cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polyclonal B-cell activators in the study of the regulation of immunoglobulin synthesis in the human system.

Publisher Summary The development of techniques to study polyclonal activation of B cells into immunoglobulin and antibody-producing cells along with the availability of polyclonal activators that differ in terms of their requirements for helper T cells and monocytes and in terms of their propensity to activate pro suppressor cells into effectors of suppression has been of great value in defining the regulatory cellular interactions that control B-cell maturation. Such studies have provided clues suggesting new pathogenic mechanisms for the disordered immunoglobulin synthesis in patients with immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, and malignancy. In many cases when activators such as Soluble Protective Antigen (SPA), Concanavalin A (Con A), and Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) with a very high propensity for activating precursors of suppressor cells are examined, irradiated T cells must be used in place of unirradiated T cells to see B-cell activation. This chapter defines the stages of differentiation of the cells of the B-cell series and also determines the role played by networks of immunoregulatory T cells and macrophages in the control of these maturational events. These studies have also brought to light new pathogenic mechanisms that underlie certain forms of primary immunodeficiency disease, as well as autoimmune, malignant, and allergic disorders. Finally, they are providing the scientific basis for the development of new rational strategies for the treatment of these diseases. The union of appropriately presented antigen with surface immunoglobulin receptors triggers subsequent events, which include B-cell proliferation and terminal differentiation into antibody-synthesizing plasma cells. This process of B-cell maturation can also be activated in primates by the Epstein-Barr virus and by a series of plant and bacterial products termed “polyclonal B-cell activators”.
Abstract 162: Microhemorrhages in MRI Predict Infectious Intracranial Aneurysm in Infective Endocarditis

Background: MRI features such as cerebral microbleeds and sulcal susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) or gradient-echo T2* (GRE-T2*) lesions have been reported to be associated with the presence o...
Social Skills and Sensory Processing in Preschool Children Who are Homeless or Poor Housed

ABSTRACTSocial skills and sensory processing were examined in 91 homeless or poor housed preschool children. The Social Skills Rating Scale measured children’s social skills/behavior problems and t...
Job Search of Immigrants: Role of Cultural Knowledge, Work Orientation, and Future Orientation

We study the moderating roles of country-level cultural value dimension of future orientation and individual-level work orientation on the positive relationship between job search self-efficacy and...
Symplectic Reduction and the Homogeneous Complex Monge–Ampère Equation

A Riemannian manifold (\(\mathcal{M}^n \)n, g) is said to be the center of thecomplex manifold \(\mathcal{X}^n \)n if \(\mathcal{M}\) is the zero set of a smooth strictly plurisubharmonic exhaustion function ν2 on \(\mathcal{X}\) such that ν is plurisubharmonic and solves theMonge–Ampere equation (∂\(\bar \partial \)ν)n = 0 off \(\mathcal{M}\), and g is induced by the canonical Kahler metric withfundamental two-form \( - \sqrt { - 1} \) ∂\(\bar \partial \)ν2. Insisting that ν be unbounded puts severe restrictions on \(\mathcal{X}\) as acomplex manifold as well as on (\(\mathcal{M}\), g). It is an open problemto determine the class Riemannian manifolds that are centers of complexmanifolds with unbounded ν. Before the present work, the list of knownexamples of manifolds in that class was small. In the main result of thispaper we show, by means of the moment map corresponding to isometric actionsand the associated bundle construction, that such class is larger than originally thought and contains many metrically and diffeomorphically`exotic' examples.
Libraries and Community Health: Developing Programs that Support Your Community’s Health Needs

The library at the Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) supports a diverse population of staff and Veterans. The Clinical Librarian wanted to thoroughly understand the health information ...
Evaluation of a 38 L Explosive Chamber for Testing Coal Dust Explosibility

Coal dust explosions are the deadliest disasters facing the coal mining industry. Research has been conducted globally on this topic for decades. The first explosibility tests in the United States were performed by the Bureau of Mines using a 20 L chamber. This serves as the basis for all standardized tests used for combustible dusts. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of a new 38 L chamber for testing coal dust explosions. The 38 L chamber features design modifications to model the unique conditions present in an underground coal mine when compared to other industries where combustible dust hazards are present. A series of explosibility tests were conducted within the explosive chamber using a sample of Pittsburgh pulverized coal dust and a five kJ Sobbe igniter. Analysis to find the maximum pressure ratio and Kst combustible dust parameter was performed for each trial. Based upon this analysis, observations are made for each concentration regarding whether the explosibility test was under-fueled or over-fueled. Based upon this analysis, a recommendation for future explosibility testing concentrations is made.
Engineering Electron-Phonon Coupling of Quantum Defects to a Semiconfocal Acoustic Resonator.

Diamond-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) enable direct coupling between the quantum states of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and the phonon modes of a mechanical resonator. One example, a diamond high-overtone bulk acoustic resonator (HBAR), features an integrated piezoelectric transducer and supports high-quality factor resonance modes into the gigahertz frequency range. The acoustic modes allow mechanical manipulation of deeply embedded NV centers with long spin and orbital coherence times. Unfortunately, the spin-phonon coupling rate is limited by the large resonator size, >100 μm, and thus strongly coupled NV electron–phonon interactions remain out of reach in current diamond BAR devices. Here, we report the design and fabrication of a semiconfocal HBAR (SCHBAR) device on diamond (silicon carbide) with f × Q > 1012 (>1013). The semiconfocal geometry confines the phonon mode laterally below 10 μm. This drastic reduction in modal volume enhances defect center coupling to a mechanical mode by 1...
Reaching for Relevance.

Twenty-five years ago, when I was in graduate school, my advisor received a phone call from a newspaper reporter. My advisor had just received a large grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to support his basic research on language comprehension and the reporter, alerted by the university's press bureau, had developed his own curiosity surrounding what language comprehension had to do with mental health. My advisor adeptly addressed the conundrum, ably explaining the critical importance of basic research, and we all went back to the lab. A couple of years later, when I was writing my own first NIH grant, I consulted my senior colleagues about what I should write for those last two lines of the face-page description — the lines that specifically request the applicant to “mak[e] reference to the health relatedness of the project (i.e., the relevance to the mission of the agency).” My senior colleagues, pioneers and mainstays of the cognitive revolution, persons for whom a fifteen millisecond effect could adjudicate a complex theory, explained simply that I need only make allusion to the potential for future application. I followed their sage advice, and to my great fortune I was awarded the grant. As we all know, times have changed. Psychological scientists feel the crunch of funding cuts, the burden of congressional accountability, the threat of prioritizing applied over basic research. Therefore, psychological scientists are now reaching for relevance — often, it appears, to the point of gratuity. Nowhere is this more apparent than in recent press releases issued to promote publication of basic scientific research. Consider the following three examples.
Characterizing emission rates of regulated and unregulated pollutants from two ultra-low NOx CNG heavy-duty vehicles

Abstract In this study, a goods movement vehicle equipped with the ISX12N 400 near-zero natural gas engine and a yard tractor equipped with the B6.7 N 240 near-zero natural engine were evaluated over different test cycles on a chassis dynamometer. Both vehicles were operated stoichiometrically and equipped with a three-way catalyst (TWC). Experiments emphasized on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, greenhouse gases (GHGs), and particulate emissions. Results showed substantially low levels of NOx emissions of both vehicles and dramatic reductions of up to 90% compared to the 2010 certification standard. The cold-start period did not influence the overall NOx emissions, suggesting that real-world NOx formation during cold-start will not contribute to ground level ozone considering the vocations of these vehicles. Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were found at relatively high levels. Solid particle number emissions from both vehicles were seen to be above the European particle number limit, indicating that current natural gas engines could be an important source of nanoparticles, especially those of the sub 23 nm range. Both vehicles demonstrated elevated methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) emissions. Nitrous oxide (N2O) and NH3 emissions were largely dependent of the cold-start fraction of the test cycles, showing greater concentrations compared to the hot-start tests.
Assessing digital nativeness in pre-service teachers: Analysis of the Digital Natives Assessment Scale and implications for practice

Digital native, the term ubiquitously used to describe contemporary learners, is fraught with debate over its meaning and measurement. The Digital Natives Assessment Scale (DNAS) was developed and ...
Concern about malignancy contributes to the psychosocial toll of dermatomyositis.

Objective: Dermatomyositis (DM) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, decreased quality of life, and an increased incidence of psychiatric illness. We performed a pilot study to inv...
Aging researchers in early stages (ARIES): a model for career development collaboration of researchers in aging.

Purpose – Individuals over age 65 represent the fastest-growing segment of the population, yet they are also the least studied group and are most likely to be excluded from research most likely to apply to them. A significant reason for this deficit has been a dearth of scientists and clinicians to care for and study the many diseases that impact older adults. Design/methodology/approach – In this manuscript, the difficulties associated with raising new generations of researchers in aging and offer suggestions for how early-stage clinician-scientists can foster career development in aging are discussed. This paper draws upon a local example, ARIES, to explain how early-stage investigators can be brought together with the goal of creating a pipeline of future leaders in aging research. Findings – The model may empower more early-stage clinicians to successfully pursue aging research. Originality/value – The current success of aging researchers in the early stages serves as a model for creating similar career development programs designed for early-stage researchers in aging.
Spatiotemporal Associations Between Social Vulnerability, Environmental Measurements, and COVID-19 in the Conterminous United States

This study summarizes the results from fitting a Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal model to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths at the county level in the United States for the year 2020. Two models were created, one for cases and one for deaths, utilizing a scaled Besag, York, Mollie model with Type I spatial-temporal interaction. Each model accounts for 16 social vulnerability and 7 environmental variables as fixed effects. The spatial pattern between COVID-19 cases and deaths is significantly different in many ways. The spatiotemporal trend of the pandemic in the United States illustrates a shift out of many of the major metropolitan areas into the United States Southeast and Southwest during the summer months and into the upper Midwest beginning in autumn. Analysis of the major social vulnerability predictors of COVID-19 infection and death found that counties with higher percentages of those not having a high school diploma, having non-White status and being Age 65 and over to be significant. Among the environmental variables, above ground level temperature had the strongest effect on relative risk to both cases and deaths. Hot and cold spots, areas of statistically significant high and low COVID-19 cases and deaths respectively, derived from the convolutional spatial effect show that areas with a high probability of above average relative risk have significantly higher Social Vulnerability Index composite scores. The same analysis utilizing the spatiotemporal interaction term exemplifies a more complex relationship between social vulnerability, environmental measurements, COVID-19 cases, and COVID-19 deaths.
BLP-LASSO for Aggregate Discrete Choice Models with Rich Covariates

Economists often study consumers’ aggregate behavior across markets choosing from a menu of differentiated products. In this analysis, local demographic characteristics can serve as controls for market-specific heterogeneity in product preferences. Given rich demographic data, implementing these models requires specifying which variables to include in the analysis, an ad hoc process typically guided primarily by a researcher’s intuition. We propose a data-driven approach to estimate these models applying penalized estimation algorithms imported from the machine learning literature along with confidence intervals that are robust to variable selection. Our application explores the effect of campaign spending on vote shares in data from Mexican elections.
Fusarium oxysporum as an Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen on Zinnia hybrida Plants Grown on board the International Space Station.

A plant production system called Veggie was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014. In late 2015, during the growth of Zinnia hybrida cv. ‘Profusion’ in the Veggie hardware, plan...
Dependence and independence: Structure and inference.

Evaluations of relationships between pairs of variables, including testing for independence, are increasingly important. Erich Leo Lehmann noted that “the study of the power and efficiency of tests of independence is complicated by the difficulty of defining natural classes of alternatives to the hypothesis of independence.” This paper presents a general review, discussion and comparison of classical and novel tests of independence. We investigate a broad spectrum of dependence structures with/without random effects, including those that are well addressed in both the applied and the theoretical scientific literatures as well as scenarios when the classical tests of independence may break down completely. Motivated by practical considerations, the impact of random effects in dependence structures are studied in the additive and multiplicative forms. A novel index of dependence is proposed based on the area under the Kendall plot. In conjunction with the scatterplot and the Kendall plot, the proposed metho...
Secondary students with moderate/severe intellectual disability: considerations of curriculum and post‐school outcomes from the National Longitudinal Transition Study‐2

Background A conversation currently exists regarding secondary curriculum (e.g. academics, functional) for students with moderate/severe intellectual disability (ID) without a large research base connecting curriculum to outcomes. Method This study represented a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) data to understand in-school curriculum and educational programming for secondary students with moderate/severe ID as well as the relationship between curriculum and students' post-school outcomes. Statistical procedures such as frequency distributions, a significance test and logistic regression were utilised to analyse secondary data from the NLTS2. Results The results suggest the majority of students with moderate/severe ID received a functional curriculum as well as instruction in core content areas; however, their instruction primarily occurred in pull-out educational settings. The students also reported low rates for the post-school outcomes examined (i.e. independent living, employment and post-secondary attendance). Finally, curriculum (functional vs. academics) was not related to any post-school outcome examined (e.g. independent living, employment). Conclusions The data suggest additional research is needed to understand what factors impact post-school outcomes for students with moderate/severe ID. Yet – and regardless of the lack of impact – additional work is needed to help students achieve better post-school outcomes, including further examination of curriculum and instructional environments.
Research in the delivery of female health care: effort and effectiveness.

Abstract An analysis of 502 low-income pregnant patients registered in the University of Florida multicounty female health care program was conducted. Planned pregnancies account for only 14 per cent of the total. Greater than half of the population had received no contraceptive services. The relationship between physician effort and effectiveness of care is discussed.
Political Practica: Educating Social Work Students for Policymaking.

Abstract Social workers have a history of ambivalence regarding the profession's involvement in the political process. Many argue that if social workers are to become more politically active, schools of social work must play a vital role. This article examines the results of a survey on the extent and nature of available social work practica in government relations, electoral politics, and policy advocacy and development. It was found that less than 20% of undergraduate programs and less than 50% of graduate programs have such practica, and they are almost exclusively in government relations. Recommendations are offered to alleviate the concerns raised by undergraduate programs about political practica.
Colliding crystalline beams

Crystalline beams are an ordered state of an ensemble of ions, circulating in a storage ring, with very small velocity fluctuations. They can be obtained from ordinary warm ion beams with the application of powerful cooling techniques (stochastic, electron, laser, ...). Depending on the focusing properties and dimensions of the storage ring, and on the ion beam density, several ground states are possible. All of them can be visualized as a bundle of n/sub s/ symmetrically distributed, parallel strings. The longitudinal ion separation /spl lambda/ is the same for all strings. The minimum temperature that can be achieved depends on the background noise of the cooling technique used. It is required for stability that the vibration amplitude of the ions is only a fraction of the separation /spl lambda/.
A method for enhancing the accuracy of CNC machine tools for on-machine inspection

Abstract Efforts have long been devoted to developing a rapid and accurate method for dimensional inspection in a computer-integrated manufacturing environment. In this research, a general method for enhancing the accuracy of on-machine inspection is discussed. The objective is to develop a reference-part based error modeling algorithm to identify the parameters of positioning error for a machine with minimal measurement. Quadratic and cubic error models based on rigid body kinematics have been developed. The accuracy and complexity of both error models have also been discussed. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the error modeling algorithm with a ten-fold improvement. This error modeling technique can also be applied for error compensation, thus reducing the errors in material removal process.
SURFACE AND SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

Experiments reveal the existence of metallic bands at surfaces of metals and insulators. The bands can be doped externally. We review properties of surface superconductivity that may set up in such bands at low temperatures and various means of superconductivity defection. The fundamental difference as compared to the ordinary superconductivity in metals, besides its two-dimensionality lies in the absence of the center of space inversion. This results in mixing between the singlet and triplet channels of the Cooper pairing.
Measurement of total plasma and cerebrospinal fluid homocysteine by fluorescence following high-performance liquid chromatography and precolumn derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde

Precolumn derivatization of amino acids with o-phthaldialdehyde followed by high-performance liquid chromatographic separation and fluorescence detection is used in many clinical and experimental laboratories for the measurement of primary amino acids. This technique was adapted for the measurement of homocysteine in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) following alkylation of the free sulphydryl group with iodoacetate. The minimum detection limits are less than 1 microM in plasma and 80 nM in CSF. Within-day and between-day coefficients of variation for plasma and for CSF are less than 10%. Values for normal plasma homocysteine range from 6.04 to 16.2 microM and for CSF from 0.28 to 0.66 microM.
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty through 6F diagnostic catheters: A feasibility study

This study evaluated the feasibility of performing coronary angioplasty through 6F diagnostic catheters by mainly using over-the-wire balloon systems on 84 lesions in 70 patients. Procedural variables, including vessel opacification and angioplasty outcome, were assessed. Changes in hematocrit after angioplasty were compaerd for 6F versus 7F and 8F systems. Successful 6F dilatation was performed in 72 (85.7%) of 84 lesions and 58 (82.9%) of 70 patients. Seven of the 12 lesions unable to be dilated with 6F systems were successfully dilated with larger French systems. Coronary artery opacification with the 6F catheters after balloon dilation was less than optimal with the balloon and guidewire still in the catheter. Changes in hematocrit after 6F procedures were significantly less than for 8F procedures (−2.1% vs −4.2%, respectively, p < 0.01) but not for 7F proc edures (−2.4%, p = not significant). Potential cost savings for angioplasty with 6F diagnostic catheters could be significant. Thus angioplasty with over-the-wire balloon systems in which 6F nontapered diagnostic catheters are used can be performed safely and with less procedural blood loss than with 8F systems. Significant problems encountered with the current catheter design were poor vessel opacification after balloon dilation and difficulties with balloon retraction.
Comparison of anthropometric measures of obesity in childhood allergic asthma: central obesity is most relevant.

Background Established indicators of central obesity include waist circumference, waist/height ratio, and the conicity index. Studies using such measures (as opposed to body mass index [BMI] percentiles) to characterize the association between obesity and asthma are lacking, despite the fact that these measures have been shown to be most relevant for many other chronic diseases. Objectives We sought to examine measures assessing the distribution of obesity in the context of childhood allergic rhinitis and asthma and to elucidate the association of obesity, including central obesity, with allergic asthma in children. Methods Children with allergic rhinitis with (cases) or without (control subjects) asthma were recruited. BMI percentiles were derived by using national growth charts. Waist circumference, waist/height ratio, and conicity index values were obtained. Results Central obesity was associated with asthma, asthma severity, lower lung function, and reduced atopy in asthmatic subjects. Conclusion Measures of central obesity are more associated with the presence of asthma and asthma severity in children with allergic rhinitis when compared with standard BMI measures.
Effects of social density and pre-knowledge on question asking in a novel setting

Abstract This study was designed to test the effects of low vs high densities and low vs high setting-specific pre-knowledge in a field setting (library) on the number of questions asked by first-time users. The difference in the number of questions asked as a function of pre-knowledge was not significant. However, the results showed both a main effect on the number of questions asked as a function of social density, and a significant interaction between setting-specific knowledge and social density. The findings highlight the importance of differences in setting-specific knowledge by first-time users in any consideration of influences of social density conditions on the process of question-asking.
Duopoly pricing under risk aversion and parameter uncertainty

Most pricing studies assume that firms have complete information about demand. In practice, managers must make decisions, given incomplete information about the demand for their own products as well as those of their rivals. This paper develops a duopoly pricing model in which firms market differentiated products in a world of uncertainty. Results show that the predictions of standard strategic pricing models may not hold when firms face parameter uncertainty and are risk‐averse. Under well‐defined conditions, there may be a “first‐mover” disadvantage to the firm that attempts to be the Stackelberg price leader in the market, especially in a market where demand is highly uncertain. Interestingly, if parameter uncertainty is sufficiently high, it may even be necessary for the price leader to share market information with its rival. When firms are risk‐averse, uncertainty generally decreases equilibrium prices and the variabilities of profits.
Column generation heuristics for multiple machine, multiple orders per job scheduling problems

Front opening unified pods (FOUPs) are used to store and transport silicon wafers in 300-mm semiconductor wafer fabs. To achieve production efficiencies, wafers are grouped together in FOUPs without regard to the originating customer placing the order. In the resulting multiple orders per job (moj) scheduling problem, scheduling is performed at the FOUP (i.e., aggregated order) level, while scheduling performance is assessed per individual customer order. Column generation heuristics are presented for single and parallel machine moj scheduling problems to minimize total weighted order completion time. The proposed heuristics obtain near-optimal solutions very quickly, outperforming competing approaches in the literature.
On the varieties of childhood sleep disturbance

This study addressed the general issue of similarities and differences in childhood sleep disturbances. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to the sleep problem checklist data of 81 children seen in a clinical setting. In a series of analyses, four groups of children were identified — those with moderate, immature, severe, and few or no sleep problems. The moderate sleep problem group appears to involve children who are afraid to sleep. The immature problem group involves children who “magically”; attempt to protect themselves at bedtime and/or manipulate parents regarding bedtime issues. The severe sleep problem group includes children with severe distress and anxiety which “breaks through”; during sleep. These “statistical”; results are illustrated with clinical impressions from a variety of cases. Age and sex effects accounted for very little of the variance in sleep problems. Suggestions for future work on the cluster types are offered.
“Great Cato's Descendants”: A Genealogy of Colonial Performance

On 22 September 1776, the British army executed Captain Nathan Hale, Yale College class of 1773, officer of the Continental Army of the United States, and prisoner of war. James Staunton Babcock, Memoir of Captain Nathan Hale (New Haven: S. Babcock, 1844), 12. Babcock's biography of Nathan Hale is the first, and possibly the best, of its kind. Also indispensable is George Dudley Seymour's Documentary Life of Nathan Hale (New Haven: private printing, 1941), which reprints the known primary documents related to Hale's life, providing invaluable means for verifying Babcock's account, as well as a corrective for the enthusiasms of Hale's other biographers. Hale biographies are generally published in New Haven and, as a genre, tend toward fulsome sentimentality and paeans to the undying glory of Yale University, traditions established in Babcock's text. For typical examples of such Hale hagiography, see Henry Phelps Johnson, Nathan Hale, 1776 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1914), and Artemus Jean Haynes, The Story of Nathan Hale (New Haven: n.p., 1907). Hale's espionage stemmed from the Continental Army's disastrous loss at the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776 and subsequent retreat to Manhattan. With his troops demoralized and vulnerable to further attacks, George Washington required intelligence about British troop maneuvers. When Washington asked for a volunteer from his officer corps, Hale's former schoolmate and fellow officer Captain William Hull records that Hale accepted the mission, in spite of his friend Hull's objections that “[h]is nature was too frank and open for deceit and disguise” and that “he was incapable of acting a part equally foreign to his feelings and habits.” William Hull, Revolutionary Services And Civil Life of General William Hull; Prepared From his Manuscripts, by his Daughter, Mrs. Maria Campbell: Together with the History of the Campaign of 1812, And Surrender of the Post of Detroit, By His Grandson, James Freeman Clarke (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1848), 35. Hull's narrative is the principal historical evidence for analysis of Hale's execution. Part, though not all, of his account is also reprinted in Seymour, 307–10. Hale traveled from Washington's encampment on Harlem Heights to Norwalk, Connecticut, before sailing to Huntington, Long Island. There, posing as a loyalist, he was captured while gathering intelligence and hanged.
Diapause in Calanoid Copepods: within-clutch hatching patterns

Diapause is a major life history feature of many invertebrate organisms. Determining the phenology of diapause is critical for understanding survival and reproductive success of individuals as well as the long-term viability of many populations. The time spent in dormancy by individuals and variability among offspring in the duration of dormancy are two important aspects of invertebrate life histories. Some data are available, especially on duration of diapause, for plants and insects, but little information is available concerning variability among offspring in diapause traits. This is especially true for crustacean zooplankton, where essentially no information has been published on duration of diapause or variability among offspring in diapause timing or dynamics. Here I present data on the duration of diapause, and variability among offspring for diapause characteristics. The freshwater calanoid copepod Onychodiaptomus sanguineus, an obligately sexual species, was collected from Bullhead Pond, Rhode Island, U.S.A., and raised under conditions in the laboratory to induce production of diapausing eggs. One hundred clutches of these diapausing eggs (920 total eggs) were incubated for over two years in a full-factorial experiment testing the effects of temperature and photoperiod cycles on the hatching dynamics and duration of diapause. Overall hatching success was highest (approximately 86%) for eggs exposed to simultaneous temperature and photoperiod cycles mimicking natural changes, and was lowest (approximately 20%) when eggs were incubated at constant temperature (4 °C) and in constant dark conditions. The highest fraction of eggs hatched at approximately 550 days of age, but the age of eggs at hatching was highly variable among clutches. There was also large variability within clutches for hatching patterns, with some clutches containing eggs that all hatched synchronously and others in which eggs hatched more continuously throughout the experiment. Treatment conditions significantly affected within-clutch synchrony of hatching, as well as synchrony of the onset of hatching. These results of high within-clutch variability and differences among clutches in diapause dynamics have important implications for our understanding of reproductive success of individuals producing diapausing eggs, parent-offspring conflict, and the evolution of bet-hedging strategies in invertebrates.
Multichannel Cold Collisions between Metastable Sr Atoms

We present a multichannel-scattering calculation of elastic and inelastic cold collisions between two low-field seeking, metastable $^{\mathrm{88}}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{r}$ [$(5s5p)^{3}P_{2}$] atoms in the presence of an external magnetic field. The scattering physics is governed by strong anisotropic long-range interactions, which lead to pronounced coupling among the partial waves of relative motion. As a result, nonadiabatic transitions are shown to trigger a high rate of inelastic losses. At relatively high energies, $Tg100\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$, the total inelastic collision rate is comparable with the elastic rate. However, at lower collisional energy, the elastic rate decreases, and at $T\ensuremath{\sim}1\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$, it becomes substantially smaller than the inelastic rate. Our study suggests that magnetic trapping and evaporative cooling of $^{\mathrm{88}}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{r}$ [$(5s5p)^{3}P_{2}$] atoms, as well as $^{\mathrm{40}}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{a}$ [$(4s4p)^{3}P_{2}$], in low-field seeking states will prove difficult to achieve experimentally.
Abstract 536: Elucidating the role of miRNA-31 in retinoblastoma

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Retinoblastoma is the most common pediatric ocular cancer. Although early detection of the disease may have a favorable outcome for the patient, retinoblastoma can aggressively develop and become fatal. Current treatment strategies include focal therapies, chemotherapy and in more severe cases, enucleation (removal of the eye) is necessary. This cancer may initiate from acquired or inherited mutations in the RB1 gene. As a result, the mutant retinal cell is conferred an unrestrained proliferative ability that is facilitated by multiple genetic events. Determining the mechanism(s) responsible for tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis may provide an alternative treatment strategy that may delay enucleation, prevent toxic side effects from chemotherapy, or even prevent metastatic spread altogether. Genetic factors that are highly involved in both carcinogenesis and homeostasis are often regulated by miRNAs. miRNAs are small, non-coding molecules that negatively regulate gene expression by mediating mRNA cleavage and/or disrupting protein synthesis. Our rationale for this study is that investigating aberrant miRNA regulation in retinoblastoma will enable us to identify key genetic factors that can be targeted therapeutically. Our miRNA array suggests that there is a significant number of miRNAs whose expression is significantly downregulated between retinoblastoma tumors and normal human retinae. From this data, we have identified candidate miRNAs, such as miRNA-31, that have been previously reported to have an important anti-metastatic role in different cancer types. We are currently investigating the role of these miRNAs in regulating retinoblastoma progression. These functional studies will allow us to determine how increasing miRNA expression in retinoblastoma models can disrupt important signaling pathways associated with retinoblastoma progression and invasion. Citation Format: Vanessa Montoya, Paul J. Bryar, Marilyn Mets, Joanna Weinstein, Nikia Laurie. Elucidating the role of miRNA-31 in retinoblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 536. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-536
Effect of dilution rates on the amount of wasted substrate during alcohol fermentation

Abstract Continuous ethanol production in a one-stage continuous stirred tank fermentor without recycle was carried out using a yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Different dilution rates were used. Cell and ethanol concentrations in the culture medium decreased with increasing dilution rates, and the maximum value of 3.0 g l−1h−1was found at a dilution rate of 0.340 h−1. Specific ethanol productivities increased as dilution rates were increased, and the highest value appeared at about the same dilution rate as that for the maximum fermentor productivity. A material balance equation, which relates total amount of spent medium to cell synsthesis, ethanol production, and overall maintenance, was introduced. The cellular yield and overall maintenance coefficients increased with increasing dilution rates. The fraction of limiting substrate utilized for overall maintenance, which includes the limiting substrate spent for purposes other than cell synthesis and ethanol production, decreased with increasing dilution rates. The non-product associated substrate utilization can be minimized if correct dilution rate is chosen.
National Macroeconomic Policy Preferences and International Coordination Issues

This paper stresses the importance of taking domestic economic structures and political pressures into account when considering issues of international macroeconomic policy coordination. The existence of domestic biases can cause policy coordination to increase rather than reduce macroeconomic instability. The paper offers a survey of the literature on national macroeconomic policy preferences and inflation unemployment tradeoffs. While this research is still in its infancy, it is clear that there are important differences across countries which must be taken into account in designing coordination strategies.
Characterization of gigabit ethernet over highly turbulent optical wireless links

We report on the performance characterization and issues associated with using Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) over a highly turbulent 1.3 km air-optic lasercom links. Commercial GigE hardware is a cost-effective and scalable physical layer standard that can be applied to air-optic communications. We demonstrate a simple GigE hardware interface to a single-mode fiber-coupled, 1550 nm, WDM air-optic transceiver. TCP/IP serves as a robust and universal foundation protocol that has some tolerance of data loss due to atmospheric fading. Challenges include establishing and maintaining a connection with acceptable throughput under poor propagation conditions. The most useful link performance diagnostic is shown to be scintillation index, where a value of 0.2 is the maximum permissible for adequate GigE throughput. Maximum GigE throughput observed was 49.7% of that obtained with a fiber jumper when scintillation index is 0.1. Shortcomings in conventional measurements such as bit error rate are apparent. Prospects for forward error correction and other link enhancements will be discussed.
Hepatitis B vaccine in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C viral infection

Patients on hemodialysis therapy are at a relatively high risk of exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is even higher and was reported as 33.2% in Taiwan. Although the efficacy of hepatitis B vaccine was well documented, the vaccination schedule in hemodialysis patients is not clearly defined. And under such a high prevalence of HCV infection, little is known about the influence of HCV imposing on HBV vaccination. We studied 50 chronic hemodialysis patients who were serologically negative for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) and the antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc); 26 of them were positive for the antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) test. Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (Engerix-B) 40 micrograms per dose was administered by the intramuscular route at deltoid region at 0, 1, 2, 6 and 12 months respectively to all the patients. Forty-six patients had completed the study. The effective seroconversion rate (serum anti-HBs titer > 10 mIU ml-1) at 1 month after the final vaccine was 76.1% (35/46). The effective conversion rates of the anti-HCV(+) group to the anti-HCV(-) were 75% versus 77.3% (P = 0.857). Geometric mean anti-HBs titers were 177.67 mIU ml-1 versus 189.28 mIU ml-1 (P = 0.867). Our results showed that five-dose injections of HBV vaccine do not present a superior outcome to the four-dose regimen comparing to published data. The status of positivity of anti-HCV do not pose an suboptimal effect on HBV vaccination of hemodialysis patients.
Pakatan Rakyat: What is Different This Time?

Abstract Pakatan Raykat or the People's Coalition is the third attempt by the main opposition parties in Malaysia to form a coalition to challenge the electoral dominance of the Barisan Nasional (BN) or the National Front. This paper argues that in spite of the internal and external challenges faced by Pakatan Rakyat, including ideological differences, the institutional weaknesses of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the continued attempts by the BN to destabilise the government in Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states, this opposition coalition will probably outlast its predecessors. The opposition's successes in the post-March 2008 by-elections have increased the vote-pooling incentives for these parties to stay together. The formalisation of Pakatan Rakyat as a registered political party mirroring the BN will increase the longevity of the opposition coalition even if it does not enjoy the same kind of electoral success in the next general election.
On the cross-regulation of protein tyrosine phosphatases and receptor tyrosine kinases in intracellular signaling

Intracellular signaling proteins are very often regulated by site-specific phosphorylation. For example, growth factor receptors in eukaryotic cells contain intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity and use inter- and intra-molecular interactions to recruit and orient potential protein substrates for phosphorylation. Equally important in determining the magnitude and kinetics of such a response is protein dephosphorylation, catalysed by phosphatase enzymes. A growing body of evidence indicates that certain protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), like tyrosine kinases, are affected by intermolecular interactions that alter the specific activity or localization of their catalytic domains. Using a detailed kinetic modeling framework, we theoretically explore the regulation of PTPs through their association with receptor tyrosine kinases, as noted for the Src homology 2-domain-containing PTPs, SHP-1 and -2. Receptor-PTP binding, in turn, is expected to influence the phosphorylation pattern of those receptors and proteins they associate with, and we show how PTPs might serve to co- or counter-regulate parallel pathways in a signaling network.
The Evolution of Dravidian Kinship Systems in Oceania: Linguistic Evidence

Selon la theorie historique mondiale de la parente d'Allen, l'humanite a commence avec un systeme tetradique-dravidien fonde sur le mariage entre cousins croises et defini par des equations prescriptives et classificatoires entre generations alternees. Au cours du temps, la tendance dominante a penche vers la rupture irreversible de ces equations, precisement dans cet ordre. Il est clair que les preuves linguistiques sont cruciales pour evaluer la theorie d'Allen et d'autres grandes theories similaires sur les changements irreversibles des systemes de parente. L'A. presente des preuves linguistiques issues d'Oceanie, une partie du monde qui n'a pas ete integree dans le symposium recent sur les transformations des systemes de parente (Godelier, Trautman & Tjon Sie Fat 1998). Conformement a la theorie d'Allen, les exemples polynesiens demontrent que des mouvements vers la gauche du pole dravidien sont rares et peuvent etre expliques comme des effets de substrats. Cependant contrairement a la theorie d'Allen, les materiaux plus generaux sur l'Oceanie montre que des developpements endogenes des systemes dravidiens, bien qu'improbables en principe, sont effectivement possibles.
Experimental and Computational Study of Vaporization of Volatile Organic Compounds

Heated Soil Vapor Extraction (HSVE) is a technology that has been used successfully to clean up subsurface soils at sites containing chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons. The costs have been extremely high due to the large amount of energy required to volatilize high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds present in the soil matrix. One remediation contractor states that hydrocarbons are oxidized in situ by achieving temperatures in the >1000 F range near the heaters [1]. A critical question is whether the volatile portion of manufactured gas plant (MGP) hydrocarbons (VOCs) can be stripped out at lower temperatures such that the remaining contaminants will be unavailable for transport or subsequent dissolution into the groundwater. Soil remediation by heated soil vapor extraction system is a relatively new technology developed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee [2]. The areas around chemical companies or waste disposal sites have been seriously contaminated from the chemicals and other polluting materials that are disposed off. The process developed at UWM, consists of a heater/boiler that pump and circulates hot oil through a pipeline that is enclosed in a larger-diameter pipe. This extraction pipe is vertically installed within the contaminated soil up to a certain depth and is welded at the bottom and capped at the top. The number of heat source pipes and the extraction wells depends on the type of soil, the type of pollutants, moisture content of the soil and the size of the area to be cleaned. The heat source heats the soil, which is transported in the interior part of the soil by means of conduction and convection. This heating of soil results in vaporization of the gases, which are then driven out of the soil by the extraction well. The extraction well consists of the blower which would suck the vaporized gases out of the system. Our previous studies had removed higher boiling compounds such as naphthalene, etc., to non-detectable level. Thus, the current technology is very promising for removing most of the chemicals compounds; and can also remove these high boiling compounds from the saturated zone. Gas chromatography (GC) is utilized in monitoring the relative concentration changes over the extraction period. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) assists in the identification and separation of extracted components. The experimental research is currently being conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The objectives of this study are to identify contaminants and time required to remove them through HSVE treatment and provide data for computation fluid dynamics CFD analysis.Copyright © 2007 by ASME