cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spiral Computed Tomography for Acute Pulmonary Embolism

There is still considerable debate about the optimal diagnostic imaging modality for acute pulmonary embolism. If imaging is deemed necessary from an initial clinical evaluation such as d-dimer testing, options include nuclear medicine scanning, catheter pulmonary angiography, and spiral CT. In many institutions, spiral CT is becoming established as the first-line imaging test in daily clinical practice. With spiral CT, thrombus is directly visualized, and both mediastinal and parenchymal structures are evaluated, which may provide important alternative or additional diagnoses. However, limitations for the accurate diagnosis of small peripheral emboli, with a reported miss rate of up to 30% with single-slice spiral CT so far, have prevented the unanimous embrace of spiral CT as the new standard of reference for imaging pulmonary embolism. The clinical significance of the detection and treatment of isolated peripheral pulmonary emboli is uncertain. Evidence is accumulating that it is safe practice to withhold anticoagulation in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism on the basis of a negative spiral CT study. Remaining concerns about the accuracy of spiral CT for pulmonary embolism detection may be overcome by the introduction of multidetector-row spiral CT. This widely available technology has improved visualization of peripheral pulmonary arteries and detection of small emboli. The most recent generation of multidetector-row spiral CT scanners appears to outperform competing imaging modalities for the accurate detection of central and peripheral pulmonary embolism. In this review, we assess the current role and future potential of CT in the diagnostic algorithm of acute pulmonary embolism.
How Saudi female faculty perceive internet technology usage and potential

This study investigated the perceptions of female faculty in Saudi Arabia regarding the use of the Internet. The reason this population is of interest is because there are conflicts of interests: on one hand, there is strong desire to maintain the traditional Saudi culture, which restricts the travel and interaction of females. On the other hand, there is a recognition that Saudi females are valuable members of society who can contribute significantly. This study investigated one part of this problem: how females perceive the potential of the Internet to change the way they are able to work and contribute to their society. Specifically, a grounded theory method was used to investigate the perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of Internet use by Saudi female faculty. Twenty-four female faculty members at four higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia in three academic disciplines science, humanities and religion were interviewed extensively over a year. The study revealed an interesting conflict of aspects influencing both attitudes and actual usage patterns. Differences in perceptions are influenced strongly by age and academic discipline.
ACAT: ABET Course Assessment Tool

This thesis describes the ABET Course Assessment Tool (ACAT). This tool was designed and developed to assist faculty in producing ABET course assessments for accreditation. These reports demonstrate that students in the course are achieving the required outcomes. Documentation of this requirement is particularly burdensome. There is no standard method of generating these reports, and each institution handles it differently. This might involve manual collection of the data which is very time consuming. ACAT is a web based tool that allows users to input the data required for a course assessment and then produce a standardized report as a PDF document. The design and implementation of this process is covered, followed by a detailed look at the tool’s operation. To validate the design and user interface, a usability study was conducted with Computer Science and Engineering faculty members. Results show that ACAT is a viable tool that streamlines the course assessment process and is an improvement over the existing manual process. 1:00 pm, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Scrugham Engineering and Mines (SEM) room 201 For more information contact Dr. Sergiu Dascalu @ 784-4813 (dascalus@cse.unr.edu) or Dr. Fred Harris @ 784-6571 (Fred.Harris@cse.unr.edu)
Epidemiologic methods in mastitis treatment and control.

Methods and concepts of epidemiology offer means whereby udder health can be monitored and evaluated. Prerequisite to a sound epidemiologic approach is development of measures of mastitis that attempt to minimize biases and that account for sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests. Mastitis surveillance offers an ongoing and passive system for evaluation of udder health, whereas clinical and observational trials offer a more proactive and developmental approach to improving udder health. The underlying foundation of epidemiologic approaches to mastitis control is quantitative and analytic, where assessment of risk is of primary quantitative importance, and hypothesized associations are investigated in clinical and observational trials using analytic methods.
Decreased Bioenergetic Health Index in monocytes isolated from the pericardial fluid and blood of post-operative cardiac surgery patients.

Monitoring the bioenergetics of leucocytes is now emerging as an important approach in translational research to detect mitochondrial dysfunction in blood or other patient samples. Using the mitochondrial stress test, which involves the sequential addition of mitochondrial inhibitors to adherent leucocytes, we have calculated a single value, the Bioenergetic Health Index (BHI), which represents the mitochondrial function in cells isolated from patients. In the present report, we assess the BHI of monocytes isolated from the post-operative blood and post-operative pericardial fluid (PO-PCF) from patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Analysis of the bioenergetics of monocytes isolated from patients’ PO-PCF revealed a profound decrease in mitochondrial function compared with monocytes isolated from their blood or from healthy controls. Further, patient blood monocytes showed no significant difference in the individual energetic parameters from the mitochondrial stress test but, when integrated into the BHI evaluation, there was a significant decrease in BHI compared with healthy control monocytes. These data support the utility of BHI measurements in integrating the individual parameters from the mitochondrial stress test into a single value. Supporting our previous finding that the PO-PCF is pro-oxidant, we found that exposure of rat cardiomyocytes to PO-PCF caused a significant loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS). These findings support the hypothesis that integrated measures of bioenergetic health could have prognostic and diagnostic value in translational bioenergetics.
Current Situation of Toray Waterless Plate.

Ten and a few years have passed since the very unique “Toray Waterless Plate” with an ink repellent silicone rubber layer was in use in the market. In the initial stage, Toray Waterless Plate was very much expected to eliminate the dampening system from offset printing process entirely. But it was only accepted in some certain specific applications because there were some problems in its plate itself and systems. Nowadays, however, these problems have been solved by the improvement of plate itself and the development of optimal waterless printing system. And it is widely used mainly in general commercial printing field on from small offset presses to large sheet-fed, web offset presses.Now printing industry has faced a lot of problems to be solved-quick delivery of prints, small print lots, serious shortage of young operators, appearance of new electronics technology in entire printing process, competition with other information medias and etc. As a solution of these problems and an effective measure to improve the productivity and reduce the total cost, the use of Toray Waterless Plate printing system continues to have been enlarged not only in Japan but also in overseas market.
On creating a psychoanalytic mind

The term process knowledge is introduced to highlight a particular way of analyzing that centers on how our patients gain knowledge. It is suggested that analyzing with heightened awareness to process knowledge is crucial for the patients' capacity for self-analysis, and differs from helping patients primarily gain knowledge of their unconscious fantasies and conflicts as the primary curative factor in psychoanalysis.
Cerebral blood flow in a rat glioma model during halothane anesthesia.

Little is known about the influence of infiltrating gliomas on the responsivity of the cerebral circulation to anesthetic agents. Therefore we designed a study to address this issue. Male Fischer 344 rats were assigned to two tumor groups and one sham group. In the two tumor groups, glioma cells were stereotactically injected into the right striatum; animals in the sham group were injected with sterile culture medium only. Either 12 or 16 days after injection, the rats were anesthetized with 1 MAC halothane in 40% O2/balance N2. Local and remote regional cerebral blood flow was then determined using 14C-iodoantipyrine autoradiography. Physiologic values (PaCO2, PaO2, pHa, mean arterial pressure, and rectal temperature) were similar for both tumor and sham groups. Tumor volume was relatively small (cross-sectional diameter = 2-3 mm), and there was no evidence of midline shift in coronal tissue sections. Blood flow within the tumor was substantially reduced relative to adjacent structures (e.g., tumor = 88 +/- 10 ml/100 g/min; adjacent caudate = 161 +/- 23 ml/100 g/min). There were no significant differences between the tumor and sham groups for regional blood flow values in histologically normal tissue in either the injected or contralateral hemispheres. We conclude that this model of brain neoplasia shows no evidence of either local or remote changes in the cerebrovascular responsibility of normal tissue to volatile anesthesia.
Managing Experiences: Utilizing User Experience Design UX as an Agile Methodology for Teaching Project Management

The popularity of agile frameworks for project management within a variety of professions necessitates new approaches to teaching project management. At the same time, the increased pervasiveness of digital technologies means that more and more projects will relate closely to the development of user experiences UX. To connect these two interests project management and UX, in the following article the author develops an agile methodology for teaching project management. This methodology utilizes the UX Process and related concepts e.g., preliminary research, prototyping, usability testing, and maintenance to argue that traditional components of projects-strategies, teams, clients, deliverables, timelines, and benchmarks-must be refashioned into ultra-flexible heuristics that can be adapted to a variety of contingencies.
Interaction of enkephalin with opiate receptors in intact cultured cells.

The interaction of enkephalins with opiate receptors in intact neuroblastoma cells (N4TG1) was studied by the use of a derivative of high specific activity (125I-labeled) of the metabolically stable enkephalin analogue, (D-Ala2, D-Leu5)-enkephalin. The binding is specifically inhibited by low concentrations of the natural (Leu5)- and (Met5)-enkephalins and by β-endorphin, but not by β-lipotropin. The binding data clearly show a single class of homogeneous binding sites without evidence for cooperative interactions at any ligand concentration. The association and dissociation rate constants of binding to cells are 3 x 107 M-1min-1 and 0.035 min-1, respectively, at 24°. In cells, the binding of [125I] (D-Ala2, D-Leu5)-enkephalin is saturated when 30 fmoles of the peptide are bound per 106 cells. The Kd is 1 to 2 nM. No evidence for receptor or ligand-receptor complex internalization could be demonstrated on incubating the cells at 37°. The receptors in intact cells are very resistant to digestion by proteases and phospholipase A, in sharp contrast to the results observed in membrane preparations which show exquisite sensitivity to these enzymes. This resistance is apparently not due to the intracellular localization of a pool of receptors since cell homogenates have the same number of receptor sites as intact cells. In cells, the affinity of the receptor for enkephalin is very sensitive to the cationic composition of the medium. Removal of the divalent cations, Mg2+ and Ca2+, in the presence of Na+ reduces the affinity by about 3.5-fold. Narcotic agonists and antagonists are more potent in inhibiting [3H]naloxone binding than [125I] (D-Ala2, D-Leu5)-enkephalin binding. The opposite is true for enkephalins, although etorphine and β-endorphin compete with both labeled ligands equally well. These results suggest that opiates and enkephalins bind differently to the same receptor or bind to different receptors with overlapping specificity.
Graphoid-based methodologies in modeling, analysis, identification and control of networks of dynamic systems

There is extensive literature on the description of joint probability distributions via graphs, where each node represents a random variable and the edges describe a form of coupling among the variables. The connections in these graphical models do not necessarily represent forms of input/output relations among the variables involved. Instead, they typically represent a convenient factorization of their joint probability distribution. For these factorizations to be mathematically meaningful, the underlying graph structure is required to have no directed cycles. Thus, graphical models of random variables typically deal with directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). Conversely, in the area of dynamic systems, and especially control theory, it is common to find network models involving stochastic processes that influence each other according to a directed graph. In this case the graph connections do indeed represent a input/output relations and feedback loops may be present, as well. As a consequence, the network structures underlying graphical models of random variables and networks of dynamic systems differ fundamentally. Furthermore, it is not a straightforward task to unify or reconcile these two semantically different graph descriptions. Indeed, introducing a notion of factorization in networks of dynamic systems would present technical difficulties due not only to the potential presence of loops, but also to the fact that stochastic processes involve an infinite number of random variables. Despite these differences, it has become evident during recent years that methodologies can be borrowed from probabilistic graphical models and used for the analysis, identification and control design in the domain of networks of dynamic systems and viceversa. Some of these methodologies can be imported with no significant modifications, while others need to be substantially revisited. This article is an attempt to bridge the conceptual and methodological gap between graphical models of random variables and networks of dynamic systems, creating a single unified language and theoretical framework for these two different classes. This is achieved by drawing parallels between similar approaches and highlighting their main differences.
Labov, sound change, and phonological theory†

Labov's empirical vindication of the neogrammarian hypothesis, his critique of functionalist accounts of sound change, and his formal principles governing vowel shifts, mergers and splits are major contributions towards solving the constraints problem in historical phonology. I explore their implications for phonological theory, and show that they connect with recent developments in Optimality Theory in mutually illuminating ways.
Numerical study of forced convective power law fluid flow through an annulus sector duct

This study investigates the forced convection flow of power law fluid through an annulus sector duct. The governing dimensionless form of momentum and energy equations is discretized by using a control volume-based method. Numerical solutions of the system of algebraic equations are obtained for different values of flow behaviour index, n, both for shear thinning fluids (\( 0.3\le n < 1\)) and shear thickening fluids (\( 1 < n \le 2\)). Results for the quantities of interest both for the fluid flow and forced convection are discussed numerically and graphically for different values of n.
PI3K pathway mutations are associated with longer time to local progression after radioembolization of colorectal liver metastases.

// Etay Ziv 1 , Michael Bergen 2 , Hooman Yarmohammadi 1 , F. Ed Boas 1 , E. Nadia Petre 1 , Constantinos T. Sofocleous 1 , Rona Yaeger 3 , David B. Solit 4, 5, 6 , Stephen B. Solomon 1 , Joseph P. Erinjeri 1 1 Interventional Radiology Service, Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA 2 Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA 3 Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA 4 Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA 5 Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA 6 Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA Correspondence to: Etay Ziv, email: zive@mskcc.org Keywords: biomarkers, colorectal, PI3K, radioembolization, MAPK Received: August 25, 2016 Accepted: January 16, 2017 Published: February 11, 2017 ABSTRACT Purpose : To establish the relationship between common mutations in the MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways and local progression after radioembolization. Materials and Methods : Retrospective review of a HIPAA-compliant institutional review-board approved database identified 40 patients with chemo-refractory colorectal liver metastases treated with radioembolization who underwent tumor genotyping for hotspot mutations in 6 key genes in the MAPK/PI3K pathways (KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, MEK1, PIK3CA, and AKT1). Mutation status as well as clinical, tumor, and treatment variables were recorded. These factors were evaluated in relation to time to local progression (TTLP), which was calculated from time of radioembolization to first radiographic evidence of local progression. Predictors of outcome were identified using a proportional hazards model for both univariate and multivariate analysis with death as a competing risk. Results : Sixteen patients (40%) had no mutations in either pathway, eighteen patients (45%) had mutations in the MAPK pathway, ten patients (25%) had mutations in the PI3K pathway and four patients (10%) had mutations in both pathways. The cumulative incidence of progression at 6 and 12 months was 33% and 55% for the PI3K mutated group compared with 76% and 92% in the PI3K wild type group. Mutation in the PI3K pathway was a significant predictor of longer TTLP in both univariate (p=0.031, sHR 0.31, 95% CI: 0.11-0.90) and multivariate (p=0.015, sHR=0.27, 95% CI: 0.096-0.77) analysis. MAPK pathway alterations were not associated with TTLP. Conclusions : PI3K pathway mutation predicts longer time to local progression after radioembolization of colorectal liver metastases.
Pediatric chest CT at chest radiograph doses: when is the ultralow-dose chest CT clinically appropriate?

Computed tomography (CT) use in emergency departments represents a significant contribution to pediatric patients’ exposure to ionizing radiation. Here, we evaluate whether ultralow-dose chest CT can be diagnostically adequate for other diagnoses and whether model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) can improve diagnostic adequacy compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) at ultralow doses. Twenty children underwent chest CTs: 10 standard-dose reconstructed with ASIR and 10 ultralow-dose reconstructed with ASIR and MBIR. Four radiologists assessed images for their adequacy to exclude five hypothetical diagnoses: foreign body, fracture, lung metastasis, pulmonary infection, and interstitial lung disease. Additionally, pairwise comparison for subjective image quality was used to compare ultralow-dose chest CT with ASIR and MBIR. Radiation dose and objective image noise measures were obtained. For exclusion of an airway foreign body, the adequacy of ultralow-dose CT was comparable to standard-dose (p = 0.6). For the remaining diagnoses, ultralow-dose CT was inferior to standard-dose (p = 0.03–<0.001). MBIR partially recovered the adequacy of ultralow-dose CT to exclude pulmonary infection (p = 0.017), but was suboptimal for the other diagnoses. Image noise was significantly lower with MBIR compared to ASIR in ultralow-dose CT (p < 0.001), although subjective preference showed only a slight advantage of MBIR (58 versus 42%). Ultralow-dose chest CT may be adequate for airway assessment, but suboptimal for the evaluation parenchymal lung disease. Although MBIR improves objective and subjective image quality, it does not completely restore the diagnostic adequacy of ultralow-dose CT when compared to standard-dose CT.
The effectiveness of manual physical therapy interventions in pediatric patients with anterior hip pain: a retrospective study

AbstractObjectives: The purposes of this study were to: (1) assess the benefit of adding manual therapy (MT) to physical therapy care in pediatric patients with anterior hip pain; (2) assess the relative risk of adverse reactions when MT is used; and (3) report the types of MT used.Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of patients treated in a hospital-based sports medicine clinic. The charts of 201 patients (mean age = 14.23 ± 2.15 years) met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Patients were grouped into those who received MT during their episode of care, and those who did not. Pain efficiency (change in pain/number of visits), number and type of adverse reactions, as well as frequency and type of manual therapy interventions used, were the outcomes of interest.Results: The mean pain efficiency was significantly less if manual therapy was performed (MT = 0.60 [95% CI 0.47–0.72], no MT = 0.80 [95% CI 0.71–0.90] p = 0.01). There was no significant difference between groups in risk of a...
Surgical approaches to the calcaneus and the sural nerve: There is no safe zone.

Abstract Background Sural nerve related symptoms following the extensile lateral approach to the calcaneus (ELA) and the sinus tarsi approach (STA) are a known postoperative complication despite awareness of the course the sural nerve. While the main trunk of the sural nerve and its location relative to the approaches have been previously described, the nerve gives rise to lateral calcaneal branches (LCBs) and an anastomotic branch (AB) that may be at risk of injury. The purpose of this study was to describe the course of the sural nerve, its LCBs and the AB in relation to the ELA and STA. Methods 17 cadaveric foot specimens were dissected, exposing the sural nerve, the LCBs and the AB. A line representing the ELA and STA incision was then created. It was noted if the line crossed the sural nerve trunk, any of the LCBs, and the AB, and at what distance they were crossed using the distal tip of the fibula as a reference. Results The sural nerve was identified in all specimens, and the main trunk was noted to cross the path of the ELA in no specimens and the path of the STA in 2 (12%) specimens. At least one LCB of the sural nerve was identified in all specimens. The ELA crossed the path of at least one LCB in 15 specimens (88%). An AB was present in 9 specimens (53%). If an AB was present, this was crossed by the STA in every instance. Conclusions The ELA and the STA traverses the path of either the main trunk of the sural nerve, the LCBs, or the AB in the majority of specimens, potentially accounting for the presence of sural nerve postoperative symptoms regardless of the approach used.
Evolving Spacecraft Control

Abstract Spacecraft control systems have undergone a remarkable change since the first flights in the late 1950s. Although there are some examples of how analysis influences design and vice versa, the evolution is principally a story of the development of technology and how engineers were able to develop more sophisticated systems as they gained confidence in these new technologies. Passive and active feedback control systems are described for satellites and spacecraft.
Magnetic cationic liposome therapeutics suppresses tumor growth and metastasis

5720 Introduction: Cationic liposomes preferentially target tumor vessels, but heterogeneously. To target tumor vasculature more uniformly we seek to combine the electrostatic properties of cationic liposomes with the strength of an external magnetic field (EMF). We studied the effect of external magnet (0.4 tesla) on cellular interactions of MAG-C cationic liposomes with melanoma (B16-F10) and endothelial cells (HMEC-1). We also characterized the drug loaded MAG-C cationic liposomes for their incorporation efficiency and cell growth inhibitory properties. We then determined the influence of external magnet on tumor accumulation of MAG-C cationic liposomes in melanoma bearing SCID mice. Finally, we performed tumor response studies with vinblastine loaded MAG-C PCLs in melanoma bearing SCID mice with and without external magnet (1.2 tesla). Methods: DIC/ fluorescence and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used to evaluate cellular uptake of liposomes. Cell viability was measured by SRB assay. HPLC experiments were performed to determine incorporation efficiencies. Intravital microscopy using dorsal skin fold chambers was used to observe the interaction of liposomes with tumor blood vessels. Results: Higher cellular interaction of magnetic electroneutral liposomes was observed in presence of external magnet (0.4 T, exposure time-60 min) with both B16-F10 (7.25 ± 0.19%) and HMEC-1 (20.18 ± 0.51%) compared with B16-F10 (4.55 ± 1.28%) and HMEC-1 (8.8 ± 1.87%) in absence of magnet. Fluorescence microscopy and TEM showed perinuclear localization of magnetic cationic liposomes in cells. Inclusion of MAG-C at lower concentrations (0.5 mg/ml) in cationic liposomes did not alter the incorporation efficiency of lipophilic drug etoposide, but decreased at higher concentration (2.5 mg/ml) from 78 ± 6.03% to 44 ± 4.26%. However, for hydrophilic drug vinblastine the incorporation efficiency decreased from 32 ± 3.61% to 21 ± 0.11% with the inclusion of MAG-C (0.5 mg/ml); no further decrease was observed with 2.5 mg/ml. Etoposide and vinblastine showed greater cytotoxicity against HMEC-1 than B16-F10. The cytotoxic effect of drugs loaded in cationic liposomes was not altered by the incorporation of MAG-C. Intravital microscopy showed accumulation of magnetic-PCLs along tumor vasculature; maximum retention of magnetic cationic liposomes in tumors was observed 1hr following exposure to external magnet. Finally, intravenous administration of vinblastine-loaded MAG-C PCLs in the presence of external magnet demonstrated significant antitumor activity when compared to no magnet. H&E staining revealed fewer tumor nodules in metastatic sites (i.e., liver, spleen, pleural cavity) in animals treated with vinblastine-loaded MAG-C PCLs compared to controls. Conclusions: The results suggest that the combination of magnetic cationic liposomes with the strength of an EMF is a promising approach for clinical cancer therapy.
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: A summary update on the scientific potential for pulsating star research

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will provide hundreds of deep images of the southern sky over its 10 year duration, enabling variability studies for an unprecedentedly large and unbiased population of objects. In this proceeding paper I will cover the aspects of the LSST’s survey and data products that are most relevant to the study of stellar pulsations (Sect. 1), and provide a directory of pertinent materials for further information. I will also summarize the anticipated variable star sample sizes from the LSST, and highlight recent research from several members of the scientific community which evaluates the scientific potential of the LSST’s data products with respect to pulsating stars (Sect. 2).
From Student to Enterprising Researcher

In recent years, I have found myself coming into contact more and more with ‘enterprise education’. This relatively new discipline sets out to give students and graduates the capacity to generate ideas together with the skills and confidence to see those ideas through to fruition. After the shift in economic climate post-2008, many British students found it more difficult to find employment in their chosen fields and these efforts to develop students’ soft skills, those that perhaps are not developed directly by academic study alone, became more necessary. British universities now employ numerous methods and interventions, from business competitions to hosting public lectures from successful business leaders, to try to develop students’ ‘entrepreneurial spirit’. Pinning down accurately what that ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ entails is difficult. Of course, there are certain characteristics that many entrepreneurs share. They tend to be good problem-solvers, innovative, they take risks, and they can mobilise people and resources to make things happen. However, finding the blueprint for making an entrepreneur can be quite difficult. In addition, many students do not want to become entrepreneurs as they prefer to work in teams and join existing organisations. Can they be helped by enterprise education? People who are innovative within existing organisations can be referred to as intra-preneurial, and enterprise education aims to help them realise their potential too. In this case study, I recount my experiences with enterprise education indicating what helped me, explain how I found myself being more entrepreneurial than I had realised I could be, and how I ended up moving forward as an enterprising researcher in academia.
Investigation of compacted DNA structures induced by Na+ and K+ monovalent cations using biological nanopores.

In aqueous solutions, an elongated, negatively charged DNA chain can quickly change its conformation into a compacted globule in the presence of positively charged molecules, or cations. This well-known process, called DNA compaction, is a method with great potential for gene therapy and delivery. Experimental conditions to induce these compacted DNA structures are often limited to the use of common compacting agents, such as cationic surfactants, polymers, and multivalent cations. In this study, we show that in highly concentrated buffers of 1 M monovalent cation solutions at pH 7.2 and 10, biological nanopores allow real-time sensing of individual compacted structures induced by K+ and Na+, the most abundant monovalent cations in human bodies. Herein, we studied the ratio between compacted and linear structures for 15-mer single-stranded DNA molecules containing only cytosine nucleotides, optimizing the probability of linear DNA chains being compacted. Since the binding affinity of each nucleotide to cation is different, the ability of the DNA strand to fold into a compacted structure greatly depends on the type of cations and nucleotides present. Our experimental results compare favorably with findings from previous molecular dynamics simulations for the DNA compacting potential of K+ and Na+ monovalent cations. We estimate that the majority of single-stranded DNA molecules in our experiment are compacted. From the current traces of nanopores, the ratio of compacted DNA to linear DNA molecules is approximately 30 : 1 and 15 : 1, at a pH of 7.2 and 10, respectively. Our comparative studies reveal that Na+ monovalent cations have a greater potential of compacting the 15C-ssDNA than K+ cations.
Designing materials and devices to revolutionize and engineer the future of electronics and photonics through computationally led and data-driven approaches

The Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) is a multi-agency partnership that seeks to accelerate the pace of materials development across the Materials Development Continuum. Through use of a computationally-led and data-driven approach, MGI promotes the rapid discovery and deployment of advanced materials that will ensure sustained American leadership in sectors including energy, electronics, and photonics. The goals of the MGI include 1) leading a culture shift in materials research through use of an iterative feedback-loop approach, 2) integrating experiment, computation, and theory throughout the materials research community, 3) making digital data accessible and useful to the larger community, and 4) creating a world-class materials science and engineering workforce. The Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) partners with a number of other federal funding agencies to promote these objectives. DMREF includes participation from ten divisions in three directorates at the NSF to address fundamental materials discovery and development. This program currently funds about one hundred projects that cover the full spectrum of materials research. Among these are a number of projects that focus on electronic and photonic materials and devices in both the organic and inorganic realms. Graphenebased origami and kirigami metamaterials are among those being developed thought this methodology. The principles of the MGI are described and examples from specific DMREF projects are provided.
Cross-reactivity by botanicals used in dietary supplements and spices using the multiplex xMAP food allergen detection assay (xMAP FADA)

Food allergies affect some 15 million Americans. The only treatment for food allergies is a strict avoidance diet. To help ensure the reliability of food labels, analytical methods are employed; the most common being enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). However, the commonly employed ELISAs are single analyte-specific and cannot distinguish between false positives due to cross-reactive homologous proteins; making the method of questionable utility for regulatory purposes when analyzing for unknown or multiple food allergens. Also, should the need arise to detect additional analytes, extensive research must be undertaken to develop new ELISAs. To address these and other limitations, a multiplex immunoassay, the xMAP® food allergen detection assay (xMAP FADA), was developed using 30 different antibodies against 14 different food allergens plus gluten. Besides incorporating two antibodies for the detection of most analytes, the xMAP FADA also relies on two different extraction protocols; providing multiple confirmatory end-points. Using the xMAP FADA, the cross-reactivities of 45 botanicals used in dietary supplements and spices commercially sold in the USA were assessed. Only a few displayed cross-reactivities with the antibodies in the xMAP FADA at levels exceeding 0.0001%. The utility of the xMAP FADA was exemplified by its ability to detect and distinguish between betel nut, saw palmetto, and acai which are in the same family as coconut. Other botanicals examined included allspice, amchur, anise seed, black pepper, caraway seed, cardamom, cayenne red pepper, sesame seed, poppy seed, white pepper, and wheat grass. The combination of direct antibody detection, multi-antibody profiling, high sensitivity, and a modular design made it possible for the xMAP FADA to distinguish between homologous antigens, provide multiple levels of built-in confirmatory analysis, and optimize the bead set cocktail to address specific needs.
A comparison study of optical MIN networks with parallel planes

The major challenges in designing optical switched interconnection networks include the lack of optical buffering and the crosstalk originated from the optical switching elements. Vertical Stacking Banyan networks and Data Vortex networks provide two different approaches to solve the problem. Both networks utilize several parallel planes in conjunction with traffic scheduling to eliminate the contention and the crosstalk within the routing nodes. While the two share similar compromise between system cost and switch performance, their traffic control mechanism has fundamental difference due to specific configurations of the parallel routing planes. This paper provides a comparison study of two network approaches, focusing on the overall system complexity and the resulting switch performance in throughput and latency.
Proton-Linked Transport in Chromaffin Granules1

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on proton-linked transport in chromaffin granules. The function of the chromaffin granule is to store catecholamine in high concentration and, upon stimulation of the chromaffin cell, to deliver the catecholamine into the extracellular space by exocytosis. Chromaffin granules isolated from the adrenal medulla are a mixture of two populations, one containing epinephrine and the other containing norepinephrine. The chromaffin-granule adenosine triphosphatase hydrolyzes ATP on the external face of the membrane and translocates protons into the granule. The proton-linked transport system provides a good mechanism for achieving high concentration gradients without wasting energy in pumping catecholamines back and forth across the membrane. Because the catecholamine gradients are essentially in equilibrium with the pH gradient and membrane potential, catecholamines may exchange across the membrane with no energy consumption. Although norepinephrine will tend to stay in the granules, a continuous flux of norepinephrine into the cytoplasm will occur as long as norepinephrine in the cytoplasm is efficiently converted to epinephrine. Studies of catecholamine metabolism in chromaffin granules have benefited immeasurably from techniques and concepts of bioenergetics
Radio’s Arrival

The connection between radio broadcasting and the talking motion picture cannot be overemphasized. The acceptance of the sound film would not have happened as quickly as it did were it not for the radio. Broadcasting was grabbed onto by the public beginning in 1920, quickly leading to better programming and better radios, all of which would directly influence the advancement of the movie from silent to sound. And it was not just the improvement in the radio set itself. It was the arrival of the missing voice, something that would seem very natural by the middle of the 1920s. By the time radio broadcasting had exploded in popularity, the movie studios were already worrying out loud that it would kill the silent film, and that the public would rather stay home and listen to their favorite radio programs than go to a movie theater. This was troublesome.
Using decision procedures efficiently for optimization

Optimization problems are often solved by making repeated calls to a decision procedure that answers questions of the form "Does there exist a solution with cost at most k?". In general the time required by the decision procedure varies widely as a function of k, so it is natural to seek a query strategy that minimizes the time required to find an (approximately) optimal solution. We present a simple query strategy with attractive theoretical guarantees. In case the same decision procedure is used for multiple optimization problems, we discuss how to tailor the query strategy to the sequence of problems encountered. We demonstrate the power of our query strategy by using it to create (i) a modified version of SatPlan that finds provably approximately optimal plans quickly and (ii) a modified branch and bound algorithm for job shop scheduling that yields improved upper and lower bounds.
Directly Measuring the Rate of Slacking as Stroke Survivors produced Isometric Forces during a Tracking Task

Slacking limits the rehabilitative effectiveness of certain exercises following stroke. When patients receive assistance during an exercise, they exhibit a persistent tendency to reduce their own contribution to that exercise. This phenomenon was first coined ’slacking’ in the context of robot-mediated therapy, where controller design continues to involve prediction and mitigation of slacking. In this pilot study, 14 individuals in the chronic stage of stroke participated in a visuomotor tracking task during which they produced isometric grip forces. Visual feedback displayed on a monitor helped participants track eight distinct forces ranging effort level from 4 to 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). A specialized method of toggling between veridical and nonveridical visual feedback isolated each participant’s realtime slacking rate at each of the eight effort levels, with both their contralesional and ipsilesional hand. Below 10–15% MVC, participants did not slack. At higher effort levels, participants slacked, and their slacking rate increased non-linearly with effort. Slacking took the form of smooth reductions in grip force. On average, across participants, slacking rates were remarkably similar between hands, just marginally faster with the contralesional hand. However, individualized slacking rates varied from almost zero to approximately double the acrossparticipant average. The paradigm for measuring slacking rate, used here, might be incorporated into robot-mediated therapy to maintain an accurate, individualized estimate of a patient’s slacking rate at various force levels and ensure the robot provides assistance only as needed.
Site sensitive maximum stand density index models for mixed conifer stands across the Inland Northwest, USA

Abstract Density management is a key silvicultural tool for developing management prescriptions that maintain and enhance forest health and productivity, particularly in droughty, fire-prone ecosystems of the Inland Northwest, USA. Within this context, understanding the role of species mixing, climate, topography, and soil properties on maximum stand density is critical for predicting forest stand response to management given a suite of site characteristics and species composition. We assembled a dataset from public and private land management organizations that allowed us to test the role of ecological variables on modifying maximum stand density frontiers. Maximum stand density frontier models were built for selected conifer species using stochastic frontier regression. The influence of species mixing was assessed by including as a covariate basal area proportion of the three conifer species of interest in this study: Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca, and Abies grandis var. idahoensis. A single, parsimonious model was found to fit each species, with variable coefficients reflecting species adaptation to varying abiotic site factors across the region. Site factors that increased maximum density included cool, moist conditions, soils containing volcanic ash over coarse-textured bedrock, and high tree-species diversity. These observations correspond to regional silvicultural guidance, thereby providing both a site-sensitive, quantitative maximum density measure for mixed species stands, and a tool for evaluating the effect of climate scenarios on future stand carrying capacity.
Exercise during Abstinence Normalizes Ultrastructural Synaptic Plasticity Associated with Nicotine-Seeking following Extended Access Self-Administration.

Nicotine-craving progressively increases, or incubates, over abstinence following extended access self-administration. While not yet examined for nicotine, the incubation of cocaine-seeking is accompanied by changes in synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens. Here, we determined whether such changes also accompany enhanced nicotine-seeking following extended access self-administration and abstinence, and whether exercise, a potential intervention for nicotine addiction, may exert its efficacy by normalizing these changes. Given that in humans, tobacco/nicotine use begins during adolescence, we used an adolescent-onset model. Nicotine-seeking was assessed in male rats following extended access nicotine or saline self-administration (23-hr/day, 10 days) and 10 days of abstinence, conditions known to induce the incubation of nicotine-seeking, using a within-session extinction/cue-induced reinstatement procedure. A subset of rats had 2-hr/day access to a running wheel during abstinence. Ultrastructural alterations of synapses in the nucleus accumbens core and shell were examined using electron microscopy. Nicotine-seeking was elevated following extended access self-administration and abstinence (in sedentary group), and levels of seeking were associated with an increase in the density of asymmetric (excitatory) and symmetric (inhibitory) synapses onto dendrites in the core, as well as longer asymmetric synapses onto spines, a marker of synaptic potentiation, in both the core and shell. Exercise normalized each of these changes; however, in the shell, exercise and nicotine similarly increased the synapse length. Together, these findings indicate an association between nicotine-seeking and synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens, particularly the core, and indicate that the efficacy of exercise to reduce nicotine-seeking may be mediated by reversing these adaptations.
A comparison of peptidase activities and peptide metabolism in cultured mouse keratinocytes and neonatal mouse epidermis.

One of the barriers to transdermal delivery of peptides is the metabolic activity of the epidermis. To define this metabolic activity, aminopeptidase activity and Leu-enkephalin metabolism were measured in the epidermis obtained from neonatal mouse skin and in cultured mouse keratinocytes. Aminopeptidase activity was measured fluorometrically using leucine, tyrosine, lysine, and aspartic acid derivatives of β-naphthylamine as substrates. Similarities in substrate kinetic values (Km and Vmax) and substrate specificity of the enzyme(s) in homogenates prepared from neonatal mouse skin epidermis and cultured mouse keratinocytes strongly suggest that the keratinocytes in culture express the same aminopeptidase(s) with the same relative activity as in neonatal skin. The Km and Vmax values for aminopeptidase(s) with different substrates in epidermis homogenates are as follows: leucine β-naphthylamide (11 µM and 38 nmol · min−1 · mg−1), tyrosine (β-naphthylamide (21 µM and 18 nmol · min−1 · mg−1), and lysine β-naphthylamide (11 µM and 35 nmol · min−1 · mg−1). Aspartic acid β-naphthylamide and glutamic acid β-naphthylamide were not hydrolyzed by these homogenates at pH 7.4 (37°C). Leu-enkephalin hydrolysis by the homogenates from cultured mouse keratinocytes and neonatal mouse epidermic gave similar Km (32 and 24 µM), Vmax (9.77 and 7.55 nmol · min−1 · mg−1) and Ki (223 and 194 µM) values. In addition, the cellular homogenates gave similar metabolite profiles for Leu-enkephalin.
Analysis of Mobility Disadvantages and Economic Deficiencies in Rural Georgia

Georgia’s socioeconomic conditions provide an excellent base for analyzing the geopolitical situation. While the statistics available for each of the variables selected for this research do not describe in detail every person, family, or household, they do provide a level of values that (a) formulates a profile of each area studied and (b) establishes a set of indicators strengthening the hypothesis set forth in the early stages of this study. The data, however, required some modification that minimized skewing distributions and thereby ultimately furthered validation of the model. Originally I believed that aggregation of data to the APDC level alone would be adequate to analyze clearly the mobility disadvantages as they relate to work activity disparities on an areawide basis. This assumption proved to be invalid, however. One approach, which originally included urban indicators, distorted the analysis when the variables describing Georgia were researched either from a holistic perspective or disaggregated into a set of areawide districts. Additionally, the dissimilarity in composition and size of the area-wide organizations created some concern regarding the use of the APDCs as the sole geopolitical unit to be studied. The number of counties comprising the eighteen APDCs ranges from five to fourteen.