cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of genes in an extraintestinal isolate of Escherichia coli with increased expression after exposure to human urine

The identification of genes with increased expression in vivo may lead to the identification of novel or unrecognized virulence traits and/or recognition of environmental signals involved in modulating gene expression. Our laboratory is studying an extraintestinal isolate of Escherichia coli as a model pathogen. We had previously used human urine ex vivo to identify the unrecognized urovirulence genes guaA and argC and to establish that arginine and guanine (or derivatives) were limiting in this body fluid (T. A. Russo et al., Mol. Microbiol. 22:217-229, 1996). In this study, we have continued with this approach and identified three additional genes that have increased expression in human urine relative to Luria-Bertani (LB) medium. Expression of ure1 (urine-responsive element) is increased a mean of 47.6-fold in urine but completely suppressed by exogenous glucose. This finding suggests that ure1 is regulated by catabolite repression and that limiting glucose in urine is a regulatory signal. ure1 is present in the E. coli K-12 genome, but its function is unknown. Although disruption of ure1 results in diminished growth in human urine, limiting concentrations of amino acids, nucleosides, or iron (Fe), or changes in osmolarity or pH do not affect the expression of ure1. Therefore, Ure1 appears to have a role independent of the synthesis or uptake of these nutrients and does not appear to be involved in osmoprotection. iroN(E. coli) is a novel E. coli gene with 77% DNA homology to a catecholate siderophore receptor gene recently identified in Salmonella. Its expression is increased a mean of 27.2-fold in urine and is repressed by exogenous Fe and a urinary pH of 5.0. This finding supports the contention that Fe is a limiting element in urine and that alteration of pH can affect gene expression. It is linked to the P-pilus (prs) and F1C fimbrial (foc) gene clusters on a pathogenicity island and appears to have been acquired by IS1230-mediated horizontal transmission. The homologous iroN(E. coli) sequence is significantly more prevalent in urinary tract and blood isolates of E. coli compared to fecal isolates. Last, the expression of ArtJ, an arginine periplasmic binding protein, is increased a mean of 16.6-fold in urine. This finding implicates arginine concentrations as limited in urine and, in combination with previous data demonstrating that argC is important for urovirulence, suggests that the ability of E. coli to synthesize or acquire arginine is important for urovirulence. ure1, iroN(E. coli), and artJ all have increased expression in human blood and ascites relative to LB medium as well. The identification of these genes increases our understanding of regulatory signals present in human urine, blood, and ascites. Ure1, IroN(E. coli), and ArtJ also warrant further evaluation as virulence traits both within and outside the urinary tract.
Efficient Rerouting Algorithms for Congestion Mitigation

Congestion mitigation and overflow avoidance are two of the major goals of the global routing stage. With a significant increase in the chip size and routing complexity,congestion and overflow have become critical issues in physical design automation. In this paper we present several routing algorithms for congestion reduction and overflow avoidance.Our methods are based on ripping up nets that go through the congested regions and replacing them with congestion-aware Steiner trees. We propose several efficient algorithms for finding congestion-aware Steiner trees and evaluate their performance using the ISPD routing benchmarks. We also show that the novel technique of network coding contributes to further improvements in routability and reduction of congestion. Accordingly, we propose an algorithm for identifying efficient congestion-aware network coding topologies and evaluate its performance.
An innovation and policy agenda for commercially competitive plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can use both grid-supplied electricity and liquid fuels. We show that under recent conditions, millions of PHEVs could have charged economically in California during both peak and off-peak hours even with modest gasoline prices and real-time electricity pricing. Special electricity rate tariffs already in place for electric vehicles could successfully render on-peak charging uneconomical and off-peak charging very attractive. However, unless battery prices fall by at least a factor of two, or gasoline prices double, the present value of fuel savings is smaller than the marginal vehicle costs, likely slowing PHEV market penetration in California. We also find that assumptions about how PHEVs are charged strongly influence the number of PHEVs that can be charged before the electric power system must be expanded. If most PHEVs are charged after the workday, and thus after the time of peak electricity demand, our forecasts suggest that several million PHEVs could be deployed in California without requiring new generation capacity, and we also find that the state’s PHEV fleet is unlikely to reach into the millions within the current electricity sector planning cycle. To ensure desirable outcomes, appropriate technologies and incentives for PHEV charging will be needed if PHEV adoption becomes mainstream.
Interface Debonding and Fiber Cracking in Brittle Matrix Composites

Analyses of debonding along interfaces and of the kinking of interface cracks into a fiber have been used to define the role of debonding in fiber-reinforced, brittle matrix composites. The results reveal that, for fibers aligned with the tensile stress axis, debonding requires an interface fracture energy, Γi, less than about one-fourth that for the fiber, Γf. Further-more, once this condition is satisfied, it is shown that fiber failure does not normally occur by deflection of the debond through the fiber. Instead, fiber failure is governed by weakest-link statistics. The debonding of fibers inclined to the stress axis occurs more readily, such that debonds at acutely inclined fibers can deflect into the fiber, whereupon the failure of fibers is dominated by their toughness.
Nucleus of the Solitary Tract (Pro)Renin Receptor-Mediated Antihypertensive Effect Involves Nuclear Factor-κB-Cytokine Signaling in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

The importance of the (pro)renin receptor (PRR) in the function of the central nervous system is increasingly evident because PRR seems to play a role in neuronal control of cardiovascular function...
Institutional Profile: University of Chicago Center for Personalized Therapeutics: research, education and implementation science

Pharmacogenomics is aimed at advancing our knowledge of the genetic basis of variable drug response. The Center for Personalized Therapeutics within the University of Chicago comprises basic, translational and clinical research as well as education including undergraduate, graduate, medical students, clinical/postdoctoral fellows and faculty. The Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics is the educational arm of the Center aimed at training clinical and postdoctoral fellows in translational pharmacology and pharmacogenomics. Research runs the gamut from basic discovery and functional studies to pharmacogenomic implementation studies to evaluate physician adoption of genetic medicine. The mission of the Center is to facilitate research, education and implementation of pharmacogenomics to realize the true potential of personalized medicine and improve the lives of patients.
Commonalities in vasoactive intestinal peptide and peptide N‐terminal histidine C‐terminal isoleucine stimulation of N‐acetyltransferase activity in the rat pineal

Exposure of adult rat pineal glands in organ culture to the polypeptides vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), and peptide N-terminal histidine C-terminal isoleucine (PHI) increases pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity and melatonin synthesis. The following research results are taken to indicate that VIP and PHI share common components of the NAT induction system: (1) The effects of the two peptides are additive at concentrations of 10 nM VIP and 100 nM PHI but not at higher peptide concentrations. (2) Pineals from newborns also respond to PHI with a dose dependent increase in NAT activity. NAT responses are additive at the same concentrations as seen with the adult pineals. (3) Light exposure affects the sensitivity of pineals to VIP and PHI stimulation in a similar manner; pineals taken after 3 hr of light are much less sensitive to PHI or VIP than those taken after 13 hr of light. (4) Pineals exposed for 48 hr to either PHI or VIP have a reduced NAT response to either agonist, which is reversible by culture in agonist-free media. (5) Neither VIP nor PHI stimulation of NAT activity is affected by concentrations of the VIP antagonists (N-Ac-Tyr1,D-Phe2)-GRF(1-29)-NH2 (NAcTDGRF), L-8-K, VIP-Neurotensin Hybrid (VIPNET), or (4Cl-D-Phe6, Leu17)-VIP (4C1PLVIP), which affect VIP binding or function in other tissues.
State Support of Higher Education: The Roller Coaster Plunges Downward Yet Again

William Zumeta is professor of public affairs and higher education at the University of Washington– Seattle, senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, and a fellow of the TIAA-CREF Institute. He publishes widely on higher education finance, accountability, public policy and private higher education, and policies pertaining to graduate and postdoctoral education. Many government agencies, national foundations, and organizations support his research. Zumeta is writing a book about the challenges of financing U.S. higher education in an era of unprec edented need and restricted public support. He is also co-editing a volume on the role of public policies in the recent boom in private higher education on several continents. He has served on the Policy Council (national board) of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, on the Public Policy Council of the Association for Study of Higher Education, and on several editorial boards.
Standardized versus Unstandardized Regression Weights

Behavioral scientists appear widely divided about the merits of standardized versus unstandardized regression weights. The present paper has therefore attempted to clarify the issue by illustrating how the two kinds of weights respond to the following circumstances: selection, or sampling variation, on the independent variable; presence of measurement error; changes in units of measurement; scales that are relative to norms rather than absolute; changes in test length; and selection on dependent and mediating variables. Standardized weights are invariant over changes in the units of measurement; unstandardized weights are invariant over selection on the independent variable (but only on the independent variable) and in the presence of dependent variable error. In general, however, the illustrated circumstances affected both kinds of weights, sometimes quite strongly. Therefore, neither kind of weight appears very robust, neither can be recommended unequivocally for comparing groups, and neither provides a...
Reconstruction of a Civil War landscape: Little Folly Island, South Carolina

The inlet dividing Little Folly Island and Big Folly Island was relocated through the use of Union Navy and Army maps and a global positioning system device. Identification of the inlet was confirmed through foraminiferal analysis of marsh sediments retrieved with gouge-auger cores. The inlet was 1.8 km closer to Confederate batteries on Morris Island than previously believed. In addition to identifying the inlet, sedimentary structures were used to differentiate anthropogenic and natural sand mounds and dunes, resulting in the identification of four previously undocumented Union gun parapets. The results of this study suggest foraminifers are a useful tool for reconstructing coastal military landscapes from the Civil War and potentially earlier conflicts. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pioneers in Medical Imaging Series.

This PDF file contains the editorial “Pioneers in Medical Imaging Series” for JMI Vol. 1 Issue 03
Complementary processing: a supercomputer/personal computer US census database project

The author discusses the history and role of the US Census. He identifies some of the problems of handling and manipulating such large amounts of data. He describes the Supercomputer History Project, in which the speed of a supercomputer is combined with the versatility of a microcomputing environment to deal with census data. >
Discovery of a Secreted Tumor Suppressor Provides a Promising Therapeutic Strategy for Follicular Lymphoma

In a recent paper in Cell , Oricchio et al. identify EPHA7 as a tumor suppressor gene residing in the 6q-deleted region in follicular lymphoma. A truncated EPHA7 TR isoform is secreted by normal B cells, inhibits EPHA2 signaling, and, as a secreted tumor suppressor protein, has potential as a targeted therapeutic polypeptide.
Electromagnetic scattering of finite strip array on a dielectric slab

A feast recursive algorithm is used to compute the scattering properties of a finite array of strip gratings on a dielectric slab. this algorithm has a computational complexity of O(N log/sup 2/ N) for one incident angle and O(N/sup 2/ log N) for N incident angles. It uses plane wave basis for expanding the incident wave and the scattered wave. The scattered wave is expanded in terms of a Sommerfeld-type integral with spectral distribution along a vertical branch cut, rendering its expansion very efficient. To validate the scattering solution obtained using the recursive algorithm, comparisons with the method of moments are illustrated. The current distributions on the strips and scattering patterns are both presented. Since this algorithm has reduced computational complexity and is fast compared to other conventional methods, it can be used to analyze very large strip arrays. Scattering solution of a 50-wavelength wide strip is illustrated. >
Characterization of eight polymorphic microsatellite markers in the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois)

A partial genomic library of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, enriched for microsatellite sequences was screened to identify marker loci. Eight polymorphic loci suitable for population genetic studies were identified by screening 192 field-collected insects. The observed number of alleles ranged from four to 21 with an average of 12.25 (SE ± 1.94) while the effective number of alleles ranged from 1.23 to 11.05 with an average of 4.49 (SE ± 1.15). No linkage disequilibria or significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg expectations were detected at any of the loci. Seven of the eight L. lineolaris microsatellite loci were transferable to Lygus hesperus.
Three‐dimensional crystallization of the Escherichia coli glycerol‐3‐phosphate transporter: A member of the major facilitator superfamily

Here we report the successful three-dimensional crystallization of GlpT, the glycerol-3-phosphate transporter from Escherichia coli inner membrane. GlpT possesses 12 transmembrane -helices and is a member of the major facilitator superfamily. It mediates the exchange of glycerol-3-phosphate for inorganic phosphate across the membrane. Approximately 20 phospholipid molecules per protein, identified as negatively charged phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and cardiolipin, were required for the monodispersity of purified GlpT. Analytical size-exclusion chromatography proved to be efficient in identifying detergents for GlpT monodispersity. Nine such detergents were later used for GlpT crystallization. Screening for crystal nucleation was carried out with a variety of polyethylene glycols as the precipitant over a wide pH range. Subsequent identification of a rigid protein core by limited proteolysis and mass spectroscopy resulted in better-ordered crystals. These crystals exhibited orde rt o 3.7A resolution in two dimensions. However, the stacking in the third dimension was partially disordered. This stacking problem was overcome by using a detergent mixture and manipulating the ionic interactions in the crystallization solution. The resulting GlpT crystals diffracted isotropically to 3.3 A resolution and were suitable for structure determination by X-ray crystallography.
An urban terrain abstraction to support decisionmaking using recursive simulation

Recursive simulation is the technique of having simulated decision makers themselves use simulation to inform their decision making. Issues of efficiency require that the recursive runs, especially if extended over multiple levels to represent adversarial planning, be at a relatively simple and abstract level of detail. However, the nature of urban terrain is that it is dominated by particulars that drive up the level of detail and make automated decision representations difficult The proposed terrain abstraction is intended to address these issues, and support low resolution embedded simulation used for recursive decision support for entities in a higher fidelity simulation.
Sixteen channel, non-scanning airborne lidar surface topography (list) simulator

We report on progress in developing a new multi-beam non-scanning, swath mapping laser altimeter measurement approach for future spaceflight missions using a high repetition rate, short-pulse laser transmitter. The instrument contains multi pixel photon counting detectors, high bandwidth, sixteen-channel 8-bit digitizer and a high-throughput data system.
Progression of Bending Fatigue Damage around a Discontinuity in Glass/Epoxy Composites:

The progression of bending fatigue damage around a discontinuity in spring orientation glass fiber reinforced epoxy was investigated. The specimens contained circular holes of two different hole diameter/specimen width ratios. Bending fatigue tests were performed by applying a constant maximum deflection at the end of the cantilever type specimen. The extent of delamination and internal cracking was observed using visual and scanning electron microscopy. The reduction in stiffness during fatigue cycling was linearly related to the total delamination size, independent of the maximum applied load. It was also determined that the relative size of the hole had no significant effect on the bending fatigue life.
Editor's Introduction: Modernism's Laughter

This special issue of Modernist Cultures is animated by two claims. First, that modernism is funny, and the moderns inveterate laughers, gigglers, joke-pullers, and devastating wags. Second, that modernism's ubiquitous laughter is overlooked, undertheorized, and downright gagged by the aura of high seriousness that still infuses critical descriptions of modernism: of its heroic gambits to shore up a besieged world of authenticity, plenitude, and presence; of its aristocratic disdain for the enervating banality of quotidian modernity; of its arch and unfeeling formalism.
Lesbian Identity in Russia

Gay men and lesbian women were treated and handled in different ways within the Soviet Union. Under communism, lesbianism was considered as a psychological disorder requiring psychiatric treatment and hospitalization. Their male counterparts, if determined to be engaged in muzhelozhstvo were imprisoned for up to five years. This in large part had to do with the role women were seen to play within the context of the larger society. Despite these differences, much emphasis on current gay and lesbian research is to emphasize shared common experiences, in particular those shared experiences of discrimination. Early gay and lesbian activism in Russia was concerned with the fight for the renunciation of Article 121.1 and bringing greater awareness to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. One of the reasons for the fracturing of the earlier movement was its male-centeredness. Gay males and lesbians often have very different experiences. Lesbians often have to encounter hostile attitudes and societal stereotypes not only pertaining to their sexual orientation but also their sex. This paper examines how lesbianism has been defined and perceived in Russia. In addition, this paper examines lesbian identity within Russia separate from their gay male counterparts.
Situating Existentialism: Key Texts in Context

In Europe “existentialism” as a philosophical movement began its rise after the First World War and took its most dramatic and canonical form in Germany and France in the aftermath of the Second Wo...
An examination of molecular phylogeny and morphology of the grass endophyte Balansia claviceps and similar species

A molecular and morphological study is made of several species of Balansia, including Bal- ansia andropogonis, B. asclerotiaca, and B. asperata, that are often confused with Balansia claviceps, the type species of genus Balansia. Of these species, only B. claviceps is endophytic and possesses mounds of long receptive hyphae. Both morphology and rDNA data suggest that the collections currently recognized as B. claviceps consist of multiple sibling species. DNA data demonstrate the presence of two clades in Bal- ansia, denominated by the B. claviceps and B. asper- ata clades. The distribution of species native to Asia and the Americas among these two subclades sug- gests the movement of species between Asia and the Americas.
Dietary saturated medium-chain triglycerides and vitamin E deficiency in chicks and rats.

SummarySaturated medium-chain triglycerides (C6-12; MCT) were included in vitamin E-deficient diets fed to chickens and rats. This produced a high incidence of exudative diathesis in the birds but exerted a protective effect on testicular degeneration in the rats. It is speculated that this difference is related to the capacity of dietary MCT to decrease linoleate turnover in the rat but to increase it in the chicken, leading to opposite effects in the affected organs of the two deficient species.
Towards an integrative picture of human sickness behavior

Sickness behavior, a coordinated set of behavioral changes during infection and elicited by the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), is well studied in non-human animals. Over the last two decades, several papers have expanded this research to include humans. However, these studies use a variety of research designs, and typically focus on a single cytokine and only a few of the many behavioral changes constituting sickness behavior. Therefore, our understanding of human sickness behavior remains equivocal. To generate a more holistic, integrative picture of this phenomenon, a meta-analysis of the human sickness behavior literature was conducted. Full model results show that both IL-6 and IL-1β have significant relationships with sickness behavior, and the strength of these relationships is affected by a number of study parameters, such as type of immune stimulus and inclusion of controls. In addition to research design heterogeneity, other issues to address in future studies include an unequal focus on different cytokines and different sickness behaviors.
Modeling heat and mass transport during microwave heating of frozen food rotating on a turntable

Abstract Microwave heating of frozen foods involves multiple physics and food product development has been trial-and-error in the food industry. Multiphysics models can be used to understand microwave interactions and can assist in design of food that can be heated more uniformly. A comprehensive three-dimensional finite element model for describing microwave heating of a food product on a rotating turntable is developed including multiphysics of Maxwell's electromagnetic heating, energy conservation, Darcy's velocity, mass conservations of water and gas, and phase change of melting and evaporation of water. The necessity of incorporating mass transfer physics was investigated and confirmed. Twelve discrete rotational steps were used in one rotational cycle. Two approaches of updating dielectric properties at each rotational step (typical) and each cycle (simplified) were evaluated. The models using typical and simplified approaches were developed and validated for heating of a 550 g tray of frozen mashed potato for 6 min in a 1250 W microwave oven on a rotating turntable. The spatial variation of the top surface temperatures of the mashed potato acquired by an infrared camera, the transient temperatures at six locations recorded by fiber optic sensors, and the total moisture loss during heating all showed good agreement with the simulation results for both approaches. The typical and simplified approaches had similar RMSE values of transient temperatures of, respectively, 13.1 and 13.2 °C, while the RMSE values between experimental replications was 8.0 °C. The RMSE values of total moisture loss of were similar (2.2 and 2.4 g) for both approaches. With 83% reduction in computation time for the simplified approach, this method can be used to evaluate the microwave heating of food products and accelerate microwaveable food products development.
Excitation of Chandrasekhar-Kendall photons in quark gluon plasma by propagating ultrarelativistic quarks

A quark propagating through the quark gluon plasma and scattering off the thermal gluons can radiate photons in states with definite angular momentum and magnetic helicity. These states, known as the Chandrasekhar-Kendall states, are eigenstates of the curl operator and have a nontrivial topology. I compute the spectrum of these states in the ultrarelativistic limit and study its properties.
Economic Aspects Of Navajo Sandpaintings

Permanent sandpaintings, pictures of pulverized colored sands glued onto particle board, are made by the Navajo Indians of the American Southwest, specifically for sale to non-native consumers. This art form has experienced a widespread growth since 1958. By 1965 its production had become an important source of income for at Jeast one community, Sheep Springs, New Mexico, as well as for many other individuals both on and off the reservation. Today almost 500 makers can be identified and while the industry is not yet comparable in size to weaving or silversmithing it is by no means negligible. Why has the spread of this craft art been so rapid and widespread? The following paper will begin to analyze some of the reasons for the craft's success. Motivating factors for beginning to paint should be especially evident because the development of sandpaintings from their traditional prototype involved a functional transition from the sacred realm to the secular. While little has been written about these specific transitions when native art forms are commercialized, they are by no means unique. Zuni fetishes, Hopi kachina rattles, Northwest Coast masks, Iroquois false-face masks, as well as various ceremonial containers, and parts of ceremonial costumes are manufactured specifically for sale to non-natives. At times this commercialization is opposed by nativecommunity members who feel it is a breach of taboo. It is assumed that if such is the case, there must be good reasons for the artist to break taboos and possibly incure supernatural wrath. An analysis of the motivating factors leading to the commercialization of Navajo sandpaintings should give some insight as to why native peoples selectively commercialize forms of their sacred art.
Use of a distraction plate for distal radial fractures with metaphyseal and diaphyseal comminution. Surgical technique.

Background Distal radial fractures with extensive comminution involving the metaphyseal-diaphyseal junction present a major treatment dilemma. Of particular difficulty are those fractures involving the articular surface. One approach is to apply a dorsal 3.5-mm plate extra-articularly from the radius to the third metacarpal, stabilizing the diaphysis and maintaining distraction across the radiocarpal joint. Methods Twenty-two patients treated with a distraction plate for a comminuted distal radial fracture were included in the study. With use of three limited incisions, a 3.5-mm ASIF plate was applied in distraction dorsally from the radial diaphysis, bypassing the comminuted segment, to the long-finger metacarpal, where it was fixed distally. The articular surface was anatomically reduced and was secured with Kirschner wires or screws. Eleven of the twenty-two fractures were treated with bone-grafting. The plate was removed after fracture consolidation (at an average of 124 days), and wrist motion was initiated. All patients were followed prospectively with use of radiographs, physical examination, and DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) scores. Results All fractures united by an average of 110 days. Radiographs showed an average palmar tilt of 4.6 degrees and an average ulnar variance of neutral (0 degrees), whereas loss of radial length averaged 2 mm. Flexion and extension averaged 57 degrees and 65 degrees, respectively, and pronation and supination averaged 77 degrees and 76 degrees, respectively. The average DASH scores were 34 points at six months, 15 points at one year, and 11.5 points at the time of final follow-up (at an average of 24.8 months). According to the Gartland-Werley rating system, fourteen patients had an excellent result, six had a good result, and two had a fair result. Grip strength and the range of motion of the wrist at one year correlated inversely with the proximal extent of fracture comminution into the diaphysis. The duration of plate immobilization did not correlate with the range of motion of the wrist or with the DASH score at one year. Conclusions The use of a distraction plate combined with reduction of the articular surface and bone-grafting when needed can be an effective technique for treatment of fractures of the distal end of the radius with extensive metaphyseal and diaphyseal comminution. A functional range of motion with minimal disability can be achieved despite a prolonged period of fixation with a distraction plate across the wrist joint.
Clinical radiofrequency hyperthermia by magnetic-loop induction.

AbstractClinical experiences with radiofrequency-induced hyperthermia for cancer treatment are presented. Both capacitive and inductive applicators were used. Clinical trials with a magnetic-loop applicator called Magneirode® are described.
Forecasting the Index of Consumer Sentiment

This paper attempts to build and to estimate statistically a forecasting model for the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS). Variables in the complex consumer environment are examined to determine which may act upon consumers collectivelyto influence ICS. A model is initially constructed and then tested against quarterly ICS data collected over a twenty-one year period. Coefficients of the variables in the fitted model are examined to indicate the strength of impact on the consumer of each variable. Results indicate that it is possible to forecast ICS with considerable accuracy by using appropriate economic and social data.
A Retraining Program of Non-Business Professors: A Case Study for Meeting Excessive Demand for Collegiate Marketing Positions

This paper examines a case study of a business school that attempted to meet the growth, challenges, and approaches for staffing some of the available collegiate marketing positions with nonbusiness faculty. It provides an overview discussion of a unique but controversial program that retrains nonbusiness faculty who desire lateral moves to collegiate marketing education. The attitudes, problems, and expectations of retrainers and marketing faculty are highlighted. This innovative and interesting experiment has profound implications for current and future marketing professors. The contents herein will provide a strong catalyst for further discussion and debate on the merits of this approach to staffing marketing positions.
Fast Nyström Methods for Parabolic Boundary Integral Equations

Time dependence in parabolic boundary integral operators appears in form of an integral over the previous time evolution of the problem. The kernels are singular only at the current time and get increasingly smooth for contributions that are further back in time. The thermal layer potentials can be regarded as generalized Abel operators where the kernel is a parameter dependent surface integral operator. This special form implies that discretization methods and fast evaluation methods must be significantly changed from the familiar elliptic case. After a brief review of recent developments in the area we discuss the different options to discretize Abel integral operators in time. These methods are combined with standard surface quadrature rules to obtain a Nystrom method for parabolic integral equations. The method is explicit and we will show how a version of the fast multipole method in space and time can be used to evaluate the time stepping scheme efficiently.
Providing secrecy when the eavesdropper channel is arbitrarily varying: A case for multiple antennas

Despite recent attempts with compound channel settings, guaranteeing information theoretically secure communication rates with no knowledge of the eavesdropper channel states has been elusive to date. In this work, we address this problem, and consider the worst case scenario where the eavesdropper's channel is arbitrarily varying, and is known only by itself. We show that it is possible to provide non-zero secure communication rates with the aid of multiple antennas. Under the mild assumption that the number of antennas at the eavesdropper is limited, we provide the strong secrecy rate for the MIMO wiretap channel. Specifically, it is proved that there exists a universal coding scheme that secures the confidential message against any sequence of channel states experienced by the eavesdropper. We show that the result is tight in terms of secure degrees of freedom.
Rhabdomyolysis in a Hospitalized 16-Year-Old Boy: A Rarely Reported Underlying Cause

Rhabdomyolysis can occur because of multiple causes and account for 7% of all cases of acute kidney injury annually in the United States. Identification of specific cause can be difficult in many cases where multiple factors could potentially cause rhabdomyolysis. We present a case of 16-year-old male who had seizures and was given levetiracetam that resulted in rhabdomyolysis. This side effect has been rarely reported previously and like in our case diagnosis may be delayed.
The fiduciary structure of investment management regulation

Investment managers owe fiduciary duties to clients, including the duty of loyalty and the duty of care. A persistent question, with no clear answer, is what precisely is required by the duties of loyalty and care. In this paper, I argue that much of investment management regulation is a response by regulators to the uncertainty inherent in the fiduciary obligation. Regulators design investment management rules to guide managers regarding the proscriptions imposed by the duty of loyalty and the diligence required by the duty of care. Regulators, acting through agency rulemaking and enforcement actions, are attempting to specify what precisely is required of investment managers in the context of exercising their fiduciary obligation to clients. Viewing investment management law as I propose here leads to an important insight about the law, and it challenges an alternative view of the fiduciary obligation. Some writers claim that detailed conduct rules effectively displace fiduciary duties. By contrast, I argue that, far from being an alternative to fiduciary duties, investment management law and regulation serves to explicate what the fiduciary obligation entails. Rules prepared by regulators governing the investment management industry are not a substitute for a fiduciary duty; they compose its essence.
On Ohmic Boundary Conditions for Density-Gradient Theory

Conventional ohmic boundary conditions are shown to be inconsistent with density-gradient (DG) theory. New ohmic conditions that are consistent with DG theory are then derived and illustrated with two device examples. The first example uses a short p-n diode to understand the basic situation while the second treats a MOSFET contact and studies the “insulator proximity effect” seen at the point/edge where the ohmic contact abuts an insulator.
Further observations on the doubling time of human chorionic gonadotropin in early asymptomatic pregnancies.

The doubling time (DT) of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in serum was investigated retrospectively using serial serum hCG values that had been obtained from asymptomatic pregnant women with a prior history of infertility. The DT of hCG did not increase significantly as pregnancy advanced during the period in gestation when the serum hCG concentration was
Performance Analysis of Airborne Photon- Counting Lidar Data in Preparation for the ICESat-2 Mission

Two airborne photon-counting laser altimeters have been deployed in direct support of National Aeronautics and Space Adminsitration (NASA’s) upcoming Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission. Multiple Altimeter Beam Experimental Lidar (MABEL) was developed specifically for ICESat-2 testing and development. MABEL data are used to simulate key aspects of the ICESat-2 measurement strategy and are critical to the development of the algorithms for geophysical data-product generation. Slope Imaging Multi-polarization Photon-counting Lidar (SIMPL) is a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center instrument that has also been deployed in support of ICESat-2 performance discovery. Both instruments are photon-counting, small footprint laser altimeters that sample in both the 532- and 1064-nm wavelengths. And both instruments serve as a proxy for ICESat-2 operational performance and error assessment and a basis for the development of potential validation strategies. This paper provides an overview of how data from MABEL and SIMPL overflights have specifically provided the foundation for understanding the quality of ICESat-2 data and how we can plan to evaluate ICESat-2 products through comparison with other modalities of lidar data and/or ground-truth locations using ground fiducials.
Organizational Identification and User Responses to Online Organization Criticism

As organizations manage their reputations on social media, the role of individual stakeholders in responding to online criticism about the organization becomes increasingly important. Building on t...
Relating Attentional Biases for Stimuli Associated with Social Reward and Punishment to Autistic Traits

Evidence for impaired attention to social stimuli in autism has been mixed. The role of social feedback in shaping attention to other, non-social stimuli that are predictive of such feedback has not been examined in the context of autism. In the present study, participants searched for a color-defined target during a training phase, with the color of the target predicting the emotional reaction of a face that appeared after each trial. Then, participants performed visual search for a shape-defined target while trying to ignore the color of stimuli. On a subset of trials, one of the non-targets was rendered in the color of a former target from training. Autistic traits were measured for each participant using the Autism Quotient (AQ). Our findings replicate robust attentional capture by stimuli learned to predict valenced social feedback. There was no evidence that autistic traits are associated with blunted attention to predictors of social outcomes. Consistent with an emerging body of literature, our findings cast doubt on strong versions of the claim that autistic traits can be explained by a blunted influence of social information on the attention system. We extend these findings to non-social stimuli that predict socially relevant information.
Propagation of Plane Shock Waves in a Stress-Relaxing Medium

Experimental skill in the production and measurement of shock waves in solids has now progressed to such a stage that it is quite easy to simulate, for a short time, a plane wave driven into a semi-infinite slab by a pressure acting on its surface and to measure the details of stress and strain in the wave front with time resolution the order of 10-8 sec and with errors of only a few percent in amplitude [1, 2]. Such measurements have demonstrated the existence of an elastic precursor wave preceding the plastic shock in many metals and similar but less understood wave structures in other materials.
Product Market Competition and Earnings Quality: A Non−Linear Relationship

The economic literature shows that production market competition could have nonlinear effects on corporate behaviors, such as management effort and innovative activities. We extend the literature by focusing on the influence of product market competition on earnings quality. We propose and document an inverted U-shape relation between earnings quality and product market competition. Earnings quality increases with competition in the lower range of competition and declines with it when competition is intense. The results are robust to assorted measures of earnings quality and competition, and treatment of endogeneity.
Hardware Requirements for In Vivo Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Neural Metabolism

Refined technological developments in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), within the biomedical environment typically named magnetic resonance (MR), enable to noninvasively obtain biochemical, physiological, morphological, and anatomical information in vivo in both clinical and preclinical studies. Currently MR technologies are available for measuring high resolution anatomical images via e.g., T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), microscopic alterations of brain tissue via diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), cerebral blood flow via arterial spin labeling MRI, brain function via the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD)- MRI, and spatial distribution of neurochemicals via magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), to name a few examples. Furthermore, recent technical advances allow us to combine both NMR and positron emission tomography (PET) technologies, which provide simultaneous acquisition of high resolution anatomical MRI and molecular imaging with radioactive tracers within the magnet, therefore increasing diagnostic values through combining the strength of spatial resolution of MRI and detection sensitivity of PET.
Constitutional delay of growth and puberty in male

Constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP), featuring short stature, delayed puberty and delayed bone age, is the most common condition in pediatric endocrine clinic and becomes an important differential diagnosis in boys with short stature. The conventional management is to assure eventual development of puberty and normal final stature. Treatment with androgens to induce secondary sex characteristics is given only when the boy is under psychosocial stress. Recent reports revealed poor final height outcomes. The results of growth hormone treatment in idiopathic short stature, including CDGP, has not been successful. New findings showed that adults with a history of delay puberty had significant osteopenia and may have a risk of fracture, and that suppression of spinal growth was closely related to pubertal delay, leading to short stature. These two facts suggest the necessity of induction of puberty in normal timing.
A Cycloheximide-Sensitive Step in Transverse Microtubule Array Patterning.

The growth properties of individual cells within a tissue determine plant morphology, and the organization of the cytoskeleton, particularly the microtubule arrays, determines cellular growth properties. We investigated the mechanisms governing the formation of transverse microtubule array patterns in axially growing Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) epidermal hypocotyl cells. Using quantitative imaging approaches, we mapped the transition of the cortical microtubule arrays into a transverse coaligned pattern after induction with auxin and gibberellic acid. Hormone induction led to an early loss of microtubule plus end density and a rotation toward oblique patterns. Beginning 30 min after induction, transverse microtubules appeared at the cell’s midzone concurrently with the loss of longitudinal polymers, eventually progressing apically and basally to remodel the array pattern. Based on the timing and known hormone-signaling pathways, we tested the hypothesis that the later events require de novo gene expression and, thus, constitute a level of genetic control over transverse patterning. We found that the presence of the translation inhibitor cycloheximide (CHX) resulted in a selective and reversible loss of transverse patterns that were replaced with radial-like pinwheel arrays exhibiting a split bipolar architecture centered at the cell’s midzone. Experiments using hormone induction and CHX revealed that pinwheel arrays occur when transverse microtubules increase at the midzone but longitudinal microtubules in the split bipolar architecture are not suppressed. We propose that a key regulatory mechanism for creating the transverse microtubule coalignment in axially growing hypocotyls involves the expression of a CHX-sensitive factor that acts to suppress the nucleation of the longitudinally oriented polymers.
Balancing stability and flexibility in genre-based writing instruction: A case study of a novice L2 writing teacher

Abstract Ongoing debates regarding explicit genre instruction have frequently focused on concerns that inexperienced teachers may be tempted to engage in formulaic genre teaching, ignoring the inherent variability and dynamism of genres. Yet despite the ubiquity of teachers within this debate, little research has examined how L2 writing teachers manage the simultaneous stability and flexibility of genres within their classroom practices. This case study provides a rich account of a novice teacher of L2 writing as she sought to balance genre stability and flexibility in her first semester of teaching. This study examines how the teacher’s representation of a pedagogical genre, the analytic essay, was influenced by her pedagogical content knowledge of genre, including her knowledge of the required curriculum, her students’ needs, and her underlying pedagogical values. Additionally, the analysis shows that the teachers’ representations of the genre were not static, but evolved over the course of the semester. By considering this teacher’s case, we can gain a more nuanced understanding of the multiple factors teachers consider, and the challenges they face, as they implement genre-based writing pedagogies.
Update on Treatment of Blunt Cerebrovascular Injuries

This article focuses on the recent practices and advancements in the treatment of blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVI), and also to identify areas of future study. It remains clear that antithrombotic therapy is the mainstay of therapy for preventing BCVI-related stroke. There is no difference in the type of antithrombotic therapy used, but it is critical that treatment be initiated as early as possible post-injury. The use of endovascular stents has declined dramatically from the previous decade, and their true utility in the treatment of these injuries remains unclear. One of the biggest challenges that remains in treating BCVI is when to initiate therapy in patients with concomitant injuries that may prevent treatment early post-injury, when treatment is in fact most critical. Antithrombotic therapy remains effective in the treatment of BCVI. The BCVI-related stroke rates reported across the literature remain stable between 5 and 10%. The treatment will most likely remain similar for the foreseeable future; however, there remain unknowns regarding the nuances of treatment that are mostly attributable to the relative rarity of the injuries.
Understanding Social Media: The Effect of Belief Type and Product Type on Consumers’ Social Media Use

This study advances the knowledge of social media by examining brand-related user-generated content (UGC) on three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Using content analysis of ...