cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using synthetic images to register real images with surface models

A number of image analysis tasks can benefit from registration of the image with a model of the surface being imaged. Automatic navigation using visible light or radar images requires exact alignment of such images with digital terrain models. In addition, automatic classification of terrain, using satellite imagery, requires such alignment to deal correctly with the effects of varying sun angle and surface slope. Even inspection techniques for certain industrial parts may be improved by this means.We achieve the required alignment by matching the real image with a synthetic image obtained from a surface model and known positions of the light sources. The synthetic image intensity is calculated using the reflectance map, a convenient way of describing surface reflection as a function of surface gradient. We illustrate the technique using LANDSAT images and digital terrain models.
Evaluation of IP Fast Reroute Proposals

With the increasing demand for low-latency applications in the Internet, the slow convergence of the existing routing protocols is a growing concern. A number of IP fast reroute mechanisms have been developed by the IETF to address the issue. The goal of the IPFRR mechanisms is to activate alternate routing paths which avoid micro loops under node or link failures. In this paper we present a comprehensive analysis of these proposals by evaluating their coverage for a variety of inferred and synthetic ISP topologies.
Once a killer, always a killer: from cytotoxic T cell to memory cell

The control of the differentiation pathways followed by responding CD8(+) T cells to produce protective memory cells has been intensely studied. Recent developments have identified heterogeneity at the effector cytotoxic T-lymphocyte level within which a bona fide memory cell precursor has emerged. The challenge now is to identify the cellular and molecular factors that control this developmental pathway. This review considers aspects of the regulation of the induction of effectors, the transition of effectors to memory cells, and the dynamics of the memory population.
Sentinel Lymph Nodes and Lymphatic Vessels: Noninvasive Dual-Modality in Vivo Mapping by Using Indocyanine Green in Rats—Volumetric Spectroscopic Photoacoustic Imaging and Planar Fluorescence Imaging

Purpose: To noninvasively map sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) and lymphatic vessels in rats in vivo by using dual-modality nonionizing imaging—volumetric spectroscopic photoacoustic imaging, which measures optical absorption, and planar fluorescence imaging, which measures fluorescent emission—of indocyanine green (ICG). Materials and Methods: Institutional animal care and use committee approval was obtained. Healthy Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250−420 g (age range, 60−120 days) were imaged by using volumetric photoacoustic imaging (n = 5) and planar fluorescence imaging (n = 3) before and after injection of 1 mmol/L ICG. Student paired t tests based on a logarithmic scale were performed to evaluate the change in photoacoustic signal enhancement of SLNs and lymphatic vessels before and after ICG injection. The spatial resolutions of both imaging systems were compared at various imaging depths (2–8 mm) by layering additional biologic tissues on top of the rats in vivo. Spectroscopic photoacoustic imaging was applied to identify ICG-dyed SLNs. Results: In all five rats examined with photoacoustic imaging, SLNs were clearly visible, with a mean signal enhancement of 5.9 arbitrary units (AU) ± 1.8 (standard error of the mean) (P < .002) at 0.2 hour after injection, while lymphatic vessels were seen in four of the five rats, with a signal enhancement of 4.3 AU ± 0.6 (P = .001). In all three rats examined with fluorescence imaging, SLNs and lymphatic vessels were seen. The average full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the SLNs in the photoacoustic images at three imaging depths (2, 6, and 8 mm) was 2.0 mm ± 0.2 (standard deviation), comparable to the size of a dissected lymph node as measured with a caliper. However, the FWHM of the SLNs in fluorescence images widened from 8 to 22 mm as the imaging depth increased, owing to strong light scattering. SLNs were identified spectroscopically in photoacoustic images. Conclusion: These two modalities, when used together with ICG, have the potential to help map SLNs in axillary staging and to help evaluate tumor metastasis in patients with breast cancer.
Suppression of vestibular nystagmus

A beside test to evaluate suppression of vestibular nystagmus by fixation on an object that rotates with the patient's head is described.
Spawning Densities, Egg Densities, Size Structure, and Movement Patterns of Spawning Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus polyphemus, within Four Coastal Embayments on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Spawning densities, spawning indices, egg densities, size distributions, and movement patterns of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) were quantified for four coastal embayments (Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Pleasant Bay, Nauset Estuary, and Cape Cod Bay) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts from 2000 to 2002. Spawning activity was highest from mid May through mid June, but densities varied throughout the Cape Cod region. Average spawning densities (male and female crabs combined), measured using 25-m2 quadrats, were lower than 1 crab 25 m−2, although certain locations had consistently higher densities averaging 2 to 3 crabs 25 m−2 with individual survey densities recorded as high as 17 crabs 25 m−2. Spawning densities during night surveys were either similar or slightly higher than day surveys, except at a few sites within Pleasant Bay. Spawning indices were considerably lower ranging from 0 to 1.3 females 25 m−2 throughout the Cape Cod region. Spawning sex ratios varied from 1∶1.6 to 1∶3.1 (females:males) throughout the region, except within Pleasant Bay where highly male skewed ratios were observed (e.g., 1∶5.8, 3-yr average). Egg densities were low overall (<1 egg cm−2) throughout Cape Cod and egg densities tended to be higher in deeper sediments (5–20 cm deep) compared to shallow sediments (0–5 cm deep) at most locations. Over 7,800 horseshoe crabs were tagged on Cape Cod from 2000 to 2002. Average size and size frequency distributions of tagged crabs varied among regions. Larger individuals were observed at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge while the smallest individuals were from Cape Cod Bay. We documented an overall recapture rate of 6.7% and our tag-recapture data indicated that 62% of crabs were recaptured at the original tagging location and 70% of recaptures traveled less than 2 km from the original tagging location, providing evidence for localized populations on Cape Cod. We have observed that horseshoe crabs differ among embayments within a regional area, suggesting the potential need for management plans specific to embayments or subregions depending on the characteristics of a population.
A data-based coding of candidate strings in the closest string problem

Given a set of strings S of equal lengths over an alphabet σ, the closest string problem seeks a string over σ whose maximum Hamming distance to any of the given strings is as small as possible. A data-based coding of strings for evolutionary search represents candidate closest strings as sequences of indexes of the given strings. The string such a chromosome represents consists of the symbols in the corresponding positions of the indexed strings.A genetic algorithm using this coding was compared with two GAs that encoded candidate strings directly as strings over σ. In trials on twenty-five instances of the closest string problem with alphabets ranging is size from 2 to 30, the algorithm that used the data-based representation of candidate strings consistently returned the best results, and its advantage increased with the sizes of the test instances' alphabets.
A statistical mechanics approach to the directed Steiner problem on networks

The well-known Steiner problem on networks is an NP-complete problem for which there are many heuristic and exact algorithms that are deterministic. A new approach to the directed version of this problem is made by applying the ideas of statistical mechanics through the use of the method of simulated annealing. A methodology is presented for tailoring a well-known dynamic version of annealing to the directed Steiner problem. Then computations are done on a test bed of 480 random graphs to study the performance of this algorithm. In addition to the quality of the final answers, the study looks at the distribution of first occurrences during the execution of the cooling schedule of answers that are within 3% of the optimum. The study suggests that these near-optimum answers appear according to an approximately exponential distribution and that they can be obtained in polynomial time. >
A robust visual method for assessing the relative performance of edge-detection algorithms

A new method for evaluating edge detection algorithms is presented and applied to measure the relative performance of algorithms by Canny, Nalwa-Binford, Iverson-Zucker, Bergholm, and Rothwell. The basic measure of performance is a visual rating score which indicates the perceived quality of the edges for identifying an object. The process of evaluating edge detection algorithms with this performance measure requires the collection of a set of gray-scale images, optimizing the input parameters for each algorithm, conducting visual evaluation experiments and applying statistical analysis methods. The novel aspect of this work is the use of a visual task and real images of complex scenes in evaluating edge detectors. The method is appealing because, by definition, the results agree with visual evaluations of the edge images.
The mechanistic origin of regiochemical changes in the nitrosative N-dealkylation of N,N-dialkyl aromatic amines

The regioselectivity of the nitrous acid mediated dealkylation of 4-substituted-N-ethyl-N-methylanilines is a function of the acidity of the reaction mixture. At high acidity deethylation predominates, whereas demethylation is the predominant reaction in nitrosamine formation at pH 2 and above. In some cases the regioselectivity of nitrosative dealkylation changes as the run proceeds. Through the use of the corresponding 4-nitroaniline as the primary substrate, CIDNP, kinetics, kinetic deuterium isotope effects and other transformations involving nitrosations with NO2 or NOBF4 in aprotic solvents, a new mechanism of tertiary amine nitrosation has been deduced and proposed to explain regioselective deethylation. The mechanism involves the oxidation of the substrate to the amine radical cation by NO+. This is followed by the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the carbon adjacent to the amine nitrogen by NO2 to produce an iminium ion which reacts further to produce the corresponding aldehyde and the nitrosamine. Depending upon the acidity, this process competes with three other mechanistic pathways, two of which give the nitrosamine through the iminium ion, and one leads to the formation of C-nitro compounds. The competing pathways to nitrosamine formation involve NOH elimination from a nitrosammonium ion and deprotonation of the radical cation to give an α-amino radical which rapidly oxidized to the iminium ion. Predominant, but not highly regioselective demethylation occurs by these pathways. Nitro compound formation principally arises from the reaction of NO2 with the radical cation followed by deprotonation, but also occurs by para C-nitrosation followed by oxidation.
Time, tumours and telomeres: Meeting on Cancer and Aging

The Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO) meeting on Cancer and Aging took place between 7 and 9 November 2005 in Madrid, Spain, and was organized by M. Blasco, K. Collins, J. Hoeijmakers and M. Serrano. ![][1] The crisp November air and beautiful Iberian city of Madrid served as the backdrop for the Cancer and Aging conference, held in the recently completed and ultra‐modern CNIO (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas) facility. Thirty speakers and a similar number of invited guests heard presentations covering a range of topics including telomere biology, oxidative stress, genomic instability and the hormonal regulation of cancer and ageing. The presentations were short, lively and varied, providing—in deference to our Spanish hosts—a serving of intellectual tapas for the meeting participants. Central to many of the discussions were attempts to understand how and where the biology of cancer and ageing overlapped, and how each discipline could potentially inform the other. This report highlights just some of the interesting questions and new findings discussed at the meeting. The interface of cancer and ageing is traditionally located at the telomere. This complex of proteins and repetitive DNA sequences (TTAGGG in mammals) caps the end of eukaryotic linear chromosomes and prevents their degradation. In cancer cells, and in normal stem cells, the enzyme telomerase continually adds repeats to telomeres. Conversely, most somatic cells lack telomerase activity, which leads to a progressive shortening of the telomere with each cell division. When a small subset of telomeres becomes critically short, cells undergo permanent growth arrest. Erosion of telomere length is therefore viewed as an important checkpoint of somatic cellular lifespan. However, in keeping with what now seems to be a general theme in cancer and ageing, this potential anti‐cancer mechanism might promote and possibly even cause some aspects of ageing (Fig 1). Figure 1. Cellular … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
The Effects of Rinsing Enteral Delivery Sets on Formula Contamination

This study investigated whether rinsing enteral delivery sets before formula addition affects formula contamination. Both a simulated and a clinical phase were conducted. In the simulated phase, Osmolite (Ross Laboratories, Columbus, OH) was infused continuously through 52 delivery sets into a flask via enteral infusion pumps for 24 hours. The delivery sets were randomly assigned to two groups of equal size. One group was rinsed with tap water before new formula was added at 8 and 16 hours, and the other group was not rinsed. At 8, 16, and 24 hours, samples of formula were collected from the delivery sets, and bacteria counts were obtained. In the clinical phase, 23 critically ill patients receiving Osmolite continuously were randomly assigned to a rinse or no-rinse group. The same formula addition and rinse protocol from phase I was used. Formula samples were obtained at 24 hours. In both phases, there were no significant differences between the rinse and no-rinse groups with respect to bacteria counts a...
The effect of unilateral chorda tympani damage on taste

Patients with localized damage to the taste system often experience no subjective change in real-world taste experience. In an effort to understand this, eight patients who recently underwent acoustic neuroma removal were evaluated for taste loss. Localized taste testing showed that taste intensities decreased in the distribution of cranial nerve VII ipsilateral to tumor removal as expected, but asymmetries occurred for IX. Intensities were greater on the side contralateral to the tumor removal. In addition, palatal taste, also thought to be mediated by VII, was not totally abolished. It is concluded that cranial nerve IX is normally inhibited by cranial nerve VII in the taste network. When VII is damaged, this inhibition is abolished. This release of inhibition serves as a compensation mechanism that preserves normal taste experience.
Effects of thickness and fibre misalignment on compression fracture in cross-ply (very) long cylindrical shells under external pressure

Combined effects of modal imperfections, transverse shear/normal deformation with/without reduced transverse shear modulus, G LT (caused by distributed fibre misalignments), on emergence of interlaminar shear crippling type instability modes, related to localization (onset of deformation softening), delocalization (onset of deformation hardening) and propagation of mode II compression fracture/damage, in thick imperfect cross-ply very long cylindrical shells (plane strain rings) under applied hydrostatic pressure, are investigated. Of special interest is the question: what are the geometric and/or material parameters that induce localized and delocalized states in imperfect cross-ply (very) long cylindrical shells under hydrostatic compression simultaneously, and what would be the consequences of such occurrences? The primary accomplishment is the (hitherto unavailable) computation of the layer-wise mode II stress intensity factor, energy release rate and kink–crack bandwidth, under hydrostatic compression, from a nonlinear finite-element analysis, using Maxwell's construction and Griffith's energy balance approach. Additionally, the shear crippling angles in the layers are determined using an analysis, pertaining to the elastic inextensional deformation of the compressed (plane strain) ring. Numerical results include effects of (i) thickness-induced transverse shear/normal deformation and (ii) uniformly distributed fibre misalignments, on localization and delocalization, and consequently on compression fracture/damage characteristics of thick imperfect cross-ply very long cylindrical shells.
Model reference adaptive control using nonparametric adaptive elements

Most current model reference adaptive control methods rely on parametric adaptive elements, in which the number of parameters of the adaptive element are xed a-priori, often through expert judgment. Examples of such adaptive elements are the commonly used Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBF-NN) with centers allocated a priori based on the expected operating domain. If the system operates outside of the expected operating domain, such adaptive elements can become non-eective, thus rendering the adaptive controller only semi-global in nature. This paper investigates two classes of nonparametric adaptive elements, that is, adaptive elements whose number of parameters grow in response to data. This includes RBF adaptive elements with centers that are allocated dynamically as the system evolves using a Kernel linear independence test, and Gaussian Processes based adaptive elements which generalize the notion of Gaussian Distribution to function approximation. We show that these nonparametric adaptive elements result in good closed loop performance without requiring any prior knowledge about the domain of the uncertainty. These results indicate that the use of such nonparametric adaptive elements can improve the global stability properties adaptive controllers.
A Randomized, Double-Blind Study of Phenytoin for the Prevention of Post-Traumatic Seizures

Abstract Background. Antiepileptic drugs are commonly used to prevent seizures that may follow head trauma. However, previous controlled studies of this practice have been inconclusive. Methods. To study further the effectiveness of phenytoin (Dilantin) in preventing post-traumatic seizures, we randomly assigned 404 eligible patients with serious head trauma to treatment with phenytoin (n = 208) or placebo (n = 196) for one year in a double-blind fashion. An intravenous loading dose was given within 24 hours of injury. Serum levels of phenytoin were maintained in the high therapeutic range (3 to 6 μmol of free phenytoin per liter). Follow-up was continued for two years. The primary data analysis was performed according to the intention to treat. Results. Between drug loading and day 7, 3.6 percent of the patients assigned to phenytoin had seizures, as compared with 14.2 percent of patients assigned to placebo (P<0.001; risk ratio, 0.27; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.12 to 0.62). Between day 8 and the ...
Education in regional anesthesia: caseloads, simulation, journals, and politics: 2011 Carl Koller Lecture.

Abstract This special article is an essay version of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy 2011 Carl Koller Award lecture. Historically, evaluations of a trainee’s regional anesthesia learning focused on caseload numbers. The deficiency of this unidimensional approach is that case numbers alone say little about the resident’s mastery of the nontechnical aspects of regional anesthesiology. Simulation can refine technical skills, but also expands the teaching paradigm to include management of rare complications. Teachers are further challenged by requirements to incorporate systems-based practice topics, including the optimization of operating room efficiency and patient safety. Journals play an important role in regional anesthesia education for both trainees and mature anesthesiologists. Editorial boards build valuable educational foundations by providing critical analysis of new technologies and sponsoring practice advisories. Subspecialty societies such as European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine foster regional anesthesia education through their efforts to define curricula, produce guidelines, and promote international collaboration.
Management system of China’s nature reserve

The nature reserve is the most effective way to protecting wild animals and plants,natural re-sources and ecosystem.Based on the concepts and characteristics of management system of China’s nature reserve,this article tries to spot the existing problems in categorized management,tiered management and divisional management.By referring to the successful experience in the foreign countries,it proposed to im-prove the management system of China’s nature reserve from the legal perspective: first,the nature and roles of nature reserves should be defined;second,the overhead cost should be shared by different govern-mental departments;third,the system of direct management by the superior departments and chief respon-sibility system should be adopted.
The Effect of Valve-in-Valve Implantation Height on Sinus Flow

Valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement (VIV-TAVR) has proven to be a successful treatment for high risk patients with failing aortic surgical bioprostheses. However, thrombus formation on the leaflets of the valve has emerged as a major issue in such procedures, posing a risk of restenosis, thromboembolism, and reduced durability. In this work we attempted to understand the effect of deployment position of the transcatheter heart valve (THV) on the spatio-temporal flow field within the sinus in VIV-TAVR. Experiments were performed in an in vitro pulsatile left heart simulator using high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the flow field in the sinus region. The time-resolved velocity data was used to understand the qualitative and quantitative flow patterns. In addition, a particle tracking technique was used to evaluate relative thrombosis risk via sinus washout. The velocity data demonstrate that implantation position directly affects sinus flow patterns, leading to increased flow stagnation with increasing deployment height. The particle tracking simulations showed that implantation position directly affected washout time, with the highest implantation resulting in the least washout. These results clearly demonstrate the flow pattern and flow stagnation in the sinus is sensitive to THV position. It is, therefore, important for the interventional cardiologist and cardiac surgeon to consider how deployment position could impact flow stagnation during VIV-TAVR.
Spin Labeling and Characterization of Tau Fibrils Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR)

Template-assisted propagation of Tau fibrils is essential for the spreading of Tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease. In this process, small seeds of fibrils recruit Tau monomers onto their ends. The physical properties of the fibrils play an important role in their propagation. Here, we describe two different electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques that have provided crucial insights into the structure of Tau fibrils. Both techniques rely on the site-directed introduction of one or two spin labels into the protein monomer. Continuous-wave (CW) EPR provides information on which amino acid residues are contained in the fibril core and how they are stacked along the long fibril axis. Double electron-electron resonance (DEER) determines distances between two spin labels within a single protein and hence provides insights into their spatial arrangement in the fibril cross section. Because of the long distance range accessible to DEER (~2-5 nm) populations of distinct fibril conformers can be differentiated.
Point-of-Care Rare Cell Cancer Diagnostics

The sparse cells that are shed from tumors into peripheral circulation are an increasingly promising resource for noninvasive monitoring of cancer progression, early diagnosis of disease, and serve as a tool for improving our understanding of cancer metastasis. However, the extremely sparse concentration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood (~1-100 CTC in 7.5 mL of blood) as well as their heterogeneous biomarker expression has limited their detection using conventional laboratory techniques. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a microfluidic chip-based micro-Hall detector (μHD), which can directly measure single, immunomagnetically tagged cells in whole blood. The μHD can detect individual cells even in the presence of vast numbers of blood cells and unbound reactants, and does not require any washing or purification steps. Furthermore, this cost-effective, single-cell analytical technique is well suited for miniaturization into a mobile platform for low-cost point-of-care use. In this chapter, we describe the methodology used to design, fabricate, and apply these chips to cancer diagnostics.
Evolution of the Brain Lesion Induced by Experimental Focal Ischemia

The chapter attempts to integrate the chronology of selected cellular reactions, as defined in the experimental rat model, involving polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) leukocytes, microvessels, and astrocytes that seemingly influence the outcome of the brain lesion initiated by the arterial occlusion. The rat model is one of the most useful experimental models of ischemic stroke. It is based on the intravascular insertion of a nylon monofilament for the purpose of occluding the origin of a middle cerebral artery (MCA). This method has several advantages. Experiments utilizing this model and involving arterial occlusions of variable duration reveal that irreversible injury evolves through at least four separate stages: necrosis of selected and scattered neurons, as well as a few glia becomes apparent about 3–6 h after the MCA occlusion; necrosis of large number of neurons occurs in the caudoputamen sometime between 6 and 12 h; pannecrosis involving a small area of the caudoputamen is visible after 24–48 h, and pannecrosis incorporating the entire area supplied by the MCA appears only 72–96 h after the arterial occlusion. Early reperfusion significantly modifies the chronology of these events and the nature of the cellular response by leukocytes, astrocytes, and microglia.
Optimizing Interactive Development of Data-Intensive Applications

Modern Data-Intensive Scalable Computing (DISC) systems are designed to process data through batch jobs that execute programs (e.g., queries) compiled from a high-level language. These programs are often developed interactively by posing ad-hoc queries over the base data until a desired result is generated. We observe that there can be significant overlap in the structure of these queries used to derive the final program. Yet, each successive execution of a slightly modified query is performed anew, which can significantly increase the development cycle. Vega is an Apache Spark framework that we have implemented for optimizing a series of similar Spark programs, likely originating from a development or exploratory data analysis session. Spark developers (e.g., data scientists) can leverage Vega to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to re-execute a modified Spark program, reducing the overall time to market for their Big Data applications.
From Farms to Fuel Tanks: Differential Effects of Collective Action on Firm Entry in the Emergent U.S. Biodiesel Sector

We expand understanding of category evolution by exploring how the compatibility of different category expectations advanced by multiple industry stakeholders can shape category meaning and influence the types of firms that enter new markets. Using in-depth qualitative and quantitative data on all ventures founded in the U.S. biodiesel industry from 1990 to 2008, we examine how stakeholders espousing compatible and incompatible category expectations led to definitional changes in the central identifying features of the category. The findings show that compatible and incompatible expectations exert disparate impacts on category meaning and in turn differentially influence consumer demand and entry of focused and hybrid firms. The unintended consequences of attracting audiences with divergent goals on control of desired category definitions and product demand are also discussed.
Semantic priming, not repetition priming, is to blame for false hearing.

Contextual and sensory information are combined in speech perception. Conflict between the two can lead to false hearing, defined as a high-confidence misidentification of a spoken word. Rogers, Jacoby, and Sommers (Psychology and Aging, 27(1), 33–45, 2012) found that older adults are more susceptible to false hearing than are young adults, using a combination of semantic priming and repetition priming to create context. In this study, the type of context (repetition vs. sematic priming) responsible for false hearing was examined. Older and young adult participants read and listened to a list of paired associates (e.g., ROW–BOAT) and were told to remember the pairs for a later memory test. Following the memory test, participants identified words masked in noise that were preceded by a cue word in the clear. Targets were semantically associated to the cue (e.g., ROW–BOAT), unrelated to the cue (e.g., JAW–PASS), or phonologically related to a semantic associate of the cue (e.g., ROW–GOAT). How often each cue word and its paired associate were presented prior to the memory test was manipulated (0, 3, or 5 times) to test effects of repetition priming. Results showed repetitions had no effect on rates of context-based listening or false hearing. However, repetition did significantly increase sensory information as a basis for metacognitive judgments in young and older adults. This pattern suggests that semantic priming dominates as the basis for false hearing and highlights context and sensory information operating as qualitatively different bases for listening and metacognition.
Identity Manager Policy Administration

Oracle Identity Manager (OIM) serves a large number of functions for managing an organization’s identity data. By providing a wide variety of tools to assist administrators, managers, help desk staff, and end users in maintaining a consistent and auditable identity, OIM has become a key tool within the enterprise. OIM policies such as password policies, access policies, and approval policies can assist organizations as they push toward increasing efficiency while maintaining tight security. Using the OIM policies, the system can be configured to allow many combinations of user privileges, including the ability to self-register, request new permissions, manage other users, and grant new privileges.
Comparison of DRD2, DRD3 and NMDA Receptor Genotype Polymorphisms in Parkinson's Patients and Controls (IN2-1.007)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether dopamine (DRD3, DRD2) and NMDA receptor genoptype polymorphisms are associated with suceptibility to Parkinson disease compared to normal controls. BACKGROUND: Impulse control disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson disease are associated with DRD3, DRD2 and NMDA receptor genotype polymorphisms. However it is unknown whether these genotype receptor polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to PD. DESIGN/METHODS: Genotype polymorphism analysis for rs1800497 (DRD2), rs6280 (DRD3), and rs7301328 (NMDA GRIN 2B) was performed on stored blood of 664 PD patients and 718 normal controls. Demographic and clinical data was recorded. There was no departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in study controls (P>0.05). Single-SNP associations with PD were evaluated using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender. Additive, dominant and recessive models were utilized. RESULTS: There was evidence of an association between rs1800497 and PD under an additive model (OR:1.31, P=0.0065), and a dominant model (OR: 1.36, P=0.0096) with a non-significant trend towards association under a recessive model (OR:1.54, P=0.12). There was an association between rs7301328 and PD under a dominant model (OR: 1.26, P=0.048) but not under an additive model (OR: 1.11, P=0.20) or recessive model (OR: 0.97, P=0.86). There was no evidence of an association with PD for rs6280 under any statistical model (all P≥0.73). CONCLUSIONS: DRD2 (rs1800497) and NMDA GRIN 2B (rs7301328) receptor polymorphisms may contribute to the risk of PD, but not DRD3 (rs6280). Extending our study to compare patients with and without ICDs in the PD cohort is warranted to further define the relationship. Disclosure: Dr. Hassan has received personal compensation for activities with National Parkinson Foundation. Dr. Okun has received personal compensation for activities with the National Parkinson Foundation and Ask the Expert. Dr. Okun has received royalty payments from Demos, Humana, and Cambridge. Dr. Okun has received research support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the National Parkinson Foundation, the Parkinson Alliance, the Smallwood Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Serie has nothing to disclose. Dr. Heckman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ahlskog has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ross has nothing to disclose.
Curriculum-Based Measurement of Reading: An Evaluation of Frequentist and Bayesian Methods to Model Progress Monitoring Data:

Curriculum-Based Measurement of Oral Reading (CBM-R) is often used to monitor student progress and guide educational decisions. Ordinary least squares regression (OLSR) is the most widely used method to estimate the slope, or rate of improvement (ROI), even though published research demonstrates OLSR’s lack of validity and reliability, and imprecision of ROI estimates, especially after brief duration of monitoring (6-10 weeks). This study illustrates and examines the use of Bayesian methods to estimate ROI. Conditions included four progress monitoring durations (6, 8, 10, and 30 weeks), two schedules of data collection (weekly, biweekly), and two ROI growth distributions that broadly corresponded with ROIs for general and special education populations. A Bayesian approach with alternate prior distributions for the ROIs is presented and explored. Results demonstrate that Bayesian estimates of ROI were more precise than OLSR with comparable reliabilities, and Bayesian estimates were consistently within the ...
On Password Strength: A Survey and Analysis

Password has been a predominating approach for user authentication to gain access to restricted resources. The main issue with password is its quality or strength, i.e. how easy (or how hard) it can be “guessed” by a third person who wants to access the resource that you have access to by pretending being you. In this paper, we review various metrics of password quality, including one we proposed, and compare their strengths and weaknesses as well as the relationships between these metrics. We also conducted experiments to crack a set of passwords with different levels of quality. The experiments indicate a close positive correlation between the difficulty of guessing and the quality of the passwords. A clustering analysis was performed on the set of passwords with their quality measures as variables to show the password quality groups.
Update on SGLT2 Inhibitors-New Data Released at the American Diabetes Association

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are one of the newer classes of antiglycemic agents approved for the management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Due to their unique mechanism of action, SGLT2 inhibitors have shown to be beneficial beyond glucose control. The improvement in cardiovascular (CV) outcomes was first observed in the landmark EMPA-REG OUTCOMES study. Following these results, numerous CV outcome trials were designed to identify whether the beneficial CV and renal effects observed with empagliflozin are unique or a drug class effect. The benefit of SGLT2 inhibition was confirmed by the CANagliflozin cardioVascular Assessment Study (CANVAS) Program, presented at the American Diabetes Association 77th Scientific Sessions. With over 10,000 patients, the CANVAS Program integrated data from two large CV outcome studies. Canagliflozin achieved a 14% reduction in the composite endpoint of CV mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or nonfatal stroke, and a 33% reduction in the risk of hospitalization for heart failure (HF) compared with placebo. Potential renal protective effects were also observed with canagliflozin; however, an increased risk of amputation with canagliflozin was seen in both CANVAS studies. The class effect of SGLT2 inhibitors was also confirmed in new analyses of the The Comparative Effectiveness of Cardiovascular Outcomes (CVD-REAL) study, which aimed to evaluate SGLT2 inhibitors (dapagliflozin, canagliflozin, and empagliflozin) in broader patient populations with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In patients who were new to SGLT2 inhibitors, significant reductions in rates of CV death and hospitalization for HF were observed compared with any other glucose-lowering agents. SGLT2 inhibitors were also associated with lower rates in hospitalization for HF in patients with and without CV disease. In addition, substudies of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial further provided insight on the efficacy of empagliflozin across categories of adjusted control of blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) over time.
Network Analysis of Correlated Mutations in Influenza

Influenza A Virus (IAV) is remarkably adept at surviving in human populations. IAV thrives even among populations with wide spread access to vaccines and anti-viral drugs, and continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Correlated mutations are an important factor in IAV's evolution and are critical for host adaptation and pathogenicity. Large sets of publicly available sequences of IAV combined with its rapid and complex evolutionary dynamics present interesting opportunities and unique challenges to analyze correlated mutations in influenza proteomes. In this work, we performed a comprehensive analysis of correlated mutations in IAV using a network theory approach where residues in each protein act as nodes in the graph and edges in the graph are created based on inter-residue correlated mutations. Our approach used 'maximal information coefficient' (MIC) to compute correlations between residues and the edges connect nodes if their MIC exceeds a threshold. We created a modular and robust pipeline and applied it to multiple datasets of H1N1, H3N2, H5 and H7N9 subtypes. We studied structural dynamics of IAV sub-systems based on topological properties of their networks resulting in several important conclusions. The main finding is that correlated mutation networks in IAV are sub-type and host specific and the differences for various subtypes and hosts are significant. We identified nodes with highest degree along with edges and triplets with strongest weight for each network. To contextualize our results, we performed entropy analysis to gain a global view of sequence variation and computed solvent accessibility profiles to identify statistical differences in correlation profiles between surface and buried residues. To understand the extent of co-variation between the 10 proteins in IAV sequences, we created visualizations of protein correlation graphs where the proteins acts as nodes and the strength of connections between the nodes depends on the number of correlated mutations between residues of connected proteins. A web application and visualization tools to explore the results and search for correlated mutations were developed.
Rightwing Billionaire Authoritarian – Not Populist

During his first 30 days in office, Trump proved himself to be an authoritarian, but not a populist. Stacking his cabinet and administration with billionaires, rightwing ideologues, and cronies who had contributed to his campaign, Trump pursued a hardright agenda to primarily aide the billionaire class while eliminating regulations and programs that helped working people.
Data migration algorithms in heterogeneous storage systems: A comparative performance evaluation

In large scale storage systems such as data centers, data layouts need to be reconfigured over time for load balancing or in the event of system failure/upgrades. The data-migration problem pertains to computing an efficient plan to migrate data to their target locations. Most of the previous results on data-migration assume that storage devices have similar capabilities and can perform only one data transfer at a time. In this paper, we consider the heterogeneous data-migration problem where we associate a transfer constraint to each of the storage nodes, representing the number of simultaneous transfers that each of the nodes can handle. We introduce new data-migration algorithms for the heterogeneous case and perform an empirical comparative study of the performance of these algorithms against algorithms from [1] and [2].
Enhanced cooperativity for quantum-nondemolition-measurement–induced spin squeezing of atoms coupled to a nanophotonic waveguide

We study the enhancement of cooperativity in the atom-light interface near a nanophotonic waveguide for application to quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement of atomic spins. Here the cooperativity per atom is determined by the ratio between the measurement strength and the decoherence rate. Counterintuitively, we find that by placing the atoms at an azimuthal position where the guided probe mode has the lowest intensity, we increase the cooperativity. This arises because the QND measurement strength depends on the interference between the probe and scattered light guided into an orthogonal polarization mode, while the decoherence rate depends on the local intensity of the probe. Thus, by proper choice of geometry, the ratio of good-to-bad scattering can be strongly enhanced for highly anisotropic modes. We apply this to study spin squeezing resulting from QND measurement of spin projection noise via the Faraday effect in two nanophotonic geometries, a cylindrical nanofiber and a square waveguide. We find that, with about 2500 atoms and using realistic experimental parameters, $\ensuremath{\sim}6.3$ and $\ensuremath{\sim}13$ dB of squeezing can be achieved on the nanofiber and square waveguide, respectively.
Rights, Refugee Women & Reproductive Health

This article examines how international human rights norms can be applied more effectively to protect and ensure the reproductive rights of refugee women. It examines the gap between refugee law and the actual practice of UNHCR and international donors in responding to refugee women's needs. This examination explores the applicability of other legal and policy frameworks for addressing issues of sexual violence as well as reproductive health issues more generally. This Paper also begins to explore the issue of transnational versus individual state responsibility for guaranteeing to refugee women, on a nondiscriminatory basis, the full range of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights to which they are entitled under international law.
Survival of adults with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases and pulmonary arterial hypertension after lung transplantation

Objectives Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in adults with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs). The aim of this study was to determine whether adults with ARDs and PAH on right-sided heart catheterization (ARD-PAH) have increased mortality following lung transplantation compared with those with PAH not due to an ARD. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 93 adults with ARD-PAH and 222 adults with PAH who underwent lung transplantation in the USA between 4 May 2005 and 9 March 2015 using data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. We examined associations between diagnosis and survival after lung transplantation using stratified Cox models adjusted for potential confounding recipient factors. Results Among adults undergoing lung transplantation in the USA, we did not detect a difference in the multivariable-adjusted mortality rate between those with ARD-PAH and those with PAH [hazard ratio 0.75 (95% CI 0.47, 1.19)]. Conclusion The presence of an ARD was not associated with increased mortality after lung transplantation in adults with PAH.
Impacts of Balance Valves on Pump Energy and Control Performance in Variable Water Flow Systems

There is no common agreement on the use of balance valves in the most popular variable water flow systems. A comprehensive theoretical analysis has been conducted to investigate the impacts of balance valves on initial cost, pump operation power, and system control performance. The investigation finds that eliminating balance valves can (1) reduce 20% to 40% pump energy consumption in a typical variable flow water system; (2) reduce the maximum pressure drop across control valves; and (3) improve pump efficiency at most partial load conditions. The reduced pressure drop across control valves improve system control performance and may allow selecting some of the control valves at lower close-off pressure. Consequently, eliminating balancing valves can also potential reduce system initial costs.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Abstract 357: Role of Combinatorial Extracellular Matrix Proteins in Modulating Endothelial Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived endothelial cells (iPSC-ECs) are promising for promoting angiogenesis in patients with cardiovascular disease, but a critical bottleneck is the ability to generate iPSC-ECs at high yields. Since endothelial cells physiologically interact with a milieu of basement membrane extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, we aimed to examine the role of combinatorial ECMs in modulating endothelial differentiation using engineered ECM microenvironments. ECMs consisting of (gelatin (G), fibronectin (F), laminin (L), heparan sulfate proteoglycan (H), collagen IV (C), matrigel (M)) and the multi-component combinations thereof were conjugated onto glass slides to generate ECM microarrays composed of 63 unique combinatorial ECMs. Human iPSCs were differentiated on the ECM microarray for 5 days, and differentiation was quantified based on the degree of CD31 staining. Heat map analysis of CD31expression was significantly higher on G+M+L, compared to other combinations across 2 iPSC lines (Figure). RT-PCR further confirmed the upregulation in endothelial markers CD31 (>2-fold) and VE-cadherin (> 4-fold) when differentiated on G+M+L, compared to other ECMs. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, upregulation of endothelial genes were associated with upregulation of integrins (α1, α4, α5, αV, β1, β3, and β4) during the differentiation process. This data suggests a role of ECM-mediated integrin expression in modulating endothelial differentiation. Together, this data suggested that combinatorial ECMs differentially promote endothelial differentiation, in part through integrin-mediated pathways.