cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity of Carbon and Oxygen Yields to the Triple-Alpha Resonance in Massive Stars

Abstract Motivated by the possible existence of other universes, this paper considers the evolution of massive stars with different values for the fundamental constants. We focus on variations in the triple alpha resonance energy and study its effects on the resulting abundances of 12C, 16O, and larger nuclei. In our universe, the 0 + energy level of carbon supports a resonant nuclear reaction that dominates carbon synthesis in stellar cores and accounts for the observed cosmic abundances. Here we define ΔER to be the change in this resonant energy level, and show how different values affect the cosmic abundances of the intermediate alpha elements. Using the state of the art computational package MESA, we carry out stellar evolution calculations for massive stars in the range M* = 15 − 40 M ⊙ , and for a wide range of resonance energies. We also include both solar and low metallicity initial conditions. For negative ΔER, carbon yields are increased relative to standard stellar models, and such universes remain viable as long as the production of carbon nuclei remains energetically favorable, and stars remain stable, down to Δ E R ≈ − 300 keV. For positive ΔER, carbon yields decrease, but significant abundances can be produced for resonance energy increments up to Δ E R ≈ + 500 keV. Oxygen yields tend to be anti-correlated with those of carbon, and the allowed range in ΔER is somewhat smaller. We also present yields for neon, magnesium, and silicon. With updated stellar evolution models and a more comprehensive survey of parameter space, these results indicate that the range of viable universes is larger than suggested by earlier studies.
Abstract P124: Comparative Evaluation of African Dance versus a Cultural Educational Program in Mitigating Cardiovascular Risk Among REACT! Study Participants

Background: Currently, about 50% of African American (AA) adults are affected by cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to 38.9% of the general US adult population. Physical inactivity, a major risk...
Profile of Pre-retirement Age Hispanics in the Medicaid and Private Insurance Markets: Expanding vs. Non-expanding States

Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affects many parts of our health care system, a central element of the new law is expanding insurance coverage. This is accomplished through the establishment of exchanges and the expansion of Medicaid. For Hispanics close to retirement, the expansion of Medicaid is particularly important because the current older Hispanic cohort in the United States has more favorable mortality rates than other racial and ethnic groups, despite generally lower levels of education and income. However, lower mortality means that aging Hispanics, whom often have diabetes and other chronic diseases, live with higher morbidity and low quality of life. Therefore, adequate insurance prior to Medicare participation and access to health care is critical for healthful aging. The Kaiser Foundation reports that up to 24 states are not participating in the Medicaid expansion. The characteristics of the ‘soon to be insured through Medicare’ are understudied. Further, how their characteristics differ from states not participating in the program is largely unknown. The 2011 Medicaid Expenditure Panel Survey provides new data on health status, race and ethnicity, age and demographics. With restricted data, we examine how characteristics of uninsured individuals near retirement age, but eligible for Medicaid under the ACA, differ by whether or not states choose to participate in Medicaid expansion. Our results reveal that the majority of Hispanics in expanding states already had Medicaid before ACA. Other than differences that result from their status as immigrant, the health characteristics do not greatly differ between Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites, although Hispanics in the Medicaid market are slightly healthier than non-Hispanic whites. We end with a discussion of the implications of our findings as they pertain to the potential of the ACA to remove disparities in the Medicaid program and insurance exchanges.
The Evolution of Premedication

Morton’s demonstration of the anesthetic effects of diethyl ether (ether) made painless surgery possible, but ether irritated the airways, often initiating laryngospasm and stimulating production of secretions. Premedication’the administration of drugs before induction of anesthesia’alleviated such problems. Over the latter half of the nineteenth century, clinicians increasingly injected morphine and scopolamine or atropine before ether anesthesia. The capacity of morphine to depress breathing was of limited concern because ether did not appear to depress breathing. The rationale for using premedication before chloroform, was less compelling. Chloroform depressed breathing and did not irritate the airway or promote secretions. However, morphine plus scopolamine could decrease preoperative apprehension before anesthesia with either ether or chloroform. Introduced in 1934, pentobarbital might be given as premedication in place of or in addition to morphine. It offered two advantages over morphine: greater sedation and much less postoperative nausea and vomiting.
An expanded proteome of cardiac t-tubules.

Abstract Background Transverse tubules (t-tubules) are important structural elements, derived from sarcolemma, found on all striated myocytes. These specialized organelles create a scaffold for many proteins crucial to the effective propagation of signal in cardiac excitation–contraction coupling. The full protein composition of this region is unknown. Methods We characterized the t-tubule subproteome using 52,033 immunohistochemical images covering 13,203 proteins from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) cardiac tissue microarrays. We used HPASubC, a suite of Python tools, to rapidly review and classify each image for a specific t-tubule staining pattern. The tools Gene Cards, String 11, and Gene Ontology Consortium as well as literature searches were used to understand pathways and relationships between the proteins. Results There were 96 likely t-tubule proteins identified by HPASubC. Of these, 12 were matrisome proteins and 3 were mitochondrial proteins. A separate literature search identified 50 known t-tubule proteins. A comparison of the 2 lists revealed only 17 proteins in common, including 8 of the matrisome proteins. String11 revealed that 94 of 127 combined t-tubule proteins generated a single interconnected network. Conclusion Using HPASubC and the HPA, we identified 78 novel, putative t-tubule proteins and validated 17 within the literature. This expands and improves our knowledge of this important subcellular structure of the cardiac myocyte. This information can be used to identify new structural targets involved in excitation–contraction coupling that may be altered in disease.
Impact of psychiatric disorders on patient satisfaction after Nissen Fundoplication.

Anxiety and depression have been associated with an increased perception of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, but there is a paucity of data regarding the outcomes of laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication (LNF) in this patient population. We performed a retrospective cohort study including all patients undergoing LNF between 2011 and 2017. Patients were stratified by baseline usage of serotonin-modulating medication or benzodiazepines as a proxy for depression and anxiety, respectively. Outcome measures included postoperative gastroesophageal health-related quality of life (GERD-HRQL) scores and overall satisfaction rates after surgery. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The population consisted of 271 patients of which 103 patients had depression and 44 patients had anxiety. Patients with depression reported no significant difference in pre- or postoperative GERD-HRQL scores compared to patients without depression and long-term satisfaction rates after surgery were similar in both groups at 76% vs 71%, respectively (p = 0.55). Patients with anxiety reported higher baseline HRQL scores (34 vs. 29, p = 0.05). At long-term follow-up (15 months), patients with anxiety reported slightly worse HRQL scores compared to controls (7 vs. 4, p = 0.11) despite no difference in usage of anti-acid medications or need for endoscopic dilations between the two groups. Patients with anxiety were less likely to report being “satisfied” after surgery (40% vs. 71%, p = 0.01) compared to controls. Patients with anxiety have higher subjective reporting of GERD symptoms and are more likely to report being “satisfied” during long-term follow-up after LNF. Patients on medication for depression appear to have similar reporting of GERD symptoms and derive as much benefit from LNF as patients that are not. While LNF does improve the symptom burden in patients with anxiety, satisfaction is rarely achieved in long-term follow-up.
Predictability of non-degenerate two-photon absorption spectra (Conference Presentation)

In non-degenerate two-photon excitation (ND-TPE), electronic transition of fluorophores happens via absorption of two photons with different energies. This contrasts with conventional - or degenerate - two-photon excitation (D-TPE), where two photons with identical energies are absorbed. ND-TPE can improve performance of two-photon microscopy by extending the excitation wavelength range, reducing out-of-focus excitation, and increasing resolution and penetration depth. However, a systematic study of fluorophore performance under ND-TPE is missing, which is critical for the selection of optimal excitation wavelength combinations. It is a well-known fact that degenerate two-photon absorption spectra often deviate from theoretical predictions based on one-photon absorption spectra. Therefore, it is not clear whether non-degenerate two-photon absorption spectra are predictable from the corresponding degenerate spectra. Using our sensitive fluorescence-based spectroscopy technique, we measured non-degenerate two-photon absorption cross-sections (ND-TPACS) of several commonly used fluorophores and generated 2-dimensional ND-TPACS maps. We observed that the shape of the measured ND-TPACS spectra follows the spectra of the degenerate two-photon absorption cross-sections (D-TPACS). However, ND-TPACS are higher in magnitude, which is predicted by the “resonant enhancement” phenomenon. Therefore, we show that ND-TPACS spectra are predictable from the corresponding degenerate D-TPACS spectra under consideration of resonant enhancement. Predictability of ND-TPACS spectra is an important finding that helps choosing the optimal combination of wavelengths for ND-TPE of a given fluorophore without prior experimental measurement of ND-TPACS.
I resent society's irrational fear of sex: An intersectional inquiry into youth sexuality in two Indian states:

This research investigates attitudes about sex, sexuality and sexual pleasure, as well as awareness regarding reproductive and sexual health among Indian youth. The study takes place against the ba...
Specker Algebras: A Survey

For a commutative ring R with identity, a Specker R-algebra is a commutative unital R-algebra generated by a Boolean algebra of idempotents, each nonzero element of which is faithful. Such algebras have arisen in the study of \(\ell \)-groups, idempotent-generated rings, Boolean powers of commutative rings, Pierce duality, and rings of continuous real-valued functions. We trace the origin of this notion from early studies of subgroups of bounded integer-valued functions to a variety of current contexts involving ring-theoretic, topological, and homological aspects of idempotent-generated algebras.
A Simple Technique for Droplet Control During Mastoid Surgery.

This case-control study seeks to devise and evaluate a drape system to control the droplet spray during mastoidectomy.
Concordance of Resident and Patient Perceptions of Culturally Dexterous Patient Care Skills.

PURPOSE Disparities in surgical care persist. To mitigate these disparities, we are implementing and testing the Provider Awareness and Cultural dexterity Toolkit for Surgeons (PACTS), a curriculum to improve surgical residents’ cultural dexterity during clinical encounters. We analyzed baseline data to look for concordance between residents’ self-perceived cultural dexterity skills and patients’ perceptions of their skills. We hypothesized that residents would rate their skills in cultural dexterity higher than patients would perceive those skills. METHODS Prior to the implementation of the curriculum, surgical residents at 5 academic medical centers completed a self-assessment of their skills in culturally dexterous patient care using a modified version of the Cross-Cultural Care Survey. Randomly selected surgical inpatients at these centers completed a similar survey about the quality of culturally dexterous care provided by a surgery resident on their service. Likert scale responses for both assessments were classified as high (agree/strongly agree) or low (neutral/disagree/strongly disagree) competency. Resident and patient ratings of cultural dexterity were compared. Assessments were considered dexterous if 75% of responses were in the high category. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted using STATA 16. RESULTS A total of 179 residents from 5 surgical residency programs completed self-assessments prior to receiving the PACTS curriculum, including 88 (49.2%) women and 97 (54.2%) junior residents (PGY 1-2s), of whom 54.7% were White, 19% were Asian, and 8.9% were Black/African American. A total of 494 patients with an average age of 55.1 years were surveyed, of whom 238 (48.2%) were female and 320 (64.8%) were White. Fifty percent of residents viewed themselves as culturally dexterous, while 57% of patients reported receiving culturally dexterous care; this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). Residents who perceived themselves to be culturally dexterous were more likely to self-identify as non-White as compared to White (p CONCLUSIONS At baseline, half of patients reported receiving culturally dexterous care from surgical residents at 5 academic medical centers in the United States. This was consistent with residents’ self-assessment of their cultural dexterity skills. White patients were more likely to report receiving culturally dexterous care as compared to non-White patients. Non-White residents were more likely to feel confident in their cultural dexterity skills. A novel curriculum has been designed to improve these interactions between patients and surgical residents.
Catalytic hydrogen atom transfer to alkenes: a roadmap for metal hydrides and radicals

Hydrogen atom transfer from a metal hydride (MHAT) has emerged as a powerful, if puzzling, technique in chemical synthesis. In catalytic MHAT reactions, earth-abundant metal complexes generate stabilized and unstabilized carbon-centered radicals from alkenes of various substitution patterns with robust chemoselectivity. This perspective combines organic and inorganic perspectives to outline challenges and opportunities, and to propose working models to assist further developments. We attempt to demystify the putative intermediates, the basic elementary steps, and the energetic implications, especially for cage pair formation, collapse and separation. Distinctions between catalysts with strong-field (SF) and weak-field (WF) ligand environments may explain some differences in reactivity and selectivity, and provide an organizing principle for kinetics that transcends the typical thermodynamic analysis. This blueprint should aid practitioners who hope to enter and expand this exciting area of chemistry.
Women in Policing and Legitimacy: A Vignette-Based Study of Symbolic Representation

Using a two-by-two vignette-based experimental design, this study aimed to examine the effects of women’s symbolic representation in sexual assault units and the arrest rate for interpersonal viole...
Correlation of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio and Disease Activity in Patients of Ankylosing Spondylitis on Etanercept Therapy

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic disease, in which spinal inflammation develops which continuously causes backache and inadequacy in the functions of spine. Anti-inflammatory medications are available but along with that, assessment of inflammatory markers is obligatory to assess disease activity. Objective: To determine association between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and activity of disease in patients of ankylosing spondylitis on etanercept therapy Study type settings & duration: This quasi experimental trial was conducted at Department of Rheumatology, Mayo Hospital, Lahore from September 2019 to March 2020. Methodology: Patients of aged 41-49 years of both genders diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and were taking etanercept as medication for 6 months were enrolled. Blood samples were taken at baseline and after 6 months of therapy and analyzed for assessment of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and ASDAS score. Data was entered, decoded and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean age of the participants was 45.03 (±2.44) years and majority of them 24 (80%) were males. The mean NLR was 2.9 (±1.0) at baseline which reduced significantly to 1.6 (±0.5) after six months therapy (p <0.05). Similarly the mean baseline ASDAS was 3.8 (±0.9) which significantly reduced to 2.4 (±0.6) after six months of therapy (p <0.05). There was statistical significant positive correlation between NLR and ASDAS i.e. r=0.659 (p <0.05). Conclusion: NLR and activity of disease showed positive correlation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, which illustrated that NLR can also be used as a key predictor of inflammation that makes it a ........
Functional and Structural Characterization of the UDP-Glucose Dehydrogenase Involved in Capsular Polysaccharide Biosynthesis from Campylobacter jejuni

Campylobacter jejuni is a pathogenic organism that can cause campylobacteriosis in children and adults. Most commonly, campylobacter infection is brought on by consumption of raw or undercooked pou...
Benefit-Risk Considerations

As the use of cancer immunotherapy expands, a personalized benefit-risk profile of these agents needs to be considered in special populations at higher risk of experiencing adverse events with these agents. Cancer patients with preexisting autoimmune conditions or those who experience rheumatic adverse events with immunotherapy are faced with difficult decisions regarding their treatment. Often, therapeutic gains in survival need to be balanced with a deleterious impact on quality of life. Risk consideration should include types of potential benefits and harms, magnitude of effects, alternative therapeutic options, and, most importantly, patient values and preferences. Future research should aim to quantify risks in these special populations to ensure evidence-based decision-making that considers patient trade-offs between quality of life and survival.
Oncologic outcomes of minimally invasive versus open radical hysterectomy for early stage cervical carcinoma and tumor size <2 cm: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective To investigate the oncologic outcomes of patients with early-stage cervical carcinoma and tumor size Methods The Pubmed/Medline, Embase, and Web-of-Science databases were queried from inception to January 2021 (PROSPERO CRD 42020207971). Observational studies reporting progression-free survival and/or overall survival for patients who had open or minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical carcinoma and tumor size Results A total of 10 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included encompassing 4935 patients. Of these, 2394 (48.5%) patients had minimally invasive and 2541 (51.5%) patients had open radical hysterectomy; respectively. Patients who underwent minimally invasive hysterectomy had worse progression-free survival than those who had open surgery (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.20, 2.36, I2 26%). Based on five studies, patients who had minimally invasive (n=1808) hysterectomy had a trend towards worse overall survival than those who had open surgery (n=1853) (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.68, I2 15%). Conclusion Based on a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of studies that control for confounders, for patients with cervical cancer and tumor size
AP-2α–Mediated Activation of E2F and EZH2 Drives Melanoma Metastasis

In melanoma metastasis, the role of the AP-2alpha transcription factor, which is encoded by TFAP2A, is controversial as some findings have suggested tumor suppressor activity while other studies have shown high TFAP2A expression in node-positive melanoma associated with poor prognosis. Here we demonstrate that AP-2alpha facilitates melanoma metastasis through transcriptional activation of genes within the E2F pathway including EZH2. A BioID screen found that AP-2alpha interacts with members of the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex. Loss of AP-2alpha removed activating chromatin marks in the promoters of EZH2 and other E2F target genes through activation of the NuRD repression complex. In melanoma cells, treatment with tazemetostat, an FDA-approved and highly specific EZH2 inhibitor, substantially reduced anchorage-independent colony formation and demonstrated heritable anti-metastatic effects, which were dependent on AP-2alpha. Single cell RNA-seq analysis of a metastatic melanoma mouse model revealed hyperexpansion of Tfap2aHigh/E2F-activated cell populations in transformed melanoma relative to progenitor melanocyte stem cells. These findings demonstrate that melanoma metastasis is driven by the AP-2alpha/EZH2 pathway and suggest that AP-2alpha expression can be used as a biomarker to predict responsiveness to EZH2 inhibitors for the treatment of advanced melanomas.
Channel deformation of bilayer material using tool rollers: Part I-Springback

In this two-part paper, the bilayer material is created by sandwiching the aluminium alloy and carbon fibre composite and then deforming through the conventional channel forming. In both aluminium ...
Micrometeorological Approaches to Measure Air-Water CO2 Fluxes

The processes at the ocean surface play an important role in the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) to and from the atmosphere. Despite this, some fundamental mechanisms that control the rate of interfacial transfer have not been well resolved. Globally, the ocean absorbs a significant amount of atmospheric carbon, however, the ocean has strong local sinks and sources. The carbon that is exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere is primarily as a dissolved gas that is not highly soluble in water. This means that molecular diffusion and turbulent mixing at the aqueous boundary layer are the significant transport processes controlling CO2 exchange rates across the surface. The aqueous boundary layer and the corresponding CO2 exchange rate are affected by the local climate and environmental conditions in both the atmosphere and ocean. For the first time, the turbulent transport through the marine atmospheric boundary layer has been measured in the North Atlantic and the Equatorial Pacific using micrometeorological techniques to quantify the CO2 flux. Measurements also provided an understanding of the environmental conditions controlling the exchange rate. The North Atlantic was a large sink of atmospheric CO2 with a high variability in flux ranging from 1.2–4.2 mol m2 yr−1 that was forced primarily by the wind. The Equatorial Pacific was a strong source of atmospheric CO2. Here, the CO2 flux ranged from 3.0–4.2 mol m2 yr−1 and was forced primarily by diurnal cycles.
Use of oral trazodone for sedation in cats: a pilot study

ObjectivesResistance to transportation and stressful veterinary visits are major causes for a decrease in feline veterinary care. Few options exist for oral sedatives to reduce cats’ anxiety prior to veterinary visits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral trazodone for use as a single dose agent for sedation in cats.MethodsSix laboratory cats were given single 50, 75 and 100 mg doses of trazodone and placebo. Trazodone 100 mg and placebo treatments were randomized. Pre- and post-study laboratory values and physical examinations were compared. During each 4 h period post-treatment, sedation was measured via accelerometers and video observations scored by an observer blinded to treatment. Examinations were performed on the cats 90 mins after treatment, and their behavioral responses scored by the same blinded observer.ResultsNo adverse effects or changes in physical examinations or laboratory values were detected as a result of trazodone administration. Accelerometer dat...
Mechanisms of Glucocorticoid Actions in Stress and Brain Aging

The sections in this article are: 1 Glucocorticoids in Relation to Stress and Aging 1.1 Association of Glucocorticoids with Brain Aging 1.2 Experimental Interventions in Glucocorticoid Actions 1.3 Caloric Restriction 1.4 Possible Trophic Actions of Glucocorticoids 1.5 Studies in Humans 2 Modulation of the Adrenal Axis 2.1 Basic Regulatory Mechanisms: Systemic, Receptor, and Genomic Levels 2.2 Adrenocorticoid Receptors: Effects of Stress and Aging 3 Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Toxicity of Glucocorticoids 3.1 Excitotoxicity and Glucose Metabolism 3.2 Ion Channels and Calcium Homeostasis 4 Conclusion
Cardiolipin profiles as a potential biomarker of mitochondrial health in diet‐induced obese mice subjected to exercise, diet‐restriction and ephedrine treatment

Cardiolipin (CL) is crucial for mitochondrial energy metabolism and structural integrity. Alterations in CL quantity or CL species have been associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in several pathological conditions and diseases, including mitochondrial dysfunction-related compound attrition and post-market withdrawal of promising drugs. Here we report alterations in the CL profiles in conjunction with morphology of soleus muscle (SM) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, subjected to ephedrine treatment (EPH: 200 mg kg–1 day–1 orally), treadmill exercise (EX: 10 meters per min, 1 h per day), or dietary restriction (DR: 25% less of mean food consumed by the EX group) for 7 days. Mice from the DR and EPH groups had a significant decrease in percent body weight and reduced fat mass compared with DIO controls. Morphologic alterations in the BAT included brown adipocytes with reduced cytoplasmic lipid droplets and increased cytoplasmic eosinophilia in the EX, DR and EPH groups. Increased cytoplasmic eosinophilia in the BAT was ultrastructurally manifested by increased mitochondrial cristae, fenestration of mitochondrial cristae, increased electron density of mitochondrial matrix, and increased complexity of shape and elongation of mitochondria. Mitochondrial ultrastructural alterations in the SM of the EX and DR groups included increased mitochondrial cristae, cup-shaped mitochondria and mitochondrial degeneration. All four CL species (tri-linoleoyl-mono-docosahexaenoyl, tetralinoleoyl, tri-linoleoyl-mono-oleoyl, and di-linoleoyl-di-oleoyl) were increased in the BAT of the DR and EPH groups and in the SM of the EPH and EX groups. In conclusion, cardiolipin profiling supported standard methods for assessing mitochondrial biogenesis and health, and may serve as a potential marker of mitochondrial dysfunction in preclinical toxicity studies. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Differential Impact of Message Appeals, Food Healthiness, and Poverty Status on Evaluative Responses to Nutrient-Content Claimed Food Advertisements

A 2 × 3 × 2 mixed factorial experimental design was used to examine how three message appeals (benefit-seeking vs. risk-avoidance vs. taste appeals), food healthiness (healthy vs. unhealthy foods), and consumer poverty status (poverty vs. nonpoverty groups) impact evaluative responses to nutrient-content claimed food advertisements. Subjects were partitioned into two groups, those below and those above the poverty line, and exposed to nutrient-content claimed advertisement treatments for healthy and unhealthy foods featuring the three appeals. The findings reaffirmed the interaction effects between perceivably healthy and unhealthy foods and different appeals reported in previous studies, and found interaction effects between consumer poverty level and response to the message appeals featured in the experimental food advertisements. Age, body mass index, current dieting status, education, and gender were examined as covariates.
Carbon Abatement Potential of Biofuel in the Delhi Region

Growing awareness about the environmental hazards of increasing concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc. in the atmosphere resulting in global warming and increasing demand of energy with rapidly increase population, throws urgent need for exploring energy options which are environmental friendly. This opens the new era of energy exploration, like solar, geothermal, Liquid Petroleum Gas, Liquefied Natural Gas, biomass based fuel, biofuel etc. However, in present day emphasis is given on the biofuel that is produced form the edible or nonedible oil. The primary reason for shift to fulfill energy demand from this biological source is the looming crisis of the petroleum fuel, which may occur in future, and use of biofuel as tool to assure energy security, with other socio-economic benefit inline with it. It is important to note that; developed world is looking at biofuel for energy security. However, country like India has multifaceted benefit associated with adoption of biofuel as energy source. Biofuel production can provide an important greenhouse gas emission offset. Namely biofuels mitigate greenhouse gas emissions because their usage displaces coal and oil essentially entering into a carbon recycling operation. This study is an attempt to find the potential of biodiesel in abating the carbon emission against the petrodiesel in the National capital region of Delhi.Proper review of literature was done specially on life cycle assessment studies of diesel and biodiesel. This helped in drawing a proper methodology for projecting the per capita diesel consumption and carbon abatement potential of biodiesel. Spread sheet model was used to project the per capita diesel consumption (Kg) of Delhi. Three scenarios are considered in this study viz. Business As Usual Scenario, High Growth Rate Scenario and Low Growth Rate Scenario under which carbon emission and abatement potential of petro-diesel and biodiesel are considered. The study examines the implication of different growth scenario on per capita diesel consumption, total diesel consumption and total GHG emission and abatement.The per capita diesel consumption of 104.90Kg/annum was found highest under low growth rate scenario and of 30.15 Kg/annum was found lowest under high growth rate scenario condition by 2020. The carbon abatement under B10 and B20 condition was higher for low growth rate scenario than the business as usual scenario and high growth rate scenario. This is due to the higher greenhouse gas emission under low growth rate scenario. However, the introduction of biodiesel for carbon abatement would be more effective, if the high growth rate scenario (i.e. under present growth rate of per capita income and price index of diesel with reduced share of state domestic product from the transport in the total state gross domestic product and reduced share of diesel vehicle in the total vehicle) exists in the future where there is reduced greenhouse gas emission.
Impact of assessor disagreement on ranking performance

We consider the impact of inter-assessor disagreement on the maximum performance that a ranker can hope to achieve. We demonstrate that even if a ranker were to achieve perfect performance with respect to a given assessor, when evaluated with respect to a different assessor, the measured performance of the ranker decreases significantly. This decrease in performance may largely account for observed limits on the performance of learning-to-rank algorithms.
Innovation — why project management is essential to successful businesses☆☆☆

Abstract In most businesses, innovation is essential to the sustaining of profitable activity in a changing environment. The paper presents a practical analysis of the nature of effective innovation, a comparison of innovation management with project management, and proposals for applying project management to innovation.
Spectral Distribution of Photoconductivity

A theoretical analysis of the shape of photoconductivity spectral distribution curves is presented, based upon the effects of surface and volume recombination of the charge carriers liberated by the light. Representative curves of photoconductivity $\mathrm{vs}$ absorption are computed and compared with experimental observations. As an application of this analysis, experimental data for antimony sulfide are compared with a theoretical curve, and the difference is found to be resolvable into two bands representing nonphotoconductive transitions.
A comparison of drill- and communication-based treatment for aphasia

Background: Traditional aphasia therapy is based primarily on repetition and drill. Recent treatment studies have suggested that communication-based interactions may be at least as effective if not more so in achieving positive outcomes. Aims: This study was undertaken to directly compare the outcomes of drill-based vs. communication-based interactions in modified Constraint-Induced Aphasia Therapy. Methods & Procedures: Two women with chronic non-fluent aphasia participated sequentially in two distinct treatment protocols designed to improve verb production in sentences. Both treatment protocols were provided in an intensive schedule, 30 hours over four weeks each. The treatments contrasted drill-based vs. communication-based interactions between the client and the clinician. Outcome measures included verb naming and production of personal narratives. Outcomes & Results: Drill-based but not communication-based treatment had a small positive effect on participants' verb naming accuracy. The communication-...
Nicotine-mediated plasticity in robust nucleus of the archistriatum of the adult zebra finch.

Activation of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) modulates the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), a possible cellular mechanism for learning. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of activation of nAChRs by nicotine on long-term plasticity in the songbird zebra finch, which is a valuable model to study synaptic plasticity and its implications to behavioral learning. Electrophysiological recordings in the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA) in adult zebra finch brain slices reveal that tetanic stimulation alone does not produce LTP. However, LTP is induced by such stimulation in the presence of nicotine. The nicotine-mediated LTP is blocked by dihydro-β-erythroidine (DHβE, 1 μM), an antagonist having a greater effect against nAChRs containing the alpha 4 subunit. In the presence of methyllcaconitine (MLA, 10 nM), an antagonist of nAChRs containing the alpha 7 subunit, a long-term depression (LTD) is unmasked, implicating a bi-directional type of plasticity in the zebra finch RA, which is modulated by differential activation of nAChR subtypes. Intracellular recordings from single neurons show a depression of the afterhyperpolarization (AHP) and an increase in frequency of evoked and spontaneous action potentials in the presence of nicotine. These results suggest that nicotinic cholinergic mechanisms may play a critical role in synaptic plasticity in the zebra finch song system and thereby influence song learning and plasticity.
Identification of Maize Genes Associated with Host Plant Resistance or Susceptibility to Aspergillus flavus Infection and Aflatoxin Accumulation

Background Aspergillus flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination of maize pose negative impacts in agriculture and health. Commercial maize hybrids are generally susceptible to this fungus. Significant levels of host plant resistance have been observed in certain maize inbred lines. This study was conducted to identify maize genes associated with host plant resistance or susceptibility to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin accumulation. Results Genome wide gene expression levels with or without A. flavus inoculation were compared in two resistant maize inbred lines (Mp313E and Mp04∶86) in contrast to two susceptible maize inbred lines (Va35 and B73) by microarray analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to find genes contributing to the larger variances associated with the resistant or susceptible maize inbred lines. The significance levels of gene expression were determined by using SAS and LIMMA programs. Fifty candidate genes were selected and further investigated by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) in a time-course study on Mp313E and Va35. Sixteen of the candidate genes were found to be highly expressed in Mp313E and fifteen in Va35. Out of the 31 highly expressed genes, eight were mapped to seven previously identified quantitative trait locus (QTL) regions. A gene encoding glycine-rich RNA binding protein 2 was found to be associated with the host hypersensitivity and susceptibility in Va35. A nuclear pore complex protein YUP85-like gene was found to be involved in the host resistance in Mp313E. Conclusion Maize genes associated with host plant resistance or susceptibility were identified by a combination of microarray analysis, qRT-PCR analysis, and QTL mapping methods. Our findings suggest that multiple mechanisms are involved in maize host plant defense systems in response to Aspergillus flavus infection and aflatoxin accumulation. These findings will be important in identification of DNA markers for breeding maize lines resistant to aflatoxin accumulation.
Synergistic control of herpes simplex virus pathogenesis by IRF-3, and IRF-7 revealed through non-invasive bioluminescence imaging.

Abstract Interferon regulatory factors IRF-3 and IRF-7 are central to the establishment of the innate antiviral response. This study examines HSV-1 pathogenesis in IRF-3−/−, IRF-7−/− and double-deleted IRF3/7−/− (DKO) mice. Bioluminescence imaging of infection revealed that DKO mice developed visceral infection following corneal inoculation, along with increased viral burdens in all tissues relative to single knockout mice. While all DKO mice synchronously reached endpoint criteria 5 days post infection, the IRF-7−/− mice survived longer, indicating that although IRF-7 is dominant, IRF-3 also plays a role in controlling disease. Higher levels of systemic pro-inflammatory cytokines were found in IRF7−/− and DKO mice relative to wild-type and IRF-3−/− mice, and IL-6 and G-CSF, indicative of sepsis, were increased in the DKO mice relative to wild-type or single-knockout mice. In addition to controlling viral replication, IRF-3 and -7 therefore play coordinating roles in modulation of inflammation during HSV infection.
Current status of thermal barrier coatings — An overview

Abstract The science and technology of thermal barrier coatings has advanced considerably since reports of the first test on turbine blades in a research engine in 1976. Today thermal barrier coatings are flying in revenue service in a low risk location within the turbine section of certain gas turbine engines. The state-of-the-art coating system for gas turbine applications is currently a plasma-sprayed ZrO 2 -(6%–8%) Y 2 O 3 ceramic layer over an MCrAlY (M ≡ Ni, Co or NiCo) bond coat layer plasma sprayed at low pressure. Although the potential for meeting current and short-term goals is high, longer-range goals may not be attainable with current coating concepts. These longer-range goals will involve high risk designs where coating loss could lead directly to component loss. Several steps must be taken to help meet these goals. Improved understanding of coating failure mechanisms is required. Models are needed to predict lifetimes. Process automation and quality control procedures must be instituted. Finally, new concepts in plasma-sprayed coatings must be developed and alternatives to the plasma- spraying process may be required. The current status of thermal barrier coatings and prospects for future progress in the above areas are summarized.
Loading History Effects on the Creep and Relaxation Behavior of Thermoplastics

Experimental investigations have been performed to understand the effects of prior loading on the creep and stress relaxation behavior of an amorphous polymer (polyphenylene oxide) and a semi-crystalline polymer (high density polyethylene) at room temperature. Of particular interest was the positioning of creep and relaxation tests on the unloading segment of stress-strain curves for tensile and compressive loading. The data was found to be quite unlike that obtained in typical tests performed on the loading segment; i.e., with no unloading history. Specifically, in relaxation tests, rather than registering a monotonic drop, the stress first increases then decreases. The rate of change of stress, therefore, is initially positive and then becomes negative. Similarly, in creep tests, the strain was found to decrease at first, and then began to increase. This has been labeled as rate-reversal in the context of relaxation and creep test data, and, furthermore, the test point has been found to influence the stress-time and strain-time data, respectively. In relaxation, for instance, at large strain values, the initial increase in stress is considerably smaller than the subsequent drop and the rate reversal occurs very rapidly. Conversely, at smaller strain values, the initial increase in stress dominates and the rate reversal may occur only after several hours. Analogous changes are observed during creep as tests are performed at lower stress values. Preliminary attempts at modeling the aforementioned creep and relaxation behavior have been made by modifying the existing formulation of the viscoplasticity theory based on overstress, which is a constitutive state-variable based model. A modified, single-element standard linear solid serves as a suitable descriptor of the model. Linking of two elements in series has shown some promise towards the modeling of the rate-reversal behavior. Experimental data and results of preliminary simulations are presented in this study.
Convergence of implicit-explicit algorithms in nonlinear transient analysis

Abstract Recently introduced implicit-explicit algorithms in transient analysis are not covered by the standard convergence theorems. Convergence is established herein for the methods introduced by Hughes et al. The techniques employed are general and may be easily extended to encompass related formulations.
Septoria Leaf Spot Reduces Flower Bud Set and Yield Potential of Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush Blueberries

Ojiambo, P. S., Scherm, H., and Brannen, P. M. 2006. Septoria leaf spot reduces flower bud set and yield potential of rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries. Plant Dis. 90:51-57. In field trials on Premier rabbiteye blueberry, individual shoots were selected and tagged in the fall of 2001, 2002, and 2003 to quantify the effects of Septoria leaf spot severity and diseaseinduced premature defoliation on flower bud set and return yield. Experiments were carried out similarly on Bluecrisp southern highbush blueberry using shoots tagged after fruit harvest in the summer of 2002 and 2003. Leaves on the distal 20-cm segments of these shoots were monitored for disease severity (number of spots per leaf) through the remainder of the growing season; at the same time, defoliation (expressed as the proportion of nodes with missing leaves) was recorded for each of the shoot segments. Flower bud set was assessed subsequently in winter or early spring, and berries were harvested as they matured the following summer to determine return yield. For both cultivars, higher flower bud numbers were more likely to occur on shoots with lower disease levels the previous fall (P ≤ 0.0462 based on a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test). The data further showed that flower bud set potential (i.e., the maximum number of buds on shoots within a given disease severity range) decreased linearly as disease severity increased (r2 ≥ 0.926, P ≤ 0.0005). Based on the slope of this relationship, flower bud set potential decreased by one bud per shoot as disease severity the previous fall increased by 18 and 12 spots per leaf for Premier and Bluecrisp, respectively. Relationships between yield and disease variables were similar to those of flower bud numbers and disease, except that the decrease in yield potential (i.e., the maximum fruit weight per shoot within a given disease severity range) was less gradual than for flower bud set potential. On Premier, yield potential dropped markedly and significantly as disease severity the previous fall exceeded about 50 to 60 spots per leaf on average (P < 0.0001 based on a Kruskal-Wallis test). Evidence for such a threshold effect was weaker on Bluecrisp, presumably because of the lower number of data points for this cultivar combined with lower yields due to poor pollination.
Glycine crystallization during spray drying: the pH effect on salt and polymorphic forms.

Abstract Spray drying of aqueous solutions of glycine revealed a strong pH effect on the salt and polymorphic forms of the resulting powders. Adjusting pH by aqueous HCl or NaOH between 1.7 and 10.0 caused the glycine solutions to crystallize as two polymorphs (α and γ) of the neutral glycine ( + H 3 NCH 2 CO 2 − ) and as three salts (diglycine HCl, + H 3 NCH 2 CO 2 − · + H 3 NCH 2 CO 2 H · C1 − ; glycine HCl, + H 3 NCH 2 CO 2 H · C1 − ; and sodium glycinate, H 2 NCH 2 CO 2 − · Na + ). Although α‐glycine crystallized from solutions without pH adjustment (pH 6.2), changing the pH to 4.0 and 8.0 caused γ‐glycine to crystallize as the preferred polymorph. This phenomenon is attributed to the pH effect on the dimeric growth unit of α‐glycine. The formation of α‐glycine by spray drying solutions of neutral glycine contrasts the outcome of freeze drying, which yields β‐glycine. Because γ‐glycine is thermodynamically more stable than α‐glycine, the crystallization of γ‐glycine by pH adjustment provides a way to improve the physical stability of glycine‐containing formulations. Spray drying at low pH yielded various mixtures of neutral glycine and its HCl salts: pH 3.0, γ‐glycine and diglycine HCl; pH 2.0, diglycine HCl; and pH 1.7 (the natural pH of glycine HCl), diglycine HCl (major component) and glycine HCl (minor component). Spray drying glycine HCl solutions (pH 1.7) yielded the same diglycine HCl/glycine HCl mixture as did spray drying neutral glycine solutions acidified to pH 1.7. Obtaining diglycine HCl by spray drying glycine HCl solutions indicates a 50% loss of HCl during processing. The extent of HCl loss could be altered by changing the inlet temperature of the spray drier. Spray drying glycine solutions at pH 9.0 and 10.0 gave predominantly γ‐glycine and an additional crystalline product, possibly sodium glycinate. The glycine powders spray dried at different pH had different particle morphologies and sizes, which may influence their suitability for pharmaceutical formulations. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 91:2367–2375, 2002
The timing of Late Pleistocene mammalian extinctions in North America

More than 375 14C dates from 150 fossil sites in North America have been analyzed to evaluate the question of extinction of Late Pleistocene megafauna. When critically evaluated, no 14C ages for any extinct Pleistocene genera are younger than 10,000 yr B.P.
Carbamate Bioassay Using Daphnia magna

A bioassay for detection and determination of minute quantities of carbamate insecticides in fruit and vegetable crops was developed with Daphnia magna Straus. The Daphnia bioassay was quick, simple to prepare, reproducible, and proved more sensitive to carbamates than that for Drosophila melanogaster Meigen. Crops were treated in the laboratory and then extracted by a modification of an established method. The extracts of unknowns were evaporated, reconstituted with dimethvl sulfoxide, and injected in 0.025-ml quamities into 13×100 mm test tubes containing 2.5 ml of water. D. magna specimens were introduced, and toxicity observations were taken after 30 minutes. A standard curve was prepared daily in reagent grade solvents; check crop extractions were seldom necessary. Recoveries between 85-100% were consistently obtained.