cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Numerical analysis of a self-compensating antenna

We recently proposed that a monocone antenna on a ground plane with an embedded dielectric lens could be designed to have a frequency domain (FD) transfer function that is proportional to Hankel function of the second kind H0 (2) (betarho). Such an antenna would radiate a half-derivative in the time domain (TD). Since an antennapsilas transient transmit response is the derivative of its receive response, such an antenna would be self-compensating if used as both the transmitter and receiver in a communications link. In this work, the shape of the lens that produces this result is determined, and the effect of the lens on the radiated field is discussed. A full EM numerical model based on the FEM is developed using the PDE toolbox in Matlab. The input impedance and the gain of the modeled antenna are calculated over a wide frequency range. In section IV, fast Fourier transform is utilized to observe the radiated field in the TD. We see that the general properties of the self-compensating antenna are in fact observed, namely a channel response that is flat over a broad frequency range. However, the flatness of the response is hurt in the current design due to resonances associated with the finite size of the monocone and the dielectric discontinuity of the lens. Future work will seek to reduce these effects.
Superfund Dredging Restoration Results in Widespread Regional Reduction in Cadmium in Blue Crabs

A nickel-cadmium battery factory released about 53 tons of mostly cadmium and nickel hydroxide suspended solid waste between 1953 and 1979 into Foundry Cove, which is tidally connected to the Hudson River estuary. A major Superfund dredging cleanup in 1994-1995 removed most of the cadmium from the sediment from within Foundry Cove. Here, we demonstrate that the cleanup reduced cadmium tissue concentrations (hepatopancreas and leg muscle) in an important fishery species, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus near Foundry Cove, but also across a broad reach of the Hudson River. Before the cleanup, cadmium concentrations in crabs were 4-5 times higher on average than after the cleanup and geographic variation in crab cadmium concentration along the Hudson River estuary was strongly reduced after the cleanup. The factor of reduction in crab tissue concentrations was far less than the factor of reduction of export of cadmium from Foundry Cove into the Hudson or the factor of reduction of cadmium sediment concentrations within the cove following the cleanup. This unique study demonstrates the efficacy of a major dredging cleanup and quantifies the spatial and temporal impact of the cleanup. It demonstrates that cleanup of a point source can have dramatic effects over large spatial scales.
International Institutions and Issue Linkage: Building Support for Agricultural Trade Liberalization

This article explains how the institutional context of international negotiations influences their outcomes. I argue that issue linkage counteracts domestic obstacles to liberalization by broadening the negotiation stakes. Institutions bolster the credibility of the linkage to make it more effective. I test the argument in the agricultural sector, which has been among the most difficult sectors for governments to liberalize. Statistical analysis of U.S. negotiations with Japan and the EU from 1970 to 1999 indicates that an institutionalized linkage between agricultural and industrial issues encourages agricultural liberalization in both Japan and Europe. Through case studies of key negotiations, I first examine why countries choose to link issues, then show how the linkage changes interest group mobilization and shifts the policy process to promote liberalization.
Low-nuclearity titanium oxoalkoxides: the trititanates [Ti3O](OPri)10 and [Ti3O](OPri)9(OMe)

Abstract The tritinate [Ti3O](OPri)9(OMe) was isolated from the reaction of Ti(OPri)4 with water and methanol in isopropanol solution and characterized by elemental analysis, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction ( a = 23.295(5), b = 19.560(4), c = 18.661(4) A , β = 108.39(3)°; Z = 8 ; space group P21/c-C2h5). The [Ti3O](OPri)9(OMe) molecule has a Ti3μ3-O)(μ3-OMe)(μ2-OPri)3(OPri)6 structure in the solid state and in solution, but is unstable in solution at ambient temperature even in hydrocarbon solvents where it is in quasi-equilibrium with Ti(OPri)4−x(OMe)x, [Ti3O](OPri)10, and more highly condensed polytitanates. The isostructural trititanate [Ti3O](OPri)10 could not be isolated from isopropanol solutions of hydrolyzed Ti(OPri)4, but was identified as the sole hydrolysis product at low degrees of hydrolysis using 17O, 13C{1H} and 1H NMR spectroscopy.
Use of hospital discharge data in the surveillance of occupational disease.

Computerized hospital discharge diagnoses are useful for occupational disease surveillance. One thousand one hundred twenty-six individuals with asbestosis and 268 individuals with silicosis were identified in New Jersey for the four-year period 1979–1982. Computer-generated maps help to dramatize the localization of these conditions to certain geographic areas. The attributes and limitations of using hospital discharge diagnoses for occupational disease surveillance are discussed: initial follow-up data are presented for individuals with silicosis.
CHOICE BY RATS FOR ENRICHED VERSUS STANDARD HOME CAGES: PLASTIC PIPES, WOOD PLATFORMS, WOOD CHIPS, AND PAPER TOWELS AS ENRICHMENT ITEMS

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether simple additions to the home cages of rats made those cages preferable to standard housing arrangements. Results indicated that most rats preferred cages with wood platforms, wood chips, and paper towels to otherwise identical cages without these items. Wood chips were not, however, practical with the cages used in the present study. Plastic pipes caused no problems but were not preferred by most animals. Both wood platforms and paper towels created no problems and appeared to be useful as enrichment items. The latter were preferred to the former in a direct comparison.
In vitro endotoxin penetration of coronally unsealed endodontically treated teeth

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the penetration of bacterial endotoxin (L.P.S.) through obturated root canals. Twenty-four single-rooted teeth were instrumented in a uniform manner. The root canals of 16 teeth were obturated with guttapercha and Roth's sealer and 8 teeth were similarly obturated but without sealer. The teeth were then divided into three groups. Group 1-Positive control (4 teeth). Teeth obturated without sealer were used. Sticky wax was softened in an open flame and painted over the external root surface except the apical 2 mm and coronal canal orifice which were left free of the sticky wax. Group 2-Negative control (4 teeth). Again teeth without sealer comprised the teeth in this group. However, in this group the sticky wax covered the apical area of the root and the canal orifice coronally, in addition to the rest of the root. Group 3-Experimental (16 teeth). The teeth obturated in conjunction with sealer were used. Otherwise the teeth were treated as in group 1. The coronal root half was then hermetically sealed from the apical root half so that LPS placed coronally could move only through the obturated canal space to the apical segment. One ml of water containing 100 micrograms/ml endotoxin was placed in the upper chambers and pyrogen-free water in the lower chambers. The upper and lower chambers were then tested for endotoxin at different time periods upto 21 days. The upper chambers tested positive for endotoxin at all test times for all teeth. All 4 positive control teeth showed endotoxin in the lower chambers by 24 hrs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Comparison of Classic and Molecular Approaches for the Identification of Untypeable Enteroviruses

Members of the family Picornaviridae are the most common viruses infecting humans, and species in several genera also infect a wide variety of other mammals. Picornaviruses have traditionally been classified by antigenic type, based on a serum neutralization assay. However, this method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, is sensitive to virus aggregation and antigenic variation, and requires a large number of antisera to identify all serotypes, even when antiserum pools are used. We developed generic reverse transcription (RT)-PCR primers that will amplify all human enterovirus serotypes, as well as many rhinoviruses and other picornaviruses, and used RT-PCR amplification of the VP1 gene and amplicon sequencing to identify enteroviruses that were refractory to typing by neutralization with pooled antisera. Enterovirus serotypes determined by sequencing were confirmed by neutralization with monospecific antisera. Of 55 isolates tested, 49 were of known enterovirus serotypes, two were rhinoviruses, and four were clearly picornaviruses but did not match any known picornavirus sequence. All four untyped picornaviruses were closely related to one another in sequence, suggesting that they are of the same serotype. RT-PCR, coupled with amplicon sequencing, is a simple and rapid method for the typing and classification of picornaviruses and may lead to the identification of many new picornavirus serotypes.
Therapeutic Targeting of Mitochondrial Superoxide in Hypertension

Rationale: Superoxide (�) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human diseases including hypertension; however, commonly used antioxidants have proven ineffective in clinical trials. It is possible that these agents are not adequately delivered to the subcellular sites of superoxide production. Objective: Because the mitochondria are important sources of reactive oxygen species, we postulated that mitochondrial targeting of superoxide scavenging would have therapeutic benefit. Methods and Results: In this study, we found that the hormone angiotensin (Ang II) increased endothelial mitochondrial superoxide production. Treatment with the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant mitoTEMPO decreased mitochondrial �, inhibited the total cellular �, reduced cellular NADPH oxidase activity, and restored the level of bioavailable NO. These effects were mimicked by overexpressing the mitochondrial MnSOD (SOD2), whereas SOD2 depletion with small interfering RNA increased both basal and Ang II–stimulated cellular �. Treatment of mice in vivo with mitoTEMPO attenuated hypertension when given at the onset of Ang II infusion and decreased blood pressure by 30 mm Hg following establishment of both Ang II–induced and DOCA salt hypertension, whereas a similar dose of nontargeted TEMPOL was not effective. In vivo, mitoTEMPO decreased vascular �, increased vascular NO production and improved endothelial-dependent relaxation. Interestingly, transgenic mice overexpressing mitochondrial SOD2 demonstrated attenuated Ang II–induced hypertension and vascular oxidative stress similar to mice treated with mitoTEMPO. Conclusions: These studies show that mitochondrial � is important for the development of hypertension and that antioxidant strategies specifically targeting this organelle could have therapeutic benefit in this and possibly other diseases.
The two faces of privatisation: political and economic logics in transitional South Africa

Privatisation has both an economic and a political face. In South Africa, this Janus-faced character is revealed by the juxtaposition of economic and political arguments for and against the process of privatisation initiated by the National Party, during the transition to majority rule. This paper argues that the NP set out to fundamentally reorganise the structure of South Africa's political economy as an exit strategy. Although it justified privatisation by employing economic arguments, this ostensible depoliticisation masked political motives. Ironically, the weak economic case reveals the political face of privatisation in South Africa. The timing and context of South Africa's privatisation process is difficult to defend on economic grounds, but it did make political sense.
Study of spontaneous infectious diseases of primates: Contributions of the regional primate research centers program to conservation and new scientific opportunities.

Careful investigation of spontaneous diseases of nonhuman primates is critical to maintaining the health of captive breeding colonies and, therefore, conservation. Without an understanding of those infectious agents to which nonhuman primates are susceptible and their sources, all colonies are at risk of catastrophic illness. Such studies also regularly generate new opportunities for improved studies of the causes and nature of diseases of human beings. Inquiries into an epizootic in owl monkeys (Aotus trivirgatus) led to the identification of fatal herpes virus infections transmitted by squirrel monkeys (Herpesvirus T) and human beings (H. simplex), and to mechanisms for their prevention. This also paved the way for the discovery of a new virus, H. saimiri, which has provided a unique opportunity to study mechanisms of viral oncogenesis. Research on spontaneous immunodeficiency disease of macaques led to uncovering a new group of viral diseases (type D retrovirus) of major importance to colony health, and subsequently to the identification of another new virus (simian immunodeficiency virus) which has provided an exquisite system in which to investigate AIDS of human beings. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Lumbosacral chordoma resection: image integration and surgical planning.

Clinical, radiographic, and functional outcome parameters were analyzed before and after treatment of eight individuals with lumbosacral chordomas studied over a 3-year period. Emphasis was placed upon correlation of multiplane images and the pathoanatomy of the gross specimen. Surgical resections achieving wide margins can be curative. Magnetic resonance imaging of lumbosacral chordomas has revolutionized the preoperative anatomic localization of these tumors. Therefore, it is critical that the operating surgeon scrutinize the three-dimensional location of the tumor and its spatial relationship to surrounding structures prior to surgical eradication. A systematic approach for the radiographic analysis of tumor extent in lumbosacral chordomas is presented. Four strategic areas of preoperative analysis are identified for sacral chordomas and two for lumbar neoplasms. Functional outcome after resection is predicted by Stener's work. Contamination-free surgery is facilitated by accurate preoperative radiographic interpretation of the pathoanatomy by the surgeon. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
I don't know the question, but sex is definitely the answer! Focus on "In pursuit of scientific excellence: sex matters" and "Do you know the sex of your cells?".

the title of this article, which is attributed to Woody Allen, suggests that sex is a universal truth, but in the experience of the authors of this Editorial Focus, this is rarely the case in scientific experiments, including in physiology, and especially cell physiology. Most investigators have had
A 31P NMR Investigation of the CoPi Water‐Oxidation Catalyst

Beneath the sheets: (31) P NMR data suggests that phosphates are liberated freely in the interlayer of a cobalt-hydroxide water-oxidation catalyst. The cobalt-hydroxide sheets are separated by an interlayer region with water, counterions and phosphate, which help to shuttle protons as the layer develops charge.
Enacting a Critical Pedagogy, Influencing Teachers’ Sociopolitical Development

Historically marginalized students continue to experience opportunity gaps in our schools and inequities in their communities. To change these contexts, we want students to develop the skills, mindsets, and ability to act against oppression. In order for that to occur, educators must have support and opportunities to learn and practice acting as agents of change against oppression in the educational system. This challenge is particularly salient given that a majority of teachers are White and middle class, and thus have different backgrounds from the youth they seek to support. This exploratory study examined whether and how educators who participated in a project called critical civic inquiry (CCI) experienced sociopolitical development. Data including video observations, written assignments, online discussion boards, and individual interviews. The paper focuses on the experiences of five White educators in urban middle schools who participated in a yearlong CCI course, which was designed to support them in implementing critical pedagogy, student voice, sociopolitical development, and participatory action research in their classrooms. In this paper, we discuss how enacting a critical pedagogy as a participant in CCI may have impacted the sociopolitical development of teachers.
Stochastic Petri Nets and Their Applications

Although continuous-time Markov chains have been widely used to analyze the performance of communication networks, constructing and solving a continuous-time Markov chain is a tedious and error-prone procedure, especially when the systems are complex. A relief from the burden is provided by stochastic Petri nets and the corresponding software packages, which provide automated generation and solution of continuous-time Markov chains. This paper gives an overview of stochastic Petri nets. Two examples in communication networks (i.e., one for ATM networks and the other for wireless networks) are presented and studied to illustrate how to use stochastic Petri nets for performance, availability and performability analysis of communication networks.
Challenges for multi-agent coordination theory based on empirical observations

Significant research progress and understanding about the nature of coordination has been made over the years. Development of the DCOP and DEC-MDP frameworks in the past decade has been especially important. Although these advances are very important for multi-agent coordination theory, they overlook a set of coordination behaviors and phenomena that have been observed empirically by many researchers since the early years of the field. The goal of this paper is to challenge researchers in multi-agent coordination to develop a comprehensive formal framework that explains these empirical observations.
A CRISPR Way to Block PERVs — Engineering Organs for Transplantation

A challenge to xenotransplantation is the transmission of infectious agents, including endogenous retroviruses. A study of porcine endogenous retroviruses, and the use of a new tool (CRISPR-Cas9) to inactivate them, represents a step toward addressing this challenge.
Processing nonnative consonant clusters in the classroom: Perception and production of phonetic detail

Recent research has shown that speakers are sensitive to non-contrastive phonetic detail present in nonnative speech (e.g. Escudero et al. 2012; Wilson et al. 2014). Difficulties in interpreting and implementing unfamiliar phonetic variation can lead nonnative speakers to modify second language forms by vowel epenthesis and other changes. These difficulties may be exacerbated in the classroom, as previous studies have found that classroom acoustics have a detrimental effect on listeners’ ability to identify nonnative sounds and words (e.g. Takata and Nabělek, 1990). Here we compare the effects of two acoustic environments – a sound booth and a classroom – on English speakers’ ability to process and produce unfamiliar consonant sequences in an immediate shadowing task. A number of acoustic–phonetic properties were manipulated to create variants of word-initial obstruent–obstruent and obstruent–nasal clusters. The acoustic manipulations significantly affected English speakers’ correct productions and detail...
Direct Transcriptional Effects of Apolipoprotein E

A major unanswered question in biology and medicine is the mechanism by which the product of the apolipoprotein E e4 allele, the lipid-binding protein apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4), plays a pivotal role in processes as disparate as Alzheimer's disease (AD; in which it is the single most important genetic risk factor), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Lewy body dementia, hominid evolution, and inflammation. Using a combination of neural cell lines, skin fibroblasts from AD patients, and ApoE targeted replacement mouse brains, we show in the present report that ApoE4 undergoes nuclear translocation, binds double-stranded DNA with high affinity (low nanomolar), and functions as a transcription factor. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput DNA sequencing, our results indicate that the ApoE4 DNA binding sites include ∼1700 gene promoter regions. The genes associated with these promoters provide new insight into the mechanism by which AD risk is conferred by ApoE4, because they include genes associated with trophic support, programmed cell death, microtubule disassembly, synaptic function, aging, and insulin resistance, all processes that have been implicated in AD pathogenesis. Significance statement: This study shows for the first time that apolipoprotein E4 binds DNA with high affinity and that its binding sites include 1700 promoter regions that include genes associated with neurotrophins, programmed cell death, synaptic function, sirtuins and aging, and insulin resistance, all processes that have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.
Response to Selection for Resistance to Gamma Radiation in the Cotton Boll Weevil

A genetic selection experiment in the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, was used to evaluate the degree to which variation in postirradiation survival may be under genetic control. Ten generations of family selection for 14-day postirradiation survival increased survival from 35 to almost 70% and increased life expectancy after irradiation by about 4 days. Estimates of realized heritability of half-sib family means of near 0.3 were required for this magnitude of response. The results indicate that selection for genetic improvement has merit in the development of a mass-rearing stock for release in a sterile insect program.
Emergency mental health: an overview

As any field of endeavor evolves, as the field of emergency mental health is evolving, it becomes important to reflect upon historical milestones and define key terms. This paper is an effort to provide a brief overview of the field of emergency mental health and to take a glimpse at its future.
Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Latino Youth in the Digital Age

Recent interest in U.S.-based Latino/Hispanic populations and their cultures has led to fruitful research and increased attention. Comprehensive books on Hispanic marketing have been made available by multicultural marketing experts. Marketing that targets Latino/Hispanic youth has become a promising, specialized, and lucrative field. This study shows how cultural research has been utilized by marketers to target young Latinos/Hispanics, who are the most susceptible members of the ethnic group to new trends in technology. It investigates the type of cultural knowledge that marketing researchers are using to target Latino/Hispanic youth and the effectiveness of their interactive advertising campaigns. It also explores how the ever-growing access to digital media changes the way the food and beverage companies do business with Latino/Hispanic youth. This article is made available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Surface-Enhanced Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy at 1 MHz Repetition Rates.

Surface-enhanced femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (SE-FSRS) is an ultrafast Raman technique that combines the sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman scattering with the temporal resolution of femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS). Here, we present the first successful implementation of SE-FSRS using a 1 MHz amplified femtosecond laser system. We compare SE-FSRS and FSRS spectra measured at 1 MHz and 100 kHz using both equal pump average powers and equal pump energies to demonstrate that higher repetition rates allow spectra with higher signal-to-noise ratios to be obtained at lower pulse energies, a significant advance in the implementation of SE-FSRS. The ability to use lower pulse energies significantly mitigates sample damage that results from plasmonic enhancement of high-energy ultrafast pulses. As a result of the improvements to SE-FSRS developed in this Letter, we believe that SE-FSRS is now poised to become a powerful tool for studying the dynamics of plasmonic materials and ads...
Vernacular Visualization Practices in a Citizen Science Project

Vernacular visualizations are visual representations of information created by and for non-expert users, in contrast to those developed by experts for specialized audiences. Research looking at everyday design practices and the democratization of innovation indicates that deeper understanding of non-expert design practices has a positive impact on technology development. This qualitative study focuses on the creation, use and dissemination of vernacular visualizations in a citizen science project. Findings from this research (1) map visualization practices in an established citizen science project, (2) contribute to theoretical understanding of the ways in which vernacular visualization practices support data-rich collaborative and coordinated work, and (3) suggest ways in which visualizations and visual resources can be evaluated in terms of their abilities to enrich coordination and communication in these contexts.
Following the Sun: Exploring Productivity in Temporally Dispersed Teams

Dispersion in working teams has been addressed by earlier research mostly in terms of the physical distance that separated team members. In more recent work, however, the focus has been shifting towards understanding the influence of a newer construct: that of temporal dispersion (TD). The study of TD is so far constrained mostly to conceptual work, and the study of its association with distributed team performance is lacking. This paper attempts to explore that void by empirically investigating how TD relates to the team's productivity. Suitable hypotheses are developed based on coordination theory, and the analyses are performed on data collected from multiple archival sources comprising 100 open source software development distributed teams. The test of hypotheses is carried out using objective, non perceptual measures. Regression analysis is used to detect significant associations. Results show that temporal coverage is positively associated with productivity, and that the project's complexity moderates the relation between productivity and TD.
A Novel Approach for Modeling Security Aspects of Physical Infrastructures

The infrastructures like water, power, school, transportation and communication systems are essentials for daily life activities and their protection is very important especially in the context of rapidly growing international terrorism. Protection of physical infrastructure requires the deep understanding of the infrastructure building blocks, identification of threats, vulnerabilities and risks. Implementations of effective and efficient techniques for the protection of physical infrastructure are subject to the knowledge of multiple domains. Model Driven Engineering (MDE) approach addresses the problem of complexity and effectively represents the application structure and behavior within a particular domain. Existing techniques seems to be lacking in providing a common approach for modeling different types of infrastructure. In this context, we study the characteristics of physical infrastructure's protection and proposed Unified Modeling Language (UML) based meta-models. The proposed meta-models aid in defining the different aspects of infrastructure and understand its organization and behavior. On the basis of given meta-models, UML models can be derived to represent the infrastructure protection systems, threats, vulnerabilities, assets and relationships among them.
Shift-invariant cone-beam FBP reconstruction on not less than a short scan

A 3D reconstruction formula has been derived for a circular cone-beam (CB) scan using shift-invariant filtering and CB backprojection. By first converting the divergent projections to parallel projections, we analyze the circular CB data using the classic central slice theorem. The sampling density in Fourier space is investigated and one 1D shift-invariant filtering method before backprojection can be used to compensate for the non-uniformity. The final formula consists of a conventional FDK reconstruction and a correction term using differential backprojection (DBP) and the 1D Hilbert transform in the image domain. On a full scan, the approach reduces to the FDK algorithm; while for a short scan, the CB artifacts are suppressed by the second term. This algorithm outperforms the modified FDK algorithm with Parker’s weighting, as illustrated by simulations of a high contrast Shepp-Logan phantom and experimental results of a pig spine phantom. Under the condition that projection data is not truncated and extrapolation is not allowed, this algorithm exploits the maximum tomographic capability of a single circle CB scan when the region of interest (ROI) is the whole reconstructed volume, and the rotation is not less than π plus cone angle.
Philosophy of Psychology

The philosophy of psychology at the turn of the century was an amalgam of perspectives and commitments--experimental science, Darwinian theory, positivism--forged partly out of achievements in experimental science and partly in response to transcendentalist (Hegelian) challenges. The amalgam itself appeared as an early version of the positivism that became developed and dominant early in the 20th century. For many psychologists at the turn of the century, experimental science, as practiced chiefly in physics and chemistry, was tantamount to a philosophy of science and one stripped of what were taken to be distracting and useless metaphysical quibbles. The assets and liabilities of this allegiance were recognized even as it was forming.
Surface Plasmon Resonance of A Bimetallic Nanostructured Film for Enhanced Optical Sensitivity

A bimetallic (Ag/Au) nanoslit film is reported on surface plasmon (SP) generation and refractive index (RI) sensitivity. These were compared to gold devices in transmission surface plasmon resonance (tSPR). The bimetallic films have a primary resonant peak that shifts with periodicity and correlates well with Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation studies. The SPR of bimetallic nanoslit structures is analyzed via a semi-analytical model. The model enables decomposition and quantitative analysis of SP generation at the aperture under plane-wave illumination. The nanostructured, metallic, thin films provide flexibility to integrate with microfluidics, allowing for simplified instrumentation and alignment. Calculation and experimentation demonstrate that bimetallic films afford an increase in RI sensitivity due to the addition of silver along with the biocompatibility of gold. The Ag/Au films were found to be non-diffusing, long-term stable (over several months), and provided an increase in sensitivity (about 53/RIU) over gold equivalents.
The Group B Coxsackieviruses as Vaccines and Vectors

Nearly all of what is understood about vaccinating against human enteroviruses comes from studies on the poliovirus (PV) vaccines. These highly successful products have eradicated poliomyelitis wherever they have been rigorously applied. At present, there are no other vaccines commercially available against human enteroviruses other than those against the PV. The group B coxsackieviruses (CVB) are the best studied non-polio enteroviruses primarily because of their association with serious human diseases that include acute viral inflammatory heart disease and pancreatitis. Like the PV, different studies have reported on the use of inactivated as well as attenuated vaccines against the group B coxsackieviruses (CVB). In addition, subunit vaccines as well as chimeric attenuated strains that express antigenic epitopes other than those of the vector strain itself have been reported. These studies have used the excellent murine models of CVBinduced myocarditis. Attenuation of a virulent or pathogenic CVB strain can be accomplished by site-specific mutagenesis or by creating recombinant chimeric CVB genomes. These viruses act as useful serotype-specific vaccine strains. The CVB are capable of expressing both foreign antigenic epitopes as well as biologically active proteins from within the viral single open reading frame. Expression of foreign (non-CVB3) antigens by a CVB3 vector can elicit a host immune response against the foreign antigen even in the face of pre-existing anti-vector immunity. More recently, inoculation of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice with CVB has been effective to suppress the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in these mice. Together, the data suggest the CVB represent a robust and useful vaccine and vector system with high potential for clinical use.
New Genetic Tools for Rhodobacter capsulatus and Structure and Expression of Genes for Carotenoid Biosynthesis

Photosynthetic bacteria are currently used as model systems for the study of genetic, biochemical and physical aspects of photosynthesis. In this article we briefly review genetic methods that we developed for use in Rhodobacter capsulatus and we present recent results on the molecular biology of carotenoid biosynthesis.
An electromagnetic tracking needle clip: an enabling design for low-cost image-guided therapy.

Introduction: In this study, we hypothesized a disposable low-cost needle clip with a specially designed electromagnetic (EM) tracking sensor. It could be mounted onto 16- to 22-gauge needles, allo...
Role of enterocyte stearoyl-Co-A desaturase-1 in LDLR-null mice.

After crossing floxed stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (Scd1fl/fl) mice with LDL receptor-null (ldlr−/−) mice, and then Villin Cre (VilCre) mice, enterocyte Scd1 expression in Scd1fl/fl/ldlr−/−/VilCre mice was reduced 70%. On Western diet (WD), Scd1fl/fl/ldlr−/− mice gained more weight than Scd1fl/fl/ldlr−/−/VilCre mice (P
Headache, Chiari I malformation and foramen magnum decompression.

Purpose of reviewWith increasing use of MRI, more patients are being diagnosed with Chiari I malformation (CM1), many of whom are asymptomatic. When symptoms are present, headache is the most frequent presenting feature, although symptoms can be variable. The purpose of this review is to help primar
Cubic-Plus-Chain (CPC). I: A Statistical Associating Fluid Theory-Based Chain Modification to the Cubic Equation of State for Large Nonpolar Molecules

An equation of state framework for nonpolar chain molecules is proposed that hybridizes the classical cubic equation of state with the chain equation of state from SAFT (Chapman et al., Fluid Phase Equilibria, 1989). The cubic equation of state serves as the physical description of the monomer beads, providing repulsive and attractive character to the segments, and the chain term bonds these monomer segments to form chains of homogeneous beads. Whereas the model molecule of the standard cubic equation of state is a sphere with variable attraction energy and volume but whose fundamental shape remains roughly spherical, the model molecule of the proposed cubic-plus-chain (CPC) equation of state consists of beads bonded covalently to form linear chains. The CPC model molecule is a better representation of chain-like molecules, such as n-alkanes and polymers, and phase behavior modeling with the proposed CPC equation of state shows considerable improvement over the reference cubic equation of state, mainly du...
Initial Management of Incarcerated Pregnant Women With Opioid Use Disorder

The epidemic of opioid and other drug use and related arrests are a growing public health crisis in the United States. The national prevalence of pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) has i...
Big Data and Occupants’ Behavior in Built Environments: Introducing a Game-Based Data Collection Method

Abstract Energy-related human behavior in buildings is difficult to define and quantify, yet critical to our understanding of total building energy consumption. It substantially influences energy c...
A Review of Usability Evaluation Methods and Their Use for Testing eHealth HIV Interventions

To provide a comprehensive review of usability testing of eHealth interventions for HIV. We identified 28 articles that assessed the usability of eHealth interventions for HIV, most of which were published within the past 3 years. The majority of the eHealth interventions for HIV was developed on a mobile platform and focused on HIV prevention as the intended health outcome. Usability evaluation methods included eye-tracking, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, contextual interviews, think-aloud protocols, cognitive walkthroughs, heuristic evaluations and expert reviews, focus groups, and scenarios. A wide variety of methods is available to evaluate the usability of eHealth interventions. Employing multiple methods may provide a more comprehensive assessment of the usability of eHealth interventions as compared with inclusion of only a single evaluation method.
Trans-mediated parasocial relationships: Private Facebook groups foster influencer–follower connection:

This essay offers an extension of the theory of parasocial relationships deemed trans-mediated parasocial relationships in which popular users rely on a specific social media platform to maintain r...
Every Hidden Unit Maximizing Output Weights Maximizes The Global Reward.

For a network of stochastic units trained on a reinforcement learning task, one biologically plausible way of learning is to treat each unit as a reinforcement learning unit and train each unit by REINFORCE using the same global reward signal. In this case, only a global reward signal has to be broadcast to all units, and the learning rule given is local. Although this learning rule follows the gradient of return in expectation, it suffers from high variance and cannot be used to train a deep network in practice. In this paper, we propose an algorithm called Weight Maximization, which can significantly improve the speed of applying REINFORCE to all units. Essentially, we replace the global reward to each hidden unit with the change in the norm of output weights, such that each hidden unit in the network is trying to maximize the norm of output weights instead of the global reward. We found that the new algorithm can solve simple reinforcement learning tasks significantly faster than the baseline model. We also prove that the resulting learning rule is approximately following gradient ascent on the reward in expectation when applied to a multi-layer network of Bernoulli logistic unit. It illustrates an example of intelligent behavior arising from a population of self-interested hedonistic neurons, which corresponds to Klopf's hedonistic neuron hypothesis.
Modeling Combined Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging: Simulations aiding Device Development and Deep Learning

Combined ultrasound and photoacoustic (USPA) imaging has attracted several clinical applications due to its ability to simultaneously display structural and molecular information of deep biological tissue in real time. However, the depth dependent optical attenuation and the unknown optical and acoustic heterogeneities, limit the USPA imaging performance, especially from deeper tissue regions. Novel instrumentation, image reconstruction and deep learning methods are currently being explored to improve the USPA image quality. Effective implementation of these approaches requires a reliable USPA simulation tool capable of generating US based anatomical and PA based molecular information. Here, we developed a hybrid USPA simulation platform by integrating finite element models of light and ultrasound propagation. The feasibility of modeling US combined with optical fluence dependent multispectral PA imaging is demonstrated using in silico homogeneous and heterogeneous prostate tissue. The platform allows optimization of device design parameters, such as the aperture size and frequency of light source and ultrasound detector arrays. In addition, the potential of this simulation platform to generative massive USPA datasets aiding the data driven deep-learning enhanced USPA imaging has been validated using both simulations and experiments.
Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown: Narcoqueens, Beauty Queens and Melodrama in Narconarratives

The melodramatic narrative mode creates complex realities and news events as logical and consumable stories. This article considers the ways that popular media portray the cases of Sandra Avila Beltran and Laura Zuniga, both arrested on drug-related charges in separate incidents that overlap with narconarratives. My analysis demonstrates that Avila Beltran’s and Zuniga’s life stories intrigued audiences because, in the context of melodramas, women as criminals is an attractive trope that counters expected “feminine” behavior and challenges constructions of national ideals and respectable femininity. While Avila Beltran embodies a femme fatale figure, Zuniga maps to an ingenue. These tropes of idealized femininity soften the transgressive acts of the two women suspected of participating in criminality associated with the transnational drug trade, which is coded as masculine. Their narratives redefine melodramatic gendered performance in the context of a hypermasculine narcoculture that thrives in an age of globalization and neoliberal policies. Their stories are emblematic of the ways that women in narcoculture are narrated, revealing cultural anxieties about changing gender roles in the context of political instability and excessive violence. El modo narrativo melodramatico convierte realidades complejas y eventos noticiosos en historias logicas y consumibles. Este articulo considera las formas en que los medios populares retratan los casos de Sandra Avila Beltran y Laura Zuniga, ambas arrestadas por cargos relacionados con las drogas en incidentes separados que coinciden en parte con las narconarrativas. Mi analisis demuestra que las historias de Avila Beltran y Zuniga intrigaron al publico porque, en el contexto de los melodramas, las mujeres como criminales es un tropo atractivo que contrarresta el esperado comportamiento “femenino” y desafia las construcciones de los ideales nacionales y la feminidad respetable. Mientras Avila Beltran encarna una figura de la femme fatale, Zuniga se deviene una ingenua. Estos tropos de feminidad idealizada suavizan los actos transgresores de las dos mujeres sospechosas de participar en la criminalidad asociada al trafico transnacional de drogas, que esta codificado como masculino. Sus narrativas redefinen la actuacion melodramatica de genero en el contexto de una narcocultura hipermasculina que prospera en una era de globalizacion y politicas neoliberales. Sus historias son emblematicas de las formas en que se les narran a las mujeres en la narcocultura, revelando ansiedades culturales sobre el cambio de roles de genero en el contexto de inestabilidad politica y excesiva violencia.
Preparation of clinical-grade WBCs using leukocyte reduction filters.

Abstract Objective Our goal was to develop a simpler and less expensive method of obtaining human clinical-grade WBCs using an alternative method to continuous leukapheresis. Our purpose for the WBCs is to arm them with rabbit anticancer antibodies for a phase I clinical trial. Methods Using leukocyte reduction filters (LRFs) discarded from the blood bank, we evaluated multiple variables to maximize recovery of WBCs with the lowest contamination of RBCs. Using an optimized protocol, full-scale runs according to FDA current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards were completed with immediate filtration of blood obtained from donors participating in our study. Results Forward flushing of the filter removed 85% to 95% of residual RBCs and platelets. When backward flushed with 800 mL, 95% of the WBCs recovered were contained in the first 400 mL. The number of recovered WBCs was in the range of 166–211 million/100 mL filtered blood. Subpopulations of WBCs recovered from the LRFs were in the same proportion as the donors' whole blood. Viability of recovered WBCs was 96–99%. Exogenous rabbit antibodies bound well to the recovered WBCs and were retained for at least 5 h without significant reduction. Three full scale runs of WBCs recovered from donor blood filtered through the LRF met all FDA specification of sterility, endotoxin levels, viability and stability. Conclusion Using LRFs, high quality clinical grade WBCs are readily obtained in quantities of 0.2 to 1.2 billion cells from 100 mL to 450 mL (1 unit) of whole blood.
Repetitive pulse application of self-healing high voltage capacitors

In the last fifteen years, self-healing high voltage capacitors have become standard technology for single-shot and low repetition rate (<1 shot/minute) applications in R&D environments, such as inertial confinement fusion, electromagnetic launchers, electrochemical guns, high field magnet facilities, etc. Such capacitors offer higher energy density and/or longer life and higher reliability in many applications. Standard self-healing capacitors, built with vapor-deposited metallized electrodes, have limited ability to carry both peak pulse and continuous RMS (root mean square) currents, generate more heat than discrete foil capacitors, and have lower thermal conductivity for heat dissipation. For these reasons, many pulse power applications have been unable to utilize self-healing technology. For example, moderate to high repetition rate (/spl ges/10 Hz), high voltage capacitors built today are generally not of the self-healing type due to the higher energy losses and poorer thermal conductivity of metallized electrode capacitors. This results in large thermal gradients and overheating. Instead, such capacitors are still manufactured using discrete foil electrodes, which provide excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. The economic and technical benefits of self-healing capacitors continue to drive research and development to expand their operational envelope. Areas of research include "hybrid" electrode systems, integrated cooling, segmented electrodes, and higher temperature dielectrics. This paper will explore the application of self-healing capacitor technologies to repetitive pulse power systems. Present status of the technology will be described and future performance improvements will be projected.
Preparation of microsomes from insects and purification of CYP6D1 from house flies.

Publisher Summary This chapter details methods for the isolation of microsomes that have been successfully used for several species and the procedure for the purification of CYP6D1 from house fly microsomes. The P450 monooxygenases of insects have several functional roles, including growth, development, resistance to pesticides, and tolerance to plant toxins. Monooxygenases are intimately involved in fatty acid metabolism and in the biosynthesis of insect hormones and pheromones including 20-hydroxyecdysone and juvenile hormone. The study of insect P450s has been hampered by the small size of the organisms and the relative instability of microsomal preparations. The general methods used to isolate microsomes from several insect species include the large-scale and small-scale methods. Hydrophobic chromatography would be the optimal first step if cytochrome P450s have similar hydrophobic natures that are different from other proteins.