cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Novel Office-Based Device for Imaging Vocal Cord Cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: INTRODUCTION: This proposal uses light to image the structure of the vocal cords in human subjects. The long term goal of this proposal is to develop an instrument using a novel imaging modality, optical coherence tomography, to produce high resolution images in tissue. In this specific application, our goal is to image the larynx in an office-based setting.

 TOPIC ADDRESSED: The focus of this research is on diagnosing the changes in the human larynx that result from chronic exposure to tobacco and tobacco by-products. The diagnosis of early laryngeal cancer is exceptionally difficult to confirm on the basis of history and conventional physical examination alone. We have, in this proposal, attempted to address this problem.

 PROGRESS TOWARDS SPECIFIC AIMS: In the original TRDRP proposal we established three specific aims focused on: (1) Design and construction of a high speed, high resolution OCT laryngoscope for use in an office; (2) Image laryngeal microstructure in patients and correlate their findings with chronic laryngitis, dysplasia or early T1 laryngeal cancer; (3) Correlate these images with actual pathologic results.

 To date, we have been able to construct a prototype for performing this task of imaging the larynx in the office. The device was constructed over the course of the previous 12 months, and at this point we are able to identify the vocal cord using this instrument and see some images of internal vocal cord microstructure. We hope to implement this in clinical studies starting during this second year of the proposal.

 FUTURE DIRECTIONS: Planned future work will include further refinement of the prototype to incorporate better, improved mechanical design and the addition of new optical elements to allow better visualization of the vocal cords. We will also work toward improving the ergonomics of design of this system.

 IMPACT: We believe that this device will have a profound impact in the management of laryngeal disease related to tobacco and tobacco by-products, as we can get information which is similar to that obtained with biopsy, e.g. the microstructure of the vocal cord, without actually having to perform a biopsy. Since neither general anesthesia nor surgery is required to get this information, our device has significant potential as a means, not only to potentially diagnose early vocal cord cancer, but also to follow the progression of pre-malignant lesions of the vocal cord over time and also a means to archive these findings.
IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION CULTURE SHOCK ON THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF NIGERIAN POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Creators: name: Adewale, Titiola, Oluwaseun
Publisher: name: noland journal
Year: 2025
Subjects: Culture Shock,Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), Social Identity Theory, Nigerian Postgraduate Students, International Students, Communication Strategies, Adaptation U-Curve Theory, Higher Education.

description: This study explores the challenges faced by Nigerian postgraduate students in the UK, focusing on culture shock's impact on communication and adaptation. Addressing a gap in literature, it examines the communication techniques used by these students to navigate cultural differences. Anchored in Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and Social Identity Theory, the study analyses how students adjust their communication styles and how group identity influences adaptation. Utilising a survey research design, data from 381 Nigerian postgraduate students reveal various communication strategies, such as speaking clearly and embracing feedback, to overcome barriers. The study also maps the emotional stages of adaptation using Oberg's U-Curve Theory. A survey research design was adopted for this study. The population of this study was made up of Nigerian postgraduate students in Scotland, United Kingdom. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (2023), the number of Nigerian postgraduate students in the United Kingdom between the year 2017/2018 through to 2021/2022 is 51,815. Keyton’s formula for sample size determination was used to and the sample size of this study was 381. The snowball sampling was used in different stages. Data were gathered using the copies of the questionnaire which were administered on the respondents virtually. Quantitative data analysis was adopted in this study such as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and percentages. The findings have significant implications for educational institutions aiming to support international students. By enhancing communication skills and cultural awareness, institutions can better facilitate the integration and academic success of Nigerian postgraduate students. This research recommended that.
Efficient sequential decision-making algorithms for container inspection operations
Creators: name: Mittal, Sushil
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: Sequential diagnosis is an old subject, but one that has become increasingly important recently. There exists a need for new models and algorithms as the traditional methods for making decisions sequentially do not scale. Motivated by the problem of container inspection at the U.S. ports, we investigate the problem of finding efficient algorithms for sequential diagnosis. More specifically, we formulate the port of entry inspection sequencing task as a problem of finding an optimal binary decision tree for an appropriate Boolean decision function. We provide new algorithms that are computationally more efficient than those previously presented by Stroud and Saeger [31] and Anand et al [1]. We achieve these efficiencies through a combination of specific numerical methods for finding optimal thresholds for sensor functions and two novel binary decision tree search algorithms that operate on a space of potentially acceptable binary decision trees. The improvements enable us to analyze substantially larger applications than was previously possible.We try to solve the problem of finding an optimal inspection strategy by breaking it into two sub-problems - 1. Finding sensor threshold values that minimize the cost for a given binary decision tree and 2. ``Searching'' for the cheapest binary decision tree in a large space of trees or equivalence classes of trees. For solving the first problem, we explore various standard non-linear optimization techniques and also propose a novel algorithm by combining the gradient descent method and Newton's method in optimization to compute optimal thresholds for any given tree. We propose two novel search algorithms - A stochastic search method and a genetic algorithms based search method, as a solution to the second sub-problem.  We also propose ``neighborhood'' operations to move from one tree to another in the proposed tree space and prove that the tree space is irreducible under these neighborhood operations. We report results from numerous experiments with and without imposing restrictions on the tree space and examine how the optimal binary decision trees vary with these changes. For example, for most of the work in this thesis, we restrict the tree space to constitute only ``complete'' and ``monotonic'' binary decision trees. Later, we ``shrink'' the tree space by discovering equivalence classes of trees while we ``expand'' the tree space by removing the monotonicity constraint.
Nicotine self-administration in an animal model
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction and Objective: Tobacco addiction is a major health problem in the United States and the world with estimates of over 47 million current American smokers. Tobacco smoking is the leading, avoidable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S. It is estimated that more than 430,000 smoking-related deaths occur annually in the United States, and the economic costs are substantial, totaling over $138 billion in 1995. A critical question in the neurobiology of dependence on nicotine is what conveys the vulnerability to use tobacco products and the vulnerability to the transition from tobacco use to dependence. However this question is difficult to approach given that there are few animal models available to explore the transition from tobacco use to tobacco dependence from a motivational perspective.

 Progress: Work from the first funding period characterized our model of unlimited access nicotine self-administration using 23-hour access to the drug and the transition to a dependent state. Dose-dependent alterations in the pattern nicotine self-administration, extinction of nicotine-seeking behavior, dependence measures, and changes in the pattern of responding for food and water are being characterized. Subsequent studies demonstrating that rats challenged with the nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine exhibit changes in nicotine intake have begun to validate our model.

 Impact: Work from this funding period has provided us with a reliable dependence model and new avenues of research that will serve as exciting resources for exploring in future studies the neurobiological changes that convey vulnerability to the development of dependence in certain individuals.
Measuring 3D face geometry for integration with apperance models
Creators: name: Madan, Siddharth K.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: Capturing the appearance of skin is a nontrivial problem. The appearance of skin depends significantly on the illumination and viewing direction. The global and fine scale local geometry influence the appearance of skin. In this thesis, we work towards capturing the appearance of skin by acquiring the global geometry and modeling the skin texture.We explore the use of structured light techniques to acquire global geometry. Twonovel structured light techniques have been developed. The techniques use image ratiosto obtain reliable reconstruction of low albedo regions. The use of laser scanner forgeometry acquisition and its advantages and disadvantages have also been discussed.We model the interaction of light with the skin surface as a combination of surface and subsurface scattering. The reflectance due to subsurface scattering and the reflectancedue to surface scattering have different properties and are modeled separately.The subsurface components lie on a lower dimensional linear subspace and the surfacecomponents lie on nonlinear manifolds. We look into the use of linear dimensionalityreduction techniques to model the subsurface reflectance and nonlinear dimensionalityreduction techniques to model the surface reflectance. In the initial results, separatemodeling of the surface and the subsurface components preserved the specularities.However, the specularities were lost when the reflectance were modeled without separating the surface and the subsurface components.
Towards room temperature processed and completely flexible organic photovoltaic devices
Creators: name: Miller, Steven Lawrence
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: This thesis presents the work towards identifying and developing materials and processes necessary to fabricate inexpensive, flexible and room temperature processed organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs).  A method for rapidly fabricating and characterizing OPVs utilizing gallium-indium eutectic (liquid at room temperature) to replace thermally evaporated aluminum and a simple halogen light as a replacement for a solar simulator is described.  Poly(3-hexylthiophene):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) bulk heterojunctions were utilized for absorbing light and generating charge carriers. P3HT:PCBM OPVs using traditional transparent and conducting materials for carrier collection such as indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass and fabrication processes such as thermal annealing were optimized.  Thermal annealing is an integral step in developing the morphology necessary to create high efficiency OPVs, but is detrimental to many flexible (plastic) substrates.  In order to overcome this limitation, a technique utilizing room temperature solvent vapor annealing for improving OPV efficiency was developed and the mechanisms leading to such improvement are elucidated through in situ and ex situ characterization.  The analyses revealed that solvent vapor annealing at room temperature leads to comparable changes in morphology and charge transport as thermal annealing.ITO is expensive and substantially loses conductivity when flexed.  As an alternative, single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) thin film as a transparent and conducting material was investigated.  Using a solution of dispersed SWNTs, networks with densities just above the metallic percolation threshold were deposited with conductivity and transmission properties comparable to ITO.  Additionally, they are flexible without a loss in conductivity with bending cycles.  OPVs with SWNT thin films as the hole collecting electrodes showed better performance than ITO reference cells. The mechanism for the better performance was attributed to the three dimensional interface between the P3HT:PCBM and the SWNTs which allows efficient capture of holes.  The presence of birefringence in SWNT thin films and its influence on OPV properties as a function of angle of illumination is also described.  The results presented in this thesis should lead to a better understanding of the P3HT:PCBM system and demonstrate promising solutions towards the realization of flexible, room temperature processed and inexpensive OPVs.
Gymnodactylus agamuroides Nikolsky 1900
Creators: name: Ananjeva, Natalia B.
name: Milto, Konstantin D.
name: Barabanov, Andrei V.
name: Golynsky, Evgeny A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Squamata
Phyllodactylidae
Gymnodactylus
Gymnodactylus agamuroides

description: Gymnodactylus agamuroides NIKOLSKY (“1899” 1900: 384)
Lectotype (designated by Szczerbak & Golubev 1986):
ZISP 9327, adult male, “Pendsch-Sara in Kirmano orient.” [Panjsareh, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, 27.98 N 60.18 E]. Leg: N. A. Zarudny, 10.VIII.1898.
Paralectotypes:
ZISP 9326, 1 specimen, “Neizar in Seistano” [near Afsalabad, surroundings of Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, 31.01 N 61.39 E]. Leg: N. A. Zarudny, 26.V.1898.
ZISP 9328, 1 specimen, “Duz-Ab in Kirmano orient” [Duz-Abad, Saragad Region, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, 29.50 N 60.86 E]. Leg: N. A. Zarudny, 14.VI.1898.
Present name: Cyrtopodion agamuroides (Nikolsky, 1900) fide Bauer et al. (2013).
Remarks: Specimen ZISP 9328 was reidentified by Nazarov et al. (2010) as Cyrtopodion golubevi Nazarov, Ananjeva, Radjabizadeh (2010). One paralectotype (ZISP 9326) could not be located in the ZISP collection.
description: Published as part of Ananjeva, Natalia B., Milto, Konstantin D., Barabanov, Andrei V. & Golynsky, Evgeny A., 2020, An annotated type catalogue of amphibians and reptiles collected by Nikolay A Zarudny in Iran and Middle Asia, pp. 101-128 in Zootaxa 4722 (2) on page 114, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4722.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3605815
Variation among mangrove forests as fish habitat: the role of prop-root epibionts, edge effects and behavior in neotropical mangroves
Creators: name: MacDonald, James A.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: Mangrove forests are an important nursery habitat for many species of reef fish, as well as a key component of the interlinked mangrove-seagrass-reef system. However, understanding how juvenile fish utilize the mangrove habitats is hampered by variation between mangrove habitats. This study sought to examine some reasons for variation between mangroves, focusing on physical characteristics, particularly the influence of sessile epibiont organisms.Using visual census, fish and sessile communities were compared in Rhizophora mangle roots in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, and Utila, Honduras. The results revealed significant positive correlation between depth, epibiont diversity, and density and fish species diversity and biomass. In order to determine a causal relationship between epibionts and fish community variation, two field experiments were established. In one, artificial mangrove roots (AMR) with different sets of artificial (AE) or real epibionts were established in five different locations. In the second experiment, fish were surveyed in 12 different mangrove transects, epibionts were reduced in half of those transects, and then surveyed again. In the artificial mangrove plots, treatments with the most heterogeneous structure had the greatest abundance and diversity of fish. When epibionts were reduced, fish abundance went up and biomass stayed level in controls, but abundance stayed flat and biomass decreased in treatment transects. The data indicate that epibionts can enhance fish abundance and diversity in mangroves, although the relationship may depend upon the specific epibionts.Separately, a series of prop-roots were surveyed and placed inside predator exclusion cages. After three months, the cages were removed. The results suggested that grazing mostly does not impact prop-root epibiont coverage. In a separate study, fish and epibiont communities were measured along a gradient within the mangroves away from boundaries of the mangrove forest. Both fish diversity and abundance showed a significant linear decrease away from the edge. Average size decreased as well, but epibionts showed no significant changes along the gradient.Last, juvenile reef fishes were captured by in mangroves and seagrass, tagged, and monitored for three months. All recaptures were within 10 meters of the original capture, but most occurred within a short time.
Proarna montevidensis Berg 1882
Creators: name: Sanborn, Allen F.
name: Heath, Maxine S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadidae
Proarna
Proarna montevidensis

description: Proarna montevidensis Berg, 1882
Proarna montevidensis Berg 1882: 44 (type material examined).
Type locality. Montevideo, Uruguay.
Remarks. The species was described from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay (Metcalf 1963a; Torres 1961b; Duffels & van der Laan 1985; De Santis et al. 2007). It was reported from Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Misiones, and Santa Fe Provinces (Torres 1961b; Bolcatto et al. 2006; De Santis et al. 2007). We have collected specimens in Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Corrientes, and Entre Rios Provinces. The species is associated with the Pampas floristic province (Sanborn et al. 2011a).
New provincial records. Prov. Catamarca, Colonia Nueva Coneta, 9-I-1992, A. Sanborn & P. Ganter coll. (one male, AFSC); Corrientes, Dto. P. de los Libres, 2 km NE Pacheta, 4-I-1988, Al Sanborn — M.S. Heath Coll. (one male, MSHC).
description: Published as part of Sanborn, Allen F. & Heath, Maxine S., 2014, The cicadas of Argentina with new records, a new genus and fifteen new species (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae), pp. 1-94 in Zootaxa 3883 (1) on page 58, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3883.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4951252
Birth defects, smoking and host susceptibility
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: This research will improve our understanding of the contribution of maternal smoking to the risk of birth defects; taking into account the potential modifying effects of other exposures and genetic factors, by achieving the following specific aims: 1) To examine whether women who smoke around the time of conception are at increased risk of delivering infants with craniosynostosis (i.e., premature fusion of bones in the skull, which leads to skull and craniofacial deformities), and whether factors such as intake of multivitamin/mineral supplements modify this association; 2) To determine whether women who smoke around the time of conception are at increased risk of delivering infants with hypospadias (i.e., the urethral opening occurs on the underside side of the penis), and whether factors such as intake of multivitamin/mineral supplements modify this association; and 3) To examine whether the association between maternal smoking around the time of conception and risk of limb defects is modified by variation in infant genes important to the breakdown of toxins in cigarette smoke.

 Aims 1 and 2 use newly collected maternal interview data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, an on-going case-control study being conducted in California and seven other states, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In year 1, we have cleaned the data and completed an analysis of the association between hypospadias and smoking, which did not provide evidence for an increased risk of hypospadias among women who smoke. In year 2 we will further analyze these data to determine whether there is an association among any subsets of women, e.g., women who did versus did not take vitamin supplements during early pregnancy. When adequate sample size has been reached for craniosynostosis cases, we will perform similar analyses for that outcome.

 Aim 3 combines maternal interview data from a completed case-control study that was conducted in California only with newly generated genetic data derived from archived DNA specimens. In year l, we have completed genotyping for all study subjects for the glutathione S-transferase genes GSTM1 and GSTT1 and the N-acetyltransferase gene NAT1. We have recently developed a new method of mass spectrometry analysis for genotyping NAT2, which uses considerably less DNA than previous methods. During year 2, we will conduct the NAT2 genotyping on our study subjects and begin data analysis.

 This research will result in a better understanding of the contribution of smoking to birth defects risks and of the mechanisms that cause birth defects, and therefore enable the development of more effective messages for smoking prevention and cessation.
Geometric features of string theory at low-energy
Creators: name: Lukic, Sergio
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: In this thesis we study several differential-geometric aspects of the low energy limit of string theory. We focus on anomaly cancellation issues in M-theory on a manifold with boundary and background fluxes, and the computation of non-holomorphic quantities in Calabi-Yau compactifications. In the first chapter we introduce the motivation and the problems that we will study. In the second chapter we show how the coupling of gravitinos and gauginos to fluxes modifies anomaly cancellation in M-theory on a manifold with boundary. Anomaly cancellation continues to hold, after a shift of the definition of the gauge currents by a local gauge invariant expression in the curvatures and E8 fieldstrengths. We compute the first nontrivial correction of this kind. In the last chapter, we introduce methods to determine the form of the effective fourdimensional field theory corresponding to compactifications of string theory. More precisely, we develop iterative methods for finding solutions to the Ricci flat equations on a Calabi-Yau variety, and to the hermitian Yang-Mills equation on stable holomorphic vector bundles, following ideas developed by Donaldson. Finally, we show how these techniques can be understood using the language of geometric quantization of Kaehler manifolds, and suggest how one can use these ideas to explicitly construct additional geometric objects.
Why communication networks might impact employee identification with one or more organizational targets
Creators: name: Liberman, Corey J.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: The purpose of this dissertation is to determine whether or not there exists a relationship between communication networks and organizational identification. Using social identity and network theories as the frameworks, the main argument is that communication networks (both social and task) are associated with one's strength of identification with one or more organizational targets, including one's profession, one's organization, one's department, and one's work team. The site for investigation was an organization, referred to as FootWorld, whose main responsibility is to sell foot care products to medical facilities, trained professionals, and retailers. A total of 99 employees from the organization participated in this study and results indicate that neither one's social network, nor task network, is associated with any of the organizational targets. Furthermore, being central in a social or task network was not associated with strong identification with one or more organizational targets, despite previous research (Bullis & Bach, 1991; Corman, 1990; Kuhn & Nelson, 2002). Future research must examine not only why it is that neither of these types of networks influenced organizational identification, but also which types of networks do come to influence identification with one's profession, organization, department, and/or  team.
Tobacco smoke and airway remodeling in asthma
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Several epidemiologic studies of the allergic response in children have implicated environmental tobacco smoke in the exacerbation of allergic disease and asthma. The Environmental Protection Administration estimates that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke exacerbates asthma in up to a million children. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke has been linked to several adverse asthma outcomes including increased prevalence of asthma, increased severity of asthma symptoms, increased frequency of asthma medication use, and increased emergency room visits by asthmatic children. Asthma studies in mouse models of allergen induced asthma have demonstrated that the combination of environmental tobacco smoke exposure and inhaled allergen results in a significantly enhanced allergic airway immune response (increased levels of airway allergy cells termed eosinophils, increased levels of allergic or IgE antibodies) compared to allergen or tobacco smoke alone. It is currently not known whether environmental tobacco smoke exposure enhances airway remodeling associated with allergen induced asthma and consequently induces irreversible airway hyperreactivity associated with asthma. Thus, the overall hypothesis that we will investigate in a mouse model of asthma is whether the combination of chronic environmental tobacco smoke exposure and allergen, induce remodeling of the airways with resultant sustained and irreversible airway hyperreactivity even in the absence of further environmental tobacco smoke exposure. If this hypothesis were confirmed it would suggest that transient environmental tobacco smoke exposure for example in childhood in an allergic individual could lead to sustained and irreversible asthma as an adult, even if environmental smoke exposure was discontinued. We will also test whether a novel therapy, CpG, can prevent and/or reverse the structural and functional changes induced by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
Proarna praegracilis Berg 1881
Creators: name: Sanborn, Allen F.
name: Heath, Maxine S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadidae
Proarna
Proarna praegracilis

description: Proarna praegracilis Berg, 1881
Proarna praegracilis Berg 1881: 264.
Type locality. Bolivia.
Remarks. The species was reported in Tucumán Province in Argentina (Torres 1945a) and from Bolivia and Paraguay (Metcalf 1963a; Sanborn 2011a). We were sent specimens from Chaco Province as well.
New provincial records. Chaco, Rosa Azul Misiones, I-2004, P. Wagner (18 females, DECA, three females, AFSC).
description: Published as part of Sanborn, Allen F. & Heath, Maxine S., 2014, The cicadas of Argentina with new records, a new genus and fifteen new species (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae), pp. 1-94 in Zootaxa 3883 (1) on page 58, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3883.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4951252
Welding Imperfections
Creators: name: Hadzihafizovic, Dzevad
Publisher: name: Dzevad Hadzihafizovic's Lab
Year: 2023

description: Welding Imperfections and Materials Inspection Procedures and Techniques

Welding Imperfections and Materials Inspection Definitions see BS EN ISO 6520-1 Imperfection:Any deviation from the ideal weld. Defect : An unacceptable imperfection. Classification of imperfections according to BS EN ISO 6520-1: This standard classifies the geometric imperfections in case of fusion welding, dividing them into six groups: 1.Cracks. 2.Cavities. 3.Solid inclusions. 4.Lack of fusion and penetration. 5.Imperfect shape and dimensions. 6.Miscellaneous imperfections. It is important that an imperfection is correctly identified so the cause can be identified and actions taken to prevent further occurrence.
Characterizing the mechanism of differential pharmacokinetic disposition of two structurally similar nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, zidovudine and didanosine
Creators: name: Lee, Sung-Hack
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: The differential contributions of efflux transporters and metabolizing enzymes to the disposition of zidovudine (azidothymidine, AZT) and didanosine (dideoxyinosine, ddI) were investigated using murine and human cells, mouse kidney slices, and mice.  Cellular transport, transport in mouse kidney slices, brain uptake, and urinary excretion of AZT and ddI were investigated. Fumitremorgin C (FTC), a breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) specific inhibitor), increased AZT accumulation, but had little or no effect on ddI accumulation in either HEK-R482 or in J774.  Involvement of BCRP was investigated by comparing results in Mock- and BCRP- transfected cells, and confirmed by repeating the studies after silencing BCRP using siRNA.  MK-571, a MRP family inhibitor, blocked the efflux of AZT and ddI in murine and human cells.  Silencing MRP3 and MRP4 attenuated the efflux of AZT while silencing MRP1 attenuated ddI efflux.  The effect of blocking efflux transporters was found to be minor as compared to inhibition of metabolizing enzymes.  The major form of AZT deposited inside murine cells was AZT-MP, while the major form found inside human cells was AZT-TP.  MK-571 abolished the efflux of AZT-MP in both murine and human cells.  However, the efflux of AZT, ddI and their metabolites was not affected by FTC.  Application of MK-571 also decreased the efflux of GAZT and ddI in kidney slices.  The urinary excretion of AZT and ddI with MK-571 in mice was measured.  MK-571 did not cause any significant changes in the urinary excretion of AZT, ddI, or their metabolites between the MK-571 untreated and treated groups. Collectively, the results of these studies indicate that AZT and ddI are substrates of BCRP and MRPs, however since their effects are limited in in situ and in vivo situation they appear to be relatively minor players in the overall disposition of these drugs.
WPS PQR and WQ
Creators: name: Hadzihafizovic, Dzevad
Publisher: name: Dzevad Hadzihafizovic's Lab
Year: 2023

description: Welding Procedure Specification’s WPS PQR and WQ

WPS –Welding Procedure Specification: A document providing the required welding variables for a specific application to assure repeatability by properly trained welders and welding operators.PQR –Procedure Qualification Record: A record of welding variables used to produce an acceptable test weldment and the results of tests conducted on the weldment to qualify a welding procedure specification.Welder –One who performs manual or semiautomatic welding.Welding Operator –One who operates adaptive control, automatic, mechanized, or robotic welding equipment.Tack Welder –One who performs manual or semiautomatic welding to produce tack welds. Tack weld –A weld made to hold parts of a weldment in proper alignment until the final welds are made.
CHET EL LINGVOKULTUROLOGIYASINING PAYDO BO'LISHI TARIXI
Creators: name: Ibrohimova, Zarnigor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: Ushbu maqolada lingvokulturologiyaning jahon tilshunosligida o’rganilishi va buning tildagi ahamiyati   haqida so‘z boradi. Shuningdek, linvokulturologiyaga oid leksik birliklar va ularning o‘rganilishi soha rivoji uchun muhim manba bo‘lib xizmat qilishi haqida  ham fikrlar bildirilgan.
Protective function of VEGF on the development of emphysema
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: SPECIFIC AIMS: Emphysema is the major component of the morbidity and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that occurs predominately in cigarette smoker. Millions of patients suffer from emphysema in America. Even though protease-antiprotease hypothesis, which suggest that inflammation causes an imbalance or increase in level of proteases leading to lung damage, is widely supported, It can not explain why many patients with lung inflammation do not develop to emphysema. Vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) appears to be the most biologically active angiogenic factor and is critical for growth and development of endothelium, epithelium and their matrix. Even though VEGF is very abundant in the lungs, its role to maintain the lung structures has not yet been fully established. In this project, we propose VEGF is crucial to the remodeling function of lungs and can effectively prevent and reverse the development of emphysema.

 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In our preliminary experiments, we have established the method of injection of recombinant adeno-associate virus (AAV) into the lungs from trachea. After AAV-Cre injection, VEGF site-specific knockout in the lungs occurs in VEGF-LoxP transgenic mice. In these VEGF knockout lungs, We found that the VEGF content decrease, alveolar size increase, and the slop of P/V curve increase with the compliance decrease. The specific aims of this project are: (1) VEGF is crucial in maintaining the normal structural architecture of the lungs. Furthermore, decreasing the normal level of lung VEGF, via site-specific lung inactivation of the VEGF gene leads to changes in lung structure and function that resemble an emphysematous type lung; (2) Lung specific VEGF over-expression has the potential to reverse that changes in lung structure, function and extracellular matrix and cellular composition observed in VEGF knockout lungs; (3) Cigarette smoking decreases VEGF expression and leads to an emphysematous phenotype in mice; and (4) Overexpression of VEGF in the lungs prevents or reverses the development of emphysema caused cigarette smoking in mice.

 END POINTS: The above studies will address issues fundamental to the understanding of the mechanisms of VEGF to maintain the normal structure and remodeling function of lungs and the effects of VEGF to delay the development of emphysema caused by cigarette smoking. . The unique technique of using AAV to delivery VEGF or Cre gene into the lungs provides a wonderful way for VEGF over-expression or inducing VEGF gene knockout in the lungs. The results of this research may provide the hypothesis that the remodeling of lungs is another important factor for emphysema development, and the evaluation for VEGF as a practical medicine to prevent or even reversible treat the development of emphysema.
Molecular regulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 and its role in ribotoxic stress-induced apoptosis
Creators: name: Leibowitz, Brian J.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) is one of six high affinity binding proteins for IGF-I.  However, new and exciting IGF-independent functions have begun to emerge for IGFBP-3 in the regulation of cell growth.  Specifically, the biological role of IGFBP-3 in apoptosis has been found to be extremely complex, with a number of possible functions suggested, but few well-characterized mechanisms determined.  The overall goal of this work was to elucidate the role of IGFBP-3 within the context of ribotoxic stress-induced apoptosis, with specific aims to determine how ribotoxic stressors regulate IGFBP-3 expression and how IGFBP-3 influences the apoptotic pathway.  Studies involving both chemical inhibitors and siRNA determined that the ribotoxic stressors anisomycin (ANS) and ricin A chain (RTA) both induced IGFBP-3 expression through the p38 signaling pathway, and that both stressors enhanced IGFBP-3 mRNA stability through a 3'untranslated region-mediated, p38 dependent mechanism.  Additional studies demonstrated that RTA also activated the IGFBP-3 promoter in a p38-dependent manner.  Subsequent work allowed for the conclusion that IGFBP-3 is specifically required for ANS and RTA-induced apoptosis.  Knockdown of IGFBP-3 with siRNA prevented ANS-induced cytochrome c release, caspase activation and PARP cleavage.  Knockdown of JNK-2 also inhibited caspase activation and PARP cleavage, suggesting that it and IGFBP-3 were involved in the same apoptotic mechanism.  These findings led to the discovery that the orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 translocated to the cytosol following ANS treatment, where it is known to induce apoptosis.  Additionally, knockdown of either IGFBP-3 or JNK-2, pre-treatment with the nuclear export inhibitor leptomycin B (LMB) or treatment with IGF-I could both prevent this translocation and prevent ANS-induced apoptosis.  In conclusion, this work describes the novel regulation of IGFBP-3 by the p38 pathway, and helps to shed light on the complex role that IGFBP-3 plays in apoptosis.  These findings suggest that IGFBP-3 may be an integral part of the inherent apoptotic machinery in normal cells and may play a crucial role in the response of normal cells to toxic stressors.
Surface Tension Transfer
Creators: name: Hadzihafizovic, Dzevad
Publisher: name: Dzevad Hadzihafizovic's Lab
Year: 2023

description: Welding to Industry Metal Transfer Surface Tension Transfer

In 2006, Lincoln Electric Company developed and patented a new GMAW technique known as the Surface Tension Transfer (STT) process. STT is a modified shortcircuiting metal transferral technique that uses a high-frequency inverter power source to control the metal transfer rate. Unlike other current-voltage GMAW machines, the STT machine does not have any knob of voltage control. The work gets accomplished without doing any alteration to the voltage settings. In 1999, Dodson claimed that any fluctuation in the length of the filler wire does not affect the heat value because the power source offers control to the filler wire with no dependency of wire feed speed during the process. This indicates that a varying degree of current (higher or lower) can be exerted without attaching a fresh wire electrode [33,34]. STT technique operates an advanced electronic technology, known as waveform control technology that optimizes the weld current (waveform) and arc characteristics for a particular work. This technology supervises and regulates the surface tension of the filler droplet as it coheres to the weld pool. To do this, a high-speed inverter is utilized that accurately tunes the output current waveform throughout the shorting phase. Therefore, this process has been named STT [33–35]. The setting programs take care of all the relevant factors, namely type of material, the thickness of the material, weld type, travel rate, type of electrode, size of electrode, and the shielding gas for weld arc before obtaining the optimal arc for a particular work [34,35]. As claimed by DeRuntz, in 2003, that the STT process amalgamates the best attributes of the short arc and TIG processes [35]. The power source that operates the STT process is in neither the constant voltage nor the constant current mode. Rather it regulates the primary modules of STT current waveform, that is, background current, peak current, and tail-out current [14,35]. The current waveform has a specific curve-shaped formation, which can be categorized into four major phases, corresponding to the five stages of droplet separation and arc generation. Fig. 3.11 illustrates the STT current waveform along with the droplet separation from the wire electrode and the arc re-ignition. The details of the primary modules and the process (Table 3.1) have been discussed as follows: [35,36] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/surface-tension-transfer
Porosity in welding
Creators: name: Hadzihafizovic, Dzevad
Publisher: name: Dzevad Hadzihafizovic's Lab
Year: 2023

description: Porosity in welding

When weld defects form in a weld they can weaken the joint. In some cases, this results in complete failure of the weldment. In serious cases, there can be severe consequences to a failing weld. So, you need to understand the various defects. But in addition, you must know how to prevent them from happening. What Is A Weld Defect? In short, a weld defect is any flaw or imperfection that compromises the intended use of a weldment. These are classified according to ISO 6520. This also implies a flaw or imperfection may not compromise the weld, and a weld is said to have a discontinuity when this occurs. So, a weld can have a discontinuity and not be considered defective. These acceptable limits are specified in ISO 5817 and ISO 10042. However, if enough discontinuities exist (i.e., they exceed a limit as defined in an applicable code or specification), then the discontinuities become classified as defects, and the weld is rejected. A weld needs to be strong enough for the intended purpose at the most basic level, and many defects can weaken a joint. But in some cases, your weld must be aesthetically pleasing, too. So, most defects either weaken a weld or make it look ragged and unpresentable.
Electrostatic instabilities, charging and agglomeration in flowing granular materials
Creators: name: LaMarche, Keirnan R.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2008

description: The unpredictable behavior of granular materials is one of the largest stumbling blocks on the way to satisfactory design and control of many manufacturing processes.  There are many factors which contribute to the complex behavior of granular materials, however, the effect of electrostatic forces is both one of the least studied aspects of granular materials as well as one of the most important.  Electrostatics can cause agglomeration of otherwise free flowing powders, the adhesion of grains to equipment surfaces, and particles of differing composition or size to segregate.  In addition, electrostatic discharges can ignite dangerous dust explosions.  With a better understanding of the effects of electrostatics, as well as the processes at work during the charging of particulate flows, some of these issues can begin to be addressed.  To these ends, we examine the charge and agglomeration of grains and investigate how flows of particles charge, and in turn, how they are affected by those charges. In this work, we show that the behavior of flows of uncharged grains through chutes can be approximated by simple models, but when charging takes place the behaviors change dramatically, replacing fluid-like flow instabilities with significant agglomeration, making the flow much more difficult to model.  To understand and predict these transitions from relatively simple flow to a more complex/agglomerated state requires that the distribution of charge amongst the particles, as well as the effect of large electric fields, produced by either charged surfaces or particles, be investigated.  It was found that highly nonuniform distributions of charge could be generated by flowing particles.  This distribution can result in significantly different forces acting on charged and uncharged grains and suggests that many of the problems commonly encountered during powder handling may be due to a small fraction of the particles.  Lastly, significant agglomeration was observed when particles were subjected to nonuniform electric fields.  Nonuniform electric fields, which are produced as particles charge, cause polarization of the particles and attraction between grains.  The resulting forces acting on the particles (referred to as dielectrophoretic forces) were large enough to produce both large agglomerates of powder, as well as adhesion to equipment surfaces.  These forces may also be utilized to control particle behavior as this adhesion depends on the presence of an easily controlled external electric field.
title: Da Imaginação que Confere Sustentabilidade aos Factos
title: Finnegans e História do Cerco de Lisboa Revisitados
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Lemos, Márcia
Publisher: name: CETAPS, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
Year: 2024

description: This paper aims to contribute to a comparative reading of Joyce’s Finnegans Wake and Saramago’s História do Cerco de Lisboa, two paradigmatic examples of fictional texts that interrogate the crystallization of history and address the preservation of our collective memory. This analysis adopts, as a theoretical lens, the concept of “cultural sustainability”, as defined by Aleida Assmann in “The future of cultural heritage and its challenges” (Cultural Sustainability: Perspectives from the Humanities and Social Sciences, 2019)
description: Lemos, Márcia. Da Imaginação que Confere Sustentabilidade aos Factos: Finnegans Wake e História do Cerco de Lisboa Revisitados. Revista de Estudos Anglo-Portugueses, 33 (2024), pp 169-189. ISSN: 0871-6820
Proarna pulverea
Creators: name: Sanborn, Allen F.
name: Heath, Maxine S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadidae
Proarna
Proarna pulverea

description: Proarna pulverea (Olivier, 1790)
Cicada pulverea Olivier 1790: 759.
Type locality. Surinam.
Remarks. The species was recorded in Argentina, Brazil, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela (Metcalf 1963a; Sanborn 2007a) with questionable references to Mexico (Sanborn 2007b). The species is reported from Cabo de San Antonio, Buenos Aires Province within Argentina (Berg 1882).
description: Published as part of Sanborn, Allen F. & Heath, Maxine S., 2014, The cicadas of Argentina with new records, a new genus and fifteen new species (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae), pp. 1-94 in Zootaxa 3883 (1) on page 58, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3883.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4951252