cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Three-Point Data for Linkage Group Vi of the German Cockroach,

The 1st multiple-linkage data for the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), were obtained for linkage group VI, using black-body ( Bl ), pallid-eye ( pld ), and crossveinless ( crs ) (Ross and Cochran 1970). The matings consisted of intercrosses of F1 hybrids which confirmed the expected close linkage of crs with pld . The data did not provide a satisfactory estimate of the map distance separating crs from pld , nor did they establish the gene sequence, although the order crs—Bl—pld appeared most probable. An additional problem arose with the finding that the recombination frequency was reduced in the intercrosses. The purpose of this report is to clarify these group VI relationships by means of triple backcrosses.
What Sells in Romania: Performance or Relationships?

ABSTRACTThe norm for sales organizations is the pursuit of long-term profitability through positive relationships with key accounts. Sales professionals begin and end their activities with the customer in mind, aiming to maximize their relationships over a long period of time. This article examines the association between buyer and seller relationships and customer satisfaction as well as the association between customer service orientation and customer relationships. Findings suggest that the ability to meet customer sales service expectations as well as the existence of positive relationships between buyers and sellers is associated with customer satisfaction. Implications for managers are explored.
Parental experience caring for cleft lip and palate infants with nasoalveolar moulding.

Aim The aim of this study was to explore the experience of parents caring for an infant with a cleft lip and palate receiving nasoalveolar moulding. Background Nasoalveoral moulding is a pre-surgical orthopedic appliance used to approximate an infant's cleft lip and palate, mould the nose and reduce surgical correction. Use of nasoalveolar moulding can be intensive, costly and lengthy requiring parental commitment to the process since it involves several months of weekly visits for appliance adjustment. Although extensive research has been conducted on surgical outcomes after use, little evidence exists pertaining to parental experiences caring for an infant undergoing the nasoalveolar moulding treatment process. Design The qualitative design phenomenology was used to best capture parents' lived experiences. Methods Eight mothers and four fathers participated in informal, semi-structured interviews during the months of April–May 2010. Results Four themes were identified: (1) You do what you have to do; (2) We weren't left alone in the dark; (3) It's just amazing to see the difference; and (4) It's like nothing ever happened. Findings indicated that despite some difficulties, parents' were dedicated to the treatment process and expressed the benefits exceeded any additional work nasoalveolar moulding required. Conclusion Multiple recommendations to assist parents with the nasoalveolar moulding treatment process were identified. Improving nasoalveolar moulding education and providing support can substantially improve challenges that are experienced by parents throughout this process – strengthening the importance of their role for successful nasoalveolar moulding outcomes.
Microwave digestion-graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry determination of aluminum surface in food system

Objective: To establish a microwave digestion-graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry determination of aluminum surface food system approach.Methods:After microwave digestion of samples by using GFAAS in foods across the system to determine the aluminum.Results:The linear range of 5~80 μg/L,a correlation coefficient of 0.9999.Characteristics of aluminum concentration 5.70 μg/L,Flour food determination of Al,the average recovery was 96%~104%,RSD 0.9%~3.4%.Conclusion:The method is simple sample preparation,rapid,and with less reagent,test results of high accuracy,precision,and surface system to meet food requirements of the determination of aluminum,it is worth to promote the use of.
Poland and Slovenia's responses to international norms

Braving sweltering summer temperatures, 15,000 people gathered in Warsaw to celebrate LGBT visibility on a July weekend in 2010. Everything about that weekend in Warsaw – from the 90-degree temperatures to the parade of rainbow colors – seemed atypical as marchers from Poland and beyond assembled for the annual EuroPride parade. Hosting the regional event was a first for Poland and also for CEE. The European Pride Organizers Association, a group that included Tomasz Bączkowski, wanted the event to come to Warsaw after the 2007 ECtHR decision that had made it illegal to ban public assembly in Poland. This was a moment to reflect on the progress that domestic and transnational activism had made in Poland, and for activists from across Europe to gather and discuss the achievements and obstacles ahead. Yet the parade was met with strong resistance, as an estimated eight counterdemonstrations took place alongside it. That same month, roughly 300 participants attended the tenth annual Ljubljana Pride, where “there have never been large masses of counterdemonstrations” (interview no. 154). The Ljubljana Pride, whose theme that year was “Enough Waiting on Equal Rights,” proceeded as usual. It received political endorsements from the president of the national assembly, Pavel Ganta, and Ljubljana's mayor, Zoran Jankovic – who has attended in years since. The minister of the interior, Katarina Kresal of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia party, again marched alongside participants. Novel to the 2010 event was the attendance of several Slovenian celebrities who expressed their support for expanding additional rights to the LGBT community. As had been the case every year since 2001, the Ljubljana Pride looked and felt like a celebration. The Warsaw and Ljubljana Pride parades employed similar tactics and made related claims. Yet the striking difference between the events lies in the forms and extent of local resistance they provoked. Even the academic panels at the Warsaw “Pride House” in the week leading up to the event drew demonstrators. In Slovenia, political leaders were responsible for the sober public statements in reaction to the parade, but in Poland the stage was left open for religious leaders to respond. Although the EuroPride program included encouraging messages of support from mayors of other cities, such as London and Berlin, Warsaw's mayor, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz of the center-right Civic Platform Party, remained silent.
Stabilizing highly dynamic locomotion in planar bipedal robots with dimension reducing control

In the field of robotic locomotion, the method of hybrid zero dynamics (HZD) proposed by Westervelt, Grizzle, and Koditschek provided a new solution to the canonical problem of stabilizing walking in planar bipeds. Original walking experiments on the French biped RABBIT were very successful, with gaits that were robust to external disturbances and to parameter mismatch. Initial running experiments on RABBIT were cut short before a stable gait could be achieved, but helped to identify performance limiting aspects of both the physical hardware of RABBIT and the method of hybrid zero dynamics. To improve upon RABBIT, a new robot called MABEL was designed and constructed in collaboration between the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University. In light of experiments on RABBIT and in preparation for experiments on MABEL, this thesis provides a theoretical foundation that extends the method of hybrid zero dynamics to address walking in a class of robots with series compliance. Extensive new design tools address two main performance limiting aspects of previous HZD controllers: the dependence on non-Lipschitz finite time convergence and the lack of a constructive procedure for achieving impact invariance when outputs have relative degree greater than two. An analytically rigorous set of solutions—an arbitrarily smooth stabilizing controller and a constructive parameter update scheme—is derived using the method of Poincare sections. Additional contributions of this thesis include the development of sample-based virtual constraints, analysis of walking on a slope, and identification of dynamic singularities that can arise from poorly chosen virtual constraints.
Is early inflammation good or bad? Linking early immune changes to hypertrophic scarring.

Abstract The mechanisms regulating hypertrophic scar (HTS) formation are multifactorial and complex. Early inflammation following dermal injury is believed to be a critical and essential event in the progression of normal wound healing and repair. It is generally accepted that acute inflammatory responses are necessary for normal wound repair, while chronic or excessive inflammation may lead to pathological scarring and fibrosis. A new study published in Experimental Dermatology revisited this topic and demonstrated that reduced and/or delayed early immunological responses were actually associated with HTS formation (1). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Abstract IA25: Implementation of risk prediction to improve health: The promises and challenges of precision

Advances in the understanding of risk factors have transformed oncology, providing leads for prevention and, in particular, screening. Part of this transformation has been fueled by studies of molecular changes and genetic mutations that are inherited or that precede cancer by years, potentially leading the way to a new era of precision screening and prevention. However, these new leads bring important challenges that demand caution. As Sean Carroll has pointed out, it turns out that life from the molecular scale all the way up to the ecological scale is usually governed by longer chains of interactions than we first imagine, with more links in between (Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters, 2016). Rather than screening for existing asymptomatic disease, we have entered the era of screening for risk factors, or even screening for risk factors for risk factors (disease risk predisposition). This is a double-edged endeavor, because genes may influence fate, but not in a linear or straightforward manner. Therefore, prediction of outcome is far less precise than measurement of the predisposing genetic and molecular alterations. Many people may be labeled as carriers of risk factors that will never develop the clinical forms of the disease predicted by the genetic changes, a form of genetic overdiagnosis. So the new era of risk prediction can bring both benefits and harms. A critical tool in determining the balance of benefits and harms of increasingly sensitive omics technologies is the use of a formal analytic framework, to be discussed in the presentation. Citation Format: Barnett S. Kramer. Implementation of risk prediction to improve health: The promises and challenges of precision. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Improving Cancer Risk Prediction for Prevention and Early Detection; Nov 16-19, 2016; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(5 Suppl):Abstract nr IA25.
Expanding applications of SERS through versatile nanomaterials engineering

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has evolved into a cross-disciplinary analytical technique by unveiling relevant chemical, biological, material, and structural information. The focus of this review is on two critical properties for successfully expanding applications of SERS spectroscopy: quality of the plasmonic substrate and molecule localization to the substrate. In this review, we discuss recent work on quantifying SERS distance dependence, key factors for substrate characterization and performance evaluation, expansion of SERS applications through substrate development for UV plasmonics and short-distance capture strategies for optimizing analyte-surface structures. After surveying the recent developments of these seemingly disparate fields, we suggest new research directions that may originate from a synergistic blend of all the herein discussed topics. Finally, we discuss major challenges and open questions related to the application of SERS for understanding of chemical processes at the nanoscale, with special interest on in situ catalysts and biosensing.
El gran archivo. El arte desde la burocracia

En este libro investigo el modo en que el archivo burocratico le dio forma a la practica artistica en el siglo XX, del montaje dadaista a la instalacion finisecular. Mas especificamente, propongo que el uso de archivos en el arte de fines del siglo XX reacciona en una variedad de formas al asalto de las vanguardias de los inicios de esa centuria contra la objetivizacion (y fetichizacion) del tiempo lineal y el proceso historico. A lo largo del ensayo espero hallar respuestas tentativas a algunas interrogantes formuladas por Allan Sekula en el ensayo “El cuerpo y el archivo”: “?Hasta que grado la practica modernista autorreflexiva se acomodo al modelo del archivo? ?Hasta que grado los modernistas, consciente o inconscientemente, resisten o subvierten el modelo del archivo?”1 . Al archivo al que hace referencia Sekula se lo percibe como una clave del sueno moderno del control total de la abarcadora disciplina administrativa; es decir, como un gigante archivero en el centro de una realidad fundada en una racionalidad ordenada. Espero, entre otras cosas, revelar una alternativa a esta nocion dominante; alternativa que exponga el lado irracional de la conexion archivistica de la modernidad y que le de a esta su necesaria traccion historica
The Language of Planners: A Central Issue in Internationalizing Planning Education

One basic problem in internationalizing planning education is that planners across the globe seem to have no common language, no common role models or heroes, and no strong international professional societies. Planners simply have a hard time communicating with one another internationally, or understanding one other. On the other hand, our partners in shaping the urban environment (i.e., architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and engineers) do not seem to have a similar problem. Architects from different parts of the globe have no problem understanding or appreciating one another’s work, concepts, or reasoning.
Abnormal muscle activation patterns are associated with chronic gait deficits following traumatic brain injury.

Abstract Background Gait and balance disorders are common among individuals who have experienced a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, little is known about how the neuromuscular control of gait is altered following a TBI. Research question Investigate the relationship between lower limb muscle activation patterns and chronic gait deficits in individuals who previously experienced a mild to moderate TBI. Methods Lower extremity electromyographic (EMG) signals were collected bilaterally during treadmill and overground walking in 44 ambulatory individuals with a TBI >1 year prior and 20 unimpaired controls. Activation patterns of TBI muscles were cross-correlated with normative data from control subjects to assess temporal phasing of muscle recruitment. Clinical assessments of gait and balance were performed using dynamic posturography, the dynamic gait index, six-minute walk test, and preferred walking speed. Results TBI subjects exhibited abnormal activation patterns in the tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, and rectus femoris muscles during both overground and treadmill walking. Activation patterns of the vastus lateralis and soleus muscles did not differ from normal. There was considerable heterogeneity in performance on clinical balance and gait assessments. Abnormal muscle activation patterns were significantly correlated with variations in the dynamic gait index among the TBI subjects. Significance Individuals who have experienced a prior TBI do exhibit characteristic changes in the temporal coordination of select lower extremity muscles, which may contribute to impairments during challenging walking tasks.
THE PIXLEY-ROY TOPOLOGY ON SPACES OF SUBSETS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the Pixley–Roy topology on spaces of subsets. In [PR], Pixley and Roy construct a nonseparable ccc {=countable chain condition = no disjoint collection of open sets is uncountable} Moore space by topologizing F(R) in a suitable fashion {R = reals}. When studying spaces of subsets of a space X, it is usually quite natural to confine attention to nonempty open sets: no basic open set of the Vietoris topology contains φ, and φ would be isolated in the Pixley–Roy topology A {φ} = [φ,φ]. Cospaces were invented to study their associated spaces and more generally, it is not unusual in topology to study a space by looking at a nice weaker topology.
High Performance Capillary Electrophoresis of Proteins and Peptides: A Minireview

The purpose of this minireview is to summarize recent advances in peptide and protein high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) for the protein chemist. The review is intended to be general and assumes that the reader is planning to enter the field to solve protein related problems. Therefore, I will focus on applications directed to protein and peptide chemistry, and attempt to provide the requisite HPCE background. HPCE is an instrumental approach to electrophoresis, introduced by Mikkers et al. (1) and Jorgenson and Lukas (2), that is finding increasing application in the area of protein and peptide chemistry. As such, it offers the scientist several advantages: (A) sensitive online detection without the normal postrun manipulations of staining, destaining or blotting to detect the proteins; (B) rapid analysis times; (C) automation with computer controlled HPCE systems, thus, increased quantitation and sample throughput and (D) requires small sample volumes. Diverse separation methodologies are being developed that produce greatly increased resolution compared to routine protein electrophoresis methodologies.
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

In the last century, Hughlings Jackson defined a seizure as a change in behavior due to an abnormal paroxysmal discharge of cerebral gray matter. Buttressed by subsequent scientific developments such as electroencephalography, this definition excludes other episodic conditions, such as ordinary panic or anger, or the sleep attacks of narcolepsy. Lay people frequently disregard this rather restrictive medical definition and call any unexpected event a seizure, e.g., a myocardial infarction is a “heart seizure.”
Ecological Imagination and Aims of Moral Education Through the Kyoto School and American Pragmatism

Cross-cultural dialogue between the Kyoto School of modern Japanese philosophy and the classical pragmatist tradition in American philosophy can help educators to clarify aims for greater ecological responsiveness in moral education. This dialogue can contribute to meeting an urgent practical need to cultivate ecological imagination, and an equally practical need to make theoretical sense of the way in which ecological perception becomes relevant to moral deliberation. The first section of this chapter explores relational thinking in the Kyoto School and American pragmatism to help develop, in the second section, a concept of ecological imagination. A fine-tuned ecological imagination is a capacity we already count on in our best environmental writers, educators, scientists, and policy analysts. Moral deliberation enlists imagination of a specifically ecological sort when the imaginative structures we use to understand ecosystemic relationships shape our mental simulations and what John Dewey calls our “dramatic rehearsals.” The final section draws from the foregoing to clarify some appropriate aims for contemporary moral education. Enriched through cross-cultural dialogue about the relational networks in which our finite lives are embedded, a finely aware ecological imagination can make the deliberations of the coming generation more trustworthy.
Vasculoprotective Actions of Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) has been known to be an endogenously synthesized and released mediator of biological effects for only a short time. Since its original postulation as the active principle in endothelium-derived relaxing factor1, 2 and its recent confirmation3, NO has been shown to exert a wide variety of physiological effects. Table 1 lists the major known actions of NO in the cardiovascular system including the effects of NO on the heart, blood, and blood vessels. All of these effects occur in vivo and at concentrations in the low nanomolar range. Recently, NO has been measured in a perfused heart by Kelm and Schrader4 who provided evidence that NO regulates coronary vascular tone at concentrations of 1–2 nM.
Differential and temporal expression of corticotropin releasing hormone and its receptors in the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure and paraventricular nucleus during the stress response in chickens (Gallus gallus).

Abstract Recently, in addition to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC) have been proposed to regulate stress in birds due to the discovery of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the NHpC. Expression of CRH, CRHR1, CRHR2 and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) were determined within the NHpC compared to the PVN. Additionally, two levels of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis: 1) anterior pituitary and 2) adrenal gland were examined following food deprivation (FD) stress including proopiomelanocortin (POMC) expression and plasma corticosterone (CORT), respectively. CRH expression in the NHpC increased rapidly, however it quickly returned to control levels, showing a negative feedback with CRHR1. In contrast, CRH expression in the PVN and its receptor CRHR1, steadily increased throughout the sampling period showing a positive feedback with CRH. Of interest, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA was significantly elevated in the PVN, while no significant change in BDNF mRNA was observed in the NHpC. The rapid increase in BDNF expression that matched the pattern shown by CRHR1 in the PVN may play a role in the positive feedback of CRH and its receptor. GRs were downregulated in both the NHpC and PVN throughout the study. POMC hnRNA and mRNA were significantly elevated from 1 to 4 h of FD compared to controls. A significant increase in plasma CORT levels occurred at 2 h and persisted to the end of the experiment, suggesting that CRH neurons in the NHpC initiated, while PVN CRH neurons sustained the early response of the HPA axis to stress.
The impact of Classroom Activity in Enhancing Working Memory Development in Preschoolers

Introduction Working Memory develops during toddlerhood and continues through adolescence and early adulthood. The primary factors determining the level of brain development in pediatrics are genetics and the environment (Basset, Denham, Wyatt, & Warren-Khot, 2012). Although the genetic factor cannot be manipulated, research shows that the environmental component can be substantially changed (Lillard, 2012). The environment involves the interactions that a child is exposed to. Such research suggests that the children who exhibit delayed in the level of working memory could be helped with adequate ways of specialized training. The proficiency of working memory is dictated by how fast and efficient information travels between different areas of the brain. How well a child performs academically, socially, and emotionally is defined by the working memory level he or she has (NSCDC, n.d.). The study will focus on how classroom activitieswill benefit preschoolers’ social and working memory development. According to a working paper of Building the Brain's Air Traffic Control System, “Large individual differences in working memory at kindergarten entry can have important implications for children’s adjustment and success in and out of school as well as in their relationships with others”. Scientists have emphasized the importance of social domain; playing and activities with peers or adults can be an effective practice for improving children’s braindevelopment. The significance of children’s interacting in preschool groups is to carry out prosaically behaviors in the social development (Evangelou, 1989). Preschool group’sinteraction among young children can have several advantages for preschoolers' critical development, such as offering instruction, involving in collaboration activities, promoting socialization, and being aware of peers' roles in different social positions (Evangelou, 1989). Preschool classrooms increase social development in order to improve working memory in preschoolers. Since these brain faculties develop from early childhood to post-puberty, it is arguably true that older children have better working memory skills compared to younger ones. The research question: Is classroom activities helpful for preschoolers' social and working memory development?
School-based human papillomavirus vaccination program for increasing vaccine uptake in an underserved area in Texas.

Abstract Objective Compare the effectiveness of community-based HPV-related education and onsite school-based vaccination versus community-based education only for increasing HPV vaccine uptake in a rural, medically underserved area. Methods Our cohort included 2307 Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District (RGCISD) middle school students from 3 schools enrolled in August 2016 and followed until April 2018. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study implemented an onsite school-based vaccination program and physician-led education on HPV and HPV vaccines for parents/guardians, school nurses/staff, and pediatric/family providers in the surrounding community (15-mile radius of RGCCISD) at 1 middle school (“intervention school”), and education-only for the remaining 2 schools (“comparison schools”). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HPV-related educational materials supplemented the education. HPV vaccine status was obtained from school immunization records and the project's contracted vaccine vendor. HPV vaccine initiation and completion rates were compared pre and post intervention and between the intervention and comparison schools. Logistic regression was used to compare the odds of newly initiating/completing vaccination between the intervention and comparison schools. Results At baseline, the intervention school had lower HPV vaccine initiation and completion rates than the comparison schools (20.00% and 8.70% vs 28.97% and 14.56%). Post intervention, the intervention school had higher initiation and completion rates than the comparison schools (53.67% and 28.36% vs 41.56% and 20.53%). Students from the intervention school were over 3.6-times more likely to newly initiate/complete the HPV vaccinations than students from the comparison schools. Conclusion The school with on-site vaccination events and community-based education had a higher adolescent HPV vaccination rate compared to schools that received community-based education only.
Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy in ovary: A rare case report.

RATIONALE Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is an extremely rare benign pigmented neoplasm of neural crest origin with rapid expansile growth and a high recurrence rate. It is predominantly found in infants of <1 year of age, involvement of the head-and-neck region is the most common presentation though it is reported at other sites including mediastinum, shoulder, thigh, foot, epididymis, uterus and ovary. The patient reported here is the third case of MNTI presenting in an ovary, and the first reported in the infant ovary. PATIENT CONCERNS A 33-month-old girl was presented to our unit for a huge abdominal mass. DIAGNOSIS MNTI was eventually diagnosed by histological manifestations supplemented with immunohistochemical findings. INTERVENTIONS Exploratory laparotomy and complete resection were conducted successfully. OUTCOMES Postoperative course was uneventful and no recurrence was displayed in the 6-month follow-up. LESSONS This case emphasizes that pediatric surgeons and pathologists must always consider the possibility of MNTI while dealing with ovarian neoplasms in infants. Although considered to be a benign tumor, proper treatment and close clinicoradiological follow-up of this tumor are of great importance.
Using the new Amplatzer Trevisio delivery cable to facilitate closure of atrial and ventricular shunts

Abstract Introduction The mechanical and ergonomic characteristics of a delivery cable can play a significant role in facilitating efficient occlusion of shunts in congenital heart disease. The aim of this study was to describe the initial experience using the new Amplatzer Trevisio delivery cable for percutaneous closure of atrial and ventricular septal defects. Additionally, bench testing was performed to compare the Trevisio and standard Amplatzer delivery cables. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on all procedures in which the Trevisio cable was used to facilitate device deployment at a single institution between September and November 2019. Bench testing of both cables was performed to compare straight-line pushability and device movement after release. Results Two atrial septal defects (ASD), one patent foramen ovale (PFO), and two ventricular septal defects (VSD) were successfully closed with Amplatzer occlusion devices using the Trevisio cable. Two of these successful procedures followed failed attempts to close the shunt using other devices due to anatomic complexity. Review of transesophageal (TEE) imaging in matched cases where a standard delivery cable had been used demonstrated a 15o shift in the angle of the device after release. On fluoroscopy, this shift was measured at 12.3o. Using the Trevisio cable, a shift of only 2.3o was noted fluoroscopically. Bench testing failed to demonstrate any difference in the objective or subjective pushability between both cables despite the flexible design of the Trevisio cable. Fluoroscopic testing with a 3D model demonstrated improved predictability of device position when using the Trevisio cable. Conclusions The Amplatzer Trevisio delivery cable offers reduction in device tension prior to release and reorientation after release without sacrificing device pushability when compared to the traditional delivery cable for deployment of the Amplatzer series of devices.
Brain ultrashort T2 component imaging using a short TR adiabatic inversion recovery prepared dual-echo ultrashort TE sequence with complex echo subtraction (STAIR-dUTE-ES).

Abstract Long T2 water contamination is a major challenge with direct in vivo UTE imaging of ultrashort T2 components in the brain since water contributes most of the signal detected from white and gray matter. The Short TR Adiabatic Inversion Recovery prepared Ultrashort TE (STAIR-UTE) sequence can significantly suppress water signals and simultaneously image ultrashort T2 components. However, the TR used may not be sufficiently short to allow the STAIR preparation to completely suppress all the water signals in the brain due to specific absorption rate (SAR) limitations on clinical MR scanners. In this study, we describe a STAIR prepared dual-echo UTE sequence with complex Echo Subtraction (STAIR-dUTE-ES) which improves water suppression for selective ultrashort T2 imaging compared with that achieved with the STAIR-UTE sequence. Numerical simulations showed that the STAIR-dUTE-ES technique can effectively suppress water signals and allow accurate quantification of ultrashort T2 protons. Volunteer and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patient studies demonstrated the feasibility of the STAIR-dUTE-ES technique for selective imaging and quantification of ultrashort T2 components in vivo. A significantly lower mean UltraShort T2 Proton Fraction (USPF) was found in lesions in MS patients (5.7 ± 0.7%) compared with that in normal white matter of healthy volunteers (8.9 ± 0.6%). The STAIR-dUTE-ES sequence provides robust water suppression for volumetric imaging and quantitation of ultrashort T2 component. The reduced USPF in MS lesions shows the clinical potential of the sequence for diagnosis and monitoring treatment in MS.
13C tracer analysis identifies extensive recycling of endogenous CO2 in vivo

Abstract 13C tracing analysis is increasingly used to monitor cellular metabolism in vivo and in intact cells, but data interpretation is still the key element to unveil the complexity of metabolic activities. We have performed [U-13C]-glucose and [U-13C]-glutamine tracing in sarcoma-bearing mice (in vivo) and in cancer cell lines (in vitro). 13C enrichment of metabolites in cultured cells and tissues was determined by liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometer (LC-HRMS). As expected, citrate M+2 or M+4 is the dominant mass isotopologue in vitro. However, citrate M+1 was unexpectedly the dominant isotopologue in mice receiving [U-13C]-glucose or [U-13C]-glutamine infusion. One plausible explanation is that 13CO2 produced from the oxidation of 13C tracers in vitro is negligible due to the dilution of HCO3- supplemented to cell culture when sodium bicarbonante is used and diffusible volume of CO2 in the culture incubator, while endogenous 13CO2 in vivo is substantial and is fixed into the TCA cycle, purine, and serine, resulting in M+1 isotopologues. A time course study shows the generation of high abundance citrate M+1 early in plasma, which may serve as a potent non-invasive biomarker of tissue pyruvate carboxylase activity. Altogether, our results show that recycling of endogenous CO2 is substantial in vivo and provides important insights into the experimental design and data interpretation of 13C tracing assays.
Computational analysis of deleterious single nucleotide polymorphisms in catechol O-Methyltransferase conferring risk to post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the prevalent neurological disorder which is drawing increased attention over the past few decades. Major risk factors for PTSD can be categorized into environmental and genetic factors. Among the genetic risk factors, polymorphisms in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is known to be associated with the risk for PTSD. In the present study, we analysed the impact of deleterious single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the COMT gene conferring risk to PTSD using computational based approaches followed by molecular dynamic simulations. The data on COMT gene associated with PTSD were collected from several databases including Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) search. Datasets related to SNP were downloaded from the dbSNP database. To study the structural and dynamic effects of COMT wild type and mutant forms, we performed molecular dynamics simulations (MD simulations) at a time scale of 300 ns. Results from screening the SNPs using the computational tools SIFT and Polyphen-2 demonstrated that the SNP rs4680 (V158M) in COMT has a deleterious effect with phenotype in PTSD. Results from the MD simulations showed that there is some major fluctuations in the structural features including root mean square deviation (RMSD), radius of gyration (Rg), root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) and secondary structural elements including α-helices, sheets and turns between wild-type (WT) and mutant forms of COMT protein. In conclusion, our study provides novel insights into the deleterious effects and impact of V158M mutation on COMT protein structure which plays a key role in PTSD.
Energy efficiency of blower heater non-purge compressed air dryers

This research focuses on twin tower regenerative closed loop desiccant dryers, specifically: blower heater non-purge (BHNP) with and without cooling water pumps, compressed-air heater purge (CHP), blower heater purge (BHP) and pressure swing heaterless (PSH). The research was conducted by collecting and analysing real time current draw data on air compressors and associated dryers at eight different facilities (13 air compressors) in terms of energy, power and cost. A decision tool was developed to depict the operational characteristics (power, energy and cost) of each type of dryer if used in conjunction with the selected compressor system. Finally, this research, on an equivalent normalised basis, compared and contrasted the different types of dryers in terms of performance and cost. The research concluded that of the five types of desiccant dryer types observed the most energy efficient was the BHNP (with cooling water pump), subject to the operational conditions.
The Role of Valley Degeneracy in Carrier Extraction in Valley Photovoltaic Solar Cells

By operating a hot carrier solar cell optically at the absorber yet electronically at upper valleys of the band structure, a path to surpassing the single gap efficiency limit becomes viable. In pursuit of this, a set of InGaAs heterostructures have been produced in search of an effective extraction pathway for both high energy ‘hot’ carriers and low energy carriers accelerated to the upper valleys by the internal electric field. The requirements of band alignments, intervalley scattering, and electric field strength guide an approach toward a practical valley photovoltaic hot carrier solar cell.
Experience from Historical Applications

You will not become a machine-learning expert by just mastering a handful of algorithms—far from it. The world lurking behind the classroom toy domains has a way of complicating things, frustrating the engineer with unexpected hurdles, and challenging everybody’s notion of what exactly the induced classifier is supposed to do and why. Just as everywhere in the world of technology, a healthy dose of creativity is indispensable.
The Sources of Social Power: A theory of revolution

I have defined a revolution as a popular insurgent movement that overthrows a ruling regime and then transforms substantially at least three of the four sources of social power – ideological, economic, military, and political. A political revolution is one that only changes political power relations, as happened in 1911 in China, and as the 2011 Arab Spring attempted to do. I gave fuller explanations of the main twentieth-century revolutions – successful and unsuccessful – in Volume 3 and added a little more about post–World War II Latin American and Asian cases here in Chapter 5. Chapter 7 presented what was initially a revolution from above in the fall of the Soviet Union, and I will spend some time discussing the special case of the Iranian revolution of 1979 later in this chapter. Other chapters have discussed the development of the main reformist alternatives to revolution through the century. From all of this some broad comparative and historical generalizations, amounting to an approximate theory of revolution, are possible, though history always presents new challenges to revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries alike. These generalizations involve all four sources of social power. First, in the twentieth century revolutions up to the Iranian revolution of 1979 successful insurgent leaders embraced Marxist theories of class exploitation, struggle, and revolutionary transformation, though they did not always do this at the beginning of their struggle while Marxism proved a supple ideological instrument in their hands. A substantial component of ideological power was necessary for modern revolutions, for this gave a vision of the march of history, which solidified an insurgent ideological power elite and drove them on to take highly risky actions during insurgency and wholesale social transformations after they seized power. This meant that the insurgents kept sight of their ultimate transformative goals even while engaging in pragmatic, reformist actions in the present, as was notably so among the Chinese communists. It also ensured that seizing political power was not the end of the revolution. These revolutionaries did not settle down into comfortable enjoyment of power but driven on by their ideology sought to transform the other sources of power.
Detection of trisomy 12 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia by fluorescence in situ hybridization to interphase cells: a simple and sensitive method

Trisomy 12 is the most common cytogenetic abnormality in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and a number of studies have suggested that it may be an adverse prognostic indicator. We have evaluated the usefulness of fluorescence in situ hybridization with a chromosome 12-specific probe as a simple means for detecting trisomy 12 in interphase cells. Forty cases of B-cell CLL previously studied with conventional cytogenetic techniques were analyzed with a biotinylated probe to the centromeric region of chromosome 12. Thirty of these retrospective cases could be reevaluated with in situ hybridization. Our analysis showed three hybridization signals (ie, trisomy 12) in interphase cells from seven of seven cases found previously to have trisomy 12. Trisomy 12 was also detected in five additional cases: in one case thought to have a normal karyotype, in two cases that had been inadequate for routine cytogenetic analysis, and in two cases that had been found to have an abnormal karyotype without trisomy 12. In a prospective series of 20 newly accrued CLL cases, all cases were analyzed successfully by in situ hybridization and six (30%) showed trisomy 12. We were able to perform the analysis on routinely prepared and previously Wright-stained peripheral blood smears. We conclude that fluorescence in situ hybridization is a simple means for the detection of trisomy 12 in CLL. The technique is more sensitive than conventional cytogenetic analysis and would be a useful tool in clinical studies.
Cacao leaf procyanidins increase locally and systemically in response to infection by Moniliophthora perniciosa basidiospores

Flavan-3-ol monomers and oligomers from dimers to decamers were quantitatively determined by HPLC-FLD in leaves of four Theobroma cacao varieties. Cacao flush leaves had higher procyanidin content than mature leaves. Moniliophthora perniciosa basidiospore infection results in an increase in cacao leaf procyanidins in the inoculated leaves, as well as in the uninoculated, adjacent, older leaves on an actively growing branch, resulting in both a local and systemic increase in procyanidin content in response to infection. Procyanidin oligomers increased significantly in leaves of the less susceptible genotype Scavina 6 upon infection, and total procyanidin levels were higher than in Cacao Comum a more disease susceptible genotype. Selection of genotypes with high constitutive and/or inducible content of procyanidins in young flush leaves may be a strategy to develop witches’ broom disease resistant cultivars.
Phospholipid-metal complexes. Interaction of triphosphoinositide- and phosphatidylserine-metal complexes with ethylenediamine, polyaminoacids, and protein.

Abstract When ovalbumin, poly-l-lysine, poly-l-aspartic acid, or ethylenediamine is added to a biphasic chloroform-methanol-water system containing the Mg(II), Ni(II), or Ca(II) complex of triphosphoinositide or phosphatidylserine, mixed complexes are formed as evidenced by the formation of an interfacial precipitate similar to that observed by Dawson containing phospholipid, metal, and protein or polyamino acid, or by the presence of ethylenediamine in the chloroform-rich phase where it is ordinarily insoluble. Stable mixed complex formation was shown by gel filtration studies. Analysis of complexes before and after gel filtration indicates stable binding of one ethylenediamine per phospholipidmetal unit and weak binding of an additional molecule of the amine. Polylysine is bound to the triphosphoinositide-Ni(II) complex in a 0.64:1 ratio on a weight basis.
Improving National and Homeland Security through Context Knowledge Representation & Reasoning Technologies

In the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy it has became clear that the lack of effective information exchange among government agencies hindered the capability of identifying potential threats and preventing terrorism actions. It has been noted by the National Research Council that Although there are many private and public databases that contain information potentially relevant to counterterrorism programs, they lack the necessary context definitions (i.e., metadata) and access tools to enable interoperation with other databases and the extraction of meaningful and timely information1. This report clearly recognized the important problem that the semantic data integration research community has been studying. In this chapter, we describe the Laboratory for Information Globalization and Harmonization Technologies (LIGHT) developed at MIT. LIGHT arises from previous research, most notably the COntext INterchange (COIN) context mediation technology and the Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD). Context Mediation technology addresses the above problem and deals directly with the integration of heterogeneous contexts (i.e. data meaning) in a flexible, scalable and extensible environment. This approach makes it easier and more transparent for receivers (e.g., applications, sensors, users) to exploit distributed sources (e.g., databases, web, information repositories, sensors). In this paper we define context as the assumptions of the source and receiver that affect correct interpretation of the meaning of the information. Receivers are able to specify their desired context so that there will be no uncertainty in the interpretation of the information coming from heterogeneous sources. The COIN context knowledge representation approach and associated reasoning tools significantly reduce the overhead involved in the integration of multiple sources and simplifies maintenance in an environment of changing source and receiver context. This technology is essential in the counter-terrorism environment in a number of areas including: (1) allowing for receivers (i.e., applications, analysts) to have multiple views of the same data (e.g., different semantic assumptions - two analysts may have a different meaning for Soviet Union depending on the application), (2) allowing for the collection of information into a single data warehouse, and (3) use in a dynamic federated environment where applications may have changing contexts and sources are added and removed from the grid. This approach is essential to the agile integration of information to support counter terrorism.
Wave propagation in a piezoelectric ceramic plate sandwiched between two semiconductor layers

We study propagation of anti-plane (SH) waves in a piezoelectric ceramic plate carrying a thin layer of a semicon- ducting material on each of its major surfaces. Wave attenuation and dispersion caused by semiconduction as well as wave amplification by a biasing electric field are examined.
Selective deposition of parylene C for underwater shear-stress sensors

This paper reports the application of selective parylene C deposition for the waterproof coating of underwater shear-stress sensors. The selective deposition has been achieved by electrically heating the sensing element during deposition, utilizing the dependence of parylene deposition rate on substrate temperature. The electrical power supplied was only 20 mW to raise the temperature of the sensing element 210/spl deg/C above ambient due to the sensor's excellent thermal isolation. After selective parylene deposition, the sensing element was still exposed while other areas were covered by parylene. More effective interaction between the sensor and water was realized. With selective parylene deposition, excellent waterproof and high shear-stress sensitivity can be achieved at the same time.