cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of ammonium perfluorooctanoate on Leydig cell function: in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies.

Ammonium perfluorooctanoate (C8) produced a dose-dependent increase in Leydig cell adenomas in Crl:CD BR (CD) rats fed 0, 30, or 300 ppm for 2 years. Administration of C8 to adult male CD rats, by gavage for 14 days, produced decreased serum and testicular interstitial fluid testosterone levels and increased serum estradiol levels. The C8-mediated decrease in the serum testosterone levels appeared to be due to a lesion at the level of the testis. These endocrine changes may play a role in the C8 induction of Leydig cell tumors. In the present work, C8 was examined for its ability to (1) directly affect Leydig cells in vitro using isolated Leydig cells from untreated rats and ex vivo using Leydig cells isolated from C8-treated rats, (2) affect testicular interstitial fluid hormone levels, and (3) induce aromatase activity. These studies were conducted to investigate the hypothesis that C8 produces an increase in estradiol by inducing cytochrome P450 XIX (aromatase), which converts testosterone to estradiol, and that the elevated estradiol levels ultimately produce Leydig cell hyperplasia and adenoma formation by acting as a mitogen or enhancing growth factor secretion. In the in vivo and ex vivo studies, adult male CD rats were gavaged with either 0 or 25 mg/kg/day C8 for 14 days. In addition to the ad libitum control, a second control group was pair-fed to the 25 mg/kg/day C8 group. In the in vitro and ex vivo studies, Leydig cells were isolated from testes of adult males by collagenase digestion followed by enrichment over Percoll gradients. A dose-dependent decrease in testosterone levels was observed in hCG-stimulated Leydig cells treated in vitro with C8 for 5 hr (IC50 approximately 200 μM). In contrast, ex vivo studies demonstrated an increase in testosterone production in hCG-stimulated Leydig cells from C8-treated rats when compared to Leydig cells isolated from either the ad libitum or pair-fed control rats. The in vitro data demonstrate that C8 directly inhibits testosterone release from Leydig cells, while the ex vivo data demonstrate that this inhibition is reversible. In the in vivo study, serum and testicular interstitial fluid estradiol concentrations were significantly higher in the C8-treated rats when compared to the pair-fed control group. In addition, testicular interstitial fluid transforming growth factor α (TGF α) levels were also increased, consistent with the hypothesis that estradiol may modulate growth factor expression within the testis. In a follow-up in vivo study, C8 produced a 4.5-fold increase in hepatic aromatase when compared to the pair-fed control, but did not increase aromatase activity in the testis, muscle, or fat. Collectively, these data suggest that the increase in serum estradiol levels from C8-treated rats is primarily due to aromatase induction in the liver.
Thermodynamic modeling of chemical interactions between CaO–TiO2 ceramics and molten salts

The mixed-oxide compounds of CaO with TiO2 are of interest in the development of container vessels for actinide recycling processes in which Ca (dissolved in molten salt) is used to reduce the actinide oxide to actinide metal. The chemical interactions between the mixed-oxide compounds and molten salt saturated with Ca have been analyzed by applying thermodynamic principles. Although the solubility of CaO in molten salt is suppressed by the formation of mixed oxide with TiO2, thermodynamic calculations show that corrosion of CaO-TiO2 ceramics by molten CaCl2 or CaCl2-20 mole % CaF2 that contains metallic Ca in solution occurs by dissolution of the CaO component of the mixed-oxide compounds in the molten salt and reduction of the TiO2 component by the metallic Ca. The thermodynamic predictions are consistent with the experimental observations. The corrosion products produced and the sequence of the various phases depend upon the activity of the CaO produced in the molten salt by reduction reactions. The results of this study show that ceramic materials in the CaO-TiO2 system are not suitable container materials for actinide recycling.
What is Worthwhile: From Knowing and Needing to Being and Sharing

(2009). What is Worthwhile: From Knowing and Needing to Being and Sharing. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy: Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 22-40.
Spatially Resolved Surface Analysis of an Octadecanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayer on Mild Steel Using Sum Frequency Generation Imaging Microscopy

Sum frequency generation imaging microscopy has been used to investigate a self-assembled monolayer of an alkanethiol (octadecanethiol, ODT) on a mild steel surface. The images are used to analyze the orientation of the alkanethiol monolayer and the distribution of orientational angles as well as defects in the film. The results show that, on average, ODT forms an ordered monolayer on mild steel when compared to the same monolayer on gold. However, the image analysis suggests that the distribution of tilt angles and conformational defects is greater for ODT on a mild steel surface compared to ODT/Au.
Will Economic Crises in Africa Weaken Rural‐Urban Ties? Insights From Child Fosterage Trends in Cameroon*

The welfare of rural families in many African countries depends on their solidarity ties with urban kin. These ties often channel remittances from urban workers and support the education and economic mobility of children from rural families through fosterage into urban families. The continued operation of these rural-urban solidarity networks, however, is challenged by recent economic downturns and increased urban poverty. Using Cameroon as a case study, we examine the effects of economic downturns on child fosterage as a component of changes in rural-urban solidarity. Results show a net decline in rural out-fosterage rates during the years of economic decline. Such findings raise concern for the economic mobility prospects for children from rural families, especially in a climate of increased competition for limited formal-sector employment
Water-Assisted Proton Transfer in the Monomer of 7-Azaindole†

Ultrafast pump−probe spectroscopic studies on the hydrated 7-azaindole monomer are presented. The experiments provide evidence that excited-state proton transfer in the gas-phase hydrated 7-azaindole monomer may be possible, as predicted by theory, and can occur by means of a water proton bridge. As explained in the text, full tautomerization may not be occurring, but rather the transfer of a proton from the 7-azaindole monomer to the solvating water molecules. A calculated geometry for the structure of 7-azaindole clustered with four waters is presented and used to explain the rate increase observed in this species compared to the 7-azaindole monomer clustered with two and three waters.
Education to Promote Positive Attitudes About Aging

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study examined what a one-time intervention about aging does to the attitudes of high-school students toward aging. Early findings from the study support previous research that indicates ageist attitudes formed in early childhood become difficult to change as children reach adolescence. This research further supports the need for aging education to begin in early childhood.
What is the preferred strength setting of the sinogram-affirmed iterative reconstruction algorithm in abdominal CT imaging?

Our primary objective in this study was to determine the preferred strength setting for the sinogram- affirmed iterative reconstruction algorithm (SAFIRE) in abdominal computed tomography (CT) imaging. Sixteen consecutive clinical CT scans of the abdomen were reconstructed by use of traditional filtered back projection (FBP) and 5 SAFIRE strengths: S1-S5. Six readers of differing experience were asked to rank the images on preference for overall diagnostic quality. The contrast-to- noise ratio was not significantly different between SAFIRE S1 and FBP, but increased with increasing SAFIRE strength. For pooled data, S2 and S3 were preferred equally but both were preferred over all other reconstructions. S5 was the least preferred, with FBP the next least preferred. This represents a marked disparity between the image quality based on quantitative parameters and qualitative preference. Care should be taken to factor in qualitative in addition to quantitative aspects of image quality when one is optimizing iterative reconstruction images.
A new highly specific method for predicting the carcinogenic potential of pharmaceuticals in rodents using enhanced MCASE QSAR-ES software.

This report describes in detail a new quantitative structure–activity relational expert system (QSAR-ES) method for predicting the carcinogenic potential of pharmaceuticals and other organic chemicals in rodents, and a beta-test evaluation of its performance. The method employs an optimized, computer-automated structure evaluation (MCASE) software program and new database modules which were developed under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between FDA and Multicase, Inc. The beta-test utilized 126 compounds with carcinogenicity studies not included in control database modules and three sets of modules, including: A07-9 (Multicase, Inc.), AF1-4 (FDA-OTR/Multicase, Inc.), and AF5-8 (FDA-OTR/proprietary). The investigation demonstrated that the standardMCASE(A07-9) system which had a small data-set (n= 319), detected few structure alerts (SA) for carcinogenicity (n= 17), and had poor coverage for beta-test compounds (51%). Conversely, the new, optimizedFDA-OTR/MCASE(AF5-8) system had a large data-set (n= 934), detected many SA (n= 58) and had good coverage (94%). In addition, the study showed the standardMCASE(A07-9) software had poor predictive value for carcinogens and specificity for noncarcinogens (50 and 42%), detected many false positives (58%), and exhibited poor concordance (46%). Conversely, the new,FDA-OTR/MCASE(AF5-8) system demonstrated excellent predictive value for carcinogens and specificity for non-carcinogens (97%, 98%), detected only one false positive (2%), and exhibited good concordance (75%). The dramatic improvements in the performance of theMCASEwere due to numerous modifications, including: (a) enhancement of the size of the control database modules, (b) optimization ofMCASESAR assay evaluation criteria, (c) incorporation of a carcinogenic potency scale for control compound activity andMCASEbiophores, (d) construction of individual rodent gender- and species-specific modules, and (e) defining assay acceptance criteria for query and control database compounds.
The response of NE-228 liquid scintillator to 3.5, 5.8 and 10.5 MeV protons

Abstract The response of NE-228 liquid and NE-102 plastic scintillators to 3.5, 5.8 and 10.5 MeV protons has been measured relative to electrons. These proton energies represent the kinetic energies of recoil protons from the elastic scattering of 14 MeV neutrons at angles of 30°, 40° and 60°. The response of NE-228 relative to that of NE-102 plastic scintillator varies from 78% for 3.5 MeV protons to 91% for 10.5 MeV protons.
Losses of Sr90, Sr89, and I131 from fallout-contaminated plants*

Abstract (1) During the early period following local fallout, and during periods of maximal worldwide fallout, the entry of radionuclides into terrestrial food-chains is due primarily to the external contamination of plants and secondarily to the uptake of radionuclides from contaminated soil. (2) The following studies were undertaken to estimate the rates of radionuclide loss from fallout-contaminated vegetation and hence from the diets of herbivores living in a fallout field (3) On the fifth, fifteenth, thirtieth, and sixtieth days after an underground nuclear exploration (Operation Sedan) at the Nevada Test Site, plant samples were collected from twenty representative locations in the fallout field and analyzed to determine the concentrations (pc/g dry wt) of Sr90, Sr89, and I131 at the times of collection. (4) While the radioactive half-lives of Sr90, Sr89, and I131 are approximately 27·7 years, 53 days, and 8·04 days respectively, their average effective half-lives on fallout-contaminated plants, during the period from 5 to 30 days after the detonation, were 27·8 days, 17·8 days and 5·0 days respecitively. (5) Loses of Sr90 and Sr89 were attributed to radioactive decay and to the removal of fallout particles and foliage by wind and/or other mechanical disturbances. (6) Losses of I131 were attributed to radioactive decay, to mechanical disturbance, and to the vaporization of I131 from the fallout particles retained on foliage.
Impact of the Organizational Networks on the Roles of NGOs in Eldercare: Perspectives from HelpAge Ghana Day Centres

Drawing data from the “Ghanaian Gerontological Social Work Research Project,” this case study examines the impact of the organizational network of HelpAge Ghana on its roles in eldercare in Ghana. Using an organizational network framework and survey, participatory observation, and document review data collection strategies, it was discovered that Helpage Ghana had provided alternative eldercare when older people face declining family eldercare and inadequate governmental elderly services. A four-level analysis reveals that the selected organization network not only ensures resources and public recognition necessary for organization birth and survival, but also creates independence from long-term partners like HelpAge International and the Government of Ghana. The study concludes that the organizational network of HelpAge Ghana has positively impacted its roles as a developmental organization and a service NGO. By defining aging issues as developmental issues, HelpAge Ghana actively changes the quality of life of older people and eldercare infrastructure through the passage of national healthcare policies, in pursuit of national policy on aging, raising awareness of rights of older people, and empowerment. In gerontological services, HelpAge Ghana Adults Day Centres and other programs have reduced physical, mental, and social health risks of older people. Significances and limitations of the study are also discussed.
The Transformation of a Social Movement into Law?: The SCLC and NAACP's Campaigns for Civil Rights Reconsidered In Light of the Educational Activism of Septima Clark

Abstract This article reconsiders the efficacy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's (SCLC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP's) strategies for achieving civil rights by comparing and contrasting them to the approach favored by the educator, Septima Poinsette Clark. Focusing on the relationship between literacy and the ability of individuals to achieve political and socio-economic power, Clark argued that knowledge could empower marginalized groups in ways that formal legal equality could not. Although her educational activism inlocal communities was important to the overall success of the civil rights movement, Clark is a relatively obscure historical figure; her value to the movement was underappreciated by more prominent male leaders due to gender inequality, she believed. Whatever its origins, this failure fully to appreciate the worth of activists of Clark's caliber was mistaken, this article concludes. Inattenton to the perspectives of those with...
A multiple-processor micro family

A likely feature of future microprocessor-based systems is the use of multiprocessing techniques, based hot only on multiple general-purpose microprocessors, but also on special-purpose coprocessors
An IR Microscopy Technique for Failure Analysis of Suspected Metallization Corrosion

The unequivocal indentification of metallization corrosion on humidity related failures has been a considerable problem. While fuming acid decapsulations are normally a reliable means of decapsulation without an attack on aluminum metallization, some question concerning possible aluminum attack during such precedures can be inevitable. Dry mechanical decapsulations are definative but not 100% effective and limit further electrical analysis. They are destructive to bonding if any further analysis is to be attempted in the absence of metal corrosion. A technique employing an infrared microscope has been successfully used to locate metal corrosion prior to exposing the active face of the bar and maintaining pin integrity for further analysis.
AIR POLLUTION AND ASTHMA.

The rapid growth of population and industry during the last 25 years has resulted in a marked increase of emissions into the atmosphere of a complex mixture of gaseous and solid materials which react not only with each other but with the atmosphere itself. These substances in the atmosphere breathed by man have become a subject of increasing concern to health authorities. The effects of air contaminants on health are difficult to assess. The concentration of air pollutants varies both chronologically and spatially, depending upon climate and atmospheric conditions. Individuals are exposed to varying levels of various pollutants during the course of a single day. It would appear reasonable to suppose that among those who might be most susceptible to the aspiration of pollutants would be those individuals who suffer from asthma. Until recently, allergists have been concerned with the most frequently recognized causes of allergic asthma, namely airborne molds, spores, pollens and dusts. More recently, in addition to these, the allergists are now giving consideration to industrial and urban air contaminants such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, many kinds of particulate matter, and other air pollutants. The sources from which these pollutants emanate are many and varied. A few of the more common ones are automobile traffic fumes, chemicals, vapors of dry-cleaning fluids, naphthalene flakes, paints, and gases from leaky heating, cooking and refrigerating equipment.l That there has been an increase in the variety of such substances discharged into the atmosphere is unquestioned. According to Criep, this increase in air pollution has been contributing indirectly to the severity of bronchial asthma and its complications.2 The effects of air pollution on asthmatics is especially evident in industry. Most cases of asthma found in industry have been attributed directly to inorganic and organic mineral dusts, fumes, and ~apors.~ Much of the information concerning the effects of air pollution upon allergy and asthma has been based on observations made in private clinical practice. More recently, epidemiological studies have been conducted in an effort to relate air pollution, and in some cases specific air-borne agents, to the causation of asthma.
Basic Physical and Chemical Information Needed for Development of Monte Carlo Codes

It is important to view track structure analysis as an application of a branch of theoretical physics (i.e., statistical physics and physical kinetics in the language of the Landau school). Monte Carlo methods and transport equation methods represent two major approaches.
A protocol for performing extended lymph node dissection using primary tumor pathological features for patients treated with radical nephrectomy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACTPurpose:: We determined the primary pathological features of clear cell renal cell carcinoma that are predictive of positive regional lymph nodes at radical nephrectomy (RN) and developed a protocol for the selective use of extended lymph node dissection.Materials and Methods:: We studied 1,652 patients who underwent RN for unilateral pM0 sporadic clear cell renal cell carcinoma between 1970 and 2000. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the pathological features of the primary tumor that were associated with positive regional lymph nodes at RN.Results:: There were 887 (54%) patients with no positive nodes (pN0), 57 (3%) with 1 positive node (pN1), 11 (1%) with 2 or more positive nodes (pN2) and 697 (42%) who did not have any lymph nodes dissected (pNx). Nuclear grade 3 or 4 (p <0.001), presence of a sarcomatoid component (p <0.001), tumor size 10 cm or greater (p = 0.005), tumor stage pT3 or pT4 (p = 0.017) and histological tumor necrosis (p = 0.051) were significantly a...
On Optimal Allocation and Guidance Laws for Linear lnterception and Rendezvous Problems

This paper considers the problem of guiding N interceptors so that they intercept or rendezvous with N targets at the same time T. It is assumed that the interceptors and targets are described by linear time-varying differential equations (deterministic or stochastic). Under certain assumptions both the optimal (static or dynamic) interceptor-target allocation and the guidance of each interceptor for the optimal allocation can be obtained with modest real-time and storage computer requirements.
Growth Performance and Carcass Composition of Pigs Fed Corn Grain from DAS-Ø15Ø7-1 (Herculex I) Hybrids1

Abstract The objective of this experiment was to evaluate a transgenic source of corn grain containing the event DAS-O15O7-1 (TC1507) when included in diets fed to growing and finishing pigs. The commercial product trait name of TC1507 corn is Herculex I; this corn grain contains the cry1F gene from Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai and the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (pat) gene from Streptomyces viridochromogenes These 2 genes confer in planta insecticidal activity toward several corn pests and tolerance to herbicides containing the active ingredient glufosinate-ammonium. Ninety-six pigs were allotted to 4 dietary treatments with 3 pigs/pen and 8 pen replicates/treatment. The 4 dietary treatments consisted of corn-soybean meal diets formulated with a commercial source of corn, a standard corn, a control corn, or TC1507. Pigs were fed the experimental diets from 23.5 to approximately 120 kg BW, and the ADG, ADFI, and G:F were calculated. Hot carcass weights, back fat thickness, loin eye area, and loin eye depth were measured at slaughter, and dressing percentage and average lean meat percentage were calculated. Results of the experiment showed that pig performance was not affected by dietary treatments (P = 0.27 to 0.97) and there were no effects of dietary treatment on any carcass measurement (P = 0.13 to 0.95). Based on the results of this experiment, it was concluded that performance and carcass quality of pigs fed diets containing corn produced from seeds containing TC1507 were not different from those of pigs fed other corn hybrids.
Inhibitory signaling by B cell FcγRIIb

The fact that B cells undergo feedback suppression, or negative signaling, through the interaction of secreted antibody with specific antigen has been extensively documented but the mechanisms involved in the process have been elusive. Experiments over the past year using B cell deletion mutants and dominant-negative enzymes have firmly established an important role for SH2-domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase (SHIP) in negative signaling. Negative signaling through SHIP appears to inhibit the Ras pathway through SH2 domain competition with Grb2 and Shc and may involve consumption of intracellular lipid mediators that act as allosteric enzyme activators or that promote entry of extracellular Ca2+.
Behavior tables: a basis for system representation and transformational system synthesis

Introduces behavior tables, an extension of register transfer tables, as a unified basis for reasoning about control, datapath, protocol, and data expansion facets of system synthesis. Behavior tables can model indirection in system specification, by allowing names of registers and states to be treated as values. Behavior tables are based on a finite state machine model and provide a framework for transformational design to derive a formally correct implementation from a specification. To illustrate our approach, we sketch some transformations on a behavior table description of the FM9001 processor.
Pilot study of a hierarchical Bayes method for utility estimation in a choice-based conjoint analysis of prescription benefit plans including medication therapy management services

Abstract Background Consumers face an array of multiattribute prescription benefit insurance programs that include different access points (retail, supermarket, Internet, etc) and levels of pharmacist interaction (including medication therapy management services [MTMSs]). Because of this, there is a need for more sophisticated information to drive prescription benefit plan design. Objectives A pilot study to determine if choice-based conjoint (CBC) analysis with hierarchical Bayes (HB) estimation for individual level part-worths could provide a stable model for attribute preferences for prescription benefit insurance; to pilot test the addition of MTMSs to a prescription benefit management model; and to pilot and compare logit-based utility estimates to HB estimations in a conjoint market simulator. Methods A mail-based survey was conducted using a random sample of 1500 residents of the United States. A CBC analysis instrument was developed to provide a single-stated choice from a selection of different prescription benefit plans. Choice tasks were varied based on the attributes: co-payment, pharmacy access, formulary, level of pharmacist interaction including MTMSs and monthly premium. Analysis included logit-based and HB estimation for utilities, and preference share market simulation testing. Results The utility estimations from HB analysis were consistent with those seen in the logit-based analysis. A goodness of fit of 83% (root likelihood) was achieved in the HB utility estimations with only 4 choice tasks per respondents and the inclusion of MTM-like services. There was convergence on preference shares from the market simulation between the 2 estimation methods. Conclusions The use of CBC analysis with HB estimation provided utilities similar to those estimated using aggregated logit-based methods, with the added benefit of respondent specific part-worth scores for each attribute level. A larger sample, changes in the instrument design, more panels (tasks) per respondent, and selection of conjoint methods may allow for more predictive information from market simulators.
Predictors of Changes in Smoking From Third Trimester to 9 Months Postpartum

INTRODUCTION While much has been written about postpartum smoking relapse prevention, few have examined changes in smoking behavior from pregnancy (third trimester) through 9 months postpartum among pregnant smokers, particularly for the large number of women who decrease tobacco consumption during pregnancy but do not quit altogether. METHODS Data were obtained from 168 women who smoked during their pregnancy. Women were followed longitudinally from their first prenatal appointment through 9 months postpartum. Maternal substance use was assessed using the Timeline Followback and verified by maternal salivary analyses. Breastfeeding, other substance use, and partner smoking were assessed through maternal interviews at each time point and were considered as potential predictors of change in smoking. RESULTS Women returned to more than half of their levels of preconception tobacco consumption by 9 months postpartum. There was one significant predictor of changes in smoking patterns pregnancy to postpartum. Women who breastfed their infants for at least 90 days smoked far less postpartum than women who breastfed for a short time or did not breastfeed at all. CONCLUSIONS As noted in previous research of pregnant quitters, postpartum relapse prevention or harm reduction interventions should ideally be timed early in the postpartum period. Additionally, promoting breastfeeding among pregnant smokers and supporting women through at least 3 months of breastfeeding may be beneficial to such interventions.
Description and Analysis of a High Fidelity Airspace Model for the Airspace Concept Evaluation System

Accurate determination of aircraft location with respect to defined airspace structure is important for air traffic control and traffic flow management techniques. Modeling these techniques in the National Airspace System requires an efficient method for correlating aircraft positional data to corresponding airspace regions such as sectors. This paper describes the grid-based method employed by the Airspace Concept Evaluation System (ACES) and recent enhancements to allow for a higher fidelity representation of the airspace. Grids with different grid-cell sizes were then generated and used to analyze the effects of grid-cell size on ACES runs. Results are provided to demonstrate how the accuracy of sector-lookup results improves with smaller grid-cell size and how the grid-data file size, run-time memory usage, and run-configuration time all correspondingly increase. By comparing the trade-offs of these factors an optimal grid-cell size of 0.050 degrees was determined.
On the dynamical properties of fuzzy control systems

Summary form only given. The field of the so-called emerging technologies, ie., fuzzy logic control, neuro-fuzzy control, has witnessed quite a sizable introduction of application products, mainly from Japan and Europe and recently from the US. The soft-computing community (fuzzy logic, neural networks and genetic algorithms) has begun to respond to the barrage of concerns about the analytical issues in fuzzy control and neuro-fuzzy control. This paper discusses the essential dynamical properties of a system that is controlled via fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets. It considers issues of controllability, stability and robustness.
TOPOLOGY OF MATCHING, CHESSBOARD, AND GENERAL BOUNDED DEGREE GRAPH COMPLEXES

In memory of Gian-Carlo Rota Abstract. We survey results and techniques in the topological study of simplicial complexes of (di-, multi-, hyper-)graphs whose node degrees are bounded from above. These complexes have arisen is a variety of contexts in the literature. The most well- known examples are the matching complex and the chessboard complex. The topics covered here include computation of Betti numbers, representations of the symmetric group on rational ho- mology, torsion in integral homology, homotopy properties, and connections with other flelds.
Characterization of erosion and failure processes of spark plugs after field service in natural gas engines

Microstructural and optical spectroscopic analyses were carried out on as-received and used spark plugs after field service in natural gas (NG) reciprocating engines. The objective of this work was to examine the corrosion and erosion mechanisms of natural gas engine spark plug as well as identify the primary life limiting processes during field operation. The optical emission spectroscopic analysis showed a strong Ca signal in the exposed spark plugs and scanning electron microscopy showed substantial formation of Ca-enriched glassy oxide phase(s) on the electrode surfaces. In addition, intergranular cracking was observed in the subsurface region of both iridium (Ir) and platinum-tungsten (Pt-W) alloy electrode insert tips. The coalescence and subsequent growth of these cracks would accelerate the wear of the electrodes and shorten the lifetime of the spark plugs. Also, extensive internal oxidation and subsequent crack generation occurred along the interface between Ni-base alloy electrode and Pt-W alloy tip insert during field service, which would result in substantial degradation in the ignitability and performance of the electrodes, and thus spark plug failure.
Zonisamide: Physician and patient experiences

Abstract This study evaluates information regarding physician and patient experiences with zonisamide obtained from the early access and support for epilepsy (EASE) program. Both physicians and patients completed initiation questionnaires regarding seizure history and antiepileptic drug (AED) use. Physicians were advised to initiate zonisamide at 100 mg/day and titrate either to a clinical response or a maximum dosage of 600 mg/day. After ≥2 months of zonisamide therapy, physicians and patients were asked to complete follow-up questionnaires that included questions regarding seizure frequency, seizure severity, and quality of life. Initiation questionnaires and follow-up questionnaires were submitted by 80 physicians for 163 patients. According to these data, seizure control, functional status, and other symptoms of epilepsy were improved in 57.4% (93/162), 37.1% (59/159), and 30.6% (48/157) of patients, respectively. Physicians intended to continue zonisamide therapy in 77.4% (123/159) of patients. Ninety-six patients submitted both initiation and follow-up questionnaires. Seizure control, seizure severity, and quality of life were improved in 53.6% (45/84), 58.8% (50/85), and 62.1% (54/87) of patients, respectively. These patients, most of whom were refractory to other AEDs, generally had positive experiences with zonisamide.
Role of Adenosine in Response to Vascular Inflammation

The first known function of adenosine was as a central factor in the biochemistry of energy production. Perhaps as a result of that role, it also evolved as a signaling molecule that links metabolic stress and tissue damage to the activation of 4 G protein coupled adenosine receptors. An early appreciation of the physiology of adenosine preceded by many decades the discovery of the cell biology of adenosine signaling. The first recognized physiological activity of adenosine was “disturbance of the heart beat” initially described in a remarkably elegant study for the year 1929, conducted at the University of Cambridge by Drury and Szent-Gyorgyi.1 This preceded by 34 years the realization, first articulated by Robert Berne, that adenosine is responsible for the “metabolic regulation of coronary blood flow.”2 Once adenosine receptors were identified in the 1980's and 1990's and selective agonists and antagonists became available, rapid progress was made in pinpointing the identity and function of adenosine …
The membrane skeleton of acetylcholine receptor domains in rat myotubes contains antiparallel homodimers of beta-spectrin in filaments quantitatively resembling those of erythrocytes

I used immunogold labeling and quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary replication to characterize the membrane skeleton at regions with high concentrations of acetylcholine receptor domains in receptor clusters of cultured rat muscle cells. This membrane skeleton consists of a network of filaments closely applied to the cytoplasmic membrane surface. The filaments are specifically decorated by immunogold labeling with a monoclonal antibody, VIIF7, that recognizes an isoform of beta-spectrin colocalizing with acetylcholine receptors. The filaments are 32 +/- 11 nm in length and three to four filaments (average 3.1-3.3) join at each intersection to form the network. These parameters are nearly identical to those reported previously for the membrane skeleton of erythrocytes. Depending on the amount of platinum coating, filament diameters range from 9 to 11 nm in diameter, and are 1.4 nm larger on average than spectrin filaments of erythrocytes replicated at the same time. Filaments are decorated with gold particles close to one end, consistent with the location of the epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody. Computer modeling shows that all filament intersections in the membrane skeletal network are equally capable of being labeled by the monoclonal antibody. This pattern of labeling is consistent with a network containing antiparallel homodimers of beta-spectrin.
LowVoltage/LowPower Amplifiers with Optimized Dynamic Range and Bandwidth

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Dynamic Range-Supply Power Ratio Voltage-Efficient Input Stages Voltage- and Current-Efficient Output Stages Bandwidth-Supply Power Ratio Gain Conclusions This chapter contains sections titled: Acknowledgments References ]]>
Do fat-positive representations really exist in YA? Review of fat-positive characters in young adult literature

ABSTRACTRepresentations of fat people in young adult (YA) literature become quite powerful, as they serve as part of the foundation for how young people learn to interpret who fat people get to be and how culture will treat them. In the last 20 or so years, a small but significant collection of YA novels attempted to take on the cultural domination of weight bias and fat-phobic thinking. This review presents the specific details of four such novels—The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things by Carolyn Macker, Vintage Veronica by Erica S. Perl, This Book Isn’t Fat It’s Fabulous by Nina Beck, and Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught—and considers the problematic issues in that come up in the fat-positive YA genre as a whole.
Neuer Ottomotor mit Direkteinspritzung und Doppelaufladung von Volkswagen

Mit dem neuen TSI-Motor im Golf GT setzt Volkswagen einen Meilenstein beider Entwicklung von Ottomotoren. Die Leistung von 125 kW aus 1,4 l ubertrifft bei weitem diejenige hubraumgleicher Motoren, und dies bei einem fur die Leistungsklasse deutlich verbesserten Kraftstoffverbrauch. Dieses Ergebnis wurde moglich durch die Kombination von Downsizing, Direkteinspritzung und Doppelaufladung. Wahrend in Teil 1 in der ATZ 11/05 die konstruktive Gestaltung beschrieben wurde, befasst sich Teil 2 mit der Thermodynamik.
Does the Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition Really Replace the Neoclassical Theory of Perfect Competition

The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition (CATC) is proposed by Hunt and Morgan (1995) to replace the Neoclassical Theory of Perfect Competition (NTPC). The new theory claims to offer a bette...
Anthropogenic food use and diet overlap between red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758)) recently expanded into the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, USA, and we hypothesized that the availability of anthropogenic foods may contribute to their success and persistence there. This study assessed the importance of anthropogenic foods to the diets of red foxes and arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus (L., 1758)), and competition for food resources between the two species in Prudhoe Bay. We used stable isotope analysis of fox tissues to infer diet during summer and winter for both red and arctic foxes, and lifetime diet for red fox. While the contribution of anthropogenic foods in late summer for both species’ diets was low (~10% to 15%), the contribution in late winter was higher and varied between species (red foxes = 49%; arctic foxes = 39%). Estimates of lifetime diet in red foxes suggest consistent use of anthropogenic foods. We found moderate overlap of fox diets, although red foxes appeared to be more specialized on lemmings, whereas arctic foxes had a more div...
Geographic Variation in Effects of Weather on Grasshopper Infestation

Effects of weather on infestation levels of grasshopper assemblages in the shortgrass prairie regions of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico were examined using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Fifty-three years of population and monthly weather data were analyzed to estimate the effects of temperature, precipitation, and a heat/precipitation (H/P) drought index on extent of infestation of grasshoppers. Regressions and correlations indicated that effects of weather varied with latitude. Infestation levels in both northern states (Montana and Wyoming) were positively associated with 3-yr mean July-August temperatures. Significant terms in regressions for the southern states (Colorado and New Mexico) were spring and summer H/P ratios; infestation was negatively associated with H/P. These results suggest that grasshoppers in more northern states are favored by warm, dry summer conditions, whereas grasshoppers of southern areas appear to require spring and summer moisture. Results are compared with similar analyses done for grasshoppers in Canada and for Old World locust populations. Impact of insecticides on long term infestation trends was analyzed using 25–30 yr of grasshopper suppression program data. There was little evidence that grasshopper suppression activities interfered with our perception of weather–population relationships. Regression analyses indicated that number of hectares sprayed the previous year was significantly and negatively associated with infestation in Colorado and New Mexico.
Designing for Lived Health: A Practice-Based Approach for Person-Centered Health Information Technologies

Health is almost always a deeply personal issue. As individuals, people struggle to maintain and enhance their health within their own “messiness”—their values, practices, and beliefs.
Comment: Addressing the Need for Portability in Big Data Model Building and Calibration

Due to rapid advances in information and genomic-related technology, environmental and social epidemiology, cancer research, and many other biomedical related fields, the production and storage of ...
Dual-Comb spectroscopy for GHG quantification

Near-infrared frequency-comb spectroscopy is a powerful tool with which to measure concentrations of gasses relevant to combustion and atmospheric monitoring (CO2, CH4, H2O, HDO) over meter and kilometer scale paths.
2.19 – Xenarthran Nervous Systems

Xenarthra is one of the basal placental superclades. Xenarthra is approximately 100 million years old and includes armadillos, anteaters, and sloths. Xenarthrans share unique features including supplementary intervertebral articulations, internal testes, and low metabolic rates. Xenarthran neocortex shares a common organizational plan with all other mammals, but in some species, the somatomotor arrangement is unique, possibly representing an evolutionary intermediate between marsupials (eg, opossums) and Boreoeutheria (eg, felines, primates). The cortical laminae of xenarthrans are not as defined as in other clades. In all xenarthrans examined, striking modular features in layer II of cortex occupy a great extent of neocortex.
Insurance coverage and subsequent utilization of complementary and alternative medicine providers.

Objective—Since 1996, Washington State law has required private health insurance to cover licensed CAM providers. This study evaluated how insured people used CAM providers and what role this played in health care utilization and expenditures.
The Overseers' Living Conditions

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the living conditions of the overseers in Cannon's Point. The black slaves who formed the majority of the Cannon's Point inhabitants stood at the bottom of the plantation hierarchy, and the white planter family stood at the top, but the white overseers occupied a more ambiguous position. Some of the overseers were the sons of local planters and some were landless poor, but most of them came from the small class of middling tidewater farmers and small planters. Although white overseers ostensibly belonged to the middle class of tidewater white society, the class lines were not strictly drawn. The elite among overseers were the head overseers or general managers who served as the proxies of absentee planters. The managers were responsible for selling the cotton and rice crops, purchasing the plantation provisions, and supervising the slaves and the common overseers. As managers were often the sons of planters, they were usually accepted as social equals by their planter employers. The managers enjoyed higher standing in tidewater society than the common overseers, and this was reflected in their respective salaries.
What's New in Laboratory Statistical Quality Control Guidance: The 4th Edition of CLSI C24, Statistical Quality Control for Quantitative Measurement Procedures: Principles and Definitions

In laboratory medicine, our main goal is to improve patient health by providing laboratory results that support medical decisions. To meet this goal, the laboratory needs to report accurate results that enhance care and minimize patient risk. Analytical goal setting helps the laboratory assure that when their measurement procedures are operating in their stable, in-control state, the patient results they report will be fit for their intended use. The laboratory's QC plan is designed to assure that even when test system failures occur, the risk of patient harm due to erroneous reported results is kept to acceptable levels. The CLSI C24 document first published as an approved guideline in 1991 has been a popular and useful resource to help laboratories design, implement, and assess their QC practices. The 4th edition of CLSI C24 titled Statistical Quality Control for Quantitative Measurement Procedures: Principles and Definitions has just been completed (1). As chair of the C24, 4th edition, document development committee, my goal, as I expressed it to the committee at our first meeting, was to keep the content that was still applicable and relevant to the modern laboratory, modify or enhance content where necessary to bring it in line with current laboratory …
Analysis of the Asymmetry of Activated EPO Receptor Enables Designing Small Molecule Agonists.

Abstract Amgen solved the high-resolution cocrystal structure of erythropoietin (EPO) bound to the extracellular part of the receptor (EPOR) in 1998, which reveals that the EPO–EPOR interaction surface is formed by 11 salt bridges, 17 H-bonds, and 2 hydrophobic clusters centered at a pair of crucial phenylalanines (F93). The EPOR has two domains, one that penetrates the membrane and a second extracellular domain that forms one arm of the binding site for the EPO ligand. The complete competent receptor-binding site is a homodimer of EPOR with the two arms forming a funnel-shaped cup where EPO binds. The two binding arms of the EPOR dimer meet at the membrane at a 120 degree angle, which Amgen characterizes as, “erythropoietin imposes a unique angular relationship and orientation that is responsible for optimal signaling.” They come to this conclusion, because the EPOR cocrystallized with 2 equivalents of a 20 residue EPO mimetic peptide created at Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) activates the receptor with a 3 order of magnitude reduction in potency, and the binding arms are forced to meet at the membrane with an angle of 180 degrees. The vast interaction surface between EPO and EPOR forms a singularly important three-dimensional structure responsible for hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and differentiation—this is Amgen's conclusion. This goal of this work is to present experimental and computational evidence that the Amgen structure is a postsignaling off-state and that the RWJ structure with the partially active peptide mimetics is an on-state. A detailed side-by-side comparison of the two structures will be presented along with literature evidence that calls into question the Amgen claim that their structure is a unique on-state. A computational fragment-based drug discovery method applied to the RWJ structure was used to locate and characterize a new predicted small molecule binding site and a fragment analysis was performed based on theories of asymmetry to create a proposed agonist with MW
6 – Active Perception

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the exploratory and functional aspects of active perception and presents a theoretical framework for understanding and implementing visual processes. Active perception is essential for decreasing the computational load on the visual system. Active perception leads naturally to exploration and mobility. It is this very mobility that provided people with complex stimulations and demands, which eventually lead to human evolution. Dynamic vision is synonymous with active perception—acquiring and processing time-varying imagery for scene interpretation and successful behavior. Dynamic vision is characterized by flexible perception, whereby top-down modeling can prime the operation and integration of modular processes toward actual recognition. The chapter also focuses on the orienting and perceptual sensory systems. The perceptual systems most involved in visual processing are orienting and sensory systems of the auditory and visual type. The information content of different stimulations is in terms of orientation and locomotion. The orienting system provides feedback that guides behavior and helps the body maintain equilibrium. Awareness of movement, or kinesthesis, originates within the orienting system, which is anatomically located within the vestibular organ.