cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bottlebrush-Guided Polymer Crystallization Resulting in Supersoft and Reversibly Moldable Physical Networks

The goal of this study is to use ABA triblock copolymers with central bottlebrush B segments and crystalline linear chain A segments to demonstrate the effect of side chains on the formation and mechanical properties of physical networks cross-linked by crystallites. For this purpose, a series of bottlebrush copolymers was synthesized consisting of central amorphous bottlebrush polymer segments with a varying degree of polymerization (DP) of poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PnBA) side chains and linear tail blocks of crystallizable poly(octadecyl acrylate-stat-docosyl acrylate) (poly(ODA-stat-DA)). The materials were generated by sequential atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) steps starting with a series of bifunctional macroinitiators followed by the growth of two ODA-stat-DA linear-chain tails and eventually growing poly(nBA) side chains with increasing DPs. Crystallization of the poly(ODA-stat-DA) tails resulted in a series of reversible physical networks with bottlebrush strands bridging crystalline cr...
High-Level Production and Properties of the Cysteine-Depleted Cytochrome P450 3A4.

Human drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is a dynamic enzyme with a large and highly malleable active site that can fit structurally diverse compounds. Despite extensive investigations, structure–function relationships and conformational dynamics in CYP3A4 are not fully understood. This study was undertaken to engineer a well-expressed and functionally active cysteine-depleted CYP3A4 that can be used in biochemical and biophysical studies. cDNA codon optimization and screening mutagenesis were utilized to boost the level of bacterial expression of CYP3A4 and identify the least harmful substitutions for all six non-heme-ligating cysteines. The C58A/C64M/C98A/C239T/C377A/C468S (Cys-less) mutant was found to be expressed as highly as the optimized wild-type (opt-WT) CYP3A4. The high-resolution X-ray structures of opt-WT and Cys-less CYP3A4 revealed that gene optimization leads to a different folding in the Phe108 and Phe189 regions and promotes binding of the active site glycerol that interlocks ...
Research Challenges in Avoiding “Showstoppers” in Developing Materials for Large-Scale Energy Applications

Krista Walton is a Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Director of UNCAGE-ME, a DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Center focused on the interactions of acid gases with materials. She has worked extensively on characterizing the stability of adsorbent materials, including metal-organic frameworks and porous carbons and developing these materials for practical applications. David Sholl is the John F. Brock III School Chair of the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the Modeling & Simulation Focus Area Leader for RAPID, a DOE-funded manufacturing institute focused on process intensification and the author of a textbook about using Density Functional Theory for materials modeling. His research focuses on using materials modeling to accelerate development of materials for large-scale chemical separations.
How can the risk of ovarian retorsion be reduced

In the current treatment of idiopathic ovarian torsion, the use of oophorectomy has declined in favor of preserving the ovary. This approach brings with it the question of how to reduce the possibility of retorsion of the detorsioned ovary. The aim of this study was to analyze how retorsion can be prevented. Five patients (a 30-day-old Caucasian girl, a 55-day-old Caucasian girl, an 8-year-old Caucasian girl, a 10-year-old Caucasian girl, and a 16-year-old Caucasian girl) who underwent surgery due to non-neoplastic ovarian torsion were retrospectively analyzed for diagnosis and treatment in terms of reducing the possibility of retorsion. In all patients, a precise diagnosis of idiopathic unilateral ovarian torsion was made during laparotomy, and the patients underwent different procedures. The ovary was found to be autoamputated in one patient, and two patients underwent salpingo-oophorectomies due to adnexal necrosis. The ovaries were detorsioned in the remaining two patients. During the operations, patients were evaluated regarding the prevention of retorsion of the ipsilateral and/or contralateral ovary; cyst drainage, cystectomy, ligament fixation, and/or oophoropexy were performed. The median follow-up period of the patients was 2 years (range 1.5–6 years), and they continue to be followed uneventfully. To date, there is no standard approach to protect the ovary from retorsion in patients who undergo surgery due to torsion. The surgical procedure should be tailored on a case-by-case basis.
A remark on gradual underflow

Sometimes computational errors are easy to understand once all the uses, as an operand, of each computed value are known. Directed graphs provide a notational device for displaying these dependencies. Simple graph arguments show that gradual underflow improves the performance of certain computational procedures but not others. (Some procedures require deeper analysis.) Here we use graph arguments to show that if computer arithmetic is augmented with a “denormal zero”, then errors from gradual underflow are always comparable to the uncertainty due to rounding error, though the comparison involves a factor that can grow exponentially with the number of arithmetic operations. Thus for procedures where existence of a denormal zero is unnecessary and the exponential growth is impossible, gradual underflow diminishes the noise from underflow to a level that can safely be ignored.
Distributed voltage control of active MV distribution networks in the presence of high PV penetration

A distributed voltage control scheme for Medium Voltage (MV) distribution networks is proposed. The proposed scheme requires minimal information exchange between the nearby existing voltage control devices like On Load Tap Changer (OLTC), capacitor banks, etc. and three-phase smart inverters that may be connected at the far end of the line (EOL) in high PV penetration scenarios. A leading and lagging power factor (PF)-based algorithm is developed to properly coordinate these multiple inverters. Advanced Volt-Var characteristics of the smart inverter equipped with extended reactive power reserve is used to mitigate the voltage rise issue. A theoretical framework is also developed for setting the inverter control parameters. Simulation results from a modified IEEE 13 bus test system while using real field data verify the effectiveness of the proposed control method.
Heterogeneous Households, Real Rigidity, and Estimated Duration of Price Contract in a Sticky-Price DSGE Model

This paper introduces heterogeneous households into an otherwise standard Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model with Calvo-style sticky goods prices. La- bor skills are industry speci…c. The households are heterogeneous because each household possesses a labor skill specialized exclusively for a certain industry and asset markets are incomplete. Then a household's consumption depends positively on its labor income and the industry output, which leads to a smaller wage elasticity of industry labor supply due to wealth eect relative to the case in which the households are homogeneous in consump- tion. Firms then adjust their prices by a smaller amount than when the asset markets were complete because marginal costs become more sensitive to their pricing decisions. Hence I show that the model with heterogeneous households is characterized by a greater degree of "endogenous stickiness" or "real rigidity" relative to the standard representative household model. The household heterogeneity therefore provides a new explanation for large and per- sistent real eects of monetary shocks as well as inertial aggregate in‡ation even when …rms update their prices frequently. I then estimate the durations of price contracts implied by the sticky-price DSGE models. The model with the heterogeneous households is consistent with empirical evidence in terms of not only mean but also sectoral durations of price contracts. I also show that recognizing the dierent degrees of price stickiness across sectors is also crucial when one estimates the model-implied durations and makes inferences.
The “Green” Areas of Mars and Color Vision

The appearance of the “green” areas of Mars has been discussed from the standpoint of visual physiology. The conditions for perception of colors on Mars are favorable insofar as the observation is foveal and the luminance range is within that of daytime. Because of the smallness of some details normal color vision may reach an area-intensity limit beyond which it becomes very unreliable. In order to elucidate whether the variable blueness, bluegreenness or greenness of the dark areas are real or not the following factors have been discussed: (1) the transmittance of the atmospheres of Mars and Earth in its effect on the appearance of coloration on Mars; (2) the possibility of interpreting the coloration of the dark areas as a contrast phenomenon. Here we have to consider (a) the sun as a chromatic illuminant; (b) the yellow-red bright areas as potential contrast inducing areas.— The production of contrasts was studied experimentally by using colored papers simulating the bright and dark areas. The experiments permit us to deduce that a contrast induction is possible on the surface of Mars, the contrast depending on hue, brightness and saturation of contrast inducing and contrasting area. Blurredness of contours enhances contrasts. An attempt has been made to explain the difference in the induced hue on small (10′ to 20′) and large (1° and up) contrasting neutral gray areas. A method is shown for reducing contrast development which may be helpful in deciding about the real nature of the “green” areas of Mars.
Demystifying trans*+ voice education: The Transgender Singing Voice Conference:

Trans*+ is an inclusive, expansive, and fluid term that refers to a population that encompasses people who are transgender, third gender, non-gender, two-spirit or any other identity that is not ci...
NMR studies of the superconducting state of copper oxide superconductors

The authors review and up-date their work on Knight shifts, spin-lattice relaxation, and indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling for YBa2Cu3O7 in the superconducting state. The data are analyzed in particular to show what it may indicate about the orbital and spin pairing of the superconducting state.
Dynamical disorder of spin-induced Jahn-Teller orbitals with the insulator-metal transition in cobaltates

Using elastic and inelastic neutron scattering, we investigated the evolution of the local atomic structure and lattice dynamics of La(1-x)Sr(x)CoO3 (x=0-0.5) as it crosses over with x from an insulator to a ferromagnetic metal (FMM). Our pair density function analysis indicates that in the paramagnetic insulating (PMI) phase for all x, spin activation of Co3+ ions induces local static Jahn-Teller (JT) distortions. The size of the JT lattice increases almost linearly with x. However, in the FMM phase, static JT distortions are absent for x 30%, static JT distortions reappear along with broadening of the phonon modes because of weakened charge-lattice interactions.
And Other Deaths Have Followed … (with Mouloud Feraoun)

ABSTRACTThis essay, written in a journal-like format, attends to the journal written by Algerian writer Mouloud Feraoun from November 1955 to March 1962, during Algeria’s war of independence agains...
Effect of Cationic Exchange on the Hydration and SwellingBehavior of Ti 3 C 2 T z MXenes

MXenes, two-dimensional transition-metal carbides, have shown great promise as materials for capacitive energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, transparent electrodes, among many other applications. Colloidal suspensions are usually processed to design materials for these applications. However, the mechanisms underlying MXene exfoliation into single or few nanosheets after etching with hydrochloric acid and lithium fluoride are not well understood. Herein, the structural changes induced by the cationic exchange in the interlayer space of Ti3C2Tz during washing are investigated. We also show, mostly by X-ray diffraction of Ti3C2Tz multilayers, that cationic exchange between H3O+ ions, on the one hand, and Li+, K+, or Mg2+, on the other, is occurring reversibly. The presence of Li+ is a necessary condition for the crystalline swelling observed to ≈16 A and the subsequent exfoliation of Ti3C2Tz into single layers.
Intuitive, Reliable Plans with Contingencies: Planning with Safety Nets for Landmark-Based Routing.

We are interested in the problem of providing intuitive instructions for human agents to enable reliable navigation in unknown environments. Since the advent of GPS and digital maps, a common approach is to visually provide a planned path on a digital map defined in terms of actions to take at specific junctions. However, this approach relies on the agent to constantly and accurately localize itself. Furthermore, it comes in stark contrast to the way humans provide instructions—by leveraging known landmarks in the environment to both augment the description of the planned path as well as to allow to detect when the agent deviated from the planned path. Hence, there is need for assurable means of localization, an intuitive way of compactly conveying directions to agents and a systematic approach to account for human errors. To this end, our key insight is to employ known landmarks in the environment to overcome these challenges. We formally model this intuitive way to use landmarks for conveying instructions and for creating contingency plans. We present experiments demonstrating the efficacy of our approach both on synthetic environments as well as on realworld maps, computed using a smart-phone iOS application that we developed.
Evaluating the Impact of Design Constraints on Expected System Performance

Collective adaptive systems are difficult to design due, in part, to the presence of uncertainty in their actions, their communications, and their environment. Statistical methods can be used to account for this uncertainty by modeling its sources as a set of stochastic processes. These systems share characteristics with multi-agent systems in which a critical challenge is to manage a large decision space that exponentially increases with the number of actors. Often, system designers must constrain the system to limit the scope of its decision space to a manageable degree. Unnecessarily constraining a system can have unintended consequences on the system's performance. Thus, it is important to have techniques that can incorporate sources of uncertainty to evaluate the expected change in performance of a system under prescribed constraints. In this paper, we explore the use of stochastic multi-player games to model the expected change in system performance given two applicable constraints that are posed as design questions. Our experiment uses a model problem investigated in the domain of smart cyber-physical systems that employs a stochastic timed automaton to evaluate which input values better satisfy the system goal. We augment the model problem with two sources of uncertainty to evaluate the effects of distinct design questions against achieving the same goal. Our results demonstrate the potential for using stochastic multi-player games to evaluate the expected benefit or harm of enforcing specified design constraints on a collective adaptive system.
Adaptations to extreme conditions

The brain architecture of shrimp living in deep-sea vents provides clues to how these organisms have adapted to extreme living.
Towards low-power random forest using asynchronous computing with streams

We propose a sensor architecture for the internet of things (IoT), smartdust or edge-intelligence (EI) that combines near-analog-memory (NAM) processing and asynchronous computing with streams (ACS) addressing the need for machine learning (ML) capabilities at low power budgets. In ACS an analog value is mapped to an asynchronous stream that can take one of two values (v h , v l ). This stream-based data representation enables area-power efficient computing units such as the multiplier implemented as an AND gate yielding savings in power of 90% compared with digital approaches. However, a major bottleneck for computing on streams, vision sensors, and NAM approaches is the cost of analog-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-stream-to-digital converters. Our NAM-ACS architecture, simplifies the sensor and eliminates the need for the expensive conversions. The architecture is tailored for random forest (Raf), a ML algorithm, chosen for its ability to classify using a reduced number of features. Our simulations show that using an analog-memory array of 256 512, the power consumption of the ACS-core combined with the memory interface is comparable with the consumption of an ADC based memory interface, obtaining an accuracy of 83%.
Impact of Antibiotics on Gut Microbiota Diversity and the Results of a Prospective Dietary Assessment in Patients with Multiple Myeloma Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Introduction Gut microbiota changes following autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) have been associated with reductions in progression-free survival but lack clear validation from independent transplant centers and laboratories (Khan et al, Blood 2018). The factors driving these changes are not well characterized. Objectives The primary objective of this study is to describe the changes to the gut microbiome in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing ASCT. Secondary objectives include describing the dietary characteristics of patients undergoing ASCT and other clinical covariates such as antibiotics that may influence the changes to the gut microbiome in this setting. Methods We performed a prospective analysis of changes to the gut microbiome following ASCT for patients with multiple myeloma using melphalan conditioning. Thirty patients were enrolled in the study and stool samples were collected at 4 timepoints: pre-transplant, post-transplant engraftment, day +100, and day +365. Samples underwent DNA extraction and 16S RNA sequencing for microbiota analysis using qiime and R software. Dietary analysis was performed using the online diet history questionnaire version 3.0 and collected prior to transplant. We are presenting the dietary results of the patient cohort prior to transplant and microbiota changes in the post-transplant samples for the first 7 subjects enrolled. Results Demographics are displayed in table one. Dietary analysis (table 2) reveals significant deficiencies in fiber, vegetable, and whole grain intake below national guideline recommendations. Microbiota changes revealed a significant loss of alpha diversity (P = 0.02) following transplant (figure 1A), which may be driven by antibiotic exposure, although this result was not statistically significant (P = 0.068, figure 1B). Two out of the 7 patients with available microbiota data demonstrated early disease progression before day 100, and analysis of the taxa changes at a genus level demonstrates a pronounced bloom of bacteroides sp. in these subjects (figure 2). Conclusions Multiple myeloma patients undergoing ASCT develop a significant loss of gut microbiome diversity, which may be related to broad-spectrum antibiotic exposure and is similar to observations at other transplant centers (El Jurdi, BBMT, 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first investigation to report prospective dietary information in a microbiome investigation in ASCT, which provides covariate information essential to understanding individualized changes to microbiota communities.
CHAPTER ELEVEN – Compound Interest

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses compound interest. At the end of each period, the interest is added to the old principal to give a new principal. The difference between the compound amount and the original principal is the interest on the loan. When compound interest is used, the interest period does not always have to be one year. For a given annual rate, the greater the number of interest periods per year, the higher the amount of interest. The effective rate is the rate compounded once per year that is equivalent to the given annual rate compounded n times per year. The effective rate allows the comparison of annual interest rates that are compounded over different periods.
India in the Persianate Age, 1000–1765: Richard M. Eaton, Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2019, ISBN 978-0-5203-2512-8 (hbk), 512 pp.

Richard Eaton is among the most respected historians of early-modern South Asia anywhere in the world. He has built his renown over an almost fifty-year career and through a vast body of scholarshi...
Apyrase as a novel therapeutic inhibitor of heterotopic ossification.

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a disabling disorder where endochondral bone forms in soft tissue (1). Genetic diseases, traumatic injuries, or severe burns can induce this pathological condition and can lead to severe immobility (2). While the mechanisms by which the bony lesions arise are not completely understood, intense inflammation associated with musculoskeletal injury and/or highly invasive orthopaedic surgery is thought to induce HO. The incidence of HO has been reported between 3% and 90% following total hip arthoplasty or severe fracture of the long bones (3). While the vast majority of these cases are asymptomatic, some patients will present decreased range of motion and painful swelling around the affected joints leading to severe immobility. In severe cases, ectopic bone formation may be involved in implant failure, leading to costly and painful revision surgery (4). Currently, no treatment modalities exist for HO and attempts to prevent the ectopic formation of bone have had only limited success. Early diagnosis of the formation of ectopic bone is complicated by the absence of calcium in the matrix during the first few weeks following surgery, making X-ray detection of ectopic bone very difficult. Prophylactic radiation therapy, anti-inflammatory, and bisphosphonates agents have shown some promise in preventing HO, but their effects are mild to moderate at best and complicated with adverse effects (5). Furthermore, none of these treatment modalities target key signaling pathways critical in the development of the extra skeletal bone tissue formation.
Abstract 3519: Genetically predicted plasma N-glycans and prostate cancer risk: Analysis of over 140,000 European descendants

Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy among males in many countries. There are critical needs to better understand its etiology and identifying effective biomarkers to improve its early detection. Many proteins are modified by glycans that bind to the proteins, a post-translational modification that are critical for normal physiological processes. Studies have linked dysregulation of glycosylation to several human diseases including prostate cancer. Multiple glycan alterations have been identified to be potentially related to prostate cancer, such as changes to PSA glycosylation, sialylation and core fucosylation, O-GlcNacylation, cryptic and branched N-glyans, as well as galectins and proteoglycans. Limited research, however, has been performed to comprehensively evaluate relationship between N-glycans and prostate cancer. To identify novel N-glycans that are potentially associated with prostate cancer risk, we performed a study using a highly novel and cost-efficient approach. Using genetic variants reported to be associated with plasma N-glycan levels in large genome-wide associations studies as instruments, we evaluated associations between plasma N-glycans and prostate cancer risk, using the inverse variance weighted method (IVW). Data generated from 79,194 prostate cancer cases and 61,112 controls of European ancestry included in PRACTICAL/ELLIPSE consortia were used in this analysis, providing sufficient power for our research question of interest. We observed associations between genetically predicted plasma levels of two N-glycans and prostate cancer risk at P In conclusion, our agnostic analysis does not identify novel N-glycans whose genetically predicted levels in plasma are associated with prostate cancer risk. Further studies are needed to better characterize the relationship between N-glycans and prostate cancer. Citation Format: Tianying Zhao, Jingjing Zhu, Lang Wu. Genetically predicted plasma N-glycans and prostate cancer risk: Analysis of over 140,000 European descendants [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3519.
Resistance and resilience: An afrocentric collection of 3D printed jewelry, and digitally printed head wraps

This design process resulted in a capsule collection of Afrocentric 3D printed jewelry and digitally printed textiles used for headwraps. Historical and cultural inquiry as well as personal reflect...
Osseointegrated Implants and Orthodontics

SUMMARY Bone physiology and metabolism are important considerations for all orthodontic and den- tofacial procedures. Osseointegrated implants are the functional equivalent of an ankylosed tooth. Rigid implants do not move in response to orthodontic force. Osseointegration is a source of firm anchorage applicable to a variety of restorative problems. Periodontal health, functional occlusion, patient comfort, and longterm prognosis can be enhanced by orthodontic treatment utilizing implant anchorage. Under the conditions described, atrophic edentulous ridges may be candidates for space closure.
A novel determination of the $B_c$ lifetime

To reduce the current theory uncertainties a novel way to determine the $B_c$ lifetime, $\tau_{B_c}$, is proposed. Taking the difference of the $B_c$, and $B$ and $D$ meson decay rates eliminates the leading contributions from the calculation, which exhibit large scale and scheme dependence. The uncertainties in the proposed determination of $\tau_{B_c}$ are analyzed and improvements are proposed. The method predicts a value of of $\tau_{B_c}$ in tension with the experimental determination. Several explanations are considered, including underestimation of uncertainties, duality violation and new physics. We discuss quantitative evidence that our method is vitiated by duality violation in the large mass OPE used to calculate nonleptonic decay rates of $B$ and $D$ mesons.
Intelligent visual inspection

Advanced sensors are an essential part of modern intelligent manufacturing systems. Manufacturing paradigms such as flexible manufacturing allow firms to manufacture a wide variety of products on a single system, in any product mix. They also enable the rapid introduction of new products, quick changeover between different products, and the ability to manufacture products in any random sequence. Artificial vision systems can help companies meet these flexibility requirements (Hollingum, 1984).
Lipid distribution in human coronary lesions: analysis by digital imaging microscopy

The pathophysiology of atherosclerosis occurs at the cellular level. Using a digital imaging fluorescence microscopy system and computer based methods, the 3-dimensional coordinates for lipid droplets, smooth muscle cells and macrophages in an arterial wall specimen can be obtained by a single experimental protocol. The experimental approach is to acquire at 2 μm intervals, bright field images and fluorescence images using a combination of lipid stains and monoclonal antibodies. After appropriate image processing, the data sets are combined to establish, with 3-dimensional coordinates, the spatial relationships of these components in the arterial wall. Quantitation of fluorescence requires information in three dimensions. It is obvious that the more easily observed two dimensional heterogeneity must also extend to three dimensions. The series of optical sections is usually achieved by moving the specimen along the z axis by computer controlled stage movement. When other fluorescent sources are nearby, but not in the focal plane, their fluorescence extend to overlap the fluorescent emission of the object of interest in the focal plane. The experimental problem of out-of-plane fluorescence is avoided by using a laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscope, which has an aperature in front of the detector to exclude fluorescence originating from locations other than the diffraction-limited excitation point source. We find predominately small intracellular nile red staining lipid droplets dispersed throughout the vessel wall. The larger extracellular droplets are confined largely to the lesion area, presumably in macrophages.
Co-occurring mental illness in emergency department and hospital inpatient encounters related to substance abuse in Maryland

Background Mental illness and substance abuse are highly comorbid conditions. At the individual level, symptoms of one can influence symptoms of the other and therefore demand treatment approaches specific to the combination of substance abused and mental illness. At the population level, co-occurring substance use and mental illness challenge public health prevention efforts and decrease treatment system effectiveness. However, due to the scarcity of integrated data, there has not been a thorough understanding of co-occurrence of substance use and mental illness. This study examines prevalence and trends of mental illness among substance abuse-related emergency department (ED) and hospital inpatient encounters.
Utility of serum ferritin as a measure of iron deficiency in normal males undergoing repetitive phlebotomy

Hematologic indices and iron balance data were obtained on 22 normal male volunteers who were subjected to a mean +/- SD phlebotomy of 164 +/- 34 ml whole blood/mo while living in a controlled environment. Over an average stay of 5 mo, volunteers did not develop anemia, but did display a reduction in iron stores that was quantitated by measurement of serum ferritin and iron balance. The percent saturation of transferrin and the usual erythrocyte parameters did not reflect changes in iron status. Loss of iron, which was calculated from quantitative phlebotomy and iron balance data, showed that a decrease of 1 ng of serum ferritin represented a loss of 4.5 +/- 5.3 mg of iron in 10 men whose initial serum ferritins were greater than 25 ng/ml, and 25.3 +/- 58.8 mg of iron in 7 men whose initial serum ferritins were less than 25 ng/ml. The period required for 3 volunteers who consumed a self-selected mixed diet at home to replace their depleted iron stores to prephlebotomy levels was about 4.5 mo. The sensitivity of serum ferritin as an index of iron stores was affirmed. In addition it was found that normal men who were consuming a mixed diet containing about 15 mg of iron daily and losing blood at a rate of 164 +/- 34 ml/mo did not increase their iron absorption sufficiently to compensate for the iron loss.
Buried by the Times: The Holocaust and America's Most Important Newspaper

Introduction: the last voice from the abyss Part I. 1933-41: 1. 'Not a Jewish problem': the publisher's perspective on the Nazis' rise and the refugee crisis 2. 'This here is Germany': reporting from the Berlin bureau 3. 'Worthy of France': the Vichy government's anti-semitic laws and concentration camps 4. 'A new life in Nazi-built ghettos': German domination of Poland, Rumania and the Baltic States Part II 1941-5: 5. 'To awaken the conscience of Christendom': pressure to publicize the first news of the extermination campaign 6. 'Amidst the advertisements on page 19': placement decisions and the role of the news editors 7. 'All Jews are not brothers': the publisher's battle with Zionists 8. 'The semitic question should be avoided': German atrocities and US Government propaganda 9. 'Final phase of supreme tragedy has begun': the War Refugee Board and the destruction of Hungary's Jews 10. 'Political prisoners, slave laborers and civilians of many nationalities': the liberation of the concentration camps 11. 'Lessons from the Hitler tragedy': the publisher and the aftermath of war Conclusion: 'the horrible story was not told'.
Extended anaesthesia and nasotracheal intubation of a red kangaroo (Macropus rufus).

Anaesthesia requires maintenance of a patent airway. Nasotracheal intubation of a red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) was performed when the inability to open the animal's mouth prevented orotracheal intubation. Nasotracheal intubation was easy to perform, secured the airway and permitted delivery of supplemental oxygen, isoflurane and intermittent positive pressure ventilation.
Equine Nuclear Scintigraphy: Indications, Uses, and Techniques

The demand for advanced and correlative imaging methods in equine medicine is growing. Scintigraphy can provide unique information about the physiologic status of an animal that cannot be discerned by other imaging modalities.
Monolithic large-scale optical switches using silicon photonic MEMS

We report on high-port-count (50x50) fast optical circuit switches with 2.5μs response time. The switch with 2,500 MEMS switching elements have been monolithically integrated on 9x9mm2 dies using silicon photonic MEMS process on 220nm silicon-on-insulators.
Benjamin's Black Flashlight: Promoting Misreading Over Persuasion

In this paper, I will attempt to demonstrate how Benjamin sacrifices persuasion—wherein the author uses her authority in the text to lead the reader to a certain desired conclusion—for misreading and dis-illumination, a way of decentering her own power over the text, leaving its meaning indeterminate. Many authors promote a decentralized politics but very few of them practice this decentralization textually. Thus we have the paradox that authors who promote an anarchist or radically democratic political practice sometimes do so through the medium of a very centralized, and centralizing, text, depending on their own textual authority in the process. Benjamin is one author (other examples include Nietzsche, Woolf, Poe, and, perhaps most importantly for Benjamin, Kafka) who fights this tendency but he does so in a unique way. In this paper, I engage with three techniques Benjamin employs to decenter his authority in the text: allegory, montage and the production of text as “pure means.” Taken together, these practices amount to what I am calling Benjamin’s use of a “black flashlight.” Rather than illuminate his text with his own knowledge, Benjamin seeks to obscure and complicate that meaning, to have his own meaning fail to appear, fail to deliver a final verdict to the reader. The obscure, pitch black light Benjamin sheds on his own and other texts leaves us as readers to our own devices, deprived as we are of the usual guidance of the author. In this way, Benjamin not only encourages but requires the reader’s own intervention, a model for the politics he also describes in the text.
Environmental Contamination in Child Day-Care Centers

Enteropathogens associated with outbreaks of diarrhea in day-care centers are spread by the fecal-oral route through contaminated hands or environmental objects. This prospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of fecal coliform contamination in day care. Ten rooms in six centers housing 121 children less than 2 years of age were studied for 13 weeks (February to May 1988). Inanimate objects (n = 1,275), toy balls (n = 724), and hands (n = 954) were cultured 1-3 times per week. Fecal coliform contamination was common and was greater (p less than 0.05) for objects, toy balls, and hands of children in toddler compared with infant rooms. In five rooms in which clothes were worn over diapers, there was a significantly lower prevalence of fecal coliform contamination of toy balls (p less than 0.005), inanimate objects (p less than 0.05), and hands (p less than 0.001) when compared with rooms in which overclothes were not worn. Occurrence of diarrhea was significantly associated with increased contamination of hands (p = 0.001). Stool and environmental isolates from individual rooms had the same plasmid patterns, which were unique to each center. In summary, fecal coliform contamination of environmental objects and hands of children and caregivers in day-care centers is common; toy balls can serve as sentinels of contamination; fecal coliform contamination can be significantly decreased by use of overclothes; and Escherichia coli strains from stool showed the same plasmid patterns.
Protein kinase C mediates neurite guidance at an astrocyte boundary.

During development, astrocytes play an active role in directing axons to their final targets. This guidance has been attributed in part to the increased expression of guidance molecules, such as tenascin-C and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, by boundary-forming astrocytes. We have previously used a culture model of astrocyte boundaries to demonstrate that neurites growing on permissive astrocytes alter their trajectory as they encounter less-permissive astrocytes. The present study investigated the role of the protein kinase C (PKC) family of signal transduction molecules in this form of axonal guidance. Neurons were plated onto mixed astrocyte monolayers in the presence of agents that either downregulate the phorbol ester-sensitive PKC isoforms or inhibit PKC. Both downregulation and inhibition of PKC increased the percentage of neurons that crossed onto the nonpermissive astrocytes. On astrocyte monolayers, phorbol ester modulation of PKC but not PKC inhibitors resulted in a decrease in overall neurite extension. PKC inhibitors also caused a similar alteration in the neuronal response to cell-free boundaries, at concentrations that did not inhibit neurite extension. Thus, phorbol-ester-sensitive PKC isoforms direct the guidance of neurites by astrocyte-derived matrix molecules.
Ant foraging behavior: ambient temperature influences prey selection

When prey of two sizes (6 and 32 mg) were offered in a choice situation to foragers of the ant Formica schaufussi at different ambient temperatures, significantly more workers rejected the smaller prey at low temperatures, whereas at high temperatures workers accepted the less profitable smaller item. Foragers scavenge for arthropod prey over a temperature range of 15–40°C, and increasing temperature significantly increases a forager's oxygen consumption, an index of energy expenditure.
Bisphenol A and Estradiol are Equipotent in Antagonizing Cisplatin-Induced Cytotoxicity in Breast Cancer Cells

Resistance to chemotherapy is a major problem facing breast cancer patients. Cisplatin, a highly effective DNA-damaging drug, has shown only little success in breast cancer treatment. We are reporting that low nanomolar doses of bisphenol A (BPA) or estradiol antagonize cisplatin cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells, with their effects not mediated via classical estrogen receptors. Although both compounds increase the expression of Bcl-2, a Bcl-2 inhibitor completely blocked the protective effects of BPA while only partially affecting those of estradiol. Blockade of BPA and E2 actions should sensitize ER-negative breast tumors to anti-cancer drugs and allow for the inclusion of cisplatin in treatment regimens.
Asymmetric wealth gains in joint ventures: Theory and evidence

Abstract I examine the causes of asymmetric wealth gains (instances where one partner gains and the other partner loses) and the extent of these gains in joint ventures. I argue that asymmetric gains arise as the common benefits created by the venture are offset by the negative wealth effects of resource appropriation for one parent. Using a sample of 412 joint ventures I find that in 42% of the ventures one parent gained and the other lost. In addition, I find that when the abnormal returns of parents within a venture were compared, firms that gained more from forming the venture experienced [ − 1 , 0 ] returns of + 3.22 % and firms that gained less experienced [ − 1 , 0 ] returns of − 1.37 % . Additional analyses showed that asymmetric wealth gains tended to occur in ventures where one parent had relatively high valued resources and the other parent had relatively lower valued resources thus suggesting that resource appropriation may be an important cause of this pattern of gains.
The acquisition of inorganic carbon by the seagrass Zostera marina

Abstract In this work, it is elucidated to what degree the seagrass Zostera marina L. can utilise HCO 3 − as an external inorganic-carbon source for photosynthesis, and which of two possible systems for its acquisition is in effect. It was found that HCO 3 − was used as a major source of inorganic carbon at the normal seawater-pH of 8.2, and that bulk CO 2 contributed only marginally (less than 20%) to photosynthesis at the pH. By comparing photosynthetic rates at pH 8.2 and 9.0, it was deduced that CO 3 2− could not be utilised. It was further found that HCO 3 − could be acquired via extracellular dehydration to CO 2 , as catalysed by external/surface-bound carbonic anhydrase, prior to inorganic-carbon uptake. Indications for active, ATPase-mediated, HCO 3 − transport was also found, but an inhibitor of extracellular carbonic anhydrase affected photosynthetic rates more than did the less specific ATPase inhibitors. The rationale for HCO 3 − dehydration versus its direct uptake is discussed with regard to the photosynthetic performance of seagrasses, many of which are inorganic-carbon limited in their natural habitats.
Investigating the nucleic acid interactions and antimicrobial mechanism of buforin II

Buforin II (BF2) is an antimicrobial peptide that is hypothesized to kill bacteria by entering cells and binding nucleic acids. To further investigate this proposed mechanism, we used computer modeling and experimental measurements to consider the interactions between BF2 and DNA. Computational and experimental results imply that the peptide forms specific interactions with DNA. Moreover, we observe a general correlation between DNA affinity and antimicrobial activity for a series of BF2 variants. Thus, our results support the proposed mechanism for BF2 and provide a useful approach for evaluating the nucleic acid interactions of other antimicrobial peptides.
A converted P-SV wave analysis of a fractured reservoir, Silo Field, Wyoming

In the presence of azimuthal anisotropy (due most likely to aligned vertical fractures), a vertically propagating shear wave is split and polarized into two components according to the principal axes of anisotropy. Because these two components travel at different velocities, it is possible to measure a time delay between split shear arrivals which, in turn, may be used to calculate values of azimuthal anisotropy. Silo field was chosen as the site for a three-component seismic investigation of azimuthal anisotropy because production in this field is known to be controlled by the presence of fractured reservoir. Threecomponent recording of mode-converted P-S seismic data over Silo field was used to interpret fracture trends from measured azimuthal anisotropy. Calculated values of anistropy in Silo field correlate well with production trends and with geology. Perhaps more conclusive are amplitude anomalies between split shear sections. These anomalies, probably due to differential attenuation of the two modes of shear propagation, correlate very well with production along the seismic line.
Fine-scale social and spatial genetic structure in Sitka black-tailed deer

The spatial extent of Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) populations below the regional scale is relatively unknown, as is dispersal between populations. Here, we use noninvasive samples to genotype 221 Sitka black-tailed deer in three watersheds on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, separated by a maximum of 44 km, using traditional and spatial genetic approaches. We find that despite geographic proximity, multiple lines of evidence suggest fine-scale genetic structure among the three study sites. The 2 most geographically distant watersheds differed significantly in genetic composition, suggesting an isolation-by-distance pattern. Within study sites, deer exhibited spatial genetic structure within a radius of 1,000 m. Based on a reduced sample of known-sex individuals, females exhibited positive spatial genetic structure within a radius of 500 m but males showed no structure. Moreover, females were more likely to be related to their 5 nearest female neighbors, regardless of distance, than were males. Evidence indicates dispersal by both sexes although it may be more common, or dispersal distances are greater, in males. Nonetheless, analysis of assignment indices and comparison of sex-specific correlograms found no evidence of sex-biased dispersal between watersheds. Patterns of spatial relatedness and connectivity suggest limited dispersal among Sitka black-tailed deer, creating genetic structure on a fine spatial scale, perhaps as small as the watershed.
Romanticism/Secularization/Secularism

The romantic period is often considered a time of secularization. However, recent critiques of the secularization thesis, as well as recent scholarly accounts of romanticism, have questioned this assumption. At the same time, a number of scholars have begun to analyze secularism itself. Secularism, some have suggested, actually ‘invents’ the concept of religion during the period of European colonialism. It is therefore not possible to investigate the question of ‘romanticism and religion’ as if ‘religion’ was a definite thing. However, the relationship between secularism and romanticism remains an important research topic. One question of particular interest is how literature came to be understood during the romantic period, and the degree to which literary reading is associated with secularism.
One-dimensional model of diastolic semilunar valve vibrations productive of heart sounds.

Abstract The vibrations of the closed semilunar valves were modeled mathematically. The factors which affect diastolic vibration which were identified in the mathematical model relate to the characteristics of the second heart sound.
Brother or Other? East European Students in Soviet Higher Education Establishments, 1948–1956

After World War II, bilateral agreements within the Eastern bloc brought youth from the newly established satellite states of Eastern Europe to study in higher education establishments in the USSR....
AVAILABILITY OF FALLOUT CS137 TO DAIRY CATTLE FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEED.

Abstract The metabolism of fallout Cs 137 contained in dairy cattle feeds was studied with high-producing dairy cows. The transfer coefficient (Cs 137 secreted daily per liter of milk as a percentage of total daily Cs 137 intake) for individual cows ranged from 0.25 to 0.72 and was found to be closely related to the crude fiber content of the diet. The correlation coefficient between transfer coefficient and crude fiber intake for five cows was −0.66. The average percentage of dietary Cs 137 found in the milk, urine, and feces of three cows was 7.4, 13.5, and 81.5. Reports from the literature utilizing tracer doses of radioactive cesium have found about 1.0% of the dose per liter of milk and approximately equal amounts excreted in urine and feces. The results reported here suggest that fallout Cs 137 in dairy cattle feeds is considerably less available than suggested by studies with tracers.
Generalized exponential bounds, iterated logarithm and strong laws

New upper and lower exponential bounds are obtained under a more general condition than that of Kolmogorov and these, in turn, elicit iterated logarithm laws $$\mathop {\overline {\lim } }\limits_{n \to \infty } (S_n^2 \log _2 S_n )^{ - \tfrac{1}{2}} {\text{ }}\sum\limits_{j = 1}^n {{\text{ }}X_{\text{j}} {\text{ }}^{\underline{\underline {{\text{a}}{\text{.s}}{\text{.}}}} } } {\text{ }}C{\text{ }}\varepsilon (0,{\text{ }}\infty )$$ for a wider class of bounded, mean zero, independent random variables {X n , n≧1}. The constant C need not be the universal number 2 1/2 and may depend upon the underlying distributions. Upper and lower bounds are provided for C in terms of a parameter. The upper bound is also exploited in proving a new strong law of large numbers for independent random variables.