cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationship between onset of puberty and establishment of persistent infection with equine arteritis virus in the experimentally infected colt

The relationship between stage of reproductive tract maturity and susceptibility to the experimental establishment of persistent infection with equine arteritis virus (EAV) was investigated in 21 prepubertal and 15 peripubertal colts. Five of six prepubertal colts inoculated intranasally remained infected in the reproductive tract from post-challenge day 28 to 93 and two of six from post-challenge day 120 to 180. No virus was detected in five of these animals killed on post-challenge day 210. Each of two peripubertal colts remained infected in the reproductive tract at post-challenge day 60 and one of nine was found to be persistently infected with EAV 15 months after challenge. These findings confirm that the virus can replicate in the reproductive tract of a significant proportion of colts for a variable period of time after clinical recovery in the absence of circulating concentrations of testosterone equivalent to those found in sexually mature stallions. Long-term persistent infection with EAV does not appear to occur in colts exposed to the virus before the onset of peripubertal development. We suggest that colts should be vaccinated at approximately 6 months of age, before peripubertal development but after the disappearance of maternally acquired antibodies.
Heavy reliance on carbohydrate across a wide range of exercise intensities during voluntary arm ergometry in persons with paraplegia

Context/objective To describe and compare substrate oxidation and partitioning during voluntary arm ergometry in individuals with paraplegia and non-disabled individuals over a wide range of exercise intensities. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Clinical research facility. Participants Ten apparently healthy, sedentary men with paraplegia and seven healthy, non-disabled subjects. Interventions Rest and continuous progressive voluntary arm ergometry between 30 and 80% of peak aerobic capacity (VO2peak). Outcome measures Total energy expenditure and whole body rates of fat and carbohydrate oxidation. Results A maximal whole body fat oxidation (WBFO) rate of 0.13 ± 0.07 g/minute was reached at 41 ± 9% VO2peak for subjects with paraplegia, although carbohydrate became the predominant fuel source during exercise exceeding an intensity of 30–40% VO2peak. Both the maximal WBFO rate (0.06 ± 0.04 g/minute) and the intensity at which it occurred (13 ± 3% VO2peak) were significantly lower for the non-disabled s...
Verification and validation study of URANS simulations for an axial waterjet propelled large high-speed ship

The accurate prediction of waterjet propulsion using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is of interest for performance analyses of existing waterjet designs as well as for improvement and design optimization of new waterjet propulsion systems for high-speed marine vehicles. The present work is performed for three main purposes: (1) to investigate the capability of a URANS flow solver, CFDSHIP-IOWA, for the accurate simulation of waterjet propelled ships, including waterjet–hull interactions; (2) to carry out detailed verification and validation (VV and (3) to identify optimization opportunities for intake duct shape design. A concentrated effort is applied to VV hence, one objective for subsequent optimization studies could be maximizing the inlet efficiency. Overall, the V&V work indicates that the present approach is an efficient tool for predicting the performance of waterjet propelled JHSS ships and paves the way for future optimization work. The main objective of the optimization will be reduction of powering requirements by increasing the inlet efficiency through modification of intake duct shape.
Response to Kumar et al.: Proinflammatory Role of let-7 miRNAs in Experimental Asthma?

This is a response to a letter by Kumar et al. (1). Kumar et al. question our findings in which we demonstrated a proinflammatory role for let-7 miRNAs in an experimental model of allergic lung disease. We chose to examine this miRNA family because of its remarkable abundance, extremely conserved nature, and lack of functional insight. Loss or gain of function experiments involving let-7 miRNAs in vivo are extremely demanding because of the many different family members (nine) that are both highly expressed and share significant sequence homology. To partly overcome these difficulties, we combined in vitro and in vivo studies using overexpression and knock-down approaches in which precise miRNA mimics or antisense locked nucleic acids (LNA) were employed. Our in vivo inhibition approach was to use a short, degenerate LNA that inhibited up to four let-7 miRNAs. Kumar et al. posit whether inhibition of all let-7 lung miRNAs would result in a different outcome; this is an interesting question, but one that is not technically possible to answer. Even if all let-7 miRNAs could be inhibited in vivo, this would most likely not be survivable (A. Rodriguez, personal communication). Thus, the approach that we used provided the unique functional insight that let-7 miRNAs can play an apparent proinflammatory role under the conditions tested without inducing a survival disadvantage in mice. Regarding gain of function data, we point out that our experiments were performed in vitro using HEK293T cells. Again, the redundancy and superabundance of let-7 miRNAs in lung represent an all but insurmountable hurdle (technical and practical) to reliable in vivo overexpression strategies. We agree completely with Kumar et al. that a Dicer negative feedback loop (or multiple alternative mechanisms currently being evaluated) potentially explains our interesting and unexpected findings but note that this represents precisely the kind of speculation for which they would criticize our report.
Incorporating bioinformatics in an algorithms course

In this paper we examine ways in which ideas from the exciting new field of bioinformatics can be used in an algorithms course intended for computer science majors. Bioinformatics studies biological sequences such as DNA or protein that are the building blocks of life. Algorithms that involve searching, matching, or combining such sequences are primary tools in bioinformatics. These algorithms use many key ideas that are important to the computer science major, such as dynamic programming. In addition, bioinformatics makes for an interesting and timely application that can enliven the algorithms course.
The influence of salinity on D/H fractionation in dinosterol and brassicasterol from globally distributed saline and hypersaline lakes

Abstract Salinity, growth rate, growth stage, nutrient limitation and temperature have all been shown to influence the magnitude of D/H fractionation in algal lipids through laboratory and field studies. Of these factors, salinity has been studied most extensively in the field, but to date all such investigations have focused on transect studies within specific and isolated environments. Here we test the relationship between salinity and the magnitude of D/H fractionation in algal lipids through paired analyses of sedimentary and particulate lipid and water hydrogen isotope values at a wide range of continental and coastal lake sites spanning salinities from 0 to 117 ppt. Our results demonstrate broad consistency between D/H fractionations in dinosterol and brassicasterol with those obtained from previous work, with salinity changes of 1 ppt resulting in lipid δD changes of 0.7–1‰. Although our results also show variability in D/H fractionation between sites that is not related to salinity, the fact that any relationship emerges above the influences of other factors suggests that the salinity effect is dominant for some lipids in the majority of saline to hypersaline environments. This improved understanding of D/H fractionation in dinosterol and brassicasterol synthesis supports the use of these compounds as paleohydrologic indicators. When combined with D/H measurements from a second lipid or oxygen isotope measurements from carbonate, quantitative reconstructions of salinity and lake water isotope changes are possible. Extending the number of algal lipids within which a consistent relationship between D/H fractionation and salinity has been identified also supports the notion that the relationship is widespread among unicellular photoautotrophs.
Two methylated flavones from Artemisia frigida

Abstract Two new highly oxygenated flavones were isolated from Artemisia frigida. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods as 5,7,4′-trihydroxy-6,3′,5′-trimethoxyflavone and 5,7,3′-trihydroxy-6,4′,5′-trimethoxyflavone.
Magnetic field perturbation of neural recording and stimulating microelectrodes

To improve the overall temporal and spatial resolution of brain mapping techniques, in animal models, some attempts have been reported to join electrophysiological methods with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, little attention has been paid to the image artefacts produced by the microelectrodes that compromise the anatomical or functional information of those studies. This work presents a group of simulations and MR images that show the limitations of wire microelectrodes and the potential advantages of silicon technology, in terms of image quality, in MRI environments. Magnetic field perturbations are calculated using a Fourier-based method for platinum (Pt) and tungsten (W) microwires as well as two different silicon technologies. We conclude that image artefacts produced by microelectrodes are highly dependent not only on the magnetic susceptibility of the materials used but also on the size, shape and orientation of the electrodes with respect to the main magnetic field. In addition silicon microelectrodes present better MRI characteristics than metallic microelectrodes. However, metallization layers added to silicon materials can adversely affect the quality of MR images. Therefore only those silicon microelectrodes that minimize the amount of metallic material can be considered MR-compatible and therefore suitable for possible simultaneous fMRI and electrophysiological studies. High resolution gradient echo images acquired at 2 T (TR/TE = 100/15 ms, voxel size = 100 x 100 x 100 microm3) of platinum-iridium (Pt-Ir, 90%-10%) and tungsten microwires show a complete signal loss that covers a volume significantly larger than the actual volume occupied by the microelectrodes: roughly 400 times larger for Pt-Ir and 180 for W, at the tip of the microelectrodes. Similar MR images of a single-shank silicon microelectrode only produce a partial volume effect on the voxels occupied by the probe with less than 50% of signal loss.
A thermal model for czochralski silicon crystal growth with an axial magnetic field

Abstract This paper presents a thermal model for molten silicon in a Czochralski crystal puller system with an applied uniform axial magnetic field. The melt depth is treated as continually decreasing, which affects the thermal environment of the melt and crystal. The radiative heat loss and the input heat flux are treated as functions of time, with a constraint placed on the heat lost to the crystal from the melt. As the melt motion reaches a steady state rapidly, the temperature and flow fields are treated as instantaneously steady at each melt depth. The heat transport is a mixture of conduction and convection, and by considering the crystal and crucible to be rotating with the same angular velocity, the flows driven by buoyancy and thermocapillarity are isolated and provide the convective heat transport in the melt for the range of magnetic field strengths 0.2 ≤ B ≤ 1.0T.
High-resolution imaging reveals highly selective nonface clusters in the fusiform face area

A region in ventral human cortex (fusiform face area, FFA) thought to be important for face perception responds strongly to faces and less strongly to nonface objects. This pattern of response may reflect a uniform face-selective neural population or activity averaged across populations with heterogeneous selectivity. Using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we found that the FFA has a reliable heterogeneous structure: localized subregions within the FFA highly selective to faces are spatially interdigitated with localized subregions highly selective to different object categories. We found a preponderance of face-selective responses in the FFA, but no difference in selectivity to faces compared to nonfaces. Thus, standard fMRI of the FFA reflects averaging of heterogeneous highly selective neural populations of differing sizes, rather than higher selectivity to faces. These results suggest that visual processing in this region is not exclusive to faces. Overall, our approach provides a framework for understanding the fine-scale structure of neural representations in the human brain.
Tracheo-bronchial mucin gene expression as detected by in situ hybridization

To understand regulation of the tracheo-bronchial mucin (TBM) gene expression we developed cDNA probes encoding TBM. We also raised antisera against mucin protein (deglycosylated and glycosylated), and developed immortalized tracheal epithelial cells which express mucin (at the RNA and protein level). TBM cDNA probes can detect TBM mRNA in situ in samples from dog and human primary tracheal epithelial cells and cell lines derived from them. For clinical application, conditions were optimized for detection of the TBM mRNA in human turbinal and nasal polyps and trachea of cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF subjects. Fixing and hybridization conditions were found to be critical for the optimum hybridization signal. Riboprobes proved to be better than cDNA or oligonucleotide probes. The application of these newly developed molecular tools in the genetic therapy of CF is discussed herein.
Youth Depression in the Family Context: Familial Risk Factors and Models of Treatment

Research on parent risk factors, family environment, and familial involvement in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents is integrated, providing an update to prior reviews on the topic. First, the psychosocial parent and family factors associated with youth depression are examined. The literature indicates that a broad array of parent and family factors is associated with youth risk for depression, ranging from parental pathology to parental cognitive style to family emotional climate. Next, treatment approaches for youth depression that have been empirically tested are described and then summarized in terms of their level of parent inclusion, including cognitive–behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and family systems approaches. Families have mostly not been incorporated into clinical treatment research with depressed adolescents, with only 32% of treatments including parents in treatment in any capacity. Nonetheless, the overall effectiveness of treatments that involve children and adolescents exclusively is very similar to that of treatments that include parents as agents or facilitators of change. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings and directions for further research.
Studies on the mode of action of a queen primer pheromone of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta

Abstract Studies were conducted on the physiological mode of action and mode of perception of a queen pheromone that inhibits dealation (wing-shedding) and ovary development in virgin queens of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. Winged virgin queens were removed from the pheromonal signal (queen) to compare the response time for dealation, a behavioral response, and ovary development, a physiological response. Dealation was always accompanied by some degree of ovary development, whereas some individuals exhibited slightly developed ovaries before dealation occurred, suggesting that ovary development precedes dealation by several hours to a day. The response time of virgin queens following extinction of the pheromonal signal was highly variable and was related to colony source and body weight. Individuals from monogyne (single functional queen) colonies were more responsive than those from polygyne (multiple functional queens) colonies, a result consistent with the high cumulative levels of queen pheromone in the latter colonies. Virgin queens treated topically with the juvenile hormone (JH) analogue, methoprene, dealated and developed their ovaries in the presence of the pheromone (queen), suggesting that the pheromonal mode of action involves the suppression of JH titers. To obtain more precise information on the physiological processes underlying the inhibition of ovary development, vitellogenin titers were determined for virgin queens and functional (egg-laying) queens. Despite having undeveloped ovaries, virgin queens had vitellogenin titers that were as elevated as those of functional queens. This suggests that the effect of the low JH titers resulting from the primer pheromone is on the uptake of vitellogenin by the oocytes rather than on vitellogenin synthesis. The possible mode of perception of the inhibitory pheromone was also investigated. Virgin queens whose antennae had been removed dealated in the presence of the queen, suggesting that the pheromone acts by stimulating sensory cells in the antennae. The results are incorporated into a general model for the mode of action of the queen primer pheromone.
Direct selection of mutants of Drosophila resistant to juvenile hormone analogues.

Abstract A direct screening technique was devised in which applications of a juvenile hormone analogue (JHA) (RO-20-3600; ENT No. 70357; 6,7-Epoxy-3-methyl-7-ethyl-1-(3,4-[methyl-enedioxy]-(phenoxy)-2- cis/trans -octene), Hoffman-LaRoche) to the food resulted in the death of all the F-1 descendants of mutagenized Drosophila melanogaster males with the exception of those animals which possessed sexlinked mutations affecting the metabolism of JHA. These exceptions would comprise (a), those mutant animals which possess any resistance to the lethal effects of the JHA (JH R mutants) and/or (b), those mutant animals which have a defective JH metabolism and would normally die but are rescued by the exogenous application of JHA (JH − mutants). Approximately 95, 850 mutagenized chromosomes were tested in this screen, 99,6% of which were killed by the JHA. Of the surviving 181 fertile males, 6 were found to be JH R mutants. The statistically significant resistance factors ranged from 1.4X to 21.5X. The analysis of the most resistant mutant strain indicates that it may possibly be a behavioral mutant. The implications of such JH R mutants are discussed in terms of ‘third generation pesticides’.
Glyceride structure of fats

A theory has been presented for the formation of fats which gives the amounts of the various glyceride types equivalent to a random or modified restricted random distribution and at the same time gives a predominance of specific positional isomers. The basis of the theory is a random attachment of the fatty acids at each stage of glyceride synthesis with an intramolecular rearrangement to a preferred form at the 1,2-diglyceride level of fat formation. The theory gives a good correlation of much of the data available on glyceride structure at the present time.
Database extensions for complex forms of data

To adequately support text, image, spatial, message and other complex forms of data, modern database management systems must provide an extensive set of data integration features. The emerging object-relational database systems provide features for defining, storing, updating, indexing, and retrieving complex data types with full transaction semantics. The author describes these features in the context of Oracle8i database technology with examples from existing e-commerce and emerging XML data.
Archaeology and Human Evolution

Archaeology is the study of human behavior through material culture, the things we rely on for survival. Behavioral change was likely a driving factor in the evolution of our species, and archaeology therefore plays a central role in understanding human origins from the beginning of the known archaeological record some 2.5 million years ago. From its origins to subsequent diversification, the material record of human behavioral innovation provides an essential learning tool for understanding human behavioral diversity and also serves as a gateway to critical thinking in education.
Rendezvous equations in a central-force field with linear drag

The terminal phase of a rendezvous between a satellite and a spacecraft in a central-force e eld with a drag force that is linear in the velocity is considered. To simplify the work, we assume identical drag coefe cients on both. In this general setting, we linearize the equations of motion of the spacecraft and show that they can be transformed into a reasonably simple form. Under certain simplifying assumptions, they can be reduced to one second-order linear differential equation. We then specialize to the case of inverse square laws. If we assume that the drag accelerations are roughly identical on the satellite and spacecraft, we obtain a set of linear differential equations that can be solved in terms of integrals. This enables us to represent the solution of this version of the problem in terms of a state-transition matrix. The work is then placed in the context of various control models that have been developed in previous work. The kind of transformations presented may be useful in the analysis of problems having more realistic drag models.
The sources and size distributions of aliphatic and carbonyl carbon in Los Angeles aerosol

Abstract Size distributions of aerosol phase aliphatic and carbonyl groups were measured during the Southern California Air Quality Study. Samples were collected using a low pressure impactor equipped with ZnSe disks and the aerosol samples were analyzed directly using infrared (i.r.) spectroscopy. For the carbonyl absorbance, the ambient samples showed maxima in the 0.12–0.26 μm and the 0.5–1.0 μm size fractions. For the aliphatic carbon absorbance, the ambient samples generally showed maxima in the 0.076–0.12 μm size fraction. Factors contributing to these two absorbances were examined using principal component analysis. The results indicate that the carbonyl absorbance can be almost entirely attributed to products of atmospheric reactions and the aliphatic absorbances in particles smaller than 0.12 μm is correlated with automotive emissions.
Shadow fermions, messenger scalars and leptogenesis

Abstract A mechanism for leptogenesis at the electroweak scale was investigated in a model of dark energy and dark matter proposed by one of us (PQH). This model involves an asymptotically free gauge group SU ( 2 ) Z and an axion-like particle with an SU ( 2 ) Z -instanton-induced potential which yields a scenario for the dark energy. Furthermore, the extended particle content of this SU ( 2 ) Z model contains a possible candidate for the cold dark matter, namely, the SU ( 2 ) Z “shadow” fermion, which couples with the Standard Model lepton through a scalar “messenger field” carrying both SU ( 2 ) Z and electroweak quantum numbers. Since these shadow fermions are in a real representation of SU ( 2 ) Z , lepton number can be violated in the Yukawa sector and a lepton number asymmetry can be generated in the SU ( 2 ) Z particle's decay which is also CP-violating and “out-of-equilibrium”. The asymmetry coming from the interference between the tree-level and one-loop amplitudes was calculated for both messenger scalar and shadow fermion decays. It turns out, in order to have a non-vanishing lepton asymmetry and to be consistent with the unitarity condition, some shadow fermions have to decay into lighter messenger scalars, hence could be a candidate “progenitor” for the lepton asymmetry.
Perceptions of Community College Faculty about the Need for Gerontology Training.

America is aging, and quickly. Among the educational institutions that could address this critical issue, none are better suited than community colleges. Community colleges not only educate students but also respond to the emerging needs of the communities they serve. Previous studies have shown that few community colleges have developed an agenda for addressing the impact of aging on our society and that faculty and administrators may not be aware of the potential for expanding aging‐related programs. This study reports the responses of 703 community college faculty representing a broad variety of disciplines and educational backgrounds. As expected, the majority of faculty had little previous training in aging, included no aging content in existing courses, and were uncertain as to whether to include aging content in other courses that they taught. This uncertainty, however, must be tempered by the fact that 61% of the responding faculty were interested in attending a basic training program in aging. Su...
Fetal Exposures to Toxic Releases and Infant Health

Every year, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals thought to be linked to developmental problems in fetuses and young children are released into the air. In this paper we estimate the effect of these releases on the health of newborns. Using data from the Toxic Release Inventory Program and Vital Statistics Natality and Mortality files, we find significant negative effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants on gestation and birth weight. We also find that several developmental chemicals increase the probability of infant death. The effect is quite sizeable: the reported reductions in cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin releases during the 90s could account for about 3.9 percent of the overall decrease in infant mortality. Our results are robust to several specification checks, such as comparing developmental to non-developmental chemicals, and fugitive air releases to stack air releases.
A COCORP deep reflection profile across the buried reelfoot rift, south-central United States

Abstract A COCORP deep reflection survey across the northern Mississippi Embayment reveals essential features of the late Precambrian (?)/early Paleozoic Reelfoot rift. Stratified reflections delineating the sedimentary fill of the rift basin are of variable thickness, the base ranging from 2.0 to a maximum of 3.5 s twt ( ~ 4 to 8 km depth). In contrast, the base of Phanerozoic the sedimentary section immediately east of the rift is at 1.4 s (~2.8 km depth). Correlation with a basement-penetrating well indicates that the base of the Upper Cretaceous/Holocene Mississippi Embayment Supergroup, base of the Cambrian-Ordovician Knox Group, and the lower Upper Cambrian(?) Bonneterre Formation are basin-wide seismic stratigraphic markers. Clastic sedimentary strata of the Lamotte Formation, which immediately overlie Precambrian basement, show clear angular discordance with the overlying subhorizontal Bonneterre Formation indicating that the base of the Bonneterre marks the transition from active extension to passive subsidence within the Reelfoot rift. Palinspastic restoration of the basement suggests relatively modest extension associated with rift formation ( ~ 17%). The Blytheville Arch, an axial antiformal feature, as well as a number of lesser structures indicative of multiple episodes of fault reactivation, are also evident on the COCORP profile. The crystalline basement beneath the Reelfoot rift is relatively devoid of reflections down to ~ 5.0 s (12–15 km depth), beyond which it passes gradationally into a complexly reflective/diffractive middle and lower crust. The lower crust, however, does not exhibit the distinctly laminated character commonly observed in Mesozoic/Cenozoic extensional provinces. The crust-mantle transition beneath the rift is characterized by a gradational downward cessation of crustal reflectivity at 12–13 s ( - 40 km depth), followed by an unreflective zone, which in turn is followed by a distinct horizontal reflection at 14.5 s. The latter is not observed on existing profiles outside the rift. At present it is not possible to determine strictly whether the deep horizon represents Moho or alternatively a discrete feature (sill?) within the uppermost mantle; however, its spatial association with the Reelfoot rift suggests that the two are genetically related. Regional relations, together with the existence of dipping fabric in the deep crust beneath the rift, suggest the possibility that the Reelfoot rift formed along the southern extension of the circa 1 Ga Grenville Front.
Real-time imaging in electrophysiology: From intra-cardiac echo to real-time magnetic resonance imaging

Interventional electrophysiology using catheter ablation is a rapidly growing field that has allowed for the cure of arrhythmias originating from every cardiac chamber as well as the great vessels. The keys to the success of the ablation procedure are targeting critical areas required to initiate and sustain the arrhythmias as well as insuring the delivery of effective ablation lesions. Understanding the intricate relationship between the anatomical structures and their functional relationship to the arrhythmia, or the ‘electro-anatomical substrate’, represents the greatest limitation to the success of the ablation procedure. For atrial fibrillation, the electro-anatomical substrate largely consists of the posterior wall of the left atrium which includes the pulmonary vein antra,1 and most operators aim for at least electrical isolation of the pulmonary veins and consider this to be an acceptable endpoint for the procedure.2,3 Several technological tools are currently available to guide catheter navigation with more advances coming down the pipeline. When used in combination, these have made ablation procedures safer, shorter, and more successful.4 These include X-ray fluoroscopy, electro-anatomical mapping systems with … *Corresponding author. Tel: +1 801 581 2572, Fax: +1 435 658 1527. Email: nassir.marrouche{at}hsc.utah.edu
A comparative study of the effects of tetrodotoxin and the removal of external Na+ on the resting potential: evidence of separate pathways for the resting and excitable Na currents in squid axon.

1. To investigate whether the Na permeability of the resting membrane is determined predominantly by the excitable Na channel, we examined the effects of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and the complete removal of external Na+ on the resting potential. 2. In the intact squid axon bathed in K-free artificial seawater, both TTX and the removal of Na+ produced small hyperpolarizations. The effect of Na removal, however, was larger than that of TTX. 3. In the perfused squid axon, the hyperpolarization produced by the removal of external Na+ was greatly enhanced when the internal K concentration ([K+]i) was reduced. The effect of TTX, on the other hand, was not sensitive to the [K+]i or to the membrane potential. For [K+]i = 50 mM and [K+]o = 0, the average hyperpolarization produced by TTX was 1.2 mV, while the hyperpolarization produced by Na removal was approximately 21 mV. 4. The difference between these two effects suggests that the majority of the resting Na current passes through pathways other than the excitable Na channel.
Intensity Dependence of the Fluorescence Lifetime of in vivo Chlorophyll Excited by a Picosecond Light Pulse.

New data on intensity-dependent lifetimes indicate that all previous in vivo fluorescence studies of chlorophyll by picosecond techniquies must be reinterpreted. Anomalously short lifetimes result from high-intensity effects due to exciton-excition annihilation processes. Measurements in Chlorella pyrenoidosa with single-pulse, low-intensity excitation indicate a longer "true" lifetime of 650 ± 150 picoseconds.
Inducing flexibility in cognitive rigidity.

This study examined the extent to which normal learners identified as cognitively rigid could use alternate strategies when instructed to do so. The total number of rigid solutions on the standard portion of the “Three Jar Test” was used to divide eighty normal adults into high and low rigid groups. The second portion of the TJT instructed subjects to use a less rigid strategy. The two groups were compared for the total number correct and the number of rigid solutions. Analysis of these data showed that groups were not significantly different in either the extent to which the rigid solution (B-A-2C) was used nor in total number of corrects. The results were interpreted as lending support to the theoretical notion that two forms of rigidity may exist. Implications of the study seem of interest in understanding the otherwise normal rigid learner.
Can we create ethnically diverse skeletal collection from donated bodies

Understanding bone health is least invasively and most effectively done through studying skeletal remains that reflect the living populations who will benefit from the knowledge produced through research. Donated body collections that accurately represent modern populations are needed for osteological insights to be applied to clinical practices. However, even though the US is growing increasingly diverse, donated body collections still suffer from a lack of ethnic diversity. Most individuals who donate their whole-bodies after death are European-American. Reasons for a lack of ethnic diversity stem from past injustices and present religious norms. Increasing body donation among minorities in the US and abroad may be difficult.
"Enter to learn, go forth to serve": service learning in nursing education.

Abstract The Pew Health Professions Commission (1998) has recommended community-based service learning as an integral part of nursing education. Service learning activities in a baccalaureate nursing program with an integrated curricular model are described with a women's health elective used as one example of the integration of service learning with clinical experiences. Based on clinical journal entries, students identified benefits of service learning including (1) a sense of personal satisfaction, (2) professional growth, (3) a higher level of critical thinking skills, (4) preparation for nursing practice in a dynamic and diverse health care delivery system, and (5) an increased awareness of unmet needs in clients, families, communities, and populations. Students are truly engaged because they have the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts in giving service, creating a “capacity for connectedness,” and learning social responsibility as professionals.
MicroRNA-205 controls neonatal expansion of skin stem cells by modulating the PI(3)K pathway

Skin stem cells are amplified in early development. Yi and colleagues found that miR-205 promotes neonatal skin stem cell expansion by directly targeting negative regulators of PI(3)K–Akt signalling to maintain proliferation.
Placement aware clock gate cloning and redistribution methodology

Gating clocks has been a widely adopted technique for reducing dynamic power. The clock gating strategy employed has a huge bearing on the clock tree synthesis quality along with the impact to leakage and dynamic power. This paper proposes a technique for clock gate optimization to aid clock tree synthesis. The technique enables cloning and redistribution of the fanout among the existing equivalent clock gates. The technique is placement aware and hence reduces overall clock wire length and The method involves employing the “k-means clustering algorithm” to geographically partition the design's registers. This enables better clock tree quality entitlement during clock tree synthesis in terms of clock tree area, power and better local skew distribution. The paper highlights the utility of this technique by showcasing the clock tree synthesis quality of results improvement on a complex design.
Changes in U.S. East Coast Cyclone Dynamics with Climate Change

AbstractPrevious studies investigating the impacts of climate change on extratropical cyclones have primarily focused on changes in the frequency, intensity, and distribution of these events. Fewer studies have directly investigated changes in the storm-scale dynamics of individual cyclones. Precipitation associated with these events is projected to increase with warming owing to increased atmospheric water vapor content. This presents the potential for enhancement of cyclone intensity through increased lower-tropospheric diabatic potential vorticity generation. This hypothesis is tested using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model to simulate individual wintertime extratropical cyclone events along the United States East Coast in present-day and future thermodynamic environments. Thermodynamic changes derived from an ensemble of GCMs for the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) A2 emissions scenario are applied to analyzed initial and lateral boundary conditions of observed strongly developing cyclone...
Beneficial effects of zinc supplementation on head circumference of Nepalese infants and toddlers: a randomized controlled trial

Beneficial effects of zinc supplementation on head circumference of Nepalese infants and toddlers: a randomized controlled trial
Presidential Address to TIMS

Presidential address about the background leading to TIMS formation. Delivered before the first national meeting of the Institute of Management Sciences, Oct. 21--22, 1954. Parts of the address are omitted.
Impact of Communication Erasure Channels on the Safety of Highway Vehicle Platoons

Packet loss in block erasure channels creates a randomly switching networked system that impacts control performance significantly. This paper employs safety of highway vehicle platoons as a platform to study such an impact. By autonomous intervehicle coordination, a platoon can potentially enhance safety, improve highway utility, increase fuel economy, and reduce emission. By comparing different information structures that utilize radar distance sensors and wireless communication channels, we characterize some intrinsic relationships between communication resources and control performance. The findings of this paper provide useful guidelines in communication resource allocations and vehicle coordination in vehicle safety problems.
Efficient video file allocation schemes for video-on-demand services

A video-on-demand (VOD) server needs to store hundreds of movie titles and to support thousands of concurrent accesses. This, technically and economically, imposes a great challenge on the design of the disk storage subsystem of a VOD server. Due to different demands for different movie titles, the numbers of concurrent accesses to each movie can differ a lot. We define access profile as the number of concurrent accesses to each movie title that should be supported by a VOD server. The access profile is derived based on the popularity of each movie title and thus serves as a major design goal for the disk storage subsystem. Since some popular (hot) movie titles may be concurrently accessed by hundreds of users and a current high-end magnetic disk array (disk) can only support tens of concurrent accesses, it is necessary to replicate and/or stripe the hot movie files over multiple disk arrays. The consequence of replication and striping of hot movie titles is the potential increase on the required number of disk arrays. Therefore, how to replicate, stripe, and place the movie files over a minimum number of magnetic disk arrays such that a given access profile can be supported is an important problem. In this paper, we formulate the problem of the video file allocation over disk arrays, demonstrate that it is a NP-hard problem, and present some heuristic algorithms to find the near-optimal solutions. The result of this study can be applied to the design of the storage subsystem of a VOD server to economically minimize the cost or to maximize the utilization of disk arrays.
SEHWA: A Program for Synthesis of Pipelines

This paper describes a set of techniques for the synthesis of pipelined data paths, and presents Sehwa, a program which performs such synthesis. The task includes the generation of data paths from a data flow graph along with a clocking scheme which overlaps execution of multiple tasks. Some examples which Sehwa has designed are given. Sehwa can find the minimum cost design, the highest performance design, and other designs between these two in the design space. We believe Sehwa to be the first pipelined synthesis program published in the open literature. Sehwa is written in Franz LISP, and executes within minutes for problems of practical size on a VAX 11/750.
Utilidad del ácido docosahexaenoico en el tratamiento de la infertilidad masculina

Resumen Introduccion and objetivos Estudios previos demuestran que el dano de membrana y de acido desoxirribonucleico (ADN) que se observa en espermatozoides eyaculados se produce sobre todo en el ambito postesticular durante el paso de los espermatozoides por el epididimo. Este dano es inducido, en su mayor parte, por radicales libres y amplificado por factores proinflamatorios. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la eficacia y la seguridad del acido docosahexaenoico (DHA), un acido graso poliinsaturado de cadena larga con propiedades antiinflamatorias y antioxidantes, en el tratamiento de la infertilidad masculina asociada a dano de membrana y del ADN espermatico. Material and metodo Se selecciono para el estudio a un total de 80 pacientes diagnosticados de necrozoospermia, medida como viabilidad espermatica, o con un aumento en el indice de fragmentacion del ADN espermatico (DFI), medido mediante el test TUNEL. Tanto en el grupo de necrozoospermia como en el de fragmentacion patologica (DFI > 20%), se incluyo a 20 pacientes en el grupo experimental tratado con 200 mg de DHA derivado de la microalga Schizochytrium sp. (GestaDha®) (patentado por Martek Bioscience Corporation con la marca life's DHA™) cada 12 horas, y asimismo se incluyo a 20 pacientes en el grupo control no tratado. La duracion del tratamiento fue de 8 semanas y se obtuvieron muestras de semen a las 0, 1, 2, 4 y 8 semanas de tratamiento para el analisis de la viabilidad espermatica y del DFI. Resultados Los datos indican que el GestaDha® disminuye de forma significativa la tasa de necrozoospermia y el DFI a partir de la primera semana de tratamiento. Las diferencias entre el grupo experimental y el grupo control fueron estadisticamente significativas para ambos parametros (p Conclusiones Este estudio pone de manifiesto por primera vez la eficacia y la seguridad de GestaDha® en el tratamiento de la infertilidad masculina asociada a dano de membrana y del ADN espermatico.
Measurements of dimethyl ether/air mixture burning velocities by using particle image velocimetry

The laminar flame speeds of dimethyl ether (DME)/air mixtures at room temperature and atmospheric pressure were determined experimentally over an extensive range of equivalence ratios, with and without 15% nitrogen dilution, using particle image velocimetry and a stagnation flame burner configuration. The laminar flame speeds were determined by linear extrapolation of the measured reference flame speed versus stretch rate to zero stretch rate. Experimental results are compared with available literature data and predictions of the model based on the recently published detailed reaction mechanism of DME oxidation. The measured values are significantly larger at all equivalence ratios than the values recently reported from spherical bomb experiments. A comparison of laminar flame speed calculations using a DME oxidation mechanism developed earlier in our laboratory agrees reasonably well with the present experimental data, without modifications. Differences from prior calculations using this mechanism reported by Daly et al. are resolved to be a result of differences in numerical constraints rather in than kinetics or transport databases. Modifications of the mechanism suggested by Daly et al. are not compatible with DME validation results in the original mechanism development or with flame speed predictions for other simple fuels such as methane.
Sustainable Living, Ecological Literacy, and the Breath of Life.

This paper discusses the conceptual foundations for “Education for Sustainable Patterns of Living,” the mission of the Center for Ecoliteracy in California. It offers an operational definition of ecological sustainability, and proposes study of living systems as a framework for understanding ecology. It considers key concepts for understanding living systems and their impli- cations for educators. The paper addresses experiences that foster emotion- al connections with nature within a pedagogy for education for sustainable living. This paper is paired with Michael Stone’s paper in this issue, “Rethinking School Lunch,” which discusses practical applications of this conceptual grounding.
Kinematic earthquake source inversion and tsunami runup prediction with regional geophysical data

Rapid near-source earthquake source modeling relying only on strong motion data is limited by instrumental offsets and magnitude saturation, adversely affecting subsequent tsunami prediction. Seismogeodetic displacement and velocity waveforms estimated from an optimal combination of high-rate GPS and strong motion data overcome these limitations. Supplementing land-based data with offshore wave measurements by seafloor pressure sensors and GPS-equipped buoys can further improve the image of the earthquake source and prediction of tsunami extent, inundation, and runup. We present a kinematic source model obtained from a retrospective real-time analysis of a heterogeneous data set for the 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku-Oki, Japan, earthquake. Our model is consistent with conceptual models of subduction zones, exhibiting depth dependent behavior that is quantified through frequency domain analysis of slip rate functions. The stress drop distribution is found to be significantly more correlated with aftershock locations and mechanism types when off-shore data are included. The kinematic model parameters are then used as initial conditions in a fully nonlinear tsunami propagation analysis. Notably, we include the horizontal advection of steeply sloping bathymetric features. Comparison with post-event on-land survey measurements demonstrates that the tsunami's inundation and runup are predicted with considerable accuracy, only limited in scale by the resolution of available topography and bathymetry. We conclude that it is possible to produce credible and rapid, kinematic source models and tsunami predictions within minutes of earthquake onset time for near-source coastal regions most susceptible to loss of life and damage to critical infrastructure, regardless of earthquake magnitude.