cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Carbon monoxide emissions in lean premixed combustion

Lean premixed combustion (LPC) is being used to meet NOX regulations on stationary gas-turbines and is also being considered for supersonic aircraft. For example, sub-10 ppm NOX levels (<1 g NOx/kg of fuel) have been demonstrated in stationary applications. Emission of carbon monoxide is one of the issues limiting the ultimate NOX reduction attainable by LPC. Carbon monoxide (CO) produced in the flame stabilization zone can survive the flame and must be oxidized in the turbulent postflame gas, introducing a much greater dependence on aerodynamics than is the case for NOX (in lean premixed flames). This article assesses three physical mechanisms that might quench CO oxidation reactions: 1) boundary-layer flow of nonequilibrium postflame gas over a cooled wall; 2) microscale mixing of nonequilibrium postflame gas with dilution jets; and 3) interaction between postflame CO burnout and the acoustic waves that can accompany premixed combustion. Analyses in this article suggest that in all three cases the CO will generally burn out, but also indicate circumstances that could |ead to quenching.
Identification and Molecular Analysis of Rough-Colony-Specific Outer Membrane Proteins of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, a gram-negative bacterium isolated from the human mouth, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of early-onset periodontitis. Primary isolates cultured from subgingival plaque exhibit an adherent, rough colony phenotype which spontaneously converts to a nonadherent, smooth phenotype upon in vitro subculture. The rough colony variant produces abundant fimbriae and autoaggregates, while the smooth colony variant is planktonic and produces scant fimbriae. To begin to understand the significance of colony variation in biofilm formation by A. actinomycetemcomitans, outer membrane protein profiles of four isogenic rough and smooth colony variants were compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two proteins with relative molecular masses of 43 and 20 kDa were expressed by the rough colony variants exclusively. Expression of these proteins was not found to be dependent on growth phase, oxygen tension, or type of complex medium. N-terminal amino acid sequences of these proteins obtained by Edman degradation were compared with sequences from the University of Oklahoma A. actinomycetemcomitans genome database. Two contiguous open reading frames (ORFs) encoding proteins having sequence homology with these proteins were identified. The 43-kDa protein (RcpA [rough colony protein A]) was similar to precursor protein D of the general secretion pathway of gram-negative bacilli, while the 20-kDa protein (RcpB [rough colony protein B]) appeared to be unique. The genes encoding these proteins have been cloned from A. actinomycetemcomitans 283 and sequenced. A BLASTX (gapped BLAST) search of the surrounding ORFs revealed homology with other fimbria-related proteins. These data suggest that the genes encoding the 43-kDa (rcpA) and 20-kDa (rcpB) proteins may be functionally related to each other and to genes that may encode fimbria-associated proteins.
Uncheatable grid computing

Grid computing is a type of distributed computing that has shown promising applications in many fields. A great concern in grid computing is the cheating problem described in the following: a participant is given D = {x/sub 1/,...,x/sub n/}, it needs to compute f(x) for all x/spl isin/D and return the results of interest to the supervisor. How does the supervisor efficiently ensure that the participant has computed f(x) for all the inputs in D, rather than a subset of it? If participants get paid for conducting the task, there are incentives for cheating. We propose a novel scheme to achieve the uncheatable grid computing. Our scheme uses a sampling technique and the Merkle-tree based commitment technique to achieve efficient and viable uncheatable grid computing.
Effects of human‐modified landscapes on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions of bat biodiversity

Aim To identify characteristics of a human-modified landscape that promote taxonomic (TD), functional (FD) and phylogenetic (PD) dimensions of bat biodiversity. Location Caribbean lowlands of northeastern Costa Rica. Methods During the dry and wet seasons, we quantified TD (Simpson's diversity), as well as FD and PD (Rao's quadratic entropy) of phyllostomid bat assemblages at 15 sites that represented a forest loss and fragmentation gradient. FD was estimated separately for each of seven functional components that reflect particular niche axes (e.g. diet, foraging strategy) and for all functional components combined (FDall). PD was based on relatedness of species derived from a supertree. We identified the best explanatory landscape characteristics of each dimension using hierarchical partitioning. Results Landscape effects were dimension and season specific. During the dry season, TD and PD increased with increasing proportions of pasture or size of forest patches, whereas FDall decreased with increasing size of forest patches. During the wet season, TD increased with increasing forest patch size, whereas FDall and PD increased with increasing compactness of forest patches and decreasing proximity. Decomposition of FD into separate functional components revealed different landscape effects on ecological aspects of assemblages. Main conclusions One dimension of biodiversity was not a good surrogate for another. Rather, decomposition of biodiversity into different dimensions and functional components facilitated identification of the aspects of assemblages that are most affected by forest conversion and fragmentation. Areas with intermediate amounts of forest and pasture during the dry season harboured highest diversity from taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic perspectives. During the wet season, areas with large, compact forest patches promoted the dimensions of biodiversity. Placement of areas with even amounts of forest and pasture adjacent to large, compact forest patches (e.g. reserves) may maintain high biodiversity of bats and the ecosystem functions that they provide throughout the year.
Plate-scale stress fields driving the tectonic evolution of the central Ouachita salient, Oklahoma and Arkansas

Two stages of regional cross-fold jointing refl ect the rearrangement of a lithosphericplate-scale stress fi eld during the Ouachita (i.e., Alleghanian) orogeny. These joints overprint northward-verging thrust-related folds in the Ouachita foreland. Stage-one jointing during the Ouachita orogeny is associated with a stress fi eld recorded by an Atokan and earlier regional joint set, which has a NNE strike. Stage-one jointing is separated into two phases in the central Ouachita salient, where a secondorder recess is marked by a prominent bend in the Windingstair fault below the forelandmost sheet of the central thrust belt. The Big Cedar recess developed when the Windingstair sheet overrode the frontal imbricate zone, thereby causing the Big Cedar pinch zone, a structure refl ecting fold-parallel shortening proximal to localized dextral transpression in the Choctaw thrust sheet. A later regional joint set, representing the second stage of jointing during the Ouachita orogeny, affects rocks in the Arkoma foreland as well as in the fold belt. Stage-two jointing records a stress fi eld associated with NNW-directed closure during the fi nal stage of plate convergence; this stage persisted into the Desmoinesian.
Sixty years of ionospheric measurements and studies

Abstract. Professor Rawer’s professional ethics allowed him to create an excellent institute with co-workers forming a successful team with creative individuals. Showing myself as an example, this paper demonstrates his guidance, his care, and his ability to create independent thinking in the areas of equipment development and the analysis of data produced by this equipment.
JAM: Joint Action Matrix Factorization for Summarizing a Temporal Heterogeneous Social Network

This paper presents JAM (Joint Action Matrix Factorization), a novel framework to summarize social activity from rich media social networks. Summarizing social network activities requires an understanding of the relationships among concepts, users, and the context in which the concepts are used. Our work has three contributions: First, we propose a novel summarization method which extracts the co-evolution on multiple facets of social activity – who (users), what (concepts), how (actions) and when (time), and constructs a context rich summary called "activity theme". Second, we provide an efficient algorithm for mining activity themes over time. The algorithm extracts representative elements in each facet based on their co-occurrences with other facets through specific actions. Third, we propose new metrics for evaluating the summarization results based on the temporal and topological relationship among activity themes. Extensive experiments on real-world Flickr datasets demonstrate that our technique significantly outperforms several baseline algorithms. The results explore nontrivial evolution in Flickr photo-sharing communities.
Response of Reticulitermes spp. (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Northern California to Baiting with Hexaflumuron with Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System

Colonies of Reticulitermes spp. were baited with prototype and commercial Sentricon stations (Dow AgroSciences LLC, Indianapolis, IN) to test the efficacy of hexaflumuron in different concentrations and bait matrices and to document reinvasion of the foraging territories vacated by eliminated colonies. Seven colonies of Reticulitermes spp. from two sites were characterized with cuticular hydrocarbon analyses and mark-release-recapture and agonistic behavioral studies. Three colonies were observed as controls and four colonies were baited. When a connection between the bait station and the monitoring station could not be confirmed by mark-release-recapture studies, the results of the baiting were equivocal. The monitoring stations of a colony at our wildland site were devoid of termites 406 d after baiting with one Sentricon station, but became reoccupied with the same species of termites ≈6 mo after baiting. A colony at the residential site was baited with 0.5% hexaflumuron in the Recurit II bait matrix; 60 d later termites were absent from all monitoring stations. These monitoring stations remained unoccupied for ≥18 mo. Foraging Reticulitermes spp. appeared in three of the seven monitoring stations 18, 24, and 36 mo after baiting, respectively. Using cuticular hydrocarbon analyses and agonistic behavior studies, we determined that the Reticulitermes spp. occupying these monitoring stations were from three different colonies; none were members of the original colony destroyed by baiting. Another colony at the residential site was baited using a noncommercial, experimental bait; 52 d later termites were absent from all monitoring stations. The monitoring stations remained unoccupied for ≥9 mo. A different Reticulitermes sp. colony invaded one monitoring station 9 mo after baiting.
Perfect 10 vs. Google

A Federal appeals court will shortly consider a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Perfect 10, a publisher of adult content magazines and websites, against Google. The suit claims that Google’s use of thumbnail versions of Perfect 10's images infringes on their copyrights. Many observers considered this issue to have been resolved. In 2003, a federal court held that a search engine’s use of thumbnail images was fair use. In a case involving the images that an artist had posted on his Website, the court said that thumbnail images were for a different purpose and character, and did not impact on the market for the artist’s work. The thumbnail holding is important to Google’s argument that the Book Search program is also fair. By publishing only “snippets”, or short pieces of information from copyright works, like with thumbnails Google is using the work for a different purpose which will not impact on the market for the original. (They even provide links to booksellers who can sell the work.)In the current lawsuit, Perfect 10 raises several challenges that were not fully explored in the earlier case. Two of these were accepted by the lower court and are particularly important to the information industry.
Sediment chronology in Antarctic deglacial sediments: Reconciling organic carbon 14C ages to carbonate 14C ages using Ramped PyrOx

We present the first study which directly compares carbonate radiocarbon (14C) dates with the Ramped PyrOx (RP) radiocarbon dating technique within a single sediment core, and we confirm the utilit...
Analysis and Control of Harmonic Effect in Charging Station of Electric Automobile

In accordance with voltage harmonic and current harmonic resulting from the connection of charging station of electric automobile to power networks and in view of typical configuration and parameters of equipment in charging station,harmonic level in different modes and devices such as freeness of filter and compensation,filter plus capacitance compensation,dynamic filter compensation and new charger with power factor correction(PFC) is calculated and analyzed by means of harmonic calculation program for power system so as to determine if it meets the requirements of international limited value.The paper presents harmonic control and the scheme in charging station.
EMSBench: Benchmark und Testumgebung für reaktive Systeme

Benchmark-Suiten fur eingebettete Echtzeitsysteme (EEZS) bilden zumeist nur Berechnungen ab, die fur solche Systeme typisch sind. Dies ermoglicht die Evaluierung der reinen Rechenleistung, andere Aspekte bleiben dabei aber ausen vor. Reaktives Verhalten und die Interaktion zwischen vielen Software-Modulen, wie man sie in heutigen komplexen EEZS findet, werden nicht abgebildet. Im Hinblick auf den Einsatz von Mehrkernprozessoren in EEZS ist dies aber von erheblicher Bedeutung. Die Forschung ist hier auf geeignete Beispielanwendungen angewiesen, um die Praktikabilitat neuer Techniken uberprufen zu konnen. Diese Arbeit unternimmt einen ersten Schritt, diese Lucke zu schliesen. Es wird das Software-Paket EMSBench vorgestellt, welches aus zwei Komponenten besteht: (1) Eine quelloffene Steuerungs-Software fur Verbrennungsmotoren, die so angepasst ist, dass sie als Benchmark- Programm fur komplexe, reaktive EEZS dienen kann. (2) Eine Emulation des Kurbelwellenverhaltens erzeugt die Eingangssignale, die das interne Verhalten des Benchmark-Programms masgeblich beeinflussen.
The use of immunotherapy for the prevention of opportunistic gram-negative infections.

Relatively avirulent gram-negative microorganisms, emerging more noticeably as a cause of infection since the introduction of antibiotics and immunosuppressive agents, now account for a sizable percentage of nosocomial infections in patients requiring long-term hospitalization. Antibiotics have proved to be quite ineffective against these organisms. As an alternative the feasibility of using vaccines to produce specific immunity against such opportunistic infections is being investigated.
Engaged or Frustrated?: Disambiguating engagement and frustration in search

One of the primary ways researchers have characterized engagement is by an increase in search actions. Another possibility is that instead of experiencing increased engagement, people who click and query frequently are actually frustrated; several studies have shown that frustration is also characterized by increases in clicking and querying behaviors. This research seeks to illuminate the differences in search behavior between participants who are engaged and frustrated, as well as investigate the effect of task interest on engagement and frustration. To accomplish this, a laboratory experiment was conducted with 40 participants. Participants completed four tasks, and responded to questionnaires that measured their engagement, frustration, and stress. Participants were asked to rank eight topics based on interest, and were given their two most interesting and two least interesting tasks. Poor search result quality was introduced to induce frustration during their most interesting and least interesting tasks.This study found that physiological signals hold some promise for disambiguating engagement and frustration, but this depends on the time frame and manner in which they are examined. Frustrated participants had significantly more skin conductance responses during the task, while engaged participants had greater increases in skin conductance during the first 60 seconds of the task. Significant main and interaction effects for interest and frustration were found for heart rate in the window analysis, indicating that heart rate fluctuations over time can be most effective in distinguishing engagement from frustration. The multilevel modeling of engagement and frustration confirmed this, showing that interest contributed significantly to the model of skin conductance, while frustration contributed significantly to the model of heart rate.This study also found that interest had a significant effect on engagement, while the frustrator effectively created frustration. Frustration also had a significant effect on selfreported stress. Participants exhibited increases in search actions such as clicks and scrolls during periods of both engagement and frustration, but a regression analyses showed that scrolls, clicks on documents, and SERP clicks were most predictive of a frustrating episode. A significant main effect for interest was found for time between queries, indicating that this could be a useful signal of engagement. A model including the physiological signals and search behaviors showed that physiological signals aided in the prediction of engagement and frustration.Findings of this research have provided insight into the utility of physiological signals in distinguishing emotional states as well as provided evidence about the relationship among search actions, engagement and frustration. These findings have also increased our understanding of the role emotions play in search behavior and how information about a searcher's emotional state can be used to improve the search experience.
Measurement of hydrophobic forces in thin liquid films of water between bubbles and xanthate-treated gold surfaces

Abstract In flotation, bubble-particle attachment occurs when the wetting films of water formed in between are destabilized by collector coating. In most cases, DLVO forces are repulsive and hence stabilize wetting films; therefore, it is necessary to consider the role of attractive hydrophobic force as a destabilizer. In this regard, hydrophobic forces have been measured by monitoring dynamic profiles of an air bubble in nanoscale as it approaches a flat surface using the method described previously (Pan et al., 2011). The measurements conducted with gold substrates contacted in a 10 −5 M potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) show that hydrophobic force increases with increasing contact time and water contact angle. After an excessively long contact time, hydrophobic force is found to decrease possibly due to multi-layer adsorption of xanthate. The forces measured from dynamic film profiles are in good agreement with those measured directly using a specially designed force apparatus. Analysis of the force data using the Frumkin-Derjaguin isotherm shows that bulk of the energy gained during bubble-particle interaction is due to the work done by the hydrophobic force at short range to overcome the repulsive van der Waals force. At long-range, hydrophobic force facilitates the kinetics of film thinning by reducing the force barrier created by double-layer force.
R-equol, a synthetic metabolite of the dietary estrogen daidzein, modulates the nongenomic estrogenic effects of 17β-estradiol in pituitary tumor cells

We examined nongenomic signaling and functional effects (cell proliferation; prolactin release) of R-equol (R-eq), a synthetically produced metabolite of the phytoestrogen daidzein that preferentia...
Inappropriate mode switching in a dual-chamber defibrillator system: what is the mechanism?

A 22-year-old man with a history of arrhythmogenic right ventricular (RV) cardiomyopathy with involvement of the left ventricle on noninvasive imaging, symptomatic bradycardia, and frequent ventricular ectopy underwent placement of a dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. The device was a model 2231-40 Fortify DR, with a model 1999 atrial lead and 7120 dual-coil RV lead (St. Jude Medical, Sylmar, CA). Device interrogation performed 1 month postimplant revealed numerous mode-switch episodes. Representative electrograms are shown in Figure 1. Results of the interrogation also showed lead values within acceptable limits (P-wave sensing, 1.2 mV; R-wave sensing, 12 mV; pacing impedance of 350 Ω in the atrium, 490 Ω in the ventricle; high-voltage lead impedance 36 Ω; pacing thresholds of 200 bpm. The automatic mode switch (AMS) trigger was programmed nominally at 180 bpm. Figure 1. Stored electrogram of a representative automatic mode switch (AMS) episode. AS indicates atrial sensed; VIP, ventricular intrinsic preference (algorithm to …
Capillary electrophoresis coupled to negative mode electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry using an electrokinetically-pumped nanospray interface with primary amines grafted to the interior of a glass emitter

We demonstrate an electrokinetically pumped sheath flow nanospray interface for capillary electrophoresis coupled to negative mode electrospray mass spectrometry. In this interface, application of an electric field generates electro-osmotic flow at the interior of a glass emitter that is pulled to a 10-20µm inner diameter orifice. Electro-osmotic flow pumps liquid around the distal tip of the separation capillary, ensheathing analyte into the electrospray electrolyte. In negative ion mode, negative potential applied to an untreated glass emitter drives sheath flow away from the emitter orifice, decreasing the stability and efficiency of the spray. In this manuscript, we treat a portion of the interior of the electrospray emitter with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, which grafts primary amines to the interior. The amines take on a positive charge, which reverses electro-osmosis and generates stable sheath flow to the emitter orifice under negative potential. Negative mode operation is demonstrated by analyzing a metabolite extract from stage 1 Xenopus laevis embryos. Production of the treated emitters was quite reproducible. We evaluated the performance of three emitters using a set of amino acids; the relative standard deviation in peak intensity was 7% for the most intense component.
Guard Wars: The 28th Infantry Division in World War II. By Micael E. Weaver

Military historians occasionally invoke the age-old adage that “generals prepare to fight the last war. ”In the case of the U.S. Army between the world wars, however, generals did not adequately prepare to fight any war—especially not one that would extend to the farthest reaches of the globe, tax American manpower and industrial production capabilities to their limits, and usher in the age of nuclear warfare.
The Estill voice model: theory & translation

Jo Estill (1921–2010) was an undisputed pioneer in the field of voice science and one of the first scholars to bridge the gap between voice science and voice teaching. A lifetime of singing, teachi...
ERα36, a variant of estrogen receptor α, is predominantly localized in mitochondria of human uterine smooth muscle and leiomyoma cells

ERα36 is a naturally occurring, membrane-associated, isoform of estrogen receptor α. The expression of ERα36 is due to alternative splicing and different promoter usage. ERα36 is a dominant-negative effector of ERα66-mediated transactivational activities and has the potential to trigger membrane-initiated mitogenic, nongenomic, estrogen signaling; however, the subcellular localization of ERα36 remains controversial. To determine the cellular localization of ERα36 in estrogen-responsive human uterine smooth muscle (ht-UtSMC) and leiomyoma (fibroid; ht-UtLM) cells, we conducted systematic confocal microscopy and subcellular fractionation analysis using ERα36 antibodies. With Image J colocalizaton analysis plugin, confocal images were analyzed to obtain a Pearson's Correlation Coefficient (PCC) to quantify signal colocalization of ERα36 with mitochondrial, endoplasmic reticulum, and cytoskeletal components in both cell lines. When cells were double-stained with an ERα36 antibody and a mitochondrial-specific dye, MitoTracker, the PCC for the two channel signals were both greater than 0.75, indicating strong correlation between ERα36 and mitochondrial signals in the two cell lines. A blocking peptide competition assay confirmed that the mitochondria-associated ERα36 signal detected by confocal analysis was specific for ERα36. In contrast, confocal images double-stained with an ERα36 antibody and endoplasmic reticulum or cytoskeletal markers, had PCCs that were all less than 0.4, indicating no or very weak signal correlation. Fractionation studies showed that ERα36 existed predominantly in membrane fractions, with minimal or undetected amounts in the cytosol, nuclear, chromatin, and cytoskeletal fractions. With isolated mitochondrial preparations, we confirmed that a known mitochondrial protein, prohibitin, was present in mitochondria, and by co-immunoprecipitation analysis that ERα36 was associated with prohibitin in ht-UtLM cells. The distinctive colocalization pattern of ERα36 with mitochondria in ht-UtSMC and ht-UtLM cells, and the association of ERα36 with a mitochondrial-specific protein suggest that ERα36 is localized primarily in mitochondria and may play a pivotal role in non-genomic signaling and mitochondrial functions.
Yelp business rating classification using hybrid ensemble

An algorithm that can predict the review rating of a potential business with only existing information about the location and business categories would be an invaluable tool in making investment decisions. Utilizing the Yelp business dataset, we built a model, that can do as such, by classifying whether a potential business belongs to a positively-reviewed class (star ratings greater than or equal to 4) or a negatively-reviewed class (star ratings less than 4) given its location in latitude and longitude and the categories the potential business belongs to. More specifically, we applied a feature engineering technique using Extremely Randomized Trees, and constructed a hybrid ensemble classifier using neural network, decision tree, and logistic regression. We compared our model with other popular ensemble algorithms such as random forest and neural network ensemble, and our hybrid ensemble model generates the best result with an accuracy rate of 67.37% and AUC of 0.7322.
Experimental and Analytical Analysis of Crack Propagation on Spur Gear Due to Bending Fatigue and Service Life Estimation

Bending fatigue is one of the failure modes of spur gear tooth. Crack initiates at the root of a tooth on the active side. Crack due to bending fatigue results in tooth breakage. It may cause a sudden or catastrophic failure of spur gears. A major concern for design engineers is to prevent this type of failure, because it will cause accidents, casualties and financial losses. Many researchers have done excellent work on crack propagation in gears due to bending fatigue. Different crack growth models, based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), are used for crack propagation analysis and prediction of the service life of gears. The study in this paper includes the factorial design approach used for gear tooth bending fatigue crack propagation for specific gear configurations. Experiments are performed on the gears with optimized parameters for three different materials. Crack propagation life is estimated for these gears materials. Finite element (with Mechanical APDL 17.0) analysis for crack propagation is also done on optimized gear with SAE8620 materials.
Listening for Pauses

In actuality, one can neither listen for nor to pauses as such. For years now, I have replied facetiously, when asked about my area of research, that I investigate “contextualized nothing.” And, indeed, pauses are perceptible only insofar as they are contextualized. But they are not really only nothing; they are not simply silences, but intervals of silence occurring between speech. We are, of course, capable of estimating the duration of an interval of silence between audible signals or of judging whether or not such an interval has occurred. These are fairly straightforward psychophysical or psychoacoustic questions, but they are not the questions of primary interest for a psychologist of language use.
Social Interventions and Justice

An important aspect of the community-based philosophy is the issue of justice. This theme was first relevant during the 1960s, when communities were demanding to be treated with dignity. Both around the world and in the USA, demonstrations erupted against the war in Vietnam and many types of discrimination. More recently, however, the topic of justice arose within the context of globalization (Nussbaum, Oxford Development Studies 32(1):3–18, 2004). Many of the protests against this economic and cultural trend have had the retrieval of justice as their key principle. The charge of these movements is that globalization has created a situation where justice has little value. As a result of certain economic policies, the social world seems to be a very hostile and unequal place. For example, vital institutions appear to cater mostly to the rich, while the gap between this class and the rest, in most societies, is expanding (Smart, Economy, culture, and society: A critique of neo-liberalism, 2003). The basic organizations of society are beyond the control of most persons. And as mentioned in the introduction to this book, a credibility gap is prevalent that fosters cynicism and withdrawal. Many communities are caught in the midst of this process and are beginning to deteriorate. And similar to the 1960s, these groups are seeking dignity and some control over their lives (Piven and Cloward, Poor people’s movements, 1979). But a new wrinkle has appeared in this argument. The proponents of change contend that the usual response to this condition is insufficient. That is, the standard forms of charity are considered to be demeaning and ineffective, since this reaction is mostly personal and emotional, with few, if any, obligations. Indeed, charity represents acts of kindness that often require little more than expressions of concern about the condition of many unfortunate persons. In this regard, universal benevolence is deemed to be sufficient to solve the ills related, for example, to poverty or the absence of health care (Tronto, Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care, 1993).
Long-term effects of vegetation management on biomass stock of four coniferous species in the Pacific Northwest United States

Abstract Silvicultural treatments applied during the early stages of stand development can have long-lasting impacts on forest ecosystem structure. Forest vegetation management (VM) is an important component of many reforestation programs and although several studies have demonstrated the benefits of VM on planted conifer growth and survival, few reports have been published on the long-term effects of VM treatments on total ecosystem biomass accumulation. In this study we assessed the effects of two contrasting VM treatments on total tree and ecosystem biomass stock for Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, and grand fir growing in Oregon’s central Coast Range (CR) and Douglas-fir and western redcedar growing in Oregon’s Cascade foothills (CF). The assessments were made at age 16 years, 11 years after treatment application ended. The study contained two vegetation management treatments: control (C) and vegetation management (VM). Both the C and VM plots received a pre-planting herbicide site preparation treatment. The VM plots had, additionally, sustained vegetation control using herbicides during the first 5 years after planting. At age 16 years, at the CR site, the VM treatment increased the biomass stock of crop trees by 26.5, 91.2, 44.7, and 96.1 Mg ha−1 for Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, and grand fir, respectively. At the same age, at the CF site, the VM treatment increased crop tree biomass stock by 48.1 Mg ha−1 for Douglas-fir and 42.2 Mg ha−1 for western redcedar. When other ecosystem components were considered, however, total ecosystem biomass did not differ between C and VM treated plots for western hemlock, western redcedar and grand fir at the CR site largely due to the development of an abundant hardwood midstory. On the other hand, VM treatments increased the ecosystem biomass stock of Douglas-fir and western redcedar at the site with a low abundance of hardwood midstory (CF site). Midstory biomass of C plots at the CR site averaged 52.9, 64.7, and 36.0 Mg ha−1, for western hemlock, western redcedar, and grand fir, respectively. At the CF site, midstory biomass of C plots averaged 1.2 and 5.9 Mg ha−1, for Douglas-fir and western redcedar, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that sustained VM treatments during the first 5 years of stand establishment increases the biomass stock of crop trees, directing site resources towards planted crop trees.
Introduction to Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Principles and Techniques

Introduction Part I. An Overview of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: I A. Introduction to Functional Neuroimaging: 1. Energy metabolism in the brain 2. Cerebral blood flow 3. Brain activation I B. Introduction to Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: 4. Nuclear magnetic resonance 5. Magnetic resonance imaging 6. Imaging functional activity Part II. Principles of Magnetic Resonance Imaging: II A. The Nature of the Magnetic Resonance Signal: 7. Basic physics of magnetism and NMR 8. Relaxation and contrast in MRI 9. Diffusion and the MR signal II B. Magnetic Resonance Imaging: 10. Mapping the MR signal 11. MRI techniques 12. Noise and artifacts in MR images Part III. Principles of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: III A. Perfusion Imaging: 13. Principles of tracer kinetics 14. Contrast agent techniques 15. Arterial spin labeling techniques III B. Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) Imaging: 16. The nature of the BOLD effect 17. Mapping brain activation with BOLD-fMRI 18. Statistical analysis of BOLD data 19. Efficient design of BOLD experiments Appendix: the physics of NMR Index.
AI-07 A new B cell effector pathway with defective negative regulation of TLR7 signaling in human SLE

Background B cell homeostasis is perturbed in SLE patients. in particular, many patients have a large expansion of IgD- CD27- B cells (DN). The DN population is heterogeneous for CXCR5 expression, and CXCR5- DN2 are the majority population in SLE patients but not in HCD (figure 1A). To further understand how these expanded cells differ from other B cells subsets and how they may be dysregulated in SLE, we phenotypically and functionally characterized DN2 in SLE patients and healthy control donors (HCD). Methods B cells subsets were quantified by flow cytometry in HCD and two separate cohorts of lupus patients. Purified DN2 and other B cell subsets were flow sorted and transcriptionally analyzed using RNA sequencing. Toll-like-receptor 7 (TLR7) signaling after stimulation with R848 was measured by staining with anti-phospho-tyrosine specific anti-ERK. Antibody secreting cell differentiation was induced using in vitro stimulation of sorted B cell subsets with a combination of TLR7 and cytokines. Results DN2 were only a minor B cell subset in HCD (less than 5%) but were elevated in 20% of cohort 1 patients and 60% of cohort 2 (figure 1B). In the patients with the largest expansions almost all B cells (80%) had a DN2 phenotype. DN2 cells predominate in African-American patients with active disease and nephritis, anti-Smith and anti-RNA autoantibodies. Among B cells, they express the highest levels of a T-bet/Zeb2 transcriptional network characteristic of effector T cells and lack the negative TLR regulator, TRAF5. Consistent with this transcriptional profile DN2 are hyper-responsive to TLR7. Moreover, DN2 cells share with activated naive cells phenotypic, functional features, and a very similar transcriptome. When stimulated in vitro DN2 readily differentiated into plasma cells and produced autoantibodies. Conclusions DN2 and activated naive represent a separate B cell lineage with a distinct origin and function as they differed from other B cells subsets both in uniquely expressing several genes and a lack expression of other genes. This study defines a distinct differentiation fate of human autoreactive naive B cells into effector plasma cell precursors with innate hyper-responsiveness to stimuli relevant to SLE, establishes the components and prominence of extrafollicular B cell activation in this disease, and identifies new therapeutic targets.
Myelinating Proteins in MS Are Linked to Volumetric Brain MRI Changes.

Background and purpose There is evidence of a relationship between promyelinating proteins and clinical multiple sclerosis (MS) activity during clinical relapse or recovery from clinical relapses. We examined the linkage between promyelinating biomarkers and volumetric changes in MS subjects during serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods We enrolled 13 MS subjects with active brain MRI scans not on disease modifying therapies. Subjects underwent baseline MRI, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling. Qualitative changes, new/resolving gadolinium, new/enlarging/diminishing T2 and T1 hypointense lesions, were compared to baseline in subsequent MRI scans, and volumetric analysis was calculated. Analysis of biomarkers on serial CSF samples was performed only in subjects with qualitative (and quantitative) changes on MRI. The study was performed at a MS Center of Excellence academic medical center. Results There was increased CSF neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) during increased qualitative T1 activity. A positive correlation between CSF and serum N-CAM and T1 lesion volume was observed. A negative correlation between serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and BPH (T1 vol/T2 vol + T1 vol) was observed. Conclusions Increased N-CAM levels may be related to repair or remyelination following injury to the brain as shown by increased T1 volumes. Our data suggest an early kind of blood signaling that induces release of peripheral BDNF levels.
Characterization of lymph node optical properties for phantom fabrication

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a primary mean of staging cancer; however, the time-intensive nature of standard pathology limits the volume of the node that can be assessed. As a result, micrometastases can be missed, which have been shown to affect treatment decisions and therefore clinical outcomes. Optical imaging offers a potential solution for improved sensitivity and larger tissue evaluation, but an understanding of optical properties is necessary because of the high scattering nature of biological tissue. Here, time-domain optical imaging and measures of transmittance are used to characterize the optical properties of porcine lymph nodes at 685 nm and 780 nm. Results demonstrated values comparable to that of other soft biological tissue (685 nm: μa = 0.09 ± 0.01cm-1 , μs’ = 2.60 ± 0.42 cm-1 , g = 0.95; 780 nm: μa = 0.24 ± 0.10cm-1 , μs’ = 3.35 ± 0.14 cm-1 , g = 0.92). Based on these coefficients, optical properties of TiO2 were investigated so that a protocol to fabricate a lymph node tissue-mimicking phantom could be defined.
Awareness that Dogs Can Be Carriers for Ticks that Transmit Lyme Disease

Background and Purpose: Tick exposure places one at possible risk for Lyme disease. Awareness of this fact can possibly prevent its occurrence. Urban college students are often in outdoor areas where there is potential tick exposure. Methods: College students in New York City (n=714) were surveyed about demographics, Lyme-disease knowledge, Lyme disease related topics, and dog-specific items. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors that are related to awareness that dogs can be carriers for ticks that transmit Lyme disease. Results: For both dog owners and those who do not own dogs, certain Lyme disease knowledge topics, previously heard of Lyme disease, and aware of a Lyme disease dog vaccine were each associated with increased odds for awareness about dogs being carriers. Among dog owners, African American race/ethnicity and knowing someone diagnosed with Lyme disease were each associated with increased odds for awareness, while previous diagnosis of Lyme disease had decreased odds for awareness. Conclusion: One-on-one education by physicians, nurses, veterinarians, healthcare practitioners and public health practitioners could help address some of the lack of awareness among urban college students that dogs can be carriers for ticks that can transmit Lyme disease.
On \(L^{p}\)-theory for parabolic and elliptic integro-differential equations with scalable operators in the whole space

Elliptic and parabolic integro-differential model problems are considered in the whole space. By verifying Hormander condition, the existence and uniqueness is proved in \(L_{p}\)-spaces of functions whose regularity is defined by a scalable, possibly nonsymmetric, Levy measure. Some rough probability density function estimates of the associated Levy process are used as well.
ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF SITE-SPECIFIC MUTATIONS IN AN ESSENTIAL GENE OF BACTERIOPHAGE fX174

ABSTRACT We have developed a new approach for studying the molecular mechanisms of mutation by carcinogens. The system is based on site-specific mutagenesis in an essential gene (gene G) of bacteriophage oX174. It involves: (1) Synthesis of site-modified ϕX RF DNA; (2) expression of the modification in vivo by transfection of spheroplasts; (3)isolation of mutant virus using a permissive host carrying a functional copy of gene G on a plasmid, pϕXG; (4) identification of the mutation by sequencing the mutant DNA in the region that carried the modification in the parental DNA. We have validated this system by preparing, enzymatically, 2 ϕX DNAs containing preplanned mutations in gene G. One is a nonsense mutation (amber) at position 2401. The other is an 80 base deletion (2513–2592) that produces a -2 frameshift and 14 new, in-frame, termination codons. Transfection of permissive spheroplasts with these DNAs gave the expected mutants, both of which were rescued with a pϕXG-bearing host and characterized by DNA sequencing. These experiments demonstrate that the pϕXG system is permissive for any kind of mutation that might occur in ϕX gene G and that all the methodology for our projected studies is operational.
Eviction and the Dissolution of Neighborhoods

Research has documented the negative impacts of eviction on individuals, particularly the resulting financial insecurity, health challenges, and increased likelihood of homelessness. In this articl...
Factors associated with early gestational weight gain among women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity.

The present study aimed to document the prevalence of and identify factors associated with excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) in early pregnancy among women with pre-pregnancy overweight or ob...
Operative Traumatic Aortic Injuries at an Urban Pediatric Hospital.

PurposeLimited data are available describing the long-term results of pediatric patients undergoing aortic repair secondary to trauma. Therefore, this descriptive investigation was completed to abr...
Recent Advancements in Optical Harmonic Generation Microscopy: Applications and Perspectives

Second harmonic generation (SHG) and third harmonic generation (THG) microscopies have emerged as powerful imaging modalities to examine structural properties of a wide range of biological tissues. Although SHG and THG arise from very different contrast mechanisms, the two are complimentary and can often be collected simultaneously using a modified multiphoton microscope. In this review, we discuss the needed instrumentation for these modalities as well as the underlying theoretical principles of SHG and THG in tissue and describe how these can be leveraged to extract unique structural information. We provide an overview of recent advances showing how SHG microscopy has been used to evaluate collagen alterations in the extracellular matrix and how this has been used to advance our knowledge of cancers, fibroses, and the cornea, as well as in tissue engineering applications. Specific examples using polarization-resolved approaches and machine learning algorithms are highlighted. Similarly, we review how THG has enabled developmental biology and skin cancer studies due to its sensitivity to changes in refractive index, which are ubiquitous in all cell and tissue assemblies. Lastly, we offer perspectives and outlooks on future directions of SHG and THG microscopies and present unresolved questions, especially in terms of overall miniaturization and the development of microendoscopy instrumentation.
Nanoscale hetero-structured Co−Co(OH)2 composite/amorphous carbon core/shell bi-functional electrocatalysts electrochemically evolved from metastable hexagonal-phase cobalt for overall water splitting

Abstract Bi-functional electrocatalysts suited to alkaline water splitting systems are highly pursued, towards the most realistic application enabled by simplified electrolyzer design and cost-effective operation. Herein, a novel nanocomposite Co−Co(OH)2/C electrocatalyst with nanoscale hetero-structured metastable hexagonal-phase Co (H-Co) crystallites and Co(OH)2 crystallites encapsulated by amorphous carbon shells is developed. We employ a mild thermal decomposition route coupled with in-situ carbon deposition performed at 400 °C to prepare H-Co/C core/shell structured precursor. In a following controllable electrochemical transformation at room temperature the partial conversion of the metastable H-Co to Co(OH)2 leads to the mutual embedding of nanoscale crystalline H-Co and Co(OH)2 confined in the amorphous carbon shells. Taking advantage of the nanowire array morphology, carbon coated core/shell structure, nanoscale size, and the synergistic H-Co and Co(OH)2 bi-components, an outstanding bi-functional electrocatalytic performance for overall water splitting is attained with proved small overpotentials (93 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction, 264 mV for oxygen evolution reaction at 10 mA cm−2).
Characterizing Spatio-Temporal Differences in Homicides and Non-Fatal Shootings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2006–2015

Geographic information systems enable the study of the spatial distribution of gun violence in American cities. While sociodemographic characteristics and disinvestment patterns have been correlated to their presence, little work has examined spatio-temporal patterns among them. Understanding where shootings are more likely to be fatal may be of great value to criminologists, urban planners, and emergency department researchers. In this paper, we leveraged a crime database for Milwaukee spanning 2006 to 2015, geocoding every crime to its reported location. We ran kernel density analysis on each dataset to derive the relative density of gun homicides and non-fatal shootings. We then created space–time cubes for each crime type. These cubes were used with ESRI’s emerging hot spot analysis tool, highlighting different types of hot and cold spots. We appended these results to individual parcels to study the relationship between shooting hot or cold spots and sociodemographic characteristics. Lastly, we identified ‘islands’ with relatively fewer lethal shootings inside gun homicide hot spots, exploring reasons for their differentiation. While hot spots occurred primarily in African American neighborhoods, the worst areas were in more transitional neighborhoods, perhaps where disinvestment had not yet fully taken hold. Neighborhoods with the highest rate of homicides to total shootings included the most heavily Hispanic neighborhoods in Milwaukee, while lower rates were found in predominately African American neighborhoods. This work introduces a nuance into the discussion on policing gun violence, giving researchers and practitioners a finer lens in which to examine where and why gun violence occurs.