cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis) in a Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) Colony

Abstract Tularemia is a bacterial zoonosis caused by Francisella tularensis. We conducted a serosurvey of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming...
Investigation and Application of the One-Point-Bend Impact Test

This paper investigates a dynamic fracture test that produces smoothly varying stress intensity histories of controlled amplitude and duration. A test configuration has been adopted in which a simple edge-cracked specimenis loaded in bending by impacting it at the midsection without supporting it at the outer edges. The stress intensity history is measured by a strain gage near the crack tip and has approximately a sinusoidal time dependence. The dependence of stress intensity amplitude and duration on the impact velocity and on the specimen material and dimensions has been determined both analytically and experimentally. The limit on the specimen aspect ratio to obtain a smooth stress intensity history controlled only by the first mode of vibration of the specimen has also been established. Stress intensity pulses of durations varying between 90 and 500 its can be readily achieved, and the maximum amplitude can be independently adjusted over an order of magnitude (20 to 200 MPa m 1 / 2 ). The new experimental procedure has been used to measure the dynamic fracture toughness of 4340 steel (HRC 50) at three loading rates. Comparison of the dynamic results with the value of the static toughness indicates little strain-rate sensitivity of the fracture toughness of 4340 steel in the range of loading rates investigated (quasi-static to 3 × 10 6 MPa m 1 / 2 s - 1 ).
Athletic Injuries Involving the Hip

Hip pain in the adolescent patient can be due to a variety of factors, including acute injury or chronic overuse. The current chapter will cover four common causes of pain in this population. Pelvic apophysitis commonly occurs as a chronic overuse injury resulting from overload of these pelvic growth centers. Pelvic avulsion fractures are among the most common acute injuries in this population and generally are treated with conservative methods. Athletic pubalgia, or sports hernia, occurs less commonly in the adolescent compared to adults, and is a chronic overuse condition of the abdominal wall. Acetabular labral tears are the most common surgically treated injury in the adolescent patient and generally occur as the result of underlying bony deformity including femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) or acetabular dysplasia. The current chapter will cover these injuries and their arthroscopic treatment, while FAI and acetabular dysplasia are covered in separate chapters.
The Mayo Clinic Histiocytosis Working Group Consensus Statement for the Diagnosis and Evaluation of Adult Patients With Histiocytic Neoplasms: Erdheim-Chester Disease, Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, and Rosai-Dorfman Disease

Histiocytic neoplasms, a rare and heterogeneous group of disorders, primarily include Erdheim-Chester disease, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and Rosai-Dorfman disease. Due to their diverse clinical manifestations, the greatest challenge posed by these neoplasms is the establishment of a diagnosis, which often leads to a delay in institution of appropriate therapy. Recent insights into their genomic architecture demonstrating mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway mutations have now enabled potential treatment with targeted therapies in most patients. This consensus statement represents a joint document from a multidisciplinary group of physicians at Mayo Clinic who specialize in the management of adult histiocytic neoplasms. It consists of evidence- and consensus-based recommendations on when to suspect these neoplasms and what tests to order for the diagnosis and initial evaluation. In addition, it also describes the histopathologic and individual organ manifestations of these neoplasms to help the clinicians in identifying their key features. With uniform guidelines that aid in identifying these neoplasms, we hope to improve the awareness that may lead to their timely and correct diagnosis.
3D Endoscopic Imaging Using a GRIN Lens Array

A volumetric endoscopy system is demonstrated allowing 3D reconstruction of volumetric information using deconvolution algorithms. This system has a great potential for clinical applications for recording and revealing 3D structures of specimens.
Using Continual FOI requests to uncover the live archive : Tracking protest policing in the USA

This chapter illustrates how scholars can use continuous freedom of information requests (FOIR) to better understand the policing of protests in the United States. FOIR refers to the process of accessing government data and records through open records law. I obtained documents from the Seattle Police Department over a two-year period to demonstrate how they contribute to two methods used to study social movements: protest event analysis and case studies. First, I compared police records of protests to protests covered in. I found that newspaper and police department coverage only overlapped on roughly 20 percent of protests. Therefore, the use of both data sources created a fuller accounting of protest occurrence in Seattle and allowed for the evaluation of biases in each source. Police documents also revealed unique accounts of protester tactics and policing strategies, which may be useful in constructing well-rounded case studies of social movements. While limitations exist, the integration of quantitative and qualitative details from FOIR data can contribute to a fuller sociological understanding of protest policing.
Dynamical systems' models for the prediction of multi-variable time series. Wikipedia's traffic example.

The models VAR, ARIMA, Holt-Winters, are frequently used for short-term forecasts of multivariate time series. In this paper we consider models constructed with the help of dynamical systems that have relatively simple limiting behavior. Switching between different trajectories of the phase portrait, we obtain a high precision prediction. Moreover, the dynamical system approach provides the global qualitative picture of the model's phase portrait, and allows us to discuss multidimensional patterns and long-term properties of the process. The simple limiting behavior allows us to associate different trends with different process's realization scenarios that can be influenced by externalities. We demonstrate these ideas using the examples of the Wikipedia's traffic of Readers, Contributors and Edits. First, we consider the two-dimensional model, predicting the traffic of Readers and Edits. The prediction precision is higher than the two-dimensional VAR prediction. Different trends (corresponding to different fixed points) can be associated with different platform's incentives. Then, adding the Contributors data, we discuss the three-dimensional model (more precise than the three-dimensional VAR). It provides a more accurate short-term prediction of Edits than the two-dimensional dynamic model. The global picture shows that the number of new Edits tends to decline in the future, while the number of new Contributors and Readers will grow in the long run.
Can Smartphones Make Smart Kids

“Apps as Learning Tools: A Systematic Review”1 is a timely look, from a developmental and educational perspective, at the mobile device apps that even young children are using today. This review is as important to us in observing what we do not know as what we do. In a year when we are celebrating 50 years of Sesame Street as an iconic, genre-defining educational television program, we need to be reminded of just how revolutionary it was and continues to be (and how it has set the gold standard for educational media). Sesame Street dramatically changed early childhood education not only because it made preschool learning available to everyone who had a television but also because it used the unique access and attraction of television to teach in theoretically based, research-proven ways. The genius of Sesame Street is simple: education scholars conducted formative research to design programming that was pedagogically sound, and once the shows were made and shown, they conducted summative research to evaluate how effectively the programming met intended goals.2 The success … Address correspondence to Michael Rich, MD, MPH, FAAP, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Center on Media and Child Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: michael.rich{at}childrens.harvard.edu
Anisotropic analysis of fibrous and woven materials part 1: Estimation of local orientation

Abstract In many material science applications mechanical and thermal properties are often locally anisotropic. As such, a common requirement for high fidelity computational modeling is the knowledge of the local property tensor. In fibrous or woven materials, the properties are known along the direction of the fibers, so it is necessary to know their orientation to correctly align the tensors. In this study, three techniques are investigated for estimating the direction in these microstructures, obtained on Cartesian grids using microtomography as grayscale values: a common image processing technique called structure tensor, a method based on artificial flux, and a novel ray-casting approach. All the methods start by identifying the fibers using a grayscale cutoff. The first technique estimates the fiber direction based on the eigenvector corresponding to the smallest eigenvalue obtained from the grayscale gradients. The second method estimates the orientation as the local steady-state flux vector in a heat transfer simulation with temperature gradients imposed in all three directions. In the third method, rays are created at the center of each solid voxel and travel until the first collision with a material boundary occurs. The local direction vector is estimated based on the travel distance of these rays. The performance of each method is studied by examining their predictions for artificially generated weaves and fibrous materials, whose true local fiber direction is known a priori. The last part of this paper contains fiber orientation simulations for different real world materials scanned with X-ray microtomography, and describes a new workflow for weaves.
Un grand professeur

The 36,900 Google entries, the multi-page bibliography, the books, and the articles fail to capture what was extraordinary about Michael Riffaterre. Simply put, he was not only University Professor but a grand professeur. You will note I am using a French phrase instead of the English terms, great teacher or great professor. Why? Mike, as it amused him to be called--when we were fellow students back in the Fifties, he was still Michel, and I always called him Michel--Mike was at his most brilliant in French. His mastery of the language, of its rhythm, inflexions, harmony, and the timber of his deep and rich voice were an element of the grand professeur potion. Somewhere in the Columbia archives are recordings of poetry he made for Jeanne Varney Pleasants (she, of phonetics fame) that were meant to exemplify an ideal model of the best in the language. Rather than an archilecteur--remember that Mike defined this as the average reader, and there was nothing average about Mike's interpretation of a text--he was an archilocuteur, one whose speech incorporated the rhetoric of virtual discourses. While his lectures in English were outstanding, the ones in French had magic. There are other ingredients in the grand professeur brew: for example, presence. Michel entered into a lecture hall or a classroom, and there was a quality about his stance, his way of moving or standing, that held everyone's attention. I remember an instance atone of the annual meetings at the College de France in the early seventies. In attendance were some of the most prominent professors of the day. "Where is Riffaterre?' "When do you think he'll be here?" Whispers throughout the large amphitheater ... Then when he walked into the room: "Riffaterre is here. Riffaterre is here." He seemed to fill the room by simply being there. When he left, the room seemed empty. His colloquia on poetics at the Maison Francaise were remarkable always because of his comments, his extemporaneous remarks, his polemics with supporters and detractors, and always his generous introductions. I am reminded here of Andre Weil's logarithmic law that I am taking the liberty of modifying slightly: first rate professors invite other first-rate professors to academic conferences, but second-rate professors tend to invite third-raters, and third-raters, fifth-raters. Michael invited and hired first-raters. Incidentally, his letters of recommendation for students and colleagues were particularly generous. There is something still more notable: Michel's erudition. He pretended to scorn the biographical and historical approaches to literature. Nevertheless, he had as thorough a grounding of history as any historian I have known. Perhaps he seemed to reject this branch of knowledge because he knew too well its uses and abuses, to paraphrase Nietzsche! While he had little use for the old-fashioned philological approach to literature, he could effortlessly bring forth the history of a word and restore it to the various social settings of its evolution. …
COVID-19 im Vergleich zur jahreszeitlichen und pandemischen Influenza

Als man zu Beginn der COVID-19-Pandemie verstehen wollte, wie schwer die Krankheit ist, wurde zum Vergleich haufig die echte Grippe oder Influenza herangezogen. Solche Vergleiche waren eine Hauptursache fur Verwirrung und Missverstandnisse. Der Vergleich mit der jahreszeitlichen Grippe – dem Influenzavirus, das uns jeden Winter heimsucht – fuhrte zu der Vorstellung, auch der Krankheitsverlauf sei ahnlich schwer; dabei wurde nicht berucksichtigt, dass der COVID-19-Erreger in der Bevolkerung neu ist und dass man fur ihn im Gegensatz zur Influenza weder einen Impfstoff noch eine wirksame virushemmende Therapie kennt.
Quench Protection Study of Superconducting Magnets for the Materials Plasma Exposure Experiment

To advance the understanding of plasma material interactions, the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) is a new linear plasma device that will generate and deliver plasma relevant to future fusion reactor divertors. The operation of MPEX is planned to be steady-state in order to facilitate high fluence exposures of plasma facing materials and components. The desire for steady-state operation along with the magnetic field requires the utilization of superconducting coils. The superconducting magnet system for MPEX has been developed. The baseline model has six superconducting magnet and one room-temperature magnet subsystems. In order to protect multiple superconducting magnet systems, quench analysis was carried out to determine the best protection approach for each magnet type. Because the mutual inductance accounts for approximately 35% of the stored energy in the entire system, this must be considered when determining the peak voltages and temperatures during a quench. Two approaches for passive quench protection are considered: (1) self-protecting magnets and (2) use of diodes to sub-divide the coils. For both approaches, active quench detection will be used to ensure all coils are de-energized in the event of a quench. Results of the quench analysis for several quench scenarios are presented.
Carbene-Stabilized Dithiolene (L0) Zwitterions

A series of reactions between Lewis bases and an imidazole-based dithione dimer (1) has been investigated. Both cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) (2) and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) (4), in addition to N-heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) (6), demonstrate the capability to cleave the sulphur-sulphur bonds in 1, giving carbene-stabilized dithiolene (L0 ) zwitterions (3 and 5) and a spirocyclic silicon-dithiolene compound (7), respectively. The bonding nature of 3, 5, and 7 are probed by both experimental and theoretical methods.
Microglia and Sensitive Periods in Brain Development

From embryonic neuronal migration to adolescent circuit refinement, the immune system plays an essential role throughout central nervous system (CNS) development. Immune signaling molecules serve as a common language between the immune system and CNS, allowing them to work together to modulate brain function both in health and disease. As the resident CNS macrophage, microglia comprise the majority of immune cells in the brain. Much like their peripheral counterparts, microglia survey their environment for pathology, clean up debris, and propagate inflammatory responses when necessary. Beyond this, recent studies have highlighted that microglia perform a number of complex tasks during neural development, from directing neuronal and axonal positioning to pruning synapses, receptors, and even whole cells. In this chapter, we discuss this literature within the framework that immune activation during discrete windows of neural development can profoundly impact brain function long-term, and thus the risk of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. In this chapter, we review three sensitive developmental periods - embryonic wiring, early postnatal synaptic pruning, and adolescent circuit refinement - in order to highlight the diversity of functions that microglia perform in building a brain. In reviewing this literature, it becomes obvious that timing matters, perhaps more so than the nature of the immune activation itself; largely conserved patterns of microglial response to diverse insults result in different functional impacts depending on the stage of brain maturation at the time of the challenge.
An Exploratory Study on Motor Vehicles Recall in the US - Trend Analysis of Recalls Due to Commonality in Vehicles Design

Using product platforms and commonality in product design saves supply chain costs, reduces inventory. But commonality in design also leads to using same component or process across multiple products which can cause the larger scale of recalls in case there is a problem with the common component. The auto manufactures have been using commonality and different anecdotes show that these strategies have impacted auto recalls. This exploratory research studies the trend of recalls due to commonality strategies for 35 years since 1975 taken by 23 auto manufacturers selling cars and trucks in the US. The auto recalls data used in this study is provided by the US National Highway Traffic Safety. SAS PROC MIXED is used to model the trend of recalls due to commonality by the vehicle make. The trends are further explored to study and explain similarities and dissimilarities between different makes. The study shows that there are four distinct clusters of recall profiles among the auto manufacturers that resulted due to commonality and product platforms strategy. Specifically, it is found that the Japanese auto manufacturers have increasing rates of recalls whereas most of the Big 3 US auto manufacturers have distinctively decreasing rate of recalls arising from commonality and product platforms strategy. With the recent recall problems the auto manufacturers are facing, this research provides valuable insights about the trends and can create a wider stream of research that can explore the impact of commonality and the product platform strategies on vehicle recalls.
EPCR: a stress trigger for γδ T cells.

The mechanism by which γδ T cells are triggered to respond to stress elicited by infection or malignancy has remained a mystery. New data identify endothelial protein C receptor as a stress ligand for γδ T cells that is induced by cytomegalovirus infection.
The Effect of Radical-Based Grouping in Character Learning in Chinese as a Foreign Language

The logographic nature of the Chinese writing system creates a huge hurdle for Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners. Existing literature (e.g., Shen, ; Taft & Chung, ) suggests that radical knowledge facilitates character learning. In this project, we selected 48 compound characters in eight radical groups and examined how grouping characters based on their radicals affected the form, sound, and meaning representations of characters and radical knowledge development. We found that for beginning learners, learning radical-sharing characters in groups consistently led to better recall and better radical generalization than learning in distribution. For intermediate level learners, the grouping factor did not lead to significant differences, while participants in both conditions made improvement in radical perception and radical semantic awareness generalization. We concluded that there is a benefit to presenting learners with recurring radicals in compound characters in groups in character learning and in the autonomous generalization of radical knowledge. We also noted the differences between beginning and intermediate learners in their character perception and learning, and put forward implications for CFL pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Using the Pumping Lemma

Let’s use the pumping lemma in the form of the demon game to show that the set $$ A = \left\{ {{a^n}{b^n}\left| {n \ge m} \right.} \right\}$$ is not regular. The set A is the set of strings in a * b * with no more b’s than a’s. The demon, who is betting that A is regular, picks some number k. A good response for you is to pick x = a k , y = b k , and z = ɛ. Then xyz = a k b k ∈ A and |y| = k; so far you have followed the rules. The demon must now pick u, v, w such that y = uvw and v ≠ ɛ. Say the demon picks u, v, w of length j, m, n, respectively, with k = j + m + n and m > 0. No matter what the demon picks, you can take i = 2 and you win: $$ \begin{array}{l} xu{v^2}wz = {a^k}{b^j}{b^m}{b^m}{b^n} \\ = {a^k}{b^{j + 2m + n}} \\ = {a^k}{b^{k + m}} \\ \end{array}$$ , which is not in A, because the number of b’s is strictly larger than the number of a’s.
Fully automatic hp-adaptivity for acoustic and electromagnetic scattering in three dimensions

We present an algorithm for fully automatic hp-adaptivity for finite element approximations of elliptic and Maxwell boundary value problems in three dimensions. The algorithm automatically generates a sequence of coarse grids, and a corresponding sequence of fine grids, such that the energy norm of the error decreases exponentially with respect to the number of degrees of freedom in either sequence. At each step, we employ a discrete optimization algorithm to determine the refinements for the current coarse grid such that the projection-based interpolation error for the current fine grid solution decreases with an optimal rate with respect to the number of degrees of freedom added by the refinement. The refinements are restricted only by the requirement that the resulting mesh is at most 1-irregular, but they may be anisotropic in both element size h and order of approximation p. While we cannot prove that our method converges at all, we present numerical evidence of exponential convergence for a diverse suite of model problems from acoustic and electromagnetic scattering. In particular we show that our method is well suited to the automatic resolution of exterior problems truncated by the introduction of a perfectly matched layer. To enable and accelerate the solution of these problems on commodity hardware, we include a detailed account of three critical aspects of our implementation, namely an efficient implementation of sum factorization, several efficient interfaces to the direct multi-frontal solver MUMPS, and some fast direct solvers for the computation of a sequence of nested projections.
The primary cloud physics mechanisms of microburst formation

Several atmospheric soundings have been used as initial conditions in the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences' two-dimensional, time-dependent cloud model and resulted in a wide range of microbursts, some very wet and some nearly dry. Observations confirm the occurrence of at least three of the microbursts and give good comparisons of the intensity, upper-level convergence, downdraft, and other microburst characteristics. The effects of the liquid and ice microphysics are examined quantitatively. Precipitation loading, graupel/hail melting, and rain evaporation are all shown to be important. Evaporation and milting are, in general, the most dominant effects.
Multilevel Computational Analysis of Fluorocarbon Polyatomic Deposition on Diamond

Hyperthermal polyatomic fluorocarbon (FC) deposition upon the diamond (111) surface is simulated and analyzed at several levels of computational theory. Classical molecular dynamics simulations using the reactive empirical bond order (REBO) potential are used to categorize the surface reactions that occur during radical deposition. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, using density functional theory (DFT-MD) via the SIESTA method and program, are used to corroborate the findings from the classical simulations and to categorize reactions that occur during cation deposition. Finally, reaction enthalpies are calculated with higher level quantum mechanical methods using a cluster model to verify and refine the predictions from the MD simulations. The multilevel analysis predicts that FC radicals add directly to the diamond (111) surface with the simultaneous formation of HF. In contrast, FC cations preferentially dissociate H from the surface leaving behind a cationic carbon site. Cations and radical species ...
Cognitive styles and approaches to studying in management education

This article examines the role of intuition and/or analysis cognitive styles and approaches to studying in business education. The Cognitive Style Index (CSI) and Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI) were administered to 222 American undergraduate business students. The authors found a relationship between analytic orientation and grade point average. Furthermore, the authors found a correlation between academic performance and higher scores on the Deep, Strategic, Metacognitive Awareness, and Academic Self-Confidence Scales of the RASI. Women adopted a more analytic style and scored higher on the Surface and Strategic Scales of the RASI. The authors discuss implications of these findings for management education.
A Scientific Software Verification Library Based on the Method of Manufactured Solutions

A software library is being developed in the C++ programming language that applies the Method of Manufactured Solutions (MMS) to a variety of partial differential equation (PDE) problems. This library will allow researchers to utilize MMS as a software verification process without developing significant amounts of testing code. The library is split into two components: solution classes which can be used as manufactured solutions to PDE problems; and PDE problem classes which represent specific types of PDEs to be solved (such as linear convection-diffusion equation or Poisson’s equation). In use, any solution class can be used with any PDE problem class and vice versa. This creates a significant amount of flexibility in this architecture and allows the end users to customize their MMS testing process. In addition, end users are able to develop their own solution classes in one of three ways: inheriting from the solution base class and implementing their own class; providing the functions required to evaluate the solution and its derivatives; or providing the solution as a string to be parsed by the library into a function. This paper will demonstrate a number of features of this library, as well as demonstrate its application in a number of use cases.
What can molecular genetics contribute to marine biogeography? An urchin's tale

Abstract The high marine species diversity in the Indo-West Pacific declines sharply to the east and west of the Indonesian Archipelago. This biogeographic pattern has attracted attention for over a century, but the mechanisms generating such diversity gradients remain uncertain. Molecular genetic data can help address biogeographic mechanisms in at least 4 ways. They can provide (1) independent evidence for genetic boundaries between cryptic species, (2) a temporal framework for species divergence times, (3) phylogenetic reconstructions of species divergence patterns, and (4) information about the geography of allelic variants within species. Data from mitochondrial DNA variation in Pacific sea urchins show that (1) congeneric species are of recent origin, having diverged within the Pleistocene, (2) populations are genetically heterogeneous despite high dispersal potential, and (3) clines of mtDNA variation within species are similar to diversity clines in the entire fauna. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA variants does not support the center-of-overlap or center-of-accumulation models for biogeographic patterns in the Indo-West Pacific, but instead suggests that genetic differentiation and perhaps species formation can occur throughout the Indo-West Pacific.
Ozonation of aqueous solution containing bisphenol A: effect of operational parameters.

Abstract The degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous solution by ozonation was studied. The study was conducted experimentally in a semi-batch reactor under different operational conditions, i.e., varying influent ozone gas concentration, initial BPA concentration, pH, and bicarbonate ion concentration. The results of the study indicated that ozonation could be used to effectively remove BPA from contaminated water. Keeping other operational parameters constant, the rate of BPA degradation linearly increased with ozone dosage. At pH value of 7.0, the second-order rate constants for the reaction of BPA with aqueous ozone were determined as 1.22 × 10 5 , 1.71 × 10 5 , and 2.59 × 10 5 M −1 s −1 for ozone gas dosages of 1.4, 2.2, and 5.1 mg L −1 , respectively. Bicarbonate ion in the range of 1.0–8.0 mM (61–488 ppm) showed no significant effect on BPA degradation for concentrations of BPA used in the study (23.0–57.0 μM). It was also observed that the rate of BPA degradation increased with pH up to 7.0, resulting in rate constants of 0.48 × 10 5 , 0.94 × 10 5 , and 1.71 × 10 5 M −1 s −1 at pH values of 2.0, 5.0, and 7.0, respectively; and the rate constant decreased to 1.16 × 10 5 M −1 s −1 at pH of 10.0.
Temporary disaster debris management site identification using binomial cluster analysis and GIS

An essential component of disaster planning and preparation is the identification and selection of temporary disaster debris management sites (DMS). However, since DMS identification is a complex process involving numerous variable constraints, many regional, county and municipal jurisdictions initiate this process during the post-disaster response and recovery phases, typically a period of severely stressed resources. Hence, a pre-disaster approach in identifying the most likely sites based on the number of locational constraints would significantly contribute to disaster debris management planning. As disasters vary in their nature, location and extent, an effective approach must facilitate scalability, flexibility and adaptability to variable local requirements, while also being generalisable to other regions and geographical extents. This study demonstrates the use of binomial cluster analysis in potential DMS identification in a case study conducted in Hamilton County, Indiana.
Total-variation regularization with bound constraints

We present a new algorithm for bound-constrained totalvariation (TV) regularization that in comparison with its predecessors is simple, fast, and flexible. We use a splitting approach to decouple TV minimization from enforcing the constraints. Consequently, existing TV solvers can be employed with minimal alteration. This also makes the approach straightforward to generalize to any situation where TV can be applied. We consider deblurring of images with Gaussian or salt-and-pepper noise, as well as Abel inversion of radiographs with Poisson noise.
Regulation of BMAL1 Protein Stability and Circadian Function by GSK3β-Mediated Phosphorylation

Background Circadian rhythms govern a large array of physiological and metabolic functions. To achieve plasticity in circadian regulation, proteins constituting the molecular clock machinery undergo various post-translational modifications (PTMs), which influence their activity and intracellular localization. The core clock protein BMAL1 undergoes several PTMs. Here we report that the Akt-GSK3β signaling pathway regulates BMAL1 protein stability and activity. Principal Findings GSK3β phosphorylates BMAL1 specifically on Ser 17 and Thr 21 and primes it for ubiquitylation. In the absence of GSK3β-mediated phosphorylation, BMAL1 becomes stabilized and BMAL1 dependent circadian gene expression is dampened. Dopamine D2 receptor mediated signaling, known to control the Akt-GSK3β pathway, influences BMAL1 stability and in vivo circadian gene expression in striatal neurons. Conclusions These findings uncover a previously unknown mechanism of circadian clock control. The GSK3β kinase phosphorylates BMAL1, an event that controls the stability of the protein and the amplitude of circadian oscillation. BMAL1 phosphorylation appears to be an important regulatory step in maintaining the robustness of the circadian clock.
Atmospheric pressure plasma enabled polishing of single crystal sapphire

Abstract Single crystal sapphire substrates with high quality surface finish and integrity significantly enhance performance and reliability of various microelectronics and LED devices. Traditional Chemical Mechanical Polishing necessitates highly alkaline slurries or ultra-hard abrasives owing to sapphire's ultra-high hardness and chemical inertness. Such trade-off is obviated by utilizing an atmospheric pressure plasma (in He–H 2 O mixture) for chemical action, facilitating higher material removal rate at neutral pH by buffing alone, without abrasives. Plasma induced surface modification is studied by nanoindentation. A 2× improvement in MRR is achieved, and 40× projected. Effects of plasma parameters and polishing conditions on planarization effectiveness are discussed.
Vitamin E in Humans: An Explanation of Clinical Trial Failure

ABSTRACT Objective To describe the potential benefits and hazards of vitamin E supplementation and present a rational basis for understanding the conflicting results among randomized clinical trials, epidemiologic investigations, and animal studies on the use of vitamin E to prevent atherosclerosis. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of the pertinent literature found in PubMed from 1981 through August 2005. The published data are analyzed and summarized. Results The possible factors implicated for failure of vitamin E therapy include the following: (1) the inclusion of patients without biochemical evidence of increased oxidative stress, (2) the relatively short duration of treatment, (3) the use of suboptimal dosages of vitamin E, (4) the suppression of y-tocopherol by a-tocopherol, (5) the use of vitamin E supplementation without the concurrent use of vitamin C, (6) the lack of inclusion of biochemical markers of oxidative stress and markers of vascular response, (7) the inappropriate administration of vitamins relative to meal ingestion, and (8) the poor patient compliance and the lack of monitoring of vitamin E levels. Conclusion Large, randomized clinical trials have not yet substantiated a beneficial effect of use of vitamin E to reduce atherosclerotic risk in humans, despite demonstration of antioxidant effects in vitro and in animals. Only in subsets of patients at high risk for atherosclerosis has a beneficial effect been suggested. Before additional large, randomized clinical trials of vitamin E are performed, the specific biologic and surrogate marker effects of vitamin E in each target population must be defined more carefully. This approach will save resources, minimize untoward side effects, and identify the patients who will benefit the most. (Endocr Pract. 2006;12:576-582)
New sulfido-bridged diniobium(IV) and ditantalum(IV) complexes and a related tetranuclear tantalum(IV) compound

Designed synthesis has led to the preparation of the compounds M 2 (μ-S) 2 Cl 4 (PMe 3 ) 4 (MNb, Ta) and an unexpected tetranuclear molecule, Ta 4 S 4 Cl 8 (PMe 3 ) 6 , has also been obtained in small yield. All three compounds have been conclusively identified and structurally characterized. The dinuclear compounds have NbNb and TaTa distances of 2.869(1) and 2.865(1) A, respectively, indicative of single bonds between the metal atoms. Ta 4 S 4 Cl 8 (PMe 3 ) 6 has a central pair of Ta atoms bridged by four S atoms (TaTa=2.891(1) A) with square-antiprismatic eight-coordination on each one completed by two trans Cl 2 (PMe 3 ) 2 sets of ligands. A TaCl 2 (PMe 3 ) unit is then attached to each central Ta atom (TaTa′=3.091(1) A) by two of the sulfur atoms and a terminal Cl atom, thus completing octahedral coordination about each Ta′ atom.
TV-Compatible Forward Looking Infrared

In this paper we describe a new Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) development. Two basic types of scanning are presently representative of most FLIR systems, parallel scanning and serial scanning. Historically, the first high performance FLIRs utilized parallel scanning. The recent development of (Hg,Cd)Te detectors has made possible the use of serial scanning. This paper describes a serial scanned TV-compatible FLIR.
Attenuation-Difference Tomography of Crosswell Radar Data Using Fresnel Theory

The traditional approach to attenuation-difference tomography employs the ray approximation where waves are assumed to propagate at infinite frequency. The ray approximation causes significant model error that generates artifacts and loss of resolution in tomographic images. In this paper, we use finite frequency (Fresnel volume) physics to represent wave propagation and propose an efficient method of computing Fresnel volume sensitivities using scattering theory. These sensitivities represent the physics of electromagnetic propagation more accurately than ray theory and thereby provide better data prediction than ray-based sensitivities. We apply this methodology to synthetic and real time-lapse radar attenuation data acquired in a mesoscale hydrogeophysical research site in Boise, Idaho. Both synthetic and field results show that Fresnel theory produces more reliable images of subsurface conductivity changes in comparison to ray theory.
Efficient retroviral gene transfer of a Tat-regulated herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene for HIV gene therapy

Abstract We have previously reported that lymphoid and monocytic CD4 + cells transfected with and expressing a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene, under the transcriptional control of the HIV long terminal repeat, are protected from HIV spread in the presence of 10 μ M acyclovir. Furthermore, the expression of HSV-TK was able to enhance the antiviral effect of AZT. We now investigate the ability of retroviral vectors containing the HSV-TK gene under the transcriptional control of HIV regulatory sequences to transduce target cells. Bone marrow cells or lymphocytes might be genetically modified by these vectors in an HIV gene therapy strategy. In this study, we describe high-titer retroviral producer clones expressing the HSV-TK gene from an HIV LTR. Lymphoid cells transduced with one of these retroviruses express HSV-TK at a relatively low basal level. When the same cells express the HIV regulatory protein Tat , they are 10-fold more sensitive to killing by ganciclovir. Thus, this vector has potential application for gene therapy of HIV infection.
Stability of coupled excitatory–inhibitory neural populations and application to control of multi-stable systems

Abstract The hierarchy of models of interacting neural populations with excitatory and inhibitory connections is described using second-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Systematic analytical and numerical studies are aimed at determining stability conditions of the coupled system. Generalized stability conditions are derived for a class of excitatory–inhibitory neural population models. Equilibrium continuation analysis is applied to interpret the obtained stability conditions. The results are discussed in the context of chaotic brain dynamics theory and chaotic itinerancy. Attractor switching in biologically relevant multi-stable systems is demonstrated.
Fermentation study for the production of hepatitis B virus pre-S2 antigen by the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha.

Various physico-chemical parameters have been studied in order to improve the production of hepatitis B virus pre-S2 antigen (middle surface antigen) by the methylotrophic yeastHansenula polymorpha. Antigen production was done in two steps: first, production of cells on glycerol (Phase 1), followed by induction of antigen expression with methanol (Phase 2). Dense cultures ofH. polymorpha, equivalent to 35–40 g/l (dry weight), were readily obtained in small fermenters using minimal medium containing glycerol as carbon source. Antigen expression in this minimal medium, after induction with methanol, was however low and never exceeded 1.6 mg/l of culture. Antigen production was greatly enhanced by adding complex organic nitrogen sources along with methanol at induction time; yeast extract was the best of all the sources tested. In shake flasks, antigen production was proportional to yeast extract concentration up to 7% (w/v) yeast extract. it became clear that the nutritional conditions for good antigen expression were different from those for good biomass production. The effects of yeast extract were reproduced in small fermenters: antigen levels reached 8–9 mg/l in medium containing 6% (w/v) yeast extract during induction with methanol. The mechanisms of yeast extract's effects are still unknown but are probably nutritional. The recombinantH. polymorpha strain produced both periplasmic and intracellular antigen. The periplasmic antigen was shown to be present as 20–22-nm particles and was therefore immunogenic. Immunoblotting indicated that part of the pre-S2 antigen was present as a 24-kDa degradation product. These studies have led to a 140-fold increase in volumetric productivity of antigen and to a 4.6-fold increase in specific production.
Risk stratification for cesarean delivery using a regional database

Abstract Objective: To distinguish between patients at high and low risk for undergoing cesarean delivery using a regional database. Methods: As part of a large metropolitan regional evaluation of variation and quality of care regarding childbirth, we developed a risk stratification tool using ICD-9-CM codes accounting for the likelihood of undergoing cesarean delivery from 26,358 consecutive deliveries between July 1997 and June 1998 in 22 hospitals. A previous cesarean delivery was intentionally not classified as high risk. Results: There were 5,017 cesarean deliveries (19%) performed. Ten of 24 studied conditions placed a patient at high risk for cesarean delivery: malposition (breech [87%], face/brow [84%], high head at term [88%], transverse or oblique presentation [77%], and unspecified malposition [81%]), obstruction from malpositioned fetus at labor onset (95%), placenta previa (59%), severe preeclampsia (51%), premature separation of placenta (50%), and prolapsed cord (67%). Conclusion: Our approach differs from alternative methods of assessing maternal risk because it does not define a high-risk pregnancy, but rather identifies patients at high risk for cesarean delivery. This approach has merit when attempting to determine variation in rates of utilization for cesarean delivery across patients, physicians, hospitals, and regions of the country.
Disruptive selection and the genetic basis of bill size polymorphism in the African finch Pyrenestes

MECHANISMS producing and maintaining discrete polymorphisms have long fascinated evolutionary biologists1,2. Despite the ubiquity of non-sex-limited polymorphisms in vertebrates, the evolutionary factors maintaining them are well understood in only a few instances3. The African finch Pyrenestes is unique among birds in exhibiting a non-sex-determined polymorphism in bill size4,5. Morphs breed randomly with respect to bill size and differ in diet and feeding performance on soft and hard seeds4,6. I present here: (1) new data showing that the polymorphism appears to result from a single genetic factor; (2) support from long-term field studies for earlier suggestions that disruptive selection is acting on bill size; and (3) data revealing the presence of a possible third, much larger morph. Results suggest that the polymorphism may have arisen through single mutations, where morphs occupy distinct adaptive peaks through differences in feeding performance on seeds differing in hardness.
A computably stable structure with no Scott family of finitary formulas

One of the goals of computability theory is to find syntactic equivalences for computational properties. The Limit Lemma is a classic example of this type of equivalence: X ⊆ ω is computable from 0′ if and only if it is arithmetically definable by a ∆2 formula. A more relevant example for this paper was proved independently by Ash, Knight, Manasse and Slaman [1] and by Chishom [2]: a computable structure is relatively computably categorical if and only if it has a computably enumerable Scott family of finitary existential formulas. (These terms are defined below.) Our main theorem is a negative result which states that there is a computably stable rigid graph which does not have a Scott family of finitary formulas. Therefore, any attempt to modify the syntactic characterization of relative computably categoricity to capture computable stability using notions such as a Scott family must involve an infinitary language. In this section, we give the background definitions and motivation for this theorem. In the second section, we construct a countable family of sets A with a specific list of enumeration properties. In the last section, we code A into a rigid graph G, prove a partial quantifier elimination theorem for G, and use the enumeration properties of A and the quantifier elimination result for G to show that G does not have a Scott family of finitary formulas. Let M be a countable structure in a computable language whose domain |M| is a subset of ω. The degree of M (denoted deg(M)) is the Turing degree of the atomic diagram of
Traveling Waves in a Convolution Model for Phase Transitions

The existence, uniqueness, stability and regularity properties of traveling-wave solutions of a bistable nonlinear integrodifferential equation are established, as well as their global asymptotic stability in the case of zero-velocity continuous waves. This equation is a direct analog of the more familiar bistable nonlinear diffusion equation, and shares many of its properties. It governs gradient flows for free-energy functionals with general nonlocal interaction integrals penalizing spatial nonuniformity.
Heterochrony: Developmental mechanisms and evolutionary results

The concept of heterochrony, that the relative timing of ontogenetic events can shift during evolution, has been a major paradigm for understanding the role of developmental processes in evolution. In this paper we consider heterochrony from the perspective of developmental biology. Our objective is to redefine heterochrony more broadly so that the concept becomes readily applicable to the evolution of the full range of ontogenetic processes, from embryogenesis through the adult. Throughout, we stress the importance of considering heterochrony from a hierarchical perspective. Thus, we recognize that a heterochronic change at one level of organization may be the result of non-heterochronic events at an underlying level. As such, heterochrony must be studied using a combination of genetic, molecular, cellular, and morphological approaches.
Multiple Lentigines (Leopard) Syndrome with Chiara I Malformation

This is a case report of multiple lentigines (Leopard Syndrome) with Chiari malformation, i.e. a herniation of the cerebellum into the foramen magnum. This male patient had generalized multiple lentigines since birth, and the lesions spread steadily, involving the scalp but sparing all mucous membranes. Organ system involvements included heart murmur, ocular hypertelorism, and retardation of growth.