cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Citrus in Brazil

The Citrus Engineering Conference Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is to be commended in choosing this timely subject, Citrus in Brazil.As most of you know, and as this paper will confirm, Brazil is second only to Florida in the production of frozen concentrated orange juice.One of the essential components of an effective marketing program is to know your competition so that effective strategies may be developed.The purpose of this presentation is to give you an overview of citrus in Brazil and its relationship to the Florida industry.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
How Are Ocular Signs and Symptoms of Dry Eye Associated With Depression in Women With and Without Sjögren Syndrome

Abstract Purpose To determine whether ocular phenotypic features of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) and/or participant-reported symptoms of dry eye disease are associated with depression in women participants enrolled in the Sjogren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance (SICCA). Design Cross-sectional study. Methods Women enrolled in the SICCA registry from 9 international research sites. Participants met at least one of five inclusion criteria for registry enrollment (including complaints of dry eyes or dry mouth, a previous diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome (SS), abnormal serology (positive anti-Sjogren's syndrome-related antigen A and/or B (anti-SSA and/or anti-SSB), or elevated anti-nuclear antibody and rheumatoid factor), bilateral parotid gland enlargement, or multiple dental caries). At baseline, participants had oral, ocular, and rheumatologic examination, blood and saliva collection, and a labial salivary gland biopsy (LSGB). They also completed an interview and questionnaires including assessment of depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Univariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between depression and demographic characteristics, participant-reported health, phenotypic features of Sjogren's syndrome, and participant-reported symptoms. Mixed effects modeling was performed to determine if phenotypic features of KCS and/or participant-reported symptoms of dry eye disease were associated with depression, controlling for health, age, country or residence, and gender and allowing for non-independence within geographic site. Results Dry eye complaints produced a 1.82-fold (95% CI 1.38-2.40) higher odds of having depression compared to being symptom-free ( p p Conclusions Participant-reported eye symptoms, particularly specific ocular sensations such as burning, were found to be positively associated with individual American College of Rheumatology/EUropean Union League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) SS criteria items.
Design and Comparative Analysis of Spintronic Memories Based on Current and Voltage Driven Switching

Spin transfer torque (STT)-based switching of magnetic random access memories (MRAMs) has stimulated considerable research interest in recent years. The nonvolatility of STT-MRAMs, high areal density, and low static power dissipation makes them a strong contender for possible replacement of conventional silicon-based memories. However, a major bottleneck associated with STT-MRAMs is their high write current requirement. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the high write current of the STT switching mechanism can be improved by using other magnetic switching techniques like voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy, spin Hall effect, and magnetoelectric effect. Interestingly, each of these new physics increases the design space to be explored and presents interesting tradeoffs with respect to read and write mechanisms. It is, therefore, important to analyze these devices with respect to their readability, writability, and areal density in a unified framework that is based on the state-of-the-art experimental results. Toward that end, in this paper, we present an overview of various physics underlying these magnetic memories and discuss associated bit-cell circuitry. Furthermore, we present a holistic comparative analysis based on detailed numerical simulations highlighting the various design tradeoffs.
Foundations in Public Health Law

Government's principal obligation is to ensure the health and welfare of its population. It does so through the enactment and enforcement of laws designed to create the conditions necessary for citizens to lead healthy, safe lives. This article explores the ways in which law can be used as a tool for improving the health of a society by creating public health authorities, defining their powers, and denoting the means by which those powers can be used. In addition, the authors offer a definition of public health law, focusing on the characteristics that make it different from other areas of law.
A Novel Experimental Design for Examining Bryophyte Response to Increased Ultraviolet Radiation

Bryophytes were among the earliest colonizers of terrestrial environs, and despite their interesting life histories and population dynamics, they are rarely used in undergraduate introductory biology labs. In an inquiry-based laboratory exercise for introductory biology, students implement a controlled experiment to investigate effects of increased ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure on liverwort gemmae. The exercise integrates impacts of climate change on plant populations with experimental design and liverwort ecology. It uses a readily available and easily propagated thallose liverwort. Liverworts reproduce both sexually and asexually, but asexual reproduction is imperative for population persistence. In the laboratory exercise, students explore how the environment impacts colonization of asexual propagules using a novel design that underlines the importance of randomization and introduces basic statistical techniques. The experiment can be completed in two, 2-hour laboratory periods and concepts and techniques are transferrable to a variety of learning environments. After the first implementation of this laboratory exercise, the majority of students agreed that they learned more about bryophytes, experimental methods, and reporting statistics in lab reports.
Surgical Interventions for the Management of Obesity

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. In the United States, it is estimated that 64% of all adults are overweight or obese (1). Furthermore, 4.7% are extremely (morbidly) obese, defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2. This means that the number of extremely obese adults in the United States has reached a staggering 14 to 16 million people. The impact of obesity is not limited to the United States but is spreading worldwide. Globally, the prevalence of overweight/obesity was recently estimated at 1.7 billion people (2). This accounts for more than 2.5 million deaths per year (3). This high prevalence is not limited to adults, as there is a growing epidemic of overweight adolescents.
Small animal, positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging system based on a clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner: evaluation of basic imaging performance.

Development of advanced preclinical imaging techniques has had an important impact on the field of biomedical research, with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging the most mature of these efforts. Developers of preclinical PET scanners have joined the recent multimodality imaging trend by combining PET imaging with other modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our group has developed a combined PET-MRI insert for the imaging of animals up to the size of rats in a clinical 3T MRI scanner. The system utilizes a sequential scanner configuration instead of the more common coplanar geometry. The PET component of the system consists of a ring of 12 liquid-cooled, SiPM-based detector modules ( diameter = 15.2 cm ). System performance was evaluated with the NEMA NU 4-2008 protocol. Spatial resolution is ∼ 1.71 mm 5 cm from the center of the field-of-view measured from single-slice rebinned filtered backprojection-reconstructed images. Peak noise equivalent count rate is 17.7 kcps at 8.5 MBq; peak sensitivity is 2.9%. The MRI component of the system is composed of a 12-cm-diameter birdcage transmit/receive coil with a dual-preamplifier interface possessing very low noise preamplifiers. System performance was evaluated using American College of Radiology-based methods. Image homogeneity is 99%; the ghosting ratio is 0.0054. The signal-to-noise ratio is 95 and spatial resolution is ∼ 0.25 mm . There was no discernable cross-modality interference.
Clinicopathological, immunophenotypic and genetic studies of mediastinal paragangliomas†.

Objectives Paragangliomas have unique features in the mediastinum, in part due to their location. Because of their paucity, they have not been thoroughly investigated. We studied the clinical, pathological, immunohistochemical and molecular features of mediastinal paragangliomas. Methods Immunohistochemistry, next-generation sequencing mutation panel and the Oncoscan assay were performed. Results Twenty-four patients with mediastinal paraganglioma (7 men, 29.2%) had a median age of 45.5 years (19.8-72.2). Twenty-one (87.5%) paragangliomas were completely resected. Six (of 24, 25.0%) tumours were considered metastatic. Mitotic activity occurred in 11 (of 24, 45.8%) paragangliomas. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) (n = 23) was expressed in 6 (26%) patients in 10% (n = 2) and 1% (n = 4) of tumour cells, respectively. SDHB expression was lost in 19 (of 22, 86.4%) cases. ATRX expression was lost in 11 (of 23, 47.8%) cases. Next-generation sequencing revealed a single pathogenic mutation in 10 (of 19) specimens including SDHB (n = 4), SDHD (n = 6), SDHC (n = 1), ATRX (n = 1), and ≥2 mutations in 2 cases [SDHC and TERT (n = 1); SDHB, ATRX and TP53 (n = 1)]. Germline mutation analysis revealed the same succinate dehydrogenase mutation (or lack thereof) as identified in the paraganglioma in 11 (of 12) cases. During a median follow-up (n = 21) of 4.8 years (0.8-14.9), 3 patients developed metastases; 4 patients died, at least 1 of disease. Conclusions Mediastinal paragangliomas can be associated with morbidity and mortality. Many mediastinal paragangliomas have been reported to be associated with syndromes such as multiple endocrine neoplasia, von Hippel-Lindau or succinate dehydrogenase syndrome with mutation profiles dominated by alterations in genes associated with these syndromes.
An Individual Odyssey in Teaching International Relations

This chapter traces my pedagogical evolution as a senior scholar who has taught international relations for over 35 years. Formative experiences as a graduate teaching assistant and assistant professor are reviewed, and I discuss how I moved away from reliance on lectures and the perceived need to cover extensive amounts of material. Specifically, I look at five major changes in how I approach teaching international relations in the following topical areas: (1) international relations theory, (2) current events, (3) content coverage, (4) the needs of programs and departments, and (5) generational differences among students, respectively. Strategies and illustrations are elucidated for each change.
Testing the Format? Does Group-Centered Prevention Work? A Very Successful Year. The 2015–2016 Group Report

Our original goal when we started in 2009 was to develop a program that would help children who were failing in school learn to read at their age level. Most of the children who we work with have been retained multiple years by the time they arrive at the Reading Orienteering Club. We were seeing the fulfillment of our dream. We were seeing children move up to their age level in reading in just 1 year.
Human Milk Use in the Preoperative Period Is Associated with a Lower Risk for Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonates with Complex Congenital Heart Disease.

Objective To evaluate the hypothesis that feeding volumes exceeding 100 mL/kg/d and exposure to cow's milk formula preoperatively increase the risk for preoperative necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in infants with complex congenital heart disease. Study design All infants, of any gestational age, with an isolated cardiac lesion at high risk for NEC (ductal-dependent lesions, transposition of the great arteries, truncus arteriosus, and aorto-pulmonary window) admitted to Texas Children's Hospital from 2010 to 2016 were included. NEC was defined based on the modified Bell criteria. Feeding regimen information and relevant covariates were collected. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of feeding regimen and other potential risk factors with NEC. Results In this single-center, retrospective cohort of 546 infants, 3.3% developed Bell stage I-III NEC preoperatively. An exclusive unfortified human milk diet was associated with a significantly lower risk of preoperative NEC (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.04-0.84, P = .03) in a multivariable regression model controlling for cardiac lesion, race, feeding volume, birth weight small for gestational age, inotrope use presurgery/pre-NEC, and prematurity. Feeding volumes exceeding 100 mL/kg/d were associated with a significantly greater risk of preoperative NEC (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.19-7.90, P = .02). Conclusions The findings suggest that an unfortified exclusive human milk diet may reduce the risk of preoperative NEC in infants with complex congenital heart disease.
A few recent developments in nano-photonics (Conference Presentation) (Withdrawal Notice)

Publisher’s Note: This conference presentation, originally published on 9 September 2019 was withdrawn on 29 October 2019 per author request.
Prospects for Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum L.) Production in North America

The Lycium genus comprises 70 species including Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense (goji berry) in the Solanaceae family that are valued for their medicinal and nutraceutical properties. Goji berry is a deciduous shrub with excellent cold-hardiness and potential as a specialty crop in colder regions of North America including the mountain west regions of the United States. Bud break in goji berry is observed in late March to early April with profuse flowering and fruiting occurring until October–November. Fruiting occurs in the axils of leaves and exhibits a bright orange color on ripening due to the presence of carotenoids mainly zeaxanthin. Goji berry is highly valued for its high antioxidant potential and widely marketed in the United States as a health-beneficial nutraceutical species. A variety of commercial products including fresh and frozen fruit, juice, teas, dried fruit, and dietary supplements are sold for consumption. Goji berry is well known for its health-beneficial properties including a positive effect on cardiovascular health regulating lipids and blood sugar and controlling diabetes, immunomodulatory, and anticancer activities and retinal health. The current review discusses the health benefits of goji berry and its prospects for production in North America.
Maintenance management and eradication of established aquatic invaders

Although freshwater invasions have not been targeted for maintenance management or eradication as often as terrestrial invasions have, attempts to do so are frequent. Failures as well as successes abound, but several methods have been improved and new approaches are on the horizon. Many freshwater fish and plant invaders have been eliminated, especially by chemical and physical methods for fishes and herbicides for plants. Efforts to maintain invasive freshwater fishes at low levels have sometimes succeeded, although continuing the effort has proven challenging. By contrast, successful maintenance management of invasive freshwater plants is uncommon, although populations of several species have been managed by biological control. Invasive crayfish populations have rarely been controlled for long. Marine invasions have proven far less tractable than those in fresh water, with a few striking eradications of species detected before they had spread widely, and no marine invasions have been substantially managed for long at low levels. The rapid development of technologies based on genetics has engendered excitement about possibly eradicating or controlling terrestrial invaders, and such technologies may also prove useful for certain aquatic invaders. Methods of particular interest, alone or in various combinations, are gene-silencing, RNA-guided gene drives, and the use of transgenes.
Creating a Simulated Dataset for Training Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Use in Cardiovascular Photoacoustic Tomography

Background/Objective: Photoacoustic tomography possesses increasing potential as a non-invasive imaging method that combines optical and acoustic imaging to maximize the visualization of tissue. Determining the composition, orientation, and location of anatomical structures in multidimensional space requires maximizing image resolution and differentiation from noise and reflection artifacts. Using simulations to develop and improve methods for image resolution allows for flexibility and variation of numerous variables. Methods: Binary masks were created from mouse common carotid ultrasound images using a graphical user interface for MATLAB. With the k-Wave toolbox, we performed time-reversal photoacoustic simulations using the masks. Medium properties for the simulations were assigned for sound speed and density for connective tissue (1540 m/s, 1027 kg/m3) and arterial walls (1569 m/s, 1102 kg/m3). The dataset was augmented through rotational and mirrored transformations and the addition of noise and reflection artifacts via Python open-source software. Results: A set of 87 binary masks was generated from common carotid ultrasound images. These masks were used to simulate initial pressure distributions through the k-Wave toolbox to reconstruct the structure of the common carotid. Each simulation yielded graphs for initial pressure and sensor distribution, simulated sensor data, reconstructed initial pressure, and a comparison profile between the original and reconstructed pressure. Data augmentation was implemented using the reconstructed pressure output from the 87 simulations, each producing 12 distinct images from rotations and mirroring with the addition of noise and reflection artifacts. The final dataset yielded 1044 images. Conclusion and Potential Impact: Future work will involve applying this dataset to a neural network to improve photoacoustic quality such that transfer learning can be applied on ex vivo and in vivo datasets. Thus, there is potential for use in diagnostic applications in patients with cardiovascular disease states like atherosclerosis and aneurysms that require high resolution visualization of tissue structure and composition.
A study of the electrocardiogram and vectorcardiogram in congenital heart disease. III. Electrocardiographic and vectorcardiographic findings in various malformations.

Abstract 1. 1. The electrocardiograms and spatial vectorcardiograms of 135 patients with congenital heart disease, in whom the diagnosis was well established, were analyzed. Our findings were compared with those of other authors. 2. 2. No pathognomonic electrocardiographic or vectorcardiographic pattern is associated with any particular anatomic lesion. 3. 3. Both the electrocardiogram and the vectorcardiogram, but particularly the latter, are of considerable aid in the differential diagnosis of the various malformations by indicating the dominant type of ventricular hypertrophy present. 4. 4. In general, patients with the tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonic stenosis, interatrial septal defect, and Eisenmenger's complex show right ventricular hypertrophy; those with tricuspid atresia, subaortic or aortic stenosis, and coarctation of the aorta show left ventricular hypertrophy, while those with uncomplicated patent ductus arteriosus, interventricular septal defect, and idiopathic dilatation of the pulmonary artery show a normal balance of electrical forces. 5. 5. The determination of electrical axis from the standard electrocardiographic leads is found to be of little value in determining the type of ventricular hypertrophy present.
Timing and duration effects in residence histories and other longitudinal data: II. Studies of duration effects in Norway, 1965-1971.

Abstract The main results of eleven studies of the nature and determinants of the timing of moves and duration of residence effects are presented. The studies (see table 1) illustrate the use of the methodological framework for studying individual histories of the previous article. There are substantial duration of residence effects in most population subgroups, implying that the migration process in non-Markovian at the mocro level and that the semi-Markov model is required. However, characterization of effects and their determinants are shown to depend so heavily on the type of interval and observation scheme used, that only within a comprehensive framework is proper interpretation of empirical results possible.
Securing Agent Based Architectures

Agent based architectures provide significant flexibility and extensibility to software systems that attempt to model complex real world interactions between human users and functional agents. Such systems allow agents to be seamlessly published into the system providing services to human agent consumers. Securing agent based architectures in permissions based environments while still maintaining extensibility involves establishing a pathway of trust between the agent producer, container and consumer. This paper focuses on the final trust step, verifying the identity of an agent consumer in order to bound the capability of an agent by the capabilities of the agent consumer. We present an innovative application of zero knowledge proofs to inexpensively authenticate agents and grant them the restricted permissions of their consumer operator. Our scheme's theoretical foundation guarantees inexpensive detection of "rogue" agents and defends against replay attacks in environments where performance is critical.
Mutations that impair swarming motility in Serratia marcescens 274 include but are not limited to those affecting chemotaxis or flagellar function.

Abstract Serratia marcescens exists in two cell forms and displays two kinds of motility depending on the type of growth surface encountered (L. Alberti and R. M. Harshey, J. Bacteriol. 172:4322-4328, 1990). In liquid medium, the bacteria are short rods with few flagella and show classical swimming behavior. Upon growth on a solid surface (0.7 to 0.85% agar), they differentiate into elongated, multinucleate, copiously flagellated forms that swarm over the agar surface. The flagella of swimmer and swarmer cells are composed of the same flagellin protein. We show in this study that disruption of hag, the gene encoding flagellin, abolishes both swimming and swarming motility. We have used transposon mini-Mu lac kan to isolate mutants of S. marcescens defective in both kinds of motility. Of the 155 mutants obtained, all Fla- mutants (lacking flagella) and Mot- mutants (paralyzed flagella) were defective for both swimming and swarming, as expected. All Che- mutants (chemotaxis defective) were also defective for swarming, suggesting that an intact chemotaxis system is essential for swarming. About one-third of the mutants were specifically affected only in swarming. Of this class, a large majority showed active "swarming motility" when viewed through the microscope (analogous to the active "swimming motility" of Che- mutants) but failed to show significant movement away from the site of initial inoculation on a macroscopic scale. These results suggest that bacteria swarming on a solid surface require many genes in addition to those required for chemotaxis and flagellar function, which extend the swarming movement outward. We also show in this study that nonflagellate S. marcescens is capable of spreading rapidly on low-agar media.
Information entropy to measure temporal and spatial complexity of unsaturated flow in heterogeneous media

[1] Geologic heterogeneity, coupled with the nonlinear interplay of gravity, capillarity, and applied pressure gradients, results in a rich variety of flow behaviors in unsaturated fractured rocks and porous media. In this paper, we evaluate the complexity of these behaviors using information entropy. We create an empirical probability distribution function directly from a data set, then apply Shannon's definition of information entropy to quantify the complexity of the data. As an example, we use information entropy to evaluate the temporal and spatial complexity of simulated flow processes invoked by infiltration into heterogeneous porous media. Our analysis shows that the complexity of this unsaturated flow process depends on both geologic heterogeneity and uncertainty arising from the flow dynamics. Finally, we investigate the marginal value of additional data collection using randomly selected “virtual wells.” These calculations demonstrate that computed information entropy increases with additional virtual wells, but the rate of increase declines.
Optimal control for halo orbit missions

This paper addresses the computation of the required trajectory correction maneuvers (TCM) for a halo orbit space mission to compensate for the launch velocity errors introduced by inaccuracies of the launch vehicle. By combiningdynamical systems theory with optimal control techniques, we produce a portrait of the complex landscape of the trajectory design space. This approach enables parametric studies not available to mission designers a few years ago, such as how the magnitude of the errors and the timingof the first TCM affect the correction ΔV. The impetus for combiningdynamical systems theory and optimal control in this problem arises from design issues for the Genesis Discovery mission being developed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Female Gang Members: A Profile of Aggression and Victimization

Most research on gang membership has concentrated on the male population. When female gang membership is examined, it is usually in reference to the young women as sex objects or to their secondary roles in the gang. Minimal work has been done to examine the etiology of female gang membership. This article presents themes of female gang membership that emerged from in-depth structured interviews with 15 young women in a residential treatment facility. Demographic material, family structure, initiation rites, and criminal behaviors are examined. In addition, specific implications for social work practice and research are explored.
A Modular Steel Freeway Bridge: Design Concept and Earthquake Resistance

A modular multilane steel freeway bridge has been constructed from surplus railroad flatcar decks. It can be erected on-site in a few days9 time. It has been built and static-load tested for emergency freeway bridge repair. This inexpensive modular bridge may also have broad application around the world for low-cost bridges in areas where funds are limited. On the basis of static-load testing performed by the California Department of Transportation and computer dynamic analysis, this simple modular-design concept has the potential of providing a strong bridge that can withstand the severe aftershocks expected immediately after a major earthquake.
Advanced Geosynchronous Studies Imager: ground system architecture

During 1997-98, the NASA-NOAA Advanced Geosynchronous Studies (AGS) program sponsored work to explore the possibility of designing a high-quality imaging radiometer for the future GOES platforms. The AGS Imager (AGSI) design calls for the acquisition of 12-bit digital images every few minutes in 18 spectral bands with horizontal resolutions ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 km on a full-earth disk (diameter 12,000 km). The resulting raw sensor data stream is approximately 300 Mbits/sec, uncompressed. The AGSI ground system must convert the sensor data into calibrated, earth-located Level 1b' images and deliver them to NOAA and to the science community within minutes of reception. To accomplish this high-speed digital-image delivery, the AGSI downlink design calls for lossless compression to 150 Mbits/sec, packetized using CCSDS standards with error-correction, and broadcast in Ka-band to a low-precipitation site like White Sands, NM. There, the AGSI ground system performs the following sequence of operations.
Kernelized partial least squares for feature reduction and classification of gene microarray data

Background: The primary objectives of this paper are: 1.) to apply Statistical Learning Theory (SLT), specifically Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Kernelized PLS (K-PLS), to the universal “feature-rich/case-poor” (also known as “large p small n“ ,o r“high-dimension, low-sample size”) microarray problem by eliminating those features (or probes) that do not contribute to the “best” chromosome bio-markers for lung cancer, and 2.) quantitatively measure and verify (by an independent means) the efficacy of this PLS process. A secondary objective is to integrate these significant improvements in diagnostic and prognostic biomedical applications into the clinical research arena. That is, to devise a framework for converting SLT results into direct, useful clinical information for patient care or pharmaceutical research. We, therefore, propose and preliminarily evaluate, a process whereby PLS, K-PLS, and Support Vector Machines (SVM) may be integrated with the accepted and well understood traditional biostatistical “gold standard”, Cox Proportional Hazard model and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis methods. Specifically, this new combination will be illustrated with both PLS and Kaplan-Meier followed by PLS and Cox Hazard Ratios (CHR) and can be easily extended for both the K-PLS and SVM paradigms. Finally, these previously described processes are contained in the Fine Feature Selection (FFS) component of our overall feature reduction/evaluation process, which consists of the following components: 1.) coarse feature reduction, 2.) fine feature selection and 3.) classification (as described in this paper) and prediction. Results: Our results for PLS and K-PLS showed that these techniques, as part of our overall feature reduction process, performed well on noisy microarray data. The best performance was a good 0.794 Area Under a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve (AUC) for classification of recurrence prior to or after 36 months and a strong 0.869 AUC for classification of recurrence prior to or after 60 months. Kaplan-Meier curves for the classification groups were clearly separated, with p-values below 4.5e-12 for both 36 and 60 months. CHRs were also good, with ratios of 2.846341 (36 months) and 3.996732 (60 months). Conclusions: SLT techniques such as PLS and K-PLS can effectively address difficult problems with analyzing biomedical data such as microarrays. The combinations with established biostatistical techniques demonstrated in this paper allow these methods to move from academic research and into clinical practice.
Visual evoked potentials and reaction time in normal and dyslexic children.

This investigation compared the visual evoked responses (VERs) and reaction time (RT) performance of 24 dyslexic boys and 24 controls at four different age levels (7, 9, 11, and 13 yrs). Prescreening and matching techniques were used to eliminate differences due to social or educational deprivation, gross sensory-motor handicaps, specific neurological deficiencies, or intellectual impairment. The VER was recorded from four scalp locations (O1, O2, P3, and P4) referenced to the vertex during a detection task in which subjects were required to respond to dim flashes occurring in a train of brighter flashes. An overall hemispheric asymmetry in VER amplitude (right > left) was observed in both experimental and control subjects. Dyslexics exhibited an increased amplitude to unattended stimuli and a slower RT to attended stimuli. Normals exhibited significant correlations between RT and VER latency, dyslexics did not. There were no significant VER-IQ correlations. The results are discussed in terms of an attentional deficit hypothesis.
A rapid method for the preparation of amino acid resin esters for Merrifield solid-phase peptide synthesis.

An improved method for the preparation of Merrifield resin esters is presented. This method is rapid, is free of racemization, and is not complicated by a quaternization side reaction. Chloromethylated resin beads, t-butoxycarbonyl amino acid, and potassium t-butoxide are heated at 80 °C in dimethylsulfoxide for one-half hour to yield resin esters of suitable substitution for solid-phase petide synthesis. All twenty of the BOC protected common amino acids were esterified to the resin by this method. Resin substitution values lie in the range of 0.13 meq/g (BOC-Glu (NH2)) to 0.66 meq/g (BOC/Pro), with most of the amino acids yielding 0.3–0.4 meq/g (on a resin containing 0.8 meq Cl/g).
Serum creatine kinase activity following forearm flexion isometric exercise

The purpose of this study was to 1) compare serum creatine kinase (CK) activity following two forearm flexion isometric exercise regimens differing in work to rest ratio, and 2) examine the CK response to a repeated bout of isometric exercise. Eleven males were tested on two sessions (bouts) spaced 1 week apart. For bout 1, five subjects (group A) performed a forearm flexion isometric exercise consisting of 40 10-s maximal contractions with 20-s inter-trial rests (10∶20), while six (group B) performed 40 maximal 10-s contractions with 5-s inter-trial rests (10∶5). The increase in serum CK activity following the 10∶20 exercise (143%) was significantly greater than that following the 10∶5 exercise (52%). The 10∶20 exercise was also associated with greater tension generation over trials. One week later, both groups performed a bout of 10∶20 exercise. A substantial reduction in the serum CK response was found following this second bout. The data suggest that for bout 1 the isometric exercise associated with the greater overall tension levels resulted in the greater CK response. However, when the 10∶20 exercise was repeated 1 week later, a substantial reduction in the CK response was found which was unrelated to the tension generated.
Weathering and sediment generation in the Archean: An integrated study of the evolution of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks of the 3.2Ga Moodies Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa

Abstract Alluvial and braided fluvial deposits of the 3.2 Ga Moodies Group in the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, are analyzed petrographically and geochemically to identify their source rocks (provenance) and assess the degree and type(s) of weathering required to produce the observed Moodies sediment compositions. Conglomerate, sandstone, and shale data give somewhat differing pictures of provenance and weathering due to derivation from different components within the source terrane and size and compositional fractionation during transport. The results suggest that shale geochemistry provides the most accurate estimate provenance, although both rare-earth element and trace element (Th, Sc, Zr, Cr, and Ti) data must be used in combination to give the best results. The source area for Moodies Group sediments was dominated by tonalite, felsic volcanic rock, komatiite-basalt, and granite. Based on mineralogical and major-element divergence from estimated source area composition, the Moodies Group sediments are remnants of an aggressive weathering environment. Labile materials, such as komatiite, basalt, and coarse plagioclase grains, decomposed almost entirely to clays and solutes, and the chemical index of alteration for Moodies shale is well above the global average. An aggressive weathering environment in the Archean may have been achieved by increased rainfall, higher temperatures, and/or higher atmospheric P C O 2 . More likely, a combination of these conditions worked to offset the inhibitory weathering effects of a plant-free environment.
Molecular-dynamics simulations of the incommensurate phase of krypton on graphite using more than 100 000 atoms

Donnees sur la structure de la phase incommensurable du krypton sur le graphite en fonction de la temperature et du degre de recouvrement a l'aide de la methode de simulation de dynamique moleculaire dans le cas des systemes a 103041 et 161604 atomes de krypton
CRH and NPY are not decreased in hypophagic, protein-deprived rats

To test if elevated CRH and decreased NPY might account for pituitary-adrenal activity and hypophagia in dietary protein deprivation, rats received normal or protein-free diet, or were food-or weight-restricted to match effects of protein deprivation. Protein or food restriction increased plasma ACTH. However, hypothalamic CRH mRNA was unchanged by protein deficiency and significantly decreased by food restriction when protein intake was > 50% of normal. Arcuate nucleus NPY mRNA increased in rats given protein-free diet, correlating with leptin rather than decreased feeding. We conclude that CRH and NPY gene expression does not explain adrenocortical axis or feeding activity in protein-deprived rats.
Obscure hemolytic anemia due to analgesic abuse. Does enterogenous cyanosis exist

Three patients are described with acquired hemolytic anemia due to surreptitious analgesic drug abuse. They denied exposure to drugs, but metabolites of para-aminophenol analgesic derivatives were found in the urine. Analgesic drug abuse should be suspected in patients with obscure acquired hemolytic anemia, even when a history of drug exposure cannot be obtained, but especially when the patient has chronic pain and appears neurotic. Methemoglobinemia and an increased number of erythrocytes with Heinz bodies are not always present. If this problem is suspected, and especially when the diagnosis of "enterogenous cyanosis" is being considered, the urine should be examined for the presence of NAPA (N-acetyl-para-aminophenol).
An Experimental Investigation of Air Water Flow Through Different Flow Field Designs of a PEMFC Bipolar Plate in the Presence of Micronized Wax

Water, a byproduct of the chemical reaction in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), is removed by the air flowing over the cathode. However, when water production rate is more than its rate of removal, water may flood the fuel cell cathode, cutting off the air supply and stopping the reaction. A bio-mimetic solution to the water management problem was proposed in an earlier work where micronized wax was introduced along with the air that would help encapsulate the water droplets facilitating their quick removal from the fuel cell. Based on earlier results, further investigation is done to study different bi-polar flow field designs for effective water management, using bio-mimetic micronized wax. The different flow field designs studied in this work consists of parallel and single serpentine channels on graphite plates under simulated fuel cell load conditions. The effect of micronized wax on the two-phase flow regimes at different flow field orientations is also analyzed. It is clearly observed that the presence of micronized wax significantly helps in water movement in all air flow channels designs and orientations. It is hypothesized that introduction of micronized wax along with the air flow will allow the use of parallel flow field bi-polar plate designs in operating fuel cells with significantly reduced air side pressure drop instead of the prevalent single serpentine channel flow field designs.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Molecular basis for anti-amyloid therapy in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Amyloid is a generic description applied to a heterogeneous class of tissue protein precipitates that have the common feature of beta-pleated sheet secondary structure, a characteristic that confers affinity of the protein deposit for the histochemical dye Congo red. Amyloids may be deposited in a general manner throughout the body (systemic amyloids) or confined to a particular organ (e.g. cerebral amyloid, renal amyloid). Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by clinical evidence of cognitive failure in association with cerebral amyloidosis, as well as cerebral intraneuronal neurofibrillary pathology, neuronal and synaptic loss, and neurotransmitter deficits. The cerebral amyloid of AD is deposited around meningeal and cerebral vessels, as well as in gray matter. In gray matter, the deposits are multifocal, coalescing into miliary structures known as plaques. Parenchymal amyloid plaques are distributed in brain in a characteristic fashion, differentially affecting the cerebrum and hippocampus, while largely sparing the basal ganglia, thalamus, spinal cord, and hindbrain. The main constituent of cerebrovascular amyloid is a 40–42 amino acid polypeptide, designated “beta protein” by some and “A4” by others, which has entered standardized nomenclature as “A ” or “A-beta”. A-beta is derived from a 695–770 amino acid precursor, termed the amyloid precursor protein (APP; Fig. 1), which was discovered by molecular cloning using oligonucleotide probes designed from the amyloid peptide sequence that had been reported by Glenner. The primary citations for this molecular neuropathology review can be found elsewhere [25].
Long term data storage issues for situational awareness

Network traffic archives are useful for a number of purposes ranging from forensic studies to retrospective studies of the evolution of network traffic characteristics. The sheer volume of data that might be useful, if retained, imposes stresses on data storage and management systems. This is exacerbated by the fact that a substantial portion of network traffic is essentially noise and is interesting primarily at an aggregate level as the archive ages, while the remainder may remain interesting at the packet or flow level for an indefinite period. This paper discusses two cases, high volume scans and very infrequent traffic, where lossy compression may be applied to make substantial reductions in the volume of data retained while minimizing the risk of loosing interesting records. In addition, it discusses data structures, based of space and time efficient hashing methods that can be used to index network data using very large, sparse, index spaces such as those presented by IPv6 or by connection tuples that contain multiple IP addresses, along with service and protocol information.
Bioavailability and biotransformation of benzo(a)pyrene in an isolated perfused In situ catfish intestinal preparation.

In the aquatic environment, diet is an important route of exposure for the common contaminant and procarcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Dietary organisms vary in their BaP content and in contaminated...
Energy gap and thermal properties of selfsimilar structures: An application to epoxy resin

Abstract Normal vibrational modes with local selfsimilarity, i.e. fractons, may explain the temperature dependence of the specific heat of epoxy resin and, more generally, other amorphous materials above 1 K. A gap in the phonon-fracton energy spectrum at the cross-over length scale between translational invariance and selfsimilarity is proposed. From the specific heat for T > 10 K we calculate the fracton spectral dimensionality of epoxy resin. A phonon-fracton interaction may account for the “plateau” in the thermal conductivity.
High-volume Impactor for Sampling Fine and Coarse Particles

Final design, calibration, and field testing have been completed for a new 1.13 m3/min (40 cfm) High-volume Virtual Impactor (HVVI). Field tests have demonstrated that the new classifier/collector works well as an accessory to the existing PM10 Size Selective Inlet high-volume samplers. The HVVI provides two fractions of PM10 mass, both of which are collected by filtration. The fine fraction (0-2.5 μm aero. dia.) Is collected on the standard 20.3 × 25.4 cm (8- × 10-in) high-volume filter; the coarse fraction (2.5-10 μm aero. dia.) is collected on a 5.1 × 15.2 cm (2- × 6-in) filter. Coarse flow through the receiver tubes is limited to 0.057 m3/min (2 cfm), 5 percent of the total flow. The operating pressure drop across the HVVI stages Is sufficiently high to make changes In pressure across the collection filters Insignificant. The HVVI filter holder assembly facilitates loading/ unloading samples in the laboratory, thus eliminating damage due to handling filters in the field. Size separation characteristic...
Bimolecular Reactions in Nematic Lyotropics: A Study of Catalyzed Ester Hydrolysis in N C, NL, and I Phases

Abstract Myristyltrimethylammonium bromide forms both a nematic cylindrical and lamellar lyophase depending on the concentrations of water, ammonium bromide and 1-decanol. The rate of o-iodosobenzoic acid catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl laurate is significantly higher in the cylindrical phase, indicating that the size and shape of an aggregate can influence reactivity of dissolved species. Similar effects have been reported by us earlier for the bromination of trans-stilbene (a bimolecular reaction) in sodium decyl sulfate surfactant lyophase.
Pregnancy-related mortality among women aged 35 years and older, United States, 1991-1997.

Abstract Objective To describe pregnancy-related deaths among women 35 years and older and to compare their risk of death to that for 25–29-year-old women. Methods Pregnancy-related deaths in the United States among women 35 years and older from 1991 through 1997 were identified through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System. Pregnancy-related mortality ratios (deaths per 100,000 live births) and risk ratios (compared with 25–29-year-old women) for women 35–39 years old or 40 years and older were calculated and stratified by race, obstetric and demographic variables, and cause of death. Results There was an excess risk of death for women 35 years and older regardless of parity, time of entry into prenatal care, and level of education. Among white women, the risk ratios for death from hemorrhage, infection, embolisms, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, cardiomyopathy, cerebrovascular accidents, or other medical conditions ranged from 1.8 to 2.7 for those aged 35–39 years and from 2.5 to 7.9 for those 40 years and older. Among black women the risk ratios for death from these conditions ranged from 2.0 to 4.1 for those aged 35–39 years and from 4.3 to 7.6 for those 40 years and older. Conclusion Recognition of the risk of death borne by older pregnant women is needed to inform their care before, during, and after pregnancy. Thorough review of all maternal deaths as a core public health function may shed light on the reasons for excess pregnancy-related mortality among older women.
Nonrobustness in classical tests on means and variances: A large-scale sampling study

The robustness of the classical tests on means (Z, t, and F) and variances (chi square and F) was investigated by obtaining 30,000 (or, sometimes, 10,000 or 150,000) values of the test statistic under assumption-violating conditions and comparing the actual proportion of Type I errors with the proportion expected when all assumptions are met. The sampling and testing conditions investigated were: population shape (L-shape or bell-shape), relative population variance (1 or 4), sample size (8, 16, or 24), nominal significance level (.05, .01, or .001), and location of rejection region (left-tailed, right-tailed, or two-tailed). All tests on means were nonrobust under most of the investigated conditions, and one was nonrobust under all of them. Both tests on variances were extremely nonrobust under virtually all conditions. The worst nonrobustness of the one- and two-independent-sample Z and t tests rivaled or exceeded that of the notoriously nonrobust chi-square and F tests on variances.