cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Depth-of-focus analysis of subwavelength features

As the smallest desired feature dimensions decrease ever further below the wavelength of the imaging light, as the numerical aperture of the projection optics continues to increase, and as more degrees of freedom in exposure system setup are made available, so new attention is needed on the parameter space used to establish manufacturable process latitude. A detailed analysis of depth-of-focus data is presented for isolated lines which comprehends the effects of dynamic focal plane error, scan-direction dependence, non-quadratic through-focus behavior, measurement noise, and aberration content. This analysis is applied in a case study of the lens and stage adjustment process for a new exposure system.
Cross-cultural training for japanese pharmaceutical researchers

This article gives an in-depth analysis of a cross-cultural training course that I ran for Japanese researchers at the Aichi, Japan branch of Xantusia (the company's name has been changed to protect its identity), a major American pharmaceutical company. The company's history and reasons for implementing a cross-cultural training course, the educational principles behind the course, the demographic information of those who enrolled, and a week-by-week description of the course follow, and provide an example that can inform other programs like it in both corporate and non-corporate settings. Four lessons learned from the author's experience include: (1) the need for a "bottoms-up approach," starting with material (textual, audiovisual, etc.) which presents realistic, stimulating depictions of cross-cultural interactions; (2) cross-cultural training should, ideally, continue (periodically) over the course of a professional's entire career; (3) cross-cultural training programs should have some "laboratory" f...
Female-headed households in nonmetropolitan areas: Housing and demographic characteristics

This article describes selected demographic and housing characteristics of nonmetropolitan female-headed households. It compares nonmetropolitan female householders with the average U.S. household, including regional differences. Female heads are older and more likely to have members in poor health than U.S. households on average. Female heads are also more likely to be in poverty and to experience housing poverty. Although the female householders do not suffer from space and quality problems, housing affordability is a problem. Most female heads live in owned, single-family dwellings and are more likely to live in mobile homes than the average U.S. household.
Beyond Cost: The Role of Intellectual Capital in Offshoring and Innovation in Young Firms:

Using the intellectual capital perspective as a theoretical framework, we develop a conceptual model of offshoring of knowledge–intensive, complex work by young, entrepreneurial firms. We posit tha...
Cholesterol Treatment and Changes in Guidelines in an Academic Medical Practice

Abstract Background National guidelines are intended to influence physician cholesterol treatment practices, yet few studies have documented the effect of new guidelines on actual prescribing behaviors and impacts on patient eligibility for treatment. We describe current cholesterol treatment in an academic practice of Family and Internal Medicine physicians as well the effect of a change in cholesterol treatment guidelines from 2001 Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) to 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines. Methods Medical records were extracted from primary care patients aged 40-75 years with at least one outpatient visit from January 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013; patients were included if they had records of cholesterol testing, blood pressure measurement, sex, race, and smoking status. Patients were classified into ATPIII and ACC/AHA categories based on clinical variables (eg, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease), Framingham Risk Score, and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk. Results There were 4536 patients included in the analysis. Of these, 71% met ATPIII goals and 56% met ACC/AHA guidelines, a 15% decrease. Forty-three percent of high-risk patients met their low-density lipoprotein goals and 46% were on statins. Overall, 32% of patients would need to be started on a statin, 12% require an increased dose, and 6% could stop statins. Of patients considered low risk by ATPIII guidelines, 271 would be eligible for treatment by ACC/AHA guidelines, whereas 129 patients were shifted from intermediate risk to low risk with the change in guidelines. Conclusions The ACC/AHA guidelines expand the number of patients recommended to receive statins, particularly among patients who were previously thought to be at moderate risk, and would increase the intensity of treatment for many patients at high risk. Significant numbers of patients at risk for cardiovascular events were not receiving guideline-based treatment. New cholesterol guidelines may make treatment decisions easier.
Clinical Reliability of the “Furcation Arrow” as a Diagnostic Marker

Background: The radiographic entity known as the “furcation arrow” has long been used in practice even though little is known about its usefulness as a clinical indicator. The definitive study of the furcation arrow suggests that its presence on a radiograph reliably predicts furcation invasion, but this has not been confirmed in an in vivo investigation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the furcation arrow in a clinical setting, testing the assertion that the furcation arrow image is an accurate predictor of furcation invasion. Specifically, we sought to determine the following. First, what is the prevalence of furcation arrow images in the radiographs of maxillary molars with periodontitis? Second, what is the interexaminer agreement on what constitutes a furcation arrow? Third, how does the presence or absence of a furcation arrow correlate with the true clinical status of the furcation? Fourth, what is the sensitivity and specificity of the furcation arrow as a diagnostic indicator?Methods: E...
Resistance of perennial glandular-haired Medicago species to oviposition by alfalfa weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

We tested two diploid ( M. glandulosa David and M. prostrata Jacquin) and one tetraploid ( M. glutinosa Marshall von Bieberstein) glandular-haired perennial Medicaga species for resistance to oviposition by the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal). The control plants were perennial M. sativa L. (susceptible) and annuals M. scutellata (L.) Mill. and M. disciformis DC. (resistant). M. prostrata and M. glandulosa were highly resistant to oviposition in both the free-choice and the no-choice test. Both entries of M. glutinosa were not statistically less preferred than the controls in the free-choice test. In the no-choice test, the two M. glutinosa entries were significantly less preferred than M. sativa.
No Such Thing as a Leader

Contemporary writings on leadership theory are dominated by non-hierarchical conceptions of leadership. However, the term "leader" is inherently hierarchical. Though not normally recognized, this fact serves to complicate discussions of the topic. In an effort to overcome this difficulty, this paper presents a conceptual framework through which leadership and management can be understood as group rather than individual processes. It further makes suggestions of ways to begin thinking about the implementation of such processes. The paper discusses the origins of the hierarchical model of leadership. It also considers forces which have been at work to undermine the efficacy of that model.
Piezothermoelastic composite plate analysis using first-order shear deformation theory

Abstract The response of composite plates constructed of graphite/epoxy laminae with an attached piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride layer subjected to mechanical, thermal and electric field loading is considered for various length-to-depth and aspect ratios. First-order shear deformation theory is extended to include the piezothermoelastic response of composite plate structures. Analytic results are obtained for a plate simply supported along all edges. A nine-node Lagrangian finite element formulation is established and results are presented for simply supported or fixed boundary conditions. Numerical results show that moderately thick piezothermoelastic composites are sensitive to shear deformation, but increasing plate aspect ratio reduces the shear deformation influence.
Sexual Harassment as Sex Discrimination: A Defective Paradigm

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 19641 prohibits sex discrimination in employment. During the last fifteen years, the courts have extended this prohibition to include sexual harassment.2 While the first plaintiffs to bring Title VII sexual harassment claims met with a good deal of skepticism, current law recognizes that such behavior is actionable under Title VII. In 1980, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amended its Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex to include sexual harassment and helped solidify judicial acceptance of this cause of action.3
SIMPLE METHOD FOR RELATING LOCAL STAGE AND REMOTE DISCHARGE

A simple method is proposed for reconstructing the discharge hydrograph at a river section where only water level is monitored and discharge is recorded at another upstream section. The method, which is based on the assumption that lateral inflows are negligible, has two parameters linked to remotely observed discharge and permits, without using a flood routing procedure and without need of a rating curve at a local site, relating the local river stage with the hydraulic condition at a remote upstream section. Calibration and validation of the method were carried out by comparing its results with those of a hydrodynamic model called MIKE11. The method was applied to simulate five flood events that have occurred along an instrumented reach of the Tiber River in central Italy. The shape characteristics of the reconstructed hydrographs at a gauged section where only local stage was available were similar to those of the hydrographs computed by MIKE11. A comparison between the Muskingum model and proposed met...
Sustaining School Success: A Case for Governance Change

This chapter is built on the premise that in order to sustain success, schools must develop the capacity to self-renew. A research team from the University at Buffalo examined this notion by returning to a school it first visited in 2002 to see how the school’s leaders had sustained the school’s remarkable turn-around in performance. On our return, we found that remaining faithful to the direction set by the principal (i.e., holding everyone accountable for children learning at mastery levels within a caring and nurturing environment) necessitated redesigning the organization (converting from a traditional public school to a district charter school), in order maintain the continued development and capacity of the staff around the principle of learning. In other words, sustaining success at this school required the creation of a governance structure that supported and rewarded organizational learning through self-renewal and personal and professional growth.
Temperature Distribution During Mineral Inversion and Its Significance in Differential Thermal Analysis

Temperature distributions have been calculated in a thin slab of material for which the temperature of the outside faces was raised at a uniform rate. Calculations cover the entire period during which the material is transformed from one form to another with an endothermic reaction. Application of these calculations to the interpretation of thermal analysis data is discussed.
Momentless Design of Composite Structures with Variable Elastic Constants

In recognizing the increasing availability of various composite materials, this paper promotes a new approach to the design of the plate and shell structures. It is based on the loading and shape require ments of the structure to determine a particular composite whose constituents and their geometric arrangements are such that a certain design criterion will be satisfied. For the preliminary study of such an approach, a momentless criterion is adopted in the present paper for the design of axisymmetrically loaded shells of revolution. To maintain the shell in a momentless state, the general equation which governs the shape, loadings and the material properties of the shell, and the displacements equations have been derived. Applications to the pressure vessels with ellipsoidal bulkheads show that composite materials with variable elastic constants will be needed for constructing a momentless vessel. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed method of approach and provide as guidelines fo...
Biomedical negation scope detection with conditional random fields.

Objective Negation is a linguistic phenomenon that marks the absence of an entity or event. Negated events are frequently reported in both biological literature and clinical notes. Text mining applications benefit from the detection of negation and its scope. However, due to the complexity of language, identifying the scope of negation in a sentence is not a trivial task. Design Conditional random fields (CRF), a supervised machine-learning algorithm, were used to train models to detect negation cue phrases and their scope in both biological literature and clinical notes. The models were trained on the publicly available BioScope corpus. Measurement The performance of the CRF models was evaluated on identifying the negation cue phrases and their scope by calculating recall, precision and F1-score. The models were compared with four competitive baseline systems. Results The best CRF-based model performed statistically better than all baseline systems and NegEx, achieving an F1-score of 98% and 95% on detecting negation cue phrases and their scope in clinical notes, and an F1-score of 97% and 85% on detecting negation cue phrases and their scope in biological literature. Conclusions This approach is robust, as it can identify negation scope in both biological and clinical text. To benefit text mining applications, the system is publicly available as a Java API and as an online application at .
Interleukin-3 regulates development of the 5-lipoxygenase/leukotriene C4 synthase pathway in mouse mast cells

To study cytokine regulation of the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO)/leukotriene (LT) synthase pathway we have developed mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) that minimally express each protein of the pathway by using a novel culture system, lacking interleukin (IL)-3. When mouse bone marrow cells were cultured for 5 weeks with 100 ng/ml c-kit ligand (KL) and 10 units/ml IL-10, a population of > 95% mast cells was obtained. These cells generated 8.3 +/- 4.5 ng of LTC4/10(6) cells and 8.1 +/- 2.4 ng of prostaglandin (PG) D2/10(6) cells after IgE-dependent activation. When these BMMC were cultured for 2-5 weeks more with 100 units/ml IL-3 in the continued presence of KL and IL-10, the IgE-dependent generation of LTC4 and PGD2 increased to 212 +/- 36 and 25.5 +/- 8.6 ng/10(6) cells, respectively. The dramatic increase in the IgE-dependent generation of LTC4 in response to IL-3 was accompanied by a concomitant increase in expression of 5-LO and 5-LO-activating protein and preceded the increased expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2 and LTC4 synthase. The recognition that IL-3 up-regulates the expression of each protein of the 5-LO pathway for the generation of LTC4 contrasts with our recent finding that KL up-regulates the expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2, prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-1, and hematopoietic PGD2 synthase and increases the IgE-dependent generation of PGD2 in BMMC developed from bone marrow with IL-3. Thus, developmentally segregated regulation of the prostanoid and cysteinyl leukotriene pathways in lineage-related committed mast cell progenitors reveals the pleiotropism of this effector cell of allergic inflammation, a cytokine/growth factor basis for preferential expression of pathways of eicosanoid biosynthesis, and the particular role of IL-3 in regulating the expression of the proteins of the 5-LO/LTC4 synthase pathway.
A Unified Approach to Pulse Design in Data Transmission

The problem of designing optimum pulseshapes for data transmission over randomly selected channels is examined using a meansquared error criterion. Earlier work has focused principally on SSB or VSB systems in the presence of timing and carrier phase jitter, but we extend the results here to any two-dimensional signaling scheme (including as special cases SSB, VSB, combined AM-PM, QAM, and staggered QAM) and to any type of channel dispersion. By imposing certain mild constraints on the transmitter and receiver filters, it is seen that one can solve for optimum pulses more easily than with earlier approaches, and yet the resulting system is still essentially optimum. These constraints leave design freedom only in the rolloff bands of the pulse spectra, and a major thurst of the work is to design for optimal utilization of whatever excess bandwidth is available. The approach used involves immunity to channel distortions: only the type of channel distortion to be encountered is known, and series expansions of mean-squared error are used to find sensitivity coefficients. These coefficients are then minimized by proper signal design. Closed form expressions are found for the optimum pulses, and these results are compared with previous work. A second approach, which uses as its criterion the mean-squared error averaged over all possible channel characteristics, is also discussed.
Is self-reporting a form fruste of medical experimentation? Personal insights from the ‘family’ literature of a dermatologist and his children

Medical experimentation is crucial to the development of novel therapies for patients. Indeed, the clinical trial programs at major cancer centers and academic institutes are daily discovering new ...
Precise flattening of cubic Bézier segments.

ezier curve segments is given. It is shown to be more efficient than recursive subdivision by generating an average of only 2/3 as many linear segments, while maintaining the flatness criterion within 4%. The algorithm execution is 37% faster than recursive subdivision. A B´ ezier curve segment is generally rendered by subdividing it into a series of disjoint curve subsegments, and then approximating each subsegment by joining its endpoints by a line segment (chord). The maximum transverse deviation of each curve subsegment from the corresponding chord (the achieved flatness) should be no greater than a minimum error value, , called the flatness. The standard technique for doing this is by a process called recursive subdivision [2], wherein the curve is recursively divided by two until the flatness criterion is met. The advantage of recursive subdivision is that the number of segments generated is variable— depending on the nature of the curve—rather than being fix ed, as in the case of forward differencing [1]. The problem with recursive subdivision is that, if the flatness criterion is exceeded by even a small amount, the division is performed one more time, with each of the resulting segments having an achieved flatness of as little as 25% of . As a consequence, the number of segments in the resulting polyline is greater than necessary by as much as a factor of two. The described algorithm repeatedly reduces the front end of a curve by a segment whose flatness criterion is closely met, thus minimizing the number of generated segments in the approximating polyline.
Regulation of the proliferation and biosynthetic activities of cultured human Peyronie's disease fibroblasts by interferons-alpha, -beta and -gamma.

To determine the therapeutic potential of interferon (IFN) treatment for Peyronie's disease, we investigated the effect of human recombinant (hu-r) IFNs on cultured fibroblasts derived from a Peyronie's disease penile plaque. Treatment of cultured fibroblasts with hu-r-IFN-alpha20, hu-r-IFN-beta-ser17 and hu-r-IFN gamma caused a concentration dependent inhibition of both fibro-blast proliferation and collagen production, as well as an increase in collagenase production. Hu-r-IFN-alpha and beta had no effect on fibroblast glycosaminoglycan (GAG) or fibronectin production, while hu-r-IFN-gamma markedly increased both GAG and fibronectin production. These results demonstrate that IFNs, especially IFNs-alpha and beta, exhibit antifibrotic activity on Peyronie's disease fibroblasts and suggest a rationale for using IFNs to treat Peyronie's disease.
2-Cyano-3,12-dioxoolean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid and related compounds inhibit growth of colon cancer cells through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-dependent and -independent pathways

2-Cyano-3,12-dioxoolean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO) and the corresponding methyl (CDDO-Me) and imidazole (CDDO-Im) esters induce peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma)-dependent transactivation in SW-480 colon cancer cells, and these responses were inhibited by small inhibitory RNA for PPARgamma. Moreover, in a mammalian two-hybrid assay using the PPARgamma(2)-VP16 fusion plasmid and GAL4-coactivator/corepressor chimeras and a construct (pGAL4) containing five tandem GAL4 response elements, CDDO, CDDO-Me, and CDDO-IM induce transactivation and PPARgamma interaction with multiple coactivators. A major difference among the three PPARgamma agonists was the higher activity of CDDO-Im to induce PPARgamma interactions with the corepressor SMRT. CDDO, CDDO-Me, and CDDO-Im inhibited SW-480, HCT-116, and HT-29 colon cancer cell proliferation at low concentrations and induced cell death at higher concentrations. Growth inhibition at lower concentrations correlated with induction of the tumor suppressor gene caveolin-1 which is known to inhibit colon cancer cell growth. Induction of caveolin-1 by CDDO, CDDO-Me, and CDDO-Im was inhibited by the PPARgamma antagonist N-(4'-aminopyridyl-2-chloro-5-nitrobenzamide (T007), whereas higher doses induced apoptosis [poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage], which was not inhibited by T007. These results illustrate that CDDO-, CDDO-Me, and CDDO-Im induce both PPARgamma-dependent and -independent responses in colon cancer cells, and activation of these pathways are separable and concentration-dependent for all three compounds.
Acquired dermal melanocytosis in an African-American: A case report

Abstract We report an unusual case of acquired dermal melanocytosis occurring in a 57-year-old African-American woman. Macular pigmentation over the patient's cheeks, back, and sclerae developed over the course of 18 months without identifiable antecedent. The patient was taking only hormone replacement therapy and was generally healthy. Histologic examination of the skin revealed dendritic melanocytes and melanophages in the mid- to upper dermis. We briefly review the literature surrounding acquired dermal melanocytosis and continue discussion regarding its pathogenesis. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2000;43:934-6.)
Airborne passive polarimetric measurements of sea surface anisotropy at 92 GHz

The potential for remote sensing of ocean wave direction using passive polarimetric microwave observations was investigated. A fixed-beam 91.65 GHz polarimetric radiometer was mounted on the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere/Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA/COARE January-February 1993). Several experiments were performed during which the DC-8 was flown in constant bank-angle turns at /spl sim/1.5 km altitude to obtain azimuthal scans of the sea surface at fixed observation angles. Data at 650 from nadir are consistent with previous findings using 19- and 37-GHz Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) satellite observations and support the claim that a broadband emission mechanism is responsible for the azimuthal brightness signatures. Accordingly, a tilted-facet geometrical optics (GO) model of the surface was developed to investigate emission from deterministic and random striated surfaces. Laboratory measurements of polarimetric emission at 92 GHz from small-amplitude water-waves corroborate this model. >
Pharmacological Properties and Functional Role of Kslow Current in Mouse Pancreatic β-Cells SK Channels Contribute to Kslow Tail Current and Modulate Insulin Secretion

The pharmacological properties of slow Ca2+-activated K+ current (Kslow) were investigated in mouse pancreatic β-cells and islets to understand how Kslow contributes to the control of islet bursting, [Ca2+]i oscillations, and insulin secretion. Kslow was insensitive to apamin or the KATP channel inhibitor tolbutamide, but UCL 1684, a potent and selective nonpeptide SK channel blocker reduced the amplitude of Kslow tail current in voltage-clamped mouse β-cells. Kslow was also selectively and reversibly inhibited by the class III antiarrythmic agent azimilide (AZ). In isolated β-cells or islets, pharmacologic inhibition of Kslow by UCL 1684 or AZ depolarized β-cell silent phase potential, increased action potential firing, raised [Ca2+]i, and enhanced glucose-dependent insulin secretion. AZ inhibition of Kslow also supported mediation by SK, rather than cardiac-like slow delayed rectifier channels since bath application of AZ to HEK 293 cells expressing SK3 cDNA reduced SK current. Further, AZ-sensitive Kslow current was extant in β-cells from KCNQ1 or KCNE1 null mice lacking cardiac slow delayed rectifier currents. These results strongly support a functional role for SK channel-mediated Kslow current in β-cells, and suggest that drugs that target SK channels may represent a new approach for increasing glucose-dependent insulin secretion. The apamin insensitivity of β-cell SK current suggests that β-cells express a unique SK splice variant or a novel heteromultimer consisting of different SK subunits.
Effect of Trace Impurities on Devitrification of Vitreous Silica

Devitrification rates were measured for a series of vitreous silica glasses doped with trace levels of alkali metal oxide (1.6 to 57.8 molar ppm) and aluminum oxide (22 to 73.3 molar ppm). The devitrification rate varies inversely with the molar ratio of aluminum oxide to alkali metal oxide, a direct consequence of the effect of these trace impurities on viscosity.
Time-Derivative Preconditioning for Single and Multicomponent Flows

A time-derivative preconditioned system of equations suitable for the numerical simulation of single and multicomponent inviscid flows at all speeds is formulated. For low speed multicomponent flow, a preconditioned nonconservative discretization method is described which preserves pressure and velocity equilibrium across fluid interfaces. This method is extended to transonic and supersonic flows using a hybrid approach that combines conservative and nonconservative formulations. Both multicomponent (multiple fluids) and multiphase (same fluid in different phases) can be solved using the proposed methods.
A long-wavelength photodiode on InP using lattice-matched GaInAs-GaAsSb type-II quantum wells

We report a photodiode on InP substrate with a cutoff wavelength of 2.39 /spl mu/m and peak room-temperature external quantum efficiency of 43% at 2.23 /spl mu/m. Type-II GaInAs-GaAsSb quantum wells lattice-matched to InP were placed in the absorption region for long wavelength absorption. The device showed a peak detectivity of 5.6/spl times/10/sup 10/ cm/spl radic/HzW/sup -1/ at 200 K.
Using cuts for mixed integer knapsack sets to generate cuts for mixed integer polyhedral conic sets

Based on a bijective mapping between two mixed integer sets, we introduce a new perspective on developing cuts for the mixed integer polyhedral conic (MIPC) set by establishing a one-to-one correspondence between the cuts for this set and those for a related mixed integer knapsack (MIK) set. The face/facet-defining properties of the corresponding cuts are identical for their respective sets. We further show that the cut generation approach for the MIPC set resulting from this new perspective always produces cuts that dominate those generated based on any of the two individual MIK constraints corresponding to the MIPC constraint. Our computational results show this dominance can be quite significant. As a special case of this new perspective, the conic MIR inequality of Atamturk and Narayanan for the MIPC set and its properties can be directly derived from the MIR inequality for the MIK set and its properties. We also generalize these cuts to the n-step conic MIR inequalities, which are directly derived form the n-step MIR inequalities for the MIK set.
Low complexity QoE-aware bandwidth allocation for wireless content delivery

Bandwidth allocation in spectrum-congested wire- less content delivery networks should be performed based on the user's Quality of Experience (QoE). The relationship between QoE and network QoS is context- and user-dependent. We show that modeling the user's QoE introduces additional complexity to the bandwidth allocation problem. While recent research has proposed various ways in which complexity can be reduced, we have observed that the optimality (w.r.t. QoE) of the system is also reduced along with complexity. In this paper, the tradeoff between complexity and optimality is investigated and methods to control the tradeoff are proposed. A bandwidth allocation scheme for three different system objectives, including fairness, is formulated.
CloudCoder: a web-based programming exercise system

CloudCoder is a web-based programming exercise system designed for introductory programming courses. Using CloudCoder, instructors can assign practice problems to reinforce concepts and assess mastery of skills. Students access their assigned problems using a web browser. A typical problem asks the student to write a function or complete program to perform a simple task such as classifying input or performing a computation on input data. When the student submits her solution to a problem, the server tests her code against a series of test cases designed by the instructor and reports which tests executed correctly. CloudCoder is inspired by existing systems such as Codingbat, but is designed to be installed and used widely. As such, CloudCoder is open source (https://github.com/daveho/CloudCoder) and supports programming exercises in multiple languages (currently C, Java, and Python).
Defining Pleasure: A Focus Group Study of Solitary and Partnered Sexual Pleasure in Queer and Heterosexual Women.

Solitary and partnered sexuality are typically depicted as fundamentally similar, but empirical evidence suggests they differ in important ways. We investigated how women's definitions of sexual pleasure overlapped and diverged when considering solitary versus partnered sexuality. Based on an interdisciplinary literature, we explored whether solitary pleasure would be characterized by eroticism (e.g., genital pleasure, orgasm) and partnered pleasure by nurturance (e.g., closeness). Via focus groups with a sexually diverse sample of women aged 18-64 (N = 73), we found that women defined solitary and partnered pleasure in both convergent and divergent ways that supported expectations. Autonomy was central to definitions of solitary pleasure, whereas trust, giving pleasure, and closeness were important elements of partnered pleasure. Both solitary and partnered pleasure involved exploration for self-discovery or for growing a partnered relationship. Definitions of pleasure were largely similar across age and sexual identity; however, relative to queer women, heterosexual women (especially younger heterosexual women) expressed greater ambivalence toward solitary masturbation and partnered orgasm. Results have implications for women's sexual well-being across multiple sexual identities and ages, and for understanding solitary and partnered sexuality as overlapping but distinct constructs.
Calculation of Potential Flows with Free Streamlines

A survey is given of methods for computing three classes of time-independent incompressible potential flows with free streamlines: (1) plane flows having free boundaries and curved fixed boundaries without gravity; (2) plane flows having free boundaries and straight fixed boundaries with gravity; and (3) axially symmetric flows having free boundaries without gravity.
The Research and Development of Silicon-Germanium Thermoelements for Power Generation

On the 25th of August 1989, radio signals from the unmanned Voyager II spacecraft produced high resolution radio displays of the planet Neptune and its moon, Triton, on the monitors of Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Thus ended the 12-year NASA Voyager I and II missions to the giant outer planets of our solar systems. Somewhat overlooked in the excitement over the impressive scientific findings from Voyager's epic planetary encounters was the power system aboard the spacecraft for data collection and signal transmission. This was the multi-hundred watt, radioisotope fueled thermoelectric generator using thermocouple modules made of Si-Ge alloys. The first section of this paper presents a historical review of the research program at the RCA Laboratories in Princeton, N.J. during the 4-year period required for the conception and development of Si-Ge thermoelements for power generation. This includes RCA's strategy in thermoelectric materials research from the viewpoint of device principles and requirements, scientific issues relating to the growth and thermoelectric characterization of Si-Ce alloys, and device feasibility studies. The performance of Si-Ge thermoelements in the power source of several space missions is also discussed. Finally, a perspective is presented on the research management of this remarkably successful program. The second section of the paper describes the results of more recent research on the thermoelectric properties of hot-pressed, sintered Si-Ge alloys and, in particular, the effects of grain size and additions of GaP. In the final section, consideration is given to future areas of research based, in part, on the results of the earlier studies of Si-Ge technology for thermoelectric power generation.
Effect of Naled, Trichlorfon, and Bacillus thuringiensis on Three Species of Lepidopterous Larvae Attacking Alfalfa in California

In 1967 there was an outbreak of the western yellow-striped armyworm, Prodnia praefica Grote, and the alfalfa caterpillar, Colias eurytheme Boisduval, in thousands of acres of alfalfa in the central valley of California. The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), also was present but was not sufficiently abundant to cause damage by itself. Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Thuricide® “SS” ) (Batch no. D05712; label claim minimum of 15X109 viable spores per gram) was applied at 1 pint and 2 quarts per acre, while naled and trichlorfon were applied at 7.2 and 8 oz actual, respectively, per acre on alfalfa to test their effectiveness on these 3 species. Both dosages of Thuricide gave excellent control of the alfalfa caterpillar as did naled and trichlorfon. The data indicate that slightly higher dosages of naled and trichlorfon are required to give satisfactory control of the beet armyworm and the western yellow, striped armyworm. Thuricide had no effect on these 2 species. Ecological comments on these 3 species are presented.
FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT FITNESS IN SILENE VULGARIS, A GYNODIOECIOUS PLANT.

In gynodioecious plants the selective processes that determine the relative number of female and her- maphroditic individuals are often frequency dependent. Frequency-dependent fitness can occur in the two sexes through a variety of mechanisms, especially given pollen limitation and inbreeding depression when hermaphrodites are rare. Frequency dependence in several components of the fitness of female and hermaphroditic Silene vulgaris was tested in experiments in which the relative numbers of the two sexes was varied among 12 artificial populations. In females, the proportion of flowers that set fruit covaried positively among populations with the frequency of hermaphrodites in two separate experiments, whereas the number of flowers/plant covaried negatively in one case. In hermaphrodites, the number of seeds/fruit covaried positively with the frequency of hermaphrodites, whereas the fitness of hermaph- rodites estimated through pollen transfer covaried negatively. The results are discussed as they relate to the selective maintenance of gynodioecy in S. vulgaris and in light of a recent model of the effect of population structure on selection in gynodioecious systems.
Neuropathology of Parkinsonism in Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 6: a case report (P5.393)

Objective: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6) is a rare autosomal dominant neurodegenerative movement disorder, part of the group of CAG repeat diseases. Parkinsonism has been reported in SCA6 as well as several other SCAs, but pathological information regarding this association has been rarely described in the literature. - Background: The patient was a 69-year-old woman, who presented with gait ataxia and diagnosed with SCA6 expansion of 22 repeats. She then developed a unilateral resting hand tremor that was partially levodopa-responsive. She subsequently deteriorated rapidly, becoming immobile with rapid cognitive decline and died three years later. - Methods: Laboratory ataxia evaluation and restricted autopsy performed at the request of the patient9s family to evaluate for concomitant neurodegenerative disorders. - Results: Histological examination of the brain confirmed substantial Purkinje cell loss, typically found in cases of SCA6. Polyglutamine related inclusions were not seen, but rather, typical Lewy body pathology and loss of pigmented neurons was found in substantia nigra and other brain stem regions. - Conclusions: These results suggest that parkinsonism associated with SCA6 is pathologically similar to idiopathic Parkinson9s disease. Disclosure: Dr. Kaul has nothing to disclose. Dr. Morley has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pakalniskis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hickey has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose.
Development of a translational model to screen medications for cocaine use disorder I: Choice between cocaine and food in rhesus monkeys

Abstract Background Homologous cocaine self-administration procedures in laboratory animals and humans may facilitate translational research for medications development to treat cocaine dependence. This study, therefore, sought to establish choice between cocaine and an alternative reinforcer in rhesus monkeys responding under a procedure back-translated from previous human studies and homologous to a human laboratory procedure described in a companion paper. Methods Four rhesus monkeys with chronic indwelling intravenous catheters had access to cocaine injections (0, 0.043, 0.14, or 0.43 mg/kg/injection) and food (0, 1, 3, or 10 1 g banana-flavored food pellets). During daily 5 h sessions, a single cocaine dose and a single food-reinforcer magnitude were available in 10 30-min trials. During the initial “sample” trial, the available cocaine and food reinforcer were delivered non-contingently. During each of the subsequent nine “choice” trials, responding could produce either the cocaine or food reinforcer under an independent concurrent progressive-ratio schedule. Results Preference was governed by the cocaine dose and food-reinforcer magnitude, and increasing cocaine doses produced dose-dependent increases in cocaine choice at all food-reinforcer magnitudes. Effects of the candidate medication lisdexamfetamine (0.32–3.2 mg/kg/day) were then examined on choice between 0.14 mg/kg/injection cocaine and 10 pellets. Under baseline conditions, this reinforcer pair maintained an average of approximately 6 cocaine and 3 food choices. Lisdexamfetamine dose-dependently decreased cocaine choice in all monkeys, but food choice was not significantly altered. Conclusions These results support utility of this procedure in rhesus monkeys as one component of a platform for translational research on medications development to treat cocaine use disorder.
Air pollution particles and iron homeostasis.

Abstract Background The mechanism underlying biological effects, including pro-inflammatory outcomes, of particles deposited in the lung has not been defined. Major conclusions A disruption in iron homeostasis follows exposure of cells to all particulate matter including air pollution particles. Following endocytosis, functional groups at the surface of retained particle complex iron available in the cell. In response to a reduction in concentrations of requisite iron, a functional deficiency can result intracellularly. Superoxide production by the cell exposed to a particle increases ferrireduction which facilitates import of iron with the objective being the reversal of the metal deficiency. Failure to resolve the functional iron deficiency following cell exposure to particles activates kinases and transcription factors resulting in a release of inflammatory mediators and inflammation. Tissue injury is the end product of this disruption in iron homeostasis initiated by the particle exposure. Elevation of available iron to the cell precludes deficiency of the metal and either diminishes or eliminates biological effects. General significance Recognition of the pathway for biological effects after particle exposure to involve a functional deficiency of iron suggests novel therapies such as metal supplementation (e.g. inhaled and oral). In addition, the demonstration of a shared mechanism of biological effects allows understanding the common clinical, physiological, and pathological presentation following exposure to disparate particles. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Air Pollution, edited by Wenjun Ding, Andrew J. Ghio and Weidong Wu.
CCR5: A Cellular Doorway for HIV-1 Entry

The CCR5 chemokine receptor plays a crucial role in HIV-1 infection, acting as the principal coreceptor for viral entry and transmission, and as such offers an important potential therapeutic target. Studies have suggested that CCR5 surface density and its conformational changes subsequent to virions engagement are rate limiting for virus entry. Several small molecule antagonists have been developed that target the HIV-1 coreceptor CCR5. CCR5-tropic (R5) viral strains are by far the most prevalent and are the predominant transmitted types. Not all existing CCR5 blockers fully inhibit HIV-1 infection, suggesting a need for more potent reagents. This review will discuss some of the CCR5 blockers, their development, and existing or potential future clinical usage.
Computational Considerations in Transcriptome Assemblies and Their Evaluation, using High Quality Human RNA-Seq data

It is crucial to understand the performance of transcriptome assemblies to improve current practices. Investigating the factors that affect a transcriptome assembly is very important and is the primary goal of our project. To that end, we designed a multi-step pipeline consisting of variety of pre-processing and quality control steps. XSEDE allocations enabled us to achieve the computational demands of the project. The high memory Blacklight and Greenfield systems at Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center were essential to accomplish multiple steps of this project. This paper presents the computational aspects of our comprehensive transcriptome assembly and validation study.
Synthetic Design of Polyester Electrolytes Guided by Hydrophobicity Calculations

Partition coefficients (LogP) help to quantify hydrophobicity, which can be used to guide the design of polymer electrolytes with targeted properties. Thus, this study combined synthetic experiments and molecular modeling to produce polyester electrolytes that solubilize lithium salts. These polyester electrolytes were derived from natural sources and polymerized with different ratios of polyols (diglycerol, glycerol, and diethylene glycol) and citric acid in the presence of lithium salts (LiTf and LiTFSI). The Fisher esterification produced homogeneous, cross-linked films with high optical transparency, whereas the lithium salts increased glass transition temperatures. The LogP values of monomers and the resulting polyesters were predicted using cheminformatics tools and indicate changing diglycerol to glycerol or diethylene glycol alters the hydrophobicity. Comparison of different molecular modeling methods with predicted LogP values demonstrate that LogP values are a reliable means of tailoring physica...
Isolating effects of moral injury and low post-deployment support within the U.S. military

Suicide rates within U.S. military components, particularly the National Guard, are significantly higher than the general population suicide rate. To better understand and prevent suicide within this population, we must identify mechanisms of risk contributing to these discrepancies. One risk factor relevant to military service is moral injury, a term for experiences that violate one's moral beliefs. Using a series of hierarchical multiple regressions, the current study examined the moderating role of post-deployment social support on the association between moral injury (self-transgressions, other-transgressions, and betrayal) and thwarted belongingness among military personnel. The current sample was comprised of 552 military personnel with at least one previous deployment. Partially consistent with hypotheses, results revealed that other-transgressions and betrayal were significantly associated with thwarted belongingness at low, but not mean or high levels of post-deployment support. In contrast, the interaction of self-transgressions and post-deployment support was not significantly associated with thwarted belongingness, nor was there a significant main effect of self-transgressions on thwarted belongingness. This suggests that experiencing other-perpetrated morally injurious events (i.e., watching a fellow soldier die, being betrayed by a comrade) can be compounded by low post-deployment social support, increasing risk for thwarted belongingness. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.
Mapping Divided Cities and their Separation Walls: Case Studies from Berlin and Jerusalem

This project compares two Separation Barriers and their urban landscape, in two very different cultural contexts: in the cities of Jerusalem and Berlin. The focus is on how different mapmakers cartographically represent both physical divisions - such as walls and barriers, as well as imaginary divides - such as geopolitical or socio-ethnic divisions in divided cities. Jerusalem and Berlin are particularly powerful symbols of political partition as the Berlin Wall split the city of Berlin for over 26 years and Jerusalem remains a divided city to this day. In particular this paper addresses such questions as: how do map-makers across the divides use representational strategies of inclusion or exclusion, mapping and naming to either unify or split divided cities and claim or expunge urban spaces? How do they cartographically represent, visualize or erase geopolitical walls and barriers? Also how has the rise of political tourism affected the visibility of geopolitical walls and barriers in maps and on the ground? By addressing these questions, this paper traces the changing politics of the visibility or relative invisibility of walls and the cityscapes they divide at any given time and place.