cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Building a dynamic and computational understanding of personal social networks

While individuals' personal social networks are extremely important in their day-to-day lives, computational systems lack meaningful representations of them. We argue that recent trends in computer-mediated communication, the ubiquity of smartphones, usage of online services, and new approaches to real-world social science experimentation have created an opportunity to dynamically generate representations of personal social networks that will be useful in a variety of application areas. We describe several preliminary steps we have taken to investigate this vision, which demonstrate that the approach appears to be feasible and seems likely to produce useful results. While there are significant privacy concerns in this space, we outline two approaches for dealing with them. Finally, we close with a discussion of several application areas that might benefit from this new process for generating representations of personal social networks.
RECORDING, DISPLAY, AND EVALUATION METHODS TO OBTAIN QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION FROM ELECTRON HOLOGRAMS

Abstract Digital recording has become a basic requirement for electron holography for many reasons. The fact that it allows live-time evaluation of the phase information and easy recording of a reference hologram are two very important reasons that are widely appreciated. Here we will discuss requirements for recording electron holograms under the special conditions imposed by the Nyquist limit and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. As electron holography provides complex images carrying both the amplitude and phase of the image wave, the question of how to best display the information will be investigated. This is not an easy question, because special aspects of different applications require different solutions. Methods for display and evaluation of holographic data are described. Published by Elsevier Science Inc., 1999.
General use of animal models for investigation of the physiology of erection

In review, animal models have accounted significantly for the amazing strides made in the field of sexual dysfunction research. Fundamentally, they have offered a unique experimental approach to test many hypotheses regarding sexual function. Since their early use for sexual physiology research, there has been increasing sophistication using animals involving techniques for stimulating and monitoring sexual responses. One specific area that has been advanced is the use of conscious animal models to obtain a better sense of the natural contexts for sexual physiology and to avoid pharmacological interference associated with anesthetics. Another area of interest is the increasing use of simple but valid techniques to record and assess sexual responses. Efforts to develop and evaluate animal models that replicate disorders of sexual function have also been most advantageous. In the future, animal models will remain useful. The expanded applications of animal models include the study of predisposing disease states associated with sexual dysfunction and the study of all aspects of sexual dysfunction, in both male and female subjects. Continued judgment must be applied, understanding the advantages of one or another animal model, to explore questions and provide answers that are most scientifically relevant to the human condition. The promise of advancing therapies in this field indicates the additional prominent role for animals for the purposes of drug development.
Insulator–insulator contact charging and its relationship to atmospheric pressure

Abstract Metal–metal and metal–insulator contact charging are well-known phenomena with good theoretical understanding. However, insulator–insulator charging is not as well understood. Surface ion exchange is suspected of being the mechanism of insulator–insulator triboelectric charging. Experiments have shown that the amount of charge exchange is highly dependent on the atmospheric pressure of the gas. We present a two-phase model based on an ideal gas of singly-charged ions in equilibrium with a submonolayer adsorbed film.
Controlling inference in plan recognition

An algorithm based on an assessment of the completeness of an explanation can be used to control inference in a plan recognition system: If the explanation is complete, inference is stopped. If the explanation is incomplete, inference is continued. If it cannot be determined whether the explanation is complete, then the system weighs the strength of its interest in continuing the analysis against the estimated cost of doing so. This algorithm places existing heuristic approaches to the control of inference in plan recognition into a unified framework. The algorithm rests on the principle that the decision to continue processing should be based primarily on the explanation chain itself, not on external factors. Only when an analysis of the explanation chain proves inconclusive should outside factors weigh heavily in the decision. Furthermore, a decision to discontinue chaining should never be final; other components of the system should have the opportunity to request that an explanation chain be extended. An implementation of the algorithm, called PAGAN, demonstrates the usefulness of this approach.
Word recognition using a lexicon constrained by first/last character decisions

In lexicon based recognition of machine-printed word images, the size of the lexicon can be quite extensive. The recognition performance is closely related to the size of the lexicon. Recognition performance drops quickly when lexicon size increases. Here, we present an algorithm to improve the word recognition performance by reducing the size of the given lexicon. The algorithm utilizes the information provided by the first and last characters of a word to reduce the size of the given lexicon. Given a word image and a lexicon that contains the word in the image, the first and last characters are segmented and then recognized by a character classifier. The possible candidates based on the results given by the classifier are selected, which give us the sub-lexicon. Then a word shape analysis algorithm is applied to produce the final ranking of the given lexicon. The algorithm was tested on a set of machine- printed gray-scale word images which includes a wide range of print types and qualities.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Why does the positive regulation in bacteriophage λ affect isomerization of the RNAP‐DNA complex?

We use a model due to Santillan and Mackey, which is based on the Ackers chemical equilibrium description of the promoter binding by the regulatory factors, to show that the stability of the phage λ lysogen will be severely compromised if CI had a 10-fold effect on KB and no effect on k. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Histograms of Categorized Shapes for 3D ear detection

We introduce a novel shape-based feature set, termed the Histograms of Categorized Shapes (HCS), for robust Three-Dimensional (3D) object recognition. By adopting the sliding window approach and a linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, the efficacy of the HCS feature is assessed on a 3D ear detection task. Experimental results demonstrate that the approach achieves a perfect detection rate, i.e., a 100% detection rate with a 0% false positive rate, on a validation set consisting of 142 range profile images from the University of Notre Dame (UND) 3D ear biometrics database. It is to the best of our knowledge that the detection rate achieved here outperforms those reported in the literature for the given dataset. The proposed detector is also extremely efficient in both training and detection due to the simplicity of the feature extraction and speed of the classification process, suggesting that the method is suitable for practical use in 3D ear biometrie applications.
Monitoring neuronal activity during discrete behaviors: a crawling, swimming and shortening device for tethered leeches.

Abstract An apparatus is described which facilitates continuous electrophysiological recordings in segmental ganglia of leeches while the animal performs different behavioral patterns: crawling, swimming or shortening. Both the behaviors and neuronal recordings are monitored by a video camera system and can be evaluated simultaneously. The device is well suited to investigate questions of behavioral choice and neuronal decision-making mechanisms in these animals. It can also be modified to study the neural control of behavior in other aquatic animals, such as snails.
Socioeconomic disparity in provider-delivered assistance to quit smoking.

The U.S. Public Health Service smoking cessation clinical practice guideline is the accepted gold standard for smoking cessation treatment. It offers evidence-based treatment recommendations for all clinicians to deliver to all patients at each visit. Despite the release of the guideline and the publication of Healthy People 2010, health care providers still may not appropriately counsel patients to quit smoking. Furthermore, disparities may exist among smokers who are assisted to quit smoking by their health care providers. The present study tested for an association between selected sociodemographic and tobacco-related factors and assistance to quit smoking. This 2001 National Health Interview Survey secondary analysis included a U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population. Participants were self-reported current smokers who visited a health care provider in the past 12 months and were at least 25 years old. The outcome measure was smokers' self-report of whether assistance to quit smoking was given by a health care provider. Of smokers who received advice (N=3,046), only 38% received assistance to quit smoking. Smokers were less likely to report assistance to quit smoking if they were younger or Black, or if they had a high or middle level of socioeconomic disadvantage. In the final logistic regression model, being married, attempting to quit in the past 12 months, and consuming more tobacco were associated with receiving assistance to quit smoking. Increased age also was associated with receiving assistance, as was greater socioeconomic advantage (higher education, higher income, health insurance). The mechanisms responsible for the disparities in delivery of tobacco dependence treatment must be investigated further.
GNSS Multipath Mitigation using Antenna Motion

A method is developed for characterizing and compensating specular GNSS multipath by considering signal amplitude and phase variations in response to antenna motion. This method seeks to improve multipath rejection capabilities. A known antenna motion profile is combined with a batch filter to estimate the code phase, carrier phase, and amplitude of the direct signal, the relative code phase, carrier phase, carrier Doppler shift, and amplitude of each significant multipath component, and the directions of arrival of the direct and multipath components. Hardware signal simulator results indicate accurate estimation of all multipath features, and experimental test results demonstrate measurable improvements in estimates of carrier amplitude in all cases, of direct-path carrier-phase in many cases, and of direct-path code phase in some cases. Anomalous results have also been obtained, including specular multipath component estimates that occur in doublets and that may represent attempts by the batch filter to approximate diffuse multipath. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Navigation.
16- and 32-bit microcomputer interfacing: program examples in C and M68000 family assembly language

16 -and 32 -bit microcomputer interfacing: program examples in C and M68000 family assembly language , 16 -and 32 -bit microcomputer interfacing: program examples in C and M68000 family assembly language , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی
What Is the Significance of Increased Carotid Intima Media Thickness in Hypertensive Adolescents

Fortunately, common cardiovascular sequelae of long-standing hypertension in adults, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, are not seen in hypertensive children and adolescents. However, it is well established that persistent blood pressure elevation in the young can produce other target-organ effects. Chief among these are left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which may be present in ≤30% of children at the time of diagnosis of hypertension,1 and abnormal left ventricular geometry, which is typically seen in those with more severe blood pressure elevation. LVH can be seen even in adolescents with even mild blood pressure elevation and is probably the most readily assessed target-organ effect of hypertension in the young because of the wide availability of echocardiography. Its importance as a cardiovascular risk factor was recently highlighted by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP) Working Group on High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents, which recommended that echocardiograms be obtained as part of the initial evaluation of children and adolescents with confirmed hypertension.2 It was further recommended that if LVH is found, the antihypertensive therapy should be intensified. Other consequences of hypertension almost certainly develop in young hypertensive subjects but are more difficult to demonstrate. These include renal damage, hypertensive retinopathy, and cognitive impairment. Hypertensive renal damage probably first manifests as microalbuminuria and later progresses to end-stage renal disease; indeed, hypertension is one of the leading causes of chronic …
Computer-Aided Process Structuring Via Mixed Integer Programming

Systems development managers today are working with increasingly complex systems, revealing a need for computer-aided techniques in software system definition, design, and construction. The ultimate task of the software engineer is the development of tools and procedures which reduce the effort involved in production of effective software. To be effective, software must possess characteristics of correctness, reliability, efficiency, documentation, and flexibility. This paper develops a measure for software effectiveness and a computer aid for determining process structure in program module specification. The proposed method uses various criteria and a mixed integer program to decompose a system graph into program modules.
PRIMARY ABLATION OF ATRIAL FLUTTER AND ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Direct treatment of atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation--that is, attempting to prevent arrhythmia recurrences by ablating atrial tissue--has been a challenge because of uncertainty about the location of optimal target tissues as well as the amount of atrial tissue requiring destruction to effect cure. Advances have yielded success rates for ablation of the common form of atrial flutter comparable to those for other types of supraventricular tachycardia and provide reason for optimism about the use of catheter techniques, to treat atrial fibrillation definitively. This article discusses some of these advances as well as the current status of catheter ablation for atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation and, finally, what the future may bring.
Transcription activity hot spot, is it real or an artifact?

Transcription activity 'hot spots', defined as chromosome regions that contain more expression quantitative trait loci than would have been expected by chance, have been frequently detected both in humans and in model organisms. It has been common to consider the existence of hot spots as evidence for master regulation of gene expression. However, hot spots could also simply be due to highly correlated gene expressions or linkage disequilibrium and do not truly represent master regulators. A recent simulation study using real human gene expression data but simulated random single-nucleotide polymorphism genotypes showed patterns of clustering of expression quantitative trait loci that resemble those in actual studies [Perez-Enciso: Genetics 2004, 166: 547–554.]. In this study, to assess the credibility of transcription activity hot spots, we conducted genetic analyses on gene expressions provided by Genetic Analysis Workshop 15 Problem 1.
Role of the varicella-zoster virus gene product encoded by open reading frame 35 in viral replication in vitro and in differentiated human skin and T cells in vivo

Although genes related to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) open reading frame 35 (ORF35) are conserved in the herpesviruses, information about their contributions to viral replication and pathogenesis is limited. Using a VZV cosmid system, we deleted ORF35 to produce two null mutants, designated rOkaΔ35(#1) and rOkaΔ35(#2), and replaced ORF35 at a nonnative site, generating two rOkaΔ35/35@Avr mutants. ORF35 Flag-tagged recombinants were made by inserting ORF35-Flag at the nonnative Avr site as the only copy of ORF35, yielding rOkaΔ35/35Flag@Avr, or as a second copy, yielding rOka35Flag@Avr. Replication of rOkaΔ35 viruses was diminished in melanoma and Vero cells in a 6-day analysis of growth kinetics. Plaque sizes of rOkaΔ35 mutants were significantly smaller than those of rOka in melanoma cells. Infection of melanoma cells with rOkaΔ35 mutants was associated with disrupted cell fusion and polykaryocyte formation. The small plaque phenotype was not corrected by growth of rOkaΔ35 mutants in melanoma cells expressing the major VZV glycoprotein E, gE. The rOkaΔ35/35@Avr viruses displayed growth kinetics and plaque morphologies that were indistinguishable from those of rOka. Analysis with ORF35-Flag recombinants showed that the ORF35 gene product localized predominantly to the nuclei of infected cells. Evaluations in the SCIDhu mouse model demonstrated that ORF35 was required for efficient VZV infection of skin and T-cell xenografts, although the decrease in infectivity was most significant in skin. These mutagenesis experiments indicated that ORF35 was dispensable for VZV replication, but deleting ORF35 diminished growth in cultured cells and was associated with attenuated VZV infection of differentiated human skin and T cells in vivo.
Predation of hatchery-cultured juvenile red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) in the wild

The ecologically and commercially important red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) is depleted throughout much of the North Pacific and thought to be recruitment-limited, making it an appropria...
Divergent Roles for RalA and RalB in Malignant Growth of Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells

Summary Background The Ral guanine nucleotide-exchange factors (RalGEFs) serve as key effectors for Ras oncogene transformation of immortalized human cells. RalGEFs are activators of the highly related RalA and RalB small GTPases, although only the former has been found to promote Ras-mediated growth transformation of human cells. In the present study, we determined whether RalA and RalB also had divergent roles in promoting the aberrant growth of pancreatic cancers, which are characterized by the highest occurrence of Ras mutations. Results We now show that inhibition of RalA but not RalB expression universally reduced the transformed and tumorigenic growth in a panel of ten genetically diverse human pancreatic cancer cell lines. Despite the apparent unimportant role of RalB in tumorigenic growth, it was nevertheless critical for invasion in seven of nine pancreatic cancer cell lines and for metastasis as assessed by tail-vein injection of three different tumorigenic cell lines tested. Moreover, both RalA and RalB were more commonly activated in pancreatic tumor tissue than other Ras effector pathways. Conclusions RalA function is critical to tumor initiation, whereas RalB function is more important for tumor metastasis in the tested cell lines and thus argues for critical, but distinct, roles of Ral proteins during the dynamic progression of Ras-driven pancreatic cancers.
Designing serious video games for health behavior change: current status and future directions.

Serious video games for health are designed to entertain while changing a specific health behavior. This article identifies behavioral principles that can guide the development of serious video games focused on changing a variety of health behaviors, including those attempting to decrease risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Guidelines discussed include how to develop video games that provide a solid foundation for behavior change by enhancing a player’s knowledge and skill, ways in which personal mastery experiences can be incorporated into a video game environment, using game characters and avatars to promote observational learning, creating personalized experiences through tailoring, and the importance of achieving a balance between “fun-ness” and “seriousness.” The article concludes with suggestions for future research needed to inform this rapidly growing field.
Synthesis of phosphonate derivatives of methylenecyclopropane nucleoside analogues by alkylation–elimination method and unusual opening of cyclopropane ring

Abstract The synthesis of phosphonates of methylenecyclopropane nucleoside analogues 15a–18a , 15b–18b and 15c–18c by alkylation–elimination approach is described. In a foreshortened series, methanesulfonate 19 was transformed by Michaelis–Becker reaction with diethyl or diisopropyl phosphite to methylenecyclopropane phosphonates 20a or 20b . The latter were converted to vicinal dibromides 21a and 21b which were then used for alkylation–elimination of nucleic acid bases (adenine) or precursors (2-amino-6-chloropurine and N4-acetylcytosine). The intermediary Z+E-isomers 22a + 23a and 22b + 23b were dealkylated with bromo- of iodotrimethylsilane to free phosphonic acids 15a , 16a and phosphonate with an open cyclopropane ring 25 which were separated by ion exchange chromatography on Dowex 1. Phosphonate diesters 22c and 23c were separated by chromatography on silica gel, they were hydrolyzed to guanine derivatives 22d and 23d which were then dealkylated to give target analogues 15b , 16b and products of addition of hydrogen bromide or iodide across the double bond 26a or 26b . The E+Z-isomers 22e + 23e were converted to cytosine phosphonates 15c + 16c and cyclic phosphonate with an open cyclopropane ring 27a . In a homologous series of phosphonates, dibromocyclopropane 34 was converted to intermediate 31 by reaction with diisopropyl methyl phosphonate and subsequent β-elimination. Compound 31 was transformed to vicinal dibromide 36 , a key component for alkylation–elimination of nucleic acid bases. The rest of the synthetic sequence followed the scheme described for the series of lower homologues to give the Z-isomeric phosphonates 17a , 17b , E-isomers 18a , 18b and E+Z-isomers 17c + 18c as the final products. All methylenecyclopropane phosphonates were devoid of antiviral activity with the exception of guanine derivative 15b which inhibited the replication of varicella zoster virus (VZV) and it was non-cytotoxic.
The structural basis of myotonic dystrophy from the crystal structure of CUG repeats

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) type 1 is associated with an expansion of (>50) CTG repeats within the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the dystrophin myotonin protein kinase gene (dmpk). In the corresponding mRNA transcript, the CUG repeats form an extended stem-loop structure. The double-stranded RNA of the stem sequesters RNA binding proteins away from their normal cellular targets resulting in aberrant transcription, alternative splicing patterns, or both, thereby leading to DM. To better understand the structural basis of DM type 1, we determined to 1.58-A resolution the x-ray crystal structure of an 18-bp RNA containing six CUG repeats. The CUG repeats form antiparallel double-stranded helices that stack end-on-end in the crystal to form infinite, pseudocontinuous helices similar to the long CUG stem loops formed by the expanded CUG repeats in DM type 1. The CUG helix is very similar in structure to A-form RNA with the exception of the unique U-U mismatches. This structure provides a high-resolution view of a toxic, trinucleotide repeat RNA.
Decentralized Dynamic Output Feedback Control of Nonlinear Interconnected Systems

The problem of robust stabilization is considered for a class of nonlinear interconnected systems, which consist of linear subsystems coupled by nonlinear interconnections that are unknown and quadratically bounded. A decentralized dynamic output feedback based linear controller is proposed, where the feedback gain matrices of local controllers are obtained by solving an optimization problem subject to linear matrix inequalities. Local sliding mode observers are employed to asymptotically estimate the subsystems' states and, at the same time, to reconstruct the unknown nonlinear interconnections. The closed-loop system driven by the proposed decentralized dynamic output feedback controller is guaranteed to be connectively stable with maximized interconnection bounds.
Research on Homelessness: An Introduction.

Research on homelessness has tended to focus on problems of homeless individuals, sometimes diverting attention from underlying causes and reinforcing stereotypes about the population. A more comprehensive model of homelessness would include factors at the levels of individuals, social groups, and the socioeconomic context that contribute to homelessness. Papers in this issue investigate key factors at each of these levels. They consider the scope of homelessness and the history of society's responses, individual problems as both consequences and causes of homelessness, dynamics of entry to and exits from homelessness, and pertinent social policy at both micro- and macrolevels.
Genome-Wide Identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence-Related Genes Using a Caenorhabditis elegans Infection Model

Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 is an opportunistic human pathogen capable of infecting a wide range of organisms including the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We used a non-redundant transposon mutant library consisting of 5,850 clones corresponding to 75% of the total and approximately 80% of the non-essential PA14 ORFs to carry out a genome-wide screen for attenuation of PA14 virulence in C. elegans. We defined a functionally diverse 180 mutant set (representing 170 unique genes) necessary for normal levels of virulence that included both known and novel virulence factors. Seven previously uncharacterized virulence genes (ABC transporters PchH and PchI, aminopeptidase PepP, ATPase/molecular chaperone ClpA, cold shock domain protein PA0456, putative enoyl-CoA hydratase/isomerase PA0745, and putative transcriptional regulator PA14_27700) were characterized with respect to pigment production and motility and all but one of these mutants exhibited pleiotropic defects in addition to their avirulent phenotype. We examined the collection of genes required for normal levels of PA14 virulence with respect to occurrence in P. aeruginosa strain-specific genomic regions, location on putative and known genomic islands, and phylogenetic distribution across prokaryotes. Genes predominantly contributing to virulence in C. elegans showed neither a bias for strain-specific regions of the P. aeruginosa genome nor for putatively horizontally transferred genomic islands. Instead, within the collection of virulence-related PA14 genes, there was an overrepresentation of genes with a broad phylogenetic distribution that also occur with high frequency in many prokaryotic clades, suggesting that in aggregate the genes required for PA14 virulence in C. elegans are biased towards evolutionarily conserved genes.
Research-insight: providing insight on research by publication network analysis

A database contains rich, inter-related, multi-typed data and information, forming one or a set of gigantic, intercon- nected, heterogeneous information networks. Much knowl- edge can be derived from such information networks if we systematically develop an effective and scalable database-oriented information network analysis technology. In this system demo, we take a computer science research publica- tion network as an example, which is an information net- work derived from an integration of DBLP, other web-based information about researchers, and partially available cita- tion data, and construct a Research-Insight system in order to demonstrate the power of database-oriented information network analysis. We show that nontrivial research insight can be obtained from such analysis, including (1) ranking, clustering, classification and similarity search of researchers, terms and venues for research subfields and themes, (2) recommending good researchers and good research papers to read or cite when conducting research on certain topics (3) predicting potential collaborators for certain theme-oriented research, and (4) predicting advisor-advisee rela- tionships and affiliation history based on historical research publications. Although some of these functions have been studied in recent research, effective and scalable realization of such functions in large networks still poses challenging research problems. Moreover, some function are our on- going research tasks. By integrating these functionalities, Research-Insight may not only provide with us insightful rec- ommendations in CS research but also help us gain insight on how to perform effective data mining in large databases.
Cardiovascular and renal responses produced by central orphanin FQ/nociceptin occur independent of renal nerves.

The present study investigated the role of the renal nerves in mediating the cardiovascular and renal responses produced by the central administration of the opioid-like peptide orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats. In conscious rats, OFQ/N (10 μg icv) produced a transient bradycardia and hypotension (nadir 20 min). Although renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) initially remained unchanged, a delayed renal sympathoinhibitory response occurred after recovery (30 min) of blood pressure. By 30 and 70 min postinjection, RSNA decreased to 75 and 66% of control, respectively. Coinciding with the decrease in RSNA, central OFQ/N elicited a diuresis and antinatriuresis that occurred independent of changes in renal hemodynamics. In other studies, intracerebroventricular OFQ/N produced similar cardiovascular and renal excretory responses in bilaterally renal-denervated rats. Finally, in conscious sinoaortic deafferentiated rats, intracerebroventricular OFQ/N produced a rapid decrease in RSNA (55% of control, 10 min; 38% of control, 20 min) that paralleled the onset of the hypotension and bradycardia. These studies demonstrate that in conscious rats, intracerebroventricular OFQ/N produces a centrally mediated inhibition of RSNA which, due to activation of baroreflex mechanisms, is temporally dissociated from the hypotensive and bradycardia responses. As revealed in renal-denervated rats, the cardiovascular and renal excretory responses produced by central OFQ/N occur by a pathway that is independent of intact renal nerves or changes in renal hemodynamics.
Percutaneous Palliation of Cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinomas are malignant tumors arising from the biliary tract and have an worldwide incidence of 0.5∼2.0/100,000 [1]. Complete resection of early stage tumors can be curative [2]. In cases when the disease is unresectable, the prognosis is generally poor with a 1 year survival of 53 % and 5 year survival of less than 5 % [3–6].
Effects of Allelochemics on the Black Cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon: Effects of Resorcinol, Phloroglucinol, and Gallic Acid on Larval Growth, Development, and Utilization of Food

Further evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that allelochemics may exert chronic effects on rates of larval growth, ingestion, and utilization of food. Resorcinol inhibited ingestion and growth, but did not inhibit pupation or pupal weight of the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel). Phloroglucinol inhibited survival, growth, and pupation. It inhibited growth by reducng the efficiency of conversion of assimilated food and the efficiency of conversion of ingested food. Gallic acid inhibited growth, survival, pupation, and assimilation of food.
A Novel Combined Imaging/Morphometrical Method for the Analysis of Human Sural Nerve Biopsies for Clinical Diagnosis

Nerve Morphometry is one tool employed in the clinical assessment of peripheral sural nerve pathological abnormalities. A new method is presented in this chapter incorporating an unbiased approach to quantitative sural nerve evaluation. Using conventional epoxy embedded nerves processed for electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, and interactive digital assessment, this method produces a rigorous, accurate reproducible record for use in clinical diagnosis.
History, Sympathy and Sectarianism in Elizabeth Inchbald’s A Simple Story

The memory of the novelist and playwright Elizabeth Inchbald has survived for many only in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park (1814), in which the Bertram children’s staging of her adaptation of Kotzuebue’s Lovers’ Vows causes scandal.1 In 1908 Lytton Strachey lamented in the preface to Inchbald’s 1791 novel A Simple Story that ‘what we should most like to know of Mrs. Inchbald’s life has vanished beyond recovery’ (vii). Recent critical work on romantic-period drama and women’s writing, however, has countered this supposed disappearance by reinstating Inchbald among the era’s most significant writers, engaging personalities and prolific contributors to the theatre. As a playwright, she penned at least 21 plays, which enjoyed great success on the stage.2 Comparable to Anna Barbauld’s 50-volume British Novelists (1810), Inchbald’s 25-volume Remarks for the British Theatre (1806–9) was an important landmark in women’s literary criticism.3 With the recent reissue of her 1790s novels A Simple Story (1791) and Nature and Art (1796), the publication of her journals and diaries, and Annibel Jenkins’s I’ll Tell You What: The Life of Elizabeth Inchbald (2003), Inchbald has made a striking reappearance in romantic studies.4
Locating the ligand binding Sites for the G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) using combined information from docking and sequence conservation

High concentrations of estrogenic compounds can overstimulate estrogen receptors and potentially lead to breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers. Recently, a G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER/GPR30) was discovered that has no structural similarity to the well-characterized, classical estrogen receptor ERα. The crystal structure of GPER has not yet been determined, and the ligand binding sites have not yet been experimentally identified. The recent explosion of GPCR crystal structures now allow homology modeling with unprecedented reliability. We create, validate, and describe a homology model for GPER. We describe and apply ConDock, the first hybrid scoring function to use information from protein surface conservation and ligand docking, to predict binding sites on GPER for four ligands, estradiol, G1, G15, and tamoxifen. ConDock is a simple product function of sequence conservation and binding energy scores. ConDock predicts that all four ligands bind to the same location on GPER, centered on L119, H307, and N310; this site is deeper in the receptor cleft than are ligand binding sites predicted by previous studies. We compare the sites predicted by ConDock and traditional methods analyzing surface geometry, surface conservation, and ligand chemical interactions. Incorporating sequence conservation information in ConDock avoids errors resulting from physics-based scoring functions and modeling.
Maximal Sequence Mining approach for topic detection from microblog streams

Unprecedented expansion of user generated content in recent years demands more attempts of information filtering in order to extract high quality information from the huge amount of available data. In particular, topic detection from microblog streams is the first step toward monitoring and summarizing social data. This task is challenging due to the short and noisy characteristics of microblog content. Moreover, the underlying models need to be able to deal with heterogeneous streams which contain multiple stories evolving simultaneously. In this work, we introduce a frequent pattern mining approach for topic detection from a microblog stream. This approach first uses a Maximal Sequence Mining (MSM) algorithm to extract pattern sequences, each an ordered set of terms. This scheme can capture more semantic information than using unordered sets of the same terms. A pattern graph, which is a directed-graph representation of the mined sequences, can then be constructed. Subsequently, a community detection algorithm is applied on the pattern graph to group the mined patterns into different topic clusters. Experiments on Twitter datasets demonstrate that MSM approach achieves high performance in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods.
Experimental and DFT Investigations Reveal the Influence of the Outer Coordination Sphere on the Vibrational Spectra of Nickel-Substituted Rubredoxin, a Model Hydrogenase Enzyme.

Nickel-substituted rubredoxin (NiRd) is a functional enzyme mimic of hydrogenase, highly active for electrocatalytic and solution-phase hydrogen generation. Spectroscopic methods can provide valuable insight into the catalytic mechanism, provided the appropriate technique is used. In this study, we have employed multiwavelength resonance Raman spectroscopy coupled with DFT calculations on an extended active-site model of NiRd to probe the electronic and geometric structures of the resting state of this system. Excellent agreement between experiment and theory is observed, allowing normal mode assignments to be made on the basis of frequency and intensity analyses. Both metal–ligand and ligand-centered vibrational modes are enhanced in the resonance Raman spectra. The latter provide information about the hydrogen bonding network and structural distortions due to perturbations in the secondary coordination sphere. To reproduce the resonance enhancement patterns seen for high-frequency vibrational modes, the...
The Importance of H in Particulate Organic Matter Stoichiometry, Export and Energy Flow

The discipline of marine ecological stoichiometry has progressed rapidly over the past two decades, and continues to be at the forefront of microbial oceanography. Most of this effort has been focused on the elements carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), and to a lesser extent phosphorus (P), with little consideration of hydrogen (H), or the redox state of the organic matter pools despite the fact that H is the most abundant, and possibly the most important, element in biogeochemistry. Obtaining accurate estimates of the H content of organic matter, either in suspended or sinking particles, is a major analytical challenge. While many aquatic science laboratories have access to commercial “C-H-N elemental analyzers,” few investigators report H values due to analytical difficulties in obtaining accurate estimates of H. Because organic compounds vary considerably in their H:C ratio and therefore in their energy content, measurements of H combined with C-specific caloric estimates will ultimately be required for a more comprehensive understanding of ecosystem dynamics.
Experiences with Identification of Power Plant Dynamics

Abstract Dynamic testing was performed on three nuclear power plants and one coal fueled power plant. Low level perturbations were used so as to cause insignificant disturbance to normal power generation and tests were designed to use standard plant hardware and instrumentation in order to minimize costs. The test results were used in identification work that included estimation of parameters in physical models and construction of empirical (black box) models. It was found that certain important performance-related parameters can be identified using physical models if appropriate identifiability conditions are satisfied. Empirical models were found to be simple to generate and low order models were found to be suprisingly capable of predicting plant behavior.
B Cell Receptor Activation and Chemical Induction Trigger Caspase-Mediated Cleavage of PIAS1 to Facilitate Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation

Summary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in tumor cells is predominately in the latent phase, but the virus can undergo lytic reactivation in response to various stimuli. However, the cellular factors that control latency and lytic replication are poorly defined. In this study, we demonstrated that a cellular factor, PIAS1, restricts EBV lytic replication. PIAS1 depletion significantly facilitated EBV reactivation, while PIAS1 reconstitution had the opposite effect. Remarkably, we found that various lytic triggers promote caspase-dependent cleavage of PIAS1 to antagonize PIAS1-mediated restriction and that caspase inhibition suppresses EBV replication through blocking PIAS1 cleavage. We further demonstrated that a cleavage-resistant PIAS1 mutant suppresses EBV replication upon B cell receptor activation. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that PIAS1 acts as an inhibitor for transcription factors involved in lytic gene expression. Collectively, these results establish PIAS1 as a key regulator of EBV lytic replication and uncover a mechanism by which EBV exploits apoptotic caspases to antagonize PIAS1-mediated restriction.
Structuring Genetic Counseling Sessions: Initiating, Contracting, Ending, and Referral

Four of the components of a genetic counseling session are initiating the session, introductions and contracting (setting goals), ending the session/relationship, and making referrals. Genetic counselors have a great deal of responsibility for beginning and ending genetic counseling sessions and relationships and for helping patients establish feasible goals. This chapter describes activities for initiating the genetic counseling session, defines contracting and describes steps in the goal-setting process (including session goals and patient goals), describes genetic counselor activities for ending the session and the relationship, and identifies referral strategies for effective follow-up. Specific examples illustrate the various genetic counselor activities within each session component. Activities and written exercises at the end of this chapter are designed to help students develop skills for initiating, contracting, ending, and referral through self-reflection, practice, and feedback.
Diagnostic Potential of Tumor Exosomes

Abstract Extracellular nanovesicles (30–150 nm), also known as exosomes, can be isolated from a myriad of biological fluids, such as blood, saliva, amniotic fluid, and urine, allowing noninvasive diagnostic testing. Exosomes are ripe with molecular information similar as their originated cells (e.g., proteins and nucleic acids), all of which can be used for diagnostic purposes, particularly in tumor detection and identification. Various methods for isolating, collecting, and identifying tumor exosomes and markers are being developed and are becoming more widely available, such as microfluidics and ultracentrifuges. This chapter will explore the current diagnostic potentials of exosomes that are enabled by the state-of-the-art isolation approaches.
Global pairwise RNA interaction landscapes reveal core features of protein recognition

RNA–protein interactions permeate biology. Transcription, translation, and splicing all hinge on the recognition of structured RNA elements by RNA-binding proteins. Models of RNA–protein interactions are generally limited to short linear motifs and structures because of the vast sequence sampling required to access longer elements. Here, we develop an integrated approach that calculates global pairwise interaction scores from in vitro selection and high-throughput sequencing. We examine four RNA-binding proteins of phage, viral, and human origin. Our approach reveals regulatory motifs, discriminates between regulated and non-regulated RNAs within their native genomic context, and correctly predicts the consequence of mutational events on binding activity. We design binding elements that improve binding activity in cells and infer mutational pathways that reveal permissive versus disruptive evolutionary trajectories between regulated motifs. These coupling landscapes are broadly applicable for the discovery and characterization of protein–RNA recognition at single nucleotide resolution. RNA–protein interactions often depend on the recognition of extended RNA elements but the identification of these motifs is challenging. Here, the authors present a global integrated approach to analyze RNA–protein binding landscapes, mapping extended RNA interaction motifs for four RNA-binding proteins.
Population-Based Validation of a Clinical Prediction Model for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernias.

Objective To examine the external validity of a well-known congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) clinical prediction model using a population-based cohort. Study design Newborns with CDH born in California between 2007 and 2012 were extracted from the Vital Statistics and Patient Discharge Data Linked Files. The total CDH risk score was calculated according to the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Study Group (CDHSG) model using 5 independent predictors: birth weight, 5-minute Apgar, pulmonary hypertension, major cardiac defects, and chromosomal anomalies. CDHSG model performance on our cohort was validated for discrimination and calibration. Results A total of 705 newborns with CDH were extracted from 3 213 822 live births. Newborns with CDH were delivered in 150 different hospitals, whereas only 28 hospitals performed CDH repairs (1-85 repairs per hospital). The observed mortality for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups were 7.7%, 34.3%, and 54.7%, and predicted mortality for these groups were 4.0%, 23.2%, and 58.5%. The CDHSG model performed well within our cohort with a c-statistic of 0.741 and good calibration. Conclusions We successfully validated the CDHSG prediction model using an external population-based cohort of newborns with CDH in California. This cohort may be used to investigate hospital volume-outcome relationships and guide policy development.
Kommunale Bewältigung demographischer Herausforderungen

„Was kann ich wissen?“ (Kant 2009: 288). Aus diesem Erkenntnisproblem Immanuel Kants ergibt sich die konkrete Frage: Wie lassen sich die zuvor entwickelten Konzepte des Demographismus und der Demographisierung in ein soziologisches Erklarungsmodell zur Erklarung lokal divergierender Bewaltigungserfolge integrieren? Entsprechend der zentralen Schritte, welche die Methode der absteigenden Abstraktion empfiehlt (vgl. Lindenberg 1991a: 66-68), wird mit der einfachsten Problematisierung begonnen und der Abstraktions- und Erklarungsgrad allmahlich gesteigert.