cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of H3PO4-equilibrated Nafion® 117 membranes using 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy

Abstract 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopic measurements were used to examine the behavior of H3PO4 sorbed in Nafion® 117 membranes. The 31P NMR signal for phosphoric acid sorbed in Nafion was found to have the same chemical shift as that of 100% phosphoric acid in bulk liquid phase. This, however, was broadened compared to that in the bulk acid (FWHM = 121 Hz versus 8 Hz for bulk 100% H3PO4), suggesting lower mobility, possibly due to hydrogen-bonding-type interactions. In the 1H-NMR spectrum for H3PO4-equilibrated Nafion, the peak was shifted downfield compared to a relatively dry membrane (~ 2 H2O per −SO3H), consistent with a higher mole fraction of acidic protons. The presence of a single peak also indicates an exchange of protons between the sulfonic acid groups, phosphoric acid and residual water. The latter may in fact mediate the exchange between −SO3H and H3PO4. The peak was relatively broad (FWHM = 240 Hz) compared to those in “dry” (FWHM = 100 Hz) and water-equilibrated Nafion (FWHM = 80 Hz), indicating lower mobility and/or the effect of finite proton exchange rates.
Comparison of explosive and Vibroseis source energy penetration during COCORP deep seismic reflection profiling in the Williston Basin

Comparison of high‐fold (50) vibroseis recordings with coincident low‐fold (6) explosive source data from deep reflection surveys in the Williston Basin indicates that while vibroseis generated energy decays to ambient noise levels at 7–9 s two‐way traveltime (twtt) (20–30 km depth), energy from explosive sources remains above ambient levels to 35–60 s twtt (105–180 km depth). Moreover, single, moderately sized (30 kg) and well‐placed charges proved to be as effective as larger (90 kg) sources at penetrating to mantle traveltimes in this area. However, the explosive source energy proved highly variable, with source‐to‐ground coupling being a major limiting factor in shot efficacy. Stacked results from the vibroseis sources provide superior imagery of shallow and moderate crustal levels by virtue of greater redundancy and shot‐to‐shot uniformity; shot statics, low fold, and ray‐path distortion across the relatively large (24–30 km aperture) spreads used during the explosive recording have proven to be espe...
The impact of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy on perioperative outcomes, tumor pathology, and survival in clinical stage II and III esophageal cancer.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCR) on perioperative outcomes, tumor pathology, and survival following surgical resection of clinical stage II and III esophageal cancer. Patients undergoing esophagectomy for clinical stage II and III cancer were divided into two groups: those who received NCR and those who underwent primary surgery (1991–2011). A total of 173 (50.9 %) of 340 stage II/III patients received NCR, 108 (31.8 %) patients underwent primary surgery, and 59 (17.4 %) underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery. Patients who received NCR were younger but had a similar Charlson comorbidity index and incidence of adenocarcinoma. There were no differences between groups in the incidence of complications, in-hospital mortality, and ICU stay, but patients who received NCR demonstrated a reduced length of hospital stay. NCR was associated with a reduced the incidence of positive pathological lymph node status and positive resection margin (3.1 vs. 21.1 %) in stage III esophageal cancer. No overall survival benefit was seen with use of NCR, although a nonsignificant improvement in survival of 22 months (p = 0.06) was noted in patients with adenocarcinoma. Negative resection margin was associated with an improved survival in both stage II and III patients. This study highlights the importance of planning operations to optimize the opportunity to provide negative surgical resection margins and to identify patients not responding to NCR to allow them to proceed directly to surgery. Additional assessment of the effect of NCR on patients with adenocarcinoma is warranted.
The Facets of Law: Appropriating Wittgenstein's Methods

In response to arguments made by Professors Levvis, Patterson and Eisele, I attempt to clarify a few of the main themes of my book, Law's Premises, Law's Promise. Professor Levvis’ paper gives me the opportunity to contrast the status of propositions held true by disputants in legal debate with propositions held fast as bedrock convictions about the nature of reality and experience. Professor Patterson's arguments allow me to show how legal decision making as a deliberative or interpretative practice rests, as all practices do, on a foundation of shared understanding (of mutually “knowing one's way about”). And Professor Eisele's remarks stimulate a discussion of the relation of conceptual analysis and the analysis of practices.
Linear optical quantum computing

Quantum logic operations can be performed using linear optical elements, additional photons (ancilla), and feed-forward control based on the results of measurements on the ancilla. An experimental demonstration of several logic devices of this kind will be described, including a controlled-NOT logic gate for single photons.
The Picard–Vessiot Antiderivative Closure

Abstract F is a differential field of characteristic zero with algebraically closed field of constants C . A Picard–Vessiot antiderivative closure of F is a differential field extension E ⊃ F which is a union of Picard–Vessiot extensions of F , each obtained by iterated adjunction of antiderivatives, and such that every such Picard–Vessiot extension of F has an isomorphic copy in E . The group G of differential automorphisms of E over F is shown to be prounipotent. When C is the complex numbers and F = C ( t ) the rational functions in one variable, G is shown to be free prounipotent.
Graduate Student Project: Operations Management Product Plan

An operations management product project is an effective instructional technique that fills a void in current operations management literature in product planning. More than 94.1% of 286 graduates favored the project as a learning tool, and results demonstrate the significant impact the project had in predicting student performance. The author made several project changes over 12 course offerings. Results demonstrate (a) the value of group work over individual work, (b) the negative impact of presentations on students' project scores, and (c) the positive impact of continuous feedback on project results. Changes in project weight often result in a detrimental effect on students' other coursework. The results indicate that instructors need to carefully consider course-weighting schemes.
Developmental Aspects of Epileptogenesis

Several factors may contribute to the propensity for the developing brain to have seizures and develop epilepsy. Hypersynchrony of neuronal circuits contributes to the seizure potential and several neurobiological features of the immature brain may support synchronized neuronal firing. The immature cerebral cortex and hippocampus have an increased density of synapses compared to adults and also a higher density of gap junctions and of excitatory amino acid receptors. Enhanced regenerative responses to injury in the developing brain may also contribute to the formation of abnormal hippocampal connections that support epilepsy. Molecular mechanisms that contribute to enhanced synaptic plasticity in the child's brain can also contribute to epileptogenesis in certain circumstances. The phenomenon of kindling, where repeated electrical stimulation of neuronal circuits leads to the development of epileptic seizures, is easily elicited in young animals. Long-term potentiation (LTP), where repeated synaptic stimulation leads to a reduced threshold for activation of that pathway and enhanced postsynaptic potentials, is much more robust in the immature cerebral cortex and may contribute to kindling and epileptogenesis. Age related enhancement of N-methyl-D-aspartate-type glutamate receptors, which are important for the activity dependent plasticity in the developing brain, appears to participate in LTP. This information suggests that normal developmental features of synaptic development make the immature brain more excitable than the adult brain and may contribute to epileptogenesis.
Quality-of-life outcomes in transoral robotic surgery.

Objective. To report long-term, health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes in patients treated with transoral robotic surgery (TORS).Study Design. Prospective, longitudinal, clinical study on functional and HRQOL outcomes in TORS.Setting. University tertiary care facility.Subjects and Methods. Patients who underwent TORS were asked to complete a Head and Neck Cancer Inventory before treatment and at 3 weeks and 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Demographic, clinicopathological, and follow-up data were collected.Results. Sixty-four patients who underwent TORS were enrolled. A total of 113 TORS procedures were performed. The mean follow-up time was 16.3 ± 7.49 months. The HRQOL was assessed at 3 weeks and at 3, 6, and 12 months, with a response rate of 78%, 44%, 41%, and 28%, respectively. TORS was performed most frequently for squamous cell carcinoma (88%). There was a decrease from baseline in the speech, eating, aesthetic, social, and overall QOL domains immediately after treatment. At the 1-year...
A proposed functional life test model for power transformers

A functional life test model is proposed which can represent the configurations, materials, and service stresses experienced in the windings of power transformers of any rating. The model is a practical size which would permit testing of multiple sets of units at reasonable cost. A unique pattern of winding connections minimizes the demands placed on test power supplies. Steps in a functional life test program have been suggested for consideration and discussion by the industry. To gain experience with the model and to investigate the effect of some major design variables on functional life, an initial set of exploratory tests has been recommended.
I—Gideon Rosen: Culpability and Duress: A Case Study

The paper examines the conditions under which we are responsible for actions performed under duress, focusing on a real case in which a soldier was compelled at gunpoint to participate in the massacre of civilian prisoners. The case stands for a class of cases in which the compelled act is neither clearly justified nor clearly excused on grounds of temporary incapacity, but in which it is nonetheless plausible that the agent is not morally blameworthy. The theoretical challenge is to identify the excuse in such cases and to explain its basis. The paper argues that when mortal duress excuses in cases of this sort, it does so because the compelled act, though impermissible and freely chosen, nonetheless fails to manifest ‘an insufficiently good will’. The argument depends on a potentially controversial thesis in the ethics of concern, namely, that a thoroughly decent moral agent—someone who cares enough about morality and the values that underlie it—will not always be moved to do what he knows he ought to do.
Field observations of radar backscatter from the ocean surface under low wind speed conditions

Unique simultaneous field observations of wind speed and images of vertically polarized radar backscatter from the ocean surface at low grazing angles during low wind and weakly stable stratification show interesting similarities and an important difference, depending on whether the average wind is falling or rising. When the wind speed begins to fall, there is a delay before the area-averaged radar backscatter begins to fall. When the wind speed begins to rise, the backscatter rises immediately. This observation points to hysteresis in the relationship between radar backscatter and wind speed such that more wind is necessary to generate radar backscatter of a given intensity than is necessary to maintain it. This likely arises from differences between the generation of wind-driven gravity capillary waves and the maintenance of gravity capillary waves and/or microbores. Also, saturation was observed in the radar backscatter at wind speeds between 2.1 and 2.8 m s−1 for both rising and falling winds. This saturation may be related to the energetics of the centimeter-scale gravity capillary waves and/or microbores that cause the backscatter. During rising winds the backscatter may saturate because fine-scale features of the ocean surface reach a maximum amplitude well before wind-derived energy is transferred upscale to larger waves, whose tilting effect would ultimately produce the familiar increase in radar backscatter with increasing wind. During falling winds the backscatter may saturate because of residual momentum in the surface wave field. Finally, for both rising and falling winds, radar backscatter and wind speed are, in general, correlated above a wind speed of 1.7 m s−1, while below this value they are not. This observation of the critical wind speed necessary to generate or maintain wind-related backscatter is consistent with results from a recent field observation and with existing laboratory-based observations.
3-Conductor cable resistance and inductance

In studying the general problem of weight reduction in shipboard equipment, consideration has been given to the use of higher frequency power. This has required an investigation of the operating characteristics of 3-conductor cables. The characteristics of interest are the effective or a-c resistance and inductance when the cable is operated in a 3-phase circuit.
Toward an action philosophy for managers based on Arendt and Tillich

On the basis of the Weber, Jaspers, and Arendt style ‘ideal types’ of the manager as Eichmann, Richard III, and Faust it is explained how under strong organizational pressures to obey orders and further organizational ends, different types of managers cooperate with organization behavior that harms people. On the basis of Arendt's and Tillich's action philosophies, the manager as Institution Citizen with the courage to be both as oneself and as a part is presented as alternative, contrast, and resistance model to the other ‘ideal types’, particularly to the Eichmann ‘ideal type’.
Towards a Hausa verbal aesthetic: aspects of language about using language

This paper examines the terminology of Hausa metalanguage in verbal art, the discourse about language in verbal art, and the social function of that discourse in Hausa society. The primary sources are the language in oral narratives; the language of bori, the Hausa system of possession-trance; and the language used in the performances of two contemporary Hausa oral poets from Niger. The Hausa trickster Gizo, for example, provides performers with a means to discuss language through the metalinguistic terminology of his own speech: baki biyu 'two mouths,' deceitful speech; romon kunne 'ear broth,' flattering, meaningless speech; tsammin baki 'sour-mouth,' baby-talk, Gizo-talk. An examination of the verses in praise of the bori spirit Mai Dara suggests that the voice of the spirit is powerful, as strong and fearsome as that of the ogre Dodo, of a lion. Seen as metaphorical discourse about language the verses proclaim that language is so powerful that it must by used judiciously. It can have far-reaching effects, it can convey truth, it can convey hypocrisy. Its power can and should sometimes be tempered by rechannelling it, by having a spokesperson intervene. Zabia Hussei and Ali na Maliki, two contemporary oral artists from Niger, create a poetic metalanguage as they create poetry itself Using images such as the building of fences or farming, they allude to the process of creating oral poetry or song. This paper examines how Hausa artists create a discourse about language within the artistic language of performance. 1. Metalanguage and metaphor In Et Cetera, Et Cetera: Notes of a Word-Watcher Lewis Thomas says: 'The language keeps talking about itself, cannot seem to have enough of itself. At a guess, I'd say there are more roots for the various ways of using language than for all other human activities together, some of them hidden away inside longer words that seem to be designed for other purposes, most of them standing baldly out in full view. The language, in fact, spends a large part of the time calling attention to what it can accomplish' (1990: 44). Language talking about itself, the language used to talk about language, is metalanguage. Often this takes the form of technical terms used by linguists or literary critics, but all language users have ways of talking about language. Primary among these is classification or
β‐Amyloid Neurotoxicity in Human Cortical Culture Is Not Mediated by Excitotoxins

beta-Amyloid is a metabolic product of the amyloid precursor protein, which accumulates abnormally in senile plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The neurotoxicity of beta-amyloid has been observed in cell culture and in vivo, but the mechanism of this effect is unclear. In this report, we describe the direct neurotoxicity of beta-amyloid in high-density primary cultures of human fetal cortex. In 36-day-old cortical cultures, beta-amyloid neurotoxicity was not inhibited by the broad-spectrum excitatory amino acid receptor antagonist kynurenate or the NMDA receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid under conditions that inhibited glutamate and NMDA neurotoxicity. In 8-day-old cortical cultures, neurons were resistant to glutamate and NMDA toxicity but were still susceptible to beta-amyloid neurotoxicity, which was unaffected by excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists. Treatment with beta-amyloid caused chronic neurodegenerative changes, including neuronal clumping and dystrophic neurites, whereas glutamate treatment caused rapid neuronal swelling and neurite fragmentation. These results suggest that beta-amyloid is directly neurotoxic to primary human cortical neurons by a mechanism that does not involve excitatory amino acid receptors.
RNA-CODE: A Noncoding RNA Classification Tool for Short Reads in NGS Data Lacking Reference Genomes

The number of transcriptomic sequencing projects of various non-model organisms is still accumulating rapidly. As non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are highly abundant in living organism and play important roles in many biological processes, identifying fragmentary members of ncRNAs in small RNA-seq data is an important step in post-NGS analysis. However, the state-of-the-art ncRNA search tools are not optimized for next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, especially for very short reads. In this work, we propose and implement a comprehensive ncRNA classification tool (RNA-CODE) for very short reads. RNA-CODE is specifically designed for ncRNA identification in NGS data that lack quality reference genomes. Given a set of short reads, our tool classifies the reads into different types of ncRNA families. The classification results can be used to quantify the expression levels of different types of ncRNAs in RNA-seq data and ncRNA composition profiles in metagenomic data, respectively. The experimental results of applying RNA-CODE to RNA-seq of Arabidopsis and a metagenomic data set sampled from human guts demonstrate that RNA-CODE competes favorably in both sensitivity and specificity with other tools. The source codes of RNA-CODE can be downloaded at http://www.cse.msu.edu/~chengy/RNA_CODE.
People Trees: Worship of Trees in Northern India, by David L. Haberman, Oxford University Press: New York, 2013, xvi + 240 pp. ISBN 978 019 992917 7, US$99.00 (hardback); ISBN 978 019 992916 0, US$35.00 (paperback)

While reading People Trees, I became aware of a particularly nagging thought that began to assert itself with growing conviction over the course of the book's seven chapters, such that, upon reachi...
Reactions of the Rice Weevil to Newly Developed Wheat Products

Studies were conducted with 5 promising wheat products developed by the Western Utilization Research and Development Division, USDA, to evaluate attractiveness or resistance to Sitophilus oryzae (L.). The weevils were attracted consistently to pearled wheats of both light and heavy abrasion and were able to develop heavy populations therein. Parboiled WURLD wheats neutralized with either acetic or benzoic acid were not attractive to rice weevils. However, small numbers of progeny were produced in both materials. Progeny emergence was several days later in these than in the pearled wheats. More progeny was produced in scarified WURLD wheat than in the acid-neutralized products, but the number of progeny was still much lower than in the pearled wheats. Rice weevils were attracted to the Gaines wheat control about the same as to the pearled wheats, and progeny production was about the same in these materials. The bulgur and flour controls were the least attractive of all test materials to the rice weevil. However, the progeny production from the bulgur was similar to that from the acetic-add-neutralized WURLD wheat.
Preliminary global assessment of terrestrial biodiversity consequences of sea level rise mediated by climate change

Considerable attention has focused on the climatic effects of global climate change on biodiversity, but few analyses and no broad assessments have evaluated effects of sea-level rise on biodiversity. Taking advantage of new maps of marine intrusion under scenarios of 1 and 6 m sea-level rise, we calculated areal losses for all terrestrial ecoregions globally, with areal losses for particular ecoregions ranging from nil to complete. Marine intrusion is a global phenomenon, but its effects are most prominent in Southeast Asia and nearby islands, eastern North America, northeastern South America, and western Alaska. Making assumptions regarding faunal responses to reduced distributional areas of species endemic to ecoregions, we estimated likely numbers of extinctions caused by sea-level rise, and found that marine-intrusion-caused extinctions of narrow endemics are likely to be most prominent in northeastern South America, although anticipated extinctions in smaller numbers are scattered worldwide. This assessment serves as a complement to recent estimates of losses owing to changing climatic conditions, considering a dimension of biodiversity consequences of climate change that has not previously been taken into account.
Optical detection of large soot precursors

Abstract We have recently proposed a model of the soot particle inception process that involves the conversion, largely by coagulation and coalescence, of high-molecular-weight hydrocarbon molecules into incipient soot particles. In this work we make absorption measurements at a series of wavelengths between 488 and 1100 nm that show that in the immediate postinception zone the surface growth kinetics follows the profile of the very-high-molecular weight hydrocarbons (we estimate >500 amu) which then disappear. This result confirms an important prediction of our model. The rate at which these species disappear is consistent with the observed rate of mass increase of very young particles. Surface growth is dominated by acetylene only after the disappearance of these species.
Uterine Torsion and Cesarean Section in Llamas and Alpacas

Dystocia occurs infrequently in llamas and alpacas. Uterine torsion is one of the more common causes of dystocia that requires veterinary care. Cesarean section may be required to resolve dystocia or uterine torsion. Correction of uterine torsion is most often successful without laparotomy. Laparotomy and cesarean section can be performed successfully in llamas and alpacas in field settings. This article discusses the indications, techniques, and expected outcomes of uterine torsion and cesarean section when performed in llamas or alpacas.
Melting and casting processes for high-temperature intermetallics

Although considerable effort has been devoted to characterizing the properties of high-temperature intermetallics, melting and casting processes for these materials have been slower to advance. A variety of techniques may be appropriate for the melt processing of intermetallics, but the selection of the process will depend on numerous factors related to melt cleanliness, solidification microstructure and type of alloy. Advanced processes, such as directional solidification and single-crystal growth, still require some work before they can be successfully applied to intermetallics.
HIV-1 Uncoating is Facilitated by Dynein and Kinesin-1

ABSTRACT Following entry into the target cell, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) must reverse transcribe its RNA genome to DNA and traffic to the nuclear envelope, where the viral genome is translocated into the nucleus for subsequent integration into the host cell chromosome. During this time, the viral core, which houses the genome, undergoes a poorly understood process of disassembly, known as uncoating. Collectively, many studies suggest that uncoating is tightly regulated to allow nuclear import of the genome while minimizing the exposure of the newly synthesized DNA to cytosolic DNA sensors. However, whether host cellular proteins facilitate this process remains poorly understood. Here we report that intact microtubules facilitate HIV-1 uncoating in target cells. Disruption of microtubules with nocodazole substantially delays HIV-1 uncoating, as revealed with three different assay systems. This defect in uncoating did not correlate with defective reverse transcription at early times postinfection, demonstrating that microtubule-facilitated uncoating is distinct from the previously reported role of viral reverse transcription in the uncoating process. We also find that pharmacological or small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated inhibition of cytoplasmic dynein or the kinesin 1 heavy chain KIF5B delays uncoating, providing detailed insight into how microtubules facilitate the uncoating process. These studies reveal a previously unappreciated role for microtubules and microtubule motor function in HIV-1 uncoating, establishing a functional link between viral trafficking and uncoating. Targeted disruption of the capsid motor interaction may reveal novel mechanisms of inhibition of viral infection or provide opportunities to activate cytoplasmic antiviral responses directed against capsid or viral DNA. IMPORTANCE During HIV-1 infection, fusion of viral and target cell membranes dispenses the viral ribonucleoprotein complex into the cytoplasm of target cells. During this time, the virus must reverse transcribe its RNA genome, traffic from the location of fusion to the nuclear membrane, and undergo the process of uncoating, whereby the viral capsid core disassembles to allow the subsequent nuclear import of the viral genome. Numerous cellular restriction factors target the viral capsid, suggesting that perturbation of the uncoating process represents an excellent antiviral target. However, this uncoating process, and the cellular factors that facilitate uncoating, remains poorly understood. The main observation of this study is that normal uncoating requires intact microtubules and is facilitated by dynein and kinesin motors. Targeting these factors may either directly inhibit infection or delay it enough to trigger mediators of intrinsic immunity that recognize cytoplasmic capsid or DNA and subsequently induce an antiviral state in these cells.
Second Sound in NaF

Propagation of heat pulses in NaF has been studied to higher temperatures in a purer crystal than studied by McNelly et al. At the highest temperatures the second-sound velocity fails to level off at the theoretically predicted limiting value.
Cystic Fibrosis Mistaken for Idiopathic Biliary Atresia

Previous reports of prolonged jaundice in cystic fibrosis have not described operative and histopathological findings in the liver and biliary tree. In the two cases reported here, obstructive jaundice in the neonatal period was associated with anatomical evidence of intra- or extrahepatic biliary obstruction. Hepato portoenterostomy, a surgical procedure that is not without complications, was performed on one of the patients for biliary atresia before the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis was suspected. Prolonged obstructive jaundice may be an early manifes tation of cystic fibrosis and may resolve without operative management. A sweat test should be performed on all patients with prolonged obstructive neonatal jaundice to rule out cystic fibrosis.
Wandering Minds and Aging Cells

Many ancient contemplative traditions believe presence of mind promotes greater longevity, a belief that is hard to test. Scientific evidence suggests that mind wandering predicts unhappiness, whereas presence in the moment predicts well-being. It is important to test whether a tendency toward mind wandering is associated with biological measures of longevity beyond self-reported measures of well-being. Telomere length has recently emerged as a proxy measure of biological aging and correlate of severe stress. We assessed the association between telomere length and tendency to be present versus tendency to mind wander in 239 healthy women. Those who reported high mind wandering had shorter telomeres, consistently across immune cell types (granulocytes, lymphocytes), than did those who reported low mind wandering, even after adjusting for stress. Telomere length varies widely between adults, and these findings suggest that presence of mind may explain some of these differences. A present attentional state m...
Activation of Toll-Like Receptor 2 on Human Dendritic Cells Triggers Induction of IL-12, But Not IL-10

Mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are required for cell activation by bacterial lipoproteins (bLP) and LPS. Stimulation of monocytes with bLP and LPS results in a TLR-dependent induction of immunomodulatory genes leading to the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In this paper, we compared the expression and response of TLRs on monocytes and dendritic cells (DC). TLR2, but not TLR4, was detected on peripheral blood monocytes and DC, in lymphoid tissue CD1a+ DC as well as on in vitro monocyte-derived DC. Upon stimulation with bLP or LPS, monocytes produced IL-12 and IL-10 at similar levels, whereas monocyte-derived DC produced comparable levels of IL-12, but little IL-10. Greater than 90% of the bLP-induced production of IL-12 was blocked by anti-TLR2 mAb. Thus, DC express TLR2 and activation of this receptor by bLP provides an innate mechanism by which microbial pathogens preferentially activate cell-mediated immunity.
Visual to Tactile Conversion of Vector Graphics

Methods to automatically convert graphics into raised-line images have been recently investigated. In this paper, concepts from previous research are extended to the vector graphics case, producing tactile pictures in which important features are emphasized. The proposed algorithm extracts object boundaries and employs a classification process, based on a graphic's hierarchical structure, to determine critical outlines. A single parameter is introduced into the classification process, enabling users to tailor graphics to their own preferences. The resulting outlines are printed using a Braille printer to produce tactile output. Critical outlines are embossed with raised dots of highest height while other lines and details are embossed with a lower height. Psychophysical experiments including discrimination, identification, and comprehension are utilized to evaluate and compare the proposed algorithm. Results indicate that the proposed method outperforms other methods in all three considered tasks. The results also show that emphasizing important features significantly increases comprehension of tactile graphics, validating the proposed method's effectiveness in conveying visual information.
Self-stabilizing smoothing and counting

A smoothing network is a distributed data structure that accepts tokens on input wires and routes them to output wires. It ensures that however imbalanced the traffic on input wires, the numbers of tokens emitted on output wires are approximately balanced. Prior work on smoothing networks always assumed that such networks were properly initialized. In a real distributed system, however, network switches may be rebooted or replaced dynamically, and it may not be practical to determine the correct initial state for the new switch. Prior analyses do not work under these new assumptions. This paper makes the following contributions. First, we show that some well-known 1-smoothing networks, known as counting networks, when started in an arbitrary initial state (perhaps chosen by an adversary), remain remarkably smooth, degrading from 1-smooth to log(n)-smooth, where n is the number of input/output wires. Second, we show that the same networks can be made eventually 1-smooth by "piggy-backing" a small amount of additional information on messages when (and only when) trouble is detected.
Model of upper airway flow restriction in children with obstructive sleep APNEA

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children is correlated to anatomy of the upper airway. Segmented magnetic resonance images of airways from ten OSAS and ten matched control children were used to generate computer flow models. Steady turbulent axisymmetric flow models were solved at peak flow rate to estimate the effect of restricted airway area on pressure drop and resistance. OSAS patients had significantly higher pressure drop and resistance than controls. The magnitude of pressure drop was similar to reported critical airway closure pressures. A subset of OSAS patients had pressure drop and flow resistance similar to controls. Flow modeling may be a useful method to assess the role of anatomy in OSAS.
Evaluation of nanoparticle‐immobilized cellulase for improved ethanol yield in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation reactions

Ethanol yields were 2.1 (P = 0.06) to 2.3 (P = 0.01) times higher in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) reactions of microcrystalline cellulose when cellulase was physisorbed on silica nanoparticles compared to enzyme in solution. In SSF reactions, cellulose is hydrolyzed to glucose by cellulase while yeast simultaneously ferments glucose to ethanol. The 35 C temperature and the presence of ethanol in SSF reactions are not optimal conditions for cellulase. Immobilization onto solid supports can stabilize the enzyme and promote activity at non-optimum reaction conditions. Mock SSF reactions that did not contain yeast were used to measure saccharification products and identify the mechanism for the improved ethanol yield using immobilized cellulase. Cellulase adsorbed to 40 nm silica nanoparticles produced 1.6 times (P = 0.01) more glucose than cellulase in solution in 96 h at pH 4.8 and 35 C. There was no significant accumulation (<250 {mu}g) of soluble cellooligomers in either the solution or immobilized enzyme reactions. This suggests that the mechanism for the immobilized enzyme's improved glucose yield compared to solution enzyme is the increased conversion of insoluble cellulose hydrolysis products to soluble cellooligomers at 35 C and in the presence of ethanol. The results show that silica-immobilizedmore » cellulase can be used to produce increased ethanol yields in the conversion of lignocellulosic materials by SSF.« less
Metabolism of 15α-Hydroxyestradiol in Human Pregnancy1

ABSTRACT 15α-Hydroxyestradiol (15α-OHE2) was given iv to two pregnant women at 31 and 33 weeks gestation and urine was collected for 6 days. Excretion was almost complete during this period (93% and 96%). Separation of metabolites according to conjugate types was effected by chromatography on alumina and Sephadex G-10 and in one instance, DEAE-Sephadex A-25. Individual conjugates were purified by Celite partition chromatography. Each metabolite was assayed by treatment with an appropriate enzyme and subsequent purification of the aglycone, usually by Celite chromatography and isotope dilution techniques. About 70% of the radioactivity was identified. The predominant conjugates were the 15-N-acetylglucosaminides (35%) and 3-sulfate-15-N-acetylglucosaminides (21%) of 15α-hydroxyestrone (15α-OHE1 and 15α-OHE2. No other N-acetylaminoglucosides were detected. The major glucosiduronates (14%) were those of 15α-OHE1, 15α-OHE2, estetrol (E4) and of a metabolite hitherto not reported in the human, 15α-OHE2-17α. Th...
Transfer, Incorporation, and Substitution of Envelope Fusion Proteins among Members of the Baculoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, and Metaviridae (Insect Retrovirus) Families

Recent research suggests that members of the Baculoviridae family can be divided into two groups on the basis of their envelope fusion proteins (31). One group utilizes proteins related to GP64. Homologs of GP64 are also used by the thogotoviruses (27), a genus of the Orthomyxoviridae family. Members of the other group of baculoviruses utilize envelope fusion proteins related to a protein called LD130. LD130 has been shown to be related to the envelope protein of insect retroviruses in the genus Errantivirus (family Metaviridae) (24, 36). In this review, the evidence for these data is outlined and possible pathways of transfer, incorporation, and substitution are discussed.
Frequent Use of the Emergency Department Among Persons With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

PURPOSE To describe characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients who are frequent users of the emergency department (ED) and to identify predictors of frequent ED use.
WATCHING THE DETECTIVES: SEASONAL STUDENT EMPLOYEE REACTIONS TO ELECTRONIC MONITORING WITH AND WITHOUT ADVANCE NOTIFICATION

The present paper tested procedural justice hypotheses about seasonal high school and college student employees' reactions to electronic monitoring with video cameras. Study 1, a field study, explored (a) whether employees receiving advance notification of monitoring offered more favorable justice judgments than employees who did not, and (b) whether employees who saw monitoring procedures and/or consequences as fair returned to the organization the following summer. Results supported the hypotheses: employees viewed monitoring procedures as fairer if they received advance notice. Fairness judgments predicted reemployment Study 2, a scenario-based laboratory experiment, also found that advance notice elicited greater justice beliefs. In addition, Study 2 examined how variations in justification for the monitoring affected justice beliefs. Either strong or weak justifications produced greater procedural justice beliefs than no justification.
Discriminative learning with latent variables for cluttered indoor scene understanding

We address the problem of understanding an indoor scene from a single image in terms of recovering the layouts of the faces (floor, ceiling, walls) and furniture. A major challenge of this task arises from the fact that most indoor scenes are cluttered by furniture and decorations, whose appearances vary drastically across scenes, and can hardly be modeled (or even hand-labeled) consistently. In this paper we tackle this problem by introducing latent variables to account for clutters, so that the observed image is jointly explained by the face and clutter layouts. Model parameters are learned in the maximum margin formulation, which is constrained by extra prior energy terms that define the role of the latent variables. Our approach enables taking into account and inferring indoor clutter layouts without hand-labeling of the clutters in the training set. Yet it outperforms the state-of-the-art method of Hedau et al. [4] that requires clutter labels.
Private Equity Asset Allocation: How to Recommit?

For institutional investors in private equity, a recommitment strategy to achieve a desired asset allocation is at least as important as the decision about the asset allocation itself. Because cash flows (both capital drawdowns and distributions) for the asset class are highly unpredictable up front, achieving the desired allocation in a portfolio context represents a multiperiod dynamic optimization problem. This article’s approach determines new commitments to private equity funds based on distributions, the amount needed to adjust asset class weights back to the desired portfolio asset allocation (rebalancing amount), as well as the current investment degree of the portfolio. Annually recommitting distributions and the rebalancing amount—both weighted by the inverse of the current period investment degree—optimizes institutional investors’ private equity asset allocation.
The Role of Civility in Diverse Relations

Summary This paper is a discussion of the current stale civility today and ihe impact thai increasing diversity has and will have. Civility is defined and discussed in relation to several related concepts. These issues are discussed in broad general terms and also as they affect individuals, groups, libraries and librarians.
Temporal and polarization behavior of far-red emission in tissues

In this work, we investigated the far-red temporal and polarization behavior of fat and breast chicken tissue under picosecond 632 and 532 nm pulse illumination.
Parallel architectures for artificial neural nets

The key aspects of the modeling, algorithm, and architecture for artificial neural nets (ANNs) are reviewed. A programmable systolic array meant for a variety of connectivity patterns for ANNs is proposed. Considered in the design are both the search and learning phases of a class of ANNs. A system-theoretic approach is adopted to elucidate modeling issues for ANNs. On the basis the issues of expressibility and discrimination, fault tolerance and generalization, size of hidden units/layers, interconnectivity patterns, and circuit model for analog ANN implementations are addressed. >
Structural Innovators and Core-Framing Tasks: How Socially Responsible Mutual Fund Companies Build Identity among Investors

Institutional entrepreneurs in organizational fields sometimes adopt collective-action frames that generate subcultural identities among consumers and mobilize them into purchasing goods. This arti...
Superoxide Production, Risk Factors, and Endothelium-Dependent Relaxations in Human Internal Mammary Arteries

Background—In a variety of disease states, endothelium-dependent vasodilation is abnormal. Reduced nitric oxide (NO) production, increased destruction of NO by superoxide, diminished cellular levels of l-arginine or tetrahydrobiopterin, and alterations in membrane signaling have been implicated. We examined these potential mechanisms in human vessels. Methods and Results—Relaxations to acetylcholine, the calcium ionophore A23187, and nitroglycerin, as well as superoxide production and NO synthase expression, were examined in vascular segments from patients with identified cardiovascular risk factors. Endothelium-dependent relaxations were also studied after incubation with l-arginine, l-sepiapterin, and liposome-entrapped superoxide dismutase (SOD) and after organoid culture with cis-vaccenic acid. Relaxations to acetylcholine and to a lesser extent the calcium ionophore A23187 were highly variable and correlated with the number of risk factors present among the subjects studied. Treatment of vessels with...
Broad Resistance Due to Plasmid-Mediated AmpC β-Lactamases in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli that produce plasmid-mediated AmpC beta-lactamases are rare in the United States. The clinical features associated with infection with these organisms have not been well described. We identified 2 clinical isolates of E. coli that produced the plasmid-mediated AmpC enzyme beta-lactamase CMY-2. These organisms were recovered from urine specimens and were resistant to ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, and cefepime. One isolate was resistant to ertapenem but susceptible to imipenem and meropenem; the other was susceptible to imipenem, meropenem, and ertapenem. One of the 2 infected patients did not require specific therapy; the other required imipenem for cure. The presence of the CMY-2 beta-lactamase was confirmed by DNA sequencing. Hybridization studies confirmed that the bla(CMY-2) gene was on a plasmid in both isolates; in one of them, the probe also hybridized with chromosomal DNA. Infection with plasmid-mediated AmpC beta-lactamases in E. coli in the United States may be associated with treatment failure, and these strains may become a serious nosocomial threat.
Reproductive and developmental biology of Gonatocerus ashmeadi (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), an egg parasitoid of Homalodisca coagulata (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

Abstract The reproductive and developmental biology of Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault, a parasitoid of the glassy-winged sharpshooter Homalodisca coagulata (Say), was determined at five constant temperatures in the laboratory: 15; 20; 25; 30; 33 °C. At 30 °C, G. ashmeadi maintained the highest successful parasitism rates with 46.1% of parasitoid larvae surviving to adulthood. Lifetime fecundity was greatest at 25 °C and fell sharply as temperature either increased or decreased around 25 °C. Temperature had no effect on sex ratio of parasitoid offspring. Mean adult longevity was inversely related to temperature with a maximum of 20 days at 15 °C to a minimum of eight days at 33 °C. Developmental rates increased nonlinearly with increasing temperatures. Developmental rate data were fitted with the modified Logan model for oviposition to adult development times across each of the five experimental temperatures to determine optimal and upper lethal temperature thresholds. The lower developmental threshold estimated by the Logan model and linear regression were 1.10 and 7.16 °C, respectively. Linear regression of developmental rate for temperatures 15–30 °C indicated that 222 degree-days were required above a minimum threshold of 7.16 °C to complete development. A temperature of 37.6 °C was determined to be the upper development threshold with optimal development occurring at 30.5 °C. Demographic parameters were calculated and pseudo-replicates for intrinsic rate of increase (rm), net reproductive rates (Ro), generation time (Tc), population doubling time (Td), and finite rate of increase (λ) were generated using the bootstrap method. Mean bootstrap estimates of demographic parameters were compared across temperatures using ANOVA and nonlinear regression.
Functional Rescue of a Misfolded Eukaryotic ATP-binding Cassette Transporter by Domain Replacement

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are integral membrane proteins that couple ATP binding/hydrolysis with the transport of hydrophilic substrates across lipid barriers. Deletion of Phe-670 in the first nucleotide-binding domain (NBD1) of the yeast ABC transporter, Yor1p, perturbs interdomain associations, reduces functionality, and hinders proper transport to the plasma membrane. Functionality of Yor1p-ΔF was restored upon co-expression of a peptide containing wild-type NBD1. To gain insight into the biogenesis of this important class of proteins, we defined the requirements for this rescue. We show that a misfolding lesion in NBD1 of the full-length protein is a prerequisite for functional rescue by exogenous NBD1, which is mediated by physical replacement of the dysfunctional domain by the soluble NBD1. This association does not restore trafficking of Yor1p-ΔF but instead confers catalytic activity to the small population of Yor1p-ΔF that escapes to the plasma membrane. An important coupling between the exogenous NBD1 and ICL4 within full-length aberrant Yor1p-ΔF is required for functional rescue but not for the physical interaction between the two polypeptides. Together, our genetic and biochemical data reveal that it is possible to modulate activity of ABC transporters by physically replacing dysfunctional domains.