cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crop classification modelling using remote sensing and environmental data in the Greater Platte River Basin, USA

With an ever expanding population, potential climate variability and an increasing demand for agriculture-based alternative fuels, accurate agricultural land-cover classification for specific crops and their spatial distributions are becoming critical to researchers, policymakers, land managers and farmers. It is important to ensure the sustainability of these and other land uses and to quantify the net impacts that certain management practices have on the environment. Although other quality crop classification products are often available, temporal and spatial coverage gaps can create complications for certain regional or time-specific applications. Our goal was to develop a model capable of classifying major crops in the Greater Platte River Basin GPRB for the post-2000 era to supplement existing crop classification products. This study identifies annual spatial distributions and area totals of corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops across the GPRB from 2000 to 2009. We developed a regression tree classification model based on 2.5 million training data points derived from the National Agricultural Statistics Service NASS Cropland Data Layer CDL in relation to a variety of other relevant input environmental variables. The primary input variables included the weekly 250 m US Geological Survey Earth Observing System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer normalized differential vegetation index, average long-term growing season temperature, average long-term growing season precipitation and yearly start of growing season. An overall model accuracy rating of 78% was achieved for a test sample of roughly 215 000 independent points that were withheld from model training. Ten 250 m resolution annual crop classification maps were produced and evaluated for the GPRB region, one for each year from 2000 to 2009. In addition to the model accuracy assessment, our validation focused on spatial distribution and county-level crop area totals in comparison with the NASS CDL and county statistics from the US Department of Agriculture USDA Census of Agriculture. The results showed that our model produced crop classification maps that closely resembled the spatial distribution trends observed in the NASS CDL and exhibited a close linear agreement with county-by-county crop area totals from USDA census data R 2 = 0.90.
Monomeric IgE enhances human mast cell chemokine production: IL-4 augments and dexamethasone suppresses the response

Background Mouse monoclonal IgE antibodies can promote the survival of mouse bone marrow–derived cultured mast cells and induce the cells to secrete mediators in the absence of known specific antigen. Objective To determine whether human IgE, in the absence of known specific antigen, had effects on the mediator secretion or survival of human mast cells. Methods We tested whether human IgE induced human cord blood–derived mast cells to secrete mediators or enhanced their survival on withdrawal of stem cell factor. Results Exposure to IgE, but not IgG, at concentrations as low as 2.5 μg/mL significantly enhanced the release of IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, but not histamine or cysteinyl leukotrienes. However, under the conditions tested, chemokine production in response to IgE alone was significantly less than that induced when aliquots of the same IgE-sensitized populations of human mast cells were stimulated with anti-IgE. The production of IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 in response to either IgE alone or IgE and anti-IgE was enhanced by preincubation of the cells in IL-4 and was inhibited by preincubation of the cells with dexamethasone. By contrast, we did not detect any ability of IgE to enhance mast cell survival on withdrawal of stem cell factor. Conclusion Exposure to human IgE in vitro in the absence of known specific antigen can enhance chemokine production by human mast cells, and this secretory response can be enhanced by preincubation of the mast cells with IL-4 and can be suppressed by dexamethasone.
Timing of Androgen Deprivation Therapy and its Impact on Survival After Radical Prostatectomy: A Matched Cohort Study

Purpose: We assessed the impact of the timing of androgen deprivation on disease progression after radical prostatectomy for patients with localized prostate cancer.Materials and Methods: We evaluated all patients who underwent radical prostatectomy between 1990 and 1999. Patients with pathological lymph node negative disease who received androgen deprivation therapy were then separated into 5 groups for analysis based on the time of hormone therapy initiation: 1—adjuvant androgen deprivation, 2—androgen deprivation therapy started at a postoperative prostate specific antigen of 0.4 ng/ml or greater, 3—at prostate specific antigen 1.0 or greater, 4—at prostate specific antigen 2.0 or greater and 5—at systemic progression. The first 4 groups were matched by clinical and pathological features to control groups who did not receive androgen deprivation after surgery using a nested, matched cohort design. Median followup for the entire cohort was 10 years. Clinical end points included systemic progression-free...
What gene have I ID'ed?

Retroviral insertional mutagenesis screens have identified of dozens of potential leukemia/lymphoma genes in mice and rats. Sauvageau and colleagues suggest that proviral insertions may affect the expression of multiple nearby genes in leukemia cells, and that the genes affected may be cell-type dependent.
Clarifying the Context of SE for the SEBoK

The Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) (Pyster and Olwell 2012) (see http://www.sebokwiki.org) portion of the Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASE) project (see http://www.bkcase.org) involved three years of extensive and intensive discussions among its 70 authors and over-200 external reviewers worldwide. These helped the SEBoK effort better understand the implications of various candidate definitions of systems engineering (SE)-related terms and to shape the resulting SEBoK content. This paper focuses on the resulting clarification of four key aspects of SE: (1) What is the historical context of SE? (2) What is the system boundary of SE? (3) Who are SE's users? and (4) What are the relations among SE and other disciplines?
Formal quality improvement curriculum and DMAIC method results in interdisciplinary collaboration and process improvement in renal transplant patients

Abstract Background Broad-based formal quality improvement curriculum emphasizing Six Sigma and the DMAIC approach developed by our institution is required for physicians in training. DMAIC methods evaluated the common outcome of postoperative hyponatremia, thus resulting in collaboration to prevent hyponatremia in the renal transplant population. Methods To define postoperative hyponatremia in renal transplant recipients, a project charter outlined project aims. To measure postoperative hyponatremia, serum sodium at admission and immediately postoperative were recorded by retrospective review of renal transplant recipient charts from June 29, 2010 to December 31, 2011. An Ishikawa diagram was generated to analyze potential causative factors. Interdisciplinary collaboration and hospital policy assessment determined necessary improvements to prevent hyponatremia. Continuous monitoring in control phase was performed by establishing the goal of Results Of 54 transplant recipients, postoperative hyponatremia occurred in 92.6% of patients. These potential causes were evaluated: 1) Hemodialysis was more common than peritoneal dialysis. 2) Alemtuzumab induction was more common than antithymocyte globulin. 3) A primary diagnosis of diabetes existed in 16 patients (30%). 4) Strikingly, 51 patients received 0.45% sodium chloride intraoperatively, suggesting this as the most likely cause of postoperative hyponatremia. A hospital policy change to administer 0.9% sodium chloride during renal transplantation resulted in normal serum sodium levels postoperatively in 59 of 64 patients (92.2%). Conclusion The DMAIC approach and formal quality curriculum for trainees addresses core competencies by providing a framework for problem solving, interdisciplinary collaboration, and process improvement.
Transgenic approaches to retinal development and function in Xenopus laevis

The African clawed frog Xenopus laevis has long been used to study the development and function of the vertebrate retina. An efficient technique for generating transgenic Xenopus embryos, the REMI procedure, has enabled the stable overexpression of transgenes in developing and mature X. laevis. In the retina, transgenes driven by retinal-specific promoters have been used to study protein trafficking, circadian rhythms, and retinal degeneration. The REMI technique is surprisingly simple, consisting of integration of plasmid DNA into permeabilized sperm nuclei, followed by transplantation of these nuclei into unfertilized eggs. Here, we describe the reagents and steps necessary for generation of transgenic embryos using the REMI reaction and discuss its applications for the study of retinal development.
Regular Gaits and Optimal Velocities for Motor Proteins

It has been observed in numerical experiments that adding a cargo to a motor protein can regularize its gait. Here we explain these results via asymptotic analysis on a general stochastic motor protein model. This analysis permits a computation of various observables (e.g., the mean velocity) of the motor protein and shows that the presence of the cargo also makes the velocity of the motor nonmonotone in certain control parameters (e.g., ATP concentration). As an example, we consider the case of a single myosin-V protein transporting a cargo and show that, at realistic concentrations of ATP, myosin-V operates in the regime which maximizes motor velocity. Our analysis also suggests an experimental regimen which can test the efficacy of any specific motor protein model to a greater degree than was heretofore possible.
When Love Meets Drugs: Pharmaceuticalizing Ambivalence in Post-Socialist China

In this article, I examine the interaction between intimacy and psychiatry to explore the ambivalences in the use of pharmaceuticals in psychiatric practice. Of particular interest is how pharmaceuticals come to constitute in multiple ways what pathology is and what form of life needs to be restored, and how psychiatric medications reconfigure the ambivalence of intimacy in post-socialist China. Following the life of Mei, a female psychiatric patient, for two years, I have made a series of discoveries related to medicine and intimacy in China. Specifically, I show that psychopharmaceuticals indicate a diseased body that threatens the intimate bond. They also highlight a socially suffering subject that is in lack of love from the intimate partner who demands the latter’s redemption. I discuss how these multiple and contradicting meanings of psychopharmaceuticals and intimacy are socio-historically situated. Thus, while previous research in medical anthropology criticizes pharmaceuticalization for reducing the socio-political life (bios) to a biological body (zoē), I argue that these life forms co-exist in a pharmaceutical “zone of indistinction” (Agamben, Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1998), in which they constitute and contradict each other. This discussion warns researchers against falling back into the usual orientation of either biomedicine or the social sciences.
Probe Module for Wafer-Level Testing of Gigascale Chips With Electrical and Optical I/O Interconnects

The bandwidth provided by optical interconnects makes them an attractive solution for chip-to-package and chip-to-chip communications. In such systems, chips will have optical I/O interconnects fabricated alongside their conventional electrical counterparts. Virtually no work has been previously reported relating to the testing of such chips at the wafer-level. The requirements for probe hardware needed to achieve this are identified, and probe module configurations based on these requirements are presented. A high-density micro-opto-electro-mechanical-systems (MOEMS)-based probe substrate prototype for interfacing with chips having electrical and optical polymer pillar-based I/Os has been designed, and built using microfabrication techniques. Successful probing of an array of polymer pillar-based optical I/Os is reported.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Predicting the Epidemic Sizes of Influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B: A Statistical Method

Background The epidemic sizes of influenza A/H3N2, A/H1N1, and B infections vary from year to year in the United States. We use publicly available US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) influenza surveillance data between 1997 and 2009 to study the temporal dynamics of influenza over this period. Methods and Findings Regional outpatient surveillance data on influenza-like illness (ILI) and virologic surveillance data were combined to define a weekly proxy for the incidence of each strain in the United States. All strains exhibited a negative association between their cumulative incidence proxy (CIP) for the whole season (from calendar week 40 of each year to calendar week 20 of the next year) and the CIP of the other two strains (the complementary CIP) from the start of the season up to calendar week 2 (or 3, 4, or 5) of the next year. We introduce a method to predict a particular strain's CIP for the whole season by following the incidence of each strain from the start of the season until either the CIP of the chosen strain or its complementary CIP exceed certain thresholds. The method yielded accurate predictions, which generally occurred within a few weeks of the peak of incidence of the chosen strain, sometimes after that peak. For the largest seasons in the data, which were dominated by A/H3N2, prediction of A/H3N2 incidence always occurred at least several weeks in advance of the peak. Conclusion Early circulation of one influenza strain is associated with a reduced total incidence of the other strains, consistent with the presence of interference between subtypes. Routine ILI and virologic surveillance data can be combined using this new method to predict the relative size of each influenza strain's epidemic by following the change in incidence of a given strain in the context of the incidence of cocirculating strains. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary
CYP3A4-Mediated Oxygenation versus Dehydrogenation of Raloxifene

Raloxifene was approved in 2007 by the FDA for the chemoprevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women at high risk for invasive breast cancer. Approval was based in part on the improved safety profile for raloxifene relative to the standard treatment of tamoxifen. However, recent studies have demonstrated the ability of raloxifene to form reactive intermediates and act as a mechanism-based inhibitor of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) by forming adducts with the apoprotein. However, previous studies could not differentiate between dehydrogenation to a diquinone methide and the more common oxygenation pathway to an arene oxide as the most likely intermediate to inactivate CYP3A4. In the current work, 18O-incorporation studies were utilized to carefully elucidate CYP3A4-mediated oxygenation versus dehydrogenation of raloxifene. These studies established that 3′-hydroxyraloxifene is produced exclusively via CYP3A4-mediated oxygenation and provide convincing evidence for the mechanism of CYP3A4-mediated deh...
Echo components for aspect-independent detection and classification

Data from a numerical target scattering model are described in the time and frequency domains. These echoes are separated into physics-based components called wavepackets, which are aspect-dependent. These individual components are made stochastic by the assumption of random aspect. Each physical component is then decomposed with a statistically independent basis via the Karhunen-Loeve Expansion (KLE). It is shown that the echo is well described by a collection of a few terms of the KLE. The statistically independent expansion amplitudes are then used to generate detection statistics.
A Hybrid Particle Scheme for Simulating Multiscale Gas Flows with Internal Energy Nonequilibrium

A hybrid particle scheme, which is based on the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method and incorporates a low diffusion particle method for continuum flow simulation, is extended for improved efficiency and wider applicability. The hybrid scheme is intended for simulation of gas flows involving a wide range of Knudsen number regimes, where strong coupling is desired between calculations in rarefied and continuum flowfield regions. A series of modifications are presented for cell-based numerical weight and time step adaptation, diffusive transport of nonequilibrium internal energy modes, and decreased sensitivity to DSMC cell size. Proposed modifications are employed in a hybrid simulation of a Mach 20 flow around a cylinder with a global Knudsen number of 0.002, for which a factor of 2.6 efficiency increase relative to full DSMC computation is demonstrated. I. Introduction n a variety of gas flow problems, portions of the flowfield exhibit large translational nonequilibrium effects and require relatively expensive simulation techniques based on the Boltzmann equation, while other regions are within low Knudsen number (Kn) continuum flow regimes and can be prohibitively expensive to simulate using such Boltzmann equation techniques. These “multiscale” flow problems include flows around atmospheric entry vehicles and hypersonic aircraft, where local Kn values based on gradient length scales may be very small through much of the flowfield but become large within shock, forebody boundary layer and wake regions. Other examples include rocket exhaust plumes and fuel venting flows at high altitude, where the mean free path may differ by several orders of magnitude between nearfield and farfield regions. A. Simulation Methods for Multiscale Gas Flows Accurate simulations may be performed for some of these flows using a two step, one-way coupled approach. 1-3 In this type of approach, continuum and rarefied regions are considered independently and different simulation techniques are applied in each region. In general, however, effects of two-way coupling between rarefied and continuum regions must be considered, and a single simulation employing a coupled hybrid algorithm is required. In one popular type of hybrid algorithm, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique based on the Navier-Stokes equations is used in low-Kn continuum regions, the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is employed in rarefied regions, and additional procedures are used for evaluation of continuum breakdown and two-way information transfer between CFD and DSMC calculations.
Histone Deacetylase 4 Controls Chondrocyte Hypertrophy during Skeletogenesis

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) modulate cell growth and differentiation by governing chromatin structure and repressing the activity of specific transcription factors. We showed previously that HDAC9 acts as a negative regulator of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and skeletal muscle differentiation. Here we report that HDAC4, which is expressed in prehypertrophic chondrocytes, regulates chondrocyte hypertrophy and endochondral bone formation by interacting with and inhibiting the activity of Runx2, a transcription factor necessary for chondrocyte hypertrophy. HDAC4-null mice display premature ossification of developing bones due to ectopic and early onset chondrocyte hypertrophy, mimicking the phenotype that results from constitutive Runx2 expression in chondrocytes. Conversely, overexpression of HDAC4 in proliferating chondrocytes in vivo inhibits chondrocyte hypertrophy and differentiation, mimicking a Runx2 loss-of-function phenotype. These results establish HDAC4 as a central regulator of chondrocyte hypertrophy and skeletogenesis and suggest general roles for class II HDACs in the control of cellular hypertrophy.
THE DIAGNOSIS OF MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY IN PATIENTS REFERRED FOR LANGUAGE DELAY

Abstract The diagnosis of muscular dystrophy is usually made on the basis of gait difficulties or a history of late achievement of normal motor milestones. Other well-described delays, notably in the area of expressive language skills, can provide additional clues to this diagnosis. We present three patients referred to The Developmental Evaluation Clinic because of problems with expressive language observed in school, who ultimately were found to have muscular dystrophy. They are presented to underscore the association of expressive language delay in patients with muscular dystrophy, and to stress the importance of a thorough motor evaluation in children with speech problems.
CD19 signaling pathways play a major role for murine AIDS induction and progression.

Infection of genetically susceptible mice with the LP-BM5 mixture of murine leukemia viruses including an etiologic defective virus (BM5def) causes an immunodeficiency syndrome called murine AIDS (MAIDS). The disease is characterized by interactions between B cells and CD4+ T cells resulting in polyclonal activation of both cell types. It is known that BM5def is expressed at highest levels in B cells and that B cells serve as viral APC. The CD19-CD21 complex and CD22 on the surface of B cells play critical roles as regulators of B cell responses to a variety of stimuli, influencing cell activation, differentiation, and survival. CD19 integrates positive signals induced by B cell receptor ligation by interacting with the protooncogene Vav, which leads to subsequent tyrosine phosphorylation of this molecule. In contrast, CD22 negatively regulates Vav phosphorylation. To analyze the role of CD19, CD21, Vav, and CD22 in MAIDS, we infected mice deficient in CD19, CD21 (CR2), Vav-1, or CD22 with LP-BM5 murine leukemia viruses. Infected CR2−/− mice developed MAIDS with a time course and severity indistinguishable from that of wild-type mice. In contrast, CD19 as well as Vav-1 deficiency restricted viral replication and suppressed the development of typical signs of MAIDS including splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, and hypergammaglobulinemia. Finally, CD22 deficiency was found to accelerate MAIDS development. These results provide novel insights into the B cell signaling pathways required for normal induction and progression of MAIDS.
Composition and sources of fine particulate matter across urban and rural sites in the Midwestern United States

The composition and sources of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were investigated in rural and urban locations in Iowa, located in the agricultural and industrial Midwestern United States, from April 2009 to December 2012. Major chemical contributors to PM2.5 mass were sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and organic carbon. Non-parametric statistical analyses demonstrated that the two rural sites had significantly enhanced levels of crustal materials (Si, Al) driven by agricultural activities and unpaved roads. Meanwhile, the three urban areas had enhanced levels of secondary aerosols (nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium) and combustion products (elemental carbon). The Davenport site had significantly higher levels of PM2.5 and trace metals (Fe, Pb, Zn), demonstrating the important local impact of industrial point sources on air quality. Sources of PM2.5 were evaluated by using the multi-variant positive matrix factorization (PMF) source apportionment model. For each individual site, seven to nine factors were identified: secondary sulfate (accounting for 29–30% of PM2.5), secondary nitrate (17–24%), biomass burning (9–21%), gasoline combustion (6–16%), diesel combustion (3–9%), dust (6–11%), industry (0.4–5%) and winter salt (2–6%). Source contributions demonstrated a clear urban enhancement in PM2.5 from gasoline engines (by a factor of 1.14) and diesel engines (by a factor of 2.3), which is significant due to the well-documented negative health impacts of vehicular emissions. This study presents the first source apportionment results from the state of Iowa and is broadly applicable to understanding the differences in anthropogenic and natural sources in the urban–rural continuum of particle air pollution.
Aquatic and terrestrial drivers of dragonfly (Odonata) assemblages within and among north-temperate lakes

AbstractThe physical structure of vegetation influences diversity, interactions, movement, and thermoregulation of animals. Vegetation structure might be a good indicator of habitat requirements of generalist predators, such as dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata), and thereby affect species diversity. Odonates use aquatic and terrestrial habitats during larval and adult life stages, respectively, but the relative importance of vegetation in these habitats is poorly understood. We compared how aquatic and riparian habitat variables affected odonate larvae from 41 sites (each 30 m in shoreline length) on 17 lakes in northern Wisconsin. We used principal components analyses to reduce multiple habitat variables to 2 lake-level axes (lake size and development, lake wetlands and predators), 2 site-level littoral axes (littoral macrophytes, littoral muckiness), and 2 site-level riparian axes (riparian structural complexity, riparian tall wetland plants). Most (61.6%) of the variance in larval species ric...
Phylogeny predicts larval biology in a wood-mining chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae)

The previously unknown larva of Elpiscladius capicola Harrison & Cranston (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae), predicted by postulated phylogeny to be associated with aquatic immersed leaves or wood, has been found. The larva is xylophagous, and occurs in a limited area of the Western Cape, in the Eerste River and Leopard’s Kloof stream in the Hottentots Holland mountains. Association with E. capicola is assured by a distinctive (pharate) pupa visible within one mature larva, and the co-occurrence of larvae and diagnostic pupal exuviae in soft immersed wood. The characteristic mentum of Elpiscladius resembles that of Xylotopus Oliver, a Nearctic wood-mining genus, but other features including the dorsal head sclerites and the simple SI seta differ. Although phylogeny predicted the larval biology, addition of 17 larval features for Elpiscladius to that data matrix destroyed the relationship with Austrobrillia Freeman, reducing the Brillia group essentially to a polytomy. Larvae of Elpiscladius co-occur with the immature stages of an undescribed species of Stenochironomus (s.s.) Kieffer. Both these rare xylophagous taxa indicate clean flowing waters with intact native riparian vegetation, and thus can be regarded as biodiversity and environmental conservation indicators.
Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections Caused by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

A 37-year-old man presents for the evaluation of localized swelling and tenderness of the left leg just below the knee. He suspects this lesion developed after a spider bite, although he did not see a spider. Examination of the leg reveals an area of erythema and warmth measuring approximately 5 by 7 cm. At the center of the lesion is a fluctuant area measuring approximately 2 by 2 cm, overlaid by a small area of necrotic skin. The man’s temperature is 38.3°C. The pulse rate is 115 beats per minute. The blood pressure is 116/78 mm Hg. How should this patient be evaluated and treated?
Li-doped Cr2MnO4: A new p-type transparent conducting oxide by computational materials design

To accelerate the design and discovery of novel functional materials, here, p-type transparent conducting oxides, an inverse design approach is formulated, integrating three steps: i) articulating the target properties and selecting an initial pool of candidates based on "design principles", ii) screening this initial pool by calculating the "selection metrics" for each member, and iii) laboratory realization and more-detailed theoretical validation of the remaining "best-of-class" materials. Following a design principle that suggests using d55 cations for good p-type conductivity in oxides, the Inverse Design approach is applied to the class of ternary Mn(II) oxides, which are usually considered to be insulating materials. As a result, Cr2MnO4 is identified as an oxide closely following "selection metrics" of thermodynamic stability, wide-gap, p-type dopability, and band-conduction mechanism for holes (no hole self-trapping). Lacking an intrinsic hole-producing acceptor defect, Li is further identified as a suitable dopant. Bulk synthesis of Li-doped Cr 2MnO4 exhibits at least five orders of magnitude enhancement of the hole conductivity compared to undoped samples. This novel approach of stating functionality first, then theoretically searching for candidates that merits synthesis and characterization, promises to replace the more traditional non-systematic approach for the discovery of advanced functional materials. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Modeling of transport phenomena in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

A new one-dimensional model of MEA is developed, where the transport phenomena in the catalyst layer are modeled as boundary conditions for the adjacent layers, GDL and membrane. This approach can avoid the computational burden and maintain accurately the mass balance in the catalyst layer, the most complicated part of MEA. This model includes heat transfer and the phase change of water. This model is validated with experiment.
The foundations of information science in social epistemology

The study characterizes social epistemology, appropriates some contemporary thinkers for its agenda, and examines some prevailing theories about the foundations of information science. It is argued that the only adequate foundation for information science must be transdisciplinary, lying in the field of social epistemology. >
Improved randomized broadcast protocols in multi-hop radio networks

This paper presents a suite of randomized broadcast protocols for the problem of broadcasting a message in multihop radio networks. The protocols are compared with the randomized broadcast protocol by R. Bar-Yehuda et al. (1989, 1991, 1992). The time complexity of one of the randomized broadcast protocols presented in this paper is shown, by simulation, to be much better than those of other protocols in most of the typical cases. >
What Do I Think You're Doing? Action Identification and Mind Attribution

The authors examined how a perceiver’s identification of a target person’s actions covaries with attributions of mind to the target. The authors found in Study 1 that the attribution of intentionality and cognition to a target was associated with identifying the target’s action in terms of high-level effects rather than low-level details. In Study 2, both action identification and mind attribution were greater for a liked target, and in Study 3, they were reduced for a target suffering misfortune. In Study 4, it was again found that action identification and mind attribution were greater for a liked target, but like that for the self or a liked other, positive actions were identified at higher levels than negative actions, with the reverse being true for disliked others. In Study 5, the authors found that instructing participants to adopt the target’s perspective did not affect mind attribution but did lead to higher level identifications of the target’s actions.
Graphene‐Supported Hemin as a Highly Active Biomimetic Oxidation Catalyst

Using synthetic systems to mimic natural enzymes with high catalytic activity and distinct substrate selectivity has been a challenge for the last several decades. Hemin, the catalytic center for many protein families including cytochromes, peroxidases, myoglobins and hemoglobins, can catalyze a variety of oxidation reactions like peroxidase enzymes.[1] However, direct application of hemin as an oxidation catalyst is of significant challenge because of its molecular aggregation in aqueous solution to form catalytic inactive dimers and oxidative self-destruction in the oxidizing media, which causes passivation of its catalytic activity.[2] A potential solution to this problem is to synthetically modify the porphyrin structure to achieve a variety of iron porphyrin derivatives for improved catalytic activity or stability.[3] An alternative approach is to use high surface area materials such as zeolites, nanoparticles, silica or natural clay to support hemin to achieve improved stability or activity in epoxidation or other reactions in organic solutions.[4] For reactions in aqueous solutions, hydrogel-embedded hemin[5] or more elaborate hemin complex obtained by conjugating with specific antibodies[6] have shown activity significantly better than free molecules, which is, however, still orders of magnitude inferior to natural enzymes, not to mention the difficulties in the synthesis of such kinds of complex hemin conjugates. Therefore, the discovery and development of novel materials as supports to achieve biomimetic catalysts with enzyme-like activity is highly desired.
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship of Various Endogenous Estrogen Metabolites for Human Estrogen Receptor α and β Subtypes: Insights into the Structural Determinants Favoring a Differential Subtype Binding

To search for endogenous estrogens that may have preferential binding affinity for human estrogen receptor (ER) α or β subtype and also to gain insights into the structural determinants favoring differential subtype binding, we studied the binding affinities of 74 natural or synthetic estrogens, including more than 50 steroidal analogs of estradiol-17β (E2) and estrone (E1) for human ERα and ERβ. Many of the endogenous estrogen metabolites retained varying degrees of similar binding affinity for ERα and ERβ, but some of them retained differential binding affinity for the two subtypes. For instance, several of the D-ring metabolites, such as 16α-hydroxyestradiol (estriol), 16β-hydroxyestradiol-17α, and 16-ketoestrone, had distinct preferential binding affinity for human ERβ over ERα (difference up to 18-fold). Notably, although E2 has nearly the highest and equal binding affinity for ERα and ERβ, E1 and 2-hydroxyestrone (two quantitatively predominant endogenous estrogens in nonpregnant woman) have prefere...
Scalable Co-Simulation of Functional Models With Accurate Event Exchange

Recent trends in the automotive industry have forced OEMs and suppliers to adopt simulation-driven development processes. To meet the demands of the rapidly changing industry, simulation technologies must innovate to provide faster and accurate simulations of increasingly complex models. In this paper we present a set of technologies that were developed to provide a no-compromise, high fidelity, scalable simulation of heterogeneous functional models. Using our new technology we were able to produce more accurate results in orders of magnitude less time than other frequently used techniques in the industry. The proposed approach to co-simulation allows us to perform functional simulation of full-vehicle without sacrificing the solution accuracy or simulation speed.
Spatial cloaking for anonymous location-based services in mobile peer-to-peer environments

This paper tackles a privacy breach in current location-based services (LBS) where mobile users have to report their exact location information to an LBS provider in order to obtain their desired services. For example, a user who wants to issue a query asking about her nearest gas station has to report her exact location to an LBS provider. However, many recent research efforts have indicated that revealing private location information to potentially untrusted LBS providers may lead to major privacy breaches. To preserve user location privacy, spatial cloaking is the most commonly used privacy-enhancing technique in LBS. The basic idea of the spatial cloaking technique is to blur a user's exact location into a cloaked area that satisfies the user specified privacy requirements. Unfortunately, existing spatial cloaking algorithms designed for LBS rely on fixed communication infrastructure, e.g., base stations, and centralized/distributed servers. Thus, these algorithms cannot be applied to a mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) environment where mobile users can only communicate with other peers through P2P multi-hop routing without any support of fixed communication infrastructure or servers. In this paper, we propose a spatial cloaking algorithm for mobile P2P environments. As mobile P2P environments have many unique limitations, e.g., user mobility, limited transmission range, multi-hop communication, scarce communication resources, and network partitions, we propose three key features to enhance our algorithm: (1) An information sharing scheme enables mobile users to share their gathered peer location information to reduce communication overhead; (2) A historical location scheme allows mobile users to utilize stale peer location information to overcome the network partition problem; and (3) A cloaked area adjustment scheme guarantees that our spatial cloaking algorithm is free from a "center-of-cloaked-area" privacy attack. Experimental results show that our P2P spatial cloaking algorithm is scalable while guaranteeing the user's location privacy protection.
On the L F 1 - convergence for conditional amarts

Abstract In this note we development the relation between another type of conditional convergence of a sequence of random variable (r.v.). Moreover, we generalise the theorem of convergence in L1 for amarts.
Sir Frederick Treves and sympathetic ophthalmia.

Sir Frederick Treves (1853-1923) is best known as the doctor and protector of the Elephant Man, Joseph Merrick (1862-1890) (Figure 1). Broadway plays, a movie, and several books have described Treves' relationship with this horribly deformed man who is now considered to have had Proteus syndrome rather than the earlier hypothetical diagnosis of neurofibromatosis. Proteus syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by patchy, irregular overgrowth of multiple tissues. Partial gigantism of the hands and feet, hemihypertrophy, pigmented nevi, soft tissue tumors, and macrocephaly are some of its features. 1-3 Typical ocular findings are strabismus, amblyopia, epibulbar lesions, high myopia, and heterochromia iridis. 4-6 Treves reported that the Elephant Man's eyes, orbits, and cranial nerves were normal. 7
Beyond Attention Effects: Modeling the Persuasive and Emotional Effects of Advertising Creativity

While creativity in advertising is a growing area of marketing research, relatively little is known about how the effects of creativity are produced. Accordingly, this research explores the basic persuasive i.e., desire to postpone closure and emotional i.e., positive affect mechanisms through which creative ads exert their influence on consumer viewing and purchase intentions. In addition, the model hypothesizes that the level of involvement with the ad moderates the desire to postpone closure effects but not the emotional impact. An overall model of the impact of ad creativity is developed and tested using structural equations analysis. Results from three experiments show the model receives good support.
Role of Tetrabenazine for Huntington's Disease–Associated Chorea

Objective:To review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of saxagliptin, a new dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.Data Sources:Primary literature and review articles were obtained through a PubMed search (1959–November 2009) using the terms tetrabenazine, HD, chorea, and hyperkinetic movement disorders. A bibliographic search was performed on selected articles.Study Selection and Data Extraction:Alt English-language articles identified from the data sources were reviewed. Studies including greater than 10 patients and a direct comparative study with primarily HD-associated chorea were included in the review.Data Synthesis:Tetrabenazine is the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of HD-associated chorea. Tetrabenazine binds reversibly to the type 2 vesicular monoamine transporters and has been shown to inhibit monoamine uptake in presynaptic vesicles, resulting in monoamine depletion. The duration of ...
Undergraduates in a Sustainability Semester: Models of social change for sustainability

ABSTRACTInterdisciplinary sustainability programs are emerging globally, but little is known about the learning in these educational contexts. This qualitative case study examined undergraduates' experience in a Sustainability Semester, using the agency/structure dialectic as a theoretical lens. Before the semester, students' models of change for sustainability focused on individual actions. After two years, students' models identified systemic and structural barriers that constrained and enabled their agency as individuals. The discussion examines the “ripple effect” model of change that emerged in early interviews and considers how educators might use the agency/structure dialectic to help undergraduates move beyond individualistic models of social change.
Steroid Synthesis by Ovarian Follicles in Response to LH and PGF2α

SummaryOvarian follicles isolated from bovine ovaries at the 16th and 17th days of the estrous cycle were minced, pooled, and incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer at 37° for 2 hr. Samples were analyzed for testosterone, estrogens, and progesterone by radioimmunoassays. Incubation alone failed to cause an increase in testosterone (12.1 vs 29.3 ng/g of tissue; P > 0.05). Additions of 5 μg/ml of bovine LH or prostaglandin F2α caused increases in testosterone synthesis to 125.0 (P 0.05). PGF2α also caused a slight but nonsignificant increase in estrone secretion. Incubation failed to increase the progesterone concentration (623 vs 774 ng/g of tissue; P > 0.05). There was no increase in progesterone synthesis due to addition of either LH or PGF2α (P > 0.05). The results show that bovine follicles produce much more testosterone...
Optical Coherence Tomography of the Larynx: Normative Anatomy and Benign Processes

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a minimally invasive, light-based imaging modality which produces high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) images of biological tissues. A major focus of biophotonics research over the last 10 years is OCT-based evaluation of subepithelial laryngeal microanatomy, vocal fold vibration, and differentiation between benign and malignant disease processes of the larynx. With utility in both operative and office-based settings, OCT has potential as an adjunct diagnostic imaging modality to assist clinicians in the evaluation of normative and benign laryngeal processes and vibration parameters of the vocal cords. This chapter describes OCT-based delineation of vocal fold microanatomy, evolution of OCT technology, and OCT research to study normative anatomy, benign pathology, and functionality of the larynx.
David Oliver: Consultant contracts and seven day services.

It’s a year since England’s health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, gave a speech linking his government’s promise of “truly seven day” NHS services with changes to contracts for the junior doctors and consultants supposed to enable this.1 He has suggested that a need for more “senior decision makers” (consultants) at evenings and weekends justified changes to trainees’ contracts. Meanwhile, however, the consultant contract has been on the back burner.2 As the NHS’s medical director, Bruce Keogh, has stated, Hunt further conflated issues by suggesting that contract changes were essential for delivering seven day services.3 More confusion …
Digit Tip Regeneration and Beyond: Schwann Cell Progenitors to the Rescue.

Digit tip regeneration following amputation is an innate response in some mammals, including mice. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Johnston et al. (2016) show that Schwann cell precursors are necessary for this process and can rescue regeneration in denervated digit tips through secretion of pro-regenerative factors including OSM and PDGF-AA.
From Numerical Considerations to Theoretical Solutions: Rational Design of a Debtor Creditor Agreement

This paper illustrates how the rational design of an international agreement can be investigated using software and numerical solutions as preliminary steps to a formal modelling of the agreement. The paper examines the repetition of a Called Bluff game interpreted as representing the stylized incentives of a debtor-creditor relationship.
Capacity and cutoff rate for dense M-ary PSK constellations

Formulas and numerical results are obtained for the channel capacity and cutoff rate of a two-dimension Gaussian channel with signals uniformly distributed on a circle. This signal distribution is the limiting case of M-ary phase-shift keying (PSK) for large alphabet size. The capacity expression involves an integral that is evaluated numerically, but the cutoff rate is expressed in closed form. Simple high signal-to-noise ratio approximations for both formulas are presented. The results are compared with M-ary PSK for various alphabet sizes, as well as with other two-dimensional continuous signal distribution. >
Toward a holistic understanding of continued use of social networking tourism: A mixed-methods approach

Abstract The trend of social networking tourism connects millions of tourists to others while traveling that may provide benefits such as information, tour guides, or alternative accommodations. Success of such networks depend on the continued use by its members. The current paper uses a mixed-methods approach to qualitatively identify motivations for participation and empirically test a causal model evaluating continued use intention. Motivations identified include networking and economic value that were used in the quantitative study that includes social capital, trust, attitude, and satisfaction as factors influencing continued use intention.
Poverty, Obesity, Diabetes: Are They the By-Products of Liberalization of Global Economy?

The paper briefly describes the causes of a global rise in obesity and diabetes. In so doing, it establishes links between (1) poverty and obesity, and (2) obesity and diabetes. The paper also presents data from a survey (N=147) conducted in a depressed economy in Texas where cases of obesity and diabetes are among the highest in the US. The paper argues for a paradigm shift in viewing the role of policymakers in regards to food and pharmaceutical industries, both locally and globally.
Holographic fabrication of hole arrays in AZO for study of surface plasmon resonances

Transparent conducting oxides are part of a robust material class that is capable of supporting near-IR surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) which are strongly dependent on size, structure, and doping of the material. This study presents the implementation of holographic lithography to structure large area square lattice cylindrical hole arrays on the transparent conducting oxide thin film, aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO). For fabricated structures on a glass substrate, SPR are indirectly measured by FTIR transmission and verified with electromagnetic simulations using a finite difference time domain method. Furthermore, it is shown that the SPR excited are standing wave resonances in the (1,1) direction of the lattice array located at the interface of the patterned AZO and glass substrate. This research extends the robust CMOS compatible fabrication techniques of holographic lithography into tunable conductive materials,and contributes to the core technology of future integrated photonics.