cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time and Diffusion Lesion Size in Major Anterior Circulation Ischemic Strokes

Background and Purpose—Major anterior circulation ischemic strokes caused by occlusion of the distal internal carotid artery or proximal middle cerebral artery or both account for about one third of ischemic strokes with mostly poor outcomes. These strokes are treatable by intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator and endovascular methods. However, dynamics of infarct growth in these strokes are poorly documented. The purpose was to help understand infarct growth dynamics by measuring acute infarct size with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at known times after stroke onset in patients with documented internal carotid artery/middle cerebral artery occlusions. Methods—Retrospectively, we included 47 consecutive patients with documented internal carotid artery/middle cerebral artery occlusions who underwent DWI within 30 hours of stroke onset. Prospectively, 139 patients were identified using the same inclusion criteria. DWI lesion volumes were measured and correlated to time since stroke onset. Perfusi...
Why do cities use supply side strategies to mitigate traffic congestion externalities

Abstract For traffic congestion arising from sprawl, planners prefer supply side strategies over the demand side strategies recommended by economists. Our model provides a rationale why: wealth-induced congestion increases a planner's social discount rate, which decreases future costs of supply side solutions.
Blood Glucose Estimations in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Predictors of Accuracy and Error

Objective To examine predictors of blood glucose (BG) estimation accuracy and errors in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. Method Seventy-eight adolescents (ages 11-19) rated their physical symptoms and estimated their BG prior to conducting daily BG tests. BG estimation data were subject to an error grid analysis. Hierarchical regression was used to identify predictors of BG estimation accuracy and errors. Results The average participant made accurate BG estimations 37% of the time and clinically relevant BG estimation errors 24% of the time. Girls and older adolescents had higher BG estimation accuracy rates and lower BG estimation error rates than boys and younger adolescents. Higher BG variability was also associated with increased BG estimation errors. Conclusions Although boys, younger adolescents, and those with higher BG variability showed higher BG estimation error rates, most participants showed low rates of BG estimation accuracy and high rates of BG estimation error. Health providers may underestimate the frequency of inappropriate self-treatment as a result of patient difficulty in estimating BG accurately.
STM and STS Studies of One-Dimensional Row Growth: Ag on Si(5 5 12)

We have studied the growth of Ag on Si(5 5 12) using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS). At metal coverages as low as 0.05 monolayer (ML), Ag forms well-ordered overlayer rows, or one-dimensional clusters, on the underlying silicon surface. To produce these ordered structures, it is necessary to anneal the surface to ≍450°C. As the coverage is increased above 0.05 ML, the rows grow in length and number until the surface forms a periodic array of such structures at ∼0.25 ML. A statistical analysis of the rows reveals a linear increase in median row length as a function of coverage. With regard to their electronic behavior, STS measurements show a significantly narrower band gap along the Ag rows than is found on the underlying silicon structures. Therefore, the deposited Ag atoms do retain some metallic behavior.
Ion Binding and Electrostatics in Condensed DNA Arrays Probed by Ion Counting Techniques

Despite decades of theoretical and experimental research, the mechanism of DNA condensation remains elusive. Numerous models successfully describe this condendsation, including those invoking dynamic counterion fluctuations, salt bridges, static counterion lattices, and models that invoke the underlying DNA geometry, all while presenting vastly different models for ion binding. Here we present new experimental data that quantifies the ions bound to condensed DNA arrays. By measuring the competition between condensing ions and various non-condensing ions we quantify the electrostatic interactions between the DNA and ions. Furthermore, by varying the inter-axial spacing of condensed DNA utilizing crowding agents, we report on the interplay between the packing force of DNA and competitive ion binding. Finally, we present a simple new Ion Binding Model (IBM) that captures much of the observed binding. These data should prove vital in determining the underlying electrostatic mechanisms that drive DNA condensation.
Mining Immune Epitopes in the Inner Ear

Etiologies for many inner ear disorders, including autoimmune inner ear disease, sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and Meniere’s disease, remain unknown. Indirect evidence suggests an immune-mediated process involving an allergic or autoimmune mechanism. We examined whether known immunogenic proteins share sequence similarity with inner ear proteins, which may lead to cross-reactivity and detrimental immune activation. Comprehensive bioinformatic analyses of primary sequences of intact and mutated proteins associated with human hearing loss and all proteins known to be expressed in the human inner ear were compared with all immune epitopes in the Immune Epitope Database. The exact match and basic local alignment search tool computational algorithms identified 3036 and 106 unique epitope matches, respectively, the majority of which were infectious epitopes. If validated in future clinical trials, these candidate immune epitopes in the inner ear would be potential novel targets for diagnosis and treatment ...
Practical marginalized multilevel models

Clustered data analysis is characterized by the need to describe both systematic variation in a mean model and cluster-dependent random variation in an association model. Marginalized multilevel models embrace the robustness and interpretations of a marginal mean model, while retaining the likelihood inference capabilities and flexible dependence structures of a conditional association model. Although there has been increasing recognition of the attractiveness of marginalized multilevel models, there has been a gap in their practical application arising from a lack of readily available estimation procedures. We extend the marginalized multilevel model to allow for nonlinear functions in both the mean and association aspects. We then formulate marginal models through conditional specifications to facilitate estimation with mixed model computational solutions already in place. We illustrate the MMM and approximate MMM approaches on a cerebrovascular deficiency crossover trial using SAS and an epidemiological study on race and visual impairment using R. Datasets, SAS and R code are included as supplemental materials.
Time-parallel computational strategy for FDTD solution of Maxwell's equations

A major emphasis within the computational electromagnetics (CEM) community concerns the solution of Maxwell's differential equations using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) techniques. Because of the computational time and memory requirements associated with these time-stepping algorithms, their application to very large problems has been somewhat limited. To alleviate these computational obstacles, some efforts have previously been aimed at the implementation of space-parallelism-the concurrent computation of unknowns at different points in the spatial mesh using multiple processors-in the FDTD algorithms. For these schemes, however, communication and synchronization requirements have limited the amount of computational speed-up provided by the use of additional processors. This limited potential for enhanced computational efficiency implies that if full exploitation of the capabilities of emerging multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD) architectures is to be realized, approaches must be developed which represent a drastic departure from traditional FDTD techniques. The aim of the paper is to present such a computational strategy. Unlike traditional approaches which use space-parallelism this methodology exploits the decoupling mechanism of an eigenvalue-eigenvector (EE) decomposition of the FDTD matrix to allow the efficient implementation of time-parallelism-the simultaneous computation of field values at multiple time steps. The resulting algorithm is highly coarse grain and has minimum communication and synchronization requirements. >
Connections and Disconnections Between Civic Engagement and Social Capital in Community-Based Nonprofits

Using case examples from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and metropolitan Washington, D.C., this article examines the relationship between social capital and civic engagement. Clarifying the differences and connections between the two concepts through comparing emergency-services organizations in the two communities, the article identifies three kinds of organizations where civic engagement and social capital function differently: citywide civic-engagement organizations, community-based civic institutions, and social-capital organizations. Analysis of the three organization types reveals that social capital and civic engagement are not always intertwined and that civic engagement through contributing to a nonprofit organization can either involve most groups in a locality or represent civic activity of one group within the city for its own members or another specific group. Findings suggest that participation in social-service agencies through volunteering or donations does not necessarily lead to greater civic engag...
Practical Machining Processes

Finally after the background on mechanics, simple micro models of what happens at the contact interface in machining or grinding, and continuously being reminded about needing empirical materials data, it is time to consider actual production machining processes. The background and cautions are still valid, but most of the time this chapter will proceed as if most things are known. This chapter will consider some of the analysis methods that are common, i.e., how to estimate the theoretical surface roughness or use the specific energy method to estimate forces when mechanics will not do or is too complicated for simple planning of a process. It will also consider three common machining processes: turning, milling and drilling. Using the cutting edge geometry and number of edges as a classification scheme, this progression can be thought of as going from a case that is similar to the orthogonal and oblique models of Chapter 3, to multiple cutting edges that make intermittent cuts, to the complicated multiple edges of the drill.
A Simplified Instrument Failure Detection Scheme

A simplified version of the dedicated observer scheme for detecting incipient instrument failures in automatic systems is presented. This scheme requires only a single observer, driven by a single instrument. Simple logical combinations of estimated instrument outputs from the observer with the actual instrument outputs allow small faults in all the instruments to be detected. Tests on a simulation of a practical system indicate the scheme is robust with respect to a small uncertainty in a dynamic parameter of the controlled plant.
Contrasting response of stream detritivores to long-term nutrient enrichment

We examined growth and production responses of two dominant stream detritivores (chironomids and Tallaperla spp. stoneflies) at opposite ends of the ‘‘slow-fast’’ life-history continuum and with distinct feeding characteristics (i.e., consumption of fine particulate organic matter vs. leaf litter) to a 2-yr experimental nutrient enrichment of a headwater stream. Enrichment had large positive effects (;50% increase) on chironomid growth rates but no effects on those of Tallaperla spp. On an areal basis, enrichment had a large positive effect on chironomid production (;183% increase) but no detectable effect on the production of Tallaperla spp. When production data were examined on a per gram food basis, enrichment had an apparent positive effect on the production of both chironomids and Tallaperla spp. Together, these results suggest that nutrient-induced changes to organic matter quality had consistent and substantial positive effects on short-lived chironomids, but effects were limited for longer-lived stoneflies. The lack of a system-wide effect on Tallaperla spp. may have been due to nutrient-induced reductions in leaf litter quantity, despite increases in litter quality. Our results indicate that species-specific characteristics such as life span and dominant food type may be important in determining population- and community-level responses of consumers to nutrient enrichment of detritus-based aquatic ecosystems.
Field Equations in the neighbourhood of a Particle in a Conformal Theory of Gravitation. II

The field equations in the neighbourhood of a particle for a spherically symmetric metric in the conformal theory of gravitation put forward by Hoyle & Narlikar are examined. As the theory is conformally invariant, one can use different but physically equivalent conformal frames to study the equations. Previously these equations were studied in a conformal frame which, though suitable far away from the isolated particle, turns out not to be suitable in the neighbourhood of the particle. In the present paper a solution in a conformal frame is obtained that is suitable for considering regions near the particle. The solution thus obtained differs from the previous one in several respects. For example, it has no coordinate singularity for any non-zero value of the radial variable, unlike the previous solution or the Schwarzschild solution. It is also shown with the use of this solution that in this theory distant matter has an effect on local geometry.
Antiangiogenic activity of 2-deoxy-D-glucose

Background During tumor angiogenesis, endothelial cells (ECs) are engaged in a number of energy consuming biological processes, such as proliferation, migration, and capillary formation. Since glucose uptake and metabolism are increased to meet this energy need, the effects of the glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) on in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis were investigated.
Corporate Investigations - Challenges in Corporate Governance

One of the effects of this historic financial crisis and its spotlight on corporate conduct is likely to be an increased pressure to allocate blame. That pressure is bound to be directed toward identifying culpable employees within a firm, given the desire to spare corporations from indictment and prosecution. Thus corporate directors will have to consider the potential implications to the firm of the process required to identify such culpable employees- corporate investigations. Additionally, should the firm succeed in being spared an indictment it will likely be subject to ongoing oversight through a Deferred or Non-prosecution agreement (“DPA” and “NPA,” respectively). This paper will trace the tortured trail of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in creating various iterations of Principles of Federal Prosecutions of Corporations. Notwithstanding nearly a decade of memoranda addressing these issues the DOJ has left the corporation vulnerable to undermining important legal protections and ethical principles. Furthermore, should a corporation succeed in avoiding indictment and entering into a deferred or non-prosecution agreement its directors need to be aware of the unchartered waters in which they may be operating. This paper will also address the specific governance issues surrounding such agreements.
Supplementation of nicotinic acid for lactating Holstein cows under heat stress conditions

Twenty-six lactating Holstein cows (90 d of lactation) were blocked according to milk production, parity, and days of lactation for assignment to one of two dietary treatments. Diets included a control diet with no supplemental niacin and a diet supplemented with increasing concentrations of niacin (12, 24, or 36 g/d per cow over three consecutive 17-d periods. Cows were housed in a covered free-stall barn and were fed and milked twice daily. Mean maximum air temperatures and temperature-humidity indexes were 28.5, 31.4, and 25.2°C and 79.6, 85.1, and 75, respectively, for the three periods. Rectal temperature was measured with a rectal probe, tail and rump temperatures by infrared thermometry, and respiratory rate by visual observation. Measurements were made daily at 0800, 1600, and 2200 h. Rectal temperature was not affected by treatment. Comparison of skin temperatures for control cows and cows fed niacin showed higher temperatures at the tail (34.0 vs. 33.7°C at 0800 h; 35.1 vs. 34.8°C at 1600 h, respectively) and rump (34.1 vs. 33.7°C at 0800 h; 35.3 vs. 35.0°C at 1600 h, respectively) for control cows during period 1. No differences in thermal responses were observed during period 3. Niacin did not significantly increase milk production but decreased skin temperatures during periods of mild or severe heat stress.
CCR6 expression distinguishes mouse myeloid and lymphoid dendritic cell subsets : demonstration using a CCR6 EGFP knock-in mouse

The homing properties of subsets of lymphocytes and dendritic cells (DC) are regulated in part by the profile of chemokine receptors expressed. To determine how CCR6 influences cell trafficking, a mutant allele of the mouse CCR6 gene was produced that includes an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter under the control of the CCR6 promoter. In mice heterozygous for the EGFP/CCR6 knock-in, CCR6 expression was detected on all mature B cells, subpopulations of splenic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and on some CD11c+ DC. Most CD11b+ myeloid DC expressed CCR6, but CD8α+ lymphoid DC were negative for CCR6. Among myeloid DC, the CD4+ subset was uniformly positive for CCR6 expression and the CD4– subset was mostly CCR6 positive. Epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) also expressed CCR6, but at lower levels than splenic myeloid DC. Culture of bone marrow precursors from the knock-in mice with GM-CSF for 4 to 6 days led to the appearance of a subset of CD11c+ DC expressing CCR6. The differences in CCR6 expression among the major DC subsets indicate that CCR6 and its chemokine ligand MIP-3α participate in determining the positioning of DC subsets in epithelial and lymphoid tissues.
Software Streaming via Block Streaming

Software streaming allows the execution of stream-enabled software on a device even while the transmission/streaming may still be in progress. Thus, the software can be executed while it is being streamed instead of causing the user to wait for the completion of download, decompression, installation and reconfiguration. Our streaming method can reduce application load time seen by the user since the application can start running as soon as the first executable unit is loaded into the memory. Furthermore, unneeded parts of the application might not be downloaded to the device. As a result, resource utilization such as memory and bandwidth usage may also be more efficient. Using our streaming method, an embedded device can support a wide range of realtime applications. The applications can be run on demand. In this paper, a streaming method we call block streaming is proposed. Block streaming is determined at the assembly code level. We implemented a tool to partition real-time software into parts which can be transmitted (streamed) to the embedded device. Our streaming method was implemented and simulated on a hardware-software co-simulation platform in which we used the PowerPC architecture. We show a robotics application that without our streaming method is unable to meet its real-time deadline. However, with our software streaming method, the application is able to meet its deadline. The application load time for this application also improves by a factor of more than 10/spl times/ when compared to downloading the entire application before running it.
Multimedia group synchronization protocols for integrated services networks

Unlike traditional data traffic, real time multimedia traffic requires synchronization. Temporal relationships among media must be maintained. Yet delay jitter and the absence of a global clock may disrupt these temporal relationships. This paper introduces new group synchronization protocols for real-time, multimedia applications, including teleconference, teleorchestration and multimedia on demand services. The proposed protocols achieve synchronization for all configurations (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many), and does so without prior knowledge of the end-to-end delay distribution, or the distribution of the clock drift. The only a-priori knowledge the protocols require is an upper bound on the end-to-end delay. The paper concludes with simulation experiments showing that the protocols work effectively in both LAN and WAN environments.
Hydrodynamic Interactions Between Rolling Leukocytes In Vivo

Objective:The aim of this study was to characterize the hydrodynamic interactions between rolling and free-stream leukocytes in an in vivomodel of selectin-mediated rolling, and to identify those physical mechanisms that influence the dynamics of transient adhesion with the walls of postcapillary venules. Methods:Postcapillary venules of diameter 22–37 µm in the cheek pouch of anesthetized hamsters were visualized using intravital microscopy, with selectin-mediated rolling occurring in response to surgical preparation. Results:Rolling velocity was found to be a strong function of the center-to-center separation with the nearest cell, and also was found to correlate strongly with the number of nearby cells. These effects are shown to be beyond that attributable to variations along the length of the vessel. Adherent leukocytes were observed to provide a nucleation site, precipitating further adhesion events of free-stream cells. Conclusions:The dynamics of the transient adhesion of leukocytes to the vessel ...
A novel technique for the intraoperative monitoring of detrusor activity in intradural lesions of the cauda equina. Technical note.

Background: Intradural pathology in the region of the cauda equina is uncommon and generally comes to attention secondary to pain or neurologic deficit. A number of surgeons choose to excise these lesions under EMG monitoring of the nerve roots supplying the lower extremity muscles, anal sphincter, and detrusor muscle. In this article, the authors describe a detrusor muscle monitoring technique that has been found to be simple, reliable, and cost-effective in the management of intradural pathology of the cauda equina. Methods: Fourteen consecutive patients with tumors of the cauda equina who underwent surgical management performed using the standard Foley catheter monitoring technique were included in this study and their outcomes analyzed. Results: In 86% of patients, a gross total resection was achieved. Subtotal resections were performed in 2 patients because of involvement of critical nerve roots. In all cases, the nerve roots supplying the detrusor muscle were successfully identified using this technique. No patient suffered a clinically apparent decline in bladder function during the postoperative period. Conclusion: The standard Foley catheter detrusor monitoring technique is a simple, reliable, and cost-effective method to identify and prevent injury to the sacral nerve roots innervating the urinary bladder during intradural exploration of the cauda equina.
Noise and dark performance for FIREBall-2 EMCCD delta-doped CCD detector

The Faint Intergalactic-medium Redshifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall-2) is an experiment designed to observe low density emission from HI, CIV, and OVI in the circum-galactic medium around low-redshift galaxies. To detect this diffuse emission, we use a high-efficiency photon-counting EMCCD as part of FIREBall-2's detector. The flight camera system includes a custom printed circuit board, a mechanical cryo-cooler, zeolite and charcoal getters, and a Nuvu controller, for fast read-out speeds and waveform shaping. Here we report on overall detector system performance, including pressure and temperature stability. We describe dark current and CIC measurements at several temperatures and substrate voltages, with the flight set-up.
Spaces of Contention

Spatial organization interacts significantly with contentious politics, but figures uncertainly in current theories of the subject. A review of writing on the subject permits a rough distinction among bare space analyses using location and time-distance for non-spatial effects, textured space analyses introducing location and time-distance as explicit causes and effects, and place analyses treating interaction among location, time-distance, and representations of spaces as explicit causes and effects. Drawing chiefly on examples from England and France between 1750 and 1900, observations on four varieties of space-contention interaction—the geography of policing, safe spaces, spatial claim making, and control of places as stakes of contention—illustrate the promise of place analyses for new investigations. An ample bibliography displays the range of resources available to students of contention.
Laparoscopic Nephrectomy: Initial Case Report

A tumor-bearing right kidney was completely excised from an 85-year-old woman using a laparoscopic approach. A newly devised method for intra-abdominal organ entrapment and a recently developed laparoscopic tissue morcellator made it possible to deliver the 190 gm. kidney through an 11 mm. incision.
Use of Simulation in Undergraduate and Graduate Education

Simulation is not just technology but a teaching method used to allow students to practice in a safe environment. The focus of simulation is to improve patient safety, communication, and the ability of the student to think and act as a nurse or advanced practice nurse. As use of simulation in nursing education increases, more regulations, guidelines, and standards are being developed to assist nursing programs to obtain best outcomes. This article provides readers with an overview of simulation use in undergraduate and graduate nursing education.
Performance measurement with selectivity, market and volatility timing

The performance of portfolio managers depends on market timing, volatility timing, and security selection. We develop holdings-based performance measures that adjust for risk using stochastic discount factors, display all three components in a consistent framework, and avoid strong assumptions about managers’ behavior. Previous models leave out some of the components of performance, and correcting for this we deliver better measures of selectivity. Sorting stocks held by funds on selectivity produces a quintile spread in four-factor alphas greater than 2.5% per year before costs and more than 1.7% greater than found using the Daniel, Grinblatt, Titman, and Wermers (1997) measure.
Size-dependent trap-assisted Auger recombination in semiconductor nanocrystals.

The acceleration of Auger-type multicarrier recombination in semiconductor nanocrystals impedes the development of many quantum-dot photonics, solar-cell, lighting, and lasing technologies. To date, only multiexciton and charged-exciton Auger recombination channels are known to show strong size dependence in nanocrystals. Here, we report the first observation of strongly accelerated “trap-assisted” Auger recombination rates in semiconductor nanocrystals. Trap-assisted Auger recombination in ZnO nanocrystals, involving the recombination of conduction-band electrons with deeply trapped holes via nonradiative energy transfer to extra conduction-band electrons, has been probed using time-resolved photoluminescence and transient absorption spectroscopies. We demonstrate that this trap-assisted Auger recombination accelerates dramatically with decreasing nanocrystal size, having recombination times of >1 ns in the largest nanocrystals but only ∼80 ps in the smallest. These trap-assisted Auger recombination rate...
Designing Unambiguous Auditory Crash Warning Systems

A series of three studies examined the acoustic characteristics that contribute to a sound being unambiguously perceived as an urgent alarm within a vehicle context. In experiment 1, participants sorted a variety of sounds modeled after sounds currently in use in driver-vehicle interfaces (DVIs) into categories indicating highly critical warnings and alerts (or “alarms”), vehicle status sounds, or in vehicle social notifications. Results indicated that four criteria (peak-to-total time ratio, interburst interval, number of harmonics, and base frequency) explained 61% of the variance in categorization. From these criteria, cutoffs were determined and manipulated to create stimuli for an initial validation study. Experiment 2 results indicated that these criteria remained robust even when examined in a larger stimulus set and with different participants. Finally, Experiment 3 investigated rapid categorization under divided attention. Participants categorized alerts while driving in a desktop driving simulat...
Effect of Aspect Ratio on the Flow Field of Surface Mounted Obstacles

*† ‡ § The flow-field around surface-mounted obstacles has been extensively investigated over the years. The flow-field also is strongly influenced by ‘geometric’ factors as well, including ‘aspect ratio’ and ‘sweep’ of the obstacle. The influence of aspect ratio of a streamlined surface mounted obstacle on the flow in its plane of symmetry has been the objective of this investigation. The vortex system was qualitatively studied using hydrogen bubbles and laserinduced-fluorescence. The vortex system was observed to move upstream with increasing aspect ratio, while the vortex system transitioned from a ‘static’ vortex system to oscillating/shedding systems at lower Reynolds number as the aspect ratio was increased. PIV measurements in the plane of symmetry provided additional details of the flow field. A bifurcation streamline was clearly visible for an aspect ratio of 1 with an attachment point on the obstacle surface at 58% of the height of the obstacle. However for an aspect ratio 2, the bifurcation streamline moved to about 50% of the obstacle height while the vortex system moved upstream as more fluid was entrained in the system. The strength of vortex system was also observed to be influenced by the aspect ratio. The AR=2 configuration had the largest positive and negative vorticities. Non-dimensional distance between the primary vortex and the wing leading edge and between the primary and secondary vortices showed strong correlation with the aspect ratio as well.
Influence of Peak Temperature on Microstructure and Toughness of Heat Affected Zone of Q690 Steel

Based on thermal cycling characteristics of sub-regions of heat affected zone,the thermal cycles with different peak temperaure of heat affected zone of Q690 high strength steel under single bead welding condition were simulated by thermomechanical simulator.The microstructure and fractograph were characterized by SEM.The impact toughness and microhardness of the samples with different peak temperature were tested.The results show that the microstructure has major influence on the impact toughness of sub-regions of heat affected zone.The coarse grain region is the weakest part in the sub-regions of heat affected zone of the welded joint.
13 FACTOR IXa-ATIII COMPLEX FORMATION IS INHIBITED BY PROTAMINE SULFATE.

This laboratory has studied the effect of 1 and 5 μg protamine sulfate (PS) (0.2 and 1.0 nmol) upon the formation of covalent complexes between (excess) factor IXa (5 μg) and ATIII (1.92 μg) under three sets of conditions: preincubation of IXa with PS for 15 minutes prior to the addition of ATIII; preincubation of ATIII with PS for 15 minutes prior to the addition of IXa; and mixing each of the reagents within 1-minute intervals. Complex formation was detected by SDS-PAGE and quantitated. A major band for the enzyme was observed at about 45 kDa, and a minor degradation product band of the enzyme was seen at about 31 kDa. A single ATIII band of about 55 kDa was also noted. Upon mixing enzyme with inhibitor, two bands of complexes were observed, at approximately 115 kDa and 100 kDa. It was suggested that the 100 kDa band was a degradation product of the 115 kDa band. Upon preincubation of IXa, ATIII, or both with PS prior to addition of ATIII, Ixa, or buffer to the mixtures, it was noted in all three cases, and in the presence of both levels of PS, that there was a decrease in the amounts of 115 kDa and 100 kDa complexes observable. The decrease was greater in the presence of 5 μg, suggesting inhibition of complex formation. Concomitantly, with the decrease in complex formation, an increase in unreacted ATIII was noted. At the same time a decrease in free IXa was observed commensurate with an increase in the IXa fragment. The latter corresponds most likely to a promotion of autolysis of factor IXa by the presence of PS, in agreement with other proteolytic stimulations reported from this laboratory upon addition of PS to other coagulation factors.
Calibration Device of Electronic Transformer Based on IEEE1588 Clock Synchronization Mode

According to the influence of clock synchronization mode on electronic transformer calibration in digital substation,this paper introduces the design scheme and technical features of a new calibration device of electronic transformer based on IEEE1588 clock synchronization mode.And then the error source of the calibration device is analyzed.Finally,it compares the calibration errors of three clock synchronization modes including IEEE1588,B code and PPS.The results show that the IEEE5588 clock synchronization mode can meet the applied requirement of electronic transformer.
2008-2009 survey of rural drinking water in Lanzhou

Objective:To understand the quality of drinking water in rural areas around Lanzhou.Methods: According to the standard of healthy drinking water for testing.Monitoring indicators include: arsenic,color,turbidity,visible objects,smelly and taste,oxygen consumption,total hardness,fluoride,chloride,sulfate,total dissolved solids,manganese,iron,nitrate,pH,ammonia.Results: The passing rate of the rural drinking water is 64.5%,the failed rate is 35.45%;in 2008,the passing rate is 60%and in 2009,the passing rate is 69%.Conclusion: The quality of drinking water in rural areas is better.
Doctoral Consortium Extended Abstract: Multi-context Systems with Preferences

Multi-Context Systems (MCSs) have been introduced in [1] as a framework for integration of knowledge from different sources. This research formalizes MCSs with preferences (MCSPs) that allows to integrate preferences into an MCS at the context level and at the MCS level, and proposes novel distributed algorithms to compute their semantics.
Gamma-aminobutyric acidB receptor activation suppresses stimulus-evoked burst firing in rat substantia nigra reticulata neurons

Previous whole-cell patch-pipette studies showed that focal electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) evokes a long-lasting complex EPSC and synaptically-evoked bursts of action potentials in substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) neurons. Although synapticallyevoked bursting may play a role in normal physiology, excessive burst firing correlates with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. We used patch-pipette recordings in rat brain slices to study the effects of baclofen on complex EPSCs and STN-induced burst firing in SNR neurons. Baclofen (1 μM) caused a reversible, 73% reduction in complex EPSCs, and this effect was blocked by the GABAB antagonist CGP35348 (100 μM). Using the loose-patch method to record extracellular potentials, a lower concentration of baclofen (100 nM) inhibited STN-evoked bursts while leaving spontaneous firing of action potentials less affected. We suggest that strategies that selectively inhibit burst firing in the SNR might have therapeutic potential in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Stochastic Implementation and Analysis of Dynamical Systems Similar to the Logistic Map

Stochastic computing (SC) is a digital computation approach that operates on random bit streams to perform complex tasks with much smaller hardware footprints compared with conventional binary radix approaches. SC works based on the assumption that input bit streams are independent random sequences of 1s and 0s. Previous SC efforts have avoided implementing functions that have feedback, because doing so has the potential for creating highly correlated inputs. We propose a number of solutions to overcome the challenges of implementing feedback in stochastic logic. We use a family of dynamical system functions that are similar to the well-known logistic map $x \to \mu x(1-x)$ as case studies. We show that complex behaviors, such as period doubling and chaos, do indeed occur in digital logic with only a few gates operating on a few 0s and 1s. Our energy consumption is between 21% and 31% of the conventional binary approach. In order to verify our design methodology, we have measured the mean switching rate between the basins of attraction of two coexisting fixed points and the peak width of the steady-state distribution of the output using a logistic-map-like function as an example. Theoretical results match well with our numerical experiments.
Managing the gap in Medicare Part D’s prescription coverage

The following interview was conducted on August 16, 2006, with Sandra Durley, associate director of the ambulatory care pharmacy and clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy. Durley was interviewed by Cheryl Thompson, senior news writer for the American Journal
Sweet KNN: An Efficient KNN on GPU through Reconciliation between Redundancy Removal and Regularity

Finding the k nearest neighbors of a query point or a set of query points (KNN) is a fundamental problem in many application domains. It is expensive to do. Prior efforts in improving its speed have followed two directions with conflicting considerations: One tries to minimize the redundant distance computations but often introduces irregularities into computations, the other tries to exploit the regularity in computations to best exert the power of GPU-like massively parallel processors, which often introduces even extra distance computations. This work gives a detailed study on how to effectively combine the strengths of both approaches. It manages to reconcile the polar opposite effects of the two directions through elastic algorithmic designs, adaptive runtime configurations, and a set of careful implementation-level optimizations. The efforts finally lead to a new KNN on GPU named Sweet KNN, the first high-performance triangular-inequality-based KNN on GPU that manages to reach a sweet point between redundancy minimization and regularity preservation for various datasets. Experiments on a set of datasets show that Sweet KNN outperforms existing GPU implementations on KNN by up to 120X (11X on average).
Ecological Restoration across Landscapes of Politics, Policy, and Property

Humanity—society and its institutions—plays a key role in the future viability of the biosphere. Only by managing ourselves, our resource consumption, our waste, our economies and environment as a whole, can we hope to “manage” the environment and its abundant resources toward a sustainable, healthy, and restorative future. Unfortunately, political reelections and the politics of environmental restoration often seem to be at juxtapositions. The fast-moving variables of economics and reelection generally reign supreme over their slower, foundational, and interdependent ecological components (Carpenter and Turner 2001). The scales of time and space and the constituency of voters generally don’t line up, and, as a result, political and ecological concerns are often misinterpreted as rivals rather than essentials.1 Similarly, planning for the development of land and other resource use often conflicts with maintaining ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and ecological restoration requirements. To make matters more confusing, the policies and programs of different government agencies appear to contradict each other.
Bioinformatics in Microbiome Analysis

Abstract Diseases driven by pathogens have been studied for decades, but the mechanisms of those diseases are still not completely understood. Next-generation sequencing provides a powerful technology with which to observe changes of pathogens at a genome level and the composition of microbial communities. This in turn has facilitated investigation on the associations between the microbiome and diseases. This chapter first will discuss bioinformatics applications under the “one pathogen to one disease” paradigm. Next, it will introduce the 16S rRNA sequencing method and how it facilitates the determination of the taxonomy of a community. Next it will present metagenomic shotgun sequencing data and several metagenomic bioinformatic tools and examples of associations between human disease and microbial communities. It discusses commonly used analytical approaches for metagenomic data, with aspects of statistics, machine learning and network analysis. Finally, it will summarize different sequencing platforms and provides future prospectives about integrating different omics sequencing technologies and longitudinal samples.
Semiclassical Surface Hopping Methods for Nonadiabatic Transitions in Condensed Phases

A semiclassical surface hopping method for the evaluation of rates and time dependent probabilities for transitions between quantum states of a molecule in a condensed phase system is discussed. The surface hopping procedure, which includes all semiclassical phases and prefactors, has been previously shown to provide accurate results for time dependent quantum wavefunctions in model problems. It is shown how this semiclassical nonadiabatic propagator can be cast in the HK propagator from. The semiclassical propagator is employed in the propagation of the density for condensed phase systems, and expressions are derived for the transition probability between different quantum states in these systems. It is argued that the semiclassical propagation of the density need only be considered for short times in most condensed phase system undergoing quantum transitions, even if the transition rate is slow. This need for only short time propagation of the density arises due to phase decoherence effects and loss of correlation in the interstate coupling. It is shown how the transition probability expression can often be numerically simplified by employing short time approximations for this short time density propagation. Results are presented from calculations of vibrational relaxation rates in condensed system. These calculations investigate when the short time approximations are valid.
Multiple kinases inhibit origin licensing and helicase activation to ensure reductive cell division during meiosis

Meiotic cells undergo a single round of DNA replication followed by two rounds of chromosome segregation (the meiotic divisions) to produce haploid gametes. Both DNA replication and chromosome segregation are similarly regulated by CDK oscillations in mitotic cells. Yet how these two events are uncoupled between the meiotic divisions is unclear. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we show that meiotic cells inhibit both helicase loading and helicase activation to prevent DNA replication between the meiotic divisions. CDK and the meiosis-specific kinase Ime2 cooperatively inhibit helicase loading, and their simultaneous inhibition allows inappropriate helicase reloading. Further analysis uncovered two previously unknown mechanisms by which Ime2 inhibits helicase loading. Finally, we show that CDK and the polo-like kinase Cdc5 trigger degradation of Sld2, an essential helicase-activation protein. Together, our data demonstrate that multiple kinases inhibit both helicase loading and activation between the meiotic divisions, thereby ensuring reductive cell division.
Asymmetry of Na-K-Cl cotransport in human erythrocytes.

The Na-K-Cl cotransport system in human erythrocytes was studied by measuring net influxes and effluxes of Na and K. The influx of K was shown to be stimulated by Na and the influx of Na was stimul...
LARGE CRYOGENIC SYSTEMS OF THE ENERGY DOUBLER

Perhaps the largest application of superconductivity to date is the Fermilab Energy Doubler. Under development since 1972 this new 1 TeV proton synchrotron should be completed by early 1983. So far one-eighth of the 1 kilometer radius ring has been cooled-down and excited to 4000 amperes (900 GeV equivalent). This involved the operation of a Central Liquefier of 4000l/hr capacity, a 0.9 kilometer liquid helium transfer line and three 1000 watt satellite refrigerators. In addition to proving that the cryogenic system was capable of withstanding the worst case accident (i.e., quenching all magnets simultaneously) an endurance run of 100 hr elapsed time resulted in 75% ramp-on efficiency. During the 32 sec rise-time of the 75 sec cycle the energy content of the magnet field was increasing at >1 megajoule per second.
The Economics of Bargaining Power

In Chap. 5 we visited the troubled world of coffee, where growers are suffering from declining incomes and the economies of whole countries are at risk. We saw that prices fell after a supply management system was ended in 1989, and that recent increases in production capacity, combined with inelastic demand, has caused the bottom to fall out of the market. This gave us an example of the power of supply and demand analysis to explain important developments in economic and social life.
The Perception of Mechanical Stimuli Through the Skin of the Hand and its Physiological Bases

A series of experiments was performed in which psychophysical measurements were made at threshold and suprathreshold levels of stimulation under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. A wide range of stimulus parameters was explored including sinusoidal frequency, intensity, size of contactor, surround condition, skin temperature, and body site. These results are compared to experiments in which responses to sinusoidal displacements were measured from receptor nerve fibers in this and other laboratories. Our work has culminated in a model of cutaneous mechanoreception that proposes four discrete information channels that combine at threshold and suprathreshold levels to signal tactile perception.The psychophysical channels and their physiological counterparts are: 1) the Pacinian channel, mediated by Pacinian-corpuscle afferents; 2) the Non-Pacinian I channel, mediated by rapidly-adapting afferents (Meissner corpuscles); 3) the Non-Pacinian II channel, mediated by slowly-adapting Type II afferents (Ruffini endings); and 4) the Non-Pacinian III channel, mediated by slowly-adapting Type I afferents (Merkel cell-neurite complex). These channels operate over specific bands of vibratory frequencies and the channels partially overlap in their absolute sensitivities.
Why did my pc suddenly slow down

Users are often frustrated when they encounter a sudden decrease in the responsiveness of their personal computers. However, it is often difficult to pinpoint a particular offending process and the resource it is overconsuming, even when such a simple explanation does exist. We present preliminary results from several weeks of PC usage showing that user-perceived unresponsiveness often has such a simple explanation and that simple statistical models often suffice to pinpoint the problem. The statistical models we build use all the performance counters for all running processes. When the user expresses frustration at a given time point, we can use these models to determine which processes are acting most anomalously, and in turn which features of those processes are most anomalous. We present an investigative tool that ranks processes and features according to their degree of anomaly, and allows the user to interactively examine the relevant time series.