cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Creating Cryptolaw for the Uniform Commercial Code

A contract generally only binds its parties. Security agreements, which create a security interest in specific personal property, stand out as a glaring exception to this rule. Under certain conditions, security interests not only bind the creditor and debtor, but also third-party creditors seeking to lend against the same collateral. To receive this extraordinary benefit, creditors must put the world on notice, usually by filing a financing statement with the state in which the debtor is located. Unfortunately, the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) Article 9 filing system fails to provide actual notice to interested parties and introduces risk of heavy financial losses. To solve this problem, this Article introduces a smart contract-based U.C.C.-1 form built using Lexon, an innovative new programming language that enables the development of smart contracts in English. The proposed “Lexon U.C.C. Financing Statement” does much more than merely replicate the financing statement in digital form; it also performs several U.C.C. rules so that, for the first time, the filing system works as intended. In demonstrating that such a system remains compatible with existing law, the Lexon U.C.C. Financing Statement also reveals important lessons about the interaction of technology and commercial law. This Article brings cryptolaw to the U.C.C. in three sections. Section I examines the failure of the U.C.C. Article 9 filing system to achieve actual notice and argues that blockchain technology and smart contracts can help the system function as intended. Section II introduces the Lexon U.C.C. Financing Statement, demonstrating how the computer code implements U.C.C. provisions. Section II also examines the goals that influenced the design of the Lexon U.C.C. Financing Statement, discusses the new programming language used to build it, and argues that the prototype could be used now, under existing law. Section III proposes five innovations for the Article 9 filing system enabled by the Lexon U.C.C. Financing Statement. Section III then considers the broader implications of the project for commercial law, legal research around smart contracts, and the interplay between technology neutral law and a lawyer’s increasingly important duty of technological competence. Ultimately, by providing the computer code needed to build the Lexon U.C.C. Financing Statement, this Article demonstrates not only that crypto-legal structures are possible, but that they can simplify the law and make it more accessible.
Hospital-Level Variation in Death for Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19.

Rationale: Variation in hospital mortality has been described for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but the factors that explain these differences remain unclear. Objective: Our objective was to use ...
Farm-level Disease and Production Problem Investigations:

Molecular tools are diagnostic and epidemiological tools that use DNA or RNA to characterize microbial pathogens at species or strain level, and to trace their sources and transmission patterns. Molecular tools are used to investigate problems in milk and cheese production and to elucidate the origin and epidemiology of disease outbreaks affecting single or multiple farms. Animal health products can be sources of pathogens that cause disease in dairy cattle, and dairy cattle can be a source of pathogens that cause disease in humans. In this paper, examples of a variety of molecular tools and their application in analysis of disease and production problems are presented. Bacterial and viral diseases are covered, including mastitis, respiratory disease, foot-and-mouth disease, and foodborne and zoonotic diseases.
Aligned multilayered electrospun scaffolds for rotator cuff tendon tissue engineering.

The rotator cuff consists of several tendons and muscles that provide stability and force transmission in the shoulder joint. Whereas most rotator cuff tears are amenable to suture repair, the overall success rate of repair is low, and massive tears are prone to re-tear. Extracellular matrix (ECM) patches are used to augment suture repair, but they have limitations. Tissue-engineered approaches provide a promising solution for massive rotator cuff tears. Previous studies have shown that, compared to nonaligned scaffolds, aligned electrospun polymer scaffolds exhibit greater anisotropy and exert a greater tenogenic effect. Nevertheless, achieving rapid cell infiltration through the full thickness of the scaffold is challenging, and scaling to a translationally relevant size may be difficult. Our goal was to evaluate whether a novel method of alignment, combining a multilayered electrospinning technique with a hybrid of several electrospinning alignment techniques, would permit cell infiltration and collagen deposition through the thickness of poly(e-caprolactone) scaffolds following seeding with human adipose-derived stem cells. Furthermore, we evaluated whether multilayered aligned scaffolds enhanced collagen alignment, tendon-related gene expression, and mechanical properties compared to multilayered nonaligned scaffolds. Both aligned and nonaligned multilayered scaffolds demonstrated cell infiltration and ECM deposition through the full thickness of the scaffold after only 28 days of culture. Aligned scaffolds displayed significantly increased expression of tenomodulin compared to nonaligned scaffolds and exhibited aligned collagen fibrils throughout the full thickness, the presence of which may account for the increased yield stress and Young’s modulus of cell-seeded aligned scaffolds along the axis of fiber alignment.
Quick-Cooking Rice

Ordinary milled rice requires 20–30 min to cook to a satisfactory culinary acceptability. In some instances, the rice is soaked, washed, and steamed, requiring a total attention time of about 1 hr. The relatively long preparation time has restricted rice consumption in the United States. Thus, effort has been directed toward development of quick-cooking rice to reduce the cooking time.
Abstract WP327: Strategies for Improving Stroke Caregiver Readiness

Introduction: Stroke occurs suddenly causing significant residual impairment for stroke survivors requiring long-term assistance by family caregivers. Becoming a caregiver can be an overwhelming, difficult process and stroke caregivers often experience poorer health and higher mortality rates than non-caregivers. Methods: In this grounded theory study, we explored stroke caregivers’ needs and assessed their capacity and readiness to assume the caregiving role as the stroke survivor transitioned home from inpatient rehabilitation. Our sample included a comparison group (9 patient/family units) and an intervention group (10 patient/family units) for a total of 19 stroke survivors and 22 family caregivers. Participants were interviewed during inpatient rehabilitation, and at 1 and 3 months post-discharge. In the first interview, comparison group questions focused on understanding family members’ perceptions about how prepared they were to assume the caregiving role. In the intervention group we conducted 1 hour interviews to assess specific domains of caregiver capacity and readiness to assume the role and reported the findings to the stroke rehabilitation team prior to discharge. In the 2 post-discharge interviews in both groups, we explored caregivers’ perceptions about how prepared they were to manage the stroke survivors’ post-discharge needs. Interviews were analyzed using dimensional analysis and coded in NVivo data management software. Findings: Family members in both groups indicated they were not “ready” to assume the caregiving role and there was not enough time for them to prepare pre-discharge. Dimensions of readiness included having the commitment, resources, and ability to sustain the role. Pre-existing conditions, such as physical and mental health concerns, other roles/responsibilities, and home inaccessibility limited their caregiving capacity. Conclusions: In order to adequately prepare family caregivers, we must assess their caregiving capacity pre-discharge and develop plans to address gaps so that they will be ready to assume the role long-term. Rehabilitation lengths of stay are often insufficient to address these gaps requiring interventions to help caregivers bridge the gap as they transition home.
Diflunisal for ATTR Cardiac Amyloidosis

Transthyretin (TTR) cardiac amyloidosis is an important, often under-recognized and potentially modifiable cause of heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction. The only proven treatment is liver or combined heart/liver transplantation, which, although effective, is not suitable for the vast majority of older adults with this condition. Diflunisal, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, can stabilize the TTR tetramer in vitro and may prevent misfolding monomers and dimers from forming amyloid deposits in the heart. It is one of two small molecules assessed in animal safety studies and human clinical trials of TTR polyneuropathy. The authors conducted a single-arm, open-label investigation with a mean follow-up of 0.9 ± 0.3 years to determine the safety and efficacy of diflunisal administration in a cohort of 13 patients with confirmed wild-type or mutant TTR cardiac amyloidosis. Diflunisal was well tolerated from a hematologic standpoint, although a 6% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate was noted. Therapy was discontinued in one patient who rapidly developed volume overload. There was no significant mean change in cardiac structure (left ventricular mass: -53 g/m(2) change, P=.36), function (ejection fraction: -2% change, P=.61), or biomarkers (Troponin I: +0.03 ng/mL, P=.08; BNP: +93 pg/mL change, P=.52) during the course of therapy. These data suggest that at low dosages and with careful monitoring, diflunisal can be safely administered to compensated patients with cardiac TTR amyloidosis. Further study in a randomized placebo-controlled trial is warranted.
Nociceptive primary afferents: they have a mind of their own

Nociceptive primary afferents have three surprising properties: they are highly complex in their expression of neurotransmitters and receptors and most probably participate in autocrine and paracrine interactions; they are capable of exerting tonic and activity-dependent inhibitory control over incoming nociceptive input; they can generate signals in the form of dorsal root reflexes that are transmitted antidromically out to the periphery and these signals can result in neurogenic inflammation in the innervated tissue. Thus, nociceptive primary afferents are highly complicated structures, capable of modifying input before it is ever transmitted to the central nervous system and capable of altering the tissue they innervate.
Chemical Signals in Plants: Jasmonates and the Role of Insect-Derived Elicitors in Responses to Herbivores

In any environmentwhere plants grow, one canbe quickly awestruck at the complex relationships that occur betweenplants and insects. Strikingvariation in the types of responses, on both sides of the interaction, is easily observed at thewhole-organism level and these are multiplied many times over when events are considered at the cellular, biochemical, and molecular levels. A multitude of potential responses can occur in a plant following injury by a phytophagous insect. Complex sets of signals modulate a suite of responses, either within a given plant in response to different herbivores or in different plant species in response to similar herbivores (Figure 11.1). Understanding the central themes of plant defense against insects, as well as those responses unique to a particular insect or plant, is key to obtaining an overall picture of plant defenses against herbivores. Plants are continually vulnerable not only to herbivory but also to environmental stresses and infestation by pathogens. However, preformed responses against potential stresses are not always necessary or effective. Induction of broad-spectrum defenses against a variety of enemies, ranging from viruses to large animals, although potentially difficult, could offer the most efficient means of defense. However, induced responses carry with them metabolic costs and are most valuable when directed at the stress that is of immediate concern. To accomplish this, some plants have evolved highly specific surveillance and response mechanisms for defense against the herbivores and other pests to which they are exposed. On the face of it, biochemical changes in response to herbivory would clearly seem to benefit the plant, although the ecological advantages of induced resistance are sometimes difficult to measure (Heil and Baldwin, 2002). Nonetheless, herbivory-induced insect resistance has a positive effect by reducing subsequent herbivory and improving overall fitness, if the induction occurs early in the life of the plant (Agrawal, 1998). Furthermore, induced resistance can negatively affect
Finding Best k Policies

An optimal probabilistic-planning algorithm solves a problem, usually modeled by a Markov decision process, by finding its optimal policy. In this paper, we study the k best policies problem. The problem is to find the k best policies. The k best policies, k > 1, cannot be found directly using dynamic programming. Naively, finding the k -th best policy can be Turing reduced to the optimal planning problem, but the number of problems queried in the naive algorithm is exponential in k . We show empirically that solving k best policy problem by using this reduction requires unreasonable amounts of time even when k = 3. We then provide a new algorithm, based on our theoretical contribution to prove that the k -th best policy differs from the i -th policy, for some i < k , on exactly one state. We show that the time complexity of the algorithm is quadratic in k , but the number of optimal planning problems it solves is linear in k . We demonstrate empirically that the new algorithm has good scalability.
Sleep Quality and Presleep Arousal in Chronic Pain

This study was designed (1) to characterize the extent and nature of sleep complaints of chronic pain patients and (2) to examine the factors that predict sleep quality. A heterogeneous sample of 51 outpatients with benign, chronic pain was recruited from newspaper and pain clinic advertisements. Patients completed a variety of self-report instruments including the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Sleep complaints were reported by 88% of the sample. Presleep cognitive arousal, rather than pain severity, was found to be the primary predictor of sleep quality.
Negotiating Critical Literacies with Young Children: 10th Anniversary Edition

Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Creating Spaces for Critical Literacy Chapter 2: Getting Started: Setting the Scene Chapter 3: The French Cafe Chapter 4: Our Friend is a Vegetarian Chapter 5: Save the Beluga Chapter 6: We Know How McDonald's Thinks Chapter 7: A Look Back Over the Year Appendix A: Resources for Negotiating Critical Literacies Appendix B: Alternate Possibilities for Constructing an Audit Trail References Author Index Subject Index
A Synopsis of Proposed Data Protection Legislation in SA

Privacy International made the following statement regarding South Africaâ€™s financial sector in its 2005 world survey: â€œSouth Africa has a well-developed financial system and banking infrastructure. Despite the sophistication of the financial sector, the privacy of financial information is weakly regulated by a code of conduct for banks issued by the Banking Council.â€ This extract highlights some of the problems South Africa are experiencing with its current status on privacy as viewed from an International perspective. In recent years the International society has stepped up its efforts in creating a global village wherein the individual could be assured of having his/her privacy protected. Various conventions and guidelines2 have previously laid the foundation for privacy but it was not until the European Unionâ€™s (EU) launch of its Directive on Data Protection in 1995 that we have seen a real coerced shift in the focus of such protection. Cross border data transfers from the EU became something of the past unless third countries (those countries outside the EU) could prove the existence of adequate data protection provisions. It seemed to a big extend that international trade would be hampered and some of its biggest trading partners, such as the US, suddenly felt the impact due to its lagging protection measures. In order to curtail such inadequacies, a Safe Harbor Agreement was entered into between the EU and US whereby cross border data flow would be allowed under certain prerequisites. This Agreement however, does not cover Financial Institutions.
A nonlinear filtering method for geometric subspace tracking

We formulate the problem of tracking principal subspaces as a problem in nonlinear filtering. The subspaces are represented by their complex projection-matrices, and moving subspaces correspond to trajectories on the Grassmann manifold. Taking a Bayesian approach, we impose a smoothness prior on the subspace rotation. Combining ideas from importance sampling and sequential methods, we apply a recursive Monte Carlo approach to solving for MMSE estimates.
Delivering software into NASA's Mission Control Center using agile development techniques

The traditional software engineering approach at NASA uses a waterfall model. While this results in software that meets the requirements and is functionally correct, it may not result in the safest software, as verification and validation do not consider the software's usability. Since flight controllers need to make time-sensitive decisions based on telemetry, the flexibility and usability of the software are as important as the ability to accurately view telemetry. For example, the International Space Station has over 150,000 pieces of telemetry, so requiring all possible combinations of displays to be defined ahead of time is not practical. Thus, the ability to quickly visualize ad hoc telemetry groupings is important. This paper describes the process the Mission Control Technologies project uses to deliver innovative software while ensuring the software can be used in a mission-critical environment. The process has successfully delivered multiple customer-selected releases into the Mission Control Center operational environment.
A Theory of Rate-Dependent Plasticity

Abstract The classical theory of plasticity is extended to include rate of deformation effects by the addition of an appropriate rate variable to the definition of the yield surface. Then the incremental behavior of the extended yield surface during plastic deformation produces ratedependent plastic constitutive relations. A computationally convenient form is obtained for use in a finite element code. Results from the code are compared to published biaxial, nonproportional loading tests.
Assessment of vascular calcification in ESRD patients using spiral CT

AbstractBackground. Dialysis patients have increased vascularcalciﬁcation of the coronary arteries and aorta byelectron beam CT scan. The purpose of the presentstudy was to utilize an alternative machine, spiral CT,to assess calciﬁcation in end-stage renal disease (ESRD)patients.Methods. Two groups of patients with ESRD wereevaluated: group 1, those receiving a renal transplant(ns38); and group 2, those remaining on dialysis(ns33). All patients underwent quad-slice spiral CTwith retrospective gating to evaluate coronary arteryand aorta calciﬁcation scores. Both area (Agatstonmethod) and volume calculations were utilized, withretrospective gating in all but 16 subjects. Laboratorytests, medications and clinical characteristics wereanalysed.Results. Using spiral CT, the intra-reader variabilityfor coronary artery calciﬁcation (after correctionfor very low scores) was 0.9% mean u 0% medianusing the area (Agatston method) and 2.9% mean u 0%median using volume calculations. Group 1 patientswere younger, more likely to be Caucasian and on peri-toneal dialysis, had lower serum calcium and higherC-reactive protein levels than group 2. In patientswithout vs those with coronary artery calciﬁcation,only longer duration of dialysis (34"64 vs 55"50 months, Ps0.004; rs0.39, Ps0.005) and increa-sing age (39"13 vs 54"10 years, P-0.001; rs0.29,Ps0.039) were associated, whereas only increasing agewas associated with aorta calciﬁcation.Conclusion. In ESRD patients, the factors correlatingwith coronary calciﬁcation were duration of dialysisand advancing age, whereas only age correlated withaorta calciﬁcation. Spiral CT offers an alternativetechnique for the assessment of these changes.Keywords: coronary artery disease; dialysis; spiral CT;transplant; vascular calciﬁcation
Comment on Baylor: A Note About Dreams of Scientific Problem Solving

Creative problem-solving dreams virtually always occur only after the dreamer has done extensive work on the issue awake. Most typically, a person is stuck at one particular step of a multiple phase process and the dream solves that step. The dream of Dmitri Mendeleev about The Periodic Table of the Elements is no exception. All accounts of this event agree that he'd worked for years on the Table, produced other drafts, but that he attributed the version he was most satisfied with to a dream. It is less clear whether Kedrov is correct in his reconstruction that it was the reversal of columns vs. rows which the dream provided. Accounts of dreams from contemporary scientists and inventors are a richer source for the detail required to generalize about the role of dreams in problem solving.
The record breaking global temperatures of 1997 and 1998: Evidence for an increase in the rate of global warming?

During the time between May of 1997 and September of 1998, for sixteen consecutive months, each month broke the previous monthly all-time record high temperature. Using autoregressive intervention moving average (ARMA) models in a series of Monte Carlo experiments the probability of such an event was analyzed for various rates of temperature change. The string of record-breaking global temperatures could not be readily explained by the best fit linear increase of temperature since the late 1970's (2°C/Century), although the event was not implausible (probabilities slightly less than 5%). The 1997–98 event could signal yet another change point in the rate of global temperature increase, but the warming rate over the past few decades is already comparable to that projected during the 21st Century based on IPCC business as usual scenarios of anthropogenic climate change (Kattenberg et al., 1996).
A study on the profile of HVDC insulators-DC flashover performance

The results of flashover tests on insulator models with various geometrical configurations under DC field are presented. Dimensional parameters are used to describe the influence of the insulator profile on the flashover performance. The effects of both the surface contamination level and the geometrical shape on the arc propagation characteristics are investigated. It is shown that the flashover voltage of an insulator model under DC field is significantly influenced by the relative width and depth of the insulator underrib. It is also shown that the arc path under DC field is a function of both the geometry and surface contamination distribution. >
A Surfeit of Possibilities: Nonhealing Ulcers

p m s PRESENTATION Precise diagnosis of lower-extremity ulcerations is essential. Management differs so extensively between etiologies that misdiagnosis can lead to fatal outcomes. This was brought to mind when an 89-year-old woman was admitted directly to the hospital for treatment of worsening bilateral lower-extremity ulcerations. She had been transferred from another institution after a 2-week hospitalization due to concerns for calciphylaxis. Her symptoms started with edema of the distal bilateral lower-extremities 6 weeks earlier. Edema was followed by erythema and ulceration of the lateral aspect of her legs. These ulcers were bilateral but more pronounced on her right side. They were exquisitely painful, continued to enlarge, and occasionally discharged serosanguineous material; the exudate was never pustular. When first evaluated at her local hospital, the patient received antibiotics with no improvement in her ulcers. Two biopsies were unrevealing. She had a history of atrial fibrillation requiring warfarin for 3 years, but the drug had been discontinued a few days prior to transfer in case she was developing warfarin-induced skin necrosis. Her past medical history also was significant for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dilated cardiomyopathy with an ejection fraction of 30%, hypothyroidism, and hypertension. She had no history of vascular or kidney disease, tobacco use, or autoimmune disorders. Her other medications were carvedilol, enalapril, furosemide, metolazone, and levothyroxine. On arrival at our institution, the patient was afebrile and normotensive. Her physical exam was remarkable for irregularly irregular heart rhythm with a 2/6 systolic ejection murmur best heard parasternally. She had no jugular venous distention, and her pulses were palpable throughout. An examination of the lower extremities revealed several stel-
Cross-order comparisons using indexes of cerebral development

Three pacas were tested on a series of extradimensional shift problems to evaluate the relationship between learning ability and indexes of cerebral development. The paca was chosen because this particular rodent has a cerebral index which far exceeds most other rodents, and, in fact, is very similar to primitive primates. The results indicated that, if one controls for species-specific abilities, the performance of the paca is what one would expect given the paca’s brain index. The results were interpreted as suggesting that cross-order comparisons might be reasonable along a brain index continuum.
Mechanism of proton transfer in [FeFe]-Hydrogenase from Clostridium pasteurianum

[FeFe]-Hydrogenases are complex metalloproteins that catalyze the reversible reduction of protons to molecular hydrogen utilizing a unique diiron subcluster bridged to a [4Fe4S] subcluster. Extensive studies have concentrated on the nature and catalytic activity of the active site, yet relatively little information is available concerning the mechanism of proton transport that is required for this activity. Previously, structural characterization of [FeFe]-hydrogenase from Clostridium pasteurianum indicated a potential proton transport pathway involving four residues (Cys-299, Glu-279, Ser-319, and Glu-282) that connect the active site to the enzyme surface. Here, we demonstrate that substitution of any of these residues resulted in a drastic reduction in hydrogenase activity relative to the native enzyme, supporting the importance of these residues in catalysis. Inhibition studies of native and amino acid-substituted enzymes revealed that Zn2+ specifically blocked proton transfer by binding to Glu-282, confirming the role of this residue in the identified pathway. In addition, all four of these residues are strictly conserved, suggesting that they may form a proton transport pathway that is common to all [FeFe]-hydrogenases.
Thermoregulation with Age: Role of Beta-Adrenergic Signal Transduction

The predominance of the evidence from our studies indicates that beta 3-adrenergic-mediated thermogenesis in interscapular BAT is impaired with age. Moreover, upon exposure to cold, beta-adrenergic responsiveness in BAT is restored. However, the exact nature of the beta 3-adrenergic upregulation is unknown. When senescent rats are exposed to cold for as a little as 1 h, the increase in GDP binding is equal to the response in young rats. This indicates that any cold-induced upregulation of the beta-adrenergic signal transduction pathway must respond within this time frame. The senescent rats employed in our studies have been reared throughout their life at or near thermoneutrality. We hypothesize that under such conditions, beta 3-adrenergic signal transduction atrophies with age, whereas the induction pathways for the components of this signal transduction system remain intact. For example, the beta 3-adrenergic stimulation of UCP mRNA in BAT from senescent rats maintained at thermoneutrality is 54% of that of young rats. Upon exposure to the cold, possibly through a combination of enhanced beta 3AR-adenylyl cyclase coupling or enhanced gene expression of components in the signal transduction pathway or both, beta 3-adrenergic responsiveness is restored in the senescent rat.
Rhetorical Criticism in Biblical Commentaries

Biblical commentators through history have employed various methods to facilitate interpretation, including rhetorical criticism, with emphasis on classical rhetoric. Despite a resurgence of interest in rhetoric in the past two decades, only a few commentators in the New Interpreter's Bible and the Hermeneia series have undertaken in-depth rhetorical analysis. Most observations of these commentators are derived from the rhetorics of Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian and the Rhetorica ad Herennium. This essay sets forth and evaluates the various methods of rhetorical analysis and their employment in the two above-mentioned commentary series.
Efficiency of packed microcolumns compared with large-bore packed columns in size-exclusion chromatography

Columns with inner diameters of 50 and 28 μm were slurry-packed with 4–5 μm size-exclusion chromatography particles (Du Pont GF 250 Zorbax Bioseries) and compared with a commercially prepared 9.4-mm i.d. column that was packed with the same particles. The columns were compared on the basis of efficiencies, peak shapes, and van Deemter coefficients obtained for three proteins used as test analytes. The microcolumns provided more symmetrical peak shapes and lower plate heights than those provided by the commercial column if the peaks were analyzed using statistical moments. For example, hmin for bovine serum albumin was 5.6 in the commercial column and 2.1 in the microcolumn. This difference is attributed to the quality of the packing process, based on the fact that the van Deemter A term was significantly lower for the microcolumn than for the conventional column. The van Deemter data demonstrate that the A term was the major source of band broadening in the commercial column throughout the range of velocities used, and both the A and C terms were significant for the microcolumn. A 90 cm × 50 μm column was prepared and showed approximately 80% of the expected increase in efficiency.
Exponential observers for nonlinear dynamic systems

An observer theory is presented for nonlinear dynamic systems in this paper. Exponential observers are defined (asymptotic state estimators with exponentially decaying error). A Lyapunov-like method is introduced for the design of exponential observers. Two theorems are presented to give conditions on the system structure such that there exists an exponential observer for the given system.
Magnetic resonance imaging of rectal cancer: staging and restaging evaluation

Magnetic resonance imaging is used to non-invasively stage and restage rectal adenocarcinomas. Accurate staging is important as the depth of tumor extension and the presence or absence of lymph node metastases determines if an individual will undergo preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Accurate description of tumor location is important for presurgical planning. The relationship of the tumor to the anal sphincter in addition to the depth of local invasion determines the surgical approach used for resection. High-resolution T2-weighted imaging is the primary sequence used for initial staging. The addition of diffusion-weighted imaging improves accuracy in the assessment of treatment response on restaging scans. Approximately 10%–30% of individuals will experience a complete pathologic response following chemoradiation with no residual viable tumor found in the resected specimen at histopathologic assessment. In some centers, individuals with no residual tumor visible on restaging MR who are thought to be at high operative risk are monitored with serial imaging and a “watch and wait” approach in lieu of resection. Normal rectal anatomy, MR technique utilized for staging and restaging scans, and TMN staging are reviewed. An overview of surgical techniques used for resection including newer, minimally invasive endoluminal techniques is included.
The N-terminal SH2 Domains of Syk and ZAP-70 Mediate Phosphotyrosine-independent Binding to Integrin β Cytoplasmic Domains

Abstract Syk and ZAP-70 form a subfamily of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases that contain tandem SH2 domains at their N termini. Engagement of these SH2 domains by tyrosine-phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs leads to kinase activation and downstream signaling. These kinases are also regulated by β3 integrin-dependent cell adhesion via a phosphorylation-independent interaction with the β3 integrin cytoplasmic domain. Here, we report that the interaction of integrins with Syk and ZAP-70 depends on the N-terminal SH2 domain and the interdomain A region of the kinase. The N-terminal SH2 domain alone is sufficient for weak binding, and this interaction is independent of tyrosine phosphorylation of the integrin tail. Indeed, phosphorylation of tyrosines within the two conserved NXXY motifs in the integrin β3 cytoplasmic domain blocks Syk binding. The tandem SH2 domains of these kinases bind to multiple integrin β cytoplasmic domains with varying affinities (β3 (K d = 24 nm) > β2 (K d = 38 nm) > β1 (K d = 71 nm)) as judged by both affinity chromatography and surface plasmon resonance. Thus, the binding of Syk and ZAP-70 to integrin β cytoplasmic domains represents a novel phosphotyrosine-independent interaction mediated by their N-terminal SH2 domains.
Peptides that regulate food intake: orexin gene expression is increased during states of hypertriglyceridemia.

Previous reports implicate the orexins in eating and body weight regulation. This study investigated possible functional relationships between hypothalamic orexins and circulating hormones or metab...
On exploiting flow allocation with rate adaptation for green networking

Network power consumption can be reduced considerably by adapting link data rates to their offered traffic loads. In this paper, we exploit how to leverage rate adaptation for green networking by studying the following flow allocation problem in wired networks: Given a set of candidate paths for each end-to-end communication session, determine how to allocate flow (data traffic) along these paths such that power consumption is minimized, subject to the constraint that the traffic demand of each session is satisfied. According to recent measurement studies, we consider a discrete step increasing function for link power consumption. We address both the single and multiple communication session cases and formulate them as two optimization problems, namely, the Single-session Flow allocation with Rate Adaptation Problem (SF-RAP), and the Multi-session Flow Allocation with Rate Adaptation Problem (MF-RAP). We first show that both problems are NP-hard and present a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation for the MF-RAP to provide optimal solutions. Then we present a 2-approximation algorithm for the SF-RAP, and a general flow allocation framework as well as an LP-based heuristic algorithm for the MF-RAP. Simulation results show that the algorithm proposed for the SF-RAP consistently outperforms a shortest path based baseline solution and the algorithms proposed for the MF-RAP provide close-to-optimal solutions.
"It's complicated": collective memories of transgender, queer, and questioning youth in high school.

Using the qualitative participatory action methodology, collective memory work, this study explored how transgender, queer, and questioning (TQQ) youth make meaning of their sexual orientation and ...
Single wafer process to generate reliable swing

Swing curve generation is an important and common exercise in the design, characterization, and optimization of photolithography processes. The development of a robust anti-reflective strategy for a given process often necessitates multiple experimental iterations of the swing curve generation. The traditional methodology for generating a photoresist thickness swing curve plot is time and silicon intensive; usually involving processing and metrology on a dozen or more wafers. In addition, the resulting curve often can convolve systematic and random wafer-wafer effects due to other track/resist/scanner related variables. In some cases, such as very low reflectivity underlying substrate the signal to noise ratio is poor enough to effectively mask the sinusoidal swing behavior from visibility. In this paper, we present a new methodology to generate a swing curve by using a single wafer. The critical point of this method is to generate a temperature gradient on the wafer during the initial step of photoresist dispense and coating. Since the resist viscosity is inversely proportional to the temperature, a significant resist thickness variation can be produced across the wafer, which can easily encompass one swing period of thickness or more. The resulting resist thickness signature across the wafer is seen to be very repeatable, such that a companion wafer can be measured at multiple positions corresponding to CD metrology lcoations on the patterned wafer. The possibility of deconvolving systematic across wafer CD variability due to other process variables is discussed by characterizing a control wafer with conventional uniform resist thickness. Our experiments for I-line and DUV resists indicated that this method not only provides reliable swing curves but also saves photoresist, silicon, and time both for engineering and machine. Moreover, this methodology represents an improved signal to noise ratio such that makes it particularly useful for ARC thickness/composition optimization. Several examples utilizing this method will be presented.
Purification and characterization of topoisomerase IIA from Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract Topoisomerase II (Topo IIA) is an essential ubiquitous enzyme involved in controlling DNA topology during multiple processes of DNA metabolism. Although topoisomerase II from bacteria, viruses, and animals has been extensively characterized, only a few studies have characterized plant topoisomerase II from either crude or partially purified organellar and nuclear extracts, or produced by heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid, simple protocol for purification of nuclear topoisomerase II from Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings for kinetic characterization. We developed a reproducible five-step protocol that yielded large quantities of active, stable topoisomerase II purified ca. 1100-fold with 18% yield. Mass spectroscopy analysis of the purified enzyme identified locus At3g23890 encoding the only topoisomerase IIA in the Arabidopsis nuclear genome, providing the first direct functional annotation of this gene. Kinetic properties, substrate specificity, and optimal reaction conditions were determined for the purified Arabidopsis Topo IIA. Arabidopsis Topo IIA showed greater lability at higher temperatures and pH and low activity in the presence of divalent ions other than Mg2+ and exhibited a processive mode of relaxing supercoiled DNA in contrast to the mammalian, insect, and microbial enzymes. This simple and reliable procedure should be useful in purification of Topo IIA from other plant sources.
Development and Application of a Simulation Environment (NEO) for Integrating Empirical and Computational Investigations of System-Level Complexity

Network Exchange Objects (NEO) is a new software framework designed to facilitate development of complex natural or built distributed system models, where the system model is represented as a graph, through which currencies (e.g., coding information) flux. This paper introduces "system-level hypothesis (SLH) testing" as a form of computational thinking that will drive integration of computational and empirical sciences to promote efficient, self- correcting inquiry into the operations and behavior of complex systems. To demonstrate NEO, we examine the problem of maximizing the productivity of a software development organization by measuring growth in the total lines of code (LOC) contributed by developers. We develop a software framework (NEO) that allows rapid creation of model variants representing alternative SLHs. NEO is designed to investigate systems we describe as "complex adaptive hierarchical networks" (CAHNs - complex systems represented as networks that route and store multiple interactive currencies). Models built atop NEO, are organized collections of individual values (model variables) and algorithms (model logic). Modelers systematically combine algorithms to create alternative model formulations at runtime. Thus, NEO is a simulation framework that can be used in any domain of expertise, where systems are represented as interdependent entities that store and flux multiple currencies.
Monte Carlo evaluation of 6 MV intensity modulated radiotherapy plans for head and neck and lung treatments.

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) beams may have strong fluence variations and are advantageous at disease sites such as lung and head and neck (HN except for one dose-volume index, underdose was less than 10%. Individual HN for the fifth, there was less than 10% difference between the standard and the MC plans. Critical normal tissue DVHs (cord, lung, brainstem) are changed by <10% at the high dose end and mean lung doses are changed by <6%.
A stochastic computer simulation of an airport baggage facility

Proposes improving the efficiency of the operation of the baggage facility at American Airlines for O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Constructs a conceptual model of the existing bag room according to physical and operational data collected from maintenance reports, videotapes of conveyor belts and observation by the analysts. Sources of error resulting in flight delay or mishandled baggage include misreading of the bag tag which sends the bag to the wrong pier, overloaded piers which cause the bags to be rerouted to the recirculation area to be re‐encoded and re‐sorted and a random bag jam causing breakdown of a conveyor line. Four competing alternatives were simulated: the current bag room, the current bag room without the mail operation, an expanded system with additional baggage transfer points and baggage drop areas, and an expanded system without the mail lines. The result of the comparison of the alternatives based on the average of the mean travel time suggests that the current bag room is...
Comparison of a mechanical acetabular alignment guide with computer placement of the socket

We hypothesized that use of mechanical acetabular guides for intraoperative alignment leads to variations between the actual and desired implant orientation. Acetabular implant orientation using only the mechanical guide was studied in 78 patients (82 hips) undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty. A computer-assisted navigation system was used to measure alignment and to monitor the orientation of the pelvis during surgery. When using the mechanical guide, there was significant variation in cup alignment from the desired goal of 45° of abduction and 20° of flexion, and this would have resulted in unacceptable acetabular alignment in 78% of hips. With the support system used, there was significant variability in pelvic orientation during surgery. The mean anteversion of the pelvis was an average of 18° from the optimal orientation. These results show a clear need to develop more reliable tools than were used or anatomically based alignment strategies to provide reproducible and accurate acetabular alignment.
Autophagy machinery mediates macroendocytic processing and entotic cell death by targeting single membranes

Autophagy normally involves the formation of double-membrane autophagosomes that mediate bulk cytoplasmic and organelle degradation. Here we report the modification of single-membrane vacuoles in cells by autophagy proteins. LC3 (Light chain 3) a component of autophagosomes, is recruited to single-membrane entotic vacuoles, macropinosomes and phagosomes harbouring apoptotic cells, in a manner dependent on the lipidation machinery including ATG5 and ATG7, and the class III phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase VPS34. These downstream components of the autophagy machinery, but not the upstream mammalian Tor (mTor)-regulated ULK-ATG13-FIP200 complex, facilitate lysosome fusion to single membranes and the degradation of internalized cargo. For entosis, a live-cell-engulfment program, the autophagy-protein-dependent fusion of lysosomes to vacuolar membranes leads to the death of internalized cells. As pathogen-containing phagosomes can be targeted in a similar manner, the death of epithelial cells by this mechanism mimics pathogen destruction. These data demonstrate that proteins of the autophagy pathway can target single-membrane vacuoles in cells in the absence of pathogenic organisms.
Cooperative Education: One Perspective

Traditional educational systems tend to inhibit the preparation of young students for adulthood. This paper presents an alternative that effectively uses on-the-job training as an integral part of education. Cooperative education is not a new idea in the academic world. In fact, it has been in existence for almost 86 years. It is a method, however, that has been underused by most institutions across the country. This form of education combines classroom instruction with practical experiences in industry. Students are provided a unique opportunity to link education with industry experience, accelerating their overall maturity and development. In comparison, traditional teaching methods isolate students from the real work environment. This paper explores the need for cooperative education. Advantages from the perspective of students, employers, universities, and society are presented. The results of a study on criteria for a successful cooperative education program are described. The writer provides personal description and analysis of his cooperative-education experience, along with suggestions on how students can maximize their cooperative-education experience.
Proportional Service Differentiation for Multichannel Wireless Networks

In this paper, we propose multi-channel time division multiple access (MC/TDMA) scheme which provides proportional service differentiation while achieving high throughput in a multichannel wireless network. Proportional service differentiation is achieved by scheduling traffic over multiple non- overlapping channels using the modified open-shop scheduling problem analogy. This analogy allows us to use known optimal algorithms that have been previously developed for the open-shop scheduling problem. With extensive performance evaluation using OPNET simulator, we show that the proposed MC/TDMA scheme provides proportional service differentiation while achieving high throughput. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work for provisioning proportional service differentiation in wireless networks using multiple channels.