear extrapolation to automate the hour-specific risk stratification nomogram and phototherapy nomogram. Methods After BiliTool, the clinical decision support tool that contained the AAP clinical guidelines, was made publicly available, Web-site usage was monitored. An online survey composed of 10 multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and yes-no questions was made available. Results The number of site visits has increased over time. Of the 469 respondents to the survey, 297 respondents considered themselves tool "users." Discussion Rapid uptake and high ratings for clinical utility confirm that Web-based clinical decision support tools are in high demand and may increase use of clinical guidelines. Given the risk of human error with manual age calculation and nomogram plotting, this tool may also decrease the likelihood of medical errors, particularly with integration into the electronic medical record. Concomitant release of Web-based decision support tools with clinical guidelines would optimize the guidelines' adoption and implementation. Also, the integration of BiliTool into the electronic medical record may serve as a model for integrating other Web-based clinical decision support tools.
How Much Investors are Willing to Pay for the Risk? Implied Risk Appetite

One of the fundamental questions encountered in finance is how much the price of risk is. Although capital asset pricing model is ingenious, it explains poorly the price of risky asset in real world. The major reason for the defect lies on the strong assumptions of rational representative investor and evident investors' utility function. Researchers have suggested several ways to operationalize empirical tests, but none of them is perfect. The aim of this paper is to answer the question about investors' willingness to pay for risk. The willingness of investors is represented by the Euler equations of consumption as a price of risk. This research suggests a method to calculate the willingness of investors, without any assumption about investors' preference and market efficiency. The proposed method, which is named as Implied Risk Appetite, shows its adequacy through the result of the empirical research which is conducted in the Korean market.
Computer simulation of human body dynamics.

Understanding human body dynamics is important in many situations, such as automobile and aircraft crashes, aircraft ejections, falls, and other acceleration environments. The design of automobile interiors, cockpits, and safety equipment requires knowledge of the forces and accelerations encountered during an emergency. Because of the limited information available from actual events and the various constraints in testing, computer simulations are often the only means of obtaining detailed information. The Armstrong Laboratory (AL) developed the Articulated Total Body (ATB) model to predict the human body dynamics in many of these environments. This model is a three-dimensional rigid body dynamics program in which the human body is modeled as a series of segments. Forces on the body segments are calculated based on their interaction with the surroundings including seat and cockpit surfaces. The model also calculates the internal joint resistive and constraint forces. Because of this capability to predict both internal and external forces acting on the body, the ATB model can be used in investigating injuries. It is also a valuable design tool for evaluating safety of proposed systems before prototypes are built or costly tests conducted. When testing is conducted, the model provides data that cannot be measured, such as forces within the body, and supplementing test data with parameter variation simulations. To validate the model, tests such as those conducted on the AL impact sled are simulated. Test films and instrumentation data are compared with simulation graphics and quantitative output to gain confidence in the simulation results. Language: en
Consumers Acceptance of Raw Milk and its Products

Abstract Consumption of raw milk is increasing and therefore there is a need to understand what drives this growth. Consumer acceptance of raw milk and its products is based on a diverse mixture of parameters. Although taste preferences appear to be the single most important parameter, the situation is far more complex in reality. Regulatory history, cultural norms, socioeconomic status, perception of health and risk, and even social justice contribute to individual and population preferences. This chapter explores the regulatory foundation for production and sale of raw milk and its products in America along with the diverse interests of various stake holders. Preferences for raw- vesus pasteurized-milk products vary between countries with trends emerging, such as the preference for raw-milk products in Southern Europe and for pasteurized-milk products in Northern Europe. Research has demonstrated that the perception of which products are best ultimately drives preferences. Consumers who expect raw milk cheese to be superior will indeed find that these products are the best while consumers who have grown up in a regulatory environment limiting raw-milk products tend to prefer pasteurized-milk products.