cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Missing Data in Clinical Research Studies

Missing data is a problem that is ubiquitous to all clinical studies and a source of multiple problems from an analytic point of view (reduced statistical power, increased the type I error, bias) Statistical approaches have been developed to analyze data collected from trials with missing data. Understanding and implementing the appropriate statistical technique is essential but should be differentiated from preventive approaches that are designed to reduce rates of missing data In this article, we draw attention to these preventive efforts. Seven steps to minimizing the amount of missing data are defined as documentation, training, monitoring reports, patient contact, data entry and management, pilot studies, and communication. Although the implementation of these approaches is time consuming and costly, the overall quality of the study is increased. Despite efforts devoted to areas, no study is without missing data. Once the study is completed, it is essential to assess the pattern of missing data and apply the appropriate statistical analysis.
Angiographically evident thrombus following fibrinolytic therapy is associated with impaired myocardial perfusion in STEMI: a CLARITY-TIMI 28 substudy

Aims The presence of residual thrombus following fibrinolytic therapy for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) may predispose to greater embolization and microvascular dysfunction. Methods and results We hypothesized that even in the presence of a patent epicardial artery, residual thrombus would be associated with worsened TIMI myocardial perfusion grades (TMPG), independent of epicardial flow. Data were analysed from the angiograms of 2684 patients enrolled in the CLARITY-TIMI 28 trial, with angiographically patent arteries (TIMI 2/3 flow) at a median of 88 h following fibrinolytic therapy. Thrombus in a patent epicardial artery was observed more frequently among patients with shorter times from randomization to angiography, among patients with non-left anterior descending infarctions, and among patients treated with placebo (vs. clopidogrel). Thrombus was associated with more frequent TIMI 2 flow (35.1 vs. 22.1%, P , 0.001), higher corrected TIMI frame counts (CTFC) (42 vs. 33 frames, P , 0.001), and a lower incidence of normal TMPG 3 (48.7 vs. 63.9%, P , 0.001), irrespective of treatment with clopidogrel or placebo. In multivariable analyses, thrombus remained associated with higher CTFC (P , 0.001) and worse TMPG (OR 1.6 for TMPG 0/1/2, P , 0.001) after adjustment for baseline covariates as well as known correlates of TMPG. The association between thrombus and impaired TMPG remained even after further adjustment for CTFC or TIMI flow grade. Conclusion Residual angiographic thrombus following fibrinolytic therapy in STEMI patients is associated with impaired myocardial perfusion, independent of epicardial flow. This finding emphasizes the roles of platelet aggregation and distal embolization in the pathogenesis of microvascular dysfunction in STEMI.
Analysis of denial-of-service attacks on denial-of-service defensive measures

Currently, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks remain among the most critical threats on the Internet. Ironically, although a major objective of Internet protocol design was to prevent DoS attacks and to maintain network connections in order to provide essential services to the masses uninterruptedly, the Internet is suffering significantly from distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks at present. In recent years, numerous research studies have focused on this topic. However, after deliberately analyzing the proposed defensive measures and supposedly secure systems, we figure that most are themselves extremely vulnerable to DoS/DDoS attacks. This paper contributes a detailed analysis of various existing and proposed defensive measures, as well as their vulnerabilities.
Cultural evolution as a possible triggering or causative factor of common baldness

Abstract Common baldness (alopecia) increasingly affects a higher number of individuals at earlier ages, independently of gender. One of the reasons could be lack of knowledge concerning its etiology. The human being has evolved to become a naked monkey, although there is no apparent reason to continue the evolutionary process up to becoming a bald monkey. According to this theory, common baldness is a degenerative process derived from certain inadequate cultural practices, such as excessive hair cutting or certain types of haircuts that prevent contact among hairs themselves and limit outside contact in ways that would alleviate balding. Blocking the flow of sebum towards the base of the hair follicle – and so interfering with the arrival of the stem cells to the dermal papilla with consequent hair miniaturization – ends up being the first negative physiological effect derived from certain cultural habits. As time goes by, other mechanisms become altered, which leads to a less and less reversibility of the process.
A theory for the spinup of tropical depressions

Research Article A theory for the spinup of tropical depressions D. J. Raymond *, S. L. Sessions, . Fuchs New Mexico Tech, Socorro, USA email: D. J. Raymond (raymond@kestrel.nmt.edu) *Correspondence to D. J. Raymond, Physics Department and Geophysical Research Center, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801 USA. Keywords tropical cyclogenesis • tropical depressions Abstract Recent advances in our understanding of the physics of precipitation over tropical oceans is married with vorticity dynamics to produce a simple theory for the development or non-development of tropical depressions. This early phase of tropical cyclogenesis is perhaps the least understood part of the whole process. The theory predicts a finite amplitude threshold for intensification, with weaker disturbances decaying. Furthermore, only disturbances with radii larger than a critical value develop. Rough estimates of this critical radius place it near 1600 km, though better estimates of various parameters could change this value significantly.
Lie group theory applied to the nonlinear Vlasov-Maxwell equations in one and three dimensions

Lie point group theory generalizes the idea of similarity solutions of partial differential equations to include all solutions generated by considering the invariance properties of the equations under point transformations. The method of solving nonlinear equations by this method is illustrated here with the example of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations in one and three dimensions. The simple case of Lapalce's equation, where the symmetries are clear by inspection, is used to introduce the approach in a heuristic way. A general procedure is then outlined and applied to the more complex Vlasov-Maxwell set of equations. In the one-dimensional case, the results shed light on solutions to the equations that are ''near'' the BGK equilibrium solutions, but nontrivially time dependent. The three-dimensional case also admits a group, but due to the greater complexity of the equations, it is less interesting from the standpoint of generating solutions.
Chembench: a cheminformatics workbench

Motivation: Advances in the field of cheminformatics have been hindered by a lack of freely available tools. We have created Chembench, a publicly available cheminformatics portal for analyzing experimental chemical structure–activity data. Chembench provides a broad range of tools for data visualization and embeds a rigorous workflow for creating and validating predictive Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship models and using them for virtual screening of chemical libraries to prioritize the compound selection for drug discovery and/or chemical safety assessment. Availability: Freely accessible at: http://chembench.mml.unc.edu Contact: ude.cnu@ahsport_xela
Wide host range of murine sarcoma virus.

Cultures of canine, rabbit, porcine, avian, feline, bovine, simian and human origin were tested for their susceptibility to the Kirsten murine sarcoma virus (Ki-MSV). Data indicated that Ki-MSV replicates and transforms the cultures of canine embryo, rabbit kidney, porcine kidney, feline embryo, bovine embryo and human tumor cells. These morphologically altered cells contained infectious virus and group-specific (gs) complement-fixing (CF) antigen characteristic of viruses of the murine sarcoma-leukemia complex. The infected cultures produced type-C virus particles. RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity was also demonstrable in the altered cells. The present results indicate that members of the murine sarcoma-leukemia virus complex, particularly Ki-MSV, exhibit a wider host range than was hitherto believed.
Family Life Contacts among Married and Never Married Professionals

The present study sought to determine whether there were differences between the amount and kind of contact that married and never married professionals have with their families. 508 professionals ...
Distributed Measurement of Packet Loss Probability with Application to Admission Control of VPN Services

When provisioning quantitative QoS assurance for the VPN services over packet switched networks, parameters such as packet loss, delay and delay jitter, besides the required bandwidth, have to be guaranteed. This paper proposes a distributed solution to measure, estimate and control the packet loss probability for the VPN services in the MPLS based core networks. Specifically, the distributed measurement system employs the intelligent agent based architecture to measure the VPN traffic on all of the heterogeoneous remote nodes. Then the packet loss probability is estimated on-line by applying the large deviation theory. As one of the applications, the hybrid centralized and distributed admission control of new VPN services is also proposed and evaluated on the live network. The numeric results show that the statistical QoS of VPN services, i.e. packet loss probability, can be controlled with the scheme
Modeling Ideational Creativity in Groups: Connecting Cognitive, Neural, and Computational Approaches

Many creative activities take place in a group context, whether in short-term meetings, work teams, or by means of electronic interaction. The group creative process necessarily involves the exchan...
Turkey Breeder Hen Performance by Strain During Consecutive Lay Periods

The results of this study provide information about reproductive performance among commercially available strains of Large White Turkey breeder hens, Nicholas (N), British United (B), and Hybrid (H). The hens were managed identically through two consecutive lay periods, summer-fall (1st-yr) followed by winter-spring (recycled). Effects of the intensity (351 vs 24 lx) of supplemental light were evaluated during the 1st-yr lay period. Data were collected for onset of oviposition, egg production, BW, feed consumption, livability, egg weight, and egg components. Light intensity had similar effects on all variables measured. There were neither strain differences nor genetic interactions with light intensity treatment. There was no difference in livability among strains (P = .20) or between year of lay (P = .08), and there was no strain by year interaction. Body weight differed by strains and year and there was a significant strain by year interaction. In general, N were heavier than H or B in the 1st-yr and early recycle lay period, whereas H and B were similar in BW in both lay periods. Recycled hens of all strains were heavier than 1st-yr hens. The onset of lay was earlier in H than B or N in both lay periods and all three strains had a delay in onset of lay after recycling. Through 23 wk photostimulation the B hens produced more eggs per hen than N or H hens (B > N > H) and recycled hens produced more eggs per hen than 1st-yr hens. Strain, year, and strain by year interaction effects were significant for egg weight. The first eggs laid, as well as subsequent eggs in both lay periods, were heaviest in N hens. In all strains, percentage yolk increased and albumen decreased with time in lay. However, N hens had a smaller percentage yolk and greater albumen than H or B hens. The mean percentage shell was greatest in H hens.
SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF RAPID SALINITY REDUCTION ON SEED CLAMS (MERCENARIA MERCENARIA)

Abstract Sudden salinity drops in Gulf Coast clam growing areas in Florida have been suggested as a cause of seed (juvenile) clam mortality. Laboratory experiments were used to assess short-term impacts of rapid salinity drops on hatchery-produced juvenile northern quahog (=hard clam), Mercenaria mercenaria, in two separate trials. Mortality and condition index (CI) were measured as response parameters. In Trial I, clams were exposed to a salinity drop of 5 ppt, 15 ppt, or 24 ppt over a span of 24 h, and the duration of this exposure was either 3 or 6 days. In Trial II, clams were either immediately immersed or dry-stored for 24 h prior to immersion, representing common treatment patterns by clam growers. In this trial, clams were exposed to acute salinity drops of either 10 ppt or 20 ppt for up to 7 days. Both trials were conducted at ambient seasonal temperatures. Juvenile hard clams were surprisingly robust and resilient to changes in salinity, experiencing less than 5% mortality after relatively abrup...
Cochlea-Based RF Channelizing Filters

A new type of contiguous-channel RF multiplexing filter has been developed. The filter topology is derived from an electrical-mechanical analogy of the mammalian cochlea, and this channelizer retains the desirable features of the cochlea including multiple-octave frequency coverage, a large number of output channels, and an enhanced high-order upper stop-band response. Results of two 20-channel, 20-90-MHz channelizer prototypes, one with constant fractional bandwidth channels and another with constant absolute bandwidth channels, are presented and agree well with theory.
Frozen Stability of Fish Protein Isolate Under Various Storage Conditions

A novel process using pH-shift to recover fish proteins has been intensively studied. However, little information of its frozen stability has been revealed. The highest gel texture was found for samples frozen at pH 5.5 (5) and 7.0 (7) with cryoprotectants (C) and without freeze/thaw (F), whereas the lowest gel texture was obtained from frozen/thawed samples without cryoprotectants (NC). 5NC-F and 7NC-F demonstrated the lowest surface hydrophobicity and total sulfhydryl (SH), perhaps suggesting more protein aggregation through hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bonds. A slightly less stability of alkali-treated protein isolates (AKPI) kept at pH 5.5 than at pH 7 was noticed. AKPI, whether kept at pH 5.5 or 7.0, requires cryoprotectants to maintain frozen stability for longer shelf life.
Slow axonal transport: fast motors in the slow lane

The bulk of neuronally synthesized proteins destined for the axon is transported in a phase of transport approximately 100 times slower (1mm/day) than the vesicular traffic of fast axonal transport (100mm/day). Of late, a number of studies have shed considerable light on the controversies and mechanisms surrounding this slow phase of axonal transport. Along-standing controversy has centered on the form of the transported proteins. One major transport cargo, neurofilament protein, has now been seen in a number of contexts to be transported primarily in a polymeric form, whereas a second cargo tubulin is transported as a small oligomer. The development of techniques to visualize the slow transport process in live cells has demonstrated that instantaneous motions of transported neurofilaments, and presumably other slow transport cargoes, are fast, bidirectional and interspersed with long pauses. This and additional biochemical efforts indicate that traditional fast motors, such as conventional kinesin and dynein, are responsible for these fast motions.
Tuning an activator-repressor clock employing retroactivity

Activator-repressor systems have been shown to be capable of oscillations and are therefore an important clock motif in the field of Synthetic and Systems Biology. In this paper, we propose a method to regulate oscillatory behavior in such systems by the addition of DNA binding sites for the proteins involved in the clock network. We show that the retroactivity effect caused by this addition can effectively change the relative timescales among the protein dynamics and impact the behavior of the clock. We also employ root locus analysis to obtain a graphical interpretation of the results.
TOMM40 rs2075650, TOMM40 rs157580 and TOMM40 PolyT Polymorphism Effects on Ventricular Enlargement in Individuals with and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

may yield important insights into genetic influences on the biology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).We investigated the accuracy of a novel unsupervised multimodal biomarker classifier for differentiating cognitively normal elderly (NC) from subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). By combining imaging and genetic biomarker data, we hypothesized that we would achieve greater accuracy in differentiating the diagnostic groups.Methods:Using automated segmentation techniques, we derived hippocampal and lateral ventricle volumes from the T1-weighted MRI data of 46 NC and 35 aMCI subjects. We collected gene expression (GE) data from all subjects and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data on common variants in ApoE, TOMM40, PICALM, CLU, CR1, MAPT and PCDH11X from 44NC and 28 aMCI subjects. Using a novel automated support vector machine algorithm , we developed unimodal andmultimodal imaging and genetic diagnostic classifiers. All classifiers included age and sex. Results: In the N 1⁄4 72 imaging/SNP dataset, a classifier that used hippocampal volume only achieved 76.4% diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve, AUC1⁄4 0.67) compared to the classifier based on ventricular volume only accuracy 69.4% (AUC 1⁄4 0.56) and the combined hippocampalventricular classifier accuracy 74% (AUC1⁄4 0.7). The addition of SNP variables led to a hippocampal-SNP classifier accuracy of 76% (AUC 1⁄4 0.74) and a hippocampal-ventricular-SNP classifier accuracy of 72% (AUC 1⁄4 0.69). Of the 7 SNPs entered, PICALM was selected by the hippocampalSNP classifier, ApoE by the hippocampal-ventricular-SNP classifier while TOMM40 was selected by both classifiers. The remaining SNPs were not included in the optimal classification algorithm. In the N 1⁄4 81 imaging/ gene expression dataset the hippocampal-only classifier achieved 69% diagnostic accuracy (AUC1⁄4 0.63) and ventricular-only classifier achieved 69% accuracy (AUC 1⁄4 0.57) compared to the hippocampal-GE classifier accuracy 78% (AUC 1⁄4 0.79), and the combined hippocampal-ventricular-GE classifier accuracy 84% (AUC 1⁄4 0.82). 12 expressed genes and 8 expressed genes were selected as being useful for improving classification, by the final hippocampal-GE and hippocampal-ventricular-GE combined classifiers, respectively. Conclusions: As hypothesized, NC vs. aMCI classifier performance improved when combining imaging and genetic biomarkers. Automated classifiers show great promise for diagnostic analyses and potentially for predicting future conversion to AD.
CEO compensation: does it pay to be green?

The relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) compensation and various organizational variables (i.e., size, length of tenure of the CEO, board composition and firm performance) has been explored in academic research. However, the relationship between CEO compensation and the firm's reputation based on the firm's commitment to the community and the environment has been relatively unexamined in the academic research. This study's purpose is to empirically examine this relationship using the Fortune Reputation Index as revised by Brown and Perry (1995). Using a sample of 186 firms in 1990 and 188 firms in 1991, the relationships between CEO compensation and organization size, financial performance and environmental reputation are examined. The results of the study demonstrate that there is a strong relationship between CEO compensation and firm environmental reputation, firm size and firm financial performance. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment
Inflammasome Components Coordinate Autophagy and Pyroptosis as Macrophage Responses to Infection

ABSTRACT When microbes contaminate the macrophage cytoplasm, leukocytes undergo a proinflammatory death that is initiated by nucleotide-binding-domain-, leucine-rich-repeat-containing proteins (NLR proteins) that bind and activate caspase-1. We report that these inflammasome components also regulate autophagy, a vesicular pathway to eliminate cytosolic debris. In response to infection with flagellate Legionella pneumophila, C57BL/6J mouse macrophages equipped with caspase-1 and the NLR proteins NAIP5 and NLRC4 stimulated autophagosome turnover. A second trigger of inflammasome assembly, K + efflux, also rapidly activated autophagy in macrophages that produced caspase-1. Autophagy protects infected macrophages from pyroptosis, since caspase-1-dependent cell death occurred more frequently when autophagy was dampened pharmacologically by either 3-methyladenine or an inhibitor of the Atg4 protease. Accordingly, in addition to coordinating pyroptosis, both (pro-) caspase-1 protein and NLR components of inflammasomes equip macrophages to recruit autophagy, a disposal pathway that raises the threshold of contaminants necessary to trigger proinflammatory leukocyte death. IMPORTANCE An exciting development in the innate-immunity field is the recognition that macrophages enlist autophagy to protect their cytoplasm from infection. Nutrient deprivation has long been known to induce autophagy; how infection triggers this disposal pathway is an active area of research. Autophagy is encountered by many of the intracellular pathogens that are known to trigger pyroptosis, an inflammatory cell death initiated when nucleotide-binding-domain-, leucine-rich-repeat-containing proteins (NLR proteins) activate caspase-1 within inflammasome complexes. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that NLR proteins and caspase-1 also coordinate autophagy as a barrier to cytosolic infection. By exploiting classical bacterial and mouse genetics and kinetic assays of autophagy, we demonstrate for the first time that, when confronted with cytosolic contamination, primary mouse macrophages rely not only on the NLR proteins NAIP5 and NLRC4 but also on (pro-)caspase-1 protein to mount a rapid autophagic response that wards off proinflammatory cell death.
Metamaterial-based Broadband Elastic Wave Absorber:

This article presents modeling and analysis techniques for and reveals the actual working mechanism of longitudinal metamaterial bars as elastic wave absorbers. A metamaterial-based elastic wave absorber can be a uniform isotropic bar with many tiny spring-mass subsystems attached at separated longitudinal locations. In the literature, each cell that consists of a bar segment and an attached spring-mass subsystem is modeled as a discrete system of two degrees of freedom by integration and/or finite difference, and the idealized model becomes a dispersive medium for elastic waves and has a stop band that allows no waves to propagate forward. This work shows that these idealized models can be used only for elastic waves having wavelengths much longer than the unit cell’s length. Moreover, it is revealed that a metamaterial-based elastic wave absorber is actually based on the concept of conventional mechanical vibration absorbers, which uses the local resonance of subsystems to generate inertia forces to wor...
Asymmetry measurements for π 0 and π + photoproduction by linearly polarized γ-rays in the energy range (400÷900) MeV

The asymmetry ratioA = (σ⊥ -σ∥)/(σ⊥ +σ∥) has been measured by means of linearly polarized γ-rays for π0 and π+ photoproduction. For the reaction γ + p → n + π+, measurements were taken for θc.m. = 135° at γ-ray energies ranging from 390 to 909 MeV. For the reaction γ + p → p + π0, measurements were taken for θc.m. = 60° and 90° at γ-ray energies ranging from 426 to 918 Mev.
Geography and the Spatial Diffusion of Miranda v. Arizona in State Supreme Courts

Diffusion studies are common in political science. Scholars have long believed that geography (or the regional effect) is one dimension of diffusion. However, the strength of the regional effect often varies among cases and has yielded inconsistent results. We employ a social learning model to examine the role of geography in the diffusion of Supreme Court precedent in state supreme courts. Previous studies of lottery diffusion demonstrate that geographic proximity to states with lotteries leads to adoption of lotteries by states. Similarly, research on citation patterns among state courts shows that states tend to cite states geographically proximate to them, as well as those who serve as precedent ‘leaders.’ State supreme court justices may learn about the applicability of Supreme Court precedent by referencing the decisions of the high courts in neighboring states. By paying attention to the decisions of their neighboring courts, state supreme court justices may reduce the uncertainty associated with the precedent, which in turn will increase the likelihood of adherence. We make use of graphical information systems (GIS) and estimate a multivariate model to better understand the diffusion of Miranda v. Arizona in state supreme courts. We find that both the ideological distance between state supreme courts and the geographic proximity of states influences the likelihood of adoption.
Some Applications of Integration

After the abstract theory on arbitrary measured spaces, it is a relief to get into some classical situations on R n where we see the integral at work. None of this chapter will be used later, except for the approximation by Dirac families in the uniqueness proof for the spectral measure of Chapter 20.
Non-neuronal 210 × 10(3) Mr microtubule-associated protein (MAP4) contains a domain homologous to the microtubule-binding domains of neuronal MAP2 and tau

A polyclonal antiserum raised against a HeLa cell microtubule-associated protein of Mr 210,000 (210 kD MAP or MAP4), an abundant non-neuronal MAP, was used to isolate cDNA clones encoding MAP4 from a human fetal brain lambda gt11 cDNA expression library. The largest of these clones, pMAP4.245, contains an insert of 4.1 kb and encodes a 245 kD beta-galactosidase fusion protein. Evidence that pMAP4.245 encodes MAP4 sequences includes immunoabsorption of MAP4 antibodies with the pMAP4.245 fusion protein, as well as identity of protein sequences obtained from HeLa 210 kD MAP4 with amino acid sequences encoded by pMAP4.245. The MAP4.245 cDNA hybridizes to several large (approximately 6–9 kb) transcripts on Northern blots of HeLa cell RNA. DNA sequencing of overlapping MAP4 cDNA clones revealed a long open reading frame containing a C-terminal region with three imperfect 18-amino acid repeats; this region is homologous to a motif present in the microtubule (MT)-binding domain of two prominent neuronal MAPs, MAP2 and tau. The pMAP4.245 sequence also encoded a series of unrelated repeats, located in the MAP9s projection domain, N-terminal to the MT-binding domain. MAP4.245 fusion proteins bound to MTs in vitro, while fusion proteins that contained only the projection domain repeats failed to bind specifically to MTs. Thus, the major human non-neuronal MAP resembles two neuronal MAPs in its MT-binding domain, while most of the molecule has sequences, and presumably functions, distinct from those of the neuronal MAPs.
447 FECAL BILE ACIDS IN GREEN DIARRHEA

Fecal bile acids were measured by gas chromatography in 39 ambulatory children (age 3 mos.-4 yrs.) with chronic diarrhea of 2-18 mos. duration. Ten normals (age 2 mos.-4 yrs.) were controls. Clinical response to cholestyramine or Pepto Bismol was compared in those with brown or green diarrheal stools. Within each category, bile acid levels were unrelated to age, sex, diet or etiology. The normals' mean excretion was 1.43 mg/gm dry wgt. (.35-3.4). Those with green stools had a mean of 8.16 mg/gm (1.63-29.05), and those with yellow or brown stools had a mean of 3.72 mg/gm (.6-10.48). Bile acids in green stools were significantly elevated above normals (p .01) and brown stools (p .025). Thirteen of 15 responded to Pepto Bismol or cholesty-ramine and more than doubled fecal excretion, but 0 of 8 with brown stools responded. Treatment required an average of 4 wks. (3 days-3 mos.). B12 absorption was abnormal in 2 of 3 with green stools and 0 of 2 with brown stools. This study suggests that abnormal bile acid metabolism is present in chronic, watery, green diarrhea, and bile acid binding agents (cholestyramine and Pepto Bismol) are indicated for treatment. We speculate that ileal dysfunction plays a pathogenetic role in this condition.
Suggestive for Postwar Library Needs: Library Extension under the WPA

(1946). Suggestive for Postwar Library Needs: Library Extension under the WPA. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 55-56.
Development of a high repetition rate laser-plasma accelerator for application to ultrafast electron diffraction

We are developing a laser-wakefield accelerator operating at kHz repetition rate and producing electron bunches suitable for electron diffraction. We will show first experimental results at the 100 keV level and current progress aiming at increasing energy to the 5 MeV level.
Gender and parenthood.

This chapter examines several demographic trends relevant to parenthood in individual lives and to the social ambiance surrounding childbearing and rearing in contemporary society. A good starting place for understanding change in gender and parenting roles is several demographic trends: Longevity and the sex ration, marriage and fertility, and household composition. The chapter reviews gender differences in parenting as reflected in recent research on traditional and nontraditional family arrangements and the effect of significant male investment in parenting for child outcome. It then assesses the adequacy of current explanations of gender differences in parenting and demonstrates the relevance of an expanded explanatory model that draws upon bioevolutionary theory and the neurosciences. Three types of research permit a close-up view of what it is that men do when they carry primary child-care responsibility and how they differ from the more traditional circumstance of women carrying this responsibility. They are solo fathers, men in nontraditional family circumstances, and men in intact marriages.
Using GPUs on HPC Applications to Satisfy Low-Power Computational Requirements

*† The High-performance, low-power computing is required to reduce the computer infrastructure needed for large multi-physics calculations for reactive flow, high-resolution urban aerodynamics, deforming geometry fluid dynamics, etc. If computer infrastructure and costs can be reduced sufficiently, highly accurate calculations currently being performed only in large computer centers can be moved to operational centers and even into the field. The resulting ability will shorten reaction time and add new capabilities in the field. The approach taken will be to investigate the use of Graphical Processing Units that are making their way into PC based systems. These systems provide much more computational capability per watt than current CPUs and thus are suited to forward deployed military applications. These systems, however, are also low cost and have not been designed for scientific computing. We will examine this novel architecture by investigating new implementations of a key CFD computational kernel.
Conflicts and Defenses in Engineering and Psychology Undergraduates

A number of psychologists have investigated the relationship .bemeen personality and choice of vocation (3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ) . The present work is a follow-up of a study by Teevan ( 7 ) which assessed the correlations between personality variables and undergraduate field of specialization. Teevan divided undergraduate fields into three large groups: Literature, Social Science, and Science. He found that the Social Science group showed higher conflict than the others on the Blacky Picture dimensions of Oral Sadism, Oedipal Intensity, Guilt Feelings, and Anaclitic Love Object; that the Literature division had the highest conflict score on Oral Eroticism; and that the Science division had the lowest conflict scores on nearly all categories. The purpose of the present work was to study conflict and defense in two more narrowly defined fields of specialization, engineering and psychology. The instruments used in this study were the Blacky Pictures ( I ) , and the Defense Preference Inquiry for the Blacky Pictures, Form M53 ( 2 ) , which distinguishes rypes of defense mechanisms preferred for each of the psychosexual stages. The subjects were chosen according to their major fields of study with 32 in psychology and 24 in engineering. The ages of the subjects ranged from 19 to 33 yr. Levels of confidence are reported for two-tailed tests. The findings wich respect ro conflict were that engineers (18 scored strong, 6 not strong) were more disturbed ( p = .03) at the anal retentive stage than were psychologists (14 scored strong, 18 not strong; X 3 = 5.47, p < . 0 3 ) According to psychoanalytic theory, disturbance at the anal retentive stage may give rise to orderliness, punmaliry, tidiness, and meticulousness. The individual may develop an interest in collecting and controlling things. This type of interest fits well with attention to detail and control of things which is an essential pan of the engineer's profession. The findings with respect to defenses were: psychologists chose intellectualization significantly more often than did engineers, engineers chose avoidance significantly more often than did psychologists, engineers chose regression significantly more often than did psychologists. The first rwo of these results seem plausible. One possible inference is that engineers tend to avoid emotionally charged experiences. Their preoccupation with things, rather than people, may help them do this. The psychologists, dealing with people as they do, cannot avoid such situations but seem to handle their conflicts by intellectualizing them.
Design of the LCD Interface of UAV Landing System Ground Beacon Controller

With the development of the LCD Interface of UAV Landing System Ground Beacon Controller,this paper introduces the application of the LCD module MSP-G320240DBCW of embedded controller SED 1335,explains the interface technology of the module and MCU,and the programming skills of Chinese character dot-matrix LCD display and figures refresh conversion display,and narrates the application of the state transformation method in the keyboard control of man-machine interface.
Simplifying Gait Design via Shape Basis Optimization

Gaits are crucial to the performance of locomotors. However, it is often difficult to design effective gaits for complex locomotors. Geometric mechanics offers powerful gait design tools, but the utilities of these tools have been limited to systems with two joints. Using shape basis functions, it is possible to approximate the kinematics of complex locomotors using only two shape variables. As a result, the tools of geometric mechanics can be used to study complex locomotion in an intuitive way. The choice of shape basis functions plays an important role in determining gait kinematics, and therefore the performance of a locomotor. To find appropriate basis functions, we introduce the shape basis optimization algorithm, an algorithm that iteratively improve basis functions to find effective kinematic programs. Applying this algorithm to a snake robot resulted a novel gait, which improves its speed of swimming in granular materials.
Transvaginal Ultrasonography and Urodynamic Evaluation After Suspension Operations: Comparison Among the Gittes, Stamey and Burch Suspensions

AbstractRadiological and ultrasonographic imaging enables the objective determination of bladder neck position and movement in stress urinary incontinence. Postoperative results were evaluated in 60 patients after Burch colposuspension (29) or bladder neck suspension according to the Gittes (18) or Stamey (13) method. No differences in continence rates were noted 3 months postoperatively (Gittes 83%, Stamey 85% and Burch 93% of the patients). Late results were assessed by urodynamic evaluation and transvaginal ultrasonography. The largest decrease in continence rate was observed after the Gittes procedure (44% of the patients continent, mean followup 14.7 months), in comparison with the Stamey (69% continent after 34.6 months) and Burch (86% continent after 30.5 months) procedures. Urodynamic parameters showed no significant differences for the 3 groups.Transvaginal ultrasonography did not indicate a correlation between absolute resting or stress position of the bladder neck and continence. The main facto...
Somatosensory Evoked Potentials and Electroencephalography during Carotid Endarterectomy Predict Late Stroke but not Death

Backgrond Late stroke and death rates are anticipated to be higher in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) compared with healthy counterparts. However, little is known regarding predictors other than the baseline comorbidities. We have recently shown that dual intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring improves the ability to predict perioperative strokes. We seek to determine if dual intraoperative monitoring (IOM) can further predict long-term strokes and death. Methods Consecutive patients who underwent CEA under dual SSEP and EEG IOM between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010 were analyzed. Patients were divided in 2 groups, those with and those without IOM changes. IOM changes were classified as either occurring during carotid cross-clamp placement or at any time during the operation. End points were time to stroke and death. Log-rank tests and Cox regression analysis were used to identify predictors of postoperative stroke and death. Results A total of 853 CEAs (mean age 70.6 ± 9.5 years, 58.7% male, 38.9% symptomatic) were performed during the study period with a mean clinical follow-up of 48 ± 38 months. One hundred seven patients (13.6%) had significant SSEP or EEG changes at the time of clamping, while considerably more patients (217, 25.4%) had SSEP and/or EEG changes recorded at any point during the procedure, including clamping. Baseline characteristics including rates of bilateral disease, statin use, and antiplatelet use were similar between groups. Female gender, symptomatic disease, and significant contralateral carotid stenosis were more frequent in the group with IOM changes. The overall stroke-free survival rate at 5 years was significantly higher in patients without IOM changes (94.7% vs. 88.2%, P 80 at the time of operation (HR 3.24, P = 0.001) were significant predictors of late stroke, while statins were significantly protective (HR 0.55, P = 0.05). Controlling for these factors, IOM changes (HR 2.5, P = 0.004) were a strong predictor of long-term risk of stroke after CEA. Conclusion Intraoperative SSEP and/or EEG changes are predictive of late stroke but not death following CEA indicating a need for further elucidation and management of the underlying risk factors driving the elevated stroke risk in this subset of CEA patients.
Turning Women into Leaders

The evident under-representation of women in physics has broad implications, particularly for industries and government agencies that need technically educated staff. Quite simply, the global scientific workforce is failing to use a large fraction of its talent pool. The shortage of female physicists in academia exacerbates the situation, in that female students lack role models in the field.
Structural Characterization of Native Proteins and Protein Complexes by Electron Ionization Dissociation-Mass Spectrometry.

Mass spectrometry (MS) has played an increasingly important role in the identification and structural and functional characterization of proteins. In particular, the use of tandem mass spectrometry has afforded one of the most versatile methods to acquire structural information for proteins and protein complexes. The unique nature of electron capture dissociation (ECD) for cleaving protein backbone bonds while preserving noncovalent interactions has made it especially suitable for the study of native protein structures. However, the intra- and intermolecular interactions stabilized by hydrogen bonds and salt bridges can hinder the separation of fragments even with preactivation, which has become particularly problematic for the study of large macromolecular proteins and protein complexes. Here, we describe the capabilities of another activation method, 30 eV electron ionization dissociation (EID), for the top-down MS characterization of native protein–ligand and protein–protein complexes. Rich structural ...
The limits of market power in shaping international regulatory cooperation: path dependence and loss avoidance in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations

ABSTRACTWhat factors shape the ability of the United States to negotiate international regulatory cooperation? This paper discusses three theoretical approaches that help to explain the potential for regulatory change – market power, historical institutionalism, and loss avoidance – and applies them to the negotiation of regulatory issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It seeks to understand why the regulatory disciplines in some TPP chapters were more rigorous than those in other chapters. Focusing on case-studies of the chapters on state-owned enterprises and regulatory coherence, the paper argues that the market power of the United States is more likely to secure stronger regulatory disciplines when there is: (1) a strong loss avoidance coalition in the USA pushing for change, and (2) a weakly institutionalized regulatory framework among parties in a given issue area that makes path dependence less important.
Armed group institutions and combatant socialization: Evidence from El Salvador

Ex-combatants who fought with the Salvadoran Army during El Salvador’s 1980–92 civil war often recall being ‘captured’, rather than recruited, suffering beatings and humiliation in the course of tr...
Feature Comment: The Well-Reasoned Case for Reversing the Outsourcing Trend: A Review Essay of Jon Michaels’ Constitutional Coup: Privatization's Threat to the American Republic

This essay discusses Jon Michaels’ thoughtful and thought-provoking new book, Constitutional Coup: Privatization’s Threat to the American Republic (Harvard, 2017). In the book, Michaels recommends not only that we apply the brakes to the outsourcing train, but that the very future of our nation depends upon taking a meaningful, substantive, principled, fundamental step back. Michaels also cautions us that, particularly at this unique and seemingly anxiety-fraught moment in time, we fail to address these important questions now at our own peril. This is an ambitious work, with a broad-reaching agenda. Michaels poses a largely aspirational, Constitutional, case for a greater commitment to the civil service; he looks to the courts for judicial custodialism to promote administrative separation of powers; and he implores Congress to provide more support for the civil service; increase public participation in administrative proceedings; and break its habit of bad-faith obstructionism. Michaels provides plenty of food for thought for Constitutional, administrative law, and public policy scholars, and his rich historical review sheds new light on the outsourcing and privatization revolution in the United States.
Expected constant-factor optimal multi-robot path planning in well-connected environments

Fast algorithms for optimal multi-robot path planning are sought after in both research and real-world applications. Known methods, however, generally do not simultaneously guarantee good solution optimality and fast run time for difficult instances. In this work, we develop a low-polynomial running time algorithm, called SplitAndGroup, that solves the multi-robot path planning problem on grids and grid-like environments, and produces constant factor time- and distance-optimal solutions, in expectation. In particular, SplitAndGroup computes solutions with sub-linear makespan. SplitAndGroup is capable of handling cases when the density of robot is extremely high — in a graph-theoretic setting, the algorithm supports cases where all vertices of the underlying graph are occupied by robots. SplitAndGroup attains its desirable properties through a careful combination of divide-and-conquer technique and network flow based methods for routing the robots.
Analysis of 14-3-3 isoforms expressed in photoreceptors

The 14-3-3 family of proteins has undergone considerable expansion in higher eukaryotes with humans and mice expressing seven isoforms (β, e, η, γ, θ, ζ, and σ) from seven distinct genes (YWHAB, YWAHE, YWHAH, YWHAG, YWHAQ, YWHAZ, and SFN). Growing evidence indicates that while highly conserved, these isoforms are not entirely functionally redundant as they exhibit unique tissue expression profiles, subcellular localization, and biochemical functions. A key limitation in our understanding of 14-3-3 biology lies in our limited knowledge of cell-type specific 14-3-3 expression. Here we provide a characterization of 14-3-3 expression in whole retina and isolated rod photoreceptors using reverse-transcriptase digital droplet PCR. We find that all 14-3-3 genes with the exception of SFN are expressed in mouse retina with YWHAQ and YWHAE being the most highly expressed. Rod photoreceptors are enriched in YWHAE (14-3-3 e). Immunohistochemistry revealed that 14-3-3 e and 14-3-3 ζ exhibit unique distributions in photoreceptors with 14-3-3 e restricted to the inner segment and 14-3-3 ζ localized to the outer segment. Our data demonstrates that, in the retina, 14-3-3 isoforms likely serve specific functions as they exhibit unique expression levels and cell-type specificity. As such, future investigations into 14-3-3 function in rod photoreceptors should be centered on 14-3-3 e and 14-3-3 ζ, depending on the subcellular region of question.
Genetic Basis of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

Related to various trophoblastic cells within the placenta, gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) consists of a distinct group of proliferative disorders that have unique clinical settings, genetic compositions, and varying biological behaviors. Recent laboratory investigations of biomarker expressions have delineated the cellular pathways of differentiation related to each of the entities of GTDs (Int J Gynecol Pathol 20(1):31–47, 2001). The most common hydatidiform moles are proliferative lesions of cells recapitulating chorionic villous trophoblasts. The most virulent gestational choriocarcinoma is a fully malignant tumor with proliferating cells recapitulating previllous trophoblasts of the developing placenta. The lesional cells of placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) and exaggerated placental site reaction have cytological features resembling intermediate trophoblasts at the implantation site, whereas epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) and placental site nodule have proliferating cells resembling intermediate trophoblasts at the chorionic laeve. Biologically, the androgenetic nature of hydatidiform moles clearly indicates that an excessive paternal genome plays an important role in the development of these conditions, likely through an altered genomic imprinting. Recent linkage studies identified mutations of NALP7 on 19q13.4 as causal events in the development of familial biparental complete hydatidiform. Follow-up investigations into the biological aspects of NALP7 gene alterations may hold the key to unlock the mystery as how altered genomic imprinting and related gene expression result in the phenotype of diandric hydatidiform mole in general. Recent findings of the preferential requirement of a paternal X chromosome by several trophoblastic tumors suggest a unique genetic factor that may render a growth advantage to trophoblast in these tumors.