cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tolerance induction by a poorly arthritogenic collagen II can prevent collagen-induced arthritis.

Collagen type II (CII)-induced arthritis (CIA) can be induced in 78% of B10.RIII mice (H2r) by intradermal (id) immunization with CII of bovine origin in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), whereas immunization with CII of chick origin induces arthritis in <5% of these mice. Nevertheless, tolerization of B10.RIII mice with intravenously injected chick CII renders the animals resistant to induction of CIA by immunization with bovine CII. Such tolerization can be achieved either by intravenous injection of 500 μg chick CII 1 week prior to immunization with bovine CII in CFA or by such an intravenous injection of chick CII 2 weeks after immunization with bovine CII in CFA. Postimmunization treatment results in a significant decrease in the concentration of antibody to bovine CII. Preimmunization administration of chick CII causes a marked decrease in the antibody reactive with chick CII without a significant effect on the antibovine CII antibody concentration. In DBA/1 mice, a strain in which both bovine CII and chick CII can induce a high incidence of the disease, intravenous injection of bovine CII can also prevent arthritis induced by chick CII, even when given 7 or 14 days after immunization. The fact that chick CII as tolerogen is quite effective in preventing arthritis in B10.RIII mice, while as immunogen it is very ineffective in inducing arthritis in this strain, may be interpreted as evidence for interaction between different epitopes on CII in the pathogenesis of CIA.
Antisymmetric wave functions for mixed fermion states and energy convexity

We show how ensembles or mixed states can be described in terms of pure states that for Fermions lead to wave functions that are antisymmetric with respect to interchange of particle coordinates (and spin). The pure states are constructed in an augmented Hilbert space spanned by products of ensemble states projected onto mutually nonoverlapping coordinates that prevents the appearance of interference terms under antisymmetrization. As a demonstration of this new formalism, and under the assumptions of a positive interparticle interaction and a corresponding energy that is extensive in the number of particle pairs (pair extensive), we prove the convexity relation, ${E}_{v}[N\ensuremath{-}1]+{E}_{v}[N+1]\ensuremath{\geqslant}2{E}_{v}[N]$, where ${E}_{v}[N]$ denotes the total ground-state energy of $N$ Fermions (electrons) under an external potential $v(\mathbf{r})$.
Why has the incidence of schizophrenia in Danish psychiatric institutions decreased since 1970

— From The Danish Psychiatric Register five cohorts of all first-admitted patients to Danish psychiatric institutions from the years 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979, and 1980 have been followed, and trends in age-standardized rates of schizophrenia investigated. The first-admission rates have decreased in both sexes, significantly in males. In addition, the cumulated schizophrenia rates for the cohorts, including those of patients diagnosed as schizophrenics only at a later admission within periods of 2 and 5 years, decreased. This decrease is significant at 2 years of observation in both sexes and at 5 years in females. The decreasing first-admission rates might be explained partly by changes in diagnostic habits. The differential diagnoses of schizophrenia (paranoid states (ICD-8:297), paranoid reactive psychoses (298.3), unspecified psychoses (298.9 and 299), and borderline states (ICD-8 Danish version: 301.83)) are increasingly used as first-admission diagnoses for patients later to be diagnosed as schizophrenics, possibly owing to a tendency to avoid the diagnosis of schizophrenia, when treatment of a patient is possible. A method of calculating the hospital incidence of schizophrenia approaching the real incidence better than the incidence of first-admission diagnoses is suggested.
Transition to Adulthood : Delays and Unmet Needs among Adolescents and Young Adults with Asthma

Objective To examine the effect of the transition to adulthood on financial and non-financial barriers to care in youth with asthma. Study design With National Health Interview Survey data from 2000 to 2005, we examined delays and unmet needs because of financial and non-financial barriers, evaluating the effect of adolescent (age, 12-17 years; n = 1539) versus young adult age (age, 18-24 years; N = 833), controlling for insurance, usual source of care, and sociodemographic characteristics. We also simulated the effects of providing public insurance to uninsured patients and a usual source of care to patients without one. Results More young adults than adolescents encountered financial barriers resulting in delays (18.6% versus 8%, P Conclusions Delays and unmet needs for care caused by financial reasons are significantly higher for young adults than they are for adolescents with asthma.
Achalasia: A review of therapeutic options and outcomes

Advances in achalasia has led to the development of new therapeutic options. This review will focus on methodology and outcomes of two established techniques; pneumatic dilation and surgical myotomy; and one new technique, LES injection of botulinum A toxin.
Computer approaches to protein structure. VI. A multiple option model building program.

Abstract Conformation analysis of proteins is complicated by the presence of thousands of atoms which often are involved in multiple interactions. As a result, complete molecular models of proteins contain a relatively high information density. Computer graphics provides a means of controlling the flow of information by permitting the construction of large numbers of models containing different amounts of structural detail. The multiple option FORTRAN IV program described in this report permits the observer to focus on specific interactions and/or regions of a protein model with all or only specified amino acid side chains present on the backbone. The models can be readily translated, rotated, and adjusted in size, and constructed with specified visibility limits. Minor adjustments in the basic program provides complete families of stereoscopic pairs for three dimensional analysis of the models.
Attack-tolerant distributed sensing for dynamic spectrum access networks

Accurate sensing of the spectrum condition is of crucial importance to the mitigation of the spectrum scarcity problem in dynamic spectrum access (DSA) networks. Specifically, distributed sensing has been recognized as a viable means to enhance the incumbent signal detection by exploiting the diversity of sensors. However, it is challenging to make such distributed sensing secure due mainly to the unique features of DSA networks—openness of a low-layer protocol stack in SDR devices and non-existence of communications between primary and secondary devices. To address this challenge, we propose attack-tolerant distributed sensing protocol (ADSP), under which sensors in close proximity are grouped into a cluster, and sensors in a cluster cooperatively safeguard distributed sensing. The heart of ADSP is a novel shadow fading correlation-based filter tailored to anomaly detection, by which the fusion center prefilters abnormal sensor reports via cross-validation. By realizing this correlation filter, ADSP minimizes the impact of an attack on the performance of distributed sensing, while incurring minimal processing and communications overheads. The efficacy of our scheme is validated on a realistic two-dimensional shadow-fading field, which accurately approximates real-world shadowing environments. Our extensive simulation-based evaluation shows that ADSP significantly reduces the impact of attacks on incumbent detection performance.
Silicon detectors for the super LHC

Abstract The luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN to the Super LHC (sLHC) will increase the radiation dose at the experiments by roughly an order of magnitude. The elevated radiation levels require the LHC experiments to upgrade their tracking systems with extremely radiation hard detectors, capable of withstanding about a 1-MeV neutron-equivalent (neq) fluence of 1016 per square centimeter for the innermost tracking layers. Recent results on radiation hardening technologies developed by the RD50 Collaboration for sLHC use are reported. Silicon detectors have been designed and produced on n- and p-type wafers made by float zone, epitaxial and Czochralski technologies. Their charge collection efficiency after proton, neutron, pion, and mixed irradiation to sLHC fluences has been studied. Novel detector concepts have been designed, produced, and tested as well. Radiation-induced microscopic defects have been investigated and can be partly linked to the performance degradation of irradiated detectors.
D,L-Sulforaphane-Induced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer Cells Is Regulated by the Adapter Protein p66Shc

Cancer chemopreventive response to D,L-sulforaphane (SFN), a synthetic racemic analogue of broccoli constituent L-sulforaphane, is partly attributable to apoptosis induction, but the mechanism of cell death is not fully understood. The present study demonstrates a critical role for adapter protein p66(Shc) in SFN-induced apoptosis. Immortalized mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) derived from p66(shc) knockout mice were significantly more resistant to SFN-induced apoptosis, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production compared with MEF obtained from the wild-type mice. Notably, a spontaneously immortalized and non-tumorigenic human mammary epithelial cell line (MCF-10A) was resistant to SFN-induced ROS production and apoptosis. Stable overexpression of manganese superoxide dismutase in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells conferred near complete protection against SFN-induced apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential collapse. SFN treatment resulted in increased S36 phosphorylation and mitochondrial translocation of p66(shc) in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells, and SFN-induced apoptosis was significantly attenuated by RNA interference of p66(shc) in both cells. SFN-treated MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells also exhibited a marked decrease in protein level of peptidyl prolyl isomerase (Pin1), which is implicated in mitochondrial translocation of p66(shc) . However, stable overexpression of Pin1 failed to alter proapoptotic response to SFN at least in MCF-7 cells. Finally, SFN-induced S36 phosphorylation of p66(Shc) was mediated by protein kinase Cβ (PKCβ), and pharmacological inhibition of PKCβ significantly inhibited apoptotic cell death resulting from SFN exposure. In conclusion, the present study provides new insight into the mechanism of SFN-induced apoptosis involving PKCβ -mediated S36 phosphorylation of p66(shc).
Causes of Death, Determined by Autopsy, in Previously Healthy (or Near-Healthy) Children Presenting to a Children's Hospital

Abstract Context.—Childhood mortality statistics are based on death certificates. The causes of death listed on death certificates may not be confirmed by autopsy findings, and mortality statistics may reflect deaths of many children with chronic disease. The diseases responsible for nontraumatic deaths of previously healthy children cannot be determined from these statistics. Objective.—To identify causes of nontraumatic death in previously healthy or near-healthy children presenting to a children's hospital. Design.—Retrospective review of autopsy protocols from 572 children who died at Children's Hospital of New Orleans in Louisiana between 1985 and 2003, with the premise that autopsy was done after most deaths of previously healthy or near-healthy children. Causes of death were grouped by disease processes and age groups and were compared to premortem clinical diagnoses. Results.—Eighty-eight autopsy protocols were from children who were previously healthy or near healthy before the hospital admission...
Varied Pathogenicity of a Hong Kong-origin H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus in Four Passerine Species and Budgerigars

This investigation assessed the ability of the zoonotic A/chicken/Hong Kong/220/97 (chicken/Hong Kong) (H5N1) highly pathogenic avian influenza virus to infect and cause disease in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), house sparrows (Passer domesticus), European starlings (Sternus vulgaris), and budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) after intranasal administration. Zebra finches were the most severely affected of the five species, demonstrating anorexia, depression, and 100% mortality within 5 days of inoculation. Gross lesions in this species were absent or only mild. But histologic lesions and the corresponding viral antigen were observed in multiple organs, especially in the nasal cavity, brain, pancreas, spleen, adrenal glands, and ovary. Significant morbidity and mortality also were observed in both house finches and budgerigars. Affected birds of these two species demonstrated anorexia, depression, and neurologic signs and typically were moribund or dead within 2 days of the onset of clinical signs. Gross lesions were mild or absent in house finches and budgerigars. Histologically, the brain and pancreas were the most consistently and severely affected organs in house finches. The brain was the most affected organ in budgerigars. Unlike these three species, house sparrows suffered only mild transient depression, had no mortality, and lacked gross lesions. Viral antigen and microscopic lesions were observed only in the heart and testicle of a minority of birds of this species. Starlings demonstrated neither clinical disease nor mortality and lacked gross and histologic lesions. Viral antigen was not observed in any of the collected tissues from starlings. These results indicate that there is significant variation in the pathogenicity of the chicken/Hong Kong virus for different species of birds, including species within the same order. In addition, neurotropism is a recurrent feature among birds that eventually succumb to infection.
Effects of dietary l-carnitine supplementation on semen characteristics in boars

In some species, dietary supplementation with L-carnitine has been reported to increase sperm concentration and sperm motility. The objective of these experiments was to test the hypothesis that L-carnitine supplementation improves the semen characteristics of boars. In Experiment 1, boars (258 days of age) were fed daily a control diet (n = 9) or the control diet plus L-carnitine (500mg per day; n = 9 ). Semen was collected weekly from Weeks 0 to 15 and on 4 consecutive days during Week 16. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except boars ( n = 10 per treatment) were 504 days of age. For the weekly and intensive collections there were no consistently positive effects of treatment on semen volume, sperm concentration, total spermatozoa, or sperm motility. Spermatozoa from L-carnitine-treated boars did not display an enhanced ability to maintain motility during 7-day liquid storage. In conclusion, indicators of semen quality were not enhanced by dietary supplementation of L-carnitine in boars.
Erythrocyte dehydration in pathophysiology and treatment of sickle cell disease

A prominent feature of sickle cell disease is the presence of cells with markedly increased sickle cell hemoglobin concentration, as a consequence of the loss of potassium, chloride, and water from the erythrocyte. Because of the extreme dependency of the kinetic of polymerization on sickle cell hemoglobin concentration, these dehydrated erythrocytes have an increased tendency to polymerize and sickle. Thus blockade of the loss of potassium from the erythrocyte should prevent the increase in sickle cell hemoglobin concentration and reduce sickling. The availability of this potential therapeutic option is based on a detailed knowledge of the mechanisms leading to cell dehydration. Two ion transport pathways, the K-Cl cotransport and the Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel, play a prominent role in the dehydration of sickle erythrocytes. Possible therapeutic strategies include inhibition of K-Cl cotransport by increasing erythrocyte Mg2+ content and inhibition of the Ca(2+)-activated K channel by oral administration of clotrimazole.
Non-linear approximation filtering in estimating the origin of contaminant particles in a fluid flow using fixed sensors

The problem of accurately locating the origin of contaminant particles from noisy measurements obtained from a finite number of fixed sensors is treated here. The main methodology used here is particle filtering techniques in conjunction with model reduction. The physical system considered here consists of contaminant particles originating from an unknown location in a confined space, which are being carried away by the airflow inside a room. The path of the particles is influenced by both air flow inside the room as well as the inherent random movement of the particles. Concentration of the particles at each sensor is measured at discrete time instances. These measurements are inaccurate due to additive random noise and would be processed under a particle filter algorithm to estimate the origin of contaminant particles. Particle filters in nature involve heavy computational cost and it is shown that it can be greatly reduced by executing the algorithm in multi stages, modifying the importance weights formula, generating initial points using observations and reducing the dimensionality of the mathematical model. Extensive simulation experiments are carried out to show the effectiveness of particle filters in calculating the origin of contaminant.
The changing face of pathogen discovery and surveillance

The pace of pathogen discovery is rapidly accelerating. This reflects not only factors that enable the appearance and globalization of new microbial infections, but also improvements in methods for ascertaining the cause of a new disease. Innovative molecular diagnostic platforms, investments in pathogen surveillance (in wildlife, domestic animals and humans) and the advent of social media tools that mine the World Wide Web for clues indicating the occurrence of infectious-disease outbreaks are all proving to be invaluable for the early recognition of threats to public health. In addition, models of microbial pathogenesis are becoming more complex, providing insights into the mechanisms by which microorganisms can contribute to chronic illnesses like cancer, peptic ulcer disease and mental illness. Here, I review the factors that contribute to infectious-disease emergence, as well as strategies for addressing the challenges of pathogen surveillance and discovery.
Minimum-Area Sequential Budgeting for FPGA

The constraint-based approach to timing-driven placementrequires delay budgeting to define the delay upper bounds for nets.While most of the previous delay-budgeting works have beenfocused on optimizing combinational circuits, the work in [Delay Budgeting in Sequential Circuit with Application On FPGA Placement]introduces sequential budgeting, which combines budgeting andretiming to optimize sequential circuits better. However, theformulation in [Delay Budgeting in Sequential Circuit with Application On FPGA Placement] does not consider flip-flop (FF) minimization,which is important in practical applications. Here, we propose anew sequential budgeting algorithm, C-SBGT, that not onlycontrols the FF count, but also can be solved more efficientlycompared to [Delay Budgeting in Sequential Circuit with Application On FPGA Placement]. Our formulation has fewer constraints than [Delay Budgeting in Sequential Circuit with Application On FPGA Placement] and the procedure to realize retiming is also simpler. Ourexperiments show that our new min-area sequential budgetingalgorithm produces a good trade-off between the area andbudgeting optimization goals, as well as improving the timingof previous sequential budgeting method by 12%.
Purification and Characterization of Two Proteins from Culture Filtrates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Ra Strain.

Two proteins have been purified from culture filtrates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, H37Ra strain by a procedure combining gel filtration, diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose chromatography, and zone electrophoresis. The two proteins are similar in molecular weight but differ slightly in charge. The faster migrating protein, designated a1, is not antigenic. The slower migrating protein, designated a2, is antigenic both with respect to antisera and as a skin-testing antigen. Images
Hydrolysis of cotton fiber cellulose in formic acid

The hydrolysis of degreased cotton in formic acid has been studied in this paper. Hydrochloric acid is added as a catalyst. The crystalline index of degreased cotton decreases gradually with the increase in treatment time. The effects of the reaction temperature (from 55 to 65 °C) and reaction time (from 2 to 9 h) on hydrolysis have been evaluated. The hydrolysis of cellulose and degradation of glucose increase with the increases in reaction time and temperature. The optimal conditions for the hydrolysis of degreased cotton is found to be at 65 °C for 5 h. Under the optimal conditions, 23% of the degreased cotton is turned into glucose. The maximum transformation ratio of degreased cotton to reducing sugars is 32%.
Hypothetical worst case solar particle event doses in LE0

For over two decades, hypothetical models of "worst case" solar particle event (SPE) spectra have been proposed in order to place an upper bound on radiation doses to crews on space missions. These event spectra are usually formulated using hypothetical extrapolations of space measurements for previous large events, which have occurred during or just prior to the space era. In this work we take a different approach. Recently reported analyses of ice core samples indicate that the Carrington flare of 1859 is the largest event observed in the past 500 years. These ice core data yield estimates of the proton fluence for energies greater than 30 MeV, but provide no other spectrum information. Assuming that the proton energy distribution for such an event is similar to that measured for other recent, large events, critical body organ doses for crews in representative LEO missions are estimated for these hypothetical worst-case SPE spectra. If the event is accompanied by a substantial geomagnetic storm, these estimated doses are large and could be mission threatening unless substantial shielding is provided.
The Final Steps to Toxic Cell Death

AbstractMore than 20 years ago Judah proposed that for a series of hepatotoxins the pathways to cell killing could be subdivided into two parts, one part specific to a given hepatotoxin and the other a final common pathway involving Ca2+ influx. With the development of suitable hepatocyte culture systems the proposal was tested. A wide variety of hepatotoxins killed in the presence of extracellular Ca2+ but not in its absence. Although these results were interpreted in terms of a final common pathway to cell death analogous to Judah's proposal, it has become clear that the Ca2+-mediated final pathway is not universal. Additional study of the biochemical mechanism of Ca2+-rnediated cell killing in cultured mouse fibroblasts treated with divalent cation ionophore A23187 plus Ca2+ have demonstrated the existence of at least two Ca2+-dependent steps and a Na+-dependent step, the first Ca2+-dependent step being associated with the release of arachidonic acid from cellular phospholipids. These studies have also...
Topologies, Continuity and Bisimulations

The notion of a bisimulation relation is of basic impor- tance in many areas of computation theory and logic. Of late, it has come to take a particular signicance in work on the formal analy- sis and verication of hybrid control systems, where system properties are expressible by formulas of the modal -calculus or weaker tem- poral logics. Our purpose here is to give an analysis of the concept of bisimulation, starting with the observation that the zig-zag condi- tions are suggestive of some form of continuity. We give a topological characterization of bisimularity for preorders, and then use the topol- ogy as a route to examining the algebraic semantics for the -calculus, developed in recent work of Kwiatkowskaet al., and its relation to the standard set-theoretic semantics. In our setting, -calculus sen- tences evaluate as clopen sets of an Alexandro topology, rather than as clopens of a (compact, Hausdor) Stone topology, as arises in the Stone space representation of Boolean algebras (with operators). The paper concludes by applying the topological characterization to obtain the decidability of -calculus properties for a class of rst-order de- nable hybrid dynamical systems, slightly extending and considerably simplifying the proof of a recent result of Laerriere et al. AMS Subject Classication. 03B45, 54C60, 93C60.
Competitive rhythms with synchronous standby (demand) pacemakers.

Abstract Two cases are presented which illustrate some limitations of synchronous standby (demand) pacemakers in preventing competitive rhythms. The possibility of a pacemaker stimulus firing in the vulnerable period of a competitive beat is diminished but not precluded by the choice of a synchronous demand pacemaker.
A $Ku$ -Band Two-Antenna Four-Simultaneous Beams SiGe BiCMOS Phased Array Receiver

This paper presents a Ku-band SiGe BiCMOS phased array receive chip capable of forming four-simultaneous beams from two antenna inputs. The design is based on the all-RF architecture with 4-bit active phase shifters and 4-bit variable gain amplifiers in each channel. The four-beam chip results in a gain of 4-6 dB per channel at 13-15 GHz, a noise figure of 10-11 dB, a worst case input P1 dB of -14.3 dBm per channel (input third-order intercept point of -7 dBm), and an rms phase and gain error of 40 dB at 13-15 GHz. The chips can operate over an instantaneous bandwidth of > 1 GHz at any frequency from 13 to 15 GHz, and the four beams can be at the same frequency if required. With all digital control circuitry and electrostatic discharge protection for all I/O pads, the chip occupies an area of 2.4 × 4.3 mm2 and consumes 520 mA at 3.5-V supply voltage. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an all-RF phased array silicon chip capable of producing four-simultaneous beams from two different antennas or four-simultaneous beams of different polarizations from a dual polarization antenna. The application areas are in satellite communications and defense systems.
Effects of Temperature on Development of Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Use of Developmental Data in Determining Time Intervals in Forensic Entomology

Precise developmental data for forensic indicator blow fly species are essential for accuracy in the estimate of the post-mortem interval (PMI). Why, then, does the determination of the PMI result in conflicting time frames when published conspecific developmental data are used? To answer this question, we conducted constant temperature trials between the developmental minimum temperature and upper threshold temperatures (8-32°C) on the forensically important blow fly species Phormia regina (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Flies were reared using two designs to quantify sources of variation. We measured rearing container temperatures and internal growth chamber temperatures by using thermocouples to accurately record temperatures experienced by larvae and to construct a degree-day model. Differences in experimental design, as seen across temperature studies for this fly species, did not significantly impact larval development. We also found that using set chamber temperatures rather than rearing container temperatures altered the final degree-day model. Using any minimum threshold (including an empirically determined true minimum) other than that from linear interpolation (x-intercept) violated degree-day assumptions and invalidated estimates of the PMI. We observed the minimum developmental temperature to be higher (14°C) than that generated under the x-intercept method (5.46°C) by using data from oviposition to adult emergence. This difference along with the noted difference in accumulated degree-days (using different base temperatures) suggests a need for additional experimentation on other forensically important fly species at low temperature thresholds to help with development of curvilinear models. Former and current estimates of the PMI may be inaccurate if the process to determine the time frame ignored degree-day model assumptions or was based upon questionable data sets.
Languages of the World: Languages of eastern Asia

Throughout this book so far we have focused on languages in their spoken form. We have talked about ways of speaking , native speakers of a language, and considered two ways of speaking to be different languages if their speakers cannot understand each other in the spoken form . But in eastern Asia, a region including China, Japan, Korea and South-East Asia, and defined in historical terms as the area influenced by Classical China, the written form of language has played an important role in language contact among the tongues and language families in the region. A speaker of a Chinese variety such as Mandarin and a speaker of Japanese may not understand each other in the spoken form, but they may understand more if they write to each other. Even speakers of different Chinese varieties, such as Mandarin and Cantonese, may understand each other better in the written rather than the spoken form. Chinese writing, developed during the Old Chinese period (1100–100 BCE), is one of the oldest writing systems in the world. Even though the spoken language changed, as all languages do, the written form of the late Old Chinese period, generally referred to in English as Classical Chinese, “became accepted as the standard written dialect and changed very little until the beginning of the twentieth century” (Rogers 2005 : 21). By the nineteenth century, the spoken and written forms of Chinese had diverged so much that “written Chinese was not understandable without considerable education” (Rogers 2005 : 22). From the early twentieth century a movement gained force to use a more contemporary vernacular Chinese as the written standard, and Modern Standard Chinese has emerged, based on a form of Mandarin spoken in Beijing. But this written standard is being used by speakers not only of the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, but also of other varieties of Chinese as well. The written form serves as a bridge across divides in spoken Chinese vernaculars: Cantonese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese and so on. Chinese characters were also used at different times by speakers of other languages in the region, linguistically unrelated to Chinese, such as Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese. The contact between China and Korea happened very early, before the second century BCE.
Investigation of the Bi-Linear Behavior of the Indentation Size Effects in Single and Polycrystalline Ni Thin Films/MEMS Thin Films

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the indentation size effects at the nano, sub-micron, and micron-scales. The size dependence of the indentation hardness in these regimes is shown to exhibit a bi-linear behavior when the data are fitted to Taylor Dislocation Hardening (TDH) model. The deformation in indent sizes corresponding to the onset of the transition from micro and deep nano indents to shallow nano indents represent dislocation substructures at the sub-micron and micron scales whereas the deformation at the nano-scale represents dislocation source-limited behavior.
Hermann Karsten, pioneer of geologic mapping in northwestern South America

Abstract. In the late 19th century, a regional map of Nueva Granada (present-day Colombia, Panama and parts of Venezuela and Ecuador) was published by German botanist and geologist Hermann Karsten (1817–1908). Karsten's work was incorporated by Agustin Codazzi (1793–1859), an Italian who emigrated to Venezuela and Colombia to serve as a government cartographer and geographer, in his popular Atlas geografico e historico de la Republica de Colombia (1889). Geologic mapping and most observations provided in this 1889 atlas were taken from Karsten's Geologie de l'ancienne Colombie bolivarienne: Venezuela, Nouvelle-Grenade et Ecuador (1886), as cited by Manual Paz and/or Felipe Perez, who edited this edition of the atlas. Karsten defined four epochs in Earth history: Primera – without life – primary crystalline rocks, Segunda – with only marine life – chiefly sedimentary rocks, Tercera – with terrestrial quadrupeds and fresh water life forms life – chiefly sedimentary rocks, and Cuarta – mankind appears, includes diluvial (glacigenic) and post-diluvial terranes. He noted that Colombia is composed of chiefly of Quaternary, Tertiary and Cretaceous plutonic, volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and that Earth's internal heat (calor central) accounted, by escape of inner gases, for volcanism, seismicity and uplift of mountains. Karsten's regional mapping and interpretation thus constitutes the primary source and ultimate pioneering geologic research.
Abstract 11065: Paradoxical Impact of Overweightness on Mortality in Lung Transplantation

Background: Prognostic value of body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been described extensively in various populations. The objective of this study was to examine impact of BMI and CRF on all-cause mortality in isolated lung transplant recipients. Methods: Consecutive isolated lung transplant recipients from 2008 to 2013 were identified. Pre-transplant cardio-metabolic risk factors were collected. The cohort was categorized using BMI into normal (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m 2 ), underweight (BMI 2 ), overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m 2 ) and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). Fit patient was defined as those who had pre-transplant six-minute-walk distance > 300 m. Results: The study comprised of 324 patients with mean age of 57 ± 13 years. Fifty eight percent were male. Primary lung pathologies were 26.9% obstructive, 2.5% vascular, 6.5% cystic fibrosis and 64.2% restrictive lung diseases. Pertinent cardio-metabolic risk factors included 36.7% normal weight, 9.9% underweight, 33.6% overweight, 19.8% obese, 21.9% unfit, 13.9% coronary artery disease, 55.6% hypertension, 29.6% diabetes mellitus, 42.3% hyperlipidemia, 42.9% smoking history. Annualized mortality rate stratified by BMI exhibited J-shaped distribution with lowest mortality in overweight group (p 0.005). Kaplan Meier analysis correspondingly showed highest survival in overweight strata (p 0.006). In subgroup analysis by CRF, paradoxical impact of overweightness on mortality was diminished in fit patients (p>0.05) but not in those who were unfit (p Conclusion: In our lung transplant cohort, BMI and mortality had J-shaped relationship with highest survival in overweight group. This paradoxical impact was diminished in patients who were fit. Our findings extend the paradigm of obesity paradox into lung transplantation arena.
Another Remark Concerning the Definition of a Field

(1966). Another Remark Concerning the Definition of a Field. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 161-162.
Influence of Coalescence on the Anisotropic Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Nickel Powder/Polydimethylsiloxane Composites

Multifunctional polymer-based composites have been widely used in various research and industrial applications, such as flexible and stretchable electronics and sensors and sensor-integrated smart structures. This study investigates the influence of particle coalescence on the mechanical and electrical properties of spherical nickel powder (SNP)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites in which SNP was aligned using an external magnetic field. With the increase of the volume fraction of the SNP, the aligned SNP/PDMS composites exhibited a higher tensile strength and a lower ultimate strain. In addition, the composites with aligned SNP showed a lower percolation threshold and a higher electrical conductivity compared with those with randomly dispersed SNP. However, when the concentration of the SNP reached a certain level (40 vol. %), the anisotropy of the effective material property became less noticeable than that of the lower concentration (20 vol. %) composites due to the change of the microstructure of the particles caused by the coalescence of the particles at a high concentration. This work may provide rational methods for the fabrication of aligned composites.
Developmental Pharmacokinetics of the Posterior Pituitary Hormones

Arginine vasotocin, arginine vasopressin, and oxytocin play a critical role in the stimulation of labor and delivery and in salt and water homeostasis in the newborn infant. The authors present information on their chemistry, secretion, and metabolism, and discuss the clinical effects upon target organs of their presence or absence.
Radioactively iodinated cyclo(His-Pro) crosses the blood-brain barrier and reverses ethanol-induced narcosis

Cyclo(His-Pro) (cHP) is a peptide widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral tissues that can affect brain function after either peripheral or CNS administration. This suggests that cHP may be a neuromodulator capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We, therefore, studied the ability of radioactively labeled cHP (I-cHP) to cross the BBB. We found that I-cHP can cross the BBB in either the direction of blood to brain or brain to blood by nonsaturable mechanisms. The rate of entry of I-cHP into the CNS was low in comparison with other peptides, especially considering its relatively low molecular weight and high lipid solubility. However, this slow entry was offset by a long half-life in blood and extreme enzymatic resistance, allowing cHP to accumulate in the CNS. This accumulation was sufficient to allow intravenous cHP to reverse ethanol-induced narcosis, an effect mediated through the CNS. The rate of entry of I-cHP was resistant to conditions that alter the passage of some other substances across the BBB or that have been shown to affect cHP metabolism such as aging, diabetes, and pretreatment with aluminum. Entry of cHP into the brain was not retarded by binding to serum proteins. Significant amounts of I-cHP entered the serum, brain, and other tissues after intraperitoneal administration, the route used in many studies of cHP. Taken together, these results show that cHP is a highly stable peptide that, after intravenous injection, slowly enters the brain by a nonsaturable mechanism in amounts large enough to affect such aspects of the CNS as ethanol-induced narcosis.
Assessment Driven Learning: the Use of Higher-Order and Discipline-Integrated Questions on Gross Anatomy Practical Examinations

Gross anatomy practical examinations have traditionally been composed of primarily free-response identification questions. Because student learning and study habits are influenced by testing, it is important that curricular design and objectives are reflected in all types of assessments, including those that take place in a laboratory setting. The use of higher-order and discipline-integrated questions on gross anatomy practical examinations reinforces the importance that anatomy knowledge has in clinical reasoning and assesses students’ ability to apply foundational information from an early point in their medical career. In this study, gross anatomy practical examinations were analyzed to assess the impact that higher-order and discipline-integrated testing modalities have on various measures of student performance. Two years of examinations (N = 338 questions) were reviewed and categorized by question type, Bloom’s taxonomy and discipline. Difficulty, discrimination index (DI) and point-biserial correlations were calculated for each question. These statistics were then compared between categories using Kruskal-Wallis tests with post-hoc pairwise comparisons (Dunn’s method). Results demonstrate that higher-order and discipline-integrated questions were significantly more difficult than traditional identification questions and tended to have higher mean DIs and point-biserials. Questions that targeted higher Bloom’s taxonomic levels were also found to be more difficult. This study demonstrates that integrated examinations can be incorporated into the gross anatomy laboratory, but suggests that this be done carefully as these changes can impact student performance.
Power Semiconductor Devices

Power semiconductor devices are one of the core constituent elements of state-of-the-art power electronic applications. They are employed in a plethora of applications ranging from DC–DC converters, rectifiers, inverters, AC–AC converters, and so on. Modern semiconductor devices are designed to operate accurately and robustly over a large range of operating conditions, while striving to achieve the desired balance between their breakdown voltages, turn-on resistance and switching characteristics. Therefore, they are optimized with respect to physical structure, doping profiles, fabrication and packaging techniques, which jointly define their steady state and dynamic operating performance. As a result, each power semiconductor device exhibits a unique set of operating characteristics. Understanding their device level fundamentals therefore has critical implications on design of efficient, reliable, cost-effective, power IC systems. This chapter focuses on the review of various power semiconductor devices in modern power electronics.
Dissociable Fronto-Operculum-Insula Control Signals for Anticipation and Detection of Inhibitory Sensory Cue

The ability to anticipate and detect behaviorally salient stimuli is important for virtually all adaptive behaviors, including inhibitory control that requires the withholding of prepotent responses when instructed by external cues. Although right fronto-operculum-insula (FOI), encompassing the anterior insular cortex (rAI) and inferior frontal cortex (rIFC), involvement in inhibitory control is well established, little is known about signaling mechanisms underlying their differential roles in detection and anticipation of salient inhibitory cues. Here we use 2 independent functional magnetic resonance imaging data sets to investigate dynamic causal interactions of the rAI and rIFC, with sensory cortex during detection and anticipation of inhibitory cues. Across 2 different experiments involving auditory and visual inhibitory cues, we demonstrate that primary sensory cortex has a stronger causal influence on rAI than on rIFC, suggesting a greater role for the rAI in detection of salient inhibitory cues. Crucially, a Bayesian prediction model of subjective trial-by-trial changes in inhibitory cue anticipation revealed that the strength of causal influences from rIFC to rAI increased significantly on trials in which participants had higher anticipation of inhibitory cues. Together, these results demonstrate the dissociable bottom-up and top-down roles of distinct FOI regions in detection and anticipation of behaviorally salient cues across multiple sensory modalities.
Biotechnological Potential of Marine Microbes

The world’s oceans, from the coasts to the abysses, harbor an incredible level of microbial diversity. This marine microbial biosphere is an enormous, untapped resource of biotechnological interest. This chapter reviews the potential of marine microbes in biotechnology. The biotechnological potential is considerable, ranging from the synthesis of bioactive molecules to the production of biofuels, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and biopolymers; from the engineering of marine microbes for biomedical purposes to the degradation of pollutants, and the use of microbial biosensors as sentinels for environmental quality. Marine viruses have great biotechnological potential, yet the exploration of the marine virome, and the associated gene and protein pool, is only beginning. Marine archaea have so far been exploited for the isolation of enzymes, yet many biotechnological exploitations can be foreseen. Bacteria and microbial eukaryotes, especially fungi and photosynthetic protists, provide an important contribution to biotechnology; the combination of omics-driven technologies and improved cultivation techniques is widening the knowledge on their biological diversity, paving the way for new biotechnological exploitations. The exploration of the marine microbial biosphere, and its extraordinary genetic and physiological diversity, will undoubtedly continue to offer chances for the development of new and sustainable blue biotechnologies, helping to solve important societal challenges of the twenty-first century.
On the energy-distortion tradeoff for the Gaussian broadcast problem

The energy-distortion tradeoff for the transmission of a white Gaussian source over the additive white Gaussian broadcast channel is investigated by translating the known upper and lower bounds into the infinite bandwidth regime. While a gap continues to exist between the bounds in this regime, it is shown that in a certain region on the distortion plane, the energy difference between the best known upper and lower bounds is quantifiably small.
The Freedom of the Prices: Hayek and Jewkes on Egalitarianism and Freedom of Occupation

Milton Friedman (1962) famously argued there can be no freedom of speech where the government owns the printing presses. According to Friedman, political freedom presupposes economic freedom. Less well-known are F. A. Hayek's and John Jewkes's illustrations of the same principle, both drawing from labor economics. It is impossible to maintain freedom of occupation when the price-system is abandoned, assuming productive output and employment are to be maintained. Prices do not merely create incentives, but they communicate knowledge as well. Some egalitarians recognize the need to maintain some inequality in order to furnish incentives, but they neglect the informational aspect of prices. If wage rates are manipulated, then even a socially conscientious worker will not know where his or her labor is most urgently needed. Thus, is impossible to equalize wages while maintaining individual freedom, assuming economic productivity is desired. To maintain the informational and incentivization aspects of wages, it is not enough that wages are unequal by any amount; they must be relatively unequal by the correct amount. Hayek and Jewkes suggest maintaining both knowledge and incentives together require complete freedom of prices for labor.
A deep convolutional neural network and a random forest classifier for solar photovoltaic array detection in aerial imagery

Power generation from distributed solar photovoltaic PV arrays has grown rapidly in recent years. As a result, there is interest in collecting information about the quantity, power capacity, and energy generated by such arrays; and to do so over small geo-spatial regions (e.g., counties, cities, or even smaller regions). Unfortunately, existing sources of such information are dispersed, limited in geospatial resolution, and otherwise incomplete or publically unavailable. As result, we recently proposed a new approach for collecting such distributed PV information that relies on computer algorithms to automatically detect PV arrays in high resolution aerial imagery [1], Here we build on this work by investigating two machine learning algorithms for PV array detection: a Random Forest classifier (RF) [2] and a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) [3]. We use the RF algorithm as a benchmark, or baseline, for comparison with a CNN model. The two models are developed and tested using a large collection of publicly available [4] aerial imagery, covering 135 km2, and including over 2,700 manually annotated distributed PV array locations. The results indicate that the CNN substantially improves over the RF. The CNN is capable of excellent performance, detecting nearly 80% of true panels with a precision measure of 72%.