cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phosphorylation-dependent trafficking of GluR2-containing AMPA receptors in the nucleus accumbens plays a critical role in the reinstatement of cocaine seeking.

A growing body of evidence indicates that enhanced AMPA-mediated glutamate transmission in the core of the nucleus accumbens is critically involved in cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of drug seeking, an animal model of relapse. However, the extent to which increased glutamate transmission in the other major subregion of the nucleus accumbens, the shell, contributes to the reinstatement of cocaine seeking remains unclear. In the present experiments, administration of the AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist CNQX (0, 0.03, or 0.3 μg) into either the core or the shell of the nucleus accumbens before a systemic cocaine priming injection (10 mg/kg, i.p.) dose-dependently attenuated the reinstatement of drug seeking. Cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking also was associated with increases in GluR2-pSer880 in the nucleus accumbens shell. The phosphorylation of GluR2 by PKC at Ser880 plays an important role in the trafficking of GluR2-containing AMPA receptors from the plasma membrane. The current results showed that administration of a cell-permeable peptide that disrupts GluR2 trafficking (Pep2-EVKI) into either the accumbens core or shell attenuated cocaine-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Together, these findings indicate that changes in AMPA receptor-mediated glutamate transmission in both the nucleus accumbens core and shell are necessary for the reinstatement of drug seeking induced by a priming injection of cocaine. The present results also demonstrate that the reinstatement of cocaine seeking is associated with increases in the phosphorylation-dependent trafficking of GluR2-containing AMPA receptors in the nucleus accumbens.
Competition, economies of scale, and diversity of firm sizes

This paper presents an empirical example in which small firms are able to compete by specializing, without monopolistic conduct, despite economies of scale. The viability of small commercial banks in Illinois is established both by casual observation and by a finding of constant returns to scale, not correcting for specialization. A second specification of the cost function, correcting for specialization, exhibits economies of scale, suggesting that specialization is the means by which small banks survive. Monopoly conduct is ruled out by a Rosse–Panzar test, rejecting the alternative hypothesis that monopoly power has allowed inefficient banks to survive.
Derivation towers of Lie algebras

For each natural number n there exist finite dimensional centerless Lie algebras, L, whose derivation towers L ◁ Der(L) ◁ Der(Der(L)) ◁ … do not stabilize in less than n steps.
Calibration of a computer controlled color monitor

Because of the large number of stimulus configurations that may be displayed on a computer controlled color monitor, direct measurement of the relation between the digital input values to the frame buffer and the output of the monitor is not possible. To calibrate a monitor, it is necessary to make assumptions about the monitor's performance. These assumptions allow the monitor's output for any set of input values to be predicted from the input values and the results of a feasible number of calibration measurements. This article describes a set of assumptions that are sufficient to render the problem of monitor calibration tractable. These are the assumptions of phosphor constancy, phosphor independence, spatial independence, and the single scale factor assumption. If these assumptions hold, a monitor may be calibrated by measurements of the phosphor spectral power distributions, measurements of the phosphor input-output relations, and measurements of the spatial scale factor at a number of locations. Violations of these assumptions limit the accuracy of calibration. The results of measurements that test the validity of these assumptions for a Barco 5351 monitor are presented.
A Revised Conceptual Model of the Tropical Marine Boundary Layer. Part II: Detecting Relative Humidity Layers Using Bragg Scattering from S-Band Radar

AbstractPersistent layers of enhanced equivalent radar reflectivity factor and reduced spectral width were commonly observed within cloud-free regions of the tropical marine boundary layer (TMBL) with the National Center for Atmospheric Research S-Pol radar during the Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean (RICO) field campaign. Bragg scattering is shown to be the primary source of these layers. Two mechanisms are proposed to explain the Bragg scattering layers (BSLs), the first involving turbulent mixing and the second involving detrainment and evaporation of cloudy air. These mechanisms imply that BSLs should exist in layers with tops (bases) defined by local relative humidity (RH) minima (maxima). The relationship between BSLs and RH is explored.An equation for the vertical gradient of radio refractivity N is derived, and a scale analysis is used to demonstrate the close relationship between vertical RH and N gradients. This is tested using the derived radar BSL boundary altitudes, 131 surface-based soundings,...
Evaluation of A Family Centered Obesity Intervention Program

Abstract With 25-30% of children in the United States identified as obese, childhood obesity represents a serious health problem in the country. Historically weight-loss effort among adults remains a difficult task, and early intervention in problematic childhood eating habits may be more successful in curbing obesity and in preventing its continuing into the adult years. The objective of this study was to evaluate the FIT KIDS™ program at Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta, GA. We compared the outcome effect in behavior and attitude of families who participated in all or part of the program. The FIT KIDS™ program is a health enhancement program designed especially for above-average-weight children and their parents. The goal is to help children increase physical activity, increase family knowledge of healthy eating, and improve self-esteem. As the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased over the past several decades, so has the need for effective treatment and intervention programs. The efficacy of intervention programs must be established to justify their existence and utilization. In order to determine the effectiveness of the class, we compared the test scores of the families who completed the course (completers) to those families attending less than 5 of 8 classes (non-completers). Results indicate that completers scored more favorably on the evaluation test than those families not completing the course. We found that 49% of the parents completing the course scored above a 12, indicating success, and only 24% of the non-completers scored a 12 or greater. For the children's test, 70% of those completing the classes were successful and only 47% of the non-completers were successful. Significantly more families Who completed the FIT KIDS™ showed higher levels of self-esteem, heaft% eating behaviors, and physical activity. Our findings indicating the FIT KIDS™ program at Egleston Children's Hospital is an effective family centered obesity intervention program.
In vivo and in vitro studies of the hepatotoxic effects of 4-chlorophenol in mice.

Abstract 4-Chlorophenol (4-CP) was studied for its toxicological effect on liver by using both in vivo and in vitro approaches. Male mice were administered 4-CP, 1.5 mmol/kg body weight, i.p., and were killed at 10, 20, 30 and 50 min after drug injection. Either i.p. or oral 4-CP administration significantly lowered total liver thiol levels by 20–30% after 30 min and 3 hr respectively. This time-dependent effect of 4-CP after i.p. treatment was enhanced when mice were pretreated with hepatic microsomal enzyme inducers (phenobarbital, 40 mg/kg body weight, b.i.d., 7 days; and β-naphthoflavone, 80 mg/kg body weight once daily, 4 days). Further, the microsomal cytochrome P-450 inhibitor, SKF 525-A, 75 mg/kg body weight injected i.p. to mice 30 min prior to 4-CP administration, blocked the reduction of liver thiol content produced by 4-CP. The results suggest that a chemically reactive intermediate of 4-CP may be formed in liver which is responsible for the observed decrease in liver thiol content. Other investigations were done to characterize the in vitro irreversible binding of [ 14 C]4-CP. [ 14 C]4-CP was bound irreversibly to mouse liver microsomal proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. Binding was NADPH dependent and gave a maximal binding of 12.0 nmol/mg protein/20 min and an apparent binding constant of 0.222 mM. [ 14 C]-Binding of 4-CP was increased by 155 and 127% in liver microsomes of phenobarbital- and β-naphthoflavone-treated mice respectively. By contrast, microsomal enzyme inhibitors [metyrapone, α-naphthoflavone, SKF 525-A, and CO : O 2 (4:1, v/v)] and selected nucleophilic compounds (glutathione, l -cysteine or l -lysine) significantly reduced [ 14 C]4-CP binding to mouse liver microsomes. An epoxide hydrolase inhibitor, cyclohexene oxide, did not alter the extent of irreversible binding, whereas scavengers of superoxide anions or agents that are reported to reduce accumulation of active semiquinone and quinone species ( l -ascorbic acid, superoxide dismutase or epinephrine) decreased the binding of [ 14 C]4-CP to mouse liver microsomal proteins by 56, 31 and 92% respectively. The data suggest that semiquinone and quinone species of 4-CP may be the chemically reactive intermediates leading to the in vivo reduction of liver thiol levels. Since 4-CP is a minor contaminant and possible metabolite of clofibrate and chemically related hypolipidemic agents, 4-CP and its metabolites may be partly responsible for some of the hepatotoxic effects seen after long-term administration of this therapeutic class of drugs.
Determination of the quality factor through the utilization of a balanced, tissue equivalent, ionization chamber☆

Abstract Accelerator dosimetry tends toward either specifying the field by way of its components or using a tissue equivalent chamber with a failsafe Quality Factor (QF). This investigation attempts a third approach, the determination of QF directly. A Lucite, three-parallel plate ionization chamber was constructed with a common center electrode and two independent outer electrodes. This configuration allows the position of the center electrode to be manually adjusted to effect first order balance; vernier balance is obtained electronically through adjustment of one of the paired electrometers. The chamber can be pressurized to at least 17 atm with a tissue equivalent gas mixture and, therefore, approximates tissue rad response. This ionization chamber is capable of detecting differences in LET of any radiation by operating on the principle of columnar recombination. The previous investigators use either a single ion chamber or operate their respective systems in the general recombination mode. This technique requires low polarizing voltages and, therefore, is useful only for low dose rates. Both the single chamber and the general recombination system are limited in accelerator dosimetry applications. Very high instantaneous dose rates and extreme variability of sources dictate a balanced ionization chamber system that utilizes columnar recombination. In the present instrument, one of the chambers is operated at low polarizing potential while the other is variable. The difference current between the two chambers is adjusted to zero for background levels and when sensing radiation this difference current is a measure of QF. In operation, the slope, with voltage, of the difference current is proportional to the QF of the radiation. This proportionality is apparently linear at 10 atm over a range of QF from one to at least 7.5. This response has been shown to be dose-rate independent. The directional dependence and pressure dependence of this chamber have been studied and will be reported.
Reject mechanisms for massively parallel neural network character recognition systems

Two reject mechanisms are compared using a massively parallel character recognition system implemented at NIST. The recognition system was designed to study the feasibility of automatically recognizing hand-printed text in a loosely constrained environment. The first method is a simple scalar threshold on the output activation of the winning neurode from the character classifier network. The second method uses an additional neural network trained on all outputs from the character classifier network to accept or reject assigned classifications. The neural network rejection method was expected to perform with greater accuracy than the scalar threshold method, but this was not supported by the test results presented. The scalar threshold method, even though arbitrary, is shown to be a viable reject mechanism for use with neural network character classifiers. Upon studying the performance of the neural network rejection method, analyses show that the two neural networks, the character classifier network and the rejection network, perform very similarly. This can be explained by the strong non-linear function of the character classifier network which effectively removes most of the correlation between character accuracy and all activations other than the winning activation. This suggests that any effective rejection network must receive information from the system which has not been filtered through the non-linear classifier.
Genetic variation in South Korean natural populations of wild soybean (Glycine soja)

Wild relatives are valuable genetic resources for crop improvement. Evaluating genetic variation in these species is not only important for their use in breeding programs, but will also provide information about evolution of crops. Seeds representing six natural populations were used to study the level of variation in the South Korean wild soybean. Electrophoretic assays of the seeds on horizontal slab gels were conducted to determine the genotypes of each natural plant at 35 loci in 17 isozymes and one protein. The results indicated a surprisingly high variation. The number of alleles at each locus was as high as four. Seventy two of the 94 reported alleles for the 35 loci were present in these populations. The average number of alleles per locus, 99% polymorphism and the expected heterozygosity in the total population were 2.1, 77.1% and 0.215, respectively. This amount of variation was not only higher than that reported for 857 soybean cultivars and wild soybean populations from other geographic regions, but also higher than the average for 123 self-fertilized plant species and 473 plant species of all mating systems. The high variation in the South Korean wild soybean as well as cultivated soybean indicated in this and other population genetic studies prompts us to propose that South Korea is one of the major soybean gene centers.
Vapor deposition and curing of polybenzoxazole precursors

Here we report on the vapor deposition polymerization of polybenzoxazole precursors. 3,3‘-Dihydroxybenzidine and pyromellitic dianhydride were codeposited onto flat substrates to form poly(amic acid) films. As-deposited films contained poly(amic acid) species as well as unreacted dianhydride and diamine reactants. Quality films were obtained when reactant fluxes were well balanced. Coatings were cured under inert gas conditions and resulted in the conversion to polyimides (150−250 °C) and, at higher temperatures (500−550 °C), to semiaromatic polybenzoxazoles. Physical and chemical changes occurring during the curing process were studied with FT-IR, TGA, and nanoindentation experiments. The fully cured material is brittle and hard, and for thin films (<1 μm), films do not delaminate from glass substrates. Nanoindentation studies of both solution-prepared and vapor-deposited PBO precursors revealed that the elastic modulus improved upon conversion to the imide and benzoxazole forms, and polyimide showed the...
Fabrication of sub-micron Nb/Al-oxide/Nb SIS junctions

I describe a process for fabricating high critical current density, submicron superconductor/insulator/superconductor (SIS) tunnel junctions, suitable for use as millimeter-wave or submillimeter-wave mixers. The superconducting electrodes are niobium; the insulating barrier is aluminum oxide. Standard optical photolithography is employed, with subsequent shrinkback of the photoresist mesa defining the device through reactive-ion etching in an oxygen plasma to enhance step-coverage by the insulating layer. Active areas as small as 0.5µm2 have been made. I discuss two variations of the process, one starting from a small initial trilayer region defined by liftoff, and the other starting from a whole-wafer initial trilayer.
Advances in and the potential of vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of serious lower respiratory track illness causing bronchiolitis and some mortality in infants and the elderly. Despite decades of research there is no licensed RSV vaccine. To enable the development of RSV vaccines, several major obstacles must be overcome including immature and waning immunity to RSV infection, the capacity of RSV to evade immunity and the failure of RSV infection to induce robust enduring immunity. Since the failure of the formalin-inactivated RSV vaccine trial, more cautious and deliberate progress has been made toward RSV vaccine development using a variety of experimental approaches. The scientific rational and the state of development of these approaches are reviewed in this article.
Natural-Hazard Reduction and Sustainable Development: A Global Assessment

This article reviews how the principles of sustainable development can be applied to natural-hazard reduction in developing countries. At issue is the extent to which sustainable development can be achieved through planning, and the role international aid plays in linking natural-hazard reduction to sustainable development. A conceptual framework is then offered for evaluating the impacts of outside aid on long-term hazard reduction efforts (and by implication, sustainable development). The consistent use of such framework would increase the validity of future studies of aid programs and improve the understanding about the adequacy of different institutional arrangements within the international aid delivery system.
Crescentic IgA nephropathy and acute renal failure in an HIV-positive patient with enteric salmonella infection

Key words Ig:A nephropathy; salmonella HIV infec; -tion; ARF; crescentsIntroductionThe associatio ofn HI witV h renal diseas has bee enwell documented sinc the early day osf the epidemi c[1]. Heavy proteinuri anad rapid progressio to renan lfailure are described as clinical characteristic in moss tcases arising in HIV-infected patients On rena. l biopsymany of thes e patients have bee to havn show ae ndistinctive combinatio onf focal segmental glomerulo-sclerosis (FSGS), cystic tubular damage an,d extensivecollections of tubular reticular inclusion (TRI) ins avariety of cell types [1,2]. Thi s constellation of findingshas been termed 'HIV-associate by d nephropathy'some authors. However i, thers a widee spectru ofmclinical manifestation osf renal diseas ien patients withHIV infectio [2]n. additio In tno th characteristie chistopathological findings o mesangiaf l expansionand/or FSGS, immune complex glomerulonephropath-ies have also been describe in patientd s wit HIVh .A significant proportio of thes e casen s consis of tHIV-positive patients Ig witA nephropathh [3-6]y .There are rare report osf crescenti Igc A nephropathyassociated with HI V infection [3,7,8].Most case osf crescenti Igc A nephropathy ar e idio-pathic and n precipitatino g caus fo nephropathre isyever identified We repor. t her thee cas e o f a youngblack male wit a 10-yeah r histor of HIy infectioV nwho presented wit an acuth e febrile illness secondaryto Salmonella typhimurium enteriti whs o develope adcrescentic Ig glomerulonephritiA s with acute renalfailure. The patient's renal failure resolved completelywith treatmen of tht infectioe annd shor a t courseof steroids.
Genome-wide profiling of promoter recognition by the two-component response regulator CpxR-P in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, the two-component Cpx system comprising the CpxA sensor kinase and the CpxR response regulator modulates gene expression in response to a variety of stresses including membrane-protein damage, starvation, and high osmolarity. To date, the few known CpxR-P target operons were mostly identified by genetic screens. To facilitate the discovery of all target operons, we derived a 15-bp weighted matrix for CpxR-P recognition that takes into account the relative base frequency at each nucleotide position. This matrix essentially consists of two tandem 5'-GTAAA-3' motifs separated by a 5-bp linker. All of the 15-bp stretches on both strands of the E. coli MG1655 genome were then scored for their degree of matching with the matrix and classified in statistical deviation groups. The effectiveness of this screening is indicated by the identification of eight new target operons (ung, ompC, psd, mviA, aroK, rpoErseABC, secA, and aer) among eleven candidates tested. Moreover, the matrix score correlates with the likelihood that a site is a true target and with the relative site affinity for CpxR-P in vitro. Our data indicate that some 100 operons are under direct CpxR-P control and that the signal transduction pathway interacts with several other control circuits in manners hitherto unanticipated.
The Evolving Localism (and Neoliberalism) of Urban Renewable Energy Projects

This paper contributes to the development of an anthropological understanding of the emerging political economies of renewable energy in the contemporary United States. It explores efforts to develop place-based, local systems of renewable energy production and places them in the context of a larger history of the political economy and social construction of U.S. energy systems. Marked by emancipatory discourses of local self-reliance, decentralization, ecological sustainability, energy security, and community-scale governance, contemporary renewable energy initiatives bear a strong resemblance to the small-scale, grassroots energy actions that emerged during the energy crises of the 1970s. Both past and current local renewable energy efforts are also deeply embedded within and subject to contemporary regimes of environmental governance, ecological modernization, and neoliberal responses to ecological crises. Using emerging energy initiatives in Washington, DC as a case study, I discuss three key elements of the political and social construction of contemporary local renewable energy production—ownership, governance, and sustainable urban place-making—and examine the problematic theme of “localism” that links them.
CONCOMITANT ADMINISTRATION OF CYCLOSPORIN AND KETOCONAZOLE IN RENAL TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

18 renal transplant recipients receiving cyclosporin, prednisone, and azathioprine were given ketoconazole, a potent inhibitor of the cytochrome P-450 enzyme system. Within a month ketoconazole-induced blockade of cyclosporin metabolism allowed a significant reduction (451 vs 106 mg/day; 77%) of the mean dose of cyclosporin without altering cyclosporin whole blood trough levels, although maximum blood levels were almost halved. This dose reduction was maintained in patients followed up for up to 13 months. Renal and hepatic function were unchanged after the addition of ketoconazole. This drug interaction has the potential to reduce dramatically expenditure on cyclosporin in transplant recipients.
Prevention of invasive Candida infections in preterm infants: the time is now

David A Kaufman Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Box 800386, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA Tel.: +1 434 924 9114 Fax: +1 434 924 2816 dak4r@virginia.edu “Every day we wait, we place our smallest and most vulnerable infants at risk of harm from invasive Candida infections: leading to either death or long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. We must protect our infants now.”
Effect of Material Properties on the Stability of Static Thermoelastic Contact

It is found that most material combinations exhibit one or other of two kinds of stability behavior. In one of these, the stability criterion is closely related to that for uniqueness of the steady-state solution and instability is only possible for one direction of heat flow. In the other, instability can occur for either direction of heat flow and in one case is characterized by the oscillatory growth of a pressure perturbation
Optimum Integral design for maximizing the field in short magnets

An Optimum Integral Design is introduced for cosine(n/spl theta/) coils where the entire end-to-end length of the coil generates field with the dilution from ends practically eliminated. The benefits of such a design are particularly significant in short magnets where the overall coil length is comparable to or a few times the coil diameter. The integral field strength is further enhanced since the design allows a larger number of turns than in typical magnet coils. In this concept, the ends and body harmonics are optimized together to create an integral cosine(n/spl theta/) azimuthal current distribution. The concept was initially developed for wire/cable wound magnets where the bend radius of turns in the ends can be small. However, the benefit of this general approach can be applied to cable magnets as well. The magnetic design of a corrector dipole for the AGS helical magnet, which was recently built and tested, is presented as one of several examples. The other examples include a few sub-compact designs: a dipole with coil length less than a coil diameter, a quadrupole with coil length less than a coil radius, etc. Apart from generating a large integral field for the given length, the computed integral field harmonics in these designs are only a few parts in 10,000 at 2/3 of the coil radius.
Extending a Practical Method for Developing Alternate Test Forms Using Independent Sets of Items

This study describes alternate test form development for a Situational Judgment Inventory (SJI) predicting college performance. Principal axis factor analysis of responses to the SJI lent support for a general factor, yet each SJI form sampled items across 12 distinct rationally derived content areas. The first step of developing alternate forms involved random and representative sampling of SJI items across each content area, creating a large number of preliminary 36-item SJI test forms. Gibson and Weiner (1998) provided criteria for selecting alternate forms; however, the authors of the present study extended this approach in the next step of selecting alternate forms based on their estimated criterion-related validity with grade point average. Results provide initial support for the 144 alternate forms generated. This general approach reflects a practical and methodologically sound means of developing alternate forms of types of measures that are rationally heterogeneous yet empirically homogeneous.
Geologic setting and lithologic column of the Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole

The Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole penetrates a late Tertiary basin developed on crystalline basement in the SW Mojave Desert, 4 km from the San Andreas fault. Cores, continuous cuttings and geophysical logs from phase I show great diversity in rock types, structure, and alteration. The hole encountered Cajon formation arkoses; granodiorite/tonalite; unusual megacrystic granite and augen gneiss; granitic and pelitic gneisses with quartzite; quartzofeldspathic orthogneiss cut by sheets of hornblende gabbro; and interlayered mafic and quartzofeldspathic orthogneisses with rare calcsilicate intervals. Foliation and compositional layering have low dips throughout the column and layered gneisses contain 10-cm-scale recumbent folds. Faults and alteration zones bound several rock units with low apparent dips. Basement cores are typically cut by steep fractures, <1 mm wide, that contain zeolites±calcite or chlorite-epidote. Fractures and faults decrease in abundance with depth.
Calculation of pressure distribution in vacuum systems using a commercial finite element program

It is suggested that any commercial finite element program with heat transfer analysis capabilities can be used to calculate pressure distributions in complex vacuum systems. The approach uses an analogy between thermal conduction and gas conduction with quantity temperature substituted for pressure. The thermal analogies for pumps, gas loads, and tube conductances are described in detail. The method is illustrated for an example vacuum system. A listing of the ANSYS data input file for this example is included. >
Structured Knowledge: A Basic Aspect for Efficient User Applications

Designing a user ICT application in the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) Information Society requires an accurate study of the knowledge relevant to all the domains of interest for the application, in order to favour a holistic approach to the well-being of all users in their living environment instead of accessibility to the available interfaces. In the framework of a new approach for the design of user applications in the Information Society, a number of examples are provided, which highlight basic elements of the knowledge relevant and its structure.
Shaping Ultrafast Laser Pulses with Transient Optical Media

Standard ultrafast pulse shapers rely on linear spectral filtering to generate nearly arbitrarily shaped laser pulses by manipulating the spectral phase and/or amplitude of the input laser pulse. These pulse shapers have become indispensable tools in most ultrafast optical laboratories. The temporal shape of the laser pulse that can be crafted with a standard pulse shaper is limited by the bandwidth of the input laser pulse. Although additional bandwidth can be added through self-phase modulation (SPM), the process is nonlinear and requires intense laser pulses and tends to introduce additional noise and instability as a result of the nonlinear propagation.
Air Force Research Laboratory Space Cryogenic Technology Research Initiatives

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate is actively pursuing cryocooler and cryogenic integration research to support technology needs for the Air Force, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA, formerly the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization), and the Department of Defense (DoD). This paper presents an overview of the in-house and external applied research efforts on a number of fundamental issues toward the development of long-life strategic cryocoolers and cryogenic integration technology. External activities include Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) development, AFRL funded activities at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), and funded research at Oxford University. In house research efforts include work on advanced regenerators for Stirling cycle cryocoolers, and continued in-house research on products from the SBIR program. Additionally, this paper examines future research trends for AF and DoD cryogenic technology.
Informed Citizenship in a Media‐Centric Way of Life

Two trends are prominent and universal to contemporary democracies: Voting rates are in steady decline while media use is growing. A transdisciplinary vantage point might help to redirect research trajectories that lead to alarming conclusions of democratic crisis. To that end, dominant ontological positions will need revision or perhaps replacement. This essay calls for (a) knowledge to be explicated beyond the written word, with serious consideration of the information value of images in the conceptualization of informed citizenship; (b) the deliberate entanglement of emotion with knowledge acquisition and political participation in explication and operationalization of active citizenship; and (c) reconsideration of electoral activities as the index of active citizenship, especially in the context of interactive media.
Why Mie?: Accurate Observations of Vertical Air Velocities and Raindrops Using a Cloud Radar

Scattering of microwave radiation by large particles-Mie scattering-makes possible an innovative method for observing precipitation using 94-Ghz Doppler radar.
From Azo-Linked Polymers to Microporous Heteroatom-Doped Carbons: Tailored Chemical and Textural Properties for Gas Separation.

Heteroatom-doped porous carbons with ultrahigh microporosity were prepared from a nitrogen-rich azo-linked polymer (ALP-6) as a precursor for gas separation applications. Direct carbonization and chemical activation of ALP-6 with ZnCl2 and KOH were successfully applied to obtain three different classes of porous carbons (ALPDCs). Synthetic processes were conducted at relatively mild temperatures (500–800 °C),which resulted in retention of appreciable levels of nitrogen content (4.7–14.3 wt %). Additionally, oxygen functionalities were found to be present in chemically activated samples. The resultant porous carbons feature a diverse range of textural properties with a predominant microporous nature in common. The highest CO2 uptake value of 5.2 mmol g–1 at 1 bar and 298 K in ALPDCK600 was originated from well-developed porosity and basic heteroatoms (N and O) on the pore walls. The highest heteroatom doping level (12 wt % nitrogen and 20 wt % oxygen) coupled with the high level of microporosity (84%) for ...
Heading Date QTL in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Coincide with Major Developmental Genes VERNALIZATION1 and PHOTOPERIOD1

In wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), time from planting to spike emergence is influenced by genes controlling vernalization requirement and photoperiod response. Characterizing the available genetic diversity of known and novel alleles of VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1) and PHOTOPERIOD1 (PPD1) in winter wheat can inform approaches for breeding climate resilient cultivars. This study identified QTL for heading date (HD) associated with multiple VRN1 and PPD1 loci in a population developed from a cross between two early flowering winter wheat cultivars. When the population was grown in the greenhouse after partial vernalization treatment, major heading date QTLs co-located with the VRN-A1 and VRN-B1 loci. Copy number variation at the VRN-A1 locus influenced HD such that RIL having three copies required longer cold exposure to transition to flowering than RIL having two VRN-A1 copies. Sequencing vrn-B1 winter alleles of the parents revealed multiple polymorphisms in the first intron that were the basis of mapping a major HD QTL coinciding with VRN-B1. A 36 bp deletion in the first intron of VRN-B1 was associated with earlier HD after partial vernalization in lines having either two or three haploid copies of VRN-A1. The VRN1 loci interacted significantly and influenced time to heading in field experiments in Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina. The PPD1 loci were significant determinants of heading date in the fully vernalized treatment in the greenhouse and in all field environments. Heading date QTL were associated with alleles having large deletions in the upstream regions of PPD-A1 and PPD-D1 and with copy number variants at the PPD-B1 locus. The PPD-D1 locus was determined to have the largest genetic effect, followed by PPD-A1 and PPD-B1. Our results demonstrate that VRN1 and PPD1 alleles of varying strength allow fine tuning of flowering time in diverse winter wheat growing environments.
The Causes and Consequences of Increasing State Tax Revenue Volatility

State governments experienced unprecedented fiscal crises in the 2000s precipitated by an extraordinary increase in the volatility of their tax revenues. Between 1970-2001 and 2001-2014 tax revenue volatility increased from 1.23 percent of revenues to 10.36 percent. To understand the factors that led to the increase in tax revenue volatility, I develop a novel application of decomposition methods. I find that tax policy differences explain 58.9 percent of the increase in tax revenue volatility and differences in economic uncertainty and tax base changes explain 22.3 and 18.8 percent respectively. To understand how governments should tax different revenue sources in the face of uncertainty, I derive an updated Ramsey rule that characterizes the optimal tax policy. I use the updated Ramsey rule to assess how well state governments are setting tax policy and find that the number of states that exposed themselves to excessive risk increased from 26 in 1975 to 36 in 2005.
Bilateral Facial Paralysis: A 13-Year Experience.

Background:Bilateral facial palsy is a rare clinical entity caused by myriad disparate conditions requiring different treatment paradigms. Lyme disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and leukemia are several examples. In this article, the authors describe the cause, the initial diagnostic approach, and t
Estimation of gestational age and maternal serum steroid concentrations: total estriol.

Acute increases in maternal serum unconjugated estriol between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy have been reported to correlate predictably with gestational age. In this study total estriol was measured by radioimmunoassay in an effort to define maturational surges. Statistically significant variations from predicted regression lines were not demonstrated in any individual patient or in grouped data.
Deoxygenation Reduces Sickle Cell Blood Flow at Arterial Oxygen Tension

The majority of morbidity and mortality in sickle cell disease is caused by vaso-occlusion: circulatory obstruction leading to tissue ischemia and infarction. The consequences of vaso-occlusion are seen clinically throughout the vascular tree, from the relatively high-oxygen and high-velocity cerebral arteries to the relatively low-oxygen and low-velocity postcapillary venules. Prevailing models of vaso-occlusion propose mechanisms that are relevant only to regions of low oxygen and low velocity, leaving a wide gap in our understanding of the most important pathologic process in sickle cell disease. Progress toward understanding vaso-occlusion is further challenged by the complexity of the multiple processes thought to be involved, including, but not limited to 1) deoxygenation-dependent hemoglobin polymerization leading to impaired rheology, 2) endothelial and leukocyte activation, and 3) altered cellular adhesion. Here, we chose to focus exclusively on deoxygenation-dependent rheologic processes in an effort to quantify their contribution independent of the other processes that are likely involved in vivo. We take advantage of an experimental system that, to our knowledge, uniquely enables the study of pressure-driven blood flow in physiologic-sized tubes at physiologic hematocrit under controlled oxygenation conditions, while excluding the effects of endothelium, leukocyte activation, adhesion, inflammation, and coagulation. We find that deoxygenation-dependent rheologic processes are sufficient to increase apparent viscosity significantly, slowing blood flow velocity at arterial oxygen tension even without additional contributions from inflammation, adhesion, and endothelial and leukocyte activation. We quantify the changes in apparent viscosity and define a set of functional regimes of sickle cell blood flow personalized for each patient that may be important in further dissecting mechanisms of in vivo vaso-occlusion as well as in assessing risk of patient complications, response to transfusion, and the optimization of experimental therapies in development.
Treatment of early stage vaginal cancer with EBRT and MRI-based intracavitary brachytherapy: A retrospective case review.

This case series describes the use of pelvic radiotherapy (RT) and MRI-based intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) for patients with small volume, early-stage, primary vaginal cancer. A customized pelvic MRI protocol with a vaginal cylinder in place (MRVC) was used to measure disease extent and tumor thickness (defined as distance from lateral/apical margin of tumor to cylinder surface) at time of diagnosis. Non-bulky tumors with initial (pre-RT) thickness ≤ 2 cm from the cylinder surface received pelvic RT followed by ICBT. Ten patients with FIGO stage I–II primary vaginal cancer treated with pelvic RT +/− cisplatin and ICBT at our institution between 1998 and 2008 were included. Initial tumor thickness measured on MRVC ranged from 0 to 2 cm. Initial tumor volume ranged from 0 to 9.8 cm3. Mean pelvic RT dose was 45 Gy. At the time of ICBT, 60% of patients had a complete response (cR) and 40% had a partial response (pR). No patients with a cR had a recurrence whereas one patient with a pR had a local recurrence following ICBT. For the entire cohort, the median follow-up time was 59.9 months (range: 15–153). The estimated 5-year overall survival, disease-specific survival, and local failure-free survival were 67%, 80%, and 90%, respectively. Among survivors, there were no late grade 3–4 toxicities. In this series of patients with small primary early-stage vaginal tumors, long term clinical outcomes were acceptable following RT and MRI-based ICBT, especially among those with a cR at time of brachytherapy.
Data and lore in technical communication research: guest editorial

As a scholar who works at the intersections of technical communication and rhetoric of science, I like to think I know a little bit about effective approaches to communicating technical information. For over a decade, I've been a happy member of a seemingly productive research discipline devoted to understanding how best to communicate scientific and technical information to clients, stakeholders, employers, funders, and the general public. I am, of course, not alone in these endeavors and my work benefits substantially from the efforts of my many colleagues in the Association for Teachers of Technical Writing and the Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine. Now, given this background, imagine my surprise when one of my colleagues forwarded me a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine decrying the state of science communication research in America. Indeed, I was shocked and saddened to see the report call for "building a coherent science communication research enterprise" with the obvious implication that no such enterprise currently exists (p. 74).
Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Reveals Exercise-Induced Perfusion Deficits in Claudicants.

Background: Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography (CEUS) is an imaging modality allowing perfusion quantification in targeted regions of interest of the lower extremity that has not been possible with color-flow imaging or with measurement of ankle brachial indices. We developed a protocol to quantify lower extremity muscle perfusion impairment in PAD patients in response to exercise. Methods and findings: Thirteen patients with Rutherford Class I-III Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and no prior revascularization procedures were recruited from the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center and compared with eight control patients without PAD. CEUS interrogation of the index limb gastrocnemius muscle was performed using an intravenous bolus of lipid-stabilized microsphere contrast before and after a standardized treadmill protocol. Peak perfusion (PEAK) and time to peak perfusion (TTP) were measured before and after exercise. Between and within group differences were assessed. Control subjects demonstrated a more rapid TTP (p<0.01) and an increase in peak perfusion (PEAK, p=0.02) after exercise, when compared to their baseline measures. Patients with PAD demonstrated TTP and PEAK measures equivalent to controls at baseline (p=0.39, p=0.71, respectively). However, they exhibited no significant exerciseinduced changes in perfusion (TTP p=0.49 and PEAK 0.67, respectively compared to baseline). After exercise, normal subjects had significantly shorter TTP (p=0.04) and greater PEAK (p=0.02) than PAD patients. Conclusion: Consistent with their lack of ischemic symptoms at rest, class I to III claudicant PAD patients showed similar perfusion measures (TTP and PEAK) at rest. PAD patients, however, were unable to increase perfusion in response to exercise, whereas controls increased perfusion significantly. This corresponds with claudication and limited walking capacity observed in PAD. CEUS with bolus injection offers a convenient, objective, quantitative and visual physiologic assessment of perfusion limitation in specific muscle groups of PAD patients. This has the potential for substantial clinical and research utility.
When epigenetics meets bioengineering—A material characteristics and surface topography perspective

The field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TE/RM) involves regeneration of tissues and organs using implantable biomaterials. The term epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression that are not encoded in the DNA sequence, leading to remodeling of the chromatin and activation or inactivation of gene expression. Recently, studies have demonstrated that these modifications are influenced not only by biological cues but also by mechanical and topographical signals. This review highlights the current knowledge on emerging approaches in TE/RM with a focus on the effect of materials and topography on the epigenetic expression pattern in cells with potential impacts on modulating regenerative biology. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2017.
Quantifying the effects of depositional environment on deep saline formation co2 storage efficiency and rate

Abstract In an effort to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from large stationary sources, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is being investigated as one approach in a portfolio of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies. This work assesses CO 2 storage rates and efficiency of saline formations classified by interpreted depositional environment at the regional scale over a 100-year time frame. The focus of this study was placed on developing results applicable to future commercial-scale CO 2 storage operations in which an array of injection wells would be used to optimize storage in saline formations. The results of this work suggest future investigations of prospective storage resource in closed or semiclosed formations that may focus less heavily on interpretation of depositional processes. However, the results illustrate the relative importance of depositional environment, aquifer depth, structural geometry, and boundary conditions on the rate of CO 2 storage in closed or semiclosed systems.