cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
64-Channel, 5 GSPS ADC Module with Switched Capacitor Arrays

Abstract We present a 5 GSPS ADC/Data processing module with up to 64 channels and 2048 cells per channel, designed for fast-sampling, front-end applications. This is a 6U VME board that incorporates 16 pieces DRS4 ( http://drs.web.psi.ch , [1] ) Switched Capacitor Array chips developed at Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland. The 16 DRS4 chips are grouped in four independent input blocks. A block, with a geometric size of 43×120 mm, has four pieces DRS4 chips, four pieces AD9222 converters, and one Altera Stratix III FPGA. Each DRS4 chip has eight channels and each channel has 1024 sampling cells, which can be daisy-chained for larger sampling depth. This feature allows for a great level of flexibility in choosing the number of channels relative to capacitor array size, for a particular application. The first prototype Printed Circuit Board (PCB) was designed for a sampling depth of 2048 cells and 16 channels in a 42 mm wide block, i.e. 64 channels for the 6U VME board. This compact form factor allows for these input blocks to be used as front-end electronics for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) cameras. In this VME board, the four blocks are fully independent and can run each in different modes without any conflict. A global FPGA, also a Stratix III device, provides control and interfacing. The module can run with a local oscillator or with input system clocks in the range of 20–550 MHz. The front panel is fitted with a 2.5 Gbps serial link transceiver.
Empirical Findings about Risk and Risk Mitigating Actions from a Legacy Archive of a Large Design Organization

Abstract Understanding how to mitigate project risk is an important aspect of project management. Risks that are not properly managed can lead to cost overruns, schedule delays, wasted manpower and effort, and failure of the project artifact. Deciding which risk mitigating actions to pursue has largely been an intuitive endeavor, relying on expert opinions which are typically opaque. A more quantitative approach, based on results from actual past projects, is needed. This paper presents empirical findings relating past risk mitigating actions and project outcomes such as project cost, project schedule, and project risk. The findings are based on analysis of a legacy archive of project risk and risk mitigating actions from a large design organization, as well as from categorizing the different types of actions found in the archive based on a taxonomy developed using the archive itself, and analyzing the outcomes of those different types of actions. This study presents a more quantitative understanding of the relationship between a project state, the risks involved, and risk-mitigating actions taken during the project. This will enable improved decision making with better knowledge of the possible consequences of different types of risk mitigating actions and their effects in decreasing project risk.
Vapor pressures and densities of NaCl(aq) and KCl(aq) at the temperature 623 K and CaCl2(aq) at the temperatures 623 K and 643 K

Abstract A new vibrating-tube densimeter, combined with a new detection method for determining phase transitions, was used to measure vapor pressures p and densities ρ at several pressures near saturation for aqueous solutions of NaCl, KCl, and CaCl 2 at molality m = (0.25, 0.5, 1, and 3) mol·kg -1 and temperature T = 623 K. CaCl 2 solutions were also measured at T = 643 K. The measured difference Δρ in density between pure water and the solution was used to calculate the density of the solution, the molar volume, and the average compressibility of the solution. The uncertainties of the measurements were: vapour pressure, ±0.004· p ; Δρ = ±(0.0005+10 -4 Δ p /MPa) g·cm -3 .
Multiple augmentations of nonlinear systems and generalized minimum rank perturbations for damage detection

A generalized minimum rank perturbation theory for identifying damage location and extent in nonlinear systems using a model-based approach is presented. This model updating method is able to handle changes in the mass, damping and stiffness parameters arising from the damage. The method uses a nonlinear discrete model of the system and the functional form of the nonlinearities to create an augmented linear model of the system. A modal analysis technique that uses forcing that is known but not prescribed is then used to solve for the modal properties of the augmented linear system after the onset of damage. The methodology has been demonstrated for cubic spring nonlinearities. In this work, the class of nonlinearities is expanded to include Coulomb friction. Several new algorithms are presented, including an iterative generalized minimum rank perturbation theory and a technique based on multiple augmentations to determine damages in linear and nonlinear parameters when there is an incomplete set of eigenvectors. Finally, two eigenvector filtering algorithms, which reduce the effects of measurement noise, are presented.
Effect of Fgd1 on Cortactin in Arp2/3 Complex-Mediated Actin Assembly†

Mutations in faciogenital dysplasia protein (Fgd1) result in the human disease faciogenital dysplasia (FGDY). Fgd1 contains a RhoGEF domain specific for Cdc42. Fgd1 also contains a Src homology (SH3) binding domain (SH3-BD) that binds directly to the SH3 domain of cortactin, which promotes actin assembly by actin-related protein (Arp)2/3 complex. Here, we report the effect of ligation of cortactin's SH3 domain by the Fgd1 SH3-BD on actin polymerization in vitro. Glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fused Fgd1 SH3-BD enhanced the ability of cortactin to stimulate Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerization. However, a synthetic peptide containing only the SH3-BD sequence had no effect. The SH3-BD peptide bound to cortactin and inhibited the effect of GST-Fgd1 SH3-BD, suggesting that GST dimerization was responsible for the stimulating effect of GST-Fgd1 SH3-BD. When GST-Fgd1 SH3-BD was prepared as a heterodimer with a control GST fusion protein (GST-Pac1), no stimulatory effect on actin polymerization was observed. In addition, when cortactin was dimerized via its N-terminus, away from the C-terminal SH3 domain, actin polymerization with Arp2/3 complex increased markedly, compared to free cortactin. Thus, cortactin ligated by Fgd1 is fully active, indicating that the cell can use Fgd1 to target actin assembly. Moreover, if Fgd1 is multimerized, then cortactin's activity should be enhanced. Fgd1 and cortactin may participate as scaffolds and signal transducers in a positive feedback cycle to promote actin assembly at the cell cortex.
Mineralocorticoid insufficiency due to suramin therapy.

BACKGROUND During a Phase I trial of suramin, a novel antineoplastic agent with activity against hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma, the authors observed two patients with clinical mineralocorticoid insufficiency in spite of hydrocortisone replacement therapy. METHODS The authors retrospectively assessed adrenal cortical function in 20 such patients via adrenocorticotropic stimulation testing, measuring both cortisol and aldosterone responses, either at the time of treatment or immediately after discontinuation of treatment. RESULTS Two of 9 patients (22%) treated at relatively low dose levels (;cc1200 mg/m2 on Day 1) demonstrated adrenal cortical insufficiency, as compared with 9 of 11 patients (82%) treated with relatively high doses (>1200 mg/m2 on Day 1) (P = 0.03 by 1-tailed Fisher's exact test). There appeared to be a cumulative dose-response relationship to the development of glucocorticoid insufficiency, with no instances being observed at doses 7.6 g/m2. Long term glucocorticoid insufficiency was present in 1 of 5 patients (20%) tested at an interval of >90 days after discontinuation of suramin treatment. All instances of glucocorticoid insufficiency were associated with mineralocorticoid insufficiency. Suramin did not affect the absorption or excretion of exogenously administered glucocorticoid in one patient. CONCLUSIONS Suramin causes both primary mineralcorticoid and primary glucocorticoid insufficiency. This may occur in a dose-dependent manner. Long term glucocorticoid insufficiency appears to occur in a minority of patients treated with low doses of suramin. Patients receiving high doses of suramin for treatment of advanced carcinoma should receive at least physiologic replacement doses of both mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid. Higher doses of glucocorticoid may be required in selected patients. Cancer 1996;78:2411-20.
Testicular autoregulation: possible role for 7-alpha-hydroxylated androgens.

Abstract Pituitary FSH secretion appears to be supported by a factor distinct from the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH). The ratio of FSH to LH is positively correlated with testicular steroid 5 α-reductase activity and negatively correlated with testicular steroid 7 α-hydroxylase under various experimental conditions. Literature describing interactions among the above and other factors is reviewed here.
Cardiovascular, plasma catecholamine, and corticosterone responses to alterations in the predictability of electric shock in the rat

Although rats show a clear behavioral preference for predictable versus unpredictable cutaneous electric shock, there have been few studies that have addressed the cardiovascular and sympathoadrenal correlates of alterations in the predictability of aversive events. The current experiments sought to measure systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma levels of norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), and corticosterone (CORT) in three groups of rats in conditions that differed in the predictability of shock in the presence or absence of a tone. It was predicted, in line with all the major theories of preference for signaled shock, that rats receiving unpredictable shock would show the greatest elevation in cardiovascular and sympathoadrenal function. In the first experiment, contrary to expectation, rats receiving the most predictable electric shocks showed the greatest elevations in systolic blood pressure. In Experiment 2, these findings were extended to diastolic blood pressure as well. Heart rate, on the other hand, revealed no differences between complete predictability and no predictability groups. However, heart rate was significantly higher in the group receiving intermediate predictability, effects which could be due to baroreceptor function. Although plasma catecholamines revealed no group differences, CORT showed a trend for the intermediate group to be the highest. These data are discussed with reference to other physiological studies on, and to theoretical explanations of, the preference for signaled shock.
DFT calculation of electron tunneling currents: Real-space (grid) molecular orbitals vs. Gaussian-type molecular orbitals

Long-range electron tunneling occurs in many biological systems. Detailed quantitative information about the tunneling process can be obtained from the analysis of electron tunneling currents. However, ab initio tunneling current calculation is a challenging problem since it demands an accurate spatial representation of molecular orbitals. Conventional Gaussian-type molecular orbitals give relatively inaccurate results according to continuity equation for current. We have applied a newly developed grid-based numerical method for the density functional theory (DFT) calculation of molecular orbitals that describes the tunneling electron in the medium. The method yields excellent results for the spatial distribution of tunneling currents and for the tunneling matrix element. The method employs the full approximation scheme of multigrid technique to solve both the Kohn-Sham equations and the Poisson equation. c 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 80: 591-597, 2000
Secretory leukemic B cells express T cell markers in vitro. A phenomenon suppressed by TPA.

AbstractImmunological and biochemical markers of leukemia/lymphoma cells have provided valuable insight into hematopoietic malignancy and normal differentiation. The general assumption is that as early lymphoid cells become conmitted towards terminal differentiation they lose their capacity for bimodal differentiation and cells become restricted to B or T cell development and function.We have observed that phenotypically “late” leukemic B cells close to secretory stage can spontaneously expressmature T cell antigens (T11, T4 and T8) after culture in vitro. In further studies of these cells, it was found that the biochemical marker Lactate Dehydrogenase (LD) follows the intermediate pattern expressed by thymocytes rather than that of typical B cells. The expression of T cell antigens can be blocked by incubating these cells with the phorbol ester TPA (12–0-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13 acetate) which promotes unidirectional B cell maturation to plasmacytoid cells in a way that mimics normal B cell differentiati...
Class, Status, and Party: The Changing Face of Political Islam in Turkey and Egypt

This article argues that socioeconomic changes within Islamist constituencies are critical parts of understanding of how moderate Islamists emerge and succeed. The diverging paths of economic reform in Turkey and Egypt have generated different effects on the Islamist constituencies in these two countries. Economic liberalization has played both a constitutive and a causal role in transformation of political Islam in Turkey by facilitating the growth of a strong devout bourgeoisie with vested interests in liberalism and democracy. With the growing support of this rising devout bourgeoisie, the moderate Islamists managed to transform Islamism into a democratic conservative party. In Egypt, in contrast, the way the state implemented economic reform prevented the formation of as strong and independent a devout bourgeoisie that could be assertive in political Islam. Instead, the lower-middle-class professionals, losers of reform, populated the Islamist constituency and entrenched Islamism in ideological positi...
Androgen and progestagen effects on plasma lipids.

Androgens are 19-carbon steroid rings. Progestagens include both 19-carbon and 21-carbon steroid rings; the 19-carbon progestagens are generally more androgenic than are the 21-carbon compounds. Both androgens and progestagens are physiological regulators of plasma lipids, particularly high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The structure of a particular hormonal preparation, as well as its route of administration, modulates its regularory effects. Both endogenous and exogenous androgens have a suppressive effect on HDL cholesterol in males, with little effect on other plasma lipoproteins. Oral and nonaromatizable androgens have a greater suppressive effect on HDL cholesterol, particularly on HDL 2 , than do aromatizable androgens. Cross-sectional studies in males generally show a positive relationship between serum T and plasma HDL levels; data in females suggest an inverse relationship between androgens and HDL cholesterol. Medroxy-progesterone acetate and related progestagens have a mild suppressive effect on plasma HDL levels. The C-19 compounds have a greater suppressive effect on HDL cholesterol and the HDL 2 density subfraction.
Peasants Protest: The Claims of Lord, Church, and State in the Cahiers de doléances of 1789

For all the attention the rural insurrection of 1789 has received, there is still a great deal to learn. Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie has suggested that the revolts provide us with a window into a great transformation of the French countryside. He is struck by the contrast with the great seventeenth-century movements of violent resistance to the fiscal pressures of the growing state. After a long interval in which the defeated peasantry raised no major challenge, the distinctive target of the rural upheavals of the early revolution had switched from the claims of the state to those of the lord. Understanding this shift, Le Roy Ladurie suggests, should illuminate the rural history of France in modern times. Why do peasants rise against one target rather than another? To date there is little scholarly consensus on the forms and significance of the rural insurrection.
A conserved juxtacrine signal regulates synaptic partner recognition in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: An essential stage of neural development involves the assembly of neural circuits via formation of inter-neuronal connections. Early steps in neural circuit formation, including cell migration, axon guidance, and the localization of synaptic components, are well described. However, upon reaching their target region, most neurites still contact many potential partners. In order to assemble functional circuits, it is critical that within this group of cells, neurons identify and form connections only with their appropriate partners, a process we call synaptic partner recognition (SPR). To understand how SPR is mediated, we previously developed a genetically encoded fluorescent trans-synaptic marker called NLG-1 GRASP, which labels synaptic contacts between individual neurons of interest in dense cellular environments in the genetic model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Results: Here, we describe the first use of NLG-1 GRASP technology, to identify SPR genes that function in this critical process. The NLG-1 GRASP system allows us to assess synaptogenesis between PHB sensory neurons and AVA interneurons instantly in live animals, making genetic analysis feasible. Additionally, we employ a behavioral assay to specifically test PHB sensory circuit function. Utilizing this approach, we reveal a new role for the secreted UNC-6/Netrin ligand and its transmembrane receptor UNC-40/Deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) in SPR. Synapses between PHB and AVA are severely reduced in unc-6 and unc-40 animals despite normal axon guidance and subcellular localization of synaptic components. Additionally, behavioral defects indicate a complete disruption of PHB circuit function in unc-40 mutants. Our data indicate that UNC-40 and UNC-6 function in PHB and AVA, respectively, to specify SPR. Strikingly, overexpression of UNC-6 in postsynaptic neurons is sufficient to promote increased PHB-AVA synaptogenesis and to potentiate the behavioral response beyond wild-type levels. Furthermore, an artificially membrane-tethered UNC-6 expressed in the postsynaptic neurons promotes SPR, consistent with a short-range signal between adjacent synaptic partners. Conclusions: These results indicate that the conserved UNC-6/Netrin-UNC-40/DCC ligand-receptor pair has a previously unknown function, acting in a juxtacrine manner to specify recognition of individual postsynaptic neurons. Furthermore, they illustrate the potential of this new approach, combining NLG-1 GRASP and behavioral analysis, in gene discovery and characterization.
Relationship between growth rates and xylem hydraulic characteristics in young, mature and old-growth ponderosa pine trees

The first objective of the present study was to quantify the effects of tree age and stem position on specific conductivity ( k s ), vulnerability to embolism and water storage capacity (capacitance) in trunks of young, mature and old-growth ponderosa pine. The second objective was to determine relationships between hydraulic characteristics and radial and height growth rates to increase the understanding of possible tradeoffs. Within sapwood at all heights and in all ages of trees, outer sapwood had 25‐60% higher k s than inner sapwood. The water potential at which embolism started (air entry point) was 1.3 MPa lower in inner sapwood than outer sapwood within the mature trees, but there was no difference in the other trees. There was no significant difference in capacitances between the tops of the old growth trees, the mature trees and the young trees. Taking all data together, the capacitances increased sharply with an increase in k s and an increase in vulnerability to embolism. The hydraulic characteristics of the three age classes were correlated with the height growth rate but not with the diameter growth rate. Within these age classes, high k s was associated with the slowest yearly increase in sapwood area and with a low percentage of latewood, whereas high vulnerability to embolism and high capacitance were more closely associated with high height growth rates.
MetaGeneTack: ab initio detection of frameshifts in metagenomic sequences

Summary: Frameshift (FS) prediction is important for analysis and biological interpretation of metagenomic sequences. Since a genomic context of a short metagenomic sequence is rarely known, there is not enough data available to estimate parameters of species-specific statistical models of protein-coding and non-coding regions. The challenge of ab initio FS detection is, therefore, two fold: (i) to find a way to infer necessary model parameters and (ii) to identify positions of frameshifts (if any). Here we describe a new tool, MetaGeneTack, which uses a heuristic method to estimate parameters of sequence models used in the FS detection algorithm. It is shown on multiple test sets that the MetaGeneTack FS detection performance is comparable or better than the one of earlier developed program FragGeneScan. Availability and implementation: MetaGeneTack is available as a web server at http://exon.gatech.edu/GeneTack/cgi/metagenetack.cgi. Academic users can download a standalone version of the program from http://exon.gatech.edu/license_download.cgi. Contact: ude.hcetag@yksvodorob Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Compositionality entails sequentializability

We show that any concurrent program that is amenable to compositional reasoning can be effectively translated to a sequential program. More precisely, we give a reduction from the verification problem for concurrent programs against safety specifications to the verification of sequential programs against safety specifications, where the reduction is parameterized by a set of auxiliary variables A, such that the concurrent program compositionally satisfies its specification using auxiliary variables A iff the sequentialization satisfies its specification. Existing sequentializations for concurrent programs work only for underapproximations like bounded context-switching, while our sequentialization has the salient feature that it can prove concurrent programs entirely correct, as long as it has a compositional proof. The sequentialization allows us to use sequential verification tools (including deductive verification tools and predicate abstraction tools) to analyze and prove concurrent programs correct. We also report on our experience in the deductive verification of concurrent programs by proving their sequential counterparts using the program verifier BOOGIE.
Voting as the optimal static pessimistic scheme for managing replicated data

The problem of finding an optimal static pessimistic replica control scheme is investigated. It has been widely accepted that coteries (proposed by Garcia-Molina and Barbara) provide the most general framework for such schemes. Under such as assumption, it is demonstrated that the voting scheme is an optimal static pessimistic scheme for fully connected networks with negligible link failure rates, as well as for Ethernet systems. It is also shown that voting is not optimal for somewhat more general systems. The authors propose a modification of the algorithm of Tong and Kain for the best voting in the operation-independent case so that it runs in linear (rather than exponential) time. They also propose a linear-time algorithm for computing the optimal vote assignment when relative frequencies of read and write operations are known. >
Their pain, our pleasure: stereotype content and schadenfreude

The capacity for empathy is one of the most important faculties that humans possess; it is a powerful motivator of pro-social behavior and cooperation, cornerstones of humanity's most cherished interpretations of sociality and responsibility (Batson, 2009; Keltner, 2009; Tomasello, 2009). Empathy is also, for better or for worse, bounded: people do not empathize with everyone all the time. Specifically, people often feel less empathy for out-group members—individuals who belong to groups of which the observer is not a part (Batson & Ahmad, 2009; Cosmides, Tooby and Kurzban, 2003; Davis, 1994; Hornstein, 1978). This intergroup empathy bias (Cikara, Bruneau & Saxe, 2011) matters because failures of empathy in response to the suffering of out-group members predict an absence of pro-social responding (Johnson, Simmons, Jordan, et al., 2002). And lack of empathy for out-groups can place them beyond the bounds of apparent ethical relevance. More recent research has started to explore another manifestation of intergroup empathy bias: counter-empathic responding. Instead of empathy or apathy, people sometimes feel pleasure – schadenfreude – in response to out-group members' pain. These counter-empathic responses may at best allow indifference to others' suffering, and at worst facilitate harm against them. In light of this, we ask: which groups are most likely to be targets of schadenfreude? Furthermore, how much exposure to or experience with an out-group do people need to experience schadenfreude in response to out-group members' misfortunes? Do the out-group members have to act in harmful ways, or are mere stereotypes sufficient? Here we review our research examining the antecedents and consequences of intergroup schadenfreude. First, we briefly review predictors of schadenfreude, with an emphasis on envy. Next, we discuss how these emotions manifest at the group level: which groups are the most likely to elicit envy and schadenfreude as well as potential consequences of these emotions for these groups. We summarize four experiments specifically examining the effect of stereotype content on participants' experiences of schadenfreude and willingness to harm out-group members. We conclude by highlighting implications of our results and future directions for research. Though previous studies have examined group-level schadenfreude, our research is the first to investigate whether stereotypes are sufficient to elicit pleasure in response to the misfortunes of high-status, competitive group members. More important, these are the first experiments to examine whether group-level schadenfreude is related to a tendency to harm those targets1
Urinary Cyclic Amp:Creatinine Ratio and Nephrogenous Cyclic Amp as Indicators of Parathyroid Functional Status

The clinical utility of the urinary cyclic AMP:creatinine ratio in assessing parathyroid function was evaluated in 33 hypercalcemic patients and compared this with the determination of the renal component of urinary cyclic AMP. We found the discriminatory value of urinary cyclic AMP:creatinine ratio to be slightly superior and to have additional advantages. Not only did the urinary cyclic AMP:creatinine ratio show empirically somewhat better discrimination between normals and patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, but it is technically simpler than the determination of the nephrogenous cyclic AMP. Our urinary cyclic AMP excretion data show 90% discrimination of primary hyperparathyroid subjects from normals. Among all hypercalcemic patients studied who had both elevated urinary cyclic AMP and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels by radioimmunoassay (RIA), 77% had primary hyperparathyroidism, and 23% had malignancy-associated hypercalcemia. Of those patients with malignant tumors and hypercalcemia, half had elevated urinary cyclic AMP and two thirds had elevated PTH by RIA. These data suggest that these tests have little discriminatory value in differentiating primary hyperparathyroidism from malignancy-associated hypercalcemia. No hypercalcemic patient who had both serum PTH and urine cyclic AMP in the normal range was found to have primary hyperparathyroidism. This suggests that further observation and evaluation is indicated in such patients before exploratory surgery is undertaken.
Growth hormone, insulin‐like growth factors, and the senescent skeleton: Ponce de Leon's fountain revisited?

As the population ages, the prevalence of osteoporosis will continue to rise. Yet, the mechanisms leading to age-related bone loss remain poorly defined. Furthermore, extensive logitudinal studies of bone mass, especially in the three decades beyond menopause, have not been completed. Although calciotropic hormones, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) change with age, it is not certain if these changes are responsible for age-related bone loss. Nor is it clear if the “sensecent” osteoblast is fully responsive to growth factor stimulation. To complicate matters further, both circulatory and skeletal IFG regulatory systems are extremely redundant. Changes in serum IFGs may lead to compensatory alterations in IGF regulatory systems are extremely redundant. Changes in serum IGFs may lead to compensatory alterations in IGF receptor number, IGF binding protein (IGFBP) synthesis, or IGFBP catabolism. What is measured in serum, maya, in the end, be either a mirror or a rirage of skeletal IGF action! Clinical trials with “replacement” doses of GH or IGF-I are underway. But, critical efidence does not yet support the concept that a true “sommatopause” alters bone remodeling. Moreover, only scarce data exist that GH augments bone formation or prevents bone loss in the elderly. As clinicians expand the use of recombinant growth factors to elders, ethical and clinical issues surrounding administration of the new “fountain of youth” will be revisited. For basic scientists studying skeletal growth factors and their relationship to senescence, significant questions remain unanswered. New technological advances will provide clues about the basic mechanisms of skeletal aging. But, until these findings are validated, scientists and clinicians will have difficulty judging the role of growth factors in halting, or reversing, the inexorable consequences of aging.
Effect of LiF on Hot-Pressing of MgO

Transparent polycrystalline specimens can be fabricated from fine MgO powder with a small LiF addition by a two-step process: hot-pressing and heat-treating. The LiF addition allows MgO to be hot-pressed to near theoretical density at reduced temperatures and stresses. The stress-temperature-time conditions must be designed to attain a hot-pressed density of at least 99.5% of the theoretical density of MgO to obtain a transparent specimen during the subsequent heat treatment used in this study. Possible densification mechanisms are discussed.
Environmentalism: Preservation and Conservation

The contemporary environmental movement in the USA is one of the most influential and enduring social movements of our time. It builds heavily upon the historical legacy of the progressive conservation movement at the beginning of the twentieth century, which included conservationists interested in natural resource management and preservationists interested in the protection of natural areas. Modern environmentalism began in the 1960s and 1970s and has grown to become a popular movement that encompasses a diverse range of organizations, tactics, and ideologies. The current stage of environmentalism includes radical environmentalists, environmental justice activists, and grassroots groups, as well as large national organizations such as the Sierra Club; it incorporates issues of social as well as interspecies equity. Environmentalism has also spread around the world but, because of its relative success, is engendering increasing opposition. This essay traces the growth and diversification of modern environmentalism in the USA, briefly reviews the growth of environmentalism worldwide, and then examines the major stages of contemporary environmental activism: conservationism, environmentalism, and ecologism.
Effect of aureomycin in preventing liver abscess in cattle.

SummaryUnder the conditions of these experiments, it appears that aureomycin prevented scouring during the early preweaning period and thereby did not predispose the treated animals to necrophorus infection.
Development of Strength and Capacity Norms for Manual Materials Handling Activities: The State of the Art

Literature related to manual materials handling activities is reviewed and recommendations are made for the maximum acceptable weight of lift for male and female workers, based on the psychophysical approach.
Recommendations for the surveillance of Aedes aegypti

Diseases caused by arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika, continue to rise in annual incidence and geographic expansion. A key limitation for achieving control of A. aegypti has been the lack of effective tools for monitoring its population, and thus determine what control measures actually work. Surveillance of A. aegypti has been based mainly on immature indexes, but they bear little relation to the number of mosquito females, which are the ones capable of transmitting the viruses. The recent development of sampling techniques for adults of this vector species promises to facilitate surveillance and control activities. In this review, we present the various monitoring techniques for this mosquito, along with a discussion of their usefulness, and recommendations for improved entomological surveillance.
The Limitation of Partial Least Square Regression and Algorithm Improvement

This paper puts out a case unsuitable for Partial Least Square Regression model(PLS).By combining theoretical analysis with verification in example,the study puts forwards a method to improve this model, which widens the application scope of PLS.
Incorporation of labeled cholesterol esters into chylomicrons in vitro

Labeled cholesterol esters were incorporated into chylomicrons in vitro by adding an acetone solution of the cholesterol ester to a suspension of washed chylomicrons. The physical and metabolic properties of the added labeled ester were the same as those of cholesterol esters incorporated into chylomicrons in vivo, except for the added ester being differently distributed in chylomicrons of different size.
Effects of mechanical loading and hypercapnia on inspiratory muscle EMG

The electromyograms of the diaphragm and an external intercostal muscle were analyzed to see if the effects of hypercapnia on inspiratory muscle electrical activity could be distinguished from those of mechanical loading and to determine whether changes in inspiratory muscle electrical activity were a sueful measure of CO2 response during mechanical loading. Anesthetized dogs were studied: 1) during progressive hypercapnia without mechanical loading, 2) during flow-resistive and elastic loading at constant PCO2, and 3) during progressive hypercapnia and mechanical loading. Both mechanical loading and hypercapnia increased total inspiratory diaphragmatic and intercostal muscle electrical activity. However, inspiratory duration was increased by mechanical loads but reduced by hypercapnia. Because of these changes in inspiratory duration, the average rate of diaphragmatic electrical activity remained unaffected by mechanical loading before and after vagotomy but was increased by hypercapnia. In contrast, both hypercapnia and mechanical loading increased the average rate of intercostal muscle electrical activity. There was a greater increase in both total and average rate of intercostal muscle electrical activity during hypercapnia in the presence of mechanical loading than during unloaded breathing. However, the change in total and average rate of diaphragmatic electrical activity with PCO2 was unaffected by added mechanical loads. These results suggest that diaphragmatic but not intercostal muscle electrical activity can be used as an index of CO2 response even during mechanical loading.
The calibration of PIXIE

The FIRAS instrument demonstrated the use of an external calibrator to compare the sky to an instrumented blackbody. The PIXIE calibrator is improved from -35 dB to -65 dB. Another significant improvement is the ability to insert the calibrator into either input of the FTS. This allows detection and correction of additional errors, reduces the effective calibration noise by a factor of 2, eliminates an entire class of systematics and allows continuous observations. This paper presents the design and use of the PIXIE calibrator.
Design Modeling and Control of a Lab-Scale Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) Testbed for Wind Turbines With Simulated Input and Demand Power Variability

A Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) test-bed has been developed to experimentally demonstrate the energy storage concept proposed in [1] for offshore wind turbines. The design of the testbed has been adapted to the available air compression/expansion technology. The main components of the system consist of an open accumulator, a hydraulic pumpmotor, air compressor/expander, an electrical generator and load, a differential gearbox and a hydraulic control valve. These components are first characterized and then a dynamic model of the system has been developed. The objective is to regulate the output current/voltage of the generator while maintaining a constant accumulator pressure in the presence of input and demand power variations in the system. This is achieved by Proportional-Integrator (PI) control of pumpmotor displacement and field current of the generator. The stability of these controllers has been proved using an energy-based Lyapunov function. Experimental results for storage and regeneration modes have been presented showing excellent performance of the system in response to power disturbances.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Age differences in appetitive Pavlovian conditioning and extinction in rats

Mounting evidence indicates that adolescents exhibit heightened sensitivity to rewards and reward-related cues compared to adults, and that adolescents are often unable to exert behavioral control in the face of such cues. Moreover, differences in reward processing during adolescence have been linked to heightened risk taking and impulsivity. However, little is known about the processes by which adolescents learn about the appetitive properties of environmental stimuli that signal reward. To address this, Pavlovian conditioning procedures were used to test for differences in excitatory conditioning between adult and adolescent rats using various schedules of reinforcement. Specifically, separate cohorts of adult and adolescent rats were trained under conditions of consistent (continuous) or intermittent (partial) reinforcement. We found that the acquisition of anticipatory responding to a continuously-reinforced cue proceeded similarly in adolescents and adults. In contrast, responding increased at a greater rate in adolescents compared to adults during presentations of a partially-reinforced cue. We subsequently compared the ability of adolescent and adult rats to dynamically adjust the representation of a reward-predictive cue during extinction trials, in which a secondary inhibitory representation is acquired for the previously-reinforced stimulus. We observed significant age differences in the ability to flexibly update cue representations during extinction, in that the appetitive properties of cues with a history of either continuous or partial reinforcement persisted to a greater extent in adolescents relative to adults.
FinFET SRAM with Enhanced Read / Write Margins

In this work, the impact of this pass-gate feedback (PGFB) technique on cell write-ability is examined, and gate workfunction (Phim) tuning for optimization of the trade-off with read margin is discussed. To further improve cell write-ability, the p-channel pull-up devices can also be operated in BG mode, with their back gates driven by a separate write word line. This pull-up write gating (PUWG) technique is effective for maintaining larger than 6 standard deviations yield down to 0.4V VDD without area penalty, making FinFET-based 6-T SRAM compelling for high-density memory applications
Dagmar Dykyjová (1914–2011), her life and work

The late Dagmar Dykyjova (1914–2011), who is being honoured by this issue of Folia Geobotanica, was an excellent scientist as well as university teacher and research coordinator. Her research work stretched from both fundamental and applied plant physiology to the ecology of wetlands and wetland plants in particular, and to the ecology of Central European orchids. Apart from having authored, co-authored or edited numerous scientific publications, also including several books, she had great merits in popularizing a sensitive approach to environmental management, nature conservation and management of natural resources, based on up-to-date scientific knowledge. She played an important role in the Czechoslovak participation in the International Biological Programme (IBP, 1965–74), especially in the fields of plant production ecology and wetlands ecology. The history of her life and work is briefly outlined and evaluated (Fig. 1).
La Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, cincuenta años después: reflexiones de una alumna fundadora

Del discurso pronunciado a nombre de la Promocion Rene Gastelumendi en sus Bodas de Oro, durante la ceremonia central de aniversario de la Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, el 24 de setiembre del 2016.
Hereditary Multiple Exostoses: New Insights into Pathogenesis, Clinical Complications, and Potential Treatments

Hereditary multiple exostoses (HME) is a complex musculoskeletal pediatric disorder characterized by osteochondromas that form next to the growth plates of many skeletal elements, including long bones, ribs, and vertebrae. Due to its intricacies and unresolved issues, HME continues to pose major challenges to both clinicians and biomedical researchers. The purpose of this review is to describe and analyze recent advances in this field and point to possible targets and strategies for future biologically based therapeutic intervention. Most HME cases are linked to loss-of-function mutations in EXT1 or EXT2 that encode glycosyltransferases responsible for heparan sulfate (HS) synthesis, leading to HS deficiency. Recent genomic inquiries have extended those findings but have yet to provide a definitive genotype-phenotype correlation. Clinical studies emphasize that in addition to the well-known skeletal problems caused by osteochondromas, HME patients can experience, and suffer from, other symptoms and health complications such as chronic pain and nerve impingement. Laboratory work has produced novel insights into alterations in cellular and molecular mechanisms instigated by HS deficiency and subtending onset and growth of osteochondroma and how such changes could be targeted toward therapeutic ends. HME is a rare and orphan disease and, as such, is being studied only by a handful of clinical and basic investigators. Despite this limitation, significant advances have been made in the last few years, and the future bodes well for deciphering more thoroughly its pathogenesis and, in turn, identifying the most effective treatment for osteochondroma prevention.
A Hypothesis for the Composition of the Tardigrade Brain and its Implications for Panarthropod Brain Evolution.

Incredibly disparate brain types are found in Metazoa, which raises the question of how this disparity evolved. Ecdysozoa includes representatives that exhibit ring-like brains-the Cycloneuralia-and representatives that exhibit ganglionic brains-the Panarthropoda (Euarthropoda, Onychophora, and Tardigrada). The evolutionary steps leading to these distinct brain types are unclear. Phylogenomic analyses suggest that the enigmatic Tardigrada is a closely related outgroup of a Euarthropoda + Onychophora clade; as such, the brains of tardigrades may provide insight into the evolution of ecdysozoan brains. Recently, evolutionarily salient questions have arisen regarding the composition of the tardigrade brain. To address these questions, we investigated brain anatomy in four tardigrade species-Hypsibius dujardini, Milnesium n. sp., Echiniscus n. sp., and Batillipes n. sp.-that together span Tardigrada. Our results suggest that general brain morphology is conserved across Tardigrada. Based on our results we present a hypothesis that proposes direct parallels between the tardigrade brain and the segmental trunk ganglia of the tardigrade ventral nervous system. In this hypothesis, brain neuropil nearly circumscribes the tardigrade foregut. We suggest that the tardigrade brain retains aspects of an ancestral cycloneuralian brain, while exhibiting ganglionic structure characteristic of euarthropods and onychophorans.
Suicide Risk and Resiliency Factors Among Hispanic Teens in New Mexico: Schools Can Make a Difference.

Background Youth suicide is a serious public health problem in the United States. School environments, and the attention of school adults, are promising but minimally studied avenues for promoting mental health among students. Methods The 2013 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey data were analyzed to identify ways in which the school environment influences suicide attempts in a sample of Hispanic students. Factors examined were: relationships with school adults, speaking a language other than English at home, being born outside the United States and not having enough to eat. Odds ratios were used to measure relationships. Results Factors influencing suicide attempt were similar for boys and girls. The odds of suicide attempt declined by approximately one third as measures of positive relationships with school adults increased. Post-high school education plans also were protective. Being born outside the United States and not having enough to eat increased the odds of past-year suicide attempt. Speaking a language other than English at home was a weak risk factor for suicide attempt only among Hispanic girls. Conclusions Teachers and other school adults can decrease suicide risk for Hispanic teens by forming supportive relationships with students. Special consideration should be given to providing free breakfast in schools.
Altered Function of Cat Carotid Body Chemoreceptors in Prolonged Hyperoxia

On thermodynamic grounds the mitochondrial redox catalysts are likely to be oxidized by molecular oxygen. Accordingly, their rates of auto-oxidation are enhanced by increasing oxygen pressure, generating oxygen radicals. These radicals are ordinarily removed by the protective enzymes such as Superoxide dismutase. Overproduction of the naturally occuring oxygen radicals during hyperoxia can overwhelm the enzymatic removal systems, resulting in a net accumulation of these free radicals (Fridovitch, 1983). Since oxygen chemoreception in the peripheral chemoreceptors depends on a reaction or interaction with oxygen, and since the chemosensory discharge continues to be suppressed by PO2 increases even in the hyperoxic range, we hypothesised that the chemoreceptor tissue may be specifically sensitive to oxygen radicals.
Dietary Fat and Mammary Carcinogenesis

Nutritional modification of mammary carcinogenesis has been a growing area of research in the past decade because of the increasing awareness that dietary deficiencies, excesses, and imbalances can play an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. This chapter will attempt to summarize the effects of dietary fat on the development of mammary tumors in laboratory animals. Because of limited space, a comprehensive treatment of the subject has to be sacrificed; hopefully, it will not be at the expense of succinctness and relevance. My approach is to focus on certain significant observations in this area of research, and where appropriate, to weave in some pertinent data from our laboratory.
Application of a Stoichiometric Model of Cyclodextrin Complex Formation

Let gG represent a substrate S (guest) having 2 binding sites (such as a 1,4-disubstituted benzene) and hH a ligand L (host) having 2 sites, in the case of cyclodextrins the two ends of the cavity. Then there can be four isomeric 1:1 (SL) complexes, four 2:1 (S2L) complexes, and four 1:2 (SL2) complexes. If no 2:1 complexes are present, it is inferred that only one end of L can be entered. It follows that there are only two 1:1 complexes (say gH and GH) and one 1:2 complex (gHHG) in the system. Then it can be shown that $${K_{11}} = {K_{gH}} + {K_{GH}}\quad \quad {K_{12}} = a{K_{gH}}{K_{GH}}/{K_{11}}$$ where KgH and KGH are 1:1 binding constants for sites g and G, K11 and K12 are experimental stability constants for 1:1 and 1:2 complexing, and a is a parameter measuring interaction between the two sites in a 1:2 complex.