cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On comparing dynamical systems by defective conjugacy: A symbolic dynamics interpretation of commuter functions

Abstract While the field of dynamical systems has been focused on properties which are invariant to “good” change of variables, namely conjugacy, which is an equivalence relationship, when using dynamical systems methods in science and modeling, there lacks a dynamical way to compare dynamical systems, even when they are in some sense “close.” In Skufca and Bolt (2007) [7] and Skufca and Bolt (2008) [8] , we introduced mathematics to support a philosophy that two dynamical systems should be compared through a change of coordinates between them, that is, a commuter between them which may fail to be a homeomorphism. The progressive degree to which the commuter fails to be a homeomorphism defines what we call a homeomorphic defect. However, at the time of publication of these papers, there were limits in the mathematical technology requiring that the transformations be one-dimensional mappings and flows which are well described, for construction of the commuters by fixed point iteration, and further, difficulties in numerically computing defects in the more complicated one-dimensional cases, and further limits to higher-dimensional problems. Therefore, here we extend the theory to allow for multivariate transformations, with construction methods separate from the fixed point iteration, and new methods to compute defect. In the course of this work, we introduce several new technical innovations in order to cope with much more general problems. We introduce assignment mappings to understand and illustrate commuters in a broader setting. We discuss the role of symbolic dynamics and coding as related to commuters as well as defect measure. Further, we discuss refinement and convergence of a nested refinement of commuter representations. This work represents a step forward in the possibility of using the commuter and defects to judge model quality in those dynamical systems for which a symbolic dynamics, and hence a generating partition may be available; while finding a generating partition is a problem in its own right, we offer this work as further perspective for interpretation of the meaning of commuters and defect measure.
Temporal and spatial variability of the internal wave field in a lake with complex morphometry

To quantify the effect of basin morphometry on internal wave dynamics, we installed thermistor arrays around the perimeter of Mono Lake, California. The lake's complex bathymetry includes alongshore bottom slopes ranging from < 1% up to 9% and a steep-sided peninsula-like island. Under the influence of the dominating winds from the south, isopycnals downwelled along the long axis of the lake as well as along an axis parallel to the peninsula, generating vertical mode 2 horizontal mode 2 internal waves. On relaxation of the wind, a horizontal mode 2 Kelvin wave evolved with a period of ∼ 22 h in each of the two sub-basins. The response of the internal wave field to high winds was spatially variable, with higher vertical excursions of isopycnals and higher rates of strain, indicative of non-linearity and turbulence, at both sides of the peninsula and near steep sloping boundaries to the south. Rate of strain squared was enhanced up to three orders of magnitude relative to background rates depending on bottom slope. Model comparisons in which the island was moved to the center of the lake or removed showed a dominant horizontal mode 1 wave and stronger influence of rotation. Increased complexity of basin morphometry modified the horizontal and vertical phase structure of dominant basin-scale waves, redistributed the potential energy in the internal wave field over space, and shifted the positions of the basins in which the waves rotated. Whether turbulence increased with these shifts depended on the incidence of steep topography.
Putative virulence factors of Candida albicans.

INTRODUCTION 187 Hypothetical Set of Virulence Genes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 188 Commensal or Opportunistic Pathogen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Purpose of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 HYPHAL PRODUCTION 190 Early Observation . . . . . . . . . .. . . , .... .. .. . . . . .. . . .. .. ...... . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . ,. 190 Inherent Experimental Diff iculties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 191 Recent Observations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 193 Other Approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 PROTEINASE ACTIVITy 197 Is There Only One Proteinase? 198 Evidence For and Against Proteinase . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ... . . . . . . ....... . . . . . .... . . ... 1 99 ADHERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 203 Classification of Receptor-Ligand Molecules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 How Many Receptor-Ligand Molecules on C. albicans Are There? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . 205 Virulence Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 VARIABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Chromosomal Instabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Antigenic Variabilit y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 208 OTHER ATTRIBUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,.. . . ...... . . . . . 209 Suppression-Activation of Host-Acquired Specific Immunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 CONCLUDING REMARKS 209
Detailed analysis of I/O traces for large scale applications

In this paper, we present a tool to extract I/O traces from very large applications running at full scale during their production runs. We analyze these traces to gain information about the application. We analyze the traces of three applications. The analysis showed that the I/O traces reveal much information about the application even without access to the source code. In particular, these I/O traces provide multiple indications towards the algorithmic nature of the application by observing the changes of data amount and I/O request distribution at the checkpoints. Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) is one of the kind of algorithms that can exhibit such I/O behavior. This is the first study of I/O characteristics of unbalanced AMR-supported applications at scale. The key observations that we made in the trace were (1) Variation in aggregate data sizes across checkpoints for AMR and non-AMR applications, (2) Variation in the number of I/O calls by a client depending on the nature of the application, (3) Use of temporary files by applications and possible erroneous calls to I/O functions, (4) Variation in average data transfer size according as whether the application has AMR support or not, (5) Aggregation of I/O for processes executing on a single physical node through MPI-IO calls, and (6) Updates to specific data structures in the checkpoint file.
Checking reachability using matching logic

This paper presents a verification framework that is parametric in a (trusted) operational semantics of some programming language. The underlying proof system is language-independent and consists of eight proof rules. The proof system is proved partially correct and relatively complete (with respect to the programming language configuration model). To show its practicality, the generic framework is instantiated with a fragment of C and evaluated with encouraging results.
GENETIC MAPPING OF A GROUP OF TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE dna INITIATION MUTANTS IN BACILLUS SUBTILIS

Recombination frequencies among temperature-sensitive dna mutants from various laboratories were analyzed, and eleven dna mutants were found to be closely linked. They are classified as group B dna mutants, since these are closely linked with dnaB19, originally isolated and approximately mapped near leuA8 by Karamata and Gross (1970). However, the dnaB19 mutation itself has relatively high recombination frequencies with the other mutations, thus, we propose to subdivide the dnaB group into two subgroups—dnaBI, including ten mutants (dna-1, dna-3, dna-5, dna-17, dna-27, dna-51, dna-60, dna-62, dna-103 and dna-134) and dnaBII, including dnaB19. The map order of dnaB and markers in the vicinity was determined to be argA–citH–citC–phoP–phoR–polA– dnaBI·dnaBII–citF–leuA–pheA.
The afterlives of 2Pac: Imagery and alienation in Sierra Leone and beyond

The popularity of slain American hip-hop star Tupac Shakur has become a global barometer of youth malaise. Taking a multidisciplinary approach that weaves social history, cultural studies and globalization studies, this paper highlights the convergence of socioeconomic alienation and media proliferation since the early 1990s. I argue that this confluence has given rise to new global heroes such as Tupac, icons that have become components of a planetary symbolic lingua franca that has yet to gain significant analytical attention. I outline the transnational import of Tupac by considering combatants' evocations of him during the Sierra Leone civil war (1991–2002). Militant factions' attraction to Tupac – their use of Tupac T-shirts as fatigues and incorporation of his discourse into their worldviews – offers insight on how young people have sought broader relevance for their particular experiences through the imagery of global popular culture. Tupac references allow for a powerful stereoscopy; they reveal m...
Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ protects against hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice

The function of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) in hepatic inflammation and injury is unclear. In this study, we sought to determine the role of PPARγ in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice. Male mice were subjected to 90 minutes of partial hepatic ischemia followed by up to 8 hours of reperfusion. PPARγ was found to be constitutively activated in hepatocytes but not in nonparenchymal cells. Upon induction of ischemia, hepatic PPARγ activation rapidly decreased and remained suppressed throughout the 8-hour reperfusion period. This reduced activation was not a result of decreased protein availability as hepatic nuclear PPARγ, retinoid X receptor-α (RXRα), and PPARγ/RXRα heterodimer expression was maintained. Accompanying the decrease in PPARγ activation was a decrease in the expression of the natural ligand 15-deoxy-Delta12,14-prostaglandin J2. This was associated with reduced interaction of PPARγ and the coactivator, p300. To determine whether PPARγ activation is hepatoprotective during hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury, mice were treated with the PPARγ agonists, rosiglitazone and connecting peptide. These treatments increased PPARγ activation and reduced liver injury compared to untreated mice. Furthermore, PPARγ-deficient mice had more liver injury after ischemia/reperfusion than their wild-type counterparts. Conclusion: These data suggest that PPARγ is an important endogenous regulator of, and potential therapeutic target for, ischemic liver injury. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
Alternative splicing of micro-exons creates multiple forms of the insect cell adhesion molecule fasciclin I

Fasciclin I is a homophilic cell adhesion molecule in insects that is dynamically expressed on a subset of axon pathways in the embryonic nervous system, and on a variety of other cells and tissues during development. The fasciclin I protein consists of four homologous 150 amino acid domains. In this article, we describe the complete sequence of the Drosophila fasciclin I (fasI) gene. The gene consists of 15 exons and is distributed over 14 kilobases of DNA. We examine the structure and temporal expression pattern of multiple fasciclin I mRNAs that differ in the lengths of their 3′ untranslated regions. We also show that a highly conserved sequence at the end of the second domain can be altered by the addition of three or six amino acids that are encoded by two alternatively spliced 9 base pair (bp) micro-exons. In grasshopper fasciclin I mRNAs, there are 9 bp and 6 bp insertions at the same position. The first of these insertions is identical in sequence to the first fly micro-exon. The grasshopper insertions are not found together in the same mRNA, so grasshopper fasciclin I species differ by the addition of three or two extra amino acids to the second domain. The alternatively spliced mRNAs are differentially expressed during embryogenesis, and all three of them are present in nerve cord preparations. We suggest that the amino acids inserted by alternative micro-exon splicing may alter the binding specificity of fasciclin I.
Anomalous ENSO Occurrences: An Alternate View*

There has been an apparent increase in the frequency and duration of El Nino-Southern Oscillation events in the last two decades relative to the prior period of record. Furthermore, 1990-95 was the longest period of sustained high Darwin sea level pressure in the instrumental record. Variations in the frequency and duration of such events are of considerable interest because of their implications for understanding global climatic variability and also the possibility that the climate system may be changing due to external factors such as the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Nonparametric statistical methods for time series analysis are applied to a 1882 to 1995 seasonal Darwin sea level pressure (DSLP) anomaly time series to explore the variations in El Nino-like anomaly occurrence and persistence over the period of record. Return periods for the duration of the 1990-95 event are estimated to be considerably smaller than those recently obtained by Trenberth and Hoar using a linear ARMA model with the same time series. The likelihood of a positive anomaly of the DSLP, as well as its persistence, is found to exhibit decadal- to centennial-scale variability and was nearly as high at the end of the last century as it has been recently. The 1990-95 event has a much lower return period if the analysis is based on the 1882-1921 DSLP data. The authors suggest that conclusions that the 1990-95 event may be an effect of greenhouse gas-induced warming be tempered by a recognition of the natural variability in the system.
Towards Self-Powered Nanosystems: From Nanogenerators to Nanopiezotronics†

Developing wireless nanodevices and nanosystems are of critical importance for sensing, medical science, defense technology, and even personal electronics. It is highly desirable for wireless devices and even required for implanted biomedical devices that they be self-powered without use of a battery. It is essential to explore innovative nanotechnologies for converting mechanical energy (such as body movement, muscle stretching), vibrational energy (such as acoustic or ultrasonic waves), and hydraulic energy (such as body fluid flow) into electrical energy, which will be used to power nanodevices without a battery. This is a key step towards self-powered nanosystems. We have demonstrated an innovative approach for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy by piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowire (NW) arrays. The operation mechanism of the electric generator relies on the unique coupling of the piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of ZnO as well as the gating effect of the Schottky barrier formed between the metal tip and the NW. Based on this mechanism, we have recently developed a DC nanogenerator (NG) driven by the ultrasonic wave in a biofluid and a textile-fiber-based NG for harvesting low-frequency mechanical energy. Furthermore, a new field, ‘‘nanopiezotronics’’, has been developed, which uses coupled piezoelectric–semiconducting properties for fabricating novel and unique electronic devices and components. This Feature Article gives a systematic description of the fundamental mechanism of the NG, its rationally innovative design for high output power, and the new electronics that can be built based on a piezoelectric-driven semiconducting process. A perspective will be given about the future impact of the technologies.
Marine paleoecology in the Upper Devonian of New York

In the clastic Genesee Group of the Catskill delta, lateral changes of the fauna are believed to reflect onshore-offshore physicochemical gradients. A shoreward increase of infauna is interpreted as adaptation to increased environmental stress. Free immobile taxa were concentrated offshore, while vagile forms, presumably able to cope with shifting substrata, are dominant nearshore. A shorewards replacement of brachiopods by bivalves reflects the eurytopy and infaunal habits of the bivalves. In Gencsee time, progradation was first rapid, then slow. The sequence is reversed in the superjacent Sonyea Group and the accompanying reversal of faunal patterns is strong evidence of faunal control by the rate of progradation. This indicates the hazardous nature of attempts to trace ‘community evolutioneditor’ using only a few studies from each period.
Destruction of Neel Order in the Cuprates by Electron-Doping

Motivated by the evidence 1,2,3,4,5,6 in Pr2 xCexCuO4 y and Nd2 xCexCuO4 y of a magnetic quantum critical point at which N eel order is destroyed, we study the evolution with doping of the T = 0 quantum phases of the electron doped cuprates. At low doping, there is a metallic N eel state with small electron Fermi pockets, and this yields a fully gapped dx2 y2 superconductor with co-existing N eel order at low temperatures. We analyze the routes by which the spin-rotation symmetry can be restored in these metallic and superconducting states. In the metal, the loss
Estimation of causal mediation effects for a dichotomous outcome in multiple‐mediator models using the mediation formula

Mediators are intermediate variables in the causal pathway between an exposure and an outcome. Mediation analysis investigates the extent to which exposure effects occur through these variables, thus revealing causal mechanisms. In this paper, we consider the estimation of the mediation effect when the outcome is binary and multiple mediators of different types exist. We give a precise definition of the total mediation effect as well as decomposed mediation effects through individual or sets of mediators using the potential outcomes framework. We formulate a model of joint distribution (probit-normal) using continuous latent variables for any binary mediators to account for correlations among multiple mediators. A mediation formula approach is proposed to estimate the total mediation effect and decomposed mediation effects based on this parametric model. Estimation of mediation effects through individual or subsets of mediators requires an assumption involving the joint distribution of multiple counterfactuals. We conduct a simulation study that demonstrates low bias of mediation effect estimators for two-mediator models with various combinations of mediator types. The results also show that the power to detect a nonzero total mediation effect increases as the correlation coefficient between two mediators increases, whereas power for individual mediation effects reaches a maximum when the mediators are uncorrelated. We illustrate our approach by applying it to a retrospective cohort study of dental caries in adolescents with low and high socioeconomic status. Sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the robustness of conclusions regarding mediation effects when the assumption of no unmeasured mediator-outcome confounders is violated.
Childhood B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a genetic update

In the pediatric population, B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most prevalent childhood hematological malignancy, as well as the leading cause of childhood cancer-related mortality. Advances in cytogenetics utilizing array-based technologies and next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques have revealed exciting insights into the genetic basis of this disease, with the hopes of developing individualized treatment plans for affected children. In this comprehensive review, we discuss our current understanding of childhood (pediatric) B-ALL and highlight the most recent genetic advances and their therapeutic implications.
Towards a framework for analysis of biophotonic images of mouse models of cancer

Biophotonic imaging can be used to characterize tumor growth in animal models. Estimation of the numbers and location of target cells is dependent on accurate segmentation of a target region from the background luminescence of the animal body. Existing software systems extract general regions of interest in complex images but can fail to detect details or faint regions of interest in the presence of higher luminescent activity. Limited work has been published in the analysis of these images. We explore the use of popular medical image segmentation techniques in segmentation of bioluminescence images. The ability of each algorithm in detecting regions of interest is tested using established performance measures. Based on the characteristics of bioluminescence images of animal tumor models, and the performance of the algorithms, we formulate a framework for segmentation techniques best suited for this application.
Balancing Protein Stability and Activity in Cancer: A New Approach for Identifying Driver Mutations Affecting CBL Ubiquitin Ligase Activation

Oncogenic mutations in the monomeric Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (Cbl) gene have been found in many tumors, but their significance remains largely unknown. Several human c-Cbl (CBL) structures have recently been solved, depicting the protein at different stages of its activation cycle and thus providing mechanistic insight underlying how stability-activity tradeoffs in cancer-related proteins-may influence disease onset and progression. In this study, we computationally modeled the effects of missense cancer mutations on structures representing four stages of the CBL activation cycle to identify driver mutations that affect CBL stability, binding, and activity. We found that recurrent, homozygous, and leukemia-specific mutations had greater destabilizing effects on CBL states than random noncancer mutations. We further tested the ability of these computational models, assessing the changes in CBL stability and its binding to ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2, by performing blind CBL-mediated EGFR ubiquitination assays in cells. Experimental CBL ubiquitin ligase activity was in agreement with the predicted changes in CBL stability and, to a lesser extent, with CBL-E2 binding affinity. Two thirds of all experimentally tested mutations affected the ubiquitin ligase activity by either destabilizing CBL or disrupting CBL-E2 binding, whereas about one-third of tested mutations were found to be neutral. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that computational methods incorporating multiple protein conformations and stability and binding affinity evaluations can successfully predict the functional consequences of cancer mutations on protein activity, and provide a proof of concept for mutations in CBL.
Soybeans and cancer prevention: a complex food and a complex disease.

There is a human tendency to simplify complex and chaotic relationships so that we can better communicate information. This is certainly true with public health information. In considering soybeans and cancer prevention, this has resulted in attempts to translate the associations between dietary intake and disease as being due to single compounds, and the influences of complex biological processes as being through single or simple mechanisms. We anticipate that the series of three papers on the impact of soybeans on cancer will demonstrate the complexity of the soybean and the complexity of the impact of soybeans and constituents from soybeans on carcinogenesis. The first of these three papers will provide a foundation for considering the complexity of soybeans and the complexity of the cancer process in attempting to understand and to optimize strategies for the use of dietary soybeans or soybean constituents in the prevention of human cancer.
Epidemiology Provides Direction and Relevance to Contemporary Dermatological Investigation.

Contemporary investigation in the dermatological sciences rests on a foundation that has been forged through several revolutions of methods and concepts. These have included transitions through: (1) clinical and then histopathological observations, (2) laboratory experimentation, first with proteins and subsequently through analyses based on genetic information, (3) large clinical trials, (4) epidemiological studies, and, most recently, (5) genetic analyses based on relatively large cohorts of patients with identical, or at least similar, diseases, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (inflammation), and melanoma (cancer). In this gathering of scientists from three continents, mechanisms by which dermatological investigators may accelerate their work by looking outside the strict confines of laboratory-based cutaneous biology, I wish to emphasize an important knowledge base by citing the growing relevance of epidemiology and its capacity to drive cutaneous biologists toward useful and realistic goals. The thesis of this presentation is that, beyond single gene errors, it is primarily through epidemiological studies that investigators will be able ultimately to direct their studies. A corollary of this thesis is that the vast majority of cutaneous biological studies should be directed toward human (and, by extension, animal) disease. I have chosen to introduce the information that supports this thesis through a series of questions: (1) beyond ultraviolet radiation, what environmental and dietary factors conspire in genetically predisposed individuals to cause melanoma? (2) What are the relationships between the gastrointestinal and the dermatological microbiomes and dermatological disease? (3) What is the extent to which environmental ‘‘insults’’, such as allergens and hydrocarbon microparticles, penetrate skin and modulate cutaneous, and even systemic, function? (4) Beyond ultraviolet radiation, what are the environmental accelerators of extrinsic cutaneous aging and pigmentation responses? Once available, answers to these questions will then provide insight into the laboratory work of the sort that is presented by others at this meeting. Moreover, answers to the questions will support the conclusion that epidemiological studies are needed to provide relevance to the investigative enterprise in dermatology. Borrowing an assertion from contemporary business economics: ‘‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t study it’’. MEETING REPORT
Tropical, oceanic, deep convective cloud morphology as observed by CloudSat

Abstract. An investigation into the physical shape and size of mature, oceanic, tropical, deep convective clouds is conducted. A previously developed CloudSat data-partitioning methodology is used that separates components of cloud objects and measures their various length scales. In particular, the cloud objects are divided into a lower "pedestal" region on which the upper-level "anvil" region sits. Mean cloud objects are discussed in the framework of this morphological partitioning. For single-core clouds, the mean cloud has an anvil width of 95 km, a pedestal width of 11 km, and an anvil thickness of 6.4 km. The number of identified convective cores within the pedestal correlates positively with certain cloud length scales and morphological attributes of cloud objects such as anvil width. As the number of cores increases, the width of cloud objects is observed to grow. Pedestal width is shown to regress linearly to anvil width when a 2/3rd power scaling is applied to pedestal width. This result implies a decrease in the anvil width to pedestal width ratio with growing pedestals and an equivalence between the mass convected through the pedestal top and that into the anvil. Taller clouds are found to be wider. Some of the results obtained using the CloudSat methodology are also examined with a large-domain radiative-convective equilibrium numerical simulation and are found to exhibit similar trends when modeled. Finally, various CloudSat sampling issues are discussed in several appendices.
Reliability of spatiotemporal asymmetry during overground walking for individuals following chronic stroke.

Background and purpose Rehabilitation research for individuals with chronic stroke is increasingly addressing spatiotemporal asymmetries (STA). Understanding the reliability of STA between sessions is essential for determining whether treatment responses exceed day-to-day variation. The purpose of this study was to determine the minimal detectable change (MDC) and test-retest reliability in STA and gait speed measures for individuals with chronic stroke. Methods Twenty-six individuals with chronic (>6 months) stroke participated in 2 visits. At each visit, participants walked across a 14-ft (4.3-m) GAITRite mat at comfortable gait speed (CGS) and fast gait speed (FGS). Spatiotemporal asymmetries ratios (paretic/nonparetic limb) were calculated for step length, stance time, and swing time. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, 2,1) were calculated to determine reliability between sessions. Minimal detectable change values were calculated to determine the smallest change that is considered "real." Results Spatiotemporal asymmetry measures were consistent between sessions, with ICCs ranging from 0.93 to 0.98. Asymmetry ratio MDC values were calculated for step length (CGS: 0.15; FGS: 0.19), swing time (CGS: 0.26; FGS: 0.20), and stance time (CGS: 0.09; FGS: 0.10). Gait speed MDC was 0.20 m/s and 0.22 m/s, respectively, for the CGS and FGS walking conditions. Discussion and conclusion There were considerable differences among MDC values for the various STA measures, suggesting that larger changes will be necessary to show improvement for certain measures (eg, swing time asymmetry). These data will assist with setting clinical goals for patients with chronic stroke and will be useful for evaluating interventions designed to minimize temporal and spatial interlimb asymmetries during walking.
Book Review: Handbook of Respiratory Care, 3rd edition. Robert L Chatburn RRT-NPS FAARC and Eduardo Mireles-Cabodevila MD. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett. 2011. Soft cover, 278 pages, $29.95.

There have been several “handbooks” written about respiratory care, with varying content and goals in mind. Most provide a vast amount of general information that you can refer to in your day-to-day practice. One may need a reminder of a forgotten equation or theory to aid in diagnosing or
Economics of Integrating the Predaceous Mite Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) with Pesticides in Strawberries

Weekly yields and control costs were used to calculate the economic benefits of Tetranychus urticae Koch suppression by a variety of chemical, predaceous mite ( Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot), and chemical plus predaceous mite treatments. Although three or four releases of P. persimilis at 4,050/ha in the 1988-1989 or 1990-1991 seasons, respectively, provided a net benefit per hectare of $2,170-$4,315 above the untreated controls, the economic returns from two applications of abamectin ($5,062-$15,802) or fenbutatin-oxide ($4,401-$9,146) ranged from nearly twice to approximately three times higher than the P. persimilis treatments alone. The best returns were generated by abamectin in combination with releases of P. persimilis . In both seasons, the additive net benefits of abamectin alone and P. persimilis alone were essentially equal to the net benefit from the combination (1988-1989, $6,890; 1990-1991, $19,705), thereby indicating compatibility. Both sampling and economic data indicated that neither fenbutatin-oxide nor hexythiazox were consistently compatible with the use of P. persimilis . The implications of these results for the development of integrated pest management programs for strawberries are discussed.
Diagnosis of Macroamylasemia in a Pregnant Patient

Background Macroamylasemia occurs with the formation of macroamylase complexes that cannot be cleared via renal excretion. In patients with persistent serum amylase elevation or hyperamylasemia with normal urine amylase and lipase levels, the diagnosis of macromylasemia is suggested. Main Findings The patient is a 31-year-old G2P1 who presented to the ob/gyn triage with the complaint of recurrent right-sided abdominal pain. Serum amylase values were elevated. The patient had been admitted previously at GA 16 weeks for recurrent acute cholecystitis and gallstone pancreatitis and had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Conclusion In the absence of characteristic findings suggestive of acute cholecystitis or gallstone pancreatitis, clinicians should evaluate urinary and serum amylase isoenzymes to exclude hyperamylasemia due to elevated serum macroamylase levels. Additional interventions may not be required to assure optimal maternal or fetal outcome.
Enabling Efficient Hypervisor-as-a-Service Clouds with Ephemeral Virtualization

When considering a hypervisor, cloud providers must balance conflicting requirements for simple, secure code bases with more complex, feature-filled offerings. This paper introduces Dichotomy, a new two-layer cloud architecture in which the roles of the hypervisor are split. The cloud provider runs a lean hyperplexor that has the sole task of multiplexing hardware and running more substantial hypervisors (called featurevisors) that implement features. Cloud users choose featurevisors from a selection of lightly-modified hypervisors potentially offered by third-parties in an "as-a-service" model for each VM. Rather than running the featurevisor directly on the hyperplexor using nested virtualization, Dichotomy uses a new virtualization technique called eemeral virtualization which efficiently (and repeatedly) transfers control of a VM between the hyperplexor and featurevisor using memory mapping techniques. Nesting overhead is only incurred when the VM is accessed by the featurevisor. We have implemented Dichotomy in KVM/QEMU and demonstrate average switching times of 80 ms, two to three orders of magnitude faster than live VM migration. We show that, for the featurevisor applications we evaluated, VMs hosted in Dichotomy deliver up to 12% better performance than those hosted on nested hypervisors, and continue to show benefit even when the featurevisor applications run as often as every 2.5~seconds.
Optimization of Control Surface Parameters with Augmented Flutter Boundary Constraints

This paper presents the formulation and solution strategy for estimating the optimal parameters associated with the control surfaces on aircraft wings towards active aeroelastic control. In this study the optimal sizing of control surfaces is investigated in order to achieve the flutter suppression and flutter boundary extension for a given flight envelop. The objective of the optimization process is to minimize the control gain norms (control force requirement) while satisfying the constraints on closed loop eigenvalues, which defines the extension of the open loop flutter boundary. The proposed optimization approach relies on modest size of matrices which consists of frequency response transfer functions that may be available from embedded sensors and actuators on the aircraft wings. This optimization process is demonstrated by using numerical receptances obtained from the aeroelastic models of wings having single and multiple control surfaces and by solving optimization problems associated with single input, multi-input state feedback and output feedback problems with augmented flutter boundary constraints. It is anticipated that such an approach may be useful in design phase of aircraft wings and may facilitate optimal placement and sizing of control surfaces, for a given wing configuration, towards enhanced flight performance.
Regional CAR-T cell infusions for peritoneal carcinomatosis are superior to systemic delivery

Metastatic spread of colorectal cancer (CRC) to the peritoneal cavity is common and difficult to treat, with many patients dying from malignant bowel obstruction. Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy has shown great promise, and we previously reported murine and phase I clinical studies on regional intrahepatic CAR-T infusion for CRC liver metastases. We are now studying intraperitoneal (IP) delivery of CAR-Ts for peritoneal carcinomatosis. Regional IP infusion of CAR-T resulted in superior protection against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA+) peritoneal tumors, when compared with systemically infused CAR-Ts. IP CAR-Ts also provided prolonged protection against IP tumor re-challenges and demonstrated an increase in effector memory phenotype over time. IP CAR-Ts provided protection against tumor growth at distant subcutaneous (SC) sites in association with increases in serum IFNγ levels. Given the challenges posed by immunoinhibitory pathways in solid tumors, we combined IP CAR-T treatment with suppressor cell targeting. High frequencies of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and regulatory T cells (Treg) were found within the IP tumors, with MDSC expressing high levels of immunosuppressive PD-L1. Combinatorial IP CAR-T treatment with depleting antibodies against MDSC and Treg further improved efficacy against peritoneal metastases. Our data support further development of combinatorial IP CAR-T immunotherapy for peritoneal malignancies.
Civil Society Partnerships: Power Imbalance and Mutual Dependence in NGO Partnerships

This study examines the distinction between power imbalance and mutual dependence to better understand how NGOs manage resource dependencies in their relationships with civil society partners. The NGO leaders we interviewed emphasized mutual dependence in the relationships they developed with other NGOs regarding access to financial and information resources. In contrast, discourse about their relationships with IGOs focused on the acquisition of legitimacy and access, and was dominated by power imbalance. NGOs were largely accepting of both forms of dependence in pursuit of the community’s shared goals and for the greater good of constituents. Our finding that NGOs refrain from terminating suboptimal relationships also reflects the extent to which mutual dependence governs NGOs partnering strategies.
Experimental Methods Research on Linearity of UHV Impulse Voltage Measuring Systems

With the continuous development of UHV transmission technology,the rated voltage of impulse voltage measuring system has risen up to 7 000 kV for satisfying the withstand test requirements of electric devices.Based on the situation,the linearity measurement of impulse voltage measuring system above 1 000 kV is a problem needed to be resolved urgently since the calibrating voltage is below 1 000 kV which can’t be well positioned to meet the actual experimental requirements.The paper analyzes two existing calibration methods which are direct comparison calibration and capacitance measurement of dividers,and provides a testing plan to compare calibration when the voltage below 1 000 kV and to compare each level by increasing the voltage step by step when the voltage between 1 000 kV and 5 000 kV with measuring changes in generator efficiency as a proof.In theory,the plan can basically satisfies the engineering tests of 7 500 kV impulse voltage measuring system with the voltage is 1 000 kV to 5 000 kV.If the test results are satisfactory,a transfer standard can be built by the method in paper to compare all UHV impulse measuring systems in nation.The paper also introduces some other methods of measuring linearity such as sphere gap,standard capacitor,space charge,and field sensor.By discussing the methods’ respective advantages and disadvantages,they need further experimental verifications for practical application.
An adaptive association test for microbiome data

There is increasing interest in investigating how the compositions of microbial communities are associated with human health and disease. Although existing methods have identified many associations, a proper choice of a phylogenetic distance is critical for the power of these methods. To assess an overall association between the composition of a microbial community and an outcome of interest, we present a novel multivariate testing method called aMiSPU, that is joint and highly adaptive over all observed taxa and thus high powered across various scenarios, alleviating the issue with the choice of a phylogenetic distance. Our simulations and real-data analyses demonstrated that the aMiSPU test was often more powerful than several competing methods while correctly controlling type I error rates. The R package MiSPU is available at https://github.com/ChongWu-Biostat/MiSPU and CRAN.
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and GIST: Is There a Correlation?

Background Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome characterized by neurologic, dermatologic and orthopedic manifestations. There is a spectrum of tumors that affects individuals with NF1 at an increased incidence compared to the general population, such as neurofibromas, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) and gliomas. There has been a growing number of literature reporting an association between NF1 and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Case report We herein report a case of recurrent asymptomatic GIST in a 50-year-old woman with a history of neurofibromatosis type 1. Discussion NF1-associated GIST has been described to comprise a minority of cases, in which there is an alternative molecular pathogenesis. This difference between NF1-related GISTs and that of the general population has important therapeutic implications. The presence of kinase mutations has been shown to be predictive of clinical response to imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
REAPER: an automated, scalable solution for mass credential harvesting and OSINT

Releases of usernames and passwords, referred to as credential dumps, have become an increasingly popular shared resource over the past decade, especially within underground communities. The sharing of compromised credentials by cybercriminals is done in order to demonstrate technical capability, increase reputation, and to augment one's legitimacy within criminal communities. There has been minimal research demonstrating standardized methods for identifying the distribution of credential dumps or the origin(s) of where a dump first surfaced. There has also been a lack of research related to the open source intelligence that can be obtained through tracing the distribution of dumps across the Internet. This research presents a method called REAPER which demonstrates how to leverage unique data points within credential dumps to identify its distribution, while also providing an in-depth look into the intelligence that can be gained by observing the criminal activities associated with the credentials dumped.
Immersion Suits for Helicopter Transportation

Protecting survivors of a helicopter ditching from the hazards of immediate and prolonged cold-water immersion is accomplished with a helicopter transportation suit (HTS). In addition to the thermal stresses of a cold water environment, when a helicopter ditching occurs, there is a high probability of inversion, followed by an underwater egress. The possibility of inverted underwater egress introduces some unique requirements and constraints to the design and performance of an HTS. The principal determinants of HTS design are minimal buoyancy, thermal protection, and comfort during flight. HTSs and other types of immersion suits share many of the same performance requirements for preventing hypothermia and drowning. This chapter introduces and addresses specific performance requirements and design considerations for immersion suits used by helicopter passengers.
File Input and Output

DMelt library provides many classes and methods for file input and output (I/O) beyond those discussed in Sect. 2.15. Many of them are implemented using external Java libraries that contain nearly every data format you might ever need to use for efficient data storage and processing. File I/O, data streaming and format conversions are essential for any stage of data analysis. Unfortunately, in the standard manuals and tutorials, details of file I/O often are buried at the back. In this book, we will discuss the I/O topic in great detail in the context of data analysis and numeric computation.
Rates of subthreshold PTSD among U.S. military veterans and service members: A literature review.

The current study’s goal was to provide a comprehensive review of current subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates among U.S. military veterans and service members. PubMed, PsycInfo,...
Computation of Higher-order Symmetries for Nonlinear Evolution and Lattice Equations

A straightforward algorithm for the symbolic computation of higher-order symmetries of nonlinear evolution equations and lattice equations is presented. The scaling properties of the evolution or lattice equations are used to determine the polynomial form of the higher-order symmetries. The coefficients of the symmetry can be found by solving a linear system. The method applies to polynomial systems of PDEs of first-order in time and arbitrary order in one space variable. Likewise, lattices must be of first order in time but may involve arbitrary shifts in the discretized space variable. The algorithm is implemented in Mathematica and can be used to test the integrability of both nonlinear evolution equations and semi-discrete lattice equations. With our Integrability Package, higher-order symmetries are obtained for several well-known systems of evolution and lattice equations. For PDEs and lattices with parameters, the code allows one to determine the conditions on these parameters so that a sequence of higher-order symmetries exist. The existence of a sequence of such symmetries is a predictor for integrability.
The Beasts of Wisdom: Ecological Hermeneutics of the Wild

The role of beasts in the Hebrew Bible’s wisdom literature differs from that in the Torah and Prophets. Rather than the often-plural and domesticated animals of the latter, wild animals represented in the singular and with greater diversity characterize the wisdom material. Wild animals in the Torah and Prophets typically signify potential danger outside the inhabited domain or divine wrath and punishment. In wisdom literature, however, they become sources for human guidance (Job 5:22). In Proverbs, they are enlisted to address a lack in human understanding. But in later wisdom texts, the use of animals to illustrate beneficial behaviors gives way to a more radical theme, that of human incomprehension of the world. The otherness of animal presence is deconstructive of wisdom and human knowledge more generally. In biblical wisdom, beastly, silent faces expose the limits of human comprehension.