cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phase-Selective Catalysis in Emulsions Stabilized by Janus Silica-Nanoparticles

Metal-containing Janus particles are used as interfacial catalyst/emulsifiers that catalyze reac- tions in biphasic systems with controlled "phase se- lectivity", that is, conversion of the desired reaction on one side of the emulsion. The reaction may affect the solubility of the molecule in one phase, causing migration to the opposite phase. As a result, combined reaction and separation can be achieved in a single reaction vessel.
Variable phenotypic expression of mutations in genes of the immune system

Human primary immunodeficiency diseases have been recognized for only a little over a half century (1). The spectrum of such diseases has grown at an extremely rapid pace during the past 50 years, with currently more than 120 different syndromes having been described (2). For most of that period, the conditions were identified by their clinical and immunologic presentations. However, for the past 12 years, they have been defined extensively at a molecular level. Because making a firm diagnosis by clinical and immunologic criteria has always been problematic due to variability in presentation, it was thought that molecular testing would remove this ambiguity. The report by de Villartay et al. in this issue of the JCI clearly indicates that is not always the case (3). In the pre-molecular diagnostic period, there had been examples within sibships of clinical variability in expression of primary immunodeficiency. One of these was in a family reported by de Saint-Basile et al. (4) in which one sibling had Omenn syndrome and another had SCID. Subsequently, the explanation for this was found when mutations in recombination activating genes 1 and 2 (RAG1 and RAG2, respectively) were found to cause SCID (5), and later hypomorphic mutations in these genes were found to cause Omenn syndrome (6). It was then found that identical mutations in these genes could cause either syndrome (7). De Villartay and his colleagues (3) now show that another distinct clinical syndrome can be caused by hypomorphic mutations in RAG genes. In contrast to infants with SCID or Omenn syndrome due to RAG mutations, the infants in the current report had autoimmune cytopenias, B cells, normal Ig levels, clonal T cells with γδ TCRs, normal T cell proliferation, and only slightly elevated NK cell levels. Because all of the infants had disseminated CMV infections, the authors suggest that the expansion of Tiγδ T cells (where Ti represents the TCR expressing the γδ heterodimer) was due to stimulation by the CMV virus. As the authors point out, there is mounting evidence that T cells with γδ receptors have a role in host defense against several microbial pathogens, and they have been found to be increased in immunocompromised humans infected with CMV after transplantation. Thus, it is possible that environmental or other genetic factors modify the clinical manifestation of such mutations.
Analysis of Electromagnetic Fields Induced in Operation of a Wireless Fully Passive Backscattering Neurorecording Microsystem in Emulated Human Head Tissue

This paper reports on a fully passive microsystem that wirelessly records and transmits neuropotentials exclusively by means of electromagnetic backscattering techniques, affording substantially simpler circuitry and potentially safer and more reliable approach for implantable wireless neurorecording. A fundamental practical barrier for wireless brain-implantable microsystems includes heat dissipation by on-chip circuitry, which may cause permanent brain damage. Hence, measurement of thermal profiles of surrounding tissue induced by operation of wireless implants is imperative in assessing the safety of these devices. Evaluation of specific absorption rate (SAR) is especially relevant for wireless electromagnetic transmission schemes operating at microwave frequencies and directly relates to the heat generated within biological tissue media. In this study, computational and empirical methods are used to measure SAR within a human-head-equivalent phantom during operation of the embedded fully passive wireless neurorecording microsystem. The maximum average SAR, coinciding with the worst case scenario, measured within 1 g of brain tissue is $ , complying with the U.S. FCC threshold (1.6 W/kg).
Thymidine Kinase 1 and Thymidine Phosphorylase Expression in Non–Small-cell Lung Carcinoma in Relation to Angiogenesis and Proliferation

The thymidine salvage pathway enzymes thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) and thymidine phosphorylase (TP) compete for thymidine as a substrate and catalyze opposing synthetic and catabolic reactions that have been implicated in the control of proliferation and angiogenesis, respectively. We investigated the relationship between the expression of TK1 and TP as they relate to proliferation (Ki-67 labeling index) and angiogenesis (Chalkley count of CD31-stained blood vessels) in a series of 110 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors from patients prospectively enrolled in an imaging trial. TK1 and TP exhibited similar patterns of immunohistochemical distribution, in that each was found in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm of tumor cells. Each enzyme exhibited a significant positive correlation between its levels of nuclear and cytoplasmic expression. A significant positive correlation between TK1 expression and the Ki-67 labeling index (r = 0.53, p<0.001) was observed. TP was significantly positively correlated with Chalkley scoring of CD31 staining in high vs low Chalkley scoring samples (mean TP staining of 115.8 vs 79.9 scoring units, p<0.001), respectively. We did not observe a substantial inverse correlation between the TP and TK1 expression levels in the nuclear compartment (r = -0.17, p=0.08). Tumor size was not found to be associated with TK1, TP, Ki-67, or Chalkley score. These findings provide additional evidence for the role of thymidine metabolism in the complex interaction of proliferation and angiogenesis in NSCLC.
Explosive spread of HIV-1 and sexually transmitted diseases in Cambodia

A cross-sectional study conducted in 5 locations in Cambodia (Phnom Penh Svay Pak Sihanoukville Battambang and Sisophon) in 1996 compared prevalences of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in 314 women seeking reproductive health services 322 male police and military personnel and 437 brothel-based sex workers (SWs). Among SWs 38.7% had chlamydial and/or gonococcal infection and 13.8% were syphilis seroreactive. Among police and military personnel 2.1% had chlamydial infection 5.0% had gonorrhea and 6.6% were syphilis seroreactive. 5.3% of reproductive health care clients had chlamydial and/or gonococcal infection and 4.0% were syphilis seroreactive. HIV prevalence was 40.6% among SWs (range by site 19-51%) 12.5% among police and military personnel (range 6-16%) and 4.5% in the reproductive health client group (range 3-7%). Assays of serum specimens from 9 HIV-1-seropositive individuals revealed subtype E suggesting that Cambodias HIV epidemic is a result of regional spread from Thailand rather than importation by UN peacekeeping troops. 56% of police and military personnel acknowledged having sex with a prostitute in the month preceding the survey and 88.5% reported such an encounter in the past year; only 38% reported consistent condom use with commercial SWs. The high rates of HIV and other STDs identified in this study indicate an urgent need for preventive interventions particularly ones focused on the commercial sex industry.
PROTEIN GENE PRODUCT 9.5 IS A SPERMATOGONIA-SPECIFIC MARKER IN THE PIG TESTIS: APPLICATION TO ENRICHMENT AND CULTURE OF PORCINE SPERMATOGONIA

Identification and isolation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are a prerequisite for culture, genetic manipulation, and/or transplantation research. In this study, we established that expression of PGP 9.5 is a spermatogonia-specific marker in porcine testes. The expression pattern of PGP 9.5 in spermatogonia was compared to cell type-specific protein (GATA-4 or PLZF) expression in seminiferous tubules at different ages, and expression levels of PGP 9.5, Vasa, and Oct-4 were compared in different cell fractions. Enrichment of spermatogonia from 2-week-old (2wo) and 10-week-old (10wo) boars by adhesion to laminin, differential plating, or velocity sedimentation followed by differential plating was assessed by identification of spermatogonia using expression of PGP 9.5 as a marker. Compared to the initial samples, spermatogonia were enriched twofold in laminin-selected cells (P 90%) than in fraction I (∼50%). Velocity sedimentation plus differential plating achieved cell populations containing up to 70% spermatogonia with good viability (>80%). Enriched spermatogonia from 2wo and 10wo testes could be maintained in a simple culture medium without additional growth factors for at least 2 weeks and continued to express PGP 9.5. These data provide the basis for future studies aimed at refining conditions of germ cell culture and manipulation prior to germ cell transplantation in pigs. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73: 1531–1540, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Provenance Evolution and Unroofing History of a Modern Arc-Continent Collision: Evidence from Petrography of Plio-pleistocene Sandstones, Eastern Taiwan

ABSTRACT Plio-Pleistocene sandstones from the Coastal Range of eastern Taiwan provide a record of shifting source areas and unroofing events in adjacent arc and accretionary-wedge terranes during the early stages of are-continent collision. In latest Miocene and early Pliocene time, arc-derived sediments were deposited in a precollisional forearc basin between the Luzon volcanic arc and the Manila Trench. Sandstones of this age are rich in zoned plagioclase, volcanic lithic fragments, and pelagic foraminifera and contain only minor quartz and sedimentary-metasedimentary lithic fragments. In contrast, lower Pliocene to lower Pleistocene sandstones are poor in feldspar and volcanic fragments and contain abundant sedimentary and metasedimentary lithic fragments. This reflects a provenance shift f om the volcanic arc to the uplifted (meta) sedimentary accretionary wedge of proto-Taiwan, which resulted from the early Pliocene onset of arc-continent collision. A refined classification of sedimentary and metasedimentary lithic fragments is introduced here and used to interpret the early evolution of the collisional orogen. Lithic fragments are rich in pelitic minerals and are divided into: 1) sedimentary (Ls) = mudstone, shale, siltstone, chert and argillite; 2) low-grade metamorphic (Lm1) = slate, slatey siltstone, and quartzite; and 3) medium-grade metamorphic (Lm2) = phyllite-schist, phyllitic quartzite and quartz-mica-albite aggregate. A good correlation is observed between these lithic fragment types and bedrock lithologies exposed in the present-day Central Range of Taiwan. Based on this correlation, the change in relative abundance of sedimentary and metasedimentary lithic fragments through time has been used to interpret an unroofing sequence for the collisional fold-and-thrust belt. Lower Pliocene Taiwan-derived sandstones are rich in sedimentary lithic fragments (Ls), which were shed from the accretionary wedge during the earliest stages of arc-continent collision. From early Pliocene to early Pleistocene time, sandstones became progressively depleted in Ls lithic fragments and enriched first in Lm1 and later in Lm2 fragments, as deeper levels in the metamorphic complex were uplifted and exposed to erosion. Regional metamorphism of biotite-grade rocks (= Lm2) occurred at about 4.5 Ma at depths of 12-15 km (Ernst 1983) and were uplifted to the surface by about 1.4 Ma (this study). These ages give an uplift rate of 4 to 5 km/m.y., which is in good agreement with independent estimates based on fission-track studies, raised coral reefs, Quaternary elevation changes, and present-day denudation rates. Thus, it appears that sandstone detrital modes of clastic orogenic sequences can be used to interpret specific aspects of unroofing and tectonic evolution in nearby active mountain belts.
Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency--diagnosis, treatment, and control: identification of patients.

Severeα 1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a relatively common inherited condition in populations of Northern European heritage. Current estimates of the prevalence of the PiZ phenotype range between 1/3500 and 1/1670 in the United States. Clues to the whereabouts of the undiagnosed individuals with severe hereditary AAT deficiency can come from the existing information about the natural history and clinical course of disease. In the PiZ smoker, dyspnea develops soon after age 30 years or at least before age 40, and death from emphysema is likely by age 50. The PiZ nonsmoker has a prognosis only marginally worse than that of the susceptible smoker without AAT deficiency. Dyspnea often does not appear until after age 50 years, and clinically significant emphysema not usually until after age 60. All infants presenting with liver disease in the neonatal period should be tested for the deficiency. In adults, clinically significant dyspnea in the 30s and 40s, in association with abnormal lung function, should raise the suspicion of AAT deficiency. In nonsmokers, dyspnea at any age justifies further investigation. A serum AAT level below 80 mg/dl (11µM) is considered abnormal; individuals falling in this range should be phenotyped. The formation of a Registry for severe hereditary AAT deficiency in the United States, under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH, is also described.
Antinomies of community: some thoughts on geography, resources and empire

Community is a fundamental modality for the conduct of modern politics. This paper explores the antinomies of community in an oil nation: Nigeria. Oil states stand in relation to a particular sort of capitalism (what I call petro-capitalism) in which a key resource (petroleum) and a logic of extraction figure centrally in the making and breaking of community. I pose the following questions: how are communities imagined (or not), territorialized (or not), identified (or not) and ruled (or not) at a multiplicity of scales and in relation to a particular natural resource, namely oil? Each community is imagined, so to say, through and with oil – the communities are ‘naturalized’ in relation to the effects, social, environmental, political, of oil exploration and production – but produces forms of rule and identity that are often fragmented, unruly and violent. The communities I address are, in a sense, all oil-producing communities but of rather different qualities: namely, the chieftainship as a local form of customary community rule at the level of the village; the ethnic or indigenous community at the level of the region; and the nation, or more properly the nation-state known as Nigeria. And standing at the heart of each community is a fundamental contradiction. Nigerian petro-capitalism operates through a particular sort of ‘oil complex’ (a configuration of firm, state and community) that generates or refigures differing sorts of community, what I shall refer to as governable spaces, in which differing sorts of identities, forms of rule and territory come into play. These sorts of community emerge from oil extraction, but the dynamics of petro-capitalism and the oil complex contribute to, and are constitutive of, a deep crisis of secular nationalist development. Imperial oil and its concessionary political economy can be read as a sort of enclosure or dispossession and it is out of this development crisis in Nigeria that particular senses of community are being constituted – with and through oil.
Phospholipase D2 mediates signaling by ATPase class I type 8B membrane 1

Functional defects in ATPase class I type 8B membrane 1 (ATP8B1 or familial intrahepatic cholestasis 1, FIC1) lead to cholestasis by mechanism(s) that are not fully understood. One proposed pathophysiology involves aberrant signaling to the bile acid sensor, the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), via protein kinase C ζ (PKCζ). The following cell line-based studies investigated whether phospholipase D2 may transduce a signal from FIC1 to FXR. PLD2 gain of function led to activation of the bile salt export pump (BSEP) promoter, a well-characterized FXR response. BSEP activation by PLD2 could be blocked by abrogating either PKCζ or FXR signaling. PLD2 loss of function led to a reduction in BSEP promoter activity. In addition, a variety of proteins that are activated by FXR, including BSEP, were reduced in HepG2 cells treated with PLD2 siRNA. Similar effects were observed in freshly isolated human hepatocytes. Activation of BSEP by FIC1 gain of function was blocked when PLD2 but not PLD1 was silenced. Overexpression of wild-type but not Byler mutant FIC1 led to an increase in membrane associated PLD activity. An intermediate level of activation of PLD activity was induced when a benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis FIC1 mutant construct was expressed. These studies show that FIC1 signals to FXR via a signaling pathway including PLD2 and PKCζ.
Algorithms for Optical Computing and their Sensitivity

Fiber optics and guided wave optics have played an increasing role in communications, in recent years, and are expected to continue to grow. This activity, which was largely oriented to switching networks, will have direct impact on signal and data processing as well.
Trichothiodystrophy Without Retardation: One Patient Exhibiting Transient Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome

: Two patients had trichothiodystrophy but did not exhibit the commonly associated findings such as mental retardation, increased sensitivity to sunlight, ichthyosis, decreased fertility in males, and short stature. One of the patients had a transient combined immunodeficiency syndrome in early childhood lasting four years, but has remained in good health untreated for four years. The association of these two rare findings in this patient should alert us to the possibility that others with trichothiodystrophy may exhibit immunodeficiency.
Registration methodology for histological sections and in-vivo imaging of human prostate

Rationale and Objectives Registration enables quantitative spatial correlation of features from different imaging modalities. Our objective is to register in vivo imaging with histologic sections of the human prostate so that histologic truth can be correlated with in vivo imaging features. Materials and Methods In vivo imaging of the prostate included T2-weighted anatomic and diffusion weighted 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as 11 C-choline positron emission tomography (PET). In addition, ex vivo 3-T MRI of the prostate specimen, histology, and associated block face photos of the prostate specimen were obtained. A standard registration method based on mutual information (MI) and thin-plate spline (TPS) was applied. Registration among in vivo imaging modalities is well established; however, accurate registration involving histology is difficult. Our approach breaks up the difficult direct registration of histology and in vivo imaging into achievable subregistration tasks involving intermediate ex vivo modalities like block face photography and specimen MRI. Results of subregistration tasks are combined to compute the intended, final registration between in vivo imaging and histology. Results The methodology was applied to two patients and found to be clinically feasible. Overall registered anatomic MRI, diffusion MRI, and 11 C-choline PET aligned well with histology qualitatively for both patients. There is no ground truth of registration accuracy as the scans are real patient scans. An indirect validation of the registration accuracy has been proposed comparing tumor boundary markings found in diffusion MRI and histologic sections. Registration errors for two patients between diffusion MRI and histology were 3.74 and 2.26 mm. Conclusion This proof of concept paper demonstrates a method based on intrinsic image information content for successfully registering in vivo imaging of the human prostate with its post-resection histology, which does not require the use of extrinsic fiducial markers. The methodology successfully mapped histology onto the in vivo imaging space, allowing the observation of how well different in vivo imaging features correspond to histologic truth. The methodology is therefore the basis for a systematic comparison of in vivo imaging for staging of human prostate cancer.
Abstract Homological Algebra

A close look at much of the earlier material, especially in the last chapter, reveals the strong connection between projectives and injectives. The idea is this: Formulate your result purely in terms of arrows (morphisms), then reverse them. That is, work in the opposite category. Not everything can be done this way, but a surprising amount can.
Metaphors and Paradigms of Team Cognition: A Twenty Year Perspective

There are many ways to think about the occurrence of team cognition, how it plays out among team members, how technology and context impact its expression, and how interdependencies develop given changing circumstances and plans. Our intent is to develop a generic metaphor with systematic expansions that provide a thought simulation to further enhance researcher's conceptualization of teamwork and team cognition. Knowledge can be constructed using a metaphorical view that can help develop new constructs within team cognition theories, models, technologies, simulations, and contexts. The paper looks at specific condensation of selected constructs by reviewing the author's involvement in team cognition paradigms, simulations, and research (TRAP, CITIES, JASPER, DDD). Perspectives developed across twenty years of experience are utilized to highlight similar yet differing approaches to team cognition while yielding guidance and lessons learned in designing scaled world simulations.
Reaction Pathways for Water Oxidation to Molecular Oxygen Mediated by Model Cobalt Oxide Dimer and Cubane Catalysts

Hybrid density functional theory calculations have been employed to investigate the water oxidation reaction on model cobalt oxide dimer and cubane complexes. Electronic structure and energetics of these model compounds were thoroughly investigated. The thermodynamically lowest energy pathway on the dimer catalyst proceeds through a nucleophilic attack of a solvent water molecule to Co(V)-O radical moiety. The lowest energy pathway on the cubane catalyst involves a geminal coupling of Co(V)-O radical oxo group with bridging oxo sites. Model systems were found to be very sensitive to the positions of ligands and to the hydrogen-bonding environment leading to different isomer energies.
Towards a biblical psychology for modern Israel: 10 guides for healthy living

AbstractThis article examines the dependence of modern psychology and psychiatry on Greek thought, and specifically call for a Biblical reformulation of mental health with regard to 10 areas: (1) God, nature and creation; (2) men and women; (3) obedience versus disobedience; (4) fathers and sons; (5) mothers and daughters; (6) sibling rivalry and its resolution; (7) self and other: cycle versus development; (8) body and soul; (9) freedom, life and suicide; and finally (10) a hopeful versus a tragic outlook on life.
The Methodologic Foundations of Studies of the Appropriateness of Medical Care

As health care costs continue to increase rapidly, both health care providers and consumers have expressed concern that the additional resources used for health services do not provide commensurate increases in health benefits. Adding fuel to this concern, a number of disquieting studies have estimated the rates of “inappropriate” use in a variety of settings of a variety of procedures such as coronary angiography, carotid endarterectomy, endoscopy, and coronary-artery bypass graft surgery1–4. The estimated rates of inappropriate treatment have ranged from about 15 to 30 percent, reaching as high as 40 percent for particular procedures at individual institutions. . . .
Pricing of European Options Based on Tsallis Distribution and Jump-diffusion Process

The accurate description of the motion law of asset prices is the foundation of pricing and controlling risk of derivatives.The distribution of yields often has a peak,fat or skewed tail,because of influence of the external environment of financial market.Tsallis distribution has the characteristics of longterm memory and statistical feedback.So,the peak or fat tail of yields can be captured,through fitting non-extensive parameter qof Tsallis distribution.In addition,asymmetric jump processes can fit the skewed tail of returns.Tsallis distribution and renewal jump process are employed in this paper,then,an abnormal jump diffusion model of share price movements is established.In the risk-neutral condition,the pricing formulas of European options were obtained by using the stochastic differential and martingale method.But,in the literature of Merton[11],the model employed the Poisson jump process and normal distribution.The literature of Borland[21]only used Tsallis distribution without considering the skewed tail of yields.Therefore,they were included in our model as special cases.Using the actual data of China's shanghai index,the parameters of the models and the mean absolute error of yields are calculated,respectively.The results showed that the mean absolute error of our model was reduced respectively by 10.4% and25.1% compared with ones of the literature 11 and 21.It explained that our model can fit accurately the motion law of asset prices.In addition,our model can also be used to price or measure and control risk of other derivatives,such as warrants and other types of options.
Status and Control Technology of Heavy Metal Pollution

Although the development and progress of the industry to provide people with material wealth,but industrial emissions,wastewater discharges,destruction of the normal ecological environment,especially the emissions of heavy metals caused a serious threat to human health.Industrial emissions without the necessary processing,it is difficult to effectively discharge of heavy metals.The toxic effects of heavy metals on the water body is very large,and aquatic plants,aquatic animals,or drinking water,heavy metals will eventually harm the health of human life.Therefore,governance has a very positive practical significance of heavy metal pollution of the water body.In this article,the author focuses on the analysis and discussion of the status of heavy metal pollution and control technology.
Disambiguation Across the Senses: The Role of Discovery-Based Interference.

When asked to find the referent of a novel label, children typically select an object that they cannot already name (the “disambiguation effect”; Merriman & Bowman, 1998). However, when the task required cross-modal extension of a label, children did not show this effect (Scofield, HernandezReif, & Keith, 2009). In Experiments 1 and 2, preschoolers learned a label for a visual object, then examined it and a novel object by touch. On the critical trials, children were asked to decide which tactile object was the referent of a novel label. Four-year-olds only showed the disambiguation effect if, prior to the label test, they had identified the tactile object that matched the visual training object. The results of Experiment 3 suggest that the 4-year-olds expected to be asked about the matching object, which interfered with their tendency to disambiguate. This discovery-based interference appears to attenuate the use of common word learning strategies.
The Architecture of Government: FISCAL COORDINATION AND INCENTIVES

The benefits of federalism derive from the operation of vertical competition … politicians at a given jurisdictional level will assess the performance of governments inhabiting other tiers. If they come to the conclusion that they can do better than these governments, they will act on that conviction. Albert Breton (2000, pp. 6–7) When tax rights over a tax base are divided among more than one government, the tax base becomes a common property resource … as more independent tax agencies share the same tax base, the standard tragedy of the commons problem emerges and the commons – the tax base – is “over-grazed,” leading to an equilibrium with an excessively high aggregate tax rate, meager aggregate tax collections, deficient provision of public goods, low investment and low output. Daniel Berkowitz and Wei Li (2000, p. 371) Competition between local and central governments can take many forms. In Chapter 5, I explored how local governments may blackmail central officials into playing Santa Claus, pressuring them to make unplanned fiscal transfers. But even if no such transfers were possible, the two levels would still try to outmaneuver each other in various ways. An element of competition arises inevitably from the fact that the two levels are governing the same citizens. Depending on whether they are benevolent or predatory, the governments may compete to please their common beneficiaries or exploit their common victims.
Casa Sacerdotal de Plasencia: Plasencia, España

espanolPor medio de dispositivos de activacion, esta casa sacerdotal buscaba estimular la participacion de sus usuarios -sacerdotes retirados- en la construccion de su espacio. Asignando a cada uno un pedazo de suelo, se esperaba que participaran en la conformacion del jardin central. Esta propuesta, sin embargo, genero disputas que los llevaron no solo a transformar la disposicion inicial del suelo, sino tambien a generar alianzas internas para su cuidado EnglishThrough activation devices, this Clergy House hoped to provoke its users -retired priests- to partake in building their own space. Assigning each a piece of land, it was expected they contributed to shape the central courtyard. This proposal, however, raised differences among its users, which led not only to transform the original distribution of the land but also to generate internal alliances for its maintenance
The link between extreme precipitation and convective organization in a warming climate: Global radiative convective equilibrium simulations

The rate of increase of extreme precipitation in response to global warming varies dramatically across climate model simulations, particularly over the tropics, for reasons that have yet to be established. Here, we propose one potential mechanism: changing organization of convection with climate. We analyze a set of simulations with the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5) with an idealized global radiative-convective equilibrium configuration forced by fixed SSTs varying in two-degree increments from 285 to 307 K. In these simulations, convective organization varies from semi-organized in cold simulations, disorganized in warm simulations, and abruptly becomes highly organized at just over 300 K. The change in extreme precipitation with warming also varies across these simulations, including a large increase at the transition from disorganized to organized convection. We develop an extreme-precipitation-focused metric for convective organization, and use this to explore their connection.
Legal Issues: The End of the All American Internet?

The Internet is an all-American invention, just ask Al Gore. It is generally accepted that the foundational structure of the Internet was developed in the United States in the 1960's, largely through the efforts of academic and U.S. government-funded researchers and computer scientists. However, it took very little time for the Internet to reach beyond our borders. Similar efforts already underway in the United Kingdom, France and other countries saw similar interconnected networks within their respective borders. Continuing research through the 1970's and 1980's saw the development of the TCP/IP and other major Internet protocols, increasing use of electronic mail, the use of FTP for exchanging files, the Usenet bulletin board systems and other features. By the late 1980's and early 1990's, however, commercial business started to take on much of the continued expansion and operation of the Internet, and with the development of browser technology, by the early 1990's the Internet had become established as the global commerce and communication system that has revolutionized the world in a way not seen since the printing press. The challenge is that someone still needs to run this thing, but in a global environment, identifying who or what that will be can be challenging. A government agency? If so which government? A private company? Do we really want to trust a single company to something this large and critical? The user community? How would be balance the needs of different stakeholders?
Structure and conformational dynamics of scaffolded DNA origami nanoparticles

Synthetic DNA is a highly programmable nanoscale material that can be designed to self-assemble into 3D structures that are fully determined by underlying Watson-Crick base pairing. The double crossover (DX) design motif has demonstrated versatility in synthesizing arbitrary DNA nanoparticles on the 5-100 nm scale for diverse applications in biotechnology. Prior computational investigations of these assemblies include all-atom and coarse-grained modeling, but modeling their conformational dynamics remains challenging due to their long relaxation times and associated computational cost. We apply all-atom molecular dynamics and coarse-grained finite element modeling to DX-based nanoparticles to elucidate their fine-scale and global conformational structure and dynamics. We use our coarse-grained model with a set of secondary structural motifs to predict the equilibrium solution structures of 45 DX-based DNA origami nanoparticles including a tetrahedron, octahedron, icosahedron, cuboctahedron and reinforced cube. Coarse-grained models are compared with 3D cryo-electron microscopy density maps for these five DNA nanoparticles and with all-atom molecular dynamics simulations for the tetrahedron and octahedron. Our results elucidate non-intuitive atomic-level structural details of DX-based DNA nanoparticles, and offer a general framework for efficient computational prediction of global and local structural and mechanical properties of DX-based assemblies that are inaccessible to all-atom based models alone.
The longitudinal relation between self-reported physical activity and presenteeism

This study evaluates the longitudinal relation between self-reported physical activity and health related work limitations (also known as presenteeism) among employees from a public university system. A retrospective longitudinal study design was used to examine research aims. Data were from self-reported health assessments collected from employees at a large University System in Texas during the 2013-2015 plan years (n=6515).Work limitations were measured using the self-report 8-item work limitations questionnaire. Latent growth curve models were used to test whether: 1) baseline physical activity was associated with baseline work limitations; 2) changes in physical activity were related to changes in work limitations; and 3) baseline physical activity predicted changes in work limitations. Models were adjusted for demographic and health-related variables. The final adjusted growth curve model demonstrated excellent fit. Results revealed baseline physical activity was inversely associated with baseline work limitations (β=-0.12, p<0.001). In addition, changes in physical activity were related to changes in work limitations (β=-0.33, p=0.02). However, no relation was found between baseline physical activity and changes in work limitations (β=-0.06, p=0.42). Results provide evidence that increasing physical activity among employees leads to decreases in health-related work limitations. Therefore, promoting physical activity among employee populations can help prevent and reduce presenteeism.
Symptomatic Clitoromegaly: Case Report of a Clitoral Hemangioma

Abstract Background Clitoromegaly is often a sign of an underlying disorder of sexual development. Isolated clitoromegaly might occur as a result of benign or malignant neoplasm. Case A 10-year-old girl presented with clitoral swelling and discomfort and was noted to have a 5 × 2 × 2 cm, tender, cystic mass in the left periclitoral area. Ultrasound confirmed the primarily cystic nature of the lesion. At surgery the mass was carefully excised not damaging the clitoral neurovascular bundle. Pathology showed a hemangioma. Summary and Conclusion Differentiating between potential etiologies of clitoromegaly requires a careful history, physical examination, select hormone levels determination, imaging, and pathology, which allows for appropriate management. In this case the pain, tenderness, disfigurement, and imaging showing a cystic mass resulted in surgical removal of the mass.
Comparative Performance Modeling of Parallel Preconditioned Krylov Methods

Many scientific and engineering computations rely on the scalable solution of large sparse linear systems. Preconditioned Krylov methods are widely used and offer many algorithmic choices whose performance varies depending on the characteristics of the linear system. In previous work, we have shown that the performance of different Krylov methods at small scales can be modeled using a small number of features based on structural and numerical properties of the input linear system. In this paper, we focus on comparing the scalability of parallel Krylov methods given different input properties without requiring extensive empirical measurements. We consider the PETSc implementations of Newton-Krylov methods to produce scalability rankings based on our new comparative modeling approach. The model-based ranking is validated by comparison with empirical results on a numerical simulation of driven fluid flow in a cavity.
The Effect of Weaning on Pasture Consumption by Beef Cows in a Four Week Period Following Weaning

Forty crossbred Angus x Simmental cows were used to investigate the effect of weaning systems on pasture consumption by cows in the four-week period shortly after weaning. Cows and their calves were assigned to one of two treatments. Animals in the first treatment underwent a normal weaning protocol in which the calves remained with their dams and the dams were lactating throughout the duration of the study (NW). Animals on the second treatment underwent an early weaning protocol in which calves were weaned from their dams and the dams were not lactating throughout the study (EW). Distance walked was used as a proxy of forage consumption while grazing. Pedometers were attached to the cows two weeks after weaning and the total number of steps was recorded once a week for four weeks. Additionally the age of the dam, the daily mean temperature, daily total precipitation, and daily mean relative humidity were recorded. Data were analyzed as a repeated measures, mixed model using the MIXED procedure of SAS with the fixed effects of treatments, weeks, their interactions, and age of dams, and the random effect of dams nested within treatments, with a compound symmetry structure of the errors. Dams on the NW treatment walked on average 73,666 (± 1745) steps per week compared to 72,123 (± 2102) for the EW cows (P=0.53). There was a significant treatment by week interaction (P<0.001), as EW cows walked significantly less in week 2 (72,343 ± 2753) than NW cows (78,609 ± 2580). Age had a significant effect with first and second parity cows walking more (76,944 ± 2998) than third or greater parity animals (64,795 ± 1405). Although the effect of treatments was not significant across the four weeks, the significant effect during the second week suggests that a larger scale project with more experimental units and, hence, more statistical power should be performed. In addition, the validity of using pedometers as a proxy to feed consumption on pasture needs to be investigated. In addition, future research should be done over a longer period and the frequency of the measurements should be increased. The pedometers used resulted in approximately 37% of the potential measurements being lost, indicating that improvements in the devices are desired. In addition, future research should impose a better control (balance across treatment) for age of the dams. In summary, the pattern of feed consumption during the second week was affected by weaning. Thus suggesting that changes in grazing practices may be warranted, and also allowing producers to better manage their pastures and possibly maintain more cows per acre of land. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
510 (k) and PMA Regulatory Filings in The US

There are two primary pathways to gain approval to market a medical device in the US, 510 (k) notification and pre-market approval (PMA). These processes were introduced in chapter 1 (see section 1.6.1). 510 (k) notification involves marketing a device that is substantially equivalent to a device on the market prior to 1976.
The Adenosine-Receptor Axis in Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is a widespread problem that plagues an estimated 10 to 30% of the world’s population. The current therapeutic repertoire is inadequate in managing patient pain with narcotic use resulting in a drug overdose epidemic, affirming the need for the development of new therapeutics. Adenosine and its four cognate receptors (A1AR, A2AAR, A2BAR, and A3AR) play essential roles in physiological and pathophysiological states, including chronic pain. For decades, preclinical and clinical studies have revealed that adenosine and A1AR- and to a lesser extent A2AAR-selective agonists have analgesic properties, yet their therapeutic utility has been limited by adverse cardiovascular side effects. There is no evidence that A2BAR plays a role in pain. Recent preclinical studies have demonstrated that selective A3AR agonists result in antinociception in models of acute and chronic pain while lacking unwanted side effects. These exciting preclinical observations of A3AR agonists have been bolstered by clinical trials of A3AR agonists in other disease states including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis that suggests a clinical benefit without cardiotoxicity. Our goal herein is to briefly discuss adenosine and its receptors in the context of pathological pain and examine what is known at present regarding A3AR-mediated antinociception. We will highlight recent findings pertaining to A3AR in pain and describe possible pathways by which A3AR may mediate its effects and the current state of selective A3AR agonists used in pain studies. The adenosine-to-A3AR pathway represents an important endogenous system that can be targeted to provide safe, effective pain relief in patients suffering with chronic pain.
Phosphorus Volatility in the Early Solar Nebula.

Abstract Phosphorus is a minor element that controls the formation of several key planetary minerals. It is also an element critical to the development of life. A common assumption of phosphorus chemistry is that at low temperatures, phosphorus would have been a volatile component of ices or gases in the outer Solar System. Here I propose that phosphorus was depleted as a volatile throughout the developing Solar System, and as a result, volatile forms of phosphorus would have been minimal, even in the colder regions of the Solar nebula. Based on thermodynamic equilibrium models and metal phosphidation kinetics coupled to a simple 1D gas diffusion model, phosphorus migrated rapidly to the inner Solar System, forming solids such as phosphides and phosphates, and removing volatile phosphorus across large portions of the Solar System.
Modeling of High-Pressure Fuel Injection in Internal Combustion Engines

The internal combustion engine has been a major power plant in transportation and industry, and demands continuously advanced technologies to improve its performance and fuel economy, and to reduce its pollutant emissions. Liquid fuel injection is critical to the combustion process in both compression ignition (CI) diesel engines and gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines. Much effort has been focused on modeling of spray atomization, droplet dynamics, and vaporization using a Lagrangian-drop Eulerian-fluid (LDEF) framework, which has been applied in engine computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations with success. However, recent experiments have shown the mixing-controlled characteristics of high-pressure fuel injection under vaporization conditions that are relevant to both gasoline and diesel engines. Under such conditions, instead of being dominated by droplet dynamics, the vaporization process of a liquid spray is limited by the entrainment rate of hot ambient gas and a saturated equilibrium phase is reached within the two-phase region. This suggests that an alternative approach of fuel spray modeling might be applicable. An equilibrium phase (EP) spray model was recently proposed for application to engine combustion simulation, based on this mixing-controlled jet theory and assumption of local phase equilibrium. This model has been applied to simulate both diesel fuel injection and GDI sprays, and has shown excellent predictions for transient vapor/liquid penetrations, spatial distribution of mixture fraction, as well as combustion characteristics in terms of flame lift-off length and soot emission. It has also shown better computational efficiency than the classical LDEF spray modeling approach since the dynamic process of droplet breakup, collision, coalescence, and vaporization is not modeled. The model and results relevant to engine simulation are reviewed in this chapter.
DETERMINATION OF THE PROTEIN CONTENT OF MILK BY A MODIFICATION OF THE STEAM DISTILLATION METHOD OF KOFRANYI1

A method is described for the determination of the protein content of milk by steam distillation following addition of NaOH and BaCI2. Excellent agreement was obtained between the protein values as determined by this method and the Official Macro-Kjeldahl procedure.
Behavioral consequences of dietary exposure to crude oil extracts in the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens).

Abstract Uptake by fishes of crude oil and its polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) components occurs via gills, dietary intake, or diffusion through the skin. Dietary exposure to crude oil and its components is environmentally relevant, and induces physiological and morphological disruptions in fish. However, the impacts of crude oil on fish social and reproductive behaviors and thus the possible influences on reproductive success are poorly understood. As a part of their intraspecific interactions, male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) exhibit highly stereotypic behavioral and territorial displays. This makes this species a tractable model for testing crude oil effects on behavior. After 2 weeks of acclimation at 29 °C, male adult betta fish were divided into three groups and fed for 4 weeks with food spiked with water (control), low oil concentrations or high oil concentrations (∑Total PAH concentrations 340, 3960 or 8820 ng/g dw, respectively) to determine subsequent alterations in behavioral displays. Compared with control fish, the aggressive display of “opercular flaring” was significantly increased (P