cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Economic Impact of Poisonous Plants on the Rangeland Livestock Industry

Poisonous plants on rangelands cost producers and consumers upwards of $250 million annually in the U.S. These costs are attributable not only to livestock deaths and diminshed productivity related to plant poisoning, but also to the management costs associated with usage of forage in areas infested with poisonous plants. At present, even relatively small losses from plant poisoning can cause financial and economic impacts that threaten range enterprises, particularly those using public lands.
Introduction: Where’ve All the Good People Gone?

This introduction to the volume surveys the history and anthropology of Christian conceptualizations of fairies, nature spirits and other “small gods.” It does so through a consideration of two tendencies of the fairies: their recession or vanishing into the pagan past and their survival as Christian demons or superstitions. The chapter argues that “small gods” are constructed as pre-Christian survivals but are best understood as objects of Christian metacultural reflection: they function to define but also trouble the margins of Christendom.
BPSK modulation based exact BER computation for network intra-chip RF interconnect

The rapidly increase of integration density, operating frequency, thermal stress and other complexities are pushing the conventional metal interconnects based IC technology to its material and physical limits. Radical alternative like on-chip radio frequency (RF) and wireless communication is being explored to replace the hard-wired metal interconnect. Currently for inter-chip and intra-chip RF/wireless communication, various single-input-single-output (SISO) schemes like BPSK, OQPSK, MSK and GMSK are being investigated. Therefore, this paper investigates the bit error rate (BER) by utilizing a Gaussian and Rayleigh multipath fading channel environment for the SISO system for network intra-chip RF interconnect.
Review of the marsupials (Mammalia: Metatheria) from the late Paleogene (Chadronian–Arikareean: late Eocene–late Oligocene) of North America

The taxonomy of marsupials from the late Paleogene of North America (Chadronian to Arikareean North American land mammal ages: late Eocene–late Oligocene) is reviewed based on new and previously undescribed fossil material as well as reevaluation of previously described material. Two families are recognized, the Herpetotheriidae and Peradectidae. Nine species of herpetotheriids are recognized within two genera: Herpetotherium Cope, 1873a and Copedelphys Korth, 1994, including one new species, H. tabrumi. The greatest diversity of herpetotheriids was in the Chadronian (four species). By the late Arikareean, only a single species is recognized. The range of Copedelphys is extended into the early Whitneyan (previously limited to Chadronian–Orellan). Among species of Herpetotherium, the ranges of two species have been extended: H. valens (Lambe, 1908) from the Chadronian is reported from the Orellan, and H. marsupium (Troxell, 1923) from the Uintan and Duchesnean is reported from the early Chadronian. The range of H. merriami (Stock and Furlong, 1922), previously only known from the Arikareean of Oregon, is expanded geographically eastward to Montana. Within the Peradectidae only three species are recognized: Peradectes cf. californicus (Stock, 1936) and Didelphidectes pumilis Hough, 1961 from the Chadronian, and Nanodelphys hunti (Cope, 1873b) from the Orellan to early Arikareean. Specimens previously identified as an unnamed new species of Nanodelphys from the Whitneyan and Arikareean are referred here to N. hunti.
Religion and spirituality: benefits for Latino adolescents exposed to community violence

Using data from 223 Latino adolescents residing in poor, urban neighborhoods, we investigate whether spirituality, religious importance at home, and religious involvement moderate the relation betw...
Enhancing the rate of electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction for ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions using hollow gold nanocages

Abstract Ammonia production is imperative to increase the food supply for the growing global population. Ammonia is also considered a major hydrogen energy carrier. The current industrial method for ammonia production is energy intensive and heavily relies on fossil fuels, which are responsible for environmental pollution. To meet ammonia demands, it is necessary to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly production methods that consume significantly less energy than the current methods. The use of nanocatalysis in an electrochemical system under ambient conditions can make an alternative route for fertilizer production. Here, the use of hollow gold nanocages (AuHNCs) as an effective electrocatalyst is evaluated for electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions. The electrochemical experiments are carried out at various potentials in 0.5 M LiClO4 aqueous solution using AuHNCs, and their catalytic efficiency is determined for the conversion of nitrogen to ammonia. The highest ammonia Faradaic efficiency (30.2%) is achieved at − 0.4 V vs. RHE while the highest ammonia yield (3.9 µg cm-2 h-1) is obtained at − 0.5 V vs. RHE. These are greater than the highest values currently reported in the literature in aqueous solution under ambient conditions. Furthermore, the role of temperature on the electrochemical NRR performance is evaluated. It is found that by increasing the operating temperature from 20 °C to 50 °C at − 0.4 V vs. RHE, the ammonia Faradaic efficiency increases from 30.2% at 20 °C to 40.5% at 50 °C. The electrocatalytic activity of NRR using AuHNCs is further compared with that of solid Au nanoparticles of various shapes (i.e., rods, spheres or cubes) to elucidate the enhanced rate of the reaction resulting from the increase in surface area and confinement effects. The three-fold enhancement in ammonia Faradaic efficiency is achieved by using the AuHNCs (30.2%) compared to the solid Au nanocubes (11.4%).
Insulin responsiveness of protein metabolism in vivo following bedrest in humans

To test the influence of bedrest on insulin regulation of leucine metabolism, six normal young men were subjected to a five-step hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp before and after 7 days of strict bedrest. A primed-constant infusion of [1-13C]leucine at 0.12 +/- 0.02 mumol.kg-1.min-1 was used. Before bedrest, the basal rate of appearance (Ra) of intracellular leucine and leucine oxidation were 2.79 +/- 0.17 and 0.613 +/- 0.070 mumol.kg-1.min-1, respectively. Insulin caused a dose-dependent reduction of the intracellular leucine Ra and leucine oxidation to a minimum of 1.64 +/- 0.08 and 0.322 +/- 0.039 mumol.kg-1.min-1, respectively, in nonbedrested subjects (P less than 0.001). Insulin also caused a dose-dependent reduction of plasma leucine concentration from 95 +/- 4 to 38 +/- 2 mumol/l (P less than 0.001). After bedrest, subjects exhibited decreased glucose tolerance and increased endogenous insulin secretion, but basal and insulin-suppressed intracellular leucine Ra and leucine oxidation rates were not different from control. Magnetic resonance imaging of the back and lower extremities revealed a 1-4% decrease in muscle volume and a 2-5% increase in fat volume secondary to bedrest. Bedrest also resulted in a negative nitrogen balance as compared with the control period, with an average cumulative loss of 6.3 g of nitrogen after 6 days. Urinary 3-methyl-L-histidine excretion was unchanged by bed rest. Thus because negative nitrogen balance and skeletal muscle atrophy occurred in six rested subjects in the absence of changes in the two indices of protein breakdown used in this study (3-methyl-L-histidine release and leucine release), it seems likely that muscle protein synthesis was inhibited.
Rescaling Air Quality Management: An Assessment of Local Air Quality Authorities in the United States

Institutional design for local air quality management is an underdeveloped area for research and practice. Although the United States has more than a century of organizational experience managing a...
Plasma vertical stability and feedback control for TPX

The n=0 axisymmetric vertical stability and vertical position control have been examined for the Tokamak Physics Experiment. The passive stabilization is accomplished by using stabilizer plates close to the plasma. The present configuration is found to provide robust stability over a wide range of plasma parameters. The active feedback control of the plasma vertical position is done using coils located inside the vacuum vessel. These are required to control random disturbances leading to /spl les/1.0 cm RMS displacements from the midplane, and acceptable coil currents and voltages are found.
Incidence and Clinical Risk of Cement Extravasation in Adult Patients Undergoing Prophylactic Vertebroplasty During Surgical Spine Reconstruction.

Objective To measure the incidence and severity of cement extravasation in adult patients undergoing prophylactic vertebroplasty as part of a spinal reconstruction procedure. Methods Consecutive adult patients treated with prophylactic vertebroplasty during a spinal reconstruction procedure were reviewed over a 46-month period. Patients without a postoperative computed tomography scan were excluded. Spine reconstruction was defined as any procedure involving ≥6 levels of fusion or a 3-column osteotomy. Cement extravasation was graded using a novel grading system. Fisher exact tests were performed to identify independent predictors of cement extravasation. Results Inclusion and exclusion criteria were met by 34 patients comprising 112 vertebral bodies (VB). All 34 patients (100%) had computed tomography evidence of cement extravasation. Of 112 VBs, 103 (92.0%) demonstrated cement extravasation. Thirteen VBs (11.6%) in 9 patients (26.5%) had cement extending to the vena cava or end-organs or cement causing spinal canal stenosis (grade 4 and 5 extravasation). No permanent clinical sequelae were found in these 9 patients. Upper thoracic vertebrae (C7-T6) had significantly higher rates of grade 4 and 5 extravasation than lower thoracic–lumbar vertebrae (T7-L5) (P = 0.004). Conclusions Although no patients in this study experienced known long-term consequences of prophylactic vertebroplasty, 26.5% of patients had cement extravasation that threatened end-organs or neural elements. These results prompted us to change our practice from cementing upper thoracic VBs to using hooks instead. Cement injection is associated with serious risks and should be performed selectively. Larger prospective studies are needed to verify these results.
SEACOIN2.0:an interactive mining and visualization tool for information retrieval, summarization and knowledge discovery

The rapidly increasing size of biomedical databases such as Medline requires the use of intelligent data mining methods for information extraction and summarization. Existing biomedical text-mining tools have limited capabilities for incorporating citation information during document ranking and for inferring topological and network relationships between biomedical terms. Often too much is returned during summarization leading to information overload. Furthermore, literature-based discoveries could be hard to interpret if the network is too complex. SEACOIN2.0 can incorporate citation information during document ranking and uses a unique association rule mining algorithm to generate multi-level k-ary trees. The multi-level trees facilitate efficient information retrieval, visual data exploration, summarization, and hypothesis generation. The system presents graphical summarization via multiple dynamic visualization panels and an interactive word cloud. LexRank algorithm is used to identify salient sentences in top abstracts related to the query. An average F-measure of 94% was achieved for document retrieval, and an average precision of 88% was obtained for identification of top co-occurrence terms. SEACOIN2.0 was also used to replicate previously published findings using the literature-based discovery and EMR-based PheWAS approaches. We present herein SEACOIN2.0 (https://newton.isye.gatech.edu/SEACOIN2/), an interactive visual mining tool for improved information retrieval, automated multi-level summarization of Medline abstracts, and literature-based discovery. SEACOIN2.0 addresses the problem of “information overload” and allows clinicians and biomedical researchers to meet their information needs.
The Intersection of Being Black and Being a Woman: Examining the Effect of Social Computing Relationships on Computer Science Career Choice

Computer science (CS) has been identified as one of the fastest-growing professions, with demand for CS professionals far outpacing the supply of CS graduates. The necessity for a trained CS workforce has compelled industry and academia to evaluate strategies for broadening participation in CS. The current literature in CS education emphasizes the importance of social relationships and supports for individuals from underrepresented groups. Unfortunately, this literature has largely been limited to either the exploration of issues of women or that of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. These limited views generalize characteristics of specific underrepresented groups without considering intersections between these groups. This quantitative study (n = 3,206) addressed that shortcoming by leveraging inferential statistical methods to examine (i) the similarities and differences between the social CS-related experiences of Black women, Black men, and non-Black women in the United States; (ii) the relationship between these experiences and CS career choices; and (iii) the activities during which significant social experiences might occur. The results indicate that Black women's social experiences are often different from the experiences of both Black men and non-Black women. In particular, both Black men and non-Black women had more CS friends than Black women, whereas having these friends was more significant for the CS career choice for Black women. Introductions to CS in school, before college, were negatively related to career choice for all groups, whereas home support was positive for both Black women and men. This work suggests that considering intersectionality is important to understanding the needs of different individuals, as well as the importance of social supports for persistence in CS.
8.01 – Introduction

The advancement of supramolecular chemistry has led to an explosion in the development of chemical sensors. The ability to detect chemical entities is immensely important to many fields, including biology, medicine, engineering, and all aspects of modern technology. In particular, fluorescent sensors and probes have become the premier method to explore analytes in biological systems. This volume covers all aspects of fluorescent sensing and probe design with an emphasis on the supramolecular aspects of the work.
CHAPTER 8 – DATABASE SECURITY

Publisher Summary To draw a distinction between traditional data processing and modern database management, a data item is viewed as an attribute-value pair, the attribute indicating the type and characteristic of the value. This distinction has a profound impact on the complexity and difficulty of data security. Traditional data processing treats data as a collection of values. To process the stored values, programs are written. These programs must know the attributes of the values and must manipulate the values in accordance with their types. New assignments of attributes and new manipulation of the values indicate that the data may yield new and useful information. To safeguard the sensitive information, the stored values must be protected because without the values, neither the assignments nor the manipulation can take place. The programs and the programmers who wrote the programs must also be protected because they know the characteristics and types of the values. For data security, traditional data processing becomes a closed-shop operation, which precludes online access and interactive use of data.
Surface Skin Temperature and Its Trend Observations From IASI on Board MetOp Satellites

Global surface skin temperature has been retrieved from MetOp IASI ultraspectral infrared measurements over the past 13+ years. Monthly and spatially gridded surface skin temperature is produced to show some phenomena associated with its natural variability. This article has aimed to demonstrate that thermal infrared remote sensing data can be used for monitoring global surface environmental characteristics and associated change through the continuity observations of MetOp series. The time-series anomalies of surface skin temperature are used to estimate its associated trend. Error estimation and evaluation has been performed and discussed in order to understand the uncertainty and variability in the trends. The trends derived from IASI global surface skin temperatures are compared with those of the NASA GISS global surface air temperature. Despite the physical differences between surface skin and air temperatures, reasonable agreement is shown between these two datasets indicating consistency and global surface warming, achieving our core objective of investigating the surface skin temperature retrieved from MetOp satellites’ measurements and associated trends. The inferred trend of IASI global surface skin temperature illustrates an approximate 0.037±0.002 K/yr. global average increase has occurred during the September 2007—present (November 2020) time period; this warming trend is more pronounced in the northern hemisphere.
Correlation Across Environments Encoded by Hippocampal Place Cells

The hippocampus is often attributed to episodic memory formation and storage in the mammalian brain; in particular, Alme et al. showed that hippocampal area CA3 forms statistically independent representations across a large number of environments, even if the environments share highly similar features. This lack of overlap between spatial maps indicates the large capacity of the CA3 circuitry. In this paper, we support the argument for the large capacity of the CA3 network. To do so, we replicate the key findings of Alme et al. and extend the results by perturbing the neural activity encodings with noise and conducting representation similarity analysis (RSA). We find that the correlations between firing rates are partially resistant to noise, and that the spatial representations across cells show similar patterns, even across different environments. Finally, we discuss some theoretical and practical implications of our results.
Ideology, Qualifications, and Covert Senate Obstruction of Federal Court Nominations

Scholars, policymakers, and journalists have bemoaned the emphasis on ideology over qualifications and party over performance in the judicial appointment process. Though, for years, the acrimony between the two parties and between the Senate and President remained limited to appointments to the United States Supreme Court, the modern era of judicial appointments has seen the so-called “appointments rigor mortis” spread throughout all levels of judicial appointments. A host of studies have examined the causes and consequences of the growing acrimony and obstruction of lower federal court appointments, but few rely on archival data and empirical evidence to examine the underlying friction between the parties and the two branches.In a unique study, the authors examine archival data to determine the conditions under which Senators obstruct judicial nominations to lower federal courts. More specifically, the authors examine one form of Senate obstruction — the blue slip — and find that Senators use their blue slips to block ideologically distant nominees as well as unqualified nominees. More importantly, however, the authors find that among nominations to federal circuit courts, Senators block highly qualified nominees who are ideologically distant from them just as often as they block unqualified nominees who are ideologically distant from them. That is, stellar qualifications do not appear to mitigate the negative effects of ideological distance. The fact that blue slips occur in private, away from public view, allows Senators to block nominees entirely on ideological grounds, without fear of individualized public retribution. Senators, in short, have taken an aggressive role in blocking highly qualified nominees who would otherwise make significant — but opposing — policy and who might one day become credible nominees to the Supreme Court were their nominations to move forward. By killing these nominations in the cradle, and outside the public view, Senators can block or delay the confirmation of judges with whom they disagree ideologically.The authors point out that policymakers and scholars who seek to reform the judicial appointment process must therefore be very clear about their goals. If a reform’s goal is to minimize the role of Senate ideology in the appointment process, then proposals that insulate the process from the public eye are likely to backfire. For, as the data show, Senators take advantage of insulation to achieve ideological goals. On the other hand, if a reform’s goal is to maximize the role of Senate ideology — perhaps to offset the President’s first mover advantage or to recognize and directly address the fact that courts are policymaking bodies — then proposals that insulate the process from the public eye are likely to accomplish that goal.
Marketing Veterinary Services to Small Beef Producers

I was in a three person mixed practice in DeWitt, Iowa for fifteen years and we were able to increase our revenue by 90% in the beef cow-calf portion of our practice from 1988 (start of Total Beef Herd Health Program) to 1997. I am quite certain that you can also increase your revenue by initiating some new cow-calf beef programs in your practice. The beef cow-calf enterprise has critical success factors, and you need to be involved in enhancing the probability of success in these critical success factors. Various studies show that the critical success factors include:6,71. Knowing your cost to produce 100 lb of beef. 2. Becoming a low-cost, high-profit producer. 3. Reducing feed cost for the cow herd. 4. Learning to optimize vs. maximize. Adding an extra pound of weaning weight is not always cost-effective. 5. Learning that herd improvement does not come from doing one thing 100% better, but from doing 100 things 1% better. As we look at the entire beef cow-calf enterprise, we can divide it into the following segments:• Herd Health• Fertility• Nutrition• Genetics• Environment• Records• MarketingWhile you as a practitioner surely don't need to be an authority in all these areas, if you want to enhance your business, you should find your areas of expertise and work in these areas.5
Lenalidomide in combination with R-CHOP produces high response rates and progression-free survival in new, untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma transformed from follicular lymphoma: results from the Phase 2 MC078E study.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), either concurrent with or transformed from follicular lymphoma (FL) is often excluded from clinical trials. Lenalidomide has response rates of 45% in relapsed transformed DLBCL. Herein we present an analysis of MC078E, a phase II clinical trial testing lenalidomide plus R-CHOP (R2CHOP) for patients with untreated transformed/concurrent DLBCL (NCT00670358). Adult patients with transformed or concurrent DLBCL were included. Patients received six cycles of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone (R-CHOP) with lenalidomide 25 mg days 1–10 of each cycle. The primary outcome was progression-free survival (PFS) at 24 months. Secondary outcomes were response rates, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS). Thirty-nine patients were accrued from August 5, 2013 to July 28, 2020 and 33 were eligible by central pathology review. The median age was 64 (24–80) years, 18 (54%) were male, 25 (76%) were concurrent and 8 (24%) were transformed DLBCL. The PFS, EFS, and OS rates at 24 months were 84.4% (CI95: 67.2–94.7%), 84.5% (CI95: 72.9–98%), and 97.0% (CI95: 91.3–100%), respectively. R2CHOP is effective in concurrent and transformed DLBCL. The study supports the inclusion of anthracycline-naive transformed and concurrent DLBCL in future clinical trials of novel immunomodulatory analogues.
Dual mode CMUT Array Operation for Skull Imaging and Passive Acoustic Monitoring in Transcranial Ultrasound

Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) therapy shows great potential in several applications, including blood brain barrier (BBB) opening. In these applications two important aspects are the registration of the skull to CT images for aberration correction and monitoring the microbubble (MB) activity using methods like passive acoustic mapping (PAM). Currently the image registration is performed using MRI as the tFUS ultrasound arrays with piezoelectric transducers are not optimized as wideband transducers for higher resolution imaging rather they are tuned to MB excitation and detection frequencies. The potential of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) as wideband and low noise receiver for tFUS has been already realized. However, CMUT has some unique characteristics such as control of operation mode which in turn can change its frequency in a very broad range, from MB excitation, to detection and skull imaging for image registration. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of multi-mode operation of CMUT operation for tFUS, where the same commercially available CMUT is used for both MB activity monitoring for PAM as well as skull imaging. Furthermore, experiments show that the same array can potentially be used for both MB activity excitation/detection in addition to skull imaging. This is achieved by using the same CMUT in conventional and collapsed mode effectively utilizing a frequency range of 0.5 MHz to 5 MHz.
Black Holes, String Theory and Fundamental Physics

Quantum aspects of black holes represent an important testing ground for a theory of quantum gravity and ultimately for a theory unifying all four fundamental interactions. The recent success of string theory in reproducing the Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy formula provides a link between general relativity and quantum mechanics via thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. We demonstrate new and unexpected links between black holes and polymers and use these links to speculate on the quantum degrees of freedom of black holes.
Observation of moist convection in Jupiter's atmosphere

The energy source driving Jupiter's active meteorology is not understood. There are two main candidates: a poorly understood internal heat source and sunlight. Here we report observations of an active storm system possessing both lightning and condensation of water. The storm has a vertical extent of at least 50 km and a length of about 4,000 km. Previous observations of lightning on Jupiter have revealed both its frequency of occurrence and its spatial distribution, but they did not permit analysis of the detailed cloud structure and its dynamics. The present observations reveal the storm (on the day side of the planet) at the same location and within just a few hours of a lightning detection (on the night side). We estimate that the total vertical transport of heat by storms like the one observed here is of the same order as the planet's internal heat source. We therefore conclude that moist convection—similar to large clusters of thunderstorm cells on the Earth—is a dominant factor in converting heat flow into kinetic energy in the jovian atmosphere.
The characterization of thermal and elastic constants for an epoxy photoresist SU8 coating

All of the thermal and elastic constants of the high-aspect ratio, negative, UV resist, SU8 coating were carried out, and the compliance matrix of the coating was obtained. DSC, TGA, TMA, and DMTA techniques were utilized to study the thermal properties of the material. The in-plane thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) (α1) was determined by TMA, and the glass transition behavior was studied by DMTA. The TGA study provided information about the thermal stability of the material, and DSC was applied to study the thermal calorimetric properties of the material. The in-plane Young's modulus (E 1) was measured by tensile tests. The residual stresses of a 1D stretched ribbon sample and a 2D stretched membrane sample were measured by vibrational holography tests, and the in-plane Poisson's ratio (ν1) was also determined by holography. The out-of-plane Poisson's ratio (ν2) was obtained by high pressure gas dilatometry measurements. The bulk compressibility (κ) and the volumetric TEC (α v ) of the material were measured by a pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) apparatus. Finally, the out-of-plane properties, including the out-of-plane TEC (α2) and the out-of-plane Young's modulus (E 2), were calculated from the measured in-plane properties and the volumetric properties. Therefore, the compliance matrix of the studied SU8 coating could be obtained.
Transgenic Animals: An Overview

Introduction Human and Non-Human Animals: Some Historical Reflections Biotechnology and Domestic Breeding Traditional Breeding Perspectives Marker-Assisted Selection Biotechnology and Transgenic Organisms What is a Transgenic Animal? How are Transgenic Animals Created? Utility of Transgenic Organisms Commercial Applications Applications for Improved Human Health Transgenic Organisms and Basic Science Animals, Biotechnology, and Ethics Species Barriers Transgenic Animal Welfare Ecological/Environmental Concerns Human Application Keywords: transgenic animals
The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others

This book gathers the knowledge gained in a lifelong study of the roots of goodness and evil. Since the late 1960s, Ervin Staub has studied the causes of helpful, caring, generous, and altruistic behavior. He has also studied bullying and victimization in schools as well as youth violence and its prevention. He spent years studying the origins of genocide and mass killing and has examined the Holocaust, the genocide of the Armenians, the autogenocide in Cambodia, the disappearances in Argentina, the genocide in Rwanda. He has applied his work in many real world settings and has consulted parents, teachers, police officers, and political leaders. Since September 11th, he has appeared frequently in the media explaining the causes and prevention of terrorism. Professor Staub's work is collected together for the first time in The Psychology of Good and Evil.
Preface to the National Lawyers Guild Review, 67-4

Introduces: 1. An Idea of American Indian Land Justice: Examining Native Land Liberation in the New Progressive Era by Richael Faithful; 2. Power and Privilege: Why Justice Demands More Than Diversity by Tova Perlmutter; 3. National Lawyers Guild Urges the Release of Human Rights Defenders in Iran by David Gespass.
Pressure fluctuations in a gas fluidized bed and fluidization quality

Abstract A pressure-measuring transducer probe is developed to record pressure fluctuations in gas-fluidized beds as a diagnostic tool to establish the quality of fluidization. It has been employed to investigate the behavior of four glass bead beds with average diameters of 147, 423, 1499, and 2685 μm. The pressure histories of these beds are recorded as functions of air velocity and the data are analyzed to compute the bubble or void renewal frequency. These results are interpreted in terms of the quality of bed fluidization. A similar technique is based on an analysis of temperature-history records and was developed in a previous paper. It is discussed here from the perspective of our new technique.
Estimating bladder capacity in children

Abstract Bladder capacity in children can be estimated accurately by using the formula: Bladder capacity (ounces) = age (years) + 2.
On the simultaneous choice of plant and measurement control for linear stochastic systems with unknown time-varying parameters

The earlier work [7, 8] on the joint adaptive plant and measurement control problem has been restricted to stochastic systems with time-invariant (constant) unknown parameters. This paper extends the results to stochastic systems with time-varying unknown parameters. It is shown that the plant and measurement control calculations can be separated which simplifies the implementation of the scheme.
Measurements of the structure of sooting laminar diffusion flames at elevated pressures

Measurements of the structure of sooting two-dimensional laminar ethylene-air diffusion flames have been made in the pressure range from 1.0 to 2.5 atmospheres. The effect of elevated pressure on soot formation was investigated through the use of light-scattering techniques to determine the soot volume fraction, particle size, and particle number density. At a fixed vertical location in the flame, maximum and integrated soot volume fractions increased approximately as the pressure raised to a power of 1.7±0.3, and the soot yield (mass of soot/mass of fuel) increased approximately as the pressure to a power of 0.7±0.3 This pressure dependence is larger than can be accounted for by variation in the stoichiometric adiabatic flame temperature with pressure, and is in the opposite direction from what would be predicted on the basis of the measured decrease in peak temperature with pressure in this non-adiabatic flame. Both the size and the number density of soot particles increased with pressure.
The first syzygies of determinantal ideals

Abstract A different proof of the fact that the first syzygy module of minors of certain size defined by a generic matrix over a commutative ring with identity is generated by linear relations of certain type is given. The proof utilizes the Grobner basis theory and the division algorithm over the polynomial ring Z [ X ] that the author developed in a separate paper.
Abstract 5032: MK8745, an Aurora A kinase-specific inhibitor induces apoptosis in a p53-dependent manner

Aurora kinases are mitotic serine/threonine protein kinases and are attractive novel targets for anticancer therapy. Many small molecule inhibitors are being developed and few are currently undergoing clinical trials. Aurora A kinase is essential for the successful mitotic transition. MK8745 is a novel and selective small molecule inhibitor of Aurora A kinase. Treatment of tumor cells with MK8745 (1 to 5 µM) resulted in accumulation of cells in mitosis with an increase in Aurora A expression. Despite this increase in Aurora A in the cells, dose dependent inhibition of Aurora A kinase activity was confirmed by an in vitro kinase assay using a PLK1, a specific substrate of Aurora A kinase. Also, treatment of HCT116 (p53−/−) cells ectopically overexpressing wild type p53 with MK8745 showed a decrease in phospho p53 (ser315), another known substrate of Aurora A. We then explored the mechanism by which MK8745 induces proliferation inhibition in cell lines of multiple lineages such as colon, melanoma, sarcoma and pancreatic according to p53 status. In general, the cell lines expressing wild type p53 showed a short delay in mitosis followed by cytokinesis with significant apoptosis (15%) upon exposure to MK8745. However, cell lines with null or mutant p53 underwent endoreduplication resulting in 60% polyploidy after a prolonged delay in mitosis with no apoptosis. This was further confirmed in the isogenic HCT-116 cell lines such that HCT p53−/− cells underwent polyploidy, whereas HCT p53 +/+ and the HCT p21 −/− cells underwent apoptosis. Under all of these conditions phospho histone H3 (Ser10) was not inhibited, indicating these phenotypic effects are a result of Aurora A inhibition and not Aurora B. P53 dependence for apoptosis was also confirmed in p53 null cells overexpressing wild type p53. Transient knock down of Aurora A kinase by specific SiRNA resulted in high levels of apoptosis and again showed p53 dependence. These results suggest that determining the p53 status may be important when using Aurora A kinase targeted therapies in the clinic. Further studies are underway to determine the role of p53 in the induction of apoptosis that results from inhibition of Aurora A kinase. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5032.
Infiltration models for multicellular structures — A literature review

Abstract Infiltration models are used to simulate the rates of incoming and outgoing air flows for a building with known leakage under given weather and shielding conditions. Additional information about the flow paths and air-mass flows inside the building can only be made available by using multichamber infiltration models. Our review of the literature revealed the existence of 15 multichamber infiltration models, all developed between 1966 and 1983 and differing significantly in the number of cells they can handle, depending on the date of their development. In terms of the flow equations these programs use, they are very similar; most of the differences between them are in the description of the building and the algorithm provided for solving the set of nonlinear equations. In this literature review, we found that only a few of the 15 models are able to describe and simulate the ventilation system and the interrelation of mechanical and natural ventilation.
14th International Workshop on Ataxia-Telangiectasia ATW2012

The fourteenth international Ataxia-Telangiectasia Workshop 2012 (ATW2012) (www.atw2012.com) on ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) and the role of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene in DNA repair, neurological disease, cancer and related topics was held from February 07 to 11, 2012 in Delhi, India. The international ATW2012 meeting reported the latest advances in ATM research as well as potential therapeutic treatments for A-T. The meeting was attended by a productive mix of scientists, ranging from those prominent in the initial characterization of the underlying genetic defect to young scientists just entering the field. In broad terms, three main themes were discussed at the meeting: first, a wealth of new details emerged on DNA damage signaling/repair mechanisms for which ATM is a critical element; secondly, important functions for ATM in previously unrelated cellular pathways were identified; and thirdly, new physiological effects and potential therapeutic treatments related to A-T were presented. This report summarizes below a sampling of the many interesting results from the meeting.
Tabular control of balance in a dynamic legged system

A method for control of dynamic systems which uses a large table of precomputed data is described. The method was developed in the context of controlling legged systems that balance as they run. The tabular approach takes advantage of the very regular, cyclic character of legged behaviour in order to partition the system state variables into two sets: one set that varies in a relatively fixed way on each cycle, and another set that varies freely from cycle to cycle. Only this second subset of the state variables determines the size of the table. Stored data are computed by numerically simulating a dynamic model of the legged system as it progresses through the stance portion of the running cycle. Repeated simulations are used to characterize the system for different landing conditions. Polynomial surfaces are used to approximate the tabular date. The feasibility of the methods is shown by simulations.
Methylation differences in the murine P1450 and P3450 genes in wild-type and mutant hepatoma cell culture.

Abstract The murine P 1 450 and P 3 450 genes and flanking regions contain 14 and 15 Msp I sites (C-C-G-G-), respectively, designated M1 through M14 or M15. These two genes from mouse Hepa-1 wild-type (wt) parent and three mutant cell lines were studied for methylation differences with use of the isoschizomers Msp I and Hpa II. The mutant lines included: cl, having high constitutive P 1 450 mRNA and believed to carry a mutation in the P 1 450 structural gene; c2, having negligible levels of Ah receptor; and c4, having a defect in nuclear translocation of the inducer-receptor complex. The P 3 450 gene was not expressed constitutively or after treatment of these four cell lines with the P 1 450 inducer 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) and, correspondingly, the P 3 450 Msp I sites remained methylated. Treatment of all four cell lines with TCDD did not alter the P 1 450 methylation pattern, nor was there any evidence of P 1 450 gene amplification. Treatment of all four lines with 5-azacytidine caused demethylation of the P 1 450 Msp I sites but did not change the usual P 1 450 catalytic activity pattern found in each of the lines. The only detectable difference in the P 1 450 gene among the four lines was hypomethylation of the M9 site in c1 that was not seen in wt, c2 and c4 cells. The M9 site is part of a 9-bp box (5′-C-C-G-G-G-A-C-A-T-3′), located near the beginning of exon 3. It is of interest that the same nine bases are found in intron 2 about 80 bp upstream from the 5′ end of exon 3 in the homologous P 3 450 gene.
Microbial food chains and food webs

Abstract Mathematical models for simple microbial food chains and food webs in continuous culture are developed and analyzed. A model for competition of two microbial species for a single scarce resource is also presented as a degenerate case of the food web model. Two models for food chains are developed. The first is based on a model of microbial growth (Monod's) that is widely mentioned and used at the present time. The second is based on a generalization of that model that recent experimental results on microbial food chains seem to require. Experimental data for microbial food webs are almost entirely lacking but a tentative model having what are felt to be the right properties is developed and analyzed. The results obtained from these models seem to be consistent in most circumstances with current ecological thinking on community dynamics.
Size-Controlled Self-Assembly of Peptide Nanotubes Using Polycarbonate Membranes as Templates

Peptide nanotubes have been self-assembled from the peptide monomers with polycarbonate membranes in solution to control the diameter of the nanotubes by using the membranes as templates. The diameters of self-assembled peptide nanotubes can be controlled by the pore sizes of the polycarbonate membrane templates, whereas peptide nanotubes that were not grown in the membrane pores were not monodisperse. Therefore, those nanotubes grown outside the membranes had to be removed before dissolving the templates in order to obtain monodisperse peptide nanotubes. The peptide nanotubes were self-assembled in the membrane pores as small as 50 nm in diameter.
Controls on Nutrient and Phytoplankton Dynamics During Normal Flow and Storm Runoff Conditions, Southern Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

Fluvial effects on nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics were evaluated in southern Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Fluvial inputs occurred as small, steady baseflows interrupted by intense pulses of storm runoff. Baseflow river inputs only affected restricted areas around stream mouths, but the five storm events sampled during this study produced transient runoff plumes of much greater spatial extent. Nutrient loading via runoff generally led to an increase of the phytoplankton biomass and gross primary productivity in southern Kaneohe Bay, but the rapid depletion of nutrients resulted in a decline of the algal populations in the relatively short time of days. Under baseline conditions, water column primary productivity in southern Kaneohe Bay is normally nitrogen limited. Following storm events, the high ratio of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIN:DIP, 25-29) fluxes of runoff nutrients drove bay waters towards phosphorus limitation. A depletion of phosphate relative to DIN in surface waters was observed following all storm events. Due to high flushing rates, recovery times of bay waters from storm perturbations ranged from 3 to 8 d and appeared to be correlated with tidal range. Storm inputs have a significant effect on the water column ecosystem and biogeochemistry in southern Kaneohe Bay. The perturbations were only transient events and the system rapidly recovered to prestorm conditions.
Direction-adaptive partitioned block transform for image coding

We propose a direction-adaptive block transform that exploits the directionality in images to improve the compression performance. It can be viewed as a generalization of variable block-size transforms with the inclusion of non-rectangular partitions and directional transforms. As a block transform, it can be directly combined with block-wise intra and inter prediction in video coding standards. Experimental results show that the proposed transform outperforms the variable block-size 2-D DCT by up to 3 dB. It also outperforms a previously proposed direction-adaptive DCT by up to 2 dB. When combined with intra prediction, the proposed transform further provides a gain of 0.5 to 2 dB upon intra prediction with the 2-D DCT.
Use of transcription probes for genotyping rotavirus reassortants.

Abstract Radioactively labeled transcripts (probes) synthesized in vitro from rotavirus particles were employed to genotype rotavirus reassortants obtained from cells coinfected with a cultivatable bovine rotavirus (UK strain) and a noncultivatable human rotavirus (“Wa” or DS-1 strain). The technique consists of denaturing the genomic double-stranded RNA (ds RNA) from the reassortant and hybridizing it to labeled single-stranded RNA (ss [ 32P ]RNA) prepared from either parent by in vitro transcription. Electrophoresis and autoradiography of the hybrids permit recognition of the parental origin of each of the genes of the reassortant. By using this approach, we have confirmed that gene 9 of the “Wa” virus codes for the specific antigen that reacts with neutralizing antibody. In addition, an analysis of a series of reassortants suggests that in the two human viruses studied, gene 4 may be responsible for restriction of growth in tissue culture.
Monthly Variations in the Composition of Milk

Summary The average values for the composition of 2,426 milk samples, based upon the weight of milk produced, are tabulated according to breed of cow and month in which the samples were taken. The samples were distributed as follows: 208 samples of Ayrshire milk, 428 samples of Brown Swiss milk, 321 samples of Guernsey milk, 268 samples of Holstein milk, 199 samples of Jersey milk and 1,002 samples of milk from Guernsey-Holstein crossbred cows (the Bowlker Herd). On account of the number of samples included and the distribution of the samples through the lactation periods of individual cows of the different breeds, the author believes that the variations shown fairly represent the milk of each breed of cows studied and that the variations shown for all samples taken together are similarly representative of the mixed milk of large numbers of cows of all breeds.