cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oxidation and hydrogen uptake in zirconium, Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4: Computational thermodynamics and ab initio calculations

Abstract Zirconium-based alloys Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 are widely used in nuclear industry as cladding materials for BWRs and PWRs, respectively. Over more than 60 years these materials displayed a very good combination of properties such as low neutron absorption, creep behavior, stress-corrosion cracking resistance, reduced hydrogen uptake, corrosion, and/or oxidation, especially in the case of Zircaloy-4 [1] , [2] , [3] . However, over the last couple of years energetic efforts were undertaken to improve their oxidation resistance during off-normal temperature excursions, as well as to further improve upon the already achieved levels of mechanical behavior and reduced hydrogen uptake [1] , [2] , [3] . In order to facilitate the development of such novel materials, it is very important to achieve not only engineering control, but also scientific understanding of the underlying material degradation mechanisms, both in working conditions and in storage of spent nuclear fuel. This paper strives to contribute to these efforts by constructing the thermodynamic models of both alloys, constructing of the respective phase diagrams, and oxidation mechanisms. A special emphasis was placed upon the role of zirconium suboxides [4] in hydrogen uptake reduction and the atomic mechanisms of oxidation. To that end, computational thermodynamics calculations were conducted concurrently with first-principles atomistic modeling.
The perils of global signal regression for group comparisons: a case study of Autism Spectrum Disorders

We have previously argued from a theoretical basis that the standard practice of regression of the Global Signal from the FMRI time series in functional connectivity studies is ill advised, particularly when comparing groups of participants. Here, we demonstrate in resting-state data from participants with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and matched controls that these concerns are also well founded in real data. Using the prior theoretical work to formulate predictions, we show: 1) rather than simply altering the mean or range of correlation values amongst pairs of brain regions, Global Signal Regression systematically alters the rank ordering of values in addition to introducing negative values, 2) it leads to a reversal in the direction of group correlation differences relative to other preprocessing approaches, with a higher incidence of both long-range and local correlation differences that favor the Autism Spectrum Disorder group, 3) the strongest group differences under other preprocessing approaches are the ones most altered by Global Signal Regression, and 4) locations showing group differences no longer agree with those showing correlations with behavioral symptoms within the Autism Spectrum Disorder group. The correlation matrices of both participant groups under Global Signal Regression were well predicted by our previous mathematical analyses, demonstrating that there is nothing mysterious about these results. Finally, when independent physiological nuisance measures are lacking, we provide a simple alternative approach for assessing and lessening the influence of global correlations on group comparisons that replicates our previous findings. While this alternative performs less well for symptom correlations than our favored preprocessing approach that includes removal of independent physiological measures, it is preferable to the use of Global Signal Regression, which prevents unequivocal conclusions about the direction or location of group differences.
The average-case identifiability and controllability of large scale systems

Abstract Needs for increased product quality, reduced pollution, and reduced energy and material consumption are driving enhanced process integration. This increases the number of manipulated and measured variables required by the control system to achieve its objectives. This paper addresses the question of whether processes tend to become increasingly more difficult to identify and control as the process dimension increases. Tools and results of multivariable statistics are used to show that, under a variety of assumed distributions on the elements, square processes of higher dimension tend to be more difficult to identify and control, whereas the expected controllability and identifiability of nonsquare processes depends on the relative numbers of measured and manipulated variables. These results suggest that the procedure of simplifying the control problem so that only a square process is considered is a poor practice for large scale systems.
Analysis and Characterization of Hurricane Winds

AbstractTo understand and model the effects of natural hurricane winds on residential buildings, full-scale field testing and analysis are needed. Toward this goal, a group of researchers at Florida Tech, in collaboration with the Florida Coastal Monitoring Project team, have deployed sensors in a real storm scenario and collected roof wind pressure and local wind data. Because the behavior of a hurricane is subject to vagaries of nature, the current research effort is oriented to develop a rational basis for analyzing the data. To investigate this, the variable time averaging is applied to the data collected by the Florida Coastal Monitoring Project from three storms: Hurricane Gordon, Hurricane Isidore, and Hurricane Rita. The wind data correspond to a 10-m-high tower in different exposures at a 10-Hz sampling rate. In the wind load specifications worldwide, a wide range of averaging times have been used, 3–60 s to define gusts and 10–60 min to define mean speeds. This is seemingly more heuristic for th...
The role of self-objectification in women's depression: A test of objectification theory.

Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21:173–206, 1997) postulates that sexual objectification of women and girls in US culture contributes to women’s mental health problems indirectly through women’s internalization of objectifying experiences or self-objectification. The purpose of this study was to test the model proposed in Objectification Theory as it applies to depression in women. A path analysis revealed that self-objectification decreased with age and led to habitual body monitoring, which led to a reduced sense of flow, greater body shame, and greater appearance anxiety. Less flow, greater body shame, and greater appearance anxiety led to depression. No significant pathways were found for the theorized relationships between the self-objectification measures and internal awareness or between internal awareness and depression. In addition, we provide psychometric support for a newly created multiple-item Flow Scale to assess Csikszentmihalyi’s (Flow: The psychology of optimal experience, Harper, New York, 1990) description of the common characteristics of peak motivational states and optimal experience.
Takayasu Arteritis Presenting as a Pulmonary-Renal Syndrome

Takayasu arteritis is an uncommon disease with a variety of presentations. We report a case of Takayasu arteritis with a presentation of a pulmonary-renal syndrome in a 22-year-old woman. She presented in acute respiratory failure with hemoptysis and acute renal failure; interestingly, however, the renal biopsy was normal. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) showed significant narrowing in the distal abdominal aorta with bilateral renal and common iliac artery occlusions. Thoracic and abdominal angiogram confirmed MRA findings of type IV Takayasu arteritis. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the left renal artery normalized kidney function. The initial presentation of Takayasu arteritis as a pulmonary-renal syndrome with severe acute renal failure and diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage is unusual; to our knowledge, this has not been described previously in the literature. We provide a clinical review of Takayasu arteritis and a discussion of systemic manifestations pertinent to the case.
THE COMPLEMENT FIXATION TEST IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF VIRUS INFECTIONS OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.

A specific complement fixation test can be obtained in various central nervous system virus infections by using as antigens emulsions of infected brain tissue, freezing and thawing the brain emulsion, and then centrifuging it in an angle head centrifuge at 3500 R.P.M. for 1 hour. The method has proved reliable in the case of rabies, St. Louis encephalitis, Japanese B encephalitis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis, Western equine encephalomyelitis, louping ill, and spontaneous encephalomyelitis of mice (Theiler's disease). The specificity of the reaction, regardless of the virus involved, requires different temperatures of inactivation of the sera according to animal species: 56 degrees C. for guinea pig, 60 degrees C. for mouse, and 65 degrees C. for rabbit and dog sera, all heated for 20 minutes. For human sera a temperature of inactivation of 60 degrees C. also for 20 minutes has been adopted; at this temperature the reaction is in general specific. Complement-fixing antibodies in high titre were found in the sera of rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and dogs immunized with rabies virus. Complement-fixing antibodies were present in high titre in sera drawn from two persons 8 years after an attack of louping ill, from five persons 2(1/2) years after an attack of Eastern equine encephalomyelitis, and from two persons 2(1/2) years after Western equine encephalomyelitis. In cases of St. Louis encephalitis and lymphocytic choriomeningitis, complement-fixing antibodies have been found shortly following infection but not after long periods.
Transforming business process models in the presence of irreducibility and concurrency

Two practical paradigms are presented, which facilitate domain concepts to be directly used to model business operations: the first paradigm is based on the business artefacts and their life cycle; the second paradigm is based on the business tasks and their sequencing. Transformation is an effective way to bridge the gap between business level analysis and IT solutions. We present algorithms that transform business process models based on these two paradigms into IT solutions of web service platform. The specific problems we addressed in this transformation are: (1) how to generate the implementation code of an optimal size for any arbitrary process model; (2) how to preserve the natural structure of business process models in the generated code and (3) how to translate concurrent processes.
Buyer beware! doctor be aware!: Questions.

A 6-year-old girl presents to the emergency room with altered mental status. She is acutely non-verbal and unable to vocalize sounds. She has bilateral nystagmus and facial twitching. She has marked hypertonia with her wrists persistently flexed and her feet and toes hyperextended. Reflexes are not elicited. She does not withdraw from painful stimuli. She is accompanied by her parents who brought her by car. You learn she has a history of an imperforated anus repair and suffers from chronic constipation with megacolon. The repair was performed at the age of 2 by pull through with reanastomosis after previous diverting colostomy. In the past, she has been managed with an aggressive bowel regime including daily polyethylene glycol 3350 (MiraLax) and two pediatric Fleets enemas administered every other day. In spite of this regime, she developed persistent fecal soiling and recent clinical evaluation identified overflow incontinence. She was instructed to increase the dose to two adult Fleets enemas every other day. On the day of presentation, she complained of abdominal pain presumed to be due to constipation. Therefore, she received two Fleets enemas. She did not evacuate her bowels so a third enema was administered for a total of three adult Fleets enemas within 12 hours.
Differentiation of Mating Vocalizations in Birds: Acoustic Features in Mainland and Island Populations and Evidence of Habitat-Dependent Selection on Songs

Local environments can act as selective agents on some characteristics of birds' songs, whereas other song traits may not reflect local genetic adaptation. Geographic variation in songs of two Australian bird species (red-capped robins Petroica goodenovii, western gerygones Gerygone fusca) was studied to examine one component of the 'habitat-dependent selection' hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that: (1) the detailed spectral characteristics of male songs are an evolved response to local habitat conditions affecting signal propagation and detection and (2) parallel evolution of other fitness traits sets up the potential for assortative mating by female choice. To examine the first part of the hypothesis, I made comparisons among widespread mainland populations and an island population using two levels of analysis: a typological analysis of song morphology (phonology: notes, syllables, syntax, temporal pattern, repertoires) and a spectral analysis of acoustic characteristics of songs (mean frequency, Wiener entropy, frequency modulation) using an automated procedure of feature extraction (Sound Analysis Pro). Spectral analysis was also used to extract values of the same acoustic features from the background sound environment of each recorded population. The typological analysis revealed no differences among mainland populations of either species, but large differences between mainland songs and those on the island. In contrast, the spectral analysis revealed acoustic divergence among populations, both mainland and island. For both species, Wiener entropy of songs correlated negatively with that of the ambient sound environment, consistent with predictions of the habitat-dependent selection hypothesis of environmental selection on signal design.
Cellular Monte Carlo study lateral scaling impact of on the DC-RF performance of high-power GaN HEMTs

The effects of access region scaling on the performance of millimeter-wave GaN HEMTs is investigated through nanoscale carrier dynamics description obtained by full band Cellular Monte Carlo simulation. The drain current and transconductance have shown to increase monotonically up to respectively 5500 mA/mm and 1500 mS/mm by symmetrically scaling the source to gate and gate to drain distance from 635 nm to 50 nm. The electric field distribution has been studied for the shorter access regions and it was seen to be still far from the GaN breakdown limit. The access region scaling is found to greatly improve the frequency response of the device as well: from 340 GHz up to 860 GHz. Detailed simulation of the carrier dynamics in the area under the gate showed that these improvements are due to higher transit velocity of electrons at the source end of the gate.
Evaluation of the benefits and feasibility of on-orbit repair by comparison with operations in an analogous environment - How is the Freedom Space Station like an oceanographic expedition?

Equipment maintenance and logistics strategies followed on the R/S Thompson, an oceanographic research vessel, are described, and parallels are drawn between the problems and solutions of an oceanographic expedition and those of a space station mission. Presumably oceanic expeditions, which have been conducted for over 150 years, have developed effective methods of equipment maintenance. Similarities are found in relative budget and equipment maintenance problems, but few similarities are found in solutions to these problems. It is speculated that the high relative cost of on-orbit work is responsible, and that development of significantly more effective component level fault diagnosis equipment and repair equipment could enable application of oceanographic equipment maintenance strategies, enhancing safety and speeding laboratory work while giving significant cost reduction.
Identification of 188 conserved maize microRNAs and their targets

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a newly identified class of non-protein-coding ∼20 nt small RNAs which play important roles in multiple biological processes by degrading targeted mRNAs or repressing mRNA translation. After searching a genomic survey sequence database using homologs and secondary structures, we found 188 maize miRNAs belonging to 29 miRNA families. Of the 188 maize miRNA genes, 28 (15%) were found in at least one EST. A total of 115 potential targets were identified for 26 of the miRNA families based on the fact that miRNAs exhibit perfect or nearly perfect complementarity with their target sequences. A majority of the targets are transcription factors which play important roles in maize development, including leaf, shoot, and root development. Additionally, these maize miRNAs are also involved in other cellular processes, such as signal transduction, stress response, sucrose and cellulose synthesis, and ubiquitin protein degradation pathway. Some of the newly identified miRNA targets may be unique to maize.
CFD Simulations of Natural Convection/Radiation Heat Transfer Within the Fuel Regions of a Truck Cask for Normal Transport

A two-dimensional finite volume mesh is constructed that accurately represents the geometry of a legal weight truck cask, including four PWR fuel assemblies inside. CFD simulations calculate buoyancy driven gas motion as well as natural convection and radiation heat transfer in the gas filled fuel regions. They also calculate conduction within the cask solid components. The cask is in a normal transportation environment. The fuel and cask temperatures are calculated for ranges of fuel heat generation rate and cladding emissivity, for both helium and nitrogen backfill gas. The cask thermal capacity, which is the fuel heat generation rate that brings the peak fuel cladding to its temperature limit, is also determined. The results are compared to simulations in which the gas speed is set to zero, to determine the effect of buoyancy induced motion. The allowable heat generation rate is 23% higher for helium than for nitrogen due to helium’s higher thermal conductivity. Increasing the cladding emissivity by 10% increases the allowed fuel heating rate by 4% for nitrogen, but only 2% for helium. The higher value for nitrogen is caused by the larger fraction of heat transported by radiation when it is the backfill gas compared to helium. The stagnant-gas calculations give only slightly higher cladding temperatures than the gas-motion simulations. This is because buoyancy induced gas motion does not greatly enhance heat transfer compared to conduction and radiation for this configuration. The cask thermal capacity from the stagnant-CFD calculation is therefore essentially the same as that from the CFD simulation. This suggests that future cask thermal calculations may not need to include gas motion. These results must be experimentally benchmarked before the CFD methods can be used with confidence for designing transport casks. Basket surface temperatures calculated in this work can be used as the basis for boundary condition in those experiments.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Universal Norms on Abelian Varieties over Global Function Fields

Abstract We examine the Mazur–Tate canonical height pairing defined between an abelian variety over a global field and its dual. We show in the case of global function fields that certain of these pairings are annihilated by universal norms coming from Carlitz cyclotomic extensions. Furthermore, for elliptic curves we find conditions for the triviality of these universal norms.
Velocity Profiles in a Warm-Core Ring

Abstract A transect of velocity profiles across Gulf Stream warm-core ring 82-B shows that the thermostad contained virtually no vertical shear. Enhanced downward-propagating near-inertial wave shear was present at the base of the core, consistent with these waves encountering critical layers as they try to leave the region of negative vorticity. Wave amplification and a shrinking vertical wavelength at the critical layer should lead to instability and shear production of turbulence. High dissipation rates have been observed at the base of ring 81-D's core.
Free energy spectra for inelastic deformation of five metallic glass alloys

Abstract The activation free energy spectra for isoconfigurational flow of Al20Cu25Zr55,Cu40Zr60, Cu56Zr44, Cu60Zr40, and Pd80Si20 have been measured in experiments of recovery creep at stepwise increasing temperatures performed on structurally stabilized specimens that have been previously mechanically polarized by creep over a long period of time at Tg − 150 K, followed by freezing under stress to 220 K and removal of stress. The spectra are continuous functions rising sharply from very low values at about 20 K cal mol−1 to peak cut-off values at the activation energy for steady state isostructural viscous flow at about 45–55 K cal mol−1. The shapes of these spectra resemble mirror images of the cavity size distributions computed for hard sphere models of glasses and the known free area distributions in glassy rafts of soap bubbles, and suggest the existence of a direct mapping between them. A small low temperature peak at about 22–25 K cal mol−1 has been observed in Cu56Zr44 and Cu60Zr40.
Aging Effects on the Properties of Imidazolium-, Quaternary Ammonium-, Pyridinium-, and Pyrrolidinium-Based Ionic Liquids Used in Fuel and Energy Production

Ionic liquids (ILs) are often cited for their excellent thermal stability, a key property for their use as solvents and in the chemical processing of biofuels. However, there has been little supporting data on the long-term aging effect of the temperature on these materials. Imizadolium-, quaternary ammonium-, pyridinium-, and pyrrolidnium-based ILs with the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide anions were aged for 2520 h (15 weeks) at 200 °C in air to determine the effects of an oxidizing environment on their chemical structure and thermal stability over time. It was found that the minor changes in the cation chemistry could greatly affect the properties of the ILs over time.
A longitudinal study on dual-tasking effects on gait: cognitive change predicts gait variance in the elderly.

Neuropsychological abilities have found to explain a large proportion of variance in objective measures of walking gait that predict both dementia and falling within the elderly. However, to this date there has been little research on the interplay between changes in these neuropsychological processes and walking gait overtime. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate intra-individual changes in neurocognitive test performance and gait step time at two-time points across a one-year span. Neuropsychological test scores from 440 elderly individuals deemed cognitively normal at Year One were analyzed via repeated measures t-tests to assess for decline in cognitive performance at Year Two. 34 of these 440 individuals neuropsychological test performance significantly declined at Year Two; whereas the “non-decliners” displayed improved memory, working memory, attention/processing speed test performance. Neuropsychological test scores were also submitted to factor analysis at both time points for data reduction purposes and to assess the factor stability overtime. Results at Year One yielded a three-factor solution: Language/Memory, Executive Attention/Processing Speed, and Working Memory. Year Two's test scores also generated a three-factor solution (Working Memory, Language/Executive Attention/Processing Speed, and Memory). Notably, language measures loaded on Executive Attention/Processing Speed rather than on the Memory factor at Year Two. Hierarchal multiple regression revealed that both Executive Attention/Processing Speed and sex significantly predicted variance in dual task step time at both time points. Remarkably, in the “decliners”, the magnitude of the contribution of the neuropsychological characteristics to gait variance significantly increased at Year Two. In summary, this study provides longitudinal evidence of the dynamic relationship between intra-individual cognitive change and its influence on dual task gait step time. These results also indicate that the failure to show improved test performance (particularly, on memory tests) with repeated administrations might prove to be useful of indicator of early cognitive decline.
Sequences of genes encoding naphthalene dioxygenase in Pseudomonas putida strains G7 and NCIB 9816-4

The multicomponent enzyme, naphthalene dioxygenase, initiates the metabolism of naphthalene by Pseudomonas putida strains G7 (PpG7) and NCIB 9816-4 (Pp9816-4). The genes involved (nahAaAbAcAd) are encoded by the NAH7 and pDTG1 plasmids, respectively, and form part of the nah operon. The locations of the structural genes were determined on previously cloned fragments of DNA. The nucleotide (nt) sequences were determined for nahAaAb from Pp9816-4 and for nahAaAbAcAd from PpG7. The appropriate open reading frames were identified using N-terminal amino acid sequences determined from the purified proteins. The two nt sequences showed 93% homology, with the least homology seen upstream from the promoter region.
Entrepreneurs, Organizational Strength, and the Pursuit of Public Goods by Voluntary Organizations

Robert Salisbury has assumed that interest group entrepreneurs are profit-driven and make attempts to procure collective goods to increase their membership and revenue. This article's research question takes the reverse of Salisbury's claim: can interest group entrepreneurs increase the likelihood of procuring collective goods by increasing their organizational strength? Results of a study of statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) organizations show that larger memberships are positively and significantly associated with success in procuring collective goals while increased budgets are significantly but negatively associated. The implications are twofold. First, the assumption that entrepreneurs pursue collective goods for reasons of self-interest may be more complicated than Salisbury suggests. The relationship could be the opposite—interest group entrepreneurs build their membership to secure collective goals. Second, because of the finding that more members means more legislative success, but greater budgets means less legislative success, interest group entrepreneurs interested in procuring collective goals should consider maximizing their membership rather than their budgets.
Dual-wavelength photometry with light emitting diodes. Compensation of refractive index and turbidity effects in flow-injection analysis

Abstract An approach to compensate for both refractive index and turbidity effects is described. A light emitting diode-based dual-wavelength, double-beam (fully referenced), dual-flow-cell photometric detection system is used. The only requirement is that the analyte yields a product (that can be detected by absorbance measurement) as a result of a reaction which does not affect the optical properties of the suspended matter. The principle is mathematically established and experimentally demonstrated by determining micromolar concentrations of bromthymol blue in samples containing up to 1.5% whole milk and 60% ethanol with an absolute error of
Spontaneous cytokine gene expression in normal guinea pig blood and tissues

The authors report, for the first time, the cloning, characterization and sequencing of guinea pig cDNAs for interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10, IL-12p40, and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). Partial cDNAs for two additional cytokines, IL-1α and TNF-α, whose sequences are present in the GenEMBL database, were also cloned. The IL-10 clone is a full-length cDNA, while the remaining clones are partial cDNAs. The guinea pig cDNA sequences have high identity with their mouse and human counterparts. Northern blot analysis revealed that the guinea pig transcripts range in size from 1.0 kb to 2.2 kb. The constitutive expression of cytokines in two strains of guinea pig (C4D, Albany) that differ in susceptibility to infection with Treponema pallidum was examined. Since susceptibility to T. pallidum is also age dependent, both neonates and adults were examined. Spontaneous cytokine expression was examined in peripheral blood, skin, spleen, lymph node, brain, and peritoneal cells. In skin, lymph node, and peripheral blood, very low levels of IL-1α, IL-12p40, tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and TGF-β and moderate levels of IL-2 and IL-10 were observed. Cytokine gene expression was not observed in spleen and brain. Peritoneal cells expressed only TGF-β. Age- and strain-associated differences were not observed, except for IL-12p40, which was elevated in guinea pigs resistant to T. pallidum infection (C4D neonates, Albany adults).
Egg extrusion as a kepone-clearance route in the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus

The concentration of Kepone in extruded egg masses and the backfin muscles of the blue crab,Callinectes sapidus, collected from seven stations in the lower James River and lower Chesapeake Bay was determined. Crabs from the lower James River were generally more contaminated than those from the lower Chesapeake Bay. Extruded eggs contain approximately three times more Kepone than backfin muscle. Egg extrusion is concluded to be a major route of Kepone clearance from female blue crabs.
A new detector for low-Pt physics

pp (or pp−) scattering at microradiant angles provides an absolute luminosity calibration as well as a measurement of the total pp (or pp−) cross section, the slope of the elastic scattering cross section with t (the square of the momentum transfer) and the ratio of real to imaginary scattering amplitudes. A detector is proposed which, given favourable beam design, can measure, at LHC/SSC energies, elastic scattering and small angle processes which are usually missed by a typical 4 π detector. The proposed detector is made out of a scintillating fiber bundle. Light from these fibers is transported via clear optical fibers and read out with 2 Image Intensifiers and a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD). The active part of the detector is placed directly in the vacuum of the beam pipe and is moved by a high precision mechanism. Two pairs of such detectors (symmetric in the horizontal or vertical plane) would be located along the beam pipe at symmetric positions with respect to the interaction point.
Effects of dissolved oxygen on glycolytic enzyme specific activities in liver and skeletal muscle of Fundulus heteroclitus

Many aquatic habitats are characterized by variable concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO), and fish that occur in these habitats respond to changes in DO through behavioral, physiological, and biochemical adjustments. The goal of the present study was to measure the effects of an ecologically relevant range of DO treatments, from severe hypoxia to moderate hyperoxia, on the maximal activities of nine glycolytic enzymes during chronic exposure of the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus. Over the 28 days of exposure period, specific activity was significantly affected by DO for three enzymes in liver and one enzyme in white skeletal muscle, although at specific times of exposure three other muscle enzymes were affected by DO. In general, exposure of fish to severe hypoxia led to higher specific activities in liver, but lower specific activities in skeletal muscle. Exposure to hyperoxia did not elicit changes in enzyme specific activities in either tissue. Surprisingly, exposure duration had strong effects on glycolytic enzyme specific activities in both liver and white skeletal muscle, with specific activities increasing with exposure duration regardless of DO treatment. The results demonstrate that the effects of DO on enzyme specific activities were restricted to a subset of the glycolytic enzymes in liver and white skeletal muscle of F. heteroclitus and that the directions of the changes were opposite in these two tissues. These observations suggest that the mechanisms resulting in these alterations are enzyme- and tissue specific, rather than applying uniformly to all enzymes within the glycolytic pathway.
Low-Dose Oral Granisetron (1 mg) plus Intravenous Dexamethasone: Efficacy in Gynecologic Cancer Patients Receiving Carboplatin-Based Chemotherapy

Abstract Objective. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a low-dose oral granisetron plus intravenous dexamethasone prophylactic antiemetic regimen in patients receiving carboplatin-based chemotherapy. Patients and methods. Patients with gynecologic malignancies being treated with either single-agent carboplatin or a carboplatin–paclitaxel regimen received a single 1-mg oral dose of granisetron 30 min prior to chemotherapy plus intravenous dexamethasone (20 mg) as prophylaxis for emesis. Patients either had not previously been treated with chemotherapy or had not received any cytotoxic drugs for ≥4 months prior to study entry. Effectiveness was evaluated based on the degree of control of nausea and vomiting during the 24 h following treatment. Results. Of the 32 patients participating in this phase 2 trial, only 2 (6%) experienced any degree of nausea or vomiting within the first 24 h of chemotherapy administration. Both of these individuals had carcinomatosis and were experiencing emesis prior to chemotherapy. One patient developed mild delayed nausea >24 h after treatment. No major or minor toxic effects of the antiemetic regimen observed. Conculsion. A 1-mg dose of oral granisetron plus intravenous dexamethasone (20 mg) is a safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive prophylactic antiemetic regimen for patients receiving single-agent carboplatin or combination carboplatin–paclitaxel chemotherapy.
The plastochrone interval method for the study of the productivity of seagrasses; possibilities and limitations

Abstract The plastochrone interval (PI) technique (leaf replacement) for the study of the productivity in seagrasses was statistically analysed. The measurements were made in a monospecific stand of Thalassia hemprichii (Ehrenb.) Aschers. in Papua New Guinea. The minimum value of the standard error of the mean that could be reached consistently was between 6 and 8% of the mean PI. The minimal time interval, between marking and counting, necessary to reach this lower limit was 10 days. The parameters of the leaf-length distribution of the youngest leaves of this seagrass (e.g., mean, media, skewness) could be correlated with the measured plastochrone interval throughout all studied intervals. A certain degree of synchronization of the output of new leaves by the spring tides of the new moon is indicated.
Effect of Ertapenem Protein Binding on Killing of Bacteria

The effect of protein binding on the antimicrobial activity of ertapenem was evaluated using the bacterial kill rate and concentration-response studies. Various proportions of human serum were utilized to determine the total and free-drug concentrations using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography assay. The MICs and kill curves were determined for test isolates of Enterobacter cloacae and Staphylococcus aureus at various percentages of human serum. The killing of bacteria was analyzed in relation to the free and total concentrations of ertapenem at various proportions of human serum. It was determined that unbound ertapenem was responsible for the antimicrobial activity against the test isolates.
SXLS phase II vacuum system

The Phase II design of the Superconducting X-ray Lithography Source (SXLS) consists of replacing the two room-temperature 180 degrees C dipole magnets of Phase I with superconducting magnets. However, even though superconducting magnets are used, the vacuum chambers within them will operate at room temperature. The chambers are constructed as weldments and are made of INCONEL-625. They are bakeable to 150 degrees C in situ and incorporate nine photon beam ports. Each has built-in distributed sputter-ion pumps, (DIP), nonevaporable getter pumps, beam position monitors, and ion clearing electrodes. R&D is underway to optimize the DIP, which must operate at 3.86 T, and to develop a low photo yield coating or treatment for the internal surface of the chambers. >
Separate Domains of the Human Fas Ligand Dictate Self-association and Receptor Binding

The Fas receptor rapidly induces apoptosis when activated by ligand binding or by cross-linking with anti-Fas antibody. The Fas ligand (FasL), a member of the tumor necrosis factor family of ligands, is a 40-kilodalton type II transmembrane protein which is cleaved to produce soluble ligand. Although the Fas-FasL interaction plays a critical role in peripheral T cell homeostasis and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated target cell killing, the requirements for human FasL receptor binding and oligomerization have not been defined. Here we report two distinct domains of the ligand which are responsible for self-association and binding to the Fas receptor. A COOH-terminal sequence of the FasL was found to be required for binding and biological activity, as verified by deletion mutagenesis, use of the NOK-1 blocking antibody and the humanized gld FasL mutation. N-Linked glycosylation of the FasL was not required for biological activity. However, the FasL expression level was dependent upon the three N-linked glycosylation sites. Moreover, the ability of the FasL to self-associate was not dependent upon transmembrane or cytoplasmic sequences, but was localized to a 47-amino acid region in its extracellular domain. These results indicate that the FasL-Fas receptor complex depends upon independent motifs located within the extracellular domain of the FasL.
A shallow parser based on closed-class words to capture relations in biomedical text

Natural language processing for biomedical text currently focuses mostly on entity and relation extraction. These entities and relations are usually pre-specified entities, e.g., proteins, and pre-specified relations, e.g., inhibit relations. A shallow parser that captures the relations between noun phrases automatically from free text has been developed and evaluated. It uses heuristics and a noun phraser to capture entities of interest in the text. Cascaded finite state automata structure the relations between individual entities. The automata are based on closed-class English words and model generic relations not limited to specific words. The parser also recognizes coordinating conjunctions and captures negation in text, a feature usually ignored by others. Three cancer researchers evaluated 330 relations extracted from 26 abstracts of interest to them. There were 296 relations correctly extracted from the abstracts resulting in 90% precision of the relations and an average of 11 correct relations per abstract.
Experiments in text-based mining and analysis of biological information from MEDLINE on functionally-related genes

Technological advancements such as microarrays have enabled biologists to generate unprecedented quantities of data about biological entities. This has lead to the development of a large number of algorithms for processing and analysis of biological data. Challenges however remain; for instance, genes that function cooperatively need not have similar expression patterns. This suggests the use of non-numerical sources of information to explore the underlying biology. We experimentally study various factors that are inherent in algorithmic methodologies for text analysis. The proposed method accesses MEDLINE dynamically to account for the latest research, with the available literature corresponding to the genes analyzed to develop lists of keywords. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques such as stop-word filtering and stemming are then applied to the lists, and keyword frequencies weighted using the term frequency-inverse document frequency (TFIDF) scheme. The results are input to a hierarchical clustering algorithm to derive groupings of genes by functionality. The process is repeated using z-score weighting and latent semantic analysis (LSA) to determine which yields the most accurate clustering. The study presented examines the importance of these steps and their influence on the overall efficacy of the system. We believe that the analysis conducted as part of this research is invaluable to development and fine-timing of text mining methodologies for biological literature.
Current status of experimental therapeutics for head and neck cancer

As with many cancers, early detection of head and neck cancer increases a patient's survival rate. If diagnosed early, its five-year survival nears 90% with standard therapy alone. Unfortunately, the average survival rate for head and neck cancer is low due to the difficulty in early detection and achieving a sustainable response. Conventional treatments are not adequate for the majority of advanced or recurrent head and neck cancer patients because of the remarkable resistance of tumors to chemotherapy and radiation, and the situation is especially devastating for the first time treatment failure. The major limitations of these treatments are the lack of specificity for the tumor cell and unacceptable toxicity to the patient. As a result, current research in therapeutics for advanced, chemotherapy-resistant or recurrent head and neck cancer patients has focused on new treatment modalities that exploit biological differences between tumor and normal cells. These therapies include monoclonal antibodies, molecular inhibitors, gene therapy and photodynamic therapy. This article reviews the current preclinical and clinical evidence of these experimental therapeutics as they relate to head and neck cancer.
Tissue Engineered Bone Using Polycaprolactone Scaffolds Made by Selective Laser Sintering

Polycaprolactone is a bioresorbable polymer that has potential for tissue engineering of bone and cartilage. In this work, we report on the computational design and freeform fabrication of porous polycaprolactone scaffolds using selective laser sintering, a rapid prototyping technique. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the fabricated scaffolds were assessed and compared to designed porous architectures and computationally predicted properties. Compressive modulus and yield strength were within the lower range of reported properties for human trabecular bone. Finite element analysis showed that mechanical properties of scaffold designs and of fabricated scaffolds can be computationally predicted. Scaffolds were seeded with BMP-7 transduced fibroblasts and implanted subcutaneously in immunocompromised mice. Histological evaluation and micro-computed tomography (µCT) analysis confirmed that bone was generated in vivo. Finally, we have demonstrated the clinical application of this technology by producing a prototype mandibular condyle scaffold based on an actual pig condyle.
Emerging Technologies, ISD, and Learning Environments: Critical Perspectives

During the past three decades, interest in computer-based instruction (CBI) has grown dramatically. Enhanced power, increased availability of peripheral devices, and developments in hypermedia have created extraordinary capabilities. At the same time, there have been significant, though largely unexploited, advances in research, theory, and practice. Collectively, these advances offer the potential to redefine learner-computer interaction. A rationale for, and description of, computer-mediated learning environments—multifaceted, integrated systems that promote learning through student-centered activities—are presented in this article.
Using Improved Shannon-Fano-Elias Codes for Data Encryption

We consider using Shannon-Fano-Elias codes for data encryption. In many applications both compression and security are required. If the cryptanalyst knows the code construction rule and the probability mass function of the source, then Huffman code provides no ambiguity, but Shannon-Fano-Elias coding is a good candidate since the ordering of symbols can be arbitrary in the encoding process, which produces super-exponential complexity for deciphering. Unfortunately, the conventional Shannon-Fano-Elias code has relatively large code length that makes it inefficient. In this paper, we propose two simple algorithms to reduce the expected length of Shannon-Fano-Elias codes. Experimental results on English text show that the proposed methods reduce the length by as much as 23.4%.
Radial Heat Transfer Dynamics During Cryogen Spray Cooling

Cryogen spray cooling (CSC) is a heat extraction process thatprotects the epidermallayer duringskin laser surgeryof port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks and other specific dermatoses. The objective of the present work is to investigate temporal and radial variations on the heat transferred at the surface of a skin model during CSC. A fast-response thermal sensor is used to measure temperature across the radius of the sprayed surface of a skin model. These interior measurements along with an inverse heat conduction algorithm are used to determine the heat transferred at the surface. Results show that radial and temporal variations of the boundary conditions have a strong influence on the homogeneity of heat extraction from skin. However, there are subregions of uniform cooling. It is also observed that the surface heat flux undergoes a marked dynamic variation, with a maximum heat flux occurring at the center of the sprayed surface early in the spurt followed by a quick decrease. The study shows that external conditions must be taken into account and ideally controlled to guarantee uniform protection during CSC.
Optimizing Many-field Packet Classification on FPGA, Multi-core General Purpose Processor, and GPU

Due to the rapid growth of Internet, there is an increasing need for efficiently classifying packets with many header fields in large rule sets. For example, in Software Defined Networking (SDN), the OpenFlow table lookup can require 15 packet header fields to be examined. In this paper, we present several decomposition-based packet classification implementations with efficient optimization techniques. In the searching phase, packet headers are split or combined. In the merging phase, the partial searching results from all the fields are merged to generate the final result. We prototype our implementations on state-of-the-art Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), multi-core General Purpose Processor (GPP), and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). On FPGA, we propose two optimization techniques to divide generic ranges; modular processing elements are constructed and concatenated into a systolic array. On multi-core GPP, we parallelize both the searching and merging phases using parallel program threads. On the GPU-accelerated platform, we minimize branch divergence and reduce the data communication overhead. Experimental results show that 500 Million Packets Per Second (MPPS) throughput and 3 us latency can be achieved for 1.5 K rule sets on FPGA. We achieve 14.7 MPPS throughput and 30.5 MPPS throughput for 32 K rule sets on multi-core GPP and GPU-accelerated platforms, respectively. As a heterogeneous solution, our GPU-accelerated packet classifier shows 2X speedup compared to the implementation using multi-core GPP only. Compared with prior works, our designs can match long packet headers against very complex rule sets.
Detection of the anaerobic dechlorinating microorganism Desulfomonile tiedjei in environmental matrices by its signature lipopolysacchride branched-long-chain hydroxy fatty acids

Desulfomonile tiedjei is a Gram-negative sulfate-reducing bacterium capable of catalyzing aryl reductive dehalogenation reactions. Since many toxic and persistent contaminants in the subsurface are halogenated aromatic compounds, the detection and enumeration of dehalogenating microorganisms in the environment may be a useful tool for planning and evaluating bioremediation efforts. In this study, we show that D. tiedjei contains unique lipopolysaccharide branched 3-hydroxy fatty acids, unknown as yet in other bacteria, and that it is possible to detect the bacterium in inoculated aquifer sediments based on these signature lipid biomarkers. The detection of D. tiedjei and other dehalogenating microorganisms possessing similar cellular properties in environmental matrices may be possible by this technique. Additionally, the effect of such inoculation on dehalogenation activity is examined.