cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pax9 regulates a molecular network involving Bmp4, Fgf10, Shh signaling and the Osr2 transcription factor to control palate morphogenesis

Cleft palate is one of the most common birth defects in humans. Whereas gene knockout studies in mice have shown that both the Osr2 and Pax9 transcription factors are essential regulators of palatogenesis, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involving these transcription factors in palate development. We report here that Pax9 plays a crucial role in patterning the anterior-posterior axis and outgrowth of the developing palatal shelves. We found that tissue-specific deletion of Pax9 in the palatal mesenchyme affected Shh expression in palatal epithelial cells, indicating that Pax9 plays a crucial role in the mesenchyme-epithelium interactions during palate development. We found that expression of the Bmp4, Fgf10, Msx1 and Osr2 genes is significantly downregulated in the developing palatal mesenchyme in Pax9 mutant embryos. Remarkably, restoration of Osr2 expression in the early palatal mesenchyme through a Pax9Osr2KI allele rescued posterior palate morphogenesis in the absence of Pax9 protein function. Our data indicate that Pax9 regulates a molecular network involving the Bmp4, Fgf10, Shh and Osr2 pathways to control palatal shelf patterning and morphogenesis.
FOUR-FIN BIO-INSPIRED UUV: MODELING AND CONTROL SOLUTIONS

This paper describes the modeling and control development of a bio-inspired unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) propelled by four pectoral fins. Based on both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental fin data, we develop a UUV model that focuses on an accurate representation of the fin-generated forces. Models of these forces span a range of controllable fin parameters, as well as take into account leading-trailing fin interactions and free stream flow speeds. The vehicle model is validated by comparing open-loop simulated responses with experimentally measured responses to identical fin inputs. Closed-loop control algorithms, which command changes in fin kinematics, are tested on the vehicle. Comparison of experimental and simulation results for various maneuvers validates the fin and vehicle models, and demonstrates the precise maneuvering capabilities enabled by the actively controlled curvature pectoral fins.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Penicillin Blood-Level Determinations With a Streptococcus dysgalactiae Resistant to Normal Blood Inhibitors

A strain of Str. dysgalactiae was found to be an effective test organism for penicillin blood-level determinations. This organism, although inhibited by penicillin in concentrations of 0.006-0.008 unit/ml., is resistant to the natural inhibiting substances of blood sera. The latter characteristic is very significant, since the test organisms (Str. pyogenes C-203 and B. subtilis) that are now employed for penicillin assay of body fluids are inhibited by a large percentage of human sera. The method described can detect penicillin blood levels in concentration of 0.016 unit/ml. of blood sera. Since blood levels above 0.03 unit/ml. are considered to be therapeutically effective, this method of assay is adequately sensitive for routine clinical application.
Biomass burning in Asia: Annual and seasonal estimates and atmospheric emissions

Estimates of biomass burning in Asia are developed to facilitate the modeling of Asian and global air quality. A survey of national, regional, and international publications on biomass burning is conducted to yield consensus estimates of 'typical' (i.e., non-year-specific) estimates of open burning (excluding biofuels). We conclude that 730 Tg of biomass are burned in a typical year from both anthropogenic and natural causes. Forest burning comprises 45% of the total, the burning of crop residues in the field comprises 34%, and 20% comes from the burning of grassland and savanna. China contributes 25% of the total, India 18%, Indonesia 13%, and Myanmar 8%. Regionally, forest burning in Southeast Asia dominates. National, annual totals are converted to daily and monthly estimates at 1{sup o} x 1{sup o} spatial resolution using distributions based on AVHRR fire counts for 1999--2000. Several adjustment schemes are applied to correct for the deficiencies of AVHRR data, including the use of moving averages, normalization, TOMS Aerosol Index, and masks for dust, clouds, landcover, and other fire sources. Good agreement between the national estimates of biomass burning and adjusted fire counts is obtained (R{sup 2} = 0.71--0.78). Biomass burning amounts are converted to atmospheric emissions, yielding themore » following estimates: 0.37 Tg of SO{sub 2}, 2.8 Tg of NO{sub x}, 1100 Tg of CO{sub 2}, 67 Tg of CO, 3.1 Tg of CH{sub 4}, 12 Tg of NMVOC, 0.45 Tg of BC, 3.3 Tg of OC, and 0.92 Tg of NH{sub 3}. Uncertainties in the emission estimates, measured as 95% confidence intervals, range from a low of {+-}65% for CO{sub 2} emissions in Japan to a high of {+-}700% for BC emissions in India.« less
Report On The First International Workshop On Light Absorption By Aerosol Particles

A workshop comparing various techniques of measuring the light-absorption properties of aerosol particles is described. Preliminary results show that measurement error is a substantial fraction of the variability of those properties seen in the atmosphere. The relationship of absorption and light transmission is discussed, and a brief review of the techniques and measurements of light absorption is given.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Motion perception and the mind-body problem.

One of the fundamental tenets of the mind-brain materialism subscribed to by most contemporary neurobiologists is the existence of an identity relationship between neural and perceptual events. Although the current consensus regarding such an identity can be traced to the 17th century philosophy of Spinoza, this view withered in the shadows of Cartesian dualism. Materialism flowered anew in the latter half of the 19th century with the fevered endorsernent of physicist cum philosopher Gustav Fechner. His Elemente der Psycbqpbysik, published in 1860 [I] and devoted to an “exact science of the functional relationship...between body and mind”, asserted that the relationship between brain and perceptual events the ‘inner psychophysics’ is externally manifested and thus measurable as the relationship of sensation to stimulus. These materialist sentiments echoed in the words of Ernst Mach [2] “To every psychical there corresponds a physical, and conversely” and were shared by many of the major figures of 19th century perceptual psychology, including Helmholtz and Hering [ 31. The principles of this new view were laid out in some detail at the turn of the century by the psychologist Georg E Miiller [4] who maintained that “The ground of every state of consciousness is a material process” and that “To an equality, similarity or Werence in the constitution of sensations...there corresponds an equality, similarity or difference in the constitution of the psychophysical process, and conversely”. Convinced of the correctness of his beliefs and of their nearly universal acceptance, Mtiller presented these ideas as axiomatic, thereby transcending the burden of proof.
Low-Voltage BiCMOS Circuit Topologies for the Design of a 19GHz, 1.2V, 466mW, 4-bit Accumulator in Silicon-Germanium

Advanced silicon-germanium (SiGe) bipolar and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) manufacturing processes require novel circuit design methodology to achieve high performance. The SiGe process leverages existing 120 nm silicon process advancements, but lower device breakdown voltages require new circuits to achieve low voltage operation. The SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with an ft over 200 GHz allow for high speed bipolar junction technology (BJT) logic blocks combined with high density and low power CMOS logic. This paper presents the design of a digital accumulator operating at 19 GHz with a 1.2 volt supply consuming only 466 mW of power. This architecture applies a modified differential pair logic family called the triple-tail cell to construct logic circuit with no stacked gates between the supplies. A folded logic technique is used to collapse logic that would normally be constructed from stacked differential pairs into parallel single stacked logic that is later recombined.
Algorithms for generating motion trajectories described by prepositions

A list of representative directional prepositions of the English language is investigated to develop computation models that output some general motion trajectory or goal direction, given instructions involving prepositional phrases. Computation models are implemented through geometric definitions and procedures such as: centroid, quasi-centroid, convex-hull, closest, nearest-neighbour, and next-to. All algorithms are defined by or derived from standard computational geometry concepts.
Blind multi-channel system identification and deconvolution: performance bounds

We consider the problem of estimating the parameters of an unknown multi-input multi-output linear system, and the related problem of deconvolving and recovering its inputs, using only observations of the system outputs. We derive simple closed-form asymptotic expressions for the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the system parameters, as well as lower bounds on the signal reconstruction performance. These show that the identification/deconvolution performance depend on the accuracy with which the scale and the location parameters of the input probability density-functions can be identified from observation of the input signals. It is also shown that the CRLB possesses a block diagonal structure, indicating that the general multichannel deconvolution problem is decoupled into two independent simpler sub-problems. The signal separation problem where the unknown system is deconvolved to a diagonal one, and the remaining independent single-channel-deconvolution problems associated with the equalization of each of its diagonal elements.
Hydrogen metabolism by decomposing cyanobacterial aggregates in big soda lake, nevada.

Hydrogen production by incubated cyanobacterial epiphytes occurred only in the dark, was stimulated by C2H2, and was inhibited by O2. Addition of NO3− inhibited dark, anaerobic H2 production, whereas the addition of NH4+ inhibited N2 fixation (C2H2 reduction) but not dark H2 production. Aerobically incubated cyanobacterial aggregates consumed H2, but light-incubated rates (3.6 μmol of H2 g−1 h−1) were statistically equivalent to dark uptake rates (4.8 μmol of H2 g−1 h−1), which were statistically equivalent to dark, anaerobic production rates (2.5 to 10 μmol of H2 g−1 h−1). Production rates of H2 were fourfold higher for aggregates in a more advanced stage of decomposition. Enrichment cultures of H2-producing fermentative bacteria were recovered from freshly harvested, H2-producing cyanobacterial aggregates. Hydrogen production in these cyanobacterial communities appears to be caused by the resident bacterial flora and not by the cyanobacteria. In situ areal estimates of dark H2 production by submerged epiphytes (6.8 μmol of H2 m−2 h−1) were much lower than rates of light-driven N2 fixation by the epiphytic cyanobacteria (310 μmol of C2H4 m−2 h−1).
Efficient validation input generation in RTL by hybridized source code analysis

We present HYBRO, an automatic methodology to generate high coverage input vectors for Register Transfer Level (RTL) designs based on branch-coverage directed approach. HYBRO uses dynamic simulation data and static analysis of RTL control flow graphs (CFGs). A concrete simulation is applied over a fixed number of cycles. Instrumented code records the branches covered. The corresponding symbolic trace is extracted from the CFG with an RTL symbolic execution engine. A guard in the symbolic expression is mutated. If the mutated guard has dependent branches that have not already been covered, it is mutated and passed to an SMT solver. A satisfiable assignment generates a valid input vector. We implement the Verilog RTL symbolic execution engine and show that the notion of branch-coverage directed exploration can avoid path explosion caused by previous path-based approach to input vector generation and achieve full branch and more than 90% functional(assertion) coverage quickly on ITC99 benchmark and several Openrisc designs. We also describe two types of optimizations a) dynamic UD chain slicing b)local conflict resolution to speed up HYBRO by 1.6–12 times on different benchmarks.
DC power-bus noise isolation with power-plane segmentation

Power-plane segmentation is often used for DC power-bus noise isolation in multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) designs. To achieve a desirable noise isolation, different power-plane segmentations can be used. A suitable modeling approach, as well as measurements, were employed in this work to study the noise isolation with several power-plane segmentation designs. The geometries studied include power islands, and totally segmented power planes. The effects of the power-bus noise isolation with different types of power island connections, locations of segmentation, and shapes were analyzed, and compared. The modeled and measured results show that suitable power-plane segmentation can result in significant power-bus noise isolation.
Connexin 36 in bovine retina: Lack of phosphorylation but evidence for association with phosphorylated proteins

In vertebrate retina interneuronal communication through gap junctions is involved in light adaptation and in the transfer of visual information from the rod pathway to the cone pathway. Reports over the last two decades have indicated that these gap junctions are regulated by cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases suggesting that the gap junction proteins, connexins, are phosphorylated. Though all the connexins involved in light adaptation and information transfer from rod to cone pathway are not yet known, connexin 36 has been shown to be definitively involved in the latter process. We have therefore attempted to investigate the cyclic nucleotide-dependent phosphorylation of this connexin in bovine retina. We found several soluble and membrane proteins in bovine retina whose phosphorylation was regulated by cyclic nucleotides. However, no protein of about 36 kDa with cyclic nucleotide-regulated phosphorylation was found in gap junction-enriched membrane preparations. A 36-kDa phosphorylated protein was found in gap junction-enriched membranes phosphorylated in the presence of calcium. However, this protein was not immunoprecipitated by anti-connexin 36 antibodies indicating that it was not connexin 36 in spite of its similarity in molecular weight. Immunoprecipitation did reveal phosphorylated proteins coimmunoprecipitated with connexin 36. Two of these proteins were identified as beta and alpha tubulin subunits. Though cyclic GMP and calcium did not greatly influence the association of these proteins with connexin 36, the results suggest the possibility of connexin 36 associating with other proteins. Together, these observations indicate that interneuronal communication at gap junctions made by connexin 36 may not be regulated by direct phosphorylation of connexin 36, but possibly by phosphorylation of associated proteins.
Preparation of Small‐Grained and Large‐Grained Ceramics from Nb‐Doped BaTiO3

Barium titanate powders with average grain sizes of 0.07 and 0.65 μm were coated with an organic Nb ester, using a liquid-solid mixing process. Small-grained (1 to 3 μm) ceramic dielectrics from both powders and large-grained (>50 μm) dielectrics from the 0.65 μm powder were fired using 0 to 2 at.% Nb. Microstructures, densities, and electrical resistivities were investigated.
History of Wireless Communication

The history of communication is an exciting topic. This article reviews various areas that makeup the current history of wireless communication. These topics include: the wireless vision, generations of wireless, technical issues, current wireless systems, wireless LaNs, Wide Area Wireless Data Services, Broadband Wireless Access, Satellite Wireless Access, Satellite Networks, and Bluetooth and this material will stimulate you to do more research in these various areas of the wireless industry.
Focal Adhesion Kinases and Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases Regulate Protein Tyrosine Phosphorylation in Stallion Sperm

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation (PY) is a hallmark of sperm capacitation. In stallion sperm, calcium inhibits PY at pH 7.8). These results show for the first time a role for calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases in PRKA-dependent sperm PY; a non-PRKA-dependent pathway regulating sperm PY; and the apparent involvement of the FAK family of protein tyrosine kinases downstream in both pathways.
High-frequency quantum-well infrared photodetectors measured by microwave-rectification technique

We explore the high-frequency capability of quantum-well infrared photodetectors using a microwave-rectification technique. We characterize a variety of devices with barrier thicknesses from 234 to 466 /spl Aring/ and number of wells from 4 to 32. Our packaged detectors have a relatively flat frequency response up to about 30 GHz. These experiments indicate that the intrinsic photoconductive lifetime for these devices in the high-biasing field regime is in the range of 5-6 ps.
Adenosine A2A Receptor Ligation Inhibits Osteoclast Formation

Adenosine is generated in increased concentrations at sites of injury/hypoxia and mediates a variety of physiological and pharmacological effects via G protein–coupled receptors (A 1 , A 2A , A 2B , and A 3 ). Because all adenosine receptors are expressed on osteoclasts, we determined the role of A 2A receptor in the regulation of osteoclast differentiation. Differentiation and bone resorption were studied as the macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1–receptor activator of NF-κB ligand formation of multinucleated tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)–positive cells from primary murine bone marrow–derived precursors. A 2A receptor and osteoclast marker expression levels were studied by RT-PCR. Cytokine secretion was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In vivo examination of A 2A knockout (KO)/control bones was determined by TRAP staining, micro–computed tomography, and electron microscopy. The A 2A receptor agonist, CGS21680, inhibited osteoclast differentiation and function (half maximal inhibitory concentration, 50 nmol/L), increased the percentage of immature osteoclast precursors, and decreased IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α secretion, an effect that was reversed by the A 2A antagonist, ZM241385. Cathepsin K and osteopontin mRNA expression increased in control and ZM241385-pretreated osteoclasts, and this was blocked by CGS21680. Micro–computed tomography of A 2A KO mouse femurs showed a significantly decreased bone volume/trabecular bone volume ratio, decreased trabecular number, and increased trabecular space. A 2A KO femurs showed an increased TRAP-positive osteoclast. Electron microscopy in A 2A KO femurs showed marked osteoclast membrane folding and increased bone resorption. Thus, adenosine, acting via the A 2A receptor, inhibits macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1–receptor activator of NF-κB ligand–stimulated osteoclast differentiation and may regulate bone turnover under conditions in which adenosine levels are elevated.
The incidence and risk factors for blood transfusion in revision shoulder arthroplasty: our institution's experience and review of the literature

Hypothesis The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence of blood transfusion after revision shoulder arthroplasty and to assess risk factors associated with an increased risk of transfusion. Materials and methods Between 1994 and 2008, 566 consecutive revision shoulder procedures were performed at our institution, which formed the basis of this study. The patient's age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities, preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin level, details of the surgery, operative time, and transfusion details were documented retrospectively from medical records. Results Overall, 11.3% of patients (64 of 566) required a transfusion. An increased transfusion rate was associated with age (odds ratio [OR] per 10 years, 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2 to 2.0]; P = .002), operative time (≤5 hours vs >5 hours) (OR, 3.3 [95% CI, 1.9 to 5.8]; P P = .01), and cardiac disease (OR, 2.7 [95% CI, 1.5 to 5.0]; P P P Conclusions Older age, low preoperative hemoglobin level, increased operative time, diabetes, presence of cardiac disease, and type of revision surgery are associated with higher postoperative transfusion rates. These factors should be taken into consideration to more accurately predict the need for transfusion and modify preoperative blood-ordering protocols.
Identify, Isolate, Inform: A 3-pronged Approach to Management of Public Health Emergencies

During an evolving public health emergency, a simple algorithm for initial patient identification and management is essential for providers on the front lines. This article recommends a 3-pronged system of Identify, Isolate, Inform to describe the actions necessary in the first few minutes of encountering a potential Ebola patient. Application of the "vital sign zero" triage concept of early recognition of potential threats coupled with this novel algorithm will optimize protection of health care workers and the public health while concurrently providing a safe method for individual patient care.
Natural Killer Cell Killing of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Blasts by Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor–Negative Natural Killer Cells after NKG2A and LIR-1 Blockade

Although the study of natural killer (NK) cell alloreactivity has been dominated by studies of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), we hypothesized that NKG2A and LIR-1, present on 53% ± 13% and 36% ± 18% of normal NK cells, respectively, play roles in the NK cell killing of primary leukemia targets. KIR- cells, which compose nearly half of the circulating NK cell population, exhibit tolerance to primary leukemia targets, suggesting signaling through other inhibitory receptors. Both acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia targets were rendered susceptible to lysis by fresh resting KIR- NK cells when inhibitory receptor–major histocompatibility class I interactions were blocked by pan-HLA antibodies, demonstrating that these cells are functionally competent. Blockade of a single inhibitory receptor resulted in slightly increased killing, whereas combined LIR-1 and NKG2A blockade consistently resulted in increased NK cell cytotoxicity. Dual blockade of NKG2A and LIR-1 led to significant killing of targets by resting KIR- NK cells, demonstrating that this population is not hyporesponsive. Together these results suggest that alloreactivity of a significant fraction of KIR- NK cells is mediated by NKG2A and LIR-1. Thus strategies to interrupt NKG2A and LIR-1 in combination with anti-KIR blockade hold promise for exploiting NK cell therapy in acute leukemias.
No Big Deal: The GM and Chysler Cases in Context

Almost every leading corporate bankruptcy academic has spoken against the automotive bankruptcy cases. And the Chrysler and GM chapter 11 cases have been vilified in every major finance-focused media outlet - by everyone from Ralph Nader to Richard Epstein. In this short paper, originally written for the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel, I address the key academic arguments against the automotive chapter 11 cases and contextualize what happened in these two cases. Stripped of their speculation and 'what ifs,' I show that these arguments are no more persuasive than the loose, unsupported arguments thrown about in the popular press. But first, I show how these cases, and particularly their structure - a quick lender-controlled §363 sale - are entirely within the mainstream of chapter 11 practice for the last decade.
Abstract 168: Abnormal Pro-inflammatory Regulation of the Innate Immune System in Genetic Hypertension

Immune cells from patients with essential hypertension are hyper-responsive to activation of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 with lipopolysaccharide. Activation of the alpha7 nicotinic cholinergic receptor exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on innate immune cells. We hypothesized that this anti-inflammatory cholinergic response is lacking in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) and recently reported that nicotine suppresses TLR7 and TLR9 mediated IL-6 secretion by isolated splenocytes of WKY rats; whereas, it dramatically enhances IL-6 secretion in SHR. Here we aimed to confirm these effects in vivo and identify potential cellular mediators of the observed immune responses. Flow cytometry on splenocytes revealed a greater number of CD3-/CD8dim innate immune cells in SHR (4.0±0.56%), compared to WKY (2.97±0.6%)(n=3, p In vivo, we infused saline or nicotine (15mg/kg/day) over 24 hours using subcutaneous pumps. At 20 hrs, animals received an intraperitoneal injection of a TLR7 ligand (Clo97). Serum was collected at the end of the 24 hr infusion. Similar to previous in vitro results, nicotine suppressed the serum IL-6 response to i.p. Clo97 from 108±28 pg/ml in WKY (n=4) to 12±7 pg/ml (p
Market Area Analysis of Robinwood Retirement Community: How GIScience Integrates Marketing Geography and Spatial Analysis

Retirement communities serve as increasingly popular housing options for many Americans. As demographic shifts continue, these developments will most likely only increase in popularity. One company tapping into this burgeoning market is Resort Lifestyle Communities (RLC) based in Lincoln, Nebraska. One of RLC's developments is the Robinwood Retirement Community (Robinwood) in Memphis, Tennessee. This study analyzes Robinwood's market area in the Memphis metropolitan region using customer prospect data. GIScience is used in conjunction with marketing geography principles and spatial analysis to (1) delineate the geographic extent of the market area, (2) identify the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of customers, and (3) prioritize locations and customer prospects within the market based on these characteristics. The results provide RLC with a better understanding of Robinwood's market area and assist with marketing decisions related to customer prospect data.
X̃ 1A1, ã 3B1, Ã 1B1, and B̃ 1A1 Electronic States of

Four electronically low-lying states of have been investigated using several different ab initio methods and multiple basis sets. This systematic study of both method and basis set provides reliable benchmarking for estimation when high levels of theory are not attainable. Self-consistent field (SCF), two-configuration self-consistent field (TCSCF), complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF), configuration interaction with single and double excitations (CISD), and CASSCF second-order configuration interaction (SOCI) levels of theory were employed with eight different basis sets of triple-ζ quality. Being the second root of the TCSCF, CASSCF, TCSCF−CISD, and CASSCF−SOCI wave functions, the third excited state (B 1A1) is of particular theoretical interest, for theoretical treatments of states not the lowest of their symmetry are traditionally very difficult. It is confirmed in this study that the four low-lying states of all have bent structures and are of C2v symmetry. Also determined in this st...
Comparison of endogenous and exogenous creatinine clearances in man.

SummaryNine normal individuals and 6 patients with varying levels of renal insufficiency were given intravenous infusions of creatinine. The endogenous creatinine clearance:inulin clearance ratio in the normal subjects was 1.11. The ratio of the exogenous creatinine clearance to inulin clearance rose quickly to 1.73 as soon as the creatinine infusion was started, then gradually fell to 1.40 after ninety minutes of infusion. The patients with renal insufficiency had an initial ratio of 1.50 and a late rise to 1.71 after ninety minutes. It seems most likely that a small increment in the serum creatinine concentration can cause an increased effectiveness of the tubular mechanism for creatinine secretion. An alteration in the serum creatinine resulting in enhanced tubular transport, or reducing apparent serum creatinine concentration without affecting filtration, is less probable. The high pre-infusion ratio in patients with renal insufficiency, and the failure to respond to exogenous creatinine, suggests tha...
Joint decision making on preventive maintenance and reconfiguration in complex manufacturing systems

During the operation of a flexible or reconfigurable manufacturing system, maintenance and reconfiguration interact in a dynamic and complex way. The decision making on these two issues are always treated separately in both literature and practice. However, there is a benefit to combining them, because reconfiguration can be an alternative to maintenance actions and maintenance information can be used to make more accurate reconfiguration decisions. Hence, we developed integrated reconfiguration and maintenance strategies, which model maintenance in dynamic environments and explore reconfiguration considering component reliability and degradation process. Formal frameworks have been developed to obtain cost-minimizing control-limit type integrated polices. First, operation transfer are incorporated into age-based preventive repairs for a parallel-serial system. The expected total cost is estimated and minimized using a simulation-based optimization procedure. Second, production dispatching and maintenance scheduling are jointly determined for a multi-product, multi-stage complex manufacturing systems, e.g., semiconductor fabs. A two-phase hierarchical decision-making is developed, in which long-term job dispatching and maintenance actions are planned jointly on station level, while short-term detailed maintenance schedules are determined on system level. Last, dynamic load-allocation and condition-based maintenance are integrated for a multi-unit load-sharing deteriorating system. A Markov decision model on a joint state space is built to minimize the operating cost rate over an infinite horizon. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed integrated policies result in lower total operating cost than those preventive maintenance policies without reconfiguration. Further, integrated policies require less frequent preventive repairs and yield larger utilization of the component residual life.
Circadian Clock Genes as Modulators of Sensitivity to Genotoxic Stress

In mammals, the circadian system controls multiple physiological processes, including response to genotoxic stress. Recent data suggest that this control is modulated by the activity of the major circadian transcriptional complex. Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of the functional interplay between circadian and stress response systems will help to develop more efficient schedules of anticancer therapy.
Application-Specific Residential Microgrid Design Methodology

In power systems, the traditional, non-interactive, and manually controlled power grid has been transformed to a cyber-dominated smart grid. This cyber-physical integration has provided the smart grid with communication, monitoring, computation, and controlling capabilities to improve its reliability, energy efficiency, and flexibility. A microgrid is a localized and semi-autonomous group of smart energy systems that utilizes the above-mentioned capabilities to drive modern technologies such as electric vehicle charging, home energy management, and smart appliances. Design, upgrading, test, and verification of these microgrids can get too complicated to handle manually. The complexity is due to the wide range of solutions and components that are intended to address the microgrid problems. This article presents a novel Model-Based Design (MBD) methodology to model, co-simulate, design, and optimize microgrid and its multi-level controllers. This methodology helps in the design, optimization, and validation of a microgrid for a specific application. The application rules, requirements, and design-time constraints are met in the designed/optimized microgrid while the implementation cost is minimized. Based on our novel methodology, a design automation, co-simulation, and analysis tool, called GridMAT, is implemented. Our experiments have illustrated that implementing a hierarchical controller reduces the average power consumption by 8% and shifts the peak load for cost saving. Moreover, optimizing the microgrid design using our MBD methodology considering smart controllers has decreased the total implementation cost. Compared to the conventional methodology, the cost decreases by 14% and compared to the MBD methodology where smart controllers are not considered, it decreases by 5%.
Reforming teacher deployment in Indonesia

This paper reports on a mixed-method, multiple-site study of teacher deployment in Indonesian primary schools. Results from a sample of 23 districts were analysed at district and national level. Substantial disparities in teacher distribution were found in all districts, between schools, between sub-districts and between specialist subjects. Two main issues emerged: uneven teacher distribution and small schools. The study found that a policy research approach which addresses political and cultural, as well as technical, dimensions at sub-national level can succeed in improving teacher deployment where previous efforts have failed.
Psychosis in bipolar disorder: Does it represent a more "severe" illness?

Objectives Although there is a common clinical assumption that bipolar disorder with psychotic features reflects greater severity than bipolar disorder without psychosis, the existing empirical literature is mixed. This study investigated the phenomenology of psychosis as well as demographic, clinical, functional, and neuropsychological features in a large, cross-sectional sample of participants with bipolar disorder divided by history of psychosis.
Towards a Community-Centric Pattern Repository

In 2014, we began prototyping of an online, publicly available repository for pedagogical design patterns. We developed it mainly to facilitate locating pedagogical design patterns, but it has since evolved to address other challenges. This report presents ideas discussed during the focus group such as the goals of the repository, the technical and practical issues we faced in the development of the repository, and the current solutions we have applied to address these issues. Participants learned about the repository, discussed pattern repository issues, and brainstormed solutions to such issues. Some notable repository issues discussed include the organization and navigation of patterns in the repository, management of pattern format variations, and community support for the repository's continued development.
Platelet-activating factor and its receptor mediate melanoma progression by regulating expression of MMP-2, MT1-MMP and MCAM/MUC18

2461 Enzymatic and oxidative degradation of cellular and lipoprotein-associated phosphatidylcholine produces key initial components of an inflammatory response - platelet-activating factor (PAF) and PAF mimetics. These short-lived biologically active phospholipid autocoids act through the specific GPCR-type PAF receptor to activate platelets, inflammatory and endothelial cells. Nevertheless, the functions of PAF/PAFR in tumor cells are largely unknown. We have found that PAF receptor antagonist PCA4248 inhibits growth of experimental A375SM human melanoma lung metastasis in nude mice. In vitro analysis of a panel of melanoma cells demonstrated that all melanoma cell lines express PAF receptor and that stimulation of metastatic melanoma cells with exogenous PAF results in the expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MT1-MMP. This effect was mediated by PAF-induced phosphorylation and activation of transcription factors CREB and ATF-1, which occurred through a PAFR-mediated mechanism that utilized Gα q proteins, adenylate cyclase, p38 MAP kinase and protein kinase A. These results suggest that CREB and ATF-1 may act as molecular sensors to PAF-mediated stimulation. Consequently, the inflammatory tumor microenvironment may control specific transcriptional responses associated with overexpression of CREB and ATF-1, which is known to take place during the acquisition of the metastatic phenotype by melanoma cells. Our further studies indicate that PAF is also involved in constitutive gene expression in melanoma cells. First, we found that several structurally independent PAFR antagonists inhibit the in vitro growth of A375SM melanoma cells, most probably by downregulating their constitutive Cyclin D1 expression. Targeting PAFR expression in A375SM cells with small interfering RNA oligonucleotides confirmed that downregulation of Cyclin D1 expression was mediated via PAFR signaling. Second, PAFR knockdown with siRNA revealed that PAFR mediates constitutive expression of the melanoma cell adhesion protein MCAM/MUC18, a marker of metastatic melanoma as well as melanoma cancer stem cells. Conversely, inhibition of MCAM/MUC18 expression in A375SM cells by means of siRNA or shRNA led to an increase in PAFR expression, suggesting the existence of a feedback loop regulation between PAFR and MCAM/MUC18 expression. Overall, our results demonstrate that PAF acts as a promoter of melanoma metastasis by mediating gene expression in melanoma cells.
Sonic cultural citizenship through performance: CASA 0101’s production of Josefina López’s Detained in the Desert

This essay listens to aurality in conjunction with the visual classification of racialized bodies in neoliberal citizenship through what I term “sonic cultural citizenship.” Through a close listeni...
Spinal dysraphism and dislocated hip: Beware of anomalous sciatic nerve through Ilium, a case report.

Rationale The sciatic nerve runs a predictable course combining L4-S3 nerve roots through the true pelvis and under the greater sciatic notch. There are reports of bony protuberances from the sacrum and ilium in cases of spinal dysraphism; however advanced imaging, treatment, or outcomes are not described. There are no cases with associated fibular hemimelia in the current literature. Patient concerns This is a 4-year-old girl with tethered cord, acetabular dysplasia with hip subluxation, congenital short femur, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency, and fibular hemimelia with her sciatic nerve coursing through the ilium. Diagnosis Aberrant course of the sciatic nerve through the ilium in the setting of spinal dysraphism. Outcomes The hip subluxation was treated with a femoral varus derotation osteotomy and Salter osteotomy with transposition of the sciatic nerve into the greater sciatic notch resulting in a stable hip with no sciatic nerve symptoms at last follow-up. Lessons The combination of spinal dysraphism with acetabular dysplasia should be a warning for anomalous sciatic nerveanatomy, possibly through the ilium. Preoperative imaging (MRI, CT scan) may be obtained and carefully reviewed for the course of the sciatic nerve prior to pelvic or femoral osteotomy. Decompressing the sciatic nerve from the aberrant foramen may be considered as part of the procedure.
Heterogeneous 3-D ICs as a platform for hybrid energy harvesting in IoT systems

Abstract Three-dimensional integrated circuits are a natural platform for IoT systems. IoT systems exhibit a small footprint, integrate disparate technologies, and require long term sustainability (extremely low power or self-powered). A hybrid energy harvesting system within a three-dimensional integrated circuit is proposed in this paper. The harvesting system exploits different types of energy available from the ambient (electromagnetic, solar, thermal, and kinetic). Integration of the hybrid harvesting system onto a three-dimensional platform ensures that each type of harvested energy can be individually collected. Both static and dynamic evaluations of a hybrid energy harvesting system are provided. For an example IoT system, the static power requirements are approximately 85% of the power delivered to the load. In the dynamic evaluation, a range of activity factors characterizing the load and different storage capacitors are considered. The power requirements of a typical IoT system are shown to be satisfied by a hybrid energy harvesting system within a 3-D platform.
Modes and Mechanisms of Speciation in Pteridophytes

Curiosity about the origin and maintenance of organic diversity is one of the forces that has propelled the science of biology. From direct observation of the remarkable variety that surrounds and supports us as one of the millions of species on Earth to experiments designed to reproduce the circumstances that generate this variation, natural historians, population biologists, and systematists are driven to discover how and why there are so many species.
Predictors of Psychological Well-Being among Survivors of the Holocaust

In this chapter, findings from empirical research on predictors of mental health in three populations of Holocaust survivors are reviewed and discussed. Earlier perspectives on the effects of the Holocaust have been based almost exclusively on generalizations derived from clinical studies anchored in the medical psychiatric tradition. More recent views on the long-range effects of the Holocaust have begun to rely on findings from more systematic studies of Holocaust survivors that employed conceptual approaches anchored in the social and behavioral sciences. This chapter provides converging evidence from three studies of survivor populations concerning the effects of extreme stress on psychological well-being in late life. It substantiates the importance of poststress factors for the mental health of aging survivors of the Holocaust. More specifically, findings from these studies suggest that adequate health, higher levels of economic resources and social resources, along with type of coping and self-disclosure are important determinants of mental health among survivors of extreme stress. It is important, therefore, that mental health professionals acquaint themselves with the empirical evidence from more recent research so as to better understand the experiences and service needs of survivors of extreme stress.
A rural geriatric health experience

The Rural Consortium for Health Outreach Information and Screening for Older Adults, a federally-funded demonstration project, provides health information and screening services to older adults in rural communities while affording pharmacy students a multidisciplinary geriatric learning experience. The module, Safe Use of Medications in the Elderly, is described. Pharmacy, nursing, psychology and social work students learn about medication problems facing older adults, help teach Foster Grandparents/Senior Companions about the safe use of medications, and then travel with faculty to senior centers in Missoula and 10 rural western Montana communities to conduct medication review sessions and talk about safe medication use to 125 elderly clients. Students practice their interpersonal, small group and public speaking communication skills, obtain real-life health histories, and gain first-hand insight into the challenges facing the rural elderly. Roundtrip travel times to rural sites of up to five hours detract from the overall educational value of the program.
The Logic and Limits of Environmental Criminal Law in the Global Setting: Brazil and the United States--Comparisons, Contrasts, and Questions in Search of a Robust Theory

Strict, but arguably unfair and counterproductive, systems of criminal environmental law and enforcement exist in both the United States and Brazil in the twenty-first century. In order to create a sovereignty dividend encompassing the rule of law and evenhanded administrative control in the competitive global setting both countries should rethink and reform their respective systems of environmental criminal law by seeking answers to several questions of legal philosophy in search of a robust theory.
Percutaneous Cholecystolithotomy Using the Pulsed Dye Laser

Percutaneous cholecystolithotomy is a developing technique that may find clinical acceptance as a less invasive method of treating patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis compared to cholecystectomy. This article describes the technique of assessing the gallbladder and discusses the available technologies for frag menting gallstones with emphasis on the pulsed dye laser.
Becoming Mainstream: Electronic Sourcing Suites

This chapter introduces electronic sourcing suites, which consist of an integrated set of modules, all aimed to make the work of supply management professionals easier. The potential of electronic sourcing suites is tremendous, affording buying organizations to see the “big picture” of what is going on. With online reverse auctions representing one of these modules, other modules include spend analysis, supplier performance measurement and management, and contract management and compliance. More operational modules include requisition management, purchase order management, catalogue management, and invoice management. Capabilities of each of these modules are discussed in this chapter. I will conclude with an overview of the electronic sourcing suite provider landscape.
Otolaryngology for the Internist: Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the third most common chronic condition but can be secondary to a range of conditions encountered in primary care. This article reviews the presentation, evaluation, differential diagnosis, and associated treatments for both acute and chronic causes of hearing loss. As the most common cause of hearing loss, this article provides an overview of age-related hearing loss, its consequences, and pragmatic treatment approaches, including over-the-counter hearing technology.
The foot and ankle structures reveal emergent properties analogous to passive springs during human walking

An objective understanding of human foot and ankle function can drive innovations of bio-inspired wearable devices. Specifically, knowledge regarding how mechanical force and work are produced within the human foot-ankle structures can help determine what type of materials or components are required to engineer devices. In this study, we characterized the combined functions of the foot and ankle structures during walking by synthesizing the total force, displacement, and work profiles from structures distal to the shank. Eleven healthy adults walked at four scaled speeds. We quantified the ground reaction force and center-of-pressure displacement in the shank's coordinate system during stance phase and the total mechanical work done by these structures. This comprehensive analysis revealed emergent properties of foot-ankle structures that are analogous to passive springs: these structures compressed and recoiled along the longitudinal axis of the shank, and performed near zero or negative net mechanical work across a range of walking speeds. Moreover, the subject-to-subject variability in peak force, total displacement, and work were well explained by three simple factors: body height, mass, and walking speed. We created a regression-based model of stance phase mechanics that can inform the design and customization of wearable devices that may have biomimetic or non-biomimetic structures.