cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unusual role of labile phenolics in imparting flame resistance to polyamide

Abstract In the quest for development of halogen-free FR additive and better understanding of the structure-flammability relationship, here we report the synthesis and characterization of a series of phenolic and benzylic succinamides, with and without aliphatic hydroxyl groups. These compounds allow for detailed investigation of the influence of these functional groups on thermal stability and FR properties in their native form and as coatings on Nylon 66 fabric. The thermal stability, char formation, heat release characteristics and thermal decomposition pathway of synthesized succinamides were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC) and TGA-FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy). Phenolic succinamide, 2,3 dihydroxy-N1,N4-bis(4-hydroxybenzyl)succinamide (C1) and N1,N4-bis(4-hydroxybenzyl)succinamide (C3), exhibits about 20% char yield with low heat release characteristics while benzylic succinamides, N1,N4-dibenzyl-2,3-dihydroxysuccinamide (C2) and N1,N4-dibenzylsuccinamide (C4), exhibit poor char yield and high heat release characteristics. Thermal decomposition followed by evolved gas analysis of all these succinamides indicate that the decomposition pathway is very much dependent on the presence of phenolic moieties. Heat release characteristic and flammability of Nylon 66 coated with succinamides (10% by weight) clearly indicate that the coating of C1 and C3 impart flame resistance to Nylon 66. These studies clearly reveal that phenolic derivatives are essential for improving the thermal stability, flame resistance and lowering the heat release characteristics of Nylon 66 through char formation.
Non-profit Hospital Targeted Health Priorities and Collaboration With Local Health Departments in the First Round Post-ACA: A National Descriptive Study

We examined the community health needs assessments (CHNA) and implementation strategies of a national sample of 785 non-profit hospitals (NFPs) from the first round after the ACA. We found that the priorities targeted in the implementation strategies were well-aligned with the top community health priorities identified in CHNAs as reported in previous studies. The top five targeted priorities included obesity, access to care, diabetes, cancer, and mental health. We also found that 34% of sample NFPs collaborated with their local health department (LHD) to produce a single CHNA for their jurisdiction. Non-profit hospitals that collaborated with a LHD on the CHNA had higher odds of selecting behavioral health community issues (i.e., substance abuse, alcohol, and mental health), while hospitals located in counties with high uninsurance rates had lower odds of targeting these community issues. Our contribution was 3-fold; first, we examined a large sample of implementation strategies to extend on previous work that examined CHNAs only. This gives a more complete picture of which community issues identified in the CHNA are actually targeted for implementation. Second, this study was the first to present information on the status of NPF collaboration with LHDs to produce a single CHNA (from the NFP perspective). Third, we examined the association between targeted priorities with NFP and county-level characteristics. The community benefit requirement and Section 9007 of the ACA present an opportunity to nudge NFPs to improve the conditions for health in the communities they serve. The ACA has also challenged institutions in the health care sector to approach health through the social determinants of health framework. This framework moves beyond the provision of acute health services and emphasizes other inputs that improve population health. In this context, NFPs are particularly well-positioned to shift their contribution to improve population health beyond their four walls. Section 9007 is one mechanism to achieve such shift and has shown some promising changes among NFPs since its passage as reflected in the findings of this study. This study can inform future research related to NPF community benefit and local health planning.
(Super)paramagnetic nanoparticles as platform materials for environmental applications: From synthesis to demonstration

Over the past few decades, engineered, (super)paramagnetic nanoparticles have drawn extensive research attention for a broad range of applications based on their tunable size and shape, surface chemistries, and magnetic properties. This review summaries our recent work on the synthesis, surface modification, and environmental application of (super)paramagnetic nanoparticles. By utilizing hightemperature thermo-decomposition methods, first, we have broadly demonstrated the synthesis of highly monodispersed, (super)paramagnetic nanoparticles, via the pyrolysis of metal carboxylate salts in an organic phase. Highly uniform magnetic nanoparticles with various size, composition, and shape can be precisely tuned by controlled reaction parameters, such as the initial precursors, heating rate, final reaction temperature, reaction time, and the additives. These materials can be further rendered water stable via functionalization with surface mono/bi-layer coating structure using a series of tunable ionic/non-ionic surfactants. Finally, we have demonstrated platform potential of these materials for heavy metal ions sensing, sorption, and separation from the aqueous phase.
Escherichia coli YcaQ is a DNA glycosylase that unhooks DNA interstrand crosslinks

Interstrand DNA crosslinks (ICLs) are a toxic form of DNA damage that block DNA replication and transcription by tethering the opposing strands of DNA. ICL repair requires unhooking of the tethered strands by either nuclease incision of the DNA backbone or glycosylase cleavage of the crosslinked nucleotide. In bacteria, glycosylase-mediated ICL unhooking was described in Streptomyces as a means of self-resistance to the genotoxic natural product azinomycin B. The mechanistic details and general utility of glycosylase-mediated ICL repair in other bacteria are unknown. Here, we identify the uncharacterized Escherichia coli protein YcaQ as an ICL repair glycosylase that protects cells against the toxicity of crosslinking agents. YcaQ unhooks both sides of symmetric and asymmetric ICLs in vitro, and loss or overexpression of ycaQ sensitizes E. coli to the nitrogen mustard mechlorethamine. Comparison of YcaQ and UvrA-mediated ICL resistance mechanisms establishes base excision as an alternate ICL repair pathway in bacteria.
Resistance of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, to transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1F corn in the Americas: lessons and implications for Bt corn IRM in China

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a major target pest of Bt crops (e.g., corn, cotton, and soybean) in North and South America. This pest has recently invaded Africa and Asia including China and the invasion has placed a great threat to the food security in many countries of these two continents. Due to the extensive use of Bt crops, practical resistance of S. frugiperda to Cry1F corn (TC 1507) with field control problems has widely occurred in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, and the mainland United States. Analyzing data generated from decade-long studies showed that several factors might have contributed to the wide development of the resistance. These factors include (1) limited modes of action of Bt proteins used in Bt crops; (2) cross-resistance among Cry1 proteins; (3) use of nonhigh dose Bt crop traits; (4) that the resistance is complete on Bt corn plants; (5) abundant in initial Cry1F resistance alleles; and (6) lack of fitness costs/recessive fitness costs of the resistance. The long-term use of Bt crop technology in the Americas suggests that Bt corn can be an effective tool for controlling S. frugiperda in China. IRM programs for Bt corn in China should be as simple as possible to be easily adopted by small-scale growers. The following aspects may be considered in its Bt corn IRM programs: (1) use of only "high dose" traits for both S. frugiperda and stalk borers; (2) developing and implementing a combined resistance monitoring program; (3) use "gene pyramiding" as a primary IRM strategy; and (4) if possible, Bt corn may not be planted in the areas where S. frugiperda overwinters. Lessons and experience gained from the global long-term use of Bt crops should have values in improving IRM programs in the Americas, as well as for a sustainable use of Bt corn technology in China.
Congressional Authority to Interpret the Thirteenth Amendment: A Response to Professor Tsesis

This essay explores the proper scope of Congress’s power to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition on slavery and involuntary servitude. It reviews the historical context surrounding the drafting of the Thirteenth Amendment enforcement power, and it points to structural constitutional considerations relevant to the understanding of that power. It concludes by suggesting some related topics that deserve further exploration.
Building Pareto Frontiers under tree-level forest planning using airborne laser scanning, growth models and spatial optimization

Abstract This article evaluates the conflicts between spatial, production and financial goals using tree-level decision-support built from stand dynamics equations, airborne laser scanning data and optimization based on mixed integer programming. The resulting Pareto Frontiers evaluated the role of spatial goals to create compact treatment areas along the 10-year forest plan composed of two periods. The weight of spatial goals was progressively increased to quantify the trade-offs towards (1) financial performance, (2) timber production, (3) clustering of harvesting decisions and (4) the Hart-Becking stand density index computed at tree-level using regions derived from ALS. The proposed framework was illustrated in pine forest located in Central Spain using tree-level inventory. The proposed tree selection method was feasible and provided results fast to support operational decision-making. Proved feasibility of the tree selection method optimization allowed the fast PF computation. The results showed the benefit of increasing the weight of spatial goals up to 20–40% to promote the clustering of tree harvests. The observed reduction of financial revenues from increasing priority to spatial clustering paid off, financially and operationally, considering the possible implementation of solutions, which were very dispersed when fully maximizing revenues or benefit. The assimilation of the Pareto Frontier supported with robust optimization contributes to improve forest management planning efficiency. This article turns tree-level decision making into contemporary by integrating multi-temporal decisions, using multi-objective scenarios to assess preferences, and making use of ALS technology as the vector to transform forest data into management decisions.
Prenatal diagnosis of double-outlet left atrium

Double outlet left atrium (DOLA), an elusive malformation to prenatal diagnosis, is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left atrium (LA) drains into both the left and right ventricles. We hereby report on a prenatally diagnosed case of DOLA and present a review of the literature. We highlight key differentiating findings to aid in the diagnosis of this rare and complex cardiac malformation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
A 40.68MHz Active Rectifier with Cycle-Based On/Off-Delay Compensation for Biomedical Implants

This paper presents a 40.68MHz active rectifier for size-constrained biomedical implants. Cycle-based timing control (CBTC) is proposed to significantly extend the duration for completely compensating on/off delays of active diodes at 40.68MHz, thereby improving both power conversion efficiency (PCE) and voltage conversion ratio (VCR) of the rectifier. Both supply-independent ramp and low-voltage-stress startup are also developed to maintain high PCE and VCR and ensure rectifier reliability over a wide input range. Implemented in standard 0.18µm CMOS, the proposed fully-integrated rectifier properly operates at 40.68MHz to enable the use of a small-diameter receiver coil of 4mm. Since this rectifier is the first to achieve full on/off-delay compensation at 40.68MHz, its maximum PCE and VCR achieve 86% and 96.3%, respectively, over a wide input range from 1.9V to 3.8V. As compared to the prior art, this work not only provides much higher PCE and VCR at 40.68MHz, but also uses the smallest receiver coil for wireless power delivery.
Reach of Effective, Nationally-Available, Low-Cost, Nonprofit Weight Loss Program in Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs)

Obesity rates are higher for ethnic minority, low-income, and rural communities. Programs are needed to support these communities with weight management. We determined the reach of a low-cost, nationally-available weight loss program in Health Resources and Services Administration medically underserved areas (MUAs) and described the demographics of the communities with program locations. This is a cross-sectional analysis of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) chapter locations. Geographic information systems technology was used to combine information about TOPS chapter locations, the geographic boundaries of MUAs, and socioeconomic data from the Decennial 2010 Census. TOPS is available in 30 % of MUAs. The typical TOPS chapter is in a Census Tract that is predominantly white, urban, with a median annual income between $25,000 and $50,000. However, there are TOPS chapters in Census Tracts that can be classified as predominantly black or predominantly Hispanic; predominantly rural; and as low or high income. TOPS provides weight management services in MUAs and across many types of communities. TOPS can help treat obesity in the medically underserved. Future research should determine the differential effectiveness among chapters in different types of communities.
Bacterial Site-Specific DNA Inversion Systems

Specialized recombination reactions involving DNA inversions have evolved as a mechanism to generate genetic diversity within a population. They often function to preadapt a portion of a population to a sudden change in the environment or to allow a portion of a population to take advantage of a new situation. Site-specific DNA inversion reactions are characterized by recombination events which occur at defined sites and are usually catalyzed by an enzyme dedicated to that particular reaction. The low rate of inversion is believed to be primarily limited by the extremely low amounts of the Hin protein present in cells since overexpressing Hin coordinately increases inversion rates. In vivo studies have demonstrated that integration host factor (IHF) and leucine-responsive regulatory protein (LRP) participate in the fim inversion reaction. These two DNA bending proteins are believed to function together to help promote synapsis between IRL and IRR. FimB- and FimE-promoted inversion rates are also decreased in lrp mutants. LRP is a moderately abundant DNA binding and bending protein that functions as a global regulator of various genes involved in amino acid metabolism and fimbria biosynthesis. Recombination catalyzed by the Hin and Gin DNA invertases has been intensively studied in vitro, and the basic outline of the reaction is well understood. DNA inversion occurs in a simple buffered salt solution without the need for a high-energy cofactor other than the requirement for a negatively supercoiled substrate.
Social Ecology and Behavior of Coyotes

Publisher Summary Behavioral patterns are subject to natural selection and behavior like any other attributes of an animal, which contributes to individual survival. The chapter summarizes a long-term study of coyotes that was conducted in the Grand Teton National Park, in the northwest comer of Wyoming. There is remarkable agreement in the results stemming from a limited number of field projects concerned with the social behavior and behavioral ecology of coyotes, and some general principles concerning social ecology, scent marking, predatory behavior, time budgeting, and reproductive and care-giving patterns can be developed that are applicable not only to coyotes but to many other carnivores.
Reduction of noise from supersonic jet flows

Interacting coaxial supersonic jet flows noise reduction based on noise distribution characteristics measurement in anechoic chamber
Message-passing in lower-level computer science courses

The paper shares recent experience using message-passing as an introduction to distributed processing in lower-level CS courses. These experiences come mainly from using MPI in the CSI course, and comparing the experience with a similar assignment in an upper-level (operating systems) course.
An introduction to nonlinear programming—II: The linear programming problem

Abstract Linear programming problems represent the most thoroughly analyzed and widely solved class of parameter optimization problems. In Part II, we shall restrict our attention to this general class of problems. The characteristics of the admissible region are investigated and established. The Kuhn-Tucker conditions developed in Part I are applied to establish necessary and sufficient conditions that must be satisfied at a minimum. Included in the discussion is a consideration of dual linear programming problems. Then, we direct our attention to the question of determining the solution of specific problems. A general algorithm known as the Simplex Method is described and applied to several examples.
Mechanizing Formal Methods: Opportunities and Challenges

Mechanization makes it feasible to calculate properties of formally specified systems. This ability creates new opportunities for using formal methods as an exploratory tool in system design. Achieving enough efficiency to make this practical raises challenging problems in automated deduction. These challenges can be met only by approaches that integrate consideration of its mechanization into the design of a specification language.
State Variable Filter Models

This chapter contains sections titled: State-Determined Systems State Variables Simulation Matlab Simulations State Variable Model Change of Basis Matlab State Space Transpose Systems Matlab State-Space Architectural Structures
Observations of a dynamical-to-kinematic diffraction transition in plastically deformed polycrystalline intermetallic YCu

Abstract Unlike most intermetallic compounds, polycrystalline YCu, a B2 (CsCl-type) intermetallic, is ductile at room temperature. The mechanisms for this behavior are not fully understood. In situ neutron diffraction was used to investigate whether a stress-induced phase transformation or twinning contribute to the ductility; however, neither mechanism was found to be active in YCu. Surprisingly, this study revealed that the intensities of the diffraction peaks increased after plastic deformation. It is thought that annealing the samples created nearly perfect crystallinity, and subsequent deformation reduced this high degree of lattice coherency, resulting in a modified mosaic structure that decreased or eliminated the extinction effect. Analysis of changes in diffraction peak intensity showed a region of primary plasticity that exhibits significant changes in diffraction behavior. Fully annealed samples initially contain diffracting volumes large enough to follow the dynamical theory of diffraction. When loaded beyond the yield point, dislocation motion disrupts the lattice perfection, and the diffracting volume is reduced to the point that diffraction follows the kinematic theory of diffraction. Since the sample preparation and deformation mechanisms present in this study are common in numerous material systems, this dynamical to kinematic diffraction transition should also be considered in other diffraction experiments. These measurements also suggest the possibility of a new method of investigating structural characteristics.
Maps as an Activity in History Teaching

(1940). Maps as an Activity in History Teaching. The Social Studies: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 78-81.
Gender Differences in Moral Sensitivity: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes quantitative findings of the gender differences in moral sensitivity retrieved from 19 primary studies. We found the average effect size of 0.25, favoring women, with a standard deviation of 0.14. The variation in the observed effect sizes could not be attributed to differences in participants' educational level, the utilized measure of moral sensitivity, or the publication format in which the study was reported. This suggests that gender differences in moral sensitivity are consistent across different levels of participants' education regardless of the instrument used to assess moral sensitivity or the format in which the research was reported.
Bioluminescence characteristics of a tropical terrestrial fungus (Basidiomycetes).

Freshly collected samples of luminous mycelium of a terrestrial fungus from Panama were investigated for their bioluminescence characteristics. Taxonomic identification of fungal species could not be determined because of the lack of fruiting bodies. Fluorescence excited by 380 nm illumination had an emission spectrum with a main peak at 480 nm and additional chlorophyll peaks related to the wood substrate. Bioluminescence appeared as a continuous glow that did not show any diel varia- tion. The light production was sensitive to temperature and decreased with temperatures higher or lower than ambient. Bioluminescence intensity was sensitive to hydration, increasing by a factor of 400 immediately after exposure to water and increasing by a factor of 1 million after several hours. This increase may have occurred through dilution of superoxide dismutase, which is a suppressive factor of bioluminescence in fungus tissue. The mycelium typically transports nutritive substances back to the fruiting body. The function of luminescent mycelium may be to increase the intensity of light from the fungus and more effec- tively attract nocturnal insects and other animals that serve as disseminating vectors for fungal spores. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The new managerial rhetoric and the old criticism

Rhetorical criticism developed as the consummation of the revival of the old paradigm of rhetoric, a renaissance begun during the late 1800s. Sharing the assumptions of the old rhetoric that individual speakers are the engine of social influence, that ideas and reasons are the staples of persuasion, and that society is moved through a diffusion of political ideas from elites to the general public, criticism has approached the new persuasions and propagandas of twentieth century America only with great difficulty. Greater understanding of the relationships between the new managerial rhetoric and the old criticism will facilitate a rapprochement that has been underway since the 1940s, and will both ease a persistent source of critical ferment and help resolve discrepant critical perspectives on modern social influence.
BRCA-Monet: a breast cancer specific drug treatment mode-of-action network for treatment effective prediction using large scale microarray database

Connectivity map (cMap) is a recent developed dataset and algorithm for uncovering and understanding the treatment effect of small molecules on different cancer cell lines. It is widely used but there are still remaining challenges for accurate predictions. Here, we propose BRCA-MoNet, a network of drug mode of action (MoA) specific to breast cancer, which is constructed based on the cMap dataset. A drug signature selection algorithm fitting the characteristic of cMap data, a quality control scheme as well as a novel query algorithm based on BRCA-MoNet are developed for more effective prediction of drug effects. BRCA-MoNet was applied to three independent data sets obtained from the GEO database: Estrodial treated MCF7 cell line, BMS-754807 treated MCF7 cell line, and a breast cancer patient microarray dataset. In the first case, BRCA-MoNet could identify drug MoAs likely to share same and reverse treatment effect. In the second case, the result demonstrated the potential of BRCA-MoNet to reposition drugs and predict treatment effects for drugs not in cMap data. In the third case, a possible procedure of personalized drug selection is showcased. The results clearly demonstrated that the proposed BRCA-MoNet approach can provide increased prediction power to cMap and thus will be useful for identification of new therapeutic candidates. Website: The web based application is developed and can be access through the following link http://compgenomics.utsa.edu/BRCAMoNet/
New scintillators discovered by high-throughput screening

Abstract We report the scintillation luminosities, decay times, and emission wavelengths for 19 Ce 3+ activated scintillators, 18 Eu 2+ activated scintillators, and 4 self-activated scintillators. Of these, 18 have not been previously reported either as phosphors or scintillators. Their luminosities range from 40,000 to under 1000 photons/MeV. While these scintillators may not have properties that make them top candidates for widespread use, their data will contribute to a deeper understanding of factors that limit scintillator performance.
Depth-related enzymic activities in muscle, brain and heart of deep-living pelagic marine teleosts

The activities [units-1 wet weight tissue] of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), pyruvate kinase (PK), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) in white skeletal muscle, brain and heart of 24 pelagic teleost fishes were determined. In addition, for several of the foregoing species, citrate synthase (CS) activities were examined in white skeletal muscle. In muscle, the activities of all these enzymes decrease exponentially with increasing minimum depth of occurrence of the species; this decrease closely parallels the decrease in respiratory rate found previously for these same species. The decline in enzymic activity with increasing minimum depth of occurrence is much greater than the decline in body protein content of the whole fishes, suggesting a disproportionately rapid fall in enzyme concentration in comparison to contractile and structural protein concentrations. The similar reductions in activities of both glycolytic (LDH and PK) and citric acid cycle (CS, MDH and IDH) enzymes with depth indicate that both standard and active metabolisms of deeper-dwelling species are reduced relative to shallower-dwelling forms. There is no suggestion of increased anaerobic capacity with depth or in relation to species, occurrence in the oxygen minimum layer. In brain and heart, there is no significant decrease in enzymic activity with increasing minimum depth of occurrence. These two tissues have similar capacities for metabolism in most fishes, when comparisons are based on enzymic activity per gram wet weight of tissue.
THE GROWING CRISIS IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

The place of mathematics in the American school curriculum was challenged during the early years of the twentieth century. Specifically questioned was the requirement that all high school students take mathematics. By the 1930s, mathematics educators were speaking of the situation as a crisis. The crisis had grown in the context of major social changes arising from intense urbanization, industrialization, and immigration around the turn of the century; America's involvement in World War I; and the Great Depression. Along with significant growth in the school population had come a perceived decrease in the quality of that population. It was within this historical context that mathematics educators responded to suggested changes in the curriculum. Some of their responses may have exacerbated the crisis about which they were so concerned.
Absence of Bose condensation on lattices with moat bands

We study hard-core bosons on a class of frustrated lattices with the lowest Bloch band having a degenerate minimum along a closed contour, the moat, in the reciprocal space. We show that at small density the ground state of the system is given by a noncondensed state, which may be viewed as a state of fermions subject to Chern-Simons gauge field. At fixed density of bosons, such a state exhibits domains of incompressible liquids. Their fixed densities are given by fractions of the reciprocal-space area enclosed by the moat.
Intuitive averaging of categorized numerical stimuli

Three experiments are reported concerning the ability of people to estimate the average of each of two distributions of numerical stimuli. On each study trial, a three-digit number was shown with one of two category names (nonsense syllables). About 50 stimuli for each category were shown rapidly (e.g., 0.5 sec) in a random sequence. The numerical stimuli were normally distributed in a large pilot study. The mean estimates of the average for each category given by experimental groups in the pilot study were quite close to the stimulus mean and were not affected by whether the two distributions had similar or different means and variances or by the stimulus presentation rate (0.5, 1.5 sec). The distributions of numerical stimuli were skewed in Experiment 1. Estimates of the average for each category seemed to reflect the mean of the stimuli. The distributions were bimodal in Experiment 2. The mean estimates of the average of a subset of the stimuli were observed in experimental conditions when the stimulus distributions were truncated (by instructions to the subject) after the stimuli had been shown. In Experiment 3, subjects produced frequency distributions reflecting the characteristics of the stimulus distribution.
Rapid Differential Endogenous Plasminogen Activator Expression After Acute Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion

Background and Purpose—During focal cerebral ischemia, the microvascular matrix (ECM), which participates in microvascular integrity, is degraded and lost when neurons are injured. Loss of microvascular basal lamina antigens coincides with rapid expression of select matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Plasminogen activators (PAs) may also play a role in ECM degradation by the generation of plasmin or by MMP activation. Methods—The endogenous expressions of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), urokinase (uPA), and PA inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were quantified in 10-μm frozen sections from ischemic and matched nonischemic basal ganglia and in the plasma of 34 male healthy nonhuman primates before and after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCA:O). Results—Within the ischemic basal ganglia, tissue uPA activity and antigen increased significantly within 1 hour after MCA:O (2P<0.005). tPA activity transiently decreased 2 hours after MCA:O (2P=0.01) in concert with an increase in PAI-1 antigen (2P=0.001) but otherwi...
Antipneumococcal Cross Reactions of Antigens of Leuconostoc mesenteroides.

Summary1. The experiments dealt with the antipneumococcal cross reactions of non-dextran antigens of two strains of L. mesenteroides. The B512-F strain, which is commonly employed in manufacture of dextran plasma volume extenders, gave reciprocal cross reactions with type 27; the other strain gave reciprocal reactions with type 32 pneumococcus. The data proved that these immunological relationships depended upon similarities between the non-dextran antigens of the leuconostoc bacteria and the specific capsular polysaccharides (S) of the cross-reacting types (27 or 32) of pneumococci. 2. The type 27-reactive antigens of the B512-F strain were shown to be capsular constituents by Quellung reactions; this strain also liberated considerable amounts of the reactive material as a soluble substance into the fluids of broth cultures. The No. 6 strain failed to give Quellung reactions both with type 32 and its homologous antiserum, and appeared analogous in serological behavior to “intermediate” strains of pneumoc...
The Clearance of Intravitreal Gentamicin

Intravitreal gentamicin cleared significantly more rapidly from the uninflamed aphakic rabbit eye than the phakic control, with a half-life of 12 hours in the former and 32 hours in the latter. A similar difference was noted in aphakic and phakic eyes with an experimental Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis, but without the same level of significance. Human data from nine aphakic infected eyes undergoing reinjection or vitrectomy indicated that therapeutic levels of gentamicin are not consistently found 48 hours or more after the initial intravitreal injection.
Absolute projection constant of the linear functions in a Lebesgue space

Cheney and Franchetti have computed the projection constant λ(V; L 1[a, b]) for the two-dimensional spaceV of lines inL 1[a, b] relative to the overspaceL 1[a, b]. The purpose of this note is to show that λ(V; L 1[a, b]) is in fact the absolute projection constant ofV.
Transcriptional Regulation by Estrogen of Episomal Prolactin Gene Regulatory Elements

As a first step in defining the role of chromatin structure in steroid-regulated gene transcription, we have established a steroid-responsive minichromosome system that contains the 5′ upstream regulatory region of the rat PRL gene (PRL) from −10 to −1960-basepairs fused to the antibiotic resistance gene, Tn5. The hybrid gene was inserted into a bovine papilloma virus (BPV) vector and then transfected into GH3 cells. Southern analysis of total genomic DNA revealed that the PRL-Tn5-BPV DNA existed in the cells as unrearranged episomes or minichromosomes at a level of 25–100 copies/cell. We monitored the estrogen responsiveness of the minichromosome-based PRL regulatory regions by measuring Tn5 mRNA levels. Treatment of GH3 cells for 48 h with 10 nm 17β-estradiol (E2) increased Tn5 mRNA levels 3- to 6-fold over those in untreated cells. Concurrently, endogenous PRL mRNA levels were induced 8- to 15-fold. Using nuclear run-on assays, it was found that E2 increased PRL-Tn5 transcription rates approximately 3-...
Intermediate outcomes and predictors of efficacy in the radiofrequency ablation of 100 pathologically proven renal cell carcinomas.

Purpose: To determine oncologic outcomes and predictors of primary efficacy, including RENAL nephrometry scores (radius, exophytic/endophytic properties, nearness of tumor to collecting system or sinus, anterior/posterior, location relative to polar lines), after percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation of proven renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent percutaneous computed tomography– and ultrasound-guided RF ablation for histologically proven RCC from 2004 to 2011 were evaluated. Clinical data, pathologic findings, technical details, and outcomes were reviewed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictors of primary technique effectiveness and complications. Local tumor progression–free, metastasis-free, and overall survival were calculated. One hundred RCC lesions underwent 115 RF ablation sessions in 84 patients. Median follow-up was 24 months (mean, 27 mo; range, 1–106 mo). Results: Efficacy of RF ablation was defined per International Working Group of Image-Guided Tumor Ablation criteria. Total, primary, and secondary technique effectiveness rates were 95% (95 of 100), 86% (86 of 100), and 9% (nine of 100), respectively. Primary efficacy was associated with size (P o .001), proximity to collecting system (P ¼ .001), RENAL nephrometry score (P o .001), and number of ablation zones (P o .001). Complications occurred in 13% of patients, without procedure-related deaths. The median 2.1-year local progression–free, metastasis-free, disease-specific, and overall survival rates were 86%, 98.7%, 100%, and 97.6%, respectively. Conclusions: Percutaneous image-guided RF ablation for RCC provides excellent intermediate oncologic control. Location, size, proximity to the collecting system, low RENAL nephrometry score, and number of ablation zones predict primary efficacy.
Surgical approach for primary parotid malignancies

Primary parotid malignancies are one of the most diverse, complex group of tumors the head and neck surgeon faces in practice. Surgical management of these tumors is based on histological tumor type, tumor involvement of the facial nerve, local extent, and regional spread. Primary parotid malignancies can extend to local skin and subcutaneous tissues, parapharyngeal space, retropharyngeal space, and skull base. Distant metastatic disease often leaves the surgeon with the decision to recommend no surgical treatment or palliative procedure only. Treatment of primary parotid malignancies is individualized with the surgical goal of complete eradication of all local and regional disease. Because of the complexity of parotid malignancies, accurate pathological diagnosis is of paramount importance for optimal surgical therapy. Characteristics of the various parotid malignancies are discussed, and the surgical management is approached according to histological type, facial nerve involvement, and local or regional extent.
Fusing diverse monitoring algorithms for robust change detection

Change detection is an important task in remotely monitoring and diagnosing equipment and other processes. Specifically, early detection of differences that indicate abnormal conditions has the promise to provide considerable savings in averting secondary damage and preventing system outage. Of course, accurate early detection has to be balanced against the successful rejection of false positive alarms. In noisy environments, such as aircraft engine monitoring, this proves to be a difficult undertaking for any one algorithm. In this paper, we investigate the performance improvement that can be gained by aggregating the information from a set of diverse change detection algorithms. Specifically, we examine a set of change detectors that utilize a variety of different techniques such as neural nets, random forests, and support vector machines. The different techniques have different detection sensitivities and different false positive rates. For fusion, we consider the Dempster regression technique that operates well for time series as well as averaging schemes, and a meta-classifiers. We provide results using illustrative examples from aircraft engine monitoring.
Illusions of bent line

A recent paper offered an explanation of the Poggendorf illusion, assuming that it results from a failure of the visual system to make a perfect resolution of acute angles. Variations of the illusion were drawn eliminating all acute angles, and the illusion was shown to remain in full strength. A variation of the figure preserving the acute angle was drawn, and the illusion was found to reverse in direction. Several theoretical interpretations are considered but none accepted, and it is concluded that the illusion remains unexplained.
On the interaction of 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropylbenzoquinone (DBMIB) with bound electron carriers in spinach chloroplasts.

Abstract 2,5-Dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropylbenzoquinone (DBMIB), when added to chloroplasts as the sole electron donor, is an effective reducing agent. Low concentrations of 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropylbenzoquinone reduce cytochrome f , plastocyanin, and P700 in the dark but do not reduce the high-potential form of cytochrome b 559 . 2,5-Dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropylbenzoquinone appears to interact at or near the site of function of the “Rieske” iron-sulfur center, as evidenced by a shift in the g value of the electron paramagnetic resonance signal of the reduced center.
Stability analysis for semi-implicit LIM algorithm

The latency insertion method (LIM) has been demonstrated as an optimum algorithm for the transient simulation large networks. However, its stability is not unconditional. This paper reviews the semi-implicit formulation of LIM and examines the stability properties of the formulation using a block matrix approach. Satbility conditions are derived and examples are used to validate the results.
Classes de Chern des variétés singulières, revisitées

Resume Nous introduisons une notion de groupe de proChow des varietes, qui reproduit la notion de groupe de Chow pour les varietes completes, et est fonctorielle par rapport aux morphismes arbitraires. Nous construisons une transformation naturelle du foncteur des fonctions constructibles vers le foncteur proChow, qui etend la transformation naturelle de MacPherson. Nous illustrons le resultat en donnant des demonstrations tres courtes pour (des generalisations de) deux faits bien connus sur les classes de Chern–Schwartz–MacPherson. Pour citer cet article : P. Aluffi, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 342 (2006).
Individual odours and mating success in the golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus

Abstract Abstract. This study tested (1) whether female golden hamsters can detect individual differences in the odours of conspecific males, and (2) whether a female's exposure to individually distinctive male odours can facilitate mating success. In experiment 1, a habituation-discrimination paradigm showed that females can distinguish individual differences in the odours of flank gland secretions, urine, faeces, and soiled bedding from males. In experiment 2, four groups of females were exposed to male odours (soiled bedding) or to no odours (clean bedding) for 30 min per day for 10 days. Females then were tested in dyadic encounters with males, and aggressive and sexual behaviour patterns were recorded. Group 1 females were exposed to the odours of one male, then tested with the same male. Group 2 females were exposed to the odours of one male but tested with a different male. Group 3 females were exposed to the odours of 10 different males then tested with another unfamiliar male. Group 4 females were not exposed to any male odours and were tested with an unfamiliar male. Group 1 females showed lower levels of aggression and higher levels of sexual behaviour than did females in the other groups. Pregnancy rates were similar among the groups, but group 1 females produced significantly larger litters than did females in the other groups. These results suggest that mammalian scent marking may have important sexual functions, and that a female's familiarity with the individual odours of a conspecific male may facilitate mating and affect reproductive success.
A chromosomal gene required for killer plasmid expression, mating, and spore maturation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract "Killer" strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are those that harbor a double-stranded RNA plasmid and secrete a toxin that kills only strains not carrying this plasmid (sensitives). Two chromosomal genes (kex1 and kex2) are required for the secretion of toxin by plasmid-carrying strains. The kex2 gene, which maps at a site distinct from the mating-type locus, is also required for normal mating by alpha strains and meiotic sporulation in all strains. Strains that are alpha mating-type and kex2 fail to secrete the pheromone alpha-factor or to respond to the alpha-factor II pheromone which causes a morphological change, but they do respond to alpha-factor I which causes G1 arrest in alpha cells. Strains that are alpha mating-type and kex2 show no defect in mating; pheromone secretion, or response to alpha-factor. Diploids that are homozygous for the kex2 mutation, unlike wildtype or heterozygous diploids, fail to undergo sporulation, with the defect occurring in the final spore maturation stage. These same defects in the sexual cycle are present in all kex2 mutants independent of the presence of the "killer" plasmid.
Spin-lattice relaxation time of Yb3+ in YbCl3•6H2O

Abstract Temperature dependence of experimentally determined spin-lattice relaxation time τ Yb of Yb 3+ ions in YbCl 3 ·6H 2 O single crystals is examined. It is found that τ Yb has different temperature dependences in the temperature ranges 2–30 K, 30–77 K, 150–300 K. In particular, Raman mechanisms are found to be predominant in the temperature ranges 2–30 K and 150–300 K, while the direct process is predominant in the range 30–77 K.
EVOLUTIONARY OPTIMIZATION OF GAUSSIAN WINDOWING FUNCTIONS FOR DATA PREPROCESSING

The average classification accuracy of an odor classification system is improved using a genetic algorithm to determine optimal parameters for feature extraction. Gaussian windowing functions, called "kernels" are evolved to extract information from the transient response of an array of gas sensors, resulting in a reduced set of extracted features for a linear discriminant pattern classification system. Results show significant improvements are achieved when compared to results obtained using a predetermined and fixed set of four bell-shaped kernels for every sensor. Examination of the evolved kernels reveals the areas of the sensor responses where discriminating information was identified. A novel data migration approach during training helps prevent overtraining, and the fitness measure chosen incorporates adjustments for both population diversity and solution complexity. A variety of adjustable parameters, including the definition of a time-varying dynamic weighting factor, encourage experimentation in order to appropriately tune the sampling methods and fitness measure.
Nonlinear Interactions of Cyclotron Harmonic Plasma Waves

Experimental and theoretical evidence of resonant and nonresonant mode coupling of cyclotron harmonic plasma waves is presented.
Picosecond photoluminescence from bound excitons in Cd1−xZnxTe

Abstract Picosecond lifetimes of donor- and acceptor-bound excitons (( D 0 , X ) and ( A 0 , X )) in Cd 0.55 Zn 0.45 Te have been observed by time correlated single photon counting with high spectral resolution. The lifetimes increase with localized energy as expected for radiative transitions and are predicted reasonably well by both the Sanders-Chang and Rashba-Gurgenishvili theories. Lifetimes measured at the main photoluminescence peak for three other Cd 1− x Zn x Te samples with x = 0, 0.023 and 0.19 decrease with increasing x .
Near-Death Experiences Precipitated by Suicide Attempt: Lack of Influence of Psychopathology, Religion, and Expectations

Article studying near-death experiences in persons who would be expected to have a high rate of both psychopathology and coming close to death, by interviewing sixty-one consecutive suicide attempters.
Immunocytochemical localization of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in the rat hippocampus

The adult rat hippocampus was investigated by light microscopic immunocytochemistry for (Na+ + K+)-ATPase. In the CA1, CA2 and CA3 hippocampal regions, dense immunostaining for (Na+ + K+)-ATPase, exhibiting a punctate appearance, was demonstrated along the soma plasmalemma of hippocampal pyramidal cells in the stratum pyramidale, thus outlining these cells distinctly, and along dendrites extending into the stratum radiatum. (Na+ + K+)-ATPase immunostaining was dense in the neuropil of the strata oriens and radiatum of the rat hippocampus, but much lighter in the corpus callosum. Immunostaining at the periphery of pyramidal cell soma may be associated with the plexus formed by axon terminals of hippocampal basket cells.
The inertia of diagonal multiples of 3×3 real matrices

Abstract To each triple (α, β, γ) of non-negative integers satisfying α + β + γ = 3 there corresponds the class of 3×3 real matrices M such that the inertia In ( MD ) = ( α , β , γ ) for every 3×3 positive definite diagonal matrix D . Each such class is characterized by giving algebraic conditions which the principal minors of its members satisfy. These characterizations are obtained as corollaries of a general theorem on the roots of real homogeneous polynomials of order 3 and degree 3, and they make it possible to characterize for 3×3 matrices (1) those M such that In( MD ) = In ( D ) for all diagonal D and (2) those M such that MD is stable if and only if D is stable. The latter is the n = 3 case of the original definition of D -stability due to Arrow and McManus [1] and Enthoven and Arrow [3].