cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trolls or Market-Makers? An Empirical Analysis of Nonpracticing Entities

Nonpracticing entities (NPEs) are firms that rarely or never practice their patents, and instead focus on earning licensing fees. NPEs may have patented inventions on their own or bought the patents from other inventors. NPEs have been the subject of much controversy over the past few years. Critics of these firms have labeled them “patent trolls” and claim that they use weak and vague patents to extract excessive licensing fees or to engage in frivolous infringement litigation against product manufacturers. NPEs and their supporters, on the other hand, claim that these firms enhance innovation and competition by providing capital to independent inventors and creating an efficient market for trade in technological information. This Note uses patent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and infringement litigation information from Stanford Law School’s Intellectual Property Litigation Clearinghouse (IPLC) to test some of the arguments made for and against NPEs and to determine whether these firms benefit or harm innovation.
Graphene: Status and prospects as a microwave material

Graphene offers new opportunities for the optimization of high frequency FETs by virtue of high carrier velocity, excellent scaling properties, configurability as electron or hole channel devices, and limited scattering. It also offers unique features such as quadratic variation of current with gate voltage, and problems, such as limitations in voltage and poor pinchoff characteristics. This paper reviews graphene material properties, and status and prospects of research efforts to demonstrate graphene-based microwave and mm-wave transistors.
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1A1: Friend or Foe to Female Metabolism?

In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding vitamin A-dependent regulation of sex-specific differences in metabolic diseases, inflammation, and certain cancers. We focus on the characterization of the aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 family of enzymes (ALDH1A1, ALDH1A2, ALDH1A3) that catalyze conversion of retinaldehyde to retinoic acid. Additionally, we propose a “horizontal transfer of signaling” from estrogen to retinoids through the action of ALDH1A1. Although estrogen does not directly influence expression of Aldh1a1, it has the ability to suppress Aldh1a2 and Aldh1a3, thereby establishing a female-specific mechanism for retinoic acid generation in target tissues. ALDH1A1 regulates adipogenesis, abdominal fat formation, glucose tolerance, and suppression of thermogenesis in adipocytes; in B cells, ALDH1A1 plays a protective role by inducing oncogene suppressors Rara and Pparg. Considering the conflicting responses of Aldh1a1 in a multitude of physiological processes, only tissue-specific regulation of Aldh1a1 can result in therapeutic effects. We have shown through successful implantation of tissue-specific Aldh1a1−/− preadipocytes that thermogenesis can be induced in wild-type adipose tissues to resolve diet-induced visceral obesity in females. We will briefly discuss the emerging role of ALDH1A1 in multiple myeloma, the regulation of reproduction, and immune responses, and conclude by discussing the role of ALDH1A1 in future therapeutic applications.
Micromachined silicon x-ray optics

We employed anisotropic etching of single crystal silicon wafers for the fabrication of micron- scale optical elements. We have succeeded in producing silicon lenses with a geometry suitable for 1-d focusing x-ray optics. These lenses have an aspect ratio (40:1) suitable for x- ray reflection and have very good optical surface alignment. We have developed a number of process refinements which improved the quality of the lens geometry and the repeatability of the etch process. A significant progress was made in obtaining good optical surface quality. The RMS roughness was decreased from 110 angstroms for our initial lenses to 30 angstroms in the final lenses. A further factor of three improvement in surface quality is required for the production of efficiency x-ray optics. We present new wafer geometries designed to test the effect of the etch process on surface roughness.
Could monitoring methylation markers aid the management of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric condition [1]. Its median lifetime prevalence is 0.7–0.8%. Patients experience hallucinations and delusion as well as impairment in both basic sensory processing and higher cognitive function such as reasoning and planning [2]. Onset is typically in adolescence/early adulthood and the course of illness is characterized by exacerbations, remissions and relapses. Schizophrenia is typically diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Disease (ICD). However, rather than being a single disease entity, it may be a set of several disorders sharing clinical features but having (partly) different underlying causes [3]. These subtypes may be distinguishable from each other with respect to prognosis, course or treatment response. Although the available schizophrenia pharmacotherapies often lack efficacy and/or cause side effects in a substantial group of patients, few new drugs are under development [4]. Therefore, the ability to use biomarkers to better diagnose and optimize existing treatments would be of tremendous clinical value.
Coal-to-Liquids: Potential Impact on U.S. Coal Reserves

The production of liquid fuels from coal will very likely become an important part of the hydrocarbon energy mix of the future, provided that technical and environmental obstacles are overcome economically. The coal industry should be able to handle a coal-to-liquids (CTL) industry of modest size, using 60–70 million short tons or 54–64 million metric tonnes of coal per annum, without premature depletion of the country’s coal reserves. However, attempts to use CTL technology to replace all petroleum imports would deplete the nation’s coal reserves by the end of the century.
Evaluating a Multicomponent Program for Enhancing the Self-Determination of Youth with Disabilities

Provides a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of a recently developed multicomponent educational and support program
Gene deletions by ends-in targeting in Drosophila melanogaster

Following the advent of a gene targeting technique in Drosophila, different methods have been developed to modify the Drosophila genome. The initial demonstration of gene targeting in flies used an ends-in method, which generates a duplication of the target locus. The duplicated locus can then be efficiently reduced to a single copy by generating a double-strand break between the duplicated segments. This method has been used to knock out target genes by introducing point mutations. A derivative of this method is reported here. By using different homologous regions for the targeting and reduction steps, a complete deletion of the target gene can be generated to produce a definitive null allele. The breakpoints of the deletion can be precisely controlled. Unlike ends-out targeting, this method does not leave exogenous sequence at the deleted locus. Three endogenous genes, Sir2, Sirt2, and p53 have been successfully deleted using this method.
Theory of a strongly interacting electroweak symmetry breaking sector

Author(s): Chivukula, RS; Dugan, MJ; Golden, M; Simmons, EH | Abstract: In this review we discuss theories of the electroweak-symmetry-breaking sector in which the W and Z interactions become strong at an energy scale not larger than a few TeV.
Using Critical Race Theory, Paulo Freire’s Problem-Posing Method, and Case Study Research to Confront Race and Racism in Education

In this article, the authors use critical race theory (CRT), Paulo Freire’s problem-posing method, and case study research to introduce an alternative instructional and pedagogical methodology in teacher education. These approaches attempt to get at deep-rooted ideologies by creating a space in a social foundations course for teacher candidates to unlearn their stereotypical knowledge of race while analyzing and theorizing what it means to teach a diverse student population. When using such a methodology, the authors recommend that teacher candidates have access to a variety of cultural immersion and field experiences in communities of color. These experiences are critical to learning why they should and how they can talk about race and racism.
Development Under Military Rule: Factionalism in Brazil:

Opinion in essays by the Brazilian military elite, published in their professional journals, is analyzed-prior to the military takeover, and at regular intervals during their 21 years of political ...
Half Field Offense in RoboCup Soccer: A Multiagent Reinforcement Learning Case Study

We present half field offense, a novel subtask of RoboCup simulated soccer, and pose it as a problem for reinforcement learning. In this task, an offense team attempts to outplay a defense team in order to shoot goals. Half field offense extends keepaway [11], a simpler subtask of RoboCup soccer in which one team must try to keep possession of the ball within a small rectangular region, and away from the opposing team. Both keepaway and half field offense have to cope with the usual problems of RoboCup soccer, such as a continuous state space, noisy actions, and multiple agents, but the latter is a significantly harder multiagent reinforcement learning problem because of sparse rewards, a larger state space, a richer action set, and the sheer complexity of the policy to be learned. We demonstrate that the algorithm that has been successful for keepaway is inadequate to scale to the more complex half field offense task, and present a new algorithm to address the aforementioned problems in multiagent reinforcement learning. The main feature of our algorithm is the use of inter-agent communication, which allows for more frequent and reliable learning updates. We show empirical results verifying that our algorithm registers significantly higher performance and faster learning than the earlier approach. We also assess the contribution of inter-agent communication by considering several variations of the basic learning method. This work is a step further in the ongoing challenge to learn complete team behavior for the RoboCup simulated soccer task.
Exploring 3D gestural interfaces for music creation in video games

In recent years the popularity of music and rhythm-based games has experienced tremendous growth. However almost all of these games require custom hardware to be used as input devices, and these devices control only one or two similar instruments. In this paper we describe One Man Band, a prototype video game for musical expression that uses novel 3D spatial interaction techniques using accelerometer-based motion controllers. One Man Band provides users with 3D gestural interfaces to control both the timing and sound of the music played, with both single and collaborative player modes. We further investigate the ability to detect different musical gestures without explicit selection of mode, giving the user the ability to seamlessly transition between instrument types with a single input device. A formal user study is then presented comparing the musical interface of One Man Band to that of Nintendo's Wii Music. Our results indicate that users generally preferred the interface of One Man Band over that of Wii Music. We also found that users desire to express their own ideas and have explicit control of the melodies created in music-based video games.
Remote cloud ceiling assessment using data-mining methods

Abstract Data-mining methods are applied to numerical weather prediction (NWP) output and satellite data to develop automated algorithms for the diagnosis of cloud ceiling height in regions where no local observations are available at analysis time. A database of hourly records that include Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) output, satellite data, and ground truth observations [aviation routine weather reports (METAR)] has been created. Data were collected over a 2.5-yr period for specific locations in California. Data-mining techniques have been applied to the database to determine relationships in the collected physical parameters that best estimate cloud ceiling conditions, with an emphasis on low ceiling heights. Algorithm development resulted in a three-step approach: 1) determine if a cloud ceiling exists, 2) if a cloud ceiling is determined to exist, determine if the ceiling is high or low (below 1 000 m), and 3) if the cloud ceiling is determined to be low, compute ceil...
Comparing World-Systems: Concepts and Working Hypotheses

Many recent studies have concluded that societal structures cannot be understood without the consideration of intersocietal interactions. World-system theory helps explain the relationship between intersocietal interactions and the development of national societies in the modern world, but this theory was constructed primarily for the analysis of the modern world system, it needs modification to be useful for a broader comparative approach to historical development. This article begins the construction of a more encompassing world system theory by proposing empirically grounded concepts and hypotheses for comparative studies.
Cell cycle progression is required for zebrafish somite morphogenesis but not segmentation clock function

Cell division, differentiation and morphogenesis are coordinated during embryonic development, and frequently are in disarray in pathologies such as cancer. Here, we present a zebrafish mutant that ceases mitosis at the beginning of gastrulation, but that undergoes axis elongation and develops blood, muscle and a beating heart. We identify the mutation as being in early mitotic inhibitor 1 (emi1), a negative regulator of the Anaphase Promoting Complex, and use the mutant to examine the role of the cell cycle in somitogenesis. The mutant phenotype indicates that axis elongation during the segmentation period is driven substantially by cell migration. We find that the segmentation clock, which regulates somitogenesis, functions normally in the absence of cell cycle progression, and observe that mitosis is a modest source of noise for the clock. Somite morphogenesis involves the epithelialization of the somite border cells around a core of mesenchyme. As in wild-type embryos, somite boundary cells are polarized along a Fibronectin matrix in emi1-/-. The mutants also display evidence of segment polarity. However, in the absence of a normal cell cycle, somites appear to hyper-epithelialize, as the internal mesenchymal cells exit the core of the somite after initial boundary formation. Thus, cell cycle progression is not required during the segmentation period for segmentation clock function but is necessary for the normal segmental arrangement of epithelial borders and internal mesenchymal cells.
An open-label phase 2 study of glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitor LY2090314 in patients with acute leukemia.

AbstractThis open-label, Phase-2 study investigated the safety of LY2090314 (GSK-3 inhibitor) in AML patients. Twenty patients received 40-mg LY2090314 (50-mg ranitidine pretreatment) as follows: Cohort 1 – days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-d cycle (n = 7); Cohort 2 – days 1, 5, and 9 of a 21-d cycle (n = 6); Cohort 3 – days 1, 5, 9, and 12 of a 21-d cycle (n = 7). Decreased appetite (n = 7) and nausea (n = 4) were the most frequently reported possibly drug-related non-hematologic treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Hematologic TEAEs included febrile neutropenia (n = 2), thrombocytopenia (n = 1), and anemia (n = 1). Atrial flutter (n = 1), QT interval prolongation (n = 3), and visual disturbances (n = 2) were observed, but were not clinically significant (investigator assessed). Although β-catenin levels indicated an on-target effect, no complete or partial remissions were observed. Pharmacokinetics were consistent with a previous Phase 1 study. These data suggest that single-agent LY2090314 has acceptable...
Discussion: Economic Standards for Competitive Freight Rates

[1] KNAPP, JOSEPH G., "The Scope of Farmer Cooperatives-Present and Future," J. Farm Econ. 44:476-488, May 1962. [2] DELOACH, D. B., "Growth of Farmer Cooperatives-Obstacles and Opportunities," J. Farm Econ. 44:489-500, May 1962. :[3] COASE, R. H., "The Nature of the Firm," in Readings in Price Theory, The American Economic Association, Homewood, Illinois, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1952, pp. 331-351. [4] KNIGHT, FRANK H., Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, New York, Augustus M. Kelly, 1964. [5] U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census of Manufactures: 1958, Vol. 1, Summary Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1961. Also see corresponding volumes for 1947 and 1954. [6] GARDNER, KELSEY B., AND ANNE L. B. GESSNER, Trends in Growth of Farmer Cooperatives, 1950-1960, Farmer Cooperative Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, FCS General Report 110, March 1963. [7] Farmer Cooperative Service, Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, U.S. Department of Agriculture, FCS Bul. 1 (rev.), 1965, p. 262. [8] ERDMAN, HENRY E., AND GRACE LARSEN, Revolving Finance in Agricultural Cooperatives, Madison, Wisconsin, Mimir Publishers, Inc., 1965, pp. 3-19. [9] HULBERT, L. S., Legal Phases of Farmer Cooperatives, Farmer Cooperative Service Bul. 10, revised and extended by R. J. Mischler, USDA, Jan. 1958. [10] YOUDE, JAMES, AND PETER HELMBERGER, Membership Policies and Market Power of Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, Wisconsin Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 267 (forthcoming). [11] Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Synthetics and Substitutes for Agricultural Commodities, Pub. 1, University of Florida, May 1966. [12] COCHRANE, WILLARD W., "Changing Structure of the American Economy," J. Farm Econ., 41:401-413. May 1959. [13] BREIMYER, HAROLD F., Individual Freedom and the Economic Organization of Agriculture, Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1965, pp. 259-274. [14] National Commission on Food Marketing, Food from Farmer to Consumer, Washington, D.C., June 1966.
Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in Full- and Low-Sodium Frankfurters at 4, 7, or 10°C Using Spray-Dried Mixtures of Organic Acid Salts

In meat processing, powdered ingredients are preferred to liquids because of ease of handling, mixing, and storing. This study was conducted to assess Listeria monocytogenes inhibition and the physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics of frankfurters that were prepared with organic acid salts as spray-dried powders (sodium lactate-sodium acetate, sodium lactate-sodium acetate-sodium diacetate, and potassium acetate-potassium diacetate) or liquids (sodium lactate, sodium lactate-sodium diacetate, potassium lactate, and potassium lactate-sodium diacetate). Full-sodium (1.8% salt) and low-sodium (1.0% salt) frankfurters were prepared according to 10 and 5 different formulations (n = 3), respectively, and were dip inoculated with a six-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes (∼4 log CFU/g). Populations of Listeria and mesophilic aerobic bacteria were quantified during storage at 4, 7, and 10°C for up to 90 days. Four powder and two liquid full-sodium formulations and one powder low-sodium formulation, all of which contained diacetate except for 1% sodium lactate-sodium acetate powder, completely inhibited Listeria growth at 4°C. However, Listeria grew in full-sodium formulations at 10°C and in low-sodium formulations at 7 and 10°C except for the formulation containing 0.8% potassium acetate-0.2% potassium diacetate powder. All formulations were similar in terms of water activity, cooking yield, moisture, and protein content. Sodium content and pH were affected by the concentrations of sodium and diacetate, respectively. Frankfurter appearance, texture, flavor, and overall acceptability were similar (P > 0.05) regardless of the formulation, except for flavor and overall acceptability of the low-sodium formulation containing potassium acetate-potassium diacetate. Based on these findings, cosprayed powders appear to be a viable alternative to current liquid inhibitors for control of Listeria in processed meats.
Physicochemical controls on biogeographic variation of benthic foraminiferal test size and shape

The sizes and shapes of marine organisms often vary systematically across latitude and water depth, but the environmental factors that mediate these gradients in morphology remain incompletely understood. A key challenge is isolating the individual contributions of many, often correlated, environmental variables of potential biological significance. Benthic foraminifera, a diverse group of rhizarian protists that inhabit nearly all marine environments, provide an unparalleled opportunity to test statistically among the various potential controls on size and volume–to–surface area ratio. Here, we use 7035 occurrences of 541 species of Rotallid foraminifera across 946 localities spanning more than 60 degrees of latitude and 1600 m of water depth around the North American continental margin to assess the relative influences of temperature, oxygen availability, carbonate saturation, and particulate organic carbon flux on their test volume and volume–to–surface area ratio. For the North American data set as a whole, the best model includes temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration as predictors. This model also applies to data from the Pacific continental margin in isolation, but only temperature is included in the best model for the Atlantic. Because these findings are consistent with predictions from the first principles of cell physiology, we interpret these statistical associations as the expressions of physiological selective pressures on test size and shape from the physical environment. Regarding existing records of temporal variation in foraminiferal test size across geological time in light of these findings suggests that the importance of temperature variation on the evolution of test volume and volume–to–surface area ratio may be underappreciated. In particular, warming may have played as important a role as reduced oxygen availability in causing test size reduction during past episodes of environmental crisis and is expected to inflict metabolic stress on benthic foraminifera over the next century due to anthropogenic climate change.
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON IMPACT BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE-FILLED STEEL TUBE AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES

The impact behavior of 15 concrete-filled steel tubes(CFT) specimens under different temperatures ranging from room temperature to 400℃ was experimentally studied using a spilt Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB).The stress and strain time history curves of the tested specimens were recorded to analyze the impact behavior of CFT under high temperatures.The failure patterns and the recorded load versus deformation curves demonstrate that the CFT has an excellent impact-resistant behavior under high temperatures,i.e.relatively higher strength and post-yielding strength,excellent plasticity and integrity of the composite section.
Epidemiological features of measles in Qingyuan from 2000 to 2004

Objective This paper was to study the measles epidemiological features in Qingyuan, in order to draw a effective prevention. Methods To analysis the data of measles surveillance system in Qingyuan from 2000 to 2004, and the serum samples of some suspected measles cases in acute period were assayed for IgM antibodies of measles. Results Form 2000 to 2004, a total of 727 suspected measles were reported by measles surveillance system in Qingyuan, of which 148 were clinically diagnosed, 412 were laboratory identified and 167 were excluded. All these measles cases were distributed in 8 counties in Qingyuan, the mode of prevalence was presented for both emanation and outbreak, and The average rate of annual morbidity was 2.87/100000. 12 outbreaks with 149 measles cases had occurred and covered 26.61% of total measles cases in 2000～2004, of which 7 outbreaks with 90 measles cases had occurred. Measles cases occurred in every months, but the peak season was from March to July. Among these cases, their ages were from one month to 40 years, and concentrated on pre- school children aged 4-6 years old, but among the outbreak cases, 50% cases concentrated on aged 7- 14 years. 22.72% of the cases were confirmed immunization history and 73.79% cases at the aged above 15 years had no vaccination records. Among 579 suspected measles, the positive rate of IgM was 71.16%. Conclusion The epidemic situation of measles was unstable, so cases reporting should be strengthened, the ratio of the effective in measles surveillance system and immunization coverage rate should be enhanced, and a permanent catch-up immunization campaign should be implemented.
Testing the Impact of Student Preference for Face-to-Face Communication on Online Course Satisfaction

Fully online courses and face-to-face (FtF) courses with online components are becoming more commonplace in higher education. Despite increased numbers of course offerings, online courses continue to have high attrition rates. The current study used Media Richness Theory (MRT) and Channel Expansion Theory (CET) to examine whether student preferences for FtF communication affected students’ communication satisfaction and course satisfaction online. Although students were more highly satisfied with FtF communication and courses, no evidence was found supporting a FtF preference negatively impacting online course satisfaction. Rather, results suggest that student communication satisfaction with online instructors is the most significant predictor of student satisfaction with online courses.
The Poetics of Irony in Flaubert’s Madame Bovary

Life in Croisset was neither a catalfaque in the Far East nor a cafeon the boulevard Montparnasse. Perhaps that was the humour of Croisset. What else could one do there suffering with the foibles of the bourgeois, but to write Madame Bovary? And the Madame Bovary Flaubert envisioned and wrote is a novel whose artistic resonance, whose poetics, is decidedly comedic and ironic. Of course there areelements of the pathetic, but those do not supersede the bathetic and it is not coincidental that not long after he began writing Madame Bovary (September, 1851) he also began renewing the idea of the Dictionary of Accepted Opinions (Dictionnaire des Idees Reques) (December, 1852). Flaubert writes: ‘Meanwhile an old idea has come back to me – that of my Dictionary of Accepted Opinions (do you know what it is?) The preface, especially, greatly excites me, and in the way I conceive it (it would be a book in itself) no law could touch me although I would attack everything … I would declare that this apologia for human vulgarity in all its aspects – and it would be raucous and ironic from beginning to end, full of quotations, proofs (which would prove the opposite), frightening texts (easily found) – was aimed at doing away, once and for all, with all eccentricities, whatever they might be’ (Flaubert, Letters 175-6).
Respiratory effects of nefopam

A respiratory study has been done to compare the respiratory effects of a potent new analgesic, nefopam, to morphine. Morphine was a potent respiratory depressant at therapeutic dosage while nefopam was not.
Examining Instructor Use of Learning Analytics

This study takes an instructor-centric approach to Learning Analytic (LA) research by analyzing instructor use of the LA within an educational streaming video platform called TrACE. The goal of this study is to understand how instructors naturally interact with analytic dashboards through an empirical analysis. To accomplish this, data of 14 instructors from three institutions that used TrACE from Spring 2015 to Spring 2016 was collected. Data was analyzed to identify frequency of analytic visits, duration of analytic use, differences in analytic use, and differences in use between semesters. Instructors demonstrated preferences for some analytics over others, but the majority of teachers generate short sessions that may not allow for in-depth exploration in analytics. Finally, instructor activity is not always consistent between semesters. Focus groups were conducted to explore motivations behind these findings and future work includes developing LA that address discovered issues.
The ionization efficiency of aluminum and iron at meteoric velocities

Abstract The ionization efficiency of aluminum was measured in the laboratory over an extended velocity range of 10.8–73.4 km/s and compared to available models. The measurements were made by shooting submicron-sized aluminum dust particles into an air chamber using the University of Colorado's dust accelerator facility. The ionization efficiency, β , is calculated from the total charge generated in the chamber during the complete ablation of particles of known mass. An array of photomultiplier tubes observed the light production by a subset of particles in the chamber to confirm that a moderate deceleration of the ablating particles occurred at low velocities. This information allows the interpretation of the β measurements to be extended to velocities β measurements are lower limits. Updated β measurements for iron particles are also reported over an extended velocity range compared to previously published data: 10.5–87.3 km/s. The measurements are fit to functions for the ionization efficiency across the entire velocity range, and a semi-empirical function is presented which matches the shape of the measured β curves for aluminum and iron at both high and low velocities.
An Evaluation of Lymph Node Yield and Lymph Node Ratio in Well-Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma:

It is unknown whether the number of lymph nodes harvested (lymph node yield, LNY) or the proportion of metastatic lymph nodes resected (metastatic lymph node ratio, MLNR) influence survival in well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC). We hypothesized that overall survival in WDTC is influenced by the LNY and MLNR. We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to identify all patients with primary, nonmetastatic WDTC who underwent thyroidectomy with at least one lymph node removed between 1988 and 2004. Kaplan-Meier survival curves for LNY and MLNR were compared using the log rank test. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models included tumor and patient-specific factors. WDTC patients that met entry criteria totaled 9926. In the univariate model, LNY and MLNR had a significant impact on survival (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, increasing LNY was associated with poorer survival in all patients (P = 0.001) and node-negative patients (P = 0.03), but not for node-positive patients (P = 0.27). MLNR did not influence survival in node-positive patients (P = 0.84). Among patients with WDTC treated with thyroidectomy and lymphadenectomy, increasing LNY and MLNR were associated with decreased survival. The decrease in survival associated with increasing LNY, even in node-negative patients, indicates that nodal understaging is inconsequential to WDTC survival.
Gamesmanship Beliefs and Ethical Decision Making of College Athletes

Almost 30 years ago Eitzen (1988) stated, “American sport is plagued with problems. Coaches engage in outrageous behaviors but if they win, are rewarded handsomely. Gratuitous violence is glorified in the media. Some athletes take drugs. Many athletes in their search for a competitive edge cheat. Sports organizations take advantage of athletes” (p. 17). In many respects, not much has changed in the past 30 years and the issues of ethical practice, wrongdoing, and sportsmanship continue to be discussed (Doty, 2006; Garbin, 2010; Garner, 2013; Harrison-Dyer, 2011; May, 2001; Robbins, 2004; Rudd & Mondello, 2006; Ryska, 2003). Subscribe to TPE
High-harmonic generation in ZnO driven by self-compressed mid-infrared pulses

Progress in attosecond science has relied on advancements in few-cycle pulse generation technology and its application to high-order harmonic generation. Traditionally, self-phase modulation in bulk solids has been used for the compression of moderate-energy pulses, additionally exhibiting favorable dispersion properties for mid-infrared (mid-IR) pulses. Here, we use the anomalous dispersion of Y3Al5O12 (YAG) to self-compress many-cycle pulses from a 50 kHz mid-IR OPA down to produce sub-three-cycle 10 μJ pulses and further use them to generate high-order harmonics in a ZnO crystal. In agreement with theoretical predictions, we observe a boost in the harmonic yield by a factor of two, and spectral broadening of above-gap harmonics, compared to longer driving pulses. The enhanced yield results from an increase in the intensity for the self-compressed pulses.
Modeling the Nature of Grammar and Vocabulary Trajectories From Prekindergarten to Third Grade.

Purpose This study investigated the longitudinal development of 2 important contributors to reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary skills. The primary interest was to examine the trajectori...
Lorentzian effects in magnetic susceptibility mapping of anisotropic biological tissues.

Abstract The ultimate goal of MRI is to provide information on biological tissue microstructure and function. Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) is one of the newer approaches for studying tissue microstructure by means of measuring phase of Gradient Recalled Echo (GRE) MRI signal. The fundamental question in the heart of this approach is: what is the relationship between the net phase/frequency of the GRE signal from an imaging voxel and the underlying tissue microstructure at the cellular and sub-cellular levels? In the presence of external magnetic field, biological media (e.g. cells, cellular components, blood) become magnetized leading to the MR signal frequency shift that is affected not only by bulk magnetic susceptibility but by the local cellular environment as well. The latter effect is often termed the Lorentzian contribution to the frequency shift. Evaluating the Lorentzian contribution – one of the most intriguing and challenging problems in this field – is the main focus of this review. While the traditional approach to this problem is based on introduction of an imaginary Lorentzian cavity, a more rigorous treatment was proposed recently based on a statistical approach and a direct solution of the Maxwell equations. This approach, termed the Generalized Lorentzian Tensor Approach (GLTA), is especially fruitful for describing anisotropic biological media. The GLTA adequately accounts for two types of anisotropy: anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and tissue structural anisotropy (e.g., cylindrical axonal bundles in white matter). In the framework of the GLTA the frequency shift due to the local environment is described in terms of the Lorentzian tensor L which can have a substantially different structure than the susceptibility tensor χ . While the components of χ are compartmental susceptibilities “weighted” by their volume fractions, the components of L are additionally weighted by specific numerical factors depending on cellular geometrical symmetry. In addition to describing the GLTA that is a phenomenological approach largely based on considering the system symmetry, we also briefly discuss a microscopic approaches to the problem that are based on modeling of the MR signal in different regimes (i.e. static dephasing vs. motion narrowing) and in different cellular environments (e.g., accounting for WM microstructure).
UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS ON THE MECHANISM OF GLUCOSE TRANSPORT IN BAKER'S YEAST

ABSTRACT Glucose, fructose and mannose are transported by a common, constitutive transport system with high affinity under metabolizing conditions (Km = 2-10mM) and low affinity under nonmetabolizing conditions (Km = 50-200mM). Two alternative mechanisms have been proposed to account for this difference: (1) direct participation of hexokinase or glucokinase in a group translocation process or (2) indirect regulatory effects of sugar metabolites on a carrier mediated, facilitated diffusion process. Studies on the effect of maltose metabolism on fructose uptake by hexokinaseless cells (which do not phosphorylate fructose) support the proposal that sugar metabolites can regulate the affinity of the sugar carrier. KEYWORDS Facilitated diffusion;, fructose;, group translocation;, hexokinase;, maltose;, sugar carriers;, sugar transport.
lidar for routine meteorological observations

Lidar, using pulsed lasers as energy sources, applies the radar principle at wavelengths in and near the visual spectrum to probe the atmosphere. It can detect particulate matter of much smaller dimensions and sparser concentration than is possible with meteorological radar. Lidar may be used to measure cloud base heights although difficulties arise with diffuse clouds, especially in foggy conditions. Inhomogeneities in turbidity that occur at the heights of temperature inversions in the relatively clear atmosphere are also revealed by lidar. Examples of work in progress that show promise of providing a measurement of visibility are presented. It is concluded that lidar can already contribute usefully in routine meteorological service, but that its full potential in ceilometry and visibility measurement awaits further developments. For routine unattended use, high pulse-rate low peak-power lidars are advocated on grounds of safety.
Distance traveled to polling locations: Are travel costs imposed equally on party members?

Abstract Previous studies show that geographical distance to polling locations represents a genuine cost of political participation and influences voter turnout. Here we examine whether travel costs are equally distributed across party members and do not manifest themselves randomly. Methods Using 2016 data obtained from a County Clerk’s Office (N = 81,323), and a scripted algorithm developed in Python to interact with Google Maps, we were able to identity the road distances between registered voters’ addresses and their polling locations. We then regressed this distance against several available measures to determine whether a relationship existed between voter’s political affiliation and distance to the polls. Results The multivariate analyses show that travel distances to polling locations were not equally distributed across partisan groups. Rather the dominant party traveled significantly less distance. Additionally, we used the same methodology to demonstrate the suitability of alternative polling locations. We introduced polling locations that significantly reduce the overall travel distances and shrink existing disparities between party members. Conclusions It is important to recognize travel distances as a cost to individual voters and determine whether present polling locations represent greater costs for some groups than others.
Examining the Effects of the Ragged School in Literature

The ability to educate all children, despite social class was an important responsibility. However, some of these problems included social problems that had been faced by poor children during this Victorian Era. Charles Dickens encountered the ragged schooling, which made a lasting impact upon him and is said to have been a significant element in his writing of A Christmas Carol. It was through Charles Dickens’ legacy was using his novels and other works to reveal a world of poverty and unimaginable struggles. His vivid descriptions of the life of street children in the city, workhouses and Yorkshire boarding schools lead to many reforms. Although “Ragged” Schools began to grow and were seen as a movement. For many who would not have been able to have an education, authors such as Charles Dickens, was able to receive a free education and a betterment of life for the poor, that would and will, even today, inspire others to do something to help those suffering in oppression and poverty.
How Does Subjective Age Get "Under the Skin"? The Association Between Biomarkers and Feeling Older or Younger Than One's Age: The Health and Retirement Study.

Background and objectives Though subjective age is a well-recognized risk factor for several chronic diseases, the biological basis for these associations remains poorly understood. Research design and methods We used new comprehensive biomarker data from the 2016 wave of the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to evaluate the association between biomarker levels and self-reported subjective age in a subset of 3,740 HRS participants who provided a blood sample. We measured biomarkers in seven biological domains associated with aging: inflammation, glycemia, lipids, liver function, endocrine function, renal function, and cardiac function. The primary outcome was the age discrepancy score (subjective age - chronological age) categorized as those who felt younger, older, or the same as their chronological age (reference group). Analyses adjusted for comprehensive psychosocial factors (chronic stress index, depression score), demographic factors (race, sex, body mass index, marital status, physical activity), and prevalence of chronic health conditions (comorbidity index). Results The prevalence of clinically relevant reduced levels of albumin concentrations was lower in those who felt younger (8.8% vs. 16.0%; p = .006) and higher in those who felt older (20.4% vs. 16.0%; p = .03) when compared with the reference category. The prevalence of clinically significant elevation in liver enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase was also significantly lower among those who felt younger (7.1% vs. 8.6%; p = .04) when compared with the reference category. Prevalence of clinically elevated levels in cystatin C was also lower among those who felt younger when compared with the reference category (50.0% vs. 59.1%; p = .04). There was no association between lipids, glucose, or C-reactive protein (inflammatory marker) and subjective age categories. Discussion and implications These results suggest that people who feel younger may have favorable biomarker profiles and as a result may have lower prevalence of age-related diseases when compared with those who feel older or those who feel the same as their chronological age.
Ultra-rapid total abdominal FLASH irradiation in a preclinical model of ovarian cancer.

103Background:Total abdominal irradiation (TAI) is no longer used in the treatment of ovarian cancer due to abdominopelvic toxicity. FLASH irradiation is known to spare the lung, skin and brain fro...
High-throughput and label-free imaging of individual biological nanoparticles at high-resolution (Conference Presentation)

Morphological parameters of biological nanoparticles (BNPs) have strong implications on their fate and functionality in vivo e.g., circulation, biodistribution, and clearance. Although interferometric scattering microscopy modalities have demonstrated the label-free detection of sub-100 nm BNPs including viruses and exosomes; they have an insufficient spatial resolution roughly limited to the illumination wavelength. Here, we introduce computational imaging to interferometric scattering microscopy with asymmetric illumination and demonstrate a two-fold resolution enhancement. We demonstrate high-resolution imaging of nanoparticles across a large field-of-view of 100 µm × 100 µm. This novel imaging platform enables ultrasensitive and label-free morphological visualization of low-index sub-diffraction-limited BNPs in a high-throughput manner at subwavelength resolution.
The Effects of 180 years of Aging on the Physical and Seismic Properties of Partially Saturated Sands

Constraining how the physical properties and seismic responses of recently deposited sands change with time is important for understanding earthquake site response, subsurface fluid flow, and early stages lithification. Currently, however, there is no detailed (cm-scale) assessment of how sand physical properties and associated seismic velocities evolve over the first two centuries after deposition. Here, we integrate sedimentation rates with seismic velocity and sediment physical properties data to assess how the vadose zone sands at Port Royal Beach, Jamaica, change within 180 years after deposition. We show that compressional and shear wave velocities increase with sediment age, whereas porosity, grain size, sorting, mineralogy, and cementation fraction remain relatively unchanged during the same period. Rock physics models (constrained by the measured physical properties) predict constant seismic velocities at all sites regardless of sediment age, though misfits between modeled and observed velocities increase with sediment age. We explain these misfits by proposing that shallow sands undergo microstructural grain reorganization that leads to a more uniform distribution of grain contact forces with time. Our results imply that beach sands undergo a previously undocumented lithification process that occurs before compaction.
A multi-omic investigation of male lower urinary tract symptoms: Potential role for JC virus

Male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) comprise a common syndrome of aging that negatively impacts quality of life. The etiology of LUTS is multifactorial, involving benign prostatic hyperplasia, smooth muscle and neurologic dysfunction, inflammation, sexually transmitted infections, fibrosis, and potentially dysbiosis, but this aspect remains poorly explored. We investigated whether the presence of infectious agents in urine might be associated with LUTS by combining next-generation DNA sequencing for virus discovery, microbiome analysis for characterization of bacterial communities, and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. In urine from 29 LUTS cases and 9 controls from Wisconsin, we found a statistically significant association between a diagnosis of LUTS and the presence of JC virus (JCV), a common neurotropic human polyomavirus (Polyomaviridae, Betapolyomavirus) linked to severe neurologic disease in rare cases. This association (based on metagenomics) was not borne out when specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was applied to this set of samples, likely due to the greater sensitivity of PCR. Interestingly, urine metabolomics analysis identified dysregulation of metabolites associated with key LUTS processes. Microbiome analysis found no evidence of microbial community dysbiosis in LUTS cases, but JCV-positive samples contained more Anaerococcus species, which are involved in polymicrobial infections of the urinary tract. Neither age nor body mass index were significantly associated with the presence of urinary JCV-in the initial group or in an additional, regionally distinct group. These data provide preliminary support the hypothesis that viruses such as JCV may play a role in the development or progression of LUTS, together with other infectious agents and host metabolic responses.
Weakly Acidic Bile Is a Risk Factor for Hypopharyngeal Carcinogenesis Evidenced by DNA Damage, Antiapoptotic Function, and Premalignant Dysplastic Lesions In Vivo.

Background: There is recent in vivo discovery documenting the carcinogenic effect of bile at strongly acidic pH 3.0 in hypopharynx, while in vitro data demonstrate that weakly acidic bile (pH 5.5) has a similar oncogenic effect. Because esophageal refluxate often occurs at pH > 4.0, here we aim to determine whether weakly acidic bile is also carcinogenic in vivo. Methods: Using 32 wild-type mice C57B16J, we performed topical application of conjugated primary bile acids with or without unconjugated secondary bile acid, deoxycholic acid (DCA), at pH 5.5 and controls, to hypopharyngeal mucosa (HM) twice per day, for 15 weeks. Results: Chronic exposure of HM to weakly acidic bile, promotes premalignant lesions with microinvasion, preceded by significant DNA/RNA oxidative damage, γH2AX (double strand breaks), NF-κB and p53 expression, overexpression of Bcl-2, and elevated Tnf and Il6 mRNAs, compared to controls. Weakly acidic bile, without DCA, upregulates the “oncomirs”, miR-21 and miR-155. The presence of DCA promotes Egfr, Wnt5a, and Rela overexpression, and a significant downregulation of “tumor suppressor” miR-451a. Conclusion: Weakly acidic pH increases the risk of bile-related hypopharyngeal neoplasia. The oncogenic properties of biliary esophageal reflux on the epithelium of the upper aerodigestive tract may not be fully modified when antacid therapy is applied. We believe that due to bile content, alternative therapeutic strategies using specific inhibitors of relevant molecular pathways or receptors may be considered in patients with refractory GERD.