cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative rRNA-Targeted Solution-Based Hybridization Assay Using Peptide Nucleic Acid Molecular Beacons

The potential of a solution-based hybridization assay using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) molecular beacon (MB) probes to quantify 16S rRNA of specific populations in RNA extracts of environmental samples was evaluated by designing PNA MB probes for the genera Dechloromonas and Dechlorosoma. In a kinetic study with 16S rRNA from pure cultures, the hybridization of PNA MB to target 16S rRNA exhibited a higher final hybridization signal and a lower apparent rate constant than the hybridizations to nontarget 16S rRNAs. A concentration of 10 mM NaCl in the hybridization buffer was found to be optimal for maximizing the difference between final hybridization signals from target and nontarget 16S rRNAs. Hybridization temperatures and formamide concentrations in hybridization buffers were optimized to minimize signals from hybridizations of PNA MB to nontarget 16S rRNAs. The detection limit of the PNA MB hybridization assay was determined to be 1.6 nM of 16S rRNA. To establish proof for the application of PNA MB hybridization assays in complex systems, target 16S rRNA from Dechlorosoma suillum was spiked at different levels to RNA isolated from an environmental (bioreactor) sample, and the PNA MB assay enabled effective quantification of the D. suillum RNA in this complex mixture. For another environmental sample, the quantitative results from the PNA MB hybridization assay were compared with those from clone libraries.
The recursive nanobox processor grid: a reliable system architecture for unreliable nanotechnology devices

Advanced molecular nanotechnology devices are expected to have exceedingly high transient fault rates and large numbers of inherent device defects compared to conventional CMOS devices. We introduce the recursive nanobox processor grid as an application specific, fault-tolerant, parallel computing system designed for fabrication with unreliable nanotechnology devices. In this initial study we construct VHDL models of the nanobox processor cell ALU and evaluate the effectiveness of our recursive fault masking approach in the presence of random transient errors. Our analysis shows that the ALU can calculate correctly 100 percent of the time with raw FIT (failures in time) rates as high as 10/sub 23/. We achieve this error correction with an area overhead on the order of 9x, which is quite reasonable given the high integration densities expected with nanodevices.
Congenital absence of the left portion of parietal pericardium demonstrated by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract Although absence of the left-sided portion of parietal pericardium can be suspected by the characteristic chest radiograph and echocardiogram, the diagnosis has been made by excluding other differential diagnoses using cardiac catheterization and by creating a left pneumothorax in order to outline the right pericardium. In the patient described herein, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMR) is also useful for its diagnosis.
HOME-RANGE DYNAMICS OF WHITE-NOSED COATIS IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

Abstract I studied a population of white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) in southeastern Arizona from 1996 to 2000 to quantify home-range size and overlap among matriarchal groups (troops) and solitary males. Home ranges of coatis averaged 13.57 km2 ± 1.72 SE for troops (n = 9) and 6.11 ± 1.42 km2 for solitary males (n = 7; kernel-density estimator). Sizes of home ranges and core areas did not change during the study, even though density of coatis declined by ≥60%. Home ranges of males overlapped ≤61%, home ranges of troops overlapped ≤80%, and home ranges of males overlapped those of troops ≤67%. Locations of annual home ranges and core areas shifted slightly from year to year, indicating minor range drift but no nomadism by radiocollared coatis in this population. Mortality due to predation was significantly higher in the periphery of the home range than that predicted based on the probability of occurrence.
The Database Query Subsystem

This chapter presents operational details of the ARBIRS Database Query Subsystem. ARBIRS features the ability to retrieve images based on a specific “part”, or a combination of parts, in the sample image. This specific part can be any simple or texture region in the sample image, or any compound region that comprises several simple regions. A major challenge for matching between compound regions is that there are unlimited ways of forming a particular shape, and this particular shape might comprise a different number of component regions in different images. Therefore, we must develop an effective method to match between the same shape of different formations.
Farm Labor Experience of the Employment Service of Canada

In 1918 the Parliament of Canada passed the Employment Offices Co6rdination Act which charged the Minister of Labor with the duty of aiding and encouraging the organization and co6rdination of employment offices and promoting uniformity of methods among them; of establishing clearing houses for the interchange of information between employment offices and of compiling and publishing employment statistics. The act set aside certain moneys to be divided among the various provincial governments pro rata with their expenditures on the maintenance of employment offices. These grants were made conditional upon an agreement between the Federal and Provincial Governments as to the general plan to be followed by the provinces in the administration of their employment services. Under this legislation a nation-wide system of seventy-five employment offices has been established by the Dominion and Provincial Governments in cooperation, and placements are being effected at the rate of 4oo,000 annually. On a population basis the equivalent of this in the United States would be a system of I,ooo offices making 5,000,000 placements. From the standpoint of agriculture as well as of industry Canada falls into four areas. In the Maritime provinces mixed farming is followed in the main with cross-sections of fruit farming in Nova Scotia and potato farming in New Brunswick. In this area the farms are usually not large. The crops come in fairly regular rotation and there is no sharp peak of farm labor demand. In Ontario and Quebec mixed farming is also the rule although there has been a considerable specialization in dairy farming, and the Niagara District of Ontario is almost entirely devoted to fruit growing. In these provinces there is a fairly constant demand for farm labor the year round, especially in Ontario, which is accentuated during the spring seeding and at harvest time. The methods of securing women workers for fruit
Improvements in PET Image Quality in Time of Flight (TOF) Simultaneous PET/MRI

An integrated positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner with time of flight (TOF) technology is now available for clinical use. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of TOF PET in PET/MRI to reduce artifacts in PET images when compared to non-TOF PET/MRI, TOF PET/X-ray computed tomography (CT), and non-TOF PET/CT. All patients underwent a single 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) injection, followed first by PET/CT, and subsequently by PET/MRI. PET/CT exams were requested as standard-of-care for oncological indications. Using the PET acquisitions datasets, 4 series of images (TOF PET/CT, non-TOF PET/CT, TOF PET/MRI, and non-TOF PET/MRI) were reconstructed. These image series were visually evaluated for: (1) dental metal artifacts, (2) breathing artifacts, and (3) pelvic artifacts due to scatter correction errors from high bladder [18F]FDG concentration. PET image quality was assessed by a 3-point scale (1—clinically significant artifact, 2—non clinically significant artifact, and 3—no artifact). Twenty-five patients (mean ± SD age: 56 ± 13 years old; female: 10, male: 15) were enrolled. TOF PET/MRI, non-TOF PET/MRI, TOF PET/CT, and non-TOF PET/CT scores 2.8, 2.5, 2.4, and 2.3, respectively for the presence of dental artifacts, 2.8, 2.5, 2.2, and 1.9, respectively, for the presence of breathing artifacts, and 2.7, 1.7, 2.0, and 1.3, respectively, for the presence of pelvic artifacts TOF PET/MRI images showed the highest image quality scores among the 4 datasets of PET images. The superior timing resolution and resulting TOF capability of the new PET/MRI scanner improved PET image quality in this cohort by reducing artifacts compared to non-TOF PET/MRI, TOF PET/CT, and non-TOF PET/CT.
Creating Change in Health Care Developing a Shared Understanding and Roadmap for Action

The Patient and Family Engagement Framework and the Roadmap for Patient and Family Engagement in Healthcare Practice and Research are tools designed to create a shared understanding of what patient and family engagement is and how it can be translated into concrete action.
Sodium excretion after adrenal enucleation and during adrenal regeneration hypertension.

AbstractRenal function following saline infusion (10% body wt) has been studied in four groups of rats 3 to 5 days after operation: Sham (S), Adrenal Enucleation (AE), Unine-phrectomy (N), and AE + N. The purpose of the study was to clarify the mechanisms of the effect of N on sodium excretion in AE. AE excreted significantly less sodium, 6.7 ± 1.3 μEq/min, than S, 29.7 ± 2.7 μEq/min. Sodium excretion by N, 25.4 ± 5.3 μEq/min and AEN, 19.4 ± 3.2 μEq/min were not different from each other or S, but greater than AE (P < 0.01). When AE (two kidneys) was compared with AEN (one kidney), the filtered sodium was not significantly different. Thus, it is concluded that the greater natriuresis in AEN versus AE is most likely secondary to a difference in tubular sodium reabsorption. Renal function following saline infusion (10% body wt) has been studied after the development of adrenal regeneration hypertension (6 weeks postsurgery) in AEN rats and their control groups N. Mean blood pressure was significantly elevat...
The Item Veto’s Sting

Despite lofty expectations from the item veto's proponents (and fears from its opponents), formal models have suggested that the item veto is unlikely to have much effect beyond what a full veto could render. However, I show that different findings obtain when item vetoes are appreciated more fully as a dimensionality-reducing institution. I begin by developing a package veto model in a generalized multidimensional space. I then show how introducing the item veto changes the outcome by forcing veto bargaining into what is essentially a unidimensional space. As a result, executives with an item veto or other dimensionality-reducing institution (such as a single-subject rule) can be far more powerful in legislative bargaining than executives who lack these tools, other things being equal. I use simulations to demonstrate the model's main implications.
The potential utility of tight junction regulation in celiac disease: focus on larazotide acetate

Celiac disease (CD) is a common chronic immune disease triggered by gluten. Gliadin peptides pass through the epithelial layers, either paracellularly or transcellularly, to launch a potent adaptive immune response in the lamina propria. This aberrant immune response leads to diverse gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal symptoms. Currently, the only treatment for CD is a strict lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD), which can be challenging. An early effect of gluten in CD is an increase in gut permeability. Larazotide acetate, also known as AT-1001, is a synthetic peptide developed as a permeability regulator primarily targeting CD. In vitro studies indicate that larazotide acetate is capable of inhibiting the actin rearrangement caused by gliadin and clinical studies have been conducted using this peptide as a therapy for CD.
Sizes and Proportional Structures of Total Output and Income

The rise in the labour force from about 50 million to over 120 million between 1929 and 1989 is certainly one indicator of the increase in the United States economy. The aggregate size of the economy is perhaps better measured by what the labour force — or perhaps we should say the whole population — has actually produced, consumed, accumulated or received as income. There are four standard aggregates in the national income statistics, and their history is shown in Figure 3.1. The most familiar of the aggregates is GNP. This is a concept which has been subject to some severe criticism.1 It does not include household production, and since 1929 there has been a considerable shift from household production to market production, reflected for instance in the increase in the proportion of women in the labour force, and in some other changes, which would suggest that the GNP of earlier years may have been underestimated relative to the GNP of later years, so that some of the growth is illusory. The concept of GNP also identifies household purchases with household consumption. Many household purchases are durable goods which may be consumed over a long period of time, or may even appreciate like antique furniture or paintings. Household capital is almost completely neglected in the national accounts.
THE EFFECTS OF REGULATORY COMPLIANCE FOR SMALL BANKS AROUND CRISIS‐BASED REGULATION

In this article I investigate the regulatory burden for small U.S. banks around major crisis-based regulatory programs using measures of profit, cost, and productivity from 1991 to 2014. After the passage of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act, there is little evidence consistent with increased regulatory burden. After the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, the percentage change in employees was positive, and average pay was higher for small banks. After the passage of the Dodd–Frank Act, five of six regime-shift indicators were consistent with increased regulatory burden, with lower pretax return on assets, lower loans per employee, lower technology and fixed-asset expenditures, and higher percentage change in employees and salaries-to-assets in panel regressions.
E2A-Pbx1 induces growth, blocks differentiation, and interacts with other homeodomain proteins regulating normal differentiation.

Arrested differentiation is a hallmark of progenitor cell leukemias as well as many other types of human cancer. It is hypothesized that such progenitor cell cancers express oncoproteins that block differentiation. The E2A-Pbx1 oncoprotein that results from the t(1;19) chromosomal translocation of childhood pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pre-B ALL) is a fascinating oncoprotein because it blocks differentiation and physically interacts with homeodomain proteins, which are effectors of normal differentiation. These properties suggest the attractive hypothesis that E2A-Pbx1 blocks pre-B cell differentiation by interfering with the ability of other homeodomain proteins to orchestrate terminal B cell differentiation.
3D dynamic walking on stepping stones with control barrier functions

3D dynamical walking subject to precise footstep placements is crucial for navigating real world terrain with discrete footholds. We present a novel methodology that combines control Lyapunov functions—to achieve periodic walking—and control Barrier functions—to enforce strict constraints on step length and step width—unified in a single optimization-based controller. We numerically validate our proposed method by demonstrating dynamic 3D walking at 0.6 m/s on DURUS, a 23 degree-of-freedom underactuated humanoid robot.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation and Health Care Expenditures Among Low-Income Adults

Importance Food insecurity is associated with high health care expenditures, but the effectiveness of food insecurity interventions on health care costs is unknown. Objective To determine whether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which addresses food insecurity, can reduce health care expenditures. Design, Setting, and Participants This is a retrospective cohort study of 4447 noninstitutionalized adults with income below 200% of the federal poverty threshold who participated in the 2011 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the 2012-2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Exposures Self-reported SNAP participation in 2011. Main Outcomes and Measures Total health care expenditures (all paid claims and out-of-pocket costs) in the 2012-2013 period. To test whether SNAP participation was associated with lower subsequent health care expenditures, we used generalized linear modeling (gamma distribution, log link, with survey design information), adjusting for demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity), socioeconomic factors (income, education, Social Security Disability Insurance disability, urban/rural), census region, health insurance, and self-reported medical conditions. We also conducted sensitivity analyses as a robustness check for these modeling assumptions. Results A total of 4447 participants (2567 women and 1880 men) were enrolled in the study, mean (SE) age, 42.7 (0.5) years; 1889 were SNAP participants, and 2558 were not. Compared with other low-income adults, SNAP participants were younger (mean [SE] age, 40.3 [0.6] vs 44.1 [0.7] years), more likely to have public insurance or be uninsured (84.9% vs 67.7%), and more likely to be disabled (24.2% vs 10.6%) ( P Conclusions and Relevance SNAP enrollment is associated with reduced health care spending among low-income American adults, a finding consistent across several analytic approaches. Encouraging SNAP enrollment among eligible adults may help reduce health care costs in the United States.
Detecting and Visualizing Reaction Intermediates of Anisotropic Nanoparticle Growth

This paper describes a correlative approach to detect, visualize, and characterize intermediate species during a seedless, anisotropic nanoparticle synthesis. Changes in radical concentration as a function of time were correlated in situ to the optical properties and morphology of the particles. Depending on type and concentration of reaction precursors, either one or two increases in radical production occurred, corresponding to initial particle formation and increased branch length, respectively. Thus, changes in radical intensity can be considered as an indicator of nanoparticle structure and properties.
Costumes, monsters, maps, and carnivals: postmodern feminist theory and Jeanette Winterson's novels

This thesis is an analysis of three of Jeanette Winterson's novels: The Passion, Sexing the Cherry, and Written on the Body. Chapter one examines the similarities between The Passion and Nightwood by Djima Barnes. Although fifty years separate Barnes and Winterson, both of their texts describe lesbian relationships that begin in camivalesque settings and depict characters who crossdress. In chapter two, the characters from Sexing the Cherry: seventeenth-century Dog Woman, contemporary Dog Woman, and Jordan are analyzed as penimibra characters. This term incorporates some of the characteristics of Donna Haraway's cyborg feminism with elements of postmodern gender theory. Chapter three discusses Written on the Body, a text filled with colonial references, using Elizabeth Grosz's corporeal feminist theory. The concluding chapter includes some additional notes on the chapters and examines the potent links between postmodern feminist theory and
Dynamics-Inspired Feature Extraction in Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes

Abstract The ability to exploit data-driven process control and decision making frameworks is rapidly becoming critical to success in semiconductor manufacturing. At the same time, advances in manufacturing equipment sensors has seen dramatic increases in sampling rates in recent years, which has led to the ability to capture transients effects in signals with higher fidelity than previously possible. It is known that data-driven process control and decision making methodologies rely on the process of extraction of useful information from raw data signals. To that end, the current manuscript presents a novel methodology for extraction of information from data in the form of a feature set that faithfully and reliably depicts both the transient and stationary portions of the signals. The solution proposed is an automated dynamics-inspired approach that looks to segment a signal into steady state and transient components before summarizing each segment into a set of relevant signatures. The steady state segments are summarized through a set of statistics and each transient is reduced to a set of parameters relating to the underlying system dynamics, such as settling time, rise time, overshoots, etc. The impactful novel information content of the resulting dynamics-inspired feature set is evaluated by application to chamber matching, product defect level prediction and product quality characteristic prediction in etch and deposition processes executed in various tools across several modern 300 mm fabs.
Two-Sample Inferences Based on the Method of Randomization

In Chap. 4, the principle, method, and rationale of randomization tests applicable to the one-sample (or paired-sample) case and the null hypothesis of symmetry about a specified point were illustrated and some properties of these tests were discussed. In this chapter we employ the same ideas in the case of two independent sets of observations and the null hypothesis of identical populations.
Religion, the Intellectuals, and Partisan Review

In 1950, the left-leaning American journal of opinion Partisan Review invited an array of leading intellectuals to answer a set of questions about whether and, if so, why religion might be resurgent. The intellectuals responded with alacrity and their responses filled several issues. This article offers a retrospective comment on the original questions in 1950s context and ventures a new set of answers.
Hardware IP Trust Validation: Learn (the Untrustworthy), and Verify

Increasing reliance on hardware Intellectual Property (IP) cores in modern system-on-chip (SoC) design flow, often obtained from untrusted vendors distributed across the globe, can significantly compromise the security of SoCs. While the design could be verified for a specified functionality using existing tools, it is extremely hard to verify its trustworthiness to guarantee that no hidden, and possibly malicious function exists in the form of a hardware Trojan. Conventional verification process and tools fail to verify the trust of a third-party IP, primarily due to the lack of trusted reference design or golden models. In this paper, for the first time to our knowledge, we introduce a systematic framework to apply machine learning based classification for hardware IP trust verification. A supervised classifier could be trained for identifying Trojan nets within a suspect IP, but the detection coverage and accuracy are extremely sensitive to the quality of training set available. Furthermore, reliance on a static training database limits the classifier’s ability in detecting new Trojans and facilitates adversarial learning. The proposed framework includes a Trojan insertion tool that dynamically generates a large number of diverse implementations of Trojan classes for creating a robust training set. It is significantly more difficult for an adversary to evade our classifier using known Trojan classes since the tool dynamically samples the entire Trojan population. To further improve the efficiency of the system, we combined three machine learning models into an average probability Voting Ensemble. Our results for two broad classes of Trojan show excellent classification accuracy of 99.69% and 99.88% with F-score of 86.69% and 88.37% for sequential and combinational Trojans, respectively.
Design of intentional backdoors in sequential models

Recent work has demonstrated robust mechanisms by which attacks can be orchestrated on machine learning models. In contrast to adversarial examples, backdoor or trojan attacks embed surgically modified samples with targeted labels in the model training process to cause the targeted model to learn to misclassify chosen samples in the presence of specific triggers, while keeping the model performance stable across other nominal samples. However, current published research on trojan attacks mainly focuses on classification problems, which ignores sequential dependency between inputs. In this paper, we propose methods to discreetly introduce and exploit novel backdoor attacks within a sequential decision-making agent, such as a reinforcement learning agent, by training multiple benign and malicious policies within a single long short-term memory (LSTM) network. We demonstrate the effectiveness as well as the damaging impact of such attacks through initial outcomes generated from our approach, employed on grid-world environments. We also provide evidence as well as intuition on how the trojan trigger and malicious policy is activated. Challenges with network size and unintentional triggers are identified and analogies with adversarial examples are also discussed. In the end, we propose potential approaches to defend against or serve as early detection for such attacks. Results of our work can also be extended to many applications of LSTM and recurrent networks.
דלתות מסתובבות ומידת האפקטיביות של תקופות צינון Revolving Doors and the Ineffectiveness of Cooling-Off Periods

תקציר בעברית: מידת האפקטיביות של רגולציה תלויה במבנה התמריצים של הרגולטורים, ומבנה התמריצים של רגולטורים מושפע משיקולי קריירה ובפרט מהאפשרות להיות מועסקים בעתיד על ידי הגופים שהם מפקחים עליהם בהווה. מעברים תכופים בין מפקחים למפוקחים – תופעת ה"דלתות המסתובבות" – עלולים לפגוע באפקטיביות של הרגולציה. הפתרון שאומץ בישראל הוא תקופת צינון. אך האם תקופת הצינון הקבועה בחוק אכן נאכפת בפועל? האם היא יכולה להשיג את מטרותיה המוצהרות? מאמר זה בוחן את האפקטיביות של תקופת הצינון בשיטות מגוונות: מחקר השוואתי, קידוד כל ההחלטות של ועדת ההיתרים המוסמכת בחוק לקצר את הצינון וראיונות עם אלה המופקדים על אכיפתה של תקופת הצינון ואלה הכפופים לה. המאמר מתעד פער ניכר בין תקופת הצינון החקוקה לבין תקופת הצינון בפועל, ומסביר כיצד הפער נוצר – מהן הקונסטרוקציות המשפטיות המכשירות אותו ומהם ההסברים ההתנהגותיים שבבסיסו. לבסוף, המאמר מעריך את רציותם של פתרונות אפשריים לבעיית הדלתות המסתובבות: בעוד הצעות להאריך את תקופת הצינון החקוקה מועדות לכישלון, הצעות להעניק גמול מסוים לרגולטורים במהלך תקופת הצינון עשויות להצליח. English Abstract: The revolving doors between the public and private sectors may reduce the effectiveness of regulation. To combat the potential harms of the revolving doors, Israel, like many other developed countries, adopted cooling-off periods. Yet we know very little about how effective cooling-off periods are. This paper triangulates different methods – from comparative- to content analysis to interviews with those in charge of cooling-off enforcement – and concludes that cooling-off periods as currently construed are highly ineffective. The paper documents the significant gap between the cooling-off periods on the books and cooling-off periods in action; explains how this gap is formed; and sketches ways to mitigate the gap and improve the regulation of revolving doors.
Impact of Diet on Human Oncology

The application of rapidly occuring advances in food biotechnology is bringing revolutionary change to the food industry and may significantly impact on overall health and disease prevention. Research on diet and cancer prevention at the National Cancer Institute, including an area of research called ‘chemoprevention,’ explores the potential of these advances to reduce the risk of cancer by changing the nutrient or chemical characteristics of foods. Biotechnology has been used to enhance the nutritive quality of fruits and vegetables, develop synthetic fat substitutes, and produce leaner beef; products that may reduce cancer risk. Based on results from epidemiologic and laboratory studies, NCI has collaborated with the USDA in several clinical metabolic studies to investigate the influence of dietary fat on fecal mutagenicity, and the dose and toxicity of beta-carotene and selenium tissue levels for intervention trials. A new program at NCI centers around foods fortified with phytochemicals that are being studied to prevent cancer in humans. Close collaboration with industry is necessary to ensure a continuum of biotechnological advances.
Do Fines Cause Financial Distress? Evidence From Chicago

This paper studies the effect of government fine and debt collection policy on individual financial well-being in the context of Chicago, where beginning in 2011 the city adopted a more aggressive traffic fine and debt collection policy. Using detailed traffic fine, credit report, and consumer bankruptcy records, I estimate that the policy change did not have a large effect on financial well-being as measured by credit scores, credit card balances past due, or debt in collections. The policy change did, however, cause a 1.1 standard deviation increase in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy rate, amounting to approximately 43,000 additional Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings through the end of 2017. The bankruptcy response was driven by an influx of filings by relatively low-income, low-asset individuals with significant traffic fine debt. For most Chapter 13 bankruptcy filers with traffic fine debt, bankruptcy provided no debt relief and limited asset protection at significant cost in bankruptcy court and attorney fees. These results highlight inefficiencies in revenue generation via fines.
Mass-conserving implicit–explicit methods for coupled compressible Navier–Stokes equations

Abstract Earth system models are composed of coupled components that separately model systems such as the global atmosphere, ocean, and land surface. While these components are well developed, coupling them in a single system can be a significant challenge. Computational efficiency, accuracy, and stability are principal concerns. In this study we focus on these issues. In particular, implicit–explicit (IMEX) tight and loose coupling strategies are explored for handling different time scales. For a simplified model for the air–sea interaction problem, we consider coupled compressible Navier–Stokes equations with an interface condition . Under the rigid-lid assumption, horizontal momentum and heat flux are exchanged through the interface. Several numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the stability of the coupling schemes. We show both numerically and theoretically that our IMEX coupling methods are mass conservative for a coupled compressible Navier–Stokes system with the rigid-lid condition.
Extraction chromatographic materials based on polysulfone microcapsules for the sorption of strontium from aqueous solution

Abstract Crown ether-loaded polysulfone (PS) capsules suitable for the separation and preconcentration of strontium from acidic nitrate media have been prepared and characterized. Specifically, PS macro- and microcapsules have been impregnated with the macrocyclic polyether di-tert-butylcyclohexano-18-crown-6 (DtBuCH18C6), either undiluted or as a solution in 1-octanol, and their performance in the extraction of strontium from nitric acid solution evaluated. The DtBuCH18C6-loaded microcapsules were found to exhibit strontium uptake efficiency significantly greater than that observed for the analogous macrocapsules, confirming earlier observations of a marked size-dependence of the behavior of extractant-loaded PS capsules. Comparison of the microcapsules to a commercial extraction chromatographic (EXC) material (Sr-resin) comprising DtBuCH18C6-loaded beads of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) of comparable size (50–100 μm), showed that the two materials exhibit similar strontium retention, uptake kinetics, and selectivity. The microcapsules provide higher column efficiencies, however, and when fully loaded with extractant, higher strontium ion uptake capacity.
Positive Self-Talk: An Emerging Learning Strategy for Students With Learning Disabilities:

Self-monitoring has proven to be an effective strategy for improving academic performance for students with learning disabilities (LD). In addition to academics, these interventions have improved a...
Analyses of depositional environments of the Marcellus formation in New York using biomarker and trace metal proxies

The purpose of this study was to observe how the composition of organic matter (OM) and the extent of anoxia during deposition within the Marcellus Formation in New York varied by distance from the sediment source in eastern New York. Lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes and fatty acids) in the extractable organic component (bitumen) of the shale samples were analyzed, and proxies such as the average chain length (ACL), aquatic to terrestrial ratio (ATR) and carbon preference index (CPI) of n-alkanes were calculated. Fatty acids were relatively non-abundant due to the age of the shale bed, but n-alkane distributions revealed that the primary component of the OM was terrigenous plants. The presence of shorter n-alkane chain lengths in the samples indicated that there was also a minor component of phytoplankton and algal (marine) sourced OM. Whole rock analyses were also conducted, and cerium anomalies were calculated as a proxy for anoxia. All samples had a negative anomaly value, indicating anoxic conditions during deposition. Two samples, however, contained values close to zero and thus were determined to have suboxic conditions. Anoxia and total organic matter (TOM) did not show any spatial trends across the basin, which may be caused by varying depths within the basin during deposition. A correlation between nickel concentrations and TOM was observed and indicates that algae was the primary source of the marine OM, which supports the lipid biomarker analysis. It was determined that the kerogen type of the Marcellus Formation in New York State is type III, consistent with a methane-forming shale bed.
User Authentication Schemes Using Machine Learning Methods—A Review

With the recent advancements in technology, more and more people rely on their personal devices to store their sensitive information. Concurrently, the environment in which these devices are connected have grown to become more dynamic and complex. This opens the discussion of if the current authentication methods being used in these devices are reliable enough to keep these user’s information safe. This paper examines the different user authentication schemes proposed to increase the security of different devices. This article is split into two different avenues discussing authentication schemes that use either behavioral biometrics or physical layer authentication. This survey will discuss both the advantages and challenges that arise with the accuracy, usability, and overall security of machine learning methods in these authentication systems. This article aims to improve further research in this field by exhibiting the various current authentication models, their schematics, and their results.
Theoretical and Empirical Underpinnings

Several theoretical perspectives and related empirical research have potential relevance for the study of curriculum review at Columbia Business School. Regarding the focus of the first section, long-term organizational evolution, two approaches are discussed and working hypotheses developed for each. In the second section, several models of organizational decision making are presented in abbreviated form, and their potential applicability to curriculum review at Columbia Business School is discussed. In the final section, the literature on curriculum is briefly reviewed for potential insight into curriculum change at business schools in general and Columbia Business School in particular.
Dynamic System Identification using Recurrent Radial Basis Function Network

This paper presents a local neural network structure called spatiotemporally local network, by combining the radial basis function network (RBFN) and the local recurrent networks. Three local structures are proposed and the algorithms are compared for nonlinear dynamic system identification. System dynamics can be fully modeled with the fast learning of the proposed neural network structure.
A multicenter study on childhood constipation and fecal incontinence: effects on quality of life

Objective To describe the effects of childhood functional constipation compared with functional constipation plus fecal incontinence on quality of life, evaluating effects on physical, psychosocial, and family functioning. Study design This prospective, multicenter study collected data from 5 regional children's hospitals. Children meeting Rome III criteria for functional constipation were included. Parents completed the following 5 instruments: Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), PedsQL–Family Impact Module, Functional Disability Inventory–Parent Version, Pediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP), and Pediatric Symptom Checklist–Parent Report. Results Families of 410 children aged 2-18 years (mean [SD], 7.8 [3.5] years; 52% male) were included. Children with functional constipation+fecal incontinence had worse quality of life than children with functional constipation alone (PedsQL Total Score, P ≤ .03). Older children with functional constipation + fecal incontinence had lower quality of life than their younger counterparts (PedsQL Total Score, P ≤ .047). Children with functional constipation+fecal incontinence had worse family functioning (PedsQL-Family Impact Module Total Score, P ≤ .012), greater parental stress (PIP-F Total Score, P ≤ .016; PIP-D Total Score, P ≤ .013), and poorer psychosocial functioning (Pediatric Symptom Checklist Total Score, P ≤ .003). There were no statistically significant between-group differences in physical functioning based on the functional Disability Inventory. Conclusion Fecal incontinence significantly decreases quality of life compared with functional constipation alone in children. Older children with functional constipation+fecal incontinence may be at particular risk. Strategies for early identification and treatment of constipation along with diagnosis and treatment of related adjustment difficulties may mitigate the negative impact of this highly prevalent condition.
Physical Properties and Subunit Structure of Xanthosine 5'-Phosphate Aminase

Abstract Xanthosine 5'-phosphate aminase (xanthosine 5'-phosphate:ammonia ligase (AMP), EC 6.3.4.1) was purified from Escherichia coli B-96. The purity of the enzyme preparation was established by its behavior in disc gel electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation, and gel filtration. The extinction coefficient (E1%280) was determined to be 11.2 cm-1 with the use of the analytical ultracentrifuge as a differential refractometer. The diffusion coefficient (D020,w) of 5.09 x 10-7 cm2 s-1 was obtained by the measurement of free diffusion in the analytical ultracentrifuge. Differential sedimentation equilibrium provided a value of 0.739 ml per g for the partial specific volume (v). The sedimentation coefficient (s020,w) was estimated to be 5.91 x 10-13 s. The molecular weight of the enzyme was determined by sedimentation equilibrium measurements to be 126,000 ± 4,000. Disc gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate, sedimentation equilibrium in guanidine hydrochloride, and NH2-terminal analysis indicated that xanthosine 5'-phosphate aminase is a dimer composed of identical subunits. The molecular weight of the subunit was determined to be 63,000 ± 3,000. Possible molecular dimensions for the enzyme consistent with its hydrodynamic properties are discussed.
The adducted thumbs syndrome. An autosomal recessive disease with arthrogryposis, dysmyelination, craniostenosis, and cleft palate.

Four children with similar anomalies inclucling cleft palate, arthrogryposis, craniostenosis, swallowing difficulties, and microcephaly are presented. Three of the four are Amish and trace back to a single pair of common ancestors. Neuropathological studies of one affected infant, who died at 18 days of age, revealed dysmyelination with excessive myelin-dependent gliosis, myelin solubilization, and transient formation of phospholipid-containing plaques on the surface of the central nervous system during formalin fixation. All four affected individuals had thumbs flexed and adducted across the palms, leacling to the suggestion that “Adducted Thumbs Syndrome” be used to identify this autosomal recessive disease until the basic genetic defect is further characterized.
A DNA chip off the aging block.

Microarray analysis of gene expression differences between young and aging fibroblasts may provide insight into the complex biological process of aging. But do changes in cultured cells from a few individuals accurately reflect overall changes in aging people?
Fighting Livelock in the i-Protocol: A Comparative Study of Verification Tools

The i-protocol, an optimized sliding-window protocol for GNU UUCP, came to our attention two years ago when we used the Concurrency Factory's local model checker to detect, locate, and correct a non-trivial livelock in version 1.04 of the protocol. Since then, we have repeated this verification effort with five widely used model checkers, namely, COSPAN, Murϕ, SMV, Spin, and XMC. It is our contention that the i-protocol makes for a particularly compelling case study in protocol verification and for a formidable benchmark of verification-tool performance, for the following reasons: 1) The i-protocol can be used to gauge a tool's ability to detect and diagnose livelock errors. 2) The size of the i-protocol's state space grows exponentially in the window size, and the entirety of this state space must be searched to verify that the protocol, with the livelock error eliminated, is deadlock- or livelock-free. 3) The i-protocol is an asynchronous, low-level software system equipped with a number of optimizations aimed at minimizing control-message and retransmission overhead. It lacks the regular structure that is often present in hardware designs. In this sense, it provides any verification tool with a vigorous test of its analysis capabilities.
A PEDAGOGIA DE PROJETOS COMO METODOLOGIA NA CONSTRUÇÃO DAS FEIRAS DE CIÊNCIAS NO ENSINO BÁSICO

O presente artigo trata da utilizacao da Pedagogia de Projetos como metodologia na elaboracao de feiras de ciencias, um recorte da pesquisa de mestrado, Estudo sobre as contribuicoes do “Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciacao a Docencia – PIBID”, para a formacao inicial de discentes de licenciatura em Ciencias Biologicas, a Luz da Pedagogia de Projetos , desenvolvida no Programa de Mestrado em Educacao em Ciencias e Matematica – EDUCIMAT, do Instituto Federal do Espirito Santo - IFES. A investigacao ocorreu numa escola publica estadual, em Sao Mateus, no estado do Espirito Santo, identificando-se no “Metodo de Projetos” uma forma eficaz na elaboracao de feiras de ciencias, nas series finais do ensino fundamental, no Ensino Basico, evidenciando-se na relacao professor-aluno e nas especificidades do processo ensino-aprendizagem, autonomia oferecida aos alunos na elaboracao do conhecimento, alem da interatividade e aprendizado significativo que esse tipo de acao pode proporcionar em relacao as formas tradicionais de ensino.
An information-theoretic model for image watermarking and data hiding

An information-theoretic model for image watermarking and data hiding systems is presented. The fundamental capacity limits of these systems are determined by the statistical model used for the host image, by the distortion constraints on the data hider and the attacker, and by the information available to the data hider, to the attacker, and to the decoder. We consider wavelet statistical models for images and compute the data hiding capacity for compressed and uncompressed host image sources. Closed form expressions are obtained under sparse-model approximations.
Measuring sexual harassment: Development and validation of the sexual harassment inventory

Sexual harassment is a pervasive and damaging public health problem, yet the natural history is poorly understood, and research in this area has tended to focus on prevalence reporting. We describe the development and initial validation results of a survey tool, the Sexual Harassment Inventory, that may be helpful in future epidemiologic research. This 20-item instrument can be readily adapted for use in different populations and may be scored to measure the severity as well as the occurrence of sexual harassment. Routine use of this or some other standardized measurement tool would help clarify our understanding of the natural history and health costs of sexual harassment.
Abstract 810: O6methylguanine DNA methyltransferase inhibition sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to temozolomide

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA O6 methylguanine DNA methyltransferease (MGMT) is overexpressed in majority of cancers including pancreatic cancer. MGMT has been the focus of significant research for its role in the repair of DNA damage caused by alkylating agents. In the present study, we tested the administration of the MGMT inhibitor O6-benzylguanine (BG) at non-toxic doses in combination with an alkylator TMZ (temozolomide) on pancreatic cancer cells (L3.6 pl and PANC1) in cell culture and xenograft model. Here, we report that TMZ decreases pancreatic cancer cell growth in a dose dependent manner. BG further sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to TMZ and significantly inhibits pancreatic cancer growth. We also report that BG, either alone or in combination with TMZ, inhibits the expression of MGMT, Ki-67 and BIRC5 (survivin), which are involved in pancreatic tumorigenesis and cell division, and induces the expression of p21cip1 cell cycle inhibitor. Microarray analysis revealed that BG significantly decreased the transcription of a group of proto-oncogenes, growth factors, cell cycle and overall transcription regulators involved in tumorigenesis like ARHGDIB, IGFL1, KIF20A, CA9, MMP10 and E2F2 and increased the transcription of a variety of genes involved in tissue differentiation, cell cycle regulation and invasion inhibitors like GDF15, CDKN1A and TIMP1. In our pancreatic cancer xenograft model, BG +/- TMZ significantly inhibited pancreatic tumor growth in vivo compared to single agent TMZ or controls. Further, BG promotes p53 function leading to growth inhibition, in part substantiating the underlying mechanism of BIRC5 (survivin) inhibition and p21cip1 induction. In conclusion, our findings suggest that MGMT inhibition may potentially provide a novel therapeutic approach in pancreatic cancer by opening the option of using (oral) alkylators like TMZ. Citation Format: George C. Bobustuc, Jonathan Ticku, Anand Patel, Kalkunte S. Srivenugopal, Santhi D. Konduri. O6 methylguanine DNA methyltransferase inhibition sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to temozolomide. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 810. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-810
Perceived Importance of Curricular Content of Graduate HRD Programs in the U.S.

The purpose of this study was to identify changes in graduate HRD curricular content in U.S. institutions since Kuchinke's study in 2002. Additionally, the importance of each curricular content area from these graduate HRD programs was assessed by the faculty members, graduate students, and practitioners in the HRD field. Through a pilot study and web search of 405 U.S. institutions, 68 content areas were identified. Using an online survey, the ratings and ranking of important content areas, as perceived by the members of a professional association of HRD, were assessed. Conclusions and implications for graduate HRD curriculum modification and development were discussed.