cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RNA dependent suppression of C9orf72 ALS/FTD associated neurodegeneration by Matrin-3

The most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a GGGGCC (G4C2) hexanucleotide repeat expansions in first intron of the C9orf72 gene. The accumulation of repetitive RNA sequences can mediate toxicity potentially through the formation of intranuclear RNA foci that sequester key RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), and non-ATG mediated translation into toxic dipeptide protein repeats. However, the contribution of RBP sequestration to the mechanisms underlying RNA-mediated toxicity remain unknown. Here we show that the ALS-associated RNA-binding protein, Matrin-3 (MATR3), colocalizes with G4C2 RNA foci in patient tissues as well as iPSC-derived motor neurons harboring the C9orf72 mutation. Hyperexpansion of C9 repeats perturbed subcellular distribution and levels of endogenous MATR3 in C9-ALS patient-derived motor neurons. Interestingly, we observed that ectopic expression of human MATR3 strongly mitigates G4C2-mediated neurodegeneration in vivo. MATR3-mediated suppression of C9 toxicity was dependent on the RNA-binding domain of MATR3. Importantly, we found that expression of MATR3 reduced the levels of RAN-translation products in mammalian cells in an RNA-dependent manner. Finally, we have shown that knocking down endogenous MATR3 in C9-ALS patient-derived iPSC neurons decreased the presence of G4C2 RNA foci in the nucleus. Overall, these studies suggest that MATR3 genetically modifies the neuropathological and the pathobiology of C9orf72 ALS through modulating the RNA foci and RAN translation.
Pattern-based Comparative Analysis of Techniques for Missing Value Imputation

Missing data is common in real-world problems and can affect the any statistical analysis significantly. A common way of dealing with this problem is to fill in the missing value. The technique used to impute data should be chosen very carefully to avoid incorrect inference about the data. This paper presents a comparative analysis of various techniques that can be used for imputing missing values in cross-sectional data under different scenarios. We use several algorithms on a variety of datasets to evaluate their performance in imputing missing values. Finally, we observe that a carefully chosen imputation technique helps in minimal distortion of analysis results.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-Reported Management of Chronic Conditions

Chronic conditions (CCs) management during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on patient activation (PA) and health locus of control (HLOC) remain unknown. This cross-sectional online survey study examined the role of COVID-19 pandemic-related worry or fear in PA and HLOC among patients with CCs. Individuals with CCs (n = 300) were recruited through MTurk Amazon. The questionnaire included sociodemographic questions, the Patient Activation Measure, and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control-Form B. Out of the 300 participants, 9.7% were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 7.3% were hospitalized. Patients with cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, drug abuse/substance abuse, and stroke reported significant difficulties in managing their CCs due to worry or fear because of COVID-19. More than half of the sample (45.7%) reported COVID-19-related worry or fear about managing their CCs, and these patients had lower PA and lower external HLOC compared to patients not affected by COVID-19-related worry or fear. Health professionals should provide more support for patients facing difficulties in managing their CCs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 50-Gb/s 134-GHz 16-QAM 3-m Dielectric Waveguide Transceiver System Implemented in 22-nm FinFET CMOS

This letter presents a 134-GHz superheterodyne transceiver system in 22-nm CMOS for dielectric waveguides measured at reaches up to 3 m. Greater than 12 GHz of RF bandwidth and 16 QAM signaling combine to achieve 50 Gb/s with a measured EVM of −19.8 dB ( $\sim 5\times 10^{-6}$ BER) at a total power consumption of 494 mW from a 1.0-V supply. External $2\times 2$ matrix equalization is employed to equalize channel impairments. The system achieves an FoM of 3.3 pJ/bit/m with the highest reported data rate for waveguide links at a distance greater than 1 m to date. Key transceiver circuit building blocks are described, including RF signal paths, wideband baseband amplifiers, and filters, an IF amplifier with 44% fractional bandwidth and a coil-less 53.6-GHz quadrature divider.
A CMOS potentiostatic glucose monitoring system for VACNF amperometric biosensors

In this paper we show a stable glucose monitoring system for vertically aligned carbon nanofiber based biosensors. The system is comprised of a modified grounded working electrode potentiostat using a common gate transimpedance amplifier and a current starved voltage controlled oscillator. The system provides a low power solution for portable applications and facilitates wireless data transfer. The system is implemented in a commercially available 0.18μm 6 metal 1 poly standard CMOS process. The potentiostat consumes 72.4μW of power from a 1.8V supply, and the system occupies 0.0457mm2 of chip area.
Structural determinants of the action against Escherichia coli of a human inflammatory fluid phospholipase A2 in concert with polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Extracellular 14-kDa phospholipases A2 (PLA2) in inflammatory exudates can contribute to bacterial phospholipid (PL) degradation during phagocytosis of Escherichia coli by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and are highly active toward E. coli treated with the bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) purified from PMN. PLA2 activity toward BPI-treated E. coli varies greatly among members of this conserved family of enzymes and apparently depends on a cluster of basic residues in a variable surface region near the NH2 terminus for recognition of this biological target (Weiss, J., Wright, G.W., Bekkers, A.C.A.P.A., van den Bergh, C.J., and Verheij, H.M. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 4162-4167). We have examined by site-specific mutagenesis of a recombinant PLA2 that is identical to an enzyme in human synovial fluid (containing His-6, Arg-7, Lys-10, and Lys-15 and a global net charge of +15) the role of basic residues in this region in PLA2 action against PLA-deficient (pldA-) E. coli. Substitution of Ser for Arg-7 +/- Gln for Lys-15 caused, respectively, about a 10- and 25-fold reduction in BPI-dependent PLA2 binding and activity to E. coli, but had no effect on hydrolysis of PL of autoclaved E. coli or dispersions of purified PL. PL degradation during phagocytosis was increased after pretreatment of E. coli (or PMN) with wild-type PLA2 followed by removal of unbound PLA2. Thus, the PLA2 binds to cells before phagocytosis followed by internalization of the enzyme along with E. coli and intracellular action. Mutant (e.g. R7S +/- K15Q) PLA2 show the same BPI-independent binding to E. coli as the wild-type enzyme but 10-30-fold reduced activity during phagocytosis, reflecting lower intracellular activity of these enzymes. Thus, structural determinants first implicated in PLA2 action toward E. coli treated with purified BPI apparently are also important in the intracellular action of PLA2 during phagocytosis by PMN.
A Framework for Incorporating Structural Prior Information into the Estimation of Medical Images

I propose a Bayesian model for medical image analysis that permits prior structural information to be incorporated into the estimation of image features. Inclusion of prior information is accomplished using the image model described in [7]. A distinguishing feature of this model is the specification of a hierarchical structure for image generation that explicitly incorporates region parameters. Importantly, these region identifiers allow prior information to be incorporated in a nondeterministic fashion, thus permitting prior structural information to be modified by image data with minimal introduction of residual artifacts. Furthermore, the resulting statistical model permits formation of previously unidentified structures based on the observed data likelihood.
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: cellular impairments and their implication for carrier detection

A family in which two male siblings were affected with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) was studied using G-6-PD isoenzymes as an X-linked marker in order to investigate the nature of cellular abnormalities. Isolated peripheral blood cell types from the doubly heterozygous mother of the affected males seemingly failed to express the G-6-PD allele in cis position with the WAS allele while her cultured skin fibroblasts expressed both G-6-PD alleles. Additionally, a histogram analysis of platelet size revealed a single population of abnormally small platelets in the affected propositus, whereas the heterozygous mother had no appreciable small platelet subpopulation. In vitro culture of hemopoietic progenitor cells of the heterozygous mother showed that the majority of progenitor cells did not express the WAS allele. However, a small number of cells expressing the G-6-PD type linked with the WAS allele were detected. The proportion of the latter progenitors was significantly higher among more primitive progenitors (those giving rise to later appearing colonies). This observation suggests that selection against cells expressing the Wiskott-Aldrich defect takes place in the hemopoietic system of the heterozygous female and offers a possible means of carrier detection in some women. Linkage studies in this family revealed one example of probable recombination between the loci for WAS and G-6-PD among three informative subjects, suggesting that these two loci may not be closely linked on the X-chromosome.
Critical Pedagogy and Teacher Education.

The authors offer their view of a normative basis for an approach to teacher education that contributes to the establishment of more critical and emancipatory practices in the public schools of the...
Electrical and thermal transport properties of iron and iron-silicon alloy at high pressure

[1] The efficiency of heat transfer by conduction in the Earth's core controls the dynamics of convection and limits the power available for the geodynamo. We have measured the room temperature electrical resistivity of iron and iron-silicon alloy to 60 GPa and present a new model of the resistivity at high pressures and temperatures relevant to the Earth's core. The model is compared with available shock wave data and theoretical studies. For a power law and linear temperature dependence of electrical resistivity, the calculated thermal conductivity at the core-mantle boundary is ~67–145 W/m/K for pure Fe and ~41–60 W/m/K for Fe–9 wt % Si. Impurities in the core have a strong effect on the transport properties of iron that could significantly impact core thermal models. The models describing the data indicate higher thermal conductivity at core pressure than previously suggested, requiring additional energy sources in the past to operate the geodynamo.
Animating Speech in Games

Realism in games is constantly improving with increased computing power available to games and as game players demand more visual realism. Therefore, facial animation and particularly animated speech, is becoming more prevalent in games. We present a survey of facial animation techniques suitable for 3D computer games. We break our discussion into two areas: modeling and animation. To model a face, a method of representing the geometry is combined with a parameterization that is used to specify a new shape for that geometry. Changing the shape over time will create animation, and we discuss methods for animating expressions as well as achieving lip-synchronized speech.
On the Termination of the Perfectly Matched Layer with Local Absorbing Boundary Conditions

Unsplit [4–5] perfectly matched layers (PML, see [1] for the original split-field formulation) have proven to be effective alternatives to local absorbing boundary conditions (ABC) for the truncation of computational domains employed in the numerical solution of electromagnetic wave propagation problems. The PML (0≤ z< d) is placed adjacent to a computational domain Ac (z< 0) and is truncated at z= d by imposing a homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition on the tangential Electric fields there, e.g., B= 1 in Fig. 1. This is equivalent to enclosing the computational domain with a metal (perfect electric conductor, or PEC) box whose inner walls are coated with a wave absorber of depth d and loss profile σ(s), where s is the depth coordinate into the layer. The electric and magnetic conductivities in the layer are then proportional to σ(s)= σmax sn , where n= 0, 1, 2, the constants of proportionality being the permittivity 2 and permeability μ, respectively. In applications the layer is tuned by varying σmax to achieve the maximum absorption of outgoing waves for given d and discretization parameters. A properly tuned layer typically provides more than 3 orders of magnitude reduction in spurious reflection due to artificial grid truncation over that afforded by classical approaches. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the possibility of further improving such performance by altering the boundary condition used to terminate it. Previous work on terminating the Berenger PML with local ABCs [2, 3] did not take into account the presence of loss in the layer and only examined the reflection properties of the composite layer obtained with operators B derived for the lossless wave equation. Consequently, little improvement was evident with those approaches leaving the hope that more improvement can be realized if the loss is taken into account. Herein, using as a starting point the two-dimensional unsplit PML equations [4, 5] for the TM polarization in a layer that is perpendicular to the ẑ-axis [5], we derive and implement
Indicial Function Predictions of Two Dimensional Unsteady Viscous Flows Around Bluff Bodies Based on Discrete Vortex Simulations

This paper provides aerodynamic indicial functions obtained through a discrete vortex computational fluid dynamics method for two-dimensional geometries, including two canonical sections, rectangular and elliptical shapes, and the Great Belt Bridge cross section. This methodology enables one to determine the unsteady lift and aerodynamic moment necessary in aeroelastic analysis of flexible bodies including flutter and vortex induced vibration. The predictions were obtained using an unsteady viscous flow solver, DVMFLOW, developed by COWI. The indicial functions developed have two exponential groups which parameters have been obtained using a nonlinear least square method. The numerical investigations show significant flow separation for the presented sections and an enhanced dynamic stall region at the initiation of a transient leading to higher values in the lift coefficient response. Vortex shedding frequency was also determined and the results are compared with other studies in the literature.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Structural Differences between Human Proteins and Aero- and Microbial Allergens Define Allergenicity

The current paradigm suggests that structural homology of allergenic proteins to microbial (particularly helminths) or human proteins underlie their allergenic nature. To examine systematically the structural relationships among allergens and proteins of pathogens (helminths, protozoans, fungi and bacteria) as they relate to allergenicity, we compared the amino acid sequence of 499 molecularly-defined allergens with the predicted proteomes of fifteen known pathogens, including Th2 inducing helminths and Th1-inducing protozoans, and humans using a variety of bioinformatic tools. Allergenicity was assessed based on IgE prevalences using publicly accessible databases and the literature. We found multiple homologues of common allergens among proteins of helminths, protozoans, fungi and humans, but not of bacteria. In contrast, 187 allergens showed no homology with any of the microbial genera studied. Interestingly, allergens without homologues or those with limited levels of sequence conservation were the most allergenic displaying high IgE prevalences in the allergic population. There was an inverse relationship between allergenicity and amino acid conservation levels with either parasite, including helminth, or human proteins. Our results suggest that allergenicity may be associated with the relative “uniqueness” of an antigen, i.e. immunogenicity, while similarity would lead to immunological tolerance.
Local Government Professionalism: Township Trustees in Indiana

This article examines the influence of local government professionalism on the generosity of poor relief in Indiana townships. Key findings are that generosity must be measured in multiple ways and that the model fits best when applied to the largest townships in the state. Communities with higher caseloads provide benefits to a larger share of the population and taxes are higher. Townships facing greater economic hardship have a larger proportion of their population receiving assistance and contribute more per community resident, but provide a lower average benefit. The model is less robust in explaining generosity when the largest townships are excluded.
Family victim advocates: the importance of critical job duties

Child advocacy centers across the United States intervened in more than 250,000 child abuse cases in 2011(National Children's Alliance, 2012). Understanding the work of family victim advocates is imperative to helping children and families in child abuse cases. In this exploratory study, we surveyed advocates and program directors from child advocacy centers (CACs) across the United States to compare their perceptions of the critical job duties of family victim advocates. Data analysis revealed that CAC directors rated the importance of these duties significantly higher than family victim advocates. Results suggest the need for additional training to ensure that family victim advocates understand the importance of critical job duties to meet the needs of children and families in child abuse cases.
Functional studies of yeast-expressed human heart muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase I.

Long-chain fatty acids are the primary source of energy production in the heart. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-I) catalyzes the first reaction in the transport of long-chain fatty acids from the cytoplasm to the mitochondrion, a rate-limiting step in beta-oxidation. In this study, we report the functional expression of the human heart/skeletal muscle isoform of CPT-I (M-CPT-I) in the yeast Pichia pastoris. Screening of a human heart cDNA library with cDNA fragments encoding the rat heart M-CPT-I resulted in the isolation of a single full-length human heart M-CPT-I cDNA clone. The clone has an open reading frame of 2316 bp with a 5' untranslated region of 38 bp and a 256-bp 3' untranslated region with the poly(A)+ addition sequence AATAAA. The predicted protein has 772 amino acids and a molecular mass of 88 kDa. Northern blot analysis of mRNAs from different human tissues using the human M-CPT-I cDNA as a probe revealed an abundant transcript of approximately 3.1 kb that was only present in human heart and skeletal muscle tissue. Expression of the human M-CPT-I cDNA in P. pastoris, a yeast with no endogenous CPT activity, produced an 80-kDa protein that was located in the mitochondria. Isolated mitochondria from the M-CPT-I expression strain exhibited a malonyl-coenzyme A (CoA)-sensitive CPT activity that was detergent labile. The I50 for malonyl-CoA inhibition of the yeast-expressed M-CPT-I was 69 nM, and the Kms for carnitine and palmitoyl-CoA were 666 and 42 microM, respectively. The I50 for malonyl-CoA inhibition of the heart enzyme is 30 times lower than that of the yeast-expressed liver CPT-I, and the Km for carnitine is more than 20 times higher than that of the liver CPT-I. This is the first report of the expression of a heart CPT-I in a system devoid of endogenous CPT activity and the functional characterization of a human heart M-CPT-I in the absence of the liver isoform and CPT-II.
An Automated Therapy Program for Articulatory Correction

An automated therapy program, which consisted of 10 half-hour sessions, was designed to establish appropriate production of the /ɝ/, /ɚ/, /ir/, /ar/, /+r/, /ɔr/, and /ur/ sounds in isolation and in...
One hundred twenty-five concomitant endovascular and open procedures for lower extremity arterial disease.

Abstract Objective: Although the results of staged endovascular and open surgical reconstructions have been well documented, the safety and efficacy of concomitant procedures in the operating room are less well defined. Suboptimal performance of endovascular procedures in an operative setting, or inappropriate reliance on endovascular techniques, might theoretically compromise graft patency. We questioned whether late graft thrombosis is frequently attributable to failure at the endovascularly treated site in this setting. Materials and Methods: Between May 1, 1993, and June 30, 2001, we performed 125 concomitant endovascular and open arterial reconstructions (73 primary reconstructions, 52 graft revisions) in 106 patients. Endovascular techniques were used to treat inflow lesions in 72 cases, outflow lesions in 14 cases, both in four cases, and the graft itself in 35 cases. Fifty-five iliac, 18 femoral, 13 popliteal, six tibial, and 35 graft lesions were treated. For primary bypasses, 33 were to the popliteal level (21 prosthetic, 12 autogenous), 19 were to the tibial or pedal arteries (16 autogenous, three prosthetic or composite), and 12 were to the femoral arteries (one autogenous, 11 prosthetic). Nine patch angioplasties (eight femoral, one popliteal) were performed. For graft revisions, endovascular intervention was for inflow in 13 cases, outflow in three cases, both in one case, and of the graft itself in 35 cases. Surgical revisions involved segmental grafts in 33 cases, patch angioplasty in 18 cases, and both in one case. Results: In the primary group, the initial technical success rate of the endovascular procedure was 93% (68/73), with five patients needing open conversion. The 30-day mortality rate was 1.4%, and the morbidity rate was 11.0%. Of the 19 grafts in the primary group that occluded during the follow-up period (mean, 11.9 months), five thromboses could possibly be attributed to failure at the endovascular site. In the revision group, the initial technical success rate of the endovascular procedure was 88% (46/52), with six patients undergoing conversion to open procedure. The 30-day mortality rate was 0%, and the morbidity rate was 15.4%. Of 22 late graft occlusions in the revision group, only three were attributed to failure at the endovascular site. Conclusion: This largest report to date of concomitant lower extremity endovascular and open revascularization procedures shows the approach to be safe. Few late graft occlusions were attributable to failure at the endovascularly treated site. The concomitant approach offers the efficiency and convenience of single stage therapy and allows immediate treatment for inadequate endovascular results or their complications and potential cost savings. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:316-22.)
Note on spherical motion

Abstract The acceleration of particles in a rigid body, rotating about a fixed point, is analyzed by using vectors.
The indirect maximal ventilatory volume: Reappraisal of the validity of FEV0.75 × 40 for routine use

Abstract Maximal ventilatory volumes (MVV) calculated from single forced expiratory volume (FEV) performed with the McKesson Vitalor were found to correlate closely with the directly obtained MVV in a wide range of chronic respiratory disease patients. The significance of this correlation is noteworthy for its practical implications. Its reliability under routine conditions and the simplicity of the instrument make the procedure suitable for use at bedside, in the physician's office, or in the pulmonary laboratory.
Pattern recognition in genetic sequences by mismatch density

A new development is introduced here in the use of dynamic programming in finding pattern similarities in genetic sequences, as was first done by Needleman and Wunsch (1969). A condition of pattern similarity is defined and an algorithm is given which scans any set of similarities and screens out those which fail to meet the condition. When the set to be scanned contains every pair of segments, one from each of two given sequences of lengthsm andn (i.e. every possible location for a pattern similarity), then it completes the scan in a number of computational steps proportional tom·n, leaving those pairs of segments which satisfy the similarity condition. The algorithm is based on the concept of match density, as suggested by Goad and Kanehisa (1982).
Indoor Tanning Among Young Non-Hispanic White Females

Indoor tanning is associated with an increased risk of skin cancer, especially among frequent users and those initiating use at a young age.1,2 Indoor tanning before age 35 years increases melanoma risk by 59% to 75%,1 while use before age 25 years increases nonmelanoma skin cancer risk by 40% to 102%.2 Moreover, melanoma risk increases by 1.8% with each additional tanning session per year.1 Melanoma incidence rates are steadily increasing, especially among young non-Hispanic white females, which may be due, in part, to indoor tanning.1,3 Currently, prevalence estimates of indoor tanning among this population are limited. Therefore, we examined the prevalence of indoor tanning and frequent indoor tanning (≥10 times) using nationally representative data among non-Hispanic white female high school students and adults ages 18 to 34 years.
Tom Andersen, Fleeting Events, the Bodily Feelings They Arouse in Us, and the Dialogical: Transitory Understandings and Action Guiding Anticipations

Although Tom Andersen talked a great deal of the importance of his ‘inner dialogues,’ he did not explicitly talk of himself as being a dialogical therapist. However, in trying to articulate what is important in the nature of all dialogically-structured practices, I want to use examples of his therapeutic practices, Tom Andersen's way of being Tom Andersen, examples that in fact exhibit many relevant features of such dialogically-structured practices. Central to them all is a move away from the Cartesian idea that events in the ‘outside’ or ‘external’ world are represented or pictured within us in some way (i.e., in our heads somewhere), and a move towards, a responsive understanding, a felt tendency or anticipation to go on in a particular way in relation to a particular circumstance out in the world at large. Something that the generalities described in theories, models, recipes, sets of principles, etc., that are common to all situations do not do.
On Thermodynamic Equilibrium in a Static Einstein Universe.

It has now become evident that the transformation of matter into radiation taking place throughout the universe and the red-shift observed in the light from the extra-galactic nebulae appear to imply a non-static quality in the universe which can be treated with some success with the help of a non-static cosmological line element.(1) If the quantity which gives the dependence of this non-static line element on the time is set equal to a constant, if is found that the line element then becomes the same as Einstein's original line element for a static universe. Hence the Einstein static universe may be regarded as a special case of the more general non-static universe, and we must continue to be interested in the properties of the Einstein universe not only because it is a limiting case of the more general model for the universe, but also because it represents a situation which might arise in the course of the evolution of the actual universe. The present article will deal with the thermodynamics of the Einstein universe, and in particular will treat the conditions for thermodynamic equilibrium between matter and radiation in such a universe assuming the possibility of their transformation into each other.
Constructing Multilayer Feedforward Neural Networks to Approximate Nonlinear Functions in Engineering Mechanics Applications

This paper presents a major step in the development and validation of a systematic prototype-based methodology for designing multilayer feedforward neural networks to model nonlinearities common in engineering mechanics. The applications of this work include (but are not limited to) system identification of nonlinear dynamic systems and neural-network-based damage detection. In this and previous studies (Pei, J. S., 2001, "Parametric and Nonparametric Identification of Nonlinear Systems," Ph.D. thesis, Columbia University; Pei, J. S., and Smyth, A. W., 2006, "A New Approach to Design Multilayer Feedforward Neural Network Architecture in Modeling Nonlinear Restoring Forces. Part I: Formulation," J. Eng. Mech., 132(12), pp. 1290-1300; Pei, J. S., and Smyth, A. W., 2006, "A New Approach to Design Multilayer Feedforward Neural Network Architecture in Modeling Nonlinear Restoring Forces. Part II: Applications," J. Eng. Mech., 132(12), pp. 1301-1312; Pei, J. S., Wright, J. P., and Smyth, A. W., 2005, "Mapping Polynomial Fitting Into Feedforward Neural Networks for Modeling Nonlinear Dynamic Systems and Beyond," Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng., 194(42-44), pp. 4481-4505), the authors do not presume to provide a universal method to approximate any arbitrary function. Rather the focus is given to the development of a procedure which will consistently lead to successful approximations of nonlinear functions within the specified field. This is done by examining the dominant features of the function to be approximated and exploiting the strength of the sigmoidal basis function. As a result, a greater efficiency and understanding of both neural network architecture (e.g., the number of hidden nodes) as well as weight and bias values is achieved. Through the use of illuminating mathematical insights and a large number of training examples, this study demonstrates the simplicity, power, and versatility of the proposed prototype-based initialization methodology. A clear procedure for initializing neural networks to model various nonlinear functions commonly seen in engineering mechanics is provided. The proposed methodology is compared with the widely used Nguyen-Widrow initialization to demonstrate its robustness and efficiency in the specified applications. Future work is also identified.
Effect of Soil Temperature and Plant Age at Time of Inoculation on Progress of Root Rot and Foliar Symptoms of Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome

Sudden death syndrome (SDS) of soybean is favored by planting in cool soil but epidemics can be severe even when planting occurs later in the season into warmer soil. Our objective was to determine how soil temperature affects susceptibility of plants exposed to Fusarium virguliforme at different ages. Soybean plants were grown in rhizotrons in water baths at 17, 23, and 29°C. Subsets of plants were inoculated 0, 3, 7, and 13 days after planting (DAP) by drenching soil with a conidial suspension. Root rot developed in all inoculated plants but severity decreased with increasing temperature and plant age at inoculation. Severity of foliar symptoms also decreased with increasing plant age. Whereas plants inoculated 0 DAP developed severe foliar symptoms at all temperatures, plants inoculated 3 and 7 DAP developed symptoms only at 17 and 23°C, and those inoculated 13 DAP never developed foliar symptoms at any temperature. Root length at inoculation was negatively correlated with disease severity. Our findings suggest that roots are most susceptible to infection during the first days after seed germination and that accelerated root growth in warmer temperatures reduces susceptibility to root infection conducive to foliar symptoms. However, soil temperature may not affect infections that occur as soon as seeds germinate.
Effect of 6-hydroxydopamine and thyroxine on chronotropic response to norepinephrine

Abstract Rats were pretreated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OH-DA), thyroxine (T 4 or a combination of 6-OH-DA and T 4 . At the end of the treatment period, the hearts were removed and perfused by the Langendorff technique; heart rate was recorded and the chronotropic response to various doses of norepinephrine was measured. Histochemical examination for catecholamine-containing nerves was performed on hearts from each group of animals. It was found that 6-OH-DA, but not T 4 , produced an increase in sensitivity of the heart to norepinephrine. Hearts from rats treated with 6-OH-DA, but not T 4 , were markedly depleted of adrenergic nerve terminals. It was concluded that chemical sympathectomy induced by 6-OH-DA caused the heart to be hypersensitive to norepinephrine and that 6-OH-DA was capable of producing marked depletion of sympathetic fibers in the myocardium.
Comparative survival of hepatitis A virus, poliovirus and indicator viruses in geographically diverse seawaters

The presence and persistence of enteric viruses in sewage contaminated seawater is an important public health concern for bathing, surfing and shellfishing. In an effort to find suitable indicators of enteric viruses in seawater, we compared the survival of two groups of enteric bacteriophages, F-specific coliphages (FRNA phages) and somatic Salmonella bacteriophages (SS phages), to the survival of two human enteric viruses, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and poliovirus type 1 (PV-1), in coastal seawater from three geographic areas (So. California, Hawaii, and North Carolina) at 20°C. Concentrations of all four viruses decreased over 30 days from their initial titers and there was little difference in the survival of a particular virus among the three seawaters. However, the extent of reduction varied among the four viruses. Survival was greater for the SS phages than for any of the other viruses, with an estimated 4 log 10 reduction time of about 10 weeks. FRNA phages and PV-1 were inactivated rapidly, with 4 log 10 reductions in ~ 1 week. HAV reductions were intermediate between SS phages and FRNA phages, with 4 log 10 reductions in about 4 weeks. The observed differences in virus survival suggest that SS phages are more persistent in seawater than other viruses and hence may be good indicators for enteric viruses in seawater.
Web mashup scripting language

The Web Mashup Scripting Language (WMSL) enables an end-user (you) working from his browser, e.g. not needing any other infrastructure, to quickly write mashups that integrate any two, or more, web services on the Web. The end-user accomplishes this by writing a web page that combines HTML, metadata in the form of mapping relations, and small piece of code, or script. The mapping relations enable not only the discovery and retrieval of the WMSL pages, but also affect a new programming paradigm that abstracts many programming complexities from the script writer. Furthermore, the WMSL Web pages or scripts that disparate end-users (you) write, can be harvested by Crawlers to automatically generate the concepts needed to build lightweight ontologies containing local semantics of a web service and its data model, to extend context ontologies or middle ontologies, and to develop links, or mappings, between these ontologies. This enables an open-source model of building ontologies based on the WMSL Web page or scripts that end users (you) write.
George Sudarshan, No-Go theorems and the exclusion principle

We review two areas of my work that were directly and indirectly initiated and inspired by George. One is the proofs of no-go theorems in combining the spacetime and internal symmetries in non-trivial ways and the other is how Georges firm conviction on the fundamentality of the spin-statistics theorem helped to expand the domain of applicability of the spin-statistics theorem into the arena of quarks and gluons, going far beyond the original application of the exclusion principle in atomic physics. In order to provide deeper understanding of mass differences of particles belonging to spin-degenerate multiplets, attempts have been made to see if some non-trivial way of embedding the Lorentz group and internal symmetry groups such as SU(2) and SU(3) into a larger group. When a hint of no-go theorem (that such non-trivial embedding cannot be achieved) first appeared, George went to work and led many of us, including myself, into this area of research. A series of proofs of no-go theorems by George, myself and others eventually led to the definitive proof by Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh that came to be known as the ORaifeartaigh theorem. Lochlainn also joined George at Syracuse at the same time I went there. The second area in which George had significant influence on my work is his fervent belief in the fundamental importance of the spin-statistics relationship. First postulated by Worlfgang Pauli to explain the periodic table of elements, the relationship the exclusion principle has exceeded far beyond its original domain of validity. The relationship has been upheld across the scale molecular, atomic, and nuclear structures. What is less known is the fact the relationship continues to remain valid in scales smaller than nucleons. The spin-statistics relationship was one of the compelling reasons for Nambu and I to introduce a new set of then undiscovered degrees freedom for quarks inside nucleons. This new degrees of freedom came to be called the color charges of quarks and it led to the non-Abelian gauge field theory of the strong interactions known today as the quantum chromodynamics. Georges insight into the spin-statistics relationship was indispensable in the birth of the new theory of the strong force.
An Adaptive Twelve-Channel Multiplexer

Abstract A multichannel satellite communication system using angle modulation can use the link with optimum efficiency only if the information rate and the angle modulation parameter values are varied as a function of the satellite link status. A military 12-channel multiplexer is being built with adaptive control to maintain a preselected signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the voice channels allowed to be on as the downlink carrier-to-noise ratio changes. The multiplexer uses conventional single sideband voice channel modulation, but each voice channel is switched on or off by an adaptive control unit. The FM modulator and demodulator parameters are also switched by the adaptive control unit. A sensor provides a continuous measurement of audio SNR, which is combined with operating control inputs in the adaptive control unit. The multiplexer also coordinates its adaptive state with that of the distant terminal multiplexer through an automatic data transmission terminal.
Effects of torsion on the 13C chemical shift in ethane

Abstract The 13 C chemical shift in ethane was calculated for optimized structures as a function of the dihedral angle, θ. The calculated shifts were corrected for bond length and HCH angle changes, with the residue being assigned to effects due to torsional motion. Treating the energy problem as a harmonic one the contribution of the chemical shift from torsional motion in ethane is estimated to be 0.5 ppm at room temperature, significantly smaller than typical rotation and vibration corrections. However, torsional effects should provide a noticeable contribution to the temperature dependence of the shift in ethane.
Against eliminative materialism: From folk psychology to Völkersychologie

Abstract In this paper it is argued that we would not be logically obliged or rationally inclined to reject the ontology of contentful psychological states postulated by folk psychology even if the explanations advanced by folk psychology turned out to be generally inaccurate or inadequate. Moreover, it is argued that eliminativists such as Paul Churchland do not establish that folk psychological explanations are, or are likely to prove, generally inaccurate or inadequate. Most of Churchland's arguments—based upon developments within connectionist neuroscience—only cast doubt upon the adequacy of ‘sentential’ theories of cognitive processing, not upon scientifically developed forms of folk psychological explanation of behavior, such as those offered by contemporary social psychology. Finally, it is noted that Churchland's brand of eliminativism rests upon a crude reductive criterion of theoretical adequacy that has little to recommend it, and suggested that the recognized theoretical limitations of contem...
Role of veterinary medicine in public health: antibiotic use in food animals and humans and the effect on evolution of antibacterial resistance.

Veterinary public health is another frontier in the fight against human disease. The veterinary public health scope includes the control and eradication of zoonoses, diseases that are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and man. These diseases pose a continuous hazard to the health and welfare of the public. More than 100 diseases are categorized as zoonoses, including salmonellosis. It is important to understand how antibiotics are used in humans and in food animals and how these uses affect the evolution of antibacterial resistance. Appropriate use of antibiotics for food animals will preserve the long-term efficacy of existing antibiotics, support animal health and welfare, and limit the risk of transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans. An understanding of the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance allows development of preventive strategies to limit existing resistance and to avoid emergence of new strains of resistant bacteria. Risk assessments are being used by the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as regulatory tools to assess potential risk to humans resulting from antibiotic use in food-producing animals and to then develop microbial safety policies to protect the public health. The veterinary public health scope, in addition to the control and eradication of zoonoses, also includes the development and supervision of food hygiene practices, laboratory and research activities, and education of the public. Thus, it may be seen that there are many ways in which veterinary medicine plays a very important role in public health.
A mutant selective anti-estrogen is a pure antagonist on EREs and AP-1 response elements.

Abstract Estrogen receptors (ERs) regulate gene transcription through classic estrogen response elements (EREs) as well as AP-1 responsive genes. The common SERMs Raloxifene, Tamoxifen, and ICI164384 function as ER antagonists on EREs but as ERβ agonists/partial agonists on AP-1 responsive genes. While developing a mutant selective analog of Raloxifene, that is an antagonist of ERα(E353A), we discovered an antagonist of wild-type ERα and ERβ that is also an antagonist of ERβ/AP-1 response. The analog, DRL527, represses basal AP-1 gene expression and antagonizes Raloxifene stimulated AP-1 expression. Therefore DRL527 has a unique, previously unreported, ERE/AP-1 activity profile.
An optimality treatment of syntactic inversions in English verse

Abstract This paper looks at syntactic inversions, a phenomenon first brought to the attention of Generative Metrics in Youmans [Youmans, G., 1983. Generative tests for generative meter. Language 59, 67–92]. These inversions are poetic lines that show disruption to the syntax so as to better satisfy the metrical constraints. In this paper, I show that two metrical constraints force these inversions, and that lines surface even with the violation of these metrical constraints. Furthermore, I argue that the inversions are best modeled by interleaving syntactic and metrical constraints, as certain types of syntactic constructions never occur. This suggests that some syntactic constraints outrank metrical ones, while other syntactic constraints are themselves outranked by the metrical constraints.
Combined use of subperiosteal implant and bone-marrow graft in deficient edentulous mandibles: A preliminary report

Abstract This is a preliminary report regarding a technique combining a subperiosteal metal implant and a marrow-bone graft. The purpose of this procedure is to restore the mandibular bone, which covers and protects the exposed mandibular canal and nerve, and to augment this graft procedure by a metal implant. The metal implant acts as a tray or crib to hold the bone graft in position and to protect it during initial healing period. Following this period, the implant will then receive the major part of the occlusal forces and will transmit them directly to the bone rather than against the mucosa. The implant posts are made so they can be removed to allow for the initial healing of the bone graft without communication with the oral cavity. Small screws are placed in position for about four weeks during healing to prevent bone from closing the screw holes. The postoperative course was uneventful, and results from the standpoint of function and comfort (Fig. 19) are excellent. There is no evidence of pressure paresthesia which was previously present when the patient used a soft tissue-borne mandibular denture. The marrow-bone graft is remodeling excellently, and in many areas, bone completely covers the metal implant. Clinical evaluations in three other patients as well as research on animals are currently being successfully conducted to investigate all aspects of this combination procedure. After 14 months, the initial clinical use of the technique has been most encouraging.
The Soviet debate on strategic arms limitation: 1968–72

(1975). The Soviet debate on strategic arms limitation: 1968–72. Soviet Studies: Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 27-45.
Serotonin depletion exacerbates changes in striatal gene expression following quinolinic acid injection

Abstract Controversy exists as to whether serotonin (5-HT) plays a neuroprotective role during brain injury. We sought to determine if prior 5-HT depletion alters gene expression patterns normally associated with NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity of the rodent striatum. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were treated systemically with saline or p -chlorophenylalanine ( p CPA, 350 mg/kg) to block 5-HT synthesis. After 3 days, these rats received unilateral injection (1 μl) of quinolinic acid (QA, 40 μg in 0.1 M phosphate buffered saline, pH 7.4) or saline vehicle directly into the anterior striatum. All rats were sacrificed 6 or 48 h later. Striatal tissues containing the saline or QA injection site were subjected to Northern analysis of preprotachykinin (PPT), preproenkephalin (PPE), and zif/268 mRNAs, as well as HPLC-EC detection of monoamines. At the time of the intrastriatal injection, 5-HT levels were depleted greater than 95% by p CPA as compared to saline controls. At 48 h post-QA injection, PPT and PPE mRNAs were markedly reduced within the striatal lesion site of saline/QA and p CPA/QA groups with respect to their contralateral uninjected control sides. In the p CPA/QA group, striatal PPE and PPT mRNA levels were further reduced as compared to the saline/QA group with PPE mRNA reductions reaching statistical significance at 95% (ANOVA with Scheffe F -test). Exacerbation of the excitotoxic lesion in the 5-HT depleted rat was further exemplified by a larger increase in zif/268 mRNA measured at 6 h post-intrastriatal injection in the p CPA/QA group as compared to saline/QA animals ( P F -test). These results suggest that 5-HT depletion may adversely affect neuronal survival following intrastriatal QA exposure and lend support to the hypothesis that increasing 5-HT levels during NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity may spare neurons destined to degenerate.