cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RNA structure. A molecular contortionist.

High levels of structural complexity were once thought to be confined to proteins, but one of the conclusions to emerge from a meeting on RNA structure was that this molecular ‘jack-of-all-trades’ shows an equally high level of structural organization. RNA molecules twist and bend themselves into many different shapes, allowing them to bind metal ions and proteins, and to carry out many diverse functions.
Tracking down a missing trigger for Alzheimer's disease by mass spectrometric imaging based on brain network analysis.

Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been proposed to begin in a cryptic form long before clinical symptoms appear. If this is the case, there might be an initial trigger leading to AD that we have not yet seen. Such a trigger might occur far away from the brain regions that are currently identified as affected sites, and might start long before either functional or histological changes are apparent. How might we detect this putative trigger? In this chapter, I propose an experimental approach using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)-based imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), combined with pathological and functional connectivity studies, to track down the initial trigger of AD. The deficits in AD brains do not spread randomly, and even though we do not know where to find the initial deficit or which biomolecule is involved, the brain region where the initial change occurs is surely connected functionally to the brain regions that subsequently show detectable damage. Therefore, MALDI IMS taking account of the brain's functional connectivity and the spread of AD symptoms should be a powerful strategy for uncovering molecular signatures related to the AD trigger(s).
Application of Machine Learning Techniques for the Analysis of National Bridge Inventory and Bridge Element Data

The MAP-21 Act requires information on bridge assets to be at the element level for management operations in the U.S.A. This approach has the objective of improving future predictions of the perfor...
Intraperitoneal Administration of Ethanol as a Means of Euthanasia for Neonatal Mice ( Mus musculus)

The humane euthanasia of animals in research is of paramount importance. Neonatal mice frequently respond differently to euthanasia agents when compared with adults. The AVMA's Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals includes intraperitoneal injection of ethanol as "acceptable with conditions," and recent work confirmed that this method is appropriate for euthanizing adult mice, but neonatal mice have not been tested. To explore this method in neonatal mice, mouse pups (C57BL/6 and CD1, 162 total) were injected with 100% ethanol, a pentobarbital-phenytoin combination, or saline at 7, 14, 21, 28, or 35 d of age. Electrocardiograms, respiratory rates, and times to loss of righting reflex and death were recorded. Time to death (TTD) differed significantly between ethanol and pentobarbital-phenytoin at 7, 14, and 21 d and between ethanol groups at 7, 14, and 21 d compared with 35 d. The average TTD (± 1 SD) for ethanol-injected mice were: 7 d, 70.3 ± 39.8 min; 14 d, 51.7 ± 30.5 min; 21 d, 32.3 ± 20.8 min, 28 d, 14.0 ± 15.2; and 35 d, 4.9 ± 1.4. Mean TTD in pentobarbital-phenytoin-injected mice were: 7 d, 2.8 ± 0.4 min; 14 d, 2.9 ± 0.5 min; 21 d, 3.9 ± 1.2 min; 28 d, 3.9 ± 0.7 min; and 35 d, 4.4 ± 0.5. Although TTD did not differ between ethanol and pentobarbital-phenytoin at 28 d of age, the TTD in 3 of 12 mice was longer than 15 min after ethanol administration at this age. Therefore, ethanol should not be used as a method of euthanasia for mice younger than 35 d, because the criteria for humane euthanasia were met only in mice 35 d or older.
Neoaltar: An interactive multimedia day of the dead experience.

Abstract Technology has permeated many aspects of human life, from everyday events, entertainment, learning environments, festivities, even solemn ceremonies; such is the case of the century-old Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead. Altars or offerings as they are sometimes called, are a central part of this celebration; whether they are small homemade shrines or big public installations, they are a narrative medium to tell the life-story and honor the memory of a beloved or important individual. This paper presents the creation of a traditional and technologically enhanced offering dubbed Neoaltar, from the identification and classification of narrative elements found in traditional altars, the proposal of an interactive multimedia interface based on a user experience model, and the construction, installation, live demonstration and evaluation of the altar. The exhibition of the offering was done during the most important and publicly open Day of the Dead event in the Mexican city of Juarez; as part of this study a survey was created, and information gathered from 120 users is analyzed and presented. The Neoaltar strives to tell the life story of the departed by introducing a non-linear interactive multimedia narrative while keeping with tradition by using a non-invasive approach to technology inclusion.
Rheological characterization and modeling of cellulose nanocrystal and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril suspensions

The production capacity of cellulose nanomaterials (CNM) is limited in part due to lacking standardized, rapid and reliable characterization methods for quality control. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of using rheology as a tool to address this challenge by developing detailed test protocols and a rheological model combining power law and the Cross model: $$\eta = a\dot{\gamma }^{ - b} + \eta_{\infty } + \frac{{\eta_{0} - \eta_{\infty } }}{{1 + \left( {\lambda \dot{\gamma }} \right)^{m} }}$$, where $$\dot{\gamma }$$ is the shear rate and $$\eta$$ is the viscosity. The test protocols, including sample preparation and viscosity measurement procedures, ensure obtaining robust and accurate data. The model, which combines the power law and the Cross model, describes the flow curves over the full range of shear rates across concentrations for both cellulose nanocrystals and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils. The model parameterizes the viscosity data for quick comparisons of different flow curves using all data rather than selectively using viscosity values at specific shear rates. Key model parameters correlate well with the suspension concentrations. We show that this model can be used to estimate the concentration of an uncharacterized CNM sample, and to estimate the salt concentration in a sample. Both applications are relevant to quality control.
Healing the Phoenix: Trauma-informed practice at the ground level

Remaining alert to ways we can improve our education practices is important for myriad reasons. Being able to respond effectively to the trauma that many children experience is one of the most pres...
Project Family prevention trials based in community-university partnerships: Toward scaled-up preventive interventions.

Findings from Project Family are presented to illustrate how a partnership-based program of research on universal family- and youth-focused interventions is addressing a public health challenge. One aspect of this public health challenge is the high prevalence of youth problem behaviors and a second aspect concerns barriers to scaling-up empirically-supported preventive interventions designed to ameliorate those problem behaviors. Illustrative findings are presented within a conceptual framework for scaling-up preventive interventions to achieve greater public health impact. Three interrelated sets of research requirements and findings are addressed within this framework: (a) rigorously demonstrating intervention effectiveness; (b) attaining sufficient levels of intervention utilization in diverse general populations, requiring study of recruitment/retention strategies, cultural sensitivity, and economic viability; and (c) achieving implementation quality, involving investigation of adherence and dosage effects, along with theory-driven, intervention quality improvement. The paper concludes with discussion of the need for careful investigation of community–university partnership models as a key mechanism for large-scale implementation.
Hope is the change we need: Reviving: American democracy

In the current climate of hyper-partisan politics, the reemergence of fascist sects, and questionable government transparency in the post-truth era, a question arises: is there any hope? Sarah Stit...
Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma may impair the performance of biomarkers: a comparison of AFP, DCP, and AFP-L3.

Abstract Current surveillance strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are applied uniformly in patients with cirrhosis, regardless of their cancer risk. The aim of this study was to compare the performance characteristics of the biomarkers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), des-gamma carboxyprothrombin (DCP), and lectin-bound AFP (AFP-L3) in the diagnosis of HCC, and to determine the effect of risk factors for HCC on test performance. Eighty-four patients with HCC and 169 patients with cirrhosis were enrolled and their serum analyzed for total AFP, AFP-L3 and DCP. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine the performance characteristics. DCP was significantly better than total AFP or AFP-L3 in differentiating HCC from cirrhosis, with a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 93%. When subjects were divided into two groups by their risk for HCC, all 3 markers had a lower sensitivity and area under the ROC curve in the high-risk group compared to the low-risk group. In conclusion, DCP has the best performance characteristics of all 3 serum markers for the diagnosis of HCC. Serum biomarkers may be less sensitive and specific in the highest risk patients.
Teaching the Intersections of Technology & Design through Critical Discourse Analysis for International Audiences

In this paper I discuss how I used the technics of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis to guide students’ critical engagement with technical writing and design project for transnational/international/global context. I describe the motivation for this pedagogy, students’ learning activities, and digital project. I then discuss some outcomes from this class as well as implications for technical and professional communication. Although I currently discuss results from one face-to-face classroom at this stage, I show the possibility of an experiment to integrate critical approaches into our pedagogy in an effort to guide students’ conscientiousness about transnational/international/global contexts.
Dark days, and bright spots

I left Milan on February 23, only to be shocked on landing to learn that the COVID pandemic had broken out in Northern Italy. Before long, New York followed suit. Streets like nightmare scapes feat...
Identification of Ion-Selectivity Determinants in Heavy-Metal Transport P1B-type ATPases

P1B-type ATPases transport a variety of metals (Cd2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Ag+, Cu+) across biomembranes. Characteristic sequences CP[C/H/S] in transmembrane fragment H6 were observed in the putative transporting metal site of the founding members of this subfamily (initially named CPx-ATPases). In spite of their importance for metal homeostasis and biotolerance, their mechanisms of ion selectivity are not understood. Studies of better-characterized P(II)-type ATPases (Ca-ATPase and Na,K-ATPase) have identified three transmembrane segments that participate in ion binding and transport. Testing the hypothesis that metal specificity is determined by conserved amino acids located in the equivalent transmembrane segments of P1B-type ATPases (H6, H7, and H8), 234 P1B-ATPase protein sequences were analyzed. This showed that although H6 contains characteristic CPX or XPC sequences, conserved amino acids in H7 and H8 provide signature sequences that predict the metal selectivity in each of five P1B-ATPase subgroups identified. These invariant amino acids contain diverse side chains (thiol, hydroxyl, carbonyl, amide, imidazolium) that can participate in transient metal coordination during transport and consequently determine the particular metal selectivity of each enzyme. Each subgroup shares additional structural characteristics such as the presence (or absence) of particular amino-terminal metal-binding domains and the number of putative transmembrane segments. These differences suggest unique functional characteristics for each subgroup in addition to their particular metal specificity.
A Comparison of Self-Reported Anxiety and Depression among Undergraduate Music Majors and Nonmusic Majors.

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to compare anxiety and depression levels reported by music majors and nonmajors at a small, private liberal arts university. Study participants co...
Cronus: An Automated Feedback Tool for Concept Maps

A Concept map is a pedagogical tool to help students understand the concepts and identify their misconceptions. Grading a concept map is a time-consuming manual task causing a severe bottleneck to use concept maps in a large class effectively. This paper presents Cronus that provides useful feedback on a student concept map similar to manual assessment by comparing it with an instructor concept map. The feedback includes identifying misconceptions, finding concepts, links, and branches that are (partially) matched or missed from a student concept map, generating summary statistics based on the feedback, and suggesting a grade of the map using predefined criteria (by the instructor) on the summary stats. Cronus is evaluated on a dataset of 74 student concept maps collected as homework assignments in an undergraduate (senior-level) course on introductory computer security. The evaluation results show that Cronus can provide accurate feedback on student concept maps compared to the manual evaluation of the maps and automatically suggest their correct grades.
Safety and Efficacy of Percutaneous Image-Guided Mediastinal Mass Core-Needle Biopsy

Abstract Objective To retrospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous image-guided mediastinal mass core-needle biopsy. Patients and Methods Retrospective review of an institutionally maintained biopsy registry identified 337 computed tomography– or ultrasound-guided percutaneous mediastinal mass core needle biopsies between October 2002 and August 2017 in a single quaternary referral center. Mean patient age was 51 (range, 18 to 93) years. Procedural techniques, anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy, and tumor anatomical characteristics were reviewed. Classification and gradation of complications was based on the Clavien-Dindo system. Diagnostic yield was defined as the ratio of diagnostic biopsy to all biopsies performed. Results Mean tumor size was 59.2 (range, 10 to 180) mm with 89.9% (n=303) of lesions located in the prevascular (anterior) mediastinum. There was a single major complication (0.3%) of a symptomatic pneumothorax requiring intervention. There were seven (2.1%) minor complications, including three bleeding complications. A transpleural approach was the only variable associated with an increased complication rate (P Conclusion Image-guided percutaneous core-needle biopsy of mediastinal masses is a safe procedure with high diagnostic yield. Further prospective studies are required to assess the complication profile in higher risk patients.
CONCENTRATION AND FLOW RELATIONSHIPS FOR ENTRY OF UNBOUND BILIRUBIN (BR) IN RAT BRAIN

To estimate the influence of concentration (C), time (t) and rate of flow (F) on unbound bilirubin (BR) uptake across the blood-brain barrier, we injected unbound BR into the carotid artery in 22 adult rats. BR concentrations were between 1 and 10mg%; injection rates were 4.4, 6.0, 8.6, and 12 ml/min.; and injection times were from 10-60 sec. Permeability of BR and capillary surface area were assumed constant. After saline perfusion of the carotid arteries, brain BR was measured by chloroform extraction and diazotization. At t≥20 sec, arterial unbound BR concentrations (C) ≥1mg% produced visible staining of the injected hemisphere. Values of (C × t) uncorrected for flow, were correlated with brain BR:r = 0.540, r2 = 0.29, p<0.01. Correction of (C × t) for relative flow changes (F) as determined by changes in injection rate improved the correlation of (C × t × F) with brain BR to r = 0.834, r2 = 0.70, p<0.001. (C × t) accounted for 29% of the variance in brain BR independent of flow, while correction of (C × t) for different injection rates (C × t × F) accounted for 70% of the variance in brain BR. We conclude that whole brain uptake of injected unbound BR in adult rats is related to carotid artery injection rate as well as to arterial concentration of unbound BR and time of exposure. These findings are consistent with rapid entry of unbound BR into the brain when blood flow and the blood-brain barrier are normal, and with the hypothesis that increased brain blood flow may increase brain deposition of BR.
CILT2000: Views of CILT2000.

The paper is a commentary on the CILT Conference held in 2000. It addresses the five thematic areas around which the conference was organized, namely assessment, professional development, visualization and modeling, ubiquitous computing, and equity.
Behavior, Biology, and the Meanings of Temperamental Constructs

The renascence of temperamental constructs in discussions of both normal and pathologic development, after almost a century of polite suppression, is accompanied by the same methodologic and epistemologic issues that plague all inquiry into the relation between biologic and psychologic phenomena. During the half-century following World War I, when behavioristic explanations were ascendant, the burden of explanation for many behaviors rested on conditioned habits acquired through contingent interaction with the environment. If a habit happened to become associated with a physiologic reaction, it was usually treated as an epiphenomenon of the conditioned response. The study of temperamentally based behaviors has changed this attitude because the physiology is not viewed as epiphenomenal. Many investigators assume that children who belong to a particular temperamental category inherit a low or a high threshold for particular physiologic reactions to specific incentives. The sequence of behavioral profiles that develops is a joint product of both the child9s physiology and the environments encountered. For example, about 20% of healthy 1- to 2-year-old white children react consistently to unfamiliar events that are difficult to assimilate or to cope with—like thunderstorms, large animals, or strangers—with both limbic discharge and an initial restraint on activity, sometimes accompanied by withdrawal. We call such children inhibited.1 The limbic activity accompanies the behavioral phenomena without being causal in the traditional meaning of that term. It is also understood that the temperamentally inhibited child must be differentiated from the shy child who was not born with any temperamental bias favoring limbic reactivity to unfamiliarity, but happened to experience an environment that promoted the acquisition of timidity and restraint.
EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN Summary of a Round Table Discussion

The fostering of mental health during the early periods of childhood is an area in which the pediatrician plays a vital role. There are two parts which have particular relevance for the pediatrician. One has to do with counseling around a particular problem or symptom, and the other is concerned with helping parents to understand the various stages of child development in order to prevent some of the difficulties which might otherwise be encountered. These two aspects were considered in this presentation. COUNSELING IN RESPECT TO A CHILD9S BEHAVIOR When a mother complains about her child9s behavior, how can a pediatrician go about investigating it? What does one look for? And if emotional disturbances are uncovered, what can one do about them? In the field of child psychiatry there is no neat answer to every problem. A behavior problem is not a clinical syndrome any more than a symptom like fever or headache is a disease. Furthermore, the clinical syndromes in the field of child psychiatry are not as yet very well defined. There are variables among the determinants of most human behavior which are hard to identify and to evaluate, and usually there are some that are unknown. This leads to the necessity of tentativeness at first in planning for a child9s treatment, and uncertainty, often, as to prognosis. For anyone, the effectiveness of what is done depends greatly upon how adequate an understanding of the child9s environmental background one is able to acquire. Such aspects of the environmental background as the emotional atmosphere of the home, the personalities and emotional adjustment of the parents, the feelings of the parents toward the child and his behavior, and the feelings of the child about the people around him, are all important.
Web site visitor classiflcation using machine learning

Classifying Web site visitors allows organizations to present customized content and effectively allocate resources. Traditional methods of visitor classification involve tracking individual users over many sessions via a unique identifier such as the IP address or a cookie. These methods are either too general or strip the visitor of a level of privacy. In this paper we use machine learning techniques to classify visitors of a data-centric Web site using a minimal amount of information and without a unique identifier. We are able to group visitors into groups without extended user tracking.
A Review of “Regional planning in America; Practice and prospect”

Why do so many planning departments in American universities have urban (or city) and regional planning in their names? Is regional planning different? The authors in this edited collection explain...
Constitutional Rights in Two Worlds: Freedom of Expression

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is heralded domestically and abroad for protecting freedom of speech and thus promoting democracy, individual self-realization, and the search for truth. This assessment is well justified especially when the United States is compared to authoritarian regimes. One scholar, however, describes the U.S. Supreme Court's First Amendment doctrine as “arbitrary and unpersuasive.” Another writes that it “resemb[les] the Ptolemaic system of astronomy in its last days.” In particular, the Court has divided speech into “protected” and “unprotected” categories. The Court maintains that laws restricting protected expression, based on the speech's content, must be viewed with great skepticism. Yet, the Court has actually ignored content discrimination in some cases. It has instead used a relaxed scrutiny level and then concluded that the speaker's interest is outweighed by the state's interest. The Court has also on other occasions ignored its usual categorical speech divisions. In this chapter, I recommend that the U.S. Supreme Court stop the formalism and the inconsistencies. Actually, I go a step farther and argue that the Supreme Court should borrow a page from the way foreign courts, such as the South African Constitutional Court, have explicitly weighed interests and values while also being minimalist when possible.
The Costs Associated With The Perioperative Management Of Articular Cartilage Lesions In The United States

Objectives:There is a large and increasing U.S. population with symptomatic focal chondral/osteochondral lesions of the knee. The use of cartilage repair and restoration procedures has increased over the past decade due to significant improvements in diagnosis, surgical indications/technique, and graft resources. While clinical evidence supports utilization of these procedures, the costs associated with the perioperative management of these patients and the specific procedures are unknown. Given current challenges in healthcare costs, the purpose of this study was to examine the perioperative costs associated with the evaluation and surgical management of symptomatic focal cartilage lesions of the knee.Methods:We performed a retrospective review of a national private insurance database (PearlDiver) using Current Procedural Terminology codes to identify all patients who underwent a cartilage repair procedure between 2008 and 2010: (1) microfracture (2) osteochondral autograft (OAT) (3) osteochondral (OC) a...
Food Allergy in the Cat: A Diagnosis by Elimination

Practical relevance Food allergy is recognized as a cause of non-seasonal dermatologic disease and pruritus in cats, though its exact prevalence remains unknown. Feline food allergy can also be associated with gastrointestinal, neurologic, respiratory and behavioral components. Patient group There are no breed, sex or age predispositions for developing food allergy, though there is some evidence that the Siamese and its crosses may be at increased risk.Clinical challenges Food allergy cannot be diagnosed simply on the basis of the distribution of pruritus, and many of the dermatologic reaction patterns observed in affected cats, such as miliary dermatitis, eosinophilic granuloma complex and alopecia, may be seen in cats with flea allergy and atopy; in some cases, cats may have concurrent allergic conditions. The only way to definitively diagnose food allergy is to identify a causative food component through a food elimination trial. However, palatability and client compliance can each be a problem; specif...
Early Days of Electron Diffraction

This year marks the eighty-fifth anniversary of the discovery of electron diffraction. In addition to its important role in materials characterization, electron diffraction contributed substantially to several Nobel Prizes, to foundations of quantum mechanics, and to the development of the theory of covalent bonding in organic chemistry. What follows is a personal narrative describing the development of this technique.
From softcopy to hardcopy on a desert island

A computer program is written that converts from a digital color image (driving the phosphors of a softcopy video display) to the areal dye densities for a halftone hardcopy device. The program is intended to be generic enough for acceptable color reproduction between a variety of devices without slavish attention to such factors as the phosphor and dye spectra. Only one parameter called “subtractiveness” is empirically adjustable depending on how much image darkening must be compensated. No particular theory is invoked, but the transformation between RGB inputs and CMY outputs is constrained to ensure (1) symmetry among the image planes; (2) no higher than third-degree polynomials; and (3) nominal correspondence of the eight extremal colors red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, white, and black. When tested on one set of devices, the program works well enough for the “desert islands” inhabited by most users.
Determination of Indoleacetic Acid from Plant Samples by an Alkali Flame lonization Detector

Gas chromatography in which an alkali flame ionization detector is utilized has been shown to be a highly sensitive and selective method for determination of indoleacetic acid and certain other indoles. Methodology for detecting indoleacetic acid in plant samples (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. and Malus pumila Mill.) is described.
Thinking Across Species Boundaries: General Sociality and Embodied Meaning

Denying special traits like the use of language to nonhuman animals has often been a basis for the creation of a stand-alone human sphere, apart from and above the animal world and the environmental milieu. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology shows that human communication arises from the semiosis in the extra-human world and is not self-contained. Given many recent insights in scientific studies of nonhuman animals, only a few of which are cited here, it becomes impossible to say that animals are mute, reactive entities. They too share many of the same features of communication with human beings. That said, articulating an interspecies ethic of sympathy or concern must take into account species and individual differences.
2013 ACES Awards [ACES Corner]

The Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) established four new annual awards in 2013, to recognize technical and service achievements in the area of interest to ACES. The first winners of the awards were announced at the ACES Conference in Monterey, CA, March 24–27, 2013. The awards and the awardees are as follows.
Acyclopyrimidine C-nucleosides. Synthesis of acyclopseudoisocytidine and its derivatives

Acyclopseudouridine (IV), acyclopseudoisocytidine (VII), and their 1-methyl derivatives (V and VIII) were synthesized from 5-hydroxymethyluracil (I). Acyclopseudouridine (IV) was conveniently prepared from the condensation of 5-hydroxymethyluracil (I) with ethylene glycol under acidic condition. Compound IV also could be prepared from 5-chloromethyluracil, however, this procedure was found to be inferior to the direct condensation method. Methylation of IV with dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal gave 1,3-dimethylacyclopseudouridine (VI) which was subsequently converted to acyclopseudoisocytidine (VII). 1-Methyl derivatives V and VIII were obtained from the selective methylation of IV and VII, respectively. 5-Hydroxymethyluracil also reacted with 2-mercaptoethanol to give the sulfide derivative (IX).
Cigarette smoke alters chylomicron metabolism in rats

Abstract Purpose: Cigarette smoking may exert its atherogenic effect by delaying the plasma clearance of dietary fat and cholesterol, allowing more time for their interaction with the artery wall. To study the effects of smoke on chylomicron metabolism in rats, we examined the metabolic effects of smoke on both whole animals and chylomicron particles in vitro. Methods: Carbon 14-and hydrogen 3-labeled chylomicrons were injected intravenously into smoke-treated rats and control rats that were not exposed to smoke (sham smoked). Plasma clearance, hepatic uptake, and heart binding were measured In a second set of experiments, chylomicron particles were exposed to cigarette smoke in vitro by either (1) passing smoke through chylomicrons suspended in saline solution (SCM) or (2) passing smoke through saline solution alone, then mixing the saline solution with chylomicrons (CM + SS). Normal (non-smoke exposed) rats were infused with either SCM, CM + SS, or control chylomicrons (CCM). Plasma clearance, hepatic uptake, and heart binding were again measured. Results: The initial plasma clearance time of labeled chylomicrons did not differ between smoke-treated and control animals. However, hepatic uptake of chylomicron cholesterol was slower in smoke-treated animals (46.1% ± 0.9% of injected dose) than in controls (61.5% ± 2.1%, p p 14 C-labeled cholesterol from blood was delayed in rats injected with SCM (half-life = 9.0 ± 0.4 minutes) and CM + SS (half-life = 8.0 ± 0.4 minutes), compared with the time in rats injected with CCM (6.6 ± 0.3 minutes, p p p Conclusions: These data demonstrate for the first time that cigarette smoke exposure prolongs chylomicron residence time in tissues (heart) and delays hepatic uptake of chylomicron cholesterol in rats. The effect is present when either the animal or the chylomicron particle is exposed to smoke. We hypothesize that prolonged binding of relatively cholesterol-rich chylomicron remnants to endothelial surfaces could create a more atherogenic postprandial milieu. (J VASC SURG 1993;18:161-9.)
NEW SPECIMENS FROM THE FAUCETT, MISSOURI, METEORITE LOCALITY

In December, 1966, Brookins and Twiss reported the finding of two specimens of an olivine-bronzite chondrite near Faucett, Missouri. Since that date, six additional specimens have been found. Another probable specimen was found but later lost. This paper describes the circumstances of all nine finds and presents a map of the discovery sites.
Failure-robust distributed controller architectures

In this paper we consider the problem of designing a controller that is distributed to l processing nodes associated with l collocated control input-measurement output pairs of a given plant. We seek necessary and sufficient conditions so that a controller, distributed in this form, can provide pre-specified performance levels when certain nodes fail. Based on the Youla-Kucera parameterization, the problem can be converted to a convex, structured in Q problem, the solution of which provides a construction for the distributed controller. In addition to nodal failures, we consider the effect of communication noise existing in the transmission of information on the regulated variable, and show that this can also be precisely captured in a convex in Q problem.
Design, Optimization and Calibration of an Automated Density Gauge for Firn and Ice Cores

A gamma-ray density gauge can provide high-resolution and high-precision density measurements of firn and ice cores. This study describes the design, gamma-ray energy optimization and mass attenuation coefficient calibration of the Maine Automated Density Gauge Experiment (MADGE), a portable, field-operable gamma-ray density gauge used on overland traverses in East Antarctica. The MADGE instrument uses a 241 Am gamma-ray source, a pulse-mode counting system and electronic core diameter calipers to collect high-precision (±0.004 g cm ―3 ) density data from 3―8 cm diameter firn and ice cores. The data are collected at a 3.3 mm spatial resolution and an average throughput of 1.5 m h ―1 for 5 cm diameter cores.
Increasing drought in the American Southwest? A continental perspective using a spatial analytical evaluation of recent trends

One highly popularized prediction, given the ongoing build-up of greenhouse gases, is that the American Southwest will become drier as the descending arm of the Hadley Circulation intensifies in coming decades. However, other numerical modeling studies exist showing that the region may become wetter in the future; furthermore, empirical studies have revealed both increases and decreases in soil moisture in the period of historical records depending on the selected time period, data, definition of "Southwest," and statistical methods used. In this investigation, we use a variety of spatial analytical methods to assess drought trends in the America Southwest with respect to trends throughout the rest of the conterminous United States. Using 1980 as a start of our study period, we show that a highly statistically significant trend toward increased drought has occurred in the American Southwest; the trend is particularly strong over the Colorado River Basin. The primary temporal variance in PDSI values is sig...
Evaluación de los pacientes con neumonía nosocomial y falta de respuesta al tratamiento

Biochemical markers may be more accurate than clinical but still don’t discriminate between causes. The appropriate diagnostic strategy and treatment algorithms have not been fully addressed and more research is clearly needed.
Genetic Assessment of a Mini-Core Subset Developed from the USDA Rice Genebank

Development of core collections is an effective tool to extensively characterize large germplasm collections, and the use of a mini-core subsampling strategy further increases the effectiveness of genetic diversity analysis at detailed phenotype and molecular levels. We report the formation of a mini-core subset containing 217 entries derived from 1794 core entries representing the genetic diversity found in more than 18,000 accessions of the USDA-ARS rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm collection. The mini-core was developed with PowerCore software on the basis of 26 phenotypic traits and 70 molecular markers. The 217 entries in the mini-core had a similar distribution over 15 geographical regions, with 1794 entries in the original core collection. The resultant mini-core had 6.3% of mean difference (MD%), 16.5% of variance difference (VD%), 102.7% of variable rate (VR%), and 97.5% of coincidence rate (CR%) with the core collection, which brought about full coverage of 26 traits. All 962 alleles identifi ed by the 70 markers in the core collection were captured in the mini-core, which maximized allelic richness up to 100% and resulted in an average genetic diversity (Nei index) of 0.76, ranging from 0.37 to 0.97 among the markers. In conclusion, the mini-core presented in this study is a highly suitable and representative subset of the USDA rice core collection as well as the entire USDA-ARS rice germplasm holdings. Univ. of Arkansas, Rice Research and Extension Center, 2900 Highway 130E, Stuttgart, AR 72160. Received 22 Sept. 2008. *Corresponding author (hagrama@uark.edu). Abbreviations: ASV, alkali spreading value; CR%, coincidence rate; MD%, mean diff erence; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; QTL, quantitative trait loci; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism; SSR, simple sequence repeat; VD%, variance diff erence; VR%, variable rate.
The intragraft CD8+ T cell response in renal allograft rejection in the mouse.

To identify the role of donor class I alloantigens in regulating the CD8 + T cell response to a kidney allograft, we analyzed and compared the CD8 + infiltrate in kidney transplants from MHC class I-deficient (class I-) mouse donors and class I + controls. One week after transplantation, there was a prominent CD8 + infiltrate in control allografts, whereas CD8 + T cells were virtually absent in grafts from class I - donors. In class I + allografts, infiltrating CD8 + cells utilized a wide range of T cell receptor (TCR) V β families and their β usage was similar to that of the systemic CD8 + population. However, there was a modest but significant overrepresentation of cells bearing V β 8 in the graft compared with the spleen due to an expansion of CD8 + V β 8.3 + cells. This could be detected as early as 1 week and became more pronounced by 3 weeks after transplantation. In 3-week allografts, only 52% of CD8 + cells expressed αβTCR. Among T cells isolated from class I + grafts, the CD8 + V β 8 + cells demonstrated allospecific responses that were numerically larger than responses of the CD8 + V β 8 - population. In contrast to the early (1 week) time point, significant numbers of CD8 + cells could be isolated from class I - grafts by 3 weeks after transplantation and their V β repertoire resembled that seen in controls. While increasing numbers of CD8 + V β 8 + were present in the class I- grafts at 3 weeks, this increase was not statistically significant. Thus, expression of class I alloantigens on a kidney graft plays an important role in regulating the rate of accumulation of CD8 + T cells in rejecting kidney grafts. However, the TCR V β repertoire of the CD8 + T cell infiltrate is largely determined by factors that are independent of normal class I expression on the graft.
Total Neutron Cross Sections of Compounds with Different Crystalline Structures

The total neutron cross sections of polycrystalline compounds, such as close-packed hexagonal ZnO, body-centered cubic T1Br, and face-centered cubic CaO and TiC were determined with the Argonne neutron velocity selector and neutron crystal spectrometer in the energy region of 0.001 to 1.0 electron volt. From the size of the cross-section peaks which are due to coherent scattering of neutrons the following scattering amplitudes were determined: Ca, +0.46\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ cm; Ti, -0.25\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ cm; T1, +0.75\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ cm. The previously reported value of +0.58\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ cm for Zn was confirmed. The free atom scattering cross section of Ca is 2.5 barns.
Structural and Acoustic Behavior of Chiral Truss-Core Beams

This paper analyzes the structural and acoustic behavior of sandwich beams with a chiral truss-core. This particular core configuration is considered to exploit some of the unique properties of the chiral geometry and to explore their potential benefits in terms of sound-transmission reduction and vibration isolation. The chiral core is composed of circular elements or nodes, joined by ligaments or ribs. The arrangement of nodes and ribs is such that chiral assemblies exhibit in-plane negative Poisson's ratio behavior as well as unique deformation patterns. The vibroacoustic performance of the considered beams is evaluated through a numerical model, formulated by employing dynamic shape functions derived directly from the distributed parameter model of beam elements. This formulation allows an accurate evaluation of the dynamic response of the considered structures at high frequencies with a limited number of elements. Furthermore, such a numerical model can be coupled with a Fourier-transform-based analysis of the sound radiated by the structure in a surrounding fluid medium. The structural-acoustic behavior of the proposed beams is investigated in terms of kinetic energy of the constraining layers and sound pressure levels corresponding to an incident pressure wave. A sensitivity study investigates the influence of core configuration and geometry on the beam performance. Moreover the performance of the chiral core is compared to that of cores with "square" and hexagonal topologies. The results demonstrate the design flexibility offered by the proposed core design, whose configuration is defined by a number of independent parameters that can be modified and optimized to enhance the structural-acoustic performance of the beam.
Dynamical coupling between ferromagnets due to spin transfer torque: Analytical calculations and numerical simulations

We use a combination of analytical calculations and numerical simulations to demonstrate that electrical current flowing through a magnetic bilayer induces dynamical coupling between the layers. The coupling originates from the dependence of the spin transfer torque on the relative orientations of their magnetic moments. When the appropriate resonance conditions are satisfied, such coupling significantly modifies the behaviors of both layers, affecting the stability of the current-induced dynamical regimes and the efficiency of current-induced magnetic reversal.
Unbiased participation of T4 phage DNA strands in replication

Abstract Nitrocellulose filters were charged with right or with left strands of T4 DNA preparatively isolated by the procedure of Guha and Szybalski (1968) . Replicative hybrid (of labeled parental DNA) and progeny phage DNA's were annealed, using differentially labeled DNA from mature phage as an internal control. In T4 phage infection of E.coli B (with either wild or ligase negative Amber mutant), both parental strands of DNA participate in semiconservative replication. An equal proportion of DNA from each parental strand is transferred also to progeny phage. Newly synthesized progeny DNA is also composed of left and right strands. This is true even at the earliest times of DNA synthesis (4-4:30), that is when less than 10% of the length of the parental molecule has been replicated. These observations apply both to wild and to ligase-negative T4 phages. Both strands are also produced in E.coli B infected with the ligase negative mutant in the presence of CM added for a period, early after infection which permits, after removal, a considerable yield of phage.
Documentation and Information in Italy

Italy lacks a national information policy as such, but key information organizations do exist, and some cooperate with others. Italy also has several national or international information focal points or referral centres. Describes: the work of public and research institutions, information and documentation services, and professional associations of library, information and documentation workers; the different elements participating in the information market, including online information systems,
A simple method to follow post-buckling paths in finite element analysis

Abstract A simple method to follow the postbuckling paths in the finite element analysis is presented. During a standard path-following by means of arc-length method, the signs of diagonal elements in the triangularized tangent stiffness matrix are monitored to determine the existence of singular points between two adjacent solution points on paths. A simple approach to identify limit or bifurcation points is developed using the definition of limit points and the idea of generalized deflections. Instead of the exact bifurcation points, the approximate bifurcation points on the secants of the solution paths are solved. In order to follow the required postbuckling branches at bifurcation points, the asymptotic postbuckling solution at the approximate bifurcation points, and the initial postbuckling behavior based on Koiter's theory are given and used for the branch-switching. Some numerical examples of postbuckling behavior of metallic as well as laminated composite structures are computed using a “quasi-conforming” triangular shell element to demonstrate the proposed method.
Limitations of the DNS assay for reducing sugars from saccharified lignocellulosics

An evaluation is presented of two DNS (2,4-dinitrosalicylic acid) assay procedures as well as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and YSI Glucose Analyzer analyses of sugars resulting from enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosics. Trichoderma reesei was used to produce the cellulase system containing endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and cellobiase. Data suggest that the DNS assay can be used as an accurate analytical method for the evaluation of reducing sugars in pure solution as well as in supernatants from enzymatic saccharification if glucose is the sole product. However, only specific assay methods such as HPLC and YSI-type glucose analyzers should be used for the analysis of saccharides produced from the hydrolysis of native or pretreated lignocellulosics since the DNS assay is susceptible to interferences and therefore results in inaccurate analyses.
Insulator based dielectrophoresis to predict electrocompetency during electroporation

Limitations on engineering Escherichia coli to accept foreign DNAs require us to build more chasses for synthetic biology. Electroporation is one of most widely used process to introduce foreign DNA into cells. However, electroporation protocols exist for a limited number of species and the existing method to develop electroporation protocols require cells to go through the entire electroporation process, which is insufficient, especially for slow-growth species. To fast develop protocols, we are developing insulator-based dielectrophoresis to for optimization of electroporation protocols with the hypothesized correlation between polarizability and electrocompetency. The dielectrophoresis is used to quantify polarizability of cells under electric field. The hypothesis is made based on the fact that both dielectrophoresis and electroporation is a result of charge redistribution under electric potential. We developed methods to validate the correlation and our initial experimental results show that higher polarizability leads to higher electrocompetency for E. coli.
Batch Aqueous-Phase Reforming of Woody Biomass

Aqueous-phase reforming (APR) is reported for the first time for the production of H2 from actual biomass. The experiments are carried out in batch using a 100 mL Parr microreactor heated to 225 °C. In this one-pot, two-step process, acid hydrolysis is used to break down the polymeric constituents of biomass to smaller soluble molecules and these species are reformed using a Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The experiments show that increasing the acid concentration from 1% to 5% causes more than a 12-fold increase in H2 concentration, with hydrogen being a minor product accounting for 18% of the noncondensable gas phase and CO2 as the major product. In the presence of the Pt/Al2O3 reforming catalyst, both the selectivity and yield of hydrogen in the gas phase increase. This is accompanied by a noticeable decrease in carbon monoxide production, which is attributed to the activation of the water gas shift reaction catalyzed by platinum. Comparison with other feeds such as glucose, wastepaper, and ethylene glycol showed ...