cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimal binary one-ended codes

Binary prefix-free codes in which all codewords end with a "1" have been introduced by Berger and Yeung (1990). A recursive method is given here for the construction of all optimal "1"-ended codes with n codewords. It is shown that the set of codes obtained by the construction contains only optimal codes. We also compute recursively the number of essentially different optimal "1"-ended codes with n codewords and show that their number grows faster than any polynomial in n.
Determinants of transport mode choice: a comparison of Germany and the USA

Germany and the USA have among the highest motorization rates in the world. Yet Germans make a four times higher share of trips by foot, bike, and public transport and drive for a 25% lower share of trips as Americans. Using two comparable national travel surveys this paper empirically investigates determinants of transport mode choice in Germany and the USA. In both countries higher population density, a greater mix of land-uses, household proximity to public transport, and fewer cars per household are associated with a lower share of trips by automobile. However, considerable differences remain: all groups of society in America are more car-dependent than Germans. Even controlling for dissimilarities in socio-economic factors and land-use, Germans are more likely to walk, cycle, and use public transport. Moreover, Americans living in dense, mixed-use areas, and close to public transport are more likely to drive than Germans living in lower density areas, with more limited mix of land-uses, and farther from public transport. Differences in transport policy that make car travel slower, more expensive, less convenient, and alternatives to the automobile more attractive in Germany may help account for the remaining differences.
The Role of Leucine 116 in Determining Substrate Specificity in Human B1 Alcohol Dehydrogenase

There are multiple forms of human alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1). Each of these isoenzymes is dimer of approximately 80,000 molecular weight and contains between 373–377 amino acids per subunit (Bosron et al., 1993). There now appears to be at least seven separate genes in humans (ADH 1 -ADH 7 ) with polymorphism observed at the ADH 2 and ADH 3 loci. The sequence identity between these isoenzymes ranges from greater than 93% between the ADH 1 -ADH 3 genes to about 60% between ADH 4 and any of the other genes (Ehrig et al., 1990). The individual isoenzymes exhibit large differences in both affinity and maximal oxidation rate for different alcohol substrates (Ehrig et al., 1990).
An Operations-Research Study of Sales Response to Advertising

This paper presents the results of studies for major industrial concerns on the sales response to advertising. A simple model of the interaction of advertising and sales is described that is consistent with the results of controlled experiments performed on a large number of products and several media. The model is based on three parameters Sales Decay Constant, Saturation Level, and Response Constant. It has proved useful for analyses of advertising campaigns and for allocations of advertising appropriations.
Dynamics of laser ablation for thin film growth by pulsed laser deposition

Summary form only given. Fast imaging and sensitive spectroscopic investigations of laser ablation plume propagation reveal fundamental collisional phenomena relevant to film pulsed laser deposition and optimized cluster growth via laser vaporisation. Two phenomena are detailed, the first involves the splitting of the ablation plume into distinct high- and low energy components as a weak shock front forms during ablation into a low-density background gas. The second involves the dynamics of graphite ablation for vacuum deposition of tetrahedrally coordinated amorphous diamond films.
Estimating the Relative Abundance of Adult Citrus Root Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) with Modified Tedders Traps

Abstract Taylor’s power law (s2 = a x b) was fitted to the means and variances of numbers of adult Diaprepes abbreviatus L. and Pachnaeus litus (Germar) caught monthly in modified Tedders traps (citrus Tedders traps). Data for D. abbreviatus were obtained in six Florida citrus groves, two located on the central ridge and the others in the central and southern flatwoods. Parameters for P. litus (a = 2.15, b = 1.17) using data pooled from two sites were consistent with parameters derived from the individual sites. Parameters derived from pooled data for D. abbreviatus were a = 2.69, b = 1.33; however, there was significant variability of the parameter b among sites. For specified levels of precision (confidence interval half-length:mean ratio), from 0–30% fewer traps were needed to estimate numbers of P. litus compared with D. abbreviatus at densities encountered in these groves. Plot size from 0.06 to >12 ha affected the numbers of traps needed to obtain monthly mean estimates of adult weevils per trap wi...
Building a Controlled Natural Language Framework for Real-time Machine Translation

This study presents a framework that addresses the need for real-time communication between persons without a common language through the use of Controlled Natural Languages (CNLs). The framework consists of a set of CNLs (initially based on English and Spanish) where text compliant with any one CNL is mapped to an internal, unambiguous, language-in- dependent representation which, in turn, is automatically translated into valid text in a target natural language that not only retains the meaning of the original text but also appears natural to native speakers. In addition, the study proposes a software system similar to modern instant messaging clients to effectively facilitate said communication.
Metastable Liquids and the Nature of the Glass Transition

A review is given of the free-volume theory of supercooled liquids in metastable equilibrium. That theory is made the basis for a quantative treatment of atomic and molecular movement which leads in turn to a quantitative treatment of relaxation processes in liquids and glasses. Results for glass transition temperatures and the magnitudes, temperature dependences and dispersions of relaxation rates are in excellent agreement with the experiment. The same theory leads to an explicit model of low-temperature tunneling centers in glasses.
THE LIGAMENTS OF THE WRIST: A Current Overview of Anatomy with Considerations of Their Potential Functions

The anatomy of the wrist and its ligaments is complex and somewhat confusing, particularly to the student of the wrist. This article provides an overview of our current understanding of the anatomy of the wrist ligaments. It unites previously published descriptions with the most recent insights.
Peer Feedback Assignment

This note is based on the fact that giving feedback is an essential managerial communication skill. It suggests guidelines for matching feedback to its timing and communication channel. Guidelines for coaching and using formative feedback are included. It should be paired with "Narrative Presentation: Telling the Company Story" (UVA-BC-0163), and supplemented by "Triad Conference with Instructor" (UVA-BC-0165).
Floating point CORDIC-based architecture for powering computation

This work presents an architecture for powering computation in floating point arithmetic that is based on an expanded hyperbolic CORDIC algorithm, where the user can select the 2-D domain of convergence that suits their application. The fully parameterized hardware implementation allows us to explore trade-offs among design parameters (numerical format, number of iterations), resource usage, accuracy, and execution time. We carry out an exhaustive design space exploration and generate Pareto-optimal realizations in the resource-accuracy space. Our approach allows us to select optimal hardware realizations that meet or exceed accuracy requirements.
Estimating Obamacare's Effect on State Medicaid Expenditure Growth: A Study of Five Most Populous U.S. States

Unless repeal attempts succeed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ObamaCare) promises to increase state government obligations on account of Medicaid by expanding Medicaid eligibility and introducing an individual health insurance mandate for all US citizens and legal permanent residents. Once ObamaCare becomes fully effective in 2014, the cost of newly eligible Medicaid enrollees will be almost fully covered by the federal government through 2019, with federal financial support expected to be extended thereafter. But ObamaCare provides states with zero additional federal financial support for new enrollees among those eligible for Medicaid under the old laws. That makes increased state Medicaid costs from higher enrollments by “old-eligibles” virtually certain as they enroll into Medicaid to comply with the mandate to purchase health insurance. This study estimates and compares potential increases in Medicaid costs from ObamaCare for the five most populous states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas.The results suggest that Medicaid costs would increase considerably even on a pre-ObamaCare basis in California, Florida, and Texas — states with rising populations across many Medicaid eligibility and enrollment groups by age and gender. Cost increases on a pre-ObamaCare basis are projected to be smaller in Illinois and New York — states whose populations are projected to remain generally stagnant or decline during the next two decades. On a post-ObamaCare basis, the projected cost increase is small for California — just 4.5 percentage points in cumulative costs during 2014-23 compared to the pre-ObamaCare ten-year total cost projection. That’s because enrollment rates among “old-eligibles” are already high in California on a pre-ObamaCare basis, implying little scope for additional enrollment increases from the introduction of ObamaCare. In Florida and Texas, projected post-ObamaCare increases in Medicaid costs are larger, because these states are projected to have larger populations of non-enrolled “old eligibles.” Illinois and New York exhibit historically stable or declining enrollment rates among “old eligibles,” implying larger potentials for higher enrollments and increased costs when ObamaCare becomes effective after the year 2014.
Hyaluronan synthase 2 regulates fibroblast senescence in pulmonary fibrosis

Dysregulated repair of lung injury often results in lung fibrosis characterized by unremitting deposition of matrix components including glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA). HA is mainly produced by hyaluronan synthases (HAS) in mesenchymal cells. We previously demonstrated that over-expression of HAS2 in mesenchymal cells in mice regulates the invasiveness of fibroblasts and promotes severe lung fibrosis. The mechanisms that control the resolution of lung fibrosis are unknown. We propose that a critical step in resolving fibrosis is the induction of senescence in fibrotic fibroblasts and hyaluronan synthase 2 may regulate this process. We found that fibrotic fibroblasts developed the characteristics of replicative senescence in culture and that HAS2 expression was dramatically down-regulated. Furthermore, down-regulation of HAS2 initiated and regulated fibroblast senescence through a p27-CDK2-SKP2 pathway. Deletion of HAS2 in mouse mesenchymal cells increased the cellular senescence of fibroblasts in bleomycin-induced mouse lung fibrosis in vivo. These data suggest that HAS2 may be a critical regulator of the fate of pulmonary fibrosis and we propose a model where over-expression of HAS2 promotes an invasive phenotype resulting in severe fibrosis and down-regulation of HAS2 promotes resolution. Targeting HAS2 to induce fibroblast senescence could be an attractive approach to resolve tissue fibrosis.
Abstract 1054: Identification of progesterone receptor membrane component-1 as the putative sigma-2 receptor

Sigma binding sites represent a unique class of receptors and are highly expressed in tumor cells. Two sigma binding site subtypes, known as sigma-1 and sigma-2 receptors, were distinguished based on differences in their pharmacological profiles and molecular weights. The sigma-1 receptor gene has been cloned and well characterized in the CNS and cancer biology. However, the sigma-2 receptor has not yet been cloned. The purpose of the current study is to identify and clone sigma-2 receptor. We have synthesized an irreversible sigma-2 receptor selective photoaffinity probe, WC-II-21, containing a fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) group. This ligand has high binding affinity for sigma-2 receptor (Ki = 13 nM) and relatively low binding affinity for sigma-1 receptor (Ki > 1,000 nM). This ligand irreversibly labeled sigma-2 receptors in the rat liver membrane fractions after UV irradiation. The ligand-labeled proteins were solubilized, enriched and then separated through sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The position of a predominant band of the ligand-labeled protein in the gel was determined by western blot analysis using FITC antibody. MALDI-mass spectrometry analysis for the ligand-labeled proteins indentified the protein progesterone receptor membrane component-1 (PGRMC-1) with a convincingly high score of 81. Based on the similarities of the reported biological characteristics and functions between PGRMC1 and sigma-2 receptor, PGRMC1 was investigated in the current study. Immunocytochemistry revealed that PGRMC1 colocalized with molecular markers of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria in human melanoma cell line MDA-MB435. The subcellular localization of sigma-2 receptor also colocalized with fluorescent markers of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria as reported previously from our group (Cancer Res 2007; 67, 6708-6716). Thus, PGRMC1 and sigma-2 receptor appear to localize in the same subcellular organelles in the cell. PGRMC1 was knocked down with PGRMC1 siRNA in MDA-MB435 cells. Sigma-2 radioligand binding activity was significantly reduced in the PGRMC1 knocked down cells relative to the nontargeting siRNA transfected cells. These data suggest that PGRMC1 is the putative sigma-2 receptor. Further validation of PGRMC1 as the sigma-2 receptor is ongoing in our group. (Supported by CA 102869). 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 1054.
Microstrucrure and Properties of In-Situ R. F. Sputtered YBa2Cu3O7-x Thin Films for Microwave Applications

The residual surface resistance of a number of films of YBa2Cu3O7-x, prepared by off-axis sputtering onto MgO substrates, has been measured using a parallel-plate resonator technique. Deposition conditions were kept constant, apart from the substrate temperature. There is no correlation between surface resistance and other important microscopic parameters, such as Tc and c-axis lattice parameter. There is, however, a trend to higher Rs with increasing volume fraction of in-plane misoriented material, although the correlation is not perfect. Furthermore, we have found that most of the misoriented material is localized at the film substrate interface and, therefore, is probably not responsible for most of the RF losses. The data suggest that at higher deposition temperatures, there is an increasing tendency for 45° misoriented material to appear in the films, and a significant fraction of this material may be present closer to the free film surface. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) qualitatively supports this conclusion.
Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation In and On the Way to the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

Cardiac arrest, though not common during coronary angiography, is increasingly occurring in the catheterization laboratory because of the expanding complexity of percutaneous interventions (PCI) and the patient population being treated. Manual chest compression in the cath lab is not easily performed, often interrupted, and can result in the provider experiencing excessive radiation exposure. Mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) provides unique advantages over manual performance of chest compression for treating cardiac arrest in the cardiac cath lab. Such advantages include the potential for uninterrupted chest compressions, less radiation exposure, better quality chest compressions, and less crowded conditions around the catheterization table, allowing more attention to ongoing PCI efforts during CPR. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients not responding to standard ACLS therapy can be transported to the hospital while mechanical CPR is being performed to provide safe and continuous chest compressions en route. Once at the hospital, advanced circulatory support can be instituted during ongoing mechanical CPR. This article summarizes the epidemiology, pathophysiology and nature of cardiac arrest in the cardiac cath lab and discusses the mechanics of CPR and defibrillation in that setting. It also reviews the various types of mechanical CPR and their potential roles in and on the way to the laboratory. (Circ J 2016; 80: 1292-1299).
Portrayal of Blacks in Advertising: A Critical Review of the Literature

As the largest minority group in the United states, black Americans with an annual purchasing power of over two billion dollars, are an attractive marketing segment (Joseph, 1986). The challenges confronting advertisers today revolve around two issues: (a) How should advertisers use black models in advertising in a way that appeals to the profitable and growing black segment? and, (b) How can advertisers appeal to the black segment in a way that retains or increases the favorable product perceptions of the white segment?
The Advantages of Dermoscopy in the Diagnosis of Acral Melanoma from Other Podiatric Lesions: A Literature Review

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Melanoma is one of the most common primary malignant tumors arising in the lower extremity. It is crucial to diagnose melanoma as quickly and as efficiently as possible for a better prognosis. The use of dermoscopy is helpful in diagnosing such conditions. Dermoscopy is a non-invasive, in-vivo technique primarily used in the examination of pigmented skin lesions. This procedure allows the visualization of subsurface skin structures in the epidermis, dermoepidermal junction, and upper dermis - structures not visible to the naked eye. This poster presents the advantages of dermoscopy in the field of podiatry by assessing the dermoscopic criteria with positive predictive values for distinguishing acral melanoma from acral nevus. Additionally it analyzes cases of melanomas misdiagnosed as a plantar-pigmented wart and a diabetic ulcer. METHODS: The authors used PubMed to perform an English language literature search. The exclusion criteria included articles older than 10 years. Inc...
Role of human premotor dorsal region in learning a conditional visuomotor task.

Conditional learning involves stimulus identification, motor response selection, response monitoring, memory encoding, and recall of the learned association. Premotor dorsal (PMd) has been implicat...
The Slippery Slope of Reasons-Responsiveness for the Criminal Justice System

Growing knowledge about the operation of the human brain has led to the discovery of the neurological roots of legally relevant behaviors and traits and increased understanding of the cognitive def...
Owner Perceptions of Barriers to Prevention through Design Diffusion

AbstractPrevention through design (PtD) is an emerging concept for reducing safety hazards and preventing worker injuries and fatalities. Existing literature suggests that diffusion of PtD faces se...
Methylparaben and butylparaben alter multipotent mesenchymal stem cell fates towards adipocyte lineage

Paraben esters and their salts are widely used as preservatives in cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and foods. We previously reported that parabens promoted adipocyte differentiation in vitro and increased adiposity but suppressed serum marker of bone formation in vivo. Here, we investigated the effects of parabens (methylparaben and butylparaben) on modulating cell fate of multipotent stem cell line C3H10T1/2. Both parabens modulated adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells in vitro. Butylparaben markedly promoted adipogenic differentiation, but suppressed osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation whereas methylparaben showed similar but less pronounced effects. Moreover, butylparaben, but not methylparaben, was shown to activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ whereas neither of the paraben was shown to activate glucocorticoid receptor (GR) responsive reporter in C3H10T1/2 cells. The adipogenic effects of butylparaben were significantly attenuated by PPARγ knockdown, but not by GR knockdown. In contrast, paraben's effects on osteoblast differentiation were affected by both knockdowns. Collectively, the results demonstrate opposing effects of parabens on adipogenic and osteoblastogenic/chondrogenic differentiation of multipotent stem cells. In light of the recent findings that parabens are detected in human placenta and milk, our studies provide rationales to study paraben exposure during early development of life in the future.
Introduction to the political economy perspective

This introduction designed to frame the next two chapters, distinguishes a Marxist view of land use policy from other approaches. Marxist perspectives emphasize the economic forces that underlie policy formation offer a dissident theory of governmental behavior. Marxist analysts are keeping pace with contemporary land use problems by becoming more critical of the progressive tendencies of capitalism by increasing their internal debate over the structuralist and conflict models of land use problems. This chapter offers its own argument about the origins of the environmental crisis, and comments on the prospects for empirical comparisons of Marxist and competing theories of land use dynamics.
Rodent, snake and raptor use of restored native perennial grasslands is lower than use of unrestored exotic annual grasslands

1.In California's Central Valley, most native grasslands have been destroyed or degraded due to invasion, farming, and development. Grassland restoration is often assumed to provide improved wildlife habitat, ostensibly increasing the abundance and diversity of at least some native wildlife species relative to unrestored, invaded annual grasslands. 2.We compared rodent, snake and raptor activity and species richness at paired unrestored and restored grasslands across four blocked locations in the Central Valley using trapping and observational surveys in up to four seasons per guild from 2014–2015. Restored treatments were planted with native perennial grasses 13–24 years prior to study initiation but were partially re-invaded by Mediterranean annual grasses and forbs. Unrestored treatments contained similar non-native plant species assemblages as restored treatments, but did not contain any native grass. 3.Rodent, snake and raptor activity was generally higher in unrestored relative to restored treatments. For rodents, the non-native Mus musculus (house mouse) showed the greatest disparity in abundance, while greater raptors and snakes likely responded to greater rodent abundance. 4.Within treatments, species-specific rodent responses were related to structure of physical vegetation. In particular, Peromyscus maniculatus (native deer mouse) was associated with more bare ground and shorter vegetation, while the house mouse was associated with less bare ground and taller vegetation, regardless of treatment type. Substantial changes in rodent species composition were observed over short periods of time (< 3 months) after unplanned manipulation of vegetation structure via livestock grazing, with patterns reflecting the species-specific response to physical vegetation structure. 5.Synthesis and applications. Our results reveal that while grassland restoration may promote persistence of native plant communities, restoration may not be beneficial to higher trophic levels, and in fact may reduce habitat value for some native predators in grasslands invaded by Mediterranean plant species. Changes in vegetation structure can strongly impact wildlife species composition, suggesting a more nuanced approach is required for the restoration of desired wildlife communities. Thus, species-specific goals should be carefully considered to ensure improved alignment of restoration methods with expected restoration outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The Crystal Structure of PrOHSO4

The phase equilibria and structural relationships of the anion substitution phases of the lanthanide hydroxides are both interesting and complex. The consequences of anion substitution have been most thoroughly investigated for monovalent anion systems of the type Ln(OH) 3−xXx (X=Xl−, Br−, I−, NO−3). Equilibria, structures and structural correlations of these systems are described and reviewed in recent reports. (1–3)
The Sleepy Model of Consensus

The literature on distributed computing (as well as the cryptography literature) typically considers two types of players—honest players and corrupted players. Resilience properties are then analyzed assuming a lower bound on the fraction of honest players. Honest players, however, are not only assumed to follow the prescribed the protocol, but also assumed to be online throughout the whole execution of the protocol. The advent of “large-scale” consensus protocols (e.g., the blockchain protocol) where we may have millions of players, makes this assumption unrealistic. In this work, we initiate a study of distributed protocols in a “sleepy” model of computation where players can be either online (awake) or offline (asleep), and their online status may change at any point during the protocol. The main question we address is: Can we design consensus protocols that remain resilient under “sporadic participation”, where at any given point, only a subset of the players are actually online? As far as we know, all standard consensus protocols break down under such sporadic participation, even if we assume that \(99\%\) of the online players are honest.
Limited-stage DLBCL: it's patient selection.

In this issue of Blood , Lamy et al present the results of the LYSA/GOELAMS trial 02-03, where patients with limited-stage diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) received either 4 or 6 cycles of rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) based on risk stratification, and those achieving complete response (CR) by positron emission tomography (PET) after 4 cycles either received 40 Gy of radiation or were observed. The outcomes were excellent regardless of radiation administration, which was not surprising because the study enrolled a favorable-risk cohort of patients. The role of radiation therapy (RT) is hard to discern in this setting. 1
HIV, aging, and cognition: emerging issues

The prevalence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder has not changed from the pre- to the potent antiretroviral therapy era, remaining at approximately 50%. In research settings, mild neurocognitive disorder (MND) and so-called asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI) are now more common than HIV-associated dementia. The diagnosis of ANI is misleading because functional deficits, when tested in a laboratory, and degree of neuropsychologic testing abnormalities are often comparable in patients with ANI and those with symptomatic MND. Age-related comorbidities increase the risk of cognitive impairment in HIV infection. In a cohort of patients aged 60 years or older with excellent antiretroviral therapy adherence, correlates to cognitive impairment were apolipoprotein (Apo) E4 genotype and a novel measure of the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs in monocytes, the monocyte efficacy (ME) score, with trend associations for diabetes and nadir CD4+ cell count. Management of impairment includes ensuring that patients are on and adhere to antiretroviral therapy and addressing comorbidities. Switching from effective and well-tolerated antiretroviral therapy for patients with mild cognitive impairment is not routinely recommended, but this must still be addressed on a case-by-case basis. This article summarizes a presentation by Victor G. Valcour, MD, at the IAS-USA continuing education program held in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2013.
Calculus of Many Variables

We now turn to differential and integral calculus of many variables, in that order. Most of our discussion will be limited to the case of two variables since it illustrates most of the new ideas. We will however occasionally discuss three variables since we live and solve problems in three dimensions.
Effects of Aspirin on Glycation, Glycoxidation, and Crosslinking of Collagen

Summary Glycation, oxidation and glycoxidation reactions contribute to the chemical modification and crosslinking of proteins by glucose. In this study we show that aspirin, and the related compounds, benzoate and salicylate, inhibit the formation of glycoxidation products and the crosslinking of rat tail collagen In vitro , but have negligible effect on glycation of the protein. We conclude that the mechanism of action of aspirin as an inhibitor of advanced Maillard reactions depends on its antioxidant activity in inhibiting oxidation and glycoxidation reactions, rather than inhibition of glycation by acetylation of amino groups in collagen. Our results suggest that aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents with antioxidant activity may be effective inhibitors of the chemical modification and crosslinking of collagen by glucose in vivo.
A DIRECT COMPUTATIONAL METHOD FOR ESTIMATING THE PARAMETERS OF A NONLINEAR MODEL

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a direct computational method for estimating the parameters of a nonlinear model. It considers the system identification problem that deals with determining information about the unknown constant matrices A , B , and C for a linear dynamical system. Many numerical methods are available for approaching this problem. The Isenberg method of moments (IMOM) was found to be the best among these methods in most cases. A direct computational method that is essentially based on the general moment theory has been developed. This method called the direct computational method (DCM) alleviates a few long standing difficulties arising from IMOM. Two of these difficulties are the cut-off error incurred when integration is required to infinite time and lack of flexibility in weighting the data. This chapter presents a theory with the specification of the admissible weighting functions and the estimation of amplitudes using the linear least squares method as an option. It presents the filtering scheme, which can be used to filter out one known decay term and increase the accuracy of the estimation. It also presents a few numerical examples.
Homeostasis of the Mucosal Immune System

External secretions, including milk, contain large amounts of immunoglobulins (Ig) and innate factors of humoral immunity. The Ig isotype distribution, their origin, transport, and absorbability from the gut lumen differ greatly among various species. Milk of primates contains mainly secretory IgA (sIgA) which has unique biological properties. The functional advantages of sIgA compared with other Ig isotypes include its resistance to proteolysis, presence of 4 to 8 antigen-binding sites, carbohydrate moiety-mediated antiadherence properties, and inhibition of complement activation. Although IgA exhibits its protective effect mainly on mucosal surfaces, internalization by cells expressing various IgA receptors suggests additional protective functions.
Some Empirical Justifications

Based on the discussions in Chapter 14, this chapter will look at empirical evidences and observations that underline the existence of the yoyo structure behind each and every system, be tangible or intellectually imaginable.
Cryptosporidium parvum subtilisin-like serine protease (SUB1) is crucial for parasite egress from host cells

Despite the severity and global burden of Cryptosporidium infection, treatments are less than optimal, and there is no effective vaccine. Egress from host cells is a key process for the completion of the life cycle of apicomplexan parasites. For Plasmodium species, subtilisin-like serine protease (SUB1) is a key mediator of egress. For Toxoplasma species, calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are critical. In this study, we characterized Cryptosporidium SUB1 expression and evaluated its effect using an infection model. We found increased expression between 12 and 20 h after in vitro infection, prior to egress. We induced silencing of SUB1 (ΔSUB1) mRNA using SUB1 single-stranded antisense RNA coupled with human Argonaute 2. Silencing of SUB1 mRNA expression did not affect parasite viability, excystation, or invasion of target cells. However, knockdown led to a 95% decrease in the proportion of released merozoites in vitro (P < 0.0001). In contrast, silencing of CDPK5 had no effect on egress. Overall, our results indicate that SUB1 is a key mediator of Cryptosporidium egress and suggest that interruption of the life cycle at this stage may effectively inhibit the propagation of infection.
OM Forum—Empirical Research in Operations Management: From Field Studies to Analyzing Digital Exhaust

The amount of empirical research in operations management that has been published in this journal and in Management Science has recently witnessed a significant increase. Beyond this increase in nu...
Identifying the Structure of Students' Explanatory Essays.

Recent educational standards stress that students should learn how to read and understand scientific explanations and create explanations of their own. But these skills are difficult for teachers to evaluate, so they often assess them at a shallow level or avoid giving such assignments. Previous approaches for automatically evaluating explanatory and other types of structured essays have relied on the use of shallow features or bag-of-words methods. These methods might allow for a reasonable holistic assessment of an essay, but they fail to identify which concepts students included and which causal connections they made. In this paper, we investigate which natural language processing methods are most successful at locating conceptual information in student explanations and the causal connections between them. We found that a combination of a recurrent neural network for identifying concepts along with a novel causal relation parser produced very good accuracy in two different scientific domains, significantly improving on the prior state-of-the-art.
Precipitation Events, Soil Type, and Vineyard Management Practices Influence Soil Carbon Dynamics in a Mediterranean Climate (Lodi, California)

To characterize the effect of precipitation events, management practices, and soil type on vineyard carbon (C) dynamics, we monitored CO₂ emissions and labile C pools from nine vineyards in Lodi Wine Grape District, California, from April 2011 to December 2012. These commercial vineyards are replicates of three soil series (Redding, San Joaquin, and Tokay), representing a spectrum of soil texture and degree of soil development. We hypothesized that soil characteristics would influence the magnitude of CO₂ efflux occurring in response to precipitation and management events in a Mediterranean climate. During each field visit—bimonthly (April–October) and monthly (November–March)—we measured CO₂, soil temperature, and gravimetric water content (GWC) from vine and intervine (alleys) rows. Monthly, we collected soil samples for dissolved organic C (DOC), which tended to be greater in the alleys of San Joaquin and Redding than Tokay in summer but decreased after the onset of precipitation. In mid-May and mid-October 2012, CO₂ efflux was higher in Tokay than in San Joaquin or Redding. Carbon dioxide efflux across all soils increased as a result of seasonal management practices (i.e., tillage and mowing of cover crops). Management practices distinguished soil DOC between vine rows and alleys from June to October 2012. Soil type or clay content influenced CO₂ efflux across these vineyards, as did GWC and soil temperature. This 20-mo study indicated that CO₂ efflux responded to soil disturbance from management practices, precipitation, and irrigation.
Oculus Rift Versus HTC Vive: Usability Assessment from a Teleportation Task.

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has shown impressive growth in recent years, extending to industrial, military, and rehabilitation occupations. However, despite such growth, there is little research on the usability aspects associated with different VR devices. This paper investigates subjective and objective usability differences between two commercial Head-Mounted Display (HMD) systems, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, using a between-subjects experimental design on three teleportation task scenarios. Each scenario had a time limit of five minutes and sequentially increased in complexity. Objective usability was evaluated through performance measures, including per scenario effectiveness, time duration, total time duration, completion rate, and time-based efficiency. Subjective usability was evaluated by users after the three scenarios, via a questionnaire formed of ease of use, comfort, effectiveness, and visual quality subscales. The results, interpreted using Mann-Whitney U Tests, indicated significant differences between the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift: in terms of objective usability, Vive’s overmatch in scenario three effectiveness suggests harder tasks in the Rift may require additional aids; in terms of subjective usability, Vive’s overmatch in effectiveness questionnaire items suggests it is a preferred choice for a range of applications, as well as for learning real-world skills. In terms of significant Spearman’s rho correlations, more HMD comfort is aligned with completion rates, within the Vive; different contexts may lead to a reversal effect, where visual quality can either relate to negative or positive performance, depending on the headset; and overall, many different usability aspects positively relate to total time-based efficiency of the teleportation task.
Depolarization Induced Hydrolysis of Cytoplasmic ACh in Mouse Brain

Acetylcholine (ACh) release occurs from cholinergic nerve endings in brain by different processes. Spontaneous ACh release, for example, appears to occur primarily from the cytosol by a Ca2+ independent process (5–7) and may be synthesized by a soluble, cytoplasmic form of choline-O-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.6, ChAT) (3). In contrast, the evoked form of ACh release appears to occur from a vesicular fraction by a Ca2+ dependent process (6–9, 18) and it may be synthesized by a membrane-bound form of ChAT closely associated with the vesicular fraction (1–3, 17). Recent reports suggest that the Ca2+ dependent and Ca2+ independent forms of ACh release differ in yet another respect. Depolarization of brain tissue only stimulates the Ca2+ dependent, not the Ca2+ independent form of ACh release (9, 13–14). That depolarization of brain tissue is unable to stimulate the Ca2+ independent release of ACh is difficult to reconcile with the finding that high K+ induced depolarization of brain tissue not only lowers the ACh content of the vesicular fraction but also lowers the ACh content of the cytoplasmic fraction (16). One might expect that elevated K+ would exclusively lower the level of vesicular ACh since it only stimulates the Ca2+ dependent form of ACh release. One possible explanation for the K+ induced reduction of cytoplasmic ACh in the absence of a corresponding stimulation of Ca2+ independent ACh release is that high K+ may cause the hydrolysis of cytoplasmic ACh and thereby lower its level.
A surprising connection between civilizational identity and succession expectations among Russian elites

ABSTRACTWe know from prior research that non-democratic regimes can become vulnerable when elites anticipate succession at the top, but we know little about what shapes these elites’ expectations. ...
Plague and Public Health in Early Modern Seville

Plague and Public Health in Early Modern Seville offers a reassessment of the impact of plague in the early modern era, presenting sixteenth-century Seville as a case study of how municipal officials and residents worked together to create a public health response to epidemics that protected both individual and communal interests. It argues in particular for a redefinition of what "public health" meant in the early modern era, noting the efforts of city officials to protect both individual health and communal welfare as they negotiated a series of balances: between individual and communal needs, between public health and economic needs, between municipal and royal interests. Based on extensive primary sources held in the municipal archive of Seville, the work argues that a careful reading of the records shows a critical difference between how plague regulations were written and how they were enforced, a difference that reflects an unacknowledged process of negotiation aimed at preserving balance within the community. The book makes an important contribution to the scholarly history of epidemics, and in particular to the study of the impact of plague in Spain, which until now has received scant attention from historians. Kristy Wilson Bowers received her PhD from Indiana University and teaches in the History Department at Northern Illinois University.
Liouville-Riemann-Roch theorems on abelian coverings

Preliminaries.- The Main Results.- Proofs of the Main Results.- Specific Examples of Liouville-Riemann-Roch Theorems.- Auxiliary Statements and Proofs of Technical Lemmas.- Final Remarks and Conclusions.
Human-specific regulatory features of brain development manifest staggering breadth of associations with physiological processes and pathological conditions of H. sapiens

Abstract In recent years, elucidation of genetic and molecular mechanisms defining the phenotypic uniqueness of Modern Humans attained a significant progress in illuminating the essential role of human-specific regulatory sequences (HSRS). The macromolecules comprising the essential building blocks of life at the cellular and organismal levels remain highly conserved during the evolution of humans and other Great Apes. Identification of nearly hundred thousand candidate HSRS validate the idea that unique to human phenotypes may result from human-specific changes to genomic regulatory sequences defined as “regulatory mutations” (King and Wilson, 1975). The exquisite degree of accuracy of the state-of-art molecular definition of HSRS is illustrated by identification of 35,074 single nucleotide changes (SNCs) that are fixed in humans, distinct from other primates, and located in differentially-accessible (DA) chromatin regions during the human brain development (Kanton et al., 2019). Annotation of SNCs derived and fixed in modern humans that overlap DA chromatin regions during brain development revealed that 99.8% of candidate regulatory SNCs are shared with the archaic humans. This remarkable conservation on the human lineage of candidate regulatory SNCs associated with early stages of human brain development suggest that coding genes expression of which is regulated by human-specific SNCs may have a broad effect on human-specific traits beyond embryonic development. Gene set enrichment analyses of 8,405 genes linked with 35,074 human-specific SNCs revealed the staggering breadth of significant associations with morphological structures, physiological processes, and pathological conditions of Modern Humans, including more than 1,000 anatomically-distinct regions of the adult human brain, many types of human cells and tissues, more than 200 common human disorders and more than 1,000 rare diseases. Thousands of genes connected with human-specific regulatory SNCs represent essential genetic elements of the autosomal inheritance and survival of species phenotypes: a total of 1,494 genes linked with either autosomal dominant or recessive inheritance as well as 2,273 genes associated with premature death, embryonic survival, and perinatal, neonatal, and postnatal lethality of both complete and incomplete penetrance have been identified in this contribution. Therefore, thousands of heritable traits and critical genes impacting the offspring survival appear placed under the human-specific regulatory control in genomes of Modern Humans. These observations highlight the remarkable translational opportunities with clinical utility potentials afforded by the discovery of genetic regulatory loci harboring human-specific SNCs in the ground-breaking fundamental study of great ape’s cerebral organoids.
Effect of perioperative nursing intervention on premature with esophageal atresia

Objective To investigate the effect of perioperative nursing intervention on 30 cases premature with esophageal atresia.Methods 60 cases of premature children with congenital esophageal atresia treated in our hospital neonatal unit (NICU) from June 2008 to June 2010, were randomly divided into intervention group and control group with 30 cases in each group.The control group received routine postoperative care, the intervention group on this basis, were given perioperative nursing intervention.Results Complication rate of the intervention group and control group was statistically significant difference (23.3% vs 60.0%, x2 =8.30,P ＜0.01); Hospital zation was statistically significant difference[(37.0 ± 7.2)d vs (55.2 ± 14.2)d, t =8.92,P ＜0.01] between the two groups; Weight change and patient satisfation were statistically significant difference(P ＜0.05).Conclusions Premature with esophageal atresia received perioperative nursing intervention can guarantee results of operations, reduce complications, decrease mortality, promoting rehabilitation, worthy of clinical application. Key words: Esophageal atresia; Premature; Perioperative nursing
The uterine pathological features associated with sentinel lymph node metastasis in endometrial carcinomas.

Background In recent years, sentinel lymph node excision and ultrastaging have been performed in endometrial carcinomas to obtain information about lymph node status, avoiding unnecessary complete pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy. The purpose of this retrospective study was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the pathological features of endometrial carcinomas and their significance in association with sentinel lymph node involvement. Methods Patients with endometrial carcinomas, preceded by sentinel lymph node mapping, were classified into Group-I and Group-II with negative and positive involvement, respectively. The pathological features, associated with sentinel lymph node involvement, were statistically analyzed, including determination of test performance parameters. Results Among 70 patients who had undergone hysterectomy and sentinel lymph node excision, 61 had carcinoma and 9 had atypical hyperplasia. There were 50 patients in Group-I and 10 in Group-II. In Group-II, the significant pathological features were: 1) lower uterine segment involvement (100%), 2) an average tumor size of ≥5 CM, 3) lymphovascular invasion (50%), 4) cervical stromal invasion (40%), and 5) depth of myometrial invasion of ≥50% (50%). The incidences of these pathological features were significantly less in Group-I. Statistical analyses singled out "lower uterine segment involvement" as the most important feature. Conclusions We have identified five pathological features which are associated with sentinel lymph node involvement. Since lower uterine segment involvement has occurred in all cases of the Group-II cohort, we recommend FIGO and other organizations that determine staging rules should consider whether tumors that involve the lower uterine segment should be staged as higher than "1a", if the findings in this small series are confirmed by other studies. The results of this study may guide pathologists and oncologists in the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to management of endometrial carcinomas.