cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do General Circulation Models Underestimate the Natural Variability in the Arctic Climate

The authors examine the natural variability of the arctic climate system simulated by two very different models: the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) global climate model, and an area-averaged model of the arctic atmosphere‐sea ice‐upper-ocean system called the polar cap climate model, the PCCM. A 1000-yr integration of the PCCM is performed in which the model is driven by a prescribed, stochastic atmospheric energy flux convergence ( D), which has spectral characteristics that are identical to the spectra of the observed D. The standard deviation of the yearly mean sea ice thickness from this model is 0.85 m; the mean sea ice thickness is 3.1 m. In contrast, the standard deviation of the yearly averaged sea ice thickness in the GFDL climate model is found to be about 6% of the climatological mean thickness and only 24% of that simulated by the PCCM. A series of experiments is presented to determine the cause of these disparate results. First, after changing the treatment of sea ice and snow albedo in the (standard) PCCM model to be identical thermodynamically to that in the GFDL model, the PCCM is driven with D from the GFDL control integration to demonstrate that the PCCM model produces an arctic climate similar to that of the GFDL model. Integrations of the PCCM are then examined in which the different prescriptions of the sea ice treatment (GFDL vs standard PCCM) and D (GFDL vs observed) are permutated. The results indicate that unarguable improvements in the treatment of sea ice in the GFDL climate model should amplify significantly the natural variability in this model. The authors present calculations that indicate the variability in the sea ice thickness is extremely sensitive to the spectrum of the atmospheric energy flux convergence. Specifically, the differences between the GFDL and observed D at timescales shorter than 3 yr are shown to have a significant impact on the sea ice variabilityon all timescales. A conservative best estimate for the amplitude of the natural variability in the arctic sea ice volume is presented; this estimate is a significant fraction (about 25%) of the mean sea ice thickness. The results suggest that most of the global climate models that have been used to evaluate climate change may also have artificially quiescent natural variability in the Arctic.
Longitudinal control of a platoon of vehicles with no communication of lead vehicle information: a system level study

The paper considers the problem of longitudinal control of a platoon of automotive vehicles on a straight lane of a highway and proposes control laws in the event of loss of communication between the lead vehicle and the other vehicles in the platoon. After discussing the main design objectives for the proposed control laws, the authors formulate these objectives as a constrained optimization problem. By solving this optimization problem, they obtain longitudinal control laws for a platoon of vehicles which does not use any communication from the lead vehicle to the other vehicles in the platoon. Comparison between these control laws and the control laws which use such a communication link to transmit lead-vehicle information to the other vehicles in a platoon shows that, in the case of loss of communication between the lead vehicle and the other vehicles, the performance of the longitudinal control laws degrades; however, this degradation is not catastrophic. >
Fermionic effective operators and Higgs production at a linear collider

We study the possible contributions of dimension six operators containing fermion fields to Higgs production at a 500 GeV or 1 TeV e+e- linear collider. We show that—depending on the production mechanism—the effects of such operators can be kinematically enhanced relative to standard model (SM) contributions. We determine constraints on the operator coefficients implied by existing precision electroweak measurements and the scale of neutrino mass. We find that even in the presence of such constraints, substantial deviations from SM Higgs production cross sections are possible. We compare the effects of fermionic operators with those associated with purely bosonic operators that have been previously discussed in the literature.
A reference model for deploying applications in virtualized environments

Modern scientific research has been revolutionized by the availability of powerful and flexible computational infrastructure. Virtualization has made it possible to acquire computational resources on demand. Establishing and enabling use of these environments is essential, but their widespread adoption will only succeed if they are transparently usable. Requiring changes to applications being deployed or requiring users to change how they utilize those applications represent barriers to the infrastructure acceptance. The problem lies in the process of deploying applications so that they can take advantage of the elasticity of the environment and deliver it transparently to users. Here, we describe a reference model for deploying applications into virtualized environments. The model is rooted in the low-level components common to a range of virtualized environments and it describes how to compose those otherwise dispersed components into a coherent unit. Use of the model enables applications to be deployed into the new environment without any modifications, it imposes minimal overhead on management of the infrastructure required to run the application, and yields a set of higher-level services as a byproduct of the component organization and the underlying infrastructure. We provide a fully functional sample application deployment and implement a framework for managing the overall application deployment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
External mode locking with feedback from a self‐pumped phase‐conjugator BaTiO3 crystal

An external mode locking technique using RF modulation by an acousto-optic modulator and feedback from a phase-conjugate mirror is presented. A photorefractive BaTiO3 crystal is arranged in self- pumped phase-conjugator geometry. The setup is completely self- aligning and subnanosecond pulses are easily observed for He-Ne (632.8 nm), Ar 1 (514.5 nm), and He-Cd (442 nm) lasers. © 1996 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. 15 years. 1 The discovery of the single-beam method for producing a phase-conjugate beam ~PCB!, self-pumped phase conjugator 2 ~SPPC!, has greatly enhanced the poten- tial use of OPC in practical applications. Many of these applications are related to interferometry and real-time im- age processing. In this paper we discuss mode locking of multimode, low to moderate power continuous wave ~cw! lasers, yet another interferometric application, using OPC with a BaTiO3 crystal in an SPPC arrangement. In order to produce mode locking, it is necessary that the phases of the various longitudinal modes of a multimode cw laser be coupled with each other. This is usually achieved by placing an active or passive frequency-shifting element inside or outside the laser cavity. However, in some cases the additional loss in the cavity due to a modu- lator may not be desirable, since it may suppress the lasting action ~specially for low-gain blue UV wavelengths! .I n such cases one can still obtain a pulsed laser by externally modulating the laser beam in amplitude or frequency. In this case laser modes are modulated by the free spectral range ~FSR! of the laser and injected, through the output coupler, into the cavity, causing the coupling of the adja- cent modes. 3-6 Consider a laser beam that is propagating through an acousto-optic modulator ~AOM! whose driving frequency is half of the free spectral range of the laser. The AOM diffracts most of the light into the first order with a fre- quency shift equal to that of the acoustic wave frequency. This beam is subsequently reflected by the SPPC mirror onto its original path, resulting in a phase-conjugate beam with a total frequency change equal to the longitudinal mode separation of the laser. This means that a portion of the light from one mode returns into the cavity that has the frequency of its adjacent mode. In other words, the frequency-shifted portion of the laser beam is delayed by a roundtrip cavity transit time. Different longitudinal modes of the injected PCB that have the frequency of their neigh- boring modes are recombined with their neighboring modes in the cavity. With every pass through the AOM and reflec- tion by the SPPC, adjacent longitudinal modes are locked together in their phases, thus forcing all the modes into a fixed-phase relation. This results in a characteristic, peri- odic pulsation of a mode-locked multimode laser. Assume each laser mode is expressed by a complex am- plitude field and the total field ofN11 axial modes is given by:
Structure of RNA 3′-phosphate cyclase bound to substrate RNA

RNA 3'-phosphate cyclase (RtcA) catalyzes the ATP-dependent cyclization of a 3'-phosphate to form a 2',3'-cyclic phosphate at RNA termini. Cyclization proceeds through RtcA-AMP and RNA(3')pp(5')A covalent intermediates, which are analogous to intermediates formed during catalysis by the tRNA ligase RtcB. Here we present a crystal structure of Pyrococcus horikoshii RtcA in complex with a 3'-phosphate terminated RNA and adenosine in the AMP-binding pocket. Our data reveal that RtcA recognizes substrate RNA by ensuring that the terminal 3'-phosphate makes a large contribution to RNA binding. Furthermore, the RNA 3'-phosphate is poised for in-line attack on the P-N bond that links the phosphorous atom of AMP to N(e) of His307. Thus, we provide the first insights into RNA 3'-phosphate termini recognition and the mechanism of 3'-phosphate activation by an Rtc enzyme.
Flange correction to four-terminal contact resistance measurements

A heuristic model for flange correction to four-terminal measurements of the interfacial resistance in square contacts between a semiconducting and a metal layer, or between metal layers is presented. The model reproduces results from experiments with geometric variations when a constant interfacial resistivity is fitted, and compares well to simulations. >
Local hydrophobicity stabilizes secondary structures in proteins

The probability of occurrence of helix and ..beta..-sheet residues in 47 globular proteins was determined as a function of local hydrophobicity, which was defined by the sum of the Nozaki-Tanford transfer free energies at two nearest-neighbors on both sides of the amino acid sequence. In general, hydrophilic amino acids favor neither helix nor ..beta..-sheet formations when neighbor residues are also hydrophilic but favor helix formation at higher local hydrophobicity. On the other hand, some hydrophobic amino acids such as Met, Leu, and Ile favor helix formation when neighbor residues are hydrophilic. None of the hydrophobic amino acids favor ..beta..-sheet formation with hydrophilic neighbors, but most of them strongly favor ..beta..-sheet formation at high local hydrophobicity. When the average of 20 amino acids is taken, both helix and ..beta..-sheet residue probabilities are higher at higher local hydrophobicity, although the increase is steeper for ..beta..-sheets. Therefore, ..beta..-sheet formation is more influenced by local hydrophobicity than helix formation. Generally, helices are nearer the surface and tend to have hydrophilic and hydrophobic faces at opposite sides. The tendency of alternating regions of hydrophilic and hydrophobic residues in a helical sequence was revealed by calculating the correlation of the Nozaki-Tanford values. Such amphipathic helices maymore » be important in protein-protein-lipid interactions and in forming hydrophilic channels in the membrane. The choice of 30 nonhomologous proteins as the data set did not alter the above results.« less
RSC, an Essential, Abundant Chromatin-Remodeling Complex

A novel 15-subunit complex with the capacity to remodel the structure of chromatin, termed RSC, has been isolated from S. cerevisiae on the basis of homology to the SWI/SNF complex. At least three RSC subunits are related to SWI/SNF polypeptides: Sth1p, Rsc6p, and Rsc8p are significantly similar to Swi2/Snf2p, Swp73p, and Swi3p, respectively, and were identified by mass spectrometric and sequence analysis of peptide fragments. Like SWI/SNF, RSC exhibits a DNA-dependent ATPase activity stimulated by both free and nucleosomal DNA and a capacity to perturb nucleosome structure. RSC is, however, at least 10-fold more abundant than SWI/SNF complex and is essential for mitotic growth. Contrary to a report for SWII/SNF complex, no association of RSC (nor of SWI/SNF complex) with RNA polymerase II holoenzyme was detected.
Cassette Labeling for Facile Construction of Energy Transfer Fluorescent Primers

DNA primer sets, labeled with two fluorescent dyes to exploit fluorescence energy transfer (ET), can be efficiently excited with a single laser line and emit strong fluorescence at distinctive wavelengths. Such ET primers are superior to single fluorophore-labeled primers for DNA sequencing and other multiple color-based analyses [J. Ju, C. Ruan, C. W. Fuller, A. N. Glazer and R. A. Mathies (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 4347-4351]. We describe here a novel method of constructing fluorescent primers using a universal ET cassette that can be incorporated by conventional synthesis at the 5'-end of an oligonucleotide primer of any sequence. In this cassette, the donor and acceptor fluorophores are separated by a polymer spacer (S6) formed by six 1',2'-dideoxyribose phosphate monomers (S). The donor is attached to the 5' side of the ribose spacer and the acceptor to a modified thymidine attached to the 3' end of the ribose spacer in the ET cassette. The resulting primers, labeled with 6-carboxy-fluorescein as the donor and other fluorescein and rhodamine dyes as acceptors, display well-separated acceptor emission spectra with 2-12-fold enhanced fluorescence intensity relative to that of the corresponding single dye-labeled primers. With single- stranded M13mp18DNA as the template, a typical run with these ET primers on a capillary sequencer provides DNA sequences with 99% accuracy in the first 550 bases using the same amount of DNA template as that typically required using a four-color slab gel automated sequencer.
Calculation of one‐electron properties using limited configuration interaction techniques

One-electron properties may be evaluated by configuration interaction methods using analytical differentiation of the total energy with respect to an external perturbation parameter. Dipole moments are reported using such a method for CO and H2CO. Inclusion of single substitutions does not change calculated dipole moments appreciably with this method. The differences between this method and the direct evaluation of an expectation value are discussed.
Anti-Patterns: Integrating Distributed and Heterogeneous Data Sources in SOAs

In computer science, anti-patterns are specific repeated practices that appear initially to be beneficial, but ultimately result in undesirable consequences that outweigh the expected advantages. In this article we present our experiences from a range of industrial projects where there is a strong need for integrating distributed and heterogeneous data sources. SOA approach is selected to achieve the integration goals. We present the problem and the common solution approach that has been repeatedly observed in the field. This common approach manifests itself as an anti-pattern since in many cases the solution produces unwanted outcomes. We outline the reasons for the failures and introduce a preferred solution to the same problem that we have successfully applied in many cases as an alternative to the so-called common approach.
A Phase I Trial of BKM120 (Buparlisib) in Combination with Fulvestrant in Postmenopausal Women with Estrogen Receptor–Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

Purpose: This trial was conducted to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and preliminary efficacy of buparlisib, an oral pan-class I PI3K inhibitor, plus fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with metastatic estrogen receptor positive (ER + ) breast cancer. Experimental Design: Phase IA employed a 3+3 design to determine the MTD of buparlisib daily plus fulvestrant. Subsequent cohorts (phase IB and cohort C) evaluated intermittent (5/7-day) and continuous dosing of buparlisib (100 mg daily). No more than 3 prior systemic treatments in the metastatic setting were allowed in these subsequent cohorts. Results: Thirty-one patients were enrolled. MTD was defined as buparlisib 100 mg daily plus fulvestrant. Common adverse events (AE) included fatigue (38.7%), transaminases elevation (35.5%), rash (29%), and diarrhea (19.4%). C-peptide was significantly increased during treatment, consistent with on-target effect of buparlisib. Compared with intermittent dosing, daily buparlisib was associated with more frequent early onset AEs and higher buparlisib plasma concentrations. Among the 29 evaluable patients, the clinical benefit rate was 58.6% (95% CI, 40.7%–74.5%). Response was not associated with PIK3CA mutation or treatment cohort; however, loss of PTEN, progesterone receptor (PgR) expression, or mutation in TP53 was most common in resistant cases, and mutations in AKT1 and ESR1 did not exclude treatment response. Conclusions: Buparlisib plus fulvestrant is clinically active with manageable AEs in patients with metastatic ER + breast cancer. Weekend breaks in buparlisib dosing reduced toxicity. Patients with PgR negative and TP53 mutation did poorly, suggesting buparlisib plus fulvestrant may not be adequately effective against tumors with these poor prognostic molecular features. Clin Cancer Res; 22(7); 1583–91. ©2015 AACR .
Recognition of Facial Expressions of Negative Emotions in Romantic Relationships

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals who were accurate at recognizing facial expressions of emotions reported better relationships with family and friends. The purpose of the present study was to test whether the ability to recognize facial expressions of negative emotions predicted greater relationship satisfaction with their romantic relationships and whether this link was mediated by constructive responses to conflict. Participants currently involved in a romantic relationship completed a validated performance measure of recognition of facial expressions and afterwards reported on the responses they engaged in during conflict with their romantic partner and rated their romantic relationship satisfaction. Results showed that accurate recognition of facial expressions of negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, fear, and sadness) predicted less conflict engaging behaviors during conflict with their romantic partners (but not positive problem solving and withdrawal), which in turn predicted greater relationship satisfaction. The present study is the first to show that the ability to recognize facial expressions of negative emotions is related to romantic relationship satisfaction and that constructive responses to conflict such as less conflict engaging behaviors, mediate this process.
Multimodality Imaging of Bioprosthetic Percutaneous Balloon Valvuloplasty Followed by Valve-in-Valve Implantation for Mitral Stenosis Due to Commissural Leaflet Fusion

A 77-year-old woman with a history of failed mitral valve (MV) repair with severe symptomatic mitral regurgitation underwent MV replacement with a 25-mm Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT Magna bovine bioprosthesis (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California) with resolution of symptoms. After 6 months,
Predicting peak oil

"We have no choice but to proceed into a future which we may be assured will differ markedly from anything we have experienced thus far. Among the inevitable characteristics of this future will be the progressive exhaustion of the mineral fuels." These words sound very much like what you might hear in various quarters today, but they were written in 1949 by the American geophysicist Marion King Hubbert. Hubbert is best known for developing the theory of "peak oil": the idea that oil productionwill be characterized by an initial period of exponential growth, followed by a peak (or peaks), followed by a substantial decline. Debates about Hubbert's predictions were intense in his lifetime and continue today. The Oracle of Oil is a masterful telling of Hubbert's life and ideas.
Abstract 4738: Utilizing genotype imputation for the augmentation of sequence data

The advancement in genotyping technology and large SNP arrays has led to an increase in the number of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for various complex traits. These GWAS have resulted in the implication of over 1500 SNPs for association with disease traits. However, the SNPs identified from these GWAS are not necessarily the functional variants. Therefore, the next phase in GWAS will involve the validation, augmentation and refining of these putative regions or loci. One possible “next phase” approach would be to catalog all variants found in the study subjects within the loci of interest using sequencing technology, followed by the association analysis. However, sequencing a locus in a large number of subjects is still relatively expensive. By sequencing only a portion of the samples for the follow-up of signals from GWAS, followed by imputation in the remaining samples, one can significantly reduced the cost to localize the punitive variant involved in the etiology of complex phenotypes. A potentially attractive alternative option would be to impute based only on the 1000 Genomes Project; however, this has the drawbacks of using a reference population that does not necessarily match with disease status and LD pattern. Therefore, we conducted a study to investigate the ability to carry-out genotype imputation using a reference panel consisting of sequencing data for a fraction of the study participants. The various approaches were implemented using data from the candidate gene sequencing study conducted at the Mayo Clinic and the 1000 Genomes Project. Our results show that imputation of untyped markers based on sequencing a portion of the study participants is a reasonable, cost-saving, approach for disease mapping and the refinement of putative regions detected with GWAS. We recommend a few guidelines in designing sequencing studies to take advantage of the recent advances in genotype imputation: (1) Select the largest and most diverse reference panel for sequencing, with respect to both haplotypes and phenotypes. One can also use the 1000 Genomes Project in addition to the sequencing of a portion of the study participants; (2) Genotype as many “anchor” markers as possible, in that, the number of markers genotyped on all subjects impacts accuracy. Therefore, additional genotyping of a few common SNP markers not already genotyped on all subjects using a cost effective platform may be needed if the GWAS SNP array does not provide adequate coverage in the locus to be sequenced. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4738.
Determination of fluoride in air by headspace gas chromatography

Objective:To set up a method of headspace GC for determinating fluoride in the air.Methods:The fluoride in the air was collected by microminiature fiberglass and dissolved in deionized water,headspace sampling technology,then separated in column after filtering and detected with FID detector,qualitatively controlled by elution time and quantitatively by peak height or peak area.Results:The linear ranges of fluoride in the air was 0.5 μg/ml～30.0 μg/ml with thin correlation coefficents of 0.9997.The detection limits of the method was0.50ug/ml,The minimum detecable concentrations of the method was 0.018 mg/m3 for 75 L the air.The average spiked recoveries were from 95.4%～99.7%.Relative standard deviation was 0.7%～2.6% and desorption efficiency 99.0%～99.8%.Sampling efficiency was 93.48%～96.32%.The samples could be stored at room temperature at least for one week.Conclusion:It shows that the method is simple,high sensitivity,good selectivity and low interference,wide linear range and lower cimit of detection.It is a good method to determinate fluoride in the air.
N-alpha-acetyltransferases and regulation of CFTR expression

The majority of cystic fibrosis (CF)-causing mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) lead to the misfolding, mistrafficking, and degradation of the mutant protein. Inhibition of degradation does not effectively increase the amount of trafficking competent CFTR, but typically leads to increased ER retention of misfolded forms. Thus, the initial off pathway steps occur early in the processing of the protein. To identify proteins that interact with these early forms of CFTR, in vitro crosslink experiments identified cotranslational partners of the nascent chain of the severe misfolded mutant, G85E CFTR. The mutant preferentially interacts with a subunit of an N-alpha-acetyltransferase A. Based on recent reports that acetylation of the N-termini of some N-end rule substrates control their ubiquitination and subsequent degradation, a potential role for this modification in regulation of CFTR expression was assessed. Knockdown experiments identified two complexes, which affect G85E CFTR proteins levels, NatA and NatB. Effects of the knockdowns on mRNA levels, translation rates, and degradation rates established that the two complexes regulate G85E CFTR through two separate mechanisms. NatA acts indirectly by regulating transcription levels and NatB acts through a previously identified, but incompletely understood posttranslational mechanism. This regulation did not effect trafficking of G85E CFTR, which remains retained in the ER, nor did it alter the degradation rate of CFTR. A mutation predicted to inhibit N-terminal acetylation of CFTR, Q2P, was without effect, suggesting neither system acts directly on CFTR. These results contradict the prediction that N-terminal acetylation of CFTR determines its fitness as a proteasome substrate, but rather NatB plays a role in the conformational maturation of CFTR in the ER through actions on an unidentified protein.
The quest for professional recognition.

Objectives To assess the progress clinical laboratory science has made toward achieving professional status. Data sources Books, professional journals. Study selection Not applicable. Data extraction Survey of literature. Data synthesis Characteristics of clinical laboratory science as a profession were compared to a model of professionalization developed by Houle to assess the extent to which clinical laboratory science has acquired and refined selected attributes of a profession. Conclusion Although clinical laboratory science has attained some of the characteristics associated with a profession, several critical issues must be addressed before it can achieve full professional status and recognition.
Application of active device authentication mechanisms in the human-machine interface of SCADA networks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 SCADA Control System Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Current Landscape of SCADA Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.3 Change Management and Patching in SCADA Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 CHAPTER 2. RELATED WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.1 Human Machine Interface Risk Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.2 Intrusion Detection Systems in SCADA Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 CHAPTER 3. ACTIVE DEVICE AUTHENTICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 3.1 A Solution for Legacy Device Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 CHAPTER 4. EVALUATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4.1 Gatekeeper Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4.2 HMI Application Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4.3 Active Device Authentication Proof-of-Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 5.1 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 5.2 Discussion and Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Voting as communicating: Mandates, multiple candidates, and the signaling voter's curse

Abstract In this spatial model of common-value elections, votes convey citizens' private opinions regarding which policies are socially optimal, and the winning candidate utilizes this information in choosing policy. In equilibrium, large margins of victory convey mandates for candidates to make bold policy changes. To communicate extreme policy views, citizens support extreme parties that may be unlikely to win office. To convey moderate views, citizens deliberately abstain from voting, thereby avoiding the signaling voter's curse of encouraging overextremism. In large elections, mandates can identify the optimal policy from an entire continuum, thereby greatly strengthening Condorcet's (1785) classic “jury” theorem. Behavioral patterns are consistent with otherwise puzzling empirical features of elections, and can also apply to other political activities, such as public protests or writing letters to elected officials.
Regulation of Cathpsin L by the Serpin Protein C Inhibitor.

Protein C inhibitor (PCI) is a plasma serine protease inhibitor (serpin) that regulates several serine proteases in coagulation and fibrinolysis including thrombin and activated protein C (APC). The physiological role of PCI, however, remains under investigation since PCI both inhibits and promotes thrombin generation. The cysteine protease, cathepsin L, has been shown to play a role in many physiological processes including cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, blood vessel remodeling, and tumor cell invasion. Recently, several serpins have been described to inhibit both serine and cysteine proteases and they are termed “cross-class” inhibitors. The goal of this project was to determine if PCI inhibits cathepsin L activity and if so, does this inhibition process mimic the mechanism of serine proteases. Previous studies have shown that the prototypical serpin, antithrombin (AT), inhibits the cysteine proteases papain and cathepsin L. We found that PCI is a more efficient inhibitor of cathepsin L than AT with an inhibition rate (k 2 ) of 1.5 × 10 6 M −1 min −1 compared to 5.2 × 10 4 M −1 min −1 for AT. Also, PCI is a more efficient inhibitor of cathepsin L than either thrombin or APC whose inhibition rates are 5.7 × 10 5 M −1 min −1 and 3.4 × 10 4 M −1 min −1 , respectively. In contrast to AT, PCI does not inhibit papain. Thrombin inhibition by AT and PCI is accelerated in the presence of glycosaminoglycans such as heparin and heparan sulfate. The inhibition of cathepsin L by PCI is not accelerated in the presence of heparin suggesting either that cathepsin L does not bind heparin or that heparin is not required for accelerated inhibition of cysteine proteases. Interestingly, a reactive site P1 mutant (R354A) of PCI does not inhibit thrombin but does inhibit cathepsin L at rates comparable to wild-type PCI. This implies that the P1 residue of PCI does not determine specificity for inhibition of cathepsin L unlike for thrombin and APC. We believe that the specificity is primarily determined by the hydrophobic Phe residue located at the P2 position since other serpins that inhibit cathepsin L contain either a Phe or Val at the P2 position. Mutating the P14 residue (T341R; mutation in the hinge region) of PCI results in the conversion of PCI from an inhibitor to a substrate. As expected, the PCI-P14 mutant does not inhibit either thrombin or cathepsin L. Another characteristic of the serpin inhibition mechanism is formation of a bi-molecular SDS stable complex. We found that wild-type PCI and PCI-P1 mutant both form a stable complex with cathepsin L under non-reducing conditions. Lastly, the wild-type PCI-cathepsin L interaction has a stoichiometry of inhibition (SI) value of 1.6. This indicates that PCI is an effective and possibly a physiologically relevant inhibitor of cathepsin L. Regulating cathepsin L by serpins like PCI may be a novel and new pathway of regulation of hemostasis-thrombosis, cardiovascular and metastatic diseases.
Effects of dairy manure-derived biochar on psychrophilic, mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestions of dairy manure.

Abstract Effects of dairy manure-derived biochar (M-BC) on methane production in anaerobic digestion (AD) of dry dairy manure were investigated with three different concentrations of biochar (0, 1 and 10 g/L) and temperatures (psychrophilic, 20 °C; mesophilic, 35 °C; thermophilic, 55 °C). Compared with the AD without any biochar, the cumulative methane and yield in the AD with 10 g/L biochar were increased to 27.65% and 26.47% in psychrophilic, 32.21% and 24.90% in mesophilic and 35.71% and 24.69% in thermophilic digestions. The addition of M-BC shortened the lag phases of AD at all temperatures in the study while it lowered the concentration of total VFAs and propionic acid. It was suggested that the high nutrients and alkalinity potential of M-BC (i.e. 9.1% Ca, 3.6% Mg, 1.3% N, 0.14% P) would play significant roles in enhancing methane production and shortening lag phases from the AD of dairy manure.
Using Mind Mapping to Identify Research Topics: A Lesson for Teaching Research Methods:

Mind mapping is a brainstorming technique that allows users to deconstruct complex topics by creating a graphical representation of constituent subtopics and related themes. The aim of this article...
Clinical deterioration: A concept analysis.

Aims and objectives To present a concept analysis of clinical deterioration and introduce an operational definition. Background Hospitalised patients who endure cardiopulmonary arrest and unplanned intensive care unit admissions often exhibit physiological signs preceding these events. Clinical deterioration not promptly recognised can result in increased patient morbidity and mortality. A barrier to recognising and responding to clinical deterioration stems from practice variations among healthcare clinicians. Design Concept analysis. Methods Eight-step method of concept analysis proposed by Walker and Avant. Results Defining attributes include dynamic state, decompensation and objective and subjective determination. Antecedents identified include clinical state, susceptibility, pathogenesis and adverse event. Increased mortality, resuscitation, implementation of higher level of care and prolonged hospital admission were the consequences identified. Defining attributes, antecedents and consequences identified led to an operational definition of clinical deterioration as a dynamic state experienced by a patient compromising hemodynamic stability, marked by physiological decompensation accompanied by subjective or objective findings. Conclusions Clinical deterioration is a key contributor to inpatient mortality, and its recognition is often underpinned by contextual factors and practice variances. Variation in the uniformity of the concept of clinical deterioration causes a gap in knowledge and necessitated clarification of this phenomenon for nursing research and practice. Relevance to clinical practice Identifying and intervening on clinical deterioration plays a vital role in the inpatient setting demonstrated by the dynamic nature of a patients' condition during hospitalisation. It is anticipated that this concept analysis on clinical deterioration will contribute to further identification of clinically modifiable risk factors and accompanying interventions to prevent clinical deterioration in the inpatient setting.
Remembering Kenneth Arrow: discount rates

This remembrance of Kenneth Arrow describes his contribution to the consideration of social discount rates applied to intertemporal flows of costs and benefits.
Principle and Application of Asynchronous Operation of China Southern Power Grid

The instability induced by high voltage direct current (HVdc) contingencies is challenging operation of ac/dc synchronous system. The asynchronization of ac/dc synchronous system can be a promising strategy for this concern which, however, is lack of practical applications. This paper analyzed the necessity of replacing the existing parallel ac/dc interconnection by pure dc interconnection in China Southern Power Grid (CSG), Guangzhou, China. A comprehensive solution is proposed to mitigate the risk of frequency instability in a small power grid with large amount of power sending out by HVdcs. Meanwhile, the strategy that combines the use of line-commuted converter-HVdc, voltage source converter-HVdc, and flexible ac transmission system is proposed to ensure the secure operation of HVdc feeding in weak ac system. The principle and application of asynchronous operation of CSG provide a reference for other grid development.
Pollination ofNuphar (Nymphaeaceae) in Europe: Flies and bees rather thanDonacia beetles

Nuphar (Nymphaeaceae) comprises a small holarctic group of aquatic perennials whose flowers are pollinated by flies, bees, and beetles. We studied pollination in different populations of the two European speciesN. lutea andN. pumila in Norway and in Germany. Flowers are self-compatible and protogynous, preventing automatic selfing, and insect pollination is required for seed production. Sympatric populations were studied in Vest-Agder county in Norway to determine whetherN. lutea andN. pumila have the same or different pollinators. Allopatric populations ofN. lutea in Germany and Norway were then compared to determine whether their pollinator spectra differ as would be expected in an open flower with seemingly easily accessible pollen and nectar. Results of the present as well as previous studies of the pollination ofN. lutea andN. pumila show that both species are mainly pollinated by flies, including apparentNuphar specialists, such as the scatophagidHydromyza livens and the ephydridsHydrellia andNotiphila, the last also a long-known pollinator ofN. advena in Florida. Pollinator overlap between sympatric heterospecific populations was small, while allopatric conspecific populations had similar visitor and pollinator spectra. We found no evidence of pollination byDonacia beetles as reported from some North American populations ofNuphar.
Refocusing on the Whole Person

A recent article on metaphors and persons with disabilities provides the focus for this last chapter of Section II. In the article, the author (Sumarah, 1989) discusses three metaphors that help us understand peoples’ conceptions of others and themselves. In the organic metaphor human infants are perceived as animal organisms who, in the process of growing up, become rational and acquire a human personality. According to this first metapor, however, if people do not become more rational in their developmental years, they remain similar to animals or things. In the second, or mechanical metaphor, a person is conceived as a machine, the interrelated parts of which should conceivably be understandable and adjustable. The third, or personal metaphor, provides an image and understanding of persons not as animals or machines, but as evolving, thinking, feeling, and social beings. Applying this sequence of metaphors of people to adults with disabilities, one finds that unfortunately these persons have frequently suffered not so much from intellectual and physical disabilities as from the consequences of inappropriate and damaging metaphors. Thus, our purpose and goal for this chapter is to focus on and appreciate the person rather than the disability, and view the adult with disabilities as a person first.
Assessment of Debris Flow Hazards, North Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Population increases in many western cities have led to urban sprawl, which has been a constant issue in metropolitan Phoenix, AZ. The Metropolitan Phoenix Area (MPA) has sprawled exponentially since its initial development and in doing so has expanded into surrounding mountainous areas and onto alluvial fans. Alluvial fans, particularly in the western US, provide cooler, more scenic environments for people to live. Alluvial fans are conic-shaped features occurring in piedmont areas prone to floods and debris-flows. Debris-flows often supply large quantities of material to alluvial fans and are critical to the long-term development of alluvial fans. A key to understanding alluvial fan evolution is quantifying debris-flow dynamics above and below the fan apex. Â Â The addition of humans and built structures into these environments increases the risk of exposure to debris-flows, and therefore the vulnerability of people and their housing structures. This scenario magnifies the importance of understanding debris-flow hazards from a holistic multidisciplinary perspective. The scientific understanding of the evolution of alluvial fan systems needs to be instilled to protect society via engineered solutions and planning decisions. These management schemes must be grounded in a quantitative understanding of debris-flow behavior. Â Â A 2D debris-flow modeling approach, aided by high-resolution air-borne laser scanning (ALS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) topographic data, is implemented to examine debris-flow behavior in a densely populated portion of the MPA and to assess the vulnerability of the built infrastructure to debris-flow damage. A calibrated 2D debris-flow model is developed for a recent debris-flow at an undeveloped site and applied to a developed site - Shaw Butte at North Mountain, a populated area with historical evidence of debris-flow activity. Several values were maintained from the calibrated model and these include: antecedent moisture conditions; an estimated volume; and sediment concentration by volume (Cv). Four separate scenarios were applied to the developed site with variations in precipitation events, including the historical rainstorm that initiated the debris-flow at Elephant Mountain, two higher magnitude seasonally average rainstorms, and one maximum event that made use of the largest recorded rainstorm for the area. Â Â Overall the results show that the highest debris-flow depths and velocities, and therefore the highest debris-flow intensities occur at the fan apex and within the existing debris-flow channel, directly below the fan apex. The complexity of the alluvial fan topography plays a major role in the flow direction. For instance, in all four scenarios, the flow did not exit into the developed neighborhood perpendicular to the fan apex (a northerly direction at the site), rather the topography steered flows in a northwesterly direction. Homes on the western side of the neighborhood are the most vulnerable to debris-flow inundation. The addition of impervious surfaces such as…
Viscoelastic properties of microgel thin films control fibroblast modes of migration and pro-fibrotic responses

Cell behavior is influenced by the biophysical properties of their microenvironments, and the linear elastic properties of substrates strongly influences adhesion, migration, and differentiation responses. Because most biological tissues exhibit non-linear elastic properties, there is a growing interest in understanding how the viscous component of materials and tissues influences cell fate. Here we describe the use of microgel thin films with controllable non-linear elastic properties for investigating the role of material loss tangent on cell adhesion, migration, and myofibroblastic differentiation, which have implications in fibrotic responses. Fibroblast modes of migration are dictated by film loss tangent; high loss tangent induced ROCK-mediated amoeboid migration while low loss tangent induced Rac-mediated mesenchymal cell migration. Low loss tangent films were also associated with higher levels of myofibroblastic differentiation. These findings have implications in fibrosis and indicate that slight changes in tissue viscoelasticity following injury could contribute to early initiation of fibrotic related responses.
The effect of magnetic field on perturbation evolution in homogeneously sheared flows

The goal of this paper is to identify and characterize the fundamental mechanisms that contribute toward flow stabilization in sheared plasma flows. Toward that end, we investigate the evolution of velocity and magnetic field perturbations in homogeneously sheared magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows subjected to an imposed streamwise magnetic field. The influences of magnetic field strength ( ) and perturbation wavevector orientation ( ) are characterized using linear analysis and direct numerical simulations. The linear analysis of ideal MHD indicates that the perturbation evolution is governed by four processes: pressure redistribution, kinetic energy production, kinetic–magnetic energy exchange and magnetic energy production due to magnetic stretching. The interplay between these processes can be characterized by the ratio of shear-to-magnetic timescales ( ) and , where , and are Alfven wave speed, initial wavenumber and mean flow shear, respectively. For cases with low values of , a three-stage perturbation evolution is seen. At the first stage, pressure redistribution and production dominate leading to hydrodynamic-type behaviour. In the second stage, the onset of magnetic stretching process leads to an increase in magnetic energy. At late stages, production subsides and the dynamics is dominated by harmonic exchange between velocity and magnetic fields. For cases of , the magnetic field reacts rapidly enough that hydrodynamic and magnetic production stages occur simultaneously followed by harmonic exchange. In the case of , all three stages occur simultaneously leading to harmonic exchange between kinetic and magnetic energies without any perturbation growth. For all cases considered, the late stage harmonic exchange results in equipartition between perturbation magnetic and kinetic energies. For a given , the effect of increasing is to reduce the intensity of coupling and progressively slow down the three stages of evolution. For spanwise wavevector perturbations, the velocity–magnetic field interaction mechanism vanishes and there is no effect of pressure or magnetic field on individual velocity components.
Terrence H. Witkowski, A History of American Consumption: Threads of Meaning, Gender, and Resistance

Business historians are rightly proud of their long dialogue with scholars of the current business climate—collaboration on research projects, historical books taught in business school curricula, ...