cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DIFFERENTIATION AMONG NINE POPULATIONS OF PHLOX. I. ELECTROPHORETIC AND QUANTITATIVE VARIATION.

The organization of genetic variation in Phlox drummondii was investigated using both allozyme electrophoresis and quantitative genetics. Variation at five polymorphic enzyme loci was characterized in nine populations, and variation in 16 morphological and life-history characters was examined using an analysis of full- and half-sibs in seven populations. Significant levels of genetic variation were found at enzyme loci and for metric characters. Significant heritabilities were observed for 15 of the 16 characters examined. Genetic differences among populations were revealed both by Nei's genetic distance and by phenotypic differences, summarized by discriminant analysis. Partitioning variance in allozyme frequencies among hierarchical levels of genetic organization indicated that 94% of this variance lay within populations, 4% between populations within varieties, and 2% between varieties. Partitioning phenotypic variance for metric characters indicated that 73% lay within populations, 24% lay between populations within varieties, and 3% lay between varieties. Thus, both electrophoretic and metric characters indicated that despite extensive genetic differentiation among populations, most of the evolutionary potential of the species lies within populations.
From Segmentation to Binarization of Gray-level Images

For some gray-level images, the boundary between the foreground and the background is perceived in correspondence with the locally maximal changes in gray-level through the image. In this framework, this paper proposes a method to extract the objects of interest from an image and, hence, to distinguish the foreground from the background, starting from a partition of the image obtained by means of watershed transformation. The regions that are assigned to the foreground are also hierarchically ranked, depending on their perceptual relevance, so that different representations of the image are possible.
Thermal Characterization of Non-Isolated DC to DC Convertor

Improved performance of semiconductor devices in recent years has resulted in consequent increase in power dissipation. Hence thermal characterization of components becomes important from an overall thermal design perspective of the system. This study looks at a high performance non-isolated point of load power module (a DC to DC converter) meant for advanced computing and server applications. Thermal characteristics of the module were experimentally analyzed by placing the power module on a bare test board (with no insulation) inside a wind tunnel with thermocouples attached to it. There were three devices on this module that dissipate power. There were two FETs (Field Effect Transistors) and an inductor which can be considered as sources. The consolidated power dissipation from the module was calculated by measuring the input voltage and input current while keeping the output voltage and current constant. Temperatures at various points on the module and the test card were recorded for different air flow velocities and overall power dissipation. Subsequently this set up was numerically analyzed using a commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code with the objective of comparing the results with experimental data previously obtained.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Study and application of mixed cleaning solution for removingscale and passivating in the boiler

The mixed cleaning solution for scale removing and passivating was examined and reviewedby Institute of Corrosion and Protection of Metals of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with alternatecurrent impedance technology,eleotronic scanning microscope,photoelectric metallographicmicroscopeand toxicity test,and gained satisfactory results.The test with the mixed solution was success-ful in large operating boilers.Scale was cleaned thoroughly,passivating film was formed better,andquality of water and steam was soon qualified after the unit start-up.
Cool-down dynamics of a cryostat with a closed-cycle cryogenic refrigerator

A cryostat designed for a large-scale superconducting motor application is to be cooled by a reversed Brayton cycle cryogenic refrigerator. A set of four high-temperature superconducting (HTS) field winding coils reside in the cryostat. A nominal operating temperature of 33 K for these HTS coils of the synchronous motor is maintained by the refrigerator through circulating cold helium gas through a pair of cooling channels in the cryostat. As part of the rotor of the HTS motor, the cryostat will be rotated at 1,800 rpm under normal operations. To reduce the thermal stress developed in the HTS coils and their supporting structure, the cool-down of the refrigerator and cryostat takes place simultaneously after being coupled by a pair of bayonets. Substantial variation of helium properties through the cool-down temperature range attributes to the dynamic behavior in hydrodynamics and heat transfer of helium gas in the cooling circuits. A numerical model is developed to simulate and characterize the cool-down process. Analytical results define optimal engine speeds at various temperature levels for maximum cooling capacity, which are compared to the design constraints of thermal stress level requirements. Potential hydrodynamic instability issues associated with the parallel cooling channels, typically during the cool-down, are also investigated and will be discussed in details.
Reply to “Letter to the editor: When what you see may not be what you get: prudent considerations of anesthetics for murine echocardiography”

reply: We thank Wu et al. ([9][1]) for an interesting and important letter, raising considerations for future directions for this work. We agree that you correctly point out that understanding the effects of anesthetics is a complex issue and simply analyzing left ventricular (LV) systolic function
Towards a wearable system for continuous monitoring of sniffing and panting in dogs

Although numerous advances have been made in instrumental odor detection systems, these still cannot match the efficient sampling, odor discrimination, agile mobility and the olfactory acuity of odor detection dogs. A limiting step in using dogs to detect odors is the subjectivity of the translation of odor information processed by the dog to its handler. We present our preliminary efforts towards a wireless wearable system for continuous auscultation of respiratory behavior by recording internal sounds at the neck and chest by means of a commercially available electronic stethoscope to provide objective decision support for handlers. We have identified discrete features of sniffing and panting in the time domain and utilize event duration, event rate, event mean energy, and the number of consecutive events in a row to build a decision tree classifier. Since feature extraction requires segmentation of individual sniffing and panting events, we developed an adaptive method using short-time energy contour and an adaptive threshold. The performance of the system was evaluated on recordings from a Greyhound and a Labrador Retriever and achieved high classification accuracies.
A Rapid Serial Visual Presentation Method for Graphical Authentication

We propose a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) graphical authentication method that is suited for multi-touch mobile devices. This method presents degraded pictures of everyday objects in a temporal stream. Considering all the other authentication methods employ a spatial visual search, our method is unique (i.e., searching across time versus space). A temporal method of presentation is used to decreases login times down to 14 s and to allow login with a simple touch of the screen. By degrading the images, over-the-shoulder attackers are prevented from easily capturing the passcode. This study shows that all participants could successfully login at least once when allowed up to three attempts. After becoming familiar with the RSVP authentication method, participants took on the role of an attacker. Notably, no one was able to identify the passcode. The RSVP method offers a memorable, usable, quick, and secure alternative for authentication on multi-touch mobile devices.
Integrated Machine Learning in the Kepler Scientific Workflow System

Abstract We present a method to integrate multiple implementations of a machine learning algorithm in Kepler actors. This feature enables the user to compare accuracy and scalability of various implementations of a machine learning technique without having to change the workflow. These actors are based on the Execution Choice actor. They can be incorporated into any workflow to provide machine learning functionality. We describe a use case where actors that provide several implementations of k-means clustering can be used in a workflow to process sensor data from weather stations for predicting wildfire risks.
Attribute-based Fine Grained Access Control for Triple Stores

The maturation of semantic web standards and associated web-based data representations like schema.org have made RDF a popular model for representing graph data and semi-structured knowledge. However, most existing SPARQL endpoint supports simple access control mechanism preventing its use for many applications. To protect the data stored in RDF stores, we describe a framework to support attribute-based-fine grained access control and explore its feasibility. We implemented a prototype of the system and used it to carry out an initial analysis on the relation between access control policies, query execution time, and size of the RDF dataset.
Predicting conifer establishment post wildfire in mixed conifer forests of the North American Mediterranean‐climate zone

Due to fire suppression policies, timber harvest, and other management practices over the last century, many low- to mid-elevation forests in semiarid parts of the western United States have accumulated high fuel loads and dense, multi-layered canopies that are dominated by shade-tolerant and fire-sensitive conifers. To a great extent, the future status of western US forests will depend on tree species’ responses to patterns and trends in fire activity and fire behavior and postfire management decisions. This is especially the case in the North American Mediterranean-climate zone (NAMCZ), which supports the highest precipitation variability in North America and a 4- to 6-month annual drought, and has seen greater-than-average increases in air temperature and fire activity over the last three decades. We established 1490 survey plots in 14 burned areas on 10 National Forests across a range of elevations, forest types, and fire severities in the central and northern NAMCZ to provide insight into factors that promote natural tree regeneration after wildfires and the differences in postfire responses of the most common conifer species. We measured site characteristics, seedling densities, woody shrub, and tree growth. We specified a zero-inflated negative binomial mixed model with random effects to understand the importance of each measured variable in predicting conifer regeneration. Across all fires, 43% of all plots had no conifer regeneration. Ten of the 14 fires had median conifer seedling densities that did not meet Forest Service stocking density thresholds for mixed conifer forests. When regeneration did occur, it was dominated by shade-tolerant but fire-sensitive firs (Abies spp.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). Seedling densities of conifer species were lowest in sites that burned at high severity, principally due to the biotic consequences of high severity fire, for example, increased distances to live seed trees and competition with fire-following shrubs. We developed a second model specifically for forest managers and restoration practitioners who work in yellow pine and mixed conifer forests in the central NAMCZ to assess potential natural regeneration in the years immediately following a fire, allowing them to prioritize which areas may need active postfire forest restoration and supplemental planting.
Impact of Consumers’ Self-Image and Demographics on Preference for Healthy Labeled Foods:

Consumers are becoming more health conscious. Increasingly, products that are labeled “healthy” are being marketed as new retailers and new brands vie for the consumers’ share of wallet. This resea...
Polymer Free Electronic Grade Aligned Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Array

Conjugated polymers are used commonly to selectively sort semiconducting carbon nanotubes (S-CNTs) from their metallic counterparts in organic solvents. The polymer-wrapped S-CNTs can be easily processed from organic solvents into arrays of CNTs for scalable device fabrication. Though the conjugated polymers are essential for sorting and device fabrication, it is highly desirable to remove them completely as they limit the electronic properties of the device. Here, we use a commercially available polymer, namely, poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(6,6′-(2,2′-bipyridine))] (PFO-BPy), to sort large-diameter S-CNTs with ultrahigh selectivity and fabricate CNT-array-based field effect transistors (FETs) via a floating evaporative self-assembly (FESA) process. We report quantitative removal of the polymer wrapper from the FESA aligned S-CNT arrays using a metal-chelation-assisted polymer removal (McAPR) process. The implementation of this process on FESA films requires the selective thermal degradati...
Structural Analysis of Unsaturated Glycosphingolipids Using Shotgun Ozone-Induced Dissociation Mass Spectrometry

Glycosphingolipids are essential biomolecules widely distributed across biological kingdoms yet remain relatively underexplored owing to both compositional and structural complexity. While the glycan head group has been the subject of most studies, there is paucity of reports on the lipid moiety, particularly the location of unsaturation. In this paper, ozone-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (OzID-MS) implemented in a traveling wave-based quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-ToF) mass spectrometer was applied to study unsaturated glycosphingolipids using shotgun approach. Resulting high resolution mass spectra facilitated the unambiguous identification of diagnostic OzID product ions. Using [M+Na]+ adducts of authentic standards, we observed that the long chain base and fatty acyl unsaturation had distinct reactivity with ozone. The reactivity of unsaturation in the fatty acyl chain was about 8-fold higher than that in the long chain base, which enables their straightforward differentiation. Influence of the head group, fatty acyl hydroxylation, and length of fatty acyl chain on the oxidative cleavage of double bonds was also observed. Application of this technique to bovine brain galactocerebrosides revealed co-isolated isobaric and regioisomeric species, which otherwise would be incompletely identified using contemporary collision-induced dissociation (CID) alone. These results highlight the potential of OzID-MS in glycosphingolipids research, which not only provides complementary structural information to existing CID technique but also facilitates de novo structural determination of these complex biomolecules. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
Slepian-FBGs-Based Optical Covert Communications

Various optical encryption/physical-layer security schemes are able to protect the content of the message, but are not able to protect user's privacy by preventing the detection of transmission attempt. To solve for this problem, we propose a Slepian-FBGs-based scheme enabling positive rate optical covert communications.
Berru-Cms Predictive Modeling Of Nuclear Reactor Physics Systems

This Chapter illustrates applications of the BERRU-CMS methodology to paradigm reactor physics systems, starting with the predictive modeling of a paradigm neutron diffusion model of a one-dimensional pool of water containing distributed neutron sources (e.g., spent fuel rods), and continuing with the OECD/NEA (ICSBEP 2010) benchmarks Godiva (a bare uranium sphere), Jezebel-239 and Jezebel-240 (bare plutonium spheres). The paradigm neutron diffusion model characterizes the main physical processes that would occur, for example, in a spent-fuel storage pool and was chosen because it is amenable to closed-form analytical solutions which highlight the salient features of the BERRU-CMS methodology. In addition, this example will also illustrate the basic concepts of computing response sensitivities using the adjoint sensitivity analysis procedure (Cacuci, 1981a, 1981b, 2003). In contradistinction to this didactical example involving the simple neutron diffusion equation, the application of the BERRU-CMS methodology to the benchmarks Godiva, Jezebel-239, and Jezebel-240 involves large-scale neutron transport computations characterized by many imprecisely-known model parameters, as follows: there are 2241 imprecisely known model parameters for Jezebel-239, 1458 imprecisely known parameters for Jezebel-240, and 2916 imprecisely known parameters for Godiva. Eight responses have been considered for Jezebel-239 (the effective multiplication factor, the center core fission rates for 233U, 238U, 237Np, and 239Pu, and the center core radiative capture rates for 55Mn, 93Nb and 63Cu). Three responses (the effective multiplication factor, the center core fission rates for 233U and 237Np) were selected for Jezebel-240, and eleven responses were selected for Godiva (the reaction rate types listed for Jezebel-239, along with the radiative capture rates for 107Ag, 127I and 81Br). The advantages of applying the BERRU-CMS methodology in the response-space (as opposed to the parameter-space) for these benchmark systems will become evident, as this methodology will be shown to reduce significantly the computational memory requirements for predictive modeling of systems involving many model parameters. The illustrative examples presented in this Chapter will underscore the fact that the BERRU-CMS-methodology ensures that increasing the amount of consistent information will increase the accuracy of the predicted results, while reducing their accompanying predicted uncertainties (standard deviations).
Stereoelectronic Influence of a "Spectator" Propargylic Substituent Can Override Aromaticity Effects in Radical Peri-Cyclizations en Route to Expanded Polyaromatics.

Computational analysis quantifies key trends in “peri”-radical cyclizations, a recently developed type of ring-forming reaction for the expansion of polyaromatic systems at the zigzag edge. Compari...
NPY-3-36

This NPY fragment may be formed endogenously in brain and peripheral tissues from an action of dipeptidyl peptidase IV, which removes the N terminal tyr-pro residues …
PD48-08 THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF URINARY STONE DISEASE IN PREGNANCY: A CLAIMS-BASED ANALYSIS OF 1.2 MILLION PATIENTS

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Urinary stone disease in pregnancy is thought to increase the risk of preterm delivery, fetal demise and other maternal complications. However, due to low rates of uroli...
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters, by Anne Boyd Rioux

At the heart of Anne Boyd Rioux’s admirable Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy lies a literary rescue mission. The book’s subtitle speaks to the author’s intention: “The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matt...
Poster Abstract: Experimental Comparison between Geohyperbolic and Hyperbolic Routing in NDN

In Named Data Networking (NDN), packets are routed based on their names. However, the Internet has a vast number of content names, making traditional routing schemes infeasible as their overhead will be prohibitively high upon topological changes. Hyperbolic Routing and Geohyperbolic Routing are potential solutions to this scalability problem. We perform an experimental comparison between these routing schemes with various topologies and failures scenarios. Our preliminary results show that both routing schemes perform well in delivering packets under failures, but geohyperbolic routing outperforms hyperbolic routing in packet delay.
Abdominal Resection of Neuroblastoma

This chapter describes the surgical procedure for abdominal resection of neuroblastoma. The text includes an introduction that outlines the indications, risks, alternatives, essential steps, needed equipment, and variations in technique for the procedure in question. This is followed by a template operative dictation, which provides the reader with an operative report, such as is found in a patient chart or electronic medical record. Because neuroblastomas can arise in multiple anatomic locations, the surgical approach and technique will vary based on the primary tumor.
A DILEMMA IN DEVICE THERAPY

Device therapy for concomitant heart block and heart failure presents a dilemma depending on the etiology and reversibility of the heart block or cardiomyopathy. A 60-year-old man with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy and ejection fraction (EF) of 30% and chronic alcohol use had an implantable
Akirin proteins in development and disease: critical roles and mechanisms of action

The Akirin genes, which encode small, nuclear proteins, were first characterized in 2008 in Drosophila and rodents. Early studies demonstrated important roles in immune responses and tumorigenesis, which subsequent work found to be highly conserved. More recently, a multiplicity of Akirin functions, and the associated molecular mechanisms involved, have been uncovered. Here, we comprehensively review what is known about invertebrate Akirin and its two vertebrate homologues Akirin1 and Akirin2, highlighting their role in regulating gene expression changes across a number of biological systems. We detail essential roles for Akirin family proteins in the development of the brain, limb, and muscle, in meiosis, and in tumorigenesis, emphasizing associated signaling pathways. We describe data supporting the hypothesis that Akirins act as a "bridge" between a variety of transcription factors and major chromatin remodeling complexes, and discuss several important questions remaining to be addressed. In little more than a decade, Akirin proteins have gone from being completely unknown to being increasingly recognized as evolutionarily conserved mediators of gene expression programs essential for the formation and function of animals.
Salt and water balance after sweat loss: A study of Bikram yoga.

Bikram yoga is practiced in a room heated to 105°F with 40% humidity for 90 min. During the class a large volume of water and electrolytes are lost in the sweat, specifically, sodium is lost, the main cation of the extracellular fluid. There is little known about the volume of sweat and the amount of sodium lost in sweat during Bikram yoga or the optimum quantity of fluid required to replace these losses. The participants who took part in this small feasibility study were five females with a mean age of 47.4 ± 4.7 years and 2.6 ± 1.6 years of experience at Bikram yoga. The total body weight, water consumed, serum sodium concentration, serum osmolality, and serum aldosterone levels were all measured before and after a Bikram yoga practice. Sweat sodium chloride concentration and osmolality were measured at the end of the practice. The mean estimated sweat loss was 1.54 ± 0.65 L, while the amount of water consumed during Bikram yoga was 0.38 ± 0.22 L. Even though only 25% of the sweat loss was replenished with water intake during the Bikram yoga class, we did not observe a change in serum sodium levels or serum osmolality. The sweat contained 82 ± 16 mmol/L of sodium chloride for an estimated total of 6.8 ± 2.1 g of sodium chloride lost in the sweat. The serum aldosterone increased 3.5-fold from before to after Bikram yoga. There was a decrease in the extracellular body fluid compartment of 9.7%. Sweat loss in Bikram yoga predominately produced a volume depletion rather than the dehydration of body fluids. The sweating-stimulated rise in serum aldosterone levels will lead to increased sodium reabsorption from the kidney tubules and restore the extracellular fluid volume over the next 24 hr.
Differential sensitivity of renal carcinoma cells to doxorubicin and epigenetic therapeutics depends on the genetic background

Differential sensitivity to chemotherapeutics is a limitation in chemotherapy of kidney cancer patients. Role of genetic background in chemotherapy is not fully understood. Therefore, this study evaluated the influence of genetic/epigenetic background of renal cancer cells on the sensitivity to chemotherapeutics. Two renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines, Caki-1 and 786-0, with different genetic makeup of p53 and VHL were treated with doxorubicin either alone or in combination with epigenetic therapeutics 5-aza-2-dc and TSA. Sensitivity of RCC cells to these drugs was evaluated by cell viability and cell cycle analysis and was further confirmed by analysis of selected genes expression. Cell viability data revealed that 786-0 cells were more sensitive than Caki-1 to doxorubicin. Combination of doxorubicin with 5-aza-2-dc or TSA was more effective to inhibit growth of Caki-1 cells but not the 786-0. Data of cell cycle analysis and expression of representative genes for tumor suppressor, cell cycle and survival, drug transporter and DNA repair further provided the molecular basis for differential sensitivity of Caki-1 and 786-0 cell lines to doxorubicin. Important findings of this study suggest that doxorubicin is more cytotoxic to primary renal cancer 786-0 cells with mutant VHL and p53 than the metastatic Caki-1 cells with wild-type VHL and p53, and this differential response was independent of p53 expression level. This study suggests that combination of doxorubicin with epigenetic therapeutics could potentially be beneficial in clinical treatment of renal cancer patients with wild-type VHL and p53 but not in patients with mutant VHL and p53.
The socio-technical barriers and strategies for overcoming the barriers to deploying solar mini-grids in rural islands: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract Energy access remains a challenge for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana is no exception as 15% of her population live in remote areas without access to electricity. In 2015, the World Bank Group provided funding for the Ghanaian government to extend electricity to some of her rural island communities. The government of Ghana chose to deploy solar mini-grids. Despite technological breakthrough with solar mini-grids and financial support from the World Bank Group, the deployment of the solar mini-grids still faced significant barriers some of which are embedded in the socio-cultural contexts of the Ghanaian rural island communities. Designed through a socio-technical systems lens, this study explores the sociotechnical barriers and strategies to overcoming the barriers to deploying solar mini-grids in Ghanaian rural island communities. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, focus group discussions, and direct observations. The results show that different categories of barriers affected deployment of the solar mini-grids. The barriers are socio-technical in nature suggesting that the obstacles to renewable energy deployment in sub-Saharan Africa are neither exclusively social nor technical but a combination of both social and technical forces. While the social factors range from land disputes to illegal connections, the technical barriers include limited technical know-how to lack of qualified technicians. In suggesting strategies to address these barriers, the study participants proposed involvement of indigenes, training and transfer of technical expertise, and increased generation capacity. Based on these findings, the study outlines three policy implications on mitigating the barriers in future projects.
Effect of cover-crop biomass, strip-tillage residue disturbance width, and PRE herbicide placement on cotton weed control, yield, and economics

Conservation tillage adoption continues to be threatened by glyphosate and acetolactate synthase–resistant Palmer amaranth and other troublesome weeds. Field experiments were conducted from autumn 2010 through crop harvest in 2013 at two locations in Alabama to evaluate the effect of integrated management practices on weed control and seed cotton yield in glyphosate-resistant cotton. The effects of a cereal rye cover crop using high- or low-biomass residue, followed by wide or narrow within-row strip tillage and three PRE herbicide regimens were evaluated. The three PRE regimens were (1) pendimethalin at 0.84 kg ae ha-1 plus fomesafen at 0.28 kg ai ha-1 applied broadcast, (2) pendimethalin plus fomesafen applied banded on the row, or (3) no PRE. Each PRE treatment was followed by (fb) glyphosate (1.12 kg ae ha-1) applied POST fb layby applications of diuron (1.12 kg ai ha-1) plus monosodium methanearsonate (2.24 kg ai ha-1). Low-residue plots ranged in biomass from 85 to 464 kg ha-1, and high-biomass residue plots ranged from 3,119 to 6,929 kg ha-1. In most comparisons, surface disturbance width, residue amount, and soil-applied herbicide placement did not influence within-row weed control; however, broadcast PRE resulted in increased carpetweed, large crabgrass, Palmer amaranth, tall morning-glory, and yellow nutsedge weed control in row middles compared with plots receiving banded PRE. In addition, high-residue plots had increased carpetweed, common purslane, large crabgrass, Palmer amaranth, sicklepod, and tall morning-glory weed control between rows. Use of banded PRE herbicides resulted in equivalent yield and revenue in four of six comparisons compared with those with broadcast PRE herbicide application; however, this would likely result in many between-row weed escapes. Thus, conservation tillage cotton would benefit from broadcast soil-applied herbicide applications regardless of residue amount and tillage width when infested with Palmer amaranth and other troublesome weed species. Nomenclature: Diuron; fomesafen; glyphosate; monosodium methanearsonate; pendimethalin; carpetweed; Mollugo verticillata L. MOVE; common purslane; Portulaca oleracea L. POOL; large crabgrass; Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. DISA; Palmer amaranth; Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson AMPA; sicklepod; Senna obtusifolia (L.) Irwin & Barneby SEOB4; tall morning-glory Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth IPPU2; yellow nutsedge; Cyperus esculentus L. CYES; cereal rye; Secale cereal L.; cotton; Gossypium hirsutum L.
Transient late gestation prenatal hypoxic insult results in functional deficits but not gross neuroanatomic deficits in mice

Intrauterine hypoxia is a common cause of brain injury in children with a wide spectrum of long-term neurodevelopmental sequela even after milder injury that does not result in significant neuroanatomical injury. Published prenatal hypoxia models generally require many days of modest hypoxia or are invasive, difficult to replicate surgery to ligate the uterine artery. Postnatal models of neonatal hypoxic brain injury are not able to study the effects of antenatal risk factors that contribute to outcomes of hypoxia to the developing brain. In addition, the most common postnatal hypoxia models induce significant cell death and large focal neuroanatomic injury through unilateral ischemia, which is not a common pattern of injury in children. Large animal models suggest that brief transient prenatal hypoxia alone is sufficient to lead to significant functional impairment to the developing brain. Thus, to further understand the mechanisms underlying hypoxic injury to the developing brain, it is vital to develop murine models that are simple to reproduce and phenocopy the lack of neuroanatomic injury but significant functional injury seen in children affected by mild intrauterine hypoxia. Here we characterized the effect of late gestation (embryonic day 17.5) transient prenatal hypoxia on long-term anatomical and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Prenatal hypoxia induced hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha in the fetal brain. There was no difference in gestational age at birth, litter size at birth, survival, fetal brain cell death, or long-term changes in gray or white matter between offspring after normoxia and hypoxia. However, there were several long-term functional consequences from prenatal hypoxia, including sex-dichotomous changes. Both males and females have abnormalities in repetitive behaviors, hindlimb strength, and decreased seizure threshold. Males demonstrated increased anxiety. Females have deficit in social interaction. Hypoxia did not result in motor or visual learning deficits. This work demonstrates that transient late gestation prenatal hypoxia is a simple, clinically-relevant paradigm for studying putative environmental and genetic modulators of the long-term effects of transient hypoxia on the developing brain.
Synthesis and crystal structure of racemic (R*,R*)-2,2′-(1,4-phenyl­ene)bis­(3-phenyl-2,3,5,6-tetra­hydro-4H-1,3-thia­zin-4-one)

In the racemic title compound, C26H24N2O2S2, one of the thia­zine rings shows a twisted boat conformation (Q = 0.743 A, θ = 92.1°) and the other a half-chair puckering (Q = 0.669 A, θ = 54.3°). The terminal phenyl rings are almost parallel to each other [dihedral angle 21.71 (10)°]. Both of these rings are orthogonal to the central phenyl ring, subtending a dihedral angle of about 78° in each case. The extended structure is consolidated by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds as well as aromatic ring inter­actions of parallel-displaced and T-type. The mol­ecule has approximate C2 local symmetry but this is not carried over to its three-dimensional structure or the inter­molecular inter­actions.
Experimental Evaluations and Discussions

We implemented ARBIRS on a SGI-INDY workstation using C, Motif, and OpenGL. To quantify ARBIRS’s image retrieval performance, we have carefully constructed a test database that consists of about 550 color images. The color images are selected to contain a wide range of image contents of real-world scenes, such as anchor persons from news videos, landscapes, fashion models, automobiles, sports scenes, etc. All the images can be clustered into approximately 50 classes, with each class comprising between 5 and 20 images. We are expanding this test database to contain more classes.
Diet Quality in Fish Toxicology: Effects on Acute and Chronic Toxicity

The importance of diet quality in toxicological research with fish was illustrated in several studies. The acute toxicity of chlordane to rainbow trout was dependent upon the type of diet fed before toxicity testing. Rainbow trout were fed four commercial diets or a low (23 percent) or high protein (45 percent) synthetic diet. After 42 days, the trout were tested against chlordane in static toxicity tests. The 96-h median lethal concentration (LC 5 0 ) for the synthetic 45 percent protein group was statistically higher (P = 0.05) than values for all other groups. Also, differences in LC 5 0 s existed among groups fed commercial diets. In flow-through toxicity studies, rainbow trout, bluegill, and channel catfish fed a diet containing casein and gelatin as a protein source had a greater tolerance to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) than those fed a diet with fish meal and soybean meal as the primary protein sources. By increasing the concentration of the amino acid methionine in the diet of rainbow trout, the toxicity of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) increased while dieldrin toxicity decreased. In studies with channel catfish, the concentration of vitamin C in the diet influenced the chronic effects of toxaphene on growth and skeletal development. These studies illustrate that the type of diet fed before acute toxicity testing and during chronic toxicity testing is important, and that consideration for nutritious standard diets in toxicological research with fish is needed.
Invasive Plants and Animal Species: Threats to Ecosystem Services

Abstract The ongoing global redistribution of species is one type of environmental change that we are experiencing. Climate, eutrophication, ocean acidification, and land use change are other types of change that are occurring. None of these changes are occurring in isolation. They all are interacting to produce a myriad of changes, including local, regional, and global changes in flora and fauna. Ultimately, this means that the effects of different drivers of environmental change cannot be studied in isolation. They must be studied using an integrated approach. This approach can challenge or redefine traditional paradigms that may have developed when the drivers were studied separately.
The primary structure and analysis of the squid kinesin heavy chain.

We report the cDNA sequence of the squid kinesin heavy chain and compared the predicted amino acid sequence with that of the Drosophila heavy chain as reported by Yang, J.T., Laymon, R.A., and Goldstein, L.S. B. (1989) Cell 56, 879-889). We compared the two kinesin sequences with regard to the predicted physicochemical parameters of hydrophobicity, charge, and propensities of the secondary conformations. A comparison of the sequences from the two species reveals the head, stalk, and tail domains because a reduced degree of conservation demarcates the stalk. The charge profile indicates that the head region is nearly neutral, the stalk region acidic, and the tail is basic. The Fourier transform analysis of the hydrophobic profile of the stalk shows predominant peaks at 1/3.5 and 1/2.3, which are indexed as the second and third orders of the period 7 residue. As in the Drosophila sequence, the rod domain is divided into an amino and a carboxyl subdomain by a predicted hinge region. We show that the disposition of hydrophobic residues is distinct in these two subdomains. In particular, the heptad repeat is more regular in the amino-terminal rod domain than in the carboxyl-terminal rod domain. The tail region is positively charged, a feature that is consistent with the known electrostatic interaction between the heavy chain and negatively charged surfaces such as glass coverslips and latex beads. Three monoclonal antibodies to the kinesin heavy chain have been mapped to a region within the carboxyl terminus of the stalk.
Bohm Trajectory Approach to Timing Electrons

Theoretical expressions [1,2,3,4,5,6] for the 1D probability distribution Π(T;X) of arrival times T of quantum particles at x = X are often written as the sum of two terms Π + (T;X) and Π_(T;X), corresponding to arrivals from the left and from the right respectively, with no left-right interference term. Thinking classically for the moment so that the possibility of such an interference term is not an issue, to say that a point particle arrives at x = X at the time t = T from the left (right) means that the particle is located at x = X at t = T and that it was in the region x X) at all times t in the interval T - Δt ≤ t < T for some nonzero Δt. This concept is a simple, clear and meaningful one for a particle which moves along a continuous trajectory with a well-defined finite velocity at each instant of time. Returning to the quantum case, one can attempt to maintain this simplicity and clarity by adopting an approach involving continuous particle trajectories, either “virtual” or “real”, and using a relativistic wave equation to avoid infinite velocities. For the special case of electrons, considered here, at least two such approaches come to mind. One is based on Feynman’s path integral derivation [7] of the 1 + 1 dimensional free-electron Dirac equation using a “checkerboard” model in which particles move along zig-zag paths in space-time always at the vacuum speed of light c. It has recently been shown [8] that, when the finite correlation length for reversals of direction discovered by Jacobson and Schulman [9] is taken into account, this model leads to an arrival-time distribution for free motion in 1 + 1 dimensions with no interference term.
Abstract 4368: MicroRNAs miR-503 and -182 regulate FBXW7 contributing to the malignant transformation to colon adenocarcinoma

Progression from adenoma to colon cancer is a multi-step process and the role of microRNAs in this transformation is not completely understood. We used both in vitro and in vivo approaches to demonstrate the role of miRNAs in the transformation of adenoma to adenocarcinoma. Reporter assays were used to show the direct interaction of miRNAs to target gene. A Tet-inducible TripZ system and miRzips constructs were used in the in vitro function and xenograft studies. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression were used to analyze the survival data in colon cancer patients. Here, we show that the combination of miR-503 and miR-182 contributes to the transformation of colon adenoma to adenocarcinoma by cooperatively regulating the tumor suppressor gene, FBXW7. We found that miR-182 was upregulated in both colon adenoma and adenocarcinoma, whereas miR-503 was upregulated only in adenocarcinoma, indicating a potential hierarchical and stepwise expression of these miRNAs in the regulation of FBXW7. Furthermore, we showed that colon adenoma derived non-tumorigenic AAC1 cells were transformative and tumorigenic in mice when expressing Tet-inducible miR-503. Finally, the combination of miR-503 and miR-182 transcript levels was predictive of poor outcome in colon cancer patients. We conclude that a step-wise expression of miR-182 and miR-503 in benign adenoma synergistically regulates the driver gene FBXW7, thus contributing to the progression of colon adenoma to adenocarcinoma. Citation Format: Lihua Li, Aaron Sarver, Rohini Khatri, Praveensingh Hajeri, Iris Kamenev, Stephen Thibodeau, Clifford J. Steer, Subbaya Subramanian. MicroRNAs miR-503 and -182 regulate FBXW7 contributing to the malignant transformation to colon adenocarcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4368. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4368
Foreign Travel in North American MBA Programs.

ABSTRACT Since the early 1990s, graduate schools of business in North America increasingly have relied on short overseas study trips to give students an international experience. Shorter trips have been shown to be more cost-effective and lead to more student participation than study-abroad programs and internships. This article presents the results of a survey of international travel at North American MBA programs and the types of exposure students received during the travel. Although travel is not required extensively, student participation is widespread and granting of academic credit is typical. Students conduct a variety of activities abroad, including coursework and projects.
Dielectric properties of a hydrated sulfonated poly(styrene–ethylene/butylenes–styrene) triblock copolymer

Abstract The present study showed that sulfonated poly(styrene–ethylene/butylenes–styrene) (S-SEBS) triblock copolymer ionomers can be made to exhibit dielectric constants on the order of a hundreds thousand. Although they are too lossy at this point to use as dielectric materials in capacitors or as electrostrictive Maxwell effect transducer materials because of their high hydrogen ion conductivity, the results of these initial dielectric studies as a function of ion content were used to try to understand the effects of a polar plasticizer, water, on dielectric properties of the acid form of this ionomer. This was done before moving on to more tightly bound ions (rather than the hydrogen ions of the sulfonic acid groups used here) and to other polar, less mobile plasticizers (which also interact strongly with the ionic dipoles). The discovery of such high dielectric constants suggested the possibility that low dielectric loss versions of this type of polymer, as well as other members of the class known as ionomers, might find future applications as extremely high dielectric constant materials in capacitors or transducers. Experimental results for films with degrees of sulfonation on the order of 10% or more showed dielectric constants on the order of ɛ′ ∼ 100,000 but dielectric loss tangents near D = tan δ ∼ 0.3, when the materials were exposed to high humidity conditions. Experiments to determine the effects of water content on the material's dielectric response showed that water can easily move into and out of the films studied and that this transport behavior is strongly correlated to the relative humidity of the environment and to the degree of sulfonation. Water content, in this case, was thus the primary consideration when attempting to understand the observed high dielectric constants in films with degree of sulfonation greater than 5.5%. However, vacuum-dried films were, also, examined and observed to exhibit a dielectric constant on the order of 2 until the degree of sulfonation was greater than 11%. Above this value, the dielectric constant increased by approximately 100% to a value on the order of 4.
Diversity in reasoning and rationality: Metacognitive and developmental considerations

Tasks in the adult reasoning literature are designed so that heuristic processing leads one astray and adequate rule-based processing requires explicit knowledge about applicable logical and quasi-logical norms. Other research, however, indicates that appropriate rule-based inferences can be automatic. Individual differences in rationality are largely due to differences in developmental progress toward metacognitive understanding of both heuristic and rule-based inferences.
Understanding virus-host dynamics following EIAV infection in SCID horses.

Abstract We develop a mathematical model for the interaction between two competing equine infectious anemia virus strains and neutralizing antibodies. We predict that elimination of one or both virus strains depends on the initial antibody levels, the strength of antibody mediated neutralization, and the persistence of antibody over time. We further show that the ability of a subdominant, neutralization resistant virus to dominate the infection transiently or permanently is dependent on the antibody-mediated neutralization effect. Finally, we determine conditions for persistence of both virus strains. We fit our models to virus titers from horses (foals) with severe combined immunodeficiency to estimate virus–host parameters and to validate analytical results.
Room temperature mechanical properties of polycrystalline YbAl3, a promising low temperature thermoelectric material

Abstract Intermetallic YbAl 3 in the L1 2 (AuCu 3 ) phase is a promising material for low temperature thermoelectric applications. However, there is no experimental data in the literature on the mechanical properties of YbAl 3 , although the design and development of thermoelectric modules incorporating YbAl 3 will require mechanical property data. Using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS), the room temperature Young's modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus and Poisson's ratio were determined as a function of volume fraction porosity, P , for specimens densified by both hot pressing (HP) and pulsed electric current sintering (PECS) polycrystalline specimens, where P ranged from 0.030 to 0.233 and mean grain sizes ranged from 0.5 to 1.4 μm. In addition, the longitudinal and acoustic wave speeds and the Debye temperature were measured. Using Vickers indentation, the hardness and fracture toughness of the specimens were also measured. Despite microstructural differences between the HP and PECS-processed specimens, the porosity dependence of the mechanical properties was a function of the total volume fraction porosity, P , independent of the details of the size and spatial distribution of pores within individual specimens.