cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis and Visualization of Tree Space

We explored the use of multidimensional scaling (MDS) of tree-to-tree pairwise distances to visualize the relationships among sets of phylogenetic trees. We found the technique to be useful for exploring "tree islands" (sets of topologically related trees among larger sets of near-optimal trees), for comparing sets of trees obtained from bootstrapping and Bayesian sampling, for comparing trees obtained from the analysis of several different genes, and for comparing multiple Bayesian analyses. The technique was also useful as a teaching aid for illustrating the progress of a Bayesian analysis and as an exploratory tool for examining large sets of phylogenetic trees. We also identified some limitations to the method, including distortions of the multidimensional tree space into two dimensions through the MDS technique, and the definition of the MDS-defined space based on a limited sample of trees. Nonetheless, the technique is a useful approach for the analysis of large sets of phylogenetic trees.
The Structure and Activities of the U.S. Federal Statistical System: History and Recurrent Challenges

This article examines the statistical system of the United States—featuring fourteen principal statistical agencies and sixty to seventy units in other federal agencies— focusing on the system’s highly decentralized nature and the ways in which the agencies attempt to evaluate the status of issues relevant to the mission of their departments and to provide information helpful in the creation of new policy. The history and challenges of the various agencies are examined, with the article showing that these challenges are inevitably tied to the cabinet departments to which they are attached. The article also examines recurrent issues facing the U.S. federal statistical system, including functional separation of statistical activities from regulatory activities, centralization versus decentralization, hiring structure of directors, data confidentiality versus access, policy relevance versus policy-making involvement, and contracting out statistical activities versus agency-conducted statistical activities.
Cytochrome P450 and Chemical Toxicology

The field of cytochrome P450 (P450) research has developed considerably over the past 20 years, and many important papers on the roles of P450s in chemical toxicology have appeared in Chemical Research in Toxicology. Today, our basic understanding of many of the human P450s is relatively well-established, in terms of the details of the individual genes, sequences, and basic catalytic mechanisms. Crystal structures of several of the major human P450s are now in hand. The animal P450s are still important in the context of metabolism and safety testing. Many well-defined examples exist for roles of P450s in decreasing the adverse effects of drugs through biotransformation, and an equally interesting field of investigation is the bioactivation of chemicals, including drugs. Unresolved problems include the characterization of the minor “orphan” P450s, ligand cooperativity and kinetic complexity of several P450s, the prediction of metabolism, the overall contribution of bioactivation to drug idiosyncratic probl...
The conserved set of host proteins incorporated into HIV-1 virions suggests a common egress pathway in multiple cell types.

HIV-1 incorporates a large array of host proteins into virions. Determining the host protein composition in HIV virions has technical difficulties, including copurification of microvesicles. We developed an alternative purification technique using cholesterol that differentially modulates the density of virions and microvesicles (density modification, DM) allowing for high-yield virion purification that is essential for tandem mass spectrometric and quantitative proteomic (iTRAQ) analysis. DM purified virions were analyzed using iTRAQ and validated against Optiprep (60% iodixanol) purified virions. We were able to characterize host protein incorporation in DM-purified HIV particles derived from CD4+ T-cell lines; we compared this data set to a reprocessed data set of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) derived HIV-1 using the same bioinformatics pipeline. Seventy-nine clustered proteins were shared between the MDM derived and T-cell derived data set. These clusters included an extensive collection of actin...
The silicon tracker for the GLAST large area space telescope

GLAST is a Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope, which contains a large silicon vertex detector. The construction of the Beam Test Engineering model of GLAST is discussed, along with plans for the future construction of the final instrument. Special attention is placed on what was learned from the silicon tracker construction and the current status of the GLAST tracker.
One Standard Fits All? The Pros and Cons of Performance Standard Adjustments

Despite the wide-ranging use of performance measures within the public sector and the growing use of performance bonuses to recognize performance achievements, the use of formal performance standards adjustment procedures in public performance measurement systems is relatively rare. Burt S. Barnow of Johns Hopkins University and Carolyn J. Heinrich of the University of Wisconsin–Madison set forth the basic arguments in favor of and against the use of formal or informal procedures for adjusting performance expectations. They describe how performance standards adjustments processes are currently (or have been) in use, review the evidence of their effectiveness or problems encountered in their application, and explore the consequences of the inadequacy of performance standards adjustments. The authors offer recommendations for the improvement of public sector performance measurement systems and conclude why this area remains fruitful for future research experimentation. The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from. —Andrew S. Tannenbaum
Consumer satisfaction with a mass customized Internet apparel shopping site

The present empirically examined customer satisfaction with Internet sites that vary in the opportunity for mass customization. The expectation–disconfirmation model was used as a theatrical framework of the study. Two children's apparel sites were developed as the stimuli: one with a mid level of interactivity and the other with a high level of interactivity, for selection of clothing design options. The data from 208 respondents were analyzed using LISREL 8.72. The finding indicates that both consumers' expectations and perceived performances for the mass customized sites included positive and negative aspects. The results suggest that expectations were not a significant predictor of satisfaction for this innovative shopping experience yet satisfaction was primarily driven by the performance of the site and predicted by disconfirmation of expectations. The findings also suggest that expectations are not related to performance perceptions, possibly due to consumers' lack of familiarity with mass customization. The more interactive site yielded the more positive performance as well as overall positive satisfaction. Nevertheless, the less interactive site, which offers fewer choices than more interactive site, yielded more positive behavioural consequences. The generalization of the results of this study is limited because of lack of random sampling and use of the mock site of children's apparel product category. However, useful theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Availability Prediction Based Replication Strategies for Grid Environments

Volunteer-based grid computing resources are characteristically volatile and frequently become unavailable due to the autonomy that owners maintain over them. This resource volatility has significant influence on the applications the resources host. Availability predictors can forecast unavailability, and can provide schedulers with information about reliability, which helps them make better scheduling decisions when combined with information about speed and load. This paper studies using this prediction information for deciding when to replicate jobs. In particular, our predictors forecast the probability that a job will complete uninterrupted, and our schedulers replicate those jobs that are least likely to do so. Our strategies outperform other comparable replication strategies, as measured by improved make span and fewer redundant operations. We define a new ``replication efficiency" metric, and demonstrate that our availability predictor can provide information that allows our schedulers to be more efficient than the most closely related replication strategy for a variety of loads in a trace-based grid simulation. We demonstrate that under low load conditions, our techniques come within 6% of the makespan improvement of a previously proposed replication technique while creating 76.8% fewer replicas and under higher loads, can improve makespan marginally while creating 72.5% fewer replicas.
A Versatile System for Multimodality Image Fusion

This paper presents a versatile system for registering and visualizing computed tomography and magnetic resonance images. The system utilizes a semi-automatic, surface-based registration strategy which has proven useful for registering a number of different anatomical structures. A triangular mesh approximates surfaces in one image set while a set of surface points is used as a surface approximation in the other set. A non-linear optimization procedure determines the transformation that minimizes the total sum-squared perpendicular distance between triangles of the mesh and surface points. This system has been used without modification to successfully register images of the brain, spine and calcaneus.
Solar Energetic Particle Production by Coronal Mass Ejection-driven Shocks in Solar Fast-Wind Regions

Gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events at 1 AU are produced by coronal/interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Fast (vCME 900 km s-1) CMEs might produce stronger shocks in solar slow-wind regions, where the flow and fast-mode MHD wave speeds are low, than in fast-wind regions, where those speeds are much higher. At 1 AU the O+7/O+6 ratios distinguish between those two kinds of wind streams. We use the 20 MeV proton event intensities from the EPACT instrument on Wind, the associated CMEs observed with the LASCO coronagraph on SOHO, and the ACE SWICS solar wind values of O+7/O+6 to look for variations of peak SEP intensities as a function of O+7/O+6. No significant dependence of the SEP intensities on O+7/O+6 is found for either poorly connected or well-connected CME source regions or for different CME speed ranges. However, in the 3 yr study period we find only five cases of SEP events in fast wind, defined by regions of O+7/O+6 < 0.15. We suggest that in coronal holes SEP acceleration may take place only in the plume regions, where the flow and Alfv?n speeds are low. A broad range of angular widths are associated with fast (vCME ? 900 km s-1) CMEs, but we find that no fast CMEs with widths less than 60? are associated with SEP events. On the other hand, nearly all fast halo CMEs are associated with SEP events. Thus, the CME widths are more important in SEP production than previously thought, but the speed of the solar wind source regions in which SEPs are produced may not be a factor.
Surface and interfacial FTIR spectroscopic studies of latexes. I, Surfactant-copolymer interactions

Molecular level interactions between surfactants and copolymers as well as transient effects during latex film formation play an important role in latex technology. Photoacoustic (PA) and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were utilized for the characterization of interactions between sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate and ethyl acrylate/methacrylic acid (SDOSS/EA/MAA) copolymer in latex films at both the film–air and film–substrate interfaces. It is shown that the splitting of the asymmetric SO stretching normal vibrations of the SO groups in the presence of Na+ counterions occurs only when weak COOH acid groups of latex are present. The absence of the COOH groups either by neutralization of latex or intentional synthesis eliminates the SO···HO associations that are the primary source of the symmetry changes resulting in the splitting of the SO symmetric mode at 1050 cm−1 to two bands at 1046 and 1056 cm−1.
Canadian Exceptionalism: Explaining Differences over Time in Provincial and Federal Voter Turnout

Canada is unusual among advanced industrial democracies in having some provinces which regularly have greater voter turnouts for provincial than for federal elections. Provincial and federal turnouts by province in Canada are analyzed for the 1945-1998 period using multiple regression analysis, both for each set of elections and by comparing differences between the two. Federal turnout has declined over the years but provincial turnout appears to have increased slightly. Although the effects found here largely confirm previous findings about the relative effects of different types of variables found for the Canadian federal level only, several of the political explanations previously supported in cross-national research find less support. Instead, region, population density, months since the last federal or provincial election, and season of the year generally have greater and sometimes more consistent effects. This suggests the need for more studies of turnout in democracies at sub-central levels.
Predicting and testing physical locations of genetically mapped loci on tomato pachytene chromosome 1.

Predicting the chromosomal location of mapped markers has been difficult because linkage maps do not reveal differences in crossover frequencies along the physical structure of chromosomes. Here we combine a physical crossover map based on the distribution of recombination nodules (RNs) on Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) synaptonemal complex 1 with a molecular genetic linkage map from the interspecific hybrid S. lycopersicum × S. pennellii to predict the physical locations of 17 mapped loci on tomato pachytene chromosome 1. Except for one marker located in heterochromatin, the predicted locations agree well with the observed locations determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization. One advantage of this approach is that once the RN distribution has been determined, the chromosomal location of any mapped locus (current or future) can be predicted with a high level of confidence.
Effects of the addition of roller mill ground corn to pelleted feed on pelleting parameters, broiler performance, and intestinal strength

Abstract Maintaining an optimal pelleting production rate can be difficult when manufacturing feeds for meat birds. Increased production time may be required to fill feed demand and feed outages occur if demand is not met. Identifying management strategies to enhance overall feed production rate without compromising broiler performance is warranted. This study examined the effects of adding varying amounts of corn, ground through a roller mill, to pelleted supplements on feed production parameters, growth performance, and intestinal strength of broiler chickens. Four treatments were used from 18 to 41 d, which included a control (total diet pelleted), and addition of rolled corn to pelleted supplements at 15, 25, and 35% of the corn required in diet formulation. The final diets fed were identical in nutrient composition. Decreasing the amount of ground corn in the pelleted supplement did not affect pellet durability index in the grower diet, but pellet quality declined in the finisher diet. The dietary treatments did not adversely affect final BW gain or feed conversion. Progressive additions of ground corn to pelleted supplement did not affect gizzard weight or peak force intestinal strength. These data indicate that 35% of the formula corn can be added postpellet to reduce electrical cost for grinding and pelleting and improve overall production rate without adversely affecting cumulative growth performance of broilers.
Performance comparison of algorithms for finding transcription factor binding sites

We compare the accuracy of three motif-finding algorithms for the discovery of novel transcription factor binding sites among co-regulated genes. One of the algorithms (YMF) uses a motif model tailored for binding sites and an enumerative search of the motif space, while the other two (MEME and AlignACE) use a more general motif model and local search techniques. The comparison is done on synthetic data with planted motifs, as well as on real data sets of co-regulated genes from the yeast S. cerevisiae. More often than not, the enumerative algorithm is found to be more accurate than the other two on the yeast data sets, though there is a noticeable exclusivity in the accuracy of the different algorithms. The experiments on synthetic data reveal, not surprisingly, that each algorithm outperforms the others when motifs are planted according to its motif model.
InN growth by high-pressures chemical vapor deposition: Real-time optical growth characterization

Growth techniques that utilize elevated reactor pressures offer a pathway to overcome limitations in the epitaxy of high quality group IIInitride compounds such as InN or related materials, which exhibit large thermal decomposition pressures. We introduce the growth of InN by a unique high-pressure chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) system, demonstrating that HPCVD is a valuable method for achieving stoichiometric single-phase surface compositions at optimal processing temperatures. The development and utilization of real-time optical diagnostics for the monitoring of gas-phase and surface chemistry during the heteroepitaxial nucleation and growth is critical for controlling the chemical vapor deposition process. Using real-time optical ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy (UVAS), we have studied the flow and decomposition kinetics of the gas-phase precursors as functions of flow, pressure and temperature. A pulsed-injection technique for the delivery of the chemical precursors is used, enabling the analysis and control of the decomposition kinetics of trimethylindium (TMI) and ammonia as well as the study of the initial stages of InN nucleation and subsequent overgrowth on sapphire substrates. The nucleation and steady state growth of InN is probed with submonolayer resolution by principal angle reflectance (PAR) spectroscopy. These real-time optical monitoring techniques demonstrate their utility in the optimization and engineering of the growth process, as well as providing crucial insights into gas phase decomposition dynamics and surface chemistry processes under HPCVD conditions. The resulting InN material exhibits an optical absorption edge that varies from 0.83 to 1.34 eV, strongly dependent upon the precursor flow ratios employed during growth. Structural analysis performed by XRD reveals high quality InN. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Effect of lidocaine on left ventricular pressure-volume curves during demand ischemia in pigs

The diastolic pressure-volume curve shifts upward during demand ischemia, most likely because of changes in Ca2+ dynamics within the sarcomere. It is possible that agents that affect Na+/Ca2+exchan...
A crack-closure model for predicting fatigue crack growth under aircraft spectrum loading

The development and application of an analytical model of cycle crack growth is presented that includes the effects of crack closure. The model was used to correlate crack growth rates under constant amplitude loading and to predict crack growth under aircraft spectrum loading on 2219-T851 aluminum alloy sheet material. The predicted crack growth lives agreed well with experimental data. The ratio of predicted to experimental lives ranged from 0.66 to 1.48. These predictions were made using data from an ASTM E24.06.01 Round Robin.
The leukemia stem cell.

In a meeting held in the Charite Hospital in Berlin in 1909, Alexander Maximow postulated that all circulating blood cells arise from a single lymphocyte-like cell [68]. An almost identical hypothesis was proposed by Artur Pappenheim in 1917 [78]. This hypothesis was tested years later by numerous investigators who demonstrated that all hematopoietic cells arise from a single hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) [54, 75, 90, 116]. Our knowledge of the leukemogenic process has benefited from hematopoiesis research. Identification and characterization of the HSC led to the theory that leukemia is a stem cell disease, i.e., that leukemia arises from a neoplastic HSC.
A Civil Rights Approach: Achieving Revolutionary Abolitionism Through the Thirteenth Amendment

During the preceding decade, the Rehnquist Court significantly limited Congress's Commerce Clause and Fourteenth Amendment authority over civil rights. The new trend in judicial oversight first appeared in United States v. Lopez, where the Supreme Court invalidated a statute because Congress failed to show the law congruently and proportionately regulated behavior with a substantial effect on the national economy. In several cases, the Court relied on this congruency test to reduce Congress's ability to enact civil rights legislation. On another front, beginning with City of Boerne v. Flores, the Court reduced Congress's ability to enforce Fourteenth Amendment due process and equal protection rights. Boerne interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to be a responsive, rather than a proactive, federal empowerment. This means Congress cannot "determine what constitutes a constitutional violation" in order to secure fundamental rights; it can only prevent judicially identified unconstitutional behavior. The Court thereafter reiterated this remedial interpretation in United States v. Morrison, finding that Congress overstepped its Fourteenth Amendment authority in enacting a civil cause of action for gender-motivated violence committed by private individuals as opposed to state actors. Interestingly, the Rehnquist Court has not similarly reduced Congress's authority under the Thirteenth Amendment, making it an alternative source for federal civil rights statutes. This Article develops an approach that sidesteps the Court's recently placed obstacles to national civil rights initiatives. The Thirteenth Amendment differs from the Fourteenth Amendment because it lacks a state action requirement. Similarly, it differs from the Commerce Clause because the Thirteenth Amendment's central concern is liberal equality rather than economic transaction. The Thirteenth Amendment's framers drew from antislavery and abolitionist writers to develop a constitutional provision for protecting individual rights essential for the common good of citizens.
Primary Care Interventions to Reduce Childhood Obesity in Latino Families.

Abstract Introduction Increasing rates of obesity in Latino children call for culturally sensitive primary care interventions. Despite recent efforts to address this growing disparity, little is known about cultural variables that influence obesity management programs in Latino children. Methods A literature search was conducted using CINHAL, Scopus, PubMed, and PsycINFO to review the state of the science regarding primary care interventions to decrease obesity in Latino children. The author analyzed the effects of several cultural practices on obesity and made recommendations based on their clinical implications for weight reduction management programs. Results Obesity in Latino children is a multifactorial problem influenced by family behaviors, cultural perceptions of weight and health, traditional dietary norms, and socioeconomic status. Current practice lags behind national obesity management recommendations and is further hindered by a lack of consideration of the roles of key cultural differences in Latino families. Discussion It is imperative to recognize the importance of family preferences and culture when developing weight reduction programs so as to foster long-term behavior changes. More research assessing the efficacy of culturally competent interventions is necessary to guide national efforts to address this increasing disparity.
Criteria for Elastic Fracture

Criteria for the growth of a pre-existing crack as generally based on reaching critical values of the stress intensity factors or energy release rate. Starting with the simplest case, that of tensile fracture in an elastic material, criteria for fracture under a range of conditions are explored. These include the initiation and evolution of cracks under mixed-mode loading, considerations of the stability of fracture, effects of temperature, fatigue crack growth and stress corrosion cracking.
An improved influence function method for predicting subsidence caused by longwall mining operations in inclined coal seams

Prediction of surface subsidence caused by longwall mining operation in inclined coal seams is often very challenging. The existing empirical prediction methods are inflexible for varying geological and mining conditions. An improved influence function method has been developed to take the advantage of its fundamentally sound nature and flexibility. In developing this method, the original Knothe function has been transformed to produce a continuous and asymmetrical subsidence influence function. The empirical equations for final subsidence parameters derived from collected longwall subsidence data have been incorporated into the mathematical models to improve the prediction accuracy. A number of demonstration cases for longwall mining operations in coal seams with varying inclination angles, depths and panel widths have been used to verify the applicability of the new subsidence prediction model.
FeCO3 Coating Process toward the Corrosion Protection of Carbon Steel in a Postcombustion CO2 Capture System

Corrosion mitigation was evaluated at 80 °C in a naturally aerated 30 wt % monoethanolamine (MEA) solution with a CO2 loading of 0.43 molCO2/molalkalinity for a FeCO3-coated A106 carbon steel sample fabricated from solutions of NaHCO3 and piperazine with CO2 loading. The results showed that spontaneous passivation of A106 carbon steel was promoted by this FeCO3 coating, which resulted in a Fe3O4 layer formation. FeCO3 was metastable in this aerated MEA solution and eventually would transform into Fe3O4. Overall, the FeCO3 coating reduced the corrosion rate by a factor of 70. In this case, a semi in situ process to form and/or recover a dense FeCO3 layer to mitigate corrosion in a postcombustion CO2 capture system is proposed. Because of its more environmentally friendly nature, easier process control, and faster FeCO3 coating synthesis, NaHCO3 is recommended as a FeCO3 fabrication solution with respect to a piperazine solution with CO2 loading.
Durchfall beim Kaninchen – Ursachen und Therapie

Durchfall (Diarrhoe, von griechisch „dia“ = „durch“ und „rheō“ = „fliesen“) gehort bei Kaninchen zu den haufigsten Vorstellungsgrunden. Aber handelt es sich wirklich immer um Durchfall? Und wie funktioniert die Verdauung von Kaninchen? Im folgenden Artikel werden haufige Ursachen und Therapien der Diarrhoe beim Kaninchen besprochen.
Conditioned stress prevents cue-primed cocaine reinstatement only in stress-responsive rats

AbstractNeurobiological mechanisms underlying comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cocaine use disorder (CUD) are unknown. We aimed to develop an animal model of PTSD + CUD to examine the neurobiology underlying cocaine-seeking in the presence of PTSD comorbidity. Rats were exposed to cat urine once for 10-minutes and tested for anxiety-like behaviors one week later. Subsequently, rats underwent long-access (LgA) cocaine self-administration and extinction training. Rats were re-exposed to the trauma context and then immediately tested for cue-primed reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. Plasma and brains were collected afterwards for corticosterone assays and real-time qPCR analysis. Urine-exposed (UE; n = 23) and controls not exposed to urine (Ctrl; n = 11) did not differ in elevated plus maze behavior, but UE rats displayed significantly reduced habituation of the acoustic startle response (ASR) relative to Ctrl rats. A median split of ASR habituation scores was used to classify stress-responsi...
Twayne in Vain

As Anglo-American literary criticism approaches the end of the millennium, its apparatus of major authorship has become vast and manifold–ranging from 100-level course listings and Ph.D. exam requirements to the volumes of Cliffs Notes, Twentieth-Century Views, Chelsea House reprints and Twayne books produced every year to meet a demand whose source seems uncertain at best. One presumes, of course, that Pynchon's work would not keep accumulating reader's guides unless it were continuing to draw interest from students, teachers and laypersons, and in this sense it is good to see the critical wheels turning out the usual Pynchon byproducts. On the other hand, since most Pynchon readers are aware of Pynchon's indifference to literary criticism and his loathing of bureaucracies, we tend to shudder at the thought that Gravity's Rainbow will ever be "popular" enough to merit its own volume of Cliffs Notes.
Bio-Inspired Topology Control Mechanism for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Unmanned underwater vehicles (uuvs) are increasingly used in maritime applications to acquire information in harsh and inaccessible underwater environments. uuvs can autonomously run intelligent topology control algorithms to adjust their positions such that they can achieve desired underwater wireless sensor network (uwsn) configurations. We present a topology control mechanism based on particle swarm optimization (pso), called 3d-pso, allowing uuvs to cooperatively protect valued assets in unknown 3d underwater spaces. 3d-pso provides a user-defined level of protection density around an asset and fault tolerant connectivity within the uwsn by utilizing Yao-graph inspired metrics in fitness calculations. Using only a limited information collected from a uuv’s neighborhood, 3d-pso guides uuvs to make movement decisions over unknown 3d spaces. Three classes of applications for uwsn configurations are presented and analyzed. In 3d encapsulation class of applications, uuvs uniformly cover the underside of a maritime vessel. In planar distribution class of applications, uuvs form a plane to cover a given dimension in 3d space. The third class involves spherical distribution of uuvs such that they are uniformly distributed and maintain connectivity. Formal analysis and experimental results with respect to average protection space, total underwater movement, average network connectivity and fault tolerance demonstrate that 3d-pso is an efficient tool to guide uuvs for these three classes of applications in uwsns.
Commentary on Papers by Burton and Bonovitz

The author probes bastions in Noelle Burton’s and Christopher Bonovitz’s patients’ unsymbolized experience. Bonovitz and his patient were involved in a mutually created phallic collapse, one in which they are unable to use their minds aggressively and vitally to make sense of things together. Bonovitz gained purchase on a set of conspiratorial feelings he had held toward his two analysts, feelings that were enacted with his patient. For Burton and her patient there was a different kind of bastion in which Burton’s wish to know her patient couldn’t be experienced as something other than impingement. The author argues the value of our openness to reverie not only when patients’ have poorly developed capacities for verbalization and symbolization but more generally as a clinical sensibility to cultivate with all patients.
Advances in Pancreatic Biomarker Measures: A Novel Approach to An Obscure Organ

The pancreas remains a challenging organ to assess because of its retroperitoneal locations and cost of accessing the pancreatic duct for collection of biological samples. A novel and potentially useful approach to analysis of pancreatic juice proteins has been developed by Rocker et al. (Clin Transl Gastroenterol 7: e174; doi:10.1038/ctg.2016.27) using whole-gut lavage fluid from a colonoscopy prep. The widespread use of colonoscopy for colon cancer screening provides the opportunity to also screen the patient for benign and malignant pancreatic diseases using the fluid waste. New approaches are needed to assessing the pancreas, and wastes should not be wasted.
Cyberculture, Cybersubculture, and Africa

The culture of a people is their identity. Once that culture withers away or floats like a balloon being drifted by the forces of the wind, they cease to be relevant. That is the situation in the continent with the influx of Western cybernetic culture. A new culture normalizes the old culture by strengthening it meaningfully. A new culture does not sweep the old one away. It accommodates and hybridizes with it to create harmony that can withstand foreign domination.
Structure determination of group II introns

Group II introns are self-splicing catalytic RNAs that are able to excise themselves from pre-mRNAs using a mechanism identical to that utilized by the spliceosome. Both structural and phylogenetic data support the hypothesis that group II introns and the spliceosome share a common ancestor. Structures of group II introns have given insight into the active site required for the catalysis of RNA splicing. This review outlines crucial aspects of the structure determination of group II introns such as sample preparation and data processing. Given that group II introns are large RNAs that must be synthesized through in vitro transcription, there are special considerations that must be taken into account in terms of purification and crystallization, as compared to the isolation of large intact ribonucleoprotein complexes such as the ribosome. We specifically focus on the methodology used to determine the structure of the eukaryotic group II intron lariat from the brown algae Pylaiella littoralis. The techniques described in this review can also be applied for the structure determination of other large RNAs.
Metric thickenings of Euclidean submanifolds

Abstract Given a sample Y from an unknown manifold X embedded in Euclidean space, it is possible to recover the homology groups of X by building a Vietoris–Rips or Cech simplicial complex on top of the vertex set Y. However, these simplicial complexes need not inherit the metric structure of the manifold, in particular when Y is infinite. Indeed, a simplicial complex is not even metrizable if it is not locally finite. We instead consider metric thickenings, called the Vietoris–Rips and Cech thickenings, which are equipped with the 1-Wasserstein metric in place of the simplicial complex topology. We show that for Euclidean subsets X with positive reach, the thickenings satisfy metric analogues of Hausmann's theorem and the nerve lemma (the metric Vietoris–Rips and Cech thickenings of X are homotopy equivalent to X for scale parameters less than the reach). To our knowledge this is the first version of Hausmann's theorem for Vietoris–Rips constructions on entire Euclidean submanifolds (as opposed to Riemannian manifolds), and our result also extends to non-manifold shapes (as not all sets of positive reach are manifolds). In contrast to Hausmann's original proof, our homotopy equivalence is a deformation retraction, is realized by canonical maps in both directions, and furthermore can be proven to be a homotopy equivalence via simple linear homotopies from the map compositions to the corresponding identity maps.
Toxicity of alum sludge to Ceriodaphnia dubia and Pimephales promelas.

This study evaluated acute and chronic toxicity of a large drinking water treatment plant's «alum sludge» effluent to a freshwater fish and invertebrate. Objectives of this study were to: (1) evaluate alum sludge toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia and to Pimephales promelas larvae and juveniles, (2) monitor water quality parameters which may influence effluent toxicity, and (3) compare results of tests with each species
Second-Line Treatment Landscape for Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Review.

The management of advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma has steadily improved over the past decade with the introduction of antiangiogenic and targeted therapies. Recently, three new therapies have been approved for use as second-line options that further advance the treatment armamentarium: nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the programmed cell death receptor; cabozantinib, a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), MET, and AXL; and lenvatinib, a small-molecule TKI of VEGF and fibroblast growth factor receptors that is used in combination with everolimus, an inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin. Together, these and previously approved second-line treatments offer clinicians the ability to better individualize treatment for patients after progression on first-line VEGFR-targeted therapies. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the efficacy and safety results from the pivotal trials of these newly approved therapies, including the quality of study design, the level of evidence, subgroup analyses, and how these data can help to guide clinicians to select the most appropriate second-line therapy for their patients. Implications for practice This review article provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of current treatment options for patients with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) whose disease has progressed after their first therapy. As many patients with RCC experience disease progression with initial treatments, effective second-line therapies are critical. Nivolumab, cabozantinib, and lenvatinib plus everolimus have recently been approved as second-line treatments. The new agents discussed in this review increase the therapeutic options available and provide physicians with opportunities to individualize treatments for their patients, with a view to improving disease control and survival outcomes.
Comparison of Methods for the Recovery and Quantitation of Coliphage and Indigenous Bacteriophage from Marine Waters and Sediments

A variety of anthropogenic influences on marine coastal waters introduces populations of human enteric bacteria and their bacteriophage, some of which may be indicators of municipal waste contamination. This work was undertaken to examine methods for recovery and detection of coliphage in marine waters and sediments. Seeded studies were used to compare viradel and Ultrafiltration methods for the recovery and concentration of both indigenous and introduced viruses from seawater. Ultrafiltration recoveries of MS2 averaged 29.3% in artificial seawater. Viradel methods used to concentrate MD1 coliphage averaged 18.7% recovery when used with natural seawater. A variety of eluants were examined for recovery of phage from sediments. Recoveries ranged from 0.8-100% depending on the type of phage and eluant used. No eluant was capable of providing more efficient recoveries over another, however, indigenous phage #16 was isolated more efficiently than introduced tailed phages T2 and MD1. For phage quantitation, plaque assay counts were compared to particle counts using TEM. TEM counts were usually higher than PFUs in artificial seawater concentrates but lower with eluted marine sediments. Environmental surveys revealed that phage could sometimes be isolated from sediments when they could not be detected in the overlying water column. Preliminary data showed phage could be isolated from sea cucumbers and sponges at higher concentrations than in their surrounding habitats. Therefore, with the development of efficient elution and rapid quantitation techniques, sediments and sea organisms are the most appropriate sampling sites for detection of marine phage populations.
IBM's Systems Network Architecture

A network is more than simply a collection of machines and communication lines. A properly designed network serves a particular purpose for a particular user or class of users. In order to design networks for different users and purposes while minimizing design effort, one can employ a network architecture. In this chapter we look at the services provided by a network, examine what an architecture is, and then look at Systems Network Architecture (SNA),* its design principles and how it enables a network to provide the required services. Our discussion of the architecture appears in two major sections, transporting data and distributed programming. We have attempted to minimize the amount of jargon in this description of SNA. Necessary new terms are introduced in italics. After looking at the architecture, we conclude with a discussion of how SNA has applied the underlying principles.
Block Cooperation: Advancing Lifetime of Resistive Memories by Increasing Utilization of Error Correcting Codes

Block-level cooperation is an endurance management technique that operates on top of error correction mechanisms to extend memory lifetimes. Once an error recovery scheme fails to recover from faults in a data block, the entire physical page associated with that block is disabled and becomes unavailable to the physical address space. To reduce the page waste caused by early block failures, other blocks can be used to support the failed block, working cooperatively to keep it alive and extend the faulty page’s lifetime.We combine the proposed technique with existing error recovery schemes, such as Error Correction Pointers (ECP) and Aegis, to increase memory lifetimes. Block cooperation is realized through metadata sharing in ECP, where one data block shares its unused metadata with another data block. When combined with Aegis, block cooperation is realized through reorganizing data layout, where blocks possessing few faults come to the aid of failed blocks, bringing them back from the dead.Our evaluation using Monte Carlo simulation shows that block cooperation at a single level (or multiple levels) on top of ECP and Aegis, boosts memory lifetimes by 28% (37%) and 8% (14%) on average, respectively. Furthermore, using trace-driven benchmark evaluation shows that lifetime boost can reach to 68% (30%) exploiting metadata sharing (or data layout reorganization).
Compositional control of tunnel features in hollandite-based ceramics: structure and stability of (Ba,Cs)1.33(Zn,Ti)8O16

The impact of composition on the tunnel features of hollandite materials for the purpose of radioactive cesium (Cs) immobilization was evaluated. The barium (Ba) to cesium (Cs) ratio was varied in the tunnel sites referred to as the A-site of the hollandite structure. Zinc (Zn) was substituted for titanium (Ti) on the B-site to achieve the targeted stoichiometry with a general formula of BaxCsyZnx+y/2Ti8−x−y/2O16 (0 < x < 1.33; 0 < y <1.33). The tunnel cross-section depended on the average A-site cation radius, while the tunnel length depended on the average B-site cation radius. Substitution of Cs resulted in a phase transition from a monoclinic to a tetragonal structure and an increase in unit cell volume of 1.8% across the compositional range. Cs loss due to thermal evaporation was found to decrease in compositions with higher Cs content. The enthalpies of formation from binary oxides of Zn-doped hollandite measured using high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry were strongly negative, indicating thermodynamic stability with respect to their parent oxides. The formation enthalpies became more negative, indicating hollandite formation is more energetically favorable, when Cs was substituted for Ba across the range of Zn-doped compositions investigated in this study. Compositions with high Cs content exhibited lower melting points of approximately 80 °C. In addition, high Cs content materials exhibited a significant reduction in Cs release from the solid to liquid phase by leaching or aqueous corrosion as compared to low Cs content materials. These property changes would be beneficial for applications in radioactive cesium immobilization in a multi-phase ceramic by allowing for decreased processing temperatures and higher cesium weight loadings. More broadly, these results establish the link between composition, structural symmetry, and thermodynamic stability for tunnel structured ceramics with implications in the design of new energy conversion and storage materials.
A High-fidelity Tactile Hand Simulator as a Training Tool to Develop Competency in Percutaneous Pinning in Residents.

Introduction We developed an economical three-dimensional printed and casted simulator of the hand for the training of percutaneous pinning. This simulator augments the traditional "See one, do one, teach one" training model. Methods To evaluate the simulator, five expert orthopaedic surgeons were recruited to perform percutaneous pinning on the simulator and then to complete a questionnaire on its realism and expected usefulness. Evaluation was based on responses to multiple-choice questions and a Likert-type scale. Results All subjects expressed that the tactile hand simulator is useful for residency training. They would recommend the simulator to their colleagues and indicated interest in testing future iterations. Subjects rated highly the realism of the material, the purchase of the pin, and the cortical-cancellous bone interface. Conclusion The learning of tactile skills in addition to visual cues on a tactile simulator is expected to benefit residents. It provides a low-cost and low-risk environment outside the operating room for residents to hone their skills.
Probabilistic Bounds in Tracking a Discrete-Time Varying Process

This paper investigates the minimization problem, under a practical setting where the scalar-valued loss function $L_{k}$ is intrinsically time-varying, and therefore the corresponding minimizer sequence is also time-varying. We focus on the tracking capability of the recursive estimates generated by the constant-gain stochastic gradient algorithm. It is shown that the trajectory of a limiting nonautonomous ordinary differential equation can be associated with the iterates generated by the stochastic gradient descent algorithm with constant gain. The main tool in establishing the connection is the formula for variation of parameters. The established probabilistic bound is applicable in tracking a discrete-time varying process, e.g., a jump process. A synthetic example illustrates the accountability of the trajectory characterization depends on the magnitude of the noise, the drift magnitude, and the constant gain.
Crime and Punishment: Infrequently Imposed Sanctions May Reinforce Criminal Behavior

Three archival data sets were analyzed to explicate the probabilities of being arrested, convicted, and incarcerated for the commission of felony crimes enumerated in the Uniform Crime Reports, to assess the relationship between growing correctional populations and crime rates, and to determine the relationship between murder rates and capital punishment over the past 21 years in the U.S. Issues pertaining to deterrence, rational choice conceptions of criminogenesis, and vicarious learning were explored in consideration of the findings.