cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Shrinkage of dental composite in simulated cavity measured with digital image correlation

Polymerization shrinkage of dental resin composites can lead to restoration debonding or cracked tooth tissues in composite-restored teeth. In order to understand where and how shrinkage strain and stress develop in such restored teeth, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was used to provide a comprehensive view of the displacement and strain distributions within model restorations that had undergone polymerization shrinkage. Specimens with model cavities were made of cylindrical glass rods with both diameter and length being 10 mm. The dimensions of the mesial-occlusal-distal (MOD) cavity prepared in each specimen measured 3 mm and 2 mm in width and depth, respectively. After filling the cavity with resin composite, the surface under observation was sprayed with first a thin layer of white paint and then fine black charcoal powder to create high-contrast speckles. Pictures of that surface were then taken before curing and 5 min after. Finally, the two pictures were correlated using DIC software to calculate the displacement and strain distributions. The resin composite shrunk vertically towards the bottom of the cavity, with the top center portion of the restoration having the largest downward displacement. At the same time, it shrunk horizontally towards its vertical midline. Shrinkage of the composite stretched the material in the vicinity of the "tooth-restoration" interface, resulting in cuspal deflections and high tensile strains around the restoration. Material close to the cavity walls or floor had direct strains mostly in the directions perpendicular to the interfaces. Summation of the two direct strain components showed a relatively uniform distribution around the restoration and its magnitude equaled approximately to the volumetric shrinkage strain of the material.
Micromachined nanocrystalline SnO2 chemical gas sensors for electronic nose

MEMS-based batch fabrication compatible sol–gel synthesized mesoporous nanocrystalline SnO2 gas sensor has been developed. The SnO2 nanofilm is fabricated with the combination of polymeric sol–gel chemistry and block copolymers used as structure directing agents. The novel hydrogen sensor has a fast response time (2 s) and quick recovery time (10 s), as well as good sensitivity (up to 90), in comparing to other hydrogen sensors developed. The working temperature of the sensor developed can be reduced as low as 100 ◦ C. The low working temperature poses advantages such as lower power consumption; lower thermal induced signal shift as well as safe detection in certain environments where temperature is strictly limited. The nanocrystalline SnO2 sensor has a broad sensitivity. The developed sensor cell will be used to develop a high sensitivity and high selectivity electronic nose for harmful chemical gas detection by combining different catalysts doped SnO2 gas sensor array with fuzzy neural network. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Structural Theories and Race-Specific Drug Arrests: What Structural Factors Account for the Rise in Race-Specific Drug Arrests Over Time?

Studies examining the structural correlates of urban crime have generated a large body of research; however, few studies have linked the structural conditions to race-specific drug arrests. In this study, the authors examine the impact of urban disadvantage, social disorganization, and racial threat indicators on the rise in race-specific drug arrests from 1980 to 1990. They find these theoretical perspectives contribute to an understanding of the change in race-specific drug arrests. Findings indicate that shifts in the urban economy significantly affected Black drug arrests, while having no effect on the change in White drug arrests. In addition, the shift away from manufacturing jobs significantly affected Black arrests for drug possession. Consistent with the theory, social disorganization measures proved equally significant for Whites and Blacks, whereas mixed support was found for racial threat arguments. The importance of a theoretically grounded exploration into the rise in racial disparities in d...
A Definitive Biography of Henry George

THE PUBLICATION OF THIS LONG-AWAITED WORK1 has provided Henry George with the biography he has sorely needed. Indeed, it is a peculiar commentary on the decline of American liberalism that one of its dominant figures has had to wait fifty-eight years from the time of his death to receive the full attention of a trained biographer, at least one not in the family circle. Professor Barker's book is authoritative, scholarly, sympathetic, and complete. It is not a literary biography in the grand style, like the recent Packe life of John Stuart Mill, for an example; it is rather an historian's biography-which is not a synonym for dullness, although the book does contain some (almost necessary) dull sections. The attitude throughout is objective without being patronizing, and appreciative without being eulogistic. In short, the attitude is the proper one. If there is anything missing from the book, it is a clear-cut picture of George's personality, but in the case of a public figure and a reformer, that is always difficult to capture, and, for various reasons, particularly so in this case. But, at the outset, let us say that this undoubtedly will be the definitive life of Henry George.
Characterization of target-pylon interactions in RCS measurements

Target interactions with pylon supports can be a significant contamination source in radar cross section (RCS) measurements. The direct scattering from ogival pylon supports has been previously examined, but interactions between targets and pylons have not been extensively studied. As part of an on-going program to develop methods of reducing support contamination, the phenomenology of target-pylon interactions was characterized by examining wideband numerical simulations and experimental measurements of canonical targets mounted on pylon supports. Radar imaging techniques were used to separate target returns from support/interaction contamination. The numerical simulations provided noiseless data with known free space target scattering and no measurement uncertainty. The experimental measurements provided validation of the numerical results and observations of interactions over a wider range of target type, size and orientation. These observations have been used to develop post-processing algorithms for mitigating target-pylon interactions in RCS measurements. The authors review the data and describe the observed interactions.
Prestorage leukoreduction does not increase hemolysis of stored red cell concentrates.

Abstract Background In December 2004, Pall Corporation initiated voluntary recall of certain filters used for leukocyte-reduction of blood products. Although our center had not used the implicated lots, certain customers reported observing increased hemolysis in the red-cell units (RC) provided by us. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of hemolysis seen in RC produced by our center. Methods In the first-phase, we evaluated 20 leukocyte-reduced (LR)-RC, those judged by one of our hospitals to have the highest degree of hemolysis (age: 10–30 days; average = 16 days). Results were compared to ten randomly selected non-LR-RC (age: 10–19 days; average: 15 days). Samples obtained directly from the RC were tested for hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct) and supernatant-Hb. Percent-hemolysis (% hemolysis) was calculated. In the second-phase, the above measurements were made on 70RCs. Ten RCs were studied before and after leukofilteration on day-2 after collection. Ten units each (LR & non-LR) were selected randomly from inventory at days: 15, 30 and 40 after collection (LR-units filtered within 48 h). Results In the first-phase LR-RCs exhibited an average 0.06% hemolysis vs. 0.02% for non-LR units. In the second-phase the average % hemolysis before and after filteration on day-2 (LR: 0.04% & non-LR: 0.04%) was similar. While on days:15 (LR: 0.09%, non-LR: 0.05%) and 30 (LR: 0.16%, non-LR: 0.13%) % hemolysis was slightly more in LR as compared to non-LR. It was the opposite for day 40 (LR: 0.19%, non-LR: 0.31%). However, none of these differences were statistically significant. Conclusions The % hemolysis increased as the age of the unit increased. There was no significant statistical difference between LR-RC and non-LR-RCs. This data did not confirm our hospitals’ concerns regarding increased hemolysis following LR.
Further study of a reversing visual illusion

Subjects compared an open interval, bounded by vertical lines, to one of equal length which contained an intervening stimulus. The intervening stimulus increased perceived length for small visual angles but decreased it for larger angles. Reversal occurred at approximately the point at which both end markers could no longer be encompassed in one fixation. Increasing the size of the intervening stimulus increased the magnitude of the illusion in both directions.
Computer Modeling of Three-dimensional Structure of DNA-packaging RNA (pRNA) Monomer, Dimer, and Hexamer of Phi29 DNA Packaging Motor

Abstract A striking common feature in the maturation of all linear double-stranded DNA viruses is that their lengthy genome is translocated with remarkable velocity into the limited space within a preformed protein shell and packaged into near crystalline density. A DNA-translocating motor, powered by ATP hydrolysis, accomplishes this task, which would otherwise be energetically unfavorable. DNA-packaging RNA, pRNA, forms a hexameric complex to serve as a vital component of the DNA translocating motor of bacterial virus Phi29. The sequential action of six pRNA ensures continual function in the DNA translocation process. The Phi29 motor has been assembled with purified components synthesized by chemical or biotechnological approaches and is able to pump the viral DNA into the protein shell in vitro. pRNA dimers are the building blocks of the hexamer. The computer models of the three-dimensional structure of the motor was constructed based on experimental data derived from photoaffinity cross-linking by psoralen, phenphi (cis-Rh(1,10-phenanthroline)(9,10-phenan-threnequinone diimine)C l ), and azidophenacyl; chemical modification and chemical modification interference with dimethyl sulfate, 1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl)carbodiimide metho-p-toluene sulfonate, and kethoxal; complementary modification; and nuclease probing by single- and double-stranded specific RNases. The shapes of these computer models are very similar to the published pRNA images of cryo-atomic force microscopy. pRNA hexamer docking with the connector crystal structure reveals a very impressive match with the available biochemical, genetic, and physical data.
The mitochondrial K-ATP channel opener, diazoxide, prevents ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rabbit spinal cord

Paraplegia resulting from ischemia is a catastrophic complication of thoracoabdominal aortic surgery. The current study was designed to investigate the effects of diazoxide (DZ) on mitochondrial structure, neurological function, DNA damage-repair, and apoptosis in spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury. Rabbits were subjected to 30 minutes of spinal cord ischemia and reperfusion (1 hour) with or without diazoxide (n = 6 in each group) by clamping and releasing the infrarenal aorta. The neurological functional score was significantly improved in the DZ-treated ischemia-reperfusion injury group. Electron microscopic studies demonstrated that mitochondrial damage in the spinal cord after injury was significantly reduced by DZ. Mitochondrial superoxide and hydrogen peroxide levels were also markedly decreased in the DZ-treated injury group compared with the untreated group. DZ decreased levels of the oxidative DNA damage product 8-oxoG and increased levels of the DNA repair enzyme OGG-1. Furthermore, DZ inhibited apoptosis via caspase-dependent and -independent pathways. These studies indicate for the first time that the mitochondrial K-ATP channel opener diazoxide improves neurological function after spinal cord ischemia and reperfusion by diminishing levels of reactive oxygen species, decreasing DNA oxidative damage, and inhibiting caspase-dependent and -independent apoptotic pathways while preserving mitochondrial structure.
PERSPECTIVE: THE SIZE-COMPLEXITY RULE

It is widely accepted that bigger entities have a greater division of labor than smaller ones and this is reflected in the fact that larger multicellular organisms have a corresponding increase in the number of their cell types. This rule is examined in some detail from very small organisms to large animals, and plants, and societies. Compared to other size-related rules, the size-complexity rule is relatively rough and approximate, yet clearly it holds throughout the whole range of living organisms, as well as for societies. The relationship between size and complexity is analyzed by examining the effects of size increase and decrease: size increase requires an increase in complexity, whereas size decrease permits, and sometimes requires, a decrease in complexity. Conversely, an increase or decrease in complexity permits, but does not require changes in size. An especially compelling argument for the close relation between size and complexity can be found in size quorum sensing in very small multicellular organisms.
Gluten formation studied by the transmission electron microscope

The structure of gluten and its formation was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Stretching the strands of the native framework of insoluble endosperm protein levels down globular surface structures to form a platelet-like arrangement on protein sheets. Treating the sheets with solutions of triethylamine or dithioerythritol results in an increased appearance of thread-like forms, which are considered to be one of the structural elements of gluten. The formation of gluten is basically a process of aggregation and of the mechanical transformation of materials that exist in the pre-formed state within the endosperm cells. The most important transformation is the formation of protein films, which starts at the branching points of protein strands and results in a layer-like arrangement in dough and gluten.
The Mass Spectrum of Giant Hydrogen Clouds Associated with Damped Ly α Absorbers

Comparison of the observed properties of damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs) seen in QSO spectra with different structures in the interstellar medium of our own and nearby galaxies shows that these absorbers may be interpreted as giant hydrogen clouds (GHCs) in intervening galaxies along the lines-of-sight. We show that the observational data on the redshift and column density distribution of the DLAs may be used to study the mass spectrum of GHCs and its evolution with cosmic time. The derived mass spectrum may be represented by a power-law relation with rapid cosmic evolution in the exponent. The evolution may be interpreted in terms of global star formation processes in young galaxies.
Quality of Packaged Ice Purchased at Retail Establishments in Iowa.

The quality of packaged ice sold in retail establishments is not uniformly regulated, and its cleanliness and safety have not been recently evaluated. This investigation examined the physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics of 18 brands of packaged ice purchased at Iowa stores. Twenty-two ice samples were melted under controlled conditions and portions were analyzed for selected analytes established as primary and secondary drinking water standards by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Only one sample exceeded a primary health standard under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and that sample contained Klebsiella pneumoniae , a member of the total coliform group of bacteria. Several samples of ice manufactured in convenience stores had heterotrophic plate counts which exceeded the recommendation (<500 CFU/ml) established by the Packaged Ice Association, and none of the manufacturers met the minimum package labeling recommendations of that organization. Ice produced in convenience stores was of consistently poorer microbiological quality than ice produced by major commercial manufacturers. While ice consumption does not represent an immediate threat to personal or public health, the potential for disease transmission exists in an industry which is voluntarily self-regulated.
The Influence of Client Integrity and Competence and Auditor Characteristics on Materiality Estimates

This research investigates the influence of client integrity and competence as well as firm and individual auditor differences on materiality estimates. In a laboratory setting, a case study was administered to 494 auditors (152 managers and 342 seniors) from five Big Six firms. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three client types: high integrity and competence, low integrity and competence, and a control group (no explicit evaluation of client integrity and competence). The results indicate that materiality estimates were influenced by: (1) client integrity and competence, (2) moral judgment, (3) auditor experience, and (4) the individual accounting firms.
Further Investigation of Sex Differences in Achievement of Under-, Average-, and Over-Achieving Students within Five IQ Groups in Grades Four through Eight

IN A RECENT study entitled " Are There Really Sex Differences in Achievement?" (7), the present authors indicated that few, if any, sex differences were present in the areas of reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic reasoning and arithmetic fundamentals in grades two through eight in the five IQ groups that were investigated. Previ ous studies in this area usually involved only one grade level (2; 3), or specific IQ groups (4; 1). The studies on sex differences (5; 8) have generally in dicated that such differences do exist, with girls generally excelling boys.in the reading areas, and boys excelling girls in arithmetic. Where the stu dies have been related to under-, average-, and over-achievement, the results have generally been inconclusive. The general purpose of the present study is to further investigate the possible presence of sex dif ferences in achievement as related to IQ in grades four through eight, when the total achievement groups previously investigated are differentiated in to smaller groups of under-, average-, and over achievers. It was felt that there might be "mask ing" effects which conceal possible sex differences when the overall achievement group is studied within the various IQ groups, and that this more precise division of the groups would "unmask" these differ ences. The authors are fully aware of the ambigu ity of the term overachievers (6), but used the term to designate those students whose scores fall above the designated cut points described later in this article. POPULATION STUDIED AND PROCEDURE
Reconfiguration of the neural network controlling multiple breathing patterns: eupnea, sighs and gasps [see comment].

Are different forms of breathing derived from one or multiple neural networks? We demonstrate that brainstem slices containing the pre-Botzinger complex generated two rhythms when normally oxygenated, with striking similarities to eupneic ('normal') respiration and sighs. Sighs were triggered by eupneic bursts under control conditions, but not in the presence of strychnine (1 microM). Although all neurons received synaptic inputs during both activities, the calcium channel blocker cadmium (4 microM) selectively abolished sighs. In anoxia, sighs ceased, and eupneic activity was reconfigured into gasping, which like eupnea was insensitive to 4 microM cadmium. This reconfiguration was accompanied by suppression of synaptic inhibition. We conclude that a single medullary network underlies multiple breathing patterns.
Opening New Worlds for Those with Autism: Technology Is Creating Great New Possibilities for Those on Every Part of the Spectrum

In April 2016, in honor of Autism Acceptance Month, Apple released a video that quickly went viral, racking up more than 4 million views in its first few days (https://youtube/oMN2PeFama0). It shows a teenage boy named Dillan whose life has been completely transformed by the use of an iPad. As a nonverbal person, until he learned to use the device, he had no way of showing people that he was aware, thoughtful, paying attention, and eager to communicate. He just didn't have the necessary control over his body?s vocal apparatus to let people know he was really there. Suddenly, this little piece of 21st-century technology gave him that ability. For him, the technology has been literally life-changing.
Climate Change: A Wicked Problem: Energy, economics, and climate change

We can't engage in a serious examination of climate change without considering its strong ties to energy. More than any other factor, anthropogenic contributions to climate depend on how energy is produced and used. Over his illustrious career, Richard Smalley (1943–2005), a Nobel Laureate and pioneer in the field of nanoscience and technology, was invited to give many lectures on his work. However, in the last few years of his life, he felt compelled to use the lectures as a vehicle for sharing his concerns about the world's energy future. In one of his slides he presented his views on humanity's top ten problems of the next fifty years. His list included food, water, the environment, poverty, war, disease, education, democracy, and population. While we might attach different weights to the significance of each concern, we would probably agree that all are to be taken seriously. However, for Smalley, there was no equivocation on what belonged at the top of the list. Meeting the world's energy needs was paramount and linked, to varying degree, with the other nine. Energy: an indispensable resource It would be difficult to overstate the importance of energy to the well-being of humankind. It is the resource that sustains all life and economic activity. It enables the production and distribution of all manner of goods and services, as well as human mobility on the ground and in the air. It is absolutely essential to achieving an acceptable standard of living, and in the words of Paul Roberts (2004, p. 6), “Access to energy has emerged as the overwhelming imperative of the twenty-first century.” While preindustrial societies functioned entirely on energy derived from the Sun, the Industrial Revolution marked a transition to the use of fossil fuels and by the mid-twentieth century to nuclear energy. It is difficult to appreciate the enormity of today's global energy supply chain. In 2013, humankind consumed approximately 505 quadrillion (505,000 trillion) British thermal units (Btu) of energy, or simply 505 quads (BP, 2014a). The amount is staggering, and trillions of dollars are spent annually to produce and distribute this energy.
Applications of the Theory of Meaningfulness to order and Matching Experiments

Abstract The theory of meaningfulness of statements using numerical scales is applied to the analysis of statements involving scales representing the semiorders and indifference graphs which result from order and matching experiments.
Clustering fully and partially observable graphs via nonconvex optimization

The problem of clustering unweighted graphs either in the case of fully or partially observable adjacency matrices is considered in this paper. Both these subproblems have been recently considered in the literature and have been tackled based on convex optimization techniques related to the problems of matrix completion and robust principal component analysis that fall into the general compressive sensing framework. We revisit these approaches and extend them by proposing ways to obtain more accurate clustering results based on better approximations for the l0-norm of a matrix than the l1-norm. The current state-of-art methods correspond to special instances of the proposed extensions. Although nonconvex, the proposed methods can be approximately decomposed into sequences of l1-norm minimization problems, thus pertaining the efficiency of convex formulations. The methods are compared using graphs that are built upon the classical stochastic blockmodel. These comparisons provide a good indication that the proposed methods can improve the accuracy of state-of-art clustering methods applied to currently popular applications such as that of community detection in social networks.
Long-Term Modal Analysis of the New Carquinez Long-Span Suspension Bridge

Recent acceleration in the development of sensing and data acquisition technologies has led to the dramatic reduction in the cost of monitoring solutions while functionality has improved. These trends have made instrumentation of large, complex infrastructure systems for long-term monitoring possible. For many structures, long-term monitoring provides a massive data set upon which the system’s modal properties can be empirically identified. Modal properties have been previously used for model updating and to better understand the performance of the instrumented structure. In this study, a low-cost wireless sensing platform has been used to permanently instrument a long-span bridge for long-term monitoring of structural behavior under normal operational loading profiles including exposure to wind, temperature and traffic loads. The Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge (also termed the New Carquinez Suspension Bridge) located in Vallejo, California was instrumented to monitor bridge accelerations, strains, and displacements. In addition, the wireless monitoring system was used to indirectly monitor thermal and wind loads by measuring temperature and wind characteristics (i.e.,direction and speed) respectively. The study’s primary focus is on the autonomous extraction of modal characteristics of the bridge using the output-only stochastic subspace identification (SSI) method. Using extracted modal frequencies, relationships are presented between the modal characteristics of the bridge and environmental parameters such as temperature and traffic activity.
Effect of ω-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation to Gestating and Lactating Mares: On Milk IgG, Mare and Foal Blood Concentrations of IgG, Insulin and Glucose, Placental Efficiency, and Fatty Acid Composition of Milk and Serum From Mares and Foals

Abstract Limited research has been conducted to evaluate effects of fatty acid (FA) supplementation on mare and foal FA profiles and foal immunity. Dietary polyunsaturated FAs, particularly ω-3 FAs, increase fluidity of intestinal cell membranes. Fluidity of mammary tissues may also be altered to allow more incorporation of immunoglobulin G (IgG) into milk. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine effects of incorporating dietary ω-3 FAs on mares, her milk, and her subsequent foal. Pregnant mares were assigned to one of three diets beginning 28 days before expected foaling date until 84 days after foaling. Diet 1 was a commercial feed (CON); diet 2 was diet 1 plus a fish oil blend (FO); and diet 3 was diet 1 plus a blend of fish and soybean oil (FSO). Mare serum FA concentrations were not affected by treatment ( P > .05) with the exception of 20:5, which had a treatment × time interaction ( P P > .05) with the exception of 16:1 and 20:5. Foal serum FA concentration was not affected by treatment with the exception of 18:2, which had a treatment × time interaction, and 20:5 ( P P = .1318), serum insulin ( P = .3886), plasma glucose ( P = .2407), or milk IgG ( P = .1262) concentrations for treatment. Foal plasma IgG ( P = .2767), serum insulin ( P = .4843), or plasma glucose ( P = .1204) were not affected by treatment. Omega-3 FA in mare serum, milk, and foal serum were able to be manipulated by diet; however, IgG concentration was unchanged.
Fabrication, characterization and properties of food nanoemulsions

Abstract: There is increasing interest within the food industry in utilizing nanoemulsions to encapsulate, protect and deliver lipophilic functional food components, such as oil-soluble flavors, preservatives, vitamins and nutraceuticals. Some of the potential advantages of nanoemulsions over conventional emulsions are: they scatter light weakly and so can be incorporated into optically transparent foods and beverages; they can greatly increase the bioavailability of non-polar substances; they have a high stability to particle aggregation and gravitational separation. This chapter provides an overview of the current status of nanoemulsion fabrication, characterization and applications.
Ruptured uterine artery pseudoaneurysm: an overlooked cause of late postpartum haemorrhage

We report an exceptional case of secondary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) twenty days after cesarean delivery, resulting from a ruptured uterine artery pseudoaneurysm (UAP). The diagnosis was initially confounded by a septic shock necessitating inotropic support in the intensive care unit. Intense vaginal bleeding occurred eleven days after uterine curettage. Doppler ultrasound showed an anechoic focus in the inferior part of the uterus with turbulent flow. Bilateral internal iliac artery angiograms revealed a left uterine artery pseudoaneurysm that was successfully embolized. UAP is a rare cause of unexplained PPH that requires a high index of suspicion for diagnosis. This first report in the anesthesia literature serves to focus our awareness on its possible occurrence, and gives track to its management. Pitfalls in UAP diagnostic are highlighted (delayed presentation, possibility of spontaneous hemostasis, and lack of typical findings on colour Doppler sonography in hypotensive patients). These pitfalls may further be confounded by a concomitant sepsis. Angiography and selective uterine artery embolization is the treatment of choice.
Effects of Financial Incentives for Smoking Cessation on Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Among Pregnant and Newly Postpartum Women

Introduction Financial incentives for smoking cessation increase smoking abstinence and decrease Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores among depression-prone pregnant and postpartum women. The present study is a secondary analysis using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) to examine whether this treatment impacts a broader array of mood and anxiety symptoms. Methods Participants (N = 253) were pregnant cigarette smokers who participated in four controlled clinical trials examining the efficacy of financial incentives for smoking cessation. Women were assigned to an intervention wherein they earned vouchers exchangeable for retail items contingent on smoking abstinence (Contingent, n = 143) or a control condition wherein they received comparable vouchers independent of smoking status (Noncontingent, n = 110). Participants were categorized as depression-prone (n = 105) or depression-negative (n = 148) based on self-reported history of depression and BDI scores at intake. A prior study demonstrated that financial incentives decreased depressive symptoms among depression-prone women in this sample. The present study examined whether those effects extended to a broader array of mood and anxiety symptoms using the BSI. Effects of treatment, time, and depression status were examined using repeated measures analyses of covariance. Results In addition to depressive symptoms, financial incentives reduced a multitude of BSI scores among depression-prone women, including the BSI global measure of distress and seven symptom subscales. Treatment effects were discernible by late pregnancy, peaked at 8 weeks postpartum, and dissipated by 24 weeks postpartum. Discussion In addition to reducing smoking, this financial incentives treatment appears to reduce a range of mood and anxiety symptoms among depression-prone pregnant and postpartum women. Implications This study adds evidence that providing financial incentives contingent on smoking cessation lowers a broad array of psychiatric symptoms, as measured by the BSI, among depression-prone pregnant and newly postpartum women during a time of heightened risk for peripartum mood disorders.
Ionised accretion discs in active galactic nuclei: the effects of a lamppost with a variable height

The X-ray emitting corona irradiates and ionises the surface of the inner accretion disc in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). The ionisation parameter of the inner disc at a radius $r$ from the black hole, $\xi(r)$, can be used to infer information about the location of the corona. Here, a new formula is derived that predicts $\xi(r,h)$ for a disc irradiated by a X-ray source at a height $h$ above the black hole symmetry axis (i.e., a lamppost geometry). The equation is independent of the black hole mass and the X-ray spectrum, and accounts for the effects of gravitational light-bending on the ionisation state and a variable coronal dissipation factor. We predict a strong ionisation gradient across the surface of the inner disc that depends on the black hole spin and lamppost height. For a fixed $h$, the ionisation parameter is also expected to increase as $\lambda^3$, where $\lambda$ is the observed bolometric Eddington ratio of the AGN. Comparing this formula to the observed $\xi$-$\lambda$ relationship for Mrk 335 yields $h \propto \lambda^{0.5-0.6}$, supporting the view of a dynamic X-ray corona in AGNs.
The conformational epitope for a new Aβ42 protofibril-selective antibody partially overlaps with the peptide N-terminal region.

Aggregation and accumulation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) is a key component of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While monomeric Aβ appears to be benign, oligomers adopt a biologically detrimental structure. These soluble structures can be detected in AD brain tissue by antibodies that demonstrate selectivity for aggregated Aβ. Protofibrils are a subset of soluble oligomeric Aβ species and are described as small (< 100 nm) curvilinear assemblies enriched in β-sheet structure. Our own in vitro studies demonstrate that microglial cells are much more sensitive to soluble Aβ42 protofibrils compared to Aβ42 monomer or insoluble Aβ42 fibrils. Protofibrils interact with microglia, trigger Toll-like receptor signaling, elicit cytokine transcription and expression, and are rapidly taken up by the cells. Because of the importance of this Aβ species, we sought to develop an antibody that selectively recognizes protofibrils over other Aβ species. Immunization of rabbits with isolated Aβ42 protofibrils generated a high-titer anti serum with a strong affinity for Aβ42 protofibrils. The antiserum, termed AbSL, was selective for Aβ42 protofibrils over Aβ42 monomers and Aβ42 fibrils. AbSL did not react with amyloid precursor protein and recognized distinct pathological features in AD transgenic mouse brain slices. Competition studies with an Aβ antibody that targets residues 1-16 indicated that the conformational epitope for AbSL involved the N-terminal region of protofibrils in some manner. The newly developed antibody may have potential diagnostic and therapeutic uses in AD tissue and patients, and targeting of protofibrils in AD may have beneficial effects. Read the Editorial Highlight for this article on page 621. Cover Image for this issue: doi. 10.1111/jnc.13827.
Evaluating the electricity intensity of evolving water supply mixes: the case of California’s water network

Climate change is making water supply less predictable, even unreliable, in parts of the world. Urban water providers, especially in already arid areas, will need to diversify their water resources by switching to alternative sources and negotiating trading agreements to create more resilient and interdependent networks. The increasing complexity of these networks will likely require more operational electricity. The ability to document, visualize, and analyze water–energy relationships will be critical to future water planning, especially as data needed to conduct the analyses become increasingly available. We have developed a network model and decision-support tool, WESTNet, to perform these tasks. Herein, WESTNet was used to analyze a model of California's 2010 urban water network as well as the projected system for 2020 and 2030. Results for California's ten hydrologic regions show that the average number of water sources per utility and total electricity consumption for supplying water will increase in spite of decreasing per-capita water consumption. Electricity intensity (kWh m−3) will increase in arid regions of the state due to shifts to alternative water sources such as indirect potable water reuse, desalination, and water transfers. In wetter, typically less populated, regions, reduced water demand for electricity-intensive supplies will decrease the electricity intensity of the water supply mix, though total electricity consumption will increase due to urban population growth. The results of this study provide a baseline for comparing current and potential innovations to California's water system. The WESTNet tool can be applied to diverse water systems in any geographic region at a variety of scales to evaluate an array of network-dependent water–energy parameters.
Development of a measure for evaluating lesion-wise performance of CAD algorithms in the context of mpMRI detection of prostate cancer

Purpose Computer-aided detection/diagnosis (CAD) of prostate cancer (PCa) on multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) is an active area of research. In the literature, the performance of predictive models trained to detect PCa on mpMRI has typically been reported in terms of voxel-wise measures such as sensitivity and specificity and/or area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). However, it is unclear whether models that score higher by these measures are actually superior. Here, we propose a novel method for lesion identification as well as novel measures that assess the quality of the detected lesions. Methods A total of 46 axial MRI slices of interest from 34 patients and the associated histopathologic ground truths were used to develop and to characterize the proposed measures. The proposed lesion-wise score sl is based on the Jaccard similarity index with modifications that emphasize the overlap and colocalization of predicted lesions with ground truth lesions. Thresholding of sl allowed for the sensitivity and specificity of lesion detection to be assessed, while the proposed lesion-summary score sσ is a weighted average of sl s that provides a single summary statistic of lesion detection performance. The proposed measures were used to compare the lesion detection performance of a predictive model vs that of a radiologist on the same data set. The measures were also used to evaluate the degree to which viewing the cancer prediction improved diagnostic accuracy. Results The lesion-wise score qualitatively reflected the goodness of predicted lesions over a wide range of values (sl = 0.1 to sl = 0.8) and was found to encompass a larger range of values than the Dice coefficient did over the same range of prediction qualities (0-0.9 vs 0-0.75). The lesion-summary score was shown to vary linearly with voxel-wise sensitivity and quadratically with voxel-wise specificity and correlated well with voxel-wise AUC (ρ = 0.68) and the Dice coefficient (ρ = 0.88). Radiologist performance was found to be significantly improved after viewing the model-generated cancer prediction maps as quantified by both sσ (P = 0.01) and DSC (P = 0.04), with improvements in both lesion detection sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion The proposed measures allow for the assessment of lesion detection performance, which is most relevant in a clinical setting and would not be possible to do with voxel-wise measures alone.
Plasticity and local adaptation explain lizard cold tolerance.

How does climate variation limit the range of species and what does it take for species to colonize new regions? In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Campbell-Staton et al. () address these broad questions by investigating cold tolerance adaptation in the green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) across a latitudinal transect. By integrating physiological data, gene expression data and acclimation experiments, the authors disentangle the mechanisms underlying cold adaptation. They first establish that cold tolerance adaptation in Anolis lizards follows the predictions of the oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance hypothesis, which states that organisms are limited by temperature thresholds at which oxygen supply cannot meet demand. They then explore the drivers of cold tolerance at a finer scale, finding evidence that northern populations are adapted to cooler thermal regimes and that both phenotypic plasticity and heritable genetic variation contribute to cold tolerance. The integration of physiological and gene expression data further highlights the varied mechanisms that drive cold tolerance adaptation in Anolis lizards, including both supply-side and demand-side adaptations that improve oxygen economy. Altogether, their work provides new insight into the physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying adaptation to new climatic niches and demonstrates that cold tolerance in northern lizard populations is achieved through the synergy of physiological plasticity and local genetic adaptation for thermal performance.
Protein kinase C and calmodulin effects on the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase from excitable and nonexcitable cells.

We have purified Ca2+-ATPase from synaptosomal membranes (SM)1 from ratcerebellum by calmodulin affinity chromatography. The enzyme was identifiedas plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase by its interaction with calmodulin andmonoclonal antibodies produced against red blood cell (RBC) Ca2+-ATPase, andby thapsigargin insensitivity. The purpose of the study was to establishwhether two regulators of the RBC Ca2+-ATPase, calmodulin and protein kinaseC (PKC), affect the Ca2+-ATPase isolated from excitable cells and whethertheir effects are comparable to those on the RBC Ca2+-ATPase. We found thatcalmodulin and PKC activated both enzymes. There were significantquantitative differences in the phosphorylation and activation of the SMversus RBC Ca2+-ATPase. The steady-state Ca2+-ATPase activity of SMCa2+-ATPase was approximately 3 fold lower and significantly less stimulatedby calmodulin. The initial rate of PKC catalyzed phosphorylation (in thepresence of 12-myristate 13-acetate phorbol) was approximately two timesslower for SM enzyme. While phosphorylation of RBC Ca2+-ATPase approachedmaximum level at around 5 min, comparable level of phosphorylation of SMCa2+-ATPase was observed only after 30 min. The PKC-catalyzedphosphorylation resulted in a statistically significant increase inCa2+-ATPase activity of up to 20-40%, higher in the SM Ca2+-ATPase.The differences may be associated with diversities in Ca2+-ATPase functionin erythrocytes and neuronal cells and different isoforms composition.
INTERFACING OF A NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROMETER TO A LOW COST MICROCOMPUTER-BASED DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

This paper describes the design and operation of a microprocessor-based system which performs three functions: (1) instrument control, (2) data acquisition, and (3) time-averaging processing. It is an add-on system for chemistry laboratory instruments such as a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, UV-visible spectrometer, or gas chromatograph. The hardware components are an INTEL 8080 microprocessor (purchased as an Altair 8800 microcomputer) with 4 K dynamic memory, serial and parallel Input/Output boards, and a teletype. Added to this were a 1.8 KHz clock, a D-A converter for control signals, and an A-D converter for output signals. The software components are a data acquisition program, a time-averaging output program, a simple monitor program, and a cross-assembler for 8080 Assembly Language. The system has been running for several months on a Perkin Elmer R-24A NMR spectrometer. This instrument is a single scan spectrometer, which has been converted to a multiple scan instrument by means of the add-on microprocessor system. Its cost (in kit form) is $1770 for parts and 3 man-months for assembly and check out. The time-averaging processing has enhanced the spectrometer's signal to noise ration by cancelling out random noise. The S/N ratio is increased by factors of 2.1, 3.3, and 5.4 for 8, 16, and 64 scans respectively.
Gappy Total Recaller: Efficient Algorithms and Data Structures for Accurate Transcriptomics

Understanding complex mammalian biology depends crucially on our ability to define a precise map of all the transcripts encoded in a genome, and to measure their relative abundances. A promising assay depends on RNASeq approaches, which builds on next generation sequencing pipelines capable of interrogating cDNAs extracted from a cell. The underlying pipeline starts with base-calling, collect the sequence reads and interpret the raw-read in terms of transcripts that are grouped with respect to different splice-variant isoforms of a messenger RNA. We address a very basic problem involved in all of these pipelines, namely accurate Bayesian base-calling, which could combine the analog intensity data with suitable underlying priors on base-composition in the transcripts. In the context of sequencing genomic DNA, a powerful approach for base-calling has been developed in the TotalReCaller pipeline. For these purposes, it uses a suitable reference whole-genome sequence in a compressed self-indexed format to derive its priors. However, TotalReCaller faces many new challenges in the transcriptomic domain, especially since we still lack a fully annotated library of all possible transcripts, and hence a sufficiently good prior. There are many possible solutions, similar to the ones developed for TotalReCaller, in applications addressing de novo sequencing and assembly, where partial contigs or string-graphs could be used to boot-strap the Bayesian priors on base-composition. A similar approach would be applicable here too, partial assembly of transcripts can be used to characterize the splicing junctions or organize them in incompatibility graphs and then provided as priors for TotalReCaller. The key algorithmic techniques for this purpose have been addressed in a forthcoming paper on Stringomics. Here, we address a related but fundamental problem, by assuming that we only have a reference genome, with certain intervals marked as candidate regions for ORF Open Reading Frames, but not necessarily complete annotations regarding the 5' or 3' termini of a gene or its exon-intron structure. The algorithms we describe find the most accurate base-calls of a cDNA with the best possible segmentation, all mapped to the genome appropriately.
Pharmacological and Toxicological Evaluation of Potential Antiepileptic Drugs in the Kindling Model of Epilepsy

The history of the pharmacology of antiepileptic drugs is now over 50 years old and much of the pioneering work can be traced to the discovery and development of phenytoin. The history and details of that particular research have recently been summarized and reviewed [7]. The use of pentylenetetrazol to produce chemoshock seizures and the subsequent discovery of trimethadione brought the science of pharmacology into the domain of antiepileptic drug testing in an even more permanent way. Toman, Swinyard, Goodman, Brown, Richards and Everett published a series of papers that further developed and quantified maximal electroshock and pentylenetetrazol models of epilepsy [31,30,29,28,5] that remain key components in the preclinical testing and evaluation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Among this pioneering work one finds constant emphasis on not only refinement of methods useful for detection of antiepileptic drug efficacy, but on estimation of drug selectivity as a very important consideration.
Orthogonal Polynomials in Coding Theory and Algebraic Combinatorics

This paper surveys the role of orthogonal polynomials in Algebraic Combinatorics, an area which includes association schemes, coding theory, design theory, various theories of group representation, and so on. The main topics discussed in this paper include the following: The connection between orthogonal polynomials and P -polynomial (or Q -polynomial) association schemes. The classification problem for P - and Q -polynomial association schemes and its connection with Askey-Wilson orthogonal polynomials. Delsarte theory of codes and designs in association schemes. The nonexistence of perfect e-codes and tight t-designs through the study of the zeros of orthogonal polynomials. The possible importance of multi-variable versions of Askey-Wilson polynomials in the future study of general commutative association schemes.