cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Haptic music exercises

Pluck, ring, rub, bang, strike, and squeeze are all simple gestures used in controlling music. A single motor/encoder plus a force-sensor has proved to be a useful platform for experimenting with haptic feedback in controlling computer music. The surprise is that the "best" haptics (precise, stable) may not be the most "musical".
Cultural Activation of Consumers

This column discusses "cultural activation," defined as a consumer's recognition of the importance of providing cultural information to providers about cultural affiliations, challenges, views about, and attitudes toward behavioral health and general medical health care, as well as the consumer's confidence in his or her ability to provide this information. An aid to activation, "Cultural Activation Prompts," and a scale that measures a consumer's level of activation, the Cultural Activation Measurement Scale, are described. Suggestions are made about ways to introduce cultural activation as a component of usual care.
Increased thymic hormone responsive suppressor T lymphocyte function in chronic active hepatitis

Mitogen-induced suppressor T lymphocyte function was evaluated in patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH). The in vitro effect of the biological response modifier, thymosin fraction 5, on the suppressive activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) was also assessed. Suppressor cell activity was significantly decreased in patients with CAH when compared to controls (P less than 0.001). In the absence of the inducing mitogen, thymosin-treated PBM from both patients and controls promoted enhancement of tritiated thymidine uptake by cocultured allogeneic lymphocytes. When thymosin-treated mononuclear cells were mitogen-activated; patients, but not the controls, showed a marked increase in suppressor activity (P less than 0.001). These results indicate that the polypeptides contained in thymosin fraction 5 can promote a helper effect in patients and controls. Furthermore, PBM from patients with CAH contain a subset of lymphocytes that can express a suppressive function following thymosin treatment. We conclude that thymosin fraction 5 can promote an in vitro restoration of suppressor T cell function in patients with CAH.
What influences youth to operate all-terrain vehicles safely?

The operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) by youth has contributed to the incidence of serious and fatal injuries among children. This study explored factors related to the frequency with which youth wore a helmet and refrained from engaging in three risky driving behaviors (driving at risky speeds, on paved roads and on unfamiliar terrain) while operating an ATV. Youth (n = 248) aged 9–14 from central Ohio and one of their parents completed self-report measures of ATV safety behaviors, youth general propensity for risk taking, protection motivation and parental behaviors to facilitate youth safety. Data from two focus groups provided insight on quantitative results. Analyses revealed considerable variation in the frequency with which youth performed the safety behaviors, with 13- and 14-year-olds reporting less frequent safe behavior than 9- to 12-year-olds. Multiple regression analyses suggested that parental behaviors, such as providing reminders to wear a helmet, were associated with more frequent helmet use but were not associated with risky driving behaviors. Youth’s general propensity toward risk taking was not associated with helmet use and only associated with riskydriving behaviors among the 13- and 14-year-olds. Self-efficacy was an important predictor across both age groups and behaviors. Implications for injury prevention are discussed.
Transmammary Infection of Free-Ranging Florida Panther Neonates by Alaria marcianae (Trematoda: Diplostomatidae)

Abstract Two freshly-dead female Florida panther (FP) neonates, Puma concolor couguar (=Puma concolor coryi), an 11-day-old and a 17-day-old, were collected in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (26°14′N, 81°36′W), Collier County, Florida. The 2 neonates were siblings and had presumably fed only on milk from the dam since birth. A 12-day-old female FP neonate was collected in the Big Cypress National Preserve (26°05′N, 81°15′W), Collier County, Florida and had also fed only on milk from the dam since birth. Milk was the only food item found in the gastrointestinal tract of these neonates. Mesocercariae and diplostomula of Alaria marcianae were collected from the lungs of the 3 neonates, indicating a transmammary route of infection. No mesocercariae, diplostomula, or mature A. marcianae were seen in the stomach or small intestine. The probable paratenic host for the A. marcianae infection in the adult Florida panther is the raccoon (Procyon lotor).
Early performance data on the blue matter molecular simulation framework

Blue Matter is the application framework being developed in conjunction with the scientific portion of the IBM Blue Gene® project. We describe the parallel decomposition currently being used to target the Blue Gene/L machine and discuss the application-based trace tools used to analyze the performance of the application. We also present the results of early performance studies, including a comparison of the performance of the Ewald and the particle-particle particle-mesh (P3ME) methods, compare the measured performance of some key collective operations with the limitations imposed by the hardware, and discuss some future directions for research.
Gonadotropin and Steroid Regulation of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Their Endogenous Tissue Inhibitors in the Developed Corpus Luteum of the Rhesus Monkey During the Menstrual Cycle

The factors regulating the dynamic expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) in the primate corpus luteum (CL) during the menstrual cycle are unknown. We hypothesized that LH or progesterone (P) regulate interstitial-collagenase (MMP-1), the gelatinases (MMP-2 and -9), TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 in the CL. Hormone ablation/replacement was performed in rhesus monkeys on Days 9-11 of the luteal phase in five treatment groups (n = 4/group): control (no treatment), antide (GnRH antagonist), antide + LH; antide + LH + trilostane (TRL; 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase inhibitor), and antide + LH + TRL + R5020 (nonmetabolizable progestin). On Day 12, the CL was removed and the RNA and protein isolated for real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoassays, respectively. The MMP-1 mRNA increased 20-fold with antide, whereas LH replacement maintained MMP-1 mRNA at control levels. Likewise, TRL increased MMP-1 mRNA 54-fold, and R5020 prevented this effect. Immunodetectable MMP-1 protein also increased with antide or TRL; these increases were abated with LH or R5020. Gelatinase mRNA and/or protein levels increased with antide (e.g., 3-fold, MMP-2 mRNA), and LH replacement reduced protein levels (e.g., 11-fold, MMP-2). The TRL increased MMP-9, but not MMP-2, expression; however, R5020 replacement had no effect on mRNA or protein levels. The LH treatment increased TIMP-1 and -2 mRNA and TIMP-1 protein expression compared to controls and antide groups, whereas R5020 enhanced only immunodetectable TIMP-1. These data strongly suggest that LH suppresses MMP-1 in the primate CL via P and that it also suppresses gelatinases, either at the mRNA (MMP-2) or protein (MMP-2 and -9) levels, perhaps in part via steroids, including P. In contrast, LH promotes TIMP expression, perhaps via steroids, including P.
Improved performance of multiple-symbol differential detection for offset QPSK

In systems employing power amplifiers with non-linear characteristics, offset quaternary phase-shift keying (OQPSK) is preferred over conventional QPSK due to its reduced degree of instantaneous phase transitions. In addition, when pulse shaping filters are used on the transmitted signal, OQPSK results in lower peak-to-average power ratios than QPSK, and therefore allows for amplifiers to operate closer to saturation. Recently, it was shown for a multiple-bit differential detection of a particular preceding of OQPSK modulated data, the bound on bit error rate is 3 dB away from the corresponding bound on conventional QPSK. This paper refines that bound and extends the results to show that for a different, symbol-wise precoding, performance approaches that of multiple-symbol differential detection of conventional QPSK. In addition, results are presented for non-rectangular pulse-shaped OQPSK and a generalized likelihood ratio test detector. For that scenario, performance is within a fraction of a decibel of coherent performance for reasonable complexity.
The Strategy of Philip in 346 B.C.

The relatively plentiful sources for the year 346 pose several questions which have never been satisfactorily answered. Why did Philip insist on an alliance with Athens as a precondition of the peace ? Did Demosthenes simply invent the promises of Philip which he claims Aeschines reported to the Athenian assembly in Skirophorion? Why were the Athenians frightened when Philip got control of Thermopylae? They had long expected him to settle the Sacred War, and such action surely required occupation of the pass. The correct answer to these questions indicates that Philip had two alternative plans in 346. ‘Plan A’ was with the aid of the Athenians to turn on Thebes. By this move, he would reduce the power of the second greatest city in Greece and thus eliminate the possibility of a combination of Athens and Thebes, which might be sufficiently powerful to block his ambitions.
Echo/Doppler Evaluation of Hemodynamics After Aortic Valve Replacement : Principles of Interrogation and Evaluation of High Gradients

Echocardiography/Doppler is the standard clinical tool for the assessment of hemodynamics after aortic valve replacement. Analysis can include mean and peak transvalvular gradients, dimensionless valve index, effective orifice area from the continuity equation, geometric orifice area from planimetry, and energy loss coefficient. High gradients after aortic valve replacement can be, but are not necessarily, caused by left ventricular outflow obstruction; and not all left ventricular outflow obstruction after aortic valve replacement is due to prosthesis dysfunction. Understanding the methods by which echocardiography and Doppler are used to noninvasively assess aortic valve hemodynamics, and the caveats associated with those methods, can help the clinician distinguish obstructive from nonobstructive causes of high gradients, and prosthesis dysfunction from other causes of obstruction.
Effect of pulmonary stretch receptor feedback and CO2 on upper airway and respiratory pump muscle activity in the rat

1. Our purpose was to examine the effects of chemoreceptor stimulation and lung inflation on neural drive to tongue protrudor and retractor muscles in the rat. 2. Inspiratory flow, tidal volume, transpulmonary pressure, compliance and electromyographic (EMG) activity of genioglossus (GG), hyoglossus (HG) and inspiratory intercostal (IIC) muscles were studied in 11 anaesthetized, tracheotomized and spontaneously breathing rats. Mean EMG activity during inspiration was compared with mean EMG activity during an occluded inspiration, at each of five levels of inspired CO(2) (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 %). 3. Lung inflation suppressed EMG activity in all muscles, with the effect on both tongue muscles exceeding that of the intercostal muscles. Static elevations of end-expiratory lung volume evoked by 2 cmH(2)O positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) had no effect on tongue muscle activity. 4. Despite increasing inspiratory flow, tidal volume and transpulmonary pressure, the inhibition of tongue muscle activity by lung inflation diminished as arterial PCO2 (P(a),CO(2)) increased. 5. The onset of tongue muscle activity relative to the onset of IIC muscle activity advanced with increases in P(a),CO(2) but was unaffected by lung inflation. This suggests that hypoglossal and external intercostal motoneuron pools are controlled by different circuits or have different sensitivities to CO(2), lung inflation and/or anaesthetic agents. 6. We conclude that hypoglossal motoneuronal activity is more strongly influenced by chemoreceptor-mediated facilitation than by lung volume-mediated inhibition. Hypoglossal motoneurons driving tongue protrudor and retractor muscles respond identically to these stimuli.
User-Level Extensibility in the Mona File System

An extensible file system raises the level of file abstraction which provides benefits to both the end-user and programmer. The Modify-on-Access file system provides safe and simple user-defined extensibility through transformations, which are modular operations on input and output streams. A user inserts transformations into input and output streams, which modify the data accessed. Untrusted transformations execute in user space for safety. Performance of user-level transformations, although much slower than that of in-kernel transformations, is comparable to other user-level approaches, such as pipes. This paper presents several interesting user-level transformations. For example, the command transformation executes a shell script whose input and output are routed from/to the file system. A file guarded by the ftp transformation is a “mount” point to an FTP server. The php transformation creates dynamic documents from PHP source when read. A file written to a sound device that is guarded by the mp3 transformation is decoded on the fly, in the file system, before reaching the sound device. Mona is a novel approach to file system extensibility that provides heretofore unseen flexibility. Mona is finegrained: a user defines actions on a per-file basis. It is modular: transformations can be stacked upon one another. Mona supports two classes of transformations: kernel-resident and user-level.
Turbulent mixing induced by nonlinear internal waves in Mono Lake, California

Describing the spatial and temporal occurrence of turbulent mixing and the mechanisms of turbulence production are fundamental problems in physical limnology and oceanography. Here we present results from Mono Lake, California, that illustrate pronounced steepening of the pycnocline upon cessation of strong wind forcing and the enhanced turbulence resulting from this nonlinearity. Three events occurred with wind speed of .10 m s21. Upwind, the upper pycnocline upwelled, but on relaxation of the wind, it downwelled 6–10 m and compressed. The similarity of wave amplitude during compression to mixed layer depth and Lake numbers ,4 were indicative of significant nonlinearity. Energy in the internal wave field increased by two orders of magnitude, but ,50% of the energy was lost within 24 h. The largest energy losses occurred at low frequencies rather than via an energy flux from low to moderate and high frequencies. Eddy diffusivities, computed over 6-d intervals using the heat budget method, averaged ,1026 m2 s21 in the energized pycnocline but were five to 10 times higher during the initial upwelling and downwelling periods. Microstructure casts, taken 1–2 d after the first event, revealed that the percentage of the pycnocline that was turbulent varied with bottom slope, being 80% turbulent where bottom slopes were up to 10% ,6 0% where bottom slopes were 3%, and less than 7% where bottom slopes were ,0.1%. The threshold for turbulent transport was exceeded only 10% of the time and only where bottom slopes were highest.
A survey of prehospital care paramedic/physician communication for multnomah county (Portland), Oregon

All field paramedic/patient encounters requiring advanced life support management in Multnomah County, Oregon, required radio/telephone communications with the emergency department physicians of the county's single medical resource hospital for a period of 6 months. A survey of these communications (compliance estimated to be 75% to 80%) demonstrated that paramedics established contact during management or transport in one-half of instances and after transport in the remainder. Consultation was estimated to be helpful in 12% to 17% of cases and of critical importance rarely. Additional benefits were seen in hospital notification, education, and as an adjunct to the medical record; and the concept of a single centralized resource hospital was established in this community.
Monotheistic Theodicy as Imaginary Face‐Work

In this article, I outline the cognitive process involved in accomplishing monotheistic theodicy, or the act of reconciling the belief in an omnipotent and morally perfect God with personal experiences of suffering. Based on in-depth interviews with intimate partner violence victims, I argue that believers accomplish monotheistic theodicy by performing imaginary face-work—or protective face-work on the behalf of significant imagined others—that saves God's face as a morally perfect being. Believers perform this imaginary face-work by constructing accounts that portray God as morally innocent of their suffering. These accounts fall into three main types: (1) fidelity to a higher principle, (2) ultimate benefit, and (3) shifting blame. These accounts serve as new cognitions that resolve the cognitive dissonance and concomitant negative emotions believers experience because of their suffering. Overall, the findings and analysis contribute to sociological theory by further extending the concepts of face and face-work to imagined others.
Learned Helplessness as an Interacting Variable with Self-Care Agency: Testing a Theoretical Model:

This article describes the theoretical development and initial testing of a model outlining the interaction of the concepts of self-care agency and learned helplessness in healthy working adults. Orem's theory of self-care and the reformulated learned helplessness theory are discussed as the theoretical basis for the study. The self-care agency conditioning factors, age and gender, were examined for relationships to the main variables. In a descriptive, correlational design, the hypothesis, that learned helplessness was inversely related to self-care agency, was supported (r = -.57). Neither age nor gender was related to main variables in the population. Implications for nursing research, self-care theory clarification, and nursing practice are discussed.
Increased Scalability and Power Efficiency by Using Multiple Speed Pipelines

One of the most important problems faced by microarchitecture designers is the poor scalability of some of the current solutions with increased clock frequencies and wider pipelines. As several studies show, internal processor structures scale differently with decreasing device sizes. While in some cases the access latency is determined by the speed of the logic circuitry, for others it is dominated by the interconnect delay. Furthermore, while some stages can be super-pipelined with relatively small performance loss, others must be kept atomic. This paper proposes a possible solution to this problem, avoiding the traditional trade-off between parallelism and clock speed. First, allowing instructions to enter and leave the Issue Window in an asynchronously manner enables faster speeds in the front-end at the expense of small synchronization latencies. Second, using an Execution Cache for storing instructions that are already scheduled allows for bypassing the issue circuitry and thus clocking the execution core at higher frequencies. Combined, these two mechanisms result in a 50% to 60% performance increase for our test microarchitecture, without requiring a completely new scheduling mechanism. Furthermore, the proposed microarchitecture requires significantly less energy, with 30% reduction in a 0.13um or 20% in a 0.06um process technology over the original baseline.
Reducing hydration-linked events in nursing home residents.

The authors used a quasi-experimental treatment and control group design with 49 participants from four nursing homes to test the effectiveness of an 8-week hydration intervention in reducing hydration-linked events (HLEs). A Kaplan Meier survival curve with log rank test was calculated to determine incidence and time to occurrence of a HLE. Incidence of and time to a HLE did not differ between the treatment and control groups over an 8-week period (p >.05). However, treatment group participants were found to be more frail, more cognitively impaired, and more at risk for acute confusion than the control group participants. Although there were no statistically significant differences between the groups, it is clinically significant that the frailer, more at-risk participants in the treatment group had a lower incidence of HLEs.
Network-Aware Parallel Computing with Remos

Networked systems provide a cost-effective platform for parallel computing, but the applications have to deal with the changing availability of computation and communication resources. Network-awareness is a recent attempt to bridge the gap between the realities of networks and the demands of applications. Network-aware applications obtain information about their execution environment and dynamically adapt to enhance their performance. Adaptation is especially important for synchronous parallel applications since a single busy communication link can become the bottleneck and degrade overall performance dramatically. This paper presents Remos, a uniform API that allows applications to obtain relevant network information, and reports on the development of parallel applications in this environment. The challenges in defining a uniform interface include network heterogeneity, diversity and variability in network traffic, and resource sharing in the network and even inside an application. The first implementation of the Remos system is hosted on an IP-based network testbed. The paper reports on our methodology for developing adaptive parallel applications for high-speed networks with Remos, and presents results that highlight the importance and effectiveness of adaptive parallel computing.
Understanding youth STEM interest pathways within a single community: the Synergies project

ABSTRACTThe dramatic decline in youth interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) during adolescence, both in the USA and internationally, has been a phenomenon of societal concern for several decades. The Synergies project was launched to help deal with this issue. In this paper, we report findings from the first two years of our longitudinal survey research. We sought to understand the nature of the STEM-related interests of 10-/11-year-old youth living in a single urban community and the factors that seem to influence whether these various dimensions of interest increase, stay the same or diminish over time. We found that interest in three STEM dimensions—earth/space science, life science and technology/engineering—increased significantly for youth between the ages of 10/11 and 11/12 years. In contrast to the increase in STEM interest, there was a decrease in participation rates in a variety of STEM activities for the same individuals over the same time frame. We found no correl...
Using Art-Based Ways of Knowing to Explore Leadership and Identity With Native American Deaf Women

During a phenomenological narrative study regarding the perspectives of leadership among women who are both Native and Deaf, a portion of the data collection focused on visual art as a means of interpreting what leadership meant to the participants. Participants produced visual imagery to impart their ways of knowing as women who negotiated their paths between two distinct cultures. Themes of identification with indigenous art forms, spirituality, and evolving self-identities were shared, with the participants leading the development of their artistic renderings. The participant-created visual arts highlight the significance of non-verbal modes of inquiry within Indigenous and Deaf populations. Keywords: Indigenous; Native American; Deaf; Women; Art Inquiry; Identity
Robust Stabilization of Nonlinear Mechanical Systems

We study the problems of robust stabilization and optimization of the equilibrium states of nonlinear mechanical systems. Sufficient conditions for the stabilization of a linear system with measured output feedback are formulated by means of the full-order state observers. The solution of the general problem of robust stabilization and the estimates of the quadratic performance criterion are presented for a family of nonlinear systems on examples of a one-link pendulum on a moving platform in the upper equilibrium position and a pendulum with flywheel control. The application of the obtained results is reduced to the solution of systems of linear matrix inequalities.
Title IX Isn't the Issue Debate over Gender Equality in Sports Avoids Bigger Problem: Most Kids Don't Play

According to the data, kids are dropping out of sports as a result of "burnout": pressure to specialize early, train often and adopt a win-at-all-costs attitude. When it comes to debating Title IX, Maryland is no different than any other state: Parents argue, school sports budgets go up and down, and gender equality is a legitimate goal with no real resolution in sight. But a few things do make our state unique: The University of Maryland, College Park, was the first school to declare cheerleading a varsity sport (an effort to close the equality gap between men's and women's athletics programs). We're also among the wealthiest states in the country, which translates into expensive endeavors for kids' sports. But while we're busy debating the merits of Title IX, many of Maryland's children are sitting at home, not playing, not physically active. In the post-Title IX world we imagined - where sport participation is open, accessible to boys and girls alike - there is a growing paradox of nonparticipation.
Grain Resistivity and Conduction in Metal Oxide Varistors

Metal oxide varistors are ceramic devices with highly nonlinear current-voltage characteristics similar to back-to-back Zener diodes.1−4 Typical I-V characteristics for a metal oxide varistor at 77 K and for a small range of temperatures near 300 K are shown in Fig. 1. They are produced by sintering ZnO powder together with small amounts (1 to 10 mole %) of other oxide additives. The resultant structure, which can be idealized by the “block model” shown in Fig. 2, is comprised of semiconducting n-type ZnO grains of dimension 10 to 20 μm surrounded by insulating barriers at the ZnO grain boundaries. These varistors have proved useful in a variety of applications particularly as high-quality voltage surge suppressors.5,6
Superhard Composites of Cubic Boron Nitride

During past decades cubic boron nitride (cBN) and wurtzite boron nitride (wBN) have recieved considerable attention. These dense modifications of boron nitride possess hardness approaching to diamond and thermal stability better than that of diamond. They are chemically inert and do not react with iron. Superhard materials made on their base found wide application in many areas of metal cutting operations. The compacts sintered from cBN or wBN powder have a polycrystalline composite structure either of cBN or cBN plus wBN. At last case they have high fracture toughness. The cutting tools made of this material show better service life in interrupted cutting of cast irons and hardened steels. It is essential to have a proper understanding of this class of superhard material in order to realize its full potential not only in cutting applications, but due to their unique physical properties also in electronics.
Can Marketing Theory be Developed through the Study of Social Institutions

This article suggests two important considerations and a perspective necessary to build a general theory of marketing. The perspective suggested is based on the realization that marketing is a soci...
Factors influencing willingness to use convenient care clinics among baby boomers and older persons.

BACKGROUND In response to the growing need for accessible, affordable, and quality health care, increasing numbers of convenient care clinics (CCCs) are being launched in the United States. Although these clinics have the potential to increase health care access and reduce health care costs, the benefits are lost if individuals are afraid to use them because of concerns about staff qualifications, misdiagnosis, and continuity of care. PURPOSE Research on the usage of CCCs and the factors influencing that usage is lacking. Given the expected increase in health care needs resulting from the aging baby boomers, it is particularly important that we understand the attitudes of this population. This article uses data from the Widener Elder Pennsylvanian Survey to examine factors that influence the willingness to use CCCs among baby boomers and older Pennsylvanians. METHODOLOGY Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests of association, and logit regression analysis were employed. FINDINGS The results indicate that willingness to use CCCs is greater among women and decreases with age. Results based on small numbers of uninsured persons suggest that those without health insurance are more willing to use CCCs than are those with insurance. Individuals who are more worried about staff qualifications or misdiagnosis are less interested in CCCs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS In a well-coordinated health care system, CCCs can be valuable contributors that increase health care access and reduce costs. To facilitate the functioning of the system, maintain continuity of care, and assuage concerns about proper treatment, CCCs should establish connections with and a system of referrals to physician practices in the community. Electronic record keeping that promotes two-way communication between primary care physicians and CCCs can help the system operate more efficiently. An awareness of these connections and communications could alleviate patients' concerns and encourage them to utilize cost-saving CCCs.
Calcnlation of Bearing and Bending Capabilities on Reinforced Concrete Beams Reinforced with Glued Steel

A study is performed on the reinforced concrete beams reinforced with glued steel. In combination with the results of experiments, the bearing mechanism of the glued steel reinforced concrete beams under conditions of bending destruction is analyzed, equations are derived for calculating the bearing and bending capabilities to the glued steel reinforced concrete beams, by which a reference is provided for reinforced design.
Analysis of epidemiologic characteristics and control measures of measles in Sanming city

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of measles in Sanming city from 1951 to 2013,andprovide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of the disease. Methods Descriptive epidemiological methodswere adopted to analyze the epidemic status of measles in Sanming city from 1951 to 2013. Results A total of 289 151 measles cases were reported from 1951 to 2013 including 2 589 deaths the average incidence rate and mortality rate were 225.2/100 000 and 2.0/100 000,The average fatality rate was 0.9%. The incidence of the disease dropped year after year and thehigh infection rate was from March to May,accounting 44.2% of the total cases. After employment of measles vaccine themorbidity of measles was greatly reduced and the proportions of measles in infants aged 0~3 years was decreased. From 1990 to 2013,the ratio of incidence rate of males to female was1.3:1 and most of the cases were in the age group of 0~14 yearsaccounting for 71.55%(1667/2330) mainly composed of students accounting 42.8%(996/2330). Conclusion Routinevaccinationand intensification of measles vaccination among eligible infants arethe key measures for elimination of measles.
Artificial Insemination Homologous with Oligospermic Semen Separated on Albumin Columns

Semen samples obtained from 27 infertile men were separated on human serum albumin (HSA) columns prior to artificial homologous insemination (AIH). The columns contained either a single 7.5% HSA layer or two 17.5% and 7.5% HSA layers. Separated specimens were free of seminal debris, had significantly improved motility and progressive drive, and had a decreased percentage of abnormal forms. The total sperm count was also significantly decreased after separation, especially with the two-layer technique. No conceptions occurred in 21 couples when two-layer separation was used, but four pregnancies in 12 couples resulted from AIH with semen separated on the single-layer column. The mean total count of motile sperm obtained for AIH was 5 million with the two-layer and 31 million with the one-layer technique.
Human T-cell development in SCID-hu mice: staphylococcal enterotoxins induce specific clonal deletions, proliferation, and anergy

SCID-hu mice provide an in vivo model for studying the events of normal intrathymic human T-cell development and differentiation. We injected SCID-hu mice with staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) and determined their effects on the development and responsiveness of human T-cell populations defined by their expression of CD4 and CD8, and the type of V beta molecule in their T-cell receptors. After single intraperitoneal injections of SEB or SEE, we observed specific effects on thymic T cells expressing a cognate V beta T-cell receptor (TCR) (V beta 12.1 in the case of SEB-treated SCID-hu mice and V beta 8.1 in the case of SEE-treated mice) using both immunohistochemical staining of thymic frozen sections and flow cytometric analyses. An injection of SEB resulted in a 32% decrease in the total percentages of V beta 12.1+ cells in thymic sections after 2 days, with the greatest effect seen in the medulla, without a demonstrable effect on V beta 5.2/5.3+ or V beta 8.1+ cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis demonstrated that TCRhi thymocytes expressing a cognate V beta TCR declined transiently by 35% to 45% 1 to 2 days after the injection of SE. Analysis of thymic subpopulations showed decreases in the TCRhi CD4+8- and CD4-8+ cells and an increase in TCRlo CD4-8+ cells. Multiple injections of SE resulted in 50% to 60% decreases in cognate V beta TCR+ CD4+8- populations. Thymocytes prepared from SE-treated SCID-hu mice demonstrated specific anergy to the SE to which they had previously been exposed in vivo, but had a normal proliferative response to other superantigens in an in vitro assay. In contrast to the effects on thymic T cells, single injections of SE resulted in a twofold increase in the total numbers of circulating CD4+8- and CD4-8+ human T cells and a fourfold to eightfold increase in T cells expressing a cognate V beta TCR. Using SE as superantigens in SCID-hu mice, we have been able to induce antigen-specific clonal deletions, anergy, and proliferation of human T cells.
Improved Ultrasound Based Computer Aided Diagnosis System for Breast Cancer Incorporating a New Feature of Mass Central Regularity Degree (CRD)

Ultrasound is one of the most frequently used methods for early detection of breast cancer. Currently, the accuracy of Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems based on ultrasound images is about 90 % and needs further enhancement in order to save lives of the undetected. A meaningful approach to do this is to explore new and meaningful features with effective discriminating ability and incorporate them into CAD systems. Some of the most powerful features used in cancer detection are based on the gross features of mass (e.g., shape and margin) that are subjectively evaluated. Recently, from an extensive investigation of ultrasound images, we extracted an easily quantifiable and easily measurable new geometric feature related to the mass shape in ultrasound images and called it Central Regularity Degree (CRD) as an effective discriminator of breast cancer. This feature takes into account a consistent pattern of regularity of the central region of the malignant mass. To demonstrate the effect of CRD on differentiating malignant from benign masses and the potential improvement to the diagnostic accuracy of breast cancer using ultrasound, this chapter evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of different classifiers when the CRD was added to five powerful mass features obtained from previous studies including one geometric feature: Depth-Width ratio (DW); two morphological features: shape and margin; blood flow and age. Feed forward Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with structure optimized by SOM/Ward clustering of correlated weighted hidden neuron activation, K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Nearest Centroid and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) were employed for classification and evaluation. Ninety nine breast sonograms—46 malignant and 53 benign- were evaluated. The results reveal that CRD is an effective feature discriminating between malignant and benign cases leading to improved accuracy of diagnosis of breast cancer. The best results were obtained by ANN where accuracy for training and testing using all features except CRD was 100 and 81.8 %, respectively, and 100 and 95.45 % using all features. Therefore, the overall improvement by adding CRD was about 14 %, a significant improvement.
Alleviation of pitch-up on delta wings using distributed porosity

An experimental investigation was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of distributed surface porosity for the alleviation of pitch-up on a delta wing. Tests were undertaken using a 65° sweep delta wing with distributed porosity evaluated at various locations on the wing. Force balance, on and off surface flow visualisation and flow field surveys using a multi-hole probe were undertaken. The data shows that distributed porosity applied along the wing leading edge at the apex is effective in eliminating pitch-up whilst incurring a minimal performance cost. Trailing edge porosity generally degraded performance.
Effect of the reflectional symmetry on the coherent hole transport across DNA hairpins

The coherent hole transfer in three types of DNA hairpins containing strands with adenine (A) and guanine (G) nucleobases has been studied. The investigated hairpins involve An+1GGAn, AnGAGAn, or (AG)2nA strands that connect the hole donor and hole acceptor located on opposite ends of hairpins. The positive charge transfer from the photo-excited donor to the acceptor is shown to be slower for An+1GGAn in comparison with AnGAGAn and (AG)2nA sequences. We have revealed that this is due to the reflectional symmetry of the last two sequences with respect to the axis passing through the middle base. As has been demonstrated, the symmetry of the sequence structure manifests itself in the reflectional symmetry of the energy eigenstates. In addition, it has been shown that (AG)2nA is the only symmetric sequence with a zero energy state in the middle of the LUMO tight-binding energy band. Based on our theoretical findings, we predict that the hairpin with this sequence should have the fastest coherent hole transfer rate among the class of base sequences studied.
Waveguide-enhanced Raman scattering for chemical sensing (Conference Presentation)

We will review the state of the art for on-chip, Raman-based sensing using waveguides including our recent work with sorbent-coated waveguides for trace gas sensing showing parts-per-billion limits of detection. We will show that signal enhancements due to scattering that takes place in the evanescent field coupled with a thin hypersorbent polymer coating can yield Raman efficiencies which are nine orders of magnitude larger than traditional micro-Raman techniques. We will also discuss challenges with gas component discrimination and in moving toward a fully integrated photonic circuit architecture for handheld Raman-based trace gas sensors.
Reduced Tolerance to Night Shift in Chronic Shift Workers: Insight From Fractal Regulation.

Study objectives Healthy physiology is characterized by fractal regulation (FR) that generates similar structures in the fluctuations of physiological outputs at different time scales. Perturbed FR is associated with aging and age-related pathological conditions. Shift work, involving repeated and chronic exposure to misaligned environmental and behavioral cycles, disrupts circadian coordination. We tested whether night shifts perturb FR in motor activity and whether night shifts affect FR in chronic shift workers and non-shift workers differently. Methods We studied 13 chronic shift workers and 14 non-shift workers as controls using both field and in-laboratory experiments. In the in-laboratory study, simulated night shifts were used to induce a misalignment between the endogenous circadian pacemaker and the sleep-wake cycles (ie, circadian misalignment) while environmental conditions and food intake were controlled. Results In the field study, we found that FR was robust in controls but broke down in shift workers during night shifts, leading to more random activity fluctuations as observed in patients with dementia. The night shift effect was present even 2 days after ending night shifts. The in-laboratory study confirmed that night shifts perturbed FR in chronic shift workers and showed that FR in controls was more resilience to the circadian misalignment. Moreover, FR during real and simulated night shifts was more perturbed in those who started shift work at older ages. Conclusions Chronic shift work causes night shift intolerance, which is probably linked to the degraded plasticity of the circadian control system.
Chapter 7 – Gonadotropin Hormones

Publisher Summary The pituitary gonadotropin hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), are dimeric glycoprotein hormones that play an essential role in the mammalian reproductive process. Synthesized in the gonadotropes of the anterior pituitary, LH and FSH are secreted into the systemic circulation and act on the ovary and testis to direct steroidogenesis and the final steps of gametogenesis. Because these hormones are responsible for sexual maturation and normal reproductive function, the regulation of their synthesis and secretion is essential for the preservation of a species. LH and FSH are each composed of two distinct carbohydrate-containing protein subunits in noncovalent association, a common alpha (α) subunit and a distinct beta (β) subunit that bestows biologic specificity Befitting their important roles in endocrine physiology, the synthesis and secretion of LH and FSH are under complex regulation by counterbalancing stimulatory hypothalamic inputs (e.g., gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH) and negative feedback from gonadal sex steroid and peptide hormones, with further paracrine modulation by local factors produced within the pituitary gland itself (e.g., activins, inhibins and follistatin). The integration of these signals results in the coordinated control of subunit gene expression, protein synthesis, and gonadotropin secretion to promote sexual maturation and control normal reproductive function.
Grid-connected operation of direct-drive wave energy converter by using HVDC line and undersea storage system

Oscillatory nature of the ocean waves lead to intermittent power generated by the wave energy converters (WECs). As a result, WECs face a major barrier for grid integration. The recently introduced undersea storage system (USS) offers a viable solution to overcome this barrier by smoothing the WEC output power fluctuations. Another, but related, issue is that since the output voltage of WECs are relatively at the low-voltage range and they are deployed far away from the coast, the internal grid in wave farm is required to collect the produced energy by all WECs and deliver it to a high-voltage grid via a voltage step-up equipment. In this paper, a modular multi-level converter (MMC)-based isolated dc/dc converter is proposed for voltage step-up at the collecting point and transferring the harvested power to a high-voltage dc (HVDC) line. Simulation studies of a grid-connected direct-drive WEC along with the USS are carried out. The considered WEC is interfaced with the MMC-based converter by an ac/dc converter. The USS is employed to regulate the dc-link voltage of the MMC converter and WEC output power fluctuations. The regulated dc power is transferred through an HVDC line and converted to ac on the onshore cite.
Oligotyping Bacterial Symbionts of Hindgut Protists Reveals Complex Population Structures and Transmission Trends in the Termite Reticulitermes flavipes

The hindgut protists of wood-feeding termites are often colonized by an assemblage of prokaryotic endo- and ectosymbionts. These associations can vary between protist species in a single termite species and between protists in different termite species and are, therefore, hard to characterize. The inability to culture termite associated protists has made it difficult to assess aspects of symbioses such as symbiont-host fidelity, symbiont acquisition, and differences in colonization between individual protists within the same termite host. In this study, we utilize high throughput amplicon sequencing of V4 16S rRNA gene to determine the composition of bacterial symbiont populations associated with single protist cells. Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were generated for protist-associated bacteria at 95% identity level and then further analyzed by oligotyping. The sequence diversity of associated symbionts was then compared within and across different protists species in Reticulitermes flavipes. Symbiont populations of Oxymonadida and Parabasilia protist species were significantly different from one another. Importantly, oligotypes corresponding to ectosymbionts were extensively shared between different protist species in many cases. Symbiont signatures such as the expansive host range of these ectosymbionts may be explained by their mode of transmission. Using a fluorescence-based cell assay, we observed the horizontal transmission of ectosymbionts over time. Ectosymbiont transmission was dependent on time, was shown to be an active process, and was non-random with respect to binding locations on some host cells. Although some symbionts were horizontally acquired there are likely to be as yet unidentified mechanisms in place to maintain their specificity to certain protist hosts. Our results suggest that oligotyping of symbionts associated with single protist cells, combined with cell-based transmission assays, can reveal insights into the complexity of their bacterial symbionts’ population structures and their host associations.
Rheological, textural and emulsifying properties of an exopolysaccharide produced by Mesorhizobium loti grown on a crude glycerol-based medium.

In the present study, a new extracellular polysaccharide (EPS-M816) was obtained during the growth of Mesorhizobium loti Semia 816 on a crude glycerol-based medium. EPS-M816 precipitate mainly consisted of carbohydrates (82.54%) and proteins (11.31%), and the weight average molecular weight was estimated at 1.646 × 106 Da. The biopolymer was characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy, and was found to have typical functional groups of other rhizobial polysaccharides. Furthermore, the rheological and emulsifying properties were investigated. The EPS-M816 solution (1.0% w/v) showed typical pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluid behavior, and the addition of sodium and potassium chloride (1 mol L-1) increased the apparent viscosity. Regarding its emulsification activity, EPS-M816 formed emulsions with different food-grade vegetable oils (soybean, rice, canola, sunflower and corn oils), showing emulsification index values over 65% in 24 h, indicative of strong emulsion-stabilizing capacity. The biopolymer was able to form gels with texture parameters similar to those reported for xanthan gum and low syneresis. Overall, these results suggest that EPS-M816 is a good candidate for application in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries as a thickening, gelling, stabilizing and emulsifying agent.