cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Taking the Gender Gap to Heart

For centuries, poets, philosophers, and writers have described differences between the male and female heart.1 During the last several decades, many traditional male/female stereotypes have been questioned in the light of our expanding scientific knowledge.2 Although progress has been made toward a more gender-neutral society, the “gender gap” still exists. At the heart of the complex issues involved, an unanswered fundamental question remains: To what extent are perceived gender differences real, and what are their implications? Male/female differences in cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology have long been appreciated. Premenopausal women have a lower incidence of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, due at least in part to the protective effects of estrogen.3 Male and female hearts also differ electrophysiologically. Women have a higher incidence of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardias, whereas men account for most symptomatic cases of Brugada syndrome, an autosomal dominant form of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation.4,5 Women have longer QT intervals than men and …
STI-Bounded Single-Photon Avalanche Diode in a Deep-Submicrometer CMOS Technology

This letter presents a novel and compact CMOS Geiger-mode single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) device with an efficient guard ring structure for preventing edge breakdown. The new guard ring can withstand considerably higher electric fields than existing structures, and results in pixels which are an order of magnitude smaller and offer a nine-fold increase in fill factor compared with existing SPADs. The device has been studied numerically and experimentally on a 0.18-mum CMOS technology. Due to its small area, the detector can be operated with minimal power dissipation and has been verified to operate reliably over 5times1010 cycles. This is the first SPAD proven in a deep-submicrometer non-high-voltage technology and as such, provides unique opportunities for improved performance and for on-chip integration of the ultrafast timing circuitry required to translate the SPAD output into meaningful data
The effect of lead content on the critical current density, irreversibility field, and microstructure of Ag-clad Bi1.8PbxSr2Ca2Cu3Oy tapes

We studied the effect of lead content (x = 0.20−0.40) on the critical current density Jc (0 T, 77 K), irreversibility field H* (77 K), and microstructure of monocore, Ag-clad Bi1.8PbxSr2Ca2Cu3Oy (2223) tapes, finding that tapes with lower lead contents (x = 0.20–0.25) required higher processing temperatures (840 and 832 °C, respectively) to complete 2223 formation, as compared to the optimum 820 °C reaction temperature of the x = 0.30–0.40 tapes. We found that both the zero-field and the in-field properties correlated strongly to the phase purity with Jc (0 T, 77 K) reaching a maximum of ˜20 kA/cm2 for x = 0.30, and then decreasing with increasing lead content to ˜12 kA/cm2 for x = 0.40. H* (77 K) increased from ˜165 mT at x = 0.20 to ˜265 mT at x = 0.30, then declined to 195 mT at x = 0.40. Optimizing the lead content at x = 0.30 maximized both the connectivity and the flux pinning contributions to the critical current density.
Alpha/Beta Interferon Protects against Lethal West Nile Virus Infection by Restricting Cellular Tropism and Enhancing Neuronal Survival

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that is neurotropic in humans, birds, and other animals. While adaptive immunity plays an important role in preventing WNV spread to the central nervous system (CNS), little is known about how alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta) protects against peripheral and CNS infection. In this study, we examine the virulence and tropism of WNV in IFN-alpha/beta receptor-deficient (IFN- alpha/betaR-/-) mice and primary neuronal cultures. IFN-alpha/betaR-/- mice were acutely susceptible to WNV infection through subcutaneous inoculation, with 100% mortality and a mean time to death (MTD) of 4.6 +/- 0.7 and 3.8+/- 0.5 days after infection with 10(0) and 10(2) PFU, respectively. In contrast, congenic wild-type 129Sv/Ev mice infected with 10(2) PFU showed 62% mortality and a MTD of 11.9 +/- 1.9 days. IFN-alpha/betaR-/- mice developed high viral loads by day 3 after infection in nearly all tissues assayed, including many that were not infected in wild-type mice. IFN-alpha/betaR-/- mice also demonstrated altered cellular tropism, with increased infection in macrophages, B cells, and T cells in the spleen. Additionally, treatment of primary wild-type neurons in vitro with IFN-beta either before or after infection increased neuronal survival independent of its effect on WNV replication. Collectively, our data suggest that IFN-alpha/beta controls WNV infection by restricting tropism and viral burden and by preventing death of infected neurons.
A component-based architecture for power-efficient media access control in wireless sensor networks

The diverse requirements of wireless sensor network applications necessitate the development of multiple media access control (MAC) protocols to meet their varying throughput, latency, and network lifetime needs. Building new MAC protocols has proven to be extremely difficult, however, given the monolithic nature of existing protocol implementations as well as their dependence on a particular radio or processor platform. To address these issues, we propose the MAC Layer Architecture (MLA), a component-based architecture for power-efficient MAC protocol development in wireless sensor networks. MLA consists of optimized, reusable components that implement a common set of features shared by existing MAC protocols, as well as abstractions that encapsulate the intricacies of the hardware platforms they run on. Through an instantiation of MLA in TinyOS 2.0.1, we have implemented five representative MAC protocols. Empirical results show that MLA results in significant code reuse among different protocols, while achieving comparative performance and memory footprints to monolithic implementations of the same protocols.
Reliable verification using symbolic simulation with scalar values

This paper presents an algorithm for hardware verification that uses simulation and satisfiability checking techniques to determine the correctness of a symbolic test case on a circuit. The goal is to have coverage greater than that of random testing, but with the ease of use and predictability of directed testing. The user uses symbolic variables in simple directed tests to increase the input space that is explored. The algorithm, which is called quasi-symbolic simulation, simulates these tests using only scalar (0,1,X) values internally causing potentially conservative values to be generated at the outputs. Divide and conquer of the symbolic input space is used to resolve this conservativeness. In the best case, this method is as efficient as symbolic simulation using BDDs and, in the worst case, gives coverage and predictability at least as good as directed testing.
Structure of a particle-laden round jet

The interaction of solid particles with the temporal features of a turbulent flow has direct relevance to problems in particle and spray combustion and the processing of particulate solids. The object of the present study was to examine the behaviour of particles in a jet dominated by vortex ring structures. An axisymmetric air jet laden with 55 μm glass particles was forced axially with an acoustic speaker to organize the vortex ring structures rolling up in the free shear layer downstream of the nozzle exit. Visualization studies of forced and unforced flow with Reynolds number of the order of 20000 were completed using a pulsed copper vapour laser. Instantaneous photographs and videotapes of strobed forced flow show that particles become clustered in the saddle regions downstream of the vortex rings and are propelled away from the jet axis by the outwardly moving flow in these regions. Phase-averaged spatial distribution of particle number density computed from digitized photographs and phase-averaged particle velocity measurements yield further evidence that local particle dispersion and concentration are governed by convection due to large-scale turbulence structures. The large-scale structures and convection mechanisms were shown to persist for particle-to-air mass loading ratios up to 0.65.
The big tent of computer science: curricula for the coming decade

Interest in Computer Science has fluctuated dramatically in the past 20 years. Many factors have been cited for these enrollment dynamics, including changes in the high-tech economy and the general image of computing. In this talk, we begin by examining some of the factors affecting enrollments in CS, analyzing both historical and current trends. In light of this analysis, we then turn our attention to curricular issues, first examining significant changes made in Stanford University's undergraduate CS program, which aim to expand the scope of education in computer science and highlight the diversity of options available in the field. We discuss the results of these changes -- a near doubling in undergraduate CS enrollments in just two years -- and analyze some of the reasons why. We then look at CS curriculum development more broadly, discussing the ACM/IEEE-CS Computer Science Curriculum 2013 effort (known as CS2013). The goal of this effort is to provide concrete curricular guidance for undergraduate CS programs at the international level for the coming decade. Interest in Computer Science has fluctuated dramatically in the past 20 years. Many factors have been cited for these enrollment dynamics, including changes in the high-tech economy and the general image of computing. In this talk, we begin by examining some of the factors affecting enrollments in CS, analyzing both historical and current trends. In light of this analysis, we then turn our attention to curricular issues, first examining significant changes made in Stanford University's undergraduate CS program, which aim to expand the scope of education in computer science and highlight the diversity of options available in the field. We discuss the results of these changes -- a near doubling in undergraduate CS enrollments in just two years -- and analyze some of the reasons why. We then look at CS curriculum development more broadly, discussing the ACM/IEEE-CS Computer Science Curriculum 2013 effort (known as CS2013). The goal of this effort is to provide concrete curricular guidance for undergraduate CS programs at the international level for the coming decade.
Exposure learning of auditory stimuli by rats

Albino rats were raised in the presence of a tone and later tested for preference for that tone or a novel tone. Two experimental groups were exposed to either a solid (S) or a pulsing (P) tone continuously from birth and later were compared to a control (C) group raised in the absence of tone. Group differences in preference for solid or beeping tone emerged only after a 2-week silent period, with significantly greater preference for the pulsing tone exhibited by Group P over Group C and by Group C over Group S. No difference was obtained between Groups C and P. Explanation of this latter finding involved confounding effects of a natural preference for the intermittent tone.
Current Issues in Alcohol Testing

Alcohol testing in many clinical laboratories has expanded in recent years, due largely to employment drug testing programs. The clinical laboratory faces the dilemma of how to handle blood alcohol testing in light of the fact that medical circumstances may become legal situations. Urine is the practical specimen when testing for alcohol in the workplace, but it has limitations. Blood tests should be done if the employer is investigating situations such as accidents. If a clinical laboratory elects to provide blood alcohol testing for legal purposes, it must follow forensic procedures. The Department of Transportations alcohol testing program began January 1, 1995. The impact on the clinical laboratory is presently unclear. Employment drug and alcohol screening are considered forensic and are therefore exempt under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. Laboratories providing alcohol testing in the workplace must be aware of requirements under the Americans With Disabilities Act. This is the second article in a three-part continuing education update series on toxicology. Other articles deal with lead exposure and trace metals.
Comparison of Two Isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis in a Field Test on Western Spruce Bud worm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Two isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis formulated as Thuricide 32LV and SAN-41532LV were compared for efficacy against western spruce bud worm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, in Oregon. The products were applied by helicopter at 20 and 30 billion International Units (BEAU) in a spray volume of 7.1 liters/ha. The 30 BEAU per ha dosage provided better population control than the 20 BEAU dosage with both B. thuringiensis isolates; however, only the difference between dosages for the SAN-415 32LB formulation was significant. Differences in efficacy between the two B. thuringiensis isolates were not significant. The application of B. thuringiensis improved foliage protection by 15 to 25% compared with untreated checks.
Cartilaginous Tumors of the Larynx: Clinicopathologic Review of 47 Cases

We reviewed the clinical and pathologic features of 47 laryngeal cartilaginous tumors treated at the Mayo Clinic. This represents the largest reported series of these tumors. The patient group consisted of 36 men (77%) and 11 women (mean age, 63 years; range, 44 to 91 years). The tumors included 44 chondrosarcomas, all low-grade, and 3 chondromas. The overall 5-year survival was 90.1%, which did not differ significantly from the expected survival. Laryngectomy was performed as primary treatment for chondrosarcoma in 6 patients. Of the patients with chondrosarcoma, 40% had tumor recurrence or symptomatic tumor progression at an average of 4.5 years after diagnosis. Only 15 of the patients with chondrosarcoma (34%) required total laryngectomy. There were no metastases, and 4 patients died of local disease (all received treatment before 1960). At latest follow-up, 34 patients with chondrosarcoma (77%) were alive without disease or had died of other causes. We conclude that laryngeal chondrosarcoma can be treated with conservative surgery in most cases, both initially and for recurrent disease.
The stoichiometric effects of ferric iron substitutions in serpentine from microprobe data

ABSTRACTGiven that secondary magnetite is common in serpentinites, it is clear that serpentinites are oxidized rocks. Questions remain, however, concerning the distribution of ferric iron among magnetite and serpentine minerals and the role of ferric iron-rich serpentine in the formation of secondary magnetite. Direct determination of ferric iron in serpentine is not possible using an electron microprobe. We show, however, that the stoichiometic effects of ferric iron substitutions are detectable, although not quantifiable, by microprobe. First, we demonstrate that for studies that provide both microprobe analyses of major elements of serpentine and Mossbauer analysis of ferric iron, substitution effects are obvious. Next, it is equally clear that the early veins forming at the onset of olivine hydration (type 1 veins) show no indication of the presence of ferric serpentine, although a small amount of ferric ‘brucite’ may occur. Finally, we show that secondary (type 2) veins, which form as the system beco...
Complex network comparison using random walks

In this paper, we proposed a network comparison method based on the mathematical theory of diffusion over manifolds using random walks over graphs. We show that our method not only distinguishes between graphs with different degree distributions, but also different graphs with the same degree distributions. We compare the undirected power law graphs generated by Barabasi-Albert model and directed power law graphs generated by Krapivsky's model to the random graphs generated by Erdos-Renyi model. We also compare power law graphs generated by four different generative models with the same degree distribution.
Chapter 3 – Affirmative Knowledge and Positive Human Nature

Chapter Summary Affirmative knowledge assists human progress. The positive side of human nature is stressed to enhance, amplify, and confirm the knowledge accumulated in the knowledge banks from the wisdom and observations of the prior cultures and societies. Knowledge is gained and stored, documented, enhanced, and polished to help the current and future societies to benefit from the good sense. This knowledge-base serves to make leisure and contemplative time to accelerate the positive growth of sound and beneficial knowledge. More recently, the Artificial Intelligence software and routines facilitate the extraction of such knowledge and information from the routine objects and verbs (actions) that are necessary to gratify human needs.
Coherent noise reduction using heterodyne detection

Coherent stochastic noise affects the information content in imaging systems. We demonstrate the noise reduction using the intrinsic coherence properties of the field with single-shot heterodyne detection and we quantify the efficiency in low-SNR conditions.
The Effects of Cross-Age Tutoring on the Academic Achievement, Social Behaviors, and Self-Perceptions of Low-Achieving African-American Males with Behavioral Disorders.

Four low-achieving fifth-grade African-American males with behavioral disorders tutored sight words to four low-achieving second-grade African-American males with behavioral disorders. Four fifth-g...
How do multinationals report their economic, social, and environmental impacts? evidence from global reporting initiative data

This paper examines the role of multinational enterprises in sustainability reporting. The study assesses how multinational enterprise status correlates with a company's average disclosure rate and probability of reporting on economic, labor and social, environmental, and governance indicators. It uses a unique data set that offers company-level information on sustainability reporting from the Global Reporting Initiative, which covers 2,020 companies in 81 countries and 54 sustainability indicators. The summary statistics show that multinational enterprises and large domestic companies have higher average disclosure rates than small and medium-size enterprises. However, the econometric analysis suggests that multinational enterprise status does not matter for the average disclosure rate, but company size shows a strongly positive correlation. Differentiating by type of multinational enterprise reveals that the relationship becomes positive and significant for private companies. By contrast, the correlation between multinational enterprise status and the average disclosure rate does not vary by listing status, sector, region, or income level. Focusing on the relationship by development category also shows no significant correlation. Finally, accounting for the heterogeneity of the sustainability indicators, the study analyzes the relationship between multinational enterprise status and the probability of disclosure at the detailed indicator level, and confirms a significant correlation for 12 indicators.
Evaluating the impact of data layout and placement on the energy efficiency of heterogeneous applications

Heterogeneous compute nodes have become an integral component of today's HPC systems. Recent research has established the importance of data layout and placement on such systems. This paper explores the power and energy aspects of data layout and placement on heterogeneous systems. We present results of an experimental study that evaluates the impact of data layout and placement on candidate HPC node architectures for kernels that exhibit a wide variety of performance characteristics. The results of the study show that data layout and placement can have a significant impact on the energy efficiency of heterogeneous applications. On some platforms, selecting the appropriate layout can yield up to an order-of-magnitude improvement in energy efficiency. The study shows that the conventional approach of using a structure-of-arrays for device-mapped data structures is not always profitable and that in addition to memory divergence, data layout choices are impacted by a variety of factors including arithmetic intensity and task granularity. The results of the study are used to establish a set of energy imperatives to guide data layout and placement across different architectures.
Notch Filter Feedback Control for k-Period Motion in a Chaotic System

Chaotic motion can sometimes be desirable or undesirable, and hence control over such a phenomenon has become a topic of considerable interest. Currently available methods involve making systematic time-varying small perturbations in the system parameters. A new method is presented here to achieve control over chaotic motion using notch filter output feedback control. The notch filter controller uses an active negative feedback with fixed controller parameters without affecting the original system parameters. The motivation for using a notch filter in the feedback is to disturb the balance of power at the lower end of the participating frequencies in the power spectrum. This results in a truncation of the period-doubling route to chaos. For low-period motions the harmonic balance method is used to show that a single participating frequency can indeed be eliminated. To deal with relatively complex nonlinear plants, and higher-period motions, a numerical optimal parameter selection scheme is presented to choose the notch filter parameters. The procedures are tested on Duffing’s oscillator with a notch filter feedback to achieve desired k-period motion.
The fine line between autoimmune and allergic encephalomyelitis.

What determines whether immune responses against a self-peptide can evoke an anaphylactic response? New evidence describes anaphylaxis that appears to be governed by thymic expression of the self-antigen.
The Replication of Herpesviruses

This chapter deals with the structure and replication of herpesviruses in susceptible cells. Having stated its scope, we shall take license to say what what we think of it.
Optimization of Neural Network Parameters for Defect Characterization

Natural gas, which is one of the nation’s cheapest forms of energy, is transported to consumer sites via a vast transmission pipeline network .Safety considerations and a desire to assure uninterrupted energy supply require that the pipelines be inspected periodically. The effective detection of defects in the pipeline is vital to assure the integrity of the transmission systems. A variety of nondestructive evaluation techniques (NDE), such as ultrasonic, eddy current, and magnetic flux leakage (MFL) methods have been employed to detect defects in gas pipelines [1]. Among these methods, the MFL method represents the commonly used technique.
Obesity and the Growth Hormone Axis

Growth hormone (GH), as its name implies, promotes growth and alters nutrient metabolism through direct activation of the GH receptor (GHR) on target tissues. GH also indirectly regulates growth and nutrient metabolism by altering production of additional factors. One of the most important secondary effects of GH action is insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Many of the growth-promoting activities that result from GH occur via GH-stimulated IGF-1 production. Due to the strong link between GH and IGF-1, they are often referred to collectively as the GH/IGF-1 axis. The GH/IGF-1 axis has anabolic effects on most tissues, including the heart, liver, kidneys, and intestines; however, GH – but not IGF-1 – has a dramatic catabolic effect on adipose tissue (AT). This chapter will focus mainly on GH, describe the clinical conditions and mouse lines with alterations in this axis along with their adiposity phenotype, and conclude by considering the role and therapeutic use of GH in obesity.
Imputing Structured Missing Values in Spatial Data with Clustered Adversarial Matrix Factorization

Missing data problem often poses a significant challenge as it may introduce uncertainties into the data analysis. Recent advances in matrix completion have shown competitive imputation performance when applied to many real-world domains. However, there are two major limitations when applying matrix completion methods to spatial data. First, they make a strong assumption that the entries are missing-at-random, which may not hold for spatial data. Second, they may not effectively utilize the underlying spatial structure of the data. To address these limitations, this paper presents a novel clustered adversarial matrix factorization method to explore and exploit the underlying cluster structure of the spatial data in order to facilitate effective imputation. The proposed method utilizes an adversarial network to learn the joint probability distribution of the variables and improve the imputation performance for the missing entries that are not randomly sampled.
Recent advances in spectroelectrochemistry related to molecular catalytic processes

Abstract Continuing interest in renewable energy utilization, the depletion of nonrenewable petrochemical feedstocks and rising atmospheric concentrations of CO2 from anthropogenic emissions have made molecular electrocatalytic processes involving CO2, H2, and O2 important research foci. One of the touted advantages of molecular electrocatalytic processes, in comparison to heterogeneous systems, is the relative ease with which the active species can be characterized and the catalyst optimized using synthetic methodology. This requires, however, that species generated by the application of potential be spectroscopically studied, which can be difficult given that changes in reactivity can occur. Spectroelectrochemical methods offer a way to study speciation as a function of potential and time, such that catalytic and noncatalytic reactivity can be understood in the context of an overall mechanism. Paired with steadily advancing electrochemical techniques for quantifying the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of molecular electrocatalysts, spectroelectrochemical data sets can be used to generate a rich understanding of molecular behavior. Recent reports on the use of spectroelectrochemistry to understand molecular electrocatalytic reactions using transition metal complexes are summarized herein.
Use of E-Cigarettes for Nicotine, Marijuana, and Just Flavoring Among U.S. Youth.

Introduction E-cigarette use is gaining popularity among youth, but knowledge on patterns of youth vaping different substances is limited. This study examines risk factors associated with past-30-day self-reported vaping of nicotine, marijuana, and just flavoring among youth and the patterns (single, dual, and poly) of substances youth reported in their e-cigarettes. Methods The 2017 Monitoring the Future survey was analyzed. Weighted estimates of substances that youth vaped were calculated, and multivariable logistic regressions were performed to examine risk factors associated with youth vaping these substances. Analyses were conducted in 2019. Results Overall (n=14,560), 8.0% of participants reported currently vaping just flavoring, followed by 7.4% vaping nicotine and 3.6% vaping marijuana. Youth who were in 12th and 10th grade (versus 8th grade), male (versus female), current smokers (versus noncurrent smokers), and current marijuana users (versus noncurrent users) had increased risk of vaping nicotine, marijuana, and just flavoring. Black non-Hispanics were less likely than white non-Hispanics to report currently vaping. Among students who reported e-cigarette use in the last 30 days (n=1,685), only 24.9% reported vaping just flavoring only, and a majority (75.1%) reported vaping nicotine, marijuana, or multiple substances. Higher (versus lower) grade or increasing cigarette smoking intensity was associated with a higher proportion of students reporting vaping nicotine only and a lower proportion of students reporting vaping just flavoring only. Conclusions Youth e-cigarette use reveals a complex pattern, and youth reported vaping substances potentially addictive beyond just flavoring. Strategies and interventions to reduce youth e-cigarette use are needed.
Adversarially Guided Self-Play for Adopting Social Conventions.

Robotic agents must adopt existing social conventions in order to be effective teammates. These social conventions, such as driving on the right or left side of the road, are arbitrary choices among optimal policies, but all agents on a successful team must use the same convention. Prior work has identified a method of combining self-play with paired input-output data gathered from existing agents in order to learn their social convention without interacting with them. We build upon this work by introducing a technique called Adversarial Self-Play (ASP) that uses adversarial training to shape the space of possible learned policies and substantially improves learning efficiency. ASP only requires the addition of unpaired data: a dataset of outputs produced by the social convention without associated inputs. Theoretical analysis reveals how ASP shapes the policy space and the circumstances (when behaviors are clustered or exhibit some other structure) under which it offers the greatest benefits. Empirical results across three domains confirm ASP's advantages: it produces models that more closely match the desired social convention when given as few as two paired datapoints.
Engineered symbionts activate honey bee immunity and limit pathogens

Honey bees are essential pollinators threatened by colony losses linked to the spread of parasites and pathogens. Here, we report a new approach for manipulating bee gene expression and protecting bee health. We engineered a symbiotic bee gut bacterium, Snodgrassella alvi, to induce eukaryotic RNA interference (RNAi) immune responses. We show that engineered S. alvi can stably recolonize bees and produce double-stranded RNA to activate RNAi and repress host gene expression, thereby altering bee physiology, behavior, and growth. We used this approach to improve bee survival after a viral challenge, and we show that engineered S. alvi can kill parasitic Varroa mites by triggering the mite RNAi response. This symbiont-mediated RNAi approach is a tool for studying bee functional genomics and potentially for safeguarding bee health.
Compositional variability of food wastes and its effects on acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation.

Abstract Converting food waste into butanol via acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) fermentation provides the potential to recover energy and value-added chemicals from food waste. However, the high variability of food waste compositions has hindered the consistency and predictability of butanol production, impeding the development of a robust industrial fermentation process. This study characterized the compositional variation of collected food wastes and determined correlations between food waste compositional attributes and butanol yields for a better prediction of food waste fermentation with Clostridium. The total sugar, starch, fiber, crude protein, fat and ash contents (on dry basis) in the food waste samples were in a range of 0.5–53.5%, 0–25.2%, 0.6–26.9%, 5.5–21.5%, 0.1–37.9%, and 1.4–13.7%, respectively. The high variability of food waste composition resulted in a wide range (3.5–11.5 g/L) of butanol concentrations with an average of 8.2 g/L. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed that the butanol concentrations were strongly and positively correlated with equivalent glucose and starch contents in food waste, strongly and negatively correlated with fiber content, and weakly correlated with total sugar, protein, fat, and ash contents. The regression models constructed based on equivalent glucose and fiber contents reasonably predicted the butanol concentration, with the R2 of 0.80. Our study investigated the variability of food waste composition and, for the first time, unveiled relationships between food waste compositional attributes and fermentation yields, contributing to a greater understanding of food waste fermentation, which, in turn, assists in developing new strategies for increased consistency and predictability of food waste fermentation.
Causal Factors in Aggression and Violence: Examining Social and Biological Theories

Aggression and violence are complex behaviors with many possible contributing factors. Learning contributes to making people either more or less violent or aggressive in many ways. Reinforcement and modeling of others’ behaviors are major forms of learning. Society differentially rewards aggressive behavior in girls and boys, with boys generally being more encouraged to act in aggressive ways. Attitudes about aggression are learned from the media. Frustration and other conditions in the environment can also lead to increased aggressive behavior. Genetic factors contribute to levels of aggressiveness, often in complex ways. Some individuals appear to have more aggressive personalities that may be related to underlying genetics. This genetic effect appears to be relatively weak, though. Other biological variables such as the hormone testosterone as well as other hormones such as cortisol and oxytocin are important in understanding aggressive behavior. Alcohol levels contribute to aggression through reducing our ability to perceive what is happening in the environment, as well as increasing testosterone levels.
Sterically stabilized liposomes targeting P21 (RAC1) activated kinase‑1 and secreted phospholipase A 2 suppress prostate cancer growth and metastasis

Metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) has a very high mortality rate in men, in Western countries and lacks reliable treatment. The advanced-stage PCa cells overexpress P21 (RAC1) activated kinase-1 (PAK1) and secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) suggesting the potential utility of pharmacologically targeting these molecules to treat metastatic PCa. The small molecule, inhibitor targeting PAK1 activation-3 (IPA3) is a highly specific allosteric inhibitor of PAK1; however, it is metabolically unstable once in the plasma thus, limiting its utility as a chemotherapeutic agent. In the present study, the efficacy and specificity of IPA3 were combined with the stability and the sPLA2-targeted delivery method of two sterically stabilized liposomes [sterically stabilized long-circulating liposomes (SSL)-IPA3 and sPLA2 responsive liposomes (SPRL)-IPA3, respectively] to inhibit PCa growth and metastasis. It was found that twice-a-week administration of either SSL-IPA3 or SPRL-IPA3 for 3 weeks effectively suppressed the growth of PC-3 cell tumor xenografts implanted in athymic nude mice. Both drug formulations also inhibited the metastasis of intravenously administered murine RM1 PCa cells to the lungs of C57BL/6 mice. Whereas the twice-a-week administration of SSL-IPA3 significantly inhibited the spontaneous PCa metastasis to the lungs in Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of the Mouse Prostate mice, the administration of free IPA3 had no significant therapeutic benefit. The results present two novel IPA3 encapsulated liposomes to treat metastatic PCa.
Plant Morphogenesis: Mechanical Feedback Position Is Crucial in Organ Flattening

A new study presents a three-dimensional mechanical model with multiple cell layers to interrogate the flattening of organs during development. This model shows the importance of initial asymmetry and its reinforcement by mechanical feedback within the inner cell walls, not the outer epidermal wall, in guiding organ flattening of organ primordia.
Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Right Lower Extremity from Ruptured Appendicitis: Case Report.

Case The patient is a 16-year-old girl with history of dermatomyositis in remission for several years who presented with complaints of right thigh pain and elevated inflammatory markers. She presented to the Emergency Room (ER) on separate occasions and was diagnosed with right lower extremity necrotizing fasciitis secondary to ruptured appendix. She underwent 11 surgical procedures and extended hospital stay. Conclusion This case is a unique presentation of ruptured appendicitis without abdominal pain that presented as right lower extremity necrotizing fasciitis and posed a diagnostic challenge. This case illustrates the importance of diligent evaluation and aggressive surgical management in musculoskeletal infections.
On Optimizing the Divergence Angle of an FSO based Fronthaul Link in Drone Assisted Mobile Networks

In a free space optics (FSO) based drone assisted mobile network, a drone mounted base station (DBS) can be rapidly deployed over a place of interest to relay traffic between Internet of Things devices and a macro base station (MBS), and FSO is applied as the fronthaul solution between the DBS and the MBS to provide a high link capacity at a long distance. However, due to inevitable optical beam misalignment, having a smaller divergence angle of the optical beam may increase the outage probability of the FSO based fronthaul link. On the other hand, having a larger divergence angle may reduce the capacity of the FSO based fronthaul link. So, it is critical but challenging to determine the divergence angle in order to optimize the tradeoff between minimizing the outage probability and maximizing the capacity for the FSO based fronthaul link in the context of the FSO based drone assisted mobile network. In this paper, we formulate an optimization problem to determine the optimal divergence angle that can minimize the link outage probability, while guaranteeing the capacity of the FSO based fronthaul link no less than the threshold. The Link outagE and cApacity awaRe divergeNce angle (LEARN) algorithm is designed to efficiently solve the problem. The performance of LEARN is demonstrated via extensive simulations.
Parameter Estimation for Nongaussian Processes via Second and Third Order Spectra with an Application to Some Endocrine Data

Quite a variety of processes that are observed in biomedicine have a pulse-like character and with bursts of activity occurring every so often with the principal variation corresponding to the location and size of the activity. Figure 1 provides examples of the temporal variation of the level of concentration of a particular hormone in the blood stream of a cow. One analytic representation for such processes is provided by $$ Y(t) = \,\sum\limits_j {{A_j}} \,a(t - {\sigma _j})$$ (1) with the Gj the times of initiation of pulses, with the Aj the respective amplitudes of the pulses and with a (r) providing the pulse shape.
Effects of Regular Exercise on Arterial Stiffness

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of deaths in most industrialized countries. The most prominent change in the blood vessels that can contribute to the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is the stiffening or hardening of arteries. Regular physical activity has been recommended as a lifestyle modification for cardiovascular disease. Aerobic (endurance) exercise and resistance (strength) exercise training appear to exert distinct effects on the arterial elasticity. Regular aerobic exercise is effective in preventing and reversing arterial stiffening associated with aging. Endurance training-induced increases in arterial compliance are mediated, at least in part, through the removal of chronic restraint provided by vasoconstrictor tone, and multiple mechanisms are likely involved in the destiffening process. In contrast to the effects of aerobic exercise, an intervention incorporating strenuous resistance training increases, rather than decreases, arterial stiffness in young adults. However, the arterial stiffening effect appears to be absent when older adults with already increased arterial stiffness perform moderate resistance exercise programs.
Automated follicle segmentation in ultrasound scans of bovine ovaries

Important reproductive information can be determined by analyzing the follicles in an ultrasound scan of the ovary. The currently used process requires an expert to manually mark and measure the size of the follicles. Manual analysis is time-consuming and often conflicting. A robust computer assisted approach to automatically detect and quantify follicles would improve both the efficiency and accuracy of the process. The multi-step algorithm presented involves coarse ovarian segmentation, follicle detection, and post processing using level sets to automatically determine follicle boundaries. In comparison with expert evaluations, experiments on bovine ovarian images show encouraging results. The algorithm correctly detected approximately 65% of the ovarian follicles.
Poncelet’s theorem in space

A plane polygon P inscribed in a conic C and circumscribed to a conic D can be continuously 'rotated', as it were. One of the many proofs consists in viewing each side of P as translation by a torsion point of an elliptic curve. In the n-space version, involving torsion points of hyperelliptic Jacobians, there is a g = (nl)-dimensional family of rotations, where g = genus of the hyperelliptic curve; the polygon is now inscribed in one and circumscribed to n 1 quadrics. This note presents a generalization of Poncelet's theorem from plane configurations to configurations in projective space pg+1 (we work over the complex numbers throughout). In the plane, one way to state the theorem produces a 'rotation' of any n-gon inscribed in a conic C and circumscribed to a conic D. The key to the theorem is a point of order n of a suitable elliptic curve; each point of the curve corresponds to a value of the 'rotation'; cf. [GH1], [GH2]. In Pg+1, the analogous theorem involves a point of finite order on the Jacobian of a hyperelliptic curve X of genus g; the corresponding configuration is an n-gon tangent to g fixed (confocal) quadrics and inscribed in a (g + 1)-st one; again the vertices can be continuously 'rotated' corresponding to the points of the Jacobian JacX, giving rise to a g-dimensional family of n-gons. The configuration of common tangents to g (confocal) ellipsoids in R+l1 has been studied in connection with (integrable) billiards; indeed, integrability of the billiard with elliptical boundary gives one of the many proofs of Poncelet's theorem. A generalization of the theorem is thus given by one or the other of the two (equivalent) dynamical problems: geodesic motion on the g-dimensional ellipsoid, or bounces on a g-dimensional elliptical boundary (in the Appendix, we explain the reason why billiard motion was associated to the geodesic equations on the ellipsoid in two essentially different ways, either as the limit of geodesic motion in one-higher dimension when one axis is shrunk to a point, or as discretized geodesic motion-a stroboscope in the language of [DLT]-on an ellipsoid of the same dimension as the billiard boundary). What is new in this note is the identification of the point of finite order as O(P tP), where P is a point on X corresponding to the billiard boundary, and t is the hyperelliptic involution. This provides an algebraic statement analogous to the elliptic case, as well as generalizations of other versions of the theorem which involve adding several points successively, hence possibly any point of JacX of the form O(P1 + ... + Pg tP1 + ... + Pg). We obtain our result by Received by the editors May 20, 1997 and, in revised form, September 28, 1997. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 14H40; Secondary 58F07. The author's research was partly supported by NSA grant MDA904-95-H-1031. ()1999 American Mathematical Society
Thermal Shock Fiber‐Reinforced Ceramic Matrix Composites

Monolithic silicon carbide and silicon nitride and a Nicalon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composite were subjected to severe thermal shock conditions via impingement of a hydrogen-oxygen flame. Surface heating rates of 1000 C/sec to 2500 C/sec were generated. The performance of the monolithic reference materials are compared and contrasted to the significantly greater thermal shock resistance of the composite. Ultrasonic and radiographic NDE techniques were used to evaluate the integrity of the composite subsequent to thermal shock. Tensile tests were performed to determine the residual tensile strength and modulus. Physical property changes are discussed as a function of number and severity of thermal shock cycles. 9 refs.
Alfonso VI en la Estoria de Espanna: Retrato ejemplar y narración histórica

La figura de Alfonso VI en Ia Estoria de Espanna se presenta por medio de dos tipos de discurso: el retrato inicial, que lo describe como un monarca ejemplar (capitulo 846), segun la imagen del gobernante ideal de la segunda Partida, y la narracion de su reinado, que revela una personalidad mucho mas compleja y contradictoria (capitulos 845 y 847-964). La oposicion entre atemporalidad = esencialidad del retrato y temporalidad = individualidad de la narracion plantea, entre otros muchos, dos problemas clave para entender los metodos del taller historiografico alfonsi: la concepcion de Ia personalidad humana, en el marco del proceso de "descubrimiento del individuo" estudiado por Morris (1987), y Ia comprension de los hechos historicos unicos e irrepetibles a la luz de principios y categorias generales
Further examples of ''Machian'' effects of rotating bodies in general relativity.

The exact field equations for the metric of axially symmetric, stationary rotating bodies in general relativity are exhibited. They are applied to calculate, to first order in the angular velocity of rotation (but without restriction to weak gravitational fields), the rotation of the inertial frame induced by an incompressible fluid sphere, and by concentric mass shells. In addition, the effect of the exterior field of rotating bodies on light rays is discussed. The results of this paper appear qualitatively to agree with some of Mach’s ideas on the origin of inertia.
BCG directly induces cell cycle arrest in human transitional carcinoma cell lines as a consequence of integrin cross-linking.

Current models of the mechanism by which intravesical BCG induces an anti-tumor effect in urothelial carcinoma propose a secondary cellular immune response as principally responsible. Our group has demonstrated that BCG mediated cross-linking of α5 1 integrin receptors present on the tumor surface elicits a complex biologic response involving AP1 and NF-κB signaling as well as the transactivation of immediate early genes. This study evaluated the direct biologic effect of cross-linking α5β1 integrin on cell cycle progression and apoptosis in two human urothelial carcinoma cell lines. Two independent assays (MTT and Colony forming ability) were employed to measure the effect of α5β1 cross-linking (antibody mediated or BCG) on cellular proliferation. Flow cytometry was employed to measure effect of BCG and α5β1 antibody mediated cross-linking on cell cycle progression. Apoptosis was measured using assays for both DNA laddering and Caspase 3 activation. Results demonstrate that integrin cross-linking by BCG, or antibody mediated crosslinking of α5β1 resulted in a decrease in proliferating cell number. BCG treatment or α5β1 cross-linking increased the percentage of cells in G0/G1, in both 253J and T24 cell lines. Peptide mediated blockade of integrin binding site using RGDS reversed the effect BCG on both proliferation and cell cycle arrest. Apoptosis in response to BCG was not identified by either DNA laddering or Caspase 3 activation. These findings show that BCG exerts a direct cytostatic effect on human urothelial carcinoma cell lines. Cell cycle arrest at the G1/S interface is a mechanism by which BCG inhibits cellular proliferation. This effect is duplicated by antibody mediated cross-linking of α5β1 and likely occurs as a consequence of crosslink-initiated signal transduction to cell cycle regulatory genes.