cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Membrane-protein stability in a phospholipid-based crystallization medium

Protein stability is a crucial factor to consider when attempting to crystallize integral membrane proteins. Cubic phase, or in meso, lipid-bilayer crystallization media are thought to provide native-like environments that should facilitate membrane protein crystallization by helping to stabilize the native protein conformation for the duration of the crystallization process. While excellent crystals of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and other Halobacterial rhodopsins have been obtained in lipid-bilayer gels formed with monoglycerides, success remains elusive in the general application of such media to other membrane proteins. Additionally, we have noted that some mutants of bR are highly unstable in gels formed with monoolein. Phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) and derivatives of PE represent another class of lipids that can form connected-bilayer gels. When wildtype bR and a labile bR mutant were reconstituted into this phospholipid gel, spectroscopy showed that the protein is both more stable and has improved conformational homogeneity as compared to gels formed using monoolein. In addition, we demonstrate that well-diffracting crystals of bR can be grown from a PE-based crystallization medium. Since most proteins lack a stability-indicating chromophore and other structure-based analytical techniques are poorly compatible with the lipid gel, we developed a generally-applicable spectroscopic technique based on the intrinsic fluorescence of tryptophan residues. This fluorescence assay makes possible the rapid evaluation of lipid gels as media for the crystallization of membrane proteins.
Langmuir monolayers and liquid crystals

Abstract Over the past ten years, intensive studies of insoluble monolayers at the air/water interface (Langmuir monolayers) has revealed that there are close connections between the order in such films and that in smectic liquid crystals. By combining grazing incidence diffraction and imaging methods such as Brewster-angle microscopy, it has been shown that there are one-to-one correspondences between monolayer and liquid crystal phases. Monolayers have also been shown to have optical textures similar to those in smectics. The textures, which arise from an ordering of the molecular tilt azimuth, can be understood in terms of a Landau-de Gennes theory that is modified to take into account the broken symmetry at the interface. The tilt organization is most striking in ordered domains of a condensed phase surrounded by an isotropic phase. In such cases there is a coupling between the order within a domain and its shape, which has also been addressed by theory.
Does a Manufacturing Execution System reduce the cost of production for bulk pharmaceuticals

Abstract The Manufacturing Execution System (MES) has reduced the cost of production in several discrete manufacturing industries. One pharmaceutical bulk manufacturing facility has evaluated the installation of a full function MES system and the necessary reengineering of its business processes. The potential lifecycle cost and benefits were evaluated.
Apoptosis in mitochondrial encephalomyopathies with mitochondrial DNA mutations: a potential pathogenic mechanism

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathies caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) defects are a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous group of disorders. The site, percentage and distribution of mutations do not explain the overall clinical heterogeneity that is found. Apoptosis (programmed cell death) is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that is essential for tissue development and homeostasis. Dysregulation of apoptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various human diseases, such as cancer and autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. Recent in vitro evidence has indicated the central role of mitochondria in the apoptotic process. We investigated the occurrence of apoptosis in muscle biopsies of 36 patients carrying different mtDNA mutations and four patients with inclusion body myositis and mitochondrial abnormalities. Apoptotic features, mainly localized in cytochrome c oxidase-negative fibres, were observed in muscle fibres of patients carrying a high percentage of single mtDNA deletions (>40%) and of tRNA point mutations (>70%). By contrast, no apoptotic changes were observed in inclusion body myositis and in patients carrying mutations of mtDNA structural genes. Our study suggests that apoptosis is not simply a means whereby cells with dysfunctional mitochondria are eliminated, but that it seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of mitochondrial disorders associated with mtDNA defects affecting mitochondrial protein synthesis. The imbalance and relative abundances of nuclear-encoded and mtDNA-encoded subunits may favour cytochrome c inactivation and release. Cytochrome c, together with respiratory chain dysfunction, could activate apoptotic pathways that, in turn, inhibit the rate of mitochondrial translation and the importation of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein precursors. This vicious circle may amplify the biochemical defects and tissue damage and contribute to the modulation of clinical features.
Pseudo-obstruction of the colon (ogilvie's syndrome)

Pseudo-obstruction of the colon is an acute abdominal problem that can occur from a variety of causes and multiple organ failures. It is characterized by massive colonic dilatation and a clinical picture suggestive of mechanical large-intestinal obstruction, without any organic obstruction. Decompression should be cautiously attempted with proctoscopy and, possibly, colonoscopy; if these fail, then surgical decompression, usually by a cecostomy, is indicated.
Upregulation of Bfl-1/A1 in leukemia cells undergoing differentiation by all-trans retinoic acid treatment attenuates chemotherapeutic agent-induced apoptosis.

Upregulation of Bfl-1/A1 in leukemia cells undergoing differentiation by all- trans retinoic acid treatment attenuates chemotherapeutic agent-induced apoptosis
Who's Benefiting Whom? A Trade Agenda for High-Technology Industries

(1993). Who's Benefiting Whom? A Trade Agenda for High-Technology Industries. The Washington Quarterly: Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 17-33.
Ultrafast electron cascades in semiconductors driven by intense femtosecond terahertz pulses

An ultrafast terahertz (THz) source has been employed to study the nonlinear response of semiconductors to near-half-cycle femtosecond pulses in the THz regime. We report nonlinear absorption and self-phase modulation of the THz pulses associated with ultrafast impact ionization processes and the development of an electron cascade on femtosecond time scales by THz pump--THz probe measurements.
Commentary: Tending the Garden of Personality

In this Commentary for the special issue of the Journal of Personality, we discuss the uses and limitations of taxonomies in personality, drawing on the role of taxonomic efforts in other sciences. We endorse Mc Adams's concept of several “levels” (perhaps three: traits, motives and cognitive structures, and core unity themas or identity) for ordering and arranging the major variables of personality. We argue that these levels should be considered independent and distinct: Each level has its own range of convenience, and no level can be reduced to any other level. We suggest that the concept of conflict—within and across levels—is a useful way to understand certain problematic cases. Finally, we argue that the social macrocontext (gender, class, race, culture, and history) has unfortunately been neglected in most personality theories and taxonomies of variables. We illustrate the importance of social macrocontext with a brief discussion of the case of Maya Angelou.
Depth-zero supercuspidal L-packets and their stability

In this paper we verify the local Langlands correspondence for pure inner forms of unramied p-adic groups and tame Langlands parameters in \general position". For each such parameter, we explicitly construct, in a natural way, a nite set (\ L-packet") of depth-zero supercuspidal representations of the appropriate p-adic group, and we verify some expected properties of this L-packet. In particular, we prove, with some conditions on the base eld, that the appropriate sum of characters of the representations in our L-packet is stable; no proper subset of our L-packets can form a stable combination. Our L-packets are also consistent with the conjectures of B. Gross and D. Prasad on restriction from SO2n+1 to SO2n [24]. These L-packets are, in general, quite large. For example, Sp2n has an L-packet containing 2 n representations, of which exactly two are generic. In fact, on a quasi-split form, eachL-packet contains exactly one generic representation for every rational orbit of hyperspecial vertices in the reduced BruhatTits building. When the group has connected center, every depth-zero generic supercuspidal representation appears in one of these L-packets. We emphasize that there is nothing new about the representations we construct. They are induced from Deligne-Lusztig representations on subgroups of nite
Advanced spectroscopic diagnostics for lighting plasmas

Summary form only given, as follows. Advanced diagnostics based on vacuum ultraviolet laser induced fluorescence and high sensitivity absorption spectroscopy for glow discharge plasmas used in lighting will be described. The resonance line of the atomic mercury ion at 194 nm is now accessible to tunable dye laser systems. Laser induced fluorescence provides excellent spatial and temporal resolution for mapping the relative density of mercury ions and other species in lighting plasmas. High sensitivity absorption spectroscopy using a synchrotron, a large (3 m) vacuum echelle spectrometer, and a CCD detector array complements laser diagnostics by providing absolute column densities. Absorption spectroscopy using detector arrays has far greater sensitivity than older experiments using a single channel, sequentially scanned spectrometer. Continuum source intensity fluctuations often limit the sensitivity of single channel, sequentially scanned absorption experiments. The simultaneous detection of all spectral channels across an absorption feature using a detector array eliminates the effect of source fluctuations. Photon statistical fluctuations are then the primary limit on the sensitivity of the absorption experiment. The array detector makes it possible to efficiently accumulate good photon statistics. Sensitivities to fractional absorptions of 10/sup -5/ are now possible at wavelengths from the vacuum ultraviolet to the near infrared. Column densities of atoms or atomic ions as small as 10/sup 8/ cm/sup -2/ are detectable using high sensitivity absorption spectroscopy. A digital subtraction technique for discriminating against the line emission from the glow discharge and detecting only the continuum emission, which has absorption features after transmission through the glow discharge, is used. These diagnostics are providing a more quantitative understanding of the negative glow region of hot cathode Hg-Ar (fluorescent lamp) discharges.
Eosinophil survival activity identified as interleukin-5 is associated with eosinophil recruitment and degranulation and lung injury twenty-four hours after segmental antigen lung challenge

Abstract Background: Segmental antigen challenge in allergic volunteer subjects leads to the recruitment of inflammatory cells, including eosinophils, to the lung and to lung injury as shown by albumin influx into the alveolar air space. The goal of this study was to determine whether eosinophil-active cytokines, including IL-3, IL-5, or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, are released into the lung 24 hours after segmental antigen challenge of ragweed allergic subjects with allergic rhinitis and to determine whether the presence of the cytokine or cytokines is correlated with markers of lung inflammation and lung injury. Methods: Volunteers underwent challenge with a wide variety of antigen doses, which resulted in the recruitment of inflammatory cell mixtures both with and without eosinophils. Results: Eosinophil survival activity (ESA), the ability of the cytokine to prolong blood eosinophil survival in culture, was found in 5 of 17 ragweed allergic subjects and only in subjects challenged with relatively high doses of ragweed antigen (0.2 ragweed antigen units/ml or more). No ESA was found in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in any of eight nonragweed allergic subjects. This activity could be almost completely neutralized by preincubating BAL fluid with specific antibody to IL-5, although a small contribution by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor may also have been present. ESA correlated with eosinophil recruitment ( r = 0.72, p r = 0.63to0.81, p r = 0.83, p Conclusions: We conclude that IL-5 is the most important constituent in ESA in the lung 24 hours after antigen challenge and that it correlates with eosinophil recruitment, degranulation, and lung injury.
Sea based logistics: distribution problems for future global contingencies

Proceedings of the 1997 Winter Simulation Conference ed. S. Andradottir, K. J. Healy, D. H. Withers, and B. L. Nelson
Full-chip leakage current estimation based on statistical sampling techniques

In this paper, we propose statistical sampling techniques in estimating the mean and distribution of full-chip leakage current under process variations. The stratified random sampling procedures are used to estimate the mean and variance of the full-chip leakage, under intra-die and inter-die process variations. Statistical quantile estimation method is then applied to estimate the cumulative distribution function. Experimental results show that, comparing to simple random sampling, the proposed approaches improve the estimation speed by 2.7X, on average.
Comparative mapping of fiber, protein, and mineral content QTLs in two interspecific Leymus wildrye full-sib families

Crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and mineral content are important components of forage quality in grasses. Elevated [K]/([Ca] + [Mg]) ratios (KRAT) substantially increase the risk of grass tetany (hypomagnesemia) in grazing animals, which is a serious problem associated with some cool-season grasses. The objectives of this study were to map and compare QTLs controlling concentrations of CP, NDF, ADF, Al, B, Ca, Cl, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Si, Zn, and KRAT in two full-sib Leymus triticoides × (L. triticoides × L. cinereus) TTC1 and TTC2 families. Significant genetic variation and QTLs were detected for all traits, with evidence of conserved QTLs for ADF (LG1a, LG5Xm, LG7a), NDF (LG7a), Ca (LG1b), CP, (LG5Xm), KRAT (LG3b, LG6b, LG7a, LG7b), Mn (LG2b, LG3b, LG4Xm), and S (LG3a) content in both TTC1 and TTC2 families. Moreover, the direction of QTL effects was the same for 13 of the 14 homologous QTLs in both families. The TTC1 and TTC2 KRAT QTLs on LG7a and LG7b were located near markers defining homoeologous relationships between the sub-genomes of allotetraploid Leymus, suggesting possible QTL homoeology. Another 88 QTLs were unique to one family or the other, but many of these clustered in genome regions common between the two families. These results will support development of new Leymus wildrye forages and help characterize genes controlling mineral uptake and fiber synthesis.
Joint initiation in bedded clastic rocks

Abstract Two general types of sedimentary structures serve as initiation points (IP) for cross-fold joints in siltstone beds of the Ithaca Formation, Appalachian Plateau, New York: planar bed boundaries and geometrically complex features such as bedforms, trace fossils, and soft-sediment deformation structures. The relative abundance of each IP type varies with the stratigraphic position of the jointed body. When they are mechanically isolated by thicker shales, siltstone bodies have a higher percentage of IP associated with complex features. This association supports the hypothesis that sedimentary structures serve to concentrate stress, thus becoming preferred sites for primary joint initiation. Secondary joint initiation occurs at planar bed boundaries through interaction with pre-existing joints in adjacent siltstone beds that are mechanically coupled to form composite joints. The propagation path of joints passing through planar bed boundaries of composite joints can be traced backward to primary IP at complex sedimentary structures. Modeling suggests that when beds are mechanically coupled, the modest joint-tip stress concentration across a shale layer (e.g.,
Structural Dynamics at Monolayer−Liquid Interfaces Probed by 2D IR Spectroscopy

Monolayers functionalized with tricarbonyl- 1,10-phenanthroline rhenium chloride (RePhen(CO)3Cl) are studied in the presence of a variety of polar organic solvents (chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, dimethylformamide, acetoni- trile), hexadecane, and water. The headgroup, RePhen- (CO)3Cl, is soluble in the bulk polar organic solvents but not in hexadecane or water. The surface structural dynamics are studied using IR absorption, ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) vibrational echoes, and heterodyne-detected transient gratings (HDTG). The headgroup is also studied in the bulk solvents. Immersion in solvent changes the environment of the surface bound RePhen(CO)3Cl as shown by a solvent- dependent symmetric CO stretch absorption frequency and line shape. The 2D IR spectroscopy is sensitive to spectral diffusion, which reports on the structural time dependence. In the absence of solvent (bare surface), the spectral diffusion takes place on a 37 ± 4 ps time scale, whereas in the presence of THF, MeCN, or CHCl3 it occurs on the 25 ± 6 ps time scale. However, in DMF, the spectral diffusion time constant is 15 ± 3 ps. In hexadecane the spectral diffusion slows to 77 ± 15 ps, slower than the bare surface. In D2O, the monolayer CO stretch is split into two bands, indicating distinct local structures, and the spectral diffusion of main band is again slower than the bare surface. HDTG spectroscopy is used to investigate the vibrational lifetime dynamics.
Neph1 Cooperates with Nephrin To Transduce a Signal That Induces Actin Polymerization

While the mechanisms that regulate actin dynamics in cellular motility are intensively studied, relatively little is known about signaling events that transmit outside-in signals and direct assembly and regulation of actin polymerization complexes at the cell membrane. The kidney podocyte provides a unique model for investigating these mechanisms since deletion of Nephrin or Neph1, two interacting components of the specialized podocyte intercellular junction, results in abnormal podocyte morphogenesis and junction formation. We provide evidence that extends the existing model by which the Nephrin-Neph1 complex transduces phosphorylation-mediated signals that assemble an actin polymerization complex at the podocyte intercellular junction. Upon engagement, Neph1 is phosphorylated on specific tyrosine residues by Fyn, which results in the recruitment of Grb2, an event that is necessary for Neph1-induced actin polymerization at the plasma membrane. Importantly, Neph1 and Nephrin directly interact and, by juxtaposing Grb2 and Nck1/2 at the membrane following complex activation, cooperate to augment the efficiency of actin polymerization. These data provide evidence for a mechanism reminiscent of that employed by vaccinia virus and other pathogens, by which a signaling complex transduces an outside-in signal that results in actin filament polymerization at the plasma membrane.
Correcting over 50 years of tobacco industry misinformation.

Background In 2006, a U.S. Federal Court ruled that the major domestic cigarette manufacturers were guilty of conspiring to deny, distort, and minimize the hazards of cigarette smoking to the public and ordered corrective statements to correct these deceptions. Purpose This study evaluates the effectiveness of different versions of corrective statements that were proposed to the Court. Methods 239 adult smokers (aged 18–65 years) were randomized to view one of five different versions of corrective statements on five topics (health risks, addiction, low-tar cigarettes, product manipulation, and secondhand smoke); change in knowledge and beliefs were measured before and after viewing the statements, as well as 1 week later. Three of the versions were text-based statements recommended by different parties in the case (Philip Morris, U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ], Interveners), whereas two others were developed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) for this study and utilized pictorial images (emotive and neutral). Data collection and analysis were conducted in Buffalo NY from 2008 to 2009. Results Regardless of which corrective statement was seen, exposure resulted in a consistent pattern of increased level of knowledge and corrected misperceptions about smoking, although the effects were not large and diminished back toward baseline levels within 1 week. The DOJ, Interveners, and emotive statements elicited a stronger affective response and were rated by respondents as more persuasive ( p -value Conclusions Each of the proposed corrective statements tested helped correct false beliefs about smoking, but sustained impact will likely require repeated exposures to the message.
Nonparametric Confidence Intervals for a Shift Parameter

Exact expressions and large-sample approximations are given for the nonparametric confidence intervals for a shift parameter A, which are obtained from the two-sample Wilcoxon test. These intervals are shown to have the same asymptotic efficiency relative to the standard confidence intervals for A as the Wilcoxon test has relative to Student’s 2-test. As a consequence of this result, a constant multiple of the length of the nonparametric intervals is shown to be a consistent estimator of the quantity 1/∫f 2 (x) dx.
Variation in and Relationships Among Feeding, Chewing, and Drinking Variables for Lactating Dairy Cows

Abstract Twelve Holstein cows (63 DIM; 6 primiparous) were offered a common diet and monitored for 21 d (11 d of adaptation, 10 d of collection) with a data acquisition system to measure continuously feed and water intakes and chewing behavior. Objectives were to examine relationships among feeding behavior variables for noncompeting cows producing various quantities of milk and to determine experimental designs with adequate power to detect reasonable treatment differences in future experiments. Coefficients of variation across cows ranged from 5 to 41% for the variables studied. Milk production was correlated positively with DMI and water intake within and across parities. For multiparous cows, production was related positively to meal size (r=.78) and length of eating bouts (r=.75) and unrelated to meal number and eating rate. For primiparous cows, production tended to be related positively to meal number (r=.55) and eating rate (r=.87) and unrelated to meal size. Rumination and total time spent chewing per unit of DMI were correlated negatively (r=−.58) with milk production within and across parities. These correlations suggest that differences exist among cows for chewing efficiency. Reasons why high producing cows consume and chew more effectively deserve further study. Contrast differences of 10% of means for variables examined had an 80% probability of detection with a Latin square design utilizing 12 cows monitored for 5 d.
Scopemate: a robotic microscope

Scopemate is a robotic microscope that tracks the user for inspection microscopy. The novel input device combines an optically augmented web-cam with a head tracker. A head tracker controls the inspection angle of a webcam fitted with appropriate microscope optics. This allows an operator the full use of their hands while intuitively looking at the work area from different perspectives.
Partition Theorems for Left and Right Variable Words

In 1984 T. Carlson and S. Simpson established an infinitary extension of the Hales–Jewett Theorem in which the leftmost letters of all but one of the words were required to be variables. (We call such words left variable words.) In this paper we extend the Carlson–Simpson result for left variable words, prove a corresponding result about right variable words, and determine precisely the extent to which left and right variable words can be combined in such extensions. The results mentioned so far all involve a finite alphabet. We show that the results for left variable words do not extend to words over an infinite alphabet, but that the results for right variable words do extend.
Augmenting E-ship power system evaluation and converter controller design by means of real-time hardware-in-loop simulation

This paper evaluates the performance of an industrial power electronic building block (PEBB) controller in a large scale all electric ship power system by means of real-time hardware in the loop (RT-HIL) simulation. As an example relevant to future all electric navy ships, transients originating from the charging circuit of a pulse power load integrated with the prolusion motor drive and its impact on the system are studied. Different solutions to mitigate the impact by coordinating the power sharing between the pulse load's energy storage system and the ship propulsion motor drive are proposed and evaluated. The second part of the paper discusses how the RT-HTL tool can be used for system-wide performance optimization. Experimental results show the effectiveness of this method in finding the optimal parameter setting for the voltage loop control. It is concluded that due to distinct advantages of the RT-HTL method over conventional (off-line) simulations for system response analysis as well as for performance optimization, RT-HTL shall be employed more rigorously for electric ship system designs in the future.
Effects of simulated acid rain on sugar maple seedling root growth

DUSTIN C. D. and RAYNAL D. J. Effects of simulated acid rain on sugar maple seedling root growth. ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 28, 207-213, 1988.--Based on studies of seedling microhabitats in the held, laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of brief pulses of simulated acid rain on sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) seedling root growth. Radicle elongation following seed germination was reduced at pH 3.0 1 day after germination but not after 3 days or more. After 7 days of growth, seedlings exposed to pH 3.0 showed a significant reduction in growth of root hairs compared to those exposed to pH 4.0 rain; however, no significant differences in radicle and root hair growth were found 10 days after seed germination. The growth of the primary and secondary roots was not affected by exposure to simulated acid rain of pH 3.0. Evaluation of the findings in relation to natural conditions indicates that generally no direct adverse effects on sugar maple seedling growth are expected.
Public health for the people: participatory infectious disease surveillance in the digital age

The 21st century has seen the rise of Internet-based participatory surveillance systems for infectious diseases. These systems capture voluntarily submitted symptom data from the general public and can aggregate and communicate that data in near real-time. We reviewed participatory surveillance systems currently running in 13 different countries. These systems have a growing evidence base showing a high degree of accuracy and increased sensitivity and timeliness relative to traditional healthcare-based systems. They have also proven useful for assessing risk factors, vaccine effectiveness, and patterns of healthcare utilization while being less expensive, more flexible, and more scalable than traditional systems. Nonetheless, they present important challenges including biases associated with the population that chooses to participate, difficulty in adjusting for confounders, and limited specificity because of reliance only on syndromic definitions of disease limits. Overall, participatory disease surveillance data provides unique disease information that is not available through traditional surveillance sources.
Domain wall production during inflationary reheating

We numerically investigate the decay, via parametric resonance, of the inflaton with an ${m}^{2}{\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{2}$ potential into a scalar matter field with a symmetry breaking potential. We consider the case where symmetry breaking takes place during inflation, but where thermal symmetry restoration cannot occur during or after preheating. We show that when expansion is not taken into account during reheating, non-thermal symmetry restoration and defect production is possible. However in an expanding universe the fields do not spend sufficient time in the instability bands, thus symmetry restoration and subsequent domain wall production do not occur.
Site-specific progression of carotid artery intimal-medial thickness.

Abstract Purpose: To characterize the intercorrelation of changes in intimal-medial thickness (IMT) among carotid artery sites and examine the influence of diabetes and sex on these correlations. Methods: Ultrasonographic IMT measurements from the near and far walls of common and internal segments in the arteries of 1207 participants of the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) were analyzed to estimate the underlying correlations of IMT changes (average of 5.2 years) among artery sites after correction for measurement error. Results: Differences in IMT progression associated with diabetes and sex were evident at all sites. IMT changes were strongly correlated between left and right arteries ( r =0.32–0.73) and near and far walls ( r =0.42–0.87). Correlations of IMT changes at corresponding sites of internal versus common segments were reduced from r =0.32 among normal individuals to r =0.09 among those with diabetes, but were similar for women and men. Conclusions: IMT progression is a diffuse process involving all carotid artery sites. Diabetes does not influence the bilateral and radial nature of progression, but reduces the correlation between distal sites within an artery. Pooling measurements across arteries and walls often yields the most efficient analyses.
Learning a Hierarchical Belief Network of Independent Factor Analyzers

Many belief networks have been proposed that are composed of binary units. However, for tasks such as object and speech recognition which produce real-valued data, binary network models are usually inadequate. Independent component analysis (ICA) learns a model from real data, but the descriptive power of this model is severly limited. We begin by describing the independent factor analysis (IFA) technique, which overcomes some of the limitations of ICA. We then create a multilayer network by cascading singlelayer IFA models. At each level, the IFA network extracts realvalued latent variables that are non-linear functions of the input data with a highly adaptive functional form, resulting in a hierarchical distributed representation of these data. Whereas exact maximum-likelihood learning of the network is intractable, we derive an algorithm that maximizes a lower bound on the likelihood, based on a variational approach.
Capture of terrestrial-sized moons by gas giant planets

Terrestrial moons with masses >0.1 M (symbol in text) possibly exist around extrasolar giant planets, and here we consider the energetics of how they might form. Binary-exchange capture can occur if a binary-terrestrial object (BTO) is tidally disrupted during a close encounter with a giant planet and one of the binary members is ejected while the other remains as a moon. Tidal disruption occurs readily in the deep gravity wells of giant planets; however, the large encounter velocities in the wells make binary exchange more difficult than for planets of lesser mass. In addition, successful capture favors massive binaries with large rotational velocities and small component mass ratios. Also, since the interaction tends to leave the captured moons on highly elliptical orbits, permanent capture is only possible around planets with sizable Hill spheres that are well separated from their host stars.
Responsibility and the Brain Sciences

Some theorists think that the more we get to know about the neural underpinnings of our behaviors, the less likely we will be to hold people responsible for their actions. This intuition has driven some to suspect that as neuroscience gains insight into the neurological causes of our actions, people will cease to view others as morally responsible for their actions, thus creating a troubling quandary for our legal system. This paper provides empirical evidence against such intuitions. Particularly, our studies of folk intuitions suggest that (1) when the causes of an action are described in neurological terms, they are not found to be any more exculpatory than when described in psychological terms, and (2) agents are not held fully responsible even for actions that are fully neurologically caused.
Cardiac Donor Risk Factors Predictive of Short-Term Heart Transplant Recipient Mortality: An Analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing Database.

Abstract Introduction To address the shortage of donor hearts for transplantation, there is significant interest in liberalizing donor acceptance criteria. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate cardiac donor characteristics from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database to determine their impact on posttransplantation recipient outcomes. Methods Adult (≥18 years) patients undergoing heart transplantation from July 1, 2004, to December 31, 2012, in the UNOS Standard Transplant Analysis and Research (STAR) database were reviewed. Patients were stratified by 1-year posttransplantation status; survivors (group S, n = 13,643) and patients who died or underwent cardiac retransplantation at 1-year follow-up (group NS/R = 1785). Thirty-three specific donor variables were collected for each recipient, and independent donor predictors of recipient death or retransplantation at 1 year were determined using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results Overall 1-year survival for the entire cohort was 88.4%. Mean donor age was 31.5 ± 11.9 years, and 72% were male. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, donor age >40 years (odds ratio [OR] 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27 to 1.64), graft ischemic time >3 hours (OR 1.32, 1.16 to 1.51), and the use of cardioplegia (OR 1.17, 1.01 to 1.35) or Celsior (OR 1.21, 1.06 to 1.38) preservative solution were significant predictors of recipient death or retransplantation at 1 year posttransplantation. Male donor sex (OR 0.83, 0.74 to 0.93) and the use of antihypertensive agents (OR 0.88, 0.77 to 1.00) or insulin (OR 0.84, 0.76 to 0.94) were protective from adverse outcomes at 1 year. Conclusions These data suggest that donors who are older, female, or have a long projected ischemic time pose greater risk to heart transplant recipients in the short term. Additionally, certain components of donor management protocols, including antihypertensive and insulin administration, may be protective to recipients.
The Supreme Court Upholds an Arbitrator's Authority: Oxford Health Plans v. Sutter

Two developing areas of law collided in a single case this term, as the Supreme Court considered both the finality of arbitral awards and the ability to form class actions in the context of an arbitration agreement. The Supreme Court in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter reaffirmed the principle that an arbitrator's decisions are largely immune from judicial review.
NVH of RCCI With DI ULSD and PFI With 50% N-Butanol

The noise of diesel engines is dependent upon numerous factors such as: load, speed, fuel injection strategies and fuel type, design of the piston, piston-pin and cylinder and their tolerances, bearings, valves and rocker arm clearances, and designs of the manifolds.In this study, engine sound and vibrations analysis have been conducted using two types of fueling and combustion strategies: classical ULSD combustion and the new RCCI with n-butanol injected in the intake manifold. The analyses add to the understanding of the influence of combustion characteristics’ effect on mechanical noise and vibrations throughout the engine’s operating cycle.The sound and vibration signals were both analyzed in the frequency and angle domain spectrum. Overall NVH spectrum from ULSD combustion was compared to that of RCCI with 50% by mass PFI of n-butanol (the 50% remaining ULSD fuel was directly injected).Frequency analyses were performed using the FFT and CPB methods with Bruel & Kjaer’s Pulse sound and vibrations analysis software. Angle domain analyses were performed, referencing 0 CAD as TDC in combustion.The engine tests were conducted at 1500 rpm and 4 bar IMEP. The COV of IMEP for DI ULSD and RCCI were 2.4 and 2.2, respectively. The correlations between sound, three dimensional vibration levels, and timings were found for: pressure gradients from combustion process, intake and exhaust valve actuations and gas exchange, and piston slap on the cylinder liner.The measurements were extracted and analyzed, and the results determined that virtually all the noise and vibration values pertinent to RCCI were lower than those of ULSD classical combustion.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Custom Scratch Tips for Evaluation of Two-Body Abrasion on Lunar Surface Spacecraft Materials

During the Apollo missions to the surface of the Moon, numerous hardware issues were encountered due to the abrasive nature of lunar dust, which is formed from micrometeorite bombardment resulting in jagged particle geometries in the absence of weathering. Mineralogy of lunar minerals is characterized in order to predict regolith particle abrasive behavior by properties such as toughness, hardness, cleavage or fracture, and distribution. An investigation was conducted to study the abrasive nature of these particles using twobody scratch testing. The standard two-body abrasion test, ASTM G 171, uses a diamond stylus tip. However, we are also interested in the behavior of the abrasive material itself, which is not possible with the standard method since it does not allow evaluation of specific interaction between lunar minerals on spacecraft materials, and vice versa, as would occur on the Moon. Therefore, in an attempt to better model single particle interactions with typical engineering materials, custom scratch tips were fabricated out of analogous terrestrial minerals including anorthosite, olivine, enstatite and ruby spinel. The ASTM scratch methodology was then used to test these minerals against aluminum 6061-T6, a common spacecraft structural material. Observations of volume removal showed variability due to the friable tips and resultant fracturing that occurred during testing. We also included a diamond tip to relate our studies to established theory and to serve as a baseline for comparing the custom mineral tip data of interest to the large body of available data for interactions of diamond on various materials. Key spinel data are presented for scratch penetration depth and compared to two standard diamond tips, and recommendations for future testing are outlined.
Comparative Study of Adjuvants for Increasing Mortality of Malathion-treated Black Carpet Beetles

Nine adjuvants were tested for enhancement of mortality of malathion-treated Attagenus megatoma (F.). Malathion concentrations included 10, 1, 0.1, and 0.01% while adjuvant concentrations for most tests were maintained at 0.55% Little or no enhancement was observed with 10 and 1% malathion with the addition of an adjuvant. In all treatments mortality occurred rapidly, approaching 100% at the end of 8 h. With 0.1% malathion, however, increased mortality was observed with the addition of each of the 9 adjuvants. The materials giving highest mortality levels at the end of 72 h were Regulaid® (93%), Tween® 80 (84%), Multi-Film X-77® (83%), and Triton® CS-7 (83%). Malathion alone (0.1%) gave 6% mortality during the same time-period. Tests with Multi-Film X-77 showed that mortality enhancement progressively decreased with decreasing adjuvant concentrations. Even at 0.018%, however, beetle mortality was ca. 3 times higher than for malathion alone.
Development Status,Existing Problem and Development Countermeasures of Fruit Industry in Beijing

Horticulture is an important part of ecological industry in Beijing,possessing significant ecological benefits,economic benefits and social benefits.This paper briefly analyzed the development situation of fruit industry in Beijing,reviewed the development advantages and existing problems of fruit industry.Then,under the background of the construction of ecological civilization and regional harmonious development,this paper put forward the development path of fruit industry in Beijing:strengthen scientific and technological innovation to enhance the mechanization degree of orchard;promoted the building of agricultural cooperatives to enhance the level of industrial development;implement actively orchard upgrading projects to promote the standardization construction of orchard;pushed forward informationalization construction.
PRELIMINARY STUDY ON SOIL CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGY ON REGIONAL RECLAMATION AT THE EXCAVATED COAL PITS WITH SANDY SOIL——A Case study of Huojitu and Bulianta excavated coal pits of Shengdong Diggings

Landform,terrain and soil fertility are important influential factors of vegetation restoration at the excavated coal pits.Huojitu and Bulianta excavated coal pits of Shengdong Diggings lie in hilly and gully regions on the loess plateau. Intopographic relief had great variation and surface soil type was sandy soil. The mechanical composition of soil in the depth of 0—90cm was coarse,the texture of soil was low,p H value of soil shows alkalescence,the contents of organic matter,nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium were quite absence in the soil. The difference of fertilizer level was relatively large in different soil layers of different and same site types.The fertilizer level in the soil was low,and the general question of soil layer in the pit was barren,which was also main reason leading to low productivity of the vegetation,so soil reclamation and vegetation construction must do soil cultivation in excavated pits. Site types were divided using clustering analysis based on terrain,gradient and sand's thickness at the pit and reclamation areas were classified mainly by different vegetation configuration mode,then the soil fertilizer characteristic was analyzed and evaluated. The technical measures that improving regional reclamation and soil cultivation were put forward according to different vegetation configuration mode and soil background fertilizer character.
Navigating highly homologous genes in a molecular diagnostic setting: a resource for clinical next-generation sequencing.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is now routinely used to interrogate large sets of genes in a diagnostic setting. Regions of high sequence homology continue to be a major challenge for short-read technologies and can lead to false-positive and false-negative diagnostic errors. At the scale of whole-exome sequencing (WES), laboratories may be limited in their knowledge of genes and regions that pose technical hurdles due to high homology. We have created an exome-wide resource that catalogs highly homologous regions that is tailored toward diagnostic applications. This resource was developed using a mappability-based approach tailored to current Sanger and NGS protocols. Gene-level and exon-level lists delineate regions that are difficult or impossible to analyze via standard NGS. These regions are ranked by degree of affectedness, annotated for medical relevance, and classified by the type of homology (within-gene, different functional gene, known pseudogene, uncharacterized noncoding region). Additionally, we provide a list of exons that cannot be analyzed by short-amplicon Sanger sequencing. This resource can help guide clinical test design, supplemental assay implementation, and results interpretation in the context of high homology. Genet Med 18 12, 1282–1289.
Retroperitoneal neurogenous choristoma

AbstractA 6-year-old girl with urinary complaints underwent ultrasonography, which revealed a retroperitoneal cystic mass adjacent to the left kidney. Computerized tomography did not demonstrate whether the mass was an adrenal cyst or a duplicated upper pole segment. Exploration revealed a neurogenous choristoma, which is a collection of histologically normal tissue that is ectopically situated. We believe that this is the first report of this rare entity occurring in the retroperitoneum.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Functionalization of Gold Nanoparticles for Cancer Imaging

This chapter describes the methodology by which mAb-F19-conjugated gold nanoparticles were prepared and used to label human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Specifically, gold nanoparticles were coated with dithiol bearing hetero-bifunctional PEG (polyethylene glycol), and cancer-specific mAb F19 was attached by means of NHS-EDC coupling chemistry taking advantage of a carboxylic acid group on the heterobifunctional PEG. These conjugates were completely stable and were characterized by a variety of methods, including UV-Vis absorbance spectrometry, darkfield microscopy, DLS (dynamic light scattering), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), SEC (size-exclusion chromatography), and confocal microscopy. Nanoparticle bioconjugates were used to label sections of healthy and cancerous human pancreatic tissue. Labeled tissue sections were examined by darkfield microscopy and indicate that these nanoparticle bioconjugates may selectively bind to cancerous tissue and provide a means of optical contrast.
The effects of spacing and mixing practice problems

Sets of mathematics problems are generally arranged in 1 of 2 ways. With blocked practice, all problems are drawn from the preceding lesson. With mixed review, students encounter a mixture of problems drawn from different lessons. Mixed review has 2 features that distinguish it from blocked practice: Practice problems on the same topic are distributed, or spaced, across many practice sets; and problems on different topics are intermixed within each practice set. A review of the relevant experimental data finds that each feature typically boosts subsequent performance, often by large amounts, although for different reasons. Spacing provides review that improves longterm retention, and mixing improves students' ability to pair a problem with the appropriate concept or procedure. Hence, although mixed review is more demanding than blocked practice, because students cannot assume that every problem is based on the immediately preceding lesson, the apparent benefits of mixed review suggest that this easily adopted strategy is underused.
Dynamically polarized samples for neutron protein crystallography at the Spallation Neutron Source

To prepare for the next generation neutron scattering instruments for the planned second target station at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and to broaden the scientific impact of neutron protein crystallography at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we have recently ramped up our efforts to develop a dynamically polarized target for neutron protein crystallography at the SNS. Proteins contain a large amount of hydrogen which contributes to incoherent diffraction background and limits the sensitivity of neutron protein crystallography. This incoherent background can be suppressed by using polarized neutron diffraction, which in the same time also improves the coherent diffraction signal. Our plan is to develop a custom Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) setup tailored to neutron protein diffraction instruments. Protein crystals will be polarized at a magnetic field of 5 T and temperatures of below 1 K. After the dynamic polarization process, the sample will be brought to a frozen-spin mode in a 0.5 T holding field and at temperatures below 100 mK. In a parallel effort, we are also investigating various ways of incorporating polarization agents needed for DNP, such as site specific spin labels, into protein crystals.