cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A unified method to process biosolids samples for the recovery of bacterial, viral, and helminths pathogens

For land application, biosolids are classified as Class A or Class B based on the levels of bacterial, viral, and helminths pathogens in residual biosolids. The current EPA methods for the detection of these groups of pathogens in biosolids include discrete steps. Therefore, a separate sample is processed independently to quantify the number of each group of the pathogens in biosolids. The aim of the study was to develop a unified method for simultaneous processing of a single biosolids sample to recover bacterial, viral, and helminths pathogens. At the first stage for developing a simultaneous method, nine eluents were compared for their efficiency to recover viruses from a 100 gm spiked biosolids sample. In the second stage, the three top performing eluents were thoroughly evaluated for the recovery of bacteria, viruses, and helminthes. For all three groups of pathogens, the glycine-based eluent provided higher recovery than the beef extract-based eluent. Additional experiments were performed to optimiz...
Variation in spatial and temporal incidence of the crustacean pathogen Hematodinium perezi in environmental samples from Atlantic Coastal Bays

Background Hematodinium perezi, a parasitic dinoflagellate, infects and kills blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. The parasite proliferates within host hemolymph and tissues, and also produces free-swimming biflagellated dinospores that emerge from infected crabs. Infections in C. sapidus recur annually, and it is not known if biotic or environmental reservoirs contribute to reinfection and outbreaks. To address this data gap, a quantitative PCR assay based on the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of H. perezi rRNA genes was developed to asses the temporal and spatial incidence of the parasite in Delaware and Maryland coastal bays.
Women's experiences, emotional responses, and perceptions of care after emergency peripartum hysterectomy: a qualitative survey of women from 6 months to 3 years postpartum.

Background: Little is known of the experience and perceptions of care for survivors of emergency peripartum hysterectomy (EPH), an obstetric event that is increasing in incidence. We sought to explore women's experiences of EPH to make recommendations for care. Methods: This qualitative study utilized purposive sampling through an online support group of women who experienced EPH. Eligible participants were at least 18 years old, had their hysterectomy at least 6 months but no more than 3 years before the interview, had a surviving infant associated with the delivery, and did not report suicidal ideation. In- depth, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted and analyzed using Constant Comparative Analysis. Kappa statistics assessed interrater reliability for two independent coders. Results: Fifteen women participated with a mean age of 32.5 years. Most had a cesarean section, with uterine atony as the most common indication for EPH. Kappa statistics indicated near-perfect interrater agreement between two coders, ranging from .82 to .89. Seven major themes were identified: fear; pain; death and dying; numbness or delay in emotional reaction; bonding with baby; communication; and the need for information. Psychological upset occurred postpartum and was often delayed. A major finding is the need for additional follow-up visits to address the emotional after-effects and to fill in gaps in women's understanding and memory of what had occurred. Conclusion: Understanding women's experiences with EPH can help practitioners address not only women's initial complications but provide needed long-term support. (BIRTH 40:4 December 2013)
Transcriptional Map of Respiratory Versatility in the Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum

Hyperthermophilic crenarchaea in the genus Pyrobaculum are notable for respiratory versatility, but relatively little is known about the genetics or regulation of crenarchaeal respiratory pathways. We measured global gene expression in Pyrobaculum aerophilum cultured with oxygen, nitrate, arsenate and ferric iron as terminal electron acceptors to identify transcriptional patterns that differentiate these pathways. We also compared genome sequences for four closely related species with diverse respiratory characteristics (Pyrobaculum arsenaticum, Pyrobaculum calidifontis, Pyrobaculum islandicum, and Thermoproteus neutrophilus) to identify genes associated with different respiratory capabilities. Specific patterns of gene expression in P. aerophilum were associated with aerobic respiration, nitrate respiration, arsenate respiration, and anoxia. Functional predictions based on these patterns include separate cytochrome oxidases for aerobic growth and oxygen scavenging, a nitric oxide-responsive transcriptional regulator, a multicopper oxidase involved in denitrification, and an archaeal arsenate respiratory reductase. We were unable to identify specific genes for iron respiration, but P. aerophilum exhibited repressive transcriptional responses to iron remarkably similar to those controlled by the ferric uptake regulator in bacteria. Together, these analyses present a genome-scale view of crenarchaeal respiratory flexibility and support a large number of functional and regulatory predictions for further investigation. The complete gene expression data set can be viewed in genomic context with the Archaeal Genome Browser at archaea.ucsc.edu.
Pocked erythrocyte counts in patients with hereditary spherocytosis before and after splenectomy

The pocked (pitted or vacuolated) erythrocyte count has become increasingly utilized as a simple inexpensive test of splenic reticuloendothelial function. Values are less than 2.0% in normal subjects and 20 to 70% following splenectomy. Because scant and conflicting data are available about pocked erythrocyte measurements in hemolytic anemias other than the hemoglobinopathies, we performed pocked erythrocyte counts in 27 patients with hereditary spherocytosis. Prior to splenectomy patients often had elevated values (mean 4.9%). This unexpected observation suggests that hemolytic anemia may result in congestion of the red pulp and/or induced mild splenic reticuloendothelial blockade. As expected, but contrary to a previous report, pocked erythrocyte values following splenectomy were markedly increased (mean 54.9%).
On the Resistance to the Rotation of a Disc Immersed in a Fluid

The motion of a fluid due to the rotation of an immersed plane disc about an axis perpendicular to itself is turbulent if ωa 2/ν is greater than about 105, where ω is the angular velocity of the disc, a its radius, and ν the kinematic viscosity of the fluid. The torque opposing the rotation, due to the surface friction of the fluid, was calculated originally by Karman, both when the motion of the fluid is steady and when it is turbulent.
Some Reflections on the United States

In retrospect, I think that the fate that befell the social indicators ‘movement's rich array of economic statistics and related measures were simply inadequate indicators of emerging developments and issues under prevailing conditions of rapid social change and severe social strains. The felt need was for more adequate monitoring and reporting of social conditions and processes – implying a need to develop improved measures of these phenomena, together with expanded data collection capabilities. Thus the dual goals of the social indicators movement were apparent from the start: to establish an improved social reporting capability as soon as possible, and to encourage longer-term research and development in the general area of social, measurement and model-building. It may be helpful, therefore, to consider the outcome of these two efforts separately.
OROPHARYNGEAL ASPIRATION OF A SILICA SUSPENSION PRODUCES A SUPERIOR MODEL OF SILICOSIS IN THE MOUSE WHEN COMPARED TO INTRATRACHEAL INSTILLATION

Instillation of crystalline silica into the lungs of mice is a common experimental model of pulmonary fibrosis. Typically, a suspension of silica in saline is injected into the trachea via intubation or surgical tracheostomy. These techniques require a high degree of technical skill, have a lengthy training period, and can suffer from a high failure rate. In oropharyngeal aspiration, a droplet of liquid is placed in the animal's mouth while simultaneously holding its tongue (to block the swallow reflex) and pinching its nose shut, forcing it to breathe through its mouth, aspirating the liquid. To determine whether oropharyngeal aspiration (OA) could replace intratracheal instillation (IT) in a model of silica-induced fibrosis, a comparison was performed. Crystalline silica was introduced into the lungs of male C57BL/6 mice by the IT or OA procedure, and the resulting inflammation and fibrosis was assessed after 3 weeks. IT and OA instillation of silica both resulted in neutrophilic inflammation and fibrotic changes, including interstitial fibrosis and dense fibrotic foci. Mice treated via IT demonstrated a few large lesions proximal to conducting airways with little involvement of the distal parenchyma and large interanimal variability. In contrast, OA resulted in a diffuse pathology with numerous fibrotic foci distributed throughout the lung parenchyma, which is more representative of human fibrotic lung disease. OA- but not IT-treated mice exhibited significantly increased lung collagen content. Furthermore, the interanimal variability within the OA group was significantly less than in the IT group. Oropharyngeal aspiration should be considered as an alternative to intratracheal instillation of silica and other particulates in studies of respiratory toxicity and lung disease.
The effect of age and of heat on the ferment in cascara sagrada.

The hydrolytic agent in Cascara sagrada has been isolated and a method of analysis for the hydrolytic agent in different lots of Cascara sagrada has been worked out and evaluated. The agent has been isolated as an impure residue which is a black, shiny, glass‐like, sticky substance with a melting point of about 220°.
A scalable parallel formulation of the backpropagation algorithm for hypercubes and related architectures

We present a new technique for mapping the backpropagation algorithm on hypercube and related architectures. A key component of this technique is a network partitioning scheme called checkerboarding. Checkerboarding allows us to replace the all-to-all broadcast operation performed by the commonly used vertical network partitioning scheme, with operations that are much faster on the hypercubes and related architectures. Checkerboarding can be combined with the pattern partitioning technique to form a hybrid scheme that performs better than either one of these schemes. Theoretical analysis and experimental results on nCUBE and CM5 show that our scheme performs better than the other schemes, for both uniform and nonuniform networks. >
Modeling of indoor positioning systems based on location fingerprinting

In previous years, positioning systems for indoor areas using the existing wireless local area network infrastructure have been suggested. Such systems make use of location fingerprinting rather than time or direction of arrival techniques for determining the location of mobile stations. While experimental results related to such positioning systems have been presented, there is a lack of analytical models that can be used as a framework for designing and deploying the positioning systems. In this paper, we present an analytical model for analyzing such positioning systems. We develop the framework for analyzing a simple positioning system that employs the Euclidean distance between a sample signal vector and the location fingerprints of an area stored in a database. We analyze the effect of the number of access points that are visible and radio propagation parameters on the performance of the positioning system and provide some preliminary guidelines on its design.
Antisense Oligonucleotide Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Gene Expression in Livers of Mice Infected with an HCV-Vaccinia Virus Recombinant

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of non-A, non-B hepatitis worldwide. Current treatments are not curative for most infected individuals, and there is an urgent need for both novel therapeutic agents and small-animal models which can be used to evaluate candidate drugs. A small-animal model of HCV gene expression was developed with recombinant vaccinia virus vectors. VHCV-IRES (internal ribosome entry site) is a recombinant vaccinia viral vector containing the HCV 5′ nontranslated region (5′-NTR) and a portion of the HCV core coding region fused to the firefly luciferase gene. Intraperitoneal injection of VHCV-IRES produced high levels of luciferase activity in the livers of BALB/c mice. Antisense oligonucleotides complementary to the HCV 5′-NTR and translation initiation codon regions were then evaluated for their effects on the expression of these target HCV sequences in BALB/c mice infected with the vaccinia virus vector. Treatment of VHCV-IRES-infected mice with 20-base phosphorothioate oligonucleotides complementary to the sequence surrounding the HCV initiation codon (nucleotides 330 to 349) specifically reduced luciferase expression in the livers in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition of HCV reporter gene expression in this small-animal model suggests that antisense oligonucleotides may provide a novel therapy for treatment of chronic HCV infection.
Judges, Expertise, and Analogy

Political scientists have shown that one can anticipate how a judge will decide a case more often than chance, or a reading of the facts, might allow by using various predictors such as party affiliation, gender, or the judge’s own decisions on earlier similar cases. The simplest explanation for such behavior is that judges first decide what they want the outcome of the case to be, then go back to find the precedents that justify their opinions. This chapter considers a more nuanced version of the process: judges may choose relevant case analogies as better or worse, applicable or inapplicable, not because of any particular desired outcome but because of their own pre-existing knowledge. The influence of such knowledge on the decision process may be entirely unconscious; therefore, judges may, in fact, be following the idealized decision-making process to the letter, and be unmotivated toward finding a particular result, yet may usually still reach the predicted result.
Database Fusion Using Atom

This paper describes a database fusion infrastructure that produces a local database consisting of aggregated information that is selected from multiple remote databases and is transformed into a common table format and data representation in the local database. The database fusion infrastructure provides reliable data distribution (RDD), consistent data replication (CDR), and database aggregation (DBA) and is based on the atom syndication technology. RDD ensures that the publisher knows that a consumer has received the data intended for it and, thus, that the publisher can garbage collect the data. CDR uses RDD to provide data replication from a source database to a target database for the purposes of security, high availability and fast local access. DBA uses CDR to aggregate information from remote database sources, possibly deployed on different computing platforms in different enterprises, using different databases from different vendors, different database schemas and different communication protocols.
Celebrating the Future of Chicano Psychology: Lessons from the Recent National Conference:

There have been five significant gatherings of psychologists interested in Chicano psychology. The authors summarize the events surrounding the first four meetings on Chicano psychology to provide ...
Statistical Education for Engineers: An Initial Task Force Report

Abstract A three-day working conference to develop recommendations for the statistical education of engineers took place at the University of Iowa in July 1984. Although other areas, such as business, chemistry, and biology, are also important to improving the products of industry, we restricted our consideration to engineering. This report of the findings addresses the following questions: Who are the customers? What are their statistical needs? What types of courses, given by the industry for practicing engineers (called inhouse courses in this report), are desirable? How do we approach statistical education for engineering management? What types of resources are desirable for instructional purposes? What is the best first course in statistics for engineering students? How can we convince the engineering profession that statistical ideas and methods can help improve quality and productivity in American industry and thus its competitive position in the international market?
The Ultimate Irrelevance Proposition in Finance

I survey 457 published papers in top Finance journals across two decades to assess whether they misuse tests of significance. Over 80% of published studies are diligent about distinguishing between statistical and economic significance and about quantifying and interpreting the economic magnitudes of the statistical relationships they measure. Yet, only 10% of them acknowledge limits to the power of their tests and fewer still do anything about them. Recent demographic trends in publishing such as larger co-author teams, the increased participation by non-North American scholars, by women and by those outside the top Finance departments are not associated with these outcomes.
The Adapt2 on-line diagnosis algorithm for general topology networks

As dependence on wide area and other point-to-point networks increases, the need for diagnosis of the distributed resources becomes critical. Continuous online distributed diagnosis at the system-level provides a desirable solution. The Adapt2 algorithm, which performs online adaptive distributed diagnosis in arbitrary networks in the presence of node and link failures, is described. The algorithm is shown to have better execution bounds and lower overhead than previous methods. Key results include worst-case performance bounds. >
JOVE research impact on undergraduate education: a case study

This paper documents the impact of a research program on a particular department in a particular institution. It presents a case study of the effects of a single professor's three-year research effort as a participant in the NASA JOVE program, which is a research "tutorial" program intended to introduce faculty from nonresearch institutions to the research process. It describes the outcomes (which were overwhelmingly positive) from three perspectives: industrial; departmental/university; and personal. It is hoped that the reader can appreciate the range of benefits which is possible if research is performed with strong student participation and mandated outreach programs.
Management of ophthalmic complications of facial nerve palsy.

The management of the ophthalmic complications of facial nerve palsies is described in six stages. These stages include supportive care (with and without tarsorrhapy), planning for facial reanimation, lower eyelid and lateral canthal resuspension, passive upper eyelid reanimation, dynamic eyelid reanimation, and soft tissue repositioning. Each stage should be considered in order, although action in each stage may not be appropriate for all patients. This staged approach provides the surgeon with a method of organizing his or her therapy and offers the patient a set of reassuring goals.
Human endogenous retrovirus-K contributes to motor neuron disease

The role of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in disease pathogenesis is unclear. We show that HERV-K is activated in a subpopulation of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and that its envelope (env) protein may contribute to neurodegeneration. The virus was expressed in cortical and spinal neurons of ALS patients, but not in neurons from control healthy individuals. Expression of HERV-K or its env protein in human neurons caused retraction and beading of neurites. Transgenic animals expressing the env gene developed progressive motor dysfunction accompanied by selective loss of volume of the motor cortex, decreased synaptic activity in pyramidal neurons, dendritic spine abnormalities, nucleolar dysfunction, and DNA damage. Injury to anterior horn cells in the spinal cord was manifested by muscle atrophy and pathological changes consistent with nerve fiber denervation and reinnervation. Expression of HERV-K was regulated by TAR (trans-activation responsive) DNA binding protein 43, which binds to the long terminal repeat region of the virus. Thus, HERV-K expression within neurons of patients with ALS may contribute to neurodegeneration and disease pathogenesis.
Role of chaperone-mediated autophagy in metabolism

Different types of autophagy coexist in most mammalian cells, and each of them fulfills very specific tasks in intracellular degradation. Some of these autophagic pathways contribute to cellular metabolism by directly hydrolyzing intracellular lipid stores and glycogen. Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), in contrast, is a selective form of autophagy that can only target proteins for lysosomal degradation. Consequently, it was expected that the only possible contribution of this pathway to cellular metabolism would be by providing free amino acids resulting from protein breakdown. However, recent studies have demonstrated that disturbance in CMA leads to important alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism and in overall organism energetics. Here, we describe the unique mechanisms by which CMA contributes to the regulation of cellular metabolism and discuss the possible implications of these previously unknown functions of CMA for the pathogenesis of common metabolic diseases.
Development and application of planar computational general-purpose constrained multibody simulations in Matlab with simple graphical/visualization capability

This study demonstrates the implementation and advantages in utilizing the Matlab programming environment for general-purpose simulations of constrained planar dynamic and kinematic multibody mechanical systems. Many currently available tools have a focus and can have limited flexibility through difficulty in data entry, limited access to source code, analysis of data or use of programming languages not readily taught. A Matlab source code is created, which includes the use of Microsoft Excel and GUI’s created in GUIDE that allow a user to construct, simulate and analyze multibody systems in Matlab. This technique allows the user to utilize any of Matlab toolboxes for unique problems or integrate the base program into a Simulink environment. An overview of the general code structure and multibody kinematics and dynamics equations used are shown in this paper. For kinematic simulations, the system’s Cartesian coordinates are found by finding the roots of the constraints vector at each time step. For the dynamic systems, the solver uses a numerical integration scheme with augmented form of the constrained equations of motion to solve for the system’s accelerations. Examples are presented demonstrating the benefits of using the Matlab environment and the flexibility to easily expand the code to simulate unique problems. These examples include an Ackermann steering for automotive applications and a double pendulum at the influence of gravity. The last example shows how a custom function can be created to inject forces into the dynamic solver in order to simulate a structural beam at the influence of a heavy pendulum.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Temperature and activator effect on early-age reaction kinetics of alkali-activated slag binders

Abstract The early-age reaction kinetics of alkali-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) binders as determined by in-situ isothermal calorimetry are discussed in this paper. Particular attention is paid to the effects of activator type (sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate) and concentration, as well as curing temperature (23 °C and 50 °C). The mechanical strength development, microstructure, and product phase composition are also discussed to provide context for the phenomena observed in the kinetics results. It is shown for both activators that elevated temperature curing greatly accelerates hydration, resulting in more rapid product formation and strength development. High-molarity sodium hydroxide activators are shown to accelerate early hydration at ambient temperature, but tend to present a barrier to advanced hydration thereby limiting the later-age strength. Elevated temperature curing is shown to remove this barrier to advanced hydration by improving solubility and diffusivity. Hydration of sodium silicate-activated slag is comparatively slow, resulting in the delayed formation of very dense products with higher mechanical strength. Increasing sodium oxide tends to accelerate hydration, resulting in improved early- and later-age strength, while increasing the silica tends to retard the reaction, resulting in slower, more complete hydration as well as improved mechanical strength.
Ethical Challenges and Legal Issues for Mental Health Professionals Working With Family Caregivers of Individuals With Serious Mental Illness

Mental health professionals frequently work with family caregivers in the provision of psychotherapy services to individuals with serious mental illness. To address the need for ethical guidelines for working with family caregivers, an analysis of relevant ethical and legal issues is provided within the context of dynamic mental health care and legal systems. When working with family caregivers, practitioners utilize the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Code (2010), legal codes, and a complex decision-making plan; identify and communicate ethical obligations to family caregivers; consider the unmet needs of this population; avoid harm resulting from multiple relationships; and balance ethical duties of beneficence and respect for autonomy.
Sensitivity and Performance of Azole Based Energetic Materials

Imidazole, pyrazole, 1,2,3-triazole-, 1,2,4-triazole-, and tetrazole-based energetic materials are theoretically investigated by employing density functional theory (DFT). Heats of formation (ΔfH(0)'s) for the studied compounds (298 K) in the gas phase are determined at the B3P86/6-311G (d, p) theory level through isodesmic reactions. The bond dissociation energies (BDEs) corresponding to NO2, NH2, CH3, and Cl removal from carbon or nitrogen positions of the azole ring are also calculated at the B3P86/6-311G (d, p) theory level. The substituent effect of electron-withdrawing (NO2, Cl) and electron-donating (NH2, CH3) groups on the ΔfH(0)s and BDEs is discussed. Both electron-withdrawing groups and electron-donating groups (except the CH3 group) dramatically increase the ΔfH(0)s of these energetic materials when the substituent is at an N position on the azole ring. For substitution at a C atom on the azole ring, electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups have different effects on the ΔfH(0)s for different azole compounds. A correlation is developed for this series of energetics between impact sensitivity h50% and the defined sensitivity index (SI): based on this empirical relationship and its extrapolation, the impact sensitivities of compounds for which experiments are not available are provided. The promising energetic compounds in each groups, which have potentially good energetic performance and low sensitivity, are 1-amino-2,4,5-trinitroimidazole, 1-amino-3,4,5-trinitropyrazole, 1,4-dinitro-1,2,3-triazole, 1,3-dinitro-1,2,4-triazole, and 1-nitrotetrazole.
Effect of 5-dydroxyindolylacetic acid in the colorimetric determination of urinary vanilmandelic acid.

patients with the carcinoid syndrome. 9 • u These levels are usually only slightly or moderately elevated, in contrast with the higher levels found in patients with pheo­ chromocytoma or neuroblastoma. No satis­ factory explanation has been offered for the increased VMA excretion in patients with carcinoid syndrome. Recent studies have shown that flushing in such patients is medi­ ated by kinin peptides, which can be released by the action of catecholamines. 7 The purpose of this communication is to present a case report of a patient with carcinoid syndrome and apparent elevation of urinary VMA and to describe studies which show that this elevation was due to the effect of 5-hydroxyindolylacetic acid (5-HIAA) present in the urine in the VMA assay.
Dynamics of Droplet Impact on Hydrophobic/Icephobic Concrete with the Potential for Superhydrophobicity

The ability of superhydrophobic surfaces to resist wetting and repel impinging water droplets is not less important for practical applications than the contact angle and contact angle hysteresis. Here we study novel hydrophobic concrete (with the potential for superhydrophobicity) and its ability to repel incoming droplets (e.g., rain). It is found that the onset of the pinning mode can be delayed by changing the surface topography. Also, the pinning or breakup of droplets of higher velocities depends on the incoming angle. Hydrophobic concrete with better pinning resistance showed less tendency for ice accretion.
Effects of cell density on in vitro glucose metabolism by isolated adipocytes

We studied the effect of variable isolated fat cell concentrations (from 0.17 to 1.25 x 10(6) cells/ml) on rate and pattern of basal and insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism by rat epididymal fat cells. Cell concentration did not affect total glucose utilization, but high cell concentrations increased the absolute and relative conversion of glucose to CO2 and glyceride-fatty acids by two- to threefold and decreased the conversion to lactate, pyruvate, and glyceride-glycerol when compared with values observed at low cell concentration. When effects of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and N-6(2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine (PIA) were examined, addition of ADA to incubated cells produced no significant changes in the rate or pattern of adipocyte glucose metabolism; PIA had a slight and uniform effect on the conversion of glucose to its metabolic products and minimal effect on insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism. Medium free fatty acid concentration did not change during the incubation at various cell density, but intracellular free fatty acids were found to be inversely related to fat cell density in the medium. Thus a variable fat cell density influences the pattern of adipocyte glucose metabolism in vitro. This effect may be due to variable rates of lipolysis and resulting changes in intracellular fatty acid concentration rather than to adenosine per se. This work has practical implications in the need to define cell density when carrying out in vitro measurements of adipocyte glucose conversion to products.
Observation on The Effectiveness of Different Ovarian Stimulation Methods in Hypovaria Patients

Objective To compare the effects of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist(GnRH-a)and gonadotropin releasing hormone inhibitor(GnRH-A)on the ovarian stimulation outcome and clinical pregnancy in hypovaria patients,and to provide theoretic foundations for optimizing method for ovarian stimulation.Methods Eighty eligible patients were selected and randomly divided into observation group and control group,40patients each;the observation group used GnRH-A,while the control group used GnRH-a,and the therapeutic effects of the two groups were compared.Results The differences in serum estradiol(E2),luteinizing hormone(LH)and progesterone(P)levels between the patients of the two groups were statistically insignificant(P0.05);but the medication duration and drug consumption of the patients of the control group were significantly more than those of the observation group,and the differences were statistically significant(P0.05).The clinical pregnancy rate of the patients of the observation group was higher than that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P0.05);the taken egg number and fertilized egg number of the patients in the control group were Cower than those of the observation group,and the differences were statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion GnRH-A can increase the clinical pregnancy rate of the patients,and is a good ovarian stimulation method for hypovaria patients.
Effect of heart-lung bypass on the mechanics of breathing in man

Summary Dynamic compliance of the lung-thorax system was measured during artificial ventilation in anesthetized paralyzed patients undergoing correction of acquired valvular heart disease. Heart-lung bypass was carried out through a median sternotomy with the pleural spaces bilaterally remaining intact throughout the procedure. During total heart-lung bypass, which averaged 2½ hours, the lungs were statically inflated with 100 per cent oxygen at 10 cm. water pressure. The value of arterial oxygen tension during 99 per cent oxygen breathing was used to assess the magnitude of atelectasis. No significant differences in compliance or atelectasis were found before and after bypass.
Use of social media across the trip experience: An application of latent transition analysis

ABSTRACTRecent advanced technologies have enabled travelers to communicate, interact, and form relationships with destinations, businesses, and other travelers through social media. However, the nature/patterns of use of social media by travelers varies substantially between travelers and across the trip experience (e.g. pre-, during, and post-trip); consequently, travelers develop their own idiosyncratic strategies (i.e. media repertoires) for information searching, communicating, and storing memories. There are four distinct and dominant repertoires of social media use across the three stages of the trip experience. As such, the findings clearly indicate that destination marketers should target the respective groups very differently.
Continuum of Collaboration: Little Steps for Little Feet.

This mini-article outlines a continuum of collaboration for faculty within a department of the same discipline. The goal of illustrating this continuum is showcase different stages of collaboration...
Cavitating Propeller Experiment (CAPREX III): Measurement and Prediction of Tunnel Pressures

This paper first describes Phase II of the CAvitating PRopeller EXperiment (CAPREX) performed at MIT's variable pressure water tunnel. The three components of the screen-generated nominal wake inflow were measured using an LDV system. The unsteady pressure field on the upper tunnel wall for the first three blade harmonics was also measured in a 5 x 5 grid above the propeller tip, for various propeller cavitation conditions from fully wetted to supercavitating. Then, a recently developed numerical method which models the flow of a cavitating propeller inside a tunnel is used for the calculation of the pressures on the tunnel walls. The effects of a time-varying blade cavity source and of the flexibility of the tunnel walls are included in the calculation. Lastly, the amplitudes of the first blade harmonics of the predicted pressures are compared directly with those measured in the experiment.
Washington on the Brazos: Cradle of the Texas Republic. Fred Rider Cotten Popular History Series. By Richard B. McCaslin.

Washington on the Brazos: Cradle of the Texas Republic. Fred Rider Cotten Popular History Series. By Richard B. McCaslin. (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2016. viii + 171 pp. Illustrations, map, appendix, notes, index. $15.95, paper.) The settlement which became Washington-on-the-Brazos was established by one of Stephen F. Austin’s earliest Texas colonists—Andrew Robinson—as a ferry crossing and “house of Entertainment,” where the camino real crossed the iconic river along the old route from San Antonio to the eastern Spanish outpost of Nacogdoches (p. 4). Thus was formed the nucleus of the municipality which was legally organized under Mexican law in spring 1835. Mexican law in Texas, however, lasted only until autumn, when the conflict that became known as the Texas Revolution … jecrisp{at}ncsu.edu
A Scalable Solution for Interactive Near Video-on-Demand Systems

The required real-time and high-rate transfer of multimedia data limits the numbers of requests that can be concurrently serviced by video-on-demand (VOD) systems. Resource-sharing techniques can be used to address this scalability challenge, but they greatly complicate the efficient support for interactive operations. We develop an overall solution for interactive near VOD systems that employ resource sharing. The proposed solution supports user interactions with short response times and low rejection probabilities. The solution includes a novel stream provisioning policy, which dynamically determines the best number of I-Streams (unicast streams for supporting interactive requests) and the maximum I-Stream length that can be allocated by the server. Furthermore, we use a sophisticated client-side cache management policy to maximize the percentage of interactive requests serviced from the client’s own cache. We study the system using realistic workload through extensive simulation.
Conservation payments in a social context: determinants of tolerance and behavioural intentions towards wild cats in northern Belize

Carnivores are valued by conservationists globally but protecting them can impose direct costs on rural, livestock-dependent communities. Financial incentives are increasingly used with the goal of increasing people's tolerance of predators, but the definition of tolerance has been vague and inconsistent. Empirical correlations between attitudinal and behavioural measures of tolerance imply that attitudes may be a valid proxy for behaviours. However, theoretical differences between the concepts suggest that attitudinal tolerance and behavioural intention to kill cats would have different underlying determinants. We surveyed 112 residents within a forest–farm mosaic in northern Belize inhabited by jaguars Panthera onca and four other species of wild cats. A conservation payment programme pays local landowners when camera traps record cat presence on their land. Results indicated that tolerance was associated with gender and participation in the camera-trapping programme, whereas intention to kill cats was associated with cultural group (Mennonites vs Mestizos), presence of children in the home and, to a lesser extent, tolerance. Neither dependent variable was significantly related to depredation losses or economic factors. Results suggest that monetary payments alone are unlikely to affect attitudes and behaviours towards carnivores. Payment programmes may be enhanced by accentuating non-monetary incentives, leveraging social norms and targeting specific groups with information about risks and benefits associated with carnivores. By empirically separating two concepts commonly conflated as ‘tolerance’ we clarify understanding of how social forces interact with financial incentives to shape people's relationships with predators.
A mathematical model of ultradian sleep-wake regulation in rodents

Rodent models are widely used for the experimental analysis of sleep. While this is motivated by similarities in brain circuitry and electrophysiological rhythms, unlike the circadian sleep-wake cycle in humans, rodent sleep is polyphasic, containing multiple bouts of sleep and wake minutes to hours in duration over the course of a day. Each sleep bout is punctuated by several brief arousals several seconds to minutes long. Physiologically motivated mathematical models replicate the shorter timescale of arousal within sleep, but not the longer one representing prolonged wakefulness. Here, we adapt a previously published “flip-flop” model of human sleep to capture the ultradian alternation of sleep and wakefulness in mice on the longer timescale. The resulting model reproduces both the mean durations of alternating sleep and wake bouts as well as the circadian trends in their bout durations documented in our experiments on mice.
Steady-state operation and control of an in-conduit hydro-powered generator

Pumping stations are used to increase water pressures in supply mains for fire fighting, high rise building, and to maintain water supply in water towers and storage tanks. Water pressure reducing valves (PRV) are needed on domestic systems where the municipal water main's pressure is more than 80psi. Some of the energy loss across the PRV can be converted to electricity by replacing the existing PRV with small hydroelectric turbines and generators. Decreasing the water pressure from 150 psi to 50 psi also reduces the water flows through the system and wastewaters. There is a need to develop a scheme to control the operation of the in-conduit hydro-powered generator for maximum efficiency which is the subject of this paper.
Saturn Buyers: Are They Different?

Automobile retailing in the United States is undergoing significant changes. In fact, the changes have been described as a revolution. This study focuses on one aspect of the automobile retailing revolution: the one-price/no-haggle concept. Implicit in the adoption of one-price pricing is the notion that consumers who purchase from one-price dealers are different than those who buy from traditional dealers where price negotiation is the standard practice. In this study Saturn automobile buyers, who are an easily identified group of one-price buyers, are compared to buyers of other new brands of automobiles to determine if there are demographic and psychographic differences between the buyers.
A heparin-functionalized carbon nanotube-based affinity biosensor for dengue virus

Dengue virus is an arthropod-borne virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitos and is major cause of disease in tropical and subtropical regions. Colloquially known as Dengue Fever, infection can cause hemorrhagic disorders and death in humans and non-human primates. We report a novel electronic biosensor based on a single-walled carbon nanotube network chemiresistive transducer that is functionalized with heparin for low-cost, label-free, ultra-sensitive, and rapid detection of whole dengue virus (DENV). Heparin, an analog of the heparan sulfate proteoglycans that are receptors for dengue virus during infection of Vero cells and hepatocytes, was used for the first time in a biosensor as a biorecognition element instead of traditional antibody. Detection of DENV in viral culture supernatant has similar sensitivity as the corresponding viral titer in phosphate buffer despite the presence of growth media and Vero cell lysate. The biosensor demonstrated sensitivity within the clinically relevant range for humans and infected Aedes aegypti. It has potential application in clinical diagnosis and can improve point-of-care diagnostics of dengue infection.
Caveat Partner: Sharing Responsibility for Health With the Food Industry

Reviews are provided for the articles "Big Food’s Ambivalence: Seeking Profit and Responsibility for Health" by T. Tempels, M. Verweij, and V. Blok which appears in this issue and "Responsibility and Global Justice: A Social Connection Model" by I.M. Young which appears in a 2006 issue.
When Should Genetic Testing Be Performed in Epilepsy Patients

This review is a summary of a talk presented at the 2015 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting. Its purposes are 1) to review developments in epilepsy genetics, 2) to discuss which groups of patients with epilepsy might benefit from genetic testing, and 3) to present a rational approach to genetic testing in epilepsy in the rapidly evolving era of genomic medicine.
Continuous microfluidic production of zein nanoparticles and correlation of particle size with physical parameters determined using CFD simulation

Abstract Zein nanoparticles (NPs) were generated using continuous microfluidic antisolvent precipitation. Concentrations of ethanol and zein, flow ratio between continuous and dispersed phases, total flow rate, and chip configuration were examined for their effect on NP diameter and polydispersity index (PDI). These conditions were simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics and the diameter and PDI of NPs were correlated with physical parameters calculated by the software. Increasing zein and ethanol concentration increased NP diameter overall (p
Differential expression and prognostic value of long non-coding RNA in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has emerged as a new avenue of interest due to its various biological functions in cancer. Abnormal expression of lncRNA has been reported in other malignancies but has been understudied in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methods The lncRNA expression was interrogated via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) array for 19 human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative HNSCC tumor-normal pairs. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was used to validate these results. The association between differentially expressed lncRNA and survival outcomes was analyzed. Results Differential expression was validated for 5 lncRNA (SPRY4-IT1, HEIH, LUCAT1, LINC00152, and HAND2-AS1). There was also an inverse association between MEG3 expression (not significantly differentially expressed in TCGA tumors but highly variable expression) and 3-year recurrence-free survival (RFS). Conclusion We identified and validated differential expression of 5 lncRNA in HPV-negative HNSCC. Low MEG3 expression was associated with favorable 3-year RFS, although the significance of this finding remains unclear.
A robust statistical estimation (RoSE) algorithm jointly recovers the 3D location and intensity of single molecules accurately and precisely

In single-molecule (SM) super-resolution microscopy, the complexity of a biological structure, high molecular density, and a low signal-to-background ratio (SBR) may lead to imaging artifacts without a robust localization algorithm. Moreover, engineered point spread functions (PSFs) for 3D imaging pose difficulties due to their intricate features. We develop a Robust Statistical Estimation algorithm, called RoSE, that enables joint estimation of the 3D location and photon counts of SMs accurately and precisely using various PSFs under conditions of high molecular density and low SBR.
Space-based photon-counting laser altimetry for global applications

NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation (ICESat-2) satellite is planned for launch in 2018 with the goal of providing a global distribution of elevation measurements to support many Earth science applications. The primary science mission is focused on the Polar Regions and will provide data to help understand controlling mechanisms of polar ice sheet mass balance, and investigate ice-ocean-atmosphere exchanges of mass, energy and moisture as it relates to sea ice thickness. ICESat-2 will also allow for terrain and canopy height retrievals as it operates continually throughout its orbit. The satellite will utilize a laser altimeter that provides signal detection sensitivities on the photon-level. This instrumentation allows for lower power and weight requirements to support a high repetition rate, multiple-beam configuration for improved spatial coverage as compared to previous missions. In order to develop the geophysical data product algorithms in preparation for launch, simulated data sets have been produced based on the statistical representation of the expected system performance. These data allow for data product quality analysis over specific types of ecosystems. This is of particular interest for vegetated regions, where canopy cover characteristics will directly affect the ability to retrieve terrain heights. This paper will discuss the expected ICESat-2 land/vegetation data product quality a selected ecosystem.