cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding tradeoffs in the context: of farm-scale impacts: an application of decision-support tools for assessing climate smart agriculture.

Climate change and enhanced climate variability will have differing impacts on agricultural producers worldwide. The increasing utilization of precision farming and mobile technologies, together with improvements in data management software, offer expanding opportunities for an integrated data platform that links farm-level management decisions and corresponding behavioral changes to site-specific biophysical data and analytical tools. The goals of this paper are to illustrate how decision support tools can be designed to address the farm-scale economic and environmental tradeoffs associated with changes in climatic conditions and how these farm-scale tools could be linked with regional based analyses to scale up to the information needed for better science-based policy.
A content and context-aware solution for network state exchange in tactical networks

Efficient network communications are essential to enable network-centric warfare. However, tactical edge networks present an extremely challenging and heterogeneous networking environment due to heterogeneous architectures, dynamic topologies, unwanted adversarial behavior, interference, and other wireless channel conditions. In order to support end-user applications and guarantee system performance and interoperability in such constrained environments, it is critical to adapt the volume and type of traffic generated by applications to the continuously varying network conditions. To this end, we extended the Agile Computing Middleware (ACM) with capabilities specifically designed to provide network state detection and adaptation in constrained networks. In this paper, we present SENSEI (for Smart Estimation of Network StatE Information), a set of components of the ACM that provides effective strategies for the dissemination of network state information. SENSEI implements a content- and context-aware clustering-based algorithm for the distribution of network state information that can significantly reduce the overhead associated with network state information sharing.
SALL1 expression in acute myeloid leukemia

// Huda Salman 1, 2 , Xiao Shuai 2, 3, * , Anh Thu Nguyen-Lefebvre 1, * , Banabihari Giri 1 , Mingqiang Ren 1 , Michael Rauchman 4 , Lynn Robbins 4 , Wei Hou 2 , Hasan Korkaya 1 and Yupo Ma 2 1 Georgia Regent University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA, USA 2 Present address: Stony Brook University Cancer Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA 3 Department of Hematology, West China hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China 4 Department of Nephrology, Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO, USA * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Huda Salman, email: huda.salman@stonybrookmedicine.edu Keywords: SALL1; AML Received: August 18, 2017 Accepted: October 25, 2017 Published: December 15, 2017 ABSTRACT Similar signaling pathways could operate in both normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and leukemia stem cells (LSCs). Thus, targeting LSCs signaling without substantial toxicities to normal HSPCs remains challenging. SALL1, is a member of the transcriptional network that regulates stem cell pluripotency, and lacks significant expression in most adult tissues, including normal bone marrow (NBM). We examined the expression and functional characterization of SALL1 in NBM and in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) using in vitro and in vivo assays. We showed that SALL1 is expressed preferentially in LSCs- enriched CD34+CD38- cell subpopulation but not in NBM. SALL1 inhibition resulted in decreased cellular proliferation and in inferior AML engraftment in NSG mice and it was also associated with upregulation of PTEN and downregulation of m-TOR, β-catenin, and NF- қB expression. These findings suggest that SALL1 inhibition interrupts leukemogenesis. Further studies to validate SALL1 as a potential biomarker for minimal residual disease (MRD) and to determine SALL1’s role in prognostication are ongoing. Additionally, pre-clinical evaluation of SALL1 as a therapeutic target in AML is warranted.
On the nature of organic and inorganic centers that bifurcate electrons, coupling exergonic and endergonic oxidation–reduction reactions

Bifurcating electrons to couple endergonic and exergonic electron-transfer reactions has been shown to have a key role in energy conserving redox enzymes. Bifurcating enzymes require a redox center that is capable of directing electron transport along two spatially separate pathways. Research into the nature of electron bifurcating sites indicates that one of the keys is the formation of a low potential oxidation state to satisfy the energetics required of the endergonic half reaction, indicating that any redox center (organic or inorganic) that can exist in multiple oxidation states with sufficiently separated redox potentials should be capable of electron bifurcation. In this Feature Article, we explore a paradigm for bifurcating electrons down independent high and low potential pathways, and describe redox cofactors that have been demonstrated or implicated in driving this unique biochemistry.
Optimizing interaction between humans and autonomy via information constraints on interface design

As fully autonomous vehicles come into fruition, the role of the driver will transition from controlling the vehicle to monitoring the autonomy's operation. However, there is substantial evidence that as new levels of automation are introduced, systems still are prone to unsafe behaviors when interacting with humans. This means that the communication and interaction between the driver and the automation must be carefully modeled and optimized to guarantee safe performance. We present a framework that formalizes designing user interfaces for intelligent vehicles, by optimizing informativeness subject to brevity and utility. By modeling the system as a communication channel, we estimate the reduction of entropy of human-autonomy system, given a probability distribution over attributes obtained from user data, and information constraints to ensure brevity. Through this, we observe an approximately quadratic relationship between the amount of information displayed to the user and performance metrics, referred to as the information-performance trade-off curve. This trend was found in situational awareness, driving performance, and trust in the autonomy. Thus, in order to optimize interaction and performance, quantifying the informativeness of attributes and the conciseness of the interface is key in developing systems that must smoothly interact with humans.
Articulatory Range of Movement in Individuals With Dysarthria Secondary to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Purpose The current study examined overall articulatory range of movement (ROM) in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Differential involvement of articulators was also tested usi...
Meckel and Joubert Syndromes

Both Meckel (Gruber) syndrome (MKS; MIM 249000) and Joubert syndrome and related disorders (JSRD; MIM 213300) are rare, autosomal recessive genetic disorders that share congenital malformations of the posterior fossa or the hindbrain and are associated with defects in the structure and/or the function of the primary cilium. The cardinal features of Meckel syndrome include the triad of brain anomalies (usually an occipital encephalocele), cystic renal dysplasia, and hepatic ductal plate malformation, in conjunction with a variety of other more variable malformations, such as polydactyly. MKS is typically lethal in the perinatal period. The genetic defects in MKS involve at least five genes that localize to the primary cilium and/or the basal body. Joubert syndrome and related disorders are characterized by a complex hindbrain malformation identified on axial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) known as the molar tooth sign (MTS), as well as intellectual disability, hypotonia, and often, abnormal respiratory pattern and/or abnormal eye movements. In addition, a broad spectrum of other congenital anomalies, including retinal dystrophy, ocular coloboma, oral frenulae and tongue tumors, polydactyly, cystic renal disease (including cystic dysplasia or juvenile nephronophthisis), and congenital hepatic fibrosis, have been described. In contrast to MKS, most children with this condition survive infancy to reach adulthood. At least seven genes cause JSRD, with the MKS3 gene more likely to be associated with hepatic fibrosis and the JSRD subtype known as COACH syndrome. In fact, the JSRD genes associated with liver (and other) phenotypes overlap with the MKS genes, illustrating the close association of these two disorders and their shared etiology in coding for proteins important in the function of the primary cilium.
Internal Friction of Fe-Based Binary Alloys at High Frequency

Ultrasonic absorption data in the range 50 KHz – 1.2 MHz are presented for the binary alloys Fe-7.8% Cr, Fe-3.8% Cr, Fe, Fe-1.5% Si, Fe-3.6% Mo and Fe-0.035% C. The magnetoelastic part of absorption is obtained by subtraction of the absorption obtained under magnetic saturation. It is found that the predominant part of absorption in all alloys is magnetoelastic in nature. It is predominantly the shear-viscosity coefficient that causes the damping. The bulk-viscosity coefficient is zero or near zero. Small coldwork causes a strong decrease of absorption via a decrease in permeability. Occasionally, in accordance with the theory by Becker and Doring, a broad absorption maximum appears in the investigated frequency range.
Invasive Breast Carcinoma

Invasive breast carcinomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant epithelial tumors that arise in the breast parenchyma and are characterized by their invasion of adjacent tissue and metastatic ability. These tumors comprise the majority of malignant tumors that occur in the breast. The invasive carcinomas can be classified into different groups based on the histological morphology under light microscope and according to their molecular characteristics revealed by modern gene array technologies. These classifications carry prognostic and predictive values for the disease. To triage the breast cancer patients for local and systemic treatment regimens, biochemical and molecular tumor markers have been developed and utilized clinically. In addition to the traditional tumor markers of tumor stage, hormonal receptor status and HER2 gene status, the multigene tumor markers are important complementary tests to achieve the personalized treatment for each individual breast cancer patient.
PhD Forum: Scalable Energy Disaggregation: Data, Dimension and Beyond

Energy disaggregation approaches have been employed for various smart living applications to keep the consumers aware of their everyday power consumption behavior, and its overall impact on the utility bill and the environment. These techniques have been widely investigated at a coarse level to improve the energy efficiency related to HVAC operations, residents comfort management and occupancy detection in built environments. We investigate the relevance of energy disaggregation for different energy analytics applications with the availability of the additional information related to human activities of daily living (ADLs), acoustic signature of the appliances, metadata of the buildings, thermostat setpoints, and external weather conditions of the built environment to help improve the energy disaggregation approaches. We investigate two threads of applications - indoor pervasive environment and large-scale energy analytics. The indoor pervasive environment uses pervasive sensing for granular energy usage and energy activity detection, and the large-scale energy analytics focus energy analytics at a macro scale where we focus on non-intrusive algorithms for non-intrusively determine energy usage behavior at a large scale.
Ambulance transport to the emergency department: A patient-selected signal of acuity and its effect on resource provision.

Abstract Objective To determine whether ambulance arrival to the emergency department has remained an unidentified signal of perceived medical acuity. Informed by economic signaling theory, does arrival via ambulance affect resource utilization given varying levels of patient acuity? Methods The analysis examined a nationally representative sample of de-identified emergency department patient encounters from 2011 to 2015, gathered from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed using regional and time-fixed effects. The provision of twenty diagnostic and imaging services was analyzed. Patient encounters were also categorized into five acuity-levels. Results Drawing from the NHAMCS dataset, 98,888 emergency department records were analyzed, weighted to represent 504.5 million estimated emergency department patient encounters. Findings suggest that patients transported to the hospital via ambulance are more likely than those who arrive by other means to receive 19 of the 20 analyzed diagnostic testing and imaging services. Furthermore, when analyzed by acuity-level, the disparity of service provision is the greatest among low-acuity patients, where medical complaints are argued to be the most subjective. Conclusions The results are consistent with the notion that emergency department medical providers readily accept ambulance transport as a valid signal of patient acuity, regardless of true acuity level. Consequently, patients transported to the hospital via ambulance may be receiving a disproportionate amount of medical resources in an increasingly cost-conscious environment.
Opportunities for Corrective Feedback During Study Abroad: A Mixed Methods Approach

The provision of corrective feedback during oral interaction has been deemed an essential element for successful second language acquisition (Gass & Mackey, 2015a). However, corrective feedback—especially corrective feedback provided by peer interlocutors—remains understudied in naturalistic settings. The present mixed methods study aimed to identify the target and type of corrective feedback provided by both native-speaker and peer interlocutors during conversation groups while abroad. U.S. study abroad students (N = 19) recorded group conversations with native speakers (N = 10) at the beginning, middle, and end of a 6-week stay in Barcelona, Spain. Results indicate a significant decrease in the provision of corrective feedback by both native speakers and peer learners over the course of the program. Qualitative analyses revealed that both learners and natives alike engage in negotiations for meaning throughout the program, which for learners resulted in successful recall on tailor-made quizzes. The use of the first language by both the study abroad students and the native speakers promoted these opportunities in some instances. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the study abroad literature as well as to research into the effects of feedback on second language development.
Second-order statistical bootstrap for the uncertainty quantification of time-temperature-superposition analysis

Time-temperature superposition (TTS), which for decades has been a powerful method for long-term prediction from accelerated aging data, involves rigid-shifting isotherms in logarithmic time to produce a single master prediction curve. For simple thermo-rheological properties that accurately follow the TTS principle, the shifts can be easily determined, even manually by the eye. However, for many properties of interest, where the principle is obeyed only approximately, or the data is noisy, it is imperative to develop objective shifting techniques along with reliable uncertainty bounds. This work analyzes in detail the method of arclength-minimization as an unsupervised algorithm to determining optimum shifts and demonstrates that the method is nearly unbiased for all practical datasets with a variety of noise distributions. Moreover, if averaged over with-replacement (bootstrap) resamples, the predicted shifts follow a normal distribution, a fact that can be used to construct confidence interval for the master curve through a second-order bootstrap procedure.
The Caudal Photoreceptor: A Multifunctional Sensory Neuron May Select its Outputs by Spike Frequency

Single neurons are capable of many different firing patterns, and yet few neurons are known that have greatly different responses to different patterns of input, and none are known that influence different populations of postsynaptic cells with different patterns of activity (Kennedy, 1976). The idea of the polymorphic network (Getting & Dekin, 1985) provides a clear scheme of how neurons interact to form different networks serving different but related functions. However, the swim interneurons of Tritonia are know to affect only motoneurons involved in withdrawal or escape swimming. The caudal photoreceptor neurons (CPRs) of crayfish respond very differently to different sensory stimuli and indeed have different populations of postsynaptic targets. Hence, they are true multifunctional neurons. Prosser (1934) identified this well known neuron and recorded its response to abdominal illumination at a number of locations in the nervous system. In a companion study, J.H. Welsh (1934) demonstrated the connection between caudal illumination and locomotor behavior. In addition, the CPRs are sensitive to the laterality of near field water movements (Wilkens & Larimer, 1972; Reichert et al., 1983; Wilkens, 1988) and can have several circadian effects (Fuentes-Pardo & Inclan-Rubio, 1987; Inclan-Rubio & Fuentes-Pardo, 1987).
Relationship of Events at the Lymphocyte Cell Surface to Gene Expression: Approaches to the Problem

One of the central issues in biology is to understand how events at cell surfaces alter gene expression. Some examples of this in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are (1) transfer of sex factor in bacteria; (2) effects of colicins in bacteria; (3) contact inhibition; (4) fertilization of the egg; (5) effects of certain hormones; and (6) induction of an immune response. Although these examples seem diverse, the questions to be approached are similar. It is essential to understand the nature of surface receptors, how the “linkage” between the surface and cellular genes occurs, and what ultimate alterations in macromolecular synthesis follow an event at the cell’s surface.
IDEAL Stage 2a experience with in-office, transperineal MRI/ultrasound software fusion targeted prostate biopsy

Objective Although the feasibility of transperineal biopsy under local anesthesia has been demonstrated, little is known regarding the application of MRI/ultrasound software fusion targeted biopsy for transperineal biopsy under local anesthesia. The objective of our study is to describe our initial experience with in-office transperineal MRI/ultrasound software fusion targeted biopsy (Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term Follow-up [IDEAL] Stage 2a). Methods Between October 2017 and July 2019, 33 men underwent in-office transperineal MRI-targeted biopsy using the Artemis (Eigen, Grass Valley, CA, USA) fixed-robotic arm system. The indication for biopsy was elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) (n=14), prior negative biopsy (n=10), active surveillance (n=6), and surveillance after partial gland cryoablation (n=3). We prospectively captured patient demographic and clinical characteristics, biopsy outcomes, and complications. Complications were classified according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) V.5.0. Results The median patient age was 67 years (IQR 61–71) and the median serum PSA level was 7.0 ng/mL (IQR 5.1–11.4). The median duration of in-office MRI-targeted transperineal biopsy was 26 min (IQR 23–28). Overall, transperineal MRI-targeted biopsy detected prostate cancer in 18 (54.6%) men, with 8 (24.2%) being clinically significant (Gleason Score ≥3+4, Grade Group ≥2). Clinically significant prostate cancer was detected in four (28.6%) biopsy naive men, two (20.0%) men with a prior negative, one (16.7%) man on active surveillance and one (33.3%) man following partial gland ablation. Three (9.1%) men experienced complications: two hematuria and one urinary retention. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of the fixed-robotic arm fusion platform for in-office transperineal MRI-targeted biopsy and a low rate of adverse events. However, larger prostate size precludes MRI/ultrasound software fusion and pubic arch interference hindered the transperineal MRI-targeted approach in 9.1% of men. Pubic arch interference was overcome by a free-hand approach with software fusion guidance.
Transcriptional alterations in opioid use disorder reveal an interplay between neuroinflammation and synaptic remodeling

Abstract Background Prevalence rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) have increased dramatically, accompanied by a surge of overdose deaths. While opioid dependence has been extensively studied in preclinical models, an understanding of the biological alterations that occur in the brains of people who chronically use opioids and who are diagnosed with OUD remains limited. To address this limitation, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was conducted on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), regions heavily implicated in OUD, from postmortem brains in subjects with OUD. Methods We performed RNA-seq on the DLPFC and NAc from unaffected comparison subjects (n=20) and subjects diagnosed with OUD (n=20). Our transcriptomic analyses identified differentially expressed (DE) transcripts and investigated the transcriptional coherence between brain regions using rank-rank hypergeometric ordering (RRHO). Weighted gene co-expression analyses (WGCNA) also identified OUD-specific modules and gene networks. Integrative analyses between DE transcripts and GWAS datasets using linkage disequilibrium score (LDSC) assessed the genetic liability psychiatric-related phenotypes. Results RRHO analyses revealed extensive overlap in transcripts between DLPFC and NAc in OUD, primarily relating to synaptic remodeling and neuroinflammation. Identified transcripts were enriched for factors that control pro-inflammatory cytokine-mediated, chondroitin sulfate, and extracellular matrix signaling. Cell-type deconvolution implicated a role for microglia as a critical driver for opioid-induced neuroplasticity. Using LDSC, we discovered genetic liabilities for risky behavior, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and depression. Conclusions Overall, our findings reveal new connections between the brain’s immune system and opioid dependence in the human brain.
Influences of Repair Site Tension and Conduit Splinting on Peripheral Nerve Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND We investigated the use of a conduit splinting technique to mitigate tension at the coaptation site of a rodent nerve defect model to determine the optimal reconstruction method for segmental nerve defects. METHODS A rat sciatic nerve segmental defect model was created by excising 5mm of the sciatic nerve unilaterally. Four groups of 10 rats were each reconstructed using 1 of 4 techniques: primary repair, repair with conduit splinting, reverse isograft with conduit splinting, and reverse isograft without splinting. Functional outcomes were assessed at 6 weeks by measurement of Sciatic Functional Index (SFI), and sciatic nerves were harvested at the nonsurvival surgery. Histomorphologic measurements were reported as a value normalized to the average measurements of the control side. The primary outcomes were assessment of nerve continuity and the proportion of nerve fibers in the regenerating nerve compared with the uninjured side. RESULTS The number of repair site rupture rates was lower when a conduit splint was used-less than half of the primary repairs under tension remained intact at 6 weeks. No difference was seen in axon number, size, and density between primary repairs and those augmented by conduit splints, but worse functional outcomes and more debris were present compared with the intact primary repairs. CONCLUSIONS Nerve conduit splinting reduced rupture rates, particularly for nerve repairs associated with a segmental defect. No significant difference was seen in the number of axons among techniques. Primary nerve repair under tension that did not rupture demonstrated superior SFI.
Blocking the Enablers: Selective Inhibition of CDK9 Reins in an Unchecked Master Regulator

In their quest to disable androgen receptor variants that drive castration-resistant prostate cancer, Richters et al. (2020) have hit upon a selective inhibitor of a transcriptional kinase that enables full-length mRNA synthesis. Drugging this essential kinase curbs tumor growth, thus making it an attractive focal target for transcription therapy.
Multimodality in children's socially situated learning in Haiti: a video-based ethnographic analysis

Using perspectives drawn from recent work in the anthropology of learning as socially situated practice, alongside attention to multimodality as a lens for exploring learning, this article analyzes...
Keynes's March 31, 1937 Message to Hicks About the IS-LM Model: 'At One Time I Tried the Equations, as You Have Done, with I in All of Them'

Keynes told Hicks very clearly on March 31st, 1937 that Keynes had already done what Hicks had done on page 156 of his 1937 Econometrica paper, which was to add Aggregate Actual Income I (Keynes’s Y) into the three equation set comprising Hicks’s later version of Keynes’s IS-LM model. However, Keynes then told Hicks that that was an error that he had already rectified in the General Theory. He clearly told Hicks that it was Expected Aggregate Income, and not Actual Income, that belonged in the Investment equation. Unfortunately, Hicks refused to follow Keynes’s advice until 1981. Forty-five year later, Hicks admitted in a retraction published in the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics that he had erroneously altered the IS-LM model of Keynes by removing expectations and uncertainty from it. It is quite impossible for Hicks, or Hicks-Hansen, to be regarded as the creators of a model that Keynes had already presented and applied in Section IV of Chapter 21 of the General Theory in 1936. It is also quite impossible to view Keynes’s IS-LP(LM) version as a neoclassical model. I suggest that the correct way of categorizing the model is as the Keynes-hicks-hansen IS-LM model with Keynes’s name capitalized and Hicks’s and Hansen’s names not capitalized. Keynes made it crystal clear that his model was a set of “equations”. Keynes then told Hicks that “present income has a predominant effect in determining liquidity preference and savings that it does not possess in its influence over the inducement to invest.” It is quite impossible to support the Joan Robinson claim that Keynes’s Theory of the rate of interest was a purely monetary one. Joan Robinson’s lack of even a basic understanding of pre-algebra explains her complete failure to grasp Keynes’s crucial sentence to Hicks, “I tried the equations, as you have done, with I (Keynes’s Y-authors insert) in all of them.”
Structural Evolution and Transition Dynamics in Lithium Ion Battery under Fast Charging: An Operando Neutron Diffraction Investigation

Fast charging (<15 min) of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for electrical vehicles (EVs) is widely seen as the key factor that will greatly stimulate the EV markets, and its realization is mainly hindered by the sluggish diffusion of Li+ . To have a mechanistic understanding of Li+ diffusion within LIBs, in this study, structural evolutions of electrodes for a Ni-rich LiNi0.6 Mn0.2 Co0.2 O2 (NMC622) || graphite cylindrical cell with high areal loading (2.78 mAh cm-2 ) are developed for operando neutron powder diffraction study at different charging rates. Via sequential Rietveld refinements, changes in structures of NMC622 and Lix C6 are obtained during moderate and fast charging (from 0.27 C to 4.4 C). NMC622 exhibits the same structural evolution regardless of C-rates. For phase transitions of Lix C6 , the stage I (LiC6 ) phase emerges earlier during the stepwise intercalation at a lower state of charge when charging rate is increased. It is also found that the stage II (LiC12 ) → stage I (LiC6 ) transition is the rate-limiting step during fast charging. The LiC12 → LiC6 transition mechanism is further analyzed using the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model. It is concluded as a diffusion-controlled, 1D phase transition with decreasing nucleation kinetics under increasing chargingrates.
Simulation of Smooth Surface Separation Using the Partially Averaged Navier-Stokes Method

The objective of this study is to investigate the separation of a turbulent flow over smooth surfaces using the Partially Averaged Navier Stokes (PANS) Methodology. The degree of resolution in PANS, which can range from fully resolved to fully modeled turbulence, is parametrized by the ratio of modeled to resolved kinetic energy and dissipation. The flow geometry considered in this study consists of a channel constricted by a series of periodic hills which are spaced 9 hill heights apart from each other. This configuration yields flow separation over a curved surface with well defined flow conditions which makes it ideal as a benchmark case for turbulence closure model validation. Flow Reynolds number based on the bulk velocity above the crest of the hill and hill height is 37,000. Several PANS simulations are performed to study the effect of cut-off length scale and grid size. Turbulence statistics such as averaged mean velocity and Reynolds stresses are compared against well documented experimental and numerical data.
Affect and American Literature in the Age of Neoliberalism

1. Personal and impersonal: two forms of the neoliberal novel 2. Affect and aesthetics in 9/11 fiction 3. Reading like an entrepreneur: neoliberal agency and textual systems 4. Ecology, feeling, and form in neoliberal literature.
Semi-analytic benchmark for multi-group free-gas Legendre moments and the application of Gauss quadrature in generating thermal scattering Legendre moments

Abstract As high-fidelity simulations become routine and computational modelers begin to ask questions about uncertainty in calculations, the understanding of uncertainties in nuclear data, including multigroup cross-sections to high scattering orders, is also becoming important. In this paper we look at how a widely-used data processing code, NJOY, processes thermal cross-section data. Using an alternative integration scheme, Gauss quadrature, for angular integration to generate thermal scattering cross sections from the thermal scattering laws for graphite and ZrHx, we observed discrepancies between these results and NJOY’s results using equal-probable cosines on high order Legendre moments. In order to find a reliable comparison between the methods in NJOY and alternatives, we derived novel analytical expressions for high order Legendre moments of the free gas scattering model. Such expressions are analytically tractable but complicated. Using these expressions we construct a semi-analytic benchmark for multigroup Legendre moments. By comparing the results among the benchmark, Gauss quadrature and NJOY, we found that Gauss quadrature can preserve comparable accuracy as NJOY for lower order Legendre moments for free gas scattering and outperforms NJOY in generating high order moments. Our findings indicate that for high-scattering moments, multigroup data could be an source of uncertainty in thermal reactor calculations.
Shakespeare’s Conflicts

As J. B. Priestley has observed, “until his final years,” Shakespeare “was a deeply divided man, like nearly all great writers. There were profound opposites in his nature, and it is the relation between these opposites ... that gives energy and life to his work” (1964, 82). Critics have tended to define these opposites in terms of masculine and feminine traits. In The Personality of Shakespeare, Harold Grier McCurdy concluded that Shakespeare “was predominantly masculine, aggressive,” but that his “masculine aims have a way of running counter to the feminine components in him, which incline toward idealistic love and domestic virtues” (1953, 159). In Psychoanalysis and Shakespeare, Norman Holland presented a similar picture of Shakespeare. According to these critics, the division in Shakespeare’s personality is between an aggressive, vindictive, power-hungry side, that generates “images of ... violent action” (Holland 1966, 142), and a gentle, submissive, idealistic side, that dislikes cruelty and is given to loving-kindness and Christian charity. Shakespeare is afraid of his feminine side and employs “aggressive masculinity ... as a defense against it” (Holland 1966, 141–142); he can express tenderness and charity only when his aggressive needs have been fulfilled.
Studies of “Non-ideal” Superconductors using Dc Magnetic Methods

Among the most informative and facile methods for investigations of a superconductor are measurements of its static magnetization. The objective of this paper is to analyze some experimental features frequently observed in static (dc) magnetization studies of conventional and high-Tc superconductors. We shall discuss investigations employing measurement protocols in which the sample is cooled through the superconductive transition temperature in a finite magnetic field (“field-cooled”) and compare this with zero-field-cooled studies. Also considered are reversible and irreversible materials; particle size effects; some effects of granular and multiply-connected materials; penetration depth studies of type II materials in the vortex state; and fine scale “multiconnected” materials formed by heavy ion irradiation that produces very significant enhancements of the critical current density Jc in the high temperature superconductor Y1Ba2Cu307. Many of these superconductors are “non-ideal” in that they may contain defects and inhomogeneities or may have small dimensions comparable with microscopic superconductive lengths. Practically speaking, however, such materials are often encountered experimentally and can have very desirable physical properties, such as the high Jc values that developed in the ion-irradiated crystal. In the following, we assume that the reader is familiar with the fundamentals of superconductivity, which are thoroughly treated in many sources.1–4
Abstract 16650: Role of Copper Transport Proteins in VSMC Phenotypic Modulation and Vascular Remodeling

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic modulation plays a critical role in vascular repair and vascular remodeling after injury. This involves transition from quiescent contractile (C) to de-differentiated phenotype (S)(C to S) induced by PDGF, followed by re-differentiation to contractile phenotype (S to C). Copper (Cu), an essential micronutrient, is involved in vascular remodeling, and its bioavailability is controlled by Cu transport proteins (importer CTR1 and exporter ATP7A) and Cu chaperone (antioxidant-1, Atox1), which activates Cu enzymes such as amine oxidase, SSAO. However, role of Cu transport proteins in VSMC phenotypic modulation is entirely unknown. Here we show that PDGF stimulation in primary VSMC induced de-differentiation (C to S) by downregulating contractile SMC protein, which was accompanied by a robust increase in Cu uptake and CTR1, ATP7A and SSAO levels, and inhibited by Cu chelators. Knockdown of CTR1, ATP7A, SSAO, but not siAtox1, suppressed PDGF-induced VSMC de-differentiation (69%, 72% and 92%, respectively). Of note, ATP7A depletion inhibited PDGF-induced SSAO while SSAO siRNA suppressed ATP7A induction, suggesting that there is a positive feedback loop whereby ATP7A-SSAO pathway promotes de-differentiation. Mechanistically, PDGF-induced expression of KLF4, a repressor of SMC protein expression, was blocked by depletion of CTR1, ATP7A and SSAO. We reported that Atox1 also functions as a Cu-dependent transcription factor independent of ATP7A. Consistently, Atox1 siRNA suppressed serum starvation-induced VSMC re-differentiation, and overexpression of Atox1 increased SMC contractile gene expression. In vivo vascular injury model showed that SSAO and Atox1 were increased in neointimal SMCs at early de-differentiation phase and at later re-differentiation phase, respectively, in response to injury. Summary and Conclusion: CTR1-ATP7A-SSAO pathway is involved in PDGF-induced VSMC de-differentiation via regulating KLF4 while Cu dependent transcription factor function of Atox1 promotes VSMC re-differentiation via regulating SMC contractile gene transcription. Cu transport proteins and SSAO are potential therapeutic targets for modulating VSMC phenotype switching and vascular remodeling.
A reusable coplanar waveguide probe for in situ material characterization

A novel reusable coplanar waveguide tee resonator probe is stenciled in a rigid sheet of brass. The probe can be easily placed on dielectric slabs for in situ permittivity measurement. The method can be applied to inhomogeneous materials that may not lend themselves to precise sample preparation or to open-ended coaxial probing. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:2601–2604, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26350
Efficient Incremental Maintenance of Derived Relations and BLAST Computations in Bioinformatics Data Warehouses

In the data driven field of bioinformatics, data warehouses have emerged as common solutions to facilitate data analysis. The uncertainty, complexity and change rate of biological data underscore the importance of capturing its evolution. To capture information about our database's evolution, we incorporate a temporal dimension in our data model, which we implement by means of lifespan timestamps attached to every tuple in the warehouse. This temporal information allows us to keep a full history of the warehouse and recreate any past version for purposes of auditing. Equally importantly, this information facilitates the incremental maintenance of the warehouse. We maintain the warehouse incrementally not only for relations derived by applying the standard relational operators but also for computed relations. In particular, we consider computed relations obtained through external BLAST sequence alignment computations, which are often identified as a bottleneck in the integrated warehouse maintenance process. Our experiments with subsets of protein sequences from the NCBI non-redundant database demonstrate at least 10-fold speedups for realistic target space size increases of 1% to 5%.
Hydrolysis of thioester analogs by rat liver phospholipase A1.

The hydrolysis of thioester containing phospholipids by rat liver plasmalemma phospholipase A1 was measured in a continuous spectrophotometric assay. In this assay thioester substrates were employed which, upon hydrolysis, liberated a free thiol which was reacted with 4,4′-dithiopyridine to yield the product 4-thiopyridone that absorbs at 324 nm. Thioester substrates, prepared by chemical synthesis, were used in phospholipid and Triton X-100 micelles for kinetic analysis carried out according to the method of Hendrickson and Dennis (Hendrickson, H.S., and Dennis, E.A. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 5734-5739). Vmax, Ks, and Km values obtained for various isomers and racemic mixtures of the synthetic thioester analogs are compared with corresponding oxyester substrates. Unnatural sn-1 isomers competitively inhibited the hydrolysis of natural sn-3 isomers of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidic acid. Furthermore, the sn-1 isomer of phosphatidic acid was hydrolyzed by phospholipase A1, but with lower catalytic efficiency than the sn-3 isomer. The presence of a thioester at the sn-1 position did not change the Vmax significantly, as compared to the oxyester phospholipids. When two thioesters were present on the phospholipid molecule, the Vmax was decreased significantly. A convenient synthesis of 1-monothioester analogs of phospholipids is reported. The results presented show the usefulness of the spectrophotometric assay for measuring phospholipase A1 activity as well as the influence of racemic mixtures and thioesters on the hydrolytic rate.
Electronic relaxation dynamics in large anionic water clusters: (H2O)n(-) and (D2O)n(-) (n = 25-200).

Electronic relaxation dynamics subsequent to s→p excitation of the excess electron in large anionic water clusters, (H2O)n− and (D2O)n− with 25≤n≤200, were investigated using time-resolved photoelectron imaging. Experimental improvements have enabled considerably larger clusters to be probed than in previous work, and the temporal resolution of the instrument has been improved. New trends are seen in the size-dependent p-state lifetimes for clusters with n≥70, suggesting a significant change in the electron-water interaction for clusters in this size range. Extrapolating the results for these larger clusters to the infinite-size limit yields internal conversion lifetimes τIC of 60 and 160 fs for electrons dissolved in H2O and D2O, respectively. In addition, the time-evolving spectra show evidence for solvent relaxation in the excited electronic state prior to internal conversion and in the ground state subsequent to internal conversion. Relaxation in the excited state appears to occur on a time scale simi...
Pure and modified lead titanate thin films by sol-gel

Pure and modified lead titanate thin films were fabricated by spin coating an alkoxide-based solution onto platinum-coated silicon substrates. The solution was made by combining lead acetate trihydrate, titanium IV isopropoxide, and diethanolamine in isopropanol with lanthanum as a dopant. Various heating schedules and techniques were examined to optimize the dielectric and microstructural properties of the films. The films were tested for dielectric and hysteresis properties, and characterized by various methods. Perovskite PbTiO/sub 3/ was found to form at approximately 400 degrees C and could be obtained by heating for short soaking durations of 10 min per layer. Measured at 1 kHz, an average dielectric constant of 410 was obtained for pure lead titanate films heated at 500 degrees C for 1 h. Hysteresis measurements taken on these films at 100 Hz revealed an average remanent polarization of 11 mu C/cm/sup 2/ with a coercive field of approximately 75 kV/cm. The films doped with 5% lanthanum exhibited a dielectric constant of 825 with a coercive field of 52 kV/cm and a remanent polarization of 25 mu C/cm/sup 2/. >
Applications of Stellar Seismology to Intermediate Mass Stars: On the Main Sequence and Beyond

The nonradial oscillations of stars in various regions of the HR diagram provide an alternate window into the processes of stellar evolution. In many cases, the nonradial pulsators play a crucial role in filling out the evolutionary picture. Two examples serve to illustrate this new probe: the rapidly oscillating Ap (ROAp) stars, and the pulsating white dwarfs. Because of the complex light curves that result from multiperiodic pulsations in these stars, global observing campaigns are required to fully decode their pulsation spectra. Such efforts can bear substantial scientific rewards. The observed frequency spacings in some of the ROAp stars allow identification of their evolutionary stage and, possibly, measurement of their rates of evolutionary expansion. For white dwarfs, seismological analysis using the observed g-mode pulsations allows us to determine the compositional structure of their outer layers, measure their masses, and determine their rotation and cooling rates.
Abstract 1627: The novel camptothecin analog and antiapoptotic protein inhibitor FL118 appears to be a great backbone platform for development of personalized anticancer drugs

We recently characterized a novel camptothecin analog FL118. Interestingly, different from the two clinically used camptothecin analogs irinotecan and topotecan, which are topoisomerase 1 (Top1) inhibitors, FL118 appears to be a poor Top1 inhibitor at its therapeutic dose range. Instead, FL118 selectively inhibits multiple cancer survival and proliferation-associated antiapoptotic proteins including survivin, Mcl-1, XIAP, and cIAP2. We have demonstrated that genetic knockdown or overexpression of survivin, Mcl-1, XIAP, or cIAP2 modulates FL1189s ability to inhibit cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis. FL118 is able to eliminate both small and large human tumor xenografts in animal models. Importantly, FL118 effectively overcomes topotecan treatment-induced resistance of human colon tumor in animal models. Pharmacokinetics (PK) studies indicated that FL118 prefers to be accumulated in tumor and rapidly cleared in blood stream in animal models. Furthermore, our most recent studies demonstrated that maintenance of a free hydroxyl group in the lactone ring of FL118 is critical for its antitumor activity, and the superior antitumor efficacy of FL118 heavily depends on its steric configuration (Zhao et al., Molecular Pharmaceutics). Based on the current observation of FL118 properties, we hypothesize that FL118 is an ideal lead for development of novel analogs that may possess distinct antitumor selectivity to overcome different treatment resistance. In this regard, we tested 146 new camptothecin analogs, which were synthesized based on either the FL118 core structure or the camptothecin core structure, in four cancer cell lines and two normal cell lines. We identified 19 top candidates that showed inhibition of cancer cell growth and induction of apoptosis that are better than or comparable to FL118. Intriguingly, all of the 19 top compounds possess the FL118 core structure. Further investigation of the 19 compounds using cancer cells with distinct treatment resistant backgrounds indicated that these compounds showed distinct antitumor selectivity among different treatment resistant cancer cells. Therefore, while our finding would need further investigation using in vivo human tumor animal models, we propose to develop a series of FL118 analogs for personalized cancer treatment to overcome different treatment resistance. Citation Format: Fengzhi Li, Xiang Ling, David Westover, Xiaojun Liu, Chunyang Jin, Mansukh Wani. The novel camptothecin analog and antiapoptotic protein inhibitor FL118 appears to be a great backbone platform for development of personalized anticancer drugs. [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 1627. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1627
A new parameterization of hydrous mantle melting

[1] Modeling of melt formation and transport in all tectonic settings requires the inclusion of water, since water has large effects on mantle solidi as well as physical properties of liquids. To facilitate the inclusion of water in melting models this paper presents a new parameterization for melt fraction as a function of pressure, temperature, water content and modal cpx, based on knowledge gained from recent advances in the fields of thermodynamic modeling as well as experimental investigations of peridotite melting and hydrous equilibria. The parameterization is computationally efficient and can be modified easily as better experimental data become available. We compare it to other published parameterizations and test it in simple calculations of adiabatic decompression melting (mid-ocean ridge) and hydrous melting (subduction zone).