cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of the parameters of the Rosin-Rammler and beta distributions from their mode and variance using equation-solving software

Abstract The mode and variance of Rosin-Rammler (Weibull) and beta distributions can be calculated directly from their corresponding function parameters. Determination of the function parameters from the mode and variance, however, can only be done numerically. Modern software enables us to do this, through simultaneous solution of the necessary equations. Thus, changes in distribution characteristics can be conveniently expressed in terms of the corresponding changes in mode and variance and be readily transformed into the parameters of the distribution. In this way, not only do the changes become intuitively clearer but they can also be implemented in simulations of an evolving size distribution pattern during size reduction or enlargement processes, where the mode decreases or increases monotonically, while the variance reaches a maximum at an intermediate size. Although the demonstrations shown were generated with only the Rosin-Rammler and beta functions, the programs and methods employed can also be applied to other distribution functions.
Abstract 3861: Downregulation of protein phosphatase 2A promotes prostate cancer progression and metastasis.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Clinical progression of prostate cancer (PCa) is characterized by a transition from castration-sensitive (CS) to castration-resistant (CR) phenotype. The resulting CR tumors are highly aggressive and metastatic, and thus pose increased risk of morbidity and death to PCa patients. Therefore, identification of novel gene targets associated with CR growth and metastatic behavior remain a priority area in PCa research. Previously, we identified that PPP2CA, which encodes for the α–isoform of catalytic subunit of PP2A (a serine/threonine phosphatase), is downregulated in CRPCa. In additional findings, we reported that PP2A downregulation sustained the growth of PCa cells under steroid–deprived conditions. In the present study, we examined the role of PP2A in malignant behavior of PCa cells using in vitro and in vivo functional assays. Furthermore, we also delineated the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our data demonstrated that downregulation of PPP2CA (in CS LNCaP cells) promoted, whereas its overexpression (in CR C4-2 and PC3 cells) decreased the migration and invasion of human PCa cells. Similarly, we observed a loss of homotypic interactions in PPP2CA-silenced LNCaP cells, while it increased in PPP2CA-overexpressing C4-2 and PC3 cells. These changes were associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) or vice versa in PPP2CA-silenced or overexpressing PCa cells, respectively. When examined in vivo in an orthotopic mouse model, PPP2CA-overexpressing PC3 cells exhibited dramatic decrease in tumorigenesis due to diminished proliferation and enhanced apoptosis as compared to the control cells. Moreover, significant reduction in metastatic incidence was also observed. Mechanistic studies revealed that PPP2CA downregulation increases nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and NF-κB and subsequent activation of transcriptional activity of the responsive gene promoters. We also observed cooperative involvement of both β-catenin and NF-κB in the PPP2CA downregulation-induced EMT and invasiveness of PCa cells. Lastly, our data demonstrated a role of PP2A/Akt axis in enhanced nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and NF-κB through phosphorylation-induced inactivation of Gsk3-β and IkB-α, respectively. Altogether, our data suggest that loss of PPP2CA is associated with PCa progression and metastasis, and restoration of PP2A activity could serve as an effective preventive and/or therapeutic approach against the advanced disease. Citation Format: Arun Bhardwaj, Seema Singh, Sanjeev K. Srivastava, Sumit Arora, Stephen J. Hyde, Richard E. Honkanen, William E. Grizzle, Ajay P. Singh. Downregulation of protein phosphatase 2A promotes prostate cancer progression and metastasis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3861. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3861
Durkheim and Pragmatism: An Old Twist on a Contemporary Debate*

Durkheim's lectures on pragmatism, given in 1913–14, constitute both a significant critique of pragmatism and a clarification of Durkheim's own position. Unfortunately, these lectures have received little attention, most of it critical. When they have been taken seriously, the analysis tends to focus on their historical context and not on the details of Durkheim's actual argument. This is partly because the tendency to interpret Durkheim's theory of knowledge in idealist terms makes a nonsense of his criticisms of pragmatism. It is also due to a lack of serious appraisal of the lectures as a series of arguments in their own right.
Volunteered geographic information: key questions, concepts and methods to guide emerging research and practice

New web services that support user-generated and user-modified maps and spatial data are continuing to emerge at a rapid pace, as are geo-enabled digital devices that can collect and disseminate data with spatial attributes. Interactive web services such as GoogleMaps or Wikimapia allow users to create their own maps online or contribute to and edit geographic information contributed by others. Users may import or ‘mash up’ shared source codes (application programming interfaces or ‘‘APIs’’) into their own web mapping services, or use markup languages to ‘geotag’ online content such as photographs with information about their geographic location. New forms of digital spatial data are created through a growing proportion of our daily activities, such as using electronic payment cards to board a bus whose location is tracked by the public transit agency, or using GPS-enabled cell phones that trace our location and movements throughout the day. These technologies and practices are dramatically altering the contexts of geospatial data creation and sharing, the individuals and institutions who act as data producers and users, and perhaps most strikingly, geospatial data themselves. This special issue contributes to a growing body of research investigating the technological, social, and political opportunities, limitations, and implications of these phenomena. The authors examine whether existing structures and practices for spatial data collection, retrieval, validation, and dissemination are appropriate in this new context; the purposes for which these new forms of spatial data might be used; how these new technologies and practices affect (and are shaped by) the so-called ‘digital divide’; and what social and political practices may be advanced in connection with these new technologies and data. Research on these new geospatial technologies and forms of data is still nascent enough that a central line of discussion remains how to name these phenomena and the activities they enable. Terms such as neogeography (Turner 2006; Sui 2008), ubiquitous cartography (Gartner et al. 2007), and web mapping (Plewe 2007) emphasize cartographic representation, speaking to ways in which interactive web mapping services might open the practices of cartography and geospatial data creation to new actors. In contrast, others forward terms such as user-generated content (Sieber 2007), collaboratively contributed geographic information (Bishr and Mantelas this issue), and volunteered geographic information (Goodchild 2007). This second group of terms emphasizes the data themselves, highlighting shifts in the forms of spatial information that are available and in the processes through which they are created and used. These naming debates are important in part because they focus our attention on those concepts that are key to understanding this new phenomenon, and help S. Elwood (&) Department of Geography, University of Washington, Box 353550, Seattle, WA 98195, USA e-mail: selwood@u.washington.edu
Sex Difference in Accidental Mortality of Guppies exposed to Elevated Temperature

MASS mortalities of fish exposed to low1–6 and high7–10 temperatures in Nature have been reported; but no sex differences in such incidents appear to have been recorded. The omission of data on sex ratios may be due to the fact that their interpretation would generally be unsatisfactory since the sex ratios of the original populations would be unknown, and even slight differences in habits of the sexes might result in their exposure being significantly different. In the present instance, interpretation is easier because the exact number of adults of each sex before and after exposure is known.
Elaborated rank order processors

The author discusses an elaborated rank order processor, which admits constants as operands and preliminary operations on input variables (e.g. negation) so that the processor is also implementable in bit-serial, most significant bit leading, terms. The theory for the special case in which the constant 0 and the operation negation are admitted and a realization in finite autoregressive form exists is discussed. Input/output relations are expressible with a finite-state sequential machine with ternary inputs and outputs; that machine is only a mathematical construct and need not represent an actual device. The question of root signals is examined theoretically and by example. An example showing a bandpass effect is presented, and computer programs for doing the relevant calculations pertaining to finite automata and simulations are offered. A part of a theory for general elaboration is also presented. >
Structural comparison of γ-carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase and muconolactone isomerase from pseudomonas putida

Abstract Muconolactone isomerase and γ-carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase, two Pseudomonas putida enzymes that catalyze analogous biochemical reactions in the dissimilation of aromatic compounds, were compared structurally and chemically. A revised procedure for the purification of the decarboxylase gave higher yields of homogeneous protein in less time than previously published methods. Earlier investigations with sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis had indicated that the subunit sizes of the isomerase and the decarboxylase were 11 300 and 13 000, respectively. In the present study sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation of the isomerase at pH 7.0 gave an apparent molecular weight of 111 000, suggesting that the protein is a decamer or a dodecamer. Ultracentrifugation of the decarboxylase under similar conditions indicated that the protein is a hexamer of 82 000 daltons. Dimethyl suberimidate cross-linking of the lysines of the isomerase created two species of cross-linked proteins as revealed by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis; a major species of 62 000–65 000 and a minor amount of a 124 000 molecular weight species. The results suggest that the oligomer of the isomerase may be composed of two stacked discs of pentamers or hexamers. In contrast, the evidence indicated no significant intra-oligomeric cross-linking of the lysines of the decarboxylase. The sequence of the first twelve amino terminal amino acids of the decarboxylase was determined by dansyl-Edman degradation. Comparison of the amino terminal amino acid sequence of the decarboxylase with that of the isomerase demonstrated that these portions of the two proteins have no more than three identical residues in the first twelve positions. The results indicate that either the two proteins had an independent evolutionary origin or they have diverged considerably since a common ancestry.
Identification of 14−3−3ζ by Chemical Affinity with Salicylanilide Inhibitors of Interleukin-12p40 Production

Salicylanilides were found as selective inhibitors of interleukin-12p40 production in stimulated dendritic cells. The conversion of one of these bioactive salicylanilides into a comparably bioactive, chemically labeled derivative was achieved using a facile and systematic functional group derivatization strategy. This resulted in a tool reagent that was then employed in an affinity chromatography approach that resulted in the identification of the protein 14-3-3zeta as having selective affinity for the chromatography matrix that was derivatized with a salicylanilide that inhibited IL-12p40 production.
The Human Gene AHNAK Encodes a Large Phosphoprotein Located Primarily in the Nucleus

AHNAK is a newly identified human gene notable for the exceptional size (c.a. 700 kD) and structure of its product, and for the repression of its expression in human neuroblastoma cells. Here we report the identification and partial characterization of the protein encoded by AHNAK. The protein is located principally (but not exclusively) in the nucleus and is phosphorylated on both serine and threonine. The abundance of the protein increases appreciably when cells withdraw from the division cycle, in response to either withdrawal of serum (fibroblasts) or differentiation (neuroblastoma cells). By contrast, the amount of phosphorylation appears to diminish in those settings. The considerable abundance and conjectured fibrous structure of AHNAK protein suggest a role in cytoarchitecture, but no function can yet be discerned.
Interactions between winter and summer annuals in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Using 18 years of census data from permanent quadrats, we examined the interactions between spatially coexisting but temporally segregated winter and summer ephemeral plant communities in the Chihuahuan Desert. The ability of winter and summer annuals to achieve nearly complete temporal segregation by partitioning the bimodal annual rainfall permits the coexistence of a diverse flora of annual (and perennial) plants in this unproductive arid environment. Despite the differences in their biogeographical affinities and temporal segregation, long-term data indicated that at the scales of both the entire 20-ha study site and small 0.25-m2 sample quadrats, abundances of plants were never high in two successive growing seasons, suggesting a negative interaction between winter and summer annuals. We evaluate alternative hypotheses for this phenomenon.
Energy Balancing Routing Schemes for Low-Power Wireless Networks

We address the problem of energy balancing in multi-hop wireless networks to optimize their operational lifetime. We first present a localized routing algorithm. Then, for a performance evaluation of the localized algorithm, we present a centralized routing algorithm because a centralized approach with global knowledge can closely approach the optimal solution. Unlike many previous energy-aware routing protocols, both of our presented algorithms consider total energy expenditure for guaranteed packet delivery. We use simulation to study their performance under a variety of network conditions. The simulation results show, firstly, that both schemes achieve significant improvement of energy balancing proportional to node density and, secondly, our proposed localized routing scheme achieves a performance comparable to the centralized scheme under dense networks.
Novel Variant of Thyroglobulin Promoter Triggers Thyroid Autoimmunity through an Epigenetic Interferon α-modulated Mechanism

Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) arise from complex interactions between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Whole genome linkage scans and association studies have established thyroglobulin (TG) as a major AITD susceptibility gene. However, the causative TG variants and the pathogenic mechanisms are unknown. Here, we describe a genetic/epigenetic mechanism by which a newly identified TG promoter single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variant predisposes to AITD. Sequencing analyses followed by case control and family-based association studies identified an SNP (−1623A→G) that was associated with AITD in the Caucasian population (p = 0.006). We show that the nucleotide substitution introduced by SNP (−1623A/G) modified a binding site for interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1), a major interferon-induced transcription factor. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we demonstrated that IRF-1 binds to the 5′ TG promoter motif, and the transcription factor binding correlates with active chromatin structure and is marked by enrichment of mono-methylated Lys-4 residue of histone H3, a signature of active transcriptional enhancers. Using reporter mutations and siRNA approaches, we demonstrate that the disease-associated allele (G) conferred increased TG promoter activity through IRF-1 binding. Finally, treatment of thyroid cells with interferon α, a known trigger of AITD, increased TG promoter activity only when it interacted with the disease-associated variant through IRF-1 binding. These results reveal a new mechanism of interaction between environmental (IFNα) and genetic (TG) factors to trigger AITD.
Comparison of Eosinophilia in Patients Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis

Eosinophilia (E) has been noted in hemodialysis (HD) patients, but its etiology is not clear. In an effort to clarify this phenomenon, we prospectively studied patients initiating dialysis in our outpatient HD and peritoneal dialysis programs. Rate of E was greatest for a small group of four continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis patients (75%), less for 63 HD patients (41 %), and least for 66 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients (21 %, P v CAPD). Increasing E rates among the groups paralleled increased frequency of tubing changes. There were no differences in etiology of renal disease, medications, types of dialyzers, types of access, or transfusion frequency that could account for the E. IgE levels did not correlate with E. The data suggest that the dialysis procedure or the tubing changes may be causing the E, but the possibility that uremia, itself, is important in the pathogenesis of dialysis E is also discussed.
Phonon polariton spectroscopy in the thermal near-field

Using scattering near-field spectroscopy with heated tips and substrates we characterize the distinct spatial, spectral, and coherence properties of the resonantly enhanced thermal near-field, and the optical antenna mediated projection into far-field emission.
Fish movement and habitat use depends on water body size and shape

Home ranges are central to understanding habitat diversity, effects of fragmentation and conservation. The distance that an organism moves yields information on life history, genetics and interactions with other organisms. Present theory suggests that home range is set by body size of individuals. Here, we analyse estimates of home ranges in lakes and rivers to show that body size of fish and water body size and shape influence home range size. Using 71 studies including 66 fish species on five continents, we show that home range estimates increased with increasing water body size across water body shapes. This contrasts with past studies concluding that body size sets home range. We show that water body size was a consistently significant predictor of home range. In conjunction, body size and water body size can provide improved estimates of home range than just body size alone. As habitat patches are decreasing in size worldwide, our findings have implications for ecology, conservation and genetics of populations in fragmented ecosystems.
Binding constraints on the evolution of enzymes and signalling proteins: the important role of negative pleiotropy

A number of biophysical and population-genetic processes influence amino acid substitution rates. It is commonly recognized that proteins must fold into a native structure with preference over an unfolded state, and must bind to functional interacting partners favourably to function properly. What is less clear is how important folding and binding specificity are to amino acid substitution rates. A hypothesis of the importance of binding specificity in constraining sequence and functional evolution is presented. Examples include an evolutionary simulation of a population of SH2 sequences evolved by threading through the structure and binding to a native ligand, as well as SH3 domain signalling in yeast and selection for specificity in enzymatic reactions. An example in vampire bats where negative pleiotropy appears to have been adaptive is presented. Finally, considerations of compartmentalization and macromolecular crowding on negative pleiotropy are discussed.
Recursive learning for deformable object manipulation

This paper presents a generalized approach to handling of 3D deformable objects. Our task is to learn robotic grasping characteristics for a non-rigid object represented by a physically-based model. The model is derived from discretizing the object into a network of interconnected particles and springs. Using Newtonian equations, we model the particle motion of a deformable object and thus calculate the deformation characteristics of the object. These deformation characteristics allow us to learn the required minimum forces necessary to successfully grasp the object and by linking these parameters into a learning table, we can subsequently retrieve the forces necessary to grasp an object presented to the system during run time. This new method of learning is presented and the results of a virtual simulation are shown.
The temperature statistics of a surfactant-covered air/water interface during mixed convection heat transfer and evaporation

Surface temperature fields were measured of an air/water interface where heat was transferred from the water to the air under mixed convection conditions. The interfacial temperature field was measured using an infrared (IR) camera for mean wind speeds ranging from 0 to 4.0 m/s, in 1.0 m/s increments. Statistics of these surface temperature fields, specifically, the root mean square (rms) and the skewness were obtained. Plots of the rms versus the heat flux showed linear behavior for low wind speeds (U = 0–3 m/s), and the skewness was also found to increase with heat flux for U = 0–3 m/s, although these data exhibited significant scatter. The scaled root mean square temperature was revealed to be governed by the ratio Ra 1/3 /(Re ⁄4/5 Pr 1/3 ) where Ra is the Rayleigh number, Re ⁄ the Reynolds number based on water
A Python Module for Modeling and Control Design of Flexible Robots

This article discusses the creation of a python module for object-oriented modeling and control design of flexible robots using the transfer matrix method (TMM). The authors overcame several theoretical hurdles to apply the TMM to practical flexible robots and have experimentally validated the python module's modeling capabilities.
Attribute-Oriented Knowledge Discovery in Rough Relational Databases.

The rough relational database model was developed for the management of uncertainty in relational databases. A particular type of knowledge discovery, attribute oriented induction of rules from generalized data is described in this paper. Rough Relational Databases In rough sets (Pawlak 1984) an approximation space is defined on some universe U by defining some equivalence relation that partitions the universe into equivalence classes called elementary sets, based on some definition of ‘equivalence’ as it relates to the application domain. Any finite union of these elementary sets is called a definable set. A rough set X e U, however, can be defined in terms of the definable sets in terms of its lower (RX) and upper ( R X) approximation regions: RX = {x �« U |[x]Re X} and R X = {x �« U | [x]Ra X za }. We may refer to RX as the positive region, U- R X as the negative region, and R X – RX as the boundary or borderline region of the rough set X. The lower and upper approximation regions, then, allow the distinction between certain and possible inclusion in a rough set. The rough relational database model captures all the essential features of the theory of rough sets including the notion of indiscernibility of elements through the use of equivalence classes and the idea of denoting an indefinable set by its lower and upper approximation regions
Structured Content Analysis of Cases: A Complementary Method for Organizational Research

In this article, we introduce a comparatively new method that uses case materials for the development and testing of hypotheses. After comparing cases to questionnaires as a data source, we explain the key role of the content analysis schedule, and provide an illustration centering on environmental volatility.
Maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic optimization using extremum seeking

This work develops a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm for optimizing solar array performance that is robust to rapidly varying weather conditions. In particular, a novel extremum seeking (ES) controller, which utilizes the inverter ripple, is designed and tested on a simulated array with grid-tied inverter. The new algorithm is benchmarked against the perturb and observe (PO) method using irradiance data gathered on a rooftop array experiment in Princeton, NJ. The extremum seeking controller achieves an efficiency of 99.7% and transient rise to the MPP of 1 seconds, which is 100 times faster than perturb and observe.
Nature's Navigators – An Overview of Biologically‐Inspired Navigation

An exciting area of research is biologically-inspired navigation, or "bio-nav." Diverse animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, etc.) have unusual sensors and behavioral strategies that allow them to navigate reliably through their environments. The spatial scales over which different animals navigate vary widely, ranging from small patches of desert occupied by ant colonies to migratory routes spanning ocean basins, as is the case for sea turtles. Similarly, different species must solve very different tasks and monitor different elements of the environment... For many navigational tasks that humans confront and for almost any aspect of the natural world we might wish to detect, nature has an animal that does something similar. The papers contained in this journal describe how animals navigate using diverse natural environmental cues, including physical landmarks, Earth’s magnetic field, odors, wind, heat, the sun, optical flow, inertial forces, and hydrostatic pressure. In most cases, animals combine information from several of these cues to accomplish navigation feats over a variety of distances and environments; thus, the biological world is filled with examples of sensor fusion. As highlighted in the papers in this special issue of the journal, the precise combination of cues and navigational strategies varies greatly among different animals, depending on the habitat and what is needed for survival.
Information technology support services: crisis or opportunity?

Information technology support services are in crisis, due to dramatically increased expectations and stable or dwindling funding. We examine the root causes and suggest actions which may help resolve the situation by reducing expectations, increasing effectiveness, and building partnerships.
Characterization and Activity of Vanadium Oxide Catalysts in Selective Catalytic Reduction of Nitric Oxide

Abstract Nitric oxide reduction with ammonia and direct oxidation of ammonia were studied over unsupported vanadia catalysts, having preferential exposure of different crystal planes. Surface species and morphological factors were investigated by using various characterization techniques. The activity and selectivity measurements were performed using a steady-state fixed-bed reactor system.
On Simulating Fractional Brownian Motion

We discuss how a computer simulation affects the properties of random trajectories, like stationarity or self-similarity, focusing on the Weierstrass-Mandelbrot approximation of the fractional Brownian motion.
Post-Earnings Announcement Drift: Timing and Liquidity Costs*

The persistence of the post-earnings announcement drift leads many to believe that trading barriers prevent knowledgeable investors from eliminating it. For example, Bhushan (1994) contends that sophisticated investors quickly drive prices to within trading costs of efficient values. We examine two factors not previously addressed in the literature: the exact timing of the announcements and liquidity costs. Specifically, we compare the profits generated by transacting immediately following the announcement and at the close of the actual announcement day to the common practices of assuming trades at the close on the Compustat date or the following day. We further investigate the impact of liquidity costs on the drift by examining actual quotes available to investors. Under a wide range of timing and cost assumptions our results leave little doubt that between 1993 and 2002 an investor could have earned hedged-portfolio returns of at least 14% per year after trading costs.
Fitness as Informational Fit: An Information Theoretic Approach to Multilevel Requisite Variety

The article starts with the familiar notion that evolution can be thought of as handling uncertainty with regard to variety in population structures. The resolution of uncertainty communicates information through negative entropy, which increases fitness. This setup can be generalized. Information turns out to be the link between diversity of types in populations and unfolding environmental patterns in time. Conditioning of information over multiple levels reduces uncertainty, which increases fitness. While previous research has applied this logic to temporal patterns through Kelly’s bet-hedging criteria (stochastic switching), this article shows how the same logic can also be applied to multilevel population structures. Examples include taxonomies and geographic distributions. The result is a reformulation of fitness as a multilevel communication process between the evolving population and its environment. The multilevel recursion provides a single setup to investigate diversity relations between any population hierarchy and environmental patterns. Information theoretic optimization through bet-hedging reveals that fitness can be optimized for the case in which there is one specialized type per environmental state. This is reminiscent of the notion of requisite variety, and shows how fitness optimization can be understood in terms of a multilevel informational fit between the evolving population and environmental patterns.
WNT/β-Catenin Signaling in Leukemia

Leukemia represents the malignant outgrowth of a transformed hematopoietic cell. Normal hematopoiesis develops in a hierarchy with a hematopoietic stem cell at its apex and gives rise to progenitor cells that are committed to multiple hematopoietic lineages. Leukemia can develop from the stem cell ­compartment (i.e., leading to chronic myeloid leukemia, CML) or committed ­lymphoid (acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL) and myeloid (acute myeloid ­leukemia, AML) progenitors. WNT/β-catenin signaling is not only critical for stem cell self-renewal and differentiation in normal hematopoiesis, but also affects the natural history of leukemic clones. Interestingly, individual components of the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway have a lineage-specific role and regulate stem cell self-renewal, proliferation, or differentiation specifically in one leukemia ­subset. The identification of lineage-specific regulators of WNT/β-catenin signaling will be important in the development of novel therapy approaches to selectively eradicate leukemia stem cells. Leukemia-initiating cells are implicated in relapse of leukemia and drug resistance, which represent two major clinical problems in the treatment of leukemia. At least in CML and AML, leukemia-initiating cells critically depend on active WNT/β-catenin signaling and targeted inhibition of this pathway will likely result in eradication of leukemia stem cells in these leukemia subtypes.
Bilski at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has not ruled on a case concerning patentable subject matter since 1981, but that is about to change. The oral argument in Bilski presaged a likely outcome of the litigation that will not satisfy the petitioners, and it yielded only inconclusive hints about the direction the Court may take on the issue of most importance to onlookers - whether the Court will provide more concrete guidance on the patent eligibility of claims based entirely on positive law or ordinary human activity, and whether the Court will establish a new, narrower-scope standard for process patents. This article provides background on Bilski and commentary on the key questions and points made at the oral argument. The reader is also referred to Doc 2010-4657, which provides the most up-to-date version of a comprehensive bibliography on business method patents generally, and tax strategy patents in particular. The author maintains this bibliography for the American Bar Association Section of Taxation’s task force on patenting tax strategies. The bibliography primarily lists significant academic and practitioner articles and books on business method and tax patents, but it also includes some key cases and briefs, timely news stories, and most recently, additional coverage of the Bilski saga in the intellectual property blogosphere.
The effects of anoxic conditions on thermal tolerance and stress protein levels in four local bivalves

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES ix INTRODUCTION 1 Experimental organisms 6 Experimental approach 8 METHODS 9 Study site and experimental organisms 9 Inducing anoxia 10 Measuring thermal tolerance 11 Measuring stress proteins 13 RESULTS 15 Mantle cavity oxygen concentrations 15 Thermal tolerance 15 Stress protein levels 20 DISCUSSION 23 LITERATURE CITED 34 APPENDIX 42
A Novel Model of Transient Occlusion of the Middle Cerebral Artery in Awake Mice.

Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. As a consequence, several excellent rodent models have been developed to gain insight into the pathophysiology of stroke and testing the efficacy of neuroprotective interventions. However, one potential problem is that albeit roughly 80% of strokes occur in awake patients, all existing murine stroke models employ anesthesia. Moreover, epidemiological studies have shown that stroke injury is more severe in the minority of patients that suffer stroke while asleep. To better mimic the clinical situation, it is therefore preferable to analyze the pathobiology of experimental stroke in awake animals. New Method: This model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in awake mice is based on insertion of an intraluminal suture via the external carotid artery during isoflurane anesthesia. Isoflurane is discontinued during the 60 min MCAO while cerebral blood flow is continuously monitored using laser doppler in the awake unrestrained mouse. Results: Sixty minutes of awake MCAO model reliably induced infarction in striatum and cortex (relative infarct volume is 24.34% of contralateral hemisphere volume; absolute infarct volume is 47.94mm 3 ). Comparison with Existing Methods: The animals in this method are awake during the one hour occlusion period, which may provide a more translational research approach than existing methods that apply anesthesia during the occlusion. Conclusions: Since the state of brain activity likely affects stroke injury and most anesthetics have neuroprotective effects, this model more accurately mimics the condition during which the majority of human ischemic stroke occurs. Journal of Nature and Science (JNSCI), 2(2):e176, 2016.
Embracing Complex Associations in Common Traits: Critical Considerations for Precision Medicine

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous loci associated with human phenotypes. This approach, however, does not consider the richly diverse and complex environment with which humans interact throughout the life course, nor does it allow for interrelationships between genetic loci and across traits. As we move toward making precision medicine a reality, whereby we make predictions about disease risk based on genomic profiles, we need to identify improved predictive models of the relationship between genome and phenome. Methods that embrace pleiotropy (the effect of one locus on more than one trait), and gene-environment (G×E) and gene-gene (G×G) interactions, will further unveil the impact of alterations in biological pathways and identify genes that are only involved with disease in the context of the environment. This valuable information can be used to assess personal risk and choose the most appropriate medical interventions based on the genotype and environment of an individual, the whole premise of precision medicine.
Augustan satire and Victorian realism

LIMITS AND ENDINGS In the last years of the nineteenth century, English critics found themselves reaching a tentative consensus: the school of fiction called “realism” was finally coming to an end. Imported mostly from France, later propagated by disciples of Zola and French naturalism, debated endlessly in the British press, so-called realism had – in the span of only ten or twenty years – conquered the landscape of English fiction and become the dominant mode. But it was now in decline, the victim of its own excesses. Edmund Gosse, omnipresent critic of the era, ascribed this decline to “The Limits of Realism in Fiction”: this was the title of his 1890 essay, later published in the 1893 collection Questions at Issue . Realism to Gosse largely meant Zolaesque naturalism and its progeny, full of rules and dogma: “it is to be contemporary; it is to be founded on and limited by actual experience … to paint men as they are, not as you think they should be.” But as Gosse's title announced, and as he reiterated throughout the essay, this kind of writing had hit a wall. “There are limits to realism, and they seem to have been readily discovered by the realists themselves … in trying to draw life evenly and draw it whole, they have introduced such a brutal want of tone as to render the portrait a caricature … in their sombre, grimy, and dreary studies in pathology, clinical bulletins of a soul dying of atrophy, we may see what the limits of realism are.”
Characterization of narrowband on-body wireless channels using motion capture experimentation

This paper presents the methods and preliminary results of a comprehensive study of the effects of body position and body motion on on-body electromagnetic wave propagation. Experiments entailed 7 human subjects performing 7 activities with 3 different narrowband antenna frequencies and 3 different antenna configurations. Measurements were taken simultaneously with a Vector Network Analyzer and a motion capture system to get accurate correlations between the human body movement and the on-body channel characteristics. The sample of results presented show a distinct relationship between the activity and the transmission signal.
The Asian American Comparative Collection: A Unique Resource for Archaeologists and Historians

The Asian American Comparative Collection (AACC) is an exceptional repository containing artifacts, images, and documentary materials essential for understanding Asian American archaeological sites, economic contributions, and cultural history. It serves as an information clearinghouse for identifying artifacts made in China and Japan and for researching Asian American topics.
Factored performance functions and decision making in continuous time Bayesian networks

Abstract The continuous time Bayesian network (CTBN) is a probabilistic graphical model that enables reasoning about complex, interdependent, and continuous-time subsystems. The model uses nodes to denote subsystems and arcs to denote conditional dependence. This dependence manifests in how the dynamics of a subsystem changes based on the current states of its parents in the network. While the original CTBN definition allows users to specify the dynamics of how the system evolves, users might also want to place value expressions over the dynamics of the model in the form of performance functions. We formalize these performance functions for the CTBN and show how they can be factored in the same way as the network, allowing what we argue is a more intuitive and explicit representation. For cases in which a performance function must involve multiple nodes, we show how to augment the structure of the CTBN to account for the performance interaction while maintaining the factorization of a single performance function for each node. We introduce the notion of optimization for CTBNs, and show how a family of performance functions can be used as the evaluation criteria for a multi-objective optimization procedure.
Infliximab Therapy Leading to Pulmonary Tuberculosis in a Patient With Negative Interferon γ Release Assay (IGRA)-Based QuantiFERON Gold Test:

Infliximab therapy is associated with higher rates of active tuberculosis (TB), particularly extrapulmonary and disseminated forms with unusual symptoms. We report the case of a 66-year-old man wit...
Evaluation of Video-enhanced Case-based Activities Guided by the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process

Objective. To design and develop a series of technology-enhanced, case-based learning activities framed by the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP), and to evaluate the impact of these activities on student perceptions and performance. Methods. A mixed methods approach was used to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. Survey and focus group interviews were used to analyze student perceptions. Performance on a pre- and post-assessment was used to measure the impact of PPCP case-based learning activities. Results. Students demonstrated positive attitudes overall towards the case-based learning activities. Themes emerged during focus group interviews regarding awareness of the PPCP, engagement in learning, and a desire for realistic experiences. Significant changes were observed for the pre- and post-assessment within the plan and follow-up parameters, as well as for the total score within each disease state. Conclusion. The use of technology-enhanced, case-based modules framed around a standardized patient care process resulted in positive student perceptions and improved scores on a patient case assessment. The PPCP may be a useful framework for case development to aid students in application of drug therapy knowledge.
A MURS Band Digital Quadrature Transmitter With Class-B I/Q Cell Sharing for Long Range IoT Applications

This brief presents a quadrature digital transmitter operating in the multiuse radio service (MURS) frequency band for low power and long-range Internet of Things applications. We introduce a narrowband modulation scheme compliant with the MURS band as an alternative solution for low data-rate wide-area coverage. We present a transmitter architecture based on switched-current power amplifier cells that uses a digital class-B input codeword profile in combination with 25% duty cycled LOs to achieve high efficiency at low transmitted power levels. The transmitter is implemented in a 65-nm CMOS process and its performance is measured for single-tone and multitone transmissions at 5 and 384 kb/s, respectively. It operates from a 1.2-V supply and delivers a peak efficiency of 41% at a peak output power of 0 dBm. The error vector magnitude at 384 kb/s is 4.2%.
Multidisciplinary informatics: a primer for course development

The discipline of informatics continues to emerge as an integral component of information technology. Informatics is defined by the authors as the multidimensional use of technology to support knowledge discovery and dissemination, assisting the decision maker across a variety of academic disciplines and professional fields. As informatics continues to grow, so does the need to provide educational opportunities for students. This paper outlines the purpose, development and teaching methodology of a primer course in informatics. The paper will include a set of topics that may be used as the foundation for a text to accompany the course along with a discussion of lessons learned from teaching the course for the first time.
Efficacy of the Unified Protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of comorbid psychopathology accompanying emotional disorders compared to treatments targeting single disorders.

Abstract Objective This study aimed to examine whether the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for emotional disorders (i.e., anxiety, mood, and related disorders), is efficacious in the treatment of co-occurring emotional disorders compared to established single disorder protocols (SDPs) that target specific disorders (e.g., panic disorder). Method Participants included 179 adults seeking outpatient psychotherapy. Participant age ranged from 18 to 66 years, with an average of 30.66 years (SD = 10.77). The sample was 55% female and mostly Caucasian (83%). Diagnostic assessments were completed with the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule (ADIS), and disorder-specific, clinician-rated measures for the comorbid diagnoses of interest. Results In both treatment conditions, participants' mean number of diagnoses dropped significantly from baseline to posttreatment, and baseline to 12-month follow-up. Additionally, large effects were observed for changes in comorbid generalized anxiety (ESSG: UP = −1.72; SDP = −1.98), social anxiety (ESSG: UP = −1.33, −0.86; SDP = −1.60, −1.54), and depression (ESSG: UP = −0.83; SDP = −0.84). Significant differences were not observed in between-group comparisons. Conclusions Results suggest that both the UP and SDPs are efficacious in reducing symptoms of comorbid emotional disorders. The clinical, practical, and cost-effective advantages of transdiagnostic CBT are discussed.
Financial constraints and firm productivity: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing

Abstract This paper explores the link between financial constraints and productivity using firm-level data from Chinese manufacturing industries. Based on a dynamic optimization model which provides a direct measure of the degree of firms’ external financial constraints, we endogenize the relationship between firms’ financial constraints and productivity through the research and development (R&D) investment channel. We resolve the simultaneity issues in the estimation of productivity with the proxy variable method. Using an unbalanced panel including 312,534 Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 1998–2007, we find that about 90% of firms face external financial constraints and the state firms are much less constrained than the non-state firms. We hypothesize that financial constraints have two opposite effects: (i) they raise productivity by reducing “sub-optimal” investment, and (ii) they reduce productivity because the paucity of funds reduces productivity-enhancing investment. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between financial constraints and firm productivity. If the level of financial constraints for a typical unconstrained firm is adjusted to the productivity-maximizing level, its productivity will increase by 11% in the short run and 16% in the long run after controlling for firm specific characteristics. The empirical results are robust when we control for the sample selection issue in the estimation of productivity.