cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Longitudinal Investigation of the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Individuals with Pre-existing Severe Mental Illnesses.

Abstract Objective Individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI), including schizophrenia spectrum illnesses and affective disorders, may be at increased risk for negative mental health outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study compared the severity of pre-pandemic symptoms and affective experiences to current symptoms to evaluate this possibility. Methods 148 individuals with SMI (92 with schizophrenia spectrum illnesses and 56 with affective disorders) were recruited from ongoing ecological momentary assessment studies that sampled day-to-day experiences and symptom severity prior to the pandemic. Participants completed a one-time phone survey that queried these same experiences/symptoms between April and June of 2020. Results Severity of affective experiences and psychotic symptoms remained stable across time, as did sleep duration. Well-being and the number of substances used increased during the early months of the pandemic. Increases in well-being were associated with being female and spending less time alone pre-pandemic. Patterns of stability/change did not differ according to diagnostic category. Conclusions At this relatively early stage, individuals with SMI are not reporting a worsening of symptoms or affective experiences and instead appear to be resilient in the face of the pandemic. Continued assessment is needed to determine whether this resilience will persist as the pandemic progresses.
Nonvolatile Molecular Memory Elements Based on Ambipolar Nanotube Field Effect Transistors

We have fabricated air-stable n-type, ambipolar carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNFETs) and used them in nanoscale memory cells. n-Type transistors are achieved by annealing nanotubes in hydrogen gas and contacting them by cobalt electrodes. Scanning gate microscopy reveals that the bulk response of these devices is similar to gold-contacted p-CNFETs, confirming that Schottky barrier formation at the contact interface determines accessibility of electron and hole transport regimes. The transfer characteristics and Coulomb blockade (CB) spectroscopy in ambipolar devices show strongly enhanced gate coupling, most likely due to reduction of defect density at the silicon/silicon-dioxide interface during hydrogen anneal. The CB data in the “on”-state indicates that these CNFETs are nearly ballistic conductors at high electrostatic doping. Due to their nanoscale capacitance, CNFETs are extremely sensitive to the presence of individual charges around the channel. We demonstrate that this property can b...
Labor Standards and Labor Market Flexibility in the Middle East: Free Trade and Freer Unions?

This paper examines how two, potentially opposing trends—pressure to adhere to international labor standards and movement toward greater labor market flexibility—have affected labor market characteristics in the Middle East. Focusing on 13 countries, the paper presents indices of de jure and de facto labor flexibility and standards in the region. The paper makes two main contributions. First, it develops a typology of post-independence Middle Eastern political economies based on oil dependence and political regime type (including oil monarchies, low-income republics, and low-income monarchies) to explain widely divergent sub-regional trends in labor flexibility and standards. Second, it argues that different actors have spurred changes in labor flexibility and standards in distinct sub-regional political economy groupings. In the low-income countries, the state and domestic business were most instrumental in driving increased flexibility, although unions were able to win concessions in countries where the political system permitted some voice for labor. In the oil monarchies, international pressure, particularly through negotiations over trade agreements with the USA, spurred a trend toward increased labor standards, while domestic programs to indigenize the workforce account for a trend toward decreased flexibility.
Physical Properties, Toxicity, and Physiological Effects of Magnets

The use of magnets has been a part of human civilization since antiquity. The ancient Greeks and Chinese civilizations were among the first to harness the usefulness of magnetic properties. While magnets played an important role in these early civilizations, their usefulness in the modern society is even more significant. Early industrial magnets were transition metal-based, which, while useful, had many inherent chemical flaws. The incorporation of rare-earth elements (REE) allowed them to become stronger and more resistant to demagnetization. The most abundantly used magnet in both industrial and medical applications is neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B). This compound has high energy product and coercivity. While elemental neodymium is cytotoxic and, if untreated, vulnerable to environmental corrosion, properly coated Nd-Fe-B magnets can be extremely useful in the medical and surgical world. As with any new technology, fully understanding its properties and potential side effects is crucial for safe usage in patients. This chapter provides an introductory overview of the properties, toxicity, and potential adverse effects of magnets in surgery.
Influence of Tandem Inducers on the Performance of High Pressure Ratio Centrifugal Compressors

The uses of tandem inducers has been proposed in the past in an attempt to reduce the inducer shock losses and to improve the performance and operating range of centrifugal compressors. However throughout the literature the benefits/penalties of this type of compressor design are still unclear, with contradictory conclusions and very few studies attempting to understand the causes of the observed benefits/penalties. Additionally none of the cases reported for centrifugal compressors has looked into the impact of overlap between the inducer and the main blade. The current study looks into the different aspects of the design of centrifugal compressors with tandem inducers and their effect on the performance of a high flow coefficient, high pressure ratio centrifugal compressor. Aspects such as clocking, axial gap between the inducer and the compressor main blade, axial overlap, and the performance in combination with a vaned diffuser are discussed. Overall the results indicate that it is possible to design centrifugal compressors with tandem inducers that provide similar or even a slight performance benefit at design point, and that tandem inducers can provide significant performance benefits at off design conditions by improving the flow conditions along the main blade suction side, and by improving the inlet conditions to a vaned diffuser. The results also indicate that the impact of the axial gap between the inducer and the main blade has little impact on the compressor performance, that clocking will have a significant impact on the performance of the compressor and that the best performance will be obtained when the tandem inducer is almost aligned with the main blade of the compressor, since this avoids the blockage and losses incurred by other clocking arrangements.© 2015 ASME
Kinetics and Structure of Silicate Sol-Gels

The structure of a silicate sol-gel derived material depends on the nature of its reaction kinetics. The chemical state of the silicate sol-gel is characterized by both the functional group concentrations and the distribution of the functional groups about a single silicon atom. 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides a way to quantitatively determine these concentrations and distributions as a function of time during the reaction. During the early stages of the sol-gel reaction, the distribution of hydrolyzed species enables one to calculate the relative rates of hydrolysis. During the intermediate stages of the reaction, the rate of formation of various condensed species enables one to determine the reaction rate constants for both water-producing and alcohol-producing condensation. The chemical bonding of sol-gel derived solid materials can be determined by direct polarization NMR combined with magic angle spinning techniques. These capabilities provide a valuable tool for studying the relationships between the reaction conditions, the chemical kinetics and the resulting structure of the sol-gel derived material.
Studies on Coumarin Anticoagulant Drugs HEAT OF INTERACTION OF SODIUM WARFARIN AND HUMAN PLASMA ALBUMIN BY HEATBURST MICROCALORIMETRY

Abstract The heat of interaction of sodium warfarin and human plasma albumin has been studied by heatburst microcalorimetry. Sixteen experiments were performed at warfarin concentrations of 0.02 and 0.10% and albumin concentrations of 0.2 and 0.4%. The average heat evolved was -3.14 kcal per mole of warfarin. It is suggested that the molecular basis of the warfarin-albumin interaction is hydrogen and hydrophobic bonding. Microcalorimetry was an ideal method for studying this interaction; the lack of specificity of the thermal method should allow its application to a wide variety of interactions of biological interest.
Alternative allosteric effects exerted by end products upon a two-substrate enzyme in Rhodomicrobium vannielii.

Abstract The regulatory enzyme, 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthetase of Rhodomicrobium vannielii was studied. Both phenylalanine and tyrosine are competitive inhibitors with respect to the substrate, erythrose 4-phosphate. Tryptophan does not influence enzyme activity per se, but potentiates the effect of phenylalanine or tyrosine. Kinetic experiments led to the conclusion that alternative kinetic pathways to the ternary complex existed, and that the one forming (phosphoenolpyruvate-enzyme) as the initial binary complex was kinetically preferred. Accordingly, the ratio of the two substrates had a marked influence upon reaction velocity. The observed ability of phenylalanine and tyrosine to either activate or inhibit enzyme activity, depending upon the ratio of the two substrates was consistent with the postulated mechanism. An extremely wide range of enzyme activity exists, on the one hand, because of the stimulation of activity by one or two amino acid end products, and on the other hand, because of the potent concerted inhibition in the simultaneous presence of all three amino acids. The physiological consequences of this pattern of control for 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthetase are discussed.
ENERGY RELEASE AND TRANSFORMATION OF SHOCK-MODIFIED ZIRCONIA UPON ANNEALING TO 1550°C

The shock-modified powder samples described by Morosin et al. (this meeting) have been studied in DTA measurements to 1550°C to determine the influence of shock modification on energy release and on the monoclinic to tetragonal transformation. Energy release over that of control samples is observed to begin at ~ 200°C and continues to the onset of the transformation. The phase transformation temperature is at ~ 1170°C and is unaffected by shock-loading pressure up to 16 GPa. Above that pressure, the transformation temperature is lowered as pressure increases. The decrease in temperature correlates with both the decrease in crystallite size and retention of the tetragonal phase indicated by x-ray diffraction.
From Chamomile to Aspirin? Medicinal plant use among clients at laboratorios Beal in Trujillo, Peru

Medicinal plant use in Peru can be tracked back for millennia, and although westernized medicine has become an important factor in the treatment of illnesses, many patients still frequent herbalist shops and retain some herbal knowledge of their own. The present study, undertaken at “Laboratorios Beal,” a herbalist practice in Trujillo, Peru, was conducted as a comparison to previous research at Clinica Anticona, a Western style clinic in the same city, to evaluate if patients at a herbal clinic were more likely to use plants for treatment rather than pharmaceuticals, and if their own plant knowledge was more extensive than the knowledge of the patients interviewed at a Western clinic. The results demonstrate that, amongst the patients of the herbal clinic, plants do played only a slightly larger role when compared to the use of pharmaceuticals, indicating that patients at the herbal clinic were as likely to use Western pharmaceuticals as patients at a Western clinic were using herbs, and vise versa. Even at a herbalist shop many patients thought that pharmaceutical medicine to be faster and more effective than herbs, while plants were regarded as safer and free from side-effects. The plant knowledge of individual patients was comparable to the knowledge encountered at a western medicinal facility. El uso de plantas medicinales en el Peru puede ser trazado hacia milenio atras, y aunque la medicina occidental ha llegado a ser un factor importante en el tratamiento de la enfermedad, todavia muchos pacientes visitan las tiendas de herbolarios y retienen conocimientos propios d las yerbas. El estudio presente, llevado a cabo en “Laboratorios Beal”, un consultorio herboristico en Trujillo, Peru, trata de descubrir si las pacientes a tal facilidad usan de preferencia plantas medicinales sobre productos farmaceuticos, y si sus conocimientos de plantas medicinales son mas extensivos que los de los clientes de una clinica occidental. Los resultados de nuestro estudio demuestran que, entre los pacientes de la tienda de yerbas, las plantas juegan un papel un poco mas grande en comparacion con el uso de productos farmaceuticos. Sin embargo, la diferencia es marginal y las preferencias de uso son comparables a esos de una clinica occidental. Por eso aun en la tienda de yerbas muchos pacientes piensan que la medicina farmaceutica es mas rapida y efectiva mientras que se consideran a las plantas como mas seguras y libre de efectos secundarios. Los conocimientos herboristicos de pacientes individuales son comparable a esos encontrados en una clinica occidental.
Multiple spectrometer control by computer

Abstract A computer system whose function is to simultaneously operate, control and monitor nine neutron and X-ray spectrometers is described. The spectrometer equipment and the local control station characteristics are presented. The programmed control of the apparatus details asynchronous and synchronous control tasks. A time sharing supervisory system allows semi-automatic and fully automatic operation of the equipment and offers a library of mutually-used computer programs. Communication with the system is through a console typewriter and a complete record of experiment operation is printed.
John Walsh's Publications of Telemann's Sonatas and the Authenticity of ‘Op. 2’

In the past decade the eighteenth-century London music publisher John Walsh has been subject to a new evaluation with regard to his pirated editions and deliberate misattributions, especially of the music of George Frideric Handel. That Walsh's attributions were anything but trustworthy had already been recognized in the eighteenth century: a surviving copy (London, British Library, BM g.74.d) of his first edition of the Sonates pour un traversiere un violon ou hautbois con basso continuo composees par G. F. Handel (c.1730), which, as Donald Burrows and Terence Best have shown, was provided with a title-page designed to simulate that of Jeanne Roger, bears the manuscript inscription ‘NB This is not Mr. Handel's’ in an eighteenth-century hand at the beginning of the tenth and twelfth sonatas, precisely those that Walsh removed in his second edition of this collection (c. 1731–2), advertised on the title-page as being ‘more Corect [sic] than the former Edition’. In the second edition Walsh substituted two equally questionable works in their place, each of which bears the handwritten inscription ‘Not Mr. Handel's Solo’ in a copy in the British Library (BM g.74.h). Two of the sonatas attributed to Handel in Walsh's Six Solos, Four for a German Flute and a Bass and Two for a Violin with a Thorough Bass … Composed by Mr Handel, Sigr Geminiani, Sigr Somis, Sigr Brivio (1730; in A minor and B minor) are also possibly spurious, while three of the four movements of the remaining sonata attributed to Handel in this collection (in E minor) are movements arranged from his other instrumental works. And in 1734 Johann Joachim Quantz, to whom Walsh devoted four volumes of solo sonatas (1730–44), complained of the publication of spurious and corrupted works: There has been printed in London and in Amsterdam under the name of the [present] author, but without his knowledge, 12 sonatas for the transverse flute and bass divided into two books. I am obliged to advertise to the public that only the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth [sonatas] from the first book, and the first three from the second book, are his [Quantz's] compositions; and that he furthermore wrote them years ago, and besides they have, due to the negligence of the copyist or the printer, gross errors including the omission of entire bars, and that he does not sanction the printing of a collection that has no relationship with the present publication that he sets before the public.
Mass spectrometric determinations of the absolute tritium activities of NBS tritiated water standards

Abstract The tritium content of U.S. National Bureau of Standards tritiated water Standard Reference Materials SRM-4926, -4926C and -4927B have been measured by mass spectrometry, where the accumulation of 3 He from tritium decay is measured as a function of time. The averaged results, which are compared with other independent calibrations, are 0.7% higher than the NBS certified values and have an uncertainty (1σ) of 0.4%. Additionally, the half life of tritium has been determined from new calculations of the average energy of tritium decay, combined with existing measurements of the tritium decay energy emission rate. The new half life value, 12.38 ± 0.04 y, is essentially the same as the 12.38 ± 0.03 y value recently obtained mass spectrometrically with the same analysis system used in the present measurements.
Radionuclide analysis of pulmonary blood volume: The response to spontaneous angina pectoris and sublingual nitroglycerin in patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract By manually assigning pulmonary regions of interest and deriving pulmonary time-activity (volume) curves, we were able to make count estimates of pulmonary blood volume (PBV) from gated cardiac blood pool scans. Five patients with coronary heart disease developed angina spontaneously while under a gamma camera. This produced an increase in cardiac volumes ( p p p p
Establishment of Rhinocyllus conicus (Col.: Curculionidae) on Italian Thistle in Southern California

Adults of Rhinocyllus conicus Froelich collected in southeastern Italy were released in See Canyon, California, for the biological control of Italian thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus L. Field data on the incidence and increase of this weevil at this colonization site are presented. Larvae destroyed ca. 90% of an avg 7.3 mature achenes in 300 infested flowerheads sampled in 1976. An avg of 1.8 (range 1–6) weevils was reared from each flowerhead. By 1977, 91% of 561 capitula examined in a 2 man-h search bore at least one and an avg of 3.4 (max 11) eggs; however, no population reduction of Italian thistle as yet was evident. Biotic mortality factors reported for R. conicus include a low incidence of larval parasitism by an unidentified species of Habrocytus (Hym.: Pteromalidae) and occasional predation of adults by the crab spider, Xysticus californicus Keyserling (Araneida: Thomisidae). During 1976 and 1977, totals of 1800 and 6500 weevils from this established field colony were transferred to 4 and 13 new locations in southern California, respectively.
Addressing cross-border environmental displacement: when can international treaties help?

Environmental degradation is increasingly causing cross-border displacement of people, but countries have formed no treaties to facilitate collaboration on the issue. When is such collaboration feasible, and how should environmental displacement treaties be designed? We present a game-theoretic analysis. In our model, countries first decide on ratifying a treaty, and doing so commits them to helping other countries that face cases of environmental degradation in the future. The equilibrium analysis suggests that treaty formation is easier under conditions of mutual vulnerability than if some countries are at a greater risk of environmental degradation than others. Our most important finding is that contrary to the received wisdom, treaties imposing stringent demands on countries are easier to form than treaties that are easy to comply with. We also examine the benefits of using displacement treaties to build capacity for cooperation. We illustrate the utility of the analysis with a discussion of the Kampala Convention on environmental displacement and consider the potential for future treaty formation in Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania.
Miniature sources of subnanosecond 1.4 – 4.3-μm pulseswith high peak power

Microchip-laser-pumped optical parametric generators have been packaged in 10-cm-long × 2.5-cm-diameter stainless-steel cans. These devices convert the 1.064-µm output of the laser into radiation at preselected wavelengths between 1.4 and 4.3 µm with quantum efficiencies >40%, resulting in mid-ir pulses of 140 kW. The optical head includes a heater that can be used to temperature tune the devices over several 10s to 100s of nm.
The Dysfunctions of the Theory/ Practice Discourse

The distinction between theory and practice in professional and public discourse is generally dysfunctional for teachers. There are a number of reasons for this. Because the individuals involved in developing theory are seldom full-time language teachers themselves, the theory/practice distinction creates strata of expertise in which teachers are considered less expert than theorists. The theory tends to be imported from other disciplines and is, therefore, only marginally applicable to language teaching. As in education in general, the discourse tends to be authoritarian and prescriptive. It is also general, necessarily limited in applicability to particular classrooms. Finally, the theory/practice discourse underestimates the institutional, political, and interpersonal constraints in which teachers work. This article expands each of these points in developing the argument that the distinction is unhealthy for the profession. Possible responses are explored.
Four Effective Writing Strategies for Engineering Classes

This article, written by three technical communication professors and one chemical engineering professor representing three different universities, presents four proven strategies for including effective writing assignments in engineering classes. The strategies include using writing assignments to analyze job-related Web searches and engineering job preparation, using peer editing to revise assignments, using journals to learn to write and write to learn, and using paper airplanes to teach how to write instructions.
B-Cell superantigens: Definition and potential impact on the immune response

Superantigens have been extremely helpful tools in exploring fundamental questions in immunobiology including mechanisms of cell activation, tolerance, and autoimmunity. Until recently, attention has been focused exclusively on T-cell superantigens. However, new data suggest that there are superantigens that directly activate B cells. By definition, these agents (1) stimulate a high frequency of B cells, (2) target B cells that have restricted usage of VH or VL family genes, and (3) bind to immunoglobulins outside the sites that bind conventional antigens. A candidate B-cell superantigen that has received considerable attention in this laboratory is staphylococcal protein A. This agent is best known to the immunologist because of its ability to bind to the Fc fragment of IgG. This binding has been localized to twoα-helical structures on each of four or five homologous regions that comprise the extracellular domain of protein A. However, it is now clear that protein A contains a second site that binds to determinants on the Fab regions of certain immunoglobulins independently of their heavy-chain isotype. In man this so-called alternative site appears to bind only to immunoglobulins that utilize heavy-chain genes of the VH3 subfamily. In the mouse this type of binding is restricted to immunoglobulins using heavy chains belonging to the S107 and J606 VH families. In this review, we examine the growing list of microbial products that dominate B-cell superantigenic properties. Using staphylococcal protein A as a model for a B-cell superantigen, we consider the potential impact of this novel class of antigens on the immune response. We focus on the ability of B-cell superantigens to influence the expression of the B-cell repertoire. In addition, we consider the hypothesis that the interaction of a B-cell superantigen with its reactive serum immunoglobulins activates the classical complement cascade and thus represents a powerful stimulant of tissue inflammation.
Spatial variability in mercury cycling and relevant biogeochemical controls in the Florida Everglades.

Spatial patterns in mercury cycling and bioaccumulation at the landscape level in the Everglades were investigated by collecting and analyzing multimedia samples for mercury species and biogeochemical characteristics from 228 randomly located stations. Higher total mercury (THg) in environmental compartments (surface water, soil, flocculent detrital material (floc), and periphyton) generally occurred in the northern and central Everglades, but higher THg in water and periphyton in the Everglades National Park was an exception. Multiple biogeochemical characteristics, such as surface water dissolved organic matter (DOCSW), pH, chloride, and compositional properties of solid compartments (soil and floc), were identified to be important factors controlling THg distribution. Methylmercury (MeHg) was also higher in the northern Everglades for water, soil, and floc, but not for periphyton. Higher mosquitofish THg and bioaccumulation factor were observed in the central and southern Everglades, partially in accor...
The compleat computer center

When computers first came into common use, scientists reported their amazement and pleasure at the speed at which calculations that would have taken human beings months and years had been accomplished in hours and minutes. As computers have increased their power, the minutes have shrunk to seconds and to fractions of seconds. This acceleration has so affected the scientists' sense of productiveness that today's extraordinary speed has become the ordinary expectation; desire for still greater speed has pushed some scientists to assume an active role in their university's choice of new computers. This emphasis on enhanced possibilities of scholarly productiveness through machines may have been preceded by earlier hopes for the typewriter and adding machine, but the temptations brought by the computer are far deeper and more widespread than those aroused by those veteran office machines. As scholars in the humanities have become more acquainted with computers, they, like the scientists, have begun to chafe at the limits current data processing machines place on them. Most recently they have been roused to new dreams of glory by the arrival, on major campuses, of the era of massive processors. Speeds for accessing information are approaching trillionths of a second and storage devices holding a trillion characters of information are in the offing. High-speed printers operating at 1,100 lines a minute seem already dated when compared with microfilm output at the equivalerit of 20,000 lines a minute. Plans for campus and national networks of computers and terminals add to the sense of an immense power at the disposal ocf the student of language, literature, and culture. The awe of technology and power that recurrently plagues modern scholars seems to be at work in the response to characteristics of the latest computers. It is as though, suddenly, all vexing resistance of man and his works to orderly understanding were about to give way. The image of humanistic scholars concerned with computers gathering together to exchange news about data bases, line printer speeds, and file techniques is sometimes upsetting. The cart seems to be in front of the horse. Can we conceive of scholars of the generation of Taine, Willamowitz, and Acton enthusing about carbon paper or typewriters to the extent of subordinating concern for the intellectual substance of their research? Nevertheless, it is difficult to resist the notion that using computers for a large scale and precise manipulation of texts would greatly enhance the power of contemporary scholarship. For this reason, the irritation at current machine limits among interested humanities scholars is under-
Physical and sensory attributes of hot-processed and conventionally chilled hams and bellies from electrically stimulated and non-stimulated pork carcasses

Forty-eight fresh hams and bellies were obtained from 24 market weight hogs (x = 94·5 kg) of which twelve were electrically stimulated (ES) by pulsing current immediately after exsanguination. The left side of each non-stimulated (NS) carcas was fabricated after conditioning for 3h post mortem at 17°C (NS hot-processed). The left sides of ES carcasses were fabricated 1 h pm. The right sides were fabricated following a 24 h cooler chill at 2°C (conventionally chilled: CP). Hams from ESCP carcasses had higher (P < 0·05) smokehouse yields than hams from NS carcasses. Hams that were hot-processed had higher smokehouse yields than the NSCP hams. Time of fabrication (1, 3 or 24h post mortem) did not affect smokehouse yields. Conventionally chilled bellies obtained from ES carcasses showed higher (P < 0·05) residual nitrite levels than those front electrically stimulated hot-processed (ESHP) carcasses. No differences were found for residual nitrite levels in the non-electrically stimulated sides. Panelists were unable to detect any sensory differences from the bacon strips. Sensory scores of ham slices were more juicy for non-stimulated hot-processed carcasses (NSHP) than those from ESHP carcasses. Panelists found the ham slices from NSCP carcasses to be more tender (P < 0·05) than those from electrically stimulated cold-processed (ESCP) carcasses. Results from this study clearly indicated that hot-processing of pork can provide hams and bellies that are acceptable for the production of cured hams and bacon of comparable quality and yield to those currently being produced under conventional processing methods.
Dengue Fever: An Emerging Infectious Disease in The Bahamas

Dengue fever is an emerging infectious disease that is increasing in prevalence in many geographic regions, including the Caribbean. It is the most common arboviral (vector-borne) disease in the world, and infects more that 50 million people annually worldwide. The etiological agent of dengue fever is one of four serotypes of the Dengue virus (DENV1 – DENV4). The infection is transmitted via a human-mosquito-human route, when one or more species of the Aedes mosquito takes a blood meal from an infected host and then feeds on a person who is uninfected. There is no vaccine or cure for dengue fever. Dengue fever is a growing cause for concern in The Bahamas. This year the incidence of dengue fever reached epidemic proportions in The Bahamas. This article will explore the etiology and epidemiology of dengue fever, and offer some insight into how future the Bahamas can begin to develop strategies for the eradication of dengue fever.
Are Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling Proteins Recently Identified in Atherosclerosis Possible Therapeutic Targets

Atherosclerosis is a slowly progressing chronic inflammatory disease characterized by focal arterial lesions that can ultimately occlude the entire blood vessel and lead to sudden death. Lesions associated with cardiovascular events are those enriched in macrophages and other inflammatory cells. Activation of inflammatory cells within lesions induces the release of cytokines which promotes more inflammation and associated tissue damage if cytokine signaling pathways remain unregulated. Thus, pathways capable of suppressing proinflammatory cytokine signaling hold the potential to limit life-threatening cardiovascular events caused by atherogenesis. This review focuses on suppressors of cytokine signaling proteins recently identified in the atherosclerosis-prone ApoE −/− mouse and provides perspectives of their potential for intervention in atherosclerotic lesion progression.
Perovskite/polymer monolithic hybrid tandem solar cells utilizing a low-temperature, full solution process

In the current study, a monolithic integration of perovskite and polymer subcells into a tandem structure is realized through a full solution process. The wide bandgap perovskite absorber (CH3NH3PbI3) is processed via a one-step deposition employing an additive-assisted solvent wash method. In particular, a small molecule additive, BmPyPhB, is added into the precursor solution to improve the uniformity of the initial nucleation process of the crystal by providing heterogeneous nucleation sites throughout the solution space. Next, a solvent wash method is employed to induce the fast crystallization of uniform and well-defined grains in the absorber layer as well as to reduce the requirement for thermal annealing. Thus, the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.1% is obtained for a single junction, planar-structured CH3NH3PbI3 solar cell. For the polymer absorber, a new IR-sensitive block copolymer, PBSeDTEG8, with photosensitivity up to 950 nm is utilized to broaden the photoresponse of the tandem solar cell. More importantly, this polymer:PCBM blend exhibits improved thermal stability, which can endure thermal annealing process while fabricating the perovskite subcell. Subsequently, this hybrid tandem solar cell based on perovskite/polymer subcells achieves the highest efficiency of 10.2%.
POWER ESTIMATION AND POWER OPTIMAL COMMUNICATION IN DEEP SUBMICRON BUSES: ANALYTICAL MODELS AND STATISTICAL MEASURES

Reduction of power dissipation in digital circuits is a subject of research in industry and academia. A major component of power dissipation in modern microprocessors is due to their large interconnect networks which are responsible for the distribution of power and clocks as well as for the intra-chip communication. Communication is realized by data and address buses. In this paper we (i) discuss an analytical model for energy estimation in deep submicron buses, (ii) present statistical energy measures based on the analytical model, (iii) derive the energy limits of communication through buses, (iv) and introduce energy efficiency measures of communication.
Effects of Fourth and Second Graders’ Cross-Age Tutoring on Students’ Spelling

A quasi-experimental study examined some effects of cross-age tutoring on fourth grade tutors' and second grade tutees' ability to spell accurately and correct errors on their own rough drafts. Half of the participating tutors were trained in tutoring skills; half were not. All participants were given pre- and post-assessments. On dictated writing assessments, second graders improved significantly, although fourth graders did not. On a free writing assessment, both second and fourth graders had significant gain scores. Observations during tutoring sessions showed benefits for both tutors and tutees.
Synthesis of swelling micas with stoichiometric amount of fluorine, characterization and ion exchange studies

Abstract A stoichiometric fluorine content method for synthesizing high charge density swelling micas is developed by keeping the fluorine content stoichiometric in the precursors. Hydrated mica phase was obtained in all cases. The synthetic mica samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MASNMR) spectroscopy. Using the stoichiometric amount of fluorine has yielded micas of small particle size (
Ramanujan's “Lost” Notebook VIII: the entire Rogers–Ramanujan function

Abstract In the Lost Notebook, Ramanujan presents a truly enigmatic infinite product expansion for the two variable Rogers–Ramanujan series. In this paper, we prove this formula by a careful analysis of the Stieltjes–Wigert polynomials.
Are plants grown under low visible irradiance sensitive to low levels of ultraviolet-B radiation?

A critical question in ultraviolet-B radiation research is how different portions of the solar spectrum influence plant UV B sensitivity. Field-grown plants show only subtle responses to supplemental UV-B radiation in many aspects of growth, yet plants grown under low visible light (as in most growth chambers and greenhouses) show much more discernible changes. Here we assess a specific aspect of UV-B sensitivity in plants grown under lower PAR: when one maintains a constant proportion of UV-B to PAR, but different absolute irradiance levels, does plant sensitivity to UV-B change? We conducted field experiments at near-ambient PAR and enhanced UV-B, and also with reduced irradiance in both wavebands, on three species. Each of these species occurs in both open and shaded habitats. We found the grass Setaria viridis sensitive to UV-B radiation only when grown at lower irradiances, while the forb Geranium viscosissimum was only sensitive to UV-B at the higher irradiances. In the grass Elymus glaucus , UV-B sensitivity did not appear to be influenced by the irradiance levels. Species appear to respond differently to these changes in irradiance levels, and an array of physiological and anatomical mechanisms are likely involved.
Hybrid networks: lessons learned and future challenges based on ESnet4 experience

ESnet, the Energy Sciences Network, has the mission of providing the network infrastructure to the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science programs and facilities, which depend on large collaborations and large-scale data sharing, enabling them to accomplish their science. ESnet4 - a hybrid IP and dynamic circuit network designed in 2006 and completed in 2008 - has managed to effectively satisfy the networking needs of the science community, easily handling dramatic growth in traffic requirements: around 80 percent growth year over year and 300 percent growth with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) coming online. In this article, we examine the benefits and limitations of the current hybrid architecture based on actual production experience; discuss open research problems; and predict factors that will drive the evolution of hybrid networks, including advances in network technology, new computer architectures, and the onset of large-scale distributed computing.
Plasma leptin concentration increases early during highly active antiretroviral therapy for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, independent of body weight.

Leptin, the protein product of the obese gene (ob), is secreted by adipocytes. Circulating leptin levels correlate with fat mass in humans, including individuals infected with HIV. Leptin serves as an adipostatic hormone, a permissive factor for reproduction and a modulator of immune function. Leptin is a cytokine, and has been demonstrated to enhance CD4 cell proliferation and IL-2 secretion from CD4 cells in vitro. The role of leptin in HIV-positive patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has not been well defined. We have evaluated leptin levels in HIV-infected individuals during the early phase of HAART. We measured plasma leptin levels in 15 antiretroviral-naive HIV positive patients at baseline and after 1 and 4 weeks of HAART. After the first week of therapy, mean leptin level and CD4 count were increased compared to baseline, 6.0 vs 7.2 ng/ml (p =0.004) and 377 vs 432 cells/ul (p = 0.014), respectively. In contrast, mean body mass index (BMI) remained unchanged 27.0 vs 26.8 kg/m2 (p <0.08). After four weeks of therapy, leptin and BMI values were unchanged compared to baseline, 6.0 vs 5.9 (p <0.4) and 27.0 vs 26.9 (p<0.5), respectively, whereas CD4 count continued to increase to 491 cells/ul (p<0.012 compared to baseline). These data demonstrate an early transient increase in plasma leptin levels in HIV positive patients initiated on HAART, despite a lack of change in BMI. It is unclear if the transient increase in leptin is related to its role as a cytokine, a metabolic regulator, or reproductive factor.
Sensitivity of S49.1 cells to anti-CD95 (Fas/Apo-1)-induced apoptosis: effects of CD95, bcl-2 or bcl-x transduction

T lymphocytes have variable sensitivity to anti-CD95 which does not correlate closely with the level of CD95 expressed. To investigate this phenomenon, we screened murine T lymphocyte cultures for their sensitivity to anti-CD95. Subclones of the S49.1 cells showed widely variable sensitivity to anti-CD95 but similar levels of CD95. The resistant clones became sensitive after treatment with actinomycin D suggesting that they expressed resistance protein(s) with a high turnover relative to the CD95 apoptosis induction machinery. Our data suggest that the resistance protein(s) are not Bcl-2, Bcl-x, Fap-1 or Bag-1. Forced, increased expression of CD95 made most of the resistant cells more sensitive, but some remained resistant suggesting that the expression of the resistant protein(s) is heterogeneous and that increased CD95 levels does not always overcome the resistance.
Delayed repair of skin cancer defects.

Abstract Purpose: A review of surgical outcomes in 280 patients who underwent in-office excision of skin lesions, open wound therapy, and delayed reconstruction is presented. Advantages of open wound therapy and delayed reconstruction are discussed. Patients and Methods: The surgical records of all patients treated between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1996 were evaluated for outcome and complications. Results: One hundred seventeen patients presented with biopsy-confirmed malignant skin lesions of the head and neck. After surgical excision of the malignancy, the wounds were treated with a semiocclusive dressing while waiting for the results of the biopsy report and reconstruction (open wound therapy). Eighty-nine percent of the residual skin defects were repaired within 10 days. The remaining 11% were closed within 35 days. Except for one allergic reaction to neomycin and slight blood oozing from the wound in two patients, no other complications occurred. Conclusions: Open wound therapy is an effective method for managing skin defects after excision of malignant lesions. It is cost-effective and can be done quickly as an in-office procedure under local anesthesia without complications.
The Stern-Gerlach Experiment with Iron

An atomic ray of iron was investigated by the method of Stern and Gerlach. The intensity of the ray was sufficient to make the deposit upon the target directly visible in the vacuum after many hours. The trace was found to be widened when the ray was subjected to the magnetic field, an indication that iron in the vapor state has a magnetic moment. This positive result may remove the apparent discrepancy between spectroscopic prediction and the original negative result of Gerlach.
Direct observation of rotational cooling in thermal desorption: No/Pd(111)

Abstract The rotational energy distribution of nitric oxide desorbed from a Pd(111) surface has been determined directly at high surface temperature by means of laser heating of the substrate. For a surface temperature of T s = 1100 ± 100 K, the rotational energy distribution of the desorbed NO could be described as thermal, but with a significantly lower temperature of T r = 640 ± 40 K.
DNA persistence length revisited

DNA restriction fragments ranging from 79 to 789 base pairs in length have been characterized by transient electric birefringence (TEB) measurements at various temperatures between 4 and 43°C. The DNA fragments do not contain runs of four or more adenine residues in a row and migrate with normal electrophoretic mobilities in polyacrylamide gels, indicating that they are not intrinsically curved or bent. The low ionic strength buffers used for the measurements contained 1 mM Tris Cl, pH 8.0, EDTA, and variable concentrations of Na+ or Mg2+ ions. The rotational relaxation times were obtained by fitting the TEB field-free decay signals with a nonlinear least-squared fitting program; the decay of the birefringence was monoexponential for fragments ≤ 241 base pair (bp) in length and multiexponential for larger fragments. The terminal relaxation times, characteristic of the end-over-end rotation of the DNA molecules, were then used todetermine the persistence length (p) and hydrodynamic radius (r) of DNA as a function of temperature and ionic strength, using several different hydrodynamic models. The specific values obtained for p and r are model dependent. The wormlike chain model of P. J. Hagerman and B. H. Zimm (Biopolymers 1981, Vol. 20, pp. 1481–1502) combined with the revised Broersma equation (J. Newman et al., Journal of Mol Biol 1997, Vol. 116, pp. 593–606) appears to be the most suitable for describing the flexibility of DNA in low ionic strength solutions. The values of p and r obtained from the global least squares fitting of this equation are independent of DNA length, and the deviations of the individual values from the average are reasonably small. The consensus r value calculated for DNA in various low ionic strength solutions containing 1 mM Tris buffer is 14.7 ± 0.4 A at 20°C. The consensus p values decrease from 814 ∼ 564 A in solutions containing 1 mM Tris buffer plus 0.2–1 mM NaCl and decrease still further to 440 A in solutions containing 0.2 mM Mg2+ ions. The persistence length exhibits a shallow maximum at 20°C and decreases slowly upon either increasing or decreasing the temperature, regardless of the model used to fit the data. By contrast, the consensus values of the hydrodynamic radius are independent of temperature. The calculated persistence lengths and hydrodynamic radii are compared with other data in the literature. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 61: 261–275, 2002
Novel functionalization of Ti-V alloy and Ti-II using atomic layer deposition for improved surface wettability.

Abstract Surface wettability characteristics of commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti/Ti-II) and titanium Grade 5 alloy (Ti–6Al–4V/Ti-V) with 10 nm-thick atomic layer deposited (ALD) TiO 2 from Tetrakis DiEthyl Amino Titanium and water vapor were studied in conjunction with cleaning steps before and after the ALD treatment. The wettability characteristics of rough Ti-II and Ti-V samples were investigated after each step, that is, as received, after de-ionized (DI) water rinse followed by N 2 drying, sonication in methanol, ALD treatment, and post-ALD DI water rinse. Samples without ALD or cleaning treatments were hydrophobic to variable extents, depending on exposure to different environments, surface impurities, roughness, and aging. Surface treatments reported in the literature resulted in hydrophilic/hydrophobic surfaces likely due to organic and/or inorganic impurities. In this study, (i) it is established that it is critically important to probe surface wettability after each substrate treatment; (ii) both Ti-II and Ti-V surfaces are found to become more hydrophilic after each one of the sequential treatments used; and (iii) independently of the initial wettability characteristics of Ti-II and Ti-V surfaces, the aforementioned treatments result in a water contact angle well below 10°, which is an important factor in cellular response. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of ALD titania films indicated trace impurities in them. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction suggested amorphous ALD TiO 2 at 200 °C; anatase TiO 2 was obtained with as little as 5 min annealing at 600 °C in nitrogen.