cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Formation flying and position determination for a space-based interferometer in GEO graveyard orbit

Spacecraft formations enable a variety of mission concepts, from gravity reconstruction to extrasolar planet detection to heliophysics observatories. In particular, space-based radio interferometers can detect signals in frequency ranges that are absorbed by Earth's ionosphere or atmosphere. Furthermore, such formation missions are now feasible under constrained cost caps due to the growing availability of SmallSat components with spaceflight heritage that are compatible the CubeSat form-factor. Accordingly, we analyze a mission concept operating multiple SmallSats in a passive cluster to establish a space-based interferometer. The goal of this array is to reconstruct radio emissions associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) from the Sun, giving us insight into the particle acceleration occurring during these events. This low-cost mission concept presents a number of unique challenges in regards to mission design and navigation, particularly the configuration of the spacecraft to optimize science return and the reconstruction of precise spacecraft-spacecraft separation values. After providing a brief overview of the mission concept, this paper presents several key features of the mission design and orbit determination strategy that enable this potential heliophysics mission.
Post-infarction left ventricular pseudoaneurysm

Introduction Pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle is a severe complication of myocardial infarction that results from a free cardiac wall rupture that is contained by the pericardium, thrombus, or adhesions. Most patients with a cardiac pseudoaneurysm will display symptoms of dyspnea or chest pain, but 10% of patients can be asymptomatic. Transthoracic Doppler color flow imaging is a suitable starting diagnostic method for diagnosing a pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle. Cardiac magnetic resonance is an excellent complementary method for identifying this cardiac entity. Case description A patient in heart failure was admitted to receive intensive care therapy. An electrocardiogram showed anterolateral ST elevation and two-dimensional echocardiogram [2DE] posterolateral akinesis of the left ventricle. After a satisfactory in-hospital course he was discharged without any apparent complication. Six months later he was referred for new evaluation due to heart failure symptoms. A 2DE revealed a pseudoaneurysm along the left ventricular lateral wall. A cardiac magnetic resonance confirmed a pseudoaneurysm contained by the pericardium. Late gadolinium-enhanced imaging demonstrated a transmural lateral myocardial infarction with marked delayed enhancement of the pericardium that forms the wall of the pseudoaneurysm. Results and conclusions Early surgical intervention is recommended for a pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle because of its tendency to rupture. Most patients do well after surgical repair, except for that requiring concomitant mitral valve replacement. However, the long-term outcomes of patients with a pseudoaneurysm not treated with surgery appear to be relatively benign, with a very low risk of fatal rupture. Therefore, a conservative approach may be considered in these patients that should include chronic anticoagulation therapy because of a high risk of ischemic stroke. Take-home message Transthoracic echocardiography is an acceptable starting diagnostic method in patients having a pseudoaneurysm. Cardiac magnetic resonance has been increasingly used as a non-invasive diagnostic method.
Nanoengineered Colloidal Inks for 3D Bioprinting

Nanoengineered hydrogels offer the potential to design shear-thinning bioinks for three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. Here, we have synthesized colloidal bioinks composed of disk-shaped two-dimensional (2D) nanosilicates (Laponite) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The addition of Laponite reinforces the PEG network and increases viscosity, storage modulus, and network stability. PEG-Laponite hydrogels display shear-thinning and self-recovery characteristics due to rapid internal phase rearrangement. As a result, a range of complex patterns can be printed using PEG-Laponite bioinks. The 3D bioprinted structure has similar mechanical properties compared to the as-casted structure. In addition, encapsulated cells within the PEG-Laponite bioink show high viability after bioprinting. Overall, this study introduces a new class of PEG-Laponite colloidal inks for bioprinting and cell delivery.
Acute Type A Aortic Dissection Causing Collapse of Previous Stent Graft

A 69-year-old man presented to the emergency department with back pain and paraplegia. Computed tomography showed acute type A aortic dissection with a primary tear right below the origin of the left subclavian artery. He had undergone endovascular aneurysm repair 13 months earlier, and the previously inserted endovascular graft had totally collapsed. Total arch replacement covering the primary entry tear was performed. Femoral pulse was undetected before the operation but was monitored postsurgically after cardiopulmonary bypass was weaned. The patient was discharged from the hospital on foot without an additional intervention.
Extracting sub-glottal and Supra-glottal features from MFCC using convolutional neural networks for speaker identification in degraded audio signals

We present a deep learning based algorithm for speaker recognition from degraded audio signals. We use the commonly employed Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) for representing the audio signals. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based on 1D filters, rather than 2D filters, is then designed. The filters in the CNN are designed to learn inter-dependency between cepstral coefficients extracted from audio frames of fixed temporal expanse. Our approach aims at extracting speaker dependent features, like Sub-glottal and Supra-glottal features, of the human speech production apparatus for identifying speakers from degraded audio signals. The performance of the proposed method is compared against existing baseline schemes on both synthetically and naturally corrupted speech data. Experiments convey the efficacy of the proposed architecture for speaker recognition.
Multiple product qualities in monopoly: Sailing the RMS Titanic into the economics classroom

In this pedagogical contribution the authors extend the traditional three-class tariff employed in the French passenger railway system with the more resonant story of the service quality variations...
Multiagent coalition formation for computer-supported cooperative learning

In this paper, we describe a computer-supported cooperative learning system in education and the results of its deployment. The system, called I-MINDS, consists of a set of teacher agents, group agents, and student agents. While the agents possess individual intelligent capabilities, the novel invention of I-MINDS lies in multiagent intelligence and coalition formation. I-MINDS supports student participation and collaboration and helps the instructor manage large, distance classrooms. Specifically, it uses a Vickrey auction-based and learning-enabled algorithm called VALCAM to form student groups in a structured cooperative learning setting. We have deployed I-MINDS in an introductory computer science course (CS1) and conducted experiments in the Spring and Fall semesters of 2005 to study how I-MINOS-supported collaboration fares against traditional, face-to-face collaboration. Results showed that students using I-MINDS performed (and outperformed in some aspects) as well as students in traditional settings.
Objective Assessment of Robotic Surgical Technical Skill: A Systematic Review

AbstractPurpose: Robotic surgeries, especially in urology, have grown exponentially over the past decade. Various skill assessment tools have been developed. We review the present status, current challenges, and future needs of robotic evaluations, with a focus on urologic applications.Materials and Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), two paired investigators screened PubMed®, Scopus® and Web of Science® databases for all full text, English language articles published between 2006 and 2018 using the query (evaluation OR assessment) AND (robot-assisted surgery OR robotic surgery) AND (surgical performance OR surgical skill) AND training. Research design, validity, and reliability of each study were ascertained and analyzed.Results: A total of 259 studies were identified, and 107 studies were included in the final analysis. We grouped the studies into two categories: manual and automated assessment. Manual evaluation included global skill assessme...
Improved Detection of Pelvic Organ Prolapse: Comparative Utility of Defecography Phase Sequence to Nondefecography Valsalva Maneuvers in Dynamic Pelvic Floor Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Purpose To evaluate the utility of a defecography phase (DP) sequence in dynamic pelvic floor MRI (DPMRI), in comparison to DPMRI utilizing only non-defecography Valsalva maneuvers (VM). Materials and Methods Inclusion criteria identified 237 female patients with symptoms and/or physical exam findings of pelvic floor prolapse. All DPMRI exams were obtained following insertion of ultrasound gel into the rectum and vagina. Steady-state free-precession sequences in sagittal plane were acquired in the resting state, followed by dynamic cine acquisitions during VM and DP. In all phases, two experienced radiologists performed blinded review using the H-line, M-line, Organ prolapse (HMO) system. The presence of a rectocele, enterocele and inferior descent of the anorectal junction, bladder base, and vaginal vault were recorded in all patients using the pubococcygeal line as a fixed landmark. Results DPMRI with DP detected significantly more number of patients than VM (p Conclusions Addition of DP to DPMRI demonstrates a greater degree of pelvic floor instability as compared to imaging performed during VM alone. Pelvic floor structures may show mild descent or appear normal during VM, with marked prolapse on subsequent DP images.
Polio in Pakistan: Political, Sociological, and Epidemiological Factors

Pakistan, Nigeria, and Afghanistan remain the only countries in the world where polio is still a serious threat. This review article addresses the political, sociological, and epidemiological factors behind the failure in eradication. A relatively popular Nigerian conspiracy theory about polio vaccines spread in Pakistan and, as a result, there is some considerable resistance to polio vaccination. Conspiracy theories about vaccines have a long history, and the fact that polio vaccinators were used as spies in order to plan for Bin Laden's death has made polio vaccination a bigger challenge. Furthermore, vaccination is strongly correlated with literacy and Pakistan is still struggling against illiteracy. However, these obstacles are by no means insurmountable, and a joint effort by the government, policymakers, education department, community mobilizers, and public health professionals can indeed make major improvements.
How do managers react to a Peer’s situation? The influence of environmental similarity on budgetary reporting

Abstract We investigate the impact the degree of similarity between one’s decision environment and that of a referent peer has on budgetary reporting. Self-categorization theory suggests that greater environmental similarity leads individuals to adjust their behavior to adhere to the social norms of peers within the same environment. We look at a reporting environment where managers can observe environmental similarity but cannot observe peers’ behavior (e.g., managers do not communicate their budget reports between departments). In this setting, we find that managers facing a similar decision environment to that of a peer manager report higher budgets than managers facing a dissimilar decision environment. Further, consistent with the idea that managers base their perceptions about the group’s social norms on their own desired behavior when peer behavior is unobservable, we find evidence that managers predict peers to report as they would, given similar environmental circumstances. Our findings provide a valuable insight into how peer environments, without knowledge of peer actions, can subtly affect managerial behavior.
Low-rank plus sparse compressed sensing for accelerated proton resonance frequency shift MR temperature imaging.

Purpose To improve multichannel compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction for MR proton resonance frequency (PRF) shift thermography, with application to MRI-induced RF heating evaluation and MR guided high intensity focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) temperature monitoring. Methods A new compressed sensing reconstruction is proposed that enforces joint low rank and sparsity of complex difference domain PRF data between post heating and baseline images. Validations were performed on 4 retrospectively undersampled dynamic data sets in PRF applications, by comparing the proposed method to a previously described L1 and total variation- (TV-) based CS approach that also operates on complex difference domain data, and to a conventional low rank plus sparse (L+S) separation-based CS reconstruction applied to the original domain data. Results In all 4 retrospective validations, the proposed reconstruction method outperformed the conventional L+S and L1 +TV CS reconstruction methods with a 3.6× acceleration ratio in terms of temperature accuracy with respect to fully sampled data. For RF heating evaluation, the proposed method achieved RMS error of 12%, compared to 19% for the L+S method and 17% for the L1 +TV method. For in vivo MRgFUS thalamotomy, the peak temperature reconstruction errors were 19%, 31%, and 35%, respectively. Conclusion The complex difference-based low rank and sparse model enhances compressibility for dynamic PRF temperature imaging applications. The proposed multichannel CS reconstruction method enables high acceleration factors for PRF applications including RF heating evaluation and MRgFUS sonication.
Pursuing collaboration to improve services for child welfare-involved housing unstable families

Abstract Families involved in the child welfare system in the United States often face housing instability and other complex issues, such as challenges regarding mental health, substance abuse, poverty, and domestic violence. Housing instability, in particular, can hinder parents' progress on completing their case plans and regaining custody of their children. Thus, interagency collaboration between the child welfare system and community agencies is necessary to achieve optimal child welfare outcomes. This study explores facilitators of and barriers to effective collaboration between workers at partner organizations working on a program focused on the reunification of housing-unstable families with their children in out-of-home placement. A series of focus group interviews were conducted with 23 workers from two agencies: a local community agency providing assistance with housing and supportive services and child welfare workers. Three key collaboration facilitators were identified: feelings of support; program workers bridging communication between child welfare workers and clients; and supervisors' support. Barriers to interagency collaboration included: a lack of shared values; misunderstanding the other worker's role; lack of buy-in of the program's philosophical approach, and perceptions of worker lack of commitment. The findings have implications for promoting interagency collaboration and innovative practices for families who experience both housing instability and child welfare involvement.
Participation in the Process of Setting Public Sector Accounting Standards: the Case of IPSASB

Accounting standard-setting bodies employ mechanisms for stakeholder participation in the standard-setting process. While due process procedures of national and international accounting standards b...
Reflections on and future of hematologic malignancies research in the Veterans Health Administration.

Abstract Research in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has played an integral part in learning about cancer biology and treatment. Here we provide examples of past research performed in the VHA focusing on hematologic malignancies, and identify future opportunities for areas of research in this group of uncommon diseases that have specific importance for Veterans and the VHA. Veterans treated in the VHA and in the private sector deserve information that is focused on them, and is not an extrapolation from the larger population. Only by building upon and expanding existing research within the VHA can Veteran-specific results be collected and best practices be developed. In turn, such advances will benefit Veterans affected by these cancers with an improved quality of life and a longer lifespan.
Charge-Altering Releasable Transporters Enable Specific Phenotypic Manipulation of Resting Primary Natural Killer Cells

Natural killer (NK) cells are capable of rapid and robust cytotoxicity, making them excellent tools for immunotherapy. However, their recalcitrance to standard transfection techniques has limited both mechanistic studies and clinical applications. Current approaches for NK cell manipulation rely on viral transduction or methods requiring NK cell activation, which can alter NK cell function. Here, we report that non-viral Charge-Altering Releasable Transporters (CARTs) efficiently transfect primary human NK cells with mRNA without relying on NK cell activation. Compared to electroporation, CARTs transfect NK cells two orders of magnitude more efficiently, better preserve cell viability, and cause minimal reconfiguration of NK cell phenotype and function. Finally, we use CARTs to generate highly cytotoxic primary human chimeric antigen receptor NK cells, indicating potential therapeutic utility of this technique. To our knowledge, CARTs represent the first efficacious transfection technique for resting primary NK cells that preserves NK cell phenotype, and can drive new biological discoveries and clinical applications of this understudied lymphocyte subset.
Dosage scaling of alcohol in binge exposure models in mice: An empirical assessment of the relationship between dose, alcohol exposure, and peak blood concentrations in humans and mice.

Abstract Binge drinking is a remarkably prevalent behavior. In 2015, 27% of U.S. residents 18 years old or older reported at least one episode of binge drinking in the previous month. Rodent models for binge drinking are widely used to study the mechanisms by which alcohol causes a variety of adverse health effects in humans. Concerns have been raised that many binge-drinking studies in rodents involve alcohol doses that would be unrealistically high in humans. Allometric dosage scaling can be used to estimate the dose of a drug or chemical in mice that would be necessary to achieve similar biological effects at a realistic dose in humans. However, it has become apparent that no single allometric conversion factor is applicable for all drugs and chemicals, so it is necessary to evaluate each compound empirically. In the present study, we compared the area under the blood alcohol concentration vs. time curve (AUC) and the peak blood alcohol concentration following oral alcohol administration at various doses in mice and humans, using data from previously published studies. The results demonstrated that the oral dose of alcohol must be larger in mice (on a g of alcohol to kg of body weight basis) than in humans to achieve similar alcohol AUC values or to achieve similar peak concentrations in the blood. The dose required in mice was about 2-fold greater than the dose required in humans to achieve similar alcohol AUC and peak concentrations. The results shown here were substantially different from the average 5–12-fold difference between mice and humans calculated in previous studies using agents other than alcohol. Results shown here demonstrate that an empirical approach using data from several independent experiments provides information needed to determine the alcohol dose in mice that produces a similar level of exposure (AUC and peak concentration) as in humans. The results indicate that a single alcohol dose in the range of 5–6 g/kg, a range often used in mouse models for binge drinking, is not excessive when modeling human binge drinking. Results presented here illustrate that in mice both alcohol AUC and peak alcohol concentration correlate well with an important biological effect – activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis – as indicated by increased corticosterone AUC values.
Intercellular Gas: Its Role in Sonated Plant Tissue

Determination of conditions for safe medical use of ultrasound is a difficult task which will probably require a variety of approaches. In one approach, model systems are chosen as test objects, in the hope of gaining insights which are useful generally. Plant tissues have been found suitable as models; with these, bio-effects are found at relatively low ultrasonic levels and can be investigated to determine thresholds. We shall not review previous studies here but note that in recent work a group of investigators at the University of Rochester1–4 have shown that 2 MHz ultrasound at intensities as low as 1 W/cm2 causes damage in the form of chromosome anomalies in plant roots. They also have shown that the temperature elevation during sonication is negligible under their conditions, and have suggested that some kind of cavitation might be a mechanism for the sonic effect.
Improving Emergency Response Training and Decision Making Using a Collaborative Virtual Reality Environment for Building Evacuation

Emergency response training is needed to remember and implement emergency operation plans (EOP) and procedures over long periods until an emergency occurs. There is also a need to develop an effective mechanism of teamwork under emergency conditions such as bomb blasts and active shooter events inside a building. One way to address these needs is to create a collaborative training module to study these emergencies and perform virtual evacuation drills. This paper presents a collaborative virtual reality (VR) environment for performing emergency response training for fire and smoke as well as for active shooter training scenarios. The collaborative environment is implemented in Unity 3D and is based on run, hide, and fight mode of emergency response. Our proposed collaborative virtual environment (CVE) is set up on the cloud and the participants can enter the VR environment as a policeman or as a civilian. We have used game creation as a metaphor for developing a CVE platform for conducting training exercises for different what-if scenarios in a safe and cost-effective manner. The novelty of our work lies in modeling behaviors of two kinds of agents in the environment: user-controlled agents and computer-controlled agents. The computer controlled agents are defined with preexisting rules of behaviors whereas the user controlled agents are autonomous agents that provide controls to the user to navigate in the CVE at their own pace. Our contribution lies in our approach to combine these two approaches of behavior to perform emergency response training for building evacuation.
Adenovirus E1A Binding to DCAF10 Targets Degradation of AAA+ ATPases Required for Quaternary Assembly of Multiprotein Machines and Innate Immunity

Adenovirus E1A early proteins modify host cell physiology to optimize virus replication. The Nterminal half of small e1a interacts with RB-family proteins to de-repress dNTP and DNA synthesis, and with p300/CBP to inhibit host anti-viral innate immune responses. These e1a Nterminal interactions activate a strong, late host anti-viral response due to stabilization and activation of interferon response factor 3 (IRF3). However, the C-terminal half of e1a inhibits this through interactions with three host proteins with seemingly unrelated functions. Proteomic analysis showed that all three C-terminal interactions are required for e1a-association into an ~1 MDa multi-protein complex with scaffold subunits of a CRL4 E3 ubiquitin ligase and DCAF10, a presumed specificity subunit. This e1a-DCAF10-CRL4 prevents IRF3 stabilization indirectly by directing degradation of the essential AAA+ ATPases RUVBL1/2, subunits of several HSP90 co-chaperones required for quaternary assembly of cellular protein machines required for anti-viral defenses and responses to genotoxic and metabolic stress.
Sorting out microtubule-based transport

Ahmet Yildiz draws our attention to work on understanding the regulation of microtubule-based motors.
Harder Than You Think: How Outside Assistance Leads to Overconfidence:

Cognitive ability consists not only of one's internal competence but also of the augmentation offered by the outside world. How much of our cognitive success is due to our own abilities, and how much is due to external support? Can we accurately draw that distinction? Here, we explored when and why people are unaware of their reliance on outside assistance. Across eight experiments (N = 2,440 participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk), people showed improved metacognitive calibration when assistance occurred after a delay or required active choice. Furthermore, these findings apply across a wide range of cognitive tasks, including semantic memory (Experiments 1a and 1b), episodic memory (Experiments 2a and 2b), and problem solving (Experiments 3a-3d). These experiments offer important insights into how we understand our own abilities when we rely on outside help.
Sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Hemiptera: Aphididae), abundance on sorghum and johnsongrass in a laboratory and field setting

Abstract In North America, the sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner, 1897) (Heteroptera: Aphididae), has recently become an eruptive and costly pest of sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.). This pest has spread throughout at least 17 U.S. states and in Mexico and Caribbean Islands. The sugarcane aphid's ability to overwinter on living annual and perennial hosts such as johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense (L.), in southern sorghum-producing areas and wind-aided movement of alate aphids appear to be the main factors in its persistence and geographic spread. The importance of johnsongrass to the sugarcane aphid-sorghum annual infestation cycle is in part related to the ability of the sugarcane aphid to switch between these hosts and its relative reproduction on sorghum and johnsongrass. Two host plant experiments were used to investigate this ability. Beginning at the same infestation levels, more aphids were found on johnsongrass from adults that originated on sorghum than aphids found on johnsongrass from adults originating from johnsongrass or sorghum. This supports field observations that after sorghum harvest, the sugarcane aphid can persist and reproduce on johnsongrass. Host switched colonies all performed at intermediate levels, suggesting effects of the prior host do carry forward to the switched host. Pest managers can utilize this information in areas where sorghum and johnsongrass are both parts of the agroecosystem in this region and for modeling endeavors considering dispersal of sugarcane aphid between hosts.
Safety of apixaban for venous thromboembolic primary prophylaxis in patients with newly diagnosed malignant glioma.

The cumulative incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) among patients with malignant gliomas (MG) is estimated to be as high as 36% during the course of therapy. Development of VTE is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization, delays in cancer treatment, and an increased risk of complications including intracranial hemorrhage as well as VTE specific symptoms. Despite the high risk of VTE and associated morbidity, there is no standard recommendations regarding long term outpatient VTE prophylaxis in patients with MG due to the lack of clinical trial evidence in this patient population. In this study, we treated ten patients with newly diagnosed MG with apixaban, 2.5 mg twice daily beginning 2–21 days after craniotomy and continuing for up to 6 months. Unacceptable toxicity was defined by ≥ grade 2 CNS or non-CNS hemorrhage, a thromboembolic event (i.e. stroke) or cardiovascular event requiring anticoagulation or anti-platelet therapy. There were no unacceptable toxicities to report and no treatment-related adverse events. None of the patients on the study were diagnosed with a VTE while receiving apixaban. We conclude that apixaban can be given safely to patients with primary MG shortly after craniotomy and should be considered for VTE prevention in these high-risk patients.
Virtual reality adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic: A uses and gratifications perspective

Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted all aspects of people's lives, including how we work, play, learn, exercise, and socialize. Virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to mitigate many of the challenges brought about by the pandemic, which has spurred increased adoption. However, relatively low adoption overall and limited software still restrict the power of VR to address COVID-19 difficulties effectively. This study examines how the perceived impacts of COVID-19 might lead to different VR uses and gratifications and device ownership / variability. Furthermore, we investigate the importance of social interactivity within VR for increasing adoption intentions. We surveyed 298 Amazon Mechanical Turk users during the Fall of 2020. Results indicate that the pandemic's perceived impacts influenced the likelihood of acquiring VR for education, tourism, and work. For VR ownership and variability, those who purchased VR during the pandemic were more likely to report buying it for work. Those with access to high-end VR hardware were more likely to report a broader range of uses, including socializing, health, and telemedicine. Validating the importance of various applications during the pandemic, we found that the desire for social interactivity mediates the impacts of COVID-19 on future adoption intentions. Theoretically, we propose several gratifications sought via the use of VR during the pandemic. Practically, we discuss recommendations for future VR research, marketing, and software design.
Fungi of Grand Teton National Park

During August, 1968 studies of the aquatic fungi and rust fungi of Grand Teton National Park were continued. Flagellospora penicillioides Ing. was added to the list of aquatic hypomycetes known to occur in this area. Field work on rust fungi included a study of the life cycle of Puccinia helianthellae on Helianthella quiquenervis. This rust was found to have a systematic spermogonial stage and a systemic, uredinoid aecial stage. Specimens resulting from this study have been sent to the Arthur Herbarium, Purdue University. Project Number 101.
“Hit” to Drug: Lead Optimization

This chapter focuses on optimization of drugs. When dealing with large numbers of investigational compounds to be tested for agonist or antagonist activity, the methods used to determine system-independent measures of activity must be identified from the initial profile of activity (data driven analysis). Short form measures of activity can adequately drive structure activity relationships if appropriate corrections for system effects are made. Surmountable antagonism can be quantified by pA2 values, and insurmountable antagonism through pIC50 values that in some cases can be corrected for the strength of stimulation in the system. In all cases, the molar concentration at which blockade of an agonist response is first encountered is a reasonable indication of the molecular potency of the antagonist, with the possible exception being allosteric modulators that block receptor signaling but increase the affinity of the receptor for the agonist. In general, drugs can be divided into two initial types: those that do and those that do not initiate directly observable pharmacological response in the preparation. As a preface to specific discussion of the use of data driven analyses, it is useful to consider the application of surrogate parameters. Pharmacological data should directly be fit to specific models and parameters derived from that direct fit. There are pharmacological tools and techniques designed to determine system-independent measures of the potency and efficacy of drugs, but to apply them effectively, the molecular mechanism of the drug must be known beforehand.
PROSTATE: Practice Parameters, Pathologic Staging, and Handling Radical Prostatectomy Specimens

This article addresses the handling, processing, and reporting of radical prostatectomy specimens with the goal of providing general guidelines and practical suggestions for the surgical pathologist. During the last decade, pathologists in academic and community institutions have witnessed a surge in the number of radical prostatectomy specimens evaluated in their departments. Unlike the relative familiarity most pathologists have with other major oncologic resections, radical prostatectomy specimens present an interesting and occasionally frustrating challenge with respect to gross evaluation, sampling, and reporting.
Learning a context aware dictionary for sparse representation

Recent successes in the use of sparse coding for many computer vision applications have triggered the attention towards the problem of how an over-complete dictionary should be learned from data. This is because the quality of a dictionary greatly affects performance in many respects, including computational. While so far the focus has been on learning compact, reconstructive, and discriminative dictionaries, in this work we propose to retain the previous qualities, and further enhance them by learning a dictionary that is able to predict the contextual information surrounding a sparsely coded signal. The proposed framework leverages the K-SVD for learning, fully inheriting its benefits of simplicity and efficiency. A model of structured prediction is designed around this approach, which leverages contextual information to improve the combined recognition and localization of multiple objects from multiple classes within one image. Results on the PASCAL VOC 2007 dataset are in line with the state-of-the-art, and clearly indicate that this is a viable approach for learning a context aware dictionary for sparse representation.
Transfer of chromosomal material: Association of rescuable sarcoma virus genome with the chromosomal fraction

Abstract An attempt was made to transfer the murine sarcoma virus genome from cryptically transformed HT-1 cells to hamster embryo cells via isolated chromosomes (chromosome immigration). Chromosome immigration did not result in any transformation of recipient embryo cells. However, there was transfer of a rescuable sarcoma virus genome. Evidence indicates that the transfer requires the intact chromosome structure. It was not possible to identify one or any chromosome associated with the rescuable sarcoma genome.
Modelling the Future: Exhibitions and the Materiality of Education.

It is no real surprise that modern nations challenge each other’s presumptions and assumptions especially regarding education. Russia’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 prompted a shift in science and maths instruction in the United States. More recently, international TIMSS and PISA results have prompted reflections on the educational systems of the countries that excelled such as Singapore and Finland. Also, international stages provide opportunities for nations to showcase what they consider to be the best they have to offer. Often it is in the form of a national story. From 1936 to the present day, the opening ceremonies of the Olympics served to display, in part, the national narratives of the host countries in addition to the Olympic themes of athleticism and world harmony. During Canada’s hosting of the Winter Olympics in 2010, national pride in an abundance of natural beauty and cultural richness was in evidence through music and dance. In Modelling the future, the authors examine the international stages and stagecraft of the past, particularly the Great Exhibitions and World’s Fairs dating from 1851. From London’s Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (1851) and the Exposition universelle des produits de l’agriculture, de l’industrie et des beaux arts a Paris (1855) to the New York World’s Fair of 1939, the authors make a case for the importance of displays of the materiality of education. These fairs were often held in conjunction with parallel scientific conferences with many scholars and specialists in attendance. According to the editor of this series of essays, Martin Lawn, comparative histories of exhibitions and museums have never been intensely studied. He further claims that great world exhibitions of the past served a unique function of helping to
The Role of Salt Bridge Formation in Glucagon: An Experimental and Theoretical Study of Glucagon Analogs and Peptide Fragments of Glucagon

Glucagon is a 29-residue peptide produced in the a cells of the pancreas that interacts with hepatic receptors to stimulate glucose production and release, via a cAMP-mediated pathway. Type 2 diabetes patients may have an excess of glucagon and, as such, glucagon antagonists might serve as diabetes drugs. The antagonists that bind to the glucagon receptor but do not exhibit activity could be analogs of glucagon. The presence of salt bridges between some residues of glucagons (such as aspartic acid) and others (such as lysine) might influence both the binding to the receptor and the activity. Experimental—The solid phase method with 4-methylbenzilhydrilamine resin (p-MBHA resin) was used for the synthesis of glucagon analogs. Rat liver membranes were prepared from male Sprague-Dawley rats by the Neville procedure. The receptor binding essay was performed in 1% BSA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 25 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.2. Adenyl cyclase activity was measured in an assay medium containing 1% serum albumin, 25 mM MgCl2, 2 mM dithiothreitol, 0.025 mM GTP, 5 mM ATP, 0.9 mM theophylline, 17.2 mM creatine phosphate, and 1 mg/ml creatine phosphokinase. Theoretical—Quantum chemical calculations using the Titan program with the 6–31G* basis set were performed to calculate the binding energies of salt bridges between aspartic or glutamic acids and lysine. The relative stability of cyclic conformations of glucagon segments versus the extended segments was determined. It was found that the cyclic Glu9-Lys12 amide compound displayed a 20-fold decrease in binding affinity. DesHis1 cyclic compounds Glu20-Lys24 amide and DesHis1Glu9 Glu20-Lys24 amide behave as glucagon antagonists. The calculations show that cyclic conformations of tetrapeptidic and pentapeptidic segments of glucagon are more stable than the extended species. The biological data and the theoretical calculations show that an intramolecular salt bridge might impart stability to some glucagon antagonists and, when situated at the C-terminus of glucagon, might facilitate induction of an α-helix upon initial hormone association with the membrane bilayer. These findings might be a useful tool for the design of new glucagon antagonists.
Developing Drug Use Evaluation Criteria for Parenteral Fluoroquinolones

The basic tenet of pharmaceutical care asserts that the delivery of optimal, cost-effective pharmacotherapy can be best achieved by identifying, resolving, and preventing drug-related problems. Drug use evaluation (DUE) is one of the primary tools used to achieve these ends. Fluoroquinolone antimicrobials meet Joint Commission criteria for targeting for DUE: the drugs are used in populations at high risk for adverse drug reactions, quality assurance or infection control committees target them for DUE, the drugs are costly, they may be suspected or known to be used inappropriately, and they are prescribed frequently. Outside this supplement, no published DUE criteria for parenteral fluoroquinolones currently exist. Suggested criteria include use in patients who would otherwise be candidates for oral fluoroquinolone therapy (for which published criteria exist) but who cannot use the oral route of administration due to gastrointestinal conditions predisposing to malabsorption or unavailability of the oral route; for severe infections due to gram-negative pathogens; as a replacement for aminoglycosides when ototoxicity or nephrotoxicity is a substantial risk; targeting to resistant pathogens (i.e., not as empiric therapy); and targeting to therapeutic use only (not for prophylaxis). The DUE process is crucial for ensuring safe, effective, appropriate, and economical drug therapy. It is an effective mechanism for evaluating the use of new agents and as an educational tool for clinicians in the postmarketing period.
DNA biosynthesis in rat liver mitochondria. Inhibition by sulfhydryl compounds and stimulation by cytoplasmic proteins.

Abstract The sulfhydryl compounds, 2-mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol, cysteine. and glutathione inhibit the incorporation of [3H]dTTP or [3H]dATP into mitochondrial DNA by rat liver mitochondria in vitro. The lack of inhibition by non-SH-containing analogs indicates that the SH group is responsible for the inhibition. The inhibition does not result from an effect of the sulfhydryl compounds on precursor permeability, ATP formation, or respiration, or the action of the thiol on the outer mitochondrial membrane. An intact inner membrane is not required for the action of the inhibitor. Furthermore, SH compounds do not appear to exert their effect by activation of a mitochondrial nuclease, chemical breakdown of high molecular-weight mitochondrial DNA or dissociation of membrane-bound DNA from the inner mitochondrial membrane. Incorporation of labeled precursor into DNA by mitochondrial DNA polymerase, when removed from the inner mitochondrial membrane, is not inhibited by SH compounds. Cytoplasmic extracts prepared from rat and mouse tumors and 22-h regenerating rat liver contain a protein(s) not detectable in normal rat liver which can reverse the inhibition by SH compounds of the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA in rat liver mitochondria in vitro. More importantly, when the stimulatory protein(s) is partially purified by affinity chromatography on DNA-cellulose, it is possible to demonstrate that this protein(s) also stimulates the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA by normal rat liver mitochondria in vitro in the absence of the sulfhydryl inhibitor.
Random rounding: Some principles and applications

Truncation and rounding operations in digital signal processing introduce harmonic and intermodulation distortion for low level inputs or pure signal inputs. A two step random rounding procedure alleviates these problems by introducing "white" quantization noise. Some results bearing on the quantization noise levels as a function of input level and on linearity are presented. In one application a simple recursive integrator is found to have dramatic correlated quantization error affects unless random rounding is employed.
Polynomial Evaluation and Interpolation and Transformations of Matrix Structures

Multipoint polynomial evaluation and interpolation are fundamental for modern numerical and symbolic computing. The known algorithms solve both problems over any field of constants in nearly linear arithmetic time, but the cost grows to quadratic for numerical solution. By combining a variant of the Multipole celebrated numerical techniques with transformations of matrix structures of [10] we achieve dramatic speedup and for a large class of inputs yield solution algorithms running in nearly linear time as well. The algorithms support similar speedup of approximation of the products of a Vandermonde matrix, its transpose, inverse, and the transpose of the inverse by a vector.
The enterococcal cytolysin synthetase has an unanticipated lipid kinase fold

The enterococcal cytolysin is a virulence factor consisting of two post-translationally modified peptides that synergistically kill human immune cells. Both peptides are made by CylM, a member of the LanM lanthipeptide synthetases. CylM catalyzes seven dehydrations of Ser and Thr residues and three cyclization reactions during the biosynthesis of the cytolysin large subunit. We present here the 2.2 A resolution structure of CylM, the first structural information on a LanM. Unexpectedly, the structure reveals that the dehydratase domain of CylM resembles the catalytic core of eukaryotic lipid kinases, despite the absence of clear sequence homology. The kinase and phosphate elimination active sites that affect net dehydration are immediately adjacent to each other. Characterization of mutants provided insights into the mechanism of the dehydration process. The structure is also of interest because of the interactions of human homologs of lanthipeptide cyclases with kinases such as mammalian target of rapamycin.
Effects of preparation variables on an alumina-supported FeCuK Fischer–Tropsch catalyst

This paper investigates the effects of various, carefully-chosen preparation methods on the performance of Fischer–Tropsch (FT) alumina-supported iron/copper/potassium (FeCuK/Al2O3) catalysts. Two tested preparation methods (co-impregnation and non-aqueous slurry impregnation) yielded supported Fe catalysts with better catalyst performance than previously thought possible. These two supported iron catalysts have high reaction rates (114–154 mmol (CO + H2) gcat−1 MPa−1 h−1), good productivity (0.26–0.29 gHC gcat−1 h−1), and reasonable stability. In fact, both catalysts are more active than any supported Fe catalyst reported outside our group and compare favorably with unsupported catalysts. Superior activity, coupled with the high strength of a supported catalyst, make these catalysts excellent candidates for use in slurry bubble column reactor (SBCR) applications.
Hydrogeologic Characteristics of Shallow Glacial Drift Aquifers in Dissected Till Plains (North‐Central Missouri)

The dissected till plains physiographic province contains extensive areas of pre-Illinoian drift in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. The drift is typically a clay-rich, oxidized, and highly weathered till. In many areas of Missouri, this shallow drift represents the only readily available aquifer suitable for domestic and small agricultural users. There are, however, only few published data on the region's hydrogeology. Water budget analyses indicate that approximately 30% of mean annual rainfall is discharged by stream flow and 70% by evapotranspiration. The shallow drift flow systems are best considered unconfined, steady-state systems. Each watershed corresponds roughly to a local ground-water system. There is, typically, little hydraulic connection between the shallow drift systems and underlying strata. The drift hydraulic conductivity varies from approximately 1011 m/sec (laboratory tests) to 10−6 to 10−7 m/sec (field tests) when permeable sand lenses or joints are intersected. Ground-water discharge is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of stream channels, and recharge is concentrated on nearly horizontal hillslope summits. The ground water is generally potable (averaging 455 mg/1 total dissolved solids), but may be high in iron or polluted locally by organic wastes.
An interactive gaming package for teaching and research in interdependent choice

A pair of FORTRAN programs allows two individuals or groups to play prisoner’s dilemma and other two-party mixed-motive games on physically isolated terminals of a time-sharing computer. The programs provide a flexible tool for teaching and research through a series of programmable options for structuring and enhancing the playing environment of the game. Four participatory roles for students provide an opportunity for integrated exposure to the broader context of empirical research design and execution.