cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Collision-induced desorption (CID) of NO from Pt{111}: a comparison between the CID binding energy and the activation energy for thermal desorption

Abstract The Xe and Kr collision-induced desorption cross-sections for NO adsorbed on Pt{111} at 100 K are reported as a function of translational energy in the range of 1.9 to 3.8 eV. The minimum energy required for desorption is extracted using extrapolation to the zero of cross-section. The measured threshold energies exhibit total energy scaling for both beams using two angles of incidence, 45° and 15°. The threshold energies required to desorb NO from Pt{111} were determined experimentally to be 2.55 eV and 2.05 eV using Xe or Kr respectively. Using a hard sphere/cube collision model the NO-Pt{111} binding energy was calculated to be 1.12 ± 0.02 eV using either the beam of Xe or Kr. Comparison of this binding energy with the measured activation energy for thermal desorption supports an adsorption/desorption model having no precursor to the chemisorption state.
Modern tools for diesel engine combustion investigation

This paper describes the operating principle and the current development status of high-speed direct-injection diesel engines used in passenger cars. This type of engine has an advantage in efficiency of the order of 30% compared with current gasoline engines with three-way catalyst and has a high potential for further improvement, such as reduction of NO and soot emissions. The present state of knowledge of diesel engine combustion has benefited from optical diagnostic techniques that permit deeper insights into the in-cylinder processes such as flow generation, fuel injection and spray formation, atomization and mixing, autoignition and combustion, and the formation and reduction of pullutants. Part of the work described was carried out within the European (diesel) engine research programs IDEA and IDEA EFFECT. Finally, a summary is given of future trends in combustion diagnostics and engine developments, with emphasis on the significance of the D1 diesel engine as a power plant for passenger cars both inside and outside of Europe.
Maximum Pairwise Pseudo-likelihood Estimation of the Covariance Matrix from Left-Censored Data

Toxicological studies often depend on laboratory assays that have thresholds below which environmental pollutants cannot be measured with accuracy. Exposure levels below this limit of detection may well be toxic and hence it is vital to use data analytic methods that handle such left-censored data with as little estimation bias as possible. In an on-going study for which our methodology is developed, levels of residential exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the interrelationships of their subtypes (congeners) are characterized. In any given sample many of the congeners may fall below the detection limit. The main problem tackled in this paper is estimation of mean exposure levels and corresponding covariance and correlation matrices for a large number of potentially left-censored measures that have very low bias and are computationally feasible. The proposed methods are likelihood based, using marginal likelihoods for means and variances and pairwise pseudo-likelihoods for correlations and covariances. In the simple bivariate case, head-to-head comparisons show the proposed methods to be computationally more stable than ordinary maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) and still maintain comparable bias. When the number of variables is much larger than 2, the proposed methods are far more computationally feasible than MLE. Furthermore, they exhibit much less bias when compared to popular imputation procedures. Analysis of the PCB data uncovered interesting correlational structures.
Loss of hybridizable ribosomal DNA from human post-mitotic tissues during aging: I. Age-dependent loss in human myocardium.

Abstract DNA obtained from 29 male humans at autopsy was hybridized in liquid phase with tritium-labelled 18 and 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in order to determine whether a change in the dosage in rDNA, which codes for rRNA, occurs during human aging. The individuals ranged in age from 3 months to 76 years. It was found that the amount of rDNA hybridizable per 260 nm absorption unit by DNA decreases by about 0.5% per year with a regression coefficient of about −0.83. These findings confirm earlier ones from this laboratory and indicate either a loss of these key genes during aging of humans or decreased hybridizability due to some other factor or factors. In any event, this degree of loss or inactivation of genes involving an all protein synthesis would seem to impair function of post-mitotic cells in response to maximal stress to about the same degree that function is lost in various human organ systems during aging, as defined by Shock and others.
L factor: hope and fear in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

The L factor in the Drake equation is widely understood to account for most of the variance in estimates of the number of extraterrestrial intelligences that might be contacted by the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). It is also among the hardest to quantify. An examination of discussions of the L factor in the popular and technical SETI literature suggests that attempts to estimate L involve a variety of potentially conflicting assumptions about civilizational lifespan that reflect hopes and fears about the human future.
Interactions among mutations affecting spontaneous mutation, mitotic recombination, and DNA repair in yeast

The mutant alleles mms9-1, mms13-1, or mms21-1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae confer pleiotropic effects, including sensitivity to the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate, elevations in spontaneous mutation and mitotic recombination, defects in meiosis, and cross-sensitivity to radiation. We constructed double-mutant strains containing an mms mutation and a defect in either excision repair, mutagenic repair, or recombinational repair and measured the levels of spontaneous mutation and mitotic reombination. Double mutants lacking excision repair show elevations in spontaneous mutation but with predominantly unchanged levels of mitotic recombination. RAD52 function was required for the expression of the hyper-recombination phenotype of the mms9-1, mms13-1, and mms21-1 alleles; double mutants displayed the very low recombination levels characteristic of rad52 mutants. Phenotypes of double mutants containing one of the mms alleles and either of the hyper-recombination/mutator rad6-1 or rad3-102 alleles suggest that the mutagenic lesions in mms strains may not be identical to the recombinogenic lesions.
Treatment of Obsessive Thoughts and Cognitive Rituals Using Exposure and Response Prevention: A Case Study

This case study describes the application of cognitive-behavioral therapy by exposure and response prevention (EX/RP) to a young man with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) involving primarily obsessional thoughts and mental rituals. Although patients with primarily cognitive OCD symptoms have been previously considered treatment resistant, novel approaches to EX/RP have been developed and validated. Successful treatment of such symptoms requires a thorough and informed assessment. The theoretical and empirical basis for these procedures is described, along with a cognitive-behavioral analysis of the problem. The course of treatment, use of assessment data, and recommendations to clinicians are also discussed.
Waveform Design and Optimization in Radar Sensor Network

We investigate the use of information theory to design waveforms for the measurement of extended radar targets in radar sensor networks (RSN). The different channel gains for transmitting signals from different radar sensors are introduced to model the radar system channel. Given the transmitting signals, we optimized the estimation waveforms that maximize the mutual information between a target ensemble and the received signal within additive Gaussian noise given the transmitting signals so that characteristics of the target could be well recgonized. We also study the maximum mutual information with the constraints of the number of radar sensors, waveform energy and duration, which could be taken into consideration when waveforms are designed for RSN.
Object Discrimination With an Artificial Hand Using Electrical Stimulation of Peripheral Tactile and Proprioceptive Pathways With Intrafascicular Electrodes

Trans-radial amputee subjects were implanted with intrafascicular electrodes in the stumps of the median and ulnar nerves. Electrical stimulation through these electrodes was used to provide sensations of touch and finger position referred to the amputated hand. Two subjects were asked to identify different objects as to size and stiffness by manipulating them with a myo-electric hand without visual or auditory cues. Both subjects were provided with information about contact force with the objects via tactile sensations referred to their phantom hands. One subject, who was provided with information about finger position in the prosthetic hand via a different tactile sensation referred to his phantom hand, was unable to correctly identify the objects. The other subject, who received information about finger position via a proprioceptive sensation referred to his phantom hand, correctly identified the objects at a level statistically significantly above chance performance.
An efficient software implementation of the CAVLC encoder for H.264/AVC

Context Adaptive Variable-Length Coding (CAVLC) is employed by H.264/AVC for lossless encoding of quantized and predicted frames for compression gain. One of the most common methods for implementing CAVLC involves heavy reliance on look up tables (LUTs) to acquire a context adapted VLC. However the use of multiple LUTs results in large memory requirements for an embedded design. The largest LUT is used when the CAVLC encoder encodes the non-zero coefficients, called levels. To reduce memory requirements, a method for encoding levels without LUTs is proposed. In this paper, a simple realization of CAVLC in software is investigated and implemented for verification and validation testing.
Effect of 9-α-Fluorohydrocortisone on the Ileal Excreta of Ileostomized Subjects

Sodium deprivation, produced by sodium restriction or loss, results in a fall in the sodium and a rise in the potassium content of ileal excreta of ileostomized subjects. An endogenous aldosterone secretion has been postulated. To determine whether similar changes could be induced by exogenous mineralocorticoids, 9-α-fluorohydrocortisone, 2 mg per day by mouth, was administered to 5 subjects with stable ileostomy function who had had total colectomies for ulcerative colitis. Balance techniques were used. Contrary to the response seen with sodium deprivation, the 24-hr excretion of sodium was unaffected but mean potassium excretion and concentration in the ileal excreta increased (P
An integrated approach to modeling distributed manufacturing control and human operators

Manufacturing systems are experiencing several trends which are increasing the importance of the control system as a component of the overall manufacturing system. Among these trends are increased levels of automation, increasing differentiation and customization of products, and increased demands on system performance. A control system must coordinate the various activities of a manufacturing operation so that requirements and performance goals are met. Most manufacturing control systems are distributed in nature and incorporate both computerized controllers and human operators. There are few generic modeling approaches, however, which represent interactions between these manufacturing control entities. This research proposes a modeling approach which synthesizes a generic architecture for modeling computerized manufacturing control and the operator function model (OFM), a methodology to model operator actions and tasks in complex systems. This approach is based on an underlying client-server representation and has the potential to facilitate design and prototyping of manufacturing control systems.
Treatment Fidelity in Sex Offender Programming: Assessing Delivery across Community Providers∗

Abstract In an effort to focus on treatment fidelity in the sex offender field, this study evaluated the treatment delivery of ten clinicians who provided treatment to sex offenders under community supervision. Data collection and analysis involved a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Results revealed that treatment providers varied in their use of empirically-supported treatment techniques, their participation in the community containment approach, and their adherence to the treatment contract. These findings provide support for the continued study of treatment fidelity in the corrections literature. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Exploiting semantic role resources for preposition disambiguation

This article describes how semantic role resources can be exploited for preposition disambiguation. The main resources include the semantic role annotations provided by the Penn Treebank and FrameNet tagged corpora. The resources also include the assertions contained in the Factotum knowledge base, as well as information from Cyc and Conceptual Graphs. A common inventory is derived from these in support of definition analysis, which is the motivation for this work. The disambiguation concentrates on relations indicated by prepositional phrases, and is framed as word-sense disambiguation for the preposition in question. A new type of feature for word-sense disambiguation is introduced, using WordNet hypernyms as collocations rather than just words. Various experiments over the Penn Treebank and FrameNet data are presented, including prepositions classified separately versus together, and illustrating the effects of filtering. Similar experimentation is done over the Factotum data, including a method for inferring likely preposition usage from corpora, as knowledge bases do not generally indicate how relationships are expressed in English (in contrast to the explicit annotations on this in the Penn Treebank and FrameNet). Other experiments are included with the FrameNet data mapped into the common relation inventory developed for definition analysis, illustrating how preposition disambiguation might be applied in lexical acquisition.
Changing chromatin dynamics and nuclear organization during differentiation in Drosophila larval tissue

Global changes in gene expression and exit from the cell cycle underlie differentiation. Therefore, understanding chromatin behavior in differentiating nuclei and late G1 is key to understanding this developmental event. A nuclear event that has been shown to specifically occur in late G1 is the association of two heterochromatic blocks in Drosophila. The brown(Dominant) (bw(D)) chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster contains a large block of heterochromatin near the end of 2R. This distal block associates with centric heterochromatin (2Rh), but not until at least 5 hours into G1. We used the bw(D) allele as a model for nuclear organization to determine whether its association with the heterochromatic compartment of the second chromosomes (2Rh) strictly requires differentiation or if this change is a stochastic event, its occurrence being proportional to time spent in G1/G0 phase of the cell cycle. Fluorescence in situ hybridization on eye imaginal discs showed increased association between the bw locus and 2Rh in differentiated cells. Interestingly, an increase in the number of nuclei showing bw(D)-2Rh association in the brains of developmentally delayed larvae that were compromised for differentiation was also observed. Live fluorescence imaging showed that the kinetics of chromatin movement remains unchanged in the developmentally arrested nuclei. These observations suggest that nuclear reorganization is not directly controlled by specific inductive signals during differentiation and that this nuclear reorganization can happen in a cell, regardless of differentiation state, that is arrested in the appropriate cell cycle stage. However, we did see changes that appear to be more directly correlated with differentiation. Dynamic imaging in eye imaginal discs showed that the movement of chromatin is more constrained in differentiated cells, implying that confinement of loci to a smaller nuclear space may help to maintain the changed organization and the transcription profile that accompanies differentiation.
Partial fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux

Background: About 20% of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have severely impaired esophageal peristalsis in addition to an incompetent lower esophageal sphincter. In these patients a total fundoplication corrects the abnormal reflux, but it is often associated with postoperative dysphagia and gas bloat syndrome. We studied the efficacy of partial fundoplication in such patients.
Uncoupling of mRNA synthesis and degradation impairs adaptation to host temperature in Cryptococcus neoformans

The pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans must overcome multiple stressors to cause disease in its human host. In this study, we report that C. neoformans rapidly and transiently repressed ribosomal protein (RP) transcripts during a transition from 30°C to host-temperature. This repression was accompanied by accelerated mRNA degradation mediated by the major deadenylase, Ccr4, and influenced by the dissociable RNA polymerase II subunit, Rpb4. Destabilization and deadenylation of RP transcripts were impaired in an rpb4Δ mutant, suggesting that Rpb4 may be involved in host-temperature induced Ccr4-mediated decay. Accelerated decay of ER Stress transcripts one hour following a shift to host-temperature was also impaired in the rpb4Δ mutant. In response to host-temperature, Rpb4 moved from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, supporting a role for Rpb4 in coupling transcription and degradation. The PKH signaling pathway was implicated as a regulator of accelerated degradation of the RP transcripts, but not of the ER stress transcripts, revealing a further level of specificity. When transcription and degradation were uncoupled by deletion of Rpb4, growth at host-temperature was impaired and virulence was attenuated. These data suggest that mRNA synthesis and decay are coupled in C. neoformans via Rpb4, and this tight coordination promotes host-temperature adaptation and pathogenicity.
Media optimization and lipid formation of two native diatoms for cultivation in the Southwest Texas desert

Two native diatom isolates belonging to the genus Nitzschia, TAMU-LBK-020 and TAMU-LBK-023, were grown in a chamber simulating summer temperatures and light:dark cycle in the southwest Texas (USA) desert. Different concentrations of macronutrients (Si, N, and P) were tested to identify conditions conducive to growth. Growth rates of the fastest growing treatments exceeded 0.6 doublings per day, with DW and AFDW exceeding 1.0 and 0.8 g L−1, respectively. Treatments with positive growth were continued to a lipid formation step by omission of Si from the medium in this phase, with lipid accumulation monitored daily by Nile red fluorescence. Peak oil was observed at approximately day 3 for TAMU-LBK-020 and day 5 for TAMU-LBK-023. The highest oil concentrations observed were 17.5 ± 7.3 % of AFDW in TAMU-LBK-020 and 28.5 ± 5.6 % of AFDW in TAMU-LBK-023 at low N concentrations, but the low N also resulted in growth of 0.2 to 0.5 doublings per day. We propose a biphasic growth strategy, initially under a high macronutrient concentration to promote cell growth and division followed by starving for Si and N to achieve maximal lipid production. However, we anticipate that it will be necessary to determine optimal nutrient concentrations empirically for each species and strain. These results demonstrate that diatoms used for biofuels can achieve fast growth rates and high oil production, and also that native strains, when properly cultured, can be highly suitable for biofuel production, even in harsh climates such as the desert Southwest U.S.
Electronic Monitoring and Feedback to Improve Adherence in Pediatric Asthma

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of electronic monitoring and feedback to improve adherence in children taking daily asthma controller medications. Method Five patients with asthma and considered nonadherent participated. Inhalers were electronically monitored with the MDILogII TM device, and feedback was given by medical staff. Using a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design, patients and their parents received bimonthly feedback regarding medication use. Following treatment, feedback was withdrawn and effects of monitoring alone were observed. Results Three participants showed improvements in adherence following treatment, with more notable increases when baseline adherence was low. Improvements in the inhaler technique occurred for all patients. Some patients demonstrated improvements in lung functioning and functional severity. When feedback was withdrawn, adherence decreased for some participants, but technique improvements maintained. Conclusions Results support the use of objective monitoring devices for assessing pediatric asthma patients’ adherence and indicate that feedback from medical staff may improve and maintain medication adherence for some patients.
Regularized linear discriminant analysis and its application in microarrays

In this paper, we introduce a modified version of linear discriminant analysis, called the "shrunken centroids regularized discriminant analysis" (SCRDA). This method generalizes the idea of the "nearest shrunken centroids" (NSC) (Tibshirani and others, 2003) into the classical discriminant analysis. The SCRDA method is specially designed for classification problems in high dimension low sample size situations, for example, microarray data. Through both simulated data and real life data, it is shown that this method performs very well in multivariate classification problems, often outperforms the PAM method (using the NSC algorithm) and can be as competitive as the support vector machines classifiers. It is also suitable for feature elimination purpose and can be used as gene selection method. The open source R package for this method (named "rda") is available on CRAN (http://www.r-project.org) for download and testing.
SNR and bandwidth scalable speech coding

Bitrate scalability in speech coders can be used to achieve SNR scalable speech coding or bandwidth scalable coding of speech and audio. Depending upon the base layer bandwidth and base layer speech coder, several different scalable speech and audio coding structures have been investigated. We present a taxonomy of scalable speech coding structures and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each. We introduce an SNR scalable coder for noisy speech and propose the use of bandwidth scalable coders for rate switching in wireless environments. In addition, we develop a bandwidth scalable structure that is built around adaptive multirate speech coders.
Transcranial Doppler–Detected Microemboli in Patients With Acute Stroke

Background and Purpose Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) has been used to detect microembolic signals in a variety of clinical situations. We studied the prevalence of TCD-detected microemboli in 38 acute stroke patients. Methods Consecutive patients with acute anterior circulation stroke were stratified into high-risk (group 1), medium-risk (group 2), and low-risk (group 3) groups based on their risk factors for cerebral embolism. Results Microemboli were detected in 11% of patients. They were present in 17% of group 1, 10% of group 2, and 0% of group 3 patients. Emboli were present in patients with mechanical prosthetic valves, carotid stenosis (>70%), and mitral valve strands with a patent foramen ovale. Patients with microemboli more frequently had a history of cerebral ischemia compared with patients without microemboli ( P <.05). They also more frequently had recent (<3 months) symptoms compared with patients without microemboli ( P <.05). In patients with a cardiac source of embolization, the number of microemboli detected was directly proportional to the acuity of previous symptoms. Conclusions These data suggest that TCD-detected microemboli are associated with an increased prevalence of prior cerebrovascular ischemia. The presence of TCD-detected microemboli could be a risk factor for cerebrovascular ischemia.
The MAT1 Locus of Histoplasma capsulatum Is Responsive in a Mating Type-Specific Manner

Recombination events associated with sexual replication in pathogens may generate new strains with altered virulence. Histoplasma capsulatum is a mating-competent, pathogenic fungus with two described phenotypic mating types, + and −. The mating (MAT) locus of H. capsulatum was identified to facilitate molecular studies of mating in this organism. Through syntenic analysis of the H. capsulatum genomic sequence databases, a MAT1-1 idiomorph region was identified in H. capsulatum strains G217B and WU24, and a MAT1-2 idiomorph region was identified in the strain G186AR. A mating type-specific PCR assay was developed, and two clinical isolates of opposite genotypic mating type, UH1 and VA1, were identified. A known − mating type strain, T-3-1 (ATCC 22635), was demonstrated to be of MAT1-2 genotypic mating type. The clinical isolates UH1 and VA1 were found to be mating compatible and also displayed mating-type-dependent regulation of the MAT transcription factors in response to extracts predicted to contain mating pheromones. These studies support a role for the identified MAT1 locus in determining mating type in H. capsulatum.
A Case Study of the Sensitivity of Numerical Simulation of Mesoscale Convective Systems to Varying Initial Conditions

Abstract A 12 h nested-grid numerical simulation of a warm-season mesoscale convective weather system (Zhang and Fritsch, 1986) is utilized as a control run in order to 1) test the sensitivity of the numerical simulation to different types of initial conditions; 2) examine the need for an observing system that would resolve mesoscale features; and 3) determine which meteorological variables need to be most carefully considered in observing system design and preprocessing analysis. It is found that improved observational capabilities are likely to have an important impact on the successful prediction of the timing and location of summertime mesoscale convective weather systems if mesoscale features can be resolved. In particular, the resolution of the moisture field significantly affects the prediction of the evolution of the convective weather systems. Correspondingly, the mesoscale distribution of precipitation is substantially affected, especially the location of the areas of heavy rain. It is also foun...
Postnatal changes in gut hemodynamics: a possible role for substance P.

Studies were conducted in young postnatal swine to determine if substance P (SP) participates in the regulation of postnatal intestinal hemodynamics and oxygenation. SP was present in homogenates of whole intestine from postnatal swine in an age-dependent manner as follows: 1 day old and never fed, 126 ± 35; 3 days old and fasted, 148 ± 30; and 14 days old, 51 ± 10 pg/mg protein (P < 0.01, 14- vs. 1- or 3-day-olds). Phenylephrine-precontracted rings of mesenteric artery from 3-day-old subjects mounted for tension recording within buffer-filled myographs demonstrated brisk relaxation in response to SP (EC50, 2 × 10−10 M). This relaxation was eliminated by mechanical removal of the endothelium or blockade with the l-arginine analog N G-monomethyl-l-arginine (l-NMMA) and was significantly attenuated by pretreatment withN-acyl-l-Trp-3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl) benzyl ester (NATB), a highly selective NK-1 receptor antagonist (pA2 5 × 10−10 M). Infusion of exogenous SP into the mesenteric artery of innervated in ...
MUTANTS OF THE KILLER PLASMID OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE DEPENDENT ON CHROMOSOMAL DIPLOIDY FOR EXPRESSION AND MAINTENANCE

Mutants of the killer plasmid of Saccharomyecs cerevisiae have been isolated that depend upon chromosomal diploidy for the expression of plasmid functions and for replication or maintenance of the plasmid itself. These mutants are not defective in any chromosomal gene needed for expression or replication of the killer plasmid.—Haploids carrying these mutant plasmids (called d for diploid-dependent) are either unable to kill or unable to resist being killed or both and show frequent loss of the plasmid. The wild-type phenotype (K+R+) is restored by mating the d plasmid-carrying strain with either (a) a wild-type sensitive strain which apparently has no killer plasmid; (b) a strain which has been cured of the killer plasmid by growth at elevated temperature; (c) a strain which has been cured of the plasmid by growth in the presence of cycloheximide; (d) a strain which has lost the plasmid because it carries a mutation in a chromosomal mak gene; or (e) a strain of the opposite mating type which carries the same d plasmid and has the same defective phenotype, indicating that the restoration of the normal phenotype is not due to recombination between plasmid genomes or complementation of plasmid or chromosomal genes.—Sporulation of the phenotypically K+R+ diploids formed in matings between d and wild-type nonkiller strains yields tetrads, all four of whose haploid spores are defective for killing or resistance or maintenance of the plasmid or a combination of these. Every defective phenotype may be found among the segregants of a single diploid clone carrying a d plasmid. These defective segregants resume the normal killer phenotype in the diploids formed when a second round of mating is performed, and the segregants from a second round of meiosis and sporulation are again defective.
Characterization and receiver design for underwater acoustic channels with large Doppler spread

A time-varying underwater acoustic channel consists of multiple propagation paths which could have drastically distinct Doppler scaling factors. For example, in a communication scenario with mobile nodes, some paths might experience positive Doppler scales while others have negative Doppler scales, leading to a large Doppler spread. In this work, we address two issues. First, we quantify the channel Doppler spread of an underwater acoustic channel based on the instantaneous channel estimate from a probing signal. Second, we develop an OFDM receiver specifically for channels with large Doppler spread. Data sets collected from a swimming pool with a moving node are used for channel characterization and performance evaluation.
The effect of Fe on olivine H2O storage capacity: Consequences for H2O in the martian mantle

To investigate the influence of chemical composition on the behavior of H 2 O in Fe-rich nominally anhydrous minerals, and to determine the difference between H 2 O behavior in the martian and terrestrial mantles, we conducted high-pressure H 2 O storage capacity experiments employing a wide range of olivine compositions. Experiments were conducted with bulk compositions in the system FeO-MgO-SiO 2 -H 2 O with Mg no. [Mg no. = 100 × molar Mg/(Mg+Fe)] ranging between 50 and 100 at 3 GPa in a piston-cylinder and at 6 GPa in a multi-anvil apparatus. Experiments at 3 GPa were conducted at 1200 °C, with f O 2 buffered by the coexistence of Fe and FeO, and at 1300–1500 °C in unbuffered assemblies. Experiments at 6 GPa were conducted at 1200 °C without buffers. Experiments at 1200 °C produced olivine+orthopyroxene+hydrous liquid (liq), and higher T experiments produced olivine+liq. Additionally, we synthesized a suite of 7 olivine standards (Mg no. = 90) for low blank secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis of H in multi-anvil experiments at 3–10 GPa and 1250 °C, resulting in large (200–400 μm) homogeneous crystals with 0.037 to 0.30 wt% H 2 O. Polarized Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements on randomly oriented grains from the synthesis experiments were used to determine principal axis spectra through least-squares regression, and H contents were calculated from the total absorbance in the OH stretching region. Using these olivines as calibrants for SIMS analyses, the H contents of olivines and pyroxenes from the variable Mg no. experiments were measured by counting 16 OH ions. Ignoring any matrix effects owing to variation in Mg no., H contents of olivine and pyroxene increase linearly with decreasing Mg no. At 6 GPa and 1200 °C, olivine H contents increase from 0.05 to 0.13 wt% H 2 O (8360 to 23 900 H/10 6 Si) as olivine Mg no. decreases from 100 to 68, and at 3 GPa and 1200 °C olivine H contents increase from 0.017 to 0.054 wt% (278 to 10 000 H/10 6 Si) as Mg no. decreases from 100 to 55. The partition coefficient for H between pyroxene and olivine, D H opx/ol , decreases from 1.05 at 3 GPa and 1200 °C to 0.61 at 6 GPa and 1200 °C. The storage capacity of Fe-rich olivines with compositions expected in the martian mantle is ~1.5 times greater than those in the terrestrial mantle, suggesting that the geochemical behavior of H 2 O in the mantles of the two planets are quite similar. If 50% of the K 2 O on Mars remains in its mantle (Taylor et al. 2006), then a similar or greater proportion of the H 2 O is also in the mantle. Given accretionary models of the total martian H 2 O budget (Lunine et al. 2003), this suggests concentrations of 100–500 ppm H 2 O in the martian mantle and 0.1–1.9 wt% H 2 O in primary martian basalts.
Detectability of Hemodynamic Response to Thermal Pain in Pre-Frontal Cortex Using Diffuse Optical Tomography

We have explored the possibility of using diffuse optical tomography as a potential non-invasive clinical tool to monitor hemodynamic changes induced by neurophysiological and cognitive activities in response to conscious awareness of noxious pain.
The many causes of down cows

The down cow is a diagnostic challenge because of the multiplicity of factors which can lead to the same general presentation. Recumbency itself makes examination more difficult due to the bulk and weight of modern dairy cows. The superimposition of several causes in a single case make the order of events and the relative importance of various factors difficult or impossible to sort out. On post mortem examination secondary ischemia and muscle tearing, dislocations and fractures may be readily apparent while primary causes remain elusive.
Impact of Multiple Sclerosis on Daily Life

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system. Individuals with MS suffer from a host of physical symptoms as well as significant cognitive dysfunction. Changes in physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning have a direct association with performance of activities of daily living. This chapter describes the functional changes associated with multiple sclerosis by providing some case examples, and evidence related to research.
A Soluble Truncated Form of the Mer Tyrosine Kinase Inhibits Gas6 Activity in Platelets and Monocytes.

Several receptor tyrosine kinases generate soluble ligand binding domains either by proteolytic cleavage of the extracellular domain or differential splicing yielding in a truncated RNA transcript. Mer is a member of a receptor tyrosine kinase family which includes Axl and Tyro-3. All three members of this family have an extracellular domain which includes two immunoglobulin and two fibronectin type III motifs. Mer, Axl, and Tyro-3 are transforming in vitro in numerous cell types and are overexpressed in several different human cancers. In addition, Mer, Axl, and Tyro-3 and the common ligand Gas6 are all expressed in platelets and directly affect platelet activation and clot stability. We have found that the 205 kD Mer protein in platelets and monocytes is post-translationally processed by cleavage of the extracellular domain via a TACE-like metalloprotease. The cleavage results in a soluble extracellular domain protein (approximately 150kD) and a membrane-bound kinase domain. The proteolytic cleavage of Mer can be enhanced by LPS and PMA, and specifically inhibited by a TAPI, a TACE inhibitor. Significant amounts of the soluble Mer protein are present in human and mouse serum. The soluble Mer protein directly binds the ligand Gas6, and inhibits Gas6 stimulation of full-length Mer. Gas6, related to anticoagulant protein S, is also a ligand for Axl and Tyro-3. The cleavage of Mer may represent a mechanism of directly regulating the numerous functions of Gas6 including promoting platelet adhesion and clot stability, stimulating cell proliferation, inducing cell adhesion and chemotaxis, and preventing apoptosis. Furthermore, the ability of soluble Mer to inhibit Gas6 activity in platelets may provide a potential novel therapeutic intervention in the treatment of clotting disorders.
Test of target independence for free-free scattering in a Nd:YAG laser field

We report measurements of one-, two-, and three-photon processes during the elastic scattering of electrons through ${90}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ by helium, argon, and molecular-nitrogen targets, in the presence of 1.17-eV photons from a Nd:YAG laser. The incident energy of the electrons was 200 and 350 eV, and the linear polarization direction of the laser was parallel to the momentum transfer direction. Our measured free-free count rates for the three processes are target independent within the experimental uncertainties, perfectly consistent with the Kroll-Watson approximation, which assumes no interaction of the laser radiation with the target.
A Survey Assessment of Perceived Importance and Methods of Maintenance of Critical Procedural Skills in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

Objective The aim of this study was to delineate pediatric emergency medicine provider opinions regarding the importance of, and to ascertain existing processes by which practitioners maintain, the following critical procedural skills: oral endotracheal intubation, intraosseous line placement, pharmacologic and electrical cardioversion, tube thoracostomy, and defibrillation. Methods A customized survey was administered to all members of the Listserv for the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Emergency Medicine. Perceived importance of maintaining critical pediatric procedural skills was measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Secondary outcomes included presence and type of mandatory training, availability of on-site backup, and perceived barriers to maintenance of skills. Results Two hundred sixty-two members (25%) responded representing 106 different institutions, 70% of freestanding children’s hospitals that received graduate medical education payments in 2014, and 68% of pediatric emergency medicine fellowship programs. More than 90% of respondents felt it was either very or extremely important to maintain competency for 5 of the 6 critical procedures, but no more than 49% of respondents felt that clinical care alone provided opportunity to maintain skills. The proportion of respondents indicating no mandatory training for each critical procedural skill was as follows: oral endotracheal intubation (23%), intraosseous line placement (30%), pharmacologic cardioversion (32%), electrical cardioversion (32%), tube thoracostomy (40%), and defibrillation (32%). Conclusions Critical procedural skills are perceived by emergency providers who care for children as extremely important to maintain. Direct care of pediatric patients likely does not provide sufficient opportunity to maintain these skills. There are widespread deficiencies relating to mandatory maintenance of critical procedural skill training.
Global Cancer in Women: Cancer Control Priorities

This review is an abbreviated version of a report prepared for the American Cancer Society Global Health department and EMD Serono, Inc., a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which was released at the Union for International Cancer Control World Cancer Congress in Paris in November 2016. The original report can be found at https://www.cancer.org/health-care-professionals/our-global-health-work/global-cancer-burden/global-burden-of-cancer-in-women.html. Staff in the Intramural Research Department of the American Cancer Society designed and conducted the study, including analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the review. The funding sources had no involvement in the study design, data analysis and interpretation, or preparation of the reviewThe global burden of cancer in women has recently received much attention, but there are few comprehensive reviews of the burden and policy approaches to reduce it. This article, second in series of two, summarizes the most important cancer control priorities with specific examples of proven interventions, with a particular focus on primary prevention in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). There are a number of effective cancer control measures available to countries of all resource levels. Many of these measures are extremely cost-effective, especially in the case of tobacco control and vaccination. Countries must prioritize efforts to reduce known cancer risk factors and make prevention accessible to all. Effective treatments and palliative care are also needed for those who develop cancer. Given scarce resources, this may seem infeasible in many LMICs, but past experience with other diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria have shown that it is possible to make affordable care accessible to all. Expansion of population-based cancer registries and research in LMICs are needed for setting cancer control priorities and for determining the most effective interventions. For LMICs, all of these activities require support and commitment from the global community. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(4); 458-70. ©2017 AACRSee related article by Torre et al. in this CEBP Focus section, "Global Cancer in Women."
A Review of Training Strategies to Teach Individuals Implementation of Behavioral Interventions

The purpose of this review is to provide a critical analysis of research on staff training procedures to identify best practices as well as unanswered questions, which may be addressed in future re...
Transcriptional Regulation of Thrombopoiesis.

Over the past two decades, a number of key transcription factors have been identified that play essential roles in megakaryocyte development. These include GATA-1, GATA-2, Friend of GATA-1 (FOG-1), Runx-1, Cbf-β, Fli-1, GABPα, TEL, NF-E2 p45, Gfi-1b, and SCL/TAL. Importantly, mutations in genes encoding several of these have been linked to human disorders of thrombopoieisis. Germline GATA-1 mutations that disrupt binding to FOG-1 cause X-linked macrothrombocytopenia and dyserythropoietic anemia. Acquired GATA-1 mutations that lead to exclusive production of a short isoform (GATA-1s) play initiating roles in Down Syndrome Transient Myeloproliferative Disorder (DS-TMD) and subsequent Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukemia (DS-AMKL). Haploinsufficiency of Runx-1 causes Familial Platelet Disorder with Propensity to Develop AML (FPD/ AML). Heterozygous loss of the Fli-1 gene leads to the macrothrombocytopenia seen in Jacobsen’s (Paris-Trousseau) syndrome. Important outstanding questions include: how these transcription factors act together to control megakaryocyte terminal maturation; how they differentially act as activators or repressors depending on gene context; how they intersect with cell signaling pathways; how they may coordinate terminal megakaryocyte maturation with spatial location within the bone marrow; how they may control cell fate decisions of bipotential erythroid/megakaryocytic progenitor cells; and whether additional key transcription factors exist. Application of proteomic approaches involving multi-protein complex purification has provided novel insights into some of these questions. We have isolated GATA-1 containing complexes from megakaryocytic cells and identified the Kruppel-type zinc finger transcription factor ZBP-89 as a novel regulator of megakaryocyte and erythroid development. Knockdown of ZBP-89 expression in zebrafish embryos and mice results in blocked early megakaryopoiesis and definitive erythropoiesis, phenocopying aspects of GATA-1- and FOG-1-deficient animals. We have also found that the focal adhesion component Kindlin-3 co-localizes to the nucleus and interacts with FOG-1, suggesting a possible link between integrin signaling and megakaryocyte transcriptional control. Runx-1 multi-protein complex purifications have led to the identification of Fli-1 as a direct binding partner. This interaction results in synergistic transcriptional activation of megakaryocyte-specific genes. Interestingly, the interaction between Runx-1 and Fli-1 occurs preferentially in cells that are differentiating, even though both proteins are expressed abundantly in undifferentiated megakaryoblastic cells. This binding event correlates with assembly of a large complex containing Runx-1/ Fli-1/GATA-1/FOG-1 based on gel filtration chromatography experiments. These factors may, therefore, act as a megakaryocyte-specific enhancesome. Key future directions are aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms that regulate these protein-protein interactions and how cell signaling pathways may modulate them.
Effects of research complexity and competition on the incidence and growth of coauthorship in biomedicine.

Background Investigations into the factors behind coauthorship growth in biomedical research have mostly focused on specific disciplines or journals, and have rarely controlled for factors in combination or considered changes in their effects over time. Observers often attribute the growth to the increasing complexity or competition (or both) of research practices, but few attempts have been made to parse the contributions of these two likely causes. Objectives We aimed to assess the effects of complexity and competition on the incidence and growth of coauthorship, using a sample of the biomedical literature spanning multiple journals and disciplines. Methods Article-level bibliographic data from PubMed were combined with publicly available bibliometric data from Web of Science and SCImago over the years 1999–2007. We selected four predictors of coauthorship were selected, two (study type, topical scope of the study) associated with complexity and two (financial support for the project, popularity of the publishing journal) associated with competition. A negative binomial regression model was used to estimate the effects of each predictor on coauthorship incidence and growth. A second, mixed-effect model included the journal as a random effect. Results Coauthorship increased at about one author per article per decade. Clinical trials, supported research, and research of broader scope produced articles with more authors, while review articles credited fewer; and more popular journals published higher-authorship articles. Incidence and growth rates varied widely across journals and were themselves uncorrelated. Most effects remained statistically discernible after controlling for the publishing journal. The effects of complexity-associated factors held constant or diminished over time, while competition-related effects strengthened. These trends were similar in size but not discernible from subject-specific subdata. Conclusions Coauthorship incidence rates are multifactorial and vary with factors associated with both complexity and competition. Coauthorship growth is likewise multifactorial and increasingly associated with research competition.