cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence that NMDA-dependent limbic neural plasticity in the right hemisphere mediates pharmacological stressor (FG-7142)-induced lasting increases in anxiety-like behavior Study 1- Role of NMDA receptors in efferent transmission from the cat amygdala

The anxiogenic beta-carboline, FG-7142, produces intense anxiety in humans and anxiety-like behavior in animals. FG-7142 also mimics the effects of exogenous stressors. In cats, FG-7142 lastingly changes defensive and aggressive behavior. Long-term potentiation (LTP) of neural transmission between limbic structures known to modulate feline defensive response to threat accompany behavioral changes. A series of three reports describes experiments designed to test the hypothesis that behavioral changes depend upon an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-based LTP of efferent transmission from the amygdala. This first study characterizes the dose and time effects of injection of the NMDA receptor blocker 7-amino-phosphono-heptanoic acid (AP7) on efferent transmission from the cat amygdala to the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). Effects of doses of 0.5-10mg/kg (i.v.) of AP7 on potentials evoked in the VMH by single pulse stimulation of the basal amygdala were examined. In order to localize the action of the drug, concurrent measurements were taken of potentials evoked in the VMH by stimulation of the efferent fibers from the amygdala to the VMH (ventral amygdalofugal pathway, VAF). There was a dose-dependent reduction in the amygdalo-VMH evoked potential. The greatest reduction occurred at 5 mg/kg. Effects peaked at 10 min, and persisted for at least 1 h after injection. In contrast, AP7 increased the VAF-VMH-evoked potential at 10 min after injection, with a maximal increase at 5mg/kg. The data suggest that NMDA receptors intrinsic to the amygdala modulate excitatory efferent transmission from amygdala to VMH in the cat. It is speculated that a glutamatergic projection to gamma-aminobutyric acid tonic inhibitory systems in the VMH accounts for the VAF-VMH results.
The growth of exhaustion

Management plans, policies and decisions must fit the given stage of societal evolution. A good policy (e.g.) at a time of innovation in a Kondratiev or hegemonic cycle/structure may be a counterintuitively bad and dangerous policy at a time of saturation and exhaustion of ideas. The nature of the Kondratiev and hegemonic cycles/structures is further examined from the perspective of the life cycle of collective intelligence and knowledge. Effective intelligence and knowledge are themselves considered to be evolving macrostructures; a view much different from both the Shannon-Weaver and computer-science perspectives, but a view much more consonant with modern dynamic systems theory. Some untoward experiences with the use of models in energy management during the falling leg of Kondratiev Number Four are noted. The origin and exhaustion of contemporary problemsolving approaches are discussed from a theoretical perspective and some thoughts on a possible fifth Kondratiev recovery given. In conclusion, the main theory is synopsized and some brief recommendations made for further thinking about operational research modeling.
The C-Terminal Loop of Aldehyde Reductase Determines the Substrate and Inhibitor Specificity†

Human aldehyde reductase has a preference for carboxyl group-containing negatively charged substrates. It belongs to the NADPH-dependent aldo-keto reductase superfamily whose members are in part distinguished by unique C-terminal loops. To probe the role of the C-terminal loops in determining substrate specificities in these enzymes, two arginine residues, Arg308 and Arg311, located in the C-terminal loop of aldehyde reductase, and not found in any other C-terminal loop, were replaced with alanine residues. The catalytic efficiency of the R311A mutant for aldehydes containing a carboxyl group is reduced 150−250-fold in comparison to that of the wild-type enzyme, while substrates not containing a negative charge are unaffected. The R311A mutant is also significantly less sensitive to inhibition by dicarboxylic acids, indicating that Arg311 interacts with one of the carboxyl groups. The inhibition pattern indicates that the other carboxyl group binds to the anion binding site formed by Tyr49, His112, and th...
A single base-pair alteration is responsible for the DNA overproduction phenotype of a plasmid copy-number mutant

The Cop- plasmid pOP1 delta 6 is a recessive copy-number mutant derived from Col E1.pOP1 delta 6 exists at 200-300 copies per chromosome in E. coli, while Col E1 exists at 10-15 copies per chromosome. We have investigated the molecular basis for DNA overproduction by pOP1 delta 6 by mapping the mutation to a restriction fragment of the plasmid genome, which is about 400 bp from the origin of replication. The mutation is a single base-pair alteration-a GC leads to TA transversion. The alteration changes the nucleotide sequence of two RNA elements known to be synthesized from opposite DNA strands in the same region of the plasmid genome; a small, nontranslated RNA known as RNA1 and the primer RNA required for initiation of DNA replication in vitro. The mutation is located in a GC-rich region of dyad symmetry, which precedes the termination signal for RNA1 transcription. When pOP1 delta 6 DNA is transcribed in vitro, RNA1 is not observed. Rather, several new transcripts of a larger size are observed resulting from readthrough transcription of RNA1. In conjunction with previous genetic evidence, these results indicate that RNA 1 may be a negative modulator of Col E1 DNA replication and that its secondary structure is critical to its function.
Chimeras between parthenogenetic or androgenetic blastomeres and normal embryos: Allocation to the inner cell mass and trophectoderm

A series of chimeras was generated by injecting single normal, pathenogenetic, or androgenetic blastomeres carrying transgenic markers under the zona pellucida of nontransgenic eight-cell embryos. These chimeras were cultured to the blastocyst stage and sectioned, and the transgenic component was detected by in situ hybridization. No statistically significant different was found among the normal, parthenogenetic, and androgenetic chimeras in the number of chimeric blastocysts with a transgenic contribution to the inner cell mass (ICM), the trophectoderm, or both the ICM and trophectoderm. Since androgenetic and parthenogenetic cells were present in chimeras at a high frequency in both the ICM and trophectoderm at the blastocyst stage, but not in similar chimeras at late gastrulation, these cells must not respond normally to developmental signals subsequent to blastocyst formation and prior to late gastrulation.
The effect of high doses of 5-hydroxytryptophan on a patient with trisomy 21 Clinical, chemical and EEG correlations

Abstract A patient with trisomy 21, who had been started on 5-hydroxytryptophan administration at 3 days of age, received a very high dose of up to 97.8 mg/kg for a 7-week period beginning when the patient was 4 months of age. Total 5-hydroxyindoles in whole blood rose to 1750 μg/ml with 1100 μg/ml of serotonin as the major component. During the high dosage, the patient's muscular tone became mildly hypertonic, the bucco-lingual dyskinesia became more marked and the baby was obtunded. In follow-up studies, the child showed marked psychomotor retardation. Serial EEG recordings during sleep showed no gross abnormality in the proportions of REM and spindling sleep. Click and flash evoked EEG potentials remained abnormally high in amplitude in all recordings made during the 1st year of the patient's life but response latency showed a decrease with age. Much remains to be learned about the mechanisms by which 5-HTP affects the function of the central nervous system in patients with trisomy 21.
Performance analysis of wearable microstrip antennas with low-conductivity materials

This paper has presented a 2.4-GHz WLAN rectangular microstrip textile antenna design, along with investigations of the degradation in resonant, matching, and gain properties of the antenna if low conductivity materials are used for all conductors in the structure. The results show that the resonant frequency remains almost the same for lower conductivities, and that the reflection from the antenna port is even smaller for conductivities on the order of 105 S/m than for copper conductors, the mismatch losses increase to prohibitive levels for conductivities on the order of 103 S/m. The antenna gain attains reasonable values for sigma ~105 S/m. However, for conductors with sigma ~ 103 S/m, the conductor losses dominate the radiated power, resulting in practically unacceptable gain levels. Overall, conductivity levels of WLAN microstrip textile antennas must be in excess of ~104 S/m for an acceptable antenna performance in wearable applications.
Ranking of U.S. Hospitality Undergraduate Programs: 2000–2001

Within the field of hospitality education, administrators and educators have been searching and debating for a means to compare their own resources and capabilities with their fellow peers. Previous research focused on the perception of individual hospitality programs. This study surveyed over 121 four-year hospitality institutions with a response rate of 39.7% in order to quantitatively rank programs based on five main criteria including curriculum, faculty, the student body, resources, and alumni/funding contributions. Results were measured using a predetermined quality point scale and the top 25 undergraduate hospitality programs were ranked according to their overall cumulative score.
Thru-match-short calibration for time domain network analysis

A technique for obtaining corrected two-port network parameters from time-domain reflection/transmission (TDR/T) measurements is described. This method is based on the thru-match-short (TMS) calibration procedure and allows for the extension of general vector network analysis (VNA) techniques to the correction of time-domain measurements. The calibration is complete and accounts for both source and load mismatches and pass-thru errors as well as the shape of the excitation waveform. Frequency-domain results from example measurements in both SMA and wafer probe environments using the time domain network analysis technique presented are compared with VNA measurements for validation. >
The Use of Scheduled Awakenings to Eliminate Childhood Sleepwalking

Evaluated the use of scheduled awakenings to eliminate sleepwalking using a noncurrent multiple baseline design across three subjects with persistent sleep-walking. Treatment procedure involves having parents awaken children several hours after they go to sleep and just before the typical time of the sleepwalking episode. This intervention proved immediately successful in eliminating sleep-walking in all three children. Treatment effects were maintained at 3 and 6 months posttreatment. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.
Analysis, modeling, and simulation of the accuracy of continuous glucose sensors.

Background:Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) collect a detailed time series of consecutive observations of the underlying process of glucose fluctuations. To some extent, however, the high temporal resolution of the data is accompanied by increased probability of error in any single data point. Due to both physiological and technical reasons, the structure of these errors is complex and their analysis is not straightforward. In this article, we describe some of the methods needed to obtain a description of the sensor error that is detailed enough for simulation.Methods:Data were provided by Abbott Diabetes Care and included two data sets collected by the FreeStyle Navigator™ CGM: The first set consisted of 1032 time series of glucose readings from 136 patients with type 1 diabetes and parallel time series of reference blood glucose (BG) collected via self-monitoring at irregular intervals. The average duration of a time series was 5 days; the total number of sensor-reference data pairs was approximately ...
The metal-poor IMF, stellar evolution, and star formation histories

I present an introduction to three important subjects relevant to low metallicity star formation: the IMF, stellar evolution, and star formation histories. I will draw on observations from the LCID (Local Cosmology from Isolated Dwarfs) project to illustrate some of these topics.
An Integrated Wind Power Forecasting Methodology: Interval Estimation Of Wind Speed, Operation Probability Of Wind Turbine, And Conditional Expected Wind Power Output Of A Wind Farm

The article presents a novel quantitative methodology for wind farm management. The methodology starts by forecasting the time series mean and volatility of wind speed. The forecasting of wind speed mean and its volatility is built on an autoregressive moving average model with a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity process, namely an ARMA-GARCH model. With the prediction of wind speed mean and its volatility, the article establishes the interval estimation of wind speed which makes the prediction of wind speed more accurate and reliable. To facilitate the quantitative management of wind farm, the operation probability (OP) of wind turbine is formulated according to the interval estimation of wind speed. Based on the characteristics power curve of wind turbine, the article develops the conditional expected wind power output equation (CEWPOE). The interval estimation of wind speed, the OP of wind turbine, and the CEWPOE thus comprise an integrated methodology for the quantitative manag...
Site-specific Heterodimerization by Paired Class Homeodomain Proteins Mediates Selective Transcriptional Responses

Alx4 is a paired class homeodomain protein involved in defining anterior/posterior polarity in the developing limb bud. The paired class of homeodomain proteins cooperatively bind palindromic DNA elements as homodimers or as heterodimers with other paired homeodomain proteins. Previous characterization demonstrates that the strength of the cooperativity as well as the preference for targets is dictated largely by the identity of amino acid 50 of the homeodomain. Here we compare and contrast the DNA binding properties of a glutamine 50 paired homeodomain protein, Alx4, and a lysine 50 paired homeodomain protein, Goosecoid. We demonstrate that Alx4 homodimers, Gsc homodimers, and Alx4/Gsc heterodimers each have distinct DNA binding properties, and each can discriminate between highly related palindromic elements. Using reporter gene assays, we show that Alx4 activates transcription in a site-specific manner, and that Gsc is capable of antagonizing Alx4-mediated activation only from promoter elements that support heterodimer formation. These data demonstrate that paired homeodomain proteins with different DNA binding properties are able to form heterodimeric complexes with unique DNA binding and transcriptional activities. Thus, heterodimerization regulates the DNA binding specificity of these transcription factors and may partially explain how paired homeodomain proteins direct specific developmental functions.
Post-Katrina New Orleans as a New Migrant Destination

The Latino immigrants arriving in New Orleans immediately after Katrina showed that they are often the first to respond to new labor demand for low-skill occupations. Using a convenience sample of ...
Characterization of a novel insect-specific flavivirus from Brazil: potential for inhibition of infection of arthropod cells with medically important flaviviruses.

In the past decade, there has been an upsurge in the number of newly described insect-specific flaviviruses isolated pan-globally. We recently described the isolation of a novel flavivirus (tentatively designated ‘Nhumirim virus’; NHUV) that represents an example of a unique subset of apparently insect-specific viruses that phylogenetically affiliate with dual-host mosquito-borne flaviviruses despite appearing to be limited to replication in mosquito cells. We characterized the in vitro growth potential and 3′ untranslated region (UTR) sequence homology with alternative flaviviruses, and evaluated the virus’s capacity to suppress replication of representative Culex spp.-vectored pathogenic flaviviruses in mosquito cells. Only mosquito cell lines were found to support NHUV replication, further reinforcing the insect-specific phenotype of this virus. Analysis of the sequence and predicted RNA secondary structures of the 3′ UTR indicated NHUV to be most similar to viruses within the yellow fever serogroup and Japanese encephalitis serogroup, and viruses in the tick-borne flavivirus clade. NHUV was found to share the fewest conserved sequence elements when compared with traditional insect-specific flaviviruses. This suggests that, despite apparently being insect specific, this virus probably diverged from an ancestral mosquito-borne flavivirus. Co-infection experiments indicated that prior or concurrent infection of mosquito cells with NHUV resulted in a significant reduction in virus production of West Nile virus (WNV), St Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and Japanese encephalitis virus. The inhibitory effect was most effective against WNV and SLEV with over a 106-fold and 104-fold reduction in peak titres, respectively.
iMinerva: A Mathematical Model of Distributional Statistical Learning.

Statistical learning refers to the ability to identify structure in the input based on its statistical properties. For many linguistic structures, the relevant statistical features are distributional: They are related to the frequency and variability of exemplars in the input. These distributional regularities have been suggested to play a role in many different aspects of language learning, including phonetic categories, using phonemic distinctions in word learning, and discovering non-adjacent relations. On the surface, these different aspects share few commonalities. Despite this, we demonstrate that the same computational framework can account for learning in all of these tasks. These results support two conclusions. The first is that much, and perhaps all, of distributional statistical learning can be explained by the same underlying set of processes. The second is that some aspects of language can be learned due to domain-general characteristics of memory.
Computerized detection of pulmonary embolism in 3D computed tomographic (CT) images: vessel tracking and segmentation techniques

We are developing a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for detection of pulmonary embolism in computed tomographic (CT) images. An adaptive 3D pixel clustering method was developed based on Bayesian estimation and Expectation-Maximization (EM) analysis to segment vessels from their surrounding tissues. After a “connected component analysis”, the vessel tree was reconstructed by tracking the vessel and its branches in 3D space based on their geometric characteristics such as the tracked vessel direction and skeleton. The node location of splitting and merging of vessel branches were identified based on “bifurcation analysis”. 2D and 3D features of the tracked vessels and the surrounding tissues were used in a multi-dimensional feature space to identify PE from normal vessels. In this preliminary study, about 95% of the vessels could -be segmented and tracked even when the vessels were partially obstructed by PE ranging from 5% to 90%. Our method could detect 58% of all the PEs with an average 10.5 (ranging from 8 to 15) of false positives per case. 100% of the PEs could be detected if the average radius of vessels were larger than 2 mm and the vessels were partially obstructed by PE ranging from 20% to 80%.
Aquatic Invertebrate Abundance and Biomass in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri Bottomland Hardwood Forests During Winter

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley once had extensive bottomland hardwood forests, but less than 25% of the original area remains. Impounded bottomland hardwood forests, or greentree reservoirs, and naturally flooded forests are important sources of invertebrate or other prey for waterfowl, but no previous studies of invertebrate abundance and biomass have been at the scale of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Additionally, the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan requires precise, contemporary estimates of invertebrate biomass in hardwood bottomlands to determine potential foraging carrying capacity of these habitats for wintering ducks. We used sweep nets to collect aquatic invertebrates from four physiographically disjunct hardwood bottomlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and Mississippi’s Interior Flatwoods region during winters 2008–2010. Invertebrate abundance varied inversely with water depth in both early and late winter, with greatest abundances in depths ranging from 10 to 20 cm. The estimate of invertebrate biomass in naturally flooded forests of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley for both years combined was 18.39 kg(dry)/ha (coefficient of variation [CV] = 15%). When we combined data across regions, sites, greentree reservoirs and naturally flooded forests, and years, the estimate of mean invertebrate biomass decreased to 6.6 kg/ha but precision increased to CV = 9%. We recommend the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture adopt 18.39 kg(dry)/ha as a revised estimate for invertebrate biomass for naturally flooded forests, because this estimate is reasonably precise and less than 2% of remaining hardwood bottomland is impounded greentree reservoirs in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Additionally, we recommend managing to invoke dynamic flooding regimes in greentree reservoirs to mimic natural flood events and provide maximal coverage of depths less than 30 cm to facilitate foraging ducks’ access to nektonic and benthic invertebrates, acorns, and other natural seeds.
Simple shear flows of dense gas-solid suspensions at finite Stokes numbers

We examine the problem of determining the particle-phase velocity variance and rhe-ology of sheared gas-solid suspensions at small Reynolds numbers and finite Stokes numbers. Our numerical simulations take into account the Stokes flow interactions among particles except for pairs of particles with a minimum gap width comparable to or smaller than the mean free path of the gas molecules for which the usual lubrication approximation breaks down and particle collisions occur in a finite time. The simulation results are compared to the predictions of two theories. The first is an asymptotic theory for large Stokes number St and nearly elastic collisions, i.e. St [Gt ] 1 and 0 ≤ 1 - e [Lt ] 1, e being the coefficient of restitution. In this limit, the particle velocity distribution is close to an isotropic Maxwellian and the velocity variance is determined by equating the energy input in shearing the suspension to the energy dissipation by inelastic collisions and viscous effects. The latter are estimated by solving the Stokes equations of motion in suspensions with the hard-sphere equilibrium spatial and velocity distribution while the shear energy input and energy dissipation by inelastic effects are estimated using the standard granular flow theory (i.e. St = ∞). The second is an approximate theory based on Grad's moments method for which St and 1 – e are O(1). The two theories agree well with each other at higher values of volume fraction ϕ of particles over a surprisingly large range of values of St. For smaller ϕ however, the two theories deviate significantly except at sufficiently large St. A detailed comparison shows that the predictions of the approximate theory based on Grad's method are in excellent agreement with the results of numerical simulations.
Gadwall Biology in a Hypersaline Environment: Is High Productivity Offset by Postbreeding Mortality?

Abstract The highly herbivorous Gadwall (Anas strepera) is the most salt-tolerant of the North America dabbling ducks and typically breeds in wetlands where salinity does not exceed 15. Small numbers also breed at hypersaline (80-90) Mono Lake, California, which lacks vascular plants. There, Gadwall raise young on the open lake, feed nearly exclusively on alkali flies (Ephydra hians), and minimize osmotic challenges by concentrating activities in areas with access to fresh water. Fledging success is high as a result of abundant food and low predation, but is evidently offset by poor survivorship among postbreeding adults. Failure to complete wing molt and, perhaps, foot disease are implicated. Food in the lake remains abundant well into the autumn. Nevertheless, local birds leave as soon as the young fledge. Many move to nearby freshwater lakes before eventually before continuing to wintering locations in the Central Valley of California. Migrants avoid Mono Lake at this season in favor of nearby freshwat...
Mineralogy and geochemistry affecting arsenic solubility in sediment profiles from the shallow basin-fill aquifer of Cache Valley Basin, Utah

Abstract Elevated arsenic concentrations have been reported in groundwater samples collected from the semi-arid Western U.S., including the Cache Valley Basin, Utah. The volcanic rock in the basin-fill aquifers underlying portions of the West is considered the primary source of arsenic, but there is debate about the mechanisms that control arsenic solubilization in these semi-arid and arid climates. Sediment cores were collected from a shallow basin fill aquifer in the Cache Valley Basin to systematically determine arsenic mineralogy and solubilization mechanisms in relation to non-redox and redox induced soil processes. Soluble arsenic was present throughout the two studied profiles in varying abundance and oxidation state, with the highest concentration of soluble As(V) and As(III) at the depth of the water table. Sequential chemical extractions of arsenic, with oxidation preservation strategies, revealed mineral sources and sinks of arsenic vulnerable to altering redox conditions down the profile. Weathering of primary arsenic-bearing minerals resulted in soluble arsenic in the vadose zone. Once soluble arsenic was leached to the deeper profile, arsenic solubility was controlled by carbonate minerals that concentrate at the water table. In the zone with alternating oxidizing and reducing conditions, iron oxides became the controlling mineral phase. The association between arsenic and sulfides limited arsenic solubility at depths under permanent water saturation. Arsenic solubility was revealed to be controlled by a sequence of processes that prevail under different geochemical regimes down the profile.
Native American Cultural Capital and Business Strategy: The Culture- of-Origin Effect

This commentary examines the use of American Indian culture in the strategic marketing of goods and services produced from within the American Indian community. Building on concepts from multiple academic disciplines, we introduce a new construct for this practice: the "culture-of-origin" effect. Specifically, the culture-of-origin effect is the strategic use of one's cultural identity as a resource that increases the value of one's products. Moreover, we explore the ethical ramifications of exploiting one's cultural identity for capital gain by highlighting the quandary that emerges when individuals seek to profit from a resource (cultural capital) that belongs collectively to the tribe.
Historic preservation in declining city neighbourhoods: Analysing rehabilitation tax credit investments in six US cities:

Historic preservation is common practice across the world, including in US cities. At the same time, population decline, economic distress and vacancy prevalent in declining cities, also known as legacy, shrinking or post-industrial cities, creates a pressing threat to a vast array of urban historic buildings. In the USA, recent planning and policy emphasises strategic demolition and/or targeting resources in potentially viable neighbourhoods, with little attention paid to historic preservation. To fill this gap, we use a comparative case study of federal historic rehabilitation tax credit (RTC) investments from 2000 to 2010 across the neighbourhoods of six legacy cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Providence, Richmond and St. Louis. This is the first study to use disaggregated, longitudinal RTC data to analyse investment at the neighbourhood scale. We use the Hirschman-Herfindahl Index to evaluate investment concentration and US Census 2000 data to characterise neighbourhoods where developers ch...
Study of Effective Elastic Moduli of Cracked Solid

In this paper, effective moduli of cracked solid material were investigated. An analytical approach is discussed for a cracked solid containing randomly oriented inclusions by using elastic potential and a standard tensorial basis. A numerical simulation of the testing of mechanical responses of samples of cracked solid material (porous material) is also carried out. The numerical scheme in this work will focus mainly on numerical modeling of the observed behavior, in particular, the dependence of the macroscopic material properties on the porocity.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
MULTIMODAL IMAGING OF A FAMILY WITH SPINOCEREBELLAR ATAXIA TYPE 7 DEMONSTRATING PHENOTYPIC VARIATION AND PROGRESSION OF RETINAL DEGENERATION.

PURPOSE To report the variability and progression of clinical presentation in three family members with spinocerebellar ataxia Type 7 including early recognizable features on retinal imaging and magnetic resonance imaging. METHODS Retrospective case series. RESULTS The proband, Patient 1 (mother) presented at age 26 with light perception vision. Initial examination was significant for optic disc pallor, vascular attenuation, and central macular atrophy. Two years later, her vision declined to no light perception, and fundus examination demonstrated marked progression of macular atrophy and peripheral bone spicule formation. Seven years after the onset of vision loss, neurologic examination demonstrated ataxia, dysarthria, and slowed saccades. Genetic testing of ATXN7 identified heterozygous 61-CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion confirming the diagnosis of spinocerebellar ataxia Type 7. Patient 2 (son) presented at age 11 with visual acuity of 20/300 bilaterally and decreased color vision. Funduscopic examination was notable for disc pallor, vascular attenuation, and peripheral pigmentary changes. Electroretinography demonstrated diminished rod and cone function, and Goldmann visual field testing revealed paracentral scotoma. Patient 3 (daughter) presented at age 14 with visual acuity of 20/50 bilaterally and minimal funduscopic changes. The only significant ophthalmic finding was retinal thinning with atrophy of the outer nuclear layer and subfoveal ellipsoid zone on optical coherence tomography. Early cerebellar volume loss was also noted on magnetic resonance imaging. CONCLUSION The clinical presentation of spinocerebellar ataxia Type 7 can vary widely even within the same family. In individuals with vision loss and normal fundus examination, careful evaluation of optical coherence tomography and brain magnetic resonance imaging facilitates early diagnosis and genetic testing.
Treating mild gestational diabetes yields benefits with little or no evidence of harms.

Commentary on: Hartling L, Dryden DM, Guthrie A, et al. Benefits and harms of treating gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the National Institutes of Health Office of Medical Applications of Research. Ann Intern Med 2013;159:123–9.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] The screening, diagnosis and treatment of gestational diabetes have been a contentious topic for at least 25 years, when Hunter and Keirse1 concluded, “Except for research purposes, all forms of glucose tolerance testing should be stopped.” This judgement was based on a lack of firm epidemiological evidence for benefit to the population, and the need for “population-based research to establish the true risk of sub-diabetic degrees of hyperglycaemia during pregnancy,” which should then be followed by ‘rigorous, randomized trials’ of therapy. In recent years the HAPO study established a continuum of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with increasing maternal … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAnn%2BIntern%2BMed%26rft.volume%253D159%26rft.spage%253D123%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.7326%252F0003-4819-159-2-201307160-00661%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23712381%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.7326/0003-4819-159-2-201307160-00661&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=23712381&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F19%2F3%2F88.atom [4]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000322112000018&link_type=ISI
Application of a practical method for history matching of production rate and well bottom-hole pressure

This paper focuses on the implementation techniques and an application of the practical method of history matching of production rate and well bottom-hole pressure to a large heterogeneous reservoir with realistically complex geological structure and a long production history.The results show that the proposed method works well to reduce the production rate mismatch between production data and simulated results by 80% and global mismatch by over 40% with only 20 flow simulation runs.Suitable perturbation range can make the proposed method more efficient.
Parametric VaR According to Student’s t-Distribution

Parametric VaR “generalizes to other distributions as long as all the uncertainty is contained in σ.”1 If we are concerned that reliance on the Gaussian distribution systematically and inappropriately underestimates tail risk, we could substitute any “distribution [with] fatter tails than the normal.”2 Phillipe Jorion recommends the use of Student’s t-distribution with six degrees of freedom.3 I shall do my best to provide a theoretical justification for conducting parametric VaR according to the family of Student’s t-distributions. Even more importantly, I shall suggest an empirical basis for a more precise estimate of the number of degrees of freedom needed to calibrate Student’s t-distribution in response to observed levels of kurtosis.4
Boundary adaptive synchronization of networked PDEs with adaptive parameter estimators

Abstract This work considers the synchronization control of networked PDEs that have boundary observation and control. The PDEs are assumed identical, with information exchange dictated by a complete directed graph. Parametric uncertainties entering in the boundary, result in structured perturbation terms that may render the open loop system unstable. Additionally constant disturbance terms entering at the boundary are impeding state regulation. To address these parametric uncertainties, a precompensator is utilized to stabilize each networked PDE. Another component of the controller provides an on-line cancellation of the parametric uncertainties by attempting to cancel them through their adaptive estimate, and to attenuate the effects of boundary disturbances, their adaptive estimates are utilized in the controller. To provide a robustness in the adaptive estimation of the parametric uncertainties and the boundary disturbances, the standard adaptive laws are complemented with a consensus protocol term that penalizes the pairwise disagreement of the adaptive estimates. Finally, to enforce synchronization of all networked PDEs, a synchronization controller is included which utilizes only the outputs of all communicating PDE systems weighted by adaptive synchronization gains. These gains, derived from Lyapunov redesign methods, include a consensus term for added robustness and to enforce convergence. Simulation studies of five networked diffusion PDEs with boundary observation and control are included.
An Insight about GlusterFS and Its Enforcement Techniques

The world keeps contributing to the increase in data everyday drastically. Scientific applications, weather forecasting, researches, hospitals, military services are few such major contributors. As the amount of data increases, the need to provide efficient, easy to use solutions has become one of the main issues for these type of computations. The best solution to this issue is the use of Distributed File Systems(DFS). Some existing Distributed File Systems are too complex to deploy and maintain, although they are extremely scalable and cheap since they can be entirely built out of commodity Operating System(OS) and hardware. GlusterFS solves this problem. Gluster File System(GFS) is open source and is capable of scaling to several petabytes(upto 72 brontobytes) and handling thousands of clients. It is based on a stackable user space design and can deliver exceptional performance for diverse workloads. GlusterFS is an easy to use clustered file system that meets enterprise-level requirements. It is written in user space which uses FUSE(Filesystem in user space) to hook itself with the VFS layer. It takes a layered approach to the file system, where features are added/removed as per the requirement. Enforcer is a major component in Gluster which finds its extensive use in production. Enforcer is concerned more about limits. It helps to restrict the usage(both in terms of size and count) at directory or volume level in the file system. In this paper, we discuss the internal working of the translators and key architectural components of GlusterFS. Along with that, one can gain a deep insight about the enforcement techniques, few challenges, undergoing researches and projects of GlusterFS
Education for Real-World Data Science Roles (Part 2): A Translational Approach to Curriculum Development

This study reports on the findings from Part 2 of a small-scale analysis of requirements for real-world data science positions and examines three further data science roles: data analyst, data engineer and data journalist. The study examines recent job descriptions and maps their requirements to the current curriculum within the graduate MLIS and Information Science and Technology Masters Programs in the School of Information Sciences (iSchool) at the University of Pittsburgh. From this mapping exercise, model ‘course pathways’ and module ‘stepping stones’ have been identified, as well as course topic gaps and opportunities for collaboration with other Schools. Competency in four specific tools or technologies was required by all three roles (Microsoft Excel, R, Python and SQL), as well as collaborative skills (with both teams of colleagues and with clients). The ability to connect the educational curriculum with real-world positions is viewed as further validation of the translational approach being developed as a foundational principle of the current MLIS curriculum review process
Geochemical, economic, and ethnographic approaches to the evaluation of soil, salinity, and water management in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Abstract Salinity meter, powder X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of alluvium and anthropogenic sediments demonstrates that the salinity levels of the water and soil resources used by Ancestral Puebloan people during the Bonito Phase in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico were negligible. Salinity levels were not high enough to argue that they were deleterious to farming at Chaco Canyon. The overtly high salinity levels reported by Benson cannot be replicated. Ethnographic data show that Chaco Canyon contained more than adequate sediments (perennial stream alluvium, ephemeral rincon alluvium, aeolian sand dunes) needed to support the maize-based economy of a large Ancestral Puebloan population. The occurrence of cultigens from the Chuska Slope can be explained in terms of the economic processes of production, distribution, and exchange of goods and services that originated, sustained, enhanced, or reproduced the livelihood of Ancestral Puebloans.
Other Lips, Whither Kisses?

Among mercurial responses throughout June 12 and in the days that followed, while obsessively watching largely ill-fitting and insidious news coverage in the aftermath of the Pulse massacre in Orla...
Modelling Three-Dimensional Composites

This paper reports progress towards predicting the elastic properties, strength, damage tolerance, and fatigue lives of woven or braided composites with 3D reinforcement.
Abstract 1753: Refining breast cancer characterization through single-cell analysis ofex vivoreprogrammed tumor and adjacent normal cells

Discovery of inter-individual functional variations in gene regulatory elements and the observation that tumor and normal tissues of the same organ are in different differentiation states necessitate rethinking of gene expression based subclassification/characterization of tumors. To address this issue, we performed single cell genomics of breast tumors and adjacent-normal cells propagated using epithelial reprogramming growth conditions for a short duration. Epithelial cells analyzed were either unselected for specific subpopulation or phenotypically defined undifferentiated ALDH+/CD49f+/EpCAM+ luminal progenitors present in the normal breast, which express both basal and luminal-enriched genes. Expression of 93 genes that included PAM50 intrinsic subtype classifier and stemness-related genes was analyzed in 420 tumor and 284 adjacent-normal cells. ALDH+/CD49f+/EpCAM+ tumor and normal cells clustered differently compared to unselected tumor and normal cells. PAM50 genes-set analyses of ALDH+/CD49f+/EpCAM+ populations efficiently identified major and minor clones of tumor cells with the major clone resembling clinical parameters of the tumor. Similarly, stemness-associated gene set identified clones with divergent stemness pathway activation within the same patient sample. This refined technique distinguished genes truly deregulated in cancer from genes that identify cellular precursors of tumors. Collectively, assays presented here may enable precise identification of genes deregulated in cancer, early identification of therapeutically-targetable minor population of tumor cells, and eventually to refinement of precision therapeutics. Citation Format: Harikrishna Nakshatri, Manjushree Anjanappa, Angelo Cardoso, Lijun Cheng, Safa Mohamad, Andrea Gunawan, Susan Rice, Yan Dong, Lang Li, Edward Srour. Refining breast cancer characterization through single-cell analysis of ex vivo reprogrammed tumor and adjacent normal cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1753. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1753
Electromagnetic Effect on Underground Pipeline of the Lightning Strike 330kV Transmission Lines

In this paper, we use a combination of circuit and magnetic field to study simulation analysis of electromagnetic effect on buried metal pipes when lightning 330kV transmission lines. Through the establishment of EMPT time domain simulation model, the distribution characteristics of the lightning current and the current of the tower are obtained when the transmission line tower is struck by lightning. By application of CDEGS software, the resistive coupling effect on buried metal pipes is studied when lightning transmission lines tower. In the end, the variation rule of the pipeline interference voltage with the earth resistivity and the tower grounding resistance are simulated.
Erythropoiesis: The Roles of Erythropoietin and Iron

Abstract Normal erythropoiesis results in the generation of sufficient numbers of fully functional mature red blood cells to replace senescent ones. To achieve this goal, a host of growth factors and the element iron are necessary ingredients that are used by erythroid precursor cells for effective erythropoiesis. Erythropoietin (EPO) is the key hormone responsible for effective erythropoiesis, and iron is the essential mineral required for hemoglobin production. EPO allows survival and proliferation of erythroid precursor cells by generating intracellular signals resulting in the prevention of apoptosis. Iron availability is highly regulated to ensure an adequate supply for the production of hemoglobin required during erythropoiesis. Iron itself regulates globin synthesis at both the transcriptional and translational levels. New insights about the interplay between hepcidin, iron availability, and erythropoiesis have modified our understanding of hemoglobin synthesis. Newly discovered erythroid hormone erythroferrone, iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) and HIF2α in the IRP1–HIF2α axis, and aconitase appear to play important roles in regulating erythropoiesis. Novel therapeutic agents that influence iron and erythropoietic regulation are now under development.
Assessment of apolar lipids in subseafloor rocks and potential contaminants from the Atlantis Massif (IODP Expedition 357)

Abstract International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 357 drilled 17 boreholes across the Atlantis Massif with the goals of investigating carbon cycling and the presence of life in a zone of active serpentinization. The expedition recovered multiple lithologies including gabbros, basalts, carbonate sands, and serpentinites. A subset of contrasting lithologies were analyzed for apolar lipid content to determine if non-volatile organic molecules can be detected in the oceanic subsurface. The definitive detection and identification of abiotic and biological lipids in the subsurface of an actively serpentinizing system would be a significant step towards understanding a variety of scientific processes, including the evolution of pre-biotic chemistry, microbial habitability, and the global carbon cycle. Given the high potential for contamination during drilling, a suite of materials used in sample collection and processing were also analyzed to characterize their signatures. An n-alkane series ranging from C18 to C30 with δ13C isotopic values of −30.9‰ to −28.8‰ was present in lithologically diverse samples. Multiple lines of evidence point to the rock saw used to remove core exteriors during sample processing as the source of these compounds. Many of the other sample-handling procedures designed to reduce surface contamination were determined to be effective and could be implemented in future projects. This result highlights the value of careful prevention and characterization of contamination to allow for more accurate interpretations of complex and dynamic subsurface processes, and the importance that future reports of these compounds occurs in conjunction with thorough contamination assessments.
Feedrate modulation for accurate traversal of trimmed planar offset paths

In milling planar shapes with cylindrical tools, CNC machines must employ tool paths offset from the desired part shape by the tool radius. To prevent gouging the part geometry and to ensure continuous paths, the offset path construction invokes trimming and filling operations at tangent discontinuities of the part shape, and smooth concave regions where the tool radius exceeds the part radius of curvature. A constant feedrate of the tool center along the offset path can result in large chip load variations. Conversely, a variable feedrate that (approximately) achieves a constant chip load can cause large acceleration/deceleration rates at the tool center. Moreover, feedrate reduction is required in the vicinity of the trimmed offset path tangent discontinuities, to ensure accurate execution and to minimize vibrations. A feedrate modulation methodology for trimmed offset paths is proposed, incorporating user-specified parameters to balance the competing demands of minimizing path contour error, chip load variations, and the overall traversal time. The feedrate modulation scheme is compatible with simple real-time interpolator algorithms, and its practical performance is demonstrated by real-time data obtained from several experiments performed on a CNC mill with an open-architecture software controller.