cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The output of four modern vaporizers in the presence of helium

It has been previously demonstrated that the output of calibrated vaporizers is influenced by the concentration of nitrous oxide in the carrier gas. This study was performed to determine whether helium in the carrier gas affects the output of modern calibrated vaporizers. A factorial design was used to determine the influence of carriergas helium concentration, carriergas flow rate and vaporizer dial setting on the output of four vaporizers: Ohio Calibrated Enflurane, Ohio Calibrated Isoflurane, Ohmeda Isotec 4, and Drager Vapor 19.1 Isoflurane. Three vaporizers of each model were tested. Output was converted to % of baseline so that different dial settings could be compared. For a given dial setting, baseline was defined as the output at a carriergas flow rate of 3 L · min−1 and helium concentration of zero. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. There was an effect of helium concentration on vaporizer output in all models. None of these changes was clinically important, since vaporizer output did not vary by more than ± 10%, except at high flows and at high helium concentrations with the Ohmeda Isotec 4. It is concluded that these vaporizers can be used safely with helium.
Complications Of Laparoscopy

The frontiers of laparoscopic surgery have extended from gynecologic procedures to general surgical techniques. As new applications for laparoscopy emerge, anesthesiologists must be familiar with the possible complications associated with the various laparoscopic procedures. Only by an appreciation of the potential complications of a procedure can their overall incidence be minimized. A systematic approach must consider all potential complications during laparoscopy. In addition to routine evaluation (i.e., depth of anesthesia and volume status), anesthesiologists must confirm that intra-abdominal pressure is less than 15 mm Hg, and that inadvertent endobronchial intubation, pneumothorax, and gas embolism have not occurred. In the case of precipitous changes in vital signs not responding to routine management, it is imperative to release the pneumoperitoneum and place the patient in the supine (or Trendelenburg) position. After cardiopulmonary stabilization, cautious slow reinsufflation then can be attempted. With persistent signs of significant cardiopulmonary impairment, however, it is sometimes necessary to convert to an open procedure.
Strength and balance training for adults with peripheral neuropathy and high risk of fall: current evidence and implications for future research.

Purpose/Objectives: To evaluate the evidence for strength- and balance-training programs in patients at high risk for falls, discuss how results of existing studies might guide clinical practice, and discuss directions for additional research.Data Sources: A search of PubMed and CINAHL® databases was conducted in June 2011 using the terms strength, balance training, falls, elderly, and neuropathy. Only clinical trials conducted using specific strength- or balance-training exercises that included community-dwelling adults and examined falls, fall risk, balance, and/or strength as outcome measures were included in this review.Data Synthesis: One matched case-control study and two randomized, controlled studies evaluating strength and balance training in patients with diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy were identified. Eleven studies evaluating strength and balance programs in community-dwelling adults at high risk for falls were identified.Conclusions: The findings from the reviewed studies provide substantial evidence to support the use of strength and balance training for older adults at risk for falls, and detail early evidence to support strength and balance training for individuals with peripheral neuropathy.Implications for Nursing: The evidence demonstrates that strength and balance training is safe and effective at reducing falls and improving lower extremity strength and balance in adults aged 50 years and older at high risk for falls, including patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Future studies should evaluate the effects of strength and balance training in patients with cancer, particularly individuals with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Language: en
A divide-and-conquer algorithm for 3-D capacitance extraction

We present a divide-and-conquer algorithm to improve the three-dimensional (3-D) boundary element method (BEM) for capacitance extraction. We divide large interconnect structures into small sections, set new boundary conditions using the border for each section, solve each section, and then combine the results to derive the capacitance. The target application is critical nets, clock trees, or packages where 3-D accuracy is required. Our algorithm is a significant improvement over the traditional BEMs and their enhancements, such as the "window" method, where conductors far away are dropped, and the "shield" method where conductors hidden behind other conductors are dropped. Experimental results show that our algorithm is a magnitude faster than the traditional BEM and the window+shield method, for medium to large structures. The error of the capacitance computed by the new algorithm is within 2% for self capacitance and 7% for coupling capacitance, compared with the results obtained by solving the entire system using BEM. Furthermore, our algorithms gives accurate distributed RC, where none of the previous 3-D BEM algorithms and their enhancements can.
An analytical method to eliminate the redundant parameters in robot calibration

Model based error compensation of a robotic manipulator, also known as robot calibration, requires the identification of its generalized errors. These errors are found from measured data and used to predict, and compensate for, the end-point errors as a function of configuration. However, the generalized error formulation introduces redundant parameters, often non-intuitive, that may compromise the robustness of the calibration. The existing numerical methods to eliminate such errors are formulated on a case-by-case basis. In this paper, the general analytical expressions and physical interpretation of the redundant parameters are developed for any serial link manipulator, expressed through its Denavit-Hartenberg parameters. These expressions are used to eliminate the redundant parameters from the error model of any manipulator prior to the identification process, allowing for systematic robot calibration with improved accuracy. Simulations are conducted to verify the theory presented in the paper.
Computed tomography scan-driven selection of treatment for retroperitoneal liposarcoma histologic subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Well differentiated (WD) and dedifferentiated (DD) retroperitoneal liposarcoma (RPLS) have distinct biologic behaviors. Consequently, the therapeutic approaches for these tumors differ and mandate an accurate preoperative diagnosis. The authors of this report evaluated whether computed tomography (CT) can be used to differentiate between WD and DD RPLS. METHODS: Imaging studies (CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography-CT) from 78 patients with RPLS who underwent surgery at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC) between 2001 and 2007 were reviewed by a senior bone and soft tissue sarcoma radiologist who was blinded to the final histopathologic diagnosis. A focal nodular/water density area within an RPLS was interpreted as a marker suggestive of DD. Correlations between imaging diagnosis, histology, and clinical outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: The study radiologist identified 60 RPLS as DD and 17 RPLS as WD. A radiologic diagnosis of a WD was correlated with preoperative biopsy and postoperative histology in all patients (100%). Focal nodular/water density was a very sensitive marker of DD (97.8%); however, it had relatively low specificity (51.5%). Sixteen WD RPLS (48.5%) contained focal nodular/water density areas, leading to their misdiagnosis as DD; half of those tumors had hypercellular WD. Of 78 preoperative biopsies, 22 (28.2%) were performed at UTMDACC under CT guidance. Preoperative histologic diagnoses obtained from 12 biopsies derived from focal nodular/water density areas were confirmed as unchanged on final pathology; whereas, in 50% of biopsies that were not taken from a suspicious area, DD histology was misdiagnosed as WD. CONCLUSIONS: When CT features are suggestive of WD, no further diagnostic tests are needed for tumor characterization. Moreover, CT can accurately identify most DD, thereby rendering their under-treatment unlikely; however, a CT-guided biopsy is needed to differentiate between DD and WD RPLS that contain focal nodular/water density areas, thereby avoiding their over treatment. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.
A small-molecule enhancer of autophagy decreases levels of Aβ and APP-CTF via Atg5-dependent autophagy pathway

The hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease are the aggregates of amyloid-β (Αβ) peptide and tau protein. Autophagy is one major cellular pathway leading to the removal of aggregated proteins. We examined the possibility of inducing autophagy to reduce Aβ peptide and the amyloid precursor protein (APP)-derived fragment APP-CTF levels in cell lines and primary neuronal cultures. We found that induction of autophagy either by small-molecule enhancers of rapamycin (SMER)28, a small-molecule enhancer of autophagy, or following starvation greatly decreased the levels of Aβ peptide (apparent EC(50) of ∼10 μM) and APP-CTF (apparent EC(50) of ∼20 μM) in a γ-secretase-independent manner. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy led to a significant accumulation of Aβ peptide and APP-CTF and diminished the effect of SMER28. Three essential components of the autophagic pathway, autophagy-related protein (Atg)5, Beclin1, and Ulk1, were shown to be involved in the degradation of Aβ and APP-CTF, and Atg5 was necessary for the effect of SMER28. In addition, the autophagic marker light chain 3-II cocompartmentalized with APP-CTF. These results support the involvement of autophagy in the clearance of Aβ and APP-CTF. We therefore propose that small molecule enhancers of autophagy, such as SMER28, may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other proteinopathies.
Alcoholic Beverage Advertising: An Integrative Interdisciplinary Review

This study provides an integrated, interdisciplinary review of alcoholic beverage advertising issues and studies. In addition to explaining alcoholism from an addiction perspective and describing the industry and its effects, the study examines numerous studies including those relating to the neurological effects of alcohol cues in advertisements. Alcohol ads and the elements in them that can cue the desire for alcohol are widely acknowledged as problematic for vulnerable audiences. Integrative use of models and physiological methods recommended. Cooperation among researchers from varied disciplines is encouraged.
Recent advances in Candidate Selection for pediatric epilepsy surgery

Many patients who were once considered inoperable are candidates for a wide variety of surgical procedures. This trend is particularly striking at pedlatric centers that serve patients with diverse forms of epilepsy that compromise development. Newer diagnostic techniques, including structural and functional imaging, EEG monitoring, and surgical technology, can provide a complete representation of the etiology and expression of the epileptic focus, including accurate cortical localization. This review focuses on several forms of epilepsy that, until recently, were not regarded to be surgically amenable. The adverse seizure and neurobehavioral prognosis in patients with these disorders provides the justification to search for innovative treatments. With more sophisticated tools for preoperative evaluation and an expanding knowledge base, it is likely that the number of surgical candidates will continue to increase in the future.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex:

The Bengali novelist Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938) of colonial India and the French philosophe of Enlightenment Europe Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) stand poles apart from each other—temporally, territorially, and culturally. Although Sharatchandra is reputed to have been familiar with a number of romantic writers of England, he does not seem to be acquainted with any literati of Europe, especially of Enlightenment France. Nevertheless, as this article contends, the Bengali writer’s attitude to human sensuality and sentiment or, more precisely, to love, sex, and marriage, betrays an interesting similarity to that of the French author. An upshot of this comparatist exercise is that we gain a fresh outlook on both men’s views on human condition that blurs, as it were, the distinction between modern European and modernizing and Westernizing colonial Indian mentalite.
The Role of Left Occipitotemporal Cortex in Reading: Reconciling Stimulus, Task, and Lexicality Effects

Although the left posterior occipitotemporal sulcus (pOTS) has been called a visual word form area, debate persists over the selectivity of this region for reading relative to general nonorthographic visual object processing. We used high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging to study left pOTS responses to combinatorial orthographic and object shape information. Participants performed naming and visual discrimination tasks designed to encourage or suppress phonological encoding. During the naming task, all participants showed subregions within left pOTS that were more sensitive to combinatorial orthographic information than to object information. This difference disappeared, however, when phonological processing demands were removed. Responses were stronger to pseudowords than to words, but this effect also disappeared when phonological processing demands were removed. Subregions within the left pOTS are preferentially activated when visual input must be mapped to a phonological representation (i.e., a name) and particularly when component parts of the visual input must be mapped to corresponding phonological elements (consonant or vowel phonemes). Results indicate a specialized role for subregions within the left pOTS in the isomorphic mapping of familiar combinatorial visual patterns to phonological forms. This process distinguishes reading from picture naming and accounts for a wide range of previously reported stimulus and task effects in left pOTS.
Reviving the carbohydrate economy via multi-product lignocellulose biorefineries

Before the industrial revolution, the global economy was largely based on living carbon from plants. Now the economy is mainly dependent on fossil fuels (dead carbon). Biomass is the only sustainable bioresource that can provide sufficient transportation fuels and renewable materials at the same time. Cellulosic ethanol production from less costly and most abundant lignocellulose is confronted with three main obstacles: (1) high processing costs ($/gallon of ethanol), (2) huge capital investment ($∼4–10/gallon of annual ethanol production capacity), and (3) a narrow margin between feedstock and product prices. Both lignocellulose fractionation technology and effective co-utilization of acetic acid, lignin and hemicellulose will be vital to the realization of profitable lignocellulose biorefineries, since co-product revenues would increase the margin up to 6.2-fold, where all purified lignocellulose co-components have higher selling prices (>∼1.0/kg) than ethanol (∼0.5/kg of ethanol). Isolation of large amounts of lignocellulose components through lignocellulose fractionation would stimulate R&D in lignin and hemicellulose applications, as well as promote new markets for lignin- and hemicellulose-derivative products. Lignocellulose resource would be sufficient to replace significant fractionations (e.g., 30%) of transportation fuels through liquid biofuels, internal combustion engines in the short term, and would provide 100% transportation fuels by sugar–hydrogen–fuel cell systems in the long term.
Learning How to Plan Production, Inventories, and Work Force

T he HMMS research team of Holt, Modigliani, Muth, and Simon at Carnegie Tech's new Graduate School of Industrial Administration set out in the early 1950s to develop quantitative and computerized decision methods for business and industry. Bill Cooper had initiated, with Air Force support, the project-Planning and Control of Industrial Operations-and the Office of Naval Research extended support for the new team. The interests and backgrounds of the team members in "industrial operations" were quite varied. Charley Holt was interested in observing close up what business managers were doing with their inventories that contributed so much to the instability of the national economy. Franco Modigliani had worked on production smoothing and could be seduced by any interesting research problem. Jack Muth, with an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering, was studying for a Ph.D. in economics and was interested in combining both fields. Herb Simon was dedicated to determining how managers actually made decisions in organizations and in modeling their behavior.
Association of Microcyst Formation in Spirillum itersonii with the Spontaneous Induction of a Defective Bacteriophage

Mitomycin C and ultraviolet light were found to induce the formation of microcysts in Spirillum itersonii . These forms, as well as spontaneously occurring microcysts in this species, were found to contain phage tail parts, rhapidosomes, and a granular substance not seen in normal cells. It is suggested that microcysts are formed as the result of the induction of a defective phage. The production of phage lysozyme within the cell could lead to the formation of spherical forms as the cells lose their structural mucopeptide layer. Complete virus particles were not seen, nor was any biological activity demonstrated when the induced cultures were tested against two other strains of S. itersonii . The other strains of this bacterium also formed microcysts and phage tail parts when induced with mitomycin. Attempts to isolate an organism lacking the defective phage have been unsuccessful. Images
mRNA Decay during Herpesvirus Infections: Interaction between a Putative Viral Nuclease and a Cellular Translation Factor

During lytic infections, the virion host shutoff (Vhs) protein (UL41) of herpes simplex virus destabilizes both host and viral mRNAs. By accelerating mRNA decay, it helps determine the levels and kinetics of viral and cellular gene expression. In vivo, Vhs shows a strong preference for mRNAs, as opposed to non-mRNAs, and degrades the 5′ end of mRNAs prior to the 3′ end. In contrast, partially purified Vhs is not restricted to mRNAs and causes cleavage of target RNAs at various sites throughout the molecule. To explain this discrepancy, we searched for cellular proteins that interact with Vhs using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae two-hybrid system. Vhs was found to interact with the human translation initiation factor, eIF4H. This interaction was verified by glutathione S-transferase pull-down experiments and by coimmunoprecipitation of Vhs and epitope-tagged eIF4H from extracts of mammalian cells. The interaction was abolished by several point mutations in Vhs that abrogate its ability to degrade mRNAs in vivo. The results suggest that Vhs is a viral mRNA degradation factor that is targeted to mRNAs, and to regions of translation initiation, through an interaction with eIF4H.
Pulsed Doppler flow-velocity waveforms before and after intrauterine intravascular transfusion for severe erythroblastosis fetalis.

Abstract Pulsed Doppler studies of the fetal and maternal circulations were carried out before and after 64 intrauterine transfusions performed on 24 fetuses. A model was derived for the prediction of hematocrit before the first transfusion: Hematocrit=7.778 − (0.088 × peak velocity in descending aorta) + (0.968 × gestational age [weeks]) − (10.911 if hydrops present) ( r = 0.876, p r = 0.822, p r = 0.81, p
Knowledge-directed theory revision

Using domain knowledge to speed up learning is widely accepted but theory revision of such knowledge continues to use general syntactic operators. Using such operators for theory revision of teleoreactive logic programs is especially expensive in which proof of a top-level goal involves playing a game. In such contexts, one should have the option to complement general theory revision with domain-specific knowledge. Using American football as an example, we use Icarus' multi-agent teleoreactive logic programming ability to encode a coach agent whose concepts correspond to faults recognized in execution of the play and whose skills correspond to making repairs in the goals of the player agents. Our results show effective learning using as few as twenty examples. We also show that structural changes made by such revision can produce performance gains that cannot be matched by doing only numeric optimization.
Massively parallel rare disease genetics

A report on the 'Genomic Disorders 2011 - The Genomics of Rare Diseases' meeting, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK, 23-26 March 2011
Caribbean Current and eddies as observed by surface drifters

Abstract Recent satellite-tracked surface drifter trajectories were analyzed to describe the mean currents and eddies in the Caribbean Sea. The structure of the Caribbean Current and its variability were determined from high-resolution 1 2 -degree maps of the mean velocity and eddy kinetic energy. Looping drifter trajectories were used to identify discrete cyclones and anticyclones, and their characteristics were described and related to the structure of the mean flow. The translation rate of eddies in different areas was found to be similar to the mean velocity of the local background flow fields, suggesting that the eddies were largely advected by the background flow. Ten energetic anticyclones translated westward at 13 cm/s in the Venezuela and Colombia Basins. These anticyclones tended to lie in two bands, centered near 15°N and 17°N, coinciding with two jets of the Caribbean Current. The northern weaker jet contains water primarily from the North Atlantic; the southern stronger jet contains water from the tropical and South Atlantic. The anticyclones are thought to have formed in the eastern Caribbean from the anticyclonic vorticity derived from North Brazil Current rings. The ring vorticity enters the eastern Caribbean through island passages and is probably amplified by the anticyclonic shear on the northern side of the jets. Southwest of Cuba a cyclone–anticyclone pair was observed to translate slowly (∼2 cm/s) westward into the Yucatan Current. The cyclone was tracked for 10.5 months with four drifters, making it the longest tracked of the Caribbean eddies.
Effects of High Zinc Diets Using Zinc Propionate on Molt Induction, Organs, and Postmolt Egg Production and Quality in Laying Hens

This study was conducted to determine the ability of an alternative salt form of 1% Zn, Zn propionate, to induce molt in 66-wk-old hens. The hens were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups of 27 or 28 birds each: a) molted conventionally by feed withdrawal, b) 1% Zn as Zn acetate, c) 1% Zn as Zn propionate, or d) nonmolted control for 9 d. Feed intake was (P 0.05) different from each other, but all were (P < 0.05) lighter than the ovary weights of nonmolted control hens. Zinc concentrations in the kidney and liver were (P < 0.05) increased in Zn acetate and Zn propionate molted hens when compared with nonmolted hens on the control diet or hens molted by feed withdrawal. Bone ash values were (P < 0.05) increased for Zn acetate and Zn propionate molted hens or nonmolted control hens as compared with molted hens on feed withdrawal. Over the entire 3-mo postmolt period, there were no significant differences in interior egg qualities, but egg weights from hens fed Zn propionate were (P < 0.05) heavier than those from hens on feed withdrawal. The data of the current study demonstrated that feeding a Zn propionate (1% zinc)-supplemented diet can induce molt.
Electoral Votes and Presidential Campaign Trails, 1932-1976

This article studies the impact of the Electoral College system on presidential campaigning during 1932-1976. Three variables are analyzed: size, competition, and region. It is hypothesized that candidates will concentrate on larger, more competitive states. And the data show that both parties allocate proportionately more campaign "stops" to larger states than to medium-size or small states. However, when controls are imposed for both size and competition, it is determined that size is the stronger variable. When the context is less competitive, campaigning is still targeted to larger states, with their wealth of electoral votes. A partisan difference in strategy does exist, moreover. Democrats give propor tionately more attention than Republicans to the larger states whereas the GOP con centrates more campaigning on small states. A regional shift in campaigning is noted.
Making Sense of Laboratory Tests of Folate Status: Folate Requirements to Sustain Normality

The first event in the sequence leading to nutrient deficiency is development of negative nutrient balance, i.e., nutrient utilization, requirement, catabolism, and excretion exceeds nutrient ingestion, absorption, and anabolism. Persistent negative nutrient balance produces a sequence of stages or degrees along a continuum of nutrient depletion which are not always clearly demarcated one from the next but show an increasing deficiency, usually marked by sequential appearance of various biochemical and clinical deficits. In the case of folate, the continuum from normality to folate-deficiency megaloblastic anemia begins with negative folate balance and proceeds through three sequential stages, or degrees, of folate depletion, each defined by the appearance of specific biochemical and/or hematologic markers (Table 1, Fig. 1).
Characteristic Analysis of Turbid Underflows

Some analytical solutions are derived for the one-dimensional, vertically integrated, time-dependent equations describing turbid underflows. The system of equations is hyperbolic, therefore, the method of characteristics may be used to transform the partial differential equations to a system of ordinary differential equations, which may then be integrated for the solution. The resulting analytical solutions provide a valuable tool which may be used not only to verify a numerical method, but also to gain insight into the behavior of the equations. It is also shown that the two-dimensional equations cannot be transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations and therefore cannot be integrated exactly. However, the characteristic decomposition of the equations yields important information about the physics of the turbidity equations and also provides insight into the appropriate construction of numerical techniques for solving the multidimensional equations.
Effects of roads on habitat quality for bears in the southern Appalachians: A long-term study

Abstract We tested the hypothesis that gravel roads, not paved roads, had the largest negative effect on habitat quality for a population of American black bears (Ursus americanus) that lived in a protected area, where vehicle collision was a relatively minimal source of mortality. We also evaluated whether road use by bears differed by sex or age and whether annual variation in hard mast productivity affected the way bears used areas near roads. In addition, we tested previous findings regarding the spatial extent to which roads affected bear behavior negatively. Using summer and fall home ranges for 118 black bears living in the Pisgah Bear Sanctuary in western North Carolina during 1981–2001, we estimated both home-range–scale (2nd-order) and within-home-range–scale (3rd-order) selection for areas within 250, 500, 800, and 1,600 m of paved and gravel roads. All bears avoided areas near gravel roads more than they avoided areas near paved roads during summer and fall for 2nd-order selection and during s...
Developing and evaluating collaborative engineering studios

We discuss a vision of a work in progress on a collaborative engineering environment, the Collaborative Design Studio, being developed at the Geometric and Intelligent Computing Laboratory at Drexel University. This works seeks to integrate Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and communication tools through automatic extraction and embedding of design contest into communications, as well as provide archiving and retrieval of informal communications. While preliminary development of the studio has proceeded using relatively informal input from professional design engineers, direct evaluation by intended users of the system will be sought to guide further developments of the system to ensure that it accurately meets their needs and fits into their work environment. Such formative user input will be obtained through surveys and observations of subjects as they complete specified tasks. Future summative evaluation will attempt to measure changes in user productivity and efficiency. Discussion focuses on issues and questions relating to the effective design and evaluation of such systems, and describe proposed studies for evolving the current environment.
Lake Superior supports novel clusters of cyanobacterial picoplankton.

Very little is known about the biodiversity of freshwater autotrophic picoplankton (APP) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, a system comprising 20% of the world’s lacustrine freshwater. In this study, the genetic diversity of Lake Superior APP was examined by analyzing 16S rRNA gene and cpcBA PCR amplicons from water samples. By neighbor joining, the majority of 16S rRNA gene sequences clustered within the “picocyanobacterial clade” consisting of freshwater and marine Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus. Two new groups of Synechococcus spp., the pelagic Lake Superior clusters I and II, do not group with any of the known freshwater picocyanobacterial clusters and were the most abundant species (50 to 90% of the sequences) in samples collected from offshore Lake Superior stations. Conversely, at station Portage Deep (PD), located in a nearshore urbanized area, only 4% of the sequences belonged to these clusters and the remaining clones reflected the freshwater Synechococcus diversity described previously at sites throughout the world. Supporting the 16S rRNA gene data, the cpcBA library from nearshore station PD revealed a cosmopolitan diversity, whereas the majority of the cpcBA sequences (97.6%) from pelagic station CD1 fell within a unique Lake Superior cluster. Thus far, these picocyanobacteria have not been cultured, although their phylogenetic assignment suggests that they are phycoerythrin (PE) rich, consistent with the observation that PE-rich APP dominate Lake Superior picoplankton. Lastly, flow cytometry revealed that the summertime APP can exceed 10 5 cells ml 1 and suggests that the APP shifts from a community of PE and phycocyanin-rich picocyanobacteria and picoeukaryotes in winter to a PE-rich community in summer. The autotrophic picoplankton (APP) are the major primary producers in the vast oligotrophic segments of the ocean and large transparent lakes (2, 35). They can account for up to 80% of the total carbon fixation in certain oceanic areas (22). The APP of both marine and freshwater ecosystems are composed predominantly of cyanobacteria 3 m in size. In the ocean,
Gated Nonlinear Transport in Organic Thin Film Transistors

Charge transport in poly(3-hexylthiophene) field effect transistors has been studied in a series of devices with channel lengths ranging from 3 μm down to 200 nm over a broad range of temperatures and gate voltages. We report gate-modulated highly nonlinear transport at temperatures below ∼200 K that is consistent in form with a Poole-Frenkel-like hopping mechanism in the space charge limited current regime. There is also consistency between this behavior and the hypothesis that density of localized states is strongly energy dependent. We also observe what appears to be a crossover from thermally activated to nonthermal hopping below 30 K.
Analysis and Optimization of a Shape Memory Alloy-Based Self-Folding Sheet Considering Material Uncertainties

Origami-inspired active structures have important characteristics such as reconfigurability and the ability to adopt compact flat forms for storage. A self-folding shape memory alloy (SMA)-based laminated sheet is considered in this work wherein SMA wire meshes comprise the top and bottom layers and a thermally insulating compliant elastomer comprises the middle layer. Uncertainty in various parameters (e.g. material properties) may affect the performance of the sheet, which is explored here. Different modeling approaches are studied in order to compare their accuracy and computational cost. A numerical approach based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is selected due to its accuracy when compared to higher fidelity finite element simulations and its low computational cost, necessary to perform a large number of design evaluations as required for uncertainty analysis. Optimization is performed considering uncertainty in the material properties. Failure probabilities under mechanical constraints and expected values of fold curvature and blocking moment are considered during optimization of the self-folding sheet. The multiobjective genetic algorithm for technology characterization P3GA is used to obtain the Pareto dominant designs. Most designs forming the Pareto frontier have the same values for certain design parameters such as the distance between the wires in the SMA meshes non-dimensionalized by SMA wire thickness, elastomer layer thickness non-dimensionalized by SMA wire thickness, and applied temperature. The design parameter deciding the trade-off between fold curvature and blocking moment is found to be the SMA wire thickness.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Abstract 327: Apelin-13 Increases Myocardial Progenitor Cells and Improves Myocardial Remodeling of Post-myocardial Infarction.

ABSTRACT: Apelin is an endogenous ligand for the angiotensin-like 1 receptor (APJ) and has beneficial effects against hypertension and myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Little is known about the role of apelin in the homing of vascular progenitor cells (PCs) and cardiac remodeling post-myocardial infarction (MI). The present study investigates whether apelin affects PCs homing to the infarcted myocardium thereby mediating cardiac remodeling post-MI. Mice were infarcted by coronary artery ligation and apelin-13 (1 mg/kg.d) was injected for three days prior to MI and for either 24 hours or 14 days post MI. Homing of vascular progenitor cell (CD133 + /c-kit + /Sca1 + , CD133 + /SDF-1α + and CD133 + /CXCR4 + ) into the ischemic area were examined at 24 hours and 14 days post-MI. Myocardial Akt, eNOS, VEGF, Jagged1, Notch3, SDF-1α and CXCR4 expression were assessed. Functional analyses were performed at day 14 after MI. Mice receiving apelin-13 treatment demonstrated upregulation of SDF-1α/CXCR4 expression and dramatically increased the number of CD133 + /c-kit + /Sca1 + , CD133 + /SDF-1α + and c-kit + /CXCR4 + cells in the infarcted hearts. Apelin-13 also significantly increased Akt and eNOS phosphorylation and upregulated VEGF, Jagged1, Notch3 expression in the ischemic hearts. This was accompanied by a significant reduction of myocardial apoptosis. Further, treatment with apelin-13 promoted myocardial angiogenesis, attenuated cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy together with a significant improvement of cardiac function at 14 days post-MI mice. Apelin-13 increases angiogenesis and improves cardiac remodeling by a mechanism involving upregulation of SDF-1α/CXCR4 and homing of vascular progenitor cells.
Demonstration of 99% capacity retention in Li/S batteries with a porous hollow carbon cap nanofiber–graphene structure through a semi-empirical capacity fading model

Lithium/sulfur batteries are a promising candidate for energy storage as they are capable of providing higher energy density in comparison to conventional Li-ion batteries. Here a rigorous numerical model is developed to predict the capacity retention of Li/S batteries discharged at different rates by taking into account the polysulfide (PS) shuttling effect for various nanostructured cathodes. In a numerical model, capacity fading of the cell is considered to be affected by the concentration of sulfur dissolved into the electrolyte and deposited on the anode as a Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) layer. Our approach considers SEI layer formation as the main factor that dominates capacity fading over initial cycles (50 cycles). Equivalent Porosity (EP) is determined for various nanostructures and the model asset structures with smaller EP result in smoother capacity fading over cycling performance. The mean value of percentage error between simulation results and experimental capacity in all analyzed structures is less than 5%, except for mesoporous carbon at high discharge rates (1C). Using simulation results we propose Porous Hollow Carbon cap Nanofiber–Graphene (PHCN–G) as a highly efficient nanostructured cathode with a minimum shuttling effect and >99% capacity retention for long-cycling lifetime batteries.
Tracking composite material damage evolution using Bayesian filtering and flash thermography data

We propose a method for tracking the condition of a composite part using Bayesian filtering of ash thermography data over the lifetime of the part. In this demonstration, composite panels were fabricated; impacted to induce subsurface delaminations; and loaded in compression over multiple time steps, causing the delaminations to grow in size. Flash thermography data was collected between each damage event to serve as a time history of the part. The ash thermography indicated some areas of damage but provided little additional information as to the exact nature or depth of the damage. Computed tomography (CT) data was also collected after each damage event and provided a high resolution volume model of damage that acted as truth. After each cycle, the condition estimate, from the ash thermography data and the Bayesian filter, was compared to 'ground truth'. The Bayesian process builds on the lifetime history of ash thermography scans and can give better estimates of material condition as compared to the most recent scan alone, which is common practice in the aerospace industry. Bayesian inference provides probabilistic estimates of damage condition that are updated as each new set of data becomes available. The method was tested on simulated data and then on an experimental data set.
Selective binding of the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein to human platelets.

The factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein was radiolabeled after modification by galactose oxidase and reduction with tritiated potassium borohydride. This mild efficient method for labeling resulted in retention of over 90% of the biologic activities of the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein. Binding of this protein to platelets was found to be specific, and binding sites could be saturated in the presence of ristocetin. However, binding was highly dependent on ristocetin concentration, as the number of human factor VIII/von Willebrand factor molecules bound per platelet was a function of the ristocetin concentration. At a ristocetin concentration of 0.55 mg/ml, each platelet binds approximately 11,000 factor VIII/von Willebrand factor molecules per platelet. Scatchard analysis of the concentration-dependent binding sites yielded a hyperbolic plot that appeared to be related to the existence of two classes of binding sites. The higher affinity class had a Kd of 3.7 x 10(-10) M 3500 sites/platelet, while the lower affinity class had a Kd of 2.35 x 10(- 9) M and a capacity of 7500 sites/platelet. As with ristocetin-induced platelet agglutination, the carbohydrate content plays a significant role in the binding of the factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein to the platelet.
Analysis and modeling of Conformal Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonant devices

The analysis of Conformal Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonant (CSCMR) devices for wireless power transfer is presented in this paper. A non-simplified CSCMR model is developed, in which cross coupling and mutual inductances between all elements are considered. Analytical, experimental, and simulated results are compared and validated for elements of varying dimensions. The analytical model accurately predicts efficiency, frequency, and regimes of operation for various configurations.
Does Social Class Influence Children’S Attitudes Toward1 Advertising On Television and Radio and in Children’S Magazines

This is a preliminary report of exploratory research on the potential for social class impact on the attitudes of elementary school children toward advertising on TV and radio and in certain quality children’s magazines. Some apparent social class impact was found among third graders.
The Roentgenographic Staging of Sarcoidosis: Historic and Contemporary Perspectives

The awareness that sarcoidosis can involve intrathoracic lymph nodes and lung parenchyma in sequential fashion evolved during the first half of this century. This awareness resulted in a roentgenographic staging system that has relevance to the course and prognosis, pulmonary function changes, and the symptom of dyspnea. The following definition or roentgenographic staging is proposed as the simplest, most reproducible system based solely on the roentgenographic appearance, avoiding histopathologic and pathophysiologic inferences. Stage I: bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy; stage II: bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy plus parenchymal infiltration; and stage IQ: parenchymal infiltration without bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy. The early data concerning bronchoalveolar lavage, determination of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme, and gallium 67 citrate scanning appear to have no clear relationships to staging, suggesting that staging continues to have unique value to the clinician in the classification of sarcoidosis and in the delineation of its clinical course and prognosis.
Primal-dual and forward gradient implementation for quantitative susceptibility mapping.

Purpose To investigate the computational aspects of the prior term in quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) by (i) comparing the Gauss-Newton conjugate gradient (GNCG) algorithm that uses numerical conditioning (ie, modifies the prior term) with a primal-dual (PD) formulation that avoids this, and (ii) carrying out a comparison between a central and forward difference scheme for the discretization of the prior term. Theory and Methods A spatially continuous formulation of the regularized QSM inversion problem and its PD formulation were derived. The Chambolle-Pock algorithm for PD was implemented and its convergence behavior was compared with that of GNCG for the original QSM. Forward and central difference schemes were compared in terms of the presence of checkerboard artifacts. All methods were tested and validated on a gadolinium phantom, ex vivo brain blocks, and in vivo brain MRI data with respect to COSMOS. Results The PD approach provided a faster convergence rate than GNCG. The GNCG convergence rate slowed considerably with smaller (more accurate) values of the conditioning parameter. Using a forward difference suppressed the checkerboard artifacts in QSM, as compared with the central difference. The accuracy of PD and GNCG were validated based on excellent correlation with COSMOS. Conclusions The PD approach with forward difference for the gradient showed improved convergence and accuracy over the GNCG method using central difference. Magn Reson Med 78:2416–2427, 2017. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Age-0 blue catfish habitat use and population demographics in the middle Mississippi River

The demographics (e.g. hatch time, growth and mortality) and habitat (macrohabitat and mesohabitat) use of age-0 blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus (Lesueur) were evaluated in the un-impounded reach of the middle Mississippi River during 2003–2010. Each year, island complexes and adjacent main river habitats were trawled, and 7,373 age-0 blue catfish (10–144 mm total length) were collected. Blue catfish hatch timing varied slightly across years and generally began in June and ended in August. Age-0 blue catfish growth rates and instantaneous mortality rates differed among years. Catch rates of age-0 blue catfish were highest in side channels and around islands, whereas main channel habitats were infrequently occupied. Regarding mesohabitat use, age-0 blue catfish frequently occupied low velocity areas (i.e. 0.3–0.4 m/s) of shallow depth (i.e. 1–4 m) and sand substratum. This study has provided insight into age-0 blue catfish population dynamics and has highlighted the importance of specific habitat characteristics in large rivers that may aid in recruitment of this species.
Electroporation in Ascidians: History, Theory and Protocols

Embryonic development depends on the orchestration of hundreds of regulatory and structural genes to initiate expression at the proper time, in the correct spatial domain(s), and in the amounts required for cells and tissues to become specified, determined, and ultimately to differentiate into a multicellular embryo. One of the key approaches to studying embryonic development is the generation of transgenic animals in which recombinant DNA molecules are transiently or stably introduced into embryos to alter gene expression, to manipulate gene function or to serve as reporters for specific cell types or subcellular compartments. In some model systems, such as the mouse, well-defined approaches for generating transgenic animals have been developed. In other systems, particularly non-model systems, a key challenge is to find a way of introducing molecules or other reagents into cells that produces large numbers of embryos with a minimal effect on normal development. A variety of methods have been developed, including the use of viral vectors, microinjection, and electroporation. Here, I describe how electroporation was adapted to generate transgenic embryos in the ascidian, a nontraditional invertebrate chordate model that is particularly well-suited for studying gene regulatory activity during development. I present a review of the electroporation process, describe how electroporation was first implemented in the ascidian, and provide a series of protocols describing the electroporation process, as implemented in our laboratory.
THE USE OF ISOZYMES IN THE STUDY OF MITOCHONDRIA

ABSTRACT. The use of marker enzymes has greatly facilitated the study of both structural and functional aspects of various subcellular organelles. This investigation shows that the usefulness of marker enzymes may be further extended by taking into account the subcellular distribution of the different isozymic forms of many enzymes. In particular, malate dehydrogenase, NAD- and NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases, and glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase have been used to investigate the phenomenon of mitochondrial heterogeneity. Crude mitochondrial preparations from rat cerebrum are heavily contaminated with synaptosomes (vesicles derived from nerve endings during homogenization) which contain quantities of entrapped cytoplasm causing an overestimate of the heterogeneity for some enzymes. The removal of most of the synaptosomes has been accomplished and isozymes have been used to aid in the interpretation of enzyme profiles when mitochondria are centrifuged to isopycnicity in sucrose density gradients.