cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Autism Spectrum Disorders Stem Cell Resource at Children’s Hospital of Orange County: Implications for Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery

The autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a set of neurodevelopmental disorders that are, at best, poorly understood but are the fastest growing developmental disorders in the United States. Because animal models of polygenic disorders such as the ASDs are difficult to validate, the derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by somatic cell reprogramming offers an alternative strategy for identifying the cellular mechanisms contributing to ASDs and the development of new treatment options. Access to statistically relevant numbers of ASD patient cell lines, however, is still a limiting factor for the field. We describe a new resource with more than 200 cell lines (fibroblasts, iPSC clones, neural stem cells, glia) from unaffected volunteers and patients with a wide range of clinical ASD diagnoses, including fragile X syndrome. We have shown that both normal and ASD-specific iPSCs can be differentiated toward a neural stem cell phenotype and terminally differentiated into action-potential firing neurons and glia. The ability to evaluate and compare data from a number of different cell lines will facilitate greater insight into the cause or causes and biology of the ASDs and will be extremely useful for uncovering new therapeutic and diagnostic targets. Some drug treatments have already shown promise in reversing the neurobiological abnormalities in iPSC-based models of ASD-associated diseases. The ASD Stem Cell Resource at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County will continue expanding its collection and make all lines available on request with the goal of advancing the use of ASD patient cells as disease models by the scientific community.
The effects of various catalysts in the in-situ precipitation of reinforcing silica in polydimethylsiloxane networks

A variety of inorganic and organic acids, bases, and salts were studied as catalysts for the hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate, the reaction previously employed for the precipitation of silica within already-cured elastomeric networks of polydimethylsiloxane. These substances were compared with regard to the amount of silica precipitated at room temperature, and the extent of reinforcement as judged by the upturns in the stress-strain isotherms at high elongations. On this basis, the acids were the least effective and the salts the most effective.
Gene Expression Profiling Provides Insight into the Pathophysiology of Chronic Granulomatous Disease

Human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs or neutrophils) kill invading microorganisms with reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytotoxic granule components. PMNs from individuals with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) do not produce ROS, thereby rendering these individuals more susceptible to infection. In addition, XCGD patients develop tissue granulomas that obstruct vital organs, the mechanism(s) for which are unknown. To gain insight into the molecular processes that contribute to the pathophysiology of XCGD, including formation of granulomas, we compared global gene expression in PMNs from XCGD patients and healthy control individuals. Genes encoding mediators of inflammation and host defense, including CD11c, CD14, CD54, FcgammaR1, FcalphaR, CD120b, TLR5, IL-4R, CCR1, p47(phox), p40(phox), IL-8, CXCL1, Nramp1, and calgranulins A and B, were up-regulated constitutively in unstimulated XCGD patient PMNs. By comparing transcript levels in normal and XCGD PMNs after phagocytosis, we discovered 206 genes whose expression changed in the presence and the absence of ROS, respectively. Notably, altered Bcl2-associated X protein synthesis accompanied defective neutrophil apoptosis in XCGD patients. We hypothesize that granuloma formation in XCGD patients reflects both increased proinflammatory activity and defective PMN apoptosis, and we conclude that ROS contribute directly or indirectly to the resolution of the inflammatory response by influencing PMN gene transcription.
Ultrahigh reliability estimates for systems exhibiting globally time-dependent failure processes

A long-standing conjecture, that application of the instantaneous coverage technique to the time-dependent failure rate case also provides conservative reliability estimates, is resolved negatively. In particular, two examples are provided which show that even monotonic failure rates can lead to overly optimistic estimates. An alternative extension of the instantaneous coverage technique, consistent with the constant-rate approach, is then offered. The novel approach is shown to provide conservative estimates in the time-dependent case, provided fault-handling and recovery time distributions can be described by step functions. >
In-Lens Cryo-High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy: Methodologies for Molecular Imaging of Self-Assembled Organic Hydrogels

The micro- and nanoarchitectures of water-swollen hydrogels were routinely analyzed in three dimensions at very high resolution by two cryopreparation methods that provide stable low-temperature specimens for in-lens high magnification recordings. Gemini surfactants (gS), poly-N-isopropylacrylamides (p-NIP Am), and elastin-mimetic di- (db-E) and triblock (tb-E) copolymer proteins that form hydrogels have been routinely analyzed to the sub-10-nm level in a single day. After they were quench or high pressure frozen, samples in bulk planchets were subsequently chromium coated and observed at low temperature in an in-lens field emission SEM. Pre-equilibrated planchets (4-40 degrees C) that hold 5-10 microl of hydrogel facilitate dynamic morphological studies above and below their transition temperatures. Rapidly frozen samples were fractured under liquid nitrogen, low-temperature metal coated, and observed in-lens to assess the dispersion characteristics of micelles and fragile colloidal assemblies within bulk frozen water. Utilizing the same planchet freezing system, the cryoetch-HRSEM technique removed bulk frozen water from the hydrogel matrix by low-temperature, high-vacuum sublimation. The remaining frozen solid-state sample faithfully represented the hydrogel matrix. Cryo- and cryoetch-HRSEM provided vast vistas of hydrogels at low and intermediate magnifications whereas high magnification recordings and anaglyphs (stereo images) provided a three-dimensional prospective and measurements on a molecular level.
Gathering and Generating Paraphrases from Twitter with Application to Normalization

We present a new and unique paraphrase resource, which contains meaningpreserving transformations between informal user-generated text. Sentential paraphrases are extracted from a comparable corpus of temporally and topically related messages on Twitter which often express semantically identical information through distinct surface forms. We demonstrate the utility of this new resource on the task of paraphrasing and normalizing noisy text, showing improvement over several state-of-the-art paraphrase and normalization systems 1 .
H Evolution from Nano-Crystalline Silicon-Comparison of Simulation and Experiment

The temperature dependent H evolution from a-Si:H provides unique information on the H-bonding and microstructure. Traditional undiluted a-Si:H films show a high temperature H-evolution peak near 600 °C. However device-quality compact nanocrystalline silicon films grown near the phase boundary of amorphous and microcrystalline growth show a new low temperature H- evolution peak near 400 °C in addition to a second high temperature peak near 600 °C. The origin of this peak cannot be attributed to microvoids or a substantial density of dihydride species typical of porous low-temperature films. We have simulated the H evolution using a molecular dynamics generated model of nanocrystalline silicon, where nano-crystallites reside in a background amorphous matrix. An excess density of H occurs at the crystallite surface. We find a low temperature evolution peak at 250-400 °C, where the H-evolution starts from the surface of the nano-crystallite. In addition there is a higher temperature peak at 700-800 °C providing good agreement with H-evolution measurements. The mobile H is found to exist in both the bond-centered type of species and H2 molecules - which has implications for H-diffusion models.
Supporting Communities in Transition: The Impact of the Armenian Social Investment Fund

The Armenian Social Investment Fund supports communities’ efforts to improve local infrastructure during Armenia’s economic transition away from central planning, financing community-designed and -implemented projects to rehabilitate primary schools, water systems, and other infrastructure. This article considers the targeting, household impact, and community effects of the social fund’s activities. It relies on a nationally representative household survey, oversampled in areas where the social fund was active. Using propensity and pipeline matching techniques to control for community self-selection into the social fund, it evaluates the household effects of rehabilitating schools and water systems. The results show that the social fund reached poor households, particularly in rural areas. Education projects increased households’ spending on education significantly and had mild effects on school attendance. Potable water projects increased household access to water and had mild positive effects on health. Communities that completed a social fund project were less likely than the comparison group to complete other local infrastructure projects, suggesting that social capital was expended in these early projects. By contrast, communities that joined the social fund later and had not yet completed their projects took more initiatives not supported by the social fund. In centrally planned economies, national governments exerted tremendous economic control. This control extended to investment in local infrastructure, including building and maintaining roads, schools, and water systems. When these economies collapsed, governments became bereft of resources. Systems for maintaining local infrastructure began to fail; as deep economic recession took hold, schools and water systems fell into disrepair. Local public services deteriorated, compounding other hardships for people living in postcommunist conditions. But because communities were accustomed to relying on central authorities to meet local needs, they often were unable to address their problems.
An exceptional isomorphism between modular curves of level 13

Abstract In this note we use representation theory to compute an explicit equation over Q for the modular curve X ns ( 13 ) associated to the normalizer of a non-split Cartan subgroup of level 13. We also prove that the same equation defines the modular curve X s ( 13 ) associated to the normalizer of a split Cartan subgroup of level 13. Hence, these two modular curves are isomorphic over Q . This isomorphism does not seem to have a “modular” explanation. For instance, X s ( 13 ) ( Q ) contains a cusp but X ns ( 13 ) ( Q ) does not.
Using publicly visible social media to build detailed forecasts of civil unrest

We demonstrate how one can generate predictions for several thousand incidents of Latin American civil unrest, often many days in advance, by surfacing informative public posts available on Twitter and Tumblr. The data mining system presented here runs daily and requires no manual intervention. Identification of informative posts is accomplished by applying multiple textual and geographic filters to a high-volume data feed consisting of tens of millions of posts per day which have been flagged as public by their authors. Predictions are built by annotating the filtered posts, typically a few dozen per day, with demographic, spatial, and temporal information. Key to our textual filters is the fact that social media posts are necessarily short, making it possible to easily infer topic by simply searching for comentions of typically unrelated terms within the same post (e.g. a future date comentioned with an unrest keyword). Additional textual filters then proceed by applying a logistic regression classifier trained to recognize accounts belonging to organizations who are likely to announce civil unrest. Geographic filtering is accomplished despite sparsely available GPS information and without relying on sophisticated natural language processing. A geocoding technique which infers non-GPS-known user locations via the locations of their GPS-known friends provides us with location estimates for 91,984,163 Twitter users at a median error of 6.65km. We show that announcements of upcoming events tend to localize within a small geographic region, allowing us to forecast event locations which are not explicitly mentioned in text. We annotate our forecasts with demographic information by searching the collected posts for demographic specific keywords generated by hand as well as with the aid of DBpedia. Our system has been in production since December 2012 and, at the time of this writing, has produced 4,771 distinct forecasts for events across ten Latin American nations. Manual examination of 2,859 posts surfaced by our method revealed that only 108 were discussing topics unrelated to civil unrest. Examination of 2,596 forecasts generated between 2013-07-01 and 2013-11-30 found 1,192 (45.9%) matched exactly the date and within a 100 km radius of a civil unrest event reported in traditional news media.
DIAL: a telephone brief intervention for high-risk alcohol use with injured emergency department patients.

Study objective Brief interventions for high-risk alcohol use for injured emergency department (ED) patients have demonstrated effectiveness and may have a more pronounced effect with motor vehicle crash patients. We report on 3-month outcome data of a randomized controlled trial of injured patients, using a novel model of telephone-delivered brief interventions after ED discharge. Methods ED research assistants recruited adult injured patients who screened positive for high-risk alcohol use and were to be discharged home. After discharge, participants received by telephone an assessment of alcohol use and impaired driving and then were randomized to treatment (n=140) or standard care (n=145). Treatment consisted of 2 sessions of brief interventions done by telephone, focusing on risky alcohol use. At 3 months, both groups had an assessment of alcohol use and impaired driving. Results Two hundred eighty-five patients were randomized and had a baseline mean Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test (AUDIT) score of 11.0 (SD=7.4). Three-month follow-up assessments were completed on 273 (95%). Mean AUDIT score decreased in both the treatment (mean change=−3.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] −4.5 to −2.3) and standard care group (mean change=−3.2; 95% CI −4.2 to −2.2). Measures of impaired driving decreased for the treatment group (mean change=−1.4 95%; CI −3.0 to 0.2) compared with standard care group (mean change=1.0; 95% CI −0.9 to 2.9; P =.04; d=0.31). Participants were stratified post hoc into 3 groups by baseline alcohol problem, with the treatment effect only being in the highest-scoring group (d=.30). Conclusion Telephone brief interventions decreased impaired driving in our treatment group. Telephone brief intervention appears to offer an alternative mechanism to deliver brief intervention for alcohol in this at-risk ED population.
Regional, Urban and Rural Components of Income Inequality in Yugoslavia

The paper decoposes the Theil index and ANOVA to understand interregional, urban and rural contributions to the overall variation in average personal incomes (API) in the Yugoslav municipalities. The paper finds that inter-regional variation contributes significantly - about 25 percent - to the overall variation in API across communities. Statistical tests of significance constructed from one-way ANOVA and two-way ANOVA confirm statistical significance. The results are consistent with the observed phenomenon of increasingly autarchic functioning of the regional economies in Yugoslavia.
A method for mechanically killing cover crops to optimize weed suppression

Residues of dead cover crops can suppress weeds by providing a mulch on the soil surface. The cover crop usually is killed with herbicides, but a mechanical method is desirable in systems intended to reduce chemical use. We designed and built an undercutter to kill cover crops by severing their roots while flattening the intact aboveground biomass on the surface of raised beds. We studied which cover crop species could be killed with the undercutter and compared the weed control potential of cover crop residues after flail mowing, sicklebar mowing, and undercutting.Whether a species was killed by the undercutter depended primarily on growth stage. Species that were in mid- to late bloom or beyond, including rye, hairy vetch, bigflower vetch, crimson clover, barley, and subterranean clover, were easily killed by undercutting. There were no differences in dry weights of broadleaf weeds between the undercut and simulated sicklebar mowed treatments, both of which had less weed biomass than the clean-tilled or flail-mowed plots.
Sampling and pooling of decision-relevant information: Comparing the efficiency of face-to-face and GSS supported groups

Past research has suggested that decision-making groups, when communicating face-to-face (FtF), suffered from information sharing biases that affected the quality of the final decision: they tended to discuss previously-shared information before they started to discuss information not known to all, and discussed more of previously-shared than unshared information. In our study we examined these effects in groups that interacted FtF or using a group support system (GSS). Four-member groups discussed a requirements elicitation task in which some requirements were known to all members before starting their discussion, while other requirements were known only to two members of the group. Both GSS and FtF groups exchanged a large percentage of the shared requirements. However, the GSS groups were more effective in communicating unshared requirements. On average, FtF groups discussed shared requirements sooner and unshared requirements later than did GSS groups. Our study also compared empirical results with predictions from an information-sampling model of group discussion in order to assess the effectiveness of the model in computer-mediated group communication.
A distributed link restoration algorithm with robust preplanning

A technique that combines benefits of fast, distributed heuristics and of centralized optimal algorithms is proposed. As a form of preplanning, whenever the topology of the network is deliberately changed, new optimal rerouting plans are calculated, using a centralized or a distributed approach, for each possible total cable failure. These plans are used to calculate distance labels that are stored in the digital cross-connect systems or other switching elements. When a failure occurs, the nodes (switches) at either end of the failed cable start the execution of a distributed max-flow algorithm and communicate with their neighbors by message passing. As nodes become involved in the execution of the distributed algorithm, they imitate their state using the precalculated distance labels. An appropriate set of distance labels can be defined on a transformed version of the network such that, if no topology changes have occurred in the network since the labels were calculated, the algorithm immediately converges to the optimal solution. If, on the other hand, links and/or nodes have been removed since the labels were calculated, the algorithm will still function properly and converge to a solution that has the maximal number of restored circuits (although the restoration paths are not necessarily of shortest possible length). >
Threonine Requirement of the Broiler Chick as Affected by Protein Level and Source

The threonine requirement of the young broiler chick was estimated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, a threonine-deficient corn-peanut meal-amino acid mixture was included in a basal diet at levels equivalent to 15 and 20% crude protein. In Experiment 2, a purified crystalline amino acid mixture, also limiting in threonine, was included in a basal diet at levels equivalent to 10.98 and 18.3% crude protein. When expressed as a percent of diet, the estimated threonine requirements increased as dietary protein content increased. However, when expressed as a percent of dietary protein, the estimated threonine requirements were not significantly affected by dietary protein content, and were similar for the two experiments. It was concluded that the threonine requirement is 3.7% of dietary crude protein, and is little affected by dietary protein content.
Imprecise transcription termination within Escherichia coli greA leader gives rise to an array of short transcripts, GraL

We report that greA expression is driven by two strong, overlapping P1 and P2 promoters. The P1 promoter is p 70 -dependent and P2 is p E -dependent. Two-thirds of transcripts terminate within the leader region and the remaining third comprises greA mRNA. Termination efficiency seems to be unaffected by growth phase. Two collections of small 40–50 (initiating from P2) and 50–60nt (from P1) RNA chains, termed GraL, are demonstrable in vivo and in vitro .W e document that GraL arrays arise from an intrinsic terminator with an 11bp stem followed by an AU7GCU2 sequence. Atypical chain termination occurs at multiple sites; the 3 0 -ends differ by 1nt over a range of 10nt. Transcripts observed are shown to be insensitive to Gre factors and physically released from RNAP–DNA complexes. The abundance of individual chains within each cluster displays a characteristic pattern, which can be differentially altered by oligonucleotide probes. Multiple termination sites are particularly sensitive to changes at the bottom of the stem. Evolutionarily conserved GraL stem structures and fitness assays suggest a biological function for the RNA clusters themselves. Although GraL overexpression induces � 3-fold transcriptional changes of over 100 genes, a direct target remains elusive.
THE CASE OF THE ELUSIVE ANDROGEN

ABSTRACT Objective To describe a case of androgen excess and discuss the important factors in diagnosis and management. Methods A case report is presented of a post-menopausal woman who had had severe hirsutism for 18 months. Her history, clinical and laboratory findings, treatment, and outcome are chronicled. The pertinent literature—especially that related to the differential diagnosis of hyperandrogenism—is also reviewed. Results A 62-year-old woman had progressive hirsutism of the face, back, and abdomen as well as alopecia of the scalp, for which spironolactone therapy had proved ineffective. Laboratory studies showed a testosterone level of 644 ng/dL. Preoperative evaluation pointed to an ovarian source of testosterone. After total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy, histologic examination of the ovaries showed bilateral hilar cell hyperplasia. Three months later, the serum testosterone level remained high (556 ng/dL), and repeated computed tomography of the abdomen disclosed a previously unseen 9-mm adenoma of the left adrenal gland, which was removed laparoscopically. Because of a persistently high testosterone value (546 ng/dL), the patient underwent dexamethasone suppression studies, followed by adrenal stimulation with corticotropin; no pathologic findings were demonstrated. Finally, gonadotropin suppression with nafarelin, 200 μg intranasally daily for 6 weeks, yielded a prompt and sustainable decrease in the testosterone level. This result was associated with dramatic clinical improvement. Conclusion It is speculated that the patient had residual testosterone-producing tissue originating from primitive mesenchymal cells from the urogenital ridge, which was responsive to gonadotropins, in an unidentified abdominal or pelvic site. (Endocr Pract 2002;8:433-438)
A Computational Concept Generation Technique for Biologically-Inspired, Engineering Design

The natural world provides numerous cases for analogy and inspiration in engineering design. During the early stages of design, particularly during concept generation when several variants are created, nature can be used to inspire innovative solutions to a design problem. However, identifying and presenting the valuable knowledge from the biological domain to an engineering designer during concept generation is currently a somewhat disorganized process or requires extensive knowledge of a particular method. The proposed research aims to define and formalize the information identification and knowledge transfer processes, which will enable systematic development of biologically-inspired, engineering designs. The computational framework for discovering biological inspiration during function-based design activities is presented and discussed through an illustrative example.
Intratracheal instillation of a novel NO/nucleophile adduct selectively reduces pulmonary hypertension.

Brilli, Richard J., Brian Krafte-Jacobs, Daniel J. Smith, Dominick Roselle, Daniel Passerini, Amos Vromen, Lori Moore, Csaba Szabo, and Andrew L. Salzman. Intratracheal instillation of a novel NO/n...
Scaling magnetized liner inertial fusion on Z and future pulsed-power accelerators

The MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion) concept [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)] has demonstrated fusion–relevant plasma conditions [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)] on the Z accelerator with a peak drive current of about 18 MA. We present 2D numerical simulations of the scaling of MagLIF on Z as a function of drive current, preheat energy, and applied magnetic field. The results indicate that deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion yields greater than 100 kJ could be possible on Z when all of these parameters are at the optimum values: i.e., peak current = 25 MA, deposited preheat energy = 5 kJ, and Bz = 30 T. Much higher yields have been predicted [S. A. Slutz and R. A. Vesey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 025003 (2012)] for MagLIF driven with larger peak currents. Two high performance pulsed-power accelerators (Z300 and Z800) based on linear-transformer-driver technology have been designed [W. A. Stygar et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 18, 110401 (2015)]. The Z300 design would provide 48 MA to a MagLIF load, while Z800 would provide 65 MA. Parameterized Thevenin-equivalent circuits were used to drive a series of 1D and 2D numerical MagLIF simulations with currents ranging from what Z can deliver now to what could be achieved by these conceptual future pulsed-power accelerators. 2D simulations of simple MagLIF targets containing just gaseous DT have yields of 18 MJ for Z300 and 440 MJ for Z800. The 2D simulated yield for Z800 is increased to 7 GJ by adding a layer of frozen DT ice to the inside of the liner.
Ergonomic Assessment of Exiting Automobiles

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of changing seat heights (51 cm, 59 cm, 67 cm), door heights (122 cm, 138 cm, 154 cm) and seat positions (27 cm and 35 cm) in automobiles on kinematic parameters (trunk rotation, trunk angle, hip flexion angle and knee flexion angle) and kinetic parameters (lumbar moment, hip moment and knee moment) while exiting automobiles. Twelve student subjects were videotaped with 2 video cameras synchronized into a split screen system. Manipulating seat height, door height and seat position resulted in 18 different testing conditions. Real time animated graphics, as well as 3-D kinematic and kinetic parameters of the movement were obtained via a video image computer capture system and newly developed 3-D digitizing software. It was determined from the study that: a) Seat and door height had significant effects on kinematic and kinetic parameters, but not seat position, b) As seat and door height increased maximum values for kinematic and kinetic parameters de...
Fracture Analysis Using 3D Seismic Attributes In the Hunton Limestone, Oklahoma, USA

The Hunton Limestone in Oklahoma is an important reservoir in the oil and gas industry. Al-Shaieb et al. (1993) find that fractures in the Hunton Limestone are one of the key components of porosity with fracture permeability enhancing production. Fracture identification from surface seismic is an important topic, but little research in this area has been done on the Hunton Limestone. Hart (2006) has analyzed fractures using post stack seismic in the San Juan Basin, while Narhari et al. (2009) have analyzed fractures using post stack seismic data in Kuwait, both sandstones. Nissen et al. (2009) have used post stack seismic attributes to map fractures in the Arbuckle Limestone of Kansas, and calibrated their findings using a horizontal well adjacent to, but not in the seismic survey area. To our knowledge, little has been published on quantitative correlation of lineaments seen on post stack seismic attributes to fractures seen on horizontal wells. Therefore, this project is very important to developing an understanding of fracturing in limestones. From a preliminary 3D seismic attribute analysis of the area of interest, the attributes of curvature (positive and negative) and energy ratio have been the most helpful in predicting where a high density of fractures might exist and their general orientation. In addition to these attributes, approximately 10 miles of proprietary horizontal image logs have been obtained in the area of interest and will be studied to correlate fractures in the logs with proposed areas of fracturing in the seismic volume. This correlation should provide valuable information to locate and identify fracture patterns in the Hunton Limestone and enhance the ability to predict good areas of high porosity and permeability in both the Hunton and possibly other carbonates too. Fieldwork is being conducted in a specific test area in Oklahoma where an outcrop of the Hunton Limestone is exposed to characterize fractures in outcrop and create an analog for fracture patterns in the subsurface. Seismic data will be obtained in the outcrop area to further characterize the visible fractures with a seismic wavelet. After obtaining and studying all of the data, it is proposed that fractures and fracture patterns in the Hunton Limestone will be better understood and the ability to predict areas of high density fractures will be enhanced.
RESPONSES TO SELECTION ON FLIGHT BEHAVIOR IN A MIGRATORY POPULATION OF MILKWEED BUG (ONCOPELTUS FASCIATUS).

The nature of genetic variation and covariation influencing life-history traits has been the subject of an increasing number of theoretical and empirical studies (Steams, 1983; Arnold, 1987). Knowledge of the socalled "genetic structure" among traits is essential to understanding both the potential and constraints for phenotypic evolution in response to a particular selective regimen, be it natural or artificial (Loeschcke, 1987). Indeed, artificial selection is widely used to detect genetic associations between traits, as revealed by correlated changes in phenotype when selection is applied to a single trait (Falconer, 1981 pp. 286-287). We have used artificial-selection experiments to compare the genetic structure of migratory and nonmigratory populations of the large milkweed bug, Oncopeltusfasciatus (Palmer and Dingle, 1986; Dingle et al., 1988). In these studies, we chose wing length as the target of directional selection because previous work indicated that it should respond rapidly and that other traits might show correlated responses (Hegmann and Dingle, 1982). Migratory (Iowa) and nonmigratory (Puerto Rico) populations showed similar rapid direct responses to selection on wing length but differed in their pattern of correlated responses. Of particular interest was the result that the migratory population showed positive correlated responses in the propensity for long-duration (presumed migratory) flight behavior (Palmer, 1985) and early reproductive output (Palmer and Dingle, 1986) while the nonmigratory population showed no significant correlated responses in these same traits (Dingle and Evans, 1987; Dingle et al., 1988). In both populations, adult age at first reproduction failed to show any correlated response to selection on wing length. Thus, for the migratory Iowa population the positive genetic correlations among body size, flight potential, and fecundity provide the potential for these traits to evolve together in response to selection pressures that favor a colonizing life history. However, in nature, wing length may not be the direct, or only, target of selection. For example, the flight potential of migratory milkweed bugs, which allows them to reach and colonize more northern habitats such as those occurring in Iowa, may be a more direct target of natural selection. The purpose of this study was to see whether selection on flight propensity in this migratory popu-
“Shared” Information in the Age of Big Data Exploring Sentiment Expression Related to Nuclear Energy on Twitter

Living in an age of big data, this study explores (a) how much certain online information is shared by media users and (b) what sentiments do social media users predominantly express on Twitter. Qu...
Distribution of genotypes and subgenotypes of HBV in Chinese blood donors from five blood centers in different regions of China

Objective To study the distribution of genotype and subgenotype of HBV in Chinese blood donors and analyze the relationship between the genotype and subgenotype of HBV and the serological and viral characteristics of HBV. Methods A total of 245 blood samples were selected randomly from HBsAg positive blood donors of 5 geographicallydiverse blood centers in China. The S region of HBV was amplified by semi-nested PCR and HBV genotype was determined. The PreS plus S region or the whole genome of HBV was amplified and sequenced and HBV subgenotype was determined. The SPSS 11. 0 software was used to compare the distri-bution of HBV genotype and subgenotype in Chinese blood donors and in patients and to analyze the relationship between the genotype and subgenotype of HBV and the serological and viral characteristics of HBV in blood donors. Results Of the 245 samples,228( 93. 8%) were genotyped successfully and 200( 81. 6%) were subgenotyped successfully. The major genotypes of HBV in Chinese blood donors were B and C with the former more prevalent than the latter. E-H genotypes of HBV were not found in this study. The major subgenotypes were B2,C2,D1 and A1 in sequence. A new subgenotype B9 was detected in Kunming. The prevalence of HBeAg in C genotype and C2 subgenotype is higher than that in B genotype and B2 subgenotype. Conclusion HBV genotype B was the most frequent strain circulating in HBV infected Chinese blood donors,followed by genotype C. There is a trend that genotype B is becoming more prevalent in Chinese blood donors.
Perception of competency attainment in foodservice management: academic Plan IV vs. dietetic internship.

A national survey of 487 dietetic interns (61%), 63 internship directors (76%), and 68 Plan IV representatives (45%) utilized ADA entry-level role responsibilities in foodservice systems management. Student respondents rated perceived competence at the start and near completion of the internship. Program directors rated expected competence at the start of the internship. The three groups differed significantly on mean responses, with interns' ratings lowest and Plan IV representatives' ratings highest. Interns' mean ratings suggested that work experience just prior to starting an internship increased competence somewhat, regardless of type of work. Work during college was not included in the analysis. Interns' mean ratings also suggested that competence peaked some weeks before internship completion. Level of competence averaged about 6 on a scale of 0 to 7 at that time. Starting competence averaged about 2.5 to 3, indicating that Plan IV contribution is substantial but internship experience is essential for entry-level performance. Food service systems management competence levels compare very favorably with those previously reported for clinical dietetics.
7.9 Biophysics of Nuclear Organization and Dynamics

The cell's nucleus, which contains the genome of the cell, is a complex biological and biophysical structure. The structure, organization, and mechanical properties of the different regions of the nucleus – the nuclear envelope, the nucleoskeleton, and the nucleoplasm and genome – are presented individually and in context with one another. Within each region, different length scales of interactions are examined, providing a hierarchy of structural information.
A graphical object display improves anesthesiologists' performance on a simulated diagnostic task.

Objective. This study tests the hypothesis that a graphical object display (a data display consisting of meaningful shapes) will affect the ability of anesthesiologists to perform a diagnostic task rapidly and correctly. The diagnostic tasks studied were recognition and differentiation of five etiologies of shock – anaphylaxis, bradycardia, myocardial ischemia, hypovolemia, pulmonary embolus. Methods. Data sets consisting of HR, Systemic Arterial BP, Pulmonary Arterial BP, CVP, and Cardiac Output were generated for five shock states and five non-shock states. The resulting 10 data sets were presented on a computer monitor to study subjects twice (first in an alpha-numeric format and then in the object format) for a total of twenty decision screens. Subjects used soft-buttons on a computer touch-screen monitor to: a) advance to the next display; b) differentiate a non-shock state from a shock state; and, c) select the etiology of shock state represented by the display (Figure 2). Data collection was automatic, using the internal clock and memory of the computer. Results.Eleven anesthesiologists participated in this study. They completed a total of 3060 diagnostic decisions, half with each display format. Performance measures were time to decision and diagnostic accuracy. The object display improved no-shock recognition by 1.0 second and shock etiology determination by 1.4 seconds (p < 0.05). The object display also significantly improved accuracy for shock recognition by 1.4% and etiology determination by 4.1% (p < 0.05). Testing was completed in a time interval of <45 min per 10 trials. Conclusions. The primary finding of this study was that anesthesiologists using the object display format committed significantly fewer diagnostic errors when interpreting physiologic data. In addition, both the recognition of no-shock and the diagnosis of shock etiology were completed more rapidly when the object display was used. The major limitation of this initial trial is the simplicity of the test. Future investigation of the impact of the display on clinical decision making will require more realistic clinical scenarios with partial or full simulation to better understand the potential clinical impact.
Use of a risk characterisation approach to contextualise the safety profile of new rheumatoid arthritis treatments: a case study using tofacitinib

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To characterise the relative safety profile of tofacitinib to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), the accrued patient-years (pt-yrs) of exposure needed in an RA clinical trial programme to detect a potential increase in risk of specific adverse events (AEs) was determined. This case study/framework was constructed on the pt-yrs’ accrual within pooled phase (P)1, P2 and P3, as well as long-term extension, studies of tofacitinib in RA (March 2015 data-cut) and published AE incidence rates for bDMARDs. Sample size calculations were based on a Poisson distribution to estimate pt-yrs’ exposure required for 90 % probability that the lower bound of the 95 % confidence interval for tofacitinib/bDMARD would be >1, assuming that tofacitinib rates were 1.2×/1.5×/2.0× greater than comparator rates. AE rates for bDMARDs were derived from sources intended to optimise similarity with the tofacitinib database in terms of baseline characteristics, study duration and follow-up. Based on the tofacitinib exposure accrued (19,406 pt-yrs), data were sufficient (90 % probability) to detect potential differences over external bDMARD comparator rates in serious infections (≥1.2×), malignancies (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer [NMSC]), NMSC, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and lymphoma (each ≥1.5×), as well as opportunistic infections and gastrointestinal perforations (≥2×), should they exist. This risk characterisation approach can support the comparative safety of new RA medications. To date, tofacitinib safety appears similar to approved published data from bDMARDs with respect to serious infections, malignancies (excluding NMSC), NMSC, MACE, lymphoma, opportunistic infections and gastrointestinal perforations.
Experimental demonstration and theoretical modeling of Raman probe induced spectral dip for realizing a superluminal laser

We demonstrate a laser with a dip in the center of the gain profile, which implies superluminal operation. This brings us one step closer to creating superluminally-enhanced metrological devices for a wide variety of applications.
More on the Effects of Non-Normal Statistics in Geometric Tolerancing

The paper by Braun et al. in this volume provides non-normal statistical models and confirming data for populations of actual values of certain geometric tolerances, and discusses briefly some of the effects of the reported non-normalities. This Short Communication continues the discussion of effects by summarizing and generalizing the failure-rate criterion used in the Braun paper, extending the discussion to include criteria based on distribution function bounds, and by noting an important subtlety that arises in most applications involving non-normal statistics.
Recombinant Macrocyclic Lanthipeptides Incorporating Non-Canonical Amino Acids

Nisin is a complex lanthipeptide that has broad spectrum antibacterial activity. In efforts to broaden the structural diversity of this ribosomally synthesized lantibiotic, we now report the recombinant expression of Nisin variants that incorporate noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) at discrete positions. This is achieved by expressing the nisA structural gene, cyclase (nisC) and dehydratase (nisB), together with an orthogonal nonsense suppressor tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair in Escherichia coli. A number of ncAAs with novel chemical reactivity were genetically incorporated into NisA, including an α-chloroacetamide-containing ncAA that allowed for the expression of Nisin variants with novel macrocyclic topologies. This methodology should allow for the exploration of lanthipeptide variants with new or enhanced activities.
H 2 O solubility in basalt at upper mantle conditions

This study presents a new experimental approach for determining H2O solubility in basaltic melt at upper mantle conditions. Traditional solubility experiments are limited to pressures of ~600 MPa or less because it is difficult to reliably quench silicate melts containing greater than ~10 wt% dissolved H2O. To overcome this limitation, our approach relies on the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry to measure the concentration of H dissolved in olivine and on using the measured H in olivine as a proxy for the concentration of H2O in the co-existing basaltic melt. The solubility of H2O in the melt is determined by performing a series of experiments at a single pressure and temperature with increasing amounts of liquid H2O added to each charge. The point at which the concentration of H in the olivine first becomes independent of the amount of initial H2O content of the charge (added + adsorbed H2O) indicates its solubility in the melt. Experiments were conducted by packing basalt powder into a capsule fabricated from San Carlos olivine, which was then pressure-sealed inside a Ni outer capsule. Our experimental results indicate that at 1000 MPa and 1200 °C, the solubility of H2O in basaltic melt is 20.6 ± 0.9 wt% (2 × standard deviation). This concentration is considerably higher than predicted by most solubility models but defines a linear relationship between H2O fugacity and the square of molar H2O solubility when combined with solubility data from lower pressure experiments. Further, our solubility determination agrees with melting point depression determined experimentally by Grove et al. (2006) for the H2O-saturated peridotite solidus at 1000 MPa. Melting point depression calculations were used to estimate H2O solubility in basalt along the experimentally determined H2O-saturated peridotite solidus. The results suggest that a linear relationship between H2O fugacity and the square of molar solubility exists up to ~1300 MPa, where there is an inflection point and solubility begins to increase less strongly with increasing H2O fugacity.
New and Emerging Therapies for Uterine Fibroids

The pain, bleeding, and anemia associated with uterine fibroids debilitate many women. In addition to limited efficacy, the side effects of the currently used medical therapies prevent long-term use and nearly all pregnancies. Thus, women hoping to achieve pregnancy have limited options and usually opt for myomectomy. Once completed childbearing, many patients proceed with hysterectomy despite its risks and costs. Thus, there is a clear need for a new medical treatment for fibroids that is safe and effective. To this end, researchers have investigated several new treatments over the recent years, including both hormonal and nonhormonal ones. Some examples include selective progesterone receptor modulators, vitamin D, aromatase inhibitors, gene therapy, simvastatin, nanoparticles, epigallocatechin gallate, and intratumor collagenase injections. The aim of this article is to review and critically analyze the evidence (both laboratory and clinical) for these emerging therapies. We will discuss strengths and weaknesses of studies, areas where further evidence is needed, and finally deliberate on novel targets potentially amenable for development of future therapeutics.
The calculus of variations and the forced pendulum

Consider the equation of forced pendulum type: u′′+Vu(t,u) = 0 (∗) where ′ = d/dt and V is smooth and 1-periodic in its arguments. We will show how to use elementary minimization arguments to find a variety of solutions of (∗). We begin with periodic solutions of (∗) and then find heteroclinic solutions making one transition between a pair of periodics. Then we construct heteroclinics and homoclinics making multiple (even infinitely many) transitions between periodics.
Brain Computer Interfacing

In the near future, mobile computing will benefit from more direct interfacing between a computer and its human operator, aiming at easing the control while keeping the human more free for other tasks related to displacement. Among the technologies enabling such improvement, a special place will be held by brain computer interfacing (BCI), recently listed among the 10 emerging technologies that will change the world by the MIT Technology Review on January 19, 2004. The intention to perform a task may be in fact directly detected from analyzing brain waves: an example of such capability has been for instance already shown trough artificial neural networks in Babiloni et al. (2000), thus allowing the switch of a bit of information in order to start building the control of a direct interaction with the computer.
Draft Genome Sequence of Micromonospora Sp. Strain WMMA1996, a Marine Sponge-Associated Bacterium

Micromonospora sp. strain WMMA1996 was isolated in 2013 off the coast of the Florida Keys, United States, from a marine sponge as part of bacterial coculture-based drug discovery initiatives. Analysis of the ∼6.44-Mb genome reveals this microbe's potential role in the discovery of new drugs.