cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distinct myeloid cell subsets promote meningeal remodeling and vascular repair after mild traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can cause meningeal vascular injury and cell death that spreads into the brain parenchyma and triggers local inflammation and recruitment of peripheral immune cells. The factors that dictate meningeal recovery after mTBI are unknown at present. Here we demonstrated that most patients who had experienced mTBI resolved meningeal vascular damage within 2–3 weeks, although injury persisted for months in a subset of patients. To understand the recovery process, we studied a mouse model of mTBI and found extensive meningeal remodeling that was temporally reliant on infiltrating myeloid cells with divergent functions. Inflammatory myelomonocytic cells scavenged dead cells in the lesion core, whereas wound-healing macrophages proliferated along the lesion perimeter and promoted angiogenesis through the clearance of fibrin and production of the matrix metalloproteinase MMP-2. Notably, a secondary injury experienced during the acute inflammatory phase aborted this repair program and enhanced inflammation, but a secondary injury experienced during the wound-healing phase did not. Our findings demonstrate that meningeal vasculature can undergo regeneration after mTBI that is dependent on distinct myeloid cell subsets.
FECAL BILE ACIDS OF BLACK-FOOTED FERRETS

Fecal bile acid characteristics have been used to identify scats to species of origin. Fecal bile acids in scats from 20 known black-footed ferrets ( Mustela nigripes ), 7 other known small carnivores, and 72 of unknown origin were analyzed to determine if this procedure could be used as a tool to verify ferret presence in an area. Seventeen ferret scats were suitable for analysis and had a mean fecal bile acid index of 156 ± 9. This was significantly different from mean indices for the other carnivores; however, subtantial overlap among confidence intervals occurred for badgers, kit foxes, and especially long-tailed weasels. We conclude this method is not useful for making positive identifications if individual ferret scats and suggest that we may be able to definitively identify individual scats with reasonable confidence by using gas-liquid chromatography.
Genetic polymorphism of chicken 7S immunoglobulins.

We have previously described five 7S immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy (H) chain allotypic specificities which are inherited among highly inbred chicken lines as codominant genetic traits segregating at an autosomal locus (1–4). These allotypes have been divided into two groups by structural analysis: a) Specificities CS-1.1 and CS-1.2 are present in the Fd portion of the 7S Ig H chain probably in a region analogous to the CJQ domain of mammaliany chains; and b) specificities CS-1.3, CH-1.4, and CS-1.5 are located in a region of the IS Ig H chain which is sensitive to papain digestion (2, 3).
Utilizing Twitter data for analysis of chemotherapy.

Abstract Objective Twitter has become one of the most popular social media platforms that offers real-world insights to healthy behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare perceptions about chemotherapy of patients and health-care providers through analysis of chemo-related tweets. Materials and methods Cancer-related Twitter accounts and their tweets were obtained through using Tweepy (Python library). Multiple text classification algorithms were tested to identify the models with best performance in classifying the accounts into individual and organization. Chemotherapy-specific tweets were extracted from historical tweetset, and the content of these tweets was analyzed using topic model, sentiment analysis and word co-occurrence network. Results Using the description in Twitter users’ profiles, the accounts related with cancer were collected and coded as individual or organization. We employed Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) network with GloVe word embeddings to identify the user into individuals and organizations with accuracy of 85.2%. 13, 273 and 14,051 publicly available chemotherapy-related tweets were retrieved from individuals and organizations, respectively. The content of the chemo-related tweets was analyzed by text mining approaches. The tweets from individual accounts pertained to personal chemotherapy experience and emotions. In contrast with the personal users, professional accounts had a higher proportion of neutral tweets about side effects. The information about the assessment of response to chemotherapy was deficient from organizations on Twitter. Discussion Examining chemotherapy discussions on Twitter provide new lens into content and behavioral patterns associated with treatments for cancer patients. The methodology described herein allowed us to collect relatively large number of health-related tweets over a greater time period and exploit the potential power of social media, which provide comprehensive view on patients’ perceptions of chemotherapy. Conclusion This study sheds light on using Twitter data as a valuable healthcare data source for helping oncologists (organizations) in understanding patients’ experiences while undergoing chemotherapy, in developing personalize therapy plans, and a supplement to the clinical electronic medical records (EMRs).
Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT)/PDMS-based Flexible Sensor for Medical Applications

Flexible sensors using functional materials have been extensively studied due to their significant potential in biomedical applications such as wearable electronics. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) that have excellent electrical conductivity enables polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a biocompatible silicone, to become conductive and piezoresistive as a nano-filler material in the polymer. Dispersion methods of MWCNT in PDMS and characterization of MWCNT/PDMS elastomers are analyzed to establish an optimal fabrication process. The fabricated MWCNT/PDMS-based flexible sensors have been implemented for two medical applications: 1) tactile sensing for a robotic hand for rehabilitation tasks and 2) strain sensing within a needle for in situ tissue characterization. Since the developed piezoresistive type of sensors are highly flexible, responsive, easy to scale, cost-effective, simply packaged, and biocompatible, they have numerous applications in the biomedical field.
Self-Authorship Capacity and Its Relationship with College Student Experiences and Outcomes

To achieve many outcomes promoted by student affairs educators, students need the internal capacity to author their knowledge, identities, and relationships. This study examined the link between st...
On the Rao-Rubin Characterization of the Poisson Distribution

Rao and Rubin (1964) considered a damage model where an observation, Z, produced by nature may be partially destroyed according to a binomial probability law and they obtained a characterization of the Poisson distribution based on such a model. In this paper we survey the subsequent literature on, this problem and obtain a new characterization generalizing a result of Patil and Ratnaparkhi (1975).
Loss of Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons Following Adolescent Binge Ethanol Exposure: Recovery With the Cholinesterase Inhibitor Galantamine

Binge drinking and alcohol abuse are common during adolescence and cause both cognitive deficits and lasting cholinergic pathology in the adult basal forebrain. Acetylcholine is anti-inflammatory and studies using the preclinical adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE; 5.0 g/kg, i.g., 2 day on/2 day off from postnatal day [P]25 to P54) model of human adolescent binge drinking report decreased basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs) and induction of proinflammatory genes that persist long into adulthood. Recent studies link AIE-induced neuroimmune activation to cholinergic pathology, but the underlying mechanisms contributing to the persistent loss of BFCNs are unknown. We report that treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor galantamine (4.0 mg/kg, i.p.) administered during AIE (i.e., P25-P54) or following the conclusion of AIE (i.e., P57-P72) recovered the persistent loss of cholinergic neuron phenotype markers (i.e., ChAT, TrkA, and p75NTR) and somal shrinkage of residual ChAT + neurons known to persist in AIE-exposed adults. Galantamine treatment also recovered the AIE-increased expression of the proinflammatory receptors TLR4 and RAGE, the endogenous TLR4/RAGE agonist HMGB1, and the transcription activation marker pNF-κB p65. Interestingly, we find BFCNs express TLR4 and RAGE, and that AIE treatment increased pNF-κB p65 expression in adult ChAT + IR neurons, consistent with intracellular HMGB1-TLR4/RAGE signaling within BFCNs. AIE increased epigenetic transcription silencing markers (i.e., H3K9me2 and H3K9me3) in the adult basal forebrain and H3K9me2 occupancy at cholinergic phenotype gene promoters (i.e., ChAT and TrkA). The finding of no AIE-induced changes in total basal forebrain NeuN + neurons with galantamine reversal of AIE-induced ChAT + neuron loss, TLR4/RAGE-pNF-κB p65 signals, and epigenetic transcription silencing markers suggests that AIE does not cause cell death, but rather the loss of the cholinergic phenotype. Together, these data suggest that AIE induces HMGB1-TLR4/RAGE-pNF-κB p65 signals, causing the loss of cholinergic phenotype (i.e., ChAT, TrkA, and p75NTR) through epigenetic histone transcription silencing that result in the loss of the BFCN phenotype that can be prevented and restored by galantamine.
Elsewhere: A Journey into Our Age of Islands, by Alastair Bonnett: Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2020, 272 pp., $25.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 9780226670355

Millions of islands dot the globe; their stories mirror the dramatic realities of our contemporary world. Newcastle University’s social geographer Alastair Bonnett explores these challenges by inve...
An Econometric Analysis of the Red Meat Demand Function in Egypt

The animal production sector is one of the main sources of agricultural production, as the value of animal production from the value of agricultural production is about 37.5% in 2018, with an average of about 34.2% during the period 1996-2018, and red meat is one of the sources for obtaining this type of necessary protein For human health, so the state is striving to provide the population’s need from it in a way that achieves self-sufficiency from it, and the problem of the study is that there is a demand gap for red meat, given the inability of production capacity to meet the growing consumer needs of it, in addition to the instability of local prices for red meat. The price movements have with what is happening in other alternative commodity markets, which requires studying the demand for red meat to determine consumer behavior towards it, and the research aims to analyze red meat demand in Egypt during the period from (1990 to 2018), the research depends on secondary sources of data such as the Agricultural Statistics Bulletin Issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and the publications issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, and the research relied on econometric methods to estimate the demand function On red meat in the short and long term, such as the self-regression model with distributed time gaps, known as (ARDL).
Spatial Network Decomposition for Fast and Scalable AC-OPF Learning

This paper proposes a novel machine-learning approach for predicting AC-OPF solutions that features a fast and scalable training. It is motivated by the two critical considerations: (1) the fact that topology optimization and the stochasticity induced by renewable energy sources may lead to fundamentally different AC-OPF instances; and (2) the significant training time needed by existing machine-learning approaches for predicting AC-OPF. The proposed approach is a 2-stage methodology that exploits a spatial decomposition of the power network that is viewed as a set of regions. The first stage learns to predict the flows and voltages on the buses and lines coupling the regions, and the second stage trains, in parallel, the machine-learning models for each region. Experimental results on the French transmission system (up to 6,700 buses and 9,000 lines) demonstrate the potential of the approach. Within a short training time, the approach predicts AC-OPF solutions with very high fidelity and minor constraint violations, producing significant improvements over the state-of-the-art. The results also show that the predictions can seed a load flow optimization to return a feasible solution within 0.03% of the AC-OPF objective, while reducing running times significantly.
Weighted Ricci curvature in Riemann-Finsler geometry

Ricci curvature is one of the important geometric quantities in Riemann-Finsler geometry. Together with the S-curvature, one can define a weighted Ricci curvature for a pair of Finsler metric and a volume form on a manifold. One can build up a bridge from Riemannian geometry to Finsler geometry via geodesic fields. Then one can estimate the Laplacian of a distance function and the mean curvature of a metric sphere under a lower weighted Ricci curvature by applying the results in the Riemannian setting. These estimates also give rise to a volume comparison of Bishop-Gromov type for Finsler metric measure manifolds.
Bowel Preparation in Pediatric Colorectal Surgery

Since most colorectal procedures are considered contaminated by definition, this chapter is particularly important because it describes what the authors consider an adequate bowel preparation in patients with colostomy as well as patients without a colostomy.
Dressing Game Animals

Relatively few people realize that venison and other game meats will give any family budget a much needed lift. It is surprising how few persons in this country have ever eaten game.
Peak Power Optimizations

In hardware generated using CAOS, concurrent execution of maximal set of actions in each clock cycle reduces the latency (number of clock cycles) of the design at the cost of increase in its peak power, which is defined as the maximum instantaneous power (due to switching activity) during one clock cycle. In Chapter 5, various heuristics targeting the minimization of peak power in designs generated from CAOS are proposed. The peak power heuristics presented in that chapter postpone some actions (among all the actions that can be executed in a clock cycle) to the future clock cycles for peak power reduction. Also, actions which were postponed in the previous clock cycles are considered for execution in the present clock cycle. For this, those heuristics propose the use of extra state elements in order to remember which actions were postponed in the previous clock. The main drawback of those approaches is that such a use of extra state elements is associated with the corresponding area and power overheads.
Optimal Continuous-Thrust Responsive Theater Maneuvers

This research investigates a continuous-thrust implementation of the responsive theater maneuver, which is designed to alter a spacecraft’s entry conditions as it overflies a specified geographic region, called the exclusion zone. A particle swarm optimization algorithm employing shape-based continuous-thrust trajectory approximation is used to seed a direct orthogonal collocation routine employing a nonlinear programming problem solver. This approach is used to generate optimal continuous-thrust responsive theater maneuver trajectories. The combination of particle swarm optimization, shape-based continuous-thrust trajectory approximation, and direct orthogonal collocation is shown to generate fuel-optimal trajectories for single-, double-, and triple-pass cases of the responsive theater maneuver problem. Further, these continuous-thrust trajectories are shown to satisfy the analytical necessary conditions for an optimal control and require delta velocities only slightly larger than those required for imp...
Characterization of the neuronal receptor for basic fibroblast growth factor and comparison to receptors on mesenchymal cells.

Abstract The receptor for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was characterized in highly enriched cultures of fetal hippocampal neurons. Two major components of binding could be distinguished. One component comprising about 70% of total binding was removed by 2 M NaCl, and by analogy to other cells could be presumptively attributed to glycosaminoglycans. The remaining 30% of binding which was resistant to 2 M NaCl reflects a high affinity receptor. Scatchard analysis indicated that the two components have Kd values of 500 and 120 pM, and densities of 165,000 and 35,000-60,000 sites/neuron, respectively. Cross-linking 125I-bFGF to neuronal cultures with disuccinimidyl suberate labeled a major membrane protein of 135 kDa and a minor protein of 85 kDa. Examination of neuronal cultures derived from multiple brain regions and membrane preparations from fetal brain suggested that the larger protein was widely distributed. The neuronal bFGF receptor was not blocked by heparin at concentrations up to 100 micrograms/ml. Twelve synthetic peptide fragments of bFGF were examined to determine the domain of bFGF interacting with the neuronal receptor. Inhibition was observed chiefly with a peptide including the sequence 103-146. The properties of the neuronal bFGF receptor were compared directly to those of the receptors characterized on BHK cells and other mesenchymal cells. Specific differences observed between neuronal and mesenchymal bFGF receptors are discussed.
Inductive coupling effects in large TSV arrays

The effects of inductive coupling among TSVs within large TSV arrays are investigated in this paper. A comparison of the equivalent inductance of a paired TSV model and arrayed TSV macromodel is presented for three TSV distribution topologies, grouped, lined, and uniform, within the power network. Modified closed-form expressions are proposed to determine the equivalent inductance of a TSV in these large TSV arrays. Simulation results show that this method achieves hundred times speed improvement as compared to an electromagnetic field solver while maintaining accuracy within 7%.
Introduction to poultry vaccines and immunity.

The poultry industry constitutes a significant sector of world agriculture. In the United States, more than 8 billion birds are produced yearly with a value exceeding $20 billion. Broiler chickens are the largest segment of the industry. Birds raised under commercial conditions are vulnerable to environmental exposure to a number of pathogens. Therefore, disease prevention by vaccination is an integral part of flock health management protocols. Active immunization using live vaccines is the current industry standard. Routinely used vaccines in chickens include MDV, NDV, IBV, and IBDV, and in turkeys NDV and HEV. Newer vaccines, including molecular recombinants in which genes of immunogenic proteins from infectious agents are inserted into a live viral vector, are also being examined for commercial use. Efforts are under way to enhance vaccine efficacy by the use of adjuvants, particularly cytokines. The vaccine delivery systems include in ovo injection, aerosol, spray, drinking water, eye drop, and wing web injection. The in ovo vaccination procedure is relatively new and at the present time it is used primarily to vaccinate broiler chickens against MDV. Birds respond to vaccines by developing humoral and cellular immune responses. Bursa of Fabricius and the thymus serve as the primary lymphoid organs of the immune system. B cells use surface immunoglobulins as antigen receptors and differentiate into plasma cells to secrete antibodies. Three classes of antibodies are produced: IgM, IgG (also called IgY), and IgA. Successful vaccinal response in a flock is often monitored by demonstrating a rise in antibody titer within a few days of vaccination. ELISA is used most commonly for serologic monitoring. T cells are the principal effector cells of specific cellular immunity. T cells differentiate into alpha beta and gamma delta cells. In adult birds, gamma delta cells may constitute up to 50% of the circulating T cells. Functionally, CD4+ cells serve as helper cells and CD8+ cells as cytotoxic/suppressor cells.
Role of mGluR5 Neurotransmission in Reinstated Cocaine-seeking

In animal models of addiction, reducing glutamate stimulation of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) inhibits drug-seeking. The present study used the reinstatement model of cocaine-seeking to show that blockade of mGluR5 directly in the core subcompartment of the nucleus accumbens (NAcore) prevented both conditioned cue- and cocaine-reinstated drug-seeking. Consistent with this finding, microinjection of the mGluR5 agonist (RS)-2-chloro-5-hydroxyphenylglycine into the NAcore produced modest reinstatement of lever pressing when given alone and significantly potentiated cue-induced reinstatement. Homer proteins are contained in the post-synaptic density and regulate mGluR5 intracellular signaling and trafficking to the membrane. Microinjecting a membrane permeable peptide antagonist of Homer binding to mGluR5 into the NAcore also inhibited cue- and cocaine-reinstated lever pressing. However, this peptide did not change the surface expression of mGluR5, indicating that the peptide inhibitor did not alter the surface trafficking of mGluR5. Taken together, these data show that mGluR5 inhibition and stimulation in the NAcore can regulate cocaine-seeking, and demonstrate that one mechanism for this effect is via interactions with Homer proteins.
Platelet‐white blood cell (WBC) interaction, WBC apoptosis, and procoagulant activity in stored red blood cells

BACKGROUND: Nonleukoreduced units of red blood cells (RBCs) contain activated platelets (PLTs) that interact with white blood cells (WBCs) and may promote inflammation and thrombosis in the recipient. The aim of this study was to characterize PLT-WBC interactions (PLT-WBC aggregates [PLAs]), WBC apoptosis, WBC death, and the development of procoagulant activity in RBCs during storage. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: RBCs were prepared from volunteer donor blood and stored. Samples were analyzed with flow cytometry between Days 1 and 15 to measure PLT-monocyte aggregate (PMA) and PLT-neutrophil aggregate (PNA) formation, WBC apoptosis (annexin V binding), and cell death (binding of 7-aminoactinomycin D). Procoagulant activity in the supernatant of four RBC preparations was assessed between Days 1 and 39 using a clotting assay with and without the addition of an inhibitory anti-tissue factor (TF) antibody, αTF-5. RESULTS: PLA formation was extensive and maximal on Day 3 of storage (PNA, 23 ± 13%; PMA, 93 ± 4%; n = 6). Apoptosis was progressive throughout storage, with 95 ± 4% of neutrophils and 73 ± 19% of monocytes binding annexin V on Day 15. Cell death became measurable after apoptosis. Procoagulant activity was observed in all RBCs but with varying temporal patterns. It was partially TF dependent and removed with high-speed centrifugation, suggestive of an association with microparticles. CONCLUSION: The activation of PLTs during the storage of RBCs induces PLA formation that precedes WBC apoptosis and death. Procoagulant activity, likely associated with microparticles derived from apoptotic WBCs, may contribute to adverse effects of stored, nonleukoreduced RBCs.
Information instantiation in sensor management

One of the tasks associated with a heterogeneous, multi-sensor system is the determination of which function to perform (search, track, or identification). Previous work by the authors has focused on the use of the information gain attributable to a reduction in the kinematic, identification, or search uncertainty as a useful cost function for making the trade-off among the possible uses of a sensor. This view has been subsumed as a subcomponent of a new approach (not covered here) which quantitatively apportions goal-values ordered in a lattice among the several tasks. That is, rather than use an information measure to determine whether to search, track, or identification, an information instantiator is used to determine when to schedule the next observations of a target in order to insure that tracks are maintained, areas of uncertainty are searched, and important targets identified. The scheduling of these observations among the various sensors is optimized separately using the previously developed OGUPSA algorithm. Information instantiation is a collection of methods used to convert information needs at the mission management level to the actual type of measurement(s) to make. This paper describes these methods which are used to schedule measurements of search areas with associated probabilities of detection to meet search information needs, obtain measurements of a target in track to reduce its kinematic uncertainty to a specified level, and to reduce the uncertainty about a target's identity as both a specific information gain in identification and capitalize on that ID to increase target track accuracy. A brief description and block diagram of our complete sensor management model is also presented to show the interrelationship of the information instantiator to the other components.
Finite element prediction of surface strain and fracture strength at the distal radius

To better understand the mechanisms underlying distal radius fracture we have developed finite element models to predict radius bone strain and fracture strength under loading conditions simulating a fall. This study compares experimental surface strains and fracture loads of the distal radius with specimen-specific finite element models to validate our model-generating algorithm. Five cadaveric forearms were instrumented with strain gage rosettes, loaded non-destructively to 300 N, and subsequently loaded until failure. Finite element models were created from computed tomography data; three separate density-elasticity relationships were examined. Fracture strength was predicted for three specimens that failed at the distal radius using six different failure theories. The density-elasticity relationship providing the strongest agreement between measured and predicted strains had a correlation of r=0.90 and a root mean squared error 13% of the highest measured strain. Mean absolute percent error (11.6%) between measured and predicted fracture loads was minimized with Coulomb-Mohr failure theory and a tensile-compressive strength ratio of 0.5. These results suggest that our modeling method is a suitable candidate for the in vivo assessment of distal radius bone strain and fracture strength under fall type loading configurations.
Review: evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to improve patient adherence to prescribed medications is limited.

R B Haynes Professor R B Haynes, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; bhaynes@mcmaster.ca Are interventions to improve patient adherence to self- administered prescribed medications effective? Studies selected evaluated interventions to improve adherence to medications prescribed for medical disorders (including mental but not addiction disorders), had ⩾80% follow-up in each study group, reported both medication adherence and treatment outcomes, and had ⩾6 month follow-up in trials of long-term treatments that had positive initial results. Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Cochrane Library , International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts (all to Jan 2007); and reference lists were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Authors of relevant trials and reviews were contacted. 78 RCTs ({93}* unconfounded interventions, 10 with short-term treatment and {83}* with long-term treatment; n = 32–1113) met the selection criteria; 20 reported concealment of allocation. Conditions studied included asthma or chronic …
Uncertainty equivalent reduced order models for discrete systems

Model reduction invariably involves a trade off between the available information and the simplicity of the retained model. This information loss leads to an uncertainty about the output of the true system given the output of the reduced model for identical inputs. In this paper a novel approach to the reduction problem is given by incorporating this induced uncertainty in the reduced model. Geometrically, the idea is to construct a tube centered on the model output, to which the actual system ouput belongs with a high degree of confidence.
Youth Opportunity: Rethinking the Next Generation

challenges and opportunities that have ultimately defined it. In the early 1900s, it was the emergence of industry, which enabled young people to rise above their economic circumstances in ways their parents could not. Generations raised in times of war developed much different values and worldviews than those raised in more peaceful eras. For the current generation of young people, the defining characteristic may be the rampant unemployment that has spread across the globe. True, the 2008 financial collapse created employment struggles for all generations, but none more so than youth. According to The Economist, nearly a quarter of the world’s youth are currently unemployed and not in school or training. In Africa, young people make up more than 80 percent of the unemployed population; in Greece and Spain, unemployment among people age 25-24 surpassed 50 percent in 2013; and in the United States, the youth unemployment rate is more than twice the national average. While the issue of youth unemployment is universal, the drivers of this trend are unique to each region. In the United States, six million young people are unable to find jobs, whether a high school student who cannot find afterschool work or a college graduate who must settle for an unpaid internship. In Africa, the problem takes on a much different texture: the continent’s bulging youth population has outpaced job creation, and longer life expectancy means workers are remaining in the workforce much longer than before, resulting in fewer opportunities for youth to enter the workforce. Despite economic gains in South Asia, nearly one in three young person is out of work, due to gender inequities, cultural norms, and a com-
Orienting Attention in Audition and between Audition and Vision: Young and Elderly Subjects.

This study examined 30 young and 10 elderly subjects to test whether orienting of attention could be measured in audition. Orienting in a mixed-modal condition in which stimuli were either auditory...
Thermally Stable Nonuniform Microcorrugated Capacitive MEMS Tuner

This letter reports for the first time a thermally stable capacitive microelectromechanical systems tuner based on a circular nonuniform microcorrugated diaphragm (NMCD) suitable for resonators/filters, which require a large tuning displacement ( $>10~\mu \text{m}$ ). The temperature-induced center offset of the NMCD is reduced by $13.5\times $ with a temperature variation of $\Delta T = 100~^{\circ }\text{C}$ compared with the case of uniform microcorrugated diaphragms, which allow the NMCD to be continuously tunable in the full desired range. Moreover, the change of the actuation voltage required for a 10- $\mu \text{m}$ diaphragm deflection is reduced from 51.5% to 10.4% with $\Delta T =45~^{\circ }\text{C}$ . [2014-0376]
Room temperature high speed InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode single photon counters

We have developed high speed gated-mode single photon counters based on In-GaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes. Room temperature operation allows for afterpulsing below 0.2% up to 14 MHz gate rate. We measure quantum efficiency of 14% with dark count probability of 0.2%.
Deformation of high purity tantalum single crystals at 4.2 K

Abstract High purity Ta single crystals of various orientations were deformed in tension and compression at 4.2 K. The expected (011) slip was the dominant mode of deformation in tension, except for orientations near [011], where twinning and some anomalous ( 1 01) slip were observed. In tension, stress-strain curves were always serrated owing to the occurrence of adiabatic slip. In compression, the dominant mode of deformation was twinning; slip was only observed to a small extent for orientations near [001]. The occurrence of adiabatic slip in tension obscured any possible effects of normal stress on the critical resolved shear stress for slip. However, a pronounced increase of twinning stress with increasing normal stress was observed in compression. This can be explained in terms of the effect of normal stress on the nucleation of twins by the transformation of the screw dislocation core into a three-layer twin configuration. The addition of up to 4% Re to Ta eliminated twinning at 77K, and promoted the occurrence of slip at 4.2 K for orientations displaying only twinning in unalloyed specimens. This effect is most probably related to effects of solute atoms on the extended screw dislocation core.
A new Chinese isolate of hepatitis E virus: comparison with strains recovered from different geographical regions.

The full-length cDNA of a new Chinese strain (KS2-87) of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been constructed and sequenced. The 5′ noncoding region of KS2-87 is 26 nucleotides in length, which is one nucleotide shorter than that of HEV (B1) (Burma) and 23 nucleotides longer than that of HEV (Mexico). Comparison of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of KS2-87 with all other published HEV sequences showed that KS2-87 was closer to two other Chinese strains (CHT-88, CHT-87) and SAR-55 (Pakistan) than to HEV (B1) and HEV (B2) (Burma) or HEV (Mexico). Comparisons of partial sequences of genes encoding a nonstructural and a structural protein revealed the existence of genetically related groups of HEV within geographical regions, whereas larger nucleotide differences were seen among isolates that were more geographically and epidemiologically distant.
An Online Frequency-Domain Junction Temperature Estimation Method for IGBT Modules

This letter proposes a new frequency-domain thermal model for online junction temperature estimation of insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules. The proposed model characterizes the thermal behavior of an IGBT module by a linear time-invariant (LTI) system, whose frequency response is obtained by applying the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to the time derivative of the transient thermal impedance from junction to a reference position of the IGBT module. The junction temperature of the IGBT is then estimated using the frequency responses of the LTI system and the heat sources of the IGBT module. Simulation results show that the proposed method is computationally efficient for an accurate online junction temperature estimation of IGBT modules in both steady-state and transient loading conditions.
Schooling and frailty among seniors

Abstract What accounts for the correlations between schooling and frailty among seniors? Do the correlations differ among women, men, blacks and whites? Data from the 1986 wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) are analyzed to answer these questions as well as related ones pertaining to the roles of self-selection bias, self-efficacy, risk preference and time preference in explaining the correlations. The correlations between disability and schooling for women were strong after accounting for self-selection bias. The male schooling and exercise correlations were strong after accounting for self-selection, self-efficacy and preferences. Univariate differences in frailty measures between blacks and whites appear to be due to socioeconomic status rather than genetics. No race differences were observed in the correlations between schooling and frailty. The results provide additional evidence that education itself, rather than simply self-efficacy or time or risk preference, acts as preventive medicine.
The heptameric prepore of a staphylococcal alpha-hemolysin mutant in lipid bilayers imaged by atomic force microscopy

We have used atomic force microscopy to study the oligomeric state of a genetically engineered mutant of staphylococcal alpha-hemolysin (alphaHL-H5) that can be arrested as a "prepore" assembly intermediate. AFM images of alphaHL-H5 on supported bilayers of a fluid-phase lipid, egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine (egg-PC), under conditions that lock alphaHL-H5 into the prepore state, clearly show a heptameric structure for many individual oligomers. The central dent of the prepore has a diameter of 3.2 +/- 0.2 nm. The distance between the centers of mass of neighboring subunits is 2.8 +/- 0.3 nm. The heptamer has an average diameter of 8.9 +/- 0.6 nm. These results support a recently proposed pathway for the assembly of alpha-hemolysin.
In vitro translation of intestinal sucrase-isomaltase and glucoamylase

It is has been proposed that both sucrase-isomaltase and glucoamylase are initially synthesized as large single-chain precursors which are then processed to heterodimers. We have tested this hypothesis by in vitro translation of their mRNAs. The primary translation product of sucrase-isomaltase mRNA was a single polypeptide of Mr = 190,000. Similar experiments using antiserum against glucoamylase revealed a single polypeptide of Mr = 145,000. These results are consistent with the single chain precursor hypothesis for sucrase-isomaltase. However, the glucoamylase product (145 kDa) is too small to be processed to a heterodimer of Mr = 230,000. Moreover, the mature subunits (Mr = 135,000 and 125,000) probably are derived from the 145 kDa precursor by proteolytic trimming and must include and share most of the precursor protein.
Institute profile: National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

A profile of the the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) at Toyama Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Inelastic molecular collisions with an orientation‐averaged interaction energy

The importance of molecular orientations for vibrational-translational energy transfers between diatomic molecules has been investigated. An angle-dependent potential function is assumed, and it is averaged over the orientations and vibrations of colliding molecules. For I2I2 and Cl2Cl2, it is found that the calculated average vibrational transition probability for a colinear collision is over-estimated by large factors (1/γ) compared to that obtained when all possible molecular orientations are considered. At 3000K, 1/γ = 34.4 for I2I2 and 17.6 for Cl2Cl2, while it is 6.8 and 5.9 for N2N2 and O22, respectively. It is also shown that 1/γ decreases rapidly as temperature increases. At 20000K, 1/γ ≈ 3 for I2I2, Cl2Cl2, and N2N2, while it is ≈ 2.5 for O2O2. In general, when the molecules are large, and when strong attractive forces act between them, 1/γ is very large at low temperatures (<10000K). On a etudie l'importance des orientations moleculaires pour le transfert d'energie vibrationelle-translationelle entre des molecules diatomiques. On admet que le potentiel depend des angles et l'on en calcule la moyenne sur les orientations et les vibrations des molecules. Pour I2I2 et Cl2CI2 on trouve que la probabilite moyenne de transition vibrationelle pour une collision colineaire est surestimee de grands facteurs (1/γ) relatif a ce qu'on obtient en considerant toutes orientations moleculaires possibles. A 3000K, 1/γ = 34.4 pour I2I2 et 17.6 pour Cl2Cl2, tandis que pour N2N2 on trouve 6.8 et pour O2O2 5.9. On demontre aussi que 1/γ diminue rapidement quand la temperature augmente. A 20000K, 1/γ ≈ 3 pour I2I2, Cl2Cl2, et N2N2 tandis que 1/γ ≈ 2.5 pour O2O2. En general 1/γ est tres grand pour les temperatures basses (<10000K) si les molecules sont grandes et quand les forces d'interaction sont fortes et attractives. Die Bedeutung molekularer Orientierungen fur die Ubertragung von Schwingungs-und Translationsenergien zwischen zweiatomigen Molekulen wurde untersucht. Es wurde eine Winkelabhangige Potentialfunktion angenommen. Der Mittelwert uber den Orientierungen und Schwingungen der zusammenstossenden Molekule wurde dann berechnet. Fur I2I2 und Cl2Cl2 erwies sich dass die berechneten Mittelwerte der Schwingungsubergangswahrscheinlichkeiten fur einen kolinearen Stoss mit grossen Faktoren (1/γ) uberschatzt ist, im Vergleich zum Fall wenn alle moglichen molekularen Orientierungen betrachtet sind. Bei 3000K, 1/γ = 34.4 fur I2-I2 und 17.6 fur Cl2Cl2, wahrend fur N2N2 1/γ = 6.8 und fur O2O2 1/γ = 5.9. Es wurde auch gezeigt dass 1/γ sehr schnell abnimmt, wenn die Temperature wachst. Bei 20000K, 1/γ ≈ 3 fur I2I2, Cl2Cl2, und N2N2 wahrend fur O2O2, 1/γ ≈ 2.5. In allgemeinen ist 1/γ sehr gross bei tiefe Temperaturen (<10000K) wenn die Molekule gross sind und wenn starke Attraktionskrafte zwischen ihnen wirken.
Levels of aggression and alcohol use in populations with dementia

This study investigated levels of aggression and alcohol use in populations with dementia. The hypothesis was that there would be a positive relationship between levels of harm and alcohol use as reported by the caregiver. One hundred caregiver/respondents returned surveys which inquired about the level of alcohol use and frequency of verbal or physical harm to the caregiver or anyone else. A two (gender) by six (type of drinker) ANOVA was used to analyze the results, with verbal and physical harm as the dependent measures. Significance (p = <.05; F = 2.37) was noted for all six levels regarding type of drinker and verbal or physical harm. For gender differences, significance was noted in the “physical harm, anyone” variable (p = <.05; F = 4.00). This outcome was of particular interest, in view of the lack of literature on female alcohol abuse associated with verbal or physical harm.
A Hidden Minority Amidst White Privilege

It seems rather amusing to say that I belong to a minority, no less a hidden minority. After all, at first glance, I appear to be just another white girl (or woman). I grew up in the mid-west in a ...
Induced Self-Esteem as a Determinant of Behavior

(1971). Induced Self-Esteem as a Determinant of Behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 213-217.
Numerical Design of a Planar High-Flux Microchannel Solar Receiver

This paper discuses the design of several micro-channel solar receiver devices. Due to enhanced heat transfer in micro-channels, these devices can achieve a higher surface efficiency than current receiver technology, leading to an increase in overall plant efficiency. The goal is to design an efficient solar receiver based on use of super-critical carbon-dioxide and molten salt as heat-transfer fluids. The super-critical Brayton cycle has shown potential for a higher efficiency than current power cycles used in CSP. Molten salt has been used in CSP applications in the past. The required inlet and outlet temperatures of the fluid are 773.15 K and 923.15 K for carbon-dioxide and 573.15 K and 873.15 K for molten salt. These temperature values are determined by the power cycles the devices are designed to operate in. The required maximum pressure drop is 0.35 bar for carbon-dioxide and 1 bar for molten salt. These pressure values are intended to be a practical goal for maximum pressure drop. The super-critical carbon-dioxide power cycle requires an operating pressure of is 120 bar. Finally, each device must withstand any mechanical and thermal stresses that may exist. Devices presented range in size from 1 cm2 to 4 cm2 and in heat transfer rates from 200 W to 400 W. The size of the device is based on the output capacity of the solar simulator which will be used for testing. For carbon-dioxide, three designs were developed with varying manufacturability. The low risk design features machined and welded parts and straight parallel channels. The medium risk design features machined and diffusion bonded parts and straight parallel channels. The high risk design features a circular micro-pin-fin array created using EDM and is constructed using diffusion bonding. The absence of high operating pressure for molten salt made structural design much easier than for carbon-dioxide. Conjugate heat-transfer simulations of each design were used to evaluate pressure drop, receiver efficiency, and flow distribution. Two and three dimensional structural analyses were used to ensure that the devices would withstand the mechanical and thermal stresses. Based on the numerical analyses, a receiver efficiency of 89.7% with a pressure drop of 0.2 bar were achieved for carbon-dioxide. The design was found to have a structural safety factor of 1.3 based maximum mechanical stress occurring in the headers. For molten salt, an efficiency of 92.1% was achieved with a pressure drop of 0.5 bar.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
A molecular basis for glycosylation-induced conformational switching.

Abstract Background: Asparagine-linked glycosylation has the capacity to greatly influence the structure and function of glycoproteins. In most cases, however, it is unclear specifically how the carbohydrate moiety interacts with the protein to influence its conformation. Results: A series of glycopeptides based on the critical A285 glycosylation site of the hemagglutinin glycoprotein from influenza virus was used as a model system to study the effects of asparagine-linked glycosylation. Derivatization of this peptide with a family of short carbohydrates reveals that subtle changes in the structure of the carbohydrate have a dramatic impact on peptide conformation. Modification of the hemagglutinin glycopeptide with a truncated version of the native carbohydrate induces a β-turn structure similar to the structure found in the native protein. Replacement of the C2 and C2′ N -acetyl groups of the carbohydrates with hydroxyl moieties results in a less well-ordered peptide conformation. Conclusions: It is likely that the N -acetyl groups of the carbohydrates have a critical role in promoting the more compact β-turn conformation through steric interactions with the peptide. This study has demonstrated that relatively small changes in carbohydrate composition can have dramatic ramifications on glycopeptide conformation.
Depletion of a fatty acid-binding protein impairs neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells

Epithelial fatty acid-binding protein (E-FABP) is up-regulated in rat dorsal root ganglia after sciatic nerve crush and in differentiating neurons during development. The present study investigates the role of E-FABP during nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. Undifferentiated PC12 cells express low levels of E-FABP, while NGF triggers a 6- and 8-fold induction of E-FABP mRNA and protein, respectively. Up-regulation of E-FABP mRNA occurs as early as 24 h after NGF treatment and remains highly expressed over the course of several days, corresponding to NGF-mediated neurite outgrowth. Withdrawal of NGF leads to down-regulation of E-FABP mRNA and retraction of neurites. Immunofluorescence microscopy reveals E-FABP immunoreactivity in the perinuclear cytoplasm, neurites and growth cones of NGF-differentiated cells. To examine the role of E-FABP during neurite outgrowth, PC12 cells were transfected with a constitutive antisense E-FABP vector to create the E-FABP-deficient line PC12-AS. By morphometric analysis, PC12-AS cells treated for 2, 4, and 7 days with NGF exhibited significantly decreased neurite expression relative to control (mock-transfected) cells. Taken together, these data indicate that E-FABP is important in normal NGF-mediated neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells, a finding that is consistent with a potential role in axonal development and regeneration.
Computer calculations of dimensions of linear alkanes and their use in the theory of diffusion in liquid solution

The method of Flory was used to calculate unperturbed mean-square dimensions of linear alkanes at 25°C by utilizing the assumption of three-fold rotational isomerism and allowing, but giving small statistical weight to, configurations involving successive gauche rotations of opposite sign. The necessary 15 × 15 matrix multiplications were made with an IBM 1620 computer. The reciprocal square root of these calculated dimensions were assumed equal to Av, and diffusion coefficients of pentane through dotriacontane were then computed by means of the Kirkwood-Stokes equation. These coefficients were then compared with experimental values from four different solvents and with self-diffusion measurements. In general, it may be said that theory and experiment agree well for solvents of low viscosity. For more viscous solvents (tetralin and decalin) experimental diffusion coefficients are about 80% larger than those calculated for pentane. As chain length increases, however, better agreement is observed.