cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition and factor VII coagulant activity.

Abstract Plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition reflects, to a moderate degree, the fatty acid composition of the diet. To determine whether plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition might influence factor VII coagulant activity (factor VII c , we examined 2207 middle-aged adults free of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Factor VII c was associated positively with the percentage of fatty acids that was saturated, and it was associated negatively with the linoleic acid percentage and the phospholipid polyunsaturated/ saturated fatty acid ratio. For example, a 1.9% greater saturated fatty acid level was associated with approximately a 5% higher factor VII c . These results suggest a role for dietary fat composition, or related dietary patterns, in determining levels of factor VII c .
Music psychology: tonal structures in perception and memory

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .... . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 277 CONSONANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ....... . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . 278 TUNING AND INTONATION...... . . ........ . ....... . . ....... . . .... . . . . ..... . . . ..... . . .. . . . ...... 280 CATEGORICAL PITCH PERCEPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... 281 ABSOLUTE PITCH PERCEPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . 283 MODELS OF TONAL RELATIONS ...... 285 TONAL HIERARCHIES . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . ..... . . . . .... . . . . ..... . . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . 287 HARMONY AND KEy. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . .... . . . .. .. . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 290 CODING MODELS OF MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..... . . . . . 291 LINGUISTIC THEORY APPLIED TO MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 MELOn ' y PERCEPTION AND MEMORy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ...... . . . 295 MELODY AND RHyTHM . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ....... . 297
Small-scale mashing procedure for predicting ethanol yield of sorghum grain

A small-scale mashing (SSM) procedure requiring only 300 mg of samples was investigated as a possible method of predicting ethanol yield of sorghum grain. The initial SSM procedure, which was conducted similarly to the mashing step in a traditional fermentation test, hydrolyzed just 38.5–47.2% of total sorghum starch to glucose. The initial procedure was simplified to contain only one liquefaction step, which did not influence subsequent saccharification. Thereafter, parameters such as temperature, pH, enzyme dosage, and saccharification time were optimized. Results showed that 91.2–97.5% of the total starch in 18 sorghum hybrids had been hydrolyzed to glucose using the following conditions: liquefaction at 86 � C for 90 min, 20 m Lo fa-amylase per 30 g of sample; pH adjustment by adding 50 m Lo f 2M
Using symbols: developmental perspectives.

The frequent and fluent use of symbols is a distinguishing characteristic of human thought and communication. Symbols free us from the bounds of our own direct experience and allow us to learn about the world from others. To use a symbol, children need to (1) understand the intention that led to the creation and use of the symbol, and (b) how the symbol relates to its referent. For example, to use a map, children need to know that it is intended to communicate spatial information, and how locations on the map correspond to locations in the world. In some cases, even very young children are capable of meeting both requirements. For example, infants quickly learn that people intend to communicate when they use words. Moreover, they quickly learn the meanings of many specific words and the objects or concepts that they stand for. In other cases, such as learning to use maps of large-scale space, children may struggle to understand what the symbol is intended to communicate and the specific relations between elements of the symbol and their referents in the world. Here we review the development of children's understanding of words, photographs, scale models, maps, and text. We consider when and how children gain insight into the communicative intent of each of these symbols and how they learn to establish connections between the symbol and what it represents. This review helps to integrate research on the development of children's understanding of a variety of symbol systems. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Conflict of interest: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
A High-Contrast Fixative for Ferricyanide Reducing Zymograms

Oxidation of sulfur by microorganisms is a topic of interest for a number of researchers worldwide. Literature reports indicate that several different pathways for sulfur oxidation may be present within a single organism. In order to discriminate between activities within these pathways, methods must be available which allow discrimination between specific sulfur oxidizing activities. We describe herein a general method of increasing contrast of ferricyanide reducing zymograms and simultaneously fixing gels for storage.
Corn Silage Hybrid Effects on Intake, Digestion, and Milk Production by Dairy Cows

Three corn hybrids harvested as whole-plant silage were evaluated in three separate feeding trials with lactating dairy cows. In trial 1, 24 multiparous Holstein cows were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square with 28-d periods. Treatments were conventional (Pioneer 3563) and leafy (Mycogen TMF 106) corn silage hybrids, each planted at low (59,000 plants/ha) and high (79,000 plants/ha) plant populations. There were no milk production differences between treatments. Total-tract digestibility of dietary starch was higher for leafy compared with conventional corn hybrids. In trial 2, 26 multiparous Holstein cows were assigned randomly to diets containing either conventional (48% forage diet) or brown-midrib (60% forage diet) corn silage in a crossover design with 8-wk periods. Milk yield was lower, but milk fat percentage and yield were higher, for the high-forage diet containing brown-midrib corn silage. In trial 3, 24 multiparous Holstein cows were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square with 28-d periods. Treatments were corn silage at two concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (Garst 8751, 39.2% NDF; Cargill 3677, 32.8% NDF) each fed in normal- (53% of dry matter) and high- (61 to 67% of dry matter) forage diets. Milk production was not different between corn hybrids. Increased concentrate supplementation increased DMI and milk production. There were minimal benefits to the feeding of leafy or low-fiber corn silage hybrids. Feeding brown-midrib corn silage in a high-forage diet increased milk fat percentage and yield compared with conventional corn silage fed in a normal-forage diet.
An evaluation of microbial leakage in roots filled with a thermoplastic synthetic polymer-based root canal filling material (Resilon).

The purpose of this study was to compare bacterial leakage using Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis through gutta-percha and a thermoplastic synthetic polymer-based root filling (Resilon) using two filling techniques during a 30-day period. Teeth were decoronated, roots prepared to a length of 16 mm, and instrumented to ISO sizes 40 to 50. A total of 156 roots were randomly divided into 8 groups of 15 roots (groups 1–8) and 3 control groups (12 roots each). Roots were filled using lateral and vertical condensation techniques with gutta-percha and AH 26 sealer (groups 1 and 2) or with gutta-percha and Epiphany sealer (groups 3 and 4). Groups 5 and 6 were filled with Resilon and Epiphany sealer using the lateral or vertical condensation techniques. A split chamber microbial leakage model was used in which S. mutans placed in the upper chamber could reach the lower chamber only through the filled canal. Groups 7 and 8 were identical to groups 5 and 6 respectively; however, E. faecalis was used to test the leakage. Positive controls were filled with Resilon (12 roots) and gutta-percha (12 roots) without sealer and tested with bacteria, whereas negative controls (12 roots) were sealed with wax to test the seal between chambers. All but one positive control leaked within 24 h, whereas none of the negative controls leaked. Resilon showed minimal leakage (group 8: one leakage; groups 5–7: each with two leakages), which was significantly less than gutta-percha, in which approximately 80% of specimens with either technique or sealer leaked. Kruskal-Wallis test showed statistical significance when all groups were compared (p U test compared the respective groups and found Resilon groups superior to gutta-percha groups (p
Power efficient processor architecture and the cell processor

This paper provides a background and rationale for some of the architecture and design decisions in the cell processor, a processor optimized for compute-intensive and broadband rich media applications, jointly developed by Sony Group, Toshiba, and IBM. The paper discusses some of the challenges microprocessor designers face and provides motivation for performance per transistor as a reasonable first-order metric for design efficiency. Common microarchitectural enhancements relative to this metric are provided. Also alternate architectural choices and some of its limitations are discussed and non-homogeneous SMP as a means to overcome these limitations is proposed.
A cellular-automata, slider-block model for earthquakes I. Demonstration of chaotic behaviour for a low-order system

SUMMARY We consider a pair of slider blocks connected to each other and to a constant velocity driver by springs. Stick-slip behaviour is obtained using static and dynamic coefficients of friction. With any asymmetry, numerical calculations show that this system can exhibit classical chaotic behaviour. We simplify the behaviour of the system by assuming that the two blocks never slide together. One block may trigger the slip of the other, but its slip is delayed until the first block sticks. The orbits in phase space are periodic in the symmetrical case but the orbit the system evolves to depends on the initial conditions. If the friction coefficients of the blocks are different, we can have chaotic behaviour with positive Lyapunov exponents for some parameter values, and periodic or limit cycles orbits for other values. In some cases we have limit cycle orbits for one interval of initial conditions and chaotic behaviour for others. The Poincark map for the model is a piecewise linear function and is strongly dependent on the parameters of the model. The behaviour of the simplified single slip model is quite similar to the original multiple slip model. The advantage of the simplified model is that the solution is algebraic and it can form the basis for a cellular-automata model which is completely deterministic.
Parting (with) the dead: Body partibility as evidence of commoner ancestor veneration

As a complement to life histories authored by many researchers of Maya bones, this study narrates death histories. The latter entails detection of perimortem and postmortem changes to decedents' bodies, followed by translation of these changes' encoded meanings. Biographical analysis of body parts and the buildings in which they are situated facilitates such an endeavor. Past investigations of partibility have focused on protracted processing of noble and royal bodies as a means to reconstitute decedents' identities. Commoners' burials, however, have received far less attention. Consequently, it is difficult to determine if partible practices differ according to or transcend social class. To address this lacuna, a multiscalar frame is applied to a burial sample comprised of decedents from varied social settings in the Three Rivers region, northwestern Belize. Identification of widely shared practices related to the becoming and venerating of ancestors offers a springboard for examining particulars within patterns. Scaling down, commoner burials unearthed at the minor center RB-11 are summarized and special attention is paid to the death history of Individual 71. This decedent's intentionally fragmented body reflects general thinking about ancestors as partible and dividual persons. Yet, certain attributes of Individual 71's burial are unique to the sample as a whole, which demonstrates how social class, circumstance, and individual life history are also instrumental in the reformation of ancestorhood.
Influence of dietary n-3 fatty acids on macrophage glycerophospholipid molecular species and peptidoleukotriene synthesis.

The study examined the ability of dietary n-3 fatty acids to modify mouse peritoneal macrophage glycerophospholipid molecular species and peptidoleukotriene synthesis. After a 2-week feeding period, fish versus corn oil feeding significantly (P less than 0.01) lowered n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) mol % levels, i.e., arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) in diacylphosphatidylserine (PtdSer), diacylphosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), diacylglycerophosphoethanolamine (PtdEtn), alkenylacylglycerophosphoethanolamine (PlsEtn), and diacylglycerophosphocholine (PtdCho). A notable exception was alkylacylglycerophosphocholine (PakCho), where only moderate decreases in 16:0-20:4n-6 and 18:0-20:4n-6 species were observed after fish oil supplementation. The predominant n-3 PUFA in macrophage phospholipid subclasses was docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3). The major n-3 species were 18:0-22:5n-3 in PtdIns, PtdSer, glycerophosphoethanolamines (EtnGpl) and 16:0-22:5n-3 in PtdCho and PlsEtn. The major n-3-containing species in PakCho were 16:0-20:5n-3 and 18:1-22:6n-3. These findings indicate that n-3 PUFA are differentially incorporated into macrophage phospholipid subclasses after dietary fish oil supplementation, and suggest that phospholipid remodeling enzymes selectively discriminate between substrates based on compatibility of sn-1 covalent linkage and the composition of the sn-1 and sn-2 aliphatic chains. Macrophage peptidoleukotriene synthesis was also strongly influenced after fish oil feeding; the LTC5/LTC4 ratio was significantly higher (P less than 0.01) in fish oil-fed animals than in corn oil-fed animals, 0.85 versus 0.01, respectively. These ratios were subsequently compared to phospholipid molecular species 20:5n-3/20:4n-6 ratios in order to determine potential sources of eicosanoid precursors.
Estimation and Validation of Gaussian Process Surrogate Models for Sensitivity Analysis and Design Optimization: Based on the "Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide"

The Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) is a powerful predictor of pavement distress, but it is computationally expensive to evaluate. Analyses that require many MEPDG evaluations, such as sensitivity analysis and design optimization, become impractical because of the computational expense. These applications are important in achieving robust, reliable, and cost-effective pavement designs. This paper develops Gaussian process (GP) surrogate models that, with a trivial amount of computational expense, accurately approximate the results of the MEPDG for each relevant distress mode. The GP is validated in accordance with three model metrics: average predictive percent error, predictive coefficient of determination, and Bayes factor. The GP models are then exploited for sensitivity analysis and design optimization, making these tasks computationally affordable.
Integration Issues in PACS

A successful PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) implementation requires an eclectic integration of a number of key technologies. Among these are equipment interfaces, communications, storage, and display. Coincident with this, the software architecture must support a distributed system of heterogeneous structures, provide for protocol and format conversions to a unified system standard, be scalable to accommodate expansion, and provide a measure of fault tolerance. In this paper we survey the current state of the UCLA PACS components and architecture.
Utility of a single-stage isoproterenol tilt table test in adults: A randomized comparison with passive head-up tilt

Abstract OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to develop a time-efficient tilt table test. BACKGROUND Current protocols of tilt table testing are quite time-consuming. This study was designed to assess the diagnostic value, tolerance and procedural time of a single-stage isoproterenol tilt table protocol. METHODS A single-stage isoproterenol tilt table test was compared with the passive tilt table test. The study was prospectively designed in a randomized and crossover fashion. RESULTS The study population consisted of 111 patients with a history of syncope (mean age 55 ± 20 years). Of the total, 62 patients (56%; 95% confidence interval, 46% to 65%) had a positive vasovagal response during isoproterenol tilt table testing and 35 (32%; 23% to 41%) during passive tilt table testing (p = 0.002). The mean procedural times of the study population were 11.7 ± 3.6 min and 36.9 ± 13.3 min for isoproterenol and passive tilt table testing, respectively (p CONCLUSIONS The single-stage isoproterenol tilt table test was more effective in inducing a positive vasovagal response in an adult population than the standard passive tilt table test, and it significantly reduced the procedural time. The increase in positive yield was associated with a moderate decrease in apparent specificity. These observations support the conclusion that single-stage tilt table testing could be a reasonable diagnostic option in patients undergoing syncope evaluation.
A Prospective Cohort Study of Influences on Externalizing Behaviors Across Childhood: Results From a Nurse Home Visiting Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective This study investigated genetic and environmental influences on behavior in a cohort of 600 children followed prenatally to 18 years. Method A randomized controlled trial of prenatal/infancy nurse home visits (NHV) was conducted in 600 predominantly African American mothers and their firstborn children from Memphis, TN. Mothers were assessed in pregnancy for mental health (MH), self-efficacy, and mastery. Mothers reported longitudinally on smoking and alcohol/drug use. The functional polymorphisms SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR, FKBP5 rs1360780 and DRD2/ANKK1 rs1800497 were genotyped together with 186 ancestry informative markers. Composite externalizing disorders (ED) continuous total scores from the mother-report Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist were included as dependent variables in regression analyses for time points 2, 6, 12, and 18 years. Results Behaviors at younger ages strongly predicted later behaviors ( p p = .0001). Maternal smoking was associated with worse ED at 6 and 18 years. Main and interactive effects of genetic polymorphisms varied across childhood: FKBP5 rs1360780 up to age 6, 5-HTTLPR from 6 to 12, and DRD2/ANKK1 rs1800497 from 2 to 18 years. Conclusion Our study suggests that maternal MH and resilience measured in pregnancy have long-lasting effects on child behavior. Maternal smoking across childhood and genetic factors also play a role. NHV had a positive effect on early behavior. Our findings have implications for prevention of pathological behaviors in adulthood. Clinical trial registration information —Age-17 Follow-Up of Home Visiting Intervention; http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00708695.
Analysis of Turbulence Induced Thermal Mixing Effects on T-Junction Fluid-Structure Degradation

Thermal striping generally is recognized as a significant long-term degradation mechanism in the primary cooling water circuit of nuclear power plants (NPPs). This phenomenon occurs by mixing of hot and cold water streams in the primary coolant loop. Depending on the flow configuration, the turbulent mixing process can lead to thermal striping, temperature fluctuations in the T-junction region, thermal fatigue, and crack generation in the associated structure. The objective of this study is to provide an in-depth look into the underlying physics for thermal fatigue to determine appropriate screening criteria and risk significance for the regulatory safety evaluation process. In addition, the structure of turbulence in the T-junction also is investigated. The computational method comprised of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) modeling to simulate turbulence and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) analysis to capture the coherent structures and turbulence scales. In addition, Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) analyses have been performed to predict the thermal field and temperature distribution in the solid piping material of the T-junction. Finally, the corresponding thermal stress in the solid pipe is estimated based on a simplified one-dimensional model to assess the thermal-structure degradation.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Preliminary experience with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration for sampling of mediastinal lymph nodes

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has become established as the first-line procedure for nodal staging in lung cancer patients. We report our preliminary experience with this technique after its introduction in our Unit in October 2012. EBUS-TBNA was performed using an ultrasonic endoscope (Olympus BF-UC180F) and either 21- or 22-Gauge needles. Cytological samples were obtained from mediastinal lymph nodes enlarged at chest CT-scan and/or with an increased FDG uptake at PET-scan. Up to now we collected 244 nodal samples from 196 patients with suspected lung cancer. The final diagnosis was 174 lymph nodes positive for cancer, 48 benign lesions and 22 nodal samples without a definitive diagnosis yet and thus considered as lost in follow-up (LFU). EBUS-TBNA was positive for metastatic involvement in 144 and negative in 100 lymph nodes. The latter included 48 true negatives, 30 false negatives and 22 LFU. The sensitivity of EBUS-TBNA for lung cancer was 83% (144 out of 174). However, including among the false negatives the 22 LFU, sensitivity decreased to 73%. The overall diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA was 79% (144 samples positive for cancer plus 48 true negatives out of a total of 244 nodal samples). The most frequent nodal stations examined and the respective diagnostic accuracy were: station 7 (95 EBUS-TBNAs, 76%); station 4R (72 EBUS-TBNAs, 85%) and station 10R (33 EBUS-TBNAs, 79%). These results show that the diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA is high right away from the beginning of its use. Accordingly, it can be considered a reliable tool immediately after its introduction in an operative unit.
389 TEACHING INTERNAL MEDICINE CONSULTATION SKILLS: A WEB SITE FOR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING.

Background Variable patients and diverse faculty teaching and practice patterns lead to inconsistent training in consultative general internal medicine skills at our institution. Housestaff and students have reported poor use of previously provided supplemental reading materials. We created a Web site to help standardize and promote independent learning. Methods The consultation Web site was created in July 2005 using the WebCT Vista course management system ( ). Each resident and medical student has a unique identifier and password. The site is divided into “Policies” (goals and objectives, syllabus, examples of appropriate consultation reports); “Lecture Materials” (eg, effective medical consultation, preoperative assessment, evaluation of clinical practice guidelines, electrolyte disorders, differential diagnosis of dementia); and “References” (eg, clinical guidelines and reviews of perioperative risk stratification, management of perioperative deep venous thrombosis, preoperative assessment for bariatric surgery, and communication with referring physicians). The syllabus instructs learners to complete reading assignments within the 2-week rotation period. At the conclusion of the rotation, residents and students present a critique of a clinical practice guideline pertaining to consultative medicine and take a 20-item quiz created from board-review materials. The WebCT system includes use tracking tools enabling the instructor to determine individual learners9 reading and study habits. Learners can continue to access the site indefinitely. Results Preliminary data after 12 months show a high rate of Web site use by housestaff during their consultation rotations. Screenshots from the Web site and data quantifying specific component use and learners9 qualitative feedback will be presented in poster format. Conclusions A Web site can creatively encourage independent reading and help standardize a medical consultation curriculum. Web site administrative tools allow instructors to quantify learners9 reading.
XPERIMENTAL STUDY ON OPTIMIZATION OF OXYGEN CONTENT IN BOILER OF A 600 MW SUPERCRITICAL UNIT

Based on single factor alternate method,the influence of oxygen content that under different unit loads with current coals as the fuel on boiler efficiency,as well as on auxiliary equipment power consumption and NOx emission was investigated,taking boiler of a 600 MW supercritical unit as the object.Moreover,the optimal oxygen content was determined,and the control curve for oxygen content optimization was obtained.Results show that,under the loads of 600,480,420 and 360 MW,with the increasing oxygen content,the boiler efficiency decreases,and the fan power consumption and NOx emission increases.The test data indicate that oxygen content in this power plant is high under the current operation mode.Regulation should be carried out according to the optimization curve obtained.
ANN-Based Mid-Term Stock Forecasting

This paper presents a method based on the BP neural network for stock market modeling, forecasting and decision-making. In NN- based stock forecasting, the complexity of input data has a negative effect on network training efficiency and forecasting precision. Focusing on solving this problem, a fuzzy curve method is developed to filter variables. This method is developed to eliminate those inputs, which are dependent on other important inputs. The process is fast and can be effectively used on the systems with a large number of inputs and data points. The results show that after data processing, the training time is reduced and the forecasting precision is enhanced.
Natural and Management-Related Variation in Cypress Domes

Fifteen cypress domes located within an extensively managed slash pine plantation were characterized according to the presence and nature of ditches and berms. Mean water depth and hydroperiod for the year 1978-79 were generally greater in the domes without these alterations. Cypress importance values were significantly higher in the unaltered, wet domes whereas hardwood importance values and shrub density were higher in the altered, drier domes. The abundance of grasses and sedges in the domes was more closely correlated with the amount of light reaching the dome floor than with the degree of wetness. Acid-extractable phosphorus, iron, and aluminum concentrations in the dome soils were pos- itively correlated with mean water depth. Carbon concentration in the dome soil was positively correlated with hardwood importance value. Cypress tree growth rates increased significantly following ditching in four domes. This was probably the result of increased soil aeration and increased nutrient inputs from ditch inflow. Cypress growth rates in other altered and unaltered domes were not significantly different before and after intensive forest management of the study site. Although dome alterations sometimes increased cypress tree growth, the associated changes in hydrological conditions, vegetation com- position, and soil parameters may inhibit cypress regeneration. FOREST SCI. 29:627--640. CYPRESS DOMES are small forested wetlands that commonly occur in shallow depressions within the pine flatwoods of the southeastern coastal plain. The dom- inant tree in these wetlands is the deciduous conifer, pondcypress (Taxodium distichurn var. nutans (Ait.) Sweet). Cypress domes are normally open, ponded areas with little understory, and are dominated by cypress with swamp blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica vat. bifiora (Wait.) Sarg.) occurring occasionally and pines (Pinus spp.) occurring rarely (Harper 1914, Mattoon 1915, Gano 1917). In Florida, slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) is being intensively managed for pulp and paper production on approximately 10 million hectares. Swamps comprise about 33 percent of these commercial forest lands, with half of that area in cypress domes (Anonymous 1978). Although commercial use ofpondcypress has generally been restricted to mulch, railroad crossties, and fenceposts, recent advances in chipping have made it more attractive, and interest in long-term management has increased. Moreover, the potential use of cypress domes for wastewater recycling (Ewel and Odum 1978), for water conservation (c.f., Burns 1978, Brown 1981), and for
Abstract A21: The role of SOX4 in epithelial to mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in U.S. males, and ranks second in mortality with over 28,000 deaths per year. Prostate cancer mortality is typically due to metastases, necessitating the understanding of how metastatic disease develops. One major step for cancer cells to metastasize and acquire migratory and invasive capabilities is the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT encompasses vast molecular changes in gene expression, mediated by aberrant developmental signaling pathway activation, leading to the loss of cell-cell junctions and planar and apical-basal polarity, increased motility, and resistance to apoptosis and anoikis (cell death due to the detachment from the extracellular matrix). The sex determining region Y-box 4 (SOX4) gene is a developmental transcription factor that is over expressed in prostate cancer and plays a critical role in many developmental pathways inappropriately activated during EMT, such as the transforming growth factor (TGF-beta) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathways. Our data suggest that concomitant treatment of TGF-beta and EGF induces SOX4, and initiates the EMT program in prostate epithelial cell lines. We also demonstrate that SOX4 over expression is sufficient to induce EMT in prostate epithelial cell lines. Currently, the molecular mechanisms that govern how SOX4 initiates EMT via transcriptional activation of target genes are poorly understood. We identified candidate SOX4 targets using the Algorithm for the Reconstruction of Accurate Cellular Networks (ARACNE) on 9755 Pan Cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Gene ontology analysis of the top 1000 candidate SOX4 targets revealed genes that were enriched for epigenetic processes such as chromatin modification and DNA methylation. One putative target gene, PCAF, is a subunit of a large histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complex. Interestingly, our preliminary data also suggest that SOX4 interacts not only with PCAF, but also with TRRAP, another subunit of the PCAF HAT complex. These data suggest that SOX4 may induce and recruit the PCAF/TRRAP HAT complex in order to transcriptionally activate downstream targets to initiate the EMT program. Citation Format: Nitya V. Sharma, Soma Sannigrahi, YuHeng Lai, Carlos Moreno. The role of SOX4 in epithelial to mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer; Sep 24-27, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A21.
Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Standardbreds: Effect of Age and Training in Resting Plasma and Muscle

Abstract The hypothesis of this study was that yearlings would have more oxidative stress as measured by malondialdehyde (MDA), total glutathione (GSH-T), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and nitric oxide (NO) than mature mares before training, but after they would have similar levels. Ten Standardbred yearling fillies and 10 mature Standardbred mares were split into trained and nontrained groups. Horses were trained 5 days/wk for 7 weeks. Blood and muscle samples were collected at rest on weeks 0, 2, 5, 7, and 9. At week 0, the yearlings had higher muscle GSH-T and NO concentrations (P = .03) than the trained mares. At week 9, plasma NO concentrations were lower in trained mares than in the trained yearlings (P = .007). Trained mares increased muscle MDA and decreased plasma MDA concentrations from weeks 0 to 9 (P
β-Catenin signaling positively regulates glutamate uptake and metabolism in astrocytes

Neurological disorders have been linked to abnormal excitatory neurotransmission. Perturbations in glutamate cycling can have profound impacts on normal activity, lead to excitotoxicity and neuroinflammation, and induce and/or exacerbate impairments in these diseases. Astrocytes play a key role in excitatory signaling as they both clear glutamate from the synaptic cleft and house enzymes responsible for glutamate conversion to glutamine. However, mechanisms responsible for the regulation of glutamate cycling, including the main astrocytic glutamate transporter excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2 or GLT-1 in rodents) and glutamine synthetase (GS) which catalyzes the ATP-dependent reaction of glutamate and ammonia into glutamine, remain largely undefined. Gain and loss of function for β-catenin in human progenitor-derived astrocyte (PDAs) was used to assess EAAT2 and GS levels by PCR, western blot, luciferase reporter assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Further, morpholinos were stereotaxically injected into C57BL/6 mice and western blots measured the protein levels of β-catenin, GLT-1, and GS. β-Catenin, a transcriptional co-activator and the central mediator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, positively regulates EAAT2 and GS at the transcriptional level in PDAs by partnering with T cell factor 1 (TCF-1) and TCF-3, respectively. This pathway is conserved in vivo as the knockdown of β-catenin in the prefrontal cortex results in reduced GLT-1 and GS expression. These studies confirm that β-catenin regulates key proteins responsible for excitatory glutamate neurotransmission in vitro and in vivo and reveal the therapeutic potential of β-catenin modulation in treating diseases with abnormal glutamatergic neurotransmission and excitotoxicity.
Efficient memory compression in deep neural networks using coarse-grain sparsification for speech applications

Recent breakthroughs in deep neural networks have led to the proliferation of its use in image and speech applications. Conventional deep neural networks (DNNs) are fully-connected multi-layer networks with hundreds or thousands of neurons in each layer. Such a network requires a very large weight memory to store the connectivity between neurons. In this paper, we propose a hardware-centric methodology to design low power neural networks with significantly smaller memory footprint and computation resource requirements. We achieve this by judiciously dropping connections in large blocks of weights. The corresponding technique, termed coarse-grain sparsification (CGS), introduces hardware-aware sparsity during the DNN training, which leads to efficient weight memory compression and significant computation reduction during classification without losing accuracy. We apply the proposed approach to DNN design for keyword detection and speech recognition. When the two DNNs are trained with 75% of the weights dropped and classified with 5–6 bit weight precision, the weight memory requirement is reduced by 95% compared to their fully-connected counterparts with double precision, while maintaining similar performance in keyword detection accuracy, word error rate, and sentence error rate. To validate this technique in real hardware, a time-multiplexed architecture using a shared multiply and accumulate (MAC) engine was implemented in 65nm and 40nm low power (LP) CMOS. In 40nm at 0.6 V, the keyword detection network consumes 36µW and the speech recognition network consumes 552µW, making this technique highly suitable for mobile and wearable devices.
Examining the Role of Leadership in an Undergraduate Biology Institutional Reform Initiative

The authors studied a reform process in undergraduate biology at a research-intensive university to explore what leadership issues arose in implementation of the initiative when characterized with ...
Author's Response: RE: comment.

Thanks to Powell and colleagues for their comments. The guideline hopefully makes clear that doing a hysterectomy for menstrual management is NOT supported by this document or the American Academy of Pediatrics. This document was not meant to address sterilization, which is a … E-mail: equint{at}med.umich.edu
Near-death experiences, posttraumatic growth, and life satisfaction among burn survivors

Survivors of large burns may face positive and negative psychological after-effects from close-to-death injuries. This study is the first to examine their near-death experiences (NDEs) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) and life satisfaction afterwards. With an available sample of 92 burn survivors, half met the criteria for an NDE using an objective scale. Those who indicated religion was a source of strength and comfort had high scores on life satisfaction, PTG, and the NDE Scale. Individuals with larger burns reported greater PTG than those with smaller total body surface area burned (TBSA). There were no significant differences on life satisfaction, PTG, or NDEs when examined by gender or years since the burn injury. Elements of the NDE most frequently reported were: An altered sense of time, a sense of being out of the physical body, a feeling of peace, vivid sensations, and sense of being in an "other worldly" environment. Social workers and other health providers need to be comfortable helping burn survivors discuss any NDEs and process these through survivors' spirituality and religious belief systems as they recover.
Challenges for Bayesian Model Selection of Dynamic Causal Models

Achieving a mechanistic explanation of brain function requires understanding causal relationships among regions. A relatively new technique to assess effective connectivity in fMRI data is Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM). As DCM is more frequently used, it becomes increasingly important to further validate the technique and understand its limitations. With DCM, Bayesian Model Selection (BMS) is used to select the most likely causal model. We conducted simulations to test the degree to which BMS is robust to two types of challenges when applied to DCMs, those inherent to data (Category 1) and those inherent to model space (Category 2). Category 1 challenges tested properties of the data (low signal-to-noise, different response magnitudes and shapes across regions) that could either blur the distinction between models or potentially bias model selection. These challenges are impossible or difficult to measure and control in real data, so investigating their effect upon BMS through simulation is critical. Category 2 challenges tested properties of model space that create subsets of confusable models. Our results suggest that given data that conform to the prior assumptions of DCM, BMS is robust to challenges from Category 1. However, in the face of Category 2 challenges (when a more homogenous model space was tested) the false positive rate rose above an acceptable level. We show that such errors are neither trivial nor easily avoided with existing approaches. However, we argue that it is possible to detect Category 2 challenges, and avoid inappropriate interpretations by conducting simulations prior to applying DCM.
Meiotic behavior of sex chromosomes: what is normal?

Molecular techniques of DNA cloning and probing have recently resulted in a deluge of information about DNA sequences on the X and Y chromosomes. It is essential that this information be intergrated into the genetic and cytological information. In this paper known facts will be identified and questions raised that will focus on the areas of disparity between the cytological and molecular data and hopefully provide a direction for future research. Apparent conflicts between these two fields of study must be reconciled if we are to emerge with a clear and coherent picture of the meiotic behavior of the sex chromosomes of mammals.
Schwannoma response to interferon alpha

Abstract While cranial nerve schwannomas are typically benign, slow growing tumors, they are associated with morbidity both from the neuropathies and neuralgias they can produce, as well as from the treatments used to address these tumors, typically surgery or radiation. Here we present a case report of a patient with trigeminal neuralgia secondary to schwannoma where tumor regression is seen incidentally after patient received interferon alpha for his metastatic melanoma.
Performance bias: Why judgments of learning are not affected by learning

Past research has shown a performance bias: People expect their future performance level on a task to match their current performance level, even when there are good reasons to expect future performance to differ from current performance. One explanation of this bias is that judgments are controlled by what learners can observe, and while current performance is usually observable, changes in performance (i.e., learning or forgetting) are not. This explanation makes a prediction that we tested here: If learning becomes observable, it should begin to affect judgments. In three experiments, after practicing a skill, participants estimated how they performed in the past and how they expected to perform in the future. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants knew they had been improving, as shown by their responses, yet they did not predict that they would improve in the future. This finding was particularly striking because (a) they did improve in the future and (b) as Experiment 3 showed, they did hold the conscious belief that past improvement predicted future improvement. In short, when learning and performance are both observable, judgments of learning seem to be guided by performance and not learning.
The FBN rat model of aging: investigation of ABR waveforms and ribbon synapse changes.

Abstract Age-related hearing loss is experienced by one-third of individuals aged 65 years and older and can be socially debilitating. Historically, there has been poor correlation between age-related threshold changes, loss of speech understanding, and loss of cochlear hair cells. We examined changes in ribbon synapse number at four different ages in Fisher Brown Norway rats, an extensively studied rat model of aging. In contrast to previous work in mice/Wistar rats, we found minimal ribbon synapse loss before 20 months, with significant differences in 24- and 28-month-old rats at 4 kHz. Significant outer HC loss was observed at 24 and 28 months in low- to mid-frequency regions. Age-related reductions in auditory brainstem response wave I amplitude and increases in threshold were strongly correlated with ribbon synapse loss. Wave V/I ratios increased across age for click, 2, 4, and 24 kHz. Together, we find that ribbon synapses in the Fisher Brown Norway rat cochlea show resistance to aging until ∼60% of their life span, suggesting species/strain differences may underpin decreased peripheral input into the aging central processor.
The Rhetorical Challenge of the Carter Transition: To Build a Governing Majority

The period of transition between the presidential election and inauguration gives a new president the task of transforming his electoral majority into a governing majority. His success at this rest...
Synthesis of low linolenic acid rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) through protoplast fusion

Brassica napus somatic hybrids with low linolenic acid (18:3) content in their seed oil have been produced using fusion partners screened for low 18:3. One somatic hybrid contained only 3.5% 18:3, a level significantly below the mid-parental mean. The low level of 18:3 proved stable in the R1 generation. Oil content of the lowest 18:3 selection increased from the mid-parental mean (29.3%) in the R0 generation to 36% in a R1 field bulk. The R1 field population also showed some resistance to shattering.
A Matter of Heart: Beyond Informed Consent

Neal Dickert and colleagues provide an enriched, nuanced, and useful account of the diverse functions informed consent serves in research. Nevertheless, some research contexts are so distinctive, t...
Temporal Modification of Apriori to find Seasonal Variations between Symptoms and Diagnoses

Medical data can be mined for patterns, which may be used to predict candidate diagnoses according to symptoms and other parameters of care. Our hypothesis is that the admission (initial) patient assessment, when combined with seasonal information can provide more accurate insights for the patient diagnosis. For instance, when cough is the symptom, the probability for flu could be higher during the winter (flu season). We hereby present a method to estimate the temporal variation of the probability for a diagnosis, when the initial patient assessment is known. In order to develop the model, we utilized a large synthetic medical claims dataset from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We used the Apriori algorithm to calculate the support and confidence for each 'admission_diagnosis~final_diagnosis' itemset. For each itemset, 52 rules were generated, one for each week of a calendar year. The Apriori output was filtered so that only itemsets with the 'admission diagnosis' on the Left Hand Side(LHS) are extracted. We furthermore smoothened, using the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) algorithm, and then visualized the week-by-week variability of confidence, for any 'admission_diagnosis~fmal_diagnosis' pair of interest. With our approach, researchers can observe seasonal variations of the diagnosis element, and further study these variations for causal knowledge discovery.
Mental accounting for negotiation and exchange

Complex negotiations occur within a broader stream of ongoing social exchange, but negotiation research focuses on narrowly circumscribed encounters. Building on Trivers’ model of reciprocal altruism and Thaler’s theory of mental accounting, we propose a model of a negotiator who opens and updates ‘relational accounts’ that regulate social exchange. The accounts generate particular emotional response profiles forming the basis for social motives to compete, cooperate, or self-sacrifice. In one study we manipulated Thaler’s mental accounting scenarios to test whether these emotional responses mediate the impact of specific social events on social motives. Having found evidence for this mediation, we ran a second study testing whether social motive mediates the impact of specific events on the vigor with which a party implements the terms of a negotiated agreement. Evidence for this mediation helps to fill a significant gap in our current understanding of the implementation process. Implications of mental accounting for the development of a general, multi-level behavioral theory of negotiation are considered.