cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the Nature of Resistive Transition in Disordered Superconducting Nanowires

Hot-electron single-photon counters based on long superconducting nanowires are starting to become popular in optical and infrared technologies due to their ultimately high sensitivity and very high response speed. We investigate intrinsic fluctuations in long NbN nanowires in the temperature range of 4.2 K-20 K, i.e. above and below the superconducting transition. These fluctuations are responsible for fluctuation resistivity and also determine the noise in practical devices. Measurements of the fluctuation resistivity were performed at low current densities and also in external magnetic fields up to 5 T. Above the BCS critical temperature Tco the resistivity is well described by the Aslamazov-Larkin (AL) theory for two-dimensional samples. Below Tco the measured resistivity is in excellent agreement with the Langer-Ambegaokar-McCumber-Halperin (LAMH) theory developed for one-dimensional superconductors. Despite that our nanowires of 100 nm width are two-dimensional with respect to the coherence length, our analysis shows that at relatively low current densities the one-dimensional LAMH mechanism based on thermally induced phase slip centers dominates over the two-dimensional mechanism related to unbinding of vortex-antivortex pairs below the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.
The conserved carboxy-terminal domain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae TFIID is sufficient to support normal cell growth.

Abstract We have examined the structure-function relationships of TFIID through in vivo complementation tests. A yeast strain was constructed which lacked the chromosomal copy of SPT15, the gene encoding TFIID, and was therefore dependent on a functional plasmid-borne wild-type copy of this gene for viability. By using the plasmid shuffle technique, the plasmid-borne wild-type TFIID gene was replaced with a family of plasmids containing a series of systematically mutated TFIID genes. These various forms of TFIID were expressed from three different promoter contexts of different strengths, and the ability of each mutant form of TFIID to complement our chromosomal TFIID null allele was assessed. We found that the first 61 amino acid residues of TFIID are totally dispensable for vegetative cell growth, since yeast strains containing this deleted form of TFIID grow at wild-type rates. Amino-terminally deleted TFIID was further shown to be able to function normally in vivo by virtue of its ability both to promote accurate transcription initiation from a large number of different genes and to interact efficiently with the Gal4 protein to activate transcription of GAL1 with essentially wild-type kinetics. Any deletion removing sequences from within the conserved carboxy-terminal region of S. cerevisiae TFIID was lethal. Further, the exact sequence of the conserved carboxy-terminal portion of the molecule is critical for function, since of several heterologous TFIID homologs tested, only the highly related Schizosaccharomyces pombe gene could complement our S. cerevisiae TFIID null mutant. Taken together, these data indicate that all important functional domains of TFIID appear to lie in its carboxy-terminal 179 amino acid residues. The significance of these findings regarding TFIID function are discussed.
Evidence for the decay τ+→π+ηντ

Abstract The inclusive production of η mesons in tau lepton decay has been studied using the High Resolution Spectrometer at the PEP e + e - facility. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 300 pb −1 and the storage ring was operated at GeV. The η production appeaars to be only compatible with the decay τ + →π + η ν , which violates isospin and G -parity conservation. The branching ratio of 5.1±1.5% explains much of the current discrepancy between the one-prong topological branching ratio and the sum of the individual one-prong modes.
Perceptually motivated temporal modeling of footsteps in a cross-environmental detection task

Real world sounds are ubiquitous and form an important part of the edifice of our cognitive abilities. Their perception combines signatures from spectral and temporal domains, among others, yet traditionally their analysis is focused on the frame based spectral properties. We consider the problem of sound analysis from perceptual perspective and investigate the temporal properties of a “footsteps” sound, which is a particularly challenging from the time-frequency analysis viewpoint. We identify the irregular repetition of the self similarity and the sense of duration as significant to its perceptual quality and extract features using the Teager-Kaiser energy operator. We build an acoustic event detection system for “footsteps” which shows promising results for detection in cross-environmental conditions when compared with conventional approach.
Reverberations on the Watery Element: A Significant, Tsunamigenic Historical Earthquake Offshore the Carolina Coast

ABSTRACT We investigate an early nineteenth‐century earthquake that has been previously cataloged but not previously investigated in detail or recognized as a significant event. The earthquake struck at approximately 4:30 a.m. LT on 8 January 1817 and was widely felt throughout the southeastern and mid‐Atlantic United States. Around 11:00 a.m. the same day, an eyewitness described a 12‐inch tide that rose abruptly and agitated boats on the Delaware River near Philadelphia. We show that the timing of this tide is consistent with the predicted travel time for a tsunami generated by an offshore earthquake 6–7 hours earlier. By combining constraints provided by the shaking intensity distribution and the tsunami observation, we conclude that the 1817 earthquake had a magnitude of low‐ to mid‐ M 7 and a location 800–1000 km offshore of South Carolina. Our results suggest that poorly understood offshore source zones might represent a previously unrecognized hazard to the southern and mid‐Atlantic coast. Both observational and modeling results indicate that potential tsunami hazard within Delaware Bay merits consideration: the simple geometry of the bay appears to catch and focus tsunami waves. Our preferred location for the 1817 earthquake is along a diffuse northeast‐trending zone defined by instrumentally recorded and historical earthquakes. The seismotectonic framework for this region remains enigmatic.
Efficient SDS Simulations on Multi-GPU Nodes of XSEDE High-End Clusters

Efficiently studying Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) molecules' formations in the presence of different molar concentrations on high-end GPU clusters whose nodes share accelerators exposes us to several challenges, including the need to dynamically adapt the job lengths. Neither virtualization nor lightweight OS solutions can easily support generality, portability, and maintainability in concert. Our solution complements rather than rewrites existing workflow and resource managers with a companion module that complements functions of the workflow manager and a wrapper module that extends functions of the resource managers. Results on the Keene land cluster show how, by using our modules, accelerated SDS simulations more efficiently use the cluster's GPUs while leading to relevant scientific observations.
Growth and Quantification of MERS‐CoV Infection

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging highly pathogenic respiratory virus. Although MERS-CoV only emerged in 2012, we and others have developed assays to grow and quantify infectious MERS-CoV and RNA products of replication in vitro. MERS-CoV is able to infect a range of cell types, but replicates to high titers in Vero E6 cells. Protocols for the propagation and quantification of MERS-CoV are presented.
Vagal Flexibility: A Physiological Predictor of Social Sensitivity

This research explores vagal flexibility--dynamic modulation of cardiac vagal control--as an individual-level physiological index of social sensitivity. In 4 studies, we test the hypothesis that individuals with greater cardiac vagal flexibility, operationalized as higher cardiac vagal tone at rest and greater cardiac vagal withdrawal (indexed by a decrease in respiratory sinus arrhythmia) during cognitive or attentional demand, perceive social-emotional information more accurately and show greater sensitivity to their social context. Study 1 sets the foundation for this investigation by establishing that vagal flexibility can be elicited consistently in the laboratory and reliably over time. Study 2 demonstrates that vagal flexibility has different associations with psychological characteristics than does vagal tone, and that these characteristics are primarily social in nature. Study 3 links individual differences in vagal flexibility with accurate detection of social and emotional cues depicted in still facial images. Study 4 demonstrates that individuals with greater vagal flexibility respond to dynamic social feedback in a more context-sensitive manner than do individuals with less vagal flexibility. Specifically, compared with their less flexible counterparts, individuals with greater vagal flexibility, when assigned to receive negative social feedback, report more shame, show more pronounced blood pressure responses, and display less sociable behavior, but when receiving positive social feedback display more sociable behavior. Taken together, these findings suggest that vagal flexibility is a useful individual difference physiological predictor of social sensitivity, which may have implications for clinical, developmental, and health psychologists.
VEGF165 Expressed by a Replication-Deficient Recombinant Adenovirus Vector Induces Angiogenesis In Vivo

To evaluate the concept that localized delivery of angiogenic factors via virus-mediated gene transfer may be useful in the treatment of ischemic disorders, the replication-deficient adenovirus (Ad) vector AdCMV.VEGF165 (where CMV is cytomegalovirus and VEGF is vascular endothelial growth factor) containing the cDNA for human VEGF165, a secreted endothelial cell-specific angiogenic growth factor, was constructed. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and rat aorta smooth muscle cells (RASMCs) infected with AdCMV.VEGF165 (5 and 20 plaque-forming units [pfu] per cell) demonstrated VEGF mRNA expression and protein secretion into the supernatant. Furthermore, the conditioned medium from these cells enhanced vascular permeability in vivo. In contrast, neither VEGF mRNA nor secreted protein was found in uninfected HUVECs or RASMCs or in cells infected with the control vector AdCMV.beta gal (where beta gal is beta-galactosidase). Assessment of starved HUVECs at 14 days demonstrated sixfold more cells for AdCMV.VEGF165-infected HUVECs (20 pfu per cell) than for either infected or uninfected control cells. RASMC proliferation was unaffected by infection with AdCMV.VEGF165. When plated in 2% serum on dishes precoated with reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel), HUVECs infected with AdCMV.VEGF165 (20 pfu per cell) differentiated into capillary-like structures. Under similar conditions, both uninfected HUVECs and HUVECs infected with AdCMV.beta gal did not differentiate. To evaluate the ability of AdCMV.VEGF165 to function in vivo, either AdCMV. VEGF165 or AdCMV.beta gal (2 x 10(10) pfu) was resuspended in 0.5 mL Matrigel and injected subcutaneously into mice. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated VEGF in the tissues surrounding the Matrigel plugs containing AdCMV.VEGF165 up to 3 weeks after injection, whereas no VEGF was found in the control plugs with AdCMV.beta gal. Two weeks after injection, there was histological evidence of neovascularization in the tissues surrounding the Matrigel containing AdCMV.VEGF165, whereas no significant angiogenesis was observed in response to AdCMV.beta gal. Furthermore, the Matrigel plugs with AdCMV.VEGF165 demonstrated hemoglobin content fourfold higher than the plugs with AdCMV.beta gal. Together, these in vitro and in vivo studies are consistent with the concept that Ad vectors may provide a useful strategy for efficient local delivery of VEGF165 in the treatment of ischemic diseases.
Antibiotic Treatment of Chlamydia pneumoniae for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events

Since the publication of two preliminary antibiotic treatment trials for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in persons with coronary artery disease (CAD),1 2 there has been increased interest in the possibility that the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis is causal and that antibiotic treatment can have a favorable effect on the complications and outcome of the disease. The impetus for these trials was the repeated demonstration by many investigators of an association of C pneumoniae and atherosclerosis by both seroepidemiology and demonstration of the organism in atherosclerotic lesions. A number of antibiotic treatment trials to evaluate reduction in cardiac events are being planned or initiated in many different countries. Adequately sized and properly designed trials are both desirable and justified. Two of the difficult questions in planning such trials are the inclusion criteria for subjects and the appropriate length of treatment. In choosing the subjects, one consideration is the expected rate of end-point events: cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), and defined episodes of unstable angina. A trial with a higher event rate will require fewer subjects and a shorter observation period. The results will be applicable only to the higher-risk patient. This is exemplified by the trial in Buenos Aires2 in which hospitalized patients with unstable angina and non–Q-wave MI were studied. Although this is an important study that could aid many patients, evaluation of antibiotic treatment of patients with stable CAD will have even wider applicability. A surprising finding in the …
Day Surgery for Major Paediatric Foot and Ankle Procedures

Purpose. To review outcomes in 19 children who underwent major foot and ankle procedures as day cases. Methods. A consecutive series of 24 major foot and ankle procedures in 19 children performed as day cases by a single surgeon were reviewed in terms of the immediate postoperative pain relief, severe swelling (necessitating cast removal), and complications. Parental satisfaction was assessed using a telephone survey with respect to pain relief of the patients, and their views on management as day cases. Results. The 24 procedures comprised tendon transfers (n=18), posterior releases (n=3), and excisions of a tarsal coalition (n=3). During the post-discharge 24 hours, no patient developed complications that entailed hospital services. All parents of the patients were satisfied with the overall service provided. The analgesia prescribed at discharge was sufficient to control pain in 20 out of the 22 procedures. In the remaining 2 procedures (under caudal and general anaesthesia), the parents considered the analgesia insufficient, but did not contact the helpline for advice. One child bled through the bandages to a minor extent. Conclusion. Some major paediatric foot and ankle procedures can be safely performed as day cases and achieved adequate analgesia with appropriate advice. More such procedures can be added to the day case list, even on an afternoon list.
Persistence of Streptococcus mutans in stationary-phase batch cultures and biofilms.

Streptococcus mutans is a member of oral plaque biofilms and is considered the major etiological agent of dental caries. We have characterized the survival of S. mutans strain UA159 in both batch cultures and biofilms. Bacteria grown in batch cultures in a chemically defined medium, FMC, containing an excess of glucose or sucrose caused the pH to decrease to 4.0 at the entry into stationary phase, and they survived for about 3 days. Survival was extended up to 11 days when the medium contained a limiting concentration of glucose or sucrose that was depleted by the time the bacteria reached stationary phase. Sugar-limited cultures maintained a pH of 7.0 throughout stationary phase. Their survival was shortened to 3 days by the addition of exogenous lactic acid at the entry into stationary phase. Sugar starvation did not lead to comparable survival in biofilms. Although the pH remained at 7.0, bacteria could no longer be cultured from biofilms 4 days after the imposition of glucose or sucrose starvation; BacLight staining results did not agree with survival results based on culturability. In both batch cultures and biofilms, survival could be extended by the addition of 0.5% mucin to the medium. Batch survival increased to an average of 26 (±8) days, and an average of 2.7 × 105 CFU per chamber were still present in biofilms that were starved of sucrose for 12 days.
Reorganizing web sites based on user access patterns

In this paper, an approach for reorganizing Web sites based on user access patterns is proposed. Our goal is to build adaptive Web sites by evolving site structure to facilitate user access. The approach consists of three steps: preprocessing, page classification, and site reorganization. In preprocessing, pages on a Web site are processed to create an internal representation of the site. Page access information of its users is extracted from the Web server log. In page classification, the Web pages on the site are classified into two categories, index pages and content pages, based on the page access information. After the pages are classified, in site reorganization, the Web site is examined to find better ways to organize and arrange the pages on the site. An algorithm for reorganizing Web sites has been developed. Our experiments on a large real data set show that the approach is efficient and practical for adaptive Web sites. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Study of Aortic Rupture and Performance as Influenced by Selection for Hypertension and Hypotension in the Turkey

Abstract INTRODUCTION ONE supposition is that aortic rupture results from a combination of high blood pressure and a weakened aorta. The arterial blood pressure of the turkey is highest of any vertebrate and has a characteristic increase during the growing period (6 to 20 weeks of age) (Ringer, 1959; Krista et al., 1965). The presence of atheromatous plaques is a common occurrence in the posterior aorta of the turkey and may provide a weakening effect. Carnaghan (1955) and Gibson and de Gruchy (1955) have observed plaques at the site of rupture and Ball (1964) has reported observing elastic tissue obliteration and fibrosis in the turkey aorta as early as three weeks of age. Diethystilbestrol increased the incidence of aortic rupture and concomitantly reduced blood pressure (Krista et al., 1965; and Simpson et al., 1964). The administration of testosterone reduced the incidence of aortic rupture with no apparent effect on blood pressure (Krista. . .
Use and acquisition of semantic language model

Semantic language model is a technique that utilizes the semantic structure of an utterance to better rank the likelihood of words composing the sentence. When used in a conversational system, one can dynamically integrate the dialog state and domain semantics into the semantic language model to better guide the speech recognizer executing the decoding process. We describe one such application that employs semantic language model to cope with spontaneous speech in a robust manner. The semantic language model, though can be manually crafted without data, can benefit significantly from data driven machine learning techniques. An example based approach is also described here to demonstrate a viable approach.
WemIQ: an accurate and robust isoform quantification method for RNA-seq data.

Motivation: The deconvolution of isoform expression from RNA-seq remains challenging because of non-uniform read sampling and subtle differences among isoforms. Results: We present a weighted-log-likelihood expectation maximization method on isoform quantification (WemIQ). WemIQ integrates an effective bias removal with a weighted expectation maximization (EM) algorithm to distribute reads among isoforms efficiently. The weight represents the oversampling or undersampling of sequence reads and is estimated through a generalized Poisson model without any presumption on the bias sources and formats. WemIQ significantly improves the quantification of isoform and gene expression as well as the derived exon inclusion rates. It provides robust expression estimates across different laboratories and protocols, which is valuable for the integrative analysis of RNA-seq. For the recent single-cell RNA-seq data, WemIQ also provides the opportunity to distinguish bias heterogeneity from true biological heterogeneity and uncovers smaller cell-to-cell expression variability. Availability and implementation: WemIQ can be downloaded from http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~liangche/software.html Contact: ude.csu@nehc.gnail Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
UGT1A1 is a major locus influencing bilirubin levels in African Americans

Total serum bilirubin is associated with several clinical outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and drug metabolism. We conducted a genome-wide association study in 619 healthy unrelated African Americans in an attempt to replicate reported findings in Europeans and Asians and to identify novel loci influencing total serum bilirubin levels. We analyzed a dense panel of over two million genotyped and imputed SNPs in additive genetic models adjusting for age, sex, and the first two significant principal components from the sample covariance matrix of genotypes. Thirty-nine SNPs spanning a 78 kb region within the UGT1A1 displayed P-values <5 × 10−8. The lowest P-value was 1.7 × 10−22 for SNP rs887829. None of SNPs in the UGT1A1 remained statistically significant in conditional association analyses that adjusted for rs887829. In addition, SNP rs10929302 located in phenobarbital response enhancer module was significantly associated with bilirubin level with a P-value of 1.37 × 10−11; this enhancer module is believed to have a critical role in phenobarbital treatment of hyperbilirubinemia. Interestingly, the lead SNP, rs887829, is in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) (r2≥0.74) with rs10929302. Taking advantage of the lower LD and shorter haplotypes in African-ancestry populations, we identified rs887829 as a more refined proxy for the causative variant influencing bilirubin levels. Also, we replicated the reported association between variants in SEMA3C and bilirubin levels. In summary, UGT1A1 is a major locus influencing bilirubin levels and the results of this study promise to contribute to understanding of the etiology and treatment of hyperbilirubinaemia in African-ancestry populations.
Applications of integrals

What do area, length, volume, work, and hydrostatic force have in common? All of these (and many other important concepts in science and engineering) can be modelled as Riemann sums (8.6) $$\sum\limits_{k = 1}^n {f\left( {{\xi _k}} \right)} {\rm{ }}\Delta {x_k},$$ and computed as integrals (8.28), $$\int\limits_{a}^{b} {f(x)dx: = \mathop{{\lim }}\limits_{{\parallel \mathcal{P}\parallel \to 0}} } \sum\limits_{{k = 1}}^{n} {f({{\xi }_{k}})\Delta {{x}_{k}}.}$$ In this chapter integrals are applied to problems of computing areas (Sects. 11.1, 11.2, and 11.6), arc lengths (Sect. 11.3), volumes (Sects. 11.4 and 11.5), moments and centroids (Sects. 11.7 and 11.8), work (Sect. 11.9), and hydrostatic force (Sect. 11.10).
The Origins and Adaptations of UHMWPE for Knee Replacements

This chapter discusses the origins and adaptations of conventional ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) for total knee replacements (TKR). UHMWPE has been used in knee replacements since the late 1960s, when Frank Gunston developed a cemented implant design. This early knee replacement resurfaced the individual condyles of the femur and the tibia. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA), which replaces the articulation between the femur and tibia, as well as between the femur and the patella, was developed in the 1970s. There are five evolutionary stages for UHMWPE in TKA including: Gunston's initial design concept for the polycentric TKR, which replaced both condyles of the femur individually; the adaptation of Gunston's design to unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA) for carefully selected groups of patients; the evolution to a bicondylar total knee, in which the tibial and femoral components were joined for ease of insertion and anatomical positioning; the resurfacing of the patello-femoral joint; and the incorporation of metal backing in the design of UHMWPE components. Contemporary knee arthroplasty includes a broad range of surgical procedures, which are tailored by the physician for the specific needs of the patient. For patients with mild arthritis, which is confined to one of the condyles of the knee, the surgeon might decide to perform a UKA. If both condyles of the knee are diseased, but the patella remains intact, the surgeon may perform a bicondylar, also known as bicompartmental, TKA.
Some Recommendations Concerning Tort Liability of Government and its Employees for Torts and Constitutional Torts

Statutory revisions of common law liability rules make liability determinations turn on construction of statutory terms. When those terms embody considerations that should be irrelevant to liability determinations, allocation of losses becomes perversely principled. The exceptions to the waiver of government immunity in the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) either do not reflect sound policy or they do not articulate a policy particularly well. The FTCA’s applicability should be defined by a court’s ability to evaluate the conduct of government employees against standards courts have derived to serve the objective of reducing the combined costs of accident prevention measures and expected accident costs. Thus, Congress should repeal the exceptions from the FTCA’s waiver of sovereign immunity.Federal courts have also developed rules imposing liability exclusively on individual federal government employees who violate the constitutional rights of individual citizens. Such placement of liability is ineffective in vindicating an individual’s constitutional rights and leads to inefficient and ineffective government. Congress should structure liability rules to serve appropriate guiding principles of government accountability by repealing 28 U.S.C. § 2679(b)(2)(A) and amending 28 U.S.C. § 2679(b) to provide that the United States shall be the exclusive defendant for alleged violations of constitutional interests whenever a government employee could have been directed, not inconsistently with regulatory policy and within the scope of his employment, to perform the act giving rise to the constitutional injury. This would better vindicate the rights recognized in Bivens and its progeny without impeding achievement of government policy.
Altered calcium homeostasis and membrane integrity in myocardial cell injury.

Coronary occlusion leads to contractile arrest of ischemic myocardium and progressive metabolic derangements and ultrastructural alterations, which if of sufficient duration and severity, lead to irreversible myocardial injury. Based on a number of experimental observations, we and others have put forward the following general hypothesis regarding the pathogenesis of irreversible myocardial injury1,2. Myocardial ischemia causes oxygen deprivation which leads to depressed energy metabolism resulting in a reduced ATP level, increased lactate, and decreased pH. The metabolic changes are followed by discrete alterations in energy dependent membrane transport systems which lead to altered ionic composition of the cell, including an increase in cytosolic calcium. These membrane alterations may include altered ionic flux across the sarcolemma as well as release of calcium from mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum. The elevated cytosolic calcium concentration has the potential to activate catabolic enzymes, including phospholipases. This may lead to acceleration phosphlipid degradation, increased membrane permeability, and further electrolyte derangements, including calcium accumulation. The excess cellular calcium load may also lead to ATP depletion by activation of calcium-dependent ATPases as well as by mitochondrial calcium accumulation which occurs at the expense of continued energy production. Thereafter, a vicious cycle of membrane injury and ATP depletion may ensue which terminates in irreversible cell injury. Observations pertinent to this hypothesis are reviewed in this chapter.
A comparison of three varieties of noncemented porous-coated hip replacement

We reviewed 134 primary noncemented porous-coated total hip replacements in 125 patients: 64 were DePuy AML prostheses, 20 were Howmedica PCA and 50 were Implant Technology LSF. The prostheses had been in situ for an average of 36 months, 40 months and 24 months respectively. The average pre-operative Harris hip scores were 38.2 for AML, 33.2 for PCA, and 41.0 for the LSF prostheses. The average postoperative scores were 80.7 for AML, 83.8 for the PCA, and 91.5 for LSF. Thigh or groin pain associated with the prosthesis was present in 30% of AML, 30% PCA and 8% of the LSF cases. The clinical and radiographic review showed better early results with the LSF prostheses than the others; this seemed to be related to the implant design, which provided improved initial stability and more physiological transfer of load.
Illustrations of Fungi—XXXI

Pileus fleshy, bell-shaped to convex with a broad umbo, gregarious, 3-6 cm. broad; surface smooth, dry, shining, appressedsilky, pale-violaceous to caesious-buff, soon becoming silverywhite with a violet tint; margin persistently decurved; context caesious or violet-tinted, of mild flavor; lamellae adnate to emarginate or slightly decurrent, rather broad, crowded, pale-violet to ashy-purplish when young, soon becoming paler and at length cinnamon-brown, eroded-crenulate on the edges; spores ellipsoid, rusty-brown, variable in size, slightly roughened, 6.5-9 X 4-5 pt; stipe tapering upward from a thickened base, spongy-stuffed, 4-8 cm. long, 5-20 mm. thick, violaceous above, usually peronate by the universal veil, which is thin, soft, white, appressed, and silkyinterwoven.
Self-Compassion and Predictors of Criminality

ABSTRACTThe main focus of this article is to conduct an exploratory investigation of self-compassion, a positive indicator of mental health, as a predictor of violence and criminality within a sample of prisoners. Correlation and regression analyses were used to explore the relationship that self-compassion has with self-control, self-esteem, and social connectedness. Associations between self-compassion and the subscales of self-control were also examined. Results from both correlational analysis and regression indicate that self-compassion is correlated with all 3 variables. Correlations revealed that self-compassion was related to all 6 subscales of self-control. Regression, however, revealed that impulsivity was the only predictor of self-compassion. Further analysis revealed problems with multicollinearity. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.
Film: The Closer We Get

Written and Directed by Karen Guthrie Director of Photography Nina Pope On UK general release, certificate PG > ‘You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family.’ As sayings go, it’s one my mother has always been fond of quoting, normally when an aunt or a cousin does something particularly sociopathic. It’s also a painful, unspoken truth that lies at the heart of artist and filmmaker Karen Guthrie’s The Closer We Get , a documentary portrait of her family that begins almost as a study of Guthrie’s mother Ann’s experience of stroke and how it affects the family before twisting …
Serial absolute lactate value < 4 versus relative 10% reduction as a predictor of mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock

Serial lactate measurements provide a valuable tool to risk-stratify patients, determine the presence of ongoing tissue hypoperfusion, and potentially evaluate efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Prior studies have shown lactate clearance to be a valuable predictor of patient outcomes, however some have defined adequate change in lactate by a decrease from baseline by 10% whereas others considered an absolute reduction to lactate < 4mmol/L. We hypothesize that a serial absolute lactate < 4mmol/L after initial resuscitation will be as effective a predictor of future mortality as a change by 10%.
Introduction of Pilot Critical Illness Insurance System for Urban and Rural Residents in Huzhou and Its Countermeasures

Critical illness insurance is an important strategy to perfect multi-level medical system,which can effectively improve the level of medical security of the critical illness.As one of the two pilot cities to carry out the serious illness insurance for urban and rural residents in Zhejiang province,the medical care insurance system of Huzhou was established in January 2013 in advance.Evidently,the program runs well and powerfully alleviate the personnel's suffering and poverty caused by illnesses.In the article we would offer a proposal of strengthening the cooperation with insurance company and improve the relative regulation design from the practical operation,the concrete result and the innovation as well as the difficulties.
Investigation on the effects of the height of close canard wing on the aerodynamic characteristics of a forward-swept configuration

Forward-swept configuration plays a more and more prominent role in the design of modern fighters because of its potential advantages.Force measurement in a low-speed wind tunnel was conducted to investigate the effects of the height of close canard wing on the longitudinal characteristics of a forward-swept configuration.The results indicate that it is more favorable for the aerodynamic characteristics to equip a higher close canard wing together with forward-swept angle of main wing increasing.
Defending the priority of 'remarkable researches': the discovery of fibrin ferment.

At times scientists manipulate their community's perception of scientific discoveries. The following case study illustrates the extent to which a community's understanding of a discovery was influenced by one of its members. In the 1870s the British physiologist Arthur Gamgee undertook a campaign to insure Andrew Buchanan of Glasgow credit for his blood clotting research, conducted from the early 1830s to the mid-1840s. Gamgee endeavored to establish Buchanan as the discoverer of fibrin ferment, a clotting factor first isolated and named in 1872 by Alexander Schmidt of Dorpat. Gamgee's campaign included the solicitation of support for Buchanan from contemporary physiologists, y discussing Buchanan's work in his publications and by demonstrating through experimentation that the material extracted from Buchanan's washed blood clots was similar, if not identical, to Schmidt's fibrin ferment. Gamgee's influence on the scientific community's perception of the discovery was effective, and Buchanan is generally considered the discoverer of the clotting factor and Schmidt its rediscoverer. However, examination of Buchanan's research in blood coagulation and the context in which he conducted the research reveals that Buchanan is neither the discoverer of fibrin ferment nor even a precursor to Schmidt.
Current concepts of silent myocardial ischemia.

Abstract The definition, pathogenesis, incidence and characteristics, detection, treatment, and prognosis of silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) are reviewed. SMI is the occurrence of myocardial ischemia for which there is objective evidence (electrophysiological, hemodynamic, and metabolic changes) but no angina. Patients with SMI are classified as type 1 (completely asymptomatic), type 2 (SMI after myocardial infarction), and type 3 (both symptomatic and silent ischemia). Episodes of SMI are true ischemic events. The absence of pain may be due to defects in pain perception, an altered physiological response to ischemia, or a lesser degree of ischemia. The incidence of SMI is 2-5% in totally asymptomatic patients, 20-30% in patients who have suffered myocardial infarction, and 44-84% in patients who have symptomatic ischemia. SMI can be detected by exercise testing, portable electrocardiographic monitoring, or imaging techniques. Patients with SMI have more frequent adverse cardiac events (except death) than patients without SMI. The frequency of adverse cardiac events is similar in patients with angina and patients with SMI. SMI has been treated with nitrates, calcium-channel blockers, and beta blockers. Beta blockers appear to be the most consistent in reducing the number and duration of episodes. Combination therapy with beta blockers and nifedipine may be more effective than therapy with either agent alone. Because of the limited number of studies and the possible contribution to the results of spontaneous variability in the occurrence of SMI, no definite conclusions can be drawn about drug efficacy. There is no evidence that the prognosis of patients with SMI is altered by drug therapy; routine treatment with anti-ischemic drugs cannot be recommended. Patients must be evaluated individually, with aggressive management being reserved for those at high risk for myocardial infarction or other serious cardiac events.
TU-H-BRB-02: The NIAID Radiation/Nuclear Medical Countermeasures Program

The US government has substantial research and development activities underway for medical countermeasures that will insure the long-term safety and survival of the country's population after unfortunate large-scale biological, chemical and radiological and nuclear events. Preparedness includes research and development of medical countermeasures to address radiation-induced cutaneous and internal injury from radiation and nuclear events as well as for minimizing radiation risks incurred during and after travel in space. Other important research and development efforts include the repurposing of countermeasures and development of radioprotectors and mitigators to improve the outcome of radiation treatment. Participating agencies include NIAID, BARDA, NCI, and NASA, with examples of research and development funding that includes the Centers for Medical Countermeasures against Radiation (CMCR) consortia (NIAID) and primary and sub-contracts with commercial entities (BARDA). Each of these programs requires substantial medical and health physics effort in collaboration with biology colleagues to provide a range of radiation sources, dosimetry instrumentation and assessment methods, and animal models for specific radiation-induced effects and injuries. Radiation countermeasure activities for government agencies will be reviewed, the importance of model development will be stressed, example radiation countermeasure research projects will be reviewed, and the roles for medical physicists will be discussed. Learning Objectives: 1.Review US national radiation countermeasure activities. 2.Review the roles for medical physicists in radiation countermeasures research and development. 3.Understand specific physics challenges in radiation research that need solutions. Research for JD Bourland supported in part by: NIH/NIAID, U19 AI67798 (subcontract 131714). NIH/NCI, R01CA155293. HHSO10020130019C, BARDA/Argentum Medical LLC.; J. Bourland, Research supported in part by: NIH/NIAID, U19 AI67798 (subcontract 131714); NIH/NCI, R01CA155293; HHSO10020130019C, BARDA/Argentum Medical LLC.; P. Prasanna, Supported by the Radiation Research Program, National Cancer Institute
Vehicle detection from aerial color imagery and airborne LiDAR data

Vehicle detection and recognition from aerial imagery provides useful information for local vehicle volume estimation and traffic monitoring. In this paper, we propose a method that accurately detects vehicles in urban environment using a probabilistic classification method followed by a refinement based on object segments. Both classification and segmentation methods make use of coregistered aerial RGB images and airborne LiDAR data. Pixel-wise vehicle probability estimation is achieved using Gaussian process (GP) classification and object segments are obtained by applying a gradient based segmentation algorithm (GSEG). The vehicle is then detected by refining the initial probability estimation with the following constraints: car size, statistical significance and 3D surface shape. Experimental results show our method achieves 90.8% precision and 93.7% recall, which outperforms the ones that only use size constraints.
The Effect of Lexical Complexity on Intelligibility

Most intelligibility tests are based on the use of monosyllabictest stimuli. This constraint eliminates the ability to measurethe effects of lexical stress patterns, complex phonotacticorganizations, and morphological complexity on intelligibility.Since these aspects of lexical structure affect speechproduction (e.g., by changing syllable duration), it is likelythat they affect the structure of acoustic-phonetic patterns.Thus, to the extent that text-to-speech systems fail to modifyacoustic-phonetic patterns appropriately in polysyllabic words,intelligibility may suffer. This means that while most standardintelligibility tests may accurately estimate theintelligibility of monosyllabic words, this estimate may notgeneralize as well to predict the intelligibility of words withmore complex lexical structures. The present study was carriedout to measure how words varying in lexical complexity differ inintelligibility. Monosyllabic, bisyllabic, and polysyllabicwords were used varying in morphological complexity(monomorphemic or polymorphemic). Listeners transcribed thesestimuli spoken by two human talkers and two text-to-speechsystems varying in speech quality. The results indicate thatlexical complexity does affect the measured intelligibility ofsynthetic speech and should be manipulated in order toaccurately predict the performance of text-to-speech systemswith unrestricted natural text.
Expression patterns of FSHD-causing DUX4 and myogenic transcription factors PAX3 and PAX7 are spatially distinct in differentiating human stem cell cultures

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is most commonly inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern and caused by the abnormal expression of DUX4 in skeletal muscle. The DUX4 transcription factor has DNA binding domains similar to several paired class homeotic transcription factors, but only myogenic factors PAX3 and PAX7 rescue cell viability when co-expressed with DUX4 in mouse myoblasts. This observation suggests competition for DNA binding sites in satellite cells might limit muscle repair and may be one aspect of DUX4-associated myotoxicity. The competition hypothesis requires that DUX4 and PAX3/7 be expressed in the same cells at some point during development or in adult tissues. We modeled myogenesis using human isogenic iPS and ES cells and examined expression patterns of DUX4, PAX3, and PAX7 to determine if conditions that promote PAX3 and PAX7 expression in cell culture also promote DUX4 expression in the same cells. Isogenic iPSCs were generated from human fibroblasts of two FSHD-affected individuals with somatic mosaicism. Clones containing the shortened FSHD-causing D4Z4 array or the long non-pathogenic array were isolated from the same individuals. We also examined myogenesis in commercially available hES cell lines derived from FSHD-affected and non-affected embryos. DUX4, PAX3, and PAX7 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were quantified during a 40-day differentiation protocol, and antibodies were used to identify cell types in different stages of differentiation to determine if DUX4 and PAX3 or PAX7 are present in the same cells. Human iPS and ES cells differentiated into skeletal myocytes as evidenced by Titin positive multinucleated fibers appearing toward the end of a 40-day differentiation protocol. PAX3 and PAX7 were expressed at similar times during differentiation, and DUX4 positive nuclei were seen at terminal stages of differentiation in cells containing the short D4Z4 arrays. Nuclei that expressed both DUX4 and PAX3, or DUX4 and PAX7 were not observed after examining immunostained nuclei at five different time points during myogenic differentiation of pluripotent cells. We conclude that DUX4, PAX3, and PAX7 have distinct expression patterns during myogenic differentiation of stem cells. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that muscle damage in FSHD is due to DUX4-mediated toxicity causing destruction of terminally differentiated myofibers. While these studies examine DUX4, PAX3, and PAX7 expression patterns during stem cell myogenesis, they should not be generalized to tissue repair in adult muscle tissue.
Allometric relationships and reforestation guidelines for Maclura tinctoria, an important multi-purpose timber tree of Latin America

As reforestation and restoration processes gain momentum across the world native tree species are being established for production, conservation and restoration purposes in agricultural landscapes. One such tree with promise is dinde [Maclura tinctoria (L.) D. Don ex Steud]; a multi-purpose, Neotropical tree species that is being widely introduced on to farms of the coffee axis region in the Latin American Andes. No formal studies have been made that examine its potential for reforestation. In this study we aim to measure and define the relationships between age, bole size (dbh), tree height, and crown size of planted dinde trees for the development of spacing guidelines at time of planting and for thinning. We also sought to identify whether tree growth is influenced by various measures of soil fertility. We studied these relationships on dinde trees planted at twelve farms in the central Andean foothills of Colombia. Our results are the first to show dinde has comparable growth to other native and exotic trees used for reforestation in Latin America. Strong relationships exist for tree age and diameter at breast height (DBH) with crown size and height. Based on these relationships we developed spacing and thinning guidelines for timber production in plantation and silvo-pastoral circumstances. Soils were generally fertile but varied between farms. Growth varied with soil primarily related to pH and calcium, and secondly to soil nitrogen and organic matter. Our results provide preliminary information for the forester and/or the farmer on expected growth and size relationships for given ages in relation to soil fertility for planted trees. As more trees are planted on a wider array of soils and providing a greater diversity of ages further studies are necessary for refining guidelines.
The Electro-Optic Effect as a Probe for Studying the Optical Waveguide Properties of P-N Junctions

Observations of light transmitted along the plane of reverse-biased GaP p-n junctions shows that the depletion layer is birefringent and produces mode confinement of the light. Intensity and phase measurements of the transmitted light are interpreted in terms of a waveguide model which includes effects due to the linear and quadratic electro-optic effects. The latter is invoked to interpret an anomalous modulation most visible in diodes with their junction field in the [100] direction. The origin of the higher optical dielectric constant in the junction, which is mainly responsible for mode confinement, is not as yet understood.
Isotopic substitution affects excited state branching in a DNA duplex in aqueous solution

Changing the solvent from H2O to D2O dramatically affects the branching of the initial excited electronic states in an alternating G·C DNA duplex into two distinct decay channels. The slower, multisite PCET channel that deactivates more than half of all excited states in D2O becomes six times weaker in H2O.
Problems with Compensation: Gleeson on Marilyn McCord Adams on Evil

According to the most recent articulation of her view, Marilyn Adams’s reply to the problem of horrendous evils states that God offers compensation to those who experience horrendous evils. This compensation includes the good of the incarnation of God and the good of identification with God in virtue of suffering horrendous evils. Andrew Gleeson has raised a series of objections to Adams’s recent articulation. I argue that all of Gleeson’s arguments fail or fail to pose a distinct challenge. I then present a different challenge: that her view provides insufficient compensation for horrendous evils. I conclude by suggesting a development of her view.