cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatization and Robotisation as a Lever for Process and Product Quality in SME

The current situation in the growing European market, facing global competition and the world economic crisis and the pressure for minimum cost are forcing the Small and Medium Enterprises to act in order to increase their competitiveness. One possibility challenge this is to enhance the quality of the production process. This allows the production of high-quality products while keeping production costs at a reasonable and competitive level. This shall allow the companies to not only maintain the demanding market, but also contribute to their development and to build lasting relationships with customers.This article presents the results of the Q4SME project which aim was the preparation of the training courses tailored especially to meet the specific needs of production SMEs in terms to increase their competitiveness and to improve the production process quality.
Effects of iron intake on iron stores in elderly men and women: longitudinal and cross-sectional results.

Objective: For middle aged and elderly subjects there is a concern that increased iron intake, especially heme iron associated with consumption of red meat, leads to increased iron stores resulting in disturbed glucose homeostasis and risk for cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of heme, non-heme and iron supplementation on iron stores in healthy elderly men and women.Method: We conducted a 10 year longitudinal study (48 men and 77 women) and a one year cross-sectional study (165 men and 226 women) in healthy elderly men and women enrolled in the New Mexico Aging Process Study. Iron stores were estimated by serum ferritin concentrations and iron intake was determined by three-day food records in the longitudinal study and by a food frequency questionnaire in the cross-sectional study.Results: We found no association between heme iron intake and iron stores in either the longitudinal or cross sectional study. In the cross-sectional stud...
Sensitivity of restrained skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) to abrupt increases in temperature.

Abstract 1. 1. Restrained skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) signaled by deceleration of heart rate that they could perceive abrupt temperature increases (1°C/sec) as small as 1°C. 2. 2. A thermal stimulus directed into the oral-branchial cavity was more effective in eliciting responses than stimuli delivered to the nasal cavity or the dorsal, anterior quadrant of the body surface. This finding is discussed in relation to the current belief that thermal sensors in fish are generously scattered over the skin surface.
Particulate dynamics at the plasma-sheath boundary in DC glow discharges

The forces on and resulting dynamics of particulate contaminants near the plasma-sheath boundary in a one-dimensional, steady-state glow discharge are examined. Various expressions for the electric force, including the effects of nonneutrality and particulate spacing on the charge state, are considered, and several different ways to compute the ion drag force are compared. The properties of the particulate traps that result from the interplay of these forces are studied. The effects of the gravitational, neutral drag, and polarization forces are also considered. Time-dependent motion of the particulates, including the effects of a temporally varying, spatially localized particulate density, is also investigated. While some uncertainties exist in the individual expressions for the various forces and in the properties of the discharge, the particulate traps are fairly well defined and consistent with experiments and other analyses. >
Exotica The Deployment of Intersecting Binaries

Binaries simplistically reduce complex relationships to two juxtaposed categories. Although binaries are myth rather than reality, they pit people against each other in everyday life. Many articles...
Dual-Species Plasmas Illustrate MHD Flows

Plasma loops created in the laboratory strongly resemble structures observed in the solar corona. For example, both solar coronal loops and experimental loops exhibit remarkably uniform axial cross sections. A magnetohydrodynamic theory that was proposed to explain this phenomenon predicts that a plasma loop whose axial magnetic field is constricted at both footpoints will experience bulk flows into the loop from both ends. To test this theory, dual-species plasma loops were formed by supplying a different neutral gas to each of the two footpoints. Optical filters were then used to separately image the motion of different sections of the plasma. Bulk flows were, in fact, observed.
Social network targeting to maximise population behaviour change: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Summary Background Information and behaviour can spread through interpersonal ties. By targeting influential individuals, health interventions that harness the distributive properties of social networks could be made more effective and efficient than those that do not. Our aim was to assess which targeting methods produce the greatest cascades or spillover effects and hence maximise population-level behaviour change. Methods In this cluster randomised trial, participants were recruited from villages of the Department of Lempira, Honduras. We blocked villages on the basis of network size, socioeconomic status, and baseline rates of water purification, for delivery of two public health interventions: chlorine for water purification and multivitamins for micronutrient deficiencies. We then randomised villages, separately for each intervention, to one of three targeting methods, introducing the interventions to 5% samples composed of either: randomly selected villagers (n=9 villages for each intervention); villagers with the most social ties (n=9); or nominated friends of random villagers (n=9; the last strategy exploiting the so-called friendship paradox of social networks). Participants and data collectors were not aware of the targeting methods. Primary endpoints were the proportions of available products redeemed by the entire population under each targeting method. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01672580. Findings Between Aug 4, and Aug 14, 2012, 32 villages in rural Honduras (25–541 participants each; total study population of 5773) received public health interventions. For each intervention, nine villages (each with 1–20 initial target individuals) were randomised, using a blocked design, to each of the three targeting methods. In nomination-targeted villages, 951 (74·3%) of 1280 available multivitamin tickets were redeemed compared with 940 (66·2%) of 1420 in randomly targeted villages and 744 (61·0%) of 1220 in indegree-targeted villages. All pairwise differences in redemption rates were significant (p Interpretation Introduction of a health intervention to the nominated friends of random individuals can enhance that intervention's diffusion by exploiting intrinsic properties of human social networks. This method has the additional advantage of scalability because it can be implemented without mapping the network. Deployment of certain types of health interventions via network targeting, without increasing the number of individuals targeted or the resources used, could enhance the adoption and efficiency of those interventions, thereby improving population health. Funding National Institutes of Health, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Star Family Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Ionizing radiation potentiates the antitumor efficacy of oncolytic herpes simplex virus G207 by upregulating ribonucleotide reductase.

Abstract Background. Replication-competent herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) mutants have an oncolytic effect on human and animal cancers. The aim of this study was to determine whether G207, an HSV-1 mutant, can be combined with ionizing radiation (IR) to increase antitumor activity while decreasing treatment-associated toxicity. Methods. This study was performed by using G207, a replication-competent HSV-1 mutant deficient in viral ribonucleotide reductase (RR) and the γ 1 34.5 neurovirulence protein. The antitumor activity of G207 or IR was tested against HCT-8 human colorectal cancer cells in vitro and in an in vivo mouse subcutaneous tumor model. Results. We demonstrated that G207 has significant oncolytic effect on HCT-8 cells in vitro in a cytotoxicity assay and in vivo in a mouse flank tumor model and that these effects are improved with low-dose IR. We further illustrated that the increased tumoricidal effect is dependent on the up-regulation of cellular RR by IR measured by a functional bioassay for RR activity. Chemical inhibition of RR by hydroxyurea abrogates the enhanced effect. In contrast to G207, R3616, the parent virus of G207 that expresses functional RR, does not exhibit enhanced oncolysis when combined with IR. Conclusions. These data encourage clinical investigation of combination radiation therapy and HSV oncolytic therapy. (Surgery 2002;132:353-9.)
Contract Specificity, Contract Violation, and Relationship Performance in International Buyer–Supplier Relationships:

Abstract This work examines contractual governance in international buyer–supplier relationships by investigating the linkages between contract specificity, contract violation, and relationship performance as well as the roles of contract monitoring and a country's institutional factors (i.e., country business risk and country globalization). The findings, based on a survey of international buyer–supplier relationships, provide new insights into a contract specificity → contract violation → relationship performance model. For example, the results indicate that contract specificity is not directly related to contract violation but, rather, that country-level factors moderate the effectiveness of contract specificity (i.e., contract specificity is more effective in suppressing an international buyer's contract violation if the buyer is from a country characterized by low business risk or high country globalization). The results also demonstrate that contract monitoring can mitigate the negative association ...
Tactics for Management of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus in Tomato

Four studies were conducted in Georgia during spring 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 to evaluate various management tactics for reducing thrips and thrips-vectored tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in tomato and their interactions relative to fruit yield. Populations of thrips vectors of TSWV, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) and Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), were determined using flower and sticky trap samples. The management practices evaluated were host plant resistance, insecticide treatments, and silver or metallic reflective mulch. Averaged over all tests, the TSWV-resistant tomato ‘BHN444′ on silver mulch treatment had the largest effect in terms of reducing thrips and spotted wilt and increasing marketable yield. Of the insecticide treatments tested, the imidacloprid soil treatment followed by early applications of a thrips-effective foliar insecticide treatment provided significant increase in yield over other treatments. Tomato yield was negatively correlated with the number of F. fusca and percentage of TSWV incidence. F. occidentalis per blossom was positively correlated with percentage of TSWV incidence, but not with yield. No significant interactions were observed between cultivar reflective mulch main plot treatments and insecticide subplot treatments; thus, treatment seemed to be additive in reducing the economic impact of thrips-vectored TSWV. Control tactics that manage thrips early in the growing season significantly increased tomato yield in years when the incidence of TSWV was high (>17%).
The Effects of Dose Rate and Implantation Temperature on Lattice Damage and Electrical Activity in Ion-Implanted GaAs

Hall effect and Rutherford backscattering measurements have been used to study the electrical properties and lattice damage, respectively of C and Si implanted layers in GaAs. Implantations were performed at temperatures between 77 and 300 °K and at dose rates between .06 and 20 µa/cm2. Significant dose rate and temperature effects in the damage were observed. These are attributed to a strong annealing stage at ~300 °K. The defects which form during low temperature implantation do not anneal up through 800 °C and severly degrade the electron mobility. Room temperature 1013 cm-2 Si implants resulted in ~ 100% electrically active donors with complete mobility recovery after an 800 °C anneal.
How Does Investor Short-termism Affect Mutual Fund Manager Short-termism *

This paper studies short-termism of mutual funds, both short-termism of fund investors and short-termism of investments made by fund managers. The empirical results are consistent with the view that short investment horizons of fund managers (which we term output short-termism) are positively related to their investors’ short investment horizons (which we term input short-termism). Further tests of causality suggest that fund manager investment short-termism is caused by investor short horizon, but not the other way round. The study contributes to a better understanding of why fund managers tend to exhibit short-term decision making. It also provides supporting evidence of theoretical models of managerial myopic reaction to investor short-termism as in Stein (1988, 1989) and Shleifer and Vishney (1990).
Maxwell’s Theory

In Chapter 2, we discussed the wave theory of light, developed a model to superimpose waves, and described the resulting interference pattern in terms of intensity depending on wavelength. The model was based on the scalar wave equation, but in addition we made reference to electromagnetic theory. We needed to take into account that a light wave changes its wavelength when traveling through a medium of refractive index n and also used Fresnel’s formulas. Electromagnetic theory is described by Maxwell’s equations. The first hint that light is electromagnetic radiation came from electromagnetic experiments not involving visible light. In the analysis of the experiment a constant appeared which had the value of the speed of light. From relativity theory we know that the speed c of light is a fundamental constant and the ultimate limit of speed. We derive from Maxwell’s theory and the laws of reflection and refraction, as we assumed in the chapter on geometrical optics, that light travels in straight lines. We also may derive from Maxell’s equations what we used in the chapters on interference and diffraction and obtained from the scalar wave equation.
Hexapeptides That Inhibit Processing of Branched DNA Structures Induce a Dynamic Ensemble of Holliday Junction Conformations

Holliday junctions are critical intermediates in DNA recombination, repair, and restart of blocked replication. Hexapeptides have been identified that bind to junctions and inhibit various junction-processing enzymes, and these peptides confer anti-microbial and anti-tumor properties. Earlier studies suggested that inhibition results from stabilization of peptide-bound Holliday junctions in the square planar conformation. Here, we use single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) and two model junctions, which are AT- or GC-rich at the branch points, to show that binding of the peptide KWWCRW induces a dynamic ensemble of junction conformations that differs from both the square planar and stacked X conformations. The specific features of the conformational distributions differ for the two peptide-bound junctions, but both junctions display greatly decreased Mg2+ dependence and increased conformational fluctuations. The smFRET results, complemented by gel mobility shift and small angle x-ray scattering analyses, reveal structural effects of peptides and highlight the sensitivity of smFRET for analyzing complex mixtures of DNA structures. The peptide-induced conformational dynamics suggest multiple stacking arrangements of aromatic amino acids with the nucleobases at the junction core. This conformational heterogeneity may inhibit DNA processing by increasing the population of inactive junction conformations, thereby preventing the binding of processing enzymes and/or resulting in their premature dissociation.
Simulation and Economic Impact Evaluation of Ukrainian Electricity Market Tariff Policy Shift

Among all types of economic activities in Ukraine the power industry is the only one that utilizes cross subsidization mechanisms. Electricity tariffs for the residential consumers are set far below the estimated retail level, while industrial consumers have to pay higher prices in order to compensate for these costs. In 2012 electricity consumption subsidies exceeded 31 billion UAH, which is over 8,7% of Central government budget and 2,3% of Ukraine’s GDP. In this study a static computable general equilibrium model with heterogeneous households is applied to investigate distributional and poverty-related effects of price reform in the electricity sector of Ukraine, considering 30%, 50% and 100% subsidies elimination. In addition, different compensating mechanisms for various households’ groups are studied. The results indicate that essential positive effects from subsidies elimination – lower production costs, output gain and investment intensification are seen, mostly by industrial activities. The highest growth rates are observed for those industries that not only actively consume electricity but also energy intensive goods and services. Regardless of the nature of implemented compensation mechanisms, the decrease in cross-subsidization leads to investments growth: for some scenarios up to 18 billion UAH. At the same time, residential consumers suffer with poor households loosing relatively more than rich. Results show that the most appropriate compensatory option is partial preservation of cross subsidization. This approach bears no additional burden on the Government budget and does not require significant regulatory changes. However, given the specific nature of this concept, it should be used only in the case of 30% subsidies reduction. In general, key positive effects of cross-subsidization reduction come from the production costs decrease, manufacturing capacity rise and investments volumes increase in the real sector of Ukrainian economy.
Foreground-induced biases in CMB polarimeter self-calibration

Precise polarisation measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) require accurate knowledge of the instrument orientation relative to the sky frame used to define the cosmological Stokes parameters. Suitable celestial calibration sources that could be used to measure the polarimeter orientation angle are limited, so current experiments commonly `self-calibrate.' The self-calibration method exploits the theoretical fact that the $EB$ and $TB$ cross-spectra of the CMB vanish in the standard cosmological model, so any detected $EB$ and $TB$ signals must be due to systematic errors. However, this assumption neglects the fact that polarized Galactic foregrounds in a given portion of the sky may have non-zero $EB$ and $TB$ cross-spectra. If these foreground signals remain in the observations, then they will bias the self-calibrated telescope polarisation angle and produce a spurious $B$-mode signal. In this paper we estimate the foreground-induced bias for various instrument configurations and then expand the self-calibration formalism to account for polarized foreground signals. Assuming the $EB$ correlation signal for dust is in the range constrained by angular power spectrum measurements from Planck at 353 GHz (scaled down to 150 GHz), then the bias is negligible for high angular resolution experiments, which have access to CMB-dominated high $\ell$ modes with which to self-calibrate. Low-resolution experiments observing particularly dusty sky patches can have a bias as large as $0.5^\circ$. A miscalibration of this magnitude generates a spurious $BB$ signal corresponding to a tensor-to-scalar ratio of approximately $r\sim2\times10^{-3}$, within the targeted range of planned experiments.
Fundamental Drivers of Decision-Making

Research has found that authoritarianism has molded partisan sorting and polarization, as citizens divided themselves into the two parties along the authoritarian dimension based on party elites’ ideological positions on social issues. Yet, party elites also reflect demographic stereotypes which emerged from the Democratic Party diversifying, as they welcomed “outsider” social groups, while the Republican Party remained homogenous in its members. As such, I propose that authoritarianism reflects an aversion to diversity that individuals use when making sense of their partisan identities, and hypothesize that authoritarianism has shaped party affiliations of White citizens through social identity matches with party elites. Using hierarchal modeling techniques, this paper empirically tests which mechanism – party elites’ ideological positions or their social identities – best serves as the dynamic link between Whites citizens’ authoritarian dispositions and their party identifications over the past forty years. I demonstrate that the social identity match between citizen and party is a stronger predictor of party identity than the ideological match, especially among White Protestant authoritarians. All else being equal, White authoritarians identified with the party that best represented their in-groups, even if that meant identifying with the party of the left.
Marijuana Use and Psychiatric Disorders in Perinatally HIV-Exposed Youth: Does HIV Matter?

OBJECTIVE To examine longitudinal reciprocal relationships between marijuana use and psychiatric disorders, and identify the role of HIV in a sample (N = 340) of youth perinatally infected with HIV (PHIV+) and youth perinatally exposed but uninfected with HIV (PHIV-) (60.6% PHIV+; 9-16 years at baseline; 51% female). METHODS Cross-lagged structural equation modeling was used to examine longitudinal associations between changes in marijuana use and changes in any behavioral, mood, and anxiety disorders at three time points across adolescence. RESULTS Marijuana use predicted behavioral and mood disorders in youth, regardless of HIV status. Behavioral and mood disorders predicted marijuana use for PHIV- youth; behavioral disorders predicted marijuana use for PHIV+ youth. Anxiety disorders and marijuana use were not associated for either group. CONCLUSIONS For PHIV+ and PHIV- youth, interventions that target early marijuana use may reduce later psychiatric disorders. Similarly, treatment for early behavioral disorders may prevent subsequent marijuana use.
Memories of Brutus Hamilton

This paper is in response to a query from a colleague whose son, a promising high school runner, was considering UC-Berkeley. Knowing that I am a former runner, she asked me about the school 's running program, political and intellectual atmosphere, and the legacy of 1960's-era track coach and Dean of Students Brutus Hamilton, after whom the track stadium is named. Her question prompted me to reflect upon my own career as a law professor and the role of mentors and advisors in helping the young navigate life's shoals
Novel Concept for the Formation of Sensitive, Selective, Rapidly Responding Conductometric Sensors

Rapidly responding, reversible, sensitive, and selective porous silicon-based (PS) gas sensors, operating at low power, are formed with a highly efficient electrical contact to a nanopore covered microporous array. Significant changes in sensor surface sensitivity can be correlated with the strong and weak acid-base (HSAB) character of the interacting gas analyte and the acidic nature of the PS surface so as to produce a dominant physisorption and create a range of highly selective surface coatings. This selection process dictates the application of nanostructured metal oxide and/or nanoparticle catalytic coatings, and provide for notably higher sensitivities which, in concert, form a basis for selectivity. Depositions which include AuxO, SnOx (Sn+2,+4) , CuxO ( Cu+1,+2) , NiO(Ni+2) , nano-alumina, and titania, provide for the detection of gases including NO, NO2, CO, NH3, PH3, and H2S in an array-based format at the sub-ppm level. The value of this conductometric sensor technology results from a combination of (1) its sensitivity and short recovery time, (2) its operation at room temperature as well as at a single, readily accessible, temperature with an insensitivity to temperature drift, (3) its potential operation in a heat-sunk configuration allowing operation to a surface temperature of 80°C even in highly elevated temperature environments (in sharp contrast to metal oxide sensors), (4) its ease of coating with diversity of clearly mapped gas-selective materials for form sensor arrays, (5) its low cost of fabrication and operation, (6) its low power consumption, (7) its ease of rejuvenation following contamination, and (8) its ability to rapidly assess false positives using FFT techniques, operating the sensor in a pulsed gas mode.
Myocardial texture in hypertrophic remodelling: new insight into ventricular load and function?

Arterial hypertension exposes the left ventricular myocardium to increased loading conditions and is a powerful stimulus for hypertrophy and ventricular remodelling. During normal human cardiac growth from the neonatum to adulthood, the relationship between left ventricular cavity size and wall thickness is tightly modulated so that in spite of the agerelated increases in systolic blood pressure and heart size, ventricular load—wall stress—remains within a narrow normal range. The interaction between left ventricular mass and volume in maintaining normal loading conditions is important, because failure to normalise increased wall stress is associated with deterioration in contractile function, since contractile function varies inversely with wall stress. Recent in vitro studies of cardiomyocytes have demonstrated that increased load is sensed and transduced via cell surface mechanoreceptors which activate intracellular biochemical signalling pathways that turn on production of contractile proteins and assembly of contractile units. 1 Cardiomyocytes are terminally differentiated cells that are unable to replicate, so that when their capacity to elaborate contractile protein is exhausted, wall stress can no longer be normalised by hypertrophy, and ventricular decompensation occurs with dilatation and deterioration in contractile function. Left ventricular hypertrophy has been divided arbitrarily into three phases, 2 an adaptive phase and a compensatory phase, in both of which relief of increased load is associated with reversal of contractile dysfunction; and a pathologic phase, in which contractile function is abnormal and removal of excessive load is not accompanied by return to normal contractile function. Thus, a method for reliably
Ventriculoperitoneal shunt disconnection associated with spontaneous knot formation in the peritoneal catheter

A 10-year-old girl underwent distal ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt revision 3 weeks earlier and developed further shunt malfunction. During the current shunt revision, a disconnection at the straight connector site in the cervical subcutaneous tissue was confirmed and a knot was identified in the peritoneal catheter. Postoperatively, the patient made a rapid neurological recovery and was discharged 48 h later. This is the first case of VP shunt disconnection associated with a spontaneous distal knot formation. The likely mechanism was that the spontaneously formed knot acted as an anchor at the peritoneal wall, preventing free relative movement of the distal catheter. The resultant tension led to failure at the weakest point of the system, resulting in a disconnection at the proximal straight connector site.
Analysis on Antitubercular Drugs-induced Liver Damage in High-risk Population

Objective To explore the characteristics of antitubercular drugs-induced hepatic damage among high-risk population. Methods Totally 128 tuberculosis patients with high-risk factors who received antitubercular medication in TB Prevention and Cure Division from January 2009 to December 2010 were enrolled in the study.According to receiving or not receiving liver protection medication during the course of the treatment,all the patients were divided into intervention group(n=65) and non-intervention group(n=63).The difference among the occurring time of liver damage and clinical manifestations during the course of antitubercular medication,the incidence rate of hepatic damage,the condition of hepatic injury,and the culprit for causing liver damage were compared between the two groups. Results The incidence rate of damage and the severity of liver dysfunction in non-intervention group were higher than those in intervention group,and the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).Rifampicin was the main culprit for drug-induced hepatic injury in the two groups.The peak time of hepatic injury occurred during a 4-week medication period.But no statistically significant difference was found in the constituent ratio of three drugs induced hepatic injury(P0.05). Conclusions Implementing interventions during the period of antituberculosis treatment can reduce the incidence of hepatic injury for the high-risk population, including the elderly,long-term drinkers,HBV patients,malnutrition persons,etc.
Analysis of an imported Lyme disease during Beijing Olympics

Objective To analyze the serological results derived from suspected Lyme Disease patients for efficient diagnosis and treatment.Methods Using the indirect immunofluorescence assay(IFA),enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay(ELISA) and western blot(WB),suspected Lyme Disease patients were tested for Borrelia burgdorferi IgM and IgG antibodies.A comprehensive analysis was conducted in combination with clinical cases.Results IgG antibodies were positive as shown by IFA,ELISA and WB methods.The titer of IgG antibodies was up to 1:128 as shown in IFA and two protein bands,P83 and P39,were present in WB.IgM antibodies were negative as shown in the three test approaches.Conclusion Based on the typical clinical course and positive laboratory results of the patients,the diagnosis of Lyme disease can be confirmed.
Antiretroviral Preexposure Prophylaxis for Preventing HIV Infection in High-Risk Individuals

For some groups of patients at greater risk of HIV infection (e.g., serodiscordant partners, men who have sex with men and engage in high-risk behaviors, persons with multiple concurrent sex partners, persons who exchange sex for money), preexposure prophylaxis decreased the risk of acquiring HIV infection (number needed to treat [NNT] = 56).
Circulating biomarkers to monitor cancer progression and treatment

Tumor heterogeneity is a major challenge and the root cause of resistance to treatment. Still, the standard diagnostic approach relies on the analysis of a single tumor sample from a local or metastatic site that is obtained at a given time point. Due to intratumoral heterogeneity and selection of subpopulations in diverse lesions this will provide only a limited characterization of the makeup of the disease. On the other hand, recent developments of nucleic acid sequence analysis allows to use minimally invasive serial blood samples to assess the mutational status and altered gene expression patterns for real time monitoring in individual patients. Here, we focus on cell-free circulating tumor-specific mutant DNA and RNA (including mRNA and non-coding RNA), as well as current limitations and challenges associated with circulating nucleic acids biomarkers.
WE-AB-204-04: D&I in Physics

Many efforts have been made to increase diversity in the science workforce. In order for us to be competitive in innovation and ingenuity we need to reach out to any source of intellectual talent. Having greater diversity can only increase the creativity in medical physics. In order for students to succeed academically they need role models and mentors with whom they can identify. Literature has shown that racial and ethnic diversity has both direct and indirect positive effects on the educational outcomes, career advancement and motivation of students. Diversity not only focuses on race, ethnicity and gender, but it can also include socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and more. Underrepresented populations have had low numbers over the years not only in medical physics but also in the sciences in general. With the rapidly changing face of our country we need to address how we attract and train the next generation of scientists to stay competitive. It is necessary to examine the role that diversity and inclusion play in the long term goals of institutions, workplaces and classrooms. To increase innovation we must engage people from all walks of life with different perspectives and life experiences to solve the problems that we will face. Diversity should be viewed as a strategy to achieve our goals instead of acts of good citizenship. Many of today's businesses and corporations have discovered that embracing diversity prepares future leaders in today's global market. This lecture will provide insight to how differences within our society can drive innovation. We will provide an overview of the role diversity and inclusion plays in the clinic, education and research to develop the future workforce in medical physics. Learning Objectives: 1.Understanding the role diversity and inclusion plays in medical physics. 2.The importance of developing education and research strategies for a global workforce. 3.How to develop a roadmap to diversity excellence within AAPM.
The interpretation of complex nominal expressions in Southeast Arnhem Land languages

In this chapter, I examine the function of noun class prefixes in several non-Pama-Nyungan languages. In these languages, prefixes show several alternants. I show that these alternants are distributed according to discourse functions “topic” and “focus”, making them somewhat like articles in European languages (or better, the topic marking clitics in Japanese and Korean). The topic marker is also found in a number of polarity contexts: under the scope of negative and interrogative operators in the clause. In order to understand this highly unusual phenomenon, we need to understand the nature of references to kinds, and the realisation of number and quantification in these languages. This examination reveals that topics serve to enable operators to bind variables without a well-defined configurational phrase structure. The adaptation of the tools of formal semantics to nonconfigurational languages is in its infancy. This paper represents an initial step in understanding the similarities and differences between the semantics of such languages, and the better-described languages of Western Europe.
Clinical and Physiologic Studies with Restorative Proctocolectomy

Approximately one million persons in the United States have inflammatory bowel disease. About fourteen thousand new cases of ulcerative colitis are diagnosed in the United States annually. Medical therapy provides transient remission in over 92 %; however, proctocolectomy is eventually required in well over 50%. Children with severe ulcerative colitis are usually sicker and are rarely cured without operation. Patients with familial polyposis coli are at very high risk of developing carcinoma of the colon and rectum, and thus should also be considered for proctocolectomy at an early age [1].
Differential evolution algorithm for solving coil scheduling problem in parallel continuous annealing lines

This paper studies the coil scheduling problem in parallel continuous annealing lines, which is derived from practical steel production. The problem is to assign the candidate coils to the parallel continuous annealing lines, and make the schedule of the coils in each production line, aiming at reducing the total changeover cost, and improving the production capacity utilization. To solve the problem, a new differential evolution (Sa-PDDE) algorithm is proposed with consideration of the practical production restrictions. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is verified by computational experiments.
Interorality and Caribbean Philosophy

Interorality is a new but certainly welcomed lens through which Caribbean philosophy can further its ongoing tasks of self-reflection and postcolonial reconstruction. This new concept was introduced to the field of Caribbean Studies by HanethaVete-Congolo, a literary and culture scholar from Martinique. She developed it during the course of her work on Caribbean folktales and their genesis in the mixing of African and European folktales. Caribbean folktales are a part of a larger oral tradition, and so were many of the African and European folktales from which the Caribbean ones drew. Thus, Vete-Congolo’s study of Caribbean folktales raises not only the question of orality but also of interorality as a part of a larger process of hybridization and creolization.
TB Since the Advent of HIV in Lesotho

ABSTRACT A survey of patients' knowledge of and resources for combating tuberculosis (TB) since the advent of HIV in Lesotho reveals unequal access to resources and confusion of symptoms among TB, HIV/AIDS, and sejeso (an illness attributed to witchcraft). The findings suggest the need for improved health education and resource allocation.
Model predictive control with discrete actuators

Despite the presence of discrete actuators in many industrial processes, model predictive control (MPC) theory typically considers only continuous actuators, which requires discrete decisions to be removed from the MPC layer. However, if discrete inputs are chosen optimally, process performance may be greatly improved, and thus, discrete decisions should be treated directly in MPC theory. In this paper, we develop the idea that discrete actuators can be added to MPC theory without major modification, i.e., results established with sufficient generality for standard MPC with continuous actuators hold also for MPC with discrete actuators. First, we show that standard exponential stability for suboptimal MPC can be extended without modification to cover discrete actuators by avoiding restrictive assumptions about the geometry of the control set. Then, we prove stability results for tracking MPC applied to a time-varying periodic system. Finally, we demonstrate these results with two example systems.
Photo Regulation of Small G-Protein Ras using Photochromic Peptide

The small guanine nucleotide binding protein (G-protein), which are known as a molecular switch is central regulator of cellular signaling pathway. The regulation mechanism of the protein is well studied at molecular level. Ras is one of the G-protein which have essential role in signaling cascade reaction in cell is regulated by guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) and GTPase activating protein (GAP). GTP bout Ras induced by GEF is active state and GDP bound Ras induced by GAP is inactive state. The conformational change induced by GTP binding enable Ras to transduce a signal into downstream through direct interaction with its effectors. Also, mutant Ras known as constant active state cause excess signaling transduction to downstream effectors, which is pathogenesis of canceration, In this study, we focused on the interaction between Ras and its GEF, Son of sevenless (SOS) in order to control Ras function using photochromic compounds. Previously it is shown that the peptide mimicking the αH-helix, Ras binding region of SOS effectively inhibits Ras function competing with native SOS. Therefore, it is expected that photo-induced structural change of the peptide conjugate with photo-switch enable us to control Ras activity. We designed and synthesized SOS αH-helix peptide which contains two cysteine residues in order to cross-link with bi-functional photochromic molecule of azobenzene derivative, ABDM which change its structure reversibly by UV-VIS irradiation. The peptide modified with ABDM exhibited secondary structural change reversibly upon UV and visible light irradiation. Binding of ABDM-peptide to Ras and SOS dependent nucleotide exchange reaction were also altered photo-reversibly. We also tried to examine the photo-reversible effect of ABDM-peptide for HeLa cell.
Enhanced Reactivity in Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution Ion/Ion Reactions Using Triazole-Ester Reagents

The acyl substitution reactions between 1-hydroxy-7-aza-benzotriazole (HOAt)/1-hydroxy-benzotriazole (HOBt) ester reagents and nucleophilic side chains on peptides have been demonstrated in the gas phase via ion/ion reactions. The HOAt/HOBt ester reagents were synthesized in solution and ionized via negative nano-electrospray ionization. The anionic reagents were then reacted with doubly protonated model peptides containing amines, guanidines, and imidazoles in the gas phase. The complexes formed in the reaction cell were further probed with ion trap collision induced dissociation (CID) yielding either a covalently modified analyte ion or a proton transfer product ion. The covalent reaction yield of HOAt/HOBt ester reagents was demonstrated to be higher than the yield with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester reagents over a range of equivalent conditions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed with a primary amine model system for both triazole-ester and NHS-ester reactants, which indicated a lower transition state barrier for the former reagent, consistent with experiments. The work herein demonstrates that the triazole-ester reagents are more reactive, and therefore less selective, than the analogous NHS-ester reagent. As a consequence, the triazole-ester reagents are the first to show efficient reactivity with unprotonated histidine residues in the gas phase. For all nucleophilic sites and all reagents, covalent reactions are favored under long time, low amplitude activation conditions. This work presents a novel class of reagents capable of gas-phase conjugation to nucleophilic sites in analyte ions via ion/ion chemistry.
Non-Stationary Bandits with Habituation and Recovery Dynamics.

Many settings involve sequential decision-making where a set of actions can be chosen at each time step, each action provides a stochastic reward, and the distribution for the reward of each action is initially unknown. However, frequent selection of a specific action may reduce its expected reward, while abstaining from choosing an action may cause its expected reward to increase. Such non-stationary phenomena are observed in many real world settings such as personalized healthcare-adherence improving interventions and targeted online advertising. Though finding an optimal policy for general models with non-stationarity is PSPACE-complete, we propose and analyze a new class of models called ROGUE (Reducing or Gaining Unknown Efficacy) bandits, which we show in this paper can capture these phenomena and are amenable to the design of effective policies. We first present a consistent maximum likelihood estimator for the parameters of these models. Next, we construct finite sample concentration bounds that lead to an upper confidence bound policy called the ROGUE Upper Confidence Bound (ROGUE-UCB) algorithm. We prove that under proper conditions the ROGUE-UCB algorithm achieves logarithmic in time regret, unlike existing algorithms which result in linear regret. We conclude with a numerical experiment using real data from a personalized healthcare-adherence improving intervention to increase physical activity. In this intervention, the goal is to optimize the selection of messages (e.g., confidence increasing vs. knowledge increasing) to send to each individual each day to increase adherence and physical activity. Our results show that ROGUE-UCB performs better in terms of regret and average reward as compared to state of the art algorithms, and the use of ROGUE-UCB increases daily step counts by roughly 1,000 steps a day (about a half-mile more of walking) as compared to other algorithms.
Defining and Structuring Art Criticism for Education

A definition of art criticism is proposed and defended which claims that art criticism can never be a value neutral activity. In this context the author examines reasons, or particular value orient...
First Biochemical Characterization of a Methylcitric Acid Cycle from Bacillus subtilis Strain 168

The genome of Bacillus subtilis strain 168 contains the mother cell metabolic gene (mmg) operon that encodes homologues from the methylcitric acid cycle. We showed that the three genes, mmgDE and yqiQ(mmgF), provide three of the five steps of the methylcitric acid cycle. We also showed that the fourth step can be supplied by citB (aconitase), and we suggest that the fifth missing step, the propionyl-CoA synthetase, is probably skipped because the β-oxidation of methyl-branched fatty acids by the enzymes encoded by mmgABC should produce propionyl-CoA. We also noted interesting enzymology for MmgD and MmgE. First, MmgD is a bifunctional citrate synthase/2-methylcitrate synthase with 2.3-fold higher activity as a 2-methylcitrate synthase. This enzyme catalyzes the formation of either (2S,3R)- or (2R,3S)-2-methylcitrate, but reports of 2-methylcitrate synthases from other species indicated that they produced the (2S,3S) isomer. However, we showed that MmgD and PrpC (from Escherichia coli) in fact produce the ...
Multiplicative Models For Continuous Dependent Variables: Estimation on Unlogged versus Logged Form:

In regression analysis with a continuous and positive dependent variable, a multiplicative relationship between the unlogged dependent variable and the independent variables is often specified. It ...
GATA-3 regulates the development of ILC3 subsets at multiple stages (LYM2P.721)

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are emerging lymphocytes that maintain the homeostasis between the host and commensals, and play essential roles during secondary lymphoid organogenesis and innate immune responses. Mature ILCs, similar to their adaptive counterparts of CD4 T cells, can be divided into three major subsets based on their signature cytokine production and selective expression of master transcriptional regulators, T-bet, GATA-3 and RORγt. However, how the development and functions of these subsets are precisely regulated, especially by transcription factors including GATA-3 that are expressed at various levels, is still elusive. We have previously reported that in addition to its critical role in the development and maintenance of ILC2s, GATA-3 is also required for the development of other IL-7Rα + ILCs including ILC3s. Here we show that GATA-3 is continuously expressed by all ILC3 subsets and has crucial regulatory functions at multiple stages during the development of ILC3 subsets. Deletion of Gata3 gene after RORγt expression by Rorc -Cre resulted in a significant reduction of ILC3s, especially for the NKR + ILC3 subset. Genome wide analysis of gene expression in the wild type and Gata3 -deficient ILC3s revealed that the expression of Il7r and a number of genes associated with the functions of ILC3s was dramatically reduced in the absence of GATA-3. Thus, our results shed light on the regulatory function of GATA-3 at multiple developmental stages of ILC3 subsets.