cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Historical map polygon and feature extractor

Polygon and attribute data extraction from historical maps such as US insurance atlases from the 19th and early 20th centuries has so far been a manual task. The New York Public Library (NYPL) currently relies on staff and volunteer work to manually extract polygons and other attribute data from its collection to create new public data sets for the study of urban history. This is a time-intensive task requiring up to several minutes to trace a shapefile and transcribe attributes for a single building. In this paper we propose an approach to automatically extract such attribute data from historical maps. The approach makes use of multiple image processing and statistics utilities to produce desirable results in a fraction of the time required to do by hand.On average, a shapefile for an atlas sheet is generated in ~11.4 minutes for a total of 23.5 hours of processing time for a whole atlas that contains ~55,000 polygons; contrast this time frame to NYPL's current manual process that has taken three years to extract about 170,000 polygons across four New York City street atlases.Even with some error rate in the proposed approach, the most cumbersome, time-intensive work (manual polygon drawing) has been reduced to a fraction of its original scope. This new workflow has promising implications for historical GIS.
Regulation of ion transport and blood pressure by cytochrome p450 monooxygenases.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Past and recent studies of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase branch of the arachidonate cascade establish a role for this metabolic pathway in the regulation of vascular tone and tubular ion transport. Functional and electrophysiology studies indicate that the P450 eicosanoids participate in the regulation of vascular potassium and renal sodium channels, and of systemic blood pressures. RECENT FINDINGS Associations between genetically controlled alterations in blood pressure and the activity or transcriptional regulation of renal Cyp2c arachidonic acid epoxygenases and Cyp4a omega-hydroxylases document a role for these enzymes in the pathophysiology of hypertension--a leading cause of cardiovascular, cerebral, and renal morbidity and mortality. Associations between a functional variant of the human CYP4A11 gene and hypertension suggest a potential role for this gene as a determinant of polygenic blood pressure control in humans. SUMMARY These results provide new understandings of the role of P450s in renal physiology, as well as conceptually novel approaches for studies of the molecular basis of human hypertension that could lead to new strategies for the early diagnosis and clinical management of this devastating disease.
Damping analysis of a flexible cantilever beam containing an internal fluid channel: Experiment, modeling and analysis

Abstract Passive structural damping treatments have been applied with the use of high-viscosity fillings (in practice) and have been the focus of numerous research studies and papers. However, internal viscoelastic fluid leading to passive damping of flexible cantilever beams, has not yet been investigated in the literature. Although structures containing internal fluid channels provide multifunctional solutions to many engineering issues, they also raise damping control requests caused by unacceptable vibrations due to ambient environmental changes. In this paper, we examine ambient effects on damping properties of flexible cantilever beams, each conveying an internal high-viscosity fluid channel. Experiments are conducted to investigate how the internal fluids provide damping to the system under varied temperatures, frequencies and base-acceleration levels. While the vibration analysis of pipes conveying internal flow has been extensively studied, internal high-viscosity fluids in relation to passive damping of flexible cantilever beams and their ambient, environment-dependent behaviors have not been well-investigated. Originally motivated by research, which uses internal fluid channels to provide the cooling of multifunctional composite structures, we aim to research the damping behaviors of cantilever beams. We will conduct an experimental study and modeling analysis, examining the vibrations and frequency responses of the cantilever beams when filled with three types of internal fluids.
Male ornamental coloration improves courtship success in a jumping spider, but only in the sun

In many animals, males display colorful ornaments to females during courtship, the effectiveness of which depends on the ambient lighting environment. While a variety of hypotheses exist to explain both presence of and variation in such traits, many propose that they function as signals and that their presence is required for or improves successful mating. In Habronattus pyrrithrix jumping spiders, males display brilliant, condition-dependent red faces and green legs to drab gray/brown females during courtship. We designed 2 experiments to first test if coloration is required for successful mating and then whether the role of color changes under varying light conditions. In Experiment 1, we paired individual males with virgin females under laboratory lighting and found that blocking either their red or green coloration, or both, had no effect on success (likelihood of copulation, copulation duration, latency to copulation, female aggression, or cannibalism) when compared with sham-treated males. In Experiment 2, we gave virgin females the choice between 2 simultaneously courting males, one with his red coloration blocked and the other that received a sham treatment, and ran trials outdoors in both the sun and the shade. Blocking red facial coloration reduced a male’s ability to approach a female, but only when courting in the sun. These results suggest that ornamental coloration is not required for mating in H. pyrrithrix, but that red coloration improves success in certain contexts. We discuss implications for the evolution of elaborate, multimodal courtship displays by animals that interact in variable environments.
Fate and movement of azaarenes and their anaerobic biotransformation products in an aquifer contaminated by wood‐treatment chemicals

Infiltration of wastes containing creosote and pentachlorophenol from surface impoundments at an abandoned wood-treatment facility near Pensacola, Florida, resulted in contamination of the underlying sand and gravel aquifer. Pond sludges and sediments near the source were contaminated with 2- to 5-ring azaarenes having log Kow values of from 2.0 to 5.6. However, the ground water contained only azaarenes and their oxygenated and methylated derivatives having log Kow values of less than 3.5. These compounds also were present in coal tar-contaminated ground water at a site near St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Laboratory anaerobic degradation studies and on-site observations indicated that oxygenated azaarenes probably were biotransformation products of reactions mediated by indigenous microbial populations. Microbial N-methylation, C-methylation and O-methylation reactions are reported here for the first time. In the presence of nutrients and carbon sources such as acetate and propionate, all azaarenes studied were either partially or completely degraded. Evidence for the microbial degradation of azaarenes in ground water from anaerobic zones is presented. Oxygenated azaarenes were relatively more water-soluble, mobile and persistent in hydrogeologic environments.
Metodos para un diseno eficaz de la vivienda

The paper argues the need for more methodical design in housing projects. Lack of methodical design may lead to design solutions that are more costly than necessary. Large housing projects demand a complex process of design in which many different experts are involved. The coordination of their efforts demands a new methodical approach. Position Coordination is a means to improve coordination of decision making in the design process. In order to find the most efficient and most adequate design, various alternative possibilities must be examined on their cost as well as their use value. Basic variant Analysis offers a methodical way to generate a series of alternative floorplans within a given physical structure. It is a means to connect consideration of cost to alternatives of use.
RNA dynamics by design: biasing ensembles towards the ligand-bound state.

A major goal in structural biology and biophysics is to rationally design biomolecules that have specific characteristics at the atomic level. There have been significant advances in the design of proteins that fold into predetermined three-dimensional conformations.[1] However, biomolecular structures also undergo dynamic excursions about their native conformation and transiently access conformational substates that play critical roles in folding, catalysis, recognition, and signal transduction.[1–5] The rational design of such dynamics is a formidable challenge given the broad energy landscape that has to be considered and the complex spatiotemporal dependence of dynamics on sequence and structure, particularly for highly flexible molecules such as RNA.[6,7]
Case note. Kennewick man and native American graves protection and repatriation act woes

The contentious, sometimes even raucous debate over the repatriation and reburial of Native American human remains has been calm compared to the clamor raised over the so-called Kennewick Man. Although the reburial debate has captured substantial worldwide media and public attention, the debate over the Kennewick find has done what no other case has so far managed - to raise a serious legal challenge to parts of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a law providing for the return of human remains and burial artifacts to tribes. This case study examines the core issues surrounding the archaeological discovery, the entanglements related to NAGPRA, and possible impact of Kennewick on NAGPRA itself.
Clinical experience with the surgical removal of subfoveal neovascular membranes. Short-term postoperative results.

Background: Severe visual loss occurs in the presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (POHS) and in age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) from subfoveal neovascularization. Although laser photocoagulation has recently been recommended for this complication in ARMD, treatment is inevitably associated with a loss of central vision. In an attempt to restore and/or preserve central vision, the authors undertook surgical removal of subfoveal neovascular membranes in these diseases. Methods: Patients with POHS and ARMD with reduced Snellen visual acuity to 20/ 80 or less were selected if there was angiographic evidence of a neovascular membrane beneath the fovea. Modern vitreoretinal techniques were used to remove the subfoveal neovascular complex. Results: The authors' first 15 patients with POHS and 19 patients with ARMD were followed for an average of 4 months postoperatively. Snellen visual acuity improved by 2 lines or more in 8 of 15 (53%) cases of POHS. Although similar improvements in Snellen visual acuity were not observed in cases of ARMD, 14 of 19 (74%) cases showed either slight improvement or stabilization of their vision postoperatively. Complications included recurrent neovascularization in 2 of 15 (13%) and 3 of 19 (16%) eyes with POHS and ARMD, respectively. No retinal detachment or preretinal proliferation was observed. Conclusions: These results suggest that subfoveal neovascularization can be successfully removed with preservation of fovea) vision in POHS and stabilization in ARMD, at least for the short term. Visual improvement was observed in POHS even after 6 months of decreased vision. Finally, visual prognosis is most dependent on the integrity of the subfoveal RPE after removal of the membrane.
Multisensor triplet Markov chains and theory of evidence

Hidden Markov chains (HMC) are widely applied in various problems occurring in different areas like Biosciences, Climatology, Communications, Ecology, Econometrics and Finances, Image or Signal processing. In such models, the hidden process of interest X is a Markov chain, which must be estimated from an observable Y, interpretable as being a noisy version of X. The success of HMC is mainly due to the fact that the conditional probability distribution of the hidden process with respect to the observed process remains Markov, which makes possible different processing strategies such as Bayesian restoration. HMC have been recently generalized to ''Pairwise'' Markov chains (PMC) and ''Triplet'' Markov chains (TMC), which offer similar processing advantages and superior modeling capabilities. In PMC, one directly assumes the Markovianity of the pair (X,Y) and in TMC, the distribution of the pair (X,Y) is the marginal distribution of a Markov process (X,U,Y), where U is an auxiliary process, possibly contrived. Otherwise, the Dempster-Shafer fusion can offer interesting extensions of the calculation of the ''a posteriori'' distribution of the hidden data. The aim of this paper is to present different possibilities of using the Dempster-Shafer fusion in the context of different multisensor Markov models. We show that the posterior distribution remains calculable in different general situations and present some examples of their applications in remote sensing area.
Loss of cell adhesion causes hydrocephalus in nonmuscle myosin II-B-ablated and mutated mice.

Ablation of nonmuscle myosin (NM) II-B in mice during embryonic development leads to marked enlargement of the cerebral ventricles and destruction of brain tissue, due to hydrocephalus. We have ide...
Trends Toward Religious Integration on the Eve of 1660

From 1640 to 1660 England passed through a succession of extremes in religion which were unusual, abnormal, and very racking to poise and confidence. These years might in a sense be compared to the reigns of Edward and Mary one hundred years before. Both periods were very unlike England's customary course of easy continuity. By 1660 these extremes were reaching some moderation, some compromise, some tendencies toward integration, which would probably have come to a modus vivendi before long had not the unwise Restoration, with the customary excesses of reaction, restored a rigid and persecuting Anglicanism wholly out of line with the age. It is the purpose of this paper to point out some of these trends toward integration.
The Canonical Structure of the Manifestly Supersymmetric String

Both the Green-Schwarz and Siegel strings are presented in canonical form. Both systems are shown to describe the same number of physical degrees of freedom. The apparent extra symmetries of the Siegel string are not true symmetries but are combinations of second-class constraints. A formal quantization procedure is outlined and the problems of quantization are discussed.
(Re)Calling London The Gender Frame Agenda within NBC’s Primetime Broadcast of the 2012 Olympiad

All sixty-nine hours of National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) 2012 primetime Summer Olympic telecast were analyzed, revealing significant gender trends. For the first time in any scholarly study of NBC’s coverage of the games, women athletes received the majority of the clock-time and on-air mentions. However, dialogues surrounding the attributions of success and failure of athletes, as well as depictions of physicality and personality, contained some divergences by gender.
Menopausal Hot Flashes: A Review of Physiology and Biosociocultural Perspective on Methods of Assessment

Hot flashes continue to be a troublesome problem for menopausal women the world over. After >50 y of research, we still do not understand the etiology and mechanism of hot flashes, nor do we know how estrogen, the major pharmaceutical treatment, works to reduce hot flashes. We are gaining insight into sociocultural complexities that may affect how and whether women report hot flashes. And we are becoming more sophisticated in our research tools (be it questionnaires, physiological monitors, or brain imaging techniques). New aspects of hot flash research, including neuroimaging and the study of genetic polymorphisms, when combined with increasingly nuanced ways of asking questions of culturally distinct populations, provide challenges but rich complexity from which a better understanding will emerge.
Notes on the freeze-drying of plant tissue.

The moving-air type of freeze-dry apparatus decreases the length of time needed to dehydrate plant material but is detrimental to easily oxidizable compounds. Changes are described in the apparatus that both improve and simplify the original design. They consist of: (1) using high purity nitrogen instead of air thus preventing the oxidizing of compounds and allowing for the removal of the condenser necessary to dry the incoming air; (2) modification of the top of the dehydration chamber so that die tissue can be drawn from the bottom and warmed to room temperature before being removed from the apparatus; and (3) a new design for the tissue containers permitting the tissue to be more securely held and easily manipulated. Various freezing mixtures and infiltration procedures and materials were tried and the results described. A theory is proposed to explain the effectiveness of the moving-gas type apparatus based on the ability of the gas to maintain material at the optimal temperature while sweeping the wa...
The Precarious Nature of Social Class‐Sensitivity in Literacy: A Social, Autobiographic, and Pedagogical Project

AbstractUsing Maurice Merleau‐Ponty’s (1947/1964) phenomenological notion of the threads of intentionality that tie subject and object together meaningfully and Pierre Bourdieu’s (1986, 2000; Bourdieu & Waquant, 1992) reflexive sociology and constructs of habitus, field, capital, and nomos, we theorize social class‐sensitivity in literacy education as a social, autobiographic, and pedagogical project; a recognition of the powerful unnamed context of middle‐class normality; and an illumination of the precarious ways in which working‐class and poor students are positioned in schools.We assume that although issues related to race, gender, and sexuality intersect in complex ways with class, social class issues in classroom pedagogy are too often ignored and undertheorized. Therefore, there is a need to spend concerted time considering social class specifically.We close by asking pedagogues to think seriously about the reality that working‐class and poor students enter classrooms each day saturated in precario...
Immobilization of β-Galactosidase on an Insoluble Carrier with a Polyisocyanate Polymer. II. Kinetics and Stability

Abstract The kinetic properties of commercial β-galactosidase ( Escherichia coli K-12) bonded to .8cm x 1.3cm Teflon stirring bars via a polyisocyanate polymer were compared to those of the soluble enzyme. Assays of immobilized β-galactosidase were performed with test tubes placed in a 37C water-jacketed container positioned on top of a stirring motor set at 80±5rpm. The Michaelis-Menten constants for soluble and immobilized β-galactosidase at pH 6.5 were 13.1mM and 22.1mM. The pH optimum for immobilized β-galactosidase shifted upward .8 pH units relative to the soluble enzyme. Activation energies for hydrolysis of lactose were 15,200 cal/mole and 12,500 cal/mole for soluble and immobilized β-galactosidase. The immobilized β-galactosidase exhibited good stability, retaining 65.6% of the original activity after intermittent use for 118 days. When not in use, the immobilized β-galactosidase was stored at 4C in .1M phosphate buffer (pH 6.5).
Adenoviral Overexpression of the Glutamylcysteine Ligase Catalytic Subunit Protects Pancreatic Islets against Oxidative Stress

The catalytic subunit of glutamylcysteine ligase (GCLC) primarily regulates de novo synthesis of glutathione (GSH) in mammalian cells and is central to the antioxidant capacity of the cell. However, GCLC expression in pancreatic islets has not been previously examined. We designed experiments to ascertain whether GCLC is normally expressed in islets and whether it is up-regulated by interleukin-1β (IL-1β). GCLC expression levels were intermediate compared with other metabolic tissues (kidney, liver, muscle, fat, and lung). IL-1β up-regulated GCLC expression (10 ng/ml IL-1β, 3.76 ± 0.86; 100 ng/ml IL-1β, 4.22 ± 0.68-fold control) via the p38 form of mitogen-activated protein kinase and NFκB and also increased reactive oxygen species levels (10 ng/ml IL-1β, 5.41 ± 1.8-fold control). This was accompanied by an increase in intraislet GSH/GSSG ratio (control, 7.1 ± 0.1; 10 ng/ml IL-1β, 8.0 ± 0.5; 100 ng/ml IL-1β, 8.2 ± 0.5-fold control; p
Green energy clusters and socio-technical transitions: analysis of a sustainable energy cluster for regional economic development in Central Massachusetts, USA

As the societal benefits associated with transi- tioning to more sustainable, less fossil fuel-reliant energy systems are increasingly recognized by communities throughout the world, the potential of creating 'green jobs' within a 'green economy' is attracting much attention. Green energy clusters are increasingly promoted through- out the world as a strategy to simultaneously promote economic vitality and stimulate a sustainable energy tran- sition. In spite of their emerging role in regional-scale sustainability planning efforts, such initiatives have not been considered within the sustainability transitions liter- ature. This paper explores the development of one such regional sustainable energy cluster initiative in Central Massachusetts in Northeastern USA to consider the potential for such cluster initiatives to contribute to socio- technical transition in the energy system. Since 2008, a diverse set of stakeholders in Central Massachusetts, including politicians, universities, businesses, local citi- zens, and activists, have been working toward facilitating the emergence of an integrated cluster of activity focused on sustainable energy. Through interviews with key actors, participant observation, and document review, this research assesses the potential of this cluster initiative to contribute to a regional socio-technical transition. The empirical details of this case demonstrate that sustainable energy cluster initiatives can potentially accelerate change in entrenched energy regimes by promoting institutional thickness, generating regional 'buzz' around sustainable energy activities, and building trust between multiple and diverse stakeholders in the region. This research also contributes to emerging efforts to better ground socio- technical transitions in geographic space.
Theories, frameworks and aesthetics: comment on "From everyday emotions to aesthetic emotions: towards a unified theory of musical emotions" by Patrik Juslin.

There is much to admire in Patrik Juslin’s winding article [1], so one is hesitant to dwell on a few shortcomings.Juslin has taken on the ambitious task of bringing “aesthetic” emotions into his previous work on music-related affect.However, there are a number of philosophical issues that are dealt with hastily. For philosophers, the article oftenconﬂates normative and prescriptive arguments. For example, in the conclusion: “contrary to Hanslick, listeners doregard emotional arousal as an important criterion for the aesthetic value of music.” Hanslick was not arguing aboutwhat people think. The fact that lots of people think emotional arousal is important doesn’t make it so. For mostphilosophers, one cannot take a vote on aesthetic values, any more than one can take a vote on Truth.Where psychologists place great store on commonplace or typical experiences, for better or worse, writers onaesthetics have traditionally focused on the exceptional experience presumed to be the hallmark of art. Today, most ofour musicology colleagues view their job, not as one of describing what people commonly experience when listeningto music, but in suggesting how listeners might hear differently, and how they might better experience the music ([2],see [3]). Temperley has aptly captured the diverging goals by distinguishing “descriptive” and “suggestive” theoriesof music [4]. Although philosophers are interested in the normative studies carried out by psychologists, they feel inno way bound by these studies when forming their views about how art ought (or might) be experienced.
YouTube™ videos related to e-cigarette safety and related health risks: implications for preventing and emerging epidemic

C.H. Basch , J. Mongiovi , G.C. Hillyer , Z. MacDonald , C.E. Basch d a Department of Public Health, William Paterson University, Wing 143, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA b Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA c Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA d Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
Regional signals in the planarian body guide stem cell fate in the presence of genomic instability

Cellular fate decisions are influenced by their topographical location in the adult body. For instance, tissue repair and neoplastic growth are greater in anterior than in posterior regions of adult animals. However, the molecular underpinnings of these regional differences are unknown. We identified a regional switch in the adult planarian body upon systemic disruption of homologous recombination with RNA-interference of Rad51 Rad51 knockdown increases DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) throughout the body, but stem cells react differently depending on their location along the anteroposterior axis. In the presence of extensive DSBs, cells in the anterior part of the body resist death, whereas cells in the posterior region undergo apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that proliferation of cells with DNA damage is induced in the presence of brain tissue and that the retinoblastoma pathway enables overproliferation of cells with DSBs while attending to the demands of tissue growth and repair. Our results implicate both autonomous and non-autonomous mechanisms as key mediators of regional cell behavior and cellular transformation in the adult body.
Tungsten Nitrido Complexes as Precursors for Low Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition of WNxCy Films as Diffusion Barriers for Cu Metallization

Tungsten nitrido complexes of the form WN(NR2)3 [R = combinations of Me, Et, iPr, nPr] have been synthesized as precursors for the chemical vapor deposition of WNxCy, a material of interest for diffusion barriers in Cu-metallized integrated circuits. These precursors bear a fully nitrogen coordinated ligand environment and a nitrido moiety (W≡N) designed to minimize the temperature required for film deposition. Mass spectrometry and solid state thermolysis of the precursors generated common fragments by loss of free dialkylamines from monomeric and dimeric tungsten species. DFT calculations on WN(NMe2)3 indicated the lowest gas phase energy pathway for loss of HNMe2 to be β-H transfer following formation of a nitrido bridged dimer. Amorphous films of WNxCy were grown from WN(NMe2)3 as a single source precursor at temperatures ranging from 125 to 650 °C using aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) with pyridine as the solvent. Films with stoichiometry approaching W2NC were grown between 150 and...
Wild and Scenic Wasteland: Conservation Politics in the Nuclear Wilderness

Nuclear weapons production has created a unique geography of irradiated open space in the United States. In recent years, many of these landscapes have been re-classified as national wildlife refuges in an attempt to transform the nation's atomic sacrifice zones into spaces of environmental salvation. However, these areas are also home to contaminated biota that migrate beyond refuge boundaries, inspiring biological vector control campaigns that frame nuclear nature as a threat that must be contained. How can these environments simultaneously embody ruin and redemption, and what work does this constitutive contradiction do? In this article, I explore the slippery subjectivities of nuclear waste and nature at Washington State's Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Beginning with the Hanford Reach National Monument, I examine how this space is framed as both pristine habitat and waste frontier. Next, I consider how Hanford's biological vector control program addresses the spread of radioactive flora and fauna. Looking specifically at one of the site's most notorious offenders (the fruit fly), I discuss how vector control uses instances of nuclear trespass to articulate the boundary between contaminated and uncontaminated. Finally, by examining the dual production of nature as both untouched wilderness and biological vector, I consider how this slippage between pure and polluted has been employed in the service of nuclear industry. I argue that in its doubling, nature is being recruited to do what the U.S. Department of Energy cannot: to solve Hanford's nuclear waste problem. Tracy stands on a mound of steaming garbage at the city landfill and tries to get used to the smell. Geiger counter in hand, she moves carefully between rolling hills of trash, feeling the unstable squish of each step on decaying ground. Searching. She steps over a plastic bag that has burst in the middle, spewing chicken bones, oily napkins, and a partially melted spatula. She checks the radiation count—normal—and wishes she could plug her nose. She moves on. Finally, beneath a rusting three legged chair she finds it: a garbage bag containing rotten food and elevated levels of Strontium 90—the signature of radioactive fruit flies. With a whoop, she reaches for the bag and calls it in. "Got one," she says over the radio. I imagine this scene as I sit at Tracy's kitchen table, sipping tea and listening to her tell stories about biological vector control. Tracy is a Health Physics Technician (HPT) at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a 586 square mile nuclear weapons complex in southeastern Washington State. Once the heart of American plutonium production, Hanford is now the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, laced with more than 450 billion gallons of liquid
Recognizing the Drug-Resistant Patient in Anxiety and Depression

The number and variety of anxiolytic and antidepressant medications available to the modern clinician lend an unparalleled efficacy to the outpatient treatment of anxiety disorders and depression. Where diagnosis is precise and complicating organic factors have been excluded, true treatment resistance in either anxiety disorders or depression is rare. Proper patient education to assist compliance, adequate dosage of individual agents, patience to give the medication time to work, overcoming the reluctance to attribute the patient's problem to a medically treatable disorder rather than to moral or characterologic defect, and the flexibility to shift to other or to additional medications on encountering initial treatment resistance are the keystones to the successful management of more than 90 per cent of all cases.
Sequential two-step cleavage of the retinoblastoma protein by caspase-3/-7 during etoposide-induced apoptosis

Sequential two-step cleavage of the retinoblastoma protein by caspase-3/-7 during etoposide-induced apoptosis
Can hydridic-to-protonic hydrogen bonds catalyze hydride transfers in biological systems?

Catalysis of hydride transfer by hydridic-to-protonic hydrogen (HHH) bonding in α-hydroxy carbonyl isomerization reactions was examined computationally in the lithium salts of 7-substituted endo-3-hydroxybicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-ones. The barrier for intramolecular hydride transfer in the parent system was calculated to be 17.2 kcal/mol. Traditional proton donors, such as OH and NH3+, stabilized the metal cation-bridged transition state by 1.4 and 3.3 kcal/mol, respectively. Moreover, among the conformers of the OH systems, the one in which the proton donor is able to interact with the migrating hydride (Hm) has an activation barrier lower by 1.3 and 1.7 kcal/mol than the other possible OH conformers. By contrast, the presence of an electronegative group such as F, which disfavors the migration electronically by opposing development of hydridic charge, destabilizes the hydride migration by 1.5 kcal/mol relative to the epimeric exo system. In both ground and transition states the Hm···H distance decreased...
Evaluation of Uncertainty in Determining Toluene in The Air of Workplace by Solvent Desorption Gas Chromatography

[Objective]To establish the evaluation method of uncertainty in determining toluene in the air of workplace by solvent desorption gas chromatography,and to identify the main factors which can make effects on the test results and can be controlled to improve the confidence level and accuracy.[Methods]Experiments were based on the People's Republic of China National Metrology technical specifications JJF1059-1999 "Evaluation and Representation of Measurement Uncertainty," and the Chinese Society for Metals recommended techniques and methods CCM010100-2006 "Uncertainty Evaluation Guidelines in Measuring The Results by Chemical Analysis Instrumentation "[Results]The main source of toluene uncertainty:① The uncertainty of measurement repeatability; ②Uncertainty of standard solution preparation process; ③ The standard curve of changes in uncertainty; ④Uncertainty of sampling process,⑤ Uncertainty of desorption efficiency,⑥ Uncertainty of desorption sampling. To check the coverage factor k=2,expanded uncertainty was U=1.7540×2≈3.50 mg/m3.[Conclusion] The uncertainty evaluation method,which has great significance in quality control of toluene determination by solvent desorption gas chromatography,can improve the confidence level and accuracy of test results.
Adverse Childhood Experiences Among MSW Students

ABSTRACTAlarming rates of burnout, compassion fatigue, and turnover in the social work profession have focused attention on factors influencing risk and resilience among professional social workers and, more recently, social work students. This article explores the prevalence and relevance of early trauma among social work students and describes a cross-sectional, exploratory study aimed at determining frequency of adverse childhood experiences among Master of Social Work (MSW) students. Results reveal rates of adverse childhood experiences are much higher than those found in general population samples, university students, and child welfare employees. Implications for social work education are discussed.
Penile Prosthesis: Adjunct to Treatment in Patients with Neurogenic Bladder

AbstractDuring the last 4 years we have implanted penile prostheses in 33 patients with neurogenic bladders, primarily to manage bladder dysfunction but also to correct impotence in some cases. Although complications occurred in 6 patients urinary problems did not increase postoperatively. The 10 patients who wore condom catheters indicated that the penile prosthesis helped to keep the catheter in place and the 8 who used intermittent self-catheterization reported that the urethral meatus was more accessible with the insertion of the prosthesis. Of the 24 patients who were sexually active 19 experienced orgasm postoperatively.
Selective DNA Repair in the Transcribed Strands of Active Genes in Mammalian Cells

Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers are preferentially removed from transcriptionally active genes: (i) In Chinese hamster cells which remove only a small fraction of dimers from their total DNA, dimers are efficiently removed from the transcriptionally active dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene and poorly removed from a sequence near the gene (Bohr et al., 1985). (ii) In mouse cells which also remove only a small fraction of dimers from their total DNA, dimers are proficiently removed from the transcriptionally active c-abl gene and poorly removed from the inactive c-mos gene (Madhani et al., 1986). (iii) In repair proficient human cells, dimers are removed more rapidly from the active DHFR gene than from bulk DNA or from the nontranscribed repetitive alpha sequences (Mellon et al., 1986). This work was recently reviewed by Smith (1987).
Sentencing for animal cruelty.

IN response to the Comment ‘It is time to take animal cruelty out of the ‘too difficult’ box?' ( VR , March 4, 2017, vol 180, p 210), I want to clarify the BVA's policy around animal cruelty and sentencing. Any animal abuse is heart-breaking for vets and vet nurses and we would always encourage anyone seeing cases of abuse to report it or to seek further advice where abuse may be …
Mechanisms for Successful Rehabilitation of Cough in Parkinson's Disease Using Expiratory Muscle Strength Training

Rehabilitation of cough is now moving under the purview of speech-language pathology as our understanding of the relationship between disorders of cough and swallow increases. The purpose of this r...
FDG PET/CT imaging in urinary bladder cancer: A retrospective analysis

1810 Objectives Relatively few studies have been performed to assess the clinical indications and performance of FDG PET/CT imaging in the management of bladder cancer. We retrospectively assessed experience at our institution using PET/CT imaging in this disease. Methods All patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging for urinary bladder cancer during the period 1/2003 - 12/2007 are included in this study. 78 studies were performed in 45 patients (10 female; 35 male, Age 41-85). Diagnostic performance was assessed by tissue sampling and/or 3 month plus radiological follow up. The reason for scan referral and diagnostic performance was evaluated. Results 61/78 PET/CT imaging studies were performed for re-staging purpose, with a TP rate of 20/61 and TN rate of 34/61. The sensitivity and specificity was calculated to be 80% and 94.4%,respectively in identifying local disease. 26/61 studies were TP and 25/61 studies for TN in systemic disease evaluation, with a sensitivity and specificty of 81 and 86%, respectively. 54/61 studies were assessed to be TN for regional nodal involvement, with a high specificity 98% but a low sensitivity (50%). 13/78 imaging studies were performed for treatment monitoring and PET/CT was typically predictive of post-treatment results. Although with a low sensitivity (50%) and high specificity of 100%. 4 imaging studies were performed for staging purposes with PET/CT imaging correctly identified local disease presence in all 4 cases. Conclusions In this mainly retrospective re-staging population, FDG PET/CT performed well except for limited detection of small nodal metastases. The role of PET/CT imaging in treatment monitoring needs to be further explored.
Inertial migration of particles in Taylor-Couette flows

An experimental study of inertial migration of neutrally buoyant particles in the circular Couette flow (CCF), Taylor vortex flow (TVF) and wavy vortex flow (WVF) is reported. This work considers a concentric cylinder Taylor-Couette device with a stationary outer cylinder and rotating inner cylinder. The device has a radius ratio of η = ri/ro = 0.877, where ri and ro are the inner and outer radii of the flow annulus. The ratio of the annular width between the cylinders (δ = ro − ri) and the particle diameter (dp) is α = δ/dp = 20. For η = 0.877, the flow of a Newtonian fluid undergoes transitions from CCF to TVF and TVF to WVF at Reynolds numbers Re = 120 and 151, respectively, and for the dilute suspensions studied here, these critical Reynolds numbers are almost unchanged. In CCF, particles were observed to migrate, due to the competition between the shear gradient of the flow and the wall interactions, to an equilibrium location near the middle of the annulus with an offset toward the inner cylinder. I...
A Summary of the Theory of Sympathy

The heuristic value of the tentative theory of sympathy set forth in the preceding chapters will hopefully be seen in the research it has encouraged. For now, however, a brief review of the theory may be helpful. It must be emphasized again that sympathy is a complicated phenomenon, and that this tentative theory of sympathy is only a first approximation of a fuller theory of sympathy, including specific hypotheses for testing. In this chapter I will briefly review the theory, indicate some paradoxes inherent in it, and try to put both into perspective.
Discovery of novel, PD-L1-independent immune checkpoints using JEDI GFP-specific CD8 T cells.

3076Background: Checkpoint blockade has emerged as an effective strategy for enhancing the endogenous T cell response against tumor-associated antigens. Its clinical benefit is maximized when combi...
The cerebellum shows its stripes

New studies examine how the different sub-structures in the cerebellum are organized to receive information during complex behavioral tasks.
Choice of Minimally Invasive Approaches: A Review of Unique Risks and Complications

The goal of minimally invasive spine surgery is to obtain outcomes equivalent or superior to that of open procedures through a less morbid approach that features minimal disruption to the patient’s native anatomy. Tubular retractor systems and microscopes have become staples in the armamentarium of the minimally invasive spine surgeon and, as with any technological innovation, come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
Maternal Intimate Partner Violence Exposure and Autonomic Reactivity: Associations With Positive Parenting:

Intimate partner violence (IPV) can negatively impact parenting, posing a threat both to the wellbeing of mothers and their young children. Parenting may also be influenced by emotion regulation (E...
Controlling the onset of turbulence by streamwise travelling waves. Part 2. Direct numerical simulation

This study builds on and confirms the theoretical findings of Part 1 of this paper (Moarref & Jovanovic, J. Fluid Mech., 2010, doi:10.1017/50022112010003393). We use direct numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations to assess the efficacy of blowing and suction in the form of streamwise travelling waves for controlling the onset of turbulence in a channel flow. We highlight the effects of the modified base flow on the dynamics of velocity fluctuations and net power balance. Our simulations verify the theoretical predictions of Part 1 that the upstream travelling waves promote turbulence even when the uncontrolled flow stays laminar. On the other hand, the downstream travelling waves with parameters selected in Part 1 are capable of reducing the fluctuations' kinetic energy, thereby maintaining the laminar flow. In flows driven by a fixed pressure gradient, a positive net efficiency as large as 25 % relative to the uncontrolled turbulent flow can be achieved with downstream waves. Furthermore, we show that these waves can also relaminarize fully developed turbulent flows at low Reynolds numbers. We conclude that the theory developed in Part 1 for the linearized flow equations with uncertainty has considerable ability to predict full-scale phenomena.
mmFall: Fall Detection Using 4-D mmWave Radar and a Hybrid Variational RNN AutoEncoder

Elderly fall prevention and detection becomes extremely crucial with the fast aging population globally. In this article, we propose mmFall, a novel fall detection system, which comprises 1) the emerging millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar sensor to collect the human body's point cloud along with the body centroid and 2) a hybrid variational recurrent neural network (RNN) autoencoder (HVRAE) to compute the anomaly level of the body motion based on the acquired point cloud. A fall is detected when the spike in anomaly level and the drop in centroid height occur simultaneously. The mmWave radar sensor offers privacy-compliance and high sensitivity to motion, over the traditional sensing modalities. However, 1) randomness in radar point cloud and 2) difficulties in fall collection/labeling in the traditional supervised fall detection approaches are the two major challenges. To overcome the randomness in radar data, the proposed HVRAE uses variational inference, a generative approach rather than a discriminative approach, to infer the posterior probability of the body's latent motion state every frame, followed by a RNN to summarize the temporal features over multiple frames. Moreover, to circumvent the difficulties in fall data collection/labeling, the HVRAE is built upon an autoencoder architecture in a semisupervised approach, which is only trained on the normal activities of daily living (ADL). In the inference stage, the HVRAE will generate a spike in the anomaly level once an abnormal motion, such as fall, occurs. During the experiment,
Effect of an office-based intervention on visceral adipose tissue: the WorkACTIVE-P randomized controlled trial.

Office-based activity reduces sedentariness, yet no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have assessed how such activity influences visceral adipose tissue (VAT). This study examined the effect of a...
Fast Risk-Sensitive Model Predictive Control for Systems with Time-Series Forecasting Uncertainties

Risk-sensitive model predictive control (MPC) is a promising technique since it can balance the main drawbacks of robust MPC and stochastic MPC: conservative decision making and vulnerability to extreme events. The main challenge is that the risk measures accompany high nonlinearity making the technique difficult for various applications. This paper presents a fast risk-sensitive MPC for linear time-invariant systems that use time-series forecasting. The risk measure involving high nonlinearity is converted into a weighted squaresum of decision variables with the assumption of Gaussian system disturbances. The error statistics update rule is designed to consider the characteristics of time-series forecasting. The proposed formulation is applied to energy-efficient car-following control and compared with the robust and the stochastic MPC.
Who Files for Bankruptcy? The Heterogeneous Impact of State Laws on a Household’s Bankruptcy Decision

This article examines the heterogeneous impact of state exemption laws and state garnishment laws on bankruptcy. Using a new household-level dataset, my empirical specification simultaneously examines the impact these laws have on a household’s bankruptcy decision as well as a household’s assets and unsecured debts. I find that high exemption laws have a positive impact on bankruptcy and that this effect is increasing in assets. Additionally, I find that high garnishment rates have a positive impact on bankruptcy, which is increasing in income. Moreover, I examine the policy implications of standardizing state exemption laws and state garnishments laws. Understanding the heterogeneous effects of these laws is crucial as they suggest that a household with a given set of financial characteristics will seek bankruptcy relief if it resides in one state but will have to use alternative consumption smoothing measures if it lives in a different state.
Corner Properties of Cold-Formed Steel Shapes

The cold work of forming results in large plastic strains in the corner elements of light gage cold-formed steel members. As a direct result of these plastic strains, the yield strength of corner e...
Systematic review of the association between ABO blood type and COVID-19 incidence and mortality

A large proportion of COVID-19 research has been focused on identifying markers of high-risk individuals. However, this research often fails to consider basic epidemiologic concepts to prevent bias in the design, selection, and analysis of observational data. One suspected marker of risk that has been repeatedly assessed is ABO blood type. Given the ease of measuring this biomarker, it is an appealing target for identifying high-risk individuals. However, this same ease of measurement makes associational research on ABO blood type and COVID prone to a range of common epidemiologic errors. We conducted a systematic review of studies assessing correlations between ABO blood type and COVID incidence, hospitalization, and mortality to determine the quality of evidence these studies provide and whether the overall evidence suggests ABO blood type could provide a useful indicator of COVID risk. We conclude that most existing studies are low quality and suffer from major methodological flaws. The few higher-quality studies which do exist find no association between ABO blood type and COVID outcomes. We conclude that there is no evidence to support the use of ABO blood type as a marker for COVID risk or severity. Key PointsO_LIThere is no sufficient evidence to conclude a biological relationship between ABO blood types and COVID-19 infection or severity. C_LIO_LIBiases of existing research could be avoided by careful study design. C_LI