cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simulation of particles released near the wall in a turbulent boundary layer

Abstract A direct numerical simulation was used along with a Lagrangian particle tracking technique to study particle motion in a horizontal, spatially developing turbulent boundary layer along an upper-wall (with terminal velocity directed away from the wall). The objective of the research was to study particle diffusion, dispersion, reflection, and mean velocity in the context of two parametric studies: one investigated the effect of the drift parameter (the ratio of particle terminal velocity to fluid friction velocity) for a fixed and finite particle inertia, and the second varied the drift parameter and particle inertia by the same amount (i.e. for a constant Froude number). A range of drift parameters from 10 −4 to 10 0 were considered for both cases. The particles were injected into the simulation at a height of four wall units for several evenly distributed points across the span and a perfectly elastic wall collision was specified at one wall unit. Statistics collected along the particle trajectories demonstrated a transition in particle movement from one that is dominated by diffusion to one that is dominated by gravity. For small and intermediate sized particles (i.e. ones with outer Stokes numbers and drift parameters much less than unity) transverse diffusion away from the wall dominated particle motion. However, preferential concentration is seen near the wall for intermediate-sized particles due to inhomogeneous turbulence effects (turbophoresis), consistent with previous channel flow studies. Particle–wall collision statistics indicated that impact velocities tended to increase with increasing terminal velocity for small and moderate inertias, after which initial conditions become important. Finally, high relative velocity fluctuations (compared to terminal velocity) were found as particle inertia increased, and were well described with a quasi-one-dimensional fluctuation model.
Optimization of rigid-plastic frame structures with minimal time criterion

An optimization model for plastic frames of minimal construction time is developed. The problem is reduced to a minimax problem for a set of inequalities. The linearization leads to a linear programming problem of a slightly larger than usual dimension, but this problem could be solved using standard software. The procedure is illustrated by examples of some frame structres. The results show that the approach is more optimization-efficient than the traditional design for minimum weight and each of the two formulations leads to a different design.
A collaborative eye to the future

We present a novel approach to predictive situation awareness that leverages human insight to enhance the forecasting abilities of Fusion levels 2 and 3. Existent technologies fail to support predictive and impact modeling under realistic conditions, particularly when there exist few historic exemplars on which to base inferences or when full awareness of the situation includes unobservable elements. We report on our ongoing efforts to develop FutureFusion, a collaborative system that builds predictive awareness and enables futurists to visualize paths to possible futures and formulate predictions on the ultimate outcome of scenarios of interest. FutureFusion's human interpretable knowledge representation is unique in its ability to capture qualitative descriptions of possible futures and quantify them to build computational models. Further, FutureFusion captures both popular consensus as well as high-risk outliers, thereby reducing the potential for surprise. Finally, by efficiently diversifying the modeling process across a heterogeneous and distributed community of experts, this approach avoids the common pitfalls of more traditional modeling approaches. FutureFusion helps to cast light on blindspots, mitigate human biases, and maintain a holistic, up-to-date predictive and impact awareness.
Optimal ordering rule for a stochastic sequencing model

In this note, necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the optimality of a sequencing rule for a class of stochastic sequential models. The optimal sequential rule generalizes the deterministic results, given in Refs. 1–2, for situations when some of the parameters of the problem are random variables. Two cases are given to demonstrate the usefulness of the results.
A Bayesian model for triage decision support.

Summary Objective To compare triage decisions of an automated emergency department triage system with decisions made by an emergency specialist. Methods In a retrospective setting, data extracted from charts of 90 patients with chief complaint of non-traumatic abdominal pain were used as input for triage system and emergency medicine specialist. The final disposition and diagnoses of the physicians who visited the patient in Emergency Department (ED) as reflected in the medical records were considered as control. Results were compared by χ 2 -test and a binary logistic regression model. Results Compared to emergency medicine specialist, triage system had higher sensitivity (90% versus 64%) and lower specificity (25% versus 48%) for patients who required hospitalization. The triage system successfully predicted the Admit decisions made in the ED whereas the emergency medicine specialist decisions could not predict the ED disposition. Both triage system and emergency medicine specialist properly disposed 56% of cases, however, the emergency medicine specialist in this study under-disposed more patients than the triage system considering Admit disposition ( p =0.004) while he appropriately discharged more patients compared to the triage system ( p =0.017). Conclusion The triage system studied here shows promise as a triage decision support tool to be used for telephone triage and triage in the emergency departments. This technology may also be useful to the patients as a self-triage tool. However, the efficiency of this particular application of this technology is unclear.
Calcium-free geopolymer as a stabilizer for sulfate-rich soils

Abstract The expansion and heaving of sulfate-rich soils is a long-lasting challenge for soil stabilization with calcium based stabilizers, such as lime and cement. It is caused by the formation of an expansive mineral, ettringite, when calcium and water are introduced to a sulfate concentrated soil. This study aims to explore the feasibility of using calcium-free geopolymer, which is an inorganic aluminosilicate cementitious material, as a stabilizer for sulfate-rich soils. To this end, metakaolin based geopolymer (MKG) was used to stabilize a synthetic lean clay premixed with 1000, 5000 and 10,000 ppm gypsum (equivalent to the sulfate concentration of 565, 2825 and 5650 ppm, respectively). The clay samples were stabilized with MKG at 8 and 13 wt.%, and their mechanical properties and swelling potential were determined through unconfined compression test and water bath soaking, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) tests were performed to further examine the microstructural and mineralogical characteristics of the clay samples. In addition, control sample sets, including unstabilized clay, lime- and cement-stabilized clay, were prepared and tested for providing a reference baseline to evaluate if MKG is an effective stabilizer for sulfate-rich soils. The unconfined compressive strength, Young's Moduli and failure strain of the clay samples were significantly increased after the stabilization with MKG. The swelling strain of the samples stabilized with the geopolymer was much lower than that of 4% lime stabilized counterparts after soaking in water. Geopolymer gels, but no ettringite crystal, were observed in geopolymer stabilized clay samples, as confirmed with the SEM–EDX results and XRD spectra. The results from this study confirmed that calcium-free geopolymer can be an effective stabilizer for sulfate-rich soils without excessive expansions. Using higher concentrations of geopolymer and geopolymers synthesized from industrial wastes is worth being studied in the future to further develop geopolymer-based stabilization technique for sulfate-rich soils.
Who Are The Classicists

The article discusses the definition of “classicism” in the field of management science. The author discusses the difficulty of broad generalizations or classifications of early scholarship in the ...
Mobile WiMAX - Deployment Scenarios Performance Analysis

In this paper, dynamic system level simulation methodology of mobile WiMAX (IEEE Std 802.16e) is described. The system level simulations scenarios (channel models, pathloss and shadow fading, sectorization, frequency reuse planning, system loading, etc) will be introduced. Evaluated performance of mobile WiMAX system such as signal-to-interference + noise ratio distributions, spectral efficiency and system outage in various scenarios of multi-cellular deployment will be presented and discussed.
Electrospinning of photocrosslinked and degradable fibrous scaffolds

Electrospun fibrous scaffolds are being developed for the engineering of numerous tissues. Advantages of electrospun scaffolds include the similarity in fiber diameter to elements of the native extracellular matrix and the ability to align fibers within the scaffold to control and direct cellular interactions and matrix deposition. To further expand the range of properties available in fibrous scaffolds, we developed a process to electrospin photocrosslinkable macromers from a library of multifunctional poly(beta-amino ester)s. In this study, we utilized one macromer (A6) from this library for initial examination of fibrous scaffold formation. A carrier polymer [poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)] was used for fiber formation because of limitations in electrospinning A6 alone. Various ratios of A6 and PEO were successfully electrospun and influenced the scaffold fiber diameter and appearance. When electrospun with a photoinitiator and exposed to light, the macromers crosslinked rapidly to high double bond conversions and fibrous scaffolds displayed higher elastic moduli compared to uncrosslinked scaffolds. When these fibers were deposited onto a rotating mandrel and crosslinked, organized fibrous scaffolds were obtained, which possessed higher moduli (approximately 4-fold) in the fiber direction than perpendicular to the fiber direction, as well as higher moduli (approximately 12-fold) than that of nonaligned crosslinked scaffolds. With exposure to water, a significant mass loss and a decrease in mechanical properties were observed, correlating to a rapid initial loss of PEO which reached an equilibrium after 7 days. Overall, these results present a process that allows for formation of fibrous scaffolds from a wide variety of possible photocrosslinkable macromers, increasing the diversity and range of properties achievable in fibrous scaffolds for tissue regeneration.
Greedy is Good: On Service Tree Placement for In-Network Stream Processing

This paper is concerned with reducing communication costs when executing distributed user tasks in a sensor network. We take a service-oriented abstraction of sensor networks, where a user task is composed of a set of data processing modules (called services) with dependencies. Communications in sensor networks consume significant energy and introduce uncertainty in data fidelity due to high bit error rate. These constraints are abstracted as costs on the communication graph. The goal is to place the services within the sensor network so that the communication cost in performing the task is minimized. In addition, since the lifetime of a node, the quality of network links, and the composition of the service graph may change over time, the quality of the placement must be maintained in the face of these dynamics. In this paper, we take a fresh look at what is generally considered a simple but poor performance approach for service placement, namely the greedy algorithm. We prove that a modified greedy algorithm is guaranteed to have cost at most 8 times the optimum placement. In fact, the guarantee is even stronger if there is a high degree of data reduction in the service graph. The advantage of the greedy placement strategy is that when there are local changes in the service graph or when a hosting node fails, the repair only affects the placement of services that depend on the changes. Simulations suggest that in practice the greedy algorithm finds a low cost placement. Furthermore, the cost of repairing a greedy placement decreases rapidly as a function of the proximity of the services to be aggregated.
Near infrared-fluorescent and magnetic resonance imaging molecular probe with high T1 relaxivity for in vivo multimodal imaging

A new gadolinium chelating NIR fluorescent molecular probe increases T1 relaxivity of water protons, facilitating combined optical and magnetic resonance imaging.
Performance Evaluating Model for Construction Companies: Egyptian Case Study

The dynamic nature of today’s construction industry compels construction partners to seek strategies in order to improve performance. Current research introduces a performance evaluation model for construction companies in order to provide a proper tool for a company’s managers, owners, shareholders, and funding agencies to evaluate the performance of construction companies. The model developed helps a company’s management to make the right decisions. Financial, economical, and industrial data are collected from Egyptian construction companies for nine consecutive years (1992–2000). Five indices (models) are developed: company performance score, economy performance score, industry performance score, performance index, and performance grade. The models developed consider companies in four construction sectors: general building, heavy, special trade, and real estate. These models accommodate the effect of macroeconomic and industry related factors and company size on the performance evaluation. The final ou...
Resistance to Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis and Impaired IL-17 Production in Protein Kinase Cθ-Deficient Mice

The protein kinase C theta (PKC theta) serine/threonine kinase has been implicated in signaling of T cell activation, proliferation, and cytokine production. However, the in vivo consequences of ablation of PKC theta on T cell function in inflammatory autoimmune disease have not been thoroughly examined. In this study we used PKC theta-deficient mice to investigate the potential involvement of PKC theta in the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a prototypic T cell-mediated autoimmune disease model of the CNS. We found that PKC theta-/- mice immunized with the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide MOG(35-55) were completely resistant to the development of clinical experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis compared with wild-type control mice. Flow cytometric and histopathological analysis of the CNS revealed profound reduction of both T cell and macrophage infiltration and demyelination. Ex vivo MOG(35-55) stimulation of splenic T lymphocytes from immunized PKC theta-/- mice revealed significantly reduced production of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma as well as the T cell effector cytokine IL-17 despite comparable levels of IL-2 and IL-4 and similar cell proliferative responses. Furthermore, IL-17 expression was dramatically reduced in the CNS of PKC theta-/- mice compared with wild-type mice during the disease course. In addition, PKC theta-/- T cells failed to up-regulate LFA-1 expression in response to TCR activation, and LFA-1 expression was also significantly reduced in the spleens of MOG(35-55)-immunized PKC theta-/- mice as well as in in vitro-stimulated CD4+ T cells compared with wild-type mice. These results underscore the importance of PKC theta in the regulation of multiple T cell functions necessary for the development of autoimmune disease.
Seismic Design Enhancements and the Reduced Beam Section Detail for Steel Moment Frames

An area of heightened interest after the 1994 Northridge earthquake damage was the seismic ductility of steel moment frame connections. Work conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ~FEMA! and the SAC Joint Venture, National Institute of Standards and Technology ~NIST!, the American Institute of Steel Construction Inc. ~AISC!, and many others in academia, industry, and the profession over the last few years has greatly expanded the knowledge base in a number of relevant areas. This resulting information has led to a set of new and modified steel moment connection details and accompanying design criteria for improved seismic performance. One of the more popular seismic connection types that has been prequalified in FEMA 350-353 is the new reduced beam section detail.
Sex and gender: What do we know?

The study of sex and gender is concerned with documenting the existence of differences between the sexes and explaining why those differences exist. This paper first examines what we know about how women and men differ, focusing on differences in social roles, and in the abilities and traits associated with those roles. The paper then examines why women and men differ. In addressing this question, the roles of both biological and social influences are considered. Although there is reason to believe some sex differences in behavior and attitudes have a biological basis, the existence of historical and cross-cultural variation in gender role differentiation and stratification provides strong evidence that social influences play an important role in the determination of differences between the sexes. Both biological and social factors have influenced the division of labor by sex, and the division of labor provides the basis for gender stratification by affecting the degree to which each sex is able to acquire and control the valuable resources of a society. Reduction of gender inequality in contemporary societies therefore requires reduction of gender differentiation in the division of labor.
Robust target detection and tracking in outdoor infrared video

Automated tracking of targets within outdoor infrared (IR) video sequences poses a host of challenges. These include automatic gain adjustment in the IR camera, extreme granularity, large luminance changes, and uncontrolled environmental factors such as moving foliage, animals, and birds, among others. To address these problems, we present an IR video target tracking system for stationary cameras that learns and divides the video frames into reliable and unreliable regions. A difference-frame-based method can recognize moving regions with high sensitivity and reliably discern background clutter from target motion. A low-complexity target validation process is presented, which in conjunction with the reliable region masking, dramatically reduces the number of false alarms. We demonstrate the outstanding performance of the proposed system using real-world IR video sequences with difficult background motion clutter, as well as with small and blurred moving targets.
Analgesic use and the risk of hearing loss in men.

Background Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, yet prospective data on potentially modifiable risk factors are limited. Regularly used analgesics, the most commonly used drugs in the US, may be ototoxic and contribute to hearing loss.
Gene Expression of Mesothelioma in Vinylidene Chloride–exposed F344/N Rats Reveal Immune Dysfunction, Tissue Damage, and Inflammation Pathways:

A majority (∼80%) of human malignant mesotheliomas are asbestos-related. However, non-asbestos risk factors (radiation, chemicals, and genetic factors) account for up to 30% of cases. A recent 2-year National Toxicology Program carcinogenicity bioassay showed that male F344/N rats exposed to the industrial toxicant vinylidene chloride (VDC) resulted in a marked increase in malignant mesothelioma. Global gene expression profiles of these tumors were compared to spontaneous mesotheliomas and the F344/N rat mesothelial cell line (Fred-PE) in order to characterize the molecular features and chemical-specific profiles of mesothelioma in VDC-exposed rats. As expected, mesotheliomas from control and VDC-exposed rats shared pathways associated with tumorigenesis, including cellular and tissue development, organismal injury, embryonic development, inflammatory response, cell cycle regulation, and cellular growth and proliferation, while mesotheliomas from VDC-exposed rats alone showed overrepresentation of pathways associated with pro-inflammatory pathways and immune dysfunction such as the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells signaling pathway, interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-12 signaling, interleukin responses, Fc receptor signaling, and natural killer and dendritic cells signaling, as well as overrepresentation of DNA damage and repair. These data suggest that a chronic, pro-inflammatory environment associated with VDC exposure may exacerbate disturbances in oncogene, growth factor, and cell cycle regulation, resulting in an increased incidence of mesothelioma.
One-transistor GaAs MESFET- and JFET-accessed dynamic RAM cells for high-speed medium density applications

Theoretical and experimental work that presents the possibility for a high-speed, low-power one-transistor room-temperature dynamic RAM (DRAM) technology in GaAs is discussed. Isolated storage capacitors have demonstrated over 20 min of storage time at room temperature with charge densities comparable to that obtained with planar silicon technology. One-transistor MESFET- and JFET-accessed DRAM cells have been fabricated and operated at room temperature and above. The standby power dissipation of these first cells is only a small fraction of the power dissipated by the best commercial GaAs static RAM (SRAM) cells. >
On the non-linear energy transfer in a gravity wave spectrum Part 2. Conservation theorems; wave-particle analogy; irrevesibility

From the conditions of energy and momentum conservation it is shown that all four interaction coefficients of the elementary quadruple interactions discussed in Part I of this paper are equal. A further conservative quantity is then found which can be interpreted as the number density of the gravity-wave ensemble representing the random sea surface. The well-known analogy between a random linear wave field and a mass particle ensemble is found to hold also in the case of weak non-linear interactions in the wave field. The interaction conditions for energy transfer between waves to correspond to the equations of energy and momentum conservation for a particle collision, the final equation for the rate of change of the wave spectrum corresponding to Boltzmann's equation for the rate of change of the number density of an ensemble of colliding mass particles. The stationary wave spectrum corresponding to the Maxwell distribution for a mass particle ensemble is found to be degenerate. The question of the irreversibility of the transfer process for gravity waves is discussed but not completely resolved.
Single-frequency operation of argon ion lasers

An expression is derived for the gain coefficient of a laser mode sustained by excited ions produced in a dc gas discharge. Included in the derivation are the effects of the left-right gain asymmetry introduced by ion drift. From this expression, laser power versus frequency curves are obtained which are fit to experimental data obtained on the 4880-A and 5145-A transitions of singly ionized argon. From the curve fitting procedure, radiation interaction widths and saturation intensities for the transitions are determined. In addition, it is shown that the fraction of population inversion utilized during single-frequency operation of these lasers can be quite large.
Ambient air pollution and cardiovascular emergency department visits.

Background Despite evidence supporting an association between ambient air pollutants and cardiovascular disease (CVD), the roles of the physicochemical components of particulate matter (PM) and copollutants are not fully understood. This time-series study examined the relation between ambient air pollution and cardiovascular conditions using ambient air quality data and emergency department visit data in Atlanta, Georgia, from January 1, 1993, to August 31, 2000. Methods Outcome data on 4,407,535 emergency department visits were compiled from 31 hospitals in Atlanta. The air quality data included measurements of criteria pollutants for the entire study period, as well as detailed measurements of mass concentrations for the fine and coarse fractions of PM and several physical and chemical characteristics of PM for the final 25 months of the study. Emergency department visits for CVD and for cardiovascular subgroups were assessed in relation to daily measures of air pollutants using Poisson generalized linear models controlling for long-term temporal trends and meteorologic conditions with cubic splines. Results Using an a priori 3-day moving average in single-pollutant models, CVD visits were associated with NO2, CO, PM2.5, organic carbon, elemental carbon, and oxygenated hydrocarbons. Secondary analyses suggested that these associations tended to be strongest with same-day pollution levels. Conclusions These findings provide evidence for an association between CVD visits and several correlated pollutants, including gases, PM2.5, and PM2.5 components.
Electrostatic solvation free energy of amino acid side chain analogs: implications for the validity of electrostatic linear response in water.

Electrostatic free energies of solvation for 15 neutral amino acid side chain analogs are computed. We compare three methods of varying computational complexity and accuracy for three force fields: free energy simulations, Poisson-Boltzmann (PB), and linear response approximation (LRA) using AMBER, CHARMM, and OPLS-AA force fields. We find that deviations from simulation start at low charges for solutes. The approximate PB and LRA produce an overestimation of electrostatic solvation free energies for most of molecules studied here. These deviations are remarkably systematic. The variations among force fields are almost as large as the variations found among methods. Our study confirms that success of the approximate methods for electrostatic solvation free energies comes from their ability to evaluate free energy differences accurately. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011.
Inactivated Newcastle Disease Vaccines: Influence of Virus Concentration on the Primary Immune Response

Inactivated vaccines of high potency could play a valuable role in Newcastle disease control programs. We determined the influence of virus concentration and method of concentration on the immune response of chidkens to inactivated vaccines. We used the LaSota strain of virus concentrated by either ultracentrifugation of polyethylene glycole precipitation. Virus concentration has a significant effect (P less than or equal to .01) on serum antibody levels at 2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks after vaccination; but during this same period, the antibody response was not significantly influenced by method of concentration. Virus concentration increased beyond 2000 hemagglutination units did not significantly increase (P greater than or equal to .05) the magnitude of the antibody response.
Patterns of culturally defined sex-role preference and parental imitation.

Summary The theory that males tend to identify with a culturally defined, masculine role and that females tend to imitate their mothers was assessed by administering the It Scale (culturally defined role preference) and the Imitation Schedule (parental imitation) to 36 white, middle-class, third-grade boys and girls. Boys' masculine role preference was higher than the girls' feminine preference (t = 4.62, p .05). Boys' masculine preference was higher than their father imitation (t = 1.85, p < .05), and the girls had higher mother imitation than feminine preference (t = 1.85, p < .05). The interpretations were complicated by the fact that the girls' preference was in the masculine range. The results suggested that boys identify with a culturally defined, masculine role, that girls show a similar tendency, and that neither sex imitates the same-sexed parent consistently.
Growth, Nutrition, and Photosynthetic Response of Black Walnut to Varying Nitrogen Sources and Rates

ABSTRACT Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) half-sib 1+0 seedlings were exponentially fertilized with ammonium (NH4 +) as ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4], nitrate (NO3 −) as sodium nitrate (NaNO3), or a mixed nitrogen (N) source as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) at the rate of 0, 800, or 1600 mg N plant−1 and grown for three months. One month following the final fertilization, N concentration, growth, and photosynthetic characteristics were assessed. Compared with unfertilized seedlings, N addition increased plant component N content, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic gas exchange. Net photosynthesis ranged from 2.45 to 4.84 μmol m−2 s−1 for lower leaves but varied from 5.95 to 9.06 μmol m−2 s−1 for upper leaves. Plants responded more favorably to NH4NO3 than sole NH4 + or NO3 − fertilizers. These results suggest that N fertilization can be used to promote net photosynthesis as well as increase N storage in black walnut seedlings. The NH4NO3 appears to be the preferred N source to promote black walnut growth a...
Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Chronic Kidney Disease

Background— Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) is a phosphorus-regulating hormone. In chronic kidney disease (CKD), circulating FGF-23 levels are markedly elevated and independently associated with mortality. Left ventricular hypertrophy and coronary artery calcification are potent risk factors for mortality in CKD, and FGFs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of both myocardial hypertrophy and atherosclerosis. We conducted a cross-sectional study to test the hypothesis that elevated FGF-23 concentrations are associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and coronary artery calcification in patients with CKD. Methods and Results— In this study, 162 subjects with CKD underwent echocardiograms and computed tomography scans to assess left ventricular mass index and coronary artery calcification; echocardiograms also were obtained in 58 subjects without CKD. In multivariable-adjusted regression analyses in the overall sample, increased log FGF-23 concentrations were independently associated with increas...
Multi‐rate numerical methods for diffusion problems

The one-dimensional diffusion equation is solved using a recent class of multi-rate numerical algorithms collectively referred to as waveform relaxation methods. The methods enable different parts or blocks in the system to take widely different time steps by decoupling the blocks in the time domain. Significant speed-up is obtained over the results using a composite trapezoidal rule/second-order backward Euler time-stepping scheme without blocking. Possible implementation strategies for two-dimensional diffusion are briefly discussed.
Observations on the host-parasite relations of the Pacific whiting, Merluccius productus (Ayres), and two myxosporean parasites, Kudoa thyrsitis (Gilchrist, 1924) and K. paniformis Kabata & Whitaker, 1981

. Muscle samples from 178 Merluccius productus were examined for two myxosporean parasites, Kudoa thyrsitis and K, paniformis. Kudoa paniformis was found in 51% of the samples, while K. thyrsitis and mixed infections were observed in 7% and 17% of the samples respectively. An inflammatory response that resulted in an encapsulation around a completely replaced muscle fibre was observed in infections with either parasite. Presporogenic and sporogenic stages were common while stages that may represent early forms of the parasites were only rarely observed.
Accurate forced-choice recognition without awareness of memory retrieval

Recognition confidence and the explicit awareness of memory retrieval commonly accompany accurate responding in recognition tests. Memory performance in recognition tests is widely assumed to measure explicit memory, but the generality of this assumption is questionable. Indeed, whether recognition in nonhumans is always supported by explicit memory is highly controversial. Here we identified circumstances wherein highly accurate recognition was unaccompanied by hallmark features of explicit memory. When memory for kaleidoscopes was tested using a two-alternative forced-choice recognition test with similar foils, recognition was enhanced by an attentional manipulation at encoding known to degrade explicit memory. Moreover, explicit recognition was most accurate when the awareness of retrieval was absent. These dissociations between accuracy and phenomenological features of explicit memory are consistent with the notion that correct responding resulted from experience-dependent enhancements of perceptual fluency with specific stimuli—the putative mechanism for perceptual priming effects in implicit memory tests. This mechanism may contribute to recognition performance in a variety of frequently-employed testing circumstances. Our results thus argue for a novel view of recognition, in that analyses of its neurocognitive foundations must take into account the potential for both (1) recognition mechanisms allied with implicit memory and (2) recognition mechanisms allied with explicit memory.
Effects of meal frequency on weight loss and body composition: a meta-analysis

It has been hypothesized that eating small, frequent meals enhances fat loss and helps to achieve better weight maintenance. Several observational studies lend support to this hypothesis, with an inverse relationship noted between the frequency of eating and adiposity. The purpose of this narrative review is to present and discuss a meta-analysis with regression that evaluated experimental research on meal frequency with respect to changes in fat mass and lean mass. A total of 15 studies were identified that investigated meal frequency in accordance with the criteria outlined. Feeding frequency was positively associated with reductions in fat mass and body fat percentage as well as an increase in fat-free mass. However, sensitivity analysis of the data showed that the positive findings were the product of a single study, casting doubt as to whether more frequent meals confer beneficial effects on body composition. In conclusion, although the initial results of this meta-analysis suggest a potential benefit of increased feeding frequencies for enhancing body composition, these findings need to be interpreted with circumspection.
Comparative development and competitive ability of Dibrachys pelos (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) on various potential hosts

Abstract Dibrachys pelos (Grissell) is an occasional gregarious ectoparasitoid of Sceliphron caementarium (Drury). We report the second record of this host association, collected in western Nebraska, and present results of laboratory experiments on host suitability and utilization. When D. pelos was reared alone on prepupae of 6 possible hosts, 4 proved entirely suitable: the mud dauber wasps Sceliphron caementarium and Trypoxylon politum Say, and two of their parasitoids, a velvet ant, Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica (Lepeletier) and a bee fly, Anthraxsp. On these hosts D. pelos completed development in 2-4 weeks, with average clutch sizes of 33-57, of which 24.7% were males. The other two hosts tested, the flesh fly Neobellieria bullata (Parker) and the leaf-cutter bee Megachile rotundata (Say), proved marginal, with very few adult progeny produced. When reared on these same 6 hosts with the addition of a competing parasitoid, Melittobia digitata Dahms, D. pelos fared poorly, being the sole offspring produc...
Effect of thyroid hormone on growth of thyrotrophin-secreting pituitary tumors.

Summary and Discussions1. The administration of thyroid hormone effectively prevents the growth of dependent pituitary tumors induced in and grafted on radiothy-roidectomized mice. Autonomous pituitary tumors grow faster in normal than in radio-thyroidectomized hosts, and, in the latter, administration of TH hastens the growth of the tumor. Sustained thiouracil treatment does not render normal mice susceptible to dependent pituitary tumors but hastens somewhat the growth of such pituitary tumors which tend to become autonomous. 2. These experiments support the view that lack of TH is the major growth stimulant of pituitary growths in radiothyroidectomized mice and that sustained lack of this hormone is essential for the proliferation of these tumor cells. In the course of sustained proliferation a new (autonomous) type of tumor cell arises which is not only uninhibited but is often stimulated by TH, the physiological depressant of normal pituitary cells producing thyrotrophin.
Mechanical Properties of Colloidal Gels

A colloidal suspension can be either dispersed or flocculated depending on the interaction between the colloidal particles. If the interaction is repulsive, particles can relax to the minimum of the potential due to their neighboring particles, and the system can reach an equilibrium dispersed state. In the case of attractive interaction, particles form aggregates that settle to the bottom of the container. As the concentration of particles is increased, the overcrowding of the aggregates produces a continuous network throughout the suspension before they settle and a colloidal gel is formed. A major difference between a colloidal gel and a colloidal suspension is that the gel can sustain finite stress and is therefore viscoelastic. Previously we studied the storage modulus and the yield strain of boehmite gels and found that they are related to the particle concentration in a power-law fashion [1]. Similar scaling behavior of the shear modulus was found for other colloidal particulate networks by Buscall et al. [2]. We developed a scaling theory [1] which successfully explains the experimental results on boehmite gels. The theory further predicts that there can be two types of power-law behavior depending on the relative elastic strength of the clusters to that of the links between clusters within the gel network. Furthermore, there can be a crossover from one type of behavior to the other as the particle concentration is varied.
A Univariate Inequality for Medians.

An inequality is provided for medians which is an analog of a theorem due to Karamata, dealing with majorization.
The Effect of Victim Religion on Juror Perceptions of Hate Crimes

OF THESIS THE EFFECT OF VICTIM RELIGION ON JUROR PERCEPTIONS OF HATE CRIMES The present study investigated mock juror perceptions of hate crimes in the courtroom, specifically whether a victim’s religion (Atheist, Christian, Jewish, or Muslim) influenced the likelihood that a mock juror would render a hate crime verdict. I employed a mock juror methodology where participants read an assault trial summary, rendered a verdict, and answered a series of rating questions about the victim and defendant. Two theoretical explanations were proposed to explain the main effect of victim religion on participant verdict decisions; that participants would be most likely to render a guilty verdict when the victim is considered an in-group member (i.e., same religion) or when participants perceived the victim’s religion to be commonly targeted in religion-motivated hate crimes. The results showed a main effect of victim religion on participant verdict decisions, such that the Jewish victim received the highest percentage of hate crime verdicts. Participant perceptions of the victim’s trustworthiness and the defendant’s bias mediated the relationship between participant religion (Christian or Jewish) and verdict decisions. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for law enforcement, social psychology, and policy.
Practical comparison of typical steam-blowing technologies on supercritical once-through boiler

Dropping-pressure and stable-pressure methods are two typical boiler steam-blowing technologies. In order to improve the steam-blowing quality of supercritical once-through boilers and ensure the long-term safe and stable operation of the newly-built power plants, comparative studies were made in two newly-built supercritical boilers and the key points of the steam-blowing technology was summarized. Effects of steam flow, quality of steam, superheating degree and specific volume on blowpipe coefficient were investigated by simulative calculation based on the actual pressure, load data and design parameters. Results show that the optimum steam-blowing technology for supercritical once-through boilers is the stable-pressure method with transformation to dry state. The steam-blowing quality increases with higher feed-water flow and superheating degree.
Targeted iron oxide nanoparticles for the enhancement of radiation therapy

To increase the efficacy of radiation, iron oxide nanoparticles can be utilized for their ability to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Radiation therapy promotes leakage of electrons from the electron transport chain and leads to an increase in mitochondrial production of the superoxide anion which is converted to hydrogen peroxide by superoxide dismutase. Iron oxide nanoparticles can then catalyze the reaction from hydrogen peroxide to the highly reactive hydroxyl radical. Therefore, the overall aim of this project was to utilize iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated to a cell penetrating peptide, TAT, to escape lysosomal encapsulation after internalization by cancer cells and catalyze hydroxyl radical formation. It was determined that TAT functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles and uncoated iron oxide nanoparticles resulted in permeabilization of the lysosomal membranes. Additionally, mitochondrial integrity was compromised when A549 cells were treated with both TAT-functionalized nanoparticles and radiation. Pre-treatment with TAT-functionalized nanoparticles also significantly increased the ROS generation associated with radiation. A long term viability study showed that TAT-functionalized nanoparticles combined with radiation resulted in a synergistic combination treatment. This is likely due to the TAT-functionalized nanoparticles sensitizing the cells to subsequent radiation therapy, because the nanoparticles alone did not result in significant toxicities.
The Histone Acetyltransferase CBP Is Essential for Conventional T Cell Development.

Defining the epigenetic mechanisms (e.g. chromatin modifications) that underlie T cell fate decisions is a major challenge. The transcriptional coactivators CREB binding protein (CBP) and the closely related p300 comprise a two-member family of histone/protein acetyltransferases that interact with over 50 T lymphocyte-essential transcriptional regulators. Rather than having distinct regulatory roles, CBP and p300 are often thought to confer utilitarian transactivation and histone modifying functions to transcription factors that mediate T cell fate. In contrast to this view, we show here that CBP acts uniquely in conventional T cell development. Inactivation of CBP, but not p300, starting at the double negative stage of T cell development yielded thymocytes with partial activation of an effector/memory- or innate-T cell program. CD8SP thymocytes from CBP mutant mice expressed genes that define professional CD8 cells such as Il-2/Il-15 receptor β chain, granzyme A, interferon γ (Ifnγ), Fas ligand, perforin, and the chemokine receptors Ccr5, and Cxcr3. CD4SP thymocytes from CBP mutant mice also expressed effector genes such as Ifnγ, Il-4, and Ccr5. In addition, CD8SP and CD4SP thymocytes from CBP mutant mice produced Ifnγ protein when the cells were stimulated with phorbol ester and ionomycin. Mechanistically, loss of CBP acted cell non-autonomously to induce the expression of the CD8 T cell master regulatory transcription factor eomesodermin (Eomes). This suggests that CBP in thymocytes or T cells controls an extracellular factor that helps demarcate conventional naive T cell development in the thymus from effector/memory T cell differentiation in the periphery.
Is Alcoholics Anonymous religious, spiritual, neither? Findings from 25 years of mechanisms of behavior change research

Background Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a world-wide recovery mutual-help organization that continues to arouse controversy. In large part, concerns persist because of AA's ostensibly quasi-religious/spiritual orientation and emphasis. In 1990 the United States’ Institute of Medicine called for more studies on AA's effectiveness and its mechanisms of behavior change (MOBC) stimulating a flurry of federally funded research. This paper reviews the religious/spiritual origins of AA and its program and contrasts its theory with findings from this latest research. Method Literature review, summary and synthesis of studies examining AA's MOBC. Results While AA's original main text (‘the Big Book’, 1939) purports that recovery is achieved through quasi-religious/spiritual means (‘spiritual awakening’), findings from studies on MOBC suggest this may be true only for a minority of participants with high addiction severity. AA's beneficial effects seem to be carried predominantly by social, cognitive and affective mechanisms. These mechanisms are more aligned with the experiences reported by AA's own larger and more diverse membership as detailed in its later social, cognitive and behaviorally oriented publications (e.g. Living Sober, 1975) written when AA membership numbered more than a million men and women. Conclusions Alcoholics Anonymous appears to be an effective clinical and public health ally that aids addiction recovery through its ability to mobilize therapeutic mechanisms similar to those mobilized in formal treatment, but is able to do this for free over the long term in the communities in which people live.
Search for Heavy Stops with Merged Top Jets

We study an interesting region of phase space at the LHC for pair-produced stops decaying into hadronic top quarks and light neutralinos. After imposing a sizeable cut on the missing transverse energy, which is the key variable for reducing backgrounds, we find that the two hadronic tops are likely to merge into a single fat jet. We develop a jet-substructure-based strategy to tag the two merged top jets and utilize the ${M}_{T2}$ variable to further reduce the backgrounds. We obtain about a 40% increase to the ratio of the signal over background and a mild increase on the signal discovery significance, based on a signal with a 1.2 TeV stop and a 100 GeV neutralino, for the 13 TeV LHC with $100\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. The general event kinematics could also occur and be explored for other new physics signatures with large missing transverse energy.
Evaluation of Fecal Indicators and Pathogens in a Beef Cattle Feedlot Vegetative Treatment System

Runoff from open-lot animal feeding areas contains microorganisms that may adversely affect human and animal health if not properly managed. One alternative to full manure containment systems is a vegetative treatment system (VTS) that collects runoff in a sediment basin and then applies it to a perennial vegetation (grass) treatment area that is harvested for hay. Little is known regarding the efficacy of large-scale commercial VTSs for the removal of microbial contaminants. In this study, an active, pump-based VTS designed and built for a 1200-head beef cattle feedlot operation was examined to determine the effects of repeated feedlot runoff application on fecal indicator microorganisms and pathogens over short-term (2 wk) and long-term (3 yr) operations and whether fecal bacteria were infiltrating into deeper soils within the treatment area. In a short-term study, fecal bacteria and pathogen numbers declined over time in soil. Measurements of total coliforms and Enterococcus counts taken on control soils were not effective as fecal indicators. The repeated application of manure-impacted runoff as irrigation water did not enrich the pathogens or fecal indicators in the soil, and no evidence was seen to indicate that pathogens were moving into the deeper soil at this site. These results indicate that large-scale, active VTSs reduce the potential for environmental contamination by manure-associated bacteria. Also, this study has implications to full-containment systems that apply runoff water to land application areas (cropland) and the fate of pathogens in the soils of land application sites.