cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of sweet chemosensory receptors alters insulin responses during glucose ingestion in healthy adults: a randomized crossover interventional study

Background: Glucose is a natural ligand for sweet taste receptors (STRs) that are expressed on the tongue and in the gastrointestinal tract. Whether STRs directly contribute to the regulation of glucose homeostasis in response to glucose ingestion is unclear.Objective: We sought to determine the metabolic effects of the pharmacologic inhibition of STRs in response to an oral glucose load in healthy lean participants.Design: Ten healthy lean participants with a body mass index (in kg/m2) of 22.4 ± 0.8 were subjected to an oral-glucose-tolerance test (OGTT) on 4 separate days with the use of a randomized crossover design. Ten minutes before the 75-g OGTT, participants consumed a preload solution of either 300 parts per million (ppm) saccharin or water with or without the addition of 500 ppm lactisole, a human-specific inhibitor of STRs. When present, lactisole was included in both the preload and OGTT solutions. We assessed plasma responses of glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glucagon, glucagon-like peptides 1 and 2, gastric inhibitory peptide, acetaminophen, and 3-O-methylglucose. With the use of mathematical modeling, we estimated gastric emptying, glucose absorption, β-cell function, insulin sensitivity and clearance, and the portal insulin:glucagon ratio.Results: The addition of lactisole to the OGTT caused increases in the plasma responses of insulin (P = 0.012), C-peptide (P = 0.004), and the insulin secretory rate (P = 0.020) compared with the control OGTT. The addition of lactisole also caused a slight reduction in the insulin sensitivity index independent of prior saccharin consumption (P < 0.025). The ingestion of saccharin before the OGTT did not alter any of the measured variables but eliminated the effects of lactisole on the OGTT.Conclusion: The pharmacologic inhibition of STRs in the gastrointestinal tract alters insulin responses during an oral glucose challenge in lean healthy participants. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02835859.
Encrypted Electron Beam Lithography Nano-Signatures for Authentication

In this work, engineered nanostructures (ENS) have been fabricated on the packed integrated circuits. Coding lookup tables were developed to assign different digits in numerical matrices to different fabricated nano-signatures. The numerical matrices are encrypted according to advanced encryption standard (AES). The encrypted numerical matrix is ink printed on the components, and the nanosignatures are fabricated on the packaged of the chips via electron beam lithography (EBL). This process is to be done in the manufacturer side of the supply chain. The numerical matrix and the nanosignature accompany the product in its long journey in the global supply chain. The global supply chain is proved to be susceptible to counterfeiters. For keeping counterfeiters‘ hands out of the process, the cipher key and the coding lookup tables are provided to the consumer using a secure direct line between the authentic manufacturer and the consumer. In the consumer side, the printed numerical matrix is decrypted. Having the decrypted numerical matrix makes it possible to extract the nanosignature from the laser speckle pattern shined on the packaged product. In this work, an algorithm is developed to extract the nano-signature by having the decrypted matrix and reflected laser speckle patterns as inputs. Confirming the existence of the nano-signature confirms the authenticity of the component. Imitating the nano-signatures by the counterfeiters is not possible because there is no way for them to observe the shape of these signatures without having access to the cipher key.
Telomere-Binding Proteins in Humans

Shelterin, the telomere-secific protein complex, is essential for genome stability and cell viability. Shelterin accumulates at telomeres and transforms chromosome ends into specialized structures that evade recognition by the DNA damage signaling and repair machineries and are maintained through consecutive cell divisions. Shelterin accomplishes these tasks through its ability to remodel the telomeric DNA into a protected structure and to locally inhibit the activation of the DNA damage response. Furthermore, shelterin plays an essential role in controlling telomere length homeostasis by suppressing excessive nuclease activity at the chromosome terminus and by regulating telomerase. The capacities of the telomere-binding proteins to prevent genome instability and to influence telomere length make shelterin an essential factor in both normal cell growth and tumorigenesis.
Translating New Science Into the Drug Review Process: The US FDA’s Division of Applied Regulatory Science

In 2011, the US Food and drug Administration (FDA) developed a strategic plan for regulatory science that focuses on developing new tools, standards, and approaches to assess the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of FDA-regulated products. In line with this, the Division of Applied Regulatory Science was created to move new science into the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) review process and close the gap between scientific innovation and drug review. The Division, located in the Office of Clinical Pharmacology, is unique in that it performs mission-critical applied research and review across the translational research spectrum including in vitro and in vivo laboratory research, in silico computational modeling and informatics, and integrated clinical research covering clinical pharmacology, experimental medicine, and postmarket analyses. The Division collaborates with Offices throughout CDER, across the FDA, other government agencies, academia, and industry. The Division is able to rapidly form interdisciplinary teams of pharmacologists, biologists, chemists, computational scientists, and clinicians to respond to challenging regulatory questions for specific review issues and for longer-range projects requiring the development of predictive models, tools, and biomarkers to speed the development and regulatory evaluation of safe and effective drugs. This article reviews the Division's recent work and future directions, highlighting development and validation of biomarkers; novel humanized animal models; translational predictive safety combining in vitro, in silico, and in vivo clinical biomarkers; chemical and biomedical informatics tools for safety predictions; novel approaches to speed the development of complex generic drugs, biosimilars, and antibiotics; and precision medicine.
Concerns and Responses for Integrating Health Systems Science Into Medical Education.

With the aim of improving the health of individuals and populations, medical schools are transforming curricula to ensure physician competence encompasses health systems science (HSS), which includes population health, health policy, high-value care, interprofessional teamwork, leadership, quality i
Off-task multitasking, note-taking and lower- and higher-order classroom learning

Abstract We examined whether multitasking via concurrent off-task text messaging during an academic presentation impacted students’ performance on tests assessing lower-order and higher-order learning. College students (N = 183) were assigned to one of two conditions involving either concurrent texting or not texting during an academic presentation, or to a no presentation condition. Students in presentation conditions were encouraged to take hand-written notes. Between-participants analyses revealed that students who saw the presentation performed better on learning measures than the control group who did not see the presentation, indicating that students did learn from the presentations. Non-texters scored significantly higher than texters on multiple choice tests of factual, lower-order information (e.g., knowledge, comprehension), but not on essays requiring higher-order application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information. Within-participants analyses demonstrated that texters performed more poorly on lower-order questions that were based on information presented at times when they were texting. Non-texters took more quality notes than texters; amount of quality notes was positively related to test scores of all types. The amount of quality notes taken partially mediated the relationship between texting condition and multiple choice test scores. It appears that multitasking with media devices during an academic presentation interferes with note-taking and the encoding of information specific to the presentation.
Thermal diode using controlled capillary in heterogeneous nanopores

Abstract The development of a compact, efficient, reliable thermal diode is crucial to improve advanced thermal management efficiency and controllability, and to enable brand new applications such as thermal logic gates and computers. In this study, we examine a nanoscale and efficient capillary-controlled thermal diode mechanism in Ar-filled Pt-based heterogeneous nanoporous structures, using Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation combined with Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (NEMD) simulation at the temperature range of 70–150 K and the pressure of 1.66 atm. Results show that the large thermal conductivity contrast between the controlled adsorption and capillary states using the structural heterogeneity (nanopillars on only one surface) and/or material heterogeneity (two different materials for nanogap surfaces) allows for the maximum thermal rectification ratio, Rmax ∼ 140 with minimal hysteresis under the cyclic operating temperatures −40 K
Low-Power Resonant Clocking Using Soft Error Robust Energy Recovery Flip-Flops

An energy recovery or resonant clocking scheme is very attractive for saving the clock power in nanoscale ASICs and systems-on-chips, which have increased functionality and die sizes. The technology scaling followed Moore’s law, that lowers node capacitance and supply voltage, making nanoscale integrated circuits more vulnerable to radiation-induced single event upsets (SEUs) or soft errors. In this work, we propose soft-error robust flip-flops (FFs) capable of working with a sinusoidal resonant clock to save the overall chip power. The proposed conditional-pass Quatro (CPQ) FF and true single phase clock energy recovery (TSPCER) FF are based on a unique soft error robust latch, which we refer to as a Quatro latch. The proposed C2-DICE FF is based on a dual interlocked cell (DICE) latch. In addition to the storage cell, each FF consists of a unique input-stage and a two-transistor, two-input output buffer. In each FF with a sinusoidal clock, the transfer unit passes the data to the Quatro and DICE latches. The latches store the data values at two storage nodes and two redundant nodes, the latter enabling recovery from a particle-induced transient with or without multiple-node charge sharing. Post-layout simulations in 65nm CMOS technology show that the FF exhibits as much as 82% lower power-delay product compared to recently reported soft error robust FFs. We implemented 1024 proposed FFs distributed in an H-tree clock network driven by a resonant clock-generator that generates a 1–5 GHz sinusoidal clock signal. The simulation results show a power reduction of 93% on the clock tree and total power saving of up to 74% as compared to the same implementation using the conventional square-wave clocking scheme and FFs.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Related to Scleroderma and Collagen Vascular Diseases

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of greater than 25 mmHg in the absence of elevation of the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. PAH is characterized by remodeling and occlusion of the small pulmonary arterioles leading to a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance. Left untreated, this syndrome leads irremediably to right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy, pressure overload, and dilation resulting in death within 2–3 years. PAH encompasses a heterogeneous group of clinical entities, discussed in separate sections of this book, which share similar pathological changes. PAH can also be associated with various collagen vascular diseases (CVD) such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), which are the focus of this chapter. The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of PAH are unknown; however, several lines of evidence implicate a role for autoimmunity in the development of the pulmonary vascular changes, including the presence of circulating autoantibodies, proinflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-1 and IL-6), and in particular the association of PAH with CVD. However, despite the presence of serologic and pathologic features suggestive of inflammation in both idiopathic PAH (IPAH) and SSc-related PAH (SSc-PAH), it is likely that inflammatory pathways and autoimmunity are more pronounced in SSc-PAH and may explain the survival discrepancies between the two syndromes and a differential response to current modern therapy. As such, SSc-PAH may be considered an ideal prototypic example to study inflammatory processes potentially operative in the pathogenesis of PAH. Other connective tissue diseases such as SLE, MCTD, and to a lesser extent RA, dermatomyositis, and Sjogren’s syndrome will be discussed separately in this chapter.
Pediatric Cardiac CT

Recent improvements in technology have significantly advanced the role of multidetector CT (MDCT) in noninvasive imaging of the cardiovascular system. From the early use of helical CT for imaging anomalies of the thoracic vasculature (Hopkins et al. 1996; Westra et al. 1999), MDCT has become an important complementary modality to echocardiography and MRI for noninvasive imaging of cardiac morphology and function (Juergens et al. 2004), coronary arteries (Schoepf et al. 2004; Schoenhagen et al. 2004) and following operative and catheter intervention of many forms of congenital heart disease (Kawano et al. 2000). From the development of the first scanner in 1992 with 2 detectors that could acquire spatial information simultaneously, MDCT rapidly evolved to systems with 16 detectors, and presently 64 detector scanners are widely in use. A multidetector CT with ‘x’ number of detectors can obtain ‘x’ times more data per revolution than single detector systems, and current MDCT scanners have gantries that can spin faster than two revolutions per second, further increasing the speed of data acquisition.
Allele Frequencies of Three STRs in an Italian Population Sample

Several short tandem repeat (STR) (1) polymorphisms have been recently described which are potentially useful in procedures of criminal identification and in paternity tests. STRs consist of short DNA stretches arranged in 2–6 base pair long tandem repeats. They are abundant in the human genome and generally are highly polymorphic. Because of their small size (generally 300 bp) STRs are more likely to be investigated from degraded DNA samples. Tetranucleotide-repeat microsatellites are of primary interest, because they are more easily genotyped.
Numerical Study of Incremental Sheet Forming Processes

In incremental sheet forming processes, materials are deformed by continuous local contact with a moving tool along predefined tool paths so that their stress or strain histories are significantly different from conventional forming processes such as stamping, drawing, and hydroforming. In this work, numerical conditions, e.g., a rigid surface type, an initial blank size, an element type, and a contact algorithm commonly assumed for the conventional forming, were re-investigated to confirm whether those assumptions are still valid for the incremental sheet forming. An aluminium alloy sheet, AA7075-O, with a thickness of 1.64mm was considered for this work. The simulation results were compared regarding stress or strain paths at the critical elements, an effective strain distribution, a thickness profile, and reaction forces and moments of the tool. The computational time was also compared, in order to identify optimum simulation conditions.
Constitutional Anti-Theory

Most constitutional theorizing aims to specify the meaning or content of the Constitution. Constitutional content, in turn, is assumed to have implications for sound constitutional decisionmaking. In this Article, I argue that the search for a general theory of constitutional content rests on a mistake. Sound constitutional decisionmaking, I argue, does not rest on a prior account of constitutional content. In defending this conclusion, I argue that sound constitutional decisionmaking is pluralistic, open-ended, and context-dependent. Those features of sound constitutional decisionmaking are at odds with any attempt to specify a general theory of constitutionality that could guide constitutional decisionmakers. On the positive view defended here, constitutional decisions are constitutional not because they arise out of some independent source that makes things constitutional, be it text, structure, precedent, or some other thing. They are constitutional because they involve practical reasons that arise within the social practice of American constitutional law.
Multiview Cluster Analysis Identifies Variable Corticosteroid Response Phenotypes in Severe Asthma

Rationale: Corticosteroids (CSs) are the most effective asthma therapy, but responses are heterogeneous and systemic CSs lead to long-term side effects. Therefore, an improved understanding of the contributing factors in CS responses could enhance precision management. Although several factors have been associated with CS responsiveness, no integrated/cluster approach has yet been undertaken to identify differential CS responses. Objectives: To identify asthma subphenotypes with differential responses to CS treatment using an unsupervised multiview learning approach. Methods: Multiple-kernel k-means clustering was applied to 100 clinical, physiological, inflammatory, and demographic variables from 346 adult participants with asthma in the Severe Asthma Research Program with paired (before and 2-3 weeks after triamcinolone administration) sputum data. Machine-learning techniques were used to select the top baseline variables that predicted cluster assignment for a new patient. Measurements and Main Results: Multiple-kernel clustering revealed four clusters of individuals with asthma and different CS responses. Clusters 1 and 2 consisted of young, modestly CS-responsive individuals with allergic asthma and relatively normal lung function, separated by contrasting sputum neutrophil and macrophage percentages after CS treatment. The subjects in cluster 3 had late-onset asthma and low lung function, high baseline eosinophilia, and the greatest CS responsiveness. Cluster 4 consisted primarily of young, obese females with severe airflow limitation, little eosinophilic inflammation, and the least CS responsiveness. The top 12 baseline variables were identified, and the clusters were validated using an independent Severe Asthma Research Program test set. Conclusions: Our machine learning-based approaches provide new insights into the mechanisms of CS responsiveness in asthma, with the potential to improve disease treatment.
Developmental programming: Prenatal bisphenol A treatment disrupts mediators of placental function in sheep

Abstract Gestational Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure is associated with low birth weight. We hypothesized that the low birth weight is the consequence of reduced placental efficiency and a function of BPA-induced inflammatory, oxidative, lipotoxic, angiogenic, steroidal and fibrotic changes involving epigenetic alterations. Placentomes were collected during early (day 65) and mid (day 90) gestation (term ∼147 days) from control and BPA (gestational day 30–90)-treated pregnant sheep. BPA treatment: reduced placental efficiency and fetal weight; increased interleukin 8, lipid peroxidation marker, antioxidants, aromatase, 17 alpha-hydroxylase, estrogen receptor 2, insulin like growth factor (IGF) 2 receptor and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP), and histone deacetylase 1 and 2; reduced tumor necrosis factor alpha and IGF1 receptor at early gestation (Day 65). Gestational BPA-induced mid-gestational changes include: reduced angiogenic factor hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha; increased IL1beta, oxidative stress markers, triglyceride, 17alpha hydroxylase, IGFBP 1, DNA methyltransferase 3 A and histone deacetylase 1. These findings indicate that gestational BPA, either acting directly or by altering steroidal input, produces early/mid-gestational-specific epigenetic changes culminating in placental disruptions at several levels, in keeping with time-specific/time-lagged pregnancy-associated changes in placental efficiency and fetal weight. The reduced early-gestational placental efficiency may be a function of increased inflammation/oxidative stress and reduced IGF bioavailability with the mid-gestational restoration of placental efficiency likely driven by improved IGF bioavailability and the time-lagged response to antioxidant increase. This compensation, the result of time-lagged response to increases in negative mediators of placental function must have failed with pregnancy advancement to explain the low birthweight outcome.
Searching for Galactic micro-FRB with lunar scattering

Does the Galaxy contain sources of micro-FRB, lower energy events resembling the known FRB but detectable only at Galactic distances? The answer to this question is essential to determining the nature of FRB sources. At typical ($10$ kpc) Galactic distances a burst would be about 117 dB brighter than at a "cosmological" ($z = 1$) distance. The radiation of Galactic micro-FRB, if they exist, could be detected after Lunar reflection, or an upper bound on their rate set, by a modest (20 m at 1.4 GHz) radio telescope staring at the Moon. It would have all-sky sensitivity. The delay between detection of direct (by STARE2 or dipoles) and Lunar-scattered radiation would restrict a burst's position to a narrow arc.
203 Data collection/abstraction process improvements to achieve injury-related health equity in our national trauma healthcare system

Statement of Purpose Identifying injury-related disparities requires accurate patient representation. Understanding data collection/abstraction staff perspective is critical to developing implementation models for integrating health equity data elements into electronic medical record (EMR) and trauma registry systems. To identify barriers/facilitators to collecting/abstracting accurate equity data, we assessed perspectives of national stakeholders in each U.S. region and Emergency Department (ED) registration and trauma registry staff locally. Methods We conducted a Delphi process with 17 national experts in trauma care systems (included based on recommendations from local and national trauma care leaders) and focus groups with 14 ED patient registration and 9 hospital trauma registry staff. Topics included process of data collection/entry into EMR and data abstraction into trauma registries and barriers/facilitators to accurate collection/abstraction of equity data elements. Audio-recorded focus groups and Delphi recommendations were qualitatively analyzed, and the latter findings were joint-ranked based on feasibility scores and Kappa-based score consistency. Findings were triangulated with ED patient registration observations and trauma registry staff workflow. We developed an implementation model addressing identified barriers/facilitators. Results Delphi results indicated staff time/investment in process changes as the biggest barriers; facilitators were simplicity and brevity (self-report), and quality improvement checks. ED staff barriers included experiences with patients reacting negatively, and misunderstanding data collection purpose. Cultural-sensitivity training, script for explaining importance of equity data collection, and required data entry for a minimum dataset were facilitators. Trauma registry staff barriers involved needing to search notes for information (e.g., injury address/housing status); staff preferred auto-populated and designated EMR discrete fields. Conclusions Barriers/facilitators identified differed among national stakeholders, ED registration staff, and trauma registry staff. Successful implementation will involve ongoing staff training, opportunities for patient self-report, and frequent quality improvement checks. Significance Improved data collection and abstraction processes can increase accuracy of equity measures, facilitating better identification of injury-related disparities.
An Efficient FIFO Based Accelerator for Convolutional Neural Networks

Over the last decade, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have become the go to technique to perform tasks in deep learning applications such as computer vision, speech recognition, etc. LeCun et al (Nature 521(7553), 436–44) 2015. Even though CNNs are very efficient at these tasks they are not suitable for embedded applications due to the limited power budget. In this work we present an improved architecture to process the convolution layers in a CNN. This work is based on our earlier architecture which uses FIFO (First In First Out memory)s to accelerate CNNs. Panchbhaiyye and Ogunfunmi 2020. The architecture presented takes advantage of sparsity in CNN layer’s inputs and outputs to achieve performance improvement. We evaluate the proposed improvement on 16 bit floating point and 8 bit integer data types and find that this leads to more than 13% improvement in the processing time of convolution layers for VGG16 with float16 data type. Also, we show how this architecture can be used to compute fully connected layers. Overall we are able to exceed the performance of state-of-the-art architectures by more than 1.65x using an inexpensive Pynq Z1 board running at 100Mhz.
Moving Past Quinone-Methides: Recent Advances toward Minimizing Electrophilic Byproducts from COS/H2S Donors.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important biomolecule that plays key signaling and protective roles in different physiological processes. With the goals of advancing both the available research tools and the associated therapeutic potential of H2S, researchers have developed different methods to deliver H2S on-demand in different biological contexts. A recent approach to develop such donors has been to design compounds that release carbonyl sulfide (COS), which is quickly converted to H2S in biological systems by the ubiquitous enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA). Although highly diversifiable, many approaches using this general platform release quinone methides or related electrophiles after donor activation. Many such electrophiles are likely scavenged by water, but recent efforts have also expanded alternative approaches that minimize the formation of electrophilic byproducts generated after COS release. This mini-review focuses specifically on recent examples of COS-based H2S donors that do not generate quinone methide byproducts after donor activation.
Behaviorally and environmentally induced non-24-hour sleep-wake rhythm disorder in sighted patients

Study Objectives: To determine whether there was evidence of circadian or sleep-regulatory dysfunction in sighted individuals with Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder (N24SWD). Methods: Three si...
The Economics of Europe and the European Union: The Scandinavian union: or separate ways?

Introduction We deal in this chapter with the five member states that currently comprise the Nordic Council: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Especially interesting is the sharply different policies of each major Nordic country with respect to the European common currency. Denmark consistently refuses to adopt the euro, even though it has been a member of the European Union the longest. Its central bank keeps the exchange rate of the Danish krone within narrow limits as part of the European Monetary System II, however. Sweden also manages to keep the exchange rate of its currency, the Swedish krona, in line with both the Danish krone and the euro, but refuses to join the European Monetary System, thanks to popular rejection of the idea of joining the euro in the referendum of September 2003. Both Norway and Iceland eschew the euro, the EMS, and the European Union. Nevertheless, these two outsiders have the highest rates of adoption of single market directives, better than any of the EMU members (see chapter 7). That leaves only Finland as a member of the European Union and the European Monetary Union using the euro as its currency. Figure 17.1, however, demonstrates that the exchange rates of all five have moved very much together since the creation of the common European currency. Since the creation of the euro in 1999, moreover, even Iceland's much-weakened currency has moved in parallel with the other Nordic currencies.
Down-Regulation of the Orphan Nuclear Receptor RORγt Is Essential for T Lymphocyte Maturation

Thymocyte development is a tightly regulated process. CD4+CD8+ double-positive (DP) immature thymocytes exhibit distinct phenotypic features from mature T cells; they express only 10% of surface TCR that are found on mature T cells and do not proliferate and produce IL-2 in response to stimulation. In this report we show that transgenic expression of the orphan nuclear receptor ROR gamma t in mature T cells down-regulates their surface TCR expression. The ROR gamma t transgene inhibits IL-2 production by mature T cells, and this inhibition may be partially due to the inhibitory effect of ROR gamma t on c-Rel transcription. Furthermore, ectopic expression of ROR gamma t inhibits the proliferation of mature and immature T cells. These results, together with its predominant expression in DP thymocytes, suggest that ROR gamma t controls these distinct phenotypic features of DP thymocytes. Our data suggest that down-regulation of ROR gamma t expression in thymocytes is essential for their maturation.
Design of Accurate and Efficient Network Emulation Systems with Application to Inter-planetary Networks

Many network emulators have been developed for performance evaluation of network protocols and distributed applications. While most of them specialize on some features targeted for certain applications, few of them address the overall accuracy and efficiency of a general-purpose network emulator. In this paper, we present the key elements of constructing an accurate and efficient general-purpose network emulator. We focus on the architecture of an emulator and the packet capture methods. We analyze the typical approaches a network emulator takes with emphasis on two outstanding distributed network emulators: NETShaper and EMPOWER. We present the functions we have added to NETShaper, namely zero bandwidth emulation and bit error rate emulation. Application of distributed network emulation to protocol design for inter-planetary networks is also discussed.
Beam Equation with Variable Foundation Coefficient

The equation w^4(x) + x^Pw(x)=0 in the region (0<x<infinity) is of value in describing the behavior of loaded beams resting on, or imbedded (piles) in soils. Its solution when p=0 is elementary, but for other values of p, solutions have formerly been obtained only by the finite difference method. Herein, an analytical solution is obtained and evaluated for the case of p=l, and a numerical technique is developed for obtaining two of the solutions for other values of p. The solutions are those which tend to zero as x tends to infinity; they are of use in the case of the semi-infinite beam. In practice most piles in soil fall into this category.
Contamination of joints with tissue debris and hair after arthrocentesis: the effect of needle insertion angle, spinal needle gauge, and insertion of spinal needles with and without a stylet.

Objective To assess fetlock joint contamination with tissue debris and hair after arthrocentesis. Study Design Experimental. Animals Fetlock joint tissues (n = 10 horses). Methods Soft tissue flaps including the joint capsule were dissected from the dorsal fetlock joints of 7 anesthetized horses leaving an intact proximal base. Needles inserted through the tissue flaps were flushed into tissue cell culture plates and examined for debris. Studies were repeated on excised fetlock tissue preparations after being stored for 5 days. Variables included gauge and type of needle, insertion of spinal needles with and without a stylet, angle of insertion, length of hair, and ante- and postmortem needle insertion. Tissue fragments collected from 3 horses were cultured for bacteria. Results Compared to 20 g disposable needles inserted perpendicularly through unclipped skin, the odds ratios (ORs) for hair contamination were significantly greater for 20 g spinal needles without a stylet, and significantly less for 22 g spinal needles inserted with a stylet and for angled insertion of disposable needles. Tissue contamination OR was significantly less for 20 g spinal needles inserted without a stylet, angled insertion, and clipped hair. Bacteria were isolated from 2.6% of tissue fragments. Conclusions Angled needle insertion reduces joint contamination with tissue and hair. Spinal needles should be inserted with a stylet in place and 22 g spinal needles are preferable to 20 g spinal needles. Joints may be contaminated with bacteria after routine surgical preparation of skin.
The core-binding factor leukemias: lessons learned from murine models

The recent development of murine models of core-binding factor leukemias has provided important insights into the underlying molecular pathology of this common subtype of acute myeloid leukemia. Evidence from these models supports the idea that acute myeloid leukemia 1/core-binding factor beta-subunit (AML1/CBFbeta) has a critical role in the control of the self-renewal capacity of hematopoietic stem cells and their progeny. Moreover, the accumulated data demonstrate that the expression of translocation-encoded AML1 or CBFbeta fusion proteins are insufficient by themselves to induce a full leukemic phenotype. The models that have been developed should prove to be of value for defining the range of mutations that can cooperate with AML1/CBFbeta fusion proteins, and for assessing novel therapies targeted toward the pathways that are altered by the expression of these fusion proteins.
Development of radar for the Royal Navy 1935-44

The original patent for radar was registered by the Admiralty in 1928. However, it was not until 1935 that the Air Ministry took the initiative to develop radar. Following a meeting at the Air Ministry in March 1935, the Experimental Department of HM Signal School was instructed by the Admiralty, to start work on the development of radar for the Royal Navy. The paper describes the early development of radar, and its initial trials in ships, up until 1944, when the Services Electronic Research Laboratory was established.
On the Feasibility of few-THz Bipolar Transistors

We review the limits faced in seating of InP-based bipolar transistors for increased device bandwidth. Emitter and base contact resistivities and IC thermal resistance are the major limits to increased device bandwidth. Devices with 1-1.5 THz simultaneous ftau, and fmax are feasible; these will enable 750 GHz monolithic amplifiers and medium-scale digital ICs at ~400-500 GHz clock rate.
Electronic versus geometric contrast in cross-sectional STM images of III-V semiconductor heterostructures

We report first-principles calculations of the electronic and geometric structure of the (110) cross-sectional surfaces on InAs/GaSb superlattices, and compare the results with scanning tunneling microscopy images of filled electronic states. In both the predicted and measured images the InAs surfaces appear lower than GaSb, a height difference we show is caused primarily by differences in the electronic structure of the two materials. In contrast, local variations in the apparent height of surface atoms at InSb- or GaAs-like interfaces arise primarily from geometric distortions associated with local differences in bond length. Our calculated energies for atomic intermixing indicate that anion exchanges are exothermic at GaAs interfaces but endothermic at InSb interfaces. This difference may explain why GaAs interfaces are typically more disordered than InSb interfaces in these heterostructures.
Peer Crowd Affiliations of Adult Gay Men: Linkages With Health Risk Behaviors

The social networks of adult gay men play important roles in both the promotion and prevention of health risk. The current investigation had 2 primary goals. First, this study examined the existence of gay peer crowds using the opinions of a large (N 340) online sample of self-identified gay men. Second, it explored how these peer crowd affiliations may be differentially related to health risk. All participants provided demographic information, opinions regarding the existence of gay peer crowds, and subjective ratings of identification with each crowd. Information regarding marijuana and other drug use, binge drinking, smoking, unprotected sex, and steroid use was also collected. The majority of men surveyed believed in the existence of gay peer crowds. Identifying with Circuit Partiers, Bears, Muscle Boys, Granolas, and Goths was related to adverse health behaviors. Low-risk peer crowd affiliations included Suburbans, Professionals, Twinks, and Activists. These effects were above and beyond those of age, income, and education. Implications for future research and intervention efforts with gay men are discussed.
Magic Carpet Ride: Social Constructionism in Dialogue With Phenomenological Ontology

The idea of a potential antagonism between ontological precommitments and reality as we might come to know it is called into question by suggesting a more dialogal understanding of the very connection (and exchange) between ontology and empirical relationality. A clarification of phenomenology's development of ontology out of an appreciation for the fundamental relationality of all psychological experience is advanced to situate the kindred relationship between Gergen's intellectual forbearers and his own forays into the magical world of relational being.
Posthumous sperm utilization in men presenting for sperm banking: an analysis of patient choice

The question remains as to whether or not men would agree to posthumous sperm use for pregnancy initiation. Often, these individuals' lives are suddenly interrupted and prior consent is rarely given. Therefore, post-mortem retrieval or use of these spermatozoa remains controversial and the incidence of consent for post-mortem sperm use is not clear. Men who bank spermatozoa, however, represent a cohort that can be examined for frequency of consent for post-mortem sperm use. We performed a retrospective chart review for 364 patients presenting for sperm banking at a single institution from 2009 to 2011. Banked specimens represented either ejaculated or surgically retrieved spermatozoa. Demographic information was obtained for each patient and men were grouped by reason for sperm banking, relationship and paternity status, and consent for post-mortem sperm use. The frequency of post-mortem consent was determined within each group. Men were grouped based on reason for banking, including infertility ('Infertility') or malignancy prior to treatment ('Cancer'). Mean ± SD age of the infertility and cancer groups were 40.1 ± 9.9 years and 27.1 ± 9.6 years, respectively. Of the 364 men, 85.9% provided consent for post-mortem sperm use. In the infertility group, 87.4% of men consented. Of these, 92.9% men in a relationship and 62.5% single men consented. Regarding paternity status, 64.7% men with and 56.6% men without children consented. Within the cancer cohort, 83.8% men consented. Of men <18 years old and ≥18 years old, 65.2 and 85.8% consented, respectively. Relationship status yielded 93.2% men in relationships and 79.4% single men consenting. Paternity status in the cancer group yielded 95.8% with and 82.4% men without children consenting. In summary, most men presenting for sperm banking provided consent for post-mortem sperm use, irrespective of reason for banking. Men who are in a relationship or who are fathers were more likely to agree to post-mortem sperm use.
Cost and performance sensitivity studies for solar photovoltaic/electrolytic hydrogen systems

Abstract In previous work, we have investigated the implications of projected advances in thin film solar cell technology for producing electrolytic hydrogen from photovoltaic (PV) electricity. These studies indicate that if year 2000 cost and efficiency goals for thin film solar cells are achieved, PV hydrogen produced in the Southwestern U.S. could become roughly cost competitive with other synthetic fuels for applications such as automotive transport and residential heating, if efficient energy use is stressed. This suggests that PV hydrogen could potentially play a significant role in future energy supply. However, the estimated production cost of PV hydrogen depends on the cost and performance parameters assumed for the PV hydrogen system. In this paper we investigate the sensitivity of PV hydrogen production costs to changes in the system parameters and identify key conditions for low cost PV hydrogen production.
Cloud Structure from Infrared Imagery

Infrared images of clouds recorded in reflected sunlight at wavelengths at which water and ice absorb will show greater structural detail than visible images, and, in principle, can provide information on cloud phase and particle size distributions.
Desorption of hydrogen from tungsten (100)

Abstract The desorption energy, Ed, and the preexponential factor, ν, for the desorption of hydrogen from W(100) have been determined as a function of coverage, θ, from a series of isobars. The values of Ed and ν depend strongly on coverage and weakly on temperature; they show a compensation effect, both quantities decreasing at about 1 4 of the hydrogen saturation coverage: Ed drops from about 40 kcal per mole of H2 to about 20 kcal per mole of H2 and ν from 103 to 10−5 s−1 cm2. These values differ from those extracted from earlier thermal desorption studies, but they are compatible with the measurements reported. Correlation of Ed(θ) and ν(θ) with structural data for the H/W(100) surface shows that the higher Ed and ν values are associated with desorption from a reconstructed substrate. Effects of the reconstruction also appear in the coverage dependence of the partial molar entropy of the H/W surface layer, $ ss, which is zero or less at low coverages and rises to about 10 cal/K per mole of H at 1 4 of saturation. Analysis of $ s s (θ) indicates that the hydrogen-induced reconstruction reduces the entropy of the tungsten surface by 1k per W atom.
Geminin promotes neural fate acquisition of embryonic stem cells by maintaining chromatin in an accessible and hyperacetylated state

Formation of the complex vertebrate nervous system begins when pluripotent cells of the early embryo are directed to acquire a neural fate. Although cell intrinsic controls play an important role in this process, the molecular nature of this regulation is not well defined. Here we assessed the role for Geminin, a nuclear protein expressed in embryonic cells, during neural fate acquisition from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Whereas Geminin knockdown does not affect the ability of ES cells to maintain or exit pluripotency, we found that it significantly impairs their ability to acquire a neural fate. Conversely, Geminin overexpression promotes neural gene expression, even in the presence of growth factor signaling that antagonizes neural transcriptional responses. These data demonstrate that Geminin's activity contributes to mammalian neural cell fate acquisition. We investigated the mechanistic basis of this phenomenon and found that Geminin maintains a hyperacetylated and open chromatin conformation at neural genes. Interestingly, recombinant Geminin protein also rapidly alters chromatin acetylation and accessibility even when Geminin is combined with nuclear extract and chromatin in vitro. Together, these data support a role for Geminin as a cell intrinsic regulator of neural fate acquisition that promotes expression of neural genes by regulating chromatin accessibility and histone acetylation.
Effects of methoprene and synergized pyrethrin aerosol applications on Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) populations

Abstract The occurrence of horizontal transfer of the insect growth regulator (IGR) methoprene on confined populations of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), either with or without hidden refugia, was determined through a series of experiments. Multiple applications were made with the IGR alone or combined with synergized pyrethrin, and compared to untreated controls which received no insecticide applications or were treated with the carrier Isopar M that was a component of the pyrethrin formulation. The total number of living beetles from test colonies inoculated with adults that were treated with Isopar M or with no adults (control) was significantly greater than those colonies that were inoculated with adults treated with either synergized pyrethrin or methoprene (P
Thermal Expansion of Ln6WO12 (Ln = Y, Ho, Er, Yb) and Ln2WO6 (Ln = Gd, Dy, Ho) – an In Situ Synchrotron X‐ray Diffraction Study

The thermal expansion (TE) behavior of cubic and rhombohedral Ln6WO12 (Ln = Y, Ho, Er, Yb) and monoclinic Ln2WO6 (Ln = Gd, Dy, Ho) was investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction from room temperature to approximately 1500°C. The volumetric and lattice parameter expansions were measured for all compositions in both systems, and the respective expansion coefficients were derived and fitted over the observed temperature range with a second-order polynomial. The relative TE evolution along the unit cell edges in each phase was described from a crystallographic perspective, with the reasons for TE dynamics explained in terms of the fundamental constituent units of the structure. Analysis of the TE ellipsoid of the monoclinic Ln2WO6 revealed a continuous change in both its shape and orientation, with the latter effect strongly manifested in the (010) plane. A noticeable reversal of the relative expansion rates between a, and b and c lattice parameters was attributed to the rotation of the ellipsoid cross section in this plane, bringing the larger of the two eigenvectors closer to a, while the smaller one to c. Investigating the structural dynamics of the constituent layers in Ln2WO6 suggested that the bridging role of the Ln polyhedron centered on the only general position in the unit cell may be the reason for the rotating TE ellipsoid.
Lesion size quantification in SPECT using an artificial neural network classification approach

An artificial neural network (ANN) has been developed to determine the size of lesions detected in single photon emission computed tomographic images. The network is the Learning Vector Quantizer and is trained to perform size quantification based on image neighborhoods extracted around the lesions. The ANN is compared to the optimal, Bayesian algorithm developed to perform the same task using the unreconstructed, projection data. The performance of the neural network is evaluated at two different noise levels. The Bayesian algorithm provides the upper bound for size quantification performance against which the ANN is compared. In the ideal case where the Bayesian algorithm has explicit knowledge of the underlying distributions, its performance is superior to that of the neural network. However, in the more realistic case where the distributions need to be estimated from the same learning sample the ANN was trained on, the two algorithms have comparable performances.