cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparative temperature and water relations of Tenebrio obscurus larvae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract 1. 1. Experiments were conducted in order to determine the upper and lower lethal temperatures, and the effects of temperature and relative humidity on the survival capacity and cuticular permeability of Tenebrio obscurus larvae. 2. 2. RH has a greater effect on survival capacity at high temperature extremes than at low temperature extremes. At 12% RH, the upper and lower lethal temperatures were 39.2 and −4.4°C, respectively. At 72% RH, they were 42.6 and −5.9°C, respectively. 3. 3. At cold temperatures, relatively moist conditions (72% RH) enhance survival. Temperature extremes are more limiting for survival under xeric conditions in the larvae of this species. The combination of high temperatures and 72% RH has a greater effect on the survival capacity of this species than does the combination of cold temperatures and 72% RH. 4. 4. Under dry air conditions, these larvae exhibit cuticular permeabilities that fall within the range reported for xeric-adapted arachnids and insects and some mesic spiders. Water loss (weight loss) within the first 12 hr of desiccation was greater at higher humidities. Rates of water loss decrease following initial loss. 5. 5. Fossoriality is an effective mechanism for decreasing rates of water loss in these larvae.
Icons of Early Conservation Biology

Barrow's history of extinction in the United States highlights the naturalists who created the concept of endangered species.
Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging in an adult cohort following prenatal and early postnatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water

This population-based retrospective cohort study examined Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain in relation to prenatal and early postnatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Subjects were identified through birth records from 1969 through 1983. Exposure was modeled using pipe network information from town water departments, a PCE leaching and transport algorithm, EPANet water flow modeling software, and Geographic Information System (GIS) methodology. Brain imaging was performed on 26 exposed and 16 unexposed subjects. Scans were acquired on a Philips 3T whole body scanner using the ADNI T1-weighted MP-RAGE scan. The scans were processed by FreeSurfer version 4.3.1 software to obtain measurements of specific brain regions. There were no statistically significant differences between exposed and unexposed subjects on the measures of white matter hypointensities (β: 127.5mm(3), 95% CI: -259.1, 1514.0), white matter volumes (e.g. total cerebral white matter: β: 21230.0mm(3), 95% CI: -4512.6, 46971.7) or gray matter volumes (e.g. total cerebral gray matter: β: 11976.0mm(3), 95% CI: -13657.2, 37609.3). The results of this study suggest that exposure to PCE during gestation and early childhood, at the levels observed in this population, is not associated with alterations in the brain structures studied.
Amino acid composition of organic matter associated with carbonate and non-carbonate sediments

Abstract Amino acids comprise from 15 to 36% by weight of humic substances from carbonate and non-carbonate sediments. Humic and fulvic acids extracted from carbonate sediments are characterized by an amino acid composition consisting primarily of the acidic amino acids, aspartic and glutamic acid. Humic substances from non-carbonate sediments have a distinctly different amino acid composition consisting primarily of glycine and alanine. Amino acid analyses of various molecular weight fractions of fulvic acids extracted from carbonates show that lower molecular weight fractions have appreciably higher relative abundances of the acidic amino acids compared to higher molecular weight fractions. Based on typical values for carboxyl group content in humic substances, acidic amino acids may be a significant contributor of these functional groups. Carbonate surfaces appear to selectively adsorb aspartic acid-enriched organic matter while non-carbonates do not have this property.
Safety and Metabolic Effects of L‐Glutamine Administration in Humans

A series of dose-response studies was conducted to evaluate the clinical safety, pharmacokinetics, and metabolic effects of L-glutamine administered to humans. Initial studies in normal individuals evaluated the short-term response to oral loads of glutamine at doses of 0, 0.1, and 0.3 g/kg. A dose-related increase in blood glutamine occurred after oral loading and elevation of amino acids known to be end products of glutamine metabolism occurred (including alanine, citrulline, and arginine). No evidence of clinical toxicity or generation of toxic metabolites (ammonia and glutamate) was observed. Glutamine was infused intravenously in normal subjects over 4 hr at doses of 0.0125 and 0.025 g/kg/hr. In addition, glutamine was evaluated as a component of parenteral nutrition solutions (0.285 and 0.570 g/kg/day) administered for 5 days to normal subjects. Intravenous administration of glutamine was well tolerated without untoward clinical or biochemical effects. Subsequent studies in patients receiving glutamine-enriched parenteral nutrition for several weeks confirmed the clinical safety of this approach in a catabolic patient population. In addition, nitrogen retention appeared to be enhanced when glutamine was administered at a dose of 0.570 g/kg/day in a balanced nutritional solution providing adequate calories (145% of basal) and protein (1.5 g/kg/day). Nitrogen balance in patients receiving lower doses of glutamine (0.285 g/kg/day) was similar to that in patients receiving standard formulations. Further controlled clinical trials of the metabolic efficacy, tolerance, and dose response of glutamine in other patient groups are necessary to determine the appropriate use of glutamine enrichment of nutrient solutions.
The Effectiveness of the Cornell Phosphatase Test for Dairy Products

Summary A simple phosphatase method, utilizing only one buffer substrate concentration and one precipitant concentration for all dairy products, is presented in detail. In this test the dairy product is incubated in a highly concentrated Na 2 CO 3 -NaHCO 3 buffer substrate at pH 9.5 to 9.7 and followed by precipitation with a trichloroacetic-HC1 solution. The filtrate then is made alkaline with Na 2 CO 3 and color development proceeds using BQC. Overnight incubation is standard for this test but both a short (1-hr.) and a rapid (10-min.) variation are available whenever circumstances dictate and are practically interchangeable as regards technique. This universal dairy products phosphatase test is highly sensitive and accurate but many other advantages are indicated by its simplicity of operation, low cost, ability to produce accurate results on samples of unknown age or origin and relatively low control values. Results in this study point to the importance of using overnight incubation for greatest sensitivity and accuracy on all phosphatase tests utilizing BQC as a color developer.
The Lobdell Car Wheel Co., 1830-1867

While the growth of American railroads and textile mills from their beginnings through the Civil War has been extensively studied, much less attention has been given to smaller manufacturing firms which grew at the same time from job-shops to major units in the industrial structure. This paper studies one such firm, whose growth was a function of the skills of its proprietors, the benefits of its location, and the demand for manufactured items created by the growth of agricultural and transport sectors of the economy.
Radical Cystectomy and Orthotopic Diversion in Men and Women

Radical cystectomy remains the mainstay of surgical therapy for bladder cancer, both for those with de novo invasive tumors and those who fail intravesical therapy or otherwise progress from superficial disease to a higher grade or stage. Cystectomy may be an integrated part of multimodality therapy, as in those treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and for the occasional patient who fails alternative therapies, such as radiation combined with chemotherapy. Cystectomy is also occasionally indicated in patients with benign disease, trauma, or after radiation- or cryotherapy-induced damage to the lower urinary tract. Regardless of the indication, the surgical approach and postoperative care are similar.
Vector quantization for entropy coding of image subbands

Vector quantization for entropy coding of image subbands is investigated. Rate distortion curves are computed with mean square error as a distortion criterion. The authors show that full-search entropy-constrained vector quantization of image subbands results in the best performance, but is computationally expensive. Lattice quantizers yield a coding efficiency almost indistinguishable from optimum full-search entropy-constrained vector quantization. Orthogonal lattice quantizers were found to perform almost as well as lattice quantizers derived from dense sphere packings. An optimum bit allocation rule based on a Lagrange multiplier formulation is applied to subband coding. Coding results are shown for a still image. >
Frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa diluted by slow or rapid dilution method: measurements on occurrence of osmotic shock and sperm viability.

Abstract This study was undertaken to investigate the occurrence of osmotic shock, sperm viability and membrane functional status of frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa during a short-term incubation period (2 h) in vitro after dilution by 2 methods. Frozen semen from 10 bulls (0.5-ml plastic straws, 7% glycerol) was thawed and diluted by slow or rapid dilution method with Ham's F-10 medium containing 0 or 7% glycerol and assessed for sperm motion parameters, percentage of spermatozoa with coiled tails and reactivity to the hypoosmotic swelling (HOS; percentage of spermatozoa swelling) test at 60 min intervals during a 2 h incubation period (37 °C). Post-thaw sperm viability, as reflected by percentage and grade of motility (0 to 4) did not differ between the 2 dilution methods (P > 0.05) at the beginning of incubation (Time 0). However, differences were apparent (P
Premalignant PTEN-deficient thymocytes activate microRNAs miR-146a and miR-146b as a cellular defense against malignant transformation.

Cancer develops by a multistep process during which cells acquire characteristics that allow them to evade apoptosis and proliferate unchecked. Sequential acquisition of genetic alterations drives this process but also causes cellular stress, frequently prompting cells to enter a premalignant period during which they mount a defense against transformation. T cell–specific deletion of the tumor suppressor PTEN in mice induces premalignancy in the thymus and development of CD4+ T-cell lymphomas in the periphery. Here we sought to identify factors mediating the cellular defense against transformation during the premalignant period. We identified several microRNAs upregulated specifically in premalignant thymocytes, including miR-146a, miR-146b, and the miR-183/96/182 cluster. CD4-driven T cell–specific transgenic overexpression of mir-146a and mir-146b significantly delayed PTEN-deficient lymphomagenesis and delayed c-myc oncogene induction, a key driver of transformation in PTEN-deficient T-cell malignancies. We found that miR-146a and miR-146b targeting of Traf6 attenuates TCR signaling in the thymus and inhibits downstream NF-κB–dependent induction of c-myc. Additionally, c-myc repression in mature CD4 T cells by miR-146b impaired TCR-mediated proliferation. Hence, we have identified 2 miRNAs that are upregulated as part of the cellular response against transformation that, when overrepresented, can effectively inhibit progression to malignancy in the context of PTEN deficiency.
Approaches for estimating effects of climate change on heat-related deaths: challenges and opportunities

Abstract The distribution of overall temperature and the frequency of heat waves may be shifting due to climate change. However, forecasting future health consequences of higher temperatures in a given city is complicated by uncertainties in how populations and societal infrastructure will adapt. This paper reviews approaches to address these challenges, including: (1) using historical weather–mortality relationships for the same region, or a location with a similar climate as the city of interest; (2) evaluating adaptation using the minimum mortality threshold (MMT) temperature (i.e., the temperature with the lowest mortality rate); and (3) estimating the impact of modifiers (e.g., air conditioning, population density, green space) on the temperature and mortality relation, and then predicting a range of effects based on plausible estimates for the future values of these parameters in a given city. Each approach can provide insight into how heat could affect mortality under a changing climate, but all have uncertainties. In spite of these limitations, projecting the future public health burden of temperature-related health effects can provide valuable information to aid public health and environmental authorities in planning and communicating the risks of climate change to the public.
Becoming Teachers of Inner-City Students: Identification Creativity and Curriculum Wisdom of Committed White Male Teachers

Broadly speaking, this reflection approaches the on-going concern of capacitating an overwhelmingly White teaching profession for effectively teaching inner-city students attending de facto segregated schools. Using professional identifications, this reflection presents narrativized understanding of respondents’ becoming committed teachers of inner-city students through identification creativity driven by alternative masculinity. Respondents’ professional identifications, articulating identification creativity, provide an understanding of curriculum wisdom for teaching in inner-city schools that includes race visibility, difference within difference, and relational-experiential pedagogy. Last, this reflection urges researchers toward a second wave of White teacher identity studies based on directions emerging in this research.
Evaluation of bioaerosol components, generation factors, and airborne transport associated with lime treatment of contaminated sediment.

Abstract Lime treatment has been used in contaminated sediment management activities for many purposes such as dewatering, improvement of physical properties, and reducing contaminant mobility. Exothermic volatilization of volatile organic compounds from lime-treated sediment is well known, but potential aerosolization of bioaerosol components has not been evaluated. A physical model of a contaminated sediment treatment and airborne transport process and an experimental protocol were developed to identify specific bioaerosol components (bacteria, fungi, cell structural components, and particles) that may be aerosolized and transported. Key reaction variables (amount of lime addition, rate of lime addition, mixing energy supplied) that may affect the aerosolization of bioaerosol components were evaluated. Lime treatment of a sediment contaminated with heavy metals, petroleum-based organics, and microorganisms increased the sediment pH and solids content. Lime treatment reduced the number of water-extractab...
Evidence that the transport of ricin to the cytoplasm is independent of both Rab6A and COPI

Cholera toxin, Shiga toxin and ricin are examples of protein toxins that require retrograde transport from the Golgi complex into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to express their cytotoxic activities and different toxins appear to use different pathways of retrograde transport. Cholera toxin contains the mammalian retrograde targeting signal KDEL and is believed to exploit the coat protein I (COPI) and KDEL receptor-dependent pathway to go from the Golgi complex to the ER. Shiga toxin, however, has no KDEL sequence to specify its inclusion in COPI-coated retrograde vesicles and is believed to use a recently discovered COPI-independent and Rab6A-dependent retrograde pathway to enter the ER. Ricin, like Shiga toxin, does not contain a KDEL sequence and is therefore a candidate to use the COPI-independent and Rab6A-dependent pathway of retrograde transport to access the ER. We measured the effect of the GDP-restricted mutant of Rab6A (Rab6A-T27N) on the cytotoxic activity of ricin and found that expressing Rab6A-T27N in cells did not inhibit the cytotoxicity of ricin, suggesting that ricin enters the cytoplasm by a retrograde pathway that does not involve Rab6A. Moreover, ricin still intoxicated cells when Rab6A and COPI were simultaneously inhibited, implying that ricin requires neither Rab6A nor COPI to intoxicate cells.
Developing fully functional E-government: A four stage model

Literature reports the experiences with e-government initiatives as chaotic and unmanageable, despite recent numerous initiatives at different levels of government and academic and practitioners’ conferences on e-government. E-government presents a number of challenges for public administrators. To help public administrators think about e-government and their organizations, this article describes different stages of e-government development and proposes a ‘stages of growth’ model for fully functional e-government. Various government websites and related e-government initiatives help to ground and explain this model. These stages outline the multi-perspective transformation within government structures and functions as they make transitions to e-government through each stage. Technological and organizational challenges for each stage accompany these descriptions. At the same time, this paper describes how the e-government becomes amalgamated with traditional public administrative structure. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
Blind identification of co-existing synchronous and asynchronous users for CDMA systems

In a code-division multiple access (CDMA) system, if all users are either bit-synchronous or bit-asynchronous, the number of active users can be easily estimated from the dimension of the signal subspace, and users can be correspondingly identified. However, identification of co-existing synchronous and asynchronous users has not been addressed in the literature. In this letter, a subspace-based blind identification approach is presented by exploring correlations of relevant data vectors and evaluating projection of possible code vectors onto the noise subspace.
Study of the hydrophilic‐enhanced ultrafiltration membrane

To reduce hydrophobic interactions between natural organic matter (NOM) and the membrane surface, and thereby fouling due to NOM, hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) monomer chains were attached to a commercially available membrane via in situ graft polymerization. Modification of the membrane was carried out using an oxidizing agent as initiator, PEG monomer, and a chain transfer agent (CTA) as terminating agent. Graft polymerization was carried out by two different methods, bulk (i.e. immersing the membranes in the reactant solutions) and drop (i.e. adding reactants dropwise to the membrane surface). Two different feed solutions were used to characterize the modification. Dextran solution was used to compare the efficiency of each modification method. Synthetic seawater was then used to determine the influence of graft polymerization on flux decline, organic carbon rejection and cake accumulation during filtration. The drop method of modification was found to he the optimal procedure resulting in higher flux and rejection along with improved fouling resistance. Graft polymerization led to an increase in permeability when filtering synthetic seawater containing NOM. FTIR spectra demonstrated the occurrence of modification by showing carbonyl attachment and OH stretching. AFM images indicated lower cake accumulation patterns after modification.
Design of ultrasonic array elements for acoustic power considerations

In sound-transmitting applications such as therapeutic ultrasound, the acoustic power at a particular operating frequency is a critical figure of merit for transducer/array design. A design methodology for enhancing the acoustic power radiated from fluid-loaded piezoelectric array elements at a fixed frequency is developed in this paper. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is integrated within the finite element framework to guide the determination of the two design variables, the piezoelectric element thickness and the matching layer thickness, to optimize the acoustic power output. A method for avoiding explicit remeshing in the optimization iteration is presented. Optimized designs are determined numerically, and the effectiveness of the design method is confirmed by experimental measurements. The validated numerical analysis also shows that conventional design strategies using one-dimensional transducer analysis and rule-of-thumb matching layer or protection layer sizing rules may not give the best design for array elements in acoustic power applications.
Masking the Energy Behavior of DES Encryption

Smart cards are vulnerable to both invasive and non-invasive attacks. Specifically, non-invasive attacks using power and timing measurements to extract the cryptographic key has drawn a lot of negative publicity for smart card usage. The power measurement techniques rely on the data-dependent energy behavior of the underlying system. Further, power analysis can be used to identify the specific portions of the program being executed to induce timing glitches that may in turn help to bypass key checking. Thus, it is important to mask the energy consumption when executing the encryption algorithms. In this work, we augment the instruction set architecture of a simple five-stage pipelined smart card processor with secure instructions to mask the energy differences due to key-related data-dependent computations in DES encryption. The secure versions operate on the normal and complementary versions of the operands simultaneously to mask the energy variations due to value dependent operations. However, this incurs the penalty of increased overall energy consumption in the data-path components. Consequently, we employ secure versions of instructions only for critical operations; that is we use secure instructions selectively, as directed by an optimizing compiler. Using a cycle-accurate energy simulator, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this enhancement. Our approach achieves the energy masking of critical operations consuming 83% less energy as compared to existing approaches employing dual rail circuits.
An on-chip, interconnect capacitance characterization method with sub-femto-farad resolution

In this paper, a sensitive and simple technique for parasitic interconnect capacitance measurement with 0.01 fF sensitivity is presented. This on-chip technique is based upon an efficient test structure design. No reference capacitor is needed. Only a DC current meter is required for its measurement. We have applied this technique to extract various interconnect geometry capacitances and compared the results to those from 3D simulations.
Borel-Moore Homology

Throughout this chapter all spaces dealt with are assumed to be locally compact Hausdorff spaces. The base ring L will be taken to be a principal ideal domain, and all sheaves are assumed to be sheaves of L-modules. Note that over a principal ideal domain (and, more generally, over a Dedekind domain) a module is injective if and only if it is divisible.
Validating the use of performance reference compounds in passive samplers to assess porewater concentrations in sediment beds.

Hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) tend to accumulate in sediment beds when they are released into aquatic environments. Due to this buildup of HOCs in the sediment, the highest water concentrations are often in the pore water. Passive samplers can be used in the field (i.e., in situ) to measure freely dissolved porewater concentrations if target contaminants diffusing through the sediment and into the sampler exhibit the same diffusive retardation factors as performance reference compounds (PRCs) that are diffusing out of the sampler and into the sediment. To test this assumption, polyethylene (PE) passive samplers were placed in an organic- and black- carbon-rich sediment bed in the laboratory with samplers removed every 30 days for 4 months. The concentrations of target contaminants in the PE at each time point, corrected using measures of the losses of PRCs, were in good agreement with separately measured equilibrium c...
Introduction: Engaging justice, engaging freedom

This introduction outlines the core debates in the 8-piece symposium dedicated to critically engaging Amartya Sen’s The Idea of Justice. Among these is whether the establishment communities that ar...
Abstract LB-185: Cytokinesis-blocked micronuclei Assay (CBMN) as a biological cancer risk assessment tool

Lung cancer is the leading cause of all cancer-related deaths in the US. Given the lack of effective of screening modalities, the need to develop more accurate cancer risk assessment tools is imperative to improve the ability to identify individuals that are at greatest risk of developing this disease. The Cytokinesis-Blocked Micronuclei Assay (CBMN) presents a sensitive, specific, and rapid method of assessing DNA damage, a hallmark of cancer. We have previously reported that this assay is extremely sensitive to genetic damage caused by the tobacco specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and that the binucleated cells with micronuclei, nucleoplasmic bridges, and nuclear buds in lymphocytes (chromosome damage endpoints measured by the assay) are strong predictors of lung cancer risk. To further identify the specific chromosomes involved in lung carcinogenesis, we conducted Spectral Karyotyping (SKY) on a population of n=116 cases and n=126 controls on whom CBMN data are available. SKY was performed on both baseline and NNK-treated blood lymphocytes. After adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, pack years (intensity), and smoke years (duration), we observed consistent significant results for damage on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 9, 13, 16, 17, 19, 22, and X (all p9s ≤ 0.05) and lung cancer risk. Several of these identified chromosomes are well known to harbor critical genes involved in lung carcinogenesis, such as the FHIT gene (chromosome 3), p16/CDKN2A (chromosome 9), PADPRP (chromosome 13) and TP53 (chromosome 17). Our results support the utilization of CBMN as a cancer risk assessment tool, and when used in conjunction with other cytogenetic methodologies can increase our ability to identify specific regions of DNA damage, thereby improving our understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in individual cancer predisposition. This work was supported by the following: Kellogg Health Scholars Program (W.K. Kellogg Foundation P0117943) NIMHS P60 MD000503 CA129050 NIHS P30 ES007784 Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-185. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-185
Review of the split brain

The corpus callosum, the cerebral commissure that interconnects the left and the right half brain, had been considered an enigma to neurologists and neurosurgeons in the 1940's and 50's. I t was the structure discussed most often when an example was sought to show how little was known about the brain. Even though it is the largest nerve tract in the brain, which in man contains more than two hundred million neurons, it was generally believed it could be sectioned and destroyed and have no apparent consequences for behavior. People continually quipped about the general lack of importance of the forebrain commissures. I t was in this context that the original experiments on the split-brain were carried out in the cat by Ronald Myers and Roger Sperry at the University of Chicago. Myers had successfully developed the technique of spliting the optic chiasm, thereby allowing visual information presented to the right eye to be exclusively projected to the right hemisphere and visual information projected to the left eye to be exclusively presented to the left hemisphere. He had discovered in follow-up behavioral tests that there was, nonetheless, interocular transfer. Therefore the logical structure to next surgically section to see whether one could block interhemispherie transfer of visual information was the corpus callosum. This was done and this study gave birth to the now classic "split-brain" experiments first done on the cat showing that discriminations trained to one side leaves the other half of the brain naive. Later studies carried out in both the monkey and chimpanzee confirmed these findings. Still, however, these results stood in marked contrast to the earlier results of Akelaitis who had studied a series of some 26 patients with the corpus callosum and anterior commissure sectioned in complete or in part for the interhemispherie control of epileptic seizures. In an extensive series of studies he purported to show that sectioning of these structures did not result in any significant neurological or psychological sequela. This point was made and emerged as the dominant view even though there were several contradictory reports in the literature showing disconnection effects as a result of having the callosum sectioned or rendered non-functional by a tumor or the like (see Geschwind, 1965). I t was also generally considered that cutting the callosum did not, in fact, help control epilepsy.
Shivering following cardiac surgery: predictive factors, consequences, and characteristics

Background Shivering is common after cardiac surgery and may evoke harmful hemodynamic changes. Neither those changes nor factors increasing probability of shivering are well defined. Objectives (1) To identify factors linked with risk of shivering by comparing age, weight, body surface area, gender, intraoperative details, anesthetics, postoperative temperatures, hemodynamics, and therapeutics in shivering vs nonshivering patients. (2) To describe temperatures, hemodynamics, therapeutics, myocardial oxygen consumption correlates (rate-pressure product, heart rate, systemic vascular resistance) in shivering and nonshivering groups, and shivering and nonshivering periods. (3) To characterize the electromyogram to determine whether the tremor is cold-induced. Methods A descriptive design with a time series component was used to study a convenience sample of 10 shivering and 10 nonshivering adults for 4 hours during early recovery from cardiac surgery. Pulmonary artery and skin (facial, calf, trunk) temperature were measured every 60 seconds; heart rate and arterial pressure, every 15 minutes; cardiac output, 3 times. Electromyogram was recorded intermittently. Medications and treatments were noted. Results Lower skin temperature was significantly related to shivering risk. Heart rate was significantly higher initially in shiverers and remained higher by 13.6 beats per minute. Significantly more nitroprusside was used to control arterial pressure before than after shivering. No significant differences were noted between groups in core temperature, age, weight, body surface area, anesthesia type, intraoperative temperature; or surgery, circulatory bypass, or cardiac cross-clamp duration. The electromyogram pattern during shivering was typical of that produced by cold. Conclusions These results suggest that true shivering occurs after cardiac surgery. Skin, but not core, temperature and elevated heart rate predict shivering. Shivering may be more likely in hemodynamically unstable patients.
Analysis on the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS from 2005 to 2010 in Lianzhou

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of HIV/AIDS in Lianzhou in order to provide further scientific basis of control and prevention strategies summary.Methods The epidemic data and individual case investigations of HIV/AIDS from 2005 to 2010 in Lianzhou were collected and analyzed by descriptive epidemiological method.Results There were 50 HIV positive cases reported from 2005 to 2010 in Lianzhou,in which 28 cases were HIV positive,22 cases were diagnosed as AIDS and 11 cases of infection.Most of the cases occurred in the central zone and towns in the north of Lianzhou.The ratio of male to female was 3.17:1,with the age from 17 to 82 years old.74.00% of subjects were in the\ range of 20 to 49 years old.Most of patients were peasant,unemployed people and workers.70.00% of them had the education level under junior high school and 64.00% were married.74.00% of the subjects got the infection through heterosexual contact.62.00% of the cases were detected through the voluntary counseling and clinical tests.Conclusion The HIV/AIDS prevalence was at a low level in Lianzhou,and the main route of transmission was heterosexual contact.Therefore,preventive measures should be taken for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS dissemination.
Background Survey and Fluctuation Research of Flies Population in Qingyuan Urban Area

[Objective]To investigate the background and fluctuation of flies population in Qingyuan urban area from September 2005 to August 2010,provide the scientific basis for prevention and control of flies. [Methods]The monitoring was conducted according to the National monitoring mcheme for nocuous vector biology and requests of Guangdong province,and the fly trapping device was applied. [Results]A total of 300 cages/times were set in Qingyuan urban area.14 731 flies were captured,and average monthly density was 49.10 flies per cage,which belonged to 4 families,9 genera,13 species.11 931 flies were Chrysomya megacephala,1 279 flies were housefly,789 flies were Lucilia cuprina and 290 flies were Musca sorbens Wiedemann,which accounted for 80.99%,8.69%,5.36% and 1.97% respectively,and they were the dominant species in Qingyuan urban area.The difference in constituent ratio among these four species was significance(χ2=264,v=12,P0.01).Flies density had increased rapidly since January,reached the first peak from February to April,and the average monthly density of these three months was 82.63 flies per cage.The second peak occurred in September with the average monthly density of 42.78 flies per cage,and it subsequently began to decrease.The fly density of different locations was different,and the highest density was found in farm produce market(125.66 flies per cage). [Conclusion]The survey has basically revealed a constitution of flies population and their seasonal fluctuation pattern in Qingyuan urban area.
Primary reconstruction of interrupted aortic arch by total aortic outflow obstruction.

Primary aortic arch reconstruction was undertaken in three neonates with interrupted aortic arch and ventricular septal defect Total ascending aortic occlusion without cardiopulmonary bypass or profound hypothermia permitted, in each case, a rapid tension-free end-to-side descending-to-ascending aortic anastomosis without resulting neurologic or cardiac sequelae. This technique offers distinct advantages over previously described methods and should be considered whenever interrupted aortic arch is present with a ventricular septal defect.
Pharmaceuticals, pharmacists and profits.

I am writing in response to the editorials on Pharmaceuticals, pharmacists and profits (Aust Prescr 2014;37:146-7 and 148-9). I enjoyed reading the Pharmacy Guild’s perspective on troubles facing the industry. However, the editorial failed to mention the financial troubles facing community pharmacists who are not pharmacy owners. Few people, including those studying to become pharmacists, are aware that the award rate for a full-time pharmacist in charge is $27.16/hour (equivalent to $53 674 annual salary).1 Note that pharmacist interns, pharmacists and experienced pharmacists are all paid less than this. To compare, an unqualified experienced retail employee may earn up to $44 787.2 Pharmacists’ wages are significantly below the average Australian wage of $76 804 before tax.3 From this wage, a pharmacist must pay to be registered for insurance and course fees for 40 hours of continuing professional development per year. Debt from university fees must also be paid. There is a current oversupply of pharmacists, and jobs for salaried pharmacists are not easy to obtain. I understand that some pharmacies are currently experiencing a period of hardship. But should salaried pharmacists be the ones to subsidise the industry by being forced to accept these low rates of pay?
Fixed-Time Schedule-Induced Drinking in Rats During 24-Hour Sessions

Polydipsie drinking was induced by each of three fixed-time (FT 30 sec, FT 60 sec, and FT 432 sec) food schedules in food-deprived rats during 24-hour sessions. The FT 432-sec condition presented food without significant daily interruption. The stereotypical polydipsic drinking pattern emerged, confirming that previous open economy findings generalize to rats living in a closed economy where no supplemental feedings occur outside the experimental chamber. Furthermore, the present study showed that a response requirement is not a prerequisite for the development of schedule-induced polydipsia in the 24-hour session. Drinking occurred consistently following most food presentations during all conditions. These findings illustrate that when the opportunities for alternative activities are limited in a continuous experiment, polydipsia more closely resembles reflexive behavior than adaptive drinking occurring in the context of normal foraging.
Differentiation of Functions of Several Variables

This chapter provides a synoptic view of the differentiation of nonlinear functions of several variables to analyze various aspects of their behavior. The increment principle says that small enough views appear to be linear so small nonlinear changes are approximately linear. The new thing is that the linear function approximating the nonlinear one is itself a function of two variables. The chapter presents the definition of the derivative with respect to a two dimensional vector independent variable. The vector form of the microscope approximation helps interpreting the error term in the manner of the 2-D microscope.
Science and SETI

In October of 2015, news broke of a strange star about 1400 light years from Earth known by the unromantic name KIC 8462852. A small storm in the media brewed as a result of a paper written by the astronomers, led by Yale postdoctoral fellow Tabetha Boyajian, who identified the strange star’s behavior. The odd thing about KIC 8462852 is that over the course of weeks or months it temporarily dims by as much as 80 % of its usual brightness. Predictably, the news media dubbed KIC 8462852 the most mysterious star in our galaxy, as though we actually knew enough about the galaxy to pick one star as most mysterious. The problem with KIC 846285 is that it does not act in a way that can be comfortably explained through known natural phenomena. The astronomers who discovered the peculiar star’s behavior came up with a few possible explanations, and landed on one fairly unsatisfying idea that the dimming is due to cometary debris orbiting the star and periodically obstructing a significant portion of the star’s light.
Ventricular arrhythmias near the distal great cardiac vein: challenging arrhythmia for ablation.

Background— Catheter ablation for ventricular arrhythmia (VA) near the distal great cardiac vein (GCV) is often challenging, and data are limited. Methods and Results— Analysis was performed in 30 patients (19 men; age, 52.8±15.5 years) who underwent catheter ablation for focal VA (11 ventricular tachycardia and 19 premature contractions) with early activation in the GCV (36.7±8.0 ms pre-QRS). Angiography in 27 patients showed earliest GCV site within 5 mm of a coronary artery in 20 (74%). Ablation was performed in the GCV in 15 patients and abolished VA in 8. Ablation was attempted at adjacent non-GCV sites in 19 patients and abolished VA in 5 patients (4 from the left ventricular endocardium and 1 from the left coronary cusp); all success had VA with an initial r wave in lead I and activation ≤7 ms after the GCV (GCV–non-GCV interval). In 13 patients, percutaneous epicardial mapping was performed, but because of adjacent coronaries only 2 received radiofrequency application with VA elimination in 1. Surgical cryoablation was performed in 3 patients and abolished VA in 2. Overall acute success was achieved in 16 (53%) patients. After a median of 2.8 months, 13 patients remained free of VA. Major complications occurred in 4 patients, including coronary injury requiring stenting. Conclusions— Ablation for this arrhythmia is challenging and often limited by the adjacent coronary vessels. Success of anatomically guided endocardial ablation may be identified by a short GCV–non-GCV interval and r wave in lead I.
Life-history theory and climate change: resolving population and parental investment paradoxes

Population growth in the next half-century is on pace to raise global carbon emissions by half. Carbon emissions are associated with fertility as a by-product of somatic and parental investment, which is predicted to involve time orientation/preference as a mediating psychological mechanism. Here, we draw upon life-history theory (LHT) to investigate associations between future orientation and fertility, and their impacts on carbon emissions. We argue ‘ K -strategy’ life history (LH) in high-income countries has resulted in parental investment behaviours involving future orientation that, paradoxically, promote unsustainable carbon emissions, thereby lowering the Earth's K or carrying capacity. Increasing the rate of approach towards this capacity are ‘ r -strategy’ LHs in low-income countries that promote population growth. We explore interactions between future orientation and development that might slow the rate of approach towards global K . Examination of 67 000 individuals across 75 countries suggests that future orientation interacts with the relationship between environmental risk and fertility and with development related parental investment, particularly investment in higher education, to slow population growth and mitigate per capita carbon emissions. Results emphasize that LHT will be an important tool in understanding the demographic and consumption patterns that drive anthropogenic climate change.
Low Resistivity Nickel Germanosilicide Contacts to Ultra-shallow Junctions Formed by the Selective Si1-x Gex Technology for Nanoscale CMOS

In this paper, we present our recent results on nickel germanosilicide contacts formed on p + -n and n + -p junctions formed by selective deposition of in-situ doped Si 1-x Ge x alloys. Our results show that ultra-thin, low resistivity NiSi 1-x Ge x contacts can be formed at temperatures as low as 300°C on both boron and phosphorus doped Si 1-x Ge x layers. Ultra-shallow junctions with excellent reverse leakage behavior and a contact resistivity ∼ of 10 -8 ohm-cm 2 were successfully demonstrated. The thermal stability of NiSi 1-x Ge x was found to be limited to 500°C on p + -Si 1- xGe x and 600°C onn + -Si 1-x Ge x . It was found that by inserting a thin Pt interlayer between Ni and Si 1-x Ge x , the quality of the NiSi 1-x Ge x contacts could be significantly improved. The Pt interlayer was found to improve the interface morphology, which was found to have a direct impact on the electrical properties of the contacts.
Iso-scallop tool path building algorithm “based on tool performance metric” for generalized cutter and arbitrary milling zones in 3-axis CNC milling of free-form triangular meshed surfaces

Abstract In order to generate a tool path, scallop height should be under the given precision requirement and the tool path should be as short as possible. Iso-scallop tool path generation method is traditionally used to generate the effective tool path. This paper discussed a new method to generate a iso-scallop and contour-parallel tool path for a generalized cutter and an arbitrary area on free-form surface in 3-axis CNC milling. The milling surface, originally represented as a triangular mesh, and the generalized cutter surface are converted into voxel-based depth maps. Milling zone map with the same resolution as the part depth map is used to define an arbitrary milling area. First, the points on the boundary of milling area are marked in order to build the tool path that can follow a boundary line. Second, different cutter location positions are tried in order to satisfy two conditions: milling the material from the selected boundary points within the tolerance limit and having the maximum material removal rate on the way from the previous cutter location point. The algorithm is repeated until the whole area to mill is finished. Due to the high demand of computational power, graphics processing unit is employed for the most time consuming operations.
Recent advances in strategies for peripheral nerve tissue engineering

Abstract Peripheral nerve injuries often result in longstanding disability with loss of motor and/or sensory function. Peripheral nerve tissue engineering researchers have been exploring strategies to replace autologous nerve grafts, the gold standard treatment for peripheral nerve injury. Currently, there is still a large technological gap between laboratory research technologies and the products used in the clinic. There are also concerns about the use of rodent models and the reliability of the treatment outcomes. In this paper, we review the most recent approaches in peripheral nerve tissue engineering and methodologies in clinical trials, preclinical studies, and in vitro experiments and briefly discuss future perspectives of the field. We highlight the need for improved in vitro modeling, including nerve-on-a-chip technology and the use of computational modeling. Progress in this area can help to optimize combinatorial treatments and accelerate clinical translation. Furthermore, we see great potential in personalized tissue-engineered scaffolds, which could incorporate patient- and injury-specific anatomy, for complex lesions that are difficult to repair using currently available options.
2001 Year at Rhodes Research Farm

Welcome to the annual progress report for the Iowa State University Rhodes Research Farm. It is always satisfying for me to open this report and review the outcome of the projects that so many people have worked so hard at instituting.
Ocean biogeochemistry modeled with emergent trait-based genomics

Marine ecosystem models have advanced to incorporate metabolic pathways discovered with genomic sequencing, but direct comparisons between models and “omics” data are lacking. We developed a model that directly simulates metagenomes and metatranscriptomes for comparison with observations. Model microbes were randomly assigned genes for specialized functions, and communities of 68 species were simulated in the Atlantic Ocean. Unfit organisms were replaced, and the model self-organized to develop community genomes and transcriptomes. Emergent communities from simulations that were initialized with different cohorts of randomly generated microbes all produced realistic vertical and horizontal ocean nutrient, genome, and transcriptome gradients. Thus, the library of gene functions available to the community, rather than the distribution of functions among specific organisms, drove community assembly and biogeochemical gradients in the model ocean.
Human posture classification using skeleton information

Behavior understanding in images and sequence of images is a widely researched topic these days. One important step towards behavior understanding is Human Posture Recognition that can be used for recognizing activities occurring in a particular scene. In this research, an algorithm for posture recognition in still images using 2D pose information from human skeleton was implemented. An approach based on angles and distances between joints was adopted for classification between sitting and standing postures. The results showed that desired postures were recognized with a good average accuracy of 95%.