cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Preliminary Candidate Genotype–Intermediate Phenotype Study of Satiation and Gastric Motor Function in Obesity

Stomach motility contributes significantly to fullness sensation while eating and cessation of food intake in humans. Genes controlling adrenergic and serotonergic mechanisms (ADRA2A, GNB3, and SLC6A4) affect gastric emptying (GE), volume (GV), and satiation. Fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is linked with satiety. Our aim was to examine the association of these candidate genes with stomach functions that signal postprandial fullness: GE, GV, and maximum tolerated volume (MTV). These biomarkers constitute a component of the intermediate phenotype of satiation. A total of 62 overweight or obese participants underwent genotyping of the candidate genes, and validated measurements of GE of solids and liquids by scintigraphy, fasting and postprandial change in GV by SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography), and MTV by nutrient drink test. These markers of satiation were compared for 38 genetic variants in ADRA2A, ADR2C, ADRB3, uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 and -3, GNB3, FTO, and SLC6A4 using a recessive model of inheritance. ADRA2A, ADR2C, UCP-3, GNB3, and FTO loci were significantly associated with the intermediate phenotype markers of satiation: ADR2C (Ins-Del322_325) with accelerated GE; GNB3 (rs1047776) with delayed GE; ADRA2A (rs491589 and rs553668) and GNB3 (rs2269355, rs10849527, and rs3759348) with decreased postprandial GV; ADRA2A (rs3750625) and GNB3 (rs4963517 and rs1129649) with increased postprandial GV; UCP-3 (rs1685356) with increased MTV, and FTO (rs9939609) decreased MTV. Genetic susceptibility to postprandial satiation can be identified through intermediate phenotype markers. With independent validation, these markers may guide patient selection of weight-loss therapies directed at gastric motor functions.
Synthesis of surface-metallized polymeric films by in situ reduction of (4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedionato) silver(I) in a polyimide matrix

Thermal curing of the (4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedionato)silver(I)-containing poly(amic acid) formed from 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4′-oxydianiline (4,4′-ODA) in dimethylacetamide gives both polyimide films via cyclodehydration and reduction of silver(I) to the native metal. Silver(0) migrates to the surface resulting in surface metallized composite films, which can have excellent reflectivity, but do not exhibit surface electrical conductivity. The films retain mechanical and thermal properties similar to those of the parent polyimide. X-ray diffraction shows crystalline face-centered-cubic silver in the films after thermal curing. Microscopy data show that the surface particle sizes are in the range of approximately 50–100 nm. Significant silver remains in the bulk of the polyimide film with varying particles sizes generally less than approximately 15 nm. The interior of the metallized films is not electrically conducting. Films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical measurements.
New sensors for the advanced test reactor national scientific user facility

A key component of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) effort is to develop and evaluate in-pile instrumentation capable of providing real-time measurements of key parameters during irradiation. This paper describes the strategy for identifying and prioritizing instrumentation needs and the program initiated to develop new or enhanced sensors to address these needs. Accomplishments from this program are illustrated by describing new sensors now available to users of the ATR NSUF with data from irradiation tests using these sensors. In addition, progress is reported on current research efforts to provide users advanced methods for detecting temperature, fuel thermal conductivity, and changes in sample geometry.
Certification and Accreditation in Civil Engineering

Certification has been common for technicians for many years but specialty certification is rapidly becoming important to engineering practitioners in addition to or as a substitute for licensure in some fields. Certification and accreditation are closely related but there are also important differences. International standards now exist for accreditation of certification programs and could provide the basis for mutual recognition of specialty certification worldwide. ASCE should seek international accreditation of its specialty certification programs and play an appropriate role in defining international standards related to specialty certification and assessment of conformity to those standards.
Regression analysis for comparing protein samples with 16O/18O stable-isotope labeled mass spectrometry

Motivation: Using stable isotopes in global proteome scans, labeled molecules from one sample are pooled with unlabeled molecules from another sample and subsequently subjected to mass-spectral analysis. Stable-isotope methodologies make use of the fact that identical molecules of different stable-isotope compositions are differentiated in a mass spectrometer and are represented in a mass spectrum as distinct isotopic clusters with a known mass shift. We describe two multivariable linear regression models for 16O/18O stable-isotope labeled data that jointly model pairs of resolved isotopic clusters from the same peptide and quantify the abundance present in each of the two biological samples while concurrently accounting for peptide-specific incorporation rates of the heavy isotope. The abundance measure for each peptide from the two biological samples is then used in down-stream statistical analyses, e.g. differential expression analysis. Because the multivariable regression models are able to correct for the abundance of the labeled peptide that appear as an unlabeled peptide due to the inability to exchange the natural C-terminal oxygen for the heavy isotope, they are particularly advantageous for a two-step digestion/labeling procedure. We discuss how estimates from the regression model are used to quantify the variability of the estimated abundance measures for the paired samples. Although discussed in the context of 16O/18O stable-isotope labeled data, the multivariable regression models are generalizable to other stable-isotope labeled technologies. Contact: [email protected]
Foreign Bribery: Incentives and Enforcement

We use data from enforcement actions initiated under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to examine the hypothesis that managers engage in foreign bribery because it is profitable. We find that bribery is associated with projects that have positive ex ante net present value. Even net of costs and penalties, the average ex post NPV for bribe-related projects is non-negative for firms that are caught, and the reputational loss is negligible. For a subset of firms that face comingled charges for financial fraud, however, the direct cost and reputational loss are larger and the ex post NPV is negative.
Interference Cancellation and Detection for More than Two Users

In multiple access channels, when users know each other's channels, precoders can be designed utilizing channel information to cancel the interference at the receiver without sacrificing the diversity or the complexity of the system. Recently, it was shown that when there are only two users, a receiver can completely cancel the interference of the two users and provide full diversity for each user. Unfortunately, the scheme only works for two users. In this paper, we extend the scheme to more than 2 users. In other words, we propose a system to achieve interference cancellation and full diversity with low complexity for any number of users. Then, we extend the results to any number of users with any number of transmit and receive antennas. Our main idea is to design precoders, using the channel information, to make it possible for different users to transmit over orthogonal directions. Then, using the orthogonality of the transmitted signals, the receiver can separate them and decode the signals independently. We also analytically prove that our system provides full diversity to each user. Simulation results confirm our analytical proof and show that our proposed scheme outperforms other existing interference cancellation schemes.
ACR/EULAR 2010 rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria

Advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of RA over the past two decades, particularly the identification of cytokines that promote synovial inflammation (e.g. TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6), have led to treatment courses that affect the disease process itself, beyond alleviation of symptoms. In turn, emphasis has shifted to intervention early enough in the disease course to prevent the joint destruction that follows inflammation. Accordingly, in 2010 the ACR and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) put forward revised classification criteria emphasizing RA characteristics that emerge early in the disease course, including ACPAs, a biomarker that predicts aggressive disease. These were in contrast with the 1987 ARA criteria, which distinguished established RA patients from those with other forms of arthritis, and identified patients with later disease. The categories of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria are grouped into four classifications, with point scores for each: joint symptoms; serology (including RF and/or ACPA); symptom duration, whether 6 weeks; and acute-phase reactants (CRP and/or ESR). The criteria were developed in a three-phase process, beginning with an analysis of patient cohorts to determine what disease characteristics had persuaded clinicians to initiate MTX therapy, followed by consensus-based decisions and the creation of a scoring system that would predict which patients would go on to develop persistent and/or erosive disease.
Design of voltage-scalable meta-functions for approximate computing

Approximate computing techniques that exploit the inherent resilience in algorithms through mechanisms such as voltage over-scaling (VOS) have gained significant interest. In this work, we focus on meta-functions that represent computational kernels commonly found in application domains that demonstrate significant inherent resilience, namely Multimedia, Recognition and Data Mining. We propose design techniques (dynamic segmentation with multi-cycle error compensation, and delay budgeting for chained data path components) which enable the hardware implementations of these meta-functions to scale more gracefully under voltage over-scaling. The net effect of these design techniques is improved accuracy (fewer and smaller errors) under a wide range of over-scaled voltages. Results based on extensive transistor-level simulations demonstrate that the optimized meta-function implementations consume up to 30% less energy at iso-error rates, while achieving upto 27% lower error rates at iso-energy when compared to their baseline counterparts. System-level simulations for three applications, motion estimation, support vector machine based classification and k-means based clustering are also presented to demonstrate the impact of the improved meta-functions at the application level.
Mark – Interpreter of Paul

Claiming that Mark is a Paulinist does not require that he agree with Paul about everything, and plausible reasons can be advanced for a later Paulinist wanting to write the story of the earthly Jesus. Martin Werner's assertion that the agreements between Mark and Paul reflect general early Christian viewpoints is not valid with regard to the theology of the cross, which was a controversial Pauline emphasis and a stress that the later Gospels attenuated in editing Mark. Contrary to Werner, Mark and Paul agree in ascribing Jesus' death to a combination of human and demonic opponents.
Long-Term Health Outcomes in Patients with Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Investigated somatic and emotional symptoms, functional disability, and health service utilization in 31 former RAP patients and 31 former well patients who had originally been interviewed 5 to 6 years earlier. Both former patients and their mothers were interviewed for this follow-up study. Medical records were obtained for those patients who reported receiving new diagnoses for abdominal pain since their initial assessment. Results indicated that only one of the former RAP patients was later diagnosed with organic disease that clearly accounted for his earlier abdominal pain. Nonetheless, at follow-up former RAP patients reported significantly higher levels of abdominal pain, other somatic symptoms, and functional disability (including school/work absence) than did former well patients. Mothers reported higher levels of internalizing emotional symptoms in former RAP patients than in former well patients.
The Mind and the Future The (Negative) Power of Expectations

We try to identify the configurations of beliefs and goals typical of the various kinds of representation of the future: forecasts, hopes and fears, and a particular kind of anticipatory representations that we call `hope-casts' and `fear-casts', which are supposed to imply not only forecasts and either hopes or fears, but also a normative component according to which the expected event `ought' to happen. We address the psychological consequences of hope-casts, either before or after the expected event comes true or false, and point to the sense of injustice and loss produced by violated hope-casts. We also address individual differences in dealing with violated hope-casts, and the possible role played by just-world beliefs, optimism and defensive pessimism. Finally, we compare our model with related approaches, and stress the negative potential of hope-casts in terms of the negative attitudes associated with them, which hamper people's ability to cope with disappointment.
A high performance low power 2048-bit memory chip in MOSFET technology and its application

A static 2048-bit read/wire memory chip for main stores is described. It uses a modified 6-device memory cell in an n-channel MOSFET technology. To exploit the potential of the given MOSFET technology with respect to the cost/performance ratio and the power-delay product, special provisions are taken. The power is kept low by the gate driver concept as well as by clocked peripheral circuits. High performance is achieved with fast peripheral circuits, the delayed chip select concept, and a bipolar sense amplifier which also supplies the bit-line restore voltage. Circuits are presented which successfully utilize the on-chip tracking to reduce the impact of device parameter tolerances on worst case power and performance. It is shown how the memory chip is packaged on modules, cards, and boards to build up functional memory units.
Viewpoint Dependency in Visual Object Recognition Does Not Necessarily Imply Viewer-Centered Representation

The nature of visual object representation in the brain is the subject of a prolonged debate. One set of theories asserts that objects are represented by their structural description and the representation is "object-centered." Theories from the other side of the debate suggest that humans store multiple "snapshots" for each object, depicting it as seen under various conditions, and the representation is therefore "viewer-centered." The principal tool that has been used to support and criticize each of these hypotheses is subjects' performance in recognizing objects under novel viewing conditions. For example, if subjects take more time in recognizing an object from an unfamiliar viewpoint, it is common to claim that the representation of that object is viewpoint-dependent and therefore viewer-centered. It is suggested here, however, that performance cost in recognition of objects under novel conditions may be misleading when studying the nature of object representation. Specifically, it is argued that viewpoint-dependent performance is not necessarily an indication of viewer-centered representation. An account for the neural basis of perceptual priming is first provided. In light of this account, it is conceivable that viewpoint dependency reflects the utilization of neural paths with different levels of sensitivity en route to the same representation, rather than the existence of viewpoint-specific representations. New experimental paradigms are required to study the validity of the viewer-centered approach.
The effects of aging on capillary hemodynamics in contracting rat spinotrapezius muscle

Abstract Advancing age alters the structural and functional determinants of convective and diffusive muscle oxygen (O 2 ) flux. However, capillary red blood cell (RBC) hemodynamics have not been investigated during contractions in muscles of old animals. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that aging induces significant capillary hemodynamic alterations during electrically-induced contractions in the spinotrapezius muscle of old Fischer 344 × Brown Norway rats when compared to younger counterparts. The spinotrapezius muscle was observed via intravital microscopy under both resting and contracting conditions in 8 old (O: 26–30 months) and 5 young (Y: 6–8 months) animals. Capillary RBC flux ( F RBC ), velocity ( V RBC ), hematocrit ( H CAP ), and lineal F RBC ( F RBC × capillary lineal density) were determined in all visible capillaries and fields at rest and during the steady-state of muscle contractions. At rest F RBC and V RBC were elevated in O compared to Y rats, while there was no difference in H CAP or lineal F RBC between groups. During the contracting steady-state, Δ F RBC (Y: 28.8 ± 7.7, O: − 2.9 ± 1.4 cells/s), Δ V RBC (Y: 253 ± 68, O: − 4 ± 15 μm/s), Δ H CAP (Y: 0.02 ± 0.02, O: − 0.03 ± 0.01), and the Δlineal F RBC (Y: 892 ± 255, O: − 24 ± 30 cells/s/mm) were all lower ( P 2 transport at rest, advancing age results in significant impairments in capillary hemodynamics during electrically-induced contractions. These alterations likely contribute to the mechanisms responsible for the reduced exercise capacity commonly found in elderly populations.
Proteomics Analysis of the Interactome of N-myc Downstream Regulated Gene 1 and Its Interactions with the Androgen Response Program in Prostate Cancer Cells

NDRG1 is known to play important roles in both androgen-induced cell differentiation and inhibition of prostate cancer metastasis. However, the proteins associated with NDRG1 function are not fully enumerated. Using coimmunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis, we identified 58 proteins that interact with NDRG1 in prostate cancer cells. These proteins include nuclear proteins, adhesion molecules, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperons, proteasome subunits, and signaling proteins. Integration of our data with protein-protein interaction data from the Human Proteome Reference Database allowed us to build a comprehensive interactome map of NDRG1. This interactome map consists of several modules such as a nuclear module and a cell membrane module; these modules explain the reported versatile functions of NDRG1. We also determined that serine 330 and threonine 366 of NDRG1 were phosphorylated and demonstrated that the phosphorylation of NDRG1 was prominently mediated by protein kinase A (PKA). Further, we showed that NDRG1 directly binds to β-catenin and E-cadherin. However, the phosphorylation of NDRG1 did not interrupt the binding of NDRG1 to E-cadherin and β-catenin. Finally, we showed that the inhibition of NDRG1 expression by RNA interference decreased the ER inducible chaperon GRP94 expression, directly proving that NDRG1 is involved in the ER stress response. Intriguingly, we observed that many members of the NDRG1 interactome are androgen-regulated and that the NDRG1 interactome links to the androgen response network through common interactions with β-catenin and heat shock protein 90. Therefore we overlaid the transcriptomic expression changes in the NDRG1 interactome in response to androgen treatment and built a dual dynamic picture of the NDRG1 interactome in response to androgen. This interactome map provides the first road map for understanding the functions of NDRG1 in cells and its roles in human diseases, such as prostate cancer, which can progress from androgen-dependent curable stages to androgen-independent incurable stages.
Exploring the link between substance abuse and abortion: the roles of unconventionality and unplanned pregnancy.

CONTEXT: Several studies have found a relationship between abortion and prior substance use, suggesting that a reduction in substance use might help decrease abortion rates. However, such a conclusion requires a greater understanding of the processes linking abortion and prior substance use. METHOD: Path analysis of longitudinal data from 1,224 women was used to simultaneously test two pathways from adolescent substance use to abortion by age 29, one mediated by higher rates of unplanned pregnancy and the other independent of unplanned pregnancy rates. The model was then expanded to examine how these pathways change when unconventional attitudes and behaviors (such as rebelliousness and low religiosity) are taken into consideration. RESULTS: In the analysis that did not control for unconventionality, women who reported smoking cigarettes or using marijuana or hard drugs at age 18 had an increased likelihood of subsequent unplanned pregnancy and, as a result, higher rates of abortion. In addition, women who had used marijuana had an increased likelihood of abortion independent of unplanned pregnancy rates. In the final model, unconventionality strongly predicted both abortion and unplanned pregnancy. Moreover, it explained the associations between the use of hard drugs or marijuana and abortion that were due to higher unplanned pregnancy rates. CONCLUSIONS: Unconventionality mediates certain associations between substance use and abortion, perhaps because unconventional women are more likely both to use substances and to engage in behaviors that increase their risk of unplanned pregnancy. Hence, it seems unlikely that reducing substance use will result in substantially fewer abortions.
What Do Citizens Have to Do? Parents’ and Adolescents’ Messages About Civic Duty

The current study examined demographic and civic behavior correlates of observed messages concerning civic duty coded from dyadic, semi-structured interactions between 160 adolescents (Mage = 14.42...
Widespread, prolonged late Middle to Late Ordovician upwelling in North America: A proxy record of glaciation?: Comment and Reply REPLY

I welcome Leslie and Bergstrom's comment on our recent article ([Pope and Steffen, 2003][1]); it allows me the opportunity to clarify and reiterate some points in that article. The comment makes a number of points that I have labeled 1–6, and I address them in the general order they occur in the
Medicare Doesn’t Work As Well For Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does For Older Enrollees

Medicare is not working as well for its eight million disabled beneficiaries under age sixty-five as it is for its older beneficiaries. We report on a 2008 survey that found significant differences between the two Medicare populations, with the younger group experiencing more problems of cost and access. Even with the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, the nonelderly disabled reported greater difficulty in affording medications, and more adverse health consequences as a result. One potential remedy is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law includes reforms that could improve access to care and limit out-of-pocket expenses for the nonelderly disabled in Medicare—as well as those who are waiting to become eligible for the program.
Deriving output probabilities in child Mandarin from a Dual-Optimization grammar $

We examine the patterns of optionality that are characteristic of the acquisition of two Mandarin Chinese sentence-final temporal/aspectual markers: inchoative le and progressive ne. What we observe is a productive and systematic pattern of optionality (two forms ne and le for one meaning: inchoative) and ambiguity (one form ne for two meanings: progressive and inchoative) in spontaneous production by three children acquiring Mandarin. We analyze the overuse of ne in child Mandarin as a retreat to a default form that results from an impoverished syntactic representation. We propose an Optimality-Theoretic account in which constraints requiring syntactic realization of the features of the intended meaning “float” in the ranking over constraints that require economy of syntactic structure. These partial rankings characterize a set of alternative grammars that the child uses in production. We propose a Dual-Optimization solution to explain the gap between the children’s production and comprehension of inchoative le and progressive ne.
Pulmonary Findings on Computed Tomography in Asymptomatic Total Joint Arthroplasty Patients

An increase in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolus (PE) in the early postoperative period has been attributed to the use of multidetector 64-slice computed tomographic (CT) scans. It was suspected that this finding was the result of marrow or fat emboli that are commonly associated with arthroplasty rather than a true venous thromboembolic phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to determine the baseline pulmonary findings in asymptomatic patients after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Over a 1-year period, an institutional review board-approved prospective study of 20 asymptomatic patients using a multidetector 64-slice CT scanner was performed. Overall, 15 TKAs and 5 total hip arthroplasties were included for analysis. All of the CT scans were negative for PE. There were no signs of microemboli or fat emboli on any scan. No patient went on to develop a PE at 2 years postoperatively. Despite the fact that emboli are created during TJA, if emboli are seen on a CT scan postoperatively, they should be assumed to be real events with clinical sequelae. If pulmonary symptoms develop postoperatively, they should not simply be assumed to be the result of fat or marrow embolism.
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF MUSCLES IN THE COMMON DISEASES OF CHILDREN

In a study of the musculature supporting the spinal column, pathological changes in the muscular tissue were found at autopsy in sixty-three of 100 children who died of the usual diseases of childhood. In most of these cases, complete healing would probably have occurred if the children had recovered. Where complete healing of these pathological changes does not occur, or occurs slowly, the resultant muscular weakness may be the cause of scoliosis.
A Strategy to Characterize Nanofabrication Processes With Large RPM (Experimental Run, Physics, and Measurement) Uncertainties

The bottom-up fabrication of nanostructures can simultaneously face large uncertainties from experimental runs (R), physical understanding (P), and measurement (M). No systematic strategy has been reported to manage these three types of uncertainties, abbreviated as RPM, concurrently to achieve better understanding of nano fabrication processes. Previously, we developed cross-domain model building and validation (CDMV) approach to handle large physical and measurement (PM) uncertainties in nano fabrication process modeling. In this paper, we propose to prioritize RPM uncertainties and to incorporate the analysis of run variations into process modeling. Under a Bayesian hierarchical framework, this new strategy will first handle PM uncertainties at the basic level to identify a model structure using CDMV approach. The rationale is that the uncertainty due to experimental runs should not fundamentally change the process physics or the model structure, but impacts on the model parameters. At a lower hierarchy, process model parameters varying or invariant to runs are treated as random effects or fixed effects to be identified respectively. Demonstrated in a nanowire growth process example, the new strategy not only assists to establish an improved process model, but also to uncover the variation sources contributing to large run variations. The obtained physical insights can guide further process investigation. Note to practitioners: experimental investigation of nanofabrication processes often encounters large uncertainties due to a lack of conclusive understanding of process physics, measurement noise, and variability among experimental runs. Trial-and-error strategy is commonly adopted under this scenario to explore the process physics with little guidance, resulting in increased cost of experimentation or fabrication. This paper presents an alternative strategy to make more efficient use of data to manage large RPM uncertainties and achieve better process understandings for process improvement.
An investigation on risk behaviors for injuries among adolescent In Yanqing County,Beijing

Objective To investigate related risk behaviors for Injuries among adolescents in Yanqing County,Beijing to provide scientific evidence for implementing effective intervention measures.Methods In total,(2?129) students were selected from eight high schools,secondary vocational schools and universities using stratified cluster sampling method and related risk behaviors for injuries were investigated with questionnaire.Results About 50.9 percent of interviewees violated traffic law as riding bicycle.8.6 percent of them swam in non-swimming areas,19.1 percent fought physically against others,8.5 percent had suicidal ideas and 27.3 percent had ideas to run away from their homes,more in boys than in girls and more suicidal ideas in the second-grade students than that in other grades of junior high schools.Conclusions There were variety of risk behaviors which could cause injury among adolescents,so gender-specific early safety and psychological education should be provided for them suitable for the characteristics of injury-related behaviors in different schools for injury prevention.
Application of Antibacterial Peptides in Study of Rice Disease Resistance

Antimicrobial peptides( AMPs) are a series of short peptides with antibacterial activity against foreign pathogens,which are widely distributed in organisms. AMPs,owning advantages such as wide spectrum antimicrobial properties and little probability to cause pathogens' drug-resistance,can significantly improve the animal and plant disease resistance. In the present report,we summarize the biological characteristics,classification and action mechanism of antimicrobial peptides,intensively review the research progress of antimicrobial peptides from several different sources in the prevention and control of rice bacterial blight,blast and sheath blight,and raise the existing problems and future development proposals.
Rapid determination of 6 industrial dyes in seafoods by HPLC

Objective:To develop a method for rapid determination of 6 industrial dyes in seafoods by HPLC.Methods: Sample was homogenized with acetonitrile and concentrated.The separation of these dyes was carried out on a C18 column with 0.02 mol/L ammonium acetate(0.1% formic acid) + methanol as mobile phase.The quantification was accomplished by external standard method.Results: The calibration curves showed good linearity for 6 analytes between 0 mg/L~5.0 mg/L(r0.999) with detection limits of 0.04 mg/kg.The spiked recoveries in aquatic products samples ranged from 78%~99% with RSDs less than 7%.Conclusion: The method was rapid,convenient and practical,and suitable for determination of these 6 industrial dyes in seafoods in daily work.
Reconstructing social theory and the Anthropocene

This study reassesses the concept of the Anthropocene as a new geological age as it is influencing contemporary debates in social theory. As a unit of geological time whose changes are allegedly ca...
Real-Time PCR Quantification of Gene Expression in Embryonic Mouse Tissue

The Gbx family of transcription factors consists of two closely related proteins GBX1 and GBX2. A defining feature of the GBX family is a highly conserved 60 amino acid DNA-binding domain, which differs by just two amino acids. Gbx1 and Gbx2 are co-expressed in several areas of the developing central nervous system including the forebrain, anterior hindbrain, and spinal cord, suggesting the potential for genetic redundancy. However, there is a spatiotemporal difference in expression of Gbx1 and Gbx2 in the forebrain and spinal cord. Gbx2 has been shown to play a critical role in positioning the midbrain/hindbrain boundary and developing anterior hindbrain, whereas gene-targeting experiments in mice have revealed an essential function for Gbx1 in the spinal cord for normal locomotion. To determine if Gbx2 could potentially compensate for a loss of Gbx1 in the developing spinal cord, we performed real-time PCR to examine levels of Gbx2 expression in Gbx1(-/-) spinal cord at embryonic day (E) 13.5, a developmental stage when Gbx2 is rapidly downregulated. We demonstrate that Gbx2 expression is elevated in the spinal cord of Gbx1(-/-) embryos.
Aspirin in Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

For over a century, aspirin has been used for different indications, mainly as an antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory agent. However, its cardioprotective properties were discovered only a few decades ago. Initially employed for its antiplatelet effect in secondary prophylaxis of cardiovascular (CVD) events, various large-scale trials have established the role of aspirin in primary prevention of CVD in people at high risk. This chapter summarizes the clinical trial data that demonstrated the efficacy of this drug in both secondary and primary prevention of cardiovascular disease events, the leading cause of death in the US. In addition, an account of the historical perspective on aspirin, its mechanism of action, optimal dose, adverse effects, interaction with other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, aspirin resistance, and current recommendations for its use in primary prophylaxis of CVD are presented.
Exact boundary controllability of a first order, non-linear hyperbolic equation with non-local integral terms arising in epidemic modeling

We consider a first order, non-linear hyperbolic equation with non-local integral terms, such as it arises in an age-structured epidemic model [B-I-T.1], and subject to the action of a boundary control. We study (local well-posedness as well as) local, possibly global, exact boundary controllability of the non-linear model. To this end we provide Carleman estimates and (global) exact controllability of the linearized model.
Thrombocytopenia Is More Common and Nadir Occurs Earlier with Unfractionated Heparin Than with Low Molecular Weight Heparin - Results from the Prospective Catch Registry.

Background : Thrombocytopenia in the patient on heparin can have various etiologies, including benign reversible causes and serious, potentially life-threatening ones, such as heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Knowledge about the prevalence of and timecourse of thrombocytopenia in heparin-treated patients may be helpful to develop systems of alerting clinicians to possible HIT and determining how frequently to check blood counts to detect thrombocytopenia that may be heralding HIT. Methods : The CATCH registry is a prospective registry of inpatients enrolled between March 2003 and April 2004 at over 50 US hospitals in 3 strata: [1] receiving > 96 hours of unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), [2] developing thrombocytopenia (platelets >50% reduction from baseline or <150,000/mm3) in the cardiac care unit and [3] patients on whom HIT tests were ordered. Here we present the data of the prolonged heparin stratum. Results : 1,121 and 861 patients received UFH and LMWH, respectively, for > 96 hours. A platelet count decrease of > 50 % from baseline was seen more frequently in patients on UFH than in patients on LMWH (10.7% and 7.9 %, respectively; p = 0.03). The parameters that predicted development of thrombocytopenia in the UHF group were length of heparin therapy, body mass index, and admission to a cardiac service; the only parameter predicting thrombocytopenia in the LMWH group was length of LMWH treatment. Of the patients with decreased platelet count by > 50 % from baseline (for UFH n = 120; for LMWH n = 68), this drop occurred in the UFH group at a median of 3.0 days after initiation of heparin and at a median of 4.0 days in the LMWH group. The difference in timing between the 2 groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.205). The platelet nadir was reached after a median /mean of 4.0 / 7.4 days in the UFH group, and 8.0 / 11.4 days in the LMWH group. This was statistically significantly different between the 2 groups (p-value = 0.0025). Conclusions : A platelet count decrease of > 50 % from baseline occurs frequently in inpatients treated with prolonged heparin. It occurs slightly more frequently on UFH than on LMWH. The median time to onset of thrombocytopenia (> 50 % decrease from baseline) occurs early, at 3–4 days. Daily platelet count checks in the first few days of heparin therapy may be helpful to rapidly discover thrombocytopenia that may then prompt HIT testing.
Generalized joint attribute modeling for biodiversity analysis: median-zero, multivariate, multifarious data

Probabilistic forecasts of species distribution and abundance require models that accommodate the range of ecological data, including a joint distribution of multiple species based on combinations of continuous and discrete observations, mostly zeros. We develop a generalized joint attribute model (GJAM), a probabilistic framework that readily applies to data that are combinations of presence-absence, ordinal, continuous, discrete, composition, zero-inflated, and censored. It does so as a joint distribution over all species providing inference on sensitivity to input variables, correlations between species on the data scale, prediction, sensitivity analysis, definition of community structure, and missing data imputation. GJAM applications illustrate flexibility to the range of species-abundance data. Applications to forest inventories demonstrate species relationships responding as a community to environmental variables. It shows that the environment can be inverse predicted from the joint distribution of species. Application to microbiome data demonstrates how inverse prediction in the GJAM framework accelerates variable selection, by isolating effects of each input variable's influence across all species.
A scalable streamline generation algorithm via flux-based isocontour extraction

Streamlines are commonly used for visualizing flow fields, but particle-tracing based streamline computation usually does not scale well as the data size and complexity increase. Large flow simulations like global ocean or climate models can obtain near perfect load balancing and the resulting data sets are generally analyzed in two dimensional slices. To match the computational properties of these simulations, we propose the use of flux-based stream functions for generating streamlines in parallel. In our method, local stream functions are efficiently generated per block based on flux conservation property, followed by low-cost communication of flux offsets among neighboring blocks. A scalar field is thus generated where streamlines can be extracted through parallel iso-contouring. Experimental results show that our system offers higher streamline computation performance with higher scalability than traditional particle-tracing based method.
Event-triggered and self-triggered wide-area damping control designs under uncertainties:

Traditional damping controllers of wide-area power systems (WAPSs) are not able to solve the inter-area oscillation problem effectively owing to lack of global vision. It weakens the power transfer...
Critical GIS pedagogies beyond ‘Week 10: Ethics’

ABSTRACTOver two decades after the scholarly interventions that coalesced into ‘critical GIS’ as a field within GIScience, critical GIS remains underdeveloped in conversations on teaching and learning. The literature on GIScience education has emphasized content more than pedagogies – what to teach versus how to teach to move students toward particular learning objectives. This emphasis is reflected in dominant curricular approaches to critical GIS, in which questions around the complicated origins and complicit social, political, and economic relationships of GIS are taken up as discrete topics, tacked onto instruction that otherwise prioritizes technical dimensions of GIScience. We argue that GIScience coursework must resist such modularization by approaching critical GIS not as a set of topics, but an orientation to GIS praxis that ‘does’ GIS from within a questioning stance, to ask how we know. We outline specific curricular shifts and teaching practices we have used to foster this orientation in GIS ...
Pseudomonas SP. AG Producer of Plant Growth Regulators

Abstract The abilities of seven Pseudomonas fluorescens strains to produce plant growth regulators according to the medium and methods of cultivation were examined. Bacteria isolated from various soils and. plant rhizospheres were cultivated in broth and King B medium with and without tryptophan for 7 days at 28 °C. The biological activity of the microbial metabolites was determined using a lettuce seedlings bioas-say and the identification of metabolites was achieved using TLC. It was shown that various strains of P. fluorescens produced auxin-and gibberellin-like substances. The most active were three strains stimulated the growth of cotyledons (12–90 %), hypocotyl (2—42 %) and roots (12–38 %). IAA but not GA3 was discovered in the supernatant fluid. IAA was produced in the broth and in King B medium in the stationary and shake cultures. The addition of a tryptophan to the media increased the amount of auxin produced, however the greater quantity of IAA was observed in King B medium in a shake culture.
The Role of EUS in Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal cancer is the fifth most common gastrointestinal cancer and the ninth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma is on the rise. Accurate staging of esophageal cancer is critical for the selection of appropriate treatment. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) plays an important role in the staging of esophageal cancer. EUS provides a detailed view of the esophageal wall, helps determine tumor depth of infiltration, and can characterize lymph nodes as malignant or benign. As such, EUS is the most accurate modality for regional staging of esophageal cancer and is more accurate than computed tomography and positron emission tomography scan for the characterization of nodal status. EUS plays a limited role in the detection of metastatic disease and restaging after neoadjuvant therapy. This chapter elaborates on the role of EUS in the care of patients with esophageal cancer.
Maize Mitochondrial Genes and Cytoplasmic Male Sterility

Plants are termed “male-steriles” when they do not produce viable pollen. The specific mechanisms causing male sterility in plants vary from species to species and can be affected by the environment, nuclear genes, and cytoplasmically inherited genes. When the male-sterile trait is inherited in a non-Mendelian fashion, it is designated cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). Cytoplasmic male sterility occurs in many higher plants. Laser and Lersten (65) have cataloged at least 140 plant species in which the trait is observed. Since the CMS trait normally does not affect female fertility, male-sterile plants are able to set seed when provided viable pollen. This seed is the product of cross-pollination. In hybrid seed production, the male parent often carries a nuclear restorer gene(s) that suppresses the CMS trait and restores fertility to the hybrid.
Incidence of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage with Procedures Requiring General Anesthesia in Patients with Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms.

Background The role of general anesthesia in precipitating aneurysm rupture is not clearly defined. In this study, we aimed to assess the natural history of unruptured aneurysms in patients undergoing non-aneurysm-related procedures requiring general anesthesia. Methods Retrospective review of consecutive patients with untreated intracranial aneurysms that underwent unrelated surgery with operative note documentation of general anesthesia. Events of intraoperative and postoperative subarachnoid hemorrhage were recorded to determine the incidence of rupture. Results A total of 110 patients harboring 134 unsecured aneurysms were studied. The mean age was 56.5 years (range, 17-92), and 68% were women (n = 75/110). Mean aneurysm size was 3.5 mm (range 1.5-17). A total of 208 procedures were performed under general anesthesia. There were no events of subarachnoid hemorrhage in 5.7 years of follow-up. Conclusion In our study, general anesthesia did not precipitate aneurysm rupture, and there were no instances of subarachnoid hemorrhage during the follow-up period. Our results suggest a benign natural history for aneurysms undergoing unrelated general anesthesia. However, this should be interpreted with caution given limitations related to our small sample size and retrospective study design.
Maximum Likelihood Estimation for a Class of Multinomial Distributions Arising in Reliability

SUMMARY Let Xi, i = 1.k be independent Bernoulli variables, with Xi B(l, pi). Let Y = EXi, and consider a multinomial experiment based on n independent, identically distributed observations Y1.., Y. This model is identifiable in the ordered parameter vector (P(1). * * P(k)), where P(i - 1) < P(j), and arises in reliability experiments in which k components in parallel have potentially different probabilities of failure. The family of multinomial distributions with the structure described above is properly contained in the family of general multinomial distributions with (k + 1) classes. Maximum likelihood estimation for this family is considered, and it is shown that for sufficiently large n, the maximum likelihood estimate of (p(j), ..., P(k)) may be identified with high probability from the roots of a kth degree polynomial whose coefficients are consistent estimates of the elementary symmetric functions of the ratios Oi) = P Pi)A 1-p(i)). A probability computation for the case k = 2 sheds light on the sample size required for our asymptotic results to take hold.
Grammaticality Judgments: Why Does Anyone Object to Subject Extraction?

Grammaticality judgments reflect a compound product of both grammatical and processing factors. But because they interact in a symbiotic way, very often grammatical and processing constraints are difficult to separate. According to generally accepted grammatical theory, (a) Who do you think John told Mary he fell in love with? and (b) Who do you think John told Mary fell in love with Sue? are equally grammatical. We have observed, however, that native speakers strongly accept sentences like (a) as grammatical but react quite variably to sentences like (b). A possible explanation is that native English speakers exhibit a processing preference, in searching for the extraction site for the wh- word, for object position over subject position. Proficient nonnative judgmental data offer additional support for a processing account. Nonnatives whose L1 grammars do not bias them toward objects also show preferences similar to those of natives. We provide a processing account based on Frazier's Minimal Attachment principle.