cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of two sensor data fusion methods in a tightly coupled UWB/IMU 3-D localization system

There currently exists a high demand for vehicles with ever increasing levels of autonomy. While some of these vehicles may depend on GPS for localization, other vehicles will require a more precise localization solution in order to perform their tasks. In addition, some vehicles may need to work in GPS denied environments. These issues could be addressed with the use of an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) ranging sensor fused with an Inertial-Measurement-Unit (IMU) using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). The main goal of this work is to investigate and compare two different sensor data fusion techniques to incorporate a 3-axis 9-DOF IMU in a tightly coupled fashion to a 3-D positioning solution that is derived from UWB signals. The techniques differ from each other in that the first fusion of the IMU data occurs in the prediction step and the second fusion occurs in the update step. Experimental results obtained with a quadcopter show that the data fusion performed in the update step outperforms the fusion performed in the prediction step. The results also show that when using very accurate UWB ranging sensors, the use of IMU data does not improve significantly the accuracy of the position. However, the integration of IMU data in the update step increases the robustness of the EKF against erroneous modelling of the process noise.
Relationships of Native and Exotic Strains of Phragmites australis to Wetland Ecosystem Properties

Invasions by exotic plant species like Phragmites australis can affect wetlands and the services they provide, including denitrification. Native and exotic Phragmites strains were genetically verified in 2002 but few studies have compared their ecosystem effects. We compared relationships between native and exotic Phragmites and environmental attributes, soil nutrient concentrations, and abundance and activity of soil denitrifying bacteria. There were no significant differences for any measured variables between sites with exotic and native strains. However, there were significant positive correlations between native Phragmites stem density and soil nutrient concentrations and denitrification rates. Furthermore, denitrifying bacterial abundance was positively correlated with nitrate concentration and denitrification rates. Additionally, there were significant negative correlations between water levels in native Phragmites sites and native stem density, nutrient concentrations, and denitrification rates. Surprisingly, we found no significant relationships between exotic stem density or water level and measured variables. These results suggest 1) the native strain may have important ecosystem effects that had only been documented for exotic Phragmites, and 2) abiotic drivers such as water level may have mediated this outcome. Further work is needed to determine if the stem density gradients were a consequence, rather than a cause, of pre-existing gradients of abiotic factors.
Revisiting gendered assumptions of practitioner power: An exploratory study examining the role of social media expertise

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to expand upon previous literatures in public relations power, and fill the need for more scholarship regarding practitioners’ perceptions of social media work, power, and gender. Findings from a survey of PRSA members showed that there is a gendered difference in power perception between males and females regardless of their PR roles or level of experience, but social media expertise was perceived equally between both genders. We argue that while social media expertise may serve to reduce a gendered power divide in public relations, continued critical exploration of social media and gender inequality is necessary.
The redeployment of attention to the mouth of a talking face during the second year of life.

Abstract Previous studies have found that when monolingual infants are exposed to a talking face speaking in a native language, 8- and 10-month-olds attend more to the talker’s mouth, whereas 12-month-olds no longer do so. It has been hypothesized that the attentional focus on the talker’s mouth at 8 and 10 months of age reflects reliance on the highly salient audiovisual (AV) speech cues for the acquisition of basic speech forms and that the subsequent decline of attention to the mouth by 12 months of age reflects the emergence of basic native speech expertise. Here, we investigated whether infants may redeploy their attention to the mouth once they fully enter the word-learning phase. To test this possibility, we recorded eye gaze in monolingual English-learning 14- and 18-month-olds while they saw and heard a talker producing an English or Spanish utterance in either an infant-directed (ID) or adult-directed (AD) manner. Results indicated that the 14-month-olds attended more to the talker’s mouth than to the eyes when exposed to the ID utterance and that the 18-month-olds attended more to the talker’s mouth when exposed to the ID and the AD utterance. These results show that infants redeploy their attention to a talker’s mouth when they enter the word acquisition phase and suggest that infants rely on the greater perceptual salience of redundant AV speech cues to acquire their lexicon.
Data Streaming Algorithms for Rapid Cyber Attack Detection

Internet has become an essential part of the daily life for billions of users worldwide. However, everyday we are still reading news stories about major security breaches, new polymorphic worm/virus spreading, identity theft, DDoS or phishing emails. Attackers are using botnets as an effective tool to conduct a wide range of criminal activities even more efficiently than before. It becomes very challenging to detect/defend cyber attacks in high-speed networks nowadays. Firstly, the Internet traffic exhibits huge fluctuations and long range dependence, which makes the attack traffic often be hidden by large volumes of normal traffic. In order to get reliable information for the malicious traffic, we must be able to process each packet in a wire speed. Secondly, ISPs want to detect the attacks when they are still at a low-profile volume in order to reduce the damage as much and early as possible. Therefore, the detection algorithm should be able to correlate multiple data sources and identify the root of causes efficiently. In this dissertation, we propose data streaming algorithms to detect/defend cyber attacks in high-speed networks. We propose a novel data structure to detect click frauds in the online advertising network, and track the command-and-control communications in the botnets. Next, we introduce a fast sketch for the aggregate queries in high-speed network traffic, which can preserve some critical information for root cause analysis, like IP addresses, port numbers, etc. This sketch can also be extended to track super spreaders. Lastly, we apply the low-rank matrix approximation to monitor network-wide traffic anomalies and traffic activity graphs.
Influenza A virus accelerates neutrophil apoptosis and markedly potentiates apoptotic effects of bacteria.

Neutrophils are recruited into the airway in the early phase of uncomplicated influenza A virus (IAV) infection and during the bacterial superinfections that are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in IAV-infected subjects. In this report, we show that IAV accelerates neutrophil apoptosis. Unopsonized Escherichia coli had similar effects, although apoptotic effects of opsonized E coli were greater. When neutrophils were treated with both IAV and unopsonized E coli, a marked enhancement of the rate and extent of neutrophil apoptosis occured as compared with that caused by either pathogen alone. Treatment of neutrophils with IAV markedly increased phagocytosis of E coli. Simultaneous treatment of neutrophils with IAV and E coli also elicited greater hydrogen peroxide production than did either pathogen alone. IAV increased neutrophil expression of Fas antigen and Fas ligand, and it also increased release of Fas ligand into the cell supernatant. These findings may have relevance to the understanding of inflammatory responses to IAV in vivo and of bacterial superinfection of IAV-infected subjects.
The Effects of Meditation and Yoga on Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is a chronic illness with physiological, behavioral, and psychosocial components implicated in the etiology and course of the disorder. Given its multifaceted nature, management of cardiovascular disease needs to be multidimensional and include attention to all risk factors. Research has indicated that modification of one risk factor (e.g., diet) does not lead to automatic benefits to other risk factors (e.g., exercise) (Prochaska, Nigg, Spring, Velicer, & Prochaska, 2010). Hence, attention needs to be focused simultaneously on both physiological and psychological components. For example, medical regimens need to be augmented by lifestyle changes that include diet and exercise. Psychosocial variables such as depression, hostility, and stress also play a key role in morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease and need to be independently managed. An explicit focus on techniques that involve concurrent physiological and psychological interventions makes mind-body therapies effective and appealing in dealing with cardiovascular disorders. Mind-body medicine is the most widely used domain of complementary and alternative medicine among the US population for treatment of medical conditions (NIH, 2004). Examples of mind-body medicine include meditation, yoga, relaxation, visual imagery, biofeedback, qigong, cognitive-behavioral therapies, support groups, tai chi, and spirituality. This chapter will focus on the most widely studied and used interventions, specifically, yoga and meditation.
Drawing policy implications from the ‘Operational Code’ of a ‘new’ political actor: Russian President Vladimir Putin

The task of both foreign policy makers and foreign policy scholars is complicated by the appearance on the international stage of a ‘new actor,’ about whom little information is available. The lack of information concerning such ‘new actors’ makes the job of explaining, predicting, and influencing that decision-maker’s choices many times more difficult. It is the argument of this paper that a multi-disciplinary approach, combining the political-psychology concept of an individual’s ‘Operational Code’ with the policy tasks of formulating guidelines for those who must deal with such ‘new actors,’ offers a way to overcome this problem. The case of Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation and a classic ‘new actor,’ is explored in depth on these terms.
On Synergy of Motivational Projects and Agile Software Development Practices

Nowadays the successful software vendor needs to pick up all modern software development techniques in order to face the globalization and rapidly evolving business world. Moreover we need to combine several techniques or derive more than one advantage from them. Agile software development practices are the one, which we discuss in this paper. These practices suit very well for the commercial software development although have certain common mistakes or problems, which we do propose to close during applying the software motivational projects. The main purpose of the last one is to motivate personnel as using only material techniques to motivate is clearly not enough. At the same time such motivational projects are a perfect opportunity to work and close agile software development problems like over or underestimating applying novel techniques, gold-plating in development and many others as we show in this paper.
Antibiotic residues distribute uniformly in broiler chicken breast muscle tissue

Use of antibiotics by the poultry industry has the potential to produce residues in edible tissues. In order to protect consumers, the U.S. federal government performs extensive evaluations to quantify residues in edible tissues to ensure that concentrations do not exceed the tolerance level. However, in the case of muscle tissue, the regulatory process does not differentiate between different edible muscle types in poultry. Previous studies performed by our laboratory determined higher fluoroquinolone residue concentrations in breast versus thigh muscle. Thus, if thigh tissues were used for residue monitoring, it would not accurately depict the higher concentrations. It is also possible that residue concentrations vary within tissues. To evaluate this possibility, fluoroquinolone antibiotic residues were determined for different breast sections. One hundred sixty chickens were randomly divided into four groups and dosed at 33 days of age with the fluoroquinolone antibiotic, enrofloxacin (Baytril), at either 25 ppm for 3 days, 25 ppm for 7 days, 50 ppm for 3 days, or 50 ppm for 7 days. Breast fillets were collected from each bird (n = 5 birds per day per group) during the dosing and withdrawal period. Each breast was divided into four sections (upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right) that were analyzed as individual samples for determination of fluoroquinolone concentration. Our results indicated no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the levels of enrofloxacin residues between breast sections during the dosing or withdrawal periods. Consequently, samples can be collected from any breast section to evaluate fluoroquinolone residue concentrations during the regulatory monitoring process.
The association between urinary genistein levels and mortality among adults in the United States.

Background Current research on the relationship between phytoestrogens and mortality has been inconclusive. We explored the relationship between genistein, a phytoestrogen, and mortality in a large cohort representative of the United States population. Methods Data were analyzed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999–2010. Normalized urinary genistein (nUG) was analyzed as a log-transformed continuous variable and in quartiles. Mortality data were obtained from the National Death Index and matched to the NHANES participants. Survival analyses were conducted using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazard models were constructed for all-cause and cause-specific mortality without and with adjustment for potential confounding variables. Results Of 11,497 participants, 944 died during the 64,443 person-years follow-up. The all-cause mortality rate was significantly lower in the lowest quartile compared to the highest quartile (incidence rate ratio = 2.14, 95%CI = 1.76 to 2.60). Compared to the lowest quartile, the highest quartile had significantly higher adjusted all-cause (HR = 1.57, 95%CI = 1.23 to 2.00), cardiovascular (HR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.04 to 2.68), and other-cause (HR = 1.85, 95%CI = 1.33 to 2.57) mortality. Conclusion We found that high urinary genistein levels were associated with increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and other-cause mortality. This is contrary to popular opinion on the health benefits of genistein and needs further research.
Medical conditions and modifiable risk factors for myelodysplastic syndrome: a systematic review

Background. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate medical conditions and modifiable risk factors for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) using the 2001 or 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria. Methods. PubMed, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases were searched for studies published between January 2001-August 2017. Study characteristics and findings were abstracted for each article. Results. Thirteen articles (4 cohort, 9 case-control) met the inclusion criteria. Smoking and alcohol use were each evaluated as potential MDS risk factors in four studies. Body mass index and anemia were each evaluated in two studies. Other potential risk factors evaluated in single studies included physical activity, dietary intake (tea, isoflavones, meat, fruit or vegetables), history of allergies, autoimmune disorders and community-acquired infections, and use of anti-tuberculosis drugs, traditional Chinese medicines or hair dyes. Conclusions. Higher BMI, smoking, a history of autoimmune disorders, community acquired infections, history of anemia, and use of anti-tuberculosis drugs were associated with higher risk of MDS. Vigorous physical activity, and tea and dietary isoflavone intake were associated with lower MDS risk. Findings suggest no association between the other factors and risk of MDS. Impact. Research on risk factors for MDS is limited, and further research in larger studies is needed.
Predicting the Strength of Stacking Interactions Between Heterocycles and Aromatic Amino Acid Side Chains

Despite the ubiquity of stacking interactions between heterocycles and aromatic amino acids in biological systems, our ability to predict their strength, even qualitatively, is limited. On the basis of rigorous ab initio data, we developed simple predictive models of the strength of stacking interactions between heterocycles commonly found in biologically active molecules and the amino acid side chains Phe, Tyr, and Trp. These models provide reliable predictions of the stacking ability of a given heterocycle based on readily computed heterocycle descriptors, eliminating the need for quantum chemical computations of stacked dimers. We show that the values of these descriptors, and therefore the strength of stacking interactions with aromatic amino acid side chains, follow predictable trends and can be modulated by changing the number and distribution of heteroatoms within the heterocycle. This provides a simple conceptual means for understanding stacking interactions in protein binding sites and tuning the...
Laying the Foundation for the National TeleNursing Center: Integration of the Quality-Caring Model Into TeleSANE Practice

In 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program was awarded a grant from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, to pilot the use of telemedicine technology to extend the reach of SANE expertise to six diverse communities across the United States. To meet the goals of this project, the National TeleNursing Center (NTC) developed a three-phase professional practice model integrating the Quality-Caring Model (QCM) to support the delivery of NTC teleSANE services. Using the QCM as a foundation for teleSANE practice ensures that patients experiencing a recent sexual assault who participate in teleSANE encounters receive quality forensic nursing care. In this article, we briefly review elements of the QCM, describe the application of the model to the NTC Professional Practice Model, and detail how teleSANEs integrate the QCM Caring Behaviors into all three phases of its model. The NTC Professional Practice Model provides a quality-based teleSANE model that may be translatable to other areas of telenursing practice.
Polymer-based Nanogenerator for Biomedical Applications

Polymeric devices are the workhorses of modern technologies. As one of the cutting-edge technology leveraging polymeric materials, nanogenerator that could convert micro-/nano-scale mechanical energy into electricity based on the mechanism of piezoelectricity and triboelectricity exhibited great promise for biomedical applications, owning to the simple configuration, high efficiency, decent electrical output, biomimetic property as well as excellent biocompatibility. In this manuscript, the recent representative developments of NGs in biomedical applications are reviewed. Fundamentals, such as working mechanisms underneath different NG prototypes are discussed, which is followed by innovative strategies endowing NG with biomimetic mechanical properties. Intriguing attempts to implement NG in specific biomedical fields(e.g., power source for implantable medical devices, therapeutic electric stimulator, etc.) are introduced and analyzed. This manuscript ends up with subsection summarizing existed challenges while providing potential solutions for future NG developments in biomedical engineering.
Women’s Empowerment and the Well-being of Children in Nepal:

This article examines the relationship between women’s empowerment and child well-being in Nepal. Various indicators of women’s empowerment and child well-being are presented and compared across th...
Discordance of renal drug dosing using estimated creatinine clearance and measured urine creatinine clearance in hospitalized adults: A retrospective cohort study.

Background Assessment of kidney function is fundamental to optimize drug dosing. The Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation is widely used but has questionable validity for females, changing renal function, and the critical ill. Eight-hour urine collections (U8h) offer direct measurement of creatinine clearance (CrCl) but lack the data for drug dosing. The primary objective of this study was to determine if there was a difference in renal drug dosing based on the estimation of CG CrCl (CrClCG) versus 8-h CrCl (CrCl8h). Methods This was an observational, retrospective cohort study of adult patients admitted between March 2018 and September 2018 with a collection U8h during hospitalization. The primary outcome was discordance of renal drug dosing defined as the percentage of U8h for which at least one different active medication CrCl dosing cutoff would result using the CrClCG versus CrCl8h. The secondary outcomes were correlation between CrClCG and CrCl8h and percentage of CrClCG values outside ± 20% of the CrCl8h. Results One hundred collections drawn from 85 unique patients (50.6% male, median age 55 [41-70] years, intensive care unit 88%) were included in the analysis. Median serum creatinine was 0.76 (0.52-1.06) mg/dL and blood urea nitrogen was 20 (14-28) mg/dL at time of collection8h. Median CrCl8h was 86.2 (43.5-140.3) mL/min versus 99.7 (56.5-166.9) mL/min CrClCG(P < 0.001) and discordance was 25%. The correlation between CrCl8h and CrClCG was 0.76 (P < 0.001). Only 31% of CrClCG values were within ± 20% of the CrCl8h value. Conclusion We found 25% discordance for drug dosing between CrCl8h and CrClCG. Further studies are needed to determine the impact on clinical outcomes.
The Role of Pension Business Benefits in Institutional Block Ownership and Corporate Governance

We investigate whether potential pension contracting benefits lead institutions that provide pension services to acquire ownership blocks in firms and the implications of such blockholdings on the firms’ corporate governance. We use the 2006 Pension Protection Act, which expanded pension participation in certain states, as a quasi-exogenous shock and find an increase in block ownership by pension-providing institutions in firms with substantial operations in affected states. Further, we find that the acquisition of a large block increases the likelihood that the institution will provide future pension services to the firm. With regard to corporate governance, we find that the acquisition of large pension blockholdings is associated with higher CEO pay and lower CEO turnover following poor financial performance. However, contrary to the prediction of the private benefits hypothesis, we do not find consistent evidence that large pension blockholdings are associated with declining firm profitability, suggesting that pension institutions are incentivized to exert monitoring to preserve the investment value of their blockholdings. Overall, our evidence is consistent with pension service institutions acquiring ownership blocks to obtain pension contracts, but our evidence does not support the prediction that they use their influence to compromise shareholder value.
Faster than warp speed: early attention to COVD-19 by anti-vaccine groups on Facebook.

BACKGROUND: The unprecedented rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has faced SARS-CoV- (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy, which is partially fueled by the misinformation and conspiracy theories propagated by anti-vaccine groups on social media. Research is needed to better understand the early COVID-19 anti-vaccine activities on social media. METHODS: This study chronicles the social media posts concerning COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines by leading anti-vaccine groups (Dr Tenpenny on Vaccines, the National Vaccine Information Center [NVIC] the Vaccination Information Network [VINE]) and Vaccine Machine in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (February-May 2020). RESULTS: Analysis of 2060 Facebook posts showed that anti-vaccine groups were discussing COVID-19 in the first week of February 2020 and were specifically discussing COVID-19 vaccines by mid-February 2020. COVID-19 posts by NVIC were more widely disseminated and showed greater influence than non-COVID-19 posts. Early COVID-19 posts concerned mistrust of vaccine safety and conspiracy theories. CONCLUSION: Major anti-vaccine groups were sowing seeds of doubt on Facebook weeks before the US government launched its vaccine development program 'Operation Warp Speed'. Early anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns outpaced public health messaging and hampered the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
Guideless optical sensing using space-time surface plasmon polaritons

Surface plasmon polaritons have been employed in a wide spectrum of sensing applications. However, as a surface plasmon polariton propagates along the surface of a metal-dielectric interface it rapidly diffracts and is absorbed reducing the sensitivity of a measurement. Attempts to prevent diffraction have included waveguides of many types but these require precise fabrication to mitigate dissipative losses. We propose using space-time surface plasmon polaritons for sensing. Our calculations show that proper selection of spatial frequency and temporal frequency correlations will produce a wave packet that propagates without diffraction or dispersion. This is possible without any waveguides or surface patterning.
A rectovaginal septum mass in a BRCA1 positive patient years after risk reducing surgery: A case report.

Ovarian cancer accounts for 1.3% of all incident cancers in US women. Ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers have the highest proportion of heritable germline mutations. Women with BRCA1 have a lifetime risk through age 70 of pelvic cancer of 39–46%. With BRCA2 mutation the lifetime risk through age 70 is approximately 12–20% (King, 2003), (Chen and Parmigiani, 2007). A 2009 meta-analysis reported that risk reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RRBSO) was associated with 79% reduction in risk of BRCA-associated gynecologic cancer (Rebbeck et al., 2009). Despite the significant risk reduction with RRBSO for BRCA positive patients, there remains an approximately 4% risk of primary peritoneal cancer after risk reducing surgery (Finch et al., 2006). To our knowledge, based on review of Pubmed, Medline, and Cochrane databases as well as institutional library database encompassing most scientific journals, using search terms rectovaginal septum mass, BRCA, and papillary serous carcinoma, there are no reported cases of adenocarcinoma developing in a Mullerian remnant in the rectovaginal septum in a BRCA1 patient.
Persons and Profiles: Chitra Ganesh and Mariam Ghani's Index of the Disappeared (2004-)

This essay examines the artist project by Chitra Ganesh and Mariam Ghani, Index of the Disappeared (2004-present), focusing on how the project entwines studio, research, and long-term site-responsi...
Langerhans cell histiocytosis: Version 2021

Children with Langerhnans cell histiocytosis (LCH) develop granulomatous lesions with characteristic clonal CD207+ dendritic cells that can arise as single lesions or life-threatening disseminated disease. Despite the wide range of clinical presentations, LCH lesions are histologically indistinguishable based on severity of disease, and uncertain classification as an immune versus neoplastic disorder has historically challenged the development of optimal clinical strategies for patients with LCH. Recently, activating somatic mutations in MAPK pathway genes, most notably BRAFV600E, have been discovered in almost all cases of LCH. Further, the stage of myeloid differentiation in which the mutation arises defines the extent of disease and risk of developing LCH-associated neurodegeneration. MAPK activation in LCH precursor cells drives myeloid differentiation, inhibits migration, and inhibits apoptosis, resulting in accumulation of resilient pathologic dendritic cells that recruit and activate T cells. Recurrent somatic mutations in MAPK pathway genes have also been identified in related histiocytic disorders: juvenile xanthogranuloma, Erdheim-Chester disease, and Rosai-Dorfman disease. New insights into pathogenesis support reclassification of these conditions as a myeloid neoplastic disorders. Continued research will uncover opportunities to identify novel targets and inform personalized therapeutic strategies based on cell of origin, somatic mutation, inherited risk factors, and residual disease.
THE PERFORMANCE OF PD, PT, AND PD-PT CATALYSTS IN LEAN EXHAUST

A matrix of pelleted catalysts composed of Pt, Pd, Pt co- impregnated with Pd, and Pt physically mixed with Pd supported on Al2O3 were compared with the same noble metal formulations supported on CeO2/Al2O3 for lightoff and warmed-up performance in net lean exhaust. These catalysts were tested as prepared (fresh) and following a relatively severe thermal aging treatment (cycled between net lean and net rich environment at 1000 degrees C for 4 h). Pd showed better lightoff performance than Pt for catalyzing the oxidation of propylene, while Pt showed better lightoff and warmed-up performance than Pd for catalyzing the oxidation of propane. Having both Pt and Pd present as a result of co-impregnation or physical mixture results in good lightoff and warmed-up performance for the conversion of both types of hydrocarbons. The presence of CeO2 generally decreases lightoff performance for most of these catalysts. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 858138.
Molecular Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Biomarker FDDNP Binding to Aβ Amyloid Fibril.

Using isobaric–isothermal replica exchange molecular dynamics and the all-atom explicit water model, we examined the binding of FDDNP biomarkers to the Aβ amyloid fibril fragment. Our results can be summarized as follows. First, FDDNP ligands bind with high affinity to the Aβ fibril, and the hydrophobic effect together with π-stacking interactions are the dominant factors governing FDDNP binding. In comparison, electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding play a minor role. Second, our simulations reveal a strong tendency of bound FDDNP molecules for self-aggregation. Accordingly, about two-thirds of all bound ligands form aggregated clusters of various sizes, and ligand–ligand interactions make considerable contribution to FDDNP binding. Third, FDDNP ligands bind to two distinct sites on the Aβ fibril. Primary binding sites (NT) are located at the N-terminals of Aβ10–40 peptides, whereas secondary ones (CE) occur on the concave fibril edge near fibril channels. The NT sites are characterized by strong...
Non-TrkA-expressing small DRG neurons are lost in TrkA deficient mice

Experiments over the past decade in which NGF/TrkA signaling has been abolished by antibodies or targeted gene mutations have shown that 70-85% of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons require NGF for survival during development. There is consensus that many of the NGF-dependent neurons are small-diameter, peptidergic neurons subserving nociception. These neurons express the signaling receptor for NGF, TrkA. There is a major discrepancy, however, between the percentage of DRG neurons which require NGF for survival (70-85%) and percentage of DRG neurons expressing TrkA receptors (40-50%). The identity of these non-TrkA expressing, NGF-dependent neurons has not been established. A candidate group is a population of small DRG neurons with unmyelinated axons which bind BSI isolectins from the plant, Bandeiraea simplicifolia. We show here that most of these BSI-binding DRG neurons do not express TrkA in adult mice. However, in mutant mice in which NGF/TrkA signaling has been abolished by inactivation of the trkA gene, BSI-staining in the DRG and dorsal horn is completely eliminated. BSI-binding DRG cells are thus the first identified neuronal population in which cells do not express TrkA in maturity, but require NGF/TrkA signaling for survival during embryonic development. These neurons must either depend on NGF via a novel, indirect mechanism or alternatively, downregulate TrkA expression during development.
A mechanical-electrochemical theory of defects in ionic solids

In this paper we present a coupled thermodynamic formulation to predict stresses, in an ionic solid due to diffusion of charged defects in an electrochemical potential gradient. Chemical expansion is considered primarily by treating compositional strains as eigen strains. Two material properties are introduced a) A second order tensor that represents the eigen strains in the solid due to non-stoichiometry and b) A fourth order tensor that represents the variations in elastic properties due to non-stoichiometry. A general theory is first developed for a steady state, isothermal condition, while considering typical electrochemical reactions at the interface and the bulk of a typical oxide ion conductor by considering all the major defects that are known to operate. Two geometries typical of solid electrolytes (planar and tubular) are considered, involving diffusion of vacancies and electrons. The governing equations are solved for the resulting stresses due to chemically induced strains resulting from a deviation in the stoichiometric composition of the solid. The results show the influence of considering the coupled problem on the distribution of defects, electrostatic potential, and the current voltage characteristics.
Abstract P261: Methylation Status of VKORC1 and Warfarin Dose

Introduction: It is well known that genetic variants, especially in the VKORC1 and CYP2C9 genes, can be associated with warfarin maintenance dose. However, currently known genetic variants fail to explain a large portion of the observed variability in warfarin dose, especially in African American patients. Methylation is a heritable epigenetic modification in which conversion of cytosine residues within “CpG islands” to 5-methylcytosine is associated with reduced gene expression. To our knowledge, the effect of methylation status on warfarin dose has never been studied. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that higher rates of methylation near the start region of VKORC1 in whole blood would be associated with lower required maintenance dose in warfarin patients. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients initiating warfarin at three anticoagulation clinics. All individuals with available methylation data who reached maintenance dose were included in the analysis (N = 237). Methylation status was assessed in the region from 1500bp upstream to 500bp downstream of the VKORC1 start site using the Sequenom EpiTYPER assay on DNA extracted from whole blood. Linear regression was used to assess the association between methylation levels at individual CpG sites (66 total) and required warfarin maintenance dose. Visual inspection of univariable results was used to identify potentially important CpG clusters, which were subsequently examined using univariable and multivariable linear regression, with the latter adjusting for the effects of race, presence of VKORC1 variant, and other well-known predictors of warfarin dose. Results: Two of 66 CpG sites were nominally associated with lower maintenance dose requirement on univariable analysis. These CpG sites were identified as part of a CpG cluster located approximately 330 to 226bp upstream of the VKORC1 start site. Median methylation levels in this cluster was 16% (IQR 15%, 17%). A 1% increase in methylation in this cluster was associated with a 2.8 mg/wk reduction in weekly warfarin maintenance dose (P = 0.02). No significant interaction between methylation status and African American race was observed (P = 0.77). This association was substantially attenuated with the inclusion of VKORC1 variant status in the model (P = 0.33). Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that methylation levels in a CpG cluster in VKORC1 may be moderately associated with warfarin maintenance dose, although this association may not be independent of VKORC1 variant status. However, these results require confirmation from additional epidemiological studies and possibly functional assays in liver tissue.
Preventing the “Abuses” of Democracy: Hayek, the “Military Usurper” and Transitional Dictatorship in Chile?

Hayek famously claimed that he would prefer a "liberal" dictator to "democratic government lacking in liberalism." While Hayek's views of the Pinochet regime have generated much controversy, surprisingly little has been written about Hayek's defense of transitional dictatorship. Making use of previously un-translated foreign language archival material, this paper helps shed light on Hayek's views of authoritarianism, totalitarianism, transitional dictatorship, and the Pinochet regime as well as helping to separate Hayekian 'fact' from Hayekian 'fiction'. © 2012 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.
Mothers’ Partnership Instability and Coparenting Among Fragile Families†

Objectives The rise in nonmarital childbearing has raised concerns about coparenting among unmarried parents with increasingly complicated relationship trajectories. We address this issue by examining associations between mothers’ partnership transitions and coparenting and the moderating role of maternal race/ethnicity and child gender. Methods Data from the Fragile Families Study and ordinary least squares regression techniques are used to examine whether mothers’ partnership transitions are related to coparenting. Lagged and fixed effects models are employed to test the robustness of the findings to selection. Results Coresidential and nonresidential dating transitions are negatively associated with coparenting, but the association is stronger for coresidential transitions than for dating transitions. Coresidential transitions are stronger predictors of coparenting for white parents than for black parents and for parents of sons than for parents of daughters. Conclusions Policies aimed at strengthening families should emphasize relationship stability, regardless of the type of union, to promote high-quality coparenting among at-risk populations.
Some Realism About Environmental Skepticism: Bjorn Lomborg's 'the Skeptical Environmentalist'

In the short time following its release, Bjorn Lomborg's book, 'The Skeptical Environmentalist', has proven to be a lightning rod for controversy and polarized reaction. The work has attracted downright fawning reviews in The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post while simultaneously garnering absolute scorn from such ordinarily staid publications as Science, Nature, and Scientific American. To this author's knowledge, however, no academic journal yet has published a sustained analysis of the work and its implications for environmental science, law, and policy. This review essay attempts to fill that niche by undertaking a thorough assessment of Lomborg's argument, his evidence, and his significance to the environment-development discussion. Part I provides a critical review of Lomborg's claim that available scientific research undermines the 'Litany' of fears and concerns espoused by advocates of environmental protection. Part II examines Lomborg's argument that environmental policy, risk regulation, and other subjects of social decision making are best addressed through an exclusive and narrowly defined use of cost-benefit analysis. Some thoughts on less technocratic forms of cost-benefit analysis conclude the essay.
Landing of a Quadcopter on a Mobile Base Using Fuzzy Logic

In this paper, we present control systems for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which provides aerial support for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). The UGV acts as a mobile launching pad for the UAV. The UAV provides additional environmental image feedback to the UGV. Our UAV of choice is a Parrot ArDrone 2.0 quadcopter, a small four rotored aerial vehicle, picked for its agile flight and video feedback capabilities. This paper presents design and simulation of fuzzy logic controllers for performing landing, hovering, and altitude control. Image processing and Mamdani-type inference are used for converting sensor input into control signals used to control the UAV.
XI. On the phænomena of the horizontal moon

(1807). XI. On the phaenomena of the horizontal moon. The Philosophical Magazine: Vol. 29, No. 113, pp. 65-68.
Placement of a permanent epicardial pacemaker in children using a subcostal approach.

Abstract Background . Previously described techniques for epicardial pacemakers in children have generally included either a left thoracotomy approach or a subxiphoid incision. Methods . We have recently used a single left subcostal incision for placement of both the epicardial electrodes and the pacemaker generator. We report our initial experience with this technique in 8 patients. The mean age was 4 years (range, 4 months to 12 years). The smallest patient weighed 4,100 g. Results . The subcostal approach was successful in 7 patients. One patient with a narrow costal margin operated on early in our experience required conversion to a thoracotomy. The pacing thresholds were uniformly excellent in all patients. There have been no associated complications. Conclusions . Placement of epicardial leads using a left subcostal incision avoids a thoracotomy, is simpler than a subxiphoid approach, and results in acceptable thresholds with minimal morbidity.
Effects of the clique-potentials on maximum a posteriori region segmentation

In this paper we review image modeling using Gibbs-Markov random fields and empirically investigate the effects of clique potentials in the Gibbs-Markov models when used in maximum a posteriori (MAP) segmentation of textured images.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Enumeration of small collections violates Weber's law.

In a phenomenon called subitizing, we can immediately generate exact counts of small collections (one to three objects), in contrast to larger collections, for which we must either create rough estimates or serially count. A parsimonious explanation for this advantage for small collections is that noisy representations of small collections are more tolerable, due to the larger relative differences between consecutive numbers (e.g., 2 vs. 3 is a 50 % increase, but 10 vs. 11 is only a 10 % increase). In contrast, the advantage could stem from the fact that small-collection enumeration is more precise, relying on a unique mechanism. Here, we present two experiments that conclusively showed that the enumeration of small collections is indeed “superprecise.” Participants compared numerosity within either small or large visual collections in conditions in which the relative differences were controlled (e.g., performance for 2 vs. 3 was compared with performance for 20 vs. 30). Small-number comparison was still faster and more accurate, across both “more–fewer” judgments (Exp. 1), and “same–different” judgments (Exp. 2). We then reviewed the remaining potential mechanisms that might underlie this superprecision for small collections, including the greater diagnostic value of visual features that correlate with number and a limited capacity for visually individuating objects.
Inverse scattering for geophysical problems

Abstract A method for finding wave velocity from the scattering data is given for three-dimensional problems.
Clinical Differentiation of Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s Disease

We present clinical features and tremor characterization in a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as in two cases of essential tremor (ET) with some parkinsonian features but no evidence of dopaminergic terminal loss on 123I-FP-CIT Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). Relatively slow frequency rest tremor and bilateral upper extremity bradykinesia without decrementing amplitude were observed in the ET cases, with unilaterally decreased arm swing in case 3. Alternating rest tremor and re-emergent tremor with 13 second latency was confirmed in the PD case. Re-emergent tremor had alternating characteristics, which to our knowledge has not been previously reported. The ET cases had synchronous postural tremor. Alternating re-emergent tremor in PD provides further evidence for re-emergent tremor as an analogue of rest tremor in PD. Two cases of ET with synchronous postural tremor and one to two year history of parkinsonian features had no evidence of dopaminergic terminal loss up to 40 years after the initial onset of ET. Tremor synchronicity characterization can assist in differential diagnosis between the two disorders.
The changing leadership role of the principal: Implications for principal assessment

The systematic study of principal assessment has been slow to develop. For a long time, the practice of principal assessment had not required a high degree of systematization, and the study of this practice had not been guided by firmly established theoretical considerations. In chapters on personnel evaluation which appear in books on personnel administration (e.g., Castetter, 1976; Fawcett, 1979; Seyfarth, 1991; Webb, Greer, Montello, & Norton, 1987), the mention of principal assessment is minimal.
On finding minimal two-connected subgraphs

Abstract We present efficient parallel algorithms for finding a minimal 2-edge-connected spanning subgraph of a 2-edge-connected graph and finding a minimal biconnected spanning subgraph of a biconnected graph. The parallel algorithms run in polylog time using a linear number of PRAM processors. We also give linear time sequential algorithms for minimally augmenting a spanning tree into a 2-edge-connected or biconnected graph using edges from the original graph.
Herman Melville: Between Charlemagne and the Antemosaic Cosmic Man: Race, Class, and the Crisis of Bourgeois Ideology in the American Renaissance Writer

Tally reviews Loren Goldner's Herman Melville: Between Charlemagne and the Antemosaic Cosmic King , which posits that Melville was the American Marx, exposing the crisis of bourgeois ideology in the revolutionary period around 1848. In this, Goldner follows a tradition of Marxian scholarship of Melville, notably including C.L.R. James, Michael Paul Rogin, and Cesare Casarino. Tally concludes that Goldner's argument, while interesting, is limited by its focus on American exceptionalism and by ignoring the postnational force of Melville's novels.