cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Performance Thermoelectrics from Earth-Abundant Materials: Enhanced Figure of Merit in PbS by Second Phase Nanostructures

Lead sulfide, a compound consisting of elements with high natural abundance, can be converted into an excellent thermoelectric material. We report extensive doping studies, which show that the power factor maximum for pure n-type PbS can be raised substantially to ∼12 μW cm–1 K–2 at >723 K using 1.0 mol % PbCl2 as the electron donor dopant. We also report that the lattice thermal conductivity of PbS can be greatly reduced by adding selected metal sulfide phases. The thermal conductivity at 723 K can be reduced by ∼50%, 52%, 30%, and 42% through introduction of up to 5.0 mol % Bi2S3, Sb2S3, SrS, and CaS, respectively. These phases form as nanoscale precipitates in the PbS matrix, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the experimental results show that they cause huge phonon scattering. As a consequence of this nanostructuring, ZT values as high as 0.8 and 0.78 at 723 K can be obtained for nominal bulk PbS material. When processed with spark plasma sintering, PbS samples with 1.0 mol %...
Structural relationships of the major glycoproteins from human alveolar proteinosis surfactant.

Abstract Alveolar proteinosis is a disease characterized by accumulation of proteinaceous material in the alveolar space of the lung. Two major collagenase-sensitive polypeptides, alveolar proteinosis peptides of 34 kDa kilodaltons (APP-34) and of 62 kDa (APP-62), were isolated from bronchioalveolar lavage of patients with alveolar proteinosis. These proteins co-purified during fast-performance liquid chromatography (FPLC) chromatofocusing and were separated from each other by electroelution following SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Immunoblot analysis of these proteins demonstrated that both shared antigenic sites with the normal human surfactant-associated protein of Mr 34 000 (SAP-34) using both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies generated against SAP-34. Removal of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides from the 34 kDa and 62 kDa alveolar proteinosis proteins with endoglycosidase F resulted in polypeptides of 28 kDa from APP-34 and 56 kDa from APP-62. Amino acid analysis and tryptic peptide maps of the electroeluted APP-34 and APP-62 proteins were essentially identical and similar to that previously reported for human SAP-34, supporting the likely relationship of APP-34 and APP-62 as monomer and dimer of the normal SAP-34. APP-34 and APP-62 were both sensitive to bacterial collagenase, yielding collagenase-resistant fragments of 21 kDa, similar in migration and amino acid composition to the fragment generated by collagenase digestion of normal human SAP-34. High molecular weight aggrregates of APP-34 and APP-62 were the result of sulfhydryl-dependent and non-sulfhydryl-dependent cross-linking. A domain in the C-terminal non-collagenous portion of the molecules which forms sulfhydryl-dependent oligomers was identified. The two major polypeptides accumulating in the airway of patients with alveolar proteinosis are monomeric (34 kDa) and dimeric (62 kDa) forms of the major surfactant-associated glycoprotein, SAP-34.
Cluster Formation and The Virial Equation of State of Low-Density Nuclear Matter

Abstract We present the virial equation of state of low-density nuclear matter composed of neutrons, protons and alpha particles. The virial equation of state is model-independent, and therefore sets a benchmark for all nuclear equations of state at low densities. We calculate the second virial coefficients for nucleon–nucleon, nucleon–alpha and alpha–alpha interactions directly from the relevant binding energies and scattering phase shifts. The virial approach systematically takes into account contributions from bound nuclei and the resonant continuum, and consequently provides a framework to include strong-interaction corrections to nuclear statistical equilibrium models. The virial coefficients are used to make model-independent predictions for a variety of properties of nuclear matter over a range of densities, temperatures and compositions. Our results provide constraints on the physics of the neutrinosphere in supernovae. The resulting alpha particle concentration differs from all equations of state currently used in supernova simulations. Finally, the virial equation of state greatly improves our conceptual understanding of low-density nuclear matter.
Ultrafast dynamics of surface plasmon polaritons in a subwavelength nanohole array

The ultrafast dynamics of surface plasmon polaritons photogenerated on the surfaces of an Al film perforated with 2D subwavelength hole array is studied by the pump-probe correlation spectroscopy.
WaveLens: a new view onto Internet search results

Internet search results are typically displayed as a list conforming to a static style sheet. The difficulty of perusing this list can be exacerbated when screen real estate is limited. When space is limited, either, few results are seen, or result descriptions are abbreviated, making it difficult to know whether to follow a particular web link. In this paper, we describe "WaveLens," a dynamic layout technique for displaying search results, which addresses these issues by combining a fisheye lens with progressive exposure of page content. Results from a usability study showed that participants performed faster and more accurately on a search task with one of two distinct parameter settings of WaveLens as compared to the typical static list. In a post-hoc questionnaire, participants favored that setting over both the static list and another setting which involved animated zoom. We discuss design implications for the retrieval and display of search results.
Greenways and the US National Park system

The current interest in greenways as important elements of comprehensive conservation-recreation open space systems represents a sometimes erratic, but nevertheless continuous, evolution of a concept that encompasses public and private resources ownership, a complex resources base, and innovative approaches to management including partnerships among various levels of government, local organizations, and citizens' groups. This paper explores the role of the US National Park Service in the evolution of this concept. The recent development of heritage corridors and landscapes is viewed as both a component of the greenway concept and as a potentially significant direction for the National Park Service in the future.
The Necessity of a Family Perspective

Contrary to many reports the family theme in public policy is alive and well. This article argues for a reevaluation of the direction of much previous research and writing about “family policy.” Efforts should not focus on debates about the content or utility of a “national family policy” but on the process of policymaking: how to encourage the necessary family perspective in the development, implementation, and monitoring of sound social policy. This article briefly outlines the six essential components of a family perspective and discusses some of the barriers to its incorporation in research and policy. A number of the vehicles that have been suggested are reviewed, including a Family Department and family impact statements. I conclude that the most promising model is a family commission, a model that is being successfully tried in Great Britain and Australia. The article ends with a summary of seven major emerging social policy issues that must be addressed from a family perspective. These constitute ...
Shape restricted smoothing splines via constrained optimal control and nonsmooth Newton's methods

Shape restricted smoothing splines receive considerable attention, motivated by many important applications in science and engineering. In this paper, we consider smoothing splines subject to general linear dynamics and control constraints, and formulate them as finite-horizon constrained linear optimal control problems with unknown initial state and control. By exploring techniques from functional and variational analyses, optimality conditions are developed in terms of variational inequalities. Due to the control constraints, the optimality conditions give rise to a nonsmooth B-differentiable equation of an optimal initial condition, whose unique solution completely determines the shape restricted smoothing spline. A modified nonsmooth Newton's algorithm with line search is used to solve this equation; detailed convergence analysis of the proposed algorithm is presented. Using techniques from nonsmooth analysis and polyhedral theory, we show the global convergence of the algorithm for shape restricted smoothing splines subject to general polyhedral control constraints.
An Effective Hypergraph Clustering in Multi-Stage Data Mining of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Differentiation

Traditional Chinese Medicine is mysterious for its special diagnosis and treatment. In TCM, Syndrome differentiation is the method of recognizing and diagnosing diseases or body imbalances in TCM. In this paper, we first give a hierarch model of differentiation syndrome in Traditional Chinese Medicine According to the model data mining procedure is designed to complete it. Given special data mining schema and character of high-dimensional data sets, we introduce hypergraph based on greedy algorithm in cluster and similarity measure during clustering stage. Finally, the experiment shows that the hypergraph clustering is correct and efficient, which in return could be important for association rules and diagnosis.
Redundancy and Interaction of Thrombin- and Collagen-Mediated Platelet Activation in Tail Bleeding and Carotid Thrombosis in Mice

Objective— Current antiplatelet strategies to prevent myocardial infarction and stroke are limited by bleeding risk. A better understanding of the roles of distinct platelet-activating pathways is needed. We determined whether platelet activation by 2 key primary activators, thrombin and collagen, plays distinct, redundant, or interacting roles in tail bleeding and carotid thrombosis in mice. Approach and Results— Platelets from mice deficient for the thrombin receptor protease-activated receptor-4 (Par4) and the collagen receptor glycoprotein VI protein (GPVI) lack responses to thrombin and collagen, respectively. We examined tail bleeding and FeCl 3 -induced carotid artery occlusion in mice lacking Par4, GPVI, or both. We also examined a series of Par mutants with increasing impairment of thrombin signaling in platelets. Ablation of thrombin signaling alone by Par4 deficiency increased blood loss in the tail bleeding assay and impaired occlusive thrombus formation in the carotid occlusion assay. GPVI deficiency alone had no effect. Superimposing GPVI deficiency on Par4 deficiency markedly increased effect size in both assays. In contrast to complete ablation of thrombin signaling, 9- and 19-fold increases in EC 50 for thrombin-induced platelet activation had only modest effects. Conclusions— The observation that loss of Par4 uncovered large effects of GPVI deficiency implies that Par4 and GPVI made independent, partially redundant contributions to occlusive thrombus formation in the carotid and to hemostatic clot formation in the tail under the experimental conditions examined. At face value, these results suggest that thrombin- and collagen-induced platelet activation can play partially redundant roles, despite important differences in how these agonists are made available to platelets.
Inflammation in end‐stage renal failure: could it be treated?

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is characterized by an exceptional mortality rate, much of which is the result of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although traditional risk factors are common in ESRD patients, they may not be sufficient alone to account for the high prevalence of CVD in this condition. Recent evidence demonstrates that chronic inflammation, a non-traditional risk factor which is observed commonly in ESRD patients, may cause malnutrition and progressive atherosclerotic CVD by several pathogenetic mechanisms. The causes of inflammation in ESRD are multifactorial and, while it may reflect underlying CVD, an acute-phase reaction may also be a direct cause of vascular injury by several pathogenetic mechanisms. Available data suggest that pro-inflammatory cytokines play a central role in the genesis of both malnutrition and CVD in ESRD. Thus, it could be speculated that suppression of the vicious cycle of malnutrition, inflammation and atherosclerosis (MIA) would improve survival in dialysis patients. Recent evidence has demonstrated strong associations between inflammation and both increased oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in ESRD patients. As there is as yet no recognized, or even proposed, treatment for ESRD patients with chronic inflammation, it would be of obvious interest to study the long-term effect of various anti-inflammatory treatment strategies on the nutritional and cardiovascular status as well as the outcome in these patients.
Oxide-Induced Noise in Carbon Nanotube Devices

In this report, we employ suspended nanotubes to directly study the impact of the oxide on the electrical properties and noise characteristics of carbon nanotube devices, showing that the 1/f noise can be reduced significantly in a substrate-free environment.
High energy microwave device research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

The primary purpose of microwave tube research and development at SLAC is the construction of very high energy density pulsed microwave sources to power future electron-positron colliders. In this paper, the SLAC work on very high power klystrons is reviewed, as is the development of improved output circuits to reduce RF gradients, the use of periodic permanent magnet (PPM) focusing in conjunction with multiple beams, and the research on cathodes and RF breakdown.
Single-Row Modified Mason-Allen Versus Double-Row Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A Biomechanical and Surface Area Comparison

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the time-zero biomechanical strength and the surface area of repair between a single-row modified Mason-Allen rotator cuff repair and a double-row arthroscopic repair. Methods: Six matched pairs of sheep infraspinatus tendons were repaired by both techniques. Pressure-sensitive film was used to measure the surface area of repair for each configuration. Specimens were biomechanically tested with cyclic loading from 20 N to 30 N for 20 cycles and were loaded to failure at a rate of 1 mm/s. Failure was defined at 5 mm of gap formation. Results: Double-row suture anchor fixation restored a mean surface area of 258.23 ± 69.7 mm 2 versus 148.08 ± 75.5 mm 2 for single-row fixation, a 74% increase ( P = .025). Both repairs had statistically similar time-zero biomechanics. There was no statistical difference in peak-to-peak displacement or elongation during cyclic loading. Single-row fixation showed a higher mean load to failure (110.26 ± 26.4 N) than double-row fixation (108.93 ± 21.8 N). This was not statistically significant ( P = .932). All specimens failed at the suture-tendon interface. Conclusions: Double-row suture anchor fixation restores a greater percentage of the anatomic footprint when compared with a single-row Mason-Allen technique. The time-zero biomechanical strength was not significantly different between the 2 study groups. This study suggests that the 2 factors are independent of each other. Clinical Relevance: Surface area and biomechanical strength of fixation are 2 independent factors in the outcome of rotator cuff repair. Maximizing both factors may increase the likelihood of complete tendon-bone healing and ultimately improve clinical outcomes. For smaller tears, a single-row modified Mason-Allen suture technique may provide sufficient strength, but for large amenable tears, a double row can provide both strength and increased surface area for healing.
Recycled Old Corrugated Container Fibers for Wood-Fiber Cement Sheets

Recycled pulp of old corrugated containers (OCCs) was studied as a possible fiber source for wood-fiber cement (WFC) sheets. This industry currently largely relies on kraft pulp, an expensive fiber source. Thus, WFC sheets were made using less costly OCC fibers utilizing various types of treatments including fiber fractionation (FF) and refining to 500 and 400 Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF) to determine the effect of these treatments on the sheets strength. Unprocessed virgin kraft fiber of radiata pine (Pinus radiata) was used as control for comparison purposes. The unprocessed OCC pulp furnish yielded an initial freeness of 635 CSF; after fractionating, however, it was increased to 754 CSF. OCC pulp presented a kappa number of 47, compared to 23.7 for P. radiata. Fractionating OCC pulp was effective in raising the range of long fibers in the stock from 68 percent to 85 percent, before and after fractionating, respectively. Results from WFC sheets made in laboratory showed that there was no significant difference in board strength among boards made with unprocessed OCC fibers, fractionated and refined OCC, and P. radiata fibers. However, sheet strength decreased when refined OCC fibers were used. The results suggest that OCC fibers can produce WFC sheets with desirable characteristics compared to those of unrefined virgin kraft fiber of P. radiata.
Is prehospital endotracheal intubation associated with improved outcomes in isolated severe head injury? A matched cohort analysis.

Introduction Prehospital endotracheal intubation (ETI) following traumatic brain injury in urban settings is controversial. Studies investigating admission arterial blood gas (ABG) patterns in these instances are scant. Hypothesis Outcomes in patients subjected to divergent prehospital airway management options following severe head injury were studied. Methods This was a retrospective propensity-matched study in patients with isolated TBI (head Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) ≥ 3) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of ≤ 8 admitted to a Level 1 urban trauma center from January 1, 2003 through October 31, 2011. Cases that had prehospital ETI were compared to controls subjected to oxygen by mask in a one to three ratio for demographics, mechanism of injury, tachycardia/hypotension, Injury Severity Score, type of intracranial lesion, and all major surgical interventions. Primary outcome was mortality and secondary outcomes included admission gas profile, in-hospital morbidity, ICU length of stay (ICU LOS) and hospital length of stay (HLOS). Results Cases (n = 55) and controls (n = 165) had statistically similar prehospital and in-hospital variables after propensity matching. Mortality was significantly higher for the ETI group (69.1% vs 55.2% respectively, P = .011). There was no difference in pH, base deficit, and pCO2 on admission blood gases; however the ETI group had significantly lower pO2 (187 (SD = 14) vs 213 (SD = 13), P = .034). There was a significantly increased incidence of septic shock in the ETI group. Patients subjected to prehospital ETI had a longer HLOS and ICU LOS. Conclusion In isolated severe traumatic brain injury, prehospital endotracheal intubation was associated with significantly higher adjusted mortality rate and worsened admission oxygenation. Further prospective validation of these findings is warranted. Karamanos E , Talving P , Skiada D , Osby M , Inaba K , Lam L , Albuz O , Demetriades D . Is Prehospital Endotracheal Intubation Associated with Improved Outcomes In Isolated Severe Head Injury? A Matched Cohort Analysis. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(6):1-5 .
GeoVSM: An Integrated Retrieval Model for Geographic Information

Geographic information exists in multiple forms, such as cartographical maps, images, and texts. Effective retrieval systems for geographic information are currently studied by both geospatial information scientists and library/information scientists. The two groups take quite different approaches, which have rarely been explicitly compared and connected. This paper discusses the advantages and limitations of current geographic information retrieval (GIR) and textual information retrieval (IR) systems in dealing with multimedia geographic information, and proposes a new retrieval model, called GeoVSM (Geographic + Vector Space Model), which integrates coordinate-based geographic indexing with the keyword-based vector space model in representing information space. Document ranking by relevance is supported by document-query similarity measures, taking into account the degree of relevance in both the spatial domain and the thematic domain. To support visual querying and browsing, the GeoVSM model recognizes the fundamental differences in the dimensionality and configuration of geographic space and thematic space, and demands multi-view visual interfaces based on a "world" metaphor and a "desktop" metaphor. As an example of such interfaces, GeoVIBE is presented, which supports a coordinated GeoView and a VibeView for smooth integration of two browsing strategies using geographic clues as well as thematic clues provided by users.
Multiport AWG-based dispersion compensators

We discuss multiport spectrally periodic dispersion-compensating arrayed-waveguide-grating (AWG) devices, which integrate multiple on-chip compensators sharing the same AWG elements. The new designs are advantageous in terms of compactness, insertion loss, and flatness of amplitude response.
Performance analysis of enhanced-mobile IPv6 with fast handover over end-to-end TCP

Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) has been proposed to support host mobility in the Internet, yet during a handover mobile IPv6 suffers from packet disruption and packet loss. It is therefore critical to reduce or mask the handover interval from the correspondent nodes by optimizing movement detection and duplicate address detection (DAD) to reduce delays and packet loss due to handovers. In this paper, we specify a more efficient fast neighbor discovery and DAD scheme which requires each access point to execute movement detection by unicast transmission of the stored router advertisement message and implement a modified neighbor cache to handle configuration of the care-of-address (CoA) under fast DAD. We also present a performance analysis of the current IETF proposals for MIPv6 and fast mobile IPv6 relative to our proposal for enhanced mobile IPv6. Finally we demonstrate by simulation that managing the handover process in our proposed scheme greatly reduces the overall handover latency
Productivity of cow–calf pairs grazing tall fescue pastures infected with either the wild-type endophyte or a nonergot alkaloid-producing endophyte strain, AR542

The nonergot alkaloid-producing endo-phyte, AR542, has been shown to improve the persistence and yield of tall fescue pastures without causing the animal disorders commonly associated with tall fescue toxicosis. A 3-yr grazing study was conducted to compare effects of AR542-infected tall fescue pastures with wild type endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue pastures on cow-calf performance. Replicated 7.3-ha pastures of each treatment were grazed by cow-calf pairs (16 pairs per pasture replication) each year from March to weaning in September. The cows were exposed to breeding on their respective pasture treatments from April 1 through June 15. The treatment groups were compared for reproductive performance, ADG, BCS, calf growth rate, and weaning weight. Blood samples were also collected for serum prolactin (PRL) analysis. There were no significant differences in calving rate (P = 0.98) or calving interval (P = 0.62) between pasture treatments. Cows that grazed the AR542 pastures subsequently gave birth to calves that were heavier (P < 0.05) than calves from cows that had grazed the E+ pastures. Cows grazing the AR542 pastures had higher (P < 0.05) BCS at the end of the grazing period, and had higher ADG during the grazing period. Calves raised on the AR542 pasture had higher (P < 0.05) ADG and weaning weights than calves of the same sex raised on the E+ pastures. Serum PRL concentrations were decreased (P < 0.05) in both cows and calves on the E+ pastures compared with serum PRL concentrations in cows and calves grazing the AR542 pastures. The results indicate that grazing tall fescue pastures infected with the AR542 endophyte may give significant advantages in cow-calf growth rates and BCS over grazing E+ pastures. However, there did not seem to be any benefit in reproductive performance in this trial. There was a small, but significant increase in birth weight in cows grazing AR542 pasture.
Modeling and experimental test of effective dielectric constant of multilayer substrate with periodic metal inclusion

This paper applies a novel integral equation approach to model the multilayer substrate with periodic metal inclusion. The approach combines the equivalence principle with connection scheme to avoid the sophisticated multilayered periodic Green's function. Effective media theory is adopted to extract the effective dielectric constant. Good agreement has been achieved between our approach and analytical result. A printed circuit board was designed, fabricated and tested to validate our model.
A Cysteine-rich Domain Defined by a Novel Exon in aSlo Variant in Rat Adrenal Chromaffin Cells and PC12 Cells

Abstract cDNA libraries from rat chromaffin cells and PC12 cells were screened for homologs to the mouse mSlo gene that encodes a large conductance, calcium (Ca2+)- and voltage-activated potassium channel (BK channel). One Slovariant contained sequence encoding a cysteine-rich, 59-amino acid insert for a previously described site of alternative splicing. This insert is reminiscent of zinc-finger domains. The exon was found in RNA from pancreas, anterior pituitary, cerebellum, and hippocampus. Expression in Xenopus oocytes of a Sloconstruct containing this exon conferred a −30 to −20 mV shift of the conductance-voltage curve. A previously uncharacterized alternative splice junction near the C-terminal end of Slo was also identified. In contrast to BK channels in rat chromaffin cells, none of the Slo variants exhibited inactivation when expressed inXenopus oocytes. PCR screening of chromaffin cell RNA failed to reveal a homolog of an accessory β subunit known to influence Slo channel function. Furthermore, a β-subunit-dependent Slo channel activator, dehydrosoyasaponin I, was without effect on chromaffin cell BK current. The results argue that an accessory subunit may not be a required component of the native chromaffin cell BK channel.
Autophagy: assays and artifacts

Autophagy is a fundamental and phylogenetically conserved self-degradation process that is characterized by the formation of double-layered vesicles (autophagosomes) around intracellular cargo for delivery to lysosomes and proteolytic degradation. The increasing significance attached to autophagy in development and disease in higher eukaryotes has placed greater importance on the validation of reliable, meaningful and quantitative assays to monitor autophagy in live cells and in vivo in the animal. To date, the detection of processed LC3B-II by western blot or fluorescence studies, together with electron microscopy for autophagosome formation, have been the mainstays for autophagy detection. However, LC3 expression levels can vary markedly between different cell types and in response to different stresses, and there is also concern that over-expression of tagged versions of LC3 to facilitate imaging and detection of autophagy interferes with the process itself. In addition, the realization that it is not sufficient to monitor static levels of autophagy but to measure 'autophagic flux' has driven the development of new or modified approaches to detecting autophagy. Here, we present a critical overview of current methodologies to measure autophagy in cells and in animals.
Re-imaginando a imagem de Deus: Natureza humana, evolução e outros animais

The image of God has, for much of the history of Christian theology, sought to defi ne the meaning of human uniqueness by stressing human superiority over against other animals. Many environmentalists and other scientists now argue that we have entered a new era, the Anthropocene, where humans dominate the life on planet earth, reinforced by a restricted interpretation of Neo-Darwinian human evolution in terms of survival of the fittest. Against such separation narratives, the importance of acknowledging the fluidity of the human/other animal boundary surfaces in literature, philosophy, religious studies and current anthropology. I will draw on current anthropology to present a case that even prior to the emergence of symbolic religious capabilities humans evolved in cooperative communities that recognized the signifi cance of other animals as part of a wider community niche. I argue in this lecture that a constructive theological anthropology needs to be sensitive to such insights, while offering its own distinctive voice. In order to do this, I press for an interpretation of the image of God in terms of theodrama, one that has some analogies with current anthropological understanding of hominid evolution through community niche construction. Theodrama does not eschew human distinctiveness, but it places greater emphasis on an enlarged vision of community of creatures. Theodrama is, in this view, about the specifi c performance of humanity in relation to God, but it is responsive in evolutionary and ecological terms to the active presence of other creatures.
Learning Interference Strategies in Cognitive ARQ Networks

Cognitive radios, which enable the coexistence on the same bandwidth of licensed primary and unlicensed secondary users, have the potential for dramatically increasing the efficiency of wireless networks. In this paper, we propose an on line learning algorithm to optimize the transmission strategy of secondary users in interference mitigation scenarios, where the secondary users are allowed to superimpose their transmission onto those of the primary users. Due to practical imitations, the secondary users have access to only a fraction of the current state of the primary users'' network. Therefore, the strategy of the secondary users is defined on a reduced state space. Numerical results show that the proposed practical learning algorithm operates close to the performance of the system under full knowledge.
The Rising Male-Female Pay Gap: Contrary Evidence and New Findings

Albert Niemi, and Robert Thornton and Thomas Hyclak have raised some interesting questions about our December 1980 results. So did both referees of the original paper, and some of our colleagues as well. Since we have found this a difficult topic to research, and had little intuitive feel for "what the results ought to look like" when we began our study, we welcome the opportunity to discuss these points and present some new evidence. We hope this dialogue stimulates others to conduct further research on what we believe to be an important topic.
Tackling soil diversity with the assembly of large, complex metagenomes

The large volumes of sequencing data required to sample deeply the microbial communities of complex environments pose new challenges to sequence analysis. De novo metagenomic assembly effectively reduces the total amount of data to be analyzed but requires substantial computational resources. We combine two preassembly filtering approaches—digital normalization and partitioning—to generate previously intractable large metagenome assemblies. Using a human-gut mock community dataset, we demonstrate that these methods result in assemblies nearly identical to assemblies from unprocessed data. We then assemble two large soil metagenomes totaling 398 billion bp (equivalent to 88,000 Escherichia coli genomes) from matched Iowa corn and native prairie soils. The resulting assembled contigs could be used to identify molecular interactions and reaction networks of known metabolic pathways using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Orthology database. Nonetheless, more than 60% of predicted proteins in assemblies could not be annotated against known databases. Many of these unknown proteins were abundant in both corn and prairie soils, highlighting the benefits of assembly for the discovery and characterization of novelty in soil biodiversity. Moreover, 80% of the sequencing data could not be assembled because of low coverage, suggesting that considerably more sequencing data are needed to characterize the functional content of soil.
Effects of aging and arm swing on the metabolic cost of stability in human walking

To gain insight into the mechanical determinants of walking energetics, we investigated the effects of aging and arm swing on the metabolic cost of stabilization. We tested two hypotheses: (1) elderly adults consume more metabolic energy during walking than young adults because they consume more metabolic energy for lateral stabilization, and (2) arm swing reduces the metabolic cost of stabilization during walking in young and elderly adults. To test these hypotheses, we provided external lateral stabilization by applying bilateral forces (10% body weight) to a waist belt via elastic cords while young and elderly subjects walked at 1.3m/s on a motorized treadmill with arm swing and with no arm swing. We found that the external stabilizer reduced the net rate of metabolic energy consumption to a similar extent in elderly and young subjects. This reduction was greater (6-7%) when subjects walked with no arm swing than when they walked normally (3-4%). When young or elderly subjects eliminated arm swing while walking with no external stabilization, net metabolic power increased by 5-6%. We conclude that the greater metabolic cost of walking in elderly adults is not caused by a greater cost of lateral stabilization. Moreover, arm swing reduces the metabolic cost of walking in both young and elderly adults likely by contributing to stability.
Evolutionary fates within a microbial population highlight an essential role for protein folding during natural selection

Systems biology can offer a great deal of insight into evolution by quantitatively linking complex properties such as protein structure, folding, and function to the fitness of an organism. Although the link between diseases such as Alzheimer's and misfolding is well appreciated, directly showing the importance of protein folding to success in evolution has been more difficult. We show here that predicting success during adaptation can depend critically on enzyme kinetic and folding models. We used a ‘weak link' method to favor mutations to an essential, but maladapted, adenylate kinase gene within a microbial population that resulted in the identification of five mutants that arose nearly simultaneously and competed for success. Physicochemical characterization of these mutants showed that, although steady-state enzyme activity is important, success within the population is critically dependent on resistance to denaturation and aggregation. A fitness function based on in vitro measurements of enzyme activity, reversible and irreversible unfolding, and the physiological context reproduces in vivo evolutionary fates in the population linking organismal adaptation to its physical basis.
Intensification and the Discourse of Decline: A Rhetoric of Medical Anthropology

Our use of academic rhetorics does not just deliver old arguments more eloquently, but rather serves an epistemological purpose that enables us to ask new questions. The rhetorical strategy of intensification contests and dislodges unnoticed and untheorized presuppositions in academic arguments by redefining taken-for-granted uses of language, by reemphasizing the often overlooked social imbrication of metaphors presented as neutral scientific descriptions, and by reopening the textual and conceptual "black boxes" that allow authors to evade responsibility for their rhetorical choices. As deployed by Emily Martin (1987) in The Woman in the Body, intensification reveals how rhetorical gestures rooted in negative sociocultural attitudes toward women's bodies sometimes masquerade as "scientific" or "medical" knowledge. Martin reveals a pattern of medical metaphors that incorrectly associate menstruation and menopause with processes of decline and decay. Intensification enables Martin to contest the discourse of decline in accounts of menstruation by underscoring how it is shaped by cultural metaphors of production and information processing, by foregrounding its anachronistic voices and their outmoded language and attitudes about women's reproductive systems, by calling attention to the persistently negative terminology that permeates discussions of women's reproductive processes, by emphasizing the different languages used for women's reproductive physiology and for similar but ungendered physiological processes, and by accentuating the celebratory language used for men's reproductive physiology. Intensification serves to demonstrate that these metaphors misrepresent or suppress fundamental aspects of physiology, inappropriately impose gendered attitudes on processes more accurately represented by nongendered terms, and negatively influence representations of women, their physiological processes, and their medical needs, [rhetoric of inquiry, discourse analysis, intensification, reproductive physiology, menstruation and menopause, Emily Martin]
Decorin regulates collagenase gene expression in fibroblasts adhering to vitronectin

Vitronectin, a principal cell adhesion molecule in plasma and extracellular matrix, mediates cell adhesion and spreading via the ~V family of integrins. In this study we demonstrate that decorin, a small dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, regulates extracellular matrix remodeling in rabbit synovial fibroblasts adhering to vitronectin. Decorin induced the expression of the matrix metalloproteinase collagenase (MMP-1) when present on the substrate with vitronectin, or with the 120-kDa cell-binding domain of fibronectin, but not when present with intact fibronectin or Type I collagen. Secreted collagenase was detected within 8 h of adhesion; there was no associated alteration in cell shape or focal contact formation in cells adhering to decorin plus vitronectin, whereas cell rounding was observed in cells adhering to decorin plus the 120-kDa fragment of fibronectin. The core protein of decorin, but not the glycosaminoglycan moiety, was sufficient to induce collagenase expression on both substrates; however, the glycosaminoglycan moiety of decorin as well as the core were required for cell rounding observed in cells adhering to the 120-kDa domain of fibronectin. The collagenase-inducing effect of decorin seems to be independent of its effects on transforming growth factor-[5, as function-blocking antibodies against transforming growth factor-13 did not interfere with the collagenase-inducing effects of decorin. These data indicate that decorin has specific gene regulatory effects in cells when present in the matrix with vitronectin or the 120-kDa fragment of fibronectin, polypeptides that are present in actively remodeling tissues. Thus, in combination, these adhesion regulatory molecules transduce novel signals that may contribute to the tissue remodeling process in morphogenesis, wound healing and disease states.
Positive deviant behavior and nutrition education.

Dr. Joe D. Wray in his 1972 Tropical Pediatrics editorial asked "Can we learn from successful mothers?" His question had not previously appeared in a scientific journal possibly because it may have embarrassed many professional scientific nutrition teachers to consider it seriously. Nutritional surveys often discover well-nourished children in poor families that inhabit villages where nearly all children are both poor and malnourished. Such well-nourished children are evidence that some mothers despite poverty can feed and care for their children successfully. Wray pointed out that in order to teach useful child-care and feeding practices to poor mothers we need to learn what local successful poor mothers are practicing. No one published any answers to Wrays question but many of us who read it looked for successful mothers and listened to them. In 1976 Sam Wishik and Susan Van der Vynckt of Columbia University proposed a project to identify "positive deviant" (PD) families in order to observe their care and feeding behaviors. They intended to teach those behaviors to mothers of malnourished children and finally to evaluate the teachings impact on childrens nutritional status. (excerpt)
Code and parse trees for lossless source encoding

This paper surveys the theoretical literature on fixed-to-variable-length lossless source code trees, called code trees, and on variable-length-to-fixed lossless source code trees, called parse trees. In particular, the following code tree topics are outlined in this survey: characteristics of the Huffman (1952) code tree; Huffman-type coding for infinite source alphabets and universal coding; the Huffman problem subject to a lexicographic constraint, or the Hu-Tucker (1982) problem; the Huffman problem subject to maximum codeword length constraints; code trees which minimize other functions besides average codeword length; coding for unequal cost code symbols, or the Karp problem, and finite state channels; and variants of Huffman coding in which the assignment of 0s and 1s within codewords is significant such as bidirectionality and synchronization. The literature on parse tree topics is less extensive. Treated here are: variants of Tunstall (1968) parsing; dualities between parsing and coding; dual tree coding in which parsing and coding are combined to yield variable-length-to-variable-length codes; and parsing and random number generation. Finally, questions related to counting and representing code and parse trees are also discussed.
Food Trade: An Analysis of the Relevant WTO Agreements

This report gives a historical background of the main issues on food trade to place them in their context. In addition, the current laws and agreements will be explained along with key terms – these can be found highlighted in bold. A more in-depth background and historical analyses can be found in the annexes for many of the topics in this report, along with an extensive collection of tables.
Abstract 3041: Activated Thrombin Increase after Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose- The role of thrombin in mediating cytotoxicity after intracerebral hemorrhage is well known. Recently, we demonstrated activated thrombin co-localizing with neurons after ischemia using immunohistochemistry (IHC). We sought to quantify activated thrombin protein levels in ischemic brain using protein extraction and Western blots. Methods- Focal ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) with a suture for 4 hours in adult Sprague Dawley rats (n=4). Brain regions with severe neurovascular disruption were identified using 2MD dextran linked to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) injected intravenously during surgery. After 30 minutes reperfusion, brains were divided_using FITC whole-brain fluorescence_into ischemic, non-ischemic ipsilateral, and non-ischemic contralateral sections. Protein was extracted from homogenates and thrombin and prothrombin were quantified using Western immunoblots. Integrated density values (IDV) were normalized to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) bands. Results- In ischemic brains, we detected severe vascular damage after 4 hours MCAo as significant FITC leakage. Thrombin was elevated (p Conclusion- Elevation of thrombin was found in both ischemic and non-ischemic regions after MCAo. While prothrombin appeared to localize in vessels, activated thrombin was clearly localized to neurons. These findings suggest that after ischemia, prothrombin enters brain via disrupted BBB where it undergoes activation to thrombin then aggregates on neurons. Future experiments are needed to confirm this hypothesis and determine the effect of thrombin on neurons.
Importance of South Africa’s Ratification of the ICESCR and OP CESCR and the Link between Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and MDGS

Why should South Africa ratify the ICESCR and its OP CESCR? This is the basic question that this presentation seeks to answer. It was prepared on the 18th July, birthday of former president Nelson Mandela.
Effects of a music-based short story on short- and long-term reading comprehension of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A cluster randomized study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of singing versus reading a short story on the short- and long-term reading comprehension of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The principal investigator collected data at three separate one-week summer camps during daily scheduled music therapy groups. Participants ( N = 29) were cluster randomized to experimental (sung short story) or active control (read aloud short story) groups. Participants completed five comprehension check (CC) questions within five minutes of the story being delivered as well as approximately seven hours later. Main effects for day were statistically significant and there was a significant interaction concerning day by treatment group. Mean CC scores increased from day one to day three for both the control and experimental groups. Initial comprehension on day one might have been enhanced by music but musically induced gains dissipated for days two and three, possibly due to learning effects and repetition of material over the course of three days. The use of a live music-based short story may have resulted in increased cognitive arousal and attention span aiding in immediate and long-term increased comprehension of the experimental group. This hypothesis could both inform future researchers in designing studies concerning music-based interventions to promote reading comprehension and enhance best-practice approaches in classroom and music therapy settings. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Assessing the Temporal Stability of Profile Groups in a Comparative Experiment or Survey

The development and application of psychometric test "profiles" has led to research employing grozzps of profiles (Haggard, et al., 1959). In particular, use of The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory frequently takes the form of such two-digit code groupings (Welsh & Dahlstron~, 1956) as "68," "27," "46," and "42," e.g., a subject with a "68" profile is one whose MMPI profile peaked on scale 6, Pa, with the next highest score on scale 8, Sc. Numerous studies substantiate the view that two-digit code types are indicative of particular personality types (Dahlsuom & Welsh, 1960). An important methodological problem in studies utilizing profile groups is that of assessing the stability of profile groupings on subsequent testing. In the frequently occurring comparative study, this problem is complicated by the fact chat Ss are not only classified by profile groupings, but in addition, are also cross-classified into categories of another dimension, viz., an experimental or (as in Table 1 ) a stratificatiolz factor. The problems of analysis are threefold.
Robust spectral-domain EM modeling of distributed-source sensors in planar-layered media

We report a rapid, robust full-wave methodology to model electromagnetic (EM) wave radiation by distributed current sources embedded in planar-layered media. Primitive causality-related numerical instabilities within the computation chain, induced by exponentially rising "distributed" current source spectrum functions, are addressed for both linear and aperture sources, leading to solution speed acceleration between one and two orders of magnitude versus space-domain superposition of Hertzian dipole fields. To overcome the instabilities, prior to numerical evaluation one analytically identifies and merges all exponentially rising and decaying terms, yielding an overall well-convergent and stable solution process. We present numerical results concerning sensors used to detect marine hydrocarbon reserves.