cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
2020 Breathe-Zy Community Education Program Outcomes

Background: Two counties in Utah had been reported as the nation’s highest e-cigarette users among youth. COPD continues to be the third largest cause of death in America. Education to youth is a vital tool that can help prevent youth vaping/tobacco use and emphasize health promotion in general. In 1995, the Breathe-zy Community Education program was created by an RT to teach youth about disease prevention, health promotion and raise awareness of RT as a profession. It has evolved as an annual student project to allow students to gain skills in community education, leadership and research. Methods: Sixth-grade students started with a pre-test as a control that evaluates the knowledge of students before Breathe-zy. A PowerPoint presentation taught students basic anatomy and physiology of the lungs, basic pathophysiology of asthma, and the negative effects of smoking/vaping. Interactive activities were utilized for education retention. Activities included: 1) making models of lungs, 2) asthma exacerbation where students played the parts of inflammation, bronchoconstriction and secretions, 3) ventilating healthy and unhealthy pig lungs which resembled a smoker’s lung, and 4) porcine lung dissection. The students then took the post-test to evaluate learning retention. Results: A total of 431 students from four schools completed the course. The correct answers were totaled for both pre-/post-tests. The pre-/post-scores had a mean score of 69% and 92% respectively. This was an increase of 23% from pre- to post-testing. When broken down into individual questions, the post-test showed improvement in total correct answers for each question in varying degrees. Each school had an increase of at least 20% from the pre-/post-testing (see Figure 1). A P-value of 0.000000087 is clearly Conclusions: Based on the percent increase comparing pre-/post-testing, it is our impression the Breathe-zy Program increased health promotion, disease prevention and raised awareness of the RT profession. The RT student leads were granted an opportunity to learn the impact of community partnerships, leadership and research skills. We encourage anyone interested in starting this program to contact the authors who will provide all information and resources required to implement a program and support the course for RT students as an effective pulmonary community education program.
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using high-throughput PCR

Efficient management of an epidemic requires identification and isolation of infected individuals from healthy population to curb community spread of the pathogen. Therefore, a faster and efficient diagnostic method for population screening is desirable to flatten the curve of daily raise of cases. This will also help medical professional to treat the epidemic efficiently. The COVID 19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus poses a huge challenge to human being and the countries with high-density population are facing unique challenges. For the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) emerging as a gold standard for the identification of infection;however, infrastructure requirement for this assay is at a high-demand and therefore, resources are not abundant. We, therefore, propose a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based sensitive method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The pipeline discussed in the paper will broaden the scope of control and surveillance of COVID 19 in a high-throughput manner without a sophisticated diagnostic infrastructure.
Addressing the environmental and health impacts of microplastics requires open collaboration between diverse sectors

Public concern over the environmental and public health impacts of the emerging contaminant class “microplastics” has recently prompted government agencies to consider mitigation efforts. Microplastics do not easily fit within traditional risk-based regulatory frameworks because their persistence and extreme diversity (of size, shape, and chemical properties associated with sorbed chemicals) result in high levels of uncertainty in hazard and exposure estimates. Due to these serious complexities, addressing microplastics’ impacts requires open collaboration between scientists, regulators, and policymakers. Here we describe ongoing international mitigation efforts, with California as a case study, and draw lessons from a similarly diverse and environmentally persistent class of emerging contaminants (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that is already disrupting traditional regulatory paradigms, discuss strategies to address challenges associated with developing health-protective regulations and policies related to microplastics, and suggest ways to maximize impacts of research.
ELAVL1 Primarily Couples mRNA Stability with the 3’UTRs of Interferon Stimulated Genes

Upon detection of a pathogen, the innate immune system triggers signaling events leading to the transcription of mRNAs that encode for pro-inflammatory and anti-microbial effectors. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) interact with these functionally critical mRNAs and temporally regulate their fates at the post-transcriptional level. One such RBP is ELAVL1, which is known to bind to introns and 3’UTRs. While significant progress has been made in understanding how ELAVL1 regulates mRNAs, how its target repertoire and binding affinity changes within an immunological context remains poorly understood. Here, we overlap four distinct high-throughput approaches to define its cell-type and context-dependent targets and determine its regulatory impact during immune activation. ELAVL1 overwhelmingly binds to intronic sites in a naive state, but during an innate immune response, ELAVL1 targets the 3’UTR - binding both previously and newly expressed mRNAs. We find that ELAVL1 mediates the RNA stability of genes that regulate the pathways involved in pathogen sensing and cytokine production. Our findings reveal the importance of examining RBP regulatory impact under dynamic transcriptomic events to best understand their post-transcriptional regulatory roles within specific biological circuitries.
Herpes Simplex Conjunctivitis and Recurrent Chalazia in a Patient DOCK8 Deficiency

Purpose: To report a case of recurrent chalazia and Herpes Simplex conjunctivitis in a patient with DOCK8 deficiency.Case Report: We report the case of a 15-year-old male patient with genetically d...
No-Incision Pubovaginal Suspension for Stress Incontinence

AbstractWe describe a modified needle suspension for urinary incontinence that eliminates all incisions. The anterior vaginal wall is suspended from the rectus fascia with 2 heavy nonabsorbable monofilament mattress sutures. The sutures pass down through and back up through the full thickness of the vaginal wall, and are tied suprapubically to bury the knot into the fat in the suprapubic puncture site. The technique is based on our laboratory observation that in rats and guinea pigs monofilament mattress sutures that are tied under tension to include the outside abdominal skin will cut through the skin, and become internalized and accepted without any residual inflammation if the knot is buried initially. The simplified technique makes routine use of outpatient surgery and allows for the use of local anesthesia only in selected patients. At 2½ years the continence rate in the first 38 patients exceeded 87 per cent. There were no failures among the last 14 patients after the technique was modified to inclu...
Strengthening the Relationship between Undergraduate Professional Preparation Programs in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism and Graduate Leisure Studies

This article stems from a conversation among academic leaders of graduate-oriented departments of parks, recreation, and tourism across North America who participated in an administrator summit at Zion Ponderosa Resort in southern Utah September 23-26, 2010. The University of Utah’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism hosted the summit, and among the many topics discussed was the need to strengthen the relationship between undergraduate professional preparation programs in parks, recreation, and tourism and graduate leisure studies. In many respects, the tension between undergraduate and graduate programs reflects the tension between research universities and the world of professional practice. We examine this tension in both contexts and recommend specific courses of action to relieve it.
Nonresidential Demand for Energy and Technical Inefficiency in Southeastern Europe: Evidence from Firm-Level Data

Recent volatility in international energy prices has revealed Southeastern Europe as one of the most vulnerable regions to such external shocks. Under the current global economic downturn, in addition, the region's energy-intensive industries are faced with the challenge of weakening demand for their outputs. This paper casts light on the relation between the price and demand for energy. Based on firm-level data, it shows that the price elasticity of industrial energy demand is about −0.4 on average. There are a number of data issues in interpreting the results correctly, but Albania and Macedonia are systematically found to have a relatively elastic demand for energy on the order of −0.7 to −0.8. In these countries, therefore, price adjustments would be one of the effective policy options to balance demand with supply during the period of energy crisis. In other countries, the demand response would be much weaker; pricing cannot be the only solution. Other policy measures, such as facilitation of firm en...
Tomography, the Geoid and Plate Motions

The dynamics of the earth's mantle and its relationship to mantle structure as revealed by seismic tomography, the geoid, and plate motions are discussed in a critical review of U.S. research from the period 1987-1990. Sections are devoted to plates and mantle convection; seismic anomalies, flow, and the geoid; subducted slabs and the 670-km discontinuity; the physical properties of the mantle; plumes; and computational and experimental modeling efforts. Also included is a comprehensive bibliography for the period.
Gene Frequency Analysis of Chromosomal Initiation Sites in Bacillus subtilis after Ultraviolet Light or X-Ray Exposure

Bacillus subtilis was exposed to ultraviolet light (UV) or X rays, and gene frequency analysis was used to study the location of initiation sites of postirradiation deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis. It was found that DNA synthesis resumes primarily from the origin after UV exposure. With X irradiation, the origin is not selectively replicated. Elevated origin-to-terminal marker ratios observed after UV exposure of exponentially growing cells were interpreted as evidence for selective UV resistance of the replicative origin region of the bacterial chromosome.
Characterizing Stylistic Elements in Syntactic Structure

Much of the writing styles recognized in rhetorical and composition theories involve deep syntactic elements. However, most previous research for computational stylometric analysis has relied on shallow lexico-syntactic patterns. Some very recent work has shown that PCFG models can detect distributional difference in syntactic styles, but without offering much insights into exactly what constitute salient stylistic elements in sentence structure characterizing each authorship. In this paper, we present a comprehensive exploration of syntactic elements in writing styles, with particular emphasis on interpretable characterization of stylistic elements. We present analytic insights with respect to the authorship attribution task in two different domains.
Concentration of off-axis radiation by solar concentrators for space power

Four types of off-axis radiation are discussed. These are small off-axis angles during walk-off, large off-axis angles, an extended off-axis source such as Earth albedo, and miscellaneous off-axis sources including radiofrequency sources and local point sources. A code name OFFSET has been developed to represent the solar concentrator being developed for Space Station Freedom. It is a detailed ray-tracing model which represents 50 ray-originating points on the Sun and reflections from 10 points on each of the 456 concentrator facets. Results of this code are generally similar to the PIXEL results although there are small differences due to the more detailed representations of the Sun and concentrator that were used in the OFFSET code. >
Organizational strengths and challenges of Kenyan NGOs serving orphans and vulnerable children: a template analysis

This qualitative study of Kenyan non-governmental organizations (NGOs) identified strengths and challenges associated with service provision to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). From September to December 2006, data were collected by Kenyan research assistants in 34 NGOs in Nairobi and Eldoret. In-depth interviews were used to explore the perceptions of directors and staff in relation to organizational strengths and challenges in serving OVC. Structuration theory and template analysis were used to identify higher-order codes related to strengths and challenges of human agents, organizations and societal forces. Emergent themes and supporting interview quotations are presented to highlight common patterns across organizations, including strengths such as staff commitment, client outcomes, and resourceful communities, as well as challenges such as lack of staff, funding, and parental involvement. Through the analysis we uncover insights about the recursive relationship between micro and macro realities in Kenyan NGOs and the accompanying human and social transformations that result from providing services to OVC.
Aibrowser for multimedia: introducing multimedia content accessibility for visually impaired users

Multimedia content with Rich Internet Applications using Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and Adobe Flash is now becoming popular in various websites. However, visually impaired users cannot deal with such content due to audio interference with the speech from screen readers and intricate structures strongly optimized for sighted users.We have been developing an Accessibility Internet Browserfor Multimedia (aiBrowser) to address these problems. Thebrowser has two novel features: non-visual multimedia audiocontrols and alternative user interfaces using externalmetadata. First, by using the aiBrowser, users can directlycontrol the audio from the embedded media with fixed shortcutkeys. Therefore, this allows blind users to increase ordecrease the media volume, and pause or stop the mediato handle conflicts between the audio of the media and thespeech from the screen reader. Second, the aiBrowser canprovide an alternative simplified user interface suitable forscreen readers by using external metadata, which can evenbe applied to dynamic content such as DHTML and Flash.In this paper, we discuss accessibility problems with multimedia content due to streaming media and the dynamic changes in such content, and explain how the aiBrowser addresses these problems by describing non-visual multimedia audio controls and external metadata-based alternative user interfaces. The evaluation of the aiBrowser was conducted by comparing it to JAWS, one of the most popular screen readers, on three well known multimedia-content-intensive websites.The evaluation showed that the aiBrowser made the contentthat was inaccessible with JAWS relatively accessibleby using the multimedia audio controls and alternative interfaceswith metadata which included alternative text, headinginformation, and so on. It also drastically reduced thekeystrokes for navigation with aiBrowser, which implies toimprove the non-visual usability.
TRPV1 marks synaptic segregation of multiple convergent afferents at the rat medial solitary tract nucleus.

TRPV1 receptors are expressed on most but not all central terminals of cranial visceral afferents in the caudal solitary tract nucleus (NTS). TRPV1 is associated with unmyelinated C-fiber afferents. Both TRPV1+ and TRPV1- afferents enter NTS but their precise organization remains poorly understood. In horizontal brainstem slices, we activated solitary tract (ST) afferents and recorded ST-evoked glutamatergic excitatory synaptic currents (ST-EPSCs) under whole cell voltage clamp conditions from neurons of the medial subnucleus. Electrical shocks to the ST produced fixed latency EPSCs (jitter<200 µs) that identified direct ST afferent innervation. Graded increases in shock intensity often recruited more than one ST afferent and ST-EPSCs had consistent threshold intensity, latency to onset, and unique EPSC waveforms that characterized each unitary ST afferent contact. The TRPV1 agonist capsaicin (100 nM) blocked the evoked TRPV1+ ST-EPSCs and defined them as either TRPV1+ or TRPV1- inputs. No partial responses to capsaicin were observed so that in NTS neurons that received one or multiple (2–5) direct ST afferent inputs – all were either blocked by capsaicin or were unaltered. Since TRPV1 mediates asynchronous release following TRPV1+ ST-evoked EPSCs, we likewise found that recruiting more than one ST afferent further augmented the asynchronous response and was eliminated by capsaicin. Thus, TRPV1+ and TRPV1- afferents are completely segregated to separate NTS neurons. As a result, the TRPV1 receptor augments glutamate release only within unmyelinated afferent pathways in caudal medial NTS and our work indicates a complete separation of C-type from A-type afferent information at these first central neurons.
Genetic and epigenetic changes in rat preneoplastic liver tissue induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene

Genotoxic carcinogens, including 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), in addition to exerting their genotoxic effects, often cause a variety of non-genotoxic alterations in cells. It is believed that these non-genotoxic effects may be indispensable events in tumorigenesis; however, there is insufficient knowledge to clarify the role of carcinogens in both the genetic and epigenetic changes in premalignant tissues and a lack of conclusive information on the link between epigenetic alterations and carcinogenic exposure. In the current study, we investigated whether or not the mechanism of 2-AAF-induced hepatocarcinogenesis consists of both genotoxic (genetic) and non-genotoxic (epigenetic) alterations. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed NIH-31 diet containing 0.02% of 2-AAF for 6, 12, 18 or 24 weeks. The levels of DNA adducts obtained from 2-AAF in liver and kidney tissues were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ES-MS/MS). N-(Deoxyguanosine-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene was the major adduct detected at all time points in both tissues. Global DNA methylation in the livers and kidneys, as determined by an HpaII-based cytosine extension assay and by HPLC-ES-MS/MS, did not change over the 24-week period. In the livers of male rats, there was a progressive decrease of global and long interspersed nucleotide element-1-associated histone H4 lysine 20 trimethylation, as well as hypermethylation of the p16(INK4A) gene. These epigenetic changes were not observed in the livers of female rats or the kidneys of both sexes. Importantly, morphological evidence of formation and progression of neoplastic process was observed in the liver of male rats only. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that exposure of rats to genotoxic hepatocarcinogen 2-AAF, in addition to formation of 2-AAF-specific DNA lesions, resulted in substantial alterations in cellular epigenetic status.
A Diversity Analysis for Distributed Interference Alignment Using the Max-SINR Algorithm

Gomadam recently proposed two distributed interference alignment algorithms, namely the zero-forcing and the maximal signal to interference plus noise ratio (max-SINR) algorithms. Both of them only require local channel state information and no symbol extension is needed. Then, Ning showed that when only one stream of information symbols is sent by each user, interference alignment may achieve receive diversity using the max-SINR algorithm. This result was, however, derived only based on an assumption. In this paper, using a different approach, we prove that interference alignment using the max-SINR algorithm indeed achieves receive diversity without the assumption used by Ning The result in this paper not only completes the proof of the result by Ning , but also generalizes it by allowing more than one stream of information symbols to be sent by each user.
DNA nanotubes and helical nanotapes via self-assembly of ssDNA-amphiphiles

DNA nanotubes were created using molecular self-assembly of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-amphiphiles composed of a hydrophobic dialkyl tail and polycarbon spacer and a hydrophilic ssDNA headgroup. The nanotube structures were formed by bilayers of amphiphiles, with the hydrophobic components forming an inner layer that was shielded from the aqueous solvent by an outer layer of ssDNA. The nanotubes appeared to form via an assembly process that included transitions from twisted nanotapes to helical nanotapes to nanotubes. Amphiphiles that contained different ssDNA headgroups were created to explore the effect of the length and secondary structure of the ssDNA headgroup on the self-assembly behavior of the amphiphiles in the presence and absence of the polycarbon spacer. It was found that nanotubes could be formed using a variety of headgroup lengths and sequences. The ability to create nanotubes via ssDNA-amphiphile self-assembly offers an alternative to the other purely DNA-based approaches like DNA origami and DNA tile assembly for constructing these structures and may be useful for applications in drug delivery, biosensing, and electronics.
Clinical, Neuropathological and Genetic Aspects of the Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant syndrome in which patients develop hamartomatous lesions in the nervous system and a host of other organs. While considerable experience has been gained in defining the clinical spectrum of TSC, a number of nosological questions remain. Neuropathological studies have continued to refine our knowledge of the nervous system abnormalities that characterize TSC. Molecular genetic studies have implicated two chromosomal regions in the genesis of TSC, one on chromosome 9q and the other on chromosome 16p. The chromosome 16p gene, designated TSC2, has been cloned, although its function remains speculative. The identification of the TSC1 gene on chromosome 9q, along with functional studies and mutational analyses of both TSC genes, will likely provide fascinating insights into the pathogenesis of TSC.
Prosaposin in the secretome of marrow stroma-derived neural progenitor cells protects neural cells from apoptotic death

Functionally, adult stem cells not only participate in replication and differentiation to various cell lineages, but also may be involved in rescuing cells from apoptosis. Identifying functional factors secreted by stem cells, as well as their target cells, may advance our understanding of stem cells' multifaceted physiologic functions. Here, we report that mouse bone marrow stromal cell-derived neuroprogenitor cells (mMSC-NPC) provide a protective function by secreting a key factor, prosaposin (PSAP), capable of rescuing mature neurons from apoptotic death. This factor is identified as the lead protein in the secretome of mMSC-NPC cultures by tandem mass spectroscopic profiling, and further validated by western blotting and immunocytochemistry. The secretome of MSC-NPC reduces toxin-induced cell death in cultures of rat pheochromocytoma neuronal cells, human ReNcell CX neurons, and rat cortical primary neurons; removal of PSAP by immunodepletion annuls this protective effect. This neuronal protection against toxin treatment was validated further by the recombinant PSAP peptide. Interestingly, the secretome of neuronal culture does not possess such a self-protective action. We suggest that upon injury, a subgroup of MSCs differentiates into neural/neuronal progenitor cells, and remains in this intermediate stem cell-like stage, defending injured neighboring mature neurons from apoptosis by secreting PSAP.
The face of TSR revealed: an extracellular signaling domain is exposed

In this issue, Tan et al. (2002) report the first high resolution (1.9 A) structural data for thrombospondin (TSP)-1, a large multifunctional protein that regulates cell adhesion, angiogenesis, cell proliferation and survival, TGFβ activation, and protease function (for review see Chen et al., 2000). Because TSP-1 has multiple binding partners and many functions, precise structural information is crucial to understanding its biology. The structure now reported, derived from crystals of the second and third type I repeats of TSP-1 is of particular interest because of the specific functions attributed to these repeats and because domains homologous to the repeats appear in many other proteins in nature. The novel layered fold motif described brings great insight into how the complicated functions of TSP-1 and related molecules are affected.
Regional myocardial perfusion assessed with N-13 labeled ammonia and positron emission computerized axial tomography

The usefulness of N-13 ammonia as an indicator of regional myocardial perfusion suitable for positron emission tomography has been suggested. However, the relation between myocardial blood flow and uptake of N-13 ammonia has not been examined quantitatively. To quantitate the relation of myocardial N-13 ammonia tissue concentration to myocardial blood flow and examine its suitability for positron emission tomographic imaging, 12 open chest dogs were studied. In eight of the dogs, 25 imaging procedures with N-13 ammonia and positron emission tomography were performed; in the remaining four dogs the relation between flow and myocardial N-13 ammonia concentration was assessed with in vitro techniques. Positron emission tomography provided high quality cross-sectional images of the distribution of N-13 ammonia in left ventricular myocardium. No significant redistribution of N-13 ammonia in the myocardium occurred with time. Alterations in regional myocardial blood flow resulted in changes in the regional distribution of N-13 ammonia that were visible in the cross-sectional images. Myocardial N-13 ammonia concentrations measured with positron emission tomography were closely related to myocardial blood flow, although in a nonlinear fashion. The nonlinear relation determined with positron emission tomography was identical to that observed with in vitro techniques. The nonlinearity of this relation of flow to N-13 ammonia concentration was probably due to the inverse relation between flow and the N-13 ammonia single pass extraction fraction. The uptake of N-13 ammonia was studied at myocardial blood flows ranging from 0 to 500 ml/min per 100 g, whereas physiologically occurring flows in man range only from near 0 to approximately 300 ml/min per 100 g. Within this physiologic flow range, the relation between flow and N-13 ammonia concentration was relatively linear, and a 100 percent increase in flow produced an approximately 70 percent increase in N-13 ammonia concentration. It is concluded that N-13 ammonia is a good indicator of myocardial blood flow and compares favorably with conventional monovalent perfusion imaging agents. Positron emission computerized axial tomography permits quantitative measurements of the distribution of this agent in myocardium and therefore should prove useful in measuring regional myocardial perfusion and blood flow.
Universal criterion for metallic glass formation

It is proposed that a simple criterion for topological instability applied to local atomic structure can explain a wide variety of phase transition phenomena involving metallic elements and alloys. These include melting, alloy formation, glass transition, solid state amorphization, and glass formation by rapid quenching. It can also provide a microscopic basis to explain the local structure of metallic glasses and their relaxation phenomena. Such simple theories are complementary to precise numerical computational theories in facilitating full understanding of the phenomena.
Adaptive tests of regression functions via multiscale generalized likelihood ratios

Many applications of nonparametric tests based on curve estimation involve selecting a smoothing parameter. The author proposes an adaptive test that combines several generalized likelihood ratio tests in order to get power performance nearly equal to whichever of the component tests is best. She derives the asymptotic joint distribution of the component tests and that of the proposed test under the null hypothesis. She also develops a simple method of selecting the smoothing parameters for the proposed test and presents two approximate methods for obtaining its P-value. Finally, she evaluates the proposed test through simulations and illustrates its application to a set of real data. Moult applications des tests non parametriques bases sur l'estimation de courbes font intervenir un parametre de lissage. L'auteure propose un test adaptatif qui allie plusieurs tests du rapport de vraisemblances generalises et rivalise de puissance avec le meilleur d'entre eux. Elle determine la loi asymptotique conjointe des tests individuels et celle du test global sous l'hypothese nulle. Elle montre aussi comment selectionner facilement les parametres de lissage du test global et propose deux methodes de calcul approche de son seuil. Elle examine en outre le comportement du test propose par voie de simulations et en illustre l'emploi dans un cas concret
A comparison of the effects of a sodium channel blocker and an NMDA antagonist upon extracellular glutamate in rat focal cerebral ischemia

Agents such as 619C89 decrease extracellular glutamate concentrations by a primary action at voltage sensitive sodium channels, but NMDA antagonists also have been shown to decrease extracellular glutamate concentration after ischemia. To address the question as to whether 619C89's effect upon extracellular glutamate concentrations is any different than the effect of the NMDA antagonist dextrorphan, 24 rats were given either optimally neuroprotective doses of these drugs or saline prior to middle cerebral artery occlusion. In caudate, the 619C89-treated, but not dextrorphan-treated rats had less microdialysate glutamate than ischemic controls. In cortex, both 619C89- and dextrorphan-treated groups had significantly decreased glutamate compared with ischemic controls. These results support a specific effect of 619C89 upon glutamate release in caudate but not cortex.
Biotemplated Nanostructured Surfaces for Enhanced Phase Change Heat Transfer

The fabrication and characterization of biotemplated nanostructured coatings based on the Tobacco mosaic virus for enhanced phase-change heat transfer is reported. A simple room temperature nanofabrication process, using the self-assembly and mineralization of the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), has been implemented to create superhydrophilic surfaces. Using this technique, a variety of structured surfaces have been fabricated and characterized showing enhanced surface wettability and heat transfer characteristics. High-speed images of droplet impact evaporation on flat and hierarchical samples have been recorded, showing increased wetting and evaporation for the nanostructured surfaces. The addition of nanostructures increases the heat transfer rate by more than a factor of three as compared to the flat surfaces, and hierarchical surfaces exhibit heat transfer rates more than an order of magnitude larger than flat non-structured surfaces. Additionally, an increase in Leidenfrost temperature of 100°C as compared to flat samples has been recorded. TMV nanostructures were also assembled onto the walls of heated minichannels, promoting continuous bubble detachment as well as reduced slug formation and instabilities during flow boiling. While bare minichannel exhibits nearly complete dry-out, the nanostructured channels maintain annular flow at similar loadings. This work demonstrates the feasibility of enhancing phase-change heat transfer using TMV structured coatings.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Allylic Alcohol Isomerization and Mechanistic Considerations with CH3ReO3

A mechanism for the isomerization of allylic alcohols by CH3ReO3 has been constructed on the basis of 18O isotopic studies and involves exchange between the alcohol and metal-bonded O atoms, in contrast to a previously published mechanism, which involved the 1,3-transposition of the O atom on the alcohol. Our method of analysis does not directly rule out this latter mechanism.
Surface vibrations on body centered cubic and face centered cubic metal surfaces: The (100) surfaces

Abstract We have studied the dynamics of atom motion at metal (100) surfaces. The interactions between atoms are modelled with central forces and angle bending forces. Results for frequencies and polarizations of surface modes are presented for the following metals: body centered Cr, Fe, K, Mo, Na, V and W; face centered Ag, Al, Au, Cu, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt and Rh. In addition, effects of surface relaxation and changes in the model parameters on the surface waves are examined.
Reply to Allen et al.

Allen et al.’s results depend on their inclusion of children whose family at the time of their grade retention is unknown, plus adopted and foster children whose selection process into families is unknown. Children whose family has been through upheavals or transitions are less likely to make good progress in school than children from stable families. Children raised by stable same-sex couples do remarkably well in school.
Excitement and Boredom as Determinants of Vocalization in Infants.

(1975). Excitement and Boredom as Determinants of Vocalization in Infants. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Vol. 126, No. 1, pp. 107-117.
Synthesis and human NKT cell stimulating properties of 3-O-sulfo-α/β-galactosylceramides

Abstract Two novel hybrid molecules 3- O -sulfo-α/β-galactosylceramide 3 and 4 , which are derived from an immunostimulatory agent α-GalCer 1 and self-glycolipid ligand sulfatide 2 , were designed and synthesized. Compound 3 was shown to efficiently stimulate human NKT cells to secret IL-4 and IFN-γ, with activities similar to 1 , suggesting that modification of the 3″-OH position of the galactose moiety with sulfate has no significant effect on NKT cell stimulation. As a comparison, the β-isomer 4 has no affinity to NKT cells, which demonstrates that the α-glycosidic bond of galactosylceramide is crucial to the NKT cells activation.
Frequent and recent retrotransposition of orthologous genes plays a role in the evolution of sperm glycolytic enzymes

The central metabolic pathway of glycolysis converts glucose to pyruvate, with the net production of 2 ATP and 2 NADH per glucose molecule. Each of the ten reactions in this pathway is typically catalyzed by multiple isozymes encoded by a multigene family. Several isozymes in this pathway are expressed only during spermatogenesis, and gene targeting studies indicate that they are essential for sperm function and male fertility in mouse. At least three of the novel glycolytic isozymes are encoded by retrogenes (Pgk2, Aldoart1, and Aldoart2). Their restricted expression profile suggests that retrotransposition may play a significant role in the evolution of sperm glycolytic enzymes. We conducted a comprehensive genomic analysis of glycolytic enzymes in the human and mouse genomes and identified several intronless copies for all enzymes in the pathway, except Pfk. Within each gene family, a single orthologous gene was typically retrotransposed frequently and independently in both species. Several retroposed sequences maintained open reading frames (ORFs) and/or provided evidence of alternatively spliced exons. We analyzed expression of sequences with ORFs and <99% sequence identity in the coding region and obtained evidence for the expression of an alternative Gpi1 transcript in mouse spermatogenic cells. Our analysis detected frequent, recent, and lineage-specific retrotransposition of orthologous glycolytic enzymes in the human and mouse genomes. Retrotransposition events are associated with LINE/LTR and genomic integration is random. We found evidence for the alternative splicing of parent genes. Many retroposed sequences have maintained ORFs, suggesting a functional role for these genes.
Convergent development of anodic bacterial communities in microbial fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are often inoculated from a single wastewater source. The extent that the inoculum affects community development or power production is unknown. The stable anodic microbial communities in MFCs were examined using three inocula: a wastewater treatment plant sample known to produce consistent power densities, a second wastewater treatment plant sample, and an anaerobic bog sediment. The bog-inoculated MFCs initially produced higher power densities than the wastewater-inoculated MFCs, but after 20 cycles all MFCs on average converged to similar voltages (470±20mV) and maximum power densities (590±170mWm � 2 ). The power output from replicate bog-inoculated MFCs was not significantly different, but one wastewater-inoculated MFC (UAJA3 (UAJA, University Area Joint Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant)) produced substantially less power. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling showed a stable exoelectrogenic biofilm community in all samples after 11 cycles. After 16 cycles the predominance of Geobacter spp. in anode communities was identified using 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (58±10%), fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) (63±6%) and pyrosequencing (81±4%). While the clone library analysis for the underperforming UAJA3 had a significantly lower percentage of Geobacter spp. sequences (36%), suggesting that a predominance of this microbe was needed for convergent power densities, the lower percentage of this species was not verified by FISH or pyrosequencing analyses. These results show that the predominance of Geobacter spp. in acetate-fed systems was consistent with good MFC performance and independent of the inoculum source. The ISME Journal (2012) 6, 2002–2013; doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.42; published online 10 May 2012 Subject Category: microbial population and community ecology
Enzymatic conversion of β-carotene into β-apo-carotenals and retinoids by human, monkey, ferret, and rat tissues

Whether the conversion of β-carotene into retinoids involves an enzymatic excentric cleavage mechanism was examined in vitro with homogenates prepared from human, monkey, ferret, and rat tissue. Using high-performance liquid chromatography, significant amounts of β-apo-12′-, -10′-, and -8′-carotenals, retinal, and retinoic acid were found after incubation of intestinal homogenates of the four different species with β-carotene in the presence of NAD+ and dithiothreitol. No β-apo-carotenals or retinoids were detected in control incubations done without tissue homogenates. The production of β-apo-carotenals was linear for 30 min and up to tissue protein concentrations of 1.5 mg/ml. The rate of formation of β-apo-carotenals from 2 μm β-carotene was about 7- to 14-fold higher than the rate of retinoid formation in intestinal homogenates, and the rate of β-apo-carotenal production was fivefold greater in primate intestine vs rat or ferret intestine (P < 0.05). The amounts of β-apo-carotenals and retinoids formed were markedly reduced when NAD+ was replaced by NADH, or when dithiothreitol and cofactors were deleted from the incubation mixture. Both β-apo-carotenal and retinoid production from β-carotene were inhibited completely by adding disulfiram, an inhibitor of sulfhydryl-containing enzymes. Incubation of β-carotene with liver, kidney, lung, and fat homogenates from each species also resulted in the appearance of β-apo-carotenals and retinoids. The identification of three unknown compounds which might be excentric cleavage products is ongoing. These data support the existence of an excentric cleavage mechanism for β-carotene conversion.
Pharmacological characterization of the 20% alcohol intermittent access model in Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats: a model of binge-like drinking.

Background Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of alcohol drinking that brings blood alcohol levels to 80 mg/dl or above. In this study, we pharmacologically characterized the intermittent access to 20% ethanol (EtOH) model (Wise, Psychopharmacologia 1973;29:203) in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats to determine to which of the compounds known to reduce drinking in specific animal models this binge-like drinking was sensitive to. Methods Adult male sP rats were divided into 2 groups and allowed to drink either 20% v/v alcohol or water for 24 hours on alternate days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) or 10% v/v alcohol and water for 24 hours every day. After stabilization of their intake, both groups were administered 3 pharmacological agents with different mechanisms of action, naltrexone—an opioid receptor antagonist, SCH 39166—a dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, and R121919—a Corticotropin-Releasing Factor 1 (CRF1) receptor antagonist, and their effects on alcohol and water intake were determined. Results Intermittent 20% alcohol (“Wise”) procedure in sP rats led to binge-like drinking. Alcohol drinking was suppressed by naltrexone and by SCH 39166, but not by R121919. Finally, naltrexone was more potent in reducing alcohol drinking in the intermittent 20% binge-drinking group than in the 10% continuous access drinking group. Conclusions The Wise procedure in sP rats induces binge-like drinking, which appears opioid- and dopamine-receptor mediated; the CRF1 system, on the other hand, does not appear to be involved. In addition, our results suggest that naltrexone is particularly effective in reducing binge drinking. Such different pharmacological responses may apply to subtypes of alcoholic patients who differ in their motivation to drink, and may eventually contribute to treatment response.
Role of aquaporin water channels in eye function.

The aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of more than 10 homologous water transporting proteins expressed in many mammalian epithelia and endothelia. At least five AQPs are expressed in the eye: AQP0 (MIP) in lens fiber, AQP1 in cornea endothelium, ciliary and lens epithelia and trabecular meshwork, AQP3 in conjunctiva, AQP4 in ciliary epithelium and retinal Muller cells, and AQP5 in corneal and lacrimal gland epithelia. This cell-specific expression pattern suggests involvement of AQPs in corneal and lens transparency, intraocular pressure (IOP) regulation, retinal signal transduction, and tear secretion. Indeed, humans with mutant AQP0 develop cataracts. Mice lacking AQP1 have reduced IOP and impaired corneal transparency after swelling, and mice lacking AQP4 have reduced light-evoked potentials by electroretinography. There is evidence for impaired cellular processing of AQP5 in lacrimal glands of humans with Sjogren's syndrome. AQPs facilitate fluid secretion and absorption in the eye, and hence are involved in the regulation of pressure, volume and tissue hydration. Pharmacological alteration of AQP function may provide a new approach for therapy of glaucoma, corneal edema, and other diseases of the eye associated with abnormalities in IOP or tissue hydration.
Analysis of thyristor DC chopper power converters including nonlinear commutating reactors

Dc chopper power converters are used to control the power supplied to a dc load from a dc source. In a battery-powered vehicle, for example, a dc chopper can control the dc series traction motor. Thyristors are favored for the switching element in high power applications. The particular circuit described here can be used as a voltage step-down converter or a voltage step-up converter and uses two auxiliary thyristors to turn off the main power thyristor. The behavior of the step-up circuit is described by exactly the same equations as the step-down circuit when the input voltage is replaced by the load voltage and the load current is replaced by the input current. The analysis treats the general case where saturating reactors are used to soften the commutation of current in the power semiconductors. The nonlinear characteristics of these reactors are approximated by two linear segments when molybdenum-Permalloy powder cores are used. Linear or square-loop cores are included by the theory as special cases. A design synthesis based on the analytical equations is best performed with the aid of a computer.
Mesa: automatic generation of lookup table optimizations

Scientific programmers strive constantly to meet performance demands. Tuning is often done manually, despite the significant development time and effort required. One example is lookup table (LUT) optimization, a technique that is generally applied by hand due to a lack of methodology and tools. LUT methods reduce execution time by replacing computations with memory accesses to precomputed tables of results. LUT optimizations improve performance when the memory access is faster than the original computation, and the level of reuse is sufficient to amortize LUT initialization. Current practice requires programmers to inspect program source to identify candidate expressions, then develop specific LUT code for each optimization. Measurement of LUT accuracy is usually ad hoc, and the interaction with multicore parallelization has not been explored.In this paper we present Mesa, a standalone tool that implements error analysis and code generation to improve the process of LUT optimization. We evaluate Mesa on a multicore system using a molecular biology application and other scientific expressions. Our LUT optimizations realize a performance improvement of 5X for the application and up to 45X for the expressions, while tightly controlling error. We also show that the serial optimization is just as effective on a parallel version of the application. Our research provides a methodology and tool for incorporating LUT optimizations into existing scientific code
Experimental and clinical experience with tissue engineering techniques for urethral reconstruction

Tissue engineering has been proposed as a strategy for urethral reconstruction. This may involve matrices alone, wherein the body's natural ability to regenerate is used to orient or direct new tissue growth, or the use of matrices with cells. Acellular collagen matrices derived from donor bladder submucosa have been used both experimentally and clinically for onlay urethral replacement with good success at our center. If a tubularized urethral repair is needed, the use of cells on the collagen matrix is essential for adequate tissue formation. Tissue engineering techniques are useful for urethral reconstruction.
Does prophylactic endoscopic sclerotherapy prevent variceal bleeding or not? A question of experimental design.

From January 1985 through July 1987, adult patients accepted for liver transplantation with large esophageal varices were enrolled in a study evaluating the use of prophylactic vs emergency sclerotherapy. Six hundred forty-eight subjects received prophylactic scleratherapy, and 172 received emergent sclerotherapy. Esophageal stricture formation was increased 12.9-fold (P ＜ 0.001), esophageal perforation 6.4-fold (P ＜ 0.005), and postsclerotherapy bleeding esophageal ulcers 3.7-fold (P ＜ 0.001) in those receiving emergency sclerotherapy as opposed to prophylactic sclerotherapy. These differences were even greater if the number of sclerotherapy sessions rather than the number of patients was used as the denominator for the comparisons. In total, 19.6% of emergency sclerotherapy cases were associated with an untoward outcome of sclerotherapy; only 1.9% of cases receiving prophylactic sclerotherapy experienced an untoward outcome (P ＜ 0.001). These data demonstrate that leinergency sclerotherapy is associated with a greater prevalence of complications and support earlier studies that show that sclerotherapy prevents variceai bleeding over the short term. The data also suggest that when applied to patients with large varices awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation, it enhances the chance of a patient surviving to be transplanted by preventing a variceal bleed and the spiral of liver failure and death that frequently follows an episode of acute variceal bleeding.