cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptor 2 Negatively Regulates Neointimal Formation in Mouse Arteries

Neointimal lesion formation was induced in sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor 2 (S1P2)-null and wild-type mice by ligation of the left carotid artery. After 28 days, large neointimal lesions developed in S1P2-null but not in wild-type arteries. This was accompanied with a significant increase in both medial and intimal smooth muscle cell (SMC) replication between days 4 to 28, with only minimal replication in wild-type arteries. S1P2-null SMCs showed a significant increase in migration when stimulated with S1P alone and together with platelet-derived growth factor, whereas both wild-type and null SMCs migrated equally well to platelet-derived growth factor. S1P increased Rho activation in wild-type but not in S1P2-null SMCs, and inhibition of Rho activity promoted S1P-induced SMC migration. Plasma S1P levels were similar and did not change after surgery. These results suggest that activation of S1P2 normally acts to suppress SMC growth in arteries and that S1P is a regulator of neointimal development.
Depression, Stress, and Blood Pressure in Urban African‐American Women

African-American women have disturbingly high rates of hypertension, exceeding those of African-American men and other ethnic groups. Reasons for these disparities are not understood. Depression, more common in women than men, has been linked to endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, metabolic and hematologic abnormalities, and increased sympathetic nervous system activity--all factors associated with cardiovascular disease. A descriptive correlational design was used to test the following hypotheses: 1) African-American women with higher levels of depression will have higher blood pressure (BP) levels, more cardiovascular risk factors, greater stress, and lower social support; and 2) depression will mediate the relationship between stress and BP. A convenience sample of 245 hypertensive African-American women (mean age, 61+/-12.7 years) was recruited through free BP screenings offered in the community. All data were collected during a structured interview and brief physical examination. Pearson r correlation coefficients, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the hypotheses. Women with higher levels of depression had higher diastolic BP and were more likely to smoke, eat fewer fruits and vegetables, and have more stress and less social support. Depression mediated the relationship between stress and diastolic BP. The findings emphasize the importance of assessing both behavioral and psychosocial factors in urban African-American women with hypertension.
A Mathematical Model of Cancer Stem Cell Lineage Population Dynamics with Mutation Accumulation and Telomere Length Hierarchies

There is evidence that cancer develops when cells acquire a sequence of mutations that alter normal cell characteristics. This sequence determines a hierarchy among the cells, based on how many more mutations they need to accumulate in order to become cancerous. When cells divide, they exhibit telomere loss and differentiate, which defines another cell hierarchy, on top of which is the stem cell. We propose a mutation-generation model, which combines the mutation-accumulation hierarchy with the differentiation hierarchy of the cells, allowing us to take a step further in examining cancer development and growth. The results of the model support the hypothesis of the cancer stem cell’s role in cancer pathogenesis: a very small fraction of the cancer cell population is responsible for the cancer growth and development. Also, according to the model, the nature of mutation accumulation is sufficient to explain the faster growth of the cancer cell population. However, numerical results show that in order for a cancer to develop within a reasonable time frame, cancer cells need to exhibit a higher proliferation rate than normal cells.
Querying in Packs: Trustworthy Data Management in Ad Hoc Networks

We describe a trust-based data management framework enabling mobile devices to access the distributed computation, storage, and sensory resources available in pervasive computing environments. Available resources include those in the fixed surrounding infrastructure as well as services offered by other nearby mobile devices. We take a holistic approach that considers data trust, security, and privacy and focus on the collaborative mechanisms providing a trustworthy data management platform in an ad hoc network. The framework is based on a pack formation mechanism that enables collaborative peer interactions using context information and landmarks. A pack provides a routing substrate allowing devices to find reliable information sources and coordinated pro-active and reactive mechanisms to detect and respond to malicious activity. Consequently, a pack forms a foundation for distributed trust management and data intensive interactions. We describe our data management framework with an emphasis on pack formation in mobile ad hoc networks and present preliminary results from simulation experiments.
Modeling and forecasting pine sawtimber stumpage prices in the US South by various time series models

Among the three timberland return drivers (biological growth, timber price, and land price), timber price remains the most unpredictable. It affects not only periodic dividends from timber sales bu...
Early Studies of the Photostasis Phenomenon

In 1967, Young described the turnover of outer segment membranes in the retinal rods of rats. By administering radioactive amino acids as precursors for protein production, and sacrificing the animals after various intervals, Young illustrated a series of events from synthesis and incorporation of new membranous discs at the base of the rod outer segment (ROS) to the shedding, phagocytosis, and degradation of ROS tips. In the rat, this process was shown to take approximately 10 days. Several years later, Young (1976) had come to the conclusion that most of the energy that a rod expends goes not to the initiation of the visual message but to the repeated replacement of its own molecules. Since its discovery, although several researchers have addressed the question (Kaplan et al., 1978; Baylor et al., 1979; Andrews and Cohen, 1983; Williams, 1984), no one has found the reason for this energy-expensive turnover.
Genome Cluster Database. A Sequence Family Analysis Platform for Arabidopsis and Rice

The genome-wide protein sequences from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) spp. japonica were clustered into families using sequence similarity and domain-based clustering. The two fundamentally different methods resulted in separate cluster sets with complementary properties to compensate the limitations for accurate family analysis. Functional names for the identified families were assigned with an efficient computational approach that uses the description of the most common molecular function gene ontology node within each cluster. Subsequently, multiple alignments and phylogenetic trees were calculated for the assembled families. All clustering results and their underlying sequences were organized in the Web-accessible Genome Cluster Database (http://bioinfo.ucr.edu/projects/GCD) with rich interactive and user-friendly sequence family mining tools to facilitate the analysis of any given family of interest for the plant science community. An automated clustering pipeline ensures current information for future updates in the annotations of the two genomes and clustering improvements. The analysis allowed the first systematic identification of family and singlet proteins present in both organisms as well as those restricted to one of them. In addition, the established Web resources for mining these data provide a road map for future studies of the composition and structure of protein families between the two species.
Regulation of HOXA2 gene expression by the ATP‐dependent chromatin remodeling enzyme CHD8

Chromodomain, helicase, DNA-binding protein 8 (CHD8) is an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzyme that has been demonstrated to exist within a large protein complex which includes WDR5, Ash2L, and RbBP5, members of the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) histone modifying complexes. Here we show that CHD8 relocalizes to the promoter of the MLL regulated gene HOXA2 upon gene activation. Depletion of CHD8 enhances HOXA2 expression under activating conditions. Furthermore, depletion of CHD8 results in a loss of the WDR5/Ash2L/RbBP5 subcomplex, and consequently H3K4 trimethylation, at the HOXA2 promoter. These studies suggest that CHD8 alters HOXA2 gene expression and regulates the recruitment of chromatin modifying enzymes.
Working Memory: A View from Neuroimaging

Abstract We have used neuroimaging techniques, mainly positron emission tomography (PET), to study cognitively driven issues about working memory. Two kinds of experiments are described. In the first kind, we employ standard subtraction logic to uncover the basic components of working memory. These studies indicate that: (a) there are different working-memory systems for spatial, object, and verbal information (with the spatial system localized more in the right hemisphere, and the verbal system more in the left hemisphere); (b) within at least the spatial and verbal systems, separable components seem to be responsible for the passive storage of information and the active maintenance of information (with the storage component being localized more in the back of the brain, and the maintenance component in the front); and (c) there may be separate components responsible for processing the contents of working memory (localized in prefrontal cortex). In our second kind of experiment we have focused on verbal working memory and incrementally varied one task parameter—memory load—in an effort to obtain a more fine-grained analysis of the system's operations. The results indicate that all relevant components of the system show some increase in activity with increasing memory load (e.g., the frontal regions responsible for verbal rehearsal show incremental increases in activation with increasing memory load). In contrast, brain regions that are not part of the working-memory system show no effect of memory load. Furthermore, the time courses of activation may differ for regions that are sensitive to load versus those that are not. Taken together, our results provide support for certain cognitive models of working memory (e.g., Baddeley, 1992) and also suggest some distinctions that these models have not emphasized. And more fundamentally, the results provide a neural base for cognitive models of working memory.
Apparent dependence of rupture force on loading rate in single-molecule force spectroscopy.

Force spectroscopy is becoming an important tool in physicochemical research and allows the extraction of kinetic parameters of dissociation that are not available to other techniques. The theory of single-molecule force spectroscopy has received considerable attention over the last several years and continues to be developed. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the force measurement mode is one of the most common methods to perform force spectroscopy measurements. In these experiments, rupture forces between interacting molecules are measured as a function of the AFM probe velocity. The resulting dependence of most probable rupture force on loading rate is then used to extract kinetic information. Although this technique is becoming widespread, we find that some important experimental aspects require more thorough consideration. One of these seemingly simple aspects is a methodology of extracting rupture force from a force curve. Herein, we discuss how this methodology might have a significant impact on the interpretation of force spectroscopy measurements. Consider the force-separation curve with a rupture event shown in Figure 1. A part of the force curve corresponding to the stretching of the polymeric tether prior to the rupture without added noise is shown with a solid line. With noise this dependence might show a considerable amount of scatter. Therefore, if the rupture force is obtained as a difference between the most outstanding data points in the vicinity of the rupture event, then the root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude of the noise will be added to the rupture force, as illustrated in the figure. The RMS amplitude of noise that is added might depend on the pulling velocity and therefore affect kinetic parameters obtained in force spectroscopy measurements. The dependence of the noise amplitude Fn the on probe velocity v can be written as [Eq. (1)]:
Surface and interfacial FTIR spectroscopic studies of latexes. III. The effects of substrate surface tension and elongation on exudation of surfactants

This paper focuses on the effect of the substrate surface tension and mechanical elongation of EA/MAA latex films on the ionic and nonionic surfactant mobility. Although the mobility of anionic surfactants is inherently sensitive to the substrate surface tension, nonionic surfactants appear to remain uniformly distributed across the latex film. This behavior is attributed to the enhanced compatibility with the copolymer latex. Mechanical elongation of the latex films enhances surfactant exudation to the surface due to the increased surface energy of the film forcing surfactants to the latex surface.
Secure space-time communication

Network security is important for information protection in open, secure, or covert communications. One such requirement is to achieve high-rate communications between clients, e.g., terminals or sensors, in the network while hiding information about the transmitted symbols, signal activity, or other sensitive data from an unintended receiver, e.g., an eavesdropper. For wireless links, the single-user capacity advantages of deployment of multiple antennas at the transmitter is well known. One of the principal conclusions of this paper is that proper exploitation of space-time diversity at the transmitter can also enhance information security and information-hiding capabilities. In particular, we show that significant gains are achievable when the transmitter and the client receiver are both informed about their channel while the transmitter and eavesdropper receiver are uniformed about their channel. More generally, we compare capacity limits for both informed and uninformed transmitter and informed receiver scenarios subject to low probability of intercept (LPI) and low probability of detection (LPD) constraints. For several general cases, we can characterize the LPI- and LPD-optimal transmitted source distributions and compare them to the standard optimal source distribution satisfying a power constraint. We assume the standard quasi-static flat Rayleigh-fading channel model for the transmitter-receiver pairs. This paper is a step toward answering the fundamental question: what are the qualitative and quantitative differences between the information-carrying capabilities of open space-time channels versus secure space-time channels?
MlCROWAVE HEATING OF FOOD MATERIALS AT VARIOUS ALTITUDES

Temperature differences, moisture losses and viscosity changes of food products prepared in a microwave oven at different elevations were determined. Experiments with apples, potatoes, squash, ground meat, scrambled eggs, custard sauce and soups were carried out at atmospheric pressures equivalent to sea level, 2500 ft, 5000 ft, and 7500 ft of elevation Results indicated that altitude affects final temperatures and weight losses of foods heated in a microwave oven and has to be considered when microwave heating conditions are established for people living in the high altitude region of the U.S.
Internet Campaigning for Grassroots and Astroturf Support

This article explores how participation was promoted on the web sites of U.S. Senate candidates in the 2004 election. The research formalizes the concept of plagiarized participation, whereby would-be participators are encouraged to present the words of others as their own in support of a cause. The campaign web site functions of encouraging supporters to write letters to their friends and to newspapers provide an ideal test for the appeal of plagiarized participation. The broader mobilization efforts of candidates are also documented. Providing frequency counts and text examples, this article gives a systematic view of Internet campaigning for grass-roots and astroturf support.
Calcium Carbonate as a Source of Alkali

Do the high doses of calcium carbonate used for phosphate binding in dialysis patients serve as a significant source of alkali? If so, can the effect be quantified or is it unpredictable?
Toward Rigorous Idiographic Research in Prevention Science: Comparison Between Three Analytic Strategies for Testing Preventive Intervention in Very Small Samples

Psychosocial prevention research lacks evidence from intensive within-person lines of research to understand idiographic processes related to development and response to intervention. Such data could be used to fill gaps in the literature and expand the study design options for prevention researchers, including lower-cost yet rigorous studies (e.g., for program evaluations), pilot studies, designs to test programs for low prevalence outcomes, selective/indicated/adaptive intervention research, and understanding of differential response to programs. This study compared three competing analytic strategies designed for this type of research: autoregressive moving average, mixed model trajectory analysis, and P-technique. Illustrative time series data were from a pilot study of an intervention for nursing home residents with diabetes (N = 4) designed to improve control of blood glucose. A within-person, intermittent baseline design was used. Intervention effects were detected using each strategy for the aggregated sample and for individual patients. The P-technique model most closely replicated observed glucose levels. ARIMA and P-technique models were most similar in terms of estimated intervention effects and modeled glucose levels. However, ARIMA and P-technique also were more sensitive to missing data, outliers and number of observations. Statistical testing suggested that results generalize both to other persons as well as to idiographic, longitudinal processes. This study demonstrated the potential contributions of idiographic research in prevention science as well as the need for simulation studies to delineate the research circumstances when each analytic approach is optimal for deriving the correct parameter estimates.
Down-Regulation of the 26S Proteasome Subunit RPN9 Inhibits Viral Systemic Transport and Alters Plant Vascular Development

Plant viruses utilize the vascular system for systemic movement. The plant vascular network also transports water, photosynthates, and signaling molecules and is essential for plant growth. However, the molecular mechanisms governing vascular development and patterning are still largely unknown. From viral transport suppressor screening using virus-induced gene silencing, we identified a 26S proteasome subunit, RPN9, which is required for broad-spectrum viral systemic transport. Silencing of RPN9 in Nicotiana benthamiana inhibits systemic spread of two taxonomically distinct viruses, Tobacco mosaic virus and Turnip mosaic virus. The 26S proteasome is a highly conserved eukaryotic protease complex controlling many fundamental biochemical processes, but the functions of many 26S proteasome regulatory subunits, especially in plants, are still poorly understood. We demonstrate that the inhibition of viral systemic transport after RPN9 silencing is largely due to alterations in the vascular tissue. RPN9-silenced plants display extra leaf vein formation with increased xylem and decreased phloem. We further illustrate that RPN9 functions at least in part through regulation of auxin transport and brassinosteroid signaling, two processes that are crucial for vascular formation. We propose that RPN9 regulates vascular formation by targeting a subset of regulatory proteins for degradation. The brassinosteroid-signaling protein BZR1 is one of the targets.
Dynamic modeling and parameter identification of a parallel haptic interface

This paper describes the dynamic modeling of a five degree of freedom parallel haptic interface. A novel hand/mechanism partition is used to define the mechanism so that the model can be built up from five identical actuator rod models. The dynamic equations for each rod are first derived using the Newton/Euler equations and are then linearized to obtain an impedance transfer function model for each rod. This model is then used as the basis for the overall mechanism model by noting that parallel impedances add. The transfer function between actuator forces and sensed axial forces at the rod tips, needed for multivariable force control, is derived using the mechanism and rod models. Finally, parameter identification using these models is also discussed.
Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics 1997

The 1999 Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, the eleventh anniversary, was held at the Bank on April 28-30, 1999. The discussions focused on three trends of development: 1) the emerging international financial architecture; 2) challenges to social development; and 3) lessons from a decade of transition. Twelve papers were presented on a variety of topics including corporate governance, short-term capital flows, and the relationships between crime, violence, and inequitable development. The keynote addresses by Noble Laureate Kenneth Arrow, Secretary of the US Treasury Lawrence Summers, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, senior vice president, Development Economics and chief economist at the World Bank and former chair of the US Council of Economic Advisors, broach many of the topics that were central to the conference. They examine technological knowledge and innovation and global integration and look back at the arduous process of transition in the former Soviet Union.
Improved cell sensitivity and longevity in a rapid impedance-based toxicity sensor.

A number of toxicity sensors for testing field water using a range of eukaryotic cell types have been proposed, but it has been difficult to identify sensors with both appropriate sensitivity to toxicants and the potential for long-term viability. Assessment of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cell (BPAEC) monolayer electrical impedance with electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) showed promise in a previous systematic evaluation of toxicity sensor technologies. The goal of the study reported here was to improve toxicant responsiveness and field portability of this cell-based toxicity sensor. A variety of human cells, non-human mammalian cells, and non-mammalian vertebrate cells were screened for sensitivity to 12 waterborne industrial chemicals. The results of this assessment show that bovine lung microvessel endothelial cell (BLMVEC) monolayers and iguana heart (IgH-2) cell monolayers could detect nine out of the 12 waterborne industrial chemicals, an improvement over the seven chemicals previously detected using BPAEC monolayers. Both the BLMVEC and IgH-2 cell monolayers were tested for their ability for long-term survival on the ECIS test chips in a laboratory environment. Both cell lines were able to maintain high impedance readings on the ECIS electrodes for 37 days, a key trait in developing a field-portable toxicity sensor for water. Cell line optimization has greatly contributed to the on-going development of a field-portable cell-based biosensor that detects with sensitivity a wide range of waterborne toxicants. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Technology-Mediated versus Face-to-Face Intergenerational Programming

Abstract Elderly computer novices received 1-on-1 e-mail training, which enabled them to communicate electronically with elementary school-aged pen-pals. A traditional intergenerational visiting program was conducted concurrently. Program evaluation revealed that the intergenerational visiting program was rated favorably by 88% of the participating seniors and the intergenerational e-mail program was rated favorably by 57% of the seniors. Yet, only 6 (out of 23) seniors expressed interest in continuing to e-mail their pen-pals beyond the program period. While technology may never take the place of human contact for some seniors, increased computer support as well as arranging for e-mail pen-pals to meet in person might help boost the popularity of this form of intergenerational communication.
Asymptotic perturbation theory

In the foregoing chapters we have been concerned almost exclusively with analytic or uniform perturbation theory, in which the continuity in norm of the resolvent in the parameter plays the fundamental role. We shall now go into a study in which the basic notion is the strong continuity of the resolvent. Here the assumptions are weakened to such an extent that the analyticity of the resolvent or of the eigenvalues of the operator as functions of the parameter cannot be concluded, but we shall be able to deduce, under suitable conditions, the possibility of asymptotic expansions of these quantities.
Altered mental status and low anion gap in a patient with sickle cell anemia: a case report

It is challenging to diagnose two coexisting medical conditions if the symptoms are overlapping. This is further confounded if the patient presents with an unexplained deterioration in mental status. A low anion gap or a zero anion gap is an uncommon clinical finding and has few differential diagnoses. This test therefore has important implications in correctly identifying underlying medical conditions. A 50-year-old African American male patient with sickle cell disease presented with refractory anemia, recurrent bone pains and encephalopathy. Routine testing failed to explain his mental deterioration. A laboratory finding of a low anion gap pointed in the direction of multiple myeloma as the underlying cause. This in turn led to an appropriate and timely course of treatment and clinical improvement. We present a very rare case of sickle cell anemia with coexisting multiple myeloma. This case sparks an interesting discussion on the anion gap, of which a clinician should be aware. It highlights the importance of the use of a verifiable anion gap in diagnosing medical conditions beyond the routine diagnosis of acid base disorders.
Instantaneous Phase-Locked Loop for performance improvement of power system with STATCOM under single-line to ground fault

Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) based STATCOM is used for voltage regulation in transmission and distribution systems. STATCOMs often tripped and shut down during power system faults such as Single-Line to Ground (SLG) fault, mainly due to over current protection when the voltage support is needed the most. For “angle-controlled” STATCOM, there are generally two possible control methods to improve the STATCOM performance. One is implementing separate conventional PLLs (Phase-Locked Loop) and multiple controllers for positive and negative sequences, and another is implementing single PLL, which is able to provide information of both positive and negative sequences, with a single controller. In this paper, the required PLL signal to improve the STATCOM performance under power system fault will be introduced without the need for sequence extraction control blocks. The proposed synchronization method is called Instantaneous PLL (or IPLL). As a result, over-currents (and trips) in the VSC during faults is prevented, and the STATCOM provides voltage support and required reactive power. The detailed analysis of the proposed IPLL signal effect on a 100 MVA angle-controlled STATCOM is presented.
A comparison of tantalum-niobium oxide assemblages in two mineralogically distinct rare-element granitic pegmatites, Black Hills, South Dakota

A comparison is made between Ta-Nb mineral assemblages of two Li-enriched but mineralogically distinct rare-element granitic pegmatites in the Black Hills, South Dakota. The Bob Ingersoll No. I pegmatite is lepidolite-bearing, whereas the Tin Mountain pegmatite is spodumene-bearing, Both pegmatites display a diverse assemblage of Ta-Nb minerals. A general paragenetic sequence of the Ta-M mineral species in these pegmatites is representedby: ferrocolumbite - manganocolumbite - manganotantalite - microlite + tapiolite (+ wodginite). In both pegmatites, the Ta,/(Ia+M) ratio of the columbite-tantalite (CT) increases systematically from the wall zone to the core. The systematic increase of Ta at the expense of Nb in the pegmatites correlates with a sequence of crystallization determined by other mineral indicators (i.e., tourmaline, K-feldspar, mica). The wall zone, which crystallized first, contains CT with the lowest Tal(Ta+M) ratios, The intermediate zones crystallized simultaneously and show an overlap in Tal(Ta+M) values. The core contains the highest levels of Ta and was the last unit to consolidate. In addition, the Mn/(Mn + Fe) ratio in the CT increases from wall zone to core. An early Mn-enrichment of the CT occurs in the wall zone of the lepidolite-bearing pegmatite, and may parallel an early F-enrichment of the crystallizing melt. The difference in F content between the two pegmatites also influenced the differences in Sn mineralization. Microlite and tapiolite in each pegmatite have the highest TalM of the Ta - Nb oxides. In the core of the Tin Mountain, microlite, tapiolite, and wodginite are associated with albite-mica replacement of spodumene + quartz. The microlite contains evidence of hydrothermal alteration following crystallization. An increase inflO) during crystallization may be indicated by Fe3+ in the wodginite and microlite.
Trends in Phishing Attacks: Suggestions for Future Research

One of the most common and costly forms of deception and fraud online is phishing. Due to the ramifications of successful phishing attacks, security experts and researchers seek to better understand this phenomenon. Prior phishing research has addressed the “bait” and “hook” components of phishing attacks, the human-computer interaction that takes place as users judge the veracity of phishing emails and websites, and the development of technologies that can aid users in identifying and rejecting these attacks. Despite the extant research on this topic, phishing attacks continue to be successful as tactics evolve, rendering existing research less relevant. Although numerous tools have been created to aid people in recognizing phishing attacks, users disregard the recommendations of these tools. This paper summarizes the core of phishing research, provides an update on trending attack methods, and proposes future research addressing computer credibility in a phishing context. Proudfoot et al. Comparing Current Phishing Attacks to Prior Research Trends in Phishing Attacks: Suggestions for Future Research Research in Progress
Multijurisdictional Practice: A Changing Landscape

This article discusses the new rule of Professional Responsibility that allows lawyers to practice law in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is not admitted.
Low Earth Orbit Space Plasma High Voltage System Interactions

Space power systems interact with the low Earth orbit (LEO) space plasma in two different ways. One way is the steady collection of current from the plasma onto exposed conductors. The relative currents collected by different parts of the system will determine the floating potential of the spacecraft. Also, steady state collected currents may lead to sputtering or heating of the system by ions or electrons, respectively. The second type of interaction is a short timescale arc into the space plasma, which may deplete the spacecraft of stored charge, damage surfaces, and produce EMI. Such arcs occur at high negative potentials relative to the space plasma potential, and depend on the steady state ion currents. New high voltage power systems incorporated into advanced spacecraft and space platforms may be endangered by these plasma interactions. Recent advances in laboratory testing and current collection modeling promise the capability of controlling, and perhaps even using, space plasma interactions to enable design of reliable high voltage space power systems.
Why embodiment now

Embodiment is a promising new area for theory development, but several issues impair its evolution, including confusion over terminology and a lack of organization of existing literature. Embodiment is defined, based on the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty. Works of scholars and current debate about embo
Dental Education and Evidence-Based Educational Best Practices: Bridging the Great Divide

Research about educational best practices is negatively perceived by many dental faculty. Separation between teaching and learning strategies commonly employed in dental education and evidence-based educational techniques is real and caused by a variety of factors: the often incomprehensible jargon of educational specialists; traditional academic dominance of research, publication, and grantsmanship in faculty promotions; institutional undervaluing of teaching and the educational process; and departmentalization of dental school governance with resultant narrowness of academic vision. Clinician-dentists hired as dental school faculty may model teaching activities on decades-old personal experiences, ignoring recent educational evidence and the academic culture. Dentistry's twin internal weaknesses--factionalism and parochialism--contribute to academic resistance to change and unwillingness to share power. Dental accreditation is a powerful impetus toward inclusion of best teaching and learning evidence in dental education. This article will describe how the gap between traditional educational strategies and research-based practices can be reduced by several approaches including dental schools' promotion of learning cultures that encourage and reward faculty who earn advanced degrees in education, regular evaluation of teaching by peers and educational consultants with inclusion of the results of these evaluations in promotion and tenure committee deliberations, creating tangible reward systems to recognize and encourage teaching excellence, and basing faculty development programs on adult learning principles. Leadership development should be part of faculty enrichment, as effective administration is essential to dental school mission fulfillment. Finally, faculty who investigate the effectiveness of educational techniques need to make their research more available by publishing it, more understandable by reducing educational jargon, and more relevant to the day-to-day teaching issues that dental school faculty encounter in classrooms, labs, and clinics.
Blackout in Brazil Power Grid on February 4,2011 and Inspirations for Stable Operation of Power Grid

On February 4,2011,a wide spread electrical blackout occurred in Northeast Brazil power grid.The accident spread 8 states,and about 40 million people were involved.The pre-fault situation,cause,spread and restoration of the blackout are described.The lessons and experiences of the blackout are analyzed and summarized.Some recommendations for ensuring the security and stability of China's power grid and preventing the occurrence of blackout in China are presented.
Rethinking Ovid: The Commentary Tradition

“Rethinking Ovid: The Commentary Tradition” explicates the disparate Ovidian commentary traditions that circulated throughout Western Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. Offering the first overview of the various traditions used to interpret and frame the Metamorphoses during the Middle Ages, this chapter examines the exegetical methods and the cultural contexts that developed these reading strategies as well as their rhetorical applications, thereby establishing the foundational principles that prompted medieval writers to weave Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian lore into the same works. Yet, unlike previous studies of Ovidian commentaries, this chapter reveals that medieval writers learned to compose using a variety of exegetical strategies, not only the moralizing practices to which they have traditionally been connected.
Emerging investigators series: sewer surveillance for monitoring antibiotic use and prevalence of antibiotic resistance: urban sewer epidemiology

Sewer surveillance may be a useful tool for epidemiology that would benefit from improved understanding of the fate of microbial agents and prescription antibiotics during conveyance in sewer systems. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the factors affecting the loading and fate of antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) in sewer systems. A review of surveillance studies for antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria is presented. Then, the role of potentially complicating sewer inputs (e.g., the presence of health care facilities in a sewershed),and evidence for temporal variations in antibiotics and ARB are reviewed. Recommendations for best practices for sampling are made. Finally, evidence is presented for in-sewer attenuation of antibiotics and attenuation, growth and gene transfer for ARB. There is potential for, but limited evidence of, sewers serving as a reservoir for ARB growth and horizontal gene transfer. This review highlights the need for better understanding of ARB carriage in the general population and the impact of in-sewer processes on the fate of antibiotics and ARB.
Sequential Monte Carlo methods under model uncertainty

We propose a Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) method for filtering and prediction of time-varying signals under model uncertainty. Instead of resorting to model selection, we fuse the information from the considered models within the proposed SMC method. We achieve our goal by dynamically adjusting the resampling step according to the posterior predictive power of each model, which is updated sequentially as we observe more data. The method allows the models with better predictive powers to explore the state space with more resources than models lacking predictive power. This is done autonomously and dynamically within the SMC method. We show the validity of the presented method by evaluating it on an illustrative application.
Epigenetic approaches in cancer therapy

T National Institutes of Health (NIH) has initiated the Epigenomics Roadmap Program which is comprised of five major initiatives: Reference Epigenome Mapping Centers, Epigenomic Data Analysis and Coordinating Centers, Technology Development in Epigenetics, Discovery of Novel Epigenetic Marks, Epigenomics of Human Health and Diseases. This program proposes that the origins of health and susceptibility to disease are the result of epigenetic regulation of the genetic information. Specifically, epigenetic mechanisms that control stem cell differentiation and organogenesis contribute to the biological response to environmental and other factors in the form of stimuli that contribute in disease development. Epigenetic and genetic approaches in cancer epidemiology and risk assessment will be discussed. Epidemiology is the scientific study of the causes and distribution of disease in populations. The National Cancer Institute’s Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP), in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, provides opportunities for investigators to increase understanding of cancer causes and prevention in human populations. EGRP supports research in four areas: (1) Clinical and translational epidemiology, including factors that influence development of cancer among persons with underlying diseases and conditions; the progression, recurrence, and mortality from cancer; and development of new primary cancers; (2) Host susceptibility factors that influence personal susceptibility to cancer in humans, such as genetic, epigenetic, immunological, hormonal, and biological pathways; and social, cultural, racial, and ethnic factors; (3) Methods and technologies for epidemiologic data collection, study design and analysis, and development and adaptation of laboratory and technical approaches for large studies in human populations; (4) Modifiable risk factors to reduce cancer risk in humans, such as diet and nutrition; alcohol; physical activity and energy balance; tobacco; infectious diseases; physical and chemical agents; and medical exposures, including medications and treatments. Different funding mechanisms of grants and contracts, and collaboration opportunities will be discussed.
Retinol Dehydrogenases Regulate Vitamin A Metabolism for Visual Function

The visual system produces visual chromophore, 11-cis-retinal from dietary vitamin A, all-trans-retinol making this vitamin essential for retinal health and function. These metabolic events are mediated by a sequential biochemical process called the visual cycle. Retinol dehydrogenases (RDHs) are responsible for two reactions in the visual cycle performed in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells, photoreceptor cells and Muller cells in the retina. RDHs in the RPE function as 11-cis-RDHs, which oxidize 11-cis-retinol to 11-cis-retinal in vivo. RDHs in rod photoreceptor cells in the retina work as all-trans-RDHs, which reduce all-trans-retinal to all-trans-retinol. Dysfunction of RDHs can cause inherited retinal diseases in humans. To facilitate further understanding of human diseases, mouse models of RDHs-related diseases have been carefully examined and have revealed the physiological contribution of specific RDHs to visual cycle function and overall retinal health. Herein we describe the function of RDHs in the RPE and the retina, particularly in rod photoreceptor cells, their regulatory properties for retinoid homeostasis and future therapeutic strategy for treatment of retinal diseases.
Local Mechanical Property Evolution During High Strain-Rate Deformation of Tantalum

Damage within ductile metals is often linked to local heterogeneities. In ductile metals, damage typically occurs after plastic deformation, which evolves the microstructure and its properties in ways that are not easily measured in situ. This is particularly true for materials subject to dynamic loading. Here, we use a combination of spherical nanoindentation testing and electron microscopy to quantify changes in local dislocation slip resistance as a function of grain orientation in polycrystalline tantalum subjected to high strain-rate deformation. A nanoindentation data analysis technique is used to convert spherical nanoindentation data into stress–strain curves. This technique works with microstructural characterization at the indentation site and involves two steps: (1) determination of the functional dependence of the indentation yield strength (Y ind ) on the crystal orientation in the undeformed condition, and (2) use of nanoindentation and EBSD measurements on the deformed samples to determine changes in the local slip resistance. In this work, undeformed Ta had indentation yield values that varied by as much as 40% depending on the crystal orientation. The dynamically deformed Ta displayed a large variance in the strain hardening rates as a function of grain orientation. Soft grains (those with low Taylor Factor) were found to harden significantly more as compared to hard grains (those with a high Taylor Factor). These data are discussed in terms of grain interactions where the hard grains impose additional work on neighboring soft grains due to constraint at the boundaries.
The future has other plans: planning holistically to conserve natural and cultural heritage

The Future Has Other Plans presents a thorough and insightful critique of contemporary heritage planning and introduces Holistic Planning, an alternative model based upon ideas from many fields, or...
New Legal Standards for Unpaid Internships: Implications for the Hospitality and Tourism Field

ABSTRACTWork experience is an increasingly important dimension to undergraduate students as they prepare for professional careers. It is of particular importance in the hospitality and tourism industry where it is not only an ACPHA accreditation requirement of four year degree programs but is viewed by industry professionals as critical to career success in the field. Unpaid internships are one means by which students gain such experience. Recently, a series of federal court decisions altered the legal landscape of unpaid internships. This article examines the new terrain as well as its implications for the field.
Determination of effective oxygen diffusivity in biofilms grown in a completely mixed biodrum reactor

Direct measurement of unsteady-state variation of oxygen concentrations inside deactivated biofilm at intervals of 100 μm was conducted with oxygen microelectrodes. The diffusivity of each layer was estimated using an explicit finite-difference method. The results show that the distribution of the biofilm effective oxygen diffusivity varies from 25% D w at the substratum of the biofilm to 90% D w at the surface of the biofilm. This information provides experimental evidence necessary for biofilm modelling that could not be approached in the past, and will create a new dimension for evaluation of biofilm processes.
A combined incision technique of radial keratotomy. A comparison to centripetal and centrifugal incision techniques in human donor eyes.

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the extent of corneal flattening and the anatomy of the incision grooves produced by centrifugal, centripetal, and combined incisions in a human donor eye model. Methods: Twenty-seven eyes, divided into three groups of nine, received eightincision radial keratotomy using the centrifugal, centripetal, or combined incision technique. Corneal curvature was evaluated using a topography system, and the anatomy of the incision was assessed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results: The average central corneal flattening at the 3-mm clear zone was 4.16 ± 1.47 diopters (D) for centrifugal incisions; 7.71 ± 2.77 D for centripetal incisions; and 9.26 ± 1.75 D for combined incisions. The difference in corneal flattening between eyes that received centrifugal versus either centripetal or combined incisions was significant ( P P = 0.174). Anatomic differences were observed within the incision grooves produced by the three techniques. Conclusion: The authors describe a novel combined incision technique of radial keratotomy that provides the potential safety of a centrifugal incision with the effect of a centripetal incision.
Badges and Bongs: Police Officers’ Attitudes Toward Drugs:

For unknown reasons, the research investigating police officers’ attitudes toward drug use is underdeveloped. One study, by Wilson, Cullen, Latessa, and Wills, has directly investigated police offi...
Exploring Innovative Pedagogy to Deliver Financial Education: A Peer-to-Peer Event with Students

An innovative 2015 Financial Education Event utilized collaborative learning, peer-to-peer learning strategies, and multimedia to engage students and deliver financial content. Thirty-three students in a financial counseling class hosted the event for students from a personal finance course as well as the university community. For the event, the financial counseling class conducted research and created six financial infographics that were presented in an open-floor setting on six 70-inch monitors. The six financial topics included budgeting basics, conquering credit, how to be a smart shopper, how to manage student loan debt, kick-starting your first job, and life after college. The financial education event was an opportunity for students to interact and engage in financial dialogue in a fun, enthusiastic, and interactive environment. During this peer-to-peer educational event, students were able to explore, engage, and learn beyond the traditional classroom setting.