cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intravenous levetiracetam in the rat pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus model: behavioral, physiological and histological studies.

Abstract Purpose Status epilepticus is a neurological emergency associated with neuronal injury, lasting behavioral disturbance, and a high rate of mortality. Intravenous levetiracetam (LEV), an anti-epileptic drug approved to treat partial seizures, has recently been introduced. We sought to determine the effect of LEV administered intravenously in a chemoconvulsant model of status epilepticus. Methods We examined the effect of intravenous LEV in the rat lithium-pilocarpine model of status epilepticus. Ten or 30 min after the onset of behavioral status epilepticus, animals were treated with LEV (200–1200 mg/kg i.v.) administered in a single bolus. Behavioral responses were recorded. Selected animals had continuous EEG recording before, during and after the administration of LEV. Some animals were sacrificed 24 h after the experiment and processed for histochemical assessment of neuronal injury. Results When administered 30 min after the onset of behavioral epileptic seizures, transient attenuation of ictal behavior was observed in animals treated with 800 mg/kg or more of LEV. The duration of behavioral attenuation increased sharply as the dose rose to 1000 mg/kg or higher, from a mean of 4–23.6 min. When administered 10 min after seizure onset, 400 mg/kg of LEV resulted in transient ictal behavioral attenuation, and higher doses caused relatively longer periods of attenuation. Pretreatment with LEV prior to pilocarpine also delayed the onset of seizures. EEG recordings, however, showed no significant attenuation of ictal discharge. By contrast, TUNEL staining demonstrated less neuronal injury in hippocampii and other limbic structures in animals that responded behaviorally to LEV. Conclusions Intravenous administration of LEV in a chemoconvulsant model of status epilepticus results in attenuation of behavioral manifestations of seizure discharge and in reduction of neuronal injury but does not significantly alter ictal discharge recorded by EEG.
Mass-producible microscopic computer-generated holograms: microtags.

We have developed a method for encoding phase and amplitude in microscopic computer-generated holograms (microtags) for security applications. An 8 × 8 cell phase-only and an 8 × 8 cell phase-and-amplitude microtag design has been exposed in photoresist by the extreme-ultraviolet (13.4-nm) lithography tool developed at Sandia National Laboratories. Each microtag measures 80 μm × 160 μm and contains features that are 0.2 μm wide. Fraunhofer zone diffraction patterns can be obtained from fabricated microtags without any intervening optics and compare favorably with predicted diffraction patterns.
Dexamethasone Attenuates Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B-Induced Hypothermic Response and Protects Mice from Superantigen-Induced Toxic Shock

The superantigenic staphylococcal enterotoxins are important virulence factors and contribute to various diseases, including food poisoning and toxic shock. Dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory agent, attenuated staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)-induced hypothermia and serum proinflammatory cytokines and improved survival from 0% to 86% in a lethal mouse model of SEB-mediated shock.
The structure of collaborative problem solving in a virtual math team

To understand how small groups use information to solve problems collaboratively within socio-technical environments, we need a method for analyzing the structure of computer-mediated discourse. Conversation analysis offers an analysis of conversational talk in terms of a fine structure of adjacency pairs and offers some suggestions about longer sequences built on these pairs. This paper presents a case study of students solving a math problem in an online text-chat environment. It shows that their problem-solving discourse consists of a sequence of exchanges, each built on a base adjacency pair and each contributing a move in the solution process.
BVOC-Mediated Plant-Herbivore Interactions

Plants release unique blends of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) into the atmosphere, part of a silent language used to communicate with other organisms in their community. Within this high traffic chemical environment, plants and insects, among other organisms, are receiving, processing, modifying, and responding to information conveyed through varying suites of molecules. Because plants and insects are part of an integrative complex of food web relationships, one common topic of conversation is defence. Plants maintain a baseline level of BVOC emissions as a bottom-up constitutive defence, emitting compounds that act as repellents or deterrents to feeding and/or egg deposition by herbivores. Due to the autonomy of their attackers, plants can also employ an indirect top-down defence strategy, releasing induced volatiles in response to feeding that attract the natural enemies of their herbivore attackers, such as predators and parasitoids. Both bottom-up and top-down BVOC-mediated strategies have important consequences for herbivore preference, performance, and survival with even broader ecological and evolutionary consequences for tritrophic interactions. In this chapter we discuss how constitutive BVOCs mediate aspects of plant defence within a hierarchical spatiotemporal framework. Next we bring to light some of the most recent research on oviposition- and herbivore-induced BVOC synthesis and subsequent effects on the recruitment of natural enemies. We follow up by discussing the ecological effects of induced BVOCs in the context of multiple herbivores, expression from various plant organs, time-lags associated with BVOC induction, and heterogeneity within the infochemical environment. The critical feature of insect learning is described and we highlight some of the major evolutionary implications of BVOC-mediated plant defence syndromes that rely on the unique timing of events at the biochemical, atmospheric, organismal, and community scales.
Implementing aspect-oriented programming constructs as modular language extensions

Extensible programming languages and their compilers are experimental systems that use highly modular specifications of languages and language extensions in order to allow a variety of language features to be easily imported, by the programmer, into his or her programming environment. Our framework for extensible languages is based on higher-order attribute grammars extended with a mechanism called ''forwarding'' that mimics a simple rewriting process. Forwarding is designed such that no additional attribute definitions need to be written when combining a ''host'' language with language extensions (specified as attribute grammars), thus allowing for the modular composition of language features. This means that programmers can remain unaware of the underlying attribute grammars when building customized languages by importing language extensions. This paper shows how aspects and the aspect weaving process from aspect-oriented programming can be specified as a modular language extension and imported into an extensible host language. This paper also illustrates how an extensible compiler framework exposes its underlying semantic analyses and how this can provide a convenient arena in which researchers can explore new aspect-oriented language features.
Response of mountain meadows to grazing by recreational pack stock

Effects of recreational pack stock grazing on mountain meadows in Yosemite National Park were assessed in a 5-year study. Yosemite is a designated wilderness, to be managed such that its natural conditions are preserved. Studies were conducted in 3 characteristic meadow types: shorthair sedge (Carex filifolia Nutt.), Brewer’s reed grass (Calamagrostis breweri Thurber), and tufted hairgrass [Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) Beauv.]. Horses and mules grazed experimental plots at intensities of 15 to 69% utilization for 4 seasons. In all 3 meadows, grazing caused decreases in productivity. The mean reduction after 4 years of grazing was 18% in the shorthair sedge meadow, 17% in the Brewer’s reed grass meadow, and 22% in the tufted hairgrass meadow. Grazing also caused shifts in basal groundcover (usually a reduction in vegetation cover and increase in bare soil cover), and changes in species composition. Productivity and vegetation cover decreased as percent utilization increased, while bare soil cover increased as utilization increased. Changes in species composition were less predictably related to differences in grazing intensity. Passive management of grazing is insufficient in wilderness areas that are regularly used by groups with recreational stock. Wilderness managers need to monitor meadow conditions and the grazing intensities that occur. Our study suggests that biomass and ground cover are more sensitive indicators of grazing impact than species composition. Managers must make decisions about maximum acceptable levels of grazing impact and then develop guidelines for maximum use levels, based on data such as ours that relates grazing intensity to meadow response.
Microhabitat and Sex Distribution in Marchantia inflexa, a Dioicous Liverwort

Abstract Spatial segregation of the sexes in bryophytes has been implicated as the primary reason for the lack of sporophyte production in many dioicous bryophyte populations. Additionally, sex-specific microhabitat specialization by dioicous bryophytes may influence population sex ratios and the maintenance of sexually dimorphic traits. We examined habitat use of female and male M. inflexa in two populations in Trinidad and 10 populations in the U.S.A. to determine whether the sexes were spatially segregated within populations and if the sexes specialized on different microhabitats. Populations differed in habitat characteristics, sex ratios varied among populations, and populations consisted mainly of single-sex or non-sex-expressing patches of plants. Despite the fact that Marchantia inflexa is sexually dimorphic, female and male plants used areas of similar substrate, humidity, wind speed, and exposure within and among populations. In U.S.A. populations, males were found in areas with more open canopy...
Autoradiographic analysis and regulation of angiotensin receptor subtypes AT4, AT1, and AT(1-7) in the kidney

Receptor autoradiography revealed that angiotensin AT4 receptors were abundantly expressed in normal mammalian (mouse, rat, gerbil, guinea pig, rabbit) and avian (sparrow, chicken, turkey) kidneys ...
Looking behind the Letter of the Law

UR learned and genial friend, in whose honor we affectionately offer this tribute, was particularly gifted with the tendency to go behind the mere letter of the rule, or its abstract or logical formulation, and to consider how it operated in practice. This attitude towards the rules of law-an attitude that imports an understanding of the fullest significance of those rules-is particularly necessary in judging the records of legal systems alien to our own. The purport of the records may be verbally plain, and the ideas which the words convey may be familiar and apparently obvious, but a search into the background may reveal something very different. The rules or principles may turn out to mean something very different; or they may turn out to be no rules at all in the sense of accepted and effective practices in the administration of justice. It occurs to me that I shall be offering something germane to that wise attitude of our learned comrade if I here call attention to some examples which I have met in scanning the records of foreign laws.
Epstein–Barr virus glycoprotein gM can interact with the cellular protein p32 and knockdown of p32 impairs virus

The Epstein-Barr virus glycoprotein complex gMgN has been implicated in assembly and release of fully enveloped virus, although the precise role that it plays has not been elucidated. We report here that the long predicted cytoplasmic tail of gM is not required for complex formation and that it interacts with the cellular protein p32, which has been reported to be involved in nuclear egress of human cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus. Although redistribution of p32 and colocalization with gM was not observed in virus infected cells, knockdown of p32 expression by siRNA or lentivirus-delivered shRNA recapitulated the phenotype of a virus lacking expression of gNgM. A proportion of virus released from cells sedimented with characteristics of virus lacking an intact envelope and there was an increase in virus trapped in nuclear condensed chromatin. The observations suggest the possibility that p32 may also be involved in nuclear egress of Epstein-Barr virus.
Trade and Development in the 1980's: Report to the Secretary General of UNCTAD

In international circles, the concern of the day is with the state of the world economy. There is a general appreciation of the severity of the problem, but no widespread agreement about either diagnosis or solutions. We shall focus here on a particular set of topics that have emerged as major issues during the last decade, and that also seem central to an understanding of the present economic situation. A characteristic of these topics is that they link international and domestic policy areas in so integral a way that neither can be analyzed in isolation from the other.
The balloon-expandable stent.

Despite our best intentions to live according to carefully planned goals, life has a tendency to express itself in curious ways and unexpected outcomes. Now nearing the conclusion of my medical career I come to realise that serendipity had as much intervened in my life as anything I had under my control. If I could identify the things I have done right without trying, and pass that experience on to young people, then I would be smart as opposed to just lucky. I came to the US from my native Argentina when I was half my present age, with the firm determination to do something significant in vascular research. However, this goal was as broad as the subject itself, and looking for opportunities was a humbling experience. The opportunity came all of sudden while I was attending my very first vascular meeting, as a first year resident. The keynote speaker of the February 1978 meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (SCVIR) was scheduled last in the program, not because of the importance of his subject but as a perverse way to keep the audience from dwindling during the last session on a late Friday afternoon. The speaker was none other than Andreas Gruentzig in one of his first presentations in the US of a fascinating new way to treat vascular disease, balloon angioplasty. I was seated in the first row of the crowded, small room so I had a good look at the young man, who was dynamic and engaging. Gruentzig came across as both brilliant and honest as he showed his early experiences promising, but not free of pitfalls. In fact, he spent as much time talking about failures as he did about successes. He showed several angiograms and histological sections of the new evil resulting from the brand new technique. Acute post-angioplasty dissection and occlusion were the unpredictable complications arising after deflation and withdrawal of the angioplasty balloon. My mind has always seemed to seek a solution whenever a problem is presented to it. The faltering arterial wall after balloon angioplasty elicited for me the image of crumbling soil in oil drilling, requiring the placement of a metal tube casing. On the way to the New Orleans airport in the front seat of the cab with my boss Stewart Reuter, I commented on Gruentzig’s new technique and a potential solution to its limitations. Stewart, who was the president of the SCVIR that year, thought that I ought to write up the idea as a way to exercise my medical writing abilities. The report I produced, after some bibliographic research and work at home, constituted the written evidence of the first conception of the idea, and would prove an important document in court battles 20 years later.
Punishment: effect on learning and resistance to extinction of discrete operant behavior

Bar-pressing rate was reduced by shockbut recovered when punishment stopped. Shock given during acquisition but not during extinction slowed the rate of extinction, compared to an unpunished control group. Extinction was more rapid for animals that had shock continued than for those that had shock removed during extinction.
Risk Analysis of Prion Diseases in Animals

Although scrapie, a prion disease of sheep, has been recognized since the 18th century, it was the dramatic emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in British cattle in the late 1980s that brought the dangers of prion diseases into prominence. The subsequent spread of this disease into humans as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) remains one of the unsolved emerging infectious disease mysteries of the 20th century. This issue (OIE Scientific and Technical Review 22 [2003]) of the Scientific and Technical Review of the Office International des Epizooties comes 11 years after a previous issue about BSE. Much has happened since then; this multi-author volume provides an excellent account of what is known about prion diseases in animals, including BSE, which has now spread from the United Kingdom to 14 other countries, and remains an important risk to human health. As a consequence of BSE emergence, research has been expanded considerably into transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). This research has resulted in improved diagnostic tests, which have contributed to risk management, even though our understanding of the underlying molecular pathogenesis of TSE remains limited. The 17 chapters in this book are written by experts from many countries and illustrate the various approaches to risk management in specific regions of the world. In addition to BSE, the book contains chapters about TSE of North America such as scrapie, transmissible mink encephalopathy, and chronic wasting disease of deer and elk; the last disease has recently spread from its endemic Colorado-Wyoming area to six other states in the United States, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada. With the recognition that BSE had spread in the United Kingdom and many other countries through feeding contaminated mammalian meat-and-bone meal to ruminants, a ban on this practice was instigated in the European Union in 1994. This ban has since been adopted by many other regions of the world. In 2000, the European Union strengthened the ban to prohibit feeding processed animal proteins to farmed animals kept, fattened, or bred to produce food. This measure has undoubtedly helped to prevent or reduce numbers of cases of BSE in ruminants but incidentally has led to a new science-based industry for feed analysis. This industry uses sophisticated molecular techniques such as near infrared spectroscopy and microscopy, polymerase chain reaction, and immunoassays to check feed for animal by-products, and to prevent intraspecies recycling (cannibalism), which undoubtedly caused the BSE epidemic that resulted in the death of 186,000 cattle from 1985 to 2002. I recommend this book as an excellent source of information on all aspects of prion diseases in animals.
Sound Radiation from Three Dimensional Airfoils in a Turbulent Flow

This paper considers the sound radiation from airfoils in a turbulent flow as a function of both thickness and angle of attack. A boundary element method is combined with a description of the turbulence spectrum to provide theoretical prediction of the radiated noise. The results are compared to wind tunnel measurements of the noise radiated from a number of different airfoils. It is concluded that the effect of angle of attack on the radiated noise is relatively weak but the effect of thickness is to reduce the radiated sound levels at high frequencies.
A comparison of methods for the quantitation of bacteria in burn wounds. I. Experimental evaluation.

Georgiade, Nicholas G., Lucas, Mary C, O'Fallon, William M., and Osterhout, Sydam: A comparison of methods for the quantitation of bac­ teria in burn wounds. I. Experimental evaluation. Am. J. Clin. Path. S3: 35-39, 1970. A quantitative comparison of the gauze-capillarity method of Brentano 2 and the moist-swab culture method of the authors has been made in a controlled experimental situation. No significant differences between the abilities of the two methods to recover bacteria or to give reproducible results have been found. A third method, using a 2 X 2-in. template and dry swab, did not receive a clinical trial; it was significantly inferior to the moist-swab and gauze-capillarity technics in the experimental trials.
Identifying At-Risk Students for Early Interventions—A Time-Series Clustering Approach

The purpose of this paper is to identify at-risk online students earlier, more often, and with greater accuracy using time-series clustering. The case study showed that the proposed approach could generate models with higher accuracy and feasibility than the traditional frequency aggregation approaches. The best performing model can start to capture at-risk students from week 10. In addition, the four phases in student’s learning process detected holiday effect and illustrate at-risk students’ behaviors before and after a long holiday break. The findings also enable online instructors to develop corresponding instructional interventions via course design or student–teacher communications.
Spontaneous delta- to beta-globin switching in K562 human leukemia cells.

Previous analysis of the hemoglobin phenotype of the K562 human erythroleukemia cell line showed regulated expression of the epsilon-, zeta-, gamma-, alpha-, and delta-globin genes. Expression of the beta- globin genes has not been previously detected in this cell line. In this report, we describe the isolation of a variant of the K562 cell line that actively expresses beta-globin messenger RNA (mRNA) and polypeptide and shows greatly reduced expression of the delta-globin genes. This phenotype developed spontaneously in culture while two other K562 isolates grown under the same culture conditions have not undergone the same delta- to beta-globin switch. Analysis of this unique K562 variant shows that a construct containing a beta-globin promoter is quite active upon transient transfection into these cells. This finding suggests that the activation of the endogenous beta-globin genes results from changes in the trans-acting environment of these cells. The regulation of the beta-globin genes in this variant is characterized by a paradoxical decrease in the level of beta-globin mRNA after exposure to hemin. Other globin genes of this variant are appropriately regulated and show increased expression after hemin induction. Further study of this variant may shed light on mechanisms of gene regulation that are involved in hemoglobin switching.
Design & validation of the Pentium® III and Pentium® 4 processors power delivery

In this paper, we present an empirical approach for the validation of the power supply impedance model. The model is widely used to design the power delivery for high performance systems. For this purpose, several silicon wafers of the Pentium ® III and Pentium ® 4 processors were built with various amount of decoupling. The measured data showed significant discrepancies with the model predictions and provided useful insights in investigating the model regions of validity.
Are lysophosphatidic acids or phosphatidic acids involved in stimulus activation coupling in platelets

Phosphatidic acids and/or lysophosphatidic acids are potentially pivotal compounds produced during metabolism of phosphatidylinositol, a very early event in the response of platelets to thrombin and other stimuli. In the present study, we have reevaluated the platelet aggregation produced by these agents to assess whether one or both could possibly function as intermediates in the transmission of the activating signal. Liposomes could be used to deliver lysophosphatidic acids but were not more effective than using 25% ethanol, dimethylsulfoxide, or even good suspensions in Hank's balanced salt solution. Aggregation induced by lysophosphatidic acid was considerably influenced by the concentration of albumin in the medium, with the highest percentage of aggregation in the absence of albumin and decreasing degrees of aggregation as more albumin was present. Aggregation in 1 mg/ml albumin was optimum at 0.5-1.0 mM Mg, when calcium was held constant at 0.5 mM When magnesium was 0.5 mM. then the response to lysophosphatidic acid increased with calcium concentration from 0 to 2 mM. The optimum pH for lysophosphatidic-acid-induced aggregation was 7.50-7.75. The presence of 1 mg/ml fibrinogen lowered the mean concentration of lysophosphatidic acid required for 50% aggregation from 10 μM to 1.2 μM. Submicromolar concentrations of lysophosphatidic acid were sufficient to convert a weak ADP response to full aggregation. In contrast, purified phosphatidic acid added alone did not cause platelet aggregation or stimulate calcium flux. Only when added in liposomes did any phosphatidic acid species enhance ADP-induced aggregation, and this was seen only at concentrations approaching 100 μM. The results show that lysophosphatidic acids are much more potent than phosphatidic acids and support the concept that it is lysophosphatidic acid rather than phosphatidic acid that is a significant stimulus produced during phosphatidylinositol metabolism and involved in stimulus activation coupling.
Survey of Soviet-Jewish History: Precursors of the Emigration Movement

The historical experience of Soviet Jews, the status of Judaism and secular Jewish culture in the USSR, and the position of Jews in Soviet society created the impetus for emigration. So too did the emergence of state-sponsored anti-Zionism, which was often indistinguishable from popular anti-Semitism. While some measures affecting Soviet Jewry were designed specifically to address circumstances relating to Jews, others were the consequence of broader policies regarding nationalities and of modernizing processes in the Soviet Union.
Thoracodorsal Artery Perforator Flap for Breast Reconstruction

Autologous breast reconstruction with the thoracodorsal artery perforator flap is described including indications, preoperative marking, key intraoperative steps including a dictation example, postoperative care, and coding.
The Harvest of Polar Bears Across the Circumpolar North

Harvest of polar bears by aboriginal peoples has occurred for millennia across the circumpolar Arctic. While harvest for sport and the commercial fur trade increased dramatically as southerners expanded into the Arctic, the 1973 international Agreement for the Conservation of Polar Bears curtailed harvest largely to aboriginal peoples. This Agreement, catalyzed by global concern for declining polar bear populations, is a hallmark for international cooperation in conservation. In Russia, polar bear harvest has been illegal since 1957, although there are concerns of poaching by local people for food security and also for the black market fur trade. Norway banned all harvest with their ratification of the Agreement. The USA allows for polar bear harvest by the Inupiat of Alaska. Quotas for the two populations shared with the USA are determined by an international user-to-user agreement between aboriginal people of Alaska and Canada and an international agreement between the USA and Russia, respectively. In Greenland, polar bears are harvested by professional Inuit hunters under a quota system, currently based on historic numbers. In most of Canada, where two-thirds of the world’s polar bears are harvested, anyone can harvest a polar bear but only within a quota system assigned to and managed by Inuit communities. This harvest is based not only on scientific information, but also on historic levels by treaty and local traditional ecological knowledge. Globally, polar bear harvest averages 798 (44 SD) per year. The vast majority is for subsistence, with 6% for sport (Canada), and a lesser proportion for defense of life and property. The legal international market for polar bear hides is supplied only by exports from Canada. Climate change poses a greater threat to polar bears than do the current levels of harvest. However, habitat change and harvest interact because of the increasing use of land by polar bears. Further, there are scientific and conservation questions about the appropriateness of harvesting polar bears, even for subsistence, from populations that are declining due to climate change.
Change in the Perceived Certainty of Punishment as an Inhibitor of Post-Juvenile Offending in Serious Delinquents: Deterrence at the Adult Transition:

The purpose of this study was to determine whether growth in perceived certainty of punishment explained the right leg of the age–crime curve. Using longitudinal data from the Pathways to Desistanc...
Microbial Murders Crime Scene Investigation: An Active Team-Based Learning Project that Enhances Student Enthusiasm and Comprehension of Clinical Microbial Pathogens.

Microbial disease knowledge is a critical component of microbiology courses and is beneficial for many students’ future careers. Microbiology courses traditionally cover core concepts through lectures and labs, but specific instruction on microbial diseases varies greatly depending on the instructor and course. A common project involves students researching and presenting a disease to the class. This method alone is not very effective, and course evaluations have consistently indicated that students felt they lacked adequate disease knowledge; therefore, a more hands-on and interactive disease project was developed called Microbial Murders. For this team-based project, a group of students chooses a pathogen, researches the disease, creates a “mugshot” of the pathogen, and develops a corresponding “crime scene,” where a hypothetical patient has died from the microbe. Each group gives a presentation introducing the microbial pathogen, signs/symptoms, treatments, and overall characteristics. The students then visit each other’s crime scenes to match the pathogen with the correct crime scene by critically thinking through the clues. This project has shown remarkable success. Surveys indicate that 73% of students thought the project helped them understand the material and 84% said it was worth their time. Student participation, excitement, understanding, and application of microbial disease knowledge have increased and are evident through an increase in course evaluations and in student assessment scores. This project is easy to implement and can be used in a wide variety of biology, microbiology, or health classes for any level (middle school through college).
IgG4-related disease of the central and peripheral nervous systems

IgG4-related disease can involve nearly any organ system, including the central and peripheral nervous systems. The pathology findings are consistent from organ to organ, but careful clinicopathological correlation is necessary to establish the diagnosis. Many non-neurological and neurological inflammatory conditions, previously regarded as idiopathic in nature, are now recognised to fall within the spectrum of IgG4-related disease. The condition is highly treatable, but probably remains substantially under-recognised. In this Review, we offer an important and timely update on the current and emerging aspects of this neurological disease. Following a short overview of IgG4-related disease, we describe the current understanding of neurological findings, pathophysiology, approaches to diagnosis, and treatment of IgG4-related disease affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Environmental impact assessment of soybean oil production: Extruding-expelling process, hexane extraction and aqueous extraction

Abstract Expelling and hexane extraction are two typical processes for soybean oil production used in industry. The main issues for these two processes are the low efficiency and hazardous chemical problems respectively. Enzyme assisted aqueous extraction process (EAEP) was proposed to increase the efficiency without using organic solvent, which is replaced by water. The environmental impact analysis of these three processes are based on their mass flows, energy consumption and global warming potential. For mass flows, the environmental impact indices were calculated based on material flow of input and output components. Energy consumption was used to evaluate the carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gas (GHG), and criteria pollutants emissions by GREET models. According to our results, hexane extraction has the highest environmental impact due to the application of organic solvent. Expelling has the highest GHG and criteria pollutants emissions because of the high energy requirement for heat pressing processes. EAEP has similar environmental impacts to the expelling process, but it also lowers GHG and criteria pollutants emissions. EAEP has the potential to be a green process adopted by industry although a high energy intense pretreatment to produce finer soybean flakes for increasing oil recovery is still a challenge.
Anesthesia Technique Effects on Pain and Hospital Stay in Patients Undergoing Hemorrhoidectomy

To the Editor,We read with great interest the article of Nadri and coworkers in a recent issue of the Journal.1 The authors performed a randomized control trial on 70 patients undergoing hemorrhoid...
The Inverse Scattering Transform on the Line

The 1967 discovery of the inverse scattering method for integrating the KdV equation [GGKM] was followed in the early 1970s by similar results for many other nonlinear wave equations and systems. We recall very briefly-the principles, in the case of one space and one time variable.
A Cross-Cultural Approach to Radiation Ethics

Abstract In spite of the on-going globalization in many fields, the ethics of radiation protection is still discussed almost exclusively in terms of concepts of “Western” moral philosophy such as utilitarianism or deontology. A cross-cultural discourse in this field is only beginning. Beauchamp and Childress in their “Principles of Biomedical Ethics” suggest that there exists a “common morality” which is “not relative to cultures or individuals, because it transcends both”. They propose four cross-culturally valid principles for decision making in medicine: respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. I suggest that their approach can serve as a model for radiation protection as well. The four principles can form an alternative ethical basis for the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. I also propose three additional principles that seem to be of relevance, namely concern for the underprivileged, intergenerational equity, and precaution. These may provide fresh insight into some problems of radiation protection that are difficult to resolve with the current mix of utilitarian and deontological arguments.
Attractiveness of the maleAcheta domestica calling song to females

FemaleAcheta domestica did not discriminate between pairs of model calling songs (CSs) which differed only in syllable period (SP; Fig. 1). The females selected the louder CS (Fig. 2) or the CS with a faster chirp rate (CR; Fig. 3) when presented with pairs of otherwise identical CSs. A CS with an SP of 50 ms (modal for the male's CS) was preferred when it was 5 dB louder than one with a 60-ms SP while a CS with a 60-ms SP was only consistently chosen when it was 10 dB louder than a CS with a 50-ms SP (Fig. 4). A more intense CS was preferred by the females regardless of whether its CR was faster or slower than that of the CS produced at a lower intensity (Fig. 6). When CSs with SPs of 50 or 60 ms had several different CRs, the females that made a significant choice preferred a CS with a 50-ms SP regardless of whether it was produced at a faster or slower CR (Figs. 7, 8). No significant selection between CSs with 40- and 50-ms SPs resulted when they were produced at different intensities (Fig. 5) or CRs (Fig. 9). Females only significantly chose a CS with a 50-ms SP over those with 40 ms SPs when the 50-ms-SP CS was louder and produced at a different CR (Fig. 10). From these results, it was apparent that SP, intensity, and CR all influenced a female's choice of a CS, and thus the male producing it. However, our results indicate that SP was the most important feature influencing the female's choice and that intensity was more effective than CR.
Zika virus infection activates sting-dependent antiviral autophagy in the Drosophila brain

Viral infection of neurons is pathogenic, yet the factors that govern innate control of neurons remain incompletely understood. Using a Drosophila model we have defined the essential role that inflammatory-dependent Sting activation plays in inducing antiviral macroautophagy/autophagy to restrict Zika infection in the fly brain. Our discovery that Sting is an essential mediator of innate defenses in Drosophila provides further support for an ancient and conserved pathway that likely evolved to target intracellular pathogens for autophagic destruction.
Myths and reality of HPbI3 in halide perovskite solar cells.

All-inorganic perovskites have a special place in halide perovskite family because of their potential for better stability. However, the representative cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) is metastable and spontaneously converts to the non-perovskite structure at room temperature. Here, we demonstrate that what appears to be all-inorganic CsPbI3 stabilized in its perovskite form using the purported intermediate known as hydrogen lead iodide (HPbI3) is, in fact, the hybrid perovskite cesium dimethylammonium lead iodide (Cs1−xDMAxPbI3, x = 0.2 to 0.5). Thus, many of the reported all-inorganic perovskites are actually still hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites, as strongly evidenced by a wide battery of experimental techniques presented here. Solar cells based on the representative composition Cs0.7DMA0.3PbI3 can achieve an average power conversion efficiency of 9.27 ± 1.28% (max 12.62%). These results provide an alternative angle to look at previous results pertaining all-inorganic CsPbI3 while the DMA cation is now revealed as an alternative A site cation. Hydriodic acid or hydrogen lead iodide is widely used to stabilize all-inorganic perovskite cesium lead iodide to make high performing solar cells. Here Ke et al. reveal the real composition of the perovskites, where dimethylammonium partially take place of cesium cation at the A-site.
TPX2 in melanoma: honing on drivers of amplification on chromosome 20q11.2

1687 We previously performed BAC based array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) on 83 metastatic melanoma lesions (27 melanoma cell lines, 34 frozen and 22 formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded clinical melanoma samples). In this analysis, we found recurrent and characteristic losses of chromosome 5q, 6q, 9,10q, 11q, 8q and gains of chromosomes 1q, 6p, 7, 8p, 17p and 20q. Moreover, in this sample set, we were able to prove with statistical significance (p
Avoiding Divergence in Multi-Area State Estimation

This paper is concerned about the divergence of state estimation solution for multi-area power grids. Such cases typically occur due to a single anomaly in the measurement set or network model, yet will cause failure of the state estimator to provide the solution for the entire system. The objective of our study is to develop an approach that will allow detection, identification, and isolation of the anomaly during the state estimation solution so that a large percentage of the system states can still be estimated, while isolating the anomaly that is causing the divergence of the estimator. The proposed approach is described in detail and its effective utilization for a very large utility system is illustrated by simulations.
Effect of lactation and rebreeding phase energy intake on primiparous and multiparous sow performance.

Fifty-three primiparous sows were used to study the effects of a high-energy, fat-supplemented diet on sow lactation and rebreeding performance. Sows received either a low [Lo, 12.5 Mcal metabolizable energy (ME)/d] or high (Hi, 16.0 Mcal ME/d) energy sorghum-soybean diet during a 28-d lactation. At weaning, sows were randomly allotted, within lactation treatment, to a low (lo, 5.54 Mcal ME/d) or high (hi, 9.61 Mcal ME/d) energy sorghum-soybean diet until the day of first postweaning estrus. Primiparous sows fed Lo weaned larger (P less than .05) litters than sows fed Hi; however, average pig weight was not affected by lactation treatments. Primiparous sows fed Hi had more backfat at weaning (P less than .01) than Lo sows. In contrast, sow weight was not affected by dietary treatments. Neither lactation nor rebreeding treatments influenced days to rebreeding; however, an interaction (P less than .01) was observed. Mean days from weaning to rebreeding for Lolo, Lohi, Hilo and Hihi sows were 10.0, 7.6, 6.9 and 17.1, respectively. Forty sows were maintained on the same dietary treatments during their second parity. Sows receiving Lo during their second parity farrowed and weaned more (P less than .05) pigs than Hi sows. Multiparous sows fed Hi nursed heavier (P less than .05) pigs on d 21 of lactation and at weaning compared with Lo sows. Sows fed Hi were heavier (P less than .05) and had more (P less than .01) backfat at weaning of their second litter compared to Lo sows. Days to postweaning estrus were not affected by lactation or rebreeding diets. Mean length of the second parity rebreeding interval for Lolo, Lohi, Hilo and Hihi sows was 6.2, 10.2, 7.0 and 10.5 d, respectively. These results suggest that feeding levels during lactation of 12.5 Mcal ME/d or higher supported adequate rebreeding performance. Postweaning feeding levels did not influence days to first estrus. Feeding a high energy diet continuously throughout the lactation and rebreeding phases in primiparous sows may lengthen the postweaning interval to estrus.
The asymmetric function of Dph1–Dph2 heterodimer in diphthamide biosynthesis

Diphthamide, the target of diphtheria toxin, is a post-translationally modified histidine residue found in archaeal and eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2 (EF2). In the first step of diphthamide biosynthesis, a [4Fe-4S] cluster-containing radical SAM enzyme, Dph1-Dph2 heterodimer in eukaryotes or Dph2 homodimer in archaea, cleaves S-adenosylmethionine and transfers the 3-amino-3-carboxypropyl group to EF2. It was demonstrated previously that for the archaeal Dph2 homodimer, only one [4Fe-4S] cluster is necessary for the in vitro activity. Here, we demonstrate that for the eukaryotic Dph1-Dph2 heterodimer, the [4Fe-4S] cluster-binding cysteine residues in each subunit are required for diphthamide biosynthesis to occur in vivo. Furthermore, our in vitro reconstitution experiments with Dph1-Dph2 mutants suggested that the Dph1 cluster serves a catalytic role, while the Dph2 cluster facilitates the reduction of the Dph1 cluster by the physiological reducing system Dph3/Cbr1/NADH. Our results reveal the asymmetric functional roles of the Dph1-Dph2 heterodimer and may help to understand how the Fe-S clusters in radical SAM enzymes are reduced in biology.
Suspended Solids, Color, Turbidity, and Light

Natural waters contain suspended particulates that increase turbidity, impart apparent color, and interfere with light penetration. These particles originate from erosion, vegetative debris from watersheds, and microorganisms produced in water bodies. Suspended particles vary from colloids that remain suspended indefinitely to larger silt and sand particles held in suspension by turbulence. Settling velocities of particles in still water are estimated by the Stoke’s law equation and depend mainly on particle diameter and density—large, dense particles settle the fastest. Organic particles settle slowly because of their low density, but planktonic organisms also have adaptions that lessen settling velocity. Solar radiation of all wavelengths is quenched quickly—about 50% is reflected or converted to heat within the first meter. Within the visible spectrum, clear water absorbs red and orange light most strongly followed by violet, and by yellow, green, and blue, but suspended particles in water tend to absorb all wavelengths. Sedimentation of suspended solids can result in gradual “filling in” of water bodies and destruction of benthic organisms. Turbidity and color in water bodies lower photosynthesis rates and reduce productivity. Clear water is more pleasing to the eye, preferred for recreational water uses, and greatly favored for drinking purposes. Erosion control, sedimentation, chemical coagulation, and filtration techniques are used in color and turbidity control.
Good enough? The ‘wicked’ use of testosterone for defining femaleness in women’s sport

Since the 1930s, sports administrators have insisted on various mechanisms to assess ‘femaleness’ for the purpose of competition in women’s sport. Most recently, the criterion has turned to testost...
Introduction: Toward Pragmatism, Pluralism, and Polycentricity

This book considers the “three Ps” of liberty: pragmatism, pluralism, and polycentricity. Over several years we have heard debates about “thick” and “thin” libertarianism as well as “libertarian brutalism.” The labels “right-libertarian” and “left-libertarian” have circulated roughly since the emergence of the word “libertarian.” I propose to reframe the discussion in terms of “pluralism,” a concept that, I believe, involves necessarily the decentralization and diffusion of government power. A conservative culture that values tradition and nourishes longstanding virtues is optimal for the preservation and advancement of liberty. Freedom flourishes where individuals accept personal responsibility, give charitably, read deeply and widely, and respect the dignity of every human person. Freedom cannot exist where people lie, cheat, steal, and murder without consequence. Societies enjoy liberty in proportion to their commitment to moral improvement and right reason. Where people are dedicated to virtue, generosity, and personal responsibility, the case for state or government intervention into their private affairs is more obviously untenable.
New materials for emerging electrical environments—workshop report

Wide band gap (WBG) semiconductors are delivering on the promise of higher power and energy density circuits. In doing so, they are also opening an opportunity for a new generation of dielectric materials. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin organized a 1.5 day workshop on "Next-generation dielectric materials for microelectronics/electrical applications" at the Massachusetts Institute Technology on December 4–5, 2019 focusing on this emerging opportunity. The invitation-only workshop brought together the materials researchers with those attempting to improve power electronics (PE) packaging to compare information that would accelerate the field (Figure 1).
10 – Detailed Design

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the detailed design phase in engineering design. In detailed design phase, the designer concerns himself with the translation of his concept into a form which permits manufacture, the concept thus becoming a working reality. In giving a design tangible form, the most basic decisions involve the choice of construction materials. Besides their availability and cost, which are always primary considerations, materials are chosen on the basis of their properties. Mechanical properties include specific gravity, strength under various types of loading, and wear resistance. Chemical properties give an indication of the material's resistance to attack by different fluids, and physical properties include such variables as specific heat, thermal and electrical conductivity, melting point, and coefficient of expansion. After selection of material, the manufacturing work starts. Considerable experience is needed to become familiar with the different methods of manufacture and the circumstances which favor one approach over another. The chapter also presents the problem of quality control, stability, and inevitable variability that come up in detailed design phase.