cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Processing Losses, Carcass Quality, and Meat Yields of Broiler Chickens Receiving Diets Marginally Deficient to Adequate in Lysine Prior to Marketing

Abstract A feed based on com, soybean meal, and sesame meal containing .85% lysine was supplemented with L-lysine HCl to provide .95 and 1.05% of total lysine. Each lysine level was given to broilers from 28 to 42 days of age in which the sexes were reared separately. No differences occurred in BW because of lysine, but feed conversion decreased as the lysine level increased. The holding loss prior to slaughter was greater with the birds that had received .95% lysine versus those that had received .85 and 1.05% lysine, respectively; however, no effects were detected on the chilled-carcass yield after processing. The extent of carcass finish increased as the lysine decreased. The fat content of the whole chilled carcass increased along with finish, while protein and ash were to the reverse. The percentage of fat in the skin and in the thigh meat were altered in parallel with the whole carcass, but the breast meat was unaffected. Cutting sample carcasses into commercial parts revealed that the proportions of breast and thigh increased with lysine at the expense of back both on a raw and a cooked basis. The cooked meat from the breast, wings, and back increased, the skin decreased. Both sexes responded similarly to lysine.
Top-down control of eye movements: Yarbus revisited

Alfred Yarbus (1967) reported that an observer's eye movement record varied based on high-level task. He found that an observer's eye movement patterns during freeview were dramatically different than when given tasks such as “Remember the clothes worn by the people.” Although Yarbus’ work is often cited to demonstrate the task-dependence of eye movements, it is often misrepresented; Yarbus reported results for only one observer, but authors commonly refer to Yarbus’ “observers”. Additionally, his observer viewed the painting for 21 minutes with optical stalks attached to the sclera and with his head severely restricted. Although eye movements are undoubtedly influenced by high-level tasks, it is not clear how Yarbus’ results reflect his unique experimental conditions. Because of Yarbus’ role in the literature, it is important to determine the extent to which his results represent a sample of naive observers under more natural conditions. We replicated Yarbus’ experiment using a head-free eyetracker with ...
Effective plastic response of two-phase composites

Abstract Finite element analyses of the overall stress-strain response of metal-matrix composites are carried out using axisymmetric and plane strain unit cell formulations. The metal matrix is characterized as an isotropically hardening elastic-plastic solid and the ceramic reinforcement is taken to be isotropic elastic. Perfect bonding between the matrix and the reinforcement is assumed. The focus is on the effects of reinforcement shape, size and spatial distribution. Under monotonic loading, the stress-carrying capacity in the plastic range increases in the following order for the reinforcement shapes considered: double-cone → sphere → truncated cylider → unit cylinder → whisker. The extent of the Bauschinger effect under reversed loading increases in the same order for particle reinforced composites. The effects of reinforcement size and distribution are analyzed by considering a plane strain model with two sizes of reinforcing particles. For certain distributions, it is found that the smaller family of particles plays virtually no role in affecting the stress-strain response. Thermal residual stresses are also considered and their effects are seen to persist far into the plastic range. The predicted plastic stress-strain behavior can be rationalized in terms of the evolution of matrix field quantities and, in particular, in terms of the effect of the constraint on plastic flow.
Restructuring in benthic level-bottom shallow marine communities due to prolonged environmental stress following the end-Permian mass extinction

Abstract Because the end-Permian mass extinction was the largest mass extinction since the Cambrian, numerous studies have focused on taxonomic changes and patterns immediately before and after the Permian/Triassic boundary. This synthesis of paleoecological data demonstrates that the end-Permian mass extinction and the Early Triassic aftermath were ecologically, as well as taxonomically, significant events in the history of life. A variety of short-term and long-term structural changes in ecosystems and paleocommunities were facilitated by deleterious environmental conditions that persisted through the Early Triassic. To cite this article: M.L. Fraiser, D.J. Bottjer, C. R. Palevol 4 (2005).
On Engineering Education, Superposition, and Commutativity

Attention is focused on continuous-space shift-invariant systems with continuous system maps and inputs and outputs that are elements of . Results are described showing that infinite superposition can fail in this important setting, and that continuous shift-invariant linear mappings need not commute with the operation of integration (even when the two composite operations are well defined).
Graded-Density Reservoirs for Accessing High Stress Low Temperature Material States

In recently developed laser-driven shockless compression experiments an ablatively driven shock in a primary target is transformed into a ramp compression wave in a secondary target via unloading followed by stagnation across an intermediate vacuum gap. Current limitations on the achievable peak longitudinal stresses are limited by the ability of shaping the temporal profile of the ramp compression pulse. We report on new techniques using graded density reservoirs for shaping the loading profile and extending these techniques to high peak pressures.
Efficient media-on-demand over multiple multicast groups

Using multicast for serving popular movies on demand reduces load on the server and the network by eliminating redundant packet transmission. To permit clients to arrive at times of their choosing, periodic rebroadcast is necessary. In addition, splitting the transmission over multiple multicast groups reduces the cost of rebroadcasting by allowing clients to unsubscribe from groups in which they are no longer interested. The focus of this paper is to develop techniques for efficient Media-on-Demand delivery to asynchronous clients over multiple multicast groups. We start by describing an existing periodic multicast technique that is near-optimal in terms of server bandwidth. Given a small number of groups /spl alpha/, we then show how to distribute content over these groups in a way that minimizes network impact. We present a theoretical analysis of the performance gains and compare these predictions with simulations over real and generated network topologies. We find that using even a small number of multicast groups provides significant reduction in overall network bandwidth.
Combining human and machine intelligence in large-scale crowdsourcing

We show how machine learning and inference can be harnessed to leverage the complementary strengths of humans and computational agents to solve crowdsourcing tasks. We construct a set of Bayesian predictive models from data and describe how the models operate within an overall crowd-sourcing architecture that combines the efforts of people and machine vision on the task of classifying celestial bodies defined within a citizens' science project named Galaxy Zoo. We show how learned probabilistic models can be used to fuse human and machine contributions and to predict the behaviors of workers. We employ multiple inferences in concert to guide decisions on hiring and routing workers to tasks so as to maximize the efficiency of large-scale crowdsourcing processes based on expected utility.
Undergraduate dual-core prototyping and analysis of factors influencing student success on dual-core designs

Multi-core techniques are now common even in general computing applications. It is thus critical for our students to be prepared to deal with such systems from both a hardware and software design perspective. In this work, we address the need for multi-core hardware design practice in an undergraduate introductory computer architecture course. Lecture and laboratory materials for a dual-core design sequence were developed in 2007. The new materials have been used each subsequent semester. The yield of functional dual-core designs was 18% for individual students one semester and 56% for student teams of two in another semester. An analysis of student dual-core results indicate that course policies and success on earlier laboratories had a strong impact on the dual-core design yield.
Gradients and Dynamics in Downward Flux and Settling Velocity in Cannonsville Reservoir

ABSTRACT Seasonal and longitudinal patterns in downward fluxes and settling velocities of selected particulate constituents, including suspended solids (TSS), organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and chlorophyll (Cr), are documented for eutrophic Cannonsville Reservoir, NY, for the stratification period of 1995, based on analyses of particulate concentrations in the epilimnion and sediment collected in cylindrical traps deployed below the epilimnion at six different sites. Strong longitudinal gradients in downward flux were observed for all the constituents; the highest rates prevailed in the upstream/riverine zone, the lowest in the downstream/lacustrine zone. These gradients in deposition were driven by gradients of the same form in both the concentrations of the particulate constituents in the epilimnion and the settling velocities of these materials. Substantial temporal variability was observed in particulate species concentrations, and the downward fluxes and settling velocities of these...
Stability and Reversibility of Lithium Borohydrides Doped by Metal Halides and Hydrides

In an effort to develop reversible metal borohydrides with high hydrogen storage capacities and low dehydriding temperature, doping LiBH4 with various metal halides and hydrides has been conducted. Several metal halides such as TiCl3, TiF3, and ZnF2 effectively reduced the dehydriding temperature through a cation exchange interaction. Some of the halide doped LiBH4 are partially reversible. The LiBH4 + 0.1TiF3 desorbed 3.5 wt % and 8.5 wt % hydrogen at 150 and 450 °C, respectively, with subsequent reabsorption of 6 wt % hydrogen at 500 °C and 70 bar observed. XRD and NMR analysis of the rehydrided samples confirmed the reformation of LiBH4. The existence of the (B12H12)−2 species in dehydrided and rehydrided samples gives insight into the resultant partial reversibility. A number of other halides, MgF2, MgCl2, CaCl2, SrCl2, and FeCl3, did not reduce the dehydriding temperature of LiBH4 significantly. XRD and TGA-RGA analyses indicated that an increasing proportion of halides such as TiCl3, TiF3, and ZnCl2 from 0.1 to 0.5 mol makes lithium borohydrides less stable and volatile. Although the less stable borohydrides such as LiBH4 + 0.5TiCl3, LiBH4 + 0.5TiF3, and LiBH4 + 0.5ZnCl2 release hydrogen at room temperature, they are not reversible due to unrecoverable boron loss caused by diborane emission. In most cases, doping that produced less stable borohydrides also reduced the reversible hydrogen uptake. It was also observed that halide doping changed the melting points and reduced air sensitivity of lithium borohydrides.
Stream channel geomorphology influences mussel abundance in southern Appalachian streams, U.S.A.

Summary 1. Studies of North American streams have shown that hydraulic parameters and stream geomorphology can explain unionid mussel abundance at both the reach and catchment scale. However, few studies have examined applicability of hydrogeomorphic variables across broader spatial scales, such as across whole catchments, or have elucidated conditions under which spates can affect mussel populations in streams. 2. We quantified freshwater mussel abundance and species richness and their physical habitat at 24 sites in eight streams in southern Appalachian catchments in 2000 and 2001. In addition, we modelled site-specific hydraulic parameters during summer baseflow and bankfull stages to estimate high- and low-discharge conditions, respectively. 3. Mussel abundance was related to stream geomorphology, whereas richness was related to stream size. Baseflow habitat parameters explained only minor variation in abundance or richness, and both measures were highly correlated with mean current velocity or stream size. Bankfull shear stress composed a relatively low proportion of overall mussel habitat variability, but it accounted for significant variation in abundance and richness. 4. Mussel abundance was highly variable at sites subject to low-shear stress during spates, whereas abundance always was low at sites subject to high-shear stress. These data suggest that habitat conditions during floods, rather than those at summer baseflow, limit the abundance of mussels in Appalachian streams. These data also suggest that mussel abundance and assemblage structure may be sensitive to any changes in channel geomorphology and hydraulic conditions that might result from land use in the catchment.
Usability Study of a Library's Mobile Website: An Example from Portland State University

To discover how a newly developed library mobile website performed across a variety of devices, the authors used a hybrid field and laboratory methodology to conduct a usability test of the website. Twelve student participants were recruited and selected according to phone type. Results revealed a wide array of errors attributed to site design, wireless network connections, as well as phone hardware and software. This study provides an example methodology for testing library mobile websites, identifies issues associated with mobile websites, and provides recommendations for improving the user experience.
Molecular Structure of Tight Junctions and Their Role in Epithelial Transport

Tight junctions create a paracellular barrier with physiological properties that differ among epithelia. Among these differences are electrical resistance and discrimination for solute size and charge. Emerging evidence suggests that a large family of transmembrane proteins called the claudins create these variable properties.
NATURAL HISTORY OF PLAGUE: Perspectives from More than a Century of Research ∗

For more than a century, scientists have investigated the natural history of plague, a highly fatal disease caused by infection with the gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis. Among their most important discoveries were the zoonotic nature of the disease and that plague exists in natural cycles involving transmission between rodent hosts and flea vectors. Other significant findings include those on the evolution of Y. pestis; geographic variation among plague strains; the dynamics and maintenance of transmission cycles; mechanisms by which fleas transmit Y. pestis; resistance and susceptibility among plague hosts; the structure and typology of natural foci; and how landscape features influence the focality, maintenance, and spread of the disease. The knowledge gained from these studies is essential for the development of effective prevention and control strategies.
CFL-reachability and context-sensitive integrity types

Integrity types can help detect information flow vulnerabilities in web applications and Android apps. We study DFlow, a context-sensitive integrity type system and we give an interpretation of DFlow in terms of CFL-reachability. We propose DFlowCFL, a new, more precise integrity type system, and DFlowCFL-Infer, the corresponding type inference analysis, which is equivalent to CFL-reachability. DFlowCFL-Infer is an effective taint analysis for Android. It scales well and detects numerous privacy leaks in popular Android apps.
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: DEFINING RURAL AND URBAN CORRECTLY IN RESEARCH AND PUBLIC POLICY

Researchers and policy makers depend on two federal systems when defining urban and rural. One, designed by the U.S. Census Bureau, separates the territory of the nation into urban and rural. Its intent is to differentiate urban and rural. The other, designed under the leadership of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), focuses on the integration of urban and rural within metropolitan and micropolitan areas. Forgetting the distinction between separation and integration is dangerous, for example, when (mis)using the OMB system as if it differentiated between urban and rural. At stake is the misunderstanding of rural conditions, the misdirection of federal programs and funds, and a breakdown of communication that confuses people. This article presents two alternatives that can strengthen the foundations of research and policy and uses one of them to analyze rural distress and prosperity. Much can be gained by using these better rural definitions to replicate important research to see whether key findings hold true and to review eligibility requirements and funding procedures to determine whether government programs are reaching the rural people and places they are intended to serve.
Brain-penetrant microtubule-stabilizing compounds as potential therapeutic agents for tauopathies.

Neurons within the brains of those with AD (Alzheimer9s disease) and related neurodegenerative disorders, collectively termed ‘tauopathies’, contain fibrillar inclusions composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Tau is normally enriched in axons, where it binds and stabilizes MTs (microtubules). Tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation probably result in reduced MT binding that could affect axonal transport and neuronal function. A possible therapeutic strategy to overcome a loss of tau function in tauopathies is administration of MT-stabilizing agents, such as those used in the treatment of cancer. However, these drugs elicit severe side effects, and most existing MT-stabilizing compounds have poor BBB (blood–brain barrier) permeability, which renders them unsuitable for tauopathy treatment. We identified EpoD (epothilone D) as a brain-penetrant MT-stabilizing agent with preferred pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. EpoD was evaluated for its ability to compensate for tau loss-of-function in an established Tg (transgenic) mouse model, using both preventative and interventional dosing paradigms. EpoD at doses much lower than previously used in human cancer patients caused improved axonal MT density and decreased axonal dystrophy in the tau Tg mice, leading to an alleviation of cognitive deficits. Moreover, EpoD reduced the extent of tau pathology in aged tau Tg mice. Importantly, no adverse side effects were observed in the EpoD-treated mice. These results suggest that EpoD might be a viable drug candidate for the treatment of AD and related tauopathies.
Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Smallest Capsid Protein Identified as Product of Short Open Reading Frame Located between HCMV UL48 and UL49

The capsid of cytomegalovirus contains an abundant, low-molecular-weight protein whose coding sequence within the viral genome had not been identified. We have used a combination of biochemical and immunological techniques to demonstrate that this protein, called the smallest capsid protein in human cytomegalovirus, is encoded by a previously unidentified 225-bp open reading frame (ORF) located between ORFs UL48 and UL49. This short ORF, called UL48/49, is the positional homolog of herpes simplex virus ORF UL35 (encoding capsid protein VP26) and shows partial amino acid sequence identity to positional homologs in human herpes viruses 6 and 7.
A heat and mass transfer study—analysis of continuous processes for the coloration of polyester fabric. II. Modelling and characteristics of the (polyester) fabric heating†

First it is shown how the equations used for the numerical solution of the transient heat transport to a body can be reduced to the simple transport model (of Paper I), which is commonly used in the textile literature for estimating the heat transfer coefficient (h) of the various fabric heating equipment. During the thermal treatment of a fabric that can be approximated by a geometrically stable homogeneous plate, the simple transport model should not be used for calculating h in cases of high heating rate equipment (e.g., direct contact units) instead; the numerical solution should be used. For a fabric that becomes geometrically unstable during a thermal treatment, like polyester knits, the h value obtained by fitting the numerical solution to the fabric heating rate measurement becomes an apparent coefficient that is the function of the fabric thermal history rather than the equipment heating efficiency. However, if the objective of the modelling is to represent the geometrically unstable fabric heating rate, the simple transport expression is a viable alternative to an otherwise intricate model.
Circumscription and phylogeny of the Elaphoglossum ciliatum group (E. sect. Lepidoglossa, Dryopteridaceae) based on cpDNA sequences

Elaphoglossum (Dryopteridaceae) is one of the most diverse genera of ferns, yet it is noteworthy for lacking monographic studies for any of its subgroups. This study was an attempt to find a clade within Elaphoglossum with a convenient size for monographic study. The main goals were to determine what other species might belong to a clade of three species (E. burchellii, E. ciliatum, E. nigrescens) recovered by previous molecular analyses and to examine the phylogeny of the constituent species of that clade. Molecular data from three non-coding intergenic chloroplast spacers atpB-rbcL, rps4-trnS, and trnL-trnF, were used. The taxon sampling included 52 species of Elaphoglossum sect. Lepidoglossa. Maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses resolved a tenspecies clade (here named the Elaphoglossum ciliatum group), which included the three original species. Three of the species are endemic to the island of St. Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The other seven species are all Neotropical, occurring from Mexico and the West Indies to southern Brazil. Species of the E. ciliatum group are characterized by laminar scales reduced to minute dots, cristate, echinate perispores, and resinous rhizomes. Other well-supported clades within E. sect. Lepidoglossa were recovered in the analyses and are briefly discussed.
Background and Fundamental Results

In this chapter we present a number of fundamental results that will be used throughout the remainder of the book. The chapter is organized as follows. In Section 2.2 we collect some definitions and basic properties of deterministic point processes, and present two versions of Y = λX — the sample-path analogue of the renewal-reward theorem. (These generalize the simple version of Y = λX given in Chapter 1.) Section 2.3 presents fluid versions of Y = λX, in which the point process is replaced by a cumulative process. Section 2.4 shows how Y = λX can be used to give a simple proof of the sample-path rate-conservation law RCL under more general conditions than previously given. Section 2.5 gives discrete-variable and continuous-variable versions of the Fundamental Lemma of Maxima. In Section 2.6 we give a result that proves the equality of time-averages of a process and the mean of its asymptotic frequency distribution under a uniform integrability condition. In subsequent chapters we apply Y = λX and RCL to obtain simple proofs of relations between continuous-time frequencies of a process with a general state space and frequencies at the points of an imbedded point process.
Route to Renewable PET: Reaction Pathways and Energetics of Diels–Alder and Dehydrative Aromatization Reactions Between Ethylene and Biomass-Derived Furans Catalyzed by Lewis Acid Molecular Sieves

Silica molecular sieves that have the zeolite beta topology and contain framework Lewis acid centers (e.g., Zr-β, Sn-β) are useful catalysts in the Diels–Alder and dehydrative aromatization reactions between ethylene and various renewable furans for the production of biobased terephthalic acid precursors. Here, the main side products in the synthesis of methyl 4-(methoxymethyl)benzene carboxylate that are obtained by reacting ethylene with methyl 5-(methoxymethyl)-furan-2-carboxylate are identified, and an overall reaction pathway is proposed. Madon–Boudart experiments using Zr-β samples of varying Si/Zr ratios clearly indicate that there are no transport limitations to the rate of reaction for the synthesis of p-xylene from 2,5-dimethylfuran and ethylene and strongly suggest no mass transport limitations in the synthesis of methyl p-toluate from methyl 5-methyl-2-furoate and ethylene. Measured apparent activation energies for these reaction-limited systems are small (<10.5 kcal/mol), suggesting that appa...
Statistics on HPC Resources Usage at CMCC

To download the unabridged version of this research paper, please contact: giovanni.aloisio@cmcc.it.
Plant Nutrient Use

Nutrient absorption, use, and loss by plants are key steps in the mineral cycling of ecosystems. This chapter describes the factors that regulate nutrient cycling through vegetation.
Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation, by Sonia A. Hirt

Contemporary literature on American land use has struggled to balance urbanist and anti-urbanist tendencies within a broader historical trajectory. In particular, the study of American anti-urbanis...
Paying to Be Guinea Pigs: Exploiting the Dream of MotherhoodThe Marketing of 'Fertility Insurance' in the United States and the Need for Greater Regulation of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Industry

The multi-billion dollar Assisted Reproductive Technology ("ART") industry in the United States is largely unregulated and privately funded. The lack of regulation of this arena has resulted in women being exploited financially and emotionally by a self serving industry. This paper/presentation will explore the United States' dark history of exploitation in the medical research arena (examples: Tuskegee, Willowbrook, Kennedy Krieger). Given this backdrop and the financial conflicts of interests facing fertility clinics and specialists, it is overly optimistic and naive to expect the ART industry to act in the best interests of their clients. This paper/presentation examines the example of oocyte cryopreservation, commonly known as egg freezing, to demonstrate the need for greater regulation in the ART arena. In the past, only female cancer patients who had to undergo chemotherapy and therefore risk future infertility have had access to egg freezing. However, in the United States, this procedure is increasingly being offered to healthy women in their late twenties and early thirties as a method of extending their fertility. Theoretically, this technology sounds promising as a means for allowing women to have greater control over their biological clocks. Unfortunately, there is little in the scientific literature to support the contention that egg freezing will result in a successful pregnancy or live birth. This paper/presentation examines how the unregulated marketing of this largely untested procedure to a vulnerable population, women in their thirties who have strong feelings about fertility, has great potential for exploitation. Although many have argued that this lack of regulation has many benefits (allowed for greater technological innovations in the area of assisted reproduction and allowed women to have more freedom over their reproductive choices), this paper will suggest how regulation may actually increase autonomy.
Transverse pattern dynamics in a rectangular laser cavity

The spatial Fourier decomposition of the Maxwell-Bloch equations pioneered by Lugiato et al.1 for studies of transverse pattern dynamics in a laser is extended to larger cavity detunings where we find that time- dependent patterns of several types exist (as were found in earlier rate equation treatments by Suchkov et al.2 in addition to the time-independent spatial patterns reported in earlier work.1,2
Visual Reconfigurations of Casablanca in Nour-Eddine Lakhmari's Casanegra

For a city is a place that lightens and harbours intensity. A city forces us to travel a thousand distances, making us remember, overtaking us as we are feeling fully alive. Of certain cities it is...
IS TENURE IRRELEVANT FOR ACADEMIC CLINICIANS

Academic tenure is the guarantee that a faculty member cannot be arbitrarily dismissed. The tenure system developed to maintain academics free of external pressure and coercion, and in dramatic instances tenure has been used to defend academic freedom. With the development of the research-oriented medical school staffed by full-time faculty, the reward system of tenure and promotion was grafted on to academic medicine. The changing face of academic clinical medicine places significant stresses on the traditional tenure system and raises the question of whether it is fundamentally irrelevant. Tenure has been defended as the protector of free inquiry, insurer of academic excellence, contributor to research and its benefits to society, and a means of selecting the best and brightest for our faculties. Tenure has been criticized as a contributor to academic sloth, codifier of gender and racial discrimination, and as a system unable to deal with the economic realities of high-priced referral specialties. As academic medical centers increase their efforts at clinical outreach, it is unclear whether traditional promotion and tenure will be of interest to clinicians employed solely to deliver primary care. In this special report, I review the history of tenure, arguments for and against its use for clinicians, and proposals for reform.
Low-complexity high-speed vlsi design of low-density parity-check decoders

Low-Density Parity-check (LDPC) codes have attracted considerable attention due to their capacity approaching performance over AWGN channel and highly parallelizable decoding schemes. They have been considered in a variety of industry standards for the next generation communication systems. In general, LDPC codes achieve outstanding performance with large codeword lengths (e.g., N>1000 bits), which lead to a linear increase of the size of memory for storing all the soft messages in LDPC decoding. In the next generation communication systems, the target data rates range from a few hundred Mbit/sec to several Gbit/sec. To achieve those very high decoding throughput, a large amount of computation units are required, which will significantly increase the hardware cost and power consumption of LDPC decoders. LDPC codes are decoded using iterative decoding algorithms. The decoding latency and power consumption are linearly proportional to the number of decoding iterations. A decoding approach with fast convergence speed is highly desired in practice. This thesis considers various VLSI design issues of LDPC decoder and develops efficient approaches for reducing memory requirement, low complexity implementation, and high speed decoding of LDPC codes. We propose a memory efficient partially parallel decoder architecture suited for quasi-cyclic LDPC (QC-LDPC) codes using Min-Sum decoding algorithm. We develop an efficient architecture for general permutation matrix based LDPC codes. We have explored various approaches to linearly increase the decoding throughput with a small amount of hardware overhead. We develop a multi-Gbit/sec LDPC decoder architecture for QC-LDPC codes and prototype an enhanced partially parallel decoder architecture for a Euclidian geometry based LDPC code on FPGA. We propose an early stopping scheme and an extended layered decoding method to reduce the number of decoding iterations for undecodable and decodable sequence received from channel. We also propose a low-complexity optimized 2-bit decoding approach which requires comparable implementation complexity to weighted bit flipping based algorithms but has much better decoding performance and faster convergence speed.
IGF2BP1 Reverses Hemoglobin Switching in Adult Erythroblasts

During human ontogeny, high-level transcription within the beta-globin gene cluster switches sequentially from embryonic-to-fetal-to-adult genes. Beta-thalassemias and sickle-cell disease are manifested by reduced or mutated expression of the adult-stage, beta-globin gene. Research is aimed toward the eventual therapeutic goal of safely preventing or reversing the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch among these patient populations. To identify genes that may be involved in regulation of the fetal-to-adult erythroid switch, purified CD34(+) cells from six umbilical cord (fetal) and six adult peripheral blood samples were cultured in serum-free medium, and gene expression libraries were prepared and sequenced from CD71(+), CD235a(+) erythroblast mRNA. In total, 546 million paired-end reads with a length of 101bp were generated for a comparison of cord and adult erythroblast transcriptomes. Reads were aligned to the human reference genome (hg19), and differential gene expression was identified [false discovery rate ≤ 0.05, fold change ≥ 1.5, and reads per kilobase per million mapped reads (RPKM) ≥ 0.5]. A total of 145 genes were differentially expressed according to these criteria, with four of the top five encoding targets of the let-7 family of microRNAs. The topmost gene was insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1), which is normally involved in transcriptome regulation and developmental timing. IGF2BP1 expression was 770-fold increased in the fetal erythroblasts (RPKM > 3.0) compared with low background levels in adult erythroblasts (RPKM A potential role for adult-stage IGF2BP1 over-expression (IGF2BP1-OE) in the regulation of globin genes and proteins was explored using lentiviral vectors designed for let-7 resistant, erythroid-specific expression of IGF2BP1 protein. IGF2BP1-OE transduced CD34(+) cells expressed the transgenic protein and maintained their ability to differentiate, accumulate hemoglobin, and enucleate ex vivo in the presence of erythropoietin. Globin mRNA and protein levels were investigated. While alpha-globin mRNA remained unchanged, gamma-globin mRNA became predominant [90% of (gamma + beta) mRNA] in IGF2BP1-OE samples [Control (empty vector) = 3.2E+06 ± 8.2E+05 copies/ng; IGF2BP1-OE = 2.0E+07 ± 5.9E+06 copies/ng; p Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
The functional highly sensitive brain: a review of the brain circuits underlying sensory processing sensitivity and seemingly related disorders.

During the past decade, research on the biological basis of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS)—a genetically based trait associated with greater sensitivity and responsivity to environmental and ...
Risk factors for respiratory hospitalizations in a population of patients with a clinical diagnosis of COPD.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine differences between patients clinically diagnosed with COPD with and without obstruction by spirometry and to identify risk factors for respiratory hospitalizations. Materials and methods This is a retrospective analysis of all patients diagnosed with COPD at a large academic Internal Medicine Clinic in 2014, who had spirometry performed during the period 2013-2014. Two groups existed: one with obstruction termed classical COPD and another without obstruction. Demographics, comorbidities, prescribed medications, spirometry, respiratory hospitalization, and eosinophilia among other variables were compared between patients with and without obstruction. Risk factors for two or more respiratory hospitalizations during the period 2014-2015 were sought for both populations by both univariate and multivariate analyses. Subsequently, we studied the population without obstruction for risk factors for one or more respiratory hospitalizations first by univariate analysis and then by multivariate analysis. Results Among 657 patients, 210 met inclusion criteria, with 157 having obstruction on spirometry and 53 without obstruction. There was no difference between those with and without obstruction on the rate of respiratory hospitalization when using two or more respiratory hospitalizations (p=0.397) or one or more respiratory hospitalizations (p=0.467). Nontreatment risk factors associated with two or more respiratory hospitalizations by multivariate analysis included a maximum eosinophil count above the threshold of 0.5 K/µL (maximum eosinophil number threshold [MENT]; p=0.001, OR =3.792, 95% CI =1.676-8.582) and % predicted forced expiratory volume in the first second (p=0.031, OR =0.978, 95% CI =0.959-0.998). In patients without obstruction, MENT above the threshold of 0.5 K/µL (p=0.032, OR =5.087, 95% CI =1.147-22.557) was the only risk factor associated with one or more respiratory hospitalizations. Conclusion In a clinically diagnosed COPD population who had spirometry performed, the presence of airflow obstruction was not a risk factor for respiratory hospitalizations. The most significantly associated nontreatment factor associated with respiratory hospitalization, both in the study population as a whole and in the cohort without obstruction, was MENT above the threshold of 0.5 K/µL.
Embodied Literacies and the Art of Meaning Making

ABSTRACTWe contend that multimodal literary responses offer a space for students to integrate art in the interactive composing process in a way that fosters creativity that normative schooling practices often foreclose. In this qualitative study of three African American fifth-grade students’ design processes, we theorize literacy as embodied to analyse the girls’ interactions and negotiations as they compose multimodal responses to literature by Jacqueline Woodson. We utilize multimodal and critical discourse analysis to account for the ways interactions and the use of digital tools are negotiated within academic structures embedded with powerful discourses related to race. Findings indicate that discourses related to racial harmony are woven throughout students’ multimodal representations, wherein examples focused on inequities are excluded from the final project. We argue that capturing the dynamic ways in which youth engage digital literacies throughout the composing process draws attention to the era...
Detection of early osteoarthritis in canine knee joints 3 weeks post ACL transection by microscopic MRI and biomechanical measurement.

Purpose:To detect early osteoarthritis (OA) in a canine Pond–Nuki model 3 weeks after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) transection surgery, both topographically over the medial tibial surface and d...
Assessing Learning from the Use of Multimedia Chemical Visualiztion Software

This chapter extends the use of cognitive and “situative” theories of learning described in our earlier chapter to discuss the design of five chemistry multimedia visualization projects. All five projects are shown to enhance the learning of chemistry concepts and development of scientific investigative process skills. Two projects emphasize the social processes associated with scientific investigation with bench laboratory components; two others without laboratory components could be easily utilized in ways that develop such social processes; and the fifth is shown to enhance visualization process skills although it was designed based upon the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In order to assess the developing levels of visualization skills of novice chemistry students supported by all five visualization projects, nontraditional testing items must be utilized. Samples of several multimedia testing items addressing both conceptual and process skills are discussed and used in studies of the efficacy of the most cognitive-theory based project. A study using the project with the closest alignment to “situative” theory illustrates how the rubric for representational competence levels discussed in our earlier chapter is applied to show changes in visualization abilities of students. The chapter concludes with brief suggestions for future development of visualization software, visualization-based instructional activities and testing activities.
Plasmodium sporozoite passage across the sinusoidal cell layer.

Malaria sporozoites must cross at least two cell barriers to reach their initial site of replication in the mammalian host. After transmission into the skin by an infected mosquito, they migrate towards small dermal capillaries, traverse the vascular endothelial layer,1,2 and rapidly home to the liver. To infect hepatocytes, the parasites must cross the sinusoidal cell layer, composed of specialized highly fenestrated sinusoidal endothelia and Kupffer cells, the resident macrophages of the liver (Fig. 1). The exact route Plasmodium sporozoites take to hepatocytes has been subject of controversial discussions for many years. Recent cell biological, microscopic, and genetic approaches have considerably enhanced our understanding of the initial events leading to the establishment of a malaria infection in the liver (for recent reviews see refs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
On the potential of radiative energy and charge transports across a nanoscale gap for energy applications (Conference Presentation)

Conventionally, the theory of radiative energy transport is based on the concept of blackbody, which is known to emit the largest amount of radiative energy between objects. However, when two objects are separated within a sub-wavelength distance, the radiative energy transfer can exceed the blackbody limit by orders of magnitude owing to near-field coupling of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the objects. This near-field enhancement of radiative energy transport can be beneficially used for emerging nanoscale heat engines. In addition, a nanoscale gap can also make a significant effect on the charge transport phenomena by suppressing the space charge effect, creating image charges in the electrodes, concentrating electric fields, and allowing electron tunneling across the gap. The coupling of such near-field charge transport with near-field radiative energy transfer will be discussed along with our experimental efforts to demonstrate its viability for energy applications.
On the usage patterns of multimodal communication: Countries and evolution

How do people use phone calls and text messages for their communication needs? Most studies so far study each mode of communication in isolation. Here, we study the interplay of multi-modal communications. We analyze more than a billion call and text records from a Chinese city and San Francisco Area between 2007 and 2011. First, we provide some definitions towards a framework for analyzing multi-modal communications. Then,we study the relationship of the two communication modes and quantify several aspects of correlation and inference. For a communicating pair, we find that the existence of texting during the weekend is the strongest indicator that the pair will communicate at other times with texts or calls. We compare the behavior between China and the U.S. and we find several similarities and differences. For example, we find evidence of an after-lunch siesta among Chinese users. Finally, we study the evolution of the two modes over time. We find that texting has taken over in sheer number of ”events” by flipping the number of calls over that of texts from 2: 1 in 2007 to 1:2 in 2011.
Free-Breathing & Ungated Cardiac MRI Using Iterative SToRM (i-SToRM)

We introduce a local manifold regularization approach to recover dynamic MRI data from highly undersampled measurements. The proposed scheme relies on the manifold structure of local image patches at the same spatial location in a free-breathing cardiac MRI dataset; this approach is a generalization of the SmooThness Regularization on Manifolds (SToRM) scheme that exploits the global manifold structure of images in the dataset. Since the manifold structure of the patches varies depending on the spatial location and is often considerably simpler than the global one, this approach significantly reduces the data demand, facilitating the recovery from shorter scans. Since the navigator-based estimation of manifold structure pursued in SToRM is not feasible in this setting, a reformulation of SToRM is introduced. Specifically, the regularization term of the cost function involves the sum of robust distances between images sub-patches in the dataset. The optimization algorithm alternates between updating the images and estimating the manifold structure of the image patches. The utility of the proposed scheme is demonstrated in the context of $\textit {in-vivo}$ prospective free-breathing cardiac CINE MRI imaging with multichannel acquisitions and simulated phantoms. The new framework facilitates a reduction in scan time, as compared to the SToRM strategy.
Differences in Growth, and Nitrogen Uptake and Storage Between Two Container-Grown Cultivars of Rhododendron

Abstract One-year-old liners of an evergreen rhododendron (Rhododendron L. ‘H-1 P.J.M’) and a deciduous azalea (Rhododendron L. ‘Cannon's Double’) were used to determine nitrogen (N) uptake, remobilization, and storage in relation to plant growth from May to September. Plants were grown in a substrate of equal parts (by vol) vermiculite, pumice, and sandy loam soil and received liquid fertilization with or without N. Rate of N uptake was correlated with the rate of plant growth and maximum uptake occurred during July [azalea, >4 mg/day (1.4E – 04 oz/day)] and August [rhododendron, >2 mg/day (7.1E – 05 oz/day)]. Compared to the rhododendron used in this study, the azalea cultivar grew faster and had a greater rate of N uptake and uptake efficiency (azalea, 12 to 33%; rhododendron, 8 to 16%). The old leaves of the rhododendron remobilized N for new growth. New azalea leaves exported approx. 40% of their N by September when the stems and roots were actively accumulating biomass. The roots, stems and new leav...
From phenoloxidase to fecundity: food availability does not influence the costs of oxidative challenge in a wing-dimorphic cricket

Stressed animals often struggle to maintain optimal investment into a number of fitness-related traits, which can result in some traits being more adversely affected than others. Variation in stress-related costs may also depend on the environment-costs can be facultative and only occur when resources are limited, or they may be obligate and occur regardless of resource availability. Dynamics of oxidative stress may be important in life-history evolution given their role in a range of biological processes-from reproduction to immunity to locomotion. Thus, we examined how resource (food) availability influences the costs of oxidative challenge to fitness-related traits spanning several levels of biological organization. We manipulated food availability and oxidative status in females of the wing-dimorphic sand field cricket (Gryllus firmus) during early adulthood. We then determined investment into several traits: reproduction (ovary mass), soma (body mass and flight musculature), and immune function (total phenoloxidase activity). Oxidative challenge (paraquat exposure) obligated costs to somatic tissue and a parameter of immune function regardless of food availability, but it did not affect reproduction. We show that the costs of oxidative challenge are trait-specific, but we did not detect a facultative (food-dependent) cost of oxidative challenge to any trait measured. Although the dynamics of oxidative stress are complex, our study is an important step toward a more complete understanding of the roles that resource availability and redox systems play in mediating life histories.