cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influences of dietary regimens on microbial content in gastrointestinal tracts of meat goats

Abstract This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary treatments on microbial loads and pH of gastrointestinal tract contents in meat goats, as well as the concentration of volatile fatty acid (VFA) in the rumen. Crossbred (Boer x Spanish) goats ( n = 36; BW = 17.7 kg) were assigned randomly to one of three experimental diets ( n = 12/diet or 3 pens/treatment) for 90 days:alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ) hay alone (AH-diet); 18% CP concentrate alone (C-diet); or, a combined diet (AHC-diet), consisting of the AH-diet for the first 45 days, followed by 45 days of the C-diet. After evisceration, pH values of rumen liquor and colon digesta were immediately measured from each animal, as well as aseptically collected rumen liquor and rectal samples to determine the microbial loads. Collected rumen liquor was also prepared for volatile fatty acid (VFA) contents. Feeding meat goats with alfalfa hay alone had higher ( P Escherichia coli counts in the rectal samples were lower ( P 10 CFU/g) compared with the C-diet (8.21 log 10 CFU/g) or AHC-diet (8.40 log 10 CFU/g) groups. However, no significant differences were found in the E. coli counts of rumen samples from goats fed the experimental diets. The mean (± SEM) rumen E. coli counts were 1.38, 1.65, and 2.51 ± 0.560 log 10 CFU/g in the AH-, C-, and AHC-diet groups, respectively. The results indicate that feeding hay alone may decrease the fecal shedding of E. coli in meat goats with increasing the rumen and colon pH.
Robot calibration by mobile camera systems

A measurement technique for kinematic calibration of robot manipulators, which uses a stereo hand-eye system with moving camera coordinates, is presented in this article. The calibration system consists of a pair of cameras rigidly mounted on the robot end-effector, a camera calibration board, and a robot calibration fixture. The stereo cameras are precalibrated using the camera calibration board so that the 3D coordinates of any object point seen by the stereo cameras can be computed with respect to the camera coordinate frame [C] defined by the calibration board. Because [C] is fixed with respect to the tool frame [T] of the robot, it moves with the robot hand from one calibration measurement configuration to another. On each face of the robot calibration fixture that defines the world coordinate frame [W], there are evenly spaced dot patterns of uniform shape. Each pattern defines a coordinate frame [Ei], whose pose is known in [W]. The dot pattern is designed in such a way that from a pair of images of the pattern, the pose of [Ei] can be estimated with respect to [C] in each robot calibration measurement. By that means the pose of [C] becomes known in [W] at each robot measurement configuration. For a sufficient number of measurement configurations, the homogeneous transformation from [W] to [C] (or equivalently to [T]), and thus the link parameters of the robot, can be identified using the least-squares techniques. Because the cameras perform local measurements only, the field-of-view of the camera system can be as small as 50 × 50 mm2, resulting in an overall accuracy of the measurement system as high as 0.05 mm. This is at least 20 times better than the accuracy provided by vision-based measurement systems with a fixed camera coordinate frame using common off-the-shelf cameras. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Age at exposure to ionising radiation and cancer mortality among Hanford workers: follow up through 1994

Background: Studies of workers at the plutonium production factory in Hanford, WA have led to conflicting conclusions about the role of age at exposure as a modifier of associations between ionising radiation and cancer. Aims: To evaluate the influence of age at exposure on radiation risk estimates in an updated follow up of Hanford workers. Methods: A cohort of 26 389 workers hired between 1944 and 1978 was followed through 1994 to ascertain vital status and causes of death. External radiation dose estimates were derived from personal dosimeters. Poisson regression was used to estimate associations between mortality and cumulative external radiation dose at all ages, and in specific age ranges. Results: A total of 8153 deaths were identified, 2265 of which included cancer as an underlying or contributory cause. Estimates of the excess relative risk per Sievert (ERR/Sv) for cumulative radiation doses at all ages combined were negative for all cause and leukaemia and positive for all cancer and lung cancer. Cumulative doses accrued at ages below 35, 35–44, and 45–54 showed little association with mortality. For cumulative dose accrued at ages 55 and above (10 year lag), the estimated ERR/Sv for all cancers was 3.24 (90% CI: 0.80 to 6.17), primarily due to an association with lung cancer (ERR/Sv: 9.05, 90% CI: 2.96 to 17.92). Conclusions: Associations between radiation and cancer mortality in this cohort are primarily a function of doses at older ages and deaths from lung cancer. The association of older age radiation exposures and cancer mortality is similar to observations from several other occupational studies.
Abdominovaginal sacral colpoperineopexy: patient perceptions, anatomical outcomes, and graft erosions.

This is a retrospective analysis of 169 consecutive patients who underwent the abdominovaginal sacral colpoperineopexy. POP-Q measurements, patient willingness to have the same surgery again, and mesh erosions were recorded during follow-up visits. Patients whose erosion responded to office excision were defined as having minor mesh erosion. Patients with persistent erosions requiring outpatient surgical excisions were defined as having major mesh erosion. For the 122 patients with 12-month follow-up, all POP-Q points improved (p<0.005) compared with preoperative measurements. The response to the question “Would you go through the same surgery again?” was “yes” 77.3% of the time and “no” 4.9% of the time. Minor mesh erosion rate was 5.9% (10/169). Major erosion rate was 0.6% (1/169). In conclusion, when combined with paravaginal defect repair and Burch urethropexy, the abdominovaginal sacral colpoperineopexy effectively addresses all support defects in patients with advanced prolapse. The procedure is associated with a high level of patient willingness to have the same surgery again, and it is achieved with low erosion rate.
Robust control of dynamic systems using neuromorphic controllers: a CMAC approach

The good performance of trainable controllers based on neuronlike elements hinges on the ability of the neural network to generate a 'good' control law even when the input does not belong to the training set, and it has been shown that neural nets do not necessarily generalize well. The author addresses this problem by proposing a feedback controller based on the use of a CMAC (cerebellar model articulation controller) neural net. It is shown that the proposed controller has good generalization properties. Moreover, by proper choice of the training set the resulting closed-loop system is guaranteed to be robustly stable with respect to model uncertainty. >
Structural Equation Modeling Diagnostics Using R Package semdiag and EQS

Yuan and Hayashi (2010) introduced 2 scatter plots for model and data diagnostics in structural equation modeling (SEM). However, the generation of the plots requires in-depth understanding of their underlying technical details. This article develops and introduces an R package semdiag for easily drawing the 2 plots. With a model specified in EQS syntax, one only needs to supply as few as 2 parameters to generate the 2 plots using the semdiag package. Two examples are provided to illustrate the use of the package. Multiple figures are used to explain the elements of data and model diagnostics. Advice on selecting proper estimation methods following the diagnostics is also given.
The nature of drift in pseudoinverse control of kinematically redundant manipulators

The control of kinematically redundant manipulators using only pseudoinverse control is known to produce drift in joint space when a cyclic task is performed in rectilinear space. The properties of this drift are examined by performing numerical experiments. This drift has predictable properties including a numerically stable limit in some situations. At this limit the arc length of the path in joint space appears to be near a minimum. >
Energy management using buffer memory for streaming data

This work presents a new approach for energy management by inserting data buffers. The buffers are managed using the concept of inventory control by treating energy as cost and computation as production. The data stored in the buffers are considered as merchandise. Our method provides a mathematical framework to develop general strategies managing the energy consumption in computers. The approach can solve a wide range of problems. For example, it can calculate the needed buffer sizes to achieve optimal energy savings. It can derive the conditions when a standby state saves energy. The method also shows the effect of load balancing on energy conservation and can handle the variations of data rates. We use sensor networks as case studies and demonstrate more than 20% energy savings.
Exploring The Multiple Intelligences Of Community College Students Enrolled In Online Courses

While a plethora of research exists concerning Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI), virtually all of the research is focused on grades K-12. Few research studies on MI have been conducted with college students. The present study explores and profiles the Multiple Intelligences of community college students (N = 90) enrolled in online courses during the summer of 2006. The study is the first in a series of ongoing research that will explore MI theory among community college students. An overall profile of the students’ Multiple Intelligences are presented as well as descriptive comparisons between male and female profiles, selected majors and course type comparisons. Implications and recommendations for further MI research are also discussed.
Extracellular currents alter gap junction intercellular communication in synovial fibroblasts.

We studied the effect of extremely low frequency (ELF) currents on gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) mediated by connexin43 protein. Confluent monolayers of synovial fibroblasts (HIG-82) and neuroblastoma cells (5Y) were exposed in bath solution to 0-75 mA/m(2) (0-56 mV/m), 60 Hz. Single channel conductance, cell membrane current-voltage (I-V) curves, and Ca(2+) influx were measured using the nystatin single and double patch methods. The conductances of the closed and open states of the gap junction channel in HIG-82 cells were each significantly reduced (by 0.76 and 0.39 pA, respectively) in cells exposed to 20 mA/m(2). Current densities as low as 10 mA/m(2) significantly increased Ca(2+) influx in HIG-82 cells. No effects were seen in 5Y cells. The I-V curves of the plasma membranes of both types of cells were independent of 60 Hz electric fields and current densities, 0-75 mA/m(2), indicating that the effect of the 60 Hz fields on GJIC in HIG-82 cells was not mediated by a change in membrane potential. We conclude that ELF electric fields can alter GJIC in synovial cells via a mechanism that does not depend on changes in membrane potential, but may depend on Ca(2+) influx. The results open the possibility that GJIC mediated responses in synovial cells, such as for example, their secretory responses to proinflammatory cytokines, could be antagonized by the application of ELF electric fields.
Exploring feature detection techniques for time-varying volumetric data

The fundamental purpose of scientific visualization is to help scientists extract information from large volumetric datasets. These multi-dimensional datasets may be either derived from observations or generated by simulations. In either case, visualization directly enhances scientific discovery, assists the validation and verification of simulation models, and helps study and predict phenomena. Although the state-of-the-art visualization techniques allow insightful presentations of datasets in various ways, the ability to discern significant features from complex data is lacking. On the other hand, lots of work has been done in the computer vision field, in attempting to automatically detect and recognize features or regions of interest in two-dimensional image data. How to extract features or locate regions of interest in visualizing high-dimensional datasets is an important area of research. We present the work we have done in exploring feature extraction techniques for time-varying three-dimensional volumetric datasets. We used an edge detection method and exploited both temporal and spatial coherences inside features to automatically locate and track the feature movement over time. The results are attractive and show that feature extraction techniques could greatly enhance visualization procedures. >
Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage and the Life Course: Cross-Fertilizing Age and Social Science Theory

Age and cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory have obvious logical, theoretical, and empirical connections, because both are inherently and irreducibly related to the passage of time. Over the past 15 years, these connections have resulted in the elaboration and application of the cumulative advantage-disadvantage perspective in social gerontology, especially in relation to issues of heterogeneity and inequality. However, its theoretical origins, connections, and implications are not widely understood. This article reviews the genesis of the cumulative advantage/disadvantage perspective in studies of science, its initial articulation with structural-functionalism, and its expanding importance for gerontology. It discusses its intellectual relevance for several other established theoretical paradigms in sociology, psychology, and economics. On the basis of issues deriving from these perspectives and from the accumulating body of work on cumulative advantage and disadvantage, I identify several promising directions for further research in gerontology.
The FDLR as an Obstacle to Peace in the DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, “Zaire” until 1997) has experienced significant political upheaval, bloodshed, and human rights abuses for decades. Since its independence on June 30, 1960, t...
Shrinkage stress development in dental composites--an analytical treatment.

Objectives The aim of this paper is to develop a comprehensive mathematical model for shrinkage stress development in dental composites that can account for the combined effect of material properties, specimen geometry and external constraints.
Micro-CHP (Cooling, Heating, and Power): Not Just Scaled Down CHP

The paper will introduce the research community to the Mississippi Micro-CHP (Cooling, Heating, and Power) and Bio-fuel Center, a unique research, demonstration and education center combining the resources and expertise from Mississippi State University Engineering, Agriculture, and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES). The center is a vertically integrated program to study and demonstrate the entire bio-fuel utilization cycle from “woodchips to micro-CHPs”: feedstock production, conversion to bio-fuel/biogas, conversion to onsite electrical power, and utilization of the resulting waste heat to provide the site’s cooling and heating needs. The “micro” designates a focus on residential, small commercial and rural applications. The coupling of micro-CHP with bio-fuels has to do with addressing regional and demographic consideration of successful micro-CHP implementation as opposed to a one-strategy-fits-all approach. The paper will contrast characteristics of residential and small commercial establishments versus commercial/industrial CHP systems and form a list of desirable characteristics for micro-CHP components and overall micro-CHP system design. Based on these evaluations, future research plans for the Center will be suggested. Another factor that will be stressed is that Micro-CHP will best be utilized if designed as part of a whole building system. The characteristics of the building are as important as the characteristics of the equipment, and both should be designed to work together synergistically.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Rapid diagnosis of nonconvulsive status epilepticus using reduced-lead electroencephalography.

Introduction: Electroencephalography (EEG) is indicated for diagnosing nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) in a patient who has altered level of consciousness after a motor seizure. A study in a neonatal population found 94% sensitivity and 78% specificity for detection of seizure using a single-lead device. This study aims to show that a reduced montage EEG would detect 90% of seizures detected on standard EEG. Methods: A portable Brainmaster EEG device was available in the emergency department (ED) at all times. Patients presenting to the ED with altered mental status and known history of seizure or a witnessed seizure having a standard EEG were eligible for this study. The emergency physician obtained informed consent from the legally authorized representative (LAR), while an ED technician attached the electrodes to the patient, and a research associate attached the electrodes to the wiring routing to the portable EEG module. A board-certified epileptologist interpreted the tracings via the Internet. Simultaneously, the emergency physician ordered a standard 23-lead EEG, which would be interpreted by the neurologist on call to read EEGs. We compared the epileptologist’s interpretation of the reduced montage EEG to the results of the 23-lead EEG, which was considered the gold standard for detecting seizures. Results: Twelve of 12 patients or 100% had the same findings on reduced-montage EEG as standard EEG. One of 12 patients or 8% had nonconvulsive seizure activity. Conclusion: The results are consistent with prior studies which have shown that 8-48% of patients who have had a motor seizure continue to have nonconvulsive seizure activity on EEG. This study suggests that a bedside reduced-montage EEG can be used to make the diagnosis of NCSE in the ED. Further study will be conducted to see if this technology can be applied to the inpatient neurological intensive care unit setting. [West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(3):442–446.]
Guest Editor's Introduction: Computational Science and Engineering for the US Department of Defense

The US Department of Defense is reducing its dependence on the traditional "design, build, break, and fix" paradigm for designing and testing weapons systems by supplementing empirical testing with computational science and engineering. This introduction to the theme issue explores how the DoD's computational systems have contributed to various scientific works.
Use of Blood-Donor and Transfusion-Recipient Biospecimen Repositories to Address Emerging Blood-Safety Concerns and Advance Infectious Disease Research: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Biologic Specimen Repository

sion was raised shortly after the discovery of HHV-8 nearly 2 decades ago, this issue has been difficult to resolve because of problems with the sensitivity, reliability, and throughput capacity of HHV-8 screening assays, particularly for healthy donors with latent infections, in whom antibody titers are low and viremia is generally undetectable [2]. Identifying appropriate populations in which to conduct large-scale linked donor-recipient transmission studies has also been a chal-
High stability 40 Kelvin cryo-cooled sapphire oscillator

We present initial test results for a new short-term frequency standard, the 40 K compensated sapphire oscillator (40 K CSO). Included are measurements of resonator quality factor, operational frequency, turn-over temperature, acceleration (g) sensitivity, frequency drift, and preliminary frequency stability tests. Long-term operation is facilitated use of a small cryo-cooler (1 KW wall power) with no moving cryogenic parts, and thus no preset service interval for the cold head. Initial tests with this single-stage pulse-tube cooler show a stability of 3/spl times/10/sup -14/ (1 second /spl les//spl tau//spl les/10 seconds) and a flicker floor of 2/spl times/10/sup -14/.
Fault-tolerant routing in a class of double loop networks

Double-loop networks have a higher connectivity and therefore a higher potential for fault tolerance than single-loop networks. The authors present distributed routing schemes that fully utilize that fault-tolerance potential, and that are applicable in particular to a specific class of double-loop networks, characterized by a forward loop connecting all the adjacent nodes, and a backward loop connecting nodes separated by a distance that depends on N, the number of nodes. A nice feature of these schemes is that for a given node, only local knowledge on the status of the neighboring nodes and links is required. Yet the schemes detect faulty nodes and links and adapt to the situation, so that a packet will eventually reach its destination, if there exists a path. A simulation has shown that the average overhead resulting from the schemes, in terms of number of hops, does not exceed 17%, for values of N around 16. >
Time-resolved photoelectron imaging of the iodide-thymine and iodide-uracil binary cluster systems.

The energetics and dynamics of thymine and uracil transient negative ions were examined using femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging. The vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of these systems were found to be 4.05 eV and 4.11 eV for iodide–thymine (I−·T) and iodide–uracil (I−·U) clusters, respectively. An ultraviolet pump pulse was used to promote intracluster charge transfer from iodide to the nucleobase. Subsequent electron detachment using an infrared probe pulse monitored the dynamics of the resulting transient negative ion. Photoelectron spectra reveal two primary features: a near-zero electron kinetic energy signal attributed to autodetachment and a transient feature representing photodetachment from the excited anion state. The transient state exhibits biexponential decay in both thymine and uracil complexes with short and long decay time constants ranging from 150–600 fs and 1–50 ps, respectively, depending on the excitation energy. However, both time constants are systematically shorter for I−·T. Vibrational autodetachment and iodine loss are identified as the primary decay mechanisms of the transient negative ions of thymine and uracil.
Derivation of a Hypothesis about Monocular Size and Depth Perception from a Simple General Perceptual Principle

A viewer is assumed to look with one eye at a fixation point f and a reference point x of a surface in a frontal parallel plane. He can move his eye along its line of regard for f some distance ΔS; and we suppose that he can assess the ratio ΔR−1/ΔS, where R is the retinal separation between the images of f and x and ΔR−1 is the change in the reciprocal of R that attends his movement of a distance ΔS. A model is proposed that approximates the optical conditions of his stimulation, and that allows him to calculate the physical distance E between f and x and the distance S between f and the center of his eye in terms of ΔR−1/ΔS. His calculations of E and S are treated as perceptions of the linear extent and the distance of the surface on which the points f and x are located.
Neoplasia without dysplasia: lessons from Barrett esophagus and other tubal gut neoplasms.

Abstract Context.—Classic pathology teaching emphasizes that neoplastic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract are characterized by architectural and cytologic abnormalities that distinguish it from...
Relating health outcomes to environmental factors: Assessing uncertainty in the presence of predicted environmental factors

Summary form only given. Quantum communication is important for information-theoretic secure key distribution through public channels as well as for beating standard limits to information transfer in finite-bandwidth channels and for performing distributed quantum computation. Practical and theoretical quantum communication is advancing rapidly but key challenges remain. I present the current state of the field and some promising research activities now underway.
FACTOR OF AGE IN THE RATE OF ABSORPTION OF, AND IN MAMMARY STIMULATION BY, TESTOSTERONE MONOPROPIONATE PELLETS IN RATS

THE FOLLOWING EXPERIMENT was undertaken in order to investigate the possf-bility that the age of the host may be a factor in the rate of absorption of sex hormone pellets by rats. Afrequently used androgen was selected as the test substance. Incidental gross autopsy observations were made on mammary gland stmvulation. Pellets of testosterone monopropionate1 were prepared by a standard technique so that they were subjected to uniform compression and were of uniform diameter; full details of the method havebeen described elsewhere (i). The pellets, weighing 8 .4 to 10.5 mg. each, were implanted in 33 rats of the following ages on the day of im-plantation: a), 4 male and 6 female littermates, aged 16 days ; b), 3 male and 2 female littermates, aged 30 days; c), 4 males and 5 females from two litters, aged 47 and 54 days; d), 5 males and 4 females, aged 12 months.
Intrinsic Capacities of Molecular Sensors of the Unfolded Protein Response to Sense Alternate Forms of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

The unfolded protein response (UPR) regulates the protein-folding capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) according to cellular demand. In mammalian cells, three ER transmembrane components, IRE1, PERK, and ATF6, initiate distinct UPR signaling branches. We show that these UPR components display distinct sensitivities toward different forms of ER stress. ER stress induced by ER Ca2+ release in particular revealed fundamental differences in the properties of UPR signaling branches. Compared with the rapid response of both IRE1 and PERK to ER stress induced by thapsigargin, an ER Ca2+ ATPase inhibitor, the response of ATF6 was markedly delayed. These studies are the first side-by-side comparisons of UPR signaling branch activation and reveal intrinsic features of UPR stress sensor activation in response to alternate forms of ER stress. As such, they provide initial groundwork toward understanding how ER stress sensors can confer different responses and how optimal UPR responses are achieved in physiological settings.
Irregular Regions and Grids

Throughout ten chapters of this text we have studied many algorithms, and we hope that we solved many problems. Most of these problems were defined on the interval [0,1], the square [0,1] × [0,1] or a cube. (There were probably a couple of times when we got adventuresome and used [−2, 1] instead of [0, 1].) We all know that the world and the objects in the world are not intervals, squares and cubes. It is convenient to treat these easier problems first while we are learning about numerical schemes. It is now time to face some reality and discuss more complicated situations. We will discuss both situations where the geometry is more complex than a square or a cube and the situation where it is best to use a nonuniform grid. We will not discuss these topics in depth. We will try to introduce a variety of the methods that are used to confront problems caused by very irregular solutions and irregular geometries. We hope to provide an overview of some of the difficulties and some of the solutions.
Using Association Rules Mining to Facilitate Qualitative Data Analysis in Theory Building

The richness captured in qualitative data is a key strength of the qualitative approach to theory building. However, given the nature of qualitative data, it is typically not apparent to qualitative researchers as to how quantitative techniques could be used to facilitate the identification of strong relationships between concepts that are embedded in the data. This typically leads to the formulation of theoretical propositions that are often rich in detail, yet lacking in simplicity. In addition, the researcher faces the daunting task of developing persuasive arguments to justify the findings. This chapter proposes a systematic procedure toward qualitative data analysis to facilitate developing propositions in theory building. Specifically, we demonstrate how researchers can take advantage of quantitative data analysis techniques such as association rules (AR) mining to identify strong concept relationships from qualitative data. The proposed procedure is illustrated using a case study in the public health domain.
Fire Intensity-Resistance Evaluation

Computer-aided procedures have been developed to allow architects and engineers with no previous computer experience to predict the theoretical fire rating of different layers of fireproofing materials. The device which permits such a theoretical evaluation is a problem-oriented computer language known as FIRE (Fire Intensity-Resistance Evaluation). Using the procedure in the language the engineer can choose up to three different layers of material to be evaluated under various fire intensities. The layers which can contain water or different transformation products can be considered to be in intimate contact or separated by an air gap. The various layers can also be attached to a heat sink which represents the mass of various structural members of different sizes. A directory of 50 materials is available for evaluation under fire exposures of different intensities and durations. Correlations are now being carried with existing fire tests to insure the best fit for the different material parameters required.
Tree growth, cambial phenology, and wood anatomy of limber pine at a Great Basin (USA) mountain observatory

Anatomical features of Pinus flexilis under warmer and drier conditions along an altitudinal transect revealed a shorter growing season and shifts in the timing of wood formation. Future climate change driven by greenhouse warming is expected to increase both frequency and severity of drought events and heat waves. Possible consequences for forest ecosystems include changes in foundation species and extended die-off phenomena. We investigated tree growth under the set of biotic and abiotic conditions, and their interactions, that are expected in a drier and warmer world using mountain observatories designed to capture elevation gradients in the Great Basin of North America. Stem cambial activity, wood anatomy, and radial growth of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) were examined at two different elevations using automated dendrometers and repeated histological microcores in 2013–2014. Mean annual temperature was 3.7° cooler at the higher site, which received 170 mm year−1 of precipitation more than the lower site. Mean air temperature thresholds for xylogenesis computed using logistic regression were 7.7 and 12.0 °C at the higher and lower site, respectively. No differences in the onset date of cambial activity were found under such naturally contrasted conditions, with the global change analog provided by the lower site. Growing season was shortened by increasing drought stress at the lower site, thereby reducing xylem production. Stem expansion was only detectable by automated dendrometers at the higher site. Using elevation to simulate climatic changes and their realized ecosystem feedbacks, it was possible to express tree responses in terms of xylem phenology and anatomical adaptations.
High Tech Versus High Touch: Comparing Electronic and Hard-Copy Gift Cards

Previous research in the area of how individuals respond to hard-copy versus electronic communications indicates inconsistent results. Although media richness theory suggests that there is no theor...
The Chicano Generation: Testimonios of the Movement. By Mario T. García.

The Chicano Generation: Testimonios of the Movement . By Mario T. Garcia. (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015. ix + 335 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. $29.95, £19.95, paper.) This collection of three testimonios , or political autobiographies, narrated by Raul Ruiz, Gloria Arellanes, and Rosalio Munoz, gives personal insight into the turbulent period of the Chicano civil rights era in Los Angeles. Reading their stories provides an intimate connection with these activists as they share their inner struggles and complicated lives. In a sense, we are able to join the Chicano movement through their stories. One theme that runs throughout is that of becoming a Chicana or Chicano, with a maturing and … rgriswol{at}mail.sdsu.edu
Editorial: New Form of Scholarship and Open Access Journals

A major shift in academic publishing is well under way, but it will be some time before the effects of this change become clear.
New-Onset Microscopic Colitis in an Ulcerative Colitis Patient After Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

New-Onset Microscopic Colitis in an Ulcerative Colitis Patient After Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Microbatch Mixing: “Shaken not Stirred”, a Method for Macromolecular Microcrystal Production for Serial Crystallography

The advances of serial crystallography techniques at synchrotron and X-ray free electron laser facilities have made possible the acquisition of useable data sets to determine 3-dimensional structures of macromolecules from micro- to nanosized crystals. In addition, the same technological hallmarks have contributed significantly to the field of time-resolved crystallography. However, the production of usable crystalline slurries for serial crystallographic experiments has been one of the limiting factors and contributes to an alternative sample “bottleneck” in crystal growth. In this study, we propose a method: labeled microbatch mixing (MBM), which has the capability to produce large quantities of microcrystals of macromolecules suitable for serial crystallographic experiments. This is shown to be successful for producing lysozyme, carbonic anhydrase, and adeno-associated virus crystals. MBM takes advantage of secondary nucleation induced by mixing via the application of steady agitation during the crysta...
Influence of Prolonged Storage on Formaldehyde Liberation from Durable Press Textiles

Liberated formaldehyde from durable press cotton textiles has been found to originate from several sources within a finish. Different formaldehyde sources release differing degrees of formaldehyde. Changes in formaldehyde release (AATCC-112 Test), steady-state (or residual) formaldehyde, and formaldehyde transport levels in both washed and unwashed finished fabrics during ambient storage were compared for several finishes. Three dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea-based finishes and a dimethylolethyleneurea-based finish were used in the study with two magnesium chloride-based catalysts. Contributions from the finishing parameters were emphasized in the response to ambient storage under confined and unconfined conditions.
Attenuation of Optic Neuritis and Visual Pathway Dysfunction by an Estrogen Receptor Beta Ligand in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis (P5.322)

Objectives: To assess the effects of chronic EAE and therapeutic treatment of chronic EAE with the highly selective estrogen receptor β ligand Indazole-Cl (Ind-Cl) on the visual pathway. Background: Optic neuritis-ON is a common acute manifestation of MS onset; similarly, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice, a rodent model of MS, exhibit ON. Optic neuropathies and numerous neurologic disorders, including MS, show abnormal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and optic nerve demyelination. Longitudinal investigation of the visual pathway, from retina to primary visual cortex, in chronic EAE mice will allow us to better understand the initiation and maintenance of visual dysfunction in MS. Methods: Fundus imaging optical coherence tomography (OCT), and visual evoked potential (VEP), followed by immunohistochemistry (for inflammation, demyelination, axon damage) and electron microscopy, were performed on normal, vehicle-treated, and therapeutic Ind-Cl treated chronic EAE mice. Results: Increased inflammation and caspase activity were observed in retinal layers and other regions of the visual pathway of vehicle-treated, as compared to normal and Ind-Cl treated, EAE mice. OCT revealed retinal layer changes consistent with immunohistochemical observations. Further immunohistochemical and electron microscopy analyses indicated increased inflammation and axon demyelination in the optic nerve, optic tract, and primary visual cortex of vehicle-treated EAE mice. Therapeutic Ind-Cl treatment decreased retinal and optic nerve inflammation, axon demyelination, and axon damage. VEP analysis is currently underway to interrogate the functional significance of these pathological correlates. Conclusions: These data support: i) chronic EAE as a model that recapitulates many aspects of visual dysfunction during MS, ii) OCT and potentially VEP as strong translational in vivo biomarkers of neuroprotective agent efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory neurodegenerative disease, and iii) therapeutic Ind-Cl as a treatment capable of improving widespread, quality-of-life-diminishing MS-related retinal and related visual pathway pathology. Disclosure: Dr. Tiwari-Woodruff has received research support from Novartis Pharmaceutical. Dr. Sekyi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Khalaj has nothing to disclose. Dr. Soto has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hasselmann has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lauderdale has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nusinowitz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Katzenellenbogen has nothing to disclose.
Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a common and devastating condition. Each year approximately 30,000 Americans suffer from a nontraumatic SAH. Patients who have suffered an SAH are best managed in an ICU or a specialized neurology/neurosurgical unit. Despite improved management, the outcome following SAH remains poor; with an overall mortality of approximately 25% and significant morbidity among the survivors. The most serious complications following the initial bleed are rebleeding and cerebral vasospasm; management of patients with SAH is therefore largely directed to avoiding these complications. The risk of rebleeding (with conservative therapy) is highest in the first month, with a rate of between 20% and 30%. The mortality rate is approximately 70% for patients who rebleed. Angiographic vasospasm probably develops to some degree in most patients who suffer a SAH. However, clinically manifest vasospasm occurs in approximately 40% of patients. From 15% to 20% of these patients will suffer a stroke or die despite aggressive management.
Correlating Histone Modification Patterns with Gene Expression Data During Hematopoiesis

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in mammals are an ideal system to study differentiation. While transcription factors (TFs) control the differentiation of HSCs to distinctive terminal blood cells, accumulating evidence suggests that chromatin structure and modifications constitute another critical layer of gene regulation. Recent genome-wide studies based on next-generation sequencing reveal that histone modifications are linked to gene expression and contribute to hematopoiesis. Here, we briefl y review the bioinformatics aspects for ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq data analysis with applications to the epigenetic studies of hematopoiesis and provide a practical guide to several basic data analysis methods.
Mid-infrared frequency comb generation in integrated photonic waveguides

We demonstrate mid-infrared frequency comb generation via optical parametric amplification in lithium niobate and silicon-nitride waveguides, tunable from 3.5—5 µm and 2.5—3.5 µm, respectively.
A submodular optimization approach to leader-follower consensus in networks with negative edges

Networked systems often contain both positive and negative interactions between nodes, with the latter often represented as negative edge weights in a graph. Such negative edges may prevent a network from performing cooperative tasks such as achieving consensus, creating a need for new control-theoretic techniques that guarantee performance in the presence of negative edges. This paper considers the problem of selecting leader nodes to maintain a fixed state in order to steer the remaining nodes to a desired state value in networks with negative edges. We present two sufficient conditions that are equivalent to submodular constraints on the set of leader nodes. The first constraint is based on the graph spectrum, while the second is formulated in terms of the determinant of the Laplacian matrix. We prove that both conditions can be formulated as submodular constraints on the set of leader nodes, leading to polynomial-time algorithms with provable approximation guarantees for selecting a minimum-size set of leader nodes to satisfy these conditions. Furthermore, we introduce necessary conditions for consensus and prove that a set of leader nodes satisfying these conditions can be selected in polynomial time. We characterize the requirements for leader selection in order to ensure consensus in line networks. The results are illustrated through numerical study.
Recyclable high-performance epoxy based on transesterification reaction

Self-healing thermoset epoxy based on dynamic covalent bond chemistry has been developed in the past several years, which warrants the creation of recyclable epoxy. However, the existing systems produce epoxy that has lower strength, stiffness, and glass transition temperature, making them unsuitable for load-bearing structures. In this study, we developed a new recyclable thermoset epoxy through solid form recycling. The epoxy has strength, stiffness, and glass transition temperature similar to those found in conventional thermoset epoxy. The effect of healing temperature, healing time, healing pressure, and powder size on the healing efficiency was experimentally investigated. It was found that the healing efficiency is as high as 88.1%, and the epoxy can be recycled more than one time.
Disciplines Associated with Food Safety: Food Virology

Food virology is a relatively young but important field in food safety. Viruses in general and human noroviruses in particular, are the leading cause of foodborne disease of known etiology in developed countries. Hepatitis A virus is also important, as are a number of emerging viruses. This article identifies the relevant viruses, describes their structural characteristics and the diseases they cause, and what is known about their epidemiological significance. It also describes why their transmission is so difficult to control, their detection difficult to achieve, and future research needs that will facilitate their study by food safety scientists.
A Glimpse into Uveitis in the Aging Eye: Pathophysiology, Clinical Presentation and Treatment Considerations

Uveitis describes a group of inflammatory conditions of the eye that have various underlying causes and clinical presentations. Susceptibilities to uveitis in the elderly may be attributed to age-related risk factors such as immunosenescence, increased immunological inflammatory mediators, and autoimmunity. Overall, anterior uveitis is more common than posterior and panuveitis in the general population and also in the elderly. Some causes of uveitis in the elderly are herpes simplex virus, ocular ischemic syndrome, sarcoidosis, and central nervous system lymphoma, and these will be discussed in detail herein. Eye care professionals need to consider the wide differential for uveitis, obtain the appropriate history, conduct a detailed clinical examination, and tailor management to the clinical presentation and underlying cause of disease. The challenges of polypharmacy and nonadherence in the elderly impact patient outcomes and must be taken into consideration when considering treatment.
Outcomes of shoulder arthroplasty following axillary lymph node dissection.

Introduction Shoulder arthroplasty with previous axillary lymph node dissection historically has unsatisfactory outcomes. We analyzed outcomes of primary shoulder arthroplasty in patients with previous axillary lymph node dissection. Methods Thirty-two primary shoulder arthroplasties after prior axillary lymph node dissection were performed. These patients were analyzed for patient-reported outcomes, range of motion, complications, and reoperations. Results Average age was 70.8 ± 7.5 years old. There were 19 anatomic total shoulder arthroplasties, four hemiarthroplasties, and nine reverse total shoulder arthroplasties. Eight were performed by a superior approach while 24 were performed by a deltopectoral approach with cephalic vein preservation. There were three complications (one deltoid dehiscence, one axillary nerve palsy, and one postoperative pneumonia). There was one revision (hemiarthroplasty to reverse total shoulder arthroplasty for cuff failure at 91 weeks), two reoperations, and no infections. Patient-reported outcomes were available for 21/26 (80.1%) of the surviving shoulders at 4.8 ± 2.0 years. Average visual analog scale pain score was 7.1 ± 14.5, Simple Shoulder Test score 8.3 ± 2.6 "yes" responses, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation score 80.2 ± 17.4, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score 83.6 ± 14.1. Conclusion Axillary lymph node dissection is not a contraindication to shoulder arthroplasty. A deltopectoral exposure can be utilized without substantial risk of worsening lymphedema or wound complications. While a superior approach avoids cephalic vein injury, important approach-related complications (deltoid dehiscence and axillary nerve palsy) were observed.Level of evidence: Level IV-case series.
Systemic Therapies for Acne

Individuals with moderate-to-severe inflammatory acne may warrant systemic therapies, especially if they are unresponsive to topical treatments, or have significant quality of life decrements, which is not uncommon in this population. Specific clinical features, including the type and severity of acne, the presence of scarring, and the association with abnormal menses, can help guide the appropriate course of treatment. All dosages mentioned in this section must be adjusted according to the individual patient.
Age influence on the immune system.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses many observations indicating a decline in immune function with aging both in experimental animals and in humans. It is evident that a decline in T cell function gradually occurs and this affects the entire immune system. Antibody formation and B cell function appear to be secondarily altered. Various autoantibodies are increased in older experimental animals and humans that may relate to the observed decrease in suppressor cells. Cell-mediated immunity has been analyzed in vivo and in vitro. Various T cell-dependent functions decline with age. Normal immune functions can begin to decline as early as when an individual reaches sexual maturity. The decline is due to changes in the immune cells and their milieu. Cell loss, shift in the proportion of subpopulations, and qualitative cellular changes, the three possible types of changes that can cause the decline, have all been detected.
Why Critical Theory Is Important

This chapter provides a summarized foundation of critical theory organized around leadership as commonly conceptualized that challenges the myths of neutrality and scientific objectivity that encumber fields of study. A critical approach to leadership studies highlights that mere descriptive analysis is not only inadequate, it also reinforces oppressive social relations.