cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Prolonged Pressure on Hemodynamics of Sacral Tissues Assessed by Diffuse Optical Imaging: A Pilot Study.

Pressure injuries (PIs) are wounds resulting from prolonged pressure exerting on the skin and underlying tissues over bony prominences (e.g., lower back, heels, shoulders) in bed-bound patients and wheelchair users. Minimizing pressure has long been considered the most effective preventative method, and current guidelines require visual skin inspection and repositioning every two hours. However, these strategies are often applied deficiently and do not adequately prevent PIs from becoming penetrating wounds. Recent studies attribute the development of PIs to cell deformation, inflammatory, and ischemic damages that cumulatively propagate from the microscale (death of few cells) to the macroscale (tissue necrosis) within one to several hours. Although the nature of the PI pathogenesis is complex and multifactorial, measuring tissue alterations in real-time may elucidate the origination mechanism and ultimately allow detecting PIs at the earliest stage. In this pilot study, we evaluated the ability of diffuse optical imaging (DOI) to assess hemodynamic changes resulting from prolonged pressure on the sacral tissues in five healthy volunteers laying immobile in a supine position for 2 hours. A thin, body-conforming optical imaging probe encompassing 256 optodes arranged in a regularly spaced grid over a 160 × 160 mm area was used to construct DOI volumetric images representing changes of oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxyhemoglobin (HHb) concentration from a zeroed baseline. After 2 hours of continuous body weight pressure, hemodynamic images in all subjects were substantially dissimilar from their individual baseline. We also found that hemodynamic similarity computed pairwise across subjects exhibited a high value and limited variability around the mean, thus denoting a consistent level of image similarity across subjects. These preliminary results indicate that prolonged pressure causes distinctive hemodynamic patterns that can be effectively investigated with DOI and that monitoring functional changes over time holds potential for clarifying the development mechanisms of PIs.
Food Insecurity, Dietary Quality, and Health Care Utilization in Lower-Income Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract Background Food insecurity and poor nutrition are prevalent in the United States and associated with chronic diseases. Understanding relationships among food insecurity, diet, and health care utilization can inform strategies to reduce health disparities. Objective Our aim was to determine associations between food security status and inpatient and outpatient health care utilization and whether they differed by dietary quality in lower-income adults. Design This was a cross-sectional study of data from the 2009-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants/setting Participants were 13,956 lower-income ( Main outcome measures Self-reported health care utilization in the past 12 months included no usual source of care, any outpatient visit, any mental health service use, and any hospitalization. Statistical analyses Multiple logistic regression was used to study the association between food insecurity and health care utilization. Analyses were stratified by diet-related comorbidities to account for potential confounding and mediation of health care utilization, and by dietary quality. Results In a sample of lower-income adults Conclusions Adults with food insecurity were more likely to be hospitalized, use mental health services, and have no usual source of care. Food-insecure participants with diet-related comorbidities or poor diet were less likely to have outpatient visits. Hospitalizations and mental health visits represent underused opportunities to identify and address food insecurity and dietary intake in lower-income patients.
Swarmbug: debugging configuration bugs in swarm robotics

Swarm robotics collectively solve problems that are challenging for individual robots, from environmental monitoring to entertainment. The algorithms enabling swarms allow individual robots of the swarm to plan, share, and coordinate their trajectories and tasks to achieve a common goal. Such algorithms rely on a large number of configurable parameters that can be tailored to target particular scenarios. This large configuration space, the complexity of the algorithms, and the dependencies with the robots’ setup and performance make debugging and fixing swarms configuration bugs extremely challenging. This paper proposes Swarmbug, a swarm debugging system that automatically diagnoses and fixes buggy behaviors caused by misconfiguration. The essence of Swarmbug is the novel concept called the degree of causal contribution (Dcc), which abstracts impacts of environment configurations (e.g., obstacles) to the drones in a swarm via behavior causal analysis. Swarmbug automatically generates, validates, and ranks fixes for configuration bugs. We evaluate Swarmbug on four diverse swarm algorithms. Swarmbug successfully fixes four configuration bugs in the evaluated algorithms, showing that it is generic and effective. We also conduct a real-world experiment with physical drones to show the Swarmbug’s fix is effective in the real-world.
A bilevel formulation of the pediatric vaccine pricing problem

We consider the characterization of optimal pricing strategies for a pediatric vaccine manufacturing firm operating in an oligopolistic market. The pediatric vaccine pricing problem (PVPP) is formulated as a bilevel mathematical program wherein the upper level models a firm that selects profit-maximizing vaccine prices while the lower level models a representative customer’s vaccine purchasing decision to satisfy a given, recommended childhood immunization schedule (RCIS) at overall minimum cost. Complicating features of the bilevel program include the bilinear nature of the upper-level objective function and the binary nature of the lower-level decision variables. We develop and test variants of three heuristics to identify the pricing scheme that will maximize a manufacturer’s profit: a Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) of the upper-level feasible region, an LHS enhanced by a Nelder–Meade search from each price point, and an LHS enhanced by a custom implementation of the Cyclic Coordinate Method from each price point. The practicality of the PVPP is demonstrated via application to the analysis of the 2014 United States pediatric vaccine private sector market. Testing results indicate that a robust sampling method combined with local search is the superlative solution method among those examined and, in the current market, that a manufacturer acting unilaterally has the potential to increase profit per child completing the RCIS by 35 percent (from 231.84 to 312.55 dollars) for GlaxoSmithKline, 47 percent (from 63.96 to 93.70 dollars) for Merck, and 866 percent (from 25.99 to 251.04 dollars) for Sanofi Pasteur over that obtained via current pricing mechanisms.
Inducing wavelets into random fields via generative boosting

This paper proposes a learning algorithm for the random field models whose energy functions are in the form of linear combinations of rectified filter responses from subsets of wavelets selected from a given over-complete dictionary. The algorithm consists of the following two components. (1) We propose to induce the wavelets into the random field model by a generative version of the epsilon-boosting algorithm. (2) We propose to generate the synthesized images from the random field model using Gibbs sampling on the coefficients (or responses) of the selected wavelets. We show that the proposed learning and sampling algorithms are capable of generating realistic image patterns. We also evaluate our learning method on a dataset of clustering tasks to demonstrate that the models can be learned in an unsupervised setting. The learned models encode the patterns in wavelet sparse coding. Moreover, they can be mapped to the second-layer nodes of a sparsely connected convolutional neural network (CNN).
Silicate Weathering and Climate

There is no doubt that the temperature at the surface of the Earth has not varied excessively since the origin of life. Certainly the stability limits of liquid water have not been exceeded. If CO2 is an important greenhouse gas, as is commonly accepted, this means that its level in the atmosphere has not varied enough to cause excessively low temperatures (resulting, e.g., in the complete freezing of the oceans) or excessively high ones (resulting, e.g., in the sterilization of life). There must be processes regulating CO2 that thermostat the earth and that have prevented it from ending up like Mars and Venus.
Abundance and Size Distribution of Cavity Trees in Second-Growth and Old-Growth Central Hardwood Forests

In central hardwood forests, mean cavity-tree abundance increases with increasing standsize class (seedling/sapling, pole, sawtimber, old-growth). However, within a size class, the number of cavity trees is highly variable among 0.1-ha inventory plots. Plots in young stands are most likely to have no cavity trees, but some plots may have more than 50 cavity trees/ha. Plots in old-growth stands often had 25 to 55 cavity trees/ha, but individual plots ranged from 0 to 155/ha. The Weibull probability density function was used to mathematically describe the variation in cavity-tree abundance for plots in stands of differing size (or age) class. A graph of the cumulative probability of cavity-tree abundance is a particularly easy way for managers to estimate the probability that a stand of a given size class will have any specified number of cavity trees per hectare. Results for individual plots or stands can be combined to estimate cavity abundance probabilities for landscapes. Because the results are presented in terms of plot-size classes (or age classes), this approach to cavity tree estimation is compatible with relatively simple forest inventory systems.
Clinical Development of Experimental Therapies for Malignant Glioma

Advances in medical and surgical treatments in the last two to three decades have resulted in quantum leaps in the overall survival of patients with many types of non-central nervous system (CNS) malignant disease, while survival of patients with malignant gliomas (WHO grades 3 and 4) has only moderately improved. Surgical resection, external fractionated radiotherapy and oral chemotherapy, during and after irradiation, remain the pillars of malignant glioma therapy and have shown significant benefits. However, numerous clinical trials with adjuvant agents, most of them administered systemically and causing serious complications and side effects, have not achieved a noteworthy extension of survival, or only with considerable deterioration in patients’ quality of life. Significant attention was focussed in the last decades on the cell biology and molecular genetics of gliomas. Improved understanding of the fundamental features of tumour cells has resulted in the introduction and increasing clinical use of local therapies, which employ spatially defined delivery methods and tumour-selective agents specifically designed to be used in the environment of a glioma-invaded brain. This review summarises the key findings of some of the most recent and important clinical studies of locally administered novel treatments for malignant glioma. Several such therapies have shown considerable anti-tumour activity and a favourable profile of local and systemic side effects. These include biodegradable polymers for interstitial chemotherapy, targeted toxins administered by convection enhanced delivery, and intra- and peritumourally injected genetically modified viruses conferring glioma-selective toxicity. Areas of possible improvement of these therapies and essential future developments are also outlined.
Origin of the right pulmonary artery from the aorta: A clinical-pathologic study of two types based on caliber of the pulmonary artery∗

Abstract A case of isolated origin of the right pulmonary artery from the aorta is presented. Fifteen reported autopsy cases in infants and children are reviewed and classified into two groups. In Group 1 the right pulmonary artery originated from or adjacent to the innominate artery, and there was usually stenosis or atresia of the right pulmonary artery. The lung on the right side was poorly developed and the media of the pulmonary arteries normal to atrophic, with evidence of pulmonary hypertension on the left side. In Group 2 the right pulmonary artery arose from the ascending aorta, usually from the right or posterior aspect. Here, a wide communication was maintained between the pulmonary-artery and aorta. In these cases there was bilateral medial hypertrophy of the intrapulmonary arteries. Certain features (x-ray, electrocardiographic and pathologic) that may permit separation of the two groups are discussed.
Needs and Nonviolent Communication in the Religious Studies Classroom

Religious studies classrooms are microcosms of the public square in bringing together individuals of diverse identities and ideological commitments. As such, these classrooms create the necessity and opportunity to foster effective modes of conversation. In this essay, I argue that communication attuned to shared human needs – among them needs for safety, respect, and belonging – offers a transformative response to the potential self-silencing and peer-conflict to which religious studies classrooms are prone. I develop this claim with reference to the research on teaching religious studies conducted by Barbara Walvoord and the pedagogy of theologian and Swarthmore University President Rebecca Chopp in formulating an “ethics of conversation” with her students. Building on this foundation, I make a case for developing an “ethos of conversation” in the religious studies classroom based on psychologist and peace activist Marshall Rosenberg's method of “nonviolent communication.” While addressing the roles of conflict and toleration in the classroom through the perspectives of Alasdair MacIntyre and Jeffrey Stout, I argue that Rosenberg's approach to communication is a powerful asset to education that models constructive engagement in the macrocosm of civic life.
Cubature/unscented/sigma point Kalman filtering with angular measurement models

Filtering algorithms that use different forms of numerical integration to handle measurement and process non-linearities, such as the cubature Kalman filter, can perform extremely poorly in many applications involving angular measurements. We demonstrate how such filters can be modified to take into account the circular nature of the angular measurements, dramatically improving performance. Unlike common alternate techniques, the cubature methods can be easily used with angular measurements arising from ray-traceable propagation models.
Complementation analysis of methyl methane-sulfonate-induced recessive lethal mutations in the zeste-white region of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster.

Recessive lethal mutations in the 3A1 to 3C2 region of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster were detected in 113 of 33,544 sperm treated by feeding 5 mM methyl methanesulfonate in 1% sucrose for 22 hours. Seven of the 113 lethals were sterile, leaving 106 for analysis by complementation tests. With only one exception, these mutants were found to have lesions restricted to single loci. One of these single-site mutations was in gt, 2 in tko, 18 in zw-1, 12 in zw-8, 6 in zw-4, 3 in zw-10, 3 in zw-13, 21 in zw-2, 7 in zw-3, 5 in zw-6, 6 in zw-12, 1 in zw-7, 12 in zw-5, 5 in zw-11, and 3 in zw-9, One of the lethals, m69, was non-complementary to two adjacent loci, zw-2 and zw-3, possibly indicating a deletion encompassing two loci. The results confirm that there are at least 15 recessive lethal loci in the region and are consistent with the hypothesis of Lim and Snyder (1968 and 1974) that inability of monofunctional alkylating chemicals to induce deletion-associated mutations is a characteristic of the compounds.
SMOKING AND CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY IN WOMEN

Smoking status and sociodemographic characteristics were recorded for 23,572 white women 25-74 years of age in a private census of Washington County, Maryland, done in 1963. Deaths from all causes, from total and sudden arteriosclerotic heart disease, and with stroke were recorded for the next 12 years. Smoking-specific mortality rates for women aged 25-44, 45-64, and 65-74 years at entry were calculated after adjustment for the effects of marital status, education, housing quality, and frequency of church attendance. Among women in the 65-74-year age group, smoking was not related to mortality. Among women in the two younger age groups, the risks of dying from any cause and from arteriosclerotic heart disease (total and sudden) were positively associated with cigarette smoking. For all arteriosclerotic heart disease deaths, the relative risks associated with smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day were 3.6 and 2.2 for women aged 25-44 and 45-64, respectively; for sudden deaths from arteriosclerotic heart disease, the relative risks were 6.5 and 2.7. The risk of dying with stroke was not associated with cigarette smoking.
Entrez and Forward Database Searching

Entrez is a text-based search system that provides integrated access to multiple databases of interest to the molecular biology community. It was developed by and is available through a website (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery) at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). This tool provides the ability to query one or multiple databases. The interface also allows both simple and advanced searching. For example, one can enter one or a few terms in a search box to initiate a simple search, or, one can limit search terms to particular fields or use a controlled vocabulary. In addition, results include links to related entries and other relevant information that match the search criteria. The output can be saved to a local computer for further processing. There are also advanced tools – web-based or programming tools – some discussed later. Key concepts: Entrez provides access to many different biologically oriented databases. To restrict your search use features of Limits or Preview/Index. Use ‘Batch Entrez’ to download lists of identifiers. There are specific search options available for each database. Help text specific to each database is available on its homepage. Register for a My NCBI account so that you can define and store preferences and save search results. There are several ways to download data retrieved from an Entrez search to a local computer. The History feature is helpful to combine previous searches. Keywords: text searching; literature searching; molecular databases
CodePlugin: plugging deduplication into erasure coding for cloud storage

Cloud storage systems play a key role in many cloud services. To tolerate multiple simultaneous disk failures and reduce the storage overhead, today cloud storage systems often employ erasure coding schemes. To simplify implementations, existing systems, such as Microsoft Azure and EMC Atmos, only support file appending operations. However, this feature leads to a non-trivial and increasing portion of redundant data on cloud storage systems. To reduce the data redundancy due to file updates by users so as to reduce the corresponding encoding and storage cost, in this work, we investigate how to efficiently integrate the inline deduplication capability into the general context of the Reed-Solomon (RS) code. For this purpose, we present our initial design of Code-Plugin. Basically, CodePlugin introduces some preprocessing steps before the normal encoding. In these pre-processing steps, the data duplications are identified and properly shuffled so that the redundant blocks do not have to be encoded. CodePlugin is applicable to any existing coding scheme and our preliminary experimental results show that CodePlugin can effectively improve the encoding throughput (by ∼ 20%) and reduce the storage cost (by ∼ 17.4%).
Identification of the Space Shuttle Main Engine dynamic models from firing data

A multi-input multi-output system identification technique is used to obtain linearized point models of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) at five different operating conditions (power levels) from the engine firing data. This study demonstrates that the open-loop dynamics of the SSME can be successfully modeled from the engine firing data. The identified linear models may be used for fault detection studies and control system design and development.
Barley Aleurone Cells Contain Two Types of Vacuoles: Characterization of Lytic Organelles by Use of Fluorescent Probes

Light microscopy was used to study the structure and function of vacuoles in living protoplasts of barley ( Hordeum vulgare cv Himalaya) aleurone. Light microscopy showed that aleurone protoplasts contain two distinct types of vacuole: the protein storage vacuole and a lysosome-like organelle, which we have called the secondary vacuole. Fluorescence microscopy using pH-sensitive fluorescent probes and a fluorogenic substrate for cysteine proteases showed that both protein storage vacuoles and secondary vacuoles are acidic, lytic organelles. Ratio imaging showed that the pH of secondary vacuoles was lower in aleurone protoplasts incubated in gibberellic acid than in those incubated in abscisic acid. Uptake of fluorescent probes into intact, isolated protein storage vacuoles and secondary vacuoles required ATP and occurred via at least two types of vanadate-sensitive, ATP-dependent tonoplast transporters. One transporter catalyzed the accumulation of glutathione-conjugated probes, and another transported probes not conjugated to glutathione.
Transforming growth factor-β1 regulated phosphorylated AKT and interferon gamma expressions are associated with epithelial cell survival in rhesus macaque colon explants

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is an important immunoregulatory cytokine that plays an obligate role in regulating T-cell functions. Here, we demonstrated the role of TGF-β1 in regulating the survival of intestinal epithelial cells (ECs) in rhesus colon explant cultures using either anti-TGF-β1 antibody or recombinant TGF-β1 proteins. Neutralization of endogenous TGF-β1 using anti-TGF-β1 antibodies induced apoptosis of both intestinal ECs and lamina propria (LP) cells. Additionally, endogenous TGF-β1 blocking significantly increased expression of IFNγ, TNFα, CD107a and Perforin in LP cells compared to media and isotype controls. A significant decrease in pAKT expression was detected in anti-TGF-β1 MAbs treated explants compared to isotype and rTGF-β1 protein treated explants. Our results demonstrated TGF-β1 regulated pAKT and IFNγ expressions were associated with epithelial cell survival in rhesus macaque colon explants and suggest a potential role of mucosal TGF-β1 in regulating intestinal homeostasis and EC integrity.
Photoionization of Palladium Including Relaxation Effects

Total and partial photoionization cross sections, branching ratios, and angular-distribution asymmetry parameters for the 4d, 4p, 4s, and 3d subshells of palladium have been calculated using the relativistic random-phase approximation and the relativistic random-phase approximation modified to include relaxation effects. Comparisons are made between results that include relaxation effects and those that do not. Minor relaxation effects are noted for the 4d and 3d photoionization parameters. However, substantial relaxation effects are noted for both the 4p and 4s subshells. Large relaxation effects are observed in the 4p partial cross section and branching ratio. Also observed is the appearance of a Cooper minimum in the 4s photoionization cross section and a corresponding change in the 4s angular-distribution asymmetry parameter.
Genetic counselors: Your partners in clinical practice

As our understanding of the human genome has grown, so too has the need for health care providers who can help patients and families understand the implications of these new discoveries for their health care. Increasingly, genetic counselors are working in partnership with physicians to provide a continuum of care from risk assessment to diagnosis. In this article, we explain the process of genetic counseling and its value for patients who have a personal or family history of a hereditary condition.
The Margulis-Platonov conjecture for SL1,D and 2-generation of finite simple groups

We give a new proof of the Margulis-Platonov conjecture for the groups SL 1, D which is shorter than the previous proofs and in which the use of the classification of finite simple groups is limited to the fact that every such group is generated by two elements. The argument is based on further development of the methods of [18].
Performance evaluation and control of distributed systems (session overview)

Distributed systems are modeled with three interesting techniques in the papers of this session. “A Task-partitioning Problem for a Distributed Real-time Control Data Processing System,” is presented by Shi, Hu and Wang, all of the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Miluzinovic, from Purdue, and Crnkovic, from the University of Miami, are the authors of “State Transition Times for Limited Access Contention Multiple Access Schemes.” “Performance Evaluation of Concurrent Systems using Timed Petri Nets” is the subject of Zuberek's paper. Zuberek is from the University of Newfoundland.Four major factors: 1) inteprocessor messages, 2) CPU rate, 3) memory capacity and 4) number of processors, are analyzed by Shi, Hu and Wang. Their examination leads to four partitioning principles which, in turn, are used to derive a model of partitioning. While confronting the typical computational intractable problems, the authors present a static algorithm for a good, if not optimal, partitioning.Milutinovic and Crnkovic examine limited contention schemes for bus topology local area networks. Limited contention schemes attempt to provide the advantages of both contention-based and conflict-free access strategies. Simulation results reported support the authors' recommendations for robust binary adaptive access schemes for certain applications.Performance of concurrent systems is modeled by Zuberek using m-timed Petri nets and the finite state Markov chains isomorphic to such nets. M-timed Petri nets are Petri nets with firing times are: 1) assigned to transitions and 2) are exponentially distributed random variables. An example application is presented by the author.
Victim Advocates' Perceptions of the Role of Health Care Workers in Sexual Assault Cases:

Victim assistance officials work to ensure that victims can overcome the negative consequences of victimization. In performing these activities, they collaborate with a number of professionals from seemingly disparate fields. Among others, they often work with various health care professionals. In this article, attention is given to the barriers that may limit effective collaboration between health care professionals and victim assistance professionals. A total of 44 sexual assault crisis center workers completed a survey assessing collaboration barriers. Results suggest that the types of barriers arising vary among specific types of health care providers. One set of barriers arises when collaborating with health care professionals such as nurses and hospital workers. Another set of obstacles arises with mental health workers. Implications are provided.
WPES 2014: 13th Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society

The 13th Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society is held on November 3, 2014 in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA in conjunction with the 21st ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security. The goal of this workshop is to discuss the problems of privacy in global interconnected societies and possible solutions to them. The workshop program includes 17 full papers and 9 short papers on a diverse set of exciting privacy topics selected from a set of 67 total submissions. Specific areas covered include but are not limited to healthcare privacy, censorship circumvention, anonymous communication, web tracking, location and social network privacy.
Surfactant lipid peroxidation damages surfactant protein A and inhibits interactions with phospholipid vesicles

The goal of these studies was to examine the effect of lipid peroxidation (LPO) on the function of surfactant protein A (SP-A). First, the optimal dialysis conditions for quantitative removal of EDTA and redoxactive metals from reagents were established. Surfactant phospholipids were incubated with free radical generators in the absence or presence of the SP-A or with BSA as a control. We found that SP-A inhibited copper-initiated LPO to an extent similar to BSA (P We conclude that exposure of SP-A to LPO results in oxidative modification and functional inactivation of SP-A by phospholipid radicals.
Factor Analysis of Variation in the First Pair of Swimming Feet of the Candaciidae (Copepoda: Calanoida)

Lawson, T. J. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543) 1973. Factor analysis of variation in the first pair of swimming feet of the Candaciidae (Copepoda: Calanoida). Syst. Zool. 22:302-309.-Factor analysis (Q-mode) was used to evaluate interspecific relationships among 27 species of Candaciidae. Twentyfour characters were taken from the first pair of swimming feet, appendages seldom used in copepod taxonomy. The three factors extracted accounted for 93 percent of the total variation among species and identified 4 clusters of species. Clustering of species by factor analysis agrees with a phenogram based upon correlations between species. The four species clusters, reflecting morphological variation of a small, functionally specialized portion of copepod anatomy, are in agreement with many previously suggested interrelationships among the Candaciidae. [Copepoda; Factor analysis; Phenetics.]
Bacteriology of pustular acne.

The bacteria present in 107 pustules from 27 acne patients were identified and quantitated. The commonest bacteria were Corynebacterium acnes, (73%) coagulase negative cocci (60%) and enterobacteria (10%). Among the cocci 84% were identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis (Baird Parker type S II). Micrococcus isolates were rare. No evidence of an interaction between S. epidermidis and C. acnes was found.
Effect of Apparent Cohesion on Translational Failure Analyses of Landfills

The scope of this paper is to develop a new analysis method introducing the effect of apparent cohesion of the waste and/or liner materials on the translational failure of landfills. The apparent c...
Using Scala strategically across the undergraduate curriculum (abstract only)

Various hybrid-paradigm languages, designed to balance compile-time error detection, conciseness, and performance, have emerged. Scala, e.g., is interoperable with Java and has become an early leader in adoption, especially in the start-up and open-source spaces. Workshop participants experience Scala's value as a teaching language in the CS curriculum through four lecture-lab modules: In CS1, the read-eval-print loop and simple, uniform syntax aid programming in the small. In CS2, higher-order methods allow concise, efficient manipulation of collections. Advanced topics include domain-specific languages, concurrency, web apps/services, and mobile apps. Laptop recommended with Scala installed.
Chaperone properties of Pdia3 participate in rapid membrane actions of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

Protein disulfide isomerase family A, member 3 (Pdia3) mediates many of the plasma membrane (PM)-associated rapid responses to 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1α,25[OH]2D3). It is not well understood how Pdia3, which is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone, functions as a PM receptor for 1α,25(OH)2D3. We mutated 3 amino acids (K214 and R282 in the calreticulin interaction site and C406 in the isomerase catalytic site), which are important for Pdia3's ER chaperone function, and examined their role in responses to 1α,25(OH)2D3. Pdia3 constructs with and without the ER retention signal KDEL were used to investigate the PM requirement for Pdia3. Finally, we determined whether palmitoylation and/or myristoylation were required for Pdia3-mediated responses to 1α,25(OH)2D3. Overexpressing the Pdia3 R282A mutant in MC3T3-E1 cells increased PM phospholipase A2-activating protein, Rous sarcoma oncogene (c-Src), and caveolin-1 but blocked increases in 1α,25(OH)2D3-stimulated protein kinase C (PKC) seen in cells overex...
Reaction at a platinum-gallium arsenide interface

Abstract The reaction at a Pt/n-GaAs interface as a result of annealing at 400°C was investigated. Both electron beam evaporated and electro-plated Pt films were studied. Optical reflection and transmission spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron and ion microscopy, and X-ray energy spectroscopy were employed to examine the metal-semiconductor interface. An increase in the optical reflectivity was observed early in the annealing sequence. As has been observed by others, a complex layered structure formed at the interface, but the electron and ion micrographs revealed that gallium diffused rapidly through the platinum film at apparent imperfections in the Pt film. These imperfections were not visible in the micrographs prior to annealing and their nature has not been determined. These areas are believed to be primary sites for premature device failure. It appears that techniques such as SIMS which average over micron-sized or larger areas which indicate gallium diffusion to the Pt surface are correct, but may be misleading as to the mechanism.
Reduced cell membrane affinity for lithium ion during maintenance treatment of bipolar affective disorder

The major pathway for Li + efflux isNa + -Li + countertransport (CT), which exchanges Li + for sodium
Development of a new staging system for patients with recurrent laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The management of recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma can be challenging to both physician and patient. This is due at least in part to the lack of an accurate and clinically applicable staging system for these patients. The purposes of this study were to examine the survival patterns of patients presenting with recurrent laryngeal tumors, identify key factors affecting prognosis, and combine these factors to create a new staging system to predict survival. METHODS The methods included a retrospective chart review of 473 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma who received their initial treatment at Washington University between 1980 and 1992. From this population, 126 patients (27%) who developed recurrence were identified. RESULTS The overall 2-year survival rate was 40% (50 of 124 patients). Four variables affected survival: initial TNM stage, initial treatment, morphologic extent of recurrence, and treatment of recurrence. These variables were entered into a multivariate analysis to determine independent prognostic significance. Three variables were found to be statistically significant: TNM stage (chi-square = 4.6; P = 0.03), initial treatment (chi-square = 14.3; P = 0.0002), and extent of recurrence (chi-square = 19.4; P = 0.0001). The process of conjunctive consolidation was used to combine significant variables to create a new staging system for laryngeal recurrence. CONCLUSIONS This staging system provides accurate estimates of prognosis, involves no new technology to implement, can aid both the patient and physician in planning treatment, and can be used in observational studies to assess the relative effectiveness of competing therapies. Cancer 1998;83:910-917. © 1998 American Cancer Society.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the KABC-II in Preschool Children.

The present study assessed the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II) in relation to the synthesized Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligence with a preschool sample. Participants were 200 preschool children between four and five years of age. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, and different variations of the CHC model were examined to determine which provided the best representation of the proposed underlying CHC constructs tested by the KABC-II. The models included one similar to Spearman's g, a contemporary two-stratum model consisting of fluid and crystallized intelligence (Gf-Gc model), and a synthesized CHC broad factor +g model. The last was the empirically validated theory of interest in this study. Results of the CFA revealed that the broad factor +g CHC model was the best overall design to explain KABC-II results. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Long-term ecological research in the forests of the United States: Key lessons for its application in Chile and around the world

La investigacion ecologica de largo plazo es capaz de abordar ciertas preguntas de una manera mejor que los proyectos de corto plazo, debido a las escalas temporales en que funcionan muchos procesos ecologicos. En Norteamerica, este tipo de investigacion ha brindado conocimiento sobre importantes procesos y organismos claves en muchos tipos forestales, extendiendose desde los bosques caducifolios de la costa este a los bosques de coniferas en la costa oeste, y en latitudes tropicales hasta boreales. La investigacion ecologica de largo plazo en los bosques de Norteamerica ha incluido estudios de cuencas, ensayos silviculturales, establecimiento de parcelas permanentes para investigar demografia forestal, y el estudio de regimenes de perturbacion y sistemas predadores/presa. El inicio de investigacion de largo plazo en ecosistemas forestales de otras regiones del mundo, especialmente en latitudes correspondientes a ambos lados del ecuador, ayudara a los cientificos a comprender los regimenes de perturbaciones naturales y sucesion, asi como los efectos de varias estrategias del manejo forestal, y los impactos de cambio climatico. Recomendaciones claves basadas en la experiencia de Norteamerica incluyen: 1) la importancia de la investigacion multidisciplinaria, 2) la necesidad de invertir recursos en el manejo de bases de datos, 3) la aplicacion tanto de tecnologia basica como avanzada (por ejemplo, sistemas de deteccion de eddy covariance para cuantificar el intercambio de carbono entre los bosques y la atmosfera), y 4) colaboracion entre regiones, instituciones, y cientificos individuales.
Adiponectin but not resistin is associated with insulin resistance-related phenotypes in baboons.

Objectives: The hormones adiponectin and resistin have been associated with insulin resistance. This paper analyzed the potential relationship between adiponectin and resistin and insulin resistance-related phenotypes in baboons. Research Methods and Procedures: One hundred eight adult baboons (84 female and 24 male) were studied. Weight was measured, and a blood sample was collected under fasting conditions for plasma and monocyte isolation. Fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and adiponectin levels in plasma were measured by standard methods. Insulin resistance was calculated by the homeostasis model assessment index. Resistin mRNA abundance in monocytes was determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Data were clustered by weight tertiles for statistical analysis. Results: As observed in humans, the insulin resistance-related phenotypes were related to weight, plasma levels of adiponectin, and C-peptide. No significant relationship between resistin circulating levels or expression in monocytes and insulin resistance-related phenotypes was found in baboons. Discussion: These findings suggest that resistin is not associated with insulin resistance. However, previous observations of relationships among weight, adiponectin, and insulin resistance are confirmed.
CMOS-compatible multiple-wavelength oscillator for on-chip optical interconnects

Silicon photonics enables the fabrication of on-chip, ultrahigh-bandwidth optical networks that are critical for the future of microelectronics1,2,3. Several optical components necessary for implementing a wavelength division multiplexing network have been demonstrated in silicon. However, a fully integrated multiple-wavelength source capable of driving such a network has not yet been realized. Optical amplification, a necessary component for lasing, has been achieved on-chip through stimulated Raman scattering4,5, parametric mixing6 and by silicon nanocrystals7 or nanopatterned silicon8. Losses in most of these structures have prevented oscillation. Raman oscillators have been demonstrated9,10,11, but with a narrow gain bandwidth that is insufficient for wavelength division multiplexing. Here, we demonstrate the first monolithically integrated CMOS-compatible source by creating an optical parametric oscillator formed by a silicon nitride ring resonator on silicon. The device can generate more than 100 new wavelengths with operating powers below 50 mW. This source can form the backbone of a high-bandwidth optical network on a microelectronic chip. A monolithically integrated CMOS-compatible source is demonstrated using an optical parametric oscillator based on a silicon nitride ring resonator on silicon. Generating more than 100 wavelengths simultaneously and operating at powers below 50 mW, scientists say that it may form the basis of an on-chip high-bandwidth optical network.
High-pressure phase transformations observed in silica glass discs after treatment with a CO2 laser

On etudie les transformations de phase a haute pression observees dans des disques de silice irradies par un laser CO 2
Vibrationally excited CS: A new probe of conditions in young protostellar systems

We present the first detection of vibrationally excited C(32)S J = 10-9 and J = 7-6 emission toward a young stellar object (YSO). Toward IRAS 16293-2422, the vibrationally excited C(32)S emission is redshifted approximately 3.9 km/s from the systemic velocity of the core. The emission must arise in warm (T greater than or approximately equal 1000 K), dense (n greater than or approximately equal to 10(exp 11)-10(exp 12) per cc) gas. The most plausible origin for the emission appears to be self-gravitating instabilities in a protostellar accretion disk, which produce waves and shocks.
Effect of forest biomass on airborne snow water equivalent estimates obtained by measuring terrestrial gamma radiation

Abstract Estimates of snow water equivalent derived from measurements of the attenuation of terrestrial gamma radiation emitted by potassium are systematically biased downward if substantial amounts of forest biomass exist in the region where the radiation measurements are obtained. The degree of underestimation is a function of the amount and type of biomass. The effects of these factors on the snow water equivalent estimate are examined, and a means of correcting for the downward bias is given. The methodology presented can aid National Weather Service hydrologists in improving river and flood forecasts, water supply forecasts, and spring flood outlooks for large areas of the United States and Canada.
Oxidative Stress Stimulates Autophagic Flux During Ischemia/Reperfusion

Autophagy is a bulk degradation process in which cytosolic proteins and organelles are degraded through lysosomes. To evaluate autophagic flux in cardiac myocytes, we generated adenovirus and cardiac-specific transgenic mice harboring tandem fluorescent mRFP-GFP-LC3. Starvation significantly increased the number of mRFP-GFP-LC3 dots representing both autophagosomes and autolysosomes per cell, suggesting that autophagic flux is increased in cardiac myocytes. H(2)O(2) significantly increased autophagic flux, which was attenuated in the presence of N-2-mercaptopropionyl glycine (MPG), an antioxidant, suggesting that oxidative stress stimulates autophagy in cardiac myocytes. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) increased both autophagosomes and autolysosomes, thereby increasing autophagic flux. Treatment with MPG attenuated I/R-induced increases in oxidative stress, autophagic flux, and Beclin-1 expression, accompanied by a decrease in the size of myocardial infarction (MI)/area at risk (AAR), suggesting that oxidative stress plays an important role in mediating autophagy and myocardial injury during I/R. MI/AAR after I/R was significantly reduced in beclin1(+/-) mice, whereas beclin1(+/-) mice treated with MPG exhibited no additional reduction in the size of MI/AAR after I/R. These results suggest that oxidative stress plays an important role in mediating autophagy during I/R, and that activation of autophagy through oxidative stress mediates myocardial injury in response to I/R in the mouse heart.
The effect of complex dynamic lifting and lowering characteristics on trunk muscles recruitment

A better understanding of how the neuromuscular spinal system behaves during lifting and lowering could provide more insight about potential causes of occupational low back disorders (LBDs), and could help in the prevention and rehabilitation process of these disorders. The purpose of this study was to quantify trunk muscle activities under various whole-body free-dynamic symmetric and asymmetric complex lifting and lowering tasks. Eleven male subjects with no prior history of LBDs participated in the study. Electromyographic activities of ten trunk muscles were monitored while subjects either symmetrically or asymmetrically lifted and lowered a box under three different speeds and three weights. The results showed that all ten muscles were responsive to various experimental conditions with the erector spinae and internal oblique muscles showing the greatest response. Substantial electromyographic activities were observed in muscles that were on the contralateral side of the load. Lowering conditions yielded consistently lower muscular activities than their corresponding lifting conditions. These results show that it is essential to consider multiple trunk muscles in modeling efforts of quantifying spinal loading, as well as for back rehabilitation research purposes.
Field Deployment of Polyethylene Devices to Measure PCB Concentrations in Pore Water of Contaminated Sediment

Sediment pore water concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a contaminated mudflat in San Francisco Bay, CA were determined by field-deployed polyethylene devices (PEDs). Sequential sampling of PEDs deployed in the field showed large differences in uptake rates and time to equilibrium compared to PEDs mixed with field-collected sediment in the laboratory. We demonstrate a modeling approach that involves the use of impregnated performance reference compounds (PRCs) and interpretation of the data either by PCB molar volume adjustment or environmental adjustment factors to measure pore water concentrations of 118 PCB congeners. Both adjustment methods predicted comparable sampling rates, and PCB pore water concentrations estimated by use of the molar volume adjustment method were similar to values analytically measured in pore waters from the laboratory and field. The utility of PEDs for sampling pore water in the field was evaluated at a tidal mudflat amended with activated carbon to sequester PCBs. Pore water concentrations decreased up to 60% within 18 months after activated carbon amendment, as compared to a mechanical-mixed control plot Results of this study illustrate PEDs provide an inexpensive, in situ method to measure total PCB contamination in sediment pore water using a small set of PRCs.
An Ambiguous, Contested Terrain: Governance Models for a New South African Education System.

Abstract This paper reviews the development of education governance in South Africa during the 1990s. It outlines ambiguities within and between competing policies, tracing the historical trajectory and explaining its outcome. Apartheid governance, the attempts to reform it, policy options originating within the anti-apartheid movement, and the law passed in 1996 by the new Parliament, are discussed. Trends in South Africa during this decade have been consistent with trends in international education: decentralization, ‘rolling back the state’, privatization, increased class and/or regional disparities, and greater parental governance responsibilities.