cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Philosophic Care in the Life of Plato’s Socrates

In order to better understand the meaning of Socrates’ philosophic life, Nichols explores the theme of caring that is prominent in Socrates’ Apology. What is the relation between the examined life that he says is the only one worth living for a human being and the care he claims and shows for others, especially the young of Athens? Nichols discusses Socrates’ illustrations of philosophic caretaking from the Symposium, Phaedrus, and Theaetetus, both his own caretaking activities as well as his teachings about love and generation, the art of words, and midwifery. Finally, she argues that the god who “commands” an answer to his oracular riddle, as Socrates interprets it in the Apology, serves as a model for the union of questioning and caretaking central to Socrates' life of philosophizing. Through his presentation of Socrates, Plato therefore offers an alternative to the Eleatic Stranger’s view of divine and human care in the Statesman that forms a backdrop to Socrates’ defense in the Apology.
Gaussian Hints as a Valuation System

In this chapter, it is explained how Gaussian hints can be placed in the axiomatic framework of the valuation calculus described by Shenoy and Shafer [44]. This theory provides the necessary tools and conditions for efficiently computing with so-called valuations, which are abstract generalizations of probability measures, possibility measures and belief functions. As will be shown in the next chapter, this general framework allows us to apply an efficient local propagation procedure to determine the Gaussian hint representing the knowledge about a set of variables that can be inferred from the available information. The local propagation procedure is a general technique used to simplify computations which is based on the idea that, under some conditions, it is correct to perform computations on domains that are much smaller than the original domain.
SkySails - Zugdrachen als innovatives Windantriebssystem in der Schifffahrt

Die SkySails GmbH & Co. KG ist ein junges, innovatives Unternehmen, das sich auf Entwicklung, Produktion und Vertrieb eines vollautomatischen Zugdrachensystems fur Schiffe spezialisiert hat. Mit Hilfe von Windenergie sollen Frachtschiffe, grose Yachten und Fischtrawler kostengunstiger und umweltfreundlicher betrieben werden. Gegrundet wurde das Unternehmen 2001 vom Dipl.-Wirtschaftsingenieur Stephan Wrage und dem Dipl.-Ing. fur Schiffbau und Meerestechnik Thomas Meyer in Hamburg.
Studies on the Pathogenesis of Cholesterol Gallstone Formation: Alterations of Bile Acid Transport and Liver Surface Membrane Lipid Structure by Estrogens

The effect of estrogens on the liver has received increased investigative interest recently because of their association with abnormal liver function and the formation of cholesterol gallstones. Epidemiological studies first focused attention on the possible role of sex steroids in the pathogenesis of gallstones. In every population studied cholesterol gallstones are more commonly associated with women than men (1–3). This difference begins during puberty (1,3,4) and remains throughout the child bearing years (1–3). Administration of oral contraceptives to women of child bearing age was found to increase the incidence of gallstones further (5). Estrogen is apparently the hormone primarily responsible, for in both men and postmenopausal women, its administration is associated with an increased incidence of gallstones (6,7).
The Artistic Geometry of Consensus Protocols

A large class of control problems in multi-agent systems use the so-called consensus protocol to achieve coordinated motion among a team of agents. Inspired by the “standard” consensus protocol ẋ = -Lx, in this paper we propose a decentralized control law for multi-agent formations in two dimensions that allows the participating vehicles to display intricate periodic and quasi-periodic geometric patterns. Similarly to the standard consensus protocol, these controls rely only on the relative position between the networked agents which are neighbors in the underlying communication graph. Several examples are presented, resulting in nontrivial geometric patterns described by trochoidal curves, similar to those generated using a spirograph. These paths can be useful for coordinated, distributed surveillance, and monitoring applications, as well as for the sake of their own esthetic beauty.
The New Behaviorism: Second Edition

This groundbreaking book presents a brief history of behaviorism, the dominant movement in American psychology in the first half of the 20th Century. It then analyzes and criticizes radical behaviorism, as pioneered by B.F. Skinner, and its philosophy and applications to social issues. This second edition is a completely rewritten and much expanded version of the first edition, published nearly 15 years earlier. It surveys what changes have occurred within behaviorism and whether it has maintained its influence on experimental cognitive psychology or other fields. The mission of the book is to help steer experimental psychology away from its current undisciplined indulgence in "mental life" toward the core of science, which is an economical description of nature. The author argues that parsimony -- the elementary philosophical distinction between private and public events, even biology, evolution and animal psychology -- all are ignored by much contemporary cognitive psychology. The failings of radical behaviorism as well as a philosophically defective cognitive psychology point to the need for a new theoretical behaviorism, which can deal with problems such as "consciousness" that have been either ignored, evaded or muddled by existing approaches. This new behaviorism provides a unified framework for the science of behavior that can be applied both to the laboratory and to broader practical issues such as law and punishment, the health-care system, and teaching.
Impact of Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program clinical trials on practice guidelines for high blood pressure management

Abstract Knowing the extent to which a clinical trial's findings translate into clinical practice can be challenging. One practical approach to estimating a trial's influence on clinical practice can be achieved by assessing how the trial informed relevant clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Accordingly, the objectives of this study were to provide an overview of all the clinical trials involving the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) that aimed at informing or resulted in informing the management of high blood pressure and to identify and describe the extent to which these trials informed CPGs for the management of high blood pressure. A total of 26 clinical trials involving the VA CSP were identified. Using bibliographic information, 21 CPGs for the management of hypertension representing over 40 years of treatment recommendations from eight collectives were evaluated to determine how they were informed by trials involving the VA CSP. From 1977 to 2018, 13 of the 26 trials (50.0%) were found to have informed 19 of the 21 CPGs (90.5%) a total of 54 times (mean = 2.6 trial citations per CPG, SD ± 1.8). Clinical trials involving the VA CSP have informed a sizeable proportion of CPGs for the management of high blood pressure over the past 40 years. Because of this impact on the CPGs, these trials are also likely to have had at least moderate influence on clinical practice.
Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis: retrospective review of 10-year experience.

BACKGROUND Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are severe mucocutaneous disorders. To date, relatively few studies have looked at institutional approaches to treatment of SJS/TEN, particularly with a focus on wound care. METHODS A retrospective review was conducted on patients admitted to the Hennepin County Medical Center from 2007 to 2017 with a final diagnosis of SJS or TEN. Data were obtained for demographics, causative drug, hospital course, supportive care, medical management, complications, and disposition. RESULTS A total of 48 were diagnosed with SJS/TEN during the study period. A total of 41.7% (20/48) were men, and the mean age was 49.2 years. Sulfa antibiotics and nonsulfa antibiotics were the most common causative drug categories, each accounting for a quarter of cases. Supportive measures included intravenous fluid resuscitation in 4.2% of cases, enteral nutrition in 75%, surgical debridement in 27.1%, and porcine xenograft in 16.7%. Wound care consisted of use of a cleanser in 95.8% of patients, topical antibiotic in 95.8%, topical steroid in 20.8%, topical antifungal in 14.6%, emollient in 83.3%, nonadherent dressing in 97.9%, silver impregnated dressing in 39.6%, nonsilver impregnated dressing in 79.2%, and general wrap in 93.8%. For medical treatment, 64.6% of patients received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and 8.3% of patients received cyclosporine. Mortality rate was 12.5% overall, compared to an expected mortality rate of 25.2% as predicted by SCORTEN. CONCLUSIONS Patients treated with our current regimen of care showed a mortality rate half of that predicted by SCORTEN.
ATG2 transports lipids to promote autophagosome biogenesis

During macroautophagic stress, autophagosomes can be produced continuously and in high numbers. Many different organelles have been reported as potential donor membranes for this sustained autophagosome growth, but specific machinery to support the delivery of lipid to the growing autophagosome membrane has remained unknown. Here we show that the autophagy protein, ATG2, without a clear function since its discovery over 20 yr ago, is in fact a lipid-transfer protein likely operating at the ER-autophagosome interface. ATG2A can bind tens of glycerophospholipids at once and transfers lipids robustly in vitro. An N-terminal fragment of ATG2A that supports lipid transfer in vitro is both necessary and fully sufficient to rescue blocked autophagosome biogenesis in ATG2A/ATG2B KO cells, implying that regulation of lipid homeostasis is the major autophagy-dependent activity of this protein and, by extension, that protein-mediated lipid transfer across contact sites is a principal contributor to autophagosome formation.
Microstructure-based model of nonlinear ultrasonic response in materials with distributed defects

Nonlinear ultrasonic technique is one of several promising nondestructive evaluation methods for monitoring the evolution of nanosized defects such as radiation-induced defects in nuclear materials. In this work, a microstructure-based phase-field model of dynamic deformation in elastically nonlinear materials has been developed for investigating the dynamic interaction between distributed defects and a propagating longitudinal sound wave. With the model, the effect of second phase precipitates’ size and properties on the nonlinearity parameter β that describes the magnitude of the 2nd harmonic wave was simulated. The results showed that (1) the nonlinearity parameter β increases as the elastic inhomogeneity increases regardless of whether the precipitates are softer or harder than the matrix; (2) β linearly increases with the increase of lattice mismatch strain; and (3) for a given volume fraction of second phase precipitates, β strongly depends on the precipitate size. The predicted precipitate size dependence of β agrees with the experimental data. These results demonstrate that the developed model enables one to predict the contributions of different nonlinear sources to β, to explain the signal physics behind the measured nonlinear ultrasonic response, and to guide the development of nonlinear ultrasound nondestructive detection of material defects in nuclear reactor materials.
The Effect of Social Media on Perceived Information Credibility and Decision Making

Studies have found that information from celebrities, social media influencers, and people whom they know in real life affects millennial consumers’ purchasing decisions. This study investigates ho...
Medical students and metrics: seven techniques for a win-win situation.

The authors present seven winning strategies for maintaining a rich academic environment for learners while working in a busy emergency department with expected productivity metrics. This is a descriptive paper based on existing literature and on the authors’ experience. Winning strategies to improve ED throughput while also supporting the mission of medical education and improving the learning environment for students include the following: (1) attending first, (2) provider in triage, (3) mobile workstations, (4) patient education, (5) bedside patient presentations, (6) dedicated teaching resident, and (7) thoughtful scheduling. The authors present seven practical strategies that are portable to many settings.
Abstract 2425: Moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces visceral adipose tissue in obese breast cancer survivors undergoing a weight loss intervention

Background: Body composition, adipose distribution, and fitness are likely superior to BMI alone in predicting outcomes in obese breast cancer survivors. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is thought to be disproportionately responsible for the metabolic and inflammatory changes linking obesity and breast cancer recurrence. Purpose: Feasibility of achievement of high volume moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and its effect on body composition including VAT and other risk biomarkers in older sedentary, obese breast cancer survivors participating in a behavioral weight loss intervention. Methods: Modest caloric restriction (350-500 kcal per day) was combined with a study provided YMCA membership and twice weekly personal trainer sessions. MVPA (40-80% of heart rate reserve in older women) was assessed by Garmin Vivoactive smart watches linked to GarminConnect. Total activity was escalated from 100 minutes week 1 to a total of 300 minutes per week by week 9 with a goal of > 200 min/wk as MVPA. Women were evaluated pre- and post-intervention for peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), body composition by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (GE Lunar iDXA), and serum levels of adipokines, cytokines, and hormones. Results: 18 breast cancer survivors were enrolled and completed the 3 months of the behavioral weight loss intervention which included the YMCA membership and twice weekly personal trainer. Median age was 60, 11 had received prior chemotherapy, and 13 were currently taking aromatase inhibitors. Median (and range) baseline anthropomorphic values were BMI 37 (31-43) kg/m2, total mass 95 (76-125) kg, total fat 46 (34-66) kg, and VAT 1.7 (1.0-3.0) kg. All but one had a baseline VAT > 1.17 kg, consistent with elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. 17/18 achieved at least 150 min/wk of MVPA, with a median of 176 (range 55-291) min/wk for weeks 9-12. Fitness measured as VO2peak increased from 18.9 (13.7-25.3) to 21.1 (17.1-31.4) ml/kg/min (p=0.0003; Wilcoxon signed rank test). At 3 months, significant reductions were observed for total mass (median 7%), fat mass (median 13%), and VAT (median 20%, range 1-41%)(p Conclusion: High volume moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can be achieved by older, sedentary, obese breast cancer survivors; and this translates to favorable modulation of body composition including VAT measures and serum risk biomarkers. Citation Format: Carol J. Fabian, Jennifer R. Klemp, Jeffrey M. Burns, Eric D. Vidoni, Lauren Nye, Christie A. Befort, Jill M. Hamilton-Reeves, Debra K. Sullivan, Teresa A. Phillips, Stephen D. Hursting, Bruce F. Kimler. Moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces visceral adipose tissue in obese breast cancer survivors undergoing a weight loss intervention [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2425.
Critical Health Communication Methods at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Violence Against Migrant Women and the Role of Health Activism

This essay re/envisions what critical health communication methods look like on the U.S.-Mexico border in reproductive justice contexts. For example, traditional health communication theories and methods have privileged objectivity, generalizability, and the creation of critically important health communication patterns and concepts that have guided the development, deployment, and execution of health communication programs and cultural competence programs. However, in this article, we discuss the utility and application of an intersectional/critical health communication reproductive justice method and envision its praxis in contexts like the U.S.-Mexico border. As two Chicana feminist reproductive justice/health communication scholars, our own research on reproductive feminicides throughout the U.S. and Latin America has necessitated the blending of a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches--border theories, intersectionality, Chicana feminisms, and health communication theories and methods. Thus, this essay traces the blending of these theories and methods and discusses how critical intersectional feminist health communication methods can be utilized in activist ways to resist reproductive and gendered violence at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Solution and Fitness Evolution (SAFE): A Study of Multiobjective Problems

We have recently presented SAFE—Solution And Fitness Evolution—a commensalistic coevolutionary algorithm that maintains two coevolving populations: a population of candidate solutions and a population of candidate objective functions. We showed that SAFE was successful at evolving solutions within a robotic maze domain. Herein we present an investigation of SAFE’s adaptation and application to multiobjective problems, wherein candidate objective functions explore different weightings of each objective. Though preliminary, the results suggest that SAFE, and the concept of coevolving solutions and objective functions, can identify a similar set of optimal multiobjective solutions without explicitly employing a Pareto front for fitness calculation and parent selection. These findings support our hypothesis that the SAFE algorithm concept can not only solve complex problems, but can adapt to the challenge of problems with multiple objectives.
kVp, mA, and voxel size effect on 3D voxel-based superimposition.

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the effect of changing kVp, mA, and voxel size on the accuracy of voxel-based superimposition on the anterior cranial base. Materials and Methods: Cone beam compute...
Verification of DES for flow over rigidly and elastically-mounted circular cylinders in normal and yawed flow

Abstract A computational approach based on a k - ω delayed detached eddy simulation model for predicting aerodynamic loads on a smooth circular cylinder is verified against experiments. Comparisons with experiments are performed for flow over a rigidly-mounted (static) cylinder and for an elastically-mounted rigid cylinder oscillating in the transverse direction due to vortex-induced vibration (VIV). For the static cases, measurement data from the literature is used to validate the predictions for normally-incident flow. New experiments are conducted as a part of this study for yawed flow, where the cylinder axis is inclined with respect to the inflow velocity at the desired yaw angle, β = 3 0 ∘ . Good agreement is observed between the predictions and measurements for mean and rms surface pressure. Three yawed flow cases ( β = 1 5 ∘ , 3 0 ∘ , & 4 5 ∘ ) are simulated and the results are found to be independent of β (independence principle) when the flow speed normal to the cylinder axis is selected as the reference velocity scale. Dynamic (VIV) simulations for an elastically-mounted rigid cylinder are performed by coupling the flow solver with a solid dynamics solver where the cylinder motion is modeled as a mass–spring–damper system. The simulations accurately predict the displacement amplitude and unsteady loading over a wide range of reduced velocity, including the region where “lock-in” (synchronization) occurs. VIV simulations are performed at two yaw angles, β = 0 ∘ and 45° and the independence principle is found to be valid over the range of reduced velocities tested with a slightly higher discrepancy when the vortex shedding frequency is close to the natural frequency of the system.
Approximate Diagonalization of the Pairing Plus Quadrupole Hamiltonian in the Framework of the Nuclear Field Theory. ODD-A Nuclei

The Nilsson model1) provides with a good description of the single-particle spectrum in deformed nuclei. An essential feature of this model is that pairs of fermions couple to all possible angular momenta, giving rise to the aligned states (cf. e.g. Refs. 2) and 3); also Ref. 4) and 5)). One way to obtain the correct occupancy of the Nilsson levels is to allow the particles around the Fermi surface to interact through a monopole pairing force (cf. e.g. Ref. 6)).
In Operando Detection of the Onset and Mapping of Lithium Plating Regimes during Fast Charging of Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Existing in operando methods for detection of plated lithium can only detect the presence of plating after the charge is complete and irreversible damage has already occurred. In this work, the cha...
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in patients with Alport syndrome: can all patients benefit?

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are prescribed to slow the progression of kidney disease in patients with Alport syndrome. In a recent publication by Yamamura et al. the authors showed an association of ACEi or ARB treatment with delay in ESKD, even for those patients with severe, truncating mutations. Despite these encouraging findings, there remain a number of clinical questions about the use of ACEi and ARBs in Alport syndrome.
Influence of Atrial Fibrillation on Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients With HeartMate 3.

Background Functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) can occur secondary to atrial fibrillation (AF). The impact of AF on functional TR and cardiovascular events is uncertain in patients with left ve...
Novel Cascade CNN Algorithm for UWB Signal Denoising, Compressing, and ToA Estimation

In this paper, for ultra-wide-band (UWB) localization systems, we present a novel deep learning paradigm composed of two cascaded convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to 1) denoise the UWB channel impulse response (CIR); and 2) estimate the time of arrival (ToA) of the received signal. Unlike the traditional rule-based algorithms, the proposed model learns suitable information for denoising and ToA estimation automatically during the training phase. The proposed method, in the first step, compresses the noisy input signal and reconstructs its denoised version. To this end, it exploits sparsity and spatial correlation phenomena of the UWB CIR. By compressing the signal, the computational complexity of the model is reduced. In the second step, the proposed model estimates ToA of the received signal regardless of the channel environment. We investigate the effectiveness of hyper-parameters, such as the number of filters in each convolutional layer, number of the layers, and the size of the kernels in the proposed model by comparing the root mean square error (RMSE) performance evaluated against standard IEEE UWB 802.15.4a CIR model in different channel environments.
Megan Rosenbloom. Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020. 288p. Cloth, $26.00 (ISBN: 978-0-374-13470-9).

Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin begins with a flashback, transporting readers to the exhibit halls of the Mutter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, legendary home of historical objects of medical oddity, scandal, and intrigue. It was here, author Megan Rosenbloom recalls, that she first encountered books donated by Dr. Joseph Leidy and Dr. John Stockton Hough, visually nondescript yet captivating, because their covers were purportedly made using human epidermis. In 2015, after scientists Dr. Richard Hark and Dr. Daniel Kirby sampled and tested tiny bits of Leidy’s and Hough’s books, the Museum announced they had incontrovertible proof: the bookbindings were anthropodermic—bound in human skin. Rosenbloom, a self-declared “death-positive” journalist and librarian, joined forces with Hark, Kirby, and Mutter Museum Curator Anna Dhody that same year to form the Anthropodermic Book Project (ABP), and their collective bibliographic quest drives the narrative of Dark Archives .
Crowd Annotations Can Approximate Clinical Autism Impressions from Short Home Videos with Privacy Protections

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) solutions are increasingly considered for telemedicine. For these methods to adapt to the field of behavioral pediatrics, serving children and their families in home settings, it will be crucial to ensure the privacy of the child and parent subjects in the videos. To address this challenge in A.I. for healthcare, we explore the potential for global image transformations to provide privacy while preserving behavioral annotation quality. Crowd workers have previously been shown to reliably annotate behavioral features in unstructured home videos, allowing machine learning classifiers to detect autism using the annotations as input. We evaluate this method with videos altered via pixelation, dense optical flow, and Gaussian blurring. On a balanced test set of 30 videos of children with autism and 30 neurotypical controls, we find that the visual privacy alterations do not drastically alter any individual behavioral annotation at the item level. The AUROC on the evaluation set was 90.0% +/- 7.5% for the unaltered condition, 85.0% +/- 9.0% for pixelation, 85.0% +/- 9.0% for optical flow, and 83.3% +/- 9.3% for blurring, demonstrating that an aggregation of small changes across multiple behavioral questions can collectively result in increased misdiagnosis rates. We also compare crowd answers against clinicians who provided the same annotations on the same videos and find that clinicians are more sensitive to autism-related symptoms. We also find that there is a linear correlation (r=0.75, p<0.0001) between the mean Clinical Global Impression (CGI) score provided by professional clinicians and the corresponding classifier score emitted by the logistic regression classifier with crowd inputs, indicating that the classifiers output probability is a reliable estimate of clinical impression of autism from home videos. A significant correlation is maintained with privacy alterations, indicating that crowd annotations can approximate clinician-provided autism impression from home videos in a privacy-preserved manner.
Regional Anesthesia in Children in the Acute Surgical Setting

Regional anesthesia in the pediatric population has grown in popularity over the past several years. Use of neuraxial techniques and peripheral nerve blocks are considered safe adjuncts to general anesthesia. As part of a multimodal plan, regional anesthesia promotes analgesia without the added side effects of nausea, vomiting, or respiratory depression associated with opioids. Patients who receive regional anesthesia breathe more effectively due to adequate pain control especially after thoracic and abdominal surgeries. Implementation of regional anesthesia leads to faster functional and bowel recovery and shorter hospitalizations. In this chapter, we focus on regional anesthesia suitable for general surgery procedures.
Urea amidolyase. I. Properties of the enzyme from Candida utilis.

Candida utilis contains an inducible enzyme, urea amidolyase, which catalyzes the decomposition of urea with formation of carbon dioxide and ammonia. This reaction is accompanied by the cleavage of ATP with liberation of equimolar amounts of ADP and inorganic phosphate, is strictly dependent for activity on divalent (Mg++ or Mn++) and monovalent (K+, Rb+, Cs+, or NH4+) cations, and requires catalytic amounts of bicarbonate. A detailed consideration of these properties is presented for the enzyme purified approximately 150-fold from C. utilis. Urea amidolyase activity is induced in C. utilis by urea and other substances which most likely are enzymatically degraded to urea. Repression of the enzyme occurs when low evels of ammonia are present in the medium. Extracts of other yeasts, such as Candida flareri and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as of the unicellular green algae Chlorella ellipsoidea, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, also contain urea amidolyase activity when these organisms are grown in media containing urea as the sole source of nitrogen.
Using BLAT to find sequence similarity in closely related genomes.

The BLAST-Like Alignment Tool (BLAT) is used to find genomic sequences that match a protein or DNA sequence submitted by the user. BLAT is typically used for searching similar sequences within the same or closely related species. It was developed to align millions of expressed sequence tags and mouse whole-genome random reads to the human genome at a faster speed (Kent, 2002). It is freely available either on the web or as a downloadable stand-alone program. BLAT search results provide a link for visualization in the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) genome browser where associated biological information may be obtained. Three example protocols are given: using an mRNA sequence to identify the exon-intron locations and associated gene in the genomic sequence of the same species, using a protein sequence to identify the coding regions in a genomic sequence and to search for gene family members in the same species, and using a protein sequence to find homologs in another species. A support protocol is given to visualize multiple nearby matches obtained in a search in one view of the UCSC Genome Browser. Discussion of the technical aspects of BLAT is also provided.
A deficiency in the formation of 20-HETE impairs the myogenic and TGF responses of the Af-Art of Dahl salt sensitive rats (857.8)

Previously, we demonstrated that transfer of chromosome 5 containing the CYP4A genes from Brown Norway (BN) rat onto the Dahl S (SS) genetic background (SS.5BN strain) increases the formation of 20-HETE in renal microvessels and contributes to the antihypertensive effect. Therefore, we hypothesize that a deficiency in the formation of 20-HETE in the renal vasculature impairs myogenic and TGF responses in the afferent arteriole (Af-Art) in SS rats. The production of 20-HETE was 54% lower in renal microvessels of SS rats than in SS.5BNrats. The luminal diameter of the Af-Art decreased by 15±2% (n=6, p<0.05) in SS.5BN rats when the perfusion pressure was increased from 60 to 120 mmHg, whereas it remained unaltered in SS rats. Administration of an adenosine type 1 receptor agonist (CCPA, 1 µM) reduced the diameter of the Af-Art in the SS.5BN rats by 44±2%(n=6, p<0.05)., whereas the Af-Art of SS rats was unaltered SS rats exhibited poor autoregulation of RBF and PGC in vivo, whereas they were well regulated in...
On a Generalized Approach for Design of Compliant Mechanisms Using the Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model Concept

This paper provides a generalized approach for the design of compliant mechanisms. The paper discusses the implicit uncoupling, between the kinematic and energy/torque equations, enabled by the pseudo-rigid-body model concept, and utilizes it for designing a variety of compliant mechanism types for a wide-range of user specifications. Pseudo-rigid-body four-bar mechanisms, with one to four torsional springs located at the revolute joints, are considered to demonstrate the design methodology. Mechanisms are designed for conventional tasks, such as function, path and motion generation, and path generation with prescribed timing, with energy/torque specified at the precision-positions. State-of-the-art rigid-body synthesis techniques are applied to the pseudo-rigid-body model to satisfy the kinematic requirements. Energy/torque equations are then used to account for the necessary compliance according to the user specifications. The approach utilizes a conventional, simple yet efficient optimization formulation to solve energy/torque equations that allow a designer to i) achieve realistic solutions, ii) specify appropriate energy/torque values, and iii) reduce the sensitivities associated with the ‘synthesis with compliance’ approach. A variety of examples are presented to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the approach. All of the examples are verified with the finite element software ANSYS®.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Epicardial adipose tissue has a unique transcriptome modified in severe coronary artery disease

Objective To explore the transcriptome of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) as compared to subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and its modifications in a small number of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) versus valvulopathy. Methods SAT and EAT samples were obtained during elective cardiothoracic surgeries. The transcriptome of EAT was evaluated, as compared to SAT, using an unbiased, whole-genome approach in subjects with CAD (n = 6) and without CAD (n = 5), where the patients without CAD had cardiac valvulopathy. Results Relative to SAT, EAT is a highly inflammatory tissue enriched with genes involved in endothelial function, coagulation, immune signaling, potassium transport, and apoptosis. EAT is lacking in expression of genes involved in protein metabolism, tranforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling, and oxidative stress. Although underpowered, in subjects with severe CAD, there is an expression trend suggesting widespread downregulation of EAT encompassing a diverse group of gene sets related to intracellular trafficking, proliferation/transcription regulation, protein catabolism, innate immunity/lectin pathway, and ER stress. Conclusions The EAT transcriptome is unique when compared to SAT. In the setting of CAD versus valvulopathy, there is possible alteration of the EAT transcriptome with gene suppression. This pilot study explores the transcriptome of EAT in CAD and valvulopathy, providing new insight into its physiologic and pathophysiologic roles.
Modeling and real-time control of plasma-based wafer etching

In this paper, modeling and control issues involved with the use of plasmas in wafer etching processes is analyzed. Controlling plasmas is a key aspect of semiconductor wafer manufacturing due to the increased performance expectations of plasma etching. These expectations are a reduction in feature size and production with larger wafers. Innovations in plasma etching processes that can enable these performance expectations are the use of multiple-strap antenna systems to provide active uniformity control and stabilization of certain types of electronegative plasma instabilities. The implementation of these innovations requires the use of a model-based control system that will in itself lead to improved performance. This application of control theory to plasmas will also benefit thin film processing in general including flat panel displays and various types of coatings.
FOOD-RESOURCES AND THE INFLUENCE OF SPATIAL PATTERN ON FEEDING IN THE PHORONID PHORONOPSIS VIRIDIS

1. In the intertidal zone of Bodega Harbor, California, the phoronid, Phoronopsis viridis, aggregates in clusters often composed of thousands of tightly aggregated individuals (up to 150,000/m2). Within a dense cluster, there is a spacing problem for expansion of the lophophores. When nearest-neighbor distances are small, a stratification of feeding appendages is a workable solution to the spacing problem, allowing simultaneous expansion of clustered feeding appendages.2. Suspension-feeding specimens of Phoronopsis expand their lophophores and collect food items from the turbid near-bottom layers of water. Comparison of ingested items with material collected where the phoronids feed indicates a preference for small (< 100 µm) organic encrusted mineral grains, floc aggregates, and fecal material, all resuspended from the depositional interface. Also taken to a lesser extent are plankton bloom species, such as diatoms and dinoflagellates.3. The fact that Phoronopsis forms dense assemblages in the intertidal...
1-D and 2-D syntactic pattern recognition for the detection of bright spots

Syntactic pattern recognition is applied to the seismogram for the detection of bright spots. The calculation between error probability and Levenshtein distance is proposed. Three kinds of string distance computation are proposed to test the continuity of a bright spot pattern. The experiment on relative-amplitude real stacked seismograms is presented. The classification results are quite good and the proposed method can be used to improve seismic interpretation.
Analysis of the Promoter Sequences of the UL9 Gene of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

Abstract The origin-binding protein, encoded by the UL9 gene of herpes simplex virus-I (HSV- 1), has the properties of an initiator of DNA replication. Since onset of lytic replication of the virus can be critically controlled by availability of the initiator protein, we have analyzed the sequences upstream of the UL9 gene in a monkey kidney cell line (Vero). In this communication, we report the presence of three UL9 transcripts and multiple transcription initiation sites of the UL9 gene in HSV-1-infected cells. The presence of multiple transcription initiation sites for the UL9 gene is consistent with the absence of a TATA element 5′- to the UL9 ORF. A 395-bp upstream sequence encompassing all UL9 transcription initiation sites was active in expressing a reporter gene and was induced by viral immediate-early proteins. This result is consistent with the earlier observation that immediate-early proteins of HSV-1 induce viral early genes.
Manganese-Nodule Bedforms and Thermohaline Density Flows in a Deep-Sea Valley on Carnegie Ridge, Panama Basin

ABSTRACT Arrangements of manganese nodules in rows and cellular networks decorate Miocene chalk surfaces stripped by erosion at depths of 2700-3000 m on the north flank of Carnegie Ridge, eastern equatorial Pacific. The patterns are interpreted as bedforms, similar to the transverse ribs and stone cells of fast, shallow rivers in appearance, but probably not in origin. The powerful currents responsible for shaping these deep-sea bedforms and adjacent fields of foraminiferal sand waves are believed to be density flows of Peru Basin water that episodically spills into the warmer Panama Basin. These thermohaline density currents cascade down their erosional valley with many of the characteristics and some of the geologic competence of channelled turbidity currents.
Automation of VUIto GUI mapping

This document presents a brief overview of my doctoral research, which is focused on an approach to map a VUI to a GUI in order to increase the usability of graphical applications for users with motoric challenges. This is accomplished by creating a prototype that uses voice as an input modality for Scratch. Evaluation and assessment of the research will be performed through observation of children with motor disabilities using the tool. The research will be further generalized by creating a template for mapping a VUI to any GUI. My current research focus is summarized followed by the motivation for this research. Related work is described along with a problem statement and research goals. My dissertation status and expected contributions conclude this document.
Bivalirudin versus unfractionated heparin in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention after acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract Background Bivalirudin is replacing heparin as the anticoagulant agent of choice for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study aimed to assess the safety and clinical outcomes of bivalirudin versus unfractionated heparin (UFH) in patients undergoing PCI for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods A cohort of 672 consecutive patients presenting with AMI without prior thrombolytic therapy were treated with either bivalirudin (216 patients) or UFH (456 patients). Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors were administered at the operator's discretion. The in-hospital, 30-day, and 6-month outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were similar between the groups. In-hospital complications were similar, although there was a trend of a less major hematocrit drop in the bivalirudin group (0.9% vs. 3.1%, P =.09). All clinical outcomes were similar between the groups at 30-day and 6-month follow-ups. There was no statistical significance for acute thrombosis and subacute thrombosis between the groups, and there was no late thrombosis from either group. The event-free survival rate was similar between the groups ( P =.41). Conclusion The use of bivalirudin in patients undergoing PCI after AMI is safe and feasible. Bivalirudin should be considered as an alternative anticoagulant agent during PCI to treat patients presenting with AMI.
Schistosoma mansoni: Expression and role of cysteine proteinases in developing schistosomula

Abstract The adult stage of Schistosoma mansoni utilizes host hemoglobin as a nutrient source. A proteolytic enzyme (SMw32) that has “hemoglobinase” activity is secreted into the parasite gut where it appears to be rapidly activated by glutathione released from host red blood cells. In the present study the expression of this proteinase, in developing schistosomula, has been correlated with digestive tract development and a dramatic rise in enzyme activity as early as Days 8–10 of culture. No evidence of the SMw32 proteinase was found in eggs, cercariae, or in newly transformed larvae. Further, the proteinase expressed at Days 8–10 is indistinguishable from the adult worm enzyme. In the larvae, indirect immunofluorescence with an anti-SMw32 monoclonal antibody showed that the proteinase is found throughout the developing cecum. The importance of cysteine proteinases to parasite development was also studied using a specific enzyme inhibitor, Ep-459. In cultures containing Ep-459 most (75%) of the schistosomula failed to survive the 18-day study period. Moreover, those that did survive showed a decrease in their growth (body length). These data suggest that the SMw32 proteinase is a developmentally regulated enzyme and that cysteine proteinase activity is essential in providing nutrients for the growth and survival of this parasite in its mammalian host. Thus, this proteinase may be an important target for chemotherapeutic intervention.
Commentary on: case studies in Asian blepharoplasty.

In the abstract for this article, Dr. Takayanagi clearly states that there are many deformities that can result from aging of the Asian eyelid. Each patient represents a unique combination of factors that could include excess skin, sunken eyelids or atrophic tissue in the subbrow area, asymmetric single or double eyelids, ptosis, unilateral or bilateral deformity, and any combination of these. Additionally, it is noted by the author that the operative procedure does not always end in a perfect result and patients may require further procedures to enhance or improve a more moderate result. Skin quality, brow muscle activity, and the patient’s desire for a particular appearance therefore influence the surgeon’s decision about which procedure to perform and exactly how far to pursue the correction. One further factor for Asian patients is that some wish to retain at least a certain aspect of their original Asian eyelid appearance, fearing that they will look unusual to their family or friends by not conforming …
On a theorem of Bendixson

such that the successive application of the transformations of C,, reduces the initial system to a similar one with lowest-degree terms in X or Y, unity. The application of all the C, leads to the detection of all the TO-curves of the initial system. In my first paper [I], I derived anew Bendixson’s fundamental result, but gave a precise method for the detection of the collections C, (with some collapsed transformations). My analysis rested very strongly upon the Weierstrass preparation theorem plus a special choice of coordinate system.
New Initiatives in Improving Youth and Family Outcomes by Importing Evidence-Based Practices

ABSTRACT This article describes three community-based research projects that are designed to enhance the effectiveness of real-world adolescent substance abuse treatment and prevention, and presents preliminary study results from each. The first project is examining statewide public sector practitioner interest in and implementation of contingency management in treating adolescent substance abuse. The second project is integrating the Community Reinforcement Approach for adults into Multisystemic Therapy (MST) programs for use with substance-abusing caregivers. The third project is integrating Reinforcement-Based Therapy for adults with MST for child abuse and neglect in the treatment of families with co-occurring child maltreatment and caregiver substance abuse. Each project highlights the complexity of using the evidence base in the treatment of substance abuse, and the potential to improve outcomes for challenging clinical populations in real world practice settings.
CuCl2 and PdCl2 catalysts for oxidative carbonylation of aniline with methanol

Abstract Synthesis of methyl- N -phenyl carbamate from the oxidative carbonylation of aniline with methanol has been studied over CuCl 2 -NaI, PdCl 2 -NaI, PdCl 2 -CuCl 2 -NaI, and PdCl 2 -CuCl 2 -HCl in an autoclave at 373/438 K and 0.13/3.79 MPa. Carbamate yields decreased in the order: CuCl 2 -NaI>PdCl 2 -NaI>PdCl 2 -CuCl 2 -NaI>PdCl 2 -CuCl 2 -HCl at 438 K and 3.79 MPa. Product distribution profiles showed that carbamate yield increased with reaction time and leveled off at 43.5% over CuCl 2 -NaI after 1 h of batch reaction at 438 K and 3.79 MPa. The low cost and high activity of CuCl 2 -NaI could provide a novel and cost-effective process for carbamate synthesis.
Short communication: Effect of a stable pen management strategy for precalving cows on dry matter intake, plasma nonesterified fatty acid levels, and milk production

Abstract During the close-up transition period, dairy cows are at risk for negative energy balance due to increasing energy demands and decreasing feed intake. This can result in postparturient health problems and decreased milk production after calving. Cows are frequently regrouped during this period, which can negatively affect feeding and resting behavior. The hypothesis was that housing in a stable pen during the close-up transition period should result in a more settled environment resulting in fewer displacements from the feed bunk, which would result in improved feed intake, energy balance [lower nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations], and lactation performance. This study addresses precalving pen grouping strategies, which have the potential to affect feed intake and energy balance. A randomized complete block design with pen as the experimental unit was used to compare a stable (S) housing strategy (cows with similar calving dates added to a precalving pen at once) to the more traditional dynamic (D) housing strategy (cows added up to 2 times per week to a precalving pen). Twice-weekly blood samples were collected for NEFA analysis and cow interactions within the pen were observed. Dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and postparturient health problems were recorded. Mean DMI for the duration of the 28 d of the study was not different (S: 25.5 ± 1.6 vs. D: 25.7 ± 1.0 kg/d), and when examined over time relative to calving, no treatment by time interaction was observed. Concentrations of NEFA were not different when cows initially entered the pens (S: 0.21 ± 0.10 vs. D: 0.18 ± 0.04 mEq/L) and remained not different for the time intervals closer to calving (d −9 to −14: S: 0.28 ± 0.09 vs. D: 0.21 ± 0.04; d −3 to −6: S 0.36 ± 0.10, D 0.32 ± 0.05 mEq/L). Pen grouping strategy did not affect DMI, plasma NEFA concentrations, or milk production.