cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tissue Engineering of Human Septal Cartilage Using a Rotary Bioreactor

Tissue engineering of human septal neocartilage offers the potential to produce large quantities of autologous material for use in the repair of cartilaginous craniofacial defects. Culture of septal neocartilage constructs in a rotary cell culture system bioreactor may improve the biochemical and biomechanical properties of engineered tissue. The objective of this study was to characterize the morphological, compositional and mechanical properties of engineered human septal cartilage constructs when cultured in three different environments. Human septal cartilage constructs were cultured in transwell plates for 6 weeks and subsequently cultured for an additional 4 weeks in transwell plates, free-floating in a sterile media bottle, or in a rotary cell culture system bioreactor. The histologic, biochemical, and biomechanical properties of the constructs were examined. All constructs maintained their radial dimensions throughout the culture period. Qualitatively, the constructs cultured in the rotary cell culture system bioreactor were firmer and more resilient compared with the constructs cultured under free-floating static and transwell plate conditions. Culture of human septal neocartilage constructs in a rotary cell culture system bioreactor augmented cell proliferation and extracellular matrix production when compared with constructs cultured in transwell plates and free-floating static conditions. Additionally, rotary cell culture system bioreactor culture enhanced total and type II collagen production. The rotary cell culture system bioreactor constructs possessed improved biomechanical properties compared with the other conditions and this is reflected in their superior resistance to manipulation. These findings suggest that culture in a rotary cell culture bioreactor can modulate the composition and mechanical function of engineered scaffold-free human septal cartilage constructs to produce constructs better suited for reconstructive surgery.
Ménière's disease review 2005.

Meniere’s disease (MD) is a complex, multifactorial disorder of the inner ear that is the most common cause of the syndrome of episodic vertigo combined with fluctuating hearing loss. In spite of a century of investigation, the etiology and pathophysiology of MD remain controversial and incompletely understood. Among the factors that have contributed to these controversies are the absence of (1) a validated clinical test, (2) an appropriate animal model, and (3) a specific treatment. Nonetheless, physicians are able to assist MD patients with a variety of tailored, symptom-specific medications and therapies. Given that the vertigo induced by MD, in general, is self-limited, the long-term outlook for balance function is good. The same cannot be said for the hearing dysfunction of MD.
Low ankle-brachial index and the development of rapid estimated GFR decline and CKD.

Background Low ankle-brachial index (ABI) is associated with increases in serum creatinine level. Whether low ABI is associated with the development of rapid estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD), or microalbuminuria is uncertain. Study Design Prospective cohort study. Setting & Participants Framingham Offspring cohort participants who attended the sixth (1995-1998) and eighth (2005-2008) examinations. Predictor ABI, categorized as normal (>1.1 to 0.9 to 1.1), and low (≤0.9). Outcomes Rapid eGFR decline (eGFR decline ≥3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 per year), incident stage 3 CKD (eGFR 2 ), incident microalbuminuria. Measurements GFR was estimated using the serum creatinine–based CKD-EPI (CKD Epidemiology Collaboration) equation. Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) was determined based on spot urine samples. Results During 9.5 years, 9.0% (232 of 2,592) experienced rapid eGFR decline and 11.1% (270 of 2,426) developed stage 3 CKD. Compared to normal ABI, low ABI was associated with 5.73-fold increased odds of rapid eGFR decline (95% CI, 2.77-11.85; P P = 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, and baseline eGFR, low ABI was associated with a 2.51-fold increased odds of stage 3 CKD (OR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.16-5.44; P = 0.02), although this was attenuated after multivariable adjustment (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 0.75-3.76; P = 0.2). In 1,902 free of baseline microalbuminuria, low ABI was associated with increased odds of microalbuminuria after adjustment for age, sex, and baseline UACR (OR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.07-7.37; P = 0.04), with attenuation upon further adjustment (OR, 1.88; P = 0.1). Limitations Limited number of events with low ABI. Outcomes based on single serum creatinine and UACR measurements at each examination. Conclusions Low ABI is associated with an increased risk of rapid eGFR decline, suggesting that systemic atherosclerosis predicts a decrease in kidney function.
Polyimide/Inorganic Composite - Interpenetrating Polymer Network for Stable Second-Order Nonlinear Optics

A new class of IPN system has been prepared and investigated. This IPN system combines the polybismaleinimide network and the NLO-active phenoxysilicon network. The second-order NLO coefficients, d33, values of the samples range from 2.5 to 6.7 pm/V depending on the composition and the processing conditions. The temporal stability of the second-order nonlinearities for these samples at 110 °C varies from 47 to 88 % retention after 274 h.
Economic, regulatory, and technological barriers to entry into the Florida aquaculture industry

A mail survey was conducted in 1991 to identify barriers-to-entry into the Florida aquaculture industry. The survey was administered to all 586 individuals on the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service aquaculture industry participant mailing list. Two hundred twenty of the 227 returned questionnaires were complete. Of these, 175 respondents currently owned an aquaculture business; 141 reported producing only one species (defined in this study to be the general collection of species such as ornamental fish or aquatic plants rather than specific species within these groups), 29 reported producing two different species, and four reported producing three or more species. In order to analyze the data by species; only those aquaculturists producing single species were included in the final analyses. The survey results showed that economic factors (financial and marketing) presented the greatest barriers-to=entry into the Florida aquaculture industry, while regulatory barriers were relatively less problematic....
Microwave inductors and capacitors in standard multilevel interconnect silicon technology

Spiral inductors and metal-to-metal capacitors for microwave applications, which are integrated on a silicon substrate by using standard 0.8 /spl mu/m BiCMOS technology, are described. Optimization of the inductors has been achieved by tailoring the vertical and lateral dimensions and by shunting several interconnect metal layers together. Lumped element models of inductors and capacitors provide detailed understanding of the important geometry and technological parameters on the device characteristics. The high quality factors of nearly 10 for the inductors are among the best results in silicon, particularly when using standard silicon technology.
Effects of Temperature and Hydroxyl Radical Concentration Distributions on Emissions of Partially Premixed Flames From Elliptical Burners

Non-circular burner geometries have shown some promise of reducing pollutant emissions form combustion systems. The use of non-axisymmetric geometries has the potential to alter the behavior of a flame through modification of the flow field. To investigate these flow field effects on combustion performance, a study of the partially premixed flames emitted from a circular burner and a 3:1 aspect ratio (major axis / minor axis) elliptical burner of equal exit area was performed. For laminar conditions, the elliptical and circular burner produced similar global emissions of carbon monoxide and nitric oxide. In turbulent flames, the elliptical burner produced a larger amount of carbon monoxide, but reduced nitric oxide production. In turbulent flames, the enhanced mixing facilitated by elliptical burners froze the CO oxidation reaction and thus increased its emission. In laminar flames, the elasticity did not significantly affect mixing rates, and thus resulted in similar CO emissions between the burners. The hypothesis on CO reaction freezing was confirmed with inflame structure measurements of CO, OH, and temperature. The decreased NO production in turbulent flame was attributed to a reduction of the flame length of the 3:1 aspect ratio elliptical burner and thus a decrease of residence time compared to the circular burner.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Atom motions of copper dissolved in lead-tin alloys

The diffusion and electromigration of copper in lead-tin alloys containing up to 12 at. % Sn have been studied for sample temperatures between 100 and 317 /sup 0/C. The diffusion measurements were made by the standard sequential-sectioning technique, adapted to the 12.8-h half-life of the isotope /sup 64/Cu. The rapid decrease of copper diffusivity with increasing concentration of tin is interpreted as evidence for trapping with a binding energy of about 0.3 eV. Purity of the lead solvent proved to be very important in measuring the low-temperature diffusivity. Although our values of the copper diffusivity in ''pure'' lead are slightly higher than other reported values, our Arrhenius curves tend to fall at the lowest temperatures, showing the effect of trapping by minute amounts of unwanted impurities. The solubility of copper in the lead and in the lead-tin alloys was determined from those diffusion measurements where the surface concentration exceeded the solubility limit. One feature which is still under investigation is that, at low temperatures, the diffusivity as a function of tin content goes through a minimum and then increases perceptibly. The electromigration results were obtained by the steady-state method. The effective charge number for copper was determined to be aboutmore » unity, independent of tin concentration. In other words, the electromigration force on the mobile atoms is unchanged by the trapping phenomenon, although, of course, the time to reach equilibrium is prolonged.« less
Dominance index: A simple measure of relative dominance status in primates.

A simple measure of relative dominance status (cardinal rank) is described which we have termed the dominance index. Like more familiar techniques for assessing rank order, it is based on the direction of aggressive and submissive behaviors between all possible paired combinations of animals in a social group. Using data from five groups of female rhesus monkeys, it reliably produced the same ordinal ranks as fight interaction matrices. There was also good agreement with the cardinal ranks produced by two additional measures of dominance and with those produced by observer ratings. The dominance index can be calculated when fights have not actually occurred and is largely independent of the frequency of agonistic interactions. It has, therefore, wide application and can estimate dominance during brief sampling periods (one hour) and also in stable groups when agonistic interactions are low. Its application is described in experiments in which the male in a group of females was changed and the hormonal status of the females was altered. Estrogen increased female dominance status relative to other females.
Self-organized periodicity of protein clusters in growing bacteria

Chemotaxis receptors in E. coli form clusters at the cell poles and also laterally along the cell body, and this clustering plays an important role in signal transduction. Recently, experiments using fluorescence imaging have shown that, during cell growth, lateral clusters form at positions approximately periodically spaced along the cell body. In this Letter, we demonstrate within a lattice model that such spatial organization could arise spontaneously from a stochastic nucleation mechanism. The same mechanism may explain the recent observation of periodic aggregates of misfolded proteins in E. coli.
Song decrystallization in adult zebra finches does not require the song nucleus NIf.

In adult male zebra finches, transecting the vocal nerve causes previously stable (i.e., crystallized) song to slowly degrade, presumably because of the resulting distortion in auditory feedback. H...
Dissolution apparatus for gels

Abstract □ A modification of the USP Dissolution Apparatus 2 is presented for use in the measurement of the release of a medicinal compound from a pharmaceutical gel.
The growth of nacre in the abalone shell.

The process of mineral formation following periods of growth interruption (growth bands) is described. Flat pearl implantation as well as a new trepanning method are used to observe the transitory phases of calcium carbonate which nucleate and grow during this process. An initial random nucleation of the aragonite polymorph is observed followed by a transition towards spherulitic growth. During this transition the animal forms the structure of the shell through both mechanical and chemical actions. About 6 weeks after implantation a steady-state growth of aragonite tiles begins after shorter and more irregular tiles cover the outer surface of the spherulites. The growth rate of aragonitic spherulite during this transition period was calculated to be approximately 0.5 microm per day. An organic scaffolding is observed during the steady-state growth of tiled aragonite. Observations of mineral growth following the deposition of these membranes confirm the presence of mineral bridges originating from subsurface tiles and extending through the organic matrix, confirming the growth model proposed by Schaffer et al. [Schaffer TE, Ionescu-Zanetti C, Proksch R, Fritz M, Walters, DA, Almqvist N, et al. Does abalone nacre form by heteroepitaxial nucleation or by growth through mineral bridges? Chem Mater 1997;9:1731-40]. Field emission scanning electron microscopy of fractured deproteinated nacre shows the presence of mineral bridges existing between individual layers of tiles. Transmission electron microscopy provides further evidence of mineral bridges.
Is Earnings Management Affected by Human Development and Economic Freedom

Based on the idea that insiders (i.e., managers and controlling shareholders) engage in earnings management to mask their diversion and rent seeking activities from outsiders, this paper presents international evidence supporting both a “diversion hypothesis” where earnings management is decreasing in economic freedom, and a “penalty hypothesis” where earnings management is increasing in human development.
Video-rate near infrared tomography to image pulsatile absorption properties in thick tissue

A high frame-rate near-infrared (NIR) tomography system was created to allow transmission imaging of thick tissues with spectral encoding for parallel source implementation. The design was created to maximize tissue penetration through up to 10 cm of tissue, allowing eventual use in human imaging. Eight temperature-controlled laser diodes (LD) are used in parallel with 1.5 nm shifts in their lasing wavelengths. Simultaneous detection is achieved with eight high-resolution, CCD-based spectrometers that were synchronized to detect the intensities and decode their source locations from the spectrum. Static and dynamic imaging is demonstrated through a 64 mm tissue-equivalent phantom, with acquisition rates up to 20 frames per second. Imaging of pulsatile absorption changes through a 72 mm phantom was demonstrated with a 0.5 Hz varying object having only 1% effect upon the transmitted signal. This subtle signal change was used to show that while reconstructing the signal changes in a tissue may not be possible, image-guided recovery of the pulsatile change in broad regions of tissue was possible. The ability to image thick tissue and the capacity to image periodic changes in absorption makes this design well suited for tracking thick tissue hemodynamics in vivo during MR or CT imaging.
Spatial Organization of Ca2+ Entry and Exocytosis in Mouse Pancreatic β-Cells

Abstract Secretion from single pancreatic β-cells was imaged using a novel technique in which Zn 2+ , costored in secretory granules with insulin, was detected by confocal fluorescence microscopy as it was released from the cells. Using this technique, it was observed that secretion from β-cells was limited to an active region that comprised ∼50% of the cell perimeter. Using ratiometric imaging with indo-1, localized increases in intracellular Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ) evoked by membrane depolarization were also observed. Using sequential measurements of secretion and [Ca 2+ ] i at single cells, colocalization of exocytotic release sites and Ca 2+ entry was observed when cells were stimulated by glucose or K + . Treatment of cells with the Ca 2+ ionophore 4-Br-A23187 induced large Ca 2+ influx around the entire cell circumference. Despite the nonlocalized increase in [Ca 2+ ] i , secretion evoked by 4-Br-A23187 was still localized to the same region as that evoked by secretagogues such as glucose. It is concluded that Ca 2+ channels activated by depolarization are localized to specific membrane domains where exocytotic release also occurs; however, localized secretion is not exclusively regulated by localized increases in [Ca 2+ ] i , but instead involves spatial localization of other components of the exocytotic machinery.
Effect of raised plasma β endorphin concentrations on peripheral pain and angina thresholds in patients with stable angina

OBJECTIVE—To determine whether changes in plasma concentrations of β endorphins alter angina threshold and peripheral pain threshold in patients with stable angina. DESIGN—Latin square design comparison of angina thresholds by exercise treadmill test and peripheral pain thresholds using a radiant heat source in eight patients with stable angina under control conditions, after stimulation of pituitary β endorphin release by ketoconazole, after suppression of pituitary β endorphin release by dexamethasone, and after blockade of opioid receptors by intravenous naloxone. RESULTS—An approximately fivefold increase in circulating concentrations of β endorphins was found after administration of ketoconazole (mean (SEM): 13.9 (1.2) v 73.8 (6.2) pg/ml; p < 0.05), which was associated with an increase in peripheral pain threshold to a radiant heat source (time to onset of pain perception 72 (19) v 123 (40) seconds; p < 0.05), but no significant difference in angina threshold. A reduction in circulating concentrations of β endorphins after pretreatment with dexamethasone was statistically non-significant (13.9 (1.2) v 9.0 (1.5) pg/ml; NS) and was not associated with any change in either peripheral pain or angina thresholds. No effects were seen after blockade of opioid receptors by previous administration of intravenous naloxone. CONCLUSIONS—Increased plasma concentrations of β endorphins alter peripheral pain threshold but not angina threshold in patients with stable angina pectoris. Keywords: β endorphin; angina; pain
Single-fiber-laser-based wavelength tunable excitation for coherent Raman spectroscopy

We demonstrate coherent Raman spectroscopy (CRS) using a tunable excitation source based on a single femtosecond fiber laser. The frequency difference between the pump and the Stokes pulses was generated by soliton self-frequency shifting in a nonlinear optical fiber. Spectra of C─H stretches of cyclohexane were measured simultaneously by stimulated Raman gain (SRG) and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and compared. We demonstrate the use of spectral focusing through pulse chirping to improve CRS spectral resolution. We analyze the impact of pulse stretching on the reduction of power efficiency for CARS and SRG. Due to chromatic dispersion in the fiber-optic system, the differential pulse delay is a function of Stokes wavelength. This differential delay has to be accounted for when spectroscopy is performed in which the Stokes wavelength needs to be scanned. CARS and SRG signals were collected and displayed in two dimensions as a function of both the time delay between chirped pulses and the Stokes wavelength, and we demonstrate how to find the stimulated Raman spectrum from the two-dimensional plots. Strategies of system optimization consideration are discussed in terms of practical applications.
Effect of Various Dietaries on the Anatomical Development of the Stomach in the Calf

Summary Twenty-seven newborn calves were allotted to three major dietary groups: milk (Group A); milk, hay, and grain (Group B); milk plus various substances administered into the rumen (Group C). Except when sacrificed earlier, calves received colostrum ad libitum from their respective dams for three days following birth. In Group A, three calves were sacrificed at one day of age, one at three days, two at 4 wk, two at 8 wk, and two at 12 wk. In Group B, three calves were sacrificed at 4 wk, two at 8 wk, and two at 12 wk. All calves in Group C were sacrificed at 8 wk. After sacrifice, each calf was subjected to systematic dissection of the abdominal region. The size and position of various organs in the abdominal cavity of calves fed milk only and milk plus the experimental dietary supplements were compared to those of calves fed a normal diet of milk, hay, and starter. Papillary growth in the rumen was stimulated by the administration of at least 43 m of C 3 or C 4 volatile fatty acids. Administration of milk into the rumen also stimulated papillary growth. The introduction of plastic sponges into the reticulo-rumen promoted an increase in capacity and muscular development. Feeding hay and starter in addition to milk resulted in forestomach development which included papillary and muscular growth of the reticulo-rumen and pigment deposition in the rumen mucosa. Histological observations suggest that the origin of this pigment probably is the rumen contents in animals fed hay and grain. Extensive papillary development was observed in rumens of zero- to three-day-old calves. Older milk-fed calves showed less development; thus, early post-natal regression is suggested.
Three Dimensional Response of a Cross-Ply Composite Plate with Imperfect Interfaces

Composite materials are widely used in many industries now. Usually, they are fabricated as laminated structures, where two adjacent laminae are bonded by a layer of adhesive material. Frequently, the failure of the whole structure is initiated from the failure of the weak interface layers. For this reason the strength of interface/interphase layers and its effects on the dynamic response of laminated structures have been a focus of attention from researchers in nondestructive evaluation. Several studies have been reported on this topic. Rokhlin and Maron [1] studied the reflection coefficient of an oblique incident wave to evaluate the interface properties and monitor the curing process in thin adhesive layers. Alers and Thompson [2] considered trapped modes in layered media for the nondestructive test of the quality of adhesion. The problems considered in both papers were simple, namely a layered half-space and a sandwich plate. However the structures made of composites used in industries are usually composed of many plies, which are anisotropic. These cause difficulties in interpreting the signals to measure the bond strength or to detect the imperfect interface. In this paper we present a model study of the effect of interface layers on the guided wave modes.
3.9 ps SiGe HBT ECL ring oscillator and transistor design for minimum gate delay

We show empirical results that demonstrate the effect of high performance SiGe HBT design parameters on the minimum gate delay of an ECL ring oscillator. SiGe HBT devices with a high f/sub MAX/ (338 GHz) and a low f/sub T/ (180 GHz) achieve a minimum delay of 3.9 ps, which to our knowledge is the lowest reported delay for a silicon based logic gate. Compared to the extracted (extrapolated) f/sub T/ and f/sub MAX/, a simple figure of merit proportional to /spl radic/f/sub T//R/sub B/C/sub CB/ with R/sub B/ and C/sub CB/ extracted from S-parameter measurement is best correlated to the minimum gate delay.
The role of alpha-MSH, its agonists, and C-AMP in in vitro avian melanocytes.

Little is known about the effect of alpha-MSH and other melanogenic stimulators on avian melanocytes. Tissue cultures of Barred Plymouth Rock regenerating feather melanocytes were established and the culture medium contained selected concentrations of alpha-MSH and other melanogenic stimulators in Ham's F-10 medium supplemented with antibiotics and 10% new born calf serum. Cultures were maintained at 37 degrees C in 95% air/5% CO2. No increase in melanogenesis over control levels due to the addition of 10(-5) M Forskolin, 10(-4) M IBMX, 10(-3) M c-GMP, and 10(-3) M db-c-AMP was observed in the cultures on days 5 and 7. However, 2.5 (optimum), 5, and 10 micrograms/ml alpha-MSH and 10(-3) M 8-bromo-c-AMP significantly increased melanogenesis over control levels on days 5 and 7. The stimulation of melanogenesis was detectable by a significantly increased number of melanocytes containing numerous stage IV melanosomes. No increase in melanocyte cell number was observed in any of the experimental cultures. The addition of 1, 2 (optimum), or 3 mM calcium did enhance the increased pigmentation effect of 2.5 micrograms/ml alpha-MSH. Two very convincing experiments showed that c-AMP was the second messenger for alpha-MSH in these birds. First, the c-AMP inhibitor, 10(-3) M Rp-c-AMPS, completely inhibited the stimulatory effect of alpha-MSH in these in vitro melanocytes. Second, direct measurements of c-AMP levels in feather tissue showed a significant increase in c-AMP levels 10.min after alpha-MSH treatment. Controls received no alpha-MSH. The results showed that these avian melanocytes have alpha-MSH receptors and were able to respond to the hormone. C-AMP was the second messenger in this system. Apparently db-c-AMP was not able to enter these mature, highly-differentiated cells and c-AMP agonists, Forskolin and IBMX, were also either unable to enter these older cells or, if they did enter the cells, were unable to stimulate c-AMP production. Evidently the more lipophilic 8-bromo-c-AMP was able to enter these cells and stimulate melanogenesis.
Nutritional intervention with omega-3 fatty acids enhances tumor response to anti-neoplastic agents

Nutritional intervention with specific fatty acids depresses tumor growth and enhances tumor responsiveness to chemotherapy. Supplementation of tumors with long chained omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids results in enrichment of tumor phospholipid fractions with omega-3 fatty acids resulting in an altered membrane composition and function. Tumors enriched with long chained omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids possess membranes with increased fluidity, an elevated unsaturation index, enhanced transport capabilities that results in accumulation of selective anti-cancer agents, increased activity of selected drug activating enzymes, and alteration of signaling pathways important for cancer progression. These nutritionally induced changes in tumor fatty acid composition result in increased sensitivity to chemotherapy, especially in tumor lines that are resistant to chemotherapy and cause specific enhancement of cytotoxicity to tumor cells and protection of normal cells. Pre-disposing tumors to increased chemo-sensitivity through nutritional intervention with specific fatty acids has the potential to improve patient response to chemotherapy with fewer untoward side effects if these pre-clinical findings carry over into a clinical setting.
Genetic perspectives on crop domestication

The process of crop domestication has long been a topic of active research for biologists, anthropologists and others. Genetic data have proved a powerful resource for drawing inferences on questions regarding the geographical origins of crops, the numbers of independent domestication events for a given crop species, the specific molecular changes underlying domestication traits, and the nature of artificial selection during domestication and subsequent crop improvement. We would argue that these genetic inferences are fundamentally compatible with recent archaeological data that support a view of domestication as a geographically diffuse, gradual process. In this review, we summarize methodologies ranging from quantitative trait locus mapping to resequencing used in genetic analyses of crop evolution. We also highlight recent major insights regarding the timing and spatial patterning of crop domestication and the distinct genetic underpinnings of domestication, diversification and improvement traits.
Variation of Lightning and Convective Rain Fraction in Mesoscale Convective Systems of the MJO

Characteristics of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in regions affected by the Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO) are investigated using a database of MCSs observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). Lightning occurrence detected by the World-Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) is composited in a frameworkcentered on theMCSs. DuringMJO active periods, MCSs are more numerous and larger, as the convective features persist and attain greater horizontal scales. Anomalies of the lifted index, derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim) fields, indicate that MCS environments are more stable during MJO active periods. Over the Indian Ocean, Maritime Continent, and western Pacific, lightning density in an MCS maximizes during the time that the total number of systems begins to increase as the MJO is beginning to be more active, implyingbothmore vigorous convection andless extensivestratiformrainareasat this transitionaltime ofthe MJO. The peak in MJO precipitation coincides with peak occurrence of interconnected MCSs with larger stratiform rain fraction, shown by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite, while composites of lightning frequency show that during MJO active periods the zone of lightning is contracted around the centers of MCSs, and flashes are less frequent.
Global Skin Friction Measurements on a Circulation Control Airliner in the NFAC

Skin friction accounts for nearly half of commercial airliner cruise drag. As drag reduction correlates to lower fuel burn, it becomes a critical design parameter. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulates fluid flow around aircraft, allowing designs to be numerically tested and optimized. However, CFD struggles to correctly predict drag, slowing aircraft design. Therefore, NASA is funding research announcements to improve validation databases for high risk technologies. One such NRA is AMELIA, the Advanced Model for Extreme Lift and Improved Aeroacoustics, which is a cruise efficient, short takeoff and landing aircraft. AMELIA was tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 40by 80-foot wind tunnel in the winter of 2011-2012. Extensive acoustic and aerodynamic measurements were completed. The Fringe-Imaging Skin Friction (FISF) technique was implemented, making global skin friction measurements for ten critical test points. The method proved difficult to implement in a large scale tunnel, resulting in a decrease in photogrammetry quality and test productivity. Despite this, the average skin friction uncertainty magnitude was 5.7% of cf with directional variation of ±1.7°. Results are as expected, with streamlines generally parallel to the freestream without slot blowing and normal to the slot with circulation control. Skin friction increased by an order of magnitude with blowing employed. As expected, skin friction was a maximum at the leading edge and rapidly decreased moving aft in a streamwise direction for the baseline case. With blowing, skin friction was shown to rise before the trailing edge slot.
Chiral Resolution and Serendipitous Fluorination Reaction for the Selective Dopamine D3 Receptor Antagonist BAK2-66.

The improved chiral synthesis of the selective dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) antagonist (R)-N-(4-(4-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl)-3-hydroxybutyl)1H-indole-2-carboxamide ((R)-PG648) is described. The same chiral secondary alcohol intermediate was used to prepare the enantiomers of a 3-F-benzofuranyl analogue, BAK 2-66. The absolute configurations of the 3-F enantiomers were assigned from their X-ray crystal structures that confirmed retention of configuration during fluorination with N,N-diethylaminosulfur trifluoride (DAST). (R)-BAK2-66 showed higher D3R affinity and selectivity than its (S)-enantiomer; however, it had lower D3R affinity and enantioselectivity than (R)-PG648. Further, importance of the 4-atom linker length between the aryl amide and 4-phenylpiperazine was demonstrated with the 4-fluorobutyl-product (8).
Limitations of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) in evaluation of microcytosis

The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been proposed as an additional variable that would improve the initial classification of anemia. Microcytic anemias with an elevated RDW (greater heterogeneity) were used to distinguish iron deficiency from heterozygous thalassemia, which was said to have a normal RDW (more homogeneous). The authors attempted to classify their population of microcytic cases using the RDW as a major variable, but found only limited utility. While most of the iron-deficient cases had an increased RDW, almost one-half of the thalassemia cases also were classified as microcytic heterogeneous (increased RDW). The authors also found that target cells, erythrocytosis, and the ratios alone or in combination with the RDW were not specific in separating heterozygous thalassemia from iron deficiency. They conclude that a sequential evaluation (to include iron and hemoglobin studies) of cases of microcytosis is still needed.
Core curriculum illustration: brain-subdural hemorrhage in non-accidental trauma.

This is the 19 installment of a series that will highlight one case per publication issue from the bank of cases available online as part of the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) educational resources. Our goal is to generate more interest in and use of our online materials. To view more cases online, please visit the ASER Core Curriculum and Recommendations for Study online at: http://www.aseronline.org/curriculum/toc.htm.
Analysis on Difficulties and Strategies in Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control in Sichuan Provence

Objective This article introduced the present status of schistosomiasis prevention and control in Sichuan province. The key difficulties in schistosomiasis prevention and control included lagged prevention and control measures,snail control in hilly environments,floating population management,construction of the ecological wetland and the influence of natural disasters on schistosomiasis; based on which corresponding suggestions were proposed. With reflections on the current status,this article revealed that prevention and control philosophy had failed to adapt to the social economic development. Integrated schistosomiasis prevention and control strategies were analyzed with emphasis on infection source,schistosomiasis transmission blocking criteria,and standard evaluation scheme. Therefore,the current focus of work is comprehensively impelling the procession of standardization across the province in 2015; afterwards,surveillance system need to be strengthened,as well as timely detection and extinguish of the epidemic are both warranted to consolidate the blocking achievements.
Estimation of Cropland Residue Bioenergy Using Remote Sensing:A Case Study of Guangdong Province

Energy shortage and greenhouse gas emissions are two serious problems in China because the growing economy has consumed a large amount of energy in the world.Energy issues have become one of the top agenda in making its national policies.Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and seeking for alternative energy sources are important for alleviating the environmental problems in China.Centralized using of agricultural residue as a possible source of feedstock for bio-energy production can offer interesting options of producing energy for China.At the same time biomass residues are relatively abundant in China.The estimation of the amount of available biofuel is the first step to utilize this kind of energy.However,the quantities of biomass energy are often calculated based on the statistical data and traditional measurement.There is a general lack of spatial details in using this kind of information because of the aggregated measurement.Detailed information about the distribution of biofuel is important for decision making in using this kind of energy,such as finding the suitable sites for plant building.This can guarantee that the use of biofuel is economical and operational.This paper provides a method to estimate the amounts and spatial distribution of biomass residues using remote sensing imagery,such as the modified MOD17A2/A3 data by light utilization efficiency in Guangdong Province based on BIOME-BGC model and TM data.A decision-support model is developed for measuring the usable biomass for generating bio-fuel by analyzing a number of factors.This model has been tested in Guangdong,which is one of the largest amount of energy consumption in China.The study demonstrates that this method has advantages in biofuel estimation with plausible results.The total available amount of biomass for paddy rice and dry crops in Guangdong is about 20,756.61×1010kJ according to this model.
India and Ur

Estimates of stabilization ages of the world's Precambrian cratons reveal a pattern in which all blocks stabilized at ages ≥ 3.0 Ga occur in one area of the end- Paleozoic supercontinent Pangea. These blocks center around India, where at least two cratons (Western Dharwar and Singhbhum) show evidence of crustal growth terminating at or before ∼3.0 Ga. This concentration of ≥3.0-Ga blocks is regarded as an Archean supercontinent referred to as "Ur."
Elementary Operations on Vectors

This chapter discusses elementary operations on vectors. The elementary operations are as fundamental in linear algebra as the operations of differentiation and integration are in the calculus. These elementary operations are indispensable both in the development of the theory of linear algebra and in the applications of this theory. In many treatments of linear algebra, the elementary operations are introduced after the development of a certain amount of matrix theory, and the matrix theory is used as a tool in establishing the properties of the elementary operations. The elementary operations are introduced as operations on sets of vectors and many of the results in matrix theory are developed with the aid of one's knowledge of elementary operations. The application of a sequence of elementary operations can be used to replace a given set A by a set A’ which has a simpler appearance. The chapter discusses the properties that A and A’ have in common. When these properties are known, one shall see that the elementary operations can be chosen so as to make the set A’ display certain important information concerning A .
Study on Framework and Integrated Optimization of Standard View for Dynamic Management of Complex System

The core and essence of the architecture framework is based on a multi-view approach. View approach emphasizes simplify complex issues, from the perspective of different areas to look at a complex problem, a complex problem into a number of relatively independent and simple, the results of each of simple questions to form a view, the view of all the simple questions synthesis, and comprehensive understanding of approximation to the complex problems. With the help of the concept of the standard view, the management of complex systems engineering model to expand the system analysis, modeling based on the standard view of the multi-attribute decision-making in the conditions of the object-oriented theory, based on incomplete information, and on this basis, the integrated optimization for the building standards system.
Low power operation using self-timed circuits and ultra-low supply voltage

In this paper, a self-timed architecture for low voltage low power design is proposed. Compared to synchronous circuits, self-timed circuits are more robust to ultra-low supply voltage. In many signal-noise-ratio (SNR)-required DSP applications, this robustness allows the circuit to operate with very low supply voltage, even if some data samples are missed due to this low voltage. These missed data are interpolated at the output. Simulation shows that a significant power saving can be achieved at an acceptable SNR loss in a case study - speech signal processing. This proposed low power method can be combined with many other low power schemes at various levels to achieve further power saving.
Data dependencies on inequalities

Numerical inequalities present new challenges to data-base systems that keep track of "dependencies," or reasons for beliefs. Care must be taken in interpreting an inequality as an assertion, since occasionally a "strong" interpretation is needed, that the inequality is best known bound on a quantity. Such inequalities often have many proofs, so that the proper response to their erasure is often to look for an alternative proof. Fortunately, abstraction techniques developed by data-dependency theorists are robust enough that they can be extended fairly easily to handle these problems. The key abstractions involved are the "ddnode," an abstract assertion as seen by the data-dependency system, and its associated "signal function," which performs indexing, re-deduction, and garbage-collection functions. Such signal functions must have priorities, so that they don't clobber each other when they run.
Identifier Usage and Maintenance in the UNT Libraries' Digital Collections

The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries work with a large number of identifiers in relation to our Digital Collections (The Portal to Texas History, the UNT Digital Library, and the Gateway to Oklahoma History). Since the Digital Collections comprise items from other library and campus departments, as well as a large number of cultural heritage institutions across Texas and Oklahoma, many of the materials have assigned identifiers that are important to the group that owns the physical materials. We document any relevant identifiers in each item’s metadata record, whether they belong to an international or established standard (e.g., ISSNs or call numbers) or have a specific context (e.g., agency-assigned report numbers). This presentation discusses some of the complexities inherent in managing both locally-created and externally-assigned identifiers, why we use different types of identifiers throughout our infrastructure, and the implementation of various identifiers in our Digital Collections.
Displacement damage and predicted non-ionizing energy loss in GaAs

Large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, along with bond-order interatomic potentials, have been applied to study the defect production for lattice atom recoil energies from 500 eV to 20 keV in gallium arsenide (GaAs). At low energies, the most surviving defects are single interstitials and vacancies, and only 20% of the interstitial population is contained in clusters. However, a direct-impact amorphization in GaAs occurs with a high degree of probability during the cascade lifetime for Ga PKAs (primary knock-on atoms) with energies larger than 2 keV. The results reveal a non-linear defect production that increases with the PKA energy. The damage density within a cascade core is evaluated, and used to develop a model that describes a new energy partition function. Based on the MD results, we have developed a model to determine the non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) in GaAs, which can be used to predict the displacement damage degradation induced by space radiation on electronic components. The calcu...
Review of The Atlas of Erotic Anatomy and Arousal

ABSTRACTThe Atlas of Erotic Anatomy and Arousal is online video education that explores sexual pleasure and sexual anatomy from a sex positive perspective. Written and presented by a sex educator and therapist, Cyndi Darnell, this video is an excellent resource for adult individuals interested in learning about their bodies and having fulfilling sexual experiences with their partners. The video series provides scientifically accurate and pleasure-based information about the anatomy of the vulva, the penis, and the anus, and the physiology of orgasm and ejaculation, in an entertaining manner.
The Opportunity Construction Logic: A Source of Organizational Hybridity in Social Enterprises

Hybrid organizations are those in which two or more institutional logics are combined in new ways. For-profit social enterprises are often characterized as hybrid organizations because of two logic...
Does pre‐exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention in men who have sex with men change risk behaviour? A systematic review

Aims and objectives To review the literature regarding PrEP and sexual behaviour change in MSM. Background Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV has been available since 2012. Even so, pre-exposure prophylaxis has not been widely accepted among healthcare providers and men who have sex with men some of whom are convinced that pre-exposure prophylaxis decreases condom use and increases sexually transmitted infections. Design A systematic review of the state of the evidence regarding the association of pre-exposure prophylaxis with condom use, sexually transmitted infection incidence and change in sexual risk behaviours in men who have sex with men. A structured search of databases resulted in 142 potential citations, but only 10 publications met inclusion criteria and underwent data abstraction and critical appraisal. Methods An adapted Cochrane Collaboration domain-based assessment tool was used to critically appraise the methodological components of each quantitative study, and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to critically appraise qualitative and mixed-methods studies. Results Condom use in men who have sex with men using pre-exposure prophylaxis is influenced by multiple factors. Studies indicate rates of sexually transmitted infections in treatment and placebo groups were high. Pre-exposure prophylaxis did not significantly change sexually transmitted infection rates between baseline and follow-up. Reporting of sexual risk improved when questionnaires were completed in private by clients. Our review found that pre-exposure prophylaxis may provide an opportunity for men who have sex with men to access sexual health care, testing, treatment and counselling services. We did not find any conclusive evidence that pre-exposure prophylaxis users increase sexual risk behaviours. Conclusion The perception among healthcare providers that pre-exposure prophylaxis leads to increased sexual risk behaviours has yet to be confirmed. In order to provide effective sexual health services, clinicians need to be knowledgeable about pre-exposure prophylaxis as an HIV prevention tool. Relevance to clinical practice In an era where HIV prevention methods are rapidly improving, strategies for sexually transmitted infection testing, treatment, counselling and prevention remain vital to improve health. All healthcare providers are uniquely positioned to promote sexual health through the dissemination of accurate information.