cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (the anti-Thy. 1.1 model)

The anti-Thy-1.1 model is a rat model of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis characterized by initial mesangiolysis followed by mesangial cell proliferation and accumulation of mesangial matrix with subsequent resolution and the return to almost normal histology. In this review we discuss the pathogenesis of the initial injury, the mechanisms governing mesangial cell proliferation and matrix expansion, and some of the processes involved in the resolution of glomerular injury. Understanding these processes of mesangial cell injury and recovery may provide insights into the pathogenesis of human mesangial cell diseases such as IgA nephropathy.
El desarrollo de la figura del héroe en el proceso de transmisión del corrido de Benito Canales

In recent years there has been a growing interest in exploring the field of the Mexican popular ballads called corridos, but there is still the need to clarify the development of the hero in those compositions. My paper focuses on the composition dedicated to Benito Canales, written around 1882. My study examines the structure and development of several versions of the ballad to determine the evolutionary characteristics of this popular hero. In my research I have gathered songs from various sources: anthologies, broadsides, cancioneros and recordings. Essentially, I have brought together ballads from different sources to uncover the ways in which the Benito Canales’ corrido has remained constant, and the ways in which it has acquired uniqueness in form and meaning. My study of this traditional composition attempts to describe the gradual refinement through time of Benito Canales’ image.
Foxc2 is required for proper cardiac neural crest cell migration, outflow tract septation, and ventricle expansion

BACKGROUND Proper development of the great vessels of the heart and septation of the cardiac outflow tract requires cardiac neural crest cells. These cells give rise to the parasympathetic cardiac ganglia, the smooth muscle layer of the great vessels, some cardiomyocytes, and the conotruncal cushions and aorticopulmonary septum of the outflow tract. Ablation of cardiac neural crest cells results in defective patterning of each of these structures. Previous studies have shown that targeted deletion of the forkhead transcription factor C2 (Foxc2), results in cardiac phenotypes similar to that derived from cardiac neural crest cell ablation. RESULTS We report that Foxc2-/- embryos on the 129s6/SvEv inbred genetic background display persistent truncus arteriosus and hypoplastic ventricles before embryonic lethality. Foxc2 loss-of-function resulted in perturbed cardiac neural crest cell migration and their reduced contribution to the outflow tract as evidenced by lineage tracing analyses together with perturbed expression of the neural crest cell markers Sox10 and Crabp1. Foxc2 loss-of-function also resulted in alterations in PlexinD1, Twist1, PECAM1, and Hand1/2 expression in association with vascular and ventricular defects. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate Foxc2 is required for proper migration of cardiac neural crest cells, septation of the outflow tract, and development of the ventricles. Developmental Dynamics 247:1286-1296, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Selective uranium oxidation during in situ leaching

O2, NaClO3, H2O2, NaOCl and Ce+4 have been examined as oxidants in an alkaline carbonate system for uranium in situ leaching. The South Texas and New Mexico ores contained up to 2.6 meq/g of reducing compounds that consume oxidants in the leaching operation. Leaching rates did not increase linearly with the oxidation potential of the oxidants. A mild oxidant can be used to maximize uranium oxidation selectivity and oxidant efficiency. O2 can oxidize most of the uranium mineral with an adequate rate and high oxidant efficiency.
Maximizing Cache Value for Distributing Content via Small Cells in 5G

This paper discusses distribution of content to mobile users via small cells (SCs) in 5G. Users may simultaneously access between one and some maximum number of SCs. Files are stored in remote locations as a collection of source symbols and some number of RaptorQ-encoded symbols generated from these source symbols are cached in the SCs. Each file is characterized by the number of encoded symbols required to reconstruct the file at the user equipment and its download preference probability. Users recover the file by downloading a number of encoded symbols slightly larger than the number of source symbols. If a sufficient number of encoded symbols are not available from the SCs, the remainder are backhauled. Presented in this paper is an algorithm of low complexity to maximize the average value of using cache to reduce backhaul. This paper contributes to the literature by presenting an n log n algorithm to solve the optimization problem exactly, extending previous results from constant files size for all files to arbitrary actual files sizes for all files, and extending distribution portions from continuous fractions of files to an integer number of symbols.
Importance of Non-Native Honeybees (Apis mellifera) as Flower Visitors to the Hawaiian Tree ‘Ōhi‘a Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) Across an Elevation Gradient1

Pollinator populations are in decline worldwide. These declines are likely to impact native Hawaiian species and their interactions. To explore spatial heterogeneity in interactions between a foundational native Hawaiian tree and flower visitors, we examined how flower visitation varied for Metrosideros polymorpha over an elevational gradient, on the Island of Hawai‘i. We conducted a short-term, observational study at sites of high human activity, spanning a 1,500-m elevational gradient. We predicted that native flower visitors would be most important, where importance is defined as the product of the number of flower visitors observed and the number of flowers visited per visitor, at the highest elevations where human impacts have historically been less consistent and human populations are lower. We predicted that non-native bee visitation would be most important at the lowest elevations where human impact is highest. Contrary to our expectations, we found that the non-native honeybee, Apis mellifera, was the most important visitor at both the lowest and highest-elevation sites and second only to native species of Hylaeus bees in visitor importance at mid-elevation sites. We recorded A. mellifera interacting with flowers during 16.3% of all observation blocks and Hylaeus spp. during 9.4% of observation blocks, with all other visitors appearing more rarely. Although this study was short in duration and occurred at only six study sites in disturbed areas, our results suggest that the high importance of A. mellifera as a flower visitor of M. polymorpha is consistent across a range of environmental conditions. Hawai‘i's shifting suite of pollinators may impact gene flow and reproduction for M. polymorpha, a species with immense ecological and cultural importance.
In Reply: Utility of the Hijdra Sum Score in Predicting Risk of Aneurysm in Patients With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Single-Center Experience With 550 Patients.

Background Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is most commonly caused by a ruptured vascular lesion. A significant number of patients presenting with SAH have no identifiable cause despite extensive cerebrovascular imaging at presentation. Significant neurological morbidity or mortality can result from misdiagnosis of aneurysm. Objective To generate a model to assist in predicting the risk of aneurysm in this patient population. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of all patients aged ≥18 yr admitted to a single center from March 2008 to March 2018 with nontraumatic SAH (n = 550). Patient information was compared between those with and without aneurysm to identify potential predictors. Odds ratios obtained from a logistic regression model were converted into scores which were summed and tested for predictive ability. Results Female sex, higher modified Fisher or Hijdra score, nonperimesencephalic location, presence of intracerebral hemorrhage, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) score ≥3, need for cerebrospinal fluid diversion on admission, and history of tobacco use were all entered into multivariable analysis. Greater modified Fisher, greater Hijdra score, WFNS ≥3, and hydrocephalus present on admission were significantly associated with the presence of an aneurysm. A model based on the Hijdra score and SAH location was generated and validated. Conclusion We show for the first time that the Hijdra score, in addition to other factors, may assist in identifying patients at risk for aneurysm on cerebrovascular imaging. A simple scoring tool based on patient sex, SAH location, and SAH burden can assist in predicting the presence of an aneurysm in patients with nontraumatic SAH.
High Education Level Protects European Americans But Not African Americans Against Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: National Health Interview Survey

Background: Education level reduces the risk of chronic diseases (CDs), including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Minorities’ Diminished Returns, however, refer to smaller health benefits of socioeconomic position (SEP) improvement for racial and ethnic minorities compared to majority groups. It is not known if MDRs exist for the effects of education level on COPD for African Americans (AAs), relative to European Americans (EAs). Aims: Using a nationally representative sample, the current study explored racial and ethnic variation in the association between education level and COPD among American adults. Methods: Data came from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS 2015), a national survey. A total of 25,488 adults (18+ years old) were included in the study. From this number, 4,533 (17.8%) were AAs and 20,955 (82.2%) were EAs. Education level was the independent variable. COPD was the outcome. Age, gender, and income were the covariates. Race/ethnicity was the moderator. Results: Overall, education level was inversely associated with the odds of COPD. A statistically significant interaction was found between race/ethnicity and education level on odds of COPD, indicating smaller effect of education for AAs compared to EAs. Conclusions: In line with the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs), highly educated AAs remained at high risk for COPD, a pattern which is not observed for EAs. Policies that exclusively address racial/ethnic inequalities in SEP may not be enough for eliminating racial/ethnic inequalities in COPD in the US. Public policies must go beyond equalizing SEP and address structural and environmental barriers that disproportionately increase risk of COPD in AAs across SEP levels. Future research should test if residential segregation and exposure to air pollutants contributes to high prevalence of COPD in highly educated AAs. Research is needed on multi-level interventions that may minimize MDR-related health disparities.
Scalable Concolic Testing of RTL Models

Simulation is widely used for validation of Register-Transfer-Level (RTL) models. While simulating with millions of random or constrained-random tests can cover majority of the functional scenarios, the number of remaining scenarios can still be huge (hundreds or thousands) in case of today's industrial designs. Hard-to-activate branches are one of the major contributors for such remaining/untested scenarios. While directed test generation techniques using formal methods are promising in activating branches, it is infeasible to apply them on large designs due to state space explosion. In this article, we propose a fully automated and scalable approach to cover the hard-to-activate branches using concolic testing of RTL models. While application of concolic testing on hardware designs has shown some promising results in improving the overall coverage, they are not designed to activate specific targets such as uncovered corner cases and rare scenarios. In other words, existing concolic testing approaches address state space explosion problem but leads to path explosion problem while searching for the uncovered targets. Our proposed approach maps directed test generation problem to target search problem while avoiding overlapping searches involving multiple targets. This article makes two important contributions. (1) We propose a directed test generation technique to activate a target by effective utilization of concolic testing on RTL models. (2) We develop efficient learning and clustering techniques to minimize the overlapping searches across targets to drastically reduce the overall test generation effort. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of test generation time (up to 205X, 69X on average) as well as memory requirements (up to 31X, 7X on average).
Domain variations and moving boundary problems

In the past few decades maximal regularity theory has successfully been applied to moving boundary problems. The basic idea is to reduce the system with varying domains to one in a fixed domain. This is done by a transformation, the so-called Hanzawa transformation, and yields a typically nonlocal and nonlinear coupled system of (evolution) equations. Well-posedness results can then often be established as soon as it is proved that the relevant linearization is the generator of an analytic semigroup or admits maximal regularity. To implement this program, it is necessary to somehow parametrize to space of boundaries/domains (typically the space of compact hypersurfaces $$\Gamma $$ in $${\mathbb {R}}^n$$ , in the Euclidean setting). This has traditionally been achieved by means of the already mentioned Hanzawa transformation. The approach, while successful, requires the introduction of a smooth manifold $$\Gamma _\infty $$ close to the manifold $$\Gamma _0$$ in which one cares to linearize. This prevents one to use coordinates in which $$\Gamma _0$$ lies at their “center”. As a result formulae tend to contain terms that would otherwise not be present were one able to linearize in a neighborhood emanating from $$\Gamma _0$$ instead of from $$\Gamma _\infty $$ . In this paper it is made use of flows (curves of diffeomorphisms) to obtain a general form of the relevant linearization in combination with an alternative coordinatization of the manifold of hypersurfaces, which circumvents the need for the introduction of a “phantom” reference manifold $$\Gamma _\infty $$ by, in its place, making use of a “phantom geometry” on $$\Gamma _0$$ . The upshot is a clear insight into the structure of the linearization, simplified calculations, and simpler formulae for the resulting linear operators, which are useful in applications.
Autonomous Ripeness Detection Using Image Processing for an Agricultural Robotic System

This paper discusses the detection of the ripe and turning tomato fruits using computer vision and image processing techniques. Field workers can run additional pre-processing methods when the lighting or weather conditions are not suitable for taking good quality images. The hardware used in this work is the Raspberry Pi and Pi Camera; the software is Raspbian using python3. The ripeness is detected by using OpenCV and HSV color space. Counting the tomatoes will help the field workers know how many tomatoes are ready for harvesting and how many will be available for harvesting in order to prepare labor or equipment. This hardware set up will be interfaced with the Turtlebot and the robot will navigate the field to achieve ripe detection.
Lateral decubitus position to facilitate pelvic examination of the patient with severe obesity.

Patients with elevated BMI pose a number of challenges for the gynecologist. Pelvic examination may be more difficult due to adiposity in the perineum and labia, increasing the distance between the vulva and cervix. The objective of the current work was to describe use of the lateral decubitus position to improve visualization of the cervix in women with severe obesity. A case series was collected. From 7/1/2010 until 1/31/2020, all records of patients with obesity and unsuccessful cervical visualization during pelvic exam in the dorsal lithotomy position in the author’s clinical practice were reviewed after obtaining Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board approval. For the lateral decubitus position, the patient was asked to lie on her side on the exam table, facing away from the examiner with knees bent. An assistant elevated the upper bent leg 45 degrees from horizontal, exposing the perineum. A vaginal speculum was then placed in the vagina with the posterior blade toward the anus. The speculum was opened gently as would be done with examination in dorsal lithotomy position until the cervix was visualized. Eleven patients with severe obesity in the gynecologic practice of the author with prior unsuccessful cervical visualization in dorsal lithotomy position were examined in the lateral decubitus position. In all but one case the cervix was successfully visualized in the lateral decubitus position and all intended intrauterine procedures were successfully performed. In this case series, the use of the lateral decubitus position appears to improve visualization of the cervix in the outpatient setting among women with severe obesity. Consideration should be given to use of the lateral decubitus position when the cervix cannot be visualized in the dorsal lithotomy position.
Spray characteristics of standard and alternative aviation fuels at high ambient pressure conditions

Abstract The spray characteristics of standard and alternative aviation fuels generated by a hybrid pressure-swirl airblast (HPSA) atomizer were investigated at high ambient pressure conditions. The measurements were performed in an optically accessible pressure vessel at pressures of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9.5 bar with heated gas and fuel temperatures of 394 K and 332 K, respectively. The drop size and drop velocity of sprays from a standard (Jet-A) and an alternative (C-5) aviation fuels were measured using phase Doppler anemometry (PDA), and 2-D visualization of spray was imaged using simultaneous fuel-Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) and Mie scattering. The spatially resolved PDA drop size measurements were obtained at 25.4 mm downstream of the swirler exit plane and up to 30 mm in the radial direction from the spray centerline. The Sauter Mean Diameter (D32) was observed to decrease significantly with increasing ambient pressure, up to 5 bar. However, the change in D32 was observed to be limited with a further increase in the ambient pressure. A higher swirler pressure drop resulted in a significant reduction in the D32 at an ambient pressure of 5 bar. Using simultaneous fuel-PLIF and Mie scattering imaging, the feasibility of the laser sheet drop-sizing (LSD) technique was examined for the spray at high ambient pressure application. In addition, the effect of ambient pressure on the spray cone angle was investigated using both instantaneous and averaged Mie images. The distribution of fuel vapor and droplets in the spray was also imaged and identified by comparing instantaneous fuel-PLIF and Mie images. A phenomenological three-step atomization model was used to predict the drop size and demonstrate the drop size trend with increasing ambient pressure.
Anaphylactic Reactions Due to Triatoma protracta (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) and Invasion into a Home in Northern California, USA.

Background: Triatoma protracta is a triatomine found naturally throughout many regions of California and has been shown to invade human dwellings and bite residents. A man living in Mendocino County, California, reported developing anaphylactic reactions due to the bite of an “unusual bug”, which he had found in his home for several years. Methods: We conducted environmental, entomological, and clinical investigations to examine the risk for kissing bug invasion, presence of Trypanosoma cruzi, and concerns for Chagas disease at this human dwelling with triatomine invasion. Results: Home assessment revealed several risk factors for triatomine invasion, which includes pack rat infestation, above-ground wooden plank floor without a concrete foundation, canine living in the home, and lack of residual insecticide use. Triatomines were all identified as Triatoma protracta. Midgut molecular analysis of the collected triatomines revealed the detection of T. cruzi discrete typing unit I among one of the kissing bugs. Blood meal PCR-based analysis showed these triatomines had bitten humans, canine and unidentified snake species. The patient was tested for chronic Chagas disease utilizing rapid diagnostic testing and laboratory serological testing, and all were negative. Conclusions: Triatoma protracta is known to invade human dwellings in the western portions of the United States. This is the first report of T. cruzi-infected triatomines invading homes in Mendocino County, California. Triatoma protracta is a known vector responsible for autochthonous Chagas disease within the United States, and their bites can also trigger serious systemic allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis.
Legal Education and the Politics of Exlusion

In economic affairs the social advantages of competition are least apparent to disappointed competitors. Domestic firms call for protection against low price imports: Let there be tariffs and import quotas. Skilled workers lobby for protection against low wage rivals: Let there be minimum wage laws, maximum hours laws, and collective bargaining. Businesses work overtime to keep out new rivals: Let there be exclusionary zoning and licensing. Pitted in opposition to these legislative fixes is a shrinking band of market economists who celebrate the systematic gains that competition generates over its rival forms of social organization. The only protection that anyone is entitled to have against economic competitors is to offer customers lower prices or higher quality services. The disappointed competitor may lose, but those private losses are more than matched by the vitality that is given to the system as a whole. Persons who fail at one endeavor can pick up the pieces, refine their act, shift their occupation, and try again.' In the wake of short-term competitive dislocations is a vigor that ripples its way through the economic and social system. The unending struggle between competition and protection also exists within the academic setting. Here too the forces of exclusion have gathered strength in recent years. The pressures, however, are not those of the usual economic groups concerned with trade in standard goods and services. Rather, these pressures stem from greater demands from women and members of minority groups for increased position, voice, and influence inside the academy. A generation ago, those groups appealed to the language of open market competition for a more intensive role, underscoring the injustice of passing over more qualified women and minority candidates because of their race or sex. The charge was that universities in general, and law schools in particular, were tight little islands dominated by a group of like-thinking
CajunBot: A Case Study in Embodied Cognition

Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the status of embodied cognition, as compared with more traditional strategies in the study of cognition. On this issue, Cowart has identified two main positions. The so-called Compatibilist Approach, for example, is associated with Clark. This approach assumes that embodied strategies and tools for studying cognition can be used in conjunction with more traditional strategies and tools for such study. This approach stands in stark contrast to the so-called Purist Approach. The latter rests upon the more radical thesis that traditional strategies and tools are inherently flawed, and thus must be replaced wholesale with tools and strategies inspired by an embodied perspective on cognition. This kind of position, for example, is advocated by Varela et al. The main position that the fans of the Purist Approach to embodied cognition wish to take issue with is the so-called Classicist/Cognitivist view of cognitive science. Cowart characterizes the main differences between the Classicist/Cognitivist view and the Embodied Cognitivist view as consisting of a number of important contrasts. While the Classicist/Cognitivist view is grounded upon a computer-based metaphor of the mind, the Embodied Cognitivist view instead advocates a coupling metaphor for the mind.
Globally convergent adaptive tracking of spacecraft angular velocity with inertia identification and adaptive linearization

The problem of a rigid body tracking a desired angular velocity trajectory is addressed using adaptive feedback control. An adaptive controller is developed for a planar rotating body tracking a desired angular velocity command. Lyapunov analysis is used to show that tracking is achieved globally. A periodic angular velocity command is then used to identify the inertia parameter. The adaptive controller is implemented on a triaxial attitude control testbed with fan thrusters. A piecewise linear approximation of an observed input nonlinearity is inverted to obtain improved angular velocity tracking and inertia identification. To eliminate residual tracking error, an adaptive algorithm is used for improved feedback linearization. Lyapunov analysis is used to show boundedness of the angular velocity and inertia estimate errors. The approach is validated by numerical simulation.
Analysis of life cycle costs for electric vans with advanced battery systems

The performance of advanced Zn/Br/sub 2/, LiAl/FeS, Na/S, Ni/Fe, and Fe/Air batteries in electric vans was compared to that of tubular lead-acid technology. The MARVEL computer analysis system evaluated these batteries for the G-Van and IDSEP vehicles over two driving schedules. Each of the advanced batteries exhibited the potential for major improvements in both range and life cycle cost compared with tubular lead-acid. A sensitivity analysis reveals specific energy, battery initial cost, and cycle life to be the dominant factors in reducing life cycle cost for the case of vans powered by tubular lead-acid batteries.
Bankruptcy, Ethical Issues In

The philosophy behind bankruptcy laws, preserving assets for creditors and giving debtors a new start, has evolved to its use as a business strategy to improve your bargaining position in restructuring debt. Ethical issues include relieving one's moral obligation to repay one's debt; fraudulent conveyance of assets at discounted values only to reclaim later at market values; and preferential transfers of assets at discounted values to gain favor with suppliers or other stakeholders. Keywords: bankruptcy
Effect of college or university training on earnings of people with disabilities: A case control study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of college or university training on earnings of individuals with disabilities receiving services through the public vocational rehabilitation system. METHODS: A non-experimental case-control study design. Data for 178,290 individuals closed as successfully rehabilitation in fiscal year 2011 were extracted from the Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report (RSA-911) database. RESULTS: Propensity scores were estimated based on demographic variables using the classification and regression tree (CART) method, which yielded six homogeneous subgroups, ranging from high propensity to received college or university training as a vocational rehabilitation intervention to low propensity to receive such service. Individuals who received college/university training had higher weekly earnings than those who did not, and had the greatest benefit for young adults; White, Asian, or Native American women with physical impairments; and people with mental impairments. CONCLUSION: College or university training should be considered as a viable and beneficial option to improve employment outcomes and job quality for individuals with disabilities.
Overview of SRE Standards Planning Activities

The Software Reliability Engineering Tactical Planning Group (SRETPG) was first formed in the spring of 1994. I was appointed chair shortly afterward. There are currently about 75 members. About 80% of the members are from the US, while the remaining members are Tom 12 different countries. About 85% of the members are from industrial or government institutions while the remaining members are from academic institutions. All but a few members are in contact through electronic mail. Individuals interested in participating should contact the chair by electronic mail at “gknafl@condor.depaul.edu” in order to join the group. SRETPG members submitted statements, comments, and suggestions primarily by electronic but also by regular mail. These were used to compile the various versions of an action plan document which were then circulated to SRETPG members as a whole for review. SRETPG members are categorized as participants, reviewers, and interested others in apparent decreasing order of involvement. However, this only approximately reflects the relative contributions of individual members since individuals in each of the categories contributed substantially to sections of personal interest. All members reviewed the document as a whole, but members in contact by electronic mail had access to more drafts than those in contact by regular mail. Electronic mail is an effective means for compiling an initial version of such a plan. Most members have limited travel budgets, and so it was necessaq to limit the number of face-to-face meetings. Members sent comments either to the committee as a whole or directly to the chair. These comments were integrated by the chair into the action plan document. Periodically, versions of the document were circulated for review of recently added comments. Most comments are efficiently handled in this manner. However, some comments, for example, insightil or controversial comments, or comments by well-respected members, stimulate more discussion when
Impact of Cl− and Na+ ions on simulated structure and dynamics of βARK1 PH domain

A nonzero net charge of proteins at pH 7 is usually compensated by the addition of charge-balancing counter ions during molecular dynamics simulation, which reduces electrostatic interactions. For highly charged proteins, like the βARK1 PH domain used here, it seems reasonable to also add explicit salt ions. To assess the impact of explicit salt ions, two molecular dynamics simulations of solvated βARK1 PH domain have been carried out with different numbers of Cl− and Na+ ions, based on the Cornell et al. force field and the Ewald summation, which was used in the treatment of long-range electrostatic interactions. Initial positions of ions were obtained from the AMBER CION program. Increasing the number of ions alters the average structure in loop regions, as well as the fluctuation amplitudes of dihedral angles. We found unnaturally strong interactions between side chains in the absence of salt ions. The presence of salt ions reduces these electrostatic interactions. The time needed for the equilibration of the ionic environment around the protein, after initial placement of ions close to oppositely charged side chains, is in the nanosecond time range, which can be shortened by using a higher ionic strength. Our results also suggest selecting those methods that do not place the ions initially close to the protein surface. Proteins 1999;35:206–217. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Formation of carbonaceous mesophase at lower temperature

Abstract The effects of heat-treatment at lower temperature on the formation of carbonaceous mesophase were studied. Heat-treatments of QS pitch below 340°C and of KF asphalt below 370°C lead to the formation of mesophase spherules having a different structure from those found previously. For QS pitch, the lowest temperature of mesophase formation was 290°C but more than one month was required for heat-treatment. The structure of the fourth-type spherule is proposed from the microscopic observations and its orientational behavior in a magnetic field. The structure of this type is very similar to that of the Brooks-Taylor-type one, and it is believed that the fourth-type spherule is a meta-stable phase of the Brooks-Taylor-type one.
Seniority and Committee Transfers: Career Planning in the Contemporary House of Representatives

This paper considers whether changes in the seniority rule in the House of Representatives have influenced transfers between committees because of changes in the reward structure. The thrust of the changes in seniority is that members are no longer guaranteed the chairmanship of a committee (or subcommittee) simply because they have the longest tenure. Likewise, junior members have been able to accrue substantial power and even chairmanships. The changes in the seniority rule, then, should have produced an increased willingness to transfer to an attractive committee because the transferee would be giving up less and have the potential to gain influence and position on the new committee fairly quickly. But other changes in the House (i.e., general decentralization of power) also have had a substantial effect on career decisions. An understanding of how the seniority rule influenced career planning can come only through consideration of other changes in the House. When the entire set of factors is considere...
Increased efficiency of stool culture for the detection of Salmonella and Shigella.

Abstract The Wampole Bactigen™ Salmonella-Shigella Latex Agglutination Test (SSLA) (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, New Jersey) was evaluated as a possible substitute for blind subculture of selenite broths from stool cultures. Recovery rates of Salmonella and Shigella from eosin-methylene blue (EMB) agar were reviewed to determine if this medium could be eliminated from primary stool culture. Salmonella was detected in 17 of 822 stools by both SSLA and culture. There were 52 false-positive SSLA for Salmonella (sensitivity 100%, specificity 93%). Of three Shigella isolated on culture, one was SSLA positive, one was SSLA negative, and one was negative by both SSLA and subculture of selenite broth. There were eight false-positive SSLA for Shigella (specificity 99%). Of 50 Salmonella and 11 Shigella isolated from 6200 stools in 1.5 years, two Shigella were isolated on EMB only. The SSLA test is useful screening test for Salmonella . By eliminating unnecessary subcultures of selenite broth, it reduces turnaround time by 24 hr for negative stool cultures. The combination of primary culture with SSLA screening of enrichment broth should be adequate for the detection of Salmonella and Shigella from stool specimens. Our data suggest that EMB or other differential medium should be retained for primary culture to enhance detection of Shigella .
Parallel branch, cut, and price for large-scale discrete optimization

In discrete optimization, most exact solution approaches are based on branch and bound, which is conceptually easy to parallelize in its simplest forms. More sophisticated variants, such as the so-called branch, cut, and price algorithms, are more difficult to parallelize because of the need to share large amounts of knowledge discovered during the search process. In the first part of the paper, we survey the issues involved in parallelizing such algorithms. We then review the implementation of SYMPHONY and COIN/BCP, two existing frameworks for implementing parallel branch, cut, and price. These frameworks have limited scalability, but are effective on small numbers of processors. Finally, we briefly describe our next-generation framework, which improves scalability and further abstracts many of the notions inherent in parallel BCP, making it possible to implement and parallelize more general classes of algorithms.
Morphological and molecular comparisons of Campsis grandiflora and C. radicans ( Bignoniaceae ), an eastern Asian and eastern North American vicariad species pair

Morphological and molecular comparisons were made forCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.)K. Schumann (Bignoniaceae) from eastern Asia andC. radicans (L.)Seemann from eastern North America. Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation was surveyed with 20 restriction endonucleases. The cpDNA divergence between the two vicariad species was 2.44%, which is the highest reported among North Temperate disjunct taxa and one of the highest reported for infrageneric taxa. Detailed morphological comparisons also suggest a high level of divergence. Cluster analyses based on 22 morphological characters and 39 OTUs revealed two distinct groups corresponding with the two species. The average taxonomic distance between the two species was 1.806. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed that 12 of the 18 quantitative characters differed significantly (α ⩽ 0.01) betweenC. grandiflora andC. radicans. Divergence time based on cpDNA data was estimated as 24.4 million years. The Bering land bridge hypothesis was favored over the North Atlantic land bridge hypothesis based on the estimated divergence time and the geological history of the North Temperate region. The high levels of morphological and cpDNA divergence are not consistent with morphological stasis, which has been proposed as a common mode of evolution for North Temperate disjunct taxa.
Mechanically Fastened FRP Strengthening of Large Scale RC Bridge T Beams

A new method has been developed for strengthening reinforced concrete beams for flexure which uses multiple mechanical fasteners to attach a fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) strip to the member. This study investigates the behavior of the method on full scale concrete T beams of three different steel reinforcement levels. The beams were strengthened without surface preparation, and the strips were attached with only four man-hours of labor per beam. The strengthened beams resulted in increases of up to 11.7 % in the yield moment and up to 27.2 % in the moment capacity at a deflection of L/135. The beams exhibited large amounts of ductility, before failure.
Psychosocial Components of Asthma Management in Children

Asthma is a growing health problem that affects 4.8 million children in the US alone. This paper considers empirical studies from the past 20 years examining the relationship between psychosocial factors and asthma management and morbidity. Research indicates that psychosocial factors, including risk and protective factors in the social environment, and knowledge, attitudes and skills pertaining to asthma management, can play an important role in asthma management, adherence and morbidity. Caregiver and child mental health problems have been linked to increased asthma symptoms and poorer functional status. Family functioning, chronic stresses and social support have also been identified as potential risks and/or protective factors in the social environment. Of the asthma self-management skills, practical problem-solving skills have received increasing attention as an important, and potentially modifiable, psychosocial component. Families may also fail to adhere to medical recommendations because of concerns regarding their utility. Results from a recent individualised asthma intervention protocol provide a strategy for successfully addressing both environmental risk factors and asthma self-management skills to reduce asthma morbidity. Recommendations for healthcare providers include: (i) screening families for psychosocial risk and protective factors on an ongoing basis, including mental health concerns; (ii) engaging family members in dialogue to identify potential areas of confusion or disagreement with the treatment plan; and (iii) including non-medical specialists such as health educators and mental health practitioners as part of the treatment team.
Effects of rhenium addition on the temporal evolution of the nanostructure and chemistry of a model Ni–Cr–Al superalloy. II: Analysis of the coarsening behavior

Abstract The temporal evolution of the nanostructure and chemistry of a model Ni–8.5 at.% Cr–10 at.% Al alloy with the addition of 2 at.% Re was studied using transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography in order to measure the number density and mean radius of the γ ′ (L1 2 ) precipitates and the chemistry of the γ ′-precipitates and the γ (fcc)-matrix. In this article, the coarsening behavior of the γ ′-precipitates is discussed in detail and compared with the Umantsev–Olson model for multi-component alloys. In addition, the experimental results are evaluated with PrecipiCalc™ simulations. The results show that the diffusivities of the solute elements play a major role in the coarsening behavior of the γ ′-precipitates and that the addition of Re retards the coarsening kinetics and stabilizes the spheroidal morphology of the precipitates by reducing the interfacial energy.
Early morning insomnia with rapidly eliminated benzodiazepines

Early morning insomnia, a significant increase in wakefulness during the final hours of drug nights, occurred after 1 or 2 weeks of nightly administration of benzodiazepine hypnotics with short elimination half-lives, when tolerance had begun to develop. Early morning insomnia may be a variant of rebound insomnia and therefore specific to benzodiazepines, or it may occur with any rapidly eliminated sedative-hypnotic agent.
Examination of North American softwood lumber species substitution using discrete choice preferences and disaggregated end-use markets

Over the past 20 years, four significant and contentious softwood lumber trade disputes have taken place between the United States and Canada. The US International Trade Commission (USITC), relying...
Scalable tuning of building models to hourly data

Energy models of existing buildings are unreliable unless calibrated so that they correlate well with actual energy usage. Manual tuning requires a skilled professional and is prohibitively expensive for small projects, imperfect, non-repeatable, and not scalable to the dozens of sensor channels that smart meters, smart appliances, and sensors are making available. A scalable, automated methodology is needed to quickly, intelligently calibrate building energy models to all available data, increase the usefulness of those models, and facilitate speed-and-scale penetration of simulation-based capabilities into the marketplace for actualized energy savings. The “Autotune” project is a novel, model-agnostic methodology that leverages supercomputing, large simulation ensembles, and big data mining with multiple machine learning algorithms to allow automatic calibration of simulations that match measured experimental data in a way that is deployable on commodity hardware. This paper shares several methodologies employed to reduce the combinatorial complexity to a computationally tractable search problem for hundreds of input parameters. Accuracy metrics are provided that quantify model error to measured data for either monthly or hourly electrical usage from a highly instrumented, emulated-occupancy research home.
In vivo quantitative relationship between plastid division proteins FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 and identification of ARC6 and ARC3 in a native FtsZ complex

FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 are phylogenetically distinct homologues of the tubulin-like bacterial cell division protein FtsZ that play major roles in the initiation and progression of plastid division in plant cells. Both proteins are components of a mid-plastid ring, the Z-ring, which functions as a contractile ring on the stromal surface of the chloroplast IEM (inner envelope membrane). FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 have been shown to interact, but their in vivo biochemical properties are largely unknown. To gain insight into the in vivo biochemical relationship between FtsZ1 and FtsZ2, in the present study we investigated their molecular levels in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana plants and endogenous interactions in Arabidopsis and pea. Quantitative immunoblotting and morphometric analysis showed that the average total FtsZ concentration in chloroplasts of 3-week-old Arabidopsis plants is comparable with that in Escherichia coli. FtsZ levels declined as plants matured, but the molar ratio between FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 remained constant at approx. 1:2, suggesting that this stoichiometry is regulated and functionally important. Density-gradient centrifugation, native gel electrophoresis, gel filtration and co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed that a portion of the FtsZ1 and FtsZ2 in Arabidopsis and pea chloroplasts is stably associated in a complex of approximately 200-245 kDa. This complex also contains the FtsZ2-interacting protein ARC6 (accumulation and replicatioin of chloroplasts 6), an IEM protein, and analysis of density-gradient fractions suggests the presence of the FtsZ1-interacting protein ARC3. Based on the mid-plastid localization of ARC6 and ARC3 and their postulated roles in promoting and inhibiting chloroplast FtsZ polymer formation respectively, we hypothesize that the FtsZ1-FtsZ2-ARC3-ARC6 complex represents an unpolymerized IEM-associated pool of FtsZ that contributes to the dynamic regulation of Z-ring assembly and remodelling at the plastid division site in vivo.
Surgical vs. percutaneous atrial septal defect closure: Remote effects on left ventricular diastolic function

Abstract While surgical closure used to be the only treatment for atrial septal defects (ASD), recently, placement of an occluding device has become the treatment of choice for this condition. We sought to study the remote effects of surgical vs. device ASD closure on the indices of left ventricular diastolic function. Forty patients – 16 after device and 19 after surgical closure – were evaluated at least 1 year after the procedure. Mitral inflow and tissue Doppler indices were studied. The results were compared to those of 65 control subjects. The early mitral inflow velocities E were higher in controls and E/A ratios were different among all 3 groups. Late diastolic A′ TDI velocities were higher in both device and surgical group patients and more different from the controls in surgical than in device group. It appears that surgical ASD closure alters left ventricular diastolic indices more significantly than device ASD closure.
Rapid oxidation of InP nanoparticles in air

Abstract InP nanoparticles (NPs) in the size range of 1.5–3 nm were synthesized using colloidal chemistry methods. Exposure of these NPs to air resulted in rapid oxidation, as shown by transmission electron microscopy. Diffraction and spectroscopic measurements confirmed the formation of In2O3. Similar behavior was observed for commercial InP NPs, even when capped with a ZnS shell. Photoluminescence studies suggest that the oxidation occurs even while InP NPs are still dispersed in hexane, albeit at a much slower rate.