cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of native GABAA receptors containing an α5 subunit

The type A receptor for γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), or GABAA receptor, is a pentamer of highly variable quaternary structure. It includes two α subunits, drawn from a pool of six genes, which largely determine benzodiazepine pharmacology of the receptor. In brain sections, both [3H]RY-80 (ethyl-8-acetylene-5,6-dihydro-5-methyl-6-oxo-4H-imidazo[1,5a][1,4]benzodiazepine-3-carboxylate) and [3H]L-655,708 (ethyl (S)-11,12,13,13a-tetrahydro-7-methoxy-9-oxo-9H-imidazo[1,5-a]pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine-1-carboxylate), which are selective for the benzodiazepine site of α5 subunit-containing receptors, showed high-affinity, specific binding, but to fewer regions than did the nonselective benzodiazepine, [3H]flunitrazepam. The pattern mirrored α5 mRNA distribution, and was similar to that previously reported for [3H]L-655,708 binding. Displacement of [3H]RY-80 bound to hippocampal homogenates, and of [3H]flunitrazepam bound to cerebellar and hippocampal homogenates showed comparable displacement by flumazenil (Ki's 5–7 nM). However, the Ki's for diazepam and for clobazam to displace [3H]RY-80 binding in hippocampus were about fourfold higher than for [3H]flunitrazepam, and the Ki for clonazepam was sixfold larger, suggesting that these benzodiazepine receptor agonists bind with relatively lower affinity at hippocampal α5-containing receptors.
Coexistence of Addison's disease and diabetes mellitus: report of three cases with a discussion of metabolic interrelationships.

ABSTRACT Three cases of co-existing diabetes mellitus and Addison's disease are reported. In 2, diabetes developed after adrenal insufficiency had existed for years. Only 15 cases with this sequence of onset of the 2 diseases have been reported previously. The effect of each disease upon the pathophysiology and course of the other is discussed. The usual sequence of onset is diabetes mellitus complicated later by adrenal insufficiency. In such instances there occurs a melioration of the diabetic state, followed by progressive deterioration of the patient unless appropriate treatment is given for adrenal insufficiency. With such treatment the diabetes returns to its former degree of intensity, but stabilization is facilitated. When Addison's disease is complicated secondarily by diabetes mellitus, there may be intensification of the adrenal insufficiency which can be corrected only partially by larger doses of salt-active steroids. After appropriate therapy for the diabetes has been instituted, the steroid...
Parameter estimation methods for neural models

Two methods are presented for the estimation of the electrotonic parameters of the somatic shunt cable model. In one method, a matrix is built using known properties of the parameter space and the parameters are estimated by interpolation. This method has proved to be successful at avoiding local minima, provided "good" estimates in the presence of noise and missing data points. A second method which combines the advantages of both iterative and associative method is also presented. These methods are applied to the somatic shunt cable model of neurons and the accuracy of the estimated parameters compared.
Suppression of a defect in the 5' untranslated leader of mitochondrial COX3 mRNA by a mutation affecting an mRNA-specific translational activator protein.

Translation oftheSaccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial COX3mRNA,encoding subunit Imofcytochrome coxidase, specifically requires theaction ofthenuclear geneproducts PET54, PET122, andPET494atasite encoded inthe612-base 5'untranslated leader. Toidentify moreprecisely thesite ofaction ofthetranslational activators, weconstructed twolarge deletions oftheCOX3mRNA 5'untranslated leader. Bothdeletions blocked translation without affecting mRNAstability. However, oneofthelarge deletions wasable torevert to partial function byasmall secondary deletion within theremaining 5'leader sequences. Translation ofthe resulting mutant (cox3-15) mRNA wasstill dependent onthenuclear-encoded specific activators butwascold sensitive. We selected revertants ofthis mitochondrial mutant atlowtemperature toidentify genes encoding proteins that might interact withtheCOX3mRNA5'leader. Onesuchrevertant carried amissense mutation inthePET122genethat wasastrong anddominant suppressor ofthecold-sensitive defect inthemRNA, indicating that thePET122protein interacts functionally (possibly directly) withtheCOX3mRNA 5'leader. Thecox3-15 mutation wasnotsuppressed byoverproduction ofthewild-type PET122protein butwasvery weakly suppressed byoverproduction ofPET494andslightly better suppressed byco-overproduction of PET494andPET122. Translation ofseveral, andperhaps all, Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial mRNAs requires activation by mRNA-specific nuclear-encoded proteins inaddition tothe general mitochondrial translation machinery (1, 7,12,24,43, 44). Translation ofthemitochondrial COX3mRNA,encodingcytochrome coxidase subunit III(coxIII), specifically requires atleast three activator proteins: PET54,PET122, andPET494(3,5,6,9,30). Allthree activator proteins are localized tothemitochondrion (5, 10,34,41)andactthrough asite orsites within theCOX3mRNA 5'untranslated leader (6). However, their mechanism ofaction islargely unknown. Wehavetaken agenetic approach todetecting theproteinprotein andprotein-mRNA interactions thatoccurduring translational activation inthis system. We foundpreviously thatmutations truncating thecarboxy terminus ofthe PET122protein couldbeallele-specifica lly suppressed by
The case against base rate comparisons in stuttering experimentation

Abstract A considerable number of experiments on stuttering have been done with the ABA design, in which a base rate period serves as a control condition. Three arguments against this design are presented: (1) If base rate is defined a priori, it is difficult to have confidence in the results, and if it is defined a posteriori it is hard to achieve. (2) Two assumptions must be made about stuttering in order to conclude that an experimental variable has produced a change in its frequency relative to base rate, and neither assumption seems justified, in light of current data. (3) When punishment is the experimental variable, any comparison of an experimental condition with a base rate condition is confounded because of the two-dimensional nature of punishment itself. Alternative designs are offered from which valid experimental results may be obtained.
Untriggered Water Switching

Recent experiments indicate that synchronous untriggered multichannel switching in water will permit the development of relatively simple, ultra-low impedance, short pulse, relativistic electron beam (REB) accelerators. These experiments resulted in the delivery of a 1.5 MV, 0.75 MA, 15 ns pulse into a 2 ? line with a current risetime of 2 x 1014 A/sec. The apparatus consisted of a 3 MV Marx generator and a series of three 112 cm wide strip water lines separated by 2 edge-plane water-gap switches. The Marx generator charged the first line in < 400 ns. The first switch then formed 5 or more channels. The second line was charged in 60 ns and broke down with 10 to 25 channels at a mean field of 1.6 MV/cm. The closure time of each spark channel along both switches was measured with a streak camera and showed low jitter. The resulting fast pulse line construction is simpler and should provide considerable cost savings from previous designs. Multiples of these low impedance lines in parallel can be employed to obtain power levels in the 1014 W range for REB fusion studies.
Escherichia coli Translocation at the Blood-Brain Barrier

The mortality and morbidity associated with bacterial meningitis have remained significant despite advances in antimicrobial chemotherapy and supportive care. A major contributing factor is the incomplete understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. For example, most cases of bacterial meningitis develop as a result of hematogenous spread, but it is unclear how circulating bacteria cross the blood-brain barrier (12, 25, 33, 46). Recent studies have shown that Escherichia coli K1, group B Streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Citrobacter spp., the important pathogens that cause meningitis, translocate from blood to the central nervous system (CNS) without altering the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (2, 23, 27, 36, 42). These studies of bacterial translocation from blood to the CNS have become possible because of the availability of both in vitro and in vivo models of the blood-brain barrier (1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 13, 17–20, 22, 26, 28, 32, 41, 43, 47). The in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier is composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC), which exhibit transendothelial resistance of 200 to 600 Ω/cm2, a unique property of the brain microvascular endothelium monolayer compared to systemic vascular endothelium. The in vivo model of the blood-brain barrier utilizes experimental hematogenous meningitis in animals. In these experimental meningitis models, bacteria are injected via intravenous, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, or intracardiac administration, resulting in bacteremia and subsequent entry into the CNS. At present, E. coli-BMEC interactions represent the most characterized system concerning how circulating bacteria cross the blood-brain barrier. This review summarizes our current understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in bacterial translocation of the blood-brain barrier, using E. coli as a paradigm.
Effect of Intraduodenal Lipid on Parabrachial Gustatory Coding in Awake Rats

Intestinal fat differentially suppresses sham feeding of liquid diets and preferred gustatory stimuli. Although the behavioral effect is robust, no electrophysiological evidence exists to account for its neural basis. Therefore, we investigated the effect of intestinal fat on gustatory coding in the pontine parabrachial nuclei (PBN) by recording from single neurons in awake rats before, during, and after intraduodenal infusions of lipid (Intralipid; 10 ml, 5 kcal). Intraduodenal lipid did not alter the response profiles of PBN taste neurons. It did, however, produce an overall decrease in response magnitude (-16.25%; n = 43), with the largest reduction to sucrose (-30%; n = 43). The most pronounced suppression occurred in sucrose-best neurons in response to sucrose (-55%; n = 19), and this effect was largest for the sucrose-specific cells (-77%; n = 3). After lipid infusions, nonspecific neurons in both the sucrose-best and NaCl-best categories also responded less to their best stimulus (sucrose, -46%; n = 16; NaCl, -35%; n = 13). In contrast, no significant changes were found in NaCl-specific cells in response to NaCl. All effects appeared with short latency ( approximately 5 min) and were reversible within the time frame of a meal. In controls, duodenal infusions of saline did not cause any changes in taste responsiveness. These results suggest that intestinal fat has specific effects on taste coding in the PBN that may contribute to the intake suppression of palatable food observed in behavioral studies. The similar, short latency of both the behavioral and neural effects supports the hypothesis of a preabsorptive site of action.
Farmer goals and management styles: Implications for advancing biologically based agriculture

Abstract This paper examines differences in the management styles of a purposive sample of almond and winegrape growers in California’s Central Valley, including participants and non-participants in biologically integrated farming systems programs. Using Q methodology, we elicited rankings of economic and social values and goals as they relate to farm production, environmental stewardship, family and community, and leisure. These rankings led to three distinct management styles, labeled as Environmental Stewards, Production Maximizers, and Networking Entrepreneurs. The results demonstrate that farmers make decisions following diverse management strategies and suggest that outreach programs aimed at advancing biologically based farming practices must address these differences to be most effective.
Some observations on market clearing price and locational marginal price

This paper starts from the fundamental concepts of market clearing price (MCP) and locational marginal price (LMP) in the electricity markets, and presents some interesting observations on MCP and LMP. The point at which demand curve and supply curve intersects establishes the MCP. The non-existence of MCP and existence of multiple MCPs is explored. LMP is the marginal cost of supplying the next MW of load at a specific location. LMPs with the presence of price-responsive demand and multi-period coupling constraints are discussed. For the first time, the cases where LMP is higher than the highest generation bidding price and where LMP is lower than the lowest generation bidding price are discussed, all using examples for a simple 3-bus network.
A biased grand canonical Monte Carlo method for simulating adsorption using all-atom and branched united atom models

Configurational-bias Monte Carlo sampling techniques have been developed which overcome the difficulties of sampling configuration space efficiently for all-atom molecular models and for branched species represented with united atom models. Implementation details of this sampling scheme are discussed. The accuracy of a united atom forcefield with non-bond parameters optimized for zeolite adsorption and a widely used all-atom forcefield are evaluated by comparison with experimental sorption isotherms of linear and branched hydrocarbons.
VeA Is Associated with the Response to Oxidative Stress in the Aflatoxin Producer Aspergillus flavus

Survival of fungal species depends on the ability of these organisms to respond to environmental stresses. Osmotic stress or high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause stress in fungi resulting in growth inhibition. Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells have developed numerous mechanisms to counteract and survive the stress in the presence of ROS. In many fungi, the HOG signaling pathway is crucial for the oxidative stress response as well as for osmotic stress response. This study revealed that while the osmotic stress response is only slightly affected by the master regulator veA, this gene, also known to control morphological development and secondary metabolism in numerous fungal species, has a profound effect on the oxidative stress response in the aflatoxin-producing fungus Aspergillus flavus. We found that the expression of A. flavus homolog genes involved in the HOG signaling pathway is regulated by veA. Deletion of veA resulted in a reduction in transcription levels of oxidative stress response genes after exposure to hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, analyses of the effect of VeA on the promoters of cat1 and trxB indicate that the presence of VeA alters DNA-protein complex formation. This is particularly notable in the cat1 promoter, where the absence of VeA results in abnormally stronger complex formation with reduced cat1 expression and more sensitivity to ROS in a veA deletion mutant, suggesting that VeA might prevent binding of negative transcription regulators to the cat1 promoter. Our study also revealed that veA positively influences the expression of the transcription factor gene atfB and that normal formation of DNA-protein complexes in the cat1 promoter is dependent on AtfB.
Should minimal residual disease guide therapy in AML

The prognostic power of minimal residual disease after therapy for acute leukemias is not in question. It is only logical that the finding of leukemic blast cells after therapy predicts for impending relapse or at least the need for additional treatment. Which level of what is called minimal residual disease (MRD) is clinically relevant, however, depends on the efficacy of the initial treatment as well as the treatment strategies available to target MRD. There are a multitude of additional factors that can alter the clinical significance of MRD, including the genotype of the patient's leukemic cells. The fact that methodologies of MRD detection are not standardized and thresholds for defining MRD positivity vary depending upon MRD detection method and the operator's skills or convictions only add to the complexity of MRD interpretation. While enormous efforts are devoted to enhancing the sensitivity of MRD detection, eg, by next-generation sequencing, improvements of methods for detecting MRD per se will not automatically lead to a more reliable estimation of total tumor burden. Most importantly, even the best assay will yield accurate MRD results only if the tissue source for MRD determination is of good quality. Another aspect of potentially crucial importance is the heterogenous distribution of leukemic cells throughout the skeleton after treatment, recently demonstrated for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by bone marrow imaging. Once technical difficulties of MRD measurement are resolved and better MRD-targeting drugs are developed, we still need to learn about alternate proposed mechanisms to explain MRD-independent prognostication, well described in acute lymphoid leukemia, before MRD can be included routinely in the guidance of therapy in AML.
Recursive Partitioning and Tree-Based Methods

An algorithm known as recursive partitioning is the key to the nonpara- metric statistical method of classification and regression trees (CART) (Breiman, Friedman, Olshen, and Stone, 1984). Recursive partitioning is the step-by-step process by which a decision tree is constructed by either splitting or not splitting each node on the tree into two daughter nodes. An attractive feature of the CART methodology (or the related C4.5 methodology; Quinlan, 1993) is that because the algorithm asks a sequence of hierarchical Boolean questions (e.g., is X j ≤ θ j ?, where θ j is a threshold value), it is relatively simple to understand and interpret the results.
Commentary: Toward an Improved Understanding of Recidivism

Setting out to identify predictors of recidivism in seriously mentally ill (SMI) persons who return to their community from prison, Hall and colleagues offer to the forensic community a substantive contribution to the organization of interventions aimed to promote both the social and the psychiatric recovery of these individuals and to reduce their rate of re-entry into the penal system. While their work in the field is praiseworthy, I would like to share my thoughts and considerations to stimulate a dialogue about a subject that should be of interest to both clinicians and policy makers.
Endovenous Laser Ablation Can Safely and Successfully Treat Large-Diameter Saphenous Veins: A Posse ad Esse (from Possibility to Actuality).

It is hard to believe that it has been only 15 years since endovenous thermal ablation (EVTA) was introduced. In that short time, office-based endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) and radiofrequency ablation have assumed preeminent roles in eliminating refluxing saphenous veins, virtually replacing the surgical procedures used for most of the previous century. Supporting this transition of practice have been data demonstrating a high degree of technical success of EVTA, with significant physiologic and patientreported quality-of-life improvements (1). Randomized studies (2,3) have favorably compared EVTA to alternative forms of treatment with regard to recovery, success, complications, durability, and patient satisfaction. The cost effectiveness of EVTA versus surgical procedures has also been substantiated (4). Strong recommendations for EVTA are made in widely accepted guidelines in the United States and United Kingdom (5,6). Venous ablation investigation is currently addressing EVTA refinement as well as the development of nonthermal methods in an attempt to enhance patient comfort and safety in the treatment of vein segments with adjacent nerves. Valuable work is also being done to address questions of patient selection and clinical benefit of ablation in certain clinical scenarios. One clinical question that required attention involved the efficacy and safety of EVTA in patients with large-
Aerial traverse and maximum bridging distance.

Aerial triangulation methods, a major problem in photogrammetry, require the use of first-order instruments. A method for using second-order instruments, which offers two solutions—numerical and graphic—for route surveying, is described. The theoretical and mathematical conception of the method is given. The error propagation and the correction of errors is discussed, and the complete computation procedure is given. A practical example is used to show the accuracy that can be expected through the use of this method. The practical example leads to empirical formulas, that provide the determination of the maximum bridging distance. Economic considerations indicate that a saving of time and money would result from the use of this method.
Radio healer

In this paper we discuss our performance titled Radio Healer. This performance reflects upon the indigenous cultural implications of consumer technologies such as the Internet, mobile handheld devices, and personal computers, and how this relates to the effects of these technologies upon the lived experiences of all people. Radio Healer achieves this through the tactical appropriation and adaptive reuse of consumer technologies by indigenous peoples, along with the expression of indigenous media through sustainable cross-cultural partnerships between peoples of diverse backgrounds. The motivation of our collaborative work is to appropriate and express electronic technology in order to recognize the sovereign rights of indigenous peoples.
Frontline evaluation and treatment of patients with sinus disease: how otolaryngologists can help primary care providers manage patients with sinusitis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Sinus disease impacts millions of Americans every year, with significant associated costs on the healthcare system. Primary care physicians (PCPs) are at the frontline of treatment for patients with sinus disease. Patients would be well served by improved collaboration between PCPs and consulting otolaryngologists. RECENT FINDINGS Recent years have seen the adoption of new criteria for the diagnosis of sinus disease; however, this remains an often-times difficult diagnosis to make. SUMMARY The management of sinus disease is a major challenge for PCPs who often manage the majority of patients presenting with sinusitis and related conditions. In this article, it is suggested that patients would be well served by close-working relationships between their PCPs and otolaryngologists.
Rapid Heating of Serum for the Kline Tests for Syphilis

Sera heated for ten minutes at 56°C, for three minutes at 63°C, for one minute at 69.5°C, and for seven seconds at 100°C. (boiling water) give results in the Kline tests for syphilis that are practically identical with those obtained with the sera as generally prepared, namely, heating for thirty minutes at 56°C.f Such rapid preparation of serum is especially valuable as a time saving factor whenever the Kline tests are used for the detection of syphilis in a blood donor immediately prior to transfusion. The Kline diagnostic and exclusion heated serum tests are especially applicable for the detection of syphilis in blood donors •, because they not only possess satisfactory specificity and sensitivity •, but also because they can be done in a few minutes with a small amount of blood easily obtained from a finger puncture. In describing his heated serum tests, Kline advocated heating serum at 56°C. for thirty minutes. Although this thirty minute period is satisfactory for routine heating of sera, it does become an important time consuming factor if the tests are to be employed for the routine examination of blood donors immediately prior to transfusions. Since it is important to save as much time as possible in performing the test, and not to delay the transfusion any more than absolutely necessary, it seemed advisable to us to determine whether the heating period could be shortened without diminishing the sensitivity and the specificity of the test. Although the technic of the majority of serologic tests in use
The Argonne Advanced Photon Source

Argonne National Laboratory is preparing to build a new synchrotron radiation source, the 7-GeV Advanced Photon Source (APS), that will provide the world's most brilliant x-ray beams for research. The APS will produce x-rays for materials research, condensed-matter physics, chemistry, and biological and medical studies by researchers from industry, universities, and national laboratories.
Comparison of Yellow Holocyclic and Green Anholocyclic Strains of Myzus persicae (Sulzer): Low Temperature Adaptability

Viviparous green anholocyclic clones of the green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae (Sulzer), displayed lower mortality and higher reproductive rates than the yellow holocyclic strain at 5 and 10° C, whereas nymphal development rates were similar. Results indicate that the anholocyclic strain, which overwinters in the viviparous stage, has evolved some degree of cold tolerance.
Determinants of Scale Response: Label versus Position:

Two determinants of scale response—the denotative meaning of the adjective labels used and the location of the labels in relation to scale endpoints—were investigated. On the basis of the procedure...
Components of Camp Experiences for Positive Youth Development

Youth development specialists advocate that well designed, implemented, and staffed youth centered programs result in positive outcomes for young people. Youth organizations have provided opportunities for young people to participate in camping experiences for over a century. The purpose of this paper is to describe what program components were related to camp environments and positive youth development. We describe these program components related to positive youth development based on a large scale national study of ACA (American Camp Association) accredited camps that included independent, religiously affiliated, government, and not-for-profit organizations. Based on the responses given by camp directors, contact and leadership from trained staff and the supportive relationships they provided were essential elements of camp. Other aspects leading to positive youth development in camps were program mission and structure along with elements of accountability, assessment of outcomes, and opportunities for skill building.
GSA-Genie: a web application for gene set analysis

Gene set analysis is often used to interpret results from upstream analysis through predefined gene sets that are linked to biological features such as cell cycle or tumorgenesis. Gene sets have been defined in the literature via various criteria and are archived by numerous databases. We compiled over 2.3 million gene sets from 17 sources, and made them accessible through a web application, GSA-Genie. Selected gene sets can be analyzed online using one of 16 statistical methods. These methods can be grouped into two strategies: test of gene set over-representation within a gene list, or comparison of a gene-level statistics between gene set and background. GSA-Genie operates on a Shiny web server, hosted in a cloud instance within Amazon Web Services. GSA-Genie offers a broad selection of gene sets and statistical methods comparing to existing tools. GSA-Genie is freely available at http://gsagenie.awsomics.org.
Electrostatic and induction effects in the solubility of water in alkanes

Experiments show that at 298 K and 1 atm pressure, the transfer free energy, μex, of water from its vapor to liquid normal alkanes CnH2n+2 (n=5…12) is negative. Earlier it was found that with the united-atom TraPPE model for alkanes and the SPC/E model for water, one had to artificially enhance the attractive alkane-water cross interaction to capture this behavior. Here we revisit the calculation of μex using the polarizable AMOEBA and the non-polarizable Charmm General (CGenFF) forcefields. We test both the AMOEBA03 and AMOEBA14 water models; the former has been validated with the AMOEBA alkane model while the latter is a revision of AMOEBA03 to better describe liquid water. We calculate μex using the test particle method. With CGenFF, μex is positive and the error relative to experiments is about 1.5 kBT. With AMOEBA, μex is negative and deviations relative to experiments are between 0.25 kBT (AMOEBA14) and 0.5 kBT (AMOEBA03). Quantum chemical calculations in a continuum solvent suggest that zero point effects may account for some of the deviation. Forcefield limitations notwithstanding, electrostatic and induction effects, commonly ignored in consideration of water-alkane interactions, appear to be decisive in the solubility of water in alkanes.
Convolutional approximations to linear dimensionality reduction operators

This paper examines the existence of efficiently implementable approximations of a general real linear dimensionality reduction (LDR) operator. The specific focus is on approximating a given LDR operator with a partial circulant structured matrix (a matrix whose rows are related by circular shifts) as these constructions allow for low-memory footprint and computationally efficient implementations. Our main contributions are theoretical: we quantify how well general matrices may be approximated (in a Frobenius sense) by partial circulant structured matrices, and also consider a variation of this problem where the aim is only to accurately approximate the action of a given LDR operator on a restricted set of inputs. For the latter setting, we also propose a sparsity-regularized alternating minimization based algorithm for learning partial circulant approximations from data, and provide experimental evidence demonstrating the potential efficacy of this approach on real-world data.
Spin Dependent Electron Mean Free Path in Ferromagnets

The electron mean free path (MFP) plays a fundamental role in all applications of electron spectroscopic techniques in surface science. It determines the probing depth of the various methods. In the low-energy range used (typically below 1 keV) energetic electrons in solids are strongly scattered leading to a strong attenuation of the intensity with a l/e attenuation length on the order of only a few atomic distances. In ferromagnetic materials, at least in principle, the mean free path can be expected to be spin dependent due to the spin dependence of the scattering processes. A spin dependent mean free path obviously will affect the measured polarizations in spin polarized spectroscopies, e.g., in photoemission. While there is general agreement that the mean free path of electrons in ferromagnets is indeed spin dependent at low energies the underlying mechanism is controversial. One point of concern is whether the main effects are due to a spin dependence of elastic or inelastic scattering. In this lecture I will summarize the evidence for a spin dependent electron mean free path in 3d transition metals. Some of the evidence is based on a direct measurement of spin dependent attenuation in ultrathin films whereas the evidence from other methods, like spin polarized secondary electron emission spectroscopy and spin polarized electron energy loss spectroscopy, is more indirect but agrees qualitatively with the results of the direct measurements. Spin polarized electron energy loss spectroscopy suggests that the main spin dependent scattering mechanism is due to Stoner excitations.
Risk Averse Second Best Toll Pricing

Existing second best toll pricing (SBTP) models determine optimal tolls of a subset of links in a transportation network by minimizing certain system objective, while the traffic flow pattern is assumed to follow user equilibrium (UE). We show in this paper that such toll design approach is risk prone, which tries to optimize for the best-case scenario, if the UE problem has multiple solutions. Accordingly, we propose a risk averse SBTP approach aiming to optimize for the worst-case scenario, which can be formulated as a min-max problem. We establish a general solution existence condition for the risk averse model and discuss in detail that such a condition may not be always satisfied in reality. In case a solution does not exist, it is possible to replace the exact UE solution set by a set of approximate solutions. This replacement guarantees the solution existence of the risk averse model. We then develop a scheme such that the solution set of an affine UE can be explicitly expressed. Using this explicit representation, an improved simplex method can be adopted to solve the risk averse SBTP model.
The Neuroevolution of Empathy and Caring for Others: Why It Matters for Morality

Evolutionarily, empathy is central to making adaptive evaluations in social environments, bonding with others, and caring for them. In humans, empathic arousal and feelings of concern for others provide the building blocks for the development of morality. Empathic concern emerges early in life in preverbal infants and requires only a minimal capacity for mindreading and self-awareness. In this chapter, it is proposed that empathy is a capacity shared by humans and other mammals, which is dependent on neural circuits that have evolved in the context of parental care and living in social groups. Empathy-based behaviors have afforded unique survival and reproductive advantages and have co-opted primitive homeostatic processes involved in reward and pain systems in order to facilitate various social attachment processes. Studies in affective and social neuroscience are discussed to document that the same network of regions that are involved in physical pain is also responsive to the perception of pain in others as well as social pain, such as social exclusion, grief, or extreme sadness. The sharing of vicarious negative arousal provides a strong signal that can promote empathic concern and caring for others. To be motivated to help another, one needs to be affectively and empathically aroused and to anticipate the cessation of the mutually experienced personal distress. Finally, drawing on neuroimaging studies with juvenile and adult psychopaths, it is argued that the lack of sensitivity to others’ suffering contributes to a callous disregard for the welfare of others and increases vulnerability to amoral conduct.
Rates of convergence of ordinal comparison for dependent discrete event dynamic systems

Recent research has demonstrated that ordinal comparison, i.e., comparing relative orders of performance measures, converges much faster than the performance measures themselves do. Sometimes, the rate of convergence can be exponential. However, the actual rate is affected by the dependence among systems under consideration. In this paper, we investigate convergence rates of ordinal comparison for dependent discrete event dynamic systems. Although counterexamples show that positive dependence is not necessarily helpful for ordinal comparison, there does exist some dependence that increases the convergence rate of ordinal comparison. It is shown that positive quadrant dependence increases the convergence rate of ordinal comparison, while negative quadrant dependence decreases the rate. The results of this paper also show that the rate is maximized by using the scheme of common random numbers, a widely-used technique for variance reduction.
The Cross in Contexts: Suffering and Redemption in Palestine by Mitri Raheb and Suzanne Watts Henderson

Raheb, Mitri, and Suzanne Watts Henderson. The Cross in Contexts: Suffering and Redemption in Palestine . Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2017.
Enhancing Professional Socialization through the Metaphor of Tradition

This article explores how the metaphor of tradition can help educators foster specific public service attitudes in students of public administration, while simultaneously helping their students mak...
An introduction to mechanical-properties-related issues in MEMS structures

A brief introduction to the issues related to the mechanical properties of MEMS components in terms of their functionality, types of loading and modes of operation is presented. At the microscale, for most cases, some mechanical properties including strength increase. However, surface phenomena such as adhesion/stiction become important as the aspect ratio of the components decreases. Subcritical crack initiation and growth in silicon, as the most common type of material used in MEMS devices under various types of loading is discussed. In addition, fatigue and creep behavior of MEMS components are described.
Decision Making by Children

As noted throughout this volume, the concept of competence to consent has obvious psychological dimensions. Psychologists presumably can inform the law (or at least potentially can inform the law) about children’s capacity to weigh risks and benefits and to make “mature” decisions in various situations. Underlying the reason why there is interest in such developmental research are other less frequently discussed psychological concerns, which are the subject of this chapter. Specifically, a primary justification for denying children the power of consent is that they will be harmed by the consequences of making bad decisions.2. According to such a theory, self-determination rights are denied incompetent minors because of the state’s duty as parens patriae to protect dependent persons from harm.3 Hence, competence becomes an issue as a corollary to the assumption of harm, including psychological harm, resulting from allowing minors to make decisions if they are incompetent to do so. It is not incompetence per se that laws restricting children’s power of consent are designed to avoid. Rather, the purpose is to enhance children’s welfare or at least to minimize harm.
Protein Breakdown and the Heat-Shock Response

A primary function of protein breakdown in animal and bacterial cells is to eliminate nonfunctional or denatured polypeptides whose accumulation in vivo could be quite toxic.1–4 Proteins with highly abnormal structures may result from nonsense mutations, insertions or deletions, missense mutations, biosynthetic errors, incorporation of amino acid analogs into proteins, or postsynthetic damage to normal cell constituents. However, such polypeptides generally fail to accumulate in vivo to the levels of normal gene products because they are rapidly degraded to amino acids.
Patient Radiation Dose Reduction Considerations in a Contemporary Interventional Radiology Suite.

We sought to evaluate patient radiation exposure during complex liver interventional procedures performed with newer angiography equipment. We conducted a retrospective study of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creations and liver tumor embolizations performed in our new angiography suite (Discovery IGS740, GE Healthcare). T tests were used to compare air kerma-area product (PKA) and reference plane air kerma (Ka,r) in the new room versus data from historical rooms and previous studies (including the RAD IR study). Results were expressed as medians [interquartile ranges (Q1, Q3)]. From February 2015 to June 2016, 134 complex liver interventional procedures were performed in the new room, including 14 TIPS creations, 60 hepatic tumor arterial embolizations (HAEs), 26 Y90 mappings (Y90m), and 34 Y90 radioembolizations (Y90). Ka,r (Gy) values were as follows: TIPS, 0.65 (0.24, 1.15); HAE, 0.89 (0.49, 1.49); Y90m, 0.54 (0.38, 0.94); Y90, 0.46 (0.21, 1.06). PKA (Gy·cm2) values were as follows: TIPS, 148.2 (66.7, 326.5); HAE, 142.6 (88, 217.8); Y90m, 148.3 (98.2, 247); Y90, 90.8 (43.9, 161.5). Ka,r and PKA were lower in the new room than in historical rooms [Ka,r and PKA reductions: TIPS, 58 and 49%; HAE, 31 and 39%; Y90m, 58 and 52%; Y90, 49 and 56% (p < 0.05)] and versus the RAD IR study [Ka,r and PKA reductions: TIPS, 64 and 43%; HAE, 26 and 40% (p < 0.05)]. Using the latest technology and image processing tools enables significant reduction in radiation exposure during complex liver interventional procedures.
The Genetics of Alcohol Responses of Invertebrate Model Systems

Alcohol use disorders and alcoholism are prevalent conditions that come at a high cost for individuals and for society at large. About half the factors contributing to the development of these disorders are genetic, yet few of the genes involved are well known or characterized. Invertebrate organisms, especially the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster and the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans , have been successfully used to isolate genes involved in behavioral ethanol responses that are relevant to mammalian alcohol drinking. In addition, because of their genetic accessibility, these invertebrates have been instrumental in deciphering the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways encompassed by the genes involved in alcohol responses. Here we review the experimental approaches and behavioral paradigms utilized in these organisms and highlight the genetic and molecular insights into the mechanisms of behavioral alcohol responses they have enabled.
A real-time PCR assay for detection of light leaf spot on Brassica crops in the Pacific Northwest of the USA

Outbreaks of light leaf spot (Pyrenopeziza brassicae), a disease new to North America, occurred along with the diseases blackleg (Leptosphaeria spp.) and white leaf spot (Mycosphaerella capsellae) ...
Rare and common variant discovery in complex disease: the IBD case study.

Complex diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which consists of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, are a significant medical burden-70 000 new cases of IBD are diagnosed in the United States annually. In this review, we examine the history of genetic variant discovery in complex disease with a focus on IBD. We cover methods that have been applied to microsatellite, common variant, targeted resequencing and whole-exome and -genome data, specifically focusing on the progression of technologies towards rare-variant discovery. The inception of these methods combined with better availability of population level variation data has led to rapid discovery of IBD-causative and/or -associated variants at over 200 loci; over time, these methods have grown exponentially in both power and ascertainment to detect rare variation. We highlight rare-variant discoveries critical to the elucidation of the pathogenesis of IBD, including those in NOD2, IL23R, CARD9, RNF186 and ADCY7. We additionally identify the major areas of rare-variant discovery that will evolve in the coming years. A better understanding of the genetic basis of IBD and other complex diseases will lead to improved diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and surveillance.
Firm participation in voluntary regulatory initiatives: The Accord, Alliance, and US garment importers from Bangladesh

Most research on private governance examines the design and negotiation of particular initiatives or their operation and effectiveness once established, with relatively little work on why firms join in the first place. We contribute to this literature by exploring firms’ willingness to participate in two recent, high-profile private initiatives established in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) sector: the Accord on Building and Fire Safety and the Alliance for Worker Safety in Bangladesh. Using novel shipment-level data from U.S. customs declarations, we generate a set of firms that were “eligible” to join these remediation initiatives. We are able to positively attribute only a minority of US RMG imports from Bangladesh to Accord and Alliance signatories. Firms with consumer-facing brands, publicly-traded firms, and those importing more RMG product from Bangladesh were more likely to sign up for the Accord and Alliance. Firms headquartered in the USA were much less likely to sign onto remediation plans, especially the Accord.
Skeletal Muscle Regeneration in Advanced Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.

Background:Decreased lean muscle mass in the lower extremity in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is thought to contribute to altered joint loading, immobility, and disability. However, the mech...
Technical Note: A deuterated 13 C-urea reference for clinical multiparametric MRI prostate cancer studies including hyperpolarized pyruvate.

PURPOSE Metabolic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using hyperpolarized [1-13 C]-pyruvate offers unprecedented new insight into disease and response to therapy. 13 C-enriched reference standards are required to enable fast and accurate calibration for 13 C studies, but care must be taken to ensure that the reference is compatible with both 13 C and 1 H acquisitions. The goal of this study was to optimize the composition of a 13 C-urea reference for a dual-tuned 13 C/1 H endorectal coil and minimize imaging artifacts in metabolic and multiparametric MRI studies involving hyperpolarized [1-13 C]-pyruvate. METHODS Due to a high amount of Gd doping for the purpose of reducing the spin-lattice relaxation time (T1 ) of urea, the 1 H signal produced by a reference of 13 C-urea in normal water was rapidly relaxed, resulting in severe artifacts in heavily T1 -weighted images. Hyperintense ringing artifacts in 1 H images were mitigated by reducing the 1 H concentration in a 13 C-urea reference via deuteration and lyophilization. Several references were fabricated and their SNR was compared using 1 H and 13 C imaging sequences on a 3T MRI scanner. Finally, 1 H prostate phantom imaging was conducted to compare image quality and 1 H signal intensity of normal and deuterated urea references. RESULTS The deuterated 13 C-urea reference provides strong 13 C signal for calibration and an attenuated 1 H signal that does not interfere with heavily T1 -weighted scans. Deuteration and lyophilization were fundamental to the reduction in 1 H signal and hyperintense ringing artifacts. There was a 25-fold reduction in signal intensity when comparing the nondeuterated reference to the deuterated reference, while the 13 C signal was unaffected. CONCLUSION A deuterated reference reduced hyperintense ringing artifacts in 1 H images by reducing the 1 H signal produced from the 13 C-urea in the reference. The deuterated reference can be used to improve anatomical image quality in future clinical 1 H and hyperpolarized [1-13 C]-pyruvate MRI prostate imaging studies.
Mitigating Selection Bias: A Bayesian Approach to Two-stage Causal Modeling With Instrumental Variables for Nonnormal Missing Data:

This study proposes a two-stage causal modeling with instrumental variables to mitigate selection bias, provide correct standard error estimates, and address nonnormal and missing data issues simul...
Spatiotemporal Dynamics in the Fractional Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation

Inspired by work on fractional Quantum Mechanics and Levy path integrals, recently we have seen increased interest in extending this concept in optical settings. Here we present our first results in the spatio-temporal regime
Spatio-Temporal Resolution Enhancement for Geostationary Microwave Data

In this paper, we provide a formulation for enhancing the spatio-temporal resolution of a remote sensing sequence of images. Such an image sequence could be captured by a sensor that convolves a physical scene with a spatio-temporal point spread function whose two-dimensional spatial component is the microwave instrument’s point spread function and whose one-dimensional temporal component is the rectangular kernel with sensor exposure time as its support. We perform resolution enhancement in the space-time domain, as opposed to solving the deconvolution problem for each observation. Simultaneous space-time optimization achieves a more efficient and more accurate reconstruction. The proposed deconvolution method employs total variation regularization and solves the formulation via the Split-Bregman optimization algorithm. In our experiments, we use a simulated microwave image sequence of a hurricane and demonstrate that the proposed methodology improves the accuracy when compared to the observed sequence.