cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Feedback Regulation between Orphan Nuclear Receptor TR2 and Human Papilloma Virus Type 16

The human TR2 orphan receptor (TR2), initially isolated from testis and prostate cDNA libraries, is a member of the steroid receptor superfamily. TR2 can regulate several target genes via binding to a consensus response element (AGGTCA) in direct repeat orientation (AGGTCAX((n))AGGTCA, n = 0-6). Here we show that TR2 is able to induce the expression of human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV-16) genes via binding to a DR4 response element in the long control region of HPV-16. Additionally, one of the HPV-16 gene products, the E6 oncogene, regulates TR2 gene expression. A likely mechanism for this regulation involves E6-mediated degradation of the tumor suppressor p53, a protein known to suppress TR2 expression. Together our data provide evidence for feedback regulation between TR2 and HPV-16, which represents a novel regulatory pathway involving a member of the steroid receptor superfamily and the HPV-16 DNA tumor virus.
MPC-Based Energy Management of a Power-Split Hybrid Electric Vehicle

A power-split hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) combines the advantages of both series and parallel hybrid vehicle architectures by utilizing a planetary gear set to split and combine the power produced by electric machines and a combustion engine. Because of the different modes of operation, devising a near optimal energy management strategy is quite challenging and essential for these vehicles. To improve the fuel economy of a power-split HEV, we first formulate the energy management problem as a nonlinear and constrained optimal control problem. Then two different cost functions are defined and model predictive control (MPC) strategies are utilized to obtain the power split between the combustion engine and electrical machines and the system operating points at each sample time. Simulation results on a closed-loop high-fidelity model of a power-split HEV over multiple standard drive cycles and with different controllers are presented. The results of a nonlinear MPC strategy show a noticeable improvement in fuel economy with respect to those of an available controller in the commercial Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) software and the other proposed methodology by the authors based on a linear time-varying MPC.
Neural network target identification system for false alarm reduction

A multi-stage automated target recognition (ATR) system has been designed to perform computer vision tasks with adequate proficiency in mimicking human vision. The system is able to detect, identify, and track targets of interest. Potential regions of interest (ROIs) are first identified by the detection stage using an Optimum Trade-off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter combined with a wavelet transform. False positives are then eliminated by the verification stage using feature extraction methods in conjunction with neural networks. Feature extraction transforms the ROIs using filtering and binning algorithms to create feature vectors. A feed forward back propagation neural network (NN) is then trained to classify each feature vector and remove false positives. This paper discusses the test of the system performance and parameter optimizations process which adapts the system to various targets and datasets. The test results show that the system was successful in substantially reducing the false positive rate when tested on a sonar image dataset.
Habitat and Open Space at Risk of Land-Use Conversion: Targeting Strategies for Land Conservation

Funds available to purchase land and easements for conservation purposes are limited. This article provides a targeting strategy for protecting multiple environmental benefits that includes heterogeneity in land costs and probability of land-use conversion, by incorporating spatially explicit land-use change and hedonic price models. This strategy is compared to two alternative strategies that omit either land cost or conversion threat. Based on dynamic programming and Monte Carlo simulations with alternating periods of conservation and development, we demonstrate that the positive correlation between land costs and probability of land-use conversion affects targeting efficiency using parcel data from Sonoma County, California.
Dynamic carbon footprinting

The early focus by individual businesses on the reduction of their own carbon footprint is being superseded by a phase of building carbon-constrained business networks. Across these networks, businesses evaluate each others' footprints and conduct business accordingly. Dynamic carbon footprinting is emerging as a powerful tool for guiding operational logic and business transformation into the carbon-constrained markets, with delivery of huge reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Remote Sensing of OH in the Atmosphere Using the Technique of Laser-Induced Fluorescene

The hydroxyl radical (OH) is a reactive species which controls many of the chemical processes operative in the atmosphere. OH is important in ozone chemistry because it relates to the process of photochemical smog formation in the troposphere and to the partitioning of the odd-nitrogen and odd-chlorine compounds in the stratosphere. Various estimates [Weinstock and Niki, 1972; Liu, 1977; Chameides, 1978; Hameed et al., 1979] place the global yearly averaged OH concentration at between 105 molecules/cm3 and 106 molecules/cm3, depending to a large extent on the assumed perturbations to the natural atmosphere. However, measurements of OH in the troposphere have been scarce, and results of these measurements [Viang et al., 1975; Davis et al., 1976; Perner et al., 1976; Campbell et al., 1979] have been less than satisfactory. For example, the absorption technique [Perner et al., 1976] should in principle provide accurate OH measurements but remains to be developed [Killinger and Wang, 1977]. The isotope tracing technique [Campbell et al., 1979] offers an interesting alternative for OH monitoring, but remains to be calibrated, with possible systematic errors associated with the technique identified and remedied.
Bacterial Separation and Concentration from Complex Sample Matrices: A Review

The use of many rapid detection technologies could be expanded if the bacteria were separated, concentrated, and purified from the sample matrix before detection. Specific advantages of bacterial concentration might include facilitating the detection of multiple bacterial strains; removal of matrix-associated assay inhibitors; and provision of adequate sample size reduction to allow for the use of representative food sample sizes and/or small media volumes. Furthermore, bacterial concentration could aid in improving sampling techniques needed to detect low levels of pathogens or sporadic contamination, which may perhaps reduce or even eliminate the need for cultural enrichment prior to detection. Although bacterial concentration methods such as centrifugation, filtration, and immunomagnetic separation have been reported for food systems, none of these is ideal and in many cases a technique optimized for one food system or microorganism is not readily adaptable to others. Indeed, the separation and subsequent concentration of bacterial cells from a food sample during sample preparation continues to be a stumbling block in the advancement of molecular methods for the detection of foodborne pathogens. The purpose of this review is to provide a detailed understanding of the science, possibilities, and limitations of separating and concentrating bacterial cells from the food matrix in an effort to further improve our ability to harness molecular methods for the rapid detection of foodborne pathogens.
Colon interposition in children

Since 1960 we have performed 80 colonic interpositions on 79 children. We present a retrospective review of their progress. Sixty-nine interpositions were for long-gap oesophageal atresia, while the remainder followed oesophagectomies, eight for strictures and two others. Overall, the transthoracic route was used in 69 per cent of cases, while 29 per cent were retrosternally placed and one was retropleural. The mean follow-up was 11.08 years. The mortality rate was 12 per cent, with one-third of deaths unrelated to the operation. Graft failure, which occurred on eight occasions (10 per cent), was due to ischaemia in four, intractable stricture in two and stomal ulceration in two. Leakage from the proximal anastomosis occurred in 31 per cent of cases and stricture formation in 27 per cent. Thirty per cent of patients complained of acid reflux, of whom one-third developed stomal ulceration. We present data concerning other complications, including long-term recurrent respiratory infections, malabsorption, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, diarrhoea, intestinal obstruction and redundancy of the graft. Staging the procedure did not affect the outcome, however the higher incidence of serious complications encountered following retrosternal interposition finally led us to abandon this procedure in favour of the transthoracic route. There has been little improvement in the growth rate, but in terms of swallowing ability the outcome was satisfactory in 94 per cent of cases.
Aging in the AXC/SSh rat: diminished prostate L-ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity reflects diminished prostate ODC protein and transcript content.

Immunotitration of l-ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in ventral prostates of young mature (6-monthold) and aged (26-month-old) AXC/SSh rats established that the relation between enzyme activity and prostate ODC mass content was age invariant, demonstrating that the 4-fold diminution in prostate ODC activity in aged subjects represents decreased ODC protein content. Testosterone treatment of aged rats increased prostate ODC activity 2-fold and did not affect prostate ODC half-life. These latter findings and the preceding observation established that the testosterone-mediated increase in prostate ODC activity in aged individuals reflected increased ODC mass content. The half-life of prostate S-adenosyl-l-methionine decarboxylase, another promirient enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, also was not altered by testosterone treatment of 26-month-old animals. The age-related diminution and testosterone- mediated increase in ventral prostate ODC activity occurred in concert with comparable quantitative chang...
Empirical Simulation to Compare Opportunistic Bidding Behavior in China and the U.S.A.

In the construction industry, previous research has shown that stable partnerships between contractors and subcontractors can evolve to an equilibrium point where transaction costs are minimized and profits for the involved parties are maximized. However, opportunistic behavior can lead toward a hold-up problem when there are incentives for continuous collaboration. In this case, one party attempts to capture more of the economic rents from continuous collaboration than the other party, which pushes the market beyond the equilibrium point to a less efficient state. To date this has been studied in the context of U.S. firm bidding interactions. Yet research has demonstrated significant differences in the behavior of firms in different market economies. In this paper we replicate an empirical bidding simulation conducted in the U.S. to examine opportunistic behavior and the evolution of market efficiency in China. We conducted 18 internet-based interactive bidding simulations through which we recruited 157 participants from China. Each participant submitted bids on up to 10 projects during each of the internet-based interactive bidding simulations. We collected information on each participant’s bidding strategy and analyzed this information to understand how the market evolved with increasing experience. We then contrast the empirical findings from the U.S. experiment with the data we collected. The results demonstrate that opportunistic behavior can occur in China, but it differs from the U.S. in magnitude.
Sleep architecture in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis and the association with severity of lung disease

Previous studies have shown that sleep complaints are common in adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, there is very little data on sleep in children and adolescents with CF and the association with severity of lung disease. A prospective study was conducted in CF children and age-matched controls. All patients completed sleep questionnaire and underwent an overnight polysomnographic study. Thirty-eight children and adolescents met the criteria for entry into the analysis, 24 children and adolescents with CF (S) and 14 controls (C). Sleep complaints were common in children and adolescents with CF; 43.5% reported sleep onset problem, 39.1% reported sleep maintenance problem, 30.4% were noted to snore at night, and 73.9% reported daytime sleepiness. Children and adolescents with CF had a significant decrease in sleep efficiency [SE; 75.2 +/- 2.5% (S) vs 85.6 +/- 1.7%(C); P < 0.01], prolonged rapid eye movement (REM) latency [150.5 +/- 16.6 min (S) vs 85.6 +/- 11.0 min (C); P < 0.05], and reduction in percentage of REM sleep [12.7 +/- 1.5% (S) vs 18.3 +/- 1.3% (C); P < 0.05]. The degree of sleep disruption as indicated by SE was correlated with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1); r = 0.52, P < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between SE and minimum oxygen saturation [r = 0.30, P=not significant (NS)] or SE and maximal end-tidal pCO(2) (r = 0.11, P=NS). It is concluded that children and adolescents with CF have frequent sleep complaints and significant alteration in the sleep architecture. The magnitude of sleep disruption is associated with severity of lung disease, but is not directly correlated with the degree of nocturnal hypoxemia or hypoventilation. It is speculated that sleep disruption in children and adolescents with CF may have an impact on quality of life and clinical outcomes in this population.
Predictors of intensive care unit admission after total joint arthroplasty.

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is a relatively safe orthopedic procedure. However, complications do occur, and some may necessitate admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Our purpose was to determine risk factors associated with admittance to ICU after TJA. We evaluated 22 343 primary and revision total hip and knee arthroplasties from 1999 to 2008. One hundred thirty patients were admitted to the ICU. Cases were matched 1:2 for date of surgery, surgeon, and type of surgery. The causes for admission to ICU were recorded. Independent risk factors for ICU admission were smoking, cemented arthroplasty, general anesthesia, allogenic transfusion, higher C-reactive protein, lower hemoglobin level, higher body mass index, and older age. Proper identification and management of these "at-risk" patients may decrease the incidence of ICU admittance after TJA. Keywords: total joint arthroplasty, intensive care unit, smoking, cemented arthroplasty, general anesthesia.
Testing hypotheses for the success of different conservation strategies

Evaluations of the success of different conservation strategies are still in their infancy. We used four different measures of project outcomes--ecological, economic, attitudinal, and behavioral--to test hypotheses derived from the assumptions that underlie contemporary conservation solutions. Our hypotheses concerned the effects of natural resource utilization, market integration, decentralization, and community homogeneity on project success. We reviewed the conservation and development literature and used a specific protocol to extract and code the information in a sample of papers. Although our results are by no means conclusive and suffer from the paucity of high-quality data and independent monitoring (80% of the original sample of 124 projects provided inadequate information for use in this study), they show that permitted use of natural resources, market access, and greater community involvement in the conservation project are all important factors for a successful outcome. Without better monitoring schemes in place, it is still impossible to provide a systematic evaluation of how different strategies are best suited to different conservation challenges.
Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation

A35-year-old white woman with a history of migraine headaches and a grade 2 systolic murmur presented with symptoms of slurred speech, left-sided facial droop, and left hemiparesis after a hysterectomy. These symptoms resolved over several days, and in an effort to identify a potential cardiac source of embolism, a transesophageal echocardiogram was performed. Findings were consistent …
Network Evacuation Modelling for Flooding as a Result of Dam Failure

The MASSVAC approach to network evacuation modelling is tested, and its results enhanced by a color graphics program called MVOPL. This MASSVAC-MVOPL analysis system is used to model population evacuations under the threat of flooding as a result of dam failure. The system operates on a microcomputer, with turnaround times that allow it to be rerun within a matter of minutes. The software proves to be a very effective tool for the estimation of network clearance times, and for the testing of alternative emergency traffic routing plans. The basics of the mathematical modelling approach are described, and a selection of empirical results and some graphics screens are presented. Both urban and rural applications are discussed.
A brief history of applied cognitive psychology

Currently, applied cognitive psychology seems to be a ‘hot topic’. What are the origins of this area of specialization? In this article we survey the history of applied cognitive psychology, beginning with the earliest applied psychological research of the late 1800s, through the impact on psychology of the World Wars, through the advent of the information processing view of the 1950s, and up to the recent flurry of work on topics in cognitive science, such as human–computer interaction. We also consider recent changes in the structure of American professional societies, economic changes and funding patterns, and other factors that have contributed to the advent of this new field. Although our discussion is largely descriptive, we point to some of the influences on applied psychology, such as the practical concerns that have arisen outside the laboratory. Our discussion is best characterized as a historically contextualized cautionary tale that asserts the values of neofunctionalism for applied cognitive psychology.
Zinc: Mechanisms of Host Defense

Zinc deficiency in humans decreases the activity of serum thymulin (a thymic hormone), which is required for maturation of T-helper cells. T-helper 1 (Th(1)) cytokines are decreased but T-helper 2 (Th(2)) cytokines are not affected by zinc deficiency in humans. This shift of Th(1) to Th(2) function results in cell-mediated immune dysfunction. Because IL-2 production (Th(1) cytokine) is decreased, this leads to decreased activities of natural-killer cell and T cytolytic cells, which are involved in killing viruses, bacteria, and tumor cells. In humans, zinc deficiency may decrease the generation of new CD4+ T cells from the thymus. In cell culture studies (HUT-78, a Th(0) human malignant lymphoblastoid cell line), as a result of zinc deficiency, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation, phosphorylation of IkappaB, and binding of NF-kappaB to DNA are decreased and this results in decreased Th(1) cytokine production. In another study, zinc supplementation to humans decreased the gene expression and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased oxidative stress markers. In HL-60 cells (a human pro-myelocytic leukemia cell line), zinc deficiency increased the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-8 cytokines and mRNA. In these cells, zinc induced A20, a zinc finger protein that inhibited NF-kappaB activation via tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor pathway, and this decreased gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers. We conclude that zinc has an important role in cell-mediated immune functions and also functions as antiinflammatory and antioxidant agent.
Race, Diversity, and Membership Duration in Religious Congregations*

It has long been noted that religious congregations tend to be racially homogenous. Previous case studies assert that members of a numerical minority group face individual and organizational pressures that lead them to leave congregations faster than majority members. This can create a constant pull toward homogeneity despite congregational efforts to diversify. Building on theory in organizational ecology, we test this assertion using national, multi level data from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. The analysis shows that members of a numerical minority do have shorter durations of membership than majority members and that the gap between the two increases with the size of the majority.
Designing for the improvement of operator situation awareness in automation systems

The enhancement of operator situation awareness (SA) has become a major design goal for automation systems, in a wide variety of fields, including aviation, aerospace, nuclear plants, and advanced manufacturing systems. One can easily grasp that SA has always been needed in order for people to perform tasks effectively and efficiently. For many years, having good SA was largely a matter of learning what to watch and listen for in the field and learning what cues to recognize in the physical process, in other words, training and field experience. Today, operators rely on the principles and design of human computer interaction (HCI) to observe and comprehend the overwhelming amount of process data that can vary rapidly. It is widely accepted that more data does not equate to more information. In many cases, instead of assisting in this issue, automation has only worsened the problem (Endsley & Kiris, 1995; Sarter & Woods, 1995). Human factors research involves discovering and applying information about human behavior, abilities, limitations, and other characteristics to the design of machines, systems, and environments for productive, safe, comfortable, and effective human use (Chapanis, 1985). This research paradigm seeks to determine relationships between stimuli presented to a human and the action they take. To apply human factors in HCI design, one must investigate the system’s users, how they think, use technology, and interpret their environment. The design of the interface will determine the extent, to which SA and information processing are optimized, and ultimately, the efficiency and effectiveness of an operator and automation system. The proposed designs will be evaluated by conducting a laboratory experiment using a microworld (MW) environment that will assess each interface design according to the ideas proposed by the SA theory. An overview is first provided to highlight the study and the type of data that will be collected from each experiment. Next, the MW methodology that will be used for the proposed study is explained along with a description of the interface to be used in the study, and the specific tasks the study participants will be asked to complete.
Teaching Sexuality and Gender as Distributional Issues

The dominant paradigm for teaching about sexuality and gender identity in law school is anti-discrimination vis-a-vis lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Critical traditions such as queer theory, however, have highlighted the productive, i.e., category-making, power of anti-discrimination efforts, including same-sex marriage. A critical approach to anti-discrimination law raises the possibility that well-intended law reform initiatives have the capacity to reproduce the very relations of dominance and subordination that they were designed to combat. This chapter, in a SALT volume on transformative approaches to law teaching in the service of vulnerable populations, discusses one approach to critical thinking about sexual and gender identity and then asks: what would it look like to approach the subject matter clinically if not as an anti-discrimination undertaking? How can sexuality and gender be reconceptualized for law students as a distributive topic? What would law students actually do in service of persons marginalized by their sexual or gender identities if not pursue anti-discrimination remedies?
Controlling morphology and chain aggregation in semiconducting conjugated polymers: the role of solvent on optical gain in MEH-PPV.

We report the results of a detailed investigation that addresses the influence of polymer morphology and chain aggregation, as controlled by the chemical nature of the solvent, on the optical gain ...
A Photographic Diagnostic Guide for Identification of the Principal Cranberry Fruit Rot Pathogens

Many fungal species contribute to the cranberry fruit rot disease complex, the most devastating disease problem of cranberry crops, but the most significant economic losses can be attributed to a s...
'The Inalienable Rights of the Beasts': Organized Animal Protection and the Language of Rights in America, 1865-1900

Contemporary animal rights activists and legal scholars routinely charge that state animal protection statutes were enacted, not to serve the interests of animals, but rather to serve the interests of human beings in preventing immoral behavior. In this telling, laws preventing cruelty to animals are neither based on, nor do they establish, anything like rights for animals. Their raison d'etre, rather, is social control of human actions, and their function is to efficiently regulate the use of property in animals. The (critical) contemporary interpretation of the intent and function of animal cruelty laws is based on the accretion of actions - on court cases and current enforcement norms. This approach confuses the application and function of anticruelty laws with their intent and obscures the connections between the historical animal welfare movement and contemporary animal rights activism. By returning to the context in which most state anticruelty statutes were enacted - in the nineteenth century - and by considering the discourse of those activists who promoted the original legislation, my research reveals a more complicated story. Far from being concerned only with controlling the behavior of deviants, the nineteenth-century animal welfare activists who agitated for such laws situated them within a "lay discourse" of rights, borrowed from the successful abolitionist movement, that connected animal sentience, proved through portrayals of their suffering, to animal rights. Understood both as a zone of protection and a series of positive entitlements, rights flowed to animals because of their capacity to suffer emotional and physical pain. Further, because they understood animals' rights as intrinsic to animal being, nineteenth-century activists wrote laws that protected all animals irrespective of their property status. These laws were thus bound up with rights for animals in two important ways: they were the product of a sentimental lay-rights discourse with its roots in the abolitionist movement; and, they were clearly meant to serve animals themselves rather than human property in animals.
Case of eastern equine encephalitis presenting in winter.

A 50-year-old man was admitted in midwinter with fever, altered mental status and new onset generalised tonic-clonic seizure with urinary incontinence. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed an opening pressure of 14.5 cm of water, normal glucose and protein 82 mg/dL (reference range: 15–45 mg/dL). Cell count showed: red cells 11 (reference range:
Ureides Decrease N2-Fixation and Nodule Permeability to Oxygen in Soybean

Sensitivity of legume N2 fixation to drought stress tends to be associated with high ureide production (Sinclair, Serraj, 1995), which suggests a feedback mechanism on N2 fixation during drought by N-compounds (Parsons et al., 1993). To address this hypothesis, we measured the effect of ureides and other N compounds on nitrogenase activity (ARA), on nodule permeability to O2, (Denison, Kinraide, 1995) and on ureide accumulation in plant tissues.
Prickly Pear Cactus (‘Nopal’) for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Prickly pear cactus is commonly known to both the Mexican and Mexican American population by its Nahuatl or Aztec name, Nopal . Prickly pear cactus includes various species of foodstuff and fodder plants which people on both sides of the United States/Mexico border have used for both nourishment and medicine for hundreds of years. In the recent past, various species of prickly pear cactus have been studied for their hypoglycemic properties, and their potential application for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This chapter mentions the principal studies that have investigated the effects of prickly pear cactus on blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetes. Preliminary trials in both humans and animals suggest that certain species of prickly pear cactus may have value in the treatment of type 2 diabetes; however, more clinical research is necessary regarding this plant's potential benefit as a botanical hypoglycemic agent.
Direct synthesis of platinum group metal-free Fe-N-C catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Abstract A direct, template-free synthesis of a novel, active Fe-N-C oxygen reduction reaction catalyst by the pyrolysis of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ferric sodium salt is demonstrated. Detailed physical characterization of the catalyst is carried out by surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in addition to electrochemical analysis using Rotating Ring Disk Electrode measurements. We study the effects of synthesis temperature on graphitization, surface area and their concurrent effects on the catalytic performance of the final products.
Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Coastal Residents After Multiple Disasters.

Objective Exposure to multiple disasters, both natural and technological, is associated with extreme stress and long-term consequences for older adults that are not well understood. In this article, we address age differences in health-related quality of life in older disaster survivors exposed to the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the role played by social engagement in influencing these differences. Methods Participants were noncoastal residents, current coastal residents, and current coastal fishers who were economically affected by the BP oil spill. Social engagement was estimated on the basis of disruptions in charitable work and social support after the 2005 hurricanes relative to a typical year before the storms. Criterion measures were participants' responses to the SF-36 Health Survey which includes composite indexes of physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health. Results The results of logistic regressions indicated that age was inversely associated with SF-36 PCS scores. A reduction in perceived social support after Hurricane Katrina was also inversely associated with SF-36 MCS scores. Conclusions These results illuminate risk factors that impact well-being among older adults after multiple disasters. Implications of these data for psychological adjustment after multiple disasters are considered. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:90-96).
Thermal-hydraulic performance of metal foam heat exchangers under dry operating conditions

Abstract High porosity metal foams with novel thermal, mechanical, electrical, and acoustic properties are being more widely adopted for application. Due to their large surface-area-to-volume ratio and complex structure which induces better fluid mixing, boundary layer restarting and wake destruction, they hold promise for heat transfer applications. In this paper, the thermal-hydraulic performance of open-cell aluminum metal foam heat exchanger has been evaluated. The impact of flow conditions and metal foam geometry on the heat transfer coefficient and gradient have been investigated. Metal foam heat exchanger with same geometry (face area, flow depth and fin dimensions) consisting of four different type of metal foams have been built for the study. Experiments are conducted in a closed-loop wind tunnel at different flow rate under dry operating condition. Metal foams with a smaller pore size (40 PPI) have a larger heat transfer coefficient compared to foams with a larger pore size (5 PPI). However, foams with larger pores result in relatively smaller pressure gradients. Current thermal-hydraulic modeling practices have been reviewed and potential issues have been identified. Permeability and inertia coefficients are determined and compared to data reported in open literature. On the basis of the new experimental results, correlations are developed relating the foam characteristics and flow conditions through the friction factor f and the Colburn j factor.
Effect of cobalt alloying on the electrochemical performance of manganese oxide nanoparticles nucleated on multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

MnO is an electrically insulating material which limits its usefulness in lithium ion batteries. We demonstrate that the electrochemical performance of MnO can be greatly improved by using oxygen-functional groups created on the outer walls of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as nucleation sites for metal oxide nanoparticles. Based on the mass of the active material used in the preparation of electrodes, the composite conversion-reaction anode material Mn1-x Co x O/MWCNT with x = 0.2 exhibited the highest reversible specific capacity, 790 and 553 mAhg-1 at current densities of 40 and 1600 mAg-1, respectively. This is 3.1 times higher than that of MnO/MWCNT at a charge rate of 1600 mAg-1. Phase segregation in the [Formula: see text] nanoparticles was not observed for x ≤ 0.15. Capacity retention in x = 0, 0.2, and 1 electrodes showed that the corresponding specific capacities were stabilized at 478, 709 and 602 mAhg-1 respectively, after 55 cycles at a current density of 400 mAg-1. As both MnO and CoO exhibit similar theoretical capacities and MnO/MWCNT and CoO/MWCNT anodes both exhibit lower performance than Mn0.8Co0.2O/MWCNT, the improved performance of the [Formula: see text] alloy likely arises from beneficial synergistic interactions in the bimetallic system.
Modeling the Cocktail Party Problem

Modeling the cocktail party problem entails developing a computational framework able to describe what the auditory system does when faced with a complex auditory scene. While completely intuitive and omnipresent in humans and animals alike, translating this remarkable ability into a quantitative model remains a challenge. This chapter touches on difficulties facing the field in terms of defining the theoretical principles that govern auditory scene analysis, as well as reconciling current knowledge about perceptual and physiological data with their formulation into computational models. The chapter reviews some of the computational theories, algorithmic strategies, and neural infrastructure proposed in the literature for developing information systems capable of processing multisource sound inputs. Because of divergent interests from various disciplines in the cocktail party problem, the body of literature modeling this effect is equally diverse and multifaceted. The chapter touches on the various approaches used in modeling auditory scene analysis from biomimetic models to strictly engineering systems.
Smoothed empirical likelihood for the Youden index

For a continuous scale biomarker of binary disease status, the Youden index is a frequently used measurement of diagnostic accuracy in the context of the receiver operating characteristic curve and provides an optimal threshold for making diagnosis. The majority of existing inference methods for the Youden index are either parametric or bootstrap based. In the current paper, the empirical likelihood method for the Youden index is derived via defining novel smoothed estimating equations, and Wilks’ theorem for the empirical likelihood ratio statistic is established. Extensive simulation studies suggest that the chi-square calibrated empirical likelihood interval estimators are robust to model assumptions, enjoy computational efficiency and perform better than the bootstrap procedure almost uniformly across a variety of scenarios in terms of coverage probabilities.
Economic Impacts of the Citric Acid Cartel

Market forces facing single producers usually overwhelm any attempts by a firm to deviate from its assigned role in an industry (see Chapter 2 above). With a given plant in place, once a seller in a competitive market observes the market price, it passively sets its output level at the profit-maximizing point. If, as was the case in the global market for citric acid, food-grade product made by alternative sellers was viewed by buyers as perfect substitutes, sellers have few strategic options to try to improve their profitability. Efforts by a firm to distinguish itself on the basis of delivery terms or after-sales service can easily be imitated by rivals. Investing in a lower cost production technology might yield better profits for a few years but carries the danger of operating at inefficiently low levels of utilization or betting on the wrong technology. Price cuts can be quickly matched by other sellers and can lead to a price war that hurts everyone until it is abandoned. Price increases for homogeneous products will lead to an erosion of a firm’s market share and a build up in excess capacity that further squeeze margins.
Listen Up: Conversation Analysis Shows How Law Students Fail-and Succeed-in a Brief Advice Clinic

People with important legal matters are often unable to afford representation. As a result, most parties with family law cases handle these cases themselves. Often, they rely upon brief advice clinics to help them do so. Law schools are required to provide pro bono opportunities for all law students. These pro bono opportunities can include volunteering at brief advice clinics together with volunteer attorneys. Is this a match made in heaven or a disaster waiting to happen? Pro bono law students vary in their professional demeanor and skills interacting with clients in a brief advice clinic. They have a strong desire to help and to display their knowledge, but this sometimes creates problems and results in the clients getting less than adequate services. The attorneys who volunteer also vary in their skills as supervisors. Some provide a flood of information for the student, covering much more than the student can absorb and the particular client will need to know. Others are able to simultaneously instruct the student about the law and process while giving the student scripts to convey information and advice to the clients. Finally, these clients are challenging to interview and counsel. They invariably raise additional questions, but do not always provide the context or reason for their questions. This study closely analyzes the student-client dialogues and the student-attorney dialogues to identify what works and what does not at a student-staffed pro se clinic.
Decoupling energy and power

Biological photovoltaic devices (BPVs) use photosynthetic microorganisms to produce electricity, but low photocurrent generation impedes their application. Now, a micro-scale flow-based BPV system is reported with power density outputs similar to that of large-scale biofuels.
A Recasting of Anisotropic Poroelasticity in Matrices of Tensor Components

The equations associated with the theory of anisotropic poroelastic materials undergoing small deformations are recast in a matrix notation where the matrices are composed of proper tensor components. Using this notation the compatibility conditions on the components of the strain tensor are expressed in terms of the stress tensor, the pore pressure and the anisotropic elastic coefficients of the medium.
African American Family and Parenting Strategies in Impoverished Neighborhoods

This article considers how qualitative insights can inform quantitatively-derived neighborhood effects theories. Neighborhood effects theories argue that inner-city areas lack social and economic resources that promote the social mobility prospects of African American children. Consequently, children who grow up in impoverished neighborhoods are at risk for dropping out of school, bearing children prematurely, and engaging in delinquent activities. Qualitative studies, however, identify family and parenting strategies that buffer children from the risks associated with inner-city residence. When these practices are used, children are more likely to complete high school, forego premature childbearing, and participate in prosocial activities. Insights from qualitative studies expand on neighborhood effects theories by identifying variations in child social mobility prospects and the processes by which conventional outcomes are achieved. More specifically, qualitative studies focus attention on important factors that permit children to succeed, despite social and economic obstacles.
Effects of Eggshell and Ag Lime Applications on Soil pH and Crop Yields

The Northwest Research Farm (NWRF) in Sutherland was selected as a site to research the effect of eggshell application and the effect of ag lime on soil pH and crop yields (Table 1). The research area was identified in April 2002 at the recently acquired 120-acre tract of land adjacent to the NWRF location. In April 2002, the research area had an initial pH of 5.4 and phosphorus and potassium levels were 24–31 ppm and 151–215 ppm, respectively.
Are patients who use a generalist physician healthier than those who seek specialty care directly

BACKGROUND American health care consumers want the option of seeing specialists whenever they wish, but given this option, do they in fact use it without consideration of their health status? This paper reports on a cross-sectional analysis that compares the demographics and health status of fee-for-service Medicare enrollees who exhibited four different patterns of physician access. METHODS The Medicare Beneficiary Survey data from 1998 were used. Subjects ages 65 and older were categorized into one of four groups: those with no physician claim, those who saw a generalist only, those who saw a specialist only, and those who saw both. Age, income, education, health status, level of impairment, and disease burden for the four patient groups were compared using ANOVA. Urban/rural status, race, ethnicity, mortality rates, and gender for the four patient groups were compared using chi-square. A predictive model using mutinomial logistic regression was created. RESULTS Twelve percent of subjects saw no physician in 1998, 11.6% saw a generalist only, 14.2% visited a specialist only, and 62.1% visited both types of physicians. Subjects who saw both physician types had significantly worse health status and more chronic diseases than the other groups. Subjects who saw generalists only or specialists only had intermediate levels of health status and disease burden that were not significantly different from each other. Subjects who saw a specialist only were the most affluent and highly educated group. Subjects who saw no physician had the best health status and the fewest chronic diseases of all subject groups. Urban residents were more likely to visit some type of physician than were rural residents and were more likely to see a specialist only. Regional differences were noted, with New England showing the highest rates of specialist only use. DISCUSSION As expected, the healthiest subjects were least likely to visit any health care provider. Subjects with the worst health status were likely to access both generalists and specialists for their care. Subjects who visited a specialist only had higher incomes, more education, and urban residence but no difference in health status when compared to subjects who visited a generalist only.
The Curvature Theorem of David and Léger

The goal of this very long chapter is to prove Theorem 6.16, the second of the two difficult results needed to complete the resolution of Vitushkin’s Conjecture. Our treatment here is from [LEG].
Studies of the type I cellular retinoic acid-binding protein mutants and their biological activities

We have mutated the type I cellular retinoic acid binding protein (CRABP-I), individually at the Arg131 (into Ala) and the Tyr 133 (into Phe) residues which have been predicted to make direct contact with retinoic acid (RA) based upon previous structural studies. The RA-binding affinities of these mutants are examined and their biological effects on RA induction of reporter genes are determined. The R131A mutation drastically affects its ligand-binding property, but the Y133F mutation has little effect. By using an RA-inducible reporter, it is found that the wild type CRABP-I exerts biphasic effects on RA induction of the reporter. The early (at 12 h) effect is to enhance RA induction, whereas the delayed (at 24 h) effect is to suppress RA induction. In consistence with their RA binding property, the R 131A mutant loses both its early and delayed biological activities, whereas the Y133F mutant remains as effective as the wild type. It is concluded that CRABP-I over-expression exerts biphasic effects on RA-mediated gene expression, and that Arg131, but not Tyr 133, is essential for a high RA-binding affinity of this protein as well as its biological activity.
Anatomic Pathology of Glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a complex subject to study and understand. The complexity has emerged from a combination of numerous perplexing features of this pathological entity: (1) lack of unanimity in the classifications of glomerulonephritis, (2) our persistent inability in most cases to identify the direct cause or causes of glomerulonephritis, (3) limitations of light microscopy (LM) resolution in delineating finer changes, (4) wide variability in the interpretations of light microscopy findings by different individuals, and (5) the narrow scope of electron and immunofluorescence microscopy techniques around the world.
Organotypic Slice Cultures to Study Oligodendrocyte Proliferation, Fate, and Myelination

Oligodendrocyte development and myelination are processes in the central nervous system that are regulated by cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. Organotypic slice cultures provide a simple method for studying factors that affect oligodendrocyte proliferation, differentiation, and myelination in the context of the local cellular environment. Here we show that major glial cell types and neurons are preserved in slice cultures from postnatal mouse forebrain, and their morphological characteristics are retained. We further demonstrate that cellular processes requiring interactions with neighboring cells such as myelination can proceed in slice culture.