cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electroless silver plating of oxide particles in aqueous solution

It has been demonstrated that silver could be plated on colloidal oxides by reducing silver salts in the presence of colloidal oxides in aqueous solution. In this electroless plating manner, silver coatings have been applied to colloidal silica, tin oxide and to these colloids which have previously been coated with a few monolayers of tin silicate. Data from this study have demonstrated the technical feasibility of electroless plating for the preparation of silver-tin oxide composites as a source of this material for electrical contact materials.
An inverse scattering method for catheter-based optical coherence tomography

By physically modelling the scattering of a broadband Gaussian beam projected from an azimuthally scanned catheter, we formulate an inverse scattering solution for optical coherence tomography for intravascular or gastrointestinal imaging.
Oxygen-derived free radicals and local control of striated muscle blood flow

Abstract The role of oxygen-derived free radicals in the local control of blood flow (BF) was evaluated in the microcirculation of the hamster cremaster muscle superfused with the enzymatic radical scavengers superoxide dismutase (SOD, 10 μg/ml) and catalase (CAT, 20 μg/ml). A bioassay of the cheek pouch microcirculation, using a previously described fluorescent microscopic technique, verified the in vivo activity of SOD and CAT. Increased superfusate O2 content to 95% O2 was correlated with an arteriolar vasoconstriction of approximately 50% and a 70% reduction in estimated BF, neither of which was affected by SOD-CAT treatment. These data suggest that free radicals do not mediate the vasoactive effect of O2. SOD-CAT did not alter vascular reactivity because a twofold vasodilation and a fourfold BF increase after topical adenosine application and a fivefold vasoconstriction after topical norepinephrine were unaffected by enzyme treatment. A twofold vasodilation accompanied striated muscle contraction, but there was no effect of SOD-CAT. Assuming SOD and CAT are not excluded from the striated muscle interstitial space, we conclude that the release of superoxide radicals into the extracellular space does not participate in local microvascular control of cremaster muscle BF.
Glucose and glutamine in poliovirus production by HeLa cells.

Abstract In monolayers of HeLa cells, glucose, glutamine, and balanced salts promoted essentially maximal yields of poliovirus. Fructose substituted for glucose in this respect, but not galactose, ribose, ribose plus pyruvate, or ribose-5PO 4 . The effective concentrations of glucose and fructose for viral synthesis were the same as those required for cell growth. Glutamic acid at high concentrations (10–20 mM) substituted for glutamine in poliovirus production. The effective concentrations of glutamic acid and glutamine were approximately the same as those required for cell growth. Adaptation of the cells to glutamic acid reduced the concentration of glutamic acid necessary for virus production. The need for added glutamine in order to obtain maximal virus production is probably related to its rapid disappearance from the free amino acid pool.
Studies of human carboxypeptidase B purification and properties from human small intestine

Abstract The carboxypeptidase B of human small intestine has been purified and partially characterized. The enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose, CM-cellulose, and Sepharose 6B column chromatography. Purity was confirmed by disc gel electrophoresis at pH 8.5. The enzyme was purified 412-fold over the crude extract. Molecular weight of the enzyme was about 24000, as determined by Sephadex column chromatography and disc gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate. The enzyme was immunologically different from human pancreatic carboxypeptidase B1 and B2b since it does not cross-react with antiserum elicited against pure human pancreatic carboxypeptidase B1. Extraction of the insoluble precipitate of intestinal wall yielded a carboxypeptidase which is possibly the dimer of carboxypeptidase B. The carboxypeptidase hydrolyzed HLA, HLL, and HLAa substrates. The enzyme was activated by Cd2+ and Hg2+. It was inhibited by heated SDS and urea. The enzymes were not inhibited or activated by Zn2+, EDTA, and 2-mercaptoethanol.
Mujeres Latinas--Santas y Marquesas.

This presidential address is a conceptualization and application of psychohistorical and mestizo psychology frameworks to address gender and ethnic identity conflicts for contemporary Latinas. Connections are made between historical and cultural icons and Latina literature of the 21st century with protagonists who give voice to the struggles of acculturated and self-empowered women. Spanish terms are used to communicate and give emphasis to the Latino landscape. The article comes to conclusion with personal reflections about Maria Morales de Zaldivar, or Mama, the author's grandmother, who embodies the santa y marquesa life script.
Use of natural language for knowledge acquisition: strategies to cope with semantic and pragmatic variation

The large amount of verbal data from common knowledge-elicitation methods suggests using the data directly for knowledge acquisition by means of sophisticated natural-language analyzers (NLAs). In this paper, we analyze the feasibility of such an approach theoretically and present a number of examples. In the theoretical part of the text we first provide a detailed analysis of the entities involved, i.e., the domains of expertise, the qualities of knowledge about domains, the properties of generic sentences and texts in natural languages, and the conclusions to be drawn from the limited expressiveness of formal representations. Then we discuss the processes of transforming knowledge into natural language and of transforming natural language into formal language. Since much can go wrong in both processes, we derive desired relations or validity criteria among the entities and strategies to meet the criteria. We believe that this broad theoretical framework can be used to analyze and compare existing attempts at directly using natural language for knowledge acquisition, and thus assess the present status of the field.
Structural Insights into Inhibition of Sterol 14α-Demethylase in the Human Pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), which threatens the lives of millions of people and remains incurable in its chronic stage. The antifungal drug posaconazole that blocks sterol biosynthesis in the parasite is the only compound entering clinical trials for the chronic form of this infection. Crystal structures of the drug target enzyme, Trypanosoma cruzi sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51), complexed with posaconazole, another antifungal agent fluconazole and an experimental inhibitor, (R)-4′-chloro-N-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-imid-azol-1-yl)ethyl)biphenyl-4-carboxamide (VNF), allow prediction of important chemical features that enhance the drug potencies. Combined with comparative analysis of inhibitor binding parameters, influence on the catalytic activity of the trypanosomal enzyme and its human counterpart, and their cellular effects at different stages of the Trypanosoma cruzi life cycle, the structural data provide a molecular background to CYP51 inhibition and azole resistance and enlighten the path for directed design of new, more potent and selective drugs to develop an efficient treatment for Chagas disease.
Terminating the oldest living regulator: the death of the interstate commerce commission

This paper examines the termination of the oldest federal regulatory agency, in light of existing policy termination theories. The need for the ICC was severely reduced by major deregulation of railroads and trucking in 1980, changes from which also reduced the ICC's ability to maintain external interest group support. Still, although its budget and staff were cut, the ICC survived intact for 15 more years, until budgetary politics found it to be a useful symbolic target for termination. We also argue that this case shows the utility of putting termination theory into the larger framework of policy change, a literature that itself has largely ignored the critical element of policy and organizational termination. ”Once you establish a commission … you have the devil's own time passing an act abolishing it.”(1).
Pressure-driven capillary snap-off of gas bubbles at low wetting-liquid content

Abstract Snap-off is an important mechanism for generating discontinuous gas bubbles in porous media. Here, we use a hydrodynamic, corner-flow theory to re-examine the breakup of gas threads in constricted pores. Our primary focus is on the initial liquid volume within the corners of a pore and on the possibility of a minimum liquid content below which snap-off is inhibited. It is found that smoothly constricted pores with relatively small throats connected to large bodies exhibit excellent ability to snap-off regardless of their initial liquid content. Where such pores are present in porous media, it is predicted that strong foam is generated. Additional factors contributing to snap-off include elevated pressure gradients in the liquid phase and lamella or lens movement that establishes gradients in the axial profile of interfacial curvature. Our new results re-support successive snap-off as a viable mechanism of steady foam generation in homogeneous porous media at low overall aqueous-phase liquid content and at high liquid-phase pressure gradient.
Exact and heuristic algorithms for solving the generalized minimum filter placement problem

We consider a problem of placing route-based filters in a communication network to limit the number of forged address attacks to a prescribed level. Nodes in the network communicate by exchanging packets along arcs, and the originating node embeds the origin and destination addresses within each packet that it sends. In the absence of a validation mechanism, one erode care send packets to another node using a forged origin address to launch an attack against that node. Route-based filters can be established at various nodes on the communication network to protect against these attacks. A route-based filter examines each packet arriving at a node, and determines whether or not the origin address could be legitimate; based on the arc on which the packet arrives, the routing information, and possibly the destination. The problem we consider seeks to find a minimum cardinality subset of nodes to filter so that the prescribed level of security is achieved. The primary contributions of this dissertation are as follows. We formulate and discuss the modeling of this filter placement problem as a mixed-integer program. We then show the sensitivity of the optimal number of deployed filters as the required level of security changes; and demonstrate that current vertex cover-based heuristics are ineffective for problems with relaxed security levels. We identify a set of special network topologies on which the filter placement problem is solvable in polynomial time, focusing our attention on the development of a dynamic programming algorithm for solving this problem on tree networks. These results can then in turn be used to derive valid inequalities for a mixed-integer programming model of the filter placement problem. Finally, we present heuristic algorithms based on the insights gained front our overall study for solving the problem, and evaluate their performance against the optimal solution provided by our mixed-integer programming model.
Flexible bistable cholesteric reflective displays

Cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCs) exhibit two stable states at zero field condition - the reflecting planar state and the nonreflecting focal conic state. ChLCs are an excellent candidate for inexpensive and rugged electronic books and papers. This paper will review the display cell structure, materials and drive schemes for flexible bistable cholesteric (Ch) reflective displays.
Robust control for transient stabilization of interconnected power systems

Methodology of robust controller design for transient stabilization of the interconnected power systems is presented. The model of the interconnected power systems for braking resistor control is derived, and a PID controller is proposed to control the amount of power dissipated by the brake. The Kharitonov approach is used for an initial tuning of the controller gains. Next, transient energy functions are applied for final controller tuning and choice of the actuator size, operating and restraint characteristics. The multiple equilibria problem is addressed and a solution is proposed. Technical implementation issues of the control scheme are discussed. The controller design and tuning procedure for a multimachine model is illustrated by a simulation example. >
Betty Bumpers: Champion of Childhood Immunization and Peace Anna L. Eblen and Martha Jane Eblen, Editors. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2013.

Betty Bumpers: Champion of Childhood Immunization and Peace Anna L. Eblen and Martha Jane Eblen, Editors. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2013.For people outside of Arkansas, Betty Bumpers may not be a familiar figure. She should be. In the spirit of her hero and role model, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bumpers used her position as First Lady of Arkansas and US Senate wife to bring about social change. An advocate for children's health, justice, women's leadership, and world peace, she represents an often neglected type of woman: the political wife of a bygone era who worked as an activist without holding office herself. In Betty Bumpers: Champion of Childhood Immunization and Peace, editors Anna L. Eblen and Martha Jane Eblen bring together Bumpers's own words, transcribed from speeches, writings, and interviews, and reminiscences of Bumper by those who worked with her. What emerges is the portrait of a remarkable woman whose story, the editors note in their preface, "has spanned almost a century-from a childhood in the rural Arkansas Dust Bowl to adulthood in the DC Beltway's halls of power to elder years back in Little Rock, Arkansas" (xi). The editors' purpose is to bring an account of Bumpers's activist work to a larger audience, while preserving her "informal and likable manner of speaking" (xi). Several sections titled simply "Conversations with Betty" speak to this end, showcasing her engaging, no-nonsense voice, and tales of perseverance.The first three chapters of the book, collected in a section titled "Advocacy," outline Bumpers's major accomplishments. Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York, in October 2005, Bumpers distinguished herself through her efforts to save children's lives through early immunizations and to bring about world peace. A chapter titled "Networking for Children's Health" includes Bumpers's discussion of her work in the 1970s when her husband Dale was elected governor of Arkansas and she learned from the Center for Disease Control that Arkansas's immunization levels were "woefully low" and was asked if she would "take on the task of trying to raise them" (13). She led the Every Child by '74 campaign, attempting to have every child in the state immunized, and met with great success. After Dale Bumpers was elected to the US Senate in 1974, she took her crusade to a national level, later working with the Carter Administration. As Rosalynn Carter tells it, "The first person to knock on the front door of the White House after we got there was Betty Bumpers. She wanted me to help her with the immunization program" (17). The Carter Administration set a goal of having seventy-eight percent of children in every state immunized. Although that program was successful, a measles epidemic that killed nearly 120 infants between 1989 and 1990 made it apparent that many children were not being immunized early enough. …
Anesthetic evaluation and management of a patient with thoracic endometriosis syndrome presenting for elective surgery

Thoracic endometriosis syndrome is a relatively uncommon disorder characterized by recurrent pneumothoraces, hemothorax, chest pain, dyspnea, and hemoptysis within 48 to 72 hours of menstruation. A 34 year old, ASA physical status 2 woman with recurrent catamenial pneumothoraces due to thoracic endometriosis syndrome is presented. After treatment with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, she underwent successful elective diagnostic abdominal laparoscopy without incident. The presence of parenchymal injury and damage predisposes these patients to ventilator-induced lung injury. Postponement of surgery until the intermenstrual period, with lung protective ventilation, allows patients with this disease to successfully undergo general anesthesia and surgery.
Body dissatisfaction, weight criticism, and self-reported physical activity in preadolescent children.

Objective To examine the associations among physical activity, weight criticism during physical activity, and body dissatisfaction in a sample of pre-adolescent children. Methods A community sample of 376 fifth- and sixth-grade students (M age = 10.8, SD = 0.65) completed measures of physical activity, weight criticism during physical activity, and body dissatisfaction. Results Girls who reported experiencing high levels of weight criticism and high body dissatisfaction engaged in significantly fewer vigorous activities than girls who experienced criticism in the absence of body dissatisfaction. These results were not evident among boys. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of body dissatisfaction in girls' propensity to engage in physical activity, and lend preliminary support to obesity prevention efforts that address body dissatisfaction and weight criticism among girls.
An imPRESsive mimic

A 20-year-old G1P1 woman presented to a local hospital with a 2-week history of headache, blurry vision, photophobia, edema, and easy bruising. She was found to be hypertensive (blood pressure, 180/90) with acute renal failure (Cr = 8.5), thrombocytopenia (platelet [PLT] count, 81 ¥ 10/L), elevated lactate deydrogenase (LDH; (698 IU/L), and severe microcytic anemia (hemoglobin, 5.9 mg/dL; mean corpuscular volume, 74) with occasional schistocytes. An ADAMTS13 drawn on Day 2 was 59%. Her medical history was significant for migraines, chronic fatigue after a cesarean section 6 months previously, and a progesterone intrauterine device for birth control. She was diagnosed with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)/hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and treated with dialysis, plasma exchange, steroids, and rituximab with minimal clinical improvement. She was transferred to a university hospital after a documented episode of flash pulmonary edema (FPE) and possible seizure. After transfer, the patient was diagnosed with possible HUS. Her laboratory results were significant for a PLT count of 108 ¥ 10/L, an LDH level of 260 (range, 252-297), a haptoglobin level of 10 to 15 mg/dL, and ADAMTS13 activity of 78%. Shortly after admission, the patient developed a severe acute headache and underwent plasma exchange, which was complicated by FPE (see figure, B). A cardiac evaluation revealed left ventricular hypertrophy with mild ventricular systolic dysfunction and mitral regurgitation. On Day 5, the patient developed a visual field defect. An MRI showed increased T2 and FLAIR signal, without restricted diffusion or contrast enhancement, in the subcortical white matter of both occipital and parietal lobes, consistent with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) (see figure, A; arrow). The patient’s PLT counts, hallucinations, confusion, and vision subsequently recovered with aggressive blood pressure control and steroid taper. A renal biopsy showed a chronic ischemic vasculopathy due to hypertension with no
Classification as a query processing technique in the CANDIDE semantic data model

The use of classification and subsumption to process database queries is discussed. The data model, called CANDIDE, is essentially an extended version of the FL-1, KANDOR and BACK, frame-based knowledge representation languages. A novel feature of the approach is that the data-description language and data-manipulation language are identical, thus providing uniform treatment of data objects, query objects and view objects. The classification algorithm find the correct placement for a query object in a given object taxonomy. Tractability issues are explored, and the expressiveness of queries is compared with relational algebra. This data model has been implemented in POPLOG as the basis for a knowledge-base management system that includes an integrated natural-language query system. >
Replicating Online Yankee Auctions to Analyze Auctioneers' and Bidders' Strategies

We present a simulation approach that provides a relatively risk-free and cost-effective environment to examine the decision space for both bid takers and bid makers in web-based dynamic price setting processes. The applicability of the simulation platform is demonstrated for Yankee auctions in particular. We focus on the optimization of bid takers' revenue, as well as on examining the welfare implications of a range of consumer-bidding strategies--some observed, some hypothetical. While these progressive open discriminatory multiunit auctions with discrete bid increments are made feasible by Internet technologies, little is known about their structural characteristics, or their allocative efficiency. The multiunit and discrete nature of these mechanisms renders the traditional analytic framework of gametheory intractable (Nautz and Wolfstetter 1997). The simulation is based on theoretical revenue generating properties of these auctions. We use empirical data from real online auctions to instantiate the simulation's parameters. For example, the bidding strategies of the bidders are specified based on three broad bidding strategies observed in real online auctions. The validity of the simulation model is established and subsequently the simulation model is configured to change the values of key control factors, such as the bid increment. Our analysis indicates that the auctioneers are, most of the time, far away from the optimal choice of bid increment, resulting in substantial losses in a market with already tight margins. The simulation tool provides a test bed forjointly exploring the combinatorial space of design choices made by the auctioneer's and the bidding strategies adopted by the bidders. For instance, a multinomial logit model reveals that endogenous factors, such as the bid increment and the absolute magnitude of the auction have a statistically significant impact on consumer-bidding strategies. This endogeniety is subsequently modeled into the simulation to investigate whether the effects are significant enough to alter the optimal bid increments or auctioneer revenues. Additionally, we investigate hybrid-bidding strategies, derived as a combination of three broad strategies, such as jump bidding and strategic-at-margin (SAM) bidding. We find that hybrid strategies have the potential of significantly altering bidders' likelihood of winning, as well as their surplus.
On the resistive diffusion of force-free magnetic fields

Reid and Laing (1979) conjectured on the general behavior of resistive force-free magnetic fields in a slab model following a numerical study. However, the basic properties of resistive force-free magnetic fields had been established previously. Some results from the previous work are extended to show that the conjecture of Reid and Laing is incorrect. A general analytic treatment of the problem provides the correct physical properties that Reid and Laing were unable to deduce from their numerical solutions. A criticism is also given of the results presented in another numerical study treating cylindrical resistive force-free magnetic fields, by the same authors.
System optimization in the control of heavy duty vehicle braking sub-systems

This paper addresses the brake control design for Heavy-Duty Trucks (HDTs) in automated vehicle short distance following operation. The braking system for an HDT is composed of three subsystems: Jake (engine) brake, transmission retarder and pneumatic (air) brake. Judicious combination of these three subsystems for achieving a desired braking torque is critical for both safety and performance. Based on the two different brake modes, the combination of the engine brake and the air brake and the combination of the transmission retarder and the air brake, two different control designs are proposed such that the total braking torque tracks its target value rapidly and the truck follows its leading truck in speed with a constant gap distance. Numerical simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed control designs.
The fibrinolytic pathway of human plasma. Isolation and characterization of the plasminogen proactivator.

The conversion of the plasminogen proactivator to plasminogen activator by activated Hageman factor or its fragments has been recognized as an essential step in the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin. The plasminogen proactivator has been completely separated from prekallikrein and pre-PTA, two other proenzyme substrates of activated Hageman factor or its fragments. Plasminogen proactivator, free of any contaminating proteins as assessed by disc gel electrophoresis or isoelectric focusing, revealed a single band with an isoelectric point of 8.9 corresponding in position to the Hageman factor activatable material eluted from replicate unstained gels. After conversion of plasminogen proactivator by Hageman factor fragments to the plasminogen activator, the active site of the plasminogen activator is not inhibited by C1INH and is thus readily distinguished from that of kallikrein or PTA. The plasminogen activator is susceptible to inactivation by DFP while the plasminogen proactivator is not, as has been the case for esterases having a serine in the active site. Its interaction with plasminogen is inhibited by e-aminocaproic acid.
Malicious Shellcode Detection with Virtual Memory Snapshots

Malicious shellcodes are segments of binary code disguised as normal input data. Such shellcodes can be injected into a target process's virtual memory. They overwrite the process's return addresses and hijack control flow. Detecting and filtering out such shellcodes is vital to prevent damage. In this paper, we propose a new malicious shellcode detection methodology in which we take snapshots of the process's virtual memory before input data are consumed, and feed the snapshots to a malicious shellcode detector. These snapshots are used to instantiate a runtime environment that emulates the target process's input data consumption to monitor shellcodes' behaviors. The snapshots can also be used to examine the system calls that shellcodes invoke, these system call parameters, and the process's execution flow. We implement a prototype system in Debian Linux with kernel version 2.6.26. Our extensive experiments with real traces and thousands of malicious shellcodes illustrate our system's performance with low overhead and few false negatives and few false positives.
Full Maxwell Equations as a forward model for EIT in the mammography geometry

Using the full Maxwell Equations model (full model) as a forward model for Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) in the mammography geometry instead of an approximation may be more desirable if the approximations introduce large errors. This paper examines the full model, and the relative errors between the full model and the approximations. We show that at high frequencies there are large relative errors between the full model and the approximations, and thus it may be more appropriate to use the full Maxwell equations as a forward model for EIT in the mammography geometry.
Result of neck clipping and coil embolization as a treatment for subarachnoid haemorrhage.

The report of the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) study showed that coil embolization was superior to neck clipping as a treatment for subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) 1. We compared the results of coil embolization and neck clipping in our institute. Generally better outcomes were obtained by endovascular surgery than neck clipping. Symptomatic vasospasm and symptomatic hydrocephalus occurred less frequently in coil embolization than neck clipping. Because not all cases of SAH can be treated by coil embolization due to the width of aneurysmal neck and relation of the aneurysm to parent arteries, we should also be able to perform neck clipping as another modality.
Primary care in the age of reform-not a time for complacency.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Improving opportunities for primary care are evident in the evolving health care marketplace. Yet a secure and meaningfully scaled role in the future for family medicine and primary care is not assured. Family medicine can help lead the primary care movement now-from both clinical and policy perspectives-by energetically embracing newly emerging care options rather than becoming complacent or defensive. Avoiding complacency means: (1) improving assessment and intervention for social and health system complexity (our complex patients), (2) regarding primary care as a way of operating, not as a geographical place-even with the name medical home in place, (3) coordinating with dedicated mobile teams for our most complex and costly patients, and (4) improving leadership competence at a level required for transformation, not just maintenance.
Lessons from My First Year: Maintaining Perspective

Your first year as a teacher provides lessons that can last a lifetime, as long as you are willing to learn. Chief among these lessons is that if your students are not learning, you may be part of the problem! Before you begin blaming your students for their poor study habits, consider these simple questions: Did I explicitly communicate what I wanted when assigning tasks to my students? Was I covering too much material over a given period of time? Was I expecting more of my students than my professors had expected of me? Honest and thoughtful answers to these questions can be the jumping off point for an improved classroom experience for student and teacher alike.
A new stain for systemic fungi in tissue.

Swartz, Jacob H., Medrek, Theodore F., and Robboy, Stanley J.: A new stain for systemic fungi in tissue. Amer. J. Clin. Path. 57: 27-29, 1972. A new stain which not only reveals the presence of fungi in tissue but also permits detailed study of the walls and cytoplasm of the fungi is described. The stain is easy to prepare and use. TH E NEED FOR A STAIN which would selec­ tively reveal systemic fungi in tissue, dif­ ferentiate the wall from the cytoplasm of the organism, and also permit detailed ex­ amination of the fungal cytoplasm provided the stimulus for the development of this new method. Methods and Materials Stain Solution A. Rose bengal (0.5%) in buf­ fered Shear's mounting fluid was prepared as described by Swartz and Medrek. 2 Buf­ fered Shear's mounting fluid is composed of glycerine, 120 ml.; ethyl alcohol (95%), 180 ml.; and 2% potassium acetate in pH 8 Mcllvaine's buffer (0.2 M), where McIlvaine's buffer (pH 8.0) consists of 0.55 ml. of 0.1 M citric acid to 19.45 ml. of 0.2 M disodium hydrogen phosphate. After an equal volume of clove oil (U.S.P.) was added to the above, the com­ bination was allowed to stand at room tem­ perature for 20 min. and then centrifuged at 3,000 r.p.m. for 10 min. The supernatant
Ultrasound-Guided Pleural Access

Ultrasonography of the thorax has become a more recognized tool in pulmonary medicine, thanks to continuing clinical research that has proven its many valuable roles in the day-to-day management of pulmonary and pleural diseases. Ultrasound examination is a cost-effective imaging modality that permits the pulmonologist to obtain information about the pathologies in the thorax without the risk of exposure to ionizing radiation, providing the examiner with real-time and immediate results. Its ease of use and training along with its portability to the patient's bedside and accurate examination of the pleural space has allowed for safer pleural procedures such as thoracentesis, chest tube placement, tunneled pleural catheter placement, and medical thoracoscopy. In this review, we summarize the technique of chest ultrasonography, compare ultrasound to other frequently used thoracic imaging modalities, and focus on its use in obtaining pleural access while performing invasive pleural procedures.
Measurements of Pressure Distribution in a Cavity Flow by Integrating the Material Acceleration

In turbulence research, the velocity-pressure-gradient tensor in the Reynolds stress transport equation is critical for understanding and modeling of turbulence. Pressure is also of fundamental importance in understanding and modeling of cavitation. Motivated by the lack of experimental tools to measure the instantaneous pressure distribution away from boundaries, the paper introduces a non-intrusive method for simultaneously measuring the instantaneous velocity and pressure distribution over a sample area. The technique utilizes four exposure PIV to measure the distribution of material acceleration, and integrating it to obtain the pressure distribution. If necessary, e.g., for cavitation research, a reference pressure at a single point is also required. Two cameras and perpendicularly polarized Nd:Yag lasers are used for recording four exposures on separate frames. Images 1 and 3 are used for measuring the first velocity distribution, whereas images 2 and 4 give the second velocity map. The material acceleration is calculated from the velocity difference in sample areas shifted relative to each other according to the local velocity. Averaged omni-directional integration of the material acceleration over the entire flow field, while avoiding regions dominated by viscous diffusion, provides the pressure distribution. To improve the accuracy of the acceleration measurement, cross-correlation of the corresponding image correlation maps is implemented in areas with high velocity gradient. Applications of these procedures to synthetic flows show that the standard deviation of the measured instantaneous pressure from the theoretical value is about 2%. The system has been used to measure the instantaneous pressure and velocity distributions of a 2D cavity flow field in a water tunnel. Three pressure transducers mounted at different locations on the wall are being used for comparison and calibration. Detailed measurements of acceleration, vorticity and pressure distributions within the cavity shear layer indicate that the cavity shear layer flow exhibits highly unsteady behavior due to the self-excited oscillation.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna Used to Identify Genetic Variation in Ecotypes of the European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), has 3 morphologically indistinguishable voltinism ecotypes. Random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was used to discriminate ecotypes of the European corn borer. Genomic DNA samples from the European corn borer were screened with a total of 120 random primers. Ten of these primers yielded 21 clear and reproducible RAPD markers after agarose gel electrophoresis. Dendrograms constructed using the Nei and Li distance matrix of the phylogenetic relationships, among and within ecotypes, of the European corn borer showed the multivoltine ecotype to be genetically separated from univoltine and bivoltine ecotypes. The dendrogram of individual European corn borers correctly classified each insect. These results provide evidence of genetic variation at the molecular level among European corn borer ecotypes. The RAPD-PCR technique proved to be a powerful tool for identifying intraspecific variation in the European corn borer.
Activity of Juvenile Hormone Analogues Against the Tobacco Budworm

Sixteen juvenile hormone analogues possessing a common acyclic terpenoid chemical structure but differently arranged moieties were applied topically to Heliothis Virescens (F.), and to cotton plants in the laboratory to determine their hormonal activity on this insect. Certain synthetic hormones affected larval and pupal development, adult eclosion, and fertility of treated insects. Although none were effective enough to be considered practical biocides, several showed potential as chemosterilants.
Raman Scattering and Photoemission from Bi Clusters

Raman scattering measurements of Bi clusters formed on disordered C films at 110K exhibit a phase transformation from nanocrystalline rhombohedral structure to a suggested disordered phase. XPS measurements on this phase indicate core level shifts attributed to intrinsic, initial state effects on cluster electronic states.
Coagulase negative staphylococci - a fast emerging threat.

Objective To determine the frequency of isolation of coagulase-negative staphylococci and their resistance to methicillin over a period of time. Methods The descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from June 2009 to May 2012, and comprised clinical samples mostly from patients admitted to the intensive care unit. They were inoculated onto appropriate culture media depending upon the specimen. After 24-hour incubation at 35°C, coagulase-negative staphylococci were identified on the basis of colony morphology, gram staining, a positive catalase and a negative tube coagulase test.Methicillin resistance among the isolated staphylococci was determined using a 30µg Cefoxitin disc as per the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute protocol. Number of coagulase-negative staphylococci for each year and their methicillin resistance rates were calculated. A comparison was made with methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) isolated during the same period. Results Of the total 1331 specimens studies over three years, 581(43.65%) were coagulase-negative staphylococci. The rate of coagulase-negative staphylococci and methicillin resistance was higher each year; 110(26.6%) in May 2009-Jun 2010, 134(36.5%) in 2011, and 337(61%) in 2012. Methicillin resistance rates also increased from 25(22.7%) to 46(34.3%) and then to 201(59.6%) in 2012.Maximum isolated specimens came from blood 311(53.5%), followed by pus/swabs 204(35.1%). Conclusions The frequency of isolation of coagulase-negative staphylococci and its methicillin resistance among hospitalised patients is on the rise.
People, El Niño southern oscillation and fire in Australia: fire regimes and climate controls in hummock grasslands.

While evidence mounts that indigenous burning has a significant role in shaping pyrodiversity, the processes explaining its variation across local and external biophysical systems remain limited. This is especially the case with studies of climate–fire interactions, which only recognize an effect of humans on the fire regime when they act independently of climate. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that an anthropogenic fire regime (fire incidence, size and extent) does not covary with climate. In the lightning regime, positive El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO) values increase lightning fire incidence, whereas La Nina (and associated increases in prior rainfall) increase fire size. ENSO has the opposite effect in the Martu regime, decreasing ignitions in El Nino conditions without affecting fire size. Anthropogenic ignition rates covary positively with high antecedent rainfall, whereas fire size varies only with high temperatures and unpredictable winds, which may reduce control over fire spread. However, total area burned is similarly predicted by antecedent rainfall in both regimes, but is driven by increases in fire size in the lightning regime, and fire number in the anthropogenic regime. We conclude that anthropogenic regimes covary with climatic variation, but detecting the human–climate–fire interaction requires multiple measures of both fire regime and climate. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
Activators of Trimeric G-Proteins Stimulate and Inhibit Intercompartmental Golgi Transport in Vitro

Small GTP-binding proteins of the RAS-superfamily play a major role in regulating vesicular transport within the secretory and endocytic pathways (reviewed by Pfeffer, 1992). New evidence suggests that transport might also be regulated by trimeric GTPbinding proteins (G-proteins, reviewed by Burgoyne, 1992). To investigate the potential role of trimeric G-proteins in vesicular transport, the effects of mastoparan (MAS) and benzalkonium Cl (BAC) on in vitro intercompartmental Golgi transport were analyzed. MAS and BAC are cationic, amphiphilic molecules that trigger activation of G-protein c subunits by simulating ligand-activated receptors (Higashijima et al., 1990).
Cognition, complexity, and principles of flight: Cognitive reductive procedures and complex systems: Essays & Commentaries

This paper was submitted as an invited paper resulting from the “Understanding Complex Systems” conference held at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, May 2005.
Electrical breakdown in air gaps with auxiliary electrodes

The paper presents some breakdown phenomena which take place in a uniform field gap (Rogowski gap) with an auxiliary electrode. This constitutes a part on an investigation to find a new method for determining the voltage distribution in the gap immediately prior to breakdown.
Higher Order Oligomerization of the Licensing ORC4 Protein Is Required for Polar Body Extrusion in Murine Meiosis.

We have previously shown that the DNA replication licensing factor ORC4 forms a cage around the chromosomes that are extruded in both polar bodies during murine oogenesis, but not around the chromosomes that are retained in the oocyte or around the sperm chromatin. We termed this structure the ORC4 cage. Here, we tested whether the formation of the ORC4 cage is necessary for polar body extrusion (PBE). We first experimentally forced oocytes to extrude sperm chromatin as a pseudo-polar body and found that under these conditions the sperm chromatin did become enclosed in an ORC4 cage. Next, we attempted to prevent the formation of the ORC4 cage by injecting peptides that contained sequences of different domains of the ORC4 protein into metaphase II (MII) oocytes just before the cage normally forms. Our rationale was that the ORC4 peptides would block protein-protein interactions required for cage formation. Two out of six tested peptides prevented the ORC4 cage formation and simultaneously inhibited PBE, resulting in the formation of two pronuclei (2 PN) that were retained in the oocyte. Together, these data demonstrate that ORC4 oligomerization is required to form the ORC4 cage and that it is required for PBE. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2941–2949, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Miscellaneous Perturbation Methods

In addition to the standard perturbation methods discussed in Chapters 2–6, a variety of other perturbation methods have been developed for several applications. We will consider here only a couple of these methods since they have proved to be very useful in some applications.
Occipital encephalocele, lipomeningomyelocele, and Chiari I malformation: case report and review of the literature

Abstract Case report. We report a pediatric patient with encephalocele, lipomeningomyelocele, and Chiari I malformation. Discussion. We also review the extant medical literature regarding associations between these three entities. We propose that the combination of these three pathologies, which is reported here for the first time, is not serendipitous but rather a low-frequency association. Conclusions. After a literature review, we speculate that encephalocele and lipomeningomyelocele most probably occur by mechanisms similar to those that produce encephalocele and meningomyelocele and that the tonsillar ectopia in our patient is due to an abnormally small posterior cranial fossa resulting from the lack of neural tissue within the cranium at critical times during development or has its genesis, as some encephaloceles may, in inappropriate paraxial mesoderm formation.
Genome-wide Analysis Of Starvation-selected Drosophila Melanogaster-a Genetic Model Of Obesity

Experimental evolution affords the opportunity to investigate adaptation to stressful environments. Studies combining experimental evolution with whole-genome resequencing have provided insight into the dynamics of adaptation and a new tool to uncover genes associated with polygenic traits. Here, we selected for starvation resistance in populations of Drosophila melanogaster for over 80 generations. In response, the starvation-selected lines developed an obese condition, storing nearly twice the level of total lipids than their unselected controls. Although these fats provide a ∼3-fold increase in starvation resistance, the imbalance in lipid homeostasis incurs evolutionary cost. Some of these tradeoffs resemble obesity-associated pathologies in mammals including metabolic depression, low activity levels, dilated cardiomyopathy, and disrupted sleeping patterns. To determine the genetic basis of these traits, we resequenced genomic DNA from the selected lines and their controls. We found 1,046,373 polymorphic sites, many of which diverged between selection treatments. In addition, we found a wide range of genetic heterogeneity between the replicates of the selected lines, suggesting multiple mechanisms of adaptation. Genome-wide heterozygosity was low in the selected populations, with many large blocks of SNPs nearing fixation. We found candidate loci under selection by using an algorithm to control for the effects of genetic drift. These loci were mapped to a set of 382 genes, which associated with many processes including nutrient response, catabolic metabolism, and lipid droplet function. The results of our study speak to the evolutionary origins of obesity and provide new targets to understand the polygenic nature of obesity in a unique model system.
Compact light-emitting diode optical fiber immobilized TiO2 reactor for photocatalytic water treatment.

Abstract A key barrier to implementing photocatalysis is delivering light to photocatalysts that are in contact with aqueous pollutants. Slurry photocatalyst systems suffer from poor light penetration and require post-treatment to separate the catalyst. The alternative is to deposit photocatalysts on fixed films and deliver light onto the surface or the backside of the attached catalysts. In this study, TiO2-coated quartz optical fibers were coupled to light emitting diodes (OF/LED) to improve in situ light delivery. Design factors and mechanisms studied for OF/LEDs in a flow-through reactor included: (i) the influence of number of LED sources coupled to fibers and (ii) the use of multiple optical fibers bundled to a single LED. The light delivery mechanism from the optical fibers into the TiO2 coatings is thoroughly discussed. To demonstrate influence of design variables, experiments were conducted in the reactor using the chlorinated pollutant para-chlorobenzoic acid (pCBA). From the degradation kinetics of pCBA, the quantum efficiencies (Φ) of oxidation and electrical energies per order (EEO) were determined. The use of TiO2 coated optical fiber bundles reduced the energy requirements to deliver photons and increased available surface area, which improved Φ and enhanced oxidative pollutant removal performance (EEO).