cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Air traffic management system domain and control strategy analysis

This paper describes a simulation tool developed to aid the analysis of air traffic management domains and potential air traffic control strategies. The simulation represents aircraft and automated air traffic control support tool functionality based on a computational model of aircraft flight management system trajectories. It simulates the effects of environmental disturbances and air traffic controller intervention on air traffic in fast time. The paper outlines a methodology that leverages these capabilities to help with tool design and evaluation, and discusses the results of preliminary simulations aimed toward using the proposed methodology for characterizing the effectiveness of particular strategy-tool combinations for supporting more efficient terminal-area air traffic management. This research is supported by NASA's Vehicle Systems Program Quiet Aircraft Technology project and Airspace Systems Program Advanced Air Transportation Technology project.
Post-radical prostatectomy management options for positive surgical margins: Argument for observation

Abstract The screening zeal for prostate cancer in the PSA era resulted in and continues to produce an unprecedented number of men who have clinically localized prostate cancer seeking radical prostatectomy. Even before the advent of robotic laparoscopic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RALP), the topic of positive margins was hot. However, now it is even more contested in the era of the “RALP learning curve”, the era of “The role of the experienced surgeon,” and the era of the “well-informed Internet-savvy patient.” The typical modern-era man with localized prostate cancer has very high expectations. He may be a younger Baby-Boomer who has been used to getting things his way and has been raised in a consumer-driven society. He is diagnosed with prostate cancer and his knowledge-seeking behavior then may be analogous to “finding religion.” He, and/or his family, seeks “the best” surgeon and “the best” method of surgery, and he is expecting the trifecta outcome of cure, continence, and potency. The first episode to potentially deflate his sails is when the surgical pathology report returns and shows a positive margin.
Low voltage electrowetting-on-dielectric platform using multi-layer insulators

A low voltage, two-level-metal, and multi-layer insulator electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWD) platform is presented. Dispensing 300pl droplets from 140nl closed on-chip reservoirs was accomplished with as little as 11.4V solely through EWD forces, and the actuation threshold voltage was 7.2V with a 1Hz voltage switching rate between electrodes. EWD devices were fabricated with a multilayer insulator consisting of 135nm sputtered tantalum pentoxide (Ta(2)O(5)) and 180nm parylene C coated with 70nm of CYTOP. Furthermore, the minimum actuation threshold voltage followed a previously published scaling model for the threshold voltage, V(T), which is proportional to (t/e(r))(1/2), where t and e(r) are the insulator thickness and dielectric constant respectively. Device threshold voltages are compared for several insulator thicknesses (200nm, 500nm, and 1µm), different dielectric materials (parylene C and tantalum pentoxide), and homogeneous versus heterogeneous compositions. Additionally, we used a two-level-metal fabrication process, which enables the fabrication of smaller and denser electrodes with high interconnect routing flexibility. We also have achieved low dispensing and actuation voltages for scaled devices with 30pl droplets.
THE ECONOMICS AND PALATABILITY ATTRIBUTES OF HOT-BONED BEEF: A REVIEW

Spiraling energy and labor costs have resulted in an increased interest in boning the unchilled carcass or more commonly called, hot-boning. Economic advantages overwhelmingly favor hot-boning, however, the inability to quality grade the carcass; lack of postmortem chilling systems; and other disadvantages have prevented the adoption of hot-boning by industry. The objective of this review is to present the advantages and disadvantages of hot-boning and to report on the research that has been recently conducted.
Descriptive Names vs. Descriptive Anaphora

Alan Berger presents analyses of (i) descriptive names (those the referents of which are fixed by description) and (ii) pronouns in discourses that are anaphoric on expressions occurring in preceding sentences. Each analysis has much to be said for it. In my opinion, however, he muddies the water by treating descriptive names and discourse anaphora as if they were two instances of essentially the same thing. He treats descriptive names as if they were anaphoric on expressions used in their original introduction, and discourse anaphors as if they were rigid singular terms the referents of which are determined descriptively. Neither, in my view, is correct. Berger divides proper names into F (or focusing) -type and S (or satisfying)-type. The referent of an F-type name is determined by the fact that speakers focus on it, and intend to use the name to refer to it. In ostensive baptisms, speakers have an object in mind, often because they are, or have been, in perceptual contact with it. When they decide to name it, they may do so in various ways. They may say, Let's call him lFido' (pointing at a certain dog), or Let's call that dog 'Fido\ or even Let's call the dog we bought this morning 'Fido'. In these cases, the referent of n is not fixed by a description D in Kripke's sense, even if D is used to introduce n. Rather, as Berger nicely points out, D is merely a tool used to direct attention to the individual the speaker has in mind, and intends to use n to talk about. It is this intention, rather than satisfaction of any description, that determines the referent of an F-type name. Thus, even if D turns out not to denote the object o the speaker has in mind the baptism will succeed in introducing n as a name of o, provided that D has played its role of drawing attention to o. Of course, not all F-type names are introduced with formal baptisms. People already familiar with a certain body of water might simply begin calling it Green Lake. If the practice holds, and in time becomes conventionalized, the lake will acquire an F-type name (whether or not it is really green), despite the fact that there may have been no single use which established the connection between the name and its bearer. Similarly, a name n that already
Anion Channels and the Stimulation of Anthocyanin Accumulation by Blue Light in Arabidopsis Seedlings

Activation of anion channels by blue light begins within seconds of irradiation in seedlings and is related to the ensuing growth inhibition. 5-Nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid (NPPB) is a potent, selective, and reversible blocker of these anion channels in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we show that 20 microM NPPB blocked 72% of the blue-light-induced accumulation of anthocyanin pigments in seedlings. Feeding biosynthetic intermediates to wild-type and tt5 seedlings provided evidence that NPPB prevented blue light from up-regulating one or more steps between and including phenylalanine ammonia lyase and chalcone isomerase. NPPB was found to have no significant effect on the blue-light-induced increase in transcript levels of PAL1, CHS, CHI, or DFR, which are genes that encode anthocyanin-biosynthetic enzymes. Immunoblots revealed that NPPB also did not inhibit the accumulation of the chalcone synthase, chalcone isomerase, or flavanone-3-hydroxylase proteins. This is in contrast to the reduced anthocyanin accumulation displayed by a mutant lacking the HY4 blue-light receptor, as hy4 displayed reduced expression of the above enzymes. Taken together, the data indicate that blue light acting through HY4 leads to an increase in the amount of biosynthetic enzymes but blue light must also act through a separate, anion-channel-dependent system to create a fully functional biosynthetic pathway.
Models for time coalescence in event logs

One heuristic for data reduction that is widely used in the literature is coalescence of events occurring close in time. The authors explore the validity of this heuristic by developing a model for the formation of the contents of an event log by multiple independent error processes. The probability of coalescing events from two or more error sources is formulated and compared with results from hand analysis of actual event logs taken from a Tandem TNS II system. Results indicate that the probability of coalescing events from more than one error source is a strong function of the time constant selected. The model can be used to select an appropriate time constant and also has implications in designing event logging systems. >
Data-dependent-systems and Fourier-transform methods for single-interferogram analysis

Results of wave-front phase detection obtained from a spatial method based on data-dependent-systems (DDS) methodology are compared with those obtained from the Fourier-transform method. DDS is a novel approach that extends and improves the way the stochastic autoregressive moving-average models are obtained and interpreted. The methodology is robust to noise influence and insensitive to the errors commonly associated with the Fourier transform. Both the Fourier-transform and the DDS methods use one interference pattern, and both offer means for filtering out disturbances such as noise and background variations. We present a brief review of the two methods to compare them theoretically, and then we describe their experimental implementation. The methods were applied to the same interferometric data sets, and the results are presented and compared to discuss relative advantages and disadvantages. In particular, it is shown that the DDS method preserves the detailed surface texture because a convolution of the component that represents the surface dynamic aspect with the component that corresponds to the independent and dynamic-free aspect is able to recover the original details. In contrast the Fourier-transform method smooths such details to an extent that depends on the subjective choice of filters.
Reproductive Tract Infections in Women

Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) are of significant public health concern. The bulk of their long-term morbidity disproportionately affects women. Consequently, research and public health efforts have focused on trying to minimize the burden of these infections in women. In this chapter, we focus on two agents that cause RTIs: Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a curable bacterial infection, and herpes simplex virus (HSV), a viral pathogen for which no cure exists. We have chosen these pathogens to highlight intriguing differences in epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and immunological responses noted between men and women. We begin by summarizing what we know about these infections in women and any existing differences between the sexes. Potential mechanisms that may explain the sex-based differences observed for these and other RTIs are evaluated. Such mechanisms consist of both behavioral (gender) and biological (sex) factors. Consideration of the role of mucosal immune responses, sex hormones, and the vaginal microbiome in mediating sex-based differences are suggested.
Infiltrated Macrophages Die of Pneumolysin-Mediated Necroptosis following Pneumococcal Myocardial Invasion

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is capable of invading the heart. Herein we observed that pneumococcal invasion of the myocardium occurred soon after development of bacteremia and was continuous thereafter. Using immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM), we observed that S. pneumoniae replication within the heart preceded visual signs of tissue damage in cardiac tissue sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Different S. pneumoniae strains caused distinct cardiac pathologies: strain TIGR4, a serotype 4 isolate, caused discrete pneumococcus-filled microscopic lesions (microlesions), whereas strain D39, a serotype 2 isolate, was, in most instances, detectable only using IFM and was associated with foci of cardiomyocyte hydropic degeneration and immune cell infiltration. Both strains efficiently invaded the myocardium, but cardiac damage was entirely dependent on the pore-forming toxin pneumolysin only for D39. Early microlesions caused by TIGR4 and microlesions formed by a TIGR4 pneumolysin-deficient mutant were infiltrated with CD11b(+) and Ly6G-positive neutrophils and CD11b(+) and F4/80-positive (F4/80(+)) macrophages. We subsequently demonstrated that macrophages in TIGR4-infected hearts died as a result of pneumolysin-induced necroptosis. The effector of necroptosis, phosphorylated mixed-lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL), was detected in CD11b(+) and F4/80(+) cells associated with microlesions. Likewise, treatment of infected mice and THP-1 macrophages in vitro with the receptor-interacting protein 1 kinase (RIP1) inhibitor necrostatin-5 promoted the formation of purulent microlesions and blocked cell death, respectively. We conclude that pneumococci that have invaded the myocardium are an important cause of cardiac damage, pneumolysin contributes to cardiac damage in a bacterial strain-specific manner, and pneumolysin kills infiltrated macrophages via necroptosis, which alters the immune response.
Homeland and neoliberalism: text, paratexts and treatment of affective labor

AbstractThis essay examines Showtime’s television program Homeland, along with several examples of what Jonathan Gray calls paratexts, arguing that meanings produced through the intersection of text and paratexts create a preferred interpretation of the show’s main character, Carrie Mathison, which aligns with neoliberal and post-feminist ideologies surrounding affective labor. Using textual cartography to map meanings, I locate a preferred interpretation of Homeland that recognizes the instrumental value of affective labor while writing off the deleterious effects as individualized personal issues. This read supports a neoliberal, post-feminist interpretation of Carrie as a pathologically flawed individual woman inept at emotional self-management.
Prototype adaptive bow-tie filter based on spatial exposure time modulation

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the development of dynamic bow-tie filters that are able to provide patient-specific x-ray beam shaping. We introduce the first physical prototype of a new adaptive bow-tie filter design based on the concept of “spatial exposure time modulation.” While most existing bow-tie filters operate by attenuating the radiation beam differently in different locations using partially attenuating objects, the presented filter shapes the radiation field using two movable completely radio-opaque collimators. The aperture and speed of the collimators is modulated in synchrony with the x-ray exposure to selectively block the radiation emitted to different parts of the object. This mode of operation does not allow the reproduction of every possible attenuation profile, but it can reproduce the profile of any object with an attenuation profile monotonically decreasing from the center to the periphery, such as an object with an elliptical cross section. Therefore, the new adaptive filter provides the same advantages as the currently existing static bow-tie filters, which are typically designed to work for a pre-determined cylindrical object at a fixed distance from the source, and provides the additional capability to adapt its performance at image acquisition time to better compensate for the actual diameter and location of the imaged object. A detailed description of the prototype filter, the implemented control methods, and a preliminary experimental validation of its performance are presented.
Accelerating preparedness: Leveraging the UNC PERLC to improve other projects related to public health surveillance, assessment, and regionalization

The co-location of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC) and the UNC Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (PERRC) and other smaller projects within the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, a public health practice-oriented unit of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, facilitated many successful collaborations. By sharing personnel, space, and other resources, the UNC PERLC and PERRC and other projects were able to meet the needs of the public health workforce by developing evidence-based training programs and tools around topics including epidemiology, surveillance, and vulnerable populations.
Informing the improvement of forest products durability using small angle neutron scattering

A better understanding of how wood nanostructure swells with moisture is needed to accelerate the development of forest products with enhanced moisture durability. Despite its suitability to study nanostructures, small angle neutron scattering (SANS) remains an underutilized tool in forest products research. Nanoscale moisture-induced structural changes in intact and partially cut wood cell walls were investigated using SANS and a custom-built relative humidity (RH) chamber. SANS from intact wood sections cut from each primary wood orientation showed that although wood scattered anisotropically across 1.3–600 nm length scales, measurement of elementary fibril spacing and low-q surface scattering were independent of orientation. Water sorption caused spacing between elementary fibrils to increase with RH, and this swelling accounted for over half the transverse swelling in S2 secondary wood cell walls. Elementary fibril spacing in longitudinally cut wood cells, which were designed to mimic cells near wood-adhesive bondlines, was greater than the spacing in intact cells above 90 % RH. This suggested that some cell wall hoop constraint from the S1 and S3 cell wall layers on the S2 layer was released by cutting the cells. Furthermore, increased spacing between elementary fibrils may also create diffusion channels that are hypothesized to be responsible for the onset of fungal decay in wood. Protocols were established to use SANS in future research to study adhesives and protection treatments to improve moisture durability in forest products.
Demonstrated Advantages of Financial Statements Insurance System(FSI)

Government regulation can quickly build a permanent monitoring mechanism,but not as self-regulating market mechanism,to meet the needs of investors,Sarbanes-Oxley is a case in this point.However,the program relying on entirely market competition mechanism is not perfect.Professor Ronen's financial statements insurance system(FSI) to some extent solves the plight of the current audit system through the introduction of insurance system,re-planning of the shareholders,the audit firm and management relations.
Joint Transmission Method for Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission and Reception

In this paper,we propose a multi-point joint transmission method for Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) transmission and reception system.This solution combines beamforming with both space time/frequency coding and pre-coding technologies.The multi-path data obtained by space time/frequency coding and pre-coding will be mapped by beamforming technology to multiple coordinated nodes for transmission.The signal receiver can get bigger diversity gain and beamforming gain as well through the combination of space time/frequency coding and beamforming.Moreover,precoding and beamforming can help the signals transmitted from separated nodes in CoMP system combined at the receiver,which makes the signals at different layers more independent and obtains beamforming gain.
Tendon transfer for median nerve palsy.

SUMMARY A large number of tendon transfers have been described that restore opposition to the thumb and provide thumb and finger flexion. To provide optimal results following tendon transfers, one needs to follow the principles of tendon transfer: normal tissue equilibrium, movable joints, and a scar-free bed. Once these are present, we must look to available tables to determine an appropriate tendon transfer, matching up the lost muscle mass, fiber length, and cross-sectional area and then pick out muscle-tendon units of similar size, strength, and potential excursion. For low median nerve palsy (Table 4), we have found from our experimental and clinical studies that the FDS of the long and ring fingers or the wrist extensors (ECR or ECRL) best approximate the force and motion required for full thumb opposition and strength. These transfers are preferred in median nerve palsy or combined median ulnar nerve palsy when both strength and motion are required. In circumstances where only thumb mobility is desired, the EIP is an ideal transfer. Also, the extensor digitorum quinti (EDQ) and ADQ have sufficient mean fiber length (muscle excursion) to provide full thumb opposition. The palmaris longus transfer (Camitz transfer) is an abduction rather than an opposition transfer and should be reserved for selected cases of long-term carpal tunnel syndrome. For high median nerve palsy (Table 5), transfers of the brachioradialis or ECRL to restore lost thumb flexion (FPL) and side-to-side transfer of the FDP of the index finger are generally sufficient. A separate transfer to restore independent flexion of the index finger could be performed by utilizing the pronator teres or extensor carpi radialis ulnaris tendon muscle units. As they combine a proper direction of action, pulley location, and tendon insertion, tendon transfers for median nerve palsy are usually quite successful. In considering any of these elective procedures, however, it is important to remember that tendon transfers are muscle balance operations. The effect of transfer on restoring function must be carefully studied to assess the loss of function that such a transfer may endure.
Biochemical Responses to Chemoattractants in Dictyostelium : Ligand-Receptor Interactions and Downstream Kinase Activation

Dictyostelium discoideum is one of the most facile eukaryotic systems for the study of chemotactic response to secreted chemical ligands. Dictyostelium grow as individual cells, using bacteria and fungi as primary nutrient sources; during growth, Dictyostelium moves directionally toward folate, a bacterial byproduct. Upon nutrient depletion Dictyostelium initiates a multicellular development program characterized by the production and secretion of cAMP. Cell surface receptors specifically recognize extracellular cAMP, which serves as both a morphogen to promote development and a chemoattractant to organize multicellularity. We discuss several approaches for the study of ligand-receptor interaction, with focus on affinity class determination and quantification of ligand binding sites (i.e., receptors) per cell. We further present examples for the application of biochemical assays to characterize the ligand-induced kinase activation of PI3K, GSK3, and ERK2.
Impact of AccuLevel on treatment of acute asthma

Study of the impact of rapid availability of theophylline concentrations on emergency treatment of acute asthma disclosed use of AccuLevel in 50 children significantly shortened the time required to reach concentrations of at least 10 micrograms/mL and shortened time spent in the emergency room as compared with 50 children in whom serum concentrations were measured only by EMIT.
Spindle Cell Oncocytoma

Spindle cell oncocytoma (SCO) is an exceedingly rare, nonfunctioning, nonadenomatous tumor that arises in the pituitary gland. In 2007, it was classified as a separate pathological entity by the WHO.
Public reasoning across cultural pluralism

“Justice is conflict,” writes Stuart Hampshire (2000), pointing to the irreducibility of certain conflicts to consensus. Justice lies in the operation of “public reason,” argues John Rawls (1999), claiming that citizens can agree on a minimal central set of principles. I find Hampshire persuasive, but I also find Rawls's challenge important. If social groups differ on the most fundamental political issues, how can they possibly coexist in a political community? Irreducible pluralism In the previous chapters, I have charted varied Indonesian efforts to coexist through sustained public reasoning, a restless, endless process of deliberation, intended sometimes to accommodate others, sometimes to exclude them. I began in Isak, a small enough place, where if there were to be normative resting-places in large nation-states, we might expect to find one. But Isak people, like their fellow citizens elsewhere, find themselves grappling with criss-crossing sets of norms, some of which have the backing of the state (and thus can be said to be “law”), others of which have their normative anchors in the past or the local present. The Isak case of the disputed houses, in which Aman Kerna created a web of complicated subterfuges and hedges to try and satisfy, or at least appease, everyone, dead ancestors and future judges alike, reminds us that village life is not normatively simple. It also reminds us that law, dispute resolution backed by state authority, is only one element in a complex field of norms, feelings, livelihoods, and power.
Statistically extracted fundamental watershed variables for estimating the loads of total nitrogen in small streams

Accurate estimation of total nitrogen loads is essential for evaluating conditions in the aquatic environment. Extrapolation of estimates beyond measured streams will greatly expand our understanding of total nitrogen loading to streams. Recursive partitioning and random forest regression were used to assess 85 geospatial, environmental, and watershed variables across 636 small (<585 km2) watersheds to determine which variables are fundamentally important to the estimation of annual loads of total nitrogen. Initial analysis led to the splitting of watersheds into three groups based on predominant land use (agricultural, developed, and undeveloped). Nitrogen application, agricultural and developed land area, and impervious or developed land in the 100-m stream buffer were commonly extracted variables by both recursive partitioning and random forest regression. A series of multiple linear regression equations utilizing the extracted variables were created and applied to the watersheds. As few as three variables explained as much as 76 % of the variability in total nitrogen loads for watersheds with predominantly agricultural land use. Catchment-scale national maps were generated to visualize the total nitrogen loads and yields across the USA. The estimates provided by these models can inform water managers and help identify areas where more in-depth monitoring may be beneficial.
On the nature of superplastic deformation in the MgAl eutectic

Abstract Elevated temperature tension tests were made with the Mg-Al eutectic alloy of several grain sizes over a wide range of strain rates. In addition, the respective contributions of grain strain and the strain associated with grain boundary deformation were measured by means of a fine grid scribed on the specimen. At the high end of the strain rate range where the strain rate hardening index m(e) = ° In σ/δ In e remained low, slip deformation was predominant. At the intermediate strain rates, the decrease in flow stress was sufficiently rapid that the value of m reached a maximum; in this strain rate range the rate controlling process was shown to be grain boundary shear (GBS). It was suggested that the cooperative processes of GBS and slip deformation were greatly facilitated by the attraction of dislocations to the slipping boundary thus maintaining the “slip-recovery” cycle. With further decrease in strain rate m again became low; moreover the contribution of GBS as measured by boundary offsets decreased, a large fraction of the total deformation being contributed by transverse grain boundaries.
LINEBACKER: LINE-Speed Bio-Inspired Analysis and Characterization for Event Recognition

The cyber world is a complex domain, with digital systems mediating a wide spectrum of human and machine behaviors. While this is enabling a revolution in the way humans interact with each other and data, it also is exposing previously unreachable infrastructure to a worldwide set of actors. Existing solutions for intrusion detection and prevention that are signature-focused typically seek to detect anomalous and/or malicious activity for the sake of preventing or mitigating negative impacts. But a growing interest in behavior-based detection is driving new forms of analysis that move the emphasis from static indicators (e.g. rule-based alarms or tripwires) to behavioral indicators that accommodate a wider contextual perspective. Similar to cyber systems, biosystems have always existed in resource-constrained hostile environments where behaviors are tuned by context. So we look to biosystems as an inspiration for addressing behavior-based cyber challenges. In this paper, we introduce LINEBACKER, a behavior-model based approach to recognizing anomalous events in network traffic and present the design of this approach of bio-inspired and statistical models working in tandem to produce individualized alerting for a collection of systems. Preliminary results of these models operating on historic data are presented along with a plugin to support real-world cyber operations.
Hardware design for a cable-free fully insertable wireless laparoscopic robotic camera

The field of insertable laparoscopic robotic camera is gaining increasing attentions from researchers, surgeons, and also patients. Although many insertable laparoscope prototypes have been introduced, few of them get rid of the encumbrance tethering cable. In this paper, we proposed a hardware architecture for a magnetic actuated robotic surgical (MARS) camera, which facilitates a cable-free fully insertable laparoscopic surgical robotic camera with adequate in-vivo mobility. Modular design and preliminary test of on-board functional payloads have shown feasibility of a cable-free insertable wireless laparoscopic surgical camera based on off-the-shelf electronics and industrial wireless standards operating in ISM frequency bands at 2.4GHz. Potential improvements for laparoscopic surgery benefited from this hardware architecture include more dexterous in-vivo camera mobility and intuitive closed-loop robotic camera control.
The Rim and the Ancient Mariner: The Nautical Horizon Affects Postural Sway in Older Adults

On land, the spatial magnitude of postural sway (i.e., the amount of sway) tends to be greater when participants look at the horizon than when they look at nearby targets. By contrast, on ships at sea, the spatial magnitude of postural sway in young adults has been greater when looking at nearby targets and less when looking at the horizon. Healthy aging is associated with changes in the movement patterns of the standing body sway, and these changes typically are interpreted in terms of age-related declines in the ability to control posture. To further elucidate the mechanisms associated with these changes we investigated control of posture in a setting that poses substantial postural challenges; standing on a ship at sea. In particular, we explored postural sway on a ship at sea when older adults looked at the horizon or at nearby targets. We evaluated the kinematics of the center of pressure in terms of spatial magnitude (i.e., the amount of sway) and multifractality (a measure of temporal dynamics). We found that looking at the horizon significantly affected the multifractality of standing body, but did not systematically influence the spatial magnitude of sway. We discuss the results in terms of age-related changes in the perception and control of dynamic body orientation.
Abstract 23: miR-455-3p Overrides Transcription and Inhibits Cholesterol Biosynthesis

Cholesterol biosynthesis is under tight control by sterol sensing proteins and transcriptional regulation; however, recent evidence suggests that this pathway may also be post-transcriptionally regulated by microRNAs (miRNA). miR-455-3p was found to be significantly up-regulated in mouse livers with high-fat diets, which coincided with significant repression of miR-455-3p target genes, as determined by cumulative distribution fraction analysis of gene expression microarray data. Ten of fourteen cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes were also found to be significantly down-regulated in the livers of these mice; however, sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBF2) activity was found to be significantly increased, not decreased. Multiple enzymes in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway were predicted to be miR-455-3p targets; therefore, we hypothesized that miR-455-3p is a master regulator of cholesterol production through direct and indirect targeting of enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-455-3p with locked-nucleic acids (LNA) significantly increased mRNA levels of all cholesterol enzymes analyzed in vitro, including HMGCR, CYP51A1, DHCR7, SC4MOL, and SC5DL. Conversely, miR-455-3p over-expression resulted in decreased mRNA levels of specific cholesterol biosynthesis enzymes. Most importantly, miR-455-3p inhibition significantly increased cholesterol biosynthesis in multiple cell lines from multiple species, as determined by radiolabeled acetate incorporation assays; whereas miR-455-3p transfection decreased cholesterol biosynthesis. Using gene reporter (luciferase) assays, miR-455-3p was found to directly target the 3’ untranslated region of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7). Inhibition of miR-455-3p in DHCR7 mutated cell lines representing Smith-Lemli Opitz Syndrome, which results from non-complete dysfunction of DHCR7, significantly increased DHCR7 mRNA levels and cholesterol biosynthesis. In summary, miR-455-3p is a powerful inhibitor of cholesterol biosynthesis through post-transcriptional regulation that likely overrides SREBF2 transcriptional regulation within cholesterol metabolism.
A National Survey on the Effect of the Geriatric Academic Career Award in Advancing Academic Geriatric Medicine

A workforce that understands principles of geriatric medicine is critical to addressing the care needs of the growing elderly population. This will be impossible without a substantial increase in academicians engaged in education and aging research. Limited support of early-career clinician–educators is a major barrier to attaining this goal. The Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA) was a vital resource that benefitted 222 junior faculty members. GACA availability was interrupted in 2006, followed by permanent discontinuation after the Geriatrics Workforce Education Program (GWEP) subsumed it in 2015, leaving aspiring clinician–educators with no similar alternatives. GACA recipients were surveyed in this cross-sectional, multimethod study to assess the effect of the award on career development, creation and dissemination of educational products, funding discontinuation consequences, and implications of program closure for the future of geriatric health care. Uninterrupted funding resulted in fulfillment of GACA goals (94%) and overall career success (96%). Collectively, awardees reached more than 40,700 learners. Funding interruption led to 55% working additional hours over and above an increased clinical workload to continue their GACA-related research and scholarship. Others terminated GACA projects (36%) or abandoned academic medicine altogether. Of respondents currently at GWEP sites (43%), only 13% report a GWEP budget including GACA-like support. Those with GWEP roles attributed their current standing to experience gained through GACA funding. These consequences are alarming and represent a major setback to academic geriatrics. GACA's singular contribution to the mission of geriatric medicine must prompt vigorous efforts to restore it as a distinct funding opportunity.
"Free to Say No": Evoking Freedom Increased Compliance in Two Field Experiments

ABSTRACTThe evoking freedom or “but you are free” (BYAF) technique is a social influence tactic that offers recipients the freedom to accept or decline a request. This research tested the effectiveness of the evoking freedom technique in two field experiments. Participants were asked either to complete a survey (Experiment 1) or to allow a stranger to borrow their mobile phone to make a call (Experiment 2) on an urban university campus. Half of the requests involved language that evoked freedom, and half of the requests were direct. In both experiments, results showed significantly greater compliance in the evoking freedom condition. This research extends previous work by demonstrating the effectiveness of the technique using a high-stakes request and in a culture other than that of France, where the majority of evoking freedom studies have been conducted.
Comparison of low- and ultralow-dose computed tomography protocols for quantitative lung and airway assessment.

Purpose Quantitative computed tomography (CT) measures are increasingly being developed and used to characterize lung disease. With recent advances in CT technologies, we sought to evaluate the quantitative accuracy of lung imaging at low and ultra-low radiation doses with the use of iterative reconstruction (IR), tube current modulation (TCM), and spectral shaping. Methods We investigated the effect of five independent CT protocols reconstructed with IR on quantitative airway measures and global lung measures using an in-vivo large animal model as a human subject surrogate. A control protocol was chosen (NIH-SPIROMICS + TCM) and five independent protocols investigating TCM, low and ultra-low radiation dose, and spectral shaping. For all scans quantitative global parenchymal measurements (mean, median and standard deviation of the parenchymal HU, along with measures of emphysema) and global airway measurements (number of segmented airways and pi10) were generated. In addition, selected individual airway measurements (minor and major inner diameter, wall thickness, inner and outer area, inner and outer perimeter, wall area fraction, and inner equivalent circle diameter) were evaluated. Comparisons were made between control and target protocols using difference and repeatability measures. Results Estimated CT volume dose index (CTDIvol) across all protocols ranged from 7.32 mGy to 0.32 mGy. Low and ultra-low dose protocols required more manual editing and resolved fewer airway branches; yet, comparable pi10 whole lung measures were observed across all protocols. Similar trends in acquired parenchymal and airway measurements were observed across all protocols, with increased measurement differences using the ultra-low dose protocols. However, for small airways (1.9 ± 0.2mm) and medium airways (5.7 ± 0.4mm) the measurement differences across all protocols were comparable to the control protocol repeatability across breath-holds. Diameters, wall thickness, wall area fraction, and equivalent diameter had smaller measurement differences, than area and perimeter measurements. Conclusions In conclusion, the use of IR with low and ultra-low dose CT protocols with CT volume dose indices down to 0.32 mGy maintains selected quantitative parenchymal and airway measurements relevant to pulmonary disease characterization. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Another approach to the problem of room temperature superconductivity

The superconductivity at room temperature $$T_{\mathrm{m}}$$ can be accomplished by pursuing two distinct strategies. One approach is to create a new superconductor, whose critical temperature $$T_{\mathrm{c}} \sim T_{\mathrm{m}}$$ .Here we discuss viability of another approach involving integration of a conventional superconductor (S) with the Peltier cooler (P) made of an atomic monolayer (AM). Owing to remarkable properties of AM, the hybrid SP thermoelectric device promises a tremendously high efficiency, sufficient to diminish the local temperature of S below its $$T_{\mathrm{c}}$$ amid the ambient temperature $$\sim T_{\mathrm{m}}>>T_{\mathrm{c}}$$ . In particular, the chirality and Klein tunneling of electric charge carriers in graphene allow creating topologically protected quantized state, immune to electron scattering on lattice imperfections. Efficient doping with the gate electrodes allows changing the local carrier concentration in wide limits, leading to a high thermopower. The nanostructuring and alloying diminish the phonon part of the thermal flux by orders of magnitude. By combining the above methods, one accomplishes the nanoscale cooling of S locally down to $$T_{\mathrm{c}}<<T_{\mathrm{m}}$$ .
Contributing Factors to Run-Off-Road Crashes Involving Large Trucks under Lighted and Dark Conditions

AbstractPrevious studies have examined the relationships between run-off-road (ROR) crashes and the contributing factors; however, the impact of lighting conditions has been insufficiently addresse...
Cap-seq reveals complicated miRNA transcriptional mechanisms in C. elegans and mouse

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate target gene expression at post-transcriptional level. Intense research has been conducted for miRNA identification and the target finding. However, much less is known about the transcriptional regulation of miRNA genes themselves. Recently, a special group of pre-miRNAs that are produced directly by transcription without Drosha processing were validated in mouse, indicating the complexity of miRNA biogenesis. In this work, we detect clusters of aligned Cap-seq reads to find the transcription start sites (TSSs) for intergenic miRNAs and study their transcriptional regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans and mouse. In both species, we have identified a class of special pre-miRNAs whose 5′ ends are capped, and are most probably generated directly by transcription. Furthermore, we distinguished another class of special pre-miRNAs that are 5′-capped but are also part of longer primary miRNAs, suggesting they may have more than one transcription mechanism. We detected multiple cap reads peaks within miRNA clusters in C. elegans. We surmised that the miRNAs in a cluster may either be transcribed independently or be re-capped during the microprocessor cleavage process. We also observed that H3K4me3 and Pol II are enriched at those identified miRNA TSSs. The Cap-seq datasets enabled us to annotate the primary TSSs for miRNA genes with high resolution. Special class of 5′-capped pre-miRNAs have been identified in both C. elegans and mouse. The capping patter of miRNAs in a cluster indicate that clustered miRNA transcripts probably undergo a re-capping procedure during the microprocessor cleavage process.
How do late-stage cancer patients join an early phase clinical trial? A qualitative investigation of the process.

60Background: Late-stage cancer patients (LSCPs) face complex choices as they exhaust standard treatment options, including whether to seek enrollment in an early phase (EP) clinical trial and how ...
Post-optic MTF measurement using a reference optic

The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of an imaging device is a strong indicator of the resolution limited performance. The MTF at the system level is commonly treated as separable, with the optical MTF multiplying the postoptic (detector) MTF to give the system MTF. As new detector materials and methods have become available, and as the manufacturing of detectors has been separated from the optical system, independently measuring the MTF of the detector is of great interest. In this correspondence, a procedure for measuring the post-optic MTF of a mid-wave (3-5 micron) sampled imager is described. This is accomplished through a careful measurement of a reference optic that is later installed to allow for a final system MTF measurement. The key finding is that matching the chromatic shape of the illumination between the optic and system MTFs is critical, as in both measurements the effective MTF is scaled by the source and detector spectral shapes. This is most easily accomplished through the use of narrow bandpass filters. Our results are consistent across bandpass filter cut-on and F/number.
Computer-Based Assessment of Implicit Attitudes

Recently, computers are being used extensively in psychological assessment. The most popular measure implicit attitude is the Implicit Association Test “IAT” [2]. According to Aberson and Beeney [3], although the IAT has been applied broadly, little is known about the psychometric properties of the measure. Four different experiments were conducted with four different samples to investigate the temporal reliability of IAT. Also students’ opinion (trust) about the validity and reliability of the test was measured. The results showed that while there are numerous reports of moderate validity of the test, its reliability as measured in this study, particularly for the first time users, is relatively low. Familiarity with similar tests, however, improves its reliability.
Congenital Heart Disease and Computed Tomography

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are carving a niche as key imaging tools in CHD. MRI has been utilized more extensively in the CHD field than CT for a number of reasons [9]. First, MRI does not deliver any radiation. In contrast, one CT study will deliver nearly 1000 millirads to the skin of the back [10]. This may seem negligible in most adults when compared to the 10,000 millirads a patient is exposed to with invasive catheterization and angiography. However, no amount of radiation is considered safe. Moreover, the evaluation of most congenital cases begins in infancy and childhood when radiation is most likely to cause lasting damage and produce malignancies. Considering that the average radiation dose from one year of television viewing is 1 millirad, the 1000 millirads from one CT seems excessive if another means of diagnosis is readily available. That has led to the near exclusion of CT in favor of MRI in the pediatric population. Not so in the adult population where advances in image acquisition, speed, and clarity have propelled CT to the forefront of non-invasive imaging. Moreover, electrocardiographic gating of studies at multiple points in systole and diastole allows the evaluation of dynamic processes such as ventricular wall motion [11]. The provision of such functional information had been the domain of MRI until recently and this had steered many CHD specialists in the direction of MRI. MRI does have the ability to very accurately determine plasma velocity and valvar areas whereas CT requires the accompaniment of echocardiography [12–13]. However, the static anatomy of small vessels (especially coronaries) is far more accurately imaged by CT in a fraction of the time needed for MRI [14]. Both modalities can be rendered into three-dimensional images that are useful in clarifying the often complex anatomic relationships in patients with CHD. In truth, both modalities have strengths and weaknesses. However, the previously lopsided playing field is being evened out by advances in CT image quality, decreases in radiation dose, and the provision of accurate functional information. Furthermore, MRI most often requires significant sedation in children, not
The Genetic and Chemical Basis of Recognition in the Agrobacterium: Plant Interaction

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a gram-negative soil bacterium that causes crown gall tumors on a broad spectrum of dicotyledonous plants (for reviews see: BINNS and THOMASHOW 1988; WINANS 1992; ZAMBRYSKI 1992) . This pathogenic response results from the activities of a large tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid that resides in many but not all agrobacteria found in the rhizosphere. The infection and transformation process is a complex series of interactions between host and pathogen that ultimately leads to the transfer of DNA (the T-DNA) from the Ti plasmid into the plant cell where it is integrated into the nuclear genome. Expression of this T-DNA results in the production of two classes of protein products: (1) enzymes that synthesize plant hormones capable of stimulating continuous cell division in the transformed cells and (2) enzymes that synthesize unique amino acid:sugar acid conjugates, termed opines, that are not metabolizable by the host cell but are metabolized by the inciting bacterium, providing it with a dedicated nitrogen and carbon source.