cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of suspended uncontaminated sediment on persistent organic pollutant release.

The transport and fate of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) during resuspension events were investigated using a batch mixing technique. This technique allowed for the determination of sorption and desorption kinetics under more realistic mixing conditions than those used in previous investigations. It was demonstrated that sorption follows second-order kinetics that are dependent on both POP concentration and the total suspended solids (TSS) of the system. Desorption shows a similar dependence. To further characterize pollutant release, the impact on maximum POP release of suspending uncontaminated sediment concomitantly with contaminated sediment was investigated, as this more accurately models real-world resuspension events. It was found that even relatively low ratios of uncontaminated to contaminated sediment (1:2) yield a maximum POP release nearly 10 times lower than for systems containing only contaminated sediment. Increasing the ratio of uncontaminated sediment further reduced maximum POP release. These results highlight an important limitation of laboratory desorption experiments and current risk-assessment models related to dredging operations; under typical field conditions, the impact of dredging on pollutant transport and fate may be greatly overpredicted. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:375–381. © 2013 SETAC
Exploring performance-power tradeoffs in providing reliability for NoC-based MPSoCs

Performance and power consumption are important challenges faced by Network-on-Chip (NoC) designers. The situation is exacerbated when error control techniques are employed to provide reliability, since such techniques can lead to extra power consumption and execution cycles. In many systems today, ECC codes are used for error detection. Once an error is detected, recovery schemes are invoked to correct it. In this paper, we focus on tuning error recovery schemes to explore performance, power and reliability tradeoffs. Previous reliability work targeting NoCs proposed two retransmission techniques to recover from errors: End-to-End retransmission and Hop-by-Hop retransmission. End-to-End retransmission can save power but can also incur longer delays for recovery by checking errors only at the destination. In comparison, Hop-by-Hop retransmission checks for errors at every router and has better performance at the expense of increased power overhead. We propose a novel retransmission scheme that employs feedback control theory to dynamically choose the time for error checking based on the performance requirements of the applications. Our scheme ensures that applications meet performance QoS and save power at the same time. Our experimental evaluation shows that, if a 10% slack in delay is allowed, our scheme can save as much as 80% of the power consumed by the underlying error control scheme.
The genetics of human adaptation: hard sweeps, soft sweeps, and polygenic adaptation.

There has long been interest in understanding the genetic basis of human adaptation. To what extent are phenotypic differences among human populations driven by natural selection? With the recent arrival of large genome-wide data sets on human variation, there is now unprecedented opportunity for progress on this type of question. Several lines of evidence argue for an important role of positive selection in shaping human variation and differences among populations. These include studies of comparative morphology and physiology, as well as population genetic studies of candidate loci and genome-wide data. However, the data also suggest that it is unusual for strong selection to drive new mutations rapidly to fixation in particular populations (the ‘hard sweep’ model). We argue, instead, for alternatives to the hard sweep model: in particular, polygenic adaptation could allow rapid adaptation while not producing classical signatures of selective sweeps. We close by discussing some of the likely opportunities for progress in the field.
Cooperatives and Community Development: A Perspective on the Use of Cooperatives in Development

Community developers have long understood the importance of local participation in the events and processes that shape communities. Effective, democratic, and people-and-place-centered development strategies have the potential to achieve such participation. This article suggests that cooperatives can be an effective participatory strategy to bootstrap low-income people into the socio-economic mainstream. Woolcock and Narayan's (2000) social capital and poverty transition model is adapted to demonstrate the development potential of cooperative businesses. We hope to stimulate discussion among community development scholars and practitioners, policymakers, and the public on the potential of cooperative business as a community development strategy, particularly in resource limited communities.
Patterns of prenatal alcohol exposure and associated non-characteristic minor structural malformations: a prospective study.

The characteristic facial features of the more severe end of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) include smooth philtrum, thin vermillion of the upper lip, and short palpebral fissures. A systematic evaluation of a comprehensive list of minor structural defects in association with varying patterns of prenatal exposure to alcohol has not been performed. We examined the patterns and timing of prenatal alcohol exposure to minor structural malformations occurring in at least 5% of the sample. Patterns of drinking were evaluated by drinks per day, number of binge episodes, and maximum number of drinks. Timing of exposure was evaluated 0–6 weeks post-conception, 6–12 weeks post-conception, first trimester, second trimester, and third trimester. Naevus flammeus neonatorum is significantly associated with various patterns of drinking during the second half of the first trimester (RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.04, 1.24 for average number of drinks per day; RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02, 1.07 for number of binge episodes; RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01, 1.15 for maximum number of drinks in one episode) and similar for number of binge episodes in all categories of timing of exposure and in the second trimester for average number of drinks per day. Other minor malformations occurring in at least 5% of the sample were not found to be significantly associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Expected minor malformations were not found to be significantly associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Naevus flammeus neonatorum appears to be part of the spectrum of features associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Carbene transposition involving double dehydrogenation of an sp3 carbon

Two benzylic hydrogens of 2,6-Me2C6H3O− coordinated to RuCl(PCy3)2(CHPh)+ are transferred to the benzylidene ligand, liberating toluene to form a new carbene which is covalently linked to the aryloxide ligand.
Fast technique for wideband spectrum sensing

The wideband spectrum sensing method described in this paper considers selecting unoccupied frequencies within a frequency band of interest. Two energy detection criteria are required to select an unoccupied frequency: 1) the energy of an unoccupied frequency must be below a predetermined threshold; 2) the sum of energy surrounding an unoccupied frequency must be below a predetermined threshold. The proposed method eliminates regions, or clusters, within the frequency band containing high energy. The accuracy and computational complexity of the proposed method is compared to a preexisting technique.
Enacting Personal HIV Disclosure Policies for Sexual Situations: HIV-Positive Gay Men's Experiences

Given successes in treating HIV/AIDS, there are increasing numbers of sexually active HIV-positive people. Although there is a current public health emphasis on testing interventions to reduce HIV transmission by people who know they are HIV positive, understanding how people enact decisions to disclose their HIV seropositivity is needed. HIV Disclosure Decision Making in Sexual Situations, a grounded theory based on interviews with 15 HIV-positive gay men, hypothesizes and interprets a two-part process wherein HIV-positive gay men form personal disclosure policies that they contextualize to various dating and sexual situations. In this article, the author depicts the second part of the grounded theory with its five interlocking components of the process of enacting HIV disclosure in sexual situations.
Event-related potentials as an index of similarity between words and pictures.

This report examines the ERP correlates of processing nontarget stimuli that are conceptually, but not perceptually, similar to a target. In two studies, the P300 component was examined in healthy adults during a multistimulus oddball paradigm. The stimuli were pictures of five objects and their five corresponding names. Participants were required to keep a mental count of number of target presentations. In Experiment 1, the target was the word ‘‘globe.’’ Both the word target and the nontarget picture of the globe elicited large P300s, though the P300 to the picture was smaller in amplitude. No other stimulus elicited a prominent P300. In Experiment 2, the target was the picture of the globe, and the word was considered to be the related nontarget. Again, the target elicited a large P300. However, in this case the related nontarget stimulus failed to elicit a P300. The relevance of the data to theories of word/picture processing is discussed.
Design of Lanthanide Fingers: Compact Lanthanide‐Binding Metalloproteins

Lanthanides have interesting chemical properties; these include luminescent, magnetic, and catalytic functions. Toward the development of proteins incorporating novel functions, we have designed a new lanthanide-binding motif, lanthanide fingers. These were designed based on the Zif268 zinc finger, which exhibits a beta beta alpha structural motif. Lanthanide fingers utilize an Asp(2)Glu(2) metal-coordination environment to bind lanthanides through a tetracarboxylate peptide ligand. The iterative design of a general lanthanide-binding peptide incorporated the following key elements: 1) residues with high alpha-helix and beta-sheet propensities in the respective secondary structures; 2) an optimized big box alpha-helix N-cap; 3) a Schellman alpha-helix C-cap motif; and 4) an optional D-Pro-Ser type II' beta-turn in the beta-hairpin. The peptides were characterized for lanthanide binding by circular dichroism (CD), NMR, and fluorescence spectroscopy. In all instances, stabilization of the peptide secondary structures resulted in an increase in metal affinity. The optimized protein design was a 25-residue peptide that was a general lanthanide-binding motif; this binds all lanthanides examined in a competitive aqueous environment, with a dissociation constant of 9.3 microM for binding Er(3+). CD spectra of the peptide-lanthanide complexes are similar to those of zinc fingers and other beta beta alpha proteins. Metal binding involves residues from the N-terminal beta-hairpin and the C terminal alpha-helical segments of the peptide. NMR data indicated that metal binding induced a global change in the peptide structure. The D-Pro-Ser type II' beta-turn motif could be replaced by Thr-Ile to generate genetically encodable lanthanide fingers. Replacement of the central Phe with Trp generated genetically encodable lanthanide fingers that exhibited terbium luminescence greater than that of an EF-hand peptide.
The Spectral Analysis of Dynamic Laser Speckle Patterns Generated by Brownian Particle Suspensions: A Stroboscopic Effect Based Filtering Technique

The power spectrum of the time-varying intensity in the dynamic laser speckle patterns is determined by passing the shifted power spectrum through a low-pass filter which is implemented via the signal integration. The light intensity is modulated sinusoidally to induce the stroboscopic effect which shifts the resonant frequency component of the spectrum to 0 Hz. The homodyne dynamic laser speckles generated by the quasi-inelastic scattering of the Brownian motions in colloidal suspensions are investigated. Within the frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 kHz used in this work, the bandwidth of the Lorenztian power spectrums is shown to be inversely proportional to the particle size, which is in agreement with the prediction of the dynamic light scattering theory of diffusing particle. The spatial variation observed in the full-field power spectrum maps is caused by the nonuniform distribution of average speckle intensity and varies with the modulation frequency. However, the bandwidths measured at different locations are found to be intensity independent.
Response of GWALP Transmembrane Peptides to Titration of a Buried Lysine

Designed α-helical peptides such as GWALP23 serve as useful models for probing the influence of polar amino acids within a core transmembrane helical sequence. We incorporated lysine as a guest residue into the membrane-spanning host peptides GWALP23 and closely related Y5GWALP23 (acetyl-GGAL(W5/Y5)LALALAL12AL14ALALW19LAGA-amide). Lysine was introduced at either position 12 or 14 of the host sequences, for which position 12 corresponds to the center. Solid-state NMR spectra of 2H-Ala residues in peptides incorporated into oriented lipid bilayer samples reveal that L14K mutant peptides adopt well-defined orientations in DOPC, DMPC and DLPC. In each lipid membrane, the L14K substitution increases the helix tilt at neutral pH. The L12K substitution, on the other hand, reduces the 2H NMR spectral quality at neutral pH, particularly in the thicker DOPC, suggesting a lack of distinct orientation, as the system struggles to insert a charged lysine into the thicker bilayers. As the positively charged K12 amino group is titrated to higher pH values, nevertheless, the 2H NMR spectral quality improves in DOPC, and the K12 peptides adopt an average orientation nearly matching the one found for both host peptides GWALP23 and Y5GWALP23 (with L12). In similar fashion, titration of K14, in any of the tested lipid bilayer membranes, results in a smaller helix tilt, again much closer to that observed for the L14 peptides without a polar guest residue. Steady-state fluorescence measurements using the Y5GWALP23 series of peptides reveal spectral narrowing and modest blue shifts in Δmax from the W19 reporter, when either K12 or K14 is rendered non-ionized, suggesting a somewhat more hydrophobic environment for the Trp indole ring when the guest Lys side chain is neutral.
Chapter 2 Synchronization Methods for Mammalian Cell Cultures

Publisher Summary As cell culture provides an isolated system for experimental work, with its improved techniques, the workers have been attracted toward it. In the fields of cytogenetics, radiation biology, virology, developmental biology, biochemistry, and many others, cell culture has made it possible to perform experiments that are impractical or impossible to do in whole organisms—especially where human cells are involved. With time and experience, the workers in each area rapidly reach the point where even the cell culture system begins to look complex and inadequate. The growing cell culture contains cells in all phases of their reproductive cycle, and in each phase the cells exhibit differing sensitivities to radiation, virus infection, enzyme induction, etc. Even if the culture may contain only one cell type, the random distribution of cells in different phases of the reproductive (asynchrony) cycle makes the culture effectively heterogeneous for many kinds of experiments. A variety of approaches have been developed to overcome this problem. The chapter reviews and compares the distinct advantages of synchronized cell cultures.
Raman Thermometry Measurements and Thermal Simulations for MEMS Bridges at Pressures From 0.05 to 625 Torr

This paper reports on experimental and computational investigations into the thermal performance of microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) as a function of the pressure of the surrounding gas. High spatial resolution Raman thermometry was used to measure the temperature profiles on electrically heated, polycrystalline silicon bridges that are nominally 10 μm wide, 2.25 μm thick, and either 200 or 400 μm long in nitrogen atmospheres with pressures ranging from 0.05 to 625 Torr. Finite element modeling of the thermal behavior of the MEMS bridges is performed and compared to the experimental results. Noncontinuum gas effects are incorporated into the continuum finite element model by imposing temperature discontinuities at gas-solid interfaces that are determined from noncontinuum simulations. The results indicate that gas-phase heat transfer is significant for devices of this size at ambient pressures but becomes minimal as the pressure is reduced below 5 Torr. The model and experimental results are in qualitative agreement, and better quantitative agreement requires increased accuracy in the geometrical and material property values.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Finished genome assembly of Yersinia pestis EV76D and KIM 10v

In this study, we sequenced the completed genome of Yersinia pestis EV76D and KIM 10v, two genomes used as references in assay development, to improved high-quality draft status.
Incidence of Adjacent Synchronous Invasive Carcinoma and/or Ductal Carcinoma In-situ in Patients with Lobular Neoplasia on Core Biopsy: Results from a Prospective Multi-Institutional Registry (TBCRC 020).

Lobular neoplasia (LN) represents a spectrum of atypical proliferative lesions, including atypical lobular hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma-in-situ. The need for excision for LN found on core biopsy (CB) is controversial. We conducted a prospective multi-institutional trial (TBCRC 20) to determine the rate of upgrade to cancer after excision for pure LN on CB. Patients with a CB diagnosis of pure LN were prospectively identified and consented to excision. Cases with discordant imaging and those with additional lesions requiring excision were excluded. Upgrade rates to cancer were quantified on the basis of local and central pathology review. Confidence intervals and sample size were based on exact binomial calculations. A total of 77 of 79 registered patients underwent excision (median age 51 years, range 27–82 years). Two cases (3 %; 95 % confidence interval 0.3–9) were upgraded to cancer (one tubular carcinoma, one ductal carcinoma-in-situ) at excision per local pathology. Central pathology review of 76 cases confirmed pure LN in the CB in all but two cases. In one case, the tubular carcinoma identified at excision was also found in the CB specimen, and in the other, LN was not identified, yielding an upgrade rate of one case (1 %; 95 % CI 0.01–7) by central pathology review. In this prospective study of 77 patients with pure LN on CB, the upgrade rate was 3 % by local pathology and 1 % by central pathology review, demonstrating that routine excision is not indicated for patients with pure LN on CB and concordant imaging findings.
‘Preserving la difference’: the elusiveness of sex-segregated sport

AbstractSport is founded upon a belief in dimorphic sex, dichotomous gender and segregated competition. To uphold these binaries, sport authorities repeatedly relied upon medico-scientific technologies to draw a line between men and women. However, all efforts to conclusively delineate sex failed. This paper details the IAAF’s and IOC’s use of anatomical examinations, chromatin assessments, DNA testing and hormonal analyses in their attempt to circumscribe womanhood. The history of these efforts illustrates the elusiveness of sex determination, as well an unwavering belief in its infallibility. All four approaches proved arbitrary, reaffirmed a false system of polarized sex/gender and discriminated against individuals who fell outside society’s two-sexed classification. By engaging gender, medical and sport scholarships, this paper shows how widespread social anxieties, medico-scientific ideologies and sporting norms coalesced, resulting in (unsuccessful) efforts to maintain separation. The history of sex...
Low-Lying Energy States in Ne 20 from the F 19 ( d , n ) Ne 20 Reaction

Six neutron groups from the ${\mathrm{F}}^{19}(d, n){\mathrm{Ne}}^{20}$ reaction corresponding to the lowest states in ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{20}$ have been observed at six angles of observation. The major part of the experiment employed nuclear emulsions and an average deuteron energy of 3.57 Mev. The importance of stripping appears to depend on the particular level involved; in particular, angular distributions leading to unambiguous assignments by stripping theory appear only for the ground, 1.63-Mev, and 6.75-Mev levels. The ground-state assignment appears to be energy dependent when the present ${l}_{p}=2$ value is compared to the ${l}_{p}=0$ value previously reported for a higher bombarding energy. The 4.25-Mev level in ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{20}$ gives rise to an angular distribution which could be either ${l}_{p}=2$ or ${l}_{p}=3$, but the fit to theory is not satisfactory for either case. A qualitative argument is given favoring the latter value. No assignment can be made to the 4.97- and 5.63-Mev levels.A brief second experiment with a fast neutron spectrometer was performed in order to obtain an absolute differential cross section at 0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} for ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{20}$ left in its 6.75-Mev level. The reduced width obtained from this cross section is compared with a published reduced width for this same level obtained by elastic scattering of alpha particles by ${\mathrm{O}}^{16}$.
Tartan Troubles

Tartan Troubles tells the tragic tale of man, man's best friend ... and a dog. Set in the scenic Scottish highlands, our hero, MacJohnson the piper, plays his pipes to wake the nearby village, and the melodic sound of his playing attracts a small Westy, who comes to investigate. Mesmerized by the swaying pipes, Westy teaches MacJohnson that there's a fine line between art and the jaws of defeat. Will MacJohnson survive his encounter with the ravages of an adoring audience? Will his pipes ring out over the hills again? In this classic story of man versus beast, art versus the quotidian, the winner will be the one who can think outside the boxers!
Kipling’s Art of War

Nasser Mufti, “Kipling’s Art of War” (pp. 496–519) This essay looks at the British empire’s most ambitious years, when it saw Britain and its settler colonies as belonging to a global nation-state, most commonly referred to as “Greater Britain.” The apex of this imperial-national imagination came with the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War, which jingoists like Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling celebrated as a civil war because it was seen to be a conflict between the “blood brotherhood” of empire: Britons and Boers. Hence the characterization of the Boer War as “the last of the gentleman’s wars” or “a sahibs’ war,” because it was said to be fought between the civilized fellow-citizens of the British empire. But Kipling also had to confront the fact that British and Boer tactics were decidedly “ungentlemanly” at the war front. I turn to his short story “A Sahibs’ War” (1901), which is especially concerned about the “gentleman’s war” in South Africa looking identical to anticolonial wars in Afghanistan and Burma, which in Kipling’s mind were barbaric frontier conflicts. Kipling registers this ambivalence between civil and colonial war in the language of his story, which strategically puns across English, Afrikaans and Urdu/Hindi. These translingual puns make legible and sensible the tensions between the intra-national and extra-national, domestic and foreign, civil and imperial that characterized Greater British discourse at the turn of the century.
Remodeling Characteristics and Collagen Distributions of Biologic Scaffold Materials Biopsied From Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction Sites

Objective The study purpose was to evaluate the associations between patient characteristics and the histologic remodeling scores of acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) biopsied from breast reconstruction sites in the first attempt to generate a multivariable risk prediction model of nonconstructive remodeling. It was hypothesized that host characteristics and surgical site assessments predict the degree of graft remodeling for ADMs used during breast reconstruction. Methods The ADMs were biopsied from the breast reconstruction sites of n = 62 patients during a subsequent breast procedure, stained with hematoxylin-eosin, and evaluated according to a semi-quantitative scoring system for remodeling characteristics (cell types, cell infiltration, extracellular matrix deposition, scaffold degradation, fibrous encapsulation, and neovascularization) and a mean composite score. Biopsies were stained with Sirius Red and Fast Green, and analyzed to determine the collagen I:III ratio. Based on univariate analyses between subject clinical characteristics and the histologic remodeling scores, cohort variables were selected for multivariable regression models using a P value of 0.20 or less. Results The composite score model yielded 3 variables: pack-year history, corticosteroid use, and radiation timing (r2 pseudo = 0.81). The model for collagen I yielded 2 variables: corticosteroid use and reason for reoperation (r2 pseudo = 0.78). The model for collagen III yielded 1 variable: reason for reoperation (r2 pseudo = 0.35). Conclusions These preliminary results constitute the first steps in generating a risk prediction model that predicts the patients and clinical circumstances most likely to experience nonconstructive remodeling of biologic grafts used to reconstruct the breast.
The role of obesity in spontaneous temporal bone encephaloceles and CSF leak.

ObjectiveTemporal bone encephaloceles and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) otorrhea can lead to life-threatening sequelae such as meningitis and cerebritis. Obesity has been associated with spontaneous CSF leaks. We wished to determine if there were differences in the body mass index (BMI) of patients with
Accident Kinematics Parameter Extraction, A Simulation Tool

This paper outlines the algorithm behind the Safety Board’s kinematics parameter extraction code. The Metrojet flight 2710 incident will be used as an example of the use of this method when control surface deflections were not recorded. The study of this incident also provides a comparison with the conventional simulation method. The Alaska flight 261 accident illustrates the use of the kinematics parameter extraction method when the recorded stabilizer parameter had exceeded the sensor range. This accident also illustrates the adaptation of the basic kinematics code to calculate loads on the stabilizer jackscrew. This paper is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Nomenclature α Angle of attack β Sideslip angle φ Roll angle θ Pitch angle ψ Heading angle Fxb Longitudinal body axis force Fyb Lateral body axis force Fzb Vertical body axis force g Gravitational acceleration Ixx Inertia about x axis Iyy Inertia about y axis Izz Inertia about z axis Ixz Product of inertia Lb Body axis rolling moment m Mass Mb Body axis pitching moment Nb Body axis yawing moment Nx Longitudinal load factor Ny Lateral load factor Nz Vertical load factor Pb Body axis roll rate . Pb Body axis roll acceleration Qb Body axis pitch rate . Qb Body axis pitch acceleration Rb Body axis yaw rate . Rb Body axis yaw acceleration t Time Ub Body axis longitudinal velocity Vb Body axis lateral velocity Wb Body axis vertical velocity
Partial purification of cattle serum transferrin using rivanol.

SummaryA ratio of 3 volumes 0.4% rivanol to one volume serum was used to partially purify cattle transferrin. After treatment, the supernatant fraction contained predominantly transferrin and γ-globulin. No albumin was detectable by starch gel or paper electrophoresis. Fractionation of serum from cattle of phenotypically different transferrin types yielded transferrin with the same pattern and mobility in starch gel electrophoresis as in the original serum.The authors gratefully acknowledge the advice of Dr. Oliver Smithies in preparation of this manuscript.
Room Temperature Synthesis of a Copper Ink for the Intense Pulsed Light Sintering of Conductive Copper Films

Conducting films are becoming increasingly important for the printed electronics industry with applications in various technologies including antennas, RFID tags, photovoltaics, flexible electronics, and displays. To date, expensive noble metals have been utilized in these conductive films, which ultimately increases the cost. In the present work, more economically viable copper based conducting films have been developed for both glass and flexible PET substrates, using copper and copper oxide nanoparticles. The copper nanoparticles (with copper(I) oxide impurity) are synthesized by using a simple copper reduction method in the presence of Tergitol as a capping agent. Various factors such as solvent, pH, and reductant concentration have been explored in detail and optimized in order to produce a nanoparticle ink at room temperature. Second, the ink obtained at room temperature was used to fabricate conducting films by intense pulse light sintering of the deposited films. These conducting films had sheet r...
Options for converting a clone trial of Eucalyptus camaldulensis into a clonal seed orchard considering gain, fertility and effective clone number

We evaluated a clone trial comprised of 20 ramets each of 40 Eucalyptus camaldulensis clones for growth and fertility at 4 years of age. The clones differed significantly in growth with 65–100 % survival in 38 clones while two clones had low survival (40 and 10 %). Fecundity was high and fertility variation low, as indicated by the sibling coefficient value (Ψ = 1.4) with 55 % of clones contributing 80 % of the fruits. Thinning strategies were considered to convert the clone trial to a clonal seed orchard and enhance both gain and diversity in seed crop. When clones were selected based on growth without considering fertility, truncation selection (to retain clones with higher DBH than the trial mean value) would give 8 % gain, but 59 % reduction in effective population size (N e ). Gain and predicted diversity (N e ) was highest when ramets were selected in linear proportion to the breeding value of each clone. Mass selection with the same intercept (for DBH) as truncation selection would give a moderate 3 % gain, but over two times higher predicted N e than truncation selection. When fertility of retained trees was considered after thinning, mass selection would yield 52 % effective contribution from the orchard trees compared to only 30 % contribution from truncation selection and linear thinning. Higher representation of superior clones in linear thinning and mass selection would lead to greater fertility variation and over 30 % reduction in effective clone number (N c ) from that predicted (N e , assuming equal fertility among ramets) before thinning.
Adenosine potentiates flow-induced dilation of coronary arterioles by activating KATP channels in endothelium

Coronary microvascular diameter is significantly influenced by adenosine and flow. However, the interaction between these two regulatory mechanisms in the control of coronary microvascular tone remains unknown. Because adenosine can activate ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels and these channels are located on the endothelium in addition to vascular smooth muscle, we hypothesized that adenosine can potentiate flow-induced vasodilation by activating endothelial KATP channels in the coronary microcirculation. To test this hypothesis, experiments were performed in porcine subepicardial coronary arterioles (50-150 microns) using isolated, cannulated vessel techniques to allow intraluminal pressure and flow to be independently controlled. All vessels developed active tone, approximately 67-73% of maximum diameter, at 60 cmH2O intraluminal pressure and showed graded dilation to stepwise increases in flow. The magnitude of flow-induced dilation was potentiated by a threshold dose of adenosine (10(-10) M) but not by nitroprusside (10(-10) M). Luminal application of a high K+ concentration ([K+]) (40 mM) completely blocked flow-induced arteriolar dilation. In addition, luminal glibenclamide (10(-6) M) abolished the adenosine-potentiated component of flow-induced response. Indomethacin (10(-5) M) did not alter the dose-dependent dilation to adenosine. However, endothelial denudation, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (10(-5) M), and luminal administration of a high [K+] or glibenclamide each produced identical inhibition of adenosine-induced vasodilation by shifting the 50% effective dose to the right by an order of magnitude. In contrast, vasodilation in response to nitroprusside was not altered by these pharmacological interventions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Natural History Supplement: Furthering Natural History Amongst Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists

Most ecologists and evolutionary biologists practice natural history, whether in the lab, field or greenhouse. This information generally does not get disseminated, especially in the short form journals that are increasing in popularity. We propose that papers include a natural history supplement to present data and observations which would otherwise remain in field notebooks, photographs or memory that have the potential to inform future investigations. The time for this small addition is upon us: we now have practically free publication space, statistical methods to integrate data across studies (meta-analyses), and tools to rigorously analyze media files. With a minimum expenditure of effort, we can archive and make available this useful information and perhaps, in a small way, incentivize natural history to present and future generations of ecologists.
Electrochemical reaction and surface chemistry for performance enhancement of a Si composite anode using a bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquid

An ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (EMIFSI) is applied to a silicon (Si) composite anode for Lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Si is one of the most promising anode materials for LIBs and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) has been widely used as an electrolyte additive with Si anodes to enhance electrochemical performance. However, the effect of FEC only lasts for a limited number of cycles. To overcome this issue, a bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI)-based IL is studied as a potential electrolyte candidate for a Si composite anode. Its effects on the electrochemical performance and the corresponding solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation on the Si composite anode are not well understood. This work addresses the correlation between the electrochemical performance and SEI formation to probe the surface chemistry on the Si composite anode. We find that the FSI-based electrolyte provides a stable and reversible capacity in long term cycling tests. This electrolyte has excellent rate capability compared to that of carbonate-based electrolytes. The decomposition products of these electrolytes on Si anodes are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These results show that the chemical composition on the surface of the Si anode is largely different when using the FSI-based electrolyte than it is when using carbonate type electrolytes. The decomposition products of the IL lead to a large number of inorganic species such as LiOH and Li2O, which yield superior rate capability for the IL electrolyte. The FSI-based IL offers promising applicability for a practical Si composite anode.
Current state of the art of smart environments and labs from an ambient assisted living point of view

This paper seeks to note current contributors to AAL technology development and critically analyse how the field is progressing. These facilities now span the globe, especially in communities with well-established issues with an ageing population and a clinician crush. Having a good grasp of the current participants in the AAL field is important for anyone seeking to contribute to AAL projects.
Type I/type III collagen ratio associated with diverticulitis of the colon in young patients.

Abstract Background The incidence of diverticulitis in young patients is rising, whereas the type I:III collagen ratio of the colon decreases with age. Perhaps a lower type I:III collagen ratio in younger patients may predispose these patients to the development of the disease. Method The purpose of this study was to evaluate the collagen content and type I:III collagen ratio in patients with diverticulitis versus a control group. Patients who underwent a colon resection were identified. Three groups of patients were created for analysis: those with diverticulitis aged 50 y, and a control group. Tissue samples were stained with Sirius red/fast green and photographed. Photos analysis was performed to quantify the amount of type I collagen and type III collagen. The type I:III collagen ratio was calculated for each patient and compared. Results The quantity of type I collagen and type III collagen was higher in patients with diverticulitis aged >50 y (P = 0.04 and P Conclusions Our study demonstrated that diverticulitis in the younger patient was not associated with a lower type I:III collagen ratio. It appears that the decrease in collagen ratio of the colon with age is associated with an increase in type III collagen deposition.
Metal-rich aluminum–polytetrafluoroethylene reactive composite powders prepared by mechanical milling at different temperatures

Aluminum–polytetrafluoroethylene (Al·PTFE) composite materials with 90 wt% Al are prepared by mechanical milling at both room and cryogenic temperatures. Distribution of PTFE in the material is more homogeneous in the cryogenically milled materials. Thermal analysis in inert atmosphere shows at least three distinct exothermic reaction steps below Al melting as well as evolution of AlF3 at temperatures above 800 °C. The heat of low-temperature exothermic reactions first increases and then decreases as a function of the milling time. In an oxidizing environment, all materials oxidize qualitatively similar to pure Al, and a composite milled cryogenically for 6 h oxidizes as fast as or faster than nano-sized aluminum powder. When heated at several thousand degrees per second, all composites ignite around 730 °C. Only the powders prepared by cryogenic milling could be ignited by electrostatic discharge (ESD) with energies of 720 mJ, while materials milled at room temperatures could not be ignited with energies as high as 2 J. In the ESD ignition experiments, the optical emission pulse is delayed compared to the pressure pulse, suggesting that a gas-generating PTFE decomposition triggers the ignition. The material cryogenically milled for 6 h is the most attractive, based on the magnitude of both pressure and emission pulses generated upon its ESD ignition, and based on the rate and extent of its oxidation in thermo-analytical experiments.
Dependence of the 3-OH-Butyrate Dehydrogenase and Cytochrome c Oxidase Reactions on Intramitchondrial pH

Suspensions of isolated rat liver mitochondria were incubated at constant extramitochondrial pH (pHe) with ATP, ADP, Pi, 3-OH-butyrate (3-OH-B), and acetoacetate (acac) (the last two were varied to maintain [3-OH-B]/[acac] constant), with or without sodium propionate to change the intramitochondrial pH. Measurements were made of the steady state water volume of the mitochondrial matrix, transmembrane pH difference, level of cytochrome c reduction, concentration of metabolites, and rate of oxygen consumption.
FABRY'S DISEASE: A Prototype for the Study of Enzyme Replacement Therapy

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on Fabry's disease. Fabry's disease is an X-linked inborn error of glycosphingolipid catabolism. Transplantation of enzymatically active renal tissue into patients with Fabry's disease has resulted in decrease to normal of the accumulated glycosphingolipid substrate in plasma. The diagnosis of hemizygotes and heterozygotes for Fabry's disease can be confirmed by the deficient activity of ceramide trihexosidase in plasma, urine, leukocytes, cultured fibroblasts, or biopsied tissue. The chapter also discusses clinical characteristics of Fabry's disease. The clinical manifestations of the disease result from the generalized visceral deposition of the Fabry glycosphingolipid, particularly in the cardiovascular-renal system. Three separate approaches to enzyme replacement have been utilized in Fabry's disease. These are: (1) the plasma infusion, (2) renal transplantation, and (3) direct enzyme infusion.
Heterogeneity of peptide hormones: its relevance in clinical radioimmunoassay.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the theoretical and technical aspects of radioimmunoassay (RIA) with particular emphasis on the interrelationships between the complications introduced into RIA by the heterogeneity of the peptide hormones and the new insights produced thereby into the related biosynthetic and degradative processes. The approach has been quite general in its concern with problems and pitfalls common to all assays, whether those in which the reagents are prepared in a research laboratory or those in which commercial sources supply the separate reagents or complete kits. For the latter, there is an additional complication, namely that of quality control of the kits. There are at least two aspects to this problem: quality control by the manufacturer at the time of preparation and the subsequent alterations introduced by handling and mishandling particularly when clinical samples are assayed. For the diagnosis of states of hormonal excess or deficiency the problem is often best solved by clinical rather than chemical control, e.g., by the use of appropriate stimulation or suppression tests, so that the accuracy of the absolute hormonal level is of less significance. For the other substances now measured by RIA, no one has yet provided a uniquely satisfactory answer to the general problem of quality control.
Government Spending, Subsidies and Economic Efficiency in the GCC

Public investment and subsidies are typically inefficient but in the GCC these are crucial engines of growth. Subsidies are also used to redistribute oil windfalls in the region, and the problem of a government that wants to 'distribute' oil money is a problem fully symmetric to the one analyzed by Ramsey (1927) of optimal taxation. The second-best policy (when lump-sum transfers are not available) is to use subsidies across a wide range of goos (as opposed to the focus on energy chosen by the GCC). In addtion, the 'inverse' Ramsey model implies that commodities for which demand is least elastic to prices should be subsidized at higher rates. This suggests subsidizing basic needs at higher rates, in particular food, healthcare and education. In addition, when subsidies are very large, they create additional distortions because households prefer to queue for subsidies (e.g. public service jobs, subsidized mortgages in Saudi Arabia) rather than participate in private markets. As an example, we draw a model where recruitment of public servants can induce a large diincentive to take private sector positions and compute the conditions under which the disincentive is so strong that overall employment is actually decreased as public servants are being hired.
Liberation through Cooperation: How Library Publishing Can Save Scholarly Journals from Neoliberalism

This commentary examines political and economic aspects of open access (OA) and scholarly journal publishing. Through a discourse of critique, neoliberalism is analyzed as an ideology causing many problems in the scholarly journal publishing industry, including the serials crisis. Two major efforts in the open access movement that promote an increase in OA funded by article-processing charges (APC)—the Open Access 2020 (OA2020) and Pay It Forward (PIF) initiatives—are critiqued as neoliberal frameworks that would perpetuate existing systems of domination and exploitation. In a discourse of possibility, ways of building a post-neoliberal system of journal publishing using new tactics and strategies, merging theory and praxis, and grounding in solidarity and cooperation are presented. This includes organizing journal publishing democratically using cooperatives, which could decommodify knowledge and provide greater open access. The article concludes with a vision for a New Fair Deal, which would revolutionize the system of scholarly journal publishing by transitioning journals to library publishing cooperatives.
Effects of Naphthyl Connectivity on the Photophysics of Compact Organic Charge-Transfer Photoredox Catalysts

Modular chromophoric systems with minimal electronic coupling between donor and acceptor moieties are well suited for establishing predictive relationships between molecular structure and excited-state properties. Here, we investigate the impact of naphthyl-based connectivity on the photophysics of phenoxazine-derived orthogonal donor-acceptor complexes. While compounds in this class are themselves interesting as potent organic photocatalysts useful for visible-light-driven organocatalyzed atom-transfer radical polymerization and small-molecule synthesis, many other systems (e.g., phenazine, phenothiazine, and acridinium) exploit charge-transfer excited states involving a naphthyl substituent. Therefore, aided by the facile tunability of the phenoxazine architecture, we aim to provide mechanistic insight into the effects of naphthyl connectivity that can help inform the understanding of other systems. We do so by employing time-resolved and steady-state spectroscopies, cyclic voltammetry, and temperature-dependent studies on two chemical series of phenoxazine compounds. In the first series ( N-aryl 3,7-dibiphenyl phenoxazine), we find high sensitivity of photophysical behavior to naphthyl connectivity at its 1 versus 2 positions, including a drop in the intersystem-crossing yield (ΦISC) from 0.91 ( N-1-naphthyl) to 0.54 ( N-2-naphthyl), which we attribute to the establishment of an excited-state equilibrium in the singlet manifold. Drawing on the synthetic tunability afforded by phenoxazine, a modified series ( N-aryl 3,7-diphenyl phenoxazine) is chosen to circumvent this equilibrium, thereby isolating the impact of naphthyl connectivity on charge-transfer energy and triplet formation. We conclude that donor-acceptor distance is a key design parameter that influences a host of excited-state and dynamical properties and can have an outsized impact on photochemical function.
Compassionate Touch® Delivered by Long-term Care Staff for Residents with Dementia: Preliminary Results

Limited evidence supports the use of touch or massage for people with dementia. Interventions incorporating a person-centered approach to touch delivered by staff may benefit residents with dementi...