cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Arendt on the Political

What is politics? How is politics different from other spheres of human life? What is behind the debasement of political life today? This book argues that the most illuminating answers to these questions have come from Hannah Arendt. Arendt held that Western philosophy has never had a 'pure concept of the political', and that political philosophers have been guided and misguided by the assumptions implicit in their metaphysical questions. Her project was 'to look at politics … with eyes unclouded by philosophy', and to retrieve the non-theoretical understanding of politics implicit in ancient Greek literature and history. David Arndt's original and accessible study shows how Arendt reworked some of the basic concepts of political philosophy, which in turn led her to a re-interpretation of American political history and even to a profoundly original reading of the US Declaration of Independence.
Looking at the Bigger Picture: How Abundance of Nesting and Brooding Habitat Influences Lek-Site Selection by Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations have declined throughout most of their distribution since the mid-1980s. These declines are largely attributed to loss of habitat through the conversion and expansion of cropland, construction of oil wells and other anthropogenic features on the landscape, and grazing intensification. Changes in habitat availability and quality are seemingly having a disproportionate effect on the reproductive habitat of Lesser Prairie-Chickens, as some populations continue to decline. Nest and brood survival are crucial to population growth of Lesser Prairie-Chickens, with adequate reproductive habitat vital to population persistence. To better understand the influence of reproductive habitat availability on populations, we quantified the composition of reproductive habitat in lek landscapes across the northern extent of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken range. We measured vegetation at six study sites in Kansas and Colorado from 2013–2016. We sought to quantify available nest and brooding habitat adjacent to leks, investigate the relationship between reproductive habitat availability and lek attendance by males at several spatial scales, and examine vegetation characteristics that influence lek attendance. Within 5 km of a lek, 25% (2546/10,320 points) and 26% (2682/10,320 points) of random locations provided nesting and brooding habitat, respectively. Changes to reproductive habitat at both scales affected male attendance at leks. Visual obstruction of vegetation was the main predictor of male lek attendance at both spatial scales and limited the amount of reproductive habitat in lek landscapes. Accordingly, management should increase visual obstruction throughout the Lesser Prairie-Chicken range to increase reproductive success and improve populations to facilitate achieving the conservation goal set by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies of a 10 y average Lesser Prairie-Chicken population of 67,000 birds.
Macroscopic fundamental diagram based perimeter control considering dynamic user equilibrium

Abstract Macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) has been receiving increasing attention recently due to its potential to describe traffic dynamics and guide the design of traffic control schemes at the network level. Perimeter control and route guidance are two main MFD-based traffic control approaches. However, current MFD-based perimeter control seldom considers travelers’ route choice behavior, while MFD-based route guidance studies usually assume directly that travelers would follow the guidance and neglect the effects of traffic control. This paper aims to integrate the MFD-based perimeter control (i.e., the behavior of a system manager) and the dynamic user equilibrium based route choice behavior (i.e., the behavior of travelers) into one rigorous mathematical framework. Given a traffic network that has been divided into multiple homogeneous regions, we use MFD to describe the dynamics of each region, and use point queue model to capture the dynamics of queues formed at the boundaries. Besides, we model travelers' route choice behavior by the instantaneous dynamic user equilibrium (IDUE) principle, and design an efficient range perimeter control method from the system perspective. We model the interactions between the system manager and the travelers as a non-zero sum, non-cooperative differential game, where the system manager aims to improve the system performance while travelers try to minimize their own travel times. Meanwhile, they share the common constraints (i.e., MFD dynamics and point queue dynamics at boundaries). Mathematically, this leads to a differential complementarity system (DCS). We propose a time-stepping approach to discretize and solve the DCS model, based on which the solution existence and convergence are also established. Numerical results show that the proposed method can limit the vehicle accumulations within the efficient range of each region, which helps improve the network performance. Compared with the condition without perimeter control, the proposed control method can improve network-wide traffic performance up to 14.18%.
Psychosocial and cognitive multimorbidity and health-related quality of life and symptom burden in older adults with atrial fibrillation: The systematic assessment of geriatric elements in atrial fibrillation (SAGE-AF) cohort study.

Abstract Background Depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairments occur in up to 40 % of adults with AF and are associated with poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and higher symptom burden. However, it is unknown how often these impairments co-occur, or multimorbidity, and how multimorbidity effects HRQoL and symptom burden. Methods Patients with AF age ≥65 years with a CHA2DS2VASC risk score ≥ 2 and eligible for oral anticoagulation therapy were recruited from five clinics in a prospective cohort study. Participants completed validated measures of depression (PHQ9) and anxiety (GAD7), cognitive impairment (MoCA), and HRQOL and AF symptom burden (AFEQT). Multinomial logistic regression was used. Results Participants (N = 1244, 49 % female) were on average 76 ± 7 years; 86 % were non-Hispanic white. Approximately 35 % of participants had 1 impairment, 17 % had 2 impairments and 8% had 3 impairments; 39 % had none of the 3 impairments examined. Compared to participants with no impairments, patients with 1, 2 and 3 impairments had higher odds of poor HRQoL (adjusted OR [AOR] = 1.77, 95 % CI 1.21, 2.60; AOR = 6.64, 95 % CI 4.43, 9.96; and AOR = 7.50, 95 % CI 4.40, 12.77, respectively) and those with 2 and 3 impairments had higher odds of high symptom burden (AOR = 3.69 95 % CI 2.22, 6.13; and AOR = 5.41 95 % CI 2.85, 10.26). Conclusions Psychosocial/cognitive multimorbidity is common among older adults with AF and is associated with poor HRQoL and high symptom burden. Clinicians might consider incorporating psychosocial and cognitive screens into routine care as this may identify a high-risk population.
Diophantine equations with sum of cubes and cube of sum

We solve Diophantine equations of the type $ \, a \, (x^3 + y^3 + z^3 ) = (x + y + z)^3$, where $x,y,z$ are integer variables, and the coefficient $a \neq 0$ is rational. We show that there are infinite families of such equations, including those where $a$ is any ratio of cubes or certain rational fractions, that have nontrivial solutions. There are also infinite families of equations that do not have any nontrivial solution, including those where $1/a = 1 - 24/m$ with certain restrictions on the integer $m$. The equations can be represented by elliptic curves unless $a = 9$ or 1. If $a$ is an integer and two variables are equal and nonzero, there exist nontrivial solutions only for $a=4$ or 9; there are no solutions for $a = 4$ when $xyz \neq 0$. Without imposing constraints on the variables, we find the general solution for $a = 9$, which depends on two integer parameters. These cubic equations are important in particle physics, because they determine the fermion charges under the $U(1)$ gauge group.
Busting Bekko: The Nexus Between Local and International Advocacy to End Japan's Import of Tortoiseshell

Abstract This chapter is about a great conservation victory: ending Japan's centuries-old import of tortoiseshell, known as bekko, from the hawksbill turtle. Japan has a long history of bekko carving and has often cited the importance of its traditions and culture in maintaining the trade. When Japan joined CITES in 1980, it took numerous reservations (exceptions) to CITES Appendix I trade bans, including hawksbills, greens, and olive ridleys. In 1992 Japan finally capitulated to intense international pressure to stop bekko imports. Considering former and present day trade abuses and the deleterious impact of the historic bekko trade on hawksbill populations around the world, resurrecting even limited bekko imports is a very bad idea.
“Muslim Democrats”: the rise of neo-Islamism in Tunisia and Morocco

“We are leaving political Islam and entering democratic Islam … We are Muslim democrats.”—Tunisia’s Ennahda Leader and co-founder, Rached Ghannouchi–2016The tide of the Arab uprisings and the diver...
Can recurrent models know more than we do

Model interpretation is an active research area, aiming to unravel the black box of deep learning models. One common approach, saliency, leverages the gradients of the model to produce a per-input map highlighting the features most important for a correct prediction. However, saliency faces challenges in recurrent models due to the “vanishing saliency” problem: gradients decay significantly towards earlier time steps. We alleviate this problem and improve the quality of saliency maps by augmenting recurrent models with an attention mechanism. We validate our methodology on synthetic data and compare these results to previous work. This synthetic experiment quantitatively validate that our methodology effectively captures the underlying signal of the input data. To show that our work is valid in a real-world setting, we apply it to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data consisting of individuals with and without a diagnosis of schizophrenia. fMRI is notoriously complicated and a perfect candidate to show that our method works even for complex, high-dimensional data. Specifically, we use our methodology to find the relevant temporal information of the subjects and connect our findings to current and past research.
Meta-reasoning in Assembly Robots

As robots become increasingly pervasive in human society, there is a need for developing theoretical frameworks for “human–machine shared contexts.” In this chapter, we develop a framework for endowing robots with a human-like capacity for meta-reasoning. We consider the case of an assembly robot that is given a task slightly different from the one for which it was preprogrammed. In this scenario, the assembly robot may fail to accomplish the novel task. We develop a conceptual framework for using meta-reasoning to recover and learn from the robot failure, including a specification of the problem, a taxonomy of failures, and an architecture for meta-reasoning. Our framework for robot learning from failure grounds meta-reasoning in action and perception.
Rescue of thyroid cells from antibody induced cell death via induction of autophagy.

Abstract Background Graves’ disease (GD) is associated with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (TSHR) antibodies of variable bioactivity. We have previously characterized “neutral” TSHR antibodies (N-TSHR-Abs) that bind to the hinge region of the TSHR ectodomain. We showed that an N-TSHR monoclonal antibody (mAb) failed to induce any G proteins to sustain survival signaling and lead to excessive stress and apoptosis. Furthermore, the addition of TSH, or the antioxidant N-acetyl- l -cysteine (NAC), rescued N-TSHR-mAb-induced apoptotic death. However, the detailed mechanisms of this rescue remained unclear. Methods Autophagy is activated in response to diverse stress related stimuli so we have, therefore, studied the autophagy response in rat thyroid cells (FRTL-5) during N-TSHR-mAb induced thyrocyte stress and apoptosis using the In Cell Western technique for quantitation along with immunocytochemistry. Results Under starvation conditions with N-TSHR-mAb the addition of TSH or NAC prevented thyroid cell death by enhancing autophagy. This was evidenced by elevated levels of autophagy related proteins including beclin 1, LC3A, LC3B, ULK1, p62, and also activated pink and perkin mitophagy related proteins. The phenomenon was further confirmed by image analyses using Cyto-ID and Mito-ID autophagy detection systems. We also found that either TSH or NAC enhanced PKA, Akt, mTORC, AMPK, Sirtuins, PGC1α, NRF-2, mitofusin-2, TFAM and catalase in the N-TSHR-mAb stressed cells. Thus TSH or NAC restored cell survival signaling which reduced cell stress and enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis. The N-TSHR-mAb also activated cytochrome-C, Bax, caspase-9, caspase-3A, and had less effect on FADD or caspase-8 indicating activation of the intrinsic pathway for apoptosis. Conclusions These findings indicated that TSH or antioxidant can rescue thyroid cells from N-TSHR-mAb induced apoptosis via enhanced autophagy. These observations signify that N-TSHR-mAb in GD under low TSH conditions caused by the hyperthyroidism could be detrimental for thyrocyte survival which would be another factor able to precipitate ongoing autoinflammation.
Tailoring Nanoparticle Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract Controlled synthesis of monodisperse nanoparticles (NPs) with well-defined structures opens up the new opportunities for understanding NPs' structure-property correlations and optimizing NPs' functions as electrocatalysts. This chapter highlights the recent advances in the design and syntheses of Pt-based NPs as electrocatalysts for applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). A broad range of NPs are discussed and categorized according to their catalytic roles in either oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) or methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) or formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). Such studies and understanding on NP catalysis will help to develop new NP catalysts for practical fuel cells and renewable energy applications.
Same day versus next day repair of fovea threatening primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of same-day versus next-day repair of fovea-threatening rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (FT RRD). Design: Retrospective, multi-surgeon observational case series. Methods: Operative reports and medical records were reviewed to evaluate a number of visual and anatomic outcomes, including presenting features, intraoperative complications, and postoperative results in the repair of primary FT RRD undergoing same-day versus next-day repair with scleral buckling, pars plana vitrectomy, or both procedures. Participants: A total of 96 consecutive patients (43 same-day, 45 next-day, and eight two days later) were compared. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in visual outcomes between same-day and next-day repair at postoperative months 3 and 6 and at last follow-up (month 3 mean BCVA 20/30 same day; 20/32 next day; p = 0.82). Preoperative vision was strongly correlated with postoperative acuity. Effect of differences in length or type of visual symptoms, location of RRD, gender, or lens status on postoperative month 3 best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was not statistically significant. Overall, 85% of patients had a BCVA of 20/40 or better at postoperative month 3. Reoperation rate and intraoperative complications were not statistically different between the two groups. Re-attachment was achieved in all but one patient in both groups. Time in the operating room was longer for same-day surgery (2.98 ± 0.46 hours) compared to next-day surgery (2.54 ± 0.38 hours) (p50.001), which was statistically significant even when factoring in the type of surgery performed. However, one case did progress to a macula-off detachment in a superior RRD with breaks found in lattice degeneration. Conclusion: Next-day surgery provided equivalent visual outcomes. Emergent, same-day surgery has logistical and resource implications as it may be more expensive, may necessitate rescheduling of previously booked cases, and may limit preoperative examination by the surgeon and perioperative team.
Matrix Analysis and Applied Linear Algebra

Preface 1. Linear equations 2. Rectangular systems and echelon forms 3. Matrix algebra 4. Vector spaces 5. Norms, inner products, and orthogonality 6. Determinants 7. Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors 8. Perron-Frobenius theory of nonnegative matrices Index.
Cloning and characterization of an androgen-dependent acidic epididymal glycoprotein/CRISP1-like protein from the monkey

: A cDNA encoding an acidic epididymal glycoprotein (AEG)-like, CRISP1 (cysteinerich secretory protein) protein from the monkey (Macaca mullata) epididymis has been cloned and sequenced. The monkey AEG (mAEG) has an open reading frame that encodes a protein containing 249 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 28 kDa. The mAEG protein sequence is 85% identical to human and 44% identical to mouse CRISP1, including all 16 conserved cysteine residues. mAEG also shows a significant amino acid homology with other CRISP proteins, rat AEG/DE, human TPX1/CRISP2, and guinea pig acrosomal autoantigen 1 (AA1). In addition, mAEG shows somewhat less homology to a toxin from the Mexican beaded lizard and to a human glioma pathogenesis-related protein. Northern blot analysis shows that the mRNA for mAEG is expressed in all the regions of the epididymis except the caput and was not detected in the testis, prostate, seminal vesicle, and brain. In castrated animals, mAEG gene expression in the epididymis is significantly diminished; however, testosterone enanthate replacement restored the normal level of expression, demonstrating that expression of mAEG is androgen dependent. Western blot analysis of monkey epididymal regions using mouse antirecombinant human AEG identified a 28-kDa protein only in the caudal region. Immunohistochemical analysis identified mAEG only in the principal cells of the cauda epididymal epithelium. Immunofluorescence analysis identified mAEG on the principal piece of the sperm tail and as small patches over the middle piece and head regions. The results described in the present study suggest that mAEG (CRISP1) is secreted in the monkey epididymis, regulated by androgens and present on epididymal spermatozoa.
Introducing Older Students to the Library of the New Millennium: Same Library, New Technologies

Abstract The library of the new millennium is significantly different than its ancestors in the amount of technology that is contained within its walls. Although in essence it is the same library, the computerization that has taken place in the last decade poses several challenges to older students who, having been out of school for several years, are suddenly confronted with the library of the new millennium. Many of these older students are unfamiliar with the computerized revolution that has taken place within the library in the last decade and conversely, reference librarians are faced with several challenges in helping these older students become familiarized with the new computerization. This article focuses on the challenges confronting older students at Cuesta College, a mid-size community college in San Luis Obispo, California, and how reference librarians have attempted to meet those challenges and introduce older students to the library of the new millennium.
Cell Cycle Regulation and Regeneration

Regeneration of ear punch holes in the MRL mouse and amputated limbs of the axolotl show a number of similarities. A large proportion of the fibroblasts of the uninjured MRL mouse ear are arrested in G2 of the cell cycle, and enter nerve-dependent mitosis after injury to form a ring-shaped blastema that regenerates the ear tissue. Multiple cell types contribute to the establishment of the regeneration blastema of the urodele limb by dedifferentiation, and there is substantial reason to believe that the cells of this early blastema are also arrested in G2, and enter mitosis under the influence of nerve-dependent factors supplied by the apical epidermal cap. Molecular analysis reveals other parallels, such as; (1) the upregulation of Evi5, a centrosomal protein that prevents mitosis by stabilizing Emi1, a protein that inhibits the degradation of cyclins by the anaphase promoting complex and (2) the expression of sodium channels by the epidermis. A central feature in the entry into the cell cycle by MRL ear fibroblasts is a natural downregulation of p21, and knockout of p21 in wild-type mice confers regenerative capacity on non-regenerating ear tissue. Whether the same is true for entry into the cell cycle in regenerating urodele limbs is presently unknown.
PDX-1 is required for pancreatic outgrowth and differentiation of the rostral duodenum

It has been proposed that the Xenopus homeobox gene, XlHbox8, is involved in endodermal differentiation during pancreatic and duodenal development (Wright, C.V.E., Schnegelsberg, P. and De Robertis, E.M. (1988). Development 105, 787–794). To test this hypothesis directly, gene targeting was used to make two different null mutations in the mouse XlHbox8 homolog, pdx-1. In the first, the second pdx-1 exon, including the homeobox, was replaced by a neomycin resistance cassette. In the second, a lacZ reporter was fused in-frame with the N terminus of PDX-1, replacing most of the homeodomain. Neonatal pdx-1 −/− mice are apancreatic, in confirmation of previous reports (Jonsson, J., Carlsson, L., Edlund, T. and Edlund, H. (1994). Nature 371, 606–609). However, the pancreatic buds do form in homozygous mutants, and the dorsal bud undergoes limited proliferation and outgrowth to form a small, irregularly branched, ductular tree. This outgrowth does not contain insulin or amylase-positive cells, but glucagon-expressing cells are found. The rostral duodenum shows a local absence of the normal columnar epithelial lining, villi, and Brunner's glands, which are replaced by a GLUT2-positive cuboidal epithelium resembling the bile duct lining. Just distal of the abnormal epithelium, the numbers of enteroendocrine cells in the villi are greatly reduced. The PDX-1/beta-galactosidase fusion allele is expressed in pancreatic and duodenal cells in the absence of functional PDX-1, with expression continuing into perinatal stages with similar boundaries and expression levels. These results offer additional insight into the role of pdx-1 in the determination and differentiation of the posterior foregut, particularly regarding the proliferation and differentiation of the pancreatic progenitors.
The Medtronic Melody® transcatheter pulmonary valve implanted at 24-mm diameter--it works.

Objectives We report the Melody valve implanted and/or expanded to 24-mm diameter. Background The Medtronic Melody valve has been implanted up to 22 mm in the pulmonary position for over a decade. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on 82 patients who underwent Melody valve implant. Technical implant method, pre- and postimplant echocardiographic findings, and initial follow-up were reviewed. Results Between 04/2008 and 12/2011, 13 Melody valves were successfully implanted in 11 patients, median age 35 years (range 16–61 years), in the pulmonary (bioprosthetic valve, right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit, native valve) position (n = 9), tricuspid position (bioprosthetic valve n = 3), and aortic position (bioprosthetic valve n = 1). Ten valves were delivered on a 24-mm balloon in balloon catheter and three were implanted using a 22-mm Ensemble balloon delivery system, followed by postdilation using a 24-mm × 2-cm Atlas balloon catheter. Postimplant, the median peak systolic gradient across the pulmonary valve was 7 mm Hg and median gradient across the tricuspid valve was 3 mm Hg. There was no change in gradient across the Melody valve in the aortic position where valve prosthesis–patient mismatch was present. Postimplant intracardiac echocardiography demonstrated none or mild valve regurgitation. No more than mild regurgitation was noted at a median follow-up of 9.5 months. Conclusions The Melody valve can be implanted at 24 mm in the stenotic/regurgitant bioprosthetic pulmonary, tricuspid, and aortic valve, dysfunctional right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit, and the native right ventricular outflow tract, whereas the valve remains competent with only mild regurgitation. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Preparation and CO2 adsorption properties of soft-templated mesoporous carbons derived from chestnut tannin precursors

Abstract This work presents a soft templating approach for mesoporous carbon using the polyphenolic heterogeneous biomass, chestnut tannin, as the carbon precursor. By varying synthesis parameters such as tannin:surfactant ratio, cross-linker, reaction time and acid catalyst, the pore structure could be controllably modulated from lamellar to a more ordered hexagonal array. Carbonization at 600 °C under nitrogen produced a bimodal micro-mesoporous carbonaceous material exhibiting enhanced hydrogen bonding with the soft template, similar to that shown by soft-templating of phenolic-formaldehyde resins, allowing for a tailorable pore size. By utilizing the acidic nature of chestnut tannin (i.e. gallic and ellagic acid), hexagonal-type mesostructures were formed without the use of an acid catalyst. The porous carbon materials were activated with ammonia to increase the available surface area and incorporate nitrogen-containing functionality which led to a maximum CO2 adsorption capacity at 1 bar of 3.44 mmol/g and 2.27 mmol/g at 0 °C and 25 °C, respectively. The ammonia-activated carbon exhibited multiple peaks in the adsorption energy distribution which indicates heterogeneity of adsorption sites for CO2 capture.
The non-relativistic limit ofP(ϕ)2 quantum field theories: Two-particle phenomena

It is proved that for two-particle phenomena theP(ϕ)2 quantum field theories with speed of lightc converge to non-relativistic quantum mechanics with a δ function potential in the limitc→∞.
Technical Report: The Status of the Energy Recovery Linac Source of Coherent Hard X-rays at Cornell University

Synchrotron radiation research as a field is still in a growing phase because newer and more capable X-ray sources are presently under development. Advances in storage ring technology, as explained in the Guest Editorial for this special New Source issue by Kwang-Je Kim, is rapidly approaching the point of diminishing returns. It is expected that within a few years storage ring technology will have matured to the point where it will become exceptionally difficult and expensive to make further significant improvements to the X-ray beam quality. In contrast, linac-based sources such as energy recovery linacs (ERLs) and X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) are at an early stage of development, and provide a clear path for dramatically improving X-ray beam qualities that is likely to continue for many years. ERLs promise to generate bright electron beams, and thus X-rays, with dramatically smaller emittances and pulse durations than those available from storage rings, the present workhorse technology for all ex...
Dependence of M1 RNA substrate specificity on magnesium ion concentration

We have constructed a plasmid expressing E. coli M1 RNA, the catalytic RNA subunit of ribonuclease P, under the control of a phage T7 promoter. The active M1 RNA species synthesized in vitro by T7 RNA polymerase from this vector was reacted with the tRNA(Gln) - tRNA(Leu) precursor RNA (Band K) encoded by phage T4. Only the tRNA(Leu) moiety of this dimeric precursor RNA contains the 3' terminal C-C-A sequence common to all tRNAs. We observed that protein-free M1 RNA was capable of processing the precursor RNA at the 5' ends of both tRNA tRNA sequences. The rate of cleavage of the tRNA(Gln) sequence was more strongly dependent on [Mg2+] than that of tRNA(Leu), increasing severalfold between 100 and 500 mM Mg2+, conditions under which the rate of cleavage at the tRNA(Leu) sequence was constant.
Two-dimensional spin-polarized fermion lattice gases.

A model of spin-polarized fermions hopping on a two-dimensional lattice with a nearest-neighbor interaction V is studied. Random-phase-approximation calculations predict that the half-filled system undergoes a density-wave transition for positive values of V, an odd-angular-momentum pairing transition for small negative V, and a condensation-phase-separation transition for more negative values of V. The classical lattice-gas Ising limit matches onto the density-wave transition for Vg0 and the condensation transition for Vl0. A strong-coupling expansion in powers of the ratio of single-fermion transfer-matrix element t to the two-body interaction V provides the leading corrections to the Ising limit. In order to explore the intermediate-coupling regime, fermion Monte Carlo calculations were carried out and various Green's functions characterizing the quantum correlations evaluated. With use of finite-size scaling techniques, the density-wave and condensation phase boundaries were followed into the intermediate-coupling regime. At these transitions, measured quantities scaled well with the usual Ising indices. Unfortunately, the weak-coupling regime lies beyond the reach of these simulations, and we conclude that a method suitable for the weak-coupling regime is needed to complete the phase diagram.
Nitric-oxide Synthase Is a Mechanical Signal Transducer That Modulates Talin and Vinculin Expression

Mechanical stimuli can cause changes in muscle mass and structure which indicate that mechanisms exist for transducing mechanical stimuli into signals that influence gene expression. Myotendinous junctions show adaptations to modified muscle loading which suggest that these are transcriptionally distinct domains in muscle fibers that may experience local regulation of expression of structural proteins that are concentrated at these sites. Vinculin and talin are cytoskeletal proteins that are highly enriched at myotendinous junctions that we hypothesize to be subject to local transcriptional regulation. Our findings show that mechanical stimulation of muscle cells in vivo and in vitro causes an increase in the expression of vinculin and talin that is mediated by nitric oxide. Furthermore, nitric oxide-stimulated increases in vinculin and talin expression occur through a protein kinase G-dependent pathway and therefore differ from other mechanisms through which nitric oxide has been shown previously to modulate transcription. Analysis of vinculin mRNA distribution in mechanically stimulated muscle fibers shows that the mRNA is highly concentrated at myotendinous junctions, which supports the hypothesis that myotendinous junctions are distinct domains in which the expression of cytoskeletal proteins is modulated by mechanical stimuli through a nitric oxide and protein kinase G-dependent pathway.
Spectral Theory of Diffraction

The concept of Spectral Theory of Diffraction [STD] was introduced by Mittra and his collaborators [MR] in the 1970s to circumvent some of the problems encountered with the GTD. The basic strategy followed in STD is to represent a complex field, which is not a ray field, in terms of a superposition of plane waves. Such fields are often encountered in diffraction problems.
Breast Cancer Screening Interventions in Selected Counties Across US Regions

Objectives To determine the types of, and the populations targeted by interventions implemented to increase breast cancer screening rates in counties with large African American populations across different US regions.
Characterization of Placic Horizons in Ironstone Soils of Louisiana, USA

Placic horizons, defined as thin, wavy, hardened layers of iron and organic matter, are rare within the United States, occurring only in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. While ironstone is common in many soils of the southeastern United States, it is not known to contain appreciable organic matter. As a pilot study evaluating the justification for a larger study on ironstone in Louisiana, a 40 m lateral exposure with suspected placic horizons was evaluated in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. Results of laboratory analysis show elevated levels of iron and organic matter in the suspect horizons that meet the criteria of placic horizons as defined by the Soil Survey Staff. Based on the results of this study, additional evaluation of multiple pedons with similar features is warranted. Should additional pedons demonstrate similar properties, a new great group of ‘Petrudepts’ would be needed to describe both the placic horizons in the pedon and the udic moisture regime in which they occur.
Nucleation Barrier for Volume‐Conserving Shape Changes of Faceted Crystals

This paper considers volume-conserving shape changes of small faceted particles or cavities; these changes are driven by surface-energy reduction. If these changes require normal motion of the facets (singular surfaces), and if the perimeter free energy sp (per unit area) of a nucleus of a new facet layer is comparable to a typical surface free energy (s ’ 1 J/m 2 ), the energy barrier is prohibitively large for facets larger than a limiting size of approximately a nanometer unless they are intersected by dislocations that provide a source of steps. In the absence of such dislocations, particles that contain these facets are immobilized in their initial shapes. If sp < s, the limiting facet size is increased by a factor of approximately s/sp.
CP violation in heavy flavor decays: Predictions and search strategies

We present a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenology relevant for CP violation in exclusive B and D decays. Some of the CP asymmetries can be calculated rather reliably in the standard model, while others contain large uncertainties. We point out that studies of inclusive decays will have to deal with partial cancellations occurring between different exclusive channels. None of the measurements will be easy. Yet a realistic evaluation of the promise the various searches hold out cannot be given at present; first, one has to build a data base on the production and decay properties of heavy flavor decays. We try to identify the required information.
Evaluation of anthrax vaccine safety in 18 to 20 year olds: A first step towards age de-escalation studies in adolescents.

Abstract Background/objectives Anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA, BioThrax ® ) is recommended for post-exposure prophylaxis administration for the US population in response to large-scale Bacillus anthracis spore exposure. However, no information exists on AVA use in children and ethical barriers exist to performing pre-event pediatric AVA studies. A Presidential Ethics Commission proposed a potential pathway for such studies utilizing an age de-escalation process comparing safety and immunogenicity data from 18 to 20 year-olds to older adults and if acceptable proceeding to evaluations in younger adolescents. We conducted exploratory summary re-analyses of existing databases from 18 to 20 year-olds ( n = 74) compared to adults aged 21 to 29 years ( n = 243) who participated in four previous US government funded AVA studies. Methods Data extracted from studies included elicited local injection-site and systemic adverse events (AEs) following AVA doses given subcutaneously at 0, 2, and 4 weeks. Additionally, proportions of subjects with ≥4-fold antibody rises from baseline to post-second and post-third AVA doses (seroresponse) were obtained. Results Rates of any elicited local AEs were not significantly different between younger and older age groups for local events (79.2% vs. 83.8%, P = 0.120) or systemic events (45.4% vs. 50.5%, P = 0.188). Robust and similar proportions of seroresponses to vaccination were observed in both age groups. Conclusions AVA was safe and immunogenic in 18 to 20 year-olds compared to 21 to 29 year-olds. These results provide initial information to anthrax and pediatric specialists if AVA studies in adolescents are required.
College Students' Perception of Vulnerability/Susceptibility and Desire for Health Information

The specific aims of this study were to develop a questionnaire and conduct a survey of college students 18-22 years of age, in order to determine (1) their perception of being vulnerable and susceptible to health problems and (2) their interest in receiving help and information about health maintenance. Material from four 2-h focus groups provided the content for the initial questionnaire. Pilot testing of the early drafts consisted of several phases in which students completed the tool in both group situations and in face-to-face interviews. The final questionnaire was completed by 364 students on two campuses in the Midwest. Two scales were identified using factor analysis and analysis for internal consistency. The Vulnerability/Susceptibility Scale demonstrated a good reliability (Kuder-Richardson-20 = 0.8136) and five factors were identified through factor analysis. The Information Scale demonstrated a high reliability (Kuder-Richardson-20 = 0.8958) and two factors were identified through factor analysis. Based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) data, a model was developed using the variables of the Vulnerability/Susceptibility Scale, the Information Scale, gender and health rating. The model was then tested using multiple regression analysis. This study identified health related areas about which the students feel vulnerable/susceptible and are interested in receiving health help/information. This study suggests which population of college students might be most receptive to health information and future behavioral strategies.
Electromagnetic surface and line sources under coordinate transformations

Although the analysis of electromagnetic sources in the context of coordinate transformations and the implications for transformation optics have been discussed in the literature, a correct formulation that includes surface and line currents has not been reported. Here we derive how surface and line currents behave under coordinate transformations and validate the analysis through numerical validation of a specific example. This analysis enables transformation optics to be applied to problems that include singular source distributions, which is often the case for practical radiating systems and antennas, to make a given current distribution produce the same fields as a different current distribution by surrounding it with a material with specific electromagnetic properties.
The Escherichia coli uvrD gene is inducible by DNA damage

The product of the uvrD gene of Escherichia coli is involved in the repair of DNA damage, mismatch repair, and recombination. Phage Mud(Amp, Lac) was used to from a uvrD-lacZ fusion allowing uvrD expression to be followed by measuring the activity of β-galactosidase, the product of the lacZ gene. uvrD expression was inducible by DNA damage and was under the control of lexA-recA regulatory system. Mutations in the uvrD gene that result in different phenotypes in respect to DNA repair and spontaneous mutation have been previously found. The phenotype of the uvrD::Mud(Amp, Lac) mutant was mutator and UV-sensitive but not as deficient in host cell reactivation or repair of methyl methanesulfonate damage as the previously described uvrD3 mutant.
Structural proteins of human respiratory coronavirus OC43

Abstract The human respiratory coronavirus OC43 was grown on a human rectal tumor cell line and was isotopically labeled with amino acids, glucosamine, and orthophosphate to analyze virion structural proteins. Four major protein species were resolved by electrophoresis and many of their properties were deduced from digestion studies using proteolytic enzymes. The four proteins are: (1) A 190 kDa protein, the presumed peplomeric protein, that was glycosylated and proteolytically cleavable by trypsin into subunits of 110 and 90 kDa. The subunits each represent a different amino acid sequence on the basis of peptide mapping; (2) a 130 kDa protein that was glycosylated and behaved as a disulfide-linked dimer of 65 kDa molecules. It is the apparent virion hemagglutinin on the basis of digestion studies with trypsin, bromelain and pronase; (3) a 55 kDa nucleocapsid protein that was phosphorylated; (4) a 26 kDa matrix protein that was glycosylated. The 190, 130, 55 and 26 kDa species can therefore be designated P, H, N and M, respectively. They exist in molar ratios of 4:1: 33 : 33, and are calculated to be present at the rate of 88, 22, 726, and 726 molecules per virion, respectively.
Dimethylthiourea reduces ischemic brain edema without affecting cerebral blood flow.

Oxygen free radicals have been implicated as mediators of tissue damage in ischemic brain. We previously demonstrated that the hydroxyl radical scavenger 1,3-dimethyl-2-thiourea (DMTU) reduces infarct size after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. The present study was undertaken to determine whether this protection results from a preservation of the CBF. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with DMTU (750 mg/kg i.p.) or saline vehicle 1 h before right MCAO. One-half, 4, or 24 h after MCAO, animals were killed and samples were taken from the central, intermediate, and outer zones of the MCA distribution of each cortical mantle. Separate groups of animals were used to analyze these samples for water content (wet and dry weight), CBF ([14C]butanol), or blood–brain barrier permeability ([3H]α-aminoisobutyric acid). CBF was reduced in a graded fashion in the ischemic cortex: 0.169 ± 0.020, 0.261 ± 0.017, and 0.435 ± 0.023 ml/g/min (mean ± SEM, n = 8) after 4 h in the central, intermediate,...
Relaxation Effects in Small Critical Nozzles

We computed the flow of four gases (He, N 2 , CO 2 , and SF 6 ) through a critical flow venturi (CFV) by augmenting traditional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with a rate equation that accounts for τ relax , a species-dependent relaxation time that characterizes the equilibration of the vibrational degrees of freedom with the translational and rotational degrees of freedom. Conventional CFD (τ relax =0) underpredicts the flow through small CFVs (throat diameter d = 0.593 mm) by up to 2.3% for CO 2 and by up to 1.2% for SF 6 . When we used values of τ relax from the acoustics literature, the augmented CFD underpredicted the flow for SF 6 by only 0.3%, in the worst case. The augmented predictions for CO 2 were within the scatter of previously published experimental data (±0.1%). As expected, both conventional and augmented CFD agree with experiments for He and N 2 . Thus, augmented CFD enables one to calibrate a small CFV with one gas (e.g., N 2 ) and to use these results as a flow standard with other gases (e.g., CO 2 ) for which reliable values of τ relax and the relaxing heat capacity are available.
Combining abilities of quality protein maize inbreds

Development and adoption of quality protein maize (Zea mays L.) (QPM) would increase the nutritional value of food and feed maize products. Breeding programs at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement, Mexico (CIMMYT); Texas AM and University of Natal, South Africa (SA) have developed high-lysine inbreds. Information about how elite QPM inbreds of different origins combine and perform in hybrids will facilitate the selection of parents and breeding strategies for hybrid development. Our objectives were to estimate the general (GCA) and specific combining abilities (SCA) for grain yield and secondary traits among high-lysine inbreds from different sources and to identify potential heterotic relationships among them. Seven white (CML176, CML181, CML184, Bo59W, Tx807, Tx811, and TxX124) and nine yellow QPM inbreds (CML190, CML193, Tx802, Tx814, Tx818, Tx820, Do940y, TxX808, and TxX806) were evaluated in two separate diallel experiments in five southern U.S. environments. The QPM hybrids yielded less than commercial checks. Across environments, GCA effects were nonsignificant for grain yield but highly significant for agronomic and kernel-quality traits. On the basis of GCA effects, TAMU inbreds had earlier maturities, shorter plants, and less grain moisture content than more subtropical CIMMYT and SA inbreds. The best-yielding hybrids and highest SCA effects resulted from crosses among inbreds from different programs: TxX124 x CML176, Tx811 x CML181, and Bo59w × CML184 among the white hybrids, and Tx802 × Do940y among the yellow hybrids. The QPM inbreds developed in different programs could represent potential heterotic groups for use in hybrid development and introgression of germplasm.
JHU1 : An Unsupervised Approach to Person Name Disambiguation using Web Snippets

This paper presents an approach to person name disambiguation using K-means clustering on rich-feature-enhanced document vectors, augmented with additional web-extracted snippets surrounding the polysemous names to facilitate term bridging. This yields a significant F-measure improvement on the shared task training data set. The paper also illustrates the significant divergence between the properties of the training and test data in this shared task, substantially skewing results. Our system optimized on F0.2 rather than F0.5 would have achieved top performance in the shared task.
Getting Started in Undergraduate Research

Getting involved in technical research can help students decide which track they want their career to take. It can also give them the experience and skills needed to pursue their desired careers. Working on research projects not only helps individuals become deeply knowledgeable about a specific problem, but it also helps them gain exposure to new tools and ways of thinking. Students who participate in research also develop their technical skills with respect to using tools, creating experiments, analyzing results, and improving their work. All of these skills make students attractive to prospective graduate schools, research advisers, and employers.
Worst-Error Analysis of Batch Filter and Sequential Filter in Navigation Problems

This paper proposes a worst-error analysis for dealing with problems of estimation of spacecraft trajectories in deep space missions. Navigation filters in use assume either constant or stochastic (Markov) models for their estimated parameters. When the actual behavior of these parameters does not follow the pattern of the assumed model, the filters sometimes result in very poor performance. To prepare for such pathological cases, the worst errors of both batch and sequential filters are investigated based on the incremental sensitivity studies of these filters. By finding critical switching instances of non-gravitational accelerations, intensive tracking can be carried out around those instances. Also the worst errors in the target plane provide a measure in assignment of the propellant budget for trajectory corrections. Thus the worst-error study presents useful information as well as practical criteria in establishing the maneuver and tracking strategy of spacecraft's missions.