cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transfusion-Related Immunomodulation (TRIM): From Renal Allograft Survival to Postoperative Mortality in Cardiac Surgery

Purported deleterious effects of allogeneic transfusion-related immunomodulation (TRIM) have included increased recurrence of resected malignancies and of postoperative bacterial infections, increased short-term (up to 3-months post-transfusion) mortality from all causes, and activation of endogenous Cytomegalovirus or human immunodeficiency virus infection in transfused compared with untransfused patients. The only established clinical TRIM effect is beneficial: it is the enhanced survival of renal allografts after pretransplant transfusions. However, clinical use of this effect (i.e., administration of deliberate allogeneic, white-cell-reduced pretransplant transfusions to enhance renal allograft survival) is seldom made today. Of the deleterious clinical TRIM effects, which have been investigated in some 200 observational studies and in 20 randomized trials, only increased short-term mortality in cardiac surgery, secondary to non-white-cell-reduced (compared with white-cell-reduced) allogeneic blood transfusion has been consistently documented. Across all available randomized trials in cardiac surgery, there is a 72 % increase in short-term mortality from all causes (p < 0.05), although the mechanism of the effect remains unknown and there is no association with a specific cause of death. Until the effect is disproven or its mechanism is elucidated, all cellular blood components transfused in cardiac surgery should be white-cell-reduced. It is not appropriate to introduce universal white-cell reduction of all transfused cellular blood components for the prevention of TRIM.
Digitally Enhanced Alternate Path Linearization of RF Receivers

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Adaptive Feedforward Error Cancellation Architectural Concepts Alternate Feedforward Path Block Design Considerations Experimental Design of an Adaptively Linearized UMTS Receiver Experimental Results of an Adaptively Linearized UMTS Receiver Conclusions References
Temperature trends and prediction skill in NMME seasonal forecasts

The North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME) provides hindcasts and real-time predictions for monthly mean climate fields at lead times of up to a year. These global climate model outputs can be useful in constructing improved seasonal forecasts. Here, several simple methods are developed and evaluated for forecasting monthly temperatures up to a year in advance based on either unweighted or weighted NMME outputs, and compared to previously developed statistical forecast methods that use only time series of past observations. It is found that the NMME-based methods produce forecast temperature probability distributions that are appropriately shifted toward the warm end of past experience and also show skill at representing interannual variability. NMME-based methods clearly outperformed purely statistical methods for forecasting temperatures over ocean, though over land this improvement is less clear over the evaluation period tested. The NMME seasonal forecasts may be particularly useful for giving early warning of heat waves, given their societal significance and higher conditional skill under those conditions.
Open Innovation and Open Source: Lessons Learned in the Mozilla Community

It’s interesting to speak to an audience that is different than the audiences that I usually address. Typically I speak to North American entrepreneurs, programers, open source groups and so on. Looking at the list of participants I see many doctors, many academics. Looking around the room I see many, many people wearing suits – I do not own a suit, which makes my life I think much more comfortable.
Chemical Looping for Pre-combustion and Post-combustion CO2 Capture☆

Abstract In the paper, performance models are developed for two CO 2 capture technologies – (a) a chemical looping combustion (CLC) process for pre-combustion CO 2 capture from the syngas of a coal-based integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant; and (b) a CaL cycle for post-combustion CO 2 capture from a pulverized coal (PC) power plant –and used to conduct detailed thermodynamic analyses of IGCC and PC power plants with the respective chemical looping-based CO 2 capture processes. Results from the performance models are used to estimate the capital cost ($/kW) and operating cost ($/MWh) of each capture process as well as the complete power plant. Results of the case studies using the techno-economic model indicate that, in terms of performance, both of the chemical looping technologies modelled here are thermodynamically much better than conventional CO 2 capture technologies, resulting in lower overall plant energy penalties. However, both the technologies are found to be more capital-intensive. As a result, the overall cost (capital and LCOE) of plants with chemical looping CO 2 capture technologies is greater than or similar to the conventional technologies.
Minimum Performance on Clinical Tests of Physical Function to Predict Walking 6,000 Steps/Day in Knee Osteoarthritis: An Observational Study

Objective Evidence of physical function difficulties, such as difficulty rising from a chair, may limit daily walking for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to identify minimum performance thresholds on clinical tests of physical function predictive to walk ≥6000 steps/day. This benchmark is known to discriminate people with knee OA who develop functional limitation over time from those who do not. Methods Using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, we quantified daily walking as average steps/day from an accelerometer (Actigraph GTM1) worn for >10 hours/day over one week. Physical function was quantified using three performance-based clinical tests: five times sit to stand test, walking speed (tested over 20 meters) and 400-meter walk test. To identify minimum performance thresholds for daily walking, we calculated physical function values corresponding to high specificity (80 to 95%) to predict walking ≥6000 steps/day. Results Among 1925 participants (age [mean±sd] 65.1±9.1 years, BMI 28.4±4.8 kg/m2, 55% female) with valid accelerometer data, 54.9% walked ≥6000 steps/day. High specificity thresholds of physical function for walking ≥6000 steps/day ranged from 11.4 to 14.0 sec on the five times sit to stand test, 1.13 to 1.26 meters/sec for walking speed, or 315 to 349 sec on the 400-meter walk test. Conclusion Not meeting these minimum performance thresholds on clinical tests of physical function may indicate inadequate physical ability to walk ≥6000 steps/day for people with knee OA. Rehabilitation may be indicated to address underlying impairments limiting physical function. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Análisis del contexto de una pyme colombiana orientado a la implementación de un sistema de gestión de la calidad

This paper explores the internal and external context issues of a Colombian SMEs services provider. The analysis starts from a brief description of the challenges that SMEs is facing in an emerging countries such as Colombia, and the role of the quality management models as a strategic decision to create competitive advantages. Subsequently, SWOT analysis is performed in order to ensure knowledge of the organization and its environment for the planning of a QMS. Finally, the analysis concludes with a discussion made from the potential of this type of diagnostics and the qualitative results obtained by the study case.
Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Marine Fuels: A Case Study of Saudi Crude Oil versus Natural Gas in Different Global Regions

The understanding of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dimension in discussing the future of marine fuels makes it important to advance the current life cycle assessment (LCA) practice in this context. Previous LCA studies of marine fuels rely on general LCA models such as GREET and JEC well‐to‐wheels study. These models do not fully capture the various methane losses in the fuel supply chain. The primary goal of this LCA study is to compare the GHG emissions of heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil produced from Saudi crude oil to liquefied natural gas (LNG) in different global regions. A sensitivity analysis was performed to show how results may vary with non‐Saudi crudes. A secondary goal was to advance LCA of marine fuels by utilizing, for the first time, a set of bottom‐up engineering models that enable detailed analysis of specific oil and gas projects worldwide. The results show particular cases where LNG use in marine applications has a significant countereffect in terms of climate change compared to conventional marine fuels produced from a low‐carbon‐intensity crude oil. When the results are calculated based on a 20‐ versus 100‐year methane global warming potential, LNG appears noncompetitive for climate impact in marine applications.
Perioperative hyperglycemia: an unmet need within a surgical site infection bundle

The aim of this study was to determine whether perioperative stress hyperglycemia is correlated with surgical site infection (SSI) rates in non-diabetes mellitus (DM) patients undergoing elective colorectal resections within an SSI bundle. American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data of patients treated at a single institution in 2006–2012 were supplemented by institutional review board-approved chart review. A multifactorial SSI bundle was implemented in 2009 without changing the preoperative 8-h nil per os, and in the absence of either a carbohydrate loading strategy or hyperglycemic management protocol. Hyperglycemia was defined as blood glucose level > 140 mg/dL. The primary endpoint was SSI defined by the Centers for Disease Control National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance. Of 690 patients included, 112 (16.2%) had pre-existing DM. Overall SSI rates were significantly higher in DM patients as compared to non-DM patients (28.7 vs. 22.3%, p = 0.042). Postoperative hyperglycemia was more frequently seen in non-DM patients (46 vs. 42.9%). The SSI bundle reduced SSI rates (17 vs. 29.3%, p < 0.001), but the rate of hyperglycemia remained unchanged for DM or non-DM patients (pre-bundle 59%; post-bundle 62%, p = 0.527). Organ/space SSI rates were higher in patients with pre- and postoperative hyperglycemia (12.6%) (p = 0.017). Overall SSI rates were higher in DM patients with hyperglycemia as compared to non-DM patients with hyperglycemia (35.6 vs. 20.8%, p = 0.002). At multivariate analysis DM, chronic steroid use, chemotherapy and SSI bundle were predictive factors for SSI. This study showed that non-DM patients have a postoperative hyperglycemia rate as high as 46% in spite of the SSI bundle. A positive correlation was found between stress hyperglycemia and organ/space SSI rates regardless of the DM status. These data support the need for a strategy to prevent stress hyperglycemia in non-DM patients undergoing colorectal resections.
Infinite cayley graphs of connectivity one

A characterization of infinite Cayley graphs with vertex-connectivity 1 is given in terms of the multiplicities of isomorphic lobe subgraphs incident with each vertex.
Current Neuropsychological Diagnosis of Learning Problems: A Leap of Faith

Based on our review of the literature, we have reached what may be a startling conclusion to readers of this handbook: Neuropsychological diagnoses of mild learning problems are largely irrelevant, misleading, and potentially harmful because they contribute to beliefs that probably impede rather than facilitate effective remediation. Strong statements? Yes, but entirely consistent with the available evidence, which we believe shows that neuropsychological assessment and treatment based on neuropsychological concepts have little or no treatment validity; rely on unreliable and invalid measures; and impede efforts of nonneurologically trained persons such as teachers and parents to cope with learning problems.
A Gestural Interface to Free-Form Deformation.

We present a gesture-based user interface to Free-Form Deformation (FFD). Traditional interfaces for FFD require the manipulation of individual points in a lattice of control vertices, a process which is both time-consuming and error-prone. In our system, the user can bend, twist, and stretch/squash the model as if it were a solid piece of clay without being unduly burdened by the mathematical details of FFD. We provide the user with a small but powerful set of gesture-based “ink stroke” commands that are invoked simply by drawing them on the screen. The system automatically infers the user’s intention from the stroke and deforms the model without any vertex-specific input from the user. Both the stroke recognition and FFD algorithms are executed in real-time on a standard PC.
A 2.56 Gbps Asynchronous Serial Transceiver with Embedded 80 Mbps Secondary Data Transmission Capability in 65nm CMOS

A new asynchronous serial transceiver is proposed that is capable of transmitting and receiving a secondary data stream along with the primary data stream on a single asynchronous serial link. The proposed transceiver embeds the secondary data stream by modulating the phase of the primary data in accordance with it. The receiver recovers both the primary and secondary data simultaneously. In a standard receiver, which is not equipped with the phase demodulation capability, the secondary data appears as jitter of the primary data. The jitter caused by the secondary data still falls within the jitter budget of the transceiver, and having this much jitter would not adversely affect the functionality of the primary data recovery. The proposed system can be widely used in many data communication applications such as for transmitting a hidden signature for data authentication, or as control and/or additional data in an existing serial link. A prototype transceiver, implemented in a 65 nm CMOS process, demonstrates the proposed concept with 2.56 Gbps primary data and 80 Mbps secondary data channels.
Flowers and Male Reproductive Structures

Sexual reproduction in seed plants involves the production of male and female gametes that, if successful, lead to the formation of an embryo. In order to understand the process in reasonable detail, it is necessary to know the reproductive structures—in the case of flowering plants, the reproductive structure of interest is the flower. Whether one flower supports both male and female reproductive parts or separate flowers are employed, this chapter presents these prospects and then examines the basics of floral structure and later focuses on the anatomy of male reproductive structures. Detailed steps are used to show the development of pollen and its germination prior to pollination.
Self-Reported Physical Health with a Left Ventricular Assist Device: Findings from the Mechanical Circulatory Support Measures of Adjustment and Quality of Life (MCS A-QOL) Study

Purpose Physical health among patients (pts) with advanced heart failure (HF) who undergo continuous flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implantation is incompletely described, especially long-term. Research is needed to identify pts at risk. This report compared physical health early (≤ 6 months), mid (>6-24 months), and later (> 24 months) after CF-LVAD implantation. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, we evaluated data from 250 pts with CF-LVADs who were ≥ 3 months post implant at 9 U.S. sites from 10/26/16 - 06/28/18. Measures of physical health included overall physical health (PROMIS, v1.1), physical function (PROMIS, v1.2), sleep disturbance (PROMIS, v1.0), sleep-related impairment (PROMIS, v1.0), and satisfaction with sexual function (PROMIS, v2.0, modified). Analyses included χ2 tests and ANOVAs. Results The majority of pts were male, white, and well educated; age differed by time period post implant. Etiology of HF and pre implant strategy were similar among groups. The majority of pts in all 3 groups reported fair to good overall physical health, although significant differences were detected by group. For all 3 groups, sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment scores approximated the U.S. general population mean of 50, while physical function scores were about one standard deviation lower. A majority of pts in all groups were not satisfied with sexual function, and most reported that LVAD equipment affected their satisfaction adversely. See table. Conclusion Regardless of time since implant, while the majority of pts reported overall physical health as fair or good, self-reported physical function was lower than the U.S. population and LVAD equipment interfered with satisfaction with sexual function. These findings highlight the importance of assessing multiple indicators of physical health and may provide direction for physical health focused therapies after CF-LVAD implantation.
Time-resolved oxygen monitoring in human breath

A small form-factor oxygen sensor is designed for respiratory monitoring to meet specifications: form-factor, sensitivity and real-time ( 2 at 100Hz). Two designs are demonstrated based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) and Faraday rotation spectroscopy (FRS) that surpass the requirements. © 2019 The Author(s)
A lattice discrete particle model for pressure-dependent inelasticity in granular rocks

Abstract This paper details the formulation, calibration, and validation of a Lattice Discrete Particle Model (LDPM) for the simulation of the pressure-dependent inelastic response of granular rocks. LDPM is formulated in the framework of discrete mechanics and it simulates the heterogeneous deformation of cemented granular systems by means of discrete compatibility/equilibrium equations defined at the grain scale. A numerical strategy is proposed to generate a realistic microstructure based on the actual grain size distribution of a sandstone and the capabilities of the method are illustrated with reference to the particular case of Bleurswiller sandstone, i.e. a granular rock that has been extensively studied at the laboratory scale. LDPM micromechanical parameters are calibrated based on evidences from triaxial experiments, such as hydrostatic compression, brittle failure at low confinement and plastic behavior at high confinement. The results show that LDPM allows exploring the effect of fine-scale heterogeneity on the inelastic response of rock cores, achieving excellent quantitative performance across a wide range of stress conditions. In addition, LDPM simulations demonstrate its capability of capturing different modes of strain localization within a unified mechanical framework, which makes this approach applicable for a wide variety of geomechanical settings. Such promising performance suggests that LDPM may constitute a viable alternative to existing discrete numerical methods for granular rocks, as well as a versatile tool for the interpretation of their complex deformation/failure patterns and for the development of continuum models capturing the effect of micro-scale heterogeneity.
Targeting CDK9 and MCL-1 by a new CDK9/p-TEFb inhibitor with and without 5-fluorouracil in esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Background:CDK9 inhibitors are antitumorigenic against solid tumors, including esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). However, efficacy of a CDK9 inhibitor combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and target ...
On the rational function solutions of functional equations arising from multiplication of quantum integers

We prove results concerning rational function solutions of the functional equations arising from multiplication of quantum integers and thus resolve some problems raised by Melvyn Nathanson. First, we show that the rational function solutions contain more structure than the polynomial solutions in an essential way, namely the non-cyclotomic part of the former is no longer necessarily trivial, which allows us to resolve a problem on the associated Grothendieck group \(K(\Upsilon _{P})\) of the collection of all polynomial solutions \(\Upsilon _{P}\) with fields of coefficients of characteristic zero and support base P. Second, we show that, contrary to the polynomial solution case, there exists at least one (infinitely many) rational function solution, with support base P containing all primes, which are not constructible from quantum integers. Third, we show that even in the case where the non-cyclotomic part is trivial, rational function solutions are different from polynomial solutions in that there still exist infinitely many rational function solutions to these functional equations with support base P containing all primes and which are not constructible from quantum integers.
DIETARY INTAKE AND NUTRITIONAL RISK AMONG OLDER AMERICANS

A suboptimal diet and nutritional deficiency are among the leading causes of chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and osteoporosis), morbidity, and mortality. The objective of this study is to assess dietary intake and nutritional risk among older Americans. The dietary intake of 15 food and nutrients that are closely associated with the risk of poor health was assessed based on the dietary guidelines and nutritional goals for older Americans using a nationally representative sample of older adults (N=7,737) in the Health and Retirement Study Health Care and Nutrition Survey. The average consumption of most food and nutrients was out of the optimal range. For example, older men and women consumed 1.32-1.35 cups of dairy products and 1.23-1.29 ounces of whole grains, which is less than half of the suggested amount. The average consumption of sodium, on the other hand, was over 12 times greater than suggested dietary recommendation for older men and about 10 times greater for older women. The nutritional risk index (range: 0–15) was created by summing the number of dietary risk factors (not meeting the dietary guidelines and nutritional goals), the index scores for older men and older women were 11.05 (SD=2.31) and 10.09 (SD=2.60) respectively, suggesting the high level of nutritional risk. A healthy diet should be encouraged to prevent chronic diseases and improve the health of older adults. Nutritional education may be an effective way to promote a healthy diet.
Age restriction and warnings for minor viewing and health risk in heated tobacco product videos on YouTube

Background: Recently, the FDA authorized sales of another novel tobacco products – heated tobacco products (HTPs), electronic devices that heat tobacco and produce nicotine aerosols for inhalation,...
Assessing Antimicrobial Efficacy

An effective records system can be utilized in a variety of ways in most intensive animal husbandry systems. Individual animals can be tracked to assess diseases they have been treated for as well as the treatments provided to them. The information provided to us regarding disease frequency can guide decision making processes regarding vaccination protocols and prophylactic measures to reduce the impact of these diseases in the future. The records system should also provide us information regarding the antibiotics utilized for treatment of infectious diseases and the length of time the antibiotics were provided to the animal. Information regarding the type of antibiotic utilized and time it was administered to the animal is crucial information for determining if adequate withdrawal time has been achieved and the animal can be safely shipped for slaughter.
Clinical Outcomes Associated With Preoperative Opioid Use in Various Shoulder Surgical Procedures: A Systematic Review.

Background:The impact of preoperative opioid use on outcomes after shoulder surgery is unknown.Purpose/Hypothesis:To examine the role of preoperative opioid use on outcomes in patients after should...
Exploiting Position and Contextual Word Embeddings for Keyphrase Extraction from Scientific Papers

Keyphrases associated with research papers provide an effective way to find useful information in the large and growing scholarly digital collections. In this paper, we present KPRank, an unsupervised graph-based algorithm for keyphrase extraction that exploits both positional information and contextual word embeddings into a biased PageRank. Our experimental results on five benchmark datasets show that KPRank that uses contextual word embeddings with additional position signal outperforms previous approaches and strong baselines for this task.
Artificial intelligence in the prediction of protein-ligand interactions: recent advances and future directions.

New drug production, from target identification to marketing approval, takes over 12 years and can cost around $2.6 billion. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the urgent need for more powerful computational methods for drug discovery. Here, we review the computational approaches to predicting protein-ligand interactions in the context of drug discovery, focusing on methods using artificial intelligence (AI). We begin with a brief introduction to proteins (targets), ligands (e.g. drugs) and their interactions for nonexperts. Next, we review databases that are commonly used in the domain of protein-ligand interactions. Finally, we survey and analyze the machine learning (ML) approaches implemented to predict protein-ligand binding sites, ligand-binding affinity and binding pose (conformation) including both classical ML algorithms and recent deep learning methods. After exploring the correlation between these three aspects of protein-ligand interaction, it has been proposed that they should be studied in unison. We anticipate that our review will aid exploration and development of more accurate ML-based prediction strategies for studying protein-ligand interactions.
Characteristics and Behavior of Inorganic Constituents

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the characteristics and behavior of inorganic constituents. The chemical composition and physical characteristics of inorganic components of the fuels fired have an influence in the combustion systems of the processes such as firing methods, tof coal inorganic components to ash particulate and vapor-phase species, transport to heat-transfer surfaces in utility boiler, wear and sticking, deposit growth and impact on heat transfer, blinding and plugging of selective catalytic reduction catalysts, and ash deposit removability. In the original coal, inorganic components are distributed in several forms, including organically associated inorganic elements; coal-bound, included minerals; and coal-free, excluded minerals. The types of inorganic components depend on the rank of the coal and the environment in which the coal was formed. Low-rank coals contain higher levels of organically associated cations. The primary mineral groups that are found in all coals consist of clay minerals, carbonates, sulfides, oxides, and quartz. The association of the inorganic components in the coal influences the interactions and transformations of those components during combustion. inorganic components in coals are referred to as mineral matter, minerals, inherent/extraneous ash, and other names by many individuals who work with and utilize coal. For the discussion in this chapter, the term inorganic constituents is used to describe all ash-forming constituents including both organically associated inorganic species and mineral grains.
Hygienic macros for ACL2

ACL2 is a theorem prover for a purely functional subset of Common Lisp. It inherits Common Lisp's unhygienic macros, which are used pervasively to eliminate repeated syntactic patterns. The lack of hygiene means that macros do not automatically protect their producers or consumers from accidental variable capture. This paper demonstrates how this lack of hygiene interferes with theorem proving. It then explains how to design and implement a hygienic macro system for ACL2. An evaluation of the ACL2 code base shows the potential impact of this hygienic macro system on existing libraries and practices.
The Selection of a Sampling Interval for Digitisation: How Fine is Fine Enough?

A critical property of digitized sky surveys prepared from photographic materials is the sample interval, δ, used by the microdensitometer. At issue is a tradeoff between coarse sample intervals that, while economical, do not allow the faithful reproduction of the information in photographic material, and fine intervals, which can record all of the information, but at a prohibitive cost. We investigate these issues by conducting Fourier analyses of images characteristic of the imaging process in the absence of noise and by examining the properties of object inventories for a test field digitized at a range of sampling intervals. Both analyses indicate that 15μm is an adequate sampling interval for modern Schmidt plates on Type III emulsions.
VLSI Symposium and silicon technology: a twenty year perspective

The VLSI Symposium was conceived in 1980 by a number of leading technologists from the U.S. and Japan. It was intended to be a forum for senior technology managers and experts to discuss the state of the then emerging VLSI technology and chart future roadmaps. This paper illustrates the technology advance during the life of the VLSI Symposium by contrasting state of the art technologies of the years 1981 and 2000.
Multi-modal query expansion based on local analysis for medical image retrieval

A unified medical image retrieval framework integrating visual and text keywords using a novel multi-modal query expansion (QE) is presented. For the content-based image search, visual keywords are modeled using support vector machine (SVM)-based classification of local color and texture patches from image regions. For the text-based search, keywords from the associated annotations are extracted and indexed. The correlations between the keywords in both the visual and text feature spaces are analyzed for QE by considering local feedback information. The QE approach can propagate user perceived semantics from one modality to another and improve retrieval effectiveness when combined in multi-modal search. An evaluation of the method on imageCLEFmed'08 dataset and topics results in a mean average precision (MAP) score of 0.15 over comparable searches without QE or using only single modality.
Abbreviations and acronyms in healthcare: when shorter isn't sweeter.

The use of abbreviations and acronyms in healthcare has become an international patient safety issue. Common problems include ambiguous, unfamiliar, and look-alike abbreviations and acronyms leading to misinterpretation and medical errors. The Joint Commission mandated the implementation of its "do not use" list in 2004 prohibiting the use of a minimum number of abbreviations. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has been a champion in the drive to warn both the healthcare community and the public. The problem continues as institutions attempt to comply and ensure patient safety by various strategies including education, enforcement, and leadership. The scope of the problem is far greater than the list provides for; the solutions have not been elucidated by the literature and implementation challenges have yet to be conquered. Recommendations for best practice and implementation are included.
Multi-Level Wind Turbine Inverter to Provide Grid Ancillary Support

More utility companies now require wind power plants to participate in grid support functions including frequency, voltage and inertia support. However, typical wind turbine generator configurations cannot provide this support. In this paper, a multi-level inverter based wind turbine power conversion system is investigated. The developed inverter interfaces between the DC bus of a wind turbine power conversion system supported by energy storage elements and the grid. Two control techniques are proposed for capacitor-based and battery-based storage systems to provide grid active and reactive power support. Details of control implementation for grid interface, frequency and voltage droop support are presented. Simulation and experimental results are discussed to verify the viability of the proposed system and control techniques.
Diets of Overwintering Caribou, Rangifer tarandus , Track Decadal Changes in Arctic Tundra Vegetation

We compared winter diets of Western Arctic Herd Caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) from 1995/1996 and 2005 using microhistological fecal analysis on samples collected at paired permanent vegetation transects. Changes in the diets of Caribou followed the same trends as vegetative changes documented in long-term studies in northwestern Alaska. Lichens were significantly less prevalent on the landscape and in the winter diets of Caribou between 1995/1996 and 2005, while graminoids (grasses and sedges) were significantly more prevalent. Dramatic changes are forecasted for Arctic ecosystems under global warming scenarios which may continue the trend of declining lichens in northwestern Alaska and in the diet of Western Arctic Herd Caribou. The question of whether or not the altered diet will affect the population dynamics of this herd remains unresolved.
Incorporating a semester-long project into the CS 2 course

At our school students are generally assigned about six programming projects for the computer science 2 (CS 2) course. These assignments are mainly designed to complement the laboratory work and provide practical applications of the lecture topics. However, the assignments are often unrelated to each other. We believe that students should also be exposed to writing larger programs in which they have to do complete design and choose appropriate data structures for their project. This also allows them to learn how a larger program should be managed. In this paper we present our experience of applying a semester-long real-world programming project to the CS2 course. The content and objectives of this project are also discussed. In addition to writing about four traditional small programs, students also have to write a large program for the semester-long project. For this project, students are required to apply software engineering principles including analysis, design, implementation, testing, debugging, and maintenance. The benefits of this approach to students are also discussed.
In Brief: Funding authorized for U.S. science and technology education

The “America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act,” a bill that authorizes $33.6 billion for science, technology, engineering, and math education, was signed into law by U.S President George W. Bush on 9 August. The bill, sponsored by the U.S. House Science and Technology Committee, will distribute these funds to programs supported by the federal government over the next three fiscal years. Aimed at strengthening teacher preparedness in primary and secondary schools, equipping high school students for technologically oriented jobs, and enhancing higher-level academic research programs, the bill sets the budgets at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy on a path toward doubling within the next decade. For more information, see http://science.house.gov/legislation/leg_highlights_detail.aspx?NewsID=1938.
Denudation Rates of a Subequatorial Orogenic Belt Based on Estimates of Sediment Yields: Evidence from the Paleozoic Appalachian Basin, USA

The Upper Mississippian (ca. 325 Ma) Pride Shale and Glady Fork Member in the Central Appalachian Basin comprise an upward-coarsening, ca. 60-m-thick succession of prodeltaic-delta front, interlaminated fine-grained sandstones and mudstones gradational upwards into mouth-bar and distributary- channel sandstones. Analysis of laminae bundling in the Pride Shale reveals a hierarchy of tidal cycles (semi-diurnal, fortnightly neap-spring) and a distinct annual cyclicity resulting from seasonal fluvial discharge. These tidal rhythmites thus represent high-resolution chronometers that can be used in basin analysis. Annual cycles average 10 cm in thickness, thus the bulk of the Pride Shale- Glady Fork Member in any one vertical section is estimated to have accumulated in ca. 600 years. Progradational clinoforms are assumed to have had dips of 0.3–3° with a median dip of 1.7°; the latter infilled a NE-SW oriented foreland trough up to 300 km long by 50 km wide in the relatively short time period of 90 kyr. The total volume of sediment in the Pride basin is ca. 900 km3 which, for an average sediment density of 2700 kg m -3, equates to a total mass of ca. 2.4 9 106 Mt. Thus, mass sediment load can be estimated as 27 Mt yr -1. For a drainage basin area of 89 000 km2, based on the scale of architectural channel elements and cross-set thicknesses in the incised-valley-fill deposits of the underlying Princeton Formation, suspended sediment yields are estimated at ca. 310 t km -2 yr -1 equating to a mechanical denudation rate of ca. 0.116 mm yr -1. Calculated sediment yields and inferred denudation rates are comparable to modern rivers such as the Po and Fly and are compatible with a provenance of significant relief and a climate characterized by seasonal, monsoonal discharge. Inferred denudation rates also are consistent with average denudation rates for the Inner Piedmont Terrane of the Appalachians based on flexural modelling. The integration of stratigraphic architectural analysis with a novel chronometric application highlights the utility of sedimentary archives as a record of Earth surface dynamics.
New Insight Into Metformin Action: Regulation of ChREBP and FOXO1 Activities in Endothelial Cells

Metformin has been considered a potential adjunctive therapy in treating poorly controlled type 1 diabetes with obesity and insulin resistance, owing to its potent effects on improving insulin sensitivity. However, the underlying mechanism of metformin's vascular protective effects remains obscure. Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), a key regulator of cellular redox state induced by high-glucose concentration, decreases thioredoxin reductase activity and mediates apoptosis induced by oxidative stress. Here we report that high glucose-induced endothelial dysfunction is associated with induction of TXNIP expression in primary human aortic endothelial cells exposed to high-glucose conditions, whereas the metformin treatment suppresses high-glucose-induced TXNIP expression at mRNA and protein levels. We further show that metformin decreases the high-glucose-stimulated nuclear entry rate of two transcription factors, carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP) and forkhead box O1 (FOXO1), as well as their recruitment on the TXNIP promoter. An AMP-activated protein kinase inhibitor partially compromised these metformin effects. Our data suggest that endothelial dysfunction resulting from high-glucose concentrations is associated with TXNIP expression. Metformin down-regulates high-glucose-induced TXNIP transcription by inactivating ChREBP and FOXO1 in endothelial cells, partially through AMP-activated protein kinase activation.
Etiology of Bacterial Sepsis in Nephrotic Children 1963-1967

A retrospective study of 280 nephrotic admissions from 1963 through 1967 at Children9s Hospital Medical Center in Boston revealed that gram-negative bacilli have caused the majority of infections in hospitalized nephrotic children. The organisms isolated during this period included pneumococci, E. coli, proteus, klebsiella-enterobacter species, pseudomonas, and Serratia marcescens. This information is recorded to aid physicians in the selection of initial antibiotic therapy in the septic nephrotic patient.
Allosuppressors That Enhance the Efficiency of Omnipotent Suppressors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Two recessive Mendelian-allosuppressors have been isolated and have been shown to enhance the efficiency of omnipotent suppressors thought to be translational ambiguity mutations. These allosuppressors are unlinked to each other or to the omnipotent suppressors on which they act. They also increase the efficiency of the serine-inserting UAA-suppressor, SUP16 . One allosuppressor is allelic or tightly linked to the previously isolated sal2 . Another allosuppressor, called sal6 , represents a new locus, unlinked to the previously isolated sal1-sal5 that enhance the efficiency of the UAA-suppressors. When present singly in the absence of suppressors or other modifiers the sal2 and sal6 mutations do not have suppressor activity. However, when sal2 and sal6 are combined together in a haploid cell they do suppress weakly. In addition sal2 becomes a weak suppressor in the presence of the [η+] modifying factor.
Subperiosteal deep granuloma annulare of the orbital rim

FIGURE 3: Histologic findings A 52-year-old Caucasian male with rheumatoid arthritis presented with a five-week history of a 1 cm left upper lid central mass. He denied antecedent trauma, insect bites, recent viral illness, or other skin lesions or changes. He had no recent fevers, chills, weight loss, or night sweats. His past medical history was significant only for hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, with a positive Rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP antibodies. His medications included methotrexate, sulfasalazine, intermittent Prednisone, and folate. On exam the mass was non-tender and appeared fixed to the lateral aspect of the left superior orbital rim. There was an additional flesh-colored plaque involving the skin overlying the medial aspect of the superior lid consistent with a xanthoma. He had no associated diplopia, vision changes, or ocular discharge. There was no change in his lid closure.
Transplantation of immunologically modified pancreatic tissue

The activation of an alloantigen reactive T cell requires alloantigen recognition and additional external signals provided by antigen presenting cells of host or donor antigen. Graft passenger leukocytes are capable of presenting alloantigen directly to recipient T cells and providing interleukin-1. Alternatively, shed alloantigen may be presented passively by recipient antigen presenting cells. Nearly all attempts to alter graft tissue immunogenicity prior to transplantation have focused on removing passenger cells. Attempts to modulate islet graft immunogenicity include conventional organ culture, high oxygen/high pressure culture, interim hosting, and treatment with ultraviolet irradiation, monoclonal antibodies and complement, and immunotoxins. While these techniques have been successful in rodent models, attempts to apply these methods to human islet transplants have been unsuccessful.
Remineralization of Root Caries Monitored Using Cross-Polarization Optical Coherence Tomography.

Previous studies have demonstrated that polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) can be used to image caries lesions in dentin, measure nondestructively the severity of dentin demineralization, and determine the efficacy of intervention with anticaries agents including fluoride and lasers. However, those studies were limited to artificial lesions on dentin and roots surfaces. The objective of this study is to determine if a cross polarization OCT system (CP-OCT) can be used to nondestructively measure a reduction in the reflectivity of natural root caries lesions after exposure to a remineralization solution. CPOCT images of 11 teeth with existing root lesions were acquired before and after exposure to a remineralizing solution for 20 days. The integrated reflectivity was calculated after integrating to a fixed depth of 200-μm. There was a significant decrease in the integrated reflectivity after exposure to the remineralizing solution.
Optimality conditions and duality in continuous programming I. Convex programs and a theorem of the alternative

Abstract This is Part I of a two-part paper; the purpose of this two-part paper is (a) to develop new concepts and techniques in the theory of infinite-dimensional programming, and (b) to obtain fruitful applications in continuous time programming. Part I deals with the development of continuous time analogues to those concepts which are the cornerstones of finite-dimensional programming theory. Specifically, a constraint qualification analogous to that found in finite-dimensional programming and a continuous time version of Farkas' theorem are developed. The latter result, stated in terms of convex and polar cones, is then employed in conjunction with the newly-developed constraint qualification to establish necessary conditions and a duality theory for a class of nonlinear continuous time programming problems. This approach to duality permits the imposition of assumptions that are less stringent than those needed for duality in previous formulations of the nonlinear problem.
Modeling dislocation creep as a near-field material transfer process during spherical pluton expansion: implications for strain rates and their preservation in pluton aureoles

Abstract In this paper we model coupled spatial and temporal changes in stress and temperature to calculate dislocation creep strain rates in host rock associated with spherical magma chamber expansion with and without material removal by stoping and/or assimilation. Given a constant magma-chamber pressure of 100 MPa, we show that stress and temperatures in the host rock range from 100 to 10 MPa and 800 to 300 °C, respectively. Using a flow law for dislocation creep of wet quartzite with recently calibrated parameters, maximum dislocation creep strain rates on the order of ca. 10 −10 s −1 occur only close to the pluton margin. Despite the simple geometry relative to real plutons, the models yield several thought-provoking predictions. If the outer portions of the pluton are allowed to cool, a wide thermal and structural aureole forms. Maintaining the liquidus temperature in the entire pluton allows for rapid aureole deformation, resulting in a narrow thermal and structural aureole, because the deformation outpaces heat conduction. Dislocation creep strain rates in the inner portions of aureoles are extremely sensitive to pressure changes only, potentially resulting in large transient variations in strain rate under isothermal conditions. Evidence for elevated strain rates in pluton aureoles may not be preserved in host rock aureoles if solidified pluton participates in the deformation or it may be completely removed.
100Gb/s Ethernet Inverse Multiplexing Based on Aggregation at the Physical Layer

We propose a packet-based inverse multiplexing method to allow scalable network access with a bigger-pipe physical interface. The method is based on aggregation at the physical layer (APL) that fragments an original packet-flow and distributes the fragments among an adequate numbers of physical links or networks. It allows us to share wavelengths and/or bandwidth resources in optical networks. Its technical feasibility at the speed of newly standardized 100Gb/s Ethernet (100GbE) is successfully evaluated by implementing the inverse multiplexing logic functions on a prototype board. We demonstrate super-high-definition video streaming and huge file transfer by transmitting 100GbE MAC frames over multiple 10GbE physical links via inverse multiplexing.
Ernest L. Boyer and the American Christian College: Historical Considerations

This article explores the historical roots of Ernest Boyer's impact on Christian higher education in the United States. Boyer's stints as a student at two Christian colleges (Messiah College in Pennsylvania and Greenville College in Illinois) and his first faculty and administrative posts at Upland College in California were significant influences in the development of his vision for the Christian college—a vision that led to greater legitimacy and credibility in the landscape of American higher education. Ernest Boyer's innovative, yet historic understanding of the distinctives of Christian higher education contributed to the successful accreditation process of nearly one hundred small, private institutions.