cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Computer‐identified nuclear localization signal in exon 1A of the transporter DMT1 is essentially ineffective in nuclear targeting

Divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1; also called DCT1, Nramp2, or SLC11A2) has multiple isoforms that localize differently in many cell types. DMT1 +IRE species (encoded by mRNA with an iron-responsive element) are limited to the plasma membrane and cytosolic vesicles. In neural cells, -IRE isoforms of DMT1 (encoded by mRNA lacking an IRE) localize to the nucleus, plasma membrane, and cytosolic vesicles. In considering nuclear compartmentalization of -IRE isoforms, we hypothesized that the newly identified exon 1A in the N-terminus of this transporter might contain a nuclear localization signal. DNA constructs starting with exon 1A and ending with exons encoding alternative isoforms were made and transiently transfected into HEK293T and PC12 cells as well as rat sympathetic neurons. None of the constructs appeared in the nucleus despite the presence of exon 1A. Antibody specific for exon 1A was also used in both immunostaining and Western blots to investigate localization of exon 1A expressed both endogenously and ectopically in cells. Again, nuclear localization of DMT1 containing exon 1A was not observed. Our data suggest that exon 1A is neither sufficient nor necessary for DMT1 to appear in the nucleus.
Mechanical Signals Activate Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 To Upregulate Endothelial Cell Proliferation during Inflammation

Signals generated by the dynamic mechanical strain critically regulate endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis; however, the molecular basis remains unclear. We investigated the mechanisms by which human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMECs) perceive mechanical signals and relay them intracellularly to regulate gene expression and endothelial cell proliferation. HDMECs were exposed to low/physiologic levels of dynamic strain and probed for the differential activation/inhibition of kinases in the mechanosignaling cascade associated with endothelial cell gene activation. Because angiogenesis is important at inflammatory sites, we also assessed the mechanisms of mechanosignaling in the presence of an proinflammatory cytokine IL-1beta. In this article, we demonstrate that the mechanosignaling cascade is initiated by vascular endothelial growth receptor-2 (VEGFR2) activation. Mechanoactivation of VEGFR2 results in its nuclear translocation and elevation of PI3K-dependent Ser473-Akt phosphorylation. Subsequently, activated Akt inactivates the kinase activity of the serine/threonine kinase, glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta), via its Ser9 phosphorylation. Thus, inactive GSK3beta fails to phosphorylate cyclin D1 and prevents its proteosomal degradation and, consequently, promotes endothelial cell survival and proliferation. In the presence of IL-1beta, cyclin D1 is phosphorylated and degraded, leading to inhibition of cell proliferation. However, mechanical signals repress cyclin D1 phosphorylation and upregulate cell proliferation, despite the presence of IL-1beta. The data indicate that the VEGFR2/Akt/GSK3beta signaling cascade plays a critical role in sensing and phospho-relaying mechanical stimuli in endothelial cells. Furthermore, mechanical forces control highly interconnected networks of proinflammatory and Akt signaling cascades to upregulate endothelial cell proliferation.
Sensory and sympathetic nerve contributions to the cutaneous vasodilator response from a noxious heat stimulus.

We investigated the roles of sensory and noradrenergic sympathetic nerves on the cutaneous vasodilator response to a localized noxious heating stimulus. In two separate studies, four forearm skin sites were instrumented with microdialysis fibres, local heaters and laser-Doppler probes. Skin sites were locally heated from 33 to 42 °C or rapidly to 44 °C (noxious). In the first study, we tested sensory nerve involvement using EMLA cream. Treatments were as follows: (1) control 42 °C; (2) EMLA 42 °C; (3) control 44°C; and (4) EMLA 44 °C. At the EMLA-treated sites, the axon reflex was reduced compared with the control sites during heating to 42 °C (P 0.05). At both the sites heated to 44 °C, the initial peak and nadir became indistinguishable, and the EMLA-treated sites were lower compared with the control sites during the plateau phase (P < 0.05). In the second study, we tested the involvement of noradrenergic sympathetic nerves in response to the noxious heating using bretylium tosylate (BT). Treatments were as follows: (1) control 42 °C; (2) BT 42 °C; (3) control 44 °C; and (4) BT 44 °C. Treatment with BT at the 42 °C sites resulted in a marked reduction in both the axon reflex and the secondary plateau (P < 0.05). At the 44 °C sites, there was no apparent initial peak or nadir, but the plateau phase was reduced at the BT-treated sites (P < 0.05). These data suggest that both sympathetic nerves and sensory nerves are involved during the vasodilator response to a noxious heat stimulus.
Mitochondrial Glutathione in Diabetic Nephropathy

Although there are many etiologies for diabetic nephropathy (DN), one common characteristic of all cases involves mitochondrial oxidative stress and consequent bioenergetic dysfunction. As the predominant low-molecular-weight, intramitochondrial thiol reductant, the mitochondrial glutathione (mtGSH) pool plays important roles in how this organelle adapts to the chronic hyperglycemia and redox imbalances associated with DN. This review will summarize information about the processes by which this important GSH pool is regulated and how manipulation of these processes can affect mitochondrial and cellular function in the renal proximal tubule. Mitochondria in renal proximal tubular (PT) cells do not appear to synthesize GSH de novo but obtain it by transport from the cytoplasm. Two inner membrane organic anion carriers, the dicarboxylate carrier (DIC; Slc25a10) and 2-oxoglutarate carrier (OGC; Slc25a11) are responsible for this transport. Genetic modulation of DIC or OGC expression in vitro in PT cells from diabetic rats can alter mitochondrial function and susceptibility of renal PT cells to oxidants, with overexpression leading to reversion of bioenergetic conditions to a non-diabetic state and protection of cells from injury. These findings support the mtGSH carriers as potential therapeutic targets to correct the underlying metabolic disturbance in DN.
WIX: statistical nuclear multifragmentation with collective expansion and Coulomb forces

Abstract By suitable augmentation of the event generator FREESCO, a code WIX has been constructed with which it is possible to simulate the statistical multifragmentation of a specified nuclear source, which may be both hollow and deformed, in the presence of a collective expansion and with the interfragment Coulomb forces included.
Time varying optimal control with packet losses

The problem of using wireless sensor networks technology for estimation and control of dynamical systems has recently received widespread attention within the scientific community. Classical control theory is in general insufficient to model distributed control problems where issues of communication delay, jitter, and time synchronization between components cannot be ignored. The purpose of this paper is to extend our work on discrete time Kalman filtering with intermittent observations (Sinopoli et al., 2004) that was motivated by data losses in a communication channel. Accordingly, we consider the linear Gaussian quadratic (LQG) optimal control problem in the discrete time setting, showing that the separation principle holds in the presence of data losses. Then, using our previous results, we show the existence of a critical arrival probability below which the resulting optimal controller fails to stabilize the system. This is done by providing analytic upper and lower bounds on the cost functional, and stochastically characterizing their convergence properties as k /spl rarr/ /spl infin/.
The automation and optimization of solid phase extraction inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis for the high throughput determination of aqueous levels of U, Th, Np, Pu, and Am

The development of an automated chemical and mechanical sequence is presented for actinide analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) using a column-based chromatographic system with TRU resin for matrix separation. The approach yields a robust method that allows for simple handling with high sample throughput for use in rapid response scenarios. Nanogram-level studies were carried out using ICP-MS with mono-isotopic spiked samples. Sample throughput was extrapolated to successfully handle over 2000 samples a day. This process includes a manual valency adjustment allowing for direct optimal loading while simultaneously minimizing sample dilution, an automated solid phase extraction platform, and a unique transfer system for flow through from the extraction to the ICP-MS detection platform. Bed volumes, reagent compositions, resin environments as well as volume and flow rates were optimized to increase recovery. Under optimal conditions the average recoveries over the range from 0.1 to 1.0 μg L−1 were 238U 106.3 ± 5.4%, 237Np 100.5 ± 2.3%, 242Pu 94.3 ± 5.2% and 232Th 109.2 ± 4.8%. Using synthetic urine as a complex matrix the recoveries were 238U 96.2 ± 1.6%, 237Np 95.4 ± 1.7%, 242Pu 81 ± 2.4%, 232Th 98.8 ± 1.7% and 241Am 53 ± 3.6% for samples at the 1 μg L−1 level co-eluted with a 0.5 M HCl/0.3 M oxalic acid solution. These high recoveries were obtained while successfully removing 99.999% of monitored matrix ion constituents and minimizing reagent volumes, culminating in the development of a method that allows for rapid onsite handling of a large number of samples while maintaining high recovery and consistency inherent to automation.
An approach towards distributed simulation of timed Petri nets

The authors present a model of timed Petri nets which is more general than known models in terms of modeling convenience. The model consists of simple but fairly general modules. This results in simpler and more modular codes for simulation of these systems, as compared with the known models of timed Petri nets. Time can be associated with either a place or a transition or both. The model consists of several simple modules resulting in modular code for simulation. The authors present an approach towards distributed simulation of the model. The well-known distributed simulation schemes for discrete event systems do not directly apply to these systems due to the nonautonomous nature of place nodes in timed Petri nets. The authors incorporate several ideas in the proposed approach to increase the degree of concurrency and to reduce the number of overhead messages in distributed simulation. >
Noisy preferential attachment and language evolution

We study the role of the agent interaction topology in distributed language learning In particular, we utilize the replicator- mutator framework of language evolution for the creation of an emergent agent interaction topology that leads to quick convergence In our system, it is the links between agents that are treated as the units of selection and replication, rather than the languages themselves We use the Noisy Preferential Attachment algorithm, which is a special case of the replicator-mutator process, for generating the topology The advantage of the NPA algorithm is that, in the short-term, it produces a scale-free interaction network, which is helpful for rapid exploration of the space of languages present in the population A change of parameter settings then ensures convergence because it guarantees the emergence of a single dominant node which is chosen as teacher almost always.
ON PROPERTIES OF GROUP CLOSURES OF ONE-TO-ONE TRANSFORMATIONS

For a permutation group H on an infinite set X and a transformation f of X ,l eth f V H iDh f hf h 1 V h 2 Hgi be a group closure of f . We find necessary and sufficient conditions for distinct normal subgroups of the symmetric group on X and a one-to-one transformation f of X to generate distinct group closures of f . Amongst these group closures we characterize those that are left simple, left cancellative, idempotent-free semigroups, whose congruence lattice forms a chain and whose congruences are preserved under automorphisms.
Inversion algorithms for particle sizing with photon migration measurement

A new linear inverse method is demonstrated for recovery of particle-size distribution (PSD) and volume fraction of opaque colloidal suspensions from frequency domain photon migration (FDPM) measurement of multiply scattered light. To deal with the ill posedness of PSD retrieving problem, the size distribution is approximated by the B-spline expansion. Tikhonov regularization, along with both nonnegativity and smoothing constraints, in which the L-curve method is employed to choose a regularization parameter, are also used to ensure the stable and realistic solution. The algorithm is tested using synthetic FDPM measurements at a variety of size distributions, and results are compared using other inverse methods. The influences of model and measurement error are investigated. To demonstrate our inversion approach, PSD and volume fraction of opaque titanium dioxide suspensions are recovered from actual FDPM measurements. This work demonstrates the ability of FDPM method to characterize colloidal suspensions.
Brain arterioles show more active vesicular transport of blood-borne tracer molecules than capillaries and venules after focused ultrasound-evoked opening of the blood-brain barrier

Previously, activation of vesicular transport in the brain microvasculature was shown to be one of the mechanisms of focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening. In the present study, we aimed to estimate the rate of the transendothelial vesicular traffic after focused ultrasound sonication in the rabbit brain, using ultrastructural morphometry and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a tracer. In the capillaries, the mean endothelial pinocytotic densities (the number of HRP-containing vesicles per μm2 of the cell cytoplasm) were 0.9 and 1.05 vesicles/μm2 1 h after sonication with ultrasound frequencies of 0.69 and 0.26 MHz, respectively. In the arterioles, these densities were 1.63 and 2.43 vesicles/μm2, values 1.8 and 2.3 times higher. In control locations, the densities were 0.7 and 0.14 vesicles/μm2 for capillaries and arterioles, respectively. A small number of HRP-positive vesicles were observed in the venules. Focal delivery of HRP tracer was also observed in light microscopy. The results indicate that the precapillary microvessels play an important role in macromolecular transcytoplasmic traffic through the ultrasound-induced BBB modulation, which should be considered in the future development of trans-BBB drug delivery strategies. (E-mail: nsheikov@bwh.harvard.edu)
UV SiC avalanche photodetectors for photon counting

At present, the best detector for photon-counting in the deep UV region of the spectrum is based on photoemissive detectors such as PMTs. However, its disadvantages are low quantum efficiency, sensitivity to magnetic field and high cost. In this work we investigate semiconductor alternatives to PMTs for use for photon counting in the deep UV. Silicon Carbide avalanche photodetectors with separate absorption and multiplication regions were fabricated and characterized. Effect of thicknesses of the multiplication and absorption layers on electrical and optical characteristics were analyzed.
Quantitative blood flow measurements with Multi-Exposure Speckle contrast imaging

We present a new multi-exposure speckle imaging instrument and a new speckle model to predict correlation times of flow consistently (within 10% deviation) in the presence of static scatterers such as an intact/thinned skull.
On the Effective Number of Climate Models

AbstractProjections of future climate change are increasingly based on the output of many different models. Typically, the mean over all model simulations is considered as the optimal prediction, with the underlying assumption that different models provide statistically independent information evenly distributed around the true state. However, there is reason to believe that this is not the best assumption. Coupled models are of comparable complexity and are constructed in similar ways. Some models share parts of the same code and some models are even developed at the same center. Therefore, the limitations of these models tend to be fairly similar, contributing to the well-known problem of common model biases and possibly to an unrealistically small spread in the outcomes of model predictions.This study attempts to quantify the extent of this problem by asking how many models there effectively are and how to best determine this number. Quantifying the effective number of models is achieved by evaluating ...
Scattering by a narrow gap

For a plane wave incident on a cavity-backed gap in a perfectly conducting plane, the coupled integral equations for the induced currents have been solved numerically and the far-field scattering computed. The results are compared with a quasi-analytic solution previously derived. For a narrow gap the agreement is excellent for all cavity geometries and for all material fillings that have been tested. >
Contribution of double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase toward antiproliferative actions of heparin on vascular smooth muscle cells.

Objective— The proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in blood vessels after endothelial injury contributes to the onset of atherosclerosis. Heparin is a potent antiproliferative agent for VSMCs in vivo and in vitro. Although heparin has shown promise in suppressing VSMC proliferation after invasive procedures in laboratory animals, the mechanism of its antiproliferative actions is largely unknown. Here, we present evidence for the first time that the antiproliferative action of heparin is in part mediated by its ability to activate double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR), an interferon-induced protein kinase. Methods and Results— We have analyzed the VSMC proliferation by cell-cycle analysis and correlated it to the kinase activity of PKR in the presence of heparin. Heparin treatment of VSMCs results in activation of PKR by direct binding and results in a block in G 1 - to S-phase transition. PKR-null cells are largely insensitive to the antiproliferative actions of heparin, and inhibition of PKR in VSMCs results in a partial abrogation of the antiproliferative effects of heparin. Conclusions— These results invoke the involvement of novel PKR-dependent regulatory pathways in mediating the antiproliferative actions of heparin.
On the Use of Multipath Geometry for Wideband Cooperative Localization

The combination of wideband transmission and co-operative techniques enables high-precision location-awareness. Wideband transmission provides fine delay resolution and multipath resolvability, while cooperation among nodes can yield significant performance benefit in harsh or infrastructure-limited environments. In this paper, we propose to exploit the geometric relationship inherent in multipath propagation, i.e., multipath geometry, via cooperation among nodes for localization. We characterize the contribution of this multipath geometry in terms of the nodes' squared position error bound, which is the fundamental limit of localization accuracy. Analytical and numerical results validate the benefit of using multipath geometry in wideband cooperative localization.
Voltage Noise Characteristics of Polysilicon P-I-N Diodes

In this paper, voltage noise of lateral polysilicon p-i-n diodes, biased at constant current levels, is studied. The polysilicon film that forms the active material of the p-i-n diodes was prepared by the crystallization of amorphous silicon either by the solid phase crystallization (SPC) or the sequential lateral solidification (SLS) method; two different thicknesses of 100 and 50 nm were also investigated. Measurement results of the voltage noise at frequency bandwidth from 500 Hz to 1 MHz for polysilicon p-i-n diodes with different crystallization methods and active material thicknesses are presented. The effects of grain size, i-region geometry, and the biasing current on the voltage noise of p-i-n diodes are studied. Furthermore, different methods of improving the voltage noise of p-i-n diodes are also discussed, and experimental results are demonstrated.
Health Beliefs of Haitian Elders Related to Influenza Prevention

Objective: Each year, about 20% of the persons living in the United States gets influenza, and the majority of those who die as a consequence are over 65. Many of these deaths may be preventable. In this study, the health beliefs, attitudes, and cultural practices related to the prevention of influenza by Haitian elders are studied. Design and sample: Using a focused ethnographic approach, 10 adults above the age of 55 and born in Haiti were interviewed. Methods: Data were collected using interviews and participant observation. Interviews were conducted in Creole by the primary author. Participant observation occurred for the length of a “flu season” in a neighborhood nurse-managed clinic during the provision of routine health care. Results: Themes of competing paradigms, fear of sickness, taking care of oneself, and cautious willingness emerged. Conclusions: The participants described what is known in western medicine as influenza, as “a cold,” or “a big cold.” While they were uncertain of influenza immunizations, there was an overwhelming willingness to accept one if recommended by respected others and trusted health providers. The results of the study can serve as a springboard for future attempts to better understand this unique and at-risk population.
Autopsy of measurements with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

A lot of attention has been devoted to the study of discoveries in high energy physics (HEP), but less on measurements aiming at improving an existing theory like the standard model of particle physics, getting more precise values for the parameters of the theory or establishing relationships between them. This paper provides a detailed and critical study of how measurements are performed in recent HEP experiments, taking examples from differential cross section measurements with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This study will be used to provide an elucidation of the concept of event used in HEP, in order to determine what constitutes an observation and what does not. It will highlight the essential place taken by theory-ladenness in order to produce observational facts, and will show how uncertainty and sensitivity estimates constitute an operational approach to robustness, inside the practice of science, avoiding potential circularity problem traditionally implied by theory-ladenness. This is in contrast to robustness analyses typically considered in the literature. A careful analysis of systematic uncertainty estimates and of statistical tests used to set empirical conclusions from the observations will however demonstrate that quantitative statements obtained from these statistical tests cannot be more than simple guiding arguments for the production of knowledge, but do not determine it. This indicates that the frontier between theory and observation is blurry and that the dichotomy theory-experiment should be revised.
Factors Associated With the Use of Standardized Power Mobility Skills Assessments Among Assistive Technology Practitioners

This study investigated self-reported prevalence of and factors affecting clinicians' use of standardized assessments when evaluating clients for power mobility devices (PMDs), and explored assessments clinicians typically use when carrying out PMD evaluation. An e-mail survey was sent to assistive technology professionals listed in the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America directory. Three hundred fifty-four respondents, qualified to conduct formal power mobility skills assessments, completed the online survey. Of those, 122 (34.5%) respondents reported that they were aware of the presence of standardized performance-based power mobility skills assessments, but only 28 (7.9%) used these assessments in their practice. Multivariate analysis revealed that the odds of the respondents who use the standardized assessments were 18 times higher for those who were aware of the presence of these assessments than those who were not (adjusted odds ratio [OR] OR = 17.85, P < 0.0001). The odds of using the standardized assessment for respondents who did not identify themselves as occupational or physical therapists were five times higher than those who were therapists (adjusted OR = 0.20, P < 0.0001). This survey revealed that the assistive technology practitioners who recommend PMDs mainly use non-standardized mobility skills assessments.
Looking Glass

Looking Glass is the successor to Storytelling Alice designed for middle and high school students. By dragging and dropping, users can construct programs that direct the behavior of characters in a 3D scene. The system consists of a downloadable application and an online community.Looking Glass is intended to support creative, open-ended programming. To help spark ideas, the Looking Glass community hosts a set of community-created templates and remixes, animations that can be imported into any new world. These templates and remixes can help to inspire a story line. In more formal settings, templates and remixes allow an instructor to provide shared resources for an assignment and for students to collaborate with each other.Exploring the behavior of existing code examples can be a powerful way to learn new skills. In addition to providing story inspiration, community remixes serve as code examples that students can explore. To support users in learning new skills based on code shared through remixes, Looking Glass includes a play and explore mode in which the environment records an execution history and changes to the 3D scene as a program runs. Users can scroll back in time, see which actions were executing, and replay individual statements.A free download is available at lookingglass.wustl.edu for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Cooperative Collective Action: Framing Faith-Based Community Development

Drawing from social movement and organization theories, data from an in-depth comparative analysis of three faith-based community development organizations (FBCDOs) in the United States are examined as a form of cooperative collective action. The diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames produced by each organization, and the role these frames play in developing and maintaining relationships with the state, are detailed. These collective action frames (1) link sectarian religious values to broad community development goals, and (2) do not fundamentally challenge the prevailing economic and political systems. Empirically, the findings clarify important issues and dynamics related to emerging movements, the modern welfare state, and church-state relations by specifying how values, beliefs, and structural location shape the actions of FBCDOs engaged in state-sponsored religious social service provision. Theoretically, it demonstrates the utility of more precise analytical distinctions between types of ...
Global Coverage Constellation Design Exploration Using Evolutionary Algorithms

Walker constellations are widely known and effective solutions to the continuous global coverage design problem using circular orbits. Many efforts have been made to optimize these designs for multiple folds of coverage and up to dozens of satellites, resulting in large tables of symmetric arrangements that provide efficient, continuous coverage. This research breaks away from the assumption of rigidly symmetric orbits and approaches the problem from a more general design perspective. A multi-objective evolutionary optimization tool is used to characterize the design space surrounding Walker’s optimal constellations and provide tradeoff solutions for both continuous and intermittent global coverage. Orbit regimes from LEO to GEO are explored for 3-12 satellites, with additional emphasis on fivesatellite constellations. This work confirms that Walker designs are among the best solutions to the circular-orbit global coverage constellation design problem while simultaneously placing his discovery in the context of alternative designs that characterize the tradeoffs associated with global vs. intermittent coverage.
Inhabiting the Wild: Land Management and Environmental Politics in Big Sur

Recent scholarship has explored the construction of legal wildernesses out of landscapes that were once inhabited and productive. in contrast, this essay examines how residents and authorities of Big Sur, California, created a hybrid space: an area renowned for its natural beauty and lack of development in which residents preserved not only the landscape but their own right to live in it.
The 97.5th and 99.5th percentile of vertical cup disc ratio in the United States.

PURPOSE The International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology (ISGEO) suggests a case definition for the prevalence studies of glaucoma based on the 97.5th and 99.5th percentile of vertical optic cup distribution among the evaluated population. Although multiple studies evaluating the prevalence of glaucoma have been undertaken in the last 20 years, case definitions have varied, and data on the underlying population distribution are sparse. This study evaluates the population distribution of 97.5th and 99.5th percentile of vertical cup disc ratio (VCDR) and VCDR asymmetry (VCDRA) in the US population and its association with demographic characteristics, self-reported glaucoma, and visual field. METHODS The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a nationally representative sample of the US population, which during the years 2005 to 2008 collected frequency doubling technology screening fields and digital fundus photography. Accounting for the complex design of the NHANES population, estimates of the 97.5th and 99.5th percentile of VCDR and VCDRA were calculated, and national estimates of glaucoma prevalence were generated. Associations between disc characteristics, demographic variables, and self-reported glaucoma were explored. RESULTS Approximately 2.11% (95% confidence interval, 1.55 to 2.67) of the US population older than 40 years has glaucoma based on ISGEO criteria. A much larger 5.13% (95% confidence interval, 4.43 to 5.85) of the US population older than 40 years self-reports having glaucoma. Based on the estimates from NHANES, 6.89% of the population has a VCDR or VCDRA >97.5th percentile in either eye or OU. For the at-risk population with VCDR/VCDRA above the 97.5th percentile, <20% reported having glaucoma, whereas for those at the 99.5th percentile, <50% reported having glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of glaucoma from NHANES based on ISGEO criteria produces similar population estimated to other population-based studies. Self-reported glaucoma is ∼2.4 times more common than what the prevalence estimates suggest.
Transatlantic Connections in the Making of a Socialist–Feminist Framework for Social Welfare in Turkey The Legacy of Sabiha Zekeriya Sertel

Sabiha Zekeriya Sertel (1895–1968) was one of Turkey’s most prominent advocates for the rights of children, women, the working class, and the poor. This article focuses on her training in community organizing at the New York School of Social Work in the early 1920s and her subsequent shift to social realist journalism and political advocacy in Turkey. Sertel’s biography offers evidence of transatlantic connections during the early years of professionalization and an early critique of liberal paradigms for addressing social welfare in the United States and Turkey.
Interface Recombination in III/V Heterostructures Investigated Through the Power Dependence of Excitonic Photoluminescence

Photoluminescence spectra of AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures with layer thicknesses in the micrometer range show excitonic recombination peaks from the AlGaAs as well as the GaAs layer. Luminescence in the buried GaAs layer may be produced by charge carrier diffusion across the interface and/or photon recycling. We have monitored the luminescence intensity from both layers as a function of laser power in order to determine the dominant generation process in the GaAs layer. The ambi polar diffusion equation has been solved to derive the charge carrier distribution. Based on these data the relative intensities of the AlGaAs and the GaAs excitonic luminescence can be used to obtain information about the interface recombination in a nondestructive way. This characterization method has been applied to investigate the quality of GaAsP/GaAs interfaces as a function of increasing lattice mismatch and dislocation density.
An Erroneous Action Analysis of Negative Sequence Relay

Based on one erroneous action of negative sequence relay running on non-all-phase transmission line, calculation and analysis are conducted to the sampling data of relay. It is indicated that the reasons of erroneous action are as following: the less fixed negative sequence value, non warding off the load current when non-all-phase running, without switching in single phase trip start reclose, too long delay of non-corresponding start reclose. The solutions are put forward at last.
Trajectory control of small rotating projectiles by laser discharges

The experimental and theoretical analysis of the trajectory control of small rotating projectiles by laser discharges has been performed. The laser spark was generated by 1.06 μm Nd-YAG laser (300 mJ, 5 ns pulse duration). It was shown that the spark generates a strong shock wave, a hot gas spot, and a slow air jet. The gas heating is considered as a primary mechanism for the pressure redistribution along the projectile surface and the trajectory change.
Sex, race, and hemodialysis vascular access processes

PurposeHemodialysis (HD) patients who are female or black receive fewer arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) and more grafts (AVG). We evaluated race- and sex-based differences for three process exposures:...
De-Westernizing public relations: A comparative analysis of culture and economics structure in China and Mexico

The main purpose of this article is to challenge the normative ideal of public relations, usually shaped by a Western perspective, highlighting there is a broad typology of non-Western PR models, which are the norm across the world. This article emphasizes how public relations principles of excellence are not only exceptionally met but also suggests that Western public relations can learn from the rest of the world about, for example, how personal relations can enrich the profession. Using a qualitative method, this paper compares two populated countries with large economies, China and Mexico. The main finding of the article is that there are important forces, such as patronage relationships and economic structures, which place limitations on the trend toward homogenization in how the public relations discipline is understood, as well as in the convenience and even need of looking for a set of universal public relations standards.
Probabilistic Joint State Estimation for Operational Planning

Due to a high penetration of renewable energy, power systems operational planning today needs to capture unprecedented uncertainties in a short period. Fast probabilistic state estimation (SE), which creates probabilistic load flow estimates, represents one such planning tool. This paper describes a graphical model for probabilistic SE modeling that captures both the uncertainties and the power grid via embedding physical laws, i.e., KCL and KVL. With such a modeling, the resulting maximum a posteriori (MAP) SE problem is formulated by measuring state variables and their interactions. To resolve the computational difficulty in calculating the marginal distribution for interested quantities, a distributed message passing method is proposed to compute MAP estimates using increasingly available cyber resources, i.e., computational and communication intelligence. A modified message passing algorithm is then introduced to improve the convergence and optimality. Simulation results illustrate the probabilistic SE and demonstrate the improved performance over traditional deterministic approaches via: 1) the more accuracy mean estimate; 2) the confidence interval covering the true state; and 3) the reduced computational time.
Decision procedures for bit-vectors, arrays and integers

Decision procedures that can check satisfiability of formulas over mathematical theories such as Boolean logic, bit-vectors and arrays are increasingly being used in varied areas of computer science. There are two primary reasons for this trend. First, many decision problems in computer science are easily translated into satisfiability problems in some mathematical theory. Second, in recent years considerable progress has been made in the design and implementation of decision procedures. As applications cover new ground, they generate larger, more complex formulas, and demand greater efficiency from decision procedures they employ. This constant demand for more efficient, powerful and robust decision procedures forms the motivation for this dissertation. The design and implementation of new, efficient decision procedures for the satisfiability problem of the quantifier-free theories of bit-vectors, arrays, and mixed real and integer linear arithmetic is discussed. More specifically, this thesis makes three contributions. First, a new efficient decision procedure for the theory of bit-vectors and arrays, called STP, is presented. The architecture of the STP tool is SAT-based, i.e. the input formula is translated into a Boolean formula after significant preprocessing, and this formula is then fed to a decision procedure for Boolean logic (aka SAT solver). The preprocessing steps consist of a solver for linear bit-vector arithmetic, and two algorithms based on the abstraction-refinement paradigm to handle large arrays. The solver algorithm is online, based on a solve-and-substitute method, and can solve for whole bit-vectors or parts thereof. The design of STP and the aforementioned algorithms together have proved very effective in deciding extremely large formulas from real-world applications like bug-finding and program analysis. Second, a mixed real and integer linear arithmetic decision procedure is presented. The decision procedure is online and proof producing, characteristics important in making the decision procedure efficient in the context of combining decision procedures of various mathematical theories. Third, a new decision procedure for the quantifier-free fragment of Presburger arithmetic is presented. The decision procedure is based on translating the satisfiability problem of this fragment into the language emptiness problem of a finite state automaton, which in turn is translated into a model-checking problem.
Participatory Design Using Sensory Substitution Devices with Tactile and Audio Feedback

Blind or visually impaired persons may experience challenges forming a mental map of the world around them. Our goal, in this participatory study, was to bridge the gap found in current technologies for a blind woman by creating a model utilizing tactile feedback. To achieve this goal, we designed three prototype sensory substitution systems. These prototypes attempted to aid our participant in crafting a world around her by providing auditory or tactile feedback in accordance to her proximity to an object. Each used a different form of output for the user: audio, vibration, or pressure. All of the stimuli produced by the models was managed by a researcher in place of a computer-vision algorithm. From our participant's feedback, we hope to develop a device that will provide the user a physical sensory substitution experience of sight.
The World Slowly Dies for Profit: The Portrayal of Environmental Issues in Drama

This penultimate chapter addresses how a genre so focused on realism represents environmental struggle. After outlining the complex lineage of the drama genre, analysis focuses on three films: The Road , The East, and Promised Land. Attention is given to how each film attributes responsibility for the environmental problem in each film as well as potential solutions. While The East and Promised Land have clearly defined environmental issues, the conditions that precipitated disaster in The Road remain tantalizingly obscure.
Impact of Uncertainty About a User to be Active on OFDM Transmission Strategies

In this paper we investigate the impact that incomplete knowledge regarding user activity can have on the equilibrium transmission strategy for an OFDM-based communication system. The problem is formulated as a two user non-zero sum game for independent fading channel gains, where the equilibrium strategies are derived in closed form. This allows one to show that a decrease in uncertainty about the user activity could reduce the number of subcarriers jointly used by the users. For the boundary case (with complete information, which reflects a classical water-filling game) the equilibrium strategies are given explicitly. The necessary and sufficient conditions, when channels sharing strategies are optimal, is established as well as the set of shared subcarriers is identified. The stability of the upper bound of the size of this set with respect to power budgets is derived.
A Miniaturized Escherichia coli Green Light Sensor with High Dynamic Range

Genetically engineered photoreceptors enable unrivaled control over gene expression. Previously, we ported the Synechocystis PCC 6803 CcaSR two-component system, which is activated by green light and deactivated by red, into Escherichia coli, resulting in a sensor with a sixfold dynamic range. Later, we optimized pathway protein expression levels and the output promoter sequence to decrease transcriptional leakiness and to increase the dynamic range to approximately 120-fold. These CcaSR v 1.0 and v 2.0 systems have been used for precise quantitative, temporal, and spatial control of gene expression for a variety of applications. Recently, other workers deleted two PAS domains of unknown function from the CcaS sensor histidine kinase in a system similar to CcaSR v 1.0. Here we apply these deletions to CcaSR v 2.0, resulting in a v 3.0 light sensor with an output four times less leaky and a dynamic range of nearly 600-fold. We demonstrate that the PAS domain deletions have no deleterious effect on CcaSR green light sensitivity or response dynamics. CcaSR v 3.0 is the best-performing engineered bacterial green light sensor available, and should have broad applications in fundamental and synthetic biology studies.
Pentecostalism, Islam, and Religious Fundamentalism in Africa

Pentecostalism, with around 100 million followers, accounts for 12% of Africa’s population. Fundamentalist Islam has been increasing in influence across Africa, and there are growing social tensions between Muslims and Christians in parts of Africa where Pentecostalism and Islamic fundamentalism operate alongside each other. In this chapter, Iwuchukwu offers some theological, ideological, and moral points against the exclusivist stances of fundamentalist Muslims and Pentecostal Christians. He advocates for the traditional African values of religious diversity and respect for the religious other, and for the application of religious pluralism mindset to a serious interreligious dialogue.
In-Wheel Coupled Suspension and Drive: Design, Development, and Modeling

Vehicle propulsion systems are evolving to include more hybrid and purely electric systems. This trend has revived interest in hub-motor technology where the electric motor providing traction torque is integrated into the wheel, providing space saving and packaging advantages and enabling enhanced vehicle stability control through torque vectoring. The disadvantage of this approach is a significant increase in unsprung mass, which may detract from ride quality. This paper describes the development of a novel in-wheel coupled active suspension and drive system. This system utilizes two motors per wheel and a two degree of freedom kinematic mechanism that allows their torque to be utilized for both vertical suspension actuation as well as rotational actuation of the wheel. The system is designed such that when the motors are providing equal torque in the same direction, all energy is directed to traction and longitudinal propulsion of the vehicle. When the torque output of the motors is unequal, a net vertical force is applied to the wheel causing the suspension to move vertically and enabling active control of ride quality as well as control of vehicle attitude in acceleration, braking, and cornering. This paper will discuss the design of the system including kinematic synthesis, drive component selection, and simulation using multi-body dynamics software. Vertical, longitudinal, and combined actuation was tested and analyzed using multiple torque combinations and loading conditions. Although this integrated propulsion drive and active suspension architecture inherently tightly couples the longitudinal and vertical dynamics of the vehicle, the results of the simulations show that the system is capable of actuating in either degree of freedom independently, or in a coupled mode where it actuates in both modes simultaneously. The simulations showed that the system was capable of actively controlling the vertical wheel position while maintaining constant drive torque and rotational velocity of the wheel.
History of the Food and Drug Administration's total diet study--1961 to 1987

The Total Diet Study provides the Food and Drug Administration with baseline information on the levels of pesticide residues, contaminants, and nutrient elements in the food supply and in the diets of specific age-sex groups. The study also identifies trends and changes in the levels of these substances in the food supply and in diets over time and thereby assists in identifying potential public health problems. This paper describes the evolution of the Total Diet Study from 1961 to 1987. Food collections, sites of analysis, diets, food commodity groups, analytes, analytical methodologies, data transfer, publication of results, notable results, resources, and advantages of the study are discussed.