cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cover crops for weed suppression in organic vegetable systems in semiarid subtropical Texas

Economic losses due to weeds are exceptionally high in organic agriculture particularly in tropical and subtropical growing regions where weeds are persistent year-round. For organic vegetable growers, weed control accounts for the largest portion of labor effort to produce crops. The use of cover crops during fallow period has gained popularity among organic growers who cannot use synthetic herbicides on their farms for weed management. We conducted a 2-year study in a certified organic vegetable farm in the semiarid subtropical region of south Texas. We compared cover crop canopy closure, cover crop and weed biomass, and subsequent weed emergence in cash crops after cover crop termination for four different cover crop treatments: sudangrass (Sorghum × drummondii), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and a mix of the three species. Sudangrass produced the highest biomass followed by the three-species mix in 2017, while cowpea treatments had the lowest total cover crop biomass in both years. Weed biomass was the highest untreated fallow (control) and there was no significant difference among the four cover crop treatments. When followed by subsequent cash crops, the weedy fallow plots had significantly higher weed biomass in both years, and in 2018, sunn hemp plots had the lowest weed biomass. Overall, our results indicate that cover crops, especially those with the ability to grow quickly and develop a closed canopy or known to have allelopathic properties, have the potential to control weeds in organic vegetable farms in semiarid subtropical Texas.
Sounding the Alarm: Trump’s Emergency Declaration at the Southern Border and Constitutional Failure

Experts and scholars have engaged in a debate as to whether President Trump’s February 2019 declaration of a national emergency at the southern border presents a threat to the constitutional order....
Thermal Instability in the CGM of L? Galaxies: Testing “Precipitation” Models with the FIRE Simulations

Author(s): Esmerian, Clarke J; Kravtsov, Andrey V; Hafen, Zachary; Faucher-Giguere, Claude-Andre; Quataert, Eliot; Stern, Jonathan; Keres, Dusan; Wetzel, Andrew | Abstract: ABSTRACT We examine the thermodynamic state and cooling of the low-z circumgalactic medium (CGM) in five FIRE-2 galaxy formation simulations of Milky Way-mass galaxies. We find that the CGM in these simulations is generally multiphase and dynamic, with a wide spectrum of largely non-linear density perturbations sourced by the accretion of gas from the intergalactic medium (IGM) and outflows from both the central and satellite galaxies. We investigate the origin of the multiphase structure of the CGM with a particle-tracking analysis and find that most of the low-entropy gas has cooled from the hot halo as a result of thermal instability triggered by these perturbations. The ratio of cooling to free-fall time-scales tcool/tff in the hot component of the CGM spans a wide range of ∼1−100 at a given radius but exhibits approximately constant median values of ∼5−20 at all radii 0.1Rvir l r l Rvir. These are similar to the ≈10−20 value typically adopted as the thermal instability threshold in ‘precipitation’ models of the ICM. Consequently, a one-dimensional model based on the assumption of a constant tcool/tff and hydrostatic equilibrium approximately reproduces the number density and entropy profiles of each simulation but only if it assumes the metallicity profile and temperature boundary condition taken directly from the simulation. We explicitly show that the tcool/tff value of a gas parcel in the hot component of the CGM does not predict its probability of subsequently accreting on to the central galaxy. This suggests that the value of tcool/tff is a poor predictor of thermal stability in gaseous haloes in which large-amplitude density perturbations are prevalent.
Appropriate citation of placenta cell lines 3A(tPA-30-1) and 3A-sub E [post crisis of 3A(tPA-30-1)] in medical literature

Abstract Introduction To determine how often placenta cell lines 3A (tPA-30-1) and 3A-sub E [post crisis of 3A (tPA-30-1)] are appropriately cited, or identified, as “term”-gestation placental cell lines in medical literature. Methods We performed a literature search on two databases, PubMed and One Search, using the terms “3A (tPA-30-1),” “3Asub-E,” “3AsubE,” “tPA-30-1,” “tPA30-1,” and “3A AND (placenta OR placental OR trophoblast OR trophoblastic) AND (cell OR line OR cell line).” Of the 218 citations retrieved, 181 were excluded due to duplication, article content irrelevance or lack of access to a full manuscript. The remaining 37 citations were thoroughly reviewed for 1)the presence of a full citation as designated by the supplier, and 2)the identification of the placental lines as “term.” Results Of the 37 eligible citations included in the study, five demonstrated complete identifications of the placental cell lines of interest, while 32 demonstrated partial identifications that failed to match the designations provided by the manufacturer. Furthermore, of the 37 citations, eight accurately identified the cell lines as “term,” while 27 lacked any description of gestational age, and two incorrectly identified them as “first trimester” cell lines. Overall, only three citations contained both a full citation and correct identification as a “term” placenta cell line. Discussion Only 5 of the 37 (13.5%) publications demonstrated a complete citation and only 8 publications accurately identified the gestational age of the placenta cell line as “term”. Such findings confirm the need for a representative set of standards for the documentation of cell lines to improve the quality of publications in the scientific community.
Specific heat of bcc Mo 1 − x Tc x

The low-temperature specific heats of four compositions of bcc ${\mathrm{Mo}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Tc}}_{x}$ ($x=0.25, 0.45, 0.50, \mathrm{and} 0.54$) have been measured. Results indicate that the large normalized energy gaps $\frac{2\ensuremath{\Delta}}{k{T}_{c}}$ found previously in both bcc and $A\ensuremath{-}15$ ${\mathrm{Mo}}_{0.4}$${\mathrm{Tc}}_{0.6}$ exist also at other compositions in the bcc phase away from the bcc phase boundary at $x=0.6$. A possible cause of this strongcoupling behavior is the presence of a very sharp $d$-band for $0.5l~xl~0.6$ as revealed by the linear term in the specific heat for the three Tc-rich samples reported here and the previous data for bcc ${\mathrm{Mo}}_{0.4}$${\mathrm{Tc}}_{0.6}$. The method for extracting $\frac{2\ensuremath{\Delta}}{k{T}_{c}}$ values from specific-heat data is discussed, along with possible uncertainties of this method.
Status and performance of Lowell Observatory's Lowell Discovery Telescope's active optical support system

Lowell Observatory's Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) is a 4.3-m telescope designed and constructed for optical and near infrared astronomical observation. We examine the performance of the primary and secondary mirror support systems during scientific operations, over the first six years of science operations. During that time we have redesigned the sacrificial pins in the primary mirror lateral support system, and developed a method to re-calibrate the load cell sensors used in both the primary and secondary mirror supports.
Femoral Lines Without Ultrasound

Femoral veins are the second most common location for central line placement after internal jugular veins. As with subclavian and internal jugular central lines, ultrasound is a useful tool to correctly identifying the femoral vein. The femoral vein can be challenging to identify using anatomic landmarks particularly in patients with obese body habitus. Ultrasound guidance can help reduce the risk of nerve injury and hematoma from accidental puncture of surrounding neurovascular structures. However, ultrasound is not always available, so it is important for an anesthesiologist to know how to place femoral lines without ultrasound guidance.
Fenestration of intracranial neurenteric cyst: A case report.

Background Neurenteric cysts are rare congenital lesions of endodermal origin which result from the failure of the neurenteric canal to close during embryogenesis. The majority of neurenteric cysts occur in the spinal cord, though in rare instances can occur intracranially, typically in the posterior fossa anterior to the pontomedullary junction (80%) or in the supratentorial region adjacent to the frontal lobes (20%). Case description We present the case of a 75-year-old woman with an extra-axial cystic lesion centered in the premedullary cistern causing brainstem compression. The lesion was later histopathologically confirmed to be a neurenteric cyst. She presented initially with a 4-month history of worsening headache, dizziness, and unsteady gait. We performed a left retrosigmoid craniotomy for cyst fenestration/biopsy with the aid of operating microscope and stealth neuronavigation. Following the procedure, the patient recovered without complications or residual deficits. Conclusion This case illustrates the successful fenestration of an intracranial neurenteric cyst with good clinical outcome. We present the pre- and post-operative imaging findings, a technical video of the procedure, histopathological confirmation, and a brief review of the relevant clinical literature on the topic.
Polynomial GCD’s Classical Algorithms

The computation of polynomial greatest common divisors is required more frequently than one might at first imagine. For instance, nearly all computations with rational functions (quotients of polynomials) require a GCD to reduce the fraction to lowest terms. However, computing polynomial GCD’s is significantly more difficult than the arithmetic calculations discussed in Chapter 7.
Privacy-preserving collaborative filtering

With the evolution of the Internet, collaborative filtering (CF) techniques are becoming increasingly popular. Such techniques are widely used by many E-commerce companies to suggest products to customers, based on like-minded customers' preferences; but they fail to protect users' privacy. Data from customers is gathered for recommendation purposes; however, collecting high quality data is not an easy task, due to privacy concerns. Since many users are worried about their privacy, they sometimes refuse to contribute their data; or occasionally they might decide to give false information. Producing accurate referrals based on insufficient data and/or false data is impossible. CF systems provide referrals on existing databases comprised of ratings recorded from groups of people evaluating various items; sometimes, however, the systems' ratings are split among different parties. To provide better filtering services, the parties may wish to share their data; but they may not want to disclose information of a private nature. We propose to use randomization techniques to protect users' privacy while still producing accurate referrals. We investigate providing predictions on memory- and model-based CF algorithms with privacy assured by using randomized perturbation techniques (RPT) in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, respectively; while we show how to produce recommendations without violating users' privacy using randomized response techniques (RRT) in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, we explore inconsistently disguised data-based CF with privacy provided by the RPT. When data owners wish to provide recommendations using a joint database without disclosing sensitive data to each other, they may achieve accurate privacy-preserving referrals on integrated data with schemes we have proposed. We investigate performing filtering tasks; including prediction generations and top- N recommendations, on vertically or horizontally partitioned data, with privacy preservation, in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. We conduct various experiments using well-known existing data sets to evaluate the overall performance of our approaches. Furthermore, we analyze the effects of different parameters on accuracy and privacy. Finally, in Chapter 9, we present our results and explain future directions.
Abstract 70: Mouse models of human lung adenocarcinoma: Identification of potential tumor suppressors by functionalin vivoshRNA screening

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Lung cancer is one of the leading human cancer malignancies, and histopathologically divided into Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Lung adenocarcinoma is a major form of NSCLC. We have developed a lentiviral-vector-mediated mouse model, which enables generation of lung adenocarcinoma from less than 100 alveolar epithelial cells, and investigated the role of IKK2 and NF-κB in lung-cancer development. IKK2 depletion in tumour cells significantly attenuated tumour proliferation and significantly prolonged mouse survival. We identified Timp1, one of the NF-κB target genes, as a key mediator for tumour growth by activating ERK signaling pathway. Knockdown of either Ikbkb or Timp1 by short hairpin RNAs reduced tumour growth in both xenograft and lentiviral models. Further, by utilizing lentiviral mediated mouse models, we performed a genome wide in vivo shRNA screen to findout tumor suppressors or tumor suppressor like genes that will cooperate with KRasG12D expression. The screen identified several novel molecules as potential tumor suppressor properties, which will cooperate with KRasG12D. Several of these molecules were also altered in human patient cohorts of The Cancer Genome Atlas. Ephrin receptor A2, EphA2, is one of the molecule knockdown of which cooperated with KRasG12D expression to generate lung adenocarcinomas comparable to knockdown of potent tumorsuppressor P53 thus validating our screen. The mechanisms underlying EPhA2 mediated tumorsuppression are being studied. Overall, our study identified novel potential tumorsuppressors. Citation Format: Narayana Yeddula, Yifeng Xia, Inder Verma. Mouse models of human lung adenocarcinoma: Identification of potential tumor suppressors by functional in vivo shRNA screening. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 70. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-70
The effect of pregnancy on the angiotensin II pressor response in the rabbit

Abstract The pressor response to angiotensin II was measured in unanesthetized, chronically catheterized pregnant and nonpregnant rabbits. Angiotensin II was infused intravenously for 10 minutes at a dose of 50 and 124 ng/kg/min. No difference in control mean arterial blood pressure was observed between pregnant and nonpregnant rabbits. The pressure change in response to angiotensin II was significantly greater in nonpregnant rabbits than in pregnant rabbits (P
Post-positivist Review of Technology Acceptance Model.

This paper reflects upon the technology acceptance model (TAM) from the perspective of the post positivistic philosophy of science. I explore what it is to know, what a theory is, and what it means to be scientific in the context of TAM. In particular, I review criteria for determining whether TAM is scientific or not in light of post-positivistic debates about the nature of science. For this purpose, I apply Popper’s principle of demarcation, which determines whether a theory-like TAM-is falsifiable and the logical connection argument to show that connections between actions and intentions cannot be subjected to empirical testing similar to connections between chemical entities. I also draw on Kuhn’s notion of scientific revolutions to observe the degree to which TAM has become normal science. Finally, I review TAM from the Lakatosian perspective of scientific research programs to evaluate whether the program is advancing or declining. My main objective is not to provide a conclusive evaluation of TAM as a research program or a paradigm, but to open the philosophical foundations of TAM for scrutiny so that it can be evaluated not only within the validation rules followed by its proponents, but by applying a set of well known criteria established in the post-positivistic views of science.
Smart city-regionalism across Seattle: Progressing transit nodes in labor space?

Abstract In recent decades, the four-county Seattle city-region has built one of the few ‘containment’ regimes in the United States. Metropolitan development policy is organized around growth management and transport principles that seek to ameliorate the ecological, economic, and social effects of both suburban sprawl and economic segregation. In addition to regionally-coordinated urban growth boundaries, which implode new growth back to already serviced lands, planning for regional sustainability therefore also includes strategic efforts to improve extant jobs-housing imbalances through major transit investments in key urban centers. This paper considers Greater Seattle’s recent policy experiences with planning transit communities from the perspectives of the regional labor market and state policies organized around sustainability. The paper explores the critical concern that while agglomeration economies continue to produce a variety of employment centers across metropolitan space, relatively scarce public transit investments might be directed invariably to edifying economic centers populated by social elites who already enjoy multiple mobility choices.
In situ hybridization analysis of the age-associated decline in IL-2 mRNA expressing murine T cells.

Abstract Only a small decrease in the number of L3T4 − cells was observed in the Con A-stimulated splenocyte cultures of old mice as compared to young, which cannot account for the threefold decrease in IL-2 production. Northern and dot blot analysis of RNA from splenocytes containing equivalent numbers of L3T4 + cells from young and old mice showed that cells from old mice express less IL-2 mRNA after mitogenic stimulation than cells from young mice. Direct analysis by in situ hybridization of stimulated splenocytes from young and old mice then showed approximately a threefold decrease in the percentage of IL-2 mRNA expressing cells in the spleens of old mice as compared to young (8.7 ± 4.1% old; 28.7 ± 11.7% young). The average level of expression of IL-2 mRNA was not significantly different between cells from young and old mice; however, there were approximately 40% fewer cells expressing an intermediate to high amount of IL-2 mRNA in old mice as compared to young (26.3% vs 41.8%). These data suggest that the decrease in IL-2 production with age is associated primarily with a decrease in the frequency of IL-2 mRNA-expressing cells in old mice, especially in those cells expressing intermediate to high levels of IL-2 mRNA.
Justifying Human Rights: Does Consensus Matter?

This paper is a critical examination of a widely accepted method of human rights justification. The method defends the universality of human rights by appeal to diverse worldviews that converge on human rights norms. By showing that the norms can be justified from the perspective of diverse worldviews, human rights theorists suggest that there is reason to believe that human rights are universal norms that should govern the institutions of all societies. This paper argues that the evidence of plural foundations of human rights fails to increase our confidence in the universality of human rights. The paper defends the following claims: (1) the convergence on human rights is better explained as an accidental outcome than as an indicator of the universality of human rights, (2) the plurality of human rights justification is superfluous to the explanation of why human rights apply to all societies, (3) the aggregation of justifications decreases rather than increases the reliability of the universality belief, and (4) the reasonable disagreement among conflicting justifications generates an epistemic dilemma.
Oxygen reduction on bare and Pt monolayer-modified Ru(0001), Ru(100) and Ru nanostructured surfaces

Abstract Oxygen reduction kinetics on bare and Pt-modified Ru(10 1 0) and Ru(0001) single crystal surfaces, and on carbon-supported Ru nanoparticles have been investigated. Spontaneous deposition of Pt was used to form approximately 1.5 and 0.5 monolayers on Ru single crystals and nanoparticles, respectively. The reaction kinetics of O2 on single crystal surfaces has a small structural dependence. It is also affected by the oxidation state of the Ru surfaces. The reaction involves the exchange of approximately four electrons per O2 molecule, with the transfer of the first electron being the rate determining step. A deposit of 1.5 monolayers of Pt makes the surfaces considerably more active than bare Ru, but nevertheless still less active than bulk Pt. An electrocatalyst made by the deposition 0.5 monolayers of Pt on carbon-supported Ru nanoparticles is somewhat less active than commercial catalysts, but contains considerably lower Pt loadings.
Designing a road map for geoscience workflows

Advances in geoscience research and discovery are fundamentally tied to data and computation, but formal strategies for managing the diversity of models and data resources in the Earth sciences have not yet been resolved or fully appreciated. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) EarthCube initiative (http://earthcube.ning.com), which aims to support community-guided cyberinfrastructure to integrate data and information across the geosciences, recently funded four community development activities: Geoscience Workflows; Semantics and Ontologies; Data Discovery, Mining, and Integration; and Governance. The Geoscience Workflows working group, with broad participation from the geosciences, cyberinfrastructure, and other relevant communities, is formulating a workflows road map (http://sites.google.com/site/earthcubeworkflow/). The Geoscience Workflows team coordinates with each of the other community development groups given their direct relevance to workflows. Semantics and ontologies are mechanisms for describing workflows and the data they process.
Quantitative assessment of phrenic nerve functional recovery mediated by the crossed phrenic reflex at various time intervals after spinal cord injury.

Abstract The present study was carried out to determine if augmentation of phrenic nerve activity during the crossed phrenic phenomenon temporally coincides with the morphological changes in the phrenic nucleus that we have observed in previous studies. This investigation consisted of two experiments in spinal cord hemisected young adult female Sprague-Dawley rats. Crossed phrenic activity was quantitatively assessed from the left phrenic nerve after bilateral vagotomy and sectioning of the right phrenic and accessory phrenic nerves. The first experiment involved serial recordings of crossed phrenic activity performed on each of 4 animals at hourly intervals ranging from 1 to 6 h after spinal cord hemisection. The second experiment consisted of single recordings from each of 24 animals at one of the following time intervals after hemisection: 1 2 , 1, 2, 4, 12, and 24 h. Recording conditions were standardized at each recording session in both experiments by paralyzing the animals, regulating temperature and blood pressure, and controlling end tidal P CO 2 with a volume ventilator. Crossed phrenic activity was induced by stopping the ventilator and quantitated by measuring the erea under the integrated waveform of the largest respiratory burst. The results revealed a small, statistically insignificant increase in crossed phrenic activity at 1 h compared to the 30-min recordings. At 2 h there was a large, statistically significant increase in activity. Experiment one showed further increases from 3 to 6 h. The second experiment showed a smaller increase from 2 to 4 h and then maintained this level at 12 and 24 h. The increased crossed phrenic activity parallels the time course of the glial retraction and synaptogenesis seen in the phrenic nucleus after spinal cord injury and suggests that these morphological changes may be the substrate for the augmentation of the crossed phrenic activity.
Embedding planar graphs on the grid

We show that each plane graph of order n 2 3 has a straight line embedding on the n-2 by n-2 grid. This embedding is computable in time O(n). A nice feature of the vertex-coordinates is that they have a purely combinatorial meaning.
Human versus virtual moments: a proposed theoretical framework for understanding their implications in the workplace

The benefits of computer-mediated communication (CMC) are compelling. Businesses leverage CMC to reduce costs, increase employee productivity, and even enable more flexible working arrangements (e.g., telecommuting). In contrast, researchers have also found that CMC has considerable weaknesses as compared to face-to-face (FTF) communication. Without the rich cues afforded by FTF contact, even casual use of CMC can result in feelings of detachment on the part of the sender and feelings of confusion on the part of the recipient. Research is apparently conflicted, therefore, over whether CMC inhibits or enhances relationships. Recent articles have posited that humans have a biological need for meaningful face-to-face exchanges, or "human moments." A human moment is defined as "an authentic human encounter between two participating individuals that can happen only when they share the same physical space"... In contrast, a virtual moment is a dyadic interchange between participating individuals using CMC that results in shared understanding. This paper presents a new model to explain the relative merits of human versus virtual moments and their impact on emotional distance.
Effect of turbulence on a focused laser beam and its application to a time-of-flight velocimeter

The effect of atmospheric turbulence on a focused laser beam has been evaluated experimentally using a diode array. A proposed model for the calculation of the turbulence-induced beam radius is compared with other available models and is found to yield better agreement with the measured beam radii at different ranges. The turbulence-induced beam radius is then used in the scaling law of a laser time-of-flight velocimeter for performance evaluation. Although the different turbulence models have little effect on the aerosol distribution constant β, which is determined from the scaling law, the proposed model predicts a signal particle arrival rate comparable with the experimental values at a range of 500 m, suggesting that practical long-range (500–1000-m) wind-speed measurements using a cw visible laser are feasible.
Bioaccumulation of dioxins in food animals II: Controlled exposure studies

Abstract Additional data have been obtained which relate the bioaccumulation of polychlorodibenzodioxins and polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDDs and PCDFs) in foraging chickens to the ingestion of soil contaminated at the low part per trillion (ppt) level. These new data indicate that both the concentration and congener profiles of PCDDs and PCDFs in eggs and body tissues, are correlated with the PCDD and PCDF concentration and congener profile seen in soil on which these chickens were grazing. Additionally, a cow grazing in these areas of low soil PCDD/PCDF contamination showed characteristic PCDD and PCDF profiles in milk. Breast milk from women living in the area did not show the characteristic PCDD/PCDF contamination. Controlled feeding studies of chickens have been initiated which are designed to demonstrate the transfer of PCDDs and PCDFs from soil to tissue and eggs and to establish the kinetics and equilibrium concentrations of the bioaccumulation. Levels and patterns of PCDDs and PCDFs in tissues and eggs from foraging animals appear to be closely related to the levels and patterns in the soils to which they are exposed. This suggests the possibility of animals functioning as sensitive biomonitors for low level soil contamination. In addition, if such animals are used for food, the possibility of human exposure to PCDDs and PCDFs must be considered.
Solution of nondeterministic finite element and finite difference heat conduction simulations

A formal solution methodology is developed for nondeterministic finite element and finite difference simulations of heat conduction. The generality of the procedure is such that statistical variations in both system and environmental characteristics can be handled. This includes the capability to analyze essentially any level of probabilistic variation. For simplification of use, a priori convergence and truncation criteria for the procedure are developed. These enable problem-dependent resource requirements to be predetermined.
Comparison of aiding and opposing mixed convection heat transfer in a vertical tube with Grashof number variation

Abstract Mixed convection heat transfer in a vertical tube with aiding and opposing flows (upflow and downflow heating) was studied experimentally for Reynolds numbers ranging from 700 to 25,000 at constant Grashof number under constant wall temperature (CWT) conditions. The Grashof number was varied independently by adjusting steam pressure in the jacket of a vertical, double-pipe heat exchanger. The mixed convection region existed at Re between about 4,000 and 10,000 (this range was Gr dependent). As the Grashof number was reduced in this Re range, the Nusselt number was also reduced. The data show that the way in which Nu reduced is not identical for aiding and opposing flows. Comparison of the present data with literature on the basis of buoyancy parameter show good agreement, except for the asymptote region.
Percutaneous penetration of methyl phosphonate antisense oligonucleotides

Abstract A series of antisense methyl phosphonate oligonucleotides (MPOs) were evaluated in vitro for skin penetration and retention using either hairless mouse or human cadaver skin. Several skin penetration enhancers were used to promote uptake of MPOs ranging in molecular weight from 1834 to 5500. In general, as the molecular weight of the MPOs increased, the penetration rate decreased. Tape stripping experiments with both hairless mouse skin and human cadaver skin indicated that the stratum corneum is the primary barrier to penetration. Comparison of a 14-mer MPO and the same MPO modified by the introduction of one negative charge (phosphate linkage) per molecule reduced the skin permeability by about 10-fold. The amount of MPO retained in the dermis at the end of the 24 h permeation experiments indicated that most of the compounds were able to reach a nominal target concentration of 1.0 μM. The largest MPO tested (18-mer, Mol. Wt 5500) gave the least amount of material penetrating through human cadaver skin, but depending on the vehicle, was retained in nearly sufficient amounts in the target tissues (dermis). Thus, the 18-mer represents a logical candidate for further evaluation due to the potential for delivery into the target tissue with limited systemic exposure.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Isolates with the Reverse Transcriptase (RT) Mutation Q145M Retain Nucleoside and Nonnucleoside RT Inhibitor Susceptibility

Q145M, a mutation in a conserved human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) region, was reported to decrease susceptibility to multiple RT inhibitors. We report that Q145M and other Q145 mutations do not emerge with RT inhibitors nor decrease RT inhibitor susceptibility. Q145M should not, therefore, be considered an RT inhibitor resistance mutation.
Modular design of fully pipelined accumulators

Fast and efficient accumulation arithmetic circuits are critical for a broad range of scientific and embedded system applications. High throughput accumulation circuits are typically hand designed for specific vector lengths requiring the circuit to be modified when the lengths are changed. In this work we present a new design approach that can achieve low latency and near optimal throughput for input data vectors of arbitrary length. The flexibility of the design allows it to be used for both integer and floating-point operations. By providing a simple and efficient interface to the user and a modular architecture for the designer, the proposed technique has broad impact across a wide range of custom hardware designs.
Evaluation of total-dose iron sucrose infusions in patients with iron deficiency anemia.

Purpose. The safety and efficacy of a total-dose iron sucrose infusion protocol used in a large, tertiary care teaching hospital were studied. Methods. Nondialysis-dependent patients ages 18 years or older who received ≥250 mg of iron sucrose as a single i.v. infusion between January 2005 and January 2007 were eligible for study inclusion. The protocol for total-dose iron sucrose infusion was the same for all patients. The total dose of iron sucrose for each patient was calculated using an equation that included the desired hemoglobin (Hb) value, observed Hb level, ideal body weight, and sex. The calculated dose was divided into portions, rounded to the nearest 250 mg, and administered over four hours every other day. Outcomes measured included Hb, transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin values. Results. A total of 26 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean ± S.D. Hb concentration before total-dose iron sucrose infusion was 9.37 ± 0.9 g/dL, and the mean ± S.D. corpuscular volume was 75 ± 7.1 μm3. The mean ± S.D. postinfusion Hb concentration for 19 patients for whom follow-up Hb levels were available was 11.4 ± 1.2 g/dL, significantly higher than the 9.45 ± 0.8 g/dL measured before the first infusion ( p = 0.03). No significant adverse effects were reported in 47 of 49 infusions, with 2 patients experiencing mild nausea. Conclusion. A treatment protocol consisting of alternate-day total-dose iron sucrose infusions was well tolerated and appeared to be effective in improving Hb concentrations in patients with iron deficiency anemia and without chronic kidney disease.
Occlusion of All Aortic Arch Great Vessels: Acute Revascularization to Perform Endovascular Stroke Therapy

Background We present a case of a patient with a left-sided stroke and occlusion of all aortic arch great vessels who was treated successfully with endovascular intervention followed by delayed cardiothoracic revascularization. Case Report A 46-year-old man presented with acute onset of dense right hemiparesis, facial droop, and aphasia with an initial National Institute of Health Stroke Score of 15. The patient was taken for emergent angiography after failing intravenous tissue plasminogen activator thrombolysis. Dedicated angiography of the aortic arch revealed occlusion of all great vessels, including the right brachiocephalic, left common carotid, and left subclavian artery. Delayed arterial filling of the right brachiocephalic and left subclavian artery by aberrant collaterals was seen. More distally, flow into the bilateral subclavian arteries, right common carotid artery, and left vertebral artery was appreciated. Serial balloon angioplasty of the left common carotid artery origin reconstituted flow. Subsequent selective angiogram of the left internal carotid artery revealed a proximal middle cerebral artery occlusion. Intra-arterial injection of tissue plasminogen activator followed by mechanical thrombectomy and intracranial stenting restored flow in the middle cerebral artery. Two months later the patient underwent aortic arch reconstruction with bifurcated graft to the brachiocephalic artery and left common carotid artery. At 1-year follow-up, the patient's examination revealed almost complete resolution of right hemiparesis with minimal hand weakness and mild expressive aphasia. Conclusions We report a rare case of occlusion of all aortic arch great vessels. Combined endovascular intervention and surgical revascularization resulted in an excellent durable outcome.
Regulation of Cytochrome P450 2E1 by Heat Shock Protein 90-Dependent Stabilization and CHIP-Dependent Proteasomal Degradation†

Alcohol-inducible cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) has the most rapid turnover of any member of this large family of membrane-bound oxygenases, and its degradation rate is altered profoundly by various substrates, such as ethanol and CCl4. CYP2E1 is degraded by the ubiquitin−proteasome pathway, and because the hsp90/hsp70-based chaperone machinery is often involved in maintaining the balance between protein integrity and degradation by this pathway, we have asked whether CYP2E1 is regulated by the chaperone machinery. We show here that treatment of transformed human skin fibroblasts stably expressing CYP2E1 with the hsp90 inhibitor radicicol results in CYP2E1 degradation that is inhibited by the proteasome inhibitor lactacystin. Immunoadsorption of hsp90 from cytosol of HEK cells expressing the truncated CYP2E1(Δ3−29) yields coadsorption of CYP2E1(Δ3−29). Cotransfection of HEK cells with both the truncated CYP2E1 and the hsp70-dependent E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP results in CYP2E1(Δ3−29) degradation, and CYP2E1...
Semantic data model for embedded image information

Historically, database systems have provided convenient methods for obtaining specific information from a large repository of data. All the information was readily available and the mapping between the data and its semantics was straightforward. However, the increasing availability of multimedia data sources introduces new data forms for which the mapping between data and its semantics is not clear. In particular non- alphanumeric data such as images, videos, graphs, charts, etc. contain large amounts of information that are difficult to quantify in a complete and concise fashion. Moreover, the semantic information contained in such data is often application specific. This paper addressed the problem of embedded semantic information. The basic idea is the integration of a data processing component into data modeling systems to allow additional (possibly application dependent) information to be extracted. This paper proposes a new object-oriented data modeling approach, shows how such a design can be applied to a pictorial information system, and describes a prototype system with an example application.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Order-increasing grid adaption for Runge-Kutta methods applied to two-point boundary value problems

Abstract Standard strategies for grid adaption in numerical solutions of two-point boundary value problems for systems of ODEs rely on equidistribution of some local measure of the error. A different approach to grid adaption is to construct grids on which a given discretization method yields higher order approximations. Such a strategy was shown to be successful for some finite difference schemes and the results were superior to those obtained with other grid adaptions. In this paper we discuss order increasing grid adaption for Runge-Kutta methods. We show that for linear problems simple modifications of basic methods allow the construction of grids with an order-increasing property. These techniques extend to fully nonlinear problems, but the algorithms become costly for most Runge-Kutta schemes. It is shown that a class of saturated Runge-Kutta methods retains the simplicity of the linear case. We give a characterization of this class of methods, propose an order-increasing grid adaption algorithm and present numerical results of some problems with boundary layers to support our findings.
Biology in the Anthropocene: Challenges and insights from young fossil records

With overwhelming evidence of change in habitats, biologists today must assume that few, if any, study areas are natural and that biological variability is superimposed on trends rather than stationary means. Paleobiological data from the youngest sedimentary record, including death assemblages actively accumulating on modern land surfaces and seabeds, provide unique information on the status of present-day species, communities, and biomes over the last few decades to millennia and on their responses to natural and anthropogenic environmental change. Key advances have established the accuracy and resolving power of paleobiological information derived from naturally preserved remains and of proxy evidence for environmental conditions and sample age so that fossil data can both implicate and exonerate human stressors as the drivers of biotic change and permit the effects of multiple stressors to be disentangled. Legacy effects from Industrial and even pre-Industrial anthropogenic extirpations, introductions, (de)nutrification, and habitat conversion commonly emerge as the primary factors underlying the present-day status of populations and communities; within the last 2 million years, climate change has rarely been sufficient to drive major extinction pulses absent other human pressures, which are now manifold. Young fossil records also provide rigorous access to the baseline composition and dynamics of modern-day biota under pre-Industrial conditions, where insights include the millennial-scale persistence of community structures, the dominant role of physical environmental conditions rather than biotic interactions in determining community composition and disassembly, and the existence of naturally alternating states.
Negative and positive effects of CpG‐methylation on Xenopus ribosomal gene transcription in vitro

Methylation of cytosine-residues in the sequence CpG affects the expression of many genes and generally correlates with reduced transcription. The ribosomal genes of Xenopus laevis were among the first genes to be studied with respect to their DNA methylation, and a loss of methylation during embryonic development correlated with the onset of transcription. Nevertheless, highly methylated ribosomal genes were transcribed at normal levels when injected into oocyte nuclei, and thus transcription of these genes was generally assumed to be insensitive to CpG-methylation. Here I show that Xenopus ribosomal gene transcription can be repressed by cellular factors binding to meCpG, similarly as it has been described for transcription by RNA polymerase II. In the absence of these repressors, however, CpG-methylation has a direct positive effect on RNA polymerase I-promoter activity.
Abstract 5350: Does hepatitis C virus core protein promote liver cancer through androgen-receptor mediated signaling?

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is frequently associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is one of the male dominant diseases. Androgen signaling in liver may be related to carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated whether HCV proteins cross-talk with androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway for promotion of liver cancer. We have demonstrated that HCV core protein alone or in context with other HCV proteins enhances AR-mediated transcriptional activity, and further augments in the presence of androgen. Subsequent study suggested that HCV core protein activates STAT3, which in turn enhances AR-mediated transcription. This activity was blocked by a pharmacological inhibitor of Jak/Stat signaling pathway, AG490. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a target gene of androgen receptor in liver, and plays an important role in angiogenesis. Therefore, we examined whether HCV infection modulates VEGF expression in hepatocytes. Our results demonstrated that HCV enhances VEGF expression and facilitates tube formation in human coronary microvascular endothelial cells in the presence of AR. We are in the process of evaluating the AR targets in the hepatocytes following HCV infection. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5350.
The courtship handicap—phenotypic effect

Abstract A simple model showing the possibility of direct selective advantage to those females which choose handicapped males as their mates.
Potential Impact of Bioenergy Demand on the Sustainability of the Southern Forest Resource

The use of woody biomass for the production of domestic bioenergy to meet policy-driven demands could lead to significant changes in the forest resource. These impacts may be limited if woody biomass from forests is defined as only the residues from logging. Yet, if only residue is used, the contribution of woody biomass to a renewable energy portfolio will also be limited. As the definition of woody biomass is expanded, the impacts on the forest resource increase, as does the contribution of woody biomass to the renewable portfolio. A combination of markets and policies will determine the extent to which woody biomass can be used to meet renewable electricity requirements. This article develops two hypothetical demand scenarios based on the use of woody biomass in renewable electricity generation and uses these scenarios in a model of timber supply in the U.S. South to evaluate the effects on both timber markets and forest resource sustainability. The demands for woody biomass are met by a combination of...
Feasibility of microalgal cultivation in a pilot-scale airlift-driven raceway reactor.

Abstract A Scenedesmus sp. was cultivated in a 23-L airlift-driven raceway reactor under artificial lighting and laboratory conditions, in batch and continuous modes. In batch mode, a maximum volumetric biomass productivity of 0.085 dry g L −1 day −1 was achieved under sparging at a CO 2 -to-air ratio of 1%, and a maximum CO 2 utilization efficiency of 33% was achieved at a CO 2 -to-air ratio of 0.25%. In continuous mode, the maximum volumetric biomass productivity was 0.19 dry g L −1 day −1 . Biomass productivities per unit power input achieved in this reactor configuration (0.60–0.69 dry g W −1 day −1 ) were comparable to or better than those reported in the literature for different photobioreactor designs (0.10–0.51 dry g W −1 day −1 ). Based on the energy-efficient productivity and the high CO 2 utilization efficiency demonstrated in this study, the proposed airlift-driven raceway design holds promise for cost-effective algal cultivation.
Acoustic shear waves in colloidal crystals

Abstract At low frequencies (ω ⪝ 10 4 Hz ) , we predict that acoustic shear waves should propagate in ordered suspensions of charged latex spheres. Typical values of the sound velocity and damping length are, respectively, 10 and 20 cm sec for ω ≅ 10 2 Hz.
Notched Strength of Composite Laminates: Predictions and Experiments—A Review:

A self-contained review of several semiempirical fracture models for predicting notched strength of composite laminates is presented, based on notched strength data on 70 different laminate configurations of graphite/epoxy, boron/aluminum, and graphite/polyimide. Emphasis is placed on experimental results concerning such failure factors as delamination, splitting, and size of damage zone. Moreover, the fracture model parameters are correlated with the notch sensitivity of composite laminates, and the applicability of the correlations in describing the material notch sensitivity is evaluated. The predictions provided by the different models were found to be identical for all practical purposes.
System for Simultaneous Determination of As, Sb, and Se by Hydride Generation and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

A simple three-channel system for simultaneous determination of As, Se, and Sb by hydride generation and ICP emission spectrometry is described. The device is based on the use of simple, low-resolution prism monochromators for spectral line isolation, together with interference filters for general background reduction. Detection limits are found to be 1.0 μg/L, 1.3 μg/L, and 2.4 μg/L, respectively, for As, Se, and Sb. Interference studies show no significant problems for a large number of elements. Use of the method for the analysis of Standard Reference Water Samples showed generally good agreement with round-robin data.