cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Corrosion protection mechanisms of carbon nanotube and zinc-rich epoxy primers on carbon steel in simulated concrete pore solutions in the presence of chloride ions

Abstract This study investigates the electrochemical characterization of carbon nanotube and zinc-rich epoxy primers (CNT-ZRPs) on carbon steel in simulated concrete pore (SCP) solutions in the presence of chloride ions. The mechanistic performance of CNT-ZRPs was characterized by adding different zinc content. The electrochemical results indicated a dominant barrier protection effect for the coating with 60 wt% Zn while there was a mixed corrosion protection mechanism for the coating with 70 wt% Zn and a dominant cathodic protection mechanism for coatings with higher zinc content (80 wt% and 90 wt% Zn). These barrier and cathodic protection control mechanisms were characterized quantitatively by electrochemical and high-resolution techniques.
Comparison of responses of men to immersion in circulating water at 40.0 and 41.5 degrees C.

Background The recommended maximum water temperature for public hot tubs has been set at 40.0 degrees C, but no research has been published on human immersion in hot water at higher temperatures. Hypothesis We hypothesized that thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses at two water temperatures would be proportional to the water:blood temperature gradients. Methods Six healthy men were immersed for 21 min in circulating hot water at 40.0 and 41.5 degrees C in separate trials in random order 1-3 wk apart. Measurements included heart rate, systolic BP, esophageal, rectal, and non-immersed skin temperatures, sweat rate, and perceived comfort. Results The rise in all body temperatures, sweat rate, and heart rate were significantly greater in the 41.5 vs. 40.0 degrees C water. Peak esophageal temperatures were 38.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C vs. 37.8 +/- 0.03 degrees C, peak sweat rates were 0.48 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.32 +/- 0.03 kg x m(-2) x h(-1), and peak heart rates were 123 +/- 7 vs. 108 +/- 5 bpm, respectively. Systolic BPs followed different patterns of response in each trial, whereas diastolic pressures were not different between trials. Comfort at each level of immersion was reduced during the 41.5 degrees C trial compared with the 40.0 degrees C in excess of that predicted by difference in esophageal temperature between the trials. Conclusions These results suggest that risks of hyperthermia or adverse cardiovascular effects in hot tubs may not be greater in water above 40.0 degrees C unless perceptual judgment is impaired. Hypotension when standing to exit the tub occurred in both trials and may represent a potential hazard to hot tub use.
Positional Error Modeling and Analysis of Harvest Robot Picker

Positional error of manipulators is an important indicator for robot performance.Fruit picker is a key manipulator for litchi harvest robot.According to rotationplasty and move transforming characteristics of robot joints,this paper established the accurate postural and positional error model of robot,which is a homogeneous matrix.Then it established positional error expressions for fruit picker by deducing from postural and positional error model.Based on such positional error expressions,positional error characteristics of fruit picker was researched by simulating.The result will provide a theoretical basis for error analysis of harvest robot and agricultural harvesting machinery,and for error compensation.
Morphology of urinary stone particles resulting from ESWL treatment.

Abstract Fragments of urinary stones resulting from extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Calcium oxalate monohydrate and uric acid stone fragments were homogenous and regular whereas struvite stone fragments were irregular in shape. Examination of the fractured surfaces revealed that the process of stone fragmentation involved fracture and cleavage of the crystals at some places and their separation from each other at others. In stones whose crystals are organised in layers, for instance calcium oxalate monohydrate and uric acid, crystalline layers separated along the concentric laminations. In struvite stones, which are an agglomeration of struvite and calcium phosphate crystals, major fragmentation occured along the crystalline interfaces.
Utilization of D- and L-tryptophan by the growing dog.

Two 4 x 4 Latin square experiments were conducted with English Pointer puppies to determine the growth promoting capacity of D-tryptophan (trp) relative to L-trp and to estimate the trp requirement of the growing dog. Based upon a multiple linear regression slope-ratio technique, D-trp had an efficacy value of 35.5 +/- 6.4% relative to L-trp. The urine of dogs fed D-trp contained 14.6% of the ingested trp; no measurable trp was recovered in the urine of dogs fed L-trp. The trp requirement for maximal weight gain was at least .16% for 6-to 10-wk-old dogs, between .12 and .16% for 10- to 12-wk-old dogs and less than or equal to .12% for 12- to 14-wk-old dogs. The overall requirement for the 6- to 14-wk age period was .15%. Total N, as well as urea-N, in urine decreased and N retention increased with increasing levels of dietary L-trp; NH3-N, creatinine-N and fecal-N were unaffected by treatment.
Highlights of experimental results from gammasphere

The large improvement in theresolving power of the new generation of γ-ray arrays is providing new insights in the understanding of the interplay between collective and single-particle motion at extreme conditions. In this paper I will review some of the technical aspects ofGammasphere and discuss a few examples among the broad range of nuclear physics topics that can be addressed with such a detector system. These will include: (i) Superdeformation in the Mass 60 and 80 regions and (ii) Lifetime measurements ofmagnetic rotational bands.
A Digital Computer Representation of Chemical and Spectroscopic Studies on Chemical Control of Ascites Tumor Cell Metabolism

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a digital computer representation of chemical and spectroscopic studies on chemical control of ascites tumor cell metabolism. The type of control process for the complex sequence of reactions involved in cell metabolism is a continuous one wherein the rate of metabolism is proportional over a reasonable range to the concentration of the control substance. Higher concentrations of the control substance can fail to give any rate increase, for example, by the saturation of an enzyme system. Glucose is rapidly utilized upon its addition to cells in the endogenous state. A considerable store of ATP is available for the immediate phosphorylation of glucose. The rate of glucose utilization during this phase is one of the fastest in the ascites tumor cell. There is an extremely high activity of hexokinase in the intact cells. The inhibition of glucose utilization and of respiration, after reaching a maximum, spontaneously diminishes over the course of several minutes. Abrupt reversal of inhibition can readily be obtained by uncoupling agents, such as dicoumarol and dinitrophenol.
Bioelectrical impedance: fat content of beef and pork from different size grinds

Multiple linear regression equations were developed for predicting the percentage of fat content of beef and pork. The predictor variables were bioelectrical resistance, temperature, and weight of product. Equations were developed for trim and product ground through a .95- or a .32-cm plate. The trim, .95-cm, and .32-cm grinds had 64, 108, and 96 observations, respectively, for beef product and 56, 101, and 92 observations, respectively, for pork product. Each of these observations was the average of bioelectrical impedance measurements taken in triplicate. The fat percentage ranges were 4 to 50% for beef and 7.5 to 50% for pork. The prediction equation applied to beef trim provided the following values: R2 = .80, Mallows's C(P) = 5.1, and root mean square error = 6.64. The R2 for equations predicting fat percentage in .95- and .32-cm ground beef were .84 and .95, respectively. The prediction equation applied to pork trim provided the following values: R2 = .77, Mallow's C(P) = 5.0, and root mean square error = 6.2. The R2 for equations predicting fat percentage in .95- and .32-cm ground pork were .87 and .96, respectively. The analyses were repeated with data sets of observations with less than 35% fat. The sample sizes and R2 for the trim, .95-, and .32-cm ground beef were 48, .36; 76, .60; and 65, .86; respectively. The sample sizes and R2 for the trim, .95-, and .32-cm ground pork were 42, .64; 62, .66; and 58, .92; respectively. Resistance, temperature, and weight remained as predictor variables for ground product with less than 35% fat. The smaller the grind, the more accurate the prediction. These results are positive for developing inexpensive, on-line systems for efficiently mixing ground product to a specific fat percentage.
Detection of soybean aphids in a greenhouse using an image processing technique

Soybean aphids affects crop growth and causes significant yield losses in soybean production.Manual scouting and counting of soybean aphids is laborious and time consuming.Algorithm developed based on image processing techniques is useful to detect and count aphids.Different image resolutions and illumination conditions affect accuracy of the algorithm. Soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) is one of the most important insect pests of soybeans in North America. Insecticide application is performed if the aphids count exceeds the economic threshold of 250 per plant. Precise estimates of aphid densities are needed for field conditions to maximize insecticide application efficiency. The current method of identifying and counting aphids on a plant is a labor-intensive and time consuming process. The objective of this study was to use image processing technique to detect and count different sized soybean aphids on a soybean leaf. The trials were conducted with soybean plants grown in a greenhouse. Three sets of data were collected on different dates using replicate plants from 4 soybean varieties infested with a range of aphid densities. Images of infested soybean trifoliate leaves were captured with different cameras under 2 different illumination conditions with different cameras used across the different data sets. The images captured were processed in MATLAB R2014a software using the Image Processing Toolbox to identify and count aphids. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the algorithm, the aphids counted with the sensing system were compared to a count generated manually by a trained expert. The algorithm counting with SONY camera images correlated (r2=0.96) very well with manual counts. The misclassification percentage was low for most cameras with different resolutions under high illumination conditions. The results also showed that images captured with an inexpensive regular digital camera gave satisfactory results under high illumination conditions.
Prophylactic Groin Wound Vacuum-assisted Therapy in Vascular Surgery Patients at Enhanced Risk for Postoperative Wound Infection.

Background Vascular groin wounds have higher than expected surgical site infection (SSI) rates and some patients are at enhanced risk. The Wiseman et al. paper suggests an objective scoring system that identifies patients at enhanced risk of postdischarge SSI. We hypothesize that prophylactic groin wound vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy in enhanced risk patients will decrease SSI and readmission and the Wiseman model provides potential evidence that enhanced risk patients can be objectively identified. Methods A single institution, retrospective analysis was conducted from January 2013 to September 2016 utilizing procedure codes to identify patients with wound VACs placed in the operating room. Two distinct groups were identified. The first was a wound complication patient group with 15 limbs (13 patients) with a groin wound VAC placed within 45 days postoperatively for groin wound complications. Eleven of these limbs had the VAC placed at readmission. The second group was a prophylactic patient group that included 8 limbs (7 patients) who received a VAC prophylactically placed in the enhanced risk wounds. These wounds were determined to be enhanced risk based on clinical criteria judged by the operating surgeon such as a large overhanging panniculus and/or one of several ongoing medical issues. We calculated a Wiseman score for all patients, determined total cost of the readmissions, and determined 30-day postsurgical SSI incidence for the prophylactic VAC group. Results Per the Wiseman scores, 9 limbs with postoperative complications were high risk and 3 limbs were moderate/high risk. Eleven limbs had a VAC placed at readmission with an average readmission cost of $8876.77. For the prophylactic group, 8 limbs were high risk with no observed postdischarge SSI in the first 30 days from surgery. The Wiseman scores showed close correlation between the retrospective high and moderate/high risk groups versus the prophylactic VAC group (31.5 ± 7.3 vs. 32 ± 5.5, P = 0.87). Conclusions The Wiseman scores showed objective validation in the prognosis of anticipating groin wound breakdown. Our initial results suggest that prophylactic groin wound VAC placement for enhanced risk vascular surgery patients may proactively decrease wound morbidity, decrease readmission secondary to groin wound complications, and provide some cost benefit.
A frequency analysis on calcium T-type signaling in the nervous system

We expressed the importance of frequency characteristics of T-type calcium signaling in every level of the nervous system. We also highlighted the need for performing frequency analysis on calcium signals in order to understand their impact on various functions within the nervous system. We provided the necessary analytical and computational frameworks for doing power spectral density (PSD) analysis of calcium T-type signals. For this purpose, we modeled a calcium T-type channel gating mechanism using a Markov scheme and formulated the calcium ionic current with the help of some empirical data. Our analysis shows calcium T-type current fades out rapidly at an exponential rate when frequency is increased but decreases almost linearly with depolarization of the membrane.
VANET scalable fuzzy logic based adaptive beaconing

In vehicle to vehicle communications, there are many issues that need to be addressed. One of these issues is the frequent beaconing that causes high network congestion in the shared channel. Therefore, it affects other applications and protocols especially the safety-related ones. This situation becomes even worse in high densities where the number of vehicles becomes larger. Thus, scalable protocols are required in dense conditions in order to increase cooperative awareness between vehicles and reduce network congestion to keep network resources free as much as possible for other applications and protocols. In this paper, we propose a VANET scalable scheme that uses fuzzy logic system to adapt the beacon generation rate. This fuzzy logic system uses five inputs, channel busy time (CBT), signal to interference-noise ratio (SINR), packet delivery ratio (PDR), number of neighbors and mobility. Then, it generates a congestion rank as an output which will help determine the next beacon frequency. NS-3 simulations have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of our proposed protocol in terms of average waiting time, total delay and average number of neighbors. The proposed protocol performed well in sparse scenarios and consistently achieved the highest level of scalability compared to fixed rate of 10 beacons per second, JSRC and BRAIN-F in both highway and urban environments.
Coordinately Targeting Cell-Cycle Checkpoint Functions in Integrated Models of Pancreatic Cancer.

Purpose: Cancer cells often have deficiencies in cell cycle control mechanisms and could be dependent on specific cell cycle checkpoints to maintain viability. Due to the documented role of KRAS in driving replication stress, we targeted the checkpoint governing DNA replication using CHK1 kinase inhibitors in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) models and examined mechanisms of resistance. Experimental Design: Single agent efficacy of CHK1 inhibition was investigated in established and primary PDAC lines. Drug screening was performed to identify cooperative agents. In vitro and in vivo studies were employed to interrogate combination treatment efficacy and mechanisms of resistance. Results: Many PDAC models evade single agent inhibition through mechanisms that allow S-phase progression with CHK1 inhibited. Gene expression analysis revealed FOXM1 as a potential marker of CHK1 sensitivity and defined a form of pancreatic cancer with poor prognosis. Drug screen analysis identified WEE1 as a cooperative agent with CHK1 and was effective in cell culture. In vivo experiments validated the combination efficacy; however, resistance could evolve. Resistance was due to selection of a stable sub-clone from the original PDX tumor, which harbored high baseline replication stress. In vitro analysis revealed that gemcitabine could eliminate viability in the resistant models. The triplet regimen of gemcitabine, CHK1 and WEE1 inhibition provided strong disease control in all xenograft models interrogated. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the therapeutic resiliency of pancreatic cancer and indicate that coordinately targeting cell cycle checkpoints in concert with chemotherapy could be particularly efficacious.
A Case Study in Dealing with Old Loans from the Kentucky Historical Society

Recently, the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) went through a database migration that created unforeseen data problems. During the migration, many of the accession records were lost or “merged” du...
30 Steam Turbines

Energy conversion from thermal form (heat) to mechanical form (force or torque) are generally done through the fluid medium of either water/steam or air/gas. Cogeneration and combined-cycles plants have become more popular in recent years due to their higher overall plant efficiency. Most turbines are designed at the high-power condition (but not the maximum power) and are required to operate at a constant speed for some variation of output power. In a combined-cycle power plant, the hot gas exhausted from a shaft power gas turbine is used to generate steam to drive a steam turbine. It can generally be designed such that the required equipment can be selected from the existing models (including gas turbine, steam turbine, and heat recovery steam generator (HRSG)). For the steam turbine driving an electric generator, the shaft rotating speed has to be constant in order to generate electrical output of constant frequency. Keywords: combined-cycle power plant; gas turbine; heat recovery steam generator (HRSG); steam turbine
The ghostly matter of asylum in kivu ruhorahoza's a tree has Fallen (Europa)

This paper applies Avery Gordon’s insights in Ghostly Matters to Kivu Ruhorahoza’s 2019 film, A Tree Has Fallen , and vice-versa. For Gordon, the ghost reveals visibility itself to be “a complex system of permissions and prohibitions.” The ghost is a case, as Gordon puts it, of “visible invisibility,” of seeing that one is not there. In Ruhorahoza’s film, the protagonist, Simon, is an African asylum seeker in the UK, now a ghost. Even before he becomes ghostly matter, Simon is already ghostly: he is held in limbo, consistently denied, deemed threatening, highly visible yet rendered invisible, a figure whose claims to a past are deemed invalid in official channels. For Gordon, the ghost is a liminal presence, “what appears dead, but is nevertheless powerfully alive.” In Ruhorahoza’s film, the protagonist appears to be alive, but is nevertheless powerfully dead. Gordon notes the refusal of modern social scientists to acknowledge, or to speak to ghosts: what happens when British subjects speak to its African ghosts, and vice versa? This paper investigates what the ghostly relations in the film suggest about political subjectivity, visibility, and the politics of asylum. Potentially, the essay offers a reading of what may no longer be visible in Ruhorahoza’s film, as the essay was written before Ruhorahoza edited A Tree Has Fallen , transformed it, and re-titled it Europa . Keywords: Kivu Ruhorahoza, Avery Gordon, asylum, African cinema, Ghostly Matters
The crystal structure of triiodo (η5-methoxycarbonyl-cyclopentadienyl) -dicarbonylmolybdenum (IV)

Crystals of (C5H4COOMe)Mo(CO)2I3 are monoclinic, space-group P21/c, with a = 9.402(2), b = 10.675(3), c = 15.314(2) A, β = 106.79(1)°, and Z = 4. The coordination geometry is distorted octahedral with the ring centroid at one vertex and the iodide ligands defining a face.
Predicting Novel and Inherited Variants in Parent-Child Trios

Genomic variation shared by members of the same species that are longer than a single nucleotide are commonly called structural variants (SVs). Though relatively rare, they represent an increasingly important class of variation as SVs have been associated with diseases and susceptibility to some types of cancer. Common approaches to SV detection require the sequencing and mapping of fragments from a test genome to a high-quality reference genome. Candidate SVs correspond to fragments with discordant mapped configurations, but because errors in the sequencing and mapping will also create discordant arrangements, many of these predictions will be false. When sequencing coverage is low, distinguishing true SVs from errors is even more complicated. In recent work, we have developed SV detection methods that simultaneously consider the genomes of closely related individuals – parents and children. Our approaches control false positive SVs by requiring children inherit all SVs in their genome from a parent. However, in doing so, our models may have missed true novel variants acquired by the child. In this work, we generalize our previous approaches to allow the child to carry novel variants but enforce sparsity through an l 1 penalty (since novel SVs in the child should be rare). We present results on both simulated genomes as well as two-sequenced parent-child trios from the 1000 Genomes Project.
Wear mode control of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by load and composition

Abstract Soft robots moving over dry or wet surfaces increasingly rely on common laboratory elastomers like polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) for reliable locomotion due to compliance matching to soft actuators and the relatively high surface energy. In this study we quantify the wear of PDMS of three compositions (5:1, 10:1, and 20:1 base-to-binder ratio) under moderate loading in order to provide design guidelines for durable and wear-resistant PDMS surfaces. Each sample underwent 100 m of sliding by an instrumented steel probe, and the wear scars were assessed by optical profilometry. For the 10:1 composition, the wear had standout features indicating microploughing abrasion at low loads, but microcutting abrasion at higher loads, with an interim-load transition period of suppressed wear. Wear of the softer 20:1 composition was more uniform for the tested loads, and its compliance suggests a combination of fatigue-based wear and abrasive wear. We conclude that the moderate properties of the 10:1 composition allow the PDMS to remain relatively wear-resistant, especially under applied pressures at approximately ~10% of its Young's modulus.
Deep Learning for Gap Crossing Ability of Ground Vehicles

In this work we present our results designing a deep neural network (DNN) to act as a surrogate model for costly HPC simulations. In order to determine a ground vehicle's gap crossing ability in extreme weather scenarios, several HPC simulations are currently used. Hydrologic models are first run to determine the environmental conditions over an area of interest. Once these conditions are known they are given, along with the terrain data, to a vehicle simulation which determines if a particular vehicle can cross a stream at a given point. Every point of interest must be evaluated independently, which quickly becomes infeasible for a large numbers of crossing points. In order to accelerate this phase of the process, we have created a DNN that acts as a surrogate model for the vehicle simulator. Despite several challenges converting irregular data into a form that can be used with a DNN, and incorporating scalars into the models, we were able to produce DNN models that predicted the gap crossing ability of all vehicle types with over 95% accuracy.
The Lynching of the Impious: Violence, Politics, and Religion in Postrevolutionary Mexico (1930s–1950s)

This article analyzes the impact that religion had on the act of lynching and its legitimation in postrevolutionary Mexico. Basing its argument on the examination of several cases of lynching that took place after the religiously motivated Cristero War had ended, the article argues that the profanation of religious objects and precincts revered by Catholics, the propagation of conservative and reactionary ideologies among Catholic believers, and parish priests’ implicit or explicit endorsement of belligerent forms of Catholic activism all contributed to the perpetuation of lynching from the 1930s through the 1950s. Taking together, these three factors point at the relationship between violence and the material, symbolic, and political dimensions of Catholics’ religious experience in postrevolutionary Mexico. The fact that lynching continued well into the 1940s and 1950s, when Mexican authorities and the Catholic hierarchy reached a closer, even collaborative relationship, shows the modus vivendi between state and Church did not bring an end to religious violence in Mexico. This continuity in lynching also illuminates the centrality that popular – as opposed to official or institutional - strands of Catholicism had in construing the use of violence as a legitimate means to defend religious beliefs and symbols, and protect the social and political orders associated with Catholic religion at the local level. Victims of religiously motivated lynchings included blasphemous and anticlerical individuals, people that endorsed socialist and communist ideas, as well as people that professed Protestant beliefs and practices.
SARTRES: a semi-autonomous robot teleoperation environment for surgery

Teleoperated surgical robots can provide immediate medical assistance in austere and hostile environments. However, such scenarios are time-sensitive and require high-bandwidth and low-latency comm...
UNDERLAYERS OF CITIZENSHIP: Queer Objects, Intimate Exposures, and the Rescue Rush in Kenya

In Kenya in recent years, diapers have played a central role in anti-homosexual discourses, suggesting that anal sex results in chronic bodily incontinence. But rumors about adults in diapers do not pertain only to homosexuality. They also describe bodily ruptures resulting from sex work, illicit moneymaking practices, and “immorality,” more generally. This article explores how the resonances between different deployments of diapers help constitute the homosexual body as a target of outrage, violence, and exclusion. I argue that rumors about adults in diapers identify and expose national threats in the hidden layers of intimate life to produce good citizenship. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s work, I approach diapers as “queer objects,” because they offer an alternative entry point into discussions of intimate citizenship: they bracket the reified category of the homosexual and demonstrate how sentiments associated with homophobia emerge in a wider set of struggles with bodies, work, respectability, and progress. Muhtasari Katika mazumgumzo juu ya kuzuiia gayism (ushoga) nchini Kenya, imekuwa kawaida kusema kwamba ngono ya nyuma inasabibisha watu wazima wavae ‘pampers’ (nepi). Lakini uvumi huu hauhusu gayism peke yake tu. Uvumi juu ya nepi hurejelea pia nyufa za mwili zinazosabibishwa na ukahaba, mazoea ya kutafuta pesa haramu, na aina zingine za "uasherati." Makala hii inatafiti maana tofauti ya nepi katika mazumgumzo ya kila siku kwa ajiji ya kuelewa vile maana hayo yanaathiri maoni kuhusu gayism. Ninaonyesha vile uvumi juu ya watu wazima wanaovaa nepi wanafunua mahatari katika “tabaka zinazofichwa” za maisha ya kila siku nchini. Nepi ndiyo vitu vinavyotusaidia kuelewa uhusiano kati ya uraia na ujinsia. Kwa sababu hayo, ninafuata maandishi ya Sara Ahmed kusema kwamba nepi kuwa “vitu queer:” yaani, vitu vinavyoonyesha kwamba mapambano na afya ya miili, kazi, heshima, na maendeleo yanaweza kuunda chuki ya ushoga.
Reproductive activation in honeybee ( Apis mellifera) workers protects against abiotic and biotic stress

Social insect reproductives exhibit exceptional longevity instead of the classic trade-off between somatic maintenance and reproduction. Even normally sterile workers experience a significant increase in life expectancy when they assume a reproductive role. The mechanisms that enable the positive relation between the antagonistic demands of reproduction and somatic maintenance are unclear. To isolate the effect of reproductive activation, honeybee workers were induced to activate their ovaries. These reproductively activated workers were compared to controls for survival and gene expression patterns after exposure to Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus or the oxidative stressor paraquat. Reproductive activation increased survival, indicating better immunity and oxidative stress resistance. After qPCR analysis confirmed our experimental treatments at the physiological level, whole transcriptome analysis revealed that paraquat treatment significantly changed the expression of 1277 genes in the control workers but only two genes in reproductively activated workers, indicating that reproductive activation preemptively protects against oxidative stress. Significant overlap between genes that were upregulated by reproductive activation and in response to paraquat included prominent members of signalling pathways and anti-oxidants known to affect ageing. Thus, while our results confirm a central role of vitellogenin, they also point to other mechanisms to explain the molecular basis of the lack of a cost of reproduction and the exceptional longevity of social insect reproductives. Thus, socially induced reproductive activation preemptively protects honeybee workers against stressors, explaining their longevity. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns?'
At-the-time and Back-in-time Persistent Sketches

In the era of big data, more and more applications require the information of historical data to support rich analytics, learning, and mining operations. In these cases, it is highly desirable to retrieve information of previous versions of data. Traditionally, multi-version databases can be used to store all historical values of the data in order to support historical queries. However, storing all the historical data can be impractical due to its large space consumption. In this paper, we propose the concept of at-the-time persistent (ATTP) and back-in-time persistent (BITP) sketches, which are sketches that approximately answer queries on previous versions of data with small space. We then provide several implementations of ATTP/BITP sketches which are shown to be more efficient compared to existing state-of-the-art solutions in our empirical studies.
The stellar initial mass function, core mass function and the last-crossing distribution

Hennebelle & Chabrier attempted to derive the stellar initial mass function (IMF) as a consequence of lognormal density fluctuations in a turbulent medium, using an argument similar to Press & Schechter for Gaussian random fields. Like that example, however, the solution there does not resolve the ‘cloud-in-cloud’ problem; it also does not extend to the large scales that dominate the velocity and density fluctuations. In principle, these can change the results at the order-of-magnitude level or more. In this paper, we use the results from Hopkins to generalize the excursion set formalism and derive the exact solution in this regime. We argue that the stellar IMF and core mass function (CMF) should be associated with the last-crossing distribution, i.e. the mass spectrum of bound objects defined on the smallest scale on which they are self-gravitating. This differs from the first-crossing distribution (mass function on the largest self-gravitating scale) which is defined in cosmological applications and which, Hopkins shows, corresponds to the giant molecular cloud (GMC) mass function in discs. We derive an analytic equation for the last-crossing distribution that can be applied for an arbitrary collapse threshold shape in interstellar medium and cosmological studies. With this, we show that the same model that predicts the GMC mass function and large-scale structure of galaxy discs also predicts the CMF – and by extrapolation stellar IMF – in good agreement with observations. The only adjustable parameter in the model is the turbulent velocity power spectrum, which in the range p ≈ 5/3-2 gives similar results. We also use this to formally justify why the approximate solution in Hennebelle & Chabrier is reasonable (up to a normalization constant) over the mass range of the CMF/IMF; however, there are significant corrections at intermediate and high masses. We discuss how the exact solutions here can be used to predict additional quantities such as the clustering of stars, and embedded into time-dependent models that follow density fluctuations, fragmentation, mergers and successive generations of star formation.
Patient-Specific Computational Analysis of Hemodynamics in Adult Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease characterized by elevated pressure and vascular resistance in the pulmonary arteries. Nearly 250,000 hospitalizations occur annually in the US with PH as the primary or secondary condition. A definitive diagnosis of PH requires right heart catheterization (RHC) in addition to a chest computed tomography, a walking test, and others. While RHC is the gold standard for diagnosing PH, it is invasive and posseses inherent risks and contraindications. In this work, we characterized the patient-specific pulmonary hemodynamics in silico for diverse PH WHO groups. We grouped patients on the basis of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) into three disease severity groups: at-risk ( $$18 {\text{mmHg}}\le {\text{mPAP}}<25 {\text{mmHg}}$$ , denoted with A), mild ( $$25 {\text{mmHg}}\le {\text{mPAP}}<40 {\text{mmHg}}$$ , denoted with M), and severe ( $${\text{mPAP}}\ge 40 {\text{mmHg}}$$ , denoted with S). The pulsatile flow hemodynamics was simulated by evaluating the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes system of equations using a flow solver developed by customizing OpenFOAM libraries (v5.0, The OpenFOAM Foundation). Quasi patient-specific boundary conditions were implemented using a Womersley inlet velocity profile and transient resistance outflow conditions. Hemodynamic indices such as spatially averaged wall shear stress ( $${\text{SAWSS}}$$ ), wall shear stress gradient ( $${\text{WSSG}}$$ ), time-averaged wall shear stress ( $${\text{TAWSS}}$$ ), oscillatory shear index ( $${\text{OSI}}$$ ), and relative residence time ( $${\text{RRT}}$$ ), were evaluated along with the clinical metrics pulmonary vascular resistance ( $${\text{PVR}}$$ ), stroke volume ( $${\text{SV}}$$ ) and compliance ( $$C$$ ), to assess possible spatiotemporal correlations. We observed statistically significant decreases in $${\text{SAWSS}}$$ , $${\text{WSSG}}$$ , and $${\text{TAWSS}}$$ , and increases in $${\text{OSI}}$$ and $${\text{RRT}}$$ with disease severity. $${\text{PVR}}$$ was moderately correlated with $${\text{SAWSS}}$$ and $${\text{RRT}}$$ at the mid-notch stage of the cardiac cycle when these indices were computed using the global pulmonary arterial geometry. These results are promising in the context of a long-term goal of identifying computational biomarkers that can serve as surrogates for invasive diagnostic protocols of PH.
Visualizing and Analyzing Machine-soil Interactions using Computer Vision

This work presents an experimental method for visualizing and analyzing machine-soil interactions, namely the soil optical flow technique SOFT. SOFT uses optical flow and clustering techniques to process images of soil interacting with a wheel or tool from photos taken through a glass wall of a soil bin. It produces results that are far richer than past approaches that utilized long-exposure photography. It achieves a performance comparable to particle image velocimetry or particle tracking velocimetry, but without the need for specialized measurement equipment or specially marked soil particles. The processing technique demonstrates robustness to different soil types. Ground-truth and cross-validation experiments exhibit subpixel accuracy in estimating soil motions. An example of an application of this technique for field robotics research is the detailed study of push-rolling for slope climbing and soft soil traverse. Push-rolling advances a vehicle by rolling a subset of its wheels while changing its wheelbase to keep the other wheels static and pushing against the ground. Experiments show that push-rolling achieves higher net traction than conventional rolling. Observing the two aspects of push-rolling rolling and horizontal pushing using SOFT shows that they result in entirely different forms of soil shearing "grip failure" and "ground failure," respectively. SOFT also demonstrates how the direction of soil motion is more efficiently utilized for horizontal thrust by pushing than conventional rolling. Ongoing work utilizing SOFT has also demonstrated its potential use in studying excavation tool interactions, the effects of grousers on wheel efficiency, as well as a variety of other wheel-soil interactions.
The Characterization of the Soluble Organic Fraction of Diesel Particulate Matter

This paper is concerned with the demonstration of a methodology for chemically characterizing diesel particulate organic matter (POM) emissions. The procedure begins with a Soxhlet extraction of the POM with dechloromethane to obtain a soluble organic fraction (SOF). The acidic and basic portions of the SOF are isolated by liquid-liquid extraction techniques with aqueous base and aqueous acid, respectively. The neutral portion of the extract is separated into paraffin, aromatic, transitional, and oxygenated fractions by column chromatography on silica gel. Two additional fractions, the ether insoluble and hexane insoluble fractions, are also separated. Quantitative mass data are presented on the extraction and fractionation of twelve particulate samples from the exhaust of a medium-duty diesel engine collected in a dilution tunnel at a volume dilution ration of 8 to 1. Three fuels with a range of properties and two steady-state engine conditions from the EPA 13 Mode Cycle were used as experimental variables.
Tilted inverted triangular pulse antenna for impulse radio applications

Many modem communication systems utilize non-sinusoidal or impulse signals resulting in a growing demand for ultra-wideband antennas to meet recent technological needs. Impulse Radiating Antennas (IRA) are designed to either transmit or receive short pulses. This paper determines the far-field pattern and other properties for an ideal IRA. A systematic methodology is presented based on frequency domain analysis to study an IRA. The inverted trapezoidal pulse antenna is analyzed using this method. The tilted inverted triangular pulse antenna is introduced as a modified version of inverted trapezoidal pulse antenna. The measured and calculated results are presented for an inverted trapezoidal and a tilted inverted triangular pulse antenna. The input impedance frequency bandwidth is improved from 5.5 GHz for an inverted trapezoidal pulse antenna to 20 GHz for a tilted inverted triangular pulse antenna. The far-field pattern exhibits stability within a frequency bandwidth of 3.5 GHz for an inverted trapezoidal pulse antenna and 10 GHz for a tilted inverted triangular pulse antenna.
Racing and Gaming Political Contributions in New York in 2010

This paper reviews the campaign donation made in 2010 to political candidates in New York State by horse racing and gaming interests. It categorizes the donations by both the donor and the recipients of the contributions.
Evidence-Based Practice for Health Professionals: An Interpersonal Approach

The general purpose of Howlett, Rogo, and Gabiola Shelton's (2014) first edition text is to use an interprofessional approach to educate healthcare professionals on how to incorporate evidence-base...
Sodium and potassium balance of captive meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) fed laboratory chow and vegetation diets

Abstract 1. 1. Mineral balance was studied in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) maintained in the laboratory. 2. 2. Urine and fecal Na+ contents of voles on low-Na+ diets were comparable to those reported for other herbivore species, but urine and fecal K levels were higher. 3. 3. Voles approached Na+ balance (input = output) on diets with Na+ content as low as 56 ppm. 4. 4. There was not a clearcut hypertrophy of the adrenal-gland zona glomerulosa in voles maintained on low-Na+ diets. 5. 5. Plasma K content and bone water content were higher in voles maintained on high-Na + vegetation diets, suggesting expansion of extracellular fluid volume.
Disclosure of HIV status and sexual orientation independently predicts increased absolute CD4 cell counts over time for psychiatric patients.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to replicate the relationship between disclosure of sexual orientation and immune functioning in HIV-positive persons and to extend those findings to a different type of disclosure (HIV status) and a different population (psychiatric outpatients in a publicly funded HIV/AIDS clinic). METHODS A sample of psychiatric outpatients (N = 373) from a large, urban HIV clinic was assessed for level of sexual orientation and HIV status disclosure as well as absolute CD4 cell counts over time. Mixed-effects random regression analysis was used to build a predictor model that included biobehavioral covariates. RESULTS Consistent disclosure of both sexual orientation and HIV status independently predicted increased CD4 cell counts over time controlling for important biobehavioral covariates. The only other significant effects in the model were baseline CD4 cell count and number of days between assessment of disclosure and assessment of CD4 cell count. CONCLUSIONS Relieving potential psychological distress by disclosing sexual orientation and HIV status has a positive impact on CD4 cell counts over time even among outpatients stressed by psychiatric illness and economic disadvantage. Additional research is needed to understand whether and under what conditions disclosure should be part of HIV disease management.
Elasticity Analysis of Green Sturgeon Life History

I provide an analysis of a simplified life history model for green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris, based on published and recent estimates of reproduction and growth rates and survival rates from life history theory. The deterministic life cycle models serve as a tool for qualitative analysis of the impacts of perturbations on green sturgeon, including harvest regulations based on minimum and maximum size limits (“slot limits”). Elasticity analysis of models with two alternative age–length relationships give similar results, with a high sensitivity of population growth rate to changes in the survival rate of subadult and adult fish. A dramatic increase in the survival of young of the year sturgeon or annual egg production is required to compensate for relatively low levels of fishing mortality. Peak reproductive values occur from ages 25 to 40. An increase or decrease in the maximum and minimum size limits can have a profound effect on the elasticity of population growth to changes in the annual survival rate of age classes specified by the slot, due to changes in the number of age classes of subadults and adults that are available for harvest. This analysis provides managers with a simple tool to assess the relative impacts of alternative harvest regulations. In general, green sturgeon follow life history patterns similar to other sturgeon, but species-specific demographic information is needed to produce more complex assessment and viability analysis models.
Phenomenological description of active transport of salt and water.

The phenomenological definition of active transport by Kedem and the methods of Kedem and Katchalsky have been used to obtain practical equations describing active transport in the single salt and bi-ionic systems. Procedures were devised to evaluate the required set of 10 coefficients for the single salt case and 15 for the bi-ionic. Three of these coefficients are unusual. They express the effects of active transport, i.e. of entrainment between metabolism and the conventional transport flows: active salt transport coefficient, a volume pump coefficient, and an electrogenicity coefficient. In the bi-ionic case a new passive coefficient, λ, was used to express the linkage between the fluxes of the two salts. However, if primary active transport involves only one ion, for example in the bi-ionic case, 12 coefficients suffice and certain relations can be predicted between the practical coefficients. Particular types of primary active transport could be identified by this means. The relation of active transport to membrane electrogenesis was also examined and the flux ratio equation was rederived in terms of the practical coefficients. Applications to specific parallel and series membrane systems have been analyzed.
Activation of junB and c‐myc primary response genes by interleukin 9 in a human factor‐dependent cell line

Interleukin 9 (IL-9) stimulates the proliferation of various hematopoietic cell types. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the cell proliferation action, immediate-early gene expression elicited by IL-9 in a human factor-dependent cell line, MO7e, was studied. IL-9 stimulation resulted in a rapid and transient elevation of primary response genes including junB and c-myc. The differential effects of protein kinase inhibitors, herbimycin A, genistein, and H-7 on the steady-state mRNA level and the transcription rate of junB and c-myc genes triggered by IL-9 were also investigated. Herbimycin A, but not genistein, specifically inhibited the expression of junB steady-state mRNA and the in vitro transcription of the junB gene. IL-9-enhanced c-myc gene expression was completely inhibited by both herbimycin A and genistein at the level of transcriptional initiation. H-7 failed to inhibit c-myc, but partially abolished junB mRNA induction. The role of protein kinase C in IL-9-mediated junB induction was also examined. The different responses of junB and c-myc messages to protein kinase inhibitors suggested that more than one pathway may be involved in IL-9-mediated signal transduction which leads to the expression of junB and c-myc genes.
Variability and relationships among Mixolab, Mixograph, and baking parameters based on multienvironment spring wheat trials.

ABSTRACT Because of the large number of cultivars that require examination in the development of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, breeding programs use predictive methods to test end use quality. The Mixograph is a widely used predictive test with which end use quality of many genotypes can be assessed in a short time. By comparison, the Mixolab is a relatively new device with additional capability that might be used for the same purpose. Our objective was to document variability of, and relationships among, 20 parameters obtained from Mixolab, Mixograph, and bake tests. Tests were performed on flour from 18 genotypes grown in 20 environments. Both genotype and environment had significant effects on quality parameter values. Several Mixograph and Mixolab parameters were highly significantly correlated, particularly when genotype mean values over environments were considered. Correlations between loaf volume and Mixolab parameters within environments were inconsistent and suggest that average...