cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
T(2)-relaxometry for myelin water fraction extraction using wald distribution and extended phase graph.

Quantitative assessment of myelin density in the white matter is an emerging tool for neurodegenerative disease related studies such as multiple sclerosis and Schizophrenia. For the last two decades, T 2 relaxometry based on multi-exponential fitting to a single slice multi-echo sequence has been the most common MRI technique for myelin water fraction (MWF) mapping, where the short T 2 is associated with myelin water. However, modeling the spectrum of the relaxations as the sum of large number of impulse functions with unknown amplitudes makes the accuracy and robustness of the estimated MWF’s questionable. In this paper, we introduce a novel model with small number of parameters to simultaneously characterize transverse relaxation rate spectrum and B 1 inhomogeneity at each voxel. We use mixture of three Wald distributions with unknown mixture weights, mean and shape parameters to represent the distribution of the relative amount of water in between myelin sheets, tissue water, and cerebrospinal fluid. The parameters of the model are estimated using the variable projection method and are used to extract the MWF at each voxel. In addition, we use Extended Phase Graph (EPG) method to compensate for the stimulated echoes caused by B 1 inhomogeneity. To validate our model, synthetic and real brain experiments were conducted where we have compared our novel algorithm with the non-negative least squares (NNLS) as the state-of-the-art technique in the literature. Our results indicate that we can estimate MWF map with substantially higher accuracy as compared to the NNLS method.
Abstract P372: Evaluation of International Classification of Disease-Ninth Edition (ICD-9) codes for Determining Subclasses and Anatomic Location of Myocardial Infarction in the Community

Background: Epidemiology studies of acute myocardial infarction (MI) often rely on hospital discharge codes or claims data to identify events. The fourth digit of ICD-9 code 410 is meant to identify anatomic location of an MI. Although the validity of ICD-9 410 codes to identify the general category of MI has been studied, far less is known about the validity of ICD codes to identify ST segment MI (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI) and to identify anatomic location of STEMI infarcts. Methods: From 1987 to 2010 we evaluated random samples of hospitalizations with ICD-9 discharge codes 410-414, 402, 427, 428, or 518.4 among men and women age 35-74 years from hospitals serving the 4 communities of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (400,000 base population in 2010). Trained staff abstracted medical records and copied up to three 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECG) that were coded by Minnesota Code. A standardized algorithm was applied to data on chest pain, cardiac biomarkers, and ECG evidence to determine MI diagnosis. Validated MI events with abnormal biomarkers were further classified by ECGs as STEMI or NSTEMI. ICD-9 codes 410.0-410.6 and 410.8 were used to define STEMI while codes 410.7 or 410.9 defined NSTEMI. STEMI infarct location was assessed by ECG and categorized as anterior, inferior, lateral, or multi-location. We determined the validity of code-based definitions using the ARIC algorithm and ECG evidence as referent standards. All analyses were weighted to account for sampling. Results: Between 1987 and 2010, 208,920 (weighted) hospitalizations with discharge codes suggestive of MI occurred in the 4 ARIC communities. Of these, 19% (38,729/208,920) were validated as MI. The positive predictive value (PPV) of an ICD-9 410 code to identify a validated MI was 72% (22218/30652). This PPV declined slightly from 78% (862/1111) in 1987 to 71% (1031/1462) in 2010. Center differences by community were seen (range 63% (197/315) to 78% (173/222) in 2010). Sensitivity of a 410 code to identify validated MIs remained stable from 1987 to 2010 at about 57% (22218/38,729). The PPV of the ICD-9 code-based STEMI definition improved after 2005 but remained moderate at 41% (175/430) in 2010. The PPV of the ICD-9 code based definition of NSTEMI was 63% (599/945) in 2010 and was stable over time. The PPV of codes to identify anterior and inferior infarctions were high (66% (1145/1741) and 78% (1956/2518), respectively). However codes for lateral and multiple site infarctions had lower PPV (53% (327/619) and 21% (153/727), respectively). Conclusions: The PPV of an ICD-9 code 410 to identify MI remained stable over the past 2 decades, but geographic differences persist. ICD-9 codes are better at correctly identifying NSTEMI than STEMI and better at identifying inferior infarcts than other anatomic locations. These data suggest caution in interpreting studies of MI trends based solely on ICD-9 codes.
Incorporation of OpenMP memory consistency into conventional dataflow analysis

Current OpenMP compilers are often limited in their analysisand optimization of OpenMP programs by the challenge of incorporatingOpenMP memory consistency semantics into conventional dataflow algorithms. An important reason for this is that data flow analysiswithin current compilers traverse the program's control-flow graph(CFG) and the CFG does not accurately model the memory consistencyspecifications of OpenMP. In this paper, we present techniquesto incorporate memory consistency semantics into conventional dataflowanalysis by transforming the program's CFG into an OpenMP Producer-Consumer Flow Graph (PCFG), where a path exists from writes to readsof shared data if and only if a dependence is implied by the OpenMPmemory consistency model. We present algorithms for these transformations,prove the correctness of these algorithms and discuss a case wherethis transformation is used.
Detection of crossing white matter fibers with high-order tensors and rank-k decompositions

Fundamental to high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI), is the estimation of a positive-semidefinite orientation distribution function (ODF) and extracting the diffusion properties (e.g., fiber directions). In this work we show that these two goals can be achieved efficiently by using homogeneous polynomials to represent the ODF in the spherical deconvolution approach, as was proposed in the Cartesian Tensor-ODF (CT-ODF) formulation. Based on this formulation we first suggest an estimation method for positive-semidefinite ODF by solving a linear programming problem that does not require special parameterization of the ODF. We also propose a rank-k tensor decomposition, known as CP decomposition, to extract the fibers information from the estimated ODF. We show that this decomposition is superior to the fiber direction estimation via ODF maxima detection as it enables one to reach the full fiber separation resolution of the estimation technique. We assess the accuracy of this new framework by applying it to synthetic and experimentally obtained HARDI data.
Variation in Preoperative and Intraoperative Care for First-stage Palliation of Single-ventricle Heart Disease: A Report from the Joint Council on Congenital Heart Disease National Quality Improvement Collaborative

Background and Methods. As the first multicenter quality improvement collaborative in pediatric cardiology, the Joint Council on Congenital Heart Disease National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry collects information on the clinical care and outcomes of infants discharged home after first-stage palliation of single-ventricle heart disease, the Norwood operation, and variants. We sought to describe the preoperative and intraoperative characteristics of the first 100 patients enrolled in the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry. Results. From 21 contributing centers, 59% of infants were male, with median birth weight of 3.1 kg (1.9–5.0 kg); the majority had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (71%). A prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease was made in 75%; only one had fetal cardiac intervention. Chromosomal anomalies were present in 8%, and major noncardiac organ system anomalies were present in 9%. Preoperative risk factors were common (55%) but less frequent in those with prenatal cardiac diagnosis (P= .001). Four patients underwent a preoperative transcatheter intervention. Substantial variation across participating sites was demonstrated for choice of initial palliation for the 93 patients requiring a full first-stage approach, with 50% of sites performing stage I with right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit as the preferred operation; 89% of hybrid procedures were performed at a single center. Significant intraoperative variation by site was noted for the 83 patients who underwent traditional surgical stage I palliation, particularly with use of regional perfusion and depth of hypothermia. Conclusions. In summary, there is substantial variation across surgical centers in the successful initial palliation of infants with single-ventricle heart disease, particularly with regard to choice of palliation strategy, and intraoperative techniques including use of regional perfusion and depth of hypothermia. Further exploration of the relationship of such variables to subsequent outcomes after hospital discharge may help reduce variability and improve long-term outcomes.
Effects of a multimodality blood conservation schema toward improvement of intraoperative hemoglobin levels and off-pump transfusions in coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Background Cardiothoracic surgery places significant demands on blood bank resources. Measures aimed at reducing intraoperative hemodilution were initiated as part of a blood conservation program. Study Design and Methods We initiated a series of measures aimed at reducing hemodilution volume: 1) reduction of intravenous fluid (IVF) volume, 2) reduction of circuit size, and 3) use of autologous priming techniques. All sources and volumes of IVF were obtained from the medical record. Intraoperative hematocrit (Hct) measurements were performed at the following intervals: first in operating room (OR), lowest on-pump, last on-pump, after protamine reversal, and immediately before discharge from OR. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions were recorded. Intraoperative IVF, Hct levels, and transfusions were analyzed by cardiopulmonary bypass phase (prepump, on-pump, and off-pump), comparing preimplementation and postimplementation periods. Results Total intraoperative IVF volume was reduced by 973.7 mL (95% confidence interval, 671.6-1275.9 mL; p < 0.001) leading to a mean on-pump Hct improvement of more than 2% (p < 0.004). This contributed to a reduction in off-pump RBC transfusions by 20.6% (p = 0.014). A significant degree of heterogeneity in transfusion practice was noted between anesthesiologists. Conclusions Blood conservation efforts in cardiac surgery should include efforts aimed at reducing hemodilution. Potential improvements are blunted by variation in transfusion practice.
Correlation of Electric Surface Potentials, Intraluminal Pressures, and Nature of Tissue in the Gastroesophageal Junction of Man

Summary Because intraluminal gastric potential is usually negative with respect to skin, and esophageal potential positive, the site of maximal potential change, determined on withdrawing an electrode from the stomach to the esophagus, has been used to identify the gastroesophageal mucosal junction. To ascertain whether this practice is valid in man, we took simultaneous mucosal biopsies proximal and just distal to the point where maximal change in potential difference (PD) was recorded on withdrawing an electrode from stomach to esophagus. In 18 subjects in whom a clearly defined change in PD could be recorded, the end point of maximal PD change correlated 12 times with the presence of stratified squamous epithelium, 6 times with j unctional columnar epithelium devoid of parietal cells. From the other biopsy site, 25 mm distal, gastric mucosa with parietal cells was consistently obtained. Changes in PD appeared to correlate better with the presence or absence of parietal cells than with the actual junction of columnar gastric and squamous esophageal epithelium. However, since parietal cell-containing gastric epithelium and squamous epithelium were not widely separated in most cases, changes in PD identified the location of the mucosal gastroesophageal junction accurately in 2 out of 3 instances.
One-Stage Anterior Cervical Decompression and Posterior Stabilization. A Study of One Hundred Patients with a Minimum of Two Years of Follow-up*

One hundred patients were managed with one-stage anterior decompression and posterior stabilization of the cervical spine. The underlying indication for the operation was cervical trauma in thirty-one patients; a neoplasm with a pathological fracture or an incomplete neurological deficit in fifty-five; and a miscellaneous condition, such as infection, rheumatoid arthritis, or cervical spondylotic myelopathy, in fourteen. The duration of follow-up ranged from twenty-four to 108 months (mean, thirty-two months) for the living patients. Sixteen patients had the procedure after the failure of an operation that had been performed elsewhere. The development of more biomechanically rigid cervical instrumentation did not obviate the need for a combined anterior and posterior approach. Twenty-six patients (26 per cent) had supplemental cervical instrumentation as part of the circumferential arthrodesis: seventeen had insertion of an anterior cervical plate and nine had insertion of a posterior facet plate. There were no iatrogenic neurological deficits. Of the seventy-five patients who had had a neurological deficit preoperatively, fifty-one improved one grade and six improved two grades according to the system of Frankel et al. Of the thirty-five patients who had not been able to walk preoperatively, twenty-one regained enough motor strength to walk postoperatively. Because the anterior and posterior procedures were performed during one session of general anesthesia, the prevalence of perioperative complications related to the airway was lower than that previously reported in the literature. No patient had an obstruction of the airway.
Land Use Allocation Model for Flood Control

A dynamic programming model is developed that finds the optimal allocation of land uses to maximize economic rent to land net of flood damage. The model specifically considers the impact of upstream development on downstream flood levels and the impact of flood-plain development on the amount of damage for given flood levels. An efficient, but elementary, routing procedure is developed to meet the requirements of the dynamic programming model. The model is demonstrated on realistic data for a watershed with 42 subbasins and eight land-use categories. This test problem is solved in several trials, each trial requiring about 30 sec of computing time. The solutions appear to be stable despite the artificial discretization of flood flows. The model is useful for exploring the relationships among land use decisions and flood damages and for identifying target land use patterns for particular watersheds.
Ventricular Septal Defect with Aortic Regurgitation

Thirty-four patients with ventricular septal defect and aortic regurgitation, representing less than 5 per cent of our patients with ventricular septal defect, are discussed. A loud, systolic murmur, characteristic of ventricular septal defect, is noted during infancy, whereas evidences of aortic regurgitation (protodiastolic murmur and wide pulse pressure) does not usually appear until sometime between 2 and 10 years of age. Clinical and catheterization data indicate that the principal hemodynamic load is aortic regurgitation, whereas the ventricular septal defect does not usually result in a large pulmonary blood flow or high pulmonary arterial pressure. In about 50 per cent of the patients, a significant pressure gradient across the right ventricular outflow tract exists. Detailed pathologic studies indicate that the ventricular septal defects are high and anterior and encroach to a greater or lesser degree on the membranous bulbar septum. The right coronary cusp is the one most severely involved, and,...
Determination of Eigenstates via Lanczos-Based Forward Substitution and Filter-Diagonalization

A filter-diagonalization scheme based on the Lanczos tridiagonalization algorithm is proposed for the determination of highly excited eigenstates in a prespecified energy range. Filtered states localized in the energy domain can be generated during the Lanczos iteration by forward substitution which formally corresponds to a Green function filter. Eigenstates in the energy range of interest are then obtained by diagonalizing a small Hamiltonian matrix in a subspace spanned by the filtered states. It is shown that the accuracy of this approach is affected neither by the loss of orthogonality among the Lanczos states nor by the instability in the forward substitution. Since the filtered states are assembled while the Lanczos states are generated, no storage of the Lanczos states is needed. The computational savings can be significant in calculating high energy eigenstates of large systems. The proposed scheme is shown numerically to have comparable accuracy with the basic Lanczos method.
Should increasing the field size of monocultural crops be expected to exacerbate pest damage

a b s t r a c t The intensification of agriculture, including the increase in the spatial extent of monocultures, is widely expected to result in an increase in crop damage by herbivorous pests. The theoretical basis for this expectation is, however, unclear. We used a simulation model to explore the relationship between the field size of monocultural crops and season-long mean expected pest densities. We investigated how the underlying relationship between field size and pest densities might be influenced by the presence/absence of an effective natural enemy; by the relative dispersal abilities of the pest and natural enemy; by the ability of the pest and natural enemy to overwinter within the crop habitat; and by the pest’s rate of reproduction in the crop. Our model predicts that the relationship between field size and pest densities may, under commonly satisfied conditions, assume any of several forms (positive, negative, hump-shaped, or essentially constant), depending on the biology of the organisms. Each of the underlying relationships between field size of monocultural crops and expected pest densities may motivate adoption of a different set of pest management tactics. Whereas positive relationships motivate tactics that facilitate early natural enemy colonization of the interior of large monocultures (e.g., by supplementing food resources within the crop), negative relationships may instead motivate a suite of farm-design approaches that reduce pest colonization of crop interiors by achieving larger functional field sizes (e.g., aggregating multiple fields of the same crop).
AN IMPROVED HYDROGENATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF TETRAHYDROFURAN CIS-2, 5-DICARBOXYLIC ACID

(1972). AN IMPROVED HYDROGENATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF TETRAHYDROFURAN CIS-2, 5-DICARBOXYLIC ACID. Organic Preparations and Procedures International: Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 289-292.
Monte Carlo loop refinement and virtual screening of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor transmembrane domain.

Metropolis Monte Carlo (MMC) loop refinement has been performed on the three extracellular loops (ECLs) of rhodopsin and opsin-based homology models of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor transmembrane domain, a class A type G protein-coupled receptor. The Monte Carlo sampling technique, employing torsion angles of amino acid side chains and local moves for the six consecutive backbone torsion angles, has previously reproduced the conformation of several loops with known crystal structures with accuracy consistently less than 2 A. A grid-based potential map, which includes van der Waals, electrostatics, hydrophobic as well as hydrogen-bond potentials for bulk protein environment and the solvation effect, has been used to significantly reduce the computational cost of energy evaluation. A modified sigmoidal distance-dependent dielectric function has been implemented in conjunction with the desolvation and hydrogen-bonding terms. A long high-temperature simulation with 2 kcal/mol repulsion potential re...
Frequency response of mesoscopic conductors: a time-dependent Landauer approach

We employ a time-dependent Landauer approach to study the dynamic response of a mesoscopic conductor biased with a temporal varying voltage. The system is modelled as a perfect conducting wire coupled to two large electron reservoirs whose chemical potentials are driven offset by the bias. The electronic waves are quantized on the basis of orthonormal wave packets moving along the conductor. The time for an electron to traverse the wire between the source and the drain reservoirs is found to be the relevant time scale in determining the transient response and the characteristic frequency of the AC conductance.
Nittsū’s Company History as a Guide to the Early Modern Origins of Japan’s Modern Communications

Historians of the future will no doubt focus on the transformative role of Internet-based communications as they have changed human interaction in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The introduction of modern postal services in Japan and elsewhere in the nineteenth century produced effects no less profound: citizens were connected to each other and their governments by reliable and relatively speedy delivery of letters, newspapers, and parcels. Japan’s postal system was a great success, but the communications practices of the Japanese prior to the establishment of the post played an important role in that success. Courier services—the so-called hikyakuya —of the early modern period survived and ultimately became today’s Nippon Tsūun (Nittsū), and global logistical corporation. This article surveys the development of early modern Japanese communications, demonstrating the indispensible role that Nittsū’s company history plays in understanding that development.
Platform Overlays: enabling in-network stream processing in large-scale distributed applications

The purpose of this research is to explore the capabilities of future, multi-core heterogeneous systems, with specialized communication support, to be used as efficient and flexible execution platforms in distributed streaming applications. On such platforms, we create overlays of hardware- and software-supported execution contexts -- platform overlays. Stream manipulations, represented via stream handlers, are deployed on top of such overlays, based on the ability of individual contexts to perform handler operations. As a result, stream processing is dynamically mapped to those platform resources best suited for it, and it can even be fully contained to the networking subsystems, thereby enabling in-network stream processing. Experimental results demonstrate the benefits of our approach towards meeting application-specific quality requirements.
Colorectal cancer in inflammatory bowel disease.

Purpose of review Patients with inflammatory bowel disease, either Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis, are at an increased risk for developing colorectal carcinoma. Recent findings Surveillance colonoscopy, although never formally evaluated in a prospective controlled trial, is performed in an effort to reduce this risk. Novel methods of detecting dysplasia are constantly being evaluated, including chromoendoscopy and biomarkers of carcinoma, in an attempt to stratify patients who are at a higher risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or carcinoma. Summary Because of the potential impact on quality of life and life expectancy, an optimal strategy for reducing the risk of developing colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease needs to be defined.
Magnetic susceptibility anisotropy and molecular quadrupole moment in 14NH3

Abstract The molecular Zeeman effect in 14 NH 3 was observed using a beam maser spectrometer in a 19 kG magnetic field. The measured susceptibility anisotropy is χ ⊥ −χ ∥ = − (0.37 ± 0.04) × 10 −6 erg/gauss 2 mole. The molecular quadrupole moment along the symmetry axis is Q ∥ = ∼ (2.32 ± 0.07) × 10 −26 esu cm 2 . Other molecular constants are reported.
Nitrogen Fate and Transport in a Conventional Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Installed in a Clay Soil: A Nitrogen Chain Model

Nitrogen cycling in clay-textured soils with onsite wastewater treatment systems is studied and modeled much less often than sand- and loam-textured soils because there is little data on onsite wastewater treatment system performance in these soils. An N chain model with water-content dependent first-order transformation rates for nitrification and denitrification was developed and calibrated using data from a conventional onsite wastewater treatment system installed in a clay-textured soil. The model predicted the N removal in the system. Estimates of N loss were specific to clay-textured soils and should be valuable to TMDL developers who need to predict load allocations for non-point sources in the Piedmont. Nitrogen cycling in clay-textured soils with onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) is studied and modeled much less often than sand- and loam-textured soils because there is little data on OWTS performance in these soils. Information on the nitrogen loads from these systems is needed for quantification of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). The objective of this study was to calibrate a 2D HYDRUS model using experimental soil pressure head and vadose zone nitrogen (N) and chloride (Cl) data from a conventional OWTS that was installed in a clay soil in the Piedmont region of Georgia. An N chain model with water-content dependent first-order transformation rates for nitrification and denitrification was developed. The overall predicted soil pressure heads and solute concentrations were similar to data collected from the field experiment. The calibrated model made it possible to estimate water and solute fluxes in the drainfield and N losses from the OWTS. The estimated annual N loss from leaching at the lower boundary of the experimental drainfield was 3.8 kg yr-1. Scaled up to an OWTS size typical for GA and a zoning density of 5 homes ha-1, the N load to groundwater would be 57.4 kg ha-1 yr-1, which is comparable to agricultural production losses to groundwater. The model predicted 52% of the N removal in the system was from denitrification, whereas plant uptake and change in N storage accounted for ≤5% of the N loss. These estimates were specific to clay-textured soils and should be valuable to TMDL developers who need to predict load allocations for nonpoint sources in the Piedmont. © Soil Science Society of America 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA. All rights reserved.
Cranial Nerve Palsies and Cerebral Infarction in a Young Infant with Meningococcal Meningitis

A previously healthy 30-day-old male infant became ill with fever, poor activity, and refusal to feed for 2 days. A cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed 7.15 × 108 leukocytes/1 with 72% neutrophils, protein 4.6g/1, and glucose 7mg/dl. Neisseria meningitidis was isolated from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. On the fourth day of hospitalization, the baby was found to have left oculomotor and facial palsies, which resolved gradually. He was treated with intravenous penicillin for 2 weeks. A repeat CSF examination revealed a high persisting protein level of 2.9g/1 and a computerized tomographic brain scan revealed a cerebral infarction in the bilateral frontal lobes. The treatment was extended to 4 weeks. No relapse of the infection was noted. This is the first case report of an infant with meningococcal meningitis complicated by cranial nerve palsies and cerebral infarction. This and previous reports, show that meningococcal meningitis at an extremely young age is associated with a greater risk of dev...
A generalized complementary pivoting algorithm

Complementary pivot algorithms known at the present time fall into several quite general categories, with obvious similarities. This paper deals with general pivoting systems which provide a natural setting for the study of complementary pivot algorithms. A generalized algorithm is presented for these systems. We give results on the number of iterations necessary for such an algorithm.
Microphase Separation Controlled β-Sheet Crystallization Kinetics in Fibrous Proteins

Silk is a naturally occurring fibrous protein with a multiblock chain architecture. As such, it has many similarities with synthetic block copolymers, including the possibility for β-sheet crystall...
Verbal immediacy as a behavioral indicator of open communication content

This paper integrates the constructs of open communication and verbal immediacy. The rationale is based on a need for a microscopic criterion for assessing open communication content in on‐going interaction. A behavioral measure of verbal immediacy was used to analyze the communication content for 26 married adults. Verbal immediacy was found to be significantly related to observers' assessments and self assessments of open communication content and style behaviors. A structural analysis of the correlations indicated that assessment of verbal immediacy provides pertinent information about open communication. Conceptual and methodological implications are suggested.
Gravel Addition as a Habitat Restoration Technique for Tailwaters

Abstract We assessed the efficacy of passive gravel addition at forming catostomid spawning habitat under various flow regimes in the Cheoah River, a high-gradient tailwater river in North Carolina. The purpose was to provide a case study that included recommendations for future applications. A total of 76.3 m3 (162 tons) of washed gravel (10–50 mm) was passively dumped down the streambank and into the channel in four locations. Gravel sites differed in terms of average reach slope, bank slope, and the initial volume of gravel added, which could have influenced gravel entrainment. Maps of gravel movement under various flows suggested that large-magnitude discharges (≥113 m3/s) caused extensive migration; however, less obvious, smaller discharges (∼28 m3/s) still caused substantial shifting, which may influence the stability of catostomid spawning substrates. Following gravel addition, the proportion of gravel in the streambed was significantly higher at all gravel sites. However, comparisons of sites to r...
Glyphosate-resistant soybean as a weed management tool: Opportunities and challenges

Transgenic soybean, resistant to glyphosate, represents a revolutionary breakthrough in weed control technology. Transgenic soybean is the most dominant among all transgenic crops grown commercially in the world. In 2000, glyphosate-resistant (GR) soybean was planted to 25.8 million hectares globally, which amounts to 58% of the total global transgenic crop area. The United States soybean area planted with GR soybean has increased from 2% in 1996 to 68% in 2001. Glyphosate-resistant soybean as a weed management tool has provided farmers with the opportunity and flexibility to manage a broad spectrum of weeds. The use of glyphosate in GR soybean offers another alternative to manage weeds that are resistant to other herbicides. The rapid increase in GR soybean area is caused by the simplicity of using only one herbicide and a lower cost for weed control. Adoption of GR soybean has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the area treated with other herbicides. Glyphosphate-resistant soybean should not be relied on solely to the exclusion of other weed control methods, and should be used within integrated weed management systems. Over-reliance on GR soybean could lead to problems such as shifts in weed species and population, and the development of glyphosate-resistant weeds. The challenge is for soybean farmers to understand these problems, and for weed scientists to communicate with farmers that continuous use of glyphosate may diminish the opportunity of GR soybean as a weed management tool in the future.
John Beauchamp Jones: A Southern View of the Abolitionists

John Beauchamp Jones wrote a novel first called "Border War" (1859) and later republished in 1861 as "Secession, Coercion, and Civil War: the Story of 1861. Jones' novel is of interest , according to Lapides, as an indication of a Southern attitude toward the sectional strife that was to culminate in the Civil War. The Union, Jones believed, must be preserved. Yet as a Southerner, Jones believed that there were just grievances in the South against Northern politicians and abolitionists who sought to impose their beliefs upon the South.
Developmental and Temperamental Differences in Emotion Regulation in Infancy.

One of the major adaptations during the infancy period is the development of the ability to cope with arousing or uncertain events. The following study was designed to examine emotion regulation strategy use between 6 and 18 months. 75 infants (25 each of 6-, 12-, and 18-month-olds) were videotaped interacting with 3 female strangers. Coping strategies were coded using a portable computer with a continuous sampling program, enabling coders to record both frequencies and durations of behaviors. Results indicated that 6-month-olds were more likely than 12- or 18-month-olds to use gaze aversion and fussing as their primary emotion regulation strategies, and were less likely than the older infants to use self-soothing and self-distraction. 18-month-olds were more likely than the younger infants to attempt to direct their interactions with the strangers. Infants' strategy use also differed as a function of their wariness of strangers, particularly at 12 months of age.
A comparative study of magnetic relaxation and V-I characteristics in the laser-ablated YBCO thin films

Abstract Magnetic relaxation and V-I measurements on the laser-ablated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7–x thin films have been made in an applied field (2 or 3 kOe) at various temperatures. In addition to the similar power-law behavior in the temperature range between 40 and 80 K, both of the results show that the activation barriers γ obtained by dln(dM/dt)/dln(ΔM) and dln(V)/dln(ΔI) are comparable.
S3–01–04: Everyday technology in Alzheimer care

The Alzheimer’s Association, in conjunction with a number of companies, have sponsored serveral technology grants in the prevention and remediation of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Jay will provide an overview of the wide range of research projects that explore unique and diverse approaches to applying technology to such areas as: Behavioral Biomarkers for Early Detection; Prevention; ADL prompting, Cognitive Exercises, Safety Monitoring; Social Support; and Detecting Moments and Patterns of Lucidity.
Delivery of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate from Poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogels

While protein growth factors promote therapeutic angiogenesis, delivery of lipid factors such as sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) may provide better stabilization of newly formed vessels. We developed a biomaterial for the controlled delivery of S1P, a bioactive lipid released from activated platelets. Multiarm poly(ethylene glycol)−vinyl sulfone was cross-linked with albumin, a lipid-transporting protein, to form hydrogels. The rate of S1P release from the materials followed Fickian kinetics and was dependent upon the presence of lipid carriers in the release solution. Delivery of S1P from RGD-modified hydrogels increased the cell migration speed of endothelial cells growing on the materials. The materials also induced angiogenesis in the chorioallantoic membrane assay. Our data demonstrate that the storage and release of lipid factors provides a new route for the induction of angiogenesis by artificial materials.
Adenosine Triphosphatase Activities in Leaves of the Mangrove Avicennia nitida Jacq: Influence of Sodium to Potassium Ratios and Salt Concentrations

Homogenates from the salt-excreting leaves of the mangrove Avicennia nitida were subjected to differential centrifugation and investigated for adenosine triphosphatase activities. At pH 6.75 a salt stimulation with peaks at three different sodium to potassium ratios could be demonstrated above the activity due to Mg2+ ions. The stimulation by sodium and potassium depends on the ionic strength of the test medium, higher salt concentrations being inhibitory. The plant system seems thus more complicated than the animal activities. Technically, this means that a search for (Na+ + K+)-activated ATPases in plants should be performed with a close spacing of Na:K ratios at several constant levels of salt. Literature data on the transport of Na+ and K+ indicate that the physiological situation is rather complex in plants.
Transforming molecular biology research through extreme acceleration of AMBER molecular dynamics simulations: sampling for the 99%

This talk will cover recent developments in the acceleration of Molecular Dynamics Simulations using NVIDIA Graphics Processing units with the AMBER software package. In particular it will focus on recent algorithmic improvements aimed at accelerating the rate at which phase space is sampled. A recent success has been the reproduction and extension of key results from the DE Shaw 1 millisecond Anton MD simulation of BPTI (Science, Vol. 330 no. 6002 pp. 341-346) with just 2.5 days of dihedral boosted AMD sampling on a single GPU workstation, (Pierce L, Walker R. C. et al. JCTC, 2012 in review). These results show that with careful algorithm design it is possible to obtain sampling of rare biologically relevant events that occur on the millisecond timescale using just a single $500 GTX580 Graphics Card and a desktop workstation. Additional developments highlighted will include the acceleration of AMBER MD simulations using graphics processing units including Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure Cloud based automated ensemble calculations, a new precision model optimized for the upcoming Kepler architecture (Walker R. C. et al, JCP, 2012, in prep) as well as approaches for running large scale multi-dimensional GPU accelerated replica exchange calculations on Keeneland and BlueWaters.
Cyclophilin D deficiency prevents diet‐induced obesity in mice

Mitochondrial coupling efficiency is pivotal in thermogenesis and energy homeostasis. Here we show that deletion of cyclophilin D (CypD), a key modulator of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, demonstrated resistance to diet-induced obesity (DIO) in both male and female mice, due to increased basal metabolic rate, heat production, total energy expenditure and expenditure of fat energy, despite increased food consumption. Absorption of fatty acids is not altered between CypD−/− and wild-type mice. Adult CypD−/− developed hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance albeit resistant to DIO. These data demonstrate that inhibition of CypD function could protect from HFD-IO by increasing energy expenditure in both male and female mice. Inhibition of CypD may offer a novel target to modulate metabolism.
A large-diameter coring device

Abstract A 15 cm-diameter coring device of polyvinyl chloride has been developed and successfully tested with barrels as much as 6 m in length. No sediment distortion was observed. The large-diameter corer is especially useful for obtaining samples for radiocarbon dating and other analyses requiring large volumes of sediment.
The Creation and Annealing Kinetics of Fast Light Induced Defect States created by 1 Sun Illumination in a-Si:H

Preliminary results are presented on the kinetics of fast states at 25°C created by 1 sun illumination in protocrystalline hydrogen diluted a-Si:H films. The results are for the bulk properties of the a-Si:H films which was confirmed by the similarity of results obtained on corresponding intrinsic layers in p-i-n solar cells. It is found that the kinetics exhibit two regimes. The first regime is in the form of a delay before the onset of an A·log(t) time dependence indicative of a dispersive process. Despite the unexpected effect of a dependence of this first regime on the degradation/annealing history of the samples, it was possible to characterize the highly reproducible logarithmic dependences for different illumination times as well as in the presence of different carrier generation/recombination rates. It is found that for the degradation times studied, the annealing kinetics associated with the second regime are independent of the 1 sun illumination time but are dependent on the recombination introduced by illuminations as low as ∼0-5 of 1 sun. These fast states are located close to midgap, similar to the position of dangling bond defects. The results presented raise interesting questions that still need to be answered about the nature and origin of the fast defects in order to assess their contribution to the long term degradation and the overall stability a-Si:H materials.
Rate Coefficient for the Reaction: O + NO2+ M → NO3+ M

The rate coefficient for the reaction O(3P) + NO2 + M → NO3 + M (M = N2), k1b, was measured over the pressure range 20−800 Torr (N2) between 220 and 296 K. Pulsed laser photolysis of NO2 at 352 nm was used to produce O atoms and transient long-path diode laser absorption at 662 nm was used to detect NO3 produced in the reaction. The pressure and temperature dependence of the measured rate coefficient is reproduced by the expression k1b(T,M) = [k0(T)[M]/(1 + (k0(T)[M]/k∞(T))]Fcx, where x = {1 + [log(k0(T)[M]/k∞(T))]2}-1 and k0(T) = k0(300) (T/300)-n, k∞(T) = k∞(300) (T/300)-m with k0 = 3 × 10-31 cm6 molecule-2 s-1, n = 1.75, k∞ = 3.75 × 10-11 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, m = 0, and Fc = 0.6. This fit does not yield unique values for k∞ or k0 but are presented here merely to obtain k1b(T,M) for atmospheric modeling purposes. The reported values are significantly larger than the current recommendation for stratospheric modeling. Our larger values do not significantly increase the role of the title reaction in the Ear...
Oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of experimental diabetic neuropathy

We evaluated the effects of chronic hyperglycemia on L5 DRG neurons. Experimental diabetic neuropathy (EDN) was induced by streptozotocin. We studied peripheral nerve after 1, 3, 12 months of diabetes. A conduction deficit was present from the first month and persisted over 12 months, affecting mainly sensory fibers. 8-Hydroxy-deoxyguanosine labeling was significantly increased at all time points in DRG neurons, indicating oxidative injury. Caspase-3 labeling was increased at all three time-points, indicating commitment to the efferent limb of the apoptotic pathway. Apoptosis was confirmed by a significant increase in the percent of neurons undergoing apoptosis (TUNEL staining) at 1 month (8%), 3 months (7%) and 12 months (11%). Morphometry of DRG showed a selective loss (42%) of the largest neurons. These findings support the concept that oxidative stress leads to oxidative injury of DRG neurons, with mitochondrium as a specific target, leading to apoptosis and a predominantly sensory neuropathy.
Determinants of participation in an epidemiological study of preterm delivery.

We describe the study design and patterns of participation for a cohort study of preterm delivery, focused on genital tract infections, nutrition, tobacco use, illicit drugs and psychosocial stress. Women are recruited at 24–29 weeks’ gestation from prenatal clinics at a teaching hospital and a county health department. We recruited 57% of the first 1843 eligible women; 29% refused and 8% could not be contacted. White women were somewhat more likely to participate than African-American women (61% vs. 54% respectively). More notable differences were found comparing teaching hospital and health department clinics (71% vs. 47% participation respectively), with the health department clinic having a greater proportion refuse (24% vs. 33%) and more women who could not be contacted (4% vs. 11%). Participation was affected only minimally by day or timing of recruitment, but inability to contact diminished substantially as the study continued (13–0%). Refusals were largely unrelated to patient attributes. Lower education predicted inability to contact. Risk of preterm delivery was 14% among recruited women, 10% among women who refused, and 15% among women whom we were not able to contact, demonstrating that, overall, risk status was not lower among recruited women.
Function, fitness and disposition

In this paper I discuss recent debates concerning etiological theories of functions. I defend an etiological theory against two criticisms, namely the ability to account for malfunction, and the problem of structural “doubles”. I then consider the arguments provided by Bigelow and Pargetter (1987) for a more “forward looking” account of functions as propensities or dispositions. I argue that their approach fails to address the explanatory problematic for which etiological theories were developed.
Metallurgical aspects of waste metal decontamination by melt refining

Abstract Melt refining has been suggested for decontamination and volume reduction of metallic wastes. Knowledge of metallurgical aspects of the process is essential for effective treatment of various metals. Samples of several metals were contaminated and melted with various fluxes. The resulting ingots as well as the slags were analyzed for their nuclide contents. Compatibility of slags and the refractories was also investigated. Resistance furnace melting was a better melting technique for nonferrous scrap, while induction melting was more suitable for ferrous metals. The extent of decontamination was not very sensitive to slag type and composition. However, borosilicate and basic oxidizing slags were more effective on ferrous metals and Cu; NaNO 3 NaClNaOH fluxes were desirable for Zn, Pb, and Sn; and fluoride slags were effective for Al. Recrystallized alumina was the most compatible refractory for melt refining of both ferrous and nonferrous metals. Melt refining was shown to be an effective method for volume reduction and decontamination of contaminated metal scrap.
Application of amberlite XAD-2 resin for general toxicological analysis.

Abstract The use of Amberlite XAD-2 resin for the extraction of drugs has been extended to the processing of either direct aliquots of blood and stomach contents or aqueous dialysates of the latter, as well as to that of aqueous Stas—Otto deproteinated extracts of tissue. A two-step elution provides the subsequent recovery of standard acid, neutral, basic compounds, and the more polar, water-soluble drugs and drug metabolites. Inorganics may be recovered from the eluate resulting from passage of the original solution through the resin. Extraction with columns of 1–2 g of Amberlite XAD-2 resin is shown to provide the best general approach for separations in pure form of nearly all toxic compounds from up to 500 g of tissue as well as from biological fluids and stomach contents.
Current-density-functional theory of the surface properties of electron-hole droplets in a strong magnetic field.

We present an application of the current-density functional formalism to a nonuniform many-fermion system in a strong magnetic field. To this end, we construct a current-dependent local ground-state energy functional and derive self-consistent equations for the current density associated with a given density profile. We apply the formalism to the calculation of the surface properties of an electron-hole droplet and we find that the surface tension of the droplet is a rapidly increasing function of the magnetic field.