cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On software tools and stack architectures for wireless network experiments

Simulation is still the most widely adopted performance evaluation technique in mobile ad hoc network research, in spite of a growing number of questions about the fidelity of this technique. Implementation-based testing and evaluation of wireless networks tends to produce believable results, but the technique sometimes suffers from poor repeatability, high implementation cost, and complex experimental logistics. The topic of this paper is software tools to enable implementation-based experimental research on wireless networks. We review some of the existing tools and propose the Flexible Internetwork Stack (FINS) framework, our open-source solution for network protocol implementation, integration, and testing. FINS aims to provide researchers with monitoring, logging, and reconfiguring utilities similar to the ones provided by simulation environments or emulation testbeds.1
Ion Binding Properties of the Dehydrin ERD14 Are Dependent upon Phosphorylation

Abstract The ERD14 protein (early response to dehydration) is a member of the dehydrin family of proteins which accumulate in response to dehydration-related environmental stresses. Here we show the Arabidopsis dehydrin, ERD14, possesses ion binding properties. ERD14 is an in vitro substrate of casein kinase II; the phosphorylation resulting both in a shift in apparent molecular mass on SDS-PAGE gels and increased calcium binding activity. The phosphorylated protein bound significantly more calcium than the nonphosphorylated protein, with a dissociation constant of 120 μm and 2.86 mol of calcium bound per mol of protein. ERD14 is phosphorylated by extracts of cold-treated tissues, suggesting that the phosphorylation status of this protein might be modulated by cold-regulated kinases or phosphatases. Calcium binding properties of ERD14 purified from Arabidopsis extracts were comparable with phosphorylated Escherichia coli-expressed ERD14. Approximately 2 mol of phosphate were incorporated per mol of ERD14, indicating a minimum of two phosphorylation sites. Western blot analyses confirmed that threonine and serine are possible phosphorylation sites on ERD14. Utilizing matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight/mass spectrometry we identified five phosphorylated peptides that were present in both in vivo and in vitro phosphorylated ERD14. Our results suggest that the polyserine (S) domain is most likely the site of phosphorylation in ERD14 responsible for the activation of calcium binding.
Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate: Targeted Production and Signaling

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI4,5P(2)) is a key lipid signaling molecule that regulates a vast array of biological activities. PI4,5P(2) can act directly as a messenger or can be utilized as a precursor to generate other messengers: inositol trisphosphate, diacylglycerol, or phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate. PI4,5P(2) interacts with hundreds of different effector proteins. The enormous diversity of PI4,5P(2) effector proteins and the spatio-temporal control of PI4,5P(2) generation allow PI4,5P(2) signaling to control a broad spectrum of cellular functions. PI4,5P(2) is synthesized by phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIPKs). The array of PIPKs in cells enables their targeting to specific subcellular compartments through interactions with targeting factors that are often PI4,5P(2) effectors. These interactions are a mechanism to define spatial and temporal PI4,5P(2) synthesis and the specificity of PI4,5P(2) signaling. In turn, the regulation of PI4,5P(2) effectors at specific cellular compartments has implications for understanding how PI4,5P(2) controls cellular processes and its role in diseases.
Hippocampal volume and retention in Alzheimer's disease.

This study tested the hypothesis that the hippocampus has a relatively specific role in retaining information over delays. Thirty-seven subjects with probable Alzheimer’s disease were evaluated with a verbal memory task and structural MRI. Cortical gray matter but not hippocampal volume predicted immediate free recall. In contrast, hippocampal volume was the best predictor of how well information was retained over a delay, even after controlling for levels of immediate recall. Results suggest that the role of the hippocampus is relatively specific to the consolidation of new memories.
The induction of filamentous growth in Escherichia coli by ruthenium and palladium complexes.

Abstract Cis -chloroammine complexes of platinum have been shown to induce several biological effects. These include induction of filamentous growth in Escherichia coli as well as induction of phage production from lysogenic strains of Escherichia coli. Cis -chloroammine complexes of platinum have also been proven effective as a treatment for several animal tumors. In general, the effectiveness of such compounds is determined by a combination of an internal polar nature coupled with an overall electrical neutrality. We have extended these studies to include other complexes of the group VIII elements. In the research reported here, complexes of ruthenium were shown to induce filamentous growth in E. coli. Cis -Ru(NH 3 ) 3 Cl 3 produced this effect at a concentration of 6 μg/ml, comparable to the required concentration of cis -Pt(NH 3 ) 2 Cl 2 for the same effect. The charged complex, K 2 RuCl 5 · H 2 O, induced filamentous growth but a significantly higher concentration of this ruthenium complex was necessary. Several palladium complexes were also tested. They proved to be toxic at relatively high concentrations and had no effect at lower concentrations. The proposed mechanism of action of the platinum complexes is the hydrolysis of two cis -chloride ligands followed by binding to DNA which reduces the synthesis of new DNA. The kinetic data on hydrolysis, the required cis -chloride ligands, electrical neutrality, and the selective action on various bacteria indicate that ruthenium and platinum interact by a similar mechanism.
Defeating the Male Monster in Halloween and Halloween H2O

In "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Films," Carol Clover argued that Laurie Strode, of Halloween, became empowered as the film's Final Girl by fighting off Michael's monstrous attacks long enough to be rescued. However, Laurie's need to be rescued by a male figure, Michael's psychiatrist, negates her characterization as a Final Girl. It is not until Halloween: H2O (1998) that Laurie becomes empowered as a Final Girl, by taking on Michael's own masculine weapons and lust for violence in finally defeating the monster.
Tracking sub-syllabic features in zebra finch song during development

Most natural behaviors are arranged hierarchically, with complex actions composed of serial combinations of more basic motor gestures. The learning of courtship song in birds presents an ideal model system for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying such learning. In the most commonly studied species, the zebra finch, songs are learned by young males from their fathers or other male tutors. They are highly stereotyped by adulthood, and yet vary greatly between individual birds. The basic element of song is generally considered to be the syllable, a period of continuous expiratory vocalization separated by silence and a brief period of inspiration. These brief silences make it relatively easy to segment the acoustic signal into syllables, and previous studies have examined song development by extracting acoustic features from the sound spectrogram and then averaging these features over syllables [1,2]. However, despite experimental evidence that syllables form behavioral units, the syllabic structure of song is not readily apparent in many electrophysiological recordings. Individual neurons in the song motor pathway generally produce 5-10 msec bursts of activity that are aligned to song production with millisecond precision and have no obvious relationship to syllable onsets or offsets. We have developed a suite of software that enables semi-automatic the tracking of sub-syllabic features in a large corpus of acoustic data recorded from developing zebra finches with live tutors. Our approach is based on three basic ideas. First, we segment song into syllables and annotate individual syllables based on averaged feature values in a manner similar to previous approaches. Second, we use a coarse temporal alignment to average across renditions and produce an averaged ‘template’ for each syllable type. Then we use dynamic time warping to align each syllable rendition to this averaged template. Finally, we measure how well each rendition matches the template, and use this measure to perform semi-automated screening of possible outliers and syllable misclassifications. We are currently applying this approach to track the development of song features during the later stages of song development. To quantify the degree to which the mechanisms of song development respect a division of song into syllable-based units, we will measure song-by-song correlations between different features in different sub-components of the same syllable and compare these to feature correlations across syllables.
"Their depression is something different . . . it would have to be": findings from a qualitative study of black women's perceptions of depression in black men.

This study reports findings from the Black Women’s Perceptions of Black Men’s Depression (BWP) study, which included eight focus groups with Black women (N = 46) from southeastern Michigan. Four themes illustrated the impressions of Black women from different socioeconomic backgrounds: Black men’s depression is a cultured and gendered phenomenon, the role of Black women in Black men’s depression, intergenerational differences with how depression is handled by Black men, and the need (and ways) to reach Black men with depression resources. Results underscore not only the importance of understanding the kind of depression in Black men that meets criteria described by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) but also the psychological distress that may coexist with (or be separate from) DSM depression. Implications for interventions that educate, diagnose, and treat depression in Black men are discussed.
Outcomes and complications of pregnancy in women with primary hyperoxaluria.

Abstract Background: Information about pregnancy in females with primary hyperoxaluria types I and II (PH-I, PH-II) is limited to isolated case reports. This study sought to determine the number and outcomes of pregnancies in a series of women with PH-I and PH-II, to assess the incidence of complications during pregnancy, and to characterize infant outcomes. Methods: From a database of patients with PH followed at the Mayo Clinic, we identified 16 females who had been pregnant. A retrospective medical record review and telephone survey were performed. Results: Forty pregnancies occurring between 1961 and 1998 were identified: 26 pregnancies in 11 patients with PH-I and 14 pregnancies in 5 patients with PH-II. Thirty (75%) of the pregnancies were carried to term, and 33 infants were born. Four miscarriages, 4 preterm births, and 2 elective abortions occurred. No maternal complications were reported in half of the pregnancies. In the remaining pregnancies, the most common complications were hypertension, urinary tract infection, and urolithiasis-associated symptoms. One PH-I patient developed pre-eclampsia resulting in a stillborn infant, and another PH-1 patient developed hyperemesis gravidarum with a decline in renal function. Approximately 75% of the infants had no perinatal problems. All of the PH-I patients eventually required initiation of renal replacement therapy at a mean of 17.5 years following their first pregnancy. No PH-II patients have required renal replacement therapy. Conclusion: Overall, pregnancy appeared to be well tolerated in this series of women with primary hyperoxaluria, with 1 of 16 women experiencing loss of renal function during 1 of 40 pregnancies.
Selective Labeling via Error Bound Minimization

In many practical machine learning problems, the acquisition of labeled data is often expensive and/or time consuming. This motivates us to study a problem as follows: given a label budget, how to select data points to label such that the learning performance is optimized. We propose a selective labeling method by analyzing the out-of-sample error of Laplacian regularized Least Squares (LapRLS). In particular, we derive a deterministic out-of-sample error bound for LapRLS trained on subsampled data, and propose to select a subset of data points to label by minimizing this upper bound. Since the minimization is a combinational problem, we relax it into continuous domain and solve it by projected gradient descent. Experiments on benchmark datasets show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.
An Error Correction Method for Binary and Multiple-Valued Logic

This paper presents a method and circuit for correcting faults in logic systems. The method, called "restorative feedback" (RFB), is similar in some respects to triple modular redundancy (TMR), but has an improved error probability with respect to transient errors. Simulation results indicate an improvement by about two orders of magnitude compared to traditional TMR. CMOS circuits are presented for implementing restorative feedback. For binary logic, a dynamic CMOS circuit is considered. For multiple-valued logic, a semi-floating gate implementation is presented.
Clinical effects of root debridement in molar and non-molar teeth. A 2-year follow-up

12 patients were studied longitudinally to monitor the effects of basic periodontal therapy in molar and non-molar teeth. Periodontal sites were grouped into molar furcation sites, molar flat-surface sites and non-molar sites. Clinical measurements were taken at baseline and directly followed by full mouth root debridement. Subsequently, measurements were taken every 3rd month until 24 months. At each of these appointments, the patients were monitored for their oral hygiene performance and given supragingival prophylaxis. The mean results indicated that initially moderately deep and deep molar furcation sites responded less favorably to therapy compared to non-molar sites and molar flat-surface sites of similar probing depth. Initial improvements in probing measurements for moderately deep and deep molar furcation sites were limited and also tended to revert during the observation interval. Identification of individual sites with probing attachment loss disclosed that 25% of molar furcation sites lost probing attachment as compared to 7% for non-molar sites and 10% for molar flat-surface sites. These results corroborate previous findings and call for additional or alternative treatment regimens for periodontal furcation pockets.
Atomic structure of dislocations in silicon, germanium and diamond

Abstract Atomic structures of perfect (90° and 60°) and partial (90°) dislocations including total and core energies have been calculated using four different interatomic potentials in silicon, germanium and diamond. The core energies of dislocations do not scale with the magnitudes of Burgers vectors associated with them. However, the energies of dislocations in the elastic region are found to be directly proportional to the square of the Burgers vector, as predicted by the theory of elasticity. The Stillinger-Weber (SW) and TersofT(T) potentials are more suitable for calculating the core structures with large distortions including the dangling bonds such as found in 60° dislocations. In the absence of dangling bonds, the core energies are highest for Keating (K) potentials, followed by T, SW and Baraff-Kane-Schluter (B) potentials (Si). The core energies calculated using B potentials are considerably lower as a result of much lower values for the bond-bending parameter. As an example, the core energies ...
TANTALUM GLASS: K2O‐Ta2O5‐SiO2 SERIES*

The partial molal volume and refractivities, based on the Gladstone-Dale and Lorentz-Lorenz formulas of potassia-tantala-silica glasses, have been evaluated from experimental data of density and refractive index. Equations and constants are available for the calculation of volume and refractivities from composition, and the density and refractive index may therefore be computed. The interionic distances of Ta-O, Si-O, and K-O, calculated from the refractivity data, agree favorably with known measured values. Tantala, as compared with silica and phosphorus pentoxide, is a poor “network former.” The high ratio of oxygen to tantalum and the relatively large Ta-O distance result in the formation of new singly bonded oxygens and a glass that is loose in structure. The range of composition, which was limited by a fixed melting temperature (1400° C), extends from 21 to 38% of potassium oxide, 5 to 36% of tantala, and 39 to 71% of silica.
Substance use during pregnancy: time for policy to catch up with research

The phenomenon of substance abuse during pregnancy has fostered much controversy, specifically regarding treatment vs. punishment. Should the pregnant mother who engages in substance abuse be viewed as a criminal or as someone suffering from an illness requiring appropriate treatment? As it happens, there is a noticeably wide range of responses to this matter in the various states of the United States, ranging from a strictly criminal perspective to one that does emphasize the importance of the mother's treatment. This diversity of dramatically different responses illustrates the failure to establish a uniform policy for the management of this phenomenon. Just as there is lack of consensus among those who favor punishment, the same lack of consensus characterizes those states espousing treatment. Several general policy recommendations are offered here addressing the critical issues. It is hoped that by focusing on these fundamental issues and ultimately detailing statistics, policymakers throughout the United States will consider the course of action that views both pregnant mother and fetus/child as humanely as possible.
Modeling the Potential Radionuclide Transport by the Ob and Yenisey Rivers to the Kara Sea

A major portion of the former Soviet Union (FSU) nuclear program is located in the West Siberian Basin. Among the many nuclear facilities are three production reactors and the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing sites, Mayak, Tomsk-7, and Krasnoyarsk-26, which together are probably responsible for the majority of the radioactive contamination found in the Ob and Yenisey River systems that feed into the Arctic Ocean through the Kara Sea. This manuscript describes ongoing research to estimate radionuclide fluxes to the Kara Sea from these river systems. Our approach is to apply a hierarchy of simple models that use existing and forthcoming data to quantify the transport and fate of radionuclide contaminants via various environmental pathways. We present an initial quantification of the contaminant inventory, hydrology, meteorology, and sedimentology of the Ob River system and preliminary conclusions from portions of the Ob River model.
Localization of mesenchymal cells in adult mouse thymus: their abnormal distribution in mice with disorganization of thymic medullary epithelium.

Thymic mesenchymal cells are known to be important for the development of the early fetal thymus into a functionally mature organ supporting T cell differentiation. We examined the expression of mesenchymal markers: pan-mesenchymal marker ER-TR7, desmin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and α- and β-chain of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFRα, PDGFRβ) in thymi of normal adult mice. Desmin and ER-TR7 revealed specific staining in the capsule, septa, and perivascular cells. Most perivascular cells highly expressed PDGFRβ at the same levels as desmin. Low expression of PDGFRα was detected in the capsule, intralobular septa, and some perivascular cells of normal adult thymi. α-SMA, used to identify vascular smooth muscle cells, was detectable on arterioles and some large venules but not on capillaries. Thus, desmin, PDGFRα, and PDGFRβ were localized in the capsule, septa, and perivascular cells in thymus of adult mouse, although there were differences in the expression level among these markers. On the other hand, the expression of mesenchymal markers was detectable in the region of the thymic medullary epithelium of lymphotoxin β receptor–deficient mice and plt/plt mice, indicating that mesenchymal cells were abnormally localized in the region. These results suggest that disorganization of the medullary epithelium may be accompanied by aberrant distribution of mesenchyme in adult mouse thymus. (J Histochem Cytochem 57:373–382, 2009)
Composition Control of Extractors

Solvent extraction developed—with a few notable exceptions, particularly in the petroleum field—as a commercially important process operation only after intensive work on extraction processes for nuclear fuel reprocessing during World War II. Since then it has found increasing application in the separation of metals, aromatics, and more recently, the treatment of waste water. Whereas the early applications depended on simple differences in the solubility of a material distributed between two immiscible solvents, newer processes largely involve chemical reactions, temperature and pH sensitivity, and valence control to effect changes in distribution in multi-solute systems. Many of these new processes are drawn from our growing knowledge of more sophisticated extractants which form complexes with the solute to be extracted and are highly selective. It is this latter property that makes them especially useful in hydrometallurgical applications where one or two metals must be recovered from an impure, multicomponent system. Also, as these new developments in solvent extraction chemistry have appeared, the range of applicable metal extraction processes has broadened—from valuable metals in small volumes of solution to large flows of less valuable metals present in low concentrations.
Dollar Dilemmas During the Downturn: A Financial Crossroads for College Sports

This paper undertakes three challenging tasks. First, I attempt to lay out the dimensions of the current financial crisis that confronts intercollegiate athletics. Second, I propose three reforms that I believe, if enacted, would go a long way toward ameliorating the financial situation and also bring the practice of college sports more in line ethically with its purported mission. Third, I assess the prospects of these reforms being carried out, given the history of failed reform efforts in the past.
Contributing Factors for Acute Illness/Injury from Childhood Pesticide Exposure in North Carolina, USA, 2007–2013

Between 2007 and 2013, there were 685 events with evidence of a relationship between pesticide exposure and acute illness/injury among persons less than 18 years old in North Carolina (United States). Median age of children affected was 4.3 years (range: 0.2-17.9). Distribution by gender was similar across all age groups. One fatality and four high severity events were observed. The greatest proportion (42%) of events had ocular exposures, followed by dermal (25%) and inhalation (18%) exposures. When more than one route of exposure occurred, dermal and ocular routes were the most common (46%). Almost all events took place indoors and 32 events involved contact with pets. Insecticides (53%) and insect repellants (31%) were the most frequent agents contributing to these events. Manual application of pesticides contributed to the greatest number of events (25%), while application through a pressurized can and use of a trigger pump were involved in 21% and 15% of events, respectively. Additional contributors were due to inappropriate storage of pesticides and improper use of the pesticide. These contributing factors can be removed or minimized if pesticides are stored outside the residence or out of the reach of children and pets, and adequate ventilation is ensured whenever pesticides are applied.
The Admission of Unreliable Expert Witness Testimony Offered by the Prosecution: What's Wrong with Daubert and How to Make it Right

Empirical research demonstrates that expert testimony challenged as to reliability is admitted with far greater frequency when offered by the prosecution than when offered by the defense in a criminal trial. Analysis of Daubert and its progeny demonstrates that this inequity may result from excessive, nearly unbridled discretion in the hands of the trial court - a problem that can be addressed by requiring more of trial courts in their decisions on challenges to expert testimony.
Shifting sexual boundaries: Comparing gay-identified and non-gay-identified men who have sex with men in Brazil and in the USA

Recent studies have examined the different criteria a person could use to affirm his sexual identity. Using in-depth interviews conducted with Brazilian and American men, this study examines specifically the relationship between sexual behavior and sexual identity. The results indicate that being the passive person in anal intercourse is considered the final line drawn between being straight and being gay for Brazilians, whereas this sexual act is not necessary the determinant boundary for American men. Definitional criteria of sexual identification and of the sexual act boundaries are situational. Sexual identities are fluid in part because the criteria used to determine them are also fluid.
Discrete Time Finite Element Transfer Matrix Method Development for Modeling and Decentralized Control

The current emphasis on increasing aeronautical efficiency is leading the way to a new class of lighter more flexible airplane materials and structures, which unfortunately can result in aeroelastic instabilities.To effectively control the wings deformation and shape, appropriate modeling is necessary. Wings are often modeled as cantilever beams using finite element analysis. The drawback of this approach is that large aeroelastic models cannot be used for embedded controllers. Therefore, to effectively control wings shape, a simple, stable and fast equivalent predictive model that can capture the physical problem and could be used for in-flight control is required.The current paper proposes a Discrete Time Finite Element Transfer Matrix (DT-FETMM) model beam deformation and use it to design a regulator. The advantage of the proposed approach over existing methods is that the proposed controller could be designed to suppress a larger number of vibration modes within the fidelity of the selected time step. We will extend the discrete time transfer matrix method to finite element models and present the decentralized models and controllers for structural control.© 2015 ASME
Language use and identity in the Cuban community in Russia

ABSTRACTA significant body of research has begun to explore the association between language and identity, a relationship that becomes more complex when considering multilingual communities. Important for this field, a number of studies have examined the interrelation between language and identity in the Cuban population in the USA, a case in which dominant (English) and minority language (Spanish) interaction has largely resulted in language maintenance and a positive correlation between language use and ethnic identity. While the Cuban population in Russia shares cultural and historical background with the well-studied US Cuban community, key differences allow for the examination of the role of several external factors (e.g. community size, lack of contact with monolingual speakers) on patterns of language use and identity. Employing quantitative survey methods and qualitative sociolinguistic interviews, the present study examines language use and language identity in the Cuban community in Russia, incl...
Denying loan access: The student-level consequences when community colleges opt out of the Stafford loan program

Abstract The degree to which students are able to make adequate repayments on their student loans and avoid default is of special concern for colleges. If too many former students go into default, the college will face sanctions by the federal government and lose eligibility to provide currently enrolled students federal financial aid, such as the Pell grant. To avoid these sanctions, some colleges have chosen not to participate in federal loan programs by excluding loans from students' financial aid packages. In this article, I investigate the student-level impacts associated with the decision of community colleges to opt out of the Stafford loan program. Utilizing administrative records from over 50 community colleges located in a single state, I estimate the within-college differences in outcomes for Pell-eligible students before and after an institution opts out of the federal loan program. I find that Pell-eligible students enrolling when the community college offered federal loans were 7.6 percentage points more likely to borrow than Pell-eligible students who enrolled when the institutions opted out. Overall borrowing also increased by $368 a year. I also find that students borrowing a loan attempted 19 additional credits in their first year of enrollment and were more likely to attempt and complete math and science courses than non-borrowers.
Adjuvants in perspective

Many vaccines currently under development and testing are composed of synthetic, recombinant, or highly purified subunit antigens. Vaccines composed of these subunit antigens are often considered to be safer than whole-inactivated or live-attenuated vaccines. However, vaccines containing purified subunit antigens are often less immunogenic than traditional vaccines. Immunological adjuvants are agents that enhance specific immune responses to vaccines. Formulation of vaccines with potent adjuvants is an attractive approach for enhancing immune responses to subunit antigens. Adjuvants have diverse mechanisms of action and should be selected for use based on the route of administration and the type of immune response (antibody, cell-mediated, or mucosal) desired for a particular vaccine. Adjuvant mechanisms of action include: (i) increasing the biological or immunological half-life of vaccine antigens; (ii) improving antigen delivery and presentation; and (iii) inducing the production of immunomodulatory cytokines. Through modulation of cytokine responses, adjuvant formulations can be designed that favour the development of Th1 (type 1) or Th2 (type 2) immune responses to vaccine antigens. Novel adjuvants are currently undergoing preclinical and clinical testing with experimental vaccines, including vaccines against HIV-1. Standardized preclinical adjuvant safety tests are also being developed.
Silicon Valley as an Early Adopter for On-Demand Civil VTOL Operations

With high incomes, long commutes, severe ground geographic constraints, severe highway congestion during peak commute times, high housing costs, and near perfect year-round weather, the Silicon Valley is positioned to be an excellent early adopter market for emerging aviation On-Demand Mobility transportation solutions. Prior efforts have attempted to use existing aviation platforms (helicopters or General Aviation aircraft) with existing infrastructure solutions, or only investigated new vehicle platforms without understanding how to incorporate new vehicle types into existing built-up communities. Research has been performed with the objective of minimizing door-to-door time for "Hyper Commuters" (frequent, long-distance commuters) in the Silicon Valley through the development of new helipad infrastructure for ultra-low noise Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. Current travel times for chosen city-pairs across urban and suburban commutes are compared to future mobility concepts that provide significantly higher utilization and productivity to yield competitive operating costs compared to existing transportation choices. Helipads are introduced near current modes of transportation and infrastructure for ease-of-access, and maximizing proximity. Strategies for both private and public infrastructure development are presented that require no new land purchase while minimizing community noise exposure. New VTOL concepts are introduced with cruise speeds of 200 mph, which yield a greater than three times improvement in overall door-to-door time when compared to current automobiles, and in some cases, improvements of up to 6 times lower trip times.
3D printed metalized-polymer UWB high-gain Vivaldi antennas

This paper introduces a UWB high gain Vivaldi antenna fabricated with a polymer-based 3D printer. 3D printing technology allows for simple fabrication that is easier, faster, and lower cost compared to traditional microfabrication and metal fabrication techniques. Two 3D printed designs are presented, the first of which is a simple Vivaldi notch antenna with a radiating slotline cavity. The second design consists of a bilateral Vivaldi with a partially covered cavity, which increases the bandwidth and gain of the antenna. Both designs are printed with an acrylic-based polymer, blanket metalized with a thin copper layer, and fed with a 50 Ω coaxial feed. Both antennas show an extremely wide bandwidth of approximately 14 GHz from 4 to 18 GHz. In addition, the maximum gain of the antennas is approximately 12 dB. The measured results match well with the simulated results, showing the potential for these antennas as low cost, wideband, high gain alternatives which could be used in modern UWB communication systems.
Liberal Arts: Leadership Education in the 21st Century.

This chapter focuses on strategies and processes that integrate leadership learning across institutions. It discusses how leadership education fits a liberal education in various institutional types and operationalizes leadership and liberal arts curricula with five competencies.
Fronteras que revuelven: A Filmic Study of “La Línea” in Tijuana

This article rethinks the concept of border through a spatial and phenomenological ethnographic film study of “la Linea” (the Line) in the city of Tijuana. La Linea is a term used by residents to refer to the San Ysidro border checkpoint between Mexico and the United States, the most transited border in the world. This is a site composed of varied and contradictory lines and movements, with commuters waiting in line to cross the border and vendors walking around to sell their products to stationary cars. For crossers, the checkpoint represents a liminal space of waiting as they stand in long lines to enter the United States. For vendors, the site is a destination where many have worked for generations. While crossers are mobile in the sense of daily movement across borders, they remain relatively immobile in this site as they wait in line. Vendors do not generally cross the border and are perceived to be permanent fixtures yet are hyper mobile compared to crossers in the context of this space. By using the method of walking with a camera to follow vendors as they work along various paths or lines, we learn how people perceive and understand their place in the world along the border. I propose act of revolver (to mix, to stir) as an essential force that expands the concept of border, as well as reflexivity in ethnographic filmmaking.Video: https://vimeo.com/139190482
Classifying characteristic mode crossing avoidances with symmetry and energy coupling

Crossing avoidances in characteristic mode eigenvalues are discussed in the context of modal symmetry and inter-modal energies. Imperfect symmetry enforcement by coarse meshing is identified as a potential cause of spurious crossing avoidances. Inter-modal energy is discussed as a possible a priori analysis to guide fast, wideband modal tracking algorithms.
Abstract 4198: mTORC2 directs breast morphogenesis through Rictor-dependent PKCα/Rac1 signaling independent of Akt

Akt phosphorylation is a major driver of cell survival, motility, and proliferation in development and disease, causing increased interest in upstream regulators of Akt like mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2). We used genetic disruption of Rictor to impair mTORC2 activity in mouse mammary epithelia, which decreased Akt phosphorylation, ductal length, secondary branching, cell motility, and cell survival. These effects were recapitulated with a pharmacological dual inhibitor of mTORC1/mTORC2, but not upon genetic disruption of mTORC1 function via Raptor knock-out. Surprisingly, Akt re-activation was insufficient to rescue survival, branching, or motility of mTORC2-impaired mammary epithelial cells (MECs). However, activation of the mTORC2 substrate protein kinase C (PKC)-α fully rescued branching, invasion, and survival of MECs after genetic or pharmacological mTORC2 inhibition. PKCα-mediated signaling through the small GTPase Rac1 was necessary for mTORC2-dependent mammary morphogenesis, revealing a novel role for Rictor/mTORC2 in survival and motility of untransformed MECs through an Akt-independent, PKCα/Rac1-dependent mechanism. Ongoing analyses of mammary specific Rictor-deletion in genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer support a key role for mTORC2 in tumor progression and metastasis. Citation Format: Dana M. Brantley-Sieders, Meghan M. Morrison, Donna J. Hicks, Rebecca S. Cook. mTORC2 directs breast morphogenesis through Rictor-dependent PKCα/Rac1 signaling independent of Akt. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4198. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4198
Asp263 missense variants perturb the active site of human phosphoglucomutase 1.

The enzyme phosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1) plays a central role in glucose homeostasis. Clinical studies have identified mutations in human PGM1 as the cause of PGM1 deficiency, an inherited metabolic disease. One residue, Asp263, has two known variants associated with disease: D263G and D263Y. Biochemical studies have shown that these mutants are soluble and well folded, but have significant catalytic impairment. To better understand this catalytic defect, we determined crystal structures of these two missense variants, both of which reveal a similar and indirect structural change due to the loss of a conserved salt bridge between Asp263 and Arg293. The arginine reorients into the active site, making interactions with residues responsible for substrate binding. Biochemical studies also show that the catalytic phosphoserine of the missense variants is more stable to hydrolysis relative to wild-type enzyme. The structural perturbation resulting from mutation of this single amino acid reveals the molecular mechanism underlying PGM1 deficiency in these missense variants. Database Structural data are available in the PDB under the accession numbers 5JN5 and 5TR2.
Depicting abortion access on American television, 2005–2015:

Despite an increasing number of restrictions on accessing abortion care in the United States, most Americans remain unaware of challenges to obtaining abortion. Theorists of abortion stigma have po...
A Review of the Year in Family Law 2012­–2013: A Banner Year for Same-Sex Couples

The volume of cases this year involving same-sex marriage, including one from the United States Supreme Court (United States v. Windsor) striking part of the Defense of Marriage Act, federal courts invalidating state bans on equal protection grounds, and several additional states allowing same-sex couples to marry, left little doubt of this year’s central theme. In addition, another Supreme Court case interpreted the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act to an out-of-wedlock child and a third examined whether a return order made an appeal moot under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. While state cases ran the predictable course in the usual topics, this year some areas saw more activity than before. For example, a large number of cases discussed alternative dispute resolution, surrogacy contracts, same-sex parenting issues, and jurisdiction to grant a divorce.
Solid-State NMR of highly 13C-enriched cholesterol in lipid bilayers

Cholesterol (Chol) is vital for cell function as it is essential to a myriad of biochemical and biophysical processes. The atomistic details of Chol's interactions with phospholipids and proteins is therefore of fundamental interest, and NMR offers unique opportunities to interrogate these properties at high resolution. Towards this end, here we describe approaches for examining the structure and dynamics of Chol in lipid bilayers using high levels of 13C enrichment in combination with magic-angle spinning (MAS) methods. We quantify the incorporation levels and demonstrate high sensitivity and resolution in 2D 13C-13C and 1H-13C spectra, enabling de novo assignments and site-resolved order parameter measurements obtained in a fraction of the time required for experiments with natural abundance sterols. We envision many potential future applications of these methods to study sterol interactions with drugs, lipids and proteins.
The Fifth Amendment Disclosure Obligations of Government Employers When Interrogating Public Employees

Under established Fifth Amendment principles, if a government employer interrogates an employee on penalty of discipline or job loss, none of the statements obtained during that interrogation may be used against the employee in subsequent proceedings, and the government employer cannot constitutionally discipline or fire the employee for failure to waive this right to immunity. Courts are divided, however, on the issue of whether a government employer has a duty to give public employees notice of these rights and immunities prior to interrogation. One group of circuits adopts the "no affirmative tender" approach, which rejects a notice requirement and automatically attaches immunity when public employees are compelled to waive their right to immunity and answer potentially incriminating questions on penalty of disciplinary action or job loss. A second group of circuits adopts the "duty to advise" approach, which requires government employers to give employees notice of their rights and immunities under the Fifth Amendment, as well as the consequences to any decisions they may make. This article argues that courts should adopt the "duty to advise" approach, for four reasons. First, this approach eliminates the potential for public employees to attempt to exercise their constitutional privilege against self-incrimination and unknowingly subject themselves to discipline. Second, it eliminates the potential that the government will use its position of power to manipulate or exploit public employees. Third, the duty imposed on the government in comparison to the protection afforded to the employees would be inherently low. Fourth, it facilitates the government in the process of fact-finding by giving the employees an incentive for honesty.
Disarming the virulence arsenal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by blocking two-component system signaling.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections have reached a “critical” threat status making novel therapeutic approaches required. Inhibiting key signaling enzymes known as the histidine kinases (HKs), which are heavily involved with its pathogenicity, has been postulated to be an effective new strategy for treatment. Herein, we demonstrate the potential of this approach with benzothiazole-based HK inhibitors that perturb multiple virulence pathways in the burn wound P. aeruginosa isolate, PA14. Specifically, our compounds significantly reduce the level of toxic metabolites generated by this organism that are involved in quorum-sensing and redox-balancing mechanisms. They also decrease the ability of this organism to swarm and attach to surfaces, likely by influencing their motility appendages. Quantitative transcription analysis of inhibitor-treated cultures showed substantial perturbations to multiple pathways including expression of response regulator GacA, the cognate partner of the “super regulator” of virulence, HK GacS, as well as flagella and pili formation. These promising results establish that blocking of bacterial signaling in P. aeruginosa has dramatic consequences on virulence behaviours, especially in the context of surface-associated infections.
Reconstitution of Vertebral Height in Histiocytosis X: A Long-Term Follow-up

Ten children with histiocytosis X with vertebral column involvement were followed through the natural course of the disease. The characteristic roentgen findings were (1) a variable degree of collapse of a vertebral body, (2) no thinning or thickening of the adjacent intervetebral discs, and (3) absence of a soft-tissue mass. The natural history was one of restoration of varying degree in vertebral height. This could occur even though there had been almost complete collapse (vertebra plana) at the onset of the disease. Neurological complications were rare and the eventual outcome of all the patients did not appear to be affected by the type of treatment given.
Recent Studies on the Interaction of 5-Fluoro-2′-deoxyuridylate with Thymidylate Synthetase

Publisher Summary This chapter presents recent studies on the interaction of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylate with thymidylate synthetase (TSase). The mechanism of the inhibition of TSase by FdUMP has intrigued biochemists since the discovery that the nucleotide becomes irreversibly bound to the enzyme under denaturing conditions. A hypothesis for the mechanism of formation of the ternary TSase-FdUMP-5, 10-CH2H4-folate complex has been formulated on the basis of the important observations. First, it was discovered that the 5-proton of dUMP undergoes exchange during the course of the enzyme reaction. Subsequent studies of this phenomenon using chemical models showed that exchange of the 5-proton occurred via nucleophilic attack on the C-6 position of dUMP, resulting in addition of the nucleophile to the 5, 6 double bond. Both in the reversible formation of the ternary TSase-FdUMP-cofactor complex as well as in the enzymatic reaction, there is an obligatory binding order for the reactants. Moreover, full enzyme activity can be regenerated from the inactive complex in the presence of dUMP. This establishes a new pathway for the renewal of dTMP synthesis in tumor cells as dUMP levels begin to increase after 5-FU treatment.
2005 ECJ Direct Tax Cases

This covers the major direct tax cases on direct taxation decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2005, including Schempp (cross-border alimony payments) and Marks & Spencer (cross-border losses).