cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mapping an epitope in EBNA-1 that is recognized by monoclonal antibodies to EBNA-1 that cross-react with dsDNA

Introduction The Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) has been associated with the autoimmune disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). EBV nuclear antigen-I (EBNA-1) is the major nuclear protein of EBV. We previously generated an IgG monoclonal antibody (MAb) to EBNA-1, 3D4, and demonstrated that it cross-reacts with double stranded DNA (dsDNA) and binds the 148 amino acid viral binding site (VBS) in the carboxyl region of EBNA-1. The aim of the present study was to characterize another antibody to EBNA-1 that cross-reacts with dsDNA, compare its immunoglobulin genes to 3D4, and finely map the epitope in EBNA-1 that is recognized by these cross-reactive antibodies. Methods We generated an IgM MAb to EBNA-1, 16D2, from EBNA-1 injected mice and demonstrated by ELISA that it cross-reacts with dsDNA and binds the 148 amino acid VBS. We sequenced the variable heavy and light chain genes of 3D4 and 16D2 and compared V gene usage. To more finely map the epitope in EBNA-1 recognized by these MAbs, we examined their binding by ELISA to 15 overlapping peptides spanning the 148 amino acid domain. Results Sequence analysis revealed that 3D4 and 16D2 utilize different VH and VL genes but identical JH and Jk regions with minimal junctional diversity. This accounts for similarities in their CDR3 regions and may explain their similar dual binding specificity. Epitope mapping revealed 3D4 and 16D2 bind the same peptide in the VBS. Based on the crystal structure of EBNA-1, we observed that this peptide resides at the base of an exposed proline rich loop in EBNA-1. Conclusion We have demonstrated that two MAbs that bind EBNA-1 and cross-react with dsDNA, recognize the same peptide in the VBS. This peptide may serve as a mimetope for dsDNA and may be of diagnostic and therapeutic value in SLE.
A decade of progress in tissue engineering

Tremendous progress has been achieved in the field of tissue engineering in the past decade. Several major challenges laid down 10 years ago, have been studied, including renewable cell sources, biomaterials with tunable properties, mitigation of host responses, and vascularization. Here we review advancements in these areas and envision directions of further development.
Support for Marijuana (Cannabis) Legalization: Untangling Age, Period, and Cohort Effects

In three large, nationally representative surveys of U.S. 12 th graders, college students, and adults ( N = 9 million) conducted 1968–2015, Americans became significantly more supportive of legal marijuana (cannabis) starting in the mid-1980’s. Hierarchical models using age-period-cohort analysis on the adult (General Social Survey) sample showed that the increased support for legalization is primarily a time period effect rather than generational or age effect; thus, Americans of all ages became more supportive of legal marijuana. Among 12 th graders, support for marijuana legalization was closely linked to perceptions of marijuana safety.
Seeing the Present, Remembering the Past: Terror’s Representation as an Exercise in Collective Memory

This article argues that media events can be fruitfully understood as an exercise in collective memory. It considers how coverage of the so-called war on terror draws from a deep memory of the Cold...
What’s in an Average? An Ensemble View of Phosphorylation Effects

The number of examples of functional post-translational modulation of disordered proteins rapidly grows. In a recent issue of Structure, Jie et al. (2017) show that phosphorylation of dynein intermediate chain alters partner binding but retains its dynamic, disorder character. An ensemble model offers an organizing framework to relate function, conformation, and phosphorylation in disordered and ordered proteins alike.
Two balls is too many: stadium performance and queerness among Portland’s Rose City Riveters supporters club

Portland, Oregon’s Rose City Riveters is the largest independent organized supporters group for a women’s soccer team in the world. They support Portland Thorns with an organized, expressive and or...
Doc, I Just Ate: Interpreting Random Blood Glucose Values in Patients with Unknown Glycemic Status.

Clinicians frequently order random blood glucose (RBG) in routine laboratory panels. Although RBG values ≥200 mg/dL with hyperglycemic symptoms are diagnostic of diabetes, interpreting RBG results below this threshold is challenging, because the impact of food and calorie-containing drinks on glucose in non-fasting individuals is unclear. As a result, clinicians often ignore RBG values1—even though they are strongly associated with undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes and can identify those at risk of dysglycemia.2 , 3 To improve interpretation of RBG values in non-fasting individuals without self-reported dysglycemia, we stratified participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) by hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) and characterized the relationship between RBG and time since last caloric intake.
Molecular statics calculations of the biases and point defect capture volumes of small cavities

Abstract Changes to the microstructures of materials under irradiation induced by point defects generated in damaging energetic recoil events are ultimately a consequence of the subsequent defect diffusion and absorption at various sinks, and more specifically, the difference in the absorption rate of interstitial and vacancy type lattice defects at those sinks. Sinks with an intrinsic preference for one type of defect over the other are classified as biased sinks, and it is generally assumed that edge dislocations are biased toward interstitial absorption while cavities are unconditionally neutral. Here we report a series of molecular statics calculations to demonstrate that cavities have an interstitial bias as well, particularly at small sizes, which can act as a nucleation barrier against void formation. Detailed calculations in bcc iron indicate a preference for interstitial capture resulting from the greater magnitude of the recombination distance as compared to the vacancy self-clustering distance, as previously indicated by elasticity theory. The analysis is extended in less detail to a variety of other pure metal systems where similar results are found. It is suggested that these effects may have a serious effect on the coarse-grained kinetic methods used to evaluate long term microstructural evolution in irradiated metals, and a means of incorporating this data into those methods is suggested.
Nonspecific Staphylococcus epidermidis Adhesion

In this chapter, we examine the contribution of material physicochemical surface properties on nonspecific Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion under dynamic flow conditions in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). These are conditions that are relevant to pre-implantation conditions in the absence of adsorbing biological components such as proteins. In addition, the applied shear stress provides a quantitative measure of the strength of the bacteria—material surface adhesion. Here, we describe the influence of material surface hydrophobicity on S. epidermidis RP62A adhesion in 132.7 mM PBS using four self assembled monolayer (SAM) surfaces bearing a net negative, positive, or neutral charge and five biomedical polymers. Materials with higher surface hydrophobicity show statistically higher bacterial adhesion at shear stresses of 0 to 32 dyne/cm2, demonstrating the contribution of material surface hydrophobicity on nonspecific adhesion. However, this positive correlation is limited to materials with water contact angles of >70° at 0–8 dyne/cm2, and >100° at higher shear stresses (16–32 dyne/cm2). For materials with contact angles below these critical values (θcrit), S. epidermidis adhesion was found to be relatively independent of material surface hydrophobicity, indicating that a minimum number of bacteria can adhere to biomaterials independent of surface energy. This behavior is explained by a proposed model of nonspecific interactions based on DVLO forces, hydrodynamic effect and fimbriae formation. The contribution of material surface charge to adhesion was assessed by quantifying adhesion of S. epidermidis RP62A to charged surfaces in PBS of increasing ionic strength under shear stresses of 0–15 dyne/cm2. Both repulsive and attractive interactions were found to be involved in S. epidermidis adhesion, but only the attractive interaction was found to significantly alter adhesion in buffered saline (132.7 mM ion concentration) at zero shear stress.
Evidence of subgroups in smokers as revealed in clinical measures and evaluated by neuroimaging data: a preliminary study.

To date, fractionation of the nicotine addiction phenotype has been limited to that based primarily on characteristics of cigarette use, although it is widely appreciated that a variety of individual factors are associated with tobacco use disorder. Identifying subtypes of tobacco use disorder based on such factors may lead to better understanding of potential treatment targets, individualize treatments and improve outcomes. In this preliminary study, to identify potential subgroups, we applied hierarchical clustering to a broad range of assessments measuring personality, IQ and psychiatric symptoms, as well as various environmental and experiential characteristics from 102 otherwise healthy cigarette smokers. The identified subgroups were further compared on various resting-state fMRI measures from a subset (N = 65) of individuals who also underwent resting-state fMRI scanning. The clustering dendrogram indicated that smokers can be divided into three subgroups. Each subgroup had unique clinical assessment characteristics. The division yielded imaging differences between subgroups in the supplementary motor area/middle cingulate cortex and the cuneus. Regression analyses showed that amplitude of low frequency fluctuations in the supplementary motor area/middle cingulate cortex differed between groups and were negatively correlated with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale subscale Difficulty Describing Feelings.
Striking a Chord: The Reception of Comte’s Positivism in Colonial India

In the late nineteenth century, Comte’s positivism struck a powerful chord that resonated across Bengal’s intellectual circles. Chapter 2 explores how positivist ideas were transmitted, the individuals who became interested in the philosophy, and the impact of Comtian concepts in colonial India. The first Indians to declare their commitment to positivism held contradictory views: they admired Western ideas but detested colonial rule, yearned for a spiritual life but had no faith in deities, and wanted home-rule but could not imagine it happening in the immediate future. Positivism offered them an ideology that promised progress developed in harmony with Hindu beliefs and institutions while English positivists, who treated them with respect, denounced imperialism and asserted India would prosper under self-rule.
Application of Extreme Value Theory to Economic Capital Estimation

We are interested in the risk of large losses of certain common financial portfolios (e.g., credit portfolios with default risk). In these cases, we would like to estimate a risk statistic called Value-at-Risk (VaRα) at an extremely high risk level α (typically 99.99%). This high risk level corresponds to rare events for which it is difficult or impossible to obtain data. We first use Monte Carlo simulation to compute a probability distribution for the portfolio loss. We then use Extreme Value Theory (EVT) to study the tail of this loss distribution. Finally we compute the VaR and associated confidence intervals using bootstrap techniques. For the portfolios under consideration, we have observed that the EVT-based approach results in narrower confidence intervals and hence less sampling uncertainty in computing the VaR. We have also observed that the bootstrap replicate’s distribution for the EVT-based method demonstrates a better shape than the empirical method (which is typically very noisy).
[28] (with A. C. Schaeffer and D. C. Spencer) The coefficient regions of schlicht functions

While colleagues at Stanford in the 1940s, Albert Schaeffer and Donald Spencer produced a series of papers on coefficient regions for schlicht (= univalent) functions, culminating in their well-known book (Schaeffer and Spencer, Coefficient Regions for Schlicht Functions, 1950). Although it appeared earlier, the paper (Schiffer et al., Duke Math. J., 16, 493–527, 1949) is actually a sequel to the book. Largely expository, it provides new insights into the description of coefficient regions as developed in Schaeffer and Spencer (Coefficient Regions for Schlicht Functions, 1950). In particular, it highlights a remarkable connection with Loewner’s theory (Math. Ann., 89, 103–121, 1923) and Schiffer’s paper (C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 221, 369–371, 1945).
Emerging investigators series: occurrence and fate of emerging organic contaminants in wastewater treatment plants with an enhanced nitrification step

The goal of this study is to investigate the occurrence and removal of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) during wastewater treatment processes and understand the role of enhanced nitrification treatment in removing EOCs. The influent and effluent of each treatment step at two local wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. A suspect screening method was applied with a comprehensive self-compiled suspect list. The list is composed of 1225 EOCs in 5 categories: pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and metabolites. A total of 292–341 suspect hits were retrieved. The structures of 56 out of 86 selected suspect hits were further validated. The estimated influent concentrations of different EOCs varied from several ng L−1 to less than a hundred μg L−1. Paracetamol, caffeine, benzotriazole, methylbenzotriazole, DEET, gabapentin, metformin, N4-acetylsulfamethoxazole, atenolol acid, triethanolamine, and triethylphosphate were detected in the influent with high abundance. The results also revealed that many EOCs, such as fexofenadine, citalopram, flecainide, had low removal efficiencies. Seasonal effects were larger than the location influence on EOC removal. The secondary biological treatment played the most crucial role in EOC removal, whereas other steps except the enhanced nitrification step had a minor contribution. The enhanced nitrification step substantially removed a small number of EOC suspects. Notably, a reverse transformation from product to parent was also observed. This study provides systematic information on the occurrence and removal of EOCs in WWTPs and first important insights into the roles of the enhanced nitrification step in wastewater treatment.
Site-Specific Labeling of Cyanine and Porphyrin Dye-Stabilized Nanoemulsions with Affibodies for Cellular Targeting

Recently, it has been shown that amphiphilic dyes such as Indocyanine Green (ICG) and Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) can solubilize hydrophobic colloids and/or drugs by driving the formation of stable nanoemulsions. These nanoemulsions are unique in that they can be composed entirely of functional and clinically used materials; however, they lack bio-orthogonal chemical handles for the facile attachment of targeting ligands. The ability to target nanoparticles is desirable because it can lead to improved specificity and reduced side effects. Here, we describe variants of ICG and PpIX with azide handles that can be readily incorporated into dye-stabilized nanoemulsions and facilitate the attachment of targeting ligands via click-chemistry in a simple, scalable, and reproducible reaction. As a model system, an anti-Her2 affibody was site-specifically attached to both ICG and PpIX-stabilized nanoemulsions with encapsulated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.
Implantation of left atrial-ventricular epicardial pacemaker system and subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in a single setting: The “extravascular” cardiac resynchronization therapy

In several clinical trials, cardiac resynchronization therapy with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (CRT-D) has provided long-term survival benefit and improved clinical outcomes for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.1, 2, 3, 4 However, for patients with contraindications to transvenous leads (such as recurrent endocarditis) and/or limited venous access, the implantation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device could be challenging. For such patients, the implantation of a left atrial-ventricular (AV) epicardial pacemaker system with a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) serves as an alternate technique for providing CRT. This device system can be implanted via a completely extravascular approach, thereby eliminating the need for transvenous leads. Since it is an extravascular device system that provides CRT, we have termed it the “extravascular CRT-D.” The feasibility of simultaneous implantation of S-ICD and epicardial pacemaker has been described in some previous studies.5, 6, 7 However, in most of these studies the S-ICD was implanted following a previously implanted epicardial pacemaker system and there was no indication for CRT. We report a case series of patients requiring CRT, with contraindications for transvenous leads, who underwent simultaneous implantation of a left AV epicardial pacemaker system and an S-ICD in the same setting.
An Exploratory Study of Accomplished Librarian-Researchers

Abstract Objective – This work explores potential factors that may contribute to a librarian becoming a highly productive researcher. An understanding of the factors can provide evidence based guidance to those at the beginning of their research careers in designing their own trajectories and to library administrators who seek to create work conditions that contribute to librarian research productivity. The current study is the first to explore the factors from the perspective of the profession’s most accomplished librarian-researchers. Methods – This exploratory and descriptive study recruited 78 academic librarians identified as highly productive researchers; 46 librarians participated in a survey about their professional training and research environments, research networks, and beliefs about the research process. Respondents supplied a recent CV which was coded to produce a research output score for the past 10 years. In addition to fixed-response questions, there were five open-ended questions about possible success factors. All data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and tests of significance correlations. Results – Accomplished librarian-researchers have professional training backgrounds and research environments that vary widely. None is statistically associated with research output. Those with densely connected networks of research colleagues who both know each other and do research together is significantly related to research output. A large group of those identified in the research networks are “both friend and colleague” and offer each other reciprocal support. In open-ended questions, respondents mentioned factors that equally span the three categories of research success: individual attributes, peers and community, and institutional structures. Conclusion – The authors found that that there are many paths to becoming an accomplished librarian-researcher and numerous factors are conducive to achieving this distinction. A positive research environment includes high institutional expectations; a variety of institutional supports for research; and extrinsic rewards, such as salary increases, tenure, promotion, and opportunities for advancement. The authors further conclude that a librarian’s research network may be an important factor in becoming an accomplished librarian-researcher. This finding is supported by both the research network analysis and responses to open-ended questions in which collaboration was a frequent theme.
Resveratrol reverses the effect of TNF-α on inflammatory markers in a model of autoimmune uveitis

Abstract Introduction Uveitis is an disorder that causes intraocular inflammation resulting in retinal damage which eventually leads to blindness. Current treatment involves prolonged use of corticosteroids which, due to the progressive nature of the disease, leads to adverse side effects such as increased intraocular pressure, retinal tears or detachment, and adverse systemic symptoms associated with steroid use. Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol found in many plants and other organic sources. In humans it effectively protects against oxidative damage, aids in vascular support and immune regulation, and down-regulates inflammatory cytokines. This study sought to demonstrate potential benefits of resveratrol in reversing the inflammatory response in a model of autoimmune uveitis (AU). Methods Pigmented retinal epithelial cells were treated with TNF-α to induce an inflammatory response. Cells were then exposed to resveratrol at 50 μM, 100 μM and 200 μM for 12, 24, and 48 h both pre- and post- TNF-treatment. Inflammatory response was assessed by qPCR arrays containing inflammatory cytokines and receptors. Five genes were selected for qPCR validation based on the magnitude of the observed effect and their relevance to uveitis pathology: IL-33, IL-17F, FASL, VEGFA, and Chemokine ligand 2. Results Resveratrol significantly reversed the effect of TNF-α on each target in either a time- or dose-dependent manner. Resveratrol pretreatment attenuated this effect when cells were subsequently treated with TNF-α. Conclusions Resveratrol has potential both as a non-invasive treatment and as a preventive for autoimmune uveitis in humans, while avoiding the negative side effects of corticosteroid therapies.
A Comprehensive Review of Maple Sap Microbiota and Its Effect on Maple Syrup Quality

When in the tree xylem, maple sap is void of microbial contaminants, including bacteria, yeast, and molds. Once tapped, however, the liquid which is comprised primarily of water, becomes a nutrient...
The Quality Landscape

The quality of health care in the United States has been seriously debated for two decades. Most experts in the field feel that our system is much too expensive and not as safe as it should be. The reasons for these weaknesses are many and include factors that involve the systems of care delivery, the methods of reimbursement, societal factors including our perception of the importance of the health care system in maintaining health, and medico-legal influences. This chapter provides a framework to explain these influences on the US health care system and how they fit in the overall quality of our system.
Edge AI: Systems Design and ML for IoT Data Analytics

With the explosion in Big Data, it is often forgotten that much of the data nowadays is generated at the edge. Specifically, a major source of data is users' endpoint devices like phones, smart watches, etc., that are connected to the internet, also known as the Internet-of-Things (IoT). This "edge of data" faces several new challenges related to hardware-constraints, privacy-aware learning, and distributed learning (both training as well as inference). So what systems and machine learning algorithms can we use to generate or exploit data at the edge? Can network science help us solve machine learning (ML) problems? Can IoT-devices help people who live with some form of disability and many others benefit from health monitoring? In this tutorial, we introduce the network science and ML techniques relevant to edge computing, discuss systems for ML (e.g., model compression, quantization, HW/SW co-design, etc.) and ML for systems design (e.g., run-time resource optimization, power management for training and inference on edge devices), and illustrate their impact in addressing concrete IoT applications.
Analysis of magnetic materials and the design of EI-core arm inductor for MV-AFE MMC application using Multi-objective optimization

The Modular Multi-Level Converter (MMC) is a popular topology for HVDC or MVDC microgrids which require 6 (2 per phase) arm inductors for each system which are significant in size. Therefore characterizing different magnetic materials for a MV inductor design process is very important for power density. Many variables must be analyzed before expensive MV inductors are manufactured. Inductor design is a multi-objective optimization problem that is tackled by using an evolutionary algorithm to solve this is shown in this paper. Loss, Mass, and volume are optimized using a genetic algorithm for a 2mH, 297 A(rms) MMC arm inductor with an E-I core structure.
Lithium-Ion Battery Ageing Behavior Pattern Characterization and State-of-Health Estimation Using Data-Driven Method

This paper presents a study on Lithium-ion battery aging behaviors/patterns and related State-of-Health (SOH) indicators before presenting the development of data-driven based SOH estimators. Battery charge/discharge cycling experiments are conducted in order to obtain needed data for this work. The battery ageing behavior patterns until the battery cell reaches highly deteriorated health conditions are investigated and characterized in this paper by analyzing the aggregated battery ageing data. The observed battery ageing behavior patterns include: (1) the rate at which the battery voltage decreases during discharging increases as the battery ages, (2) the speed at which the battery terminal voltage increases during Constant Current (CC) charging increases as the battery’s health deteriorates, (3) the time period for CC charging operation decreases as the battery ages, (4) the rate at which the battery current decreases during Constant Voltage (CV) charging increases as the battery ages, and (5) the speed at which the battery temperature drops during CV charging increases as the battery ages. Corresponding SOH indicators are developed to quantify these battery ageing behavior patterns for the development of SOH estimators. Deep Neural Network (DNN) is utilized to extract and model the nonlinear and complex correlation between the defined SOH indicators and SOH values of the Lithium-ion battery. Multiple DNN-based SOH estimators are developed in this paper. The SOH estimation results from different DNN-based SOH estimators indicate that the diversity of SOH indicators used for the development of SOH estimator can substantially improve the estimation performance.
First Results From the Retrieved Column O/N2 Ratio From the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON): Evidence of the Impacts of Nonmigrating Tides

In near-Earth space, variations in thermospheric composition have important implications for thermosphere-ionosphere coupling. The ratio of O to N2 is often measured using far-UV airglow observations. Taking such airglow observations from space, looking below the Earth's limb allows for the total column of O and N2 in the ionosphere to be determined. While these observations have enabled many previous studies, determining the impact of non-migrating tides on thermospheric composition has proved difficult, owing to a small contamination of the signal by recombination of ionospheric O+. New ICON observations of far UV are presented here, and their general characteristics are shown. Using these, along with other observations and a global circulation model we show that during the morning hours and at latitudes away from the peak of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly, the impact of non-migrating tides on thermospheric composition can be observed. During March - April 2020, the column O/N2 ratio was seen to vary by 3 - 4 % of the zonal mean. By comparing the amplitude of the variation observed with that in the model, both the utility of these observations and a pathway to enable future studies is shown.
LAMINATED TIMBER LOGGING BRIDGES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

The forest roads of British Columbia provide examples of large and complex single-lane industrial bridges for logging trucks up to 150 tons. A common element is the large pressure-creosoted glued laminated wood (glulam) structural member. Configurations include: (1) Simple beams up to 86 in. deep, rectangular or with I shapes having typically about 16-in.-square flanges and 11-in. thick webs; (2) cantilevers with suspended spans; (3) trussed glulam girders with one, two or three hanging bents and bottom chords of cable, bars, or rolled sections. The girders can have erection splices and carry erection loads before trussing; and (4) cable-suspended spans with straight cables from one or more points to each tower. Simple beams span up to 150ft; complex configurations from 120 ft to well over 200 ft. Decks are transverse wood ties with longitudinal planks, or transverse nail-laminated. Substructures often use wood or steel pipe piles up to superstructure level.
New Perspectives on the Shared Cataloging Environment and a MARC 21 Shopping List

This paper surveys the cataloging literature to collect problems that have been identified with the MARC 21 format. The problems are sorted into (1) problems that are not the fault of MARC 21; (2) problems that perhaps are not problems at all; (3) problems that are connected with the current shared cataloging environment; and 4) other problems with MARC 21 and vendor implementation of it. The author makes recommendations to deal with the true MARC 21 problems that remain after this analysis.
Evaluating Consensus Forecasts

The Census Bureau makes periodic long-term forecasts of both the total US population and the population of each of the states. Previous evaluations of these forecasts were based on the magnitude of the discrepancies between the projected and actual population figures. However, it might be inappropriate to evaluate these long-term projections with the specific quantitative statistics that have been useful in judging short-term forecasts. One of the purposes of a long range projection of each statei¯s population is to provide a picture of the distribution of the aggregate US population among the various states. Thus the evaluation should compare the projected distribution of the total US population by states to the actual distribution. This paper uses the dissimilarity index to evaluate the accuracy of the Census projected percentage distributions of population by states.
Fluid-flow analysis of TCP Westwood with RED

The paper concerns TCP Westwood, a recently-developed modification of TCP, in combination with RED queue management. We develop a fluid-flow model of the protocol, and use it to study both equilibrium and dynamic features. On the equilibrium side, we identify the scaling of the congestion window with loss-probability, and compare it to TCP NewReno. We also use the model to find the boundary of stability, beyond which we see large oscillations; we find that the stable region of TCP Westwood is enhanced with respect to TCP NewReno. Furthermore we show preliminary evidence that oscillations, when they occur, have a limited impact on network throughput.
Larval trophodynamics, turbulence, and drift on Georges Bank: A sensitivity analysis of cod and haddock

Using an individual-based model approach we consider trophodynamic effects on the growth and survival of larval cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) on Georges Bank during late winter/early spring. These studies represent an extension of results described in Werner et al. (1996; Deep-Sea Res. II), wherein the effect of turbulence-enhanced larval-prey contact rates increased the effective prey concentration resulting in growth of cod larvae consistent with observed rates in the field. We reformulated the feeding of the larvae to include existing relationships between maximum prey-length and larval-length and we examined: (i) larval search behaviour and its effect on encounter with prey, (ii) the ability of larvae to pursue and capture prey in a turbulent environment, and (iii) the effect of turbulence on the dispersion of larvae in the vertical. We find that search behaviour, the effect of turbulence on pursuit and capture, and vertical dispersion decrease the predicted larval growth rates compared to those observed in the earlier study. These results suggest that larval feeding behaviour, and especially the ability of larvae to pursue encountered prey, could be an important input to larval growth and survival models. The inclusion of turbulence in determining the position of passive larvae in the water column allows the larvae to sample the entire water column, contributing to a decrease in the variance of the size of the larvae over time. The ability of larvae to swim and aggregate in the vertical will be necessary to reproduce distributions observed in the field.
Hematopoietic growth factors signal through the formation of reactive oxygen species.

Hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) stimulate growth, differentiation, and prevent apoptosis of progenitor cells. Each growth factor has a specific cell surface receptor, which activates both unique and shared signal transduction pathways. We found that several HGFs, including granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), steel factor (SF), and thrombopoietin (TPO) induce a rapid increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in quiescent cells. In an effort to understand the potential biochemical and biological consequences of increased ROS in these cells, we exposed growth factor-deprived cells to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at concentrations that increased intracellular ROS. H2O2 induced a dose-dependent increase in tyrosine phosphorylation, including increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the GM-CSF receptor beta chain (βc), STAT5, and other signaling proteins. H2O2 also induced expression of the early response gene c-FOS, and G1- to S-phase transition, but not S- to G2/M-phase transition of MO7e cells. The cell permeable antioxidant pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) decreased the intracellular levels of ROS and inhibited tyrosine phosphorylation induced by GM-CSF in MO7e cells, suggesting that ROS generation plays an important role in GM-CSF signaling. Consistent with this notion, PDTC and two other antioxidants, N-acetyl cysteine and 2-mercaptoethanol, reduced growth and viability of MO7e cells. These results suggest that generation of ROS in response to HGFs may contribute to downstream signaling events, especially those involving tyrosine phosphorylation.
Misoprostol for induction of labor

Labor-induction rates have increased considerably in the United States as well as around the world. With up to half of all induced labors requiring cervical ripening, prostaglandins have been utilized to increase induction success and achieve vaginal delivery. Misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E1 analog has the ability to mimic the changes of spontaneous labor and has been used off label for over 30 years as a labor-induction agent. In the following article, cervical ripening and induction of labor with misoprostol will be discussed. The risks and benefits of misoprostol for ripening and induction and routes of administration will be reviewed, as well as future directions and new developments for its use.
Making Medicaid managed care research relevant.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To help researchers better understand Medicaid managed care and the kinds of research studies that will be both feasible and of value to policymakers and program staff. The article builds on our experience researching Medicaid managed care to provide insight for researchers who want to be policy relevant. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We draw four lessons from our work on Medicaid managed care in seven states. First, these are complex programs that differ substantially across states. Second, each program faces common challenges and issues. The need to address common design elements involving program eligibility, managed care and provider contracting, beneficiary enrollment, education, marketing, and administration and oversight provides a vehicle that researchers can use to help understand states and to provide them with relevant insight. Third, well-designed case studies can provide invaluable descriptive insights. Such case studies suggest that providing effective descriptions of state programs and experience, monitoring information on program performance and tradeoffs, and insight on implementation and design are all valuable products of such studies that have considerable potential to be converted into policy-actionable advice. And fourth, some questions demand impact studies but the structure of Medicaid managed care poses major barriers to such studies. CONCLUSIONS: Many challenges confront researchers seeking to develop policy-relevant research on managed care. Researchers need to confront these challenges in turn by developing second-best approaches that will provide timely insight into important questions in a relatively defensible and rigorous way in the face of many constraints. If researchers do not, others will, and researchers may find their contributions limited in important areas for policy debate.
Characterization of Branch and Data Dependencies in Programs for Evaluating Pipeline Performance

The nature by which branches and data dependencies generate delays that degrade pipeline performance is investigated in this paper. We show that for the general execution trace, few specific delays can be considered in isolation; rather, the magnitude of any specific delay may depend on the relative proximity of other delays. This phenomenon can make the task of accurately characterizing a trace tape with simple statistics intractable. We present a set of trace reductions that facilitates this task by simplifying the corresponding data-dependency graph. The reductions operate on multiple data-dependency arcs and branches in conjunction; those arcs whose performance implications are redundant with respect to the dependency graph are identified, and eliminated from the graph. We show that the reduced graph can be accurately characterized by simple statistics. We use these statistics to show that as the length of a pipeline increases, the performance degradation due to data dependencies and branches increases monotonically. However, lengthening the pipeline may correspond to decreasing the cycle time of the pipeline. These two opposing effects are used in conjunction to derive an equation for optimal pipeline length for a given trace tape. The optimal pipeline length is shown to be characterized by n = √γα where γ is the ratio of overall circuit delay to latching overhead, and a is a function of the trace statistics that accounts for the delays induced by data dependencies and branches.
Anaerobic dental flora and the acute coronary syndrome.

Objective Evidence exists that coronary heart disease is influenced by anaerobic bacterial flora and gingival inflammation. We assessed the association of periodontal bacteria, coronary artery disease, and acute coronary events. Methods The benzoyl-DL-arginine naphthylamide test, which detects several periodontal pathogens, and the papillary bleeding score were used to quantify gingival health. Participants with coronary heart disease (n=245) presenting with (n=92) and without an acute coronary syndrome were compared with persons seeking dental treatment (University dental, n=195) and a healthy cohort (Healthy dental, n=156). Results An 'infection', defined by a positive benzoyl-DL-arginine naphthylamide test score in>or=50% of sampled sites, was present in 408 participants. Compared with Healthy dental, the odds ratio for coronary heart disease having an infection was 8.6 (95% confidence interval, 4.0-18.4) and for University dental odds ratio=16 (95% confidence interval, 6.5-39.5). Patients with an acute coronary syndrome at the time of benzoyl-DL-arginine naphthylamide sampling were 3.95 times more likely to have an infection compared with coronary heart disease patients with no history of acute coronary syndrome (P=0.003), a finding independent of other covariates. Conclusions Persons with coronary heart disease, particularly associated with an acute coronary syndrome, have anaerobic bacterial dental flora similar to individuals seeking periodontal dental care, and unlike periodontally healthy individuals.
Effect of direction of sequential presentation and redundancy on short-term recognition memory

Short-term recognition memory was tested by presenting six letters, one after the other, followed by a target letter and having S indicate whether or not the target matched one of the six letters. Recognition memory for a letter was better when it was embedded in a six-letter word, rather than a nonword, and when it was included in a sequence presented left-to-right, rather than right-to-left (Experiment 1). Reducing the presentation rate from 4/sec to 2.5/sec largely eliminated the left-to-right effect (Experiment 2). The effect of direction of presentation was greater for redundant (Experiment 1) than for nonredundant sequences (Experiment 3) and was greater for Ss who more frequently formed a word out of the sequence (Experiments 1 and 2), but was no greater for words than nonwords (Experiments 1 and 2) and no greater for letter than for line-figure sequences (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that the left-to-right effect depends as much, or more, on “peripheral” processes (e.g., eye movements) as on “central” processes (e.g., reading).
Measuring the precision of estimates of total egg production based on plankton surveys

Presentation de methodes mesurant les effets des differences spatio-temporelles de la production d'œufs de poissons sur la precision des estimations de la production totale saisonniere a partir d'observations sur l'ichtyoplancton (application a Scomber, Merluccius et Limande des eaux au large du nord-est des Etats Unis)
Paranthropus boisei: fifty years of evidence and analysis.

Paranthropus boisei is a hominin taxon with a distinctive cranial and dental morphology. Its hypodigm has been recovered from sites with good stratigraphic and chronological control, and for some morphological regions, such as the mandible and the mandibular dentition, the samples are not only relatively well dated, but they are, by paleontological standards, reasonably-sized. This means that researchers can trace the evolution of metric and nonmetric variables across hundreds of thousands of years. This paper is a detailed1 review of half a century's worth of fossil evidence and analysis of P. boisei and traces how both its evolutionary history and our understanding of its evolutionary history have evolved during the past 50 years. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 50:106–132, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Complete Function Systems and Decomposition Results Arising in Clifford Analysis

For Ω a sufficiently smooth unbounded domain in ℝn we develop a decomposition result for the Sobolev space Open image in new window. We also use modified Cauchy-Green type kernels to construct Clifford analytic-complete function systems in the generalized Bergman space Open image in new window, where Dl is the l-th iterate of the Dirac operator, l is a positive integer less than n and n/(n − l + 1) < p < ∞. The modified Cauchy-Green kernels ensure that p lies in this range. Without the modification of the kernels one is restricted to a smaller range. These functions are used to approximate solutions of the equation Δku = 0 with some boundary conditions and with 2k < n. Some similar results are presented for sufficiently smooth unbounded domains lying in hyperbolas.
Permutations and β-shifts

Given a real number @b>1, a permutation @p of length n is realized by the @b-shift if there is some x@?[0,1] such that the relative order of the sequence x,f(x),...,f^n^-^1(x), where f(x) is the fractional part of @bx, is the same as that of the entries of @p. Widely studied from such diverse fields as number theory and automata theory, @b-shifts are prototypical examples of one-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems. When @b is an integer, permutations realized by shifts were studied in Elizalde (2009) [5]. In this paper we generalize some of the results to arbitrary @b-shifts. We describe a method to compute, for any given permutation @p, the smallest @b such that @p is realized by the @b-shift. We also give a way to determine the length of the shortest forbidden (i.e., not realized) pattern of an arbitrary @b-shift.
Exciton-polariton emission from organic semiconductor optical waveguides

We photoexcite slab polymer waveguides doped with J-aggregating dye molecules and measure the leaky emission from strongly coupled waveguide exciton polariton modes at room temperature. We show that the momentum of the waveguide exciton polaritons can be controlled by modifying the thickness of the excitonic waveguide. Nonresonantly pumped excitons in the slab excitonic waveguide decay into transverse electric and transverse magnetic strongly coupled exciton waveguide modes with radial symmetry. These leak to cones of light with radial and azimuthal polarizations.
The effect of nonnutritive sucking on transcutaneous oxygen tension in noncrying, preterrn neonates

The relationship between transcutaneous oxygen tension (tcpO2:) and sucking opportunities in noncrying, preterm neonates was investigated. Twenty-six measurements of nonnutritive sucking and its relationship to tcpO2 were collected on 11 neonates who were monitored continuously for tcpO2. Of the 26, 10 sets of measurements were recorded on 6 neonates receiving assisted ventilation, and 16 were recorded on 4 neonates breathing room air. One neonate was measured one time on assisted ventilation and two times breathing room air. The design consisted of three 8-minute time periods: pretreatment, treatment (sucking opportunities). and posttreatment. There was a significant relationship between the pretreatment-treatment and treatment-posttreatment tcpO2 levels (both at p < .01). These results suggest that sucking facilitates more adequate oxygenation in noncrying, preterm neonates.
Ca2+ -Dependent Release from Rat Brain of Cannabinoid Receptor Binding Activity

As a result of the identification, pharmacological characterization, and localization of the cannabinoid receptor in the CNS, the existence of an endogenous ligand for this receptor can be hypothesized. Following the premise that such a substance could have the properties of a neuromodulator being stored in intracellular vesicles, we tested the ability of increased intracellular Ca2+ levels to stimulate release. We demonstrate here that the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 can induce release of cannabinoid-like binding activity in the presence but not in the absence of Ca2+. The effect of A23187 was maximal at 1.2 microM, consistent with vesicular release. It was necessary to increase the concentration of extracellular free Ca2+ to greater than 60 nM to evoke release. The released cannabinoid-like binding activity displaced [3H]CP-55940 binding to cannabinoid receptors in rat synaptosomal membranes in a concentration-dependent manner. This is the first report of a substance present endogenously in brain that can be released in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner and that binds to the cannabinoid receptor.
The CMS pixel detector

The Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment (CMS) will start taking data at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2007 with the largest silicon tracking detector ever built. The central components of this tracker consist of two forward/backward pixel disks on each side of the interaction region and three barrel pixel layers. The silicon pixel detector will be crucial to pattern recognition and track reconstruction in the hadronic collisions of CMS and will play a key role in the physics program of the LHC. During the 2007 pilot physics run of the LHC, CMS will run with a subset of the final detector to be installed in 2008. In this report, the final design and results from test beam runs and expected performance of the detector are given. The expected radiation tolerance and projected lifetime of the pixel detector will be discussed as well its impact on the physics program of CMS.