cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anger Issues: Mark 1.41 in Ephrem the Syrian, the Old Latin Gospels and Codex Bezae*

While the vast majority of manuscripts portray Jesus in Mark 1.41 as ‘moved to compassion’ (σπλαγχνισθeίς) before healing a leper, five putative witnesses in three languages depict him ‘becoming angry’ (ὀργισθeίς/ iratus ). Following Hort's dictum that ‘knowledge of documents should precede final judgments on readings’, this article offers the first thorough examination of the witnesses to ‘anger’, with the result that the sole putative Syriac witness is dismissed, the Old Latin witnesses are geographically isolated, and the sole Greek witness linked to the Old Latin as a Greek–Latin diglot. Since the final grounds for Jesus’ ‘anger’, that it is the lectio difficilior , also prove insubstantial, σπλαγχνισθeίς is concluded to be original, with ‘anger’ originating in the Old Latin manuscript tradition.
Modeling of Atomic Concentration at the Wire-to-TSV Interface

Electro-migration (EM) in through-silicon-vias (TSVs) could become a serious design issue for TSVs having regions of high current density. In these regions, grain boundaries play a large role in EM dominating atomic transport. The focus of this chapter is to study EM in a comprehensive mutli-physics context including atomic transport due to grain boundaries. Atomic concentration and its time evolution is modeled. Our simulations show how voids and hillocks evolve in a TSV due to current crowding. We also investigate the impact of current, temperature, and various grain sizes on the EM reliability. These results and discussions provide guidance for designers to better understand and avoid EM reliability failures in 3D ICs.
Optimum shape of large-span trusses according to AISC-LRFD using Ranked Particles Optimization

Abstract The purpose of this study is the application of the recently developed metaheuristic algorithm named Ranked Particles Optimization (RPO) in shape optimization of large-span truss structures and comparing it with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Harmony Search (HS) as two traditional and widely-used methods. The study considers the design of large-span truss structures mimicking real-world application of metaheuristics in the design of civil engineering infrastructures. Since the results metaheuristic algorithms depend on random initial variables, the design codes are run several times to obtain a sample pool. Then, statistical analyses are performed to compare the performance of each algorithm within the considered class of problems. The results were presented to study the convergence rate, robustness in finding the global minimum, and the repeatability of the RPO. The results exhibit that RPO converges faster compared to the PSO and the HS algorithms. Moreover, the results of PRO have less cost function which is an indication of the robustness of the algorithm. Finally, less dispersity of the results of RPO compared to the PSO and HS shows high repeatability and reliability of the algorithm.
SQERTSS: Dynamic rank based throttling of transition probabilities in kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

Abstract Lattice based Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations offer a powerful simulation technique for investigating large reaction networks while retaining spatial configuration information, unlike ordinary differential equations. However, large chemical reaction networks can contain reaction processes with rates spanning multiple orders of magnitude. This can lead to the problem of “KMC stiffness” (similar to stiffness in differential equations), where the computational expense has the potential to be overwhelmed by very short time-steps during KMC simulations, with the simulation spending an inordinate amount of KMC steps/CPU time simulating fast frivolous processes (FFPs) without progressing the system (reaction network). In order to achieve simulation times that are experimentally relevant or desired for predictions, a dynamic throttling algorithm involving separation of the processes into speed-ranks based on event frequencies has been designed and implemented with the intent of decreasing the probability of FFP events, and increasing the probability of slow process events—allowing rate limiting events to become more likely to be observed in KMC simulations. This Staggered Quasi-Equilibrium Rank-based Throttling for Steady-state (SQERTSS) algorithm is designed for use in achieving and simulating steady-state conditions in KMC simulations. As shown in this work, the SQERTSS algorithm also works for transient conditions: the correct configuration space and final state will still be achieved if the required assumptions are not violated, with the caveat that the sizes of the time-steps may be distorted during the transient period.
Sirtuin 1-Chromatin-Binding Dynamics Points to a Common Mechanism Regulating Inflammatory Targets in SIV Infection and in the Aging Brain

Microglia and macrophages are the main non-neuronal subsets of myeloid origin in the brain, and are critical regulators in neurodegenerative disorders, where inflammation is a key factor. Since HIV infection results in neurological perturbations that are similar to those in aging, we examined microglial and infiltrating myeloid subsets in the search for changes that might resemble the ones in aging. For that, we used the SIV infection in rhesus macaques to model neuroAIDS. We found that Sirt-1, a molecule that impacts survival and health in many models, was decreased in cell preparations containing a majority of microglia and myeloid cells from the brain of infected macaques. The role of Sirt-1 in neuroAIDS is unknown. We hypothesized that Sirt-1 silencing functions are affected by SIV. Mapping of Sirt-1 binding patterns to chromatin revealed that the number of Sirt-1-bound genes was 29.6% increased in myeloid cells from infected animals with mild or no detectable neuropathology, but 51% was decreased in severe neuropathology, compared to controls. Importantly, Sirt-1-bound genes in controls largely participate in neuroinflammation. Promoters of type I IFN pathway genes IRF7, IRF1, IFIT1, and AIF1, showed Sirt-1 binding in controls, which was consistently lost after infection, together with higher transcription. Loss of Sirt-1 binding was also found in brains from old uninfected animals, suggesting a common regulation. The role of Sirt-1 in regulating these inflammatory markers was confirmed in two different in vitro models, where Sirt-1 blockage modulated IRF7, IRF1 and AIF1 levels both in human macrophage cell lines and in human blood-derived monocytes from various normal donors, stimulated with a TLR9 agonist. Our data suggests that Sirt-1-inflammatory gene silencing is disturbed by SIV infection, resembling aging in brains. These findings may impact our knowledge on the contribution of myeloid subsets to the neurological consequences of HIV infection, aggravated and overlapping with the aging process.
To the Edge of the Map

The title—Map and Territory—that Shyam Iyengar chose for this volume is, of course, rich in possible interpretations. The word map suggests any contrivance—perhaps of ephemeral utility—meant to model the geography of any territory. I’ll take the title to be an invitation to write about the manner in which we fashion structures of thought—the ‘maps,’—in order to understand, and negotiate our way through, whatever realm it is that encompasses the objects of our thought—the ‘territories.’
Stages in the Progress of First-Year Students in the Veterans Administration1:

There are probably two general stages in the field experience in this setting in which the student shows the most genuine desire to learn. The first period is at the beginning of the placement when...
Facilely synthesized porous polymer as support of poly(ethyleneimine) for effective CO2 capture

Abstract In this work, an effective adsorbent (polyHIPE/PEI) was developed for use in CO2 capture technologies. For this purpose, a porous polymer was prepared by high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) using 2-Ethylhexyl methacrylate (EHMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB). This prepared porous polymer (polyHIPE) was then used as a novel support for the wet impregnation of polyethylenimine (PEI), thus resulting in the polyHIPE/PEI adsorbent. The prepared adsorbent was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyses. At the optimal PEI loading of 60 wt% on polyHIPE, the CO2 sorption capacity reached 4 mmol CO2/g-sorbent using 10 vol% CO2 and 3 vol% H2O in N2 at 70 °C. Kinetic and thermodynamic adsorption studies showed that the activation energies for CO2 adsorption and desorption of polyHIPE/PEI are 13.74 kJ/mol and 36.12 kJ/mol, respectively. These results indicate that CO2 desorption using polyHIPE/PEI has the potential to reduce CO2 capture cost due to the low activation energy and high CO2 desorption rate. As such, polyHIPE/PEI constitutes an advantageous alternative to traditional methods in CO2 capture from gas mixtures.
Pest Management Decisions

Management is the art of manipulating men, money, machines, and resources in order to attain certain predefined goals. Although management is essentially an art, like other art forms it should rest on a firm foundation of scientific knowledge. Architecture is also an art, but our bridges and towers would not stand long if the architect’s plans ignored physical laws and material properties. Thus, the failure of management planning is often due to ignorance or misinterpretation of the “laws” of nature rather than to ineffective application. The successful manager is an applied scientist who uses all the relevant results of scientific research to achieve his or her goals.
Protecting Privacy in the Child’s Electronic Health Record

With the increasing availability of electronic health records, translational researchers frequently wish to extract information from or add information to these records to support various research projects. It is important that investigators be familiar with laws and regulations that protect the privacy of patients and restrict who can view or extract information from their EHRs. Laws and professional standards demand that all individually identifiable health information be secured at a high level and handled as private, sensitive information. Some information (mental health, reproductive health, abuse) is generally regarded as more sensitive than others in the health care of a patient at any age. In a situation where minors are involved, these security and privacy policies become more complicated because of possible conflicts between the interests of the child and the interests of parents or guardians. Situations specific to pediatric clinical practice and research increase the difficulty of implementing these policies: adolescent care, adoption, fetal care, foster care, and genetic disease. Security policies for access to systems intended to be used by patients (personal health records and patient portals) are complex. They can become even more challenging when the child has participated in clinical research and unexpected clinically relevant results are obtained.
Process and Substance in WTO Reform

The paper departs from accounts that primarily associate the WTO’s legitimacy crisis with the deficiencies in the process of negotiating trade rules and the general lack of transparency, accountability and inclusiveness in conducting its trade governance mandate in general or exclusively in the organizational structure of the WTO.Instead, the paper argues the ending the closed door, secretive and technocratic nature of the WTO decision-making and the trading regime bias in favor of industrial products and services will only partially resolve the WTO’s legitimacy issues. These issues must be simultaneously addressed alongside the bias against agriculture and other developing country concerns, such as those relating to implementation of existing agreements, to adequately address the WTO’s legitimacy crises.
When states resist: Regime type, relative power, and militarised compellent threats

What explains state responses to militarized compellent threats? We propose it is not only the power distribution between target and challenger but the interaction between power distribution and regime type. Leaders of democratic and nondemocratic regimes adhere to different strategies of political survival. As democratic leaders have larger winning coalitions and provide public goods, we anticipate that as power distribution shifts in their favor, democratic targets will have a higher likelihood of complying with compellent threats. However, as democratic states become weaker, they cannot protect the members of their winning coalition from bearing the costs of a reputation for weak resolve and therefore have incentives to resist compellent threats. Nondemocratic leaders have smaller winning coalitions and provide private goods, so the power disparity should have little effect on the responses of nondemocratic states. An analysis of militarized compellent threats from 1918 to 2001 provides support for our argument
Modeling of Gate Effects on Electron Transport in a Single-Electron Transistor with Two Semiconducting Islands Between Two Semiconducting Electrodes

Electron transport through a single-electron transistor (SET) device with two semiconducting islands, two semiconducting electrodes (source and drain), and a metallic gate is investigated using a semi-classical model for electron tunneling and Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. Experimental studies have demonstrated that there are advantages to utilizing SET devices with semiconducting (silicon) materials, as compared to metallic SETs, such as thermal filtering and improved gate control, which are of a great importance in practical applications. The model of the semiconductors includes an energy band gap and a modified-parabolic density of states in the valence and conduction bands. Although this leads to more complex calculations to predict electron tunneling between semiconducting materials as compared to devices with metallic islands and electrodes, the semiconductors also give more parameters by which to control the device characteristics.
Characterization and Optimization of PLA Stereocomplexed Hydrogels for Local Gene Delivery Systems

Localized gene delivery still remains as a challenging therapeutic method due to the multiple hurdles to overcome. One of the significant factors is a development of a matrix to carry and safely deliver genes at the local site in a controlled manner and then exit and disintegrate harmlessly. This report describes the structural and mechanistic studies on the in-situ forming hydrogels composed of the PEI/DNA multi-layered micelles to apply for gene therapy. The stereocomplexation-driven hydrogel systems from the DNA-loaded and DNA-free PLA-PEG-PLA triblock copolymer micelles that include enantiomeric polylactide blocks exhibited a sol-to-gel transitions between room and body temperatures. These hydrogels have well-described structure and compositions, and improved mechanical properties. Furthermore, the investigation of their degradation profiles and chemical analysis indicated the faster acidic degradation and stepwise degradation process of these micelle-hydrogel systems.
MNase profiling of promoter chromatin in S. typhimurium-stimulated GM12878 cells reveals dynamic and response-specific nucleosome architecture

Abstract The nucleosome is the primary unit of chromatin structure and commonly imputed as a regulator of nuclear events, although the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Recent studies have shown that certain nucleosomes can have different sensitivities to micrococcal nuclease (MNase) digestion, resulting in the release of populations of nucleosomes dependent on the concentration of MNase. Mapping MNase sensitivity of nucleosomes at transcription start sites genome-wide reveals an important functional nucleosome organization that correlates with gene expression levels and transcription factor binding. In order to understand nucleosome distribution and sensitivity dynamics during a robust genome response, we mapped nucleosome position and sensitivity using multiple concentrations of MNase. We use the innate immune response as a model system to understand chromatin-mediated regulation. Herein we demonstrate that stimulation of a human lymphoblastoid cell line (GM12878) with heat-killed Salmonella typhimurium (HKST) results in widespread nucleosome remodeling of response-specific loci. We further show that the response alters the sensitivity of promoter nucleosomes. Finally, we correlate the increased sensitivity with response-specific transcription factor binding. These results indicate that nucleosome distribution and sensitivity dynamics are integral to appropriate cellular response and pave the way for further studies that will deepen our understanding of the specificity of genome response.
The Year in Review: Economics at the Antitrust Division, 2018–2019

This article highlights the economic analysis that underlay certain enforcement efforts of the Antitrust Division over the past year. The Division’s challenge of ATT this provided for a rich theoretical framework for evaluating the merger’s impact. The Division also reached a settlement with Atrium Health that prevented the large hospital network from imposing contractual restrictions that undercut health insurers’ efforts to create tiered networks and other plans that promote competition among providers.
Abiraterone acetate induces CREB1 phosphorylation and enhances the function of the CBP-p300 complex, leading to resistance in prostate cancer cells

Purpose: Abiraterone acetate (AA), an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 17alpha-hydroxylase/17, 20 lyase, is an FDA-approved drug for advanced prostate cancer. However, not all patients respond to AA, and AA resistance ultimately develops in patients who initially respond. We aimed to identify AA resistance mechanisms in prostate cancer cells. Experimental Design: We established several AA-resistant cell lines and performed a comprehensive study on mechanisms involved in AA resistance development. RNA sequencing and phospho-kinase array screenings were performed to discover that the cAMP-response element CRE binding protein 1 (CREB1) was a critical molecule in AA resistance development. Results: The drug-resistant cell lines are phenotypically stable without drug selection, and exhibit permanent global gene expression changes. The phosphorylated CREB1 (pCREB1) is increased in AA-resistant cell lines and is critical in controlling global gene expression. Upregulation of pCREB1 desensitized prostate cancer cells to AA, while blocking CREB1 phosphorylation resensitized AA-resistant cells to AA. AA treatment increases intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels, induces kinases activity, and leads to the phosphorylation of CREB1, which may subsequently augment the essential role of the CBP/p300 complex in AA-resistant cells because AA-resistant cells exhibit a relatively higher sensitivity to CBP/p300 inhibitors. Further pharmacokinetics studies demonstrated that AA significantly synergizes with CBP/p300 inhibitors in limiting the growth of prostate cancer cells. Conclusions: Our studies suggest that AA treatment upregulates pCREB1, which enhances CBP/p300 activity, leading to global gene expression alterations, subsequently resulting in drug resistance development. Combining AA with therapies targeting resistance mechanisms may provide a more effective treatment strategy.
Impact of Gastrostomy Tube and Nutritional Monitoring on Interstage Outcomes following Stage 1 Norwood Palliation

Objective: Stage I Norwood palliation (S1P) for functional single ventricle physiology carries a mortality risk of 15%, and patients remain at risk for adverse outcomes during the interstage period prior to second stage palliation (S2P). Feeding dysfunction (FD) is common in this population and may be associated with poorer outcomes. While there is wide institutional variation in nutritional management, there have been increasing efforts to ameliorate interstage mortality over the past decade emphasizing nutrition, feeding delivery, and home monitoring programs (HMPs). In 2009, we implemented an HMP, and by …
Mobilization Under Threat: Emotional Appeals and Pro-Opposition Political Participation Online

Large numbers of people living under authoritarian governments participate in pro-opposition politics despite sometimes significant risks. Increasing amounts of this political participation are taking place and being organized online. Do emotions play a causal role in inducing pro-opposition participation in authoritarian regimes? Can emotions that mobilize participation be spread via social media? Through an experiment carried out by an opposition party in Zimbabwe, I test whether campaign appeals to opposition supporters’ emotions affect their level of political participation in online pro-opposition discussions. I find that across two different issue areas, randomly assigned anger appeals increase participation on average by 0.4 standard deviations more than enthusiasm appeals with the same informational content. In real terms, this represents between 30% and 170% more participation in the groups assigned to the anger appeals across four different measures of participation. There is little evidence that these effects are stronger in areas with less poverty or that have historically been affected by more violence, or when coupled with messages emphasizing personal power. These results suggest that anger appeals that highlight economic grievances can be an important force for mobilizing online political participation in repressive environments.
Do Restrictive Land Use Regulations Make Housing More Expensive Everywhere

This study makes three contributions to the debate over the effect of local land use regulations on housing prices and affordability. First, it is more geographically extensive than previous studie...
The Role of KN1 in Plant Development

Cell communication is an ubiquitous feature of plant development; plant cells divide, expand, and differentiate in concerted action. Genetically distinct cells adopt alternate fates depending on their neighbors, in fact, the fates of all cells are most decisively determined by their neighbors. The question remains, not whether cell communication signals play a role, but what are these signals and how do they function? I will discuss areas of development that high-light the role of cell communication, and then suggest that KN1 may be one of the mediators.
Demonstration of active osteoarthropathy at In-111 Zevalin scan in a patient with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

1067 Learning Objectives 1. To review the normal and abnormal pattern of In-111 Zevalin biodistribution, particularly caused by active osteoarthropathy (AO). 2. To discuss possible consequences of AO on the 90Y-Zevalin treatment in patients with CD20 receptor-positive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma(NHL). 90Y-Zevalin is an effective treatment for CD20 receptor-positive NHL. It has been approved for patients who achieve a partial or complete response to first-line chemotherapy, or have relapsed or refractory, low-grade or follicular B-cell NHL. We present a 70-year-old woman with stage IIIa follicular B-cell lymphoma who completed chemotherapy with R-CHOP in 4/2008, and achieved complete remission initially. However, she showed evidence of early relapse in 9/2008 seen as FDG avid lymph nodes in the mediastinum, abdomen and pelvis. Subsequent pleurectomy and mediastinal biopsy confirmed B-cell lymphoma. Bone marrow biopsy was negative. She was then treated with R-CMOPP. There was partial treatment response but early relapse occurred based on FDG PET/CT findings in 3/2009. An indication for Y-90-Zevalin was made. On pre-treatment In-111-Zevalin scan, intense tracer activity in the right shoulder joint was noticed besides the physiologic activity in the large vessels, cardiac ventricles, liver and spleen. The right shoulder uptake was 3.3% of the whole body activity based on geometric mean calculations. This finding correlated with intense FDG uptake and osteoarthropathy changes on CT. The patient complaint of right chronic shoulder pain, and the clinical diagnosis of AO was made. Given the relatively low uptake in the right shoulder, the patient was treated as scheduled with a full dose regimen of 27 mCi of Y-90 Zevalin. In this exhibit, normal and abnormal biodistribution of In-111 Zevalin including this one case of OA will be presented and their impact on efficacy Y-90 Zevalin treatment will be discussed
Southern Blotting for the Analysis of Human Disease

With the advent of molecular techniques and advances in disease gene identification, molecular diagnostics has taken precedence over biochemical/functional diagnosis. Although the use of conventional Southern blotting techniques may be on the decline, more sensitive and efficient hybridization technologies promise a bright future for effective and early disease diagnosis. Keywords: molecular diagnosis; triplet repeats; leukaemia; haemoglobinopathies; nucleic acid hybridization; polymerase chain reaction
Acute-on-Chronic Kidney Injury in Thyroid Hormone Withdrawal: A Case with Possible Implications for Radioactive Iodine Planning.

The association between renal dysfunction and hypothyroidism is of increasing clinical importance as thyroid hormone replacement may attenuate decline in renal function and improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although multiple mechanisms for the induction of renal insufficiency in hypothyroidism have been described, the renal impact of short-term, acute hypothyroidism is unknown, which has possible implications for thyroid cancer patients preparing to receive radioactive iodine (RAI). A 56-year-old gentleman with history of unilateral renal agenesis and CKD stage III presented with intermediate-risk papillary thyroid cancer. In preparation for RAI, he underwent thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) associated with acute kidney injury (AKI), as marked by a decrease in his estimated GFR from 53 to 32 mL/min/1.73 m2. Upon resumption of thyroid hormone, renal function returned to baseline within months. Although AKI in this case was not otherwise associated with adverse outcome and reversed upon resumption of thyroid hormone, it is possible that this phenomenon could result in potential harm, particularly in the patient with baseline renal insufficiency. In CKD patients, preparation for RAI therapy may require special consideration; future studies should address the role of recombinant TSH to mitigate deleterious renal effects of acute hypothyroidism in this setting.
The U.S. Constitutional Conception of the Rule of Law and the Rechtsstaatsprinzip of the Grundgesetz

This paper compares the conception of the rule of law in U.S. constitutional law with the corresponding conception of the Rechtsstaat in modern German constitutional law. The type of Rechtsstaat established by the German constitution is clearly substantive. A commitment to human rights is understood as inherent in the concept of the Rechtsstaat, and so is the requirement of proportionality as a standard for evaluating restrictions on personal and economic liberties. In U.S. constitutional law, by contrast, the concept of the rule of law does not operate as an enforceable constitutional doctrine, but rather as an ideal lying behind and informing both constitutional and nonconstitutional doctrines. Characterizing the vision of the rule of law expressed in U.S. constitutional law is, therefore, more difficult, but I argue that it is primarily procedural (or formal), with some substantive elements. The concept of proportionality does not lack parallels in U.S. constitutional law; basically, it is a form of balancing of interests. But balancing is not regarded in U.S. constitutional doctrine as an element of the rule of law, and it is not applied to interferences with all constitutional rights. This is especially true with regard to economic rights that are more highly protected in German constitutional law. The German constitution has been very influential as a model of constitutionalism, and one of its most exportable features may be its image of the Rechtsstaat. It remains to be seen to what degree the more substantive conception of the Rechtsstaat will carry protection of economic rights under the proportionality principle more widely into national constitutions and transnational arrangements, and to what degree those institutions will content themselves with the thinner Anglo-American conception of the rule of law.
THE INCIDENCE OF COOL GAS IN ∼1013 M ☉ HALOS*

We present the first results of an ongoing spectroscopic follow-up of close luminous red galaxies (LRGs) and Mg II ??2796,2803 absorber pairs for an initial sample of 15 photometrically selected LRGs at physical projected separations ? 350?h ?1 kpc from a QSO sight line. Our moderate-resolution spectra confirm a physical association between the cool gas (T ~ 104 K) revealed by the presence of Mg II absorption features and the LRG halo in five cases. In addition, we report an empirical estimate of the maximum covering fraction (?max) of cool gas in massive, 1013?h ?1 M ? dark matter halos hosting LRGs at z ~ 0.5. This study is performed using a sample of foreground LRGs that are located at ? < 400?h ?1 kpc from a QSO sight line. The LRGs are selected to have a robust photometric redshift ? z /(1 + z ph) 0.03. We determine ?max based on the incidence of Mg II absorption systems that occur within z ph ? 3 ? z in the spectra of the background QSOs. Despite the large uncertainties in z ph, this experiment provides a conservative upper limit to the covering fraction of cool gas in the halos of LRGs. We find that ?max 0.07 at Wr (2796) ? 1.0 ? and ?max 0.18 at Wr (2796) ? 0.5 ?, averaged over 400?h ?1 kpc radius. Our study shows that while cool gas is present in 1013?h ?1 M ? halos, the mean covering fraction of strong absorbers is no more than 7%.
Achieving secrecy without any instantaneous CSI: polar coding for fading wiretap channels

This paper presents a polar coding scheme for fading wiretap channels that achieves reliability as well as security without the knowledge of instantaneous channel state information at the transmitter. Specifically, a block fading model is considered for the wiretap channel that consists of a transmitter, a receiver, and an eavesdropper; and only the information regarding the statistics (i.e., distribution) of the channel state information is assumed at the transmitter. For this model, a coding scheme that hierarchically utilizes polar codes is presented in order to address channel state variation. In particular, on polarization of different binary symmetric channels over different fading blocks, each channel use (corresponding to a possibly different polarization) is modeled as an appropriate binary erasure channel over fading blocks. Polar codes are constructed for both coding over channel uses for each fading block and coding over fading blocks for certain channel uses. In order to guarantee security, message bits are transmitted such that they can be reliably decoded at the receiver, and random bits are introduced to exhaust the observations of the eavesdropper. It is shown that this coding scheme, without instantaneous channel state information at the transmitter, is secrecy capacity achieving for the corresponding fading binary symmetric wiretap channel.
A Vector Autoregressive ENSO Prediction Model

AbstractThe authors investigate a sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA)-only vector autoregressive (VAR) model for prediction of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). VAR generalizes the linear inverse method (LIM) framework to incorporate an extended state vector including many months of recent prior SSTA in addition to the present state. An SSTA-only VAR model implicitly captures subsurface forcing observable in the LIM residual as red noise. Optimal skill is achieved using a state vector of order 14–17 months in an exhaustive 120-yr cross-validated hindcast assessment. It is found that VAR outperforms LIM, increasing forecast skill by 3 months, in a 30-yr retrospective forecast experiment.
Utilization and Costs of Severe Uncontrolled Asthma in a Managed-Care Setting

Background Clinical and economic burden of patients with severe uncontrolled asthma (SUA) in a real-world managed-care setting required further documentation. Objective The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics, clinical, and economic burden of SUA in a managed-care setting. Methods This observational study identified patients with persistent asthma aged 12 years or more (N = 25,935) using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision asthma codes and Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set administrative criteria. An SUA subgroup was identified when all of the following 3 criteria were met in 2012: (1) 2 or more asthma exacerbations; (2) 6 or more medium- or high-dose dispensed canisters of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) as monotherapy or with long-acting β 2 -agonist; and (3) 3 or more dispensed non-ICS controllers. Health care utilization and direct costs (all-cause and asthma-related) in 2013 were compared between SUA and non-SUA subgroups using multivariable regression. Results Compared with the non-SUA subgroup (N = 25,350, 97.7%), the SUA subgroup (N = 585, 2.3%) at baseline was significantly older and had more comorbidities, asthma specialist care, controller medication dispensed, and asthma exacerbations. During follow-up, patients with SUA exhibited significantly more asthma exacerbations and short-acting β 2 -agonist use, and higher all-cause and asthma-related costs than patients with non-SUA. The adjusted asthma-related average direct cost per patient at follow-up was significantly higher for SUA (mean ± SE) ($2325 ± $75) than non-SUA ($1261 ± $9) with an incremental cost of $1056 (95% CI, $907-$1205). Asthma drugs accounted for the major difference (incremental cost of $848/patient; 95% CI, $737-$959). Conclusion Increases and disparities in health care utilization and direct cost by SUA status suggest that patients with SUA require more intensive therapy, greater attention to adherence and comorbidities, more specialist care, and, possibly, personalized treatment approaches including novel biologic treatments.
Hardware results demonstrating defect detection using power supply signal measurements

The power supply transient signal (I/sub DDT/) method that we propose for defect detection analyzes regional signal variations introduced by defects at a set of power supply pads on the chip under test (CUT). The method is based on the comparison of the CUT with chips that are known to be defect free. A set of defect free chips are analyzed to establish a statistical metric that distinguishes between defect effects and process variation (defect free) effects. This paper presents hardware results that demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel geometry based defect detection technique using nine copies of a test chip. Eight chips are used as defect free chips to derive the statistical limits. Emulated defects are provoked in the ninth chip to evaluate the defect detection capabilities of the method.
Rebuilding Shattered Lives: Treating Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders

Foreword. Introduction. Part I The Nature and Effects of Childhood Abuse. 1 Trauma and Dissociation: 30 Years of Study and Lessons Learned Along the Way. 2 Complex PTSD: The Effects of Chronic Trauma and Victimization. 3 Falling Apart: Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders. 4 Derailed: Childhood Trauma, Attachment and the Development of the Self. 5 The Memory Wars: The Nature of Traumatic Memories of Childhood Abuse. Part II Phase-Oriented Treatment for Complex PTSD. 6 The Therapeutic Roller Coaster: Phase-Oriented Treatment for Complex PTSD. 7 Staying Safe: The Paradox of Self-Care. 8 Containment: Controlling Posttraumatic and Dissociative Symptoms. 9 The Therapeutic Dance: Relational Dilemmas in Treating Complex PTSD. 10 The Impossible Patient: Chronic Disempowerment. 11 Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Maintaining the Treatment Frame. Part III Special Topics in Treatment of Complex Trauma-Related Disorders. 12 The Rational Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder. 13 Managing Crisis: Acute Care and Hospitalization. 14 Psychopharmacology for Trauma-Related Disorders. 15 Controversies and Future Directions in the Field of Trauma and Dissociation. Afterword: Why We Do Th is Work. Appendix 1: The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES and DES-T). Appendix 2: The Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20 and SDQ-5). Appendix 3: The Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID). References. Author Index. Subject Index.
Community Analysis in Fishery Management: An Application with Northern Wisconsin Lakes

Abstract Decisions in fishery management usually are made on a species-by-species and site-by-site basis because most information about fishes has been collected and organized in this way. A comparative, community-level approach can contribute to the development of management strategies for large sets of lakes and fish assemblages. Here we describe an approach similar in concept to lake classification, using techniques of multivariate community analysis (ordination, classification, multiple discriminant analysis). This approach can reveal patterns among fish assemblages and relate them to the lakes' habitat characteristics. An application of the approach is illustrated by a published study on fish assemblages of 18 small lakes in northern Wisconsin. Two discrete assemblage types were distinguished and the factors believed to be responsible for their maintenance were identified. With relationships derived from those 18 lakes, predictions of the assemblage types of 11 additional lakes are made from only fiv...
Food Habits, Length-Weight Relationship, Condition Factor, and Growth of Juvenile Red Drum, Sciaenops ocellata, in Louisiana

Abstract Food habits of 568 juvenile red drum, Sciaenops ocellata (Linnaeus), ranging from 8.0 to 183.0 mm standard length, were determined during the time the fish utilized a Louisiana salt marsh as a nursery area. Potentially available food organisms were sampled during the 7-mo study. Some degree of selectivity by juvenile red drum was demonstrated, but generally the most abundant organisms of an edible size were utilized most heavily. Changes in food with increasing size can be described in three phases: 1) red drum less than 15 mm ate zooplankton; 2) between 15 mm and 75 mm the red drum ate mostly small bottom invertebrates and the young of other fish; 3) red drum larger than 75 mm ate decapods (crabs and shrimp) and fish. Some differences between day and night feeding were found. For red drum 65 to 85 mm the dominant food eaten was grass shrimp during the day, whereas at night it was fish. The length-weight relationship was log W = −7.2052 + (4.1913) (log L). The average coefficient of condition was...
High-efficiency coupling structure for a single-line-defect photonic-crystal waveguide

We present the design and fabrication of a planar structure for coupling light from a multimode feed waveguide into a single-line-defect photonic-crystal waveguide. Finite-difference time-domain calculations predict a coupling efficiency of greater than 90%, and preliminary experimental results indicate successful coupling through a single-line-defect photonic-crystal waveguide. Device design, fabrication, and characterization are presented.
PROPERTIES AND FEATURES OF DIRECT REDUCED IRON

The blast furnace process is still the predominant method for primary iron production. However, the disadvantages inherent to the process led to the development of alternative processes such as the mini blast furnace process, smelting reduction process, and direct reduction process. Many of these alternative processes are still under development. However, direct reduction processes have reached some level of commercial applicability and are considered to be the most developed alternative ironmaking route. It is coke-less and environmentally friendlier when compared to the blast furnace process. In addition, direct reduced iron has a well-defined chemical composition when compared with steel scrap and has efficient melting properties in the electric arc furnace. Consequently, there is a great increase in the demand for direct reduced iron in electric arc steel making. These attractive features have led to an increase in worldwide production of direct reduced iron, which is currently approaching 50 million ...
Diffusion from sessile droplets through membranes

We analyze diffusion from a periodic array of hemispherical droplets through a membrane. We find that the multiple sources do not interact strongly, even when the droplets are closely spaced, so that the flux through the membrane appears nearly additive.
The relationship between adrenal steroids and enrichment-induced brain growth.

The question of whether brain growth brought about by environmental enrichment is mediated by the adrenal cortex has not been answered. Accordingly, young male rats were either adrenalectomized (ADX) and infused with a constant maintenance dose of corticosterone (2 mg·kg−1day−1) or sham-operated and implanted with a blank infusion device. Half of each surgical group was maintained in either impoverished (IC) or enriched conditions (EC). After 30 days, changes in forebrain growth and thickness of various cortical and subcortical regions were determined for each group. Enrichment and ADX independently increased forebrain weight and thickened cortical tissue at about the same anatomical sites. However, combined treatments were additive, not interactive. EC-induced brain growth is mimicked but not mediated by adrenalectomy.
Concept analysis and web clustering using combinatorial topology

The collection of the concepts that are discussed in a document set can be represented by a geometric structure, called simplical complex, of combinatorial topology. A simplex is a high-frequency keyword set that co-occurs closely which, we believe, carries a concept in the document set. The collection of all these simplexes that forms the simplical complex represents the structure of these concepts. Based on the topological structure of this complex, the documents are clustered. Several clustering schemes are presented. Our initial experiments, as expected, do support the theory
The Practice of Public Dispute Resolution: Measuring the Dollar Value of the Field

Public dispute resolution occupies an important space within the broader practice of conflict management. Professional public dispute mediators have helped to resolve disagreements over the allocation of scarce resources, the setting of standards, and the making of choices over policy priorities at the local, state, and national levels for almost thirty years. In a public dispute, at least one of the parties, often the convening party, is a public agency or governmental body, and public dispute resolution typically involves a substantial number of stakeholder representatives (gathered on an ad hoc basis after a careful conflict assessment) and a “professional neutral” who is adept at facilitating complex and heated deliberations over technically complex issues. Because public agencies are involved, the results of such deliberations must still be acted upon by elected or appointed officials. When public dispute resolution works well, informed consensus is reached in writing, litigation is avoided, and elected officials implement the proposals or agreements put before them. With great relief, we announce that the field of public dispute resolution has moved out of its adolescence and is now a full-fledged, mature professional service area. Gone are the days when playing the neutral role in a public dispute required three parts boldness and one part ingenuity. Hundreds of practitioners now claim public dispute resolution as their primary occupation, and both private and public institutions exist solely to
Vitamin D deficiency and reproduction in rats

Female weanling rats from a colony maintained on a diet low in vitamin D were raised on a diet that was deficient in vitamin D but was otherwise adequate. Vitamin D deficiency was confirmed in the rats by hypocalcemia and the absence of vitamin D metabolites in blood. These females gave birth to litters that were slightly smaller than control litters from females maintained on a vitamin D-containing diet. The pups from the vitamin D-deficient mothers appeared normal throughout lactation, and at weaning had normal concentrations of calcium and phosphate in the plasma. These results indicate that vitamin D and its metabolites are not necessary for reproduction and fetal development in the rat.
Membrane Lipid Fluidity and Filterability of Red Blood Cells from Adults and Newborns

ABSTRACT: Membrane lipid fluidity was reexamined in red blood cells and ghosts from adults and newborns. Fluorescence anisotropies of the hydrophobic probes 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and perylene were significantly and substantially greater in fresh intact red cells from newborns than from adults; however, no significant difference was detected with the polar fluorophores, 12-(9-anthroyl) stearic acid and retinol. These results suggest that probes in the hydrophobic core of the membrane have less motional freedom in red cells from newborns than from adults, whereas probe motional freedom in the polar lipid headgroup regions of the membranes is similar for both cell types. DPH fluorescence anisotropy increased upon making white ghosts or upon storage of blood. Temperature studies indicated that DPH fluorescence anisotropy in fresh intact neonatal red cells is increased by an amount corresponding to that produced by cooling adult red cells by 22° C. Elevated intracellular calcium decreased red cell filterability without affecting DPH fluorescence anisotropy of ghost membranes. This result suggests that the effect of calcium in reducing filterability is independent of alterations in membrane lipid motional freedom. It is unlikely that the decreased lipid motional freedom of red cells from newborns contributes significantly to their decreased filterability.
Better dead than dishonored: masculinity and male suicidal behavior in contemporary Ghana.

Abstract In Ghana reliable official data on suicidal behavior are not available. There is also limited empirical research on suicidal behavior in the country. At the same time, police-recorded suicide data, media reports, and communication from professionals in the field indicate that suicidal behavior is a growing problem. To identify current patterns and meanings of male suicidal behavior in Ghana, the study examined official police data spanning 2006–2008. This investigation revealed that reported cases of fatal and nonfatal suicidal behavior overwhelmingly involved males. Furthermore, the majority of males who engaged in suicidal acts did so to deal with feelings of shame and dishonor of variable sources. Findings suggest changing the rigid dichotomization associated with male-female gender roles and socialization that emphasize masculinity ideals in Ghana and the need for increased research and the promotion of counseling for males facing emotional stress.
Myelin maintenance: axonal support required.

Axonal integrity depends on an intact myelin sheath, but the role of the axon in myelin maintenance is more mysterious. A new study reports that preservation of the myelin sheath requires neuronal expression of the enigmatic prion protein.