cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DC-Link Capacitor Current Modeling and Analysis for Three-Level Voltage Source Inverters

As a critical specification for the dc-link design of a voltage source inverter (VSI), the root-mean-square (RMS) value of the capacitor current should be accurately determined. Various work has been done on the modeling and analysis for the dc-link current, however an accurate model for the dc-link capacitor current still needs to be developed, especially for multilevel inverters. In this work, a detailed model for the dc-link capacitor current of a three-level VSI is proposed, and based on the model, the closed-form expression of dc-link capacitor RMS current is derived from the switching states of space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM). The expression is a function of the modulation index and power factor, and can be used to estimate the maximum dc-link capacitor RMS current. Both simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the accuracy of the proposed model and the derived expression of the dc-link capacitor RMS current.
Protecting Patients With Cirrhosis From Coronavirus Disease 2019: Identifying Gaps in Vaccination Rates.

The SARS-CoV2 pandemic has resulted in the deaths of more than 600,000 Americans to date, and millions more worldwide. The rapid development of multiple vaccines with exceedingly high (>90%) efficacy at preventing death from SARS-CoV2 is one of the recent miracles of medicine. Early vaccination efforts targeted those with the highest risk of contracting and/or dying from SARS-CoV2, including the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions (e.g., cancer, immunosuppression).
Estimating Angle of Arrival (AoA) of multiple Echoes in a Steering Vector Space.

Consider a microphone array, such as those present in Amazon Echos, conference phones, or self-driving cars. One of the goals of these arrays is to decode the angles in which acoustic signals arrive at them. This paper considers the problem of estimating K angle of arrivals (AoA), i.e., the direct path's AoA and the AoA of subsequent echoes. Significant progress has been made on this problem, however, solutions remain elusive when the source signal is unknown (such as human voice) and the channel is strongly correlated (such as in multipath settings). Today's algorithms reliably estimate the direct-path-AoA, but the subsequent AoAs diverge in noisy real-world conditions. We design SubAoA, an algorithm that improves on the current body of work. Our core idea models signal in a new AoA sub-space, and employs a cancellation approach that successively cancels each AoA to decode the next. We explain the behavior and complexity of the algorithm from the first principles, simulate the performance across a range of parameters, and present results from real-world experiments. Comparison against multiple existing algorithms like GCC-PHAT, MUSIC, and VoLoc shows increasing gains for the latter AoAs, while our computation complexity allows real-time operation. We believe progress in multi-AoA estimation is a fundamental building block to various acoustic and RF applications, including human or vehicle localization, multi-user separation, and even (blind) channel estimation.
Children's Attitudes Toward Small Computers: A Preliminary Study.

While it has been established that children have positive attitudes toward the use of computers when used in computer-assisted instruction, little is known about children’s attitudes toward small“home” or“personal” computers. Results of this study indicate that children have multidimensional attitudes toward small computers, their interaction with these computers, and ease of use.
Conveyance of partial agonism/antagonism to bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide analogues on Swiss 3T3 cells by a carboxyl-terminal leucine insertion.

Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) is a neuroendocrine hormone that may be involved in the pathophysiology of small cell lung carcinoma. We describe carboxylterminal peptide analogues of GRP and bombesin, a 14-residue amphibian homologue, that were modeled after the antagonist [Leu13-psi(CH2NH)-Leu14]bombesin and retained the psi bond. Three novel peptides contained a Leu insertion amino to the psi bond, i.e. ... Leu13Leu14 psi X (residues numbered after bombesin) where X = LeuNH2 or norleucine-NH2). The Leu-insertion analogues behaved as pure partial agonists/antagonists when examined for the ability to stimulate [3H]thymidine incorporation into quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells (agonist activity) and to diminish the agonist response of GRP (antagonist activity). A time course of [3H]thymidine incorporation into quiescent cells indicated maximal incorporation at 20-h post-peptide addition for bombesin and GRP and a Leu-insertion peptide, but the extent of the incorporation for the Leu-insertion peptide was half that of GRP and bombesin. The agonist dose responses of the Leu-insertion peptides (EC50 values of 1-10 nM) paralleled GRP and bombesin, but the maximal response of the Leu-insertion peptides, even at concentrations as high as 10(-4) M, was half the maximal value of GRP or bombesin. High concentrations of the Leu-insertion peptides antagonized 10 nM GRP (a concentration that produced a near-maximal GRP response) yielding a response that was half the maximal value of GRP and equivalent to the maximal response of the Leu-insertion peptides alone. Analogues of the form ... Leu13 psi X behaved as complete antagonists. The KD values of the Leu-insertion peptides for competitive binding versus 125I-GRP (2-50 nM) were as potent as parent ... Leu14 agonists. Stability studies indicated that peptide potencies for both agonist and antagonist activities diminished upon peptide incubation in medium or on cells. The results suggested that, for the Leu-insertion peptides, degradation into distinct products with different activities was not responsible for their partial agonist/antagonist behavior. Computer-generated molecular modeling studies indicated that the novel structures could adopt energy minimized conformations for either an agonist or an antagonist as proposed earlier (Coy, D.H., Heinz-Erian, P., Jiang, N.-Y., Sasaki, Y., Taylor, J., Moreau, J.-P., Wolfrey, W.T., Gardner, J.D., and Jensen, R. T. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 5056-5060).
Induction of c-fos and c-myc Proto-oncogene Expression by Epidermal Growth Factor and Transforming Growth Factor α Is Calcium-independent

Intracellular calcium has been proposed to be an important mediator of signal transduction by various growth factors. We have studied the role of intracellular calcium in the mitogenic stimulation of C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts by epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor α. We have found that both these peptides can cause a marked, transient increase in intracellular calcium levels. This rise occurs only in the presence of extracellular calcium. However, this calcium transient is not involved in the accumulation of c-fos and c-myc mRNAs which are elicited by these growth factors, since mRNA induction is observed to an equivalent degree in the absence or presence of extracellular calcium. These results demonstrate that although these growth factors cause an increase in intracellular calcium, the calcium second messenger system is not responsible for the induction of c-fos and c-myc mRNAs in C3H 10T1/2 fibroblasts.
Tissue culture studies of human bone marrow. II. Protein synthesis in haemic cells.

Abstract Human bone marrow cells cultivated in a chemically defined system incorporate tritiated histidine, phenylalanine, or leucine in vitro, as demonstrated by autoradiographic studies. Megakaryocytes show intense labelling up to 3 days, and platelet formation also occurs. Immature members of the granulocytic series, both neutrophilic and eosinophilic, show heavy labelling. Promyelocytes show greatest amino acid incorporation, and mature neutrophiles and eosinophiles show the least. Erythroblasts label in early cultures, and occasional erythrocytes, probably reticulocytes, also show significant incorporation. The presence of prednisolone in the medium is associated with increased incorporation of precursor as compared to that of cells cultured in hormone-free medium.
An infrastructure for numeric precision control in the Ptolemy environment

An abstract algorithm specification with idealized arithmetic must be made concrete with realistic arithmetic in the final phase of the "algorithm-to-implementation" design process in order to assess power consumption, hardware cost, and execution speed. In this paper, an infrastructure for refining an idealized model to get an architecture-dependent specification with finite precision is introduced. This infrastructure is built on top of the Ptolemy environment.
Taylor Series are Limits of Legendre Expansions

Next to a power series, the classical Legendre series offers the simplest method of representing a function using polynomial expansion means. In 1862, Neumann established results for complex Legendre expansions that are analogous to Taylor's Theorem and the Cauchy-Hadamard Formula for power series, the primary difference being that results are stated in terms of ellipses, as opposed to discs, of convergence. After a simple change of variable, the foci of these ellipses may vary, each leading to a modified Legendre expansion of the original function. Our main result is that as the foci of these ellipses tend to one another, the limit of the corresponding Legendre expansions is the Taylor series representation.
Barack Obama and the Fight for Public Education.

In this essay, William Ayers calls for a more vital and effective public education system, one guided by the basic democratic principle that all human beings are of incalculable and irreducible value. Ayers argues that to achieve such a system we must reclaim schools from the industrial model of the twentieth century and build classrooms that respond to the broad and complex needs of the actual students who arrive at the schoolhouse door. Stories of the 2008 election punctuate his argument about the urgency of seizing this moment to disrupt the dominant framework defining public education reform. He calls on each of us to promote an alternative discourse as we simultaneously challenge and assist the Obama administration in envisioning and creating schools that more authentically reflect the ideals of a democracy.
Incidence, nature, and temporal trends of adverse events associated with noncardiac procedures among veterans with drug-eluting coronary artery stents.

Background: The incidence of adverse events with noncardiac procedures (NCP) after the use of drug eluting stents (DES) is not well studied. We sought to determine the incidence and temporal trends of adverse events in patients undergoing NCP after coronary DES. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients receiving DES during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the Lexington VAMC between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2010 to determine the circumstances and the results of their NCP. Results: We identified 1,092 patients who underwent at least one PCI with DES who were followed for at least 3 years. Of those, 452 patients (41%) had a NCP at a median of 534 days after PCI with 1,081 procedures (894 low-, 160 Intermediate-, and 27 high-risk) performed. Clinically relevant NCP-related complications were defined as significant bleeding or stent thrombosis and occurred in 13 individuals (nine perioperative bleeding and four probable/possible stent thrombosis including two mortalities). Five adverse events occurred within the first year at a rate of 0.014 event/patient-year. During the remainder of follow-up (up to 9 years), eight events were documented at a rate of 0.0004 event/patient-years. During the first year of follow-up, there was no significant increase in risk of recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) or target vessel revascularization (TVR) in patients undergoing NCP but higher risk of all-cause mortality in those who did not undergo NCP. However, in patients who underwent NCP, there was a statistically significant increase in myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and rehospitalization for cardiac reasons compared with those without NCP during long term follow-up (median of 5.6 years). Conclusion: NCP after DES requiring management of DAT are relatively common among veterans following PCI using DES. The risk of bleeding and stent thrombosis is concentrated in the first year but remains very low. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Using pharmacological chaperones to restore proteostasis

Normal organismal physiology depends on the maintenance of proteostasis in each cellular compartment to achieve a delicate balance between protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation while minimizing misfolding and aggregation. Defective proteostasis leads to numerous protein misfolding diseases. Pharmacological chaperones are cell-permeant small molecules that promote the proper folding and trafficking of a protein via direct binding to that protein. They stabilize their target protein in a protein-pharmacological chaperone state, increasing the natively folded protein population that can effectively engage trafficking machinery for transport to the final destination for function. Here, as regards the application of pharmacological chaperones, we focus on their capability to promote the folding and trafficking of lysosomal enzymes, G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), and ion channels, each of which is presently an important drug target. Pharmacological chaperones hold great promise as potential therapeutics to ameliorate a variety of protein misfolding diseases.
Shoulder dislocation in young athletes: Current concepts in management

IN BRIEF: A fall onto an outstretched arm or a collision on the playing field often leads to an acute anterior shoulder dislocation for high school—and college-age athletes. The diagnosis is usually made by history and physical exam. The angle of impact is an important diagnostic clue. If no neurologic contraindications or signs of acute fracture are seen, radiographs are unnecessary, and early reduction before the onset of muscle spasm is essential. Recent advances in arthroscopic techniques have dramatically reduced the high incidence of recurrent instability in young elite athletes, though nonoperative management with immobilization is still an excellent option.
Integrity principles and mechanisms in database management systems

Our objective in this paper is to answer the following question: what mechanisms are required in a general-purpose multiuser database management system (DBMS) to facilitate the integrity objectives of information systems? In a nutshell our conclusion is that realistic mechanisms do exist. Although existing commercial products fall far short of providing the requisite mechanisms, they can be easily extended to incorporate these mechanisms. Our principal contribution is to identify these mechanisms and to point out where gaps still remain. We have also bridged the terminology and concepts of database and security specialists in a coherent manner. In the more detailed considerations the focus of this paper is on relational DBMSs.
Surface tension prey transport in shorebirds: how widespread is it?

Surface tension prey transport is a feeding mechanism employing the surface tension of water surrounding prey to transport prey from bill tip to mouth. Previously, it has been demonstrated only in the Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus. On the basis of a model of the bill morphology necessary for this method of prey transport, I suggest that many species of shorebird should be capable of surface tension feeding. Laboratory investigations of the feeding mechanics of Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor, Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri and Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla demonstrated that all three use surface tension transport of prey when feeding in water. I examined interspecific variation in the performance of this feeding mechanism with a high-speed video system and a customized motion analysis system. Exploratory analyses indicated significant interspecific variation in distance the prey is transported per cycle of mandibular spreading, gape increase per unit transport, speed of transport, total number of cycles necessary to complete transport and total time to complete transport. The calidrid sandpipers also occasionally used other feeding mechanisms in conjunction with surface tension transport of prey. The discovery that these sandpipers, which normally obtain prey by probing, are capable of surface tension transport of prey implies that the capacity to employ this feeding mechanism may be widespread in the Scolopacidae and may have been a significant factor in the evolutionary radiation of phalaropes into aquatic environments.
R68-49 Virtual Memory Processes and Sharing in Multics

This paper gives a description of the "virtual machine" of MULTICS, the multiple-user computer system conceived at M.I.T. and implementedfdhuf on the General Electric Model 645 time-sharing computer. The virtual machine is the machine which is seen by the system "user," i.e., the application programmer working at the assembly language level. The MULTICS virtual machine has a number of salient features which distinguish it from conventional machines.
Direct methanol utilization in intermediate temperature liquid-tin anode solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Direct utilization of methanol in liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cells has been experimentally demonstrated at 1023 K. A Cu and SDC modified Sn anode solid oxide fuel cell had a maximum power density of 259.2 mW/cm2 during operation on methanol. Carbon deposition was not observed in the Raman spectra of the post-test anodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicated that gas conversion resistance increased when using methanol instead of hydrogen. The micro-channel architecture of the electrode mitigated the increase. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that addition of Cu and Sn improved wetting of Sn on YSZ and reduced anode polarization resistance. The anode gases were analyzed by mass spectroscopy and a mechanism for electrochemical oxidation of methanol has been proposed.
Isolation and analysis of dityrosine from enzyme-catalyzed oxidation of tyrosine and X-irradiated peptide and proteins.

Abstract Dityrosine (DT) was isolated in a single-step by reversed-phase HPLC in 25% yield from enzyme-catalyzed oxidation of N -acetyl tyrosine followed by deacetylation. The isolated product was characterized by 1 H NMR. A three-step chromatographic procedure was reported to facilitate the preparation of DT from the enzyme-catalyzed oxidation of tyrosine in 26% yield of theoretical maximum. Upon irradiation at 284 nm in acidic and 315 nm alkaline conditions, DT exhibits strong fluorescence at 400 nm-range. However, when excited at 300 nm-range, contribution of similar fluorescence by Trp oxidation and other protein modifications cannot be overruled. In order to identify the formation of DT unequivocally, Tyr was subjected to X-irradiation under nitrogen at pH 4 and labeled with dansyl chloride. HPLC conditions were devised to resolve dansylated DT from dansylated standard amino acids. Radiation-induced DT was identified by cochromatography with a dansylated, authentic sample of DT isolated and characterized from enzyme-catalyzed oxidation of Tyr. The formation of DT in the irradiated samples, determined by the integrated peak area, increased with dose (0–600 Gy). HPLC analysis of dansylated hydrolysate of the major product from an irradiated tripeptide (Tyr Gly Gly) detected Gly and DT (2:0.5). Extension of the model study to irradiated BSA and RNase A also showed DT as the major oxidation product of Tyr under the experimental conditions. Fluorescence signal of dansylated DT was linear from 0.5 pmol to 1.5 nmol (correlation coefficient 0.999, n =3). The detection limit 0.5 pmol per 5 μ l injection hydrolysate corresponds to one molecule of DT per 300 molecules of BSA (BSA at 1 mg/ml). DT can be used as a marker for assessing oxidative damage of proteins. Most standard amino acid analysis techniques are limited to detect normal residues of proteins. The assay reported in the present study has potential for low-level detection of DT unequivocally and may be useful for monitoring oxidative stress-related physiological and pathological processes.
The molecular weight dependence of nuclear spin correlations in entangled polymeric liquids

We present experimental proton NMR data for poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in the form of a β-echo (sine correlation) function which is particularly sensitive to modul...
Differentiating Soil Types Using Electromagnetic Conductivity and Crop Yield Maps

Variable rate technology enables management of individual soil types within fields. However, correct classification of soil types for mid-Atlantic coastal plain soils are currently impractically expensive using an Order I Soil Survey, yet variable rate fertilizer application based on soil type can be highly effective. The objectives of this study were to determine if apparent electromagnetic conductivity (EC a ) alone or combined with previous year crop yields using global positioning system technology can provide a useful alternative to detailed soil mapping. The site contained alluvial soils ranging from Bojac 1 and 2 (coarse-loamy, mixed, thermic, Hapludults) to Wickham 3 and 4 (fine-loamy, mixed, thermic, Ultic Hapludalfs). The two fields totaled approximately 24 ha. A statistical nonparametric classification method, called recursive binary classification trees, was used to determine how well soil types could be classified. Electromagnetic conductivity readings and crop yields were positively correlated. Broad patterns in the relationship between soil types and EC a readings and crop yields existed for all crop combinations considered. Lower EC a readings and crop yields corresponded to the Bojac soils, while higher EC a readings and crop yields were categorized as Wickham soils. Electromagnetic induction alone correctly classified the soils into broad categories of Bojac or Wickham with over 85% accuracy. When EC a was combined with crop yield data, correct classification rose to over 90%. More precise classification into Bojac 1, Bojac 2, and Wickham soils yielded slightly lower correct classifications ranging from 62.6 to 81.2% for EC a alone, and 80.3 to 91.5% when combined with various crop yields.
OBG: The Role of Chemotherapy in Pelvic Malignancies

(1967). OBG: The Role of Chemotherapy in Pelvic Malignancies. Hospital Topics: Vol. 45, No. 11, pp. 89-93.
Exploring the cognitive consequences of social search

To what extent can social interactions augment people's natural search experiences? What factors influence the decision to turn to a friend for help? Our paper presents the preliminary results of a social sensemaking task that begin to address such questions by examining the cognitive consequences of social search.
Tractor instrumentation for tillage research in remote areas

Abstract An acquisition system mounted on a tractor was designed to measure fuel consumption, drawbar pull, true ground speed and wheel slippage while pulling farm implements in interior Alaska. The purpose of the system was to collect data necessary for matching tractors to tillage and seeding implements over a wide range of soil conditions in remote sites. The system was designed to be relatively inexpensive, portable, to need little maintenance and to be easily adaptable to the tractors available at each site. Major components of the system included a datalogger, a drawbar dynamometer and a radar-based ground-speed sensor. Although not perfected, the acquisition system has provided accurate and reliable results. The hydraulic drawbar dynamometer resulted in effectively measuring the draft of pull-type implements.
Protein kinase C contributes to abnormal capsaicin responses in DRG neurons from cats with feline interstitial cystitis

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a painful disorder which affects urinary bladder function in cats and humans. We have used patch clamp techniques to examine the possibility that the properties of primary afferent neurons are changed in feline interstitial cystitis (FIC). We measured transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) responses to capsaicin (CAPS) in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons (L4-S3) from normal cats and cats with FIC. We show that FIC neurons are increased in size and exhibit CAPS responses which are increased in amplitude and desensitize slowly. CAPS responses desensitized seven times slower in FIC neurons. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), an activator of PKC, slowed the desensitization of CAPS responses in normal cat bladder and non-bladder neurons, but had no effect in FIC neurons. Bisindolylmaleimide, an inhibitor of PKC, reversed the PDBu effects in normal cat neurons and normalized the desensitization of CAPS responses in FIC neurons. Our data suggest that FIC afferent neurons exhibit abnormal CAPS responses. The latter may be due to enhanced endogenous activities of PKC.
Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on Gastric Cancer Mortality

The incidence of gastric cancer varies both within and among populations and can change rapidly without a corresponding decline in Helicobacter pylori prevalence. Here, we describe the changes in gastric cancer mortality in Japan in relation to age-period-cohort effects as well as the decline in H. pylori prevalence. We used data from Japanese for men and women aged 30–94 for birth years 1875–1970 (calendar time 1950–2000) to observe the age, period and cohort effects on gastric cancer mortality rates. Additionally, we used Poisson regression to simultaneously adjust for concurrent age, period and cohort effects as well as for declining H. pylori prevalence in the Japanese population. There was an approximate 60 % decline in gastric cancer mortality between 1965 and 1995. Detailed age, period and cohort analyses and Poisson regression analysis showed these factors interact in complex ways, analyses focused on one or two of these effects, such as birth cohort without considering concurrent age and period would obscure important interactions that affected different age groups at different times to produce this composite effect. The underlying complexity in population–disease dynamics requires population-specific descriptions of trends using multiple methods to provide an in-depth analysis while simultaneously allowing for necessary statistical adjustments as well as identification of interactions. More thorough descriptions of the population-specific general trends in relation to changes in the population structure (age-period-cohort) enable better prevention and health care policy planning, and further, the descriptions enable hypothesis generation regarding causes of population-specific disease patterns.
Note on the alpha-particle model of 12C

Abstract The binding energy with respect to alpha-particle breakup of 12 C, calculated from a three-alpha model with the alpha particles interacting via pairwise soft-core potentials, does not agree with experiment. This tri-particle representation of the ground state of the A = 12 nuclear system also fails to give the elastic form factor and the experimental rms radius. Although the model is attractive in its conception, we feel that it is too simple to have much physical validity.
Polymerizable Bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate: Application in Microemulsion Polymerization

A hygroscopic and polymerizable salt ([2-methacryloyloxy]ethyl trimethylammonium chloride) is used to ion exchange the sodium ion in AOT (bis[2-ethylhexyl]sulfosuccinate, sodium salt) to produce a polymerizable form of AOT, MDOS ([2-methacryloyloxy]ethyl trimethylammonium bis[2-ethylhexyl]sulfosuccinate). A partial ternary phase diagram of water, MDOS, and methyl methacrylate (MMA) was determined at room temperature (22 ± 1 °C). A relatively large L2 domain is obtained, but this domain is smaller than that obtained with AOT. Microemulsion polymerization in this domain at 70 °C, using AIBN (azoisobutyronitrile) as an initiator, produces an optically clear copolymer solid domain nearly as large as the L2 domain. This interesting behavior contrasts with similar studies of Pavel and Mackay [Langmuir 2000, 16, 8528] using a polymerizable surfactant DDAMA (didecyldimethylammonium methacrylate) that produced a much larger L2 domain than MDOS but yielded a much smaller optically clear domain after thermally initi...
Combining randomization and discrimination for fine-grained image categorization

In this paper, we study the problem of fine-grained image categorization. The goal of our method is to explore fine image statistics and identify the discriminative image patches for recognition. We achieve this goal by combining two ideas, discriminative feature mining and randomization. Discriminative feature mining allows us to model the detailed information that distinguishes different classes of images, while randomization allows us to handle the huge feature space and prevents over-fitting. We propose a random forest with discriminative decision trees algorithm, where every tree node is a discriminative classifier that is trained by combining the information in this node as well as all upstream nodes. Our method is tested on both subordinate categorization and activity recognition datasets. Experimental results show that our method identifies semantically meaningful visual information and outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms on various datasets.
Chemical stress induced by copper: examination of a biofilm system

Biofilm systems have been widely used in wastewater treatment plants. However, little information is available on the impact of toxic chemicals on the performance of fixed film systems. This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of copper on a biofilm system by examining a variety of parameters, including reactor pH, DO, substrate concentrations, secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and copper removal and accumulation. The microbial communities in the biofilms were also examined using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA). Four rotating drum biofilm reactors were used to produce biofilms. One reactor was used to produce biofilms under copper free conditions; while the others were used to produce biofilms grown under three different copper contamination levels, namely 100 ppb, 200 ppb, and 500 ppb, for a prolonged period. The following results were obtained: (1) biofilm reactor performance was not significantly impacted as demonstrated by the pH, DO, substrate removal, and total solids in the effluent; (2) however, copper contamination inhibited EPS production in the biofilms; (3) copper removal efficiencies of 25-31% were obtained for the three copper contamination levels studied; (4) fixed films functionalized as a reservoir to accumulate more copper over time; and (5) copper contamination selected for specific species that were able to tolerate this stress and that may contribute to its remediation.
Overexpression of the c-myc Oncogene Inhibits Nonsense-mediated RNA Decay in B Lymphocytes

The Myc transcription factor plays a vital role in both normal cellular physiology and in many human cancers. We have recently demonstrated that nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD), a mechanism that rapidly degrades select mRNAs, is inhibited by the stress-induced phosphorylation of translation initiation factor eIF2α, and this inhibition stabilizes many transcripts necessary for tumorigenesis. Here, we demonstrate that NMD is inhibited by high Myc expression. We show that the phosphorylation of eIF2α, likely due to the ability of Myc to generate reactive oxygen species and augment endoplasmic reticulum stress, is necessary for the inhibition of NMD by Myc. The inhibition of NMD both stabilizes and up-regulates multiple Myc targets, suggesting that the inhibition of NMD may play an important role in the dynamic regulation of genes by Myc.
Clara cell damage and inhibition of pulmonary mixed-function oxidase activity by naphthalene.

Abstract The administration of naphthalene has been shown previously to elicit selective damage and necrosis of the Clara cells of mouse lung. Under identical conditions, we have found naphthalene administration to produce selective depression of pulmonary monooxygenase activities without accompanying changes in hepatic monooxygenases. Similarly, morphologic studies revealed dose-dependent alterations of Clara cells lining pulmonary bronchioles but no remarkable changes in livers of the same animals. The underlying biochemical basis for these organ-specific effects of naphthalene is presently obscure.
Shock-tube studies on mixtures of NO, CO, and Ar

Radiant intensities emitted behind reflected shock waves have been measured as functions of time in the 4.25 μ (CO2-emission) and 2312(NO- and O2-emission) regions of the spectrum for selected mixtures of NO, CO, and Ar at temperatures between 3200° and 4500°K. The intensity-time profiles in the infrared have been accounted for by using a highly simplified reaction model with nine concurrent forward and reverse reactions. For this model, it was found necessary to double the rate coefficients for the processes CO+O2ηCO2+O. Calculated concentration-time histories were converted to radiant intensity-time histories by using measured absorption coefficients for CO2 in the temperature range used in the present investigations. The radiant energy near 2312appears to be determined by NO emission during very early times and by O2 emission during later times.
Polysulfide chelates—I. The reaction of sulfur monochloride with a nickel(II) mercaptide

Abstract Evidence is presented for the preparation of a macrocyclic nickel(II) complex containing a tetrasulfide chelate ring. Preparation of the tetrasulfide ring was via a template mechanism by reacting (1, 10-dithia-4,7-diaza-5, 6-dimethyldeca-4,6-diene)nickel(II) with sulfur monochloride. Analysis of the product is consistent with the composition of dichloro-(1,2,3,4-tetrathia-7, 10-diaza-8,9-dimethylcyclododeca-7,9-diene)-nickel(II). A hydrochloride of this complex was also prepared. The magnetic moment of the products is 3·1 B.M., indicative of an octahedral configuration for nickel (II). Molar conductivity in D.M.F. solution shows the product to be a weak electrolyte, approaching a uni-univalent electrolyte at infinite dilution. Infrared spectral data are consistent with the proposed structure. The electronic spectrum was also examined. The reaction of several other complexes with sulfur monochloride is reported.
Nudging in interpersonal contexts

In “Nudging and Informed Consent,” Shlomo Cohen (2013) attempts to address the common objection against nudges that they are autonomy-thwarting because they foster irrationality. He explicitly focu...
Reticulin expression demonstrates hormonal responsiveness in a model of cycling human endometrium

Objective: To demonstrate hormonal responsiveness of our tridimensional model of cycling human endometrium by staining for reticulin in the extracellular matrix. Methods: Cultures of exuded human menstrual cells were grown inside and on top of collagen I gels. The media surrounding the gels were supplemented with physiologically relevant concentrations of steroid hormones and retinoids in various doses and combinations. Results: Networks of reticulin fibers are built up by proliferative-phase estrogen and then broken down during the secretory phase as progesterone concentrations rise. The collagen gels curled into structures containing lumens lined with epithelial layers surrounded by single stromal cells, multiple glands, and networks of reticulin fibers. The networks of reticulin fibers expressed in the cultures were increased by estradiol (E2), and decreased by progesterone. Conclusions: Expression of reticulin fibers in our organotypic resembles the changing patterns that occur during the menstrual cycle. This model has considerable potential to be further modulated by hormones, retinoids, and carcinogens to resemble hyperplasia, cancer, endometriosis, and pregnancy, thus offering service to all fields of obstetrics and gynecology.
Segmentation of range images using sine wave coding and Fourier transformation.

A laser scanner is used to produce a digital range image which is sine wave coded and Fourier transformed to obtain an efficient segmentation of planar and cylindrical surfaces. Extension to complex shape is also discussed.
Active gypsy/Ty3 retrotransposons or retroviruses in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Abstract A gypsy/Ty3-class retrotransposon (Cer1) is integrated in the DNA of Caenorhabditis elegans chromosome III. It is 8865 nt in length and has 492-nt long terminal repeats that are identical in DNA sequence. There is an exceptionally long (6819 nt) open reading frame uninterrupted by frame-shift mutations in the period since the insertion, which must therefore have been rather recent. Alignment with other gypsy-class elements and with retroviruses indicates that an env gene occupies the 3' 1.2 kb of the open reading frame. A search through GenBank has uncovered two additional gypsy-class elements from C. elegans that are very closely related in DNA sequence to this insert and are transcribed. Since gypsy of Drosophila has been shown to be an infectious element, it is possible that retrovirus-like gypsy elements are active in C. elegans.
Fetal mortality in oral cleft families (IX): factors relating to the occurrence of sporadic clefts.

Pedigree data on 854 probands with cleft lip and/or cleft palate from the State of Indiana are presented. These include 123 probands with cleft lip alone (CL), 453 with cleft lip and palate (CLP), and 278 with isolated cleft palate (CP). Probands and families were interviewed at the Indiana University Medical Center during the years 1962–1980. Among features of special interest are an excess of bilateral CLP (46% of all CLP cases) and a significantly greater number of older mothers and fathers (over 34 years old) than in the general population. An apparent increase in the proportion of sporadic cases with time may be due to bias in ascertainment. It is suggested that the increased proportions of more severe clefts and older parents are among several factors which contribute to the incidence of fetal mortality in a cleft population. The association of fetal mortality with liability to clefting introduces a more precise way to define a sporadic cleft. That is, a truly sporadic cleft is one conceived as a single occurrence event and has survived to become a liveborn cleft child whereas other apparently sporadic cleft individuals represent the surviving cleft in a sibship in which fetal mortality has eliminated all other cleft offspring already conceived. This observation has applications to the collection and interpretation of genetic pedigree data for clefts as well as many other genetic conditions.
Average Shape of Transport-Limited Aggregates

We study the relation between stochastic and continuous transport-limited growth models. We derive a nonlinear integro-differential equation for the average shape of stochastic aggregates, whose mean-field approximation is the corresponding continuous equation. Focusing on the advection-diffusion-limited aggregation (ADLA) model, we show that the average shape of the stochastic growth is similar, but not identical, to the corresponding continuous dynamics. Similar results should apply to DLA, thus explaining the known discrepancies between average DLA shapes and viscous fingers in a channel geometry.
Autonomic benchmarking for cloud infrastructures: an economic optimization model

The growing number of Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offerings today leave a wide range of choices when deploying an application in the Cloud. Self-configuring and -optimizing autonomic systems have to select an infrastructure which fits the performance preferences while simultaneously offering the optimal performance per price ratio. A task which is not trivial. Indicators provided by providers are often not coherent and not sufficient to predict the actual performance of a deployed application and, thus, raise the need for benchmarking the offered services. This implies, however, intensive effort to gather the needed metrics, growing with every additional provider taken into consideration. In this paper we present an approach based on the theory of optimal stopping that enables an automated search for an optimal infrastructure service regarding performance-per-price-ratio while reducing costs for benchmarking.
Liver lesions produced by hydatid-like cysts in an elasmobranch, the electric ray, Torpedo californica.

Large masses composed of multiple “sand”-filled cysts were present in the liver of an electric ray, Torpedo californica. There was much inflammation and necrosis of pericystic parenchyma, but remarkably little fibrosis. Other organs were not involved. No evidence of microorganisms or neoplastic transformation was observed. The cysts are hydatid-like and are the first to be reported in a lower vertebrate. They possibly represent larval cestodes, for which elasmobranchs have not been known to be hosts.
Sodium Bose-Einstein condensates in an optical lattice

The phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator has been observed in a $^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ Bose-Einstein condensate. A dye laser detuned $\ensuremath{\approx}5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$ red of the Na $3^{2}S\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3^{2}P_{1∕2}$ transition was used to form the three-dimensional optical lattice. The heating effects of the small detuning as well as the three-body decay processes constrained the time scale of the experiment. Certain lattice detunings were found to induce a large loss of atoms. These loss features were shown to be due to photoassociation of atoms to vibrational levels in the ${\mathrm{Na}}_{2}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}(1)^{3}\ensuremath{\Sigma}_{g}^{+}$ state.
Host–microbe interactions in the developing zebrafish

The amenability of the zebrafish to in vivo imaging and genetic analysis has fueled expanded use of this vertebrate model to investigate the molecular and cellular foundations of host-microbe relationships. Study of microbial encounters in zebrafish hosts has concentrated on developing embryonic and larval stages, when the advantages of the zebrafish model are maximized. A comprehensive understanding of these host-microbe interactions requires appreciation of the developmental context into which a microbe is introduced, as well as the effects of that microbial challenge on host ontogeny. In this review, we discuss how in vivo imaging and genetic analysis in zebrafish has advanced our knowledge of host-microbe interactions in the context of a developing vertebrate host. We focus on recent insights into immune cell ontogeny and function, commensal microbial relationships in the intestine, and microbial pathogenesis in zebrafish hosts.
Convergence of Chahine's nonlinear relaxation inversion method used for limb viewing remote sensing

The application of Chahine's (1970) inversion technique to remote sensing problems utilizing the limb viewing geometry is discussed. The problem considered here involves occultation-type measurements and limb radiance-type measurements from either spacecraft or balloon platforms. The kernel matrix of the inversion problem is either an upper or lower triangular matrix. It is demonstrated that the Chahine inversion technique always converges, provided the diagonal elements of the kernel matrix are nonzero.
Sound propagation in curved ducts

An analysis of the sound field in a circularly curved duct of rectangular cross-section is carried out for both rigid and locally-reacting absorbing walls. The field is excited by a piston source at one end of the duct section, and comparisons of the acoustic field and the net power flow along the duct axis are made with corresponding results for a straight duct section for various frequencies. It is found that in general the curved duct yields a significant increase in sound attenuation along the duct axis as compared to the straight duct.
STATE FINANCE AND TAXING POLICIES

The states have moved through three distinct periods in finance and taxing policies. First, until the 1930s, states dominated over congress in taxing powers. During the Great Depression, many programs were initiated which involved the states in close grant-in-aid arrangements with the federal government. A second period was initiated during the 1960s. when the number of federally-funded grants exploded. States were soon involved in a variety of new responsibilities. This period has now been supplemented by a third, which is characterized by tax reductions and spending limits, often imposed through referenda.
Documenting Extinction in Real Time: Decline of the Houston Toad on a Primary Recovery Site

Abstract The Houston toad Bufo (Anaxyrus) houstonensis is a federally endangered amphibian endemic to east central Texas and is primarily found in the Lost Pines ecoregion. In 2010, we became cautiously optimistic regarding the recovery of the species on the Griffith League Ranch, one of the toad's primary recovery sites, after an unusually successful reproductive season. Subsequently, the extreme drought throughout Texas deepened, culminating in the fall 2011 high-severity wildfires throughout the Lost Pines ecoregion. After the drought and wildfires, we continued to intensively monitor Houston toads via anuran call surveys, drift fence arrays, and visual observations of reproduction. Our objective was to investigate the dynamics of the Houston toad population on the Griffith League Ranch during these dramatic impacts to its habitat and to discuss the potential for Houston toad recovery in the ecoregion. In summary, both a simulation model and our field monitoring data suggest the Houston toad population...
Russian‐American Bering Sea Relations: Research and Reciprocity

Knowledge of the peopling of the New World and of biological and cultural evolution would be enhanced by more US-USSR research exchanges and more joint field expeditions characterized by mutual scientific benefit, specific objectives, and reciprocity, on both sides of the Bering Sea. A brief review of a sample of related events between 1741 and 1981 indicates the continuity of common research problems and productive results that were multiplied by scientific cooperation.
Limb darkening of meteorites and asteroids

The limb darkening at small phase angles of several materials believed to be analogs of those found on the surfaces of asteroids and other related objects such as Phobos and Deimos is investigated. The materials include three carbonaceous chondrites, one ordinary chondrite, and a steel powder. The wavelength dependence of the limb darkening at visible and near-IR wavelengths is examined. The effects of surface roughness on limb-darkening parameters, and hence on measured geometric albedos, are estimated, and the implications for spherical and ellipsoidal asteroids are discussed.