cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Local hydration environments of amino acids and dipeptides studied by X-ray spectroscopy of liquid microjets.

The nitrogen K-edge spectra of aqueous proline and diglycine solutions have been measured by total electron yield near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy at neutral and high pH. All observed spectral features have been assigned by comparison to the recently reported spectrum of aqueous glycine and calculated spectra of isolated amino acids and hydrated amino acid clusters. The sharp preedge resonances at 401.3 and 402.6 eV observed in the spectrum of anionic glycine indicate that the nitrogen terminus is in an “acceptor-only” configuration, wherein neither amine proton is involved in hydrogen bonding to the solvent, at high pH. The analogous 1s → σ*NH preedge transitions are absent in the NEXAFS spectrum of anionic proline, implying that the acceptor-only conformation observed in anionic glycine arises from steric shielding induced by free rotation of the amine terminus about the glycine CN bond. Anionic diglycine solutions exhibit a broadened 1s → π*CN resonance at 401.2 eV and a ...
Magnetic resonance imaging of objects with dipolar-broadened spectra using soft excitation pulses

Feasibility of acquiring high-resolution 3D NMR images of objects with dipolar-broadened spectra by using soft excitation pulses is experimentally demonstrated. The models are liquid-crystalline phantoms and a pencil eraser. The pulse sequence is a standard 3D gradient-echo sequence.
Vaccination Against Marek’s Disease and Infectious Bursal Disease. II. Titration and In Vivo Efficacy of the Coinfection-Derived Bivalent Live Vaccine for Turkey Herpesvirus and Infectious Bursal Disease Virus

Abstract The bivalent HVT/IBDV live vaccine, developed by cocultivation of the turkey herpesvirus (HVT) and infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) vaccine in cell cultures, was quantitated. The titer of each constituent virus could be successfully determined in vitro by pretreatment of the vaccine with anti-IBDV serum or chloroform (CHCl3). Studies in vivo further demonstrated that the anti-IBDV serum-treated HVT/IBDV vaccine lost its immunogenicity by failing to induce IBDV-neutralizing antibody or to protect vaccinates from bursal atrophy after challenge exposure to infectious bursal disease. The CHCl3 treatment significantly reduced the efficacy of the vaccine to protect vaccinates against Marek's disease challenge.
Programmable Mixing of Color Graphics and External Video Using New Lsi Display Processor

The mixing of two video sources up to now has been accomplished by using discrete analog components. The new LSI video display processor (VDP) is the first integrated circuit with the provision for mixing, under software control, an external composite video signal with its own 15 color single pin composite video. The mechanics of this interface and its implications are discussed.
Measuring water content of Martian soil simulants using planar four-probes

A miniature four-point probe instrument has been developed and applied to the characterization of the moisture content of the Martian soil simulants using fine and coarse silica sand and Moses Lake basalt. The results indicate that the soil resistivity varies over four orders of magnitude as the moisture content varied from 0.1% to over 10%. In addition it was found that forcing too much current through the sand sample resulted in a curious breakdown in the current-voltage characteristic.
For Nosocomial Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal Infections: The Ounce of Prevention or the Pound of Cure?

ICU patients. This is a significant problem, because VRE infections appear to be more deadly and more costly than do infections caused by vancomycin-susceptible strains [3‐5]. Second, many epidemiologic studies have shown better control of VRE using active surveillance cultures and contact
Uncertainty reasoning for service-based situational awareness information on the Semantic Web

Accurate situational assessment is key to any decision making especially crucial in military command and control, air traffic control, and complex system decision making [1]. Endsley [2] describes three dependent levels of situational awareness, (1) perception, (2) understanding, and (3) projection. This research is focused on Endsley's [2] second-level situational awareness (understanding) as it applies to service-oriented information technology environments in the context of the Semantic Web. Specifically, this research addresses the problem of developing accurate situational assessments related to the status or health of IT services especially composite, dynamic IT services, when some of Endsley's [2] first level (perceived) information is inaccurate or incomplete. This research plans to use Costa's [3] probabilistic Web ontology language (PR-OWL) framework to build an ontology that supports reasoning with service-oriented information in the context of the Semantic Web and then assess the effectiveness of the developed ontology.
Effects of Intraocular Ranibizumab and Bevacizumab in Transgenic Mice Expressing Human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Objective This study compared the effects of intraocular injections of ranibizumab (RBZ) and bevacizumab (BVZ) in transgenic mouse models in which human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) causes subretinal neovascularization (NV) or exudative retinal detachment. Design Randomized trials in animal models. Participants Transgenic mice in which the rhodopsin promoter drives expression of human VEGF in photoreceptors ( rho/VEGF mice) and double transgenic mice with doxycycline-inducible expression of human VEGF in photoreceptors ( Tet/opsin/VEGF mice). Methods Rho/VEGF mice received intraocular injections of RBZ, BVZ, or vehicle, and after various time periods the area of subretinal NV was measured. Tet/opsin/VEGF mice were given an intraocular injection of RBZ, BVZ, or vehicle, and after 5 days of doxycycline treatment the presence or absence of retinal detachment was determined. Main Outcome Measures Area of subretinal NV per retina in rho/VEGF mice and the occurrence of retinal detachment in Tet/opsin/VEGF mice. Results In rho/VEGF mice, intraocular injections of RBZ or BVZ strongly suppressed subretinal NV, but the duration of effect was greater for BVZ. Three injections of 10 μg of BVZ over the course of 2 weeks not only suppressed subretinal NV in the injected eye but also caused significant suppression in the fellow eye, indicating a systemic effect. In doxycycline-treated Tet/opsin/VEGF mice, intraocular injection of 10 μg of BVZ significantly reduced the incidence of exudative retinal detachment compared with injection of 10 μg of RBZ. Injection of 25 μg of BVZ reduced the incidence of retinal detachment in both eyes. Conclusions Intraocular injections of RBZ and BVZ had similar efficacy in rho/VEGF mice, but the duration of effect was greater for BVZ. In Tet/opsin/VEGF mice, in which expression levels of human VEGF are very high and the phenotype is severe, BVZ showed greater efficacy than RBZ. In both models, higher doses or repeated injections of BVZ, but not RBZ, resulted in a systemic effect. These data suggest that BVZ is not inferior to RBZ for treatment of subretinal NV in mice and is superior in a severe model. The systemic effects of BVZ after intraocular injection deserve further study and consideration of their potential consequences. Financial Disclosure(s) Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
Exposition de vêtements de femmes des Premières Nations : L’Indian Style Show du Denver Art Museum

Le vetement, element habituel des expositions ethnographiques, est generalement presente a plat dans une boite ou drape sur un mannequin. En 1942, Frederic Douglas s’est servi des 53 vetements de femmes des Premieres Nations conserves au Denver Art Museum pour organiser un defile de haute couture. Presente plus de 150 fois entre 1942 et 1972, ce defile visait a eliminer les prejuges raciaux en montrant que toutes les femmes aimaient les beaux vetements. J’examinerai ici l’utilisation qui a ete faite des vetements des Premieres Nations dans le cadre de ce defile.
A Phonologically Based Strategy to Improve Word-Finding Abilities in Children

This study reports the effectiveness of a three-pronged (segmentation, phonological neighbor cues, and rehearsal) phonologically based strategy designed to reduce the word-finding errors of two thi...
Different Arginine Transfer Ribonucleic Acid Species Prevalent in Shaken and Unshaken Cultures of Neurospora

When the arginyl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) species isolated from unshaken and from shaken cultures of Neurospora were compared by co-chromatography, a marked change in the relative abundance of the two main tRNAarg species was found. The two arginine tRNA species had different codon responses in ribosome binding assays. The tRNAarg eluting first (prevalent in shaken cultures) bound strongly to polyadenylic-guanylic acid [poly(A,G)] and to a lesser extent to polycytidylic-guanylic-adenylic acid [poly(C,G,A)]. The second tRNAarg species (prevalent in unshaken cultures) bound to poly(C,G,A) but not to poly(A, G). The possible significance of these observations is briefly discussed. Several modifications that improve the yield of tRNA from Neurospora were introduced in a standard isolation procedure.
Variable effects of timber harvest on the survival, growth, and reproduction of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.)

Timber harvest is a recurrent, widespread canopy disturbance that has long-affected the eastern decid- uous forest. Multi-dimensional shifts in forest dynamics occur following timbering, and while a great deal of research on tree response to timbering has been performed, far less focus has been placed on herba- ceous understory response to timbering. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) is a long-lived, eco- nomically valuable medicinal herb believed to be adapted to the dynamic light conditions of old- growth forests. The purpose of this study was to determine if timber harvests of varying intensity had positive, neutral, or negative effects on the survival, growth, and reproduction of wild American ginseng. Hemispherical images were used to calculate the canopy openness above ginseng plants. Population cen- sus data were used to obtain measurements of survival, relative growth rate, seed production, seed pro- duction efficiency, and new seedling emergence. Changes in survival and seed production in response to timbering were analyzed using log-likelihood analyses, and the responses of relative growth rate and seed production efficiency to timbering were analyzed using nested two-way ANOVAs. Initial ginseng survival varied among sites, with lowest survival at the more intensely timbered site. Additionally, long-term survival decreased following timbering. Relative growth rate of individuals increased following timbering in both short-term and long-term analyses, with relative growth rate being greatest at sites where more tree biomass was removed. While seed production decreased the year directly following tim- bering, seed production increased over the three years after timbering. Both short-term and long-term effects of timbering on seed production efficiency differed among populations. While seed production increases in the years after timbering, this stimulation may not be realized due to sub-optimal germina- tion conditions. Due both to decreases in survival following timbering and the unlikely continued increases in growth and seed production as the canopy fills in, some of these often-used timbering strate- gies negatively impact ginseng performance. Silvicultural strategies that mimic old-growth forest struc- ture may be better suited for the conservation of ginseng and other similar obligate understory species. 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Diffuse disconnectivity in traumatic brain injury: a resting state fMRI and DTI study

Diffuse axonal injury is a common pathological consequence of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Diffusion Tensor Imaging is an ideal technique to study white matter integrity using the Fractional Anisotropy (FA) index which is a measure of axonal integrity and coherence. There have been several reports showing reduced FA in individuals with TBI, which suggest demyelination or reduced fiber density in white matter tracts secondary to injury. Individuals with TBI are usually diagnosed with cognitive deficits such as reduced attention span, memory and executive function. In this study we sought to investigate correlations between brain functional networks, white matter integrity, and TBI severity in individuals with TBI ranging from mild to severe. A resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol was used to study the default mode network in subjects at rest. FA values were decreased throughout all white matter tracts in the mild to severe TBI subjects. FA values were also negatively correlated with TBI injury severity ratings. The default mode network showed several brain regions in which connectivity measures were higher among individuals with TBI relative to control subjects. These findings suggest that, subsequent to TBI, the brain may undergo adaptation responses at the cellular level to compensate for functional impairment due to axonal injury.
Integrated Mapping Package—A Physical Mapping Software Tool Kit

Abstract We have developed an integrated physical mapping computer software package (IMP), originally designed to support the physical mapping of human chromosome 13 and expanded to support several gene-identification projects based on the positional candidate approach. IMP displays map data in a form that provides useful guidelines to the end users. An integrated map with high resolution and confidence is constructed from different types of mapping data, including hybridization experiments, STS-based PCR assays, genetic linkage mapping, cDNA localization, and FISH data. The map is also designed to provide suggestions for specific experiments that are required to obtain maps with even higher resolution and confidence. To this end, the optimization employs multiple constraints that take into account already established STS “scaffold” maps. This software thus serves as an important general tool kit for physical mapping, sequencing, and gene-hunting projects.
Split query processing in polybase

This paper presents Polybase, a feature of SQL Server PDW V2 that allows users to manage and query data stored in a Hadoop cluster using the standard SQL query language. Unlike other database systems that provide only a relational view over HDFS-resident data through the use of an external table mechanism, Polybase employs a split query processing paradigm in which SQL operators on HDFS-resident data are translated into MapReduce jobs by the PDW query optimizer and then executed on the Hadoop cluster. The paper describes the design and implementation of Polybase along with a thorough performance evaluation that explores the benefits of employing a split query processing paradigm for executing queries that involve both structured data in a relational DBMS and unstructured data in Hadoop. Our results demonstrate that while the use of a split-based query execution paradigm can improve the performance of some queries by as much as 10X, one must employ a cost-based query optimizer that considers a broad set of factors when deciding whether or not it is advantageous to push a SQL operator to Hadoop. These factors include the selectivity factor of the predicate, the relative sizes of the two clusters, and whether or not their nodes are co-located. In addition, differences in the semantics of the Java and SQL languages must be carefully considered in order to avoid altering the expected results of a query.
Robust control design via linear programming

This paper deals with the problem of synthesizing or designing a feedback controller of fixed dynamic order. The closed loop specifications considered here are given in terms of a target performance vector representing a desired set of closed loop transfer functions connecting various signals. In general these point targets are unattainable with a fixed order controller. By enlarging the target from a fixed point set to an interval set the solvability conditions with a fixed order controller are relaxed and a solution is more easily enabled. Results from the parametric robust control literature can be used to design the interval target family so that the performance deterioration is acceptable, even when plant uncertainty is present. It is shown that it is possible to devise a computationally simple linear programming approach that attempts to meet the desired closed loop specifications.
Impact of Organic Solvents on Cytochrome P450 Probe Reactions: Filling the Gap with (S)-Warfarin and Midazolam Hydroxylation

(S)-Warfarin 7-hydroxylation and midazolam 1′-hydroxylation are among the preferred probe substrate reactions for CYP2C9 and CYP3A4/5, respectively. The impact of solvents on enzyme activity, kinetic parameters, and predicted in vivo hepatic clearance (ClH) associated with each reaction has not been evaluated. The effects of increasing concentrations [0.1–2% (v/v)] of six organic solvents (acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, dimethyl sulfoxide, acetone, isopropanol) were first tested on each reaction using human liver microsomes (HLMs), human intestinal microsomes (midazolam 1′-hydroxylation only), and recombinant enzymes. Across enzyme sources, relative to water, acetonitrile and methanol had the least inhibitory effect on (S)-warfarin 7-hydroxylation (0–58 and 9–96%, respectively); acetonitrile, methanol, and ethanol had the least inhibitory effect on midazolam 1′-hydroxylation (0–29, 0–22, and 0–20%, respectively). Using HLMs, both acetonitrile and methanol (0.1–2%) decreased the Vmax (32–60 and 24–65%, respectively) whereas methanol (2%) increased the Km (100%) of (S)-warfarin-hydroxylation. (S)-Warfarin ClH was underpredicted by 21–65% (acetonitrile) and 13–84% (methanol). Acetonitrile, methanol, and ethanol had minimal to modest impact on both the kinetics of midazolam 1′-hydroxylation (10–24%) and predicted midazolam ClH (2–20%). In conclusion, either acetonitrile or methanol at ≤0.1% is recommended as the primary organic solvent for the (S)-warfarin 7-hydroxylation reaction; acetonitrile is preferred if higher solvent concentrations are required. Acetonitrile, methanol, and ethanol at ≤2% are recommended as primary organic solvents for the midazolam 1′-hydroxylation reaction. This information should facilitate optimization of experimental conditions and improve the interpretation and accuracy of in vitro-in vivo predictions involving these two preferred cytochrome P450 probe substrate reactions.
QUALITY OF COFFEE CREAMERS AS A FUNCTION OF PROTEIN SOURCE

Many U.S. consumers add a sweetener or creaming agent to their brewed coffee. An ideal creamer, when added to coffee, should remain stable, dissolve readily, and provide whitening ability. In general, these properties are imparted by the protein component. Four different proteins - sodium caseinate, isolated wheat protein, soy protein isolate and whey protein concentrate - were used to formulate coffee creamers, individually and in combination, and the resultant creamers were evaluated for functionality. Coffee creamers containing plant proteins had significantly greater apparent viscosity but lower L* values than did creamers made with dairy proteins. Creamers made with higher concentrations of isolated wheat protein exhibited syneresis, whereas no syneresis occurred if sodium caseinate was the predominant protein. Only the creamer formulated with soy protein isolate alone exhibited feathering when added to hot, brewed coffee. These results indicate that coffee creamers can be formulated with plant proteins and sodium caseinate.
The cytosolic N-terminus of presenilin-1 potentiates mouse ryanodine receptor single channel activity

Ryanodine receptors (RyRs) amplify intracellular Ca(2+) signals by massively releasing Ca(2+) from intracellular stores. Exaggerated chronic Ca(2+) release can trigger cellular apoptosis underlying a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Aberrant functioning of presenilin-1 (PS1) protein instigates Ca(2+)-dependent apoptosis, providing a basis for the "calcium hypothesis" of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To get insight into this problem, we hypothesized that the previously reported physical interaction between RyR and PS1 modulates functional properties of the RyR. We generated a soluble cytoplasmic N-terminal fragment of PS1 comprising the first 82 amino acid (PS1 NTF(1-82)), the candidate for interaction with putative cytoplasmic modulatory sites of the RyR, and studied its effect on single channel currents of mouse brain RyRs incorporated in lipid bilayers. PS1 NTF(1-82) strongly increased both mean currents (EC(50)=12nM, Hill coefficient (n(H)) approximately 1) and open probability for higher sublevels for single RyR channels (EC(50)=7nM, n(H) approximately 2). Bell-shaped Ca(2+)-activation curve remained unchanged, suggesting that PS1 NTF(1-82) allosterically potentiates RyRs, but that the channel still requires Ca(2+) for activation. Corroborating such an independent mechanism, the RyR potentiation by PS1 NTF(1-82) was overridden by receptor desensitization at high [Ca(2+)] (pCa>5). This potentiation of RyR by PS1 NTF(1-82) reveals a new mechanism of physiologically relevant PS1-regulated Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores, which could be alternative or additional to recently reported intracellular Ca(2+) leak channels formed by PS1 holoproteins.
Bridging the Interconnection Density Gap for Exascale Computation

Three-dimensional silicon interposers are the basis for an architectural approach that bridges the interconnection density between FR-4 printed circuit boards and silicon ICs. The promise is increased performance and less complexity relative to monolithic silicon-based designs.
RF-Enhanced Contacts to Wide-Bandgap Devices

This letter proposes a novel approach to fabricate high-performance heterostructure microwave devices with nonohmic contacts. The contact can be as-deposited or made by "shallow" low-temperature annealing to form a low-height Schottky barrier while preserving the two-dimensional electron-gas layer (2DEG) at the heterointerface. Coupling between the metal and the 2DEG occurs via two paths: dc current injects through the barrier leakage current and ac-current component injects through capacitive coupling. Contacts with resistive/capacitive coupling have low microwave impedance and enhance the heterostructure field-effect transistor's maximum oscillation frequency, output power, and power-added efficiency as compared to resistive ohmic contacts
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of health care-associated infection.

From 1975 through 1980, MRSA infection spread to hospitals in previously unaffected areas of the United States, and the number of institutions reporting cases of MRSA infection increased considerably [1], From 1983 through the early 1990s, the prevalence of health care-associated (HA) MRSA infection increased dramatically, and it continued to increase more gradually during the latter half of the 1990s [2, 3]. In 1998, Herold et al. [4] reported an alarming increase in the occurrence of community-associated (CA) MRSA infection among young children with none of the typical risk factors associated with HA MRSA. Within a few years, CA MRSA strains became widely disseminated, accounting for 15%-74% of S. aureus skin and soft-tissue infections seen in emergency departments [5-8]. A recent population-based study of invasive MRSA infection found that 26.6% of infections had onset during a hospitalization, 58.4% were community-onset infections among individuals with previous health care exposures, and 13.7% were CA infections [9]. CA MRSA strains typically have PFGE patterns (e.g., USA300 or USA400) that differ from HA MRSA strains, are staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV or V, produce Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), and are susceptible to most non-/3-lactam antibiotics [6, 10, 11]. The predominant CA MRSA strain in the United States is multilocus sequence type 8 (ST8):USA300:staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IVa, whereas the predominant CA MRSA strains in Europe and Oceania are ST80 and ST30, respectively [ 12, 13] . All predominant CA MRSA strains produce PVL, which is strongly associated with the propensity of these organisms to cause skin and soft-tissue infection, necrotizing fasciitis, and necrotizing pneumonia and with the ability of such strains to spread rapidly [14, 15]. USA300 also carries genes for molecular variants of enterotoxins K and Q and a novel arginine catabolic mobile element that encodes an arginine deiminase pathway and oligopeptide permease system, which may contribute to the epidemiological and clinical virulence of USA300 [14]. CA MRSA strains have been introduced into hospitals by the 15%-23% of patients who require hospitalization for management of their infections [7, 8] and most likely by other colonized patients who require hospital admission for other purposes. In 2003, Saiman et al. [16] reported one of the first recognized outbreaks involving transmission of a CA MRSA strain in a health care facility. Subsequently, a number of nosocomial outbreaks, often
Test-retest reliability of the state-trait personality inventory and the anger expression scale

The State-Trait Personality Inventory and the Anger Expression Scale have been attracting increasing attention in research involving personality assessment, but no data regarding the test-retest reliability of these instruments have been published. The 14-day test-retest correlation coefficients for the subscales of these instruments reflect appropriately low stability for the state scales of the STPI and moderate stability for the STPI trait scales as well as the AX subscales.
Vehicle sprung mass estimation for rough terrain

This paper provides methods and experimental results for recursively estimating the sprung mass of a vehicle driving on rough terrain. A base-excitation model of vertical ride dynamics treats the unsprung vertical accelerations, instead of the terrain profile, as the input to ride dynamics. Recently developed methods based on polynomial chaos and maximum likelihood theory estimate the most likely value of the vehicle sprung mass. The polynomial chaos estimator is compared to least squares and Kalman filtering approaches. An experimental study suggests that the proposed approach provides accurate outputs and is less sensitive to tuning parameters than the benchmark algorithms.
Estimating Risk Tolerance: The Degree of Accuracy and the Paramorphic Representations of the Estimate

Using a sample of 386 financial advisors and 458 of their clients, the study sought to determine how effective financial advisors and clients are at estimating risk-tolerance, and to test how well items from a risk tolerance test and demographic information can represent the judgmental process used to formulate these estimates (a “paramorphic representation” of the decision). The client’s self rating and the advisor’s rating of the client produced a Pearson correlation of .40. Moreover, the advisor’s rating correlated at about the same level (r =.41) with the client’s score on a test of risk tolerance. The data also showed that when it comes to estimating one’s own risk tolerance, clients are better than are advisors at this task. The estimates could be represented paramorphically in terms of a few variables. It was observed that advisors assign too much diagnostic value to certain demographic variables in estimating client risk tolerance.
Revising B Cell Receptors

B cell development is often portrayed as a series of decision points that expand an antigen-reactive cell to a clone producing a single antibody. This is hardly the case: B cell development is dependent on a series of error-prone, random rearrangement events that through ongoing diversification
Relationship of previous trap occupancy to capture of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus)

Adult white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) were more likely to be captured in traps previously occupied by conspecific individuals of the opposite sex than in traps previously occupied by the same sex, especially during breeding season. Sex of a mouse in the 3rd capture by a particular trap appeared related to the sexes of mice in both the 1st and 2nd captures. Breeding females were more likely to be captured in traps previously containing males than nonbreeding females. Breeding individuals occurred more often than expected in traps that previously held other breeding mice of the same sex rather than nonbreeding mice. Captures of juveniles were more likely to follow previous captures of juveniles than of adults, probably because members of the same litter were being captured. Finally, whitefooted mice were less likely to be captured in traps that previously held a potential predator, short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda).
Temperature regulation in the unrestrained rabbit during exposure to 600-MHz radiofrequency radiation

SummarySix male New Zealand white rabbits were individually exposed to 600 MHz radiofrequency (RF) radiation for 90 min in a waveguide exposure system at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 20 or 30°C. Immediately after exposure, the rabbit was removed from the exposure chamber and its colonic and ear skin temperatures were quickly measured. The whole-body specific absorption rate (SAR) required to increase colonic and ear skin temperature was determined. At a Ta of 20°C the threshold SAR for elevating colonic and ear skin temperature was 0·64 and 0·26 W/kg, respectively. At a Ta of 30°C the threshold SARs were slightly less than at 20°C, with values of 0·26 W/kg for elevating colonic temperature and 0·19 W/kg for elevating ear skin temperature. The relationship between heat load and elevation in deep body temperature shown in this study at 600 MHz is similar to past studies which employed much higher frequencies of RF radiation (2450–2884 MHz). On the other hand, comparison of these data with studies on exerc...
Characteristics of DDT-Sensitive Ca-ATPase in the Axonic Membrane

A highly DDT-sensitive Ca-ATPase was found in an axonic nerve preparation from the lobster legs. As a result of several attempts to isolate the enzyme apart from other ATPases, an assay condition was devised. This method gives rise to the ATPases activity which is totally sensitive to DDT. By using such an approach the characteristics of the Ca-ATPase was studied. The 150 of the enzyme toward DDT was found to be in the neighborhood of 10−9 M. It has a rather high Ca++ optimum (0.3 mM) suggesting that it is likely an ecto Ca-ATPase located at the surface of the axons. This was confirmed by using an axonic suspension preparation which gave essentially identical results on Ca-ATPase activities and its characteristics. The inhibition of the Ca-ATPase appears to result in the suppression of Ca++ uptake process at the surface of the membrane as judged by a 45Ca++ uptake experiment by using both the membrane and the axonic suspension preparations in the presence of ATP. These results help to explain why DDT poisoned nerve membranes are prone to destabilization and subsequent excitation.
Third-order active-flux scheme for advection diffusion: Hyperbolic diffusion, boundary condition, and Newton solver

Abstract In this paper, we construct active flux schemes for advection diffusion. Active flux schemes are efficient third-order finite-volume-type schemes developed thus far for hyperbolic systems. This paper extends the active flux schemes to advection diffusion problems based on a first-order hyperbolic system formulation that is equivalent to the advection–diffusion equation in pseudo-steady state. An active flux scheme is first developed for a generic hyperbolic system with source terms, applied then to a hyperbolized diffusion system, extended to advection diffusion by incorporating the advective term as a source term, and enabled for unsteady problems by implicit time integration. Boundary conditions are discussed in relation to a non-uniqueness issue, and a weak boundary condition is shown to resolve the issue. Both for steady problems and for sub-iterations within unsteady problems, a globally coupled system of residual equations is solved by Newton’s method. Numerical results show that third-order accuracy is obtained in both the solution and the gradient on irregular grids with rapid convergence of Newton’s method, i.e., four or five residual evaluations are sufficient to obtain the design accuracy in both space and time.
Establishing a Traumatic Brain Injury Program of Care: Benchmarking Outcomes after Institutional Adoption of Evidence-Based Guidelines.

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a widespread global disease, often with widely varying outcomes. Standardization of care and adherence to established guidelines are central to the effort to improve outcomes. At our level I urban trauma center, we developed and implemented a Joint Commission–certified TBI Program of Care in 2011 and compared our post-implementation patient data set with historical controls, using the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials (IMPACT) prognostic model. Historical controls were drawn from the San Francisco General Hospital Traumatic Coma Data Bank (SFGH/TCDB) from 1987 to 1996. Recent era patients were drawn from the NeuroTracker database, a customized electronic medical record used in our clinical practice. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Adherence to four quality-of-care metrics on the clinical service was tracked for 2011–2013. The IMPACT prognostic model was used to calculate expected versus observed mortality for current and hi...
Improved Practices for Packaging Transuranic Waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LA-UR-09-03293)

Transuranic (TRU) waste leaving the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is packaged using LANL’s waste acceptance criteria for onsite storage. Before shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico, each payload container is subject to rigorous characterization to ensure compliance with WIPP waste acceptance criteria and Department of Transportation regulations. Techniques used for waste characterization include nondestructive examination by WIPP-certified real-time radiography (RTR) and nondestructive assay (NDA) of containers, as well as headspace gas sampling to ensure that hydrogen and other flammable gases remain at safe levels during transport. These techniques are performed under a rigorous quality assurance program to confirm that results are accurate and reproducible. If containers are deemed problematic, corrective action is implemented before they are shipped to WIPP. A defensive approach was used for many years to minimize the number of problematic drums. However, based on review of data associated with headspace gas sampling, NDA and RTR results, and enhanced coordination with the entities responsible for waste certification, many changes have been implemented to facilitate packaging of TRU waste drums with higher isotopic loading at the Plutonium Facility at an unprecedented rate while ensuring compliance with waste acceptance criteria. This paper summarizes the details of technical changes and related administrative coordination activities, such as information sharing among the certification entities, generators, waste packagers, and shippers. It discusses the results of all such cumulative changes that have been implemented at the Plutonium Facility and gives readers a preview of what LANL has accomplished to expeditiously certify and dispose of newly generated TRU waste.© 2009 ASME
Latin American cinema

While much of the contemporary scholarship on Latin American cinema focuses on film’s relation to historical, political and social change, Hart’s Latin American Cinema examines the major aesthetic ...
Home Range and Density Estimates for the Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus, in Western Oregon

The northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus , was studied in western Oregon using livetrapping and radiotelemetry. One hundred sixty-five squirrels were captured 1,023 times during 15,922 trap nights, from December 1981 through May 1986. Using the inclusive boundary strip method, home ranges were estimated to be 3.7–4.2 ha. Similarly, with cumulative captures and radiotelemetry locations for five flying squirrels the home ranges also were calculated to be 3.4–4.9 ha using the minimum-convex-polygon technique. Estimates from both methods were dependent linearly upon the number of captures or locations. Evaluation of data from 12 trapping sessions in old-growth forest revealed that ca. 38–73% of the effective trapping area was outside the trapped area. Density estimates in second-growth forest was 0–0.24 squirrels/ha with a mean of 0.12 squirrels/ha. Similarity, in old-growth forest the density estimates were 0.52–1.28 with a mean of 0.85 squirrels/ha.
A taxonomic evaluation of the generic status of ixechinus and mucilopilus ixechineae boletaceae

Ixechinus Heim ex Horak and Mucilopilus Wolfe are evaluated in the light of new information revealed in type studies of taxa belonging to or suspected of belonging to the Ixechineae. It was found that Mucilopilus and Ixechinus differ consistently in four primary and secondary characters. They are, therefore, viewed as good genera. Mucilopilus mexicanus (Guzman) Wolfe and Ixechinus viridis (Heinemann & Goossens) Wolfe are proposed as new combinations in light of the new data presented. Spore print color as a basis for delimiting genera of boletes is discussed. Wolfe (17) recently validated the invalidly published bolete tribe name Ixechineae. I included the genus Mucilopilus Wolfe and the type genus Ixechinus Heim ex Horak in the Ixechineae. It appeared from previously published data that Ixechinus and Mucilopilus differed only in the microchemical reactivity of the pleurocystidia. I also recognized the necessity for studies of type material of Ixechinus taxa to clarify the intergeneric relationships between these two genera. Type studies of Mucilopilus taxa had previously been reported (16). Pegler and Young (11) recently recognized the genus Fistulinella with Ixechinus and Mucilopilus as taxonomic synonyms. They did not, however, discuss the basis for their decision since this clearly was not the intent of their paper. In addition, I do not believe they could have been aware of my publication dealing with the taxonomy and nomenclature of the tribe Ixechineae (17) since both publications appeared at nearly the same time. Since the publication of the genus Mucilopilus (16), I have had the opportunity to examine the type specimens of several taxa belonging to or suspected of belonging to the Ixechineae. The data collected during this current study clearly establishes a hiatus between Ixechinus and Mucilopilus on the basis of four primary and secondary characters (10). This paper evaluates the generic status of Ixechinus and Mucilopilus taxonomically in light of these new data, and presents the results of the type studies. TAXONOMY
BANK LOANS TO ENTREPRENEURS IN RURAL AMERICA

Numerous government programs channel capital into rural communities, assuming that new businesses face major capital shortages in starting up. More such programs are enacted annually. This paper looks at business start-ups in Idaho, Montana and Iowa to see the extent of market failure in rural America. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we found capital to be widely available for start-ups, suggesting that government programs are not warranted.
TB Drug Resistance Among 200 New Smear-positive Patients

Objective To identify characteristics of TB drug resistance of new smear-positive patients and influencing factors so as to provide evidence for drug-resistant TB control.Methods A total of 200 sputum culture positive strains collected from new smear-positive patients were detected by proportion methods for drug resistance to the four first-line anti-TB drugs(INH,SM,RFP and EMB).Results The proportions for initial and multiple-drug resistance were 16.00% and 5.5% respectively.The rates of drug resistance of the 4 anti-TB drugs were 10.50% of INH,9.50% of SM,6.50% of RFP and 3.00% of EMB respectively.Of all 32 drug-resistant strains,the proportions for one-drug,two-drugs and three-four drugs resistance were 50.00%,41.00% and 21.87% respectively.Conclusion TB drug resistance of the city stays at a relatively high level.The identification of TB drug resistance condition,category and incidence is helpful to evaluation of the control effect,and can provide the basis for implementing DOTS strategy as well as devising and adopting measures.
Electric Power Customer Online Clustering Based on Mass Measurement Data

Based on the cloud computing technology,the sample data is divided into some data blocks through MapReduce scheduler. The power customers are clustered by using parallel distributed computing algorithm. Then on the basis of the generated customer clustering and K cluster centers,the online real-time clustering is implemented for the additional customer data by using Canopy algorithm.
Local Approximation of Difference Evaluation Functions

Difference evaluation functions have resulted in excellent multiagent behavior in many domains, including air traffic and mobile robot control. However, calculating difference evaluation functions requires determining the value of a counterfactual system objective function, which is often difficult when the system objective function is unknown or global state and action information is unavailable. In this work, we demonstrate that a local estimate of the system evaluation function may be used to estimate difference evaluations using readily available information, allowing for difference evaluations to be computed in multiagent systems where the mathematical form of the objective function is not known. This approximation technique is tested in two domains, and we demonstrate that approximating difference evaluation functions results in better performance and faster learning than when using global evaluation functions. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the learned policies on a set of Pioneer P3-DX robots.
The Effects of a Romantic Relationship Treatment Option for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adults with mild autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face challenges in romantic relationships. Healthy romantic relationships yield physical and mental health benefits important to improved quality of ...
Completed Sonographic Anatomic Surveys The Exception Rather Than the Rule

OBJECTIVES To determine how often fetal organ systems are imaged completely and whether this rate varies by hospital. METHODS All initial sonographic anatomic examinations between 16 and 24 weeks from 3 hospitals (perinatal designation levels I-III) from January 2012 through December 2013 were identified in their obstetric and gynecologic anatomic survey report databases, focusing on 36 anatomic fields. Structures were grouped into regions: brain, face, spine, heart, abdomen, and extremities. Rates of complete visualization of each structure, structure grouping, and the total were calculated and compared by χ2 testing. RESULTS From 7211 examinations (2578 from level I, 986 from level II, and 3647 from level III), the completion rate was 16.8% (I, 20.6%; II, 20.0%; and III, 13.2%; P < .00001). Brain and extremity imaging was complete 85% of the time or more but spine only 62.4% (sacrum consistently lowest). Completeness rates varied significantly (P< .00001) for the face (28.1%-64.4%, due to low rates of clearing lips at level III, and level I not clearing profiles), heart (37.3%-56.1%, level I < II < III), and abdomen (65.2%-85.7%, due to lower rates of clearing kidneys at level I). Completion of both the heart and spine was 32.0% (I, 23.0%; II, 25.4%; and III, 40.2%; P < .00001). CONCLUSIONS With a comprehensive reporting system, completion rates for full anatomic sonograms are low. Facial, cardiac, and spinal structures are least complete, and follow-up examinations often remain incomplete. Completion benchmarks would be helpful because "incomplete" studies lead to repeated examinations that increase health care costs.
An Evaluation of Two Stimulus Equivalence Training Sequences on the Emergence of Novel Intraverbals

Researchers have begun to investigate the emergence of novel intraverbals using equivalence-based instruction (EBI) in typically developing children (Carp & Petursdottir, 2012; Perez-Gonzalez, Herszlikowicz, & Williams, 2008). We sought to replicate and extend the previous research by investigating two stimulus equivalence training sequences (e.g., linear series—LS and one to many—OTM) in the emergence of novel intraverbals in a two-part study with college students. Experiment 1 was designed to partially replicate the previous research by training intraverbals using an LS arrangement and then testing for the emergence of novel intraverbals. Novel intraverbals did not emerge after baseline training alone for the majority of participants. Experiment 2 investigated whether a different training sequence (i.e., OTM) would result in the emergence of novel intraverbals. Novel intraverbals did emerge following baseline training alone for the majority of participants. Overall, these results suggest that training intraverbals in an OTM training sequence may establish conditional discriminations during training, which may make it a more advantageous sequence, in that following training, more novel intraverbals emerge.
Proper orthogonal decomposition-based reduced basis element thermal modeling of integrated circuits

Summary Various reduced basis element methods are compared for performing transient thermal simulations of integrated circuits. The reduced basis element method is a type of reduced order modeling that takes advantage of repeated geometrical features. It uses a reduced set of basis functions to approximate the solution of a PDE on subdomains (blocks); then these blocks are coupled together to perform a simulation on an entire domain. As the simulations are transient, a proper orthogonal decomposition basis is used, and the proper orthogonal decomposition eigenvalues from each block are used to derive error bounds for the entire simulation. These bounds are used to examine choices of block decompositions for a simplified integrated circuit structure. A decomposition that uses a single block for each transistor device is compared with a decomposition that uses one block for multiple devices. It was found that larger blocks are more computationally efficient; however, the advantage decreases if the devices within a block receive independent signals. Continuous and discontinuous methods of coupling the blocks were also compared. The coupling methods lend themselves to different solution approaches such as static condensation (continuous coupling) and block-based inversion (discontinuous). Static condensation yielded the best convergence rate, accuracy, and operation count. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A γγ coincidence study of transitions in 239 Np and 239 Pu from decay of 243 Am

Gamma-gamma coincidences and singles measurements with Ge detectors have been made on transitions in239Np and239Pu. Eighteen transitions in239Pu and three in239Np have been verified by coincidence data. High resolution singles measurements were made and new values for the energy and intensities ofγ-rays below 350 keV were obtained.
Enhanced detection of chemical plumes in hyperspectral images and movies throughimproved backgroundmodeling

We extend recent work that models the background in hyperspectral images by a single distribution (Gaussian or subspace) to use a mixture of such distributions. This seems to better capture the complexity of the background, which often consists of heterogeneous regions (e.g., sky, mountain and ground). We derive mixture versions of the previous estimators and apply them to benchmark data sets for detecting chemical plumes of known chemicals in hyperspectral images and movies. Our experiments show that the mixture background models consistently outperform their counterparts with a single distribution.
New roles for patients and consumers in assuring high quality care.

Informed patients can take an active role in improving the quality of health care. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.