cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biofuels, Policy Options, and Their Implications: Analyses Using Partial and General Equilibrium Approaches

In this chapter, we highlight some important aspects of biofuels development and policies from partial and general equilibrium perspectives. We first examine US biofuel policy backgrounds to determine factors which caused the boom in the ethanol industry in recent years. Then, we use a partial equilibrium model to investigate the economic consequences of further expansion in the ethanol industry for the key economic variables of the US agricultural and energy markets. This analysis is done for a range of alternative policy options and crude oil prices. Finally, we extend our analyses to examine consequences of further biofuel production at a global scale.
Coronary artery aneurysms: a transesophageal echocardiographic study.

symptoms are usually valvular dysfunction2 or atrioven- tricular conduction abnormalities.'-3 The most common valvular dysfunction is aortic insufficiency, which has been reported to be present in approximately 15% of cases of ankylosing spondylitis4 and characteristically occurs with peripheral joint involvement. Less frequently, mitral in- sufficiency may be the valvular dysfunction and, rarely, combined aortic and mitral insufficiency occurs.4 Usually cardiovascular symptoms are preceded by many years of clinical ankylosing spondylitis, although in some instances the valvular function has antedated the clinical evidence of spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis has been reported to be present in 2 '( to 16 '% patients with Crohn's disease.5 In a few pa- tients with ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease, aortic valvular insufficiency has been noted.2 However, the association of valvular heart disease and Crohn's disease in the absence of ankylosing spondylitis has not been previ- ously reported. In our two patients the morphologic and histologic valvular findings (Table I); Figs. 1 and 2) are similar to those reported in previous studies of valvular abnormalities associated with ankylosing spondylitis.3-4 In the first instance the echocardiographic findings are also similar to the valvular abnormalities reported in associa- tion with ankylosing spondylitis.6 In both patients the di- agnosis of Crohn's disease was diagnosed by radiographic and histologic findings. Clinical and radiologic findings of ankylosing spondylitis were absent in both instances, as was tissue typing for HLA B27. We assume that the valvular dysfunction in these two patients does represent an inflammatory process and most likely is the same process that has been reported in valvu- iar cases associated with enteropathic spondylitis. We are unsure about the absence in our patients of clinical or ra- diographic evidence of ankylosing spondylitis. As previ- ously reported it is possible that with longer follow-up ankylosing spondylitis will become evident; however, in both patients the follow-up periods have been lengthy. We propose that in certain individuals with Crohn's disease, associated cardiovascular lesions may occur independent of ankylosing spondylitis.
Acetyl coenzyme A-dependent metabolic activation of N-hydroxy-3, 2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl and several carcinogenic N-hydroxy arylamines in relation to tissue and species differences, other acyl donors, and arylhydroxamic acid-dependent acyltransferases

The metabolic activation of several carcinogenic N-hydroxy (N-OH)-arylamines by cytosolic S-acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA)-dependent enzymes was examined in tissues and species susceptible to arylamine carcinogenesis. Comparisons of the AcCoA-dependent activity were also made with known cytosolic arylhydroxamic acid-dependent acyltransferases and with the ability of different acyl donors to mediate the binding of N-OH-arylamines to DNA. With rat hepatic cytosol, AcCoA-dependent DNA binding was demonstrated for several [3H]N-OH-arylamines, in the order: N-OH-3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (N-OH-DMABP), N-OH-2-aminofluorene (N-OH-AF) greater than N-OH-4-aminobiphenyl greater than N-OH-N'-acetylbenzidine greater than N-OH-2-naphthylamine; N-OH-N-methyl-4-amino-azobenzene was not a substrate. No activity was detected in dog hepatic or bladder cytosol with any of the N-OH-arylamines tested. Using either N-OH-DMABP or N-OH-AF and rat hepatic cytosol, activation to DNA-bound products was also detected with acetoacetyl- and propionyl-CoA but not with folinic acid or six other acyl CoA's. However, p-nitrophenyl acetate which is known to generate acetyl-enzyme intermediates effectively replaced AcCoA. Subcellular fractionation of rat liver showed that the AcCoA-dependent DNA-binding of N-OH-DMABP with cytosol was 5 times greater than that obtained with the microsomal or mitochondrial/nuclear fractions. Furthermore, the cytosolic activity was insensitive to inhibition by the esterase/deacetylase inhibitor, paraoxon; while the activity of the other subcellular fractions was completely inhibited (greater than 95%). AcCoA-dependent activation of N-OH-DMABP was also detected with rat tissue cytosols from intestine, mammary gland and kidney, which like the liver, are targets for arylamine-induced tumorigenesis. Using N-OH-DMABP, AcCoA-dependent DNA-binding activity was also detected in the hepatic cytosols from several species in the order: rabbit greater than hamster greater than rat, human greater than guinea pig greater than mouse. In contrast, the arylhydroxamic acid, N-OH-N-acetyl-DMABP, was not activated to a DNA-binding metabolite by the hepatic cytosolic N,O-acyltransferase of any of these species, thus suggesting that the AcCoA-mediated binding of N-OH-DMABP results from the direct formation of N-acetoxy-DMABP. With N-OH-AF as the substrate, the AcCoA-dependent activation was in the order: rabbit greater than guinea pig, hamster greater than mouse greater than human, rat.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Egg prices, feed costs, and the decision to molt

On April 7, 1998, the United Poultry Concerns filed a petition with the Department of Health and Human Services of the Food and Drug Administration calling for the elimination of the practice of forced molting of laying hens in the US. In reaction to this petition, this study investigated the economic importance of forced molting as a short-term production management tool for egg producers. The relationship between shell egg prices and feed costs and the occurrence of forced molting in the five shell egg-pricing regions in the US was addressed. The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether forced molting is used to slow egg production during periods of falling or low egg prices or periods of high or rising feed costs. Ordinary least squares was used to test the relationship between the independent variables (egg, corn, and meal prices) and the dependent variable (percentage of layers in molt). In four of the five regions, there was a significant inverse relationship (P < 0.05) between egg prices and the percentage of layers in molt. This analysis suggests that producers were influenced by current egg prices when making the decision to molt. However, the relationship between the percentage of layers in molt and corn and meal prices was less clear. Although a positive relationship between feed prices and molt was found in each region, in only one region was the relationship statistically significant (P < 0.05).
Estimating optimum sampling size to determine weighted core specific gravity of planted loblolly pine

Data from a variability study of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) based on weighted core specific gravity (WCSG) were examined to show how costs and variance estimates are used in designing efficient...
Influence of major structural features of tocopherols and tocotrienols on their ω-oxidation by tocopherol-ω-hydroxylase

Human cytochrome P450 4F2 (CYP4F2) catalyzes the initial ω-hydroxylation reaction in the metabolism of tocopherols and tocotrienols to carboxychromanols and is, to date, the only enzyme shown to metabolize vitamin E. The objective of this study was to characterize this activity, particularly the influence of key features of tocochromanol substrate structure. The influence of the number and positions of methyl groups on the chromanol ring, and of stereochemistry and saturation of the side chain, were explored using HepG2 cultures and microsomal reaction systems. Human liver microsomes and microsomes selectively expressing recombinant human CYP4F2 exhibited substrate activity patterns similar to those of HepG2 cells. Although activity was strongly associated with substrate accumulation by cells or microsomes, substantial differences in specific activities between substrates remained under conditions of similar microsomal membrane substrate concentration. Methylation at C5 of the chromanol ring was associated with markedly low activity. Tocotrienols exhibited much higher Vmax values than their tocopherol counterparts. Side chain stereochemistry had no effect on ω-hydroxylation of α-tocopherol (α-TOH) by any system. Kinetic analysis of microsomal CYP4F2 activity revealed Michaelis-Menten kinetics for α-TOH but allosteric cooperativity for other vitamers, especially tocotrienols. Additionally, α-TOH was a positive effector of ω-hydroxylation of other vitamers. These results indicate that CYP4F2-mediated tocopherol-ω-hydroxylation is a central feature underlying the different biological half-lives, and therefore biopotencies, of the tocopherols and tocotrienols.
Occult hepatitis B virus infection: diagnosis, implications and management?

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is generally defined as the detection of HBV-DNA in the serum or liver tissue of patients who test negative for hepatitis B surface antigen. In most cases, occult HBV infection is related to low level HBV infection with subdetectable levels of HBsAg and not infection with HBV variants that cannot express S proteins or produce S proteins with aberrant epitopes that are not detected by conventional serological assays. Prevalence of occult HBV infection is related to the overall prevalence of HBV infection in that country, being more common in persons with prior expo- sure to HBV. Occult HBV infection has been found in a substantial proportion of patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma but other causes of liver disease are frequently present. Future studies should focus on delineating the pathogenic role of occult HBV infection and the basis for failure to detect circulating hepatitis B surface antigen. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
Decreased potency of the Vibrio cholerae sheathed flagellum to trigger host innate immunity.

Vibrio cholerae is a monoflagellated gram-negative bacterium that causes the severe diarrheal disease cholera. In contrast to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection, which is accompanied by both acute diarrhea and high-level inflammation, V. cholerae infection is largely noninflammatory in human hosts. Bacterial flagella are composed of flagellin, a highly conserved protein that is also a target of the innate immune response. Because the V. cholerae flagellum is covered by a sheath, we hypothesized that it might be less prone to activation of the innate immune response than nonsheathed flagella, such as those produced by Salmonella serovar Typhimurium. Indeed, compared with Salmonella serovar Typhimurium flagella, V. cholerae flagella demonstrated significantly reduced NF-κB activation in A549 human pulmonary epithelial cells. However, V. cholerae flagellin monomers, FlaD and FlaC, were almost equally potent with purified FliC, a monomer derived from Salmonella serovar Typhimurium flagella, in NF-κB activation. Heat- and acid-induced dissociation assays showed that Salmonella serovar Typhimurium flagella disassembled far more readily into monomeric flagellins than V. cholerae flagella, suggesting that the differential levels of NF-κB activation by V. cholerae and Salmonella serovar Typhimurium flagella are likely attributable to the difference in their flagellin shedding. Our results suggest that monomer dissociation of V. cholerae flagella is suppressed likely due to the presence of the sheath and that this unique structural feature of V. cholerae flagella may have evolved as a strategy to evade flagellin-triggered host innate immune responses in various host species.
Acmaeodera chuckbellamyi MacRae (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Acmaeoderini), a New Species from Arizona, USA

Acmaeodera chuckbellamyi MacRae, new species, is described from Arizona in the southwestern USA. The species is described, photographs of the unique holotype and the habitat near the type locality are presented, and comparisons are made to related species.
The Role of Breast-Feeding in the Prevention of Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Systematic Review

P p .02 statistically significant protective effects. Only 1 study reported a statistically significant OR of 11.0. In studies in which the subjects resided in middle- or low-income nations, the summary OR was 0.55 (95% CI, 0.33‐0.93; ), compared with 0.93 (95% CI, 0.73‐1.19; ) in studies in which subjects resided in high-income P p .01 P p .28 nations. The summary OR for studies that use the 13 C-urea breath test was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.32‐1.39), compared with 0.91 (95% CI, 0.74‐1.11) for studies that used the H. pylori IgG serologic test. We found no statistically significant dose-dependent protective effect against H. pylori associated with increasing duration of breast-feeding. Conclusions. Breast-feeding is protective against H. pylori infection, especially in middle- and low-income nations.
Persistence of the metabolic syndrome and its influence on carotid artery intima media thickness in overweight Latino children.

a b s t r a c t Objective:The objective of this study was to examine the influence of persistence of the metabolic syn- drome (Mets) and its individual components over a 3-year period on carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in overweight Latino children. Methods:Ninety-seven healthy male and female overweight Latino children (mean age at baseline: 11.0±1.8 years) were assessed for MetS on four annual evaluations and classified according to the persis- tence of MetS: NEVER (0 annual visits with the MetS,n=53), INTERMITTENT (1 or 2 visits with the MetS, n=28), and PERSISTENT (3 or 4 visits with the MetS,n=16). CIMT was measured with high-resolution B-mode ultrasound (7.9±0.7 months after the most recent MetS assessment; mean age: 14.6±1.8 years). Results:PERSISTENT MetS was associated with significantly higher CIMT (0.647±0.018mm compared to 0.600±0.007mm in those who NEVER had MetS,p<0.01). This difference remained significant after controlling for gender, baseline age, total fat mass, total lean tissue mass and insulin sensitivity. PERSIS- TENT high waist circumference and PERSISTENT high blood pressure were also significantly associated with higher mean CIMT, but these differences were no longer significant after controlling for total fat and lean tissue mass. Baseline systolic blood pressure and 2-h glucose were significantly related to CIMT independent of all other MetS components (p<0.05). Conclusions:Persistence of the MetS over a 3-year period was uniquely associated with increased CIMT during childhood. Children with hypertension, persistent abdominal adiposity or impaired glucose toler- ance may also be at higher risk for elevated CIMT. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Pathology of the gallbladder: A concise review

Abstract While often underappreciated, the gallbladder may be affected by a variety of pathological processes that have specific clinical correlates. Reactive epithelial changes within typical cholecystitis may mimic dysplasia. Usual stone-associated cholecystitis has only mild inflammation, but variants of cholecystitis may have abundant xanthoma cells, eosinophils, or lymphocytes and plasma cells. Metaplasia from the normal columnar absorptive epithelium into mucinous epithelium occurs in a subset of cases, and a further subset may progress to dysplasia, which is thought to be the main precursor of invasive gallbladder carcinoma. Unlike the situation in the colon, adenomas in the gallbladder are rare and not likely to be the precursors of most carcinomas. Most invasive carcinomas of the gallbladder present at advanced stage, and therefore are highly lethal. While their morphology may be identical to that of other pancreatobiliary carcinomas, molecular data are emerging to suggest that these neoplasms are genetically distinct. Several more uncommon types of gallbladder carcinoma, such as papillary adenocarcinomas and small cell carcinoma, have different clinical implications, so it is important that they are recognized. p16 and p53 inactivation are consistent findings in gallbladder carcinomas, but novel abnormalities are revealed by recent global genetic analysis of these neoplasms.
Low-Pass Filter Design Through the Accurate Analysis of Electromagnetic-Bandgap Geometry on the Ground Plane

This paper presents an accurate design technique for a low-pass filter (LPF) with a dumbbell-shaped slot (DSS) in the ground plane. In the proposed technique, a new simplified DSS inductance equation is suggested and modified to account for the stub parasitic inductance of the LPF. The compensated inductance of the DSS is determined from the modified DSS inductance equation. As a result, additional tuning is not required to achieve the desired LPF cutoff frequency. The stub section of the LPF is analyzed by transmission line theory to derive the stub parasitic inductance equation. 3-D electromagnetic field and circuit simulation validate the theoretical analysis. Two LPFs are designed, simulated, measured, and compared for further validation. One LPF is designed through a conventional method and the other through the proposed method. Both simulated and measured results show very good agreement in the proposed design.
Laser therapy: A review of its mechanism of action and potential medical applications

Civilizations in antiquity have endeavored to champion the use of light to treat illnesses in the human body. Altough laser light has unique applications in medicine, its mechanism of action for low intensity exposures on cells, tissues, and the body continue to be controversial after nearly 50 years of investigations. This paper present evidence for visible red and near infrared light to induce (indirect) generation of hydrogen peroxide as an important chemical messenger behind the stimilatory and inibitory responses abbserved to low intensive light expressures. It is hypothesized that other ionizing or non-ionisation modalities can either direcly or indirectly induce / or generate H 2 O 2 in an aqueous environment and could also bring about similar stimulatory or inibitory bioeffects. One salient parameter which grovens the bio-response is the level of generated H 2 O 2 . The authors discuss the mechanism which enables a small amount of hydrogen peroxide generate by light to produce beneficial effects.
Co-expression of GPR30 and ERβ and their association with disease progression in uterine carcinosarcoma

Objective We sought to evaluate the expression of G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) and estrogen receptor (ER)β in uterine carcinosarcoma (CS). Study Design Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies to GPR30, ERβ, ERα, and progesterone receptor (PR). The staining intensity and percentage of positive cells were scored for each tissue section. Expression levels were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Correlation was evaluated by Spearman rho and logistic regression. Results Compared with normal endometrium, CS had lower ERα and PR expression (both P P = .03). Advanced-stage CS had higher GPR30 ( P P = .02) epithelial expression compared with early-stage CS. Expression of GPR30 and ERβ correlated with each other ( P Conclusion In uterine CS, GPR30 and ERβ are coordinately overexpressed and expression levels increase in advanced-stage disease, supporting the involvement of alternative ERs in disease progression.
Defending Malicious Collision Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks

Security is an important issue for sensor networks deployed in hostile environments, such as military battlefields. The low cost requirement precludes the use of tamper resistant hardware on tiny sensor nodes. Hence, sensor nodes deployed in open areas can be compromised and used to carry out various attacks on the network. In this paper, we consider the collision attack that can be easily launched by a compromised (or hostile) node: a compromised node does not follow the medium access control protocol and cause collisions with neighbor transmissions by sending a short noise packet. This attack does not consume much energy of the attacker but can cause a lot of disruptions to the network operation. Due to the wireless broadcast nature, it is not trivial to identify the attacker. In this paper, we propose a distributed scheme that is based on low-cost hardware and can effectively identify the source of a collision attack. Our scheme is based on analyzing physical-layer Received Signal Strength Index (RSSI) readings. We show that correct identification of an adversarial node can be achieved with greater than 85% accuracy. We further present a technique that degrades gracefully as the background noise increases.
Acute inactivation of the serine-threonine kinase Stk25 disrupts neuronal migration

Background Neuronal migration involves the directional migration of immature neurons. During much of the migration period these neurons are polarized with defined leading and trailing processes. Stk25 has been shown to bind to the LKB1 activator STRAD and regulate neuronal polarization and dendritogenesis in an opposing manner to Reelin-Dab1 signaling. It is not known, however, whether Stk25 controls neuronal migration, a key developmental process regulated by Reelin-Dab1 signal transduction.
Descriptions of Barriers to Self-Care by Persons with Comorbid Chronic Diseases

BACKGROUND Chronic medical conditions often occur in combination, as comor- bidities, rather than as isolated conditions. Successful management of chronic conditions depends on adequate self-care. However, little is known about the self-care strategies of patients with comorbid chronic conditions. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to identify perceived barriers to self-care among patients with comorbid chronic diseases. METHODS We conducted semistructured personal interviews with 16 adults from 4 urban family practices in the CaReNet practice-based research network who self-reported the presence of 2 or more common chronic medical condi- tions. Using a free-listing technique, participants were asked, "Please list every- thing you can think of that affects your ability to care for your medical condi- tions." Responses were analyzed for potential barriers to self-care. RESULTS Participants' responses revealed barriers to self-care, including physical limitations, lack of knowledge, financial constraints, logistics of obtaining care, a need for social and emotional support, aggravation of one condition by symp- toms of or treatment of another, multiple problems with medications, and over- whelming effects of dominant individual conditions. Many of these barriers were directly related to having comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS Persons with comorbid chronic diseases experience a wide range of barriers to self-care, including several that are specifically related to having multiple medical conditions. Self-management interventions may need to address interactions between chronic conditions as well as skills necessary to care for individual diseases.
Polysaccharide synthesis in Azospirillum brasilense

The surface of bacteria consists of polysaccharides, like the exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides and, as it is the case for Azospirillum brasilense, glycoproteins like glycosylated flagella. The precursors for the synthesis of polysaccharides are sugarnucleotides. Several genes, coding for enzymes involved in the synthesis and in the modification of sugarnucleotides, have been characterised is Azospirillum brasilense Sp7.
Treatment of Senile Dementia

A most amazing aspect of therapeutic considerations of dementia is the similarity of experiences occurring 75 years ago to those of modern medicine. For example, the usefulness of general supportive care is evident in the observations of Clouston (1884): Excitement and new things or ways or places or persons should be avoided. Old people take best with what they have been accustomed to. The diet is also very important. I find the first food of life to be the best at the opposite end of life. There is nothing like milk, given warm and in small quantities at a time, and often. Fatten your patient and you will improve him in mind.
A Breach of Trust: Fighting 'Revenge Porn'

Nonconsensual pornography, also known as “revenge porn,” is the distribution of sexually graphic or intimate images of individuals without their consent. As Danielle Citron and Mary Anne Franks have argued, it is, and should be treated as, a crime. But until there is a national law criminalizing nonconsensual pornography, attorneys have to get creative. This essay argues that practitioners should add the tort of breach of confidentiality to their arsenal of tools to help victims of nonconsensual pornography obtain justice. Presenting evidence from, among other sources, a series of first-person interviews with victims of cyberharassment, this essay shows that nonconsensual pornography does violence to essential social norms of trust at the core of social interaction. As such, the tort should be deployed to help victims of “revenge porn” obtain justice.
Korean immigrant women's meanings of breast, breast cancer, and breast cancer screenings.

1Purpose. Koreans are one of the fastest growing Asian populations in the U.S. since 1960s. In Korean immigrant women (KIW), breast cancer was reported as the most frequently diagnosed cancer. However, their screening rates for breast cancer are lower than national guidelines; it is assumed that underlying cultural schemas of breast, breast cancer, and its screening modalities exist and need to be studied. This study was aimed to investigate cultural meanings of breast, breast cancer, and breast cancer screenings in KIW. Methods. Using cultural models theory from cognitive anthropology, naturalistic qualitative methodology was utilized. Three focus group interviews with fifteen KIW were conducted. Thematic analysis with constant comparison technique was performed eliciting units of meaning, categories, and themes. Results. The cultural schema of the meaning of breast is “mother who is breast-feeding her baby,” with two themes of “balance in size,” and “shyness.” Regarding breast cancer, three themes, i.e., “indifference,” “fear,” and “uncertainty” are emerged. “Lack of information about screening modalities” is the overarching schema with reference to breast cancer screenings.
Entrepreneurial Start-up and Growth: A Classification of Problems:

The purpose of this study was to develop a classification scheme for the types of problems encountered by emerging organizations using an open-ended approach to generating the Initial response data...
Public perception of and engagement with emerging low-carbon energy technologies: A literature review

Transitioning to low-carbon energy systems depends on fundamental changes in technologies, policies, and institutions. In Western democracies, public perceptions and engagement with energy have encouraged innovation while also slowing deployment of low-carbon energy technologies (LCETs). Transitioning to low-carbon energy systems requires re-engineering technologies and changing the ways people interact with energy. This shift involves both technological and social changes including modifications in policies and institutional configurations. In Western democracies, public perceptions and engagement with energy have encouraged innovation while also slowing deployment of low-carbon energy technologies (LCETs). To aid understanding of how energy systems are evolving toward lower-carbon technologies in Western democracies, this study reviews the literature on public perception of and engagement with emerging LCETs. Focusing primarily on electricity generating technologies, we explore how multiple factors related to place and process shape public perceptions of and engagement with LCETs, thereby influencing their development and deployment. This study first reviews literature related to how place and process influence emerging LCETs and then provides a comparative example of differential development of wind energy in Texas and Massachusetts (USA) to demonstrate how place and process may interact to influence the patterns of LCET deployment.
The Fifty-Ninth Annual Meeting of the Organization of American Historians

THE fifty-ninth annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians (formerly the Mississippi Valley Historical Association) was held on April 28, 29, and 30, 1966 at the Netherland Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. The opening sessions on Thursday, April 28, included panels on' conservation, journal editing, the 1920s, and late nineteenth-century politics, as well as joint sessions with the labor historians, the American Studies Association, and the Southern Historical Association. About 30 people attended the session on Science and Conservation, chaired by Jerry A. O'Callaghan. Gordon B. Dodds analyzed the intellectual content and policy implications of the "Pinchot-Chittenden Controversy over Forest and Stream Flow." Dodds' paper not only delved into the technical arguments but illuminated the public policy issues disguised in the technical format. The paper also illustrated the rapidity with which interesting working hypotheses can be converted to articles of faith. Lawrence Rakestraw's paper, "Conservation and the Territories: George Patrick Ahern and the Philippine Bureau of Forestry 1900-1914," was a detailed narrative of an army officer's successful transplanting of the American forestry profession to the newly won island possessions at the turn of the century. In short, technical assistance to developing nations is not as new as we might think. Morgan Sherwood read a set of comments prepared by A. Hunter Dupree, who commented: "The two able papers presented here both present insights in disturbing some of the least questioned cliches of the Progressive Era." In Dupree's words, Dodds' paper pointed out "the ambiguous position of military men in American life and the dimly understood restraints on the full participation in debate in a democracy." Dupree asked for the explicit development of several themes in Rakestraw's paper on Philippine forestry, noting: "For our own generation which has faced
Experimental Investigation of the Flow of a D-Type Rough Surface Based on Shark Skin Denticles

An experimental investigation of the flow field inside and over a bristled shark skin replica was conducted in order explore their skin friction drag reduction or boundary layer separation control capabilities. Replicas of the denticles present in the skin of the Shortfin Mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), which is speculated to be the fastest swimming shark, were manufactured and embedded in a flat plate. The denticles were placed bristled leaving a cavity open and time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry as well as UV fluorescent dye visualization were performed in order to characterize these cavity vortices, and thus elucidate the effect these denticles would have on the boundary layer. An array of stable cavity vortices is observed to form within the surface; these results largely due to the shape of the microgeometry and it is deduced that the riblets on the face of each denticle lead to the formation of secondary vorticity superimposed onto the primary cavity vortex. Possible boundary layer control mechanisms, including separation control, are discussed.
Effect of polydopamine deposition conditions on polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane properties and threshold flux during oil/water emulsion filtration

Surface modification of porous membranes for water filtration has been extensively reported in the literature to improve fouling resistance. However, surface modification can significantly change the membrane filtration properties, sometimes resulting in more severe fouling than with the original, unmodified membrane. This study focused on demonstrating surface modification strategies and membrane comparison strategies to better understand the complex, competing phenomena occurring when membranes are surface modified. Polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes were modified with polydopamine (PDA) at different initial dopamine concentrations and deposition times. Membrane properties, including surface hydrophilicity, roughness, and zeta potential, were characterized. PDA coatings significantly increased surface hydrophilicity, but they did not markedly change the surface roughness or zeta potential. The threshold flux during oil/water emulsion filtration was determined and used as a fouling parameter for membranes modified with PDA at various modification conditions. The threshold flux increased when PDA was deposited at low initial dopamine concentrations or short coating times. However, PDA deposition at high initial dopamine concentrations or long coating times decreased the threshold flux, suggesting that a tradeoff exists between increased hydrophilicity and reduced pore size due to surface modification. An increase in membrane surface hydrophilicity was observed at all PDA deposition conditions, which tends to reduce foulant adhesion and increase threshold flux. However, extensive PDA coating significantly decreased membrane pure water permeance, suggesting that some membrane pores may have been narrowed or blocked, increasing local permeate flux through the remaining pores in the PDA-modified membranes. This higher local flux would exacerbate fouling and decrease threshold flux. Comparing unmodified and PDA-modified membranes having similar pure water permeance values, the PDA-modified membranes had higher threshold fluxes than the unmodified membranes.
Morphologic and functional effects of esophageal cryotherapy.

With advances in equipment design, cryotherapy has been applied increasingly in the management of various integumentary disorders. Recently, endobronchial cryotherapy has been utilized in the treatment of acquired tracheal strictures. To evaluate the effects of cryotherapy upon the esophagus, we cooled the distal esophagus of 12 cats to −70° to −80° C. for 2 minutes with a specially constructed cryoprobe. The animals were put to death in pairs 90 minutes, 4 days, 10 days, 14 days, 28 days, and 42 days following cryotherapy. Immediately prior to sacrifice, all animals were studied with esophageal cinefluoroscopy and esophageal manometrics. All animals tolerated this degree of cryotherapy and gained weight on an ad libitum diet. Manometric studies demonstrated diminished amplitude of peristalsis immediately following cryotherapy, but prompt return to a normal manometric pattern. There was no evidence of esophageal dysfunction on esophageal cinefluoroscopy. Morphologic examination demonstrated superficial ulceration between 4 and 10 days following cryotherapy, with subsequent healing. The esophagus in animals put to death 28 and 42 days following cryotherapy appeared histologically normal. These studies demonstrate the safety of cryotherapy to −70 to −80° C. upon the esophageal wall and suggest investigation of the usefulness of this modality in the treatment of local esophageal webs and strictures.
Continuous 6-watt coherent deep UV generation using a resonant frequency doubling technique

Coherent ultraviolet light has many applications in science and industry. Although excimer lasers conveniently produce deep UV light, they operate only in pulsed mode. Different applications areas can be developed when a cw coherent UV source becomes available. Nonlinear optical frequency conversion techniques will become important to obtain the deep UV light. Recent advancements in nonlinear optical materials and laser techniques make frequency doubling of blue-green cw lasers more realistic. Although the effective optical nonlinearity is not as large as other crystals usable in the doubling of near-infrared fundamental light, beta barium borate (BBO) crystal is the best among the nonlinear materials for UV generation because of its wide phasematching region down to 205-nm by SHG, low optical loss, and durability.1 In fact, the low nonlinear coefficient can be compensated by its low absorption through an effective enhancement of the fundamental power by using an optical resonator.
Validating Use of Technology for Cognitive Test Assessment

The use of technology in healthcare is transforming, not only our access to medical information, but improving patient care. For example, the electronic medical record (EMR) permits the instant availability of medical information to specialists who are providing care across hospitals (Ovretveit et al., 2007). On the patient level, adaptive devices assist with monitoring blood pressure (Belghazi et al., 2007), glucose levels (Vashist, 2013), physical activity (Block et al., 2016) and even sleep (Marino et al., 2013). Physicians are now encouraging patients to transmit pictures via their cell phone to inspect rashes or dangerous-looking moles before they become melanoma. Telemedicine is also allowing university and tertiary care hospitals to deliver expert advice or to assist with a diagnosis in remote areas around the world. As we work through security and privacy issues, the use of technology, in this innovative way, has the potential of transforming medicine for both the professional staff and patients seeking care.
Civilian Correspondence: Foreign Letters and Hoaxes

This article, number IX, is similar to and possibly a continuation of Manly’s Article VIII. It deals with mostly civilian letters in uncommon foreign languages and with hoaxes that people attempted to perpetrate on their friends. Other letters included chess moves, music annotations, contest entries, surveyor’s notes, and, the largest group of all, enciphered love letters. Obviously, during war the postal censorship office would intercept any encrypted letter and forward it on to MI-8. The interesting point here is that most of these letters are entirely innocent, either jokes or encrypted for lovers’ privacy.
The promise of PD-1 inhibitors in gastro-esophageal cancers: microsatellite instability vs. PD-L1.

Preliminary clinical studies of anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapy in gastro-esophageal cancers have suggested promising single-agent activity. In patients who received prior treatment for advanced disease, pembrolizumab has been associated with a response rate of 20% in programmed cell death-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive tumors, and nivolumab with a response rate of 12% in unselected tumors. Both agents yielded a median duration of response lasting ~6–7 months. PD-L1 expression and microsatellite instability (MSI) have emerged as potential predictive markers for PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. PD-L1 expression in tumor cells and in immune cells within the tumor microenvironment has been detected in 14–24% and ~35% of patients with gastro-esophageal cancer, respectively. PD-L1 tumor cell expression appears to be more common in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive gastric cancers (GCs) and has been associated with an increased density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). To date, data are too sparse to determine whether PD-L1 expression predicts efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy in gastro-esophageal cancer, but data from other tumor types have not been consistent regarding its predictive value. MSI occurs in 10–20% of gastro-esophageal cancers and arises from deficient mismatch repair (MMR). MSI is highly correlated with non-synonymous mutation burden, as well as a dense accumulation of TILs. MSI has been associated with improved response to anti-PD-1 therapy in gastrointestinal cancers. Multiple studies are ongoing which examine therapeutic blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis in unselected patients with gastro-esophageal cancer, as well as patients whose tumors express PD-L1 or exhibit MSI. These studies will clarify their activity in this disease and potentially can determine whether identify a strong predictive biomarker can be identified. Checkpoint inhibition is also being studied in combination with curative-intent chemo (radio) therapy and surgery.
Beyond Measure: Studying the Educational Logic of Patti Lather’s Getting Lost

This article examines the implicit educational logic of Patti Lather’s book Getting Lost: Feminist Efforts Toward a Double(d) Science and her insistence on critical self-reflection. To unlock the form of education that Lather enacts through Getting Lost, I will turn to Italian critical theorist Giorgio Agamben and his notion of study as an alternative to mere learning. What is unique and important is that Getting Lost offers a moment of what I refer to as studious inoperativity wherein the researcher as studier can live within a threshold condition that is neither outside nor inside the research protocol. Instead of being lost, Lather emphasizes getting lost as a state betwixt and between, of pushing forward toward resolution while also perpetually withdrawing from such resolution, of constantly feeling the power to find solutions while also perpetually witnessing such solutions fade into the background as new problems arise, of learning from and wrestling with a learning that un-learns itself in its lear...
Online condition monitoring of SiC devices using intelligent gate drive for converter performance improvement

Many intelligent gate drivers being designed for new state-of-the-art WBG devices typically only focus on protection and driving capabilities of the devices. This paper introduces an intelligent gate driver that incorporates online condition monitoring of the WBG devices. For this specific case study, three timing conditions (turn-off delay time, turn-off time, and voltage commutation time) of a silicon carbide (SiC) device are online monitored. This online monitoring system is achieved through gate driver assist circuits and a micro-controller. These conditions are then utilized to develop converter-level benefits for the converter application the SiC devices are placed in. Junction temperature monitoring is realized through turn-off delay time monitoring. Dead-time optimization is achieved with turn-off time monitoring. Dead-time compensation is obtained with turn-off time and voltage commutation time monitoring. The case study converter assembled for testing purposes is a half-bridge inverter using two SiC devices in a phase-leg configuration. All timing conditions are correctly monitored within reasonable difference of the actual condition time. A calibration curve was created to give a direct relationship between turn-off delay time and junction temperature. The half-bridge inverter can operate at 600 Vdc input and successfully obtain a junction temperature measurement through monitored td_off and the calibration curve. Furthermore, the proposed online condition monitoring system is transistor based and suitable for the chip level integration, enabling this practical approach to be cost-effective for end users.
Computer-integrated engineering of material flow systems: key research issues.

This article summarises the results of a NATO research workshop on advanced information technologies for industrial material flow systems, that took place in Grenoble in June 1988. The participants developed a research agenda through four research panels: material flow data and knowledge; communication and intelligent systems; planning and control models; and implementation and economic issues. The results are presented in the context of computer–integrated engineering.
Thermal Inactivation of avian influenza virus in poultry litter as a method to decontaminate poultry houses

Removal of contaminated material from a poultry house during recovery from an avian influenza virus (AIV) outbreak is costly and labor intensive. Because AIV is not environmentally stable, heating poultry houses may provide an alternative disinfection method. The objective was to determine the time necessary to inactivate AIV in poultry litter at temperatures achievable in a poultry house. Low pathogenic (LP) AIV inactivation was evaluated between 10.0°-48.9°C, at ∼5.5°C intervals and highly pathogenic (HP) AIV inactivation was evaluated between 10.0°-43.3°C, at ∼11°C intervals. Samples were collected at numerous time points for each temperature. Virus isolation in embryonating chicken eggs was conducted to determine if viable virus was present. Each sample was also tested by real-time RT-PCR. Low pathogenicity AIV was inactivated at 1day at 26.7°C or above. At 10.0, 15.6 and 21.1°C, inactivation times increased to 2-5days. Highly pathogenic AIV followed a similar trend; the virus was inactivated after 1day at 43.3°C and 32.2°C, and required 2 and 5days for inactivation at 21.1°C and 10.0°C respectively. While low pathogenicity AIV appeared to be inactivated at a lower temperature than high pathogenicity AIV, this was not due to any difference in the strains, but due to fewer temperature points being evaluated for high pathogenicity. Endpoints for detection by real-time RT-PCR were not found even weeks after the virus was inactivated. This provides a guideline for the time required, at specific temperatures to inactivate AIV in poultry litter and likely on surfaces within the house. Heat treatment will provide an added level of safety to personnel and against further spread by eliminating infectious virus prior to cleaning a house.
Technical note: Use of an automated grooming brush by heifers and potential for radiofrequency identification-based measurements of this behavior

Healthy cattle readily use grooming brushes but this behavior subsides when animals become ill. Tracking use of a brush may provide an opportunity for health monitoring, especially if the process could be automated. We assessed how healthy heifers groom themselves on a brush and hypothesized that radiofrequency identification (RFID) could be used to accurately and automatically record this behavior. Angus and Hereford heifers (n = 16) were fitted with 2 ultra-high-frequency RFID ear tags and monitored in groups of 8 while housed in a pen with an electronic brush, video cameras, and 4 RFID antennas. Each heifer was observed for a 6-h period using continuous video recordings, and brush contact was characterized in terms of anatomic region involved (head/neck, trunk, or posterior) and when not touching the brush but within 1 body length of it. The RFID data were collected for the same period and then processed such that intervals of up to 16 s with no detections but contained between 2 recordings were also considered positive (animal in brush proximity). Brush proximity (RFID) was regressed against brush contact duration (video) and the sensitivity and specificity for each individual heifer calculated. Across heifers, the majority of brush use involved the head/neck, although a few heifers demonstrated relatively large amounts of posterior contact, which contributed to false-negative readings when antennas failed to read the ear tags. Furthermore, for the majority of time that animals were near the brush, they were not in contact with it but rather standing or lying nearby, resulting in false-positive readings. It follows that the ability of the RFID system to accurately detect brush contact varied widely across individual heifers (sensitivity 0.54-1.0; specificity 0.59-0.98), with RFID generally overestimating the duration of brush proximity relative to actual time spent in brush contact. The implication is that RFID-based ear tag recording of brush proximity relative to continuous video observations of contact does not yield accurate results in certain heifers and therefore, as currently configured, is not a reliable representation of this type of grooming behavior.