cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GLAST - A Broadband High Energy γ-Ray Telescope Using Silicon Strip Detectors

The Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) has been under development since 1992. GLAST is an imaging γ-ray telescope sensitive to photon energies from 10 MeV to 300 MeV . Scientifically, it follows up the highly successful EGRET instrument on CGRO. Like EGRET, it is a pair conversion telescope consisting of a tracker and calorimeter that give respectively the direction and energy of the incident photon. The area, angular acceptance, and energy range of GLAST are each an order of magnitude beyond corresponding EGRET values, and it will provide much better angular resolution (20 arcmin for single photons at 1 GeV). Key innovations are the use of silicon strip technology in a solid state tracker design, a segmented CsI calorimeter, and an onboard computation scheme to handle the large volume of events. GLAST is light enough to be launched by a Delta 2 rocket. Its capabilities can be applied to studies of AGN, gamma ray bursts, pulsars, and γ-ray sources in the Galactic Plane. GLAST will continue the dramatic development of extragalactic high energy γ-ray astronomy and will be particularly powerful in determining the origin of the high-latitude diffuse background at GeV energies.
Policy Instruments to Address Global Climate Change

There continues to be great debate about the desirability of taking actions to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions, but it is important to consider policy instruments that can be employed to meet targets that may eventually be forthcoming. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative merits of the available instruments. The theoretical advantages of market-based instruments, such as carbon taxes and systems of tradeable carbon rights, are striking. In the U.S. domestic context, grandfathered tradeable permits will probably be the preferred approach (if any) in the short run, although revenue-neutral carbon taxes will hold greater promise in the long run. In the international context, a system of international tradeable permits could provide important advantages over alternative approaches, but it is difficult to imagine what existing international institution would administer such a system. Despite the great theoretical advantages of market-based approaches to addressing global climate change, neither domestic political barriers nor international institutional impediments to implementing these and other instruments should be underestimated.
Bridging the Expert-Novice Divide in the Political Science Classroom

This paper discusses the use of a collaborative learning technique called hevruta, which I have adapted for use in my introductory-level political science classroom. Hevruta, which originated in eastern European Jewish schools, helps students develop skills at weaving source materials together in order to understand complex issues within the field. Through a discussion of the literature on expert-novice studies, I explore how hevruta enables my students, who are new to political science, to move closer to the practices used by experts when exploring a range of source material. Through close observation of how the technique plays out in my classes, and analysis of a few examples of hevruta discussion by my students, I demonstrate the potential of this technique, and suggest ways it can best be employed in the classroom.
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds as Mothproofing Agents

Mothproofing studies were conducted with 8 cationic quaternary ammonium compounds applied to woolen doth in constant-temperature baths. In CSMA (Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association) insect-feeding tests with larvae of the black carpet beetle, Attagenus piceus (Olivier), and the webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella (Hummel), these materials showed promise as mothproofing agents. The residues were not resistant to washing but were quite resistant to drycleaning. Application studies with Hyamine® 3500 (N -alkyl (C12, C14, C16) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride), found to be one of the more promising of the 8 compounds tested, showed this material can be used successfully for mothproofing washable woolens during laundering in automatic and nonautomatic home washers.
Labelling black male genitalia and the ‘new racism’: the discursive construction of sexual racism by a group of Southern African college students

This article explores the discursive construction of sexual racism through names assigned to the black penis by black male college students in Southern Africa. This analysis reveals use of three frequently occurring metaphors: zoomorphs, weapons and heroic historical figures. Collectively, these frequently occurring metaphors associate Southern African black men with notions of (i) wild, animalistic sexuality, (ii) dangerous, violent behaviour, and (iii) large sexual organs, which were prevalent racist ideologies of black male bodies during the colonial period. In addition, perceptions of sociocultural power dynamics attributed to patriarchy are foregrounded through metaphors related to royalty, indicating that names assigned to male genitalia align not only with the colonial construction of sexual racism but also with patriarchal gender relations. The article concludes by suggesting that names assigned to the black penis embody inherent contradictions that are not only characteristic of Southern African masculinities but also significantly complicate the dichotomy between ‘self’ and ‘other’, or ‘us’ and ‘them’, in contemporary Southern Africa.
Organic cation transport in human renal brush-border membrane vesicles.

The renal proximal tubule is responsible for the active elimination of organic cations. Studies in brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) suggest that active organic cation transport is mediated by an organic cation-proton antiporter. The goals of this study were to determine whether this transporter is expressed in human kidney and to elucidate its characteristics. Transport of the organic cations N1-[3H]methylnicotinamide (NMN) and [14C]tetraethylammonium (TEA) was determined by rapid filtration in BBMV of donor human kidneys. The uptake of NMN and TEA was driven against a concentration gradient by an outwardly directed proton gradient. NMN uptake was inhibited by the organic cations TEA, NMN, quinine, and cimetidine, but was not affected by p-aminohippuric acid, cephalexin, and polyamines. The electroneutral transport of NMN was characterized by a Km of 0.44 +/- 0.07 mM and a Vmax of 24.4 +/- 15.2 pmol.mg protein-1.s-1. The rate of proton efflux from BBMV increased in the presence of an inwardly directed TEA gradient. Preloading BBMV with NMN or TEA trans-stimulated the initial rate of uptake of TEA. Therefore the human proximal tubule expresses an organic cation-proton antiporter in the brush-border membrane. The antiporter is similar to that described in other mammalian species but shows some differences in its transport characteristics.
Thermodynamics of the oxygen evolution electrocatalysis in a functionalized UiO-66 metal-organic frameworks

A density functional theory (DFT) approach was used to predict the thermodynamic energy barriers of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for three functionalized Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs). A UiO-66(Zr) MOF design was selected for this study that incorporates three linker designs, a 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (BDC), BDC functionalized with an amino group (BDC + NH2), and BDC functionalized with nitro group (BDC + NO2). The study found several key differences between homogeneous planar catalyst thermodynamics and MOF-based thermodynamics, the most significant being the non-unique or heterogeneity of reaction sites. Additionally, the functionalization of the MOF was found to significantly influence the hydroperoxyl binding energy, which proves to be the largest hurdle for both oxide and MOF-based catalyst. Both of these findings provide evidence that many of the limitations precluding planar homogeneous catalysts can be surpassed with a MOF-based catalyst. The BDC + NH2 proved to be the best performing catalyst with a predicted over-potential for spontaneous OER evolution to be 3.03eV. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Epidemiological analysis of hand-foot-mouth disease in Heze in 2013

Objective To investigate the time, area and population distribution and the pathogenic composition of hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD) epidemic in Heze in 2013. Methods The HFMD cases in Heze in 2013 were collected using the China Disease Prevention and Control Information Management System and their epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results 4631 cases of HFMD were reported in Heze, including 22 severe cases and 503 cases diagnosed in laboratory. The incidence was 55.59/100 thousand and there was no death. The counties with the top 3 numbers of cases of disease were Dongming county, Mudan district and Juancheng county, accounting for 55.11% of the total reported number of cases. The youngest patient was 2 months old and the oldest was 29 years old; The number of patients 0 to 4 years old was 4231, accounting for 91.36%. Of the HFMD cases, the majority was rural children, accounting for 97.99% of the total cases. Of the cases diagnosed in laboratory, enterovirus 71(EV71), coxsackievirus A16(CoxA 16) and other enteroviruses accounted for 74.95%, 1.79% and 23.26% respectively. Conclusion The epidemic intensity of HFMD in Heze in 2013 is basically stable. The epidemic intensity in different counties is different and the seasonal distribution is also different. Children under the age of 4 are the major epidemic population and EV71 is the main pathogen.
Ceapins inhibit ATF6α signaling by selectively preventing transport of ATF6α to the Golgi apparatus during ER stress.

Newly made proteins must be folded into specific three-dimensional shapes before they can perform their roles in cells. Many proteins are folded in a cell compartment called the endoplasmic reticulum. The cell closely monitors the quality of the work done by this compartment. If the endoplasmic reticulum has more proteins to fold than it can handle, unfolded or misfolded proteins accumulate and trigger a stress response called the unfolded protein response. This increases the capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum to fold proteins to match the demand. However, if the stress persists, then the unfolded protein response instructs the cell to die to protect the rest of the body. A protein called ATF6α is one of three branches of the unfolded protein response. This protein is found in the endoplasmic reticulum where it is inactive. Endoplasmic stress causes ATF6α to move from the endoplasmic reticulum to another compartment called the Golgi apparatus. There, two enzymes cut ATF6α to release a fragment of the protein that then moves to the nucleus to increase the production of the machinery needed to fold proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. In a related study, Gallagher et al. identified a group of small molecules called Ceapins, which inhibit ATF6α activity. Here, Gallagher and Walter investigate how Ceapins act on ATF6α. The experiments show that Ceapin causes ATF6α molecules to form clusters that prevent the protein from moving to the Golgi apparatus by keeping it away from the machinery that moves proteins between these compartments. When the enzymes that cut ATF6α are sent to the endoplasmic reticulum, Ceapin treatment no longer prevents ATF6α activation, which shows that these small molecules specifically inhibit the stress-induced movement of ATF6α. When Ceapins are washed out of cells, the ATF6α clusters fall apart and ATF6α can now move to the Golgi. These experiments show that ATF6α is actively held in the endoplasmic reticulum by a mechanism that is stabilized by Ceapins. Gallagher and Walter propose that the small clusters of ATF6α in unstressed cells act to keep this protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. However, when cells experience stress, the ATF6α clusters fall apart to allow the protein to move to the Golgi. The next steps following on from this work are to find out what these clusters are, how they are influenced by endoplasmic reticulum stress and exactly how the Ceapins stabilize these clusters.
Family Matters: The Role of Intergenerational Gameplay in Successful Aging

Successful aging in Western cultures is associated with remaining independent based on physical and mental health while also remaining engaged with others. Video game play has been found to enhance physical and mental health in older adults, however engagement with others has received less attention from scholars. This study examines the multiple reasons older adults provide for playing video games with family members, focusing on how this process maintains intergenerational relationships. While design issues and negative attitudes may prevent some older adults from playing video games, we offer solutions to overcome these barriers.
Intravenous (IV) Thrombolysis

This chapter will review the basic mechanisms of clot formation (thrombosis) and dissolution (thrombolysis or fibrinolysis), the mechanisms of the major drug classes used in the treatment, and the results from major clinical trials. This chapter will also present ­evidence-based recommendations and protocols for applying thrombolytic therapy to individual patients.
A blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the safety of lokivetmab (ZTS-00103289), a caninized anti-canine IL-31 monoclonal antibody in client-owned dogs with atopic dermatitis

Background Lokivetmab (ZTS-00103289) is a caninized anti-canine IL-31 monoclonal antibody that has demonstrated efficacy in reducing pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) in dogs in field trials. Hypothesis/Objectives This study evaluated the safety of lokivetmab in a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial in client owned dogs with AD with minimal restrictions on concomitant medications and co-morbidities. Animals Clinicians at 14 veterinary clinics enrolled client owned dogs (n = 245) with chronic AD. Methods Dogs were randomized at a 2:1 ratio to receive either lokivetmab (1.0–3.3 mg/kg) or placebo administered subcutaneously on days 0 and 28. Clinicians examined dogs, and collected blood and urine for assessment of clinical pathology and immunogenicity (days 0, 28 and 42). Results There were no immediate hypersensitivity reactions (e.g. wheals, vomiting). Discomfort at administration occurred in 5.1% of dogs and was similar in frequency and severity between lokivetmab- and placebo-treated groups. Pruritus was reported as an adverse event during the study less frequently in the lokivetmab-treated group (4.9% and 19.3%, respectively); otherwise, adverse events occurred at a similar frequency between treatment groups. There were no clinically important differences between groups in clinical pathology results. Treatment-induced immunogenicity was found in 2.5% of lokivetmab treated dogs. A wide variety of concomitant medications were used with no clinically apparent adverse interactions. Conclusions and clinical importance Among a diverse population of 162 client owned dogs with a clinical diagnosis of AD, treatment with two monthly doses of lokivetmab was safe, based on observed adverse events and clinical pathology results over a 42 day period.
The Maslov index and the spectra of second order elliptic operators

Abstract We consider second order elliptic differential operators on a bounded Lipschitz domain Ω. Firstly, we establish a natural one-to-one correspondence between their self-adjoint extensions, with domains of definition containing in H 1 ( Ω ) , and Lagrangian planes in H 1 / 2 ( ∂ Ω ) × H − 1 / 2 ( ∂ Ω ) . Secondly, we derive a formula relating the spectral flow of the one-parameter families of such operators to the Maslov index, the topological invariant counting the signed number of conjugate points of paths of Lagrangian planes in H 1 / 2 ( ∂ Ω ) × H − 1 / 2 ( ∂ Ω ) . Furthermore, we compute the Morse index, the number of negative eigenvalues, in terms of the Maslov index for several classes of the second order operators: the θ → -periodic Schrodinger operators on a period cell Q ⊂ R n , the elliptic operators with Robin-type boundary conditions, and the abstract self-adjoint extensions of the Schrodinger operators on star-shaped domains. Our work is built on the techniques recently developed by B. Boos-Bavnbek, K. Furutani, and C. Zhu, and extends the scope of validity of their spectral flow formula by incorporating the self-adjoint extensions of the second order operators with domains in the first order Sobolev space H 1 ( Ω ) . In addition, we generalize the results concerning relations between the Maslov and Morse indices quite recently obtained by G. Cox, J. Deng, C. Jones, J. Marzuola, A. Sukhtayev and the authors. Finally, we describe and study a link between the theory of abstract boundary triples and the Lagrangian description of self-adjoint extensions of abstract symmetric operators.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and measures of early brain health in middle-aged adults: The CARDIA study

OBJECTIVE To assess associations between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and measures of brain health in a population-based sample of adults. METHODS Participants from the CARDIA study (Y25 exam; age 43-55 years) with concurrent computed tomography quantification of liver fat, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and brain magnetic resonance (MR) images were included (n = 505). NAFLD was identified after exclusion of other causes of liver fat. Total tissue volume (TTV) and gray matter cerebral blood flow (GM-CBF) were estimated using 3T brain MR images. RESULTS NAFLD prevalence was 18%. NAFLD was associated with lower TTV and GM-CBF after adjusting for intracranial volume, demographics, and health behaviors (P < 0.04 for all). In models with additional adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, the association of NAFLD with GM-CBF remained significant (P = 0.04) but was attenuated after adjustment for VAT (P = 0.06) and eliminated with BMI (P = 0.20). NAFLD was not associated with TTV after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors (P = 0.10) or additional adjustment for VAT (P = 0.14) or BMI (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS NAFLD is negatively associated with early brain health as assessed by MR measures of structure (TTV) and perfusion (GM-CBF). BMI and VAT attenuated this relationship, providing insight into the potential metabolic role of liver fat in brain health and disease.
Finding low-rank solutions to smooth convex problems via the Burer-Monteiro approach

A rank-r matrix X ∈ ℝm×n can be written as a product UV ⊤, where U ∈ ℝm×r and V ∈ ℝn×r. One could exploit this observation in optimization: e.g., consider the minimization of a convex function ƒ(X) over rank-r matrices, where the set of rank-r matrices is modeled via the factorization in U and V variables. Such heuristic has been widely used before for problem instances, where the solution is (approximately) low-rank. Though such parameterization reduces the number of variables and is more efficient w.r.t. computational and memory requirements (of particular interest is the case r ≪ min{m, n}), it comes at a cost: ƒ(UV ⊤) becomes a non-convex function w.r.t. U and V. In this paper, we study such parameterization in optimizing generic smooth convex ƒ, that has Lipschitz continuous gradients, and focus on first-order, gradient descent algorithmic solutions. We propose the Bi-Factored Gradient Descent (BFGD) algorithm, an efficient first-order method that operates on the U, V factors. We show that when ƒ is smooth and BFGD is initialized properly, it has local sublinear convergence to a globally optimum point. As a test case, we consider the 1-bit matrix completion problem: We compare BFGD with state-of-the-art approaches and show that it has at least competitive test error performance on real dataset experiments, while being faster in execution, as compared to the rest of the algorithms. We conclude this work with some remarks and open questions for further investigations.
Complications related to percutaneous thrombectomy of hemodialysis grafts.

Purpose: To retrospectively review the complications reported during percutaneous thrombectomy procedures performed on polytetrafluoroethylene hemodialysis grafts. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review revealed that 935 percutaneous thrombectomy procedures were performed at our institution between January 1993 and June 2001. The type and number of procedures include: Arrow PTD (527), pulse-spray with urokinase (240), Amplatz Thrombectomy Device (96), AngioJet (17), Oasis (15), Hydrolyser (10), Endovac (7), Lyse and Wait (7), Thrombex (6), Cragg brush (6), Castaneda brush (4). Complications were reported to have occurred in 31 patients. The radiology reports and medical records of these patients were reviewed. Results: The overall complication rate was 3.3%. The type and number of complications included: rupture of a vein during angioplasty (13), severe cardiopulmonary distress (4), arterial emboli (4), rigors related to urokinase (3), minor bleeding (2), hypoxia with chest pain (2), other assorted complications (3). There was one death re- sulting from a fall from the angiography table immediately following the procedure. There were 12 minor com- plications, requiring minimal treatment, and 19 major complications that altered the course of the procedure or treatment of the patient. Conclusion: The most common complication was angioplasty-induced rupture of the vein or graft. The most se- vere complications occurred immediately following dislodgement of the arterial plug and were likely due to acute pulmonary embolization. (The Journal of Vascular Access 2002; 3: 49-57)
Hunger and Satiation

Scientific understanding of the basic physiological control eating is reviewed. This includes: [i] the peripheral physiological events that generate afferent signals that the brain uses to control eating, i.e., flavor sensing, gastrointestinal (GI) processing of food, and metabolic processing of absorbed nutrients; and [ii] the neural networks in the brain that integrate and process these signals. These signals and networks form the physiological foundation of the control of eating, upon which myriad psychological, social and cultural factors are based.
Structural Relaxation near the Glass Transition: Observing Kovacs Kinetic Phenomenology by Mechanical Measurements

paper presents the structural relaxation behavior near the glass transition temperature (T g ) of poly (phenylene sulfide) (PPS). Since the test temperature is close to T g , the specimen is able to reach equilibrium after isothermal or nonisothermal temperature jumps in the experimental time scale; as such, the classic phenomenology of structural relaxation into equilibrium can be pursued by mechanical testing (physical aging) in a temperature range near T g . In our study, physical aging effects were observed by sequential creep test method using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). The physical aging of PPS near T g from mechanical testing clearly showed the similar behavior from the classic volumetric responses found by Kovacs in 1960s. The mechanical aging shift factors manifested all of the three “essential ingredients” in the kinetics of structural relaxation which constitute the most physical phenomenology of glassy-forming materials: intrinsic isotherms; asymmetry of approaching equilibrium; and memory effects. The findings in this study offer a valuable approach to investigate the relationship between the mechanical response and thermodynamic properties (volume, enthalpy, etc.) during structural relaxation of glassy materials.
Modelling of Physics Processes

An accurate modelling of the signal and background processes is crucial to explore the selected data events. Both simulations performed with the Monte Carlo technique and estimations in signal-free data regions (usually referred to as “data-driven” methods) are adopted to model the processes involved in the Open image in new window search as described in this chapter. Residual discrepancies between the modelling and the observed data, as well as statistical uncertainties affecting the data-driven methods, are taken into account as systematic uncertainties, that are part of the statistical interpretation of the data. A description of their sources and of their effects on the sensitivity of the search is presented.
Intuitive Knowledge via the Inversion of Intelligence

This chapter establishes the existence of two forms of knowledge, intuition, and intelligence, and elaborates their distinctive features. While representation and intelligence juxtapose things in space and moments in spatialized time for the purpose of practical and social life, intuitive knowledge gathers the spatially distinct moments and things and thinks them in duration. In so doing, intuitive knowledge enacts the real and so grasps it from inside. The relationship between intelligence and intuition is thus not one of opposition but of complementarity, since intuition is the effort to reintegrate what the analytic function of intelligence separates and externally connects.
“Rivers Change Like Nations”: Reading Eco-Apocalypse in The Waters of Edera

It is difficult to conceive of a river run dry in the Victorian novel. If ice-capped mountains signify the sublime for the Romantic poet, the rushing river is the signature image through which the Victorian novelist powers a myth of community. “Ice forms above,” declares George Levine, but “rivers flow below, fertilizing the land, bearing human traffic, building human communities” in Victorian novels such as Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, and News from Nowhere (137). In these novels, water flows seemingly “for ever,” bearing story forward with its limitless power. Distinct as such fictional rivers are in the novels of Dickens, Eliot, or Conrad, each tells the same environmental story; that is, that water is always flowing, a metaphor for the sheer abundance of Victorian narrative itself. Ouida’s The Waters of the Edera (1900), perhaps the first Victorian novel to take environmental action as its central theme, is then the more sensational as it features the threat of a great river run dry. Forerunner to the modern ecological disaster plot, the novel dramatizes the apocalyptic impact upon a local community when a river is “taken into bondage,” impounded and diverted to power an acetylene factory and an “electric railway” (174). With this impending disaster as its central theme, Ouida’s novel reverses the riverine discourse of Victorian fiction. Resolving her plot in an eco-apocalypse, she ends the course of the river and story simultaneously, contributing, I argue, to the possibilities and limits of future ecological narratives.
The loss of slow skeletal muscle isoform of troponin T in spindle intrafusal fibres explains the pathophysiology of Amish nemaline myopathy

Key points The pathogenic mechanism and the neuromuscular reflex-related phenotype (e.g. tremors accompanied by clonus) of Amish nemaline myopathy, as well as of other recessively inherited TNNT1 myopathies, remain to be clarified. The truncated slow skeletal muscle isoform of troponin T (ssTnT) encoded by the mutant TNNT1 gene is unable to incorporate into myofilaments and is degraded in muscle cells. By contrast to extrafusal muscle fibres, spindle intrafusal fibres of normal mice contain a significant level of cardiac TnT and a low molecular weight splice form of ssTnT. Intrafusal fibres of ssTnT-knockout mice have significantly increased cardiac TnT. Rotarod and balance beam tests have revealed abnormal neuromuscular co-ordination in ssTnT-knockout mice and a blunted response to a spindle sensitizer, succinylcholine. The loss of ssTnT and a compensatory increase of cardiac TnT in intrafusal nuclear bag fibres may increase myofilament Ca2+ -sensitivity and tension, impairing spindle function, thus identifying a novel mechanism for the development of targeted treatment. Abstract A nonsense mutation at codon Glu180 of TNNT1 gene causes Amish nemaline myopathy (ANM), a recessively inherited disease with infantile lethality. TNNT1 encodes the slow skeletal muscle isoform of troponin T (ssTnT). The truncated ssTnT is unable to incorporate into myofilament and is degraded in muscle cells. The symptoms of ANM include muscle weakness, atrophy, contracture and tremors accompanied by clonus. An ssTnT-knockout (KO) mouse model recapitulates key features of ANM such as atrophy of extrafusal slow muscle fibres and increased fatigability. However, the neuromuscular reflex-related symptoms of ANM have not been explained. By isolating muscle spindles from ssTnT-KO and control mice aiming to examine the composition of myofilament proteins, we found that, in contrast to extrafusal fibres, intrafusal fibres contain a significant level of cardiac TnT and the low molecular weight splice form of ssTnT. Intrafusal fibres from ssTnT-KO mice have significantly increased cardiac TnT. Rotarod and balance beam tests revealed impaired neuromuscular co-ordination in ssTnT-KO mice, indicating abnormality in spindle functions. Unlike the wild-type control, the beam running ability of ssTnT-KO mice had a blunted response to a spindle sensitizer, succinylcholine. Immunohistochemistry detected ssTnT and cardiac TnT in nuclear bag fibres, whereas fast skeletal muscle TnT was detected in nuclear chain fibres, and cardiac α-myosin was present in one of the two nuclear bag fibres. The loss of ssTnT and a compensatory increase of cardiac TnT in nuclear bag fibres would increase myofilament Ca2+ -sensitivity and tension, thus affecting spindle activities. This mechanism provides an explanation for the pathophysiology of ANM, as well as a novel target for treatment.
Re-engineering Antimicrobial Peptides into Oncolytics Targeting Drug-Resistant Ovarian Cancers

Bacteria and cancer cells share a common trait—both possess an electronegative surface that distinguishes them from healthy mammalian counterparts. This opens opportunities to repurpose antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are cationic amphiphiles that kill bacteria by disrupting their anionic cell envelope, into anticancer peptides (ACPs). To test this assertion, we investigate the mechanisms by which a pathogen-specific AMP, originally designed to kill bacterial Tuberculosis, potentiates the lytic destruction of drug-resistant cancers and synergistically enhances chemotherapeutic potency. De novo peptide design, paired with cellular assays, elucidate structure-activity relationships (SAR) important to ACP potency and specificity. Using the sequence MAD1, microscopy, spectrophotometry and flow cytometry identify the peptide’s anticancer mechanisms, while parallel combinatorial screens define chemotherapeutic synergy in drug-resistant cell lines and patient derived ex vivo tumors. SAR investigations reveal spatial sequestration of amphiphilic regions increases ACP potency, but at the cost of specificity. Selecting MAD1 as a lead sequence, mechanistic studies identify that the peptide forms pore-like supramolecular assemblies within the plasma and nuclear membranes of cancer cells to potentiate death through lytic and apoptotic mechanisms. This diverse activity enables MAD1 to synergize broadly with chemotherapeutics, displaying remarkable combinatorial efficacy against drug-resistant ovarian carcinoma cells and patient-derived tumor spheroids. We show that cancer-specific ACPs can be rationally engineered using nature’s AMP toolbox as templates. Selecting the antimicrobial peptide MAD1, we demonstrate the potential of this strategy to open a wealth of synthetic biotherapies that offer new, combinatorial opportunities against drug resistant tumors.
Restatement (Third) of Torts Section 47(b) Bypasses Traditional Barriers and Offers Aspiring Parents a Clear Path to Recover Stand-Alone NIED when Their Cryopreserved Reproductive Material is Lost or Destroyed.

“[T]he tissue or embryo is not the primary victim at all. The victims are the parents who have been deprived of the potential to conceive a child together.”1
Does highway project bundling policy affect bidding competition? Insights from a mixed ordinal logistic model

Abstract Highway transportation project bundling can significantly reduce project delivery cost but could cause undesirable consequences such as reduced market competition. As such, bundling policy needs to be guided by a careful assessment of the potential impacts of bundling on bidding competition. This paper analyses the effect of project bundling policies on market competition using random-effects mixed ordinal logistic modelling, a probabilistic approach. The paper also investigates the variations of such effects across the different project types. The bundling policy factors that were found to be significantly impact bidding competition were the bundle size, bundling combination, and spatial proximity. The results suggest that bundled projects are generally associated with lower bidding competition compared to standalone projects, for all work categories except traffic projects. Further, where the bundled projects have proximal location, the bidding competition is generally higher. It was also determined that the different highway project types exhibit significant differences regarding the effect of bundling on competition: bundling policy (vis-a-vis standalone policy) generally leads to less intense competition for bridge, road, small-structures, miscellaneous, and utility projects, and more intense competition for traffic projects. In addition, it was found that there is a significant improvement on the model performance by including a random effects specification which diagnosed and addressed the unobserved heterogeneity that exists across the contract-letting years, for all the project types. The paper’s models can help highway agencies not only estimate the expected number of bidders for a given project under different bundling policies but also assess the effects of the bundling policy-related factors on bidding competition.
Ethnic identity in Greek antiquity: Ethnography and genealogy: an Argolic case-study

The ethnic populations of the Argolid The Argolid area of the northeastern Peloponnese (fig. 2) is bounded to the north by Korinthia, to the northeast and east by the Saronic Gulf, to the south and southeast by the Argolic Gulf and Kynouria, and to the west by Arkadia. It can be thought of as divided into two distinct regions. The Argive plain itself, which covers an area of approximately 200 square km, is triangular in shape and was formed from black alluvial soil washed down from the surrounding mountains. On the western side of the plain are the setdements of Argos (by far the most important and best documented site of the Argive plain in the post-Mycenaean period) and Lerna (modern Mili). On the eastern side are the settlements of Mykenai (Mikines), the Argive Heraion, Berbati, Midea (Dendra), Tiryns, Nauplia (Nafplio) and, a little further to the southeast, Asine. The second region is the eastern Argolid, or Akti Peninsula, divided into two by the Adheres mountain range which runs like a spine from east to west. On the southern coast of Akti are the sites of Mases (on the modern Koiladha bay), Halieis (Portoheli) and Hermione (Ermioni), while on the northern coast are the sites of Troizen (Trizina) and Epidauros (Epidhavros) along with the Methana peninsula and the island of Kalaureia (modern Poros). The reason why the Argolid has been selected to provide a more detailed illustration of the discursive construction of ethnicity is due to the fact that – as figure 3 shows – it is a region whose population is characterised by the literary sources as being multi-ethnic in its composition.
Pediatric cerebral arteriovenous malformations

Pial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the brain are vascular abnormalities located in the subpial space that consist of direct communications from artery to vein via intervening nidus. AVMs are the most common intracranial pathology and frequent cause of intracranial hemorrhage in children. Moreover, the epidemiology and clinical findings particular to chil- dren with AVMs can be ascribed to the distinct angioarchitecture of pediatric AVMs. However, the natural history and treatment of pediatric AVMs is relatively unknown. In this article, we review current knowledge of pediatric pial AVMs.
Uric acid and endogenous creatinine clearance studies in normal pregnancy and toxemias of pregnancy.

Abstract Definite and characteristic changes in renal function as measured by endogenous creatinine and uric acid clearances can be demonstrated in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and in those with acute toxemia superimposed upon chronic hypertension, those with essential hypertension, and those with unclassified “toxemia,” when compared with normal pregnant women. In normal women both the creatinine and uric acid clearances were higher prior to the thirty-second week of pregnancy when glomerular filtration reaches a maximum than they were during the last 8 weeks of the gestation period. In most instances the figures were higher than those considered to be normal for nonpregnant women, irrespective of the period of gestation at the time the test was made. It is necessary to recognize this variation particularly in setting up a standard for the comparison of renal function in abnormal conditions. The normal fall in the clearances as pregnancy advanced was not observed in patients with essential hypertension unless it was complicated by a superimposed acute process, in which event both the uric acid and the creatinine clearances were reduced simultaneously. The changes in the latter patients were almost identical with those observed in women with preeclampsia and on the basis of the clearance studies alone it was impossible to differentiate one from the other. The reduction in renal function tended to be greater the more severe the toxemia but this relationship did not always hold true because there was considerable overlapping of results. The clearance studies of both uric acid and creatinine provided a far more accurate evaluation of the exeretion of the materials than did the blood levels. Abnormally high blood creatinine levels were seldom observed and those of uric acid often were normal even though the clearance was reduced. Because the changes in the creatinine and the uric acid clearances follow each other so consistently in normal as well as in abnormal patients, it seems likely that the low clearance of uric acid in pre-eclampsia, which often is attributed to a selective increased tubular reabsorption, actually represents a decreased glomerular filtration of the material. Single clearance studies are of little value in either diagnosis or prognosis but relative changes in the creatinine and uric acid excretion usually can be observed as the severity of toxemia progresses and may be helpful, when considered in relation to the clinical signs, in determining treatment. A single uric acid or creatinine clearance study will not often indicate those who will develop pre-eclampsia, but a progressive fall which is greater than the normal and which antedates positive clinical signs can be detected with serial tests and may be useful in prognosticating the development of pre-eclampsia.
Nanophase ceramics: The future orthopedic and dental implant material

Abstract Traditional materials utilized for orthopedic and dental applications have been selected based on their mechanical properties and ability to remain inert in vivo; this selection process has provided materials that satifisfy physiological loading conditions but do not duplicate the mechanical, chemical, and architectural properties of bone. The less than optimal surface properties of conventional materials have resulted in clinical complications that necessitate surgical removal of many such failed bone implants due to insufficient bonding to juxtaposed bone. Sufficient bonding of an implant to juxtaposed bone (i.e., osseointegration) is needed to minimize motion-induced damage to surrounding tissues and support physiological loading conditions, criteria crucial for implant success. Insufficient osseointegration can be caused by biomaterial surface properties that do not support new bone synthesis and/or mechanical properties that do not match those of surrounding bone; mismatch of mechanical properties between an implant and surrounding bone may lead to stress and strain imbalances that cause implant loosening and eventual failure. Clearly, the next generation of biomaterials for orthopedic and dental implant applications must possess both biocompatible surface properties that promote bonding of juxtaposed bone and mechanical properties similar to those of physiological bone. Due to unique surface and mechanical properties, as well as the ability to simulate the three-dimensional architecture of physiological bone, one possible consideration for the next generation of orthopedic and dental implants with improved efficacy are nanophase materials. This chapter presents reports of the design, synthesis, and evaluation of nanophase materials for increased orthopedic and dental implant efficacy.
Robust switching output feedback control of discrete-time linear polytopic uncertain systems

This paper presents a new switching control approach for robust output feedback control of a class of discrete-time linear systems subject to polytopic time-varying uncertainties. The proposed robust switching controller, which stabilizes the closed-loop system with a pre-specified H ∞ performance level, consists of a family of dynamic output feedback controllers (of an arbitrary state order) and a switching law (the relaxed min-switching strategy). Both stability analysis and control synthesis conditions are derived using a piecewise quadratic Lyapunov function. The switching law combined with the controller gain matrices are jointly synthesized by solving a convex linear matrix inequality (LMI) based optimization problem. An academic example has been used to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach.
End-to-End Service Delivery with QoS Guarantee in Software Defined Networks

Software-Defined Network (SDN) is expected to have a significant impact on future networking. Although exciting progress has been made toward realizing SDN, application of this new networking paradigm in the future Internet to support end-to-end QoS provisioning faces some new challenges. The autonomous network domains coexisting in the Internet and the diverse user applications deployed upon the Internet call for a uniform Service Delivery Platform (SDP) that enables high-level network abstraction and inter-domain collaboration for end-to-end service provisioning. However, the currently available SDN technologies lack effective mechanisms for supporting such a platform. In this paper, we first present an SDP framework that applies the Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) principle to provide network abstraction and orchestration for end-to-end service provisioning in the SDN-based future Internet. Then we focus our study on two enabling technologies for such an SDP to achieve QoS guarantee; namely a network abstraction model and an end-to-end resource allocation scheme. Specifically, we propose a general model for abstracting the service capabilities offered by network domains and develop a technique for determining the required amounts of bandwidth in network domains for end-to-end service delivery with QoS guarantee. Both the analytical and numerical results obtained in this paper indicate that the NaaS-based SDP not only simplifies SDN service and resource management but also enhances bandwidth utilization for end-to-end QoS provisioning.
Gisbert F. Winnewisser

Gisbert Fritz Winnewisser was born in 1936 in Karlsruhe, Germany into a family whose roots can be traced back to the Huguenots. This was not an auspicious year for a birth, because the ravages of the Second World War were soon to engulf the world. Most but not all of Gisbert’s family survived the war, while Gisbert attended elementary school in the picturesque village of Bad Peterstal, in the Black Forest. Later, the family moved back to Karlsruhe, where Gisbert first attended the Goethe Gymnaisum (1947-1956) and subsequently studied physics at the Technische Hochscule Karlsruhe (1956- 1963). After obtaining his Diplom (Masters), he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1963 to study molecular spectroscopy at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina. At that time, Durham was a small, parochial southern town, and it is hard at first to fathom why Gisbert would choose to study there. But, Gisbert was following in his elder brother Manfred’s footsteps; Manfred was already at Duke University pursuing postdoctoral studies. Both Manfred and later Gisbert were attracted to this remote location because Walter Gordy, a very famous microwave spectroscopist, was a professor there. A pioneer in the use of ultra-high frequency microwaves, Walter Gordy can indeed be called the originator of millimeter-wave and even submillimeter-wave spectroscopy.
Motivational systems and autonomic functioning: Overlapping and differential contributions to anhedonic depression and anxious arousal

This study examined multiple aspects of temperament in order to better understand the distinction and overlap between anxious and depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood. Temperament was measured at the motivational level via self-reported behavioral inhibition (BI) and behavioral activation (BA) and at the physiological level via autonomic functioning [i.e., skin conductance levels (SCL) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)]. Emerging adults (N = 170) reported on their BI and BA; SCL and RSA baseline scores were averaged during a 6-min resting period. Results revealed that high RSA was associated with fewer anhedonic depressive symptoms independent of BI and BA, whereas SCL contributed to anhedonic depressive symptoms through a three-way interaction with BI and BA. Specifically, high SCL exacerbated anhedonic depressive symptoms for individuals exhibiting profiles of high BI/low BA and low BI/high BA. This study highlights the importance of examining the unique interactions between psychophysiological and self-report measures of temperament when studying the development of internalizing symptoms in emerging adulthood.
TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF DISTRACTIBILITY: TWO-YEAR FOLLOW-UP

In a previous study children rated by their first grade teachers as distractible took significantly longer to complete perceptual motor tasks than children who were rated as nondistractible ( 1 ) . The present study was designed to determine whether ratings of distractibility obtained in the first grade were predictive of subsequent ratings of distractibility by third grade teachers. A second purpose was to determine whether distractibility ratings by first grade teacheis were predictive of differences in later measures of academic performan~e.~ Subjects for the present study consisted of 29 third grade males (10 distractible and 19 nondistractible) who were still in the same city school system by the end of the third grade. In the first grade IQs on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test for white distractible subjects and nondistractible subjectsa were not significantly different. The mean IQ was 121 for distractible subjects and 114 for nondistractible subjects. Third grade teachers rated children on distractibility according to the same procedure used by Somemill, et al. ( 1 ) . All subjects were administered the Reading and Arithmetic subtests of the Wide Range Achievement Test. The data obtained for the third grade were compared with those for first grade. Subjects rated as distractible in the first grade were also rated as significantly more distractible than nondistractible subjects by their third grade teachers ( t n = 2.70, S D = 14.08 and 9.77 respectively, p < .01). Distractible subjects scored significantly lower than nondistractible subjects on the arithmetic subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test ( t n = 2.49, SD = 2.20 and 3.33 respectively, p < .01) but not on the reading subtest. Thus the perception of distractibility by third grade teachers was consistent with earlier ratings by first grade teachers. Limited evidence was also provided for the assumption that distractibility ratings may be predictive of later differences in academic performance.