cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of heparin-binding growth-associated molecule (HB-GAM) in the postsynaptic induction in cultured muscle cells

The heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPGs) is a components of the extracellular matrix of skeletal muscle that is concentrated at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Recent studies have suggested that HSPG, together with its bound peptide growth factors, plays important roles in autocrine or paracrine types of regulation of cell growth and differentiation. Heparin-binding growth-associated molecule (HB-GAM; also known as pleiotrophin, or p18) is a newly discovered HSPG-bound factor that is expressed at high levels in the developing CNS and PNS. In this study, we examined the role of this factor in NMJ development by examining its relationship to the formation of ACh receptor (AChR) clusters. Using an antibody against recombinant rat brain HB-GAM, we found that this protein is present prominently on the surface of cultured Xenopus myotomal muscle cells by immunocytochemistry. It is associated with HSPGs as evidenced by the fact that heparin and heparinase treatment greatly diminished the antibody labeling. HB-GAM is concentrated at preexisting AChR hot spots as well as at those induced by polystyrene beads. In addition, this molecule is also concentrated at AChR clusters induced by spinal cord neurons in nerve- muscle cocultures. To assess its function in synaptic induction, we applied recombinant HB-GAM-coated beads to cultured muscle cells to effect its focal presentation. Over 70% of these beads induced the formation of AChR clusters as shown by fluorescent alpha-bungarotoxin labeling. Furthermore, bath application of HB-GAM inhibited the nerve- induced formation of AChR clusters. Thus, HB-GAM is an endogenous muscle-derived factor that may be a component of the molecular mechanism in postsynaptic induction.
Prospects for an electron electric-dipole-moment search with ferroelectric (Eu,Ba)TiO 3 ceramics

We propose to use ferroelectric $(\mathrm{Eu},\mathrm{Ba}){\mathrm{TiO}}_{3}$ ceramics just above their magnetic ordering temperature for a sensitive electron electric-dipole-moment search. We have synthesized a number of such ceramics with various europium concentrations and measured their properties relevant for such a search: permeability, magnetization noise, and ferroelectric hysteresis loops. We also identify and estimate the likely systematics: the magnetoelectric effect, hysteresis-loop heating, and ferroelectric relaxation currents. Our measurements and estimates indicate that a search for the electron electric dipole moment with ${\mathrm{Eu}}_{0.5}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.5}{\mathrm{TiO}}_{3}$ could lead to an order of magnitude improvement on the current best limit, if the systematic effects can be controlled.
Fabrication of antiguide array lasers using a modulated-cap thin p-clad structure

Because the required refractive-index variations can be achieved by precise etching of the cap layer in thin p-clad structures, we believe it may be possible to achieve in-phase operation of AlGaAs lasers routinely using the MCTC structure. In this work, the precise etching required to fabricate AlGaAs lasers was accomplished using a pulsed anodization/etching technique.
Withered Yang: a review of traditional Chinese medical treatment of male infertility and erectile dysfunction.

Infertility is a private, social, and economic problem. Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive a pregnancy within 1 year. Twenty-five percent of couples will seek help for infertility at some point during their relationship (Page, 1989), accounting for over 2 million office visits to health care providers annually (The Endocrine Society, 1998). Male factor infertility is contributory in at least 50% of infertile couples (Collins, 1989). Currently, the therapy for male factor infertility focuses on microsurgery to correct varicoceles or obstruction of the male reproductive ductal system. Additionally, there has been a strong shift away from evaluating and treating the man and proceeding directly to expensive artificial reproductive technologies. Prior attempts at medical therapy for male factor infertility have included hormonal therapy (GnRH agonists and antagonists, gonadotropins, anti-estrogens, testosterone, and aromatase inhibitors), antioxidant therapy, antibiotics, corticosteroids, methylxanthines, vitamins, minerals and amino acids (zinc and arginine), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The observation that no medication is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment of male infertility confirms the conclusion that adequate controlled studies of potential therapeutic agents are either lacking or failed to elicit a significant improvement in fertility. Male erectile dysfunction can be defined as the inability of a man to obtain penile rigidity sufficient to permit coitus of adequate duration to satisfy himself and his partner. The personal and private nature of this problem has hindered accurate estimates of the true prevalence in the
Thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum composites: A multi-scale study using object oriented finite element method

Abstract In this study, object oriented finite element method (OOF) has been utilized to compute the thermal conductivity of plasma sprayed Al-12 wt.% Si containing 10 wt.% multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The computations have been made at micro- and macro-length scales which highlight the effect of CNT dispersion on thermal conductivity. Experimentally measured values at 50 °C indicate that CNT addition reduced the thermal conductivity of Al–Si matrix from 73 W m−1 K−1 to 25.4 W m−1 K−1 which is attributed to the presence of CNT clusters. OOF calculations at micro-length scale predicted an 81% increase in the conductivity of Al–Si matrix due to presence of well dispersed CNTs inside the matrix. At larger lengths scale, the decrease in the overall conductivity is related to the extremely low conductivity of CNT clusters. Thermal conductivity of CNT clusters could be up to three orders of magnitude lower than individual CNTs. OOF computed values match well with experimental results. OOF compute thermal conductivity of Al–CNT composite is also compared with theoretical two-phase models for CNT-composites at different length scales.
Accurate Real-time Identification of IP Prefix Hijacking

We present novel and practical techniques to accurately detect IP prefix hijacking attacks in real time to facilitate mitigation. Attacks may hijack victim's address space to disrupt network services or perpetrate malicious activities such as spamming and DoS attacks without disclosing identity. We propose novel ways to significantly improve the detection accuracy by combining analysis of passively collected BGP routing updates with data plane fingerprints of suspicious prefixes. The key insight is to use data plane information in the form of edge network fingerprinting to disambiguate suspect IP hijacking incidences based on routing anomaly detection. Conflicts in data plane fingerprints provide much more definitive evidence of successful IP prefix hijacking. Utilizing multiple real-time BGP feeds, we demonstrate the ability of our system to distinguish between legitimate routing changes and actual attacks. Strong correlation with addresses that originate spam emails from a spam honeypot confirms the accuracy of our techniques.
Utility-Lifetime Trade-off in Self-regulating Wireless Sensor Networks: A Cross-Layer Design Approach

The performance of wireless sensor network applications is typically a function of the amount of data collected by the individual sensors and delivered to a set of sinks through multihop routing within the network. However, the energy-constrained nature of the nodes limits the operational lifetime of the network since energy is dissipated both in sensing and in communicating data across the network. There is thus an inherent trade-off in simultaneously maximizing the network lifetime and the application performance (characterized here by a network utility function). In this paper, we characterize this trade-off by considering a cross-layer design problem in a wireless sensor network with orthogonal link transmissions. We compute an optimal set of source rates, network flows, and radio resources at the transport, network, and radio resource layers respectively, while jointly maximizing the network utility and lifetime. Using dual decomposition techniques, we show that the cross-layer optimization problem decomposes vertically into three subproblems - a joint transport and routing problem, a radio resource allocation problem, and a network lifetime maximization problem, all of which interact through the dual prices for capacities of links and battery capacities of nodes.
Protein – Which is Best?

Protein intake that exceeds the recommended daily allowance is widely accepted for both endurance and power athletes. However, considering the variety of proteins that are available much less is known concerning the benefits of consuming one protein versus another. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze key factors in order to make responsible recommendations to both the general and athletic populations. Evaluation of a protein is fundamental in determining its appropriateness in the human diet. Proteins that are of inferior content and digestibility are important to recognize and restrict or limit in the diet. Similarly, such knowledge will provide an ability to identify proteins that provide the greatest benefit and should be consumed. The various techniques utilized to rate protein will be discussed. Traditionally, sources of dietary protein are seen as either being of animal or vegetable origin. Animal sources provide a complete source of protein (i.e. containing all essential amino acids), whereas vegetable sources generally lack one or more of the essential amino acids. Animal sources of dietary protein, despite providing a complete protein and numerous vitamins and minerals, have some health professionals concerned about the amount of saturated fat common in these foods compared to vegetable sources. The advent of processing techniques has shifted some of this attention and ignited the sports supplement marketplace with derivative products such as whey, casein and soy. Individually, these products vary in quality and applicability to certain populations. The benefits that these particular proteins possess are discussed. In addition, the impact that elevated protein consumption has on health and safety issues (i.e. bone health, renal function) are also reviewed. Key PointsHigher protein needs are seen in athletic populations.Animal proteins is an important source of protein, however potential health concerns do exist from a diet of protein consumed from primarily animal sources.With a proper combination of sources, vegetable proteins may provide similar benefits as protein from animal sources.Casein protein supplementation may provide the greatest benefit for increases in protein synthesis for a prolonged duration.
Capturing Layers in Image Collections with Componential Models: From the Layered Epitome to the Componential Counting Grid

Recently, the Counting Grid (CG) model was developed to represent each input image as a point in a large grid of feature counts. This latent point is a corner of a window of grid points which are all uniformly combined to match the (normalized) feature counts in the image. Being a bag of word model with spatial layout in the latent space, the CG model has superior handling of field of view changes in comparison to other bag of word models, but with the price of being essentially a mixture, mapping each scene to a single window in the grid. In this paper we introduce a family of componential models, dubbed the Componential Counting Grid, whose members represent each input image by multiple latent locations, rather than just one. In this way, we make a substantially more flexible admixture model which captures layers or parts of images and maps them to separate windows in a Counting Grid. We tested the models on scene and place classification where their componential nature helped to extract objects, to capture parallax effects, thus better fitting the data and outperforming Counting Grids and Latent Dirichlet Allocation, especially on sequences taken with wearable cameras.
Achievable Error Exponents in Multiterminal Source Coding

Encoding correlated sources at separate encoders has been studied extensively from the perspective of asymptotically long block codes. The associated error exponents are known for the case of lossless source coding. In this paper, we introduce a novel technique for deriving achievable error exponents for lossy source coding problems, where the original sources need to be reconstructed to within some fidelity. As an example, we show how to apply our technique to determine achievable error exponents for the Berger-Yeung problem.
Sensor-assisted facial recognition: an enhanced biometric authentication system for smartphones

Facial recognition is a popular biometric authentica-tion technique, but it is rarely used in practice for de-vice unlock or website / app login in smartphones, alt-hough most of them are equipped with a front-facing camera. Security issues (e.g. 2D media attack and vir-tual camera attack) and ease of use are two important factors that impede the prevalence of facial authentica-tion in mobile devices. In this paper, we propose a new sensor-assisted facial authentication method to over-come these limitations. Our system uses motion and light sensors to defend against 2D media attacks and virtual camera attacks without the penalty of authenti-cation speed. We conduct experiments to validate our method. Results show 95-97% detection rate and 2-3% false alarm rate over 450 trials in real-settings, indicat-ing high security obtained by the scheme ten times faster than existing 3D facial authentications (3 sec-onds compared to 30 seconds).
Are many little hammers effective? Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) population dynamics in two- and four-year crop rotation systems

Abstract To improve understanding of relationships between crop diversity, weed management practices, and weed population dynamics, we used data from a field experiment and matrix models to examine how contrasting crop rotations affect velvetleaf. We compared a 2-yr rotation system (corn–soybean) managed with conventional rates of herbicides with a 4-yr rotation (corn–soybean–triticale + alfalfa–alfalfa) that received 82% less herbicide. In November 2002, a pulse of velvetleaf seeds (500 seeds m−2) was added to 7- by 7-m areas within replicate plots of each crop phase–rotation system combination. Velvetleaf seed, seedling, and reproductive adult population densities, seed production, and seed losses to predators were measured during the next year. Velvetleaf seed production was greater in the 4-yr rotation than in the 2-yr rotation (460 vs. 16 seeds m−2). Averaged over 12 sampling periods from late May to mid-November 2003, loss of velvetleaf seeds to predators also was greater in the 4-yr rotation than i...
Functionalized Polymeric Membranes for CO2 Capture

Reducing CO2 emission and lowering the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has quickly become one of the most urgent environmental issues. While a variety of technologies and methods have been developed, the separation of CO2 from gas streams is still a critical issue. Apart from establishing new techniques, the exploration of membrane materials with high separation performance and low capital cost are of paramount importance. Functionalized polymers hold great potential as membrane materials in gas separation. In this paper, the research progress in functionalized polymers membrane materials for membrane-based high CO2 permselectivities separations that are directly related to CO2 capture were reviewed.
Fast Epistasis Detection in Large-Scale GWAS for Intel Xeon Phi Clusters

epiSNP is a program for identifying pairwise single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) interactions (epistasis) that affect quantitative traits in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). A parallel MPI version (EPISNPmpi) was created in 2008 to address this computationally-expensive analysis on data sets with many quantitative traits and markers. However, the explosion in genome sequencing will lead to the creation of large-scale data sets that will overwhelm EPISNPmpi's ability to compute results in a reasonable amount of time. Thus, epiSNP was rewritten to efficiently handle these large data sets. This was accomplished by performing serial optimizations, improving MPI load balancing, and introducing parallel OpenMP directives to further enhance load balancing and allow execution on the Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor (MIC). These additions resulted in new scalable versions of epiSNP using MPI, MPI+OpenMP, and MPI+OpenMP with one or two MICs. For a large 774,660 SNP data set with 1,634 individuals, the runtime on 126 nodes of TACC's Stampede Supercomputer was 10.61 minutes without MICs, and 5.13 minutes with 2 MICs. This translated to speedups over EPISNPmpi of 17X without MICs, and 36X with 2 MICs.
Effects of time of supplementation on cattle grazing annual ryegrass. III. Dry matter intake and digesta kinetics1

ABSTRACT Grazing behavior of ruminants can be affected by different management practices, such as time of supplementation. Nutrient utilization for forage-fed cattle can be optimized through the timing of supplementing nutrients within a day. Time of day of supplementation on DMI and ruminal kinetics parameters of beef cattle grazing annual ryegrass and supplemented with corn gluten feed (CGF) was evaluated using 8 (2 per treatment) ruminally cannulated crossbred heifers (initial BW = 351 ± 22 kg). Treatments were 1) control, nonsupplemented; 2) morning (0700 h) supplementation with 0.5% of BW of CGF; 3) noon (1200 h) supplementation with 0.5% of BW of CGF; or 4) afternoon (1600 h) supplementation with 0.5% of BW of CGF. When DMI was expressed as percentage of BW, it was greater (P = 0.03) in noon-supplemented heifers compared with those supplemented at 0700 h. Noon-supplemented heifers also had greater (P > 0.05) fluid passage rate and flow rate when compared with heifers supplemented in the morning hours. Particulate passage rate was lower (P = 0.03) for the morning-supplemented treatment when compared with the afternoon-supplemented group. Transient time decreased (P = 0.02) for the control treatment, when compared with noon-supplemented heifers. These data suggest that time of supplementation with CGF affected DMI and digesta kinetics variables associated with those changes in DMI. The effect of treatment on fermentation parameters and digestibility of forage, supplement, and nutritional entities should be investigated.
Simple Wave Flows

In isentropic flows, simple waves are defined by the condition that the fluid velocity, the local speed of sound and the magnetic field are constant along any curve of one family of characteristics. As a consequence, this family of characteristics is rectilinear. For non-isentropic flows, the same condition cannot be assumed for the entropy. This is due to the fact that the entropy is constant along a streamline. In addition, if the entropy is constant along a family of characteristics, which is distinct from the streamlines, then the flow is isentropic. It might be assumed that a possible solution would be to assume that the entropy is not constant along a simple wave, but that the fluid velocity, local sound speed and magnetic field are constant along a simple wave. But from the characteristic form of the basic equations, viz., Eqs. (1.2.4)–(1.2.10), it is seen that such an assumption is not possible, so that simple waves (in the above sense) do not exist in non-isentropic flow. However, non-isentropic perturbations of simple waves have been shown to exist [30].
Effects of estradiol on neural responses to social signals in female túngara frogs.

Estradiol plays an important role in mediating changes in female sexual behavior across reproductive cycles. In the tungara frog [Physalaemus (=Engystomops) pustulosus], the relationship between gonadal activity and female sexual behavior, as expressed by phonotaxis, is mediated primarily by estradiol. Estradiol receptors are expressed in auditory and motivational brain areas and the hormone could serve as an important modulator of neural responses to conspecific calls. To better understand how estradiol modifies neural responses to conspecific social signals, we manipulated estradiol levels and measured expression of the immediate early gene egr-1 in the auditory midbrain, thalamus and limbic forebrain in response to conspecific or heterospecific calls. We found that estradiol and conspecific calls increased egr-1 expression in the auditory midbrain and limbic forebrain, but in the thalamus, only conspecific calls were effective. In the preoptic area, estradiol enhanced the effect of the conspecific call on egr-1 expression, suggesting that the preoptic area could act as a hormonal gatekeeper to phonotaxis. Overall, the results suggest that estradiol has broad influences on the neural circuit involved in female reproduction, particularly those implicated in phonotaxis.
Corrugated Paraffin Nanocomposite Films as Large Stroke Thermal Actuators and Self-Activating Thermal Interfaces

High performance active materials are of rapidly growing interest for applications including soft robotics, microfluidic systems, and morphing composites. In particular, paraffin wax has been used to actuate miniature pumps, solenoid valves, and composite fibers, yet its deployment is typically limited by the need for external volume constraint. We demonstrate that compact, high-performance paraffin actuators can be made by confining paraffin within vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) films. This large-stroke vertical actuation is enabled by strong capillary interaction between paraffin and CNTs and by engineering the CNT morphology by mechanical compression before capillary-driven infiltration of the molten paraffin. The maximum actuation strain of the corrugated CNT-paraffin films (∼0.02−0.2) is comparable to natural muscle, yet the maximum stress is limited to ∼10 kPa by collapse of the CNT network. We also show how a CNT–paraffin film can serve as a self-activating thermal interface that closes a...
Sum frequency generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopic studies on plasma-treated plasticized polyvinyl chloride films.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a widely used polymer to which various phthalates are extensively applied as plasticizers. PVC materials are often treated with plasma to vary the hydrophobicity or for cleaning purposes, but little is known of the nature of the surface molecular structures after treatment. This research characterizes molecular surface structures of PVC and bis-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)-plasticized PVC films in air before annealing, after annealing, and after exposure to air-generated glow discharge plasma using sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy. In addition, we compare the vibrational molecular signatures on the surfaces of PVC with DEHP (at a variety of percent loadings) to those of the bulk detected using coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements have been used to analyze PVC surfaces to supplement SFG data. Our results indicate that DEHP was found on the surfaces of PVC films even at low weig...
Forecasting student achievement in MOOCs with natural language processing

Student intention and motivation are among the strongest predictors of persistence and completion in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), but these factors are typically measured through fixed-response items that constrain student expression. We use natural language processing techniques to evaluate whether text analysis of open responses questions about motivation and utility value can offer additional capacity to predict persistence and completion over and above information obtained from fixed-response items. Compared to simple benchmarks based on demographics, we find that a machine learning prediction model can learn from unstructured text to predict which students will complete an online course. We show that the model performs well out-of-sample, compared to a standard array of demographics. These results demonstrate the potential for natural language processing to contribute to predicting student success in MOOCs and other forms of open online learning.
Classification of thrombocytosis based on platelet function tests: correlation with hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications.

Abstract Symptomatic and asymptomatic thrombocytosis occur in several myeloproliferative diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine whether platelet function tests could identify the subgroup of patients with thrombocytosis and a high risk of thrombosis and hemorrhage. Seventeen patients were studied. Group I consisted of 5 patients with reactive thrombocytosis; group II contained 7 patients with asymptomatic thrombocytosis and either polycythemia vera, myelofibrosis, or chronic myelogenous leukemia (CGL); and group III consisted of 5 patients with thrombocytosis, myeloproliferative disease, and recurrent thrombosis or hemorrhage. Coagulation tests included the bleeding time, platelet adhesiveness, and measurement of platelet aggregation and PF-3 activity in response to ADP (adenosinediphosphate), epinephrine, and collagen. The results were within normal limits in all patients in group I. Only minor platelet abnormalities were noted in 6 patients in group II. In contrast, all 5 patients in group III had an absence of epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation and PF-3 activity. Abnormalities of the bleeding time, platelet adhesiveness, and collagen-induced platelet aggregation were also noted in group III. Treatment of group III patients with 6-MP, 32 P, or busulfan resulted in reduction of platelet count to normal and improvement in the thrombotic and hemorrhagic manifestations. It is concluded that the combination of thrombocytosis and marked abnormality of platelet function is associated with a high risk of thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications.
Moving Forward: Local Government Finance and Tanzania’s Poverty Reduction Strategy

At the very outset of this book, we stressed the important role of local governments and local government finances in putting in place a pro-poor development strategy. In Chapter 1, we noted that decentralization reforms are used to pursue different goals in different countries, including improving the delivery of pro-poor public services, such as education and health care; empowering local communities by increasing participation and accountability of the public sector through local governments; and increasing the transparency and equity with which public resources are allocated across the national territory. In the context of Tanzania, the Policy Paper on Local Government Reform (MRALG, 1998) identifies the improvement of the quality of public service delivery in the context of poverty alleviation as the primary motivation behind decentralization by devolution.
Nonmotorized recreation and motorized recreation in shrub-steppe habitats affects behavior and reproduction of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)

Different forms of outdoor recreation have different spatiotemporal activity patterns that may have interactive or cumulative effects on wildlife through human disturbance, physical habitat change, or both. In western North America, shrub-steppe habitats near urban areas are popular sites for motorized recreation and nonmotorized recreation and can provide important habitat for protected species, including golden eagles. Our objective was to determine whether recreation use (i.e., number of recreationists) or recreation features (e.g., trails or campsites) predicted golden eagle territory occupancy, egg-laying, or the probability a breeding attempt resulted in ≥1 offspring (nest survival). We monitored egg-laying, hatching and fledging success, eagle behavior, and recreation activity within 23 eagle territories near Boise, Idaho, USA. Territories with more off-road vehicle (ORV) use were less likely to be occupied than territories with less ORV use (β = -1.6, 85% CI: -2.8 to -0.8). At occupied territories, early season pedestrian use (β = -1.6, 85% CI: -3.8 to -0.2) and other nonmotorized use (β = -3.6, 85% CI: -10.7 to -0.3) reduced the probability of egg-laying. At territories where eagles laid eggs, short, interval-specific peaks in ORV use were associated with decreased nest survival (β = -0.5, 85% CI: -0.8 to -0.2). Pedestrians, who often arrived near eagle nests via motorized vehicles, were associated with reduced nest attendance (β = -11.9, 85% CI: -19.2 to -4.5), an important predictor of nest survival. Multiple forms of recreation may have cumulative effects on local populations by reducing occupancy at otherwise suitable territories, decreasing breeding attempts, and causing nesting failure. Seasonal no-stopping zones for motorized vehicles may be an alternative to trail closures for managing disturbance. This study demonstrates the importance of considering human disturbance across different parts of the annual cycle, particularly where multiple forms of recreation have varying spatiotemporal use patterns that create human-wildlife interactions.
Aprela, a single tablet formulation of bazedoxifene and conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin) for the potential treatment of menopausal symptoms

Aprela, in development by Pfizer Inc, is a once-daily, orally administered, tissue-selective estrogen complex that contains the selective estrogen receptor modulator bazedoxifene (BZA) and conjugated equine estrogens (CE). Aprela was designed as an alternative to combination estrogen and progestin therapy to treat the vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause without the potential safety concerns associated with combination estrogen/progestin therapy, and with better tolerability. Both estrogens and BZA bind to estrogen receptors (ER)alpha and beta, but when BZA binds to an ER, the result may be an estrogen agonistic or antagonistic effect. In contrast, progestins antagonize the effects of estrogen in the uterus, but along with estrogen, stimulate breast tissue increasing the risk for breast cancer. In phase III clinical trials, Aprela significantly reduced the number and severity of vasomotor symptoms, reduced vaginal atrophy and increased bone mineral density. However, higher doses of BZA tended to attenuate these positive effects of CE. At the time of publication, there were no clinical data from women taking Aprela for > 2 years, and no definitive trials to determine the effects of Aprela on the risks for cardiovascular events, stroke, breast cancer, venous thromboembolism or cognitive function had been completed. Nevertheless, at the time of publication, Aprela was under consideration by the FDA for approval to treat vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women.
Admixture is a driver rather than a passenger in experimental invasions

Genetic admixture propels invasions of Callosobruchus maculatus across experimental landscapes. In Focus: Wagner, N.K., Ochocki, B.M., Crawford, K.M., Compagnoni, A. & Miller, T.E.X. (2017) Genetic mixture of multiple source populations accelerates invasive range expansion. Journal of Animal Ecology, 86, 21–34. In this issue of Journal of Animal Ecology, Wagner et al. (2017) demonstrate that genetic diversity can alter the course of spread of biological invasions. They employ Callosobruchus seed beetles in a clever array of linked habitat patches to compare experimental invasions using individuals from single population sources or from mixes of two, four or six population sources. By taking a model-selection approach, they find that any amount of mixture propels growth rates and spread of introduced populations. This suggests that heterosis alone can alter the course of an invasive range expansion.
The Effects of Corrective Feedback on Chinese Learners’ Writing Accuracy: A Quantitative Analysis in an EFL Context

Scholars debate whether corrective feedback contributes to improving L2 learners’ grammatical accuracy in writing performance. Some researchers take a stance on the ineffectiveness of corrective feedback based on the impracticality of providing detailed corrective feedback for all L2 learners and detached grammar instruction in language classrooms. On the other hand, many researchers promote the efficacy and significance of the role played by corrective feedback in the process of L2 writing. This research employs a quasi-experimental design and examines two major issues: (1) the extent to which CF facilitates or improves students’ writing accuracy; (2) students’ expectations and preferences for CF. The research consists of 105 college level EFL learners from three intact classes in an Eastern Chinese University. One class was assigned to the control group which only received comments on content of their writing. The other two classes were then assigned to each of the two experimental groups which received indirect or direct CF. Data collection includes student text/error analysis, treatments (i.e., provision of corrective feedback), examination of tests (i.e., pretest, posttest and delayed posttest), and questionnaires. Within a research period of ten weeks, this study did not reveal statistically significant group differences between the two CF groups and the control group on overall error reduction. However, students believed CF was important and beneficial, although there is contradiction between what the students believed and their teachers’ actual practices in the classroom. Pedagogical recommendations for EFL teachers are also discussed.
Fabrication of thick free-standing lightly-doped n-type 4H-SiC wafers

In this work, we have developed a selective wet etching technique for n+-SiC substrate using electrochemical etch process. A mixture of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide was used as an electrolyte and the etch rates exceeding 200 μm per hour at the current density of 50 mAcm−2 was achieved. This process is highly selective and the etching process stops at the interface of n+ SiC substrate and n-SiC epi layer. Using this process, we have successfully fabricated 180 to 250 μm thick 4” n-SiC epitaxial free standing wafers by separating them from a 350 μm thick n+ SiC substrate. After the substrate is completely removed, free standing wafer is characterized for wafer bow and minority carrier lifetime, using both Si-face and C-face. The wafer bow was reduced from 40 μm to 20 μm after the substrate removal. It was found that the process of removing the substrate does not introduce any extra damage to the wafer as far as the lifetime is concerned. The hole lifetime measured by microwave photoconductivity decay technique was unchanged at around 2 μsec, measured from both Si-face and C-face. These results are very promising and open up many avenues for many device applications where lightly doped free standing epitaxial semiconductor thin film is needed.
Infant handling enhances social bonds in free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Throughout the primate order, individuals are highly motivated to handle infants that are not their own. Given the differing and often conflicting interests of the various participants in handling interactions (handler, infant, and mother), most functional hypotheses are specific to particular handling roles. Here we explore one hypothesis that may apply to all participants, but that has received relatively little attention: that handling may facilitate the formation and maintenance of social bonds. Using free-ranging rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) on Cayo Santiago, we examine the relationship between infant handling in the early weeks and the strength and diversity of infant social bonds months later, when infant relationships were more independent from those of their mothers. Our results largely confirm the influence of several social characteristics (kinship, rank, sex, and age) in governing handling interactions. They also provide the first evidence that early handling is associated with later social bonds that are stronger than expected based on these social characteristics. However, the enhancement of bonds is largely confined to related handlers; frequent unrelated handlers did not generally go on to form strong bonds with infants. This suggests that kinship may be a sort of prerequisite to the enhancement of social bonds via handling. Given the adaptive benefits of strong social bonds among adult primates, future research should investigate whether early infant handling may have longer term fitness effects.
Comparison of the Morphology of Atherosclerotic Lesions in the Coronary Arteries of Man with Morphology of Lesions Produced and Regressed in Experimental Primates

Obstructive atherosclerotic lesions produced in nonhuman primates with diets rich in cholesterol decrease in size when a diet that is low in cholesterol is substituted. Small, early lesions disappear completely. The evidence for lesion regression in non-human primates has been reviewed in several recent publications (1–4). In man atherosclerosis regression is also possible but infrequent, as has been shown by investigators who evaluated the angiograms of persons on whom arteriography has been done repeatedly. Table I summarizes 13 studies (5–17) in which decreases in coronary artery obstructions were angiographically documented in 91 of 578 patients who were recatheterized. Forty-five of these improvements surely were caused by lysis of a thrombotic deposit rather than by shrinkage of an established atherosclerotic plaque. Table I does not include studies of sequential coronary arteriograms in which instances of regression were not reported. Therefore, even a larger proportion of human coronary artery lesions than indicated in Table I probably cannot readily regress. Dissimilarities between the lesions of man and experimental primates might be one cause of the dissimilarity in the frequency of documented regression.
Enhanced Dual Confocal Measurement System

A measurement instrument utilizing dual, chromatic, confocal, distance sensors has been jointly developed by General Atomics and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for thickness and flatness measur...
Explaining the Transition from Diffusion Limited to Reaction Limited Surface Assembly of Molecular Species through Spatial Variations

Surface assembly is often decomposed into two classes: diffusion and reaction limited processes. The transition between the two cases is complex because the dynamics are so different. In this article, we simulate, explain, and experimentally discuss the evolution of the spatial distribution for surface assemblies with diffusion limited and reaction limited processes. Explicitly, we demonstrate that diffusion limited and reaction limited processes show some temporal differences, but more importantly, we show that the spatial arrangements are different enough to discriminate between the two cases. Using fundamental properties, such as the diffusion constant, we calculate the evolution of the spatial profile and derive from physical, heuristic models the assembly rate for reaction and diffusion limited processes based on the individual particle’s interactions with the surface. Finally, we confirm the spatial profile differences between diffusion and reaction limited cases by experimentally measuring the surf...
Pathways to Linguistic Isolation Among Older U.S. Immigrants: Assessing the Role of Living Arrangements and English Proficiency.

Objectives To identify diverse pathways to linguistic isolation (LI) and explain the differences in LI for older immigrants from different countries. Method A demographic decomposition of LI was applied to 18 largest origin subgroups of foreign-born, ages 65 and older, in the 2010-2014 American Community Survey data. Results LI varied from 12% for older Indians to 68% for older Ukrainians. Decomposition analysis identified 3 components: (a) Limited English proficiency (LEP); (b) Solitary living; and (c) Limited English of co-resident others. The relative contribution of components differed by country of origin, pointing to different pathways to LI. Older Mexicans have the highest LEP, but moderate LI due to infrequent solitary living and the English proficiency of co-resident others. Many Chinese and Vietnamese older adults are LI because they live with other LEP adults. Older Europeans' common pathway to LI is solitary living. Discussion Components of LI in ethnic communities can inform communication strategies for older LEP lacking access to critical information.
Emergence of Edwardsiella piscicida in Farmed Channel ♀, Ictalurus punctatus × Blue ♂, Ictalurus furcatus, Hybrid Catfish Cultured in Mississippi

There is a trend toward the increased incidence and prevalence of Edwardsiella piscicida septicemia in US catfish aquaculture, particularly in channel ♀, Ictalurus punctatus, × blue ♂, I. furcatus, hybrid catfish. From 2013 to 2017, a total of 3242 disease case submissions were made to the Aquatic Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ARDL) at the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, MS. Of these, 1400 (43.2%) were hybrids. E. piscicida was suspected in 138 (4.3%) of cases, the majority of which (89.1%) were from hybrid catfish. A molecular survey of these isolates confirmed the majority (92.0%) to be E. piscicida. Furthermore, cases of E. piscicida from hybrids submitted to the ARDL and the Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory of the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Starkville, MS, were documented for gross lesions and histological analysis. Grossly, E. piscicida presents with small dermal ulcerations, a raised fluid‐filled cranial midline lesion that is frequently ulcerated, hemorrhage in the gills, exophthalmia, and abdominal distension. Internally, lesions include splenomegaly, straw‐colored ascites, renomegaly, and occasionally hemorrhagic intestines. Histopathological examination is in agreement with gross observations, and infected fish repeatedly demonstrate a mononuclear meningoencephalitis, hemorrhagic branchitis, splenitis, ulcerative dermatitis, granulomatous interstitial nephritis, and hepatitis coupled with a hemorrhagic enteritis.
Machine intelligence: a chimera

The notion of computation has changed the world more than any previous expressions of knowledge. However, as know-how in its particular algorithmic embodiment, computation is closed to meaning. Therefore, computer-based data processing can only mimic life’s creative aspects, without being creative itself. AI’s current record of accomplishments shows that it automates tasks associated with intelligence, without being intelligent itself. Mistaking the abstract (computation) for the concrete (computer) has led to the religion of “everything is an output of computation”—even the humankind that conceived the computer. The hypostatized role of computers explains the increased dependence on them. The convergence machine called deep learning is only the most recent form through which the deterministic theology of the machine claims more than what it actually is: extremely effective data processing. A proper understanding of complexity, as well as the need to distinguish between the reactive nature of the artificial and the anticipatory nature of the living are suggested as practical responses to the challenges posed by machine theology.
Computational Issues in the Modeling of Wrinkling during Parachute Deployment

Parachute modeling is complicated because it is a coupled fluid-structure, nonlinear, time-dependent problem. Current commercial FE packages cannot capture all of the details of parachute deployment simulations; e.g., membrane elements in commercial FE codes cannot in general adequately predict the large scale wrinkling which occurs during deployment. To date, 3-D simulation of parachute deployment with fully coupled fluid and structural models has not been achieved. However, a nonlinear dynamic FE code using curvilinear cable and membrane elements to simulate the transient response of no-compression structures, including wrinkling, has been developed. In this presentation, we discuss a number of aspects of wrinkle modeling, including the wrinkle algorithm, the influence of integration order, and the implication of local remeshing in wrinkled regions.
Isolation and Culture of Human Breast Cancer Cells from Primary Tumors and Metastases

Over the years, a number of groups have developed culture media and conditions that support the growth of normal human mammary epithelial cells from a variety of lineages, and these cell systems have increased our understanding of human mammary gland biology. In contrast, it remains difficult to isolate and culture human breast cancer cells from primary tumors and metastatic specimens. Our laboratory has now developed 13 human breast cancer cell lines. Some of these cell lines originated from primary tumor specimens, others were derived from chest wall recurrences in patients who had prior surgery, and some of the cell lines were derived from pleural effusion metastases. The cell lines that we have obtained exhibit an array of genetic alterations representative of the genomic diversity of uncultured human breast cancers. In addition, these cells are cultured under well-defined conditions (most cell lines are grown in serum-free media) that allow detained cellular studies to be carried out that complement the genetic analyses of these cell lines. This chapter outlines the culture methods and approaches that we have used to develop this panel of cell lines. Our methods emphasize certain key features that we feel are essential for the isolation and culture of breast cancer cells. These features are all focused on developing culture conditions that allow for the slow emergence of cancer cells in the relative absence of normal cells, which proliferate rapidly under highly-growth-factor-enriched conditions. Thus, selective growth media and methods for enriching cell populations for cancer cells while minimizing the presence of normal epithelial and stromal elements are important for the expansion of breast cancer cells in vitro. It is still not possible to develop cell lines from every breast cancer specimen obtained in the laboratory. Thus, whereas the cell lines we have developed have resulted in improvements in our understanding of breast cancer cell biology, much work remains to be done to understand why some breast cancer cells fail to grow in vitro while growing robustly in the patient. Improving our knowledge of the factors that influence breast cancer cell viability and proliferation will be important for development of novel therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.
BOVINE AND CHICKEN PYRUVATE KINASE ISOZYMES INTRASPECIES AND INTERSPECIES HYBRIDS

ABSTRACT. Bovine tissues, like those of other mammals, contain at least three non-interconvertible pyruvate kinase isozymes, designated type K or K 4 , type L or L 4 , and type M or M 4 . The K- and L-type isozymes have sigmoidal kinetics with P-enolpyruvate and are activated by fructose 1,6-diphos-phate, while type M pyruvate kinase has hyperbolic kinetics even in the absence of fructose diphosphate.
Simulation and Control of a Multistage Stirred Cell Column Extractor

1. Stochastic Simulation of Dispersed Phase Holdup and Drop Size Distribution Profiles in a Mixer Column Contactor