cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metabolic studies in human obesity during overnutrition and undernutrition: Thermogenic and hormonal responses to norepinephrine

Overfeeding increases the thermogenic response of norepinephrine (NE) in normal but not in certain genetically obese rodents. It has been suggested that human obesity may be associated with a similar thermogenic defect. To determine whether there are differences in the thermogenic sensitivity to NE in human obesity, energy expenditure in response to graded infusions of NE (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 micrograms/min/kg fat-free mass) was measured in six lean and six obese subjects (9.5 +/- 1.8 v 36.3 +/- 3.8% body fat P less than 0.005). Resting metabolic rate (RMR), thermogenic response to NE, and thermogenic response to exercise were measured during weight maintenance and during the third week of feeding 1000 extra Kcal/d in the lean and obese subjects. These components of energy expenditure were also measured in the obese subjects during the third week of a 589 Kcal/d diet. Resting metabolic rate increased during overfeeding in lean (6.6%, P less than 0.05) but not in the obese subjects (2.7%, P = NS) and fell during underfeeding in the obese (-9.1%, P less than 0.02). There was a logarithmic increment above baseline in VO2 v plasma NE concentration during the NE infusions (r = 0.75, P less than 0.005) in lean subjects which was unaltered by overfeeding. The obese exhibited equivalent VO2 responses to NE to that measured in the lean. Supine plasma NE concentrations were lower but metabolic clearance rates (MCR) of NE were similar in the obese compared to lean subjects during both weight maintenance and overfeeding. Overfeeding minimally increased plasma concentration but not MCR of NE in both groups. The thermogenic response to exercise was similar in the lean and obese subjects and was unaltered by overfeeding or underfeeding. The increments in plasma glycerol and free fatty acid in response to the NE infusions were proportional to the total fat mass of each individual and were greater in the obese subjects. Overfeeding partially suppressed the lipolytic response to NE in both groups and underfeeding increased the lipolytic response in the obese. There are no differences in thermogenic responses to NE in human obesity to account for excessive fat deposition. Overfeeding does not increase the thermogenetic responses to NE in humans as has been reported in small mammals.
Toward an accurate multi-fiber assessment strategy for clinical practice

Multi-tensor models provide information about the fiber bundles underlying characteristics and are of great interest for clinical applications. In this work we propose both a novel model fitting procedure and a novel acquisition scheme for multi-tensor assessment. Our fitting procedure includes the estimation of the diffusion of free water and ensures non-degenerate and regularized tensors. Our acquisition scheme combines spherical and cubic sampling. It enables the acquisition of multiple non-zero b-values which has been shown to be required for the full multi-tensor estimation. It enables high b-values to be acquired while achieving the same low echo time as a single-shell HARDI, leading to comparable geometrical and intensity distortion. We evaluate our resulting novel strategy CUSP-MFM (CUbe+SPhere Multi-Fiber Model) on both synthetic and clinical data. We show the ability of CUSP-MFM of assessing complex fiber structures from short duration acquisitions, compatible with clinical routine.
Survey of health status, nutrition and geography of food selection of chronic liver disease patients.

Background. Obesity, a complex disease determined both by genetic and environmental factors, is strongly associated with NAFLD, and has been demonstrated to have a negative impact on HCV and other chronic liver diseases (CLD). Rationale. This study assessed the association between type and location of food sources and chronic liver disease (CLD) using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Results. CLD patients completed surveys [267 subjects, 56.5% female, age 55.8 ± 12.0, type of CLD: 36.5% hepatitis C (HCV), 19.9% hepatitis B (HBV), 19.9% non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); primary food source (PFS): 80.8% grocery store, secondary: 26.2% bulk food store, tertiary: 20.5% restaurants; fresh food (FF): 83%, pre-packaged (PP) 8.7%, already prepared (AP) 8.3%]. FF consumers had significantly fewer UEH servings/month (p = 0.030) and lived further away from convenience stores (1.69 vs. 0.95 km, p = 0.0001). Stepwise regression reveals the lowest FF consumers were NAFLD patients, subjects with UEH or restaurants and ethnic food stores as their PFS (R = 0.557, p = 0.0001). Eating already-packaged foods and utilizing restaurants or ethnic food stores as the PFS positively correlated with NAFLD (R = 0.546, p = 0.0001). Conclusions. Environmental food source measures, including type and density, should be included when examining areas hyper-saturated with a variety of food options. In hyper-saturated food environments, NAFLD patients consume more prepared food and less FF. CLD patients with UEH also eat significantly more prepared food and frequent restaurants and ethnic food stores as their PFS.
A Discontinuous/continuous Galerkin method for modeling of interphase damage in fibrous composite systems

A Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) interface treatment embedded in a Continuous Galerkin formulation is presented for simulating the progressive debonding of bi-material interfaces. The method seamlessly tracks the progression from perfect adhesion to interface softening and finally to complete separation without resorting to node-to-node springs or deletion of connectivities. While the formulation is inspired by an augmented Lagrangian approach, it does not introduce multiplier fields to enforce the continuity conditions, resulting in a pure displacement method amenable to traditional symmetric positive-definite solvers. The study of fibrous composites serves as the application in the present work. The constitutive behavior of the interface is modeled within an energetic framework from which the initiation criterion and softening response emanate. Numerical simulations are conducted for various loading cases on a fiber-matrix unit cell that highlight the performance of the method on crude meshes.
Prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes.

The incidence of type 1 diabetes continues to increase worldwide. Despite major strides in the daily care of patients with the disease, the patients’ contribution to overall morbidity and mortality statistics and health care economic burden to society is disproportionately large because of the high rate of microvascular and macrovascular complications. The quest for prevention of type 1 diabetes has been made feasible by the unraveling of the immunogenetics of the disease and the identification of at-risk subjects by an enhanced understanding of the natural history of the prediabetic period. A combination of immunologic, metabolic, and genetic markers can be used to accurately predict the disease in higher-risk relatives and the general population. This has enabled initiation of worldwide trials (Diabetes Prevention Trial-Type 1, European Nicotinamide Diabetes Intervention Trial, and Trial to Prevent Diabetes in Genetically at Risk) aimed at the prevention of the disease. Various promising agents are being considered for use in different at-risk populations in the near future.
Capacity of ad hoc wireless networks with infrastructure support

We determine the asymptotic scaling for the per user throughput in a large hybrid ad hoc network, i.e., a network with both ad hoc nodes, which communicate with each other via shared wireless links of capacity W bits/s, and infrastructure nodes which in addition are interconnected with each other via high capacity links. Specifically, we consider a network model where ad hoc nodes are randomly spatially distributed and choose to communicate with a random destination. We identify three scaling regimes, depending on the growth of the number of infrastructure nodes, m relative to the number of ad hoc nodes n, and show the asymptotic scaling for the per user throughput as n becomes large. We show that when m /spl lsim/ /spl radic/n/logn the per user throughput is of order W//spl radic/n log n and could be realized by allowing only ad hoc communications, i.e., not deploying the infrastructure nodes at all. Whenever /spl radic/n/log n /spl lsim/ m /spl lsim/ n/log n, the order for the per user throughput is Wm/n and, thus, the total additional bandwidth provided by m infrastructure nodes is effectively shared among ad hoc nodes. Finally, whenever m /spl gsim/ n/log n, the order of the per user throughput is only W/log n, suggesting that further investments in infrastructure nodes will not lead to improvement in throughput. The results are shown through an upper bound which is independent of the routing strategy, and by constructing scenarios showing that the upper bound is asymptotically tight.
A decision-guided advisor to maximize ROI in Local Generation & utility contracts

Many industrialized as well as developing nations are moving towards the use of efficient renewable energy, a trend that will benefit the consumers, the energy producers and, consequently, the environment. As governments, energy companies and consumers debate the environmental impact of using renewable energy, they also study the economic impact and Return On Investment (ROI) of switching from the current energy use models to a new model. In this paper, we introduce a new optimization method for investment analysis and operational efficiency for Energy Management Systems (EMS) using Decision Guidance Query Language (DGQL). Investment analysis and optimization is achieved by finding the Return on Investment (ROI) for power generators, and operational optimization is achieved by finding the optimal power shedding and curtailment as a method to control peak energy demand. We are using energy usage data from George Mason University EMS in our implementation.
Toward a Predictive Theory for Environmental Enrichment

There have been many applications of and successes with environmental enrichment for captive animals. The theoretical spine upon which much enrichment work hangs largely describes why enrichment should work. Yet, there remains no clear understanding of how enrichment should be applied to achieve the most beneficial results. This lack of understanding may stem in part from the assumptions that underlie the application of enrichment by practitioners. These assumptions are derived from an understanding that giving animals choice and control in their environment stimulates their motivation to perform behaviors that may indicate a heightened state of well-being. Learning theory provides a means to question the manner in which these constructs are routinely applied, and converting learning theory's findings to optimality predictions suggests a particularly vexing paradox-that motivation to perform appears to be maintained best when acquiring a payoff for expressing the behavior is uncertain. This effect occurs even when the actual value of the payoff is the same for all schedules of certainty of payoff acquisition. The paradox can be resolved by invoking rewards of an alternative type, such as cognitive rewards, or through an understanding of how the average payoff changes with changes in the probability of reward. This model, with measures of the average change of the payoff, suggests testable scenarios by which practitioners can measure the quality of environmental uncertainty in enrichment programs.
Two Classes of Gap Junction Channels Mediate Soma-Germline Interactions Essential for Germline Proliferation and Gametogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

In all animals examined, somatic cells of the gonad control multiple biological processes essential for germline development. Gap junction channels, composed of connexins in vertebrates and innexins in invertebrates, permit direct intercellular communication between cells and frequently form between somatic gonadal cells and germ cells. Gap junctions comprise hexameric hemichannels in apposing cells that dock to form channels for the exchange of small molecules. Here we report essential roles for two classes of gap junction channels, composed of five innexin proteins, in supporting the proliferation of germline stem cells and gametogenesis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Transmission electron microscopy of freeze-fracture replicas and fluorescence microscopy show that gap junctions between somatic cells and germ cells are more extensive than previously appreciated and are found throughout the gonad. One class of gap junctions, composed of INX-8 and INX-9 in the soma and INX-14 and INX-21 in the germ line, is required for the proliferation and differentiation of germline stem cells. Genetic epistasis experiments establish a role for these gap junction channels in germline proliferation independent of the glp-1/Notch pathway. A second class of gap junctions, composed of somatic INX-8 and INX-9 and germline INX-14 and INX-22, is required for the negative regulation of oocyte meiotic maturation. Rescue of gap junction channel formation in the stem cell niche rescues germline proliferation and uncovers a later channel requirement for embryonic viability. This analysis reveals gap junctions as a central organizing feature of many soma–germline interactions in C. elegans.
Comparing the Success Rate of Raman Spectroscopy and Powder XRD for Routine Mineral Identification

This study provides a measurement of success rate of Raman spectroscopy for mineral identification, and a direct comparison of powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) is provided by applying the same procedure for measuring its success rate against the identical set of samples. Consistent, standardised analytical procedures were applied to a set of fifty-five minerals, and a success score was assigned to the results of each analytical method for each sample. For each analytical method, an average success rate (on a scale of 0–100) was calculated from these success scores. The success rate measured for powder XRD is 89, while the success rate for Raman spectroscopy came to 77. As the most common analytical challenge in Raman spectroscopy is specimen photoluminescence (PL), an estimate of the impact of technological advances that would eliminate this interference is provided by recalculating the success rate after removing the samples that produced PL interference from consideration. The resulting no-PL success rate of 90 indicates that the success rate of Raman spectroscopy would be quite comparable to powder XRD if PL interference could be removed from Raman spectra. Cette etude fournit une mesure du taux de reussite de la spectroscopie Raman pour l'identification des mineraux. Une comparaison directe avec la diffraction de rayons X sur poudres (XRD) est fournie par l'application de la meme procedure pour mesurer le taux de succes de cette derniere pour le meme ensemble d'echantillons. Des procedures analytiques coherentes et normalisees ont ete appliquees a un ensemble de 55 mineraux et un score de reussite a ete affecte a des resultats de chaque methode d'analyse pour chaque echantillon. Pour chaque methode d'analyse un taux de reussite moyen (sur une echelle de 0 a 100) a ete calcule a partir de ces scores de reussite. Le taux de succes mesure pour la diffraction de rayons X sur poudres est de 89 alors que le taux de reussite pour la spectroscopie Raman est de 77. Sachant que le defi le plus commun pour l'analyse en spectroscopie Raman est la photoluminescence du specimen analyse (PL) une estimation de l'impact des progres technologiques qui permettraient d'eliminer cette interference est fournie en recalculant le taux de reussite apres avoir retire les echantillons qui ont produit des interferences PL. Le taux de reussite resultant de 90 indique que le taux de reussite de la spectroscopie Raman serait tout a fait comparable a celui de la diffraction de rayons X sur poudres si les interferences PL pouvaient etre supprimes des spectres Raman.
CP asymmetry in charged Higgs decays in the MSSM

We discuss and compare the charge-parity (CP) asymmetry in the charged Higgs boson decays H - → u i d j for the second and third generation quarks in the minimal supersymmetric standard model. As part of the analysis, we derive some general analytical formulas for the imaginary parts of two-point and three-point scalar one-loop integrals and use them for calculating vectorial- and tensorial-type integrals needed for the problem under consideration. We find that, even though each decay mode has a potential to yield a CP asymmetry larger than 10%, further analysis based on the number of required charged Higgs events at colliders favors the tb, cb, and cs channels, whose asymmetry could reach 10%-15% in certain parts of the parameter space.
Understanding Profiles of Preservice Teachers With Different Levels of Commitment to Teaching in Urban Schools

Understanding the beliefs of preservice teachers is an important area to investigate in the teacher education process. This article examines the relationship between preservice teachers’ beliefs pertaining to diversity and urban schooling and how these inclinations contribute to a commitment to teaching urban students. Canonical correlation analysis was used to identify profiles of preservice teachers who exhibited varying degrees of interest to teach in urban schools. The statistical analysis provides a range of positive and negative attitudinal inclinations toward urban teaching. It is important to examine preservice teacher beliefs to benefit students in urban schools especially in light of prevailing teacher attrition.
Single-Subject Experimental Paradigm as a Clinical Decision Tool

The single-subject experimental paradigm, a research paradigm, can also be a powerful decision-making tool in clinical evaluation. To support this thesis, a brief review of the single-subject paradigm is presented, including a discussion of its 1) place in the continuum of methods to develop knowledge, 2) essential characteristics, 3) similarities to the therapeutic process, 4) validity, and 5) generality of findings. Usefulness of designs in this paradigm is illustrated with examples from the physical therapy literature, the ABA and the multiple-baseline designs. Also illustrated is the precision of information gained through individual data analysis. The single-subject experimental paradigm (intensive study of individuals) has much to offer physical therapy as a clinical research tool. I propose also that it has great potential as a tool for clinicians in evaluating effectiveness of treatments. The intensive study of individuals has a long and honored tradition of contributions to knowledge.…
Achieving a Nationwide Learning Health System

We outline the fundamental properties of a highly participatory rapid learning system that can be developed in part from meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). Future widespread adoption of EHRs will make increasing amounts of medical information available in computable form. Secured and trusted use of these data, beyond their original purpose of supporting the health care of individual patients, can speed the progression of knowledge from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside and provide a cornerstone for health care reform.
Acculturation, Dialogical Voices and the Construction of the Diasporic Self:

This article argues that various Third World, diasporic communities (e.g. Indian-American, Chinese-Canadian, Turkish-German), settled primarily in Europe and North America, negotiate their cultural identities as citizens of First World countries while retaining a strong identification with the culture of their home country. A dialogical model of acculturation is employed to explain the psychological complexities, contradictions and cultural specificities involved in the experiences of these non-European, diasporic communities. Such a model illustrates how the diasporic identity is shaped by, and linked to, the cultural and political issues of race, gender, colonization and power that are present in the hostland and the homeland. I draw upon Said's memoir Out of Place (1999) to show how a diasporic immigrant's effort to rework the different parts of one's heritage or ethnicity entails an ongoing, dialogical negotiation between the I positions of feeling simultaneously assimilated, separated and marginalized.
Nonrandom distribution of long mono- and dinucleotide repeats in Drosophila chromosomes: correlations with dosage compensation, heterochromatin, and recombination.

Long stretches of (dC-dA)n.(dT-dG)n, abbreviated CA/TG, have a distinctive distribution on Drosophila chromosomes (M.L. Pardue, K. Lowenhaupt, A. Rich, and A. Nordheim, EMBO J. 6:1781-1789, 1987). The distribution of CA/TG suggests a correlation with the overall transcriptional activity of chromosomal regions and with the ability to undergo meiotic recombination. These correlations are conserved among Drosophila species and may indicate one or more chromosomal functions. To test the generality of these findings, we analyzed the distribution of the rest of the six possible mono- and dinucleotide repeats (A/T, C/G, AT/AT, CA/TG, CT/AG, and CG/CG). All but CG/CG were present at significant levels in the genomes of the six Drosophila species studied; however, A/T levels were an order of magnitude lower than those of the other sequences. Data base analyses suggested that the same sequences are present in other eucaryotes. Like CA/TG, both CT/AG and C/G showed increased levels on dosage-compensating chromosomes; however, the individual sites clearly differed for each sequence. In contrast, A/T and AT/AT, although present in Drosophila DNA, could not be detected in situ in polytene chromosomes. We also used in situ hybridization to analyze the neo-Y chromosome of Drosophila miranda, an ancestral autosome that has become attached to the Y chromosome and is now partially heterochromatic. The neo-Y has acquired repeated DNA sequences; we found that the added sequences are as devoid of mono- and dinucleotide repeats as other heterochromatin. The distribution and function of these sequences are likely to result from both their repetitious nature and base contents.
Transition-Path Theory and Path-Finding Algorithms for the Study of Rare Events

Transition-path theory is a theoretical framework for describing rare events in complex systems. It can also be used as a starting point for developing efficient numerical algorithms for analyzing such rare events. Here we review the basic components of transition-path theory and path-finding algorithms. We also discuss connections with the classical transition-state theory.
Chemically functional semiconductor nanocrystals: Electrochemistry and self-assembly on surfaces

Semiconductor nanocrystals ( i.e. , Quantum Dots, QDs) exhibit size-dependent emission properties and have synthetically adjustable ligand shells, making them interesting materials for applications ranging from luminescent displays to biomolecular tags. In this paper, the electrochemical properties of two types of nanocrystal are studied with an emphasis on the effect of core/shell vs core structures. The band gap energy of CdSe particles, measured using optical spectroscopy, was shown to increase slightly with the application of a ZnSe shell, as expected based on the increased energy required to transfer an electron through the shell material. The electrochemically determined band gaps are overestimated in the case of CdSe/ZnSe core/shell nanoparticles, reflecting the band gap of the ZnSe shell. Finally, QDs were self-assembled onto gold surfaces by electrostatic and covalent attachment, and their presence confirmed by fluorescence spectroscopy. The high intensity of emitted light shows that the QDs can be self-assembly onto metallic surfaces, without energy transfer quenching of the luminescence.
Neuronal Organelles in Neuroplasmic (“Axonal”) Flow

1. Axonal mitochondria, carried cellulifugally by the axonal flow at its average rate of daily advance of 1 mm, accumulate not only at artificial nerve blocks (e.g., constrictions and transections) but at the normal distal ends of the axon as well (e.g., neuro-muscular junctions). 2. Mitochondria thus clustered, whether at normal endings or at artificial blocks break up within days. Their DNA→RNA→Protein production mechanism, thus spilled into the matrix of the axonal ending, might account for the reported neosynthesis of protein at peripheral nerve terminals. 3. Isolated nerve fragments left in the body for 5 to 31 days after transection show a large increase of protein synthesis (incorporation of 3H-Leucine) near the levels of transection over the intermediate nerve stretch. This increase, averaging 77% for 314 specimens, expresses strong local wound effects evoked by the operation, presumably entailing, aside from cell debris, local accumulations and breakdown of cells. 4. The excess of protein synthesis in terminal over intermediate nerve samples disappears if the respective fragments have been exposed to chloramphenicol, a rather specific inhibitor of protein neosynthesis in mitochondria. It thus seems reasonable to attribute the local rise of protein production mainly to a clustering of either cells rich in mitochondria, such as Schwann cells, or even free mitochondria from disintegrated cells. 5. The fact that these accumulations of mitochondria in severed nerves occur on both sides of a cut (though on the distal side only fleetingly) even in fully degenerated nerves devoid of axons disposes, of course, definitively of their use as evidence for the possibility of retrograde (cellulipetally ascending) axonal flow. 6. In general, the results favor the hypothesis that protein neosynthesis observed at nerve endings is of mitochondrial origin.
Optical Constants of Basaltic Glass from 0.0173 to 50 μM

Pollack et al. [Icarus 19, 372 (1973)] have reported the optical constants for obsidian, basalt, andesite and basaltic glass over the wavelength range 0.2 to 50 μm, and Lamy[Icarus 34, 68 (1978)] reported the optical constants from 0.10 to 0.44 μm for obsidian, basalt, and basaltic glass. We have revised the former measurements for basaltic glass and extended them into the extreme UV to 0.0173 μm.
Unilateral smoke inhalation in sheep: effect on left lung lymph flow with right lung injury

We previously reported that smoke inhalation to the right lung will result in damage to the air-insufflated left lung. In this study we confirm these findings and determine whether this injury is associated with an elevation in lung lymph flow and pulmonary microvascular permeability to protein as indexed by changes in reflection coefficient. Sheep (n = 12) were surgically prepared by placement of a Swan-Ganz catheter and pneumatic occluders on all pulmonary veins and the left pulmonary artery. The left lung lymphatic was selectively cannulated as shown previously (Y. Kikuchi, H. Nakazawa, and D. Traber. Am. J. Physiol. 269 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 38): R943-R947, 1995). All afferent lymphatics from the right lung were severed, and the right pulmonary ligament was sectioned. The caudal end of the lymph node was sectioned to remove systemic lymph contamination. The sheep were studied in the unanesthetized state 7 days later. To ensure that lymph flow was exclusively from the left lung (QLL), right pulmonary microvascular pressure was increased, a procedure that resulted in little or no change in QLL, as was previously shown. The sheep were then anesthetized, and a Carlens tube was positioned to allow separate ventilation of the right and left lung. The right lungs of five sheep and the left lungs of two sheep were insufflated with cotton smoke. Insufflation of the left lung with cotton smoke produced a fourfold increase in QLL that began 4 h after insult. Insufflation of the right lung with smoke led to a doubling of QLL that began 12 h after insult. Changes in QLL were associated with increased microvascular permeability, as indexed by the reflection coefficient. Control sheep (air insufflated into both lungs, n = 5) showed no change in QLL. Injury to the right lung resulted in damage to the left air-insufflated lung, suggesting a hematogenous mediation of the response.
Common Bean Genomics and Its Applications in Breeding Programs

Because of its nutritional value, easiness of cultivation, and cultural preference in many cases, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume in the human diet worldwide. Recent genomic evidence suggest that common bean originated in Central America and confirms the two centers of domestication previously characterized (Mesoamerican and Andean), with well-defined races within each gene pool. Total world production of dry bean from the 10 year period 1961–1970 increased 65 % to 169 million MT in the period 2001–2010. The main challenge now is how to apply these genomic tools into breeding programs for increased efficiency. Applications go from marker-assisted breeding to tracking of F1 crosses, and even DNA fingerprinting, among others. More recently, the development of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers and the completion of the bean genome sequence have opened numerous opportunities for fine mapping and gene characterization. The exploitation of linkage disequilibrium through association mapping allows for rapid identification of important genomic regions associated with traits of economic importance without the need of creating bi-parental populations for this goal. The following sections will describe specific examples of applications of these genomic tools into breeding programs and illustrate some of the possible future directions some of these technologies may follow.
Forensically Sound Retrieval and Recovery of Images from GPU Memory

This paper adopts a method to retrieve graphic data stored in the global memory of an NVIDIA GPU. Experimentation shows that a 24-bit TIFF formatted graphic can be retrieved from the GPU in a forensically sound manner. However, like other types of Random Access Memory, acquired data cannot be verified due to the volatile nature of the GPU memory. In this work a Color Pattern Map Test is proposed to reveal the relationship between a graphic and its GPU memory organization. The mapping arrays derived from such testing can be used to visually restore graphics stored in the GPU memory. Described ‘photo tests’ and ‘redo tests’ demonstrate that it is possible to visually restore a graphic from the data stored in GPU memory. While initial results are promising, more work is still needed to determine if such methods of data acquisition within GPU memory can be considered forensically sound.
FLAT FLUX BY NONUNIFORM MODERATION

>The prcduction of flat thermal flux by the nonuniform distribution of the moderator is discussed within the framework of two group theory for two region reactors. Equations determining the moderator distribution are derived and a numerical solution is presented for a typical reactor system. The moderator density is found to increase with increasing distance from the center of the core. All combinations of core and reflector materials cannot be used in these fiat flux systems, and the restrictions which deterrnine allowability are discussed. In the special case of slab reactors in which the core and reflector are the same materials these systems have minimum critical mass. (auth)
Of Gardens and Prosperity

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), like many other Christians, believe in the importance of human stewardship over the natural world; yet within LDS doctrine, hints of less hierarchical inclusiveness of non-human beings can be found. The interpretation of LDS doctrine relating to the Fall underlie the influences of two LDS presidents, Ezra Taft Benson and Spencer W. Kimball, whose contrasting ideas illustrate that connections among ecology, righteousness, and prosperity continue to be complicated by the progression of technology and globalization in contrast to the frontier and agrarian foundations of the church. A close examination of a frequently cited passage in the Book of Mormon shows how Kimball’s encouragement to plant gardens is more amenable to a “prosperous” spiritual and/or material relationship to the environment than the methods Benson advocated to promote efficient agriculture and general prosperity.
Abstract B25: Stage of diagnosis and survival of ovarian cancer: A fundamental cause approach

The associations between race/socioeconomic status (SES) and diseases and adverse outcomes have been well established. One of the ways in which race/SES affect health outcomes is by influencing one9s exposure to risk factors, including behavioral, psychological, biological, environmental, occupation, and access to services. Furthermore, race/SES often determine one9s access to resources, such as knowledge, money, prestige, power, and social networks. Individuals utilize available resources to avoid and/or mitigate adverse outcomes. The fundamental cause of disease perspective assumes that the association between race/SES and disease is due to racial and SES differences in access to resources that can be used to prevent and protect one9s health. Therefore, when a new screening or treatment tool is introduced, individuals with greater resources tend to have better access to the new innovation, thus benefiting from early detection and treatment leading to better survival. Conversely, where there is no established screening tool, racial differences in stage of diagnosis may be less pronounced. Ovarian cancer cases are often diagnosed at advanced stages, because of lack of effective screening tool and few early symptoms. Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of female cancer deaths in the US. In 2008, it is projected that more than 22,000 new cases will be diagnosed and 15,000 women will die of the disease. Utilizing the fundamental cause approach, we assume that racial differences in ovarian cancer detection may be less pronounced compared to other cancer types, due to the lack of availability of an effective screening tool, once the disease is detected, however, the mortality rate and survival outcome of ovarian cancer cases may exhibit racial differences. For the purpose of the study, we examine the patterns of racial differences in diagnosis and survival among women diagnosed with ovarian cancer during 1994–1998 participating in a case-control study conducted in Cook County, Illinois (N=351). Deaths in the cohort were ascertained through December 2005 from the National Death Index (mean 9.9 years of follow-up). Stage at ovarian cancer diagnosis did not differ between black and white women (53% vs. 52% at Stages 3&4). However, the overall follow-up and within-stage mortality rates were both greater for blacks (59%) compared to whites (47%). Also, the length of survival was significantly shorter for black (2,132 days) compared to white women (2,510 days). Fundamental cause perspective provides a useful framework to better understand subtleties in racial disparities and guide more focused analysis. Broader social causes need to be identified that explain post-diagnosis racial disparities. To understand the specific mechanisms, research on differential treatment recommendations and access to care is needed. Contextual/neighborhood characteristics may also exist in cancer care that contributes to survival outcomes after diagnosis.
Abstract C73: A relationship between mast cells and the racial disparity of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer afflicts African American men to a greater degree than European American men, with a 60% greater incidence and 2-3 times greater mortality. In addition, studies have shown that the incidence rate of distant metastasis is 4 times greater in African American men than in European American men, consistent with the notion that prostate cancer is more aggressive in African Americans. Of interest, African American men are also significantly more likely to present with inflammation in benign prostate biopsies, and studies have shown higher expression of a number of inflammatory markers in prostate cancer tissue from African Americans compared to European Americans. One immune cell type of particular interest in the context of prostate cancer are mast cells, which have the potential to play a number of roles in cancer, and have also been shown to increase in number in prostate cancer versus benign regions of the prostate. In the present study, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to directly visualize and localize mast cells in the prostate microenvironment of African American and European American men in a tissue microarray (TMA) containing tumor and benign tissues from 75 African American and 75 European American prostate cancer patients matched on tumor grade and stage. Automated counting of mast cell numbers as well as the calculation of mast cell-to-epithelial ratio (MC/Ep) and mast cell numbers per total tissue area (density) was aided by novel digital image analysis using a software framework integrating whole slide imaging, virtual microscopy, and ImageJ based analysis algorithms. Key results to date include the finding that mast cell density in prostate tumor tissues of African American men is significantly lower than that of Caucasian Americans (p Citation Format: Heidi A. Hempel, Ibrahim Kulac, Nathan S. Cuka, Toby C. Cornish, Angelo M. De Marzo, Karen S. Sfanos. A relationship between mast cells and the racial disparity of prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr C73.
Air Blasts from Cased and Uncased Explosives

The problem of a spherical blast in air is solved using the STUN code. For bare charges, the calculations are shown to be in excellent agreement with previous published results. It is demonstrated that, for an unconfined (uncased) chemical explosive, both range and time to effect scale inversely as the cube root of the yield and directly as the cube root of the ambient air density. It is shown that the peak overpressure decays to roughly 1/10 of ambient pressure in a scaled range of roughly 10 m/kg1/3 at sea level. At a height of 30 km, where the ambient density is a factor of 64 less, the range to the same decay increases to 40 m/kg1/3 . As a direct result of the scaling a single calculation suffices for all charge sizes and altitudes. Although the close-in results are sensitive to the nature of the explosive source and the equation of state of the air, this sensitivity is shown to virtually disappear at scaled ranges > 0.5 m/kg1/3 . For cased explosives the case thickness introduces an additional scale factor. Moreover, when the blast wave arrives at the inner case radius the case begins to expand. Fracture occurs whenmore » a critical value of the resulting hoop strain is reached, causing the case to shatter into fragments. A model is proposed to describe the size distribution of the fragments and their subsequent motion via drag interaction with the explosion products and ambient air. It is shown that a significant fraction of the charge energy is initially transmitted to the case fragments in the form of kinetic energy; for example, a 1 kg spherical charge with a 5 mm thick steel case has almost 29% of the total charge energy as initial kinetic energy of case fragments. This percentage increases with increasing case thickness and decreases with increasing charge size. The peak overpressure at a given range is 70-85% for cased explosives as compared with uncased and the peak impulse per unit area is 90-95%. The peak overpressure and impulse also decrease rapidly with altitude. The effect of the fragments is to increase lethality. Whereas at a scaled range of 10 m/kg1/3 , the peak overpressure is an order of magnitude less than the ambient pressure, the number of fragments per unit area is close to 1 m-2 /kg1/3 , independent of case thickness or altitude. For sufficient ratio of case-to- explosive mass, the number of fragments scales with the cube root of the yield and is independent of case thickness.« less
Absence of Ouabain-Like Activity of the Na,K-ATPase Inhibitor in Guinea Pig Brain Extract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the absence of ouabain-like activity of the Na,K-ATPase inhibitor in guinea pig brain extract. An acetone-HC1 extract of guinea pig brain reported to have ouabain-like activity was prepared following the procedure of Fishman. The chapter presents the gel filtration chromatography of guinea pig brain extract on Sephadex G-10. The chapter presents a graphical representation of [ 3 H]Ouabain displacement activity of potassium chloride, unlabeled ouabain, column fractions, and desalted brain extract. The Na,K-ATPase inhibitory activity of the salt peak fractions is demonstrated in the Tris assay medium but not in a histidine assay medium. This activity is not destroyed by ashing. Thorough desalting of the pooled fractions with “apparent ouabain-like” activity abolished this activity. When assayed in the histidine medium, additional Na,K-ATPase inhibitory activity appeared in fractions distinct from the salt peak. It is concluded that the “apparent ouabain-like” activity of the guinea pig brain extract is not truly ouabain-like and can be explained by interfering ions.
Geometric Manifestations of Positivity

This chapter focuses on a number of results that in one way or another express geometric consequences of positivity. In the first section we prove the Lefschetz hyperplane theorem following the Morse-theoretic approach of Andreotti-Frankel [7]. Section 3.2 deals with subvarieties of small codimension in projective space: we prove Barth’s theorem and give an introduction to the conjectures of Hartshorne. The connectedness theorems of Bertini and Fulton-Hansen are established in Section 3.3, while applications of the Fulton-Hansen theorem occupy Section 3.4. Like the results from 3.2, these reflect the positivity of projective space itself. Finally, some extensions and variants are presented in Section 3.5.
Differences in Selected HIV Care Continuum Outcomes Among People Residing in Rural, Urban, and Metropolitan Areas—28 US Jurisdictions

Purpose The HIV care continuum is used to monitor success in HIV diagnosis and treatment among persons living with HIV in the United States. Significant differences exist along the HIV care continuum between subpopulations of people living with HIV; however, differences that may exist between residents of rural and nonrural areas have not been reported. Methods We analyzed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National HIV Surveillance System data on adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with HIV diagnosed in 28 jurisdictions with complete reporting of HIV-related lab results. Lab data were used to assess linkage to care (≥1 CD4 or viral load test ≤3 months of diagnosis), retention in care (≥2 CD4 and/or viral load tests ≥3 months apart), and viral suppression (viral load <200 copies/mL) among persons living with HIV. Residence at diagnosis was grouped into rural (<50,000 population), urban (50,000-499,999 population), and metropolitan (≥500,000 population) categories for statistical comparison. Prevalence ratios and 95% CI were calculated to assess significant differences in linkage, retention, and viral suppression. Findings Although greater linkage to care was found for rural residents (84.3%) compared to urban residents (83.3%) and metropolitan residents (81.9%), significantly lower levels of retention in care and viral suppression were found for residents of rural (46.2% and 50.0%, respectively) and urban (50.2% and 47.2%) areas compared to residents of metropolitan areas (54.5% and 50.8%). Conclusions Interventions are needed to increase retention in care and viral suppression among people with HIV in nonmetropolitan areas of the United States.
Does the Russian Government Pay a "Fair" Wage: Review of Studies

This paper surveys the literature on public—private sector wage differentials for Russian labor market. We give an overview of the main results and problems of the existing research. The authors unanimously confirm that in Russia private sector workers receive higher wages relative to their public sector counterparts. According to different estimates the "premium" varies between 7 and 40%. A correct evaluation of this "premium" is subject to debate and is a particular case of a more general econometric problem of wage differentials estimation. The main difficulties are related to data limitations, self-selection and omitted variables. Reasons for the existence of a stable private sector "premium" in Russia are not fully investigated.
The Empirical Foundations of Telepathology: Evidence of Feasibility and Intermediate Effects.

Abstract Introduction: Telepathology evolved from video microscopy (i.e., “television microscopy”) research in the early 1950s to video microscopy used in basic research in the biological sciences to a basic diagnostic tool in telemedicine clinical applications. Its genesis can be traced to pioneering feasibility studies regarding the importance of color and other image-based parameters for rendering diagnoses and a series of studies assessing concordance of virtual slide and light microscopy diagnoses. This article documents the empirical foundations of telepathology. Methods: A selective review of the research literature during the past decade (2005–2016) was conducted using robust research design and adequate sample size as criteria for inclusion. Conclusions: The evidence regarding feasibility/acceptance of telepathology and related information technology applications has been well documented for several decades. The majority of evidentiary studies focused on intermediate outcomes, as indicated by com...
History of heart valve repair

Rheumatic heart disease was dreadfully prevalent at the turn of the twentieth century. As a result, surgeons such as Henry Souttar, Elliot Cutler, and Theodore Tuffier had the unusual chance to operate on the cardiac valves. However, of the eleven operations performed on stenotic valves from 1912 to 1929, only two patients survived. World War II brought confidence in manipulating the heart, and finally, in 1948, a new generation of surgeons filled the operating theater led by Harken, Bailey, and Brock. Their skills enabled the creation of the first reliable closed techniques for the treatment of stenotic valves. Further progress occurred following the advent of techniques to support open-heart surgery by Lewis, Gibbon, Kirklin, and Lillehei in the early 1950s. Open-heart surgery made valve replacement and repair of insufficient valves feasible and repair of stenosis far more accurate. Replacements were the preferred procedure for years, until lasting improvements with valvular correction were made by Carpentier with the introduction of the annuloplasty ring in 1968 and advanced repairs for insufficiency in 1983. A move towards minimally invasive and robotic techniques occurred soon thereafter, along with the first percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty performed successfully in humans by Inoue and Kan in1982. The first purely robotic valve surgery was performed by Carpentier in 1998.