cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intensity dependence of the normalized intensity correlation function in parametric down-conversion

Abstract The question under what conditions a normalized intensity correlation function λ 12 (τ) depends strongly on the average light intensity is discussed. It is shown that in the process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion the strong correlation between signal and idler photons makes λ 12 (τ) inversely proportional to the light intensity of either the signal or idler beam. This conclusion is then confirmed experimentally by two-time photoelectric correlation measurements.
Dispersed phase mass transfer during drop formation and coalescence in liquid-liquid extraction

Rates of mass transfer during drop formation and coalescence were investigated for three dispersed phase-controlled liquid systems, one binary (ethyl acetate-water) and two ternary (acetic acid-chlorobenzene-water and acetic acid-50% by volume mixture of carbon tetrachloride and nujol-water). A calculation procedure was devised to isolate these end effects. The measured rates during drop formation were in general greater than predicted by various theoretical models, including those by Heertjes et al. and Ilkovic; and measurements during drop coalescence were in general lower than predicted by the simplified penetration theory model of Johnson and Hamielec. The results were statistically correlated with average absolute deviations of 26.2 and 25.4%, respectively, for drop formation and coalescence.
Mini-Review; Stress Genes: An Introductory Overview.

Molecular sequence data, made available in the last 15 years or so, have led to the classification of living cells into three phylogenetic domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eucarya. All the organisms that have been tested belonging to either domain were capable of mounting a stress response with essentially the same characteristics, regardless of the stressor. The protagonists in the cell's stress response are the stress genes and their protein products. Some of the latter are molecular chaperones. Under physiological conditions, these chaperones aid other cellular proteins to fold properly and achieve a native -functional- configuration, and to translocate from the place of synthesis to the cell's locale in which they will operate. In a stressed cell, the stress proteins that are chaperones protect other molecules from denaturation and help those partially damaged to regain a functional configuration. Thus, cell death is avoided and recovery is enhanced. The study of stress genes and proteins has progresse...
Ethanol Reduces GABAA α1 Subunit Receptor Surface Expression by a Protein Kinase Cγ-Dependent Mechanism in Cultured Cerebral Cortical Neurons

Prolonged ethanol exposure causes central nervous system hyperexcitability that involves a loss of GABAergic inhibition. We previously demonstrated that long-term ethanol exposure enhances the internalization of synaptic GABAA receptors composed of α1β2/3γ2 subunits. However, the mechanisms of ethanol-mediated internalization are unknown. This study explored the effect of ethanol on surface expression of GABAA α1 subunit-containing receptors in cultured cerebral cortical neurons and the role of protein kinase C (PKC) β, γ, and e isoforms in their trafficking. Cultured neurons were prepared from rat pups on postnatal day 1 and maintained for 18 days. Cells were exposed to ethanol, and surface receptors were isolated by biotinylation and P2 fractionation, whereas functional analysis was conducted by whole-cell patch-clamp recording of GABA- and zolpidem-evoked responses. Ethanol exposure for 4 h decreased biotinylated surface expression of GABAA receptor α1 subunits and reduced zolpidem (100 nM) enhancement of GABA-evoked currents. The PKC activator phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate mimicked the effect of ethanol, and the selective PKC inhibitor calphostin C prevented ethanol-induced internalization of these receptors. Ethanol exposure for 4 h also increased the colocalization and coimmunoprecipitation of PKCγ with α1 subunits, whereas PKCβ/α1 association and PKCe/α1 colocalization were not altered by ethanol exposure. Selective PKCγ inhibition by transfection of selective PKCγ small interfering RNAs blocked ethanol-induced internalization of GABAA receptor α1 subunits, whereas PKCβ inhibition using pseudo-PKCβ had no effect. These findings suggest that ethanol exposure selectively alters PKCγ translocation to GABAA receptors and PKCγ regulates GABAA α1 receptor trafficking after ethanol exposure.
Evaluating Resource-Sharing Performance in an Academic Health Sciences Library Utilizing the RapidILL System

To stay in line with user needs and workflow demands, interlibrary loan officers must continuously incorporate innovative technologies into their departments. Evaluating the usefulness of these new systems to ensure appropriate implementation can be a large undertaking, as there are many issues to address during such an assessment. This study tracked the interlibrary loan activity from June through November 2005, 2007, and 2008 of Tufts University Hirsh Health Sciences Library, in order to explore the advantages and disadvantages of participating in the RapidILL resource-sharing system. Volume changes, breadth of resource-sharing circles, transactional fees, staffing needs, turnaround time, and fill rate were the main facets of interlibrary loan borrowing and lending activity analyzed.
An echo-back protocol for a fault tolerant bus architecture

A bus protocol for detecting and avoiding latent faults and multiple faults on buses is presented. The hardware overhead is small, and the design is easily implementable by extensions to existing bus systems. The theoretical maximum performance degradation can be up to 33% in communication bound tasks if no other activity interferes with the operation of the system. The results of the simulation, however, show that the actual degradation of performance is substantially lower. >
Influence of a 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid residue on competitive fragmentation pathways during collision-induced dissociation of metal-cationized peptides

Formation of [bn+17+cat]+ is a prominent collision-induced dissociation (CID) pathway for Li+- and Na+-cationized peptides. Dissociation of protonated and Ag+-cationized peptides instead favors formation of the rival bn+/[bn-1+cat]+ species. In this study the influence of a 4-aminomethylbenzoic acid (4AMBz) residue on the relative intensities of [b(3)-1+cat]+ and [b(3)+17+cat]+ fragment ions was investigated using several model tetrapeptides including those with the general formula A(4AMBz)AX and A(4AMBz)GX (where X=G, A, V). For Li+- and Na+-cationized versions of the peptides there was a significant increase in the intensity of [b(3)-1+cat]+ for the peptides that contain the 4AMBz residue, and in some cases the complete elimination of the [b(3)+17+cat]+ pathway. The influence of the 4AMBz residue may be attributed to the fact that [b(3)-1+cat]+ would be a highly conjugated species containing an aromatic ring substituent. Comparison of CID profiles generated from Na+-cationized AAGV and A(4AMBz)GV suggests an apparent decrease in the critical energy for generation of [b(3)-1+Na]+ relative to that of [b(3)+17+Na]+ when the aromatic amino acid occupies a position such that it leads to the formation of the highly conjugated oxazolinone, thus leading to an increase in formation rate for the former compared to the latter.
The Coming Crash in Legal Education: How We Got Here, and Where We Go Now

This paper will first track the ways in which the legal services market has grown and changed over the past forty years. It will then track the major changes that have attended legal education during the same period and the increasing dependence of the legal education industry on student debt. The paper will then explore why, at long last, the boom-times may have run their course and why, at some point, painful changes will likely occur. Though they cannot be described in detail, the author will attempt to outline the likely nature of the changes that will occur. Finally, the paper will briefly explore how the predicted reckoning may yet lead to an improvement in the marketing of legal services and an enhanced role for law schools in preparing new attorneys for the new bar they will be joining.
Clinical Pearls for Initiating and Utilizing Liraglutide in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

This review presents clinical pearls for initiating liraglutide (Victoza®, Novo Nordisk Inc) therapy for the management of type 2 diabetes and selecting patients who will benefit from liraglutide therapy. Liraglutide, a once-daily glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist, is Food and Drug Administration approved as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Liraglutide is effective for reducing hemoglobin A1c levels by 0.8% to 1.5% in patients with type 2 diabetes as monotherapy or in combination with other diabetic medications (such as metformin, sulfonylureas, rosiglitazone, or basal insulin) when compared with placebo and these other diabetic medications, including exenatide. Overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes or those with insulin resistance are good candidates for liraglutide therapy because liraglutide use is associated with weight loss (about 2%-4% of initial body weight) and improved β-cell function. The incidence of hypoglycemia with liraglutide is low; therefore, liraglutide would be a safe therapy choice for patients at risk or with a history of symptomatic or severe hypoglycemia. Nausea seems to be the most problematic adverse effect associated with liraglutide therapy, but it is usually transient and is minimized with dose titration.
Using second trimester ultrasound and maternal serum biomarker data to help detect congenital heart defects in pregnancies with positive triple-marker screening results.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common of all birth defects. For many newborns with a CHD, prenatal versus postnatal detection is associated with substantially decreased morbidity and mortality risks. Although technological advances in fetal echocardiography have led to an increased capacity to detect CHDs prenatally, pregnancies without an identified risk factor are not routinely screened. With the aim of identifying pregnancies at increased risk for CHDs, this study examined the relationship between CHDs and typically collected second trimester biomarker data collected on a large population-based sample of singleton pregnancies with one or more second trimester screen positive result for Down syndrome, trisomy 18 (T-18), Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome (SLOS), or a neural tube defect (NTD). Where possible, logistic models for cases and controls were built and potential referral models were tested among study subsamples with information on the presence or absence of CHDs reported pre- and perinatally. When considered in combination, screen positive for T-18, screen positive for SLOS, nuchal fold measurement ≥ 5 mm, and/or having an adjusted hCG multiple of the median ≥ the 95th centile detected 42.7% of all pregnancies with a CHD in the combined subsample (where co-occurrence with chromosomal defects was not considered) and detected 29.7% of all pregnancies with a CHD in the no-chromosomal defect subsample. A nuchal fold measurement ≥ 5 mm detected 18.2% of those with a CHD in the Down syndrome subsample and an adjusted hCG multiple of the median (MoM) ≤ 5th centile detected 92.9% of those with a CHD in the T-18 subsample. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Synthesis of 7-oxa-phomopsolide E and its C-4 epimer

A flexible, enantioselective route to highly functionalized α,β-unsaturated δ-lactones has been applied to the synthesis of 7-oxa-phomopsolide E and its C-4 epimer. This approach relies on the application of the Noyori asymmetric hydrogenation of furyl ketone to produce the secondary furyl alcohol in high enantioexcess, which can be stereoselectively transformed into α,β-unsaturated-δ-lactones by a short, highly diastereoselective oxidation and reduction sequence. DCC and Mitsunobu coupling were used to introduce the side chains of the two natural product analogs.
Hardware-efficient encryption encoder and decoder unit

The distribution and retrieval of multimedia data over wireless networks have become widespread, thus creating the need for secure transmission of data over networks. However, one of the main problems with the secure transmission of digital data over wireless networks is that the errors that occur during transmission typically need to be resolved before decryption can begin. Because of the limited resources such as power and size of these wireless devices, hardware-efficient implementations of these operations are essential. This paper presents a joint hardware-efficient design for both encryption and channel coding that is optimized for low-resource requirements. We implemented the Rijndael advance encryption standard (AES) algorithm and convolutional encoder for the encryption and encoder sub-unit, respectively. In order to decode the received digital data, we use the Viterbi decoder, which has been known to be suited for convolutional codes. Our design has a 70% reduction in the number of hardware resources for the encoding sub-unit through the block of XORs. The low-resource usage is achieved through an integrated architecture of the encoding units. Most of the hardware reduction was achieved in the AddRoundKey and the encoder sub-unit. Our system was implemented on a Xilinx Spartan 3 xc3s200FT256 using ISE foundation 8.1, and 13% of the slices were used for the Viterbi decoder with 674 bels. The maximum frequency was 55.872 MHz with a minimum period of 17.898 ns.
Quality assurance of proton beams using a multilayer ionization chamber system.

Purpose: The measurement of percentage depth-dose (PDD) distributions for the quality assurance of clinical proton beams is most commonly performed with a computerized water tank dosimetry system with ionization chamber, commonly referred to as water tank. Although the accuracy and reproducibility of this method is well established, it can be time-consuming if a large number of measurements are required. In this work the authors evaluate the linearity, reproducibility, sensitivity to field size, accuracy, and time-savings of another system: the Zebra, a multilayer ionization chamber system.Methods: The Zebra, consisting of 180 parallel-plate ionization chambers with 2 mm resolution, was used to measure depth-dose distributions. The measurements were performed for scattered and scanned proton pencil beams of multiple energies delivered by the Hitachi PROBEAT synchrotron-based delivery system. For scattered beams, the Zebra-measured depth-dose distributions were compared with those measured with the water tank. The principal descriptors extracted for comparisons were: range, the depth of the distal 90% dose; spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) length, the region between the proximal 95% and distal 90% dose; and distal-dose fall off (DDF), the region between the distal 80% and 20% dose. For scanned beams, the Zebra-measured ranges were compared with those acquired using a Bragg peakmore » chamber during commissioning.Results: The Zebra demonstrated better than 1% reproducibility and monitor unit linearity. The response of the Zebra was found to be sensitive to radiation field sizes greater than 12.5 × 12.5 cm; hence, the measurements used to determine accuracy were performed using a field size of 10 × 10 cm. For the scattered proton beams, PDD distributions showed 1.5% agreement within the SOBP, and 3.8% outside. Range values agreed within −0.1 ± 0.4 mm, with a maximum deviation of 1.2 mm. SOBP length values agreed within 0 ± 2 mm, with a maximum deviation of 6 mm. DDF values agreed within 0.3 ± 0.1 mm, with a maximum deviation of 0.6 mm. For the scanned proton pencil beams, Zebra and Bragg peak chamber range values demonstrated agreement of 0.0 ± 0.3 mm with a maximum deviation of 1.3 mm. The setup and measurement time for all Zebra measurements was 3 and 20 times less, respectively, compared to the water tank measurements.Conclusions: Our investigation shows that the Zebra can be useful not only for fast but also for accurate measurements of the depth-dose distributions of both scattered and scanned proton beams. The analysis of a large set of measurements shows that the commonly assessed beam quality parameters obtained with the Zebra are within the acceptable variations specified by the manufacturer for our delivery system.« less
Sensory Mediation of Foraging Behavior in the Western Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia nettingi)

The Western Lesser Siren, Siren intermedia nettingi, is a fully aquatic, paedomorphic salamander. The foraging ecology of S. i. nettingi is poorly understood in part because of its nocturnal, benthic nature. We examined sensory mediation of S. i. nettingi foraging behavior focusing on how chemical and visual stimuli may be used to find prey. Specifically, sirens were observed in a test chamber that gave them the option of associating with a control stimulus or either a visual or a chemical prey stimulus. Our paired t-tests indicate a significant difference between the treatment and control groups for chemical stimuli but not for visual stimuli, and this is confirmed by our one-sample t-tests that indicated a significant difference from 50% for chemical but not for visual stimuli. These results suggest that Western Lesser Sirens use chemical cues over visual cues when foraging. Our results are logical considering that sirens have noticeably reduced eyes and are thought to be nocturnal foragers. This study contributes to the limited natural history knowledge of an amphibian species that is often a top predator in the aquatic systems in which it is found.
Recent progress in studies of neurotrophic factors and their clinical implications

Neurotrophic factors are endogenous soluble proteins that regulate long-term survival and differentiation of neurons of the peripheral and central nervous systems. These factors play an important role in the structural integrity of the nervous system, and therefore are good candidates as therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases. However, recent studies have revealed some unexpected, novel roles of neurotrophic factors. Of particular significance is the discovery of the new functions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glia-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Physiological experiments indicate that BDNF may serve as regulatory factors for synaptic transmission as well as for learning and memory. Gene targeting studies demonstrate that GDNF may be essential for development of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and kidney organogenesis. These results not only provide new insights into our understanding of the function of neurotrophic factors but may also have significant implications in the therapeutic usages of neurotrophic factors.
Autorepression of RctB, an Initiator of Vibrio cholerae Chromosome II Replication

The RctB protein binds to the origin of replication of Vibrio cholerae chromosome II (chrII) and is required for oriCIIVc-based replication. Here, we found that RctB acts as an autorepressor, inhibiting rctB transcription. Integration host factor promotes rctB transcription, while Dam and DnaA, factors required for replication of both V. cholerae chromosomes, influence RctB autorepression. Thus, RctB appears to regulate chrII replication as both an initiator and a transcription repressor, and its synthesis is modulated by factors that govern replication of both chromosomes.
Learning to Think Critically: A Visual Art Experiment

This article examines whether exposure to the arts has an effect on the ability of students to engage in critical thinking. We conduct a randomized controlled trial involving 3,811 students who were assigned by lottery to participate in a School Visit Program at the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Students who participated in the School Visit Program demonstrated significantly stronger critical thinking skills when analyzing a new painting. These effects were larger for students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. In light of recent declines in the availability of the arts for disadvantaged populations, our results have important policy implications for efforts to restore and expand access to the arts.
3D exploitation of large urban photo archives

Recent work in computer vision has demonstrated the potential to automatically recover camera and scene geometry from large collections of uncooperatively-collected photos. At the same time, aerial ladar and Geographic Information System (GIS) data are becoming more readily accessible. In this paper, we present a system for fusing these data sources in order to transfer 3D and GIS information into outdoor urban imagery. Applying this system to 1000+ pictures shot of the lower Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, we present two proof-of-concept examples of geometry-based photo enhancement which are difficult to perform via conventional image processing: feature annotation and image-based querying. In these examples, high-level knowledge projects from 3D world-space into georegistered 2D image planes and/or propagates between different photos. Such automatic capabilities lay the groundwork for future real-time labeling of imagery shot in complex city environments by mobile smart phones.
Sir Hans Adolf Krebs: Architect of Metabolic Cycles

Figure 2 Sir Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–1981) Sir Hans Adolf Krebs was born August 25, 1900, at the dawn of a new century in Hildesheim, Germany. He was the son of Dr. Georg Krebs, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, and his wife Alma Davidson. As a young child, Krebs attended Lutheran schools, despite his Jewish heritage; his parents rarely even mentioned Judaism in the household. Hans Krebs went on to study medicine at the Universities of Gottingen, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, and Berlin. In 1925, he earned his MD degree at the University of Munich. Following his medical education, Dr. Krebs spent an additional year studying chemistry in Berlin. In 1926, he was appointed assistant to Professor Otto Warburg at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology. He studied under Dr. Otto Warburg for 4 years before returning to clinical work. Later in his career, Dr. Krebs shared his sincere gratitude for Dr. Warburg’s mentoring and training in research. In Dr. Warburg’s laboratory, he learned manometry to measure oxygen consumption of tissue slices, which allowed the precise investigation of biochemical (metabolic) pathways from animal tissues. These techniques were essential tools Dr. Krebs later used to discover the citric acid cycle and other novel metabolic pathways. Between 1930 and 1933, Dr. Krebs practiced medicine at the Municipal Hospital at Altona under Professor L. Lichtwitz as well as Professor S. J. Thannhauser at the Medical Clinic of the University of Freiburg-im-Breisgau. In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Krebs embarked on research in metabolism. One of the waste products the body must rid itself of is nitrogen, which it does by making and excreting urea. At the time it was known that urea production occurred in the liver, however the underlying pathways involved in urea metabolism were not defined. Without urea metabolism, the body does not have …
Equilibrium Contingent Fees with Heterogeneous Attorneys

This paper provides a signaling model to analyze the equilibrium fee structures arising when attorneys are heterogeneous with regard to unobservable ability. Unlike fixed fees, contingent fees are more profitable to attorneys who have a greater probability of winning, and thus may serve as an ability signal. It is shown that pooling equilibria are the only equilibria when high-ability attorneys do not have sufficient capacity to serve all consumers. For all pooling equilibria (i) both high- and low-ability attorneys charge the same simple contingent percentage fee, and (ii) the highs operate at capacity while the lows have excess capacity. In some equilibria, positive profits are earned by both types of attorneys despite the excess capacity.
Building a Cognitive Model of Social Trust Within ACT-R

This paper describes work underway at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study on the topic of modeling social trust. We have built and are testing an ACT-R model intended to replicate human participants building and maintaining social trust using an economic investment game. We already have behavioral and fMRI imaging data for subjects which we expect to generate comparable data by having an ACT-R model read the same inputs the humans did and decide whether to trust or not their partner.
Benefits derived from the cytogenetic analysis of childhood tumours

Cytogenetic analysis was made on 27 children attending the Oncology Clinic during 1979. Of these 60% had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and 40% had solid tumours. Four children with ALL had chromosomal anomalies, three of these being noted at diagnosis. 1. A girl whose leukaemic clone had an XO karyotype -this was proliferating in the bone marrow at diagnosis. quiescent during remission, but released leukaemic cells into the periphery after a viral infection. This marker may allow early diagnosis of relapses. 2. A break in a ‘C’ chromosome in an isolated cell. 3. An unbandable extra acrocentric chromosome, like the short arm of an ‘E’. 4. A child finishing maintenance therapy has a translocation, i.e. 46XYt (2:9). Anomalies amongst solid tumours were less common. Three children with neuroblastoma, 2 with rhabdomyosarcoma, and 3 with non-Hodgkins lymphoma were normal. Of these, the child with the Burkitťs lymphoma benefited by being able to exclude the 8:14 translocation subgroup with the poorer prognosis. One of the 2 children with Wilms’ tumour-had a 3:8 balanced translocation which shall be traced through the family should other members develop tumours. Guidelines offering maximum return, suggest the benefit of cytogenetic analysis for: 1. ALL at diagnosis. 2. Burkitťs lymphoma. 3. Wilms’ tumour family studies.
Biology of Endria inimica in North Dakota

The painted leafhopper, Endria inimica (Say), vector of wheat striate mosaic, was studied during 1963, 1964, and 1965. Under field conditions the most important host plants included smooth brome, Bromus inermis, and quack-grass, Agropyron repens, along roadsides and field margins, and bluegrass, Poa pratensis, in pastures and lawns. Few leafhoppers were observed on durum wheat, Triticum durum. In North Dakota, E. inimica has 2 generations each year. Both an early and mid-season migration of Endria were recorded in the Fargo area during 1964 and 1965. The occurrence of wheat striate mosaic at economic levels will be limited to those years in which there is an early migration of E. inimica into North Dakota in larger numbers than observed during this study, or the discovery of another vector of this virus.
Failure Analysis and Protection Strategy for MMC-UPQC

Applying the topology structure of modular multilevel converter( MMC) in unified power quality controller( UPQC) can improve the applicative capacity and voltage level of UPQC,which can expand the application of UPQC in medium voltage field,and make UPQC has wider application prospects. However,when the short-circuit fault occurs on the load side,how to logically operate to ensure the safe and reliable operation of UPQC,is not only the system requirement for the device,but also its own requirement for the device to protect itself. On this basis,this paper presents the principle of fault protection strategy for M M C-UPQC,which adopts the interaction betw een the branch of anti-parallel thyristor and circuit breaker to isolate the M M C in series from the fault line,and ensure the effective protection for the device. The simulation results in PSCAD / EM TDC environment have demonstrated the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.
Higher Education and Community-Based Research: Creating a Global Vision

This is a book review for Higher Education and Community-Based Research: Creating a Global Vision.
Loss of TGFβ signaling promotes colon cancer progression and tumor-associated inflammation

TGFβ has both tumor suppressive and tumor promoting effects in colon cancer. Also, TGFβ can affect the extent and composition of inflammatory cells present in tumors, contextually promoting and inhibiting inflammation. While colon tumors display intratumoral inflammation, the contributions of TGFβ to this process are poorly understood. In human patients, we found that epithelial loss of TGFβ signaling was associated with increased inflammatory burden; yet overexpression of TGFβ was also associated with increased inflammation. These findings were recapitulated in mutant APC models of murine tumorigenesis, where epithelial truncation of TGFBR2 led to lethal inflammatory disease and invasive colon cancer, mediated by IL8 and TGFβ1. Interestingly, mutant APC mice with global suppression of TGFβ signals displayed an intermediate phenotype, presenting with an overall increase in IL8-mediated inflammation and accelerated tumor formation, yet with a longer latency to the onset of disease observed in mice with epithelial TGFBR-deficiency. These results suggest that the loss of TGFβ signaling, particularly in colon epithelial cells, elicits a strong inflammatory response and promotes tumor progression. This implies that treating colon cancer patients with TGFβ inhibitors may result in a worse outcome by enhancing inflammatory responses.
On seeing Spaghetti: a novel self-adjusting seven parameter Hough space for analyzing flexible

We present a model for flexible extruded objects, such as wires, tubes, or grommets, and demonstrate a novel, self-adjusting seven-dimensional Hough transform that derives and analyzes their three-space curved axes from position and surface normal information. The method is purely local and is very cheap to compute. The model considers such objects as piecewise toroidal, and decomposes the seven parameters of a torus into three nested subspaces, the structure of which counteract the errors implicit in the analysis of objects of great size and/or small curvature. We believe it is the first example of a parameter space structure designed to cluster ill-conditioned hypotheses together so that they can be easily detected and ignored. This work complements existing shape-from-contour approaches for analyzing tori: it uses no edge information, and it does not require the solution of high-degree non-linear equations by iterative techniques. Most of the results, including the conditions for the existence of more that one solution (phantom "anti-tori"), have been verified using a symbolic mathematical analysis system. We present, in the environment of the IBM ConVEx system, robust results on both synthetic CAD-CAM range data (the hasp of a lock), and actual range data (a knotted piece of coaxial cable), and discuss several system tuning issues.
Gender Differences in Psychosocial and Medical Outcomes Stemming From Testing Positive for the BRCA1/2 Genetic Mutation for Breast Cancer: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study:

This quantitatively driven sequential mixed methods study articulates the role of theory in mixed methods research and assesses the contribution of a mixed methods design to examining gender differ...
Prognostic Value of Myocardial Scarring on CMR in Patients With Cardiac Sarcoidosis

Abstract Objectives This study sought to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand the prognostic value of myocardial scarring as evidenced by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in patients with known or suspected cardiac sarcoidosis. Background Although CMR is increasingly used for the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis, the prognostic value of CMR has been less well described in this population. Methods PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and metaRegister of Controlled Trials were searched for CMR studies with ≥1 year of prognostic data. Primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and a composite outcome of arrhythmogenic events (ventricular arrhythmia, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shock, sudden cardiac death) plus all-cause mortality during follow-up. Summary effect estimates were generated with random-effects modeling. Results Ten studies were included, involving a total of 760 patients with a mean follow-up of 3.0 ± 1.1 years. Patients had a mean age of 53 years, 41% were male, 95.3% had known extracardiac sarcoidosis, and 21.6% had known cardiac sarcoidosis. The average ejection fraction was 57.8 ± 9.1%. Patients with LGE had higher odds for all-cause mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 3.06; p Conclusions In patients with known or suspected cardiac sarcoidosis, the presence of LGE on CMR imaging is associated with increased odds of both all-cause mortality and arrhythmogenic events.
Investigation into the interference of the monoclonal antibody daratumumab on the free light chain assay

Abstract Objectives Recently monoclonal antibody therapy has been introduced in the treatment of multiple Myeloma (MM). One such efficacious therapy is the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, daratumumab (Dara). Since it is an Ig-G-kappa it can interfere with both the serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE). The free light chain (FLC) assay is also useful in the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of MM. Hence we tested the effect of Dara on the FLC assay. Methods 30 serum samples from patients with known IgG-kappa (n = 20) and non-IgG-kappa M –proteins (n = 10) were spiked with Dara at a final concentration of 1.0 mg/mL and the FLC performed on samples. On a further 20 samples we performed IFE to determine the migration of Dara. Results On IFE, Dara migrated in the same area of the gamma zone. In the 30 samples in which we assayed FLC there was no significant differences in levels of kappa, lambda and the ratio of kappa to lambda between untreated and Dara–spiked samples. Conclusion Whilst Dara can interfere with the IFE to determine clinical responses the FLC assay can be useful in patients who have abnormal FLC ratios prior to Dara therapy to determine responses especially in IgG–kappa Myeloma.
To condition or not condition? Analysing 'change' in longitudinal randomised controlled trials.

Objective The statistical analysis for a 2-arm randomised controlled trial (RCT) with a baseline outcome followed by a few assessments at fixed follow-up times typically invokes traditional analytic methods (eg, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), longitudinal data analysis (LDA)). ‘Constrained’ longitudinal data analysis (cLDA) is a well-established unconditional technique that constrains means of baseline to be equal between arms. We use an analysis of fasting lipid profiles from the Group Medical Clinics (GMC) longitudinal RCT on patients with diabetes to illustrate applications of ANCOVA, LDA and cLDA to demonstrate theoretical concepts of these methods including the impact of missing data. Methods For the analysis of the illustrated example, all models were fit using linear mixed models to participants with only complete data and to participants using all available data. Results With complete data (n=195), 95% CI coverage are equivalent for ANCOVA and cLDA with an estimated 11.2 mg/dL (95% CI −19.2 to −3.3; p=0.006) lower mean low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in GMC compared with usual care. With all available data (n=233), applying the cLDA model yielded an LDL improvement of 8.9 mg/dL (95% CI −16.7 to −1.0; p=0.03) for GMC compared with usual care. The less efficient, LDA analysis yielded an LDL improvement of 7.2 mg/dL (95% CI −17.2 to 2.8; p=0.15) for GMC compared with usual care. Conclusions Under reasonable missing data assumptions, cLDA will yield efficient treatment effect estimates and robust inferential statistics. It may be regarded as the method of choice over ANCOVA and LDA.
The Enslaved Body as a Symbol of Universal Human Rights Abuse

Eze addresses slavery as a symbol of universal human rights abuse. Chika Unigwe’s novel, On Black Sisters’ Street (2009) tells the stories of four African women who work as sex slaves in Brussels. The story is a metaphor for the condition of women in Africa because it draws attention to the indignities inflicted on women’s bodies directly. Eze discusses sex slavery as an instance of global abuse of human rights.
Maternal high-fat diet in mice leads to innate airway hyperresponsiveness in the adult offspring.

Abstract Maternal obesity prior to and during pregnancy has been associated with an increased incidence of childhood asthma. As diets rich in saturated fat are linked to obesity and inflammation, we created a murine model to investigate the effect of maternal high‐fat diet (HFD) on adult offspring airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma. Balb/cByJ dams were fed a HFD (60% fat Calories) or normal‐fat diet (NFD) (10% fat Calories) from 8 weeks prior to first breeding through their pregnancies. Pups were weaned to either a HFD or NFD (at 4 weeks of age). AHR was measured in the 10‐week‐old offspring following inhaled methacholine challenge by end‐inflation technique. Bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was analyzed for cell count, total protein, and IL‐6. Offspring of HFD dams weaned to NFD had increased AHR compared to offspring of NFD dams weaned to NFD. Offspring of HFD dams that remained on HFDs had increased AHR compared to offspring of NFD dams weaned to HFDs. Offspring of HFD dams had higher BALF cell counts, higher neutrophil percentage, greater total protein, and IL‐6 in the BALF. These results demonstrate that a maternal diet high in saturated fat through pregnancy and lactation plays a key role in programming adult offspring AHR.
Finite Temperature Chern-Simons Coefficient

We compute the exact finite temperature effective action in a (0+1)-dimensional field theory containing a topological Chern-Simons term, which has many features in common with (2+1)-dimensional Chern-Simons theories. This exact result explains the origin and meaning of puzzling temperature dependent coefficients found in various naive perturbative computations in the higher dimensional models. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Pediatric Heart Transplantation: Special Considerations

The first pediatric heart transplant was performed by Adrian Kantrowitz at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York on December 6, 1967 (Fig. 15.1). This was the first human heart transplant in the United States and followed the first ever human heart transplant by only 3 days. The recipient was an 18-day-old male with Ebstein’s anomaly and pulmonary atresia. The donor was an infant with anencephaly (Fig. 15.2). Interestingly, the operation was performed under hypothermia rather than cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient survived for only 6 h [1]. Poor survival and a lack of donors resulted in enthusiasm for pediatric heart transplantation waning for over a decade until the success of immunosuppression in adults revived interest in the field. In 1983, Leonard Bailey and his colleagues at Loma Linda attempted a xenotransplant between a baboon and a 12-day-old girl. The procedure was technically successful although the recipient suffered severe acute rejection and died 20 days later [2]. The case was highly publicized and helped increase the availability of donor organs in the pediatric population. Bailey went on to perform human-to-human neonatal orthotopic heart transplants. Their first patient, a 4-day old infant with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), was operated on in 1985 [3] and survived to adulthood. HLHS was, at the time, a fatal condition treated with a palliative operation known as the Norwood procedure. This pioneering work helped propagate the field.
Screening Tests for Terrorists

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration recently implemented a new security procedure at a small number of airports. The procedure subjects selected travelers to seconds-long interviews while interviewers look for evasive or otherwise suspicious responses. This article estimates the expected safety gain from this procedure and compares it to the costs, finding that the procedure is very likely a net harm to social welfare. The paper concludes with suggestions for identifying anti-terrorism practices that are more likely to be net-beneficial.
Indoor navigation for visually impaired using AR markers

Helping people with visual difficulties navigating indoor is challenging. Unlike most of outdoor navigation systems, indoor navigation devices are not able to receive satellite signals. Moreover, indoor navigation usually requires higher positioning accuracy when compared with outdoor applications. In this paper, we propose an indoor positioning system based on AR (augmented reality) markers and computer vision techniques. In the proposed system, devices with camera such as smart phone will be used to provide position information by reading AR markers placed in the environments, subsequently help users gain awareness of their locations. With the assistance of proposed system, visually impaired people may be able to navigate indoor by following the instruction generated by their smart phones. Method to register indoor environment with AR markers will also be discussed in this paper. To analyze the accuracy of the system, data collected in experiment will also be presented.
Characterization of Thylakoid Division Using Chloroplast Dividing Mutants in Arabidopsis

Chloroplasts are double membrane bound organelles that are found in plants and algae. Their division requires a number of proteins to assemble into rings along the center of the organelle and to constrict in synchrony. Chloroplasts possess a third membrane system, the thylakoids, which house the majority of proteins responsible for the light-dependent reactions. The mechanism that allows chloroplasts to sort out and separate the intricate thylakoid membrane structures during organelle division remain unknown. By characterizing the sizes of thylakoids found in a number of different chloroplast division mutants in Arabidopsis, we show that thylakoids do not divide independently of the chloroplast division cycle. More specifically, we show that thylakoid division requires the formation of both the inner and the outer contractile rings of the chloroplast.
The “Stressful” Life of Cell Adhesion Molecules: On the Mechanosensitivity of Integrin Adhesome

Cells have evolved into complex sensory machines that communicate with their microenvironment via mechanochemical signaling. Extracellular mechanical cues trigger complex biochemical pathways in the cell, which regulate various cellular processes. Integrin-mediated focal adhesions (FAs) are large multiprotein complexes, also known as the integrin adhesome, that link the extracellular matrix (ECM) to the actin cytoskeleton, and are part of powerful intracellular machinery orchestrating mechanotransduction pathways. As forces are transmitted across FAs, individual proteins undergo structural and functional changes that involve a conversion of chemical to mechanical energy. The local composition of early adhesions likely defines the regional stress levels and determines the type of newly recruited proteins, which in turn modify the local stress distribution. Various approaches have been used for detecting and exploring molecular mechanisms through which FAs are spatiotemporally regulated, however, many aspects are yet to be understood. Current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of mechanosensitivity in adhesion proteins is discussed herein along with important questions yet to be addressed, are discussed.
A transient increase in histone H2A ubiquitination is coincident with the onset of erythroleukemic cell differentiation

Murine erythroleukemia cells are useful for studying the regulation of erythroid differentiation since these malignant pronormoblasts differentiate to orthochromatic normoblasts when treated with a variety of inducing agents. Changes in chromatin proteins have been described following inducer exposure. The significance of these changes, which are greatest in terminally differentiated cells remains unknown. Ubiquitin is a highly conserved 8.5 kilodalton peptide that is covalently linked to up to 10% of histone H2A. We demonstrate that following exposure of MEL cells to inducers of differentiation, a transient increase in ubiquitination of H2A occurs. This change is coincident with the onset of differentiation. This result suggests that ubiquitination of H2A may have a role in the nuclear changes necessary for erythroleukemic cell differentiation.
The Obesity Epidemic

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic and represents one of the most pressing public health challenges of the modern era. Obesity carries significant health implications, including diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoarthritis, and liver and kidney diseases, and ultimately a decreased life expectancy. On a societal level, obese patients incur significantly greater health costs. This chapter reviews potential determinants of obesity, including genetics, diet, and environment, and some of the preventative efforts that have been levied against this problem.
BRG1 governs glucocorticoid receptor interactions with chromatin and pioneer factors across the genome

Steroid hormones play a number of roles in the body, including controlling the immune system and the body’s response to stress. Artificially produced steroid hormones may also be used as part of treatments for cancer. The hormones affect the behavior of cells by binding to and activating hormone receptor proteins. The receptors can then interact with the cell’s DNA to change the activity of nearby genes. Gaining access to particular sites on a strand of DNA is not always easy. Cells pack DNA into a structure called chromatin. In some regions the DNA is so tightly wrapped in the chromatin that the receptors cannot access it. The structure of the chromatin therefore affects how a cell responds to steroid hormones. Inaccessible regions of chromatin can be ‘opened up’ by two groups of proteins, known as remodeling proteins and pioneer factors. Hormone receptors can work with these proteins to access particular DNA regions, but exactly how all these proteins work together was not fully understood. Hoffman et al. have now used DNA and RNA sequencing technologies to examine the roles of a hormone receptor called the glucocorticoid receptor, a remodeling protein called BRG1, and various pioneer factors in human breast cancer cells. This revealed three ways in which the glucocorticoid receptors worked with the other proteins when binding to chromatin. These could be distinguished by the pattern of BRG1 molecules bound to the DNA. Further investigation showed that BRG1 controls how the glucocorticoid receptor affects the activity of genes. In addition, BRG1 influences how the receptor interacts with pioneer factors when it is bound to DNA. Future research into how these proteins work together could ultimately help us to improve how we use steroid hormones to treat diseases.
Adsorption of Organic Species on Platinum Metal Electrodes

Most studies of the adsorption of organic species from electrolytic solutions were made on electrodes of smooth or platinized platinum. Less information is available about electrodes of palladium, rhodium, and iridium, and little is known about adsorption on ruthenium and osmium. Since the latest reviews1–3 of this subject, new results, which were partly obtained by improved techniques, have been published. It is the purpose of this chapter to present a critical assessment of older and newer results. In particular, differences in the properties of platinum electrodes which have been overlooked in previous comparisons of results of different electrochemists will be pointed out, and the conditions will be established under which such a comparison is meaningful.
Supplement or Supplant? Estimating the Impact of State Lottery Earmarks on Higher Education Funding

In the wake of declining state support for higher education, many state leaders have adopted lottery earmark policies, which designate lottery revenue to higher education budgets as an alternative ...