cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The principle of maneuver in cyber operations

The United States Military describes the concept of maneuver as the disposition of forces to conduct operations by securing positional advantages before and or during combat operations. This paper will briefly explore how the concept of maneuver in kinetic operations has evolved over time and how that concept relates to cyber operations and cyber warfare. It will attempt to define what constitutes the principle of maneuver within cyberspace as it relates to the traditional concept of maneuver in warfare and how the unique domain of cyberspace alters this concept. This paper will explore the characteristics of maneuver in cyberspace and the basic offensive and defensive forms of maneuver that have thus far emerged will be identified and analysed. The author will also briefly touch on the issue of sovereignty in cyberspace as it relates to cyber maneuver and attempt to identify how and when the concept of cyber maneuver might cross the line to violate a state's sovereignty. This paper will demonstrate that there is a valid concept of maneuver in cyberspace, and that the stealth and anonymity provided by the Internet allows for blatant acts which, in a kinetic operation, would most like result in open armed conflict.
Large-deformation triangular and tetrahedral element formulations for unstructured meshes

Abstract The increasing use of automatic mesh generators and remeshers has spurred the need for accurate and efficient triangular and tetrahedral elements in unstructured meshes. In large-deformation analysis of solids, accuracy and efficiency require the treatment of volumetric locking and element distortions, respectively. In this paper, a mixed formulations is proposed to treat these issues, and applied to triangular and tetrahedral elements. The formulations enforces, in the weak sense, the expression for the volumetric strain in terms of the deformation gradient. The mixed formulation is combined with an irreducible formulation to provide a balance between the treatment of volumetric locking and the maintenance of an adequate critical timestep. Three techniques are proposed to determine such a balance at the local (element) level. Example computations in two and three dimensions of an iron cylinder impacting a rigid surface are used to demonstrate the formulations, and to compare them to the irreducible displacement-based formulation.
Malicious Data Attacks on the Smart Grid

Malicious attacks against power systems are investigated, in which an adversary controls a set of meters and is able to alter the measurements from those meters. Two regimes of attacks are considered. The strong attack regime is where the adversary attacks a sufficient number of meters so that the network state becomes unobservable by the control center. For attacks in this regime, the smallest set of attacked meters capable of causing network unobservability is characterized using a graph theoretic approach. By casting the problem as one of minimizing a supermodular graph functional, the problem of identifying the smallest set of vulnerable meters is shown to have polynomial complexity. For the weak attack regime where the adversary controls only a small number of meters, the problem is examined from a decision theoretic perspective for both the control center and the adversary. For the control center, a generalized likelihood ratio detector is proposed that incorporates historical data. For the adversary, the trade-off between maximizing estimation error at the control center and minimizing detection probability of the launched attack is examined. An optimal attack based on minimum energy leakage is proposed.
Design and operation of screen packs

A method is presented for calculating the pressure drop in a polymer melt flowing through single or packed screens from orifice-rheometer data, screen dimensions and flow rate. A design plot encompassing standard square-woven and twilled-dutch screens greatly simplifies the calculation. The design relationships are based on the assumption that, for the narrow range of shear usually encountered in a screen pack, the flow behavior is adequately represented by the power law. These relationships were developed from theoretical arguments and wide-ranging experimental evidence reported elsewhere (1). Several examples involving screen packs in extrusion service are worked out in detail, The quantitative implications of the screen-pack equations for extruder scale-up are discussed.
On the effectiveness and efficiency of computing bounds on the support of item-sets in the frequent item-sets mining problem

We study the relative effectiveness and the efficiency of computing support-bounding rules that can be used to prune the search space in algorithms to solve the frequent item-sets mining problem (FIM). We develop a formalism wherein these rules can be stated and analyzed using the concept of differentials and density functions of the support function. We derive a general bounding theorem, which provides lower and upper bounds on the supports of item-sets in terms of the supports of their subsets. Since, in general, many lower and upper bounds exists for the support of an item-set, we show how to the best bounds. The result of this optimization shows that the best bounds are among those that involve the supports of all the strict subsets of an item-set of a particular size q. These bounds are determined on the basis of so called q-rules. In this way, we derive the bounding theorem established by Calders [5]. For these types of bounds, we consider how they compare relative to each other, and in so doing determine the best bounds. Since determining these bounds is combinatorially expensive, we study heuristics that efficiently produce bounds that are usually the best. These heuristics always produce the best bounds on the support of item-sets for basket databases that satisfies independence properties. In particular, we show that for an item-set I determining which bounds to compute that lead to the best lower and upper bounds on freq(I) can be done in time O(|I|). Even though, in practice, basket databases do not have these independence properties, we argue that our analysis carries over to a much larger set of basket databases where local "near" independence hold. Finally, we conduct an experimental study using real baskets databases, where we compute upper bounds in the context of generalizing the Apriori algorithm. Both the analysis and the study confirm that the q-rule (q odd and larger than 1) will almost always do better than the 1-rule (Apriori rule) on large dense baskets databases. Our experiment reveal that on these baskets databases, the 3-rule prunes almost 100% of the search space while, the 1-rule prunes 96% of the search space in the early stages of the algorithm. We also observe a reduction in wasted effort when applying the 3-rule to sparse baskets databases. In addition, we give experimental evidence that the combined use of the lower and upper bounds determine the exact support of many frequent item-sets without counting.
Self-Awareness and the Emotional Consequences of Self-Discrepancies

Several self theories explore the effects of discrepant self-beliefs on motivation and emotion. This research intersected two self theories: self-discrepancy theory and objective self-awareness theory. Self-discrepancy theory predicts that ideal and ought discrepancies cause different negative emotions; objective self-awareness theory predicts that high self-awareness will strengthen the relationship between self-discrepancies and emotions. People (N =112) completed measures of self-discrepancies and emotions (dejection, agitation, positive affect, and negative affect). Self-focused attention was manipulated with a large mirror. When self-awareness was low, self-discrepancies had weak, nonsignificant relations to emotion. When self-awareness was high, however, self-discrepancies strongly predicted emotional experience. These effects were general-ideal and ought discrepancies affected emotions because of their substantial shared variance, not their unique variance. Implications for theories of self-discrepancies and emotions are considered.
Comparison of Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility Among Ectotherms and Endotherms at Three Temperatures

Abstract 1. Comparison of erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) between various ectotherms and endotherms was investigated at 5, 25, and 38°C. 2. We hypothesized that ectotherms might possess erythrocytes whose osmotic fragility would be less affected by temperature than those of endotherms. 3. Ectotherm erythrocytes were much more osmotically resistant than those of endotherms. 4. The EOF of ectotherms and endotherms showed similar responses to temperature. 5. It does not appear that the osmotic fragility of erythrocytes from ectotherms in this study are adapted to be less affected by temperature than those of endotherms. The highly osmotic resistant erythrocytes of ectotherms may alleviate the need for further adaptation for osmotic resistance.
Effect of Indenter Geometry on Controlled‐Surface‐Flaw Fracture Toughness

Fracture toughness values obtained using both Knoop and Vickers-indentation-produced controlled surface flaws were compared as a function of indentation load for a well-characterized glass-ceramic material. At the same indentation load, Knoop cracks were larger than Vickers. As-indented Kc values calculated from fracture mechanics expressions for surface flaws were higher for Knoop flaws than Vickers, but both types gave low Kc values due to indentation residual stress effects. Analysis suggested that theoretical formalisms for indentation residual stress effects based on fracture mechanics solutions for a center-loaded penny crack in an infinite medium should apply to both indentation types. Kc values calculated using the residual stress approach were identical for Knoop and Vickers controlled surface flaws when a “calibration” value for a constant term in the expression for Kc was used for both indentation types.
Valid Transformations: A New Class of Loop Transformations

In this paper we present a new class of loop optimizing transformations called valid transformations. This class of transformations are different from existing ones in that valid transformations can be illegal and can result in incorrect non-pipelined designs. Nevertheless, valid transformations have feasible pipeline schedules which is important for scheduling loops. We present an example valid transformation called loop expansion which can help explore a larger design space and helps in producing cost-performance efficient designs. Several examples are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed transformations.
Performance of an FFT-based voice coding system in quiet and noisy environments

This paper describes a 2400 bit/s vocoder based on spectral envelope estimation, spectral coding to 48 bits, pitch extraction, and decreasing-chirp excitation for voiced synthesis. Several spectral smoothing and coding schemes are described and intelligibility test results compared. This vocoder was implemented on the CSP-30 high speed digital processor at the RADC/EEV Speech Processing Research and Development Facility at Hanscom AFB, MA. This system yields high performance in a quiet environment and is robust in acoustic noise environments at a data rate of 2400 bits/s.
Your worst enemy could be your best friend: predator contributions to invasion resistance and persistence of natives.

Native predators are postulated to have an important role in biotic resistance of communities to invasion and community resilience. Effects of predators can be complex, and mechanisms by which predators affect invasion success and impact are understood for only a few well-studied communities. We tested experimentally whether a native predator limits an invasive species’ success and impact on a native competitor for a community of aquatic insect larvae in water-filled containers. The native mosquito Aedes triseriatus alone had no significant effect on abundance of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus. The native predatory midge Corethrella appendiculata, at low or high density, significantly reduced A. albopictus abundance. This effect was not caused by trait-mediated oviposition avoidance of containers with predators, but instead was a density-mediated effect caused by predator-induced mortality. The presence of this predator significantly reduced survivorship of the native species, but high predator density also significantly increased development rate of the native species when the invader was present, consistent with predator-mediated release from interspecific competition with the invader. Thus, a native predator can indirectly benefit its native prey when a superior competitor invades. This shows the importance of native predators as a component of biodiversity for both biotic resistance to invasion and resilience of a community perturbed by successful invasion.
Draft Genome Sequence of “Candidatus Halobonum tyrrellensis” Strain G22, Isolated from the Hypersaline Waters of Lake Tyrrell, Australia

We report the draft 3.675-Mbp genome sequence of "Candidatus Halobonum tyrrellensis" strain G22, a novel halophilic archaeon isolated from the surface hypersaline waters of Lake Tyrrell, Australia. The availability of the first genome from the "Candidatus Halobonum" genus provides a new genomic resource for the comparative genomic analysis of halophilic Archaea.
Human-machine student model discovery and improvement using DataShop

We show how data visualization and modeling tools can be used with human input to improve student models. We present strategies for discovering potential flaws in existing student models and use them to identify improvements in a Geometry model. A key discovery was that the student model should distinguish problem steps requiring problem decomposition planning and execution from problem steps requiring just execution of problem decomposition plans. This change to the student model better fits student data not only in the original data set, but also in two other data sets from different sets of students. We also show how such student model changes can be used to modify a tutoring system, not only in terms of the usual student model effects on the tutor's problem selection, but also in driving the creation of new problems and hint messages.
Exploiting human steering models for path prediction

The ability to predict the path of a moving human is a crucial element in a wide range of applications, including video surveillance, assisted living environments (smart homes), and simulation environments. Two tasks, tracking (finding the user's current location) and goal prediction (identifying the final destination) are particularly relevant to many problems. Although standard path planning approaches can be used to predict human behavior at a macroscopic level, they do not accurately model human path preferences. In this paper, we demonstrate an approach for path prediction based on a model of visually-guided steering that has been validated on human obstacle avoidance data. By basing our path prediction on egocentric features that are known to affect human steering preferences, we can improve on strictly geometric models such as Voronoi diagrams. Our approach outperforms standard motion models in a particle-filter tracker and can also be used to discriminate between multiple user destinations.
Lexical interference in semantic processing of simple words: Implications for brand names

This study provides evidence for a Stroop-like interference effect in word recognition. Based on phonologic and semantic properties of simple words, participants who performed a same/different wordrecognition task exhibited a significant response latency increase when word pairs (e.g., poll–rod) featured a comparison word (poll) that was a homonym of a synonym (pole) of the target word (rod). These results support a parallel-processing framework of lexical decision making, in which activation of the pathways to word recognition may occur at different levels automatically and in parallel. A subset of simple words that are also brand names was examined and exhibited this same interference. Implications for word-recognition theory and practical implications for strategic marketing are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Oxidative Stress and Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptors: Reversing the Curse?

See related article, pages 1174–1182 The most common view of lipoproteins focuses on their role in lipid transport.1 By making lipids miscible in plasma, lipoproteins deliver triglycerides, and their incorporated fatty acids, to muscle for energy use or to adipose tissue for storage, the latter seeming all too often the case. Likewise, lipoprotein transport provides cholesterol to cells for essential functions like membrane formation and steroid hormone synthesis. More recent work has expanded this perspective, revealing how lipoproteins can help deliver specific signals to the nucleus of cells, inducing targeted transcriptional responses in tissues far removed from where the lipoprotein particle originated. Indeed, extensive data now identify lipid signaling to the nucleus in many key biological pathways, including cellular determination, cell differentiation, and adaptive homeostasis.2 One process in which lipoproteins and bioactive lipid metabolites have been strongly implicated is inflammation, including both its initiation and resolution.2 In this regard, peroxisome proliferator–activated receptors, or PPARs, have received considerable attention as a mechanism for transducing such lipid signals into transcriptional responses.3 PPARs, members of the steroid hormone receptor family, help regulate the expression of key genes involved in lipid metabolism, adipogenesis, and glucose control; more recent evidence suggests a role for PPARs in inflammation and atherosclerosis as well.4 The three PPAR isoforms (PPAR-α, PPAR-β, PPAR-γ) share many attributes while maintaining distinct features, including differences in expression patterns, cognate ligands, coactivator/corepressor interactions, target genes, and species differences, with the latter including peroxisomal proliferation itself.5 Despite this daunting complexity, the ongoing clinical use of synthetic PPAR agonists in humans, like PPAR-α–activating fibrates to lower lipid levels and PPAR-γ–activating thiazolidinediones to treat diabetes, establishes …
Power Amplifier Selection for LINC Applications

Linear amplification with nonlinear components (LINC) using a nonisolating combiner has the potential for high efficiency and good linearity. In past work, the interaction between two power amplifiers has been interpreted as a time-varying load presented at the output of amplifiers, and the linearity and efficiency of the LINC system has been evaluated according to how the power amplifiers respond to the time-varying load. In this paper, it is shown that power amplifiers in LINC are more directly affected by their common output current. Time-varying load is just a result of the interaction. A new approach to analyze the behavior of power amplifiers in a LINC system is introduced in which the amplifier output current-voltage relationship can be used to predict how well a particular type of amplifier will perform in this configuration. Complete analysis and comparison between different types of power amplifiers are presented
The Comparative Systematics of Species Comprising the Hymenostome Ciliate Genus Tetrahymena

SYNOPSIS. It has been 10 years since the taxonomic composition of the important hymenostome genus Tetrahymena has been given overall consideration, and even then the treatment was not extensive. New data of significance have been accumulated and a fresh analysis is clearly in order. Also today we recognize that entire assemblages or combinations of characteristics must be considered in understanding the species-composition of a protozoan genus, and such an approach has never been uniformly applied in a comparative systematic study of all ciliates belonging to the Tetrahymena group. Three complexes within the genus may now be identified. In the 1st, the pyriformis complex, are placed T. pyriformis (the type-species), T. setifera, and T. chironomi. In the 2nd, the rostrata group, are assigned T. rostrata, T. limacis, T. corlissi, and T. stegomyiae. In the 3rd, the patula complex, are found T. patula, T. vorax, and T. paravorax. Three additional, formerly independent species are here recognized as doubtful forms: T. faurei, T. glaucomaeformis, and T. parasitica. In spite of some overlapping in certain characters, such as total number of kineties or ciliary meridians, the 3 complexes may be considered distinctive on the basis of constellations of features of taxonomic value, including physiologic and morphogenetic as well as structural characteristics. Yet within each complex it is possible to differentiate clearly a number of separate species. The present analysis in no way closes the door to discovery of still additional, new species of Tetrahymena in the future, but it attempts to lay the groundwork for a uniform usage of combinatiomnas of criteria in comparative taxonomic studies of these and other relatively undifferentiated hymenostome species which possibly will be of some value in the whole area of ciliate systematics.
The need for emergency food: Poverty problems and policy responses

Abstract Many factors account for the continuing need for emergency food by large numbers of low income households in the United States, and nutritionists could benefit from a fuller knowledge of these factors. This paper reports on a study of 267 clients using the emergency food system in New York State. Clients were surveyed primarily in food pantries in three regions of the state to identify their sources and amounts of income, expenditures for food and other necessities, and use of food programs. The median income was 77% of the poverty level, and median expenditures for housing and food were 52% and 24% of income, respectively. Food stamps, school meal programs and commodity foods were heavily used by respondents but senior meal programs were not. Background information and issues regarding the poverty level, housing, and food stamps are presented to assist nutritionists to more fully understand the causes of food insecurity and to become more involved in its amelioration.
Characterization of the Histone Acetyltransferase (HAT) Domain of a Bifunctional Protein with Activable O-GlcNAcase and HAT Activities

Histones and transcription factors are regulated by a number of post-translational modifications that in turn regulate the transcriptional activity of genes. These modifications occur in large, multisubunit complexes. We have reported previously that mSin3A can recruit O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) along with histone deacetylase into such a corepressor complex. This physical association allows OGT to act cooperatively with histone deacetylation in gene repression by catalyzing the O-GlcNAc modification on specific transcription factors to inhibit their activity. For rapid, reversible gene regulation, the enzymes responsible for the converse reactions must be present. Here, we report that O-GlcNAcase, which is responsible for the removal of O-GlcNAc additions on nuclear and cytosolic proteins, possesses intrinsic histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity in vitro. Free as well as reconstituted nucleosomal histones are substrates of this bifunctional enzyme. This protein, now termed NCOAT (nuclear cytoplasmic O-GlcNAcase and acetyltransferase) has a typical HAT domain that has both active and inactive states. This finding demonstrates that NCOAT may be regulated to reduce the state of glycosylation of transcriptional activators while increasing the acetylation of histones to allow for the concerted activation of eukaryotic gene transcription.
Analysis of rotating machine concepts in the energy conversion laborator from experimental data

A system is presented for the analysis of rotating machine concepts from experimental data. The analysis can be performed directly while hands-on expermentation is in progress. The system consists of three modules for data acquisition, data control, and a set of finite-element programs for analysis of electric machines under different conditions. The system also includes a workstation which includes the rotating machines to be analyzed, a personal computer, and a database for the constructional and electrical data of machines. Operational and control data are sent directly to the analysis programs during experimentation using the control and data acquisition modules. The developed system is part of a research project aimed at improving the understanding of energy conversion concepts and the practical study of electric machines. As a result, an energy conversion laboratory could become an in-depth analytical and practical experience in addition to performing the experiments and observing associated results. Furthermore, such a system will boost students' creativity and increase participation in understanding the concepts of electric machines. This study provides a description of the proposed system and gives an example of its utilization in a university energy conversion laboratory. >
The Quality–Quantity Trade-off

The standard vertical-product-differentiation model assumes that quality and quantity are independent choices. That is, the choice of quality is separated from the decision of the number of units to produce. For certain products this is not appropriate. This note presents an extension to the vertical-product-differentiation model to incorporate the relationship between quality and quantity.
Manganese Cation Reports on the Number of Coordinated Phosphates from the Nucleotide at the Active Site in Myosin ATPase

ATP is an important cofactor for myosin ATPase. ATP binding initiates myosin conformation change (recovery stroke), priming it for force generation. In the presence of a divalent cation (usually Mg2+), myosin hydrolyzes ATP to ADP and phosphate, and their subsequent release presumably triggers the power stroke in actomyosin. What is the role of ATP hydrolysis in myosin? What is the relation between the kinetics of ATP hydrolysis and those of myosin conformation changes? To address these problems, we propose to use pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques and study the coordination environment of the divalent cation complexed with a nucleotide at the myosin active site. To enable the EPR investigations, Mn2+ can be used instead of Mg2+ without interruption of the myosin ATPase activity. In this preliminary work, we studied the myosin.Mn complexes with non-hydrolyzable nucleotide analogs, AMPPNP (triphosphate) and ADP.AlF4 (diphosphate), as well as Mn.nucleotide complexes without myosin. Mn2+ binding to myosin was monitored by pulsed electron-electron double resonance (ELDOR), which detected the magnetic dipole interaction between Mn2+ and a nitroxide spin probe attached to the A639C myosin mutant. The number of coordinated phosphates in myosin.Mn.AMPPNP complex determined by 31P pulsed electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) was twice that detected for the myosin.Mn.ADP.AlF4 complex. These results demonstrate the potential of pulsed EPR for distinguishing between the myosin.ATP and myosin.ADP biochemical states and study the role of ATP hydrolysis in myosin structural kinetics.
Engineering and technology student perceptions of collaborative writing practices

Results are presented from an assessment of student perceptions of collaborative writing practices before and after taking an upper division professional writing class. While most of the classes introduced students to these writing practices, several did not. The assessment was both quantitative and qualitative. Whether or not they had prior experience in the classroom, all students generally reported that they are likely to seek out opportunities to use both peer review and collaborative writing processes once they enter the workplace. However, students who are exposed to these practices in a classroom setting are more likely to report that they intend to continue these practices in the workplace.
Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered fear circuitry and increased internalizing symptoms by late adolescence.

Maltreatment during childhood is a major risk factor for anxiety and depression, which are major public health problems. However, the underlying brain mechanism linking maltreatment and internalizing disorders remains poorly understood. Maltreatment may alter the activation of fear circuitry, but little is known about its impact on the connectivity of this circuitry in adolescence and whether such brain changes actually lead to internalizing symptoms. We examined the associations between experiences of maltreatment during childhood, resting-state functional brain connectivity (rs-FC) of the amygdala and hippocampus, and internalizing symptoms in 64 adolescents participating in a longitudinal community study. Childhood experiences of maltreatment were associated with lower hippocampus–subgenual cingulate rs-FC in both adolescent females and males and lower amygdala–subgenual cingulate rs-FC in females only. Furthermore, rs-FC mediated the association of maltreatment during childhood with adolescent internalizing symptoms. Thus, maltreatment in childhood, even at the lower severity levels found in a community sample, may alter the regulatory capacity of the brain’s fear circuit, leading to increased internalizing symptoms by late adolescence. These findings highlight the importance of fronto–hippocampal connectivity for both sexes in internalizing symptoms following maltreatment in childhood. Furthermore, the impact of maltreatment during childhood on both fronto–amygdala and –hippocampal connectivity in females may help explain their higher risk for internalizing disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Importance of Dewlap Display in Male Mating Success in Free-Ranging Brown Anoles (Anolis sagrei)

Extension and retraction of the throat fan or dewlap is one of the most conspicuous aspects of display behavior of male Anolis lizards. Although dewlap display plays a role in species recognition, signal detection, and even predator defense, the importance of the male dewlap in male mating success in nature has not been established. The present study tested whether the display of the dewlap by males of Anolis sagrei affected the mating success of free-ranging males. We compared the number of males that copulated and their copulation rates between two groups: experimental males that were surgically prevented from extending their dewlaps and control males that were sham treated. Experimental and control groups did not differ significantly in the proportion of males that copulated or in copulation rate. These results do not support the hypothesis that the male dewlap affects male mating success in A. sagrei. If the male dewlap does have an effect on male mating success in this species, then the effect was too subtle to be detected by our study.
Resident training in a new robotic thoracic surgery program

Abstract Background The volume of robot-assisted operations has drastically increased over the past decade. New programs have focused on training surgeons, whereas resident training has lagged behind. The objective of this study was to evaluate our institutional experience with resident participation in thoracic robotic surgery cases since the initiation of our program. Methods The first 100 robotic thoracic surgery cases at our institution were retrospectively reviewed and categorized into three sequential cohorts. Procedure type, patient and operative characteristics, level of resident participation (primary surgeon [PS] or assistant), and postoperative variables were evaluated. Results Of the first 100 cases, 38% were lung resections, 23% were esophageal operations, and 20% were sympathectomies. The distribution of cases changed over time with the proportion of pulmonary resections significantly increasing. Patient age ( P P = not significant [NS]), and comorbidities ( P = NS) increased over time. Resident participation as PS increased from 33%–59% between the early and late cohorts ( P P = NS): age (67 versus 69), body mass index (29.5 versus 26.1), and American Society of Anesthesiologists category (2.8 versus 2.8). Operative and postoperative characteristics were also similar ( P = NS) regardless of PS: operative time (260 versus 249 min), estimated blood loss (187 versus 203 mL), and length of stay (4.8 versus 4.7 d). Conclusions Residents can participate as the PS in a variety of thoracic operations during the implementation of a robotics program. Operative time, estimated blood loss, and length of stay were similar regardless of level of resident participation.
Cofactor role for 10-formyldihydrofolic acid.

Abstract 10-Formyl-7,8-dihydrofolic acid (10-HCO-H2folate) was prepared by controlled air oxidation of 10-formyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolic acid (10-HCO-H4folate). The UV spectra of the 10-HCO-H2folate preparation has lambda max. 234, 333 nm and lambda min. 301 nm at pH 7.4, and lambda max. 257, 328 nm and lambda min. 229, 307 nm at pH 1. 1H-NMR spectroscopy of 10-HCO-H2folate (in 2H2O; 300 MHz) suggested a pure compound and gave resonances for one formyl group proton, two protons on C-7 and C-9, and no evidence for a C-6 proton, which is consistent with the structure proposed. The spectral properties indicated that the 10-HCO-H2folate preparation is not appreciably contaminated with 10-HCO-H4folate, 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolic acid (5,10-CH = H4folate) or 10-formylfolic acid (10-HCO-folate). The above data establish that the 10-HCO-H2folate prepared here is authentic. In contrast, a folate with a UV spectrum having lambda max. 272 nm and lambda min. 256 nm at pH 7, which was prepared by 2,6-dichloro-indophenol oxidation of 10-HCO-H4folate and reported to be 97% pure [Baram, Chabner, Drake, Fitzhugh, Sholar and Allegra (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 7105-7111], is apparently not 10-HCO-H2folate. 10-HCO-H2folate is utilized by Jurkat-cell (human T-cell leukaemia) and chicken liver aminoimidazolecarboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase (AICAR T'ase; EC 2.1.2.3) in the presence of excess 5-amino-imidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) resulting in the appearance of approximately 1 mol of H2folate product for each mol of AICAR formylated. The present 10-HCO-H2folate preparation had a kinetic advantage over 10-HCO-H4folate resulting from a difference of approx. 5-fold in K(m) values when both folates were used as cofactors for Jurkat-cell and rat bone marrow AICAR T'ase. No substantial kinetic advantage was observed using chicken liver AICAR T'ase. 10-HCO-H2folate had little or no activity with Jurkat-cell or chicken liver glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase (GAR T'ase, EC 2.1.2.2). The existence in vivo of 10-HCO-H2folate is suggested in mammals by several reports of detectable amounts of radiolabelled 10-HCO-folate in bile and urine after administration of radiolabelled folic acid.
UAS Collision Avoidance, Navigation, and Target Assignment in a Congested Airspace Using Fuzzy Logic

1 As Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) applications continue to proliferate, solutions to congested airspace control will need to be studied. This problem can be broken down into smaller problems such as collision avoidance, waypoint navigation, vehicle priority assignment, and target assignment. Moreover, main research challenges include situational awareness and decision making in an uncertain, time-critical, spatio-temporal environment. The goal of this study is the creation, implementation, and integration of these smaller algorithms into an overarching simulated airspace, with multiple UAVs and targets. Additionally, the simulation environment created should be robust enough to easily employ different algorithms for each of these subsystems. Fuzzy Logic will be used throughout the scope of this project to show the robustness of Fuzzy Logic in these capacities. It was found that the collision avoidance algorithm is 100% collision free for the Static, Dynamic, and Clustered simulations, for both Priority and Non-Priority cases (all cases) over a span of 7,509 flight hours.
Identification of Chlamydia in Cervical Smears by Immunofluorescence: Technic, Sensitivity, and Specificity

Immunofluorescent staining was compared to cell culture for the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in the female genital tract. By culture, the incidence in the 496 patients in the study was 12.3%. Immunofluorescence demonstrated organisms in 90% of the culture-positive cases, with a specificity of 99.3%. This method appears to be a successful replacement for culture for general screening.
Active Sites in Oxide-Promoted Metal Catalysts – Evidence for the Significance of Perimeter Sites in AlOx and MnOx/Ni(lll) Catalysts

MnOx (0.2 < × < 0.5) and AlOx (0.5 < × < 1.1) /Ni(lll) model catalysts were prepared by depositing the oxides onto clean Ni(111) surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, with the average oxide coverage varying from 0 to 1.3 monolayers (ML) for MnOx and 0 to 2.8 ML for AlOx. CO chemisorption over these catalysts at 200 K was used to titrate different adsorption sites. Thermal desorption showed the usual prominent CO desorption peak at 415 K from the clean Ni(111) surface. This 415 K peak decreases with increasing oxide coverage in an almost linear fashion, indicating a siteblocking effect by the oxide. At the same time, a new thermal desorption peak appears at 305 K from MnOx/Ni(111) and 300 K from AlOx/Ni(111), reaching maximum intensity at some intermediate oxide coverage. For MnOx/Ni(111), this coincides with the appearance of a new C-0 stretching mode at 1620 cm−1, which disappears upon heating the surface to 325 K for a few minutes, suggesting that both the 305 K thermal desorption peak and the 1620 cm−1 loss peak represent the same adsorbed CO state. This is attributed to CO adsorbed on MnOx/Ni perimeter sites. Results from Monte Carlo simulation and scanning tunneling microscopy are presented and compared with CO chemisorption data. The significance of perimeter sites in strong metal-support interaction is discussed.
Effects of Participation in a Post-Secondary Honors Program With Covariate Adjustment Using Propensity Score:

The present study sought to determine the extent to which participation in a post-secondary honors program affected academic achievement. Archival data were collected on three cohorts of high-achie...
The view from the bottom: Networks of conflict resolution organizations and international peace

Networks of international nongovernmental organizations with missions concerning conflict resolution (CROs) conduct a number of innovative international programs designed to promote peace. Is this network of CROs effective? In this article, we argue that the CRO network can transmit information and promote norms of peace that help in reducing international conflict. Our theoretical argument builds on earlier work concerning international governmental organizations (IGOs) and peace and we examine whether and how the connections among states through CRO ties can lead to reductions in international conflict. We test the key empirical implication of our argument – concerning how the CRO network can foster peace – using new social network measures that focus on the actual network of citizens and elites connected internationally by CROs, rather than focusing on the size or presence of civil society within a state. We find considerable support for our central hypothesis that the network of international CROs is ...
Transient absolute robustness in stochastic biochemical networks

Absolute robustness allows biochemical networks to sustain a consistent steady-state output in the face of protein concentration variability from cell to cell. This property is structural and can be determined from the topology of the network alone regardless of rate parameters. An important question regarding these systems is the effect of discrete biochemical noise in the dynamical behaviour. In this paper, a variable freezing technique is developed to show that under mild hypotheses the corresponding stochastic system has a transiently robust behaviour. Specifically, after finite time the distribution of the output approximates a Poisson distribution, centred around the deterministic mean. The approximation becomes increasingly accurate, and it holds for increasingly long finite times, as the total protein concentrations grow to infinity. In particular, the stochastic system retains a transient, absolutely robust behaviour corresponding to the deterministic case. This result contrasts with the long-term dynamics of the stochastic system, which eventually must undergo an extinction event that eliminates robustness and is completely different from the deterministic dynamics. The transiently robust behaviour may be sufficient to carry out many forms of robust signal transduction and cellular decision-making in cellular organisms.
Temporary and Permanent Hearing Loss Among College-Aged Drumline Members:

Many musicians experience dangerous levels of sound exposure throughout their musical careers. In particular, members of marching percussion ensembles (“drumlines”) are exposed to prolonged periods of potentially damaging levels of sound. As a result, they are at risk of developing hearing loss. This study determines whether any significant hearing loss or threshold shifts occurs with drumline members in an indoor drumline and college marching band. Two groups of participants were analyzed: one group consisted of both college drumline and community-based competitive drumline members, while the other (control) group consisted of non-drummers who were matched for age and gender to the drummers. The non-drummers were given an audiogram to determine the lowest levels of sound they could detect. The drummers were given an audiogram immediately before and after a drumline rehearsal. First, the drummer group showed significant hearing loss at the start of their rehearsal, compared to the non-drummer group. This ...
Evaluation of Microbially Enhanced Soybean Meal as an Alternative to Fishmeal in Weaned Pig Diets

An experimental, microbially enhanced soybean product (MEPRO) was evaluated as a replacement for fishmeal (FM). Assessment of feedstuffs should include estimation of digestibility as well as pig performance and in combination with dietary additives. Digestibility values determined in growing pigs may not apply to nursery pigs; thus, standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in MEPRO and FM were determined using 30±1.6 kg BW ileal-cannulated barrows (n=6) and 9.8±1.2 kg BW barrows (n=37; serial slaughter). Experimental diets included MEPRO, FM and nitrogen free where FM and MEPRO were included as the sole protein source. The SID of AAs was 3% to 5% lower in MEPRO than FM when fed to 30 kg pigs. The SID of arginine and methionine was greater (P<0.05) in MEPRO than FM when fed to 10 kg pigs. The SID of AAs was 12% to 20% lower in FM when fed to 10 v. 30 kg pigs but only 3% to 9% lower in MEPRO. A total of 336 barrows and gilts were weaned at 21 days of age (initial BW=6.1±0.8 kg) and used in a performance trial. Pens of pigs were assigned to one of the six experimental diets (8 pens/diet in two blocks). Treatment diets were fed in Phase I (7 days) and Phase II (14 days) with all pigs fed a common Phase III diet (14 days). Experimental diets included (1) negative control (NEG) containing corn, soybean meal and whey, (2) NEG+acidifier, (3) NEG+FM (POS), (4) POS+acidifier (POS A+), (5) NEG+MEPRO (MEPRO) and (6) MEPRO+acidifier. The FM and MEPRO were included at 7.5% and 5.0% in Phase I and II diets, respectively. Diets were formulated to meet the standard nutrient requirements for weaned pigs. Pig BW and feed disappearance was measured weekly and fecal scores were measured daily for the first 14 days post-weaning as an indicator of post-weaning diarrhea syndrome (PWDS). Performance (BW, daily gain, feed intake and gain : feed) was not significantly different among treatments. Treatment for PWDS occurred on different days in each block. Analysis of fecal score was completed separately by block. Pigs fed the NEG diets had higher (P=0.02) fecal scores than pigs fed the POS diets on days 2 and 3 (block 1) and higher (P<0.05) than pigs fed MEPRO or POS diets and diets with dietary acidifier on days 6 and 3 (block 2). The MEPRO holds promise as an alternative to FM in nursery pig diets.
GLUCOSINOLATES IN CRUCIFEROUS PLANTS

I. ABSTRACT Vegetables, forage plants, and oilseeds from the Cruciferae are of considerable economic importance as food or feed. Examples are cabbage, forage kale, and rapeseed. Glucosinolates, a group of compounds found in these plants, are the source of substances that may be deleterious if consumed under certain conditions. These substances are organic nitriles and isothiocyanates or products derived from them. The compounds found in a particular plant material depend on the specific glucosinolates in the plant, the genetic source, the treatment of the plant material prior to the hydrolysis of the glucosinolates, and the conditions during that hydrolysis. Biological responses caused by the products from the glucosinolates thus depend on subtle differences in the treatment of the plant material.
Pulmonary Administration of Soluble Antigen Arrays Is Superior to Antigen in Treatment of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Abstract Antigen-specific immunotherapy has been used to hyposensitize patients to allergens and offers an enticing approach for attenuating autoimmune diseases. Applying antigen-specific immunotherapy to mucosal surfaces such as the lungs may engage unique immune response pathways to improve efficacy. Pulmonary delivery of soluble antigen arrays (SAgAs) was explored in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a multiple sclerosis model. SAgAs were designed to impede immune response to autoantigen epitopes and are composed of a hyaluronan backbone with peptides PLP 139-151 (proteolipid protein) and LABL, a disease-causing proteolipid peptide epitope and an intracellular cell-adhesion molecule-1 ligand, respectively. Pulmonary instillation of SAgAs decreased disease score, improved weight gain, and decreased incidence of disease in EAE mice compared to pulmonary delivery of hyaluronic acid polymer, LABL, or PLP. Interestingly, treating with PLP alone also showed some improvement. Splenocytes from SAgA-treated animals showed increased interferon-gamma levels, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-17 were elevated in SAgA-treated animals compared to PLP treatments. IL-10, IL-2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels showed no significant difference, yet trends across all cytokines suggested SAgAs induced a very different immune response compared to treatment with PLP alone. This work suggests that codelivery of peptide components is essential when treating EAE via pulmonary instillation, and the immune response may have shifted toward immune tolerance.