cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Embryotoxicity of Great Lakes lake trout extracts to developing rainbow trout

Abstract Planar halogenated hydrocarbons (PHHs), such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls are present in aquatic systems, and are known to produce adverse effects in fish. This study investigated the embryotoxicity of PHH mixtures through the nanoinjection of environmental extracts into newly fertilized eggs from two strains of rainbow trout. Organic extracts were obtained from whole adult lake trout collected from Lake Michigan in 1988 and Lake Superior in 1994. The graded doses of the final extracts used for injection were quantified as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxic-equivalents (TEQs) based on the concentrations of dioxins, furans and non-o-PCBs in each, and as equivalent amounts found in the eggs of the original lake trout (eggEQ). Total TEQs in the lake trout were 14.7 pg TEQ/g in the Lake Michigan sample and 7.3 pg TEQ/g in the Lake Superior sample. The extract of the Lake Michigan lake trout was embryotoxic to rainbow trout; LD50 values were 35 eggEQ (15–90, 95% F.L.) in the Arlee strain and 14 eggEQ (5–99, 95% F.L.) in the Erwin strain of rainbow trout. The LD50 values of the Lake Michigan extract in either of these strains of rainbow trout fall within the actual range of TCDD LD50 values based on TEQs. This indicates that an additive model of toxicity is appropriate to quantify PHHs in relation to early life stage mortality in fish. Gross lesions characteristic of exposure to PHHs (i.e. yolk-sac edema, craniofacial deformities, and hemorrhaging) increased in a dose-related manner. The lowest observable adverse effect concentrations (LOAEC) for these gross lesions and cumulative mortalities suggests that current concentrations of PHHs in lake trout from Lake Michigan are above a threshold for adverse effects and these compounds may have implications on the lack of recruitment in certain Great Lakes lake trout populations.
Darwin in the bedroom

In Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior, Gray and Garcia offer an updated look at the evolutionary roots of human sexual behavior and deliver an entertaining yet scientific account of how and why we humans are similar to other animals but still unique when it comes to our sex lives. An underlying theme in the book is that the bulk of human sexual behavior occurs in the context of long-term, mostly monogamous relationships. Gray and Garcia argue that it is in the maintenance of these partnerships that we can explain romantic love, our proclivity to have sex throughout the female cycle and pregnancy, the short period of post-partum sex abstinence, the post-reproductive continuation of sexual activity, and even features of child sex play.
Analytic Review: Neurological Complications of Transplantation:

Recipients of solid organ or hematopoietic cell transplants are at risk of life-threatening neurological disorders including encephalopathy, seizures, infections and tumors of the central nervous system, stroke, central pontine myelinolysis, and neuromuscular disorders-often requiring admission to, or occurring in, the intensive care unit (ICU). Many of these complications are linked directly or indirectly to immunosuppressive therapy. However, neurological disorders may also result from graft versus host disease, or be an expression of the underlying disease which prompted transplantation, as well as injury induced during radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, and ICU stay. In rare cases, neuroinfectious pathogens may be transmitted with the transplanted tissue or organ. Diagnosis may be a challenge because clinical symptoms and findings on neuroimaging lack specificity, and a biological specimen or tissue diagnosis is often needed for definitive diagnosis. Management is centered on preventing further neurological injury, etiology-targeted therapy, and balancing the benefits and toxicities of specific immunosuppressive agents.
Predictions of Vertebral Strength From Quantitative Measures of the Intra-Vertebral Heterogeneity in Density

Current fracture risk estimates for the spine are based on average measures of bone mineral density (BMD) in the vertebral centrum. However, these measures of BMD explain only ∼60% of the variance in vertebral strength [1] and do not discriminate well between fracture and non-fracture cohorts [2]. These limitations of average BMD are likely due to the heterogeneous distribution of bone tissue throughout the vertebra. The density and architecture of vertebral trabecular bone vary as a function of position in the centrum [3]; moreover, these spatial variations have been shown to vary substantially among individuals and with age [3].Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Replacing a suite of commercial pectinases with a single enzyme, pectate lyase B, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentations of cull peaches

Fermentation of pectin-rich biomass with low concentrations of polysaccharides requires some treatment of the pectin, but does not need complete degradation of the polysaccharide to reach maximum ethanol yields. Cull peaches, whole rotten fruits that are not suitable for sale, contain high concentrations of glucose (27.7% dw) and fructose (29.3% dw) and low amounts of cellulose (2.8% dw), hemicellulose (4.5% dw) and pectin (5.6% dw). Amounts of commercial saccharification enzymes, cellulase and cellobiase can be significantly decreased and commercial pectinase mixtures can be replaced completely with a single enzyme, pectate lyase (PelB), while maintaining ethanol yields above 90% of the theoretical maximum. PelB does not completely degrade pectin; it only releases short chain oligogalacturonides. However, the activity of PelB is sufficient for the fermentation process, and its addition to fermentations without commercial pectinase increases ethanol production by ~12%.
Spectroscopic imaging of radiation-induced effects in the white matter of glioma patients

External radiation therapy of brain tumors may cause adverse effects on normal brain tissue, resulting in severe neuropsychological and cognitive impairment. We investigated the late delayed radiation effects in the white matter (WM) using (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)HMRSI). Nine glioma patients with local radiation-induced signal abnormalities in the T(2)-weighted MR images were studied with nine age- and sex-matched controls. The metabolite ratios in the radiation-induced hyper intensity area (RIHA) and in the normal appearing white matter (NAWM) of the patients were compared with respective WM areas of the controls. In RIHA, choline/creatine (Cho/Cr) was 17% decreased (1.22 +/- 0.13 vs 1.47 +/- 0.16, p = 0.0027, significant (s), unpaired Student's t test with Bonferroni correction) in the patients compared to the controls, while there was no difference in N-acetyl aspartate/Cr (NAA/Cr) (2.49 +/- 0.57 vs 2.98 +/- 0.32, p = 0.039) or NAA/Cho (2. 03 +/- 0.40 vs 2.04 +/- 0.17, p = 0.95). In NAWM, Cho/Cr was 24% decreased (1.21 +/- 0.15 vs 1.59 +/- 0.13, p < 0.0001, s) and NAA/Cho was 20% increased (2.49 +/- 0.49 vs 1.98 +/- 0.15, p = 0. 0082, s) in the patients compared to the controls, while there was no difference in NAA/Cr (2.99 +/- 0.46 vs 3.16 +/- 0.32, p = 0.38). NAA(RIHA)/NAA(NAWM) was 25% decreased (0.75 +/- 0.20 vs 1.00 +/- 0. 12, p = 0.0043, s) and Cr(RIHA)/Cr(NAWM) was 16% decreased (0.89 +/- 0.15 vs 1.06 +/- 0.10, p = 0.013, s) in the patients compared to the controls, while there was no difference in Cho(RIHA)/Cho(NAWM) (0.92 +/- 0.23 vs 0.98 +/- 0.10, p = 0.47). (1)HMRSI reveals widespread chemical changes in the WM after radiation therapy. In RIHA, there is loss of NAA, Cho, and Cr implying axonal and membrane damage and in NAWM, there is loss of Cho, reflecting membrane damage.
Impact of Structural and Magnetic Anisotropies on Microwave Ferrites

Abstract This chapter explores the role of magnetic anisotropy and crystallographic texture in determining rf properties of ferrites, and their performance characteristics when integrated within high-frequency devices. Both thin film epitaxy and bulk polycrystalline texture are discussed defining viable paths to realizing crystallographic texture required for device integration. Of the broad classes of ferrite, we focus of our attention on the versatile hexaferrite materials systems.
Power Systems Education Based on CUSP™-Curriculum

This paper describes the rationale for developing and disseminating an entire curriculum dedicated to Electric Energy System (EES) education at undergraduate and graduate levels. It presents the benefits of teaching just a few well thought out fundamentals-based courses in this area at the undergraduate level that allow students to take complementary courses and thus be broadly educated. This allows them flexibility upon graduation to work in industry, to go on to graduate school and Ph.D. research, or to work in a field different than power/energy. It describes the graduate courses being developed with the help of experts in their respective fields. Finally, this paper describes the dissemination of this material to other universities and practicing engineers by establishing a Consortium of Universities for Sustainable Power (CUSP™) that as of now has been joined by over 170 universities.
An internet database of crotaline venom found in the United States

Many snake venoms have been shown to be complex mixtures of pharmacologically important molecules, some of which have potential therapeutic value in the treatment of clot-induced ischemia, cancer and other human disorders. The literature contains many references on how venom and/or venom components are being used in medicine. Within the United States, there are 44 subspecies of poisonous snakes. Despite this rather vast diversity, 90% of the venom-related biomedical research conducted on native snakes found in the United States has been done on a limited number of the more common species. Since the venoms from most of the native species are not available or characterized, their composition and potential usefulness in medicine and applied biomedical research has not been explored. The Natural Toxins Research Center (NTRC) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville has developed a serpentarium that presently houses a population of over 250 snakes composed of 11 species and 20 subspecies. These snakes are cataloged on the Internet database along with their geographical location data, proteolytic activities, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrophoretic titration (ET) profiles. Many of these snake venoms have never been characterized and few locale-specific differences within a species have been examined. These venoms can be queried through an on-line search routine. The database will be a useful starting point for anyone interested in isolating fibrinolytic enzymes, specific toxins, hemorrhagins, or other pharmacologically active proteins from snake venoms.
The dependence of labradorite dissolution and Sr isotope release rates on solution saturation state

Labradorite dissolution kinetics and Sr release rates were measured as a function of the saturation state of weathering solutions in column reactors. During the first 750 hours, rapid, nonstoichiometric dissolution was observed. Once steady state had been reached, both the overall dissolution and Sr release became stoichiometric. Under steady state conditions that were far from being in equilibrium with the labradorite, we measured the log of the overall labradorite dissolution rate (mol mineral/m2/s) to be −10.6 ± 0.1 while the Sr release rate was −13.2 ± 0.1 (mol Sr/m2/s). The isotopic ratio of the output solutions did not vary with time as both the early 87Sr/86Sr ratios and the later, steady state ratios were all essentially the same as that of the bulk labradorite (0.704671). As the saturation state of the solution in the columns increased from −16 to −4.5 kcal/mol, the labradorite dissolution rate decreased by a factor of ∼4.5. To quantify this decrease, we determined a function that described the dependence of the labradorite dissolution rate on the solution saturation state. Using an implicit finite difference model to predict the chemical evolution of the solution passing through the column, we found that the dependence of labradorite dissolution rate on solution saturation state that best agrees with our experimental data was Rate=−kmin0.76∗1−exp(−1.3×10−17)∗(|ΔGr|RT)14 −0.24∗1−exp−0.35∗|ΔGr|RT , where kmin is the far from equilibrium rate constant (mol/m2/s), ΔGr is the Gibbs free energy of the dissolution reaction (kcal/mol), R is the gas constant (kcal/mol K) and T is the temperature (K). The rate dependence described by this equation suggests that under far from equilibrium conditions, dissolution occurs primarily by etch pit formation at defect sites. Closer to equilibrium, etch pit formation becomes less important and dissolution becomes more uniform across the crystal surface. The dependence of the Sr release rates on solution saturation could also be described by the above equation where kmin was the far from equilibrium Sr release rate. Changes in the solution saturation state did not, however, affect the isotopic ratio of the Sr released during weathering. Quantifying the rates of Sr release during plagioclase weathering and the effect that the solution saturation state has on those rates has important implications in terms of the use of Sr isotopes as a proxy for chemical weathering rates and the establishment of a more rigorous relationship between variations in the marine Sr isotopic record, average global weathering rates and atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
Hyperboloidal layers for hyperbolic equations on unbounded domains

We show how to solve hyperbolic equations numerically on unbounded domains by compactification, thereby avoiding the introduction of an artificial outer boundary. The essential ingredient is a suitable transformation of the time coordinate in combination with spatial compactification. We construct a new layer method based on this idea, called the hyperboloidal layer. The method is demonstrated on numerical tests including the one dimensional Maxwell equations using finite differences and the three dimensional wave equation with and without nonlinear source terms using spectral techniques.
Mach 10 Rayleigh Scattering Gas-Cap Density, Pressure, and Shock-Jump Measurements

Laser Rayleigh scattering measurements were performed along a 38.7 mm line in the gas cap created by a multipurpose crew vehicle model in the NASA Langley Research Center’s 31 in. Mach 10 air wind tunnel. Data were acquired at a fixed stagnation temperature near 990 K, and five stagnation pressures spanning 2.41 to 10.0 MPa (350–1454 psi). Data averaged over 371 images and 210 pixels per line produced measured gas-cap densities that agree with computed densities using the GASPROPS code within 1–5%. Gas-cap pressures calculated using measured offbody densities and computed gas-cap temperatures agree with onbody surface-pressure measurements within 5 to 15%. A line-averaged shock-density ratio of 5.92 based on four stagnation pressures agrees with the expected value of 5.97 to ∼1%.
Publication/Citation: A Proof-Theoretic Approach to Mathematical Knowledge Management

There are many real-life examples of formal systems that support certain constructions or proofs, but that do not provide direct support for remembering them so that they can be recalled and reused the future. This task is usually left to some metasystem that is typically provided as an afterthought. For example, programming language design usually focuses on the programming language itself; the mechanism for accumulating useful code in libraries is considered more of a systems issue and is generally treated as a separate design task. Mathematics deals with the construction of proofs, but not with their publication and citation; that is the domain of the journals.
Dynamics of Rabbiteye Blueberry Fruit Quality in Response to Harvest Method and Postharvest Handling Temperature

Abstract Research was conducted to understand the effect of harvesting method and postharvest temperature on fruit quality of ‘Brightwell’ and ‘Tifblue’ rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium ashei Reade). Mass loss, firmness and fruit respiration were measured under refrigerated (1°C) and ambient (22°C) conditions for both machine harvested (MH) and hand harvested (HH) berries of each cultivar. Few differences were found between cultivars for the various postharvest quality parameters. Firmness of MH blueberries was diminished by an overall average of 36.2% as compared to HH berries. MH berries placed at 22°C had a mass loss rate of 2.6% per day as compared to 0.2% per day at 1°C during the first two days of storage. Respiration rate of MH berries at ambient temperature was 31.1% higher than HH berries. Refrigeration reduced respiration rates by an overall average of 79%. Refrigerated HH blueberries had the best overall fruit quality after storage, and firmness measures suggested that HH berries had an extende...
Alexander von Humboldt-August Böckh: Briefwechsel

This volume is about two giants of nineteenth-century scholarly research. It documents a substantial part of the wide-ranging correspondence between Alexander von Humboldt and the sixteen years you...
Group Analysis of Variance for Earthquake Location and Magnitude

Two central problems in seismology are the location of earthquake epicentres and the allocation of magnitudes to earthquakes. We show in this communication that these problems can be reduced to the classic statistical model of two-way analysis of variance. Applying this theory to the reduction of pooled data from many stations and earthquakes leads to estimation of source and station terms and the interaction between them. In particular, it provides the theoretical framework for the method of group (or regional) adjustment of epicentres used by Freedman1 and Douglas2. The embedding of the problems in this theory opens the way for strict statistical tests of various hypotheses of geological interest.
NEXT FRONTIER IN ACCESSIBLE TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEMS: WORLD WIDE WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Ergonomic guidelines for traveler information systems were developed as one part of an effort to ensure that new technologies associated with Intelligent Transportation Systems are available to all persons, and especially to persons with sensory, cognitive, and mobility impairments. The importance of ensuring that World Wide Web-based traveler information systems are accessible is highlighted. The ergonomic guidelines are based on research and empirical evidence from Europe and North America and are primarily concerned with static, dynamic, and tactile signs or signage systems that are used in passenger transport facilities. Many sections of the guidelines have broader applications to other information systems that involve the person-machine interface. The ergonomic guidelines are in the process of being converted to an accessible format that will be available on the Technology Access Program website at Oregon State University. The development of ergonomic guidelines for passenger information systems has ...
Cation radius effects on the helix-coil transition of DNA. Cryptates and other large cations

Most polyelectrolyte theories of the effect of ions on the thermal melting of DNA assume that the predominant influence of the cations comes through their charge. Ion size and structure are treated, for analytic convenience, as negligible variables. We have examined the validity of this assumption by measuring the melting temperature of calf thymus DNA as a function of salt concentration with four univalent cations of different hydrated radii. These are K+ (3.3 A), (n-Pr)4N+ (4.5 A), (EtOH)4N+ (4.5 A), and C222-K+ (5 A). C222-K+ is a complex of cryptand C222 with K+. With K+ as the sole cation, Tm varies linearly with the log of ionic strength over the range 0.001–0.1 M. With all the K+ sequestered by an equimolar amount of C222, Tm is depressed by 10–20 degrees C and the slope of Tm vs. ionic strength is lower. At low ionic strength, an even greater reduction in Tm is achieved with (n-Pr)4N+; but the similar-sized (EtOH)4N+ gives a curve more similar to K+. Theoretical modeling, taking into account cation size through the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for cylindrical polyelectrolytes, predicts that larger cations should be less effective in stabilizing the double helix; but the calculated effect is less than observed experimentally. These results show that valence, cation size, and specific solvation effects are all important in determining the stability of the double-helical form of DNA.
Activation energies for permeation of He and H2 through silica membranes: An ab initio calculation study

Abstract The permeation of hydrogen and helium through vitreous glass and silica membranes is modeled using ab initio density functional calculations. The total energy of the system is obtained as the permeating species approach and pass through H 2 n Si n O n ( n = 4–8) cyclosiloxane n -membered rings of different size to give activation energies of permeation. Comparison of the calculated activation energies to those reported for vitreous glass (20–40 kJ mol −1 ) indicate the presence of 5- and 6-membered siloxane rings, consistent with the accepted structure of glass as a disordered form of β-cristobalite. Similar comparison to activation energies measured for silica membranes (10–20 kJ mol −1 ) indicate the presence of 6- and 7-membered rings, and suggest that the structure of the membranes is more open than that of the vitreous glass.
Evaluation of Suspended Chick Embryo Lung Cells as a Host System for Influenza Virus.

Abstract Inoculation of suspensions of trypsinized chick embryo lung cells with the WSE strain of influenza A virus yielded results comparable in many respects to those obtained with other strains in the allantoic cavity. The degree of adsorption of seed virus onto the cells varied inversely with the amount inoculated from 60 to 90%. Adsorption was prevented by prior exposure of the cells to receptor-destroying enzyme (RDE). On addition of RDE after infection with small doses of virus one-step growth curves were obtained whereas after large doses the yield of hemagglutinins was not affected but they became detectable in the media earlier than in the absence of the enzyme. Noninfectious hemagglutinins were found in increasing proportions in the progenies as the inoculum was increased from 1 to 30 EID 50 per cell, which appeared to be the point of saturation. Inocula providing less than 1 EID 50 per cell yielded dominantly infectious virus. The system did not lend itself, however, to accurate quantitative analyses of cell-virus interrelationships in that a number of observations suggested that possibly not more than one in ten of the available cells is capable of supporting propagation of the virus.
298 Radiotherapy in the treatment of early breast cancer

Radiation Therapy (RT) plays an important role in early breast cancer, in conjunction with both conservative and radical surgery. This teaching lecture will address the following points: 1. RT's quantitative contribution to local control when used as an adjuvant to conservative or radical surgery. 2. The influence of systemic therapies on local control when used in conjunction with surgery and RT. 3. The impact of RT on cosmesis after conservative surgery. 4. The long-term morbidity of RT and the importance of technique. 5. The possible influence of RT on survival. 6. Future clinical research questions involving RT.
Identifying Scale Sensitivity for API Crystallizations from Desupersaturation Measurements

The present report details a methodology for discriminating between mass transfer- and surface integration-controlled crystallizations. Initial desupersaturation rates were measured, and a simple kinetic model was developed as a diagnostic tool for identifying scale sensitivity. The model was further extended to evaluate the impact of trace impurities on crystallization kinetics. Together, these results highlight the importance of understanding the factors that affect crystallization kinetics upon scale-up.
Interest Group Influence on Managerial Priorities in Public Organizations

Theoretical and normative studies by both public management scholars and political scientists have long suggested that interest groups have a nontrivial degree of influence over decision making in public organizations. This study contributes to this previous research by developing specific expectations about conditions under which such influence should be greater or lesser and by testing those expectations in an analysis of over 500 top-level public managers. Specifically, the theory offered herein suggests that the level of access to the decision maker as well as the perceived power of a group relative to others in the organizational environment serve as moderators of group influence. The findings from the empirical analysis provide significant evidence that access and power both help to determine the degree of influence that interest groups have over the agendas that managers set for their organizations. In fact, the results suggest that these factors may be necessary conditions for influence.
Composition of gum turpentines of pines. XV. A report on Pinus resinosa and Pinus reflexa.

The composition of gum turpentine from two American pines has been determined. Each sample was fractionated and its components have been investigated and reported.
Effective Use of Mass Spectrometry in the Clinical Laboratory

Background: Historically the success of mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory has focused on drugs of abuse confirmations, newborn screening, and steroid analysis. Clinical applications of mass spectrometry continue to expand, and mass spectrometry is now being used in almost all areas of laboratory medicine. Content: A brief background of the evolution of mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory is provided with a discussion of future applications. Prominent examples of mass spectrometry are covered to illustrate how it has improved the practice of medicine and enabled physicians to provide better patient care. With increasing economic pressures and decreasing laboratory test reimbursement, mass spectrometry testing has been shown to provide cost-effective solutions. In addition to pointing out the numerous benefits, the challenges of implementing mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory are also covered. Summary: Mass spectrometry continues to play a prominent role in the field of laboratory medicine. The advancement of this technology along with the development of new applications will only accelerate the incorporation of mass spectrometry into more areas of medicine.
OntoKhoj: a semantic web portal for ontology searching, ranking and classification

The goal of the next generation Web is to build virtual communities, wherein software agents and people can work in cooperation by sharing knowledge. To achieve this goal, the emerging Semantic Web community has proposed ontologies to express knowledge in a machine understandable way. The process of building and maintaining ontologies, which is known as Ontology Engineering, presents unique challenges. These challenges are related to lack of trustworthy and authoritative knowledge sources and absence of a centralized repository to locate ontologies to be reused. In this paper, we propose a Semantic Web portal, called OntoKhoj that is designed to simplify the Ontology Engineering process. The methodology in developing OntoKhoj is based on algorithms used for searching, aggregating, ranking and classifying ontologies in Semantic Web. The proposed OntoKhoj would 1) allow agents and ontology engineers to retrieve trustworthy, authoritative knowledge, and 2) expedite the process of ontology engineering through extensive reuse of ontologies. We have implemented the OntoKhoj portal and further validated our system on the real ontological data in the Semantic Web.
The uptake of methyl vinyl ketone, methacrolein, and 2-methyl-3-butene-2-ol onto sulfuric acid solutions.

To investigate the link between molecular structure, reactivity, and partitioning of oxygenated organic compounds in acidic aerosols, the uptake of three compounds found in the atmosphere, methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), methacrolein (MACR), and 2-methyl-3-butene-2-ol (MBO), by sulfuric acid solutions has been measured using a rotated wetted-wall reactor (RWW) coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS). MVK was found to partition reversibly into 20−75 wt % H2SO4 solutions, and we report Henry's law coefficients between 20 and 7000 M atm-1 over this range. A chemical reaction for MVK was likely responsible for the uptake observed for 80−96 wt % H2SO4 solutions. We derive an upper limit to the aldol self-reaction rate coefficient for MVK in 80 wt % solution of ∼3 M-1 s-1. MACR partitioned reversibly over most of the acidity range, and in contrast to that for MVK, the Henry's law coefficient was relatively independent of H2SO4 content. These differences indicate that the increase of the coefficient...
DBD Surface Charge Measurement and Mitigation in Moving Air

This paper summarizes Princeton efforts on identifying the surface charge buildup and its effects on performance of DBD plasmas actuators. Initial tests confirmed the existence of the surface charge buildup on the DBD dielectric surface limiting the DBD performance. The surface charge was measured while operating the DBD plasma actuator under various conditions. Initial experiments were performed in quiescent room air. In order to investigate the effect of air flow on the surface charge buildup on the DBD surface, experiments were performed in a low speed wind tunnel and the surface charge was measured. It was found that the surface charge is slightly displaced along the flow on the DBD surface. Surface charge mitigation techniques were investigated and tested. One of such technique involves the design of a three-electrode system in which the bottom electrode of the DBD plasma actuator is exposed to the surface at a certain distance from the top electrode. As the flow caused the surface charge to be displaced along the flow direction, the three-electrode configuration is found more suitable to mitigate the surface charge effect.
Gray Clustering-Based Pavement Performance Evaluation

In the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide MEPDG, rather than producing a quantitative overall evaluation index, several performance measures are used to separately evaluate the pavement performance condition for rehabilitation design. Due to the characteristics of information on parameters being partially known during the evaluation process, there exist several limitations of the current evaluation methods. In this paper a gray clustering-based methodology is proposed to comprehensively evaluate existing pavements following the MEPDG framework. Gray clustering method is one pillar part of the gray system theory, which was proposed in the 1980s to solve problems with partially known information. The performance criteria used in this study are selected from those defined in MEPDG. The analysis data sets are obtained from the long-term pavement performance LTPP database for three types of pavements: flexible pavement, jointed plain concrete pavement, and continuous reinforced concrete pavement. Many LTPP pavement sections are evaluated using the proposed methodology and comparisons are made between gray clustering-based method and extension theory-based approach. It is shown that the proposed gray clustering-based method is able to quantify pavement performance and is suitable to be used as a practical pavement evaluation tool for highway agencies.
Immune system involvement in the regulation of ovarian function and augmentation of cancer

Increasing evidence indicates a role for the immune system and mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in the regulation of ovarian function. Cytokines produced by mesenchymal cells can stimulate development and regression of ovarian structures. We report here that mesenchymal cells releasing surface molecules among epithelial cells--namely vascular pericytes and monocyte-derived cells (MDC)--and intraepithelial T lymphocytes are associated with oogenesis and formation of new primary follicles in both fetal and adult human ovaries. These activated mesenchymal cells interact with the ovarian surface epithelium, which appears to be a source of secondary germ cells and granulosa cells. Activated pericytes and MDC are also associated with stimulation of thecal development during selection of growing secondary follicles from the cohort of primary follicles. However, survival of the dominant follicle during mid-follicular phase selection is associated with a lack of activity of mesenchymal cells and retardation of thecal development, since immature granulosa cells lacking aromatase are unable to resist high levels of thecal androgens. Once the selected follicle matures (late follicular phase), it shows enhanced activity of thecal mesenchymal cells and advanced thecal development. Corpus luteum (CL) development is accompanied by a high activity of vascular pericytes and MDC. In mature CL and CL of pregnancy, luteal MDC and pericytes show a stable (inactive) state. Regression of the CL is associated with regression of pericytes, transformation of MDC into dendritic cells, infiltration by T lymphocytes, and binding of immunoglobulin G to the luteal cells. The immunoglobulin M (IgM) binds to young but not mature luteal cells. In the CL of pregnancy, IgM binds to luteal vessels, but not to luteal cells. Regressing CL shows IgM binding to both luteal cells and vessels. In ovarian cancers, highly activated MDC and sometimes activated pericytes (poorly differentiated carcinomas) are present. IgM binding is similar to that seen in the CL of pregnancy. These data indicate that vascular pericytes, MDC, T cells, and immunoglobulins may play an important role in the regulation of ovarian physiology and contribute to the augmentation of ovarian cancer growth.
A New Endoluminal, Flow-Disrupting Device for Treatment of Saccular Aneurysms

Background and Purpose— We report a preclinical study of a new endoluminal device for aneurysm occlusion to test the hypothesis that the device, even without use of intrasaccular coil placement, could occlude saccular aneurysms without causing substantial parent artery compromise or compromise of adjacent, small branch arteries. Methods— The Pipeline Neuroendovascular Device (Pipeline NED; Chestnut Medical Technologies, Inc) is a braided, tubular, bimetallic endoluminal implant aimed at occlusion of saccular aneurysms through flow disruption along the aneurysm neck. The device was implanted across the necks of 17 elastase-induced aneurysms in the New Zealand white rabbit model and followed for 1 month (n=6), 3 months (n=5), and 6 months (n=6). In each subject, a second device was implanted in the abdominal aorta to cover the origins of lumbar arteries. Aneurysm occlusion rates by angiography (grade 1, complete occlusion; grade 2, near-complete occlusion; and grade 3, incomplete occlusion) were documented....
Dynamic beam model with internal damping rotatory inertia and shear deformation

A simple and straightforward technique that makes use of the state space method of modern control theory, to include the effects due to internal damping, rotatory inertia, and shear deformation in the dynamic analysis of beams is proposed. It is shown how the resulting beam model which is valid even for high frequencies of vibration, can be used in design situations such as vibration control using linear dampers and dynamic absorbers. A method to include hysteritic internal damping as well as viscoelastic damping is indicated. A numerical example is given to illustrate the use of the proposed beam model in an elementary problem.
Nutrient enrichment reduces constraints on material flows in a detritus-based food web.

Most aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are experiencing increased nutrient availability, which is affecting their structure and function. By altering community composition and productivity of consumers, enrichment can indirectly cause changes in the pathways and magnitude of material flows in food webs. These changes, in turn, have major consequences for material storage and cycling in the ecosystem. Understanding mechanisms and predicting consequences of nutrient-induced changes in material flows requires a quantitative food web approach that combines information on consumer energetics and consumer-resource stoichiometry. We examined effects of a whole-system experimental nutrient enrichment on the trophic basis of production and the magnitude and pathways of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) flows in a detritus-based stream food web. We compared the response of the treated stream to an adjacent reference stream throughout the study. Dietary composition and elemental flows varied considerably among invertebrate functional feeding groups. During nutrient enrichment, increased flows of leaf litter and amorphous detritus to shredders and gatherers accounted for most of the altered flows of C from basal resources to consumers. Nutrient enrichment had little effect on patterns of material flows but had large positive effects on the magnitude of C, N, and P flows to consumers (mean increase of 97% for all elements). Nutrient-specific food webs revealed similar flows of N and P to multiple functional groups despite an order of magnitude difference among groups in consumption of C. Secondary production was more strongly related to consumption of nutrients than C, and increased material flows were positively related to the degree of consumer-resource C:P and C:N imbalances. Nutrient enrichment resulted in an increased proportion of detrital C inputs consumed by primary consumers (from ;15% to 35%) and a decreased proportion of invertebrate prey consumed by predators (from ;80% to 55%). Our results demonstrate that nutrient enrichment of detritus-based systems may reduce stoichiometric constraints on material flows, increase the contribution of consumers to C, N, and P cycling, alter the proportion of C inputs metabolized by consumers, and potentially lead to reduced ecosystem-level storage of C.
Interconnect Characterization: Accuracy, Methodology, and Practical Considerations

In this paper, we present a novel methodology for fully characterizing back-end interconnect lines. The use of the proposed new hybrid resistive e-test and SEM imaging algorithm addresses several practical issues. First it overcomes the inaccuracy of back-end estimation based on full capacitive measurement due to neglecting sidewall slope. Depending on the sidewall slope, a significant error in the estimation of line width, line thickness, side line space, and ILD thickness can result. This impact is shown to increase as interconnect geometry scales down. Secondly, it accommodates the limited silicon area in test chips. Finally, in addition to systematic behavior, the methodology accurately estimates and re-produces random component to fully re-construct the behavior of the interconnects on actual Si.
Extracting Aerodynamic Coefficients using Direct Trajectory Sampling

We describe a technique to extract aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft directly from collected trajectories. The technique was developed to investigate the low Reynold’s number regime of centimeter-scale aircraft which represents a largely unstudied domain of aerodynamics and for which traditional techniques have produced limited results. This technique takes advantage of a vision tracking system that dispenses with any on-board navigation sensors and the stationary atmospheric conditions prevailing in the indoor flight experiment facility used to collect flight data. The aircraft is fitted with reflective markers on its wing, fuselage, and empennage. A broad variety of trajectories spanning the natural flight envelope were collected by hand launching the aircraft. Aerodynamic forces and moments can be determined from the vehicle's inertial acceleration; the aerodynamic angles can be determined from the vehicle's kinematics. Combining these data we can determine the aerodynamic coefficients. The results are then validated using a six degree-of-freedom model. This technique complements the traditional wind-tunnel techniques and numerical analysis tools. Thanks to its practical qualities, this technique could be useful to other fluid dynamic problems.
THE EFFECTS OF PARENT‐IMPLEMENTED PECS TRAINING ON IMPROVISATION OF MANDS BY CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

The present study examined the extent to which mothers were able to train their children, 2 boys with autism, to exchange novel pictures to request items using the picture exchange communication system (PECS). Generalization probes assessing each child's ability to mand for untrained items were conducted throughout conditions. Using a multiple baseline design, results demonstrated that both children improvised by using alternative symbols when the corresponding symbol was unavailable across all symbol categories (colors, shapes, and functions) and that parents can teach their children to use novel pictorial response forms.
A prospective study of malnutrition in relation to child mortality in the Sudan

The authors prospectively examined the relation between malnutrition and mortality in a cohort of 28753 Sudanese children aged 6 months to 6 years. Children in the cohort were examined every 6 months for 18 months during which 232 children died. Low weight-for-height was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality. Even children with Z scores between -1 and -2 were 50% more likely to die in the following 6 months than were children with Z scores greater than -1. A significant inverse relation was identified between height-for-age and mortality. Among breast-fed children the relative mortality associated with a Z score for weight-for-height of less than -3 compared with greater than -2 was 7.3 26.0 among non-breast-fed children. A strong and significant synergy was also found between infection and wasting or stunting as predictors of child mortality. These findings indicate that children in developing countries who are below the customary cutoff point of -2 Z for weight-for-height may be at greater risk of death. Breast feeding and the reduction of morbidity should be advocated in programs designed to reduce malnutrition and mortality among children.
Extending Technology Roadmap by Selective Device Footprint Scaling and Parasitics Engineering

We propose a path for extending the technology roadmap when currently considered technology boosters (e.g., strain, high-k/metal gate) reach their limits. By carefully engineering the device parasitic resistance and parasitic capacitance, and considering the impact of the interconnect wiring capacitance, we propose scenarios of device footprint and device structure scaling that will enable technology scaling for several generations beyond the currently perceived limits.
COPD: A Pediatric Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is conventionally thought of as a disease of adult smokers, related to airway inflammation and structural airway changes (remodeling). However, there is important epidemiological evidence, from a series of studies with overlapping age groups from birth to late middle age that early life events, including antenatal influences on lung growth, program the child to be at increased risk for future COPD. This paper reviews the evidence for potential gene: environment interactions in this process, in particular with respect to the maternal genotype of the COPD patient. It explores the hypothesis that genes important in early lung development are also important in determining adult risk for COPD. Although the major preventable factor adversely impacting on child lung health is maternal smoking, the effects of viral infection, nutrition, and indoor and outdoor pollution are reviewed. The survivors of preterm birth are another important cohort who may develop premature COPD in adult life. Early life events provide the substrate for COPD, with later cigarette smoking, and occasionally other exposures, pulling the trigger to produce COPD. Although a rigorous anti-smoking program is necessary to halt this spiral of lung destruction leading to COPD, a focus on early (including prenatal) lung health is also important. Any model of COPD which does not take into account early life influences is likely to be fatally flawed.
LIDAR-based road and road-edge detection

In this paper, a LIDAR-based road and road-edge detection method is proposed to identify road regions and road-edges, which is an essential component of autonomous vehicles. LIDAR range data is decomposed into signals in elevation and signals projected on the ground plane. First, the elevation-based signals are processed by filtering techniques to identify the road candidate region, and by pattern recognition techniques to determine whether the candidate region is a road segment. Then, the line representation of the projected signals on the ground plane is identified and compared to a simple road model in the top-down view to determine whether the candidate region is a road segment with its road-edges. The proposed method provides fast processing speed and reliable detection performance of road and road-edge detection. The proposed framework has been verified through the DARPA Urban Challenge to show its robustness and efficiency on the winning entry Boss vehicle.
Evaluation of an updated HRR color vision test.

The HRR pseudoisochromatic plate (pip) test was originally designed as a screening and diagnostic test for color vision deficiencies. The original HRR test is now long out of print. We evaluate here the new 4th edition of the HRR test, produced in 2002 by Richmond Products. The 2002 edition was compared to the original 1955 edition for a group of subjects with normal color vision and a group who had been previously diagnosed as having color vision deficiencies. The color deficient subjects spanned the range of severity among people with red-green deficiencies except for one individual who had a mild congenital tritan deficiency. The new test compared favorably with the original and in at least two areas, outperformed it. Among subjects with deutan defects the classification of severity correlated better with the anomaloscope results than the original; all the subjects who were classified as dichromats on the anomaloscope were rated as “severe” on the new HRR, while those diagnosed as anomalous trichromats were rated as mild or medium on the new test. Among those with moderate and severe defects the new test was highly accurate in correctly categorizing subjects as protan or deutan. In addition, a mild tritan subject made a tritan error on the new test whereas he was misdiagnosed as normal on the original.
Physically Based Equation for Phase Composition Curve of Frozen Soils

The relationship between unfrozen water content (or saturation in freezing and thawing) and temperature, which is referred to as the phase composition curve in frozen soils, is a fundamental relationship in cold regions engineering. Because of the lack of a physical basis, there have been only empirical equations for this relationship. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying the phase composition curve. A detailed physical basis was established on the basis of the soil freezing characteristic curve, the Clapeyron equation, and the bundle of cylindrical capillary model. From this physical basis, a closed-form equation was developed for the formulation and prediction of this curve. This physically based equation quantifies the unique correlation between saturation and temperature in frozen soils and takes various factors into account, such as the soil saturation under unfrozen conditions and the lowest temperature used in experiments. The equation was validated with phase composition data measured...