cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Obesity exacerbates chemically induced neurodegeneration

Obesity is a major risk factor associated with a variety of human disorders. While its involvement in disorders such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer have been well characterized, it remains to be determined if obesity has a detrimental effect on the nervous system. To address this issue we determined whether obesity serves as a risk factor for neurotoxicity. Model neurotoxicants, methamphetamine (METH) and kainic acid (KA), which are known to cause selective neurodegeneration of anatomically distinct areas of the brain, were evaluated using an animal model of obesity, the ob/ob mouse. Administration of METH and KA resulted in mortality among ob/ob mice but not among their lean littermates. While METH caused dopaminergic nerve terminal degeneration as indicated by decreased striatal dopamine (49%) and tyrosine hydroxylase protein (68%), as well as an increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein by 313% in the lean mice, these effects were exacerbated under the obese condition (96%, 86% and 602%, respectively). Similarly, a dosage of KA that did not increase glial fibrillary acidic protein in lean mice increased the hippocampal content of this protein (93%) in ob/ob mice. KA treatment resulted in extensive neuronal degeneration as determined by Fluoro-Jade B staining, decreased hippocampal microtubule-associated protein-2 immunoreactivity and increased reactive gliosis in ob/ob mice. The neurotoxic outcome in ob/ob mice remained exacerbated even when lean and ob/ob mice were dosed with METH or KA based only on a lean body mass. Administration of METH or KA resulted in up-regulation of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein-2 to a greater extent in the ob/ob mice, an effect known to reduce ATP yield and facilitate oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. These events may underlie the enhanced neurotoxicity seen in the obese mice. In summary, our results implicate obesity as a risk factor associated with chemical- and possibly disease-induced neurodegeneration.
Cytochemical characterization of the modified Guard procedure a regressive staining method for demonstrating chromosomal basic proteins. II. Substitution of dyes for biebrich scarlet.

A number of acidic dyes, including various fluorochromes, were substituted for biebrich scarlet in the modified Guard (1959) procedure, a regressive staining method which appears to demonstrate basic chromosomal proteins. These substitutions were made to test the possibility that dyes other than biebrich scarlet might provide advantages in sensitivity and/or contrast, or that more control could be exerted over the “differentiation” step in which solutions of phosphotungstic and phosphomolybdic acids (polyacids) are used.
Impact of wheat resistance on Russian wheat aphid and a parasitoid

Impact of wheat, Triticum aestivum L., resistance (resistant PI 137739 and PI 262660, and susceptible ‘Stephens’) on Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), the Russian wheat aphid, and the parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae (M'Intosh), was studied using varying densities of aphids (0,20, or 40 aphids per plant) and parasitoids (0,1, or 2 pairs per plant). Resistant lines were less damaged by aphid feeding than Stephens with leaf area, weight, and height reductions observed on Stephens. Plant resistance did not have an adverse affect on percentage of parasitism. Plant quality, indicated by leaf area, weight, and height, was lower when initial aphid density was 40 aphids per plant compared with 20 aphids per plant. Overall, the rate of Russian wheat aphid population increase was lower at 40 aphids per plant compared with 20 aphids per plant. Addition of a 2nd pair of D. rapae increased the percentage of parasitism on plants infested at an initial rate of 20 aphids per plant. Percentage of parasitism was higher when plants were infested initially with 20 aphids per plant than 40 aphids per plant. Plant resistance did not have any adverse effect on emergence time, sex ratio, and adult longevity of D. rapae Percentage of emergence of D. rapae was greater when emerging from aphids on resistant plants than on the susceptible wheat, Stephens, at 40 aphids per plant. Results indicated that D. rapae parasitism and PI 137739 and PI 262660 resistance were compatible tactics.
Investigating the effects of heat changes in an underground mine

Abstract The FMC Westvaco Trona Mine is located near Green River, Wyoming and has an annual production of 4.5 M tons. The underground mine has three active development panels and one longwall panel. The mining horizon is about 500 m below surface and strata liberates methane. Three surface-based blowing fans provide ventilation air. A ventilation survey and subsequent analysis was undertaken and a simulation model developed. Air heating during winter is essential to prevent freezing of pipelines and to lesser degree, for miner comfort. Air at all three intake shafts is heated using gas-fired heat exchangers. A strata heat study was conducted in one of the active panels to determine rock attributes. Tests included in-situ measurements of rock thermal conductivity and geothermal gradient. Ventsim ventilation software was used to aid the heat and contaminant simulation study. An exercise was also undertaken to gain some understanding of methane contaminant levels throughout the mine. It was further used to determine an adequate surface intake air heating rate and consequently the minimum natural gas consumption needed for winter intake air heating at the mine.
Synthetic Todorokite Produced by Microwave Heating: An Active Oxidation Catalyst

Abstract Microwave heating methods have been applied to the synthesis of a family of layered and tunnel-structured manganese oxide materials. These materials are known to interact strongly with microwave radiation, and thus pronounced effects on the microstucture might be expected. The work presented here is a study of the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of a one-dimensional tunnel-structured manganese oxide catalyst known as OMS-1 (octahedral molecular sieve). The synthetic methods employed in the production of OMS-1 include constant temperature aging, ion exchange, in situ coprecipitation, and hydrothermal treatment. Heating was done using conventional convection methods and microwave radiation to probe the effect of microwave radiation on the material characteristics. The products were examined using X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, determinations of the average manganese oxidation number, Auger spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermal stability studies, infrared spectroscopy, and surface area measurements. Catalytic activity was tested in the oxidative dehydrogenation reaction of ethylbenzene to styrene. The materials produced using microwave radiation were shown to have bulk characteristics similar to those prepared using conventional heating. However, the surface properties were shown to be different, resulting in different catalytic results. The differences in the properties and catalytic activity of the materials, as well as the implications of microwave heating as a synthetic tool, are discussed.
Selective surfaces and solar absorbers

Abstract This paper deals with the emission characteristics of the sun and artificial radiation sources, the absorbing and transmitting properties of materials, and how these properties of materials can be analyzed and used to advantage in solar energy collectors. The actual performance of these surfaces is predicted from spectral data and then compared with actual results obtained with artificial sources indoors and the sun as source outdoors.
Basic Clinical Radiobiology

4th ed, by M. Joiner and A. van der KogelLondon: Hodder ArnoldISBN10: 0340929669 and/or ISBN-13: 9780340929669 Hardback, 288 pp., $79.95.This latest edition of a well-known radiation biology text b...
Design Simulations for Droplet Generation and Particle Sorting Mimicking a Bio-Inspired Structure

In this study, the hydrodynamic and structural aspects of the NPC are explored with respect to droplet generation and selective sorting through a design concept and several simulations were carried out to investigate the feasibility.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Pathological upregulation of inner blood-retinal barrier Glut1 glucose transporter expression in diabetes mellitus

The pathological changes in the retinal microvasculature characteristic of diabetic retinopathy (DR) are the result of chronic exposure to elevated blood glucose. Since glucose entry into the microvascular endothelial cells comprising the inner blood-retinal barrier (BRB) is mediated by the GLUT1 glucose transporter, changes in GLUT1 expression on the inner BRB in long-standing diabetes mellitus may have a direct impact on the subsequent development of retinopathic changes. In the present study, quantitative immunogold electron microscopy for GLUT1 was employed on ultrathin cross-sections of postmortem retina specimens from 3 individuals with long-standing diabetes and minimal or no clinical retinopathy and from 2 non-diabetic individuals without ocular disorders. In the non-diabetic retinal capillaries, GLUT1 immunogold was distributed asymmetrically between the lumenal and ablumenal membranes with a lumenal-to-ablumenal ratio of 1 to 1.7. In the diabetic microvessels, a bimodal distribution pattern of GLUT1 immunoreactivity was observed. In 17 of 40 of the diabetic microvessels examined, the density and distribution of GLUT1 was no different from that of the non-diabetic vessels; however, in a subpopulation of the diabetic microvessels (23 of 40), a dramatic increase in GLUT1 immunoreactivity on the lumenal and albumenal membrane and in the cytoplasm was noted. On the lumenal membrane, the increased expression of immunoreactive GLUT1 was more than 18 times that of the non-diabetic microvessels. These findings demonstrate that localized upregulation of GLUT1 expression at the inner BRB occurs in long-standing diabetes mellitus with minimal or no clinical retinopathy and suggest that this upregulation may serve to amplify the deleterious effects of chronic hyperglycemia on the retinal microvasculature.
Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits advanced glycation end product-induced expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and matrix metalloproteinase-13 in human chondrocytes

The major risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA) is aging, but the mechanisms underlying this risk are only partly understood. Age-related accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) can activate chondrocytes and induce the production of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In the present study, we examined the effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on AGE-modified-BSA (AGE-BSA)-induced activation and production of TNFα and MMP-13 in human OA chondrocytes. Human chondrocytes were derived from OA cartilage by enzymatic digestion and stimulated with in vitro-generated AGE-BSA. Gene expression of TNFα and MMP-13 was measured by quantitative RT-PCR. TNFα protein in culture medium was determined using cytokine-specific ELISA. Western immunoblotting was used to analyze the MMP-13 production in the culture medium, phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and the activation of NF-κB. DNA binding activity of NF-κB p65 was determined using a highly sensitive and specific ELISA. IκB kinase (IKK) activity was determined using an in vitro kinase activity assay. MMP-13 activity in the culture medium was assayed by gelatin zymography. EGCG significantly decreased AGE-stimulated gene expression and production of TNFα and MMP-13 in human chondrocytes. The inhibitory effect of EGCG on the AGE-BSA-induced expression of TNFα and MMP-13 was mediated at least in part via suppression of p38-MAPK and JNK activation. In addition, EGCG inhibited the phosphorylating activity of IKKβ kinase in an in vitro activity assay and EGCG inhibited the AGE-mediated activation and DNA binding activity of NF-κB by suppressing the degradation of its inhibitory protein IκBα in the cytoplasm. These novel pharmacological actions of EGCG on AGE-BSA-stimulated human OA chondrocytes provide new suggestions that EGCG or EGCG-derived compounds may inhibit cartilage degradation by suppressing AGE-mediated activation and the catabolic response in human chondrocytes.
Smad3 Prevents β-Catenin Degradation and Facilitates β-Catenin Nuclear Translocation in Chondrocytes

Our previous study demonstrated that transforming growth factor (TGF)-β activates β-catenin signaling through Smad3 interaction with β-catenin in chondrocytes. In the present studies, we further investigated the detailed molecular mechanism of the cross-talk between TGF-β/Smad3 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. We found that C-terminal Smad3 interacted with both the N-terminal region and the middle region of β-catenin protein in a TGF-β-dependent manner. Both Smad3 and Smad4 were required for the interaction with β-catenin and protected β-catenin from an ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation. In addition, the formation of the Smad3-Smad4-β-catenin protein complex also mediated β-catenin nuclear translocation. This Smad3-mediated regulatory mechanism of β-catenin protein stability enhanced the activity of β-catenin to activate downstream target genes during chondrogenesis. Our findings demonstrate a novel mechanism between TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways during chondrocyte development.
Social Protest and Social Control

The impact of social control on political protestors is an important but neglected area of study. There are four major issues to consider: (1) who and what is controlled, (2) how control is attempted, (3) who controls, and (4) the effects of control on protest groups. If social control is defined narrowly as reaction to deviance (where deviance is the perceived infraction of a norm), agents of social control can be distinguished from those whom it is trying to win over, a movement's target group. There is, therefore, a triadic relationship among protest group, target group, and social control agents. One sees the effects of social control on social movements in four major areas: (1) individual attitudes, where control tends to encourage support (2) mobilization, which criminalization tends to inhibit; (3) goals and strategy, where control encourages more radical measures; (4) organization, where control weakens a movement. Finally, I wish to underline the symbolic aspects of social control and emphasize the importance of mutual perceptions.
Modeling of Multi-Layer Sandwich Type Structures Using a High-Order Plate Formulation

A general theory for the analysis of multiple layer plate assemblies consisting of interchanging high density, high stiffness layers and low density, low stiffness/compliant interface layers is presented. The high stiffness layers are modeled as generally orthotropic laminated composite plates, and the compliant interface layers are modeled as specially orthotropic solid layers only possessing stiffness in the thickness direction. The multiple layer plate theory includes the transverse flexibility of the compliant interface layers, and the formulation inherently includes a description of the global plate response as well as the local responses of the individual high stiffness and compliant layers. The capabilities of the theory are demonstrated through a numerical example involving the prediction of the complete deformation and stress fields in a 7-layer cantilever sandwich plate composed of 4 solid laminates interfaced by 3 compliant interface layers.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN A NATIVE SPITTLEBUG (HOMOPTERA: CERCOPIDAE) ON MONTEREY PINE AND AN INTRODUCED TREE PATHOGEN WHICH CAUSES PITCH CANKER DISEASE

Juvenile Monterey pines, Pinus radiata D. Don (Pinaceae), in a native stand on the Monterey Peninsula, California, exhibited wilted green shoots in the spring of 1996. The pitch canker fungus, Fusarium subglutinans (Wollenweb. & Reinking) P.E. Nelson, Toussoun & Marasas f.sp. pini, was subsequently isolated from 95% of these shoots. Spittle masses produced by Aphrophora canadensis Walley were observed on the symptomless shoots of many of these trees. The pitch canker fungus was isolated from the feeding sites of this insect on 55% of symptomless shoots, and from shoot sections adjacent to these feeding sites on 29% of the shoots. Shoots with spittlebugs feeding on them in May 1996 were more likely to develop pitch canker disease by September 1996 and March 1997 than shoots without spittlebugs. Shoots with spittle masses in March 1997 were as likely to develop pitch canker disease by May and August 1997 as shoots without spittle masses, but the origin of the infection was most likely where A. canadensis feeding had taken place. In a controlled test, the incidence of pitch canker on shoots of potted Monterey pines was dependent on the presence of a spittlebug and a spore suspension of the pathogen. Thus, both field observations and controlled studies show an association between native A. canadensis and the introduced pitch canker pathogen. The role of A. canadensis in the epidemiology of pitch canker disease remains to be determined.
Leaching from solid waste landfills part I: Modelling

Abstract A mathematical model haa been developed as a generalized computer program to simulate leaching from solid waste landfills. This model was based on the unsaturated flow equation, the solute transport equation, the water balance equation and incorporating the equations of chemical and microbial processes. Good agreement is obtained with the experimental data reported by Wigh and Brunner (1). This model can be applied to evaluate leachate quantity, predict the strength of various contaminants in leachate, and design and avoid failure of the leachate collection system.
A Novel Class of Lipoprotein Lipase-Sensitive Molecules Mediates Toll-Like Receptor 2 Activation by Porphyromonas gingivalis

ABSTRACT Infection by the chronic periodontitis-associated pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis activates a Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) response that triggers inflammation in the host but also promotes bacterial persistence. Our aim was to define ligands on the surfaces of intact P. gingivalis cells that determine its ability to activate TLR2. Molecules previously reported as TLR2 agonists include lipopolysaccharide (LPS), fimbriae, the lipoprotein PG1828, and phosphoceramides. We demonstrate that these molecules do not comprise the major factors responsible for stimulating TLR2 by whole bacterial cells. First, P. gingivalis mutants devoid of the reported protein agonists, PG1828 and fimbriae, activate TLR2 as strongly as the wild type. Second, two-phase extraction of whole bacteria resulted in a preponderance of TLR2 agonist activity partitioning to the hydrophilic phase, demonstrating that phosphoceramides are not a major TLR2 ligand. Third, analysis of LPS revealed that TLR2 activation is independent of lipid A structural variants. Instead, activation of TLR2 and TLR2/TLR1 by LPS is in large part due to copurifying molecules that are sensitive to the action of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase. Strikingly, intact P. gingivalis bacterial cells treated with lipoprotein lipase were attenuated in their ability to activate TLR2. We propose that a novel class of molecules comprised by lipoproteins constitutes the major determinants that confer to P. gingivalis the ability to stimulate TLR2 signaling.
Targeting Src in breast cancer

The clinical benefit of blocking oncogenic pathways in breast cancer and other malignancies has validated this approach and ushered in the era of molecularly targeted therapeutics. Src and its family members make up the largest group of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases. In laboratory models, these proteins have been shown to play a critical role in cellular growth and proliferation, angiogenesis, and invasion and metastasis. In addition, Src plays an important role in osteoclast activation and bone resorption, which are often aberrantly activated in the setting of bone metastases. Given its role in these functions, blocking Src kinase would be predicted to have a broad therapeutic benefit in patients with Src-dependent cancers. In this review, we highlight the rationale for targeting Src in breast cancer, including laboratory and clinical data implicating it in these signaling pathways, and review small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors currently in clinical development. Identifying which patients should be selected for Src-directed therapies will be important to the clinical success of these agents. Importantly, recent preclinical data support a role for this class of inhibitors in basal-type/triple-negative breast cancer, which represents a group of patients with limited effective treatment options.
Compiler Optimization Pass Visualization: The Procedural Abstraction Case

There is an active research community concentrating on visualizations of algorithms taught in CS1 and CS2 courses. These visualizations can help students to create concrete visual images of the algorithms and their underlying concepts. Not only fundamental algorithms can be visualized, but also algorithms used in compilers. Visualizations that exist for use in compiler courses are mostly for the frontend, though. In this article we propose the use of visualizations for understanding optimization passes. Optimization passes are complex algorithms that operate on large amounts of code and it is not obvious when, where and how often each optimization is applied to the code. We show in this article how visualizations for a procedural abstraction optimization pass can capture the effect of all instances of this optimization over an entire program to make it easier for students to comprehend procedural abstraction.
A real-time fault tolerant intra-body network

This paper designs an intra-body network (IBN) of nodes, consisting of small sensors and processing elements (SPEs) placed at different locations within the body and a personal digital assistant placed externally but in close proximity to the body. The sensors measure specific physiological attributes such as electrophysiological and biochemical changes in the myocardium (action potentials of cells), glucose level, blood viscosity etc. and forward them to the processing element. Communication protocols for configuration and data access protocols are proposed. The privacy of the IBN data, fault tolerance and real-time data acquisition are addressed.
A Comparison of the Household Work of Married Females: The Mid‐1920s and the Late 1960s

The current view ofthe time spent in household work by marriedfemales is that it has not changed during the 20th century. One much quoted study shows the workday of thefull-time housewife increasingfrom the mid-1920s to the late 1960s. This article uses the data thatform the basis of such judgments to reestimate the time married women in the mid-1 920s and the late 1960s spent in household work. Revised estimates show that the household workday of married women fell from 7.35 hours per day to 6.31 hours in 1967–1968, a decline of 14%. The household workday offull-time housewives fell by 7.5% to about 6.84 hours per day, whereas that of employed married womenfell to 5.13 hours per day. Of the components of household workfood preparation and cleanup declined the most, whereas the time devoted to marketing and management rose.
Implementation and Sustainability of an Evidence-Based Program: Lessons Learned from the Prism Applied to "First Step to Success".

Although numerous studies address the efficacy of school-based interventions, fewer focus on how to support sustainability of interventions from the perspective of participants. To address this research gap, we use the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model to examine how the characteristics of an evidence-based program interact with those of participants (i.e., students, parents, educators) to influence program implementation and continuation. Specifically, we consider lessons learned in one site of the national effectiveness study of First Step to Success which sustained implementation in a majority of participating schools after the study ceased. First, we analyze implementation fidelity and its effects on students’ behavioral and academic outcome data. Then, we analyze focus group and interview data collected from participants 2 years after initial implementation to consider contextual factors associated with continued program success, including (a) the nature of the intervention, (...
NRC on Global Change

The News & Comment article “Global change fights off a chill” by Andrew Lawler (12 June, p. [1682][1]) provides a good summary of the recent National Research Council (NRC) report ([1][2]) by the U.S. Committee on Global Change Research and the Board on Sustainable Development. The NRC report calls for a refocus of U.S. global change research in response to the “impressive array of scientific accomplishments” and on the evolution of federal policies over the last decade of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's (USGCRP's) existence. The NRC report justifiably bemoans the recent deterioration of surface-based data collection programs. The report also dwells on the allocation of funds among the various federal agencies and scientific approaches in the USGCRP. A pie chart in the News article shows three-quarters of the total USGCRP budget going to NASA, and the NRC report states that 61% of the USGCRP budget supports space-based observations, while “only 11% of USGCRP observations [were] devoted to in situ measurements.” The implication is that NASA's part could be used more effectively elsewhere in the USGCRP for surface-based studies. Such comparisons ignore the fact that NASA's Earth observation programs serve other national interests. Over half of what USGCRP calls its budget is being used to build an infrastructure of space-based, global, monitoring systems for scientific, human welfare, and commercial purposes. The NRC report admits that if funding for Earth observations from space were cut, the transfer of funds from NASA space missions to other agencies within the USGCRP would be “unlikely.” We agree that the allocation of limited resources requires careful consideration. Surface measurements provide unique and crucial data, but satellites are the only practical way of getting consistently calibrated, real-time observations over the whole globe. Both are needed to achieve a useful understanding of the Earth System. We also believe the NRC report and the News article may give the wrong impression that all of NASA's research is space-based when, in fact, most of NASA's global change science funding (which is about 14% of the total USGCRP budget) goes to independent research institutions to do in situ studies. Finally, it seems unfortunate that, given NASA's role in the USGCRP, no NASA scientists were on the NRC report committees. 1. [↵][3]Overview Global Environmental Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade (Academic Press, Washington, DC, 1998). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.280.5370.1682 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text"
Three-photon excitation of hydrogen Rydberg states

A three-photon process using radiation at 2430 and 3660 A and with a 1s-2s two-photon resonance is used to excite atomic hydrogen from the ground state to Rydberg states of high principal quantum number. Collision-induced ionization is used to monitor the excitation.
Sputum Induction Compared With Bronchoalveolar Lavage by Ballard Catheter To Diagnose Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia

Specimens from sputum induction (SI) are often of insufficient volume or have poor diagnostic yield for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). The Ballard catheter for bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a disposable BAL device which is passed transnasally into the airway and wedged by sensation. Thirty consecutive episodes (21 inpatient and 9 outpatient) in 28 patients positive for HIV (15 with AIDS) were studied with SI and BAL at a tertiary-care university hospital. Six SIs yielded no specimen, and six were judged inadequate for investigation by the laboratory. The BAL return averaged 53 ml (range, 10 to 77 ml), and all specimens were excellent quality based on microscopy. Of the 10 patients (33 percent) who were PCP-positive on BAL, only 2 (6.9 percent) were detected by SI (McNemar p = 0.0078). Of 12 patients in whom SI was unobtainable or inadequate, 6 were positive for PCP on BAL. Two adequate specimens from SI were negative, hut BAL specimens were positive for PCP. No patients had specimens that were positive for PCP on SI who had negative BAL specimens. The adequacy of the specimen and the PCP diagnosis with BAL were statistically superior to SI (McNemar p = 0.007). The Ballard BAL catheter allows easy transnasal access to the airway and safe BAL, with a statistically significant superior yield of specimens when compared to SI.
Application of Guided Wave Technology and DSP Techniques for Fault Detection and Characterization

Nondestructive materials evaluation is the science of identifying the physical and mechanical properties of a piece of material without altering its end-use capabilities and using this information to make decisions regarding appropriate applications [7]. Most importantly, the detection and characterization of new, or existing, faults can provide important insight into the integrity of a given structure or material. Currently, a wide variety of research efforts are under investigation for nondestructive inspection methods for use in automatic fault monitoring of mechanical systems. This paper focuses upon the development of a collection of signal processing algorithms, enabling fault detection and characterization. A combination of principal component analysis, Fourier transform, and self-organizing map are employed to identify the patterns that are present in the data sets. Through the use of magnetostrictive (MsS) and guided wave technology, a set of algorithms is developed to reliably detect fault presence, and discriminate between different fault orientations and sizes.
Mesocortical vs nigrostriatal dopamine uptake in isolated fighting mice

Abstract Preferential uptake of dopamine occurred in mesocortical vs striatal synaptosomes obtained from acutely fighting isolated male ICR mice. Specifically, bothK m and V m ax were significantly increased in the prefrontal cortex but not the caudate-putamen. The findings are similar to selective changes in mesocortical activity produced by various ‘affective’ stimuli as reported by others and they signal that higher DA emotive centers are importantly involved in agonistic behavior.
NATURAL INHIBITOR FROM CANDIDA ALBICANS BLOCKS RELEASE OF AZUROPHIL AND SPECIFIC GRANULE CONTENTS BY CHEMOTACTIC PEPTIDE-STIMULATED HUMAN NEUTROPHILS

A product released by Candida albicans hyphae which was previously determined to block the neutrophil respiratory burst also inhibited the degranulation response elicited by the chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP). When neutrophils were incubated with 100 micrograms of this Candida hyphal inhibitory product (CHIP) per ml and stimulated with 1,000 nM FMLP, release of the azurophil granule marker beta-glucuronidase and the specific granule marker lactoferrin was decreased to 31.2 +/- 5.7 and 35.7 +/- 5.3% of control, respectively. Inhibition was concentration dependent, with a half-maximal reduction of beta-glucuronidase and lactoferrin release being induced by 4 and 1 micrograms of CHIP per ml, respectively. In contrast to these striking alterations in response to FMLP, CHIP had no significant effect on lactoferrin release stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate. Moreover, actin polymerization, which has been suggested to be involved in regulation of degranulation, was unaffected by CHIP whether the neutrophils were stimulated by FMLP or phorbol myristate acetate. The selectivity of inhibition of neutrophil degranulation thus provides additional confirmation that CHIP is a useful agent for exploring human neutrophil activation pathways.
Normal-Modes-Based Prediction of Protein Conformational Changes Guided by Distance Constraints

Based on the elastic network model, we develop a novel method that predicts the conformational change of a protein complex given its initial-state crystal structure together with a small set of pairwise distance constraints for the end state. The predicted conformational change, which is a linear combination of multiple low-frequency normal modes that are solved from the elastic network model, is computed as a response displacement induced by a perturbation to the system Hamiltonian that incorporates the given distance constraints. For a list of test cases, we find that the computed response displacement overlaps significantly with the measured conformational changes, when only a handful of pairwise constraints are used (≤10). The performance of this method is also shown to be robust against different choices of pairwise distance constraints and errors in their values. This method, if supplied with the experimentally derived distance constraints (for example, from NMR or other spectroscopic measurements), can be applied to the analysis of protein conformational changes toward transient states.
A Study of Epitaxial Films of Bcc Nickel on Fe{001} With Leed Intensity Analysis and Total Energy Band Calculations

Analysis of LEED intensities of thin films of Ni grown epitaxially on bcc Fe{001} establishes that the structure is bcc up to six layers, but with a contraction of 5% of the first layer spacing and expansion of 5% of the second layer spacing. At thicknesses above six layers there is a gradual change to a new surface and bulk structure with increasing disorder. Spin-polarized total-energy band calculations show that the bcc Ni film is stretched 1.4% from its equilibrium value and thereby changed from nonmagnetic to ferromagnetic. The calculated results on stable and metastable phases of Fe, Co, Ni and Cu show that the equilibrium lattice parameters and differences in binding energies favor mutual epitaxy for any bcc or fcc pair. There are six pairs in which a possible metastable phase is grown epitaxially on a stable substrate.
18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, aging, and apolipoprotein E genotype in cognitively normal persons

Abstract Our objective was to examine associations between glucose metabolism, as measured by 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET), and age and to evaluate the impact of carriage of an apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) e4 allele on glucose metabolism and on the associations between glucose metabolism and age. We studied 806 cognitively normal (CN) and 70 amyloid-imaging-positive cognitively impaired participants (35 with mild cognitive impairment and 35 with Alzheimer's disease [AD] dementia) from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and an ancillary study who had undergone structural MRI, FDG PET, and 11 C-Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET. Using partial volume corrected and uncorrected FDG PET glucose uptake ratios, we evaluated associations of regional FDG ratios with age and carriage of an APOE e4 allele in CN participants between the ages of 30 and 95 years, and compared those findings with the cognitively impaired participants. In region-of-interest (ROI) analyses, we found modest but statistically significant declines in FDG ratio in most cortical and subcortical regions as a function of age. We also found a main effect of APOE e4 genotype on FDG ratio, with greater uptake in e4 noncarriers compared with carriers but only in the posterior cingulate and/or precuneus, lateral parietal, and AD-signature meta-ROI. The latter consisted of voxels from posterior cingulate and/or precuneus, lateral parietal, and inferior temporal. In age- and sex-matched CN participants the magnitude of the difference in partial volume corrected FDG ratio in the AD-signature meta-ROI for APOE e4 carriers compared with noncarriers was about 4 times smaller than the magnitude of the difference between age- and sex-matched elderly APOE e4 carrier CN compared with AD dementia participants. In an analysis in participants older than 70 years (31.3% of whom had elevated PiB), there was no interaction between PiB status and APOE e4 genotype with respect to glucose metabolism. Glucose metabolism declines with age in many brain regions. Carriage of an APOE e4 allele was associated with reductions in FDG ratio in the posterior cingulate and/or precuneus, lateral parietal, and AD-signature ROIs, and there was no interaction between age and APOE e4 status. The posterior cingulate and/or precuneus and lateral parietal regions have a unique vulnerability to reductions in glucose metabolic rate as a function both of age and carriage of an APOE e4 allele.
MARC: A Many-Core Approach to Reconfigurable Computing

We present a Many-core Approach to Reconfigurable Computing (MARC), enabling efficient high-performance computing for applications expressed using parallel programming models such as OpenCL. The MARC system exploits abundant special FPGA resources such as distributed block memories and DSP blocks to implement complete single-chip high efficiency many-core micro architectures. The key benefits of MARC are that it (i) allows programmers to easily express parallelism through the API defined in a high-level programming language, (ii) supports coarse-grain multithreading and dataflow-style fine-grain threading while permitting bit-level resource control, and (iii) greatly reduces the effort required to re-purpose the hardware system for different algorithms or different applications. A MARC prototype machine with 48 processing nodes was implemented using a Virtex-5 (XCV5LX155T-2) FPGA for a well known Bayesian network inference problem. We compare the runtime of the MARC machine against a manually optimized implementation. With fully synthesized application-specific processing cores, our MARC machine comes within a factor of 3 of the performance of a fully optimized FPGA solution but with a considerable reduction in development effort and a significant increase in retarget ability.
Leadership Of Global Carbon Market

Carbon credits trading and the need to reduce carbon emissions are slowly being accepted as new realities of global business. A number of institutions played crucial role in developing the global carbon market. The World Bank Group, the World Resource Institute, the Institutional Investor’s Group on Climate Change, and the Carbon Disclosure Project are some of the pioneers in developing the global carbon industry. The United States government did not assume the leadership role of the global carbon market as expected by world governments and corporations. The purpose of this study is to analyze the United States government’s position vis-a-vis the global carbon market and explore the leadership role played by other global institutions.
Domain Reduction Method for Periodic Nanostructure Modeling: Gold Nanorods, Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Applications

A domain-reduction approach for the simulation of one- and two-dimensional nanocrystalline structures is demonstrated. In this approach, the domain of interest is partitioned into coarse and fine scale regions and the coupling between the two is implemented through a multiscale interfacial boundary condition. The atomistic simulation is used in the fine scale region, while the discrete Fourier transform is applied to the coarse scale region to yield a compact Green’s function formulation that represents the effects of the coarse scale domain upon the fine/coarse scale interface. This approach facilitates the simulations for the fine scale, without the requirement to simulate the entire coarse scale domain. Robustness of the proposed domain-reduction method is demonstrated via comparison and verification of the results with benchmark data from fully atomistic simulations. Demonstrated applications include deformation of crystalline Au (111) nanorods, CNT bending and buckling, and graphene nanoindentation.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Lifetimes of Triplet Dissolved Natural Organic Matter (DOM) and the Effect of NaBH4 Reduction on Singlet Oxygen Quantum Yields: Implications for DOM Photophysics

The natural lifetimes of triplet dissolved organic matter (3DOM*) were determined by an O2 saturation kinetics study of singlet oxygen quantum yields (Φ1O2) in buffered D2O. At least two distinct 3DOM* pools are present, and the observed lifetime range (∼20 to 80 μs) leads to a dependence of Φ1O2 on O2 concentrations between 29 and 290 μM. Thus, steady-state 1O2 concentrations will depend on [O2] in natural waters. The lifetimes are essentially identical for DOM samples of different origins and do not vary with excitation wavelength. However, Φ1O2 varies greatly between samples and decreases with excitation wavelength. These data strongly suggest that 3DOM* quantum yields decrease with excitation wavelength, which gives rise to the Φ1O2 variation. Borohydride reduction of several samples in both D2O and H2O lowers the absorbance and 1O2 production rates, but it does not alter Φ1O2. This is consistent with a model in which 1O2 sensitizing chromophores are borohydride reducible groups in DOM, such as aromat...
Magnetoelectric hexaferrite thin film growth on oxide conductive layer for applications at low voltages

Abstract Magnetoelectric (ME) M-type hexaferrite thin films were deposited on conductive oxide layer of Indium–Tin Oxide (ITO) in order to lower applied voltages to observe ME effects at room temperature. The thin film of ME hexaferrites, SrCo 2 Ti 2 Fe 8 O 19 /ITO buffer layer, were deposited on sapphire substrate using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique. The film exhibited ME effects as confirmed by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) in voltages as low as 0.5 V. Without the oxide conductive layer the required voltages to observe ME effects were typically 500 V and higher. The thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, and ferromagnetic resonance. We measured saturation magnetization of 1064 G, and coercive field of 20 Oe for these thin films. The change rate in remanence magnetization was measured with the application of DC voltage at room temperature and it gave rise to changes in remanence in the order of 15% with the application of only 0.5 V (DC voltage). We deduced a ME coupling, α , of 5×10 −10 s m −1 in SrCo 2 Ti 2 Fe 8 O 19 thin films.
Modeling Modes of Hunter-Gatherer Food Storage

Analyses of the capacity and rates of different acorn storage techniques employed by the Western Mono of California’s Sierra Nevada during the very late Holocene indicate hunter-gatherers store food in at least three main modes: centralplace storage, dispersed caching, and dispersed bulk caching. The advantage of caching modes over central-place ones is that they entail faster storage rates and thus the chance to maximize storage capacity when seasonality and scheduling con flicts limit storing opportunities. They also result in predictable stores of acorn separate from winter population aggrega tions but oftentimes near seasonally occupied camps. Central-place storage thus appears most directly related to coping with single-year seasonal variability in environmental productivity and sedentary overwintering strategies; caching, and especially bulk caching, with multi-year environmental unpredictability, overwintering and seasonal residential moves. Stor age thus appears to generally develop as a response to seasonality and unpredictable environmental productivity, but its various forms are conditioned mainly by how they articulate with different mobility types. Complex Mono storage behav iors, however, were associated with regionally low population densities and relatively uncomplicated social structures nonetheless characterized by chiefs who maintained their positions by throwing feasts of stored acorn. The connections between storage, population density, and sociocultural complexity thus appear less direct and predicated on specific sociopo litical circumstance. Recognizing different modes of hunter-gatherer storage is consequently critical to assessing the roles ecology, mobility, group size, and social distinctions play in the development of disparate storage behaviors.
Evaluating and Improving Cloud Processes in the Multi-Scale Modeling Framework

The research performed under this grant was intended to improve the embedded cloud model in the Multi-scale Modeling Framework (MMF) for convective clouds by using a 2-moment microphysics scheme rather than the single moment scheme used in all the MMF runs to date. The technical report and associated documents describe the results of testing the cloud resolving model with fixed boundary conditions and evaluation of model results with data. The overarching conclusion is that such model evaluations are problematic because errors in the forcing fields control the results so strongly that variations in parameterization values cannot be usefully constrained
Symbolic Computation of Quantities Associated With Time-Periodic Dynamical Systems

Many dynamical systems can be modeled by a set of linear/nonlinear ordinary differential equations with periodic time-varying coefficients. The state transition matrix Φ(t,α) associated with the linear part of the equation can be expressed in terms of the periodic Lyapunov-Floquet transformation matrix Q(t,α) and a time-invariant matrix R(α). Computation of Q(t,α) and R(α) in a symbolic form as a function of system parameters α is of paramount importance in stability, bifurcation analysis, and control system design. In the past, a methodology has been presented for computing Φ(t,α) in a symbolic form, however Q(t,α) and R(α) have never been calculated in a symbolic form. Since Q(t,α) and R(α) were available only in numerical forms, general results for parameter unfolding and control system design could not be obtained in the entire parameter space. In this work a technique for symbolic computation of Q(t,α), and R(α) matrices is presented. First, Φ(t,α) is computed symbolically using the shifted Chebyshev polynomials and Picard iteration method as suggested in the literature. Then R(α) is computed using the Gaussian quadrature integral formula. Finally Q(t,α) is computed using the matrix exponential summation method. Using Mathematica, this approach has successfully been applied to the well-known Mathieu equation and a four dimensional time-periodic system in order to demonstrate the applications of the proposed method to linear as well as nonlinear problems.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
The International Court of Justice and the Armenian Genocide

The Ottoman Empire’s massacre of Armenians in 1915–16 is one of the early genocides of the 20th century.2 Suggestions about how to provide legal accountability to the Armenians range from the filing of lawsuits in municipal courts,3 to the establishment of a claims process similar to that for victims of the Nazi Holocaust,4 to the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission like that established in South Africa to address apartheid.5
Neodymium YAG Laser for Malignant Tumors of the Esophagus, Stomach and Duodenum

The management of patients with advanced malignant tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract causing bleeding and/or obstruction is often difficult. 66 patients, 24 with a lesion of the esophagus, 39 of the stomach and 3 of ampulla and descending duodenum, who were treated with the Neodymium YAG LASER, are the subject of this paper.
The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Driving While Intoxicated Recidivism

This longitudinal study examined differences in driving while intoxicated (DWI) recidivism among defendants with multiple DWI offenses after receiving a 16-week cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) p...