cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal Metabolomics Profiling of Parkinson's Disease-Related α-Synuclein A53T Transgenic Mice.

Metabolic homeostasis is critical for all biological processes in the brain. The metabolites are considered the best indicators of cell states and their rapid fluxes are extremely sensitive to cellular changes. While there are a few studies on the metabolomics of Parkinson’s disease, it lacks longitudinal studies of the brain metabolic pathways affected by aging and the disease. Using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectroscopy (UPLC/MS), we generated the metabolomics profiling data from the brains of young and aged male PD-related α-synuclein A53T transgenic mice as well as the age- and gender-matched non-transgenic (nTg) controls. Principal component and unsupervised hierarchical clustering analyses identified distinctive metabolites influenced by aging and the A53T mutation. The following metabolite set enrichment classification revealed the alanine metabolism, redox and acetyl-CoA biosynthesis pathways were substantially disturbed in the aged mouse brains regardless of the genotypes, suggesting that aging plays a more prominent role in the alterations of brain metabolism. Further examination showed that the interaction effect of aging and genotype only disturbed the guanosine levels. The young A53T mice exhibited lower levels of guanosine compared to the age-matched nTg controls. The guanosine levels remained constant between the young and aged nTg mice, whereas the aged A53T mice showed substantially increased guanosine levels compared to the young mutant ones. In light of the neuroprotective function of guanosine, our findings suggest that the increase of guanosine metabolism in aged A53T mice likely represents a protective mechanism against neurodegeneration, while monitoring guanosine levels could be applicable to the early diagnosis of the disease.
Use of the Laryngeal Mask Airway-Aintree Intubating Catheter-fiberoptic bronchoscope technique for difficult intubation☆

Abstract Study Objective To determine whether intubation using an Aintree Intubation Catheter (AIC), fiberoptic intubation (FOB), and Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) is safe and effective for securing the airway in patients who are difficult to intubate after induction of general anesthesia. Design Retrospective review of departmental difficult airway database procedures completed between July 2006 and December 2009. Setting Academic medical center. Measurements and Main Results During the study period, 128 of 500 patients entered into the difficult airway database underwent the LMA-AIC-FOB technique for intubation. One hundred nineteen (93%) of the 128 patients were successfully intubated by the LMA-AIC-FOB technique, and 9 required an alternate technique. No patient who underwent the LMA-AIC-FOB technique experienced an airway-related mortality or required an emergency surgical airway procedure. Conclusion The LMA-AIC-FOB technique is safe and effective for patients who are difficult to intubate after induction of anesthesia.
Comparison of two numerical methods for the time-wise integration oftransient structural response

T Note compares the relative efficiency of two numerical methods for the time-wise integration of the transient response of a thin, elastic shell of revolution subjected to arbitrary asymmetric loads. The two methods are 1) the numerically stable, implicit Houbolt backward differencing scheme, and 2) the explicit central differencing scheme. The efficiency of these two methods was compared in Ref. 1 using actual computer times. Their relative efficiency is determined here by counting the number of multiplications and divisions required to generate a solution at each time step. Although this procedure is not infallible, it does provide an estimate of the potential computational efficiency of a method.
Holocene climatic and human influences on lakes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: an interdisciplinary, palaeolimnological approach

We used palaeolimnological techniques to examine effects of Holocene climate change and human influence on lakes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The three study lakes are located along a west-east transect that represents a gradient of increasing modern precipitation and density of former Maya settlement. At Lake Coba, an 880-cm sediment core yields a complete record of lacustrine sedimentation that began when the lake first filled ∼8000 BP as groundwater level rose in response to rising sea level and increased precipi tation. Diatom, ostracod, and δ 18O evidence indicate that Lake Coba was initially shallow and saline. Coba, presently in the region of greatest rainfall, showed more episodic water-level changes than Lake San Jose Chulchaca or Lake Sayaucil. High lake level and fresh water were evident at 440 cm (∼2600 BP), followed by a decline in water levels and an increase in total ionic salinity to the present time. In a 613-cm core from Sayaucil, in the intermediate precipitation zone, total salini...
The Immunology of Ablative Radiation

Radiation has been a staple of cancer therapy since the early 20th century and is implemented in nearly half of current cancer treatment plans. Originally, the genotoxic function of radiation led to a focus on damage and repair pathways associated with deoxyribonucleic acid as important therapeutic targets to augment radiation efficacy. However, in recent decades, the participation of endogenous immune responses in modifying radiation effects have been widely documented and exploited in both preclinical and clinical settings. In particular, preclinical studies have highlighted the capacity of hypofractionated–radiation dose schedules to modify endogenous immune responses raising interest in the use of hypofractionation in the clinical setting to harness the indirect immune effects of radiation and improve clinical responses. We review the current literature regarding the immunomodulatory effects of hypofractionated "ablative" radiation with a primary focus on the preclinical literature but also highlight examples from the clinical literature.
Capstone design project coursework using the industrial short course format

The Creative Project Design sequence is a 2 semester long capstone design project in the University of Arkansas mechanical engineering department. It is split into the CPD I class (primarily lecture), followed by CPD II (all project work; no lecture) the subsequent semester. This course covers project management and the iterative design process, including problem definition, creative thinking and optimization. The lecture portion of the course is split into 3 distinct topical areas: reinforcement of basic technical skills and their integration; engineering professionalism; and materials selection in design. This last topic addresses a need that many working engineers acknowledge; a broader expertise in practical materials science. This course strongly borrows from the industrial "short course" paradigm using concise, encapsulated lectures using participative learning.
Genetic variability of flight metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster. II. Relationship between power output and enzyme activity levels.

ABSTRACT The major goal of the studies reported here was to determine the extent to which genetic variation in the activities of the enzymes participating in flight metabolism contributes to variation in the mechanical power output of the flight muscles in Drosophila melanogaster . Isogenic chromosome substitution lines were used to partition the variance of both types of quantitative trait into genetic and environmental components. The mechanical power output was estimated from the wingbeat frequency, wing amplitude and wing morphology of tethered flies by applying the aerodynamic models of Weis-Fogh and Ellington. There were three major results. (1) Chromosomes sampled from natural populations provide a large and repeatable genetic component to the variation in the activities of most of the 15 flight metabolism enzymes investigated and to the variation in the mechanical power output of the flight muscles. (2) The mechanical power output is a sensitive indicator of the rate of flight metabolism ( i.e. , rate of oxygen consumption during tethered flight). (3) In spite of (1) and (2), no convincing cases of individual enzyme effects on power output were detected, although the number and sign of the significant enzyme-power correlations suggests that such effects are not totally lacking.
Impact of Wireless Electronic Medical Record System on the Quality of Patient Documentation by Emergency Field Responders during a Disaster Mass-Casualty Exercise

Introduction: The use of wireless, electronic, medical records and communications in the prehospital and disaster field is increasing.Objective: This study examines the role of wireless, electronic, medical records and communications technologies on the quality of patient documentation by emergency field responders during a mass-casualty exercise.Methods: A controlled, side-to-side comparison of the quality of the field responder patient documentation between responders utilizing National Institutes of Health-funded, wireless, electronic, field, medical record system prototype ("Wireless Internet Information System for medicAl Response to Disasters" or WIISARD) versus those utilizing conventional, paper-based methods during a mass-casualty field exercise. Medical data, including basic victim identification information, acuity status, triage information using Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START), decontamination status, and disposition, were collected for simulated patients from all paper and electronic logs used during the exercise. The data were compared for quality of documentation and record completeness comparing WIISARD-enabled field responders and those using conventional paper methods. Statistical analysis was performed with Fisher's Exact Testing of Proportions with differences and 95% confidence intervals reported.Results: One hundred simulated disaster victim volunteers participated in the exercise, 50 assigned to WIISARD and 50 to the conventional pathway. Of those victims who completed the exercise and were transported to area hospitals, medical documentation of victim START components and triage acuity were significantly better for WIISARD compared to controls (overall acuity was documented for 100% vs 89.5%, respectively, difference = 10.5% [95%CI = 0.5-24.1%]). Similarly, tracking of decontamination status also was higher for the WIISARD group (decontamination status documented for 59.0% vs 0%, respectively, difference = 9.0% [95%CI = 40.9-72.0%]). Documentation of disposition and destination of victims was not different statistically (92.3% vs. 89.5%, respectively, difference = 2.8% [95%CI = -11.3-17.3%]).Conclusions: In a simulated, mass-casualty field exercise, documentation and tracking of victim status including acuity was significantly improved when using a wireless, field electronic medical record system compared to the use of conventional paper methods. Language: en
Historical Perspective on the Use of Garlic

The objective of this review is to examine briefly the medical uses of garlic throughout the ages and the role that it was considered to play in prevention and treatment of disease. Interest in the potential benefits of garlic has origins in antiquity and is one of the earliest documented examples of plants employed for treatment of disease and maintenance of health. Garlic was in use at the beginning of recorded history and was found in Egyptian pyramids and ancient Greek temples. There are Biblical references to garlic. Ancient medical texts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India each prescribed medical applications for garlic. In many cultures, garlic was administered to provide strength and increase work capacity for laborers. Hippocrates, the revered physician, prescribed garlic for a variety of conditions. Garlic was given to the original Olympic athletes in Greece, as perhaps one of the earliest "performance enhancing" agents. It is of interest that cultures that developed without contact with one another came to similar conclusions about the efficacy of garlic. Modern science is tending to confirm many of the beliefs of ancient cultures regarding garlic, defining mechanisms of action and exploring garlic's potential for disease prevention and treatment.
A Magma Mass beneath Casa Diablo? Further Evidence from Reflected Seismic Waves

A forty-station seismographic network operating in Long Valley caldera in California during the summer of 1997 recorded a number of earthquakes with unusual secondary phases. The phases can be seen on several stations throughout the network, allowing the use of particle motions and differential travel times to examine their nature and points of origin. Based on amplitude, frequency, and travel-time considerations, it appears that some of the phases are mode-converted S-to-P reflec- tions from a zone below the Casa Diablo area near Mammoth Lakes, CA. The locus of reflection points was imaged using time-domain signal migration and stacking under the assumptions of first-order scattering theory. The results indicate that the reflecting zone is a curved, 1.5 km by 2 km surface 7.6 km below and 1.4 km west of the Casa Diablo geothermal plant. Previous studies show low P-wave velocities and high S-wave attenuations in the same location as the reflecting zone. An amplitude analysis of the suspected reflec- tions suggests they are produced by large contrasts in material properties, with the possible range of transitions including solid to partially molten or dry to fluid-satu- rated rock. Given these observations plus the volcanic history of the caldera and its recent tectonic activity, the most straightforward interpretation of the reflections is that they come from either the top of a sill or intrusion, or the overlying hydrothermal system of such structures.
Atrial fibrillation and anticoagulation management: a wake-up call to practitioners, patients, and policymakers

Atrial fibrillation (AF) afflicts millions of patients worldwide1–3. While heart rate and rhythm control have been the cornerstone of medical management, improvements in mechanical interventions su...
Stoichiometry and Structure of Polar Group-III Nitride Semiconductor Surfaces

We use a local-orbital formalism based on density-functional theory to investigate the stoichiometry and structure of the cation- and anion-terminated (0001) surfaces of wurtzite-phase GaN and A1N. We compare the total energies computed for various p(2x2) reconstructions. First-layer atom deficient structures such as vacancies are found to be the most stable configurations for the anion- and cation-terminated surfaces. For metal rich growth conditions our calculations favor the adsorption of metal atoms. Surface chemical reactions relevant for the growth of thin nitride films, such as the adsorption of hydrogen and nitrogen from decomposed ammonia, are discussed. We determine the total energy differences for the co-adsorption of NH2 and H on different surface structures.
Docking among independent and autonomous CONRO self-reconfigurable robots

Docking between independent groups of self-reconfigurable robotic modules enables the merger of two or more independent self-reconfigurable robots. This ability allows independent reconfigurable robots in the same environment to join together to complete a task that would otherwise not be possible with the individual robots prior to merging. The challenges for this task include: (1) coordinate and align two independent self-reconfigurable robots using the docking guidance system available only at the connectors of the docking modules; (2) overcome the inevitable errors in the alignment by a novel and coordinated movements from both docking ends; (3) ensure the secure connection at the end of docking; (4) switch configuration and let modules to discover the changes and new connections so that the two docked robots will move as a single coherent robot. We have developed methods for overcome these challenging problems and accomplished for the first time an actual docking between two independent CONRO robots each with multiple modules.
Leaf and Canopy Adaptations in Tropical Forests

Ecological patterns in several aspects of leaf form and canopy structure in tropical forest plants are reviewed and analyzed in terms of their potential significance for competitive ability. Cost/ benefit models for traits that directly influence gas exchange — such as the size, inclination, and reflectivity of leaves and the profile and aerodynamic roughness of canopies — suggest a basis for the paradoxical duality of morphological adaptations to drought and nutrient poverty. Models based on the balance between photosynthesis and mechanical efficiency predict various patterns in leaf shape, and analyze the functional significance of orthotropy and plagiotropy, asymmetric leaf bases, anisophylly, alternate vs. opposite leaves, and simple vs. compound leaves. Brief comments are made on the potential importance of biotic interactions for trends in plant form.
MUMPS: A support for medical information systems

This conceptual model of a medical information system is such that each module cam be implemented and evaluated as a working part of the system. Each module must be usable and meet administrative and medical needs simultaneously. It must be flexible and easily changed. Its technology must support current practices in health care and should be able to be evaluated readily. The MUMPS programming system was devised to deal with interactive use, test manipulation and a shared data-base. The COSTAR information system uses MUMPS and meets clinical care and administrative purposes at reasonable cost for an acceptable data-base. The system is transferable.Une modele de systeme d'information medicale est propose: dans ce modele, chaque module peut ětre implemente et considere comme une zone de travail sous-optimale du systeme.Chaque module doit ětre accessible et doit pouvoir repondre aussi bien aux besoins administratifs qu'aux besoins medicaux. Tout module doit pouvoir ětre facilement charge. Sa structure doit l...
The Impact of Status on Third Person Effects in Advertising Persuasion in South Africa

In an experiment conducted in South Africa, we show that perceptual differences between the self and other that underlie third person effects have not only magnitude (e.g., third person effects increase as perceived self-other differences increase), but also valence. Specifically, individuals contrast themselves against lower status others, resulting in greater third person effects, but compare themselves favorably with higher status others, resulting in smaller third person effects. High status others serve as a norm against which people gauge their own and others' responsiveness to persuasion attempts like advertising. Implications for third person effects, status and the construal of the "other," and the socio-cultural context of advertising are discussed. Additionally, we describe managerial considerations regarding branding and target marketing that diverge from Western assumptions about persuasion knowledge and receptivity toward advertising.
Breast cancer resistance protein substrate and inhibition evaluation: why, when, and how?

We wish to thank [Poirier et al. (2014)][1] for their recently published manuscript, “The need for human breast cancer resistance protein substrate and inhibition evaluation in drug discovery and development: why, when, and how?” which attempted to contemporize many of the key concepts of breast
Theorizing Cultural Difference: A Critique of the “Ethnicity School”

Moments of intense political, social and cultural ferment sometimes give rise to liberating new paradigms for discussing and assessing literary practice. During and after those moments, the terrain of what constitutes "literature," and the related matter of what constitutes appropriate critical tools, become nothing less than battlegrounds that bear complex relations to conflicts elsewhere in the society. Moreover, contestations of critical practice also involve the promotion and reflection of creative practice in fiction, poetry, drama, and in new and hybrid forms. While these creative practices most often ratify the associated critical tenets, they may outdistance those tenets as well. One such fertile moment, the Great Depression of the 1930s, helped to overthrow previously dominant critical tendencies such as the New Humanism; it also helped to drive forward at least two paradigms that in turn have shaped our perception of cultural practice in the U.S. ever since. The first of these, the Marxist socio-cultural approach, extended in theoretical and creative writing the terrain of literature to that of the workplace; immigrant life (especially Jewish, Irish and Italian); plebian and poor rural existence; issues of gender and of gender and race;1 and, in some exceptional moments as in the work of Robert Hayden, Langston Hughes and Richard Wright to folk and Afro-American culture. The other approach was that of the formalist school, later known as the New Critics, which responded to the social crisis by redoubling efforts to promote a cultural theory favoring elite Modernist poetry's structural dynamism and technical features.2 I point to this example from the 1930s to call attention to the burden of this essay, which is to make a sharp distinction between two alternative tendencies in critical methodology that came into being thirty years later at another "moment" of historico-cultural crisis. For it was under the impact of the socio-cultural crisis of the 1960s and 1970s that the "Ethnicity School," on the one hand, and what I call the "proponents of
Radiological manifestation of pregnant women with influenza A(H1N1)

OBJECTIVE To investigate the radiological manifestation of pregnant women with influenza A(H1N1).METHODS The data of 14 women who had been pregnant for 28 to 40 weeks with influenza A(H1N1) aged from 21 to 33 were retrospectively analyzed.All of the cases underwent chest X-ray,CT examination and laboratory examination.RESULTS All of the cases had abnormal chest radiological manifestations after they developed clinical symptoms.There were 8 mild cases,of which there were 6 cases with ground glass and lamellar high density images in a single lung lobe,2 cases with lamellar high density images in both lower lung lobes,and 3 cases with small amounts of pleural effusion.The 6 severe cases had multiple massive high density images in both lungs accompanied by pleural and pericardial effusion.CONCLUSION The radiological manifestations in pregnant women with influenza A(H1N1) are non-specific acute infectious lesions with certain characteristics.Radiological examination is helpful for the early and differential diagnosis of influenza A(H1N1).
Effect of Yifei Huoxue Decoction on Secretion of NO and ET-1 of Rabbits Under Simulated Submarine Gas Environment

Objective To observe the effect of Yifei Huoxue decoction on secretion of NO and ET-1 in serum and lungtissue of rabbits in a simulated submarine environment with harmful gases.Methods Main poisonous gases in submarines were mixed by HOPE-8050 series dynamic inhalation toxicology system.Seventy-five rabbits were randomly and evenly divided into control group group,model group,Yifei Huoxue decoction low-dose(0.2 g·kg- 1·d- 1)group,Yifei Huoxue decoction high-dose(0.7 g·kg- 1·d- 1) group,and dexamethasone(0.2 ml·kg- 1·d- 1) group.After 14 days in the exposure system,4 hours a day,the level of NO and ET-1 in rabbits' serum and lung tissue was observed.Results In model group,the NO content significantly reduced while the level of ET-1 increased(P 0.05).In Yifei Huoxue decoction high-dose group and dexamethasone group,the content of NO in serum and lung tissue of rabbits was significantly higher than in control group.Conclusion The long-term effect of harmful gases in a submarine will reduce the NO content in lung tissue of rabbits,while increasing the level of ET-1.Yifei Huoxue decoction can improve the two indicators and effectively protect the rabbit lung tissue and blood vessels.
Boundary Element Simulation of Flow Through an Earthen Embankment Subjected to Cyclic Variation of Reservoir Level

The modeling of flow through an earthen embankment is made more complicated by the presence of a seepage surface and the fact that the location of the free surface is not known a priori. There have been many studies involving application of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to such problems, in both two- and three-dimensions [1,2,3]. Almost all of the applications, though, have been for the cases where the upstream or the downstream water level is either rising or falling monotonically. In this paper, we have developed a BEM code for the simulation of transient two-dimensional (vertical plane) flow through an earthen embankment which is subjected to a cyclic variation of reservoir level on the upstream side. As a result of the periodic rise and fall of the upstream water level, the boundary conditions on the upstream face change from a specified head (Dirichlet boundary condition) during the rising stage to a seepage surface on part of the upstream face during the falling stage. One way of solving this problem is to use one BEM program for the rising stage and another for the falling stage, alternately. This is a cumbersome procedure and this paper presents a new method for changing the boundary conditions within the program. The code accounts for the change in boundary conditions by lumping multiple nodes at the reservoir level during the rising stage and separating them to form the seepage face during the falling stage.
Observability of the electropotential on a nested cylindrical domain. I. the continuous solution

Abstract The problem of observability of a dynamical system that is governed by a partial differential equation is considered. The problem is formulated under the assumption of an idealized geometry: coaxial cylinders representing the human torso and cardiac surface. An analytical solution in the form of generalized Fourier series is obtained under this assumption. This problem arises in the determination of the electropotential of the epicardial surface from discrete measurements on the torso.
A comparison of global companies' performance on Twitter and Weibo

To assess the strategic approach of multinational companies to microblogging sites, this study compared: a) global companies' performance on localising the content of their posts for target customers with different cultural backgrounds and determined; b) whether the companies vary in their utilisation of interactivity on microblogging sites. Content analysis was used to address the above research propositions. Two existing validated measures were used to analyse 548 tweets and 589 weibos posted by American Dell, Nike, Chinese Lenovo, and Li-Ning over a one-month period on Twitter in the USA and on Sina Weibo in China. The results indicated that these companies performed better in terms of interactivity on Weibo than on Twitter and that US (Chinese) companies performed better on Twitter (Weibo) than on Weibo (Twitter) individually and comparatively. With respect to cultural customisation, Chinese companies were able to match their US counterparts in providing Western content on Twitter.
Development of a curriculum and training program in Woman Veterans Health for Internal Medical Residents.

INTRODUCTION Internal Medicine residents must develop competency as Primary Care Providers, but a gap exists in their curriculum and training with regard to women's reproductive health. With increasing need in VA due to new influx of women veterans it poses problems in recruitment of competent physicians trained in Women's health. METHODS An intensive, one-month women's reproductive health curriculum with hands on experience for Internal Medicine residents was provided. Curriculum was taught to the residents who rotated at the Women's Health Clinic for one month. Pre-test and post-test exams were administered. Increase in knowledge of residents in providing gender specific evaluations and management was objectively assessed by changes in post-test scores. Data were analyzed for statistically significant improvement in written tests scores. RESULTS Total of 47 Internal Medicine residents rotated through Women's Health Center during the evaluation period. All residents completed both pre-test and post-test exams. The average time to complete the pre-test was 20.5 ± 5.4 min and 19.5 ± 4.8 min for post-test. There was no correlation between the time to complete the pre-test exam and the post-test exam. The total score was significantly improved from 8.5 ± 1.6 to 13.2 ± 1.8 (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION This study shows how to equip physicians in training with information on women's health that enables them to provide safe and gender appropriate care in primary care settings. This practice will reduce the need for frequent referrals for specialized care and thus provide cost saving for patient and health care on the whole.
Is more research always needed? Estimating optimal sample sizes for trials of retention in care interventions for HIV-positive East Africans.

Introduction Given the serious health consequences of discontinuing antiretroviral therapy, randomised control trials of interventions to improve retention in care may be warranted. As funding for global HIV research is finite, it may be argued that choices about sample size should be tied to maximising health. Methods For an East African setting, we calculated expected value of sample information and expected net benefit of sampling to identify the optimal sample size (greatest return on investment) and to quantify net health gains associated with research. Two hypothetical interventions were analysed: (1) one aimed at reducing disengagement from HIV care and (2) another aimed at finding/relinking disengaged patients. Results When the willingness to pay (WTP) threshold was within a plausible range (1–3 × GDP; US$1377–4130/QALY), the optimal sample size was zero for both interventions, meaning that no further research was recommended because the pre-research probability of an intervention9s effectiveness and value was sufficient to support a decision on whether to adopt the intervention and any new information gained from additional research would likely not change that decision. In threshold analyses, at a higher WTP of $5200 the optimal sample size for testing a risk reduction intervention was 2750 per arm. For the outreach intervention, the optimal sample size remained zero across a wide range of WTP thresholds and was insensitive to variation. Limitations, including not varying all inputs in the model, may have led to an underestimation of the value of investing in new research. Conclusion In summary, more research is not always needed, particularly when there is moderately robust prestudy belief about intervention effectiveness and little uncertainty about the value (cost-effectiveness) of the intervention. Users can test their own assumptions at http://torchresearch.org.
RhoB blockade selectively inhibits autoantibody production in autoimmune models of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

During the development of autoimmune disease, a switch occurs in the antibody repertoire of B cells so that the production of pathogenic rather than non-pathogenic autoantibodies is enabled. However, there is limited knowledge concerning how this pivotal step occurs. Here, we present genetic and pharmacological evidence of a positive modifier function for the vesicular small GTPase RhoB in specifically mediating the generation of pathogenic autoantibodies and disease progression in the K/BxN preclinical mouse model of inflammatory arthritis. Genetic deletion of RhoB abolished the production of pathogenic autoantibodies and ablated joint inflammation in the model. Similarly, administration of a novel RhoB-targeted monoclonal antibody was sufficient to ablate autoantibody production and joint inflammation. In the MRL/lpr mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), another established preclinical model of autoimmune disease associated with autoantibody production, administration of the anti-RhoB antibody also reduced serum levels of anti-dsDNA antibodies. Notably, the therapeutic effects of RhoB blockade reflected a selective deficiency in response to self-antigens, insofar as RhoB-deficient mice and mice treated with anti-RhoB immunoglobulin (Ig) both mounted comparable productive antibody responses after immunization with a model foreign antigen. Overall, our results highlight a newly identified function for RhoB in supporting the specific production of pathogenic autoantibodies, and offer a preclinical proof of concept for use of anti-RhoB Ig as a disease-selective therapy to treat autoimmune disorders driven by pathogenic autoantibodies.
Supporting Uncertainty and Inconsistency in Semantic Web Applications.

Ensuring the consistency and completeness of Semantic Web ontologies is practically impossible, because of their scale and highly dynamic nature. Many web applications, therefore, must deal with vague, incomplete and even inconsistent knowledge. Rules were shown to be very effective in processing such knowledge, and future web services are expected to depend heavily on them. RuleML, which is the earliest effort to define a normalized markup for representing and exchanging rules on the web, is currently limited to Horn rules. Significant research efforts are underway to extend RuleML with more flexible representation and reasoning capabilities. This paper presents an extension of the current rule format intended to accommodate uncertain and/or inconsistent knowledge, and shows how one truth maintenance logic can be adapted and extended to support such rules.
Depression and suicide assessment

Depressed patients and suicidal patients are common Emergency Department patrons with the potential for serious morbidity or death. Dysphoric mood, vegetative symptoms, and negative perceptions of oneself, the environment, and the future are characteristic of depression. Often, the patient is unaware of the depression and presents with a variety of somatic complaints, chronic fatigue, or pain syndromes. In these instances, the physician must consider the diagnosis of depression and ask the patient about any history of depressive symptoms. In all depressed patients, a careful history and physical examination are needed to identify any drugs or concurrent medical illnesses which might cause or exacerbate the depression. If depression is suspected or if the patient presents after a suicide attempt, then a thorough evaluation of suicide potential is mandatory. Several risk factors for completed suicide exist. Male sex, age under 19 or over 45, few social supports, and a history of previous suicide attempts are all factors associated with increased suicide rates. Concurrent chronic or severe medical illnesses and certain psychiatric illnesses, notably depression, schizophrenia, and substance abuse, also increase an individual's risk for suicide. The method of suicide attempt and the chance for rescue must also be considered when determining risk as well as the presence of an organized plan. Acute psychosis in the suicidal patient is an ominous finding and these patients should be admitted to the hospital. The physician must adopt an empathetic and nonjudgmental attitude when caring for potentially suicidal patients. Disposition can be determined after careful evaluation of risk factors, circumstances surrounding the attempt, and the patient's current feelings. Consultation with a psychiatrist or another mental health professional is desirable for any potentially suicidal patient. Many such patients can be safely treated as outpatients with proper referral; certain high-risk individuals will need to be admitted to the hospital. The decision to either hospitalize or discharge can be difficult and the emergency physician should admit the patient if doubt exists.
Fostering tourism and entrepreneurship in fringe communities: Unpacking stakeholder perceptions towards entrepreneurial climate:

The success of entrepreneurial ventures in tourism is tied to the community ecosystem that supports it. As such, communities are continuing to assess their entrepreneurial climate to identify areas...
Participatory Defense: Humanizing the Accused and Ceding Control to the Client

This contribution to a Symposium on Disruptive Innovation in Criminal Defense focuses on participatory defense, a growing movement that humanizes the accused and empowers their families to assist or even challenge defense attorneys. By shifting notions of expertise and questioning deeply embedded power structures between attorneys and clients, participatory defense is more than disruptive—it is truly radical. The movement has met with great success in individual cases and is contributing to systemic reform, yet has not been welcomed with open arms by all public defenders. I suggest that this resistance has, at least in part, to do with the movement’s central tenet of taking power and case direction away from lawyers. Although they seek to defend the accused and reform the system more broadly, defenders are still part of the power structures that exclude non-professionals from the court systems and silence the people most affected—something I say as a former defender myself. The disproportionate poverty and political powerlessness of most accused people compound this by making public defenders even less accountable to their clients than other attorneys. I argue that defenders should incorporate participatory defense tenets into their practice—indeed they must—because the model is consonant with the ethical rules governing lawyers. These duties, particularly the mandate to respect a client’s decisions about key aspects of his defense, were recently reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in McCoy v. Louisiana. More broadly, participatory defense has the potential not only to transform the criminal law system, but also to change the defender practice model, returning us to the zealous advocacy and client autonomy at the heart of lawyering.
The Disorder-Order Transformation in Ni4Mo

The progressive ordering of a single crystal of Ni4Mo by isothermal ageing at 650 C (transformation temperature = 868oC) has been studied by x-ray line broadening techniques using the Warren-Averbach method employing computer techniques. The long-range-order parameter, antiphase domain size, and internal strains were measured as a function of ordering time and compared with those previously obtained at 700 C. The activation energies for domain growth and ordering were found to be 91 kcal/mole and 44.5 kcal/mole respectively. The rms strain developed during ordering was found to be dependent on the degree of tetragonality of the structure.
Assessment of Employees for Workplace Violence

Clinicians may be asked by an employer to evaluate employees for their violence potential in the workplace. In their capacity as consultants, clinicians should be aware of research in the area of mass murder, workplace homicide and violence in general. The consultant should perform a comprehensive evaluation, gathering collateral information in addition to examining the employee at risk. Threats often need to be evaluated. Although the consultant is unable to accurately predict violence, he may assess risk and develop a risk reduction plan to minimize the risk of violence by employees.
Global-Position Tracking Control of a Fully Actuated NAO Bipedal Walking Robot

The ability to reliably track various planned paths with specific timing, which is termed as the global-position tracking capability in this paper, is essential to highly versatile bipedal robotic walking. To provably guarantee global-position tracking performance for fully actuated bipedal robots, this study proposes a time-dependent state-feedback control strategy based on a) a full-order model of the hybrid, nonlinear, floating-based bipedal walking dynamics, b) time-dependent input-output linearization, and c) Lyapunov-based stability analysis. This study also provides general guidelines for adapting the proposed control strategy to walking experiments in the presence of a common hardware limitation of bipedal robots, which will help to bridge the gap between theory and experiment in bipedal walking control. Simulations and experiments on a NAO bipedal robot were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed walking control strategy.
Metacontingency and Macrocontingency Analysis Related to Honor Crimes in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Honor crimes are extremely violent cultural practices against women in general, and women in the Arab region in particular, culminating in murder by a male family member. The notion that religion, mainly Islam, enforces honor crimes is a misconception. Honor crimes are committed when a woman shames her family by having a premarital sexual relationship, an adulterous affair, other “inappropriate” behavior, or simply by being accused of such. Many families deal with this covertly by choosing a male family member, usually the brother, father, or uncle, to “cleanse” the family’s honor. In this paper we offer a descriptive analysis of cultural contingencies that maintain honor crimes as a cultural practice using the country of Jordan as a case study. The description of Jordan’s cultural milieu allows the identification of selected metacontingencies participating in the recurrence of this cultural practice. We will conclude with several recommendations on how to alter the number of aspects in the cultural milieu that may change how individuals within the Jordanian culture perceive honor crimes.
Elucidating the molecular signaling pathways of WAVE3

Cancer metastasis is a complex, multistep process that requires tumor cells to evade from the original site and form new tumors at a distant site or a different organ, often via bloodstream or the lymphatic system. Metastasis is responsible for more than 90% of cancer-related deaths. WAVE3 belongs to the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) family, which regulate actin cytoskeleton remodeling as well as several aspects of cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. In fact, WAVE3 has been established as a driver of tumor progression and metastasis in cancers from several origins, including triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs), which are classified as the most lethal subtype of breast cancer, due to their resistance to standard of care therapy and highly metastatic behavior. In this review, we will attempt to summarize the recent advances that have been made to understand how WAVE3 contributes to the molecular mechanisms that control cancer progression and metastasis. We will also review the signaling pathways that are involved in the regulation of WAVE3 expression and function to identify potential therapeutic options targeted against WAVE3 for the treatment of patients with metastatic tumors.
Somatic Mutations in Collagens are Associated with a Distinct Tumor Environment and Overall Survival in Gastric Cancer

Abstract Background Gastric cancer is a heterogeneous disease with poorly understood genetic and microenvironmental factors. Mutations in collagen genes are associated with genetic diseases that compromise tissue integrity, but their role in tumor progression has not been extensively reported. In contrast, aberrant collagen expression has been long associated with malignant tumor growth, invasion, chemoresistance, and patient outcomes. We hypothesized that somatic mutations in collagens could functionally alter the tumor microenvironment, including the extracellular matrix. Methods We used publicly available datasets including the Tumor Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to interrogate somatic mutations in collagens in stomach adenocarcinomas. To demonstrate that collagens were significantly mutated above background mutation rates, we used a moderated Kolmogorov-Smirnov test along with combination analysis with a bootstrap approach to define the background. Association between mutations and clinicopathological features was evaluated by Fisher or chi-squared tests. Association with overall survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier and the Cox-Proportional Hazards Model. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis was used to interrogate pathways. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization tested expression of COL7A1 in stomach tumors. Results In stomach adenocarcinomas, we identified individual collagen genes and sets of collagen genes harboring somatic mutations at a high frequency compared to background in both microsatellite stable, and microsatellite instable tumors in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Many of the missense mutations resemble the same types of loss of function mutations in collagenopathies that disrupt tissue formation and destabilize cells providing guidance to interpret the somatic mutations. We identified combinations of somatic mutations in collagens associated with overall survival, with a distinctive tumor microenvironment marked by lower matrisome expression and immune cell signatures. Truncation mutations were strongly associated with improved outcomes suggesting that loss of expression of tumor cell secreted collagens have large impacts on tumor progression and treatment response. Conclusions These observations highlight that many minor collagens, expressed in non-physiologically relevant conditions in tumors, secreted from tumor cells, harbor impactful somatic mutations in tumors, suggesting new approaches for classification and therapy development in stomach cancer. In sum, these findings demonstrate how classification of tumors by collagen mutations identified strong links between specific genotypes and the tumor environment. Research Highlights Collagen mutations are prevalent in stomach cancer Collagen somatic missense mutations resemble collagenopathy mutations Collagen mutations associate with overall survival in stomach cancer Tumors with collagen mutations have distinct molecular pathways and tumor microenvironments
The life history fitness of F1 hybrids of the microcrustaceans Daphnia pulex and Daphnia pulicaria (Crustacea, Anomopoda)

Negative interaction between alleles that arise independently in diverging populations (i.e., Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities) can cause reduction of fitness in their hybrids. However, heterosis in hybrids can emerge if hybridization breaks down detrimental epistatic interaction within parental lineages. In this study, we examined the life-history fitness of the inter-specific F1s of two recently diverged microcrustacean species Daphnia pulex and D. pulicaria as well as intra-specific crosses of D. pulex. We identified heterosis in two out of five life-history traits in the inter-specific F1s. According to theories that heterosis can transiently emerge in early speciation, the observation of heterosis in these life-history traits suggests that there are no major genetic incompatibilities between these two species affecting these traits and that D. pulex and D. pulicaria are at an early stage of speciation.
Targeted Value-Enhancing Advertising and Price Competition

Digital markets provide firms with vast amounts of consumer data. Economists who have explored this phenomenon have focused on how firms use data to implement price discrimination. Targeted advertising in this context transmits different price information to different consumers. However, advertising is itself often valued by consumers, and can be viewed as a complement to the advertised product. Such advertising may also be customized and targeted. We investigate how targeted value-enhancing advertising affects competition. Competing for consumers with targeted advertising leads overall to higher prices and increases consumer surplus but reduces profitability. In certain markets the advertising is inefficiently over-supplied.