cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of nicotine on heart dimensions and blood volume in male and female rats

The adverse effects of tobacco smoking on the cardiovascular system are well established. Effects of nicotine on the heart, in contrast, are not well characterized. Understanding specific effects of nicotine on the heart and on blood volume is relevant to (a) elucidating the mechanisms by which nicotine may contribute to heart disease and (b) determining potential risks associated with nicotine products used in smoking cessation or to treat various medical conditions. The present experiment investigated effects of continuous nicotine administration for 14 days (0, 6, or 12 mg/kg/day) on heart histopathology and blood volume (a measure of hemoconcentration) in 59 male and 59 female rats of two strains (Sprague-Dawley and Long-Evans). Following nicotine administration, animals were sacrificed and blood volume was measured. Heart length; heart weight; left ventricle, right ventricle, lateral wall, anterior wall, and posterior wall thicknesses; and intraventricular width (i.e., septum) were measured. Nicotine reduced heart weight, heart length, and overall blood volume. Females were more sensitive than males to the effects of nicotine on heart weight. In contrast, males were more sensitive than females to the effects of nicotine on heart length. Together, these findings suggest that males and females differ in their sensitivity to nicotine's cardiac effects.
Impaired Antibacterial Host Defense in Mice Lacking the N-formylpeptide Receptor

N-formylpeptides derive from bacterial and mitochondrial proteins, and bind to specific receptors on mammalian phagocytes. Since binding induces chemotaxis and activation of phagocytes in vitro, it has been postulated that N-formylpeptide receptor signaling in vivo may be important in antimicrobial host defense, although direct proof has been lacking. Here we test this hypothesis in mice lacking the high affinity N-formylpeptide receptor (FPR), created by targeted gene disruption. FPR−/− mice developed normally, but had increased susceptibility to challenge with Listeria monocytogenes, as measured by increased mortality compared with wild-type littermates. FPR−/− mice also had increased bacterial load in spleen and liver 2 d after infection, which is before development of a specific cellular immune response, suggesting a defect in innate immunity. Consistent with this, neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro and neutrophil mobilization into peripheral blood in vivo in response to the prototype N-formylpeptide fMLF (formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine) were both absent in FPR−/− mice. These results indicate that FPR functions in antibacterial host defense in vivo.
Communicating Coffee Culture through the Big Screen: Starbucks in American Movies

This paper examines Starbucks product placement in American movies. The portrait of Starbucks images in movies not only serves a promotional purpose, but also as a way of communicating coffee cultu...
Image-Based Machine Learning for Reduction of User Fatigue in an Interactive Model Calibration System

The interactive multiobjective genetic algorithm (IMOGA) is a promising new approach to calibrate models. The IMOGA combines traditional optimization with an interactive framework, thus allowing both quantitative calibration criteria as well as the subjective knowledge of experts to drive the search for model parameters. One of the major challenges in using such interactive systems is the burden they impose on the experts that interact with the system. This paper proposes the use of a novel image-based machine-learning (IBML) approach to reduce the number of user interactions required to identify promising calibration solutions involving spatially distributed parameter fields (e.g., hydraulic conductivity parameters in a groundwater model). The first step in the IBML approach involves selecting a few highly representative solutions for expert ranking. The selection is performed using unsupervised clustering approaches from the field of image processing, which group potential parameter fields based on thei...
Predicting Abundance Of Desert Riparian Birds: Validation And Calibration Of The Effective Area Model

Reliable prediction of the effects of landscape change on species abundance is critical to land managers who must make frequent, rapid decisions with long-term consequences. However, due to inherent temporal and spatial variability in ecological systems, previous attempts to predict species abundance in novel locations and/or time frames have been largely unsuccessful. The Effective Area Model (EAM) uses change in habitat composition and geometry coupled with response of animals to habitat edges to predict change in species abundance at a landscape scale. Our research goals were to validate EAM abundance predictions in new locations and to develop a calibration framework that enables absolute abundance predictions in novel regions or time frames. For model validation, we compared the EAM to a null model excluding edge effects in terms of accurate prediction of species abundance. The EAM outperformed the null model for 83.3% of species (N = 12) for which it was possible to discern a difference when conside...
Analysis of refraction errors for interferometric measurements in multicomponent systems.

Analytical expressions for the refraction errors associated with interferometric measurements in multicomponent systems are derived. Two numerical examples are presented where these errors are calculated for the Mach-Zehnder as well as for the differential-type interferometers. In the first example, these errors are evaluated in a gaseous system having air and carbon-disulfide as two disparate components. The second example cites the application of these instruments to heat and mass transfer measurements in an aqueous salt solution. The refraction errors are found to be a monotonically increasing function of test section width, temperature, as well as concentration gradients. The focal plane of the interferogram has a significant influence on the refraction errors and reaches a minimum value, if the interferogram is focused at one-third the distance away from the exit plane into the test section. The chromatic influence of the source wavelength on the errors is found to be negligible for gas studies. However, for liquids the errors can be reduced significantly by using a higher-wavelength light source.
Monolithic fiber-grating and MEMS based devices for controllable ultrafast pulse shaping

A new type of optical pulse shaper for arbitrary waveform generation is demonstrated, based on fiber Bragg grating and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technologies. This is an on-chip device which is compact, robust, monolithic, and programmable and can be used for a variety of applications such as higher order dispersion compensation in fiber communication links and high-energy pulse amplification.
Production of Oat Cakes from Extruded Pellets

ABSTRACT Puffed oat cakes were prepared by puffing the extruded oat pellets with a rice cake machine using independent variables of extrudate moisture contents (30 and 34%, wb), tempering moisture content (10, 12, and 14%, wb), heating temperature (238, 243, 249, and 254°C), and heating times (4, 6, and 8 sec). All four processing variables had significant effects on oat cake physical properties (specific volume, color, hardness, and integrity). Heating time had the most significant effect. Increasing heating time resulted in oat cakes with increased specific volume, integrity, and redness but lower lightness and yellowness. An acceptable product could be made using oat pellets extruded at either 30 or 34% moisture, dried to 9%, and then tempered to 12–14% moisture, and heated to 243–254°C for 8 sec. High correlations were observed between instrumental and sensory descriptive analysis.
Separation of viable from radiation‐induced apoptotic lymphocytes by free‐flow electrophoresis

A human lymphocyte population undergoing apoptosis in vitro due to gamma-irradiation was fractionated by free-flow electrophoresis in triethanolamine--Na-acetate buffers, containing up to 50 mM NaCl, with pH 6.0, 7.2 and 8.5, made isotonic by addition of sucrose. As shown by a flow cytometric analysis of the eluate, the distribution of apoptotic lymphocytes is shifted to the range of higher electrophoretic mobilities relative to that of viable ones at pH 8.5, yielding cell fractions enriched in apoptotic cells by a factor of 3 to 5. The difference in rates of electrophoretic migration observed at a mildly alkaline pH but not at a neutral or mildly acidic one suggests that the surface of apoptotic lymphocytes is more acidic than that of viable ones.
Effects of base doping and width on the JV characteristics of the n+−n−p+ structure☆

Abstract An analytical investigation was performed to determine the effect of center region resistivity and width on the J  V characteristics of the n + − n − p + diode structure. Curves which contrast both these features of the structure are presented. Also, a rather detailed discussion of the numerical methods used to solve the semiconductor device equations is included along with a flow diagram for the computer program. Calculations were performed in double precision on an IBM/360-75 system.
Influence of environmental temperature on the physiological, endocrine, and immune responses in livestock exposed to a provocative immune challenge

Although livestock experience many stressors throughout their life, one of the most commonly experienced, and most difficult to control, is stress caused by fluctuations in environmental temperatures that extend beyond the thermoneutral (TN) zone for an animal. In swine, cold stress has long been recognized as a main cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. A possible explanation for this increased morbidity and mortality may be related to their inability to generate a febrile response. Previously, we reported that the acute phase immune response, including the generation of fever, after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS; Escherichia coli O111: B4; Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO, USA) is substantially altered in neonatal pigs maintained in a cold environment (ie, 18°C). Neonatal pigs that were maintained in a cold environment and administered LPS experienced a period of hypothermia coupled with altered endocrine and proinflammatory cytokine responses that could prove detrimental. In cattle, we previously reported differences in the acute phase immune response of two diverse breeds of Bos taurus cattle (Angus and Romosinuano) when maintained under TN conditions and exposed to LPS. More recently we have reported that differences in the stress and immune responses of Angus and Romosinuano heifers varies, depending on whether the cattle were housed at either TN or heat stress air temperatures. Our data clearly show that even intermittent periods of heat stress similar to that experienced in production environments can have significant effects on the stress and innate immune responses of cattle. Understanding the effect of thermal stress on livestock is critical to developing and implementing alternative management practices to improve their overall health and well-being.
Enhancing the Success of African-American Students in the Sciences: Freshman Year Outcomes

The Meyerhoff Program is an intensive, multicomponent program focused on enhancing the success of talented African-American students in science and engineering at a predominantly white, medium-sized university. The program components, taken together, address the four primary factors emphasized in the research literature as limiting minority student performance and persistence in science: knowledge and skills, motivation and support, monitoring and advising, and academic and social integration. Outcome analyses indicated that the first three cohorts of Meyerhoff students (total N=69) achieved an overall GPA (mean=3.5) significantly greater than that of an African-American historical comparison sample (mean=2.8) of comparably talented science students at the university. This difference was even greater for first year science GPA (means of 3.4 and 2.4, respectively), and in specific science and mathematics courses. Observational and questionnaire data indicated that the Meyerhoff program study groups, peerbased community, financial scholarships, summer bridge program and staff appear to be especially important contributors to student success. Implications of the findings for enhancing the success of African-American and other underrepresented populations in science are discussed.
An Investigation into the Medicalization of Stress in the Twentieth Century

Stress presents an interesting case for the application of medicalization theory. From the 1950s to the 1980s, stress became an established, if not fully deciphered, component of the matrix within which illness developed, as understood by physicians and patients, scientists, and laypeople alike. While the various iterations of the medicalization thesis are useful for analyzing the information flows between the multiplicity of actors engaged in the production and interpretation of the stress concept, they cannot account for all aspects of the evolution of the incorporation of stress into both the medical lexicon and the popular vernacular. To account for the significance of physical explanations for the physiological and pathological effects of stress on the body, this essay expands the model of medicalization to include biologization. This modified model is further deployed as an analytical framework to develop the central argument of this essay: that the medicalization of stress allowed for an expansion of therapeutic options available to practitioners and recipients of mainstream medicine by opening up space for the legitimation of alternative healing practices. Biologization looks to the system of ideas on which medical approaches are based to explain how the reductionist project to find molecular mechanisms of disease causality brought stress and other social and psychological phenomena into the domain of medicine. This expanded model of medicalization can usefully characterize late twentieth and early twenty-first century attitudes toward a wide variety of human disorders whose causes have been found to be molecular in origin. By folding biology into the medicalization thesis, social scientists can train a fresh analytical lens on the role of medicine in recent and contemporary American life.
Asymptotic theory for maximum deviations of sample covariance matrix estimates

Abstract We consider asymptotic distributions of maximum deviations of sample covariance matrices, a fundamental problem in high-dimensional inference of covariances. Under mild dependence conditions on the entries of the data matrices, we establish the Gumbel convergence of the maximum deviations. Our result substantially generalizes earlier ones where the entries are assumed to be independent and identically distributed, and it provides a theoretical foundation for high-dimensional simultaneous inference of covariances.
Effect of Growth and Maturation in a Hypoxic Environment on Maximum Coronary Flow Rates of Isolated Rabbit Hearts

This study was designed to determine the effect of growth and maturation of rabbits in a hypoxic (H) environment on the ability to perfuse myocardium. Rabbits were raised in either a normoxic (N) (PO2 = 19.7 kPa or 149 torr) or an H environment (PO2 = 8.6 kPa or 65 +/- 3 mm Hg) and were studied at ages 5 wk (immature) and 12 wk (mature). Coronary flow (CF) was measured at baseline, during infusion of a maximally dilating concentration of adenosine (A), and at peak reactive hyperemic response to transient inflow occlusion in an isolated, non-blood-perfused heart preparation. Hearts were unloaded, paced at a constant rate (200 beats/min), and perfused at a constant inflow pressure (50 mm Hg). Regional CF was measured, using microspheres, in right ventricular, left ventricular, and atrial cardiac segments during vasodilation with A. H rabbits developed right ventricular but not left ventricular segment hypertrophy/hyperplasia. CF was greater in immature than mature hearts and higher in H than N hearts during baseline, vasodilation with A, and at peak reactive hyperemia (two-way analysis of variance, p < or = 0.05). Regional CF during vasodilation with A was greater in immature than mature hearts, in both right and left ventricular segments, and higher in H than N hearts in all cardiac segments (two-way analysis of variance, p < or = 0.05). Differences in total and regional CF between H and N hearts were present at both study ages (t test, p < or = 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Call for a New Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Diagnosis: Addictive Disorders

Without a consensually validated definition and a set of diagnostic criteria, counselors lack the necessary assessment and treatment tools to work effectively with clients with process addictions and their families. Necessary criteria and the results of a needs assessment are presented.
Contact charge—transfer interaction of iodine with saturated hydrocarbons

Abstract With the help of the thermodynamic quantities just reported, the spectrophotometric properties of the contact charge-transfer complexes of iodine with saturated hydrocarbon solvents such as cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane and heptane have been calculated from the u.v. spectra of iodine in these solvents. Both the thermodynamic and spectrophotometric properties of these complexes are free from the interaction of other solvents.
Traumatic Migration of the Bryan Cervical Disc Arthroplasty.

Study Design Case study. Objective To describe a case of dislodgment and migration of the Bryan Cervical Disc (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, Tennessee, United States) arthroplasty more than 6 months after implantation secondary to low-energy trauma. Methods The inpatient, outpatient, and radiographic medical records of a patient with traumatic migration of the Bryan Cervical Disc arthroplasty were reviewed. The authors have no relevant disclosures to report. Results A 36-year-old man with chronic left upper extremity radiculopathy underwent uncomplicated Bryan Cervical Disc arthroplasty at C5–C6, with complete resolution of his symptoms. Approximately 6 months after his index procedure, he sustained low-energy trauma to the posterior cervical spine, after being struck by a book falling from a shelf. The injury forced his neck into flexion, and though he did not have recurrence of his radiculopathy symptoms, radiographs demonstrated anterior migration of the arthroplasty device. He underwent revision to anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion. Conclusions Although extremely rare, it is imperative that surgeons consider the potential for failure of osseous integration in patients undergoing cervical disk arthroplasty, even beyond 3 to 6 months postoperatively. This concern is especially relevant to press-fit or milled devices like the Bryan Cervical Disc arthroplasty, which lack direct fixation into adjacent vertebral bodies. We are considering modification of our postoperative protocol to improve protection of the device after implantation, even beyond 3 months postoperatively.
Growth of whiskers from Sn surfaces: Driving forces and growth mechanisms

Abstract Sn whiskers are thin filaments that grow spontaneously out of the surface of coatings on Cu and have become a critical reliability problem in Pb-free electronics. In this review, we focus on what creates the driving force for whiskers (or more rounded “hillocks”), and what determines where on the surface they will form. Experimental studies are reviewed that quantify the relationship between the Cu–Sn intermetallic (IMC) formation, stress in the layer and whisker/hillock density. Measurements of the mechanical properties show how stress relaxation in the Sn layer is intimately related to how much stress develops due to the IMC formation. Real-time scanning electron microscope (SEM)/focused ion beam (FIB) studies are described that illustrate the whisker/hillock growth process in detail. Whiskers are found to grow out of a single grain on the surface with little lateral growth while hillock growth is accompanied by extensive grain growth and crystallite rotation. Electron-backscattering detection (EBSD) shows the grain structure around where the whiskers/hillocks form, indicating that whiskers can grow out of pre-existing grains and do not require the nucleation of new grains. This has led to a picture in which stress builds up due to IMC growth and causes whiskers/hillocks to form at “weak grains”, i.e., grains that have a stress relaxation mechanism that becomes active at a lower stress than its neighbors. FEA (finite element analysis) calculations are used to simulate the evolving stress and whisker growth for several different mechanisms that may lead to “weak” grains.
Optimal multimodal fusion for multimedia data analysis

Considerable research has been devoted to utilizing multimodal features for better understanding multimedia data. However, two core research issues have not yet been adequately addressed. First, given a set of features extracted from multiple media sources (e.g., extracted from the visual, audio, and caption track of videos), how do we determine the best modalities? Second, once a set of modalities has been identified, how do we best fuse them to map to semantics? In this paper, we propose a two-step approach. The first step finds statistically independent modalities from raw features. In the second step, we use super-kernel fusion to determine the optimal combination of individual modalities. We carefully analyze the tradeoffs between three design factors that affect fusion performance: modality independence, curse of dimensionality, and fusion-model complexity. Through analytical and empirical studies, we demonstrate that our two-step approach, which achieves a careful balance of the three design factors, can improve class-prediction accuracy over traditional techniques.
Fire Injury Severity in an Eastern Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer Stand: Variability and Influencing Factors

Variability of postfire injury and stand and individual tree factors that affected survival responses of eastern Sierra Nevada conifers to wildfire were examined. Prefire measurements served as a basis of comparison for postfire conditions in a mixed conifer stand located in the eastern portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin and provided insight into predisposing influences on survival. Species composition consisted primarily of Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) and California white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana [Gord.] Lemm.) along with a minor component of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.). Postfire survival was higher in Jeffrey pine than white fir but was highest overall in sugar pine. Catastrophic crown loss occurred less frequently in Jeffrey pine than in the fir but was least common in sugar pine. Survival generally increased with tree size, but this relationship did not extend to the largest trees in the stand. Among an array of regression models used to evaluate selected variables for t...
The mesenchymal stromal cells dilemma—does a negative phase III trial of random donor mesenchymal stromal cells in steroid-resistant graft-versus-host disease represent a death knell or a bump in the road?

The use of cryopreserved unmatched allogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for treatment of steroid-resistant graft-versus-host disease has become medical practice in many European jurisdictions. The enthusiasm for use of MSCs in transplantation medicine builds on compelling phase II clinical trial data published by European collaborative groups in the past few years. Notwithstanding, it was reported in 2009 that a large multicenter phase III clinical trial (NCT00366145) conducted in the USA examining the use of an industrial MSC product (Prochymal; Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., Columbia, MD, USA) failed to meet its primary clinical endpoint of achieving a significant increase of complete response of steroid-resistant graft-versus-host disease lasting at least 28 days compared with placebo. Although peer-reviewed publication of the trial and its results are not in public domain at the time of this writing, it is worthwhile to reflect on the apparent discrepancy between the European experience and this industry-sponsored phase III study. This review presents a heuristic failure analysis focusing on the potential variables affecting MSCs and their utility as a cellular pharmaceutical.
Including decision attitude in probabilistic decision making

Abstract The construction of evaluation functions to compare alternatives in decision making under uncertainty is the central focus of this work. The importance of the decision makers attitude with respect to their view of the temperament of uncertainty is stressed as a significant component in the formulation of these functions. Evaluation functions are developed which allow for the inclusion of both probabilistic information as well as attitudinal predilections held by the decision maker.
Evidence for mutagenic repair in V79 cell mutant with aphidicolin-resistant DNA polymerase-α

An aphidicolin-resistant (aphr) mutant of Chinese hamster V79 cells, aphr-4-2, is shown to be slow-growing, sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, hypermutable for spontaneous and UV-induced mutations, and known to contain an aphr mutant DNA polymerase-α, with a 10-fold reduction in the Km for dCTP but not for dATP. We show here that the mutant had a normal repair replication measured by unscheduled DNA synthesis assay. The mutant was specifically sensitive and hypermutable to UV and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, but it had normal sensitivity to ionizing radiation and dimethyl sulfate. Unlike the V79 (wt) cells, the mutant exhibited further enhancement in the already elevated mutability following UV and conditioned medium treatment. The mutant characteristic is explained by the presence of an error-prone long-patch excision repair synthesis. The association in the mutant properties—an aphr DNA polymerase-α, UV sensitivity, and hypermutability to UV-induced mutation—provides the genetic evidence that DNA polymerase-α is likely to be involved in UV-induced DNA repair synthesis.
Plastid behavior in North AmericanEuoenotheras

Extensive records of plastid behavior in the North American euoenotheras by the writer and students support in general the conclusions of Stubbe regarding the number of plastid and genome classes and their behavior relative to each other, except that our findings do not make it necessary to distinguish between classes II and III as defined byStubbe.
A simplified contact-friction methodology for modeling wire breaks in parallel wire strands

A simplified semi-analytical contact-friction approach is proposed to study the load transfer between tightened parallel steel wires, commonly used in suspension bridge main cables. Some of these wires tend to break at sporadic locations due to corrosion and/or material defects. However, owing to friction, in the vicinity of the break the load is distributed among neighboring wires and at a further distance away from the break, the broken wires recover partially their load carrying capacity. To model the load transfer due to friction, elasto-perfectly plastic springs are placed at the contact points between the wires. These springs have varying yielding force values, depending on their proximity to the clamping loads which are determined from an analytical solution to a point load (Flamant's solution in 2D and Boussinesq's solution in 3D). The model is validated on 2D and 3D simpler problems by comparing the behavior to a reference solution obtained from a full contact analysis. Studies on various sized wire strands, breaking at a random wire sequence and at different locations, show the redistribution of the stresses between neighboring wires and the overall nonlinear load-loss response of the system. Furthermore, to overcome the storage and speed limitations of serial computers, the method is implemented on a parallel computer architecture and the number of linear/nonlinear iterations, CPU time and parallel scalability are reported.
Correction for partial volume effect in PET blood flow images

Current positron emission tomography techniques for the measurement of cerebral blood flow assume that voxels represent pure material regions. In this work, a method is presented which utilizes anatomical information from a high resolution modality such as MRI in conjunction with a multicompartment extension of the Kety model to obtain intravoxel, tissue specific blood flow values. In order to evaluate the proposed method, noisy time activity curves (TACs) were simulated representing different combinations of gray matter, white matter and CSF, and ratios of gray to white matter blood flow. In all experiments it was assumed that registered MR data supplied the number of materials and the fraction of each present. For each TAC, three experiments were run. In the first it was assumed that the fraction of each material determined by MRI was correct, and, in the second two, that the value was either too high or too low. Using the tree annealing method, material flows were determined which gave the best fit of the model to the simulated TAC data. The results indicate that the accuracy of the method is approximately linearly related to the error in material fraction estimated for a voxel.
Two-Edged Sword: The Ca2+ Biosensor D4cpv-Calsequestrin Restores Functionality to Calsequestrin-Null Muscle

SR Ca2+ buffering power, BP, decreases during Ca2+-depleting depolarizations of mouse skeletal muscle. During Ca2+ release the stage of high BP is characterized by a “hump” in the release flux waveform. After the depolarization BP returns slowly to its initial value, as demonstrated by the absence of a hump in the flux induced by the second pulse of pairs separated by 600 ms. These time-dependent features were described as “buffer hysteresis” and shown to be contributed by calsequestrin in the Sztretye et al., companion poster. SR release flux and BP were measured in calsequestrin 1-null cells expressing the biosensor D4cpv-calsequestrin. Null cells had lower BP and generally lacked the hump in the flux. In some regions of these cells, however, [biosensor] reached very high values. The spatial heterogeneity of expression permitted comparison of flux and buffer properties evaluated with the same depolarizing pulse simultaneously in regions of widely different [biosensor]. The hump of Ca2+ release flux and other features of buffer hysteresis were restored in regions of calsequestrin-null cells where D4cpv-calsequestrin reached above 8 μmol/liter of cytosol. The restoration was partial or nil at [biosensor] below 3 μM. At 10 μM a functional calsequestrin moiety in the biosensor should provide 800 μM binding sites (or 400 μM Ca2+ at 50% occupancy), a significant contribution compared with the estimates of amount released (1240 μM in WT, 867 μM in the null). Therefore, in addition to a targeted biosensor D4cpv-calsequestrin is a fluorescently tagged Ca2+ buffer. Moreover, the restoration of hysteretic Ca2+ buffering features indicates that this biosensor contributes the full buffer functionality of calsequestrin. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a molecule with the functional properties of both a biosensor and a native protein.Funded by NIAMS/NIH.
Estimation of the state of charge for a LFP battery using a hybrid method that combines a RBF neural network, an OLS algorithm and AGA

Abstract A method to accurately estimate the State-of-Charge (SOC) for LiFePO4 (LFB) batteries is urgently required, to address the issues associated with the increased use of LFP batteries for portable devices. This paper proposes a hybrid method that combines a radial basis function (RBF) neural network, an orthogonal least-squares (OLS) algorithm and an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) to estimate the SOC in discharging condition. The OLS algorithm determines the optimal number of nodes in the hidden layer of the RBF neural network. With an optimal RBF neural network structure, the AGA is then used to tune the parameters of the RBF neural network, including the centers and widths of RBF and the connection weights. The trained RBF neural network is then used to estimate the SOC of a LFP battery. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed estimation method, the method is tested using LFP batteries under several different discharging conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed method is compared with the Coulomb integration method and a back propagation (BP) neural network. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the other methods.
Brief paper: Bayesian estimation via sequential Monte Carlo sampling-Constrained dynamic systems

Nonlinear and non-Gaussian processes with constraints are commonly encountered in dynamic estimation problems. Methods for solving such problems either ignore the constraints or rely on crude approximations of the model or probability distributions. Such approximations may reduce the accuracy of the estimates since they often fail to capture the variety of probability distributions encountered in constrained linear and nonlinear dynamic systems. This article describes a practical approach that overcomes these shortcomings via a novel extension of sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) sampling or particle filtering. Inequality constraints are imposed by accept/reject steps in the algorithm. The proposed approach provides samples representing the posterior distribution at each time point, and is shown to satisfy the same theoretical properties as unconstrained SMC. Illustrative examples show that results of the proposed approach are at least as accurate as moving horizon estimation, but computationally more efficient and in addition, the approach indicates the uncertainty associated with these estimates.
Effect of prestrain on the subsequent thermal crystallization of a copolyester of lactic and glycolic acid

Effet important de la precontrainte sur la morphologie finale du polymere. Modele pour expliquer les resultats observes
Visualizing the Large-Scale Patterns of ENSO-Related Climate Anomalies in North America

Abstract The variations of large-scale climatic controls and surface responses through the annual cycle during strong positive (El Nino) and negative (La Nina) phase ENSO events are analyzed to assess the within-year and among-year variations of climate anomalies. Data from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis project are presented as small-multiple maps to illustrate the spatial and temporal variability in North American climate associated with extreme phases of ENSO. Temperature, mean sea level pressure, 500-mb geopotential heights, and 850-mb specific humidity have composite-anomaly patterns that exhibit the greatest degree of spatial and temporal coherence. In general, the composite-anomaly patterns for El Nino and La Nina events are of opposite sign, with stronger, more spatially coherent anomalies occurring during El Nino events than during La Nina events. However, the strength and coherency of the precipitation anomaly patterns are reduced in the interior intermountain west during both positive and negative ph...
The Blood Sugar of Normal Fasting Persons.

Summary1. The fasting blood sugar of 50 men and 50 women was found to be between 70 and 95 mg. per 100 cc. of blood, with an average of 81.6 mg. %. 2. Capillary blood may properly be substituted for venous blood in determining the sugar of fasting individuals. Admixture of other tissue fluids does not modify the sugar content of finger blood.
Signal‐to‐noise, resolution, and bias function analysis of asymmetric sampling with zero‐padded magnitude ft reconstruction

This report describes NMR image effects due to sampling asymmetry when using zero-padded magnitude FT reconstruction. With this method, the MTF is not flat over the spatial frequency passband, so resolution cannot be accurately described by a single variable such as voxel size. At small to moderate asymmetry, shortened (reduced window duration) asymmetry provides increased S/N and decreased resolution, whereas shifted (constant window duration) asymmetry yields essentially constant S/N with simultaneously increased and decreased resolution. A bias function expression describes image distortion due to sampling in terms separable from the imaged object. The analyses are consistent with previous descriptions of perceived image differences related to data asymmetry.
Southern Nevada Renewable Resource Assessment

University of Nevada, Las Vegas Renewable Energy Center (UNLV-REC) currently monitors three meteorological stations in southern Nevada under the direction of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and is funded by the Nevada Southwest Energy Partnership (NSWEP). The three station locations are Eldorado Valley, UNLV-REC Solar Site, and Nevada Power Company Clark Station. The installation dates for each of the locations were October of 2004 for Eldorado Valley station, August of 2003 for the UNLV-REC Solar Site, and March of 2006 for the Nevada Power Clark Station. Publicly available data from each site have been archived since installation completion. This paper discusses the installation of the equipment for each site and images of the setup. The data that is being collected between the sites is also compared. Data comparisons between the sites include net monthly solar energy; monthly peak direct normal irradiance (DNI), average daily wind speed, monthly wind roses, and average monthly dry bulb temperatures. The recently measured data is also compared to resource maps developed by NREL and to TMY data. With these meteorological resources, microclimatic variations can be studied for the area and used as a renewable energy resource for renewable installations in southern Nevada.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Room-temperature hydrosilylation of the CF bond of vinyl fluoride catalyzed by osmium hydrides

Abstract The reactions of OsH(Ph)(CO)L 2 (L = P t Bu 2 Me) with HSiMe 3 , H 2 SiPh 2 or H 3 SiPh produce benzene and OsH 3 (silyl)(CO)L 2 , which is characterized as a fac -H 3 OsP 3 shape capped on the H 3 face by the silyl group. For H 2 SiPh 2 and H 3 SiPh, these reactions are shown proceed through an intermediate Os(H) 2 (silylene)(CO)L 2 species. OsHF(CO)L 2 reacts with these silanes to give the same OsH 3 product (and silyl-F). These reactions can be combined to effect osmium catalysis of conversion of Si H + H 2 C CHF to fluorosilane and H 2 C CH 2 from OsH 3 (SiMe 3 )(CO)L 2 , or from the catalyst precursor OsHF(CO)L 2 .
Sign of lipid peroxidation as measured in the urine of patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract Free radical-induced oxidative damage may be involved in the neurodegenerative process associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). 8-Isoprostaglandin F 2α (iPF 2α -III) is an isoprostane derived from free radical-induced non-enzymatic oxidation of arachidonic acid. It is formed in vivo and is an indicator of lipid peroxidation. Measurements were made of iPF 2α -III in the urine of patients with mild to moderate dementia associated with probable AD and compared to those in the urine of non-demented subjects, who were similar in age and gender. 2,3-Dinor thromboxane B 2 (dinor TXB 2 ), a urinary metabolite of TXB 2 was also measured, and served as an indicator of the enzymatic transformation of a product of arachidonic acid. Enzyme linked immunoassays were used to measure iPF 2α -III and dinor TXB 2 in the urine. The concentration of iPF 2α -III was significantly elevated in urine of patients assessed to have mild to moderate dementia as compared to non-demented patients. The concentration of urinary dinor TXB 2 was also significantly elevated in the patients with dementia and probable AD as compared to the non-demented subjects. There was considerable overlap of values obtained for demented and non-demented patients for iPF 2α -III and dinor TXB 2 , respectively. The observed elevation of iPF 2α -III suggests that patients with mild to moderate dementia associated with probable AD are experiencing significant oxidative stress. This finding is consistent with current data suggesting that oxidative stress may be occurring in patients with dementia and probable AD. The increase of dinor TXB 2 may indicate that enzymatic processes related to the metabolism of arachidonic acid-derived products are also increased in demented patients with probable AD.
Use of Microwaves for Damage Detection of Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Wrapped Concrete Structures

Jacketing technology using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is being applied for seismic retrofit and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete (RC) columns designed and constructed under older specifications. In this study, the authors develop an electromagnetic (EM) imaging technology for detecting such damage as voids and debonding between the jacket and the column, which may significantly weaken the structural performance of the column otherwise attainable by jacketing. This technology is based on the reflection analysis of a continuous EM wave sent toward and reflected from layered FRP–adhesive-concrete medium: Voids and debonding areas will generate air gaps which produce additional reflections of the EM wave. In this study, dielectric properties of various materials involved in the FRP-jacketed RC column were first measured using a plane-wave reflectometer. The measured properties were then used for a computer simulation of the proposed EM imaging technology. The simulation demonstrated the di...
Armillaria altimontana, a new species from the western interior of North America

Armillaria altimontana, previously consid- ered North American biological species (NABS) X, is described as new. To date, it appears that A. altimontana prefers higher-elevation, mesic sites within the dry, conifer forest zone of western interior North America. This species has been found on hardwoods and conifers and is associated most commonly with Abies-dominated forest types in southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and northern California. Partial elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) sequences were generated from six isolates of A. altimontana originating from three locations in northern Idaho. Phylogenetic analyses of all 10 North American Armillaria species were carried out with maximum parsimony and maximum likeli- hood. Results indicate that isolates of A. altimontana formed a monophyletic group and clustered with A. calvescens, A. cepistipes, A. gallica and A. nabsnona, which is in agreement with recent phylogenetic studies of Armillaria.
Graduate Students as Independent Instructors: Seven Things to Know about Teaching Your Own Course while in Graduate School.

Despite being responsible for a large percentage of undergraduate instruction, graduate students often receive little preparation for their first solo teaching assignments (J. D. Nyquist et al., Change 31 (3): 18, 1999 ). Furthermore, the existing literature on pedagogy fails to address the unique challenges faced by graduate students who are asked to serve as course instructors rather than teaching assistants. This article presents seven pieces of advice intended to better prepare the predoctoral graduate student to assume the role of the professor before assuming the title. By understanding the attitudes of undergraduate students toward graduate instructors, preparing in advance to handle the mistakes that novice teachers often make, and recognizing the correlation between outward confidence and student perceptions of instructor quality, graduate students can derive the most benefit from a stressful and time-consuming assignment. Most important, graduate instructors can learn to effectively manage the time spent on teaching duties to ensure that other responsibilities such as coursework, qualifying exams, and dissertation research do not suffer.
The role of the physical context in supporting young children's use of spatiotemporal organization in recall

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the role of the physical context in supporting 3- to 5-year-olds’ use of spatiotemporal organization in recall. Children were familiarized with several target items and their corresponding landmarks arranged along a path in a model park. After familiarization, an experimenter removed the target items from the park. In Experiment 1, 3- and 4-year-olds recalled the missing items with the park either in view or out of view. When the park model was in view, 4year-olds used the order of the items along the path to structure their recall. In Experiment 2, 4- and 5-year-olds recalled the missing items with the landmarks arranged either in the same order as in familiarization or in a new order. Children used the order of landmarks along the path at test to structure their recall, even though the order of landmarks changed from familiarization to test. Experiment 3 was identical to Experiment 2, except that the path was removed from the park. Five-year-olds used the order of landmarks along the path at test to structure their recall when the order of landmarks remained the same from familiarization to test, but had much more difficulty doing so when the order of landmarks changed from familiarization to test. Using a more difficult task, Experiment 4 revealed that spatiotemporal organization was positively related to amount recalled. Together, these findings suggest that the structure of the physical environment plays an important role in supporting young children’ s use of spatiotemporal organization in recall.
Cytoskeletal Participation in the Signal Transduction Process: Tubulin G Protein Interactions in the Regulation of Adenylate Cyclase

Receptors for a variety of hormones or neurotransmitters are coupled to their intracellular effectors via GTP-binding [G] proteins. Although initially discovered as proteins which conferred stimulation [Gs] or inhibition [Gi] upon adenylate cyclase. Since their initial discovery, these proteins have been assigned new roles at an alarming rate. Further, molecular genetic techniques have demonstrated that the signal transducing G proteins [for this review defined as those G proteins which are substrates for ADP ribosylation by pertussis and/or cholera toxins] consist of a family of closely related proteins which are the products of several genes (or alternate splicing of a single gene). Currently, it appears that G proteins may be involved in neutrophil activation as well as the activation of phospholipase C and A2. Further, some G proteins may act as second messengers, via direct effects on ion channels. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a scheme whereby components of the cell thought to be primarily structural, might participate in the signal transduction process.