cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the physico-chemical aspects of partitioning of non-polar hydrophobic organics at the air-water interface

Abstract The binding of highly hydrophobic non-polar organics of low aqueous solubility and vapor pressure at the air-water interface is discussed. A method of estimating the binding constant is proposed and correlated to the octanol-water partition constant. Selected applications are discussed.
Energy-Technology efficiency-Improvements: Capital requirements, energy-cost savings, and global CO2-emission reduction

Abstract This study indicates that improvements in the efficiency of energy supply and end-use technologies can be both environmentally beneficial and potentially financially rewarding. A total discounted (at a 6% real annual rate) incremental capital investment of US$1.1 to $3.6 trillion (1990 dollars) would be required to improve energy efficiency sufficiently for a reduction of global CO2 emissions in 2050 by one-third. However, this investment would ultimately be offset by savings in the discounted energy cost, which could total US$4.8 to $7.1 trillion for the same period.
A hemispherical power asymmetry from inflation

Measurements of cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe indicate that the fluctuation amplitude in one half of the sky differs from the amplitude in the other half. We show that such an asymmetry cannot be generated during single-field slow-roll inflation without violating constraints to the homogeneity of the Universe. In contrast, a multifield inflationary theory, the curvaton model, can produce this power asymmetry without violating the homogeneity constraint. The mechanism requires the introduction of a large-amplitude superhorizon perturbation to the curvaton field, possibly a preinflationary remnant or a superhorizon curvaton-web structure. The model makes several predictions, including non-Gaussianity and modifications to the inflationary consistency relation, that will be tested with forthcoming cosmic microwave background experiments.
Emerging roles of the microbiome in cancer

Gene-environment interactions underlie cancer susceptibility and progression. Yet, we still have limited knowledge of which environmental factors are important and how they function during tumorigenesis. In this respect, the microbial communities that inhabit our gastrointestinal tract and other body sites have been unappreciated until recently. However, our microbiota are environmental factors that we are exposed to continuously, and human microbiome studies have revealed significant differences in the relative abundance of certain microbes in cancer cases compared with controls. To characterize the function of microbiota in carcinogenesis, mouse models of cancer have been treated with antibiotics. They have also been maintained in a germfree state or have been colonized with specific bacteria in specialized (gnotobiotic) facilities. These studies demonstrate that microbiota can increase or decrease cancer susceptibility and progression by diverse mechanisms such as by modulating inflammation, influencing the genomic stability of host cells and producing metabolites that function as histone deacetylase inhibitors to epigenetically regulate host gene expression. One might consider microbiota as tractable environmental factors because they are highly quantifiable and relatively stable within an individual compared with our exposures to external agents. At the same time, however, diet can modulate the composition of microbial communities within our gut, and this supports the idea that probiotics and prebiotics can be effective chemoprevention strategies. The trajectory of where the current work is headed suggests that microbiota will continue to provide insight into the basic mechanisms of carcinogenesis and that microbiota will also become targets for therapeutic intervention.
Cannabis Toxicity and Adverse Biological Activity

Consideration of cannabis as a medicinal entity is an ongoing discussion that requires additional clinical and laboratory research. Marijuana smoking deposits 4x times more tar in the lungs as compared to tobacco smoke and amount of some pro-carcinogens are up to 2x times greater in marijuana tar. Determination of Dependence/Physical Harm relationship by investigators shows a proximity of cannabis to khat, LSD, ecstasy, alkyl nitrites, and methylphenidate. Non-users that are exposed to cannabis inhalant may suffer loss of coordination, dizziness, confusion, difficulty walking, blurred vision, and vomiting. Illicit drug use has been shown to be strongly associated with homicide events. Psychotropic effects from THC inhalant reaches a maximum after 15 to 30 minutes. Psychotropic effects from oral ingestion of THC reaches maximum level after 2 to 3 hours. Marijuana smoke contains higher levels of specific toxins than tobacco smoke. Ongoing research outcome challenges the concept that marijuana smoke is less harmful than tobacco smoke. Marijuana smoke causes lung damage quickly and could out pace tobacco smoke by as much as 20 years. Studies has shown cannabis usage worsens the course of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and that adolescents possess a greater risk from cannabis than older individuals. Cannabis abuse could be an independent risk factor for the further development of psychotic disorders. Further research and study is warranted concerning clinical application of cannabis.  2010 Trade Science Inc. - INDIA
The response of abyssal organisms to low pH conditions during a series of CO2-release experiments simulating deep-sea carbon sequestration

The effects of low-pH, high-pCO2 conditions on deep-sea organisms were examined during four deep-sea CO2 release experiments simulating deep-ocean C sequestration by the direct injection of CO2 into the deep sea. We examined the survival of common deep-sea, benthic organisms (microbes; macrofauna, dominated by Polychaeta, Nematoda, Crustacea, Mollusca; megafauna, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Pisces) exposed to low-pH waters emanating as a dissolution plume from pools of liquid carbon dioxide released on the seabed during four abyssal CO2-release experiments. Microbial abundance in deep-sea sediments was unchanged in one experiment, but increased under environmental hypercapnia during another, where the microbial assemblage may have benefited indirectly from the negative impact of low-pH conditions on other taxa. Lower abyssal metazoans exhibited low survival rates near CO2 pools. No urchins or holothurians survived during 30–42 days of exposure to episodic, but severe environmental hypercapnia during one experiment (E1; pH reduced by as much as ca. 1.4 units). These large pH reductions also caused 75% mortality for the deep-sea amphipod, Haploops lodo, near CO2 pools. Survival under smaller pH reductions (ΔpHo0.4 units) in other experiments (E2, E3, E5) was higher for all taxa, including echinoderms. Gastropods, cephalopods, and fish were more tolerant than most other taxa. The gastropod Retimohnia sp. and octopus Benthoctopus sp. survived exposure to pH reductions that episodically reached −0.3 pH units. Ninety percent of abyssal zoarcids (Pachycara bulbiceps) survived exposure to pH changes reaching ca. −0.3 pH units during 30–42 day-long experiments.
Typographical Design, Modernist Aesthetics, and Professional Communication

The technology of in-house publishing is radically shifting the responsibility for document design from the graphic specialist to the individual writer. To apply the new technology, professional co...
Application of a two-layer planarization process to VLSI intermetal dielectric and trench isolation processes

The application of a novel planarization process using a sacrificial fill layer of photoresist is presented. The process is shown to solve the planarization problems encountered in both intermetal dielectric for a 1.2 mu m 256 K SRAM technology and trench isolation for a0.8- mu m 1M SRAM technology. The process is a simple extension of the standard dielectric etch-back scheme. A discussion of how to precisely quantify circuit planarization using well-known techniques is also presented. This information can then be adapted for statistical quality control purposes. >
Sensitivity to Basis Mismatch in Compressed Sensing

The theory of compressed sensing suggests that successful inversion of an image of the physical world (broadly defined to include speech signals, radar/sonar returns, vibration records, sensor array snapshot vectors, 2-D images, and so on) for its source modes and amplitudes can be achieved at measurement dimensions far lower than what might be expected from the classical theories of spectrum or modal analysis, provided that the image is sparse in an apriori known basis. For imaging problems in spectrum analysis, and passive and active radar/sonar, this basis is usually taken to be a DFT basis. However, in reality no physical field is sparse in the DFT basis or in any apriori known basis. No matter how finely we grid the parameter space the sources may not lie in the center of the grid cells and consequently there is mismatch between the assumed and the actual bases for sparsity. In this paper, we study the sensitivity of compressed sensing to mismatch between the assumed and the actual sparsity bases. We start by analyzing the effect of basis mismatch on the best k-term approximation error, which is central to providing exact sparse recovery guarantees. We establish achievable bounds for the l1 error of the best k -term approximation and show that these bounds grow linearly with the image (or grid) dimension and the mismatch level between the assumed and actual bases for sparsity. We then derive bounds, with similar growth behavior, for the basis pursuit l1 recovery error, indicating that the sparse recovery may suffer large errors in the presence of basis mismatch. Although, we present our results in the context of basis pursuit, our analysis applies to any sparse recovery principle that relies on the accuracy of best k-term approximations for its performance guarantees. We particularly highlight the problematic nature of basis mismatch in Fourier imaging, where spillage from off-grid DFT components turns a sparse representation into an incompressible one. We substantiate our mathematical analysis by numerical examples that demonstrate a considerable performance degradation for image inversion from compressed sensing measurements in the presence of basis mismatch, for problem sizes common to radar and sonar.
Automated three-dimensional vascular reproduction from stereoangiograms

In clinical practice, stereoangiograms are used to obtain a qualitative impression of the relative positions of vessels in three dimensions. A method is presented which generate reproductions of the three-dimensional vascular tree for any chosen viewing angle using vessel information determined automatically by tracking and correlating opacified vessels in stereoangiograms. At each tracking point, the local vessel size and contrast are determined, and the three-dimensional centerline position is calculated using corresponding point in the image pair and the stereoscopic imaging geometry. >
Psychopathy and the Assessment of Violence in Women

Although considerable research exists on the relationship between psychopathy and violence in males, there is limited research on these constructs and their relationship in females. Research has found gender differences in prevalence rates and expression of traits for both constructs. However, recent studies using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) with women have raised questions regarding the origin of these gender differences. Researchers have suggested that different manifestations of behaviors in males and females, errors or biases in assessment, or simply lower prevalence rates among women may account for gender differences. Importantly, gender differences may impact the assessment of psychopathy and predictions of aggression in females, and applying research on males to evaluating females may lead to confusion. A case report is presented to illustrate these difficulties. Given the current state of the literature, use of the PCL-R in violence risk assessment with women should be approached with caution.
DOJ: dynamically parallelizing object-oriented programs

We present Dynamic Out-of-Order Java (DOJ), a dynamic parallelization approach. In DOJ, a developer annotates code blocks as tasks to decouple these blocks from the parent execution thread. The DOJ compiler then analyzes the code to generate heap examiners that ensure the parallel execution preserves the behavior of the original sequential program. Heap examiners dynamically extract heap dependences between code blocks and determine when it is safe to execute a code block.We have implemented DOJ and evaluated it on twelve benchmarks. We achieved an average compilation speedup of 31.15 times over OoOJava and an average execution speedup of 12.73 times over sequential versions of the benchmarks.
Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) With Picosecond Laser Pulses

The authors deposited unhydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films by laser ablation of graphite, using a high power Ti: Sapphire solid state laser system. DLC films were deposited onto single crystal silicon substrates at room temperature with picosecond laser pulses, at peak power densities in the 5 {times} 10{sup 11}--8 {times} 10{sup 12} W/cm{sup 2} range. A variety of techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), Raman spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) have been used to analyze the film quality. Smooth, partially transparent films were produced, distinct from the graphite target. Sp{sup 3} volume fractions were found to be in the 50--60% range, with optical bandgaps ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 eV, depending on the laser power density.
Scalable small-signal model for BJT self-heating

The effects of self-heating on BJT (bipolar junction transistor) behavior are demonstrated through measurement and simulation. Most affected are the small-signal parameters Y/sub 22/ and Y/sub 12/. A frequency-domain solution to the heat-flow equation is presented. It applies to any rectangular emitter geometry. This model, although simple enough for CAD, predicts thermal spreading impedance with good accuracy for a wide range of frequencies. >
Nitric acid oxidation of irradiated polyethylene

Samples of high-density polyethylene were irradiated with x-rays and oxidized with concentrated nitric acid to determine the location of unsaturated groups. Vinyl groups initially present in the polymer were rapidly oxidized to the extent of 85% and are assumed to be excluded from the crystals. Vinylene groups show a rapid oxidation followed by slow oxidation. The initial oxidation is about 35%, which is slightly greater than the 25% amorphous content of the polymer prior to irradiation. Diene groups are rapidly oxidized by nitric acid but are formed at about the same rate in crystalline and amorphous samples. This is interpreted to indicate that diene groups are formed throughout the polymer but form large defects in crystalline regions and are accessible to oxidation. Defects formed in crystalline regions during irradiation lower the melting point to a greater extent than predicted by the mole fraction of noncrystallizable units.
Design of noise reduction headphone

This paper designs and implements a noise reduction headphone using adaptive feedback active noise control (ANC). The position of the error microphone inside ear-cup was studied and determined experimentally, and music signals were used for adaptive modeling of the secondary path. The designed ANC headphone was implemented using a digital signal processor for real-time testing. Experimental results show the proposed headphone achieves higher noise cancellation especially at low-frequencies than a commercial available ANC headphone.
Oxidation-Reduction Studies on the 2, 3-Butylene Glycol-Acetyl-Methyl-Carbinol System in a Fermentation

Dissimilation of glucose is brought about by bacteria of the genus Aerobacter and among the products of fermentation are acetyl-methyl-carbinol and its reduction product, 2, 3-butylene glycol. It has been suggested that these substances form a reversible oxidation-reduction system. In this case the methylene blue may replace the acetyl-methyl-carbinol as a hydrogen acceptor providing its redox potential lies above that of the carbinol-glycol system. The substances acting as hydrogen donators include the reduced constituents of all the reversible systems present in fermentations whose electrode values lie below that of methylene blue. In 2, 3-butylene glycol fermentations, lactic acid might be expected to donate hydrogen and form pyruvic acid. If 2, 3-butylene glycol is involved in a reversible system whose electrode potential value is below that of methylene blue, the addition of methylene blue to the fermenting mixture will reduce the concentration of 2, 3-butylene glycol and increase concentration of ac...
Regulatory T Cells Move in When Gliomas Say “I DO”

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an enzyme with known immunosuppressive and tolerogenic effects in cancer. Mounting evidence has associated IDO expression with the induction of regulatory T cells and malignant progression. IDO inhibition may therefore provide a promising therapeutic approach for glioblastoma, where the need for novel treatment is great.
Lack of Integrin α1β1 Leads to Severe Glomerulosclerosis after Glomerular Injury

Severity of fibrosis after injury is determined by the nature of the injury and host genetic susceptibility. Metabolism of collagen, the major component of fibrotic lesions, is, in part, regulated by integrins. Using a model of glomerular injury by adriamycin, which induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, we demonstrated that integrin α1-null mice develop more severe glomerulosclerosis than wild-type mice. Moreover, primary α1-null mesangial cells produce more ROS both at baseline and after adriamycin treatment. Increased ROS synthesis leads to decreased cell proliferation and increased glomerular collagen IV accumulation that is reversed by antioxidants both in vivo and in vitro. Thus, we have identified integrin α1β1 as a modulator of glomerulosclerosis. In addition, we showed a novel pathway where integrin α1β1 modulates ROS production, which in turn controls collagen turnover and ultimately fibrosis. Because integrin α1β1 is expressed in many cell types this may represent a generalized mechanism of controlling matrix accumulation, which has implications for numerous diseases characterized by fibrosis.
Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Latency in Endothelial and B Cells Activates Gamma Interferon-Inducible Protein 16-Mediated Inflammasomes

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infections of endothelial and B cells are etiologically linked with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and primary effusion B-cell lymphoma (PEL), respectively. KS endothelial and PEL B cells carry multiple copies of the nuclear episomal latent KSHV genome and secrete a variety of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18. The maturation of IL-1β and IL-18 depends upon active caspase-1, which is regulated by a multiprotein inflammasome complex induced by sensing of danger signals. During primary KSHV infection of endothelial cells, acting as a nuclear pattern recognition receptor, gamma interferon-inducible protein 16 (IFI16) colocalized with the KSHV genome in the nuclei and interacted with ASC and procaspase-1 to form a functional inflammasome (Kerur N et al., Cell Host Microbe 9:363-375, 2011). Here, we demonstrate that endothelial telomerase-immortalized human umbilical cells (TIVE) supporting KSHV stable latency (TIVE-LTC cells) and PEL (cavity-based B-cell lymphoma 1 [BCBL-1]) cells show evidence of inflammasome activation, such as the activation of caspase-1 and cleavage of pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18. Interaction of ASC with IFI16 but not with AIM2 or NOD-like receptor P3 (NLRP3) was detected. The KSHV latency-associated viral FLIP (vFLIP) gene induced the expression of IL-1β, IL-18, and caspase-1 mRNAs in an NF-κB-dependent manner. IFI16 and cleaved IL-1β were detected in the exosomes released from BCBL-1 cells. Exosomal release could be a KSHV-mediated strategy to subvert IL-1β functions. In fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses, IFI16 colocalized with multiple copies of the KSHV genome in BCBL-1 cells. IFI16 colocalization with ASC was also detected in lung PEL sections from patients. Taken together, these findings demonstrated the constant sensing of the latent KSHV genome by IFI16-mediated innate defense and unraveled a potential mechanism of inflammation induction associated with KS and PEL lesions.
Studies on some fish parasites of public health importance in the southern area of Saudi Arabia

The present study was the first attempt to survey the diversity of fish zoonotic parasites in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, particularly the Najran area, from October 2012 to October 2013. Approximately 163 fish representing seven species (two of freshwater fish and five of marine fish) were examined for fish-borne trematode metacercariae using the compression technique, and for zoonotic nematode larvae. Adult flukes were obtained from cats experimentally infected with the metacercariae on day 25 post-infection The prevalence of each parasite species was recorded. The parasites found belonged to two taxa: Digenea (Heterophyes heterophyes and Haplorchis pumilio) in muscle tissue; and nematodes (larvae of Capillaria sp.) in the digestive tract. The morphological characteristics of the fish-borne trematode metacercariae and their experimentally obtained adults were described. This is the first report of these parasites in fish in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Myripristis murdjan presented higher prevalence of Capillaria sp. infection (22.7%), while Haplorchis pumilio was the dominant metacercarial species (7.9%). Although the number of documented cases continues to increase, the overall risk of human infection is slight. The increasing exploitation of the marine environment by humans and the tendency to reduce cooking times when preparing seafood products both increase the chances of becoming infected with these parasites. Furthermore, our results indicate that certain fish production systems are at risk of presenting fish zoonotic parasites, and that control approaches will benefit from understanding these risk factors.
Truth-Functionality and the Ramified Theory of Types

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the truth-functionality and the ramified theory of types. Calculus C has a truth-functional interpretation if there is a family ∑ of functions from the wffs (non-atomic as well as atomic) of C to {T, F}. The sentential calculus (SC) has a strictly truth-functional interpretation; so does the first-order quantificational calculus (QC 1 ). By contrast, the principal interpretation of QC 2 (the second-order quantificational calculus), though truth-functional, is not strictly truth-functional.
A Review of Regulation D: The Present Exemption Regimen for Limited Offerings Under the Securities Act of 1933

In response to substantial criticism regarding the effect that compliance with federal securities laws was having on small businesses, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) promulgated Regulation D, which consists of six rules that exempt certain limited offerings of securities from registration with the SEC, as generally required by section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933. The primary purposes of the SEC’s implementing Regulation D were to simplify and to clarify the existing limited offering exemptions from registration, to expand the availability of these exemptions, and to achieve uniformity between state and federal exemptions in order to facilitate capital formation consistent with the goal of investor protection under the 1933 Act. Instead of developing new regulatory concepts through careful analysis of previous experience, the SEC has reworked and retooled a highly criticized and fragmented exemption into an equally complex and potentially unreliable unified regulation. This article describes the principal characteristics of each of the substantive exemptions, rules 504, 505 and 506. The generally applicable definitions, terms, and conditions, set forth at rules 501, 502, and 503, are addressed in the context of their application in order to illustrate which of the substantive exemptions is most appropriate to a particular offering. The article then critiques the major defects in the regulation’s exemption scheme.
Influence of UHVDC Control and Protection Characteristics on Inner Overvoltage

Based on the concrete parameters of the ±800kV UHVDC transmission system from Xiangjiaba to Nanhui,the detailed calculation and analysis on the influence of HVDC control and protection characteristics on internal overvoltage are conducted by use of electromagnetic transient calculation software EMTP-RV. The feasible suggestions for the study on the inner overvoltage of HVDC transmission system are proposed. Research results show that HVDC control and protection characteristic evidently impacts the inner Overvoltage. The main characteristic,which should be simulated as closed as possible to that of the real projects,need considered fully.
Dissolution kinetics of pH responsive alginate-pectin hydrogel particles

Encapsulation is used for protection of bioactive compounds during processing, storage, and passage through the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and delivery to the small intestine. A number of pH responsive synthetic polymers are approved for drug delivery but are not allowed for food applications. We developed a biopolymer mixture composed of alginate and pectin that can form hydrogel when the pH is below 3.0. We also produced novel disc shaped particles which can potentially enhance the particle adhesion in intestines. As the pH increases, Al-P hydrogels go through a gel-sol transition and the dissolution kinetics of the hydrogel dominates the bioactive compound release. The goals of this study are to investigate the relative effects of factors contributing to the dissolution kinetics of Al-P hydrogel and to develop mathematical models characterizing the degradation behavior of the hydrogels under product storage and lower GI tract conditions. The volume change of spherical and disc shaped particles at pH3.0 showed that the hydrogel particles would be stable in low pH beverages during storage. At pH5.0 and 7.0, hydrogel particle dissolution followed a zero-order kinetic model. The 2.8% TGC 43:57wt% Al-P disc particles had the fastest and the 2.2% TGC 82:18wt% Al-P spherical particles had the slowest volume dissolution rate at pH7.0 and 37°C. Activation energies of hydrogel particles were significantly affected by pH, particle shape and Al to P ratio. Such a biopolymer system which responds to pH provides an opportunity to use food as a vehicle for targeted delivery of bioactive compounds.
Analytical Methods for Sulfonamides in Foods and Feeds. II. Performance Characteristics of Sulfonamide Methods

Important factors in interpretation of methods for sulfonamides in tissues are value of the blank, use or omission of recovery factors, and precision of the methods. For determining sulfonamide in tissues, no interlaboratory collaborative studies have been performed to provide reproducibility parameters. By assuming comparability with other tissue residue methods at equivalent concentrations, it may be anticipated that the coefficient of variation within-laboratories of the Bratton-Marshall method is about 15% at concentrations of a fraction of a part per million. It is estimated that the limit of reliable measurement of the Bratton-Marshall method is about 0.2 ppm, varying with the individual laboratory. This value is higher than the tolerance it is intended to enforce. Obviously, the method in this case has been stretched beyond its original claimed capabilities. This method also has high blanks and low recoveries. Assignment of sufficient resources to the solution of the problem by regulatory agencies has resulted in methods capable of handling the sulfonamide residue problem at 0.1 ppm.
Abstract 715: Pseudotyped AAV Vectors in Combination with the Cardiac Troponin-T Promoter Dramatically Accelerate the Onset of Cardiac-Specific Gene Expression After Direct Injection into Adult Murine Myocardium

Introduction: AAV2 suffers from a prolonged lag phase (up to 6 wks) before full expression after injection into adult myocardium. Newly-isolated AAV serotypes 1, 6 & 8 provide early onset expression after IV injection. We hypothesized that packaging AAV2 DNA in capsids from serotypes 1, 6 or 8 would overcome the lag phase seen after injection into the LV wall. Methods: An AAV2 ITR-based vector carrying firefly luciferase under control of the cardiac troponin-T promoter (AcTnTLuc) was packaged into capsids from AAV serotypes 1, 2, 6 & 8 (AAV2/1, 2/2, 2/6 & 2/8). 5E+ 10 viral particles were injected into the LV wall of adult mice (n = 4/group) and transgene expression was monitored by in vivo bioluminescence (IVIS, Xenogen Corp), in vitro luciferase assays and immunostains for luciferase. Results: At Day 7 post-injection, in vivo light output from hearts injected with AAV2/2 was no different from background (p = NS, Panel A), whereas it had reached steady state levels in hearts injected with AAV2/1, 2/6 & 2/8. At Day 14, light output was 670x higher in AAV2/1, 1820x higher in AAV2/6 and 3070x higher in AAV2/8 than in AAV2/2-injected mice (p in vitro luciferase assays confirmed that luciferase was largely restricted to the heart. Luciferase immunostains of AAV2/8 hearts indicated high efficiency transduction (Panel B). Conclusions: Capsids from AAV serotypes 1, 6 or 8 are far more efficient for cardiac gene delivery than AAV2, as evidenced by early onset and high-level gene expression. The use of tissue-specific promoters in combination with highly efficient AAV capsids further enhances the potential of AAV vectors for animal experiments and human gene therapy protocols.
Effects of Bilateral Ligation of the Uterine and Ovarian Vessels in Dogs

Devascularization of the nonpregnant uterus and oviducts by ligation of both uterine and both ovarian arteries was studied in 48 mongrel dogs. There were no postoperative complications or morbidity. At the time of the second laparotomy, the tissues appeared to be viable. This report suggests that bilateral uterine and ovarian artery ligation is without hazard. Whether this observation can be applied to the pregnant human uterus remains to be proven.
Transcription Factors in Sertoli Cells

This chapter discusses the role of transcription factors in regulating Sertoli cell-specific gene expression. Transcription factors are DNA binding proteins ( trans -acting) that bind to DNA regulatory elements located cis to the target genes. Transcription factors are generally considered final targets of signal-transduction pathways. The level of expression of transcription factors and their activities determines whether their target genes are transcribed and to what extent. These regulators of gene expression in turn are tightly regulated by a multitude of signaling pathways influenced by cell–cell interaction, growth factors, hormones, extracellular matrix, and the stage of development. Alterations in the transcriptional regulation of the Sertoli cell determine changes in cellular differentiation and function. The functional and developmental changes associated with Sertoli cell differentiation and functions are a result of stage-specific activation/repression of specific transcription factors. Some of these transcription factors such as Sry and DAX-1are expressed only during a particular stage of development.
Two-Photon Interference

Interferometry using various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum has a long history, extending back to the beginning of the nineteenth century in the optical case, and expanding far into other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum by the mid-twentieth century. During this time, interferometry has been used both as a probe for investigating the properties of light itself and as a practical tool for making high-precision measurements of other objects and phenomena. The applications range from measurement of lattice structures in solids and determination of stellar diameters to searches for gravity waves, a luminiferous ether, and extra space-time dimensions.
American Better Business Bureaus, the Truth-in-Advertising Movement, and the Complexities of Legitimizing Business Self-Regulation over the Long Term

This essay considers the question of how strategies of legitimatizing private regulatory governance evolve over the long term. It focuses on the century-long history of the American Better Business Bureau (BBB) network, a linked set of business-funded non-governmental organizations devoted to promoting truthful marketing. The BBBs took on important roles in standard-setting, monitoring, public education, and enforcement, despite never enjoying explicit delegation of authority from Congress or state legislatures. This effort depended on building legitimacy with three separate groups with very different perspectives and interests—the business community, a fractured American state, and the American public, in their roles as consumers and investors. The BBBs initially managed to build a strong reputation with each constituency during its founding period, from 1912 to 1933. The Bureaus then in many ways adapted successfully to the emergence of a more assertive regulatory state from the New Deal through the mid 1970s. Eventually, however, the resurgence of conservative politics in the United States exposed the challenges of satisfying such divergent stakeholders, and led the BBBs to focus resolutely on shoring up its support from the business establishment. That choice, over time, undercut the Bureaus standing with other stakeholders, and especially the wider public. This history illustrates: the salience of generational amnesia within private regulatory institutions; the profound impact that the shifting nature of public faith in government can have on the strategies and reputation of private regulatory bodies; and the extent to which private regulators face long-term trade-offs among strategies to sustain legitimacy with different audiences. It also suggests a rich set of research questions for longer-term histories of other private regulatory institutions, in the United States, other societies, and at the international level.
Enhanced Overwintering Survival of Stevia by QoI Fungicides Used for Management of Sclerotium rolfsii

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a herbaceous perennial under evaluation as a new crop in the southeastern United States. Stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is common in stevia plantings in North Carolina, with symptoms including wilting, root and stem necrosis, and plant death. Fungicide efficacy trials for management of S. rolfsii were conducted over 2 years. Fungicides evaluated included azoxystrobin, flutolanil, and tebuconazole applied at three timings. Azoxystrobin applied to transplants 1 week prior to planting had the lowest area under the disease progress curve values across all trials. Fungicide plots were also used to evaluate overwintering of stevia. End-of-season stand counts were compared with spring emergence counts to quantify overwintering survival. In spring 2015, plots treated with azoxystrobin in 2014 had greater overwintering survival (78%) than other fungicide treatments (38%) and the control (38%). Similar results were obtained at two locations in spring 2016 in plots treated with a...
Pathways to quality care at lower cost

Pathways or clinical protocols have been developed rapidly to control costs and improve quality of care. Steps for pathway development are described. The designs and benefits of pathways are reviewed for acute care, rehabilitation, and home health care.
DRAM Scaling Error Evaluation Model Using Various Retention Time

As process technology scales down, DRAMs become less reliable since current DRAM protection schemes cannot address scaling-induced errors effectively. In prior related work, faulty DRAM cells or inherent faults have been considered as permanent and easily detectable during manufacturing process. However, due to scaling, more errors occur intermittently during system operations and exacerbate DRAM reliability. To consider the increasing intermittent errors due to scaling, we propose a new error model using DRAM’s Variable Retention Time (VRT). Our model effectively describes latent inherent faults, which lead to intermittent errors, in addition to the permanent inherent faults. We also introduce an efficient methodology to accelerate simulations even with a myriad of inherent faults. We present parameter sweep results to provide better understanding or insight regarding DRAM scaling errors.
Imaging of the Cornea

Imaging devices allow us to document, examine, measure, and map the structures of the cornea and anterior segment. The advent of optical and digital technology has spurred a wave of new devices that augment our standard, familiar equipment. These devices use unique optics and ultrasound technology to perform their tasks. Each device has its own strengths and limitations. Understanding these characteristics and the basic principles behind the operation of these devices will assist the doctor in choosing when to use a specific device and as to how to interpret the resulting data. This article will discuss devices used to image the cornea and the anterior segment and their most common uses.
Circuit resistance training improves the atherogenic lipid profiles of persons with chronic paraplegia.

Background: People with chronic paraplegia frequently experience dyslipidemias characterized by depressed levels of high-densitylipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and elevated levels of low-density li...
Coal to oil in China: Scientific development or crossing the river by feeling the stones?

i Acknowledgements ii List of Tables v List of Figures vi List of Abbreviations vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Overview of Thesis 1 1.2 Contribution 8 1.3 Research Methodology 10 1.4 Research Barriers 11 1.5 Thesis Committee Composition 14 Chapter 2: China‘s Energy Resource Endowment, Energy Security Policies, and Role of Coal Liquids 15 2.
The Course of CVD

It is of obvious import to know what the future will bring the patient with a stroke, or at least how groups of patients are likely to fare. In this context we are of course limited to those sources which provide a potential for follow-up information: hospital series and population surveys. It may be obvious by now that I look on many hospital data with a jaundiced eye, but for this aspect we are unfortunately very limited in the amount of information available from the population studies. It is apparent that we cannot describe a “natural history of stroke” — even by considering the components separately. Since all our information is happily provided by physicians, we must speak of the “natural history of the variably treated patients with stroke”, and make some attempt at least to think of the separate portions of this phrase.
Occurrence of Lateral Ankle Ligament Disease With Stage 2 to 3 Adult-Acquired Flatfoot Deformity Confirmed via Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Retrospective Study

Lateral hindfoot pain associated with stage 2 to 3 adult-acquired flatfoot is often attributed to subfibular impingement. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is generally performed to assess the extent of degeneration within the posterior tibial tendon, attenuation of medial soft tissue constraints, and degeneration of hindfoot and/or ankle articulations. The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence of lateral collateral ligament disease/injury associated with stages 2 and 3 adult-acquired flatfoot. The subjects were identified using a searchable computerized hospital database between 2015 and 2017. Stage 2 or 3 adult-acquired flatfoot deformity was confirmed in patients via chart review and MRI analysis. Lateral ankle ligament injury was confirmed using patient MRI results per the hospital radiologist and documented within the patients' chart. Inclusion criteria required that patients be diagnosed with Johnson and Strom stage 2 or 3 flatfoot deformity with documented lateral ankle pain and that preoperative MRI scans be available with the radiologist's report. Patient exclusion criteria included patients <18 years of age, patients with flatfoot deformity caused by previous trauma, tarsal coalition, neuropathic arthritis, patients with previous surgery, or patients with incomplete medical records. In total, 118 patients were identified with these parameters. Of the 118 patients, 74 patients (62.7%) had documented lateral ankle ligament injury on MRI. Of the 77 patients with stage 2 adult-acquired flatfoot, 55 (71.4%) had confirmed lateral ankle ligament injury on MRI. Of the 41 patients with stage 3 adult-acquired flatfoot, 19 (46.3%) had confirmed lateral ankle ligament injury on MRI. This study demonstrates a relatively high incidence of lateral ligament disease associated with adult-acquired flatfoot deformity. These findings might have long-term implications regarding ankle arthritis after surgical management of adult-acquired flatfoot.
Phantom float in commercial scheduling software

Abstract On a regular basis, construction professionals use scheduling software to resource load the schedules without paying attention to the resulting critical path. Current scheduling software fix the resource supply-demand problem by performing a Resource-Constrained Scheduling (RCS) technique, but they report incorrect total float values and a broken critical path. RCS calculations suggest that activities have float but much of this float does not exist (phantom float). Phantom float is created in resource-constrained schedules because the existing RCS methodologies neglect the resource relationships that arise between activities when competing for the same but unavailable resources. This paper illustrates the presence of phantom float in Primavera's P6 and Microsoft's Project schedules. After removing phantom float from the schedule, non-critical activities may become resource critical and the actual float may be shorter than calculated or may be altogether non-existent. Users of P6 and MS Project should recognize that the calculation of total float by the software relies on a time-based context (LF – EF and/or LS – ES) ignoring the presence of resource constraints. Therefore, the float reported cannot be trusted or used to mitigate delaying events, like the traditional time-based context definition of total float suggests. Currently, research is being carried out in order to remove phantom float from P6 and Microsoft Project schedules.
School Climate Counts: A Longitudinal Analysis of School Climate and Middle School Bullying Behaviors

The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether student perceptions of school climate were associated with traditional and cyber bullying participant behaviors over the course of a school year. Additionally, gender was explored as a moderator in the associations between school climate perceptions and bullying participant behaviors. Data were collected from 870 6th through 8th grade middle school students using the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ; Demaray et al. 2014), the Cyber Victimization Survey (CVS; Brown et al. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 12–21, 2014), and the Safe and Responsive Schools Safe Schools Survey–Secondary Form (SRS; Skiba et al. School Violence Research, 3, 149–171, 2004). Results indicated students’ perceptions of school climate were significantly related to maladaptive bullying role behaviors (traditional and cyber bullying, traditional and cyber victimization, assisting in bullying, and outsider behaviors) but not adaptive role behaviors (defending). There were significant gender interactions with school climate, particularly with perceptions of delinquency/major safety at school. Implications concerning these findings are discussed.
Reflections on tenure, the two-body problem, and retention in the 21st century academy

Academics rarely discuss work/life balance, or our lack thereof. In this symposium article, we confront the normalization of imbalance on the tenure-track that pervades 21st Century institutions. O...
Acoustical-speckle interferometry

When a continuous or pulsed wave of ultrasound is scanned over an object, an echo emanating from the object may be detected. If the echo has a random variation in amplitude vs. position of the beam, the resulting variation is referred to as acoustical speckle. An analysis is presented for utilizing acoustical speckle to determine displacements on the surface or interior of an object. Two experimental configurations, pulse-echo and continuous wave scanning, are treated in the verification of the analysis.
Compositional patterning in irradiated alloys: Effective potentials and effective interfacial energy

Compositional patterning (CP) in binary alloys during energetic particle irradiation is studied using a kinetic model that considers two competing kinetic processes, a thermally activated one promoting macroscopic phase separation (MPS) of the concentration field $c(\mathbf{r},t),$ and a forced one resulting in finite-range random atomic mixing. The forced mixing is modeled by a Gaussian relocation distribution with a characteristic distance $R$. A series of approximate kinetic models are introduced by expanding the mixing function into a series of $n$ terms, thus replacing the nonlocal evaluations of the concentration field $c({\mathbf{r}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{-}\mathbf{r},t)$ by local derivatives of $c(\mathbf{r},t)$. This approach makes it possible to obtain exact effective potentials and build steady-state diagrams for each order-n model. Phase-field (PF) simulations using these order-n models reveal that near the onset of patterning, phase evolution is accurately described using an order-3 model, which changes smoothly from an extended Cahn-Hilliard free energy in the MPS regime to a one-mode Swift-Hohenberg functional in the CP regime. Deeper into the patterning regime, higher-order models are required to achieve convergence, yielding squarelike concentration profiles characteristic of a strong segregation regime. These higher-order effective free energies are analogous to multimodal Swift-Hohenberg functionals. An alternative definition for the effective interfacial energy is proposed in the CP regime, since the interfacial area is no longer an excess quantity in that regime, precluding the use of the standard thermodynamic definition of interfacial energy.
Tips and Snags of Academic Cyberreference

ABSTRACT College and university libraries have been providing electronic reference service since the early 1980s. This article discusses practical applications and procedures needed to establish a cyberreference program in an academic setting, covering both the challenges and obstacles inherent in establishing a new technological service. Also discussed is the promotion and marketing of electronic reference once the program has been established.
Liver glycogen in normal and ketotic cows.

SUMMARY Liver samples were taken by biopsy from non-lactating, lactating and ketotic cows. Mean ± S.D. values for glycogen were 3·0 ± 1·1, 1·0 ± 0·86 and 0·26 ± 0·15g·/100 g. wet weight respectively. Stained slides generally showed less glycogen and more fat in cases of ketosis. Possible causes of glycogen depletion and fat mobilization are discussed.
Prejudiced Communication: A Social Psychological Perspective

Introduction: The What and Why of Prejudiced Communication. Language That Divides. Developing and Using Shared Stereotypes. Talking Down to Outgroup Members. Preferred Cultural Patterns and Nonverbal Behavior. The News Media. The Culture of Prejudice. Afterword: What Is Known and What Is Unknown.