cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sorption of Gases on Microporous Solids: Pore Size Characterization by Gas Sorption

Abstract Characterization of micropores in zeolite crystals may be performed by automated, dynamic, high resolution adsorption. Of the systems considered only nitrogen over ZSM-5 silicalite at 77 K shows an anomalous hysteresis/transition in the micropore sorption isotherm. The presence of aluminum, steaming of the zeolite or the use of argon @ 77 K or CO2@ −60°C eliminates the transition and hysteresis. Framework aluminum tends to reduce pore volume and to broaden the pore size distribution. Steaming reduces pore volume, broadens pore size and generates a significant amorphous phase, presumably largely aluminum. The measured pore volume, but not necessarily the pore dimensions, depend on the equilibration time during adsorption.
Effects of opiates on fetal behavioral activity in utero

Abstract The effects of methadone and morphine on fetal behavior were studied following their administration to either the mother (5ug/kg/min) or fetus (0.5ug/kg maternal wt./min) using the chronically-instrumented pregnant ewe model. Fourteen unanesthetized, unrestrained pregnant ewes between 130–141 days gestation (term 145 days) were studied 9–28 days following the surgical implantation of cannulae and electrodes to monitor fetal heart rate, blood pressure, breathing movements, eye movements, muscular and electrocortical activity. The three behavioral states of quiet sleep, rapid eye movement sleep and arousal could be distinguished using these parameters. Both drugs, by both routes, resulted in fetal arousal, largely at the expense of quiet sleep. While morphine and methadone were equipotent in suppressing quiet sleep following infusion to the fetus, methadone was three times more potent than morphine after maternal infusion. This potency difference is consistent with the results of prior pharmacokinetic studies demonstrating that fetal exposure to maternally administered methadone is approximately three times greater than that to maternally administered morphine.
Numerical verification of an octree mesh coarsening strategy for simulating additive manufacturing processes

Abstract Thermo-mechanical finite element modeling of additive manufacturing processes, such as Directed Energy Deposition and Laser Powder Bed Fusion, has been widely applied for the prediction and mitigation of part distortion. However, as the size of modeled geometries gets larger, the number of nodes and elements required in the finite element mesh increases significantly. Because runtime will increase as more nodes are added, it is not practical to conduct full simulations of large builds using standard static meshes. Advanced meshing strategy is required to reduce the run time and to retain the accuracy of the prediction. In this work, a mesh coarsening strategy is evaluated for predicting temperature, distortion, and residual stress in additive manufacturing, aiming to achieve feasible run times with reasonable accuracy on large builds. Directed Energy Deposition of thin wall geometries built from Inconel® 625 and Ti6Al4V is used as a reference and models with 2 levels of Octree mesh coarsening are investigated. The thermal history, in situ distortion, residual stress, and run times are compared with previously experimentally validated static mesh results. Two levels of mesh coarsening is found to be the most effective case for both materials reducing the computational time by 75% while reporting less than 2.5% error for the peak distortion and negligible error for the thermal history difference as compared to the static mesh. Keeping two fine layers of elements underneath the heat source is found to be the most efficient in terms of prediction accuracy and run time.
Providing Voter Registration and Election Information in Libraries: A Survey of Public Libraries in Tennessee

Voter turnout for federal elections in Tennessee is historically lower than in most other states. Public libraries have long been involved in empowering citizens and assisting eligible voters in th...
Older Adults and Social Support in a Disaster Context: Did Relocation Matter for Access to Social Network Resources After the 2015 South Carolina Flood?

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine social network characteristics and social support (emotional and instrumental support) and to determine how those factors differed between relocating older adults and nonrelocating older adults who were affected by the 2015 flood in South Carolina. Methods: Twenty-five community-dwelling elderly (CDE) were interviewed between December 2015 and May 2016 to learn about their experiences in the immediate aftermath of the flood. Ego-centric network data were collected with a focus on social network members and the types of flood-related support that these network members provided. Results: Ten of 25 CDE relocated because of the flood. All CDE were more likely to receive social support from female network members and family members than from other acquaintances. Relocating CDE received significantly less emotional support in comparison to nonrelocating CDE. The odds of receiving instrumental support were higher, but nonsignificant, among relocating CDE in comparison to nonrelocating CDE. Conclusions: The findings around the support provision are concerning particularly because of the additional psychological burden that relocation can place on flood-affected, older adults. Recommendations for public health preparedness strategies are provided in addition to future research directions for examining the well-being of flood-affected, older adults.
Hydrodynamics of a hydroponic bed bioreactor with different substrate media

Abstract Water flow through hydroponic media beds has seldom been characterized, and little is understood about the effects of different substrate media and flow rates as they pertain to mixing within. The hydrodynamics of four hydroponic substrate media were assessed in a small-scale hydroponic media bed bioreactor using tracer tests and mixing tests. Four media commonly used in hydroponic media beds, including 12.7-mm (0.5 in) fractured rock, 25.4-mm (1.0 in) fractured rock, 25.4-mm (1.0 in) lava rock and 12.0-mm light expanded clay aggregate (LECA) were selected and placed into identical rigid plastic containers to test the mean hydraulic residence time (mean residence time (MRT)) and vessel dispersion numbers (dispersion numbers) at two water levels and two flow rates. Sodium chloride tracers were used in these tracer tests and electroconductivity (EC) was measured every second with an EC probe at the outlet to generate residence time distribution curves for each bioreactor under each set of conditions. Expanded clay had a 16–29% longer mean residence time in the low water level, low flow treatment compared to the other media. It was also the most consistent overall and did not show any significant differences between flow rates or water levels. The mean residence times of the small fractured rock treatments got longer as the water velocity decreased, with the highest mean residence time achieved at an estimated water velocity of 0.38 cm s−1. Dispersion through the expanded clay or large fractured rock was not affected by flow rate or water level. Dispersion in the small fractured rock treatment only appeared to be greater at the lowest water velocity tested. Mixing time was also significantly shorter in expanded clay treatments at the lower water level. In the mixing tests, small fractured rock was comparable to the expanded clay at the low water level, low flow treatments but mixed 59% slower than in expanded clay treatment when the velocity increased. Overall, expanded clay performed better than the other substrate media tested, while the small fractured rock only performed well at lower estimated water velocities. The large fractured rock was substandard to both of those media and the lava rock was inconclusive but appeared to slow the movement of the tracer due to its intricate structure.
Powerstrip: High-Performance Compression for Energy Data

The proliferation of smart outlets and meters with submetering capabilities has led to an explosion in the availability of device-level energy data. The increasing volume of current and historical data presents a storage and distribution challenge, particularly for utilities and large-scale energy datasets. To address these challenges, we present Powerstrip, a fast, effective, and nearly-lossless compression algorithm for integer energy data. Powerstrip is optimized for device-level measurements and exploits common characteristics of real-world energy consumption to achieve typical compression rates over 90% on such data. We evaluate Powerstrip on real-world energy data and compare against multiple state-of-the-art compression algorithms. Our experiments show that when compared to the best reference algorithms, Powerstrip achieves the highest compression ratios (by up to 35%) as well as the fastest speeds (by up to 70%). We also present case studies demonstrating the potential of Powerstrip for large-scale energy data storage and distribution.
Incremental potential contact: intersection-and inversion-free, large-deformation dynamics

Contacts weave through every aspect of our physical world, from daily household chores to acts of nature. Modeling and predictive computation of these phenomena for solid mechanics is important to every discipline concerned with the motion of mechanical systems, including engineering and animation. Nevertheless, efficiently time-stepping accurate and consistent simulations of real-world contacting elastica remains an outstanding computational challenge. To model the complex interaction of deforming solids in contact we propose Incremental Potential Contact (IPC) - a new model and algorithm for variationally solving implicitly time-stepped nonlinear elastodynamics. IPC maintains an intersection- and inversion-free trajectory regardless of material parameters, time step sizes, impact velocities, severity of deformation, or boundary conditions enforced. Constructed with a custom nonlinear solver, IPC enables efficient resolution of time-stepping problems with separate, user-exposed accuracy tolerances that allow independent specification of the physical accuracy of the dynamics and the geometric accuracy of surface-to-surface conformation. This enables users to decouple, as needed per application, desired accuracies for a simulation's dynamics and geometry. The resulting time stepper solves contact problems that are intersection-free (and thus robust), inversion-free, efficient (at speeds comparable to or faster than available methods that lack both convergence and feasibility), and accurate (solved to user-specified accuracies). To our knowledge this is the first implicit time-stepping method, across both the engineering and graphics literature that can consistently enforce these guarantees as we vary simulation parameters. In an extensive comparison of available simulation methods, research libraries and commercial codes we confirm that available engineering and computer graphics methods, while each succeeding admirably in custom-tuned regimes, often fail with instabilities, egregious constraint violations and/or inaccurate and implausible solutions, as we vary input materials, contact numbers and time step. We also exercise IPC across a wide range of existing and new benchmark tests and demonstrate its accurate solution over a broad sweep of reasonable time-step sizes and beyond (up to h = 2s) across challenging large-deformation, large-contact stress-test scenarios with meshes composed of up to 2.3M tetrahedra and processing up to 498K contacts per time step. For applications requiring high-accuracy we demonstrate tight convergence on all measures. While, for applications requiring lower accuracies, e.g. animation, we confirm IPC can ensure feasibility and plausibility even when specified tolerances are lowered for efficiency.
The Magnetic Geometry of Pulsed Astrophysical Jets

Hypersonic, highly collimated, mass outflows (jets) are a ubiquitous phenomena in astrophysics. While the character of the jets differ, many exhibit some form of quasi-periodic clumping indicating the jet source is episodic or pulsed. The presence of pulsed jets in so many astrophysical contexts suggests a common formation mechanism. Such a process seems to have been found in magnetocentrifugal launching, the combination of magnetic and centrifugal forces that occurs when a magnetized gaseous accretion disk orbits a central gravitating source. Observations of strong magnetic fields in jets are, however, rare or indirect. Thus, the presence and effects of magnetic fields in young stellar object (YSO) jets remains an unresolved issue of the highest importance. In this Letter we focus on what should be expected for the structure of the fields in pulsed YSO jets. We show that combining velocity variability with an initial field configuration consistent with collimated, magnetocentrifugally launched jets leads to a clear set of predictions concerning the geometry and relative strength of the magnetic field components in evolving YSO (and perhaps other) jets.
Modeling transcriptional regulation using gene regulatory networks based on multi-omics data sources

Transcriptional regulation is complex, requiring multiple cis (local) and trans acting mechanisms working in concert to drive gene expression, with disruption of these processes linked to multiple diseases. Previous computational attempts to understand the influence of regulatory mechanisms on gene expression have used prediction models containing input features derived from cis regulatory factors. However, local chromatin looping and trans-acting mechanisms are known to also influence transcriptional regulation, and their inclusion may improve model accuracy and interpretation. In this study, we create a general model of transcription factor influence on gene expression by incorporating both cis and trans gene regulatory features. We describe a computational framework to model gene expression for GM12878 and K562 cell lines. This framework weights the impact of transcription factor-based regulatory data using multi-omics gene regulatory networks to account for both cis and trans acting mechanisms, and measures of the local chromatin context. These prediction models perform significantly better compared to models containing cis-regulatory features alone. Models that additionally integrate long distance chromatin interactions (or chromatin looping) between distal transcription factor binding regions and gene promoters also show improved accuracy. As a demonstration of their utility, effect estimates from these models were used to weight cis-regulatory rare variants for sequence kernel association test analyses of gene expression. Our models generate refined effect estimates for the influence of individual transcription factors on gene expression, allowing characterization of their roles across the genome. This work also provides a framework for integrating multiple data types into a single model of transcriptional regulation.
Efficacy and time course of acute intermittent hypoxia effects in the upper extremities of people with cervical spinal cord injury.

Abstract Spinal cord injuries (SCI) disrupt neural pathways between the brain and spinal cord, causing impairment of motor function and loss of independent mobility. Spontaneous plasticity in spared neural pathways improves function but is often insufficient to restore normal function. One unique approach to augment plasticity in spinal synaptic pathways is acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH), meaning brief exposure to mild bouts of low oxygen, interspersed with normoxia. While the administration of AIH elicits rapid plasticity and enhances volitional somatic motor output in the lower-limbs of people with incomplete SCI, it is not known if AIH-induced neuroplasticity is equally prevalent in spinal motor pathways regulating upper-extremity motor-function. In addition, how long the motor effects are retained following AIH has not yet been established. The goal of this research was to investigate changes in hand strength and upper-limb function elicited by episodic hypoxia, and to establish how long these effects were sustained in persons with incomplete cervical SCI. We conducted a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled and cross-over design study consisting of a single AIH or sham AIH session in 14 individuals with chronic, incomplete cervical SCI. In a subset of six participants, we also performed a second protocol to determine the cumulative effects of repetitive AIH (i.e., two consecutive days). In both protocols, hand dynamometry and clinical performance tests were performed pre- and post-exposure. We found that a single AIH session enhanced bilateral grip and pinch strength, and that this effect peaked ~3 h post-intervention. The strength change was substantially higher after AIH versus sham AIH. These findings demonstrate the potential of AIH to improve upper-extremity function in persons with chronic SCI, although follow-up studies are needed to investigate optimal dosage and duration of effect.
Mask-Making: An Autoethnographic Examination of Professional Identity in Undergraduate Medical Education

In addition to providing medical students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to gather and synthesize information to accurately diagnose and treat disease, medical education must also help students develop a healthy professional identity. The process of professional identity formation (PIF) is less formal and typically not part of the published curriculum. Despite the importance of PIF, it is difficult to analyze and has typically been done so through narrative means. We propose the artistic process of mask making as an alternative, where medical students visually express their perception of an ideal physician (external face of the mask) and their sense of self (internal face of the mask). Mask making allows students to use descriptions and illustrations on the inside and outside of the masks to express their sense of developing professional identity. A cohort of 148 masks from the Class of 2022 at the Penn State University College of Medicine is being analyzed to compile a list of these illustrations and descriptions. This qualitative data is being sorted according to domains modified from the original Transformation in Medical Education (TIME) initiative PIF framework. Specifically, the TIME framework was edited to include the subdomains, abilities and emotional traits, to the personal characteristic’s domain due to the frequency of qualitative data that aligned with these distinct subdomains. This modified framework has been used to create a codebook using the qualitative coding software, NVivo. After using a subsample of masks to achieve sufficient interrater reliability, we will code the sample cohort to define thematic elements consistent across ideal and self images. We plan to use this method to assess PIF longitudinally in this class of medical students. Our findings should inform opportunities for intervention to alleviate some of the obstacles medical students face as they integrate personal and professional identities.
Students’ Perceptions of Institutional Services and Online Learning Self-Efficacy

The purpose of this study was to explore new online students’ perceptions of self-efficacy and satisfaction with institutional resources. A mixed methods approach was used to better understand onli...
Radicalizing and De-Radicalizing Charles Taylor

This article aims is to clarify two opposing interpretations of Charles Taylor’s philosophy against the backdrop of the current crisis of liberal capitalism. The first, de-radicalizing reading, ins...
Updates and Insights in the Diagnosis and Management of DRESS Syndrome.

Purpose of review To provide updates on recent advances in the diagnosis and management of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. Recent findings The number of identified HLA allele associations with DRESS continues to grow. There is increasing evidence indicating viral infection, reactivation, and cross-reactivity may play key roles in disease. Translational work illuminated JAK/STAT activation in recalcitrant disease. There is expanding recognition of rapid-onset DRESS resulting from specific drugs. Summary DRESS is a severe form of adverse drug reaction with potential for significant morbidity and mortality. Recent research advances may improve clinical care. HLA screening can now be performed to prevent disease in susceptible patients and may help identify culprit drugs in the near future. Viral testing should be performed on every patient, and if positive, patients potentially treated with antiviral therapy. JAK inhibitors may be an effective treatment option for DRESS. Early onset of disease relative to drug exposure should not exclude the diagnosis of DRESS.
Awake spinal surgery: simplifying the learning curve with a patient selection algorithm.

Objective There is a learning curve for surgeons performing "awake" spinal surgery. No comprehensive guidelines have been proposed for the selection of ideal candidates for awake spinal fusion or decompression. The authors sought to formulate an algorithm to aid in patient selection for surgeons who are in the startup phase of awake spinal surgery. Methods The authors developed an algorithm for selecting patients appropriate for awake spinal fusion or decompression using spinal anesthesia supplemented with mild sedation and local analgesia. The anesthetic protocol that was used has previously been reported in the literature. This algorithm was formulated based on a multidisciplinary team meeting and used in the first 15 patients who underwent awake lumbar surgery at a single institution. Results A total of 15 patients who underwent decompression or lumbar fusion using the awake protocol were reviewed. The mean patient age was 61 ± 12 years, with a median BMI of 25.3 (IQR 2.7) and a mean Charlson Comorbidity Index of 2.1 ± 1.7; 7 patients (47%) were female. Key patient inclusion criteria were no history of anxiety, 1 to 2 levels of lumbar pathology, moderate stenosis and/or grade I spondylolisthesis, and no prior lumbar surgery at the level where the needle is introduced for anesthesia. Key exclusion criteria included severe and critical central canal stenosis or patients who did not meet the inclusion criteria. Using the novel algorithm, 14 patients (93%) successfully underwent awake spinal surgery without conversion to general anesthesia. One patient (7%) was converted to general anesthesia due to insufficient analgesia from spinal anesthesia. Overall, 93% (n = 14) of the patients were assessed as American Society of Anesthesiologists class II, with 1 patient (7%) as class III. The mean operative time was 115 minutes (± 60 minutes) with a mean estimated blood loss of 46 ± 39 mL. The median hospital length of stay was 1.3 days (IQR 0.1 days). No patients developed postoperative complications and only 1 patient (7%) required reoperation. The mean Oswestry Disability Index score decreased following operative intervention by 5.1 ± 10.8. Conclusions The authors propose an easy-to-use patient selection algorithm with the aim of assisting surgeons with patient selection for awake spinal surgery while considering BMI, patient anxiety, levels of surgery, and the extent of stenosis. The algorithm is specifically intended to assist surgeons who are in the learning curve of their first awake spinal surgery cases.
Cloth-cutting studies using excimer laser ablation

Abstract Laser cutting of textiles with excimer lasers was undertaken for the Amtex program at Los Alamos. These studies were carried out in tandem with laser cutting studies at YAG and copper vapor laser(Green) wavelengths at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and at CO2 wavelengths at the ArgonneNational Laboratory. Laser ablation through the process of photo chemical bond breaking at UV (XeC1 at308nm) wavelengths proved to be at least a factor of 24 more efficient than thermal ablation at the longerYAG wavelength (1 .06 .t). We project that a diffraction limited lOOwatt XeC1 laser is capable of cutting ata rate of 500cm/sec (200 in/sec) for all cloths tested with the exception of denim and air bag material. Introduction The Amtex program is a Cooperative Research Agreement (CRADA) between the AmericanTextile Industry and the Department of Energy in an effort to explore high technology pathways to keep theindustry competitive against overseas competition with their much lower labor costs. The driving idea ofthese studies is the concept of cut to fit clothing at the retail store level. This includes body scanning forsize, video display of different patterns and color on properly sized images, placement of order, cutting ofcloth, manufacture ofclothe and delivery to customer at the retail store all within a weeks time.This study addresses the computer controlled cutting portion of this idea. The difficulties involvenot only the cutting rate but, also, how to deliver the laser beam on a large plane surface at near diffractionlimited widths as well as the type of materials for the table on which the cloth is cut so that it remainsundamaged under the laser ablation process.
Freeze-out conditions in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

The authors present recent results on single particle transverse momentum distributions of pions, kaons, and protons, measured in CERN Experiment NA44, of 200A{center_dot}FeV/c S+S and 158A{center_dot}GeV/c Pb+Pb central collisions. By comparing these data with thermal and transport models, freeze-out parameters like the temperature T{sub fo} and the chemical potentials ({mu}{sub q}, {mu}{sub s}) are extracted and discussed.
Computation of immediate texture discrimination

The computation of immediate texture discrimination involves finding boundaries between regions of differing texture. This paper describes two operators which together appear necessary and probably sufficient to accomplish this.
SCREENING FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: Concepts, Conflicts, and Consensus

Because the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) constitutes such a large part of primary care practice, the busy clinician can feel overwhelmed by advice from experts about risk factor assessment, by admonitions to improve screening performance, and by the startling proliferation of novel risk factors. Therefore, rather than simply presenting another list of risk factors, it is useful first to review several concepts critical to the development and evolution of current guidelines and recommendations.
Injection deep level transient spectroscopy: An improved method for measuring capture rates of hot carriers in semiconductors

An improved method for measuring the cross sections for carrier trapping at defects in semiconductors is described. This method, a variation of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) used with bipolar transistors, is applied to hot carrier trapping at vacancy-oxygen, carbon-oxygen, and three charge states of divacancy centers (V2) in n- and p-type silicon. Unlike standard DLTS, we fill traps by injecting carriers into the depletion region of a bipolar transistor diode using a pulse of forward bias current applied to the adjacent diode. We show that this technique is capable of accurately measuring a wide range of capture cross sections at varying electric fields due to the control of the carrier density it provides. Because this technique can be applied to a variety of carrier energy distributions, it should be valuable in modeling the effect of radiation-induced generation-recombination currents in bipolar devices.
Spinning of collagen fibers and characterizing thermal, mechanical, tensile and structural properties

This study focuses on the wet spinning of collagen fibers using dispersions made from bovine tendon, and to the modification of the resulting fiber properties by cross-linking the collagen with gluteraldehyde. The fibers are characterized for mechanical properties, effect of temperature on dimension changes, temperature dependent heat flow, and temperature dependent weight loss. The above tests are conducted using TMA, DSC and TGA.The fiber diameters and surface features are studied using SEM. The results of these analyses are compared with cross-linking and without cross-linking for each of the three dispersion percentages, 1%, 1.6% and 2%. The mechanical behavior of cross linked collagen fibers was enhanced relative to the non cross linked fibers with higher denaturation temperature and lower tensile deformation.
Origin of the tailing signal on the low-energy side of the main beam in mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy spectra

The tailing signal on the low-energy side of the precursor ion signal observed during fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy spectrometric (MIKES) analyses is due largely to ions of higher m/z value than the chosen precursor. The majority of these ions are independent, unfragmented species that emerge from the ion source with less than the full amount of kinetic energy predicted by the source potential. The tailing precursor ion signal observed under helium collision-activated decomposition conditions is too short to account for the protracted MIKES tail (as judged from mass-to-charge ratio-deconvoluted MIKES analyses performed on a BEqQ hybrid instrument), and a tailing precursor signal is not observed under unimolecular decomposition conditions. Measurements of the mass-to-charge ratios of the ionic species comprising the MIKES tail demonstrated that ions higher in mass-to-charge ratio than the chosen precursor are present throughout the tail, with the mass-to-charge ratio increasing as kinetic energy decreases. These ions possess the same momentum as the chosen precursor, and thus were formed prior to the magnetic field. The existence of intact, source-formed [M + H]+ ions with reduced kinetic energy was demonstrated through several types of tandem mass spectrometric experiments. These [M + H]+ ions with reduced kinetic energy do not appear to have undergone collisional deceleration, because they do not possess increased internal energy (as judged by observation of their fragmentation patterns). The kinetic energy profiles of unfragmented FAB-desorbed ions were determined and found to exhibit a tailing character similar in appearance to that of the MIKES tail. The population of ions emerging from the source under FAB conditions thus incorporates the characteristics necessary to account for the MIKES tail, namely, the presence of ions of a mass-to-charge ratio higher than the chosen precursor (due to matrix and other background ions), which possess reduced kinetic energy such that their momentum is identical to that of the selected precursor. These ions may arise via desolvation and declustering processes in the acceleration region of the ion source, or via FAB or chemical ionization processes in regions removed from the FAB target.
Epithelial invasion and cell lysis by virulent strains of Streptococcus suis is enhanced by the presence of suilysin

Streptococcus suis is an important pathogen of pigs causing arthritis, pneumonia and meningitis and is an occupational disease of farmers and those in the meat industry. As with other streptococci, both virulent and avirulent strains of S. suis are frequently carried asymptomatically in the tonsillar crypts and nasal cavities. Little is known about the process by which virulent strains cross the mucosal epithelia to generate systemic disease and whether this process requires expression of specific bacterial virulence factors. Although putative virulence factors have been postulated, no specific role in the disease process has yet been demonstrated for these factors. This study is the first demonstration that virulent strains of S. suis both invade and lyse HEp-2 cells, a continuous laryngeal epithelial cell line, and that at least one bacterial virulence factor, suilysin, is involved in this process.
Gender violence revisited: Lessons from violent victimization of transgender identified individuals:

Violence against individuals with non-normative gender presentation is an alarming public health problem in the USA. Based on ethnographic research in transgender communities in the American Midwest I demonstrate that the significance of multiple and simultaneous gendered victimization experiences of transgender individuals urges the need to rethink the equation of “gender violence = violence against women.” The findings reveal that: First, violence impedes the quality of transgender lives on a daily basis. Second, violent harassment occurs most if individuals visibly transgress gender norms. Third, the sampled transgender individuals respond to violence in diverse ways: Coping strategies range from resignation, depression, as well as constraints in mobility and gender presentation on one side of the spectrum to active resistance through community building, self-policing, and creative arts on the other.
Hindrance of M1 transitions despite configuration mixing

Abstract A condition is given where, despite configuration mixing for particles of one kind in a given j shell, the Ml transitions for all nuclei and all states in question will vanish. It is further shown that in the calcium isotopes and for N = 28 nuclei this condition is nearly met.
Letter from the editor--issue 399/1-1 March 2015.

The onset of 2015 provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the events of the past year in the life of our journal, Developmental Biology. In 2014, we increased the numbers of Review Articles, and initiated several new types of papers, including Short Communications, Technical Reports, and Resources Articles. We also published several Special Issues on topics of interest to the community, and we have numerous others that are currently in the works.
Craniometaphyseal dysplasia: a case report and review of medical and surgical management

Craniometaphyseal dysplasia (CMD) is a genetic syndrome involving cranial and tubular bone anomalies that commonly present at a young age, often with otolaryngologic manifestations. In this paper, we report a rare case of a sporadic form of the disease resulting in an early state of hypocalcemia with secondary hyperparathyroidism. A conductive hearing loss is also documented prior to 12 months of age. The clinical aspects of CMD will be covered along with its pathogenesis. The current concepts surrounding medical and surgical treatments will be reviewed, and the management of our patient will be discussed.
Periglacial Appalachia: palaeoclimatic significance of blockfield elevation gradients, eastern USA

Locational data for 96 allochthonous blockfields distributed throughout the Appalachian Mountains of eastern USA were obtained using TerraServer, an online resource for viewing air-photo and satellite imagery. The elevation of Appalachian blockfields south of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) border parallels regional gradients of contemporary mean July, summer and annual temperature. Mean July temperature reductions inferred from palaeoecological studies indicate that the median elevation of blockfields throughout the Appalachians lay at or above timberline during the LGM. Palaeotemperatures calculated using known Appalachian lapse rates and published LGM temperature departures indicate that most blockfields in the study area were formed under climatic conditions conducive to permafrost. Allochthonous blockfields in the Appalachians appear to be constituent elements of periglacial ‘form communities’. Internet-based map products can be used to create generalised reconnaissance-level geomorphic data bases over large areas. Complementary use of these resources and spatial-analytic techniques holds considerable potential for addressing the broad-scale problems with which traditional climatic geomorphology is concerned. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The influence of demand characteristics and expectancies in the measurement of salivary response

The sensitivity of salivary response measures to demand and expectancies was studied. One hundred thirty-one college students were tested for increases or decreases in salivation under one of three conditions: (a) when told to imagine the taste of another food more or less palatable than a target food; (b) when given a placebo pill that, they were told, would alter their salivation; and (c) when given direct instructions to alter their salivation. The type of instructions subjects received altered their salivation response. Specifically, subjects told to increase salivation had higher levels than those told to decrease salivation. These results suggest that salivation measures, which have been viewed by some as refractory to demand and related effects, can be controlled. Additional results of the study call for further validation of salivation as a measure of hunger and perceived food palatability.
Effect of acute hypoxia on brain-sensitivity and metabolism of barbiturates in mice

Acute exposure of mice to hypobaric hypoxia, or reduced oxygen at normal pressure, markedly potentiated barbiturate-induced hypnosis. The mice showed lower body concentration of pentobarbital on awakening and reduced rate of pentobarbital disappearance from the body during exposure to the hypoxic environment. These data suggest that acute exposure to hypoxia depresses in vivo metabolism of pentobarbital and enhances CNS sensitivity to the barbiturates.
Molecular modeling and experimental studies of the thermodynamic and transport properties of pyridinium-based ionic liquids.

A combined experimental and molecular dynamics study has been performed on the following pyridinium-based ionic liquids: 1-n-hexyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([hmpy][Tf2N]), 1-n-octyl-3-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([ompy][Tf2N]), and 1-n-hexyl-3,5-dimethylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([hdmpy][Tf2N]). Pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to determine the self-diffusivities of the individual cations and anions as a function of temperature. Experimental self-diffusivities range from 10-11 to 10-10 m2/s. Activation energies for diffusion are 44−49 kJ/mol. A classical force field was developed for these compounds, and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to compute dynamic as well as thermodynamic properties. Evidence of glassy dynamics was found, preventing accurate determination of self-diffusivities over molecular dynamics time scales. Volumetric properties such as density, isothermal compressibil...
Residual Structures, Conformational Fluctuations, and Electrostatic Interactions in the Synergistic Folding of Two Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

To understand the interplay of residual structures and conformational fluctuations in the interaction of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), we first combined implicit solvent and replica exchange sampling to calculate atomistic disordered ensembles of the nuclear co-activator binding domain (NCBD) of transcription coactivator CBP and the activation domain of the p160 steroid receptor coactivator ACTR. The calculated ensembles are in quantitative agreement with NMR-derived residue helicity and recapitulate the experimental observation that, while free ACTR largely lacks residual secondary structures, free NCBD is a molten globule with a helical content similar to that in the folded complex. Detailed conformational analysis reveals that free NCBD has an inherent ability to substantially sample all the helix configurations that have been previously observed either unbound or in complexes. Intriguingly, further high-temperature unbinding and unfolding simulations in implicit and explicit solvents emphasize the importance of conformational fluctuations in synergistic folding of NCBD with ACTR. A balance between preformed elements and conformational fluctuations appears necessary to allow NCBD to interact with different targets and fold into alternative conformations. Together with previous topology-based modeling and existing experimental data, the current simulations strongly support an “extended conformational selection” synergistic folding mechanism that involves a key intermediate state stabilized by interaction between the C-terminal helices of NCBD and ACTR. In addition, the atomistic simulations reveal the role of long-range as well as short-range electrostatic interactions in cooperating with readily fluctuating residual structures, which might enhance the encounter rate and promote efficient folding upon encounter for facile binding and folding interactions of IDPs. Thus, the current study not only provides a consistent mechanistic understanding of the NCBD/ACTR interaction, but also helps establish a multi-scale molecular modeling framework for understanding the structure, interaction, and regulation of IDPs in general.
Propagation of a penny-shaped fluid-driven fracture in an impermeable rock: Asymptotic solutions

This paper presents an analysis of the propagation of a penny-shaped hydraulic fracture in an impermeable elastic rock. The fracture is driven by an incompressible Newtonian fluid injected from a source at the center of the fracture. The fluid flow is modeled according to lubrication theory, while the elastic response is governed by a singular integral equation relating the crack opening and the fluid pressure. It is shown that the scaled equations contain only one parameter, a dimensionless toughness, which controls the regimes of fracture propagation. Asymptotic solutions for zero and large dimensionless toughness are constructed. Finally, the regimes of fracture propagation are analyzed by matching the asymptotic solutions with results of a numerical algorithm applicable to arbitrary toughness.
Micro acidimetry of nitrophenols with the glass electrode

A comparatively rapid and precise potentiometric method for the micro determination of the nitro phenols with greater acid ionization constants than 10−8 has been given. The method employs the glass electrode as the indicator of hydrogen ion activity and a vacuum tube galvanometer for the null instrument.
Linking snowmelt‐derived fluxes and groundwater flow in a high elevation meadow system, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Quantifying snowmelt-derived fluxes at the watershed scale within hillslope environments is critical for investigating local meadow scale groundwater dynamics in high elevation riparian ecosystems. In this article, we investigate the impact of snowmelt-derived groundwater flux from the surrounding hillslopes on water table dynamics in Tuolumne Meadows, which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, USA. Results show water levels within the meadow are controlled by a combination of fluxes at the hillslope boundaries, snowmelt within the meadow and changes in the stream stage. Observed water level fluctuations at the boundaries of the meadow show the hydrologic connection and subsequent disconnection between the hillslope and meadow aquifers. Timing of groundwater flux entering the meadow as a result of spring snowmelt can vary over 20 days based on the location, aspect, and local geology of the contributing area within the larger watershed. Identifying this temporal and spatial variability in flux entering the meadow is critical for simulating changes in water levels within the meadow. Model results can vary significantly based on the temporal and spatial scales at which watershed processes are linked to local processes within the meadow causing errors when boundary fluxes are lumped in time or space. Without a clear understanding of the surrounding hillslope hydrology, it is difficult to simulate groundwater dynamics within high elevation riparian ecosystems with the accuracy necessary for understanding ecosystem response. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Laser Ablation Synthesis of Lanthanide Oxide Cluster Ions Incorporating a Heterovalent Metal

Lanthanide (Ln) oxide cluster ions produced directly by excimer laser ablation of oxalates into vacuum were investigated by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Whereas previous studies in our laboratory identified pure LnmOn+ and mixed Lnm1Ln‘m2On+, the present work focused on analogous clusters incorporating an alkaline earth (A) or transition (T) metal: {LnmOn·pAO}+ and {LnmOn·TO2}+ (Ln = La, Tb, Ho or Yb; A = Ca or Sr; T = Ta, Zr, or Hf). The formation of atomically combined clusters from physical mixtures of a solid lanthanide oxalate with a heterovalent metal oxide supports gas-phase coalescence as the dominant formation mechanism (vs direct cluster ejection). The stoichiometries and abundance distributions of the bimetallic oxide cluster ions are interpreted in the context of their chemical and structural constitutions. Ion abundance maxima for {LnO·3AO}+ are consistent with an ionically bonded cuboid microlattice; this cubic structure type may also pertain to related binary LnmOn+. Distinctive abund...
Abstract PL02-01: Global disparities and prevention strategies in liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world, including Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where there are upwards of 1,000,000 new cases each year and over 370,000 deaths annually in the People9s Republic of China (P.R.C.) alone. The major etiological factors associated with development of HCC in these regions are infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and/or hepatitis C (HCV) virus and lifetime exposure to high levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the diet. Detailed knowledge of the etiology of HCC has spurred many mechanistic studies to understand the pathogenesis of this often fatal disease and this knowledge is critical for translation to preventive interventions in high risk populations. HBV is a significant risk factor for HCC in the economically developing world where there are over 500 million viral carriers. The contribution of HBV to the pathogenesis of liver cancer is multifactorial and is further complicated by the identification of mutant variants in HBV that alter the carcinogenic process. The HBV genome encodes its essential genes with overlapping open-reading frames; therefore, a mutation in the HBV genome can alter the expression of multiple proteins. In many cases of HCC in Asia and Africa, a double mutation in the HBV genome, an adenine to thymine transversion at nucleotide 1762 and a guanine to adenine transition at nucleotide 1764 (1762T/1764A), has been found in tumors. The molecular basis for the formation of these nucleotide changes and their temporal appearance during the course of HBV infection is unclear. Thus, whether these mutational changes can be acquired and transmitted from person to person is unknown. Nonetheless, this segment of the HBV genome contains an overlapping sequence for the base core promoter and the HBV X gene; therefore, the double mutation in codon 130 and 131 of the HBV X protein reported in human HCC corresponds to the 1762 and 1764 nucleotide changes. Thus, the linkage of this alteration with disease outcomes makes it a candidate biomarker for the early detection of HCC risk in individuals. Financial support for this work was provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences through Grants P01 ES006052 and P30 ES003819. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):PL02-01.
Mechanisms of denaturation of bovine serum albumin by urea and urea-type agents.

Abstract The kinetics of the reaction of bovine serum albumin with urea and urea-type denaturants as studied by dilatometry, acrylamide gel electrophoresis and urea gel perturbation reveal the occurrence of parallel and consecutive reactions which generate different forms of denatured albumin as a function of the conditions employed. The initial fast reaction produces conformationally altered albumins which are converted by subsequent slower temperature- and concentration-dependent reactions to multiple forms of denatured albumins. The pH of the system has a profound influence on the denaturation process with the products formed at low pH differing markedly from those found at neutrality and at high pH. Reversibility studies employing thin-film dialysis revealed the coexistence of both water- and dilute salt-insoluble products. The products formed by the slow time-dependent reactions reflect the operation of sulfhydryl mediated intra- and interdisulfide exchange processes.