cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Small-Diameter Artificial Arteries Engineered In Vitro

Although the need for a functional arterial replacement is clear, the lower blood flow velocities of small-diameter arteries like the coronary artery have led to the failure of synthetic materials that are successful for large-diameter grafts. Although autologous vessels remain the standard for small diameter grafts, many patients do not have a vessel suitable for use because of vascular disease, amputation, or previous harvest. As a result, tissue engineering has emerged as a promising approach to address the shortcomings of current therapies. Investigators have explored the use of arterial tissue cells or differentiated stem cells combined with various types of natural and synthetic scaffolds to make tubular constructs and subject them to chemical and/or mechanical stimulation in an attempt to develop a functional small-diameter arterial replacement graft with varying degrees of success. Here, we review the progress in all these major facets of the field.
A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War – By Daniel E. Sutherland

The author of this new study rejects the notion that the Civil War's guerrilla‐war conflicts were a mere “sideshow” that was disconnected from the larger war and had negligible impact on the outcom...
Modeling Bio-Particle Dynamics in a Dielectrophoresis Microchannel with Electroosmotic Flow

This paper investigates the dynamics of bio-particles in an aqueous electrolyte solution in a microchannel with an electrode array. The fluid flow is driven by the electroosmotic pumping effect and the bio-particle motion is controlled by the dielectrophoretic force and the fluid drag force. Bio-particles are modeld as neutral elliptical particles and hence both the translational and rotational motions are resolved.
Bridging the gap between traditional leadership theories and virtual team leadership

This paper identifies the paucity of theoretical development in virtual team leadership research and proposes that virtual team leadership research can be more rigorous and enriched by applying traditional leadership theories, specifically, leadership traits theory and contingency theory. Existing virtual team leadership research regarding these two theories is reviewed and limitations are discussed. Four contingencies which characterise virtual team context are identified including physical distance, communicational distance, organisational distance and cultural distance. Three important leadership traits in virtual team context are discussed: communication competency, environmental alertness, and influence power. This paper calls for a hybrid approach in virtual team leadership research. The implications of the four virtual team contingencies on these leadership traits are presented and research propositions are raised. A conceptual model is presented based on the propositions.
Articulatory vowel lengthening and coordination at phrasal junctures.

Recent work has demonstrated that progressively stronger prosodic boundaries result in increasing amounts of lengthening for consonant gestures, both preceding and following the boundary. The present
Peptide YY Levels across Pubertal Stages and Associations with Growth Hormone

Context: Changes in appetite-regulating peptides may impact food intake during puberty and facilitate the pubertal growth spurt. Peptide YY (PYY) is an anorexigenic hormone that is high in anorexia nervosa and low in obesity, inhibits GnRH secretion, and is suppressed by GH administration. The relationship between PYY and GH has not been examined across puberty. Objectives: We hypothesized that PYY would be inversely associated with GH in adolescents and would be lowest when GH is highest. Design and Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional study at a Clinical Research Center. Subjects: We studied 87 children, 46 boys and 41 girls ages 9–17 yr at Tanner stages 1–5 of puberty (10th–90th percentiles for body mass index). Outcome Measures: We measured fasting PYY and nadir GH levels after administration of an oral glucose load. Leptin levels were also measured. Results: Fasting PYY was lowest and nadir GH highest in boys in Tanner stages 3–4 (P = 0.02) and in girls in Tanner stages 2–3 (P = 0.02). Leptin levels were highest in early pubertal boys and late pubertal girls. For the group as a whole and within genders, even after controlling for body mass index, log nadir GH correlated inversely with log PYY (P = 0.003, 0.07, and 0.02). PYY levels did not correlate with leptin levels. Conclusions: During mid-puberty, at a time when GH levels are the highest, PYY is at a nadir, and these low PYY levels may facilitate pubertal progression and growth.
TRANSIENT FILM CONDENSATION ON FINITE HORIZONTAL PLATE

An analytical study of the transient film condensation on a finite horizontal plate is carried out. The flow across the edges of the horizontal surface is determined by a simple model based on the gravitational force exerted on the fluid. The transient heat transfer to the plate and the growth of the condensate film thickness are determined for various boundary conditions of practical interest. For short times, the semi–infinite solution is considered and it is shown that the solution merges into that for a finite plate thickness as time elapses. The temperature variation across the plate is considered in the analysis of the transient conduction problem and numerical results are obtained to determine the effect of the imposed boundary conditions and the various governing parameters. The results obtained are found to be strongly dependent on the boundary condition at the plate surface. The variation, with time, of the heat transfer to the plate, of the film thickness and of the plate temperature are determ...
Building on the past to create nursing's future.

A rticles in this 25th Anniversary issue of Nursing Outlook have described the promise, progress, and historical development of selected issues through time. As a profession, we have come very far in a relatively short period. To keep the momentum, we need to build on our past to create nursing's future. Futurists talk of 4 futures.l'4 The possible future encompasses everything that might happen. The plausible future, derived from trends and forecasts that are combined to create alternative scenarios, represents what could happen. Probable futures are based on the analysis and examination of present reality. A preferable future is what persons want to have happen by creating it. Consideration of these 4 futures, possible, plausible, probable, and preferred, sets the stage for serious reflection. Author Allen Tough's book, Crucial Questions About the Future, 3 offers the following questions to assist in reflections about the future: (1) What is most important of all? (2) Why should we care about the next 40 years? (3) How much responsibility do we have to the future generations? (4) Why do we act in ways that hurt our future? (5) What will our actual future turn out to be ? (6) How can we achieve a satisfactory future? (7) From which aspects of reality can we gain meaning and purpose? (8) How can each person contribute? (9) Why is it worth trying? As a discipline, what resources do we have to help us navigate and create a preferred future? Dr Eleanor Sullivan's recently published book, Creating Nursing's Future: Issues, Opportunities and Challengd is a useful resource that helps answer the question about navigating and creating a preferred future. This book is an excellent issues book suitable for both undergraduate and graduate programs and nurses who practice in any context who are concerned about creating a preferrable future for the nursing profession.
Use of Metaphor in the Discourse on Cancer

With this metaphoric deluge, the oncologist lost a prospective new patient. A few hours later, Lance Armstrong was on a plane to Indianapolis, where he would establish a successful therapeutic relationship with the oncology team from Indiana University. Armstrong would, of course, survive widely metastatic testicular cancer and go on to win six Tours de France. While this epigraph may represent a wellintentioned effort by an oncologist to prepare a young man with an advanced, lifethreatening malignancy for a long and immensely difficult course of treatment, the image of violence had a devastating and unintended effect. Armstrong himself, probably unconsciously mirroring the oncologist’s martial metaphor, described the reaction in the consultation room as “shell shock.” The comments of both the physician and the patient are emblematic of the fact that metaphors—and especially martial metaphors— play a ubiquitous, but largely unrecognized role in medical and lay discourse. Indeed, as a reader of the Journal of Clinical Oncology recently noted, the “target” in the title of this section of the Journal is itself a military metaphor. And as the above comments suggest, metaphors can be more than mere rhetorical flourishes; they can have a powerful influence on the practice of medicine and the experience of illness. “The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” Lakoff and Johnson have demonstrated that our conceptual systems are wired to operate metaphorically; that is, most concepts, particularly those that are abstract or complex, are at least partially understood in terms of other, more familiar concepts. Metaphors, then, are vehicles for understanding, mediating what is known and what is unknown. Mabeck and Oleson go further, arguing that metaphors don’t merely describe similarities; they create them. When metaphors enter our conceptual system, they alter that system and the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to which the system gives rise. For the physician, metaphors can be time-efficient tools for helping patients understand complex biologic processes. For patients, metaphors can impose order on a suddenly disordered world, helping them to understand, communicate, and thus symbolically control their illness. And for the therapeutic relationship, the language of metaphor can serve as the basis for the shared understanding of clinical reality. We will examine the use of metaphor in oncology. We will focus on the predominant metaphor, that of war, in terms of its strengths and limitations, in the contexts of the patientphysician relationship and the patient’s illness experience. Finally, we will briefly survey alternate metaphoric concepts.
On-chip programmable radio-frequency waveform generation

We demonstrate thermo-optically tunable multiple-channel micro-ring resonators as an ultra-compact on-chip spectral shaper, and tunable multiple-ring all-pass filters as variable delay lines for photonic radio-frequency waveform generation. High quality radio-frequency pulsed signals were achieved.
Adaptive SPECT for tumor necrosis detection

In this paper, we consider a prototype of an adaptive SPECT system, and we use simulation to objectively assess the system’s performance with respect to a conventional, non-adaptive SPECT system. Objective performance assessment is investigated for a clinically relevant task: the detection of tumor necrosis at a known location and in a random lumpy background. The iterative maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization (MLEM) algorithm is used to perform image reconstruction. We carried out human observer studies on the reconstructed images and compared the probability of correct detection when the data are generated with the adaptive system as opposed to the non-adaptive system. Task performance is also assessed by using a channelized Hotelling observer, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve is the figure of merit for the detection task. Our results show a large performance improvement of adaptive systems versus non-adaptive systems and motivate further research in adaptive medical imaging.
Epistemological barriers to peacemaking criminology

The principal epistemological characteristics of criminology have been, first, to conceptualize crime as an individual phenomenon and, second, to measure criminal behavior by definitions provided by domestic political authorities. What are the implications and sustaining factors of these criminological ways of knowing? Arguably, these epistemologies preclude a criminological analysis of behaviors that undermine the goals of a more just and peaceful world. Can we adopt, instead, an alternative framework that moves criminology toward emphasizing the globally harmful behaviors of the state? What would underlie a peacemaking criminology?
Direct-write contacts: Metallization and contact formation

Using direct-write approaches in photovoltaics for metallization and contact formation can significantly reduce the cost per watt of producing photovoltaic devices. Inks have been developed for various materials, such as Ag, Cu, Ni and Al, which can be used to inkjet print metallizations for various kinds of photovoltaic devices. Use of these inks results in metallization with resistivities close to those of bulk materials. By means of inkjet printing a metallization grid can be printed with better resolution, i.e. smaller lines, than screen-printing. Also inks have been developed to deposit transparent conductive oxide films by means of ultrasonic spraying.
Mortality in Hematologic Malignancy and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients with Mucormycosis, 2001 to 2009

Mortality due to mucormycosis is high. We assessed clinical characteristics and mortality among stem cell transplant and hematologic malignancy patients diagnosed with mucormycosis from 2001 to 2009. Thirty patients were diagnosed with probable or proven mucormycosis during the study. Twenty-six were diagnosed premortem, and most were treated with liposomal amphotericin B single-agent antifungal therapy initially. While the initial antifungal and surgical treatment approach remained stable throughout the study period, 6-week mortality significantly declined over time (67% in 2001 to 2003 versus 45% in 2004 to 2006 versus 20% in 2007 to 2009 [P = 0.04]), as did 12-week mortality (78% in 2001 to 2003 versus 55% in 2004 to 2006 versus 20% in 2007 to 2009 [P = 0.01]).
Hear No Evil, See No Evil? Associations of Gender, Trauma History, and Values with Believing Trauma Vignettes

Attitudes and beliefs about sexual assault in general influence judgments about the veracity of specific sexual assault reports and disclosures (Taylor, 2007). The present study investigated the impact of gender, personal trauma history, and beliefs about gender and child sexual abuse (CSA) on judgments of the veracity of CSA disclosures. The study also examined judgments about other kinds of trauma disclosures using a variety of different types of trauma vignettes. Men were found to be more skeptical than women, and those who reported no trauma history were less likely than those who reported a trauma history to believe disclosures. Overall, all participants were more skeptical about CSA disclosures than disclosures about other kinds of trauma. Sexism and belief in CSA myths (CSAMs) were negatively related to believing adults' retrospective CSA disclosures. In a series of regression analyses, we observed that belief in CSAMs moderated the negative association between sexist attitudes and believing disclosures. Implications for educating professionals are discussed.
Is antiepileptic drug use related to depression and suicidal ideation among patients with epilepsy

Depression and suicide are increased in patients with epilepsy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are associated with increased risk of suicidality. This study examines the relationship among depression, suicidal ideation, and AEDs in a prospective cohort of 163 patients with epilepsy from a registry at the University of Florida (January 2006 to August 2008). The Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E) was used to measure mood and suicidal ideation across two time points (median = 154 days). Groups included: (1) No AED Change, (2) New AED Added, (3) AED Dose Increased, (4) AED Reduced/Stopped, (5) Multiple AED Changes, and (6) Combined Any AED Change (groups 2-5 combined). No group had worsening mood or suicidal ideation. Significant improvements in proportions of depression and suicidal ideation were seen only for the No AED Change group, which differed only with the AED Dose Increased group with respect to suicidal ideation.
Measurement of receptor concentration and forward-binding rate constant via radiopharmacokinetic modeling of technetium-99m-galactosyl-neoglycoalbumin

Technetium-99m-galactosyl-neoglycoalbumin (99mTc-NGA) is a synthetic ligand to the hepatocyte receptor, hepatic binding protein (HBP). A five-state mathematical model containing a bimolecular chemical reaction was utilized for quantitative estimation of the following physiologic and biochemical parameters: extrahepatic plasma volume Ve; hepatic plasma flow F and volume Vh; receptor-ligand forward-binding rate constant kb and reaction volume Vr; and receptor concentration [R]o. Nine normal subjects were studied. Given (a) liver and heart time-activity data, (b) the patient's weight, height, and hematocrit, (c) the fraction of injected dose in a 3-min blood sample, and (d) the amount and galactose density of the NGA dose, a computer program executed a curve-fit to the kinetic model. Systematic error, as measured by reduced chi-square, ranged from 1.43 to 2.56. Based on the nine imaging studies, the mean and relative error of each parameter were: [R]o, 0.813 +/- (0.11) microM; kb, 2.25 +/- (0.15) microM-1 min-1; F, 0.896 +/- (0.20) liter/min; Ve, 1.67 +/- (0.27) liter; and Vh, 0.228 +/- (0.22) liter. Two unique features of 99mTc-NGA radiopharmacokinetic systems permit the simultaneous estimates of receptor quantity, ligand affinity, and hepatic plasma flow. The first is the ability to administer a quantity of ligand capable of occupying a significant fraction of receptor; and the second is a simple model structure that conserves mass.
Microrheology with Correlation Force Spectroscopy

Applicability of correlation force spectroscopy (CFS) in rheometry of Newtonian fluids is explained. This forms the basis of future experiments on single molecules. It also demonstrates variant CFS configurations.
Problem definition in marital and family therapy: A qualitative study

This paper describes findings from a grounded theory study on the process of constructing problem definitions by marital and family therapists. Coding of the observations and interviews resulted in two meta-problem definition processes. In the first meta-process clinicians kept their definitions internal to themselves during the therapy session. In contrast, the second meta-definition process involved clinicians bringing forth their internal problem definitions and incorporating them into the therapeutic conversation. Implications for existing conceptualizations and marital and family therapy practice and supervision are discussed, as well as suggestions for further consideration.
A Cross-National Analysis of Sex-Specific HIV Prevalence Rates and Women's Access to Property, Land, and Loans in Developing Countries

Despite overall declining HIV infection rates, gender inequality in HIV prevalence rates is striking. On average across the world, young women have about twice the HIV prevalence rates as their male counterparts. Many scholars point to the particular vulnerabilities that women face in regard to HIV risk. However, they have not employed gender stratification theory to explain gender disparities in HIV prevalence. This analysis builds on a relatively small, but growing body of cross-national research on HIV by analyzing sex-specific prevalence rates among fifteen- to twenty-four-year-olds. Using new data on women's access to property, land, and loans, I estimate the effects of women's status on female prevalence, male prevalence, and the ratio of female to male prevalence in a sample of seventy-eight low- and middle-income countries. Net of economic development and a wide variety of other control variables, women's access to property and access to bank loans have significant negative effects on all three me...
A Mode I cohesive law characterization procedure for through-the-thickness crack propagation in composite laminates

Abstract A method is proposed for the experimental characterization of through-the-thickness damage propagation in multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates. The compact tension specimen configuration is used to propagate damage stably while load and full-field displacements are recorded. These measurements are used to compute the fracture toughness and crack opening displacement from which a trilinear cohesive law is characterized. The proposed method provides a means to extrapolate to steady-state such that the cohesive law is characterized completely and accurately, even when the test specimens used for the characterization are too small to reach steady-state crack propagation. The characterized cohesive law is demonstrated through a prediction of the structural response and fracture of a geometrically-scaled test specimen.
Making It Happen: From Great Idea to Successful Support Group Program

The implementation process of the Grandmothers As Mothers Again support group program serves as a cautionary, yet optimistic tale for practitioners and administrators guiding new programs to institutionalization. Following a review of issues in support group development within a social agency context, the story of GAMA is used to identify four keys to program success. These are: make the program critical, integral, personal, and responsible.
Abstract 1513: Pre-clinical evaluation of two oncolytic viral vectors expressing IFNβ in treatment of thoracic cancer: Vaccinia virus versus vesicular stomatitis virus

Rationale: Given recent success in delivering interferon-beta (IFNβ) using replication incompetent adenovirus in patients with malignant pleural effusions, we hypothesized that vectors that could replicate (inducing oncolysis) and express IFNβ at high level would be more effective. Both vaccinia virus (VV) and vesicular stomatitis (VSV) expressing mouse IFNβ have been constructed in a manner to improve their safety and efficacy as oncolytic vectors. In this study, we evaluated these two oncolytic vectors in different murine thoracic cancer models for clinical translation. Experimental procedures: We compared the efficacy of VVIFNβ and VSVIFNβ to kill 3 mouse lung cancer and 4 mouse mesothelioma lines in vitro over a 5 day-period assessing cell viability by MTT assay. The amount of IFNβ produced by these two vectors were measured with ELISA. The viral replication in infected mice was assessed by measuring viral titers in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice bearing an IFN-non-responsive AB12 tumor, following intratumoral injection of either vector at 108 pfu/mouse. To assess their anti-tumor activity, the two vectors were also given at 108 pfu/mouse intratumorally in mice bearing two lung cancer tumors on their flanks. Results: The replication of VSVIFNβ and its killing ability was limited in some of the tumor lines. This appeared to be due to an intact IFN response pathway. In contrast, VVIFNβ was able to kill all of the tumor lines. In culture, VSV replicates faster than VV, which resulted in faster cell killing (in susceptible cell lines), but with less IFNβ production. The amount of IFNβ production by VVIFNβ was comparable with AdIFNβ over a 5 day period. VVIFNβ-infected immunodeficient mice showed minimal or no toxicity when given virus intravenously, while all 5 mice infected with VSVIFNβ developed neurotoxicity within a week. In the TC-1 lung cancer model, VVIFNβ caused tumor regression, while VSVIFNβ and AdIFNβ were completely ineffective. In a second model using LKRM2, all 3 viral vectors were equivalent. The anti-tumor effect of VVIFNβ was shown to be mainly CD8 dependant, as depletion of CD8 with antibody dampened the tumor growth inhibition from 48% to 20%. Conclusions: Overall, VVIFNβ appears to be a better oncolytic vector than VSVIFNβ for a number of reasons: 1) it is safer, 2) it is able to replicate in vitro and in vivo in almost every cell line tested, 3) it induces longer and larger IFNβ production, and 4) it can potentially be given intravenously. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1513.
Precise feedback control underlies sensorimotor learning in speech

Acquiring the skill of speaking in another language, or for that matter a child's learning to talk, does not follow a single recipe. People learn by variable amounts. A major component of speech learnability seems to be sensing precise feedback errors to correct subsequent utterances that help maintain speech goals. We have tested this idea in a speech motor learning paradigm under altered auditory feedback, in which subjects repeated a word while their auditory feedback was changed online. Subjects learned the task to variable degrees, with some simply failing to learn. We assessed feedback contribution by computing one-lag covariance between formant trajectories of the current feedback and the following utterance that was found to be a significant predictor of learning. Our findings rely on a novel use of information-rich formant trajectories in evaluating speech motor learning and argue for their relevance in auditory speech goals of vowel sounds.
Survey on Extramarital Sex and Related Factors Among Rural Immigrant Women,Linyi City

Objective To understand extramarital sex and its related factors among rural immigrant women in Linyi city,so as to provide the basis for future intervention in HIV/AIDS behavior. Methods During September-December,Immigrant women were sampled in the survey in Fei and Yishui counties,and the same number of local women were compared. Results A total of 377immigrant women and 386local women were surveyed.The incidence of extramarital sex was19.36%in immigrant women,10.55%in local women(P0.01).In non conditional Logistic regression analysis of multiple factors,inharmonious husband-wife relationship and drug use are risk factors for extramarital sex among immigrant women,OR were 2.885,9.641,and 34.002. Conclusion The incidence of extramarital sex is higher in immigrant women than local women in Linyi city.Those immigrant women living in Yishui county,with a bad relationship with husband,and now using drug are more likely to have extramarital sex.
Study and Application of Technology on Flue Gas Desulphurization and Dust Removal for Small Size Boiler

Unifac group contribution method and the circumstances of this technology used in a company in Jiangxi province was introduced in this paper.The main design parameter in design process,influencing factor in operating instruction and economic viability were also introduced in the paper.It can supply reference basis data for this kind of enterprise to treat sulfur dioxide in flue gas.
Identification of epigenetic factor proteins expressed in human embryonic stem cell-derived trophoblasts and in human placental trophoblasts

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have been used to derive trophoblasts through differentiation in vitro. Intriguingly, mouse ESCs are prevented from differentiation to trophoblasts by certain epigenetic factor proteins such as Dnmt1, thus necessitating the study of epigenetic factor proteins during hESC differentiation to trophoblasts. We used stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture and quantitative proteomics to study changes in the nuclear proteome during hESC differentiation to trophoblasts and identified changes in the expression of 30 epigenetic factor proteins. Importantly, the DNA methyltransferases DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B were downregulated. Additionally, we hypothesized that nuclear proteomics of hESC-derived trophoblasts may be used for screening epigenetic factor proteins expressed by primary trophoblasts in human placental tissue. Accordingly, we conducted immunohistochemistry analysis of six epigenetic factor proteins identified from hESC-derived trophoblasts–DNMT1, DNMT3B,...
Cultured CD41a+ Megakaryocytes Derived from Cord Blood CD34+ Cells Are Activated Via STAT5 but Not STAT3.

Lengthy periods of thrombocytopenia and prolonged platelet recovery (typically, a side-affect of high-dose chemotherapy and/or radiation) have been associated with cord blood transplants. It maybe possible to alleviate the period of thrombocytopenia using cultured megakaryocytes derived from CD34+ stem cells however, platelet development invitro is delayed. Using immuno-magnetic beads, CD34+ stem cells were isolated from Cord Blood (CB) units and then cultured in serum-free culture medium (X-VIVO-10®, BioWhittaker Co. Walkersville, MD) supplemented with Thrombopoietin Peptide Agonist (TpoA), Stem Cell Factor (SCF), Flt-3L, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). A series of culture experiments were setup to investigate the activation of the JAK-STAT pathway following cytokine stimulation. Using flow cytometry, CB CD34+ cell cultures were evaluated weekly for the expression of CD41a, STAT3, STAT5, and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) at week 1–6 of culture. Typically, CD41a expression peaked at week 3 of culture. At week 3, the total cells were 14.1 ±4.9 x10 6 cells per culture with 48.8 ±12.5% CD41a+ cells or 6.4 ±1.2 x10 6 CD41a+ cells per culture. Similarily, PCNA activation peaked at week 3–4 (64.1 and 62.4%, respectively). The level of PCNA activation increased incrementally from weeks 1, 2 and 3 of culture however declined at 5 and 6 weeks of culture. However, there was an incremental increase in the activation of STAT5 during the 6 weeks of culture. The STAT5 expression did not peak until week 5–6 (80.9 and 73.8%, respectively). Conversely, STAT3 expression declined between week 1 and 6 from 3.2. to 0.4%, respectively. With the exception of weeks 1 and 2, there was only minor activation or no activation of STAT3. These results suggest that STAT5 but, not STAT3, is activated during CB megakarycyte differentiation. These results may provide incite as to CB megakaryocyte development and might explain the delayed production of platelets following transplant. The PCNA results suggest that the cultured cells reach their greatest proliferative potential at week 3 and 4 of culture. This might provide useful information as to the optimal time period for the transplant of the cultured cells and suggest that cells transplanted from 5 and 6-week cultures have less proliferative capacity post-transplant. Additional studies are needed to determine the differentiation of megakaryocytes and platelet development from CB CD34+ cells invitro.
Risk Factors for Severe Complications of Operative Mandibular Fractures.

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to identify the risk factors for major complications developing during the operative treatment of mandibular fractures. Patients and Methods We conducted a retrospective medical record review of patients who had undergone open reduction, internal fixation of mandibular fractures from August 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014 at a large, urban teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center. The outcome variable of interest was major complications, defined as the occurrence of any one of the following events: hospital readmission, return to the operating room, and a prolonged, unexpected postoperative stay. Multiple demographic, social, medical, injury-related, and treatment-related variables were recorded during the medical record review. The relationships between these variables and our outcome variable were analyzed using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results A total of 317 patients met the inclusion criteria. The hospital readmission rate was 7.2%, the reoperation rate was 9.5%, and the rate of unplanned, prolonged admission was 0.6%, for a total major complication rate of 11.4%. Eight variables reached statistical significance in their association with the occurrence of major complications. These were the presence of medical comorbidities, a diagnosis of depression, a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder, incarceration, interpersonal violence as a mechanism of injury, the presence of a left angle fracture, the removal of a tooth in the line of fracture, and patient noncompliance. On multivariable analysis, patient noncompliance, depression, the presence of a left angle fracture, and the removal of a tooth in the line of fracture continued to have statistically significant associations with the occurrence of major complications. Conclusions The identification of risk factors for the development of complications in mandibular trauma is a primary concern for surgeons in the modern healthcare system. The present study identified a number of variables significantly associated with an increased risk of the occurrence of major complications, and special consideration should be given to patients with these risk factors.
Association mapping of aphid resistance in USDA cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) core collection using SNPs

Cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora) is a destructive insect pest of cowpea, as well as other legume crops including alfalfa, beans, chickpea, lentils, lupins and peanuts. The utilization of aphid resistance in cowpea breeding is one of the most efficient and environmental friendly methods to control aphids. Using marker-assisted selection will expedite cowpea breeding procedures, but it is limited by the lack of information on marker associations of the aphid resistance. The objective of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with aphid resistance in cowpea and to conduct genetic diversity analysis for aphid resistant resources. In this study, 338 cowpea accessions from the cowpea core collection in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), originally collected from 40 countries, were evaluated for their aphid resistance and 1047 SNPs identified from genotyping by sequencing (GBS) were used as the genotypic data. Single marker regression, general linear model, and mixed linear model in TASSEL were used for association analysis between the SNPs and the phenotypic data. Three clusters for the association panel of the 338 cowpea accessions were inferred by STRUCTURE analysis, in good agreement with the phylogenetic tree drawn by MEGA 6 based on the maximum likelihood model with the neighbor joining method. A genome-wide association study revealed that two SNP markers, C35011941_894 and Scaffold30061_3363, were strongly associated with aphid resistance across three models with the log of odds (LOD) value greater than 2.5. The results will provide useful information for selecting aphid resistance in cowpea molecular breeding.
Sequence Similarity Networks for the Protein Universe

As of November 2014, over 86 million protein sequences had been deposited in the TrEMBL database, of which only 0.5 million had experimental support for an enzymatic function. Currently, protein databases depend heavily on homology-based predictions of enzyme function, yet it is estimated that only 50% of current predicted functions in UniprotKB are correct. The process would benefit greatly from added expertise, while still maintaining a balance of careful curation and throughput. For sequence comparison and visualization, the sequence similarity network (SSN) is a computationally efficient alternative to the standard dendrogram. Making SSNs easily accessible to the non-bioinformatician allows enzymologists, microbiologists, and chemists to observe the sequence identity landscape for a protein family of interest and select more informed identity boundaries for appropriate transfer of function via homology. This talk describes the efforts of the Enzyme Function Initiative to provide precomputed SSNs for e...
Fixed Pattern Noise pixel-wise linear correction for crime scene imaging CMOS sensor

Filtered multispectral imaging technique might be a potential method for crime scene documentation and evidence detection due to its abundant spectral information as well as non-contact and non-destructive nature. Low-cost and portable multispectral crime scene imaging device would be highly useful and efficient. The second generation crime scene imaging system uses CMOS imaging sensor to capture spatial scene and bandpass Interference Filters (IFs) to capture spectral information. Unfortunately CMOS sensors suffer from severe spatial non-uniformity compared to CCD sensors and the major cause is Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN). IFs suffer from "blue shift" effect and introduce spatial-spectral correlated errors. Therefore, Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN) correction is critical to enhance crime scene image quality and is also helpful for spatial-spectral noise de-correlation. In this paper, a pixel-wise linear radiance to Digital Count (DC) conversion model is constructed for crime scene imaging CMOS sensor. Pixel-wise conversion gain Gi,j and Dark Signal Non-Uniformity (DSNU) Zi,j are calculated. Also, conversion gain is divided into four components: FPN row component, FPN column component, defects component and effective photo response signal component. Conversion gain is then corrected to average FPN column and row components and defects component so that the sensor conversion gain is uniform. Based on corrected conversion gain and estimated image incident radiance from the reverse of pixel-wise linear radiance to DC model, corrected image spatial uniformity can be enhanced to 7 times as raw image, and the bigger the image DC value within its dynamic range, the better the enhancement.
On-line Estimation of Bioreactors using Recurrent Neural Networks

Abstract The application of artificial neural networks to the estimation of bioprocess variables will be discussed. In fermentation processes, direct on-line measurements of primary process variables usually are unavailable. The state of the cultivation, therefore, has to be inferred from measurements of secondary variables and any previous knowledge of process dynamics. This research investigates the learning, recall and generalization characteristics of neural networks trained to model the nonlinear behavior of a fermentation process. Two different neural network methodologies are discussed, namely, feed-forward and recurrent neural networks, which differ in their treatment of time dependence. The neural networks are trained by backpropagation using a conjugate gradient technique, which provides a dramatic improvement in the convergence speed. The objective is to use environmental and physiological information available from on-line sensors to estimate concentrations of species in a bioreactor. Results of the neural network estimators are presented, based on experimental data available from the ethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis fermentation. The feed-forward and recurrent neural network methodologies are demonstrated to perform suitably as unmeasurable state estimators. Both networks offer comparable abilities of recall, but recurrent networks perform better than feed-forward networks in generalization.
Plasmon rulers as dynamic molecular rulers in enzymology.

Abstract This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of “plasmon rulers,” pairs of biopolymer-linked tethered nanoparticles which act as nonblinking, nonbleaching rulers for dynamic molecular distance measurements. Plasmon rulers utilize the distance dependence of the plasmon coupling between individual noble metal particles to measure distances. Although the plasmon ruler approach is still an emerging technology, proof-of-principle experiments have demonstrated that plasmon rulers can already be used to investigate structural fluctuations in nucleoprotein complexes, monitor nuclease catalyzed DNA or RNA cleavage reactions, and detect DNA bending. The physical concepts underlying plasmon rulers are summarized, and effective assembly approaches as well as recent applications are discussed. Plasmon rulers are a useful addition to the single molecule biophysics toolbox, since they allow single biomolecules to be continuously monitored for days at high temporal resolutions.
Operational intelligence through performance trends: an oracle prototype

Improving business process performance through operational intelligence is essential to enhance an organisation's ability to achieve business objectives and competitive advantage. This paper proposes an extension on insights provided by traditional business intelligence analytics through star schema that goes beyond snapshots of business process performance to outlining details on factors influencing business process operations over a period of time. Such extended insights, referred as performance trends, enable a richer assessment of business process performance. Performance trends essentially allow a business to determine whether the direction of business process performance is going up, down, or staying flat with respect to some success measure over a period of time. It is expressed as an analytic business rule that can be applied on the business process through analytic triggers. The paper illustrates the concepts through a prototype that is adapted from the oracle's e-business suite lead to forecast business process. The prototype is implemented in oracle's PL/SQL language.
Metagenomic Investigation of Idiopathic Meningoencephalomyelitis in Dogs

Background Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) is a common and life-threatening neuroinflammatory disease in dogs. Features of the disease are suggestive of an underlying immune-mediated process, but the association of this disease with a pathogen is still unknown. Hypothesis/objectives To search for candidate etiologic agent associated with cases if MUO using next generation metagenomic sequencing. Animals Twenty-two dogs diagnosed with either MUO (11/22; 10 CSF and 3 brain), or noninflammatory CNS diseases inconsistent with MUO (11/22; 11 CSF and 2 brain) that served as negative controls. Methods A case control study was performed by identifying MUO and non-MUO cases. Samples were blindly processed and then unblinded for comparative analyses. Inclusion criteria for MUO cases included consistent MRI lesions and inflammatory CSF with a negative PCR panel for infectious agents or histopathologic diagnosis. Dogs with glucocorticoid therapy within 2 weeks of sample collection were excluded. Fresh-frozen cerebrospinal fluid (CSF; 21) and brain (5) samples were collected and RNA and DNA were extracted separately for shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Known positive samples were used as controls to validate our sequencing and analysis pipelines and to establish limits of detection. Sequencing results were analyzed at a nucleotide and protein level for broad comparison to known infectious organisms. Results No candidate etiologic agents were identified in dogs with MUO. Conclusions and clinical importance These results support but do not prove the hypothesis that MUO is not associated with infectious agents and might be an autoimmune disease.
Adiposity at Age 10 and Mammographic Density among Premenopausal Women

Although childhood adiposity is inversely associated with breast cancer risk, the association of childhood adiposity with mammographic density in premenopausal women has not been adequately studied. We analyzed data from 365 premenopausal women who came in for screening mammography at Washington University (St. Louis, MO) from 2015 to 2016. Body size at age 10 was self-reported using somatotype pictogram. Body mass index (BMI) at age 10 was imputed using data from Growing Up Today Study. Volpara software was used to evaluate volumetric percent density (VPD), dense volume (DV), and nondense volume (NDV). Adjusted multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate the associations between adiposity at age 10 and mammographic density measures. Adiposity at age 10 was inversely associated with VPD and positively associated with NDV. A 1 kg/m 2 increase in BMI at age 10 was associated with a 6.4% decrease in VPD, and a 6.9% increase in NDV ( P P Cancer Prev Res; 11(5); 287–94. ©2018 AACR .
Characteristics of the Ideal Mentor

When successful academic physicians are asked about the factors that played a significant role in their career, mentorship is uniformly quoted as a key element.
Characterization of Shear Horizontal-Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensor (SH-PWAS)

This paper discusses shear horizontal SH-coupled piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS). The paper starts with a review of the state of the art in modeling SH transducers and their importance in non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM). This is followed by basic sensing and actuation equations of shear-poled PWAS transducers. The free SH-PWAS electromechanical (E/M) impedance analytical models are presented, and compared with finite element models (FEM) and experiments. In this study, we extend the analytical development for constrained SH-PWAS bonded to structure on the form of beams. The model is based on normal mode expansion (NME) technique. The interaction between the SH-PWAS and the structure is studied. We developed closed-form equation of structure dynamic stiffness by coupling the mechanical response solution of the SH-PWAS to the structure elasticity solution. Finite element simulations and experiments matched well with analytical predictive model. Impedance spectroscopy is also used in NDE and SHM for composites. We present a predictive FEM for the E/M impedance of bonded SH-PWAS on cross ply GFRP as well as [0/45/45/0]s CFRP plates. The paper ends with summary, conclusion, and suggestions of future work.
Molecular Mechanisms of Steroid Hormone Actions in the Brain

As evidenced by the diversity and comprehensiveness of the other chapters in this book, the hypothesis that endogenous and exogenous steroid hormones can have direct effects on neurons in specific regions of the brain that may in turn precipitate and/or regulate the expression of aggressive behaviors is now widely accepted, even though we still know surprisingly little about the molecular mechanisms of these hormone actions. This paucity of information is striking in view of the long history of experimental behavioral neuroendocrinology dating back for literally thousands of years, to when castration was first used to curb sexual and aggressive behaviors in man and other animals (see Luttge, 1971). Over a century ago, Berthold (1849/1944) was the first to report that castration and subsequent testis transplantation could reversibly inhibit sexual, aggressive, and crowing behaviors in roosters, thus setting the pattern for future studies on the endocrine bases of these and other behaviors in many species. The present chapter reviews recent literature on the molecular mechanisms of estrogen, progestin, androgen, and glucocorticoid hormone actions in the mammalian brain. Each of these classes of steroids has been shown to influence the display of agonistic behaviors in mammals. No attempt will be made to relate the biochemical and behavioral actions of these steroids, because this material is reviewed in other chapters in this book.
Shear Waves in Marine Sediments — Bridging the Gap from Theory to Field Applications

The relationship between primitive variables such as porosity and mean grain size and the velocity and attenuation of shear waves propagating in a marine sediment can be established on the basis of correlations with many field measurements or, more basically, may be derived from the physics governing the response of particulate material in a water environment. In this paper we discuss some of the progress that has been made along the latter path wherein porosity, permeability and other variables that may be measured in the lab or estimated from geological descriptions may be used to estimate seismo-acoustic properties via a mathematical model that reflects all the significant physics of the problem. This model, which may be termed “poro-viscoelastic”, is a complex research tool that may be used to derive much simpler “fleet-oriented” models for making estimates of properties in selected environments. We first briefly discuss the fundamental model and then compare the results of predictions made using the model with field measurements at several well-documented sites.