cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current Status of Stem Cell Therapy in Heart Failure

Inspired by studies demonstrating the potential for new myocyte formation within adult mammalian hearts, an ongoing explosion of research is elucidating the biology of cardiac myogenesis and angiogenesis. Multiple lines of research suggest that disease-associated activation of endogenous cardiac repair processes are often insufficient to overcome the cell death resulting from myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure. In this context, this review highlights current evidence supporting endogenous cardiac repair mechanisms in human hearts, recent progress with clinical application of myocardial cell therapy, and complementary efforts to manipulate endogenous myocardial repair processes using a variety of tissue engineering strategies. The goal of this overview is to demonstrate that the insights and opportunities derived from each of these lines of inquiry are mutually complementary for ultimately achieving the goal of therapeutic cardiac regeneration.
CORROSION AT SURFACE DAMAGE ON AN EPOXY-COATED REINFORCING STEEL

The corrosion of manufactured epoxy-coated reinforcing steel with intentional surface damage in a naturally aerated NaCl solution was investigated. The progression of corrosion as a function of exposure time was studied with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Impedance diagrams were roughly semicircular with a large apparent time constant. Integrated corrosion rates from nominal charge-transfer resistance evaluations were in reasonable agreement with direct metallographic measurements of metal loss at the end of exposure. The results were interpreted with a transmission-line EIS model, proposing that cathodic reactions took place at external, semiconductive corrosion products.
Crystal structure of an RNA 16-mer duplex R(GCAGAGUUAAAUCUGC)2 with nonadjacent G(syn).A+(anti) mispairs.

G.A mispairs are one of the most common noncanonical structural motifs of RNA. The 1.9 A resolution crystal structure of the RNA 16-mer r(GCAGAGUUAAAUCUGC)2 has been determined with two isolated or nonadjacent G.A mispairs. The molecule crystallizes with one duplex in the asymmetric unit in space group R3 and unit cell dimensions a = b = c = 49.24 A and alpha = beta = gamma = 51.2 degrees. It is the longest known oligonucleotide duplex at this resolution and isomorphous to the 16-mer duplex with the C.A+ mispairs [Pan, et al., (1998) J. Mol. Biol. 283, 977-984]. The C.A+ mispair behaves like a wobble pair while the G.A+ does not. The G.A mispairs are protonated at N1 of the adenines as in the C.A+ mispairs, and two hydrogen bonds in the G(syn).A+(anti) conformation are formed. The syn guanine is stabilized by an intranucleotide hydrogen bond between the 2-amino and the 5'-phosphate groups. The G(syn).A+(anti) conformation can provide a different surface for recognition in the grooves compared to other G.A hydrogen bonding schemes. The major groove is widened between the two mispairs allowing access to ligands. One of the 3-fold axes is occupied by a sodium ion and a water molecule, while a second is occupied by another water molecule.
Cell spreading controls balance of prestress by microtubules and extracellular matrix

The controversy surrounds the cellular tensegrity model. Some suggest that microtubules (MTs) must bear a significant portion of cell contractile stress (prestress) if tensegrity is a useful model. Previously we have shown that for highly spread airway smooth muscle cells (areas>2500 microm2) MTs balance a significant but small potion (average 14%) of the prestress. To further explore if controlling the degree of cell spreading could modulate the portion of the prestress balanced by MTs, we utilized a recent method by which tractions are quantified in cells that are constrained within micropatterned adhesive islands of defined sizes on the surface of flexible polyacrylamide gels containing fluorescent microbeads. The prediction is that if MTs balance a portion of the contractile stress, then, upon their disruption, the portion of the stress balanced by MTs would shift to the substrate, causing an increase in traction and strain energy. We first activated the cells maximally with histamine and then disrupted the MTs with colchicine. Histamine resulted in an increase in intracellular calcium whereas ensuing colchicine addition in the presence of histamine did not change intracellular calcium concentration, suggesting there was no additional net increase in contractile stress inside the cell. We found that following disruption of MTs the increase in traction and strain energy varied with the degree of cell spreading: as the cell projected areas increased from 500 micrometer 2 to about 1800 micrometer 2, the percent increase in tractions decreased from 80% to about a few percent and the percent increase in strain energy decreased from 200% to almost zero percent, indicating the portion of the prestress balanced by MTs decreased as the cells increased spreading. These findings demonstrate that complementary role of the extracellular matrix and the MTs in balancing the prestress is controlled by the degree of cell spreading.
Fischer–Tropsch synthesis: Activity of metallic phases of cobalt supported on silica

Abstract By using different catalyst pretreatments, silica supported cobalt catalysts were activated to produce either hcp or fcc cobalt metal particles, as verified by XRD. H2-TPR and pulse re-oxidation experiments show a higher dispersion of cobalt for the catalyst containing the hcp metallic phase compared to the fcc phase. Cobalt containing hcp metallic phase has shown higher CO conversion on a catalyst weight basis and less methane selectivity compared to fcc containing catalysts under similar reaction conditions. Both hcp and fcc phases of cobalt are stable during the Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis.
Direct tissue isoelectric focusing in agarose.

Abstract We are isoelectric focusing small amounts of tissues placed directly on electroendosmosis-free agarose gels instead of using the saline extracts of tissue homogenates. More numerous proteins are extracted during isoelectric focusing of the solid tissues than present in the saline extracts of the same tissues.
Treating computer science as science as: An experiment with sorting (poster session)

When I teach sorting algorithms in our introductory computer science class, I always wonder how I can convince the students of the efficiency of O (n log n) sorts, and their complex code, vs. the ease of writing O (n2) sorts. With today's personal computers, even bubble sorting an array of a few thousand items appears to occur instantaneously. In addition, most textbooks provide the program code for implementing most of the standard sorting algorithms, such as bubble sort, selection sort, and quick sort. Since our introductory course has a closed lab period each week, I looked for something to do with my students when it came to sorting. Making them type in the code that was in the book seemed a waste of time.
Metal-Directed Formation of Three-Dimensional M3L2 Trigonal-Bipyramidal Cages

The simple combination of two angular tritopic pyridine donor linkers (109° bond angle) with three ditopic platinum acceptors (90° bond angle) leads to essentially quantitative formation of self-assembled M3L2 trigonal-bipyramidal (TBP) supramolecular species.
Robust Shelter Locations for Evacuation Planning with Demand Uncertainty

This article presents a robust approach for determining optimal locations of public shelters and their capacities, from a given set of potential sites during evacuation planning under demand uncertainty. Demand uncertainty in the article refers to the uncertainty associated with the number of people using the public shelters during evacuation. It is assumed that a planning authority determines the number of shelters, their locations, and capacities whereas evacuees choose a shelter to evacuate and the routes to access it. The proposed model is formulated as a mathematical program with complementarity constraints and is solved by a cutting-plane scheme. A numerical example on the Sioux Falls network demonstrates that robust plans are able to achieve nearly the same level of performance with a significant lower cost as compared to a conservative plan, which assumes the highest demand of each origin node.
Characterizing the escherichia coli O157:H7 proteome including protein associations with higher order assemblies

Background The recent outbreak of severe infections with Shiga toxin (Stx) producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serotype O104:H4 highlights the need to understand horizontal gene transfer among E. coli strains, identify novel virulence factors and elucidate their pathogenesis. Quantitative shotgun proteomics can contribute to such objectives, allowing insights into the part of the genome translated into proteins and the connectivity of biochemical pathways and higher order assemblies of proteins at the subcellular level. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined protein profiles in cell lysate fractions of STEC strain 86-24 (serotype O157:H7), following growth in cell culture or bacterial isolation from intestines of infected piglets, in the context of functionally and structurally characterized biochemical pathways of E. coli. Protein solubilization in the presence of Triton X-100, EDTA and high salt was followed by size exclusion chromatography into the approximate Mr ranges greater than 280 kDa, 280-80 kDa and 80-10 kDa. Peptide mixtures resulting from these and the insoluble fraction were analyzed by quantitative 2D-LC-nESI-MS/MS. Of the 2521 proteins identified at a 1% false discovery rate, representing 47% of all predicted E. coli O157:H7 gene products, the majority of integral membrane proteins were enriched in the high Mr fraction. Hundreds of proteins were enriched in a Mr range higher than that predicted for a monomer supporting their participation in protein complexes. The insoluble STEC fraction revealed enrichment of aggregation-prone proteins, including many that are part of large structure/function entities such as the ribosome, cytoskeleton and O-antigen biosynthesis cluster. Significance Nearly all E. coli O157:H7 proteins encoded by prophage regions were expressed at low abundance levels or not detected. Comparative quantitative analyses of proteins from distinct cell lysate fractions allowed us to associate uncharacterized proteins with membrane attachment, potential participation in stable protein complexes, and susceptibility to aggregation as part of larger structural assemblies.
An Analysis of Error Distributions in Navigation

This paper first presents some of the results of my recent work on error distributions in navigation which may be worth summarizing for navigation practitioners. Some further explanations and insights in the second part may be useful for future studies on the subject.Discussion on this subject was initiated by E. W. Anderson who questioned the adequacy of the gaussian distribution as the probability model for navigational position errors. He observed that empirical position error distributions are usually long-tailed (i.e. with raised skirts) compared to the gaussian and have a strong tendency to form an exponential function of error magnitude, especially in the far tail-region. Attempts to explain this phenomenon have been made by Abbott, Crossley, Lloyd, Parker, Lord, O. D. Anderson, etc., based on various aspects of navigation performance. To provide a general structure for characterizing the error distributions, Anderson and Ellis made a significant step forward in suggesting ‘Student's t’ distributions as error models. As pointed out by Parker, however, this suggestion has to be taken with reservation and requires further verification based upon empirical data. My own recent work has indeed taken the direction advocated by Parker and has attempted to fill a theoretical deficiency in Anderson and Ellis's work, to provide examples of empirical model fitting and to discuss the merits of Student's t distributions relative to the double exponential model. The main findings are summarized below.
New species of Dalea section Parosela (Leguminosae: Amorpheae) from Peru and Mexico.

Dalea (ser.Coeruleae) strobilacea from Cajamarca and La Libertad, Peru and D. (ser.Versicolores) daucosma from Nay arit, Mexico are described, compared with kindred, and illustrated.
Plant and soil elemental status as influenced by multi-year nitrogen and potassium fertilization

Abstract Forage management of perennial grass grown under potassium (K)-limiting soil conditions is not well understood. Our objective was to evaluate the elemental status of shoots and roots of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinaceae L.) as well as the soil fertility profile (0–90 cm) after five years of differential nitrogen (N) and K fertilization in a two-cut management system. Three N (0, 112, or 224 kg N ha−1) and three K fertilizer treatments (0, 56, and 112 kg K ha−1) were split-applied to reed canarygrass on a Williamson silt loam (coarse-silty, mixed, active, mesic Typic Fragiudepts) soil type in central New York State. At the Fall harvest in the fifth year, plant samples from low and high K fertilized plots all at the high N fertilization rate were cut at a 10-cm stubble height and sectioned into 10 segments vertically through the canopy. In addition, forage, root and soil samples were taken from all treatments to evaluate the distribution of elements under low soil K availability. Above ground...
Making sense of Japanese relative clause constructions

We apply the C4.5 decision tree learner in interpreting Japanese relative clause constructions, based around shallow syntactic and semantic processing. In parameterising data for use with C4.5, we propose and test various means of reducing intra-clausal interpretational ambiguity, and cross indexing the overall analysis of cosubordinated relative clause constructions. We additionally investigate the disambiguating effect of the different parameter types used, and establish upper bounds for the task.
New Routes to Group Iva Metal-Nitrides

The reactions of TiCl4 with [(CH3)3Si]2NH have been examined under several reaction conditions. One of the reaction products, (CH3)3Si(H)NTiCl3, can be crystallized in 60% yield on reacting TiCl4 with TiCl4 with [(CH3)3Si]2NH in a 1:1 molar ratio in dichloromethane at -78°C. [(CH3)3Si(H)NTi(Cl2)(NH)]2TiCl2 is the primary product on increasing the amount of TiCl4 with [(CH3)3Si]2NH to two equivalents. (CH3)3Si(H)NTiCl3 and [(CH3)3Si(H)NTi(Cl2)(NH)]2TiCl2 form titanium nitride on pyrolysis at 600°C in an ammonia atmosphere. In absence of solvents, a variety of powders are formed on reacting TiCl4 with [(CH3)3Si]2NH in 1:1 to 1:2 ratios. These powders are mixtures of several species, insoluble in common organic solvents, and form titanium nitride on pyrolysis. TiN coatings on MgO are prepared by adding MgO particles to a solution of (CH3)3Si(H)NTiCl3 in dichloromethane, warming and pyrolysis. Electron microscopic studies indicate that MgO particles are uniformly coated with titanium nitride.
Excitation and emission profiles of Cm(III) and Cm(IV) in neat samples and lead borosilicate glasses

The authors have been investigating the spectroscopy of actinides in materials having relevance to nuclear waste management. Discussed here are the excitation and emission profiles of curium in high temperature borosilicate glasses, and pure halide compounds. Probing the local coordination environment of Cm(III) in these matrices has been one of the goals of this study. Comparison of the nephelauxetic effects indicate that the silicate matrix provides a more basic environment than either F{sup {minus}} or Cl{sup {minus}} surroundings found in pure compounds of curium. As a result, f-f transition energies are red shifted significantly in the silicate matrix as compared to that of the neat CmF{sub 3} system. Moreover, laser induced emissions have been noted with CmF{sub 4} after treatment at elevated temperatures. The higher energy spectral region, consisting of emission bands at 20100 and 16750, is assignable to f-f transitions in Cm(III), which is the expected thermal decomposition product. Energy transfer from Cm(III), followed by a second photon absorption is believed to be responsible for the strong emission bands at 12550, and 13580 cm{sup {minus}} from presently unidentified emitting species. Results are discussed in relation to the oxidation state and fluorescence dynamics of actinide species in neat compounds, asmore » well as in matrices being considered for waste immobilization.« less
Chronic Lead Ingestion and Nephropathy in Ringed Turtle Doves

Abstract Ringed turtle doves (Streptopelia risoria) received lead acetate in their drinking water (100 μg/ml) for 90 days, were sacrificed, and their kidneys were examined for ultrastructural aberrations. Doves receiving lead treatment had excessive lead concentration in their kidneys and cell necrosis was apparent. Lead intranuclear inclusion bodies were identified in the proximal convoluted tubule cells. Tubular cells also showed deterioration of cell cytoplasm and reduction in the number of mitochondria.
Identification of image blur parameters by the method of generalized cross-validation

Generalized cross-validation (GCV) is introduced to address the blur identification problem. Motivated by the success of GCV in identifying optimal noise smoothing parameters for image restoration, the method is extended to the problem of identifying blur parameters as well. Experiments are presented which show that GCV is capable of yielding good identification results. Some potential advantages of GCV over the maximum-likelihood approach are discussed. >
Effect of pressure on an enzymatic reaction in a supercritical fluid

Three different authors have reported on the use of four different enzymes in supercritical fluids. Lipase carries out transesterification reactions in the presence of supercritical carbon dioxide. Polyphenyl oxidase is active in supercritical CO{sub 2} and fluoroform. It has been shown that alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol oxidase are active in supercritical CO{sub 2}. More recently, an examination of the effect of aggregation of cholesterol on cholesterol oxidase activity in CO{sub 2} using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was done. They found that when cosolvents which promoted aggregation were added, the reaction rate increased in proportion to the amount of aggregation. To date, no data on the effect of pressure on reaction rate have been presented. The objective of this work is to determine whether pressure-induced changes in the physical properties of a supercritical fluid solvent affect the rate of an enzymatic reaction and if so, which properties are responsible for the change.
An Infinite-Dimensional Linear Programming Algorithm for Deterministic Semi-Markov Decision Processes on Borel Spaces

We devise an algorithm for solving the infinite-dimensional linear programs that arise from general deterministic semi-Markov decision processes on Borel spaces. The algorithm constructs a sequence of approximate primal-dual solutions that converge to an optimal one. The innovative idea is to approximate the dual solution with continuous piecewise linear ridge functions that naturally represent functions defined on a high-dimensional domain as linear combinations of functions defined on only a single dimension. This approximation gives rise to a primal/dual pair of semi-infinite programs, for which we show strong duality. In addition, we prove various properties of the underlying ridge functions.
Understanding the contribution of cellular immunity to dengue disease pathogenesis

Abstract Dengue viruses (DENV) are the mosquito-borne viruses of greatest global public health importance. DENV circulate as four serotypes with significant immunologic cross-reactivity that does not provide protection from secondary infection with heterologous serotypes. The strong association of severe dengue illness, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), with heterologous secondary infection and high cytokine levels has led to a prevailing view that DHF is immunologically mediated. In vitro studies of DENV-specific T lymphocytes, clinical studies of acute DENV infection, and immunologic studies in mouse models have provided evidence that in heterologous secondary DENV infection, there is preferential activation of memory T lymphocytes with lower avidity for the infecting virus ('original antigenic sin') resulting in altered T-cell functional responses. In the setting of host genetic predisposition and high level viremia, with resulting high antigenic burden, we postulate that a skewed T-cell cytokine response leads to plasma leakage in DHF. A better understanding of the immune responses associated with increased or decreased risk for DHF will be of immense value for the clinical studies of candidate multivalent DENV vaccines anticipated to take place in the next several years.
Effect of ultrasonic power on grain refinement and purification processing of AZ80 alloy by ultrasonic treatment

Ultrasound with different powers was applied to treat AZ80 alloy melt to attain grain refinement or purification processing of the alloy. The influence of ultrasonic powers from 0 W to 1400 W on microstructures of the AZ80 alloy with ultrasonic grain refinement treatment was investigated. The average grain size of the alloy could be decreased from 387 μm to 147 μm after the ultrasound with the optimal power 600 W was applied to treat the melt. The effect of ultrasonic powers from 0 W to 230 W on the inclusion distribution in the ingot that was treated by ultrasonic purification processing was also studied. The optimal ultrasonic power in the ultrasonic purification processing was 80 W. In order to gain insight into the mechanism by which ultrasonic power affected the microstructure of the alloy or inclusion distribution in the ingot, numerical simulations were carried out and the ultrasonic field propagation in the melt was characterized.
Analyzing gait with spatiotemporal surfaces

Human motions generate characteristic spatiotemporal patterns. We have developed a set of techniques for analyzing the patterns generated by people walking across the field of view. After change detection, the XYT pattern can be fit with a smooth spatiotemporal surface. This surface is approximately periodic, reflecting the periodicity of the gait. The surface can be expressed as a combination of a standard parameterized surface-the canonical walk-and a deviation surface that is specific to the individual walk. >
Bloody pericardial effusion in patients with cardiac tamponade: is the cause cancerous, tuberculous, or iatrogenic in the 1990s?

Study objectives: The decrease in incidence of tuberculosis, along with the increase in invasive cardiovascular procedures, may have changed the frequency of causes of bloody pericardial effusion associated with cardiac tamponade, although this is not yet recognized by medical textbooks. We analyzed the causes of bloody pericardial effusion in the clinical setting of cardiac tamponade in the 1990s; patients’ survival; the effect of laboratory results on discharge diagnosis; and how often bloody pericardial effusion is a presenting manifestation of a new malignancy or tuberculosis. Design: Retrospective, observational, single-center study. Setting: A community hospital. Patients: The charts of all patients who underwent pericardiocentesis for cardiac tamponade and had bloody pericardial effusion were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Of 150 patients who had pericardiocentesis for relieving cardiac tamponade, 96 patients (64%) had a bloody pericardial effusion. The most common cause of bloody pericardial effusion was iatrogenic disease (31%), namely, secondary to invasive cardiac procedures. The other common causes were malignancy (26%), complications of atherosclerotic heart disease (11%), and idiopathic disease (10%). Tuberculosis was detected as a cause of bloody pericardial effusion in one patient and presumed to be the cause in another patient. Bloody pericardial effusion was found to be a presenting manifestation of a newly diagnosed malignancy in two patients. The patients in the idiopathic and iatrogenic groups were all alive and had no recurrence of pericardial effusion at 24 6 27 and 33 6 21 months after hospital discharge, respectively, whereas 80% of patients with malignancy-related bloody effusions died within 8 6 6 months. Conclusions: In a patient population that is reasonably representative of that in most community hospitals in the United States, the most common cause of bloody pericardial effusion in patients with signs or symptoms of cardiac tamponade is now iatrogenic disease. Of the noniatrogenic causes, malignancy, complications of acute myocardial infarction, and idiopathic disease predominated. Hemorrhagic tuberculous pericardial effusions are uncommon and may likely reflect a low incidence of cardiac tuberculosis in community hospitals in the United States. (CHEST 1999; 116:1564‐1569)
Negative representations of the self/spouse and marital distress

The link between marital distress and negative representations of both the self and the spouse was examined with data from an initial sample of 538 married couples studied over the first four years of marriage (Study 1) and 98 of these couples studied in their tenth year of marriage (Study 2). Findings from Study 1 indicated that, for both husbands and wives, representations of the self and representations of the spouse accounted for unique variability in distress. Across spouses, representations of the spouse accounted for more of the variability in distress than did representations of the self. Cross–spouse effects were especially pronounced for husbands such that their distress was linked to wives’ representations. Findings from Study 2 with self/spouse measures anchored to the marital context replicated this pattern. Findings support the view that marital distress is uniquely influenced by models of both the self and the spouse, that representations of the self and the spouse are dynamic relationship schemas, that models of the self and the spouse can be meaningfully assessed within the marital context, and that negative representations of the spouse—particularly those of wives—are especially diagnostic of marital distress.
Solvent-Dependent Influences on Skeletal Muscle Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Uptake and Release

The organic cosolvents propylene glycol (PG) and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) have previously been shown to differ in their potential to cause muscle damage following im injection. PG was found to be more myotoxic than PEG 400, with indirect implications of the role of cytosolic calcium in mediating this damage. In the present study, the direct effects of these cosolvents were investigated on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), the major intracellular muscle membrane that mobilizes calcium. The passive permeability of isolated SR microsomal vesicles to calcium was not affected by 5.3 and 10.5% (v/v) PG and PEG 400. At 10.5% (v/v), a concentration of the organic cosolvent that would not be unexpected at the injection site, PEG 400 stimulated calcium uptake by 40 and 140% in longitudinal tubular-derived and terminal cisternal-derived vesicles, respectively, without significantly altering the ATP hydrolytic activity of the calcium pump. The calcium pumping efficiency (Ca2+/ATP coupling ratio) was therefore also enhanced. On the other hand, 10.5% (v/v) PG did not significantly alter either calcium uptake or ATPase activity of the pump. PG stimulated calcium efflux from only the terminal cisternae vesicles via a pathway indicative of the ryanodine-sensitive calcium channel, as demonstrated by inhibition of PG-induced efflux by millimolar Mg2+. These results are consistent with multiple interactions of cosolvents with proteins in the membrane bilayer, with the distinction that the two cosolvents differentially influence the calcium pump and release channel, particularly at the terminal cisternae, where there is rapid change of calcium level during excitation-contraction coupling. These data provide further evidence for the role of calcium in mediating organic cosolvent-induced muscle damage. In addition, they provide a possible explanation for the myoprotective effect of PEG 400 (compared to PG) as a result of increased myoplasmic calcium removal and reduced calcium release.
The impact of climate change on agricultural net revenue: a case study in the Fouta Djallon, West Africa

Continental-scale economic analysis suggests that changes in climate conditions are associated with lower agricultural net revenue in sub-Saharan Africa. Specific locations, however, may not reflect this overall trend due to variation in baseline climate, soils, and socioeconomic factors that are difficult to model at large scales. The economic effect of changes in climate conditions on agricultural revenue in particular places in sub-Saharan Africa remains largely unknown. To test this effect, we study an area of West Africa with high climate variation over a small geographic area. We find that higher temperatures and precipitation lower agricultural revenues in the more important rainy season but increase revenues in the less important cool, dry season.
Coordinated Host Responses during Pyroptosis: Caspase-1-Dependent Lysosome Exocytosis and Inflammatory Cytokine Maturation

Activation of caspase-1 leads to pyroptosis, a program of cell death characterized by cell lysis and inflammatory cytokine release. Caspase-1 activation triggered by multiple nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLRs; NLRC4, NLRP1b, or NLRP3) leads to loss of lysosomes via their fusion with the cell surface, or lysosome exocytosis. Active caspase-1 increased cellular membrane permeability and intracellular calcium levels, which facilitated lysosome exocytosis and release of host antimicrobial factors and microbial products. Lysosome exocytosis has been proposed to mediate secretion of IL-1β and IL-18; however, blocking lysosome exocytosis did not alter cytokine processing or release. These studies indicate two conserved secretion pathways are initiated by caspase-1, lysosome exocytosis, and a parallel pathway resulting in cytokine release, and both enhance the antimicrobial nature of pyroptosis.
Fuzzy Logic energy management strategy for Fuel Cell/Ultracapacitor/Battery hybrid vehicle with Multiple-Input DC/DC converter

Fuel Cell/Ultracapacitor/Battery hybrid power systems represent a promising architecture to satisfy the energy requirements for road vehicles. When the primary power source is a Fuel Cell, the objective of an energy management strategy is to optimize the hydrogen consumption as well as the efficiency without compromising the performance of the overall system. In order to achieve these goals, Fuzzy Logic has been chosen as a control strategy in this study. Using this technology is a reasonable option to achieve an adequate solution of the problem due to the fact that it can deal simultaneously with a considerable amount of variables. Besides, a simulation environment has been developed for the sake of testing the control strategies; it includes models for the power supply and energy storage devices, the power electronics and the vehicular power demand.
A tribute to Ted Parker

“I'd forgotten how trees full of bird sounds made you sense the world differently.” (Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees)No one I have ever met was more attuned to bird sounds, or to birds in general, than was Ted Parker. It was from Ted that many of us, who thought that we already knew a thing or two about birds, truly learned how to sense the world.No matter when one first met, or heard of, Ted Parker, the name was already a legend. I first met Ted over 20 years ago, and like many people at the time I was already somewhat in awe of him. Then he was known for his birding exploits in the United States and in Mexico. Although I did not realize it at the time, he was already studying the birds of South America, and soon would be transforming our understanding of the avifauna of that continent. By the end of the 1970s, within just a few years of his first trip to the Andes, and without benefit of field guides or commerical bird tapes, he was already the field ornithologist of South America.
Implementing point-of-care testing to improve outcomes

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as testing performed outside of the central laboratory at or near the patient’s bedside. A number of devices have been developed that permit a wide menu of tests to be performed at the POC. In most cases the unit cost of POC tests is greater than similar testing performed in the central laboratory. For this reason when implementing POCT it is important to demonstrate an improvement in outcomes to justify the added incremental cost of the testing. Outcomes may be classified as either medical outcomes, financial outcomes or outcomes reflecting an improvement in clinical operations or efficiency. In most cases where outcomes have been demonstrated for POCT the impact has been to improve the efficiency of clinical operations. Less often POCT has been linked to an improvement in medical outcomes. This paper will describe selected case studies available in the literature to demonstrate how improved outcomes can be achieved and documented from POCT in a variety of different settings.
Carbon-vacancy interactions in B.C.C. iron

Results have been taken from recent work on the thermodynamics of vacancy-interstitial inter-actions in metals in order to elucidate the effect of such interactions upon the thermodynamic functions and kinetic behavior of the C–b.c.c. iron system. It is shown that even with C–vacancy binding enthalpies (e) as high as 1 eV, such interactions would not have an observable effect on the thermodynamic functions of the C atoms nor upon C diffusion or Fe-atom diffusion. However a consideration of positron annihilation data indicates that e must be ≦ 0.75 eV. Neue Ergebnisse bezuglich der Thermodynamik der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Leerstellen und interstitioncllen Fremdatomen werden verwendet, um die Effekte solcher Wechselwirkungen auf die Thermodynamik und Kinetik der C–(k.r.z.)Fe-Losungen zu untersuchen. Es wird gezeigt, das selbst wenn die C–Leerstelle-Bindungsenthalpie (e) 1 eV betragt, solche Wechselwirkungen mesbare Effekte weder auf die thermodynamischen Funktionen der gelosten C-Atome, noch auf das Diffusionsverhalten der C- und Fe-Atome ausuben wurden. Eine Berucksichtigung der vorhandenen Positronannihilationsdaten zeigt aber, das e unterhalb des Hochstwertes 0,75 eV liegt.
MSL Chemistry and Mineralogy X-ray Diffraction X-ray Fluorescence (CheMin) Instrument

This paper provides an overview of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Chemistry and Mineralogy X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) (CheMin) Instrument, an element of the landed Curiosity rover payload, which landed on Mars in August of 2012. The scientific goal of the MSL mission is to explore and quantitatively assess regions in Gale Crater as a potential habitat for life - past or present. The CheMin instrument will receive Martian rock and soil samples from the MSL Sample Acquisition/Sample Processing and Handling (SA/SPaH) system, and process it utilizing X-Ray spectroscopy methods to determine mineral composition. The Chemin instrument will analyze Martian soil and rocks to enable scientists to investigate geophysical processes occurring on Mars. The CheMin science objectives and proposed surface operations are described along with the CheMin hardware with an emphasis on the system engineering challenges associated with developing such a complex instrument.
Compulsion and Social Change: Is Authoritarianism the Solution to India's Economic Development Problems?

The view of critics like Myrdal that a solution to problems of mass poverty requires sweeping changes in established cultural attitudes and institutions which cannot be carried out through democratic methods remains influential in India among intellectuals and radical political parties. Yet, a frontal assault on the existing social order would delay or abort basic economic reforms by fragmenting large numbers of the poorer classes along more potent allegiances to religion, language, and caste. An alternative solution can be devised based on the distinction between direct and indirect obstacles to economic development which are part of the social setting. Direct constraints are found in patterns of land ownership and land tenure. By contrast, the cultural attitudes, caste structures, and power relations are indirect obstacles in the sense that they strengthen ideological and political patterns that stand in the way of agrarian reform. Under Indian conditions democratic rather than authoritarian institutions offer the best prospect over the long term for carrying out basic economic changes. They strengthen egalitarian values and provide an opportunity for direct organization of the more numerous lower castes to weaken both the legitimacy and power of the dominant landed castes—without risking the social disorder of a direct confrontation.
Prediction of Transonic Separated Flows

Johnson et al. (1982) have provided a detailed comparison between a thoroughly documented transonic flow with shock-induced separations and solutions of the flow using the Navier-Stokes equations. According to this comparison, there were several deficiencies in the computations. The present investigation takes into account new experimental data which have been obtained in a larger wind tunnel with the same test model for a wider range of freestream Mach numbers. The results of new Navier-Stokes computations using more compatible boundary conditions are shown, and the effects of the turbulence model choice on predicting Mach number trends are assessed.
Nonlinear Stabilization Mechanisms in Amplitude Saturation During Sputter Ripple Formation on Silicon

Sputter rippling refers to the formation of regular surface patterns during glancing incidence energetic ion beam etching of surfaces, usually as a result of a competition between etching (from the ion beam) and capillary action (driving smoothening via surface diffusion). Many different kinds of morphologies are often observed, including ripples oriented parallel and perpendicular to the projected ion beam direction and “quantum dots” arranged in hexagonal or rectangular arrays. Theoretical analyses of ripple evolution have concentrated on the initial stages of the surface instability leading to pattern formation, and the details associated with the nonlinear mechanisms leading to amplitude saturation and pattern stabilization remain a subject of active interest. The Si(111) surface is a single component surface with isotropic surface diffusion kinetics; for these reasons, this system provides a useful probe of surface evolution without complicating effects of compositional inhomogeneities and anisotropic terrace diffusion. Our examination of the Si(111) surface indicates that step-step interactions may play an important role in the evolution of sputter ripples in this system. To argue for this conclusion, a comparison with sputter ripple evolution on Si(001) is made.
Evolving communicative complexity: insights from rodents and beyond

Social living goes hand in hand with communication, but the details of this relationship are rarely simple. Complex communication may be described by attributes as diverse as a species' entire repertoire, signallers' individualistic signatures, or complex acoustic phenomena within single calls. Similarly, attributes of social complexity are diverse and may include group size, social role diversity, or networks of interactions and relationships. How these different attributes of social and communicative complexity co-evolve is an active question in behavioural ecology. Sciurid rodents (ground squirrels, prairie dogs and marmots) provide an excellent model system for studying these questions. Sciurid studies have found that demographic role complexity predicts alarm call repertoire size, while social group size predicts alarm call individuality. Along with other taxa, sciurids reveal an important insight: different attributes of sociality are linked to different attributes of communication. By breaking social and communicative complexity down to different attributes, focused studies can better untangle the underlying evolutionary relationships and move us closer to a comprehensive theory of how sociality and communication evolve.
Outcomes of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients with N3 neck disease treated primarily with chemoradiation versus surgical resection

Objectives/hypothesis Although treatment paradigms have shifted to recommend primary chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, few studies include any significant number of patients with N3 (>6 cm) neck disease. The objective of this study was to determine if primary chemoradiation therapy has equivalent overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) when compared to primary surgical resection in patients with N3 neck disease. Study design Nonrandomized, single-institution, retrospective cohort study. Methods Retrospective analysis of 100 patients treated for HNSCC with N3 neck disease between 1989 and 2009 was performed. Results Patients who received primary surgery had better OS and DFS than those who had primary chemoradiation (P = .047), with a 5-year OS of 68% (95% confidence interval [CI], 45%-84%) versus 32% (95% CI, 19%-45%), and a 5-year DFS of 64% (95% CI, 41%-80%) versus 32% (95% CI, 19%-45%). Neck dissection following primary treatment with CRT did not improve OS. For patients with nonoropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with N3 neck disease, those who underwent primary surgery (n = 14) had significantly better OS than those who had primary CRT (n = 32, P = .02). Patients with oropharyngeal disease had better outcomes than other sites regardless of treatment modality, with 5-year OS of 54% (95% CI, 38%-68%) versus 32% (95% CI, 17%-47%, P = .02), but there was no statistical difference between patients treated with primary surgery versus CRT. Conclusions Patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer and N3 neck disease have at least equivalent survival with primary surgical treatment versus primary CRT. Primary surgical resection with appropriate adjuvant therapy should be considered for patients with resectable N3 disease, especially patients with nonoropharyngeal sites. Post-CRT neck dissections did not change the OS of patients with N3 disease.
Effective Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia by Neurostimulation

Background: Treatment of trigeminal neuralgia can be challenging for many physicians; patients who do not respond to conventional treatments and traditional surgical approaches often continue to suffer with pain. The peripheral nerve stimulator (PNS) has been used to treat many chronic pain conditions, but few reports exist about its use to treat trigeminal neuralgia. Case Report: We present the case of a patient with trigeminal neuralgia resistant to conventional techniques of pain management. Conservative pain management was attempted but was ineffective. As a result, a PNS was placed with minimally invasive surgery. Pain scores were recorded before and after the procedure, and the patient reported complete resolution of her pain. Conclusion: PNS implantation can be a safe and effective method to treat trigeminal neuralgia. More research is needed to define its mechanism of action.
In-Space Transportation for NASA's Evolvable Mars Campaign

As the nation embarks on a new and bold journey to Mars, significant work is being done to determine what that mission and those architectural elements will look like. The Evolvable Mars Campaign, or EMC, is being evaluated as a potential approach to getting humans to Mars. Built on the premise of leveraging current technology investments and maximizing element commonality to reduce cost and development schedule, the EMC transportation architecture is focused on developing the elements required to move crew and equipment to Mars as efficiently and effectively as possible both from a performance and a programmatic standpoint. Over the last 18 months the team has been evaluating potential options for those transportation elements. One of the key aspects of the EMC is leveraging investments being made today in missions like the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) mission using derived versions of the Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) propulsion systems and coupling them with other chemical propulsion elements that maximize commonality across the architecture between both transportation and Mars operations elements. This paper outlines the broad trade space being evaluated including the different technologies being assessed for transportation elements and how those elements are assembled into an architecture. Impacts to potential operational scenarios at Mars are also investigated. Trades are being made on the size and power level of the SEP vehicle for delivering cargo as well as the size of the chemical propulsion systems and various mission aspects including Inspace assembly and sequencing. Maximizing payload delivery to Mars with the SEP vehicle will better support the operational scenarios at Mars by enabling the delivery of landers and habitation elements that are appropriately sized for the mission. The purpose of this investigation is not to find the solution but rather a suite of solutions with potential application to the challenge of sending cargo and crew to Mars. The goal is that, by building an architecture intelligently with all aspects considered, the sustainable Mars program wisely invests limited resources enabling a long-term human Mars exploration program.
A Comprehensive Theory of the Pathogenesis of Alcoholism

Measured by the number of meetings and publications on the subject, the current knowledge of alcoholism is substantial and increasing. Yet one finds that the new knowledge, the numerous meetings, and all the federal dollars spent on addressing the problem of alcohol abuse have had an insignificant impact on the prevalence of alcoholism. Recidivism rates are still 30%–70%, and estimated costs of alcohol abuse rose to about $40 billion in 1975 in the United States alone. The frustrating lack of progress can be attributed to the lack of a comprehensive theory of alcoholism. Most theories, or models, of alcoholism are like the descriptions of an elephant by blind people: they capture reality, but only partially.
Distribution of the FMR1 gene in females by race-ethnicity: women with diminished ovarian reserve versus women with normal fertility (SWAN study)

Objective To study whether reported, but inconsistent, associations between the FMR1 CGG repeat lengths in the intermediate, high normal, or low normal range differentiate women diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) from population controls and whether associations vary by race/ethnic group. Design Case-control study. Setting Academic and private fertility clinics. Patient(s) DOR cases (n = 129; 95 Whites, 22 Asian, 12 other) from five U.S. fertility clinics were clinically diagnosed, with regular menses and no fragile X syndrome family history. Normal fertility controls (n = 803; 386 Whites, 219 African-Americans, 102 Japanese, 96 Chinese) from the United States–based SWAN Study had one or more menstrual period in the 3 months pre-enrollment, one or more pregnancy, no history of infertility or hormone therapy, and menopause ≥46 years. Previously, the SWAN Chinese and Japanese groups had similar FMR1 CGG repeat lengths, thus they were combined. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) FMR1 CGG repeat lengths. Result(s) Median CGG repeats were nearly identical by case/control group. DOR cases had fewer CGG repeats in the shorter FMR1 allele than controls among Whites, but this was not significant among Asians. White cases had fewer CGG repeats in the shorter allele than Asian cases. No significant differences were found in the high normal/intermediate range between cases and controls or by race/ethnic group within cases in the longer allele. Conclusion(s) This study refutes prior reports of an association between DOR and high normal/intermediate repeats and confirms an association between DOR and low normal repeats in Whites.