cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inversion of teleseismic body waves for the moment tensor of the 1978 Thessaloniki, Greece, earthquake

Seismograms from WWSSN and Canadian network stations were modeled to determine the source parameters of the 20 June 1978 Thessaloniki, Greece, earthquake (M s = 6.4). The depth of the initial rupture was constrained to 11 ± 1 km by comparison of the arrival times of surface reflections with synthetic short-period seismograms. A focal sphere plot of first motion polarities provided little constraint on other focal parameters, except to indicate that predominantly normal faulting was involved. A generalized inverse technique utilizing the moment tensor formalism was applied to teleseismic P and SH waves for six increments of depth. The moment tensor obtained indicated a nearly horizontal, N-trending tension axis and a nearly vertical compression axis, and yielded the following double-couple source parameters: strike 280° ± 7°; dip 55° ± 3°; rake −65° ± 5°; seismic moment 5.7 × 1025 dyne-cm; and a skewed triangular source time function with a rise time of about 1 sec and duration of 6 to 8 sec. Due to indications of multiple or finite source effects for this event, and the assumption in the moment tensor formalism of a point source, a low-pass filter was applied to the data and the inversions were repeated. The results were nearly identical with those of the original inversion, suggesting that any individual sources had similar mechanisms, or that the point source model is sufficient for this earthquake.
Management of high grade transitional cell cancer of the upper urinary tract.

AbstractA total of 175 patients was operated on for grade 2, 3 or 4 transitional cell epithelioma of the upper urinary tract. Followup was between 5 and 26 years. The operations involved total nephroureterec-tomy, simple nephrectomy and local resection. Patient survival correlated well with tumor stage and, particularly, with tumor grade, and, consistently, was inferior to that of an age and sex-matched control group. The correlation of survival and ipsilateral tumor recurrence with the type of operation suggests that patients with grade 2 tumors may benefit from total nephroureterectomy. The incidence of ipsilateral tumor recurrence (28 per cent) was high in this group. The radical procedure seems to be of no benefit to patients with grade 3 or 4 tumors. The incidence of subsequent bladder tumor was 30 per cent in patients with grades 2 and 3 tumors. The latent period ranged from 2 months to 10 years (average 23 months); 82 per cent of the tumors occurred within 3 years of treatment of the upper tract tumor.
Chronic toxicity of ammonia fumes by inhalation.

SummaryExposure of male guinea pigs to an atmospheric concentration of 170 p.p.m. of ammonia for periods of 6 hours per day, 5 days per week for as long as 12 weeks gave no significant evidence of chronic intoxication. However, such exposure for 18 weeks resulted in relatively mild though definite changes in spleens, kidneys, suprarenal glands, and livers, with severity of the changes being most prominent in spleens and least in livers. Hearts, lungs, stomachs, and small intestines showed no consistent changes suggestive of chronic intoxication.
Observations on spectrophotometrically assayable phytochromein vivo in etiolatedPisum seedlings

Using 2-filter difference spectrophotometry, thein vivo phytochrome of etiolated pea seedlings was measured. On a fresh weight basis, the reversible optical density difference, Δ(Δ O.D.), at 660 and 730 mμ was highest in growing regions such as the epicotyl hook or the root tip, and decreased along the axis of shoot and root. The aging of the seedling did not affect the pattern of phytochrome distribution in the epicotyl, but Δ(Δ O.D.) per unit weight declined slowly in root-tips of intact seedlings and much more rapidly in those of excised root cultures. Although apparent amounts of phytochrome vary in each tissue, per cent conversion of PR to PFR was simply dependent upon total irradiation energy; that is, any tissue obtained from etiolated peas showed approximately 50% conversion of PR to PFR by 3 minutes exposure to red light of about 1.8 kiloergs x cm−2 x min−1. After conversion of PR to PFR by a brief red irradiation, dark transformation was observed in intact and excised tissues of stems and roots; after 4 hours at 26°C, most of the PFR disappeared optically, and total Δ(Δ O.D.) decreased to 1/2∼1/3 of the original level. No significant difference in rate was observed between intact and excised stem samples, or intact root samples, but the rate in excised roots was slower than in the intact. Contrary to previous reports, dark transformation occurs at 0°C, though at roughly 1/60th the rate observed at 26°C.
Ecology Theoretical Basis of Building Campus Culture: a Case Study of Forestry Universities

Colleges and universities are important institutions for national development and social civilization.Campus culture is a significant component of ecological civilization.A healthy campus culture can promote harmony and sustainable development of a university.Educational environment with democracy,science,humanity,opening and healthy ecological culture of universities can be constructed from aspects of landscape,humanity,spirit,system and behaviors.Guided by ecology principles of entirety,coordination,recycling and autogeny,campus culture of forestry universities should have characteristics of forestry subjects and special advantages,aiming to cultivate talented persons with ecological consciousness,cultural quality,strong body and good morality.
Application of Ferrate in Environmental Remediation

Research progress in application of ferrate(VI) in environmental pollution treatment was introduced,including wastewater treatment and disinfection,degradation of synthetic organic pollutants,drinking water disinfection.The superior performance of potassium ferrate(VI) as an oxidant/disinfectant for the environmental remediation has been demonstrated in many recent researches.But there are some challenges during implementation of ferrate(VI) technology for environmental pollution treatment,especially wastewater and sewage sludge treatment owing to instability property of ferrate(VI) solution and high preparation cost of solid ferrate(VI).
Design Principles for Digital Badge Systems

This paper describes a method for studying programs that issue Open Badges to recognize learning. The Design Principles Documentation (DPD) Project followed the development of 30 educational programs that planned to issue open digital badges to recognize “lifelong learning” accomplishment. The DPD Project’s aim was to formulate general design principles based on the practices observed among the 30 research subjects. Analysis yielded 37 principles across four researcher-selected functions of digital badge systems: recognizing learning, assessing learning, motivating learning, and studying learning. This work describes this research methodology and its affordances for uncovering relationships between different elements of badge system design and between those elements and the larger project contexts in which they operate.
Using Library of Congress Classification with Musicals and Operas on Film

Video recordings of musicals and operas can be an important part of music library collections, and how they are arranged can affect patrons' access. Some libraries use an adaptation of the same cla...
Characteristics of southern California atmospheric rivers

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are channels of high water vapor flux that transport moisture from low to higher latitudes on synoptic timescales. In areas of topographical variability, ARs may lead to high-intensity precipitation due to orographic forcing. ARs landfalling along North America’s west coast are linked to extreme events including those leading to flooding and landslides. In southern California (SCA), proper AR forecasting is important for regional water resources as well as hazard mitigation and as the area’s annual precipitation totals occur from relatively few storms per season, any changes to storm frequency and/or intensity may have dramatic consequences. Yet, as most regional AR studies focus on the Pacific Northwest, there is little information about SCA ARs. We develop an algorithm to identify ARs landfalling on North America’s west coast between 1979 and 2013 within total precipitable water reanalysis fields. ARs are then categorized according to landfall region. To determine and differentiate the characteristics and spatial distributions of ARs affecting these areas, we examine lag composites of various atmospheric variables for each landfall region. SCA ARs differ from ARs landfalling farther north in the days prior to landfall with the position and amplitude of a trough offshore from the Asian continent and ridge over Alaska, as well as the displacement and eastward extension of the jet core that potentially guides AR moisture southwards. The relationships between AR landfalls and the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), and the Pacific/North American Teleconnection Pattern (PNA) are also investigated.
A Social Presence Model of Task Performance: A Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Model

Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model, we build a social presence model of task performance and hypothesize that social presence impacts task performance through two routes – central and peripheral. Using a meta- analytic sample of 80 studies, we test our model with the multivariate meta-analytic structural equation modeling methodology. We find support for all our hypotheses. We show that in the central route, social presence positively impacts task performance through its positive effect on flow. In the peripheral route, social presence positively impacts trust, which in turn negatively impacts task effort. Finally, reduced task effort improves task performance. We also show the moderating role of task complexity, which negatively moderates the social presence-flow relationship and positively moderates the social-presence-trust relationship.
Persistent Decreases in Adult Subventricular and Hippocampal Neurogenesis Following Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Exposure.

Neurogenesis in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) and subventricular zone (SVZ) matures during adolescence to adult levels. Binge drinking is prevalent in adolescent humans, and could alter brain neurogenesis and maturation in a manner that persists into adulthood. To determine the impact of adolescent binge drinking on adult neurogenesis, Wistar rats received adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure (5.0 g/kg/day, i.g., 2 days on/2 days off from postnatal day, P25-P54) and sacrificed on P57 or P95. Neural progenitor cell proliferation, differentiation, survival and maturation using immunohistochemistry was determined in the DG and SVZ. We found that AIE exposure decreased neurogenesis in both brain regions in adulthood (P95). In the DG at P57, AIE exposure resulted in a significant reduction of SOX2+, Tbr2+, Prox1+ and parvalbumin+IR expression, and at P95 decreased DCX+ and parvalbumin+IR expression. AIE exposure also reduced the expression of two cell proliferation markers (Ki67+ and BrdU+IR with 300 mg/kg, 2 hours) at P95. The immune signaling molecule -2 microglobulin+ and the cell death marker activated caspase-3+IR were significantly increased in the DG by AIE exposure. In the SVZ, AIE exposure decreased SOX2+, Mash1+, DCX+ and Dlx2+IR expression at P95, but not at P57. Thus, in adulthood both brain regions have reduced neurogenesis following AIE exposure. To assess progenitor cell survival and maturation, rats were treated with BrdU (150 mg/kg/day, 14 days) to label proliferating cells and were sacrificed weeks later on P95. In the hippocampus DG, AIE exposure increased survival BrdU+ cells which differentiated into Iba1+ microglia. In contrast, SVZ had decreased BrdU+ cells similar to decreased DCX+ neurogenesis. These data indicate that AIE exposure causes a lasting decrease in both adult hippocampal DG and forebrain SVZ neurogenesis with brain regional differences in the AIE response that persist into adulthood.
Resistor network-based algorithms for enumerating rational numbers

A class of simple resistor networks is used to enumerate the set of positive rational numbers. A one-to-one correspondence between the simple resistor networks and rational numbers is established, and efficient algorithms to find the rational for a given ordinal number, to find the ordinal number for a given rational, and to generate the rationals up to a given ordinal number are presented. The bijection and the algorithms answer some typical questions that are frequently asked by students in discrete mathematics or computing theory classes related to counting positive rational numbers.
Melanoma of Unknown Primary

ABSTRACT Although the vast majority of melanomas have a known primary site, approximately 3.2% of all melanomas present in distant sites with no known primary site. Melanoma of unknown primary most often presents in lymph nodes, followed by subcutaneous sites, and finally visceral organs. Various hypotheses regarding the origin of melanoma of unknown primary have been proposed, including spontaneous regression of the primary tumor, and the presence of ectopic melanocytes within lymph nodes and visceral organs. Melanoma of unknown primary is less well studied in comparison with melanoma of known primary, but its clinical, molecular, and genetic characteristics have been recently clarified. Specifically, melanoma of unknown primary occurs more often in men in the fourth and fifth decades of life, and shares a similar genetic and molecular signature as cutaneous melanomas arising on skin that is intermittently exposed to the sun, including the back and upper legs. In addition, the prognosis of these patients has also been clarified, and patients with melanoma of unknown primary have improved survival compared to stage-matched patients with melanoma of known primary. This chapter reviews recent advances in the understanding of melanoma of unknown primary, highlighting its genetic and molecular characteristics, epidemiology, prognosis, and treatment, as well as its relationship with melanoma of known primary site.
Why should a Laboratory be required for Linear Circuits I

When in the fall semester of 2017 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, a Laboratory was added to Linear Circuits I , it provided an absolute amazing insight into the absence of practical knowledge of students. They could not identify resistors, or capacitors. They had in most cases no idea what a DMM was and how to use it. Setting up fairly simple circuits on a proto-board and making voltage and current measurements had to be shown to each Lab group. A Lab experiment with an Op-Amp meant, that several of the Op-Amps were sacrificed to the smoke god. Students were amazed by what an Oscilloscope could do and how one could see the charge and discharge of a capacitor. At the end of each experiment, MatLab was used to verify the practical results obtained. What was gratifying at the end of the semester that each student group had high praise for the inclusion of a Laboratory into the curriculum. All the frustration and the extra work involved was worth it if one looked at the final result and that a practical component had been added to the students background, which would serve them well in a summer internship or in the Co-op program.
Utility Functions, Interest Rates, and the Demand for Bonds

One riskless investment dominates any other with a lower interest rate in the simplest, most complete way one could hope for. Still, given the risky assets available, a lower riskless interest rate might lead a risk-averse expected-utility maximizer to (a) allocate more of his investment funds to riskless assets, or (b) allocate enough more to obtain greater riskless return including principal, or even (c) allocate enough more to obtain greater riskless income. One easy intuitive explanation is that, at a lower riskless interest rate, greater riskless investment may be needed to guarantee some minimum acceptable income or future wealth. Alternative characterizations of the three possibilities are that, for this individual, (a) demand for riskless future wealth has elasticity less than 1; (b) riskless future wealth is a Giffen good; (c) riskless income is a Giffen good.
Competition for Breeding Resources by Burying Beetles

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the competition for breeding resources by burying beetles. Burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.) are some of the many animals that dispose of small carrion. This resource is required as a food source for their young. To control access to a carcass, they must outcompete many competitors, including other burying beetles, carrion-breeding flies, and scavengers. As a consequence, burying beetles have evolved several behavioral and physiological adaptations to safeguard the carrion and exploit it quickly. If more than one beetle of either sex discovers the carcass, males will fight with other males, and females will fight with females, for possession. The winning male and female become mates and cooperate to bury and prepare the carcass. Both parents help to remove the fur or feathers and to form this carcass into a ball in the underground brood chamber. The female lays eggs in the nearby soil about 30 hours after discovery of the carcass. Both parents often remain and are present to help to feed the young larvae after eggs hatch on the fifth or sixth day. Usually, the brood consumes the whole carcass, bones and all. Therefore, the size of the carcass determines how many offsprings a pair will be able to rear. This makes larger carcasses more valuable than smaller ones.
Fast Atom Bombardment (Review)

The combination of techniques which has been marketed as fast atom bombardment -- presentation of the sample in a liquid matrix, and bombardment by a neutral primary beam -- has proven so successful for analytical work that it has rapidly come into use in scores of analytical labs around the world without the publication of much physico-chemical data addressing parameter optimization or mechanisms. Indeed, the first commercial FAB sources were delivered within a month of the appearance of the first announcements of the technique in the scientific literature [1,2].
Syntax-Phonology Interface

Numerous phonological patterns have syntactically conditioned environments. The syntactic conditions are similar across languages, involving information about syntactic constituency (sisterhood, constituent edges, bar level) but not about other aspects of syntax, e.g., part of speech or finiteness. The dominant paradigm for analyzing syntactically conditioned phonology is through the use of prosodic structure, e.g., phonological words and phonological phrases, which is derived via mapping principles from syntactic structure. Phonological patterns apply within prosodic constituents and therefore only indirectly reference syntax.
End-to-End Delay Minimization in Multi-Channel, TDMA Wireless Sensor Networks by Particle Swarm Optimization

Many Smart City, Internet of Things (IoT) applications would require wireless multi-hop, data collecting networks with low latency and high throughput. Optimal use of multi-channels and timeslots has the potential to achieve such network performance. Finding scheduling allocation of multiple channels and time slots for optimal end-to-end delay in multihop networks is an NP-complete problem. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a fast, scalable technique to find near-optimal scheduling solution for this problem. This paper addresses some deficiencies of the existing PSO based end-to-end delay minimization problem in wireless sensor networks. An upgraded PSO modeling is proposed and the performance improvements are presented through simulations. Two other capacity enhancement solutions (Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access, Multiple Interfaces) are also simulated using proposed approach and their corresponding performance results are investigated.
Imperfect reversibility of fuel demand for road transport: Asymmetric and hysteretic effects of income and price changes in Korea

Abstract Existing literature lacks empirical evidence of the potential nonlinear effects of income and price on transport fuel demand. This paper fills this gap by investigating whether the demand responses to income and price changes are asymmetric and hysteretic. To this end, we decompose both income and price into two- and three-component series (one- and two-threshold cases). In the one-threshold case, demand effects for income are symmetric, but asymmetric for fuel price. The results of the two-threshold case show hysteretic effects for price but not for income. More specifically, the results reveal that small price changes do not significantly influence fuel demand for road transport, but substantial increases and cuts in price asymmetrically affect fuel demand, supporting the presence of an inaction band. These findings lead to the conclusion that income has linear demand effects, but demand effects for fuel price are nonlinear; therefore, disregarding nonlinearities in fuel price changes can be restrictive.
Nature of Alkali Ion-Water Interactions: Insights from Many-Body Representations and Density Functional Theory. II.

Interaction energies of alkali ion–water dimers, M+(H2O), and trimers, M+(H2O)2, with M = Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs, are investigated using various many-body potential energy functions and exchange–cor...
How Can We Share Space? Ontologies of Spatial Pluralism in Lefebvre, Butler, and Massey:

This article compares three arguments about how space might be shared: Lefebvre’s articulation of a shared right to urban space, Judith Butler’s argument for an ethical obligation to plurally cohab...
Using Teaching Rehearsals to Prepare Preservice Teachers for Explanation-Driven Science Instruction

Within two sections of science methods for elementary and middle-school teachers, an embedded, multi-case study design was employed to explore whether teaching rehearsals would better prepare prese...
Central Ang II (Angiotensin II)-Mediated Sympathoexcitation: Role for HIF-1α (Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α) Facilitated Glutamatergic Tone in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus.

Central infusion of Ang II (angiotensin II) has been associated with increased sympathetic outflow resulting in neurogenic hypertension. In the present study, we appraised whether the chronic incre...
Automated Educative Nudges to Reduce Missed Assignments in College

As institutions of higher education increasingly utilize online learning management systems, college students are asked to submit more assignments online. Under this regime, when most assignments are posted and submitted online, it is possible to know if a student is missing a submission for an imminent deadline, and to intervene proactively to reduce missed assignments and improve student outcomes. Toward this goal, we designed and evaluated a scalable targeted intervention: a mobile app that would deploy push notifications when students were missing submissions for assignments with imminent deadlines. Results from two experimental pilots demonstrate that this intervention system significantly decreased missed assignments compared with control notifications about instructor announcements to the class (in Experiment 1), and improved assignment adherence and course grades compared with courses that were not using the app (in Experiment 2). In this article, we discuss the benefits and theoretical implications of this behavioral guide rail, a purely informative proactive intervention to mitigate risk in advance of a negative outcome.
A combined treatment regimen of MGMT-modified γδ T cells and temozolomide chemotherapy is effective against primary high grade gliomas.

Chemotherapeutic drugs such as the alkylating agent Temozolomide (TMZ), in addition to reducing tumor mass, can also sensitize tumors to immune recognition by transient upregulation of multiple stress induced NKG2D ligands (NKG2DL). However, the potential for an effective response by innate lymphocyte effectors such as NK and γδ T cells that recognize NKG2DL is limited by the drug’s concomitant lymphodepleting effects. We have previously shown that modification of γδ T cells with a methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) transgene confers TMZ resistance via production of O6-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) thereby enabling γδ T cell function in therapeutic concentrations of TMZ. In this study, we tested this strategy which we have termed Drug Resistant Immunotherapy (DRI) to examine whether combination therapy of TMZ and MGMT-modified γδ T cells could improve survival outcomes in four human/mouse xenograft models of primary and refractory GBM. Our results confirm that DRI leverages the innate response of γδ T cells to chemotherapy-induced stress associated antigen expression and achieves synergies that are significantly greater than either individual approach.
Effects of the 2012 and 2018 US preventive services task force prostate cancer screening guidelines on pathologic outcomes after prostatectomy.

BACKGROUND In May 2018, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended prostate cancer (PCa) screening for ages 55-69 be an individual decision. This changed from the USPSTF's May 2012 recommendation against screening for all ages. The effects of the 2012 and 2018 updates on pathologic outcomes after prostatectomy are unclear. METHODS This study included 647 patients with PCa who underwent prostatectomy at our institution from 2005 to 2018. Patient groups were those diagnosed before the 2012 update (n = 179), between 2012 and 2018 updates (n = 417), and after the 2018 update (n = 51). We analyzed changes in the age of diagnosis, pathologic Gleason grade group (pGS), pathologic stage, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and favorable/unfavorable pathology. Multivariable logistic regression adjusting for pre-biopsy covariables (age, prostate-specific antigen [PSA], African American race, family history) assessed impacts of 2012 and 2018 updates on pGS and pathologic stage. A p < 0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS Median age increased from 60 to 63 (p = 0.001) between 2012 and 2018 updates and to 64 after the 2018 update. A significant decrease in pGS1, pGS2, pT2, and favorable pathology (p < 0.001), and a significant increase in pGS3, pGS4, pGS5, pT3a, and unfavorable pathology (p < 0.001) was detected between 2012 and 2018 updates. There was no significant change in pT3b or LVI between 2012 and 2018 updates. On multivariable regression, diagnosis between 2012 and 2018 updates was significantly associated with pGS4 or pGS5 and pT3a (p < 0.001). Diagnosis after the 2018 update was significantly associated with pT3a (p = 0.005). Odds of pGS4 or pGS5 were 3.2× higher (p < 0.001) if diagnosed between 2012 and 2018 updates, and 2.3× higher (p = 0.051) if after the 2018 update. Odds of pT3a were 2.4× higher (p < 0.001) if diagnosed between 2012 and 2018 updates and 2.9× higher (p = 0.005) if after the 2018 update. CONCLUSIONS The 2012 USPSTF guidelines negatively impacted pathologic outcomes after prostatectomy. Patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2018 updates had increased frequency of higher-risk PCa and lower frequency of favorable disease. In addition, data after the 2018 update demonstrate a continued negative impact on postprostatectomy pathology. Thus, further investigation of the long-term effects of the 2018 USPSTF update is warranted.
Bayesian Adaptive Exploration

We describe a framework for adaptive astronomical exploration based on iterating an Observation-Inference-Design cycle that allows adjustment of hypotheses and observing protocols in response to the results of observation on-the-fly, as data are gathered. The framework uses a unified Bayesian methodology for the inference and design stages: Bayesian inference to quantify what we have learned from the available data; and Bayesian decision theory to identify which new observations would teach us the most. In the design stage, the utility of possible future observations is determined by how much information they are expected to add to current inferences as measured by the (negative) entropies of the probability distributions involved. Such a Bayesian approach to experimental design dates back to the 1970s, but most existing work focuses on linear models. We use a simple nonlinear problem—planning observations to best determine the orbit of an extrasolar planet—to illustrate the approach and demonstrate that it can significantly improve observing efficiency (i.e., reduce uncertainties at a rate faster than the familiar “root-N” rule) in some situations. We highlight open issues requiring further research, including dependence on model specification, generalizing the utility of an observation (e.g., to include observing “costs”), and computational issues.
The effect of uterovaginal prolapse on urethrovesical pressure dynamics

Complete urodynamic evaluations were performed on patients with severe uterovaginal prolapse with the prolapse protruding and after reduction with a pessary. These results were compared with those from patients with genuine stress incontinence without prolapse. There was a significant increase in urethral closure pressure in patients with prolapse on the assumption of a more erect posture or on Valsalva maneuver. The opposite relationship was observed in patients with genuine stress incontinence in whom the urethral closure pressure significantly decreased under similar conditions. These results strongly suggest that the mechanism of continence in patients with significant prolapse is urethral obstruction. Reduction of the prolapse with a pessary can differentiate those patients who will require urethrovesical neck suspension.
Dielectric Powder/polymer Composites for High Energy Density Capacitors

In this work, we present the synthesis, characterization, and electrical performance of an epoxy/ barium titanate composite. First, the BaTiO 3 ceramic powder was examined by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and was found to be tetragonal in its crystal structure with a particle size of approximately 1μm and crystals of 57.7nm. It was then established the particles of BaTiO 3 could be well dispersed into an epoxy resin matrix using the common ceramic dispersant Menhaden fish oil, in 80/20 ratio by weight xylene to ethanol solvents, via ball milling. Films were synthesized in the geometry specified by ASTM D2149-97, and a dielectric constant of 13 and loss of 0.018 were achieved for composites with a volume filler concentration of 25%. The breakdown strength was 1243 kV/cm at a volume filler concentration of 7 % and decreased as the concentration of BaTiO 3 was increased. Energy densities were calculated assuming a linearly behaved composite and were found to be 0.26-0.36 J/cm 3 for specimens filled with 7 to 25 % barium titanate.
Feature-preserving 3D thumbnail creation via mesh decomposition and approximation

We propose an innovative approach to feature-preserving 3D thumbnail creation in this research. The 3D thumbnail system aims to help the user efficiently browse 3D models in a large 3D database. The user can browse multiple 3D models with pre-generated 3D thumbnails, and view them from different angles interactively. The 3D thumbnail is a simplified version of the original model and requires much less memory and time to render. In the proposed system, we separate the framework into offline and online two processes for improving the run-time performance. Two types of descriptors of each 3D model are first generated offline and, then, the thumbnail result can be quickly rendered online using these pre-generated descriptors. Preliminary experimental results are given to demonstrate the proposed methodology.
Optical down-sampling of an X-band 1-GHz-bandwidth nonlinear chirp signal

We have demonstrated a new technique to characterize wideband nonlinear waveforms at microwave carrier frequencies. The analog sampling bandwidth can be increased with wider bandwidth sampling modulators and shorter optical pulses. The instantaneous Nyquist bandwidth can be extended using time-interleaving techniques.
Barrier Wind Formation in the Upper Green River Basin of Sublette County, Wyoming, and Its Relationship to Elevated Ozone Distributions in Winter

AbstractMeteorological factors affect the concentrations and distributions of pollutants during episodes of degraded air quality. Over the last 10 years, the upper Green River basin (UGRB) of Sublette County, Wyoming, has experienced numerous wintertime ozone episodes stimulated by emissions from oil and natural gas development operations, resulting in the region being determined to be in marginal nonattainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Examination of surface wind field patterns in the UGRB using observations from a network of surface monitoring stations for 2011 and 2012, with an emphasis on ozone-episode days, confirms that increased ozone concentrations are most frequently measured on days on which winds are light and variable. Dispersion and dilution of ozone and its precursor pollutants on these days is therefore inefficient, and so these episodes invariably occur within and close by the gas fields. On days that instead experience afternoon southeasterly winds, episodes can often...
Direct Electric Current Spot Treatment’s Effect on Springback of 90 Degree Bent 2024-T3 Aluminum

One of the largest issues for sheet metal forming techniques such as stamping and incremental forming is springback. Springback is the elastic recovery of a material after it has been formed resulting in distorted part geometries. Springback can be compensated for during the forming process, however, this often requires forming the metal further than the desired shape. Unfortunately, if a formed part is designed such that it is close to its forming limit, compensation could push the material too far and cause fracture. It has been shown that by pulsing electric current throughout an entire workpiece during forming, springback can be greatly reduced and sometimes eliminated.This paper examines the effect of pulsing direct electric current, through localized points of a workpiece after it has been deformed into a 90-degree bend, but prior to the reversal of the bending die (i.e., while the part is still constrained). It was found that, with a high current density for a short amount of time, springback could be greatly reduced without the need to run a larger current through the entire workpiece. The largest springback reduction was seen when the electric current was forced to flow across the bend in the specimen. This finding is advantageous for industry as it will allow springback reduction in large parts that would normally require much larger power sources to generate the correct current density, if current is run through the entire part. A potential barrier between industry and this technology is that machines would need to be either created or modified to apply electric current at known places at a specific current density and time. To modify an existing machine may be difficult because the machine would need to be insulated from the electric current.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Conflicting methacholine challenge tests.

An 11-year-old boy experienced almost daily wheezing, dyspnea on exertion, and sleep perturbation because of cough. In addition, nadir peak expiratory flow (PEF) was below 100 L/min, which was 30% of predicted (328 L/min),1 compatible with severe persistent asthma.2 After the initiation of therapy with 180 g of albuterol 3 times per day, the patient’s domiciliary PEF rose to 200 L/min and his symptoms improved. The patient was subsequently prescribed fluticasone 220 g twice daily. After weeks of combined albuterol and fluticasone therapy, the patient’s PEF was 300 L/min and his symptoms had regressed to a mild intermittent status.2 Three weeks after the initiation of fluticasone therapy the patient presented to the hospital for a methacholine challenge test (test 1). The patient did not take his albuterol or fluticasone on the day of testing. The baseline spirometry was normal (Table 1). Methacholine challenge testing was performed with a modified 5-breath dosimeter technique, nebulizing Provocholine (Methapharm, Brantford, Ontario, Canada) with a DeVilbiss 646 nebulizer (DeVilbiss, Health Care, Somerset, Pennsylvania). The methacholine challenge test revealed a PC20 (the provocational concentration of methacholine that resulted in a 20% decrease in forced expiratory volume in the first second [FEV1]) of 20 mg/mL (Table 2). In response to this “negative” methacholine challenge, the patient was declared “nonasthmatic” by his pediatrician, and the albuterol and fluticasone therapy was discontinued. Shortly after the discontinuance of therapy, the patient’s symptoms and variable PEF returned. Two weeks following the discontinuance of therapy, the patient returned for a repeat methacholine challenge test (test 2). The baseline spirometry was again normal (Table 3); however, this time the patient demonstrated substantial bronchoconstriction in response to methacholine inhalation, with a PC20 of 8.85 mg/mL (Table 4). A PC20 of 4 –16 mg/mL is classified as borderline bronchial hyperresponsiveness;3 however, given the change in PC20 and the accompanying changes in symptoms and PEF variability, methacholine challenge test 2 was interpreted as a positive test for asthma. Jeffrey M Haynes RRT RPFT is affiliated with the Department of Respiratory Therapy, St Joseph Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire.
Cardiovascular disease and weight ... at birth.

Over the past 2 decades, multiple epidemiologic studies demonstrated that individuals born with low birth weight (LBW) are predisposed to cardiovascular disease and hypertension,[1][1],[2][2] but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this association remained poorly understood. In this
The vibration dance of the honey bee. II. The effects of foraging success on daily patterns of vibration activity

Abstract Using a series of experiments that manipulated the ability of colonies to collect food, we investigated the possibility that daily patterns of vibration dance activity were dependent upon foraging success. We found that large peaks of vibration dance activity occurring early in the morning were induced if a colony experienced 3–4 days of successful foraging. In contrast, smaller vibration peaks occurring later in the day were found to be immediate responses (occurring within 30 min) to increased foraging activity. There was no indication that peaks of vibration activity were influenced by weather. The vibration dance therefore appeared to be sensitive to foraging success on both a long- and a short-term basis. Since previous research suggested that the vibration dance also regulates foraging on two time scales, the dance may operate as a two-level feedback system which allows colonies to adjust foraging activity to both long- and short-term fluctuations in food availability.
Objective and self-assessed health in the old and very old.

Abstract There is increasing support for the concept that persons who live into extreme old age are biologically elite. In this study, self-health assessments and eight objective health indices were studied in 286 elderly living in the community. Self-health was measured on a 5-point scale ranging from very poor to excellent. Objective health measures included impairment and disability rating; number of physician visits, days in bed, and days hospitalized for the prior six months; diagnoses; medications; and operations. The sample was divided by good (70%) and poor (30%) self-health assessments and by old (age 65–74, 66%) and very old (75 and over, 34%). The objective health measures were compared between these groups in a multivariate analysis of variance. Number of medications was less and surgical operations more for the very old than old. All but two of the eight objective measures of health (surgery and days in bed) differentiated significantly between self-assessed health groups. It therefore seems that age, by itself, is a poor indicator of health among the elderly; however, how the elderly view their own health may be an extremely useful clinical guide as to their overall health status.
Characterization of Nuclear Pore Protein p62 Produced Using Baculovirus

Abstract Nuclear pore glycoproteins are essential components of the nuclear import apparatus in eukaryotes. In vertebrates, the most abundant of these glycoproteins is a molecule called p62, Like other O-linked N -acetylglucosamine glycoproteins, p62 is normally modified in the cytoplasm and cannot be overexpressed and conveniently collected in a secreted form. We devised an efficient scheme for expression and purification of recombinant p62 from Sf9 cells that may have general applicability for this class of glycoproteins. The purified rat p62 bound to wheat germ agglutinin, consistent with modification by O-linked N -acetylglucosamine. Carbohydrate analysis, in conjunction with amino acid analysis, revealed that baculovirus-expressed rat p62 contains 5-6 mol of N -acetylglucosamine/mol of p62, As observed by circular dichroism, purified p62 expressed in the baculovirus system or in Escherichia coli share essentially the same secondary structure, Purified glycosylated rat p62 will be critical in determining the role of N -acetylglucosamine in both nuclear transport and assembly of the nuclear pore complex.
765-1 Platelet Hyperaggregability in Hypercholesterolemic Humans: Reversal by Dietary L-Arginine

We have shown that vascular NO activity is reduced in hypercholesterolemic animals, and that this abnormality can be reversed by dietary L-arginine (Arg) supplementation. A sustained improvement in vascular NO activity is associated with a reduction in platelet reactivity and elevation of platelet cGMP that is reversed by NO synthase inhibition. This study tested the hypothesis that chronic Arg supplementation would inhibit platelet reactivity in hypercholesterolemic humans. Venous blood was collected from normal (NC; n = 11) and hypercholesterolemic (HC; n = 22) volunteers for isolation of plateletrich plasma and aggregometry. Half the HC group received Arg (8.4 g/d) for 2 weeks; aggregometry was performed using collagen (5 μg/ml) before and after 2 wks of treatment, and after a 2-wk washout. Download : Download high-res image (65KB) Download : Download full-size image Results HC platelets were hyperaggregable (71 ± 3 v 56 ± 6 aggregation units [au]; HC v NC; p l 0.03). After 2 wks of Arg, HC platelets were no different in reactivity (64 ± 7 v 61 ± 6 au). This decrease of aggregability was sustained for 2 wks after discontinuing Arg (47 ± 9 v 60 ± 5 au; HC v NC). Figure shows change in au over time in HC-treated v untreated subjects. Conclusion These studies are consistent with our previous observations in animals that Arg inhibits platelet reactivity. The effect of Arg is likely mediated by its conversion to NO.
PROSTAGLANDIN DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOVINE CONCEPTUS

Abstract Oestradiol injection induces an acute increase in uterine production of PGF2α that can be monitored in the peripheral circulation of cattle by measurements of 15-keto-13,14-dihydro-PGF2α (PGFM). Spikes of PGFM were detected prior to luteolysis. An oestradiol induced increase in PGFM concentrations is reduced in pregnant cows at days 18 and 20 compared to day 18 cyclic cows. Evidence is presented that supports a local venoarterial pathway for exchange of PGF2α from the uterus to the ovary. Lower concentrations of PGF2α in the ovarian artery of pregnant cows also are consistent with a conceptus induced antiluteolytic effect. Endometrial tissues from day 17 pregnant cows synthesized, in vitro , less PGF2α than day 17 cyclic cows. Tissues from uterine endometrium, ovarian vein and ovarian artery of day 17 pregnant cows also accumulated less PGF2α, in vitro , than day 17 cyclic cows. Pregnancy at 17 days does not appear to influence transport of exogenously administered PGF2α from the uterine lumen. Such agents as oestradiol and PGE2 enhance PGF2α movement from the uterine lumen. The early pregnant cow appears to have a diminished endometrial secretion of PGF2α that favors luteal maintenance. Conceptus induced alterations in tissue permeability and conceptus control of delivery systems from the uterus also may influence balance of luteolytic and luteotrophic substances delivered to the ovary for luteal maintenance.
The effects of prolonged learning on learning

Summary The Ss in this experiment were presented six English-Russian pairs to learn by the anticipation method to a criterion of one correct reproduction. The presentation rate was 2 sec. After a list was learned to criterion a new list was immediately introduced and learned to the same criterion. This was followed by further lists. Recall measures were interspersed after every third list with varying amounts of interpolation of lists between learning and recall measures. Learning continued for six hours without interruption, or until 111 learning and recall lists had been completed. Two list orders were used to minimize list differences. Eighteen Ss learned one list order, 12 another order. The data indicate that learning and recall did not decrease in proficiency after six hours or after 72 lists. There was some evidence of decremental effects in mid-learning. Late learning seemed to be characterized by a “mechanization” of the learning process in which acquisition became automatized.
Mode of job entry and the ethnic composition of firms: Early twentieth-century migrants to New York City

Until relatively recently racial and ethnic minorities were concentrated in particular economic niches. This paper explores the hypothesis that one mechanism that facilitated the maintenance of such niches was for employers to accept referrals from existing employees of particular ethnic backgrounds. This hypothesis is pursued through an analysis of job histories obtained from forty-five elderly black, Italian, and Jewish migrants to New York. The results indicate racial differences in the way that respondents obtained jobs. Moreover, the relationship between means of entry and the minority of composition of firms varied across all three groups.
Effect of glucose availability on pulsatile luteinizing hormone release in rams before and after castration.

Abstract The hypothesis tested was that availability of glucose modulates the control of luteinizing hormone (LH) release. A second objective was to determine the role of testicular hormones in the control of pulsatile LH secretion during depressed blood glucose. Serial blood samples were collected at 15 min intervals for 8 h from intact pubertal Suffolk rams ( n =8; 7 months old) on consecutive days (Days 1, 2 and 3). Rams were castrated after sampling on Day 3 and samples were collected 3 weeks later on consecutive days (Days 4, 5 and 6). Insulin (120 units, iv) was given at Hour 4 of each of the six days to lower blood glucose. On Days 1 and 4, no other treatments were given (Control). On Days 2 and 5, LH releasing hormone (LHRH; 5 ng/kg, iv) was given at Hours 5, 6 and 7 to assess the ability of the pituitary to release LH. On Days 3 and 6, N -methyl- d , l -aspartate (NMA; 5 mg/kg, iv) was given at Hours 5, 6 and 7 to assess the ability of the hypothalamus to release LHRH. Insulin reduced plasma glucose by 52% for at least 3 h ( P P P P P P P P P P P P
Sex and systemic lupus erythematosus: the role of the sex hormones estrogen and prolactin on the regulation of autoreactive B cells.

Purpose of reviewFor many decades, it has been speculated that sex hormones play a role in systemic lupus erythematosus. Recent data accumulated during the past few years provide striking evidence that hormonal modulation of B cells can have a profound impact on the survival, maturation and repertoi