cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Quality InP Layers Transferred by Cleavage Plane Assisted Ion-Cutting

Ion-cut layer transfer of (110) InP was investigated as an alternative to (100) InP. The use of (110) InP allows for the cleavage plane to be parallel to the substrate surface facilitating transfer. InP donors were pattern-masked, allowing for selective hydrogen implantation. The implanted wafers were bonded to acceptor substrates and transfer was initiated. The surface of the transferred regions was observed to be flatter than those obtained on (100) InP. Hall effect measurements showed the mobility in the masked regions to be unaffected by transfer. The process is extendable to the transfer of finished device structures into integrated systems.
Thermal Expansion, Heat Capacity and Thermal Conductivity of Nickel Ferrite (NiFe2O4)

Nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) is a major constituent of the corrosion deposits formed on the exterior of nuclear fuel cladding tubes during operation. NiFe2O4 has attracted much recent interest, mainly due to the impact of these deposits, known as CRUD, on the operation of commercial nuclear reactors. Although advances have been made in modeling CRUD nucleation and growth under a wide range of conditions, the thermophysical properties of NiFe2O4 at high temperatures have only been approximated, thereby limiting the accuracy of such models. In this study, samples of NiFe2O4 were synthesized to provide the thermal diffusivity, specific heat capacity, and thermal expansion data from room temperature to 1300 K. These results were then used to determine thermal conductivity. Numerical fits are provided to facilitate ongoing modeling efforts. The Curie temperature determined through these measurements was in slight disagreement with literature values. Transmission electron microscopy investigation of multiple NiFe2O4 samples revealed that minor nonstoichiometry was likely responsible for variations in the Curie temperature. However, these small changes in composition did not impact the thermal conductivity of NiFe2O4, and thus are not expected to play a large role in governing reactor performance.
Is screening for prostate cancer with prostate specific antigen an appropriate public health measure

Screening and treatment for prostate cancer is controversial. In the absence of randomized trials, several prominent medical organizations in the United States and Europe have formulated policies that range from enthusiastic support to significant skepticism concerning the efficacy of screening and subsequent treatment for prostate cancer. Sharp rises in the incidence of prostate cancer have occurred whenever PSA testing has been introduced on a wide scale. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether declines in prostate cancer mortality can be attributed to PSA testing. Other explanations include the early use of anti-androgen therapy or changes in environmental factors such as diet. Repeated testing for serum PSA has produced significant shifts in the types of cases being identified and has raised the possibility of significant over-diagnosis of this disease. The European screening trial and the PLCO trial in the US will hopefully provide some insights into the value of population-based testing.
Oxidation-induced defect generation in advanced DRAM structures

Structures containing deep-trenched storage capacitors and shallow-trench isolation were examined in patterns suitable for future generation dynamic RAMs (DRAMs). These same effects were also examined in similar structures which included only the shallow isolation trenches. Observed was a strong interaction between the deep and shallow trenches, which makes structures which incorporate both types much more susceptible to oxidation-induced defect generation than those without deep trenches. It was observed that at higher oxidation temperatures, more oxide can be grown before defects are generated. This is interpreted as a combination of more-efficient visco-elastic relaxation in the oxide and a lower differential oxidation rate between the
Effects of Variations in Grass Protein Fractions and Degradation Rates on Metabolizable Protein Allowable Milk Production

Abstract Jonker, J.S., Fox, D.G., Chase, L.E. and Cherney, D.J.R. 2001 Effects of variations in grass protein fractions and degradation rates on metabolizable protein allowable milk production. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 20: 189–196. Effects of variation of grass forage protein fractions (soluble intake protein, acid detergent fibre insoluble protein and neutral detergent fibre insoluble protein), as measured from producer submitted, samples over a 12 month period and protein degradation rates (B1, B2 and B3) on metabolizable protein allowable milk production were estimated with the Cornell. Net Carbohydrate and Protein System Model (CNCPS). A one standard deviation increase from the average soluble intake protein, for grass forage resulted, in a 5–13 per cent decrease in metabolizable protein allowable milk. A 10 per cent decrease in metabolizable protein allowable milk was predicted with a one standard deviation increase from the average acid, detergent fibre insoluble protein for the grass forage. Up to a 20...
Iterative space-time processing for multiuser detection in CDMA systems

Space-time processing and multiuser detection are two promising techniques for combating multipath distortion and multiple-access interference in CDMA systems. Due to the computational burden that rises very quickly with increasing numbers of users and receiver antennas, iterative implementations of various space-time multiuser detection algorithms are considered. It is shown that fully exploiting various types of diversity through space-time processing and multiuser detection brings substantial gain over single-receiver-antenna or single-user based methods, and that iterative implementation of linear and nonlinear multiuser detection schemes approaches optimum performance with reasonable complexity.
A 1.85fW/bit ultra low leakage 10T SRAM with speed compensation scheme

A low leakage memory is an indispensable part of any sensor application that spends significant time in standby (sleep) mode. Although using high V th (HVT) devices is the most straightforward way to reduce leakage, it also limits operation speed during active mode. In this paper, a low leakage 10T SRAM cell, which compensates for operation speed using a readily available secondary supply, is proposed in a 0.18µm CMOS process. It achieves the lowest-to-date leakage power consumption and achieves robust operation at low voltage without sacrificing operation speed. The 10T SRAM has a bitcell area of 17.48µm2 and is measured to consume 1.85fW per bit at 0.35V.
Serum Fucosylated Prostate-specific Antigen (PSA) Improves the Differentiation of Aggressive from Non-aggressive Prostate Cancers

Background: Clinically, it is still challenging to differentiate aggressive from non-aggressive prostate cancers (Pca) by non-invasive approaches. Our recent studies showed that overexpression of alpha (1-6) fucosyltransferase played an important role in Pca cells. In this study, we have investigated levels of glycoproteins and their fucosylated glycoforms in sera of Pca patients, as well as the potential utility of fucosylated glycoproteins in the identification of aggressive Pca. Material and Methods: Serum samples from histomorphology-proven Pca cases were included. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), tissue inhibitor of metallopeptidase 1 (TIMP1) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and their fucosylated glycoforms were captured by Aleuria Aurantia Lectin (AAL), followed by the multiplex magnetic bead-based immunoassay. The level of fucosylated glycoproteins was correlated with patients’ Gleason score of the tumor. Result: Among three fucosylated glycoproteins, the fucosylated PSA was significantly increased and correlated with the tumor Gleason score (p<0.05). The ratio of fucosylated PSA showed a marked increase in aggressive tumors in comparison to non-aggressive tumors. ROC analysis also showed an improved predictive power of fucosylated PSA in the identification of aggressive Pca. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that fucosylated PSA has a better predictive power to differentiate aggressive tumors from non-aggressive tumors, than that of native PSA and two other glycoproteins. The fucosylated PSA has the potential to be used as a surrogate biomarker.
Factors Affecting Interspecies Variation in Home-range Size of Raptors

Considerable work has been devoted to examining factors that affect interspecies variation in homerange size. Home ranges for most vertebrates increase with body mass and decrease with increased habitat productivity (e.g. McNab 1963, Schoener 1968, Harestad and Bunnell 1979, Lindstedt et al. 1986). Large species have high energetic requirements and presumably must occupy large home ranges to obtain sufficient food, but even small species occupy relatively large home ranges when the availability of food is low. Interspecific variation in home-range size also has been attributed to differences in age and sex (Harestad and Bunnell 1979, Schoener and Schoener 1982), dominance status (Schoener and Schoener 1982), and trophic status (McNab 1963, Schoener 1968). For example, McNab (1963) showed that mammalian "hunters" have larger home ranges than similar-sized "croppers" and suggested that this difference was due to less biomass of food per unit area being available at higher trophic levels. Raptors provide valuable insights into the factors that affect an animal's home-range size because they use many different hunting tactics and take many different kinds of prey (Snyder and Wiley 1976, Marti et al. 1993, Korpimaki and Marti 1995). Newton (1979:63) has shown that home-range size of raptors increases with body mass, and Schoener (1968) has shown that predatory birds have larger home ranges than similar-sized nonpredatory birds. Here, I extend Newton's and Schoener's analyses by asking the question: Does the way in which a raptor exploits its prey base influence the size of its home range? Assuming that raptor home ranges are determined, in part, by food availability (e.g. Marquiss and Newton 1981, Village 1982), at least four predictions can be made about the size of a raptor's home range. First, invertebrates generally occur in higher densities than mammals for a given body size, whereas mammals generally occur in higher densities than birds for a given body size (Greenwood et al. 1996, Silva et al. 1997). Hence, one would expect bird-eating raptors to have larger home ranges than mammal-eating raptors, which in turn should have larger home ranges than invertebrate-eating raptors. Second, predators specializing on a narrow prey base should have to range over a relatively large area in order to encounter sufficient prey, whereas gen-
Book Review: The Hunt for Bin Laden ― Task Force Dagger ― On the Ground with the Special Forces in Afghanistan

This review comments on Moore’s study of American, Afghan, and coalition members’ operations as part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Force, titled Task Force Dagger, under then-Colonel (promotable) (COL(P)) John F. Mulholland, Jr. It examines the flow of ideas and key themes, and “completes the record” where Moore’s book is otherwise silent or inaccurate with respect to applicable law and policy regarding the most notable comments and vignettes in his book. Moore’s work contains equal parts romantic adventure novel and historical analysis of recent Special Operations Forces (SOF) operations. The book progresses in twenty-four chapters from the earliest reactions to the World Trade Center and Pentagon disasters, through Operation Anaconda in which SOF and conventional forces crushed Taliban and al-Qaida strongholds dug deep into the Shah-i-Kot Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, to an epilogue on Moore’s SOF protagonist friends and admired colleagues-in-arms. He carefully details the appearance, actions, and attitudes of the subjects he discusses in his book, using dramatic emphasis and colorful language to paint a picture of the fast-paced, life-and-death decisions that faced Task Force Dagger troops daily. He also shows his pro-SOF or anti-“conventional force” bias throughout the book, and glosses over or misstates some key legal considerations bearing upon the conduct of SOF and coalition forces.
Planning for the Future Through Advance Directive Instruments

This Foreword traces the development of advance directive instruments and discusses their legal enforceability and many benefits. Despite their advantages, advance directives remain underused and are frequently ignored by service providers. The articles in the special issue discuss why this is so and offer and debate a variety of remedial proposals. They analyze the various legal, clinical, ethical, and practical issues presented by the use of advance directives for health and mental health care, and examine new directions in their use. The Foreword describes the organization of the special issue, summarizes the articles it contains, and comments upon their significance.
The Mechanics of Statelessness: Peering into the Diamond Industry and the Institutions of Trust-Based Exchange

This chapter, to appear in a book entitled STATELESS COMMERCE: DIAMOND DEALERS, ETHNIC TRADING NETWORKS, AND THE PERSISTENCE OF RELATIONAL EXCHANGE, describes the distinctive set of industry, family, and community institutions that enables "trust-based" exchange in the diamond industry. Success in the diamond industry requires the ability to enforce executory agreements that are beyond the reach of public courts, and most commentators say that mutual trust is responsible for enabling diamond dealers to extend credit to each other. This chapter scrutinizes that claim and examines what underlies continued reciprocal trust among merchants, especially when cheating (i.e. stealing diamonds) is both quite easy and enormously lucrative. The chapter describes (1) an industry arbitration system that publicizes promises that are not kept, (2) Intergenerational legacies that induce merchants to deal honestly for long time horizons, including through their very last transaction so their children may inherit valuable livelihoods, and (3) Communities of ultra-Orthodox Jews, for whom participation in their communities is paramount, provide important value-added services to the industry without posing the threat of theft and flight. These three features enable merchants to make credible promises to be trustworthy and have enabled the industry to sustain itself for generations.
Effect of alloxan diabetes on phosphatidylcholine biosynthetic enzymes.

AbstractPhosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine methyltransferase, and choline phosphotransferase enzymatic activities (nmole PC formed min/mg protein) have been determined in liver microsomes of alloxan diabetic rats. There was a significant reduction in the methylation pathway in the conversion of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidyl choline as demonstrated in the low value of the phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase and phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine methyltransferase in those diabetic rats with blood glucose levels greater than 600 mg%. The reduction was 49 and 48% decrease over controls, respectively. There was a significant increase in the choline phosphotransferase in the diabetic rats. The increase was 92% over controls for the rats with blood glucose of 461 mg% and 55% over controls for the rats with blood glucose 946 mg%.
Size-Dependent Excited State Behavior of Glutathione-Capped Gold Clusters and Their Light-Harvesting Capacity

Glutathione-protected gold clusters exhibit size-dependent excited state and electron transfer properties. Larger-size clusters (e.g., Au25GSH18) with core-metal atoms display rapid (<1 ps) as well as slower relaxation (∼200 ns) while homoleptic clusters (e.g., Au10–12GSH10–12) exhibit only slower relaxation. These decay components have been identified as metal–metal transition and ligand-to-metal charge transfer, respectively. The short lifetime relaxation component becomes less dominant as the size of the gold cluster decreases. The long-lived excited state and ability to participate in electron transfer are integral for these clusters to serve as light-harvesting antennae. A strong correlation between the ligand-to-metal charge-transfer excited state lifetime and photocatalytic activity was evidenced from the electron transfer to methyl viologen. The photoactivity of these metal clusters shows increasing photocatalytic reduction yield (0.05–0.14) with decreasing cluster size, Au25 < Au18 < Au15 < Au10–...
Microbial Agents Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus Suppress Eutrophication, Enhance Water Quality, and Control Mosquitoes in Microcosms

Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis de Barjac ( Bti ) and Bacillus sphaericus Neide are promising microbial mosquito larvicides currently employed in mosquito control programs. During the screening and evaluation of new formulations of these control agents, it was noted that productivity of some algal species was noticeably suppressed, and that certain water quality parameters were enhanced by the suppression of primary productivity with these agents. Quantitative studies on these aspects were conducted in microcosms where Culex mosquitoes bred naturally. Treatments with VectoBac G ( Bti ) at the high dosage of 48.1 kg/ha, B. sphaericus water dispersible granules at 3.1 kg/ha, and Bti water dispersible granules at 0.6 kg/ha yielded good control of immature mosquito populations. Two species of unicellular algae, Closterium sp. and Chlorella sp., existed in both the controls and treatments. Growth of these algae was suppressed by the microbial agents applied. Suppressed algal productivity and photosynthesis resulted in lower water turbidity and oxygen concentrations in the treatments than in the controls, especially during the hot season. Water in treatments was discernibly clearer than in the controls, which was further borne out by differences in the optical density readings.
The Law and Policy of People Analytics

Leading technology companies such as Google and Facebook have been experimenting with people analytics, a new data-driven approach to human resources management. People analytics is just one example of the new phenomenon of “big data,” in which analyses of huge sets of quantitative information are used to guide decisions. Applying big data to the workplace could lead to more effective outcomes, as in the Moneyball example, where the Oakland Athletics baseball franchise used statistics to assemble a winning team on a shoestring budget. Data may help firms determine which candidates to hire, how to help workers improve job performance, and how to predict when an employee might quit or should be fired. Despite being a nascent field, people analytics is already sweeping corporate America. Although cutting-edge businesses and academics have touted the possibilities of people analytics, the legal and ethical implications of these new technologies and practices have largely gone unexamined. This Article provides a comprehensive overview of people analytics from a law and policy perspective. We begin by exploring the history of prediction and data collection at work, including psychological and skills testing, and then turn to new techniques like data mining. From that background, we examine the new ways that technology is shaping methods of data collection, including innovative computer games as well as ID badges that record worker locations and the duration and intensity of conversations. The Article then discusses the legal implications of people analytics, focusing on workplace privacy and employment discrimination law. Our article ends with a call for additional disclosure and transparency regarding what information is being collected, how it should be handled, and how the information is used. While people analytics holds great promise, that promise can only be fulfilled if employees participate in the process, understand the nature of the metrics, and retain their identity and autonomy in the face of the data’s many narratives.
Effects of tidal periodicities and diurnal foraging constraints on the density of foraging wading birds

ABSTRACT In intertidal zones, tidal cycles reduce water depths and provide areas of shallow water where wading birds can forage for aquatic prey (water depths 0–50 cm). However, a bird that forages diurnally can make use of only a portion of the tidal cycle, which can limit fulfillment of energetic demands. Furthermore, daily and biweekly (spring–neap) tides may compound effects on shallow-water availability for foraging birds. However, the relative effects of daily and biweekly tidal periodicities on the foraging ecology of wading birds are seldom investigated due to a lack of appropriate tools. Therefore, we developed a tidal simulation model to provide dynamic spatiotemporal estimates of the availability of water depths that are within the upper and lower bounds of the birds' foraging water depth limits (“shallow-water availability”). We studied two wading bird species, the Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), a daytime-only forager, and the Great White Heron (Ardea herodias occidentalis), which feeds...
‘They might know a lot of things that I don’t know’: investigating differences in preservice teachers’ ideas about contextualizing science instruction in multilingual classrooms

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the results from a qualitative study of 72 preservice teachers’ initial ideas about contextualizing science instruction with language minority students. Participants drew primarily on local ecological and multicultural contexts as resources for contextualizing instruction. However, preservice teachers enrolled in the bilingual certification program articulated more asset-oriented and less stereotypical ideas than those not seeking bilingual certification. Results can inform teacher education programs that aim to prepare graduates for teaching science in multilingual classrooms.
Hardware support for protective and collaborative cache sharing

Shared caches are generally optimized to maximize the overall throughput, fairness, or both, among multiple competing programs. In shared environments and compute clouds, users are often unrelated to each other. In such circumstances, an overall gain in throughput does not justify an individual loss. This paper explores cache management policies that allow conservative sharing to protect the cache occupancy for individual programs, yet enable full cache utilization whenever there is an opportunity to do so. We propose a hardware-based mechanism called cache rationing. Each program is assigned a portion of the shared cache as its ration. The hardware support protects the ration so it cannot be taken away by peer programs while in use. However, a program can exceed its pre-allocated ration, but only if another program has unused space in its allocated portion of ration. We show that rationing provides good resource protection and full cache utilization of the shared cache for a variety of co-runs.
Hereditary and Acquired Polyneuropathies: Electrophysiologic Aspects

The electrophysiologic evaluation of patients with polyneuropathy may, in an increasing number of disorders, provide data that are critical to both diagnosis and treatment, especially in acquired demyelinating neuropathies. In general, the data will permit the presence or absence of neuropathy to be determined and provide information concerning etiology, severity, pathology, and prognosis of peripheral nerve disease.
Circulating tumor cells as prognostic biomarkers in patients with metastatic prostate cancer

C51 Background: The development of tumor specific markers for selecting targeted therapies and predicting clinical outcome in patients with metastatic prostate cancer remains a significant area of unmet medical need, given the modest association with changes in PSA, and the limitations of imaging distant metastases in this disease. Profiling prostate tumor specimens demonstrated that patients with progression despite castrate levels of testosterone harbor changes in the androgen receptor, such as amplification of androgen receptor (AR), rendering tumor cells more sensitive to lower levels of androgen, and promoting tumor proliferation. Methods: Antibody-capture Cell Search system has been applied to isolate circulating tumor cells (CTC) from small volumes of peripheral blood from 120 patients with clinical castrate metastatic disease. CTC were defined by immunocytochemistry as cells staining positive for epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and nuclear DAPI, and negative for CD45 white blood cell marker. All patients included in this study had documented disease progression as determined by recommendations of the Prostate Specific Antigen Working Group, based on PSA, with a minimum of three rising levels at least one week apart, or by radiographic criteria, as new lesions by bone scintigraphy, or as new or enlarging soft tissue lesions by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Blood samples for CTC counts were drawn prior to the start of the new chemotherapy regimen. Bone scan index (BSI) was measured by calculating the bone marrow involvement from the region of the skeleton and the bone surface area involved by metastasis. FISH was performed in CTC for AR and myc genes as previously described. Results: The mean age in this patient cohort was 70 years, and median PSA at the time of CTC draw was 117 ng/mL (interquartiles range, IQR, 40.1-399). The patterns of metastatic spread included disease in soft tissue only in 12 patients (10%), in bone and soft tissue in 67 (56%), and in bone only in 41 patients (34%). Median CTC count was 9 cells per 7.5 mL of blood (IQR=2-51). A large number of patients (57%) had 5 or more circulating tumor cells, while only 21% patients had 1 or less CTC per sample of blood. CTC counts were higher in patients with bone involvement compared to soft tissue only metastasis (11 vs. 2.5, p
Burning, Building, and Burying: Coal Combustion Residual Disposal in North Carolina

ABSTRACTThe fate of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) in North Carolina and the rest of the United States is noteworthy, particularly in light of the recent spills in Eden, North Carolina, and Kingston, Tennessee. The safe storage of coal combustion residuals should be a priority of the state and the federal government, in order to protect the drinking water of citizens from contaminants, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, selenium, and mercury.1 Recently, North Carolina has taken steps with the passage of Senate Bill 729, entitled Coal Ash Management Act, and other legislation in order to promote safe storage of CCRs through a capped landfill system, complete with synthetic liners and leachate collection system. This article highlights not only the legislative enactments surrounding the disposal of coal ash in North Carolina, but also the effectiveness of such practices, both in North Carolina and the greater United States as a whole.
Urinary Drainage Procedures in Interventional Radiology.

Urinary drainage procedures are used to treat a wide range of clinical situations including pyonephrosis, preservation of renal function in patients with ureteral obstruction, as a means to access the collecting system for stone retrieval or lithotripsy and to divert urine from a distal leak or fistula. Several different drainage devices are available and include those that provide obligatory external drainage (nephrostomy), both internal and external drainage (nephroureteral stent) and internal drainage (double-J stent). Each device requires some maintenance and effort on the patientʼs part—from having to undergo routine exchange of double-J stents every 3-6 months to the daily management of an external catheter and drainage bag. Ideally, the desired outcome can be attained with minimal effect on patient lifestyle. In this article, we present our approach to patients who require urinary drainage, with a focus on choosing and placing the most appropriate device in a variety of clinical scenarios.
Nashville Warblers (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) use a single song type in southwestern Oregon with widely distributed song variants

ABSTRACT We investigated local and regional singing patterns of Nashville Warblers (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) in southern Oregon. Each male employed a single song, but within local populations individuals sang diverse and distinct variants with a mean of 13.5 ± 1.5 (±SD) variants among 20 males sampled at each of 10 sites. Forty-one variants were recorded among the 200 males, and 17 variants were shared among two or more sites separated from 2–92 km. The mean number of variants shared between pairs of sites was high (7.9 ± 1.6) and did not vary with distance separating them. Neighboring individuals showed no tendency to sing the same variant. The resulting pattern at each site was a mosaic of diverse variants drawn from a restricted pool of variants. Several of the variants recorded in southern Oregon were also recorded >400 km north in incidental sampling, indicating a broad distribution of the variants. High local song diversity implies that an important function of song is to proclaim the identity of th...
Optimizing a text message intervention to reduce heavy drinking in young adults: focus group findings

Background: Recent trial results show that an interactive short message service (SMS) text message intervention, Texting to Reduce Alcohol Consumption (TRAC), is effective in reducing heavy drinking in non-treatment-seeking young adults, but may not be optimized. Objective: To assess the usability of the TRAC intervention among young adults in an effort to optimize future intervention design. Methods: We conducted five focus groups with 18 young adults, aged 18-25 years, who had a history of heavy drinking and had been randomized to 12 weeks of the TRAC intervention as part of a clinical trial. A trained moderator followed a semistructured interview guide. Focus groups were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed to identify themes. Results: We identified four themes regarding user experiences with the TRAC intervention: (1) ease of use, (2) comfort and confidentiality, (3) increased awareness of drinking behavior, and (4) accountability for drinking behavior. Participants’ comments supported the existing features of the TRAC intervention, as well as the addition of other features to increase personalization and continuing engagement with the intervention. Conclusions: Young adults perceived the TRAC intervention as a useful way to help them reduce heavy drinking on weekends. Components that promote ease of use, ensure confidentiality, increase awareness of alcohol consumption, and increase accountability were seen as important. [JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2016;4(2):e73]
Reduction of Salmonella crop and cecal colonization by a characterized competitive exclusion culture in broilers during grow-out

Broiler chicks were inoculated by gavage on the day of hatch with a characterized continuous-flow (CF3) competitive-exclusion culture that contained 29 different bacterial isolates to determine the effects on Salmonella cecal and crop colonization during grow-out. Chicks at 3 days old were challenged by gavage with 104 Salmonella typhimurium . Propionic acid significantly increased (P ≤ 0.001) in the ceca of 3-day-old CF3-treated chicks compared to control chicks. Ceca from market-age control chickens in two trials contained log 2.6 and log 1.4 Salmonella CFU/g of cecal contents, respectively, while log 0.4 Salmonella CFU/g of cecal contents were detected in both trials in ceca from CF3-treated chickens. Percentages of Salmonella culture-positive ceca in the two trials, respectively, were 80% and 60% in controls and 27% in treated chickens in both trials. Crops from market-age control chickens in the two trials averaged log 0.7 Salmonella CFU/g of cecal contents, while crops from treated chickens averaged log 0.4 CFU/g of cecal contents. In trial 1, 60% of control chick crops and 27% of treated chick crops tested Salmonella culture positive. Litter contamination by Salmonella spp. at 5 weeks was reduced significantly (P ≤ 0.01) in pens of CF3-treated groups compared to litter from control pens. Results indicate that CF3 reduced cecal and crop colonization by S. typhimurium during grow-out, which may reduce the number of Salmonella cells entering the processing plant and decrease the potential for carcass contamination during processing.
The Lightning Arrestor-Connector - A New Concept in System Electrical Protection

A new compact lightning arrestor can be incorporated into a connector housing to protect missile, aircraft and ground systems from lightning energy that can sometimes be transmitted to sensitive components on wires that pass into component compartments. This energy can cause component burnout, ignition of explosives, and circuit malfunctions. By properly incorporating the lightning arrestor-connector, these effects can be minimized or eliminated. The lightning arrestor-connector concept has been theoretically studied and prototype devices have been tested extensively at Sandia Laboratories. The design and development of the device is described along with data demonstrating the device behavior under simulated lightning tests.
Branding Citizens: The Logic(s) of a Few Bad Apples

This paper uses rhetorical assemblage to demonstrate how particular citizens are branded “bad apples” to protect state and economic practices that enable violence. This paper looks specifically at the media coverage of George Zimmerman (shooter of Trayvon Martin) and the Lt. Robert Bales (alleged shooter of 16 Afghan people) who are both deemed “bad apples.” The media contends that each man acted out of hyper-vigilance, racism, and/or mental illness, thus relieving the nation-state of any culpability in their actions at home or abroad. The paper, then, argues that the use of “the bad apple” occludes the neoliberal logics of personal responsibility, privatization, US exceptionalism, and protectionism that enable state violence inside and outside the USA.
Implicit Assumptions in Special Education Policy: Promoting Full Inclusion for Students with Learning Disabilities

Everyday millions of students in the United States receive special education services. Special education is an institution shaped by societal norms. Inherent in these norms are implicit assumptions regarding disability and the nature of special education services. The two dominant implicit assumptions evident in the American educational system are the view that disability is deviant and should be eradicated and the assumption that all special services should be delivered in a separate environment. A review of literature was conducted to reveal trends in special education. In particular, inclusive practices, Response to Intervention (RTI), and student achievement were examined. This paper argues that while federal policy was created in an effort to promote access to general education, the practices of our educational institutions perpetuate isolation. New assumptions must be created to promote access and equality for students with learning disabilities. True inclusion, where students with learning disabilities are fully included in the general education classroom, can help to reinforce new assumptions.
Plasma Cell Folate Receptor Overexpression Differentiates Multiple Myeloma from Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance and Smoldering Myeloma.

Abstract Background: Folate receptor (FR) is a recently recognized tumor marker that is being investigated for targeted delivery of drugs, imaging of cancer cells, and tumor immunotherapy. The small size of the molecule, simple conjugation chemistry and lack of immunogenicity make folate an ideal candidate for targeted delivery to tumors bearing the FR (Lu Y, Low PS. Folate-mediated delivery of macromolecular anticancer therapeutic agents. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2002 Sep 13;54(5):675–93). FR is overexpressed in 90% of ovarian cancers and in other human tumors including endometrial, colorectal, breast, and neuroendocrine carcinomas, it is negatively or only weakly expressed in most normal tissues including some myeloid cells. In view of the above we wished to learn if overexpression of FR by marrow plasma cells (PC) might differentiate MM from MGUS and SMM. Methods: We obtained marrow biopsy sections from 20 patients each with MM, MGUS, or SMM, and 11 normals and stained them by immunohistochemistry using a FR-beta antibody. Expression was graded 0 (negative), 1 (equivocal), 2 (positive) or 3 (strong positive) based on immunohistochemical staining of marrow PC. We recorded the percent PC, percent positive PC, and the staining of other cell types including myeloid, erythroid, lymphocytes, macrophages, megakaryocytes and control tissues. Results: PC of patients with MM positively expressed FR compared to MGUS, SMM and normal PC (p Conclusion: Immunohistochemistal studies show differential expression of FR in MM PC compared to absent or equivocal expression in MGUS and normal PC and variable expression in SMM. The data suggest that FR may be used as a diagnostic tumor marker and has implications for development of folate-based tumor imaging, drug delivery, and immunotherapy. Download : Download high-res image (172KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure Download : Download high-res image (162KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure
Hog Heaven? Challenges of Managing Introduced Wild Pigs in Natural Areas

ABSTRACT The geographic distribution and size of wild pig (Sus scrofa) populations has rapidly expanded in recent years globally, resulting in increased impacts on natural and anthropogenic environments. In this review, we discuss the impacts of wild pigs on native ecosystems in terms of habitat degradation, competition with and depredation of native species, and disease transmission, and highlight recent developments in population control techniques, including areas where further research is required. We also provide an overview of many of the behavioral and demographic characteristics that make it difficult to control wild pigs and additional factors affecting the success of pig management programs in natural areas. Finally, based upon our review of contemporary research and successfully conducted pig eradication campaigns, we provide recommendations for the development of effective wild pig management programs. Overall, we recommend (1) managers implement strategies to detect wild pigs prior to the est...
No Acute Changes in LVEF Observed With Concurrent Trastuzumab and Breast Radiation With Low Heart Doses.

Abstract Introduction/Background Treatment for HER2-postitive breast cancer often includes trastuzumab, breast/chest wall (CW) radiation (RT), and anthracyclines, all of which have cardiac toxicity. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between heart dose and acute left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) changes in patients who received concurrent trastuzumab and breast/CW RT with and without anthracycline use. Patients and Methods We retrospectively reviewed all nonmetastatic breast cancer patients from 2008 to 2015 who received concurrent trastuzumab and breast/CW RT. Baseline LVEF was compared with the LVEF closest to treatment completion as well as with the lowest post-treatment LVEF. LVEF changes were correlated with laterality, heart dosimetric parameters, and doxorubicin use. Results Eighty-eight patients were included in our analysis. The median follow-up was 45 months. Forty-one patients were right-sided and 47 left-sided. Thirty-one patients received doxorubicin, 16 right-sided and 15 left-sided. Mean heart dose was 1.10 Gy and 3.63 Gy for right- and left-sided patients, respectively ( P P = .013) and a nonsignificant effect of RT laterality ( P = .088) on LVEF change. The test of interaction between doxorubicin and laterality was not significant ( P = .90). No significant association was found between LVEF change and heart dosimetric parameters, including percent volume of heart receiving 5 Gy (V5), 10 Gy (V10), 20 Gy (V20), and 45 Gy (V45), and maximum dose. Similar results were found when baseline LVEF was compared with the lowest post-treatment LVEF. Conclusion With cardiac doses
A Large-Scale Study of Modern Code Review and Security in Open Source Projects

Background: Evidence for the relationship between code review process and software security (and software quality) has the potential to help improve code review automation and tools, as well as provide a better understanding of the economics for improving software security and quality. Prior work in this area has primarily been limited to case studies of a small handful of software projects. Aims: We investigate the effect of modern code review on software security. We extend and generalize prior work that has looked at code review and software quality. Method: We gather a very large dataset from GitHub (3,126 projects in 143 languages, with 489,038 issues and 382,771 pull requests), and use a combination of quantification techniques and multiple regression modeling to study the relationship between code review coverage and participation and software quality and security. Results: We find that code review coverage has a significant effect on software security. We confirm prior results that found a relationship between code review coverage and software defects. Most notably, we find evidence of a negative relationship between code review of pull requests and the number of security bugs reported in a project. Conclusions: Our results suggest that implementing code review policies within the pull request model of development may have a positive effect on the quality and security of software.
Synthesis and Reactivity: An Overview

As a preliminary to more detailed discussions in later chapters, methods for the synthesis of carboranes from basic starting materials are outlined, as are several types of cage interconversion reactions. Several commonly employed approaches for introducing organic and inorganic substituents onto the cage skeleton are described, and the general behavioral characteristics of carboranes as ligand units in organic and organometallic systems are discussed.
State Feedback Designs for Output Tracking

In Chapter 2, we developed adaptive state tracking control schemes for linear time-invariant plants with actuator failures. For a controlled plant whose input u(t) may have failed components, to achieve desired plant-model state dynamics matching in the presence of actuator failures, it is necessary that there exist constant vectors k* s1i ∈ R m and nonzero constant scalars k* s2i ∈ R, i = 1, ... , m, such that A + b i k* s1i T = A M , b i k* s2i = b M , where b i , i = 1, ... , m, is the ith column of B, and A M and b M are a pair of reference model matrices independent of A and B.
DNA Sliding Clamps as Therapeutic Targets

Chromosomal DNA replication is achieved by an assembly of multi-protein complexes at the replication fork. DNA sliding clamps play an important role in this assembly and are essential for cell viability. Inhibitors of bacterial (β-clamp) and eukaryal DNA clamps, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), have been explored for use as antibacterial and anti-cancer drugs, respectively. Inhibitors for bacterial β-clamps include modified peptides, small molecule inhibitors, natural products, and modified non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Targeting eukaryotic PCNA sliding clamp in its role in replication can be complicated by undesired effects on healthy cells. Some success has been seen in the design of peptide inhibitors, however, other research has focused on targeting PCNA molecules that are modified in diseased states. These inhibitors that are targeted to PCNA involved in DNA repair can sensitize cancer cells to existing anti-cancer therapeutics, and a DNA aptamer has also been shown to inhibit PCNA. In this review, studies in the use of both bacterial and eukaryotic sliding clamps as therapeutic targets are summarized.
Corona Discharge Characteristics for Fittings of AC Transmission Line Under Rainy Conditions

The corona discharge characteristic of the fittings is one of the key factors affecting the electromagnetic environment of the UHV transmission project. In the rain environment, the corona discharge characteristics of fittings are obvious. To study the influence of water drops on corona characteristics of fittings, the visible corona test, RIV test and audible noise measurement were carried out in Ultra-high Voltage Test Base in Wuhan under both dry and rainy conditions with the self-constructed water spray apparatus. The visible corona discharge characteristics were measured by an electromagnetic interference test receiver, a sound meter and a ultraviolet image apparatus. The test results show that compared with the dry condition test, the inception corona voltage of fittings is significantly reduced under rainy condition, and at most, the inception corona voltage is reduced to 36.6 % under dry condition. At the same voltage, compared with the dry condition test, the electromagnetic environment of fittings deteriorated seriously under the rainy condition, and the audible noise and radio interference level increased significantly. Under dry condition, the audible noise and radio interference levels suddenly increase significantly at the inception corona voltage; Under rainy condition, the level of audible noise and radio interference increases gradually with increasing voltage, and the growth rate does not appear obvious jump phenomenon.
Welk alternatief is veilig als de pil is uitverkocht

Het meest voorgeschreven type anticonceptiepil, Microgynon® ‘30’, was in het afgelopen najaar niet overal beschikbaar. Minister Bruins adviseerde om zolang het tekort duurde ‘even voor een andere pil te kiezen’. Dat was geen goede raad. Een ander type anticonceptiepil kan, ook bij kortdurend gebruik, een gevaarlijke bijwerking hebben: veneuze trombo-embolie.
Expression-Style Exclusion

I describe a phenomenon that has not yet been described in the epistemology literature. I label this phenomenon expression-style exclusion. Expression-style exclusion is an example of how social in...
Skyrmion relaxation dynamics in the presence of quenched disorder

Using Langevin molecular dynamics simulations we study relaxation processes of interacting skyrmion systems with and without quenched disorder. Using the typical diffusion length as the time-dependent length characterizing the relaxation process, we find that clean systems always display dynamical scaling, and this even in cases where the typical length is not a simple power law of time. In the presence of the Magnus force, two different regimes are identified as a function of the noise strength. The Magnus force has also a major impact when attractive pinning sites are present, as this velocity-dependent force helps skyrmions to bend around defects and avoid caging effects. With the exception of the limit of large noise, for which dynamical scaling persists even in the presence of quenched disorder, attractive pinning sites capture a substantial fraction of skyrmions which results in a complex behavior of the two-time auto-correlation function that is not reproduced by a simple aging scaling ansatz.
Lysosomal cysteine proteases and antigen presentation.

Lysosomal proteinases are involved in two critical stages of MHC class II-mediated antigen presentation, i.e., degradation of invariant chain, a chaperone molecule critical for MHC class II assembly and transport, and generation of class II-binding peptides in the endocytic compartment. We found that two lysosomal cysteine proteinases, cathepsins S and L, were found to be differentially expressed in different types of “professional” and “nonprofessional” antigen presenting cells, including B cells, macrophages, specialized thymic epithelium, intestinal epithelium, and dendritic cells. In this chapter, our recent studies on the role of cathepsin S and L in MHC class II-mediated antigen processing and presentation in these cells types are highlighted.
Correction to: A nearly self-sufficient framework for modelling reactive-transport processes in concrete

The article, A nearly self-sufficient framework for modelling reactive-transport processes in concrete, written by O. Burkan Isgor and W. Jason Weiss, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s Internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 28 December 2018 without open access.