cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Toxicological Questions and Mechanisms

Cases of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are initiated by exposure to organic solvents and three classes of pesticides. Each of these can act indirectly to increase NMDA activity and the toxic effects of members of each of these classes can be lowered by using NMDA antagonists. Other chemicals, mercury, H2S and CO exposure may also initiate cases of MCS and have toxic responses mediated through increased NMDA activity. Thus each of these types of chemicals appears to act as a toxicant through increased NMDA activity. Six additional types of evidence suggest roles for elevated NMDA activity in MCS, suggesting that this response is involved, not only in MCS case initiation, but also in response to low-level chemicals in those who are already sensitive. The inference that chemicals act as toxicants in MCS is confirmed by three genetic studies showing that five genes that encode enzymes that metabolize these chemicals act to determine MCS susceptibility. The chronic nature of MCS is thought to be produced by a local biochemical vicious cycle mechanism, the NO/ONOO− cycle, which is initiated by nitric oxide acting through its oxidant product peroxynitrite, which are both produced in MCS in response to excessive NMDA activity. Cycle elements, including NMDA activity, intracellular calcium, nitric oxide and peroxynitrite are thought to interact with other mechanisms, including neural sensitization in the brain and neurogenic inflammation in peripheral tissues to produce the high-level chemical sensitivity that is the hallmark of MCS. This complex model of MCS is supported by the following types of observations: MCS correlates in the chronic phase of illness, extensive animal model studies implicating almost all NO/ONOO− cycle elements, clinical trial data in the related illnesses chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, and a variety of objectively measurable responses to low-level chemical exposure in MCS patients, responses that should be further studied as possible specific biomarker tests for MCS. While plausible mechanisms are proposed for the generation of both shared and specific symptoms and signs in MCS, there are little data on whether these mechanisms are actually involved in generating these symptoms and signs in MCS. Previous claims that MCS is produced by some sort of psychogenic mechanism have multiple flaws and are inconsistent with the various types of evidence discussed above. Several areas of research are discussed in which the author argues that research will be richly rewarded. Keywords: N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors; oxidative stress; nitrosative stress; chronic inflammatory biochemistry; local vicious cycle mechanism; prevalence of multiple chemical sensitivity; sick building syndrome; moulds and mycotoxins; multiple chemical sensitivity case definitions
RRANN: the run-time reconfiguration artificial neural network

Run-time reconfiguration is a way of more fully exploiting the flexibility of reconfigurable field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The run-time reconfiguration artificial neural network (RRANN) uses runtime reconfiguration to increase the hardware density of FPGAs. This is done by dividing the backpropagation algorithm into three sequentially executed stages and configuring the FPGAs to execute only one stage at a time. The FPGAs are reconfigured as part of normal execution in order to change stages. Using reconfigurability in this way increases the number of hardware neurons a single FPGA can implement by 500%. The RRANN architecture has been designed and built using commercially available hardware, and its performance has been measured. >
Robust estimation of the false discovery rate

Motivation: Presently available methods that use p-values to estimate or control the false discovery rate (FDR) implicitly assume that p-values are continuously distributed and based on two-sided tests. Therefore, it is difficult to reliably estimate the FDR when p-values are discrete or based on one-sided tests. Results: A simple and robust method to estimate the FDR is proposed. The proposed method does not rely on implicit assumptions that tests are two-sided or yield continuously distributed p-values. The proposed method is proven to be conservative and have desirable large-sample properties. In addition, the proposed method was among the best performers across a series of 'real data simulations' comparing the performance of five currently available methods. Availability: Libraries of S-plus and R routines to implement the method are freely available from www.stjuderesearch.org/depts/biostats Contact: [email protected] Supplementary information: Supplementary data are avilable at Bioinformatics online.
Structure-taste relationships of the sweet protein monellin

Structure-taste relationship studies were carried out by chemically synthesizing monellin and its analogs. Replacement of the Asp B7 by L-2-aminobutyric acid, Gly and D-Asp resulted in complete loss of sweetness. Replacement of Ile B6 and Ile B8 by different amino acids resulted in a significant decrease of sweetness, or complete loss of sweetness. Comparison of short- and long-range nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) and chemical shifts between monellin and (Abu B7 )monellin showed no marked differences except for the region of the Asp B7 . Thus, the complete loss of sweetness in (Abu B7 )monellin is caused by the lack of free β-carboxyl group in the Asp B7 and not by a result of major disruption in the overall 3-dimensional structure. These results suggested that the free β-carboxyl group of the Asp B7 would possibly bind to the receptor site through ionic bonding and trigger the sensation of intense sweet taste, and Ile B6 and/or Ile B8 would be involved in the hydrophobic interaction with the receptor site. Selectively labeled monellin was synthesized by the solid-phase method by incorporating 15 N-labeled amino acids into 10 key residues including Asp B7 . Relaxation analysis shows that Asp B7 is the most flexible of these 10 residues. The flexibil- ity of the active site may be important for receptor binding.
Boguslawski's analysis of quantification in natural language (translated and otherwise adapted for use by philosophers of language)

Abstract In a recent paper, Andrzej Boguslawski has put forth some powerful reasons to reject some orthodoxies concerning the literal meanings of “some”, “all”, and other quantifier. Boguslawski's paper is written for linguists, not for philosophers of language. For that reason, philosophers of language are unlikely to understand it or, therefore, to see the relevance to their own work of Boguslawski's points. The present paper can be thought of as a “translation” of Boguslawski's paper. Originally written in the language of linguistics, Boguslawski's paper is hereby being translated into the language of the philosophy of language. That said, the translation is not a strict one. The present author has taken the liberty of extending and otherwise modifying some of Boguslawski's arguments and, to a lesser extent, of doing the same with some of his key contentions.
A computer model for the simulation of thin-film silicon-hydrogen alloy solar cells

A 1-D computer simulation code, Thin-Film Semiconductor Simulation Program (TFSSP), for the modeling of TF Si:H solar cells is discussed. The code incorporates a variety of physical models, such as a position-dependent bandgap, electron affinity, dielectric constant, density of states, mobility, exponential band tails, and dangling-bond defect states. This flexibility allows different model assumptions to be analyzed and compared. TFSSP and the physical models used are described. An example simulation of a typical TF Si:H solar cell is presented. >
A Distributed Joint Channel-Assignment, Scheduling and Routing Algorithm for Multi-Channel Ad-hoc Wireless Networks

The capacity of ad hoc wireless networks can be substantially increased by equipping each network node with multiple radio interfaces that can operate on multiple non-overlapping channels. However, new scheduling, channel-assignment, and routing algorithms are required to fully utilize the increased bandwidth in multi-channel multi-radio ad hoc networks. In this paper, we develop a fully distributed algorithm that jointly solves the channel-assignment, scheduling and routing problem. Our algorithm is an online algorithm, i.e., it does not require prior information on the offered load to the network, and can adapt automatically to the changes in the network topology and offered load. We show that our algorithm is provably efficient. That is, even compared with the optimal centralized and offline algorithm, our proposed distributed algorithm can achieve a provable fraction of the maximum system capacity. Further, the achievable fraction that we can guarantee is larger than that of some other comparable algorithms in the literature.
Comment on "Observation of the inverse Doppler effect".

Seddon and Bearpark present a creative and exciting observation of a reversed Doppler effect when an electromagnetic shock propagates through a transmission line ([ 1 ][1]). We find that the physical origin of this anomalous effect is fundamentally different from the one suggested by Seddon and
Ignition Probability in a Stratified Turbulent Flow With a Sunken Fire Igniter

The evolution of a spark kernel ejected by a sunken fire igniter into a turbulent, fuel–air stratified crossflow was studied both experimentally and using a model in a configuration that is similar to the conditions found in turbine engine combustors. This study allows for variations in the transit time of the kernel across a uniform nonflammable region, before entering a second stream containing a flammable fuel–air mixture. High speed schlieren and emission imaging systems are used to visualize the evolution of the kernel and determine the probability of ignition based on measurements over many spark events. Experiments are performed for a range of mean velocities, transit times, inlet (preheat) temperatures, flammable zone equivalence ratios, and nonflammable zone equivalence ratios. In addition to the typical dependence of ignition on the equivalence ratio of the flammable mixture, the results indicate the strong influence of the kernel transit time and the inlet flow temperature on the probability of ignition. The entrainment between the kernel and the surrounding flow appears to be primarily controlled by the kernel ejection-induced flowfield. Reduced-order modeling suggests that the lowering of the kernel temperature associated with entrainment of the nonflammable mixture significantly reduces the ignition probability, and leads to the conclusion that the presence of fuel close to the igniter is necessary to ensure reliable ignition under adverse conditions.
Thread as a Matrix for Biomedical Assays

This paper describes the use of thread as a matrix for the fabrication of diagnostic assay systems. The kinds of thread used for this study are inexpensive, broadly available, and lightweight; some of them are already familiar materials in healthcare. Fluids wick along these threads by capillary action; no external power source is necessary for pumping. This paper demonstrates three designs for diagnostic assays that use different characteristics of the thread. The first two designs—the “woven array” and the “branching design”—take advantage of the ease with which thread can be woven on a loom to generate fluidic pathways that enable multiple assays to be performed in parallel. The third design—the “sewn array”—takes advantage of the ease with which thread can be sewn through a hydrophobic polymer sheet to incorporate assays into bandages, diapers and similar systems. These designs lead to microfluidic devices that may be useful in performing simple colorimetric assays that require qualitative results. We...
Endoresection of the iris and ciliary body in epithelial downgrowth

We present a case of epithelial downgrowth with intractable glaucoma after multiple intraocular surgeries. The eye was successfully managed with a pars plana approach. The iris and epithelial tissue over the ciliary body were removed with intraocular scissors and a vitrector combined with unipolar diathermy and endophotocoagulation. The use of moderate hypotensive anesthesia may have helped prevent intraoperative hemorrhage. During more than 3 years of follow-up, intraocular pressure ranged from 13 to 19 mm Hg, visual acuity was 20/80 with aphakic correction with a rigid gas-permeable lens, and there was no recurrence of epithelial downgrowth.
Why Do College Students Cheat

More is known about the pervasiveness of college cheating than reasons why students cheat. This article reports the results of a study that applied the theory of reasoned action and partial least squares methodology to analyze the responses of 144 students to a survey on cheating behavior. Approximately 60% of the business students and 64% of the non-business students admitted to such behavior. Among cheaters, a “desire to get ahead” was the most important motivating factor – a surprising result given the comprehensive set of factors tested in the study. Among non-cheaters, the presence of a “moral anchor” such as an ethical professor was most important. The article also includes a set of important caveats that might limit this study and suggests some avenues for further study.
Policy-Making and Secretariat Influence in the U. N. General Assembly: The Case of Public Information

During the annual sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations the policy and budget of the Office of Public Information (OPI) of the organization have been the perennial center of a complex debate. Instructions first given the Secretariat in 1946 provide some elements of this debate, while others depend on the professional expertise of the international civil service and on its influence and support in a General Assembly divided several ways. As a whole, the outcome demonstrates once more both the durable force of an attractive idea and the truth of the maxim that secretariats have great weight in the policy processes of international, as of other, organizations. For despite repeated debate and attack OPI has proved enduring and resilient. During the last 15 years the many-faceted program of the agency has shrunk somewhat, to be sure, under the economizer's knife. In particular, it was under unusually severe criticism in 1957, when the General Assembly established an expert committee to investigate UN public information activities, and also in 1958, when the results of the inquiry were discussed. This committee, appointed with the unenthusiastic concurrence of the Secretary General, and made up of six governmental nominees not all of whom had experience with public information, directly challenged some of the working assumptions of OPI and called attention to difficulties with others. Their report struck a blow, too, at the internal balance of OPI, accused it of substantive failures and urged it to design new programs.
MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT IN POROUS MATERIALS

Summary Miscible displacement has been studied in several porous materials under saturated and unsaturated conditions at different average flow velocities. The tracer appeared at the end of the soil column sooner than would be expected, had no mixing occurred at the boundary of the tracer and tracer-free water. Physical differences between porous materials were manifested by changes in shape and position of break-through curves owing to ionic diffusion. One of the more important physical features was the magnitude of the volume of water not readily displaced at saturation and its increase when the soil was desaturated. Because the total flux of water moving through field soils is generally small, the role played by hydrodynamic dispersion and diffusion in transporting dissolved solutes must be included in the theory of most soil-water processes.
Enhanced web-based summary generation for search

After a user types in a search query on a major search engine, they are presented with a number of search results. Each search result is made up of a title, brief text summary and a URL. It is then the user's job to select documents for further review. Our research aims to improve the accuracy of users selecting relevant documents by improving the way these web pages are summarized. Improvements in accuracy will lead to time improvements and user experience improvements. We propose ReClose, a system for generating web document summaries. ReClose generates summary content through combining summarization techniques from query-biased and query-independent summary generation. Query-biased summaries generally provide query terms in context. Query-independent summaries focus on summarizing documents as a whole. Combining these summary techniques led to a 10% improvement in user decision making over Google generated summaries. Color-coded ReClose summaries provide keyword usage depth at a glance and also alert users to topic departures. Color-coding further enhanced ReClose results and led to a 20% improvement in user decision making over Google generated summaries. Many online documents include structure and multimedia of various forms such as tables, lists, forms and images. We propose to include this structure in web page summaries. We found that the expert user was insignificantly slowed in decision making while the majority of average users made decisions more quickly using summaries including structure without any decrease in decision accuracy. We additionally extended ReClose for use in summarizing large numbers of tweets in tracking flu outbreaks in social media. The resulting summaries have variable length and are effective at summarizing flu related trends. Users of the system obtained an accuracy of 0.86 labeling multi-tweet summaries. This showed that the basis of ReClose is effective outside of web documents and that variable length summaries can be more effective than fixed length. Overall the ReClose system provides unique summaries that contain more informative content than current search engines produce, highlight the results in a more meaningful way, and add structure when meaningful. The applications of ReClose extend far beyond search and have been demonstrated in summarizing pools of tweets.
Phase II study of ‘hybrid‘ biochemotherapy for advanced melanoma

18007 Background: The clinical activity of a hybrid biochemotherapy regimen was determined. This regimen incorporated important elements of previously studied sequential and concurrent biochemother...
Altered Development of Amygdala-Anterior Cingulate Cortex Connectivity in Anxious Youth and Young Adults

Abstract Background Development of corticoamygdala circuitry underlies the maturation of emotion processing and regulation, and age-related changes in amygdala connectivity with anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) have been shown to mediate normative developmental decreases in anxiety. It remains unclear whether developmental changes in this circuitry relate to pathological anxiety in youth. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study addresses this question by examining amygdala functional connectivity in anxious and healthy individuals spanning the developmental period from childhood through adulthood. Methods Youth and young adults (ages 7–25) with current anxiety disorders ( n = 57) and healthy comparison subjects ( n = 61) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging emotional face processing task known to elicit amygdala activation in youth and adults. We examined interaction effects of anxiety group and age on amygdala connectivity with frontolimbic regions during processing of happy, angry, and fearful faces. Results Anxiety interacted with age to predict amygdala-ACC connectivity across emotional faces. Among healthy youth and young adults, age was negatively related to connectivity. In contrast, age was positively associated with amygdala-ACC connectivity in the anxious group. Group effects were also observed on amygdala connectivity with midcingulate and middle frontal gyri. Effects of anxiety and age on amygdala activation were not significant. Conclusions Results indicate that anxiety is characterized by altered patterns of age-related changes in amygdala connectivity during emotional face processing. Positive associations between age and amygdala-ACC connectivity among anxious youth and young adults may indicate failure to establish early bottom-up connections in childhood and/or less top-down regulation of the amygdala into adulthood.
Airborne Turbulence Detection System Certification Tool Set

A methodology and a corresponding set of simulation tools for testing and evaluating turbulence detection sensors has been presented. The tool set is available to industry and the FAA for certification of radar based airborne turbulence detection systems. The tool set consists of simulated data sets representing convectively induced turbulence, an airborne radar simulation system, hazard tables to convert the radar observable to an aircraft load, documentation, a hazard metric "truth" algorithm, and criteria for scoring the predictions. Analysis indicates that flight test data supports spatial buffers for scoring detections. Also, flight data and demonstrations with the tool set suggest the need for a magnitude buffer.
Cytomegalovirus replication in human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Altered expression of viral early proteins.

Purpose. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are frequent complications in patients who have undergone kidney and bone marrow transplant and in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The mechanism by which CMV is activated and replicated within the retina is unknown. The authors evaluated the ability of human CMV to initiate replication in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and compared this system with CMV replication in human fibroblasts (HEL-299, MRC-5) and human amnion epithelial (WISH) cells. Methods. Human RPE cells were obtained from donor eyes and propagated in vitro. Cells were infected, and CMV replication was evaluated in three ways : the detection of viral antigen by immunofluorescent, flow cytometry, and Western blot assays ; the detection of virus-induced cytopathic effect (cpe), and the detection of infectious virus. Results. No evidence of viral replication in the epithelial (WISH) cells was found. Although CMV does not usually replicate in vitro in epithelial cells, CMV replication was detected in RPE cells. There are a number of distinct differences in CMV replication in RPE cells compared to replication in human fibroblasts. Virus-induced cpe and the production of infectious virus by RPE cells were delayed when compared to virus infection in either HEL or MRC 5 cells. At a multiplicity of infection of 0.1 and 1, cpe and infectious virus yield reached maximum levels at days 4 to 5 in fibroblasts and at days 19 to 46 in RPE cells, respectively. Nevertheless, infectious virus produced by RPE cells (10 6.5 TCID 50 /0.1 ml) significantly surpassed levels produced by HEL cells (10 -8 TCID 50 /0.1 ml). The permissive infection in RPE cells consisted of a prolonged period (5 to 6 days) of virus production in the absence of cytopathology. Virus protein expression evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence assays, Western blot analysis, and flow cytometry revealed a delay in viral protein expression in RPE cells compared to viral protein expression in fibroblasts. The pattern of viral protein evaluated by flow cytometry was noticeably different in the two cell types. At the middle phase of CMV replication in RPE cells, a low percentage of cells express immediate early (IE) protein at a time when a high percentage of the cells express early (E) proteins. This IE-1 protein is a stable protein found concurrently with E protein in fibroblasts. This difference in percentage of cells expressing specific CMV proteins is transient, that is, it does not remain apparent at 100% cpe. Conclusions. Retinal pigment epithelial cells appear to demonstrate a distinct pattern of CMV infection. The low frequency of expression of IE viral protein in RPE cells, the subsequent slow replication of CMV, and the altered expression of IE viral proteins may be critical variables that impact on their relationship to viral persistence and activation within the retina. Alterations in the IE gene product may indicate the existence of positive or negative nuclear transcription factors within infected RPE cells.
A construction of representations of affine Weyl groups

Let G be a complex, semisimple, simply connected algebraic group withLie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}\). We extend scalars to the power series field in one variable C((π)), and consider the space of Iwahori subalgebras containing a fixed nil-elliptic element of \(\mathfrak{g}\)⊗C((π)),i.e. fixed point varieties on the full affine flag manifold. We definerepresentations of the affine Weyl group in the homology of these varieties,generalizing Kazhdan and Lusztig's topological construction of Springer'srepresentations to the affine context.
Multivariable Modular Design of Pore Space Partition.

Pore space partition, especially the one using C3-symmetric 2,4,6-tri(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine as pore-partition agent in MIL-88 type (the acs net), has been shown to dramatically enhance CO2 uptake to near-record values. The continued advance in property engineering via pore space partition would depend on intelligent design of both framework components and pore-partition agent. Here, we report a new advance in the design of pore-partition agent by demonstrating a symmetry-guided pathway to develop a large variety of di- and trinuclear 1,2,4-triazolate-based clusters for use as pore-partition agent. The use of metal–organic clusters (instead of organic ligands) as pore-partition agent gives rise to many new pore-partitioned materials with huge compositional variety. The full assembly involves the simultaneous formation of two separate coordination architectures (i.e., the 3-D acs framework and 0-D triazolate clusters) and the eventual welding between the acs framework and triazolate clusters. The wide r...
Preserving the Quality of Scientific Research: Peer Review of Research Articles

Peer review of scholarly articles is a mechanism used to assess and preserve the trustworthiness of reporting of scientific findings. Since peer reviewing is a qualitative evaluation system that involves the judgment of experts in a field about the quality of research performed by their colleagues (and competitors), it inherently encompasses a strongly subjective element. Although this time-tested system, which has been evolving since the mid-eighteenth century, is being questioned and criticized for its deficiencies, it is still considered an integral part of the scholarly communication system, as no other procedure has been proposed to replace it. Therefore, to improve and strengthen the existing peer review process, it is important to understand its shortcomings and to continue the constructive deliberations of all participants within the scientific scholarly communication system . This chapter discusses the strengths, issues, and deficiencies of the peer review system, conventional closed models (single-blind and double-blind), and the new open peer review model and its variations that are being experimented with by some journals.
Volume Introduction: “Supramolecular Engineering: Designing the Solid State”

An introduction to the volume on uses of concepts of supramolecular as a means to achieve control of assembly and properties of the solid state is provided. The individual chapters are highlighted.
Lack of Effect of Rivipansel on QTc Interval in Healthy Adult African American Male Subjects.

Rivipansel is a pan-selectin inhibitor in phase 3 development for the treatment of vaso-occlusive crises in patients with sickle cell disease. This single-dose, randomized, 3-period, 3-treatment (400 mg moxifloxacin open-label, 4 g rivipansel-blinded, and placebo-blinded) crossover study evaluated the effect of rivipansel on the QT/QTc interval in 48 healthy male African American subjects (age, 21-53 years; weight, 60-115 kg). Time-matched, placebo-adjusted change from baseline QT interval using Fridericia's correction method (QTcF) was determined using a repeated-measures mixed-effects model. The highest upper bound of the 2-sided 90% confidence interval (CI) for QTcF change was 3.22 milliseconds 3 hours postdose. Moxifloxacin showed the anticipated QTcF effect, indicating that the study had adequate sensitivity to detect changes in the QTcF interval. The study concluded that no QTcF effect was demonstrated with rivipansel compared with placebo, as the upper bound of the 2-sided 90%CI was less than 10 milliseconds at all times. Exposure-response modeling for rivipansel concentrations and change from baseline in QTcF data corroborated a lack of effect with rivipansel compared with placebo. Single doses of rivipansel 4 g by intravenous infusion over 20 minutes were well tolerated in this study.
NCEH-1 modulates cholesterol metabolism and protects against α-synuclein toxicity in a C. elegans model of Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an aging-associated neurodegenerative disease affecting millions worldwide. Misfolding, oligomerization and accumulation of the human α-synuclein protein is a key pathological hallmark of PD and is associated with the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons over the course of aging. Lifespan extension via the suppression of IGF-1/insulin-like signaling (IIS) offers a possibility to retard disease onset through induction of metabolic changes that provide neuroprotection. The nceh-1 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans encodes an ortholog of neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase 1 (NCEH-1), an IIS downstream protein that was identified in a screen as a modulator of α-synuclein accumulation in vivo. The mechanism whereby cholesterol metabolism functionally impacts neurodegeneration induced by α-synuclein is undefined. Here we report that NCEH-1 protects dopaminergic neurons from α-synuclein-dependent neurotoxicity in C. elegans via a mechanism that is independent of lifespan extension. We discovered that the presence of cholesterol, LDLR-mediated cholesterol endocytosis, and cholesterol efflux are all essential to NCEH-1-mediated neuroprotection. In protecting from α-synuclein neurotoxicity, NCEH-1 also stimulates cholesterol-derived neurosteroid formation and lowers cellular reactive oxygen species in mitochondria. Collectively, this study augments our understanding of how cholesterol metabolism can modulate a neuroprotective mechanism that attenuates α-synuclein neurotoxicity, thereby pointing toward regulation of neuronal cholesterol turnover as a potential therapeutic avenue for PD.
Super-swelled lyotropic single crystals

Lipids self-assemble into diverse supramolecular structures that exhibit thermotropic and/or lyotropic behavior. Lyotropic mesophases, where membranes conform to periodic minimal surfaces dividing two nonpenetrating aqueous subspaces, are arguably one of the most intriguing phases of lipid materials. Traditional 3D bicontinuous cubic lipid materials appear as a polycrystal of varying degrees of order. When exposed to water, the properties of the molecular building blocks of the membrane determine specific swelling limits setting the lattice dimensions at about 15 nm. This limited swelling severely impairs their application as delivery vehicles of large drugs or as matrices for guiding protein crystallization. We report the discovery of self-assembly strategies leading to the emergence of lipid bicontinuous single crystals with unprecedented swelling capacity. The conventional strategy to increase unit cell size is tweaking membrane composition to include charged building blocks, a process to achieve electrostatic-driven swelling. In this paper, we demonstrate that controlling self-assembly external conditions when coupled to membrane composition yields 3D bicontinuous cubic phases that swell up to lattice dimensions of 68 nm. Importantly, and contrary to what is perceived for soft lyotropic materials in general, the self-assembly methodology enables the development of large super-swelled monocrystals. Utilizing small-angle X-ray scattering and cryoelectron microscopy, we underpin three crucial factors dictating the stabilization of super-swelled lipid bicontinuous cubic single crystals: (i) organic solvent drying speed, (ii) membrane charge density, and (iii) polyethylene glycol-conjugated lipids amount.
A smart building system integrated with an edge computing algorithm and IoT mesh networks: demo abstract

This poster presents a smart building system integrated with the emerging edge computing technology and IoT Mesh networks. More specifically, first we have established an IoT Mesh network with one IoT host/server and three devices. And the next step is to develop the data analysis algorithm at the network edge and to connect to the GoKit cloud service with a GizWits V3.0 board. The system will show an effective solution to smart home/building with proposing a cloud-edge-IoT system, and fundamentally extending the connection area to cover an entire farm or factory.
Cetuximab-Associated Crescentic Diffuse Proliferative Glomerulonephritis

Cetuximab-induced nephrotoxicity is very rare, occurring in less than 1% of colorectal cancer patients and not defined in other populations. We report a rare case of crescentic diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis (GN) that developed in close temporal association with cetuximab treatment. A 65-year-old female recently completed chemotherapy with cetuximab treatment for moderately differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma. She was admitted with acute renal failure and nephrotic-range proteinuria. Laboratory data showed serum creatinine of 6.6 mg/dl and urinalysis showed proteinuria, moderate hemoglobinuria, hyaline casts (41/LPF), WBC (28/HPF), and RBC (81/HPF). Serologic studies were negative for ANA, anti-GBM, ANCA, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Serum C3 and C4 level were normal. Renal biopsy showed crescentic diffuse proliferative GN with focal features of thrombotic microangiopathy. Patient was started on cyclophosphamide and steroids. Her renal function did not improve on day 8 and she was started on hemodialysis. Previous reports suggest that EGFR-targeting medications can possibly trigger or exacerbate an IgA-mediated glomerular process leading to renal failure. This case suggests that cetuximab therapy may have triggered or exacerbated a severe glomerular injury with an unfavorable outcome. Treating physicians should maintain a high degree of caution and monitor renal function in patients on EGFR inhibitors.
Pedestrian-Safe Smart Crossing System Based on IoT with Object Tracking

Crosswalk is a way to sharing the road between vehicle and people. As the population increases, the chance of accident rises. Due to efforts on decreasing accidents, the total number of accident decreases annually. Nevertheless, the number of pedestrian accident in crosswalks is not decreased for a decade. In this paper, we propose a Pedestrian-Safe Smart Crosswalk System based on IoT using a CCTV with object tracking to reduce and save lives from an accident.
Evaluation of paralleled battery system with SOC balancing and battery impedance magnitude measurement

This paper presents an evaluation of paralleled battery system with State-of-Charge (SOC) balancing, real-time battery impedance magnitude measurement, and output voltage regulation with sinusoidal current ripple cancellation using DC-DC power converter control. In the battery system, the SOC balancing is realized by controlling the discharge rate of each battery. At the same time, a sinusoidal perturbation at a given frequency with a phase shift is added to the duty cycle of power converter to perturb the voltage and current of each battery. By detecting the peak and valley value of the battery voltage and current, the magnitude of real-time impedance can be measured. An experimental prototype is built in the laboratory to evaluate the system.
What is a real Indian? The interminable debate of cultural authenticity

This article is less an attempt to answer the question of what it means to be a “real” Indian than an examination of the question itself. The complex process of separating the genuine from the spurious has been necessitated by the federal government’s continued employment of a blood quantum to determine who is and who is not Indian, the increasing numbers of people who are claiming Indian descent because of the popularity of Indian culture and, more recently, the financially inspired racial awakenings of those hoping to partake in the massive wealth generated by casino revenue. After five centuries (and counting) of colonization, miscegenation and forced assimilation, the issue of cultural authenticity has become a hotly debated and polarizing matter for everybody involved—everybody that is, except Indians themselves for whom the notion of an authentic cultural identity has always been very clearly defined.
The Creation of a Regulatory Framework: The Enactment of Glass-Steagall

This chapter examines a seminal moment in twentieth century banking regulation, namely the creation of the Glass-Steagall regulatory framework. Unlike many studies of regulation, though, this one views the regulatory process as dynamic in nature. Therefore, it employs a longer historical perspective to reveal more clearly the many forces, both economic and political, that were involved. My chapter begins by briefly recounting earlier American banking experiences. The United States never experienced anything resembling a laissez-faire period in banking. Throughout the whole of American history, governmental actors, whether at the state or federal levels, have sought to regulate banking. This history reveals the commonly held dichotomy between regulation, or state action, on one side, and deregulation, or state inaction, on the other, to be misleading. Instead, this chapter argues for the need to view regulation-deregulation as a continuum and thereby focus specifically on what each actor is doing in the regulatory arena. Doing so allows a scholar to determine better what forces and actors are involved in regulation, a process that is dynamic by its very nature. With this in mind, the chapter traces the ideas, individuals, and institutions behind Glass-Steagall’s creation. It focuses particular attention on the bill’s two congressional sponsors. Senator Carter Glass, (D-VA), the father of the Federal Reserve and firm adherent of the so-called real bills doctrine, sought to protect his institutional creation by further enshrining his mistaken monetary theory. In contrast, Representative Henry Steagall (D-AL), who had little interest in any particular monetary theory, sought to stem the banking panics and the harm caused to his rural constituents by advocating deposit insurance. My chapter examines the proposals advocated by these individuals, not only how they developed and evolved over the period, but also how they gained political support through both electoral change and worsening economic events, and ultimately obtained enough political support to become institutionalized. In gaining institutionalization, Glass-Steagall created artificial and uncompetitive financial markets. Although these contrived markets functioned well under static conditions, the inertia that immediately set in made them very difficult to alter under subsequent changing circumstances.
More than meets the eye-ethics in modern ophthalmology.

Introduction to the December 2010 issue of Virtual Mentor on the topic of Ethics in Ophthalmology. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Cell adhesion in ovarian cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death among gynecologic malignancies in the Western world. The disease presents late in more than two thirds of patients with spread in the peritoneal cavity on surfaces, intraparenchymal metastases, and in suspension in peritoneal and pleural effusions. Dissemination to and compromise of critical end organs is often the cause of patient morbidity and mortality. Methods of dissemination include the common hematogenous and lymphatic spread, but also shedding into the peritoneal cavity. It is this shedding and subsequent adherence to the serosal and organ surfaces that provides the first step in subsequent carcinomatosis and further metastasis. The advance into the peritoneal cavity, early compared with that seen with other adenocarcinomas of the pelvis and abdomen, is attributed to the ability of ovarian cancer (and fallopian tube cancers) to release tumor cells into the local environment and potential spaces of the peritoneal cavity. Different forms of cell adhesion are necessary to maintain survival signals to the tumor cell and to induce the changes in the local microenvironment needed to sustain and advance tumor development, such as induction or remodeling of local vasculature. As these processes are dissected and more is known, new and exciting advances in therapies targeted to adhesion have emerged.
Diffusion Theory and HIV Risk Behavior Change

Theories about social change are useful to the extent that they can lead to solutions for social problems. Diffusion of innovation theory has been applied to thousands of social change problems in various countries, often with successful results. But as with any social change theory, the application of diffusion theory can produce unsatisfactory results if the problem in question has certain characteristics which the theory does not adequately address. Typically, a theoretical model includes a variety of concepts which, by selective emphasis, allows change agents to fit the model to a particular problem, which may result in better descriptive, explanatory, and predictive ability, as well as a satisfactory solution to the social problem.
Clinical utilization of precision oncology decision support for genomically-informed cancer therapy.

11605Background: Precision oncology is hindered by the lack of decision support for determining whether patients’ genomic alterations are actionable. To bridge this knowledge gap, we established a ...
Does cesarean delivery impact infant weight gain and adiposity over the first year of life

Potentially driven by the lack of mother-to-infant transmission of microbiota at birth, cesarean delivery has been associated with higher risk of offspring obesity. Yet, no studies have examined when delivery-mode differences in adiposity begin to emerge. In this study, we examine differences in infant weight and adiposity trajectories from birth to 12 months by delivery mode. From 2013 to 2015, we recruited pregnant women into the Nurture Study and followed up their 666 infants. We ascertained maternal delivery method and infant birth weight from medical records. We measured weight, length, and skinfold thicknesses (subscapular, triceps, abdominal) when infants were 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age. The main outcome, infant weight-for-length z score, was derived based on the WHO Child Growth Standards. We used linear regression models to assess the difference at each time point and used linear mixed models to examine the growth rate for infant weight and adiposity trajectories. We controlled for maternal age, race, marital status, education level, household income, smoking status, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, and infant birth weight. Of the 563 infants in our final sample, 179 (31.8%) were cesarean delivered. From birth to 12 months, the rate of increase in weight-for-length z score was 0.02/month (p = 0.03) greater for cesarean-delivered than vaginally-delivered infants. As a result of more rapid growth, cesarean-delivered infants had higher weight-for-length z score (0.26, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.47) and sum of subscapular and triceps (SS + TR) skinfold thickness (0.95 mm, 95% CI: 0.30, 1.60)—an indicator for overall adiposity—at 12 months, compared to vaginally-delivered infants. Compared to vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery was associated with greater offspring rate of weight gain over the first year and differences in adiposity that appear as early as 3 months of age. Monitoring cesarean-delivered infants closely for excess weight gain may help guide primordial prevention of obesity later in life.
Observed Evolution of a California Undercurrent Eddy

AbstractA California Undercurrent eddy (Cuddy) was repeatedly surveyed using multiple Seagliders for over three months. Found and tracked off of the Washington–Vancouver Island coasts, this Cuddy t...
Why does allometry evolve so slowly

Morphological allometry is striking due to its evolutionary conservatism, making it an example of a certain sort of evolutionary stasis. Organisms that vary in size, whether for developmental, environmental, or evolutionary reasons, adopt shapes that are predictable from that size alone. There are two major hypotheses to explain this. It may be that natural selection strongly favors each allometric pattern, or that organisms lack the development and genetic capacity to produce variant shapes for selection to act on. Using a high-throughput system for measuring the size and shape of Drosophila wings, we documented an allometric pattern that has been virtually unchanged for 40 million years. We performed an artificial selection experiment on the static allometric slope within one species. In just 26 generations, we were able to increase the slope from 1.1 to 1.4, and decrease it to 0.8. Once artificial selection was suspended, the slope rapidly evolved back to a value near the initial static slope. This result decisively rules out the hypothesis that allometry is preserved due to a lack of genetic variation, and provides evidence that natural selection acts to maintain allometric relationships. On the other hand, it seems implausible that selection on allometry in the wing alone could be sufficiently strong to maintain static allometries over millions of years. This suggests that a potential explanation for stasis is selection on a potentially large number of pleiotropic effects. This seems likely in the case of allometry, as the sizes of all parts of the body may be altered when the allometric slope of one body part is changed. Unfortunately, hypotheses about pleiotropy have been very difficult to test. We lay out an approach to begin the systematic study of pleiotropic effects using genetic manipulations and high-throughput phenotyping.
Experimental Quantum Key Distribution at 1.3 Gbit/s Secret-Key Rate over a 10-dB-Loss Channel

We demonstrate quantum key distribution at 1.3-Gbit/s secret-key rates over a 10-dB-loss channel. By transmitting many photons per bit with multi-mode encoding our protocol overcomes channel loss to achieve gigabit-per-second rates without compromising security.
The Prevalence and Determinants of Cognitive Deficits and Traditional Diabetic Complications in the Severely Obese.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of cognitive deficits and traditional diabetic complications and the association between metabolic factors and these outcomes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study in severely obese individuals before bariatric surgery. Lean control subjects were recruited from a research website. Cognitive deficits were defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox ( RESULTS We recruited 138 severely obese individuals and 46 lean control subjects. The prevalence of cognitive deficits, CAN, retinopathy, and nephropathy were 6.5%, 4.4%, 0%, and 6.5% in lean control subjects; 22.2%, 18.2%, 0%, and 6.1% in obese participants with normoglycemia; 17.7%, 21.4%, 1.9%, and 17.9% in obese participants with prediabetes; and 25.6%, 31.9%, 6.1%, and 16.3% in obese participants with diabetes. Waist circumference was significantly associated with cognitive function (−1.48; 95% CI −2.38, −0.57) and E-to-I ratio (−0.007; 95% CI −0.012, −0.002). Prediabetes was significantly associated with retinal function (−1.78; 95% CI −3.56, −0.002). CONCLUSIONS Obesity alone is likely sufficient to cause cognitive deficits but not retinopathy or nephropathy. Central obesity is the key metabolic risk factor.