cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cold Pressing of Membrane Electrode Assemblies for High-Temperature PEM Fuel Cells

With the current economic and environmental situation, the development of affordable and clean energy sources is receiving much attention. One leading area of promise is PEM fuel cells. Presently, manufacture of high temperature Polybenzimidizole (PBI) based PEM Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) is usually performed by sealing in a thermal press. A typical sealing process requires heated tooling to press electrode-subgasket assemblies into a sol-gel PBI membrane. MEAs designed for transportation purposes have a large active area that requires expensive heated tooling, which in turn requires significant power to operate. A previous Design of Experiments (DoE) and analysis revealed that sealing temperature is a statistically insignificant sealing parameter with respect to MEA performance. To further investigate the effects of sealing temperature on MEA performance in hopes of reducing manufacturing costs, an additional DoE was performed in which MEAs were manufactured with the tooling at room temperature. This paper examines the effect of thermal sealing process parameters, namely: (1) sealing temperature; (2) percent compression, and; (3) seal time on the fuel cell performance. MEAs were manufactured using three different thickness membranes with these input process parameters. Polarization behavior during single cell operation, internal cell resistance and catalyst utilization were analyzed as performance parameters. This data is compared to MEAs made with traditional heated tooling. The analysis reveals the insignificance of sealing temperature on the initial performance of the MEA.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Structure elucidation of a novel yellow chromophore from human lens protein.

We report here the isolation of a novel acid-labile yellow chromophore from the enzymatic digest of human lens proteins and the identification of its chemical structure by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and 1H, 13C, and two-dimensional NMR. This new chromophore exhibited a UV absorbance maximum at 343 nm and fluorescence at 410 nm when excited at 343 nm. Analysis of the purified compound by reversed-phase HPLC with in-line electrospray ionization mass spectrometry revealed a molecular mass of 370 Da. One- and two-dimensional NMR analyses elucidated the structure to be 1-(5-amino-5-carboxypentyl)-4-(5-amino-5-carboxypentylamino)-3-hydroxy-2,3-dihydropyridinium, a cross-link between the ϵ-amino groups of two lysine residues, and a five-carbon ring. Because this cross-link contains two lysine residues and a dihydropyridinium ring, we assigned it the trivial name of K2P. Quantitative determinations of K2P in individual normal human lens or cataract lens water-soluble and water-insoluble protein digests were made using a high-performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a diode array detector. These measurements revealed a significant enhancement of K2P in cataract lens proteins (613 ± 362 pmol/mg of water-insoluble sonicate supernatant (WISS) protein or 85 ± 51 pmol/mg of WS protein) when compared with aged normal human lens proteins (261 ± 93 pmol/mg of WISS protein or 23 ± 15 pmol/mg of water-soluble (WS) protein). These data provide chemical evidence for increased protein cross-linking during aging and cataract development in vivo. This new cross-link may serve as a quantitatively more significant biomarker for assessing the role of lens protein modifications during aging and in the pathogenesis of cataract.
Reducing disparities in assessment for kidney transplantation.

“If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”— John Wooden In 1972, Congress enacted the Social Security Amendments for extending Medicare benefits to people with ESRD with the goal of treating renal failure and enabling rehabilitation (productive working
Scientific Uncertainty in News Coverage of Cancer Research: Effects of Hedging on Scientists' and Journalists' Credibility

News reports of scientific research are rarely hedged; in other words, the reports do not contain caveats, limitations, or other indicators of scientific uncertainty. Some have suggested that hedging may influence news consumers’ perceptions of scientists’ and journalists’ credibility (perceptions that may be related to support for scientific research and/or adoption of scientific recommendations). But whether hedging does affect audience perceptions is unknown. A multiple-message experiment (N = 601) found that across five messages, both scientists and journalists were viewed as more trustworthy (a) when news coverage of cancer research was hedged (e.g., study limitations were reported) and (b) when the hedging was attributed to the scientists responsible for the research (as opposed to scientists unaffiliated with the research).
Influence of sex hormones on the periodontium.

Objectives: Sex hormones have long been considered to play an influential role on periodontal tissues, bone turnover rate, wound healing and periodontal disease progression. The objectives of this review article are to (1) address the link between sex hormones and the periodontium, (2) analyse how these hormones influence the periodontium at different life times and (3) discuss the effects of hormone supplements/replacement on the periodontium. Materials and Methods: Two autonomous searches were performed in English language utilizing Medline, Premedline and Pubmed as the online databases. Publications up to 2002 were selected and further reviewed. In addition, a manual search was also performed including specific related journals and books. Results: It is certain that sexual hormones play a key role in periodontal disease progression and wound healing. More specifically, these effects seem to differentiate by gender as well as lifetime period. In addition, the influence of sex hormones can be minimized with good plaque control and with hormone replacement. Conclusion: Despite profound research linking periodontal condition with sex hormones kinetics, more definitive molecular mechanisms and therapy still remain to be determined.
Why a Cluster is Truly a Cluster: Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Disease

The 2 major definitions of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are based on disparate views as to the etiology of this diagnostic category. Proponents of the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP 3) version(1) consider this entity to be “truly is a syndrome,” a grouping of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk factors that probably has more than one cause. In contrast, adherents to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition feel that there is a specific cause of their version of the MetS(2), stating that “central obesity is an early step in the etiological cascade leading to the full metabolic syndrome.” I believe the view expressed by the proponents of the ATP III version of the MetS that there is no single “cause” of the components is true at the most simplistic level, but misleading, whereas the notion that abdominal obesity is the “cause” of these components, as expressed by the adherents to the IDF version, can be challenged. The fundamental question is whether there is one root cause that can explain the clustering of the components that comprise the various metabolic conditions thought to indicate the presence of the MetS, not whether any individual component can have more than one cause. It is obvious that any of these individual metabolic abnormalities, e.g., glucose intolerance, high triglyceride (TG) or low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration, and high blood pressure, can have more than one cause. For example, hypertriglyceridemia can result from a deficiency of lipoprotein lipase and hypertension from renal artery stenosis. Ample evidence exists, however, that insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia increase the risk of all of these individual metabolic abnormalities, and I know of no other mechanistic explanation that fulfills that role. The substantial evidence in support of this view cannot be summarized in the context of this presentation, …
Future Prospects for Periodontal Bioengineering Using Growth Factors

Polypeptide growth factors have demonstrated strong potential to repair defects associated with teeth and dental implants. Over the past two decades, intense research efforts have led to the clinical development of several growth factors or biologic agents, including bone morphogenetic proteins, platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factors, and enamel matrix proteins. Several of these growth factors are now being used clinically for a variety of applications, such as the promotion of periodontal regeneration, sinus floor augmentation, and root coverage procedures. Although clinical results have been promising and growth factors add another dimension to clinical care, optimization of growth factor targeting approaches to periodontal wounds remains a challenge. Enhancement of growth factor local application to improve bioavailability, bioactivity, and allowance of three-dimensional reconstruction of complex anatomic defects is a goal. This article will highlight developments for growth factor delivery to better stimulate the wound healing response for periodontal and bone regeneration in the maxillofacial region.
Hepatic artery stenosis in liver transplantation: Imaging and interventional treatment

Abstract Introduction Main purpose of our study is to demonstrate the spectral and color Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) findings that would indicate hepatic artery stenosis (HAS) after liver transplantation and to report our single center results. Moreover we want to establish role and limits of the different imaging techniques in detecting HAS, proposing a non invasive diagnostic approach and to depict indications and feasibility of endovascular treatment in the single patient. Materials and methods Our study consisted of 222 patients who underwent liver transplantation between January 1999 and December 2009. DUS findings were correlated with multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) and angiographic results. Results HAS occurred in 21 cases (9.5%). In all cases diagnosis was performed by DUS. MDCTA quantified stenosis and showed an overall picture of splanchnic vascularization. Based on DUS and MDCTA data integration, in 9 cases we adopted the “wait and see” strategy. Moreover in 12 cases treatment was considered necessary. For hepatic artery stenosis, use of DUS criteria resulted in a sensitivity of 100% (20/20), a specificity of 99.5% (201/202), a positive predictive value (PPV) of 95% (20/21), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% (201/201), and an overall accuracy of 99.5% (221/222). Conclusion Our study underline the role of DUS in early diagnosis of HAS: repeated evaluation of both direct and indirect signs increases NPV and sensitivity of DUS.
Sensor Data Collection through Unmanned Aircraft Gateways

Current addressing and service discovery schemes in mobile networks are not well-suited to multihop disconnected networks. This paper describes an implementation of a highly mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) that may never experience end-to-end connectivity. Special gateway nodes are described which are responsible for intelligently routing messages to their intended destination(s). These gateway nodes qualify their links and announce their status to the MANET, a simple approach to service discovery that is effective in this implementation. This implementation has been tested in an outdoor environment.
POLITICAL CLIENTELISM AND CAPTURE: Theory and Evidence from West Bengal, India 1

We provide a theory of political clientelism, which explains sources and determinants of political clientelism, the relationship between clientelism and elite capture, and their respective consequences for allocation of public services, welfare and empirical measurement of government accountability in service delivery. Using data from household surveys in rural West Bengal, we argue that the model helps explain observed impacts of political reservations in local governments that are dicult to reconcile with standard models of redistributive politics.
Decentralized Online Convex Programming with local information

This paper describes a novel approach to decentralized online optimization in a large network of agents. At each stage, the agents face a new objective function that reflects the effects of a changing environment, and each agent can share information pertaining to past decisions and cost functions only with his neighbors. These operating conditions arise in many practical applications, but introduce challenging questions related to the performance of distributed strategies relative to impractical centralized approaches. The proposed algorithm yields small regret (i.e., the difference between the total cost incurred using causally available information and the total cost that would have been incurred in hindsight had all the relevant information been available all at once) and is robust to evolving network topologies. It combines a subgradient-based sequential convex optimization scheme with decentralized decision-making via approximate dynamic programming.
Dialectical Materialism and Nature An Alternative to Economism and Deep Ecology

Two commonly held views about the nature of Nature lead to a systematic misunderstanding and mismeasurment of natural processes. The “economistic” view conceives of the natural environment as a rep...
Stereotactic radiosurgery with or without whole brain radiotherapy for patients with one to three melanoma brain metastases

Melanoma brain metastasis poses a difficult ther- apeutic challenge. Melanoma is perceived as a radioresistant histology and is thought to be less responsive to whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is regarded as one of the treatment options that may improve local control in patients with a small number of lesions. A total of 28 patients with one to three brain metastases from melanoma primary (43 lesions) were treated with Gamma Knife-based SRS. Eight patients received WBRT. The me- dian marginal dose to the lesions was 20 Gy (range 15- 22 Gy) delivered to the 50% isodose line. The cumulative treatment volume ranged from 0.587 to 24.00 ml (median 4.0). Median follow-up for patients was 5.9 months (range 1.3 to 30.9 months). The 3-, 6-, and 12-month overall survival (OS) rates were 78.6%, 52.4%, and 26.4%, respectively, for the whole group. The corresponding free- dom from local progression (FFLP) rates were 78.5%, 68.7%, and 61.1%. The corresponding free from distant brain failure (FFDBF) and free from intracranial failure (FFICF) rates were 71.7%, 47.5%, and 36.9% and 68.9%, 51.7%, and 28.2%, respectively. The addition of WBRT did not impact on OS, FFLP, FFDBF, or FFICF. In patients who are reliable for close follow-up with serial MRI of the brain, SRS alone may be presented as a treatment option. The role of WBRT in patients with limited melanoma brain metasta- ses would be best answered in a phase III randomized trial setting.
Repression of RNA Polymerase I Transcription by the Tumor Suppressor p53

The tumor suppressor protein p53 is frequently inactivated in tumors. It functions as a transcriptional activator as well as a repressor for a number of viral and cellular promoters transcribed by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and by RNA Pol III. Moreover, it appears that p53 also suppresses RNA Pol I transcription. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanism of Pol I transcriptional inhibition by p53. We show that wild-type, but not mutant, p53 can repress Pol I transcription from a human rRNA gene promoter in cotransfection assays. Furthermore, we show that recombinant p53 inhibits rRNA transcription in a cell-free transcription system. In agreement with these results, p53-null epithelial cells display an increased Pol I transcriptional activity compared to that of epithelial cells that express p53. However, both cell lines display comparable Pol I factor protein levels. Our biochemical analysis shows that p53 prevents the interaction between SL1 and UBF. Protein-protein interaction assays indicate that p53 binds to SL1, and this interaction is mostly mediated by direct contacts with TATA-binding protein and TAFI110. Moreover, template commitment assays show that while the formation of a UBF-SL1 complex can partially relieve the inhibition of transcription, only the assembly of a UBF-SL1-Pol I initiation complex on the rDNA promoter confers substantial protection against p53 inhibition. In summary, our results suggest that p53 represses RNA Pol I transcription by directly interfering with the assembly of a productive transcriptional machinery on the rRNA promoter.
A New Approach for Tree Alignment Based on Local Re-Optimization

Multiple sequence alignment is the most fundamental task in bioinformatics and computational biology. In this paper, we present a new algorithm to conduct multiple sequences alignment based on phylogenetic trees. It is widely accepted that a good phylogenetic tree can help produce high quality alignment, but the direct dynamic programming solution grows exponentially [13]. To overcome this problem, we first devise a procedure that can produce optimal alignment for three sequences and infer their common ancestor. We then extend the above procedure to compute the alignment of a given tree with more sequences by itera- tively relabeling the internal nodes. We have implemented our algorithm as a C program package, which can handle both DNA and protein data and can take simple cost model as well as complex substitution matrices, such as PAM or BLOSUM series. We test our new method with biological and simulated datasets, and compare its performance with those of other popular multiple sequence alignment tools, including the widely used programs such as ClustalW and T-Coffee.
Global vegetation phenology from AVHRR and MODIS data

Seasonal climatic variability drives four successive phases of vegetation phenology: green-up, maturity, senescence and dormancy. These periods can be divided by four transition dates of phenological phases. An algorithm of maximal curvature detection is developed to measure these dates for vegetation communities at each vegetation cycle. This method is applied to detect vegetation phenology based on AVHRR and MODIS data from regional to global extents. The spatial distribution patterns of phenological phases and cycle modes are analyzed in association with such environmental factors as temperature variability, water availability and human activity.
Exploring the Assistance Dilemma in Experiments with Cognitive Tutors

Intelligent tutoring systems are highly interactive learning environments that have been shown to improve upon typical classroom instruction. Cognitive Tutors are a type of intelligent tutor based on cognitive psychology theory of problem solving and learning. Cognitive Tutors provide a rich problem-solving environment with tutorial guidance in the form of step-by-step feedback, specific messages in response to common errors, and on-demand instructional hints. They also select problems based on individual student performance. The learning benefits of these forms of interactivity are supported, to varying extents, by a growing number of results from experimental studies. As Cognitive Tutors have matured and are being applied in new subject-matter areas, they have been used as a research platform and, particularly, to explore interactive methods to support metacognition. We review experiments with Cognitive Tutors that have compared different forms of interactivity and we reinterpret their results as partial answers to the general question: How should learning environments balance information or assistance giving and withholding to achieve optimal student learning? How best to achieve this balance remains a fundamental open problem in instructional science. We call this problem the “assistance dilemma” and emphasize the need for further science to yield specific conditions and parameters that indicate when and to what extent to use information giving versus information withholding forms of interaction.
Complement-mediated clearance of erythrocytes: mechanism and delineation of the regulatory roles of Crry and DAF

The role of complement in the pathogenesis of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) has been controversial and may depend on a number of factors, including the affinity and isotype of the pathogenic antibodies involved. We have recently shown that mouse erythrocytes deficient in the membrane C3 regulatory protein, complement receptor 1–related gene/protein y (Crry), but not decay-accelerating factor (DAF), were spontaneously eliminated in vivo by complement. Here, by generating a mouse deficient in both DAF and Crry, we further delineated the roles of Crry and DAF in regulating alternative and classical pathway C3 activation. By using immunoglobulin-, Fcγ receptor (FcγR)–, C3-, C4-, and C5-deficient mice, we also determined the mechanism by which membrane C3 regulator-deficient erythrocytes are cleared from the circulation. Finally, we evaluated the relative importance of the Fc receptor versus the complement pathway in disposing antibody-opsonized DAF/Crry–deficient erythrocytes. We conclude that (1) Crry plays a more dominant role than DAF in regulating the alternative pathway of complement, whereas DAF and Crry are equally effective in preventing antibody-induced runaway complement activation on mouse erythrocytes; (2) DAF/Crry–deficient erythrocytes are eliminated by the alternative pathway of complement via complement receptor–mediated erythrophagocytosis in the spleen; and (3) when opsonized with an immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) autoantibody, Crry/DAF–deficient erythrocytes are eliminated more rapidly by complement than by the Fc receptor pathway. These results shed new light on the relative activities of Crry and DAF and underscore the critical roles of membrane C3 regulators in preventing spontaneous and antibody-induced erythrocyte damage in vivo.
Some Wars Are More Unequal Than Others

La guerra ineguale: Pace e violenza nel tramonto della societa internazionale (Unequal War: Peace and Violence in the Decline of International Society). By Alessandro Colombo. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2006. 330 pp., $23.00 (ISBN: 88-15-11074-7). Efforts to limit war are probably as old as the institution of war itself. Ethical approaches to limiting war, such as Just War Theory, have made their contribution. But perhaps more important, according to Alessandro Colombo in La guerra ineguale , was the state's monopolization of the legitimate use of violence. For Colombo, a leading Italian scholar of international relations and professor at the University of Milan, the most effective limitations on warfare come, as he puts it, when the forms of war are consistent with the principles of international society. Colombo draws on a deep knowledge of European history and on such theorists as Clausewitz, Grotius, Carl Schmitt, Raymond Aron (1966), and members of the “English School” like Martin Wight (1977, 1978, 1992) and Hedley Bull (1977) to make his case. The main limitations on warfare, he argues, focus on the actors who engage in it and the limits that are placed on the time, space, and means of conducting it. For Colombo, the international society that most effectively imposed such limits was the “classic” European system that lasted from the Peace of Westphalia “at least to the French Revolution, and, with difficulties increasingly growing, up to the catastrophe of the First World War” (p. 204). This is the jus publicum europaeum of which Schmitt wrote in his 1950 study of law and geopolitics, which has only recently become available in English translation as The Nomos of the Earth in the International Law of the Jus Publicum Europaeum (Schmitt 2003). An Italian translation of Schmitt's book was published decades ago, and it has been quite influential in the study of international relations throughout …
School experiences influence personal health and interpersonal relationships of adolescents: The Canadian case

Canadian data from the 1998 Cross-National Survey on Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children were analyzed to examine the effects of school experiences on personal health (physical health, mental health, self-esteem, helplessness, and body image) and interpersonal relationships (number of close friends and making friends) among adolescents. Hierarchical linear models with students nested within schools highlighted that both physical and mental health and self-esteem declined among Canadian adolescents across grade levels (Grades 6 – 10). Canadian adolescents also showed substantially increasing concerns about their body image. No health concern was found about feeling helpless and interpersonal relationship. The most important school effects pertained to parent behaviors at the school level with child-parent relationship being important to physical and mental health and parental involvement being important to self-perception (self-esteem, helplessness, and body image) and interpersonal relationship.
Optimizing the configuration and control of a novel human-powered energy harvesting system

As sensor equipped wearable systems enter the mainstream, system longevity and power-efficiency issues hamper large scale and long-term deployment, despite substantial foreseeable benefits. As power and energy efficient design, sampling, processing and communication techniques emerge to counter these issues, researchers are beginning to look on wearable energy harvesting systems as an effective counterpart solution. In this paper, we propose a novel harvesting technology to inconspicuously transduce mechanical energy from human foot-strikes and power low-power wearable systems in a self-sustaining manner. Dielectric Elastomers (DEs) are high-energy density electrostatic transducers that can transduce significant levels of energy from a user while appearing near-transparent to her, if configured and controlled properly. Towards this end, we propose DE-based harvester configuration that capitalizes on properties of human gait to enhance transduction efficiency, and further leverage these properties in an adaptive control algorithm to optimize the net energy produced by the system. We evaluate system performance from detailed analytical and empirical models of DE transduction behavior, and apply our control algorithm to the modeled DEs under experimentally collected foot pressure datasets from multiple subjects. Our evaluations show that the proposed system can achieve up to 120mJ per foot-strike, enough to power a variety of low-power wearable devices and systems.
Three-dimensional finite point groups and the symmetry of beaded beads

Beaded beads are clusters of beads woven together (usually around one or more large holes). Their groups of symmetries are classified by the three-dimensional finite point groups, i.e. the finite subgroups of the orthogonal group of degree three, O(3). The question we answer is whether every finite subgroup of O(3) can be realized as the group of symmetries of a beaded bead. We show that this is possible, and we describe general weaving techniques we used to accomplish this feat, as well as examples of a beaded bead realizing each finite subgroup of O(3) or, in the case of the seven infinite classes of finite subgroups, at least one representative beaded bead for each class.
Excited states of the nucleon within the Friedberg-Lee model

The radially excited even-parity as well as odd-parity states of the nucleon are studied within the framework of the Friedberg-Lee nontopological soliton bag model for hadrons. The one-gluon exchange term of the model is iterated self-consistently, together with the quark and the soliton fields. The parameters of the model were determined earlier by fitting the masses of the nucleon and delta. It is found that the solutions to the excited states exist only for a limited range of the parameters. It is also found that the calculated masses of the even-parity state is larger than that of the odd-parity state, which is contrary to their experimental values.
Effects of Aoueous Phase Composition on the Leach Behavior of Nuclear Waste Glasses

A systematic matrix of leach tests on a Rest Valley waste glass composition is described. These tests are intended to provide quantitative systematic information on leachant composition effects. and accordingly elucidate the controlling orocesses in hiuh-solute media. e.g. silicate ground water. brine. etc. In order to separate the effects of the nature and concentration of solutes from pH effects. leach tests were first carried out on the glass in de-ionized water under highly interactive conditions (high surface to volume ratio) in a configuration which pre- vented lowering the pH due to the intrusion of CO:. After determination of the resulting pH. the leach behavior of the glass was characterized in a series of high-dilution tests in various leachants buffered at this pH value in order to quantify the effects of leachant composition and concen- trations on the leaching orocess. The high-dilution conditions were used at this stage to ensure that the leachant composition mould not be signifi- cantly affected by accumulation of leached glass components. It was concluded that increased ionic strength appears to depress the leach rates in near-neutral media but enhances the leach rates under moderately basic conditions.
Gender Variation in Creaky Voice and Fundamental Frequency

This work was partially supported by an Undergraduate Research Scholarship and the National Science Foundation (BCS-1056409).
Nuclear Cooling Applied to Measurements in He 3

An apparatus for the use of nuclear adiabatic demagnetization has now produced and maintained submillidegree temperatures for as long as seven hours. It has cooled 0.45 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ of ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ at various pressures to 4 mdeg K in the liquid state and to approximately 7 mdeg K in the solid state. Measurements of the nuclear-spin susceptibility, specific heat, and thermal-boundary impedance have been made to these temperatures in the liquid and some preliminary observations made in the solid.
An Analysis and Evaluation of ‘Rental Housing in the City of New York: Supply and Conditions 1975-1978′ by Peter Marcuse

I review and critique Peter Marcuse's work, 'Rental Housing in the City of New York: Supply and Conditions 1975-1978.'
The inverse semigroup of partial symmetries of a convex polygon

The inverse semigroup of partial symmetries of a convex polygon is the natural extension of the group of symmetries of a polygon. For a convex polygon P, a subpolygon is any convex polygon whose vertices form a subset of the vertices of P. An isometry between subpolygons is a bijection which is distance preserving. Under composition, the set of all isometries forms an inverse semigroup S=S(P), which we call the semigroup of partial symmetries of P. We explore some basic properties of this semigroup. We first describe all the ideals of S and then consider congruences on S, giving a complete description of the congruences of each of the following types: idempotent separating, idempotent determined, semilattice, Clifford congruences.
In-transit shipboard fumigation of wheat.

Wheat in 3 holds of a bulk dry-cargo vessel was fumigated by applying aluminum phosphide tablets at the rate of 1.77 tablets/m3 of hold capacity. Tablets applied in layers during loading of 2 holds gave better gas distribution and a more efficacious fumigation than stepping the tablets into the surface of the grain in the other hold. Delays in loading of holds fumigated by the layering method sometimes resulted in concentrations of phosphine in the space above the wheat that exceeded the threshold limit value. However, these concentrations were rapidly reduced by ventilation when the main hatch covers were opened. Likewise, in preparation for unloading the wheat at destination, the overhead space of the holds was ventilated rapidly by opening the main hatch covers. Residues of phosphine on wheat samples after fumigation were well below the established tolerance except at one location in each test hold.
An Improved SDS–Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis for Resolution of Peptides in the Range Of 3.5-200kDa

Resolution of a wide range of polypeptides, 3.5-200kDa, on a single low acrylamide and cross linkage gel of 7.7% T, 2.6% C is described here. Laemmli's (4) original discontinuous SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) system is modified by increasing the ionic strength of both stacking and resolving gels, and replacing the usual glycine buffer with a tricine cathode buffer as described by Schagger and von Jagow (7). This system offers the advantage of a wide range of protein fractionation, with sufficient band resolution, on a single, low acrylamide concentration and cross linkage gel. Moreover, increased gel ionic concentration allows higher protein and salt load, and renders this system suitable for preparative work.
CDC’s early response to a novel viral disease, middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), September 2012–May 2014

The first ever case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was reported in September 2012. This report describes the approaches taken by CDC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, to respond to this novel virus, and outlines the agency responses prior to the first case appearing in the United States in May 2014. During this time, CDC's response integrated multiple disciplines and was divided into three distinct phases: before, during, and after the initial activation of its Emergency Operations Center. CDC's response to MERS-CoV required a large effort, deploying at least 353 staff members who worked in the areas of surveillance, laboratory capacity, infection control guidance, and travelers' health. This response built on CDC's experience with previous outbreaks of other pathogens and provided useful lessons for future emerging threats.
Melanoma driver mutations and immune therapy

Melanoma harbors recurrent oncogenic driver mutations in BRAF and NRAS, but these mutations' impact on immunotherapy outcomes is unclear. We assessed 229 patients treated with immunotherapy, and found that clinical outcomes were largely superior in those with NRAS mutations. Herein, we discuss our findings and their implications for melanoma therapeutics.
Serotype,resistance,tdh and trh gene analysis on Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates from food poisoning

Objective:To investigate the main epidemic strain type and correlative biological characteristics of the Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates from food poisoning.Methods:The isolated strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were subjected to serotype using serum agglutination test,and adopting flat method to do the resistance detection.Meanwhile,adopting PCR to detect the tdh and trh.Results:In 56 strains,that were 54 strains from patients.O3:K6,O4:K8 and O1:K25 with tdh positive and trh negative were 49,2 and 2 strains.The two Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from food remains were different,one of 2007 with tdh negative and trh negative was O1:K56,one of 2008 with tdh negative and trh negative was not able to be serotyped.The 56 strains show large proportion or all resistance to Penicillins,show sensitive to Aminoglycoside,Quinolones and Sulfonamides.Conclusion:The Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from food-poisoning are mainly O3:K6 with tdh gene in Minghang district.
Phytoplanktonic and Bacterial Carbon Pools and Productivities in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, during Early Austral Spring.

Abstract Phytoplankton and bacterial biomass and productivities were investigated at four depths in the upper 500 m of the water column in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, during the prebloom period of early austral spring, from October 13 to November 4, 1995. The concentrations of all carbon pools were low, with the total particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration averaging 1.9 +/- 0.9 µM. Bacterial, protozoan, and phytoplankton carbon accounted for 21% of the total POC, indicating that detritus or unenumerated organisms comprised the bulk of the POC during this period. Larger zooplankton or protozoa, such as ciliates, may account for this difference, since microzooplankton can represent a significant fraction of the total microbial biomass. Primary and bacterial secondary production rates were also low, less than 300 and 30 ng C L(-1) h(-1), respectively. However, when production was normalized to either chlorophyll or bacterial cell number, rates were similar to those recorded during the spring bloom periods. This indicates that the cells were metabolically active during the prebloom period. Chlorophyll specific primary production averaged over the upper 80 m of the water column was 1.28 +/- 0.84 µg C µg chl(-1) h(-1), whereas the mean bacterial specific growth rate over the same depth interval was 0.34 +/- 0.24 d(-1). The overall production rates were low only because of the low abundance of cells during the prebloom period. When the site was reoccupied the following year, all measures of biomass and productivity were higher [36], emphasizing the large interannual variability in the Gerlache Strait.http://link.springer-ny.com/link/service/journals/00248/bibs/38n3p296.html</hea
High-Pressure Group with Increased Transpulmonary Blood Flow

We have conducted studies in the experimental animal11, 63 and in patients with congenital heart disease to determine the effects of high pressure and increased transpulmonary blood flow on the pulmonary circulation. This chapter describes the general features of these findings and presents our quantitative morphometric studies of elastic and muscular arteries subjected to such conditions.
Possibilities for Controlling Stored-Grain Insects with RF Energy*

ABSTRACTPrior reviews of the literature are cited concerning insect control with radiofrequency (RF) electric fields. Basic principles of dielectric heating are discussed in relation to selective heating of insects in infested grain. The influence of various physical and entomological factors is discussed as supported by experimental evidence. Experimental exposure of insects to 40-MHz and 2,450-MHz fields and measured values of dielectric properties of insects and grain indicate that selective heating advantages may be better in the lower frequency range. Consideration of practical aspects indicates that immediate application of RF methods for insect control is probably not economically feasible, but that RF methods warrant continued evaluation for future possibilities.
Laser in situ keratomileusis flap stability in an aviator following aircraft ejection.

We present the case of a 28-year-old male F/A-18F Super Hornet naval flight officer who ejected from an aircraft at 13 000 feet at a speed in excess of 350 knots 7 years after uneventful laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). The patient was evaluated the day after the ejection. No LASIK flap complications or epithelial defects were found, and the corrected distance visual acuity was 20/15 in both eyes. Financial Disclosure None of the authors has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
MRI in pelvic inflammatory disease: a pictorial review

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an ascending infection of the female genital tract caused by the spread of bacteria from the vagina to the pelvic reproductive organs and occasionally the peritoneum. The most common causative organisms are sexually transmitted. PID is a significant source of morbidity among reproductive age women both as a cause of abdominal pain and as a common cause of infertility. Its clinical presentation is often nonspecific, and the correct diagnosis may first come to light based on the results of imaging studies. MRI is well suited for the evaluation of PID and its complications due to its superior soft tissue contrast and high sensitivity for inflammation. MRI findings in acute PID include cervicitis, endometritis, salpingitis/oophoritis, and inflammation in the pelvic soft tissues. Acute complications include pyosalpinx, tuboovarian abscess, peritonitis, and perihepatitis. Hydrosalpinx, pelvic inclusion cysts and ureteral obstruction may develop as chronic sequela of PID. The pathophysiology, classification, treatment, and prognosis of PID are reviewed, followed by case examples of the appearance of acute and subclinical PID on MR images.
Attenuation correction in 4D-PET using a single-phase attenuation map and rigidity-adaptive deformable registration

Purpose Four-dimensional positron emission tomography (4D-PET) imaging is a potential solution to the respiratory motion effect in the thoracic region. Computed tomography (CT)-based attenuation correction (AC) is an essential step toward quantitative imaging for PET. However, due to the temporal difference between 4D-PET and a single attenuation map from CT, typically available in routine clinical scanning, motion artifacts are observed in the attenuation-corrected PET images, leading to errors in tumor shape and uptake. We introduced a practical method to align single-phase CT with all other 4D-PET phases for AC. Methods A penalized non-rigid Demons registration between individual 4D-PET frames without AC provides the motion vectors to be used for warping single-phase attenuation map. The non-rigid Demons registration was used to derive deformation vector fields (DVFs) between PET matched with the CT phase and other 4D-PET images. While attenuated PET images provide useful data for organ borders such as those of the lung and the liver, tumors cannot be distinguished from the background due to loss of contrast. To preserve the tumor shape in different phases, an ROI-covering tumor was excluded from nonrigid transformation. Instead the mean DVF of the central region of the tumor was assigned to all voxels in the ROI. This process mimics a rigid transformation of the tumor along with a nonrigid transformation of other organs. A 4D-XCAT phantom with spherical lung tumors, with diameters ranging from 10 to 40 mm, was used to evaluate the algorithm. The performance of the proposed hybrid method for attenuation map estimation was compared to (a) the Demons nonrigid registration only and (b) a single attenuation map based on quantitative parameters in individual PET frames. Results Motion-related artifacts were significantly reduced in the attenuation-corrected 4D-PET images. When a single attenuation map was used for all individual PET frames, the normalized root-mean-square error (NRMSE) values in tumor region were 49.3% (STD: 8.3%), 50.5% (STD: 9.3%), 51.8% (STD: 10.8%) and 51.5% (STD: 12.1%) for 10-mm, 20-mm, 30-mm, and 40-mm tumors, respectively. These errors were reduced to 11.9% (STD: 2.9%), 13.6% (STD: 3.9%), 13.8% (STD: 4.8%), and 16.7% (STD: 9.3%) by our proposed method for deforming the attenuation map. The relative errors in total lesion glycolysis (TLG) values were -0.25% (STD: 2.87%) and 3.19% (STD: 2.35%) for 30-mm and 40-mm tumors, respectively, in proposed method. The corresponding values for Demons method were 25.22% (STD: 14.79%) and 18.42% (STD: 7.06%). Our proposed hybrid method outperforms the Demons method especially for larger tumors. For tumors smaller than 20 mm, nonrigid transformation could also provide quantitative results. Conclusion Although non-AC 4D-PET frames include insignificant anatomical information, they are still useful to estimate the DVFs to align the attenuation map for accurate AC. The proposed hybrid method can recover the AC-related artifacts and provide quantitative AC-PET images.
The Dynamics of Organized Structures in the Axisymmetric Jet Mixing Layer

The near field jet mixing layer is modeled in a manner similar to that applied by Aubry et al. (1988) to the near wall region of the turbulent boundary layer. In this work the instantaneous velocity field is expanded in terms of the empirical eigenfunctions obtained by Glauser and George (1987). These eigenfunctions were extracted from the measured cross-spectral tensor by application of the proper orthogonal decomposition theorem (POD) suggested by Lumley (1967). Galerkin projection is then applied to the Navier Stokes equations in conjunction with this representation, resulting in low-dimensional sets of ordinary differential equations. The methods of dynamical systems theory are then used to analyze these equations. This work consists of an attempt to utilize the dynamical systems model to further our understanding of the transfer of turbulent energy between various azimuthal modes and streamwise wavenumbers and relate this to the turbulence production phenomena in the jet mixing layer. With this model the sequence by which the various modes contribute in time can be examined.
Alopecia areata is characterized by expansion of circulating Th2/Tc2/Th22, within the skin-homing and systemic T-cell populations.

Background Characterizing blood profile of alopecia areata (AA) is not only important for treatment advancements, but also for possibly identifying peripheral biomarkers that will eliminate the need for scalp biopsies. We aimed to compare frequencies of skin homing (CLA+) vs. systemic (CLA-) “polar” CD4+ and CD8+ and activated T-cell subsets in AA vs. AD and control blood. Methods Flow cytometry was used to measure IFN-γ, IL-13, IL-9, IL-17, and IL-22 cytokines in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. ICOS and HLA-DR were used to define mid and long term T-cell activation. We compared peripheral blood from 32 moderate-to-severe AA adults with 43 moderate-to-severe AD patients and 30 age-matched controls. Results AA patients had increased CLA+/CLA- Th2 (P 0.1). ICOS and HLA-DR activation were significantly higher in AA than controls (P<0.05). T regulatory cells were significantly decreased in AA patients than controls (P<0.01) and were correlated with activated CD8+ T-cells and with multiple cytokine subsets (P<0.05). While Th2 and Tc2 clustered with disease severity, IFN-γ producing cells were linked with AA duration. Conclusions AA is accompanied by Th2/Tc2 activation in skin homing and systemic subsets, correlating with disease severity, while IFN-γ is linked to disease chronicity. These data hint for a possible role of diverse T-cells subsets in disease pathogenesis, and emphasize the systemic nature of AA supporting the need for systemic therapeutic strategies in severe patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Social integration, perceived discrimination, and self-esteem in mid- and later life: intersections with age and neuroticism.

Objectives: Social relations can influence well-being throughout the life course. Integration in one's community may serve as a source of social support whereas negative interactions such as day-to...
Linearized Dynamics of General Flux-Pinned Interfaces

A flux-pinned interface offers a passively stable equilibrium that otherwise cannot occur between magnets because electromagnetic fields are divergenceless. The contactless, compliant nature of flux pinning offers many benefits for close-proximity robotic maneuvers, such as rendezvous, docking, and actuation. This paper derives the six degree-of-freedom linear dynamics about an equilibrium for any magnet/superconductor configuration. Linearized dynamics are well suited to predicting close-proximity maneuvers, provide insights into the character of the dynamic system, and are essential for linear control synthesis. The equilibria and stability of a flux-pinned interface are found using Villani's equations for magnetic dipoles. Kordyuk's frozen-image model provides the nonlinear flux-pinning response to these magnetic forces and torques, all of which are then linearized. Comparing simulation results of the nonlinear and linear dynamics shows the extent of the linear model's applicability. Nevertheless, these simple models offer computational speed and physical intuition that a nonlinear model does not.