cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dimensional accuracy of denture resin cured by microwave energy

Microwave processing has several time-saving advantages over conventional processing of denture base resins. Little is known about the adaptation of bases processed by microwave radiation to the cast and the mouth. Comparisons were made in five regions of the palate and ridge. The microwave-processed denture bases had equal or better dimensional accuracy than conventionally processed bases.
Identification of a Key Amino Acid of LuxS Involved in AI-2 Production in Campylobacter jejuni

Autoinducer-2 (AI-2) mediated quorum sensing has been associated with the expression of virulence factors in a number of pathogenic organisms and has been demonstrated to play a role in motility and cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) production in Campylobacter jejuni. We have initiated the work to determine the molecular basis of AI-2 synthesis and the biological functions of quorum sensing in C. jejuni. In this work, two naturally occurring variants of C. jejuni 81116 were identified, one producing high-levels of AI-2 while the other is defective in AI-2 synthesis. Sequence analysis revealed a G92D mutation in the luxS gene of the defective variant. Complementation of the AI-2− variant with a plasmid encoded copy of the wild-type luxS gene or reversion of the G92D mutation by site-directed mutagenesis fully restored AI-2 production by the variant. These results indicate that the G92D mutation alone is responsible for the loss of AI-2 activity in C. jejuni. Kinetic analyses showed that the G92D LuxS has a ∼100-fold reduced catalytic activity relative to the wild-type enzyme. Findings from this study identify a previously undescribed amino acid that is essential for AI-2 production by LuxS and provide a unique isogenic pair of naturally occurring variants for us to dissect the functions of AI-2 mediated quorum sensing in Campylobacter.
Unpredictable battery depletion of St Jude Atlas II and Atlas+ II HF implantable cardioverter-defibrillators

Background Predictable progression to battery depletion is necessary for device management in patients with pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, particularly in patients who either are pacemaker dependent or have required implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapies. Objective To determine the incidence and characteristics of unexpected battery depletion in patients implanted with a cardiac resynchronization therapy – defibrillator (CRT-D) device. Methods All patients with a St Jude Atlas+ HF or Atlas II HF CRT-D device implanted between 2004 and 2007 at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Nashville VA Medical Center (Vanderbilt University) were studied. All patients with early generator depletion (transition of generator voltage above specified elective replacement indicator [ERI] to end of life [EOL] in less than 90 days) were evaluated further. Results Eight cases (mean age 69.6 ± 9 years) with abrupt battery depletion were identified among 191 patients (4.2%) implanted with a St Jude Atlas CRT-D device. The longevity of 8 premature depletion devices was 46.4 ± 10 months (median 45 months). The battery voltage in these 8 devices decreased from a mean of 2.48 ± 0.03 V (above ERI) to 2.3 ± 0.08 V (below ERI) over 33.3 ± 23 days (range 1–59 days; median 38.5 days). One device reached EOL status within 1 day of having battery voltage above ERI and another device within 12 days. Conclusion The incidence of abrupt battery depletion was 4.2% in patients implanted with a St Jude Atlas CRT-D device. No common mechanism has been identified for this failure. Close monitoring of battery voltage and timely generator replacement are required in patients with these devices.
Silicon nanoparticles synthesised through reactive high-energy ball milling: enhancement of optical properties from the removal of iron impurities

Alkyl-terminated silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) were prepared through reactive high-energy ball milling with contamination of iron from the steel milling materials. Iron impurities in the form of iron nanoparticles cause a decrease of photoluminescence intensity and an increase of the UV absorption. The iron impurities were removed either by gel permeation chromatography separation or by treatment with an aqueous HCl solution. The photoluminescence properties of the SiNPs were enhanced after the removal of iron. Transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance were used to determine morphology, elemental composition and surface passivation of SiNPs.
Pyramid power: Principal cells of the hippocampus unite!

Electrical transmission in the mammalian brain is now well established. A new study by Thomson and colleagues elegantly demonstrates coupling between CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells, which is far more common than previously supposed. Although the history of coupling is extensive, doubt, predjudice, and technical issues long kept it from wide acceptance. Here “spikelets” or “fast prepotentials” are found when two cells are coupled and in this situation result from electrical transmission of impulses from one coupled cell to the other. Interesting questions remain as to whether connexin or pannexin gap junctions serve as the molecular substrate of transmission, and the role of electrical transmission in hippocampal physiology is uncertain. Increased coupling could well contribute to the known tendency of the hippocampus to exhibit seizure activity.
A review of modeling approaches for oriented semi-crystalline polymers

Abstract Modeling changes in the physical properties of oriented semi-crystalline polymer films is beneficial for understanding the fundamentals associated with structure property relationships and could be used for developing new polymer films with significantly enhanced physical properties. Relating the molecular changes observed in oriented polymer films to inherent polymer characteristics provides valuable insight for the development of new polymers which exhibit enhanced physical properties upon orientation. Modeling efforts will be reviewed that have attempted to use fiber composite theory to explain the transitions seen during the orientation process.
Elevation Differences Between MMPI-2 Clinical and Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales Frequency, Origins, and Interpretative Implications

The frequency, origin, and interpretative implications of elevation differences on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) clinical and restructured clinical (RC) scales were examined. Two large clinical samples consisting of 1,770 outpatients and 2,438 inpatients were used for this study. Three potential factors (Demoralization, subtle items, and K correction) were explored as to the extent to which they contributed to elevation differences between a clinical scale and its restructured counterpart. Results showed that differences in elevation between clinical and RC scales occurred between 10% and 35% of cases. Demoralization, subtle items, and K correction contributed substantially to elevation differences. Findings indicate that core descriptors of a clinical scale should be emphasized only when its corresponding RC scale is also elevated, whereas for Scales 4, 6, and 8, elevated scores on the RC scales are interpretable even when the corresponding clinical scales are not elevated.
Activation of nuclear factor-κB and its suppression by dexamethasone in polymorphonuclear leukocytes : Newborn versus adult

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) of the newborn, to a greater extent than those of the adult, have the ability to amplify PMN recruitment to an inflammatory site by their own release of IL-8, and this process is inhibited by dexamethasone. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the regulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) could explain the previous observations. NF-κB is a transcription factor pivotal for expression of genes encoding inflammatory cytokines such as IL-8, but NF-κB has not been previously studied in the PMN of the newborn. NF-κB activation was measured by an electrophoretic mobility shift assay in nuclear extracts prepared from PMN isolated from adults and cord blood from newborns. Two distinct molecular forms of NF-κB were identified after tumor necrosis factor-α stimulation; this included the previously characterized p50/65 heterodimer and a newly identified p50/50 homodimer. Both NF-κB dimers were activated by tumor necrosis factor-α to significantly higher levels in the neutrophil of the newborn versus adult. An additional new finding was that pretreatment of PMN with dexamethasone (10-7 M, therapeutic range) inhibited activation of both NF-κB complexes in both the newborn and the adult PMN. We conclude that the increased activation of NF-κB by the PMN of the newborn may play an important role in neonatal inflammatory reactions. Eventually, specific targeting of NF-κB activation in the neutrophil may be an effective molecular approach for the treatment of neutrophil-mediated disorders in the newborn.
Impacts of Transect Location and Variations in Along-Beach Morphology on Measuring Volume Change

Abstract THEUERKAUF, E.J. and RODRIGUEZ, A.B., 2012. Impacts of transect location and variations in along-beach morphology on measuring volume change. Real Time Kinematic–GPS profile surveys are currently the most common method used by engineers and researchers for monitoring beach erosion. This study assesses the accuracy of volumetric-change measurements based on profile surveys at various beach morphologies along Onslow Beach, North Carolina. High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) were created from topographic data collected using a three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanner at six ∼150-m-long focus sites at annual, seasonal, and storm time intervals. Profiles were extracted from the DEMs every 0.5 m along the beach, a distance equal to the grid size, and each profile was independently used to measure volumetric change at each site. Along-beach variability in the measurements of volumetric change was analyzed to test the assumption that one transect can be used to determine volumetric change ...
A new integrated genetic linkage map of the soybean.

A total of 391 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers designed from genomic DNA libraries, 24 derived from existing GenBank genes or ESTs, and five derived from bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) end sequences were developed. In contrast to SSRs derived from EST sequences, those derived from genomic libraries were a superior source of polymorphic markers, given that the mean number of tandem repeats in the former was significantly less than that of the latter (P<0.01). The 420 newly developed SSRs were mapped in one or more of five soybean mapping populations: ‘Minsoy’ × ‘Noir 1’, ‘Minsoy’ × ‘Archer’, ‘Archer’ × ‘Noir 1’, ‘Clark’ × ‘Harosoy’, and A81-356022 × PI468916. The JoinMap software package was used to combine the five maps into an integrated genetic map spanning 2,523.6 cM of Kosambi map distance across 20 linkage groups that contained 1,849 markers, including 1,015 SSRs, 709 RFLPs, 73 RAPDs, 24 classical traits, six AFLPs, ten isozymes, and 12 others. The number of new SSR markers added to each linkage group ranged from 12 to 29. In the integrated map, the ratio of SSR marker number to linkage group map distance did not differ among 18 of the 20 linkage groups; however, the SSRs were not uniformly spaced over a linkage group, clusters of SSRs with very limited recombination were frequently present. These clusters of SSRs may be indicative of gene-rich regions of soybean, as has been suggested by a number of recent studies, indicating the significant association of genes and SSRs. Development of SSR markers from map-referenced BAC clones was a very effective means of targeting markers to marker-scarce positions in the genome.
Consistent estimation of limited dependent variable models despite misspecification of distribution

Abstract By exploiting conditions on the behavior of regressors, estimators are developed which are consistent, up to a factor of proportionality, for the slope coefficients of the regression function of a imperfectly observed dependent variable. Limited dependent variables are a special case of interest. The consistency is robust to misspecification of the distribution of the latent dependent variable. The estimators are weighted pseudo maximum likelihood estimators which can be readily computed using popular methods and software.
Reconciliation policies and the effects of motherhood on employment, earnings and poverty

Abstract We examine the consequences of welfare state strategies on women's economic outcomes in ten countries. These strategies are 1) the primary caregiver strategy, focused on valuing women's care work; 2) the primary earner strategy, focused on encouraging women's employment; 3) the choice strategy, which provides support for women's employment or caregiving for young children; and 4) the earner-carer strategy, focused on helping men and women balance both care and employment. We analyze the effects of motherhood and marital status on employment rates, annual earnings, and poverty rates. Our study suggests that the strategy taken by the earner-carer strategy may be most effective at increasing equality for both married and single mothers.
Codon usage in muscle genes and liver genes

Synonymous codon usage frequencies, derived from cDNA clone sequences, were compared for several sets of vertebrate genes. Gene sets as diverse as those expressed in avian skeletal muscle and in mammalian liver showed similar patterns of synonymous codon usage. There were no significant differences suggesting tissue-specific co-adaptation of codon usage patterns and tRNA anticodon profiles. The results indicate a consensus codon usage pattern for vertebrate genes which is largely independent of taxonomic class, tissue of expression, and the cellular fate and rate of evolution of the encoded proteins. Certain elements of the consensus codon usage pattern indicate that it is the product of natural selection and not simply a mutational equilibrium among phenotypically equivalent synonyms.
Characterization of the spliced leader genes and transcripts in Trypanosoma cruzi.

Abstract Trypanosome mRNA is processed to maturity in a novel trans-splicing reaction during which a 35-nucleotide (nt) spliced leader (SL) is joined to the 5′ ends of most structural gene transcripts. We have examined this process in Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease in Central and South America. In this scommunication, we characterize the genes encoding the SL (SL gene) m five different strains of T. cruzi by hybridization analysis and show that the genome of each of these strains contains numerous tandemly repeated copies of the SL gene. We demonstrate that the SL genes show remarkable intrastrain homogeneity, but significant interstrain heterogeneity. We have cloned and sequenced one of the SL repeats from T. cruzi strain CL and used synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides designed to hybridize to SL gene transcripts in Northern analyses of T. cruzi RNA to identify an approx. 110-nt putative SL primary transcript (SL-RNA). The 5′ end of the SL-RNA was mapped to the first nt of the SL by primer extension analyses. The sequence of the 110-nt SL-RNA was used to generate a predicted secondary structure, and this structure compared favorably to the predicted secondary structures of SL transcripts of other trypanosomatids.
The signed chromatic number of the projective plane and Klein bottle and antipodal graph coloring

A graph with signed edges (a signed graph) is k-colorable if its vertices can be colored using only the colors 0, ±1, ..., ±k so that the colors of the endpoints of a positive edge are unequal while those of a negative edge are not negatives of each other. Consider the signed graphs without positive loops that embed in the Klein bottle so that a closed walk preserves orientation iff its sign product is positive. All of them are 2-colorable but not all are 1-colorable, not even if one restricts to the signed graphs that embed in the projective plane. If the color 0 is excluded, all are 3-colorable but, even restricting to the projective plane, not necessarily 2-colorable.
Using compressibility factor as a predictor of confined hard-sphere fluid dynamics.

We study the correlations between the diffusivity (or viscosity) and the compressibility factor of bulk hard-sphere fluid as predicted by the ultralocal limit of the barrier hopping theory. Our specific aim is to determine if these correlations observed in the bulk equilibrium hard-sphere fluid can be used to predict the self-diffusivity of fluid confined between a slit-pore or a rectangular channel. In this work, we consider a single-component and a binary mixture of hard spheres. To represent confining walls, we use purely reflecting hard walls and interacting square-well walls. Our results clearly show that the correspondence between the diffusivity and the compressibility factor can be used along with the knowledge of the confined fluid's compressibility factor to predict its diffusivity with quantitative accuracy. Our analysis also suggests that a simple measure, the average fluid density, can be an accurate predictor of confined fluid diffusivity for very tight confinements (≈ 2-3 particle diameters wide) at low to intermediate density conditions. Together, these results provide further support for the idea that one can use robust connections between thermodynamic and dynamic quantities to predict dynamics of confined fluids from their thermodynamics.
Spread-spectrum chromatic dispersion monitoring technique for flexible bandwidth channels

We exploit an in-band, 50-MHz supervisory channel for chromatic dispersion monitoring of variable-bandwidth flexpaths. Results show monitoring optimization tradeoffs and dispersion measurements for a 400-GHz flexpath with up to 100-km link lengths.
Consciousness and values in the quantum universe

Application of quantum mechanical description to neurophysiological processes appears to provide for a natural unification of the physical and humanistic sciences. The categories of thought used to represent physical and psychical processes become united, and the mechanical conception of man created by classical physics is replaced by a profoundly different quantum conception. This revised image of man allows human values to be rooted in contemporary science.
Thermodynamic analysis of the chemical inhibition of Sickle-Cell hemoglobin gelation

Abstract When added to a solution of deoxygenated sickle-cell hemoglobin, a variety of compounds are known to increase the minimum gelling concentration. In the present analysis, this increase is attributed to a corresponding increase in the solubility of non-aggregated hemoglobin, which in turn is attributed to preferential interaction of additive with the isolated hemoglobin molecule in solution relative to that in the aggregate. An equilibrium thermodynamic model for chemical inhibition of gelation, based on these concepts, is presented. Using the model, experimental data in the literature are interpreted in terms of the hemoglobin-binding properties of the various additive species.
Equilibrium in Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Marine

(2008). Equilibrium in Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Marine. The Explicator: Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 194-196.
Detecting ventricular fibrillation

The short time Fourier transform (STFT), smoothed pseudo Wigner Ville distribution (SPWVD), and cone-shaped kernel distribution (CKD) have been used to compare the time-frequency distribution of normal sinus rhythm, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular flutter, and ventricular fibrillation signals. This work is a pilot study to illustrate that the CKD and SPWVD have better time and frequency resolution than the STFT. It demonstrates that accurate methods of computing the time-frequency domain should be found for ECG signals. Only then should future work be done to design discriminatory features and classifiers for arrhythmias. >
Arteriohepatic dysplasia in infancy and childhood: a longitudinal study of six patients.

Arteriohepatic dysplasia (syndromatic ductular hypoplasia, Alagille syndrome) is a condition of chronic cholestasis dating from infancy accompanied by characteristic facies, pulmonic stenosis, and other somatic abnormalities. The pathologic hallmark of arteriohepatic dysplasia is a paucity or absence of intrahepatic bile ducts, wildely regarded as a congenital deficiency. We present a longitudinal study of six infants and children with arteriohepatic dysplasia, stressing evolution of the characteristic pathology on liver biopsy. All patients were biopsied twice. All five liver biopsies performed during infancy (<6 months old) showed intrahepatic cholestasis and portal inflammation, and two infants had, in addition, giant cell transformation. No infant showed congenital absence of interlobular bile ducts. Three of five infants had normal numbers of interlobular bile ducts (0.5 to 1.0 interlobular bile ducts per triad) and two infants had a paucity of interlobular bile ducts (<0.5 per triad). Three infants showed focal destructive inflammation of interlobular bile ducts. All biopsies performed later in childhood, between 3 and 20 years of age, showed a paucity or absence of interlobular bile ducts. At this time cholestasis and inflammation had largely resolved but some fibrosis persisted. The number of interlobular bile ducts decreased with age in each patient but there was no characteristic age at which interlobular bile ducts disappeared completely. The presence of interlobular bile ducts in infancy followed later in childhood by paucity or absence of interlobular bile ducts, suggests that intrahepatic bile duct deficiency in some patients with arteriohepatic dysplasia is acquired rather than congenital. The mechanism of bile duct disappearance in these patients may have been destructive inflammation of duct epithelium. Histopathologic diagnosis of arteriohepatic dysplasia may be difficult or impossible in infancy since interlobular bile ducts may be present at that time. However, arteriohepatic dysplasia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of all infants with cholestasis and such infants should have careful clinical evaluation for the syndromatic features of arteriohepatic dysplasia. Evaluation of their liver biopsies should include specific morphometric assessment of interlobular bile ducts.
Back Corona and Relaxation Time

Where the resistivity of a precipitated layer of dust exceeds a value in the neighborhood of 108 ?m, the phenomenon of back corona generally occurs. The fact that this is not always the case, however, shows that the phenomenon is not perfectly understood. In 1965, the author introduced to the theory the additional factor of the dielectric constant. This had the effect of making relaxation time the fundamental parameter of back corona, rather than resistivity alone. As a result, it is shown that back corona probably depends on conditions in the gas as well as in the dust.
Allopolyploidization-accommodated genomic sequence changes in triticale.

Background Allopolyploidization is one of the major evolutionary modes of plant speciation. Recent interest in studying allopolyploids has provided significant novel insights into the mechanisms of allopolyploid formation. Compelling evidence indicates that genetic and/or epigenetic changes have played significant roles in shaping allopolyploids, but rates and modes of the changes can be very different among various species. Triticale (x Triticosecale) is an artificial species that has been used to study the evolutionary course of complex allopolyploids due to its recent origin and availability of a highly diversified germplasm pool. Scope This review summarizes recent genomics studies implemented in hexaploid and octoploid triticales and discusses the mechanisms of the changes and compares the major differences between genomic changes in triticale and other allopolyploid species. Conclusions Molecular studies have indicated extensive non-additive sequence changes or modifications in triticale, and the degree of variation appears to be higher than in other allopolyploid species. The data indicate that at least some sequence changes are non-random, and appear to be a function of genome relations, ploidy levels and sequence types. Specifically, the rye parental genome demonstrated a higher level of changes than the wheat genome. The frequency of lost parental bands was much higher than the frequency of gained novel bands, suggesting that sequence modification and/or elimination might be a major force causing genome variation in triticale. It was also shown that 68 % of the total changes occurred immediately following wide hybridization, but before chromosome doubling. Genome evolution following chromosome doubling occurred more slowly at a very low rate and the changes were mainly observed in the first five or so generations. The data suggest that cytoplasm and relationships between parental genomes are key factors in determining the direction, amount, timing and rate of genomic sequence variation that occurred during inter-generic allopolyploidization in this system.
BioC implementations in Go, Perl, Python and Ruby

As part of a communitywide effort for evaluating text mining and information extraction systems applied to the biomedical domain, BioC is focused on the goal of interoperability, currently a major barrier to wide-scale adoption of text mining tools. BioC is a simple XML format, specified by DTD, for exchanging data for biomedical natural language processing. With initial implementations in C++ and Java, BioC provides libraries of code for reading and writing BioC text documents and annotations. We extend BioC to Perl, Python, Go and Ruby. We used SWIG to extend the C++ implementation for Perl and one Python implementation. A second Python implementation and the Ruby implementation use native data structures and libraries. BioC is also implemented in the Google language Go. BioC modules are functional in all of these languages, which can facilitate text mining tasks. BioC implementations are freely available through the BioC site: http://bioc.sourceforge.net.
Callimachus and Conopion

In his monumental edition of Callimachus, R. Pfeiffer has questioned the authenticity of three epigrams. More than fifty years ago U. v. Wilamowitz- Moellendorff had rejected Ep . 33 and Ep. 36 4 ; but Pfeiffer seems to be the first critic to exclude Ep . 63 (= Anth. Pal . 5. 23) from the collection of Callimachus' epigrams. Although he sets forth his objections in a long footnote, none of the reviewers has so far discussed this point.
Impact of metal contact depth on device performance in back-gated semiconductor nanowire field effect transistors

Self assembled semiconductor (e.g. silicon, germanium) nanowires represent an attractive platform to fabricate field effect transistors devices that can reduce short channel effects in by comparison planar devices. Back-gated field effect transistors with metal contacts represent a common device fabrication method employed to test the electronic properties of semiconductor nanowires. Using a systematic electrical characterization study of back-gated germanium nanowire device with nickel (Ni) contacts, here we show experimentally and theoretically that the metal contact depth, controlled by annealing the device at moderate temperatures, critically impacts the device performance. Interestingly, as the metal contact diffuses into the nanowire during annealing, the device current shows a non monotonic dependence as function of the metal contact penetration depth.
mirMark: a site-level and UTR-level classifier for miRNA target prediction.

MiRNAs play important roles in many diseases including cancers. However computational prediction of miRNA target genes is challenging and the accuracies of existing methods remain poor. We report mirMark, a new machine learning-based method of miRNA target prediction at the site and UTR levels. This method uses experimentally verified miRNA targets from miRecords and mirTarBase as training sets and considers over 700 features. By combining Correlation-based Feature Selection with a variety of statistical or machine learning methods for the site- and UTR-level classifiers, mirMark significantly improves the overall predictive performance compared to existing publicly available methods. MirMark is available from https://github.com/lanagarmire/MirMark.
Barack Obama as a Human Rights President: A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT) Analysis

This paper examines Barack Obama's potential to be a transformative leader for human rights, as many suggested he would be. Specifically, it utilizes a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis conducted from January to the beginning of October of 2009 to identify Obama's personal strengths and weaknesses relevant to human rights as well as the social, political and cultural opportunities and threats he faces. We examine Obama's background, his senate record, and his progress to date as president. Gleaning information from news reports, Obama's own writing, speeches, and website, books, reports by human rights organizations, scholarly articles, and conversations with human rights activists, we determine that messages are mixed to date. While Obama has great potential, his personal style, political ambition, and the threats he inherited will make it difficult to take progressive human rights action, at least during his first term. We end the paper with a call to action for sociologis...
Outer Bounds for the Capacity Region of Gaussian Interference Channels with Common Information

Four outer bounds are given for the weak and mixed interference cases, all derived from existing outer bounds for the classic interference channel: a) Carleial's outer bound, b) Kramer's genie aided approach that gives both receivers enough information to decode all the messages, c) Kramer's Z-channel based outer bound, d) a recent outer bound proposed in [1]. We show that b) unified and improves a) and the existing outer bound by Tan (1980); c) further improves upon b); c) and d) do not have a subset relation.
Behavior of the chemical potential of a dense electron plasma in a strong magnetic field

Abstract The behavior of the chemical potential of a dense electron plasma in a strong magnetic field is studied. It is found that at T = 0 this potential vanish as H-1.
Collaborative detection and filtering of shrew DDoS attacks using spectral analysis

This paper presents a new spectral template-matching approach to countering shrew distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks are stealthy, periodic, pulsing, and low-rate in attack volume, very different from the flooding type of attacks. They are launched with high narrow spikes in very low frequency, periodically. Thus, shrew attacks may endanger the victim systems for a long time without being detected. In other words, such attacks may reduce the quality of services unnoticeably. Our defense method calls for collaborative detection and filtering (CDF) of shrew DDoS attacks. We detect shrew attack flows hidden in legitimate TCP/UDP streams by spectral analysis against pre-stored template of average attack spectral characteristics. This novel scheme is suitable for either software or hardware implementation. The CDF scheme is implemented with the NS-2 network simulator using real-life Internet background traffic mixed with attack datasets used by established research groups. Our simulated results show high detection accuracy by merging alerts from cooperative routers. Both theoretical modeling and simulation experimental results are reported here. The experiments achieved up to 95% successful detection of network anomalies along with a low 10% false positive alarms. The scheme cuts off malicious flows containing shrew attacks using a newly developed packet-filtering scheme. Our filtering scheme retained 99% of legitimate TCP flows, compared with only 20% TCP flows retained by using the Drop Tail algorithm. The paper also considers DSE FPGA, and network processor implementation issues and discusses limitations and further research challenges.
Wnt Signaling Regulates B Lymphocyte Proliferation through a LEF-1 Dependent Mechanism

Lymphocyte enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1) is a member of the LEF-1/TCF family of transcription factors, which have been implicated in Wnt signaling and tumorigenesis. LEF-1 was originally identified in pre-B and T cells, but its function in B lymphocyte development remains unknown. Here we report that LEF-1-deficient mice exhibit defects in pro-B cell proliferation and survival in vitro and in vivo. We further show that Lef1-/- pro-B cells display elevated levels of fas and c-myc transcription, providing a potential mechanism for their increased sensitivity to apoptosis. Finally, we establish a link between Wnt signaling and normal B cell development by demonstrating that Wnt proteins are mitogenic for pro-B cells and that this effect is mediated by LEF-1.
A method for the examination of crystal sections using penetrating characteristic X radiation

Abstract Transmitted single-crystal Bragg reflections of X rays diverging from a small source form an image of the section of the crystal traversed by those rays making the Bragg angle with the reflecting plane. Pointby-point information on the distribution of reflecting power and macromosaic boundaries within the crystal may be obtained under high resolution when a microfocus X-ray source is used. With AgfKα radiation, an aluminum crystal section up to 6 mm thick can be readily studied. A series of photographs taken with stepwise translation of the crystal provides three-dimensional information on the distribution of crystal imperfections.
Continuity, Stability, and Change in Daily Emotional Experience across Adolescence

This longitudinal study examined change in adolescents' daily range of emotional states between early and late adolescence. A sample of 220 youth provided reports on their daily emotions at random times during two 1-week periods. At Time 1 they were in the fifth through eighth grades; 4 years later, at Time 2, they were in the ninth through twelfth grades. Results showed that average emotional states became less positive across early adolescence, but that this downward change in average emotions ceased in grade 10. The results also showed greatest relative instability between youth in the early adolescent years-correlations over time were lower-with stability increasing in late adolescence. Lastly, the study found that adolescents' average emotions had relatively stable relations to life stress and psychological adjustment between early and late adolescence. As a whole, the findings suggest that late adolescence is associated with a slowing of the emotional changes of early adolescence.
Causal Effects in Social Networks

L’estimation causale des effets de pairs dans les reseaux sociauxCet article passe en revue la litterature recente sur l’estimation causale des effets de pairs. Apres une discussion de la causalite en general, j’introduis le modele standard d’effets de pairs dans les reseaux et je donne une illustration du probleme de reflexion. Je presente ensuite differentes approches de l’inference causale avec des donnees d’observation, avant d’introduire les approches experimentales. Je passe en revue les problemes d’estimation qui sont souleves par les erreurs de mesure et d’echantillonnage, et je discute la facon dont ils affectent l’inference causale dans les experiences d’effets de reseau et d’effets de pairs. La derniere section de l’article elargit la discussion pour couvrir les effets de pairs dynamiques et la formation des liens, et illustre les differentes significations que peut revetir le concept de causalite dans l’estimation des effets de pairs.Classification JEL : C31, C21, C90
The Cultural Power of Law? Conjunctive Readings

Sally Merry’s (1999) Colonizing Hawai’i: The Cultural Power of Law provides a compelling account of the cultural transformation of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the nineteenth century. The focus is on the law, particularly on the manner in which Hawaiian alii (chiefs) and American lawyers and missionaries sought to make of Hawaii a modern, sovereign nation on the model of the ‘‘civilized world,’’ a process that demanded the dissolution of Hawaiian modes of governance and the concomitant contortions of the system of rank that they had entailed. It is also a narrative of the competing interests of American missionaries and American traders and merchants, who desired different ends but whose means sometimes had complementary effects. For example, missionary efforts to promote marital fidelity worked in tandem with the needs of emerging and transforming social hierarchies: Adulterers had the ‘‘choice’’ to work off their sentences by building roads for the chiefs. And people deemed (by missionaries) incapable of governing their sexual appetites could scarcely be trusted (by plantation owners) to govern their own nation (p. 250). Notions of the body, sexuality, gender, race, citizenship, and belonging are at the center of the transformations the book documents in a richly evocative account of the colonial disciplining of a Pacific people. At the same time, Merry shows how the disciplinary process was incomplete, fractured, and uncertain, and that colonized Hawaiians of both elite and commoner rank used the colonizing process at various times to further their own ends, as an arena for making claims to personhood. Women, for example, became objects of the law’s ‘‘surveillance and control’’ in the colonial policing of sexuality, but at the same time women were able to use the resources colonial law provided to challenge wife-battering (p. 265).
The de Haas–van Alphen effect at a quantum critical point

Many heavy-fermion systems are close to a quantum critical point in that, as pressure is varied, the paramagnetic heavy-fermion phase becomes unstable to a magnetically ordered phase at zero temperature. The superconducting phases all occur within a narrow range of pressures centered around the quantum critical point. In materials such as UGe2, the paramagnetic phase is unstable to a ferromagnetically ordered phase. In this case, the heavy-fermion superconducting phase is contained within the ferromagnetic phase. We examine the effect of quantum critical fluctuations on the heavy quasi-particles, and how these effects are manifested in the de Haas–van Alphen oscillations. It is found that the non-linear fielddependence of the susceptibility becomes vitally important as the quantum critical point is approached, and can give rise to a logarithmic dependence of the quasi-particle mass on the applied field. # 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Clinical Safety and Efficacy of Nilotinib or Dasatinib in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Chronic-Phase Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and Pre-Existing Liver and/or Renal Dysfunction.

Abstract Background The safety and efficacy of front-line nilotinib and dasatinib in patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML-CP) with pre-existing liver and/or renal dysfunction are unknown. Patients and Methods We analyzed the adverse event rates, response rates, and survival rates of 215 patients with CML-CP with or without renal and/or liver dysfunction who had been treated with front-line nilotinib (n = 108) or dasatinib (n = 107). Results The overall median follow-up period was 49 months. At baseline, 6 dasatinib-treated patients (6%) had mild renal dysfunction and 13 (12%) had mild liver dysfunction. Also, 8 nilotinib-treated patients (7%) had mild renal dysfunction, 1 (1%) moderate renal dysfunction, and 9 (8%) mild liver dysfunction. No significant differences were found in the rate of complete cytogenetic response, major molecular response, or molecular response by a 4.5 log reduction on the international scale between the organ function cohorts. Dasatinib- or nilotinib-treated patients with baseline renal dysfunction had a greater incidence of transient reversible acute kidney injury ( P = .011 and P P Conclusion Patients with CML-CP and mild to moderate renal or liver dysfunction can be safely treated with front-line dasatinib or nilotinib and can achieve response rates similar to those of patients with CML-CP without organ dysfunction.
Hierarchical Hybrid Control with Classical Planning and Trajectory Optimization

Abstract One method of control of cyberphysical systems, particularly intelligent mobile robots, involves a hierarchy of high-level classical planning and low-level trajectory optimization. We present a new technique to incorporate trajectory costs in a high-level classical planning problem (CPP). The proposed approach is particularly suited to leverage existing algorithms for solving CPPs and, independently, algorithms for trajectory optimization. To this end, we introduce a family of graphs called lifted planning graphs parametrized by an integer H, and we map paths in these graphs to solutions of the CPP. We show that the overall cost of a high-level plan is a nonincreasing function of H, and that there exists a finite H for which an optimal path in the lifted planning graph is associated with the optimal solution of the CPP. For computational speed and future real-time implementation, we discuss incremental modification of paths in the lifted planning graphs for increasing values of H. We illustrate the proposed ideas with a numerical simulation example involving classical planning for Dubins vehicle routing.
PET/CT in CT Simulation: Significance of a Standardized Positioning Protocol for Head and Neck Radiation Therapy Planning

233; Table 1 Pre-RT 2 weeks 4 weeks 2 weeks post-RT Avg mucositis grade 0 1.33 2.67 1.67 FLT-PET SUVmax 10.5 3.25 1.55 2.15 FDG-PET SUVmax 8.53 5.53 4.27 5.13 Volume 94 Number 4 2016 Posters 923 mucositis in imaging interpretation, as FLT, unlike FDG, does not highlight metabolic or inflammatory activity of the tissue. A total of 9 PET scans were planned per patient (4 FLT-PET and 5 FDG-PET scans). Acute mucositis was recorded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4. PET scans were read by the same radiologist. Maximal standard uptake value of FDG-PET at each timepoint was compared with FLT-PET. Activity of both FLTand FDG-PET was also matched to the mucositis score to determine the correlation between PET activity and the severity of mucositis. Results: Three patients were enrolled in the first phase of the feasibility study. A total of 26 PET scans were obtained (missing was an FLT scan in 1 patient at week 2). All patients completed treatment according to the protocol. All patients developed mucositis, which nearly peaked at the end of week 4. Both FDG and FLT PET activity significantly decreased at week 2 and reached the lowest level at week 4. FDG-PET did not show activity in areas with the severe mucositis at and around the primary site, same as FLT-PET (see table). Interestingly, FLTas well as FDG-PET activity slightly increased at week 2 after RT at the mucosal sites while mocositis subsided to less than grade 2. At minimal follow-up of 1 year, all patients were without treatment failure. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that radiation-induced mucositis in oral cavity or oropharynx does not increase FDG or FLT uptake during radiation therapy. Author Disclosure: S. Song: None. J. Zweit: None. M.J. Fratkin: None. J.F. Williamson: None. D. Holdford: None.
Cyclins and cell division kinases in megakaryocytic endomitosis

Nos connaissances concernant le niveau tres eleve du contenu en ADN des megacaryocytes sont encore fragmentaires. Les megacaryocytes murs sont le resultat de doublements en ADN, mais les differents niveaux de polyploidies existent pour chaque classe morphologiquement reconnaissable de cellules. De nombreuses etudes ont montre que la thrombopoietine ou d'autres cytokines pouvaient stimuler, tant in vitro qu'in vivo, le contenu en ADN. L'hypothese avancee est que la polyploidie est l'etape cruciale de differenciation megacaryocytaire pour la maturation cytoplasmique et la production plaquettaire. Sur le plan biochimique, on doit considerer 2 points regulateurs du cycle cellulaire (permissif ou restrictif, autorisant le contenu en ADN des megacaryocytes : l'un controle l'augmentation de synthese d'ADN (sans doute a la limite de la phase G l /S du cycle cellulaire) et l'autre controle les evenements mitotiques resultant en un noyau et une cellule en acytokinese, avec un point de controle a la partie precoce de la phase M. Des alterations dans le controle biochimique de ces points regulateurs, dans la lignee megacaryocytaire, suggerent que les alterations de la mitose sont parmi les premieres etapes de l'endomitose.
Mast cells and exosomes in hyperoxia-induced neonatal lung disease

Chronic lung disease of prematurity (CLD) is a frequent sequela of premature birth and oxygen toxicity is a major associated risk factor. Impaired alveolarization, scarring, and inflammation are hallmarks of CLD. Mast cell hyperplasia is a feature of CLD but the role of mast cells in its pathogenesis is unknown. We hypothesized that mast cell hyperplasia is a consequence of neonatal hyperoxia and contributes to CLD. Additionally, mast cell products may have diagnostic and prognostic value in preterm infants predisposed to CLD. To model CLD, neonatal wild-type and mast cell-deficient mice were placed in an O2 chamber delivering hyperoxic gas mixture [inspired O2 fraction (FiO2 ) of 0.8] (HO) for 2 wk and then returned to room air (RA) for an additional 3 wk. Age-matched controls were kept in RA (FiO2 of 0.21). Lungs from HO mice had increased numbers of mast cells, alveolar simplification and enlargement, and increased lung compliance. Mast cell deficiency proved protective by preserving air space integrity and lung compliance. The mast cell mediators β-hexosaminidase (β-hex), histamine, and elastase increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of HO wild-type mice. Tracheal aspirate fluids (TAs) from oxygenated and mechanically ventilated preterm infants were analyzed for mast cell products. In TAs from infants with confirmed cases of CLD, β-hex was elevated over time and correlated with FiO2 Mast cell exosomes were also present in the TAs. Collectively, these data show that mast cells play a significant role in hyperoxia-induced lung injury and their products could serve as potential biomarkers in evolving CLD.
Nonlinear optics at low powers: Alternative mechanism of on-chip optical frequency comb generation

Nonlinear optical effects provide a natural way of light manipulation and interaction and form the foundation of applied photonics, from high-speed signal processing and telecommunication to ultrahigh-bandwidth interconnects and information processing. However, relatively weak nonlinear response at optical frequencies calls for operation at high optical powers or boosting efficiency of nonlinear parametric processes by enhancing local-field intensity with high-quality-factor resonators near cavity resonance, resulting in reduced operational bandwidth and increased loss due to multiphoton absorption. We present an alternative to this conventional approach, with strong nonlinear optical effects at low local intensities, based on period-doubling bifurcations near nonlinear cavity antiresonance and apply it to low-power optical frequency comb generation in a silicon chip.
Catecholamines in critical care

Catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine) are released into circulation in response to stress and injury and as part of the body's attempt at vasoregulation in response to circulatory failure. Norepinephrine is released from sympathetic nerve terminal, and epinephrine and dopamine are released from the adrenal medulla. Plasma levels of these catecholamines have been reported to be elevated in various clinical settings: congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiopulmonary bypass, diabetic ketoacidosis, hypoxia, hemorrhage, and septic shock. These amines have both beneficial and detrimental effects on survival. Both norepinephrine and dopamine are often employed in the critically ill to selectively increase cardiocerebral and renal blood flow, respectively.