cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The synergy between cellulose nanofibrils and calcium carbonate in a hybrid composite system

The aim of this study is to evaluate the properties of bio-based composite films prepared from nano/microfibrillated cellulose and calcium carbonate. In addition, a preliminary assessment to investigate the possibility of using such a system as a binder for lignocellulosic materials was conducted. Microfibrillated cellulose/calcium carbonate composite (50:50) produced by FiberLean® Technologies UK (hereafter referred to as FLC) was used as the source of calcium carbonate. The three tested composite systems were pure CNF films and films containing 25 wt% and 50 wt% calcium carbonate. The morphology of the films assessed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy demonstrated the uniform distribution of calcium carbonate on the film surface and in the z-direction. The mechanical properties showed no significant difference between pure CNF films and films containing 25 wt% calcium carbonate (as opposed to films prepared with 50 wt% mineral load). Lap shear testing showed no significant difference between the three tested samples indicating that the presence of calcium carbonate particles did not inhibit the binding properties of CNFs. The presence of calcium carbonate increased the thermal stability of the films. During dewatering analysis, a 25 wt% calcium carbonate load resulted in a maximized retention and a consistent dewatering behavior. At 50 wt% mineral load, the maximum retention obtained was 94% and inconsistent dewatering pattern was observed.
Scale-specific dynamics of high-amplitude bursts in EEG capture behaviorally meaningful variability

Abstract Cascading high-amplitude bursts in neural activity, termed avalanches, are thought to provide insight into the complex spatially distributed interactions in neural systems. In human neuroimaging, for example, avalanches occurring during resting-state show scale-invariant dynamics, supporting the hypothesis that the brain operates near a critical point that enables long range spatial communication. In fact, it has been suggested that such scale-invariant dynamics, characterized by a power-law distribution in these avalanches, are universal in neural systems and emerge through a common mechanism. While the analysis of avalanches and subsequent criticality is increasingly seen as a framework for using complex systems theory to understand brain function, it is unclear how the framework would account for the omnipresent cognitive variability, whether across individuals or tasks. To address this, we analyzed avalanches in the EEG activity of healthy humans during rest as well as two distinct task conditions that varied in cognitive demands and produced behavioral measures unique to each individual. In both rest and task conditions we observed that avalanche dynamics demonstrate scale-invariant characteristics, but differ in their specific features, demonstrating individual variability. Using a new metric we call normalized engagement, which estimates the likelihood for a brain region to produce high-amplitude bursts, we also investigated regional features of avalanche dynamics. Normalized engagement showed not only the expected individual and task dependent variability, but also scale-specificity that correlated with individual behavior. Our results suggest that the study of avalanches in human brain activity provides a tool to assess cognitive variability. Our findings expand our understanding of avalanche features and are supportive of the emerging theoretical idea that the dynamics of an active human brain operate close to a critical-like region and not a singular critical-state.
NV-group: link-efficient reduction for distributed deep learning on modern dense GPU systems

The advanced fabrics like NVIDIA NVLink are enabling the deployment of dense Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems such as DGX-2 and Summit. With the wide adoption of large-scale GPU-enabled systems for distributed deep learning (DL) training, it is vital to design efficient communication such as the Allreduce operation to achieve near-ideal speedup at scale. In this paper, we propose a link-efficient scheme through NVLink-aware cooperative reduction kernels to significantly accelerate Allreduce operations for distributed deep learning applications. By overlapping computation and communication and maximizing utilization of all available NVLinks between CPU and GPU, as well as among GPUs, we demonstrate 1.8X performance improvement of Allreduce on 1,536 GPUs compared to state-of-the-art GPU-Aware MPI and NVIDIA NCCL libraries. Finally, we demonstrate 93.9% and 89.7% scaling efficiency (i.e., 15X and 172X speedup) for training ResNet-50 models using TensorFlow on a 16-GPU DGX-2 node and on 192-GPUs of the Summit system, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that achieves near-ideal scaling efficiency for distributed DL training and deals with designs tailored for cutting-edge systems like DGX-2 and Summit clusters.
Recovery after football-related concussion: Does age of first exposure matter?

The debate over potential negative consequences from repeated head impacts associated with American football has critical implications for sport participation and the clinical management of current and former contact sport athletes. Public interest and media attention have focused largely on the late effects (both antemortem and postmortem) observed in individuals with multiple sport-related concussions. Age at first exposure to tackle football is of particular interest, given that youth participation can occur as early as 5 years of age and early exposure overlaps with critical periods of neurodevelopment and increased vulnerability to injury (age <12 years).1 Studies of age at first exposure have yielded conflicting results, with some suggesting exposure to head impacts at a younger age may increase the risk for negative long-term neurologic consequences2,3 and others finding that age at first exposure does not affect long-term brain health.4,5 In the short term, it is unclear how age at first exposure influences postconcussion recovery, limiting the clinician's ability to prognosticate and tailor postconcussion management on the basis of prior duration of exposure.
Patient-centric cybersecurity

Advances in technologies relating to the provision of medical care are rapidly proliferating globally. These advances are being addressed piecemeal through a bevy of new laws, policies and regulati...
In good company: Engaging in the maker movement alongside campus partners

Makerspaces have become increasingly common in academic libraries, but libraries are not alone in their enthusiasm for the creative and innovative culture known as the maker movement. As more libra...
BONDS OF PERFECT UNITY

Christian life centres on the practice of the virtues of faith, hope, and love. Love in turn informs mercy and forgiveness. These virtues are essentially communal, and their fulfilment is withheld until the Second Coming of Jesus. Together, this means that Christian life is a shared life in which the essential practices bind the members together in the presence of Jesus Christ. These claims are developed on the basis of a reading of Chapter 3 of the Letter to the Colossians. The reading is at once exegetical insofar as attention is paid to the Greek text and the author’s historical-cultural context, and philosophical insofar as certain key concepts and phenomena are drawn from the theology of the Letter. What exegesis proposes to the life of faith, philosophy is able to disclose in its objective meaning.
Early timely orthodontic treatment: Treatment of unerupted maxillary laterals

There is no universal agreement as to which type of orthodontic or orthopedic treatment deserves early intervention. In addition, there is a need for more information as to which treatments are the most effective and less costly if they are initiated timely in the mixed dentition. Early timely treatment may benefit young patients with a maxillary transverse deficiency with or without a posterior crossbite that requires maxillary expansion. It may also be indicated in children with anteroposterior jaw discrepancy that requires chin cup or maxillary protraction. In this paper, the authors will focus on early maxillary expansion to facilitate the eruption of maxillary laterals. In specific, the authors will present a contemporary protocol using a bonded maxillary expander as anchorage for treatment of unerupted maxillary laterals. The use of this protocol was illustrated with two case reports to enable clinicians to routinely achieve a beautiful smile on a young patient by timely alignment of the maxillary incisors.
“They Are Nothing More Than His Spies on the Floor”: Local Employees’ Sensemaking and Interpretation of Expatriates’ Roles and Responsibilities:

This study examines how local employees gain information and make sense of new expatriates’ roles and responsibilities in multinational corporations by applying Weick’s sensemaking theory. Data wer...
Reconstruction of Self-similar Functions from Scale-Space

We provide a solution to the problem of reconstructing a fractal interpolation function from its scale-space zeros. Every fractal interpolation function f has a graph that is the attractor of an iterated functions system defined by contractive maps w1,⋯, wn. We construct approximations of these maps from fingerprints in scale-space.
Plant‐Based Modulation of Toll‐like Receptors: An Emerging Therapeutic Model

Plant-based extracts present a large source of natural immune modulators, many of which have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Recent research efforts have identified plant extracts as potential modulators of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), the first responders in immunological defenses in normal and disease conditions. This review aims to provide a comprehensive discussion of the modulatory effects of plant-based extracts on TLR expression, signaling, and activation. We organized the review by extraction solvent and plant part showing how they impacted the TLRs. The phytochemical components of the extracts discovered to enable these effects are diverse and vary based on the plant part. The role of the extraction solvent and differences between the different phytochemical components, such as phenolics and polysaccharides, are discussed. Plant extracts hold promising treatments for controlling inflammation and, conversely, for stimulating the immune response. Further research is needed to identify bioactive components of the extracts, mechanisms of their action, and in vivo pharmacological effects using appropriate disease models to ultimately adapt the findings for clinical use. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
(D) Routes of delivery: Case studies: (7) Ocular delivery of peptide and protein drugs

Abstract Researchers have identified a number of peptide and protein drugs which may be of benefit in treating conditions of the eye. However, the clinical use of these agents may be limited by their low bioavailabilities of ocular tissues following topical application. Few studies to date have addressed the issue of corneal penetration enhancement of peptides, not least perhaps because of concerns over the local toxicity of such agents. This paper reviews the ocular delivery of peptides and the ocular use of penetration enhancement. Further, it reports a general approach to corneal penetration enhancement based on the principle that epithelial tight junctions, modulated by the cell cytoskeleton, are a major component of the permeability barrier. The cytoskeletal modulator, cytochalasin B, has been shown to give a similar increase in permeability to other conventional penetration enhancers, but with substantially less disruption of epithelial cell membranes. This agent may act via a paracellular cytoskeletally modulated mechanism, which may form a basis for developing relatively specific, low-toxicity corneal penetration enhancers.
DNA polymerase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a chromatographic method that allows the separation on a small scale of DNA polymerase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pol α, Pol δ, and Pol ɛ at a crude stage of purification. With proper caution, these partially purified enzymes can then be used in replication and repair studies. To obtain any of the DNA polymerases in pure form, anion-exchange matrices are by far the most efficient in separating these three DNA polymerases. The order of elution from anion-exchange columns is reproducibly the same, that is, Pol δ elutes first, followed by Pol α, and Pol ɛ elutes last. In the absence of readily available specific antibodies to each of the DNA polymerases, a biochemical approach can be employed to determine their identities. For instance, both Pol β and Pol γ are resistant to aphidicolin and sensitive to the presence of dideoxynucleotides in the assay, but only Pol γ is fully active with 50 m M MgC12 in the assay. Pol α is the only enzyme that is inhibited by low levels of N 2 -( p - n -butylphenyl) dGTP (BuPhdGTP). DNA primase activity copurifies with Pol α, but the three nuclear RNA polymerases can also prime DNA synthesis. Only Polγ, Pol δ, and Pol ɛ, because of their associated 3' → 5'- exonuclease activity carry out efficient DNA synthesis on template primers with mismatched primer termini.
A Differential Geometric Approach to Anisotropic Diffusion

The necessity of using a multiscale analysis of images has clearly been established in the literature. The introduction of a continuous scale-space can be found in [187], [386], and [396]. The fundamental constraint on a continuous scale-space is that it be causal; that is, no spurious detail should be generated with increasing scale. Additional constraints involving linearity and symmetry lead to the fact that the Gaussian kernel is the unique scale-space filter. A detailed investigation of scale-space, including its natural differential operators and differential invariants is found in [358]. The issues of discretization of the operators are found in [213].
Information sharing in distributed stochastic bandits

Information sharing is an important issue for stochastic bandit problems in a distributed setting. Consider N players dealing with the same multi-armed bandit problem. All players receive requests simultaneously and must choose one of M actions for each request. Sharing information among these N players can decrease the regret for each of them but also incurs cooperation and communication overhead. In this setting, we study how cooperation and communication can impact the system performance measured by regret and communication cost. For both scenarios, we establish a uniform lower bound to the regret for the entire system as a function of time and network size. Concerning cooperation, we study the problem from a game-theoretic perspective. When each player's actions and payoffs are immediately visible to all others, we identify strategies for all players under which co-operative exploration is ensured. Regarding the communication cost, we consider incomplete information sharing such that a player's payoffs and actions are not entirely available to others. The players communicate observations to each other to reduce their regret, however with a cost. We show that a logarithmic communication cost is necessary to achieve the optimal regret. For Bernoulli arrivals, we specify a policy that achieves the optimal regret with a logarithmic communication cost. Our work opens a novel direction towards understanding information sharing for active learning in a distributed environment.
Surface-plasmon-coupled emission: new technology for studying molecular processes.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the interaction of fluorophores with metallic surfaces that results in surface-plasmon–coupled emission (SPCE), which increases detection sensitivity. This approach allows direction of a large fraction of the emission toward the detector by coupling the emission to surface plasmons on the metallic surfaces. The coupling angle and efficiency of SPCE strongly depend on the interface conditions. The phenomenon of surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) can be applied to fluorescence detection. When an incident beam couples with the evanescent field of a surface plasmon, an excited fluorophore will couple to the surface plasmon throughout an outgoing (emissive) beam. The chapter presents the two cases of experimental studies of SPCE that include (1) a thin dielectric layer (plasmon mode) corresponding to conventional SPR conditions and (2) a thick dielectric layer (wave-guide mode) corresponding to surface plasmon–waveguide resonators (SPWRs) conditions. The SPCE offers new opportunities for high-sensitivity fluorescence detection. Its intrinsic simplicity for efficient fluorescence signal collection helps in developing novel approaches for a simpler design of fluorescence-based detection devices. SPCE may find application for detecting biomolecular binding on the surface (analogous to conventional SPR), medical assay development, and DNA hybridization. SPCE can be easily implemented to high-throughput screening and fluorescence microscopy to facilitate single molecule detection.
Comparison of theoretical and experimental solar cell performance

This paper presents the results of a detailed comparison between the theoretically predicted performance of silicon solar cells and the experimentally observed performance. The comparison has included the dark I-V characteristics, the spectral response characteristics and the I-V characteristics under AM0 illumination. In general it has been found that the agreement between theory and experimental behavior is very good. This good agreement has been obtained for a variety of cells fabricated with junction depths ranging from 0.1 micron to more than 1 micron and for base layer resistivities from 10 to 0.1 ohm-cm.
Sifting limits for the Λ2Λ− sieve

Abstract Sifting limits for the Λ 2 Λ − sieve, Selbergʼs lower bound sieve, are computed for integral dimensions 1 κ ⩽ 10 . The evidence strongly suggests that for all κ ⩾ 3 the Λ 2 Λ − sieve is superior to the competing combinatorial sieves of Diamond, Halberstam, and Richert. A method initiated by Grupp and Richert for computing sieve functions for integral κ is also outlined.
Across-persons versus within-persons tests of expectancy-value models: A methodological note

It has been asserted that (I) tests of expectancy-value models require within-persons analyses and that (2) within-persons analyses yield better predictions of behavioral tendencies than do across-persons analyses. The first assertion is correct; the second is not. Justification for within-persons tests of expectancy-value models must be made on theoretical rather than empirical grounds.
Low-temperature deposition of (110)-oriented barium titanate thin films and their electrical properties

Abstract BaTiO3 thin films with (110) preferred orientation are deposited on Si (111) substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering in the temperature range 500–530°C. The crystallinity and microstructure of the films are characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The effects of process parameters such as working pressure, ratio of the flow rates of oxygen to argon, and substrate temperature on crystallization and orientation of the films are investigated. The optimum deposition process for obtaining (100)-oriented BaTiO3 films is determined to be at 500°C in argon atmosphere with 5% of oxygen at a total pressure of 0.8mTorr. The (110)-oriented BaTiO3 films have a dielectric constant -300 at room temperature and possess high resistivity. The differential conductivity is 5x10−3 siemens/cm at zero bias and below 7.0x10−11 siemens/cm at ±400kV/cm.
Appetite and obesity: a gastroenterologist's perspective

This review focuses on the gastrointestinal tract's control of appetite and interventions directed to the gut that are effective in the treatment of obesity. It examines the evidence linking gut hormones to the control of both appetite and upper gastrointestinal motility, the evidence that stomach function is altered and contributes to satiation in obesity and outlines the principles of therapy for obesity which are directed at the gastrointestinal tract. These therapies impair fat absorption or alter stomach functions through pharmacological, device, endoscopic, or surgical approaches. Gastroenterologists need to understand the role of factors controlling appetite in order to effectively manage the increasing number of obese patients and the ways the gut function may be altered as a result of the treatments and their complications.
Specific isolation and analysis of mucopolysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans) from human urine

Abstract Human urinary mucopolysaccharides (MPS) were isolated and identified by a technique involving cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) precipitation, cellulose acetate electrophoresis and enzymic hydrolysis with testicular hyaluronidase, chondroitinase AC and chondroitinase ABC. The MPS preparations contain no sialic acid or phosphate and thus appeared to be free of glycoproteins and nucleoproteins. The uronic acid: hexosamine ratios range from 0.8 to 1.5. In children and adults the main urinary MPS are chondroitin-4-sulfate and/or chondroitin-6-sulfate with heparan sulfate as a minor component. Little or no dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, heparin or keratan sulfate was found. Urinary MPS of children contain large amounts of a hyaluronidase-resistant, chondroitinase AC-susceptible compound whereas in adults this fraction is greatly diminished or absent. Children with a “marfanoid” syndrome gave positive CTAB screening tests but were within normal limits of MPS excretion when expressed in μmole/mmole creatinine, μmoles/1, μmoles/24 h and nmoles/24 h/kg body weight.
Parafoveal word processing during eye fixations in reading: Effects of word frequency

The present experiment measured eye fixations in reading to determine whether word frequency affects the processing of the fixated word and the processing of the word to the right of the fixated word (the parafoveal word). In the experiment, subjects read sentences that contained either a critical high- or low-frequency target word. High- and low-frequency targets were matched on word length and a number of other variables. In one condition, parafoveal visual information to the right of the fixated word was denied or distorted; in other conditions, information about the parafoveal word to the right of the fixated word was available. The main results showed shorter fixations on high-frequency than on low-frequency target words. Furthermore, readers gained more effective previews from high-frequency parafoveal target words than from low-frequency parafoveal target words.
Destruction of the environmentally hazardous monochlorinated phenols via pyrolysis in an inert atmosphere

Abstract A systematic study is reported of the thermal decomposition of 2-, 3-, and 4-chlorophenol at 1073 K in a nitrogen atmosphere. Fifty-six to seventy-four percent of the materials are converted to graphite, depending on the method of their introduction into a hot quartz tube furnace. Six and six tenths to ten percent of the materials are converted to naphthalene, and the other volatile and semi-volatile products obtained are identified via mass spectroscopic and Chromatographic techniques. Analysis of the nonchlorinated aromatic by-products lends credence to a mechanism of graphitization in which the first step involves carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride expulsion to form five and six carbon radicals.
A step-wise approach to integrating phylogeographic and phylogenetic biogeographic perspectives on the history of a core North American warm deserts biota

In this paper, we develop a five-step approach for analysis of historical relationships among areas of endemism using a set of 22 clades (9 mammal, 7 bird, 4 reptile, 1 amphibian, and 1 cactus) drawn from the warm deserts biota of western North America. As has been suggested in previous studies of portions of this biota, our results suggest a complex biogeographic history, but with substantial support for the influence of several major vicariant events in the diversification and assembly of the aridlands biota. We discuss and demonstrate the reciprocal strengths (and weaknesses) of phylogeography and phylogenetic biogeography for defining areas of endemism, analysing vicariance and dispersal, and dealing with temporal and spatial pseudo-congruence.
Studies of the oxidation of some aminopteridines by xanthine oxidase.

Abstract 1. 1. Extensive studies have been carried out on the oxidation of hydroxypteridines by xanthine oxidase (xanthine: O2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.2.3.2) but little information is available concerning the oxidation of related aminopteridines by this enzyme. We found 2-aminopteridine and the analogous 4-aminopteridine to be substrates for milk xanthine oxidase. 2. 2-Aminopteridine and its 4- and 7- monohydroxylated derivatives were efficiently oxidized at pH 7.4 and 37° by xanthine oxidase to a product identified as 2-amino-4,7-dihydroxypteridine (isoxanthopterin) on the basis of spectroscopic and chromatographic data. The 7-methyl and the 6,7-dimethyl derivatives of 2-aminopteridine were rapidly oxidized by xanthine oxidase, but 4-methyl-2-aminopteridine did not appear to be an effective substrate for the enzyme. 3. 4-Aminopteridine, and the 2- and 7-monohydroxy derivatives of this compound were converted to 4-amino-2,7-dihydroxypteridine by xanthine oxidase. 4-Aminopteridine and its 6,7-dimethyl derivative were oxidized considerably less rapidly than the corresponding 2-aminopteridines. 4. The order of susceptibility of the aminopteridines (2- > 4-) to oxidation by xanthine oxidase was found to be different from that previously reported by Bergmann and Kwietny 9 for the analogous hydroxypteridines (4- > 2-). 5. 4-Hydroxypyrazolo-(3,4-d)-pyrimidine (allopurinol) strongly inhibited the oxidation of the aminopteridines by xanthine oxidase.
Osteonecrosis of metacarpal heads in systemic lupus erythematosus. Value of radiostrontium scintimetry in differential diagnosis.

A patient is presented who had multiple areas of osteonecrosis occurring during corticosteroid therapy for systemic lupus erythematosus. Involvement of the metacarpal heads, not reported previously, was present. Radiostrontium scanning, which has proved useful in the early diagnosis of osteonecrosis, was used to document this complication and allowed detection of additional involved areas which appeared normal on routine roentgenograms.
Missile Autopilot Designs Using H8 Control with Gain Scheduling and Dynamic Inversion

Twononlinearcontrollerdesignsarepresentedforabank-to-turn,air-to-airmissile.Thee rstcontrollerisagainscheduled H1 design, and the second is a nonlinear dynamic inversion design using a two-timescale separation. We carried out a number of time- and frequency-domain analysis procedures on the resulting designs and tested their performance on a nonlinear simulation of the missile. We compared the controller designs for nominal performance, robustness to uncertainties in the aerodynamic coefe cients, and sensitivity to measurement noise. The dynamic inversion controller was found to be signie cantly less robust to aerodynamic uncertainty. Using a π-analysis test on a linearization of the closed-loop dynamics with the dynamic inversion controller, we were able to e nd a destabilizing aerodynamic uncertainty for the full nonlinear system.
Towards a Formalization of Affordance Modeling in the Early Stages of Design

When developing an artifact, designers must first capture and represent consumer needs. These needs can then be transformed into system requirements or objectives. This paper proposes a formalized affordance-based method for capturing consumer needs which leverages previous work in the area of Affordance-based design. The creation of an affordance basis and a relational structure (the Desired Affordance Model) facilitates the use of affordances to represent consumer needs. This formalization has the potential to improve model quality and consistency, while managing model creation time. Further, this formalization imposes a level of abstraction which forces solution independence but is capable of capturing the large range of consumer needs.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Electrometric titration of volatile oils and volatile oil isolates using lithium aluminum hydride.

The development of an electrometric lithium aluminum hydride titration procedure for the quantitative determination of certain functional groups has been described in a previous paper. In this report results of an investigation studying the feasibility of this method of analysis as applied to essential oils and essential oil isolates are presented. Analytical data were obtained for a number of substances of pharmaceutical interest. The value of the method as a criterion for purity and identity of volatile oils is also discussed.
Pedicide revisited. The slaughter continues.

Pedicide, a reliable indicator of interpersonal violence and severe child abuse, has risen in Cuyahoga County (Metropolitan Cleveland), Ohio, U.S.A., over the past quarter of a century, paralleling or exceeding the increase in adult homicide. However, neonaticides have decreased, a phenomenon mirroring a marked fall in fatal maternal criminal abortions. As previously noted, modalities of lethal violence in pedicide are significantly determined by victim age. An increasing proportion of pedicide victims, like their adult counterparts, have been killed by firearms. Pedicide victims are much apt to be killed by close relatives than are adult homicide victims. Similarly, perpetrators of pedicide are much more likely to commit suicide than are their adult-slaying counterparts. Fatally "battered" children, the victims of multiple, metasynchronous traumata, represent a significant fraction (22%) of the overall pedicide population and constitute a segment of the victims with a potential for being saved by intervention. Overall, pedicide remains a challenge to our profession and a threat to society as a whole.
Systemic immunologic and inflammatory aspects of allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is a common chronic condition that is characterized by inflammation of the nasal mucosa. Although allergic rhinitis is a condition with upper respiratory symptoms, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that allergic rhinitis may be linked to the development of systemic allergic manifestations that include allergic asthma. The evidence reveals that individuals with allergic rhinitis are sensitized to the eliciting allergens and exhibit cutaneous and respiratory hypersensitivity responses on exposure to the allergen. On exposure to a nasal allergen, circulating immunoglobulin E levels increased and remained elevated 2 weeks after the initial provocation. Patients with allergic rhinitis exhibit peripheral eosinophilia and basophilia, the magnitude of which correlates with the severity of symptoms. Additionally, there are several links between allergic rhinitis and asthma. First, 85% to 95% of patients with allergic asthma report rhinitis symptoms, and the severity of the 2 conditions increases in parallel on exposure to an allergen. Second, nasal administration of allergens can provoke impaired lower airway airflow in 25% to 30% of individuals and cause airway eosinophilia, as evidenced by increased numbers of eosinophils in sputum and mucosal biopsy specimens. Third, the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis with both systemic (eg, antihistamines) and local agents (eg, glucocorticosteroid analogues) can alleviate the symptoms of asthma. In summary, evidence that associates allergic rhinitis with systemic immunologic and inflammatory processes is growing, thereby warranting further in-depth investigation.
Continuous hard x-ray imager for astrophysics

CHIP -- the continuous hard x-ray imager for astrophysics) -- is a powerful hard x ray imaging spectroscopy mission, an order of magnitude more sensitive to hard x rays than XTE, comprised of the large uniform coverage imager (LUCY) for all-sky coverage and the deep extragalactic survey imager (DESI) for more sensitive pointed observations. Both instrument complements will utilize the room temperature semiconductor CdZnTe in mosaiced arrays of position sensitive devices in conjunction with coded masks. Each unit will provide imaging from 2 - 100 keV with approximately 1 keV energy resolution throughout the entire energy range and few arcminute intrinsic spatial resolution. LUCY will provide (1) a complete flux- limited sample of the hard x-ray contents of our galaxy as well as of the extragalactic sky, (2) alarms and precise positions for transient phenomena on all timescales from seconds to days, and (3) continuous spectral/temporal studies of these objects over a vast range of timescales from seconds to days, to months, to years. DESI will extend LUCY's coverage even deeper by viewing a small portion of the hard x-ray sky (0.01 sr) for background limited studies of individual objects considerably deeper than present or future hard x-ray instruments.
Psychological and physical predictors of illness intrusiveness in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Abstract Physical disability as well as psychological factors may contribute to illness intrusiveness. The aim of this study was to determine if level of disability, anxiety, and depression predicted illness intrusiveness in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). A second aim of this study was to determine if anxiety and depression moderated the impact of disability on illness intrusiveness. MS (N = 185) patients were recruited from a MS outpatient clinic that was part of a major medical center in New Jersey. Hierarchical linear regressions demonstrated that disability, anxiety, and depression each independently predicted illness intrusiveness. Anxiety and depression were not shown to moderate the impact of disability on illness intrusiveness. Implications of results from the first aim suggest that reducing psychological distress such as anxiety and depression may also reduce illness intrusiveness in patients with MS.
Syneresis and its possible role in cataractogenesis

Abstract Theoretical calculations were performed to assess the relative contribution to turbidity of changes in the refractive index as compared to changes in the aggregate size. It was found that while the size contribution depends on the physical model adopted, the contribution of refractive index fluctuation amplitude is model independent. From theoretical consideration as well as on the basis of experimental evidences it was shown that a syneretic process in the lens can be an important contributor to cataractogenesis. Syneresis that starts with changes in the local hydration of lens protein can proceed to vacuole and lake formations, in extreme. Therefore, it is proposed that syneresis with or without an accompanying aggregation process can account for a large part of opacification.
Identification of a DNA transformation gene required for com101A+ expression and supertransformer phenotype in Haemophilus influenzae.

Abstract DNA sequencing, RNA mapping, and protein expression experiments revealed the presence of a gene, tfoX+, encoding a 24.9-kDa polypeptide, that is transcribed divergently from a common promoter region with the Haemophilus influenzae rec-1+ gene. H. influenzae strains mutant for tfoX failed to bind transforming DNA and were transformation deficient. Primer extension experiments utilizing in vivo total RNA from precompetent and competent H. influenzae cells demonstrated that transcription of tfoX+ increased immediately upon competence induction, suggesting that tfoX+ is an early competence gene. Similar experiments showed that the expression of the late competence-specific gene, com101A+, was tfoX+ dependent. Moreover, expression of plasmid-borne tfoX+ in H. influenzae resulted in constitutive competence. The addition of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to strains carrying a tfoX::lacZ operon fusion resulted in an immediate increase in beta-galactosidase activity that correlated with an increase in genetic transformability. Collectively, our results suggest that TfoX may play a key role in the development of genetic competence by regulating the expression of late competence-specific genes.
Role of IFN-γ and α in IL 1 Synthesis and Secretion of in vitro Differentiated Human Macrophages: A Comparative Study

Abstract Human blood monocytes (Mo) cultured in vitro differentiate to macrophages (Mx) and lose the capacity to secrete interleukin 1 (IL 1) in response to endotoxin (LPS). Incubation of Mo with interferon gamma or alpha (IFN-γ or IFN-α) prevented this loss of IL 1 secretory potential during the first 24 h of culture. However, there were marked differences between the two interferons if culture period was extended beyond 24 h. Incubation of Mo with IFN-γ for 48 or 72 h induced IL 1 release in response to LPS in all the donors without exception. In contrast, 48-h incubation of Mo with IFN-α alpha caused IL 1 secretion (in response to LPS) in only a minority of donors, while 72-h incubation resulted in very little or no IL 1 release in all the individuals tested. Moreover, only IFN-γ had the capacity to reinduce IL 1 secretory potential in Mx which had lost the capacity to secrete IL 1 during previous culture. These and other results suggest that IFN-α differs from IFN-γ in being: (1) a less potent IL 1 inducer, (2) ineffective in maintaining IL 1 secretory capacity of fresh Mo for more than 48–72 h, (3) completely unable to reinduce IL 1 secretory potential in culture-derived Mx. Thus, the two species of IFN appear to have a markedly different role in IL 1 synthesis and secretion.
Electron-scattering cross sections pertinent to electron microscopy*

Some elements of the physics that determine cross sections are discussed, and various sources of data are indicated that should be useful for analytical microscopy. Atoms, molecules, and to some extent, solids are considered. Inelastic and elastic scattering of electrons and some solid-state effects are treated. 30 references. (JFP)
Relation of Composition of the Aqueous Phase to Oxidized Flavor Development by Dialyzed Globular Milk Fat

Abstract Six per cent dialyzed milk fat and 4ppm copper were incorporated into: 1) salt solutions containing sodium citrate, phosphate buffer, NaCl, KCl, and CaCl2, and mixtures of those solutions; 2) salt solutions containing amounts of sodium caseinate ranging from 0.50 to 5.0%; 3) salt solutions containing 2 to 10% α -lactose; 4) the above model systems in presence of ascorbic acid. After 48 hr at 3-5C, oxidation rates and intensity were measured in terms of the optical density (OD) of the 2-thiobarbituric acid test. Both rates and intensity of oxidized flavor development varied significantly in the various salt solutions and their mixtures. Increasing lactose concentration increased the oxidation rates significantly in all systems, (OD increased from 0.32 to 0.50 in phosphate and 0.14 to 0.21 in citrate). The reverse of this trend was obtained in presence of an increased concentration of sodium caseinate (OD decreased from 0.25 to 0.05 in phosphate and 0.15 to 0.05 in citrate). Homogenized fat showed much lower oxidation rates in presence of casein than did nonhomogenized fat. In a salt-free system (water), ascorbic acid behaved as an antioxidant at concentrations from 0.50-2.0mg and a weak prooxidant at concentrations from 2-10mg per 100ml. This behavior was reversed in presence of salt solutions, with the oxidation intensity varying considerably depending on the composition of the model system. These results clearly demonstrate the importance of the aqueous phase in determining both rate and intensity of oxidized flavor development.
Analysis of apparent optical properties and ocean color models using measurements of seawater constituents in New England continental shelf surface waters

Received 22 May 2003; revised 10 December 2003; accepted 14 January 2004; published 17 March 2004. [1] We used budgets of absorption (a), scattering (b), and backscattering (bb) for particles and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) to investigate sources of seasonal variations in apparent optical properties (AOPs) of New England continental shelf surface waters. Spectral a, b, and bb budgets for particles were estimated from flow cytometric measurements of eukaryotic pico/nanophytoplankton, Synechococcus, heterotrophic prokaryotes, detritus, and minerals; AOPs were modeled with Hydrolight radiative transfer software. For late summer and spring, our modeled values of the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) and remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) were on average within 15% and 9%, respectively, of independent measurements. This close agreement allowed us to examine how different seawater constituents contributed to AOP variability. Higher values of Kd in the spring, compared to summer, were due to higher absorption by eukaryotic phytoplankton (aeuk) and CDOM (aCDOM), which coincided with higher nutrient levels and less stratified conditions than in the summer. Differences in the spectral shape of Rrs between the seasons were caused by a combination of differences in aeuk, aCDOM, and bb from non-phytoplankton particles (minerals and detritus combined). For nonphytoplankton bb the major seasonal difference was a higher inverse wavelength dependence in the summer due to the effects of small organic detritus. We applied two semianalytical ocean color models to our data, in order to evaluate whether the assumptions and parameterizations inherent in these models are applicable for New England shelf waters. We show how differences between observed and modeled chlorophyll a specific phytoplankton absorption, aCDOM, and non-phytoplankton bb cause errors in chlorophyll a concentration and IOPs retrieved from reflectance inversion models. INDEX TERMS: 4847 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Optics; 4219 Oceanography: General: Continental shelf processes; 4275 Oceanography: General: Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes (0689); 4227 Oceanography: General: Diurnal, seasonal, and annual cycles; KEYWORDS: optical properties, suspended particulate matter, ocean color Citation: Green, R. E., and H. M. Sosik (2004), Analysis of apparent optical properties and ocean color models using measurements of seawater constituents in New England continental shelf surface waters, J. Geophys. Res., 109, C03026,
The emerging role of the selective A2A agonist in pharmacologic stress testing.

Since its inception almost 50 years ago, the technique of myocardial perfusion imaging has evolved substantially. From pyrophosphate to Tl-201 to technetium-based radiotracers, from static planar imaging to gated SPECT with attenuation correction, the field of nuclear cardiology has matured with these significant technical advances. Similarly, the use of pharmacologic stressors as an alternative to exercise has also been in a state of evolution, from dipyridamole and dobutamine to adenosine, to a novel agent recently approved and available for use. This review will highlight recent developments in pharmacologic stress myocardial perfusion imaging focusing on the clinical application of the selective adenosine A2A receptor agonists.
Flushing Times for the Providence River Based on Tracer Experiments

The flushing time of the Providence River was estimated using three different data sets and three different methodologies. Dye concentrations were measured following instantaneous dye releases during wet weather experiments performed by the Narragansett Bay Project between October 1988 and June 1989. These data were analyzed to obtain flushing time estimates. Salinity measurements collected during the Sinbadd (Sampling In Narragansett Bay All During the Day) cruises, Spray (Sampling the Providence River All Year) cruises and wet weather experiments were used with the fraction of fresh water method and box model to calculate flushing time. The Sinbadd cruises performed 4 seasonal surveys at 22 stations in Narragansett Bay during 1986 to obtain a view of the whole Narragansett Bay with respect to the concentrations of nutrients and trace metals. The Spray cruises collected data in the Providence River at 10 stations to determine the relationship of nutrients and trace metals concentrations in the Seekonk and Providence rivers as a function of point source inputs. Based on the flushing time estimates, an exponential relationship between freshwater inflow and flushing time was developed (correlation coefficient of 0.826). The flushing time ranged from 0.8 d at high (90 m3 m−1) freshwater inflows to 4.4 d at low (20 m3 s−1) freshwater inflows. The average flushing time of the Providence River was estimated as 2.5 d for the mean freshwater inflow of 42.3 m3 s−1.
Method to Quantify Healing in Asphalt Composites by Continuum Damage Approach

The importance of healing and its impact on the fatigue cracking performance of asphalt mixtures are well recognized. Microdamage healing in an asphalt mixture is a function of several factors, such as the physical and chemical properties of the binder, the properties of the mixture, the level of damage before the rest period during which healing occurs, the duration of the rest period, temperature, and pressure. An experimental and analytical method characterizes the healing in an asphalt composite (fine aggregate matrix) as a function of the level of damage before the rest period and the duration of the rest period. The proposed method builds on the viscoelastic continuum damage theory that has been used successfully by other researchers to characterize fatigue cracking in asphalt mixtures. The method is applied to evaluate the healing characteristics of four fine aggregate matrix mixes and is able to quantify the influence of the duration of the rest period and the level of damage preceding the rest pe...
Composition and annealing effects on the response of electrostrictive graft elastomers

The electrostrictive graft elastomer is a new type of electromechanically active polymer developed by NASA. The material has demonstrated promising electromechanical properties including large electrical field induced strain, high electromechanical output, and a relatively high mechanical modulus. As a two-component system, the elastomer contains flexible backbone chains and electro-responsive polar grafted crystal domains. The two-component material system enables optimization of the electrostriction by controlling the relative fraction of the two components and the molecular morphology. The present work is a systematic study on the effects of the relative fraction of the two components and morphology on the electrical field induced strain. The results show that the elastomer containing more polar grafted domains and higher crystallinity yields higher electric field-induced strains.
An evaluation of atmospheric deposition of trace elements into the Great Lakes.

High-volume air samplers were used to collect aerosol samples on Whatman 41 air filters at the Canadian air sampling stations Burnt Island, Egbert, and Point Petre. Once collected, the samples were analyzed for trace elements by neutron activation analysis. Air concentrations of over 30 trace elements were determined. A special focus was made to utilize Compton suppression gamma-ray spectroscopy and epithermal irradiations to enhance the detection limits of neutron activation analysis. These techniques allowed for the determination of trace elements at very low levels. Results of the study of the tracemetal dry deposition into Lakes Huron and Ontario indicated that the majority of the total deposition resulted from crustal materials. However, dry deposition is also a significant pathway for many toxic anthropogenic trace metals into the Great Lakes.
Filtrates of fresh tumor injected prior to transplantation of the homologous tumor.

SummaryIn 6 experiments involving 66 rabbits, Berkefeld “V”, “N” and Seitz filtrates of fresh Brown-Pearce tumor tissue did not contain evidence of the specific XYZ or lyophilization factor, although the factor has been uniformly present in Berkefeld “V” filtrates of tumor tissue after prolonged freezing