cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Whores and lesbians: political activism, party strategies, and gender quotas in Mexico

Abstract This article examines the factors that led to improved representation of women in an unlikely setting: Mexico. Quotas can ensure gender balance in nominations and diminish the importance of other factors by limiting strategic choice. Yet few have examined why parties adopt quotas. I argue that activist pressures may be more important than electoral pressures in the social context typical of developing countries. Moreover, quotas may reflect a lack of will to balance tickets rather than formalizing an existing consensus. Finally, party structures — particularly the existence of transparent and reasonably democratic decision-making — maximize the chances of success.
Initial full-diurnal-cycle mesopause region lidar observations: diurnal-means and tidal perturbations of temperature and winds over Fort Collins, CO (41°N,105°W)

Abstract The Colorado State Sodium lidar has been upgraded to a two-beam system capable of simultaneous measurements of mesopause region temperature and winds, over full diurnal-cycles, weather permitting. Though our lidar is a modest system with a power-aperture product of only 0.06 W m 2 , good data quality is demonstrated by means of contour plots depicting a 80-h continuous observation between August 9th and 12th, showing the existence of atmospheric waves with different periods along with their coherence and interactions. The salient feature of data with full-diurnal-cycle coverage lies in its ability to describe the vertical profiles of dynamical fields (temperature, zonal and meridional winds) as a unique linear superposition of diurnal-mean and oscillations with different tidal periods, plus a residual term. In this manner, we investigate diurnal-means and oscillations with diurnal and semidiurnal periods. Using 6 data sets between July 17 and August 12, each covering a full-diurnal-cycle as a case study, we found considerable day-to-day variability, as much as 20 K , 35 and 75 m/s for diurnal-mean temperature, zonal wind and meridional wind, respectively, and as 15 K , and 50 m/s , for the diurnal and semidiurnal tidal temperature and wind amplitudes, respectively. While a minimum of 3 full diurnal cycles appears to be adequate in the case studied here, the 6-day composite yields diurnal-means and diurnal tides in agreement with model predictions very well. Since the resulting amplitudes and phases of the observed diurnal oscillations agree well with the global scale wave model, GSWM00 predictions, we conclude that the migrating diurnal tide contributes significantly to the observed oscillations with diurnal period over Fort Collins, CO (41°N, 105°W). Unlike the diurnal perturbations, the observed semidiurnal amplitudes and phases differ from the GSWM00 predictions with considerably smaller model amplitudes. The coherence of solar forcing is found to prevail over the variability for diurnal-mean as well as both tidal oscillations, leading to expected convergence to climatology in a multi-day composite observation. The possible causes for the observed variability, and the role of planetary waves and nonlinear interactions are discussed, along with future studies to assess the extent of local perturbations that may exist in the observed data.
22q11.2 Deletion syndrome is associated with perioperative outcome in tetralogy of Fallot.

Objective We sought to investigate the impact of 22q11.2 deletion on perioperative outcome in tetralogy of Fallot. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of patients with tetralogy of Fallot who underwent complete surgical reconstruction at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia between 1995 and 2006. Inclusion criteria included diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot and known genotype. Fisher exact and Mann–Whitney tests were used for categoric and continuous variables, respectively. Regression analysis was used to determine whether deletion status predicts outcome. Results We studied 208 subjects with tetralogy of Fallot, 164 (79%) without and 44 (20%) with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. There were no differences in sex, race, gestational age, age at diagnosis, admission weight, and duration of mechanical ventilation. Presenting anatomy, survival, complications and reoperations were also comparable between patients with and without 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Those with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome had more aortopulmonary shunts preceding complete surgical repair (21% vs 7%, P = .02). This association was present after adjustment for presenting anatomy (stenosis, atresia, or absence of pulmonary valve and common atrioventricular canal) and surgical era. In addition, those with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome had longer cardiopulmonary bypass time (84 vs 72 minutes, P = .02) and duration of intensive care (6 vs 4 days, P = .007). Conclusions Genotype affects early operative outcomes in tetralogy of Fallot resulting, in particular, in longer duration of intensive care. Future studies are required to determine factors contributing to such differences in this susceptible population.
Historically Black Colleges and University students' and faculties' views of school psychology: Implications for increasing diversity in higher education†

This study investigates Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students' and faculties' knowledge related to school psychology. A total of 165 students and 14 faculty members completed inventories that assessed the understanding and views of various psychological disciplines. Results indicated that HBCU students rated their perceived knowledge of school psychology significantly lower than all psychological disciplines. In addition, these students have significantly fewer sources of information for school psychology than comparable disciplines. Although more than 90% of students stated that they would attend graduate school, the majority was only somewhat interested in school psychology as a career choice. Furthermore, HBCU psychology faculty members stated that the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists do not actively recruit or provide information to their students. Results are discussed in terms of increasing the number of African American school psychologists. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Axiomatic Deduction of the Pauli Spinor Theory

Pauli's spinor theory is deduced entirely from a postulate relating to the two-valuedness of the spectrum of the Pauli spin operators, without explicit use of the theory of group representations, or any assumption concerning the angular momentum properties of these operators.
Fine-Scale Mapping of Disease Genes with Multiple Mutations via Spatial Clustering Techniques

We present a method to perform fine mapping by placing haplotypes into clusters on the basis of risk. Each cluster has a haplotype “center.” Cluster allocation is defined according to haplotype centers, with each haplotype assigned to the cluster with the “closest” center. The closeness of two haplotypes is determined by a similarity metric that measures the length of the shared segment around the location of a putative functional mutation for the particular cluster. Our method allows for missing marker information but still estimates the risks of complete haplotypes without resorting to a one-marker-at-a-time analysis. The dimensionality issues that can occur in haplotype analyses are removed by sampling over the haplotype space, allowing for estimation of haplotype risks without explicitly assigning a parameter to each haplotype to be estimated. In this way, we are able to handle haplotypes of arbitrary size. Furthermore, our clustering approach has the potential to allow us to detect the presence of multiple functional mutations.
Dorsal thoracic spinal cord herniation: report of an unusual case and review of the literature.

Abstract Background context Spinal cord herniation is a rare but well-documented condition that has been associated with tethering through the dural defect. Both spinal cord herniation and cord tethering result in progressive myelopathy that can be improved or stabilized with surgical intervention. Most cases of herniation are caused by dural defects in the ventral or ventrolateral thoracic spine, rarely occurring through the dorsal dura. This is the first reported case of a spontaneous dorsal herniation. Purpose To describe a unique case of thoracic tethered cord resulting from a dorsal dural defect through which there is spinal cord herniation. Study design A case report and review of the literature. Methods A 55-year-old man presented with progressive low back pain, paresthesias, and weakness in his left lower extremity that was exacerbated by walking. Imaging revealed a dorsal dural defect with tethering and herniation of the spinal cord at T7. Results The patient underwent a T6–T7 laminoplasty to release the tethered cord and repair the dural defect. At 1-year follow-up, the patient noted improvement in strength and back spasticity. Conclusions Spinal cord herniation through a dural defect is an uncommon but important cause of symptomatic tethered cord in adults. Surgical intervention can significantly alter the course and prevent further disability.
Class relations and capitalist development: Subsumption in the Colombian coffee industry, 1928–92

The concept of subsumption had a short life within Marxist analysis of family farming because analysts using the concept failed to appreciate the centrality of class relations in Marx's analysis of capitalist development. I argue that the concept of subsumption is best understood as a theorisation of the subtle cultural and historical processes through which labour is incorporated into capitalist development projects. I reinforce this theoretical discussion with an analysis of capitalist development in the Colombian coffee industry. This case demonstrates that capitalist development is as much project as process, as much the reformation of cultural identity as the restructuring of relations of production.
Intimate structure of high modulus carbon fibres.

No evidence of transverse grain boundaries has been found in high modulus graphite fibres by high resolution phase contrast microscopy. Instead, the graphite planes have been found to flow over long distances in the direction of the fibre axis coalescing to graphite “crystallite” regions. The latter have the size and shape already suggested by X-ray diffraction techniques. The planes literally “flow” around intruding material, and evidence for elongated voids is occasionally found.
Assessing chromatographic peak purity using condition index and singular value evolving profiles

A new method for determining chromatographic peak purity is presented. The method uses condition index evolving profiles (CIEPs) and singular value evolving profiles (SVEPs). To produce a CIEP or a SVEP, singular value decompositions are performed on data matrices containing the analyte's pure-component spectrum and sample spectra as they evolve over a chromatographic time profile. Visual inspection of condition indices and singular values as they evolve over time enables detection of less than 0.5% of a spectrally similar impurity with no chromatographic resolution (Rs = 0). Additionally, the CIEPs and SVEPs allow estimation of chromatographic pure regions. This method represents an extension of CIEPs which have been used in successful library searches of multicomponent mixtures based on gas chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectra and liquid chromatography-UV-visible spectra.
The luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) system in neonatally estradiol-feminized male gray short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica)

In this study, the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) system was examined in adult gray short-tailed opossums that had been treated with estradiol benzoate (EB) on days 1 and 3 of postnatal life, a treatment which results in complete block of testicular development. The finding that the organization of the LH-RH system in neonatally EB-treated males did not differ from that of neonatally untreated animals indicates that the LH-RH system can develop normally despite the absence of gonads throughout perinatal life.
The effect of splenectomy on the immune responses of rabbits to a soluble protein antigen given parenterally or orally

Abstract Splenectomized and sham-operated rabbits were immunized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) intravenously, subcutaneously, or orally. Splenectomy caused a 2-to 4-day delay in antibody synthesis in animals immunized intravenously; this delay corresponded to the time that antibody-producing cells were found mainly in the spleen. By 14 days, the antibody response of the splenectomized intravenously immunized group was similar to that of the sham-operated group. Splenectomy did not diminish the antibody responses of rabbits immunized subcutaneously or orally. Splenectomy had no effect on the capacity of circulating lymphocytes to respond to phytohemagglutinin. Similarly, splenectomy did not alter the capacity of circulating lymphocytes from subcutaneously immunized rabbits to respond to BSA in vitro . In contrast, the presence of detectable circulating antigen-reactive lymphocytes in splenectomized animals was slightly reduced after intravenous immunization, and significantly enhanced after oral immunization. Thus, the spleen of the rabbit is important for the early antibody response to soluble protein antigens given intravenously. These studies suggest that the systemic immunity which follows local antigen stimulation at mucosal surfaces, i.e., oral immunization, may be secondary to the circulation of lymphoid cells sensitized in the lamina propria of the intestine.
Distributed self-capacitance of magnetic resonance imaging birdcage coils

Presented is a theoretical description of the self‐capacitance of a low‐pass birdcage coil. The problem considered is that the modification of the distributed self‐capacitance produced by the electric interaction between the coil and a cylindrical Faraday screen and illustrates the phenomenon of coil self‐capacitance as well as the influence of Faraday screens. Changes in coil self‐capacitance produced by the presence of the screens are shown to be consistent with measured shifts in coil resonant frequencies.
Experimental testbed for robot skin characterization and interaction control

Future robot skin will consist of massive numbers of sensors embedded in flexible and compliant elastomer substrate. To test and characterize pressure-sensitive skin prototypes, we have built an experimental testbed capable of applying controlled loading profiles, using the data to create reduced-order models of skin sensors for simulation and control. Measurement data from a load applicator and embedded taxel is acquired using National Instruments real-time control technology. Reduced-order models were proposed to relate the load applied to robot skin to the load sensed by the embedded taxel. Experiments for soft skin material characterization and taxel characterization were also undertaken with the testbed to better understand their nonlinear behavior. With this setup current and future skin sensor designs undergoing a range of loading profiles can be tested and modeled.
Laser-induced transient structure and stress in a platinum(111) crystal studied by time-resolved X-ray diffraction

Nanosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction has been employed to study the transient structure deformation of a Pt(111) crystal induced by laser pulse heating. A direct-imaging X-ray CCD system with high spatial resolution allowed the detection of structural changes of the order of 10−3 A. The time evolution of lattice strain was measured with 12 ns resolution. The lattice spacings were found to suffer a transient change from 2.2653 to 2.2695 (10) A, and the strain reached its maximum value 10 ns after laser irradiation.
Thermal Convection and the Origin of Ice Streams

Ice streams are a fact of ice-sheet dynamics, draining up to 90% of the ice. Thermal convection in ice below the density inversion is a speculation. An attempt is made to meld the two in such a way that the speculation becomes an explanation for the fact.
Arginine vasopressin maintains ethanol tolerance.

THE neurohypophyseal hormone, [Arg8]vasopressin (AVP), like some of its analogues and smaller peptides of related structure, has the capacity to influence memory-related processes through direct action in the central nervous system1–4. These peptides have relatively long-lasting effects on memory consolidation or on retrieval of information1,5. It has been suggested that development of functional tolerance to drug effects involves an adaptive mechanism in the CNS similar to that which occurs during learning and/or memory consolidation6,7. We therefore wished to extend our studies4 of the central actions of the neurohypophyseal hormones to include an investigation of the influence of these peptides on various aspects of functional tolerance to ethanol. One of the most consistently demonstrable effects of the neurohypophyseal peptides with respect to memory is the ability to inhibit the extinction of a conditioned avoidance response1–3,5. We now present evidence that treatment of animals with AVP during and after chronic ethanol administration leads to long-term maintenance of tolerance to the hypothermic and sedative effects of ethanol.
A Structure-Based Library Approach to Kinase Inhibitors

While purine analogs were being screened for inhibition of various protein kinases, a relatively selective inhibitor, olomoucine, was identified that competitively inhibits CDK2/cyclin A with an IC{sub 50} of 7 {mu}M. A comparison of the CDK2 crystal structures containing bound ATP and bound olomoucine confirms that olomoucine binds in the adenine binding pocket of CDK2, but its purine nucleus adopts an entirely different orientation than that observed for ATP. In spite of the good shape complementarity shown by the olomoucine-CDK2 complex, structural variations at C-6, C-2, and N-9 might be expected to lead to enhanced affinity and selectivity for CDK2. The coupling of this structural information with combinatorial methods is an obvious strategy for optimizing olomoucine`s potency. Herein we apply this approach to the solid-phase synthesis and screening of combinatorial libraries based on the purine scaffold found in olomoucine. The iteration of library synthesis with structural analysis of the optimized leads should provide an effective strategy for the development of more potent and selective inhibitors of CDK2. In addition, libraries containing purine derivatives may prove useful in the search for inhibitors of a large number of cellular processes. 24 refs., 1 fig.
Acquired port-wine stain in a pediatric patient.

Background Acquired port-wine stains (PWSs) are vascular lesions that are identical to congenital PWSs morphologically and histopathologically. Objective Because acquired PWSs are rarely seen in adult and pediatric patients, we present a 9-year-old boy with an acquired PWS on his left forearm. Conclusion None of the proposed etiologies, such as trauma, chronic sun exposure, or hormonal medication, was applicable to our patient, and a literature review showed us that acquired PWSs give a faster and better response to pulsed dye laser therapy than congenital lesions do.
Photocleavable peptide-conjugated magnetic beads for protein kinase assays by MALDI-TOF MS.

Peptides were immobilized onto superparamagnetic beads via photocleavable linkers. This enabled simple, rapid, and label-free protein kinase assays via MALDI-TOF MS detection of substrate peptide phosphorylation. Abltide, a model substrate for the Abl protein tyrosine kinase model, was coupled onto amine-terminated beads, incubated with ATP and recombinant c-Abl kinase, and released and further detected to determine phosphorylation. Abltide phosphorylation was found to depend significantly on the length and composition of linkers to the bead surface. Inserting a diblock spacer of poly(glycine) and poly(ethylene glycol) segments markedly enhanced phosphorylation. To validate the assay, the activity of two small-molecule kinase inhibitors, imatinib and dasatinib, which target the oncogenic mutant tyrosine kinase Bcr-Abl to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), was tested. Examining inhibition of the purified c-Abl or Bcr-Abl in K562 CML cell extracts, IC50 values were determined to be consistent with the li...
Personification of Ideals by Urban Children

Resume Les buts de cette etude ont ete (a) de trouver les tendances des differences entre les ideals choisis par les filles et les garcons urbains, respectivement, du milieu immediat et eloigne dans ses rapports avec l'âge et le sexe et (b) de trouver le contenu-les noms des personnages-des ideals ainsi designes. On a eu des donnees de 8813 enfants de race blanche de trois villes a l'egard de la question suivante: De toutes les personnes dont vous avez entendu parler, ou dont vous avez lu, ou que vous avez vues, aux-quelles aimeriez-vous mieux vous ressembler? Pourquoi? Les resultats montrent que le plus grand nombre d'ideals sont choisis dans le domaine des personnages historiques ou des personnes de la vie publique; que l'influence de ces personnages s'accroit constamment pour les enfants entre l'âge de 8 et de 15 ans; que les garcons, plus que les filles, choisissent des ideals du milieu eloigne. Les personnages de la fiction ne sont choisis que par 3% des eleves, les personnages religieux par seulemen...
Residue-Specific Vibrational Echoes Yield 3D Structures of a Transmembrane Helix Dimer

Two-dimensional (2D) vibrational echo spectroscopy has previously been applied to structural determination of small peptides. Here we extend the technique to a more complex, biologically important system: the homodimeric transmembrane dimer from the α chain of the integrin α(IIb)β(3). We prepared micelle suspensions of the pair of 30-residue chains that span the membrane in the native structure, with varying levels of heavy ((13)C=(18)O) isotopes substituted in the backbone of the central 10th through 20th positions. The constraints derived from vibrational coupling of the precisely spaced heavy residues led to determination of an optimized structure from a range of model candidates: Glycine residues at the 12th, 15th, and 16th positions form a tertiary contact in parallel right-handed helix dimers with crossing angles of -58° ± 9° and interhelical distances of 7.7 ± 0.5 angstroms. The frequency correlation established the dynamical model used in the analysis, and it indicated the absence of mobile water associated with labeled residues. Delocalization of vibrational excitations between the helices was also quantitatively established.
Bug Hunt: Making Early Software Testing Lessons Engaging and Affordable

Software testing efforts account for a large part of software development costs. However, as educators, we struggle to properly prepare students to perform software testing activities. This struggle is caused by multiple factors: (1) it is challenging to effectively incorporate software testing into an already over-packed curriculum, (2) ad-hoc efforts to teach testing generally happen too late in the students' career, after bad habits have already been developed, and (3) these efforts lack the necessary institutional consistency and support to be effective. To address these challenges we created Bug Hunt, a web-based tutorial to engage students in learning software testing strategies. In this paper we describe the most interesting aspects of the tutorial including the lessons and feedback mechanisms, and the facilities for instructors to configure the tutorial and obtain automatic student assessment. We also present the lessons learned after two years of deployment.
Approximate pole placement in linear multivariable systems using dynamic compensators

The problem of approximate pole placement in linear time-invariant systems is generalized to include the case in which the controllable, observable plant of order n is augmented by o, fixed order compensator. It is shown how a low-order compensator may be obtained such that the eigenvalues of the closed-loop system are close to a set of preassigned values.
Searching for transcription factor binding sites in vector spaces.

Computational approaches to transcription factor binding site identification have been actively researched in the past decade. Learning from known binding sites, new binding sites of a transcription factor in unannotated sequences can be identified. A number of search methods have been introduced over the years. However, one can rarely find one single method that performs the best on all the transcription factors. Instead, to identify the best method for a particular transcription factor, one usually has to compare a handful of methods. Hence, it is highly desirable for a method to perform automatic optimization for individual transcription factors. We proposed to search for transcription factor binding sites in vector spaces. This framework allows us to identify the best method for each individual transcription factor. We further introduced two novel methods, the negative-to-positive vector (NPV) and optimal discriminating vector (ODV) methods, to construct query vectors to search for binding sites in vector spaces. Extensive cross-validation experiments showed that the proposed methods significantly outperformed the ungapped likelihood under positional background method, a state-of-the-art method, and the widely-used position-specific scoring matrix method. We further demonstrated that motif subtypes of a TF can be readily identified in this framework and two variants called the k NPV and k ODV methods benefited significantly from motif subtype identification. Finally, independent validation on ChIP-seq data showed that the ODV and NPV methods significantly outperformed the other compared methods. We conclude that the proposed framework is highly flexible. It enables the two novel methods to automatically identify a TF-specific subspace to search for binding sites. Implementations are available as source code at: http://biogrid.engr.uconn.edu/tfbs_search/ .
Thermochemical Investigations of Hydrogen-Bonded Solutions: Part 4. Prediction of Liquid-Vapor Equilibria for Binary 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane + 1-Alkanol Mixtures Using Mobile Order Theory

Abstract The unconventional solution model of Mobile Order, which previously had been shown to provide a very accurate thermodynamic description of anthracene solubilities and chemical potentials in binary hydrocarbon + alcohol solvent mixtures, is extended to other thermodynamic excess properties. An expression is derived for predicting liquid-vapor equilibria of binary hydrocarbon + alcohol systems. Applications and limitations of the newly-derived predictive expression are assessed using published vapor pressure data for binary mixtures containing 2,2,4-trimethylpentane with 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol and 1-octanol.
MODELS THAT GENERATE TRENDS

. Using the theory of divergent series, a class of linear filters are considered that when applied to a constant generate a wide class of deterministic trends in mean. If these filters are applied to a white noise, series are produced that have changing variances and may correspond to fractional integrated series. Some other trend-generating mechanisms are also considered and methods of characterizing different trends are discussed.
Design and DSP microprocessor implementation of digital sinusoidal tracking controllers

The flight control of a spinning flying vehicle may be more involved than that of a missile or even an aircraft since the actuators are on a rotating frame instead of a fixed one. One possible solution is to oscillate the canards according to the spinning frequency and phase of the vehicle so that the deflection of the canards seen from the earth is unaffected by the spinning. The problem becomes a sinusoidal tracking control problem that can be solved by the discrete-time optimal regulator/tracking control theory. Both the frequency and time domain aspects of the design are discussed. The designed tracking controller will be implemented on a DSP microprocessor. Some practical issues arising in the implementation are also addressed.
An ultrawideband imaging radar for sea surface studies

An ultrawideband imaging radar for the study of the surface disturbances caused by submerged mines is described. The system uses an extremely short pulse (0.2 ns, 40% bandwidth) for range resolution and time-domain beamforming for azimuthal imaging. The system also employs a "pulse pair" algorithm for the estimation of surface velocity.
Building the African information society

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has introduced many changes over the last decades causing a socio-economic evolution based on information acquisition and knowledge dissemination. It helped create an emerging global information-based society with innovative means of communication that can help in increasing competitiveness for individuals, organisations and societies. ICT has helped generate new forms and structures of business, social and economic entities that are no longer bound by geographic or time constraints, but instead depend mainly on being connected all the time. This article addresses the efforts taking place in Africa to minimise the digital gap and actively join the global information society. Many African nations have invested heavily in building their ICT infrastructure to help improve the readiness of their communities and this article provides an overview of some of the projects implemented to build the African information society while demonstrating some the lessons learned and experiences acquired.
SOFT TISSUE COMPLICATIONS OF ORTHOPEDIC EMERGENCIES

The emergency physician encounters a diversity of potentially devastating and disabling soft tissue maladies. This article reviews the literature and approach to the compartment syndrome and Volkmann contracture, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and causalgia, fracture blisters, and gas gangrene.
Facile synthesis of a crystalline, high-surface-area SnO2 aerogel

We report the preparation of a novel monolithic SnO{sub 2} aerogel using a straightforward sol-gel technique. TEM and XRD analysis show that the as-prepared material is comprised of interconnected, randomly oriented crystalline (rutile) SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles {approx}3-5 nm in size. As a result, the low-density SnO{sub 2} monolith ({approx}97% porous) exhibits a very high surface area of 383 m{sup 2}/g. /XANES spectroscopy at the Sn M{sub 4,5} edge reveals that the electronic structure of the SnO{sub 2} aerogel is similar to that of tetragonal SnO rather than SnO{sub 2} or {beta}-Sn, and that the undercoordinated surface atoms in the material introduce additional Sn-related electronic states close to the conduction band minimum.
WEE1 is a validated target of the microRNA miR-17-92 cluster in leukemia.

MicroRNAs are short single-stranded RNAs that regulate target gene expression by binding to complementary sites in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of their mRNA targets. The polycistronic miR-17-92 cluster, which encodes miR-17 , miR-18a , miR-19a , miR-20a , miR-19b , and miR-92a , was previously shown to be overexpressed in multiple types of cancer. In this study, target gene prediction algorithms were used to predict potential targets of the miR-17-92 cluster. WEE1, a kinase that inhibits cell cycle progression, was identified as a possible target of five of the six miRNAs in the cluster. Luciferase reporter assays were used to determine that miR-17 , miR-20a , and miR-18a specifically target nucleotides 465–487 of the 3′ UTR of WEE1 , whereas miR-19a and miR-19b exert control on WEE1 by targeting nucleotides 1069–1091. A negative correlation was determined between endogenous miR-17 or miR-19a expression and endogenous WEE1 protein expression in the same panel of cell lines. We conclude that WEE1 is a valid target of the miR-17-92 cluster in leukemia.
Cosmonational Integration of Diaspora Enclaves

This essay re-conceptualizes diasporic integration as an object of study in order to unveil the true nature and parameters of the problem. In contrast to previous studies of immigrant communities, which use the assimilation, multiculturalism, or transnationalism approach in the deconstruction of ethnic formations, this new model of integration–the cosmonational model–relocates the ethnic enclave inside a global circuit of interactions, views it as enmeshed in the logic of an ensemble of interlinked sites, and consequently posits integration into a hostland as a cosmonational process.
Potential role of miRNAs and their inhibitors in glioma treatment

Recent years have seen an intense period of research on the functions of miRNAs, recently discovered key regulators of gene expression that act through suppression of translation of target mRNAs. Several hundred miRNAs have been identified in humans, and these show characteristic expression patterns, depending on tissue type, cell type or environmental stimuli. Like other types of cancer, the brain tumor glioblastoma shows a distinct miRNA expression signature, and a number of recent studies have linked these miRNA alterations to key hallmarks of glioblastoma including proliferation, survival, invasion, angiogenesis and stem cell-like behavior. These studies have opened the door to the possibility of utilizing miRNAs or miRNA antagonists as therapeutic agents for the treatment of brain tumors.
Video as Scholary Material in the Digital Library

Video is a challenging material for digital libraries because it contains large amounts of data which must be processed quickly and because video programming has not been as conveniently structured for algorithmic processing as text. Since moving images are used as scholarly material in a number of disciplines, digital libraries must be able to support cataloging, browsing, and navigating through video collections. We have shown that computationally tractable algorithms can be used to solve some of the important problems in digital video libraries. While much further work needs to be done, we believe that signal and image processing algorithms will help us solve other important problems in video libraries.
Real-time prostate trajectory estimation with a single imager in arc radiotherapy: a simulation study.

Real-time prostate tracking during intensity-modulated arc radiotherapy requires a reliable prostate position signal during treatment. Many modern linear accelerators have a single gantry-mounted x-ray imager that could be used for intrafraction imaging of implanted prostate markers. The aim of this study was to develop a method to use such a single x-ray imager to estimate the three-dimensional (3D) prostate position in real time during arc treatment delivery and quantify the accuracy of this method in simulations based on 548 prostate trajectories for 17 patients measured with electromagnetic transponders. Imaging at 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 Hz during 360° arc treatments of 1, 2 and 3 min duration was simulated by projecting the prostate position onto the rotating imager. When an image was acquired, a Gaussian probability density function (PDF) for the prostate position was first estimated by maximum likelihood optimization from the set of images acquired so far and then used to estimate the 3D prostate position from the projected position in the image. Since this method needed a PDF right from the onset of the treatment, an initial PDF was obtained with a series of pre-treatment images acquired in 10 s, 20 s or 30 s during a gantry rotation of 60°, 120° or 180°. The accuracy of the estimations was quantified by calculating the root-mean-square (RMS) estimation error for each simulated treatment. The 3D RMS estimation error had a mean value of 0.22 mm and exceeded 1 mm in 0.8% of the cases for 1 min treatments with 5 Hz imaging and 20 s pre-treatment imaging. The position estimation accuracy degraded slightly with reduced imaging frequency or reduced pre-treatment imaging duration. Prolonged treatment duration of 2 and 3 min increased the mean 3D RMS errors to 0.27 mm and 0.30 mm, respectively. The single-imager trajectory estimation method would allow image-guided real-time prostate tracking based on standard equipment for modern linear accelerators.
Capacity Development for Good Governance in Developing Countries: Some Lessons from the Field

Abstract Good governance is essential for sustaining economic transformation in developing countries. However, many developing countries currently lack the capacity, as opposed to the will, to both achieve and sustain a climate of good governance. This article addresses, from a practitioner's field perspective, the fundamental objectives, principles, and key areas that need to be addressed for developing capacity for good governance. These frameworks are now beginning to be recognized as both governments and donor institutions attempt to take advantage of the current demand and opportunities for addressing governance deficits. In pursuing capacity development for good governance, developing countries must ensure that such initiatives are comprehensively designed to be simultaneously related to change and transformation at the individual, institutional, and societal levels and be owned and controlled locally.
Programming Support for Distributed Optimization and Control in Cyber-Physical Systems

Large-scale actuator control problems in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are often expressed within the networked optimization model. While significant advances have taken place in optimization techniques, their widespread adoption in practical implementations is impeded by the complexity of inter-node coordination and lack of programming support that is necessary for sharing information coherently between distributed and concurrent controller processes. In this paper, we propose a distributed shared memory (DSM) architecture that abstracts away the details of inter-node coordination from the programmer resulting in simplified application design. It maintains data coherency through explicit use of mutual exclusion lock primitives that serialize access to coarse subsets of shared variables using fine-grained read/write permissions. The underlying lock protocol is deadlock-free, fair and safe, and reduces response time and message cost by 81.6% and 72.8% respectively over a conventional DSM implementation with coarse access permissions. Moreover, in a representative application example, the proposed framework reduces application code size by 76% and total latency by 22% over a hand-crafted implementation.
Human immunodeficiency virus-like particles activate multiple types of immune cells

The rapid spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide makes it a high priority to develop an effective vaccine. Since live attenuated or inactivated HIV is not likely to be approved as a vaccine due to safety concerns, HIV virus like particles (VLPs) offer an attractive alternative because they are safe due to the lack of a viral genome. Although HIV VLPs have been shown to induce humoral and cellular immune responses, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which they induce such responses and to improve their immunogenicity. We generated HIV VLPs, and VLPs containing Flt3 ligand (FL), a dendritic cell growth factor, to target VLPs to dendritic cells, and investigated the roles of these VLPs in the initiation of adaptive immune responses in vitro and in vivo. We found that HIV-1 VLPs induced maturation of dendritic cells and monocyte/macrophage populations in vitro and in vivo, with enhanced expression of maturation markers and cytokines. Dendritic cells pulsed with VLPs induced activation of splenocytes resulting in increased production of cytokines. VLPs containing FL were found to increase dendritic cells and monocyte/macrophage populations in the spleen when administered to mice. Administration of VLPs induced acute activation of multiple types of cells including T and B cells as indicated by enhanced expression of the early activation marker CD69 and down-regulation of the homing receptor CD62L. VLPs containing FL were an effective form of antigen in activating immune cells via dendritic cells, and immunization with HIV VLPs containing FL resulted in enhanced T helper type 2-like immune responses.
Simultaneous freeze tolerance and avoidance in individual fungus gnats, Exechia nugatoria

Freeze tolerance and freeze avoidance are typically described as mutually exclusive strategies for overwintering in animals. Here we show an insect species that combines both strategies. Individual fungus gnats, collected in Fairbanks, Alaska, display two freezing events when experimentally cooled and different rates of survival after each event (mean ± SEM: −31.5 ± 0.2°C, 70% survival and −50.7 ± 0.4°C, 0% survival). To determine which body compartments froze at each event, we dissected the abdomen from the head/thorax and cooled each part separately. There was a significant difference between temperature levels of abdominal freezing (−30.1 ± 1.1°C) and head/thorax freezing (−48.7 ± 1.3°C). We suggest that freezing is initially restricted to one body compartment by regional dehydration in the head/thorax that prevents inoculative freezing between the freeze-tolerant abdomen (71.0 ± 0.8% water) and the supercooled, freeze-sensitive head/thorax (46.6 ± 0.8% water).
Reliability-Constrained Optimal Distribution System Reconfiguration

This work describes a method for reliability improvement of power distribution system via feeder reconfiguration. The work presented here is developed based on a linearized network model in the form of DC power flow and linear programming model in which current carrying capacities of distribution feeders and real power constraints have been considered. The optimal open/close status of the sectionalizing and tie-switches are identified using an intelligent binary particle swarm optimization based search method. The probabilistic reliability assessment is conducted using a method based on higher probability order approximation. Several case studies are carried out on a 33 bus radial distribution system and also on 118 buses large-scale distribution system, which are extensively used as examples in solving the distribution system reconfiguration problem. Further, the effect of embedded generation on distribution system reconfiguration has been considered in one case scenario. The test results show that the amount of annual unnerved energy and customer’s interruptions can be significantly reduced using the proposed method. Further, the reliability assessment method and the search method proposed in this work have both shown to be computationally efficient and very suitable for reliability-constrained feeder reconfiguration problems.
LIQUID PHASE COMPACTING

A method of making high density powdered metal compacts and also a method for making high density powder metal sintered products is disclosed. With respect to the compacts, iron powder of a coarse or fine configuration is mixed or coated with a low melting metal additive selected from the group consisting of tin, copper-tin, copper-lead, or lead in a percentage by weight of 2 5 of the admixture. The admixture is subjected simultaneously to both heat (at a temperature level such that the low-melting alloy is in a liquid phase) and pressure which is in the range of 10-30 tsi. Upon relief of heat and pressure, the agglomerated or compacted product will possess an increased density in excess of 80% and an improved hardness and strength level. With respect to a sintered product, the powder metal is selected to have a line particle size (average range of about 4-5 microns) and the powder is dry impact coated by ball milling with a low-melting additive such as tin, copper-tin, copper-lead or lead; the coated particles are warm briquetted and subjected to a sintering operation whereby the resulting product has a minimum density of 97% or more.
Virtual clusters

Because of the comparative inexpensiveness of hardware and the availability of open source software, cluster computing has become common for institutions with moderate to large needs for high performance computing. One of the problems with cluster computing, though, is that debugging existing or new system software or analyzing the effects of altering system hardware can require that a cluster be offline for extended periods of time. What is needed is a system for creating virtual clusters that can be used for experimentation. In this paper we present a free system for creating virtual clusters (or comparable systems of machines) that requires very little expertise on the part of the user. It facilitates short term experimentation with customized hardware configurations. An important advantage of our system is that it utilizes open source software such as QEMU by Bellard, F., VDE, TUN/TAP by Kraznyanski, M., Python, and Debian GNU/Linux to build virtual clusters. Another advantage of this system is that a user can easily set up a virtual cluster without having extensive knowledge of or experience with the aforementioned packages. Once the supporting framework has been established, the user merely writes a simple specification of the cluster and then deploys it. The specification language is an extension to XML which we call VCML (Virtual Cluster Markup Language). The specification is then "executed" by a system creation program which parses the spec and performs the operations necessary to deploy the virtual cluster.
Family history of drug problems as a marker for other health risks in primary care patients

Aims: The study aim is to determinewhether risk behaviors and mental health history differ by family history of drug problems. Methods:N=3253participantswere recruited from thewaiting room of a hospital-based primary care clinic as part of a larger drug and alcohol Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) study. Using a small tablet computer in the clinic waiting room participants completed an interactive, computer-delivered screening and assessment, including questions about demographics,mental health history, partner violence exposure, substanceuse behaviors and family history of substance use. Participants were classified into 4 groups based on their report of family members’ history of problems with drugs: (1) no family history; (2) second degree only (grandparents); (3) first degree only (parents and siblings); and (4) first and second degree. Logistic regression analyses were used to compare the four groups on multiple risk factors, with no family history as the reference group. Age, gender, and race were added as covariates in adjusted models. Results: Participants were predominantly mid 40’s (mean 46.6, SD 12.25), women (73%), and Black (72%). Family history of drug problems was associated with current smoking [1◦ AOR 1.8 (1.54, 2.11)], positive alcohol CAGE [1◦ AOR 2.6 (2.02, 3.36); 1◦ & 2◦ AOR 7.5 (3.72, 15.21)], positive drug CAGE [1◦ AOR 4.2 (3.06, 5.76); 1◦ & 2◦ AOR 7.0 (3.04, 15.99)], past year violence victimization [1◦ AOR 1.8 (1.37, 2.28); 1◦ & 2◦ AOR 5.5 (2.99, 10.08)], and previous diagnoses of anxiety [1◦ AOR 1.8 (1.37, 2.28); 1◦ & 2◦ AOR 5.5 (2.99, 10.08)] and depression [1◦ AOR 1.8 (1.37, 2.28); 1◦ & 2◦ AOR 5.5 (2.99, 10.08)]. Conclusions: Family history of drugproblems is associatedwith increased odds for substance use, violence exposure, and mental healthdiagnoses inprimary carepatients. This risk appears additive as high density family history of drug problems (first and second degree relatives) was associated with the highest risk. Financial support: RO1 DA026091, 5K23AA020316-02.
Glutamine and leucine nitrogen kinetics and their relation to urea nitrogen in newborn infants

Glutamine kinetics and its relation to transamination of leucine and urea synthesis were quantified in 16 appropriate-for-gestational-age infants, four small-for-gestational-age infants, and seven ...