cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Density measurements of xK2S + (1 - x)B2S3 (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.75) glasses: correlation with short range order

Abstract Densities of potassium thioborate glasses, xK2S + (1 - x)B2S3, are reported over the range, 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.75. The variation of the density with x is quite strong and is characterized by a maximum at x ⋍ 0.3 . The density increases from 1.7 g/ml for pure B2S3 to 1.92 g/ml at x = 0.35 and decreases thereafter. The increase in density in the 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.35 range is attributed to the increasing fraction of the tetrahedral boron group, K+BS4−, which has heavier mass but only slightly larger volume. The density decrease in the 0.40 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.75 range is associated with the decreasing fraction of these groups with the concomitant increase in the fraction of trigonal boron groups with increasing numbers of non-bridging (terminal) sulfurs. Using estimates of the fractions of short-range order groups in the alkali thioborates, the molar volumes of these groups were determined by a best fit of the density data. The calculated densities were found to agree with the experimental values. The molar volumes of the structural units present in the potassium thioborate glasses were found to be larger than those in the corresponding sodium thioborate glasses. The infrared spectrum analysis of the polycrystalline pyrothioborate phase, 2K2S:B2S3, shows strong evidence that this phase does not form in this system.
High Spontaneous Intrachromosomal Recombination Rates in Ataxia-Telangiectasia

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is an inherited human disease associated with neurologic degeneration, immune dysfunction, and high cancer risk. It has been proposed that the underlying abnormality in A-T is a defect in genetic recombination that interferes with immune gene rearrangements and the repair of DNA damage. Recombination was studied in A-T and control human fibroblast lines by means of two recombination vectors. Unexpectedly, spontaneous intrachromosomal recombination rates were 30 to 200 times higher in A-T fibroblast lines than in normal cells, whereas extrachromosomal recombination frequencies were near normal. Increased recombination is thus a component of genetic instability in A-T and may contribute to the cancer risk seen in A-T patients.
NiuTrans: An Open Source Toolkit for Phrase-based and Syntax-based Machine Translation

We present a new open source toolkit for phrase-based and syntax-based machine translation. The toolkit supports several state-of-the-art models developed in statistical machine translation, including the phrase-based model, the hierachical phrase-based model, and various syntax-based models. The key innovation provided by the toolkit is that the decoder can work with various grammars and offers different choices of decoding algrithms, such as phrase-based decoding, decoding as parsing/tree-parsing and forest-based decoding. Moreover, several useful utilities were distributed with the toolkit, including a discriminative reordering model, a simple and fast language model, and an implementation of minimum error rate training for weight tuning.
Authenticity and “Standing Out:” Situating the Project Approach in Contemporary Early Schooling

In this multi-case study, we describe early childhood teachers’ experiences implementing project work in contemporary, standards-based classrooms. Focus is given to understanding how teachers interpreted work in context; that is, how they were responsive to both expanding professional knowledge about the project approach and to the existing practices valued in their particular school contexts. We present description of project work in action in three classrooms in order to illustrate key themes from each of the three single cases. This is followed by an interpretive discussion that brings together the three cases. In conclusion, we suggest that the teachers’ experiences implementing the project approach carry implications for understanding teacher learning and professional development.
Early appropriate parenteral antimicrobial treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Abstract Background: Complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) are a major clinical problem, in part because of the increasing resistance of infecting bacteria to our current antibiotic therapies. Prompt appropriate treatment of infections in hospitalized patients reduces the mortality rate. Furthermore, appropriate and timely antibiotic therapy improves outcomes for cSSTIs caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This review delineates factors to consider in the choice of initial antibiotic treatment for cSSTIs and describes the antimicrobial agents available or under clinical development for the treatment of cSSTIs caused by MRSA. Methods: Review of the pertinent literature and recommendations. Results: The choice of antimicrobial agent for empiric treatment of cSSTIs should be guided by the site and type of infection, the presence of an immunocompromised state or neutropenia, and risk factors for hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) or community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) inf...
Morphological and functional midbrain phenotypes in Fibroblast Growth Factor 17 mutant mice detected by Mn-enhanced MRI

With increasing efforts to develop and utilize mouse models of a variety of neuro-developmental diseases, there is an urgent need for sensitive neuroimaging methods that enable in vivo analysis of subtle alterations in brain anatomy and function in mice. Previous studies have shown that the brains of Fibroblast Growth Factor 17 null mutants (Fgf17(-/-)) have anatomical abnormalities in the inferior colliculus (IC)-the auditory midbrain-and minor foliation defects in the cerebellum. In addition, changes in the expression domains of several cortical patterning genes were detected, without overt changes in forebrain morphology. Recently, it has also been reported that Fgf17(-/-) mutants have abnormal vocalization and social behaviors, phenotypes that could reflect molecular changes in the cortex and/or altered auditory processing / perception in these mice. We used manganese (Mn)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) to analyze the anatomical phenotype of Fgf17(-/-) mutants in more detail than achieved previously, detecting changes in IC, cerebellum, olfactory bulb, hypothalamus and frontal cortex. We also used MEMRI to characterize sound-evoked activity patterns, demonstrating a significant reduction of the active IC volume in Fgf17(-/-) mice. Furthermore, tone-specific (16- and 40-kHz) activity patterns in the IC of Fgf17(-/-) mice were observed to be largely overlapping, in contrast to the normal pattern, separated along the dorsal-ventral axis. These results demonstrate that Fgf17 plays important roles in both the anatomical and functional development of the auditory midbrain, and show the utility of MEMRI for in vivo analyses of mutant mice with subtle brain defects.
UDP-Glucuronic Acid Decarboxylases of Bacteroides fragilis and Their Prevalence in Bacteria

Xylose is rarely described as a component of bacterial glycans. UDP-xylose is the nucleotide-activated form necessary for incorporation of xylose into glycans and is synthesized by the decarboxylation of UDP-glucuronic acid (UDP-GlcA). Enzymes with UDP-GlcA decarboxylase activity include those that lead to the formation of UDP-xylose as the end product (Uxs type) and those synthesizing UDP-xylose as an intermediate (ArnA and RsU4kpxs types). In this report, we identify and confirm the activities of two Uxs-type UDP-GlcA decarboxylases of Bacteroides fragilis, designated BfUxs1 and BfUxs2. Bfuxs1 is located in a conserved region of the B. fragilis genome, whereas Bfuxs2 is in the heterogeneous capsular polysaccharide F (PSF) biosynthesis locus. Deletion of either gene separately does not result in the loss of a detectable phenotype, but deletion of both genes abrogates PSF synthesis, strongly suggesting that they are functional paralogs and that the B. fragilis NCTC 9343 PSF repeat unit contains xylose. UDP-GlcA decarboxylases are often annotated incorrectly as NAD-dependent epimerases/dehydratases; therefore, their prevalence in bacteria is underappreciated. Using available structural and mutational data, we devised a sequence pattern to detect bacterial genes encoding UDP-GlcA decarboxylase activity. We identified 826 predicted UDP-GlcA decarboxylase enzymes in diverse bacterial species, with the ArnA and RsU4kpxs types confined largely to proteobacterial species. These data suggest that xylose, or a monosaccharide requiring a UDP-xylose intermediate, is more prevalent in bacterial glycans than previously appreciated. Genes encoding BfUxs1-like enzymes are highly conserved in Bacteroides species, indicating that these abundant intestinal microbes may synthesize a conserved xylose-containing glycan.
The New Reality in Art and Science

We are often told, and it is easy to believe, that the images of abstract art are not drawn from the real world. In the most conventional view of the modern school, abstract painting is a search for free expression of the artist's own vision. The non-representational painter works as he pleases and is pleased by little that he sees. A humorous drawing in a sophisticated magazine shows a studio full of wild canvases, with the artist gazing through the window at a magnificent sunset. He says to a friend, ‘Yes, old man, I admit that it's beautiful. Sometimes I'm sorry it's not the sort of thing I do.’ Authority for the establishment of a public attitude that makes such a joke possible is to be found in the writings of many critics and in the words of artists themselves. Harold Rosenberg: ‘The big moment [in art] came when it was decided to paint—just to paint. The gesture on the canvas was a gesture of liberation from value, political, aesthetic, moral.’ Andre Malraux: ‘What then was painting becoming, now that it no longer imitated or transfigured? Simply—painting.’ Sheldon Cheney: ‘I cannot do better, in trying to help you to an understanding of modernism, than to point out the devastating effect the realistic movement had on the arts as a whole.‘ Piet Mondrian: ‘In order that art … should not represent relations with the natural aspect of things, the law of the denaturalization of matter is of fundamental importance.’ Clive Bell: ‘Creating a work of art is so tremendous a business that it leaves no leisure for catching likenesses.’ Kasimir Malevich: ‘From the supremist point of view, the appearances of natural objects are in themselves meaningless. … The representation of an object … is something that has nothing to do with art.’ Laurence Binyon, in 1911: ‘The theory that art is, above all things, imitative and representative, no longer holds the field with thinking minds.’ Ortega y Gasset: ‘Painting completely reversed its function and, instead of putting us within what is outside, endeavored to pour out upon the canvas what is within: ideal invented objects.’
Secondary instability of wall-bounded shear flows

The present analysis of a secondary instability in a wide class of wall-bounded parallel shear flows indicates that two-dimensional, finite amplitude waves are exponentially unstable to infinitessimal three-dimensional disturbances. The instability appears to be the prototype of transitional instability in such flows as Poiseuille flow, Couette flow, and flat plate boundary layers, in that it has the convective time scales observed in the typical transitions. The energetics and vorticity dynamics of the instability are discussed, and it is shown that the two-dimensional perturbation without directly providing energy to the disturbance. The three-dimensional instability requires that a threshold two-dimensional amplitude be achieved. It is found possible to identify experimental features of transitional spot structure with aspects of the nonlinear two-dimensional/linear three-dimensional instability.
Control of a single robot in a decentralized multi-robot system

In a decentralized multi-robot system, each robot is controlled by an independent controller and the information obtained by each robot through its proprioceptive sensing devices is not shared with other robots. If the coordination of multiple robots in a cooperative manipulation task is to be accomplished, each robot must be able to exhibit controlled interaction with other robots and objects with minimal information. In this paper, the authors address the problem of maintaining rolling contact between a robot arm and an external, moving object. The authors assume that a nominal model of the motion of the moving object is available. The dynamic system that characterizes the motion of the robot arm and the moving object is acatastatic and nonholonomic. The authors design a nonlinear feedback for such a system that successfully maintains rolling contact. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system. >
The Gemini replicated file system test-bed

The Gemini system is a replicated file system test-bed designed for local area networks and is built using ordinary host UNIX machines. Gemini was designed as a means to empirically test consistency and recovery schemes for replicated files in a distributed environment. A principle objective is to protect files against a fixed number of host and network failures while maintaining consistent data. Gemini replicated files are implemented as several copies of ordinary files that reside on distinct hosts. We present the Gemini system test-bed design and discuss three consistency and recovery schemes: voting with witnesses, dynamic voting, and semi-synchronous control. Empirical and analytic performance results are presented.
Correlation of Saliva Cocaine Levels with Plasma Levels and with Pharmacologic Effects after Intravenous Cocaine Administration in Human Subjects

The behavioral and physiologic effects of single, intravenous bolus doses of cocaine in 5 male human subjects were correlated with cocaine levels in saliva and blood. All measures were performed under double-blind conditions. Two test doses of cocaine (15 mg and 40 mg) and one placebo test dose were administered to each subject in a random, cross-over design. Each test day was separated by a minimum of 48 h. Cocaine levels in saliva and blood significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) correlated with responses on self-rating scales for drug sensation (Feel Drug scale), psychotomimetic effects (LSD scale), and feelings of rush (Rush scale). Significant (p less than or equal to 0.01) correlations also were obtained with cocaine biofluid levels and pulse rate. The close relationship observed between cocaine saliva levels and cocaine-induced behavior and physiologic effects presents the opportunity for development of a new noninvasive method for detection of current cocaine use.
Niacin increases HDL biogenesis by enhancing DR4-dependent transcription of ABCA1 and lipidation of apolipoprotein A-I in HepG2 cells

The lipidation of apoA-I in liver greatly influences HDL biogenesis and plasma HDL levels by stabilizing the secreted apoA-I. Niacin is the most effective lipid-regulating agent clinically available to raise HDL. This study was undertaken to identify regulatory mechanisms of niacin action in hepatic lipidation of apoA-I, a critical event involved in HDL biogenesis. In cultured human hepatocytes (HepG2), niacin increased: association of apoA-I with phospholipids and cholesterol by 46% and 23% respectively, formation of lipid-poor single apoA-I molecule-containing particles up to ∼ 2.4-fold, and pre β 1 and α migrating HDL particles. Niacin dose-dependently stimulated the cell efflux of phospholipid and cholesterol and increased transcription of ABCA1 gene and ABCA1 protein. Mutated DR4, a binding site for nuclear factor liver X receptor alpha (LXR α ) in the ABCA1 promoter, abolished niacin stimulatory effect. Further, knocking down LXR α or ABCA1 by RNA interference eliminated niacin-stimulated apoA-I lipidation. Niacin treatment did not change apoA-I gene expression. The present data indicate that niacin increases apoA-I lipidation by enhancing lipid efflux through a DR4-dependent transcription of ABCA1 gene in HepG2 cells. A stimulatory role of niacin in early hepatic formation of HDL particles suggests a new mechanism that contributes to niacin action to increase the stability of newly synthesized circulating HDL.
The Relative Persuasiveness of Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Messages for Encouraging Disease Detection Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review

A meta-analytic review of 53 studies (N= 9,1 4 5) finds that in messages aimed at encouraging disease detection behaviors, loss-framed appeals (which emphasize the disadvantages of noncompliance with the communicator's recommendation) are only slightly, but statistically significantly, more persuasive than gain-framed appeals (which emphasize the advantages of compliance); the difference corresponds to a correlation of -.04. Loss-framed appeals enjoy a small statistically significant advantage for messages advocating breast cancer detection behaviors, but not for any other kind of detection behavior (detection of skin cancer, other cancers, dental problems, or miscellaneous other diseases) nor for all other kinds of detection behaviors combined. Thus, in advocacy of disease detection behaviors, using loss-framed rather than gain framed appeals is unlikely to substantially improve persuasiveness.
Experiments with Megagauss Targets at SLAC

The high pressures and current densities associated with MG fields limit their useful lifetime to 1 ?sec or less. The pulse duration of the SLAC electron beam being of the same order of magnitude, a successful marriage of the two techniques was achieved in experiments that use transverse fields in the range 1 to 2 MG as targets for a 19 GeV electron beam. The fields were generated in volumes of dia. 3 to 5 mm by discharging a very fast capacitor bank into small single turn coils, or by flux compression with electromagnetically driven aluminum foils. The termination of the capacitor bank, designed to minimize the destructive effects of the exploding coils, permitted a repetition rate of one shot per hour. Magnetic bremsstrahlung emitted by the electrons was recorded on X-ray film and nuclear emulsions. In an additional experiment, nuclear emulsions mounted in the high field region survived the violent self-destruction of the coils. In these, the magnetic deflection by far exceeds the multiple scattering, which is normally the dominant effect in nuclear emulsions.
A distance education course in statistics.

Objectives. To evaluate the learning outcomes of an online, distance education course in statistics for doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students. Design. Lectures for the course were produced by the course faculty, converted into digital format (mp4), placed within the college's course management system, and video streamed to students. The course required students to interact with the course content using workbooks and simulations and with the instructor via VoIP examination reviews. Assessment. A quasi-experimental study involving 4 groups of students was conducted. Second-year (P2) students were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 groups and asked to complete a precourse survey that contained: demographic information only (group 1); demographic items plus 10 items assessing statistics knowledge (group 2); or demographic items plus 20 items assessing statistics knowledge (group 3). At the end of the course, all students were given the same 20 items on the final examination (postcourse survey instrument). A control g...
Determining habitat suitability for soil invertebrates in an extreme environment: the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

We sampled soils in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to determine the habitats that were suitable for extreme for soil invertebrates. Suitability was assessed by comparing nematode species diversity and abundance, and tardigrade and rotifer abundance as related to soil properties at three spatial scales: landscape (across Taylor, Wright and Victoria valleys), at three distant locations within valleys, and within small plots (1 m2). Extreme environments were characterized by the lack of nematode abundance and diversity, high salinity, low soil moisture and organic carbon, and higher elevation or a geographic location less accessible for dispersing organisms. Suitable habitats were more frequent near the coast and at lower elevations. Extreme habitats could be defined based on one environmental factor, but more typically a set of interrelated soil and environmental factors appear to determine the abundance and composition of the soil community. The three Dry Valley nematode species occupied distinct regions of a multivariate biplot relating soil chemistry and moisture. Scottnema lindsayae is unusual for its ability to live in a wide range of extreme soil habitats. Our research shows that in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, life flourishes in suitable soil habitats and that extreme habitats (“no invertebrates”) can be defined.
Response: Metaphor and Meaning in Trawling for Herring

In this essay responding to Professor Jennifer Laurin’s essay, Trawling for Herring: Lessons in Doctrinal Borrowing and Convergence, I advance Laurin’s project of recovering the exclusionary rule’s lost lineage through a critical reflection upon her doctrinal metaphors. Specifically, I parse the jurisprudential significance of Laurin’s idea of “trawling” in order to understand Herring v. United States and show how this metaphor successfully builds upon a second water-based metaphor animating Laurin’s analysis — the “hydraulics” of borrowing and convergence. By attending to both Laurin’s specific exclusionary rule arguments and to how Laurin’s conceptualization of “hydraulics” extends Professors Tebbe and Tsai’s constitutional borrowing framework, I maintain that Laurin persuasively demonstrates how constitutional tort doctrine has influenced exclusionary-rule jurisprudence. However, I further suggest that that Laurin’s account could be usefully sharpened by examining the vital role dissents have played in shaping the competing judicial schools in exclusionary rule doctrine. My own analysis is framed by a series “opinion maps” that visually chart the flow of relevant Supreme Court doctrine. After comprehensively “mapping” Laurin’s account, I present an alternate map of Herring’s origins that emphasizes the place of dissents in competing lines of doctrinal thought.
Ultrafine-Particle Inhalers, the Holy Grail of Inhaled Corticosteroid Therapy, or Not!

Published in this issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology In Practice is a large retrospective cohort study in children using databases containing prescribing and health care claims to define outcomes. The authors concluded that beclomethasone dipropionate delivered by an ultrafine-particlee generating metered-dose inhaler was superior to fluticasone propionate delivered via a metered-dose inhaler generating standard-size particles. This study follows several other similar cohort studies by the same group, referenced in this article, that provided similar results. The authors conclude that these results question the current asthma guidelines that recommend that children not responding to low-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy have long-acting b2 agonists (LABAs) added as preferential step-up therapy when simply switching to an ultrafineparticle ICS should be attempted first. This makes sense. ICSs work by stimulating glucocorticoid receptors within the lung to produce anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore, the greater airway delivery and improved distribution from ultrafine-particle devices should produce improved results even if the ICSs are administered in equipotent nominal doses from their respective devices. Unfortunately, this has been difficult to prove with prospective, comparative randomized controlled trials (RCTs). So, these authors and others have used retrospective cohort studies as “real-life” comparative effectiveness trials to fill in the void of comparisons of marketed therapies. However, what are clinicians to think when results of real-life studies and RCTs do not mesh. To provide some perspective, let us deconstruct the report from Van Alderen et al. First, the premise for the need for cohort studies including (1) large, long-term RCTs of comparative therapies in children are notoriously difficult; (2) short-term RCTs, primarily of lung function, cannot assess long-term outcomes such as asthma control and exacerbations; and (3) the widely held belief that RCTs enroll only a small subset of patients with specific characteristics, so the data cannot be extrapolated to the general population treated by many practitioners. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health with the Childhood Asthma Management Program, the
Determining the Relative Economy of Home-Produced and Purchased Milk

W n. JHETHER to operate a oneor two-cow dairy to produce milk for family use or to buy dairy products is a farm and home management problem facing many farm families. They would like to have a basis for determining the circumstances in which money is saved by producing milk for family use rather than buying it, and the extent of the saving. In this paper a model has been developed which relates the cost of producing milk from one or two cows to varying levels of family consumption. For purposes of illustration data primarily for the North Central states have been used. Extension Service personnel or other agricultural consultants counseling with farm families would of course use production and cost data applicable to their state or region. While factors that determine the cost of producing milk are given especial emphasis here, it is understood that other points may be stressed in counseling with families. Most important of these is helping families determine the milk necessary to meet their nutritional needs.2 Consumption survey data repeatedly show that families that have homeproduced milk use more milk and milk products than those who do not.3 Due consideration, too, should be given to such nonmonetary factors as the inconvenience of daily caring for the cow and the milk and the extra effort that is necessary to produce products comparable in quality to those from good commercial dairies. On the other hand, weight should also be given the convenience of a milk supply that is close at hand and needs only short periods of refrigeration.
Small-for-Gestational-Age Births are Associated with Maternal Relationship Status: A Population-Wide Analysis.

Objectives To examine the association between maternal relationship status during pregnancy and infant birth outcomes. Methods Observational study of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, a nationally representative sample of 12,686 men and women between the ages of 14 and 21. We used data from surveys of women reporting childbirth between 1979 and 2004. Relationship status was defined as relationship with an opposite-sex partner in the child's birth year. Relationship stability was defined as the consistency in relationship status in the 1 year before, of, and after the child's birth. Childbirth outcome included small-for-gestational age (SGA) infant. We applied random effects logistic regression models to assess the association between relationship status and stability and childbirth outcome-adjusting for maternal race, infant sex, history of miscarriage, employment, maternal age, multiparity, cohort-entry year, household poverty status, and tobacco use. Results The study included 4439 women with 8348 live births. In fully adjusted models, term SGA infants were more commonly born to partnered women (AOR 1.81; 95 % CI 1.20-2.73) and unmarried women (AOR 1.82; CI 1.34-2.47; LRT p value 0.0001), compared to married women. SGA infants were also more commonly born in unstable relationships (AOR 1.72; 95 % CI 1.14-2.63; LRT p value 0.01) compared to stable relationships. Conclusions for Practice Maternal relationship status and stability during pregnancy is independently associated with risk of SGA infant birth.
The Devastated Bladder Outlet in Cancer Survivors After Local Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is common; this combined with the long life expectancy after treatment has sparked a growing emphasis on prostate cancer survivorship care. An important goal of such care is preserving quality of life through ameliorating the side effects of therapy. Posterior urethral stenosis (PUS) can occur as a complication of radical prostatectomy (RP) and radiation therapy (RT). Evaluation includes a history, physical exam, uroflowmetry, lab tests, cystoscopy, and radiological studies. PUS is initially managed with endoscopic techniques such as dilation or internal urethrotomy. Patients who fail such therapies can be offered surgical reconstruction. Continence is an important factor in the management of PUS. In some cases, particularly after radiotherapy, the outlet may not be salvageable, and a permanent indwelling catheter or urinary diversion may be the only options. We review the evaluation of patients with the devastated bladder outlet: those undergoing repeat endoscopic treatments, surgical reconstruction, or urinary diversion.
Sensory predictive guidance in partially known environment

This paper addresses the problem of autonomous navigation through a partially known cluttered environment. The proposed hierarchical framework is developed as an extension to the recently proposed guidance algorithm based on Receding Horizon optimization with Spatial Value or Cost-to-Go function. It ensures a tight integration between the environment map update (via an on-board depth sensor), cost-to-go update as well as the low-level control system. The overall approach combines key elements from robotic motion planning and trajectory optimization and addresses the particular challenges posed by dynamical systems in partially known environment. A simulation example with a Blade-Cx2 indoor helicopter is used to demonstrate the proposed guidance framework.
Sex Pheromones of the Oriental Fruit Fly and the Melon Fly: Mating Behavior, Bioassay Method, and Attraction of Females by Live Males and by Suspected Pheromone Glands of Males

Sexually mature virgin females of the oriental fruit fly, Dacus dorsalis Hendel, and the melon fly, D. cucurbitae Coquillett, were attracted by live males of their respective species in laboratory bioassays in 16-dm3 cages. The gland complex of the rectal sac of the male oriental fruit fly, suspected as the source of an olfactory pheromone, was highly attractive to female oriental fruit flies. Similar glands of male melon flies were only weakly attractive to melon fly females but produced strong responses from female oriental fruit flies, which also responded positively to live melon fly males. Female melon flies showed no such interspecific response.
Pretreatment Methods for Determining Pesticide Residues in Food with Gas Chromatography

[Objective]To established the pretreatment method for determining pesticide residues in food with gas chromatography. [Methods]The samples were distilled by Florisil columns, separated by capillary gas chromatography, and then detected by NPD and ECD.[Results]The recovery of pesticides ranged from 71.2%to 115%, the relative standard derivation (RSD) was 2.5%~12.4%.[Conclusion]This method is of complete extraction, quite purification , accuracy, simplicity, which can meet the needs of multi-pesticide residues determination.
Pattern Recognition for Flatness Based on Wavelet Analysis and Neural Networks

Pattern recognition for flatness is one of the diffcult techniques in flatness control system of high precision. A novel pattern recognition method based on wavelet analysis and neural networks is presented in this paper. In this method, the nonlinear wavelet threshold denoising method is used to filter the noise of the measure data availably. Then the filtered data are applied to recognize the flatness through the model based on Neural Networks. The combination of wavelet and neural networks can improve veracity and robustness ability in pattern recognition system for flatness. This method can classify the complex flatness correctly and recognize the extent of a certain classification. It is important to provide information for deciding the control strategy.
Research Progress on Characteristics of Photosynthesis and Dry Matter Accumulation of Super Hybrid Rice

Compared with common high-yielding hybrid rice,super hybrid rice shows the characteristics of higher net photosynthetic rate,longer functional duration of photosynthesis,higher population photosynthesis,greater dry matter accumulation,longer grain-filling period,higher accumulation of dry matter before heading and better coordination between photosynthate accumulation and grain-filling need. Based on plant type characteristics of Phase Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ super hybrid rice,the proposal was put forward for future super hybrid rice breeding in the aspects of photosynthesis and dry matter accumulation.
Design and performance of a novel magnetocaloric heat pump

The design and preliminary results of an active magnetic refrigeration prototype for room temperature cooling applications are investigated. The physical prototype along with its operational and measurement envelopes are described. General design goals included: A wide range of cycle parameter control, independent fluid and magnetic circuits, extensive measurement capability, and compact overall design. An initial set of measurements has been made with Gadolinium particulate of an industrial purity. The maximum no-load span recorded was 21 K and the maximum power recorded was 26 W at a span of 1 K. Additionally, three different cyclical parameters have been varied to help determine the optimal cycle for such a machine. The unique modularity and control of this system will allow for a detailed understanding of the operation of commercial active magnetic regeneration designs.
Prediction and analysis of epitopes of hemagglutinin of measles virus

Objective To discuss the antigenic change caused by the mutation of amino acid on the epitopes of the hemagglutinin of measles virus. Methods The B cell linear epitopes in the hemagglutinin were predicted with bioinformatics software. Peptide pairs, which located on the same region but originated from measles vaccine and wild-type virus respectively, were designed and synthesized. After detecting the immunogenicity of peptides with indirect ELISA assay, sera against each peptide was prepared. Antigenic specificity between the two peptides within each peptide pair were tested by using cross ELISA assay, and then antigen ratios were calculated. Results All the synthesized peptides could bind with immune sera against measles virus, of which the peptide pair CW23/CW22 designed on the epitope region (273-282 aa) possessed the highest binding ability, while the peptide pair CW150/CW151 designed on the non-epitope region (418-427 aa) showed the lowest binding ability. The difference in antigenic specificity between the two peptides from different sources was significant. The antigenic ratio was up to 16 between CW23 (vaccine-originated) and CW22 (wild-type originated) , and 2.877±0.583 between CW123 (vaccine-originated) and CW124 (wild-type originated) (236-246 aa) . On the non-epitope regions, the antigenic ratios was only 1.631±0.481 between peptide pair CW125 and CW126 (356-364 aa) , but reached to 10.367±1.617 between CW150 and CW151. Conclusion Although there were several conservative epitopes, specific amino acid mutation on the predicted epitope or non-epitope regions might cause the antigenic change of wild-type measles virus. Key words: Measles virus; Hemagglutinin; Epitope; Peptide; Antigenic specificity
Ten Lessons on Debt Market Development

Recent financial crises, such as in East Asia in the late 1990s, in Latin America during the 1980s, in Mexico in 1994, and in Russia in 1998, have led to recognition, by both policy makers and academics, of the importance of a sound domestic debt market in supporting financial and economic growth and stability. The current global financial crisis has reinforced this view. This note aims to share ten lessons on domestic debt market development based on personal experience with such development over 17 years.
Estate Planning for Digital Assets: Assigning Tax Basis and Value to Digital Assets

These materials were prepared in conjunction with the LSU 46th Estate Planning Seminar. They explore the various types of digital assets -- including social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc.), audiobooks, music and video files, and bitcoin -- and the estate planning challenges these assets present. These material also consider the federal estate and gift tax issues posed by digital assets, including questions related to small business valuation.
Assessing Needs among Elders in Urban China: Interview and Limitations

Accurately assessing the needs of elders and their families is critical to developing an effective elderly service program or successful aging policy. In China and other Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, where the aging population is rapidly growing, this need is particularly apparent. Using case examples collected from a pilot study in urban China, we explore challenges in using the interview method for conducting needs assessments among elders and their family caregivers, including socio-cultural, cognitive, and conceptual limitations. To address these limitations, strategies are discussed to improve the use of interview methods for accurate assessments of needs among elders and their family caregivers, especially among those in developing countries, like China.
A framework of a fast any-angle path finding algorithm on visibility graphs based on A∗ for plumbing design

In this research, we investigate the issue of compact design that involves finding the shortest connecting plumbing path between hydraulic components. An improved version of visibility graph called visibility graph of candidate is proposed followed by a new line-of-sight technique called visible-neighbors which is straightforward to expand to 3D applications. A new data structure associated with the techniques developed are proposed in order to address the inefficiency issue coming with A∗ algorithm on visibility graphs. The performance of the new technique on visibility graphs is compared to the traditional A∗ and Theta∗ algorithms on the aspect of path length, nodes explored as well as computational time.
Keynote address: Robust cyber-power dependent systems: What it means to future grid

Modernization of power grid has gained momentum around the world. Even though the objectives differ from region to region, the two features that are common in this process are control and communication. This has resulted in increased focus on sensors, automated switches and efficient communication infrastructure. Sensors such as phasor measurement units have better accuracy and higher sampling rate. However information loss due to equipment unavailability and cyber threats are unavoidable. This talk focuses on the importance of control and cyber infrastructure for future power systems with uncertainties due to power system operations and cyber system vulnerabilities. Electric vehicle charging and distributed renewable generation would be taken as two example cases to study the uncertainty modeling and propagation. The effect of cyber system on power system operations would be discussed using operations and planning examples especially at the distribution level. Finally the effect of the cyber system on power system performance will be addressed using reliability measures such as energy not served, IEEE Std. 1366 based reliability measures and total cost of operations.
CHAPTER 46 – The Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) Signaling Complex

The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling system is a ubiquitous cellular sensor of local environmental changes and mediator of cell-to-cell communication with broad roles in development and organ homeostasis in the adult. Through the interaction of heparan sulfate (HS) with both activating FGF polypeptides and transmembrane FGF receptor (FGFR) tyrosine kinases, the system is rigorously modulated by tissue architecture. Diversity and cell and tissue specificity of signaling result from the combinatorial oligomerization of a family of 23 FGF homologs, diverse oligosaccharide motifs within HS chains of proteoglycans, and a plethora of ectodomains resulting from splice variations from four genes coding for four intracellular tyrosine kinases.
An FDA Viewpoint on Unique Considerations for Medical-Device Clinical Trials

Medical devices range from something as simple as an elastic bandage to something as complicated as a deep-brain stimulator. This review describes the FDA approach for understanding and approving medical devices.
Roles of TGFβ and FGF signals during growth and differentiation of mouse lens epithelial cell in vitro

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways play important roles in the proliferation and differentiation of lens epithelial cells (LECs) during development. Low dosage bFGF promotes cell proliferation while high dosage induces differentiation. TGFβ signaling regulates LEC proliferation and differentiation as well, but also promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transitions that lead to cataracts. Thus far, it has been difficult to recapitulate the features of germinative LECs in vitro. Here, we have established a LEC culture protocol that uses SB431542 (SB) compound to inhibit TGFβ/Smad activation, and found that SB treatment promoted mouse LEC proliferation, maintained LECs' morphology and distinct markers including N-cadherin, c-Maf, Prox1, and αA-, αB-, and β-crystallins. In contrast, low-dosage bFGF was unable to sustain those markers and, combined with SB, altered LECs' morphology and β-crystallin expression. We further found that Matrigel substrate coatings greatly increased cell proliferation and uniquely affected β-crystallin expression. Cultured LECs retained the ability to differentiate into γ-crystallin-positive lentoids by high-dosage bFGF treatment. Thus, a suppression of TGFβ/Smad signaling in vitro is critical to maintaining characteristic features of mouse LECs, especially expression of the key transcription factors c-Maf and Prox1.
Clinical outcomes of Y90 radioembolization for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma following curative resection

To assess safety/efficacy of yttrium-90 radioembolization (Y90) in patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following curative surgical resection. With IRB approval, we searched our prospectively acquired database for patients that were treated with Y90 for recurrent disease following resection. Baseline characteristics and bilirubin toxicities following Y90 were evaluated. Intention-to-treat overall survival (OS) and time-to-progression (TTP) from Y90 were assessed. Forty-one patients met study inclusion criteria. Twenty-six (63%) patients had undergone minor (≤3 hepatic segments) resection while 15 (37%) patients underwent major (>3 hepatic segments) resections. Two patients (5%) had biliary-enteric anastomoses created during surgical resection. The median time from HCC resection to the first radioembolization was 17 months (95% CI: 13–37). The median number of Y90 treatment sessions was 1 (range: 1–5). Ten patients received (entire remnant) lobar Y90 treatment while 31 patients received selective (≤2 hepatic segments) treatment. Grades 1/2/3/4 bilirubin toxicity were seen in nine (22%), four (10%), four (10%), and zero (0%) patients following Y90. No differences in bilirubin toxicities were identified when comparing lobar with selective approaches (P = 0.20). No post-Y90 infectious complications were identified. Median TTP and OS were 11.3 (CI: 6.5–15.5) and 22.1 months (CI: 10.3–31.3), respectively. Radioembolization is a safe and effective method for treating recurrent HCC following surgical resection, with prolonged TTP and promising survival outcomes.
Metamaterial inspired antenna design for massive MIMO, 5G communications system

We present a metamaterial-based design of large scale antennas for massive multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) communication systems. The reliable data link and better performance over modern fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems is possible with large numbers of such adaptive antennas. The miniature metamaterial antennas are best for practical implementation of such large antenna arrays. We investigate the design of meta-material antennas and analyze the S-parameter, radiation pattern, and define mathematical relationship to find the correlation coefficient and diversity gain.
“It Feels So Good”: Pleasure in Last Sexual Encounter Narratives of Black University Students:

A sex-positive lens is needed to investigate Black sexuality, which is often depicted through deficit and risk models. Extant sex research leaves an opportunity to understand Black experiences of s...
Case 16: Tongue Ring

A 22-year-old female (ASA 1) is scheduled for an elective diagnostic laparoscopy under general anesthesia. Her past history is unremarkable. She takes no medication and she has no history of allergy. On the day of surgery, the patient’s tongue is found to be pierced with a silver dumbbell-shaped piece of jewelry. This was not found by the preoperative clinic staff nor was it mentioned in the surgeon’s note. The jewelry is seen in the anterior one third of her tongue and is sticking out of the tongue by 1 cm. You request that she remove the tongue ring, but she is reluctant to do so as it has been put in only 3 weeks ago. You warn her of the potential dangers, but she refuses to remove the tongue ring. You attempt to find a colleague that would be willing to do the case with the ring in situ. However, all your colleagues are either busy or reluctant to do the case. This leaves you with two options: A. Tell her that you would be happy to do the anesthetic if she removes the ring prior to surgery. If she refuses to remove the ring, you will cancel the case. B. Do the case with the ring in situ.
Parody and Intertextuality in the Poetry of Twentieth-Century Spanish American Women Writers

The literary contributions of Spanish American women writers of the twentieth century are vast, particularly in the genre of poetry. Montilla analyzes the evolution of parody and intertextuality in the works of Delmira Agustini, Alfonsina Storni, Julia de Burgos, Rosario Castellanos, and Cristina Peri Rossi. Specifically, this chapter examines how these artists employed parody and intertextuality as a form of feminist protest to question and subvert male-dominated literary traditions and social constructs. In searching for original ways to define and assert themselves as female subjects and poets, these women writers turned to textual revisionism as a means of challenging the poetics of their male counterparts and the ideologies of patriarchal society while simultaneously vindicating the role of women in literature, art, and society.
Closing address: The academic perspective.

Sixteen years ago last week, the First International Tear Film Symposium was held in Lubbock, Texas, and we are now at the conclusion of the Third International Conference on the Lacrimal Gland, Tear Film and Dry Eye Syndromes. If we look back to 20 years ago when I first became involved in research on the ocular surface, we can see the amount of research on dry eye has grown impressively. In 1980 only about a dozen abstracts related to this subject were presented at ARVO, while the 2000 ARVO meeting included about 120. In Lubbock in 1984, 100 presentations were made, and at this meeting you have heard and seen 240! It is clear our knowledge about the lacrimal gland, tears and dry eye disease is substantial; the amount of information in print on the subject is voluminous.