cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Real-Time Targeted-Influence Queries over Large Graphs

Social networks are important communication and information media. Individuals in a social network share information and influence each other through their social connections. Understanding social influence and information diffusion is a fundamental research endeavor and it has important applications in online social advertising and viral marketing. In this work, we introduce the Targeted-Influence problem (TIP): Given a network G = (V, e) and a model of influence, we want to be able to estimate in real-time (e.g. a few seconds per query) the influence of a subset of users S over another subset of users T, for any possible query (S; T), S, T ⊆ V. To do so, we allow an efficient preprocessing. We provide the first scalable real-time algorithm for TIP. Our algorithm requires O(|V| + |e|) space and preprocessing time, and it provides a provable approximation of the influence of S over T, for every subsets of nodes S, T ⊆ V in the query with large enough influence. The running time for answering each query (a.k.a query stage) is theoretically guaranteed to be O(|S| + |T|) in general undirected and for directed graphs under certain assumptions, supported by experiments. We also introduce the Snapshot model as our model of influence, which extends and includes as special case both the Independent Cascade and the Linear Threshold models. The analysis and the theoretical guarantees of our algorithms hold under the more general Snapshot model. Finally, we perform an extensive experimental analysis, demonstrating the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of our methods.
Aufbau Rules for Solvated Electron Precursors: Be(NH3)40,± Complexes and Beyond

Tetra-amino beryllium complexes and ions, Be(NH3)40,±, have a tetrahedral Be(NH3)42+ core with one, two, or three outer electrons orbiting its periphery. Our calculations reveal a new class of molecular entities, solvated electron precursors, with Aufbau rules (1s, 1p, 1d, 2s, 1f, 2p, 2d) that differ from their familiar hydrogenic counterparts and resemble those of jellium or nuclear-shell models. The core’s radial electrostatic potential suffices to reproduce the chief features of the ab initio results. Wave function and electron-propagator methods combined with diffuse basis sets are employed to calculate accurate geometries, ionization energies, electron affinities, and excitation energies.
Beyond Structure: Defining the Function of the Gut Using Omic Approaches for Rational Design of Personalized Therapeutics.

ABSTRACT Over the past 10 years, microbiome research has focused on defining the structures associated with different disease states in multiple systems, but has fallen short on showing causation. Prior omic studies have generated many new hypotheses, but moving forward we need to start dissecting the function of each bacterium alone and in concert with complex bacterial communities in well-characterized systems. Over the next 5 years, we need a merging of new omic technologies for exploratory studies with classical bacterial genetics, bacterial physiology, protein engineering, and biochemistry to further define the biochemical mechanisms of the gut microbiota. The future of the systems microbiology field will focus on targeted engineering and editing of the microbiome to alter function, which will be leveraged to prevent and/or treat human diseases. This perspective will focus on my contribution to the microbiome field, both past and present, and where I think research in the field is headed in the near future.
Adverse drug reactions triggered by the common HLA-B*57:01 variant: virtual screening of DrugBank using 3D molecular docking

Idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions have been linked to a drug’s ability to bind with a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) protein. However, due to the thousands of HLA variants and limited structural data for drug-HLA complexes, predicting a specific drug-HLA combination represents a significant challenge. Recently, we investigated the binding mode of abacavir with the HLA-B*57:01 variant using molecular docking. Herein, we developed a new ensemble screening workflow involving three X-ray crystal derived docking procedures to screen the DrugBank database and identify potentially HLA-B*57:01 liable drugs. Then, we compared our workflow’s performance with another model recently developed by Metushi et al., which proposed seven in silico HLA-B*57:01 actives, but were later found to be experimentally inactive. After curation, there were over 6000 approved and experimental drugs remaining in DrugBank for docking using Schrodinger’s GLIDE SP and XP scoring functions. Docking was performed with our new consensus-like ensemble workflow, relying on three different X-ray crystals (3VRI, 3VRJ, and 3UPR) in presence and absence of co-binding peptides. The binding modes of HLA-B*57:01 hit compounds for all three peptides were further explored using 3D interaction fingerprints and hierarchical clustering. The screening resulted in 22 hit compounds forecasted to bind HLA-B*57:01 in all docking conditions (SP and XP with and without peptides P1, P2, and P3). These 22 compounds afforded 2D-Tanimoto similarities being less than 0.6 when compared to the structure of native abacavir, whereas their 3D binding mode similarities varied in a broader range (0.2–0.8). Hierarchical clustering using a Ward Linkage revealed different clustering patterns for each co-binding peptide. When we docked Metushi et al.’s seven proposed hits using our workflow, our screening platform identified six out of seven as being inactive. Molecular dynamic simulations were used to explore the stability of abacavir and acyclovir in complex with peptide P3. This study reports on the extensive docking of the DrugBank database and the 22 HLA-B*57:01 liable candidates we identified. Importantly, comparisons between this study and the one by Metushi et al. highlighted new critical and complementary knowledge for the development of future HLA-specific in silico models.
Dornase Alfa Ototoxic Effects in Animals and Efficacy in the Treatment of Clogged Tympanostomy Tubes in Children: A Preclinical Study and a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance Many treatments for clogged tympanostomy tubes (TTs) have been proposed, but none have met scientific rigor for safety and efficacy, including the popular empirical use of ototopical antibiotic drops. Dornase alfa, a recombinant molecule with the unique property of cleaving DNA, may be ideal in treating clogged TTs because both middle-ear effusion and the plug are abundant with DNA. Objective To investigate the ototoxic effects of dornase alfa in a chinchilla model and its efficacy in a clinical trial in children with clogged TTs. Design, Setting, and Participants The safety profiles of dornase alfa (full-strength and 1:10 strength) were evaluated in chinchilla middle ears using serial auditory brainstem response. The efficacy of ototopical dornase alfa (full-strength) was evaluated in children with clogged TTs in a prospective, single-blind randomized clinical trial. The animal study included 21 chinchillas and was conducted at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, and the clinical trial was conducted at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora. A total of 40 children (50 ears with tubes) were enrolled. Interventions In the animal study, chinchillas were assigned to 3 groups: controls (saline), full-strength dornase alfa, or 1:10 dornase alfa dilution. Children were randomly assigned to receive either topical dornase alfa or ofloxacin for clogged TT, 5 drops each ear twice a day for 7 days. Main Outcomes and Measures Animal study: Auditory brainstem responses. Randomized trial of children participants: The primary outcome was patency of TT at day 14 assessed by otoscopy and tympanometry. Results The chinchilla study showed similar auditory brainstem response degradation during a 6-hour period between the control (n = 5) and treatment groups (n = 21). In the clinical trial, a total of 40 clogged TTs (in 33 children, including 25 boys [76%]; mean age, 4.3 years; median [range] age, 3.4 [1.0-14.3] years) were analyzed. The number of unclogged TTs was higher in the dornase alfa group (13 [59%]) compared with the ofloxacin group (8 [44%]), with a difference of 15% (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.54-6.72). Conclusions and Relevance The chinchilla model suggests that dornase alfa is likely nonototoxic. The pilot clinical trial failed to show efficacy of dornase alfa to unclog TTs. With the difference seen between the treatment groups, a sample size estimate could be calculated for a future large-scale trial. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier:NCT00419380
Racial comparison of income, survival, co-morbidities and Trastuzumab therapy among Her 2+ women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

e18673Background: National breast cancer (BC) racial survival disparity is often attributed to BC subtype differences, even with MBC, with diminished focus on therapy disparity and social determina...
African and European Knowledge in the Science of Ornithology

Nancy Jacobs is a historian at Brown University. Birders of Africa traces the unfolding of the Euro-American science of ornithology in the African continent from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Her...
A Single Differential Equation Description of Membrane Properties Underlying the Action Potential and the Axon Electric Field.

In a succession of articles published over 65 years ago, Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley established what now forms our physical understanding of excitation in nerve, and how the axon conducts the action potential. They uniquely quantified the movement of ions in the nerve cell during the action potential, and demonstrated that the action potential is the result of a depolarizing event across the cell membrane. They confirmed that a complete depolarization event is followed by an abrupt increase in voltage that propagates longitudinally along the axon, accompanied by considerable increases in membrane conductance. In an elegant theoretical framework, they rigorously described fundamental properties of the Na+ and K+ conductances intrinsic to the action potential. Notwithstanding the elegance of Hodgkin and Huxley's incisive and explicative series of discoveries, their model is mathematically complex, relies on no small number of stochastic factors, and has no analytical solution. Solving for the membrane action potential and the ionic currents requires integrations approximated using numerical methods. In this article I present an analytical formalism of the nerve action potential, Vm and that of the accompanying cell membrane electric field, Em . To conclude, I present a novel description of Vm in terms of a single, nonlinear differential equation. This is an original stand-alone article: the major contribution is the latter, and how this description coincides with the cell membrane electric field. This work has necessitated unifying information from two preceding papers [1,2], each being concerned with the development of closed-form descriptions of the nerve action potential, Vm .
A Cultural Revolution: New Directions in Cuban History, 1952–2013

This essay reviews the following works: Antiracism in Cuba: The Unfinished Revolution. By Devyn Spence Benson. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Pp. xi + 297. $29.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781469626727. Revolution within the Revolution: Women and Gender Politics in Cuba, 1952–1962. By Michelle Chase. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015. Pp. xi + 285. $29.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781469625003. Revolutionary Cuba: A History. By Luis Martinez-Fernandez. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2014. Pp. xi + 371. $44.95 hardcover. ISBN: 9780813049953. The Structure of Cuban History: Meanings and Purpose of the Past. By Louis A. Perez Jr. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013. $39.95 hardcover. ISBN: 9781469606927. Haydee Santamaria, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led by Transgression. By Margaret Randall. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015. Pp. ix + 221. $23.95 paperback. ISBN: 9780822359623.
Leaders' Experiences in Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Complex Public Health Nutrition Interventions

Abstract Objective To explore California local health department leaders’ experiences planning, implementing, and evaluating nutrition promotion and obesity prevention programs for low-income families. Design Qualitative, cross-sectional study using semi-structured in-depth interviews and panel interviews conducted in 2015–2016. Setting California local health departments (LHDs) funded by the California Department of Public Health to implement Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education (SNAP-Ed). Participants The authors recruited SNAP-Ed leaders from all 58 California LHDs implementing SNAP-Ed. Leaders from 49 LHDs participated: 36 in hour-long, in-depth interviews and 13 in 1 of 3 90-minute group panel interviews. Phenomenon of Interest Processes, facilitators, and barriers connected to delivering SNAP-Ed reported by leaders in planning, implementing, and evaluating local programs. Analysis Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using Dedoose software. Results Leaders grappled with introducing, implementing, and integrating policy, systems, and environmental change interventions (PSEs). Information used to make planning decisions varied widely across LHDs. Partnership with nontraditional organizations was described as a resource- intensive, nonlinear process with recognized potential for benefit. Rural programs reported specific and different experiences compared with their urban counterparts. Conclusions and Implications Implementing new, complex interventions to improve diet and activity environments and behaviors is both exciting and challenging for local leaders. They expressed a desire for additional resources and capacity building to facilitate success, particularly related to policy, systems, and environmental change programs. Attention to the specific needs of rural counties is needed.
Re-thinking Linkage to Care in the Era of Universal Test and Treat: Insights from Implementation and Behavioral Science for Achieving the Second 90

To successfully link to care, persons living with HIV must negotiate a complex series of processes from HIV diagnosis through initial engagement with HIV care systems and providers. Despite the complexity involved, linkage to care is often oversimplified and portrayed as a single referral step. In this article, we offer a new conceptual framework for linkage to care, tailored to the current universal test and treat era that presents linkage to care as its own nuanced pathway within the larger HIV care cascade. Conceptualizing linkage to care in this way may help better identify and specify processes posing a barrier to linkage, and allow for the development of targeted implementation and behavioral science-based approaches to address them. Such approaches are likely to be most relevant to programmatic and clinical settings with limited resources and high HIV burden.
High‐resolution seismic imaging of crooked two‐dimensional profiles in greenstone belts of the Canadian shield: results from the Swayze area, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT In 2017, the Metal Earth multi‐disciplinary exploration project acquired a total of 921 km of regional deep seismic reflection profiles and 184 km of high‐resolution seismic reflection profiles in the Abitibi and Wabigoon greenstone belts of the Superior province of Canada. The Abitibi belt hosts several world‐class mineral deposits, whereas the Wabigoon has sparse economic mineral deposits. Two high‐resolution surveys in the Swayze area, a poorly endowed part of the western Abitibi greenstone belt, served as pioneer surveys with which to better understand subsurface geology and design a strategy to process other surveys in the near future. Swayze seismic data were acquired with crooked survey geometries along roads. Designing an effective seismic processing flow to address these geometries and complex geology required straight common midpoint lines along which both two‐dimensional prestack dip‐moveout correction and poststack migration processing were applied. The resulting seismic sections revealed steeply dipping and subhorizontal reflections; some correlate with folded surface rocks. An interpreted fault/deformation zone imaged in Swayze north would be a target for metal endowment if it extends the Porcupine–Destor structure. Because of the crooked line geometry of the surveys, two‐dimensional /three‐dimensional prestack time migration and swath three‐dimensional processing were tested. The prestack time migration algorithm confirmed reflections at the interpreted base of the Abitibi greenstone belt. The swath three‐dimensional images provided additional spatial details about the geometries of some reflections, but also had less resolution and did not detect many reflectors observed in two dimensions. Geological contacts between felsic, mafic and ultramafic greenstone rock layers are thought the main cause of reflectivity in the Swayze area.
ROLS : Robust Object-Level SLAM for Grape Counting

Camera based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) in an agricultural field can be used by crop growers to count fruits and estimate yield. It is challenging due to dynamics, illumination conditions and limited texture inherent in an outdoor environment. We propose a pipeline that combines the recent advances in deep learning with traditional 3D processing techniques to achieve fast and accurate SLAM in vineyards. We use images captured by a stereo camera and their 3D reconstruction to detect objects of interest and divide them into classes: grapes, leaves and branches. The accuracy of these detections is improved by leveraging information about objects' local neighborhood in 3D. We achieve a F1 score of 0.977 with ground truth grape counts from images. Our method builds a dense 3D model of the scene with a localization accuracy in centimeters without any assumption of constant illumination conditions or scene dynamics. This method can be easily generalized to other crops such as oranges and apples with minor modifications in the pipeline.
What Do We Want a Foundation to Do

It’s often said that set theory provides a foundation for classical mathematics because every classical mathematical object can be modeled as a set and every classical mathematical theorem can be proved from the axioms of set theory. This is obviously a remarkable mathematical fact, but it isn’t obvious what makes it ‘foundational’. This paper begins with a taxonomy of the jobs set theory does that might reasonably be regarded as foundational. It then moves on to category-theoretic and univalent foundations, exploring to what extent they do these same jobs, and to what extent they might do other jobs also reasonably regarded as foundational.
Mediastinal Germ Cell Tumors

Germ cell tumors are neoplasms that typically occur in the gonads where they originate from multipotential primitive germ cells. Occasionally, these tumors are found to arise in extragonadal sites, usually along midline structures, such as the pineal gland, retroperitoneum, mediastinum, and sacral area. Extragonadal germ cell tumors are thought to develop from germ cells that are misplaced during their migration from the yolk endoderm to the gonads during early embryogenesis and can display the same spectrum of neoplasms native to the testis and ovary. Primary mediastinal germ cell tumors are rare, accounting for approximately 1–3% of all germ cell tumors, 15% of all anterior mediastinal tumors in adults and 24% in children. Germ cell tumors with benign behavior are more common in females and children, while the vast majority of malignant mediastinal germ cell tumors occur in older adolescent and adult male patients. In the mediastinum, these tumors are characteristically located in the anterior compartment, within or close to the thymic gland, although lesions arising in the posterior mediastinum, pericardium, and aortic adventitia have been reported.
Use of artificial intelligence in computed tomography dose optimisation.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming almost every aspect of modern society, including medical imaging. In computed tomography (CT), AI holds the promise of enabling further red...
STACKing the odds for discoveries.

Characterization of cell death kinetics identifies new on- and off-target small-molecule modulators of ferroptosis and reveals a role of amino acid metabolism in regulating ferroptosis sensitivity.
The Alchemy of Effective Auditor Regulation

The country is approaching the 20th anniversary of the bankruptcy of Enron Corp., an event that spotlighted the failure of auditors like Arthur Andersen to fulfil their role as gatekeepers and spurred creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to oversee these auditors. History reveals that Enron was no more than yet another instance of auditors abdicating their responsibility to accurately opine on the financial statements prepared by publicly held companies. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Congress, outside directors of public companies and most recently the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, have all participated in the grand quest for effective regulation of the accountants that audit public companies. After fifty years of effort, the formula for successful regulation of the audit profession remains elusive. In 2020, former President Donald Trump proposed to subsume the PCAOB into the SEC, citing regulatory duplication and budget savings. This proposal could be summarily dismissed as fodder for a deregulatory agenda, but reactions to the proposal from Congress and industry participants outside of the enclave of securities regulators reflect deeper concerns about the non-governmental regulator that beg our attention. This article is the first in a series of planned articles exploring segments of the ultimate question: what is the alchemy of effective auditor oversight? This article begins the discussion of that question with a focus on verifiability, identified by scholars as a necessary component of regulation. This article establishes that regulatory efforts to promote verification as a precursor to public company auditor oversight have been half-hearted at best, and self-interested at worst. This article identifies the need for a complete departure from the stale, recycled approaches for establishing an effective verification system that furthers the goals of auditor oversight – promoting the preparation of fair and accurate audit reports.
Older women with cervical cancer managed surgically have worse outcomes: a National Cancer database study

Objectives: Women with early stage cervical cancer are typically managed surgically; however, a subset of patients will have risk factors for recurrence (Sedlis and Peters criteria) and will be offered post-operative radiation or chemoradiation to improve outcomes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if women ≥65 years old with early stage cervical cancer managed surgically are at an increased risk for requiring adjuvant chemoradiation. Methods: Data from 2004 to 2016 was abstracted from the National Cancer Database. All women with presumed early stage cervical cancer undergoing radical hysterectomy were included in the study. Adjuvant therapy (radiation or chemoradiation), margin status, regional lymph node involvement, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), length-of-stay (LOS), 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality, and overall survival were evaluated. Chi-squared, t-test, and Kaplan Meier methods were used for statistical analyses. Results: Of the 126,876 women, 16,718 women had a radical hysterectomy and were included in this study. 15,050 (90.0%) were Download : Download high-res image (224KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions: Women ≥65 yo with early stage cervical cancer were more likely to meet Sedlis and Peters criteria on surgical pathology and receive adjuvant therapy. While hospital readmission rates were similar between age groups, older women had longer LOS with worse overall survival and mortality rates. Women ≥65 years old diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer may benefit from primary chemoradiation.
Differences in HIV Risk and Prevention Among Cisgender Latino Sexual Minority Men by Language of Online Survey Completion: Analysis of National and Washington State Data.

Internet-based surveys can be programmed and advertised in multiple languages to reach non-English-speaking individuals, but it is unclear the extent to which this enhances the diversity of participants and supports inclusion of individuals at higher risk for HIV. We sought to examine how language of survey completion (English or Spanish) was associated with sociodemographic characteristics and indicators of HIV risk and prevention among cisgender Latino sexual minority men (SMM). We analyzed national and Washington State data using the Understanding New Infections through Targeted Epidemiology (UNITE) Cohort Study (2017 and 2018) and the Washington HIV/STI Prevention Project (WHSPP) survey (2017 and 2018/2019), respectively. Latino SMM who completed online surveys in Spanish differed from those who completed surveys in English across several sociodemographic characteristics including age, education, and income. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and HIV-related risk factors, Spanish language respondents in UNITE were less likely to have tested for HIV in the past year, and those in WHSPP were more likely to report a recent STI diagnosis. Findings suggest that Latino SMM who complete surveys in Spanish comprise a unique subgroup that may have a specific HIV health and risk behavior profile. Our results suggest a need for increased and tailored efforts to recruit and include Spanish-speaking Latino SMM for local and national research and public health programming.
Optical flow estimation by using the artificial neural network under multi-layers

A Hopfield model for computing optical flow is presented. A set of features describing the local intensity structure along the principal directions is used to measure the matching between the two local neighborhoods in the successive frames. The energy function can be derived based on the match measure and regularized by adding the Tikhonov stabilizer of the smoothness constraints. This energy function can be mapped onto an artificial neural network. The interconnection strengths between neurons and the bias inputs of the net can then be obtained. The synchronous scheme is used to determine the state change in the iteration procedure. This iterative procedure could be improved significantly by using the multilayer neural network. A smooth optical flow field with subpixel accuracy is obtained with only a few iterations at each layer and the final result is less sensitive to the noise distortion in the input image sequence than that by the conventional method. >
Effectiveness of four track starting positions on acceleration.

Abstract Four sprint starting positions—the bunch, medium, elongated, and hyperextended—were compared on mean elapsed times at distances of 10 and 30 yd. Averages of three starts for each of 30 inexperienced college undergraduate males on each type of start were derived from electronically-controlled measures, the times for both distances being recorded from the same start. Statistical analyses indicated significantly lower elapsed times with the hyperextended starting position.
The Lifetimes of Metastable Negative Ions1

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with the lifetimes of metastable negative ions. This chapter explores the recent work on the lifetimes of metastable molecular negative ions are synthesized and a wider understanding is endeavored. A negative-ion resonance (NIR) is formed when the incident electron attaches itself to a neutral atom or molecule for times longer than the electrons normal transit time through the molecule and they are viewed as nonstationary states of the electron-atom (molecule) system. Basically, four types of NIRs can be distinguished, depending on the mechanism by which the electron is trapped: shape or single-particle resonances, core-excited resonances core-excited resonances, and nuclear-excited Feshbach resonances. Finally, shape resonances result when the incident electron is trapped in a potential well arising from the interaction between the incoming electron and the neutral molecule in its electronic ground state.
Use of starvation promoters to limit growth and selectively enrich expression of trichloroethylene- and phenol-transforming activity in recombinant Escherichia coli [corrected]

The expression of much useful bacterial activity is facilitated by rapid growth. This coupling can create problems in bacterial fermentations and in situ bioremediation. In the latter process, for example, it necessitates addition of large amounts of nutrients to contaminated environments, such as aquifers. This approach, termed biostimulation, can be technically difficult. Moreover, the resulting in situ bacterial biomass production can have undesirable consequences. In an attempt to minimize coupling between expression of biodegradative activity and growth, we used Escherichia coli starvation promoters to control toluene monooxygenase synthesis. This enzyme complex can degrade the environmental contaminants trichloroethylene (TCE) and phenol. Totally starving cell suspensions of such strains degraded phenol and TCE. Furthermore, rapid conversions occurred in the postexponential batch or very slow growth (dilution) rate chemostat cultures, and the nutrient demand and biomass formation for transforming a given amount of TCE or phenol were reduced by 60 to 90%. Strong starvation promoters have recently been clones and characterized in environmentally relevant bacteria like Pseudomonas species; thus, starvation promoter-driven degradative systems can now be constructed in such bacteria and tested for in situ efficacy.
Control challenges in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) composed of large numbers of small devices that self-organize are being investigated for a wide variety of applications. Applications, such as military surveillance and large scale assisted living facilities are key examples of applications that can benefit from WSN. Current research for WSN is widespread. However, many of the proposed solutions are developed with simplifying assumptions about wireless communication and the environment, even though the realities of wireless communication and environmental sensing are well known. Many of the solutions are evaluated only by simulation. In this talk I describe a fully implemented system, called VigilNet, consisting of a suite of more than 30 synthesized protocols (40,000 lines of code). The system supports a power aware surveillance, tracking and classification application running on 203 XSM motes and evaluated in a realistic, large-area environment. Technical details and evaluations are presented for several of the key services. In developing such systems various types of control challenges occur. I will also discuss a number of these challenges, possible solutions and open challenges.
Shock-Capturing Model for One- and Two-Phase Supersonic Exhaust Flow

A shock-capturing model (SCIPPY) for analyzing steady supersonic flows in two spatial dimensions is discussed. SCIPPY serves as a component part of the new JANNAF standard low-altitude rocket plume model as well as the NASA Langley Research Center model for aircraft afterbody flow. Generalized oneor two-phase mixtures are considered with a nonequilibrium treatment of gas/particle interactions implemented. Unique capabilities include the automated analysis of embedded subsonic regions behind Mach disks and the use of multiple-mapped domains for obtaining high grid resolution in strong wave regions. Applications to exhaust plume flowfields are stressed herein.
The fission yeast DNA structure checkpoint protein Rad26ATRIP/LCD1/UVSD accumulates in the cytoplasm following microtubule destabilization.

DNA structure checkpoints are conserved eukaryotic signal transduction pathways that help preserve genomic integrity. Upon detecting checkpoint signals such as stalled replication forks or double-stranded DNA breaks, these pathways coordinate appropriate stress responses. Members of the PI-3 kinase related kinase (PIKK) family are essential elements of DNA structure checkpoints. In fission yeast, the Rad3 PIKK and its regulatory subunit Rad26 coordinate the detection of checkpoint signals with pathway outputs. We found that untreated rad26Δ cells were defective for two microtubule-dependent processes: chromosome segregation and morphogenesis. Interestingly, cytoplasmic accumulation of Rad26-GFP occurred following treatment with microtubule destabilizing drugs, but not during treatment with the genotoxic agent Phleomycin. Cytoplasmic accumulation of Rad26-GFP depended on Rad24, a 14-3-3 protein also required for DNA structure checkpoints and morphogenesis. Results of over expression and epistasis experiments confirm that Rad26 and Rad24 define a response to microtubule destabilizing conditions. Two DNA structure checkpoint proteins with roles in morphogenesis define a response to microtubule destabilizing conditions.
Identifying research needs for wheelchair transfers in the built environment

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the results of focus groups held during the Independent Wheelchair Transfer (IWT) Workgroup. The aims were to facilitate exchange of ideas on (1) the impact of the built environment on the wheelchair transfer process within the community (i.e. moving from wheelchair to and from other surfaces (e.g. furniture, toilet seat, bath bench, car seat) to participate in daily activities), (2) wheelchair users' needs during transfers in the built environment, and (3) future research directions. Method: Live web-based conferencing using Adobe Connect technology (Clarix Technologies, Inc., Pittsford, NY) was utilized to conduct three focus groups composed of experts in the field of assistive technology. Investigators independently reviewed focus group meeting transcripts and used qualitative methods to identify main themes. Result: Thirty-one experts in assistive technology and related fields participated in focus groups. Nine main themes were found including ...
Postmidnight bubbles and scintillations in the quiet-time June solstice: Possible forcing from lower atmosphere

This paper presents a case study of the strong postmidnight bubbles that often occur during magnetically quiet periods primarily in June solstice, along with a 4 year (2009–2012) statistical study that shows strong occurrence peak during June solstice predominantly in the African sector. While the mechanism for producing plasma irregularities in the dusk sector is believed to be fairly well understood, the cause for the formation of irregularities and bubbles during postmidnight sector is still unknown, especially for magnetically quiet periods. For the first time, the presence of Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability during postmidnight hours has been confirmed by using the physics-based model for plasma densities and RT growth rates. The question is what cause for the generation of eastward electric field, which is the prime driver of RTI, during postmidnight sector? Several possible sources of the eastward electric fields that permit the RT instability to develop and form bubbles in the postmidnight local time sector has been considered.
Sustainable design and synthesis of energy systems

This paper provides an overview of sustainable design and synthesis of energy systems. We review recent progress and present major research challenges of the superstructure optimization based approach in terms of: (1) systematic generation of comprehensive process superstructures; (2) building optimization models that integrate techno-economic assessment with life cycle sustainability analysis while addressing uncertainty issues; (3) efficient computational algorithms for solving the resulting mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problems. Process integration and process intensification are briefly outlined as alternative approaches to sustainable design and synthesis of energy systems. This paper identifies several future research directions for sustainable design of energy systems, such as broadening the scope of sustainable design with a consequential perspective, handling uncertainties using multi-stage robust optimization techniques, and integrating standalone energy systems through multi-scale optimization.
Field and Laboratory Evaluations of Hot-Poured Thermoelastic Bituminous Crack Sealing of Asphalt Pavements

This paper describes the results of field and laboratory tests evaluating four configurations and three materials used for crack surfacing. Crack surfacing, as defined in this paper, is the sealing of cracks over 1 in. (25 mm) wide in asphalt pavements. Laboratory testing using the thermal stress restrained specimen test (TSRST; AASHTO TP 10-93) determines the temperature at which a specimen with its ends restrained fails due to thermal contraction. Field studies evaluate the performance of two materials with the uniform overband configuration on three roads in Wyoming. All crack surfacing materials are commercially available hot-poured thermoelastic bituminous products. Overband configurations are found to be the preferred method for applying crack surfacing, based on the TSRST. Failure modes are evaluated and generally found to propagate from the interface between the surfacing material and the pavement to which it is bonded. Field studies indicate that traffic and snowplowing have a significant influen...
Characterization of myosin-A and myosin-C: two class XIV unconventional myosins from Toxoplasma gondii.

Two class XIV unconventional myosins from Toxoplasma gondii, Myosin-A (TgM-A) and Myosin-C (TgM-C), were characterized in terms of their biochemical properties and their expression in quiescent and motile stages of the parasite life cycle. In cell fractionation studies, both myosins partitioned with the major organelle/cell membrane fraction, and extraction studies indicated that both were tightly associated with membrane domains as detergent was necessary for their solubilization. In addition, both TgM-A and TgM-C demonstrated a hallmark feature of myosins in their ability to bind actin in the absence but not the presence of ATP. In parasites residing within the host cell parasitophorous vacuole, TgM-A was detected by immunofluorescence microscopy as a bright spot near the apical pole of the parasite. This pattern underwent a subtle change as the parasites became motile, with TgM-A then localizing more intimately with the parasite cell membrane domain in apically disposed spots or patches, consistent with the role of this myosin in gliding motility. TgM-C showed a distinct localization to the juxtanuclear region towards the apical pole of the parasite, consistent with an association with the Golgi apparatus. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 44:58–67, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Gas-Wall Partitioning of Organic Compounds in a Teflon Film Chamber and Potential Effects on Reaction Product and Aerosol Yield Measurements

Gas-wall partitioning of organic compounds (OC) that included C 8 –C 16 n-alkanes and 1-alkenes and C 8 –C 13 2-alcohols and 2-ketones was investigated in two Teflon FEP chambers whose walls were either untreated, oxidized in sunlight, or previously exposed to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Partitioning was nearly independent of chamber treatment, reversible, and obeyed Henry's law. The fraction of an OC that partitioned to the walls at equilibrium ranged from 0 to ∼ 65%. Values increased with increasing carbon number within an OC class and for OC with similar vapor pressures increased in the order n-alkanes <1-alkenes <2-alcohols <2-ketones. Estimated time constants for achieving partitioning equilibrium ranged from ∼ 60 min for n -alkanes to ⩽ 8 min for 2-ketones. The observations are consistent with a sorption mechanism in which OC dissolve into the film but are restricted to the near-surface region by a sharp permeability gradient that develops in response to OC-induced stresses in polymer chains. W...
Studies on the mechanisms of ammonia tolerance of the guano bat

The ammonia concentrations in many day-roosts occupied by the guano bat, Tadarida brasiliensis, are frequently high enough to produce respiratory discomfort and distress and sometimes reach levels lethal to humans. Investigations were begun in an attempt to elucidate some of the mechanisms of ammonia tolerance of the guano bat. Initial findings show that the blood pH of the guano bat is 7.66 and remains constant during extended exposure to a high concentration of atmospheric ammonia. The efficiency of respiratory filtration of ammonia was measured by noting the increase above normal in total blood nitrogen and non-protein nitrogen after exposing the blood in vivo and in vitro to highly ammoniated air. From the difference in these two values the amount of ammonia filtered by the respiratory tract was obtained. At ammonia levels of 3,000 parts per million in the air, the bat removes 30–35% of this noxious gas; thus, the existence of an efficient ammonia filtering system is indicated. The filtering mechanism is probably dependent upon the mucous of the respiratory tract, and the filtering efficiency is a function of its rate of production and chemical nature. The observed in vivo increase in blood non-protein nitrogen resulting from exposure to highly ammoniated air may be attributed to ammonium ions. Ammonia is exhaled by the guano bat upon its return from highly ammoniated to normal air. Renal excretion of fixed base is probably not an adaptive feature contributing to the high degree of ammonia tolerance exhibited by T. brasiliensis.
Religion and child development: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.

Abstract Although interest in religion among young people has increased markedly, research examining the impact of religion on child development has been sorely lacking. This study is the first of its kind to use nationally representative data to explore the influence of religion on several different dimensions of psychological development and social adjustment in early childhood. Data from the Spring 2000 wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) are analyzed to explore how child development is shaped by individual parents’ religiosity, the religious homogamy of couples, and the family’s religious environment. Significant religious effects are observed across a range of child development domains and are manifested for both parents’ ratings and teachers’ ratings of youngsters. Parental, couple, and familial religion are linked with youngsters’ pro-social behavior. However, religion can undermine child development when it is a source of conflict among families. The investigation concludes with a specification of implications and directions for future research.
Exploring Biologically based Malnourishment through a Gut-On-A-Chip Approach

Malnourishment results in a cycle that degrades the ability to effectively absorb nutrients even after adequate food has been consumed due to a disruption of gut homeostasis. We aim to better understand impaired nutrient absorption in malnourished individuals through a microfluidic based lab-on-a-chip approach. We are developing a malnourished model of an intestine into existing gut-on-a-chip device design fabricated through soft lithography techniques. In order to develop a more physiologically relevant model, we have studied the effects of different components of bacteria on the mechanical properties of the gut cells. Whole bacteria, spheroplasts, and the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were all introduced to the gut cell layer to determine their adverse effects on the stability of the cells. We characterized this malnourished model by studying the tight junction integrity along with cytoskeletal organization of the microvilli in both healthy and malnourished models. Additionally, we have looked at the permeability of the monolayer as an indicator of epithelial integrity. Our work would be useful in many areas including evaluating malnourished nutritional absorption in vitro as well as demonstrating the response of malnourished cells in a more physiologically relevant assay.
Rational Design of Novel Pyridinol-Fused Ring Acetaminophen Analogues.

Acetaminophen (ApAP) is an electron donor capable of reducing radicals generated by redox cycling of hemeproteins. It acts on the prostaglandin H synthases (cyclooxygenases; COXs) to reduce the protoporphyrin radical cation in the peroxidase site of the enzyme, thus preventing the intramolecular electron transfer that generates the Tyr385 radical required for abstraction of a hydrogen from arachidonic acid to initiate prostaglandin synthesis. Unrelated to this pharmacological action, metabolism of ApAP by CYPs yields an iminoquinone electrophile that is responsible for the hepatotoxicity, which results from high doses of the drug. We synthesized novel heterocyclic phenols predicted to be electron donors. Two of these inhibited the oxygenation of arachidonic acid by PGHS-1 and myoglobin and also were shown to be more metabolically stable and exhibited less direct cytotoxicity than acetaminophen. They are leading candidates for studies to determine whether they are free of the metabolism-based hepatotoxicit...
Free Vibrations of Semi-Infinite Multilayer Composite Cylinders

Axisymmetric vibrations of semiinfinite cylindrical shell constructed of fiber reinforced composite layers, obtaining frequency equation from equations of motions
Effect of Reovirus Type 3 on Cultured Burkitt's Tumour Cells

TWO viruses, reovirus type 3 and EBV, a herpes group virus, have been found associated with biopsies and continuous cell cultures derived from Burkitt's lymphoma1–4. Patients with Burkitt's tumour possess antibodies to EBV and reovirus type 3 in greater frequency, and usually in higher titres, than African control children5–7. It is conceivable that these viruses alone or in combination may play a part in the aetiology of Burkitt's lymphoma.
The 21st Century Fampily A Study of Special Educators' Preparation

Because special educators are being called upon to work with increasing numbers of children from families that do not have both biological parents in the same household, it is important to determine if they have had the professional training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to effectively interact with these children and their families. This study examined the preparation of special educators to work with the family of the 21st century, a family that is increasingly more likely to be a single-parent or stepfamily. Data relating to special educators' opinions of their undergraduate preparation, participation in inservice training, and judgment of the importance of preservice training to work with single-parent and stepfamilies were collected. Results are presented and discussed. Areas for further investigation are suggested.
Reaction between oxygen difluoride and diborane - Kinetics and a proposed mechanism

Initial reaction rates of oxygen difluoride with diborane related to reactant concentration and temperature