cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GLYCOGEN PHOSPHORYLASE AND ITS ACTIVATION IN SILKMOTH FAT BODY.

Abstract Glycogen phosphorylase was assayed in homogenates of fat body from Samia cynthia and Hyalophora cecropia pupae by the release of P i from G-1-P in the presence of glycogen. Cysteine did not enhance activity. Activity without AMP (designated active enzyme) was much less than that in its presence (total enzyme). Apparent K m 's for active and total enzyme, respectively, were 1.4 and 0.6 gm per liter for glycogen, and 20 and 30 m M for glucose-1-phosphate. When intact fat body tissue was incubated in vitro , active enzyme increased without change in total enzyme, suggesting conversion from an inactive to an active form. In homogenates of fat body freshly dissected from diapause pupae, the level of active enzyme was 1% or less of the total. Late in development of the adult, active enzyme rose to about 10% of the total. After experimental injury to diapause pupae, the proportion of active enzyme temporarily rose. The changes in level of active phosphorylase are correlated with changes in rate of glycogenolysis in the intact pupae.
Leukocyte Response to Toxic Injury

Exposure to a variety of drugs and toxins can induce hematopoietic damage. These agents exert their effects through several distinct mechanisms including destruction or suppression of hematopoietic stem cells, cytotoxic destruction of rapidly proliferating precursor cells, immune-mediated hematotoxicity, altered hematopoietic microenvironment, genetic mutation, and microvascular injury. Some toxins consistently produce suppression of granulopoiesis in a dose-dependent manner, whereas others produce idiosyncratic reactions. Although all types of injury tend to result in granulocytopenia, the time course of the changes varies with the type of injury. With acute destruction of the proliferative pool of granulocytes, neutropenia develops within 7 days and recovery occurs within days after discontinuing treatment. With stem cell injury, the onset of hematotoxicity is variable and damage is often permanent. Immune-mediated reactions may occur acutely or after months or years of treatment with a drug. Drugs or toxins that act as mutagens can induce a variety of hematopoietic disorders including aplastic anemia, myelodysplasia, and leukemia. Therefore, the time course of onset of leukopenia after drug or chemical exposure and the rapidity of hematopoietic recovery give clues to the mechanism by which granulopoiesis is suppressed.
Leiomyosarcoma of the Major Peripheral Arteries: Case Report and Review of the Literature

We describe a case of primary intramural, extraluminal leiomyosarcoma of the common iliac artery. The patient presented with pelvic and leg pain and pheochromocytoma-like symptoms. The diagnosis was made intraoperatively, the tumor was resected, vascular reconstruction was performed, and postoperative radiation therapy was administered. Primary leiomyosarcoma of a major peripheral artery is extremely rare, and this report examines the clinical presentation, treatment, and prognosis of these patients.
The placebo effect in asthma: Far more complex than simply "I shall please".

Wise and co-investigators(1) have added to our understanding and appreciation of the complexity underlying the response to placebos in asthma. When readers now evaluate data in light of “a placebo response,” it should become insightful for them to consider many variables, i.e., the effects measured, the disease being assessed, and mode of presentation used in the trial, i.e., enhanced or neutral. Furthermore, studies evaluating placebo effects have also helped to indicate the potential involvement of brain circuitry in these responses, as well as treatment determinants. Placebo responses are complex, but an integral component of many clinical trials in asthma. To fully appreciate the impact of the placebo, aside from the “I shall please” action, it is now important to realize that a science underlies the placebo and to its response by a patient. The work of Wise and colleagues(1) has added to this information in a most meaningful way and has made us more appreciative of the response to placebos.
Endotoxin stress responses in chickens from different genetic lines. 1. Sickness, behavioral, and physical responses

Genetic variation in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge was studied in chicken lines divergently selected for high (HGPS) and low (LGPS) group productivity and survivability resulting from cannibalism and flightiness in colony cages and in a Dekalb XL (DXL) commercial line. Six-week-old chicks were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups and were injected intravenously with Escherichia coli LPS (5 mg/kg of BW) or distilled saline (control). Sickness responses were measured at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h following injection (n = 10 at each point in time for each line). Although LPS induced widespread sickness symptoms in all of the treated chicks, the reactions were in a genotypic- and phenotypic-specific manner. Compared with LGPS and DXL chicks, HGPS chicks had acute, transient behavioral and physical changes with less effect on BW gain, organ development, and core temperature, which were in the order HGPS < DXL < LGPS. The effects of heritable factors and LPS challenge on the differential responses among the present lines may reflect each line's unique adaptability to stress and resistance to infection and inflammation. The results suggested that the present chicken lines may provide a valuable animal model for investigating the effects of genetic-environmental interactions on the behavioral and physiological homeostasis in response to stress and disease.
E4D compare software: an alternative to faculty grading in dental education.

The traditional method of evaluating student tooth preparations in preclinical courses has relied on the judgment of experienced clinicians primarily utilizing visual inspection. At times, certain aids such as reduction matrices or reduction instruments of known dimension are used to assist the evaluator in determining the grade. Despite the skill and experience of the evaluator, there is still a significant element of uncertainty and inconsistency in these methods. Students may perceive this inconsistency as a form of subjective, arbitrary, and empirical evaluation, which often results in students’ focusing more on the grade than the actual learning or developing skills necessary to accomplish the preparation properly. Perceptions of favoritism, discrimination, and unfairness (whether verbalized or not) may interfere with the learning process. This study reports the use of a new experimental scanning and evaluation software program (E4D Compare) that can consistently and reliably scan a student’s tooth preparation and compare it to a known (faculty-determined) standardized preparation. An actual numerical evaluation is generated by the E4D Compare software, thereby making subjective judgments by the faculty unnecessary. In this study, the computer-generated result was found to be more precise than the hand-graded method.
Designing for the self: making products that help people become the person they desire to be

Product attachment theory describes how people learn to love certain possessions through a process of meaning making. It provides a rich and as yet untapped source of inspiration for driving the practice of experience design. However, there are currently no guidelines that describe how to apply this theory in design practice. Taking a research through design approach, I made many different products with the goal of helping people become the person they desire to be through their product interactions. Then, in order to better understand how the different design teams applied attachment theory, I created a set of design patterns that document the application of product attachment theory to the interaction design of each product. I clustered the patterns based on similarities across the different artifacts, and this produced six framing constructs, which work as specific perspectives designers can take when applying product attachment theory in an experience design project.
Proximity of the invariant loop of U5 snRNA to the second intron residue during pre-mRNA splicing

A photoactivatable azidophenacyl group has been introduced into seven positions in the backbone of the 11 nucleotide invariant loop of U5 snRNA. By reconstituting depleted splicing extracts with reassembled U5 snRNP particles, molecular neighbors were assessed as a function of splicing. All cross-links to the pre-mRNA mapped to the second nucleotide downstream of the 5′ splice site, and formed most readily when the reactive group was at the phosphate between U5 positions 42 and 43 or 43 and 44. Both their kinetics of appearance and sensitivity to oligonucleotide inhibition suggest that these cross-links capture a late state in spliceosome assembly occurring immediately prior to the first step. A later forming, second cross-linked species is a splicing product of the first cross-link, suggesting that the U5 loop backbone maintains this position through the first step. The proximity of the U5 loop backbone to the intron’s 5′ end provides sufficient restrictions to develop a three-dimensional model for the arrangement of RNA components in the spliceosome during the first step of pre-mRNA splicing.
Stable Extended Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gp41 Coiled Coil as an Effective Target in an Assay for High-Affinity Fusion Inhibitors

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 coiled-coil domain is an important target for fusion inhibitors, including the peptide T20, which has been approved as a drug against HIV-1. Research into nonpeptide fusion inhibitors has focused primarily on a hydrophobic pocket located within the coiled coil and has so far yielded compounds with relatively weak fusion inhibitory activity. Here, we describe metal ion-assisted stabilization of an extended 39-residue construct of gp41, which includes residues of the hydrophobic pocket and also of an extended groove N terminal to the hydrophobic pocket. We show that the presence of a metal ion and the high-affinity interaction between the receptor construct and cognate C-peptides result in a simple and highly selective assay for fusion inhibitors that may be used to scan large compound libraries. The long construct presents multiple potential binding sites along the extended coiled-coil groove. We demonstrate the modular use of assay probes to detect whether compounds bind in the hydrophobic pocket or elsewhere along the groove. Rapid detection and quantitation of hits can lead to the discovery of compounds binding to different sites along the groove and provide structure-activity relationship data for optimization. Compounds binding to adjacent sites could be linked to form more potent fusion inhibitors.
Proteolysis and orientation in Dictyostelium slugs.

SUMMARY: It has been long known that the migrating slugs of the cellular slime moulds are highly sensitive to their environment and orient towards light and in temperature and chemical gradients. There is considerable evidence from past work that these orientations are governed by NH3 which affects the rate of movement of cells within the slug with such precision that orientation to the external stimuli is achieved. In order to test this hypothesis further, various ways to alter the internal NH3 concentration were devised. Substances that either increased or decreased proteolysis were applied to one side of the tip of a slug, thereby affecting its orientation. Some of the treatments strongly support the role of internally produced NH3 in orientation, and all the treatments produce results that are consistent with the hypothesis.
The Extragalactic Relative Distance Scale

Arguments are given to support the hypothesis that a characteristic point on a cluster luminosity function, m*, corresponds to the same absolute magnitude in all clusters, and thus is an appropriate standard candle for determination of relative cluster distances. It is shown, however, that if m* is a good standard candle, then the first and tenth brightest cluster galaxies, m(1) and m(10), respectively, are not, for m* − m(1) and m* − m(10) both differ significantly from cluster to cluster. Moreover, m(1) and especially m(10) depend on cluster richness. Distances derived from them for remote clusters chosen for analysis are thus subject to selection effects that depend on cluster richness and on Bautz-Morgan type. Finally, a procedure suggested by Bautz and Abell is described whereby m* can be estimated from observed properties of distant clusters.
Rate Maximization for Downlink OFDMA With Proportional Fairness

In this paper, we study the sum throughput maximization with access proportional fairness (APF) for downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) channels. We propose selective multiuser diversity (SMuD) schemes with normalized signal-to-noise ratio (n-SNR)-based ranking for user selection at each carrier to achieve long-term fairness. We also propose a modified absolute signal-to-noise ratio (a-SNR)-ranking-based SMuD scheme, which provides improved performance over the original a-SNR SMuD scheme. The total transmit power is assigned to the allocated carriers using either equal power allocation (EPA) or water filling. Closed-form throughput and fairness expressions for both the n-SNR and a-SNR SMuD schemes with EPA over Rayleigh channels are derived, which are accurate for even highly correlated frequency channels. Numerical results show that the long-term fairness gives a substantially higher rate than the more stringent short- term fairness. The n-SNR scheme brings perfect access fairness; the sum rate is slightly degraded compared to the a-SNR scheme without fairness, and it is not very sensitive to the imperfect estimation of the average channel signal-to-noise ratio. These results put new insight into the achievable downlink OFDMA performance with proportional fairness and the effects of various system and channel parameters.
Induction by butyrate of differentiated properties in cloned murine rhabdomyosarcoma cells.

A cell line derived from the murine rhabdomyosarcoma BW10139 (Dexter, Cancer Res. 37: 3136, 1977) was subcloned and examined with respect to growth and myogenic characteristics in the presence and absence of 1 mM butyrate. Without butyrate, these cells behave as typical transformed cells: they grow rapidly and chaotically, do not form multinucleated muscle fibers and have little or no creatine kinase activity. In the presence of 1 mM sodium butyrate or butyric acid, growth slows, cells become arranged in whorl patterns, and creatine kinase activities increase to levels comparable to those found in normal chick myoblasts immediately prior to cell fusion. The increase in creatine kinase activity is detectable within 2 h exposure to butyrate, reaches a maximum by 24 h, and the elevated level can be maintained for at least six weeks. The induction is reversible upon sequential addition, deletion, and readdition of butyrate to the culture medium. Isoenzyme analyses demonstrated that only the BB form of creatine kinease is induced; MM creatine kinase was not detected. Although formation of multinucleated cells increases after exposure to butyrate, no typical myotubes form. The results suggest that this rhabdomyosarcoma cell line can, under appropriate conditions, re-express some properties characteristic of skeletal muscle, but not the complete muscle phenotype.
Fragmentation and elevation effects on bird-army ant interactions in neotropical montane forest of Costa Rica

Army ants (Formicidae: Ecitoninae) are top predators in neotropical forests. Army ant raids support a community of diverse organisms, including birds that attend the raids to collect prey. While elevation and forest fragmentation influence army ant and insectivorous bird communities, their effects on the interaction between army ants and bird species is unknown. We studied the size and species composition of bird flocks attending army ant swarms in forest fragments and continuous forest across an elevational gradient (1100-1680 m asl) in a neotropical montane region (Monteverde, Costa Rica). We observed a total of 41 bird species attending army ant swarms. Neither the number of birds, nor the total body mass of birds, nor the number of bird species in attending bird flocks was related to elevation. However, we found a higher bird species richness, larger flock size and greater total body mass of birds attending army ant swarms in continuous forest. Continuous and fragmented forest shared many attending bird species in common, but there was elevational segregation of attending bird species. Some montane endemic birds, and neotropical migrants, attend swarms regularly and use army ant raids as a food source.
A fast hierarchical algorithm for three-dimensional capacitance extraction

The authors present a new algorithm for computing the capacitance of three-dimensional electrical conductors of complex structures. The new algorithm is significantly faster and uses much less memory than previous best algorithms and is kernel independent. The new algorithm is based on a hierarchical algorithm for the n-body problem and is an acceleration of the boundary element method (BEM) for solving the integral equation associated with the capacitance extraction problem. The algorithm first adaptively subdivides the conductor surfaces into panels according to an estimation of the potential coefficients and a user-supplied error bound. The algorithm stores the potential coefficient matrix in a hierarchical data structure of size O(n), although the matrix is size n/sup 2/ if expanded explicitly, where n is the number of panels. The hierarchical data structure allows the multiplication of the coefficient matrix with any vector in O (n) time. Finally, a generalized minimal residual algorithm is used to solve m linear systems each of size n /spl times/ n in O(mn) time, where m is the number of conductors. The new algorithm is implemented and the performance is compared with previous best algorithms for the k /spl times/ k bus example. The new algorithm is 60 times faster than FastCap and uses 1/80 of the memory used by FastCap. The results computed by the new algorithm are within 2.5% from that computed by FastCap. The new algorithm is 5 to 150 times faster than the commercial software QuickCap with the same accuracy.
Scientific computing on public computing platforms — practices and experiences

Public computing is a type of grid computing architectures composed of autonomous volunteer workstations coordinated by a central server complex over the Internet. Exploiting these distributed resources comes at the price of unpredictable availability, fluctuating performance, and heterogeneous participant nodes. Central to addressing these problems is an efficient and accurate scheduling mechanism for the public computing architecture. In this talk, I will overview grid computing in general and a public computing platform called BOINC in particular. Several major issues and challenges in grid computing research will be identified. I will also report our new research results in this exciting area through introducing a scheduling system based on the ant colony algorithm. In addition, the bottleneck problem in the client-server architecture used in BOINC will be identified and a new peer-to-peer architecture for solving the problem will be presented. Several applications have been implemented on BOINC and our new architecture using our scheduling system. By testing these applications with totally different characteristics, we show that our scheduling system consistently provides a high performance, adaptive solution to all of them, and the system using our new peer-to-peer architecture indeed performs better than BOINC. Our work also manifests that public computing can solve the problems of large computing power requirement and huge memory demand in many scientific applications and potentially replace high-cost supercomputing systems for certain application domains.
Morally Incompatible?: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Competitive Sport and International Relations at the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are a multinational and multisport event with unparalleled global allure. As athletes from more than 200 countries convene to compete, they are guided by the "Fundamental Principles of Olympism," which call for a mutually acceptable quest for excellence through challenge. Critics of Olympism claim the zero-sum nature of competitive challenge promotes extreme patriotism and international animosity rather than cooperative spirit. In light of this criticism and the resilience of the Olympic Games, this paper considers the proposition that athletic competition is incompatible with the goals of the Games, but ultimately rejects that view and provides two policy recommendations to allow the Olympic Games to realize their full potential as a global assembling event.
Impact of a Peer-Led Stress Inoculation Training Intervention on State Anxiety and Heart Rate in College Students

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a preventive peer-led stress management intervention, based on stress inoculation procedures, on physiological and psychological variables in college students. College students were randomly assigned to either a six-session treatment intervention or a wait-list control group. Blood pressure, heart rate, perceived severity of physical symptoms, and state-anxiety levels were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, and a 6-month follow-up. At posttreatment, the treatment participants had lower heart rate and state-anxiety levels than did controls. At follow-up, the difference in heart rate level between the groups was maintained. The protective aspect of stress inoculation training and the applicability of a peer-led treatment intervention at the college level are discussed.
Wakefield effects in the beam delivery system of the ILC

In this report we calculate the effect on single bunch emittance of incoming jitter or drift, and of misalignments of the beam pipes with respect to the beam axis, both analytically and through multi-particle tracking. Finally, we discuss ways of ameliorating the wake effects in the BDS, such as by changing the metal surface and/or the beam pipe aperture.
4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide: a model chemical for ovotoxicity.

The occupational chemical 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) has been shown to cause selective destruction of ovarian small pre-antral (primordial and primary) follicles in rats and mice by accelerating the natural, apoptotic process of atresia. Chemicals that destroy primordial follicles are of concern to women because exposure can result in premature ovarian failure (early menopause). In`itial studies using in vivo exposure of rats determined that VCD specifically targets primordial and primary (small pre-antral) follicles and that repeated dosing is required. Through a method of isolation of ovarian small follicles, biochemical and molecular studies determined that intracellular pro-apoptotic pathways are activated following VCD dosing in rats. Subsequently an in vitro system using cultured whole neonatal rat ovaries was developed to provide more mechanistic information. That approach was used to demonstrate that the cell survival c-kit//kit ligand signaling pathway is the direct target for VCD-induced...
Identify excellent features and situational factors in public health communication

Abstract The study analyzes the award-winning campaigns from the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) from 2010 to 2012 and identifies excellent features that have been applied in promoting public health communication. By doing so, the research calls for an attention to integrate appropriate situational factors in message strategies to promote active health information seeking. The research advances our knowledge by adding public health to the theoretical foundation of the situational theory. Practical implications are discussed.
NONLINEAR AEROELASTIC AND AEROSERVOELASTIC CALCULATIONS FOR TRANSONIC WINGS

Recent advances in massively parallel computers have made 3D nonlinear transonic flutter and aeroservoelastic simulations feasible. Nonlinear aeroelastic models are necessary in order to study LCO and certain nonclassical transonic flutter phenomena. In this paper, we consider the overall computational problem, focusing on the fluid-structure compatibility and time-synchronization requirements that must be satisfied in order to obtain a dynamically consistent aeroelastic code and to ensure that the time-marching simulations exhibit the physically correct stability behavior. The fluid-structure system is modeled and integrated as a single dynamical system at the finite element level, and exact time synchronization is enforced. Nonlinear aeroelastic and aeroservoelastic calculations are presented for several different transonic wing models. Structural damping is incorporated using a new time-domain implementation of hysteresis damping. It is observed that structural damping is ineffective in reducing flutter amplitudes or quenching flutter, except at or near the flutter boundary.
Observations on the Locus of Deamination.

ConclusionThe absence of a demonstrable arterio-renal venous difference in amino acid amino nitrogen at various intervals following feeding of meat to dogs indicates that the kidney does not play a quantatively important role in the deamination of absorbed amino acids in the normal intact animal.
Polysplenia with Severe Congenital Heart Disease and Howell–Jolly Bodies

Both the polysplenia and the asplenia syndromes are associated with congenital heart disease, positional anomalies, and abnormalities of the vena caval system. An angiographic and autopsy study of three patients with polysplenia revealed pulmonary atresia with common ventricle in one and atrioventricular communis with common atrium in two. Two of the three cases had interruption of the inferior vena cava. All three exhibited pulmonary isomerism and various degrees of situs inversus. Howell-Jolly bodies were demonstrated in one case. These findings are also components of the asplenia syndrome, except for pulmonary isomerism with two lobes bilaterally in polysplenia and three in asplenia. During the fifth week of intrauterine development the spleen, cardiac septa, endocardial cushions, bronchial tree, and the segment connecting the subcardinal with the hepatic veins first appear. Thus, a teratogenic insult at this time could result in the congenital spleen syndrome, with either no spleen or multiple spleens.
SURVEY ON THE QUALITY OF DISINFECTION AND STERILIZATION OF STOMATOLOGICAL HOSPITAL

Objective To understand the quality of disinfection and sterilization of stomatological hospital so as to propose improvment measures.Methods On-site investigations and sampling detection methods were used to survey and monitor the disinfection and sterilization effect in all the clinical and assistant departments and the quality of diagnosis and treatment water in a stomatological hospital of Taian City.Results 422 samples were collected from the hospital and 325 samples were eligible with the eligible rate was 77.01%.The qualified rates of object surfaces,indoor air,medical hands,disinfectant in use,sterile substances,UV lights and water treatment were 65%,57.69%,81.67%,82.05%,86.23%,82.05% and 46.19% respectively.Conclusion The disinfection and sterilization qualified rates of stomatological hospital are low.The pollution of diagnosis and treatment water is serious and the quality of stomatological hospital is poor.So we should strengthen the hospital management to improve the quality of disinfection and sterilization.
Evaluation and strategy analysis of power system inter-area oscillation damping measures

Inter-area oscillation has severe influences on the secure operation of interconnected power systems,due to numerous generators and areas involved.Nowadays,many damping measures have been applied to engineering,but comprehensive evaluation and intensive comparison of different measures are insufficient.Aiming at this problem,firstly this paper classifies the damping measures as three types,i.e. optimizing power grid structure,installing controllers,and adjusting operation mode.Then,the characteristic,effect,and adaptability of these measures are evaluated,and the differences are compared from various aspects, including facility,investment,application condition,adaptability to the change of power grid and operation mode,and other influences.Based on the conclusion of the evaluation and comparison,the systematic strategy of damping inter-area oscillation and prospective research directions are proposed.
Analysis on sexual behavior,prevalence of HIV and syphilis among male homosexual from 2006 to 2009 in Chongqing

Objective To understand sexual behavior,prevalence of HIV and syphilis among male homosexual and provide the suggestion for AIDS prevention and control.Method The data of the cross-sectional survey conducted from 2006 to 2009 were analyzed and compared for the sexual behavior,the trend of HIV,syphilis prevalence and the estimated HIV incidence from 2006 to 2009 among male homosexual.Results A total of 1 000,1 044,743 and 604 MSM were investigated from 2006 to 2009 respectively.The rate of condom use last time during anal sex with men increased from 56.2% in 2006 to 66.1% in 2009.But the rate of condom use during anal sex with men in the past six months was less than 40%.The prevalence of syphilis was 9.3%,8.5%,8.5% and 11.9% from 2006 to 2009,respectively.Syphilis prevalence was increased significantly from 8.5% in 2008 to 11.9% in 2009(P=0.04).HIV prevalence was 10.4%,12.5%,16.6% and 19.0% from 2006 to 2009,respectively.HIV prevalence increased significantly from 12.5% in 2007 to 16.6% in 2008.HIV incidence estimated among MSM who was younger than 23 years old was 2.4%,2.8%,4.8% and 5.2% from 2006 to 2009,respectively.The incidence was significant different between 2007 and 2008(P=0.03).Conclusions The trend of HIV prevalence and incidence among male homosexual was rising.The rate of condom use was low..It should be concerned to conduct the comprehensive intervention targeting male homosexual.
Application on Solar Energy in Jidong Oilfield Exploration and Development

Application of green alternative energy in the oilfield is an effective way to reduce oilfield development energy consumption.Combined with the climate characteristics of Jidong oilfield and the oilfield development planning of man-made island,application perspective of solar energy in the man-made island of Jidong oilfield is analyzed from three aspects: solar direct utilization,photovoltaic electric power,and solar photo-thermal utilization.The research findings provide somewhat basis for transformating Jidong oilfield into a energy saving,lower energy consumption and environment protection oilfield.
Arrays of single pixel time-of-flight sensors for privacy preserving tracking and coarse pose estimation

We present a method for real-time person tracking and coarse pose estimation in a smart room using a sparse array of single pixel time-of flight (ToF) sensors mounted in the ceiling of the room. The single pixel sensors are relatively inexpensive compared to commercial ToF cameras and are privacy preserving in that they only return the range to a small set of hit points. The tracking algorithm includes higher level logic about how people move and interact in a room and makes estimates about the locations of people even in the absence of direct measurements. A maximum likelihood classifier based on features extracted from the time series of ToF measurements is used for robust pose classification into sitting, standing and walking states. We use both computer simulation and real-world experiments to show that the algorithms are capable of robust person tracking and pose estimation even with a sensor spacing of 60 cm (i.e., 1 sensor per ceiling tile).
Serum from women with polycystic ovary syndrome inhibits fertilization and embryonic development in the murine in vitro fertilization model.

Objective To study the effects of serum collected from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on the fertilization and early embryonic development of the murine oocyte. Design Sera from women with anovulation were used as a supplement in a murine IVF model. Setting Tertiary care academic medical center. Patients Four fertile, four hypothalamic amenorrheic, seven PCOS (three with elevated LH and four with elevated T), and three anovulatory women with normal hormone levels. Results When compared with serum from fertile women, serum from women with PCOS reduced fertilization rates (60% versus 42%) and subsequent early embryonic development rates (87% versus 31%). Serum from women with PCOS and elevated T levels had the lowest fertilization rates (22%). Polycystic ovary syndrome serum with elevated T or LH levels significantly decreased early embryonic development rates in comparison to fertile women (22%, 41% versus 87%). Conclusions Serum from women with PCOS inhibited fertilization and blastocyst development. Because both T and LH caused inhibited blastocyst development, these data have implications regarding low pregnancy rates and live birth rates during ovulation induction in women with anovulation. These data also raise questions regarding the use of serum during IVF.
Research Experience in an Undergraduate Physical Therapy Program

For the past five years, two required courses in research methodology have been presented to physical therapy students during their senior year. The overall objective was to prepare students to use the scientific method in their approach to physical therapy practice. The content of the first course included didactic instruction on the research process with emphasis on reading and interpreting the medical and scientific literature. In conjunction with this experience, students developed research proposals. During the second course, students gathered data, analyzed and synthesized results, and prepared a complete research paper. To date 67 projects have been completed. Reactions to this learning experience and samples of abstracts written by students are presented.
Abstract 4484: Differentially methylation between ER negative and ER positive breast cancer identifies master regulators to expose potential epigenetic drivers of aggressive disease

The majority of published studies investigating driver genes have focused primarily on genomic mutations which have led to novel study designs (basket trials) where patients with a rare mutation, regardless of tumor histology, are matched to a drug expected to work through the mutated pathway. This dominant focus on genomic mutations has yet to configure in epigenetics. There has been relatively little advancement in changing the management of women with ER negative BC, mainly due to a dearth of actionable therapeutic targets. Our drill-down approach to identified an ER negative-specific 16 gene methylation signature (AHNAK, ALPL, ANXA2R, CCND1, CIRBP, CPQ, DST, EGFR, ESR1, GPRC5B, HERC5, IL22RA2, MITF, OBSL1, POU3F3, RB1CC1) starting from a discovery approach (Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip, 40 ER negative vs. 40 ER positive BC) followed by expression verification, significant rankings in biological pathways (Ingenuity Pathway Analysis), and confirmation by targeted sequencing using Illumina MiSeq. Causal Networks are small hierarchical networks of regulators that control the expression/methylation of dataset targets. They can enhance understanding of the effect of master regulators on disease or function. The objective of this study was to identify regulatory networks utilizing IPA9s Causal Network Analysis (CNA) in order to illuminate possible causes and mechanisms underlying the biological activities of the 16 candidate gene signature differentiating ER negative from ER positive BC. To reflect expected gene expression direction implied by methylation changes for the 16 candidate genes, the inverse of the methylation ratio from ER negative vs. ER positive tissue was used for CNA. CNA software identified 4 hierarchical networks and their corresponding master regulatory molecules, diethylstilbestrol, MSH2, 15-ketoprotaglandin E2, and transcription regulator SP1. Diethylstilbestrol and SP1 had direct regulatory influence (depth level 1) to the candidate molecules ALPL, CCND1, EGFR, ESR1 and CCND1, CIRBP, EGFR, ESR1, respectively. CNA raised the profile of ALPL, CCND1, CIRBP, EGFR, ESR1 (5/16 candidate genes) for further consideration as potential epigenetic drivers of ER negative BC. Support: Komen Foundation: KG110218 Citation Format: Maria J. Worsham, Kang Mei Chen, Indrani Datta, Josena K. Stephen, Dhananjay Chitale, George Divine. Differentially methylation between ER negative and ER positive breast cancer identifies master regulators to expose potential epigenetic drivers of aggressive disease. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4484.
Estimating Energy Conversion Efficiency of Thermoelectric Materials: Constant Property Versus Average Property Models

Maximum thermoelectric energy conversion efficiencies are calculated using the conventional “constant property” model and the recently proposed “cumulative/average property” model (Kim et al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112:8205, 2015) for 18 high-performance thermoelectric materials. We find that the constant property model generally predicts higher energy conversion efficiency for nearly all materials and temperature differences studied. Although significant deviations are observed in some cases, on average the constant property model predicts an efficiency that is a factor of 1.16 larger than that predicted by the average property model, with even lower deviations for temperature differences typical of energy harvesting applications. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the conventional dimensionless figure of merit ZT obtained from the constant property model, while not applicable for some materials with strongly temperature-dependent thermoelectric properties, remains a simple yet useful metric for initial evaluation and/or comparison of thermoelectric materials, provided the ZT at the average temperature of projected operation, not the peak ZT, is used.
Present and Future of Interventional Treatment of Resistant Hypertension

The increasing prevalence of hypertension, a significant cause of disability and premature death throughout the world, is a major public health concern. This is especially true for the subset of patients who suffer from resistant hypertension, which is associated with a fourfold greater risk of cardiovascular events as compared to those hypertensive patients able to achieve target blood pressure. Though quite daunting in number and ill effect, hypertension remains the most common and the most important modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease. Therefore, the ongoing development of novel therapies for the management of hypertension is of utmost importance. This review evaluates the present and future of interventional treatment of resistant hypertension, most of which remains investigational and warrants critical assessment.
Creating Innovative News: The Values of Future Newsroom Managers

The values of future newsroom managers are going to change. This paper explores potential approaches that editors might consider. There’s, firstly, a need for a new framework that newspaper editors and station managers can apply to decision-making as well as for a process-oriented supervisory practice. Rethinking the news value chain leads, secondly, to partly re-examining the newsroom and wholly deconstructing the reporting process. A company’s ecosystem location also indirectly shapes how it creates value. Therefore editors must, thirdly, change and re-standardize journalism skills in certain key areas. For this reason they need a new strategy, a “maestro” non-strategy.
Simulated apprenticeship for pre-service Filipino teachers

The delivery of teacher education courses often for the most part deal with the visible parts of knowledge, the "know-what", which is often disconnected from the tacit knowledge, the "know-how", required in authentic teaching environments. It could be argued that would-be teachers do undergo practice teaching as part of their preparations and before becoming licensed professionals but said experience could be very brief. Said transitory period of practice-teaching may not be enough to internalize the range of skills and strategies that the new teachers need in facing the rigors of the real classroom setting. The purpose of this empirical study is to explore the impact of simSchool, a computer-based classroom simulator to the pedagogical style and expertise of pre-service Filipino teachers. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design. Purposefully, the study involved thirty (30) randomly selected practicum teacher education senior students. Two Likert-type survey instruments were used in the study and qualitative data were as well collected through teaching reflections and focus group discussions to supplement the quantitative data. For the statistical analyses, descriptive statistics were determined, Paired-Samples t Tests was used to determine pre-post differences within groups and Cohen’s d was used to determine effect sizes across measurement indices. Findings of the study revealed that simschool enhanced the pedagogical style and proficiency of the pre-service teachers and interestingly could complement effectually the in-placed practicum course. These suggest the promising progressive impact of simSchool, if adapted, to the existing teacher education program.
Principles of General Ecology

Ecological systems are studied in many areas. There are different ecological areas: plant ecology, animal ecology, natural ecology, human ecology, industrial ecology, information ecology, ecology of mind, knowledge ecology and so on. Here we develop a unifying approach to ecological studies developing general ecology, which encompasses and organizes different directions on a reliable foundation. Information ecology as one of the basic areas in ecological studies is placed in a resourceful environment allowing its accelerated development and advanced expansion.
Problematic Milieus: Individuating Speculative Designs

This chapter explores the method of speculative design. It considers the role of speculative practices as an aspect of design that allows HCI practitioners to explore problematics rather than problems. Problems need to be solved, whereas problematics are localities, situations, or experiences, where one can trace the connections between structural, political, and social forces and their implications to foster dialogue and reflection. As such, speculative design offers a theoretically rich approach through which to consider design implications of future and alternative conditions. Such work is discursively generative. To aid in deepening the philosophical aims of speculative design, I employ some of Gilbert Simondon’s philosophical concepts, then examine several examples of recent speculative design.
The Effects of Fentanyl and Thiopental on Breathing in Man

The effects of anesthetic agents on breathing in man are not well described. In part this reflects the difficulty in obtaining control measurements in awake man, without awareness of the subject that his breathing is being measured. In the present work we report a method for assessing respiratory volume changes in man by measuring body surface displacements. This method has the advantage that since measurements are not made at the mouth, subject awareness (and presumably behavioral alteration) of spontaneous breathing is minimized. An additional advantage of the present work is that continuous measurements of respiratory volume changes can be recorded prior to, during, and subsequent to the induction of general anesthesia. Because of the continuous nature of the measurement we hoped to be able to resolve the controversy concerning changes in functional residual capacity (FRC) and breathing pattern during anesthesia.
Rapid HIV Testing on the College Campus: Comparing Traditional and Outreach Models

The purpose of this study was to compare rapid HIV testing services on a college campus between a clinic-based testing group and an outreach-based testing group. Study participants were 1,233 individuals who underwent HIV counseling and testing. Questionnaires assessed demographics and HIV transmission risk behaviors. Results indicate that outreach-based testers were more likely to be younger, female, and African American relative to clinic-based testers. Overall, 100% of clinic-based testers and 99.5% of outreach-based testers receiving their test results. All individuals with positive rapid test results received confirmatory blood testing and entered medical care within one week of preliminary diagnosis. College campuses may provide a unique setting to deliver HIV testing and may help increase the percentage of young people who are aware of their serostatus, particularly younger, female, and African American students who may be less likely to undergo testing in traditional clinic settings.
Eigenvalues in Filled Julia Sets

SummaryWe show how Julia sets can be introduced very naturally in a junior-level linear algebra course, as a way of exposing students to the contemporary area of complex dynamics. The standard defi...
Using Predictions in Online Optimization with Switching Costs: A Fast Algorithm and A Fundamental Limit

This paper studies an online optimization problem with switching costs and a finite prediction window. We propose a computationally efficient algorithm, Receding Horizon Gradient Descent (RHGD), which only requires a finite number of gradient evaluations at each time. We show that both the dynamic regret and the competitive ratio of the algorithm decay exponentially fast with the length of the prediction window. Moreover, we provide a fundamental lower bound on dynamic regret for general online algorithms with a finite prediction window, and show that the dynamic regret of any online algorithm, even with more computation, decays at most exponentially when increasing prediction window size. This demonstrates that limited prediction information, instead of limited computational power, is the key constraint to performance in online decision making. Lastly, we present simulation results to test our algorithm numerically.
Janitor workload and occupational injuries.

Background This study was designed to identify potential effects of workload and sleep on injury occurrence. Methods Questionnaires were disseminated to janitors in the SEIU Local 26 union; 390 responded and provided information on workload, sleep, and injury outcomes. Quantitative measurements of workload and sleep were collected via FitBit devices from a subset of 58 janitors. Regression techniques were implemented to determine risk. Results Thirty-seven percent reported increased workload over the study period Adjusted analyses indicated a significant effect of change in workload (RR: 1.94; 95%CI: 1.40-2.70) and sleep hours (RR: 2.21; 95%CI: 1.33-3.66) on occupational injury. Among those with sleep disturbances, injury risk was greater for those with less than five, versus more than five, days of moderate to vigorous physical activity; RR: 2.77; 95%CI: 1.16-6.59). Conclusions Increased workload and sleep disturbances increased the risk of injury, suggesting employers should address these factors to mitigate occupational injuries.
Titchmarsh-Weyl Theory for Hamiltonian Systems

For linear Hamiltonian systems, a Titchmarsh-Weyl matrix M(λ) function is defined. The systems formulation used by Atkinson is employed under a limit point hypothesis. A theory analogous to the second order scalar case of Chaudhuri and Everitt is developed. Characterizations are given for the resolvent set, point spectrum, continuous spectrum and point-continuous spectrum. An invariance with respect to boundary conditions is established for certain parts of the spectrum.
Biogeotechnical Mitigation of Earthquake-Induced Soil Liquefaction

Three biogeotechnologies currently under development show promise for cost-effective remediation of liquefaction under existing facilities.