cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The erosion transition of tungsten-alloy long rods into aluminum targets

Abstract This work extends and refines the phenomenological understanding of ballistic penetration in the vicinity of the erosion-threshold velocity, for the case of hemispherical-nosed tungsten rods striking ductile targets. Analysis, supported by experimentation, indicates a period of noneroding penetration for these configurations, which results from lateral support exerted by the target crater upon the deforming, yet noneroding, penetrator. Experiments indicate that the magnitude of the lateral support, the direct result of an interference fit between rod and crater, must be on the order of the target’s ballistic-penetration resistance, and does not vary with the impact velocity over the range studied. Analysis suggests that the duration of the noneroding portion of the ballistic event is neither governed by a fixed time, nor by a fixed depth of penetration, but rather by a fixed, permissible level of deformation in the penetrator.
Modeling, simulation, and measurement of mid-frequency simultaneous switching noise in computer systems

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) microprocessors operating in the hundreds of megahertz create significant current deltas due to the variation in switching activity front clock cycle to clock cycle. In addition to the high-frequency voltage variations more commonly discussed, a lower frequency noise component is also produced that lasts from 50-200 ns which we refer to as mid-frequency noise. In this paper, we discuss the design of IBM's CMOS S/390 computer for control of mid-frequency noise. This machine has a 10-way multiprocessor on a 127 mm by 127 mm multichip module (MCM) on a FR4 board. The chips on the MCM cause a current step of tens of Amps in a few cycles that can be sustained for many cycles. The power distribution and decoupling capacitors must supply that current without disturbing the voltage level at the circuits. The design of the system power distribution and modeling and verification of mid-frequency noise in this system is presented.
Human Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene Delivery Promotes Angiogenesis in a Rat Model of Hindlimb Ischemia

Objective— Endothelium-derived NO has been shown to mediate the mitogenic effect of vascular endothelial growth factor on cultured microvascular endothelium. To evaluate the role of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) in angiogenesis in the ischemic hindlimb, we engineered an adenovirus containing human eNOS cDNA. Methods and Results— After gene transfer, expression of eNOS in cultured cells was detected by increased intracellular cGMP and nitrate/nitrite levels and NO synthase activity. Adenovirus containing either the eNOS or luciferase gene was injected into the adductor muscle of rat hindlimbs immediately after femoral artery removal. Human eNOS protein was detected throughout the course of the experiment by immunostaining. Significant increases in blood perfusion were monitored by laser Doppler imaging from 2 to 4 weeks after gene delivery in the ischemic hindlimb of rats receiving eNOS compared with control rats receiving the reporter gene. An increase in regional blood flow was also detected after eNOS gene transfer by a fluorescent microsphere assay. eNOS gene delivery in the ischemic hindlimb resulted in significant increases in intracellular cGMP levels and in capillary density identified by anti–CD-31 immunostaining. Angiogenesis was further confirmed in mice after eNOS gene transfer by increased hemoglobin content in Matrigel implants. Conclusions— Taken together, these results indicate that eNOS enhances angiogenesis and raises the potential of eNOS gene transfer for modulation of vascular insufficiency.
A High-Speed Optical Multidrop Bus for Computer Interconnections

Signal integrity constraints of high-speed electronics have made multidrop electrical buses infeasible. This high-speed alternative uses hollow metal waveguides and pellicle beam splitters that interconnect modules attached to the bus. With 1 mw of laser power, the bus can interconnect eight modules at 10 gbps per channel and achieves an aggregate bandwidth of more than 25 gbytes per second with 10-bit-wide signaling paths.
Synapsin I regulates glutamate release from rat brain synaptosomes.

Introduction of the dephosphorylated from of synapsin I into rat brain synaptosomes using freeze-thaw (transient) permeabilization significantly decreased the K(+)-induced release of glutamate. In contrast, introduction of synapsin I that had been phosphorylated by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II was without effect on glutamate release. Addition of dephosphosynapsin I after freeze-thaw treatment also had no effect. Thus, the action of synapsin I was dependent on the phosphorylation state of synapsin I and on its entry into the synaptosomes. Our results implicate synapsin I as an important component in the regulation of neurotransmitter release in the mammalian nervous system.
The problem of boundaries in defining ecosystems: A potential landmine for uniting geomorphology and ecology

Forging stronger linkages between geomorphology and ecosystem ecology depends, in part, upon developing common conceptualizations of an ecosystem. Because most ecosystem processes are scale dependent, the choice of boundaries is of profound importance to the conceptualization of an ecosystem and to the scope and validity of questions being asked within that ecosystem. Indeed, any conceptualization of an ecosystem requires constraining the spatial and temporal scales of analysis. Thus, it is of particular importance to match the ecosystem boundaries to the question being asked or to the processes being studied and, to facilitate better communication among disciplines, to be explicit in the definitions adopted for an ecosystem. Defining an ecosystem can be problematic when the processes of interest operate at potentially different scales, and little research exists comparing scales of geomorphic processes with those of ecological processes. Here we will discuss the importance of scale in geomorphic and ecological research, and compare and contrast disciplinary biases and inclinations. To highlight the problem of conflicting spatial scales, we will draw on recent attempts to link the structure of food webs to measures of ecosystem size. In particular, problems arise where little or no strong association exists among community membership, resource supply, and physical boundaries. Similar problems arise when trying to link geomorphologic and ecological processes that can operate at different, but variable, temporal scales.
Carbon-nitrogen interactions regulate climate-carbon cycle feedbacks: results from an atmosphere-ocean general circulation model

Inclusion of fundamental ecological interactions between carbon and nitrogen cycles in the land component of an atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) leads to decreased carbon uptake associated with CO2 fertil- ization, and increased carbon uptake associated with warm- ing of the climate system. The balance of these two oppos- ing effects is to reduce the fraction of anthropogenic CO2 predicted to be sequestered in land ecosystems. The primary mechanism responsible for increased land carbon storage un- der radiatively forced climate change is shown to be fertiliza- tion of plant growth by increased mineralization of nitrogen directly associated with increased decomposition of soil or- ganic matter under a warming climate, which in this partic- ular model results in a negative gain for the climate-carbon feedback. Estimates for the land and ocean sink fractions of recent anthropogenic emissions are individually within the range of observational estimates, but the combined land plus ocean sink fractions produce an airborne fraction which is too high compared to observations. This bias is likely due in part to an underestimation of the ocean sink frac- tion. Our results show a significant growth in the airborne fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions over the coming
Narrative Accrual and the Life Course

In this article, first the idea of seeing the life course as narratively constructed is developed, and then that approach is used to explore how elders construct meaning about the life course in th...
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of high-dose zidovudine administered as a continuous infusion in patients with cancer.

Study Objective. To investigate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of high-dose intravenous zidovudine (ZDV). Design. Phase 1, dose-escalating, unblinded study in patients with cancer. Setting. A university-affiliated cancer treatment center. Patients. Fourteen patients (6 women) with solid tumors that were unresponsive to standard therapy received 31 courses of therapy. Interventions. Intravenous ZDV was administered in doses of 2, 3, 4, 5.5, 7, 8.5, 10, 12, 15, or 20 g/m2/day as a continuous infusion over 48 hours. Patients also received fluorouracil plus leucovorin for 24 hours before the start of and during the ZDV infusion. If no dose-limiting toxicities were encountered, subsequent doses were escalated. Blood samples were collected at 24 and 48 hours after the start of the infusion, and hourly for 4 hours after stopping the infusion. Urine was collected in five patients during the infusion and for 24 hours after stopping it. Blood for measuring peripheral white blood cells was collected before and at the end of the infusion in seven patients to measure DNA chain breaks due to incorporation of ZDV. Measurements and Main Results. Zidovudine was measured in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography and in urine fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Its incorporation into DNA was measured by determining DNA strand breakage in peripheral white blood cells using fluorescence analysis. Pharmacokinetic models were fit to plasma ZDV concentrations using extended least squares regression. Short-term high-dose ZDV was generally well tolerated, with adverse effects related to large amounts of free water administered during the infusion. The mean (SD) ZDV pharmacokinetic values were total clearance 1.44 (1.09) L/hr/kg, volume of distribution 2.72 (2.97) L/kg, and half-life 1.2 (0.6) hours. There was considerable interpatient variability in total drug clearance. Although ZDV exposure increased proportionately with increasing dose, two of three patients receiving the highest dose (20 g/m2/day) had markedly low total drug clearances. The relation between the percentage of abnormal DNA in peripheral white blood cells and zidovudine area under the plasma ZDV versus time curve was described by the Emax pharmacodynamic model. Conclusions. The pharmacokinetics of high-dose ZDV administered by continuous infusion to patients with cancer are similar to those reported with lower doses in patients with infection due to the human immunodeficiency virus. Further study of potential nonlinear pharmacokinetic behavior at doses above 20 g/m2/day is necessary. The high between-patient variability in ZDV clearance results in variable levels of exposure in vivo, and indicates the need for concentration- or effect-controlled study designs in the further evaluation of the agent's antineoplastic effects.
Multivariate Stratified Sampling by Optimization

An important, recurring problem in statistics involves the determination of strata boundaries for use in stratified sampling. This paper describes a practical method for stratifying a population of observations based on optimal cluster analysis. The goal of stratification is constructing a partition such that observations within a stratum are homogeneous as defined by within-cluster variances for attributes that are deemed important, while observations between strata are heterogeneous. The problem is defined as a deterministic optimization model with integer variables and is solved by means of a subgradient method. Computational tests with several examples show that the within-strata variances and thus the accompanying standard errors can be substantially reduced. Since the proposed model strives to minimize standard error, it is applicable to situations where a precise sample is essential, for example, microeconomic simulation studies.
Morphological Awareness Intervention Study of a Child With a History of Speech and Language Impairment

We investigated the effect of a morphological awareness intervention on the morphological awareness and reading skills of a 6-year-old student who was struggling with early reading skills and had a history of speech and language impairment. We conducted a 7-week intervention designed to increase the student’s awareness of affixes and the meaning relations between base words and their inflected and derived forms. The student received twenty-five, 35-min sessions, typically receiving three to four sessions per week. Results revealed clinically relevant gains in morphological awareness abilities and word-level (sight word) reading skills. Gains were noted in pseudoword reading and reading comprehension, but they did not reach clinically relevant levels. The results of our case study suggest that our relatively short, but somewhat intensive, morphological awareness intervention led to clinically relevant gains in morphological awareness skills and word-level reading abilities for our 6-year-old student with a...
Relative roles of cardiac and arterial baroreceptors in vasopressin regulation during hemorrhage in conscious dogs

To determine the relative roles of cardiac and sinoaortic baroreceptors in mediation of arginine vasopressin (AVP) release, hemorrhage was performed in five groups of conscious splenectomized dogs: 1) all nerves intact; 2) either chronic surgical or acute pharmacological (intrapericardial lidocaine) cardiac denervation (CD); 3) chronic sinoarotic denervation (SAD); 4) combined chronic sinoartic denervation plus either chronic or acute cardiac denervation (SAD + CD); and 5) all nerves intact, but with ganglionic blockade. Hemorrhage (0.5 ml/min/kg) reduced mean arterial pressure similarly in the intact and CD groups. Decreases in mean arterial pressure were augmented in SAD, SAD + CD, and ganglion-blocked groups compared with responses in intact and CD groups. There were no differences in responses of plasma AVP to hemorrhage in the intact and CD groups, but the AVP response was significantly blunted in the SAD + CD group as compared with SAD alone. When compared during the early stage of hemorrhage, at the same reduction in mean arterial pressure, the rise in AVP was greater in the ganglion-blocked group than in the SAD + CD group, but was less than in the intact group. With a protocol to reduce mean arterial pressure by 20 mm Hg over the same period (42 +/- 0.6 minutes) in four of the groups, the blood volume required to reduce mean arterial pressure by 20 mm Hg was similar in the intact (20 +/- 1 ml/kg) and CD (21 +/- 1 ml/kg) groups, but was less in the SAD (12 +/- 1 ml/kg) and SAD + CD (12 +/- 1 ml/kg) groups. Again, similar increases were observed in AVP between the intact (50 +/- 9 pg/ml) and CD (51 +/- 9 pg/ml) groups, whereas increases in AVP were diminished in the SAD (11 +/- 3 pg/ml) and SAD + CD (7 +/- 2 pg/ml) groups. In the presence of an AVP antagonist, decreases in mean arterial pressure and increases in total peripheral resistance with hemorrhage were affected similarly in both the intact and CD groups, whereas hemodynamic impairment by AVP blockade was less marked in the SAD and SAD + CD groups. These results indicate that cardiac receptors are not the major regulators of AVP release during progressive hemorrhage in conscious dogs. However, when the complicating influences of sinoaortic reflexes were eliminated, a modest role for cardiac receptors was uncovered.
The weighted Ritz‐Galerkin method for elliptic boundary value problems on unbounded domains

Recently Babuska-Oh introduced the method of auxiliary mapping (MAM) which efficiently handles elliptic boundary value problems containing singularities. In this paper, a special weighted residue method, the Weighted Ritz-Galerkin Method (WRGM), is investigated by introducing special weight functions. Together with this method, MAM is modified to yield highly accurate finite element solutions to general elliptic boundary value problems on the exterior of bounded domains at low cost. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 19: 301–326, 2003.
Managing Asthma Within the Context of the Rural Family

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of rural families caring for children with asthma. The chief caregivers from six rural families were interviewed about the family's daily experiences in living with asthma, their knowledge of asthma triggers, and strategies for managing asthma. Parental knowledge about asthma and asthma management strategies was quite good. The cost of asthma regimens and school policies about medications were major barriers to better control. Other management strategies were directed at maintaining normality of family life.
Treatment Options for Hepatic Encephalopathy

Few formal treatment guidelines exist for managing hepatic encephalopathy. The nonabsorbable disaccharide, lactulose, is considered the first-line therapeutic agent for treating hepatic encephalopathy. Acidification of the gastrointestinal tract is the principal mechanism by which the drug inhibits production of ammonia by coliform bacteria. Elevated ammonia levels are seen in more than 80% of patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Systemic antibiotics, primarily neomycin, have also been employed to reduce bacterial production of ammonia, but associated adverse events limit their use in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. The semisynthetic, nonsystemic antibiotic, rifaximin, was approved in March 2010 by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of overt hepatic encephalopathy. Rifaximin decreases intestinal production and absorption of ammonia by altering gastrointestinal flora and is almost completely excreted unchanged in the feces. Rifaximin has been effective in improving behavioral, laboratory, mental, and intellectual abnormalities in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. The drug was compared with lactulose in well-designed clinical studies in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Rifaximin was generally found to be equal or superior to lactulose in these studies. Although dosages have varied, most medical centers use a dosage of rifaximin 400 mg 3 times/day for hepatic encephalopathy. Recent clinical trials have used 550 mg twice/day in order to improve patient compliance. Additional clinical trials are being undertaken to further define the efficacy and safety of rifaximin in hepatic encephalopathy.
Activation of the Nuclear Receptor Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ Promotes Brown Adipocyte Differentiation *

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) functions in non-shivering and diet-induced thermogenesis via its capacity for uncoupled mitochondrial respiration. BAT dysfunction in rodents is associated with severe defects in energy homeostasis, resulting in obesity and hyperglycemia. Here, we report that the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a prostaglandin-activated transcription factor recently implicated as a central regulator of white adipose tissue differentiation, also regulates brown adipocyte function. PPARγ is abundantly expressed in both embryonic and adult BAT. Treatment of CD-1 rats with the PPARγ-selective ligand BRL49653, an anti-diabetic drug of the thiazolidinedione class, results in marked increases in the mass of interscapular BAT. In vitro, BRL49653 induces the terminal differentiation of the brown preadipocyte cell line HIB-1B as judged by both changes in cell morphology and expression of uncoupling protein and other adipocyte-specific mRNAs. These data demonstrate that PPARγ is a key regulatory factor in brown adipocytes and suggest that PPARγ functions not only in the storage of excess energy in white adipose tissue but also in its dissipation in BAT.
New Morphological Approaches to the Study of Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies

Molecular genetics, biochemistry, immunology and morphology, are being applied in a coordinated fashion to unveil the molecular basis of the mitochondrial encephalomyopathies. Mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been found in well characterized clinical groups of these disorders. New and old morphologic methods have been applied to investigate muscle biopsies from patients with mtDNA mutations. Important observations have been made on the cellular localization of normal and mutated mtDNA and on the expression of mtDNA-encoded polypeptides. These observations have provided insight into the pathogenesis of respiratory chain enzyme deficiency at the level of individual muscle fibers. Application of immunocytochemical and in situ hybridization techniques at the electron microscopic level will extend these studies to the level of individual mitochondria.
Energetics of Walking in Elderly People: Factors Related to Gait Speed

Background. Slow walking speed in elderly people predicts increased morbidity and mortality. We examined factors that may be associated with decreased habitual walking speed in older men and women. Methods. Older (range: 60‐88 years, mean = 72.5 years) men (n = 25) and women (n = 24) were recruited. The Short Physical Performance Battery, body composition, VO2peak on a treadmill, VO2 and rated perceived exertion during 10 minutes of walking at habitual gait speed and at a walking speed of 0.9 m/s, muscle strength, and level of physical activity were measured. Results. VO2peak was strongly related to habitual gait speed (r = .744, p < .001) and remained significant even after controlling for age, muscle strength, and gender. Compared with the tertile of fastest walkers (mean gait speed, 1.37 ± 0.04 m/s), the tertile of slowest walkers (0.87 ± 0.02 m/s) were older (p < .001), shorter (p = .026), had lower lean body mass (p = .011), lower strength ( p < .001), less self-reported daily physical activity (p = .102), and higher relative (to VO2peak) intensity during walking at their habitual speed (65.3% ± 3.9% vs 54.3% ± 2.1% of VO2peak, p = .013). Conclusions. VO2peak was strongly associated with habitual walking speed, suggesting that as aerobic capacity declines with age, the exertion associated with habitual gait speed increases. A slowing of walking speed may be a response to increased perception of exertion. The extent to which exercise training affects habitual gait speed and fatigue is not clear.
New Bounds for Learning Intervals with Implications for Semi-Supervised Learning

We study learning of initial intervals in the prediction model. We show that for each distribution D over the domain, there is an algorithmAD, whose probability of a mistake in round m is at most 1 +o(1) 1 m . We also show that the best possible bound that can be achieved in the case in which the same algorithmA must be applied for all distributions D is at least 1
Purification of Urokinase by Affinity Chromatography

Since its discovery in human urine in 1951 (1) the plasminogen activating enzyme, urokinase, has caused considerable speculation concerning its therapeutic value as an effective thrombolytic agent (2). Due to the low concentration of the enzyme in normal urine (3), it has been available only in small quantities, thus limiting investigators and clinicians in the study of its biochemical and physiological properties.
Trends in U.S. hospitalizations and inpatient deaths from pneumonia and influenza, 1996-2011.

Background To reduce excess morbidity and mortality of pneumonia and influenza (PI), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended the use of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), and incrementally expanded the target group for annual influenza vaccination of healthy persons, to ultimately include all persons ≥6 months of age without contraindications as of the 2010–2011 influenza season. We aimed to capture broader epidemiologic changes by looking at PI collectively. Methods Using interrupted time series, we evaluated the changes in the rates of PI hospitalization and inpatient death across three periods defined according to the changes in vaccination policy. We assessed linear trends adjusting for seasonality, sex, and age group, allowing for differential impact across age groups. PI hospitalizations were defined as a principal diagnosis of PI, or a principal diagnosis of sepsis or respiratory failure, accompanied by a secondary diagnosis of PI. Results Overall annual rates of PI hospitalizations and inpatient deaths declined by 95 per 100,000 (95% CI: 45–145) and by 4.4 per 100,000 (95% CI: 0.9–7.8), respectively. This translates to 295,000 fewer PI hospitalizations and 13,600 fewer PI inpatient deaths than expected based on the average rates from 1996 through 1999. PI hospitalizations dropped the most among seniors aged 65+ by 487 per 100,000, followed by children aged <2, by 228 per 100,000. PI inpatient deaths declined most among seniors aged 65+, by 25.3 per 100,000. Conclusions In this nationally representative study, PI hospitalizations and inpatient deaths decreased in U.S. between 1996 and 2011. There is a temporal association with the introduction and widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, and the expansion of the target group for annual influenza vaccination to include all persons ≥6 months of age, while it is difficult to attribute these changes directly to specific vaccines used in this era.
Mutagenesis and DNA Repair: The Consequences of Error and Mechanisms for Remaining the Same

The evolution of any species is defined by an accumulation of hereditary changes over time. This chapter talks about a subset of the processes that contribute to change and stability in the prokaryotic genome to consider the necessary balance that exists between the two processes and to discuss circumstances under which a high mutation rate may be necessary for adaptive evolution. Spontaneous mutation rates are remarkably similar among DNA-based microbes. DNA replication is the most significant source of genome stability in an organism. Given the fundamental role of DNA in information storage and hereditary transmission of that information, it seems counterintuitive that this molecule is relatively unstable chemically. Two processes associated with the decay of DNA in vivo are of particular concern when considering spontaneous mutagenesis: depurination and deamination. Numerous mechanisms can contribute to genetic change by altering the DNA molecule. These modifications, if left uncorrected, can direct the replicative polymerase to rewrite the genome, creating a novel draft of the original sequence. Cellular strategies for maintaining genome integrity can be classified as mechanisms that maintain the sequence of the template and mechanisms that improve the fidelity of the replicative polymerase. DNA-repair proteins accurately correct DNA damage by either reversing the chemical modification or excising the altered base. A mismatch correction system functioning after replication improves the accuracy of DNA replication by two orders of magnitude. Finally, the chapter talks about accelerating the pace of evolution as needed.
Review Article: the role of perception in loanword phonology.

Review Article: The Role of Perception in Loanword Phonology. A review of Les emprunts linguistiques d'origine europeenne en Fon by Flavien Gbeto, Koln: Rudiger Koppe Verlag, 2000
Conceptualizing simultaneity: a transnational social field perspective on society

This article explores the social theory and consequent methodology that underpins studies of transnational migration. First, we propose a social field approach to the study of migration and distinguish between ways of being and ways of belonging in that field. Second, we argue that assimilation and enduring transnational ties are neither incompatible nor binary opposites. Third, we highlight social processes and institutions that are routinely obscured by traditional migration scholarship but that become clear when we use a transnational lens. Finally, we locate our approach to migration research within a larger intellectual project, taken up by scholars of transnational processes in many fields, to rethink and reformulate the concept of society such that it is no longer automatically equated with the boundaries of a single nationstate. Social scientists have long been interested in how immigrants are incorporated into new countries. In Germany and France, scholars’ expectations that foreigners will assimilate is a central piece of public policy. In the United States, immigration scholars initially argued that to move up the socioeconomic ladder, immigrants would have to abandon their unique customs, language, values, and homeland ties and identities. Even when remaining ethnic became more acceptable, most researchers assumed that the importance of homeland ties would eventually fade. To be Italian American or Irish American would ultimately reflect ethnic pride within a multicultural United States rather than enduring relations to an ancestral land. Now scholars increasingly recognize that some migrants and their descendants remain strongly influenced by their continuing ties to their home country or by social networks that stretch across national borders. They see
Soil Contamination of Grass Biomass Hay: Measurements and Implications

A large area of unutilized or underutilized marginal land in the northeastern USA, some of which currently produce a mature hay crop for use as mulch, is potentially suitable for bioenergy crop production. Mature-mixed grass hay bales (n = 1980) were sampled across New York in late summer and fall of 2011 and 2012 from 65 farms. Chemical analysis of 19 parameters, including gross calorific value, fiber, and elemental analyses, was conducted on the samples. In addition, 156 soil samples, representing 67 soil types, were analyzed for 12 to 14 parameters, using two different extraction procedures. Results indicate that hay composition is extremely variable among bales, and that much of the variation is due to soil contamination. Soil contamination reduced energy content of hay, a reduction best estimated from ash content of the hay. Standard plant analyses of contaminated hay samples determine total elemental content, but the same analyses only partially extract soil elements. A subset of samples showed that fiber analysis of soil-contaminated hay is problematic, with results impacted greatly by soil type and gravimetric filtration method. Aluminum, because of its low plant uptake potential, its high concentration in most soils, and its relatively moderate range in concentration across soil types compared to other soil elemental predictors, is the best indicator of soil contamination of biomass when the soil type is unknown. Evaluation of herbaceous plants for bioenergy parameters should include ash and Al analysis to assess soil contamination, which could significantly bias other compositional analyses.
IT-29IMMUNE CHECKPOINT BLOCKADE FOR GLIOBLASTOMA: PRECLINICAL ACTIVITY OF SINGLE AGENT AND COMBINATORIAL THERAPY

BACKGROUND: Outcome for glioblastoma (GBM) remains dismal and innovative treatment strategies are desperately needed. Growing data support the contribution of local and systemic immune checkpoint molecules mediating immunosuppression by GBM tumors. METHODS: Luciferized GL261 cells (GL261-Luc) were stereotactically implanted intracranially in albino C57BL/6 mice. Cohorts of mice with growing tumors (increasing bioluminescence) were treated with murine monoclonal antibodies (MAb) against PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, and CTLA-4 (single agent and combinations) every 3 days X 8 beginning 6 days following tumor implantation and were followed for overall survival. Subsets of mice underwent MRI as well as analysis of tumor infiltrating immune cells, and systemic immune cells and immunocytokines. Tumor re-challenge experiments were performed among long-term surviving mice. RESULTS: Immune checkpoint blockade was well tolerated with no apparent morbidity or mortality among treated animals. Improved survival was noted among mice treated with immune checkpoint blockade compared to appropriate controls. The most robust survival benefit was noted among mice treated with combinatorial therapy including 12/18 (75%) mice treated with anti-PD-1 + anti-CTLA-4 MAbs alive at 140 days with no evidence of residual tumor. MRI imaging among long-term surviving animals demonstrated clear evidence of initial tumor growth followed by regression and eradication of tumors. Long-term surviving mice appeared fully intact neurologically and exhibited no evidence of tumor growth following re-challenge of GL261-Luc cells injected subcutaneously. Characterization of tumor infiltrating immune cells as well as systemic immune cells and immunocytokines is ongoing. CONCLUSION: Immune checkpoint blockade provides significant survival benefit and appears safe in this immunocompetent, orthotopic syngeneic GBM model. Re-challenge experiments demonstrate evidence of long-term immunologic memory and further elucidation of underlying mechanisms of immune-mediated anti-tumor activity is ongoing. These data strongly support the evaluation of immune checkpoint inhibitors among patients with GBM.
RF Performance of Proton-Irradiated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) irradiated with 1.8-MeV protons show more relative degradation in RF power/current gain, cutoff frequency f T , and maximum oscillation frequency f max than DC transconductance. These result from radiation-induced increases in fast bulk and surface trap densities, as well as increasing impedance mismatch at high frequencies with increasing proton fluence. NH 3 -rich MBE devices show less degradation in DC transconductance, but more degradation in RF gain than Ga-rich devices.
Controlling Microstructure and Polymer Deformation with Polarized Light in Liquid Crystal Polymer Networks

Photoresponsive polymers offer unique opportunities in aerospace morphing structure applications as these afford shape changes spatially and temporally with light. To understand the constitutive behavior of these materials, we quantify the interactions between light excitation and molecular conformation changes in photoresponsive polymer networks using non-equilibrium thermodynamics, nonlinear photomechanics, and combined finite difference/finite element simulations. The analysis is conducted by introducing a set of electronic order parameters to represent light driven molecular conformation changes which are coupled to mechanics of a continuum scale polymer network and time-dependent electromagnetics. The approach provides a general framework for studying material behavior of solids in the presence of complex photoisomerization and photomechanical deformation. In the example described here, we apply the model to understand photoisomerization of azobenzene as it evolves and deforms a polymer network. The model focuses on examples of local surface deformation from laser beam excitation previously described by mass transport. These modes of deformation, from linear and circularly polarized laser beam excitation, are described by liquid crystal microstructure evolution and affine deformation of the host polymer network without the need of mass transport or higher order field gradient theories. The model is implemented numerically using a three-dimensional finite difference time domain method and coupled to finite element modeling to illustrate its ability to quantify light absorption and stress during nonlinear photoisomerization and polymer deformation.
Pharmacotherapy of chronic asthma.

The chronic treatment of asthma involves many considerations including the type of medication; the choice of delivery system; the appropriate timing for the initiation of therapy; the proper approaches for both step-up and step-down therapy; teaching patients the concepts of acute relief, preventive intervention and long-term control; avoidance of various factors which may cause acute exacerbations; and the recognition of the fatality-prone asthmatic to maximize drug efficacy and patient safety while minimizing morbidity and mortality. All of these factors need to be balanced in terms of short- and long-term risks versus benefits of therapy and the cost of care that various treatment interventions and regimens may entail.
A method for determining structural properties of RCC thermal protection material

A method was developed for evaluation and prediction of effects of oxidation of the graphitic substrate on structural properties of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) thermal protection material. Test specimens of RCC material were exposed to successive periods of convective heating in a plasma-jet facility to simulate the chemical reactions of Shuttle atmospheric entry. After each period of testing, the test specimen mass loss and performance in a nondestructive flexure test were determined. A computational model of the RCC specimen was developed for the NASA Structural Analysis (NASTRAN) program and validated by comparison of calculated and experimental results of flexure tests. The elastic moduli and ultimate loads in tension and compression were then computed for various levels of substrate oxidation.
A general mass-additive method for component mode synthesis

A general procedure for coupling of substructures using mass-additive modes and physical connection points of the components is presented. Residual flexibilities or constraint modes of the components may be included in the synthesis if necessary or desired. The method is applied to two spacecraft systems, one of which is characterized by highly indeterminate substructure interfaces. Both freeand constrained-boundary coupled system modes are derived and compared to modes obtained directly from physical models. Accurate free-boundary system modes are obtained for both cases studied using reasonably small sets of mass-additive component modes. In addition, improvement is seen from using mass-additive modes to derive system modes compared to using simple free-boundary modes. However, derivation of constrained modes for the spacecraft having indeterminate substructures requires a large number of mass-additive modes. Good convergence is obtained for that case by using residual flexibilities with a smaller set of component modes.
Why Political Scientists Are Wrong 15% of the Time

An experimental study has shown that among situations when political scientists claimed that a political outcome was impossible, this outcome actually occurred in 15% of the cases. In this paper, we provide a possible explanation for this empirical fact. 1 Formulation of the Problem Empirical fact. A detailed study [5] has shown that among situations when political scientists claimed that a political outcome was impossible, this outcome actually occurred in 15% of the cases. Clarification. It should be noted that we are not talking about bizarre possibilities that everyone considers to be practically impossible – like aliens landing on the White House. If we include such bizarre options, then, of course, the percentage of actual occurrence would be much much smaller. The above research only dealt with outcomes which are realistic enough, so that at least some political scientists claim them to be possible. What we do in this paper. In this paper, we propose a possible explanation for the above empirical fact. 2 Analysis of the Problem Seven plus mins two law: reminder. It is known that we usually divide each quantity into 7 plus plus minus 2 categories – this is the largest number of categories whose meaning we can immediately grasp; see, e.g., [2, 3]. For some people, this “magical number” is 7 + 2 = 9, for some it is 7− 2 = 5. Consequences for estimating how possible are different events. As a result, in situations of high uncertainty, when we estimate how possible is an
Denudation thickness recovery in Cretaceous Formation in Suibin Depression in Sanjiang Basin

Suibin Depression in Sanjiang Basin experienced denudation during a long period,of which,denudation during Cretaceous and Palaeogene has a large area and strong action,causing a large area of formation uplifting and denudation and formation temperature declining,and finally influencing oil/gas yielding and discharge.Methods including porosity,vitrinite reflectance and maturity inversion are used to analyze denudation area in south and north of Suibin Depression,and results show that denudation degree of north area is more serious than south area,thus south area is more favorable to form and collect oil and gas.
Moral values from simple game play

We investigate whether a small digital trace, gathered from simple repeated matrix game play data, can reveal fundamental aspects of a person's sacred values or moral identity. We find correlations that are often counterintuitive on the surface, but are coherent upon deeper analysis. This ability to reveal information about a person's moral identity could be useful in a wide variety of settings.
Building time-budgets from bioacoustic signals to measure population-level changes in behavior: a case study with sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract Evaluating changes in the collective behavior of a population can be an indirect method for inferring organismal responses to changing environmental conditions. Apex predators, such as the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), can provide valuable insights into the ecosystem processes of the deep sea, where little direct observation can be made. Sperm whales are often difficult to observe at sea, as they inhabit deep, offshore waters and spend most of their lives beneath the surface. However, sperm whales are extremely amenable to passive acoustic monitoring, as their vocalizations are well-studied, highly distinguishable, produced regularly, and can be detected at relatively long ranges (>10 km). Sperm whales produce distinct clicks in two behavioral contexts (social interaction or foraging/prey capture); thus, we can use acoustic detection of these vocalizations to infer patterns of large-scale, collective behavior, which is similar to studying calling frogs or insects indicating their reproductive phenology. We recorded behaviorally-specific sperm whale vocalizations at three sites in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in July 2010 and 2011. We used these recordings to construct population-level time budgets, an empirical collective metric of behavior, based on the ratio of hours in a day with social clicks to the hours in a day with foraging clicks, and represented this as an “acoustic activity index.” Our index showed significant differences in the proportions of social and foraging behavior across the range of sperm whales in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, and the proportion of social activity increased by more than a factor of two from 2010 to 2011. These differences support previous evidence of differential habitat use by sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico, and suggest possible changes in environmental conditions between years. Thus, the acoustic activity index may provide a powerful way to evaluate changes in behavior and link them to changing ecological conditions. This novel application of bioacoustics to constructing time budgets and creating a behaviorally-based index at the population scale can serve as an indicator of ecological change, and greatly enhance our ability to understand the behavior and ecology of many acoustically active species.
PLGA nanoparticle encapsulation reduces toxicity while retaining the therapeutic efficacy of EtNBS-PDT in vitro

Photodynamic therapy regimens, which use light-activated molecules known as photosensitizers, are highly selective against many malignancies and can bypass certain challenging therapeutic resistance mechanisms. Photosensitizers such as the small cationic molecule EtNBS (5-ethylamino-9-diethyl-aminobenzo[a]phenothiazinium chloride) have proven potent against cancer cells that reside within acidic and hypoxic tumour microenvironments. At higher doses, however, these photosensitizers induce “dark toxicity” through light-independent mechanisms. In this study, we evaluated the use of nanoparticle encapsulation to overcome this limitation. Interestingly, encapsulation of the compound within poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (PLGA-EtNBS) was found to significantly reduce EtNBS dark toxicity while completely retaining the molecule’s cytotoxicity in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. This dual effect can be attributed to the mechanism of release: EtNBS remains encapsulated until external light irradiation, which stimulates an oxygen-independent, radical-mediated process that degrades the PLGA nanoparticles and releases the molecule. As these PLGA-encapsulated EtNBS nanoparticles are capable of penetrating deeply into the hypoxic and acidic cores of 3D spheroid cultures, they may enable the safe and efficacious treatment of otherwise unresponsive tumour regions.
Phase I/II Trial of Bortezomib + CHOP-Rituximab in Diffuse Large B Cell (DLBCL) and Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL): Phase I Results.

BACKGROUND: Bortezomib (PS-341, VelcadeR) is a proteasome inhibitor with anti-tumor activity in B cell malignancies including MCL. These effects, which in part may be mediated via NF-kappaB pathways, could sensitize tumor cells to standard chemotherapy-based treatment regimens and enhance efficacy. We report phase I findings from a phase I/II trial of dose-escalated bortezomib + standard CHOP-rituximab in DLBCL and MCL patients. METHODS: Thirty-five patients have been enrolled and initiated treatment, with the first 20 subjects comprising the phase I group. Patients received CHOP-21 + rituximab (375 mg/m2 each cycle) plus bortezomib at 0.7 mg/m2 (Arm 0, n=4), 1.0 mg/m2 (Arm 1, n= 9) or 1.3 mg/m2 (Arm 2, n=7 in phase I, then all subsequent patients in phase II) on days 1,4 of each cycle. Phase 1 dose assignments were conducted according to the continual reassessment method as patients entered the study. RESULTS: Phase I included 16 DLBCL and 4 MCL patients. Median age was 65 years (range 29–84) and all patients were treatment-naive except for 1 MCL subject who had received prior local radiotherapy. Fourteen subjects (70%) had stage IV disease at study entry, and 11 (55%) had elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Patients generally had unfavorable baseline international prognostic index (IPI) scores of 2 in 7 subjects (35%) and 3 or 4 in 10 subjects (50%). Median followup of the phase I cohort is 9 months (range 5 – 18 months). Treatment was generally well tolerated. Peripheral neuropathy occurred in 15 subjects (75%), with 65% grade 1, 5% grade 2 and 5% grade 3. Grade 4 hematologic toxicity (platelets and/or white blood cells) was observed in 7 subjects (35%). Three subjects did not complete therapy (1 withdrawal by patient request with subsequent death, 1 due to dose-limiting pulmonary toxicity and 1 with concurrent lyme meningitis). Intent to treat overall response rate (n=20) is 95% with 80% CR/CRu and 80% of subjects currently alive without progression. CONCLUSIONS: Bortezomib can be administered with acceptable toxicity in conjunction with CHOP-R chemotherapy. Further safety and efficacy analyses, as well as molecular correlative studies, are ongoing with both the phase I and II cohorts. Preliminary findings with the combination regimen in this adverse prognosis group of patients are encouraging.