cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Loss of DNA Mismatch Repair on Development of Topotecan-, Gemcitabine-, and Paclitaxel-Resistant Variants after Exposure to Cisplatin

Loss of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) causes genomic instability by markedly increasing the frequency of sporadic mutations in both coding and noncoding sequences. Little is known about how loss of MMR affects sensitivity to the mutagenic effect of chemotherapeutic agents. We wanted to determine how loss of MMR affects the ability of cisplatin, a known mutagen, to generate human tumor cell variants resistant to other drugs with which cisplatin is commonly combined in treatment regimens. We compared the ability of cisplatin to produce variants resistant to topotecan, gemcitabine, and paclitaxel in two pairs of MMR-proficient and -deficient cells that included sublines of the human colon carcinoma cell line HCT-116 and sublines of the human endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line HEC59. Cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of cisplatin for 1 h, and the surviving population was tested for the frequency of variants resistant to these single molecular target drugs 10 days later. The frequency of variants increased linearly with cisplatin concentration for all three drugs. Cisplatin was 2.6 +/- 0.3- (S.D.), 3.6 +/- 0.9-, and 2.3 +/- 0.1-fold more potent at producing topotecan-, gemcitabine-, and paclitaxel-resistant variants in the MMR-deficient than in the MMR-proficient HCT116 cells (P <.05 for all). Cisplatin was 1.4 +/- 0.3- and 1.4 +/- 0.4-fold more potent at generating topotecan- and gemcitabine-resistant variants in MMR-deficient HEC59 cells than in MMR-proficient HEC59+ch2 cells. Cisplatin was not more potent in generating paclitaxel-resistant variants in the MMR-deficient HEC59 cells. Spontaneous rates of generation of cells resistant to these three drugs were also measured in the HCT116 sublines. MMR-deficient HCT116 cells exhibited rates of generation of resistant variants that were 1.94- and 1.51-fold higher (P <.05) than those in the MMR-proficient cells for topotecan and gemcitabine, respectively; loss of MMR had no effect on the rate of generation of variants resistant to paclitaxel. We conclude that the loss of MMR increases the ability of cisplatin to generate variants resistant to topotecan, gemcitabine, and possibly paclitaxel and that MMR also plays a role in controlling the spontaneous rate of generation of variants resistant to topotecan and gemcitabine.
Dam and Sire Effects on Sperm Penetration of the Perivitelline Layer of Eggs Produced by Two Strains of Commercial Turkeys

Abstract The reproductive performance of 2 commercial turkey breeder lines was examined using reciprocal crosses between sires and dams of each line. One line had been selected using artificial inseminations performed at biweekly intervals, whereas the second line had been selected using inseminations performed at weekly intervals. The hypothesis was proposed that sires and dams of the 2 lines differ because of different abilities for sperm to penetrate the inner perivitelline layer (IPVL) and fertilize eggs. Fertilized eggs to hatch poults for the experiment were obtained from the primary breeders and were incubated using conditions recommended by the industry. Hens (n = 72) and toms (n = 15) from each strain were identified and reared in preparation for a reproductive cycle using commercially accepted standards. Beginning just prior to the onset of egg production and at weekly intervals thereafter, half of the hens were inseminated with semen from males of the same line, whereas the remaining half received semen from the opposite line. Eggs were collected from the pens daily and set in incubators to determine fertility and embryo survival. At biweekly intervals 3 eggs per pen were used for counting sperm penetration holes in the IPVL. Data were collected for fertility, hatchability, and time that embryos died for each of the pens. Dam and sire affected IPVL penetration independently. A dam by sire interaction influenced fertility, whereas hatchability was affected only by dam. Thus, it is concluded that selection of dam and sires for commercial breeders alters IPVL sperm penetration ability of hens as well as egg-binding ability of sires.
Numerical Study of Unsteady Flows past Airfoils with a Hinged Oscillating Flap using Direct Zonal Coupling Method

A direct zonal coupling method was proposed for solving the flows past airfoils with a hinged oscillating flap in this study. The entire computational domain was divided into three zones. The grid in the zone around the hinged flap (zone 1) moves with the oscillation of the flap, whereas the grids in other two zones (zones 2 and 3) are redistributed to the position consistent with the grid in the zone around the flap. The governing equations in the moving frame were applied to zone 1 and those under the stationary frame were applied to zones 2 and 3, respectively. By using this kind of treatment, the grid on the zonal interface is 1-to-1 matched. The coupling between the zones is direct. Both the geometric and flow conservations are entirely satisfied. The unsteady flows past NLR7301 and NACA64A006 airfoils with a hinged flap oscillations were taken as the validation examples in the present study. The accuracy of the proposed method was demonstrated by the computational results compared with the experimental data.
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 1‘,2‘-Seconucleo-5‘-phosphonates

A series of 1',2'-seconucleophosphonate analogues were prepared containing adenine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil as the nucleobase. The synthetic methodology is efficient and uses chloromethyl ethers derived from the chirons diethyl (3S)-(benzyloxy)-(2R)-hydroxybutane-phosphonate (1) and diethyl (3S),4-bis(benzyloxy)-(2R)-hydroxybutanephosphonate (2). Selected deblocked derivatives, i.e., two monoesters (13 and 14), four phosphonic acids (15-18), and one cyclic phosphonate (23), were screened for in vitro activity against certain RNA, adeno, and HIV viruses. All of them were found to be devoid of activity.
Electrochemical Control of Rapid Bioorthogonal Tetrazine Ligations for Selective Functionalization of Microelectrodes

We demonstrate that bioorthogonal tetrazine ligations can be utilized to rapidly modify electrode surfaces, both with redox probes and enzymes. Furthermore, we show that the redox-active nature of 1,2,4,5-tetrazines can be exploited to gain electrochemical control over surface modification. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of controlling a tetrazine ligation by changing the redox state of one of the reactants. We utilize the redox-switchable feature of tetrazine ligations for the site-selective functionalization of a 10 μm spaced interdigitated array of microelectrodes. In addition, we were able to achieve potential controlled ligation of the redox enzyme horseradish peroxidase to a macroscopic planar electrode. The rapid kinetics, bioorthogonal reactivity, and electrochemical control provided by tetrazine ligations should lead to numerous applications related to electrode functionalization.
NONLINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

This chapter focuses on nonlinear differential equations. For certain types of second-order equations, the problem of finding the solutions can be reduced to the problem of finding the solutions of a first-order equation. It is necessary to make a distinction between a solution of a system and a trajectory of that system. In the case of a linear system, a periodic solution occurs only when the roots of the auxiliary equation are pure imaginary. In that case, every nonconstant solution is periodic and the trajectories are ellipses.
Oxygen as a Virulence Determinant in Polymicrobial Infections

ABSTRACT Infections caused by multiple organisms, or polymicrobial infections, are likely more common than is broadly appreciated. Interaction among microbial communities (and with their host) can change the infection landscape by subverting immunity, providing nutrients and inhibiting competing microbes. Stacy et al. (A. Stacy, D. Fleming, R. J. Lamont, K. P. Rumbaugh, and M. Whiteley, mBio 7:e00782-16, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00782-16) described a novel mechanism that results in synergistic growth of oral microbes Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Streptococcus gordonii. The authors used whole-genome fitness profiling by transposon sequencing (Tn-seq) to identify genes differentially required for growth in vitro versus in a mono- or coinfection in a thigh abscess model. They found that coinfection with S. gordonii allowed A. actinomycetemcomitans to shift from an anaerobic to an aerobic mode of growth. This shift involved the production of a terminal electron acceptor H2O2 by S. gordonii and increased A. actinomycetemcomitans persistence—an interaction termed “cross-respiration.”
Función, plan y proyecto

After a brief criticism of some aspects of Luhmann's social theory (based on the concept of function ), the author proposes a description of social development emphasizing the relevance of personal participation, using Ackoff's idea of "planning" and Donati's theory of "project".
Eudaimonia and Culture: The Anthropology of Virtue

There have been roughly two general stages in the theorization of eudaimonia. The first is found in the long history of virtue ethics in Western philosophy, the second in recent research in economics and cognitive science on the topic of subjective well-being. In the transition from philosophical virtue ethics to the quantitative study of subjective well-being, however, an important idea has been overlooked, namely, the role of culture as an essential foundation for the realization of eudaimonia. In this paper, I therefore argue for a third phase in eudaimonic well-being research, what I call a “critical eudaimonics.” This approach reintroduces culturally situated understandings of eudaimonia through thick historical and ethnographic descriptions of virtue, wisdom, and flourishing well-being to highlight the conditions in which people actually cultivate eudaimonia in everyday life. In order to argue this, I begin with a comparison of Aristotle and Alasdair MacIntyre’s theories of virtue to provide a brief intellectual history for how modern moral philosophers came to see eudaimonia as necessarily possessing a cultural history. I then turn to recent understandings of virtue in anthropology—and my own ethnographic research on compassion—to offer a definition of eudaimonia fit for the qualitative social sciences.
On the Implementation of Pattern or Practice Police Reform

A B S T R A C T A N D A R T I C L E I N F O R M A T I O N Using data drawn from independent monitor reports and stakeholder interviews, this study examines the implementation of the DOJ’s pattern or practice police misconduct reform in five jurisdictions: Pittsburgh, PA; Detroit, MI; Washington, D.C.; Cincinnati, OH; and Prince George’s County, MD. Each jurisdiction reached “substantial compliance” with the terms of their agreement within five to seven years, despite considerable variation in the length of time needed to implement key settlement agreement components. Results further indicate that implementation is the product of the interaction of several theoretically interesting variables, including strong police leadership, external oversight, adequate resources, and support for the process among a jurisdiction’s community members, civil society groups, and political leaders. Despite this unique and successful implementation process, questions remain about the depth of organizational change it produces and thus the substantive value of the pattern or practice initiative.
High-Compton-frequency, parity-independent, mesoscopic Schrödinger-cat-state atom interferometer with Heisenberg-limited sensitivity

We present a protocol for an atomic interferometer that reaches the Heisenberg limit (HL), within a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}\sqrt{2}$, via collective state detection and critical tuning of one-axis twist spin squeezing. It generates a Schr\"odinger cat state, as a superposition of two extremal collective states. When this Schr\"odinger-cat-state interferometer is used as a gyroscope, the interference occurs at an ultrahigh Compton frequency, corresponding to a mesoscopic single object with a mass of $Nm$, where $N$ is the number of particles in the ensemble, and $m$ is the mass of each particle. For $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms, with $N={10}^{6}$, for example, the interference would occur at a Compton frequency of $\ensuremath{\sim}2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{31}$ Hz. Under this scheme, the signal is found to depend critically on the parity of $N$. We present two variants of the protocol. Under protocol A, the fringes are narrowed by a factor of $N$ for one parity, while for the other parity the signal is zero. Under protocol B, the fringes are narrowed by a factor of $N$ for one parity, and by a factor of $\sqrt{N}$ for the other parity. Both protocols can be modified in a manner that reverses the behavior of the signals for the two parities. Over repeated measurements under which the probability of being even or odd is equal, the averaged sensitivity is smaller than the HL by a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}\sqrt{2}$ for both versions of the protocol. We describe an experimental scheme for realizing such an atomic interferometer, and discuss potential limitations due to experimental constraints imposed by the current state of the art, for both collective state detection and one-axis-twist squeezing. We show that when the Schr\"odinger-cat-state interferometer is configured as an accelerometer, the effective two-photon wave vector is enhanced by a factor of $N$, leading to the same degree of enhancement in sensitivity. We also show that such a mesoscopic single object can be used to increase the effective base frequency of an atomic clock by a factor of $N$, with a sensitivity that is equivalent to the HL, within a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}\sqrt{2}$.
Identification of a novel KMT2A-SEPT14 fusion in acute myeloid leukemia.

In current diagnostic setting conventional karyotyping remains a standard diagnostic tool to detect chromosome abnormalities in hematologic malignancies. The increasing application of next-generati...
Stability and robustness for saddle-point dynamics through monotone mappings

Abstract Motivated by recent interest in saddle-point dynamics, where, given a convex in x and concave in y function, trajectories follow the steepest descent in x and the steepest ascent in y , and where convergence of trajectories to saddle points is desired, this note revisits the maximal monotone mapping approach to saddle-point dynamics, mildly improves one convergence result, and proposes new results on the robustness of pointwise asymptotic stability of the set of saddle points. The results apply to nonsmooth convex/concave functions and constraints, and – as a special case – to projected saddle-point dynamics.
Balancing Power Absorption Against Structural Loads With Viscous Drag and Power-Takeoff Efficiency Considerations

The focus of this paper is to balance power absorption against structural loading for a novel fixed-bottom oscillating surge wave energy converter in both regular and irregular wave environments. The power-to-load ratio will be evaluated using pseudospectral control (PSC) to determine the optimum power-takeoff (PTO) torque based on a multiterm objective function. This paper extends the pseudospectral optimal control problem to not just maximize the time-averaged absorbed power but also include measures for the surge-foundation force and PTO torque in the optimization. The objective function may now potentially include three competing terms that the optimizer must balance. Separate weighting factors are attached to the surge-foundation force and PTO control torque that can be used to tune the optimizer performance to emphasize either power absorption or load shedding. To correct the pitch equation of motion, derived from linear hydrodynamic theory, a quadratic-viscous-drag torque has been included in the system dynamics; however, to continue the use of quadratic programming solvers, an iteratively obtained linearized drag coefficient was utilized that provided good accuracy in the predicted pitch motion. Furthermore, the analysis considers the use of a nonideal PTO unit to more accurately evaluate controller performance. The PTO efficiency is not directly included in the objective function but rather the weighting factors are utilized to limit the PTO torque amplitudes, thereby reducing the losses resulting from the bidirectional energy flow through a nonideal PTO. Results from PSC show that shedding a portion of the available wave energy can lead to greater reductions in structural loads, peak-to-average power ratio, and reactive power requirement.
IR)Factor for NAIP Expression

IRF8 is a master transcription factor for immune cell development. In this issue, Karki et al. reveal that IRF8 governs the constitutive expression of genes encoding for NAIP proteins that are critical for the innate immune sensing of bacteria.
An Evolutionary Bootstrap Method for Selecting Dynamic Trading Strategies

This paper combines techniques drawn from the literature on evolutionary optimization algorithms along with bootstrap based statistical tests. Bootstrapping and cross validation are used as a general framework for estimating objectives out of sample by redrawing subsets from a training sample. Evolution is used to search the large space of potential network architectures. The combination of these two methods creates a network estimation and selection procedure which aims to find parsimonious network structures which generalize well. Examples are given from financial data showing how this compares to more traditional model selection methods. The bootstrap methodology also allows more general objective functions than usual least squares since it can estimate the in sample bias for any function. Some of these will be compared with traditional least squares based estimates in dynamic trading settings with foreign exchange series.
Breast cancer in relation to overnutrition.

Overnutrition and obesity, mainly due to intake of excess animal fat, have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer by virtue of: (1) fat serving as a vehicle for fat-soluble environmental carcinogens, (2) fat-derived “cocarcinogenic” fatty acids and sterols, (3) hypercholesterolemia and increased ovarian and adrenocortical steroid synthesis (estrogens, androgens, cortisol), (4) decreased conversion of estrone to the “antiestrogenic” 2-hydroxyestrone, (5) increased conversion of androstenedione to the “carcinogenic” estrone (estradiol), and (6) depression of the immune response. However, the relevance of each of these mechanisms on the risk of breast cancer, remains unclear, despite many epidemiological, endocrinological, and immunological studies in humans and laboratory animals. Thus at present, the cause-effect relationship between overnutrition and breast cancer is not clear, nor is the interplay between nutritional, hormonal, and environmental risk factors of breast cancer understood. It seems that progress regarding overnutrition and risk of breast cancer can be achieved only when the various interrelated factors are evaluated in prospective studies with improved methods.
Hybrid Ion Exchange Desalination (HIX-Desal) of Impaired Brackish Water Using Pressurized Carbon Dioxide (CO2) as the Source of Energy and Regenerant

Reverse osmosis and electrodialysis are truly the only water desalination processes currently in practice for the entire range of total dissolved solids (TDS) from 400–40,000 mg/L. For high recovery of 80% or more, membrane processes are energy intensive even for a feedwater with a TDS of 1000 mg/L and demand significant pretreatment to avoid precipitation and consequent membrane fouling. In this study, we present for the first time a hybrid ion exchange desalination (HAIX-Desal) process that does not require any semipermeable membrane and can desalinate lean brackish water (TDS ≤ 1500 mg/L) using CO2 as the sole source of energy and chemical regenerant. A hybrid anion exchanger with dispersed ZrO2 nanoparticles (HAIX-NanoZr) and a shell–core weak-acid cation exchange (SC-WAC) resin form the heart of the process. Carbon dioxide or CO2 at 10 atm pressure is the only chemical needed to sustain the process. In contrast to a conventional deionization plant, the anion exchanger, i.e., HAIX-NanoZr, precedes the...
Highly chromatic retardation via multi-twist liquid crystal films

Here we study birefringent films with highly customizable chromatic retardation spectra, using multi-twist liquid crystal (LC) films. These are made of two or more layers of chiral nematic LC polymer network materials, also known as reactive mesogens, which form a monolithic thin-film wherein the in-plane orientation of subsequent layers is automatically determined by the single alignment layer on the substrate. The multiple layer thicknesses and twists present many degrees of freedom to tailor the retardation. While prior work examined achromatic spectra, here we show how to use Mueller matrix analysis to create highly chromatic spectra. We experimentally demonstrate both a uniformly aligned retarder as a green/magenta color filter and a “hot” polarization grating (PG) that diffracts infrared while passing visible light. The three-twist color filter shows a contrast ratio in transmittance between polarizers as high as 10:1 between the half- and zero-wave retardation bands. The “hot” PG shows an average first-order efficiency of about 90% for 1000–2700 nm and an average zero-order efficiency of about 90% for 500–900 nm. The principles here can be extended to nearly any chromatic retardation spectra, including high/low/bandpass, and to nearly any LC orientation pattern, in general known as geometric-phase holograms.
Energy and Mobility Impacts of System Optimal Dynamic Traffic Assignment for a Mixed Traffic of Legacy and Automated Vehicles

This research develops a system optimal dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) model for mixed traffic of human drivers and automated vehicles (AVs) and investigates network level mobility and energy imp...
The Guilt of Success: Looking at Latino First-Generation College Students' Experience of Leaving Home.

This study looked at the experiences of six participants and their feelings of guilt. The findings revealed that guilt was caused when the participants put their needs before the needs of their fam...
IMPACT OF PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL FIBRILLATION ON RIGHT VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING MITRAL VALVE SURGERY FOR DEGENERATIVE MITRAL REGURGITATION(DMR)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is present in over 30% of patients undergoing mitral valve repair (MVR) for DMR. The relationship between the adverse outcomes associated with preoperative paroxysmal AF (PAF) and right ventricular (RV) function in these patients is poorly understood. The aim of this study
Enteroendocrine cells sense bacterial tryptophan catabolites to activate enteric and vagal neuronal pathways

SUMMARY The intestinal epithelium senses nutritional and microbial stimuli using epithelial sensory enteroendocrine cells (EECs). EECs can communicate nutritional information to the nervous system, but similar mechanisms for microbial information are unknown. Using in vivo real-time measurements of EEC and nervous system activity in zebrafish, we discovered that the bacteria Edwardsiella tarda specifically activates EECs through the receptor transient receptor potential ankyrin A1 (Trpa1) and increases intestinal motility in an EEC-dependent manner. Microbial, pharmacological, or optogenetic activation of Trpa1+EECs directly stimulates vagal sensory ganglia and activates cholinergic enteric neurons through 5-HT. We identified a distinct subset of indole derivatives of tryptophan catabolites produced by E. tarda that potently activate zebrafish EEC Trpa1 signaling and also directly activate human and mouse Trpa1. These results establish a molecular pathway by which EECs regulate enteric and vagal neuronal pathways in response to specific microbial signals.
The impact of sheltering-in-place during the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults' social and mental well-being.

OBJECTIVES: We examined whether social isolation due to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders was associated with greater loneliness and depression for older adults, and, if so, whether declines in social engagement or relationship strength moderated that relationship. METHOD: Between April 21-May 21, 2020, 93 older adults in the United States who had completed measures characterizing their personal social networks, subjective loneliness, and depression six to nine months prior to the pandemic completed the same measures via phone interview, as well as questions about the impact of the pandemic on their social relationships. RESULTS: Older adults reported higher depression and greater loneliness following the onset of the pandemic. Loneliness positively predicted depression. Perceived relationship strength, but not social engagement, moderated this relationship such that loneliness only predicted depression for individuals who became closer to their networks during the pandemic. For those who felt less close, depression was higher irrespective of loneliness. DISCUSSION: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted older adults' mental health and social well-being in the short-term. Potential long-term impacts are considered.
Sustainability planning in the US response to the opioid crisis: An examination using expert and text mining approaches

Between January 2016 and June 2020, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration rapidly distributed $7.5 billion in response to the U.S. opioid crisis. These funds are designed to increase access to medications for addiction treatment, reduce unmet treatment need, reduce overdose death rates, and provide and sustain effective prevention, treatment and recovery activities. It is unclear whether or not the services developed using these funds will be sustained beyond the start-up period. Based on 34 (64%) State Opioid Response (SOR) applications, we assessed the states' sustainability plans focusing on potential funding sources, policies, and quality monitoring. We found variable commitment to sustainability across response plans with less than half the states adequately describing sustainability plans. States with higher proportions of opioid prescribing, opioid misuse, and poverty had somewhat higher scores on sustainment. A text mining/machine learning approach automatically rated sustainability in SOR applications with an 82% accuracy compared to human ratings. Because life saving evidence-based programs and services may be lost, intentional commitment to sustainment beyond the bolus of start-up funding is essential.
10 GHz-100 GHz Compact Double-Ridge Horn Antenna for Ultra-Wideband Millimeter-Wave Biomedical Imaging Applications

This paper presents the design of a compact double-ridge horn antenna for radar-based ultra-wideband millimeter-wave (mm-wave) biomedical diagnostics. The proposed antenna is composed of a coaxial to double-ridge waveguide (DRW) transition and a free-space matching section. The antenna is designed such that it can be fed using a commercial 1.00 mm coaxial flange launcher. The effect of the ridge profile inside the back-cavity structure of the designed transition is investigated and optimized to achieve an ultrawideband single-mode bandwidth. Finally, to achieve a smooth transition and a good impedance match to the free-space, exponentially-tapered matching section is employed and optimized. The antenna has small aperture size of $20\ \text{mm}\times 24 \text{mm}$ and demonstrates stable gain and symmetric radiation patterns across the bandwidth.
Empowered transitions: Understanding the experience of transitioning from pediatric to adult care among adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease and their parents using photovoice

Abstract Objective To identify barriers and facilitators of pediatric to adult transitions among adolescents with IBD and their parents. Methods This cross-sectional study used photovoice to explore adolescent and parent perspectives on transitions in IBD care. Adolescents with IBD aged 14–23 and their parents were recruited from an urban IBD center during clinic visits. Participants completed a survey, took photos, participated in a semi-structured interview, and optionally participated in a focus group. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Two analysts coded interview data for themes using MAXQDA software. Results Thirteen adolescents and eleven parents submitted photos and participated in an interview. The mean patient age was 19.0 ± 3.0. The mean parent age was 51.5 ± 5.4. Eleven (84.6%) adolescents were Caucasian; 12 (92.3%) privately insured; 4 (30.8%) in high school, 5 (38.4%) in college, and 4 (30.8%) in the workforce. Adolescent transition-readiness, resilience, and IBD-related self-efficacy scores were relatively high, with high agreement between patient self-report and parent-reported children's resilience; parents over-estimated their children's IBD-related self-efficacy. Participants discussed barriers to transitions including psychological distress, disease uncertainty, gut-brain axis-related issues, a lack of understanding by people unaffected by IBD, and frequent life disruptions. Facilitators of transitions included having a disease narrative, deliberately shifting responsibility for disease management tasks, positivity/optimism, social support, engagement with the IBD community, and mental health support. Conclusion Attention to psychosocial issues is warranted during the transition process from pediatric to adult IBD care, specifically related to understanding the gut-brain axis and accessing resources to optimize mental health and well-being among transition-aged adolescents and their caregivers.
Simultaneous Optimization of Factor Assessibility and Representativeness: An Old Solution to a New Problem.

P. M. Bentler has shown that Rao's canonical factor analysis is in effect a psychometric analysis, leading to factors that are maximally assessible from the data. He contrasts this with Kaiser and Caffrey's alpha factor analysis that leads to factors that maximally represent the true factors in the content domain. Noting the problems associated with factors that may be highly assessible, but not very representative, or vice versa, Bentler suggests the need for a technique that would, insofar as possible, be optimal with respect to both criteria. Such a technique is presented here, and is shown to resolve into a traditional scaling method, which in turn acquires a richer psychometric interpretation.
High Performance Biomorphic Image Processing Under Tight Space and Power Constraints

Image processing for space systems must be performed under tight space and power constraints while not compromising performance. Traditional computer vision approaches are not ideal because they are notoriously power hungry and physically large. We present two biologically inspired image processing systems that offer high performance on tight volume and power budgets. These systems follow a System-On-a-Chip (SOC) design methodology. They both exploit the promise of focal-plane computation offered by CMOS imaging technology. A general-purpose computational sensor has been fabricated in a standard 1.2 μ CMOS process, and its spatiotemporal filtering capabilities have been successfully tested. An array larger than 300 × 300 array will use only 0.5% of the chip area for the processing unit, while providing multiple spatiotemporally processed images in parallel. The 16 × 16 chip performs 1 GOPS/mW (5.5-bit scale-accumulate). An application specific sensor realizes a hybrid imaging system by combining a 120 × 36 low-noise active pixel sensor (APS) array with a 60 × 36 current mode motion detection and centroid localization array. The current mode array identifies pixels with time varying intensity. The centroid of all time varying pixels is computed. Clocked at greater than 60 fps, the chip consumes less than 2.5 mW.
Auction Design for Composite Goods: The Natural Gas Industry

Abstract Experiments examine the price and efficiency performance of a simple production, parallel transmission and wholesale consumption model of a natural gas pipeline system. A center determines prices and allocations to buyers, producers and transporters to maximize surplus based on the location-specific bids of buyers, producers and transporters. Efficiency tends to grow asymptotically to 100% in stationary environments; prices stabilize quickly in the neighborhood of predicted competitive equilibrium levels. Over time agents settle into an equilibrium with elastic bid schedules and numerous tied bids and offers. These strategies allow each agent class to protect itself from manipulation by the other classes.
Cerebellar Microcomplexes and the Modulation of Motor Pattern Generators

The cerebellum provides a paradigm for motor control in which adaptive circuitry modulates control systems rather than being embedded within the motor control circuitry itself. We exemplify this by a model of the role of cerebellum in adaptation to the effects of wearing prism glasses on throwing at a target. The cerebellum is viewed as a set of modules (cerebellar microcomplexes), each of which can be added to a control system to improve smooth coordinated movement, with improvements continuing and improving over time. Moreover, context information can be injected into a module which enables it to change modes. We close with a brief discussion of the implications of work on cerebellar modeling, noting that cerebellar modules can be linked to coordinate different control systems.
Mucopolysaccharide Sulfation in Chick Embryo Cartilage II. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ENDOGENOUS ACCEPTOR

Abstract The sulfate acceptor present in boiled, dialyzed preparations of the 105,000 x g supernatant obtained from chick embryo cartilage was purified and characterized. Pretreatment of this supernatant with Pronase or alkali resulted in increased sulfate incorporation, while hyaluronidase treatment abolished or markedly reduced sulfate incorporation. The acceptor was purified by protamine chloride precipitation, Pronase digestion, and fractionation on Ecteola cellulose and Sephadex G-50. Ecteola fractionation and electrophoresis showed the most active acceptor fractions to be slightly deficient in sulfate, whereas Sephadex fractionation showed acceptor ability to be relatively independent of molecular size. This acceptor thus appears to be a molecule of the chondroitin sulfate type, the ability of which to accept sulfate is strongly influenced by its charge properties, but not by molecular size. A mechanism of sulfation was proposed, which is in agreement with the data and which involves sulfation occurring concurrently with polysaccharide elongation. Acid hydrolysis of the 35SO4=-labeled acceptor indicated that the primary site of sulfation was an axial hydroxyl group, which in this case would be at position 4 of the N-acetylgalactosamine moiety. However, pretreatment of acceptor with Pronase or alkali resulted in sulfation predominantly of an equatorial hydroxyl. Thus, it is possible that in the native proteinpolysaccharide complex the conformation might be such that the 4-positions of the acetylgalactosamine residues are most readily available to the sulfotransferase.
A graduate master's prerequisite program

This paper describes a separate, one-year, graduate level program designed primarily for students with a non-computer science baccalaureate degree. The program serves as preparation for our Master's degree in computer science. Programs designed for such students are not unique in the computer science world. For example, Wright State University (in Ohio) had such a program specifically tailored to philosophy graduates, but discontinued it when the funding expired. Such programs are, generically, sometimes called bridging programs; ours is called the Master's Prerequisite Program. On the other hand, many other Universities, such as Villanova and SUNY Buffalo, will on occasion provisionally admit students without an undergraduate computer science degree into their regular Master's program, allowing them to take a course or two before granting full status, subject to performance.The continuing development of the prerequisite program at our university is, we hope, of general interest to those segments of the computer science community most closely associated with CCSC --- small, teaching oriented institutions --- and may prove helpful to anyone contemplating a similar program themselves. We describe the background to the development of the program, the program itself, some aspects of obtaining the needed approval from our University at large, the student demographics, and our assessment of the program's success.
The Trouble With "Tarble's": An Excerpt from an Alternative Casebook

Chief Justice O'CONNOR delivered the judgment of the Court and an opinion joined by Justices REHNQUIST, THOMAS, and KENNEDY, and by Justice SCALIA except for footnote 1. [The Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq., prohibits firearms dealers from selling handguns to any person under 21, to anyone not resident in the dealer's state, to convicted felons, and to certain others. In 1993, the Brady Act (passed after an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the President) amended the statute, imposing a system of "interim" background checks for purchasers before a system of instant electronic checks goes into effect. The Brady Act requires a "chief law enforcement officer" to make a "reasonable effort to ascertain within 5 business days whether receipt or possession would be in violation of the law." Printz, a local sheriff, refused to comply with the statute, and the Attorney General obtained a federal injunction requiring him to do so. When Printz refused to obey the injunction, he was convicted of criminal contempt and received a three-month
Sustainability Review of Water-Supply Options in the Los Angeles Region

AbstractThe City of Los Angeles, with a population reaching 4 million people in 2013, imports nearly 90% of its water from sources outside the city. However, climate change, population growth, competing demands, water quality concerns, and environmental restoration projects all have a large impact on Los Angeles’ dependency on future water importation. In this study, a system characterization was performed to assess each of the water sources that supply Los Angeles and the factors affecting them under present and potential future conditions. Additionally, water demand and conservation methods in Los Angeles were examined to understand their impact on the overall water supply system. Of the five main water sources that supply Los Angeles—Los Angeles Aqueduct, Colorado River, California Aqueduct, local groundwater, and reclaimed water—a majority will be impacted by climate change, water quality, energy, and cost constraints. While the expansion of water demand management and agricultural water transfers can...
The simplified Toffoli gate implementation by Margolus is optimal

Unitary operations are expressed in the quantum circuit model as a finite sequence of elementary gates, such as controlled-not gates and single qubit gates. We prove that the simplified Toffoli gate by Margolus, which coincides with the Toffoli gate up to a single change of sign, cannot be realized with less than three controlled-not gates. If the circuit is implemented with three controlled-not gates, then at least four additional single qubit gates are necessary. This proves that the implementation suggested by Margolus is optimal.
Thermonuclear Reactions in the Solar Interior

The probable role of thermonuclear reactions in the solar interior had already begun to be recognized as early as the 1920s by astrophysicists such as Eddington (1926). This recognition was based not on any direct observation of these reactions but instead was arrived at more on the basis of default. The realization that the Earth was at least a few billion years old (see Burchfield, 1975, for an interesting history of the development of this idea) coupled to the known mass, radius, and luminosity of the Sun demonstrated the inadequacy of classical (gravitational and chemical) energy sources for the sun. The enormous energy available from the then newly discovered nuclear reactions could, however, readily supply the required luminosity; the recognition by Gamow (1928) of the role of tunneling under the Coulomb barrier at low energies then made it possible for these reactions to occur in the solar interior where kT was most probably equivalent to only ≲ few keV, well below the Coulomb barrier (Atkinson and Houtermans, 1929). Following this early work which laid the foundations for nuclear astrophysics, by the end of the 1930s Weizsacker (1937, 1938), Bethe and Critchfield (1938), and Bethe (1939) had laid out the energetics and many of the theoretical details for the specific reactions in the CN cycle and the p—p chain, as processes for carrying out the conversion of hydrogen to helium.
Prohibitin (PHB) roles in granulosa cell physiology

Ovarian granulosa cells (GC) play an important role in the growth and development of the follicle in the process known as folliculogenesis. In the present review, we focus on recent developments in prohibitin (PHB) research in relation to GC physiological functions. PHB is a member of a highly conserved eukaryotic protein family containing the repressor of estrogen activity (REA)/stomatin/PHB/flotillin/HflK/C (SPFH) domain (also known as the PHB domain) found in diverse species from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. PHB is ubiquitously expressed in a circulating free form or is present in multiple cellular compartments including mitochondria, nucleus and plasma membrane. In mitochondria, PHB is anchored to the mitochondrial inner membrane and forms complexes with the ATPases associated with proteases having diverse cellular activities. PHB continuously shuttles between the mitochondria, cytosol and nucleus. In the nucleus, PHB interacts with various transcription factors and modulates transcriptional activity directly or through interactions with chromatin remodeling proteins. Many functions have been attributed to the mitochondrial and nuclear PHB complexes such as cellular differentiation, anti-proliferation, morphogenesis and maintenance of the functional integrity of the mitochondria. However, to date, the regulation of PHB expression patterns and GC physiological functions are not completely understood.
8 Familial myeloproliferative disease

The occurrence of one or more myeloproliferative disease (MPD) syndromes in 42 families is described. MPD appeared in a single generation in 10 families, two generations in 30 families and three generations in two families. In contrast to sparse case reports of familial polycythaemia vera, familial essential thrombocythaemia, or familial agnogenic myeloid metaplasia, in which all the involved members presented with the same MPD, 21 of the 42 families in the present series had members who presented with different MPD variants. The occurrence of multiple disease phenotypes in 'MPD families' is entirely consistent with the accepted theory of MPD as a disease arising from clonal expansion of a pluripotential haematopoietic precursor cell (PHPC) that retains its pluripotentiality and produces an array of inter-related syndromes, each named for the predominant haematic cell type involved in the proliferation. Changes in disease phenotype during the course of MPD and 'hybrid' phenotypes at the time of diagnosis are common. This report challenges the previously accepted belief that PV and other MPD variants are sporadic and randomly-occurring, and that familial occurrence of MPD is rare. The ability to identify 'MPD families' by surveying a large population of patients with MPD through the Internet, as was done in this study, and heightened awareness of familial occurrence and its phenotypic heterogeneity, should facilitate further characterization of the mode of inheritance in familial MPD and the nature of the gene mutations responsible for the dysregulation of haematopoiesis.
Effective electric field in an inhomogeneous medium

This paper investigates the effective field acting in an infinite, nonmagnetic, inhomogeneous medium. A self-consistent, integrodifferential equation may be written for the effective field at a point, accounting for scattering at every other site in the medium. One may solve this equation by iteration to write the effective field as a power series of operators acting on the uniform-medium effective field. We rewrite this series so that all local fields are augmented by all orders of the self-field. This means that each order of scattering is represented by a single integral operator. The action of this scattering operator on an arbitrary field may be expressed in terms of integrals over reciprocal space, if the product of the fluctuating function and the field is Fourier transformed. One of the integrals contains a weighting function that discriminates in favor of Fourier wave numbers similar to the uniform medium wave number. This integral gives the Bragg-like contributions to the effective field. The other integral extends over all of reciprocal space and contributes equally to the effective field for all fluctuation wave vectors. This integral determines the background effective field. A general term of the complete multiple-scattering expansion for the effective field is given. If the fluctuation distribution has a single cosine Fourier wave vector, then the effective-field expansion simplifies considerably. The Bragg contributions are examined. Finally, the background effective field that ignores all Bragg-like contributions is given, where all orders of scattering are considered. This field is modulated by the fluctuations in the medium in a straightforward way and it obviously provides a better approximation of the local field than either the incident or uniform-medium fields. This background field is used to find the effective dielectric constant that is correct for media in which the inhomogeneities are uncorrelated over lengths comparable to a wavelength.
Epoxy encapsulant as serendipitous dosimeters during radiological/nuclear events

Abstract The radiation response of a smart chip (embedded integrated circuit) module has been reported earlier using the technique of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). It was found that a smart chip module could be used to evaluate the personnel exposure in the accident dosimetry range. Through subsequent experiments, the radiation sensitivity of the chip module was traced to the epoxy encapsulant provided to protect the chip from the environment and physical damage and that the radiation sensitivity of the epoxy is due to the silica used as the ‘filler’ for controlling the thixotropic properties of the epoxy used for ‘glob top’ or ‘dam-and-fill’ encapsulation. It is desirable to retain the ability to use the smart chip as an accident dosimeter without requiring a modification of standard manufacturing process for which an infrastructure already exists to avoid additional costs. For this reason, we have investigated commercially available filled and unfilled epoxies both as received from the manufacturer and compared their response with epoxies to which commercial fillers are added. In this work we investigate the OSL response of various epoxies commonly used for potting of electronic circuits with and without various filler materials for their potential to be used as a casualty dosimeter in the exposure range of 0.5–10 Gy.
Role of Relativistic Effects and Configuration Mixing on the 1s2s3p4P (J=5/2) State of Argon

The first-order matrix elements vanish for the energetic K and L x-rays and Auger transitions for the 1s2s3p4Po5/2 states due to the selection rules governing the spin quantum numbers. However, "spin-for-bidden" transitions are possible when considering higher order multipoles. Cascading to the 1s2p2 4pe levels is possible in the configuration mixing with the 1s2p3s4Po and 1s2p3d4Po terms. We present the results of our relativistic calculations and of the configuration mixing for the case of 1s2s3p 4po5/2 state in argon.