cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oxygen Consumption by the Corn Earworm, Heliothis zea

Data on oxygen consumption by Heliothis zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as measured by Warburg manometry at 30°C indicate that 2 distinct peaks occur during the life cycle. From the egg (0.7 μliter per mg fresh weight per hour) oxygen consumption reaches the 1st peak on day 5 of larval development (2.0). The rate then decreases in the prepupa (0.65) and reaches a low in the pupa (0.25). The rate rises between day 7 and 8 of the pupal period and reaches the 2nd peak in the adult. Oxygen consumption of light- or dark-adapted adults was measured before and after mating while adults were held under light or dark regime: mated, darkadapted female (1.98) > virgin, dark-adapted female (1.80) = virgin, dark-adapted male (1.76) = mated, dark-adapted male (1.83) > virgin, light-adapted female (1.56) > mated light-adapted female (1.36) > virgin, light-adapted male (1.29) = mated, light-adapted male (1.27). The weight of the larval food bolus indicated that oxygen consumption by the whole larva, measured as microliters per milligram freshweight per hour, must be increased by 15 and 23% on days 5 and 13, respectively, to reflect the true rate for activity respiring tissue.
Segmentation Of Range Images Using Simple Differential-Geometric Features

Although range images are similar to intensity images in some respects, there are some important differences. For example, traditional edge operators used in intensity images can detect occluding (jump) boundaries in range images easily, but they fail to detect most edges within objects. Thus, the features one selects for segmentation of range images have to be somewhat different from those selected for intensity images. In this paper, we introduce a scalar feature based on surface normal information for segmenting range images. This feature is attractive since it converts vector information into scalar information and since it can be computed very easily using existing intensity-image edge operators. Initial results obtained with ERIM range images of blocks are presented.
RF planar ion trap for chemical sensing

RF ion traps are a principle means for molecule separation used in mass spectrometry based chemical sensors. Until recently the lab confined mass spectrometer has been too expensive and cumbersome for field based analysis. Advancements in packaging and electronics have led to smaller instrumentation and even more so, the miniaturization of the electric field based ion trap leads to lower voltage and power requirements for handheld mass spectrometers. Of the several types of ion traps the 3D cylindrical ion trap has proven most conducive to scaling; however, it is limited by small trapping capacities and poor trapping efficiency. This paper demonstrates a new RF ion trap design capable of being fabricated through planar techniques amenable to MEMS and system-in-package integration. Furthermore, it has the trapping capacity and trapping efficiency of a 2D rectilinear ion trap.
Should benefit-risk assessment have its own drug "label"?

Many consumers and clinicians incorrectly believe that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new therapeutic implies that its benefits have been proven to exceed its harms. While the FDA could require proof that benefits exceed harms prior to approval, it has been argued that this approach would be infeasible because of prohibitively large sample sizes. One possible alternative would be for the FDA to supplement its standard “label” denoting “safe and effective” with a secondary “label” denoting benefits have been demonstrated to exceed harms, which would be granted only after sufficient post-marketing data had accumulated to prove that its benefits exceeded its harms. This secondary label would not necessarily be linked to marketing restrictions or other commercial prohibitions but, rather, would be only information for consumers and clinicians. Strengths, weaknesses, and feasibility challenges of this approach are discussed.
Displacement and Thermal Performance of Laser-Heated Asymmetric MEMS Actuators

Optical actuators are fundamental building blocks in the development of all-optical microelectromechanical devices. Photothermally actuated devices are inevitably limited by overheating and device damage resulting from the absorption of laser power. Optimal actuator design requires an efficient use of the applied laser power while minimizing the susceptibility of device damage. Surface micromachined polycrystalline silicon flexure-style optical actuators, which are powered using an 808-nm continuous-wave laser, were evaluated for displacement performance and susceptibility to damage. Actuator displacement is linear with incident power for laser powers below those that cause damage to the irradiated surface, up to a maximum displacement of 7-9 mum. Damage of the irradiated surface causes viscous relaxation of the polysilicon film and leads to recession of the displacement during the heating and additional recession after the optical power is removed. The first spatially resolved temperature measurements during device operation were obtained using micro-Raman thermometry. The temperature measurements revealed the influence of temperature-dependent optical properties in the thermal behavior of the irradiated devices.
Directional selectivities of near-field filiform hair mechanoreceptors on the crayfish tailfan (Crustacea: Decapoda)

Directional selectivities of mechanoreceptors that innervate filiform hairs on the crayfish tailfan were investigated with unidirectional, sinusoidal, water-motion stimuli. These recordings provide the first representative sample from filiform hair sensilla on the entire tailfan. The filiform hair receptors exhibit unimodal directional selectivity patterns that were well fitted by a cardioid function with a half-width of 122°. The preferred directions correspond to the major axis of hair motion, and are perpendicular to the orientation of lateral branches on the main hair shaft. Pooled plots of preferred directions demonstrate quadrimodal patterns on the telson and endopods which are associated with hair location, and a bimodal pattern on the exopods. For each appendage, the combination of the overall pattern of preferred directions with “coarse coding” of direction by individual receptors provides sensitivity to a full 0–360° range of water motion and the potential to discriminate the direction of water motion throughout this range. The results demonstrate several similarities to the wind-sensitive cercal receptor system in orthopteroid insects, and suggest that crustacean filiform hair receptors provide a sufficient sensory basis for behavioral orientation to water currents and shorelines.
Impala: a middleware system for managing autonomic, parallel sensor systems

Sensor networks are long-running computer systems with many sensing/compute nodes working to gather information about their environment, process and fuse that information, and in some cases, actuate control mechanisms in response. Like traditional parallel systems, communication between nodes is of fundamental importance, but is typically accomplished via wireless transceivers. One further key attribute of sensor networks is that they are almost always long running systems, intended to operate in situ, with minimal direct human intervention, for months or years. This requirement for long-running autonomy mandates careful design of the runtime system that manages applications on each node, to ensure reliability and ease of upgrades over the life of the system.This paper describes Impala, a middleware architecture that enables application modularity, adaptivity, and repair-ability in wireless sensor networks. Impala allows software updates to be received via the node's wireless transceiver and to be applied to the running system dynamically. In addition, Impala also provides an interface for on-the-fly application adaptation in order to improve the performance, energy-efficiency, and reliability of the software system. Impala has been designed to be a part of the ZebraNet mobile sensor network, but we are also prototyping it within HP/Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC handhelds. We present performance data for both real system measurements of the Pocket PC version as well as simulations of a full mobile sensor system deployment. Overall, Impala is a lightweight runtime system that can greatly improve system reliability, performance, and energy-efficiency. The ideas introduced here for sensor networks have applicability more broadly in other long-running autonomous parallel systems as well.
A methodology for guided behavioral-level optimization

Optimization at the early stages of design are crucial. However, due to an overwhelming number of design and optimization options, design exploration is often conducted in a qualitative, ad-hoc manner. This paper presents a methodology and interactive environment for guiding the exploration process. A prototype targeting behavioral-level optimization for datapath-intensive ASIC implementations has been developed. The key to the approach is encapsulated knowledge about the various optimizations and a set of techniques to automatically extract the "essence" of a design description. At each stage in the exploration process, the system suggests and ranks potential optimizations, both in terms of immediate and longer-term impact. It also provides evaluations of the design and of the likely affects each optimization will have on metrics like power and performance. In the new approach, the designer is responsible for making the actual optimization selections. However, using the provided guidance, designers can make decisions in a more informed manner, and therefore can explore the design solution space more effectively. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated on a number of designs.
The Role of the Kidney in Regulating Arterial Blood Pressure

The kidney plays a central role in the regulation of arterial blood pressure. A large body of experimental and physiological evidence indicates that renal control of extracellular volume and renal perfusion pressure are closely involved in maintaining the arterial circulation and blood pressure. Renal artery perfusion pressure directly regulates sodium excretion-a process known as pressure natriuresis-and influences the activity of various vasoactive systems such as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. As a result, many researchers argue that identifying any marked rise in blood pressure requires resetting of the relationship between arterial blood pressure and urinary sodium excretion, which can occur by an array of systemic or local mechanisms. Almost all of the monogenic forms of hypertension affect sites in the kidney associated with sodium handling and transport. Experimental models of spontaneous hypertension, such as the Dahl salt-sensitive rat, have been used to study the effects of kidney transplantation on blood pressure. Results from studies of kidney transplantation indicate that pressure sensitivity to sodium intake 'follows' the kidney, meaning that the recipient of a 'salt-resistant kidney' acquires sodium resistance, and that the recipient of a 'salt-sensitive kidney' acquires pressure sensitivity. The examples above and discussed in this Review demonstrate that it should come as no surprise that most disorders that affect the kidney or the renal vasculature commonly lead to secondary forms of hypertension.
Correlations among adiposity measures in school-aged children

Given that it is not feasible to use dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other reference methods to measure adiposity in all pediatric clinical and research settings, it is important to identify reasonable alternatives. Therefore, we sought to determine the extent to which other adiposity measures were correlated with DXA fat mass in school-aged children. In 1110 children aged 6.5-10.9 years in the pre-birth cohort Project Viva, we calculated Spearman correlation coefficients between DXA (n=875) and other adiposity measures including body mass index (BMI), skinfold thickness, circumferences, and bioimpedance. We also computed correlations between lean body mass measures. 50.0% of the children were female and 36.5% were non-white. Mean (SD) BMI was 17.2 (3.1) and total fat mass by DXA was 7.5 (3.9) kg. DXA total fat mass was highly correlated with BMI (rs=0.83), bioimpedance total fat (rs=0.87), and sum of skinfolds (rs=0.90), and DXA trunk fat was highly correlated with waist circumference (rs=0.79). Correlations of BMI with other adiposity indices were high, e.g., with waist circumference (rs=0.86) and sum of subscapular plus triceps skinfolds (rs=0.79). DXA fat-free mass and bioimpedance fat-free mass were highly correlated (rs=0.94). In school-aged children, BMI, sum of skinfolds, and other adiposity measures were strongly correlated with DXA fat mass. Although these measurement methods have limitations, BMI and skinfolds are adequate surrogate measures of relative adiposity in children when DXA is not practical.
Social factors that influence learning and reading

(1965). Social factors that influence learning and reading. Journal of the Reading Specialist: Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 18-25.
The Development of an Algorithm to Identify Potential Social Security Disability Beneficiaries

The Social Security Administration funded the development of a screener that could accurately classify household members into one of four disability groups (likely disabled, possibly disabled, not disabled, or current social security disability beneficiaries) for purposes of a larger national study. The authors developed a questionnaire, tested five screener algorithms on data from a pilot study, and assessed the performance of each screener in identifying individuals who are likely disabled, possibly disabled, and not disabled. An algorithm using the item response theory methodology of Rasch modeling offered the greatest improvement over the original screener algorithm and appeared to be quite superior to the other alternatives.
On the mechanism of grain-boundary migration in metals: A molecular dynamics study

The migration of a (100) θ = 43.6°(Σ29) twist grain boundary is observed during the course of a molecular-dynamics simulation. The atomic-level details of the migration are investigated by determining the time dependence of the planar structure factor, a function of the planar interparticle bond angles, and the location of the center of a mass of planes near the grain boundary. It is found that a migration step consists of local bond rearrangements which, when the simulation cell is made large enough, produce domain-like structures in the migrating plane. Although no overall sliding is observed during migration, a local sliding of the planes near the migrating grain boundary accompanies the migration process. It is suggested that a three-dimensional cloud of thermally produced Frenkel-like point defects near the boundary accompanies, and facilitates, its migration.
THE KINETICS OF TRYPSIN DIGESTION : IV. THE COURSE OF THE REACTION WHEN BOTH SUBSTRATE AND ENZYME CONCENTRATIONS ARE DECREASING.

The rate of hydrolysis of edestin by trypsin at 40 degrees and in the presence of 1 M NaCl has been studied. Under these conditions the enzyme is rapidly inactivated and the equation for the reaction may be written See PDF for Equation in which E(t) is the concentration of enzyme during the interval (T(1)-T(2)). This equation has been tested by determining the enzyme concentration at various times during the reaction and substituting these values in the above equation. The experimental results agree with this formula when the initial enzyme or edestin concentrations are varied. No anomalous results of varying substrate concentrations are apparent. It can further be assumed as a first approximation that the enzyme is decomposing monomolecularly and the equation can then be written See PDF for Equation This equation is also satisfactory provided high enzyme concentrations and low edestin concentrations are used. With high concentrations of edestin and low trypsin the effects of the products of the reaction on the enzyme become too large to be neglected and the formula no longer holds.
Recalcitrant Dissolved Organic Carbon Fractions

Marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exhibits a spectrum of reactivity, from very fast turnover of the most bioavailable forms in the surface ocean to long-lived materials circulating within the ocean abyss. These disparate reactivities group DOC by fractions with distinctive functions in the cycling of carbon, ranging from support of the microbial loop to involvement in the biological pump to a hypothesized major source/sink of atmospheric CO2 driving paleoclimate variability. Here, the major fractions constituting the global ocean's recalcitrant DOC pool are quantitatively and qualitatively characterized with reference to their roles in carbon biogeochemistry. A nomenclature for the fractions is proposed based on those roles.
Best Friends Alliances, Friend Ranking, and the MySpace Social Network

Like many topics of psychological research, the explanation for friendship is at once intuitive and difficult to address empirically. These difficulties worsen when one seeks, as we do, to go beyond "obvious" explanations ("humans are social creatures") to ask deeper questions, such as "What is the evolved function of human friendship?" In recent years, however, a new window into human behavior has opened as a growing fraction of people's social activity has moved online, leaving a wealth of digital traces behind. One example is a feature of the MySpace social network that allows millions of users to rank their "Top Friends." In this study, we collected over 10 million people's friendship decisions from MySpace to test predictions made by hypotheses about human friendship. We found particular support for the alliance hypothesis, which holds that human friendship is caused by cognitive systems that function to create alliances for potential disputes. Because an ally's support can be undermined by a stronger outside relationship, the alliance model predicts that people will prefer partners who rank them above other friends. Consistent with the alliance model, we found that an individual's choice of best friend in MySpace is strongly predicted by how partners rank that individual.
Previously Unrecognized Vaccine Candidates Control Trypanosoma cruzi Infection and Immunopathology in Mice

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas' disease, a major health problem in Latin America and an emerging infectious disease in the United States. Previously, we screened a T. cruzi sequence database by a computational-bioinformatic approach and identified antigens that exhibited the characteristics of good vaccine candidates. In this study, we tested the vaccine efficacy of three of the putative candidate antigens against T. cruzi infection and disease in a mouse model. C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with T. cruzi G1 (TcG1)-, TcG2-, or TcG4-encoding plasmids and cytokine (interleukin-12 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) expression plasmids elicited a strong Th1-type antibody response dominated by immunoglobulin G2b (IgG2b)/IgG1 isotypes. The dominant IgG2b/IgG1 antibody response was maintained after a challenge infection and was associated with 50 to 90% control of the acute-phase tissue parasite burden and an almost undetectable level of tissue parasites during the chronic phase, as determined by a sensitive T. cruzi 18S rRNA gene-specific real-time PCR approach. Splenocytes from vaccinated-and-infected mice, compared to unvaccinated-and-infected mice, exhibited decreased (approximately 50% lower) proliferation and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production when stimulated in vitro with T. cruzi antigens, thus suggesting that protection from challenge infection was not provided by an active T-cell response. Subsequently, the serum and cardiac levels of IFN-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha and infiltration of inflammatory infiltrate in the heart were decreased in vaccinated mice during the course of infection and chronic disease development. Taken together, these results demonstrate the identification of novel vaccine candidates that provided protection from T. cruzi-induced immunopathology in experimental mice.
Evaluation of an Insecticide Dust Band Treatment Method for Controlling Bed Bugs

Current bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., control usually involves insecticide applications that pose a high risk of insecticide exposure to residents and applicators. To minimize these risks and the amount of insecticides used, we designed and evaluated a dust band treatment technique. The laboratory assay showed that 1% cysuthrin dust treated bands are highly effective in killing bed bugs. We further evaluated this technique in bed bug infested apartments. The "dust band" treatment consisted of installing a 3.8-cm-wide fabric band on furniture legs and brushing Tempo dust (1% cysuthrin) (Bayer Environmental Science, Research Triangle Park, NC) onto the bands. In addition, interceptors were installed under furniture legs. Alpine (0.5% dinotefuran) aerosol spray was applied directly to live bed bugs found on furniture during biweekly inspections. This treatment was compared with two other treatments: "integrated pest management" (IPM) and "control." The IPM treatment included dust bands plus the following: applying hot steam to infested furniture and surrounding areas, installing mattress encasements, applying 1% cysuthrin dust around room perimeters, and installing interceptors under furniture legs. Alpine aerosol was applied to live bed bugs found during biweekly inspections. In the control group, the apartments received cursory treatment with insecticide sprays by the existing pest control contractor hired by the property management ofÞce. Bed bug numbers before and after treatments were determined based on biweekly interceptor counts or a combination of interceptor counts and visual inspections. From 0 to 12 wk, mean bed bug counts of the dust band, IPM, and the control treatment decreased by 95, 92, and 85%, respectively. Both dust band and IPM resulted in higher bed bug reduction than the control. There was no signiÞcant difference in the Þnal counts between dust band and IPM treatments. An additional Þeld experiment showed installing 1% cysuthrin dust band and interceptors in lightly infested apartments prevented bed bug population rebound. Results indicate applying insecticide dust bands to furniture legs is an effective bed bug control technique.
DuBois's “Double Consciousness”: Race and Gender in Progressive Era American Thought

After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two un-reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
Inventories to insights

“In the long course of cell life on this earth it remained, for our age, for our generation, to receive the full ownership of our inheritance. We have entered the cell, the Mansion of our birth and started the inventory of our acquired wealth.” (Albert Claude, Nobel lecture, 1974)
Evaluating clinic and community-based lifestyle interventions for obesity reduction in a low-income Latino neighborhood: Vivamos Activos Fair Oaks Program

Obesity exerts an enormous health impact through its effect on coronary heart disease and its risk factors. Primary care-based and community-based intensive lifestyle counseling may effectively promote weight loss. There has been limited implementation and evaluation of these strategies, particularly the added benefit of community-based intervention, in low-income Latino populations. The Vivamos Activos Fair Oaks project is a randomized clinical trial designed to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of two obesity reduction lifestyle interventions: clinic-based intensive lifestyle counseling, either alone (n = 80) or combined with community health worker support (n = 80), in comparison to usual primary care (n = 40). Clinic-based counseling consists of 15 group and four individual lifestyle counseling sessions provided by health educators targeting behavior change in physical activity and dietary practices. Community health worker support includes seven home visits aimed at practical implementation of weight loss strategies within the person's home and neighborhood. The interventions use a framework based on Social Cognitive Theory, the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change, and techniques from previously tested lifestyle interventions. Application of the framework was culturally tailored based on past interventions in the same community and elsewhere, as well as a community needs and assets assessment. The interventions include a 12-month intensive phase followed by a 12-month maintenance phase. Participants are obese Spanish-speaking adults with at least one cardiovascular risk factor recruited from a community health center in a low-income neighborhood of San Mateo County, California. Follow-up assessments occur at 6, 12, and 24 months for the primary outcome of percent change in body mass index at 24 months. Secondary outcomes include specific cardiovascular risk factors, particularly blood pressure and fasting glucose levels. If successful, this study will provide evidence for broad implementation of obesity interventions in minority populations and guidance about the selection of strategies involving clinic-based case management and community-based community health worker support. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01242683
Knowledge activation versus sentence mapping when representing fictional characters' emotional states

Abstract We investigated the role that knowledge activation and sentence mapping play in how readers represent fictional characters' emotional states. The subjects read stories that described concrete actions, such as a main character stealing money from a store where his best friend worked and later learning that his friend had been fired. By manipulating the content of the stories (i.e. writing stories that implied different emotional states), we affected what emotional knowledge would be activated. Following each story, the subjects read a target sentence that contained an emotion word. By manipulating the emotion word in each target sentence (i.e. whether it matched vs mismatched the emotional state implied by the story), we affected how easily subjects could map the target sentence onto their developing mental structures. In Experiment 1, we further isolated the role of knowledge activation from the role of sentence mapping with a density manipulation. When the subjects read many emotional stories, t...
Cortical intercorrelations of temporal area volumes in schizophrenia.

Abstract Background Abnormal temporal connections with other cortical areas may underlie some of the most prominent cognitive deficits described in schizophrenia. In order to evaluate the relationship between temporal and other cortical regions in schizophrenia, we examined the intercorrelations of volumetric measures of gray and white matter for each Brodmann's area of the temporal lobe with volumes in the rest of the cortex in patients with schizophrenia and normal comparison subjects. Methods MR images were acquired in normal subjects ( n =46) and patients with schizophrenia ( n =106), divided into good-outcome ( n =52) and poor-outcome (Kraepelinian; n =54) subtypes; and correlational patterns between the volumes of individual Brodmann's areas were compared and examined in relation to outcome. Results Positive frontotemporal intercorrelations were significantly stronger while negative frontotemporal intercorrelations were weaker in schizophrenia patients as compared to normal subjects. Correlations between the right temporal pole and other temporal regions were significantly weaker in schizophrenia patients than in controls. When compared to normal controls and good-outcome patients, schizophrenia patients with poor outcomes showed a selective pattern of stronger gray matter correlations between the medial temporal vs. primary visual and between primary auditory vs. dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, all in the left hemisphere. Conclusions Strengthening of positive associations among the temporal and extratemporal (mainly frontal and occipital) regions as well as weakening of regional intercorrelations within the temporal lobe in patients appear to constitute the major differences of correlational patterns in schizophrenia patients and normal subjects. Present findings may be implicated in object recognition deficits seen in patients with schizophrenia, as well as in purportedly deficient spatial and semantic processing of both auditory and visual information that may be associated with poor outcome.
Expression of CD4 on peripheral blood granulocytes: a novel finding in a case of myelodysplastic syndrome in association with t(5;12)

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are associated with cell maturation defects that can manifest as abnormal surface antigen expression. We describe a patient with refractory anemia with excess blasts, who presented with infection and extensive dysplastic features in peripheral blood granulocytes. The granulocytes expressed CD11b, CD13, CD15, CD33, and CD43. The granulocytes also expressed CD4 antigen. Cytogenetic analysis showed a clonal t(5;12)(q33;p13). The patient improved on antibiotics with partial improvement in the dysplastic features. However, shortly after, the patient experienced paravertebral extramedullary blast transformation followed by a leukemia phase of acute monoblastic leukemia. The patient died a few days later. This is the first report describing anomalous expression of CD4 on granulocytes in MDS. Since the breakpoint on chromosome 12 is near the CD4 gene, which is mapped to 12p12, we hypothesize that dysregulation of the CD4 gene may have occurred resulting in its persistent expression on mature and maturing granulocytes.
Home Mechanical Ventilation in Ventilator-Dependent Children: Criteria, Outcome, and Health Organization

Most children with neuromuscular disease (NMD) require assistance with airway clearance and eventually with ventilation. NMDs can affect all major respiratory muscles, leading to the development of respiratory failure, which is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients affected by those conditions. Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) is a treatment for patients with respiratory dysfunction and is accomplished by an external interface and a positive-pressure ventilator. Adult intensive care has successfully used NPPV for many years to treat acute respiratory failure. Children with respiratory dysfunction are increasingly being treated with NPPV with the belief that it is a safe and effective alternative to invasive mechanical ventilation.
Effects of Soybean Leaf Extracts on Growth and Mortality of Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Larvae

Serial extracts of dried soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, leaves from the insect-resistant line PI 229358 were made with solvents of increasing polarity. Extracts, singly or in combination, were incorporated in an artificial diet medium fed to bollworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), larvae. The effects on bollworm growth and mortality of feeding intact soybean leaves were essentially reproduced by feeding these extracts. All extracts caused increased larval mortality. Larval deaths were associated with failure to complete larval-to-pupal metamorphosis. An extract containing water-soluble compounds slowed development. Implications for host plant resistance are described.
Sirtuins at the Breaking Point: SIRT6 in DNA Repair

Aging is the accumulation of unrepaired damage to cellular and organismal components over time. Damage to nuclear DNA likely contributes to the degenerative effects of aging; unlike other cellular constituents, nuclear DNA cannot be replaced [1]. A wide spectrum of DNA lesions and associated repair pathways exist [1]: non-helix distorting lesions, such as those induced by oxidative damage, are repaired via base excision repair (BER); whereas helix-distorting base changes, like those caused by UV, are fixed via nucleotide excision repair (NER) and its subpathways. DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) represent a particularly severe challenge to the cell; if left unrepaired these lesions can induce cell death, replicative senescence, or conversely promote oncogenic transformation. For this reason, cells have evolved multiple pathways to repair DSBs: classical non-homologous end-joining (C-NHEJ), homologous recombination (HR), and other pathways such as alternative NHEJ [2,3,4]. In this issue of Aging, workby Chua, McCord et al. suggests that SIRT6, a member of a protein family previously implicated in promoting longevity, may function at least in part via increasing efficacy of DNA repair.
The biopsychosocial milieu of type 2 diabetes: An exploratory study of the impact of social relationships on a chronic inflammatory disease

Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the association between psychosocial variables, biomarker hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), and immune modulatory cytokine mediators among diabetic patients in marital or committed long-term relationships.Method:This is a cross-sectional study of adult patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) presenting at a university-based ambulatory medical clinic. Social/interpersonal constructs were assessed using measures of dyadic adjustment, interpersonal sensitivity and social functioning, and expressed emotion. HbA1c and cytokines were measured from blood samples using standard laboratory tests. Associations of relational systems constructs with biomarkers were assessed using bivariate tests.Results:Dyadic adjustment was significantly associated with cytokine IL-8. Interpersonal relationship functioning was significantly associated with biomarker HbA1c, and cytokines TNF-α, and IL-1ra. Social functioning was significantly correlated with cytokines IL-17, IL-1ra, IL-2...
China's Energy Future: An Introductory Comment

(2011). China's Energy Future: An Introductory Comment. Eurasian Geography and Economics: Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 461-463.
Human pituitary growth hormone. 32. The primary structure of the hormone: revision.

The primary structure of human pituitary growth hormone has been reinvestigated. It was found that a segment of the sequence containing the single tryptophan residue was misplaced and that two amino acid residues must be added to the original 188 amino acids in the HGH molecule. In addition, the assignment of glutamine and asparagine residues has also been revised and the positions of two other residues have been corrected.
The effect of forward and backward implicit verbal chaining on paired-associate learning

The relative effect of A-B-C forward and backward associative chains, where B was an implicit term not appearing in the experiment, was investigated in a two-stage (X-A, X-C or X-C, X-A) paired-associate task. The results indicated significant stage 2 facilitation for forward but not for backward associative chains.
The Logarithmic Binomial Formula

(1992). The Logarithmic Binomial Formula. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 99, No. 7, pp. 641-648.
Lattice-Boltzmann Models of Xe + Flow Through Ion Thruster Optics

The lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM) is applied to modeling the flow in electric propulsion (EP) systems such as ion thrusters. Specifically investigated are issues that affect thruster operation like the back-flow of ions that can erode the optics and reduce engine life. Historically, the transport of mass, momentum, energy, subatomic particles, etc. and the complex multi-scale physics involved, have been modeled using Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC). While DSMC has achieved great success in EP models, its connection to Boltzmann’s equation for the molecular velocity distribution function and recent developments in LBM suggest an alternate mesoscale model using LBM. To model an EP system with LBM, the Boltzmann equation is coupled with an ! .
Reproductive, endocrine, and organ weight differences of swine selected for high or low serum cholesterol

Three generations of selection for 56-d blood cholesterol concentrations were used to establish low and high cholesterol lines of pigs in which cholesterol concentrations differed by 39% in the last generation. Litter size (number of fully formed pigs born per litter) diverged with each successive generation of selection and, at the third generation, litter size differed between the low and high line by two pigs (high line = 8.5 +/- .6; low line = 10.5 +/- .5; P < .05). A random selection of offspring (gilts, n = 109; boars, n = 46; barrows, n = 94) from the third generation and a control line maintained throughout the experiment were monitored for hormonal and anatomical relationships that might provide insight into the mechanisms that altered fecundity. Ovulation rate (number of corpora lutea) as determined on d 60 of pregnancy was increased in the low (n = 29) compared with the high cholesterol line (n = 38; 11.8 +/- .3 vs 9.8 +/- .3, respectively; P < .05), and litter size continued to be increased in the low cholesterol line (P < .05). No differences were noted between lines in kidney, ovarian, or total corpora lutea weight. Empty uterine weight and adrenal weight were increased in the high cholesterol line (P < .05) in randomly selected offspring of the third generation, and liver weight increased in the low line (P < .05). Associated with increased concentrations of cholesterol were increased serum concentrations of progesterone (gilts) and testosterone (boars) in the high cholesterol line (P < .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Non-linear Finite Element Analysis on Stacked Die Package Subjected to Integrated Vapor-Hygro-Thermal-Mechanical Stress

This paper examines the comprehensive effects of vapor pressure, hygroscopic swelling and thermal expansion on the reliability of stacked die package during soldering reflow by the finite element analysis. First, the moisture concentration distributions were obtained for preconditioning at MSL 1 as well as desorption at the reflow process. For the diffusion modeling, existing normalization approaches are only valid under constant temperature/humidity condition and cannot be extended to the reflow process which contains time-varying thermal loading. In this study, the internal source approach was adopted to overcome the concentration discontinuity at material interfaces during solder reflow. A micromechanics based vapor pressure model was used to predict the vapor pressure field based on the moisture concentration results from the diffusion analysis. Second, a comprehensive nonlinear finite element model was proposed to integrate the effects of vapor pressure, thermo-mechanical stress and hygro-mechanical stress with consideration of the non-uniform moisture distribution and the viscoelastic behavior of mold compound. The individual and integrated effects of vapor pressure, hygroscopic swelling and thermal expansion on warpage and stress distribution were investigated. Finally, a fracture mechanics based approach was used to study the thermal-moisture impact on the delamination of the stacked die package. The transient variations of the strain energy release rate during soldering reflow due to the vapor-hygro-thermal-mechanical stress were evaluated and compared under different crack lengths.
Clinical Relevance of Soluble HLA-I as Compared to b2-MicroglobulinLevels in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Hodgkin’s Disease.

Higher levels of b-2 microglobulin (b2-M) have been reported to correlate with poor outcome in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin’s disease (HD). However, b2-M is a subunit of the human leukocyte antigen-class I (HLA-I) molecule, which is composed of b2-M and the alpha heavy chain. Although soluble HLA-I (sHLA-I) protein has been detected in circulation and is believed to play a role in immunomodulation by inducing apoptosis in cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, the clinical relevance of sHLA-I levels in HD and NHL is not known. Here we report that serum sHLA-I levels are increased in NHL and HD. More importantly, levels of sHLA-I correlate with clinical behavior in NHL in a fashion similar to that of b2-M. In a multivariate model incorporating b2-M, sHLA-I, and IPI (International Prognostic Index), NHL patients with sHLA-I levels >312.60 mg/mL had significantly shorter survival than those with lower levels, independent of IPI score. Moreover, a model incorporating both sHLA-I (cut-point = 312.60 mg/mL) and b2-M (cut-point = 4.16 mg/L) levels were highly predictive of survival (Figure) in NHL patients. In contrast, in HD, b2-M levels correlated with clinical behavior whereas HLA-1 levels did not. These data not only establish the role of sHLA-I as an independent tumor marker in NHL that can be used to stratify patients, but also suggest that, in HD, b2-M and sHLA-I may reflect different processes. The role of sHLA-I as an immunomodulator may be responsible for its divergence from b2-M as an indicator of clinical behavior in HD. Further studies exploring the importance of this role in the biology of HD are needed.
Team-Based Learning: The Impact on Leadership Training and Development Engagement

Although the use of teams as an organizing strategy is popular in educational and training programs, very little research has examined the effectiveness of this strategy by taking a deeper look at ...
Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Stopping the Asian Carp and Other Nuisance Species: Cost Projections for Separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins Using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Inputs

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, released in 2014, evaluates strategies to lessen the risk of Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species transferring between these ecosystems. Due to the voluminous nature of the report and manner in which the results are presented, however, many important questions remain difficult to answer, such as: How do the costs of the different strategies differ; and How would the costs be distributed across various stakeholders? To help evaluate the results, this article uses the study’s many estimates, considerations of net present value, and other tools to show how the costs of the alternatives differ over a 50-year time period. This information can help inform policymakers about the best way to move forward with a cost-effective strategy to deal with aquatic nuisance species.Environmental Practice 17: 291–301 (2015)
On the efficacy of using proton beams for estimating neutron-induced soft error rates

This work investigates the feasibility of using high energy proton beams in lieu of, or to complement, broad energy spectrum neutron beams for accelerated testing of the cosmic component of terrestrial soft error rates (SER). Logic and memory devices manufactured in three recent technologies were tested at various proton facilities and their single event upset cross sections compared to soft error rates measured at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Linear energy transfer and soft error simulations were conducted to understand the limits of using proton beam facilities. Both simulation results and experimental data demonstrate that a good correlation between proton cross-section and LANSCE neutron SER can be established for tested devices and technologies.
The evolving genetic risk for sporadic ALS.

Objective: To estimate the genetic risk conferred by known amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)–associated genes to the pathogenesis of sporadic ALS (SALS) using variant allele frequencies combined with predicted variant pathogenicity. Methods: Whole exome sequencing and repeat expansion PCR of C9orf72 and ATXN2 were performed on 87 patients of European ancestry with SALS seen at the University of Utah. DNA variants that change the protein coding sequence of 31 ALS-associated genes were annotated to determine which were rare and deleterious as predicted by MetaSVM. The percentage of patients with SALS with a rare and deleterious variant or repeat expansion in an ALS-associated gene was calculated. An odds ratio analysis was performed comparing the burden of ALS-associated genes in patients with SALS vs 324 normal controls. Results: Nineteen rare nonsynonymous variants in an ALS-associated gene, 2 of which were found in 2 different individuals, were identified in 21 patients with SALS. Further, 5 deleterious C9orf72 and 2 ATXN2 repeat expansions were identified. A total of 17.2% of patients with SALS had a rare and deleterious variant or repeat expansion in an ALS-associated gene. The genetic burden of ALS-associated genes in patients with SALS as predicted by MetaSVM was significantly higher than in normal controls. Conclusions: Previous analyses have identified SALS-predisposing variants only in terms of their rarity in normal control populations. By incorporating variant pathogenicity as well as variant frequency, we demonstrated that the genetic risk contributed by these genes for SALS is substantially lower than previous estimates.
In this issue: Pragmatic approaches to population and clinical problems

This issue of Annals combines high-level population views with pragmatic, on-the-ground strategies for challenging problems. Mainous and colleagues examine population trends over more than 2 decades in prediabetes in non-obese people. They find that one-third of non-obese people have diabetes, and
Genetics of Bone Fat and Energy Regulation

The growing prevalence of osteoporosis and obesity has enabled investigators to explore new perspectives at several levels on the genetic determinants that regulate body composition, energy homeostasis, and bone remodeling. Regulation of bone and adipose tissue begins at the level of the common mesenchymal progenitor and extends to the systematic hormonal and central neuronal control over tissue remodeling and substrate utilization. To assess this complex interaction, animal models, and recent large genome wide investigations have been the major investigational tools. In respect to animal investigations, reverse and forward genetic studies have both been widely utilized. In particular, obesity and bone QTLs have been explored in great depth in mouse studies. Environmental determinants have generally used a high fat diet and diet induced obesity to define gene × environmental interactions. In contrast, approaches to the genetics of fat and bone in humans have utilized genome wide association studies led by large consortia to catalog human genetic variation accompanied by new technologies capable of genotyping millions of single nucleotide variants (SNVs). Notwithstanding, the genetic relationship between fat and bone appears to be much more complex than anticipated and additional studies are needed to clarify that interaction.
Immigrant legislation, across and within the United States:

State governments are now the principal source of immigrant legislation in the US. Existing research presents contradictory findings concerning the sources of pro- and anti-immigration state legislation. However, research has not adequately accounted for the multidimensional nature of immigrant legislation and the fact that many variables hypothesized to affect state legislation encompass both within-state, time-varying effects and time-invariant, cross-sectional effects. Measurement and research design strategies to address these problems are applied to a dataset of state immigrant legislation approved between 2005 and 2012. The findings are important because they show that partisan, demographic, and economic effects are often different within versus across states and may differently affect the volume versus the relative tenor of legislative output.