cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Simile of Moral Motivation

Living morally is like going on a trip. You want to find the best road to get you where you are headed, avoiding wrong turns and other mishaps. You can use a map, a GPS, or oral directions from someone at a gas station along the route.
Barriers for lung cancer screening in an inner city community primary care center.

e13037Background: lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Recently the USPFTF launched guidelines for lung cancer screening with low dose computer tomography of the chest. However compliance with the guidelines in the community remains low. We tried to identify barriers for proper lung cancer screening in the primary care setting Methods: anonymous questioners were filled by the internal medicine residents in a community practice center with 20 questions regarding their knowledge and practices about current USPSTF guidelines on lung cancer screening. Results were analyzed per year of training. In parallel, a patient survey to assess awareness and personal preferences regarding lung cancer screening was conducted and 50 of the questionnaires were included in the analysis. Results: 36 residents were included in the survey at the community center clinic of AEMC. 15 were PGY1, 13 PGY2 and 8 PGY3. 73 % of PGY 1s were aware of proper lung cancer screening with low dose CT of the chest, ...
RAB-35 aids apoptotic cell clearance by regulating cell corpse recognition and phagosome maturation

In metazoans, apoptotic cells are swiftly engulfed by phagocytes and degraded inside phagosomes. Multiple small GTPases in the Rab family are known to function in phagosome maturation by regulating vesicle trafficking. We discovered rab-35 as a new gene important for apoptotic cell clearance using an RNAi screen targeting putative Rab GTPases in Caenorhabditis elegans. We further identified TBC-10 as a putative GTPase-activating protein (GAP), and FLCN-1 and RME-4 as two putative Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors (GEFs), for RAB-35. RAB-35 function was found to be required for the incorporation of early endosomes to phagosomes and for the timely degradation of apoptotic cell corpses. More specifically, RAB-35 facilitates the switch of phagosomal membrane phosphatidylinositol species from PtdIns(4,5)P2 to PtdIns(3)P and promotes the recruitment of the small GTPase RAB-5 to phagosomal surfaces, processes that are essential for phagosome maturation. Interestingly, we observed that CED-1 performs these same functions, and to a much larger extent than RAB-35. Remarkably, in addition to cell corpse degradation, RAB-35 also facilitates the recognition of cell corpses independently of the CED-1 and CED-5 pathways. RAB-35 localizes to extending pseudopods and is further enriched on nascent phagosomes, consistent with its dual roles in regulating cell corpse-recognition and phagosome maturation. Epistasis analyses indicate that rab-35 represents a novel third genetic pathway that acts in parallel to both of the canonical ced-1/6/7 and ced-2/5/10/12 engulfment pathways. We propose that RAB-35 acts as a robustness factor, leading a pathway that aids the canonical pathways for the engulfment and degradation of apoptotic cells.
Subregional courts in Africa: Litigating the hybrid right to free movement of persons

Human rights attorneys and civil society groups in Africa have recently focused their advocacy efforts on subregional courts associated with economic integration communities in East, West and Southern Africa. The East African Court of Justice, the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, and the Tribunal of the Southern African Development Community have received few suits challenging trade restrictions and other barriers to subregional integration. Instead, and surprisingly, the courts’ dockets are dominated by complaints alleging violations of international human rights law. This article offers the first analysis of EACJ, ECOWAS Court, and SADC Tribunal decisions concerning the free movement of persons. Freedom of movement is a hybrid legal right. It is protected in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and in other human rights instruments, but it is also a central pillar of all regional integration systems. Free movement case law thus offers a revealing lens through which to examine how African subregional courts decide which litigants have access to justice, interpret international legal norms, and fashion the remedies awarded to successful complainants.
Estimation of Latent Heat Flux with Seasat-SMMR, A Case Study in N. Atlantic

The twice-daily humidity soundings from radiosonde reports in 1978 at Barbados, Puerto Rico, Bermuda and Ocean Weather Station P are used to examine the water vapor distribution in the atmosphere. The specific humidity at the lowest sounding level is found to correlate very well with the integrated water vapor in the atmospheric column at monthly time scale. An empirical relation between these two quantities is determined.
Glassy Dynamics in Proteins

The conformational energy surface of a protein is complex — the ground state of a protein is highly degenerate and consists of a large number of energy minima separated by energy barriers (1,2,3). The energy minima correspond to conformational substates (CS) of a protein. The CS have the same overall structure, but differ in detail; they perform the same biological function, but possibly with different rates (1,4). Moreover the energy surface (and CS) may be hierarchical and contain minima within minima (2,3,4). Many, perhaps all, complex systems are characterized by a highly degenerate and hierarchically arranged ground state (5). Among such systems are glasses (6,7), spin glasses (8), evolution (9), neural networks (10) and, now, proteins.
Cardiovascular Effects of Theophylline. Partial Attenuation by Beta-Blockade

The effects of theophylline upon cardiovascular function were studied in 8 male subjects, aged 22–33 years, before and during concomitant administration of metoprolol (50 mg every 6 h) and propranolol (40 mg every 6 h). Theophylline, as aminophylline (6.7–7.3 mg/kg) was given over 30 min. The theophylline level five minutes after completion of the aminophylline infusion was 15.9±1.8 µg/ml in the absence of beta blockade, 16.1±1.7 µg/ml during metoprolol, and 15.1±1.6 µg/ml during propranolol.
Numerical simulation: controlling light emitting diodes from MATLAB

The most popularly used light bulb in homes is the incandescent. It is also the least energy efficient. The filament in the bulb is so thin that it causes resistance in the electricity, which in turn causes the electricity's energy to form heat. This causes the incandescent to waste a lot of energy generating heat rather than light. It uses 15 lumens per watt of input power. Increasing energy efficiency is considered as a feasible policy option for many economies. It motivate every nation to reconsider their energy and climate policies A recorded MATLAB demonstration showcased LED versatility and its use by an Arduino UNO board. The purpose of this experimental study was to determine to what extent LEDs can reduce energy consumption through the use of an Arduino UNO board and MATLAB and to discuss the applications of LED. LED will be the future of lighting homes and will eventually completely incandescent bulbs when companies complete the necessary improvements to the LED. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) offer an exciting opportunity to improve energy efficiency.
Transitioning From a Low-Dose-Rate to a High-Dose-Rate Prostate Brachytherapy Program: Comparing Initial Dosimetry and Improving Workflow Efficiency Through Targeted Interventions.

Abstract Purpose We transitioned from a low-dose-rate (LDR) to a high-dose-rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy program. The objective of this study was to describe our experience developing a prostate HDR program, compare the LDR and HDR dosimetry, and identify the impact of several targeted interventions in the HDR workflow to improve efficiency. Methods and Materials We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients treated with LDR or HDR prostate brachytherapy. We used iodine-125 seeds (145 Gy as monotherapy, and 110 Gy as a boost) and preoperative planning for LDR. For HDR, we used iridium-192 (13.5 Gy × 2 as monotherapy and 15 Gy × 1 as a boost) and computed tomography–based planning. Over the first 18 months, we implemented several targeted interventions into our HDR workflow to improve efficiency. To evaluate the progress of the HDR program, we used linear mixed-effects models to compare LDR and HDR dosimetry and identify changes in the implant procedure and treatment planning durations over time. Results The study cohort consisted of 122 patients (51 who received LDR and 71 HDR). The mean D90 was similar between patients who received LDR and HDR (P = .28). HDR mean V100 and V95 were higher (P Conclusions We successfully developed a prostate HDR brachytherapy program at our institution with comparable dosimetry to our historic LDR patients. We identified several targeted interventions that improved the efficiency of treatment planning. Our experience and workflow interventions may help other institutions develop similar HDR programs.
Perceptual Inhibition Associated with Sensory Integration for Balance in Older Adults.

Aims Inhibition associated with perception has been implicated in sensory integration processes for balance when sensory conflict occurs. The current study examines the associations of three measures of inhibition (perceptual inhibition, motor inhibition, and Stroop interference) with standing balance under sensory conflict conditions in younger and older adults. Methods Perceptual inhibition, motor inhibition, and Stroop interference were measured in younger and older subjects. Standing balance under conditions of sensory conflict was evaluated using a modified dynamic posturography protocol. Correlative analysis was performed to examine the associations between the inhibition measures and sway. Results In older adults only, perceptual inhibition was correlated with sway when sensory conflict was present. Stroop interference and motor inhibition were not significantly correlated with sway under any posturography conditions. Conclusion Measures of perceptual inhibition are associated with reduced sensory integration capability for balance during sensory conflict conditions in older adults.
Review of High Voltage DC/DC Modular Multilevel Converters

Smart grid has emerged as a solution to provide clean, reliable and efficient energy. Renewable energy resources, AC grid, load centers and distributed storage are the main components of a smart grid. High voltage DC (HVDC) transmission is emerging as an efficient system to connect these components to the smart grids as compared to high voltage AC (HVAC) due to less cost of transmission lines and low losses. High voltage AC/DC, DC/AC and DC/DC converters are the main constituents of the HVDC system to interconnect with the power generating systems, AC grid and load centers. Modular multilevel converter (MMC) possess features such as modular structure, scalability, reliability, fault tolerance and high step up/down ratios, which makes it an important topology for HVDC. Extensive research has been carried out on MMCs which has resulted in innovative circuit configurations of converters, novel modulation techniques and efficient control algorithms. This paper presents a review of different configurations of high voltage DC/DC MMCs, its operation and features. It also discusses the modulation and control techniques designed for DC/DC MMCs.
At Freedom’s Borderland: The Black Regulars and Masculinity at Fort Davis, Texas

Archaeologies of military life have made little contribution to the study of Black regulars on the frontier. In part, this is the result of disciplinary boundaries separating scholars who study military history from those who study the African diaspora. Other problems include the nature of military movements and the nature of military record keeping. In this article, ceramic materials from an 1870s deposit associated with Black enlisted men at Fort Davis, Texas, are discussed to demonstrate how material evidence provides insights into the ambitions, experiences, and actions of soldiers, in their status as freedmen and citizens, as they navigated the colonial structure of a western fort.
Defaults & Returns on High Yield Bonds: Analysis Through 2001

The year 2001 was remarkable on many fronts. For the high yield market, it was a year of crushing record numbers of defaults and distressed exchanges, combined with predictable low recovery rates. Despite these fundamental problems and the "flight to quality" following the terrorist attacks in September, the high yield market displayed impressive resiliency.This report documents and comments upon the high yield bond market's risk and return performance by presenting traditional and mortality rate statistics and providing performance data over the market's history. Our analysis covers the period 1971-2001. In addition, we present our forecast of expected defaults. Two new innovations to our analysis of the high yield bond market are also introduced. We adjust our traditional measure of default loss rates by factoring in the impact of fallen angel defaults where the "investment" in these issues is typically much below par value. Finally, we summarize some recently completed work, on analyzing default recovery rates, with an econometric model that has explained over 90% of the variation in recoveries over the last two decades.
Endogenous Pain Inhibitory Function: Endurance-Trained Athletes vs Active Controls.

Objective Athletes are at risk for developing chronic pain conditions, but the role of exercise in the modulation of pain in athletes has not been well established. The aim of this study was to investigate conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) responses between 13 endurance-trained athletes and 13 normally active controls. Methods In a cross-sectional, nonrandomized study with two independent groups of college-aged males and females, pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were assessed in the vastus lateralis (VL) and brachioradialis (BR) using a pressure algometer before and after a conditioning stimulus, an isometric hand grip exercise to failure, and a 30-minute run. Results PPTs increased following the conditioning stimulus, indicating a CPM response, to a similar degree in the BR (19.3% ± 26.5% vs 18.6% ± 16.2%, P = 0.93) and VL (18.9% ± 25.9% vs 28.7% ± 27.4%, P = 0.73) in the athletes and controls. PPTs increased following isometric exercise to a similar extent in athletes and controls in the BR (23.9% ± 22.8% vs 28.2% ± 24.0%, P = 0.75) and VL (15.8% ± 14.8% vs 15.5% ± 11.6%, P = 0.94). Following 30 minutes of running, EIH was similar between athletes and controls in the VL (21.2% ± 17.2% vs 13.8% ± 13.3%, P = 0.23) but was attenuated in the BR of the athletes (6.1% ± 16.9% vs 20.9% ± 20%, P = 0.047). Conclusions Athletes and controls exhibited similar endogenous pain inhibitory function both locally and systemically following CPM and isometric, upper body exercise. After the 30-minute run, BR EIH was reduced in the athletes compared with controls, suggesting a reduced systemic response following familiar exercise-perhaps due to the exercise being perceived as less painful and/or effortful.
The “difficult” cadaver: weight bias in the gross anatomy lab

Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity continues to rise and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Weight bias is common among physicians and medical students and limi...
Chapter 7 – Biomedical applications of microchannel flows

Publisher Summary Microfluidics and microchannel transport processes have led to the development of new research tools. They have the ability to peer inside microscopic cells and measure the interior rheology of their cytoplasm, visualizing the co-localization of specific proteins within various organelles. This chapter discusses the major technological applications of microchannels and minichannels to measure the strength and frequency of individual cell adhesion, the growth of cells to replace vital organs, the peeling of cells from protein-coated surfaces using well-defined forces, and the characterization of deformabilities of different cell types. Microchannels with functionalized biochemical surfaces are used in elucidating the molecular mechanisms governing the transient adhesion between the circulating white blood cells and the blood vessel walls during inflammation. The most common types of microchannels used in cell adhesion and flow studies are the radial flow chamber and the parallel-plate flow chamber. There are radial membrane minichannels for hematopoietic blood cell culture, the bioartificial liver membranes enhance mass transfer in planar microchannels, and oxygen and lactate transport in micro-grooved minichannels for cell culture. Microchannels and minichannels maximize the surface area available for monolayer cell attachment while enabling good temperature regulation and rapid exchange of liquid media.
Reconstruction of the Scalp and Forehead

The pertinent anatomy of the scalp that has clinical relevance can be divided into the specific regions as well as the cross-sectional components. The cross-section anatomy is summed in the acronym SCALP, the skin containing hair follicles, sebaceous and sweat glands, a thin layer of subcutaneous fat, the galeal aponeurosis, a zone of subgaleal loose areolar tissue, and lastly, periosteum or pericranium. Skin, in contrast to the subgaleal space, is tightly adherent to the underlying galea. The galea has an interesting teleological history since the aponeurosis may represent a vestige of the panniculus carnosus, a layer of immediate subdermal striated muscle seen in non-primate mammals that enable twitching of isolated areas of skin. In that vein, the galea is a fusion sheet between the frontalis of the forehead and the occipitalis posteriorly, two other structures that represent vestigial remnants of the panniculus carnosus. Laterally, the galea is contiguous with the temporoparietal fascia.
Promises of Purity: Adventist Approaches to Sanctification through Health Reform

At the turn of the nineteenth century “purity” movements, like those practiced at the Seventh-day Adventist Battle Creek Sanitarium, were an outlet for individuals striving to reconcile their health with heterodox religious views about the Second Coming of Christ. This article examines the letters and writings of professed prophet Ellen G. White and Adventist promotional materials for the Battle Creek Sanitarium as they relate to broader health reforms at the time. In pamphlets, catalogues, and menus, the Sanitarium promised patients/patrons the latest medical advances to help restore their bodies, while White also hoped to save their souls. According to White, sanctification was possible through austerities in diet and health reform, making “the San” and its offshoots religiously significant players in the spiritual and health marketplaces of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
High-Performance Simulation of Dynamic Hydrologic Exchange and Implications for Surrogate Flow and Reactive Transport Modeling in a Large River Corridor

Hydrologic exchange flows (HEFs) have environmental significance in riverine ecosystems. Key river channel factors that influence the spatial and temporal variations of HEFs include river stage, riverbed morphology, and riverbed hydraulic conductivity. However, their impacts on HEFs were often evaluated independently or on small scales. In this study, we numerically evaluated the combined interactions of these factors on HEFs using a high-performance simulator, PFLOTRAN, for subsurface flow and transport. The model covers 51 square kilometers of a selected river corridor with large sinuosity along the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River in Washington, US. Three years of spatially distributed hourly river stages were applied to the riverbed. Compared to the simulation when riverbed heterogeneity is not ignored, the simulation using homogeneous riverbed conductivity underestimated HEFs, especially upwelling from lateral features, and overestimated the mean residence times derived from particle tracking. To derive a surrogate model for the river corridor, we amended the widely used transient storage model (TSM) for riverine solute study at reach scale with reactions. By treating the whole river corridor as a batch reactor, the temporal changes in the exchange rate coefficient for the TSM were derived from the dynamic residence time estimated from the hourly PFLOTRAN results. The TSM results were evaluated against the effective concentrations in the hyporheic zone calculated from the PFLOTRAN simulations. Our results show that there is potential to parameterize surrogate models such as TSM amended with biogeochemical reactions while incorporating small-scale process understandings and the signature of time-varying streamflow to advance the mechanistic understanding of river corridor processes at reach to watershed scales. However, the assumption of a well-mixed storage zone for TSM should be revisited when redox-sensitive reactions in the storage zones play important roles in river corridor functioning.
The Impact of the Medicaid Expansion on Telemental Health Utilization in Four Midwestern States.

Introduction: Low-income populations experience many barriers to accessing affordable, high-quality mental health services. One promising approach to improving access to care may be utilizing telemedicine in combination with expanding state Medicaid programs to cover low-income childless adults. This combination has the potential to reduce the prevalence of untreated mental illness; improve low-income populations' health and well-being; and save individuals', health care centers', and federal and state governments' money. Materials and Methods: A secondary data analysis on state Medicaid claims data was performed to calculate the percent difference in telemental health claims from 2014 through 2017 between two Medicaid expansion and two nonexpansion states in the Midwest. The percent change in claims during this time period within each of the four states was also calculated. Lastly, the difference between Medicaid telemental health utilization and other types of Medicaid telemedicine utilization was examined. Results: The Medicaid expansion states (Iowa and Minnesota) had 54% more telemental health claims per 10,000 state population than nonexpansion states (Nebraska and Wisconsin) from 2014 through 2017. During this time period, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska experienced 481%, 329%, and 12% increases in Medicaid telemental health claims, respectively, and Wisconsin experienced a 10% decrease. Discussion and Conclusions: Medicaid telemental health utilization has been increasing since 2014 in the two Medicaid expansion states, especially in Iowa, while utilization has remained relatively constant in the two Medicaid nonexpansion states. This has implications for informing Medicaid policies, particularly with regard to Medicaid expansion and telemedicine reimbursement.
The N terminus of myosin-binding protein C extends toward actin filaments in intact cardiac muscle

Myosin and actin filaments are highly organized within muscle sarcomeres. Myosin-binding protein C (MyBP-C) is a flexible, rod-like protein located within the C-zone of the sarcomere. The C-terminal domain of MyBP-C is tethered to the myosin filament backbone, and the N-terminal domains are postulated to interact with actin and/or the myosin head to modulate filament sliding. To define where the N-terminal domains of MyBP-C are localized in the sarcomere of active and relaxed mouse myocardium, the relative positions of the N terminus of MyBP-C and actin were imaged in fixed muscle samples using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. The resolution of the imaging was enhanced by particle averaging. The images demonstrate that the position of the N terminus of MyBP-C is biased toward the actin filaments in both active and relaxed muscle preparations. Comparison of the experimental images with images generated in silico, accounting for known binding partner interactions, suggests that the N-terminal domains of MyBP-C may bind to actin and possibly the myosin head but only when the myosin head is in the proximity of an actin filament. These physiologically relevant images help define the molecular mechanism by which the N-terminal domains of MyBP-C may search for, and capture, molecular binding partners to tune cardiac contractility.
Angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma masquerading as granulomatous lymphadenitis: Fine needle aspiration cytology, clinical and radiology correlation

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a minimally invasive technique used in the initial diagnosis of superficial lesions, including lymphadenopathy. Its benefit in lymph node pathology, however, is highly variable, especially in heterogeneous lymphoproliferative disorders like angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). AITL is an aggressive hematopoietic malignancy, histologically characterized by medium-sized neoplastic cells, high endothelial venule proliferations, and a heterogeneous hematolymphoid background. Diagnostic difficulty arises at lymph node FNA, where cytology yields nonspecific polymorphous collections of medium-sized lymphocytes, hematolymphoid cells, dendritic cell-lymphoid complexes, and lymphoid tissue fragments with transgressing blood vessels; findings mimicking reactive lymphadenopathy. We present a case of a 62-year-old male who presented with cervical lymphadenopathy. Neck level II lymph node FNA revealed granulomatous inflammation. A cell block was prepared for additional infectious studies but was non-contributory due to lack of material. Flow cytometry showed no evidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Excisional biopsy revealed lymph node effacement by a T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder consistent with AITL. This case contributes to the paucity of literature regarding the cytologic features of AITL observed at FNA, and becomes the premier case to emphasize the addition of granulomatous features. Despite the aggressive nature of this entity, cases are frequently misdiagnosed as reactive on initial evaluation resulting in delay of treatment. This report serves to raise suspicion of AITL and other polymorphic cellular lymphomas in the setting of reactive granulomatous cytomorphology, thus prompting histological examination of tissue biopsy, expediting treatment, and ultimately providing potential improvement to the current prognosis.
The Use of Precision Nutrition Among African Americans With Chronic Disease

Objectives To characterize the effects of precision nutrition on dietary behavior change, weight, and waist circumference. To examine perceptions of receiving a personalized nutrition plan.
Creating community: the process of entrepreneurial community building for civic wealth creation

This article examines the development of an entrepreneurial community focused on civic wealth creation. This case study identifies how a team of community entrepreneurs successfully leveraged their...
An Approach for the Assessment of System Upset Resilience

This report describes an approach for the assessment of upset resilience that is applicable to systems in general, including safety-critical, real-time systems. For this work, resilience is defined as the ability to preserve and restore service availability and integrity under stated conditions of configuration, functional inputs and environmental conditions. To enable a quantitative approach, we define novel system service degradation metrics and propose a new mathematical definition of resilience. These behavioral-level metrics are based on the fundamental service classification criteria of correctness, detectability, symmetry and persistence. This approach consists of a Monte-Carlo-based stimulus injection experiment, on a physical implementation or an error-propagation model of a system, to generate a system response set that can be characterized in terms of dimensional error metrics and integrated to form an overall measure of resilience. We expect this approach to be helpful in gaining insight into the error containment and repair capabilities of systems for a wide range of conditions.
Immobilized Modifiers for Proteins (IMPs)

A wide series of insolubilized protein modification reagents have been synthesized and applied to the modification and/or purification of a variety of amino acids, model proteins, and cell membranes. These materials possess sterically hindered protein modification reagents which have potential applicaiton as protein topology probes.
Specializations in cytoskeletal function during early development

V. Summary A useful starting point for investigating the role of the cytoskeleton in early development has been the results obtained from studies examining the cytoskeleton in somatic cells. However, the developmental challenges faced by eggs, zygotes, and early embryos appear to require specializations of cytoskeletal function, as described in this chapter. The cytoskeletal specializations outlined in this article, are not meant to be an exclusive list but rather a starting point for the recognition of these special roles. Indeed, future studies are likely to lengthen the list of specialized cytoskeletal functions in early development. Conversely, it is also useful to remember that somatic cells originate from the development of an embryo, and there is no reason to assume that somatic cells lose all of the specialized functions present in their progenitor cells (i.e., the zygote and blastomeres of the embryo). But in somatic cells some or all of these specialized roles may be greatly reduced in scope, making them difficult to detect. Thus characterization of the specialized functions of the cytoskeleton during early development may aid the identification of more subtle cytoskeletal functions in somatic cells.
Lessons from transgenic zebrafish expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the myeloid lineage.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the use of stable transgenic zebrafish lines, expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the pu.1 promoter, to examine myeloid cell differentiation and development. The optically clear zebrafish embryo is particularly amenable to in vivo analyses and the use of GFP expression for monitoring hematopoietic development in transgenic zebrafish. The relative stability of the GFP protein allows it to be used as a cell tracking marker to experimentally analyze hematopoietic cell differentiation and movements, correlated with developmental changes in gene expression patterns. Zebrafish and mammals share many of the morphological and cytological features of myelopoietic cell types, including granulocytes and monocyte/macrophages. The PU.1 protein belongs to the ets family of transcription factors and plays an early role in myelopoiesis that is essential for the development of both myeloid (granulocytes and monocytes/macrophages) and lymphoid cells. Development of a transgenic zebrafish expressing EGFP under control of the zebrafish pu.1 promoter is a useful tool to study the regulation of myeloid cell differentiation in vivo. Stable transgenic zebrafish lines specifically expressing EGFP in subsets of hematopoietic cells can play an important role in elucidating the mechanisms that regulate vertebrate hematopoiesis. Because embryonic zebrafish is amenable to experimental manipulations, such as transplantation and targeted gene knockdown assays, questions of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell regulation and lineage determination can be addressed in vivo. The ability to sort these living cells by fluorescence allows their morphological and genetic analysis and transplantation studies by using the purified population of cells isolated at different stages of development.
Defect insensitive 100 J/cm2 multilayer mirror coating process

Multilayer mirrors are fluence-limited by nodular defects. Such defects originate from the deposition source, inadequate cleaning, transport, pump down, heating, shedding from rotating hardware, etc. These overcoated inclusions behave as micro-lenses resulting in light intensification within the multilayer structure. To minimize the impact of these defects, a planarization process has been developed to reduce geometric-induced light intensification. By exploiting the angledependent etching rate of materials, a deposit-and-etch process reduces nodular defect height and diameter. Planarized defects demonstrate a greater than 20x increase in laser resistance at a wavelength of 1064 nm and pulse length of 10 ns. Process parameters were explored such as planarization efficiency of the coating materials, discrete versus continuous etching, thick planarization layers for substrate defects, and etching throughout the multilayer to planarize coating defects.
Halogenated Aromatics: Fate and Microbial Degradation

Background Fundamentals of Aryl Halide Degradation Ecology of Aryl Halide Degradation Microbial-Environmental Matrix Interactions Keywords: biodegradation; halogenated aromatics, biodegradation of
Semiconductor Electrodes XXII . Electrochromism and Photoelectrochemistry at Layers Prepared by Thermal and Anodic Oxidation of W

Electrochromism was studied with layers prepared by thermal oxidation of W, and compared to the electrochromic behavior of other electrodes (anodic, amorphous, and annealed films). Although the layers obtained by thermal oxidation of W are crystalline, the electrochromic performance with this electrode is comparable to that of the evaporated amorphous electrode. The photoelectrochemical behavior of these electrodes, and in particular the effect of a pretreatment of repeated color‐bleaching cycles, was also studied. Repeated color‐bleaching cycles resulted in a significant improvement in the photoelectrolytic behavior of the layers. The photocurrent increased and the spectral distribution of the photocurrent shifted to longer wavelengths. The repeated color‐bleaching cycles also cause a great improvement in the electrochromic behavior of the electrode as compared to that of the initially prepared electrode.
Toward a physics of equations

Papers on diagrammatic reasoning often begin by dividing marks on paper into two basic classes: diagrams and sentences. While endorsing the perspective that a reasoning episode can be diagrammatic or sentential, I will give an overview of recent evidence suggesting that apparently symbolic expressions in algebra and arithmetic are frequently treated as diagrammatic or even pictorial depictions of objects and events--events that occur not in the content of the expression, but within the notation itself. This evidence suggests that algebra is sometimes less a matter of rules and abstract syntax, and more a matter of constraints on the physical behavior and part-whole structure of notational things: an idiosyncratic notational physics, whose laws constrain the structure of proofs. These considerations suggest that whether some marks are a diagram depends on exactly how a user engages them.
CONTROL OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN HAM DELI LOAVES USING ORGANIC ACIDS

Combinations of organic acids, sodium lactate (SL; Fisher Scientific Co. LLC., Pittsburgh, PA), potassium lactate (PL; City Chemical LLC., West Haven, CT) and sodium diacetate (SD; Spectrum Chemical MFG. Corp., Gardena, CA), were applied in the raw product and as a post-cook dip to determine their inhibitory effect on Listeria monocytogenes in ham deli loaves. Loaves were formulated with an organic acid as an ingredient, cooked, cooled, inoculated with streptomycin-resistant L. monocytogenes and then dipped in an organic acid treatment. Treatments consisted of PL in the raw product and PL in the dip, PL with SL/PL/SD dip, SL/SD with PL dip, and SL/SD with SL/PL/SD dip. Loaves were examined on a weekly basis for 56 days. Treatments containing PL with SL/PL/SD, SL/SD with PL, and SL/SD with SL/PL/SD had similar inhibition effects on L. monocytogenes from day 0 to day 42 (P < 0.05). On day 56, the PL with SL/PL/SD and the SL/SD with SL/PL/SD treatments were similar (P < 0.05). The PL with SL/PL/SD, SL/SD with PL, and SL/SD with SL/PL/SD treatments increased the lag phase of L. monocytogenes compared with distilled water control (P < 0.05). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Including a food grade organic acid-based product in the formulation and as a post-cook dip treatment can result in the slower growth of Listeria monocytogenes in deli ham loaves. This approach could provide meat processors with a useful method for controlling this deadly pathogen in ready-to-eat meat products.
Adaptive Processing for Vision-Based Ranging

Consider a camera that moves through a stationary environment. The time-varying range to features in the camera's field of view may be estimated recursively using a sequence of images. We study processing these images adaptively; our goal is accurate range estimation and increased range map density in the presence of constrained computational resources. The problem of autonomous nap-of-the-earth rotorcraft flight motivates our work. An onboard camera and inertial measurement unit provide sensing for the construction of local range maps for an obstacle avoidance function. To provide more features yielding accurate range estimates, we assume a high resolution, high data rate camera. The resulting explosion in the image measurement data rate can be handled by selecting which measurements to process, and by making the best use of onboard computation in processing these measurements. Computer vision research provides many ideas on selecting which measurements to process. We study how to process the measurements. Specifically, for a single feature, we explore the idea of adaptively trading spatial resolution and image rate to obtain accurate range estimation while simultaneously satisfying an upper limit on computation rate. Simulations are presented to explore the effectiveness of this idea. Our work is applicable to other vision-based ranging problems.
Temporal fusion in multi-sensor target tracking systems

For a multi-sensor tracking system, the effects of temporally staggered sensors are investigated and compared with synchronous sensors. To make fair comparisons, a new metric, the average estimation error variance, is defined. Many analytical results are derived for sensors with equal measurement noise variance. Temporally staggered sensors always result in a smaller average error variance than synchronous sensors. The corresponding optimal staggering pattern is such that the sensors are uniformly distributed over time. For sensors with different measurement noise variances, the optimal staggering pattern can be found numerically. Intuitive guidelines on selecting optimal staggering pattern have been presented for different target tracking scenarios.
Toxicity of vinylidene chloride in mice and rats and its alteration by various treatments

The toxicity of vinylidene chloride (VDC) was studied in mice and rats exposed to various concentrations of the vapors for 23 hr/day. In addition, the ability of various compounds to alter parameters of toxicity was evaluated. Mice were more sensitive than rats to the lethal, hepatotoxic, and renal toxic effects of VDC. Disulfiram protected mice from these toxic effects of inhaled VDC and reduced the levels of covalently bound radioactivity in the liver and kidney after the ip administration of [ 14 C] VDC. Diethyldithiocarbamate and thiram also protected mice from the acute lethal effects of VDC.
Effect of inseminating cows in estrus following a presynchronization protocol on reproductive and lactation performances

Objectives were to evaluate the effects of inseminating cows observed in estrus following a PGF(2α)-based presynchronization protocol on reproductive and lactation performance. Weekly, Holstein cows (260 primiparous and 379 multiparous) were balanced by parity, body condition score at 3 d in milk (DIM), and previous lactation milk yield (multiparous cows) and assigned randomly to either of 2 reproductive programs. All cows received 2 injections of PGF(2α) at 35 and 49 DIM and a controlled internal drug release insert containing progesterone from 42 to 49 DIM. Cows assigned to the short voluntary waiting period (SVWP) treatment were inseminated if observed in estrus after the second injection of PGF(2α) of the presynchronization protocol, and those not inseminated were submitted to a timed artificial insemination (TAI) protocol (GnRH 62 DIM, PGF(2α) 69 DIM, GnRH 71 DIM, and TAI 72 DIM), whereas cows assigned to the long voluntary waiting period (LVWP) were all submitted to the TAI protocol and were TAI at 72 DIM. Plasma progesterone was determined at 35, 49, and 62 DIM for evaluation of interval from parturition to resumption of cyclicity. Pregnancy was diagnosed weekly at 32 and 60 d after first AI and at 42 d after subsequent inseminations. Percentage of SVWP cows inseminated in estrus was 58.9% and the interval from parturition to first AI was shorter for SVWP cows (64.7±0.4 vs. 74.2±0.5 DIM). Cows cyclic by 49 and 62 DIM were more likely to be inseminated in estrus than those anovular by 62 DIM (67.9, 61.0, and 32.8%, respectively) and cyclic cows by 49 and 62 DIM had shorter interval from parturition to first AI than anovular cows (62.6±0.7, 63.1±1.2, and 70.1±1.1 DIM). Treatment did not affect pregnancy per AI after first postpartum AI or the rate at which cows became pregnant. Cows that resumed cyclicity by 49 DIM had greater pregnancy per AI than cows still anovular by 62 DIM and became pregnant at a faster rate than cows that resumed cyclicity by 62 DIM and those still anovular by 62 DIM. Inseminating cows that displayed estrus after the presynchronization protocol did not affect reproductive performance compared with submission of 100% of cows to a TAI protocol.
A Robust Surrogate Modeling Approach for Material Selection in Sustainable Design of Products

A sustainable solution should holistically optimize all objectives related to the environment and a product’s cost and performance. As such, it should explicitly address material selection, which significantly affects environmental impacts and other objectives of a product design. While Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides credible methods to account for environmental impacts, current methods are not efficient enough for use at the early design stages to prune the entire design space without requiring execution of costly LCA analysis for each design scenario. Alternatively, surrogate modeling approaches can facilitate efficient concept selection during early design stages. However, material properties consist of discrete data sets, thus posing a significant challenge in the construction of surrogate models for numerical optimization.In this work, we address the unique challenges of material selection in sustainable product design in some important ways. Salient features of the robust surrogate modeling approach include achieving manageable dimensionality of LCA with a minimal loss of the important information by the consolidation of significant factors into categorized groups, as well as subsequent efficiency enhancement by a streamlined process that avoids the construction of full LCA. This novel approach combines efficiency of use with a mathematically rigorous representation of any pertinent objectives across an entire design space. To this end, we introduce an adapted two stage sampling approach in surrogate model construction based on a feasible approximation of a Latin Hypercube design at the first stage. The development and implementation of the method are illustrated with the aid of an automotive disc brake design, and the results are discussed in the context of robust optimal material selection in early sustainable product design.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Mechanisms of ventricular arrhythmias in multivessel coronary diseases: The effects of collateral zone ischemia

We studied 15 anesthetized dogs with 4-day-old anterior wall infarctions caused by previous ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Left circumflex artery (LCA) stenosis induced an average 41% decrease in collateral-dependent flow to the surviving anterior wall (epicardium) and only a 10% decrease to the normal posterior epicardial wall. Electrogram changes in 12 dogs consisted of fractionation and delay of anterior wall electrograms leading to bridging electrical activity between sinus beats and ventricular ectopic beats in five dogs. No similar electrogram changes were noted in posterior wall recordings. Ventricular paced beats induced ventricular tachycardia arising from the anterior wall in four dogs only after LCA stenosis. LCA stenosis in anterior myocardial infarction may be arrhythmogenic because of increased sensitivity of the surviving tissues, which have been electrically deranged by the ischemic/infarction process.
A Comparison of the Informational Capacities of Amplitude- and Phase-Modulation Communication Systems

In this paper are calculated the informational capacities and the optimum statistics of communication systems consisting of an amplitude- and/or phase-modulated transmitter; a medium, which may include the rf and IF portions of the receiver, and in which white thermal noise of the same bandwidth as the transmitted signal is added to the latter; and a receiver responding to the amplitude and/or phase of this received signal. Restriction of the transmitted signal or receiver response to amplitude modulation alone or to phase modulation alone reduces the informational capacity of the system below the full channel capacity found by Shannon, C = W log (1+r2), with W the bandwidth in cps and r the rms signal-to-noise ratio. It is found that at very high signal-to-noise ratios the capabilities of AM alone and of PM alone each account for half this full informational capacity of the channel. When the signal-to-noise ratio is much less than unity, however, PM has 79% of the full channel capacity, while AM can transmit no more than about 17% of the full channel capacity. If a receiver is used which responds to both amplitude and phase, on the other hand, the capacity at low signal-to-noise ratios equals the full channel capacity whatever type of transmitter is used. An AM signal received on a PM receiver is found to be able at low signal-to-noise ratios to convey as much information as a PM signal.
3D deconvolution microscopy using a microfluidic tilted channel

We present a 3D microfluidic microscope. Focal stacks are recorded by observing samples flowing through a tilted microfluidic channel and then digitally deconvolved. Experimental results are shown on flowing yeast cells.
A Device for Sampling of Human Alveolar Breath for the Measurement of Expired Volatile Organic Compounds

This report describes the development of a portable spirometer capable of collecting primarily alveolar breath into 1.8-L canisters for subsequent gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis. Based on CO2 measurements, greater than 97% of the breath collected is alveolar in origin. Sample collection takes place in approximately two minutes. Clean air for inhalation is provided by two organic vapor respirator cartridges. Studies of the breakthrough volume of test compounds at both the 5- and 50-micrograms/m3 levels indicate that each cartridge filter can be used to sample over 300 L of air and that this volume is not altered by intermittent use and storage of the filter for up to five days. In experiments designed to mimic human breathing, recoveries of test compounds through the device at the 5-mu/m3 level ranged from 87 to 112%. Essentially no volatile organic compound (VOC) memory (i.e., adsorption carryover by the device) was measured at the 50-micrograms/m3 level. The data suggest that the device can be used successfully for organic compounds with volatilities greater than that of p-dichlorobenzene.