cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Active DLP hyperspectral illumination: a noninvasive, in vivo, system characterization visualizing tissue oxygenation at near video rates.

We report use of a novel hyperspectral imaging system utilizing digital light processing (DLP) technology to noninvasively visualize in vivo tissue oxygenation during surgical procedures. The system’s novelty resides in its method of illuminating tissue with precisely predetermined continuous complex spectra. The Texas Instruments digital micromirror device, DMD, chip consisting of 768 by 1024 mirrors, each 16 μm square, can be switched between two positions at 12.5 kHz. Switching the appropriate mirrors controls the intensity of light illuminating the tissue as a function of wavelength, active spectral illumination. Meaning, the tissue can be illuminated with a different spectrum of light within 80 μs. Precisely, predetermined spectral illumination penetrates into patient tissue, its chemical composition augments the spectral properties of the light, and its reflected spectra are detected and digitized at each pixel detector of a silicon charge-coupled device, CCD. Using complex spectral illumination, di...
Using item response theory in test score equating

Abstract In this chapter, the theoretical advantages that have been offered for using item response theory (IRT) in the test equating process are discussed. In addition, IRT equating research is reviewed with regard to certain important equating issues addressed in this research. These issues fall into four general categories: (1) population invariance of equating results and sample selection in equating, (2) properties of linking items used in anchor test equatings, (3) further examinations of the use of IRT in the vertical equating of tests, and (4) robustness of IRT equating to violations of underlying IRT model assumptions. The chapter concludes with a number of practical suggestions to guide researchers interested in IRT for test equating purposes.
Defining risk for infectious complications on extracorporeal life support

Abstract Background/Purpose Little is known about potentially modifiable risk factors associated with infectious complications (IC) acquired during extracorporeal life support (ECLS). Patients and Methods The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry was accessed, and data on patient demographics, run characteristics, infections, and outcomes were collected. Patients who developed IC while on ECLS were compared to those that did not. Regression analysis was performed. Results are expressed as odds ratios, with P Results Infectious complications developed in 10.2% of 38,661 patients and was associated with increased odds of death. Risk factors for IC included increasing age, diagnosis, more remote decade, complications, presence of multiple complications, and ECLS mode. The risk of IC increased with the number of complications ( P P Staphylococcus aureus , and fungi). Conclusions Strategies to reduce IC while on ECLS should be aimed at prevention of complications and treatment of pre-existing infections. Future studies should address whether broader spectrum antibiotic prophylaxis and/or empiric coverage for suspected sepsis is indicated in ECLS patients.
Reflections on a programming Olympiad

Does ACM's programming contest give insight into the relative strengths of IT education around the world?
The Relationship of Infants' Physical Environment to Their Binet Performance at 21/2 Years:

Most of the available evidence relating early experience to subsequent cognitive development has been concerned with interpersonal interaction variables. In the present paper the relationship of ph...
Is the plasma kallikrein-kinin system antithrombotic?

Comment on Shariat-Madar et al, page [192][1] In this issue, Shariat-Madar and colleagues provide evidence that BK B2 receptor knockout (BKB2R-/-) mice have a long bleeding time and delayed thrombosis that depends in part on nitric oxide and prostacyclin elevation produced by angiotensin II binding
Meningeal cells increase in vitro astrocytic gap junctional communication as measured by fluorescence recovery after laser photobleaching.

The presence of meningeal cells is necessary for the normal development of the glia limitans. Astrocytes comprising the adult glia limitans have several unique features, including many more gap junctions than is typical for astrocytes in the underlying molecular layer. This study examines the possible influence of meningeal cells on the establishment and maintenance of specific characteristics of astrocytes in the glia limitans. Primary cultures of rat astrocytes and meningeal cells were used to examine whether meningeal cells could alter astrocytic gap junctional dye coupling. Astrocytes and meningeal cells were grown on separate glass slides and co-cultured by forming a sandwich with the slides. The sides of the slides containing the cells faced each other and were separated by a 1 mm thick gasket along the edge of the slides. Although the meningeal cells and astrocytes were bathed in the same medium, they were separated by a distance of 1 mm and were not in direct contact during the co-culture period. The cells were co-cultured for 24, 48 or 72 hours, and astrocytic gap junctional dye coupling was examined using the gap-FRAP technique. The mean total recovery of fluorescence for control astrocytes was 14%. Astrocytes co-cultured with meningeal cells for 24 hours did not show a significant difference in the fluorescence recovery when compared to the control values. After 48 hours of co-culture, there was a significant increase in the gap junctional dye coupling. After 72 hours, gap junctional dye coupling continued to increase (total fluorescence recovery=53%). These results indicate that meningeal cells can influencein vitro gap junctional coupling. It is speculated that the prevalence of gap junctions in the glia limitans is due to-the meningeal-glial interaction.
MARCON II: information control on a microcomputer

MARCON II combines sophisticated retrieval capabilites with text‐oriented database support for entering and editing records. Potential applications are numerous, including management of archival collections requiring extensive descriptive information. Authority control is provided through an optional thesaurus system.
Reduced-rank chip-level MMSE equalization for the 3G CDMA forward link with code-multiplexed pilot

This paper deals with synchronous direct-sequence code-division multiple access (CDMA) transmission using orthogonal channel codes in frequency selective multipath, motivated by the forward link in 3G CDMA systems. The chip-level minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimate of the (multiuser) synchronous sum signal transmitted by the base, followed by a correlate and sum, has been shown to perform very well in saturated systems compared to a Rake receiver. In this paper, we present the reduced-rank, chip-level MMSE estimation based on the multistage nested Wiener filter (MSNWF). We show that, for the case of a known channel, only a small number of stages of the MSNWF is needed to achieve near full-rank MSE performance over a practical single-to-noise ratio (SNR) range. This holds true even for an edge-of-cell scenario, where two base stations are contributing near equal-power signals, as well as for the single base station case. We then utilize the code-multiplexed pilot channel to train the MSNWF coefficients and show that adaptive MSNWF operating in a very low rank subspace performs slightly better than full-rank recursive least square (RLS) and significantly better than least mean square (LMS). An important advantage of the MSNWF is that it can be implemented in a lattice structure, which involves significantly less computation than RLS. We also present structured MMSE equalizers that exploit the estimate of the multipath arrival times and the underlying channel structure to project the data vector onto a much lower dimensional subspace. Specifically, due to the sparseness of high-speed CDMA multipath channels, the channel vector lies in the subspace spanned by a small number of columns of the pulse shaping filter convolution matrix. We demonstrate that the performance of these structured low-rank equalizers is much superior to unstructured equalizers in terms of convergence speed and error rates.
The reaction of isoxazolium salts with nucleophiles

Abstract A number of facile reactions of 3-unsubstituted isoxazolium salts with bases have been studied and are shown to proceed via the primary intermediacy of α-ketoketenimines. These experiments have resulted in the development of a general method for the synthesis of a variety of different heterocyclic systems. The reaction of isoxazolium salts with simple carboxylates has been examined in some detail, in view of the fact that the product enol esters are excellent acylating agents.
Specific metal binding sites on calcified concretions in epithelial cells of the clam kidney

Calcified granules (concretions) in the kidneys of bivalve molluscs are able to absorb metals from solution and this ability is the result of the existence of saturable, medium affinity metal binding sites on the concretions. In addition different metals may compete for the same sites so that some metals will be accumulated preferentially over others.
Identifying what matters to students: Improving satisfaction and defining priorities at Santa Fe Community College

This chapter describes Santa Fe Community College's use of the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory to guide iterative development of institutional improvements associated with student satisfaction.
Is breast tumor progression really linear

“ Prrogress has not followed a straight ascending line, but a spiral with rhythms of progress and retrogression, of evolution and dissolution. ” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe In real life, most of us are likely to agree with this quote from Goethe. Yet, our generally accepted view of tumor
A heuristic for bottleneck crossing minimization and its performance on general crossing minimization: Hypothesis and experimental study

Extensive research over the last 20 or more years has been devoted to the problem of minimizing the total number of crossings in layered directed acyclic graphs (dags). Algorithms for this problem are used for graph drawing, to implement one of the stages in the multistage approach proposed by Sugiyama et al. [1981]. In some applications, such as minimizing the deleterious effects of crosstalk in VLSI circuits, it may be more appropriate to minimize the maximum number of crossings over all the edges. We refer to this as the bottleneck crossing problem. This article proposes a new heuristic, maximum crossings edge (MCE), designed specifically for the bottleneck problem. It is no surprise that MCE universally outperforms other heuristics with respect to bottleneck crossings. What is surprising, and the focus of this article, is that, in many settings, the MCE heuristic excels at minimizing the total number of crossings. Experiments on sparse graphs support the hypothesis that MCE gives better results (vis a vis barycenter) when the maximum degree of the dag is large. In contrast to barycenter, the number of crossings yielded by MCE is further reduced as runtime is increased. Even better results are obtained when the two heuristics are combined and/or barycenter is followed by the sifting heuristic reported in Matuszewski et al. [1999].
Photoreductive dissolution of colloidal iron oxide: Effect of citrate

Abstract The light-induced dissolution of the iron oxide, lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH), has been investigated and found to be greatly enhanced in the presence of citrate. A conceptual model of the dissolution process is presented and validated through studies of citrate adsorption to lepidocrocite, net iron oxide dissolution under a variety of conditions, and solution phase redox reactions. The initial dissolution rate is directly related to the concentration of the surface bound ferric citrate and the first order rate constant for the photodissolution process is very similar to that found for the photodissociation of soluble ferric citrate. Dissolution most likely occurs through direct excitation of charge transfer bands of the surface bound ferric citrate. At low pH (pH 4.0), a constant rate of dissolution is observed while at higher pH (pH 6.5 and 8.2), the dissolution rate decreases on continued photolysis. This decrease is due to (1) an oxygen-dependent deactivation process occurring at the surface and (2) loss of photo-produced iron from solution by “ligand-like” adsorption of soluble iron citrate complexes by the colloidal iron oxide. Superimposed on the dissolution process at these higher pH is a rapid oxidation-reduction cycle involving solution phase iron species with the reduction step induced by photodissociation of ferric citrate complexes and the oxidation step controlled by the formation of ferrous citrate.
Structure and Function of Glycosylated Tandem Repeats from Candida albicans Als Adhesins

Tandem repeat (TR) regions are common in yeast adhesins, but their structures are unknown, and their activities are poorly understood. TR regions in Candida albicans Als proteins are conserved glycosylated 36-residue sequences with cell-cell aggregation activity (J. M. Rauceo, R. De Armond, H. Otoo, P. C. Kahn, S. A. Klotz, N. K. Gaur, and P. N. Lipke, Eukaryot. Cell 5:1664–1673, 2006). Ab initio modeling with either Rosetta or LINUS generated consistent structures of three-stranded antiparallel β-sheet domains, whereas randomly shuffled sequences with the same composition generated various structures with consistently higher energies. O- and N-glycosylation patterns showed that each TR domain had exposed hydrophobic surfaces surrounded by glycosylation sites. These structures are consistent with domain dimensions and stability measurements by atomic force microscopy (D. Alsteen, V. Dupres, S. A. Klotz, N. K. Gaur, P. N. Lipke, and Y. F. Dufrene, ACS Nano 3:1677–1682, 2009) and with circular dichroism determination of secondary structure and thermal stability. Functional assays showed that the hydrophobic surfaces of TR domains supported binding to polystyrene surfaces and other TR domains, leading to nonsaturable homophilic binding. The domain structures are like “classic” subunit interaction surfaces and can explain previously observed patterns of promiscuous interactions between TR domains in any Als proteins or between TR domains and surfaces of other proteins. Together, the modeling techniques and the supporting data lead to an approach that relates structure and function in many kinds of repeat domains in fungal adhesins.
2‐Hydroxymethyl‐2‐Cyclopentenone

2-Hydroxymethyl-2-cyclopentenone intermediate: 2-Bromo-2-cyclopentenone. intermediate: 2-Bromo-2-cyclopentenone ethylene ketal intermediate: 2-hydroxymethyl-2-cyclopentenone ethylene ketal product: 2-hydroxymethyl-2-cyclopentenone Keywords: acetal (and thioacetal) formation; addition, to CO; Grignard and related reactions; halogenation, bromination; hydrolysis, acetals and ketals; diisopropylamine; 2-lithio-2-cyclopenten-1-one ethylene ketal; benzene
cAMP-induced changes of apical membrane potentials of confluent H441 monolayers.

We recorded apical membrane potentials (Va) of H441 cells [a human lung cell line exhibiting both epithelial Na+ (ENaC) and CFTR-type channels] grown as confluent monolayers, using the microelectro...
Comparative Study of Defect Properties in GaN: Ab Initio and Empirical Potential Calculations

Density functional theory (DFT) is used to study the formation, properties and atomic configurations of monovacancies, antisite defects and possible interstitials in GaN. The relaxation around a vacancy is generally small, but the relaxation around antisite defects is large, particularly for a Ga antisite defect, which is not stable and converts to an N-N split interstitial. All N interstitials, starting from any possible site, eventually transfer into the N-N split interstitials, forming N2 molecules with one N-N bond, but also some covalent bonds to the surrounding atoms. In the case of Ga interstitials, the most favorable configuration is the Ga octahedral interstitial. However, it is found that the Ga-Ga split interstitial can bridge the gap between non-bonded Ga atoms along the direction, which leads to the formation of Ga atomic wires in GaN, with bond distance (2.3A) close to those noted in bulk Ga. In addition, two representative potentials, namely Stillinger-Weber and Tersoff-Brenner potentials, have been employed to determine the formation of defects using molecular dynamics (MD) method in GaN. The MD results are discussed and compared to DFT calculations. The present DFT and MD results provide guidelines for evaluating the quality and fit of empirical potentials for large-scale simulations of ion-solid interaction and thermal annealing of defects in GaN.
Effects of Coastal Orography on Landfalling Cold Fronts. Part II: Effects of Surface Friction

Abstract The role of surface friction in modifying cold fronts as they make landfall in regions of steep coastal orography is examined by means of idealized simulations. Both the effects of the surface-roughness change at the coast in the absence of orography and the effects of orography are considered. Flow over a large and abrupt change in surface roughness generates an inertia–gravity wave above the boundary layer with characteristics similar to that associated with flow over a plateau. Deceleration of the cross-coast flow occurs over land, as well as for a short distance upstream, and causes retardation of frontal motion. A prescribed northerly postfrontal jet weakens rapidly after landfall. Maximum vertical motions are several centimeters per second; however, only small rainfall enhancement is expected since the updraft is very narrow and produces only small vertical displacements. Friction modifies the flow over the orography by increasing the upstream flow deceleration and reducing the magnitude of...
Evaluator Characteristics and Methodological Choice

This study addresses the central question “How do evaluators' background characteristics relate to their evaluation design choices?” Evaluators were provided with a fictitious description of a scho...
Aneurysmal Bone Cyst: A Review of 150 Patients

Purpose We have reviewed a series of 150 aneurysmal bone cysts treated over the last 20 years. Patients and Methods The lesions were principally located in the tibia, femur, pelvis, humerus, and spine and, in most cases, presented the imaging appearance originally described by Jaffe and Lichtenstein as a blowout with thin cortices. Results Only one of the patients was believed to have an osteoblastoma of the spine with secondary development of an aneurysmal bone cyst, and none of the patients developed additional lesions. The patients were treated primarily with curettage and implantation of allograft chips or polymethylmethacrylate, but some patients were treated with insertion of autografts or allografts. The local recurrence rate was 20%, which is consistent with that reported by other centers. Conclusion Aneurysmal bone cysts are enigmatic lesions of unknown cause and presentation and are difficult to distinguish from other lesions. Overall, the treatment is satisfactory, but it is possible that newer...
RDA Training and Implementation at Duke University Libraries: Minimizing the Distraction

This report is a case study of training in and implementation of Resource Description and Access (RDA) at Duke University Libraries. The first part of the report summarizes national debate about the cost effectiveness of the new rules and gives the reasons for Duke's decision to conduct training for both bibliographic and authority records in early 2013. This is followed by a description of the training, which introduced the new rules with minimal effect on cataloging productivity. Finally, the author gives recommendations for RDA training and implementation. These recommendations focus on meeting current needs rather than on trying to anticipate the replacement of MAchine Readable Cataloging (MARC) format.
High resolution map of Caenorhabditis elegans gap junction proteins

The innexin family of gap junction proteins has 25 members in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here, we describe the first high-resolution expression map of all members through analysis of live worms transformed with green fluorescent protein under the control of entire promoter regions. Our analyses show that innexins have dynamic expression patterns throughout development and are found in virtually all cell types and tissues. Complex tissues, such as the pharynx, intestine, gonad, as well as scaffolding tissues and guidepost cells express a variety of innexins in overlapping or complementary patterns, suggesting they may form heteromeric and heterotypic channels. Innexin expression occurs in several types of cells that are not known to form gap junctions as well as in a pair of migrating cells, suggesting they may have hemichannel function. Therefore, innexins likely play roles in almost all body functions, including embryonic development, cell fate determination, oogenesis, egg laying, pharyngeal pumping, excretion, and locomotion.
The surrogate mother as a high-risk obstetric patient.

A number of medical and public policies are recommended in the revised statement on surrogate motherhood by the Committee on Ethics of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 1 which expands and replaces the original committee opinion of 1983. Some of the implications with respect to the physician-patient relationship have been laid out in the updated statement, whereas others may only become evident as the practitioner increasingly encounters this population of obstetric patients and the affected families. This commentary examines how the implementation of the revised ethical guidelines may affect and refine future practice.
Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 Supports the Initial Differentiation of Hen (Gallus gallus) Granulosa Cells

In the hen ovary, selection of a follicle into the preovulatory hierarchy occurs from a small cohort of prehierarchal (6-8 mm) follicles. Prior to follicle selection the granulosa layer remains in an undifferentiated state despite elevated follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) expression. The present studies describe a role for bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in supporting FSHR mRNA expression in granulosa cells from prehierarchal follicles and promoting differentiation at follicle selection. Culture of undifferentiated granulosa cells in culture medium alone resulted in a significant decline in levels of FSHR mRNA (by ~80% compared to freshly collected cells). By comparison, granulosa cultured with BMP4 (10-100 ng/ml) maintained FSHR and expression at approximately in vivo levels. Because both granulosa and theca tissues from prehierarchal follicles express BMP4, it is suggested that BMP4 acts in a paracrine and/or autocrine fashion to support elevated FSHR expression prior to follicle selection. Granulosa cells cultured with BMP4 for 24 h also initiated FSH-induced cAMP production and indirectly initiated anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), CYP11A, and STAR expression plus progesterone production. However, pretreatment with the BMP antagonist NOGGIN or the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) agonist transforming growth factor alpha attenuated or blocked each action promoted by BMP4. We conclude that prior to and immediately after selection, BMP4 serves to support FSHR expression within the granulosa layer, yet prior to selection, multiple factors (including inhibitory MAPK signaling, AMH, and BMP antagonists) can modulate FSHR expression and suppress FSH-mediated cell signaling to prevent granulosa cell differentiation prior to follicle selection.
MEDIASTINAL CYSTS: A CLINICOPATHOLOGIC STUDY OF TWENTY CASES.

Twenty cases of primary mediastinal cysts have been reviewed. The bronchogenous variety was most common and the thymic cyst the least common. All the gastric cysts were encountered in children under one year of age. Less than 50 per cent of all the patients in this study were symptomatic, most cases being discovered on routine chest x-ray examination. Clinical and/or radiologic findings were not specific either for the group of mediastinal cysts as a whole or for a specific variety of cysts. However, thymic and pericardial cysts were located in the anterior mediastinum while gastric, bronchogenous and undesignated cysts tended to be found in the posterior compartment. The adequate therapy for all the cysts was surgical extirpation. In none of the cases was there any evidence of malignant degeneration.
A model to predict the through-thickness distribution of heat generation in cross-ply carbon-fiber composites subjected to alternating magnetic fields

A theory of local and global mechanisms of heat generation and distribution in carbon-fiber-based composites subjected to an alternating magnetic field has been proposed. A model is developed which predicts the strength and distribution of thermal generation through the thickness of carbon-fiber-based laminated composites. Earlier work established the distribution of point voltages in the plane of the laminate which exist in the form of potential differences between fibers in adjacent plies in a cross-ply or angle-ply laminate system. In the present work, a capacitive layer microstructure is formulated which models the actual fiber-reinforced-polymer microstructure from a square-packing assumption to a series of conductive parallel plates. From this capacitive layer analogy, an effective parameter of heating, γ, is defined which establishes the distribution of heating through the thickness. Extreme gradients in this thermal source can exist with peaks occurring at the interfaces of ply/ply orientation changes. An optimization study establishes the effect of various micro- and macrostructural parameters on the parameter γ. Several parametric studies are performed on a computer algorithm which calculates γ to further analyze these effects.
Modeling subjective experience-based learning under uncertainty and frames

In this paper we computationally examine how subjective experience may help or harm the decision maker's learning under uncertain outcomes, frames and their interactions. To model subjective experience, we propose the "experienced-utility function" based on a prospect theory (PT)-based parameterized subjective value function. Our analysis and simulations of two-armed bandit tasks present that the task domain (underlying outcome distributions) and framing (reference point selection) influence experienced utilities and in turn, the "subjective discriminability" of choices under uncertainty. Experiments demonstrate that subjective discriminability improves on objective discriminability by the use of the experienced-utility function with appropriate framing for a given task domain, and that bigger subjective discriminability leads to more optimal decisions in learning under uncertainty.
Microarray Data Normalization: The Art and Science of Overcoming Technical Variance to Maximize the Detection of Biologic Variance

A central goal in the analysis of microarray data is to identify and characterize genes and gene groups that exhibit differential and coordinate expression patterns as a function of biological state differences. This would be an easy task indeed if all gene expression measurements obtained from microarrays were perfectly accurate and consistent. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is quite different. Microarray-based gene expression measurements are affected by a host of unwanted technical errors, linear and non-linear systematic biases, as well as additional or hidden biologic variances that pertain to individual or state variations that are not necessarily those that are to be evaluated in an experiment. Taking these effects all together, observed differences in gene expression levels between two samples for a given gene can be represented as the sum of two components: technical variance and biological variance. The goals of microarray data normalization are to identify and strip out as much technical variation as possible such that the most accurate expression levels associated with different biological states can be determined. Ideally, one would hope to understand the expression of each gene in relation to all other genes on a microarray, across a series of microarrays, as well as to those measured by other technologies, in other experiments, and in relation to the activity of the entire genome. In other words, exact absolute gene expression levels for all genes under any circumstance. Short of this, optimal normalization techniques seek to maximize the usability of all measurements per array and per array series. Correcting for any technical variation thus allows for the highest resolution view of biologically based variations in gene expression. Following optimal normalization procedures, the multiple origins of biological variation can be dissected in detail.
Application of Random Matrix Theory to Analyze Biological Data

The development of high-throughput biological techniques, such as, gene expression microarray [1, 2], mass spectrometry [3], single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays [4], next generation sequencing [5], yeast two hybrid screening [6], and synthetic genetic arrays [7] makes it possible to generate genotypic, transcriptional, proteomic, and other measurements about cellular systems on a massive scale. The application of these high-throughput techniques may revolutionize all aspects of biological research.
Capsule Ablator Inflight Performance Measurements Via Streaked Radiography Of ICF Implosions On The NIF

Streaked 1-dimensional (slit imaging) radiography of 1.1 mm radius capsules in ignition hohlraums was recently introduced on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and gives an inflight continuous record of capsule ablator implosion velocities, shell thickness and remaining mass in the last 3-5 ns before peak implosion time. The high quality data delivers good accuracy in implosion metrics that meets our requirements for ignition and agrees with recently introduced 2-dimensional pinhole radiography. Calculations match measured trajectory across various capsule designs and laser drives when the peak laser power is reduced by 20%. Furthermore, calculations matching measured trajectories give also good agreement in ablator shell thickness and remaining mass.
Resistance of Southern Peas to the Cowpea Curculio in the Field

Commercial southern pea varieties, experimental breeding lines, and plant introductions were evaluated in the field for resistance to Chalcodermus aeneus Boheman. Varieties showed significant differences in numbers of external punctures on the pod and internal infestation (slings, eggs and larvae) Oil the pea within the pod. There was no significant correlation between numbers of external punctures and internal infestation. An antibiotic factor was associated with the hull. There were significant negative correlations between hull thickness and internal infestation. Thick-hulled varieties had fewer stings, eggs, and larvae than thin-hulled varieties. Fewer punctures penetrated the hull, and fewer stings contained eggs or larvae. These varieties also had more external punctures than thin hulled varieties. It is concluded that the female required numerous probes of these thick-hulled varieties before locating a suitable oviposition site.
Upcycling of Packing-Peanuts into Carbon Microsheet Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Porous carbon microsheet anodes with Li-ion storage capacity exceeding the theoretical limit are for the first time derived from waste packing-peanuts. Crystallinity, surface area, and porosity of these 1 μm thick carbon sheets were tuned by varying the processing temperature. Anodes composed of the carbon sheets outperformed the electrochemical properties of commercial graphitic anode in Li-ion batteries. At a current density of 0.1 C, carbon microsheet anodes exhibited a specific capacity of 420 mAh/g, which is slightly higher than the theoretical capacity of graphite (372 mAh/g) in Li-ion half-cell configurations. At a higher rate of 1 C, carbon sheets retained 4-fold higher specific capacity (220 mAh/g) compared to those of commercial graphitic anode. After 100 charge–discharge cycles at current densities of 0.1 and 0.2 C, optimized carbon sheet anodes retained stable specific capacities of 460 and 370 mAh/g, respectively. Spectroscopic and microscopic investigations proved the structural integrity of...
Surface membrane expression by human blood leukocytes and platelets of decay-accelerating factor, a regulatory protein of the complement system.

The decay-accelerating factor (DAF), an integral membrane protein of approximately 75,000 mol wt that regulates the stability of the C3 convertases of the classical and alternative complement pathways, was initially isolated from normal erythrocyte stroma and used to prepare a polyclonal antiserum. Previously, anti-DAF antiserum has been used to immunoprecipitate DAF from surface-labeled normal erythrocytes and to document the deficiency of DAF on the surface of erythrocytes from patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a condition in which erythrocytes express abnormal sensitivity to complement-mediated lysis. DAF has now been demonstrated by cytofluorography with anti-DAF F(ab9)2 and fluoresceinated second antibody to be present on the surface of resting polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), monocytes, lymphocytes, and platelets. Populations of PMN, monocytes, and platelets each exhibited a unimodal distribution of fluorescent staining, reflecting uniform cellular expression of DAF antigen, while the lymphocyte population had a skewed pattern of staining, indicating the heterogeneous expression of DAF antigen. For platelets, the shift in mean fluorescence channel observed with cytofluorographic analysis was minimal, but the presence of surface DAF on platelets was demonstrated by specific and saturable anti-DAF F(ab9)2 binding. The DAF antigen, analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of dithiothreitol- reduced anti-DAF immunoprecipitates prepared from surface-labeled, isolated populations of cells, presented a single polypeptide chain of approximately 84,000 mol wt for PMN and 75,000 to 80,000 mol wt for monocytes, T and B lymphocytes, and platelets. Thus, the complement regulatory protein, DAF, is expressed on the surface of all major types of circulating blood cells from normal donors.
A time-domain approach for wideband modeling of electronic packages: Research Articles

This article presents a technique for wideband modeling and characterization of electronic packages. The modeling approach presented is based on time-domain reflectometry techniques (TDRs). The time-domain approach is capable of directly identifying the various contributions (reflections) from different discontinuities of the structure with a relatively high spatial resolution. Consequently, this makes it possible to isolate the effect of different discontinuities over the bandwidth of the package. This technique has been successfully applied to several packages, two of which are demonstrated in this article. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2005.
Rule Set Complexity for Incomplete Data Sets with Many Attribute-Concept Values and “Do Not Care” Conditions

In this paper we present results of novel experiments conducted on 12 data sets with many missing attribute values interpreted as attribute-concept values and “do not care” conditions. In our experiments complexity of rule sets, in terms of the number of rules and the total number of conditions induced from such data, are evaluated. The simpler rule sets are considered better. Our first objective was to check which interpretation of missing attribute values should be used to induce simpler rule sets. There is some evidence that the “do not care” conditions are better. Our secondary objective was to test which of the three probabilistic approximations: singleton, subset or concept, used for rule induction should be used to induce simpler rule sets. The best choice is the subset probabilistic approximation and the singleton probabilistic approximation is the worst choice.
A new shell-beam element modeling method and its use in crash simulation of triaxial braided composites

Abstract To overcome the instability encountered in axial crash simulations of composite tubes with shell elements, a new modeling technique: the shell-beam (SB) element method, has been developed. This method creates an element which is capable of deforming in the through thickness direction while retaining the efficiency of the shell elements. The SB element was evaluated with virtual one-element, cantilever beam and in-plane compression tests. The results showed that the SB element is effective in terms of overcoming the instability and convergence issues of traditional 2D and 3D discretized elements under in-plane compression. The SB element was further evaluated together with an in-house material model, called the enhanced continuum damage mechanics (ECDM) model, in crash simulations of triaxial braided composite tubes with five configurations and seven test conditions. The simulations captured both the failure morphologies and force-displacement responses obtained in experiments.
The streetlight effect in climate change research on Africa

Abstract The streetlight effect is the tendency for researchers to focus on particular questions, cases and variables for reasons of convenience or data availability rather than broader relevance, policy import, or construct validity. To what extent does the streetlight effect condition the state of knowledge about climate change in Africa? Analysis of Google Scholar search results, both general and within leading climate change-related journals, reveals that two proxies for objective need, population and land mass, are associated with a higher volume of scholarly attention. Countries with greater exposure to the negative effects of climate change and countries with less adaptive capacity do not receive more scholarly attention. Rather, I find evidence that factors like British colonial history, strong civil liberties, and to a lesser extent political stability − factors not directly related to risks from climate change − affect scholarly attention. The streetlight effect is evident in climate change research on Africa.
A cumulative analogue joint involvement scale (CAJIS) for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP)

Abstract Background Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a catastrophic genetic disorder of progressive heterotopic ossification (HO). Assessment of functional mobility in FOP will be essential to support clinical trials of investigational agents. Results Of necessity, we developed a simple, rapidly-administered, cumulative analogue joint involvement scale (CAJIS) for FOP based on assessments in 144 individuals worldwide with classic FOP. Conclusions CAJIS scores correlated with patient age, activities of daily living, and ambulatory function with excellent inter-rater variability. We show here that the CAJIS score provides an accurate and reproducible snapshot of total body and regional mobility burden in FOP.
Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) Demographic and Biological Characteristics in Wide-Row Soybean

Knowledge of Palmer amaranth demographics and biology is essential for the development and implementation of weed management strategies. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of Palmer amaranth density on seedling mortality, flowering initiation, and flowering progress throughout the growing season and biomass production and fecundity in wide-row soybean. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three levels of Palmer amaranth density-clusters: high, medium, and low. Palmer amaranth mortality rate was greater at high Palmer amaranth population density-cluster, reaching a peak within 30 to 40 d after Palmer amaranth emergence (DAE) (0.55 and 0.80 for 2014 and 2015, respectively), in comparison with mortality rate at medium and lower density-clusters. Likewise, as Palmer amaranth density increased, biomass and seed production per unit area of the weed also increased. Biomass production at the high density-cluster in 2014 was 664.7 g m-2 compared with 542.9 and 422.1 g m -2 at medium and low density-clusters, respectively. Similarly, biomass production at high density-cluster in 2015 was 100.6 g m-2 compared with 37.3 and 34.2 at medium and low density-clusters, respectively. In addition, seeds produced at high density-cluster were 1.5 million and 245,400 seeds m-2 for 2014 and 2015, respectively. Seed production was reduced by 29% and 54% in 2014 and by 65% and 75% in 2015 at medium and low density-clusters, respectively. Earlier flowering initiation (i.e., between 30 to 40 DAE) occurred in higher Palmer amaranth density-clusters, indicating a trade-off between reproduction and survival at high densities and more stressed environments for species survival. Palmer amaranth male-to-female sex ratio was greater at high densities, 1.3 and 1.9, compared with lower densities of 0.6 to 0.7 and 0.7 to 0.8 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The plasticity of Palmer amaranth population and population-structure regulation, vegetative growth, and flowering shifts at various levels of intraspecific competition (i.e., high vs. low population density-clusters) and the trade-off between these biological transitions merits further investigation.Nomenclature: Palmer amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.
The trehalose-specific transporter LpqY-SugABC is required for antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of trehalose analogues in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Abstract Mycobacteria, including the bacterial pathogen that causes human tuberculosis, possess distinctive pathways for synthesizing and utilizing the non-mammalian disaccharide trehalose. Trehalose metabolism is essential for mycobacterial viability and has been linked to in vitro biofilm formation, which may bear relevance to in vivo drug tolerance. Previous research has shown that some trehalose analogues bearing modifications at the 6-position inhibit growth of various mycobacterial species. In this work, 2-, 5-, and 6-position-modified trehalose analogues were synthesized using our previously reported one-step chemoenzymatic method and shown to inhibit growth and biofilm formation in the two-to three-digit micromolar range in Mycobacterium smegmatis . The trehalose-specific ABC transporter LpqY-SugABC was essential for antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity, suggesting that inhibition by monosubstituted trehalose analogues requires cellular uptake and does not proceed via direct action on extracellular targets such as antigen 85 acyltransferases or trehalose dimycolate hydrolase. Although the potency of the described compounds in in vitro growth and biofilm assays is moderate, this study reports the first trehalose-based mycobacterial biofilm inhibitors and reinforces the concept of exploiting unique sugar uptake pathways to deliver inhibitors and other chemical cargo to mycobacteria.
Mainland Southeast Asia Late Prehistoric

relative time period: Follows the Southeast Asia Early Prehistoric. This period is considered the interface between the late prehistoric and early historic periods and is sometimes called the Protohistoric period. Complex polities emerged during this time along the coasts and in the river valleys of mainland Southeast Asia, and it is also likely that many subsistence strategies like hunting and gathering continued into this period. At its early end (i.e., 2500–1500 b.p.), some archaeologists have also called this period the “Iron Age,” “General Period C,” and the “High Metal Age.” The period after a.d. 200 falls into Higham’s “General Period D” and the beginning of regionally specific chronologies. In central Burma, we see the initiation of the Pyu period, and in Central Thailand, we see the origins of the Dvaravati period. In the Khorat plateau/Tonle Sap region, the founding of the Khmer empire signals the end of this period in a.d. 802. In northern and central Vietnam, this is a transitional phase between Bronze Age complex societies and the earliest states. To ease discussion, the period from 2500–1500 b.p. will be glossed as the “early historic period.”
Stem Cell Therapies for Wound Healing

The number of individuals suffering from chronic cutaneous wounds has been increasing worldwide due to an increase in comorbidities such as vascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and aging population. In the USA, almost seven million Americans have chronic cutaneous ulcers. Moreover, chronic wound management is costly and present a substantial economic burden to the healthcare system. Various therapeutic modalities have been used. However, the treatment outcomes are not always satisfactory because of failure to achieve complete wound closure in around 60% of cases, high rate of recurrence, and scarring. Therefore, there is a need for more effective therapies. Stem cells offer promising possibilities. Preclinical studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have a competitive advantage over other types of stem cells due to their better defined potency, paracrine effects, immunomodulatory properties, and safety. For now, multipotent stem cells have a definite advantage in being used for the acceleration of healing. This has to do with their generally favorable risk/benefit ratio. Still, we do not reject the notion that pluripotent stem cells may find an extraordinary role in wound healing. When properly handled and controlled, such cells could be directed toward diverse differentiation pathways that might bring the field of tissue repair closer to regeneration or true wound healing. Large well-controlled clinical trials are needed to examine the capabilities of stem cells in humans and assess their safety profile. Herein, we highlight emerging treatments in tissue regeneration and repair and provide some perspectives on how to translate current knowledge about stem cells, both multipotent and pluripotent, into viable clinical approaches for treating patients with difficult to heal wounds.
Exhausted CD8+ cells (Tex) to predict response to PD-1 therapy in estrogen receptor (+) hormone therapy resistant breast cancer predictive of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors after epigenetic priming.

1044Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer therapy, yet have limited efficacy in estrogen receptor (ER)+ breast cancer. Implicated factors include scarcity of tumor inf...
Forest Decline in the Hawaiian Islands: A Brief Summary

In the mid-1960s, stand segments of the native Metrosideros polymorpha-’ohi’a lehua)-dominated rain forest were observed to decline (Mueller-Dombois and Krajina 1968). Numerous trees were dying on the windward slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa at elevations between 600 and 1700 m. An aerial photo analysis of an 80 000 ha sample area covering both mountain slopes revealed that in 1954 approximately 120 ha showed severe dieback in the northern part of the area. In 1965 dieback had increased to 16000 ha and spread to the southern area (the Mauna Loa slope) in variously sized patches. On the 1972 aerial photo set, the cumulative area of severe dieback had increased to 34 500 ha (Petteys et al. 1975).