cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Choosing the Right Patients for Clinical Trials in Essential Thrombocythemia or Polycythemia Vera: Leukemic or Fibrotic Transformation Risk Assessment among 1061 Patients from a Single Institution.

Background: In both polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), aspirin and/or hydroxyurea therapy provide adequate protection from thrombosis but not from disease transformation into acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome (AML/MDS) or myelofibrosis (MF). In designing clinical trials with new drugs, including the use of small molecule JAK2 inhibitors, in either ET or PV, it is important to identify patients who are at a higher risk of early transformation into AML/MDS/MF as well as those in whom the long-term risk of these complications is too low to justify exposure to experimental drugs with unknown short-term and long-term toxicity profile. Methods: Information on an institutional database of 1061 patients with either PV (n=458) or ET (n=603) was updated in July of 2007. The World Health Organization criteria were used for diagnosis of PV, ET, AML, MDS, and MF. Two different approaches were used to assess both early and overall risk of AML/MDS/MF development in both ET and PV. In the first approach, three distinct groups were delineated and their presenting features compared; group A was comprised of patients who have remained AML/MDS/MF free after a minimum follow-up of 20 years whereas groups B and C included patients who developed either AML/MDS or MF, respectively, in the first decade of their disease. In the second approach, prognostic factors for AML/MDS/MF-free survival were examined among the entire cohort of 1061 patients. Results : In ET, the number of patients that fulfilled the above-mentioned criteria for inclusion in groups A, B, and C were 40, 12, and 8; the three groups displayed significant differences in the prevalence, at diagnosis, of lower than normal hemoglobin level (8% vs. 58% vs. 38%; p=0.0004), male sex (18% vs. 58% vs. 50%; p=0.01), and arterial thrombosis at diagnosis (p=0.03), respectively. However, only the former two remained significant during multivariable analysis that included age as a covariate. In PV, the number of patients in groups A, B, and C were 23, 18, and 12; the only difference between the three groups was the association between group B and leukocytosis (p=0.02). Cox regression analysis of the entire 1061 ET/PV patients cohort, including 65 AML/MDS/MF events in ET and 36 AML/MDS events in PV, confirmed the inferior AML/MDS/MF-free survival in ET associated with lower than normal hemoglobin and AML/MDS-free survival in PV associated with leukocytosis (Figure). Conclusion : The current study identifies PV patients with leukocytosis as being the most appropriate and ET patients without anemia as the least appropriate for consideration of participation in experimental drug treatment trials. ![Figure][1] Figure ![Figure][1] Figure [1]: pending:yes
Extremum Seeking Control for multi-objective optimization problems

Many real world applications require multiple conflicting objectives to be optimized. However, explicit functions mapping the system variables to outputs are often unknown, making traditional optimization approaches impossible. Extremum Seeking Control (ESC) is one method to tackle this problem by estimating the local gradient of the objective functions. Extensive literature on ESC focuses on single objective optimization, which use sinusoids as the dither signal. An inherent disadvantage with the sinusoidal nature of the dither is that after convergence the output continues to move around in a neighborhood of the optimal set-point, with the size of the neighborhood proportional to the amplitude of the dither signal. This paper focuses on using square waves as dithers and proves that the square wave can produce a constant output, in contrast to the typical sinusoid where the undesirable dithering effect still exists at the output. The basic ESC scheme is extended to execute Multiple Gradient Descent Algorithm (MGDA) to solve a Multi Objective Optimization Problem (MOOP). A two-stage ESC estimates the local gradient of each objective function, then estimates the optimal weighting of gradients to move to the Pareto front. This eliminates the need for a decision maker as required in a priori scalarization solutions a MOOP. Simulation results show that ESC using MGDA is able to find the Pareto optimal solutions, starting from different initial conditions.
msktuple: An integrated R library for alignment-free multiple sequence k-tuple analysis

Abstract Recently alignment-free sequence comparison methods based on promoter-frequency distance measures have gained popularity. This paper reports on the implementation and validation of several alignment-free sequence analysis methods for representing and quantifying between-sequence distances and sequence variability. The msktuple library includes the following sequence comparison techniques: locational k-tuple, naive k-tuple, CV-Tree, and their ensemble variants. These metrics are used to determine the dissimilarity between sequences using k-letter words. In support of open-science , we provide open-source software, R-scripts, and protocols implementing the new techniques. These tools will support collaboration, enable independent validation, promote result reproducibility and enable tool interoperability.
Operative and short-term oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic versus open liver resection for colorectal liver metastases located in the posterosuperior liver: a propensity score matching analysis.

Laparoscopic resection (LLR) of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) located in the posterosuperior liver (segments 4a, 7, and 8) is challenging but has become more practical recently due to progress in operative techniques. We aimed to compare tumor-specific, perioperative, and short-term oncological outcomes after LLR and open liver resection (OLR) for CRLM. Patients who underwent curative resection of CRLM with at least 1 tumor in the posterosuperior liver during 2012–2015 were analyzed. Tumor-specific factors associated with the adoption of LLR were analyzed by logistic regression model. One-to-one propensity score matching was used to match baseline characteristics between patients with LLR and OLR. The original cohort included 30 patients with LLR and 239 with OLR. Median follow-up time was 23.8 months. Logistic regression analysis showed that multiple, diameter ≥30 mm, deep location, and closeness to major vessels were associated with OLR. None of the 24 patients with none or one of these factors were converted from LLR to OLR. After matching, 29 patients with LLR and 29 with OLR were analyzed. The 2 groups had similar preoperative factors. The LLR and OLR groups did not differ with respect to operative time, intraoperative bleeding, incidence of blood transfusion, surgical margin positivity, incidence of postoperative complications, and unplanned readmission within 45 days. Median length of postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter for LLR versus OLR (4 days [1–12] vs. 5 days [4–18]; p = 0.0003). Median recurrence-free survival was similar for patients who underwent LLR versus OLR (10.6 months for LLR vs. 13.4 months for OLR; p = 0.87). Compared to OLR, LLR of posterosuperior CRLM is associated with significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay but otherwise similar perioperative and short-term oncological outcomes. Tumor-specific factors associated with safe and routine LLR approach despite challenging location are superficial, solitary, and small (<30 mm) CRLM not associated with major vessels.
Gravimetric Calibration of Volumetric Standards with Capacities Exceeding Five Gallon

Recently, the demand for volumetric measurements with greater accuracy and smaller measurement uncertainties has increased dramatically. In response, the metrology laboratories of the Arizona, Main...
Elements, Principles, and Critical Inquiry for Identity-Centered Designs of Online Environments

Within higher education, we are in need of learning designs that facilitate and support students in sharing, examining, and refining their own critical identities as learners and professionals. In the past, technology mediated identity work has focused on individual tool use or learning setting. As professional learning designers, we felt that we are in need of designs to explore and support critical identity processes across various learning contexts, medias and tools. Based on our literature review and our own professional practice, we have identified the recurring and intertwining themes of visibility, agency, community, competencies, and narrative. We also present a design framework that encompasses a set of identity-centered design elements and principles, and we offer self-reflective critical questions to aid in design, development, and implementation of online collaborative learning environments. We then apply the framework to two case studies to demonstrate how the elements, principles, and critique can be used to understand and evaluate new and preexisting designs. Environnements, principes et enquete critique pour une conception des environnements en ligne centree sur l’identite Resume Dans l’enseignement superieur existe un besoin de conceptions de l’apprentissage qui facilitent l’education et soutiennent les etudiants dans le partage, l’examen et l’affinement de leurs identites en tant qu’apprenants et professionnels, identites definies comme critiques car prises en compte selon une approche de la sociologie critique. Dans le passe, le travail de mediation technologique de l’identite s’est centre sur l’usage individuel d’outil ou le cadre d’apprentissage. Cependant, en tant que professionnels de l’ingenierie pedagogique, nous cherchons a explorer des conceptions qui soutiennent les processus d’identite critique dans differents contextes d’apprentissage, medias et outils. En nous fondant sur une revue de litterature et sur la pratique professionnelle, nous avons identifie differents themes qui apparaissent de maniere recurrente et sont souvent entrecroises tels que ceux de visibilite, organisation, communaute, competences, et recit. L’exploration de ces themes s’accompagne d’un modele d’ingenierie pedagogique englobant un ensemble d’elements de conception centree sur l’identite et de principes allant de pair avec un questionnement reflexif critique visant a favoriser la conception, le developpement et l’implementation d’environnements collaboratifs d’apprentissage en ligne. Ce cadre est ensuite applique a une etude de cas pour montrer comment les elements, principes et l’approche critique peuvent etre utilises pour comprendre et evaluer les conceptions nouvelles et preexistantes. Mots-cles : identite, analyse de l’apprenant, ingenierie pedagogique, conception inclusive, identite communautaire, etude de cas
Unplanned reoperation after hepatectomy: an analysis of risk factors and outcomes

Abstract Background/Purpose Reoperation is being increasingly utilized as a metric for surgical care quality. The aim of this study was to identify the incidence of and risk factors for unplanned reoperation following index hepatectomy. Methods Pre, intra- and post-operative information of patients who underwent partial hepatectomy in 435 hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2011 to 2013 were analyzed. Results 343 (4%) of 9195 patients required reoperation within 30 days of index hepatectomy. The index procedures with the highest incidence of reoperation (%) were trisectionectomy (7%) and right hepatectomy (5%). Patients who underwent reoperation had increased index operative duration (323 ± 174 min versus 243 ± 125 min, p Conclusion Reoperation is associated with several patient characteristics and procedural factors in this national sample. Knowledge of these factors can increase awareness of patients at risk for reoperation.
The relationship between reading ability and categorical perception of spectrotemporal and spectral contrasts in children

Behavioral evidence suggests that dyslexic readers are impaired in processing rapid temporal changes such as formant transitions. It is unclear if this possible impairment is attributable to the dynamic nature of a formant transition, the brevity of the cue, or a general deficit in categorical decision making. We tested categorical perception of speech in 30 children between the ages of 8 and 12 with a range of reading abilities (dyslexic, below average and above average readers) on two stimulus continua: (1) a /ba/-/da/ continuum, in which a 100-ms formant transition provides a spectrotemporal cue, and (2) a /sa/-/sha/ continuum with a purely spectral contrastive cue also lasting 100 ms. Two test conditions probed the interaction of working memory and categorical perception: a single-interval condition and an ABX paradigm. Children with dyslexia showed shallower psychometric functions and more lapses at the continuum endpoints compared to controls. There was no effect of stimulus continuum or test condit...
Beware of the Normal Excretory Urogram

AbstractExcretory urography is not an infallible diagnostic procedure and should not be relied upon exclusively. A normal study must never result in the rejection of additional data derived from history, physical examination and laboratory tests. Two case histories are presented to underscore this caveat. Excretory urography must be supplemented by additional radiographic evaluations when the conventional study fails to completely explain the clinical situation.
Relative sea-level change during the Last Interglacial as recorded in Bahamian fossil reefs

Abstract Despite an abundance of U Th age data for Last Interglacial fossil corals in the Bahamas, the accuracy and precision of corresponding elevation data are poor, casting uncertainty on existing estimates of peak relative sea level and rates of sea-level change inferred from these deposits. We revisited two key sites at Great Inagua (GI) and San Salvador (SS) Island to test existing hypotheses about (1) the rate of sea level changes during the Last Interglacial period and (2) a possible gradient in peak sea level between these sites. Here, we provide precise elevation survey results for discrete stratigraphic horizons preserved at both locations, where two stages of reef growth are separated by a discontinuity that truncates corals in the lower reef. The discontinuity at Great Inagua manifests as a sharp wave-cut bench, with a maximum elevation of +1.14 m above mean sea level (MSL), that is sub-horizontal on the promontories and gradually slopes seaward in the embayments. At San Salvador, we observed a discontinuity that undulates between +0.85 and + 1.52 m. The uppermost surface of corals in growth position was measured at +1.94 m (GI) and +2.76 m (SS), although in situ collapse and truncation of large Acropora palmata colonies at the latter site implies that primary coral elevations were somewhat higher. Ultimately, assumptions regarding the amount of material truncated and paleowater depth of the observed reef facies at both sites dominate the uncertainty in calculating past sea level position and hence rates of sea-level change. Full consideration of errors associated with age and elevation data implies an ephemeral sea level drop of at least 1 m over a time frame of approximately one thousand years between two peaks in sea level.
Multiband Antenna Design for Ambient Energy Harvesting based on RF Field Investigation

This paper presents the results of RF field measurement carried out in a semi-urban region in Islamabad, Pakistan. The objective of the paper is to explore the potential of energy harvesting from ambient sources. To author's knowledge it is the first time that this study has been carried out. The ambient RF power level from 10 MHz to 3 GHz has been measured covering FM band, all cellular frequency bands (2G, 3G, 4G) and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. The measurements done for both indoor and outdoor settings provide valuable insights into the available ambient power for harvesting purposes. GSM 900 and 1800 MHz show the highest available power whereas Wi-Fi band has the lowest power among the measured bands. Based on this analysis, a multiband planar bow-tie energy harvesting antenna covering GSM900, GSM1800 and WiFi bands is also presented.
Maximizing Ecosystem Services provided to the New Oil Crop Brassica carinata Through Landscape and Arthropod Diversity

Prairies, once spanning the Upper Midwest, have now largely been replaced by agriculture. The lack of resources available to pollinators in agricultural fields and practices commonly employed has led to a decline in insect diversity. To enhance sustainable practices, we must better understand how ecosystem services such as pest control and pollination services provided by a diverse insect and pollinator community scale to current farming practices as related to crop yield and how landscape features may positively contribute to insect and pollinator diversity. We examined how landscape heterogeneity relates to insect and pollinator diversity, as well as how insect and pollinator diversity relates to crop yield across common farming practices. We planted 35 single acre sites of Brassica carinata, a generalist flower possibly capable of supporting a diverse insect community. We randomly assigned each site with a combination of three common farming practices: tilling (yes/no), added honey bee hives (yes/no), and treatment with systemic neonicotinoids (yes/no). Insect and pollinator diversity and the surrounding landscape at multiple spatial scales were calculated. We observed a significant positive relationship between insect (and pollinator) diversity with yield in the absence of any farming practice. All farming practices will increase yield. However, farming practices alter the relationship between yield and diversity. The addition of seed treatment or tillage negates the relationship between insect (and pollinator) diversity with yield. Seed treatment alone results in a flat relationship between diversity and yield for all insects and a negative relationship for pollinators. Increased landscape heterogeneity results in a positive relationship between insect diversity at the 1000 m scale and pollinator diversity at the 3000 m scale, suggesting large-scale heterogeneity contributes to overall insect diversity. Our results show that increasing large-scale landscape heterogeneity increases diversity serving as a substitute for common farming practices such as application of pesticides, tilling, or bee hives. Increased heterogeneity could save farmers from the input cost of treatment or tillage, by way of increased insect diversity, while still providing similar yields.
Trauma-Informed Care in Homelessness Service Settings: Challenges and Opportunities

Homelessness continues to be a pervasive problem nationally and internationally. In the USA, the National Law Center on Poverty and Homelessness has estimated the annual number of homeless individuals to be in the range of 9.9–10.9 million sheltered and unsheltered persons, including those who have moved in with others due to financial hardship. Many of these persons suffer from severe mental illness or chronic substance abuse disorders. Additionally, many homeless persons have trauma histories, including abuse, neglect, and family and community violence. Many more have also experienced the traumatic effects of homelessness itself, including violence, revictimization, stigma, hunger, poor health, and other negative outcomes. To address the ongoing effects of traumatic stress, homelessness service settings are implementing trauma-informed care (TIC). This chapter will review the tenets of TIC and examine the personal and organizational barriers that may impede its successful implementation. Strategies for overcoming these barriers will also be highlighted.
Supramolecular Design of Unsymmetric Reverse Bolaamphiphiles for Cell-Sensitive Hydrogel Degradation and Drug Release

Self-assembly of peptide-based building units into supramolecular nanostructures creates an important class of biomaterials with robust mechanical properties and improved resistance to premature degradation. Yet, upon aggregation, substrate-enzyme interactions are often compromised because of the limited access of macromolecular proteins to the peptide substrate, leading to either a reduction or loss of responsiveness to biomolecular cues. Reported here is the supramolecular design of unsymmetric reverse bolaamphiphiles (RBA) capable of exposing a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) substrate on the surface of their filamentous assemblies. Upon addition of MMP-2, these filaments rapidly break into fragments prior to reassembling into spherical micelles. Using 3D cell culture, it is shown that drug release is commensurate with cell density, revealing more effective cell killing when more cancer cells are present. This design platform could serve as a cell-responsive therapeutic depot for local chemotherapy.
Replacing methanol with azeotropic ethanol as the co-solvent for improved chiral separations with supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)

Supercritical and near supercritical fluids are considered green solvents of the future because they decrease the need for toxic organic solvents and are easily recyclable. Consequently, supercritical fluid chromatography, SFC, has emerged as an environment-friendly technique especially for analytical and preparative scale enantiomeric separations. In order to separate a wide range of analytes with differing polarities, most SFC systems employ super- or subcritical carbon dioxide mixed with 5–40% organic solvents. More than 40 chlorinated or non-chlorinated co-solvents have been employed in SFC so far. However, methanol is far and away the dominant SFC mobile phase component as it outperforms most of the other solvents. Given the relatively high cost, non-renewable source of manufacture, and toxicity of methanol in humans, we propose elimination of methanol as a component of the SFC mobile phase by replacing with a biomass derived solvent, i.e., minimum boiling azeotropic ethanol. Azeotropic ethanol contains ∼4.6% water (aka ‘190 proof’). It is less expensive and easy to recycle as it distills off at constant composition. This work demonstrates, for the first time, that one can obtain better chiral SFC separations by using ‘190 proof’ ethanol instead of methanol. This solvent choice is shown to be favorable and compatible with a wide range of macrocyclic and chiral polysaccharide column chemistries. In chiral analyses, we show efficiency enhancement up to an order of magnitude and reduced retention by using azeotropic ethanol. In general, SFC separations with azeotropic ethanol can provide enhanced separation performance in a more economical and environmentally friendly format and hopefully change the status quo of current analytical and preparative SFC.
A GPU-friendly Geometric Data Model and Algebra for Spatial Queries: Extended Version

The availability of low cost sensors has led to an unprecedented growth in the volume of spatial data. However, the time required to evaluate even simple spatial queries over large data sets greatly hampers our ability to interactively explore these data sets and extract actionable insights. Graphics Processing Units~(GPUs) are increasingly being used to speedup spatial queries. However, existing GPU-based solutions have two important drawbacks: they are often tightly coupled to the specific query types they target, making it hard to adapt them for other queries; and since their design is based on CPU-based approaches, it can be difficult to effectively utilize all the benefits provided by the GPU. As a first step towards making GPU spatial query processing mainstream, we propose a new model that represents spatial data as geometric objects and define an algebra consisting of GPU-friendly composable operators that operate over these objects. We demonstrate the expressiveness of the proposed algebra by formulating standard spatial queries as algebraic expressions. We also present a proof-of-concept prototype that supports a subset of the operators and show that it is at least two orders of magnitude faster than a CPU-based implementation. This performance gain is obtained both using a discrete Nvidia mobile GPU and the less powerful integrated GPUs common in commodity laptops.
Biologically informed stratification of periodontal disease holds the key to achieving precision oral health

Medicine and dentistry need to treat the individual not the "average patient." This personalized or precision approach to health care involves correctly diagnosing and properly classifying people to effectively customize prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This is not a trivial undertaking. Achieving precision health requires making sense of big data, both at the population level and at the molecular level. The latter can include genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic data, and microbiome data. This biological information can augment established clinical measurements and supplement data on socioeconomic status, lifestyle, behaviors, and environmental conditions. Here, the central thesis is that, with sufficient data and appropriate methods, it is possible to segregate symptom-based and phenotypically based categories of patients into clinically and biologically similar groups. These groups are likely to have different clinical trajectories and benefit from different treatments. Additionally, such groups are optimal for investigations seeking to unveil the genomic basis of periodontal disease susceptibility. Analysis of these complex data to produce actionable and replicable health and disease categories requires appropriately sophisticated bioinformatics approaches and thorough validation in diverse patient samples and populations. Successful research programs will need to consider both population-level and well-controlled deep phenotyping approaches. Biologically informed stratification of periodontal disease is both feasible and desirable. Ultimately, this approach can accelerate the development of precision health through improvements in research and clinical applications.
É o Itamaraty uma instituição total? A aplicabilidade de um conceito sociológico em uma burocracia

Sociological concepts are essential to understand organizations. Few concepts are as popular as "total institutions". In this article, I present the concept, showing first its limitations to explain the life of Brazilian diplomats at the Minister of External Relations (Itamaraty). Then I explain the reason why such concept is used, despite its inadequacy.
Prototyping strategies for stakeholder engagement during front-end design: Design practitioners’ approaches in the medical device industry

Prototypes are fundamental tools used throughout design processes. During early design stages, including problem definition and concept development, prototypes can support stakeholder engagement, which is considered critical for success. However, the ways in which engineering designers leverage prototypes within front-end stakeholder engagements are not well described in the literature. This research explored front-end prototyping strategies for stakeholder engagement through semi-structured interviews with medical device design practitioners. Our research findings describe seventeen strategies design practitioners used to engage stakeholders during front-end design activities. The findings add rich detail to the existing strategies broadly described in the literature, and have implications for designers across expertise levels, as they can be used to develop intentional approaches to engage stakeholders during front-end design.
Constrained Assortment Optimization Problem under the Multilevel Nested Logit Model

We study the choice‐based constrained assortment optimization problem under the multilevel nested logit model with a no‐purchase option in every choice stage. For this problem, each candidate product is associated with a fixed profit. The goal is to identify the optimal assortment satisfying a cardinality constraint to maximize the expected profit per customer. There is a cardinality limitation imposed on nodes in the second lowest level. A polynomial‐time algorithm with computational complexity O(nmax{m, k}) is provided to locate the optimal assortment for the m‐level nested logit model with n products, where k is the maximum number of products within any node in level m − 1.
Leadership Standpoints: A Practical Framework for the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders

This project offers a new leadership framework for the next generation of nonprofit professionals. Based on five years of data collected from the New York Community Trust Leadership Fellowship - designed to address leadership development gaps in the nonprofit sector - it constructs three dimensions and eleven themes for the theory and practice of leadership standpoints. Leadership standpoints are a framework for practicing inclusion, building spaces for performance, and thinking and acting with range. Those using leadership standpoints continuously interact with diverse stakeholders, constantly verify others' views and interests, and remain keenly attentive to power distributions, material constraints, and hidden or unacknowledged voices that need surfaced, while expanding their personal and social outlooks to elevate performance and meet pressing demands best addressed through broadly informed decisions. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Breaking the English Routine: An Argument for Polylingual Discourse in U.S. Higher Education

Extant research has suggested United States (U.S.) higher education is more accessible and equitable toward Whites than toward English-language learners, international students, and students of color (Bernal, 2002; Lee & Rice, 2007; Lippi-Green, 2012; Yeh & Inose, 2003). In this argumentative essay, I insist these issues of access and equity are partially owed to the Anglocentric, highly routinized, and luddite nature of U.S. higher education communication, policy, and practice. Moreover, I forward the notion that predominantly English institutions (PEIs) should explore performing non-routine, highly technological work in order to value the linguistic capital (Yosso, 2005) brought to the institution by students with diverse language knowledge in order to truly serve students from minoritized language populations. Implications for linguistic equity and the practicality of polylingual institutional support is addressed.
Basic Knowledge and Jusificaton

As an introduction to explicating the concept of basic knowledge, I shall examine Aristotle's argument for the existence of basic knowledge and urge two basic points. The first point is that Aristotle's argument, properly viewed, establishes the existence of a kind of knowledge, basic or non-demonstrative knowledge, the definition of which does not require the specification of, and hence the satisfaction of, any evidence condition. This point has been urged by philosophers like Peirce and Austin but it needs further argumentation because most analytic epistemologists still insist (for reasons that we shall see) that all knowledge, whether basic or non-basic, requires the satisfaction of some evidence condition. Secondly, to urge (as Wittgenstein and Dewey have done) that the basic propositions whose existence is established by Aristotle's argument could be privileged but not known, for the reason that there is no evidence condition for them, would be to adopt a position that either entails wholesale skepticism or undermines the basic distinction between knowledge and belief.
Remote Sensing of Landscapes with Spectral Images: A Physical Modeling Approach

Remote Sensing of Landscapes with Spectral Images describes how to process and interpret spectral images using physical models to bridge the gap between the engineering and theoretical sides of remote-sensing and the world that we encounter when we venture outdoors. The emphasis is on the practical use of images rather than on theory and mathematical derivations. Examples are drawn from a variety of landscapes and interpretations are tested against the reality seen on the ground. The reader is led through analysis of real images (using figures and explanations); the examples are chosen to illustrate important aspects of the analytic framework. This textbook will form a valuable reference for graduate students and professionals in a variety of disciplines including ecology, forestry, geology, geography, urban planning, archaeology and civil engineering. It is supplemented by a website hosting digital colour versions of figures in the book as well as ancillary images: www.cambridge.org/9780521662214.
Initiation of Translation of Picornavirus RNAs: Structure and Function of the Internal Ribosome Entry Site

By the late 1970s, a skeleton of the translation mechanism utilized by the bulk of cellular mRNAs had been elucidated. More elegant proof of utilization of an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) on the viral RNA was provided by analysis of translation of bicistronic constructs engineered to encode two tandem protein sequences, separated by a viral 5' untranslated region (UTR). The RNA sequences that constitute an IRES extend through several hundred nucleotides and fold into complex, multidomain structures. To identify the nucleotide sequences and structures in the picornavirus 5' UTRs that contribute to IRES function, mutations were introduced into cDNAs to generate transcripts whose translation could be evaluated in vitro or in transfected cells. For the picornavirus RNAs, a relatively relaxed structure is predicted, with a long, central axis of shifting base pairs, with relatively stable stems, loops, helices, and branch points extending from the central backbone. The conserved motifs in the secondary structure elements that are essential for IRES activity are likely to facilitate RNA-RNA or RNA-protein interactions required to maintain a higher order structure needed for proper recognition of the IRES element by the translational machinery. The picornavirus IRES elements represent relatively large complex domains composed of multiple subdomains that require correct spatial orientation and interactions to carry out IRES function. Efficient translation of capped mRNAs in eukaryotic cells involves a synergistic dependence on the 5'-terminal cap structure and the 3'-terminal poly(A) tail.
Dissatisfaction with city life? Latin America revisited

Abstract Data from the World Values Survey and AmericasBarometer are used in ordinal logistic models to evaluate life satisfaction in rural and urban areas in Latin America. Our findings indicate that, unlike the United States, in Latin America there is no evidence of rural–urban happiness differences. In Latin America familism is the key driving force, aspatial and transcending location.
Micrococcus lysodeikticus bacterial walls as a substrate specific for the autolytic glycosidase of Bacillus subtilis.

The Bacillus subtilis 168 autolytic glycosidase degrades Micrococcus lysodeikticus cells or cell walls, whereas the B. subtilis autolytic amidase does not. The criteria used to establish this fact included: the determination of chemical bonds broken, heat-inactivated kinetics, pH dependence curves, and the physical separation of glycosidase from amidase. The physical separation involved LiCl elution from two different ion-exchange materials, walls from B. subtilis 168 strain βAO, and walls from mutant strain βA173 derived from strain βAO. No evidence was obtained for B. subtilis vegetative bacteria making any more autolysins than one autolytic amidase and one autolytic glycosidase. Images
Frequency and voltage control of microgrids upon unintentional cascading islanding

Microgrids are small scale electricity networks comprising diverse distributed resources (DER) which can operate in grid-connected or islanded mode. An islanding situation may occur in a cascading way, where the DER types inside the islanded area have substantial impacts by means of control schemes. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the islanding process and the subsequent frequency and voltage control of different island schemes that comply with the IEEE 1547.4 grid code. Grid-connected operation, transition-to-island and islanded-mode operation of three different forms of cascading islanding were investigated. Studied islanding forms were a synchronous generator, inverter-based DER and a hybrid type. Experimental results are given in addition to simulation studies.
Coherent and Incoherent Lidar — an Overview

The emphasis of this discussion will be on general concepts which are relevant to a comparison of coherent and incoherent LIDAR. Detailed systems comparisons for specific applications are beyond the scope of this paper. Concepts which are important in comparing and contrasting these two approaches to the detection of laser radiation include basic signal-to-noise (SNR) relationships, coherence diameter, speckle averaging, multiple pulse averaging, and the feasibility of single-frequency pulse generation from the laser transmitters. (Single frequency pulses are mandatory when using coherent LIDAR.) A great deal of work has been done in each of these areas, and the existing literature in these subject areas is vast. No attempt is made to include a comprehensive list of references; only a relatively small number are used as examples.
Concurrent engineering-why and what?

The authors focus on the need for and the underlying concepts of the concurrent engineering approach. They describe concurrent engineering methodology for product development. An attempt is made to clarify the prevailing misconceptions about concurrent engineering. The primary objectives of concurrent engineering and its impact on industry are also discussed. Some examples of organizations benefiting from concurrent engineering are presented to substantiate the potency and effectiveness of the methodology. >
Influence of annual fluctuations in environmental conditions on chasmogamous flower production in Viola striata1

Abstract Cortes-Palomec, A. and H. E. Ballard (Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 45701). Influence of annual fluctuations in environmental conditions on chasmogamous flower production in Viola striata. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133(2): 312–320. 2006.—The ecological factors affecting chasmogamous flower production by Viola striata, a perennial herb widely distributed in temperate forests of the northern and eastern United States and southern Canada, were studied in a natural setting. Forty semi-permanent quadrats were established at two sites in southern Ohio where populations of V. striata are abundant. Investigations were conducted from April to mid-June in 2002 and 2003. The number of chasmogamous flowers produced per individual per quadrat was recorded and the percentage of flowers becoming fruits per plant was measured as an indication of reproductive success. For each quadrat, canopy openness and soil properties (N, K, P, Ca, Mg, pH, and moisture) were documented...
Detection of silicone migration and biodegradation with NMR.

Silicones, generic name of synthetic polymers with a backbone of SiO bonds and organic side groups (aliphatic and/or aromatic), are among the most widely used materials for biomedical purposes [1]. In particular, it is estimated that about 1.5 million silicone gel-filled breast prosthesis are presently implanted in the U.S. for the purpose of reconstruction and augmentation mammaplasty. Although silicones have been assumed to be stable, their benign nature has been questioned recently, and in April 1992 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) severely restricted the use of silicone gel-filled prostheses for breast augmentation arguing that the risks have not been adequately defined [2].
Regulation of EGF receptor signaling establishes pattern across the developing Drosophila retina

Developing epithelia use a variety of patterning mechanisms to place individual cells into their correct positions. However, the means by which pattern elements are established are poorly understood. Here, we report evidence that regulation of Drosophila EGF receptor (DER) activity plays a central role in propagating the evenly spaced array of ommatidia across the developing Drosophila retina. DER activity is essential for establishing the first ommatidial cell fate, the R8 photoreceptor neuron. R8s in turn appear to signal through Rhomboid and Vein to create a patterned array of 'proneural clusters' which contain high levels of phosphorylated ERKA and the bHLH protein Atonal. Finally, secretion by the proneural clusters of Argos represses DER activity in less mature regions to create a new pattern of R8s. Propagation of this process anteriorly results in a retina with a precise array of maturing ommatidia.
Automated analysis and prediction of accuracy and performance in ATR algorithms: I. Requirements, theory, and software implementation

The accurate, comprehensive estimation of computational error has long been a key problem in the design of automated target recognition (ATR) algorithms due to the extensive manual computation customarily required, as well as lack of theory and software support for automated error analysis. For example, ATR algorithms often perform poorly in the presence of sensor noise at the algorithm input, which is propagated through detection, segmentation, or recognition processes. Since computational error increases with each nontrivial computation, tracking of such error in ATR and image processing algorithms would be advantageous for a variety of applications. In this series of two paper, we present an automated, compilation-based technique for profiling computational error. Our method is similar in concept to the well-known software engineering technique of execution profiling. Such performance estimation procedures accept algorithm source code and produce statistical data that describe the frequency with which various user-defined or built-in functions are invoked. Given such data, algorithm performance can be analyzed in terms of cost measures such as space and time complexity, which supports performance optimization. We herein extend the concept of execution profiling to include the profiling of computational error. Our method employs error probability distributions computed from error functions that are derived from the parse tree which represents a given expression or algorithm. Distributions are characterized in terms of customary descriptors derived from a bivariate probability density map. In this paper, we present basic theory and algorithms for automated error analysis, together with a description of our prototype software system called ERSIA. ERSIA, written in ANSI-standard FORTRAN-77, is portable to numerous workstations and parallel processors.
Dengue Virus Inhibits the Production of Type I Interferon in Primary Human Dendritic Cells

Dengue virus (DENV) infects human immune cells in vitro and likely infects dendritic cells (DCs) in vivo. DENV-2 productive infection induces activation and release of high levels of chemokines and proinflammatory cytokines in monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs), with the notable exception of alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β). Interestingly, DENV-2-infected moDCs fail to prime T cells, most likely due to the lack of IFN-α/β released by moDCs, since this effect was reversed by addition of exogenous IFN-β. Together, our data show that inhibition of IFN-α/β production by DENV in primary human moDCs is a novel mechanism of immune evasion.
Role of continuous glucose monitoring in diabetes management

Abstract Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) is among the most important recent advances in diabetes technology for better diabetes management. The CGM provides patients with real-time information about glucose levels, direction and rate of change, and glucose trends. There are currently four continuous glucose monitoring devices (sensors) in clinical use which measure interstitial fluid to calculate blood glucose levels using several algorithms. These devices include sensors developed by GlucoWatch®, DexCom™ (DexCom SEVEN® PLUS), Medtronic (MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time and Guardian® REAL-Time), and Abbott Diabetes Care (FreeStyle Navigator®). Continuous Glucose Monitoring is currently approved as adjunctive to Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG), and the CGM data should be confirmed using SMBG for treatment decisions. The use of CGM, both in research and clinical settings, has been documented to decrease blood glucose excursions, lower HbA1c values, and reduce hypoglycemic episodes, which together diminish the risk of complications associated with diabetes. In addition, use of CGM helps in reducing glucose variability. The CGM is also useful associated with special patient populations such as pregnant women with gestational diabetes or type 1 diabetes, children, and subjects with unexplained hypoglycemic unawareness, even though it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for many of these special circumstances.
Training Of Prison Personnel In Japan: Century-old And Persistent

Japan celebrated in 1990 the centennial of systematic training of prison personnel. That exceptional accomplishment is linked with the history of modernization beginning only some 125 years ago with the Meiji Restoration. While adapting Western social institutions to Japanese traditions, the reformers introduced new laws and correctional practices. In addition to this unique initiation, inservice training enjoys advantages derived from special characteristics of corrections in Japan. From that basis, the paper traces the affects of factors external to the field of corrections on the evolution of inservice training. The nature of contemporary programs is described.
The influence of face-to-face versus computer-mediated communication channels on collective induction

Abstract Collective induction is the cooperative search for descriptive, predictive, and explanatory generalizations, rules, and principles. When engaged in collective induction, group members may share data, seek the advice of colleagues, and make decisions. In rapidly changing circumstances, organizations often fail to correctly interpret and act upon signals from the environment. Computer-mediated communication may assist organizations in their efforts to pool the resources of geographically remote members for more effective group induction. In the study reported here, half of the groups discussed evidence and proposed solutions face-to-face and the other half conducted their discussions using remote, computer-mediated communication. For generating correct solutions to the rule induction task, computer-based technology provided a good fit. For assisting groups in deciding among proposed solutions, computer-mediated was not as appropriate as face-to-face discussion. Significantly more hypotheses inconsistent with the evidence were proposed, fewer comments were exchanged, and more time was required by groups communicating via computer, as compared to face-to-face.
Technological Advancements in Liquid Handling Robotics

By Maria E. DiLorenzo, Conal F. Timoney, and Robin A. Felder, Ph.D., University of Virginia The Hamilton Company has served the scientific community for nearly 50 years, providing innovation in precision liquid handling technology. Founded on analytical syringe technology, Hamilton has diversified its expertise and technology to encompass semiautomated and fully automated liquid handling instrumentation. Hamilton was the first to provide microliter syringe technology and later pioneered the first Cartesian laboratory robotics. Hamilton's innovation and advancement stem from worldclass engineering and manufacturing facilities in Reno, Nevada and Bonaduz, Switzerland. Both facilities are committed to detail, quality, and service, earning Hamilton ISO-9001 certification. There is a new energy at Hamilton with the introduction of three new products to the robotics market. Each offers improved design and new technologies for more reliable and usable automation. The new MICRO LAB STAR (Figure 1), Hamilton's flagship liquid handling platform, was introduced to the American market in January at LabAutomation2001 in Palm Springs, California. Figure 1. The new MICROLAB STAR. The STAR is an automated liquid handler featuring several new technologies including the patented CO-RE technology, Dynamic Positioning System, and Monitored Air Displacement pipetting.