cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A thin film magnetorheological (MR) damper/lock

This paper presents the design, testing, and application of a thin-film Magnetorheological (or simply MR) fluids damper/lock. This MR damper/lock is designed for the use in a model adaptive fan nozzle system actuated by shape memory alloy wires. The MR damper/lock (a total of 8 in the fan nozzle system) will lock the opening size of the fan nozzle and provides damping when the system vibrates. For this purpose, the MR damper/lock has to have the following characteristics: 1) The device is in lock position when power is off. 2) The device has a small static friction force (less than 1 lbf) when power is on. 3) The device generates a small kinetic friction force when it slides during power-on period. 4) Its damping coefficient can be adjusted. 5) Being compact. To meet these requirements, a new design of a damper/lock using thin MR fluid film is employed. The device consists of five major components: two soft steel bars, two stacks of permanent magnets, two groups of magnetic wires, a soft steel slider, and MR fluid. Utilizing the permanent magnets, the MR fluid is trapped and the device is always in lock position. When the device is powered on, the flux of the electrical magnets partially cancels and re-directs the rest of the flux from the permanent magnets, and then the slider is free to move. In this design, MR fluid reduces the air gap and increases locking force when it is powered off. On the other hand, it also functions as a lubricant to reduce the kinetic friction forces when it is powered on. Extensive tests of the MR damper/lock are conducted to reveal its force-displacement curves and force-velocity curves under different applied voltages. Utilizing these testing results, the MR damper/lock is applied to the model adaptive fan nozzle system to perform both locking and damping tasks with a feedback control. Experimental results show that these tasks are successfully achieved.
Reinforcement Learning for Reactive Jamming Mitigation

In this paper, we propose a strategy to avoid or mitigate reactive forms of jamming using a reinforcement learning approach. The mitigation strategy focuses on finding an effective channel hopping and idling pattern to maximize link throughput. Thus, the strategy is well-suited for frequency-hopping spread spectrum systems, and best performs in tandem with a channel selection algorithm. By using a learning approach, there is no need to pre-program a radio with specific anti-jam strategies and the problem of having to classify jammers is avoided. Instead the specific anti-jam strategy is learned in real time and in the presence of the jammer.
Acetylcholinesterase staining differentiates functionally distinct auditory pathways in the barn owl

The aim of this study was to examine how the functional specialization of the barn owl's auditory brainstem might correlate with histochemical compartmentalizaiton. The barn owl uses interaural intensity and time differences to encode, respectively, the vertical and azimuthal positions of sound sources in space. These two auditory cues are processed in parallel ascending pathways that separate from each other at the level of the cochlear nuclei. Sections through the auditory brainstem were stained for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to examine whether nuclei that process different auditory cues stain differentially for this enzyme. Of the two cochlear nuclei, angularis showed more intense staining than nucleus magnocellularis. Nucleus angularis projects to all of the nuclei and subdivisions of nuclei that belong to the intensity processing pathway. Acetylcholinesterase stained all regions that contain terminal fields of nucleus angularis and thus provided discrimination between the time and intensity pathways. Moreover, staining patterns with acetylcholinesterase were complementary to those prevously reported with an anti-calbindin antibody, which stains terminal fields of nucleus laminaris, and thus stains all the nuclei and subdivisions of nuclei that belong to the time pathway. Some of the gross staining patterns observed with AChE were similar to those reported with antibodies to glutamate decarboxylase. However, AChE is a more convenient and definitive marker in discriminating between these pathways than is calbindin or glutamate decarboxylase. Acetylcholinesterase staining of the intensity pathway in the owl may be related to encoding of sound intensity by spike rate over large dynamic ranges. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Lessons learned: The effects of nutrient enrichment on the support of nekton by seagrass and salt marsh ecosystems

Coastal ecosystems such as eelgrass beds and salt marshes have always been valued for their high productivity and rich bounty of fish and shellfish. High plant productivity, complex physical structure, and suitable environmental characteristics combine to create areas of high production of important recreational and commercial species. If we are to successfully manage and restore these ecosystems, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which support of nekton may be affected by nutrient enrichment. A review of the literature suggests that there are some similarities and differences in the effects of nutrient enrichment on the support of nekton by seagrass and salt marsh ecosystems. Nutrient enrichment may compromise the ability of these habitats to support fish and invertebrates before the habitat itself is gone. In both ecosystems, alteration of characteristics within the ecosystem (for example, stem density in seagrass and food webs in marshes) affect the support of nekton, even though the basic ecosystem is still clearly extant. Because of differences in natural ecosystem characteristics, loss of ecosystem function does not occur through the same mechanisms. In seagrass systems, physical structure is usually lost first, followed by alteration of food webs and finally changes in dissolved oxygen. In salt marsh systems, loss of dissolved oxygen may occur early in the process, followed by food web alterations and eventually changes in the physical structure may occur. For both seagrass and salt marsh ecosystems, the mechanisms suggested to operate at the ecosystem-level are often based on relatively small-scale plot experiments that have been conducted in only a few locations. A better understanding of how these ecosystems function across broad geographic regions will be needed to ensure functioning coastal ecosystems.
Function of Human α3β4α5 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Is Reduced by the α5(D398N) Variant

Genome-wide studies have strongly associated a non-synonymous polymorphism (rs16969968) that changes the 398th amino acid in the nAChR α5 subunit from aspartic acid to asparagine (D398N), with greater risk for increased nicotine consumption. We have used a pentameric concatemer approach to express defined and consistent populations of α3β4α5 nAChR in Xenopus oocytes. α5(Asn-398; risk) variant incorporation reduces ACh-evoked function compared with inclusion of the common α5(Asp-398) variant without altering agonist or antagonist potencies. Unlinked α3, β4, and α5 subunits assemble to form a uniform nAChR population with pharmacological properties matching those of concatemeric α3β4* nAChRs. α5 subunit incorporation reduces α3β4* nAChR function after coinjection with unlinked α3 and β4 subunits but increases that of α3β4α5 versus α3β4-only concatemers. α5 subunit incorporation into α3β4* nAChR also alters the relative efficacies of competitive agonists and changes the potency of the non-competitive antagonist mecamylamine. Additional observations indicated that in the absence of α5 subunits, free α3 and β4 subunits form at least two further subtypes. The pharmacological profiles of these free subunit α3β4-only subtypes are dissimilar both to each other and to those of α3β4α5 nAChR. The α5 variant-induced change in α3β4α5 nAChR function may underlie some of the phenotypic changes associated with this polymorphism.
Biodiversity and trophic structure of soil nematode communities are altered following woody plant invasion of grassland.

Woody plant encroachment is an important land cover change in dryland ecosystems throughout the world, and frequently alters above and belowground primary productivity, hydrology, and soil microbial biomass and activity. However, there is little known regarding the impact of this geographically widespread vegetation change on the biodiversity and trophic structure of soil fauna. Nematodes represent a major component of the soil microfauna whose community composition and trophic structure could be strongly influenced by the changes in ecosystem structure and function that accompany woody encroachment. Our purpose was to characterize nematode community composition and trophic structure along a grassland to woodland chronosequence in the Rio Grande Plains of southern Texas. Research was conducted at the La Copita Research Area where woody encroachment has been documented previously. Soil cores(0-10 cm) were collected in fall 2006 and spring 2007 from remnant grasslands and woody plant stands ranging in age from 15 to 86 years, and nematodes were extracted by sugar centrifugation. Neither nematode densities (3200-13,800 individuals kg -1 soil) nor family richness (15-19 families 100 g -1 soil) were altered by woody encroachment. However, family evenness decreased dramatically in woody stands >30 years old. This change in evenness corresponded to modifications in the trophic structure of nematode communities following grassland to woodland conversion. Although root biomass was 2-5 x greater in wooded areas, root-parasitic nematodes decreased from 40% of all nematodes in grasslands to <10% in the older wooded areas, suggesting the quality (C:N or biochemical defenses) of woody plant root tissue could be limiting root-parasites. In contrast, bacterivores increased from 30% of nematodes in grasslands to 70-80% in older woody patches. This large increase in bacterivores may be a response to the 1.5-2.5x increase in soil microbial biomass (bacteria + fungi) following woody encroachment. Therefore, while energy flow through grassland nematode communities appears to be distributed nearly equally among herbivory, fungivory and bacterivory, the energy flow through nematode communities in wooded areas appears to be based primarily on bacterivory. We speculate that these shifts in nematode community composition and trophic structure could have important implications for ecosystem patterns and processes. First, the low abundance of root-parasitic nematodes (and presumably root herbivory) under woody plants may be one mechanism by which woody plants are able to establish and compete effectively with grasses during succession from grassland to woodland. Second, the large increase in bacterivores following woody encroachment likely accelerates microbial turnover and the mineralization of N, thereby providing a feedback that enables the persistence of N-rich woody plant communities.
Introduction to Security Studies: Feminist Contributions

In 1988, Millennium published a special issue on “Women and International Relations” now widely recognized as the start of a research program of feminist approaches to International Relations (ir)....
Accelerated development of genital Chlamydia trachomatis serovar E in McCoy cells grown on microcarrier beads.

Abstract Chlamydia trachomatis serovar E is a major cause of bacterially-acquired sexually transmitted infections. Stock cultures of these obligate intracellular bacteria are often propogated in McCoy cells. We recently reported that greater infectious titers of chlamydiae could be obtained if the McCoy cells were cultured on collagen-coated microcarrier beads versus plastic flasks, although the reason for the difference in efficiency was not clear. This study analyzed the development of C. trachomatis grown in McCoy cells by the two methods. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed an accelerated chlamydial development, with maturation of reticulate bodies into elementary bodies sooner in McCoy cells grown on the porous substratum. Comparison of particle counts versus infectivity titers indicated the production of fewer numbers of elementary bodies but which were highly infectious sooner from the infected McCoy cell-microcarrier bead cultures than from duplicate infected McCoy cell cultures grown in plastic tissue culture flasks.
A thymidine kinase-negative HSV-1 strain establishes a persistent infection in SCID mice that features uncontrolled peripheral replication but only marginal nervous system involvement

A detailed knowledge of the pathogenesis of infections caused by thymidine-kinase (TK)-deficient herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) strains is important because such mutants can arise during treatment of HSV infections with acyclovir--especially in immunocompromised patients--and also because TK-negative mutants may become useful for the therapy of intracranial tumors. In this work, we studied the pathogenesis of a genetically engineered TK-negative HSV-1 strain dlsptk, in SCID mice (mice with severe combined immunodeficiency) after corneal infection. We found that dlsptk established a persistent infection that kills SCID mice within 80.2 +/- 21.3 days. The cause of death seemed to be related to uncontrolled viral replication in the superficial and deep facial tissues of the animals. Viremia probably did not occur, as judged by the inability to detect infectious virus and viral gene expression in various internal organs. However, the virus did reach the nervous system, most probably by axonal transport from the primary site of the infection. Virus-specific DNA reached low but detectable levels in the trigeminal ganglia and the brainstems by 7 days p.i. and remained at low levels for up to 50 days p.i. as determined by spot blot analysis. By in situ hybridization and immunostaining we determined that, in some of the neurons of the trigeminal ganglia infected by the virus, viral latency was established. However, our results suggested that in other infected neurons viral replication occurred and virus spread to surrounding nonneuronal cells and to the central nervous system. This work provides a new model in which the pathogenesis of infections caused by TK-deficient HSV strains in immunocompromised hosts can be effectively studied and which may also help to identify the potential side effects of the therapy of intracranial tumors with TK-negative HSV strains.
ReExpress: a tutor for regular expressions mentoring with technology

Regular expressions are powerful but complex tools and require a thorough understanding to be used effectively. It is common for students to experience some challenges with the construction of regular expressions as well as with the recognition of the set of strings that are evaluated through them. This is the reason for the development of project ReExpres: a tutor for regular expressions.
Incorporation oftrans fatty acids into submandibular salivary gland lipids

Three groups of rats were fed diets containing 20% corn oil, 20% margarine stock (MS) or 19% MS +1% corn oil. Diets were fed for 12 weeks, 1 week of pregnancy, 3 weeks of lactation and 8 weeks post-weaning. The incorporation oftrans-octadecenoate into various lipids of the submandibular salivary gland (SMSG) homogenates and plasma membranes was studied.Trans octadecenoate was incorporated into all the lipid fractions studied. Its levels were the highest in phosphatidylethanolamine. The double bond index of phospholipid fatty acids in the plasma membranes of the SMSG was substantially lower in the group fed 20% MS. The fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) was generally higher in the membranes of SMSG from rats fed MS than that of the other two groups, thus indicating lower fluidity. Also, the breakpoints in fluorescence polarization were at a higher temperature in the membranes from rats fed MS as compared with those fed corn oil. Lower fluidity of plasma membranes of SMSG observed in rats fed 20% MS may result in modification of the activities of membrane-bound enzymes.
Multicast TCP via concast merged acknowledgments

One of the challenges in reliable multicast is approximating or replicating TCP's congestion control algorithm. This has led to various proposals to adapt TCP itself for use over multicast. The drawback of these multicast TCP services is that they place significant processing load on the sender and they fail to deal with the problem of ACK implosion. This paper shows how concast, a network-layer aggregation service, can be used in conjunction with a standard (unmodified) TCP implementation to support reliable multicast while avoiding ACK implosion and offloading ACK processing. Our prototype implementation shows that, even for relatively small groups, distributing the ACK processing and reducing ACK losses translates into significant improvements in end-to-end transmission rates.
Morphology In A Wraparound Image Algebra

An algebraic environment is established for the morphological processing of wraparound binary, as well as grey valued images. The equivalence of pointwise definitions for dilation and erosion with parallel implementations of these operations is proven. Additionally, geometric fitting algorithms are also derived for these operations. Finally, a Z transform theory is established and applied for determining both dilation and erosion, and for synthesizing morphological operations.© (1988) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
New Treatment Options Have Changed the Survival of Patients With Follicular Lymphoma

Background The natural history of follicular lymphoma is believed not to have changed over the last 30 years. Median survivals have ranged from 7 to 10 years, and the disease is considered incurable. However, multiple new treatment options have been developed in the last decade, and their impact on survival of follicular lymphoma remains unknown. Patients and Methods In the current analysis, we identified all previously untreated, advanced-stage, follicular lymphoma patients treated with the following three sequential treatment approaches: cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) chemotherapy ± nonspecific immunostimulants (Southwest Oncology Group [SWOG] 7426 and 7713: 1974 to 1983); prednisone, methotrexate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide (ProMACE) plus mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP) ± interferon (SWOG 8809: 1988 to 1994); and CHOP followed by monoclonal antibody (MoAb) therapy (SWOG 9800 and 9911: 1998 to 2000). We assessed the p...
Detection of ventricular ectopic beats using neural networks

The authors describe a system of three artificial neural networks (ANNs) trained to detect ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs) in the AHA database. Two ANNs were trained for each record, using a learning set containing five normal beats obtained from the record and seven VEBs obtained from a larger database. These two ANNs function as pattern recognizers for each record. The third ANN was trained to arbitrate disagreements between the first two ANNs. They replaced the beat classification logic of an existing VEB detector with this system of ANNs and evaluated its performance using 69 records from the AHA database. Gross VEB sensitivity improved from 94.83% to 97.39% when the ANN system replaced the original beat classification logic, and gross VEB positive predictivity improved from 92.70% to 93.58%. >
Effect of mobility on Future Satellite Packet Networks routing protocols

Current communication satellites are generally based on circuit technology and fixed-location terminals. In the future, satellites are expected to use packet-based (i.e., Internet) technology, and to support mobile as well as fixed-location terminals. We refer to these types of networks as Future Satellite Packet Networks (FSPNs). FSPNs will allow anywhere-to-anywhere global network connectivity for mobile nodes. However, due to blocking and/or fading, link connectivity will be dynamic. To preserve network connectivity in this dynamic environment, mobile nodes can be connected by terrestrial wireless as well as satellite links. The terrestrial links provide alternate paths from blocked terminals to the network.
Associations between mycophagous Drosophila and their Howardula nematode parasites: a worldwide phylogenetic shuffle.

Little is known about what determines patterns of host association of horizontally transmitted parasites over evolutionary timescales. We examine the evolution of associations between mushroom-feeding Drosophila flies (Diptera: Drosophilidae), particularly in the quinaria and testacea species groups, and their horizontally transmitted Howardula nematode parasites (Tylenchida: Allantonematidae). Howardula species were identified by molecular characterization of nematodes collected from wild-caught flies. In addition, DNA sequence data is used to infer the phylogenetic relationships of both host Drosophila (mtDNA: COI, II, III) and their Howardula parasites (rDNA: 18S, ITS1; mtDNA: COI). Host and parasite phylogenies are not congruent, with patterns of host association resulting from frequent and sometimes rapid host colonizations. Drosophila -parasitic Howardula are not monophyletic, and host switches have occurred between Drosophila and distantly related mycophagous sphaerocerid flies. There is evidence for some phylogenetic association between parasites and hosts, with some nematode clades associated with certain host lineages. Overall, these host associations are highly dynamic, and appear to be driven by a combination of repeated opportunities for host colonization due to shared breeding sites and large potential host ranges of the nematodes.
Some optimal simulation designs for estimating quadratic response surface functions

Presents some experimental design strategies for simulation studies involving the estimation of quadratic response surfaces. Optimal design plans are developed in four common second-order design classes (central composite, Box-Behnken, three-level factorial, and small composite designs) using a criterion which incorporates both the bias and variance of the predicted response variable. Three methods of assigning pseudorandom number streams to design points are considered: independent streams, common streams, and the simultaneous use of common and antithetic streams in an orthogonally blockable experimental design. Each method uses independent streams for replications of design points. The findings indicate that carefully planned experimental designs can substantially improve the estimation of quadratic response surface models. >
Exposure to Leadership WalkRounds in neonatal intensive care units is associated with a better patient safety culture and less caregiver burnout

Background Leadership WalkRounds ( WR ) are widely used in healthcare organisations to improve patient safety. The relationship between WR and caregiver assessments of patient safety culture, and healthcare worker burnout is unknown. Methods This cross-sectional survey study evaluated the association between receiving feedback about actions taken as a result of WR and healthcare worker assessments of patient safety culture and burnout across 44 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) actively participating in a structured delivery room management quality improvement initiative. Results Of 3294 administered surveys, 2073 were returned for an overall response rate of 62.9%. More WR feedback was associated with better safety culture results and lower burnout rates in the NICUs. Participation in WR and receiving feedback about WR were less common in NICUs than in a benchmarking comparison of adult clinical areas. Conclusions WR are linked to patient safety and burnout. In NICUs, where they occurred more often, the workplace appears to be a better place to deliver and to receive care.
Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A and coronary atherosclerosis: marker, friend, or foe?

This editorial refers to ‘Relationship among pregnancy associated plasma protein-A levels, clinical characteristics, and coronary artery disease extent in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris’† by J. Cosin-Sales et al., on page 2093 The natural history of coronary artery disease is complex and is characterized by the central role played by inflammation. Atherogenic stimuli, such as oxidized lipoproteins, glycation end products, hypertension, and smoking, cause endothelial dysfunction and apoptosis, vascular expression of adhesion molecules, and recruitment of inflammatory cells, which then migrate in the intima, thus setting the stage for plaque formation.1 Coronary atherosclerotic plaques have a high prevalence in the population, even in subjects dying of non-cardiac causes, and their burden increases with age.2 In many subjects these plaques remain silent for life; in others they suddenly become thrombogenic, triggering occlusive or subocclusive thrombosis, responsible for acute coronary syndromes. In survivors of a first acute coronary event, the latter is followed by a period, lasting about 1 year, of enhanced risk of new acute ischaemic events. Thereafter, the disease enters a new phase of quiescence, which can last for years. In a sizeable proportion of patients, the brisk transition from coronary stability to instability is associated with a sudden and widespread activation of inflammatory cells, detectable in the entire coronary circulation, in the myocardium and, in a subset of patients, even in remote arterial districts.3,4 This inflammatory outburst is not explained by the atherosclerotic burden, by activation of the haemostatic system, or by ischaemia.1 Thus, inflammation appears to play a key part, not only in plaque growth, … *Corresponding author. Tel: +39 06 3051166. E-mail address : filippo.crea{at}rm.unicatt.it
Anisotropic Phase Separation in Amorphous Fe-Ge Alloys

Magnetron sputtered amorphous FexGe100-x films have been examined with anomalous small-angle x-ray scattering (ASAXS) in an attempt to characterize composition fluctuations which have been previously reported in this system. Films grown under various deposition conditions have been studied, with the scattering vector both in and oblique to the plane of the films, to search for anisotropy. By manipulating the deposited power flux and rates of growth, films which have the same composition can be grown to different states of phase separation. The total correlation functions have been calculated from the oblique scattering experiments. The anisotropy can be successfully modeled as a close-packing of oriented prolate ellipsoidal particles, with the elongated axis along the direction of film growth. A method for using these measurements to determine the compositions of the phase-separating species has been developed and utilized. The results indicate phase separation into a-Ge and a-FeGe2 for the a-FexGe100-x (x<33) alloy.
Probabilistic Strength Estimates and Reliability of Damaged Parallel Wire Cables

Cable reliability analysis involves the combined evaluation of cable capacity and cable load in a probabilistic manner. Assessment of cable capacity is only possible through visual inspections of the wires, field sampling, laboratory analysis of the degraded wire populations, and analytical techniques. In addition to a brief presentation of cable mechanics and deterministic models that approximate cable strength, this paper discusses inspection methodologies and statistical methods of estimation of the sizes of the degraded wire populations, and wire properties, leading to cable capacities. These capacities are described by probability distributions. The paper also discusses fundamentals of reliability analysis as they apply to bridge cables. Load criteria of present standard specifications (such as AASHTO or other international codes) are not applicable to long-span suspension bridges. The paper discusses criteria of bridge loading and reliability indices for bridge cables. More work is needed in the evaluation of loading for long-span bridges.
The Effects of Facilitator Characteristics on Meeting Preparation, Set Up, and Implementation:

Organizational meetings represent a primary means of communication and coordination within and across work units. The trend toward team-based organizations has created a special need for meeting fa...
Information Relaxations and Duality in Stochastic Dynamic Programs

We describe a general technique for determining upper bounds on maximal values (or lower bounds on minimal costs) in stochastic dynamic programs. In this approach, we relax the nonanticipativity constraints that require decisions to depend only on the information available at the time a decision is made and impose a “penalty” that punishes violations of nonanticipativity. In applications, the hope is that this relaxed version of the problem will be simpler to solve than the original dynamic program. The upper bounds provided by this dual approach complement lower bounds on values that may be found by simulating with heuristic policies. We describe the theory underlying this dual approach and establish weak duality, strong duality, and complementary slackness results that are analogous to the duality results of linear programming. We also study properties of good penalties. Finally, we demonstrate the use of this dual approach in an adaptive inventory control problem with an unknown and changing demand distribution and in valuing options with stochastic volatilities and interest rates. These are complex problems of significant practical interest that are quite difficult to solve to optimality. In these examples, our dual approach requires relatively little additional computation and leads to tight bounds on the optimal values.
Ceramide-Coated Balloon Catheters Limit Neointimal Hyperplasia After Stretch Injury in Carotid Arteries

Neointimal hyperplasia at the site of surgical intervention is a common and deleterious complication of surgery for cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that direct delivery of a cell-permeable growth-arresting lipid via the balloon tip of an embolectomy catheter would limit neointimal hyperplasia after stretch injury. We have previously demonstrated that sphingolipid-derived ceramide arrested the growth of smooth muscle cell pericytes in vitro. Here, we show that ceramide-coated balloon catheters significantly reduced neointimal hyperplasia induced by balloon angioplasty in rabbit carotid arteries in vivo. This ceramide treatment decreased the number of vascular smooth muscle cells entering the cell cycle without inducing apoptosis. In situ autoradiographic studies demonstrated that inflating the balloon catheter forced cell-permeable ceramide into the intimal and medial layers of the artery. Intercalation of ceramide into vascular smooth muscle cells correlated with rapid inhibition of trauma-associated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and protein kinase B. These studies demonstrate the utility of cell-permeable ceramide as a novel therapy for reducing neointimal hyperplasia after balloon angioplasty.
Bacterial population dynamics during the ensiling of Medicago sativa (alfalfa) and subsequent exposure to air.

AIMS To describe, at high resolution, the bacterial population dynamics and chemical transformations during the ensiling of alfalfa and subsequent exposure to air. METHODS AND RESULTS Samples of alfalfa, ensiled alfalfa and silage exposed to air were collected and their bacterial population structures compared using 16S rRNA gene libraries containing approximately 1900 sequences each. Cultural and chemical analyses were also performed to complement the 16S gene sequence data. Sequence analysis revealed significant differences (P < 0·05) in the bacterial populations at each time point. The alfalfa-derived library contained mostly sequences associated with the Gammaproteobacteria (including the genera: Enterobacter, Erwinia and Pantoea); the ensiled material contained mostly sequences associated with the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (including the genera: Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Lactococcus). Exposure to air resulted in even greater percentages of LAB, especially among the genus Lactobacillus, and a significant drop in bacterial diversity. CONCLUSIONS In-depth 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed significant bacterial population structure changes during ensiling and again during exposure to air. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY This in-depth description of the bacterial population dynamics that occurred during ensiling and simulated feed out expands our knowledge of these processes.
RTD/CMOS nanoelectronic circuits: thin-film InP-based resonant tunneling diodes integrated with CMOS circuits

The combination of resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) silicon circuitry can offer substantial improvement in speed, power dissipation, and circuit complexity over CMOS-only circuits. We demonstrate the first integrated resonant tunneling CMOS circuit, a clocked 1-bit comparator with a device count of six, compared with 21 in a comparable all-CMOS design. A hybrid integration process is developed for InP-based RTDs which are transferred and bonded to CMOS chips. The prototype comparator shows sensitivity in excess of 10/sup 6/ VIA, and achieves error-free performance in functionality testing. An optimized integration process, under development, can yield high-speed, low power circuits by lowering the high parasitic capacitance associated with the prototype circuit.
Systematic Agreement: A Theory of Organizational Alignment.

Organizational alignment is a concept often mentioned in human resource development (HRD) models but rarely explained in detail. This theory of alignment looks at the extent to which strategy, structure, and culture create an environment that facilitates the achievement of organizational goals. The concept of alignment lends itself to the creation of high-performance work systems by explaining how the interdependent elements of the organization can achieve greater individual and collective efficiency and effectiveness. Well-aligned organizations apply effective leadership and HRD processes to create systematic agreement among strategic goals, tactical behaviors, performance and reward systems, and the organizational culture. This agreement helps people to remove barriers to cooperation and performance and thereby increases the performance of individuals, processes, and the organization as a whole.
Functional requirements of a mathematical model of the heart

Functional descriptions of the heart, especially the left ventricle, are often based on the measured variables pressure and ventricular outflow, embodied as a time-varying elastance. The fundamental difficulty of describing the mechanical properties of the heart with a time-varying elastance function that is set a priori is described. As an alternative, a new functional model of the heart is presented, which characterizes the ventricle’s contractile state with parameters, rather than variables. Each chamber is treated as a pressure generator that is time and volume dependent. The heart’s complex dynamics develop from a single equation based on the formation and relaxation of crossbridge bonds. This equation permits the calculation of ventricular elastance via E v = 3D ∂p v /∂V v . This heart model is defined independently from load properties, and ventricular elastance is dynamic and reflects changing numbers of crossbridge bonds. In this paper, the functionality of this new heart model is presented via computed work loops that demonstrate the Frank-Starling mechanism and the effects of preload, the effects of afterload, inotropic changes, and varied heart rate, as well as the interdependence of these effects. Results suggest the origin of the equivalent of Hill’s force-velocity relation in the ventricle.
Bone Stress Injuries in Runners

Bone stress injuries (BSIs) are common running injuries and may occur at a rate of 20% annually. Both biological and biomechanical risk factors contribute to BSI. Evaluation of a runner with suspected BSI includes completing an appropriate history and physical examination. MRI grading classification for BSI has been proposed and may guide return to play. Management includes activity modification, optimizing nutrition, and addressing risk factors, including the female athlete triad. BSI prevention strategies include screening for risk factors during preparticipation evaluations, optimizing nutrition (including adequate caloric intake, calcium, and vitamin D), and promoting ball sports during childhood and adolescence.
Alimentary canal of the lesser house fly, Fannia canicularis (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Fanniidae)

The alimentary canal of Fannia canicularis was studied intensively for the first time, highlighting the description of morphological characteristics and providing detailed morphometric data. Two pairs of Malpighian tubules with considerably different length were found which has been rarely documented for Calyptratae flies before. Furthermore, stout cardia and sinewy crop of the samples were ob- served and supposed to be responsible for the energy needed to support the long- time swarming behavior of the species.
The Multi-Sensor Nuclear Threat Detection Problem

One way of reducing false-positive and false-negative errors in an alerting system, is by considering inputs from multiple sources. We address here the problem of detecting nuclear threats by using multiple detectors mounted on moving vehicles in an urban area. The likelihood of false alerts diminishes when reports from several independent sources are available. However, the detectors are in different positions and therefore the significance of their reporting varies with the distance from the unknown source position. An example scenario is that of multiple taxi cabs each carrying a detector. The real-time detectors' positions are known in real time as these are continuously reported from GPS data. The level of detected risk is then reported from each detector at each position. The problem is to delineate the presence of a potentially dangerous source and its approximate location by identifying a small area that has higher than threshold concentration of reported risk. This problem of using spatially varying detector networks to identify and locate risks is modeled and formulated here. The problem is then shown to be solvable in polynomial time and with a combinatorial network flow algorithm.
Explaining and predicting the properties of materials using quantum theory

It has been about a hundred years since the atomic nature of matter began to be generally accepted. By the late 1920s, atomic theory was well established, and quantum theory had explained many properties of atoms in gases. The interpretation of the sharp lines in atomic optical spectra could be explained in terms of transitions between electronic energy levels. The application of interacting atoms in solids appeared straightforward in principle, and although quantum theory answered many fundamental questions about condensed matter, theoretical applications were mostly appropriate for idealized models of solids. Because the optical spectra of solids had broad structure, explaining their origin in terms of electronic transitions was more difficult than for the case of atoms. It was not until the 1960s that accurate electronic band structures could be calculated for bulk materials. Basic and applied research involving semiconductors, superconductors, and nanostructured materials has guided the application of quantum theory to condensed matter. These are areas where the use of quantum theory has been central in explaining and predicting properties and has even led to the discovery of new materials.
Fluid Force on Accelerating Bodies

The force exerted by a liquid on a moving body always depends on the preceding velocity and acceleration of the body. The Basset-Lai equation, derived from the linearized equation of motion, gives the force on spheroids when convective acceleration of the water particles may be ignored. Examples prove that the history integral it contains accounts for a large portion (even all) of the force. Measured forces on a cylinder anchored in accelerating water show that history is equally important when convective accelerations are large. An important unanswered question is whether history terms that will fit a range of motions can be invented for simple non-linear problems. For non-linear repetitive motion, such as the force exerted on piles by regular waves, no explicit history term is needed. The usual division of force into inertia and velocity portions is possibly less sound than a suggested alternative form from dimensional analysis. One cannot expect to unravel the hydrodynamics of irregular wave forces, but he may use similarity principles to predict their probability distribution from measurements made elsewhere. Irregular waves will be statistically similar, altho mean heights may differ greatly, if the probability distributions of suggested characteristics of the gage records are alike. Given similar waves and structures scaled to the waves, the probability distributions of dimensionless wave forces also will be alike, and the forces at one place can be predicted from measured forces at another.
Bidirectional radial Ca(2+) activity regulates neurogenesis and migration during early cortical column formation.

Cortical columns are basic cellular and functional units of the cerebral cortex that are malformed in many brain disorders, but how they initially develop is not well understood. Using an optogenetic sensor in the mouse embryonic forebrain, we demonstrate that Ca2+ fluxes propagate bidirectionally within the elongated fibers of radial glial cells (RGCs), providing a novel communication mechanism linking the proliferative and postmitotic zones before the onset of synaptogenesis. Our results indicate that Ca2+ activity along RGC fibers provides feedback information along the radial migratory pathway, influencing neurogenesis and migration during early column development. Furthermore, we find that this columnar Ca2+ propagation is induced by Notch and fibroblast growth factor activities classically implicated in cortical expansion and patterning. Thus, cortical morphogens and growth factors may influence cortical column assembly in part by regulating long-distance Ca2+ communication along the radial axis of cortical development.
"Bambini digitali", strumenti narrativi, scrittura dialogica

Edith Ackermann presents some of the compensation between orality 'and literacy from the perspective of the child, and shows the potential of different language games and environments based on narrative to enhance the susceptibility of children to narrazionee annotation.
Effect of Surfactant and Solvent on Spin–Lattice Relaxation Dynamics of Magnetic Nanocrystals

The effect of varying the surfactant and solvent medium on the dynamics of spin–lattice relaxation in photoexcited Fe3O4 nanocrystals has been investigated by measuring the time-dependent magnetiza...
Ordering Transition in Salt-Doped Diblock Copolymers

Lithium salt-doped block copolymers offer promise for applications as solid electrolytes in lithium ion batteries. Control of the conductivity and mechanical properties of these materials for membrane applications relies critically on the ability to predict and manipulate their microphase separation temperature. Past attempts to predict the so-called “order–disorder transition temperature” of copolymer electrolytes have relied on approximate treatments of electrostatic interactions. In this work, we introduce a coarse-grained simulation model that treats Coulomb interactions explicitly, and we use it to investigate the ordering transition of charged block copolymers. The order–disorder transition temperature is determined from the ordering free energy, which we calculate with a high level of precision using a density-of-states approach. Our calculations allow us to discern a delicate competition between two physical effects: ion association, which raises the transition temperature, and solvent dilution, w...
Fuzzy Logic Management Supervisor for Wind-Diesel-Battery Hybrid energy System

In this paper an operational control technique, based on using the Fuzzy Logic Energy Management Supervisor (FLEMS) is developed and applied to a proposed Wind-Diesel-Battery Hybrid System (WDBHS). The proposed system is modeled and simulated using MATLAB SIMULINK and FUZZY toolbox. The FLEMC is designed to work simultaneously with the commonly used ON-OFF controller, for optimizing the operation of the WDBHS under different wind speed. The proposed Fuzzy Logic Energy Management Controller (FLEMC) is proposed to supervise the input power and load demand continuously and to optimize the battery and diesel operation at various situations. The obtained results showed the great capability of the FLEMC in controlling the system.
Appalachian adolescents' eating patterns and nutrient intakes.

Meal and snack patterns of 114 male and 111 female adolescents in a southern Appalachian state were examined from 24-hour food records kept on a school day. Breakfast was skipped by 34% of the respondents, and 27% either skipped lunch or ate a snack-type lunch. The evening meal and snacks, each of which contributed about one-thirdof the daily energy intake, were eaten by 94% and 89%, respectively. Girls' mean intakes of vitamin A, calcium, and iron were low at all eating occasions throughout the day. Boys' mean intakes of iron were low at breakfast, lunch, and snacks; their vitamin A intakes were low at lunch and snacks. Adolescents who prepared their own breakfasts consumed less energy, protein, fat, and niacin at that meal than did adolescents who ate breakfasts prepared by their mothers. However, adolescent-prepared breakfasts were higher in nutrient density for calcium, riboflavin, and thiamin. Evening meals prepared by adolescents were similar in total nutrient content to meals prepared by their mothers but lower in nutrient density for iron and thiamin. Evening meals prepared by adolescents were more likely to include a sandwich and less likely to include a vegetable than were meals prepared by mothers.
TG2 and NF-κB Signaling Coordinates the Survival of Mantle Cell Lymphoma Cells via IL6-Mediated Autophagy

Expression of the transglutaminase TG2 has been linked to constitutive activation of NF-κB and chemotherapy resistance in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cells. TG2 forms complexes with NF-κB components, but mechanistic insights that could be used to leverage therapeutic responses has been lacking. In the current study, we address this issue with the discovery of an unexpected role for TG2 in triggering autophagy in drug-resistant MCL cells through induction of IL6. CRISPR-mediated silencing of TG2 delayed apoptosis while overexpressing TG2 enhanced tumor progression. Under stress, TG2 and IL6 mediate enhanced autophagy formation to promote MCL cell survival. Interestingly, the autophagy product ATG5 involved in autophagosome elongation positively regulated TG2/NF-κB/IL6 signaling, suggesting a positive feedback loop. Our results uncover an interconnected network of TG2/NF-κB and IL6/STAT3 signaling with autophagy regulation in MCL cells, the disruption of which may offer a promising therapeutic strategy. Cancer Res; 76(21); 6410-23. ©2016 AACR.
Even a Celebrity Journalist Can’t Have an Opinion: Post-Millennials’ Recognition and Evaluation of Journalists and News Brands on Twitter

Post-Millennials have exhibited decreasing levels of news usage but increased consumption of news via social media, more pronounced than the changes in older cohorts. These changes raise questions ...
Online Teacher Professional Development for Gifted Education: Examining the Impact of a New Pedagogical Model:

This article theoretically develops and examines the outcomes of a pilot study that evaluates the PACKaGE Model of online Teacher Professional Development (the Model). The Model was created to faci...