cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Critical micelle concentrations of block and gradient copolymers in homopolymer: Effects of sequence distribution, composition, and molecular weight

The critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of styrene-methyl methacrylate (S-MMA) block and gradient copolymers present in a homopolymer poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix were determined using an intrinsic fluorescence technique based on the ratio of excimer to monomer fluorescence from styrene repeat units. The homopolymer molecular weight (MW) and copolymer MW, composition, and sequence distribution were varied to determine their effects on the CMC, and comparisons were made to theory. Although the effects of these parameters on micelle formation have been the focus of significant theoretical study, few experimental studies have addressed these issues. The MW of the S block (forming the micelle core) has a strong effect on the CMC. For example, an order of magnitude reduction in the CMC (from ∼ 1 to ∼ 0.1 wt %) is observed when the S block MW is increased from 51 to 147 kg/mol while maintaining the MMA block and PMMA MWs at 48-55 kg/mol. Increasing the PMMA matrix MW also has a strong an effect on the CMC, with the CMC for a nearly symmetric S-MMA block copolymer with each block MW equal to 48-51 kg/mol decreasing by a factor of 5 and by several orders of magnitude when the matrix MW is increased from 55 to 106 kg/mol and 255 kg/mol, respectively. In contrast, similar changes in the MMA block MW have little effect on the CMC. Finally, when present in a 55 kg/mol PMMA matrix, a 55 kg/mol S-MMA gradient copolymer with a styrene mole fraction of 0.51 exhibits a factor of 6 larger CMC than a block copolymer of similar MW and composition.
Cell proliferation and inflammation on biopsy samples with multifocal atrophic gastritis before and 1 year after Helicobacter pylori eradication.

Abstract Context.—Results of clinical trials that have assessed whether gastric cancer is preventable with Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy remain inconclusive. These trials have used atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia as histopathologic end points that reflect possible preneoplastic lesions. Trial results would be more compelling if cell proliferation and inflammatory markers improved simultaneously with histopathologic lesions. Objective.—To study the presence of cell proliferation markers and type of inflammatory cells in biopsy specimens with gastritis, atrophy, and intestinal metaplasia before and 1 year after H pylori therapy and to determine if immunohistochemistry can be used to study these. Design.—We evaluated 12 subjects with gastritis and 16 with gastritis and multiple foci of atrophy and intestinal metaplasia by using immunohistochemical assays for tumor suppressor protein p53, proliferation marker Ki-67, cell cycle regulator cyclin D1, T and B lymphocytes, macrophages, and ...
Ancillary revenue and price fairness: an exploratory study pre and post flight

The growing impact of ancillary revenue on consumer choice and shopping behaviour continues to be a highly debated issue. In the USA, the Department of Transportation (DOT) entered into the debate and proposed new rules on how airlines must report and display such ancillary offerings which are driving airline profitability. This article examines past research on price fairness from the marketing literature and the role of revenue management (RM) on price fairness from the aviation literature to explore the impact of a la carte pricing and ancillary revenue on perceptions of price fairness. The study focuses on the issue of price fairness pre and post flight and how ancillary offerings are communicated to consumers when purchasing airline services. Support for differences in information availability between past and future flyers concerning knowledge of airline ancillary offerings was found and is believed to increase the potential price fairness perceptions of future passengers.
Novel PUF-Based Error Detection Methods in Finite State Machines

We propose a number of techniques for securing finite state machines (FSMs) against fault injection attacks. The proposed security mechanisms are based on physically unclonable functions (PUFs), and they address different fault injection threats on various parts of the FSM. The first mechanism targets the protection of state-transitions in a specific class of FSMs. The second mechanism addresses the integrity of secret information. This is of particular interest in cryptographic FSMs which require a secret key. Finally, the last mechanism we propose introduces a new fault-resilient error detection network (EDN). Previous designs for EDNs always assume resilience to fault injection attacks without providing a particular construction. The PUF-based EDN design is suitable for a variety of applications, and is essential for most fault resilient state machines. Due to the usage of PUFs in the proposed architectures, the state machine will enjoy security at the logical level as well as the physical level.
Factors influencing pituitary glycogen metabolism and gonadotropic hormone release. I. Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone.

The way in which luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating h ormone (FSH) are related to pituitary glycogen metabolism is investigated by measuring pituitary glycogen content and the activity of glycogen synthetase and glycogen phosphorylase in LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) treated rat pituitaries. The presence of LH-RH (15 ng/flask) resulted in a significant (p less than .05) release of LH and FSH after 4 hours of incubation. Pituitary LH content was also raised (p less than .05). 3 ng of LH-RH increased pituitary cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) content by 475% in 10 minutes of incubation. Glycogen phosphorylase was converted to its active form with 1-10 ng LH-RH per flask; this glycogenolytic activity occurred within 5 minutes (p less than .01) and was also induced by cyclic AMP in the presence of theophylline. The forms of glycogen synthetase did not appear to be affected by LH-RH or cyclic AMP. It is concluded that pituitary glycogen may be an energy source for release of gonadotropins via LH-RH.
Stronger Than You Think: Older Women and Physical Activity

Many negative stereotypes of older women are related to changes in the body that render it incompetent (e.g., weak, frail, debilitated). Such stereotypes disempower women in the eyes of others and in their own eyes if they come to embody the stereotype. One way to resist the stereotype and remain empowered is to engage in regular physical activity, which increases stamina, energy, muscle strength, joint flexibility, and balance. Here we review the physical and mental health benefits of physical activity for older women and discuss the barriers that keep many older women from regular exercise. We discuss ways that feminist therapists can encourage their older clients to become more physically active, provide information about role models who can inspire clients, and suggest resources suitable for recommendation.
Environmental Health: Chemicals in Breast Milk

Although breast milk is recognized by doctors, public health officials, and scientists as the best first food for an infant, it is not pure. Many synthetic chemicals released into the environment, intentionally or not, can be found in breast milk. Chemicals such as famous â¬Sbad actorsâ¬? like dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as less well-known substances such as flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs), have been detected in human breast milk around the world. Many of those synthetic chemicals are known or suspected causes of cancer, and they have been linked to other health problems such as diabetes, reproductive disorders, and impaired brain development. The health benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh the possible negative effects of chemical contaminants in breast milk, but the presence of those chemicals remains a cause for concern among health officials, individuals, and the companies whose products or manufacturing process release toxins into our environment.
Gender, Race, and the Writing of Empire: The imperial imaginary – the press, empire, and the literary figure

Although Olive Schreiner was the South African writer most famous in Britain, the novels of South Africa that England loved best were H. Rider Haggard's. Through Schreiner and Haggard, 1880s and 1890s Britons derived a sense of southern Africa, and two more different versions of the region would be difficult to imagine. Schreiner used essays, allegory, polemic, and fiction to try to paint a portrait of a South Africa that Britons would respect for its differences yet want as a somewhat autonomous member of the empire, perhaps equivalent to Canada. The Story of an African Farm , for all of its spirituality and experimentation, is at heart a Victorian realist novel, set in an Africa about which Britons were increasingly eager to learn. The novels of Rider Haggard, however, treated the reading public to a very different southern Africa. “King Romance” filled his southern Africa with adventure, passion, guns, and spears. But with the coming of the Boer War, Britons looked beyond these writers associated with southern Africa. For an imperial war, the services of the laureate of empire were needed. This chapter moves from the African expert Haggard to the imperial bard himself, Rudyard Kipling, and explores the effects of the British public's desire for a single, Kipling-shaped, sense of empire. Both Olive Schreiner and Arthur Conan Doyle were able to contribute to public debate about the Boer War because of their positions as prominent literary figures.
Evaluation of two biotypes of Euseius scutalis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) as predators of Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

Two predaceous mite biotypes of Euseius scutalis (Athias-Henriot) were evaluated as biological control agents of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius). One biotype was originally collected on citrus in Morocco; the other was collected on lantana in Jordan. Both biotypes survived well on ice plant pollen, but their survival varied when fed various stages of B. tabaci . The Jordanian mite had longer survival when fed eggs or first or second instars of the whitefly. Eggs, followed by first instars, were the most suitable whitefly host stage fed to the mites; the least suitable stage was the second instar. Egg consumption by both mites showed preference for freshly laid eggs. Although the mean survival rate was 22.9 days, one Jordanian biotype survived 69 days when fed whitefly eggs. Oviposition periods did not extend beyond 16.6 days for either biotype. The Jordanian biotype showed higher fecundity, longer ovipositional period, and longer survival when fed various stages of B. tabaci than the Moroccan biotype. Potential use of the Jordanian mite for biological control purposes appears promising for regulation of B. tabaci in California.
Multi-scale habitat selection modeling: a review and outlook

Scale is the lens that focuses ecological relationships. Organisms select habitat at multiple hierarchical levels and at different spatial and/or temporal scales within each level. Failure to properly address scale dependence can result in incorrect inferences in multi-scale habitat selection modeling studies. Our goals in this review are to describe the conceptual origins of multi-scale habitat selection modeling, evaluate the current state-of-the-science, and suggest ways forward to improve analysis of scale-dependent habitat selection. We reviewed more than 800 papers on habitat selection from 23 major ecological journals published between 2009 and 2014 and recorded a number of characteristics, such as whether they addressed habitat selection at multiple scales, what attributes of scale were evaluated, and what analytical methods were utilized. Our results show that despite widespread recognition of the importance of multi-scale analyses of habitat relationships, a large majority of published habitat ecology papers do not address multiple spatial or temporal scales. We also found that scale optimization, which is critical to assess scale dependence, is done in less than 5 % of all habitat selection modeling papers and less than 25 % of papers that address “multi-scale” habitat analysis broadly defined. Our review confirms the existence of a powerful conceptual foundation for multi-scale habitat selection modeling, but that the majority of studies on wildlife habitat are still not adopting multi-scale frameworks. Most importantly, our review points to the need for wider adoption of a formal scale optimization of organism response to environmental variables.
Thermally Induced Dewetting in Ultrathin C60 Films on Copper Phthalocyanine

The evolution of thermally annealed ultrathin fullerene–C60 layers on copper phthalocyanine is examined by atomic force microscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Annealing causes C60 films to dewet the copper phthalocyanine substrate surface via lateral surface mass transport. Coarsening of C60 clusters is observed that creates mounds that exceed the nominal C60 thickness by more than an order of magnitude and is consistent with surface diffusion-mediated mass transport. Implications for thermal morphology control in organic solar cells, such as the destabilization of multilayered C60:CuPc with individual layers only ∼5–10 nm thick, are discussed.
Structural Dynamics of a Noncovalent Charge Transfer Complex from Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

Femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy is used to examine the structural dynamics of photoinduced charge transfer within a noncovalent electron acceptor/donor complex of pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA, electron acceptor) and hexamethylbenzene (HMB, electron donor) in ethylacetate and acetonitrile. The evolution of the vibrational spectrum reveals the ultrafast structural changes that occur during the charge separation (Franck–Condon excited state complex → contact ion pair) and the subsequent charge recombination (contact ion pair → ground state complex). The Franck–Condon excited state is shown to have significant charge-separated character because its vibrational spectrum is similar to that of the ion pair. The charge separation rate (2.5 ps in ethylacetate and ∼0.5 ps in acetonitrile) is comparable to solvation dynamics and is unaffected by the perdeuteration of HMB, supporting the dominant role of solvent rearrangement in charge separation. On the other hand, the charge recombination slows by a fac...
An Energy-Efficient Optical Interconnect Architecture for Bandwidth-Balanced Systems

Systems comprised of interconnected computing nodes present a number of design challenges. In this paper, we present and, then, analyze a design for a power-efficient, bandwidth-balanced system to meet a performance goal of 1 PFlops. We show that the on-node bandwidth required to support internode communications grows as the data-locality of an application decreases. We present an internode network that reduces this on-node bandwidth requirement to meet the limitations of the system building block (the macrochip) and introduce a new silicon photonics-based switch called the macroswitch. Our analysis demonstrates that a bandwidth-balanced system based on the macroswitch and photonic interconnects can achieve the stated goals with significantly lower power than an evolutionary system based on conventional multilevel switches.
Smart Temperature Sensor Design on Transmission Line

A design of smart temperature sensor on transmission line is proposed.The sensor is formed with temperature sensor units and wireless adapter modules,which provide external RS-485 interface with standard SDI-12 communication protocol.The wireless communication between temperature acquisition unit and wireless adapter unit used industrial scientific medical(ISM) band at 433 MHz,which have the characteristic of distance communication.
Design of ZDY850S Hydraulic Drilling Rig

The design methods of the ZDY850S is narrated.The results of field test indicates the drilling rig bearing capacity of wide-angle construction of gas transformational borehole due to performances of lightweight,reliability and efficient.
Evaluation on Tobacco Control in Medical institutions of Erduose

Objective To evaluate some medical and health institutions of our city which to create smoke-free tobacco control intervention unit of recent results.Methods 6 medical institutions and health of Ordos City and medical workers for the intervention study.With on-site observation and questionnaire survey,Smoke-free environment before and after the intervention hospitals and medical personnel's knowledge of tobacco control and tobacco control services to provide the survey results and analysis of tobacco control.Results Compared before and after intervention investigators smoking status,cognitive attitudes, tobacco control concepts,aspects of tobacco control measures produced a significant change.Conclusion Implementation of integrated control,it is effective to create smoke-free hospitals as the carrier means.Implementation of tobacco control for the whole society is a good inspiration.
Whole-Body Vibration Exposure Experienced by Subway Train Operators:

Purposes of the study were to measure mechanical vibrations transmitted to train operators, to calculate daily whole-body vibration exposure levels, to compare measured levels with maximum acceptab...
CHAPTER 2 – Ohm's Law and Measurements

This chapter discusses Ohm's Law and Measurements. The water pump analog of a simple electronic system and the electronic circuit analogous to the system is provided in the chapter. Forces of attraction are present when a group of electrons is brought close to a group of positive charges, but forces of repulsion would result if both the groups being brought together are electrons. Most resistors that are used in electronics follow Ohm's law in a linear manner. Several important types of electrical devices such as neon bulbs have resistance characteristics that are not linear. An ohmmeter can be used as a continuity tester to determine whether or not wires are properly connected. Experiments with ammeter, voltmeter, and Ohmmeter are also provided in the chapter.
In Sickness and in Health

Hanser describes what it means to be well, and suggests ways to thrive and achieve self-actualization or flow, even through a period of illness. Resilience and optimal health, or acceptance and peace, are destinations in the journey from illness to health. Holistic health and wellness provide the focus, in place of illness and disease. As consumers seek healthy bodies, minds, and spirits, they are demanding preventative strategies that maintain wellness. Engaging in music involves a focus on the parts of the self that are active and healthy. Music therapy teaches people how to uncover their creative selves, and brings them to a higher state of overall wellbeing.
The Spatial Distribution and Quantification of Food Insecurity in the North Central Health District of Idaho

ABSTRACTThis study examines the complexity of community food insecurity in a rural region of the United States. In this country, food insecurity is more about improper distribution than about scarcity. Quantifying why and where food distribution is not equitable or adequate depends on the context. We analyzed multiple indicators of food security at the ZIP code level to create a food insecurity index. With the index we used geographic information systems (GIS) technology to test for spatial autocorrelation. This technique shows spatial patterns of clustering or dispersal of food insecurity. The results conclude significant clustering of food insecurity and security in the study region.
Women in Combat

The question of whether women should be allowed to participate in combat operations has become more salient as nations are waging long-term wars on multiple fronts. Arguments, both for and against women in combat, are based on psychological, biological, and moral grounds. Historically, women have been combatants in many wars, rebellions, and revolutions, but frequently become marginalized once fighting has ceased. Current research into the masculinization of female soldiers demonstrates that the female embodiment of militarized masculinization can have negative effects on the way women are perceived in the military. Major changes in the way war is waged have provided opportunities for women to engage in close-quarter combat in which they have not only repeatedly excelled as soldiers, but also gained accolades for bravery. This entry examines the history of, current debates, and possible future directions for women in combat. Keywords: armed conflict/armed struggles; body politics; gender politics; legal and political debates; military
Heteroatom Polymer-Derived 3D High-Surface-Area and Mesoporous Graphene Sheet-Like Carbon for Supercapacitors

Current supercapacitors suffer from low energy density mainly due to the high degree of microporosity and insufficient hydrophilicity of their carbon electrodes. Development of a supercapacitor capable of simultaneously storing as much energy as a battery, along with providing sufficient power and long cycle stability would be valued for energy storage applications and innovations. Differing from commonly studied reduced graphene oxides, in this work we identified an inexpensive heteroatom polymer (polyaniline-PANI) as a carbon/nitrogen precursor, and applied a controlled thermal treatment at elevated temperature to convert PANI into 3D high-surface-area graphene-sheet-like carbon materials. During the carbonization process, various transition metals including Fe, Co, and Ni were added, which play critical roles in both catalyzing the graphitization and serving as pore forming agents. Factors including post-treatments, heating temperatures, and types of metal were found crucial for achieving enhanced capa...
Exploiting Tumor Acidity in Designing a Novel Cancer Targeting Agent

Developing more effective targeting of chemotherapeutics is currently one of the most pressing needs in oncology. One promising approach is to utilize the acidic microenvironment of cancer tumors, which is a universal property of all cancers. pH (Low) Insertion Peptide (pHLIP) is a soluble peptide that binds and inserts into cell membranes under acidic conditions. However, developing pHLIP into a novel cancer targeting agent will require informed design of a variant that can distinguish between the pH range of 7.2 (healthy tissue) and 6.8 (most cancers). One of the key steps in pHLIP function is the process of folding into an α-helix before insertion. Partial helical formation of pHLIP under alkaline conditions has been reported in literature, and recent results from our group [1] support this claim. These observations, coupled with biophysical theory of peptide folding [2], leads to our hypothesis that the apparent pKa of insertion of pHLIP is tied to its helix-forming propensity in solution. We have tested this hypothesis through long timescale (∼μs) molecular dynamics simulations of pHLIP in implicit solvent. Comparison with the insertion behavior observed in two variants of pHLIP that use non-natural amino acids [3] allows us to tie the unique properties of pHLIP to its primary amino acid sequence. Application of the Lifson-Roig model of helix-coil transition to our results yielded a complete thermodynamic description of state I of pHLIP. Collectively, our results are the first steps towards informed design of pHLIP variants with properties ideally suited to target cancer cells.[1] Renet. al. Proteins., (Submitted);[2] Almeida et al., BBA, 1818:178 (2012);[3] Onyango et al., Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed., 54:3658 (2015).
Mitochondrial protein 18 (MTP18) plays a pro-apoptotic role in chemotherapy-induced gastric cancer cell apoptosis

One of the severe limitations of chemotherapy is the development of drug resistance. However, the mechanisms underlying chemotherapy resistance remain to be elucidated. Mitochondrial mediated apoptosis is a form of cell death induced by chemotherapy. Several chemotherapeutic agents have been shown to induce mitochondrial fission, and finally activate the apoptosis cascade in various cancer cells. Here, we report that the mitochondrial membrane protein 18 (MTP18) induced mitochondrial fragmentation in gastric cancer cells under doxorubicin (DOX) exposure. Upon over-expression of MTP18, a sub-cytotoxic dose of DOX could sensitize a significant number of cells to undergo mitochondrial fission and subsequent apoptosis. These findings suggest that MTP18 can enhance the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to DOX. Mechanistically, we found that MTP18 enriched dynamic-related protein 1 (DRP1) accumulation in mitochondria and it was responsible for mediating DOX-induced signaling required for mitochondrial fission. Intriguingly, MTP18 expression was downregulated during DOX treatment. Thus, down-regulation of MTP18 expression could be one of the resistance factors interfering with DOX-induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cells.
Intergenerational Continuity of Psychological Violence: Intimate Partner Relationships and Harsh Parenting.

Objective This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined psychological violence across generations. We examined how parent psychological violence experienced during adolescence influenced the stability of one's own intimate partner psychological violence perpetration across time and how psychological violence is related to harsh parenting in adulthood. Method Data came from 193 parents and their adolescent who participated from adolescence through adulthood. Parental psychological violence was assessed in early adolescence. Partner violence was assessed in late adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood. Harsh parenting to their offspring was assessed in adulthood. Results Parent psychological violence in early adolescence was associated with one's own intimate partner psychological violence in late adolescence. Partner psychological violence was stable from emerging adulthood to adulthood. Moreover, parental violence was also related to their own harsh parenting in adulthood. Conclusions Findings suggest that children exposed to parental psychological violence during adolescence may have greater difficulty developing acceptable behaviors in their own romantic relationships over time, as well as parenting their own child in adulthood. Findings highlight the importance for clinicians and policy makers to develop and utilize effective educational and preventive interventions designed toward not only adolescent behaviors, but also that of the parent. Understanding how the family environment impacts current and long-term functioning is important in helping stop the cycle of violence across generations.
Screening for Depression

D espite a multitude of treatments, depression has an estimated prevalence of 5.4 to 8.9 percent in the U.S. general population, and affects 5 to 13 percent of patients in primary care settings. The condition accounts for more than $43 billion in medical care costs and $17 billion in lost productivity annually. Depression is projected to become the second largest cause of disability by 2020. Depression is often not adequately treated. Even when treated appropriately, more than 75 percent of patients with depression have recurrent episodes and 10 to 30 percent have residual symptoms. Depression has been associated with poorer outcomes in patients with a variety of medical conditions, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, and stroke. Treatment of depression may reduce mortality from these conditions, as well as help prevent suicide. Therefore, accurately identifying patients who have depression is important so that appropriate treatment can be initiated.
Impact of medication adherence on risk of ischemic stroke, major bleeding and deep vein thrombosis in atrial fibrillation patients using novel oral anticoagulants.

Objectives: Our study examined the impact of adherence to novel oral anticoagulants [NOACs - dabigatran and rivaroxaban] on ischemic-stroke (IS), major-bleeding (MB), deep-vein-thrombosis and pulmo...
SEARCHING FOR KEYZER SOZE: FINDING THE CAUSE OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Determining associated causes of pulmonary hypertension is the most important step in management of pulmonary hypertension. A 36 year-old female presented with shortness of breath of several years duration. She had Crohn's disease, recurrent pleural effusion, and pulmonary embolism, taking
The Myth of Common Law Crimes

Conventional wisdom tells us that, after the United States was founded, we replaced our system of common law crimes with criminal statutes and that this shift from common law to codification vindicated important rule-of-law values. But this origin story is false on both counts. The common law continues to play an important role in modern American criminal law, and to the extent that it has been displaced by statutes, our justice system has not improved. Criminal statutes regularly delegate to prosecutors questions about the scope of criminal law, and judges have failed to serve as a check on that power. As a consequence, the current system provides less notice, less accountability, less separation of powers, and more potential for abuse than the common law system. Thus, to the extent the statute has displaced common law, the shift is not a story of the triumph of the rule of law; it is instead a story of legislative excess, prosecutorial supremacy, and judicial abdication. The conventional wisdom of criminal common law is not only false, but it also conceals the failings of our current criminal justice system.
Stability of Cisapride in a Liquid Dosage form at Two Temperatures

Objective:To determine the stability of cisapride in a liquid dosage form stored in plastic bottles at 2 temperatures.Design:Cisapride tablets were used to prepare a suspension in equal volumes of methylcellulose 1% and simple syrup to yield a concentration of 1 mg/mL. The cisapride suspension was stored in 10 amber plastic prescription bottles. Five bottles were stored at room temperature (25 ± 0.1 °C) and 5 under refrigeration (4 °C). Samples were drawn from each bottle immediately after mixing (day 0), and at 7, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, and 91 days of storage at each temperature. All samples were analyzed in duplicate on each day of analysis. Cisapride was measured by a stability-indicating HPLC method.Results:The mean concentration of cisapride exceeded 90% of its initial concentration throughout the 91-day study period at 4 °C, but only during the first 28 days at 25 °C. No significant change in pH was observed during the study period.Conclusions:Cisapride was stable in a suspension for 91 days at 4 °C an...
Allocating modules to processors in a distributed system with limited memory

We consider the problem of finding a minimum-cost assignment of program modules to processors in a distributed system where one of the processors has limited memory. This problem is NP-hard, even if the communication graph is a tree. We show that a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme exists for the case where the communication graph is a partial k-tree. A faster approximation scheme is presented for the case of trees with uniform costs. Both schemes are derived from algorithms for the allocation problem without memory constraints. We also show that, if the communication graph is unrestricted, there is no fully polynomial-time approximation scheme for the memory-constrained problem unless P = NP.
The Association of Judgement Ability and Functional Status in Older Adult Rehabilitation Inpatients

Purpose: Older adults have an increased likelihood of requiring rehabilitative care due to cognitive and physical risk factors. Research has found a link between executive functioning performance and functional outcomes; however, there is a dearth of research on the assessment of judgement ability. In the current pilot study, we investigated the clinical utility of the Test of Practical Judgment (TOP-J) in an older adult rehabilitation sample.Methods: Inpatients of mixed diagnoses (n = 25, mean age = 72.60) completed the TOP-J and Functional Independence Measure (FIM). We assessed TOP-J performance in the entire sample and in those with intact vs. impaired global cognition (on the Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE). Correlational analyses were conducted between the TOP-J, MMSE and relevant FIM items.Results: TOP-J performance fell between the means typically observed in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease. Participants with intact global cognition obtained significantly higher TOP-J scores than those with impaired global cognition. Moderate to strong positive correlations emerged between TOP-J, MMSE and FIM items of problem solving, comprehension and memory.Conclusions: Results provide support for the clinical utility and validity of the TOP-J among older adults in the rehabilitation setting. Administering the TOP-J may help identify patients at risk for future injury and facilitate role transitions.
Restoring historical forest conditions in a diverse inland Pacific Northwest landscape

A major goal of managers in fire‐prone forests is restoring historical structure and composition to promote resilience to future drought and disturbance. To accomplish this goal, managers require information about reference conditions in different forest types, as well as tools to determine which individual trees to retain or remove to approximate those reference conditions. We used dendroecological reconstructions and General Land Office records to quantify historical forest structure and composition within a 13,600 ha study area in eastern Oregon where the USDA Forest Service is planning restoration treatments. Our analysis demonstrates that all forest types present in the study area, ranging from dry ponderosa pine‐dominated forests to moist mixed conifer forests, are considerably denser (273–316% increase) and have much higher basal area (60–176% increase) today than at the end of the 19th century. Historically, both dry pine and mixed conifer forest types were dominated by shade‐intolerant species. Today, shade‐tolerant tree cover has increased in dry pine stands, while mixed conifer stands are now dominated by shade‐tolerant species. Federal managers in eastern Oregon are currently required to retain all live trees >53 cm diameter at breast height in the course of forest management activities because this size class is assumed to be under‐represented on the landscape relative to historical conditions. However, we found the same or greater number of live trees >53 cm today than in the late 19th century. Restoring historical conditions usually involves removing shade‐tolerant trees that established since Euro‐American management significantly altered natural disturbance regimes. We evaluated a wide range of tree morphological and environmental variables that could potentially predict the age of grand fir and Douglas‐fir, the most abundant shade‐tolerant species found within the study area. We describe several morphological characteristics that are diagnostic of tree age and developed decision trees that predict the approximate age of trees using morphological characteristics that are easy to measure in the field such as height to live foliage or height to dead branches. Information about structural and compositional change over time combined with tree‐age prediction tools provides a flexible framework for restoring historical conditions and meeting other resource management objectives.
Perspective from grad school: When you are blind and in grad school

The hardest part about being a blind student in graduate school is the inaccessibility I face everywhere. I part crowds with a wave of my hand ... OK, maybe it’s my cane, but people scatter like mice that just saw a cat either way. Searching for the copy room or projector lounge can feel like a scavenger hunt as I walk through hallways marked only with room numbers in braille, like room 175. In class, “This arrow means the molecule pictured goes here,” my professor says. Without a tactile diagram, I can guess we might be talking about a molecule going into an enzyme active site, or maybe it’s a mechanism. The exam is tomorrow and I still haven’t gotten any of the braille documents I asked for, so it’s another test of learning everything I can about the few things that were clearly named in lecture. When taking the
Inter-rater Variability in the Interpretation of Pre and Post Contrast MRI for Pre-Surgical Evaluation of Osteosarcoma in Long Bones in Pediatric Patients and Young Adults.

Abstract Background and Objectives The value of gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for extremity osteosarcoma resection planning is unverified. We evaluate the performance of intravenous gadolinium enhanced MRI for identification of neurovascular bundle involvement (NBI) and intraarticular extension (IAE) in patients with osteosarcoma. Methods Two pediatric radiologists independently analyzed MRI examinations of patients with pathology proven extremity osteosarcoma for NBI and IAE. Initial evaluation utilized only non-contrast MRI images (PRE) and, after 2 weeks, subsequent evaluation included both the pre and post contrast images (POST). Cohen’s Kappa and McNemar’s test were calculated to assess agreement between PRE and POST image interpretations of NBI and IAE. Results 56 patients with 90 preoperative MRI examinations were analyzed. PRE and POST interpretations were rarely discordant; 4/90 cases for NBI (Kappa 0.91) and 2/90 cases for IAE (Kappa 0.95). McNemar’s test did not show a difference between PRE and POST imaging (NBI p=0.62; IAE p=0.48). Conclusion No significant difference between PRE and POST image interpretation was found. A high level of agreement between PRE and POST image interpretation suggests that pre-contrast MRI may be sufficient for pre-surgical planning for pediatric patients with long bone osteosarcoma.
Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Interactions of NVM/FLASH with Operating Systems and Workloads

Welcome to the first workshop on Interactions of NVM/Flash with Operating Systems and Workloads, INFLOW2013. The motivation behind INFLOW was to bring together researchers and practitioners working in systems across the hardware/software stack, who are interested in the cross-cutting issues of NVM/Flash technologies, operating systems, and emerging workloads.
Synthesis and Properties of Cerium and Titanium Oxide Thin Coatings for Corrosion Protection of 304 Stainless Steel

Powders and thin coatings of ceria and titania were synthesized from aqueous and solvent-based precursors. Thin coatings were deposited on polished 304 stainless steel coupons by dipping them in the appropriate sol-gel oxide precursors. The coatings were subsequently densified and crystallized at several hundreds of degrees. It was possible to obtain dense titania coatings by applying thin coatings of cerium dioxide prior to titania on stainless steel substrates. Underlayer ceria coatings proved to be pivotal in obtaining dense titania coatings and preserving the integrity of the stainless steel while going through the high temperature treatments. The effect of processing parameters such as the atmosphere of heat-treatment, and temperature on the microstructure and crystal structure of the films and powders of ceria and titania was investigated. X-ray diffraction was used to identify the crystal structure of films and powders upon heat-treatment. Electrochemical measurements in NaCl, and analytical techniques such as SEM and EDX were used to evaluate the corrosion performance and pitting morphology of coated samples. A composite coating of ceria and titania was able to prevent crevice corrosion and increase the pitting resistance of the 304 stainless steel relative to the uncoated substrate.
Feeding Mode, but Not Prebiotics, Affects Colonic Microbiota Composition and Volatile Fatty Acid Concentrations in Sow-Reared, Formula-Fed, and Combination-Fed Piglets.

BACKGROUND Many infants consume both human milk and infant formula (combination-fed); however, little is known about how combination-feeding affects the gut microbiota or prebiotic fermentation compared to formula feeding. OBJECTIVES We investigated the impact of feeding mode and prebiotics on bacterial colonization and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations. METHODS Newborn piglets (Large White and Landrace) were randomly assigned to 5 groups (n = 6/group): formula-fed (FF), formula-fed with prebiotics (FP), sow-reared (SR), combination-fed (CF), and combination-fed with prebiotics (CP). SR piglets remained with the sows 24 h/d. FF and FP were fed formula or formula with galactooligosaccharide and inulin (4 g/L in a 4:1 ratio). CF and CP were sow-reared for 5 d and then rotated between the sow and formula-feeding every 12 h. Ascending colon contents were collected at day 21. The microbiota was analyzed by pyrosequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). VFAs were determined by gas chromatography. RESULTS Distance-based redundancy analysis of DGGE and pyrosequencing data separated microbiota of FF from CF and SR. CF differed from SR by DGGE, but only a trend (P = 0.09) by pyrosequencing. Bacterial composition of CF was more similar to SR than FF. No bacterial genera in CF significantly differed from SR; however, 9 genera differed between CF and FF, including Lactobacillus, Clostridium XIVa, and Fusobacterium. VFA concentrations were similar between CF and SR, while isovalerate and isobutyrate were 2-fold greater (P < 0.05) in CF than FF. Neither microbiota nor VFA profile was affected by prebiotic supplementation. CONCLUSIONS Microbial colonization patterns and VFA profiles of CF piglets were more similar to SR piglets than FF piglets. Prebiotics did not affect piglet bacterial composition and/or VFA concentrations relative to the main feeding modes (FF and CF). Thus, partial exposure to breast milk can be beneficial for microbiota development of FF neonates.
Potential fate of wetland soil carbon in a deltaic coastal wetland subjected to high relative sea level rise

Abstract The fate of soil carbon in eroding coastal wetlands is of great concern, given the potential for a feedback loop from coastal wetland soil that would dramatically increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The biogeochemical transformations and overall fate of this soil carbon upon coastal erosion were investigated through geophysical and spectroscopic analysis of soil and associated dissolved organic matter. Bay water and core sections were collected across transects encompassing both intact and eroded, submerged, sections of a coastal marsh in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. We noted: i) a vertical increase in carbon content, humification of organic matter, and decrease in biotic degradation with depth at all sites; ii) an erosion and ultimate collapse of the top ~ 0–20 cm of the intact marsh’s edge into the bay water due to the undercutting caused by tidal/wave forces; iii) the loss of the stored carbon from the submerged site’s top 10 cm layer; and iv) leaching, dilution, abiotic, and biotic degradation of the marsh carbon due to the exposure to the bay water. This erosion and degradation of wetland soil carbon stores demonstrates the potential impact of rising sea levels on the future fate of coastal wetland carbon and atmospheric CO2 levels.
Dynamic Response of a Beam Structure Excited by Sequentially Moving Rigid Bodies

A coupled dynamic system consisting of a supporting beam structure and multiple passing rigid bodies is seen in various engineering applications. The dynamic response of such a coupled system is qu...
Ethyl 1H-indole-2-carboxyl­ate

Our work in the area of synthesis of tris indole compounds as a potential chelator led to the synthesis and crystallization of ethyl 1H-indole-2-carboxyl­ate, C11H11NO2, an indole that was synthesized by the thionyl chloride reaction of 1H-indole-2-carb­oxy­lic acid, followed by dissolution in ethanol. The mol­ecular packing exhibits a herringbone pattern with the zigzag running along the b-axis direction; the compound crystallizes as a hydrogen-bonded dimer resulting from O⋯H—N hydrogen bonds, between the indole N—H group and the keto oxygen atom, which build centrosymmetric R22(10) ring motifs in the crystal.
The Theft: An Analysis of Moral Agency

Adam and Eve’s theft marks the beginning of the human career as moral agents. This article will examine the assumptions underlying the notion of moral agency from the perspective of three unremarkable human beings who found themselves in situations of moral difficulty. The article will conclude that these three people could not have acted differently than they did. It will conclude that it is unreasonable to assume that ordinary human beings will inevitably possess the resources to address difficult moral decisions.
Higgs Boson Data Analysis

This chapter presents a series of analyses, increasing in complexity and precision, to measure anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson. The later measurements in the sequence use the Higgs boson’s decay to four leptons onshell and offshell, its production in association with jets or top quarks, to measure its interactions with vector bosons and fermions. Advanced statistical methods are employed to measure multiple anomalous couplings simultaneously, taking into account the complicated contributions of quantum mechanical interference.
ProDy 2.0: Increased Scale and Scope after 10 Years of Protein Dynamics Modelling with Python.

Summary ProDy, an integrated API developed for modelling and analysing protein dynamics, has significantly evolved in recent years in response to the growing data and needs of computational biology community. We present major developments that led to ProDy 2.0: (i) improved interfacing with databases and parsing new file formats, (ii) SignDy for signature dynamics of protein families, (iii) CryoDy for collective dynamics of supramolecular systems using cryo-EM density maps, and (v) essential site scanning analysis (ESSA) for identifying sites essential to modulating global dynamics. Availability and implementation ProDy is open-source and freely available under MIT License from https://github.com/prody/ProDy. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online, and tutorials at http://prody.csb.pitt.edu/.
Returns to Seniority in Union and Nonunion Jobs: a New Look at the Evidence

One of the most prominent features of U.S. unionism is the key role played by seniority. However, in cross-sectional data, the positive association between seniority and earnings is typically much stronger for nonunion workers than for union workers. This finding has puzzled previous researchers, since it seems inconsistent with the generalization that seniority is more important in the union sector than in the nonunion sector. We show that standard estimates of the return to seniority are likely to be biased upward and argue that the bias is likely to be larger in the nonunion sector than in the union sector. Corrected estimates imply that the return to seniority is, in fact, larger in the union sector than in the nonunion sector.
The Wage Stagnationist

Wage stagnation, it would appear, is the latest stick with which to beat up on capitalism. Hence, the stagnationist enters this volume as yet another heroic character. What is wage stagnation? As its name implies, it is a description of the situation where wages neither rise nor fall, but remain the same, over time. They stagnate, got it? And who, pray tell, are the stagnationists, against whom we are instructed to protest? Actually, there are two, the employer and the employee. Guess who is the bad guy of the piece? If you guessed the former, go to the head of the class. The employer stagnationist dastardly refuses to increase the salary of his employee. He will not lower it (for which of course, we give him no credit), but he will not raise it, either. The greatly put upon worker stagnates at the same wage, neither having it lowered or raised. Boo hoo hoo?