cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A pilot protein participates in the initiation of P22 procapsid assembly

Abstract The gene 16 protein of the bacteriophage P22 is required as a pilot protein aiding the transfer of DNA from the phage into the Salmonella typhimurium host cell. During assembly 10–20 copies of the 63,000-Da gpl6 protein are incorporated into the procapsid shell prior to DNA packaging. The protein has been purified from isolated procapsids and behaved as a monomer in solution. Upon incubation with purified coat and scaffolding subunits in vitro, it assembled into procapsids with the correct stoichiometry. The addition of physiological quantities of gpl6 resulted in an increased rate of procapsid assembly. Sedimentation of mixtures of coat and gp16 protein subunits revealed association/dissociation behavior. It is likely that the added gp16 is acting to stabilize a transient oligomeric coat protein species that functions as the in vitro initiation complex for procapsid assembly.
Verbal context as a retrieval cue in long-term memory for words

Ss were required to complete sentences by filling word blanks in short prose passages which were designed to provide minimal constraints upon the nature of the items to be supplied. Two days later the Ss attempted to reproduce the words they had produced. Provision of the original passages on this occasion increased the level of recall. Since the results showed that little constraint was provided by the passages, it was suggested that the latter improved performance by functioning as retrieval cues.
Leukemia clusters around nuclear facilities in Britain

In the current issue of CCC, Michaelis et al' report a study of the frequency of malignancies in young persons living around nuclear installations in (West) Germany. As in France,2 and the United States,3 no convincing evidence of increases in either leukemia or other childhood malignancy was found among residents of the vicinities of such facilities. In England and Wales4 a small excess of leukemia deaths in persons under 25 years of age was found in a systematic study of all county districts with at least 0.1 percent of their populations living within 16 km of one of 15 nuclear installations (adjusted rate ratio [RR] = 1.15, P = 0.01). No excess of deaths from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) was found in districts associated with nuclear installations in this study. The excess leukemia deaths were not significantly related to the proportion of the population living within the 16 km radius, and a similar slight excess was found in districts seriously considered as nuclear power-station sites but not finally selected or in which the plant was built subsequent to the period for which the mortality data were reported (adjusted RR = 1.14).5 An observation similar to the last was made in (West) Germany where districts in which nuclear plants were projected but not yet built also had slightly elevated rates.' Data from Scotland broadly6 are equivocal, outside the single cluster to be described below. Given the absence of credible associations in these
The Social Cognition of Social Foraging: Partner Selection by Underlying Valuation.

Humans and other animals have a variety of psychological abilities tailored to the demands of asocial foraging, that is, foraging without coordination or competition with other conspecifics. Human foraging, however, also includes a unique element: the creation of resource pooling systems. In this type of social foraging, people contribute when they have excess resources and receive provisioning when in need. Is this behavior produced by the same psychology as asocial foraging? If so, foraging partners should be judged by the same criteria used to judge asocial patches of resources: the net energetic benefits they provide. The logic of resource pooling speaks against this. Maintaining such a system requires the ability to judge others not on their short-term returns, but on the psychological variables that guide their behavior over the long term. We test this idea in a series of five studies using an implicit measure of categorization. Results showed that (a) others are judged by the costs they incur (a variable not relevant to asocial foraging), whereas (b) others are not judged by the benefits they provide when benefits provided are unrevealing of underlying psychological variables (despite this variable being relevant to asocial foraging). These results are suggestive of a complex psychology designed for both social and asocial foraging.
The Aral Sea Disaster

The Aral Sea is a huge terminal lake located among the deserts of Central Asia. Over the past 10 millennia, it has repeatedly filled and dried, owing both to natural and human forces. The most recent desiccation started in the early 1960s and owes overwhelmingly to the expansion of irrigation that has drained its two tributary rivers. Lake level has fallen 23 m, area shrunk 74%, volume decreased 90%, and salinity grew from 10 to more than 100g/l, causing negative ecological changes, including decimation of native fish species, initiation of dust/salt storms, degradation of deltaic biotic communities, and climate change around the former shoreline. The population residing around the lake has also been negatively impacted. There is little hope in the foreseeable future to fully restore the Aral Sea, but measures to preserve/rehabilitate parts of the water body and the deltas are feasible.
Evidence of and for what

What kind of language game do we initiate by making ‘evidence’ the focus of methodological discussion? Drawing on the example set by Wittgenstein, our first step might well be to consider the senses in which we can use the notion of evidence in anthropological writing. These senses must be different if we are asking for evidence of the existence or nature of a phenomenon (such as, for example, totemism or kinship), or evidence to test a hypothesis from the standpoint either of validation or falsification. The sense must also be different if evidence is to be understood in a juridical sense or an experimental sense. Again, evidence may be understood to be synonymous with data, or could imply a sense of what is evident, or even self-evidence - the immediacy of experience as examined by phenomenology. To determine how these different senses of evidence color our understanding of the ethnographic enterprise is the ultimate goal of this discussion.
Male attractiveness regulates daughter fecundity non-genetically via maternal investment.

Mothers can non-genetically influence offspring phenotype in response to environmental conditions, including mate attractiveness. If such ‘maternal effects’ influence the offspring's reproduction and F2 generation, there is a mechanism for non-genetic trans-generational effects on phenotype, including epigenetic phenomena, with implications for evolution and population dynamics. We demonstrate in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata such non-genetic effects on offspring fecundity and the size of early stage F2 (eggs) in response to experimentally manipulated father's attractiveness. Our experimental design allowed us to deduce that the mechanism for this non-genetic paternal effect was via maternal investment in eggs. This affected female offspring size and, consequently, fecundity and F2 (egg) size. This demonstrates that female perception of mate attractiveness can have non-genetic, trans-generational fitness consequences and this may have important implications for the evolution of sexually selected traits and population dynamics.
Population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling of etanercept using logistic regression analysis

Objective Our objective was to develop a population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic model of etanercept in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with the American College of Rheumatology response criterion of 20% improvement (ACR20) used as a binary clinical outcome variable. Methods Concentration-time profiles from 25 subjects, administered 25 mg subcutaneous etanercept twice weekly for 24 weeks, were pooled with data from 77 subjects, enrolled in a 24-week, randomized, double-blind study comparing 25 mg and 50 mg subcutaneous etanercept twice weekly. The cumulative area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was used as the exposure variable, and ACR20 was the binomial clinical outcome. ACR20 data from another 80 placebo-treated patients enrolled in a randomized, double-blind phase III study were used to describe the placebo time course of ACR20. A logistic regression analysis with NONMEM was applied to describe the exposure-response relationship, and the 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were constructed by bootstrapping 1000 times. Results The population mean apparent clearance was 0.117 L/h (95% CI, 0.108-0.130 L/h) for white female patients and 0.138 L/h (95% CI, 0.118-0.163 L/h) for white male patients. Interindividual variability and interoccasion variability were 41.1% and 27.6%, respectively. The mean absorption half-life was 20.9 hours, and the elimination half-life was 95.4 hours. An improved response profile in male patients was shown, but the multiplicative factor between slope on cumulative AUC between male and female patients was not statistically significant (1.69; 95% CI, 0.37-9.99). The model-predicted percentage of patients achieving ACR20 at 6 months after dosing of 25 mg subcutaneously twice weekly was 54.9%, comparable to the observed 52.9%. Conclusion The population pharmacokinetic analysis confirmed that etanercept is slowly absorbed and eliminated after subcutaneous administration. The logistic model linking cumulative AUC with ACR20 adequately characterized the time course of clinical improvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving etanercept. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2003) 73, 348–365; doi: 10.1016/S0009-9236(02)17635-1
Randomized trial to evaluate azithromycin's effects on serum and upper airway IL-8 levels and recurrent wheezing in infants with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis.

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in infancy is a major risk factor for recurrent wheezing and asthma. Because azithromycin attenuated neutrophilic airway inflammation in a murine viral bronchiolitis model, demonstration of similar effects in human subjects might provide a strategy for the prevention of postbronchiolitis recurrent wheezing. Objectives We sought to investigate whether azithromycin treatment during RSV bronchiolitis reduces serum and nasal lavage IL-8 levels and the occurrence of postbronchiolitis recurrent wheezing. Method We performed a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled proof-of-concept trial in 40 otherwise healthy infants hospitalized with RSV bronchiolitis who were treated with azithromycin or placebo for 14 days. IL-8 levels were measured in nasal lavage fluid and serum on randomization, day 8, and day 15 (nasal lavage only). The occurrence of wheezing episodes was assessed monthly over the ensuing 50 weeks. Results Compared with placebo, azithromycin treatment did not reduce serum IL-8 levels at day 8 ( P = .6) but resulted in a greater decrease in nasal lavage fluid IL-8 levels by day 15 ( P = .03). Twenty-two percent of azithromycin-treated participants experienced at least 3 wheezing episodes compared with 50% of participants in the placebo group ( P = .07). Azithromycin treatment resulted in prolonged time to the third wheezing episode ( P = .048) and in fewer days with respiratory symptoms over the subsequent year in comparison with placebo (36.7 vs 70.1 days, P = .01). Conclusion In this proof-of-concept study azithromycin treatment during RSV bronchiolitis reduced upper airway IL-8 levels, prolonged the time to the third wheezing episode, and reduced overall respiratory morbidity over the subsequent year.
Rho-stimulated contractility drives the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions.

Activated rhoA, a ras-related GTP-binding protein, stimulates the appearance of stress fibers, focal adhesions, and tyrosine phosphorylation in quiescent cells (Ridley, A.J., and A. Hall, 1992. Cell. 70:389-399). The pathway by which rho triggers these events has not been elucidated. Many of the agents that activate rho (e.g., vasopressin, endothelin, lysophosphatidic acid) stimulate the contractility of smooth muscle and other cells. We have investigated whether rho's induction of stress fibers, focal adhesions, and tyrosine phosphorylation is the result of its stimulation of contractility. We demonstrate that stimulation of fibroblasts with lysophosphatidic acid, which activates rho, induces myosin light chain phosphorylation. This precedes the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions and is accompanied by increased contractility. Inhibition of contractility by several different mechanisms leads to inhibition of rho-induced stress fibers, focal adhesions, and tyrosine phosphorylation. In addition, when contractility is inhibited, integrins disperse from focal adhesions as stress fibers and focal adhesions disassemble. Conversely, upon stimulation of contractility, diffusely distributed integrins are aggregated into focal adhesions. These results suggest that activated rho stimulates contractility, driving the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions and elevating tyrosine phosphorylation. A model is proposed to account for how contractility could promote these events.
Comparison of the adjoint and adjoint-free 4dVar assimilation of the hydrographic and velocity observations in the Adriatic Sea

Performance of the adjoint and adjoint-free 4-dimensional variational (4dVar) data assimilation techniques is compared in application to the hydrographic surveys and velocity observations collected in the Adriatic Sea in 2006. Assimilating the data into the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) has shown that both methods deliver similar reduction of the cost function and demonstrate comparable forecast skill at approximately the same computational expense. The obtained optimal states were, however, significantly different in terms of distance from the background state: application of the adjoint method resulted in a 30–40% larger departure, mostly due to the excessive level of ageostrophic motions in the southern basin of the Sea that was not covered by observations.
A new iterative method of asymptotic order 1+√2 for the computation of fixed points

We introduce a new iterative method of asymptotic order 1+√2 for approximating fixed points of non-linear equations in a Banach space as well as in a partially topological space. The method requires less computational cost than others in the literature and uses only divided differences of order 1.
Low loss multilayer frequency selective surface NIMs for the Mid-IR: Modeling, synthesis and characterization

Over the last few years there has been increasing interest in metamaterials research because of the exciting applications made possible by refractive index engineering. Negative index materials (NIMs) were first theorized in 1968 by Veselago [1], who predicted that a material possessing simultaneously negative permittivity e and permeability μ would exhibit novel properties, including backward-propagating waves, near-field focusing, and a modified Snell's law. Pendry's more recent recognition that a flat slab of material with n = −1 could be used as a “perfect lens” [2], started a drive to experimentally demonstrate NIMs from the RF regime through optical wavelengths [3]. However, many NIM experiments have suffered from high absorption and impedance mismatch losses, and most optical NIMs have been very thin with respect to the wavelength, reducing their utility in practical devices. We have previously reported our use of a flexible architecture based on periodic arrays of sub-wavelength metallo-dielectric structures coupled with genetic algorithm (GA) optimization [4] to minimize the losses inherent in NIMs [5]. We have also investigated optimizing larger metallo-dielectric stacks in order to realize practical, volumetric NIMs [6]. In this paper, we describe our progress in modeling the response of two-layer metallo-dielectric NIMs as well as designing, fabricating and characterizing two-layer metallo-dielectric NIMs for the mid-IR.
Location of eruption-related earthquake clusters at Augustine Volcano, Alaska, using station-pair differential times

SUMMARY Families of similar earthquakes at shallow depths occurring over multiple timescales have been identified prior to and during the 2005–2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano. The use of conventional and double-difference location methods failed to result in stable locations, due primarily to noisy site conditions as well as unfavourable station geometry for the Alaska Volcano Observatory stations. Previous work found that relatively robust estimates of the median arrival time difference between station pairs could be determined and used a constant velocity half-space model, true station elevations and a variant of the method of hyperbolas to estimate locations for four of the clusters. We have carried out a more extensive location analysis, including data from nine clusters and incorporating a linear gradient velocity model obtained from preliminary forward modelling of the data. Our location results show a progressive shallowing of the clusters with time. Clusters prior to 2005 December lie near sea level, whereas those in 2005 December and 2006 January concentrate about 500 m above sea level (asl) prior to the explosive eruptions and about 500 and 1200 m asl, respectively, (essentially at the surface) afterwards. These results are consistent with geodetic observations and modelling.
Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and the energy band structure of PtSn

Abstract Nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of the Knight shift and spin-lattice relaxation time for 195 Pt and 119 Sn in PtSn are reported. The energy band structure as determined by the relativistic orthogonalized plane wave method is also presented. The band model developed has holes in the Pt d -band but does not have a large density of states associated therewith.
Characteristics of EDF schedulability on uniform multiprocessors

In uniform multiprocessor platforms, the various processors comprising the multiprocessor platform may have different computing capacities. The focus of this paper is the design of efficient tests for determining whether the earliest deadline first scheduling algorithm (EDF) can successfully schedule a given real-time task system to meet all deadlines upon a specified uniform multiprocessor platform. Upon uniform multiprocessor platforms, we show that it is often far easier (from a computational complexity perspective) to determine feasibility than it is to check for EDF-schedulability. In designing an EDF-schedulability test for uniform multiprocessors, therefore, our approach is as follows: for a given uniform multiprocessor platform, we attempt to efficiently identify all those uniform multiprocessor platforms such that any real-time instance feasible upon these platforms is guaranteed to be EDF-schedulable upon the platform under consideration. EDF-schedulability upon the given platform can then be determined by ascertaining whether the real-time system is feasible upon any of these platforms.
On the combined approach to intelligent backtracking

An intelligent backtracking scheme based on both static and dynamics information, called the CIB (combined intelligent backtracking) approach, is presented. At compile time IBGs (intelligent backtracking graphs) are generated. An IBG is constructed by augmenting a data dependency graph with additional backtracking links for each variable and different types of backtracking. At runtime, the variables causing the failure are identified, and the intelligent backtracking is accomplished by following corresponding links in the IBGs. Comparison with other approaches is made. >
Is Preserving Minority Languages and Cultures the Key to Avoiding the Impending Eco-Apocalypse? : An Ecolinguistic Reading of Le Clézio’s Le Rêve Mexicain

The purpose of this essay is to explore Le Clezio’s Le Reve Mexicain from the lens of the growing field of ecolinguistics. In Le Reve Mexicain, the 2008 Nobel Laureate in Literature speculates about the present and future ramifications of the destruction of divergent Amerindian civilizations. When a civilization or a language disappears, an entire worldview vanishes as well. In addition to wondering how Amerindian societies would have evolved if their trajectory would not have been ‘interrupted’ by the Conquest, Le Clezio hypothesizes that these indigenous voices could still help us to avoid the impending eco-apocalypse. In Le Reve Mexicain, the Franco-Mauritian author attempts to preserve the remaining vestiges of rich Amerindian cultures and to embed them into the existing environmental discourse of dominant world languages.
The attentional window configures to object and surface boundaries

Attention can select items based on location or features. Belopolsky and colleagues posited the attentional window hypothesis, which theorized that spatial and featural selection interact such that featural selection occurs within a “window” of spatial selection. Kerzel and colleagues recently found that the attentional window can take complex shapes, but cannot configure around non-contiguous locations. The current experiments investigated whether perceptual grouping cues, which produce perceptual objects or surfaces, enable the attentional window to configure around non-contiguous locations. Using the additional singleton paradigm, we reasoned that observers (1) would be slowed by a colour singleton distractor that appears within the observers’ attentional window and (2) would be unaffected by distractors that do not appear within the attentional window. In separate blocks of trials, a target appeared upon one of two objects. Observers were cued to the relevant surface, and we asked if responses were af...
Microvesicular-mediated gene transfer of prostate tumor markers

e16076 Background: Microvesicles have been a subject of research for many years. Recent work has focused on the potential for cancer vaccines via microvesicles. It has also been demonstrated that v...
The Oculothrombotic Reflex: Why We Will Never Stop Aspirating Coronary Thrombi.

In 1988 Topol coined the term “oculostenotic reflex” to describe the “irresistible temptation among some invasive cardiologists to perform angioplasty on any significant residual stenosis after thrombolysis” [(1)][1]. Similarly, many operators find the temptation to aspirate thrombi
Fields and Facebook: Ta’ayush’s Grassroots Activism and Archiving the Peace that Will Have Come in Israel/Palestine

Israeli peace activism has increasingly taken place on new media, as in the case of the grassroots anti-Occupation group, Ta’ayush . What is the significance of Ta’ayush ’s work on the ground and online for peace? This article considers the former in the light of social movement scholarship on peacebuilding, and the latter in light of new media scholarship on social movements. Each of those approaches suggest that Ta’ayush has very limited success in achieving its strategic goals or generating outrage about the Occupation in the virtual/public sphere. Yet, Ta’ayush’s apparent “failure” according to standard criteria of success misses the significance of Ta’ayush’ s work. Its combination of grassroots activism and online documentation of its work in confronting the Occupation in partnership with Palestinians has assembled an impressive archive. Through the lens of Walter Benjamin’s philosophy of history, Ta’ayush can be seen to enact a “future perfect” peace that will have come.
The chemistry of gangliosides: a review.

Gangliosides are lipids which are found primarily in gray matter of the brain, with lesser amounts in white matter and in some tissues outside the central nervous system. At least ten different gangliosides have been isolated from brain, four of which are major components accounting for over 90% of the mixture. Three of these and possibly the fourth possess a common asialo unit consisting of ceramide, glucose, galactose, and N-acetylgalactosamine in the molar ratios 1∶1∶2∶1. Structural work emanating from the laboratories of Kuhn, Klenk, Svennerholm, and others has shown the major monosialoganglioside to be $$\begin{array}{*{20}c} {GAL(1 \to 3)GALNac(1 \to 4)GAL(1 \to 4)GLU(1 \to 1)CERAMIDE} \\ {\left( \begin{gathered} 3 \hfill \\ \uparrow \hfill \\ 2 \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right)} \\ {NANA} \\ \end{array} $$ The two major disialo species contain this unit plus an additional NANA attached to terminal galactose in one case, and to the first NANA in the other. The major trisialo may also be related to these, though its structure is not yet settled. The minor gangliosides generally contain fewer carbohydrate units. One of these has been found to resemble the major ganglioside of Tay-Sachs disease, which is a monosialo species lacking the terminal galactose of the major normal brain types. A number of neurological disorders, including other sphingolipidoses, have characteristic alterations in both pattern and level of brain gangliosides.
Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Stable Tetrabenzofluorene Radicals for DNP

Free radicals are molecules that have an unpaired electron and are usually unstable species with short lifetimes; however, radicals stabilized by resonance and steric protection can have long lifetimes. These stable radicals are utilized as polarizing agents for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), an NMR spectroscopic technique which provides tremendous improvements in signal-to-noise ratios. DNP is also used for in vivo cancer detection by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI). This technique is often done by monitoring the metabolism of hyper-polarized 13C1-pyruvate. Novel radical polarizing agents with improved properties are needed to optimize DNP methods. Tetrabenzofluorenyl (Tbf) radicals have been designed for this purpose.The synthesis of stable Tbf radicals is discussed. The synthesis involved five steps from 9-bromophenthrene. Novel steps from known tetrabenzofluorene were bromination (88%), Friedel-Crafts alkylation (42%), and oxidation (87%) to the trimethoxy alcohol precursor in 19% overall yield for five steps. Attempts to prepare the radical from the hydrocarbon and alcohol precursors and characterization of synthetic intermediates by NMR, IR, and mass spectral analysis are described. Future work will include testing the EPR and DNP properties of the Tbf radicals by collaborators at MIT / DyNuPol.
Rational Setting of Food Detection Institution and Resources Integration

[Objective] To discuss feasibility of rational setting of food detection institution and resources integration. [Methods] Staff of food detection agencies and operating status of the equipments were investigated. [Results] Obsolete equipment, irrational personnel structure, low capacity utilization and repeating sample tests still existed. [Conclusion]Only further clarification of the division of responsibilities and rational setting of equipment can fully meet the needs of food detection.
Clinical diagnosis and etiology detection of critical meningitis/encephalitis patient

【Objective】 To verify the clinical diagnosis and etiology detection for critical meningitis/encephalitis patient and then provide scientific basis for clinical therapy.【Methods】 Routine test of biochemistry,blood and urine were carried out as the patients were admitted.The samples of cerebrospinal fluid,blood and throat swab were collected for neisseria,haemophilus influenza,staphylococcus aureus,streptococcus pneumonia,streptococcus suis and escherichia coli bacterial cultures.The IgM of measles and rubella were detected by ELISA and specific primers were designed to detect the virus of enterovirus,Japanese encephalitis virus,herpes zoster virus,herpesvirus hominis and mumps virus by PCR.The positive product was verified by gene sequencing,blast and molecular evolution analysis.Appropriate drug for clinical therapy then was provided according to the genetype of the pathogen.【Results】 The results of bacterial cultures were negative,PCR product of the throat swab was positive for mumps virus and the product was about 300bp,the sequencing had partial nucleotide variation to the vaccine strain of mumps virus and the type was confirmed to the genetype F by evolution analysis.【Conclusion】 Bacteriology and virus laboratory detection can provide scientific basis for the common pathogen caused Meningitis/Encephalitis clinically,early phase viral nucleic acid detection can confirm the genetpye of the mumps virus.
Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Failure to Thrive in Late Life

Both depression and dementia can lead to failure to thrive (FTT). Depression can lead to FTT by two routes: a direct path related to decreased appetite as a symptom of depression; and an indirect path related to the effect of depression in increasing disability. Depression associated with FTT should usually be treated with antidepressant medication. In Alzheimer's patients with FTT, the thrust of treatment is the identification and treatment of the medical and psychiatric comorbidities and the appropriate titration of environmental supports.
Green-Kubo relation for viscosity tested using experimental data for a two-dimensional dusty plasma

uckel-type model with experimentally determined parameters. Integrating the autocorrelation function over time yields the viscosity for shearing motion among dust particles. The viscosity so obtained is found to agree with results from a previous experiment using a hydrodynamical Navier-Stokes equation. This comparison serves as a test of the Green-Kubo relation for viscosity. Our result is also compared to the predictions of several simulations.
Frequency of and factors associated with positive or equivocal margins in conventional excision of atypical intraepidermal melanocytic proliferations (AIMP): A single academic institution cross-sectional study

Background No evidence-based surgical guidelines exist for atypical intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation (AIMP), a descriptive histopathologic diagnosis with uncertain malignant potential. Objective We sought to identify the frequency of and risk factors associated with positive or equivocal margins after conventional excision. Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 413 AIMPs treated by conventional excision. Results Positive or equivocal margins were seen in 2.9% (12/413) of conventional excisions of AIMP. Risk factors associated with positive or equivocal margins included anatomic location on the head and neck (5/51, 9.8%; odds ratio 6.91, 95% confidence interval 1.93-24.80) ( P = .012) and a preoperative biopsy specimen that included melanoma in situ in the differential diagnosis (11/214, 5.1%; odds ratio 10.73, 95% confidence interval 1.37-83.88) ( P = .006). The frequency of positive or equivocal margins did not differ significantly with surgical margins greater than or less than 5 mm (odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.18-2.07) ( P = .457). Limitations This was a single-site, retrospective observational study. Conclusion AIMP has a significantly increased risk for incomplete excision when it is located on the head and neck or has a preoperative histologic differential diagnosis that includes melanoma in situ. These subsets of AIMP may benefit from Mohs micrographic surgery or staged surgical excision to confirm clear margins before reconstruction.
SDA-based neural network approach to digit classification

Image classification and object recognition are important issues in machine learning. With the increased usage of the internet and smart-based applications, image classification has become more important in various social, financial, and domestic spheres. Deep learning algorithms have proven useful and powerful, having successfully classified many types of images, objects, etc. This paper uses a type of deep neural network, stacked denoising autoencoders (SDA), to classify the handwritten digits in the MNIST database. The method proposed transforms the images into the wavelet domain, for faster, more efficient processing, as compared to the spatial domain. Furthermore, the low frequency and high frequency components separately provide pertinent feature details learned by the SDA to correctly classify each digit. The fusion of the learned low and high frequency features, and processing the combined feature mapping results in an increased detection accuracy. Compared to traditional (spatial) SDA and other classification algorithms, experimental results of this method show an increase in speed, efficiency, and accuracy in image classification and object recognition.
A Novel Multi-Layer Microfluidic Pipette Aspiration Device for Studying Mechanosensitive Vesicles

Mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) is a prokaryotic channel that opens due to increased membrane tension. It has been reconstituted in vesicles to study how various biophysical factors influence their mechanical gating properties. In recent years, several theoretical and computational models based on molecular dynamics and continuum mechanics have been developed to understand the underlying mechanisms for the activation of MscLs in vesicles. Experimental approaches for MscL gating studies have focused on cell-by-cell techniques, such as pressure patch clamp, on reconstituted MscL vesicles. Due to the limitation of throughput, such studies are time intensive with low sample numbers. Recently, a microfluidic pipette aspiration array device, based on PDMS multi-layer soft-lithography technique, has been developed in our group to trap and apply mechanical perturbation to single cells in a parallel manner1. This device was used to study the stiffness of human breast cancer cell lines and mechanical gating threshold of reconstituted MscL on infected mammalian cell lines. In this work, we have developed a new device that incorporates a pressure valve and a smaller micropipette dimension to increase trapping efficiency of vesicles. Using this device, we demonstrate stable trapping of single vesicles and expand our efforts to study mechanical gating threshold of reconstituted MscL in vesicles formed by electroformation. Development of novel microtechnology tools that can trap single vesicles and exert tension will have numerous applications to the study of other mechanosensitive channels.[1] Lee & Liu, Lab Chip, 2015, 15, 264-273.
Vision, Devotion, and Self-Representation in Late Medieval Art

This book investigates the 'owner portrait' in the context of late medieval devotional books primarily from France and England. These mirror-like pictures of praying book owners respond to and help develop a growing concern with visibility and self-scrutiny that characterized the religious life of the laity after the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. The image of the praying book owner translated pre-existing representational strategies concerned with the authority and spiritual efficacy of pictures and books, such as the Holy Face and the donor image, into a more intimate and reflexive mode of address in Psalters and Books of Hours created for lay users. Alexa Sand demonstrates how this transformation had profound implications for devotional practices and for the performance of gender and class identity in the striving, aristocratic world of late medieval France and England.
Finance in Water Management

Shortage of funding, high costs, and the balance of business strategies with social equity are common in IWRM. Financial issues include lack of capacity, low fees, political interference, and capital-intensive infrastructure. Strategic financial planning considers broad issues such as the need for subsidies and transfers, while projects and programs require plans for revenues and expenses. Financial planning also considers risk factors such as institutional capacity and ability to pay. It is desirable that users of services pay the full costs of infrastructure and operations, but subsidies to users may be needed when the ability to pay is low. Development banks often can make loans to aid water authorities. Water authorities require sophisticated financial models and tools such as asset management to control infrastructure.
Dysbiosis is not an answer

Dysbiosis, an imbalance in the microbiota, has been a major organizing concept in microbiome science. Here, we discuss how the balance concept, a holdover from prescientific thought, is irrelevant to — and may even distract from — useful microbiome research.
Improved analog optical links using few mode fiber

When an analog signal cannot be immediately digitized, radio frequency (RF) photonics may be used to transport the signal over a fiber optic cable [1]. In a fiber optic link, the link gain, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and dynamic range of long distance analog fiber optic links are limited by the transmitted optical power due to fiber nonlinearities, most notably, stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) [2]. We report the replacement of the standard single mode fiber SMF transmission medium with connectorized SMF-compatible few mode fiber (FMF) that suppresses the nonlinear SBS impairments, thus affording better performance of the RF photonic link.
Presence, distribution and molecular epidemiology of multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli from medical personnel of intensive care units in Tianjin, China, 2007–2015

Summary Background Multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDRGNB) have become an important cause of nosocomial infection in intensive care units (ICUs). Aims To investigate the molecular epidemiology of MDRGNB isolated from medical personnel (MP) and non-medical personnel (NMP) at 69 ICUs in Tianjin, China. Methods From April 2007 to October 2015, 2636 nasal and hand swab samples from 1185 MP and 133 NMP were cultured for GNB (including MDRGNB), meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). The susceptibilities of GNB to 14 antimicrobial agents were determined, and 80 MDRGNB were characterized using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and dendrogram analysis. Findings In total, 301 GNB were identified in 269 MP, including 109 MDRGNB isolates in 104 MP. Forty-two GNB were isolated from 39 NMP, which included 20 NMP with MDRGNB. Overall, 8.8% of MP were colonized with MDRGNB, which greatly exceeded colonization rates with MRSA (0.9%) and VRE (0.1%). Three pairs of Klebsiella pneumoniae and one pair of Enterobacter aerogenes were indistinguishable from each other, but the majority of isolate tests had distinct PFGE profiles. Conclusions The prevalence of MDRGNB was high among ICU MP in Tianjin, and greatly exceeded that of VRE and MRSA. There was no difference in the rates of nasal carriage of MDRGNB between MP and NMP, but NMP were significantly more likely to have hand colonization with MDRGNB. PFGE profiles showed that there was only limited sharing of strains of MDR E. aerogenes and K. pneumoniae between personnel.
Enhanced cortisol production rates, free cortisol, and 11β-HSD-1 expression correlate with visceral fat and insulin resistance in men: effect of weight loss

Controversy exists as to whether endogenous cortisol production is associated with visceral obesity and insulin resistance in humans. We therefore quantified cortisol production and clearance rates...
Floristic diversity in the Cape Flora of South Africa

Comprising a land area of ca 90000 km2, less than 4% of the total land area for the Southern African subcontinent, the Cape Floristic Province is one of the world's richest areas in terms of botanical diversity for its size. An estimated 8650 species of vascular plants occur in this area, about 65% of which are endemic. This is about 42% of the estimated total for all of southern Africa. The number of species packed into so small an area is remarkable for the temperate zone, and compares closely with species totals for areas of comparable size in the wet tropics. The Cape Region consists of a mosaic of sandstone and shale substrates that give rise to soils of quite different types, and in addition local areas of limestone add to the edaphic diversity. Climates across the region are extremely variable, and the predominant orographic rainfall pattern ranges from 2000mm locally to less than 100mm, often with extremely steep gradients, the result of a mountainous landscape. The edaphic diversity resulting from a mosaic of different soils is compounded by sharp local gradients in precipitation that creates an unusual number of local habitats. A feature of the some of the soils in the Region is low nutrient levels and many of the plants on such soils have low seed dispersal capabilities, a factor important in explaining the high levels of local endemism. Species richness in the Cape Region is hypothesized to have resulted from the presence of a complex mosaic of diverse habitats and steep ecological gradients against a background of relatively stable climate and geology after the mediterranean climate was established there sometime after the beginning of the Pliocene. A local or ecological mode of speciation may have been more important under these conditions than allopatric speciation.
Distributed cooperative control for joint optimization of sensor coverage and target tracking

This paper presents two approaches considering a distributed framework for joint optimization of sensor coverage for target detection and target tracking for maximizing estimation performance for multi-agent systems. The first algorithm is based on the Lloyd algorithm, which uses a centroid of Voronoi partitions, one of the workarounds of sensor coverage problems. The other algorithm is based on the Voronoi partition, which is the result of assigning the target to the agent considering the control input that maximizes the information matrix corresponding to the state estimate of the target. Two presented algorithms are compared and analyzed in terms of target state estimation errors through a series of simulations. The simulation results show that the Voronoi partition-based target tracking approach performs better than Lloyd's algorithm- based approach in terms of sensor coverages and estimation error of targets.
Rye cover crop retains nitrogen and doesn't reduce corn yields

Abstract Intensive nitrogen (N) fertilization is often associated with corn (Zea mays L.) production, and winter cover in the form of rye (Secale cereale L.) is proposed as a means to conserve inorganic N and soil carbon (C). Yet the seasonal niche for cover crop in field crop rotation in North Central USA is highly variable, leading to uncertainty regarding cover crop benefits. An 8-year study in SW Michigan examined winter rye cover vs fallow in a corn-corn-soybean (Glycine max) sequence, and interaction with a 7-rate N fertilizer gradient. Soil C, water retention, pH and nutrient status were negatively affected by high N fertilizer. Rye cover had almost no detectable soil amelioration, but did maintain mid-season N availability relative to fallow plots, as indicated by soil inorganic N (90 kg ha−1 vs 57 kg ha−1) and consistently high corn SPAD readings by 1.5 units. Soil aggregation, porosity and soil C pools were not influenced by the presence of a rye cover crop, with the exception of large particulate organic matter C. Over 8 years corn yields were not reduced in plots with a winter rye cover, under widely variable weather conditions. Overall, a rye cover crop had minimal impact on soil C but was an effective N management tool with no corn yield penalty.
Design and evaluation of an additively manufactured aircraft heat exchanger

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has significant potential to improve heat exchanger (HX) performance through incorporation of novel geometries and materials, but there is limited understanding of AM HX functionality relative to conventionally manufactured components. This study compares the performance of conventionally-built plate-fin air–liquid crossflow heat exchangers (i.e., aircraft oil coolers) to additively manufactured heat exchangers of similar geometry. To replicate internal features, three dimensional X-ray computed tomography scans were performed on the conventionally-built heat exchanger. A baseline AM model of the conventional design was designed, as well as an AM model with additional enhancement features on the air side. The two AM heat exchanger geometries were constructed using a laser-based powder bed fusion process with AlSi10Mg aluminum-alloy powder. Visual inspection of the as-built AM HX indicated significant surface roughness and some cracks in the fin-tube joint, but only at the edges of the heat exchanger. Overall heat transfer was increased by about 10 percent for the baseline AM and by 14 percent for the enhanced AM heat exchanger when compared to the conventionally built baseline heat exchanger. Measured air-side pressure drop for the AM heat exchangers was double that of the conventionally built baseline heat exchanger. Overall, this study indicates potential for improved heat transfer and demonstrated functionality of AM HX in realistic applications.
Observing the energetic universe at very high energies with the VERITAS gamma ray observatory

Abstract Very high energy gamma-ray observations offer indirect methods for studying the highest energy cosmic rays in our Universe. The origin of cosmic rays at energies greater than 10 18 eV remains a mystery, and many questions in particle astrophysics exist. The VERITAS observatory in southern Arizona, USA, carries out an extensive observation program of the gamma-ray sky at energies above 85 GeV. Observations of Galactic and extragalactic sources in the TeV band provide clues to the highly energetic processes occurring in these objects, and could provide indirect evidence for the origin of cosmic rays and the sites of particle acceleration in the Universe. VERITAS has now been operational for ten years with the complete array of four atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. In this review, we present the status of VERITAS, and give few results from three of its key scientific programs: extragalactic science, Galactic physics, and study of fundamental physics and cosmology.