cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Politicians, Voters, and Trade

In Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France and the United States, 1860-1990, Daniel Verdier develops a general theory for explaining how trade policy is generated in democratic states. Eschewing traditional approaches to trade policy formation, Verdier argues that the key to understanding trade politics in democratic countries is the voter. Voters count because it is they who ultimately determine the constraints under which politicians seek and hold office. Competitive elections not only force office-seeking politicians to search out and articulate voter preferences in order to construct winning electoral coalitions, they also constrain officeholding politicians once they have attained power. Politicians who renege on campaign promises risk being thrown out by angry voters in the next election. As a result, the electoral connection ensures that voter preferences about trade policy become embodied in the strategies and behavior of both officeholders and office seekers. In democracies, Verdier contends, 'voters are sovereign" (p. 294). Verdier's electoral delegation argument is both insightful and compelling. He argues that elections do not determine the specific content of trade policy, as is commonly thought, but rather the latitude with which officeholding politicians can formulate and pursue trade policy. When trade policy is central to building and maintaining a winning electoral coalition, politicians become highly constrained by voter preferences. Moreover, the need to maintain coalition unity forces politicians to articulate and pursue general policies (such as free trade) that reflect the interests of voters in broad economic classes, such as farmers, labor, or business. As trade policy becomes less salient to voters, however, the constraints on politicians loosen. This enables them to pursue particularistic policies that meet the demands of more narrowly defined economic interests, such as sector specific subsidies. Finally, when trade is highly salient to voters and becomes linked to an external security threat, the executive gains great autonomy to use trade policy as an instrument for pursuing national survival. In short, the nature, strength, and distribution of preferences within the electorate determines both the general content of trade policy and the basic form of trade politics. Thus, Verdier subsumes within a single framework models of trade politics based on class or party politics (Lipset and Rokkan, 1967), pressure politics (Schattschneider, 1935), and executive politics.* Verdier's argument is compelling because it focuses directly upon the distinctive feature of democracy-competitive elections-as key to understanding the policy process. It makes the critical-and all too often overlooked-point that politicians
The effects of optimal perioperative glucose control on morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for morbidly obese type II diabetics. However, guidelines for perioperative glucose control are not well established. We examined management of perioperative glucose levels in diabetic patients undergoing bariatric surgery and determined the impact of optimal glucose control as defined by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) on patient outcomes, including long-term diabetes resolution. A single-institution, retrospective analysis of 155 morbidly obese diabetic patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass (RYGB) or sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) from 2010 to 2014 was performed. Inpatient finger-stick glucose levels were extracted from the electronic health record and defined as optimal if all values were <180 mg/dl. Ninety-day and one-year outcomes, including diabetes resolution, medication management, mortality and total costs were compared for patients with and without optimal control. 80 % (n = 124) of patients with type II diabetes underwent RYGB, while the remaining patients underwent LSG. Diabetes resolution at 1 year was 70.1 % (73.4 % for RYGB and 53.9 % for LSG, p = 0.191). Preoperatively, 72 % (n = 112) of patients were taking one or more oral antihyperglycemic agents, while only 50.3 % (n = 78) took an oral medication on discharge. 93 % of RYGB and 82 % of LSG patients, respectively, reduced their long-acting insulin dosage by greater than 50 % upon discharge (p = 0.251). Ninety-day and one-year outcomes including total costs were not improved by optimal perioperative glucose control. In total, 96.7 % of optimally controlled patients experienced diabetes resolution at 1 year compared to 53.2 % in the non-optimally controlled group (p < 0.001). Bariatric surgery leads to significant resolution of type II diabetes and a prompt improvement in glucose tolerance in the perioperative period. Optimal glucose control as defined by the ASMBS was not associated with improved postoperative outcomes in our patient population but was highly predictive of long-term diabetes resolution.
The Most Moral of Rights: The Right to be Recognized as the Author of One's Work

The U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to secure for limited times the exclusive right of authors to their writings. Curiously, those rights, as enacted in our copyright laws, have not included a general right to be recognized as the author of one's writings. Yet, the interest in being identified with one's work is fundamental, whatever the conception of the philosophical or policy basis for copyright. The basic fairness of giving credit where it is due advances both the author-regarding and the public-regarding aspects of copyright. Most national copyright laws guarantee the right of attribution (or "paternity"); the leading international copyright treaty, the Berne Convention, requires that Member States protect other Members' authors' right to claim authorship. But, apart from an infinitesimal (and badly drafted) recognition of the right in the 1990 Visual Artist’s Right Act, and an uncertain and indirect route through protection of copyright management information, the U.S. has not implemented that obligation. Perpetuating that omission not only allows a source of international embarrassment to continue to fester; it also belittles our own creators. Copyright not only protects the economic interests in a work of authorship, it also secures (or should secure) the dignitary interests that for many authors precede monetary gain. Without established and enforceable attribution rights, U.S. copyright neither meets international norms nor fulfills the aspirations of the constitutional copyright clause.This article will analyze the bases and enforceability of attribution rights within international norms. It will review the sources of attribution rights in the current US copyright law, particularly the Visual Artists Rights Act, and section 1202's coverage of copyright management information. It will explore the extent to which removal of author-identifying information might violate section 1202 and/or disqualify an online service provider from the section 512 safe harbors. Finally, it will consider how our law might be interpreted or amended to provide for authorship attribution. Non-legislative measures include making authorship attribution a consideration under the first factor of the fair use defense.
DC and pulsed dielectric surface flashover at atmospheric pressure

In a wide variety of high-voltage applications surface flashover plays a major role in the system's performance and yet has not been studied in great detail for atmospheric conditions with modern diagnostic tools. Environmental conditions to be considered include pressure, humidity, and gas present in the volume surrounding the dielectric. In order to gain knowledge into the underlying process involved in dielectric surface flashover, a setup has been created to produce and closely monitor the flashover event. Surface flashover for both direct current and pulsed voltages is considered. Within the setup, parameters such as geometry, material, and temporal characteristics of the applied voltage can be altered. Current, voltage, and luminosity are measured with nanosecond to sub-nanosecond resolution. Previously measured optical emission spectra is also discussed.
H 2 O: A hybrid and hierarchical outlier detection method for large scale data protection

Data protection is the process of backing up data in case of a data loss event. It is one of the most critical routine activities for every organization. Detecting abnormal backup jobs is important to prevent data protection failures and ensure the service quality. Given the large scale backup endpoints and the variety of backup jobs, from a backup-as-a-service provider viewpoint, we need a scalable and flexible outlier detection method that can model a huge number of objects and well capture their diverse patterns. In this paper, we introduce H 2 O, a novel hybrid and hierarchical method to detect outliers from millions of backup jobs for large scale data protection. Our method automatically selects an ensemble of outlier detection models for each multivariate time series composed by the backup metrics collected for each backup endpoint by learning their exhibited characteristics. Interactions among multiple variables are considered to better detect true outliers and reduce false positives. In particular, a new seasonal-trend decomposition based outlier detection method is developed, considering the interactions among variables in the form of common trends, which is robust to the presence of outliers in the training data. The model selection process is hierarchical, following a global to local fashion. The final outlier is determined through an ensemble learning by multiple models. Built on top of Apache Spark, H2O has been deployed to detect outliers in a large and complex data protection environment with more than 600,000 backup endpoints and 3 million daily backup jobs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that selects and constructs large scale outlier detection models for multivariate time series on big data platforms.
Ghostbuster: A Fine-grained Approach for Anomaly Detection in File System Accesses

Protecting sensitive data against malicious or compromised insiders is a challenging problem. Access control mechanisms are not always able to prevent authorized users from misusing or stealing sensitive data as insiders often have access permissions to the data. Also, security vulnerabilities and phishing attacks make it possible for external malicious parties to compromise identity credentials of users who have access to the data. Therefore, solutions for protection from insider threat require combining access control mechanisms and other security techniques, such as encryption, with techniques for detecting anomalies in data accesses. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to create fine-grained profiles of the users' normal file access behaviors. Our approach is based on the key observation that even if a user's access to a file seems legitimate, only a fine-grained analysis of the access (size of access, timestamp, etc.) can help understanding the original intention of the user. We exploit the users' file access information at block level and develop a feature-extraction method to model the users' normal file access patterns (user profiles). Such profiles are then used in the detection phase for identifying anomalous file system accesses. Finally, through performance evaluations we demonstrate that our approach has an accuracy of 98.64% in detecting anomalies and incurs an overhead of only 2%.
State-Level Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease in the U.S.

Introduction This study examined state-level variation in chronic kidney disease (CKD) awareness using national estimates of disease awareness among adults in the U.S. with CKD. Methods Data on U.S. adults were obtained from two national, population-based surveys: (1) the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS 2011; n =506,467), a state-level phone survey containing information on self-reported kidney disease; and (2) the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2005–2012; n =20,831), containing physical health examination, surveys containing data on self-reported kidney disease, risk factors, and laboratory values. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 15–59 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 or urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >30 mg/g. As BRFSS does not include laboratory data, CKD status for each person was imputed (multiple) based on a logistic regression model predicting NHANES CKD status. CKD awareness in each state was estimated as the weighted proportion of BRFSS participants with imputed CKD who reported having kidney disease. Results Overall, estimated CKD awareness was 9.0% (95% CI=8.0%, 10.0%), ranging from 5.8% (95% CI=4.8%, 6.8%) in Iowa to 11.7% (95% CI=9.7%, 13.7%) in Arizona. Awareness was greater among adults with hypertension (12.0%) and diabetes (15.3%) than among adults without those conditions, and lower in Hispanics (6.0%) than in non-Hispanic whites (8.8%), non-Hispanic blacks (9.9%), and other racial/ethnic groups (12.7%). Conclusions Among individuals with CKD, awareness of their condition was very low and varied approximately twofold among states. This is the first study to estimate awareness of kidney disease by state for the U.S. adult population.
Tooth-meshing-harmonic static-transmission-error amplitudes of helical gears

Abstract The static transmission errors of meshing gear pairs arise from deviations of loaded tooth working surfaces from equispaced perfect involute surfaces. Such deviations consist of tooth-pair elastic deformations and geometric deviations (modifications) of tooth working surfaces. To a very good approximation, the static-transmission-error tooth-meshing-harmonic amplitudes of helical gears are herein expressed by superposition of Fourier transforms of the quantities: (1) the combination of tooth-pair elastic deformations and geometric tooth-pair modifications and (2) fractional mesh-stiffness fluctuations, each quantity (1) and (2) expressed as a function of involute “roll distance.” Normalization of the total roll-distance single-tooth contact span to unity allows tooth-meshing-harmonic amplitudes to be computed for different shapes of the above-described quantities (1) and (2). Tooth-meshing harmonics p = 1, 2, … are shown to occur at Fourier-transform harmonic values of Qp, p = 1, 2, …, where Q is the actual (total) contact ratio, thereby verifying its importance in minimizing transmission-error tooth-meshing-harmonic amplitudes. Two individual shapes and two series of shapes of the quantities (1) and (2) are chosen to illustrate a wide variety of shapes. In most cases representative of helical gears, tooth-meshing-harmonic values p = 1, 2, … are shown to occur in Fourier-transform harmonic regions governed by discontinuities arising from tooth-pair-contact initiation and termination, thereby showing the importance of minimizing such discontinuities. Plots and analytical expressions for all such Fourier transforms are presented, thereby illustrating the effects of various types of tooth-working-surface modifications and tooth-pair stiffnesses on transmission-error generation.
On unidirectionality in precisification

This paper provides a formal pragmatic analysis of (im)precision which accounts for its essential properties, but also for Lewis’s (J Philos Logic 8(1):339–359, 1979) observation of asymmetry in how standards of precision may shift due to normal discourse moves: Only up, not down. I propose that shifts of the kind observed and discussed by Lewis are in fact cases of underlying disagreement about the standard of precision, which is only revealed when one interlocutor uses an expression which signals their adherence to a higher standard than the one adhered to by the other interlocutor(s). This paper shows that a modest formal pragmatic analysis along the lines of many prior optimality-theoretic and game-theoretic accounts can easily capture the natural asymmetry in standard-signaling that gives rise to Lewis’s observation, so long as such an account is dynamic and enriched with a notion of relevance.
Une Nouvelle Course aux Armements: Surveillance des Donnees Informatiques et Finance Dematerialisee (Big Data, Digital Finance, and the Surveillance Arms Race)

French Abstract: A l'heure actuelle, le theme de la surveillance est sujet a controverses. De gigantesques appareils de renseignements nationaux et internationaux sont appams en Europe, en Amerique du Nord et en Asie. Ils commettent parfois des erreurs spectaculaires, ignorant des menaces reelles ou, a l'inverse, stigmatisant et jetant en prison des personnes innocentes. Les services de renseignement ont alors tendance a mettre leurs echecs sur le compte de l'insuffisance des moyens de surveillance. D'apres eux, si l'on pouvait avoir acces a de plus grandes reserves de donnees, et de maniere plus immediate, on serait alors capable de detecter, de prevenir et de mettre en echec davantage de menaces. Quand de tels moyens de surveillance sont demandes, l'on observe que certaines franges de la societe ont la possibilite de mobiliser des ressources en vue de s'y opposer, tandis que d'autres ne le peuvent pas . En voici un exemple : une fraude commise aux Etats-Unis par des membres du personnel medical a eu pour consequence de declencher une enquete a grande echelle basee sur des donnees tres importantes qui a mobilise a la fois les secteurs publics et les secteurs prives dans le but de verifier les demandes de· remboursement des medecins et des hopitaux. Mais la surfacturation des compagnies d'assurance privees a ete a peine prise en compte par le Ministere de la Sante et des Services aux Personnes. Les assureurs, plus nombreux et plus puissants politiquement, peuvent contourner la surveillance minutieuse et les sanctions que doivent endurer de plus petits prestataires medicaux. English Abstract: This essay, written for a French journal, addresses a growing conundrum for privacy advocates. Many have lobbied for blanket reductions in the amount of scrutiny that government can direct at citizens. However, given unequal political influence of various classes and factions, privacy-protective rules have usually had more scope and force with respect to some privileged interests. Shielding them from more forms of scrutiny may, in the abstract, “increase privacy,” but at the expense of fairness. Given the power of financial inequality to shape and reshape our social world, advocates should be especially careful when evaluating proposals to preserve the “financial privacy” of particularly powerful entities or persons.
Atypical PKCs as Targets for Cancer Therapy

The Protein Kinase Cs (PKCs) were identified nearly thirty years ago as major cellular receptors for the tumor promoting phorbol esters; a finding that has prompt an intense search for the role of the individual PKC isozymes in cancer. The PKCs, including the two atypical isozymes PKCi/l and PKCz, have been linked to multiple aspects of transformation in different tumor types. Although PKCi and PKCz show high sequence homology, studies have shown that these two PKC isozymes have distinct and non-redundant roles in normal and oncogenic cellular signaling. In fact, to date, PKCi is the only member of the PKC family that has been shown to be a bonafide human oncogene. In this chapter, we review pertinent aspects of atypical PKC structure, function and regulation that relate to their role in human tumor biology. We discuss the evidence that PKCi is a human oncogene and describe the molecular pathways involved in PKCi-mediated oncogenic signaling. Finally, we will discuss a novel mechanism-based therapeutic drug that targets oncogenic PKCi signaling and is currently in clinical trials for treatment of human lung cancer.
Providers' Awareness of HIV Testing Policies and Perceived Testing Practices

The objective of this study was to examine providers' awareness of state guidelines regarding HIV testing of pregnant women and their perceptions of access to care for HIV-positive pregnant women. State health departments, county health clinics, and other health care practitioners (private physicians, nurse practitioners, and health educators) were surveyed regarding awareness of state policies on HIV testing, particularly of pregnant women, as well as perceptions of current practices in the care of HIV-positive pregnant women. About two thirds of state offices of public health (70%), county public health providers (62.7%), and private providers (66.7%) were able accurately to describe the HIV reporting policy of their state, and providers across settings perceived that only about half of pregnant women were being provided with information regarding the prevention of vertical transmission during pregnancy. A mechanism is needed to routinely update public health departments and providers regarding state HIV reporting policies.
Estimating post-fire debris-flow hazards prior to wildfire using a statistical analysis of historical distributions of fire severity from remote sensing data

Following wildfire, mountainous areas of the western United States are susceptible to debris flow during intense rainfall. Convective storms that can generate debris flows in recently burned areas may occur during or immediately after the wildfire, leaving insufficient time for development and implementation of risk mitigation strategies. We present a method for estimating post-fire debris-flow hazards before wildfire using historical data to define the range of potential fire severities for a given location based on the statistical distribution of severity metrics obtained from remote sensing. Estimates of debris-flow likelihood, magnitude and triggering rainfall threshold based on the statistically simulated fire severity data provide hazard predictions consistent with those calculated from fire severity data collected after wildfire. Simulated fire severity data also produce hazard estimates that replicate observed debris-flow occurrence, rainfall conditions and magnitude at a monitored site in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California. Future applications of this method should rely on a range of potential fire severity scenarios for improved pre-fire estimates of debris-flow hazard. The method presented here is also applicable to modelling other post-fire hazards, such as flooding and erosion risk, and for quantifying trends in observed fire severity in a changing climate.
Two Types of ${E}^{\prime}$ Centers as Gate Oxide Defects Responsible for Hole Trapping and Random Telegraph Signals in pMOSFETs

We report on the investigation of random telegraph signals (RTSs) in pMOSFETs at variable temperatures to identify and characterize the hole traps residing at the oxide–semiconductor interface. Attractive center defects as well as a repulsive center defect are identified with trap location, capture cross section, remote Coulomb scattering coefficient, capture barrier energy, trap binding enthalpy, relaxation energy, and change in entropy with hole emission. The attractive centers responsible for RTS were a pair of dissociated three-coordinated silicon (D-III-Si) defects while the repulsive center was identified as a puckered/back-projected oxygen vacancy defect, [a pair of under-coordinated silicon (III-Si) and over-coordinated oxygen (III-O) defects]. Both contain ${E}\gamma ^{\prime }$ centers. This is the first time when such detailed analysis is reported on the hole traps in SiO2 which are responsible for RTS.
Teaching an old antibody response new tricks

The human antibody repertoire against influenza virus is shaped by prior infection and vaccination.
VERID: towards verifiable IoT data management

Ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the sensing data that are stored in a third-party cloud is a crucial task for the correctness and safety of many IoT applications. Although verifiable data outsourcing has been studied for over a decade, current solutions are not fully suitable for IoT systems, due to the hardware constraints, deployment features, and application requirements of IoT. This paper presents VERID, a verifiable data management system designed for IoT applications. VERID enables important ranged selection and aggregate queries of sensing data while imposing minimal overhead for resource-constraint IoT devices. Our important innovation is a computational and space-efficient authentication data structure called PrefixMHT which fits into resource-constrained IoT devices and supports both range and aggregate queries. We design a new signature aggregation scheme called Condensed Bilinear Pairing to further improve the efficiency. The experiments using real IoT datasets show that VERID is able to provide authenticity, integrity, and completeness of data queries while achieving substantial advantages in computation, memory, and communication efficiency than possible methods.
Long-term glioblastoma survival following recovery from cytomegalovirus colitis: A case report.

Survival outcomes for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) are universally poor with only a small percentage of patients surviving five years beyond initial diagnosis. Activation of the immune system against tumor cells is the basis of immunotherapy and aims to facilitate long-term immune surveillance and tumor suppression. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has emerged as an immunologic target in GBM given that tumor cells have been shown to express the CMV-associated proteins IE1 and pp65. Moreover, vaccine therapy targeting CMV antigens has promoted improved survival outcomes with long-term survivors. In this report, we present the case of a 69 year-old woman with GBM who survived seven years post-diagnosis. Following tumor resection, the patient underwent concomitant radiation and temozolomide therapy that was complicated by CMV colitis and abdominal abscesses. Despite not receiving adjuvant temozolomide, the patient demonstrated a five year progression-free survival before requiring re-resection for radiation necrosis. Following re-resection, the patient survived for two additional years. As the patient's tumor stained positive for CMV antigens IE1 and pp65, it is hypothesized that she developed an immune response against CMV during recovery that contributed to anti-tumor surveillance and prolonged survival. Overall, this case supports further investigation into the role of CMV and immunotherapy in GBM.
Effective hydraulic conductivity of discrete fracture network with aperture-length correlation

Determining effective hydraulic conductivity is critical to understand groundwater flow behavior in fractured rock masses and is required for large-scale numerical simulations. A new approach is developed to estimate the effective hydraulic conductivity of a discrete fracture network with aperture and trace length being stochastic and correlated. The aperture and length are assumed to follow a joint lognormal distribution. The average flowrate through the network is determined by integrating flowrate in the fracture ensemble with the laminar flow and non-linear flow being separately considered based on the Reynolds number. The effective hydraulic conductivity of the discrete fracture network is then determined from the idea that Darcy’s law still applies to the overall flow behavior through the network. For comparison, the simple average hydraulic conductivity is also developed based on the assumption that flow in all fractures is laminar and aperture and trace length are uncorrelated. Based on the developed approach, the effects of aperture and trace length uncertainty, their correlation degree, and non-linear flow characteristics on the ratio of effective hydraulic conductivity over simple average hydraulic conductivity are examined. The results demonstrate that the effective hydraulic conductivity can be either larger than or smaller than the simple average hydraulic conductivity depending on correlation level between aperture and trace length and the degree of non-linear effect in the network. Non-linear flow reduces the effective hydraulic conductivity of the fracture network. Correlation between aperture and trace length increases the effective hydraulic conductivity. Aperture uncertainty tends to reduce the effective hydraulic conductivity.
Correlation of serum CRP and total IgE level with the severity of children with acute asthma attack

Objective To analyze the correlation between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) level and severity of asthma in children with acute attack. Methods Sixty children with acute asthma attack in Shanxi Children’s Hospital from January 2016 to January 2018 were randomly selected as observation group. In the same period, 30 healthy children were selected as control group. The levels of serum CRP and total IgE in the two groups were measured by turbidimetric inhibition immuno assay and rate nephelometry, respectively. The correlation between serum CRP and total IgE levels and severity of asthma in children with acute exacerbation was analyzed. Results The CRP level in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group [(9.52±2.02)mg/L vs.(1.04±0.75)mg/L], and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The IgE level in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group [(387.1±75.2)IU/ml vs.(81.3±23.3)IU/ml, P<0.05]. Spearman correlation analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between serum CPR level and forced expiratory volume in first second predicted (FEV1%) in observation group (P<0.05), IgE level was negatively correlated with FEV1% (P<0.05). Conclusions Clinical detection of serum CRP and IgE levels in children with acute asthma is helpful for early diagnosis of asthma and its severity. Key words: Serum C-reactive protein; Total serum immunoglobulin E; Asthma; Acute attack; Severity
Spatial Variation and Temporal Dynamics of Fungicide Sensitivity in Venturia effusa Within a Pecan Orchard.

An 18-ha commercial pecan orchard was sampled over 3 years to study the spatial and temporal variation in fungicide sensitivity of Venturia effusa, cause of pecan scab. The orchard was divided into...
An Input Insensitive Quantization Error Extraction Circuit for 8-MHz-BW 79-dB-DR CT MASH Delta–Sigma ADC With Multi-rate LMS-Based Background Calibration

This letter presents a continuous-time (CT) multi-stage noise-shaping (MASH) delta–sigma ADC with enhanced tolerance to temperature and operating frequency variations through multi-rate background calibration based on the least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm. A first stage modulator of the proposed ADC, which considers sufficient quantizer delay and reduces input signal leakage into second stage modulator, enables undisturbed quantization error cancellation with digital noise-cancellation filter (DNCF) calibration. A CT 2-2 MASH delta–sigma ADC prototype fabricated in 40-nm CMOS achieves DR of 79 dB, SNDR of 78.5 dB over an 8-MHz bandwidth, Schreier figure of merit (FoMs) of 168.9 dB and demonstrates conversion accuracy robustness within 1-dB SNDR fluctuation for temperature variations from −40 to 125 degrees, and within 2-dB SNDR degradation for frequency variation of 20% range.
Engineering a microfluidic organ model using 3-dimensional micropatterned cellular constructs

This novel design represents a broadly applicable three-dimensional technique for fabricating an “organ-on-a-chip” that serves as a viable platform for tissue studies. Current methods of biological research rely on animal testing and two-dimensional tissue cultures, but fail to provide physiologically accurate models of human tissue. This demonstrates a pressing need for convenient, physiologically relevant tissue models to advance biomedical research. Advances in microfluidics and cell encapsulation within hydrogels have made significant strides in trying to meet these needs, but the potential to use these technologies for engineering physiologically relevant tissue models has yet to be fully realized. Here, we present a microfluidic device which will integrate three-dimensional micro-patterned cellular constructs that may be subjected to flow through microfluidic channels. This microphysiological platform takes advantage of microfluidics, cell encapsulation within 3-dimensional constructs, and microscale patterning of different cell types. This creates a spatially patterned co-culture environment which accurately mimics the physiological conditions within many human organs. Here, we aim to model bone tissue, but the developed technology is generally applicable to any tissue or organ in either the healthy or diseased state. This work represents a significant improvement to biomedical research tools and tissue models currently available.
Experimental analysis of global gene regulation in Escherichia coli.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on experimental approaches to study global regulation in Escherichia coli (E. coli ). The advantages and disadvantages of using global regulators can be illustrated by using an economic analogy. Bacteria, which often live in highly competitive environments and are not protected by the homeostases provided to the cells of multicellular organisms, cannot afford to have a welter of uncoordinated responses to a change in temperature or nutrient availability. One of the first questions encountered in studying global regulation involves the breadth of the particular regulon—that is, the number of genes that are regulated. Various methods are available, both in vitro and in vivo , to help answer this question. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses, but a combination of several methods often serves to gain a good understanding of a regulon's size and sometimes even a hint of the class to which the relevant regulator belongs. There are now numerous methods for determining which genes and proteins belong to a given regulon. The signal transduction pathway in the nitrogen regulon has been elicited in detail by in vitro studies with purified components, and the interaction of the transcriptional activator—NR I —with at least one target gene— glnA —is understood at the molecular level.
The range of validity of the two-body approximation in models of terrestrial planet accumulation I. Gravitational perturbations

Abstract Gravitational perturbations in semimajor axis, eccentricity, and inclination resulting from close planetesimal encounters (near 1 AU) out to 10 Tisserand sphere of influence radii were calculated by two- and three-dimensional numerical integration. These are compared with the results of treating the encounter as a two-body problem, as is customary in Monte Carlo calculations of orbital evolution and in numerical and analytical studies of planetary accumulation. It is found that for values of ( V V e ) ⪅ 0.35 (V = relative velocity , V e = escape velocity of largest body ) , the two-body body approximation fails to describe the outcome of individual encounters. In this low-velocity region, the two-body “gravitational focusing” cross section is no longer valid; “anomalous gravitational focusing” often leads to bodies on distant unperturbed trajectories becoming close encounters and vice versa. In spite of these differences, average perturbations given by the two-body approximation are valid within a factor of 2 when V V e > 0.07 . In this same velocity range the “Arnold extrapolation,” whereby a few very close encounters are used to estimate the effect of many more distant encounters, is found to be a useful approximation.
Social capital, employment and labor force participation among persons with disabilities

BACKGROUND: Social capital, an attribute that reflects connectedness or engagement with other individuals, organizations or communities, may be associated with participation in the labor force and with employment. OBJECTIVE: To examine variations in social capital among persons with disabilities. METHODS: Data from the 2010 Civic Engagement Supplement to the Current Population Survey is used to describe levels of social capital among persons with disabilities by employment and labor force participation status, controlling for demographic characteristics. Adults with disabilities who are in the labor force have higher levels of social capital than adults with disabilities who are not in the labor force. Among those persons with disabilities who are in the labor force, however, little difference in social capital exists between those who are and who are not employed. CONCLUSION: Advocates, policymakers and service providers seeking to maximize the successful inclusion of persons with disabilities within society must not lose sight of social capital as a construct as equally important as built, human, and economic capital. Innovative programs and services that are offered throughout the lifespan should incorporate strategies to address each of these types of resources.
A Shared Genetic Mechanism for Melanotic Encapsulation of CM–Sephadex Beads and a Malaria Parasite,Plasmodium cynomolgiB, in the Mosquito,Anopheles gambiae

APlasmodium-refractory strain ofAnopheles gambiaethat melanizes ookinetes and intrathoracically inoculated CM–Sephadex beads was mated to aPlasmodium-susceptible strain that does not melanize the parasite or the beads. The F1progeny were then backcrossed to the susceptible strain. Backcross progeny were given a blood meal containing infectivePlasmodium cynomolgiB, and the parasites were allowed to develop for 6–7 days, at which time the infected mosquitoes were injected with CM–Sephadex beads. The next day the mosquitoes were dissected and the beads were scored for degree of melanization while the parasites were scored for degree of encapsulation. A Spearman rank order correlation test of the degree of correlation between the bead melanization phenotype and the parasite encapsulation phenotype gave a correlation coefficient of 0.74 (P< 0.01). This strong correlation between the two melanization responses suggests that the mechanisms for differential bead and parasite melanization of these two mosquito strains share at least one major gene.
Multiscale analysis of laminated plates with integrated piezoelectric fiber composite actuators

This study is concerned with the detailed analysis of fiber-reinforced composite plates with integrated piezoceramic fiber composite actuators. A multiscale framework based on the asymptotic expansion homogenization method is used to couple the microscale and macroscale field variables. The microscale fluctuations in the mechanical displacement and electric potential are related to the macroscale deformation and electric fields through 36 distinct characteristic functions. The local mechanical and charge equilibrium equations yield a system of partial differential equations for the characteristic functions that are solved using the finite element method. The homogenized electroelastic properties of a representative material element are computed using the characteristic functions and the material properties of the fiber and matrix. The three-dimensional macroscopic equilibrium equations for a laminated piezoelectric plate are solved analytically using the Eshelby–Stroh formalism. The formulation admits different boundary conditions at the edges and is applicable to thick and thin laminated plates. The microscale stresses and electric displacement in the fibers and matrix are computed from the macroscale fields through interscale transfer operators. The multiscale analysis procedure is illustrated using two model problems. In the first model problem, a simply-supported sandwich plate consisting of a piezoceramic fiber composite shear actuator embedded between two graphite/polymer layers is studied. The second model problem concerns a cantilever graphite/polymer substrate with segmented piezoceramic fiber composite extension actuators attached to its top and bottom surfaces. Results are presented for the homogenized material properties, macroscale deformation, macroscale average stresses and microscale stress distributions.
Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Thiol-ene-Based Photopolymerized Networks.

The thiol–ene reaction serves as a more oxygen-tolerant alternative to traditional (meth)acrylate chemistry for forming photopolymerized networks with numerous desirable attributes including energy absorption, optical clarity, and reduced shrinkage stress. However, when utilizing commercially available monomers, many thiol–ene networks also exhibit decreases in properties such as glass transition temperature (Tg) and cross-link density. In this study, hybrid organic/inorganic thiol–ene resins incorporating silsesquioxane (SSQ) species into the photopolymerized networks were investigated as a route to improve these properties. Thiol- and ene-functionalized SSQs (SH-SSQ and allyl-SSQ, respectively) were synthesized via alkoxysilane hydrolysis/condensation chemistry, using a photopolymerizable monomer [either pentaerythriol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP) or 1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione (TATATO)] as the reaction solvent. The resulting SSQ-containing solutions (SSQ-PETMP and SSQ...
Mission, messages, and measures: Engaging zoo educators in environmental education program evaluation

Abstract Here we describe the development and implementation of a large-scale monitoring system to systematically evaluate various Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) education programs. Our primary goal was to engage program staff in developing a consistent measurement and evaluation strategy across and within education programs. We did this by using the CZS mission as a framework and incorporating participatory, theory-based, and utilization-focused evaluation approaches into our education programs. As we carried out the process, we learned several lessons that helped us to succeed. This process has allowed us to begin building the perspective among our staff and leaders that evaluation is an ongoing process that occurs alongside program delivery to inform cycles of reflection and improvement and measure program performance over time.
On the stability of oil-in-water emulsions to freezing

Abstract Oil in water emulsions (40 wt%) were prepared from a homologous series of n -alkanes (C10–C18). The samples were temperature cycled in a differential scanning calorimeter (two cycles of 40 °C to −50 °C to 40 °C at 5 °C min −1 ) and in bulk (to −20 °C). The emulsions destabilized and phase-separated after freeze–thaw if the droplets were solid at the same time as the continuous phase and were more unstable if a small molecule (SDS or polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate) rather than a protein (whey protein isolate or sodium caseinate) emulsifier was used. The unstable emulsions formed a self-supporting cryo-gel that persisted between the melting of the water and the melting of the hydrocarbon phase. Microscopy provides further evidence of a hydrocarbon continuous network formed during freezing by a mechanism related to partial coalescence which collapses during lipid melting to allow phase separation.
Incipient Status in Small Groups

Unacquainted individuals, placed together in a Bales-type discussion group, quickly form a participation hierarchy that indicates status differentiation. This rapid structuring of status, similar to the rapid structuring of status hierarchies in groups of Rhesus monkeys, suggests some subtle form of dominance and submission signalling may be operating. Two experimental conditions test this possibility. In one condition a measure of subjects' initial eye glance rank is taken. Eye glance rank predicts their eventual positions in the status hierarchy of the group. In the second condition, subjects are prevented from having eye contact in their initial interaction. Here, the first speaker in the Bales group usually emerges as highest in the hierarchy. These results support the view that people use subtle cues, obtained during the first few seconds of interaction, to rank themselves in the status hierarchy. The findings also represent a further criticism of several prevailing theories of status in small groups.
Synthesis of the optically active α-nucleic acid base substituted propanoic acids

Abstract The (R)-2-(adenin-9-yl)propanoic acid 2 was prepared from adenine and (S)-ethyl lactate by using the triphenyl phosphine-diethyl azodicarboxylate system. The (R)-2-(thymin-1-yl)-propanoic acid, (R)-2-(cytosin-1-yl)propanoic acid, and (R)-2-(hypoxanthin-9-yl)propanoic acid were also prepared.
Infant-like social interactions between a robot and a human caregiver

From birth, human infants are immersed in a social environment that allows them to learn by leveraging the skills and capabilities of their caregivers. A critical pre-cursor to this type of social learning is the ability to maintain interaction levels that are neither overwhelming nor under-stim ulating. In this paper, we present a mechanism for an autonomous robot to regulate the intensity of its social interactions with a human. Similar to the feedback from infant to caregiver, the robot uses expressive displays to modulate the interaction intensity. This mechanism is integrated within a general framework that combines perception, attention, drives, emotions, behavior selection, and motor acts. We present a specific implementation of this architecture that enables the robot to react appropriately to both social stimuli (faces) and non-social stimuli (moving toys) while maintaining a suitable interaction intensity. We present results from both face-to-face interactions and interactions mediated through a...
Brief dopaminergic stimulations produce transient physiological changes in prefrontal pyramidal neurons

Abstract In response to food reward and other pertinent events, midbrain dopaminergic neurons fire short bursts of action potentials causing a phasic release of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex (rapid and transient increases in cortical dopamine concentration). Here we apply short (2 s) iontophoretic pulses of glutamate, GABA, dopamine and dopaminergic agonists locally, onto layer 5 pyramidal neurons in brain slices of the rat medial prefrontal cortex (PFC). Unlike glutamate and GABA, brief dopaminergic pulses had negligible effects on the resting membrane potential. However, dopamine altered action potential firing in an extremely rapid (
Activity of microemulsion-based nanoparticles at the human bio-nano interface: Concentration-dependent effects on thrombosis and hemolysis in whole blood

Background: Although microemulsion-based nanoparticles (MEs) may be useful for drug delivery or scavenging, these benefits must be balanced against potential nanotoxicological effects in biological tissue (bio-nano interface). We investigated the actions of assembled MEs and their individual components at the bio-nano interface of thrombosis and hemolysis in human blood. Methods: Oil-in-water MEs were synthesized using ethylbutyrate, sodium caprylate, and pluronic F-68 (ME4) or F-127 (ME6) in 0.9% NaClw/v. The effects of MEs or components on thrombosis were determined using thromboelastography, platelet contractile force, clot elastic modulus, and platelet counting. For hemolysis, ME or components were incubated with erythrocytes, centrifuged, and washed for measurement of free hemoglobin by spectroscopy. Resultsandconclusions: The mean particle diameters (polydispersity index) for ME6 and ME4 were 23.6±2.5 nm (0.362) and 14.0±1.0 nm (0.008), respectively. MEs (0, 0.03, 0.3, 3 mM) markedly reduced the thromboelastograph maximal amplitude in a concentration-dependent manner (49.0 ± 4.2, 39.0 ± 5.6, 15.0 ± 8.7, 3.8 ± 1.3 mm, respectively), an effect highly correlated (r 2 = 0.94) with similar changes caused by pluronic surfactants (48.7 ± 10.9, 30.7 ± 15.8, 20.0 ± 11.3, 2.0 ± 0.5) alone. Neither oil nor sodium caprylate alone affected the thromboelastograph. The clot contractile force was reduced by ME (27.3 ± 11.1–6.7 ± 3.4 kdynes/cm 2 , P = 0.02, n = 5) whereas the platelet population not affected (175 ± 28–182 ± 23 10 6 /ml, P = 0.12, n = 6). This data suggests that MEs reduced platelet activity due to associated pluronic surfactants, but caused minimal changes in protein function necessary for coagulation. Although pharmacological concentrations of sodium caprylate caused hemolysis (EC50 = 213 mM), MEs and pluronic surfactants did not disrupt erythrocytes. Knowledge of nanoparticle activity and potential associated nanotoxicity at this bio-nano interface enables rational ME design for in vivo applications.