cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of floral organ identity by Arabidopsis MADS domain homeotic proteins AP1, AP3, PI, and AG is independent of their DNA-binding specificity.

The MADS domain homeotic proteins APETALA1 (AP1), APETALA3 (AP3), PISTILLATA (PI), and AGAMOUS (AG) combinatorially specify the identity of Arabidopsis floral organs. AP1/AP1, AG/AG, and AP3/PI dimers bind to similar CArG box sequences; thus, differences in DNA-binding specificity among these proteins do not seem to be the origin of their distinct organ identity properties. To assess the overall contribution that specific DNA binding could make to their biological specificity, we have generated chimeric genes in which the amino-terminal half of the MADS domain of AP1, AP3, PI, and AG was substituted by the corresponding sequences of human SRF and MEF2A proteins. In vitro DNA- binding assays reveal that the chimeric proteins acquired the respective, and distinct, DNA-binding specificity of SRF or MEF2A. However, ectopic expression of the chimeric genes reproduces the dominant gain-of-function phenotypes exhibited by plants ectopically expressing the corresponding Arabidopsis wild-type genes. In addition, both the SRF and MEF2 chimeric genes can complement the pertinent ap1- 1, ap3-3, pi-1, or ag-3 mutations to a degree similar to that of AP1, AP3, PI, and AG when expressed under the control of the same promoter. These results indicate that determination of floral organ identity by the MADS domain homeotic proteins AP1, AP3, PI, and AG is independent of their DNA-binding specificity. In addition, the DNA-binding experiments show that either one of the two MADS domains of a dimer can be sufficient to confer a particular DNA-binding specificity to the complex and that sequences outside the amino-terminal basic region of the MADS domain can, in some cases, contribute to the DNA-binding specificity of the proteins.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Nonfusion Technology in Spine Surgery

Nonfusion technology in spine surgery may improve outcomes by reducing surgical morbidity and the incidence of adjacent level degeneration; however, new technologies also introduce new short- and long-term complications. There is currently no evidence that nonfusion implants are superior to fusion in mid- to long-term follow-up. Understanding the potential risks and benefits of nonfusion technology is essential for spine surgeons and their patients. This article reviews the current evidence relating to the potential risks and benefits of nonfusion technology in spine surgery.
PLL lock time prediction and parametric testing by lock waveform characterization

Phase Locked Loop (PLL) testing is complicated due to its mixed signal nature. Internal nodes, which are digital as well as analog, are sensitive to phase, delays and parasitic loads. Parametric characteristics such as lock time, jitter, phase etc. may be critical for a PLL depending on the application and comprehensive production testing of any of these parameters is impractical due to test cost implications. This paper proposes a method to sample and analyze the PLL lock waveform in order to predict the PLL lock time and perform parametric testing of the internal analog blocks. Data is presented across process corners to support the proposal. This method uses either an Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) or on-chip Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to compute FFT values for the lock waveform which is then used for lock time prediction. The test scheme includes parametric fault coverage in addition to catastrophic fault coverage without any significant test time overhead.
Density and function of inward currents in right atrial cells from chronically fibrillating canine atria.

Objective: To determine whether I Na and I CaL are altered in function/density in right atrial (RA) cells from dogs with chronic atrial fibrillation (cAF dogs, episodes lasting at least 6 days) and whether the changes that occur differ from those in dogs with nonsustained or brief episodes of fibrillation (nAF dogs). Methods: Using whole cell voltage clamp, sodium and calcium current density and function were determined in disaggregated RA cells from nAF, cAF and control atria (Con). Ca2+ currents were studied with either Ca2+ or Ba2+ as charge carrier, as well as with either EGTA or BAPTA as the internal solution Ca2+ chelator. Results: After rapid atrial pacing, dogs can either fibrillate for short periods of time (nAF) or longer, more sustained periods (cAF). Both the Na+ and Ca2+ current decrease in cells of the nAF atria. Na+ current density remains reduced in cAF cells with some slowing of recovery kinetics. Ca2+ current density does not further decrease with persistent atrial fibrillation (cAF cells) remaining significantly different from Con cells. However, the difference in density of Ca2+ currents between nAF and Con cells is negligible when Ba2+ is charge carrier and when Cai is quickly and effectively chelated with BAPTA. On the contrary, cAF I BaL densities remain significantly reduced compared to Con and nAF values when Ba2+/BAPTA conditions are used. Conclusions: Na+ current density/function does not recover to Con values in cAF. Further these enhanced Ca2+-dependent inactivation processes contribute significantly to the reduction of I CaL density observed in nAF cells while reduction of Ca2+ currents in cAF atria is probably by another mechanism
Crowding out effect of tobacco expenditure and its implications on household resource allocation in India.

Abstract This paper examines whether spending on tobacco crowds out expenditure on basic needs and whether it has implications on nutrition intake and household resource allocation in India. The paper uses a household sample survey from India for the year 1999–2000. A system of quadratic conditional Engel curves was estimated for a set of 10 broad groups of commodities. The results suggest that tobacco consuming households had lower consumption of certain commodities such as milk, education, clean fuels and entertainment which may have more direct bearing on women and children in the household than on men suggesting possible ‘gender effects’ and biases in the allocation of goods and services within the household. Tobacco spending was also found to have negative effects on per capita nutrition intake. The nature of crowding out was found to be similar in low- and high-income households.
A Beam-Steering Broadband Microstrip Antenna for Noncontact Vital Sign Detection

A 2.8-4.8-GHz beam-steering broadband microstrip antenna was designed, fabricated, and measured. The proposed broadband antenna can steer a beam by switching p-i-n diodes connecting stubs to a partial ground plane. Radiation pattern measurement shows expected horizontal beam steering at the sampled frequencies of 3, 3.5, 4, and 4.5 GHz. Its beam steering is suitable for a vital-sign radar application and other applications where simple beam-steering patterns are needed.
A genome-wide meta-analysis identifies novel loci associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Abstract Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder both have strong inherited components. Recent studies have indicated that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may share more than half of their genetic determinants. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis (combined analysis) for genome-wide association data of the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP array 6.0 to detect genetic variants influencing both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder using European-American samples (653 bipolar cases and 1034 controls, 1172 schizophrenia cases and 1379 controls). The best associated SNP rs11789399 was located at 9q33.1 (p = 2.38 × 10− 6, 5.74 × 10− 4, and 5.56 × 10− 9, for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and meta-analysis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, respectively), where one flanking gene, ASTN2 (220 kb away) has been associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. The next best SNP was rs12201676 located at 6q15 (p = 2.67 × 10− 4, 2.12 × 10− 5, 3.88 × 10− 8 for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and meta-analysis, respectively), near two flanking genes, GABRR1 and GABRR2 (15 and 17 kb away, respectively). The third interesting SNP rs802568 was at 7q35 within CNTNAP2 (p = 8.92 × 10− 4, 1.38 × 10− 5, and 1.62 × 10− 7 for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and meta-analysis, respectively). Through meta-analysis, we found two additional associated genes NALCN (the top SNP is rs2044117, p = 4.57 × 10− 7) and NAP5 (the top SNP is rs10496702, p = 7.15 × 10− 7). Haplotype analyses of above five loci further supported the associations with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These results provide evidence of common genetic variants influencing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These findings will serve as a resource for replication in other populations to elucidate the potential role of these genetic variants in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Distinguishing Transmembrane Helices from Peripheral Helices by Circular Dichroism

The interpretation of the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of proteins to date requires additional secondary structural information of the proteins to be analyzed, (e.g. X-ray or NMR data.) Therefore, these methods are inappropriate for a CD database whose secondary structures are unknown, as in the case of the membrane proteins. The Convex Constraint Analysis algorithm (Perczel, A., Tusnady, G., Hollosi,M.and Fasman, G.D.,1991b, Protein Engineering,4 ,669-679), operates on a collection of CD spectral data to extract the common spectral components with their spectral weights. The linear combinations of these derived “pure” CD curves can reconstruct the original data set with great accuracy. For a membrane protein data set, the five component spectra so obtained from the deconvolution, consisted of two different types of a helices (the a helix in the soluble domain and the αT helix, for the transmembrane α helix), a β pleated sheet, a class C-like spectrum related to β turns and a spectrum correlated with the unordered conformation. The deconvoluted CD spectrum for the α T helix was characterized by a positive red-shifted band in the range 195 to 200 nm (+95,000 deg cm2dmol−1), with the intensity of the negative band at 208 nm being slightly less negative than that of the 222 nm band (-50,000 and -60,000 deg cm2dmol−1, respectively) in comparison with the regular a helix, with a positive band at 190 nm and two negative bands at 208 and 222 nm with magnitudes of +70,000, −30,000 and −30,000 deg cm2dmol−1, respectively.
Parallel volume rendering using binary-swap compositing

We describe a parallel volume-rendering algorithm, which consists of two parts: parallel ray tracing and parallel compositing. In the most recent implementation on Connection Machine's CM-5 and networked workstations, the parallel volume renderer evenly distributes data to the computing resources available. Without the need to communicate with other processing units, each subvolume is ray traced locally and generates a partial image. The parallel compositing process then merges all resulting partial images in depth order to produce the complete image. The compositing algorithm is particularly effective for massively parallel processing, as it always uses all processing units by repeatedly subdividing the partial images and distributing them to the appropriate processing units. Test results on both the CM-5 and the workstations are promising. They do, however, expose different performance issues for each platform. >
Heat map visualization of high-density clinical chemistry data

Clinical chemistry data are routinely generated as part of preclinical animal toxicity studies and human clinical studies. With large-scale studies involving hundreds or even thousands of samples in multiple treatment groups, it is currently difficult to interpret the resulting complex, high-density clinical chemistry data. Accordingly, we conducted this study to investigate methods for easy visualization of complex, high-density data. Clinical chemistry data were obtained from male rats each treated with one of eight different acute hepatotoxicants from a large-scale toxicogenomics study. The raw data underwent a Z-score transformation comparing each individual animal's clinical chemistry values to that of reference controls from all eight studies and then were visualized in a single graphic using a heat map. The utility of using a heat map to visualize high-density clinical chemistry data was explored by clustering changes in clinical chemistry values for >400 animals. A clear distinction was observed in animals displaying hepatotoxicity from those that did not. Additionally, while animals experiencing hepatotoxicity showed many similarities in the observed clinical chemistry alterations, distinct differences were noted in the heat map profile for the different compounds. Using a heat map to visualize complex, high-density clinical chemistry data in a single graphic facilitates the identification of previously unrecognized trends. This method is simple to implement and maintains the biological integrity of the data. The value of this clinical chemistry data transformation and visualization will manifest itself through integration with other high-density data, such as genomics data, to study physiology at the systems level.
Internet-based interactive HDTV

Traditional interactive TV systems depend on expensive hardware, proprietary formats, and a closed-loop end-to-end approach, which greatly limits scalability and extensibility of TV services. In this paper, we present the HDControl interactive Internet TV architecture that achieves an open service model and combines high-quality video with flexible user control using two key software real-time algorithms: visual information embedding (VIE) algorithm and resynchronization algorithm. Experimental results in our HDTV testbed have confirmed the feasibility and efficiency of our proposed algorithms.
Optimal resource assignment in Internet data centers

This paper presents a resource model that describes the computing and networking components in a resource sharing environment in an Internet Data Center (IDC), a model for multi-tier applications that need to be deployed in this environment, and an optimization problem for resource assignment aimed at minimizing the communication delay between the servers. A number of techniques are introduced to search for the optimal/suboptimal solutions. These include projection of the solution set, partition of the network and pruning of the search space, and local clustering for large problems. Results are given for two examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms.
Jagged2 induces cell cycling in confluent fibroblasts susceptible to density‐dependent inhibition of cell division

Jagged2 is a member of the DSL (Delta-Serrate-Lag-2) -ligand family of transmembrane proteins that signal through the Notch receptors. In many cases of human acute lymphoblastic T-cell leukemias, chromosomal translocations fuse a part of the Notch-1 gene to the T-cell receptor-beta locus (Ellison et al., 1991, Cell 66:649-661). The truncated Notch-1 allele encodes an aberrant protein that lacks most of the extracellular domain and is constitutively activated (Pear et al., 1996, J Exp Med 183:2283-2291). A similarly truncated version of Notch-1 was capable of transforming primary baby rat kidney cells in cooperation with the E1A oncogene of adenovirus (Capobianco et al., 1997, Mol Cell Bio 17:6265-6273). The transformed cells grew to a high population density in culture and were tumorigenic in vivo. It was unclear what roles Notch signaling played in neoplastic transformation. In this report, we demonstrate that sustained activation of the Jagged2/Notch signal transduction pathway induced continuous cell cycling in confluent rabbit-skin fibroblasts sensitive to density-dependent inhibition of cell division. The ability to overcome density-dependent inhibition of cell division correlated with elevated cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (CDK2) activity and a lower level of induction of the CDK inhibitor p27 in the target cells. Similar cell-cycle effect was seen when a truncated mouse Notch-1 construct with constitutive activity was expressed. Taken together, our findings indicate that sustained activation of the Jagged2/Notch signal transduction pathway can overcome density-dependent inhibition of cell division and therefore may contribute to neoplastic transformation.
Skeletal morphology of the forefoot in shrews (Mammalia: Soricidae) of the genus Cryptotis, as revealed by digital X‐rays

Variation in the forefoot skeleton of small-eared shrews (family Soricidae, genus Cryptotis) has been previously documented, but the paucity of available skeletons for most taxa makes assessment of the degrees of intraspecific and interspecific variation difficult. We used a digital X-ray system to extract images of the forefoot skeleton from 101 dried skins of eight taxa (seven species, including two subspecies of one species) of these shrews. Lengths and widths of each of the four bones of digit III were measured directly from the digital images, and we used these data to quantify variation within and among taxa. Analysis of the images and measurements showed that interspecific variation exceeds intraspecific variation. In fact, most taxa could be distinguished in multivariate and some bivariate plots. Our quantitative data helped us define a number of specific forefoot characters that we subsequently used to hypothesize evolutionary relationships among the taxa using the exhaustive search option in PAUP, a computer program for phylogenetic analysis. The resulting trees generally concur with previously published evolutionary hypotheses for small-eared shrews. Cryptotis meridensis, a taxon not previously examined in recent phylogenies, is rooted at the base of the branch leading to the C. mexicana group of species. The position of this species suggests that the mostly South American C. thomasi group shares an early ancestor with the C. mexicana group.
Some Sources of Residential Satisfaction in an Urban Slum

Abstract Urban renewal planning has assumed that social benefits would accrue to the former residents of slums. But the meanings that the slum areas have for their residents and the consequent effects that relocation would have for them have not been adequately understood. Prior to being located from Boston's West End redevelopment area, most residents experienced profound satisfaction from living in the area. Their satisfaction derived, in large part, from the close associations maintained among the local people and from their strong sense of identity to the local places. In turn, people and places provided a framework for personal and social integration.
RF Emitter Location Using a Network of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs)

In this paper, we design a network of small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) for passive location of RF emitters. Each small UAV is equipped with multiple electronic surveillance (ES) sensors to provide local mean distance estimation based on received signal strength indicator (RSSI). Fusion center will determine the location of the target through UAV triangulation. Different with previous existing studies, our method is on a basis of an empirical path loss and log-normal shadowing model, from a wireless communication and signal processing vision to offer an effective solution. The performance degradation between UAVs and fusion center is taken into consideration other than assuming lossless communication. We analyze the geolocation error and the error probability of distance based on the proposed system. The result shows that this approach provides robust performance for high frequency RF emitters.
A variable window approach to early vision

Early vision relies heavily on rectangular windows for tasks such as smoothing and computing correspondence. While rectangular windows are efficient, they yield poor results near object boundaries. We describe an efficient method for choosing an arbitrarily shaped connected window, in a manner that varies at each pixel. Our approach can be applied to several problems, including image restoration and visual correspondence. It runs in linear time, and takes a few seconds on traditional benchmark images. Performance on both synthetic and real imagery appears promising.
General Equilibrium Analysis of Electricity Market Liberalization in Singapore: A Comparative Study

The liberalization in electricity market in Singapore has being undertaken for more than 15 years. This paper evaluates the influence of competition policies by computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Instead of the direct measurement of the impact of competition policy, the benefit of liberalization is reflected by the simulation of a hypothetical regulatory condition. Comparing to the regulatory scenario, simulation result implies the current liberalization raises GDP and exchange rate significantly, but also leaves the tradeoff between higher national income and lower consumer welfare to government. If such choice of economic policy is necessary for political demand, a formal legal framework is required to enforce the restoration of the economy from regulatory restrictions.
Preference Studies of Triazolam with Standard Hypnotics in Out-Patients with Insomnia

One hundred and four patients suffering from insomnia took part in four different two-night double-blind crossover trials of triazolam. In three separate studies, triazolam 0-5 mg was compared to placebo, flurazepam 30 mg and chloral hydrate 500 mg. Triazolam 0-5 mg was found to be preferred and to be superior to placebo, flurazepam and chloral hydrate in the treatment of insomnia. Analysis of sleep questionnaire data showed triazolam to be superior to the other treatments on the following: How much did the medication help you sleep, onset of sleep, duration of sleep and number of awakenings. Additionally, triazolam was superior to chloral hydrate on the feeling in the morning parameter. In another comparison of triazolam 0-25 mg to flurazepan 15 mg, triazolam was not significantly better than flurazepam on any of the efficacy parameters except that the patients felt more alert the morning following triazolam that following flurazepam. On all efficacy endpoints, trends for all parameters favoured triazolam 0-25 mg over flurazepam 15 mg. Untoward side-effects in these four studies were minimal.
Defect formation mechanism causing increasing defect density during decreasing implant dose in low-dose SIMOX

Silicon-on-insulator material synthesized by oxygen implantation (SIMOX) is a leading candidate for advanced large scale integrated circuit applications due to thickness uniformity and moderate defect density. In the past few years, there has been a significant reduction of the defect density by optimizing processing conditions. Studies on defect formation mechanisms may suggest further modification of the processing conditions for both production cost and material quality. Recently, it was shown that through-thickness defects (TTDs) in high-dose SIMOX originated from as-implanted defects, dislocation half-loops (DHLs). On the other hand, a high density (/spl sim/10/sup 8/ cm/sup -2/) of defects in very low dose (0.25/spl times/10/sup 18/ cm/sup -2/) SIMOX has been observed by Nakashirna et al. (1993), but the origin of these defects has not been understood. In this paper we report on the effect of implant dose on defect formation mechanisms, and propose a defect formation mechanism in the very low-dose regime for the first time. It was found that the stacking faults generated during the initial stage of annealing are the origin of TTDs in the low-dose ( 1.3/spl times/10/sup 18/ cm/sup -2/). Several approaches of process modification have been suggested for economical production of low-defect-density SIMOX.
DFTT: Design for Trojan Test

Due to the globalization of the Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturing industry, hardware Trojans constitute an increasingly probable threat to both commercial and military applications. As traditional testing methods fall short in finding hardware Trojans, several specialized detection methods have surfaced. To facilitate research in this area and embed internal barriers to prevent Trojan attacks both at the design level and at the manufacturing level, we propose a Design-for-Trojan-Test (DFTT) methodology. DFTT is based on one key principle: increase the complexity for hardware Trojan attackers, thereby making successful hardware Trojan-based attacks extremely difficult to accomplish. A DFTT tool is also developed to automate the hardening process. The effectiveness of our Trojan prevention method is demonstrated on the Trivium encryption core.
Diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is an independent prognostic factor for long‐term survival after curative lung resection for cancer

Introduction We examined the early and late prognostic significance of DLCO and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) in patients who underwent surgical resection of lung cancer. Methods From 1997 to 2004, 462 patients underwent successful complete resection of their lung cancer and had full pulmonary function testing including DLCO performed. Mean follow-up was over 5 years (64.8 months—range: 0–158 months). Results Postoperative 90-day mortality was 2.6% (12/462). At last follow-up, of the remaining 450 patients, 182 patients were alive, 130 had died of cancer, and 138 have died of other causes and did not have recurrent cancer. Mean DLCO values were 69.4%, 66.8%, and 53.9%, respectively. Mean FEV1 values were 81.3%, 78.1%, and 71.5%, respectively. Mean DLCOs and FEV1s between patients who died of cancer versus other causes were significantly different (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0157). When cause-specific survival was analyzed for both DLCO and FEV1 simultaneously, DLCO had a very significant effect on survival from other causes (HR 0.966, P < 0.0001) when adjusted for FEV1. However, when adjusted by DLCO, FEV1 had no significant effect. A DLCO <40% best predicted decreased survival from causes other than cancer within stage I lung cancers (stage IA HR 0.953, P < 0.0001; stage IB HR 0.968, P < 0.0001). Conclusions DLCO was found to be a significant prognostic factor for long-term survival after lung cancer surgery. This may serve as a surrogate for competing morbidities with declining values predicting a higher risk of late non-cancer-related death. J. Surg. Oncol. 2009;100:703–707. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Numerical simulations of light scattering and absorption characteristics of aggregates

A non-sphericity of a particle plays an important role in light scattering processes, resulting in different scattering and absorption of incident light compared with spherical particles. Among various non-spherical shapes of particles, aggregates of small particles are often applied as model shapes to particles observed actually in nature, such as dust from cometary nuclei, soot aerosols floating in the Earth’s atmosphere, and microbiocells composed of sets of small organic cells.
Microsimulation of Inducible Reorganization in Immunity

The immune system is the key interface between the multicellular host and its unicellular microbial commensals and pathogens. The cells of the immune system live a life balanced between unicellular autonomy—both physiological and genetic—and multicellular cooperation. Transitions between these two modes of operation are induced when the appropriate combination of events occurs and an immune response is triggered. These events may be the detection of tissue damage or of conserved microbial molecular motifs, and the detection of “non-self” epitopes. The transition is mediated by soluble and cell-surface bound signaling molecules, and involves the reorganization of cells from independently moving agents to functional aggregates. I have developed a model to study the properties of such transitions and to inform our thinking about the role of spatial organization in the immune response. It is an agent-based model evolving in continuous time and space, with its agents, representing cells of both microbe and host, interacting via direct contact and via soluble factors. These soluble factors, including host cytokines as well as bacterial chemoattractants and toxins, are represented as continuous fields governed by reaction diffusion partial differential equations. I illustrate the use of the model with an examination of microlocal inflammation.
K + as a probe of partial deconfinement in nuclei

It is shown that conclusions can be drawn in regard to fundamental structure of nuclear material from the scattering of ${\mathrm{K}}^{+}$ mesons from nuclei. A calculation of the ratio ${\mathrm{K}}^{+}$-carbon to ${\mathrm{K}}^{+}$-deuteron total cross sections is presented which includes traditional medium corrections and their uncertainties. That this calculation falls well below the available data suggests more exotic mechanisms. In particular, models for the distribution of quarks involving an increased confinement range can be tested. Treatment of the ${\mathrm{K}}^{+}$ either via an optical model or in a multiple scattering expansion approach yields equivalent results.
Evaluation of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay of Narrow- and Broad-Spectrum Anti-Adult Southern Pine Beetle Serum

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted with broad-spectrum and specific anti-adult southern pine beetle sera against two-fold dilutions of 7.0 mg/ml antigens prepared from adult southern pine beetles, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman; black turpentine beetles, Dendroctonus terebrans (oliver), and the engraver beetles, Ips avulsus (Eichhoff), Ips calligraphus (Germar), and Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff). Analysis of variance of absorbance values at all dilutions shows that broad-spectrum and specific sera can differentiate these genera and species. ELISA was markedly more sensitive than agar-gel double diffusion or counter-immunolectrophoresis with low-titer anti-insect sera.
Toward a GMS “Archipelago”The Case of Oceans Policy

Harold Lasswell has long been an advocate of the worldwide survey network as a means by which social scientists can improve the performance of policy makers while developing and practicing their own skills (see especially Lasswell, 1935: 154; 1948: 296; 1963: chs. 3, 4). Likewise, he has written persuasively on the need for "counterpart" institutions in the private or civic sector to conduct continuous appraisals of actions taken in the official or public sector (Lasswell, 1968, 1971: 66). The Snyder-Hermann-Lasswell proposal for a "Global Monitoring System" (GMS) represents something of a synthesis or expansion of these notions in the characteristically comprehensive manner of Lasswell's "policy science" approach.' Leaving aside the difficult methodological issues, I would like to suggest one area in which the general idea of a GMS makes eminently good sense and in which the institutional building-blocks for such a system are already visible-that of "oceans policy." Clearly, a GMS implies some topical division of labor corresponding to the geographical, functional, or value foci of existing institutions, both public and private. A number of factors have contributed to the consolidation of such a focus on policies related to the use and protection of the oceans and coastal areas.
Bilirubin: On Understanding and Influencing its Metabolism in the Newborn Infant

An elevated serum bilirubin concentration in the newborn presents as much of a therapeutic as a diagnostic problem to the physician. In the first part of this paper both the older and more recent work on the metabolism of bile pigment in the fetus and newborn are reviewed; the second part deals with the prevention of kernicterus.
Surgical staging of prostatic cancer: transperitoneal versus extraperitoneal lymphadenectomy.

AbstractComparison of transperitoneal and extraperitoneal lymphadenectomy for staging clinically localized prostatic cancer indicates that the transperitoneal approach is associated with a higher incidence of postoperative morbidity and complications, and a significant incidence of radiation enteritis when followed by irradiation of the pelvic and para-aortic nodes.
Perspective-aware manipulation of portrait photos

This paper introduces a method to modify the apparent relative pose and distance between camera and subject given a single portrait photo. Our approach fits a full perspective camera and a parametric 3D head model to the portrait, and then builds a 2D warp in the image plane to approximate the effect of a desired change in 3D. We show that this model is capable of correcting objectionable artifacts such as the large noses sometimes seen in "selfies," or to deliberately bring a distant camera closer to the subject. This framework can also be used to re-pose the subject, as well as to create stereo pairs from an input portrait. We show convincing results on both an existing dataset as well as a new dataset we captured to validate our method.
Exudative Retinal Detachment

Exudative retinal detachment refers to the separation of the neurosensory retina from the underlying retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) as a result of abnormalities of the normal hydrostatic/osmotic pressure gradients or transport mechanisms that maintain the physical apposition of these two layers or due to excessive production of extracellular fluid. Exudative retinal detachments lack the presence of a retinal break or vitreoretinal traction and generally display a dome or convex configuration. Exudative retinal detachment is usually associated with local ocular or systemic etiology.
Hydroxybenzoic Acids Are Significant Contributors to the Antioxidant Effect of Borututu Bark, Cochlospermum Angolensis Welw. Ex Oliv

Borututu (Cochlospermum angolensis) is an African tree whose bark has recently emerged as a herbal dietary supplement with claims for antioxidant activity. In order to substantiate the claimed activity of borututu supplements, we performed an activity-guided fractionation of the total extract utilizing a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Subsequent flash and centrifugal chromatography resulted in the isolation of gallic acid (1) and protocatechuic acid (2) as the main antioxidant constituents. Two apocarotenoids and one flavonoid were also isolated from the chloroform fraction and were identified as cochloxanthin (3), dihydrocochloxanthin (4), and 7,4'-dimethyltaxifolin (5), respectively. A High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was also developed for fingerprinting borututu samples, with Compounds 1-4 suggested as chemical markers for quality control purposes.
Fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4V ELI including mean stress effects

Abstract This paper investigates cyclic deformation, fatigue behavior, and failure mechanisms for Ti-6Al-4V ELI (extra low interstitial) with and without mean strain/stress. This type of titanium alloy is broadly used in the biomedical and aerospace fields, specifically for implants and structural components, respectively. Fatigue properties were obtained using the strain-life approach with the use of smooth uniform gage section specimens under axial fully-reversed loading. The influence of mean stress on fatigue behavior was studied using four different strain ratios, Re. The generated fatigue data was used to assess some strain-based mean stress fatigue life prediction models, including Morrow, Smith-Watson-Topper, Walker, Kwofie, Ince-Glinka and a modified version of the Smith-Watson-Topper. These models offered acceptable results, specifically the Morrow approach which provided more accurate fatigue life predictions. Fractography analysis was conducted to determine the influence of material defects on fatigue life and no major differences were found for the different strain ratios considered. Overall observations indicate that inclusions found near the surface were of great influence on the fatigue behavior.
Neurocognitive performance as an endophenotype for mood disorder subgroups.

Abstract Background There is growing evidence that neurocognitive function may be an endophenotype for mood disorders. The goal of this study is to examine the specificity and familiality of neurocognitive functioning across the full range of mood disorder subgroups, including Bipolar I (BP-I), Bipolar II (BP-II), Major Depressive Disorders (MDD), and controls in a community-based family study. Methods A total of 310 participants from 137 families with mood spectrum disorders (n=151) and controls (n=159) completed the University of Pennsylvania's Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (CNB) that assessed the accuracy and speed of task performance across five domains. Mixed effects regression models tested association and familiality. Results Compared to those without mood disorders, participants with BP-I had increased accuracy in complex cognition, while participants with MDD were more accurate in emotion recognition. There was also a significant familial association for accuracy of complex cognition. Mood disorder subgroups did not differ in performance speed in any of the domains. Limitations The small number of BP-I cases, and family size limited the statistical power of these analyses, and the cross-sectional assessment of neurocognitive function precluded our ability to determine whether performance precedes or post dates onset of disorder. Conclusions This is one of the few community-based family studies of potential neurocognitive endophenotypes that includes the full range of mood disorder subgroups. There were few differences in neurocognitive function except enhanced accuracy in specific domains among those with BP-I and MDD. The differential findings across specific mood disorder subgroups substantiate their heterogeneity in other biologic and endophenotypic domains.
Unrealized Potential: Community College Pathways to STEM Baccalaureate Degrees

Our understanding of community college pathways to baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is remarkably incomplete, despite growing recognition of the sizeable r...
Filtration of platelet-poor plasma specimens yields platelet-free plasma. Application for batch analysis of beta-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4.

The authors investigated filtration of platelet-poor plasma through a 0.2- μ m filter for the analysis of beta-thromboglobulin ( β -TG) and platelet factor 4 (PF4) in frozen specimens. Platelets were detected by electron micrograph in the platelet-poor plasma preparation without filtration. No platelets or platelet fragments were seen after filtration. Freezing the unfiltered specimens resulted in a significant increase in the /3-TG and PF4 concentrations, presumably because of release of these proteins from the platelet alpha-granules during freezing and thawing. There was no change in the PF4 levels and only a slight decrease in β -TG levels after freezing of the filtered specimens. The filtered samples could be frozen for later batch analysis, resulting in considerable cost savings to the laboratory.
Opioids, Astroglial Chemokines, Microglial Reactivity, and Neuronal Injury in HIV-1 Encephalitis

The interrelatedness of opioids, chemokines, and glia are revealed in the molecular mechanisms underlying the exaggerated comorbidity seen in the CNS of HIV-infected individuals who abuse opioids. Opioid drugs exacerbate the inflammatory and neurodegenerative effects of HIV-1 through actions on µ opioid receptor (MOP) expressing astrocytes by unbalancing ion homeostasis, which potentiates chemokine release and establishes intercellular inflammatory cascades involving orchestrated production of CCL5 and CCL2. Convergent opioid-HIV signals synergistically disrupt ion and oxidative homeostasis in astrocytes, initiating opiate-driven, astroglial-derived proinflammatory cascade leading to massive chemokine release. Exaggerated macrophage recruitment/microglial overactivation combined with the potentiation of oxidative and nitrosative stress in macrophages/microglia by opioids further fuels and escalates CNS injury. Thus, opioid abuse intensifies HIV encephalitis by short-circuiting the neuroprotective effects of astroglia and by potentiating spiraling proinflammatory cascades involving astroglial-derived chemokines.
Betty Crocker Versus Betty Friedan: Meanings of Wifehood Within a Postfeminist Era:

In this article, deploying Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and the fictional American icon Betty Crocker within a poststructural feminist analysis, the author analyzes a social science data set investigating how 18 contemporary wives think about wifehood. Crocker and Friedan are emblematic of the cultural DNA that make up wifehood: The mythical Betty Crocker represents the happy, traditional housewife of the 1950s, and Betty Friedan offers a critique of the happy, traditional housewife figure. Thinking about historical trends, in the 1950s to 1960s, femininity and families were rigidly prescribed and, thus, largely unquestioned. In the 21st century, with the influx of postfeminism, prescriptions for femininity and families are thought to be less rigid—but are they? Contemporary wives’ identity negotiations mapped onto both Betty Crocker and Betty Friedan but remained anchored in the Betty Crocker image.
The Web as a Distributed Computing Platform

Perceived as a vast, interconnected graph of content, the reality of the web is very different. Immense computational resources are used to deliver this content and associated services. An even larger pool of computing power is comprised by edge user devices. This latent potential has gone unused. Ar~frames the web as a distributed computing platform, unifying processing and storage infrastructure with a core programming model and a common set of browser-provided services. By exposing the inherent capacities to programmers, a far more powerful capability has been unleashed, that of the Internet as a distributed computing system. We have implemented a prototype system that, while modest in scale, fully illustrates what can be realized.
Energy Exchanges: Internal Power Oversight for Applications

This paper introduces energy exchanges, a set of abstractions that allow applications to help hardware and operating systems manage power and energy consumption. Using annotations, energy exchanges dictate when, where, and how to trade performance or accuracy for power in ways that only an application’s developer can decide. In particular, the abstractions offer audits and budgets which watch and cap the power or energy of some piece of the application. The interface also exposes energy and power usage reports which an application may use to change its behavior. Such information complements existing system-wide energy management by operating systems or hardware, which provide global fairness and protections, but are unaware of the internal dynamics of
Gabriel Marcel: I Hope in Thee for Us

In 1942 Gabriel Marcel found the best formulation of hope to be “I hope in thee for us”; his choice of expression was still the same in 1964. His approach to hope, as to all philosophical issues, is that of — to use the label he preferred — a neo-socratic; if we use the label of others, we call him a Christian existentialist.
Estimating mean local posterior predictive benefit for biomarker-guided treatment strategies.

Precision medicine has emerged from the awareness that many human diseases are intrinsically heterogeneous with respect to their pathogenesis and composition among patients as well as dynamic over ...
The Role of the Creative Director in Sustaining the Luxury Fashion Brand

The findings of this study show recent examples of creative directors who have successfully managed four components of Kapferer and Bastien's (2012) model. We also addressed issues creative directors face while attempting to balance luxury status with modernization and accessibility. In addition, specific strategies that creative directors have employed in response to the increasingly fast-paced and technology-influenced industry were discussed. The results of this study highlight examples of strategies creative directors use that have proven to be either successful or unsuccessful, providing an extensive guide for creative directors, brand managers, and marketers. Because there is limited scholarly research regarding the role of creative directors of luxury brands, the present study attempts to fill this gap.
“Contact” in Our Work

Jodie Foster’s portrayal of Carl Sagan’s Contact astronaut and the apparently illogical but essential spaciousness of her capsule are the allegorical focus of this chapter. I underscore the importance of allowing pedagogical and supervisory and psychotherapeutic theory to accompany rather than dictate our practice, viewing through this window the landscape of a psychotherapeutic experience in which I was tethered unhelpfully to rules rather than principles.
Formal Methods for Control Synthesis: An Optimization Perspective

In control theory, complicated dynamics such as systems of (nonlinear) differential equations are controlled mostly to achieve stability. This fundamental property, which can be with respect to a d...
Counter Unmanned Aerial System Security Education

Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technologies have gained immense popularity in the commercial sector and have enabled capabilities that were not available just a short time ago. Once limited to the domain of highly skilled hobbyists or precision military instruments, consumer UAS are now widespread due to increased computational power, manufacturing techniques, and numerous commercial applications. The rise of consumer UAS and the low barrier to entry necessary to utilize these systems provides an increased potential for using a UAS as a delivery platform for malicious intent. This creates a new security concern which must be addressed. The contribution presented in this work is the realization of counter UAS security technology concepts viewed through the traditional security framework and the associated challenges to such a framework.
Multiconfigurational Self-Consistent Field Theory with Density Matrix Embedding: The Localized Active Space Self-Consistent Field Method

Density matrix embedding theory (DMET) is a fully quantum-mechanical embedding method which shows great promise as a method of defeating the inherent exponential cost scaling of multiconfigurational wave function-based calculations by breaking large systems into smaller, coupled subsystems. However, we recently [ Pham et al. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2018 , 14 , 1960 .] encountered evidence that the approximate single-determinantal bath picture inherent to DMET is sometimes problematic when the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) is used as a solver and the method is applied to realistic models of strongly correlated molecules. Here, we show this problem can be defeated by generalizing DMET to use a multiconfigurational wave function as a bath without sacrificing practically attractive features of DMET, such as a second-quantization form of the embedded subsystem Hamiltonian, by dividing the active space into unentangled active subspaces each localized to one fragment. We introduce the term localized active space (LAS) to refer to this kind of wave function. The LAS bath wave function can be obtained by the DMET algorithm itself in a self-consistent manner, and we refer to this approach, introduced here for the first time, as the localized active space self-consistent field (LASSCF) method. LASSCF exploits a modified DMET algorithm, but it is a variational wave function method; it does not require DMET's ambiguous error function minimization, and it reproduces full-molecule CASSCF in cases where comparable DMET calculations fail. Our results for test calculations on the nitrogen double-bond dissociation potential energy curves of several diazene molecules suggest that LASSCF can be an appropriate starting point for a perturbative treatment. Outside of the context of embedding, the LAS wave function is inherently an attractive alternative to a CAS wave function because of its favorable cost scaling, which is exponential only with respect to the size of individual fragment active subspaces, rather than the whole active space of the entire system.