cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Davydov Solitons in Polypeptides

The experimental evidence for self-trapping of amide-I (CO stretching) vibrational energy in crystalline acetanilide (a model protein) is reviewed and related to A. S. Davydov's theory of solitons as a mechanism for energy storage and transport in protein. Particular attention is paid to the construction of quantum states that contain N amide-I vibrational quanta. It is noted that the N = 2 state is almost exactly resonant with the free energy that is released upon hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate. 30 references, 4 figures, 3 tables.
Integrin α4β1 Signaling Is Required for Lymphangiogenesis and Tumor Metastasis

Recent studies have shown that lymphangiogenesis or the growth of lymphatic vessels at the periphery of tumors promotes tumor metastasis to lymph nodes. We show here that the fibronectin-binding integrin alpha4beta1 and its ligand fibronectin are novel functional markers of proliferative lymphatic endothelium. Tumors and lymphangiogenic growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and VEGF-A, induce lymphatic vessel expression of integrin alpha4beta1. Integrin alpha4beta1 then promotes growth factor and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis, as genetic loss of integrin alpha4beta1 expression in Tie2Cre+ alpha4(loxp/loxp) mice or genetic loss of alpha4 signaling in alpha4Y991A knock-in mice blocks growth factor and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis, as well as tumor metastasis to lymph nodes. In addition, antagonists of integrin alpha4beta1 suppress lymphangiogenesis and tumor metastasis. Our studies show that integrin alpha4beta1 and the signals it transduces regulate the adhesion, migration, invasion, and survival of proliferating lymphatic endothelial cells. As suppression of alpha4beta1 expression, signal transduction, or function in tumor lymphatic endothelium not only inhibits tumor lymphangiogenesis but also prevents metastatic disease, these results show that integrin alpha4beta1-mediated tumor lymphangiogenesis promotes metastasis and is a useful target for the suppression of metastatic disease.
Peripheral pain enhances the effects of incentive downshifts

Abstract Physical pain (induced by tissue damage) and psychological pain (induced by surprising incentive loss) share a set of common neural substrates, but little is known about their interactions. The present research studied such interactions using the formalin test to induce physical pain and consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) to induce psychological pain. In the formalin test, animals receive an intradermal injection of formalin (1%) in a hind paw. In cSNC, rats with free access to 32% sucrose show a sharp suppression of drinking behavior after a downshift to 4% sucrose, compared to rats that always receive 4% sucrose. In Experiment 1, formalin administration before the first and second 32-to-4% sucrose downshift trials enhanced cSNC. In Experiment 2, a similar treatment before the first downshift trial after a 16-to-4% sucrose downshift, which normally produces little or no evidence of cSNC, significantly increased cSNC. In Experiment 3, using a 32-to-4% sucrose downshift procedure similar to that of Experiment 1, no effects were observed following formalin administration immediately after Trial 11. Thus, no evidence was found that the effects of physical pain on cSNC were caused by changes in memory consolidation. The procedures used in these experiments offer a new approach to study the neural substrates of interactions between physical and psychological pain.
Effects of antidepressants on the conformation of phospholipid headgroups studied by solid-state NMR.

phospholipids using 31 Pa nd 14 N solid-state NMR techniques. Changes in bilayer architecture in the presence of TCAs were observed to be dependent on the TCA’s effective charge and steric constraints. The results further show that desipramine and imipramine evoke distinguishable changes on the membrane surface, particularly on the headgroup order, conformation and dynamics of phospholipids. Desipramine increases the disorder of the choline site at the phosphatidylcholine headgroup while leaving the conformation and dynamics of the phosphate region largely unchanged. Incorporation of imipramine changes both lipid headgroup conformation and dynamics. Our results suggest that a correlation between TCA-induced changes in bilayer architecture and the ability of these compounds to induce lipidosis is, however, not straightforward as imipramine was shown to induce more dramatic changes in bilayer conformation and dynamics than desipramine. The use of 14 N as a probe was instrumental in arriving at the presented conclusions. Copyright  2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Presynaptic CLC-3 determines quantal size of inhibitory transmission in the hippocampus

The authors report that the chloride channel CLC-3 colocalizes with the vesicular GABA transporter VGAT in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, where it affected Cl−-induced acidification of synaptic vesicles. Clcn3−/− animals showed a decrement in inhibitory transmission, suggesting a decrease in neurotransmitter loading of synaptic vesicles.
Viscous unsteady gust aerodynamics of a flat plate airfoil by a locally analytical method

A mathematical model is developed to analyze the unsteady viscous transverse gust aerodynamics of a flat plate airfoil in an incompressible laminar flow at moderate values of the Reynolds number. The steady flow is described by the Navier-Stokes equations. The unsteady viscous flow is assumed to be a small perturbation to this steady viscous flow, with the resulting system of linear partial differential equations coupled to the steady flow field through the unsteady boundary conditions. Solutions for both the steady and unsteady viscous flow fields are obtained by developing locally analytical solutions. For the steady flow, this is accomplished by first locally linearizing the nonlinear convective terms in the Navier-Stokes equations. The significant effects of Reynolds number and reduced frequency on the transverse gust generated unsteady aerodynamics on the airfoil are then demonstrated.
Information Theory and Neural Information Processing

Neuroscientists want to quantify how well neurons, individually and collectively, process information and encode the result in their outputs. We demonstrate that while classic information theory demarcates optimal performance boundaries, it does not provide results that would be useful in analyzing an existing system about which little is known (such as the brain). In the classical vein, non-Poisson channels, which describe the communication medium for neural signals, are shown to have individually a capacity strictly smaller than the Poisson ideal. We describe recent capacity results for Poisson neural populations, showing that connections among neurons can increase capacity. We then present an alternative theory more amenable to data analysis and to situations wherein systems actively extract and represent information. Using this theory, we show that the ability of a neural population to jointly represent information depends nature of its input signal, not on the encoded information.
Novel Enabling Technologies for Convergence of Optical and Wireless Access Networks

Advanced enabling technologies for optical wireless integration are discussed. These enabling technologies include new schemes to generate low-cost optical millimeter-wave signal, ROF network configuration compatible with WDM-PON, and wavelength reuse. We will also report a test-bed for ROF network providing over 2.5 Gbit/s bandwidth for transmission wireless and wired data and HTDV signals.
Error Analysis: Procedures and Guidelines:

Error analysis is proposed as a means to supplement diagnostic techniques. A purpose and definition of error analysis are provided. Also, procedures to use error analysis are explained along with basic guidelines to prevent abuse of error analytic techniques. Finally, the author cautions that error analysis may not always yield answers to diagnostic questions.
Agile Architecture Interactions

Agile development starts to build before the outcome is fully understood, adjusts designs and plans as empirical knowledge is gained while building, trusts the judgment of those closest to the problem, and encourages continual collaboration with the ultimate consumers. Architecture establishes a technology stack, creates design patterns, enhances quality attributes, and communicates to all interested parties. The combination of these two spaces is agile architecture-an approach that uses agile techniques to drive towards good architecture. Agility and architecture aren't at odds. Agile development gives the architect repeated opportunities to work closely with the business and technical teams to continually guide systems in the direction of good architecture.
Drug Use and Delinquent Behavior: A Growth Model of Parallel Processes Among High-Risk Youths

The continuity of self-reported heavy alcohol and marijuana use and self-reported delinquency among adolescents is examined using latent growth model analyses in a sample of 278 justice-involved juveniles completing at least one of three follow-up interviews as part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse—funded study. Latent growth models are analyzed examining (a) changes in heavy alcohol and marijuana use over time, (b) changes in delinquency over time, and (c) the contemporaneous, parallel processes of changes in substance use and delinquency over time. Results indicate that substance use increased over time, whereas delinquency decreased over time. However, the growth model examining the simultaneous influence of delinquency on substance use suggests that delinquency exacerbated substance use over time. Implications for policy and intervention service needs are discussed.
Does Overlap Among the Adaptive Radiations of Omomyoids, Adapoids, and Early Anthropoids Cloud our Understanding of Anthropoid Origins?

It is truly amazing how the paleontological data that form the basis of discussions on anthropoid origins have increased during the past 40 years. It was not until the early 1960s that Elwyn Simons’ field research in the Fayum Depression of Egypt began to yield the first sample of early Oligocene anthropoid primates.
Contention avoidance by composite slot assembling

We propose composite slot assembling as a software scheme to avoid contention in contention-based time-slotted optical networks. This scheme can be used in edge switches of optical networks supporting multiple-class traffic.
Clox, a mammalian homeobox gene related to Drosophila cut, encodes DNA-binding regulatory proteins differentially expressed during development

We report the isolation of a cDNA encoding a mammalian homeoprotein related to the Drosophila cut gene product, called Clox, for Cut like homeobox. In addition to the homeodomain, three 73-amino acid repeats, the so-called cut repeats, are also conserved between Cut and the mammalian counterpart described here. This conservation suggests that the cut repeat motif may define a new class of homeoproteins. Both cloned and endogenous Clox proteins are nuclear DNA-binding proteins with very similar sequence specificity. Western blot analysis revealed several distinct Clox protein species in a variety of tissues and cell types. The relative abundance of these proteins is regulated during mouse development and cell differentiation in culture. Interestingly, approximately 180-190 x 10(3) M(r) Clox proteins predominate in early embryos and are upregulated in committed myoblasts and chondrocytes, but downregulated upon terminal differentiation. Clox DNA-binding activity is correlated with the abundance of these proteins. In contrast, larger Clox protein species (approximately 230-250 x 10(3) M(r)) are detected mainly in adult tissues and in terminally differentiated cells. Cotransfection experiments show that Clox proteins can function as repressors of tissue-specific gene transcription. Thus, Clox, like their Drosophila counterparts, are candidate regulators of cell-fate specification in diverse differentiation programs.
Using Digital Computers in the Design and Maintenance of New Computers

To conserve manpower and reduce the time needed for designing, assembling, and maintaining new large-scale computers, existing computers have been used to produce design and maintenance data for the new machines automatically. This paper describes some techniques that were devised at the National Bureau of Standards for automatically converting a logical design into detailed wiring plans which specify the actual pin-to-pin connections and other data necessary for assembling, debugging, and maintaining a new machine. Starting from punched-card input transcriptions of the logical design of the new computer, expressed in terms of Boolean algebra, an IBM 704 was programmed to produce 20,000 printed pages of wiring plans, fabrication data, and logical debugging and maintenance manuals.
High speed (207 GHz f/sub /spl tau//), low thermal resistance, high current density metamorphic InP/InGaAs/InP DHBTs grown on a GaAs substrate

InP/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were grown on GaAs substrates. InP layer was employed as a metamorphic buffer layer because of its high thermal conductivity. A 140 GHz power-gain cutoff frequency f/sub max/ and a 207 GHz current-gain cutoff frequency f/sub /spl tau// were obtained, presently the highest reported values for metamorphic HBTs. The breakdown voltage BV/sub CEO/ was 6 V while the DC current gain /spl beta/ was 76.
The Issues of Nominalization: Problems and Desiderata for a Theory of Nominalization

I am going to discuss some syntactic and semantic issues that arise in connection with nominals of kinds (1)–(3): (1) the performance of the song (2) the performing of the song (3) his performing the song
Decoding concatenated codes using soft information

We present a decoding algorithm for concatenated codes when the outer code is a Reed-Solomon code and the inner code is arbitrary. "Soft" information on the reliability of various symbols is passed by the inner decodings and exploited in the Reed-Solomon decoding. This is the first analysis of such a soft algorithm that works for arbitrary inner codes; prior analyses could only, handle some special inner codes. Crucial to our analysis is a combinatorial result on the coset weight distribution of codes given only its minimum distance. Our result enables us to decode essentially up to the "Johnson radius" of a concatenated code when the outer distance is large (the Johnson radius is the "a priori list decoding radius" of a code as a function of its distance). As a consequence, we are able to present simple and efficient constructions of q-ary linear codes that are list decodable up to a fraction (1 - 1/q - /spl epsiv/) of errors and have rate /spl Omega/(/spl epsiv//sup 6/). Codes that can correct such a large fraction of errors have found numerous complexity-theoretic applications. The previous constructions of linear codes with a similar rate used algebraic-geometric codes and thus suffered from a complicated construction and slow decoding.
Size Effect on Strength of Quasibrittle Structures with Reentrant Corners Symmetrically Loaded in Tension

The effect of V-notches (or reentrant corners) on fracture propagation has been analyzed for brittle materials, but not for quasibrittle materials such as concrete, marked by a large material characteristic length producing a strong size effect transitional between plasticity and linear elastic fracture mechanics. A simple size effect law for the nominal strength of quasibrittle structures with symmetrically loaded notches, incorporating the effect of notch angle, is derived by asymptotic matching of the following five limit cases: (1) Bažant’s size effect law for quasibrittle structures with large cracks for notch angle approaching zero; (2) absence of size effect for vanishing structure size; (3) absence of size effect for notch angle approaching π ; (4) plasticity-based notch angle effect for vanishing size; and (5) the notch angle effect on crack initiation in brittle structures, which represents the large-size limit of quasibrittle structures. Accuracy for the brittle large-size limit, with notch ang...
BondFlow: a system for distributed coordination of workflows over Web services

Today's collaborative applications over the Web span domains as diverse as enterprise e-commerce applications and biomedical applications. We have previously developed and formally investigated "Web Coordination Bonds," a theoretically powerful artifact for interconnecting autonomous Web objects for control and data flows, and for enforcing dependencies. Here, we describe BondFlow, a system that enables the configuration and execution of workflows using Web bonds over heterogeneous Web objects. The system automatically generates lightweight proxy wrapper objects to enable encapsulated Web services to be interconnected through Web bonds. The small footprint wrappers (less than 10 KB) can reside on Java-enabled handheld devices. We describe the design, architecture and performance of the BondFlow system. Our initial performance results indicate that both wrapper creation time and Web bond related execution time are small. In contrast to our BondFlow system, existing systems need expert programming to create workflows, do not easily allow distributed coordination of workflows, and usually do not support heterogeneity of device, data and network. The system is preliminary, and further research is ongoing to extend its configuration and execution platforms.
A Bayesian ridge regression analysis of congestion's impact on urban expressway safety

With the rapid growth of traffic in urban areas, concerns about congestion and traffic safety have been heightened. This study leveraged both Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) system and Microwave Vehicle Detection System (MVDS) installed on an expressway in Central Florida to explore how congestion impacts the crash occurrence in urban areas. Multiple congestion measures from the two systems were developed. To ensure more precise estimates of the congestion's effects, the traffic data were aggregated into peak and non-peak hours. Multicollinearity among traffic parameters was examined. The results showed the presence of multicollinearity especially during peak hours. As a response, ridge regression was introduced to cope with this issue. Poisson models with uncorrelated random effects, correlated random effects, and both correlated random effects and random parameters were constructed within the Bayesian framework. It was proven that correlated random effects could significantly enhance model performance. The random parameters model has similar goodness-of-fit compared with the model with only correlated random effects. However, by accounting for the unobserved heterogeneity, more variables were found to be significantly related to crash frequency. The models indicated that congestion increased crash frequency during peak hours while during non-peak hours it was not a major crash contributing factor. Using the random parameter model, the three congestion measures were compared. It was found that all congestion indicators had similar effects while Congestion Index (CI) derived from MVDS data was a better congestion indicator for safety analysis. Also, analyses showed that the segments with higher congestion intensity could not only increase property damage only (PDO) crashes, but also more severe crashes. In addition, the issues regarding the necessity to incorporate specific congestion indicator for congestion's effects on safety and to take care of the multicollinearity between explanatory variables were also discussed. By including a specific congestion indicator, the model performance significantly improved. When comparing models with and without ridge regression, the magnitude of the coefficients was altered in the existence of multicollinearity. These conclusions suggest that the use of appropriate congestion measure and consideration of multicolilnearity among the variables would improve the models and our understanding about the effects of congestion on traffic safety.
Pilot study of participant-collected nasal swabs for acute respiratory infections in a low-income, urban population.

Objective To assess the feasibility and validity of unsupervised participant-collected nasal swabs to detect respiratory pathogens in a low-income, urban minority population. Methods This project was conducted as part of an ongoing community-based surveillance study in New York City to identify viral etiologies of acute respiratory infection. In January 2014, following sample collection by trained research assistants, participants with acute respiratory infection from 30 households subsequently collected and returned a self-collected/parent-collected nasal swab via mail. Self/parental swabs corresponding with positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction primary research samples were analyzed. Results Nearly all (96.8%, n=30/31) households agreed to participate; 100% reported returning the sample and 29 were received (median time: 8 days). Most (18; 62.1%) of the primary research samples were positive. For eight influenza-positive research samples, seven (87.5%) self-swabs were also positive. For ten other respiratory pathogen-positive research samples, eight (80.0%) self-swabs were positive. Sensitivity of self-swabs for any respiratory pathogen was 83.3% and 87.5% for influenza, and specificity for both was 100%. There was no relationship between level of education and concordance of results between positive research samples and their matching participant swab. Conclusion In this pilot study, self-swabbing was feasible and valid in a low-income, urban minority population.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Son of Man in Daniel, Enoch, and the New Testament Gospels: An Assessment of QMelch (Q)

The Dead Sea Scrolls do not use the term "Son of Man". This chapter explores the possibility that 11QMelch contains or implies a figure like those in the Son of Man tradition of the Hebrew Bible and Enoch . It also examines whether the figure in 11QMelch is associated with the messiahs of the Hodayot and the War Scroll . Since those are suffering messiahs, the chapter examines the possible presence of a Son-of- Man-like-figure in the Dead Sea Scrolls. If such a figure is present, this would seem to be the first instance in Second Temple Judaism in which a suffering servant is associated with the promised Messiah. The Parables of Enoch , which elaborate the Danielic tradition of the exalted Son of Man, since it was not present at Qumran, must have been an addition to the Essene literature outside of Qumran, namely, among the urban Essenes. Keywords:11QMelch; Daniel; Dead Sea Scrolls; Essene literature; Qumran; temple apocalyptic Judaism
Economic Injury Level for Heliothis spp. Larvae on Cotton Plants in the Four-True-Leaf to Pinhead-Square Stage

Naturally occurring infestations of Heliothis spp., producing from 0 to 95% terminal bud destruction (TBD) on plants in the four-true-leaf to pinhead-square stage, were identified in the field, and the effect on yields at first harvest and total yield was determined. Artificial TBD at selected levels was also created at the four- to six-true-leaf stage. Natural and artificial TBD resulted in an economic injury level when 5.1 and 7.2%, respectively, of the terminals were destroyed. The combined analysis indicated that 40 to 50% TBD was required to produce a significant decrease in first harvest yield, and 20 to 30% TBD was required to produce a significant decrease in total yield. The cotton plant was unable to compensate for loss of terminal buds early in the season, resulting in delayed maturity and yieldloss. A hilly significant ( P < 0.001) quadratic relationship existed between total yield and natural TBD.
VARIATION OF SCUTELLAR BRISTLES IN DROSOPHILA. III. SEX-DIMORPHISM

HE number of scutellar bristles in unselected wild-type stocks is normally four in both males and females, which contrasts with the marked sexdimorphism of the number of scutellars in scute stocks. The reduction of scutellar bristle number effected by the scute mutations is greater in males than in females. FRASER (1963) has shown that the frequency of extra scutellar bristles is greater in females than in males, in.wild type. He also showed that the frequency of missing scutellar bristles is greater in males than in females, in wild type. These results show that there is a sex-dimorphism of scutellar number in wild type as well as in scute. RENDEL (1959) showed that selection for extra scutellars is more effective in females than in males (see also PAYNE 1918; SISMANIDIS 1942; FRASER ( 1963) ; FRASER, SCOWCROFT, NASSAR, ANGELES and BRAVO, in manuscript). There would appear to be a general sex-modification of the expression of scutellar genes which is only obvious when the development of scutellar bristles has been shifted above or below the canalized path leading to four bristles. The scute locus is located in the left end of the X chromosome, and it is possible that the sex-dimorphism of scutellar number is primarily determined by this locus being present twice in females, and only once in males. The sex-dimorphism may be due to the sex difference of dosage of the scute locus. This can be assayed by adding short sections of the left end of the X chromosome to the Y chromosome. If these short sections of the X chromosome contain s ~ + and sc then comparisons can be made of normal females, with males carrying two scf or sc alleles. Three such duplication Y chromosomes have been studied, and the results are presented and discussed below.
Influence of Corona Characteristics of Water Drops on Smooth Conductor under Negative DC Voltage

Corona phenomena on HVDC transmission lines will cause electromagnetic environment problems.UHVDC transmission line corona has become an important factor which affects the configuration and cost of construction of UHVDC transmission lines.With the development of power grid construction,corona problem of UHVDC transmission lines becomes a research focus.In the rainfall process,a lot of water drops will formed on the wire surface,which can change corona characteristics of transmission lines obviously.To study the influence of water drops on corona characteristics of DC transmission lines,the corona discharge process has investigated in a corona cage with one water drop attached to the surface of the high voltage conductor.The corona inception voltage and corona current characteristics of the saturated water drops or mist on the conductor surface were studied including the effect of the change of the water conductivity.The result shows that corona discharge with one water drop on the surface of the conductor is a complex process including the deformation and ejection of small water drops,the ionization of the air around the tip of the water drop.When the conductor is attached with saturated water drops or mist,the corona inception voltage decreases to about 25% or 40% compared with that of smooth conductor.In the range of rainfall conductivity,the change of the water drop conductivity has less effect on the corona discharge characteristics.
Advances in research on pluripotent stem cells used for producing platelets in vitro

Human pluripotent stem cells(PSCs),including human embryonic stem cells(ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells(i PSCs),can infinitely proliferate in vitro and create megakaryocytes and platelets,which could provide a novel platform for studying thrombopoiesis. In particular,the disease-specific i PSCs are powerful tools for elucidating the pathogenesis of platelet disorders and screening drugs. With technical advances on producing platelets in vitro,numerous genetic mutations associated with abnormal thrombopoiesis could be illuminated. In addition,the platelets derived from human i PSCs could be used for clinical transfusion.
Analysis on the surveillance of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Zibo city from 2006 to 2012

Objective This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological characters and risk factors of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS)in Zibo city, in order to provide preventive measures against the disease. Methods Epidemiological data of HFRS from 2006 to 2012 were collected to describe the epidemiological characteristics of HFRS. Data including the density of rats, proportion ofrats with virus, and species ofrats were collected from high-incidence areas. Results A totalof 515 HFRS cases were reported in the whole city from 2006 to 2012, with an average incidence rate of 1.69 per million. Young and middle-aged male farmers were the main victims in these cases. The cases were distributed mainly in the southern mountains of Zibo, Zichuan, Boshan and Yiyuan, accounting 72.43 percentofthe totalcases. High risk areas were alternating. One incidence peak were observed in the season of spring and autumn-winter. The intensity of autumn-winter peak was obviously higher than the spring peak in 2012. The average rat density was 2.28%, and the rate of rat with virus was 4.26%. The dominant indoor species was Rattus norvegicus, and the dominant outdoor species was Apodemus agrarius. The proportions of rat with virus for Apodemus agrarius, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus respectively were 15.22%, 3.27%, and 2.63%. Conclusion The incidence rate of HFRS in Zibo began to rise since2011, and the main source ofinfection was Apodemus agrarius. The southern mountains ofZibo were the main incidence areas. Itis necessary to strengthen the monitoring and vaccination among key population.
Defining the role of post-mastectomy radiotherapy: the new evidence.

In an early meta-analysis of the post-mastectomy radiotherapy trials, the use of obsolete radiotherapy techniques resulted in increased cardiac mortality. With maturation of these data and inclusion of more recent
Keynote speaker: Towards immersive multimodal display: Interactive auditory rendering for complex virtual environments

Extending the frontier of visual computing, an interactive, multimodal VR environment utilizes audio and touch-enabled interfaces to communicate information to a user and augment the graphical rendering. By harnessing other sensory channels, an immersive multimodal display can further enhance a user's experience in a virtual world. In addition to immersive environments, multimodal display can provide a natural and intuitive human-computer interface for many desktop applications such as computer games, online virtual worlds, visualization, simulation, and training. Compared to visual and haptic rendering, sound rendering has extremely demanding computing requirements, making the problem of auditory display highly challenging. In this talk, I will give an overview of our recent work on interactive auditory display consisting of sound synthesis and sound propagation. These include generating realistic physically-based sounds from perceptually-guided principles and dynamic simulation. I will also describe novel algorithms for immersive sound effects based on improved numerical techniques and fast geometric sound propagation. Finally, I present new techniques on cross-modal interaction for VR. These systems improve the state of the art in sound rendering by at least one to two orders of magnitude and will be demonstrated in complex, dynamic virtual environments and VR applications. I conclude by discussing possible future research directions on multimodal interaction with VR systems.
Commentary: Is the scare of the new botulinum serotype over?

The highly toxic nature of botulinum neurotoxins and their placement in category A biothreat agents list under tier 1 biosecurity regulations always attract public attention about any possibility of a new form of this agent. Last time, a new type of botulinum neurotoxin (type G) was discovered was over 40 years ago, and that was not even known to cause human botulism epidemiologically. Therefore, when a novel botulinum neurotoxin was isolated from an infant botulism case in California, it became a major concern for the public health and biothreat agencies. There has been controversy among the scientists about its nomenclature. The scientific debate has been robust, and although the novel neurotoxin is now confirmed to be a hybrid of types A and F botulinum neurotoxins, the issue of calling it a new serotype (H) remains unsettled.
Thumb collateral ligament injuries in the athlete

The purpose of this review is to identify current principles in the diagnosis and treatment of collateral ligament injuries of the thumb in the athlete. Cadaver studies have clearly identified the ulnar and radial collateral ligaments origin and insertion footprints for repair or reconstruction. Ulnar and radial collateral ligament injuries are common in athletics. History and physical examination are paramount in determining partial versus complete tear. When surgical treatment is indicated, placing the repair/reconstruction in the anatomic footprint restores stability while maintaining motion. The senior author’s preferred techniques are reported.
Observing Personalizations in Learning: Identifying Heterogeneous Treatment Effects Using Causal Trees

The incorporation of computer-based platforms in the classroom has introduced the ability to conduct numerous randomized control trials at scale with student-level randomization. Such systems are able to collect vast amounts of data on each student while completing work in the classroom and at home. It is often the case, however, that the effects of these trials are reported across all students, ignoring the potential for personalized learning. Personalized learning, or the observation of heterogeneous treatment effects, considers that the effects of a studied learning intervention may differ for individual students; while an intervention may work well for low-performing students, for example, it may have no effect for higher performing students. Personalized learning can lead to better instructional practices that maximizes the learning benefits for each individual student, and with the use of computer-based platforms, such individualized instruction is made feasible at scale. In this work we use a causal decision tree to observe treatment effects in 9 experiments run in the ASSISTments online learning platform.
A Nation of Speechifiers: Making an American Public after the Revolution. By Carolyn Eastman

Atlantic history, hemispheric history, global history: recent scholarly shifts in scale have shown that the Revolution, far from creating a distinctive national identity, instead marked a political transition in a society that remained defined by transcultural contacts, exchanges, and affinities. In the context of the ever-expanding geography of our discipline, Carolyn Eastman’s account of the early republic is striking because it questions the nationalized mythology of the Revolutionary War from within. A Nation of Speechifiers draws entirely on evidence from the United States to demonstrate that a shared national identity did not emerge for decades after independence, much later than the nationalistic rhetoric of the era would suggest. Eastman argues that ordinary Americans “learned to think of themselves as members of a public” before they could inhabit a sense of national belonging.
Factors Influencing Parents' Preferences and Parents' Perceptions of Child Preferences of Picturebooks.

This study examined factors influencing parents’ preferences and their perceptions of their children’s preferences for picturebooks. First, a content analysis was conducted on a set of picturebooks (N = 87) drawn from the sample described in Wagner (2013); Then, parents (N = 149) rated the books and several content properties were examined for their ability to predict parents’ preferences and their perception of their children’s preferences. The initial content analysis found correlated clusters of disparate measures of complexity (linguistic, cognitive, narrative) and identified a distinctive sub-genre of modern books featuring female protagonists. The later preference analysis found strong influences of gender, with parents perceiving their sons’ (but not daughters’) preferences as gender-stereotyped; in addition, influences of the child’s reading ability and the linguistic complexity of the book on preferences suggested a sensitivity to the cultural practice of joint book-reading.
The effect of a loss of model structural detail due to network skeletonization on contamination warning system design: case studies

Abstract. The effect of limitations in the structural detail available in a network model on contamination warning system (CWS) design was examined in case studies using the original and skeletonized network models for two water distribution systems (WDSs). The skeletonized models were used as proxies for incomplete network models. CWS designs were developed by optimizing sensor placements for worst-case and mean-case contamination events. Designs developed using the skeletonized network models were transplanted into the original network model for evaluation. CWS performance was defined as the number of people who ingest more than some quantity of a contaminant in tap water before the CWS detects the presence of contamination. Lack of structural detail in a network model can result in CWS designs that (1) provide considerably less protection against worst-case contamination events than that obtained when a more complete network model is available and (2) yield substantial underestimates of the consequences associated with a contamination event. Nevertheless, CWSs developed using skeletonized network models can provide useful reductions in consequences for contaminants whose effects are not localized near the injection location. Mean-case designs can yield worst-case performances similar to those for worst-case designs when there is uncertainty in the network model. Improvements in network models for WDSs have the potential to yield significant improvements in CWS designs as well as more realistic evaluations of those designs. Although such improvements would be expected to yield improved CWS performance, the expected improvements in CWS performance have not been quantified previously. The results presented here should be useful to those responsible for the design or implementation of CWSs, particularly managers and engineers in water utilities, and encourage the development of improved network models.
Rape as a Practice of War: Toward a Typology of Political Violence:

When rape by an armed organization occurs frequently, it is often said to be a strategy of war. But some cases of conflict-related rape are better understood as a practice, violence that has not be...
The Final 400 Years of Prehispanic Agricultural Society in the Mesa Verde Region

ABSTRACTI attempt to summarize salient points in the preceding articles, with special attention to the causes and consequences of the compression of community territories noted for the Pueblo III period in the Mesa Verde region.
The Interdialytic Creatinine Rise is a novel marker of volume overload and mortality risk in hemodialysis patients.

Volume overload poses a major risk in hemodialysis patients but simple detection methods are lacking. We propose a novel marker, the Interdialytic Creatinine Rise (IDCR), readily calculated as the change in serum creatinine over time (in mg/dL/h), to assess volume overload and predict mortality risk in hemodialysis patients. First, we calculated IDCR changes with volume in a prospective cohort of 35 hospitalized hemodialysis patients awaiting hemodialysis and 33 hospitalized patients undergoing hemodialysis every other day. Second, in a prospective cohort of 25 outpatients, IDCR cutoff values associated with hypervolemia were determined between two treatments and compared with simultaneous volume assessments by their nephrologist. Third, IDCR as a mortality predictor was studied using survival analysis in a longitudinal retrospective cohort study of 39 maintenance hemodialysis patients followed from 2012 until death or 2017. IDCR decreased by − 0.014 mg/dL/h each day (95%CI − 0.017,− 0.010; p < 0.001) without dialysis due to fluid volume gain and increased by 0.013 mg/dL/h (95%CI 0.008,0.017; p < 0.001) from before to after each successive hemodialysis due to fluid removal. Choosing an IDCR cutoff value of ≤0.1 had sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 79% in diagnosing volume overload with the area under the ROC curve of 0.78 (95%CI 0.59,0.97). The hazard ratio of death for each 0.01 decrease in IDCR was 1.64 (95%CI 1.31,2.07; p < 0.001). If IDCR decreased to less than 0.05 mg/dL/h, the median survival was 32 days and the odds ratio of death within 2 months was 38 (95%CI 8, 131; p < 0.001). In this pilot study, IDCR is shown to be a novel metric that decreases with fluid retention and increases after fluid removal. IDCR can assist clinicians in detection or exclusion of volume overload in hemodialysis patients and provide prognostic value in identifying those at high risk for death.
pH as a Primary Control in Environmental Microbiology: 2. Kinetic Perspective

In a companion paper, we examined the thermodynamic responses of microbial redox reactions to pH changes. Here we explore how these thermodynamic responses may affect the composition and function of microbial communities. We simulate butyrate syntrophic oxidation, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis by microbial consortia at pH ranging from 7 to 5. The simulation accounts for the thermodynamics of microbial metabolisms and the interactions among microbes. The results show that thermodynamic responses to variation in pH can be strong enough to speed up or slow down microbial metabolisms. These kinetic changes then shape the outcome of microbial interactions, including the membership and activity of microbial consortia. Moreover, the kinetic changes modulate carbon fluxes and the efficiency of methane production. The simulation results support the hypothesis that environmental pH can shape the composition and metabolic function of microbial communities by changing the energy yields of redox reactions. They also add to the current theories of microbial ecology. Specifically, due to the pH-induced thermodynamic responses, the principle of competitive exclusion fails for microbial processes with significant thermodynamic limitations, which allows the co-occurrence of competing respiration reactions in natural environments. Taken together, these results confirm that pH is a primary control in environmental microbiology. They also highlight the feasibility and potential of biogeochemical kinetic modeling in uncovering and illuminating mechanistic relationships between environmental parameters and microbial communities.
The Human Capital Factor in IPO Decision

In this paper, we directly consider the employee incentive problem in the firm’s exit decision. We show that when labor capital is important to the firm, i.e., when workers’ contribution to the firm’s long-run growth potential is important, an IPO allows the firm to use high power incentive contracts more effectively to elicits higher labor input, thus leading to a higher firm value compared to a take-over or staying private. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that directly links the incentive problem and optimal compensation contract design with an entrepreneurial firm’s exit choices. Our model predicts that firms in industries where human capital is important are more likely to go public and use high power stock-based compensation. We further extend our analysis to a private firm’s going public decision, and show that a firm with strong future growth or high risk tolerant workers will choose to exit via an IPO at a younger age and/or smaller size, everything else the same. We further show that when within-firm collaboration is important, the incentive effect and the valuation impact of an IPO are even larger. When we introduce competition among firms, we show that an IPO gives the firm an endogenous first-mover advantage and can also serve as a defensive mechanism. Additionally, our model can endogenously generate IPO clusters and waves over time, and firms in the industries where labor capital is important are more subject to these IPO waves. Our analysis generates several important empirical and policy implications regarding entrepreneurial firm’s exit choices and IPO waves.
Some Interactions between Problems in Chemical Engineering and the Biological Sciences

Points of contact between chemical engineering and biology are discussed in an attempt to see what the older concepts of chemical engineering may contribute to the understanding and mathematical analysis of various biological operations with or without membranes. The appendix gives a mathematical treatment of a diffusion and reaction problem in enzyme kinetics.
Bullying Among Junior High School Students: Effects on Health and Academic Performance

Bullying and victimization phenomena have serious effects on the well-being of individuals. Therefore, the study intends to help the students maintain a normal state of well-being and enhance academic performance as a reference for administrators to develop programs managing the challenges encountered through identification of demographic profile; forms of bullying; effects on health and academic performance; coping strategies and school management. Mixed method approach was employed. Quantitative data was gathered through survey questionnaire and qualitative data through FGD from advisers, parents and students and KII from the principal, guidance counselor and prefect of discipline which were analyzed to corroborate with the quantitative data. Periodical grades were analyzed and compared. Findings revealed that out of 260 students, 232 expressed experienced bullying at a younger age as young as 10 years old. More alarmingly, some students reported recently experienced though rarely. The most common form of bullying identified are verbal, covert and physical bullying. Cyberbullying as the least experienced. The investigation disclosed they sometimes experience the health effects of bullying that are generally a normal response to stress. However, manage to deal with the experience through the support of family and the school. Data showed that studentsâ€™ experience of bullying does not affect their academic performance. Nevertheless, data analysis revealed that victims of bullying eventually become bullies themselves.
Television and Development: Anticipated Changes at the Local Level

Developmental idealism is a powerful cultural model specifying what development is, describing how it can be achieved, and framing it as desirable and good. Television is a key mechanism hypothesized to spread developmental idealism messages to remote areas that have previously been isolated from the outside world. Transcending traditional barriers of language and literacy, television introduces vivid depictions of modern family and modern society. This paper uses qualitative data from Vietnam to examine the expectation that ordinary citizens have for how television will influence their lives. Examining what local residents expect from television shows how pervasive developmental idealism is and how the developmental idealism model has already permeated thinking prior to television9s arrival. Rather than television introducing ideas about modern family and modern society, village residents already had these ideas.
Top 100 most cited articles in orthopaedic surgery: An update.

Abstract Introduction As the research landscape evolves, we sought to investigate the current most cited Orthopaedic Surgery articles and compare these to previously cited articles. Methods Web of Science database screened orthopaedic journal articles with comparison to previous data using multivariate regression analysis. Results Rate of citations increased 172% within the last decade. Previous rank and citations within the last decade had a greater effect on contemporary rank (p = 0.084, p = 0.002, respectively). Conclusion Trends in investigative research can shift by the next decade. Previous citation rank and citations in last decade contributed most to current rank.