cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estrogen Receptor Alpha Interacts with Mitochondrial Protein HADHB and Affects Beta-Oxidation Activity

It is known that estrogen receptors can function as nuclear receptors and transcription factors in the nucleus and as signaling molecules in the plasma membrane. In addition, the localization of the receptors in mitochondria suggests that they may play important roles in mitochondria. In order to identify novel proteins that are involved in ERα-mediated actions of estrogens, we used a proteomic method that integrated affinity purification, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry to isolate and identify cellular proteins that interact with ERα. One of the proteins identified was trifunctional protein β-subunit (HADHB), a mitochondrial protein that is required for β-oxidation of fatty acids in mitochondria. We have verified the interaction between ERα and HADHB by coimmunoprecipitation and established that ERα directly binds to HADHB by performing an in vitro binding assay. In addition, we have shown that ERα colocalizes with HADHB in the mitochondria by confocal microscopy, and the two proteins interact with each other within mitochondria by performing coimmunoprecipitation using purified mitochondria as starting materials. We have demonstrated that the expression of ERα affects HADHB activity, and a combination of 17β-estrodiol and tamoxifen affects the activity of HADHB prepared from human breast cancer cells that express ERα but not from the cells that are ERα deficient. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that 17β-estrodiol plus tamoxifen affects the association of ERα with HADHB in human cell extract. Our results suggest that HADHB is a functional molecular target of ERα in the mitochondria, and the interaction may play an important role in the estrogen-mediated lipid metabolism in animals and humans.
Oral acyclovir in the management of herpes simplex ocular infections

Acyclovir, an oral antiviral agent that inhibits viral DNA replication, was used to treat 27 patients (16 males, 11 females) (mean age, 50 years) with vision-threatening herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. Twenty patients had active stromal keratitis or keratouveitis, four had controlled nonnecrotizing stromal keratitis but could not taper topical medications, and four eczema patients with previous HSV infections had intraocular surgery (1 of these patients also is included in the 20 with active stromal keratitis). All 20 patients with active stromal keratitis or keratouveitis improved on acyclovir, all four patients using acyclovir postoperatively were disease-free while on the drug, but only two of the four patients using acyclovir to assist tapering topical medications were successful. There has been only one recurrence during a cumulative 194 months while on acyclovir. Thirteen patients have remained on acyclovir, and three who stopped acyclovir had prompt recurrences. Acyclovir seems to be a promising adjunct antiviral agent for the treatment of recalcitrant epithelial, stromal, or uveal disease secondary to HSV.
Coalescing executions for fast uncertainty analysis

Uncertain data processing is critical in a wide range of applications such as scientific computation handling data with inevitable errors and financial decision making relying on human provided parameters. While increasingly studied in the area of databases, uncertain data processing is often carried out by software, and thus software based solutions are attractive. In particular, Monte Carlo (MC) methods execute software with many samples from the uncertain inputs and observe the statistical behavior of the output. In this paper, we propose a technique to improve the cost-effectiveness of MC methods. Assuming only part of the input is uncertain, the certain part of the input always leads to the same execution across multiple sample runs. We remove such redundancy by coalescing multiple sample runs in a single run. In the coalesced run, the program operates on a vector of values if uncertainty is present and a single value otherwise. We handle cases where control flow and pointers are uncertain. Our results show that we can speed up the execution time of 30 sample runs by an average factor of 2.3 without precision lost or by up to 3.4 with negligible precision lost.
The effect of the atmosphere on the optical properties of as-synthesized colloidal indium tin oxide.

The optical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) have often been explored when it is in the form of deposited thin films. In this study, a colloidal chemistry approach is taken to investigate the influence of the atmosphere on the optical properties of ITO nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize colloidal ITO samples, synthesized under aerated and inert conditions, with the same composition. In both cases, the ITO can be completely dispersed in a non-polar solvent without any evidence of agglomeration. For the ITO made in air, the nanoparticle–solvent solution exhibits a pale green color, and XRD and TEM indicate an average particle size of ~7 nm and small shrinkage in the lattice structure. When the ITO is synthesized under inert conditions, the solution turns blue, and XRD and TEM indicate an average particle size of ~8 nm and even less strain in the lattice than for the ITO synthesized under aerated conditions. The change in color and lattice strain is attributed to the difference in oxygen vacancy concentration for the ITO nanoparticles synthesized under aerated and inert conditions, which exhibit different optical band gap values of 3.89 eV and 4.05 eV, respectively. Our work here shows that thin film deposition or sintering steps may not be required for studying the optical properties of as-synthesized ITO nanoparticles.
Passband echo cancellation algorithms for high-speed modems

Passband algorithms for the cancellation of data echoes in high-speed modems are described. The conventional, all-real single-filter canceller is discussed, along with the hybrid passband/baseband Weinstein canceller. In addition, a novel passband echo canceller which exceeds the performance of known fully-passband echo cancellers is introduced. This canceller uses the concept of adding out-of-band noise to the adaptive filter input signal, thereby increasing the degrees of freedom available to the echo canceller during convergence and increasing the level of echo cancellation achieved. The basics of high-speed modem connections are explored and the need for a high degree of echo cancellation on such connections is indicated. The performance of each type of passband echo canceller is examined, and comparisons are made. Performance results for a 9600 b/s data modem utilizing the noise-enhanced echo canceller indicate the advantages of this technique. >
A Compact, Low-Power, and Electromagnetically Actuated Microspeaker for Hearing Aids

In this letter, we present an electromagnetically actuated microspeaker with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology to reduce form factor, cost, and power consumption in hearing aid applications. The microspeaker has multilayer copper coils, a NiFe soft magnet on a polyimide membrane, and a NdFeB permanent magnet on the perimeter. The coil impedance is measured at 1.5 Omega and shows a very flat response across the audio frequency range. The device operates at a very low power, the lowest in MEMS speakers, comparable to that of the macro- size counterparts. A single-turn microspeaker with a diameter of 2.5 mm consumes 11.6 and 0.13 mW to generate a sound pressure level of 129 and 106 dB at 1 kHz, respectively. The measurement uncertainty is less than 10%, and the reproducibility is within 36% among the tested devices.
Emotional Policy: Personal Sadness and Anger Shape Judgments about a Welfare Case

When making decisions about a welfare case, it is reasonable for one's thoughts and feelings about the potential welfare recipient to influence the decision. It is less reasonable for one's “incidental” feelings (e.g., sadness or anger arising from an event in one's personal life) to influence such decisions. In two studies, however, data reveal that incidental anger and sadness do in fact carry over, shaping welfare policy preferences. Study 1 found that incidental anger decreased the amount of welfare assistance participants recommended providing relative to neutral emotion, whereas sadness increased the amount recommended. Study 2 replicated the results and found that limiting participants’ cognitive resources eliminated the difference between sadness and anger, thus implying that differences in depth-of-thought drove the effects. In sum, the results reveal ways in which: (a) personal emotions carry over to shape preferences for public policies, (b) emotions of the same valence have opposing effects, and (c) differential depth-of-cognitive-processing contributes to such effects.
HRD as design science

In a recent editorial, Alexandre Ardichvili pointed to the important contribution of economics Nobel laureate Herb Simon, suggesting that Simon's notion of the sciences of the artificial could offe...
An unusual presentation of calciphylaxis due to primary hyperparathyroidism.

Abstract We present the case of a 69-year-old woman with calciphylaxis due to primary hyperparathyroidism. A 0.5-g parathyroid adenoma was surgically removed, which resulted in complete recovery of the patient. Review of the literature revealed 7 other cases of calciphylaxis due to primary hyperparathyroidism and showed that prompt surgical removal of the autonomous parathyroid gland lesion results in clinical recovery of calciphylactic skin lesions.
Computational Pathology: A Path Ahead

Context.— We define the scope and needs within the new discipline of computational pathology, a discipline critical to the future of both the practice of pathology and, more broadly, medical practice in general. Objective.— To define the scope and needs of computational pathology. Data Sources.— A meeting was convened in Boston, Massachusetts, in July 2014 prior to the annual Association of Pathology Chairs meeting, and it was attended by a variety of pathologists, including individuals highly invested in pathology informatics as well as chairs of pathology departments. Conclusions.— The meeting made recommendations to promote computational pathology, including clearly defining the field and articulating its value propositions; asserting that the value propositions for health care systems must include means to incorporate robust computational approaches to implement data-driven methods that aid in guiding individual and population health care; leveraging computational pathology as a center for data interp...
Japan's Network Economy: The Structural Analysis of the Network Economy

The network idea has become a central metaphor in our daily lives. We talk of networking as a way to advance a career or gain political leverage. We refer to the breadth, density, and connectivity of someone's network as social capital that has real productive value and can be cultivated and deployed. With the fusion of computer and communications technology in the Internet have come significant new forms of social and economic organization as organizational and geographic boundaries dissolve in unbounded cyberspace. The drift toward network thinking has also broadly shaped the business world, as companies everywhere are forced to rethink not only their own relationships with suppliers, customers, banks, shareholders, and other stakeholders, but the relations among these as well. In some industries, firms are forging alliances with competitors and across industries in order to exploit market opportunities offered by new technologies. In others, the scale and scope of business activities has grown so broad that no firm can handle all the steps of the production process and firms cooperate simply to survive. Nowhere is the importance of network thinking more evident than in Japan. As an emerging social science literature contends, the constitutive tissue of Japanese society is the formal and informal relationships that span all walks of daily life, from local community to political arena to economic sphere.
Achievement Goal Theory: The Relationship of Accounting Students’ Goal Orientations with Self-efficacy, Anxiety, and Achievement

AbstractStudents’ goal orientations are examined using two major frameworks for learning: achievement goal theory (AGT) and students’ approaches to learning (SAL). Previous student success research is extended, by examining goal constructs from the AGT framework to determine if they help explain the learning process in accounting. Data were gathered using an established instrument and used to examine how mastery and performance goals are related to students’ academic expectations, achievement, self-efficacy, and test anxiety. Cluster analysis was used to identify four motivation groupings (multiple-goal, mastery, performance, and low motivation). Pairwise comparisons of groups, for expected grades, self-efficacy, anxiety, final exam grade, and course grade, identified differences among some of the clusters. Results suggest that a combination of mastery and performance goal motivations, rather than a singular perspective, may provide better outcomes related to course grades, while reducing dysfunctional ou...
Marking Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) with rubidium.

Studies were conducted to determine the feasibility of marking Dermacentor variabilis (Say) with the alkali metal rubidium (Rb) by feeding larvae on mice that were injected with rubidium chloride (RbCl). Newly molted nymphs that fed as larvae for 2 to 5 d on RbCl-injected mice contained ≈660 parts per billion (ppb) of Rb, whereas nymphs that had fed for 6 to 10 d as larvae on RbCl-injected mice contained 419 ppb of Rb. Nymphs that fed as larvae on control mice contained ≈9 ppb. There was no host-specific difference in Rb concentration among nymphs obtained from four RbCl-injected mice. Rb-marked nymphs did not show reduced survival as compared with unmarked nymphs when survival was monitored for 8 wk. Rb concentrations in unfed nymphs remained close to 600 ppb for 3 wk, then declined to ≈380 ppb for 5 wk. Rb concentrations in experimental nymphs remained significantly higher than in control nymphs for 8 wk. Adults that molted from Rb-marked nymphs that had fed on control mice did not contain elevated levels of Rb. This marking method has considerable potential for aiding in population ecology studies of ticks under natural conditions because ticks can be marked via their hosts and the mark will be retained for the duration of the life stage without passing the mark to subsequent stages.
Future directions in analytics for infectious disease intelligence: Toward an integrated warning system for emerging pathogens

Emerging infectious diseases are among the most destructive and costly natural forces [1]: In terms of human and monetary losses, epidemics and pandemics rank with other major natural disasters, such as earthquakes or tsunamis. And like earthquakes and tsunamis, much of the destructive potential of infectious diseases stems from the fact that they often strike unexpectedly, leaving little time for preparation. The best countermeasure is therefore an early warning to give affected regions or communities more time to prepare for the impact. After the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed 230,000 people in December 2004, the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System was installed in 2005 and became operable in 2006: It demonstrated its value after the Banda Aceh earthquake in 2012 when it alerted the affected islands within minutes of the danger. There are some systems for tracking infectious diseases, such as CDC's PulseNet that monitors disease outbreaks across the USA or the global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, but these are focused on particular geographic areas or on specific diseases. As new diseases emerge and old diseases re‐emerge, as pathogens and their vectors are transported worldwide through trade and travel, it is now time to improve global warning systems for emerging infectious diseases in general. To mitigate the threat of infectious diseases, our main strategy so far has been a strong defense after emergence. Once an outbreak is under control, we improve infrastructure, develop vaccines, and refine our vigilance in order to better respond to the next outbreak so that only a handful people fall ill instead of hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands. Our ability to put out these proverbial fires has indeed become formidable over time, but it is still reactive. The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa did not become …
Screening Excretory Urography in Patients with Cryptorchidism or Hypospadias: A Survey and Review of the Literature

AbstractHypospadias and cryptorchidism constitute common problems in urology for which the use of routine screening urography has been challenged recently. To assess better current thinking 233 urologists who devote a significant part of their practice to children were surveyed as to the number of procedures performed as well as to the instances when excretory urography was obtained. Of 163 physicians who responded 70 per cent do not favor routine screening urography in cryptorchid patients, while approximately 50 per cent believe that it is worthwhile in hypospadias. In the cryptorchid responses there was a definite decrease in the percentage of physicians obtaining x-rays as the yearly volume of cases increased (50 per cent with less than 10 cases per year and 18 per cent with greater than 20 cases per year), while this relationship was not maintained for hypospadias. A review of the literature correlates well with this survey in that excretory urography is not necessary in cases of cryptorchidism but i...
Lymphogenes Metastasierungsrisiko beim Magenfrühkarzinom

Zielsetzung: Aufgrund des fruhen Tumorstadiums und des damit sehr geringen Metastasierungsrisikos hat das Magenfruhkarzinom mit einer 5-Jahres-uberlebensrate von uber 90% eine sehr gute Prognose. Somit postulieren einige Autoren, dass die Therapie des Magenfruhkarzinoms nicht immer in einer ausgedehnten chirurgischen Intervention zu sehen ist. Lokalen Verfahren wie beispielsweise endoskopische Excisionen scheinen eine Alternative zu der chirurgischen Intervention zu sein. Allerdings kann bei den lokalen Verfahren keine Lymphknotendissektion erfolgen, was ein Problem darstellen kann, da trotz der sehr guten Prognose bis zu 3% der Patienten mit einem Magenfruhkarzinoms des Mukosatyp eine Metastasierung in die lokalen Lymphknoten entwickeln, beim Submukosatyp sind es sogar 9- 19%. Es ist somit notwendig das lymphogene Metastasierungsrisiko des Magenfruhkarzinoms besser abschatzen zu konnen, um eine optimalere Therapieplanung vorzunehmen. Methode: In unserer chirurgischen Klinik wurden in der Zeit von 1/1982 bis 12/ 1999 256 operierte Patienten mit einem gesicherten Magenfruhkarzinom retrospektiv untersucht. 247 Tumore wurden mittels einer offenen Tumorresektion und 9 mittels einer lokal chirurgischen Excision therapiert. Da bei den lokalen Verfahren die Untersuchung der Lymphknoten nicht erfolgen kann, wurden fur die Untersuchungen nur die 247 chirurgisch behandelten Patienten nachuntersucht. Insgesamt handelte es sich dabei um 147 mannliche und 100 weibliche Patienten, das mittlere Alter betrug zum Zeitpunkt der Intervention 61 Jahre. Es wird im Folgenden die Rate der Lymphknotenmetastasen bezuglich verschiedener Faktoren wie die Anzahl der Malignome, die Topographie des Tumors, die Histologie, die Infiltrationstiefe, die Lymphgefasinfiltration, der Malignitatsgrad sowie der groste Durchmesser untersucht. Die Signifikanzprufung erfolgte mittels des Mann-Whitney-U-Test. Ergebnisse: Bei der Auswertung des Krankengutes ergaben sich folgende Ergebnisse: Die Anzahl der Malignome sowie die Topographie des Tumors ergab kein signifikantes Mehrauftreten von Lymphknotenmetastasen. Bei der histologischen Analyse zeigte sich, dass Siegelringzellkarzinome, papillare Adenokarzinome und undifferenzierte Karzinome signifikant ofter Lymphknotenmetastasen ausbilden als die ubrigen histologischen Tumortypen. Bei der Typisierung nach Lauren zeigt das diffuse Karzinom eine erhohte Rate an Metastasen. Die auf der Borrmann-Klassifikation beruhende Einteilung der Wachstumsform ergab keinen Einfluss auf die Ausbildung von Lymphknotenmetastasen. Signifikant mehr Lymphknotenmetastasen ergab die Analyse der Infiltrationstiefe (submucosa versus mucosa), des Auftretens von Lymphgefaseinbruchen und der Durchmesser der Neoplasie. Zusammenfassungg: Insgesamt zeigte sich, dass die Kombination differenzierter Tumortyp, keine Lymphgefasinvasion, ein Tumordurchmesser von weniger als 2 cm und eine Tiefeninfiltration von unter 0,5 mm eine niedrige lymphogene Metastasierungsrate unter 3% erwarten lasst. Patienten die ein Magenfruhkarzinom mit diesen Kriterien aufweisen, konnten lokalen Verfahren zugefuhrt werden.
Preparations and Electrochemical Characterizations of Conductive Porphyrin Polymers

5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)porphyrin (TAPP) undergoes oxidative polymerization to form electronically conductive, nanofibrous structures in which the porphyrin units are linked by phenazine bridges. Polymerizations by chemical oxidation, electrochemical oxidation, and interfacial oxidative polymerization are described. Poly-TAPP (pTAPP) films have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. The polymer morphology is consistently nanofibrous, with some differences depending on the specific synthetic method. The polymer films show distinctive electrochromism at different redox and protonation states. A Pourbaix diagram correlates the proposed redox and protonation states of the polymer with applied potential, pH, and perceived color of the film. pTAPP shows the lowest resistance to oxidative doping/dedoping at low pH and potentials between +0.4 and +0.5 V vs Ag/AgCl.
A gene-centered C. elegans protein-DNA interaction network provides a framework for functional predictions

Transcription factors (TFs) play a central role in controlling spatiotemporal gene expression and the response to environmental cues. A comprehensive understanding of gene regulation requires integrating physical protein-DNA interactions (PDIs) with TF regulatory activity, expression patterns, and phenotypic data. Although great progress has been made in mapping PDIs using chromatin immunoprecipitation, these studies have only characterized ~10% of TFs in any metazoan species. The nematode C. elegans has been widely used to study gene regulation due to its compact genome with short regulatory sequences. Here, we delineated the largest gene-centered metazoan PDI network to date by examining interactions between 90% of C. elegans TFs and 15% of gene promoters. We used this network as a backbone to predict TF binding sites for 77 TFs, two-thirds of which are novel, as well as integrate gene expression, protein-protein interaction, and phenotypic data to predict regulatory and biological functions for multiple genes and TFs.
Is it possible to develop a cross-country test of social interaction?

AbstractObjective: The Evaluation of Social Interaction (ESI) is used in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe. What is considered to be appropriate social interaction, however, differs amongst countries. If social interaction varies, the relative difficulty of the ESI items and types of social exchange also could vary, resulting in differential item functioning (DIF) and test bias in the form of differential test functioning (DTF). Yet, because the ESI scoring criteria are designed to account for culture, the ESI should be free of DIF and DTF. The purpose, therefore, was to determine whether the ESI demonstrates DIF or DTF related to country.Methods: A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study of 9811 participants 2–102 years, 55% female, from 12 countries was conducted using many-facet Rasch analyses. DIF analyses compared paired item and social exchange type values by country against a critical effect size (±0.55 logit). DTF analyses compared paired ESI measures by country to 95% confidence...
Peter von Möllendorff: Grundlagen einer Ästhetik der Alten Komödie

Many students of Aristophanes are by now familiar with Mikhail Bakhtin’s Rabelais and his World, based on a dissertation of 1940 and published in 1965 (English translation, 1968). Bakhtin was one of the first to grapple directly with the grotesque bodily imagery in Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel; he showed how this imagery could be related to subversive laughter, the abundance of food, and the popular/festive motif of the inverted hierarchy. Although Bakhtin had studied with Thaddaeus Zielinski at St. Petersburg from 1914 to 1918 and was well acquainted with Greek literature, Bakhtin had surprisingly little use for Old Comedy in his writings. It appears that he knew nothing about the festive context of Greek comedy (p. 86, n. 50 of von Mollendorff’s book; this topic is also discussed now in Antony T. Edwards, “Historicizing the Popular Grotesque: Bakhtin’s Rabelais and Attic Old Comedy” in Theater and Society in the Classical World, ed. R. Scodel [Ann Arbor, 1993], 89–117). The parallels between Aristophanes and Rabelais have not escaped the notice of classical scholars, of course, and Bakhtin’s study of the popular grotesque has been frequently invoked in analyses of the festive aspects of Aristophanic comedy.
Enhanced scatter contrast color imaging of tissue: methods for comparing high spatial frequency domain and cross-polarization scatter images

This paper describes the system calibration and demodulation procedures used in an investigation of the scatter-specific tissue contrast that can be obtained by high spatial frequency (HSF) domain imaging and cross- polarization (CP) imaging using an inexpensive color imaging system. HSF and CP imaging methods are both known to alter the reflectance image sensitivity to diffuse multiply- scattered and superficially backscattered photons. This results in enhanced contrast, compared to standard wide-field imaging, based on tissue surface microstructure and composition. Measurements in tissue-simulating optical phantoms show that CP images display contrast based on both scattering and absorption, while HSF is specifically sensitive to scatter-only contrast, strongly suppressing absorption-based contrast. By altering the frequency used, the degree of contrast suppression or enhancement can be tuned.1 This suggests that an inexpensive HSF imaging system could have potential to aid diagnostic procedures, where CP is the current state-of-the-art imaging modality.
Economics of Custard Apple Production in Maharashtra

About 60 custard apple growers were randomly selected from twelve villages of two tehsils of Aurangabad district of Maharashtra for the year 2010-2011. Cross sectional data were collected from custard apple growers with the help of pretested schedule by personal interview method. The cost concept of Cost-A, Cost-B and Cost-C was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that per hectare cost of cultivation of custard apple was Rs 55930.40. Among individual items of expenditure, the share of rental value of land was 37.72 per cent followed by hired human labour (11.93 %), amortized cost (11.35 %), family human labour (7.78 %), fertilizers (6.00 %), manure (4.59 %), irrigation (3.96 %), machine labour (3.42 %), bullock labour (2.49 %) and so on, respectively. Per hectare gross return and net profit was Rs 127336.52 and Rs 71406.12, respectively. Outputinput ratio was 2.27. Per quintal cost of production was found to be Rs 883.29.
Extraordinarily Stable Amyloid Fibrils Engineered from Structurally Defined β-Solenoid Proteins

The self-assembly of biological molecules into ordered nanostructures is an attractive method for fabricating novel nanomaterials. Nucleic acid-based nanostructures suffer from limitations to functionalization and stability. Alternatively, protein-based nanostructures have advantageous chemical properties, but design facility lags behind that of nucleic acids. Structurally defined fibrils engineered from β-solenoid proteins (BSPs) form under mild conditions [Peralta, M. D. R., et al. (2015) ACS Nano 9, 449–463] and are good candidates for novel nanomaterials because of the defined sequence-to-structure relationship and tunable properties. Here, the stability of two types of engineered fibrils was examined using circular dichroism spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electrophoresis. Both are stable to at least 90 °C, and one survives autoclaving. They are stable toward organic solvents, urea, and pH extremes. One is even stable in 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate with heating. The fibrils show var...
Stop Rerouting!: Enabling ShareBackup for Failure Recovery in Data Center Networks

This paper introduces sharable backup as a novel solution to failure recovery in data center networks. It allows the entire network to share a small pool of backup devices. This proposal is grounded in three key observations. First, the traditional rerouting-based failure recovery is ineffective, because bandwidth loss from failures degrades application performance drastically. Therefore, failed devices should be replaced to restore bandwidth. Second, failures in data centers are rare but destructive [11], so it is desirable to seek cost-effective backup options. Third, the emergence of configurable data center network architectures promises feasibility of bringing backup devices online dynamically. We design the ShareBackup prototype architecture to realize this idea. Compared to rerouting-based solutions, ShareBackup provides more bandwidth with short path length at low cost.
Underwater nearfield blast performance of hydrothermally degraded carbon–epoxy composite structures

An experimental and computational study was conducted to evaluate the dynamic response of weathered biaxial composite plates subjected to near-field explosive/blast loadings. Naval structures are subjected to aggressive marine environments during their service life that can significantly degrade their performance over time. The composite materials in this study are carbon–epoxy composite plates with [0, 90]s and [45, − 45]s layups. The composites were aged rapidly through submersion in 65 $$^{\circ }$$ C seawater for 35 and 70 days, which through Arrhenius’ methodology, simulates approximately 10 and 20 years of operating conditions, respectively. Experiments were performed by clamping the composite plates to an air-backed enclosure inside an underwater blast facility. During the experiments, an RP-503 explosive was submerged, behind the composite specimen, and detonated. Meanwhile, transducers measured the pressure emitted by the explosive, and three high-speed cameras captured the event. Two of the cameras were placed facing the specimen to measure full field displacement, velocities, and strains through a 3D digital image correlation analysis. The third high-speed camera was used to record the explosive’s behavior and bubble-to-specimen interaction. Additional experiments were performed to obtain the non-weathered and weathered material properties as well as the residual strength post the blast experiments. Additionally, a coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian finite element simulation was conducted to complement the experimental findings. Results show that the diffusion of water into the composite material leads to a more prominent blast response as well as the degradation of mechanical properties, especially shear properties which are dominated by the epoxy matrix. Residual strength experiments also show a substantial decrease in the structural integrity post-blast loading for the weathered composites. Lastly, the numerical simulations showed substantial increase in maximum strains with relatively small decreases in mechanical stiffness. Hence, even past the saturation point, incremental changes in material properties can have a significant impact on mechanical performance.
Using the scratch assay to study cell migration in an inquiry-based cell biology lab

Cell migration, a fundamental process in development, wound healing, and immune function, is a common topic in undergraduate cell biology courses. We developed laboratory exercises with an inquiry-...
The Influence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on Health Functioning in Active-Duty Military Service Members

Researchers have suggested that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with significant healthcare burden and utilization of medical services. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of PTSD symptoms on health functioning among active-duty military personnel. Participants in the study were 366 treatment-seeking service members who had returned from deployment and were participating in a larger PTSD treatment study. Assessments included measures of PTSD symptom severity, combat experiences, life stress, health functioning, alcohol use, and depression. We hypothesized that at baseline, PTSD severity and its symptom clusters would be significantly associated with poorer physical and mental health functioning. We conducted separate hierarchical multiple regressions to examine the predictive contribution the hypothesized factors would have on the variance in physical and mental health scores. Consistent with previous literature, we found that PTSD severity was significantly associated with poorer mental health functioning, B = -0.25, SE = 0.08, β = -0.15, t(342) = -3.07, R2 = .37, p = .002; however, contrary to our hypotheses, PTSD severity was not associated with poorer physical health functioning. Further, the hyperarousal symptom cluster was significantly associated with poorer physical health functioning, B = -0.83, SE = 0.26, β = -0.18, t(340) = -3.16, R2 = .11, p = .002, but not mental health functioning. Limitations of our study included the use of self-report measures only and lack of objective measures. Future directions for study include examination of how health functioning perceptions change over a longer duration of PTSD symptoms and after treatment.
A systematic analysis of research applying ‘principles of dialogic communication’ to organizational websites, blogs, and social media: Implications for theory and practice

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to analyze peer-reviewed research that applied principles of dialogic communication to organizational websites, blogs, and social media. We identified 79 relevant studies and found that 83% reported the results of a content analysis. Only 25% of studies presented a theoretical implication; 75% discussed practical implications. Future research must distinguish between analyzing structural features of web-based organizational communication and studying dialogue. Differences in power and access to resources between organizations and publics should be incorporated into studies seeking to advance a dialogic theory of public relations.
Predicting changes in chaparral flammability

A dynamic fuel model for the chaparral brush fields of southern California shows that (a) the fire threat for the first few years after a fire primarily is related to forbs and grasses; and (b) after 10 to 20 years, the brush fields will sustain very fast-spreading, high-intensity fires, depending upon the ratio of the live-to-dead fuel. The mathematical models described permit systematic analysis of the consequences of fuel treatment and fire control and projection of these consequences for the future.
Liquid Crystal — Surface Interactions by Surface Plasmons

The molecules forming liquid crystals interact among themselves to form the liquid crystal but also are oriented by wall interaction and an applied electric or magnetic field. A surface treatment can produce either parallel or perpendicular alignment of the molecules.1 Optical measurements with polarized light ascertain these specific alignments. Measurements of the apparent permittivity as a function of magnetic field through the Frederiks transition can be used to scale an angular distribution from the Frank-Oseen equation of continuum theory. For strong anchoring of molecules in a parallel orientation to a surface and for high magnetic or electric fields applied perpendicularly to a cell, the molecules will align with the field in most of the slab and two thin regions will be located at each wall. Above a critical field for the Frederiks transition there will be a transition region for the molecules to rotate from, for example, parallel on the wall to a perpendicular alignment in the cell.2 Computer calculations1 show that high fields are necessary for this perpendicular alignment and this alignment is not accomplished until well into the cell, i.e., several micrometers.
Natural Convection Heat Transfer From Inclined Cylinders

There exists minimal work on natural convection from inclined cylinders in the literature. This is because natural convection from inclined cylinders is a three-dimensional problem as opposed to horizontal and vertical cylinders, which is a two-dimensional problem. The following chapter is organized into inclined cylinders with a temperature boundary condition, heat flux boundary condition, and heat transfer correlations via mass transfer experiments.
Alcohol Use Among African American and White Siblings: A Multilevel Latent Growth Modeling Approach

This study examined alcohol use and correlates of alcohol use among African American and White siblings over a 4-year period. A multiple-group multilevel latent growth model of family alcohol use across the two ethnic groups was specified which explicitly modeled the within-level and between-level covariance matrices in sibling alcohol use over time. The White sample comprised 700 siblings (292 families), and the African American sample comprised 157 siblings (59 families). Correlates of sibling alcohol use included parent income, marital status and family involvement. Results showed homogeneity in alcohol use within families, and heterogeneity across families and ethnic groups. Siblings from White families had higher average levels of alcohol use, and a greater increase in alcohol use over time than did African American siblings. The between-level effects of income, marital status, family involvement, and an interaction of family involvement with marital status, were consistent across African American and White families.
Cardiovascular Autonomic Dysfunction

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often have signs or symptoms indicating impaired reflexive cardiovascular regulation, including orthostatic intolerance from orthostatic hypotension. Orthostatic hypotension in PD has been thought to be a side effect of treatment with levodopa. However, recent studies have shown that virtually all patients with PD and orthostatic hypotension, regardless of levodopa treatment, have abnormal blood pressure responses to the Valsalva maneuver and markedly decreased baroreflex-cardiovagal gain. In contrast, only a minority of patients without orthostatic hypotension have abnormal Valsalva responses, and baroreflex-cardiovagal gain is often approximately normal. Plasma levels of the sympathetic neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, are lower in patients who have PD with rather than without orthostatic hypotension, suggesting a relatively smaller complement of sympathetic nerves. Almost all patients with PD and orthostatic hypotension have significantly reduced sympathetic noradrenergic innervation of the left ventricular myocardium, and most of those without orthostatic hypotension also have diffuse or localized loss of cardiac sympathetic innervation. These findings contrast with those in multiple system atrophy (MSA) with orthostatic hypotension, which can be difficult to distinguish clinically from PD. In MSA with orthostatic hypotension, sympathetic neurocirculatory failure occurs without evidence of sympathetic denervation of the heart. Therefore, PD involves not only a central catecholaminergic lesion, with the loss of dopamine cells of the nigrostriatal system, but also a peripheral catecholaminergic lesion, with the loss of postganglionic norepinephrine cells of the sympathetic nervous system, especially in the heart. The functional consequences of cardiac sympathetic denervation in PD, relationship between central dopaminergic and peripheral noradrenergic pathologies, and the bases for cardioselective sympathetic denervation in PD without orthostatic hypotension remain unknown.
Oxidation behavior of hot-pressed MoSi2-TiC composite

The oxidation behavior of a hot-pressed MoSi2-TiC composite was investigated in air over the temperature range of 500 °C–1400 °C. The composite exhibits parabolic oxidation kinetics between 500 °C–800 °C, where the activation energy was calculated to be 32 kJ/mol. However, above 800 °C, it shows two-step parabolic oxidation kinetics, where the first stage (step I) was proposed to be dominated by the oxidation of surface TiC particles. After all the surface TiC particles are oxidized, the oxidation of the composite turns into the second stage (step II) which was controlled by the oxidation of MoSi2. The activation energy was determined to be 130 kJ/mol and 141 kJ/mol for step I and step II, respectively. A dense cristobalite scale with TiO2 in lath shapes on the top was observed after oxidation at 1400 °C.
Dependence of the NdSc3(BO3)4 random laser output parameters on the particle size

In NdSc3(BO3)4 random laser, we experimentally studied the dependence of the threshold, slope efficiency, and effective photon residence time on the size of powder particles. Optimum lasing conditions are found at medium particle sizes.
The Growth of the Women’s Page Community

The women’s page community was a strong one. There were city and statewide press associations for women journalists, along with reporting contests. They spent time at the meetings of these groups and wrote letters to each other later. By 1960, the women were gathering annually at the Penney-Missouri Awards ceremonies. This competition rewarded the women’s pages that featured progressive news. The award ceremonies also included meetings where top women’s page editors presented their story ideas and strategies to other women journalists.
Enthymeme, metonymy and method: comparing genre-bound rhetorical deviations between languages through corpus studies

ABSTRACTThis paper draws from comparative rhetoric and contrastive stylistics and, by resorting to corpus linguistics methodologies, looks into possible quantitative descriptions of rhetorical devi...
Chapter 7 - Receptor Modeling for Volatile Organic Compounds

The Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) source reconciliation model has been found to be a useful tool for the evaluation of ambient speciated volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration data. The modes of generation of VOC's are also significantly different from sources of particulate matter. While the elemental signatures of particulate matter sources are directly related to raw material composition, the composition of VOC sources is based on the physical and chemical processes that consume or modify the raw material. As with elemental source compositions, collinearities between specific VOC categories cause statistical problems and limit source resolution by the CMB method. Experience to date suggests that the sources examined fall into three major groups with respect to collinearity: (1) vehicles, gas vapor and refineries, (2) solvent and coating sources including architectural coatings, printing inks, and auto painting, and (3) sources of chlorinated organic including vapor degreasing, dry-cleaning and wastewater treatment. The reactivity of the organic tracer fitting compounds may also affect the model. One underlying assumption of the CMB receptor model is the conservation of mass of the tracer species relative to the total emission. While this is not completely true for any categorical pollutant, the conservation assumption poses special problems when the tracers are all reactive hydrocarbons. This problem, along with discussions of emission inventory, validation, modeling un-identified sources and the use of extended fingerprints are all examined in this chapter.
Colonoscopy versus less invasive approaches for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening (Scr): A strategic perspective.

6523 Background: Colonoscopy (CS) is an effective approach to Scr for CRC. Given its invasive nature, interest exists to find other Scr strategies (STs) with DNA stool testing being the most recent...
Enhancing India-Pakistan Deterrence Stability

This chapter recommends policies that India and Pakistan can pursue to help stabilize the condition of mutual nuclear deterrence between them. I begin by laying out several foundational premises that guide my thinking. I then outline several political and military measures that the two sides can take to move their nuclear arms competition in the direction of deterrence stability. The most significant of these involve steps that can be taken to address the “ugly” side of ugly stability. After Pakistan makes a fundamental decision to prevent terrorist groups from operating on its soil, New Delhi and Islamabad should jointly forswear the pursuit of subconventional violence on the other side’s territory. At the appropriate juncture, when political conditions are more promising, India and Pakistan should revisit efforts to resolve their dispute over Kashmir. I end the chapter by describing how the United States can help to promote deterrence stability between the two governments.
Holding open the door reveals a new view of polycystin channel function.

The functions of polycystin 1 and polycystin 2 (PC1 and PC2) have been surprisingly difficult to establish. PC1 and PC2 are encoded by the Pkd1 and Pkd2 genes that are implicated in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). ADPKD is the most common potentially lethal genetic disorder, affecting ~1 in 1,000 people. Over the course of decades, ADPKD patients' kidneys acquire numerous fluid-filled cysts whose expansion compresses the surrounding parenchyma, leading to end-stage renal disease in ~50% of afflicted individuals [1]. Identification of the genes encoding the PC proteins 20 years ago led to the hypothesis that they form an ion channel, since the sequence of PC2 marks it as a member of the TRP family of cation channels. In the ensuing 2 decades, tremendous effort has been devoted to determining whether this is indeed true and, if so, what characteristics that channel might manifest. A recent paper by Wang et al in this issue of EMBO Reports [2] demonstrates that assembly with PC1 changes the properties of the polycystin channel in ways that may help explain the complex behaviors that have been attributed to it.
Advocacy output: Automated coding documents from human rights organizations

AbstractHuman Rights Organizations (HROs) are very important actors in the promotion and protection of human rights, despite being far less powerful than the actors primarily reponsible for human r...