cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recent taxonomic discoveries concerning the mussel Mytilus: Implications for biomonitoring

The musselMytilus edulis has been widely used as a bioindicator of marine pollution. Because of its wide distribution around the world, it has been possible to establish a global “mussel watch” to monitor pollutants in the marine environment. Recent taxonomic discoveries based on studies of allozyme variation, however, have shown thatMytilus edulis is actually a complex consisting of three separate evolutionary lineages which deserve the ranks of separate species: 1) the AtlanticMytilus edulis 2)Mytilus galloprovincialis and 3)Mytilus trossulus. Many mussels previously classified asMytilus edulis can be reclassified as eitherMytilus galloprovincialis orMytilus trossulus. In the present study, specimens ofMytilus edulis andMytilus trossulus were collected from the same habitat and analyzed for the concentrations of 25 elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).Mytilus trossulus had higher element concentrations thanMytilus edulis. Differences between the element concentrations of the two species were related to differences in growth rate rather than to any direct differences between the element metabolisms of the species. It is suggested that such differences could be corrected by standardizing the mussels to a fixed width/height ratio. In order to avoid errors in future monitoring programs, it is recommended that taxonomic variables should be considered.
A Retrospective Clinical Study of Resin-Bonded Cingulum Rest Seats

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of the resin-bonded cingulum rest seats (RBCRS) supporting removable partial dentures. Materials and Methods Twenty-six patients who had been treated with RBCRSs were recalled and examined. Results None of the patients who had RBCRSs placed on their teeth experienced debonding, and none of the teeth showed clinically significant signs of wear to the rest seats. Conclusions The use of RBCRSs to support removable partial dentures is a highly successful method of treatment.
Toxicity of the Herbicide Kuron(R) (Silvex) to Bluegill Eggs and Fry

Abstract Experimental treatment with herbicide Kuron(R) of two alligatorweed infested North Carolina streams was initiated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in summer, 1965. Surveillance of fish and invertebrate populations was provided by the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The effects of Kuron(R) on bluegill eggs and fry were examined under laboratory conditions to provide insight on how reproduction of the sunfish family may have been affected by Kuron(R) treatments applied to the streams. Eggs from each of nine bluegills were treated with Kuron(R) concentrations of 0.0 ppm (control), 0.1 ppm, 1.0 ppm, 5.0 ppm, and 10.0 ppm acid equivalents. Analysis of variance indicated that hatching was not significantly affected by treatments but that survival of fry to an age of 6 days was affected by the treatments. No fry survived at 10.0 ppm and only a token few survived the 5.0 ppm treatment.
Celebrating the Past and Looking Ahead: Editors' Notes

This year, 2014, the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership celebrates its fifth anniversary. The first issue was published in the first half of 2009 under the editorial leadership of Dr. Aram Attarian. Now in our 16th issue, the papers published in JOREL continue to further our understanding of outdoor recreation, education, and leadership. This publication is successfully disseminating high quality papers in a timely manner. We hope the two recently announced submission categories (Essays, Practices, and Commentaries; and Research Notes) will facilitate additional publication opportunities for a wider range of manuscript types.
Confronting the problem of embodiment

Embodiment has become an important construct for those in disciplines and specialty areas concerned with the form and function of the human body. This article suggests that accounts of embodiment have collapsed into an exclusionary framework that locates culture and cognition on oppositional terms. For some scholars, embodiment represents the performance of one’s body with cultural contexts that sanction particular forms of comportment and display. Others attend to the neurological or cognitive functions that arise from bodily activity. After a historical analysis that documents how these exclusionary constructs have gained legitimacy in the American academy, this article suggests that critique of the longstanding dichotomy of mind and body necessitates a conciliatory model. I advocate a theory of ‘embodied cognition’ that explains how the human body, despite its condition as an object of culture, exerts subjective influence on the mind. To illustrate how cognition is embodied, I report on an ethnographic...
Future impact of solid-state technology on computers

Several emerging technologies that promise the highest speeds or lowest power of operation or some combination in between are discussed. The three approaches taken to increase the transistor's speed are reviewed. They are to make devices smaller so that electrons (or holes) travel shorter distances in response to a signal, to change from silicon to new high-speed materials, and to use new transistor designs or operating principles. The impact of the evolutionary trend toward smaller device dimensions on digital systems is described. >
A hedonic analysis of the demand for and benefits of urban recreation parks

Abstract Increasing population and urbanization in U.S. cities is not only contributing to the congestion in urban recreation parks but also is likely to exceed the capacity of these parks’ recreational and amenity benefits. In order to estimate the demand for and benefit of parks, we employed a typical hedonic model, which confirmed that the urban recreation park acres increase nearby property values. Two Step Clustering, which is capable of defining the optimum number of submarkets based on the data, was employed to define the submarkets within Roanoke, Virginia and to obtain enough implicit price points to further estimate the demand for urban park acres in the second stage. Results from the second stage hedonic estimation revealed that demand for urban park acres was inelastic in price and income; and the size of the park was a substitute for living space and proximity to park. In addition, increasing the average size of parks by 20% from the current level increased the per household consumer surplus by $160. The estimated amenity benefits of urban recreation parks will be useful in urban landuse planning and open space preservation.
Evaluation of biologically relevant short α-helices stabilized by a main-chain hydrogen-bond surrogate

We previously reported the design and synthesis of a new class of artificial α-helices in which an N-terminal main-chain hydrogen bond is replaced by a carbon−carbon bond derived from a ring-closing metathesis reaction [Chapman, R. N.; Dimartino, G.; Arora, P. S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 12252−12253]. Our initial study utilized an alanine-rich sequence; in the present manuscript we evaluate the potential of this method for the synthesis of very short (10 residues) α-helices representing two different biologically relevant α-helical domains. We extensively characterized these two sets of artificial helices by NMR and circular dichroism spectroscopies and find that the hydrogen-bond surrogate approach can afford well-defined short α-helical structures from sequences that do not spontaneously form α-helical conformations.
Alkaline extraction of phenolic compounds from intact sorghum kernels

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a major drought-resistant food crop in Africa and Asia. In Western countries, sorghum is utilised as animal feed but is a viable ingredient alternative in gluten-free foods and biofuels (O’Kennedy et al., 2006). The high level of phytochemicals in sorghum kernels is found in the bran and germ (Dykes & Rooney, 2006). A range of phenolic compounds in sorghum offering antioxidant capacity (AOC) includes phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins and tannins (Awika & Rooney, 2004). Phenolic compounds have been extracted from cereal grains using various techniques such as aqueous alcohol (Medina, 2011; Cuevas Montilla et al., 2011) and enzymes (Cuevas Montilla et al., 2011). However, these methods require grain kernels to be processed into meal or flour prior to analysis. Decortication, a mechanical method, is often cited as a means to isolate the phytochemicalrich bran from the grain (Awika et al., 2005). Yet, decortication is an abrasive method of bran removal and may be less efficient for grains with a softer pericarp (Mwansaru et al., 1988). Researchers have reported success in using alkali solutions to remove bran and improve milling yields in corn (Blessin et al., 1970; Mistry & Eckhoff, 1992), but in the literature, there are no available data concerning the evaluation of the waste streams obtained by a chemical debranning process for phenolic compounds. The objective of this study is to explore the application of NaOH extraction for sorghum bran removal and phenolic compounds recovered from the waste stream.
Development of ring-banded spherulitic morphologies and formation of radially oriented nano-pores in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) during crystallization in CO2

Abstract The melting temperature depression, crystallization, and morphological modifications of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) in CO 2 have been investigated in a variable-volume view-cell that permits explorations with thin polymer films. Melting temperatures ( T m ) were determined at pressures up to 35 MPa and were found to decrease at a rate of about 1.3 °C/MPa up to about 24 MPa and then leveling off with an overall melting temperature reduction of about 34 °C. Thin films were melt-crystallized in air at ambient pressure at different temperatures (60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130 °C) and also in CO 2 at 90 °C at different pressures up to 24 MPa in the view-cell. They were analyzed using polarized optical microscopy (POM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphological features. The films that were crystallized in air in the temperature range from 70 to 110 °C, and those crystallized at 90 °C in CO 2 were all found to show distinct ring-banded spherulitic morphologies reflecting the development of flat-on, and edge-on lamellae domains during crystallization. The band-width of the edge-on lamella domains were found to increase with CO 2 pressure, and further, observed to develop increasing level of mottling with pressure which were associated with the formation of radially oriented nano-pores. The formation of these nano-pores is interpreted as arising from the exclusion of CO 2 from the crystal growth front and its accumulation in the inter-crystalline amorphous regions in between the bundles of the lamellar stacks.
Can High Bandwidth and Latency Justify Large Cache Blocks in Scalable Multiprocessors

An important architectural design decision affecting the performance of coherent caches is the choice of block size. There are two primary factors that influence this choice: the reference behavior of applications and the remote access bandwidth and latency of the machine. Given that we anticipate increases in both network bandwidth and latency (in processor cycles) in scalable shared-memory multiprocessors, the question arises as to what effect these increases will have on the choice of block size. We use analytical modeling and execution-driven simulation of parallel programs on a large-scale shared-memory machine to examine the relationship between cache block size and application performance as a function of remote access bandwidth and latency. We show that even under assumptions of high remote access bandwidth and latency, the best application performance usually results from using cache blocks between S2 and 128 bytes in size. We also show that modifying the program to remove the dominant source of misses may not increase the best performing block size. We conclude that large cache blocks cannot be justified in most realistic scenarios.
Basis sets for transition metals: Optimized outer p functions.

Although the (n + 1)p orbital is unoccupied in transition-metal ground-state configurations which are all nd(x) (n + 1)s(y) , these (n + 1)p functions play a crucial role in the structure of transition metal complexes. As we show here, the usual solution, adding one or more diffuse functions, can be insufficient to create an orbital of the correct energy. The major problem appears to be due to the incorrect placement of the (n + 1)p orbital's node. Even splitting the most diffuse component of the np orbital and adding a second diffuse function does not completely solve this problem. Although one can usually solve this deficiency by further uncontracting of the np function, here we offer a set of properly optimized (n + 1)p functions that offer a more compact and satisfactory solution to the proper placements of the node. We show an example of the common deficiencies seen in typical basis sets, including standard basis sets in GAUSSIAN94, and show that the new optimized (n + 1)p function performs well compared to a fully uncontracted basis set. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mythes, poésie et musique (dans les grands mythes-poèmes)

Le present article explore la relation entre le mythe, la poesie et la musique, en cherchant a identifier leurs points de convergence et de divergence au-dela du critere de traduisibilite communement invoque. Six grands poemes portant sur des themes mythiques sont analyses en fonction de trois problemes empiriques : ceux du corps, de la langue et de l’economie politique. L’article offre des reflexions sur la musicalite de la langue et conclut sur la question de la mythopoetique de la mort.
Phorbol ester-induced production of cytostatic factors by normal and oncogenic Ha-ras-transformed human breast cell lines

The effects of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on cell cycle progression were examined in the human breast cell line MCF10A-Neo and a derivative line which expresses a Ha-ras oncogene (MCF10A-NeoT cells). Exposure of MCF10A-Neo cultures to TPA induced a G(1) arrest that lasted approximately 16-24 h (IC(50) approximately 0.5 nM). TPA-treated cultures produced a cytostatic conditioned medium. Cytostatic activity was detectable within 1 h of TPA treatment, peaked 3-7 h later and disappeared between 16 and 24 h post-treatment. However, cytostatic conditioned medium could be quickly regenerated by re-feeding previously treated cultures with new medium. Removal of latent transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) from the culture medium, supplementing the culture medium with anti-TGFbeta or soluble TGF beta(II) receptor, or pre-absorption of conditioned medium with anti-TGF beta all reduced the cytostatic effects of TPA or conditioned medium on MCF10A-Neo proliferation by approximately 50%. Co-treatment with the serine protease inhibitors aprotinin or plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 also suppressed the cytostatic activity of TPA approximately 50%. Conditioned medium isolated from TPA-treated MCF10A-Neo cultures was transiently cytostatic to MCF10A-NeoT cells. The proliferation of MCF10A-NeoT cultures, in contrast to MCF10A-Neo cells, was suppressed at least 72 h following TPA exposure. Conditioned medium isolated from TPA-treated MCF10A-NeoT cultures also suppressed MCF10A-NeoT proliferation for approximately 72 h, but suppressed MCF10A-Neo proliferation for <24 h. These studies suggest that TPA quickly activates proteolytic processes in MCF10A-Neo cells leading to the activation of latent TGF beta supplied by the serum in the culture medium. TPA also stimulates the production of an additional cytostatic factor(s) which signals via a mechanism not involving the TGF beta(II) receptor. Lastly, expression of an activated Ha-ras oncogene alters both the types of cytostatic factors produced following TPA treatment and responsiveness to these factors.
Are all children equal? An analysis of the predictive value of selected pediatric characteristics of the referral of children to pediatric home health services.

ISSUES AND PURPOSE. To examine the predictive value of selected pediatric characteristics of the referral of children to pediatric home health services (PHHS). No empirical studies to date have evaluated the criteria used to determine the need for PHHS or if disparities in the referral of children to PHHS occur. DESIGN AND METHODS. Randomly selected hospital records of 557 children discharged from one pediatric hospital between October 1999 and September 2000 were examined. Sequential logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of being referred to PHHS based on age, race or ethnicity, number of legal guardians in the household, and the number of technological devices at discharge. Insurance was excluded as a predictor because 97% of the study sample was insured. RESULTS. Only the number of technological devices at discharge added predictive value (χ2[DF = 3, N= 557]= 42.023, P<0.001) to the SLR model. There was no evidence of disparities in referral. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE. To ensure availability and equitable access to PHHS, nurses must actively participate in the discharge planning process for all children.
Vergleich ausgewählter Steuerungskonzeptionen

In den folgenden Abschnitten werden ausgewahlte Steuerungskonzeptionen, fur die in Abschnitt 3 Bewertungsansatze hergeleitet wurden, miteinander verglichen. Fur jedes System mussen vor dem Vergleich die optimalen Einstellungen der Entscheidungsvariablen ermittelt werden. Dazu wird auf die Ergebnisse aus Abschnitt 4 zuruckgegriffen.
Surrogate measures and consistent surrogates

Surrogates which allow one to predict the effect of the treatment on the outcome of interest from the effect of the treatment on the surrogate are of importance when it is difficult or expensive to measure the primary outcome. Unfortunately, the use of such surrogates can give rise to paradoxical situations in which the effect of the treatment on the surrogate is positive, the surrogate and outcome are strongly positively correlated, but the effect of the treatment on the outcome is negative, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "surrogate paradox." New results are given for consistent surrogates that extend the existing literature on sufficient conditions that ensure the surrogate paradox is not manifest. Specifically, it is shown that for the surrogate paradox to be manifest it must be the case that either there is (i) a direct effect of treatment on the outcome not through the surrogate and in the opposite direction as that through the surrogate or (ii) confounding for the effect of the surrogate on the outcome, or (iii) a lack of transitivity so that treatment does not positively affect the surrogate for all the same individuals for whom the surrogate positively affects the outcome. The conditions for consistent surrogates and the results of the article are important because they allow investigators to predict the direction of the effect of the treatment on the outcome simply from the direction of the effect of the treatment on the surrogate. These results on consistent surrogates are then related to the four approaches to surrogate outcomes described by Joffe and Greene (2009, Biometrics 65, 530-538) to assess whether the standard criteria used by these approaches to assess whether a surrogate is "good" suffice to avoid the surrogate paradox.
Introducing virtual engineering technology into interactive design process with high-fidelity models

Product design is a complex decision making process requiring intense interaction between designers and the designed product. Consequently, the design process is significantly different from a pure mathematical optimization. This paper presents a decision support platform for interactive design that integrates mathematical optimization with human interaction based on VE-Suite. Current efforts are geared toward seamlessly linking high fidelity models, numerical optimization and human interaction to improve efficiency and quality in system performance. The designer's interaction causes the optimization process to dynamically change by adding, deleting, and modifying objectives, constraints, and other parameters that govern the process. As an illustration, a coal pipe design case is used to demonstrate the new platform's capabilities. The case has demonstrated that adding user interaction into the design process has the potential to improve design efficiency and quality.
A case study of parallel I/O for biological sequence search on Linux clusters

In this paper we analyze the I/O access patterns of a widely-used biological sequence search tool and implement two variations that employ parallel-I/O for data access based on PVFS (Parallel Virtual File System) and CEFT-PVFS (cost-effective fault-tolerant PVFS). Experiments show that the two variations outperform the original tool when equal or even fewer storage devices are used in the former. It is also found that although the performance of the two variations improves consistently when initially increasing the number of servers, this performance gain from parallel I/O becomes insignificant with further increase in server number. We examine the effectiveness of two read performance optimization techniques in CEFT-PVFS by using this tool as a benchmark. Performance results indicate: (1) doubling the degree of parallelism boosts the read performance to approach that of PVFS; and (2) skipping hot-spots can substantially improve the I/O performance when the load on data servers is highly imbalanced. The I/O resource contention due to the sharing of server nodes by multiple applications in a cluster has been shown to degrade the performance of the original tool and the variation based on PVFS by up to 10 and 21 folds, respectively; whereas, the variation based on CEFT-PVFS only suffered a two-fold performance degradation.
Clevidipine in the treatment of perioperative hypertension: assessing safety events in the ECLIPSE trials

Clevidipine is an arterial, selective, dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker with an ultrashort half-life. In this prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel-comparison trial series, the safety and efficacy of intravenous clevidipine with nitroglycerin, sodium nitroprusside and nicardipine in hypertensive patients during cardiac surgery were compared. No differences in the incidences of myocardial infarction, stroke or renal dysfunction were observed between treatment groups. Mortality was similar between the clevidipine–nitrogylcerine- and clevidipine–nicardipine-treated groups, whereas mortality appeared to be greater in the sodium nitroprusside group compared to clevidipine (p = 0.04 in a univariant analysis). Clevidipine was significantly more effective in blood pressure control compared with nitroglycerin (p = 0.0006) or sodium nitroprusside (p = 0.003) and was associated with fewer blood pressure excursions compared with nicardipine as a predetermined blood pressure range was narrowed.
A test of significance in functional quadratic regression

The functional quadratic model in which a scalar response, Y n , is paired with a functional predictor, Y n (t), is defined as $$Y_n = \mu + \int k(t)X^{c}_{n}(t)dt + \iint h(s,t)X^{c}_{n}(S)X^{c}_{n}(t)dt ds + \varepsilon_{n},$$
Determination of Crystallinity and Morphology of Fibrous and Bulk Poly(ethylene terephthalate) by Near-Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the near-infrared (NIR) region (1100-2400 nm) was used to characterize the morphology of fibrous and bulk poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The method of Partial Least-Squares (PLS) was used to correlate NIR spectra of PET yarns with percent crystallinity. Standard error of prediction values for percent crystallinity in PET yarns are in the range of 2-3.5% crystallinity, and depended on the specific NIR spectral region used for analysis. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to study the differences in NIR spectra of bulk PET samples that were crystallized at different temperatures. It was observed that NIR spectroscopy can detect changes in both intermolecular and intramolecular interactions in PET. The observed effect of crystallization temperature on the morphology of bulk PET is very similar to effects observed in earlier IR and thermal analyses. In addition, detection of moisture in bulk PET is demonstrated.
Heart rate and somatic concomitants of mental imagery.

This investigation further explored the relationship between image activity level and the magnitude of cardiac acceleration during mental imagery. Somatic involvement was manipulated by instructions to tense or relax during imagination of preselected imagery stimuli and through a tense-only control procedure. In addition, images were repeated 10 times to permit an analysis of rate or degree of response habituation. Forty-eight subjects were divided into four groups who were instructed to image only, tense while imagining, relax while imagining, and tense-only using a time-locked pacing methodology. High and low activity images were found to elicit clear differential cardiac responding with significantly greater acceleration produced to high activity images. However, associated change was also noted in several somatic and respiratory measures. Results also showed that biphasic cardiac activity during imagery was similar but not identical to that produced by somatic tension. Habituation appears most prominent over the first three or four repetitions, but significant responding was maintained on the tenth repetition. Self-report measures indicated that physiological state or group instructions may alter important image characteristics.
Virtual reality performance for virtual geometry

We describe the theoretical and practical visualization issues solved in the implementation of an interactive real-time four-dimensional geometry interface for the CAVE, an immersive virtual reality environment. While our specific task is to produce a "virtual geometry" experience by approximating physically correct rendering of manifolds embedded in four dimensions, the general principles exploited by our approach reflect requirements common to many immersive virtual reality applications, especially those involving volume rendering. Among the issues we address are the classification of rendering tasks, the specialized hardware support required to attain interactivity, specific techniques required to render 4D objects, and interactive methods appropriate for our 4D virtual world application. >
Trypanosoma brucei Mitochondrial Ribosomes Affinity Purification and Component Identification by Mass Spectrometry

Although eukaryotic mitochondrial (mt) ribosomes evolved from a putative prokaryotic ancestor their compositions vary considerably among organisms. We determined the protein composition of tandem affinity-purified Trypanosoma brucei mt ribosomes by mass spectrometry and identified 133 proteins of which 77 were associated with the large subunit and 56 were associated with the small subunit. Comparisons with bacterial and mammalian mt ribosomal proteins identified T. brucei mt homologs of L2–4, L7/12, L9, L11, L13–17, L20–24, L27–30, L33, L38, L43, L46, L47, L49, L52, S5, S6, S8, S9, S11, S15–18, S29, and S34, although the degree of conservation varied widely. Sequence characteristics of some of the component proteins indicated apparent functions in rRNA modification and processing, protein assembly, and mitochondrial metabolism implying possible additional roles for these proteins. Nevertheless most of the identified proteins have no homology outside Kinetoplastida implying very low conservation and/or a divergent function in kinetoplastid mitochondria.
Virtual fixture architectures for telemanipulation

A forbidden-region virtual fixture (FRVF) is a computer-generated constraint that displays position or force limitations to a robot manipulator or operator, in order to prevent motion into forbidden regions of the workspace. We compare nine FRVFs on each of four common telemanipulator control architectures: position forward, position exchange, position forward/force feedback, and position exchange/force feedback. A one-degree-of-freedom telemanipulation system was used in an experiment designed to simulate users working near a known forbidden region. The metrics of tracking, safety, and submittance were used to analyze the performance of the system with six different users. The results indicate that different FRVF architectures perform best for each of the three metrics. No single FRVF scheme is the best over all metrics, so selection of an FRVF architecture should be an application-dependent weighting of the three metrics. Across all control architectures, the results indicate that a very strong FRVF at the slave device in combination with no FRVF at the master device leads to poor telepresence.
Martin Heidegger and Grounding of Ethics

This chapter begins by retracing the relationship between the early Heidegger and Edmund Husserl during the period when Heidegger’s thought was still closely aligned with Husserl’s phenomenological project. It then shows how a fundamental difference emerged over the question of what the ultimate grounds for action. When Heidegger says that Husserl has failed to address the real question about the meaning of Being, he is referring to the meaning of Dasein. Whereas Husserl maintains that willing and action must remain grounded in the intention/fulfillment structure of reason, Heidegger comes to the view that Dasein must resolutely accept its calling as the groundless ground of significance that is ultimate source of meaning in the world.
The brand leadership: Scale development and validation

The primary purpose of this empirical research was to develop and validate the brand leadership scale (BLS). In this study, brand leadership is defined as consumers’ perception about the relatively distinctive ability of a brand to continually achieve excellence through sufficient combinations of trendsetting and brand positioning within an industry segment. The BLS, comprising perceived quality, value, innovativeness and popularity, provides a unique methodological and conceptual approach for measuring products’ brand leadership in market dynamics. The measurement scale helps develop a clear understanding of competitive relationships among leading and trailing brands from a strategic perspective based on consumers’ perceptions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Intestinal Dysbiosis Contributes to the Delayed Gastrointestinal Transit in High-Fat Diet Fed Mice

Background & Aims High-fat diet (HFD) feeding is associated with gastrointestinal motility disorders. We recently reported delayed colonic motility in mice fed a HFD for 11 weeks. In this study, we investigated the contributing role of gut microbiota in HFD-induced gut dysmotility. Methods Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a HFD (60% kcal fat) or a regular/control diet (RD) (18% kcal fat) for 13 weeks. Serum and fecal endotoxin levels were measured, and relative amounts of specific gut bacteria in the feces were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Intestinal transit was measured by fluorescent-labeled marker and a bead expulsion test. Enteric neurons were assessed by immunostaining. Oligofructose (OFS) supplementation with RD or HFD for 5 weeks also was studied. In vitro studies were performed using primary enteric neurons and an enteric neuronal cell line. Results HFD-fed mice had reduced numbers of enteric nitrergic neurons and showed delayed gastrointestinal transit compared with RD-fed mice. HFD-fed mice had higher fecal Firmicutes and Escherichia coli and lower Bacteroidetes compared with RD-fed mice. OFS supplementation protected against enteric nitrergic neuron loss in HFD-fed mice, and improved intestinal transit time. OFS supplementation resulted in a reduction in fecal Firmicutes and Escherichia coli and serum endotoxin levels. In vitro, palmitate activation of TLR4 induced enteric neuronal apoptosis in a Phospho–c-Jun N-terminal kinase–dependent pathway. This apoptosis was prevented by a c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitor and in neurons from TLR4-/- mice. Conclusions Together our data suggest that intestinal dysbiosis in HFD-fed mice contribute to the delayed intestinal motility by inducing a TLR4-dependent neuronal loss. Manipulation of gut microbiota with OFS improved intestinal motility in HFD mice.
Impact of transcatheter aortic valve implantation on left atrial appendage flow velocities.

Purpose Left atrial appendage (LAA) flow velocity has not been extensively studied in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The aim of this study was to assess the impact of TAVI on LAA flow velocity. Methods Medical records of consecutive TAVI recipients were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation were excluded. LAA velocities were measured before and after TAVI by transesophageal echocardiography. Results Sixty-one patients were included. Mean LAA emptying (EV) and filling (FV) flow velocity before TAVI were 33 ± 16 cm/s and 31 ± 14 cm/s, respectively. They increased to 37 ± 20 (p = 0.0036) and 33 ± 13 cm/s (p = 0.047) after TAVI in the whole population sample, but not in patients with normal flow AS. In low-flow, low-gradient (LFLG) AS patients, EV and FV increased from 36 ± 22 to 47 ± 30 cm/s (p < 0.01), and from 29 ± 12 to 40 ± 15 cm/s (p < 0.01), respectively, after TAVI. There was no difference between normal flow and LFLG AS patients in the number of patients who achieved EV ≥ 40 cm/s post-TAVI (35% versus 47%, p = 0.54, respectively). Conclusions LAA EV and FV were low prior to TAVI and increased significantly after TAVI only in patients with LFLG AS. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2016;
Boundary Integral Solution of Darcy’s Flow with Variable Permeability

For flow of groundwater that obeys Darcy’s law the governing equation can be written as $$\nabla \bullet (K\nabla H) = 0$$ (1) where k = hydraulic conductivity; H = piezometric head = p/γ + z; p = pore-water pressure; γ = specific weight of water; and z = elevation above datum. If k is constant throughout the medium Equation (1) reduces to the well-known Laplace equation. But in general k is not a constant and can vary spatially due to variation of soil type, previous inelastic deformation, etc. In the present note we assume a continuous distribution of hydraulic conductivity, k = k(x,y,z), being known a priori. Numerical solutions of Equation (1) are sought for given geometries and boundary conditions.
Does the Foreign Commerce Clause Authorize Congress to Criminalize Non-Commercial Illicit Sexual Acts Committed by U.S. Citizens after Traveling into Foreign Commerce?

This Article examines by what authority Congress may criminalize non-commercial illicit sexual acts committed by a United States citizen after traveling into foreign commerce. First, the Article discusses the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (“Optional Protocol”), a treaty created to fight against child sexual exploitation. Second, the Article explains the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause. Third, the Article details the facts of U.S. Bollinger, the district and appellate courts’ analyses, and the holding of each court. Fourth, this Article explores the split amongst the circuits regarding Congress’s authority and recommends a resolution.The author concludes by suggesting that the courts apply the Necessary and Proper Clause to decide issues involving a treaty. The courts most likely will remain split on whether the Foreign Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to criminalize non-commercial acts. Such a split may create a loophole that would prevent punishing citizens who commit illegal sexual acts while abroad. The Necessary and Proper Clause is a less controversial alternative, which with most courts are likely to agree.
UAS Reference Scenarios for MANET Development

Presented at the AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference and Exhibit, Honolulu, Hawaii, August, 2008.
Characterization of Optical Components Used in Fiber Communication

It is hard to find any optical system without Optical filters and coatings, of being able to alter the spectral distribution of an incident light so that this discussion will mainly focus on components after coating. Based on the altered spectral response, filters and coatings are classified as narrow and wide bandpass filter, longpass and lowpass filter, high reflection coating, gain flattening filter, tunable filter notch filter and anti-reflection coating etc.
Study of Neurobehavioral Symptoms and Impairments in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy.

Background: Whether treatment with aromatase inhibitors (AI) may be associated with the development of cognitive or other mental impairments is under debate. Few studies have carefully assessed AI-associated changes in cognitive function, and none have assessed differences between the three third-generation AIs – anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane. We initiated a prospective clinical trial to compare baseline and 1-year change in neurophysiological testing in women initiating adjuvant AI.Patients and Methods: Women with a hormone receptor-positive stage 0-III breast cancer who were about to begin AI treatment were eligible for enrollment. We compared intra-individual neurophysiological testing results at baseline (Session I) and following one year of AI (Session II). Cognitive/behavioral assessment included standardized tests sensitive to 8 neuropsychological domains: General Intelligence, Attention, Perceptual-motor Performance, Working Memory, Visual Long-term Memory, Verbal Long-term Memory, Language, and Executive Functioning. Scoring was based upon age- and education-adjusted normative data. In addition, participants completed several subjective reports of cognitive, physical, and emotional functioning.Results: To date, 53 subjects enrolled in Session I, and 30 completed Session II. Analysis of the 30 women who completed both sessions revealed statistically significant differences (with the significance level set at p=0.05, test-wise), including: impairment from Session I to Session II on the PASAT Trial I (p=0.005) and improvement from Session I to Session II on the following tests: FAS Total (p Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 4084.
The Uncanny Doubleness of Emmanuel Levinas

Yael Lin's The Intersubjectivity of Time: Levinas and Infinite Responsibility is the first sustained inquiry into Emmanuel Levinas's theory of temporality, a concept which permeates his work and can in many ways serve as a lens through which his entire system can be examined and understood. As the first book length monograph on the subject, Lin's work promises to be of significant value to scholars of Levinas. The book proceeds by tracing what the author sees as the Western roots of Levinas's theory of temporality, namely the works of Martin Heidegger and Henri Bergson, then goes on to explore the various limitations and problems of that philosophical lineage, before showing how Levinas's own theory responds to those limitations and problems by drawing from the Jewish philosophical tradition.
Investigation on Medical Resources of Nuclear and Radiological Emergency in Medical Institutions in Jiangsu Province

[Objective]To understand and master the current status of nuclear and radiological emergency medical resources and support preparedness in medical Institutions in Jiangsu Province, so as to provide evidence for decision-making when the nuclear accidents or radiological events occurred.[Methods]Combined census and sample survey were adopted under uniform quality control, s were conducted field investigation by using paper-based questionnaire. [Results]159 medical institutions were selected as the survey spots. 51.6% of spots have public health emergency plan (nuclear emergency procedure); 73.0% had departments against nuclear (radiological) or public health emergency; 60.4% of public health emergency management belonged to medical affairs department; 3 hospitals had doctors majored in radiation injury; 2 had rescued patients induced by radiation injury; 75 had stored nuclear emergency drugs, however, the drug reserves was simple; 71.5% of related equipments were imported; 61.7% of radiological isotopes were applied in nuclear medicine department; 68.2% of radiological equipments were imported. [Conclusion]It' s necessary to strength the construction of nuclear and radiological emergency system and technical preparedness, improve the public health emergency plan (nuclear and radiological emergency plan) and procedure, increase funding for emergency and drag reserves, and strength the evaluation of occupational disease hazard and quality control of radiological diagnosis and treatment equipments.
Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Challenges and Progress

Antimicrobial resistance is a natural evolutionary process, which in the case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is based on spontaneous chromosomal mutations, meaning that well-designed combination drug regimens provided under supervised therapy will prevent the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Unfortunately, limited resources, poverty, and neglect have led to the emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis throughout the world. The international community has responded with financial and scientific support, leading to new rapid diagnostics, new drugs and regimens in advanced clinical development, and an increasingly sophisticated understanding of resistance mechanisms and their application to all aspects of TB control and treatment.
Improved illumination system of laparoscopes using an aspherical lens array

The current fiber-based illumination systems of laparoscopes are unable to uniformly illuminate a large enough area in abdomen due to the limited numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber bundle. Most energy is concentrated in a small region at the center of the illumination area. This limitation becomes problematic in laparoscopes which require capturing a wide field of view. In this paper, we propose an aspherical lens array which is used to direct the outgoing rays from the fiber bundle of laparoscope to produce a more uniformly illuminated, substantially larger field coverage than standalone fiber source. An intensity feedback method is developed to design the aspherical lens unit for extended non-Lambertian sources, which is the key to the design of this lens array. By this method, the lens unit is obtained after only one iteration, and the lens array is constructed by Boolean operation. Then, the ray-tracing technique is used to verify the design. Further, the lens array is fabricated and experimental tests are performed. The results clearly show that the well-illuminated area is increased to about 0.107m2 from 0.02m2 (about 5x larger than a standard fiber illumination source). More details of the internal organs can be clearly observed under this improved illumination condition, which also reflects the significant improvement in the optical performance of the laparoscope.
Hypothermia is an independent predictor of short and intermediate term mortality in acute systolic heart failure: Insights from the ESCAPE trial.

Abstract Introduction Admission hypothermia is associated with increased mortality in patients hospitalized with sepsis, trauma or stroke. We hypothesized that hypothermia on admission in patients with acute systolic heart failure (HF) would be associated with worse survival. Methods Using ESCAPE trial data, we compared patients hospitalized with acute systolic HF with admission temperature ≤35.5°C or >35.5°C. The study endpoints were 30-day and 6-month all-cause mortality. Results Among the 398 patients (mean age 56years, 74% men) who had body temperature recorded on hospital admission, 23 had a temperature ≤35.5°C (hypothermia) and 375 patients had a temperature >35.5°C. By univariate comparison, hypothermic patients had a higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level (46.6versus 34.6mg/dL, P=0.04) and creatinine level (1.85 versus 1.49mg/dL, P=0.035) and higher frequency of malignancy (26.1% versus 6.1%, P=0.001). There was a significant correlation between admission temperature and body mass index (r=0.201, P 35.5°C showed a significant inter-group difference in survival (log-rank P value=0.001). Conclusion Admission body temperature ≤35.5°C is an independent predictor of short and intermediate term mortality in patients hospitalized with acute systolic HF.
Deep Inside William Shakespeare: Pornographic Film and Video “Classics” and the Castrated Gaze

Despite the widespread interest in the transgressive sexuality of Shakespeare’s plays, even an interest in the pornographic impulse of Othello, cultural critics have tended to overlook Shakespeare in contemporary pornography and contemporary pornography in Shakespeare.1 The earliest instance of porn in Shakespeare (on sound film) I know of is the softcore The Secret Sex Lives of Romeo and Juliet (dir. A. P. Stootsberry, 1968), with Foreman Shane and Dierdre Nelson in the leads.2 Roman Polanski’s Playboy production of Macbeth (1971) soon followed, with a nude, sleepwalking Lady Macbeth and bare-breasted witches. Playboy also produced a softcore Twelfth Night (dir. Ron Wertheim, 1972) for its television series Playboy at Night. Although not billed as pornography, several recent Shakespeare films have included more or less softcore sex scenes.3 In Zeffirelli’s Hamlet (1991), Hamlet dry humps Gertrude in the closet scene. Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books (1991) parades naked people of all ages, sexualities, and (trans)genders, including a transsexual actor who took his stage name from a nineteenth-century painter (Felicien Rops) and who plays a character named Pornocrates, a nearly naked Caliban (Michael Clark), a pissing boy (Orfeo) playing Ariel and one pornographic book in Prospero’s library, The Autobiographies of Pasiphae and Semiramis (Greenaway 1991, 24).4
The History of Nuclear Energy

This chapter provides a historical account of nuclear energy. A series of investigations in atomic and nuclear physics in the period 1879–1939 led to the discovery of fission. New knowledge was developed about particles and rays, radioactivity, and the structures of the atom and the nucleus. The existence of fission suggested that a chain reaction involving neutrons was possible and that the process had military significance. A major national program was initiated in the United States during World War II. The development of uranium isotope separation methods, of nuclear reactors for plutonium production, and of weapons technology culminated in the use of atomic bombs to end the war. In the post-war period, emphasis was placed on maintenance of nuclear protection and on peaceful applications of nuclear processes under the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Four reactor concepts—the pressurized water, boiling water, fast breeder, and gas cooled—evolved through work by national laboratories and industry. The first two concepts were brought to commercial status in the 1960s. Public support for nuclear power waned for a variety of reasons in the late 20th century but has increased markedly in recent years.