cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synchronization Probability in Large Complex Networks

In a generalized framework, where multistate and interstate linkages are allowed, the synchronization of oscillators in random networks is investigated. A sufficient condition for the stability of synchronization is derived, which explicitly relates the network structure and the local and coupling dynamics to synchronization stability. This condition is then translated into a lower bound on the probability of stability of synchrony for large Erdos-Renyi and Newman-Watts small-world networks.
The association between overnight fasting and body mass index in older adults: the interaction between duration and timing.

BACKGROUND Circadian rhythms play an important role in the regulation of eating and fasting, and mistimed dietary intakes may be detrimental to metabolic health. Extended overnight fasting has been proposed as a strategy to better align the eating-fasting cycle with the internal circadian clock, and both observational and experimental studies have linked longer overnight fasting with lower body weight. However, it remains unclear if the timing of overnight fasting modifies the relationship between fasting duration and weight outcomes. METHODS The current study included 495 men and 499 women age 50-74 years. Dietary intake over 12 months was assessed by 24-h dietary recalls every two months, and body-mass index was measured at the beginning, middle and end of the study. Logistic regression was used to estimate the relationship between overnight fasting duration and the likelihood of being overweight or obesity adjusted for multiple confounders, and assessed whether the relationship was modified by the timing of overnight fasting, measured as the midpoint of the fasting period. RESULTS Among participants with early overnight fasting (midpoint < 02:19 am), a longer fasting duration was associated with lower odds of overweight and obesity; while among those with late fasting (≥02:19 am), longer fasting was associated with higher odds of overweight and obesity. Specifically, when compared to the shortest quintile of overnight fasting duration, the longest quintile was associated with a 53% reduction in the odds of overweight and obesity in the early fasting group (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.23, 0.97), but a 2.36-fold increase in the late fasting group (OR = 3.36, 95% CI = 1.48, 7.62). Additionally adjusting for dietary intakes during morning and late evening periods did not affect the observed associations. CONCLUSIONS Longer overnight fasting was associated with a reduced likelihood of being overweight or obese, but only among those with an early timing of fasting.
Are there birth cohort effects in disparities in child obesity by maternal education

BACKGROUND Children belonging to the same birth cohort (i.e., born in the same year) experience shared exposure to a common obesity-related milieu during the critical early years of development-e.g., secular beliefs and feeding practices, adverse chemical exposures, food access and nutrition assistance policies-that set the stage for a shared trajectory of obesity as they mature. Fundamental cause theory suggests that inequitable distribution of recent efforts to stem the rise in child obesity may exacerbate cohort-based disparities over time. METHODS Data were from electronic health records spanning 2007-2016 linked to birth records for children ages 2-19 years. We used hierarchical age-period-cohort models to investigate cohort effects on disparities in obesity related to maternal education. We hypothesized that maternal education-based disparities in prevalence of obesity would be larger among more recent birth cohorts. RESULTS Sex-stratified models adjusted for race/ethnicity showed substantial obesity disparities by maternal education that were evident even at young ages: prevalence among children with maternal education < high school compared to maternal college degree was approximately three times as high among girls and twice as high among boys. For maternal education < high school, disparities compared to maternal college degree were higher in more recent birth cohorts. Among girls, this disparity cohort effect was evident at younger ages (at age 4, the disparity increased by 4 [0.1-8] percentage points per 5 birth years), while among boys it was larger at older ages (at age 16, the disparity increased by 7 [1-14] percentage points per 5 birth years). CONCLUSIONS There may be widening maternal education-based disparities in child obesity by birth cohort at some ages.
Cyber-physical security framework for Photovoltaic Farms

With the evolution of PV converters, a growing number of vulnerabilities in PV farms are exposing to cyber threats. To mitigate the influence of cyber-attack on PV farms, it is necessary to study attacks’ impact and propose detection methods. To meet this requirement, a cyber-physical security framework is proposed for PV farms. Data integrity attacks (DIAs) are studied on different control loops. As μPMU is gaining in popularity, a lower sampling rate of μPMU data is applied to develop a detection algorithm. We have evaluated two data-driven methods, which are support vector machine (SVM) and long short-term memory (LSTM). Finally, the data-driven methods verify the feasibility of μPMU data in attack detection.
Teaching Intellectual Humility is Essential in Preparing Collaborative Future Pharmacists

Interprofessional teams contribute significantly to patient care and safety. However, barriers to effective interdisciplinary collaboration have been identified, such as power dynamics and mistrust among team members, contrasting ideologies, interests and levels of engagement of clinicians, and disciplinary territoriality, which could negatively impact patient care. Teaching current health professional students behaviors and personal values that promote collaboration is critical in equipping them to function effectively in an interdisciplinary care setting. In this commentary, we put forward the idea that teaching intellectual humility is important in preparing collaborative future pharmacists. The core dimensions of intellectual humility, namely, open-mindedness, intellectual modesty, engagement and corrigibility are important behaviors that could address the above-mentioned barriers, and promote successful interdisciplinary collaboration. Furthermore, we suggest strategies through which student pharmacists could be taught intellectual humility, mainly within the interprofessional education setting.
Ultralow threshold bistability and generation of long-lived mode in a dissipatively coupled nonlinear system: Application to magnonics

The prospect of a system possessing two or more stable states for a given excitation condition is of topical interest with applications in information processing networks. In this work, we establish the remote transfer of bistability from a nonlinear resource in a dissipatively coupled two-mode system. As a clear advantage over coherently coupled settings, the dissipative nature of interaction is found to support a lower pumping threshold for bistable signals. For comparable parameters, the bistability threshold for dissipatively coupled systems is lower by a factor of about 5. The resulting hysteresis can be studied spectroscopically by applying a probe field through the waveguide and examining the polariton character of the transmitted field. Our model is generic, apropos of an extensive set of quantum systems, and we demonstrate our results in the context of magnonics where experimental interest has flourished of late. As a consequence of dissipative coupling and the nonlinearity, a long-lived mode emerges, which is responsible for heightened transmission levels and pronounced sensitivity in signal propagation through the fiber.
Gas Movement and Exchange

The maintenance of soil respiration requires a constant exchange of the soil air with the external atmosphere. The gaseous transfer in the soil occurs by means of several mechanisms. Changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure cause the soil air to either expand or contract. The rainwater entering the soil carries new oxygen in dissolved form into the pores, and at the same time it also pushes out the old air. The wind blowing over the soil surface also pumps the air into, or suck the air out of, the soil surface. There are two main processes that affect gaseous transport within the soil: convection and diffusion. In the case of convection, also called mass flow, the moving force consists of a gradient of the total gas pressure, and it causes in the entire mass of air to stream from a zone of higher pressure to one of lower pressure. In the case of diffusion, on the other hand, the moving force is a gradient of partial pressure (or concentration) of any constituent member of the variable gas mixture, called “air,” and it causes the molecules of the unevenly distributed constituent to migrate from a zone of higher concentration to one of lower concentration.
Sharing Knowledge, Power, and Respect: Keys in Bringing Communities Together to Improve Science, Practice, and Relationships

Are communities better off because of the efforts of highereducation? Extension educators have extended universitybasedresearch and technologies that have helped create strong,natural resource–based communities. However, the politicaland socioeconomic environments in which these communitiesfunction are changing even faster than the natural environments.Extension educators boast about being change agents, but arethey themselves changing? A team of campus/county-basedextension faculty transformed themselves from academicexperts into colearners who worked with the practice communityand the science/management community to address three criticalissues: industry transformation, deteriorating relationshipsbetween communities, and improving science through cooperativeresearch. One example highlights the importance ofinvolving the impacted community as an equal partner indesigning and implementing a federally declared fisheries disasterprogram. Another illustrates the benefits of two innovativevenues for improving science and relationships between practitionersand scientists.
Kinetic and mass spectrometry-based investigation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 assembly and maturation.

Publisher Summary Advances in mass spectrometry have made it possible to ionize proteins and peptides without fragmentation. It holds particular promise for application to the analysis of complex macromolecular machines, where it serves as a complement to the traditional approaches of X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy. This chapter describes the application of mass spectrometry to the analysis of the assembly and maturation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Electron tomography has the potential to deliver reconstructions of HIV1 specimens but the beam damage associated with repeatedly imaging biological specimens currently limits the resolution. The use of a combination of hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and chemical cross-linking provides a pathway to obtain intermediate-resolution information that can be used to identify the inter subunit interfaces and physical arrangement of subunits within complex biological structures.
Virtual reality visual data mining with nonlinear discriminant neural networks: application to leukemia and Alzheimer gene expression data

A hybrid stochastic-deterministic approach for solving NDA problems on very high dimensional biological data is investigated. It is based on networks trained with a combination of simulated annealing and conjugate gradient within a broad scale, high throughput computing data mining environment. High quality networks from the point of view of both discrimination and generalization capabilities are discovered. The NDA mappings generated by these networks, together with unsupervised representations of the data, lead to a deeper understanding of complex high dimensional data like leukemia and Alzheimer gene expression microarray experiments.
Whiting, Beatrice B

Beatrice Blyth Whiting, (1914−2004) was a leading anthropologist of childhood and professor emerita of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She, along with her husband and long-time collaborator John W. M. Whiting, were pioneers in psychological anthropology and the comparative study of children. Born in New York on April 14, 1914, and graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1935, Beatrice Whiting became one of the first women to study anthropology at Yale. She did fieldwork among the Paiute Indians in Oregon and received her Ph.D. in 1943; her dissertation was published as a book, Paiute Sorcery: A Study of Social Control (1950). After working at both Brandeis University and Wellesley College, Whiting became a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1973 and was among the first women to be appointed to tenured professorships at Harvard University. She retired in 1980, then served as a distinguished fellow at the Henry A. Murray Center for the Study of Lives at Radcliffe College from 1980 to 1985. Keywords: anthropology; child development; children; cross-cultural psychology
Computer Mediated Work: The Interplay between Technology and Structured Jobs - Claims Representatives in the Social Security Administration

If general principles for the design of computer mediatedwork are to emerge, the interplay between the work environment and thecharacteristics of application systems must be understood better. Theresults of a study of 620 Claims Representatives in the SocialSecurity Administration, whose job differed only in the form of theapplication system interface used, are reported. Interactions withclients, operatorsâ perceived task environment and well being are allseen to be influenced by the type of system interface used. Mentalstrain symptoms is shown to be an important indicator of operator wellbeing. Implications for designers, managers and researchers areconsidered.
Distributed individual-based simulation

Individual-based simulations are an important class of applications where a complex system is modeled as a collection of autonomous entities, each having its own identify and behavior in the underlying simulated space. The main drawback of such simulations is that they are extremely compute-intensive. We consider the class of individual-based simulations where the simulated entities interact with one another indirectly through the underlying simulated space, significant performance improvement is attainable through parallelism on a network of machines. We present a data distribution and an approach to reduce the communication overhead, which leads to significant performance improvements while preserving the accuracy of the simulation.
Determination of the Oxidative Stability of Perfluoropolyalkyl Ethers and Correlation with Chemical Structure

The oxidative stabilities of several perfluoropolyalkyl ethers (PFPAE) with related chemical structures were determined by thermal gravimetric analysis and correlated with their chemical structures. These results show that oxidative stability increases as the number of difluoroformal groups decreases and as trifluoromethyl substituents are added. They are also consistent with a recently proposed intramolecular disproportionation reaction mechanism involving coordination of successive ether oxygens to a Lewis acid. Since polytetrafluoroethylene contains no oxygen, it provides an indication of the upper limit to oxidative stability of PFPAE fluids. These results also show that oxidative decomposition of PFPAE fluids requires the presence of an active metal as well as air. Consequently, it may be possible to minimize decomposition and thus improve oxidative stability by passivating reactive metal surfaces.
NIF Ignition Target Requirements, Margins, and Uncertainties: Status February 2010

AbstractTargets intended to produce ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are being simulated, and the simulations are used to set specifications for target fabrication. Recent design work has focused on incorporating the implications of NIF experiments that were done in fall 2009 and planning for the campaign in 2010. Near-term experiments will use Ge-doped CH, although Be and diamond are still under active consideration for 2011 and beyond. The emphasis in this paper will be on changes in the requirements over the last year, the characteristics of the 2010 CH-ablator design, and the designs for 2011 and beyond. Capsule defects of particular interest are surface perturbations on the CH ablator and composition variations in the Be shells. Complete tables of specifications are regularly updated for all of the targets. All the specifications are rolled together into an error budget indicating adequate margin for ignition with all of the designs.
Tansley Review No. 114

Summary 257I. DEFINING AND QUANTIFYING OCEANICITY 257II. ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF OCEANICITY 261III. ECOLOGICAL HISTORY OF OCEANICITY IN WESTERN EUROPE 263IV. POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INFLUENCES OF OCEANICITY 2671. Species versus communities 2672. Case study – Primula scotica – climatic effects on reproduction 2683. Case study – cranberry production and anoxia tolerance 268V. MODIFYING EFFECTS OF OCEANICITY ON PLANT DISTRIBUTION 269VI. PHYSIOLOGICAL IMPACT OF WARM WINTERS 2711. Phenology 2712. Metabolic consequences of warm winters 2723. Warm winters and mountain-top vegetation 274VII. TREELINES AND OCEANICITY 276VIII. CONCLUSIONS 278Acknowledgements 279References 279A cyclic behaviour in the intensity of maritime conditions which varies with the periodic behaviour of the North Atlantic oscillation has recently become apparent in the climatic record of northern Europe. Periodic increases in oceanicity are usually viewed as having a positive effect on plant survival, as milder winters, reduction of temperature extremes, low risk of exposure to frost, and freedom from drought reduce many aspects of environmental stress. However, warmer winters in maritime environments may also have a powerful influence in creating habitats that are unfavourable for many species. The dangers of long periods of soil saturation for overwintering plants, soaking injury to germinating seeds, premature bud burst in spring, depression of treelines by increased cloud cover and high lapse rates, as well as the constant leaching of soils, are all negative aspects of the maritime environment. Woody species in which root dormancy is delayed by mild winters are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of winter flooding. Subsequent re-exposure to oxygen as water tables fall in spring can aggravate flooding damage through post-anoxic injury, leading to severe dieback of anchoring roots. Soil leaching, particularly after human disturbance, can induce nutrient deficiencies and the establishment of oligotrophic communities with reduced productivity. Podzolization and iron pan formation have in the past facilitated the processes of paludification in oceanic regions. The resulting spread of bogs and acid moorlands can further reduce the potential for productivity in both agriculture and natural plant communities. Given the probability that current climatic trends may increase the degree of oceanicity in western and northern regions of Europe, the potentially negative consequences of such a climatic change need to be considered in relation to future ecological changes and their consequences for conservation and land use.
Near-surface structural model for deformation associated with the February 7, 1812, New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake

The February 7, 1812, New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake (M [moment magnitude] 8) was the third and final large-magnitude event to rock the northern Mississippi Embayment during the winter of 1811–1812. Although ground shaking was so strong that it rang church bells, stopped clocks, buckled pavement, and rocked buildings up and down the eastern seaboard, little coseismic surface deformation exists today in the New Madrid area. The fault(s) that ruptured during this event have remained enigmatic. We have integrated geomorphic data documenting differential surficial deformation (supplemented by historical accounts of surficial deformation and earthquake-induced Mississippi River waterfalls and rapids) with the interpretation of existing and recently acquired seismic reflection data, to develop a tectonic model of the near-surface structures in the New Madrid, Missouri, area. This model consists of two primary components: a north-northwest–trending thrust fault and a series of northeast-trending, strike-slip, tear faults. We conclude that the Reelfoot fault is a thrust fault that is at least 30 km long. We also infer that tear faults in the near surface partitioned the hanging wall into subparallel blocks that have undergone differential displacement during episodes of faulting. The northeast-trending tear faults bound an area documented to have been uplifted at least 0.5 m during the February 7, 1812, earthquake. These faults also appear to bound changes in the surface density of epicenters that are within the modern seismicity, which is occurring in the stepover zone of the left-stepping right-lateral strike-slip fault system of the modern New Madrid seismic zone.
The Sociolinguistics of Globalization: Standardization and Localization in the Context of Change

Linguistically, globalization has given rise to both homogenization and differentiation. Imperial conquest and standardization in the European nation-building tradition led to the spread of dominant languages and varieties and the creation of sometimes artificial linguistic boundaries. Standardization associated with nation-building continues, alongside new modes of standardization associated with capitalism. However, the factors that can lead to the reduction of diversity can also lead to its growth. The review sketches processes of linguistic localization associated with political change, tourism, migration and urbanization, and regional identification, and concludes with a detailed look at mechanisms and effects of standardization and localization in the history of Pittsburgh speech.
Modernization Theory Revisited: Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century

Theories of modernization, globalization, and dependency have assigned a clear role to Latin America: the region has been seen as dependent, exploited, and institutionally weak. In these theories, modernization and globalization are seen as forces generated elsewhere; the region, in these views, has merely tried to “adjust” and “respond” to these external influences. At best, it has imitated some of the political institutions of the core countries and, most of the times, unsuccessfully. While there is very good empirical evidence that supports these views, the essay argues that these theories need some correction. Latin America has been an innovator and a modernizer in its own right, especially in its cutting-edge design of the nation-state and in its modern conceptualization of the national community. Thus, the essay suggests that the region has not merely “adjusted” to modernization and globalization. Rather, the paper makes a case for a reinterpretation of the region’s role as a modernizer and an important contributor to the consolidation of the modern West.
KH-series satellite imagery and Landsat MSS data fusion in support of assessing urban land use growth

Multi-temporal land use data, circa 1990 and 2000, have been analyzed an our urban growth model which identifies three levels of the urban extent - the impervious surface, the urbanized area, and the urban footprint - to account for the differing degrees of open space degradation associated with the city. The model also generates metrics such as cohesion, proximity, population densities, average openness, open space contiguity, and depth which quantify spatial characteristics that are indicative of urban sprawl. We plan on expanding this time-series further, and for additional cities, with mid-decadal, gap-filled Landsat ETM data, as well as resolution-enhanced Landsat MSS data from the 19070's. The cities used in this pilot project consisted of: (a) Kigali, Rwanda; (b) Portland, Oregon; (c) Tacoma, Washington; and (d) Plock, Poland. Based on research done in this project, complemented by results from other efforts, the Ehlers data fusion approach was used in the resolution enhancement of Landsat MSS imagery. In this paper, using Portland and Kigali as the principal examples, we discuss the procedures by which (a) the KH-series declassified military intelligence imagery was geometrically-corrected and registered to Landsat data, (b) the Ehlers Fusion of the KH-data with Landsat MSS, (c) the derivation of 1970's urban land use information, and (d) the calculation of select urban growth metrics. This paper illustrates the power of leveraging the high resolution of the military reconnaissance imagery with the multispectral information contained in the vintage Landsat MSS data in historical land use analyses.
Measuring photon direction in high-index-contrast waveguides

We demonstrate that within high-index-contrast waveguides, photons traveling in different directions can follow slightly different trajectories. Using near-field microscopy we distinguish between forward and backward propagating photons.
A machine learning based lecture video segmentation and indexing algorithm

Video segmentation and indexing are important steps in multi-media document understanding and information retrieval. This paper presents a novel machine learning based approach for automatic structuring and indexing of lecture videos. By indexing video content, we can support both topic indexing and semantic querying of multimedia documents. In this paper, our proposed approach extracts features from video images and then uses these features to construct a model to label video frames. Using this model, we are able to segment and indexing videos with accuracy of 95% on our test collection.
Changes in lipoprotein kinetics during therapy with fenofibrate and other fibric acid derivatives

The fibric acid derivatives, including fenofibrate, significantly reduce very low-density lipoprotein triglyceride concentrations by stimulating lipoprotein lipase activity, thereby increasing very low-density lipoprotein catabolism. These agents may also reduce the hepatic secretion of nascent very low-density lipoprotein, but this effect is less consistent. Effects on low-density lipoprotein metabolism appear to depend upon the lipid disorder present before therapy. If hypertriglyceridemia and normal or low low-density lipoprotein levels are present, fibrate therapy is associated with a rise in low-density lipoprotein levels. This is due to a decreased fractional catabolism of low-density lipoprotein from an unusually high clearance to a more normal value. Treating pre-existing hypercholesterolemia usually results in a significant decrease in low-density lipoprotein levels. In this disorder, there is a demonstrable increase in low-density lipoprotein receptor-mediated clearance. It is not known at which site these drugs act to increase low-density lipoprotein receptor function in the latter patients. Some studies suggest that fibrate therapy increases high-density lipoprotein apolipoprotein AI production, but how this occurs has not been defined.
Elementary excitations of spin-aligned deuterium.

Extension des methodes de base correlee, appliquees anterieurement au cas de 3 He liquide a spin nucleaire polarise, au deuterium a spins electroniques alignes, avec un etat de spin nucleaire disponible. Les resultats sont obtenus pour la fonction de reponse lineaire et le mode du son nul en utilisant l'approximation de la phase aleatoire locale correlee. Calcul dans le meme esprit, de l'autoenergie, du spectre de particules simples, et de la masse effective
Stomatal response to vapour pressure deficit and the effect of plant water stress

Abstract The dynamic response of stomata to changes in atmospheric humidity was investigated in Fragaria × ananassa Duch., Picea engelmannii Parry, and Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco; and the effect of water stress on this response was determined in Pseudotsuga menziesii. The plants were rotated through three regimes of ambient temperature and vapour pressure deficit: 35°C–3. 5kPa, 35°C–0. 5 kPa, and 20°C–1. 5kPa. Branch and leaflet conductance were measured with a steady-state porometer, first at ambient vapour pressure deficit and then at one of four treatment conditions achieved by increasing or decreasing vapour pressure within the porometer cuvette. All three species showed similar stomatal response: enhanced conductance at low vapour pressure deficit and depressed conductance at high vapour pressure deficit. Engelmann spruce was more sensitive than Douglas fir and strawberry. Plant water status significantly altered stomatal response to vapour pressure deficit. The relationship of conductance of xylem water potential was linear under ambient conditions but became curvilinear when conductance was measured above and below ambient vapour pressure deficit. Between −0. 5 MPa and −2. 0 MPa xylem water potential, the stomata were sensitive to vapour pressure deficit, but below − 2. 0 MPa, the sensitivity decreased.
Pathophysiology of the locus coeruleus in suicide

Clinical and basic research findings implicate a role for brain norepinephrine in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders that can lead to suicide. However, the precise biological abnormality of neurons that produce norepinephrine in the brain in these disorders has not been elucidated. We have studied the biochemistry of the locus coeruleus (LC), the principal source of brain norepinephrine, from suicide victims and from age-matched, natural or accidental death control subjects. Levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (rate-limiting enzyme in norepinephrine biosynthesis) and amounts of binding to a2 adrenoceptors (norepinephrine receptors) are elevated in the LC of suicide victims as compared to control subjects. These biological abnormalities in the LC from suicide victims are very similar to biochemical changes observed in the rat LC following repeated exposure to environmental stimuli that activate the LC or to treatment with pharmacological agents that deplete brain norepinephrine. It is hypothesized that persons who commit suicide have experienced chronic activation of the LC, resulting in depletion of synaptic norepinephrine and compensatory changes in concentrations of noradrenergic proteins. Language: en
Persistence of muscle catabolism after severe burn

Abstract Background: The hypermetabolic response to severe burn is characterized by muscle protein catabolism. Current opinion states that the hypermetabolic state resolves soon after complete wound closure. Clinically, we have witnessed that burned children appear to be hypermetabolic and catabolic long after full healing of their wounds. Our goal in this study was to determine scientifically if burn-associated hypermetabolism persists after full wound healing. Methods: To determine the duration of muscle catabolism and systemic hypermetabolism after severe burn in children, patients with > 40% total body surface area burns were enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal study; resting energy expenditure was measured by indirect calorimetry, muscle protein kinetics were determined by using stable isotopic methodology, and body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry imaging. Data were collected at 6, 9, and 12 months after injury. Results: The mean total body surface area burned was 65% ± 13%, and the mean age was 7.6 ± 1.5 years. Resting energy expenditure was elevated above the predicted age-matched levels from the Harris-Benedict equation and incrementally declined throughout the 12-month study. The net protein balance and lean mass reflected catabolic persistence at 6 and 9 months after severe burn. Between 9 and 12 months, protein breakdown decreased, net protein balance improved, and lean body mass increased. Conclusions: In severely burned children, hypermetabolism and catabolism remain exaggerated for at least 9 months after injury. This suggests that therapeutic attempts to manipulate the catabolic and hypermetabolic response to severe injury should be continued long after injury. (Surgery 2000;128:312-9.)
Electrofusion of a weakly immunogenic neuroblastoma with dendritic cells produces a tumor vaccine.

The absence of surface costimulatory molecules explains in part the lack of an effective anti-tumor immune response in tumor-bearing animals, even though unique tumor antigens may be presented by class I MHC. We determined that the immunogenicity of a murine neuroblastoma, Neuro-2a, which lacks surface costimulatory molecules, could be increased by electrically induced fusion with dendritic cells. Electrofusion induced a higher level of cell fusion than polyethylene glycol, and tumor/dendritic cell heterokaryons expressed high levels of costimulatory molecules. While Neuro-2a was unable to induce the proliferation of syngeneic or allogeneic T cells in vitro, fused cells were able to induce T cell responses both in vitro and in vivo. When fused dendritic tumor cells were used as a cancer vaccine, immunized mice were significantly protected from challenge with Neuro-2a. We propose that electrofusion with patient-derived tumor and dendritic cells may provide a rapid means to produce patient-specific tumor vaccines.
Thyroid Hormones, T3 and T4, in the Brain

Thyroid hormones (THs) are essential for fetal and postnatal nervous system development and also play an important role in the maintenance of adult brain function. Of the two major thyroid hormones, T4 (3,5,3',5' tetra-iodo-L-thyronine) is classically viewed as an pro-hormone that must be converted to T3 (3,5,3' tri-iodo-L-thyronine) via tissue-level deiodinases for biological activity. THs primarily mediate their effects by binding to thyroid hormone receptor (TR) isoforms, predominantly TRα1 and TRβ1, which are expressed in different tissues and exhibit distinctive roles in endocrinology. Notably the ability to respond to T4 and to T3 differs for the two TR isoforms, with TRα1 generally more responsive to T4 than is TRβ1. TRα1 is also the most abundantly expressed TR isoform in the brain, encompassing 70-80% of all TR expression in this tissue. Conversion of T4 into T3 via deiodinase 2 in astrocytes has been classically viewed as critical for generating local T3 for neurons. However, deiodinase-deficient mice do not exhibit obvious defectives in brain development or function. Considering that TRα1 is well established as the predominant isoform in brain, and that TRα1 responds to both T3 and T4, we suggest T4 may play a more active role in brain physiology than has been previously accepted.
Direct transesterification of wet Cryptococcus curvatus cells to biodiesel through use of microwave irradiation

Abstract Cryptococcus curvatus is a highly promising oleaginous yeast strain that can accumulate intracellular lipids when grown on renewable carbon sources. In order to convert yeast lipids to biodiesel in a simple but cost-effective way, we aim to react whole yeast cells with methanol to produce biodiesel eliminating the step of drying and lipid extraction while adopting microwave energy for heating and disrupting cell walls. Through use of a screening test followed by response surface methodology, optimal parameters leading to the highest yield of crude biodiesel and FAMEs were identified. Under optimal conditions of reaction time (2 min), methanol/biomass ratio (50/1, v/m), stirring speed (966 rpm), KOH concentration (5%), and water content (80%), the yield of crude biodiesel (% of total lipids) was 56.1% after the first round reaction. A second round reaction using the residual yeast cells increased the total yield to 92%. Among the crude biodiesel, 63.88% was FAMEs as revealed by GC analysis. Results from this study indicated that it is feasible to produce biodiesel from wet microbial biomass directly without the steps of drying and lipid extraction. With the assistance of microwave, this process can be accomplished in minutes with good process efficiency.
Reproducibility of Polarization Resistance Measurements in Steel-in-Concrete Systems

Abstract After proper wetting, the measured polarization resistance was found to be higher and closer to the actual value than that measured without using any wetting. Reproducibility of the measur...
Resonating-valence-bond states with antiferromagnetic long-range order.

We derive the singlet versions of the N\'eel states for certain n-sublattice systems, including the two-dimensional square lattice (previously considered by Carlson and Sethna) and the triangular lattice. These states are written explicitly in resonating-valence-bond form through the help of the Young-tableau formalism. Since these states are exact ground states for infinite-range models, they can be used as a test for the fermion and Schwinger boson mean-field theories (MFT). We show that the fermion MFT is incompatible with the ground state, while the boson MFT gives the exact ground state. Implications of the results with respect to the ability of the MFT's to describe antiferromagnetic long-range order are discussed.
Damage Control: Unintended Pregnancy in the United States Military

Women's access to reproductive health care is an ongoing source of conflict in U.S. politics; however, women in the military are often overlooked in these debates. Reproductive health care, including family planning, is a fundamental component of health care for women. Unintended pregnancy carries substantial health risks and financial costs, particularly for servicewomen. Compared with their civilian counterparts, women in the military experience greater challenges in preventing unwanted pregnancy and have less access to contraceptive services and abortion. Current military policies, federal laws, and health care practices are not always consistent with evidence-based research and patient-centered care. A multidisciplinary effort on the part of military personnel, lawmakers, and health care providers is needed to eliminate these disparities. We discuss recommendations in the following categories: improving contraceptive education and adherence, expanding research, broadening access to the full range of contraceptive options including emergency contraception, and ensuring access to safe abortion.
Absence of Age-Related Increase in Central Arterial Stiffness in Physically Active Women

Abstract —Increased arterial stiffness is thought to contribute to the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease with age. Little, however, is known about the influence of aging on central and peripheral arterial stiffness in females. Moreover, it is unknown whether physical activity status influences age-related increases in arterial stiffness in females. Arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AI, applanation tonometry) were measured in 53 healthy females, including 10 premenopausal (Pre-S) and 18 postmenopausal (Post-S) sedentary women, and 9 premenopausal (Pre-PA) and 16 postmenopausal (Post-PA) physically active women. In the sedentary women, there were no age-related differences in arterial blood pressure, but aortic PWV and carotid AI (measures of central arterial stiffness) were higher ( P <.01) in Post-S versus Pre-S (1065±110 versus 690±80 cm/sec and 16.5%±1.8% versus 0.3%±1.6%, respectively); however, there were no significant differences in leg and arm PWV (measures of peripheral arterial stiffness). Systolic and mean arterial blood pressures were higher ( P <.05) in Post-PA versus Pre-PA. Despite this and in contrast to the sedentary women, aortic PWV and AI were not different in Post-PA versus Pre-PA. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that maximal oxygen consumption, plasma total cholesterol, and plasma LDL-cholesterol were significant independent predictors and together explained up to 50% of the variability in central arterial stiffness. We concluded that (1) central, but not peripheral, arterial stiffness increases with age in sedentary healthy females in the absence of age-related increases in arterial blood pressure; (2) significant age-related increases in central arterial stiffness are not observed in highly physically active women; and (3) aerobic fitness and plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels are significant independent physiological correlates of central arterial stiffness in this population.
Solution of dense linear systems on an optimal systolic architecture

Abstract The paper presents an optimal systolic array architecture for rapid solution of dense systems of linear equations. The array solves a system of size n×n in 4n + 1 time units including I 0 time. Data communications are strictly local and the processing elements (PEs) are simple. The complete three-phase solution algorithm is executed on a single array, employing about 3 n 2 2 PEs without any need for costly inter-phase I 0 . Due to a novel data steering mechanism, the three algorithmic phases are maximally overlapped. Design optimality is established using systolic precedence diagrams. It is also shown that merging the functions of two adjacent PEs into a single PE is possible resulting in maximal PE utilization. An interesting result regarding cascading phase-optimal arrays is obtained.
Polycrystalline film target texture and nuclear backscattering analysis

Abstract The influence of target texture on the backscattering yield of 2 MeV 4 He particles has been investigated for evaported thin-film targets of Nb, Ag, Au and Bi. The results have been correlated with those from X-ray diffraction. The implications of the texture found for nuclear-backscattering analysis are discussed, and it is suggested that backscattering may constitute a fast, quantitative method for investigations of texture in thin foils.
1029-20 Role of Endotoxin-induced Release of Nitric Oxide and Prostacyclin in Reperfusion Injury to the Heart

To examine the contribution of nitric oxide (NO) in myocardial reperfusion injury, male Sprague-Dawley rats were given saline (n = 10), lipopolysaccharide (LPS, n = 10) or the NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME followed by LPS (n = 5). Hearts and aortas were harvested 6 hrs later. Hearts were perfused with buffer (6 ml/min) and subjected to total ischemia (40 min) and reperfusion (30 min). Aortic rings were used to study norepinephrine (NE)-induced contraction. Baseline force of cardiac contraction (FCC) was lower in LPS-treated rat hearts (6.6 ± 0.4 vs 9.8 ± 0.6 g in saline-treated rats, mean ± SE) as was the coronary perfusion pressure (CPP, 43 ± 1 vs 48 ± 1 mmHg) (both P l 0.02). Saline-treated rat hearts showed 36 ± 5% fall in FCC and a 38 ± 6% rise in CPP after ischemia-reperfusion, whereas hearts from LPS-treated rats revealed only a 16 ± 9% fall in FCC and a 10 ± 2% rise in CPP (both P l 0.05 vs saline-treated rat hearts). Fewer LPS-treated rat hearts developed reperfusion arrhythmias (5% vs 58%, P l 0.02). Treatment of rats with L-NAME before LPS ‘normalized’ CPP and FCC at baseline, but did not affect the salutary effects of LPS on cardiac function after ischemia-reperfusion. Aortic rings from LPS-treated rats showed a markedly decreased contractile response to NE which was normalized with L-NAME pretreatment. Myocardial NO release, measured as formation of nitrite, was greater in LPS-treated rats (4.9 ± 0.3 vs 3.4 ± 0.1 nmol/g, P l 0.01). Coronary effluent 6-keto-PGF1∝ levels were also higher in LPS-treated rats. Thus LPS-mediated increase in NO and PGI2 results in initial myocardial suppression (decrease in FCC and CPP), but cardiac function is maintained during ischemia-reperfusion with occurrence of few reperfusion arrhythmias.
The effects of salinity and temperature on selected elements in oysters (Crassostrea virginica)

Abstract The effects of growing water temperature and salinity on the concentration of 29 elements in oysters harvested from waters of Virginia, Maryland, and Mississippi were evaluated. Significant differences in concentration were observed for 16 elements for one or both environmental factors.
Do the mentally retarded have poor memory

Abstract The hypothesis that mentally retarded persons have a short-term memory deficit whixh is due to inadequate rehearsal strategies is reexamined. A reevaluation of results of a number of experiments suggests that normal and retarded persons differ on short-term memory tasks, and the superiority of normals is present from the time of initial stimulus exposure. While some evidence for slope differences in retention curves is found in a few tasks, it is not strong support for memory differences. The hypothesis that “memory” differences are due to differential encoding as a result of more adequate rehearsal by the normal subjects is unacceptable. If this were the case, some differences in slope of retention curves could be expected unless rehearsal beyond the encoding stage was totally precluded. The review points to a need for an empirical reevaluation of the issue with a full recognition that deficits in particular processes may characterize some retarded persons and not others.
Preliminary Correlation of Fuel Effects on Ignitability for Gas Turbine Engines

The characteristic time model for ignition is used to correlate the spark ignition limits of fuel sprays in gas turbine combustors. The correlations are based on ignition data from several fuels in the JP-4 to JP-8 specification range and six gas turbine combustors. In the model, the criterion for ignition is that the spark energy must heat up an initial volume such that the heat release rate within that volume is greater than the loss rate. Heat generation is limited first by droplet evaporation and then the rate of hydrocarbon oxidation; heat loss is controlled by the rate of mixing (eddy diffusion). Conceptually, the rates are expressed as characteristic times in order to illustrate the relative importance of each process in the ignition event. Ignition limit correlations are given for each combustor as well as a single correlation of 322 data for four engines combined.Copyright © 1983 by ASME
Molecular composites of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) anion and poly(ethylene oxide) : Thermal behavior and morphology

Molecular composites, in which a small concentration of ionically modified poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) is dispersed in a poly(ethylene oxide) matrix, have been prepared. With the content of PPTA anion increasing to about 5 wt %, the glass-transition temperature rises and the melting temperature decreases. From the equilibrium-melting-temperature depression data that were obtained from Hoffman–Weeks plots, the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter was determined to be negative (−1.10). These indications of enhanced miscibility between the components are attributed to intermolecular ion–dipole interactions. The presence of rigid PPTA-anion reinforcement alters the morphology; for example, the spherulite size is reduced, and the degree of crystallinity is lowered. Possible models of how the reinforcement is incorporated into the composite are presented. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1369–1376, 2000
New developments in the genetic evidence for modern human origins

The genetic evidence for modern human origins was reviewed recently in Evolutionary Anthropology by Pearson,1 so our goal is to highlight new developments rather than attempt a comprehensive review. For years, polarized Multiregional and Out-of-Africa models for modern human origins were debated vigorously, but today there is substantial agreement among specialists. One area of broad consensus is that Africa or, more accurately, sub-Saharan Africa, played a predominant role in the origins of modern humans. This view is found even among researchers who argue against complete replacement of nonmodern Eurasians.2–7 The importance of Africa is clear not only from genetics, but also from the fossil record.1, 8 On the other hand, most researchers also agree that, at least in principle, modern humans and nonmodern Eurasians, such as Neandertals, could have interbred with each other. The fossil record suggests that Neandertals and modern humans constituted independent evolutionary lineages,9 but their recent common ancestry leaves open the possibility of admixture.10 The open question is whether there is any evidence of admixture.1