cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relativizing innateness: innateness as the insensitivity of the appearance of a trait with respect to specified environmental variation

I object to eliminativism about innateness and Andre Ariew’s identification of innateness with canalization, and I propose a new treatment of innateness. I first argue that the concept of innateness is serving a valuable function in a diverse set of research contexts, and in these contexts, claims about innateness are best understood as claims about the insensitivity of the appearance of a trait to certain variations in the environment. I then argue that innateness claims, like claims about canalization, should be explicitly relativized to the specific range of environmental variations of interest to the scientist. My account characterizes an important way in which scientists are employing the concept and offers a way for scientists to carry on using the concept in their research while minimizing confusion and miscommunication. There is a fruitful research program, I claim, in which scientists employ the concept of innateness to help distinguish environmental factors of interest that have a causal influence on the appearance of a trait from those that do not.
Neural Correlates of Attention Bias to Threat in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Attentional biases have been proposed to contribute to symptom maintenance in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although the neural correlates of these processes have not been well defined; this was the goal of the present study. We administered an attention bias task, the dot probe, to a sample of 37 (19 control, 18 PTSD+) traumatized African-American adults during fMRI. Compared to controls, PTSD+ participants demonstrated increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in response to threat cue trials. In addition, attentional avoidance of threat corresponded with increased ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activation in the PTSD group, a pattern that was not observed in controls. These data provide evidence to suggest that relative increases in dlPFC, dACC and vlPFC activation represent neural markers of attentional bias for threat in individuals with PTSD, reflecting selective disruptions in attentional control and emotion processing networks in this disorder.
C-terminal Domain Phosphatase Sensitivity of RNA Polymerase II in Early Elongation Complexes on the HIV-1 and Adenovirus 2 Major Late Templates

Abstract The fate of RNA polymerase II in early elongation complexes is under the control of factors that regulate and respond to the phosphorylation state of the C-terminal domain (CTD). Phosphorylation of the CTD protects early elongation complexes from negative transcription elongation factors such as NELF, DSIF, and factor 2. To understand the relationship between transcript elongation and the sensitivity of RNA polymerase IIO to dephosphorylation, elongation complexes at defined positions on the Ad2-ML and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) templates were purified, and their sensitivity to CTD phosphatase was determined. Purified elongation complexes treated with 1% Sarkosyl and paused at U14/G16 on an HIV-1 template and at G11 on the Ad2-ML template are equally sensitive to dephosphorylation by CTD phosphatase. Multiple elongation complexes paused at more promoter distal sites are more resistant to dephosphorylation than are U14/G16 and G11 complexes. The HIV-1 long terminal repeat and adenovirus 2 major late promoter do not appear to differentially influence the CTD phosphatase sensitivity of stringently washed complexes. Subsequent elongation by 1% Sarkosyl-washed U14/G16 complexes is unaffected by prior CTD phosphatase treatment. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that CTD phosphatase requires the presence of specific elongation factors to propagate a negative effect on transcript elongation. The action of CTD phosphatase on elongation complexes is inhibited by HIV-1 Tat protein. This observation is consistent with the idea that Tat suppression of CTD phosphatase plays a role in transactivation.
T cell regulation of IgA immunoglobulin production in gut-associated lymphoid tissues

To explore mechanisms of gut-mucosal IgA immune response, we have established Con A-induced cloned T cell lines originating from PP and spleen. These cloned cells expressed Thy-1.2+, Lyt-1+2-, Ia (I-A and I-E) and H-2 (K/D) surface antigens. Cloned T cells derived from PP were found to suppress LPS-induced IgM and IgG synthesis and secretion of co-cultured PP B cells; in addition, whereas the PP cloned T cells did not bring about IgA production, they did cause the appearance of large numbers of cells expressing sIgA. In contrast, cloned T cells derived from spleen had little or no effect on LPS-induced IgM synthesis and secretion by PP B cells; in addition, whereas they did suppress IgG production, they neither brought about IgA production nor the appearance of cells expressing sIgA. These studies provide evidence for the existence of a new type of T cell in PP, a switch T cell, which is able to induce B cells to undergo class-specific switches from IgM to IgA; the PP switch T cells appear to govern the pathway of DNA recombination (or RNA splicing) rather than cellular events resulting in terminal differentiation. Thus, these switch T cells are probably responsible for the fact that PP are a major source of mucosal IgA B cells. In additional studies, we show that post-switch IgA B cells, i.e. cells precultured with PP cloned T cells, have the capacity to undergo terminal differentiation into IgA producing plasma cells. provided they are exposed to helper T cells (uncloned) and an appropriate mitogenic stimulus (staphylococcal protein A). We can conclude, therefore, that the development of PP B cells into IgA-producing plasma cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) appears to require at least two steps: one which involves heavy chain switching to IgA and which is governed by IgA class-specific switch T cells in PP, and one which involves differentiation of post-switch B cells and which is governed by helper T cells in lymphoid tissues outside of PP (such as MLN and spleen).
Oral histories in meteoritics and planetary science: III. Robert M. Walker

— In this interview, taped in 2000 August, during the meeting of the Meteoritical Society in Chicago, Robert Walker recalls that he began studying meteorites when he realized that they should display particle tracks caused by their bombardment by cosmic rays. Walker was much intrigued by the idea of finding fossil tracks from old cosmic rays. Among his more important accomplishments, he lists the discovery of tracks of extremely heavy cosmic rays in meteorites and those of very lowenergy solar flare particles in lunar samples. He has played a leadership role in research on interplanetary dust particles and on presolar grains in meteorites in an effort to learn more about the origins of the elements. Walker has spent most of his career at Washington University in St. Louis where he established the McDonnell Center for Space Science. In 1993, the Meteoritical Society presented him with the Leonard Medal.
Picosecond Spectroscopic Investigations of Diphenylcarbene Protonation

The details of the picosecond kinetic investigation of diphenylcarbene (Ph2C:) protonation with H2O, MeOH, EtOH and 2-propanol by optical absorption technique are presented. The protonation reactions were monitored by detection of the diphenylcarbenium ion (Ph2C+H). Evidence of solvent induced alteration of the singlet-triplet energy level of Ph2C:, and involvement of an excited carbene singlet state in the protonation of Ph2C: diphenylcarbene with H2O are presented.
Animated Toys Versus Video Reinforcement in 16–24-Month-Old Children in a Clinical Setting

Purpose To compare the clinical efficacy of visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) with animated toy animal reinforcement (AVRA) to the efficacy of VRA with video reinforcement (VVRA) in children ag...
Complete degrees of finite-state transformability

Let ( Q, Σ, δ, ω ) be a finite-state automaton with input-output alphabet Σ . Let Σ + be the free semigroup generated by Σ and Σ N be the set of all infinite sequences of elements of Σ . Rayna, in “Degrees of Finite-State Transform-ability,” Information and Control (1974), calls a sequence x ∈ Σ N complete if and only if every A ∈ Σ + is contained in x . We call a degree of finite-state transformability complete if and only if it contains a complete sequence. Huffman, in “Canonical Forms for Information-Lossless Finite-State Logical Machines,” IRE Transactions on Circuit Theory (1959), calls a finite-state automaton information-lossless iff there exist no two states q i and q f and no two different equal-length input blocks A, B ∈ ∑ + and an output block C ∈ Σ + such that δ ( q i , A ) = q f = δ ( q i , B ) and ω ( q i , A ) = C = ω ( q i , B ). In this paper we examine the behavior of an information-lossless finite-state automaton (herein called a complete automaton) when a complete sequence is the input and use the results obtained to study the partial ordering [ x ] ⩾ [ y ] defined by Rayna on degrees of finite-state transformability. In particular we show that (1) if [ x ] is a complete degree and [ y ] is an incomplete degree with [ x ] > [ y ], then there exists a complete degree [ x ′] and an incomplete degree [ y ′] such that [ x ] > [ x ′] > [ y ′] > [ y ], and (2) a complete degree [ x ] has a cover, i.e., a complete degree [ x ′] > [ x ] with no complete degree strictly in between, if and only if every complete degree has a cover.
Type studies in the Lejeuneacea. I. Archilejeunea pabstii, Hygrolejeunea pacifica and Hygrolejeunea spongia

The study of type material has revealed thatArchilejeunea pabstii Steph. is a later name forLeucolejeunea xanthocarpa (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Evans and thatHygrolejeunea pacifica Steph. is synonymous withCheilolejeunea intertexta (Lindenb.) Steph. Complete description and illustration is provided forHygrolejeunea spongia (Spruce) Schiffn., which is transferred toLepidolejeunea.
Adenocarcinoma with simultaneous squamous carcinomas of the larynx

Background. Primary adenocarcinoma of the larynx is a rare neoplasm. The incidence is reported as less than 1% of all laryngeal neoplasms in multiple series. Simultaneous primary adenocarcinoma and a solitary squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx is even rarer and only one case has been found on review of the literature. Methods. A case report of a 74-year-old man with a history of right-sided throat pain, odynophagia, and progressive hoarseness is presented with a review of the literature pertaining to this unusual case. Results. The patient was found to have three distinctly separate laryngeal lesions on direct laryngoscopy. Histopathologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was made on one of the three biopsied sites with the other sites being squamous cell carcinoma. Following Combined radiotherapy and surgical treatment, the patient has remained free of disease. Conclusions. Adenocarcinoma of the larynx is an infrequent and lethal disease. This case report and a review of the literature demonstrate that aggressive surgical management is indicated, although still may not result in improved survival. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
E-vector discrimination by the goldfish optic tectum

1. Because behavioral evidence indicates that fishes can perceivee-vector direction in plane polarized light, intracellular recordings were made on bipolar cells, ganglion cells, amacrine cells and horizontal cells in the goldfish retina. In flattened retinal fragments stimulated with polarized flashes no evidence for significante-vector sensitivities was found. 2. Dichroism could not be demonstrated in the cornea, lens or other dioptric elements of this fish eye. 3. Finally extracellular spike recordings of single units in the goldfish optic tectum were made to determine whethere-vector discrimination could be measured in the output of the intact eye in the living fish. 500 msec test flashes were presented to the retina with narrow band spectral red, green and blue light (quantum equalized) as well as with white light over a 4–5 log unit range of intensities. 4. Practically all tectal cells of the 47 successfully recorded showed some sensitivity toe-vector direction. The response function was roughly sinusoidal with maxima and minima 90° apart. Maximal responses to polarization plane orientation were found in all sixe-vector directions tested. Consequently an analyzer without discrete channels for particular polarization planes must be present quite different from that present in many rhabdom bearing eyes. 5. E-vector direction influenced various parameters of the tectal responses (on, off, sustained, etc.) in some cases in the same direction and in other cases in the opposite direction. Both excitatory and inhibitory components, as well as color coded ones, were affected. 6. Intensity response curves indicate polarized light sensitivity ratios ranging from 1.4 to 31.7, with a mean of 8.2 for 13 cases.
5,8-isoquinolinediones. II. Chemical and electrochemical behavior of the 5,8-isoquinolinedione system†‡

We have devised two general synthetic schemes to 5,8-isoquinolinediones and have investigated the chemical and electrochemical behavior of these compounds. The 1,4-addition reactions of these quinones with amines was shown to occur at the 7-position and a number of 7-amino-5,8-isoquinolinediones. were synthesized. The 1,4-addition of hydrogen bromide was also studied. The ethylenic double bond of the 5,8-quinone system underwent Diels-Alder additions to yield the oxidized forms of the adducts. The nucleophilic displacement of the methoxy group in 7-methoxy-5,8-isoquinoline was accomplished with both potassium hydroxide and morpholine. A Polarographic study of the half-wave potentials of substituted 5,8-isoquinolinediones showed a linear correlation between the change in the half-wave potential of the quinone system (ΔE° 1/2) resulting from the introduction of different substituents, and the substituent constants (σp-x).
Effects of zinc deficiency on developmental changes in alkaline phosphatase and carbonic anhydrase activities in the submandibular gland of the rat.

Abstract The alkaline phosphatase (AP) and carbonic anhydrase (CA) activities were studied in male rats placed at weanling age on a diet containing 0.4 parts/10 6 of zinc for periods of 9, 18 and 27 days. Weight-matched pair-fed rats were kept on the same diet supplemented with 40 parts/10 6 of zinc. The body weight of controls showed a continuous increase; body weight of zinc-deficient animals remained unchanged. Zinc concentration in submandibular gland was the same in all groups of control and zinc-deficient animals. AP activity, chiefly localized in the myoepithelial cells, progressively increased in controls from day 9 to 27. AP activity in the zinc-deficient animals did not increase. It was lower than in controls even at 9 days and further decreased with prolonged zinc deficiency. CA activity, chiefly localized in cells of the duct system, rose with age in the controls at twice the rate of AP activity, a rise attributed to the steep rise in proportion of duct cells reported for this age span. By contrast, CA activity in the glands of zinc-deficient rats remained constant at all periods of deficiency, accounting for the increasing difference from controls with prolonged zinc deficiency. Failure of CA activity to rise with age in zinc-deficient rats is attributed to failing proliferation of duct cells, reflecting the inhibition of cell proliferation reported for many tissues of the zinc-deficient animals, a view supported by the maintenance of unchanged body weight over a 4-week-period. Inhibition studies using acetazolamide showed identical degress of inhibition in homogenates from control and deficient animals over a wide range of inhibitor concentrations. Rats fed for 9 days on the zinc-supplemented diet after 27 days on the deficient diet doubled their weight and showed AP and CA activities of the same level as controls that were pair-fed for 27 days and given unrestricted food for the last 9 days.
Harnessing and Optimal Utilization of Human Capital in Virtual Workplace Environments

The primary purpose of this article is to demonstrate the role of virtual human resource development (VHRD) in promoting optimal utilization of human capital in virtual workplace settings currently characterized by millennial generation who surf the Internet, Tweet, talk, listen to iTunes, and text-message while working. To achieve the objective of the article, selected review of literature was conducted. The article defines human capital and demonstrates how technology can be positively used to promote virtual learning, workplace learning, and eventually lead to performance improvement in the workforce. Also discussed are the challenges of using Virtual HRD and implications for HRD theory, research, and practice.
Thermal analysis of a photon shutter for APS front ends

Abstract The photon shutter is one of the critical elements on the front end of the beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) now under construction at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The conceptual design of the photon shutter uses an enhanced heat transfer tube developed at ANL. Due to large thermal loads on the shutter, inclined geometry is used in the design to spread the footprint of the X-ray beam. Even then, thermal loads are very critical. To address the thermal and thermomechanical issues, analytical studies have been applied to a simplified model of the shutter tube. Both closed-form solutions and ANSYS finite element analysis are conducted using both a uniform and a Gaussian heat flux. Results for maximum deflections and stresses are obtained and compared with the available stress/fatigue data for the materials proposed for the shutter design.
Characterization of pharmacological receptors.

The isolation of macromolecules that bind drugs and neurohumoral mediators at receptor sites will require analytical methods adequate to detect these substances in homogenates and crude mixtures. Although the binding of isotopically labeled agonists has been useful in a few instances, equilibrium binding studies of radioactive, lipophilic antagonists promises to be more useful with β-adrenergic receptors. Alkylation by radioactive reagents that seek out specific receptors or specific functional groups on protein have been used in attempts to label other receptors. Conformationally directed labeling of receptor and receptor-related proteins by the latter group of alkylating agents has been used with receptors for cardiac glycosides and may be applicable to other systems.
Scratch Damage in Zirconia Ceramics

Scratch damage modes in zirconia-based ceramics-Mg-PSZ, Y-TZP, and Ce-TZP-are investigated. Precursor indentation tests with a tungsten carbide sphere foreshadow the nature of damage: in Mg-PSZ, extensive (quasi-)plastic deformation in the region outside and beneath the contact; in Y-TZP, less plastic deformation beneath the contact but incipient cone cracking in the region of tension outside the contact; in Ce-TZP, intermediate behavior. Scratch testing is conducted using a conical diamond indenter. In all materials the damage mode changes from smooth plastic deformation to limited cracking with increasing scratch load: in Mg-PSZ, plastic deformation is predominant at lower loads, with microcracking at higher loads; in Y-TZP, plastic deformation is predominant over the range of the test loads-macrocracks initiate only at relatively high loads, but penetrate to a relatively large depth; again, Ce-TZP shows intermediate behavior, but with cracking patterns closer to that of Mg-PSZ. Bending tests on specimens subjected to scratch damage indicate a relatively high damage tolerance in the Mg-PSZ and Ce-TZP; Y-TZP shows the highest initial strength, but suffers relatively large strength loss above the critical load for macrocracking. Implications concerning relative merits of each zirconia type for wear properties, contact fatigue, and machining damage are briefly discussed.
Developing Nanopores with Fluid Walls for Improved, Single-Molecule Biosensors

Synthetic and biological nanopores can be used for fundamental and applied studies of individual biomolecules in high throughput. By measuring resistive current pulses during the translocation of single molecules through an electrolyte-filled nanopore, this technique can characterize the size, conformation, assembly and activity of hundreds of unlabeled molecules per second. The performance of nanopores fabricated in synthetic materials, however, does not currently match that of biologic ion channels. Major challenges include: (i) achieving precise control of nanopore diameters, (ii) translocation times of molecules that are too fast to be resolved by the best electronics, (iii) a lack of control over the surface chemistry inside synthetic pores, which leads to non-specific adsorption, pore clogging, and unpredictable translocation times, (iv) low frequencies of translocation events at low analyte concentrations and (v) poor specificity of the nanopores for analytes. Inspired by the olfactory sensilla of insect antennae, we demonstrated that coating nanopores with a fluid lipid bilayer addresses all of these challenges while enabling new nanopore-based assays. Coating nanopores with different lipids allows fine control of the surface chemistry and diameter of nanopores. Incorporation of mobile ligands in the lipid bilayer imparts specificity to the nanpore for targeting proteins and enables, for the first time, precise and predictable control of translocation times for targeted proteins based on their net electric charge. Here, we detail how this modification can also be used to determine the affinity of a protein-ligand interaction as well as monitor the kinetics of binding. In addition, the biomimetic lipid surface reduced non-specific adsorption, thereby allowing characterization of Alzheimer's Disease-related amyloid peptides, for which a reliable, biophysical method is lacking.
Late Intervention with anti-BRAFV600E Therapy Induces Tumor Regression in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Human Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

Human anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a lethal disease with an advanced clinical presentation and median survival of 3 months. The BRAF(V600E) oncoprotein is a potent transforming factor that causes human thyroid cancer cell progression in vitro and in vivo; therefore, we sought to target this oncoprotein in a late intervention model of ATC in vivo. We used the human ATC cell line 8505c, which harbors the BRAF(V600E) and TP53(R248G) mutations. Immunocompromised mice were randomized to receive the selective anti-BRAF(V600E) inhibitor, PLX4720, or vehicle by oral gavage 28 d after tumor implantation, 1 wk before all animals typically die due to widespread metastatic lung disease and neck compressive symptoms in this model. Mice were euthanized weekly to evaluate tumor volume and metastases. Control mice showed progressive tumor growth and lung metastases by 35 d after tumor implantation. At that time, all control mice had large tumors, were cachectic, and were euthanized due to their tumor-related weight loss. PLX4720-treated mice, however, showed a significant decrease in tumor volume and lung metastases in addition to a reversal of tumor-related weight loss. Mouse survival was extended to 49 d in PLX4720-treated animals. PLX4720 treatment inhibited cell cycle progression from 28 d to 49 d in vivo. PLX4720 induces striking tumor regression and reversal of cachexia in an in vivo model of advanced thyroid cancer that harbors the BRAF(V600E) mutation.
Effects on splicing and protein function of three mutations in codon N296 of tau in vitro

Three Mutations were recently reported in the same codon (N296) in exon 10 of the tau gene. Two of these mutations, N296N and N296H, lead to a clinical syndrome similar to autosomal dominant fronto-temporal dementia with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17. In contrast the third mutation, delN296, gives rise to atypical progressive supranuclear palsy in individuals homozygous for the mutation, but in heterozygous individuals this mutation is incompletely penetrant and associated with a phenotype similar to idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Functional assays were employed to determine the effects of these mutations on alternative splicing of exon 10, on microtubule assembly and self-aggregation of recombinant tau protein. We demonstrate that these mutations exhibit a spectrum of potentially pathogenic changes in tau function, and provide insight into the possible cause of the incompletely penetrant phenotype of the delN296 mutation.
Modular invariant partition functions for N=2 superconformal field theories

We find the characters of all the unitary degenerate highest weight representations of the N = 2 superconformal algebras with c<3. The constraints of modular invariance on the field contents of the two-dimensional N = 2 superconformal field theories are explored. The constraints take the form of sum rules on the number of superconformal highest weight representations. Models which satisfy these constraints are classified. We also discuss the condition of unbroken supersymmetry in these models.
K-anonymous association rule hiding

In the paper we point out that the released dataset of an association rule hiding method may have severe privacy problem since they all achieve to minimize the side effects on the original dataset. We show that an attacker can discover the hidden sensitive association rules with high confidence when there is not enough "blindage". We give a detailed analysis of the attack and propose a novel association rule hiding metric, K-anonymous. Based on the K-anonymous metric, we present a framework to hide a group of sensitive association rules while it is guaranteed that the hidden rules are mixed with at least other K-1 rules in the specific region. Several heuristic algorithms are proposed to achieve the hiding process. Experiment results are reported to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approaches.
Test-retest precision of functional magnetic resonance imaging processed with independent component analysis

This study was designed to compare the test-retest precision of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data processed with independent component analysis (ICA) and the same data analyzed with a conventional model-dependent method (Student's- t mapping). Volunteers underwent two or three iterations of visual and auditory stimuli, while data were collected for fMRI scans. The scan data were separately processed with ICA and with Student's- t mapping (STM). As a measure of test-retest precision, concurrence ratios were calculated for each subject and each task as the number of voxels that were activated by two iterations of a task divided by the average number of voxels activated in each repetition. In 28 test-retest comparisons, the average concurrence ratio was 0.69+/-0.10 for ICA and 0.65+/-0.13 for the conventional method, a statistically insignificant difference. In fMR image data of block stimulus paradigms, ICA had similar test-retest precision to a conventional model-dependent method.
Direct-to-Consumer Genetics Testing—Fair Comparisons?

Direct-to-consumer (DTC)2 genetics testing is a commercial method for providing DNA testing for genetic variations that are associated with >1000 diseases and traits, as requested by an individual. People seeking insight about personal genetic traits and the risks of disease hope that this information will encourage changes in diet, exercise, behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, overeating, and so forth) or will indicate early detection that might improve health and decrease disease. Typically, the customer requests these DTC services via the company's Web site, collects either a saliva or buccal swab sample at home, and submits it for genotyping and analysis. This general, nondiagnostic screening does not require a physician or medical indication, and the individual bears the costs. DTC genetics testing has drawn criticism from many genetics professionals and scrutiny from US government agencies [the General Accountability Office (1) and the Food and Drug Administration (2)]. Concerns abound about the clinical utility of the genetic associations, the lack of medical oversight, the need for quality practices, protection of patient privacy and integrity of data files, and the misunderstanding of risk assessments as indications of disease. In addition to the regulatory quandary and the public policy outcry, clinical laboratories are also asking how these services stack up to more accepted methods. The public wants genetic information, whether it is marketed as medical information or complies with accepted regulatory standards. Many DTC firms use genome-wide association studies, in which hundreds of thousands of genetic markers [single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)] are detected. Disease associations are interpreted on the basis of comprehensive literature reviews and advanced data comparisons of marker frequencies in populations and the diseases in question. The strength or value of the interpreted associated risk depends on the published scientific research correlating a particular genetic variant(s) with a specific disease or condition. The …
Enabling Radical Innovation through Joint Capability Technology Demonstrations (JCTD): The Case of the Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) JCTD

This paper analyzes the case of the Intern et Routing in Space (IRIS) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) as a potential model for disruptive innovation in the government space sector. It finds that technologies like IRIS – characterized by a promising yet unproven relatively mature concept, which faces substantial barriers to implementation, but which could benefit from the stability as sociated with a government patron, creates a strong argument for leveraging the government’s position as a relatively coherent, high volume customer, to catalyze disruptive change. The JCTD model, by creating an opportunity to demonstrate the service-oriented utility of the innovation prior to widespread deployment, addresses the common disconnect between technology change and perceived service improvement directly. However, it fails to adequately mitigate the significant administrative overhead (both financ ial and bureaucratic) of collaborating with the government. Key areas where expectations may need to be adjusted in the future are highlighted through the case.
Assessing extreme values in political risk estimates

With the increasing integration of world markets, it is important to understand the impact of political risk on financial portfolios. Current research on the influence of political risk on portfolio returns has focused on the mean portfolio outcome, but has failed to address extreme outcomes. Existing literature on the topic has employed the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) as measures of political risk to address diverse topics such as asset prices, market returns, and real-asset valuation. Findings include that portfolio diversification in politically risky countries is actually beneficial, political risk is an important factor in explaining market returns of equity, and that the impact of political risk factors is more pronounced in emerging as opposed to developed markets. We hypothesize that there exist different underlying variables of political risk causing extreme portfolio outcomes as opposed to mean portfolio outcomes.
A baseline understanding of state laws governing e-cigarettes

Background Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been available for purchase in the USA since 2007, and have grown rapidly in popularity. Currently, there are no federal restrictions on e-cigarettes; therefore, any regulations are under the purview of state and/or local governments. This study examines state laws governing e-cigarettes through youth access restrictions, smoke-free air requirements and/or excise taxation. Methods Codified statutory and administrative laws, attorney general opinions, executive orders, and revenue notices and rulings effective as of 15 November 2013 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, were compiled using Boolean searches in Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw. All laws were analysed by two study authors to determine the presence and components of relevant provisions. Two categories of laws were identified; (1) explicit e-cigarette laws and (2) laws focused on tobacco-derived and/or nicotine-containing products. Results Thirty-four states’ laws address e-cigarettes either explicitly or as part of language applying to tobacco-derived or nicotine-containing products. Laws explicitly addressing e-cigarettes primarily focus on youth access (22 states) or smoke-free air (12 states); only Minnesota imposes an excise tax on e-cigarettes. Similarly, tobacco-derived or nicotine-containing products are primarily regulated through youth access restrictions (6 states), smoke-free air laws (5 states), or excise taxation (2 states). Conclusions In the current absence of federal law governing e-cigarettes, more than one-half of the states have taken the initiative to regulate these products. The opportunity exists for the remaining states to incorporate e-cigarette-related restrictions into their pre-existing tobacco control laws.
Modulation of carbohydrate metabolism and peptide hormones by soybean isoflavones and probiotics in obesity and diabetes

Soybean and its isoflavones have been shown to have beneficial effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and on renal function. Probiotics may potentiate the beneficial effects of isoflavones by converting the inactive isoflavone glycoside to aglycones, which are biologically active, thereby producing a synergistic effect. We therefore studied the effects of soybean isoflavones in the presence and absence of probiotics on glucose and triglyceride metabolism and the peptide hormones involved in their metabolism. Lean and obese SHR/N-cp rats were fed AIN-93 diets containing 0.1% soybean isoflavone mixture, 0.1% probiotics mixture or both. Plasma was analyzed for glucose, triglycerides, parameters of renal function and peptide hormones -- insulin, leptin, glucagon and ACTH -- that are involved in glucose and lipid metabolism. Isoflavones given alone lowered plasma glucose in both phenotypes while triglyceride was decreased only in lean animals. Isoflavones also lowered aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase in both phenotypes. Isoflavones had significant effect on plasma insulin, leptin and glucagon in lean rats but not in obese rats. Thus, our data show that in lean animals, isoflavones have hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect, and the effect is mediated by changes in peptide hormones. When lipid levels are very high as in obese rats, isoflavones fail to lower plasma triglyceride levels. Probiotics do not appear to enhance the effect of isoflavones.
Renorming Russell's Version of the Wechsler Memory Scale

Several studies of Russell's version of the Wechsler Memory Scale found that the Logical Memory Scales appeared to be normed too high, indicating a need for renorming. This study produces such a renorming by developing new scale scores and age/education corrections. The scaling used a new method, "reference scale norming". The z scores for 12 tests in the Rennick version of the Halstead-Reitan Battery were averaged and used to establish a reference scale. Scale scores for the memory tests were derived from this scale. The results of this study demonstrated that the earlier Logical Memory Scale norms were in fact too high; this error is corrected.
The progression of retinopathy over 2 years : the Pittsburgh epidemiology of diabetes complications (EDC) study

This study examined potential risk factors for the incidence and progression of retinopathy in a large representative cohort of childhood onset insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Participants in the Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) Study underwent a full clinical examination at baseline and again at a 2-year follow-up. Retinopathy status was ascertained using stereo fundus photographs graded according to the modified Airlie House System. The study population is based on a large cohort of childhood-onset insulin-dependent diabetic patients, seen within 1 year of diagnosis at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh between January 1950 and May 1980. A total of 657 subjects participated at baseline (1986-1988), with 80% of eligible survivors taking part in the follow-up examination. This report concerns risk factors associated with the progression of diabetic retinopathy over a 2-year period, and the interaction of these factors with the presence of nephropathy. Analyses showed that baseline diastolic blood pressure was significantly associated with the incidence of any retinopathy, while glycosylated hemoglobin, baseline severity of retinopathy, serum triglycerides, and, to a lesser extent, higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and fibrinogen were associated with the progression of retinopathy. Progression to proliferative retinopathy was related to higher LDL cholesterol, fibrinogen, serum triglycerides, albumin excretion rate, and glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb). Risk factors varied with the presence of nephropathy. In the absence of nephropathy, GHb was a significant predictor of progression, whilst this was not the case in the presence of nephropathy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A case study on network reliability analysis for systems with non-independent paths

The problem addressed here is the complexity in reliability modeling for network systems with non-independent paths. Dependency usually is dealt with models with high fidelity and high complexity, which leads to the difficulties in model construction and solution. A pivoting method is proposed here to effectively handle the complexity. The presentation starts from the discussion of independent cases, where combinatorial approach such as reliability block diagram method can be applied. Networks with non-independent paths are then addressed, with the pivoting method applied. This approach is applicable to modeling complex systems beyond the example presented here, i.e., network systems with non-independent paths. Any system with components that cause the dependencies can be analyzed using the approach proposed.
Connective tissue growth factor expression in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a cysteine-rich protein that promotes extracellular matrix deposition. CTGF is selectively induced by transforming growth factor β and des-Arg kallidin in lung fibroblasts and increases steady-state mRNA levels of α type I collagen, 5α-integrin and fibronectin in fibroblasts. Bronchial epithelial cells have been proposed to functionally interact with lung fibroblasts. We therefore investigated if bronchial epithelial cells are able to synthesize CTGF. Human bronchial epithelial cells were grown to subconfluence in standard growth media. Proliferating cells grown in small airway growth media were harvested following starvation for up to 24 h. Expression of CTGF transcripts was measured by PCR. Immunocytochemistry was also completed using a commercially available antibody. The cells expressed readily detectable CTGF transcripts. Starvation of these cells resulted in a quantitative decline of CTGF transcripts. Direct sequencing of the PCR product identified human CTGF. Immunocy- tochemistry confirmed intracellular CTGF in the cells and none in negative control cells. We conclude that bronchial epithelial cells could be a novel source of CTGF. Bronchial epithelial cell-derived CTGF could thus directly influence the deposition of collagen in certain fibrotic lung diseases.
Citation analysis of the literature of Systemic Botany: A preliminary survey

A preliminary citation analysis of the literature of systematic botany (plant taxonomy) was based on 1986 issues of Brittonia, Systematic Botany, and Taxon. These three journals together covered the three facets of systematic activity: alpha-taxonomy, beta-taxonomy, and phylogeny. The three journals included 164 papers, of which 105 dealt specifically with taxonomy or nomenclature, and cited a total of 53 theses, 804 book titles, and 567 journal titles. Nonbook citations totaled 1055 (698 from the exclusively taxonomic papers); journal citations numbered 2088 (1168 from taxonomic works). The decade with the greatest number of citations was 1977–1986, but the proportion of older citations was much higher than what would be expected for scientific literature. The list of titles is highly diversified, reflecting the nature of systematic botany. Internal citations (citations accompanying lists of nomenclatural synonymies but not repeated in the Literature Cited section) account for 11% (4–23%) of the total number of journal titles, 11% (5–20%) of the journal citations, and 23% (3–33%) of the book titles cited. In order to recover 80% of the relevant citations in botany (determined from the total citation count), one would need to obtain 34% of the titles; for systematic botany specifically, 60% of the journal titles would be required. Comparatively few of the titles cited in these three journals (ca. 6%) are included in the subject list for botany in the Science Citation Index, whereas approximately 59% are covered by Biological Abstracts. This helps account for the preference of systematic botanists for the Abstracts in doing literature searches. Invisible colleges, subject specialization based on plant families/genera, and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature all have important roles in determining the literature requirements and idiosyncrasies of publication in the field. © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Enterococcus faecalis Produces Abundant Extracellular Structures Containing DNA in the Absence of Cell Lysis during Early Biofilm Formation

ABSTRACT Enterococcus faecalis is a common Gram-positive commensal bacterium of the metazoan gastrointestinal tract capable of biofilm formation and an opportunistic pathogen of increasing clinical concern. Dogma has held that biofilms are slow-growing structures, often taking days to form mature microcolonies. Here we report that extracellular DNA (eDNA) is an integral structural component of early E. faecalis biofilms (≤4 h postinoculation). Combining cationic dye-based biofilm matrix stabilization techniques with correlative immuno-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescent techniques, we demonstrate that—in early E. faecalis biofilms—eDNA localizes to previously undescribed intercellular filamentous structures, as well as to thick mats of extruded extracellular matrix material. Both of these results are consistent with previous reports that early biofilms are exquisitely sensitive to exogenous DNase treatment. High-resolution SEM demonstrates a punctate labeling pattern in both structures, suggesting the presence of an additional, non-DNA constituent. Notably, the previously described fratricidal or lytic mechanism reported as the source of eDNA in older (≥24 h) E. faecalis biofilms does not appear to be at work under these conditions; extensive visual examination by SEM revealed a striking lack of lysed cells, and bulk biochemical assays also support an absence of significant lysis at these early time points. In addition, some cells demonstrated eDNA labeling localized at the septum, suggesting the possibility of DNA secretion from metabolically active cells. Overall, these data are consistent with a model in which a subpopulation of viable E. faecalis cells secrete or extrude DNA into the extracellular matrix. IMPORTANCE This paper reports the production of extracellular DNA during early biofilm formation in Enterococcus faecalis. The work is significant because the mechanism of eDNA (extracellular DNA) production is independent of cell lysis and the DNA is confined to well-defined structures, suggesting a novel form of DNA secretion by viable cells. Previous models of biofilm formation in enterococci and related species propose cell lysis as the mechanism of DNA release.
BREEDING AND CULTURE OF THE RED‐GOLD COLOR PHASE OF TILAPIA

The red-gold tilapia, a color phase resulting from crossing a mutant “reddish-orange” color strain of Tilapia mossambica with “normal” colored tilapia species, is cultured on a limited basis in Asia, the Mideast, Latin America, and the United States. Marketing surveys have shown a significant consumer preference for the red-gold color phase, presumably due to their similar appearance to popular reef and marine fish. Studies have been initiated between the Tennessee Valley Authority and Auburn University to define the culture and breeding characteristics of the red-gold tilapia. Yield trials have been conducted in fertilized ponds and in cages receiving feed. Growth rates for young-of-the-year and overwintered fingerlings have been quantified for males and females. Hormone-induced sex reversal has shown potential for reducing reproduction in culture ponds. Results from F-1 and F-2 inbreeding studies suggest that 2 to 3 genes influence the gold coloration. To date, 6 different phenotypes (gold, bronze, pink-mottled, pink, white, and wild) have been described.
Applying the dependability paradigm to computer security

Dependability is that property of a computer system such that reliance can justifiably be place on the service it delivers [Lap94]. In this paper we contrast the way different ways faults are handled in the dependability paradigm with the way they are handled in the current paradigms for secure systems design. We show how the current security paradigm is generally restricted to a subset of the types of approaches used in dependability, largely concentrating on fault prevention and removal while neglecting fault tolerance and forecast, and argue that this paradigm is fast becoming obsolete. We discuss the implications of extending the security paradigm to cover the full range of options covered by dependability. In particular, we develop a rough outline of a fault model for security and show how it could be applied to better our understanding of the place of both fault tolerance and fault forecast in computer security.
Speech-enabled augmented reality supporting mobile industrial maintenance

The SEAR (speech-enabled AR) framework uses flexible and scalable vision-based localization techniques to offer maintenance technicians a seamless multimodal user interface. The user interface juxtaposes a graphical AR view with a context-sensitive speech dialogue.
Energetic fused triazoles – a promising C–N fused heterocyclic cation

In the field of energetic materials, molecular stability and detonation properties are two key criteria used to evaluate overall performance. In this work, a new family of 3,6,7-triamino-7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[5,1-c][1,2,4]triazol-2-ium salts is explored as fused azole based energetic materials. These nitrogen-rich salts were fully characterized by elemental analyses, and infrared and multinuclear NMR spectra. Structural confirmation of 6, 8 and 13 was supported by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Computational studies associated with heats of formation and detonation performance were performed by using Gaussian 03 and EXPLO5 v6.01 programs, respectively. Based on experimental and theoretical data, free base 8 and ionic derivatives 7 and 9 show good densities (d, 1.73–1.82 g cm−3), favourable thermal stabilities (Td, 199–279 °C), excellent detonation performance (P, 25.9–33.9 GPa; vD, 8580–9090 m s−1) and acceptable impact and friction sensitivities (IS, 6–40 J; FS, 160–360 N).