cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Models for the compressibility of layered polymeric sponges

The characteristic sigmoid compressive stress-strain relationships of sponges and their layered arrays are described by two kinds of mathematical models having three experimentally determined parameters. Since sponge compression is not accompanied by a significant cross-sectional area expansion, it was assumed that the stress in a multilayered array is the same in each layer. This enables prediction of the array's stress-strain relationship from the parameters of the individual layers and their known thickness. The applicability of the method is demonstrated with experimental data of two kinds of double-layered arrays of polyurethane sponges. It is shown that the arrays' compressive behavior can be satisfactorily predicted irrespective of the mathematical form of the model and whether the strain is expressed as engineering strain or Hencky's.
Flexible ureteroscopy is effective for proximal ureteral stones in both obese and nonobese patients: a two-year, single-surgeon experience.

Objective To report a retrospective series of proximal ureteral stone ureteroscopies (URS) by a single surgeon, using results presented in a recommended format from the American Urological Association Ureteral Stone Guideline panel, with an emphasis on outcomes related to obesity. Methods A retrospective chart review of a single surgeon's 2-year URS experience was performed. Of the 55 ureteroscopies for proximal ureteral calculi, 49 cases involving 43 patients had evaluable postoperative imaging. Results Mean patient age was 56 years and average body mass index was 32.5 kg/m2. Average ureteral stone size was 9.1 mm; 51% had been preoperatively stented and 93% were stented postoperatively. The overall ureteral stone–free rate was 86%. Overall, 5/43 patients (11%), none of whom were obese, required a second procedure. Obese patients had a 91% stone-free rate, statistically equivalent to the 81% rate in the nonobese. Three patients (7%) developed postoperative urinary tract infections. One patient came to the emergency department for stent-related discomfort. One patient treated in a staged setting for bilateral ureteral calculi developed urinary tract infection and systemic inflammatory response system complicated by alcohol withdrawal requiring a 3-day non–intensive care unit admission. Conclusions Proximal ureteral calculi can be successfully treated with URS most of the time, but the risk for persistent renal calculi and fragments exists. The complication rate is low and operative times are short. Obese patients can also be successfully treated ureteroscopically.
One more dysplasia.

Gastric epithelial dysplasia is the earliest visible stage of neoplasia. Most histopathologists can recognize or at least suspect it, and a set of established clinical responses follow its detection. In contrast, proliferations and dysplastic changes of gastric endocrine cells are difficult to identify and generally neglected. Such changes are known to predispose to the development of carcinoid tumours and usually arise in patients with corpus-predominant atrophic gastritis and elevated gastrin levels. A report in this issue suggests that patients with dysplasia of the enterochromaffin-like cells have a much greater risk of developing carcinoid tumours than previously suspected. These carcinoids (known as type I) tend to have an indolent course, are almost never functional and have a favourable prognosis; nevertheless, they need to be detected and excised endoscopically. Because of the small numbers of patients in this series and the relatively short follow-up time of the study, it would be premature to issue guidelines on the long-term management of patients with atrophic gastritis and hypergastrinaemia. However, it is incumbent on clinical researchers with access to well-defined cohorts, such as the one studied here, to continue the follow-up studies that will lead to a more precise definition of risk and to the development of usable evidence-based clinical strategies.
Effects of White Space in Learning via the Web

This study measured the effect of specific white space features on learning from instructional Web materials. The study also measured learners' beliefs regarding Web-based instruction. Prior research indicated that small changes in the handling of presentation elements can affect learning. Achievement results from this study indicated that in on-line materials, when content and overall structure are sound, minor differences regarding table borders and vertical spacing in text do not hinder learning. Beliefs regarding Web-based instruction and instructors who use it did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Implications of the study and cautions regarding generalizing from the results are discussed.
Slow, but steady: dispersal of freshwater molluscs

Molluscs are the proverbial examples of slow movement. In this review, dispersal distances and speed were assessed from literature data. Active upstream movement can occur both individually and in groups; and depends on traits such as size, sex and reproductive status, and on external factors such as flow velocity, temperature, sediment structure, and food availability. The potential for active dispersal follows the sequence Pulmonata ≥ Prosobranchia > Bivalvia, although data for Pulmonata originated from short-term experiments that likely overestimated dispersal capabilities. Active upstream movement may be 0.3 to 1.0 km per year for most snails and is probably well below 0.1 km per year for bivalves. Natural passive upstream dispersal increases the range 10-fold (snails) to 100-fold (bivalves), and anthropogenic vectors can increase upstream dispersal more than 100-fold (snails) to 1000-fold (bivalves). Three km seems to be the maximal within-stream distance at which many species display regular population mixing, and at which re-colonisation or successful restoration can be expected within 3–10 years. Lateral dispersal between unconnected water bodies is passive and mostly known from observational reports, but potential distances depend on vectors, climate and geomorphology. In general, active dispersal seems insufficient to furnish a compensatory mechanism, e.g., for the rate of projected climate change. We provide an overview on dispersal strategies in the light of applied issues. More rigorous field surveys and an integration of different approaches (such as mark-recapture, genetic) to quantify distances and probabilities of lateral dispersal are needed to predict species distributions across space and time.
A rapid, quantitative, and highly specific assay for carbohydrate-binding proteins.

Abstract A rapid, quantitative, and highly specific assay capable of measuring 0.1 μg of soybean agglutinin is described. The method is applicable to determining soybean agglutinin in crude extracts as well as in purified preparations. The highly specific nature of the assay is the product of the chemical specificity between the Sepharose-GalNAc conjugate and soybean agglutinin and the antigenic specificity between soybean agglutinin and 125 I-labeled antibody raised against soybean agglutinin. The assay can, in principle, be used to measure any carbohydrate-binding protein. It is necessary only to link the appropriate hapten to the Sepharose beads and to raise antibody against the binding protein. While maximum specificity is attained using 125 I-labeled antibody raised against a highly purified protein, the inclusion of two distinct specificity requirements in the assay may allow use of antibodies raised against proteins only partially purified.
An improved procedure for the synthesis of DL‐[2‐13C]‐glutamic acid

A convenient two-step chemical synthesis of DL-[2-13C]-glutamic acid from methyl acrylate and diethyl acetamidomalonate is described. Synthesis of the Michael adduct (III) was effected in quantitative yield by employing strong amino bases as catalysts. The reactivities of three such catalysts, tetramethyl guanidine (TMG), 1,8-diazobicyclo [5,4,0]-undec-7-ene (1,5-5) (DBU) and 1,5-diazobicyclo [4,3,0] non-5-ene (DBN) were compared by 13C NMR and all are shown to catalyse the reaction quantitatively, however at markedly different rates.
A Survey of Clinical Practice in Music Therapy Part I: The Institutions in Which Music Therapists Work and Personal Data

In the spring of 1978, 1,064 questionnaires were mailed to registered music therapists working in clinical settings. Part 1 of this paper reports on the types of institutions in which music therapists work, who employs them, and the salaries they earn. This section also deals with age, sex, religion, job satisfaction, job security, types of handicapped persons with whom music therapists prefer to work, work experience, and longevity.
Plans for blocking and fractions of nested cube designs

Plans for implementing nested cube designs invoiving 3 to 5 factors within moderate sized blocks are eveloped. Fractionsc of 1/2 and 1/4 replicates of components of the generic design are used. Suggestions for data analysis are offered.
A dynamic energy-aware model for scheduling computationally intensive bioinformatics applications

High Performance Computing (HPC) resources are housed in large datacenters, which consume huge amounts of energy and are quickly demanding attention from businesses as they result in high operating costs. On the other hand HPC environments have been very useful to researchers in many emerging areas in life sciences such as Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics. In this paper, we provide a dynamic model for energy aware scheduling (EAS) in a HPC environment; we use a widely used bioinformatics tool named BLAT (BLAST-like alignment tool) running in a HPC environment as our case study. Our proposed EAS model incorporates 2-Phases: an Offline phase and an Online one. In the Offline Phase, we use sequences gathered from researchers and parallelize the runs to understand the run (speedup) profile of the program. The EAS Engine then utilizes such information to generate the initial schedule. In the Online Phase a feedback mechanism is incorporated between the EAS Engine and the master scheduling process. As scheduled tasks are completed, their actual execution time (AET) is used to adjust the resources required for scheduling remaining tasks using the least number of nodes while meeting a given deadline. The conducted experiments show that the proposed approach succeeded in meeting preset deadlines while minimizing the number of nodes; thus reducing overall energy utilized.
Trends in cigarette smoking among US adults with diabetes: findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Background. Smoking substantially increases morbidity and mortality rates in people with diabetes. Previous studies have shown that the prevalence of smoking among people with diabetes is similar to that among people without diabetes. We sought to examine temporal trends in the prevalence of smoking among people with diabetes since 1990. Methods. We analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 1990–2001. Results. The age-adjusted prevalence of smoking among adults with diabetes was 23.6% (men, 25.4%; women, 22.2%) in 1990 and 23.2% (men, 24.8%; women, 21.9%) in 2001. In comparison, the prevalence among participants without diabetes was 24.2% (men, 25.7%; women, 22.8%) in 1990 and 23.2% (men, 24.8%; women, 21.5%) in 2001. Thus, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was similar and remained stable from 1990 through 2001. Among participants with diabetes, significant decreases in the prevalence of smoking occurred among African Americans and those aged ≥65 years. Conclusions. New efforts and commitments to promote smoking cessation among people with diabetes are needed.
Involvement of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in regulating Chk1-dependent apoptotic cell death.

Abstract The activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is highly stimulated following DNA damage resulting in formation of DNA nicks and strand breaks. This leads to modification of numerous proteins, including itself, using NAD+ as substrate and to exhaustion of intracellular ATP. A highly cytotoxic concentration of the DNA methylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) results in cellular ATP depletion and cell death primarily by necrosis in both wild-type and DNA polymerase β null mouse fibroblasts. The loss of ATP can be prevented by the PARP inhibitor 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide (4-AN), and now cells die by an energy-dependent apoptotic pathway. We find that inhibition of PARP activity transforms a sub-lethal exposure to MMS into a highly cytotoxic event. Under this condition, ATP is not depleted and cell death is by apoptosis. The caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD, shifts the mechanism of cell death to necrosis indicating a caspase-dependent component of the apoptotic cell death. Co-exposure to the Chk1 inhibitor UCN-01 also produces a decrease in apoptotic cell death, but now there is an increase in viable cells and an enhancement in long-term survival. Taken together, our results suggest that inhibition of PARP activity, induced as a result of low dose MMS exposure, signals via a Chk1-dependent pathway for cell death by apoptosis.
The Large Binocular Telescope azimuth and elevation encoder system

A typical high-resolution encoder interpolator relies on careful mechanical alignment of the encoder read-heads and tight electrical tolerances of the signal processing electronics to ensure linearity. As the interpolation factor increases, maintaining these tight mechanical and electrical tolerances becomes impractical. The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is designed to utilize strip-type encoders on the main axes. Because of the very large scale of the telescope, the accumulative length of the azimuth and elevation encoder strips exceeds 80 meters, making optical tape prohibitively expensive. Consequently, the designers of the LBT incorporated the far less expensive Farrand Controls Inductosyn® linear strip encoder to encode the positions of the main axes and the instrument rotators. Since the cycle pitch of these encoders is very large compared to that of optical strip encoders, the interpolation factor must also be large in order to achieve the 0.005 arcsecond encoder resolution as specified. The authors present a description of the innovative DSP-based hardware / software solution that adaptively characterizes and removes common systematic cycle-to-cycle encoder interpolation errors. These errors can be caused by mechanical misalignment, encoder manufacturing flaws, variations in electrical gain, signal offset or cross-coupling of the encoder signals. Simulation data are presented to illustrate the performance of the interpolation algorithm, and telemetry data are presented to demonstrate the actual performance of the LBT main-axis encoder system.
The influence of dilute heats of mixing on the atomic structures, defect energetics and mechanical properties of fcc-bcc interfaces

Abstract Using “tunable” interatomic potentials, the dilute heats of mixing for a face-centered cubic–body-centered cubic (fcc–bcc) metal system have been varied in atomistic models, while keeping the Kurdjumov–Sachs crystallographic orientation relationship and the lattice misfit strain constant. As a result of varying the heats of mixing, the atomic structure of the interface is not significantly altered. Interstitial formation energies at interfaces are quite dependent on the heats of mixing, while vacancy formation energies at interfaces are less so. However, variation in heats of mixing has a strong influence on both the interfacial shear strength and the active shear plane at the interface. The critical stress for interface shear increases continuously with decreasing positive heat of mixing, but begins to decrease as the heat of mixing becomes negative since the active shear plane at the interface changes from fcc–bcc to fcc–fcc. The energy landscape for planar faults near the interface was investigated to understand these phenomena.
Visualizing categorical data: An introduction to correspondence analysis for technical communication researchers

Technical communication researchers often collect categorical, or non-numerical, data. However, when analyzing this type of data, researchers are typically limited to reporting descriptive statistics or simple contingency tables. One advanced statistical technique that allows researchers to more powerfully explore complex categorical data sets is correspondence analysis. This article will first define correspondence analysis and then walk through a tutorial for conducting correspondence analysis in XLSTAT.
Correlation between Electrical Conductivity, Relative Humidity, and Pore Connectivity in Mesoporous Silica Monoliths

Incipient wetness was used to load cobalt nitrate into the pores of a set of silica monoliths with pores arranged in a hierarchal fashion, in the form of either a bimodal pore structure containing only macropores and textural mesopores, or trimodal pore structures with additional mesopores as a result of surfactant templating. The volume and diameter of the surfactant templated mesopores were controlled by varying concentration and using surfactants of different chain length, tetradecyl-, hexadecyl-, and octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C14TAB, C16TAB, and C18TAB, respectively). Platinum replication of samples made with C14TAB and C18TAB was performed. The native and the cobalt nitrate impregnated monoliths were characterized with nitrogen physisorption, water sorption, and electron microscopy. The electrical conductivity of the cobalt nitrate impregnated monoliths was measured as a function of relative humidity. The presence of the surfactant templated mesopores resulted in significantly higher conduc...
Electrospun nanofibre fibrinogen for urinary tract tissue reconstruction

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that human bladder smooth muscle cells (HBSM) remodel electrospun fibrinogen mats. Fibrinogen scaffolds were electrospun and disinfected using standard methods. Scaffolds were seeded with 5 x 10(4) HBSM per scaffold. Cultures were supplemented with aprotinin concentrations of 0 KIU ml(-1) (no aprotinin), 100 KIU ml(-1) or 1000 KIU ml(-1) and incubated with twice weekly media changes. Samples were removed for evaluation at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days. Cultured scaffolds were evaluated with a WST-1 cell proliferation assay, scanning electron microscopy and histology. Cell culture demonstrated that HBSM readily migrated into and initiated remodelling of the electrospun fibrinogen scaffolds by deposition of collagen. Proliferation was suppressed during this initial phase with respect to a 2D control due to cell migration. Histology confirmed that proliferation increased during the later stages of remodelling. Remodelling was slower at higher aprotinin concentrations. These results demonstrate that HBSM rapidly remodel an electrospun fibrinogen scaffold and deposit native collagen. The process can be modulated using aprotinin, a protease inhibitor. These initial findings indicate that there is tremendous potential for electrospun fibrinogen as a urologic tissue engineering scaffold with the ultimate goal of producing an implantable acellular product that would promote cellular in-growth and in situ tissue regeneration.
Lung injury produced by moderate lung overinflation in rats.

In models using both intact animals and isolated lungs of rats, rabbits, lambs, and dogs, application of high airway pressure and resultant lung overdistension has been shown to cause lung injury. Under pathological conditions, the more normal portions of the lung may be subjected to relative overdistension when supranormal airway pressures are used. A small animal model of lung overdistension is presented here to demonstrate that lung injury can be caused by moderate lung overdistension. Rats were anesthetized with Ketamine and pentobarbital. A tracheostomy was performed and arterial and central venous catheters placed. The animal was placed in a plethysmograph and an infant ventilator was used to provide mechanical ventilation. In the first experiment, animals in group A (n = 6, control) were ventilated at tidal volume (TV) of 5 mL/ kg for 5 hours. Animals in group B (n = 6) were ventilated at TV 15 mL/ kg for 60 minutes and then were returned TV of 5 mL/kg for the remainder of the experiment. Animals in group C (n = 5) were ventilated at TV 20 mL/ kg for 60 minutes and then returned to TV 5 mL/ kg. Static lung compliance and arterial blood gasses were measured. Wet and dry lung weight were obtained after sacrifice. In the second experiment, animals in group D (n = 4, control) were ventilated at TV 5 mL/kg for 240 minutes and killed. Animals in group E (n = 4) were ventilated at TV 20 mL/ kg for 60 minutes, returned to TV 5 mL/kg, and killed at 240 minutes. Fluorescein-labeled albumin was administered to each animal prior to mechanical ventilation. At sacrifice bronchoalveolar lavage was performed on the right lung. The left lung was fixed for microscopy. Hematocrit, venous oxygenation, and temperature remained stable throughout the experimental period. Group C animals had an elevated POz during high volume mechanical ventilation. By the conclusion of the experiment, animals in group B and C were acidotic. Lung compliance fell in all groups. Wet/dry lung weight and dry lung weight/body weight ratios increased in the TV 20 mL/kg group. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for fluoresceine in order to detect capillary-alveolar leak revealed no difference between TV 5 mL/ kg (control) and TV 20 mL/kg animals. There was slight perivascular edema in the TV 20 mL/kg specimens. We have demonstrated in a whole animal preparation in rats that lung injury can result from mechanical overdistension with as little as 20 mL/ kg for 1 hour. Copyright o 1993 by W.B. Saunders Company
Incidence of yeasts and influence of nystatin on their control in a group of burned children.

The incidence of yeasts in the oral cavity, rectum and urine of a population of 60 children hospitalized for treatment of acute second and third degree burns was approximately the same at the time of their admission as would be expected in healthy subjects. After hospitalization, the incidence of yeasts was reduced in the intestinal tract of acute patients who received nystatin orally but increased in the oral cavity. The majority of 418 yeasts were inhibited in vitro by less than 50 units/ml nystatin and only 6 yeasts were resistant to more than 3.1 μg/ml amphotericin B. The oral cavity appeared to act as a significant reservoir from which yeasts spread to cause or contribute to the deaths of 2 of 5 patients who died during the study.
Expecting the unexpected: field research in post-disaster settings

The purpose of this article was to examine field research after disasters by focusing on fieldwork challenges in post-disaster research settings. We describe and evaluate post-disaster fieldwork based on three separate research projects: A study of land use change adaptation strategies following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami; a study of long-term housing recovery following the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake in India; and a study of the role of social capital in shelter recovery following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. The main findings of this study deal with some of the unique set of challenges that accompanies fieldwork in post-disaster settings. Our findings indicate six aspects that researchers might consider prior to undertaking fieldwork in a disaster setting: the critical role of language, logistics of transport and living accommodation, methodological matters, the researcher’s position in the field (i.e., gender, ethnicity), fieldwork blues and ethical concerns. Potential solutions to these challenges include understanding the target community prior to embarking on fieldwork, having flexibility in the field to deal with unexpected issues and problems, planning ahead for institutional review board approvals, forming research collaborations and having strategies in place to manage stress in the field.
Fuzzy Tree Automata and Syntactic Pattern Recognition

An approach of representing patterns by trees and processing these trees by fuzzy tree automata is described. Fuzzy tree automata are defined and investigated. The results include that the class of fuzzy root-to-frontier recognizable ?-trees is closed under intersection, union, and complementation. Thus, the class of fuzzy root-to-frontier recognizable ?-trees forms a Boolean algebra. Fuzzy tree automata are applied to processing fuzzy tree representation of patterns based on syntactic pattern recognition. The grade of acceptance is defined and investigated. Quantitative measures of ``approximate isosceles triangle,'' ``approximate elongated isosceles triangle,'' ``approximate rectangle,'' and ``approximate cross'' are defined and used in the illustrative examples of this approach. By using these quantitative measures, a house, a house with high roof, and a church are also presented as illustrative examples. In addition, three fuzzy tree automata are constructed which have the capability of processing the fuzzy tree representations of ``fuzzy houses,'' ``houses with high roofs,'' and ``fuzzy churches,'' respectively. The results may have useful applications in pattern recognition, image processing, artificial intelligence, pattern database design and processing, image science, and pictorial information systems.
GLC Analysis of Methapyrilene in Plasma and Urine Using a Sulfur-Specific Flame-Photometric Detector

Abstract A GLC procedure was developed for analysis of methapyrilene in blood and urine. Samples are extracted with chloroform, dried, dissolved in methanol, and injected on a 1.22- m. (4-ft.) glass column packed with 1% cyclohexanedimethanol succinate and 10% of a 5 %-substituted phenyl methyl silicone on acid-washed, silylated diatomaceous earth and operated at 220°. A sulfur-specific flame-photometric detector is used, which allows concentrations as low as 50 ng./ml. to be measured. Methapyrilene was not detected in plasma or urine of human subjects receiving normal clinical doses of methapyrilene hydrochloride, but a methapyrilene metabolite was found in the urine samples. The absence of detectable levels of methapyrilene is probably due to rapid conversion of this compound to a metabolite that is not detected by the GLC procedure.
Nondestructive testing of adhesively bonded structures using synchronized pressure stressing

Electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) utilizing a phase-modulation of the object beam and a continuous reference-updating technique is proposed to provide noise reduction in optical NDE methods. Unlike conventional ESPI techniques, this method uses phase modulation between successively subtracted additive speckle interference images. The ability of this technique to work in a turbulent environment is demonstrated, and application to detection of structural defects in adhesively bonded structures, a problem of interest to the NDE community, is shown.
In vivo rabbit hindquarter model for assessment of regional burn hypermetabolism

Severe burn injury evokes hypermetabolism and muscle wasting, despite nominally adequate nutrition. Although there is much information on whole organism and isolated tissue metabolism after burn in...
Student Perceptions of Foreign Language Study: A Qualitative Analysis of Foreign Language Autobiographies.

Students’ perceptions of their foreign language (FL) learning classroom experiences have important pedagogical and programmatic implications and have been theorized as having an effect on linguistic outcomes. This study uses a unique form of data collection, the FL autobiography, to explore the perceptions of a group of adult FL learners (N= 51) toward a broad range of issues related to classroom atmosphere and instruction. Qualitative analysis of student writings revealed 3 categories of data: classroom interactions, perceived level of success, and attributions of success and failure. In general, students believed that their instruction focused too little on oral communication, they reported low estimations of their level of proficiency, and they tended to attribute their failures to their own lack of effort in the FL classroom. Possible implications for instruction and placement of FL students are discussed.
Photoluminescence above the Tauc gap in a-Si:H

Variation de la photoluminescence avec la temperature, l'intensite incidente, l'energie d'excitation, la concentration en defauts profonds. La photoluminescence observee au-dessus de ∼ 2 eV est faible et independante de la temperature. En dessous de ∼ 2 eV, elle depend de la temperature et de la densite en defauts profonds. Elle est attribuee dans le premier cas a la recombinaison des electrons et des trous non thermiques et dans le second a la recombinaison des electrons et des trous dans les queues de bande
Spontaneous formation of Fe(CO)5 from CO and the steel walls of an FTIR cell

Abstract A zeolite exposed to a CO containing atmosphere inside a stainless steel IR cell, at room temperature for several minutes, gives rise to IR bands which are assigned to Fe(CO) 5 and its decomposition products on the surface of the zeolite.
Myosin 1e is a component of the invadosome core that contributes to regulation of invadosome dynamics

Myosin 1e (myo1e) is an actin-based motor protein that has been implicated in cell adhesion and migration. We examined the role of myo1e in invadosomes, actin-rich adhesion structures that are important for degradation and invasion of the extracellular matrix. RSV-transformed BHK-21 cells, which readily form invadosomes and invadosome rosettes, were used as the experimental model. Myo1e localization to the actin-rich core of invadosomes required the proline-rich Tail Homology 2 (TH2) domain. During invadosome rosette expansion, we observed myo1e recruitment to newly forming invadosomes via Tail Homology 1 (TH1)-dependent interactions with the plasma membrane, where it preceded actin and paxillin. Dominant-negative inhibition of myo1e resulted in mislocalized invadosome formation, usually at the center of the rosette. We propose that TH2 domain of myo1e provides the key signal for localization to invadosomes, while TH1 domain interactions facilitate myo1e targeting to the plasma membrane-proximal locations within the rosettes. Myo1e may then act as a scaffold, linking the plasma membrane with the actin cytoskeleton and helping direct new invadosome formation to the periphery of the rosette.
Efficacy and Safety of Rituximab in Pediatric Neuromyelitis Optica

Neuromyelitis optica is a central nervous system disease characterized by optic neuritis and transverse myelitis. It is a devastating illness, and early treatment may prevent future relapses and severe disability. However, there is much variability in protocols used for treatment. In limited studies, rituximab has shown efficacy in adult neuromyelitis optica patients. There is a paucity of literature on the efficacy and tolerability of rituximab in the pediatric population. The authors report the use of rituximab in 2 pediatric patients with neuromyelitis optica, demonstrating its efficacy, dosing, and tolerability. This report may be a useful guide for administering rituximab safely in pediatric neuromyelitis optica patients.
Low complexity digital clock recovery algorithm for implementation in software-defined radios

Software-defined radios (SDR) require robust synchronization algorithms which are suitable for implementation on generic programmable platforms. In this paper, we propose and study a low-complexity digital clock recovery scheme for implementation on programmable digital signal processing (DSP) or field-programmable gate-array (FPGA) platforms. Performance is established in terms of mean-square timing error and the required computational complexity. It is shown that the proposed algorithm achieves a superior performance as compared with the existing algorithms for a wide range of operating parameters.
The energy-water nexus in Texas

Understanding the nexus between energy and water - water used for energy and energy used for water - has become increasing important in a changing world. As growing populations demand more energy supplies and water resources, research aims to analyze the interconnectedness of these two resources. Our study sought to quantify the energy-water relationship in Texas, specifically the relationship between electricity generation and water resources as it pertains to policy and society. We examined the water requirements for various types of electricity generating facilities, for typical systems both nationwide and in Texas. We also addressed the energy requirements of water supply and wastewater treatment systems, comparing national averages with Texas-specific values. Analysis of available data for Texas reveals that approximately 595,000 megaliters of water annually - enough water for over three million people for a year - are consumed by cooling the state's thermoelectric power plants while generating approximately 400 terawatt-hours of electricity. At the same time, each year Texas uses an estimated 2.1 to 2.7 terawatt- hours of electricity for water systems and 1.8 to 2.0 terawatt-hours for wastewater systems - enough electricity for about 100,000 people for a year. In preparing our analysis, it became clear that substantially more site-specific data are necessary for a full understanding of the nature of the energy-water nexus and the sustainability of economic growth in Texas. We recommend that Texas increase efforts to collect accurate data on the withdrawal and consumption of cooling and process water at power plants, as well as data on electricity consumption for public water supply and wastewater treatment plants and distribution systems. The overarching conclusion of our work is that increased efficiency advances the sustainable use of both energy and water. Improving water efficiency will reduce power demand, and improving energy efficiency will reduce water demand. Greater efficiency in usage of either energy or water will help stretch our finite supplies of both, as well as reduce costs to water and power consumers.
Selenium nutrition of green plants. Effect of selenite supply on growth and selenium content of alfalfa and subterranean clover.

Alfalfa and subterranean clover plants were grown in highly purified nutrient solutions to which selenite selenium had been added at 0, 0.025, 0.25, 2.5 or 25.0 mug-atoms/liter. In both species, yields of tops and roots were significantly less at 25.0 mug-atoms/liter than at lower selenium concentrations (p < 0.01). The results indicated that growth was adversely affected when the concentration of selenium in mature leaf tissue reached 0.2 to 0.8 mug-atom/g dry weight.No beneficial effect of selenium was demonstrated on the growth of either species. If selenium is required by these species, the critical level will probably be below 0.001 mug-atom/g of dry plant material. Results are discussed in relation to earlier work on the selenium nutrition of plants.
Direct mechanochemical cleavage of functional groups from graphene

Mechanical stress can drive chemical reactions and is unique in that the reaction product can depend on both the magnitude and the direction of the applied force. Indeed, this directionality can drive chemical reactions impossible through conventional means. However, unlike heat- or pressure-driven reactions, mechanical stress is rarely applied isometrically, obscuring how mechanical inputs relate to the force applied to the bond. Here we report an atomic force microscope technique that can measure mechanically induced bond scission on graphene in real time with sensitivity to atomic-scale interactions. Quantitative measurements of the stress-driven reaction dynamics show that the reaction rate depends both on the bond being broken and on the tip material. Oxygen cleaves from graphene more readily than fluorine, which in turn cleaves more readily than hydrogen. The technique may be extended to study the mechanochemistry of any arbitrary combination of tip material, chemical group and substrate.
Pathogenesis of subdural collections of fluid.

Eighteen patients with subdural accumulations of fluid were selected for study; of these, 11 had had acute bacterial meningitis, 1 had had subdural air secondary to pneumoencephalography, 5 had developed fluid secondary to trauma and 1 did not fit any of these categories. The albumin: γ-globulin ratios and albumin : total protein ratios in the subdural fluids were considerably higher than these ratios in the corresponding serum samples. These findings suggest that, although the forces involved are complex, the basic mechanism of fluid accumulation in the subdural space was similar in all these patients, namely, an effusion through irritated or damaged capillary walls.
Acute renal failure and type B lactic acidosis as first manifestation of extranodal T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma

We describe a rare case of a 19-year-old male patient with a history of epilepsy and developmental delay who presented with acute renal failure (ARF) and lactic acidosis (LA) as the first manifestation of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. Renal ultrasound and CT of the abdomen showed renal parenchymal infiltration, and renal biopsy demonstrated T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. LA, ARF and electrolyte abnormalities were refractory to the initial treatment of bicarbonate infusion and hydration. However, these abnormalities rapidly normalised after the initiation of chemotherapy, suggesting that the LA and ARF were secondary to lymphomatous renal infiltration.
Effect of partial compliance on cardiovascular medication effectiveness

The typical assessment of mediation compliance by physicians is similar to the assessment of an iceberg from the ship captain's window. The difference is that when a captain sees ice in the water, he assumes that what he sees might be only the “tip of the iceberg” requiring attention. In contrast, patients who inadvertently omit many doses and doctors who attribute poor control to lack of drug efficacy may have no concept that the underlying problem is poor compliance with the prescribed regimen. If the captain fails to recognise an iceberg in advance, he knows that he must turn his immense vessel rapidly to avoid disaster. Failing to recognise inadequate compliance as the source of the patient's problem, the physician is unaware of the appropriate action to be taken. Instead, the physician typically prescribes even more medication as a higher dose, or an alternative or second drug. Unfortunately, the patient often remains on a potentially fatal collision course. Why is this scenario so common in medical practice? Inherent in the answers to these questions is a message for every clinician who prescribes medications: Look under the surface. Don't assume that you know which patients take their medication regularly. Don't assume that failure to control hypertension, hyperlipidaemia or other measures of cardiovascular disease is caused by lack of efficacy of the prescribed medications. In daily practice, after the physician determines the diagnosis and selects an appropriate treatment, the burden of achieving a good outcome is shifted to the patient. Depending on the setting, patients might be left to accomplish this important task of self management with little guidance. Both physicians and patients need to understand that key factors affecting outcome are “compliance” (that is, attempting to take the medication each day as prescribed) and “persistence” (that is, continuing to take the …
Exploring the Mind: Integrating Questionnaires and fMRI

A new model is developed for joint analysis of ordered, categorical, real and count data. The ordered and categorical data are answers to questionnaires, the (word) count data correspond to the text questions from the questionnaires, and the real data correspond to fMRI responses for each subject. The Bayesian model employs the von Mises distribution in a novel manner to infer sparse graphical models jointly across people, questions, fMRI stimuli and brain region, with this integrated within a new matrix factorization based on latent binary features. The model is compared with simpler alternatives on two real datasets. We also demonstrate the ability to predict the response of the brain to visual stimuli (as measured by fMRI), based on knowledge of how the associated person answered classical questionnaires.
The 65nm PACDSP subsystem with embedded thermal sensors

Today's embedded systems mostly target on portable devices, which are expected not only to be small, lightweight, fully functional, and real-time, but also to provide extremely long battery lifetime. Therefore, energy-efficiency has become a new challenge. Due to this reason, the power consumption is more and more important for the system on chip (SoC) design. In this paper, we discuss the 65nm DSP subsystem which provides a power optimized DSP subsystem for dual-core software development and SoC prototyping. The most important component of 65nm DSP subsystem is the 65nm Media Platform IC. In the 65nm Media Platform IC, the dynamic voltage & frequency scaling (DVFS) and power gating mechanism have been applied to reduce power dissipations with a novel Unified Power Format (UPF) flow. The 65nm Media Platform IC is fabricated in the TSMC 65nm CMOS technology, of which the estimated power dissipations are 40.97mW for 240MHz @1.0V and 56.47mW for 342MHz @1.2V respectively.
A Meta-Analysis of the Price Elasticity of Meat: Evidence of Regional Differences

This study addresses regional differences in meat demand by estimating meta-regressions of the price elasticity of meat for North America, Europe, and Asia. Although we find many characteristics in the literature have similar impacts on the price elasticity across these regions, there are noticeable differences. For instance, the price elasticities of beef, lamb, and fish in North America are significantly more elastic compared to poultry. For Asia and Europe, though, there are fewer significant differences in the price elasticity across meats. Also, demand specification plays a more prominent role in determining the price elasticity of meat in Europe.
Unraveling the Tangled Complexity of DNA: Combining Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Biology to Understand Replication, Recombination and Repair

How does DNA, the molecule containing genetic information, change its three-dimensional shape during the complex cellular processes of replication, recombination and repair? This is one of the core questions in molecular biology which cannot be answered without help from mathematical modeling. Basic concepts of topology and geometry can be introduced in undergraduate teaching to help students understand counterintuitive complex structural transformations that occur in every living cell. Topoisomerases, a fascinating class of enzymes involved in replication, recombination and repair, catalyze a change in DNA topology through a series of highly coordinated mechanistic steps. Undergraduate biology and mathematics students can visualize and explore the principles of topoisomerase action by using easily available materials such as Velcro, ribbons, telephone cords, zippers and tubing. These simple toys can be used as powerful teaching tools to engage students in hands-on exploration with the goal of learning about both the mathematics and the biology of DNA structure.
Procainamide inhibition of human hepatic degradation of cocaine and cocaethylene in vitro.

I Procainamide (PA), a cardioactive drug, inhibited the degradation of both cocaine (COC) and cocaethylene (CE) when either was incubated in human liver homogenates for 3 h at 37~ PA appeared to enhance the formation of CE when COC and ethanol (ETOH) were incubated together in liver
Microbial landscapes on the outer tissue surfaces of the reef-building coral Porites compressa

Microbial-coral interactions are increasingly recognized as important for coral health and disease. Visualizing these interactions is important for understanding where, when, and how the coral animal and microbes interact. Porites compressa, preserved using Parducz fixative and examined by scanning electron microscopy, revealed a changing microbial landscape. The external cell layers of this coral were invariably clean of directly adhering microbes, unlike coral-associated mucus. In colonies with expanded polyps, secreted mucus rapidly dissipated, although blobs of new mucus were common; the coral epidermal cells expressed cilia, which are presumably used to clean the surface, and coral-associated microbes were present as flocs, possibly enmeshed in mucus. In colonies with permanently contracted polyps, the coral epidermis had lost cilia and a stable, multi-lamellar mucous sheet covered the surface of the animal. This sheet became heavily colonized by both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, however these microbes did not penetrate the mucous sheet and the animal’s epidermal cell surfaces remained sterile. These observations show that relationships between this coral animal and associated microbes are highly dynamic.
Micro Side-Viewing Optical Probe for VNIR-DRS Soil Measurement

In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and testing of a new micro optical sensor probe with side-viewing function to enable in-field visible-near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VNIR-DRS) for soil. The optical probe consists of two microfabricated source chips and two collection chips. The source chips are used to deliver oblique (45°) light incidence onto the soil surface, while the diffuse reflectance is received from the normal direction through the collector chips. Several design and fabrication considerations have been made to optimize the optical transmission efficiency of the probe and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the collected diffuse reflectance signal. The probe has a small outer dimension of 6 mm × 15 mm × 6 mm and thus can be easily fit into a typical soil penetrometer for in-filed VNIR-DRS measurements. Using the new optical probe, VNIR-DRS measurements have been successfully conducted on a number of soil samples, which shows the new optical probe offers better performance than the existing commercial ASD® 135680 bifurcated reflectance soil probe.
Antarctic Bottom Water Formation and Deep-Water Chlorofluorocarbon Distributions in a Global Ocean Climate Model

Abstract The ocean distributions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been measured extensively in order to determine the mechanisms, rates, and pathways associated with thermohaline deep-water formation. Model temperature, salinity, and CFC-11 fields from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) global ocean climate model are compared against observations with emphasis on the patterns of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) production, properties, and circulation in the Southern Ocean. The model control simulation forms deep water as observed in both the Weddell and Ross Seas, though not along other sectors of the Antarctic coast. Examination of the deep water CFC-11 distribution, total inventory, and profiles along individual observational sections demonstrates that the decadal-scale deep-water ventilation in the model Southern Ocean is both too weak and too restricted to the Ross and Weddell Sea source regions. A series of sensitivity experiments is conducted to determine the factors contributing to ...
Minimally Invasive Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis with Rectal Eversion Allows for Equivalent Outcomes in Continence in Pediatric Patients.

Abstract Background: Different techniques for ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) following total proctocolectomy (TPC) have been described in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), including rectal eversion (RE). RE allows for precise identification of the dentate line, but concerns have been raised regarding continence rates. No studies have specifically evaluated RE in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and continence rates for pediatric patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) TPC and IPAA with RE for UC. Materials and Methods: All patients who underwent TPC and IPAA were reviewed at our institution. Data collected included demographics, proctocolectomy technique (open without RE versus MIS with RE), operative time, postoperative data, and continence outcomes following ileostomy closure. Results: Thirty-three patients were identified who underwent TPC and IPAA between July 2006 and October 2014. Thirty of these patients underwent ileostomy take...