cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SQUEEZE: fast and progressive decompression of triangle meshes

An ideal triangle mesh compression technology would simultaneously support the following objectives: (1) progressive refinements of the received mesh during decompression, (2) nearly optimal compression ratios for both geometry and connectivity, and (3) in-line, real-time decompression algorithms for hardware or software implementations. Because these three objectives impose contradictory constraints, previously reported efforts have focused primarily on one (sometimes two) of these objectives. The SQUEEZE technique introduced in this paper addresses all three constraints simultaneously, and attempts to provide the best possible compromise. For a mesh of T triangles, SQUEEZE compresses the connectivity to 3.7T bits, which is competitive with the best progressive compression techniques reported so far. The geometric prediction error encoding technique introduced in this paper leads to a geometry compression that is improved by 20% over that of previous schemes. Our initial implementation on a 300-MHz CPU achieved a decompression rate of up to 46,000 triangles per second. SQUEEZE downloads a model through a number of successive refinement stages, providing the benefit of progressivity.
Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery: current implants and future innovations

Traditionally, invasive surgical management of glaucoma is recommended when medication and/or laser trabeculoplasty fail to control intraocular pressure (IOP). Filtering procedures, such as trabeculectomy and glaucoma drainage devices, are effective in lowering IOP, but they have significant associated adverse events and rates of failure. For these reasons, a new group of surgical procedures has emerged that seeks to decrease IOP with lower associated rates of complications. The acronym MIGS, usually described as minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, has been coined to describe this group of procedures. As new devices become available, MIGS procedures will help to fill the gap between conservative medical and laser therapy and invasive surgical treatment of glaucoma to offer patients an earlier and safer transition to surgical management of their disease. In this review, we define the characteristics of an ideal MIGS procedure and discuss implants currently in use or under investigation.
A Sound Education for All: Multicultural Issues in Music Education:

Establishing the legitimacy of the arts within the larger school curriculum is a defining issue in arts education. Within the context of this perennial challenge, this article examines two multicultural issues in music education: equal music education opportunity and the idiomatic hegemony of the Western classical tradition. Discussions of the essence of music, the current state of music education practice, competing demands within the field, and of the educational benefits associated with the study of music provide the context for this examination. No student, it is argued, should be denied access to the arts based on the property wealth of his or her district, household, or cultural background. If music is to remain a viable curricular option, music educators must adapt both curricula and methods to the cultural backgrounds and needs of a changing student population.
Chronic alcohol consumption yields sex differences in whole-body glucose production in rats.

Aims: The effects of chronic alcohol consumption (8 weeks) on glucose kinetics, in the absence (water, 4 g/kg) and presence of an acute ethanol dose (4 g/kg), were examined in 48 h fasted male and female Wistar rats. Methods: Primed continuous infusions of (6- 3 H)- and (U- 14 C)glucose were employed to assess rates of glucose appearance (Ra), glucose disappearance (Rd), and apparent glucose carbon recycling. Results: After injecting the male and female controls with water, there were no significant alterations in glucose kinetics. Compared to controls, chronic alcohol-fed female animals (injected with water) demonstrated significantly lower: glucose Ra, blood glucose concentration, and apparent glucose carbon recycling for a majority of the experimental period. In separate groups injected with ethanol, the glucose Ra fell by 31% for male rats fed the control diet (MC), 43% for male rats fed the ethanol diet (ME), 29% for female rats fed the control diet (FC), and 42% for female rats fed the ethanol diet (FE). Further, compared to controls (MC and FC), the blood glucose concentration was significantly lower prior to and following the ethanol injection for FE. In addition, FE animals had significantly lower rates of glucose Ra and glucose carbon recycling compared to controls prior to and after the ethanol injection. ME animals demonstrated similar declines in glucose Ra (compared to FE), but only after the ethanol injection. Conversely, ME were able to match the decrease in glucose Ra with comparable declines in glucose Rd resulting in blood glucose concentrations that did not differ from controls. Conclusions: Chronic alcohol consumption results in sex differences in whole-body glucose production and glucose regulation.
Supraventricular tachycardia with 2:1 atrioventricular block: what is the mechanism?

A 20-year-old woman underwent an electrophysiologic procedure for treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. A tachycardia with 2:1 AV block was induced by programmed atria! stimulation with a single extrastimulus. The response to a single ventricular extrastimulus introduced during the tachycardia is shown in Figure I A. How does the ventricular premature depolarization convert the 2:1 block to 1:1 conduction? What is the mechanism of the tachycardia?
ELDERLY CONSUMER DECISIONAL PROCESSES AND PUBLIC POLICY

The growing proportion of elderly consumers in the United States and western European countries suggests that public policy makers should direct increased attention to the information needs of this group. In this paper, a review of multi-disciplinary research reveals differences in the way that consumers of various ages process information, engage in risk-taking behaviour, seek out consumer information, and view business practices. These findings have major implications for the formulation of governmental information policies designed to benefit the elderly consumer. Besides indicating directions for additional research throughout, this paper concludes with recommendations for methodological improvements in further studies of this important subject.
Compression of enhanced digital chest images

An algorithm for enhancing digital chest images that allows significant data compression while improving the diagnostic quality of the image is discussed. The algorithm is based on the analog technique of unsharp masking. Compression ratios of 1.6:1 are achieved. The images are evaluated for the task of tumor detection. Preliminary results indicate that the enhancement improved diagnostic quality, which was not degraded by the compression and restoral process. In a clinical situation the images can therefore be stored reversibly, giving an ultimate compression ratio of 4.8:1. >
Overview and Evolution of the ADDIE Training System

The problem and the solution. The workforce of the 21st century is in a continual state of flux. This has created a need by human resource development scholars and practitioners to continue to review best practices in developing a workforce with the latest technology, knowledge, and expertise. Revisiting traditional training models and processes is important as a means of moving forward. Although there are many system models, almost all are based on the generic analysis, design, develop, implement, and evaluate (ADDIE) model that evolved from instructional systems research following World War II. The purposes of this article are to (a) reacquaint the profession with the background and basic concepts of the traditional ADDIE model and (b) compare the original and revised ADDIE models. Subsequent articles in this volume deal with issues and advancements surrounding ADDIE and the ADDIE phases.
Ternary computers: part I: motivation for ternary computers

In the first part, motivation is presented for a study of Ternary Computers using emulation. Areas of interest and goals of evaluation are briefly outlined.In the second part, a representation of balanced ternary numbers is presented and examined. Microcode is then written to implement parallel operation on these ternary numbers. Results of experiments are reported in order to demonstrate that the goals outlined in Part I can be achieved via emulation.Part I is based on Project MU report 32-72-MU. Part 2 is based on Project MU report 34-72-MU. These reports are not reproduced here in full for sake of brevity.
Functional Polyesters and Polyamides for Medical Applications of Biodegradable Polymers

For many medical, agricultural or veterinary uses it would be desirable to have a functionalizable, biodegradable polymer which could be fabricated in the molten state by either injection molding, melt spinning or melt extrusion. These polymers could serve as carriers for biomedically active agents, which would be chemically bound to the polymer and, after release of the agent, the polymer would degrade to non-toxic, low molecular weight residues capable of being eliminated from the body by normal metabolic pathways.
Electrostatic Liquid-Metal Capacitive Shunt MEMS Switch

In this paper we report the first high-frequency MEMS capacitive switch based on a liquid metal droplet that controls the impedance of a coplanar waveguide line. The droplet forms an RF short or open circuit depending on its distance from the transmission line. The range of the droplet movement is approximately 370?m perpendicular to the line and requires 110V. Unlike conventional MEMS capacitive switches, this switch relies on a conformal liquid-metal contact that results in a very high on-state capacitance. Additionally, the off-state capacitance is negligible since the droplet does not load the coplanar waveguide when it is moved away from it. The switch is successfully and repeatedly actuated with 110V and demonstrates an off-state loss of less than 0.6dB up to 20GHz, which is solely due to the transmission line underneath the droplet at 20GHz. The switch isolation is 15.7 and 21.1dB at 10 and 20GHz respectively.
Vaccination, quarantine, and hygiene: Korean sex slaves and No. 606 injections during the Pacific War of World War II.

During the Pacific War (World War II), Japan maintained an elaborate system of sexual slavery by implementing certain practices based on institutionalized policies of hygiene, efficiency, and the use of mostly Korean girls and women. Two hygienic techniques were established—vaccination and quarantine. No. 606 injections were given at mandatory regularly scheduled medical examinations to prevent and treat venereal disease, and to also deter pregnancy, induce abortions, and ultimately sterilize sex slaves. Methods: Secondary textual analysis of data collected from 1995–2000, N = 67 interview transcripts, and participant observation in 2003 and 2006. Geographic area: East Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Pixel-based meshfree modelling of skeletal muscles.

This paper introduces the meshfree Reproducing Kernel Particle Method (RKPM) in conjunction with a stabilized conforming nodal integration for 3D image-based modeling of skeletal muscles. This approach allows for construction of simulation model based on pixel data obtained from medical images. The model consists of different materials and muscle fiber direction obtained from Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is input at each pixel point. The reproducing kernel (RK) approximation also allows a representation of material heterogeneity with smooth transition. A multiphase multichannel level set based segmentation using Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) and DTI formulated under a modified functional has been integrated into RKPM framework. The use of proposed methods for modeling the human lower leg is demonstrated.
A4.24 Global transcriptome analysis in osteoarthritic cartilage reveals significant differential gene expression and associations with histologic disease progression

Background/Purpose Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of chronic disability affecting 40% of individuals over the age of 70 and costing $128 billion annually in the US alone. Little is known regarding changes in gene expression that occur regionally within these affected joints. Herein, we perform RNA-seq analysis of eroded and intact cartilage from human OA, and correlate transcript levels with histopathologic disease severity. Methods Six femoral heads were obtained at the time of hip arthroplasty for primary OA. Articular cartilage tissue was dissected from grossly affected and grossly normal areas from the same joints, flash frozen in liquid nitrogen, and RNA was extracted. Tissue samples from grossly affected and normal joint regions were histologically examined for OA severity using Mankin scoring. Following confirmation of RNA quality (RIN value ≥6), samples were sequenced with the Illumina TruSeq system on a MiSeq sequencer. Raw data were analysed and mapped using the GeneSifter software package. Genes with GeneSifter quality score 0.75 or Results Categorical analysis identified 43 overexpressed and 313 underexpressed genes in eroded compared to intact cartilage. Both over- and underexpressed genes were overrepresented in the fibroblastic growth factor (FGF) signalling pathway (p = 0.004). FGFR2 demonstrated aneroded to intact cartilage expression ratio = 0.46, was highly inversely correlated with OA histologic score severity (r = 0.92), and is hypermethylated in eroded OA cartilage. The WNT pathway genes, WNT11 (ratio 0.27) and WNT9A (ratio 0.45), and STAT3 pathway was also overrepresented, including both over- and underexpressed genes (p = 0.001). A top predicted upstream regulator in differentially expressed genes was mir-9 (p = 0.005), known to be associated with metalloproteinase production. Further, we identified 1576 genes positively correlated with histopathologic score. Among these, the NFAT pathway was highly overrepresented including both positively and inversely correlated genes (24, p = 0.002). The RIG-I innate immunity pathway was also overrepresented among inversely correlated genes (p = 0.008), as were several genes related to chromatin remodelling (overall p = 0.009: HDAC1, r = -0.89, MECP2 r = -0.78, RBBP4 r = -0.82, SAP130 r = -0.81, SIN3A r = -0.80). Conclusions Using RNA-seq we detected significant changes in gene expression in eroded compared to intact OA cartilage, as well as expression changes correlated with histologic disease progression in OA. Our data strongly suggest involvement of several signalling pathways, many of which are potential therapeutic targets for OA. This work reinforces the heterogeneity of the disease process and provides novel insights into OA pathogenesis.
A Field Study of Latent Tularemia in Rodents with a List of all Known NaturallyInfected Vertebrates

During a plagpe survey* in late summer of 1942, 11 pools of fleas from Rattus norvegicus, Microtus californicus and Peromyscus maniculatus and 2 pools of lice from R. norvegicus were proven to be infected with plague. Since this area in southern Marin County was adjacent to the San Francisco Bay, an intensive survey** was made to find livers and lymph nodes of from 2 to 12 mammals of the same species from a single area. Each pool of tissue was thoroughly pulped in a mortar, and suspended in a normal saline solution. The suspensions were inoculated subcutaneously into guinea pigs. Ectoparasites removed from the rodents were refrigerated in salt solution until they
The clinicopatholocical significance of cytomegalovirus (CMV) inclusions demonstrated on endocervical biopsy

The detection of CMV inclusions in an endocervical biopsy from an otherwise healthy 20 y.o. woman with confirmatory immunoperoxidase staining, in silu hybridization and electron microscopy, prompted review of the literature to ascertain the clinicopathological significance of this finding. Case report : A 20 y.o. woman presented for evaluation following a cervical smear which showed viral affects. Colposcopy showed changes of cervicitis and histological examination of biopsy material revealed an acute and chronic cervicitis associated with the CMV infection. The patient was lost to followup for 18 months. Following this, repeat colposcopy again showed inflammation, with cervicitis, mild dysplasia and CMV inclusions on biopsy. Full immunological workup, including human immunodeficiency virus study, was performed and was normal. Eleven other cases with histologic evidence of CMV inclusions on endocervical biopsy were found in the literature. In the 9 cases where information was available, endocervical inflammation was present. One patient was on immunosuppressive medication for systemic lupus erythematosus and 1 was found to have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (17% of total). These cases demonstrate that: 1) CMV may be associated with acute and chronic cervicitis and 2) although histological evidence of endocervical CMV may be a marker of disseminated disease or impaired immunological function, this is more often not the case, and the prognosis is usually excellent. Immunologic testing is still, however, advisable so that occult immunodeficiency states will not be overlooked.
Jean-Paul Sartre and Loving Sadomasochistically

This study of loving existentially culminates with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophies. Beauvoir and Sartre were two of the leading atheistic existential thinkers and were involved in a very public and long-standing loving relationship. They met as young philosophy students in 1929. Sartre won first prize in the agregation, France’s highly competitive teachers’ exam, after failing the first time. Beauvoir drew second place in what was a controversial and heated decision process.1 They fell in love with, inspired, and challenged each other for the rest of their lives. They became highly admired teachers, writing about their new philosophies in smoky Paris cafes. In 1964, Sartre was awarded (but refused) the Nobel Prize for his autobiographical narrative The Words, while Beauvoir won France’s top literary award, the Prix Goncourt for her 1954 novel The Mandarins.
Vascular smooth muscle, endothelial regulation and effects of aspirin in hypertension.

Abstract Dysfunction of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) is at the center of occlusive disorders of the cardiovascular system such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and hypoxia. In addition to circulating biogenic amines and various neurotransmitters originating from the central nervous system and endocrine system, various autocoids of arachidonic acid metabolism in the blood as well as in the endothelium play an important regulatory role in the maintenance of the tone and the contractile function of VSM. A monolayer of endothelial cells lining the heart and large blood vessels is responsible for producing and releasing both endocrine and paracrine substances such as endothelins, nitric oxide, prostaglandins and prostacyclins. Aspirin, (acetylsalicylic acid/ASA) an ancient remedy against fever and pain, is emerging as an effective drug not only against occlusive disorders but also against various cancers and the AIDs virus. During pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and in occlusive disorders, aspirin provides relief through inhibition of cyclooxygenase, an enzyme required for the metabolism of arachidonic acid to produce prostaglandins and prostacyclins in platelets and in endothelial cells. Because of its unique molecular constitution, synergistic ability and solubility in the lipidic environment, various mechanisms of aspirin's actions are being currently investigated. In this review, the effect of aspirin on the regulation of VSM in the presence and absence of endothelium are discussed.
Meconium Staining and the Meconium Aspiration Syndrome: Unresolved Issues

Meconium staining of the amniotic fluid and the meconium aspiration syndrome will likely remain common occurrences faced by health care providers. Unfortunately, our understanding of these entities is incomplete. There are a number of issues which need to be adequately evaluated regarding the pathophysiology of MAS, the delivery room management of the meconium-stained infant, and the neonatal intensive care unit management of MAS. Currently, there is much dogma in various hospitals throughout this country regarding these issues, dogma which has yet to be substantiated by quality scientific investigations.
Evaluation of environmental data for search and rescue

Ocean Environmental data is a key component utilized by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) when developing and executing a search and rescue mission. The Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS) became operational with the USCG in 2007 and is the main tool for developing search and rescue mission plans. This tool utilizes environmental data (wind, ocean currents, etc.) to estimate the drift of an object in the ocean and also calculate a probability of detection for the object based upon the various search sensors. The environmental data used by the Coast Guard is a combination of model output, in situ and remote sensing measurements. Recent work by the Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue has shown that the various environmental data sources available in SAROPS have shown skill but none on a consistent basis. In the Mid Atlantic Bight we compared the predicted drift of several surface drifters that were advected with High Frequency radar measurements and regional and global ocean model surface currents. The results shown here indicate that an ensemble of surface current estimates is useful when trying to predict the path of an object drifting on the surface of the ocean.
NON-TERRESTRIAL ORIGIN OF THE TEKTITES

In several recent papers the chemical constitution of the tektitest has been compared with that of terrestrial rocks, both igneous and sedimentary. The impression might be obtained from these papers that there are no systematic chemical differences between tektites and terrestrial rocks. In fact, however, there is a systematic tendency for the tektites to be deficient in volatile materials. Friedman has found that the gas content of tektites is less than 1 ppm. He also finds that the water content is lower than that of nearly all terrestrial materials; it is nearly always less than .02 percent. In the same way Mueller first pointed out that the alkalies are systematically low in the tektites as compared to the oxides of divalent metals. Loewinson-Lessing is stated to have found a systematic chemical difference depending both on the acidity coefficient and the ratio of monovalent to divalent oxides.
Modal identification of seismically isolated bridges with piers having different heights

This paper investigates the modal identification of seismically isolated bridges when the localised nonlinear behaviour from the isolation bearing initiates at different times due to the uneven height of the bridge piers. More specifically, a three-span bridge supported on spherical sliding bearings is examined. Three different states of the same system with different natural periods emerge during an excitation; the linear system (LS), the partially isolated system (PIS) and the fully isolated system (FIS). Firstly, the paper identifies the time intervals that each state performs by using acceleration data. Subsequently, modal identification techniques such as the prediction error method and a time-frequency wavelet analysis are applied on each interval. The LS results are dependable compared to the PIS which is a mildly nonlinear system. The results corresponding to the FIS suggest that it is preferable to apply the modal identification techniques on each interval independently, rather than on the entire response signal.
Recommendations for Framing Multi‐Stakeholder Tradespace Exploration

Tradespace exploration is a rapidly advancing design and decision support paradigm that is particularly applicable to complex systems with many value-driving dimensions. These systems commonly have multiple stakeholders that can exert critical influence on the system's conceptual design, necessitating the satisfaction of their needs, and often requiring negotiation. Previous research has suggested that classic tradespace exploration activities may reinforce negative negotiation behaviors through their framing of the multi-stakeholder problem. This paper presents active research in recommendations for supporting inter-stakeholder and stakeholder-data interaction. These recommendations include the reframing of standard tradespace activities and visualizations using the combined insights of the negotiation, framing, and TSE literature and extend from problem formulation through exploration of the data.
Modeling complex aquifer systems: a case study in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (USA)

This study targets two challenges in groundwater model development: grid generation and model calibration for aquifer systems that are fluvial in origin. Realistic hydrostratigraphy can be developed using a large quantity of well log data to capture the complexity of an aquifer system. However, generating valid groundwater model grids to be consistent with the complex hydrostratigraphy is non-trivial. Model calibration can also become intractable for groundwater models that intend to match the complex hydrostratigraphy. This study uses the Baton Rouge aquifer system, Louisiana (USA), to illustrate a technical need to cope with grid generation and model calibration issues. A grid generation technique is introduced based on indicator kriging to interpolate 583 wireline well logs in the Baton Rouge area to derive a hydrostratigraphic architecture with fine vertical discretization. Then, an upscaling procedure is developed to determine a groundwater model structure with 162 layers that captures facies geometry in the hydrostratigraphic architecture. To handle model calibration for such a large model, this study utilizes a derivative-free optimization method in parallel computing to complete parameter estimation in a few months. The constructed hydrostratigraphy indicates the Baton Rouge aquifer system is fluvial in origin. The calibration result indicates hydraulic conductivity for Miocene sands is higher than that for Pliocene to Holocene sands and indicates the Baton Rouge fault and the Denham Springs-Scotlandville fault to be low-permeability leaky aquifers. The modeling result shows significantly low groundwater level in the “2,000-foot” sand due to heavy pumping, indicating potential groundwater upward flow from the “2,400-foot” sand.
Relational Synthesis of Text and Numeric Data for Anomaly Detection on Computing System Logs

Monitoring high performance computing systems has become increasingly difficult as researchers and system analysts face the challenge of synthesizing a wide range of monitoring information in order to detect system problems on ever larger machines. We present a method for anomaly detection on syslog data, one of the most important data streams for determining system health. Syslog messages pose a difficult question for analysis because they include a mix of structured natural language text as well as numeric values. We present an anomaly detection framework that combines graph analysis, relational learning, and kernel density estimation to detect unusual syslog messages. We design an event block detector, which finds groups of related syslog messages, to retrieve the entire section of syslog messages associated with a single anomalous line. Our novel approach successfully retrieves anomalous behaviors inserted into syslog files from a virtual machine, including messages indicating serious system problems. We also test our approach on syslog messages from the Trinity supercomputer and find that our methods do not generate significant false positives.
Factors Affecting Sexual Function in Midlife Women: Results from the Midlife Women's Health Study.

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the importance of risk factors affecting sexual function in sexually active midlife women. Materials and Methods: A cohort of 780 women undergoing the menopausal transition was surveyed each year for up to 7 years. Data were collected from sexually active women on sexual function, including frequencies of enjoyment, arousal, orgasm, passion for partner, satisfaction with partner, pain, lack of lubrication, fantasizing, and sexual activity. Data were also collected on a large number of potential risk factors for sexual dysfunction, including behaviors (smoking and alcohol use), health status (overall and frequency of different disorders), and demographic information (race, education, income, etc.). Height and weight were measured at an annual clinic visit; serum hormone concentrations were assayed using blood samples donated annually. Data on individual outcomes were examined with ordinal logistic regression models using individual as a random...
An Examination of Within- and Between-Family Influences on the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence and Maltreatment:

Using a sample of sibling pairs from the National Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the relationship between child and adolescent maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) p...
Effect of Selected Rhythms and Sound Intensity on Human Performance as Measured by the Bicycle Ergometer

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of selected music, pure tones, and varied music intensity on human performance as measured by an all-out 90-sec. ride on a bicycle ergometer. Three 4 × 4 Latin square designs were used to study the above mentioned conditions. A pooled analysis of the four 4 × 4 Latin squares in each of the three experiments failed to produce any significant differences (.05 level) among any of the experimental conditions.
Geomagnetically Induced Currents: Principles

The geospace, or the space environment near Earth, is constantly subjected to changes in the solar wind flow generated at the Sun. The study of this environment variability is called Space Weather. Examples of effects resulting from this variability are the occurrence of powerful solar disturbances, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The impact of CMEs on the Earth’s magnetosphere very often greatly perturbs the geomagnetic field causing the occurrence of geomagnetic storms. Such extremely variable geomagnetic fields trigger geomagnetic effects measurable not only in the geospace but also in the ionosphere, upper atmosphere, and on and in the ground. For example, during extreme cases, rapidly changing geomagnetic fields generate intense geomagnetically induced currents (GICs). Intense GICs can cause dramatic effects on man-made technological systems, such as damage to high-voltage power transmission transformers leading to interruption of power supply, and/or corrosion of oil and gas pipelines. These space weather effects can in turn lead to severe economic losses. In this paper, we supply the reader with theoretical concepts related to GICs as well as their general consequences. As an example, we discuss the GIC effects on a North American power grid located in mid-latitude regions during the 13–14 March 1989 extreme geomagnetic storm. That was the most extreme storm that occurred in the space era age.
Purification and characterization of human adrenomedullin binding protein-1.

We recently discovered that the vascular responsiveness to adrenomedullin (AM), a potent vasoactive peptide, decreased during sepsis and hemorrhage in the rat and was markedly improved by its novel binding protein (AMBP-1). Moreover, AM/AMBP-1 appears to be one of the leading candidates for further development to treat sepsis and hemorrhage. However, the extremely high cost of commercial AMBP-1 limits the development of human AM and AMBP-1 as therapeutic agents. The purpose of this study was to isolate and purify AMBP-1 from normal human serum and test its stability and biological activity under in vitro and in vivo conditions. AMBP-1 was isolated and purified from normal human serum with a yield of about 3.0 mg per 100 mL and purity of >99%. The purified AMBP-1 has a AM-binding capacity similar to that of the commercial AMBP-1. Human AM and human AMBP-1 in combination significantly inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 production from macrophages. The biological activity of the purified human AMBP-1 was well preserved when stored at 45°C for 5 d in solution or at 100°C for 1 h in powder. Moreover, administration of AM and purified AMBP-1 to hemorrhaged rats attenuated tissue injury and neutrophil accumulation. Purified AMBP-1 in combination with AM also suppressed the hemorrhage-induced rise in serum cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. Thus, we have successfully purified biologically active AMBP-1 from human normal serum and demonstrated the stability of purified human AMBP-1. This technique will enable us to further develop human AM/AMBP-1 as a novel treatment for safe and effective therapy of patients with hemorrhagic shock, sepsis, and ischemic injury.
Sexual Behavior and Heavy Episodic Drinking Across the Transition to Adulthood: Differences by College Attendance

Despite a growing literature on college students' sexual behaviors, little is known about how sexual behaviors, and their associations with alcohol, differ for college and noncollege attenders, and whether these patterns represent changes during college or an extension of pre-college behaviors. This paper applied time-varying effect models to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine (1) prevalence of four sexual behaviors from ages 14 to 24 and (2) how their association with frequent heavy episodic drinking varied across these ages for college and noncollege attenders. Nonattenders have higher prevalence of all sexual behaviors than college attenders across most ages; however, the association between heavy episodic drinking and sexual behaviors is stronger for college attenders during ages 18-20.
Oncogenic manipulation and biologic selection for complete tumorigenic transformation of immortalized normal human bronchial epithelial cells

2850 Despite the causality between human smoking and lung cancer (IARC, 2004), establishing reproducible and validated animal inhalation models for lung cancer induced by tobacco smoking has proven difficult. Here we report on two mouse strains suggested as possible models for lung tumorigenicity. Male A/J mice and Swiss SWR mice were whole-body exposed to diluted mainstream smoke from the standard reference cigarette 2R4F or to filtered fresh air (control), 6 hours per day, 5 days per week for 5 months, followed by a post-exposure period of 4 months. Smoke exposure was to whole smoke at concentrations of 120 or 240 μg total particulate matter (TPM)/l, to gas phase-depleted particle phase at 240 μg TPM/l, or to gas phase at a carbon monoxide concentration equivalent to 240 μg TPM/l. Lung tumor incidence and multiplicity were determined in the control and 240 μg TPM/l whole smoke groups at the end of the exposure period and in all groups at the end of the post-exposure period. At the end of the 5-month exposure period, a severe increase in neutrophils and macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, indicating inflammation, was seen in the whole smoke groups. By the end of the 4-month post-exposure period, both inflammatory cell types had returned nearly to background levels. At the end of the 5-month exposure period, there was no difference in lung tumor response between smoke-exposed and control mice in both mouse strains. An enhanced lung tumor response was seen only after the 4-month post-exposure period: lung tumor incidence and multiplicity in the whole smoke groups was dose-dependently higher compared to controls by a factor of up to approximately 3-fold in A/J mice and a factor of up to approximately 2-fold in Swiss SWR mice. In A/J mice the lung tumor response was similar for gas phase-depleted particle phase and whole smoke at the same TPM concentration. In Swiss SWR mice, gas phase-depleted particle phase accounted for approximately 50% of the lung tumor response in the whole smoke group at the same TPM concentration. Gas phase failed to enhance lung tumor incidence and multiplicity in both mouse strains compared to controls. Microscopic examination of lung step serial sectioning in selected groups confirmed the macroscopic lung nodule assessment. Smoke exposure did not change the spontaneous lung tumor spectrum; bronchiolo-alveolar adenoma was the most prominent lung tumor type. There appears to be a need for a post-exposure period to see an increase in lung tumor incidence and multiplicity in both mouse strains. Further research is needed to evaluate the relevance of these models with regard to the human disease.
Corporate implementation of socially controversial CSR initiatives: Implications for human resource management

Abstract An organization's success in recruiting, selecting, and retaining employees can be attributed, in part, to reactions to a firm's CSR activities. Today, organizations appear to be more frequently pursuing CSR initiatives that are related to social issues. Unlike CSR initiatives which are unrelated to social issues, those that are attached to social causes are more likely to be perceived as controversial. Consequently, how individuals view such actions can impact their perceptions of the firm and may lead to changes in individual behavior. Grounding this work in social identity theory, we explore the effect controversial CSR actions can have on HRM functions. The goal of this effort is to explore and delineate how this shift in CSR may alter the nature of the CSR-HRM relationship and to examine the potential implications for HRM practice. Future directions for research and HRM practice are discussed.
Iranian Diaspora, Reality Television and Connecting to Homeland

Befarmaeed Sham , an Iranian diasporic media production adapted from the original UK reality show “Come Dine with me” features Iranian diaspora of diverse backgrounds as contestants in a cooking reality show. The success of the show has been unprecedented among audiences back home in Iran, reaching millions of households. Using discourse analysis this article examines the potential of reality TV in widening the scope of public sphere and in providing a space for participation and representation. The key practices to illustrate this are ways diaspora position themselves as subjects through discursive practices to express agency in generating, participating and sharing opinions. Casual talk and the entertaining attribute of reality TV focused on the everyday life of ordinary people, constructs a space to normalize audience engagement with what is otherwise, restrictive taboo topics embedded in themes around belonging, homeland, gender, and identity. The article concludes that the broad system of discourse used by diaspora as participants in the reality show constructs a space for representation. It can be considered as a contribution to enhancing the public sphere to not only communicate and connect with their homeland but to express opinions on broader social issues as a practice of civic engagement. This unique adaptation of reality TV is an important aspect of globalization and in using new media to mobilize diaspora in connecting to homeland.
Measuring the Impact of Risk Preference on Land Valuation: Evidence from Forest Management

Given the extended rotation length of growing trees, price uncertainty and risk preference of forestland owners both play key roles in forest management and should be studied together. However, most existing studies have simply overlooked the varying risk preferences among forestland owners when dealing with price uncertainty. In this study, a heuristic harvest decision approach incorporating varying risk preference was constructed and evaluated. The results indicate that a properly selected level of risk preference may lead to better management performance compared to methods assuming risk neutrality, and the impact of risk preference on forest management varies as market conditions change.
Growth of Salmonella during sprouting of alfalfa seeds associated with salmonellosis outbreaks.

Growth of Salmonella was assessed during sprouting of naturally contaminated alfalfa seeds associated with two outbreaks of salmonellosis. Salmonella was determined daily in sprouts and sprout rinse water samples by a three-tube most probable number (MPN) procedure and a commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Growth of Salmonella in the sprouts was reflected in the rinse water, and the MPNs of the two samples were generally in agreement within approximately 1 log. The results from EIA testing of sprouts and water samples were also in agreement. The pathogen was present in the seed at less than 1 MPN/g, and it increased in number to maximum population levels of 102 to 103 MPN/g in one seed lot and 102 to 104 MPN/g in the other seed lot. Maximum populations of the pathogen were apparent by day 2 of sprouting. These results show the ability of the pathogen to grow to detectable levels during the sprouting process, and they provide support for the recommendation to test the sprout water for the presence of path...
Extensions to the Option Valuation Model

While the previous sections dealt with solutions to the basic set-up, we shall from now on be concerned with extensions to the model that are particularly relevant with respect to practical applications. We intend to relate the results we will obtain in the sequel to the ones in the base case, which is why we no longer consider the entire range of cases looked at before but rather focus on the instance of non-perfect correlation between the state-contingent components of the buyer’s utility and the spot price. Additionally, we limit ourselves in part to case A (see Sect. 3.4.4 for the corresponding characterization), because this case captures the most interesting features and, at the same time, allows analytical expressions for the solutions.
When Entrepreneurs Negotiate

Based on the authors’ research, and their review of what other scholars and practitioners have written, this chapter introduces key negotiation terms, explains key negotiation factors, and identifies the eight worst negotiation mistakes that entrepreneurs commonly tend to make: they are self-centered, overly optimistic, put too much emphasis on “winning” in the short term, are too quick to compromise, try to work alone, haggle, rely too much on intuition, and often deny their emotions. Entrepreneurs can improve their negotiation and leadership skills in order to sidestep these mistakes. The authors explain how to do this by taking advantage of the insights offered by real entrepreneurs who tell their stories in the video case studies that are quoted in the book and included in the e-book.
European leukemia net (ELN) 2013 response categories: Impact on clinical outcomes across four frontline tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) modalities in chronic phase CML.

7089 Background: In 2013 ELN proposed new response categories applicable to TKI frontline therapy for CML. We analyzed the outcome by ELN category of patients (pts) on different TKI as frontline th...
Effects of targeting eye color in Tenebrio molitor through RNA interference of tryptophan 2,3‐dioxygenase (vermilion): Implications for insect farming

The gene vermilion encodes tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase, part of the ommochrome pathway, and is responsible for the dark pigmented eyes in some insects, including beetles. Using RNA interference, we targeted the vermilion gene ortholog in embryos and pupae of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor, resulting in larvae and adults, respectively, that lacked eye pigment. RNA-Seq was used to analyze the impact of vermilion-specific RNA interference on gene expression. There was a 425-fold reduction in vermilion gene expression (p = 0.0003), as well as significant (p < 0.05) differential expression of 109 other putative genes, most of which were downregulated. Enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology terms found in the differentially expressed data set included genes known to be involved in the ommochrome pathway. However, enrichment analysis also revealed the influence of vermilion expression on genes involved in protein translocation to the endoplasmic reticulum, signal transduction, G-protein-coupled receptor signaling, cell-cycle arrest, mannose biosynthesis, and vitamin transport. These data demonstrate that knockdown of vermilion in T. molitor results in complete loss of eye color (white-eyed phenotype) and identify other interrelated genes in the vermilion metabolic pathway. Therefore, a dominant marker system based on eye color can be developed for the genetic manipulation of T. molitor to increase the value of mealworms as an alternative food source by decreasing negative traits, such as disease susceptibility, and increasing desired traits, such as protein content and vitamin production.
Affine Algebraic Groups

Let G be a variety (irreducible or not) endowed with the structure of a group. If the two maps μ: G × G → G, where μ(x, у) = xy, and ι: G → G, where ι(x) = x−1, are morphisms of varieties, we call G an algebraic group. The reader who is familiar with the concept of “analytic group” will see here an obvious parallel. But there is a subtle difference: G × G is here given the Zariski topology rather than the product topology, so an algebraic group is not a topological group (except in dimension 0). Indeed, G is T1 without being T2 (except in dimension 0), while a T1 topological group is automatically T2.
Quantification of blood flow in 3D ultrasound – cardiac applications

Ultrasound imaging of the heart, commonly referred to as echocardiography, has been a critical part of cardiac imaging and more generally cardiac diagnosis for many years. Cardiologists have long been leaders in quantitative evaluations of parameters derived from ultrasound imaging of the heart. Common measurements have included chamber dimensions (linear and volumetric), functional measures (e.g. fractional shortening, ejection fraction, strain), assessment of wall thickness and motion. Doppler ultrasound and particularly color Doppler has been used to observe flow throughout the cardiac cycle with observations of tracking blood within and between chambers including valve regurgitation. Quantitative methods such as ultrasound-based particle image velocimetry and echo vector flow mapping have been used to track flow within the heart and provide measurements of flow characteristics including vortex analysis, particularly in the assessment of heart failure. Contrast agent imaging has provided enhancement for better wall delineation as well as the potential to measure myocardial perfusion. Particular challenges exist in the heart due to the motion and need for higher frame rate ultrasound which often involves compromises in image quality. Recent advances in plane wave imaging have helped with this issue and created opportunities for quantification that were elusive in the past. This presentation will review some of the technologies now being applied and strides made in quantification of blood flow in the heart.