cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Uptake and distribution of 14C during and following exposure to [14C]methyl isocyanate.

Guinea pigs were exposed to (/sup 14/C)methyl isocyanate (/sup 14/CH/sub 3/-NCO, /sup 14/C MIC) for periods of 1 to 6 hr at concentrations of 0.5 to 15 ppm. Arterial blood samples taken during exposure revealed immediate and rapid uptake of /sup 14/C. Clearance of /sup 14/C was then gradual over a period of 3 days. Similarly /sup 14/C was present in urine and bile immediately following exposure, and clearance paralleled that observed in blood. Guinea pigs fitted with a tracheal cannula and exposed while under anesthesia showed a reduced /sup 14/C uptake in blood indicating that most of the /sup 14/C MIC uptake in normal guinea pigs occurred from retention of this agent in the upper respiratory tract passages. In exposed guinea pigs /sup 14/C was distributed to all examined tissues. In pregnant female mice similarly exposed to /sup 14/C MIC, /sup 14/C was observed in all tissues examined following exposure including the uterus, placenta, and fetus. While the form of /sup 14/C distributed in blood and tissues has not yet been identified, these findings may help to explain the toxicity of MIC or MIC reaction products on organs other than the respiratory tract, as noted by several investigators.
Phylogeny of Medusozoa and the evolution of cnidarian life cycles

To investigate the evolution of cnidarian life cycles, data from the small subunit of the ribosome are used to derive a phylogenetic hypothesis for Medusozoa. These data indicate that Cnidaria is monophyletic and composed of Anthozoa and Medusozoa. While Cubozoa and Hydrozoa are well supported clades, Scyphozoa appears to be paraphyletic. Stauromedusae is possibly the sister group of either Cubozoa or all other medusozoans. The phylogenetic results suggest that: the polyp probably preceded the medusa in the evolution of Cnidaria; within Hydrozoa, medusa development involving the entocodon is ancestral; within Trachylina, the polyp was lost and subsequently regained in the parasitic narcomedusans; within Siphonophorae, the float originated prior to swimming bells; stauromedusans are not likely to be descended from ancestors that produced medusae by strobilation; and cubozoan polyps are simplified from those of their ancestors, which possessed polyps with gastric septa and four mesogleal muscle bands and peristomial pits.
Vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic plasticity: focus on chromatin remodelling

Differentiated vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) retain the capacity to modify their phenotype in response to inflammation or injury. This phenotypic switching is a crucial component of vascular disease, and is partly dependent on epigenetic regulation. An appreciation has been building in the literature for the essential role chromatin remodelling plays both in SMC lineage determination and in influencing changes in SMC behaviour and state. This process includes numerous chromatin regulatory elements and pathways such as histone acetyltransferases, deacetylases, and methyltransferases and other factors that act at SMC-specific marker sites to silence or permit access to the cellular transcriptional machinery and on other key regulatory elements such as myocardin and Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4). Various stimuli known to alter the SMC phenotype, such as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), oxidized phospholipids, and retinoic acid, appear to act in part through effects upon SMC chromatin structure. In recent years, specific covalent histone modifications that appear to establish SMC determinacy have been identified, while others alter the differentiation state. In this article, we review the mechanisms of chromatin remodelling as it applies to the SMC phenotype.
Silent Reading Rates in Grade Equivalents

Silent reading rates have been converted into grade equivalent (GE) units. Data presented in several different sources were evaluated and the Taylor (1965) data were selected to represent GEs. The Taylor data were further evaluated by comparisons with the results of other research data. From all these data it appears that the growth in reading rate is approximately constant each year in school for typical students. And, the Taylor GEs seem to provide reasonably valid, criterionreferenced GEs that may be used to evaluate the status and progress of individuals or groups.
Effect of Weight Loss on Menstrual Function in Adolescents with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract Study Objective To compare the effects of a hypocaloric low-fat diet with those of a very low carbohydrate diet on body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and menstrual function in overweight adolescent females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design Randomized pilot trial of two diets in a prospective, 12-week study. Setting A hospital-based, academic adolescent medicine division. Participants 24 females, age 12-22 years (mean 15.8 ± 2.2), with PCOS and a BMI above the 85 th percentile for age (mean 35.7 ± 6.0 kg/m 2 ). Interventions Nutrition counseling was given biweekly, and dietary compliance, menstrual history, and weight were recorded. WC was measured at the beginning and end of the study. Main Outcome Measures Changes in weight, BMI, WC, and improvement in menstrual function over the course of the study period. Results 16 participants completed the study. 12 completers menstruated during the study period, 8 with regularity. The number of periods over 3 months increased from 0.6 ± 0.6 pre-treatment to 1.6 ± 1.3 post-treatment ( P = 0.003). Overall, weight loss averaged 6.5% ( P P = 0.01). Those who lost weight were 3.4 times more likely to have improved menstrual function ( P = 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Conclusions Weight loss is feasible in adolescents with PCOS and results in significant improvements in BMI, WC, and menstrual function. Weight management may be preferable as first-line treatment in adolescents, because it targets both the menstrual dysfunction and risk factors for long-term morbidity associated with PCOS.
Convenient and Effective Method for Removing Fibrinogen from Serum Specimens before Protein Electrophoresis

Background: Fibrinogen in serum specimens can be misinterpreted on protein electrophoresis as a monoclonal protein. We evaluated selective precipitation of fibrinogen with ethanol. Methods: Pooled human plasma was mixed with absolute ethanol or saline (final concentrations of 40, 80, 100, 120, and 160 mL/L) and incubated at 4 °C overnight or placed in an ice bath for 15 min. After centrifugation, the supernatants and resuspended pellets were used for protein electrophoresis and quantitative measurements of protein and fibrinogen. Results: The fibrinogen band was effectively eliminated from the electrophoretic pattern in the plasma samples treated with ethanol at 100 mL/L and incubated in an ice bath for 15 min without a significant change in immunoglobulin concentrations. The 100 mL/L ethanol did not noticeably change the electrophoretic pattern of monoclonal immunoglobulins. This approach allowed analysis of a sample collected from an arteriovenous shunt kept open with heparin. Conclusions: Ethanol, 100 mL/L, can selectively precipitate fibrinogen without significantly interfering with the immunoglobulins. The precipitation process can be completed in 15 min at 0–4 °C and can avoid the need to obtain another blood sample.
αvβ8 integrin interacts with RhoGDI1 to regulate Rac1 and Cdc42 activation and drive glioblastoma cell invasion

The malignant brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) displays invasive growth behaviors that are regulated by extracellular cues within the neural microenvironment. The adhesion and signaling pathways that drive GBM cell invasion remain largely uncharacterized. Here we use human GBM cell lines, primary patient samples, and preclinical mouse models to demonstrate that integrin αvβ8 is a major driver of GBM cell invasion. β8 integrin is overexpressed in many human GBM cells, with higher integrin expression correlating with increased invasion and diminished patient survival. Silencing β8 integrin in human GBM cells leads to impaired tumor cell invasion due to hyperactivation of the Rho GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42. β8 integrin coimmunoprecipitates with Rho-GDP dissociation inhibitor 1 (RhoGDI1), an intracellular signaling effector that sequesters Rho GTPases in their inactive GDP-bound states. Silencing RhoGDI1 expression or uncoupling αvβ8 integrin–RhoGDI1 protein interactions blocks GBM cell invasion due to Rho GTPase hyperactivation. These data reveal for the first time that αvβ8 integrin, via interactions with RhoGDI1, regulates activation of Rho proteins to promote GBM cell invasiveness. Hence targeting the αvβ8 integrin–RhoGDI1 signaling axis might be an effective strategy for blocking GBM cell invasion.
Unintended Effects of an Intervention Supporting Mexican-Heritage Youth Decreased Parent Heavy Drinking

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a parenting intervention, Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generacion (FPNG), intended to support children, on parents heavy drinking. We hypothesized that parent participants of FPNG would reduce their heavy drinking at 1-year follow-up. METHODS: Parents (N = 281) of middle school children from a large, low-income metropolitan area in the Southwest United States participated in a randomized control trial over 2 years. RESULTS: A logistic regression analysis using the maximum likelihood test determined that at Wave 3, parents receiving FPNG reduced heavy drinking behaviors compared to parents in the youth-only condition (odds ratio =.86, p CONCLUSIONS: Participating in the parenting program can effectively curb heavy drinking behaviors in parents-an important mechanism through which one may expect changes in youth risk behavior. The practice, policy, and research implications of these unintended findings are promising to the overall effectiveness of a parenting intervention for Mexican-heritage families. Language: en
Fast spectral methods for ratio cut partitioning and clustering

Partitioning of circuit netlists in VLSI design is considered. It is shown that the second smallest eigenvalue of a matrix derived from the netlist gives a provably good approximation of the optimal ratio cut partition cost. It is also demonstrated that fast Lanczos-type methods for the sparse symmetric eigenvalue problem are a robust basis for computing heuristic ratio cuts based on the eigenvector of this second eigenvalue. Effective clustering methods are an immediate by-product of the second eigenvector computation and are very successful on the difficult input classes proposed in the CAD literature. The intersection graph representation of the circuit netlist is considered, as a basis for partitioning, a heuristic based on spectral ratio cut partitioning of the netlist intersection graph is proposed. The partitioning heuristics were tested on industry benchmark suites, and the results were good in terms of both solution quality and runtime. Several types of algorithmic speedups and directions for future work are discussed. >
A comparison of the linguistic Choquet and Sugeno fuzzy integrals

One of the popular fuzzy set theoretic technologies is the fuzzy integral. It combines numeric confidence from information sources with the worth of subsets of those sources. But sometimes, we encounter data that has a higher order of uncertainty, e.g., confidence values, locations, etc., that can only be expressed in linguistic terms. It is our belief that dealing with this type of data through the extended version of the regular algorithms produces meaningful analyses. The regular algorithms are extended using the extension principle. While we have reported success in applying the extended Choquet integral on landmine detection problems, there is a need to study the behavior of the linguistic fuzzy integrals. In this paper, we examine the extended version of the Choquet and Sugeno fuzzy integrals on a synthetic data set to gain insight into the effect of varying conditions on the final results.
Detection and Tracking of Moving Vehicles in Crowded Scenes

Vehicle inter-occlusion is a significant problem for multiplevehicle tracking even with a static camera. The difficulty is that the one-to-one correspondence between foreground blobs and vehicles does not hold when multiple vehicle blobs are merged in the scene. Making use of camera and vehicle model constraints, we propose a MCMCbased method to segment multiple merged vehicles into individual vehicles with their respective orientation. Then a Viterbi algorithm is applied to search through the sequence for the optimal tracks. Our method automatically detects and tracks multiple vehicles with orientation changes and prevalent occlusion, without requiring a special region to initialize each vehicle individually. Tests are performed on video sequences from busy street intersections and show very promising results.
Recall of Immunity in Mice Vaccinated with Salmonella enteritidis or Salmonella typhimurium

Mice were immunized with living Salmonella enteritidis or S. typhimurium and then were reinfected 8, 30, 60, and 150 days later with streptomycin-resistant strains of S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, or a mixture of the two organisms. The level of resistance at the time of challenge and the rate at which resistance was recalled in late convalescence was determined by daily liver and spleen counts of the challenge population. An immediately effective specific antibacterial immunity was maintained only while the vaccinating strain could still be detected in the liver and spleen. Reinfection of vaccine-free mice with the homologous organism caused a rapid recall of antibacterial immunity (within 3 days), but the response to the heterologous organism was much slower (5 to 8 days). Simultaneous injection of both pathogens into the vaccinated mice resulted in liver and spleen growth curves which resembled those obtained when the two organisms were administered separately. The implications of these growth studies in the development of specific cellular immunity to Salmonella infections are discussed.
Pathology of neonatal calf diarrhea induced by a coronavirus-like agent.

Lesions induced by a bovine coronavirus-like agent were studied in gnotobiotic and colostrum-fed calves using gross, histologic and electron microscopic procedures. Lesions in gnotobiotic calves we...
New species of Lancisporomyces, Orphella, and Paramoebidium, endosymbionts of stonefly nymphs from streams in Nova Scotia, Canada

Trichomycetes are endobionts that include both fungal and protistan species living in the guts of aquatic insects. Although widely distributed around the world, the biodiversity of these fungi in C...
Cost and accuracy sensitive dynamic workflow composition over grid environments

A myriad of recent activities can be seen towards dynamic workflow composition for processing complex and data intensive problems. Meanwhile, the simultaneous emergence of the grid has marked a compelling movement towards making datasets and services available for ubiquitous access. This development provides new challenges for workflow systems, including heterogeneous data repositories and high processing and access times. But beside these problems lie opportunities for exploration: The gridpsilas magnitude offers many paths towards deriving essentially the same information albeit varying execution times and errors. We discuss a framework for incorporating QoS in a dynamic workflow composition system in a geospatial context. Specific contributions include a novel workflow composition algorithm which employs QoS-aware apriori pruning and an accuracy adjustment scheme to flexibly adapt workflows to given time restrictions. A performance evaluation of our system suggests that our pruning mechanism provides significant efficiency towards workflow composition and that our accuracy adjustment scheme adapts gracefully to time and network limitations.
Sell-Side Financial Analysts and the CFA Designation Program

The CFA program substantially improves the recommendation performance of analysts that participate in the program. The positive program impact is much stronger for analysts who cover smaller companies or companies with thinner overall analyst coverage. Analysts improve their performance when going through the CFA program as candidates but stop such improvements after completing the program. The learning from the CFA program also significantly reduces risk-taking and bias behavior in analyst recommendations. Moreover, CFA designations increase analysts’ mobility to larger brokerage firms. The results survive various robustness checks, including using different methods to deal with the selection bias.
Control of Directed Self-Assembly in Block Polymers by Polymeric Topcoats

The morphology of a block copolymer thin film is particularly sensitive to its boundary conditions. Lithographic applications of block polymers in the microelectronics and memory device industries require formation of morphologies with perpendicularly oriented domains. Current fabrication targets envisage the creation of dense arrays of structures with domain sizes in the sub-10 nm regime. Such length scales can be reached by resorting to block polymers with highly incompatible blocks (and a large Flory–Huggins parameter, χ). High χ values, however, generally lead to large differences in the surface energies of the corresponding blocks, thereby interfering with formation of the sought-after perpendicularly oriented domains. In this work, a coarse grain model is used to develop a topcoat strategy that enables control of the orientation of block copolymer domains in highly incompatible block polymer materials. A systematic study of a wide range of polymeric material combinations is presented, and the condit...
Raman Scattering Study of Boron Doped Diamond Synthesized at High Pressure

Boron doped diamond synthesized at high pressure was studied using Raman scattering. Shift and broadening of the diamond phonon line was observed and attributed to disorder produced by boron doping. Electronic transitions within boron acceptor states and Fano-type interference between phonons and the electronic continuum have also been observed in the spectra.
Abstract 5371: Epigenetic regulation in skin cancer: global DNA methylation profiling in DMBA/TPA induced mice.

Hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes is postulated to be the most relevant epigenetic changes resulting in gene silencing of tumor suppressor gene in cancer. Transcriptionally repressed genes by epigenetic regulation can be reactivated by epigenetic modifications because these silenced genes are still genetically intact. Thus, it is relevant to profile global DNA methylation changes that occur in early stages of carcinogenesis (Jones & Baylin, 2002). To begin addressing this issue, we conducted global profiling of DNA methylation changes in a well-established multistage skin carcinogenesis model using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (Medip) coupled with CpG island microarray. Tumorigenesis was induced by sequential topical application of mutagen 7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), and promoting agent 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), on the dorsal skin of normal CD-1 mice. After 12 weeks, animals were sacrificed and DNA extracted from papillomas. Methylation enriched DNA fragments were pulled down and hybridized to CpG microarray covering 16,030 CpG islands (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA) The results show that significant changes in DNA methylation profile between normal skin and DMBA/TPA induced papilloma, analyzed by Genespring and Bioconductor. After normalization of probe with the gene, 186 genes from 9,867 of up-regulated methylation genes showed at least average 2-fold changes and these include some DNA damage and repair, oxidative stress and inflammatory genes such as Gadd45b and Arnt2. In summary, DMBA/TPA induced mouse skin papilloma undergo extensive aberrant CpG island hypermethylation. Genes detected from Medip-chip assay may be utilized as a potential epigenetic tool to study skin cancer. Jones, P. A., & Baylin, S. B. (2002). The fundamental role of epigenetic events in cancer. Nature Reviews Genetics, 3, 415-428. Citation Format: Jong Hun Lee, Limin Shu, Mou-Tuan Huang, Allan H. Conney, Ah-Ng Tony Kong. Epigenetic regulation in skin cancer: global DNA methylation profiling in DMBA/TPA induced mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5371. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5371
Shadow space: suicides and the predicament of rural India

According to the National Crime Records Bureau of the Government of India, ‘between 1997 and 2006 an average of 17,366 agriculturalists committed suicide in India. By the end of 2008, 199,132 agric...
Handheld near infra red imaging device for hemorrhage detection

We present a Near-infra red handheld device for imaging subsurface hemorrhage such as hematomas. The device uses novel motion-based measurement techniques to detect inclusions in real-time. We present phantom studies to demonstrate the technique.
Media Review: Working-Class Minority Students' Routes to Higher Education

(2014). Media Review: Working-Class Minority Students' Routes to Higher Education. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice: Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 101-102.
Preparation of Polyclonal Antibody and Tissue Expression Analysis of BmATG8 in Silkworm(Bombyx mori)

As an inherent degradation mechanism of cell,autophagy plays crucial roles in the processes of growth,development,immune,senescence and death of organisms. Research efforts made to clone silkworm( Bombyx mori) autophagy associated protein genes,to express the recombinant proteins,and to analyze expressional variations of autophagy associated protein in different larval tissues and different developmental stages would help understand the functions of silkworm cell autophagy at molecular level. In this experiment,primers were designed according to silkworm autophagy related gene Atg8( BmAtg8) registered in GenBank,and a354 bp coding region of silkworm autophagy related gene BmAtg8 was amplified using cDNA of midgut from the 5th instar silkworm larvae as template and subsequently cloned into pET32a( +) plasmid. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli Rosseta for induced expression of BmATG8 protein. Rabbit polyclonal antiserum with a titer of1∶ 512 000 was collected after ATG8 protein was purified and injected into New Zealand white rabbit for 3 times.Hybridization of this polyclonal antibody with total proteins of silkworm tissues detected 2 immunoblot bands,i. e.,the band of BmATG8 and the band of phosphatidyl ethanolamine coupled protein BmATG8-PE. Western blot analysis revealed that BmATG8 had relatively high expression levels in silk gland,midgut,and fat body of day 2 larvae of the 5th instar. Especially,it had high expression levels in silk gland of day 1 to day 2 and day 7 to day 8 larvae of the 5th instar.These data reflected high autophagic activity of the 2 developmental stages in the above 3 tissues,which is associated with exuberant cell metabolism before metamorphic stage of silkworm.
Summary of 2009 New Technologies for Power Grid Control Centers

In this paper some new technologies on control center issues in 2008-2009 are summarized. It includes three parts. The first part is a standard specification on "next generation of EMS architecture" drafted by The Working Group D2.24 of CIGRE,and five documents are to be published,including Common Requirement Document (CRD),White Paper,Standard Business Processes (SBP),Standard Business Services (SBS) and Standard Technology Services (STS),and the first two among them have been completed and published. The second part relates to Free Open Source Software (FOSS). FOSS means those types of software which can be obtained from Internet with source code free of charge,it can be used,studied,modified or distributed without any restriction,thus FOSS is very convenient for teaching and research purposes. A list of existing FOSS for power system analysis is included in this section. The third part relates to the technologies for preventing power system blackouts. In this summary experiences of two large power grids for power system restoration are presented. Practices of PJM include general principles to develop a restoration plan. The power grid configuration of Hydro-Quebec is somewhat similar to some power grids in China,their practices of developing a restoration plan is also included in this summary for interesting readers.
Treating PTSD Within the Context of Heightened Suicide Risk

Because posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the few psychological conditions that predict suicidal behavior among those who think about suicide, many patients with PTSD present clinically with elevated suicide risk. Expert consensus and practice guidelines recommend against trauma-focused treatments for patients with elevated suicide risk, however. Research aimed at understanding the common mechanisms that underlie the association of PTSD and suicide risk has led to several advances in the effective care of suicidal patients diagnosed with PTSD. Based on these results, various combinations and sequences of suicide-focused treatments, risk management procedures, and trauma-focused treatments are implicated.
Conclusions: Transnational Mobilization Beyond Multiparty Rule

The results of transnational activism directed at Kenya and Uganda challenge prevailing scholarly views of democratization and external human rights mobilization. Transnational activism plays a more prominent and effective role in challenging authoritarian rule than in building sustainable democratic change after the fall of a repressive regime. In challenging authoritarianism, transnational mobilization succeeds in drawing attention to the situation, forcing the government to react with denial or concessions, pressuring donor governments to address the situation, and protecting domestic activists. Beyond initiating regime change, transnational mobilization plays a diminishing role and has more ambiguous effects on democratization.
Decoded Neurofeedback Is Unlikely to Enhance Moral Capacities

Decoded neurofeedback may hold promise as a therapy for a range of medical conditions. But as a method of moral bioenhancement, it is unlikely to be effective. One reason for this unlikelihood is t...
Dementias of the Alzheimer Type: Views Through the Lens of Evolutionary Biology Suggest Amyloid-Driven Brain Aging Is Balanced Against Host Defense

We propose that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related neurodegenerative conditions can be best understood within an evolutionary framework as a trade-off with host defense, with the apoE allele system as an example. This chapter reviews this hypothesis and evaluates the relevant evidence. We focus the “Darwinian lens” on two major features of human aging: First, inflammatory changes with mild amyloid deposits and modest synapse loss that arise in shorter lived species during aging; second, we contrast these mild changes with the more aggressive neurodegenerative changes of AD found only in humans. To some extent, mild AD-like changes arise at later ages in primate species with widely differing life spans from lines that diverged 50 or more million years ago. We discuss the changing role of host defense in modern human populations that are under greatly reduced natural selection from infectious agents.
Reducing the effect of signal multipath fading in RSSI-distance estimation using Kalman filters

Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) has often been used in location estimation and tracking applications. Signal strength between wireless transceivers degrades according to how much distance is between them, allowing the distance to be estimated. With this estimated distance between wireless devices, location estimation techniques can be used. However, one of the largest hindrances in using RSSI for distance estimation for indoor applications is reflections from multipath effects from the wireless signal. This will generate large, unexpected amplifications or attenuations in the signal data which deviate significantly from the variance of the signal's noise. There are RSSI-Distance estimation models which account for multipath fading, but they do not perform well at short distances. Here we propose an RSSI-distance estimation technique for indoor mobile applications using a Kalman filter. The Kalman filter is a recursive Bayesian filter, which models the noise of each input as a Gaussian distribution. Using the estimated motion and distance within a distributed, wireless network, the effects of multipath fading can be reduced for distance estimation with Kalman filtering.
A Closer Look at the Impact of Molecular Imprinting on Adsorption Capacity and Selectivity for Protein Templates

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are often investigated as lower cost, more environmentally robust alternatives to natural recognitive biomolecules, such as antibodies. When synthesized on the surface of nanomaterial supports, MIPs are capable of quick and effective binding of macromolecular templates when compared to traditional bulk-imprinted polymers. We have developed a method for imprinting proteins on biodegradable nanoparticle supports and have used these materials to investigate the impact of molecular imprinting on adsorption capacity and selectivity for lysozyme, the template protein. The imprinting process increased the adsorption capacity of the polymer for the template, lysozyme, with the MIPs being able to bind up to 83.5% of their dry weight as compared to 55.7% for nonimprinted polymers (NIPs). In noncompetitive binding experiments, where proteins were independently incubated with MIPs, the difference between adsorption capacity for lysozyme and proteins with much lower isoelectric po...
Gut microbiota in 2016: A banner year for gut microbiota research.

Fascination about the gut microbiota shows no signs of slowing down. The launch of the US National Microbiome Initiative in 2016, and similar efforts across the globe, underscore the continued enthusiasm for microbiome studies in the USA and beyond. Indeed, 2016 has been yet another notable year for gut microbiota research.
Biotelemetry: Psychology’s Newest Ally

The contributions of the transistor and the endoradiosonde are traced to the present state of biotelemetry which is discussed in terms of its present and future applications to psychological inquiry.
Correlation between vitamin D deficiency and metastatic breast carcinoma in a predominantly Hispanic population: A retrospective study.

e12553Background: There have been numerous studies conducted linking Vitamin D deficiency to various cancers, including cancers of the breast. Studies associating Vitamin D deficiency and Breast cancer have shown mixed results in patients with no clear consensus. Recently published in vitro studies have shown that the active form of Vitamin D can inhibit the metastatic capability of breast cancer cell lines to bone. Based on this we aimed to elucidate whether there exists any correlation between Vitamin D deficiency at diagnosis and Metastatic breast cancer. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the EMR for women diagnosed with breast cancer and enrolled in Oncology database seen at NYMC-Metropolitan Hospital Center from 2010-2016 was done. Patients were grouped into either breast cancer with metastases or without metastases and their Vitamin D levels at diagnosis were reviewed. Patients with 25- Hydroxy Vitamin D levels measured within one year of diagnosis of breast cancer were included for the study. Stud...
Reliable Renewables with Cryogenic Energy Storage

Electricity demand varies, influenced by factors like time of the day and season. The National Grid is prepared for surges in demand, with power stations on standby ready to crank up the power. However, dealing with these peaks and troughs will become increasingly difficult as coal-fired power stations closed down and more intermittent renewable energy like wind and solar comes online. In 2015, renewables provided almost a quarter of UK electricity. The intermittent nature of green sources has seen researchers focus on trying to improve energy storage. The cryogenic energy facility stores power from renewables or off-peak generation by chilling air into liquid form. When the liquid air warms up, it expands and can drive a turbine to make electricity. The 5 MW plant near Manchester can power up to 5000 homes for around 3 h. Cryogenic storage works by using renewable or off-peak electricity to cool air down to −190 °C, which turns it into a liquid. Intermittent supply is an ongoing problem for the development of the renewable power market. Could cryogenic energy storage prove the best way to reduce waste by saving off-peak power for later use? Birmingham University’s Professor Richard Williams argues the case.
In Nature, There Is Only Diversity

ABSTRACT Microbial ecology has been transformed by the advent of high-throughput marker gene and metagenomic sequencing methods. These tools provide expansive descriptions of microbial communities, but the descriptions are framed in terms of molecular objects, such as 97% ribosomal operational taxonomic units (OTUs), rather than biological objects, such as species. A recent study by A. B. Chase and colleagues (mBio 8:e01809-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01809-17) explores the so-called microdiversity within the Curtobacterium OTU, the most abundant OTU in a leaf litter community. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they find that some important ecologic traits, such as drought response, are coherent within the OTU, but that others vary significantly. Here we discuss their findings in relation to the more general issue of how molecular tools can be effectively used to study microbial ecology. We specifically note the need for investigators to choose the right molecular methods for their biological problem, as nature does not respect the limitations and conventions associated with our methods.
Reducing Service Contract Costs and Do-lt-Yourself EM Maintenance

Service contract expenses constitute a large proportion of many EM laboratory budgets each year and managers, under constant pressure to reduce costs, no longer look at the expense as sacred. Increasingly, microscopists are faced with finding alternatives to the full service contracts they enjoyed so long. I facilitated a discussion group at the Microscopy & Microanalysis '97 meeting held recently in Cleveland entitled "EM Maintenance: Can you do it yourself?" The audience of 50 represented microscopists from industry, academic and government facilities with a common interest - learning how to sensibly reduce service contract costs. In this article, I will offer my perspective on the subject and relate issues raised by the audience.
Abstract P272: Leg Strength and Gait Speed Predict Enrollment in an Exercise Study among Stroke Survivors with Mild-Moderate Disability

Background: Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and is the major contributor to physical and cognitive disability among this population. Exercise is an important aspect of stroke rehabilitation to reduce disability. Objective: To determine if functional disability, physical function, cognitive impairment, age or gender are predictive of enrollment in an exercise study among stroke survivors with mild-moderate disability. Methods: Cross-sectional design using data from stroke survivors (n=166) that consented to be screened for an exercise study, the “Tai Chi for Stroke Survivors Study.” All subjects completed a brief survey to determine eligibility, prior to screening. Screening tests included the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS, functional disability), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB, physical function), and Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE, cognitive function). First, we conducted bivariate logistic regression using mRS, SPPB-balance, gait speed and leg strength test times, MMSE, age and gender, as single predictors of study enrollment. Then, we conducted multiple logistic regression using significant predictors to determine the overall model. Results: Subjects (n=166) were on average 69±11 years old, and reported mild-moderate disability (mRS=2.0±0.8), had some impairments in physical functioning (SPPB=7.0±2.6), diminished leg strength (5-timed chair stands=19.3±7.2 seconds), and slow gait speed (0.76±0.3 meters/second) but, were without cognitive impairments (MMSE=27.8±3.3). Significant predictors of study enrollment were leg strength [X 2 (1)=16.37, p 2 (1)=6.89, p 2 (2)=22.38, p Conclusion: Physical function has been shown to predict disability and overall decline in health and well-being in stroke survivors with mild-moderate disability. The SPPB is simple to administer, taking 5–10 minutes to complete. This test readily identified stroke survivors with diminished leg strength and slower gait speed, and was predictive of enrollment in our exercise study.
Magnetic Regimes in Amorphous Ni-Fe-P-B Alloys

A complete substitution of iron for nickel has been obtained by splat-cooling in amorphous alloys of composition (Ni100−yFey)79P13B8. Results of high field magnetization (up to 70 kOe), ac and dc low field susceptibility, Curie temperature and resistivity measurements over a temperature range of 1.7 to 300°K are reported. The Ni79P13B8 alloy is not ferromagnetic, but the magnetization behavior as a function of field and temperature is typically that of alloys in the critical concentration range for ferromagnetism. The Fe79P13B8 alloy is ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature Tc of 616°K. For y = 1 at.%, the Fe atoms are magnetic. The variation of the moment per Fe atom as a function of y is discussed. When y is increased, the Ni atoms are likely to be polarized progressively and the moment per Ni atom would be roughly constant for y ≥ 30 at.%. Various magnetic regimes were defined as a function of the Fe content. The value of Tc reaches a maximum for y ≃ 90 at.%, and extrapolates to zero for y ≃ 7 at.%. Alloys within the range 1 ≤ y ≤ 10 at.% did not exhibit well-defined Curie transition, but sharp maxima in low field susceptibility measurements were observed at TM.
Geotechnical Analyses of Submarine Landslides in Glacial Marine Sediment, Northeast Gulf of Alaska

Glaciation is the most important process contributing sediment to the northeast Gulf of Alaska. Large sediment failures within the Holocene glacial-marine sediment of the continental shelf have been identified on slopes as gentle as 0.5°. The major offshore processes responsible for sediment failure in the Gulf of Alaska are earthquake and storm wave loading coupled with cyclic shear strength degradation. A normalized soil parameter (NSP) approach can yield shear strength parameters that are somewhat independent of coring disturbance by normalizing these parameters by appropriate consolidation stresses. The NSP approach also appears capable of aiding in the extrapolation of surficial sediment properties to the subsurface. Laboratory tests using the NSP approach, supplemented with in-place vane shear data, reveal that for these glacial-marine sediments, clayey silt with a natural water content between 35% and 45% is most susceptible to cyclic loading. Cores that contain more of this susceptible clayey silt roughly correlate with locations of sediment failure features. A simplified analysis shows that in water depths shallower than 35 m, maximum storm waves would produce shearing stresses greater than stresses induced by maximum earthquakes. In deeper water, earthquakes would produce greater stresses. Differences in failure morphology are difficult to relate to advanced geotechnical parameters but likely relate to observed variations in plasticity, slope angle, water depth, or variations in consolidation state.
The Humane Principle and the Biology of Blame: Evolutionary Origins of the Imperative to Inflict

The idea that some people "deserve" to suffer has enormous social implications. People insist there is a moral right to cause human suffering. However, as the circle of humans deemed entitled to full human dignity grows wider, the next logical step is to adopt a general principle that any deliberate increase in human suffering is wrong, without exception Such a Humane Principle, to replace the old principle of "just deserts," might be provisionally formulated as follows: "Any act to cause human suffering is wrong and must be avoided unless it is honestly meant as the most humane alternative that the situation presents, according equal concern to all who are affected." Resistance to such a principle is considerable because, unfortunately, people draw unwarranted moral conclusions from their feelings of blame. But these feelings are merely adaptations to conditions that have long ceased to apply. Causing deliberate harm to others has ceased to be either a socially adaptive or morally defensible mode of social control.
Cooperative Efforts to Improve the Safety of Soviet-Designed Nuclear Power Plants

The invitation to participants in the NATO Nuclear Materials Safety Advanced Research Workshop stated that the goal of a nuclear materials safety program is to enhance and improve nuclear materials safety and the safety cultures embedded in day-to-day operations associated with the storage and disposition of excess fissile materials from the dismantled nuclear weapons. The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of our cooperative reactor safety studies. It will be evident how that experience can be applied to enhance future cooperation related to use of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel.
Benefit–Cost Evaluation of Seismic Risk Mitigation in Existing Non-ductile Concrete Buildings

The risks of damage and collapse to older (non-ductile) reinforced concrete buildings and the cost-effectiveness of seismic retrofit are investigated through analyses of archetypical designs representative of construction in California prior to the introduction of more rigorous seismic design requirements in the mid-1970s. These risks for older buildings are compared to those in buildings that are designed to modern building code provisions that employ capacity design and ductile detailing requirements. The comparisons indicate that older non-ductile buildings have expected annual economic losses that are about twice those of the ductile buildings and risks of collapse and fatalities that are about 35 times higher. The cost effectiveness of seismic retrofit is examined to reduce damage and life safety risks. Considering the monetary benefits of both reduced damage and lives saved, these cost–benefit comparisons justify retrofit costs of up to about 20–40% of the building replacement value, implying that in most cases the retrofit of non-ductile concrete buildings would be cost-effective.
The impact of LAWA on the family labour supply among farm households

This article examines the impact of the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) on the farm occupation decisions of family labour in agricultural households. This question is studied at the individual level using the difference-in-differences model with the American Community Survey data from 2000 to 2010. We find that LAWA has significantly increased the probability of farm family labourers choosing agricultural occupations by 3–5.5 per cent and the impact is 11 per cent for non-Hispanic farms. This study suggests that stringent immigration laws could change the patterns of family labour use among US farm households.
Open Science Initiatives at Emerging Adulthood

This editorial reports on concrete changes in expectations and practices at Emerging Adulthood that are effective immediately. These include: aligning with Level 1 of the Transparency and Openness ...
Trends and Outcomes of Infective Endocarditis in Adults With Tetralogy of Fallot: A Review of the National Inpatient Sample Database

Abstract Background Lesion complexity and prosthetic valves are known risk factors for infective endocarditis in patients with congenital heart disease. Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common complex/cyanotic congenital heart disease and often requires prosthetic valve implantation. Population-based risk of endocarditis in TOF patients is unknown. Methods We reviewed the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and identified admissions in TOF patients (>18 years), 2000 to 2014. The primary outcome was to describe incidence of endocarditis-related admissions. To assess trends, we divided the study period into tertiles: early (2000 to 2004), mid (2005 to 2009) and late (2010 to 2014) eras. The secondary outcome was to compare in-hospital mortality, complications, and health care resource utilization between admissions with and without endocarditis. Results There were 393 (2.1%) endocarditis-related admissions among 18,353 admissions, and the incidence of endocarditis-related admissions increased over time: 1.9% (early era) vs 2.2% (mid-era) vs 2.4% (late era), P Conclusions Incidence of endocarditis-related admissions increased over time and was associated with higher mortality, complications, and health care resource utilization. Further studies are required to investigate the observed temporal increase in incidence of endocarditis and explore new strategies to improve outcomes.
A divide-and-conquer method for scalable phylogenetic network inference from multilocus data.

MOTIVATION Reticulate evolutionary histories, such as those arising in the presence of hybridization, are best modeled as phylogenetic networks. Recently developed methods allow for statistical inference of phylogenetic networks while also accounting for other processes, such as incomplete lineage sorting. However, these methods can only handle a small number of loci from a handful of genomes. RESULTS In this article, we introduce a novel two-step method for scalable inference of phylogenetic networks from the sequence alignments of multiple, unlinked loci. The method infers networks on subproblems and then merges them into a network on the full set of taxa. To reduce the number of trinets to infer, we formulate a Hitting Set version of the problem of finding a small number of subsets, and implement a simple heuristic to solve it. We studied their performance, in terms of both running time and accuracy, on simulated as well as on biological datasets. The two-step method accurately infers phylogenetic networks at a scale that is infeasible with existing methods. The results are a significant and promising step towards accurate, large-scale phylogenetic network inference. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION We implemented the algorithms in the publicly available software package PhyloNet (https://bioinfocs.rice.edu/PhyloNet). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A new species of Anusoidea Girault, 1926 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from the Philippines parasitizing Pseudococcus citriculus Green (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)

Anusoidea luzonica spec. nov. is descriptionbed and Pseudoccoccus citriculus Green indicated as host. Distribution and host speetrum of Anusoidea are briefly discussed.
Task Value Calculus: Multi-Objective Trade off Analysis Using Multiple-Valued Decision Diagrams

Most multiple-objective optimization algorithms utilize continuous input variables. Given that many decision variables in common use-cases are discrete rather than continuous, we develop a multiple-objective optimization framework over discrete variables known as task value calculus (TVC). The underlying mathematical models in TVC utilize a multiple-valued algebraic framework where both the objective functions and the system or process structure models are represented as multiple-valued functions. TVC allows for fast multiple-objective optimization through the use of the multiple-valued decision diagram (MDD) data structure. The algorithms and structures internal to TVC are described and experimental results are provided. TVC is implemented with a simple graphical user interface making it suitable for use by both laypersons and domain experts.