cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sedimentary environment of the condensed Ordovician limestones from Mójcza section (Holy Cross Mts.)

The paper deals with sedimentary evolution of the condensed Ordovician sequence outcropping in Mojcza village, near Kielce (Central Poland), basing on microfacies analysis. The occurrence of fossils, their preservation and mineral composition enabled the author to distinguish five microfacies types. The Mojcza section is generally composed of grainstones and packstones which form the Mojcza Limestone Formation, and calcareous claystones intercalated with wackestones assigned to the Zalesie Formation. The deposition of limestones from the Mojcza section took place on the outer part of drowned isolated carbonate platform of temperate water setting in uniform sedimentary conditions with low accumulation rate. This environment, located in the upwelling currents activity area, was favourable for phosphatization of sediment. Abundance of ferruginous ooids in the upper Llanvirn, L1andeilo and upper Caradoc sediments suggests highstand sea-level conditions during Middle and Upper Ordovician.
Vowel Letters and Word Recognition by Beginning Readers

Examined here were the abilities of first and second grade pupils to read true and altered spellings of words they had either previously read correctly or had misnamed. In each of these altered spellings only one vowel letter was changed. The findings of this study suggest that these beginning readers have good short-term memories for the true vowel spellings of words they can either read or not read. The evidence found here suggests further that such pupils consistently attempt to use vowel letters as cues to word recognition.
Both the kind and magnitude of stimulus are important in overcoming the negative regulation of macrophage activation by PGE2.

Macrophages activated for tumor cell killing by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were shown to lose their cytolytic activity if exposed to physiological levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Increasing the LPS stimulus more than 100-fold over the amount needed to activate the cells did not substantially increase their resistance to the negative regulatory effect of PGE2. By contrast, killing mediated by macrophages activated by a mixture of LPS and gamma interferon was maintained. The degree of resistance conferred was directly related to the magnitude of the stimulus employed, reaching the point where not even 10(-5) M PGE2 would diminish killing. Killing by both activated resident and inflammatory peritoneal macrophages could be maintained, but it was easier to do so if the cells had been elicited by an inflammatory stimulus. A preparation of type I interferons produced by cells of the macrophage cell line J774A. 1 behaved similarly, but was over 500 times less efficient at helping to maintain killing than gamma (type II) interferon was. Alpha interferon alone, i.e., without LPS, was capable both of activating macrophages and of maintaining the activated state in the presence of PGE2. The capacity for both activation and maintenance could be strikingly enhanced, however, by mixing alpha and gamma interferons together under conditions that were free of detectable LPS. The data reported here collectively suggest that induction and maintenance of macrophage activation may be separable mechanistically, and that the interferons are important to host defense not only because they participate in the induction of macrophage activation for tumor cell killing but also because they help to maintain the activated state once it has been induced.
Analyzing the Treatment Efficacy of a Technical Assistance Model for Providing Behavioral Consultation to Schools

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 emphasized the use of positive behavioral interventions, supports, and services for students with disabilities who display challenging behaviors. Unfortunately, most teachers and schools still lack systems for identification, adoption, and sustained use of these research-validated practices almost a decade after the passage of this legislation. Schools therefore rely on behavioral consultation for technical assistance in designing appropriate interventions for children who exhibit challenging behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment efficacy of a university-based behavioral consultation model, as perceived by teachers. Results demonstrated that teachers accepted the behavioral consultation model as an effective method of reducing incidences and severity of challenging behaviors.
Reply to A. Kolacevski et al

To the Editor: We thank Kolacevski et al1 from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for their interest in our recent study evaluating erythropoiesis-stimulating agent use after changes in Medicare reimbursement policies.2 We were thrilled that the authors confirmed our findings in patients with breast cancer using CancerLinQ. CancerLinQ has enormous potential and numerous advantages over the existing databases used for health services and comparative effectiveness research, which were well outlined in the letter by Kolacevski et al. It should be noted that all observational studies require sound methodology to reduce selection bias and confounding by indication. We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with ASCO to use the powerful CancerLinkQ database to understand and improve the quality of cancer care.
Death is That Man Taking Names

Death is That Man Taking Names Robert A. Burt (Berkeley: University of California Press; New York: Milbank Memorial Fund, 2002)
Image compression with multitree tilings

We use the framework of multitree dictionaries (Huang et al. (2003)) to design a novel DCT-based image coder which significantly outperforms both the standard JPEG and the quadtree-based approach of Ramchandran et al. (1993).
Osler's node.

A 49-year-old man presented with a 3-day history of fever. Three days back, he experienced shaking chill. He tried acetaminophene, but the fever rose up to 39°C. One day back, he noticed several painful dark spots on both of his palms. He denied any similar event in the past, and also denied any sick contact, intravenous drug use or recent travel. …
Automated Service Composition in Next-Generation Networks

Dynamic composition of protocol features allows applications to establish connections with custom communication characteristics. Automatically computing possible compositions and checking given compositions requires a common framework for expressing application needs, service features, and system characteristics. In this paper, we present such a framework that is based on situation calculus. We show that the automated composition problem can be reduced to an AI Planning problem. We further illustrate the effectiveness of this approach with several examples.
In-flight annealing of displacement damage in GaAs LEDs: a Galileo story

A recent failure of Galileo's magnetic recorder was attributed to LED degradation. Annealing the culprit OP133 proved successful: irreplaceable data, taken during the encounter with Jupiter's previously unvisited moon Amalthea, was recovered. Annealing test data for both proton and electron displacement damage combined with a simple device temperature model explains some details of the failure and the partial recovery of recorder motor function.
Experimental evidence supporting isometric functioning of the extrinsic toe flexors during gait.

Abstract Background The extrinsic toe flexors, flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus, play an important role in stabilizing the longitudinal arch and supporting high forefoot loads during the stance phase of gait. It was hypothesized that these muscles function isometrically during stance, a strategy thought to provide efficient energy transfer across adjoining body segments, but one for which there is little direct experimental evidence in vivo or in situ . Methods Eight lower extremity cadavers were loaded into a robotic apparatus that simulates the kinematics and extrinsic muscle activity of the foot and distal tibia during the stance phase of gait. Instantaneous tendon excursions and forces of the extrinsic toe flexors, as well as plantar pressure distributions during stance, were measured under two muscle control strategies: (1) force feedback control, where tendon forces were matched to forces predicted from normal electromyographic patterns and (2) isometric displacement control, where the representative myotendinous junction was held in a constant location. Results Tendon excursions of the flexor hallucis longus (7.18 (1.75) mm) and flexor digitorum longus (6.32 (1.74) mm) under force feedback control were small relative to optimal muscle fiber length (13.6% and 14.2%, respectively). Instantaneous tendon forces and plantar pressure variables were not different ( P = 0.112–0.912) between the two different muscle control strategies for either muscle. Interpretation These findings suggest that the extrinsic toe flexors function isometrically during the stance phase of gait in vivo .
A Reply to Criticism

Steven Sapolsky, Michael Hanagan, and Nick Salvatore all say they agree with the premise of "Against Exceptionalism" {ILWCH, 26 [Fall 1984] 1-24): as Hanagan puts it, "American workers cannot be judged by the standards of a kind of proletarian revolution that has never occurred anywhere in the world." If we really can agree on this, I will be happy. The point is not origi nal: Herbert Gutman made it continually over the last years of his life.1 But it is still an idea so alien to American historians of all persuasions that it needs to be proclaimed.2 My differences with my critics run the gamut from some sympathetic quibbles to the most basic kinds of disagreements about interpreting working class history. I agree with Steven Sapolsky that "Against Exceptionalism" glosses over the period 1894-1920, and I appreciate his comments. His forthcoming work, and that of some others, should allow us all to be more expansive in future. I am not surprised that he finds more class consciousness among early twenti eth-century craft unionists than even "Against Exceptionalism" implies was there. More important, his remarks about Britain and the U.S., though neces sarily sketchy, generally look like just the kind of comparative work my essay meant to encourage. We mainly disagree over issues that Michael Hanagan's response raises more directly, and which I will get to in a moment. Two quick points. First, even if the Anglo-American experience contains the most parallels, I wouldn't want to forego closer comparisons and the search for similarities with other countries. Too many Americans came from the Continent (or from families from the Continent) to allow us to bypass such comparisons. Moreover, American working-class politics took place in an in ternational context, involving ideas and institutions from all across Europe as well as the United Kingdom; the actual effects of all in the respective nations need to be measured and compared. If anything, I'd like to expand the basis of comparison, following Louis Hartz's and Seymour Martin Lipset's leads (though not necessarily their conclusions) to include other ex-colonial frontier nations, notably Australia, Argentina, and Canada.3 Second, I detect in
A high-throughput fully-automated microfluidic live cell array for combination drug treatment analysis of colorectal cancer cells

Combination chemotherapies play an important role in clinical cancer treatment. We have previously developed a microfluidic high-throughput drug screening platform and used it for the screening of prostate cancer sensitizing agents. We have further developed the system into a fully automated live cell array platform with uniform cell seeding for better control, and used the platform to investigate the gene expression regulation of colorectal cancer cells in response to combination cancer drug treatment. The results showed significant drug effects on the proliferation of the HCT116 colorectal cancer cells, demonstrating the potential of this microfluidic device as a high-throughput combination chemotherapeutic drug-screening platform.
Helminth Parasites of the Dark-Sided Salamander, Eurycea longicauda melanopleura (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Arkansas

ABSTRACT: Forty-seven dark-sided salamanders (Eurycea longicauda melanopleura) were collected from 5 counties of northern Arkansas and examined for helminth parasites. Twenty-four (51%) were infected with 1 or more helminths, including 8 (17%) with Brachycoelium salamandrae, 8 (17%) with Bothriocephalus rarus, 3 (6%) with Omeia papillocauda, 5 (11%) with Oswaldocruzia euryceae, 1 (2%) with Desmognathinema nanthalaensis, 1 (2%) with Cosmocercoides variabilis, and 2 (4%) with Amphibiocapillaria tritonispunctati. Five (11%) were concurrently infected with various helminths. We document new host records for the digenean B. salamandrae and the nematodes A. tritonispunctati, D. nanthalaensis, and O. papillocauda.
Experimental and numerical evaluation of a folded plate girder system for short-span bridges – A case study

Abstract Bridge owners and engineers focusing on bridge design, management and maintenance continue to search for more efficient ways to design, construct, and maintain their bridge inventory. Recently, a folded plate girder system has been promoted as a cost-effective alternative for the design and construction of bridge superstructures due to merits such as low cost and facilitation of accelerated bridge construction. The folded plate girder system has a structural shape strategically press-brake formed from a single sheet of plate steel and achieves composite action with a concrete deck utilizing shear studs in between. To further facilitate the development and adaptation of the system for bridge application, this paper presents a systematic performance evaluation of the folded plate girder system through experimental and numerical programs. To this end, a folded plated girder specimen was designed, fabricated, and tested to evaluate the constructability and capacity of the girder specimen. Finite Element (FE) Analysis was performed to understand the behavior of the girder specimen under different loading conditions. The predictions using traditional design calculations and FE analysis were compared with the test results. After the FE models were validated against the test data, a full bridge model was established to further investigate the behavior of the bridge under loading condition up to the ultimate load. It was found that the ultimate capacity of the bridge girders were much higher than the bridge demand and the bridge had good ductility until failure. The predictions using the design calculations based on the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications were in reasonable agreement with the test results. The FE models showed better predictions since more sophisticated modeling techniques and material constitutive models were used. Results obtained from the sophisticated non-linear bridge model indicated that the girder distribution factors varied along with an increase of the truck loading and especially their change trend was gradually reversed after the yield of the girder steel. And according to the FE results, the distribution factor based on the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications was sufficient for the design of the folded plate girder bridge investigated in this study.
Nutritional value, bioactive compounds and health benefits of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Abstract Lettuce is one of the most widely consumed vegetables worldwide, but its nutritional value has been underestimated. Lettuce is low in calories, fat and sodium. It is a good source of fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin C. Lettuce is also a good source of various other health-beneficial bioactive compounds. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-lowering, and anti-diabetic activities attributed to the bioactive compounds in lettuce. However, nutrient composition and bioactive compounds vary among lettuce types. Crisphead lettuce, the most popular type of lettuce in the US, is comparatively low in minerals, vitamins, and bioactive compounds. More nutritious lettuces are leaf type lettuce and romaine with folate content comparable to other rich leafy vegetable sources. Red pigmented lettuce contains higher phenolic compounds than green lettuce. Due to increasing popularity, the nutrient contents in baby lettuce were also examined. Baby green romaine was especially high in vitamin C. In this review composition and nutritional value of different lettuce types were summarized, which can help growers and consumers choose lettuce types with higher nutritional benefits.
A New Detection Algorithm for Dim Small Target of Infrared Focal Plane

For the detection of moving dim small point targets in infrared focal plane image,a new algorithm of target detection based on mathematical morphology filter and fuzzy decision is proposed in this paper.For the single frame detection,the circular mathematical morphology filter is designed according to target characteristic in the measured infrared image,and its structure is optimized with neural networks.Besides,based on the multi-frame detection,the decision fusion is introduced and the sequential detection method,which is based on fuzzy decision fusion is build according to minimum Bayesian risk criterion.Experimental results of practical data show that the detection probability of images(SNR ≈2)can reach more than 98% with 1% false alarm with the optimized circular morphological filter,which could enhance detection probability efficiently.
Myocardial revascularization. Early and late results after reoperation.

In a series of 4,522 consecutive patients who underwent aorta-coronary bypass (ACB) with the saphenous vein at the Texas Heart Institute, 32 had a second revascularization procedure. All patients were reoperated upon because of recurrence of incapacitating angina. Reappearance of angina was related to obstruction of the grafts alone in 6 patients, to the disease of other arteries alone in 16, and to both sources in the remaining 10 patients. In 9 patients progression of the native coronary disease was found, in 16 significant coronary obstructions had been left unbypassed at the time of initial operation, and in the remaining 7 patients inadequate indication and I or performance of revascularization was considered responsible for the failure. Of the 31 survivors, 61 per cent experienced complete relief of angina or were improved, whereas 39 per cent were unimproved. Reoperation was more successful in relieving angina when performed in patients with new lesions or with previously unbypassed lesions than when done in patients with graft occlusion. Incidence of myocardial infarction after the first and second procedure was similar (3 per cent). Reoperation was performed with a mortality rate of 3 per cent, comparable to that of the original procedure, but relief of angina was not achieved so consistently.
On variational formulations with rigid-body constraints for finite elasticity: Applications to 2D and 3D finite element simulations

Abstract We investigate a recently proposed variational principle with rigid-body constraints and present an extension of its implementation in three dimensional finite elasticity problems. Through numerical examples, we illustrate that the proposed variational principle with rigid-body constraints is applicable to both single field and mixed finite elements of arbitrary order and geometry, e.g. triangular/tetrahedral and quadrilateral/hexagonal elements, in two and three dimensions. Moreover, we demonstrate that, as compared to the commonly adopted approach of discretizing the rigid domains with standard finite elements, the proposed formulation requires neither discretization nor numerical integration in the interior of each rigid domain. As a comparative result, the variational formulation may reduce the total number of degrees of freedom of the resulting finite element system and provide improved accuracy.
Lactic acid production from agriculture residues

Various agriculture feedstock residues were evaluated for lactic acid production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) using Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus plantarum, without any additional nutrients. Lactic acid production was higher in alfalfa fiber and soya fiber compared to corncob (soft) and wheat straw. In Lactobacillus plantarum, the amount of lactic acid obtained from alfalfa fiber and soya fiber was 46 and 44 g/100 g fiber, respectively. However, in Lactobacillus delbrueckii, the lactic acid production in soya fiber was 44 g/100 g fiber and that of alfalfa was 32 g/100 g fiber. Small amounts of acetic acid were also produced from SSF of agricultural feedstocks residues. During SSF of alfalfa fiber, lactic acid production in both L. delbrueckii and L. plantarum was enhanced by adding pectinases and cellulases. Lactic acid production from alfalfa fiber did not change with increasing O2 transfer rates in the fermentation medium, whereas acetic acid production in both Lactobacillus cultures increased with increasing O2 transfer rates.
TH-CD-206-01: Expectation-Maximization Algorithm-Based Tissue Mixture Quantification for Perfusion MRI

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of estimating the tissue mixture perfusions and quantifying cerebral blood flow change in arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion MR images. Methods: The proposed perfusion MR image analysis framework consists of 5 steps: (1) Inhomogeneity correction was performed on the T1- and T2-weighted images, which are available for each studied perfusion MR dataset. (2) We used the publicly available FSL toolbox to strip off the non-brain structures from the T1- and T2-weighted MR images. (3) We applied a multi-spectral tissue-mixture segmentation algorithm on both T1- and T2-structural MR images to roughly estimate the fraction of each tissue type - white matter, grey matter and cerebral spinal fluid inside each image voxel. (4) The distributions of the three tissue types or tissue mixture across the structural image array are down-sampled and mapped onto the ASL voxel array via a co-registration operation. (5) The presented 4-dimensional expectation-maximization (4D-EM) algorithm takes the down-sampled three tissue type distributions on perfusion image data to generate the perfusion mean, variance and percentage images for each tissue type of interest. Results: Experimental results on three volunteer datasets demonstrated that the multi-spectral tissue-mixture segmentation algorithm was effective to initialize tissue mixtures from T1- and T2-weighted MR images. Compared with the conventional ASL image processing toolbox, the proposed 4D-EM algorithm not only generated comparable perfusion mean images, but also produced perfusion variance and percentage images, which the ASL toolbox cannot obtain. It is observed that the perfusion contribution percentages may not be the same as the corresponding tissue mixture volume fractions estimated in the structural images. Conclusion: A specific application to brain ASL images showed that the presented perfusion image analysis method is promising for detecting subtle changes in tissue perfusions, which is valuable for the early diagnosis of certain brain diseases, e.g. multiple sclerosis.
Hereditary pancreatitis: current perspectives

Hereditary pancreatitis (HP) is a rare cause of acute, recurrent acute, and chronic pancreatitis. It may present similarly to other causes of acute and chronic pancreatitis, and often there has been a protracted evaluation prior to the diagnosis of HP. Since it was first described in 1952, multiple genetic defects that affect the action of digestive enzymes in the pancreas have been implicated. The most common mutations involve the PRSS1, CFTR, SPINK1, and CTRC genes. New mutations in these genes and previously unrecognized mutations in other genes are being discovered due to the increasing use of next-generation genomic sequencing. While the inheritance pathways of these genetic mutations may be variable and complex, sometimes involving coinheritance of other mutations, the clinical presentation of patients tends to be similar. Interactions with environmental triggers often play a role. Patients tend to present at an early age (prior to the second decade of life) and have a significantly increased risk for the development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Patients with HP may develop sequelae of chronic pancreatitis such as strictures and fluid collections as well as exocrine and endocrine insufficiency. Management of patients with HP involves avoidance of environmental triggers, surveillance for pancreatic adenocarcinoma, medical therapy for endocrine and exocrine insufficiency, pain management, and endoscopic or surgical treatment for complications. Care for affected patients should be individualized, with an emphasis on early diagnosis and multidisciplinary involvement to develop a comprehensive treatment strategy.
Strong size-dependent stress relaxation in electrospun polymer nanofibers

Electrospun polymer nanofibers have garnered significant interest due to their strong size-dependent material properties, such as tensile moduli, strength, toughness, and glass transition temperatures. These properties are closely correlated with polymer chain dynamics. In most applications, polymers usually exhibit viscoelastic behaviors such as stress relaxation and creep, which are also determined by the motion of polymer chains. However, the size-dependent viscoelasticity has not been studied previously in polymer nanofibers. Here, we report the first experimental evidence of significant size-dependent stress relaxation in electrospun Nylon-11 nanofibers as well as size-dependent viscosity of the confined amorphous regions. In conjunction with the dramatically increasing stiffness of nano-scaled fibers, this strong relaxation enables size-tunable properties which break the traditional damping-stiffness tradeoff, qualifying electrospun nanofibers as a promising set of size-tunable materials with an unu...
Assessing the initial adaptability and impact of a mobile dictation and reporting system in the radiology department of an academic hospital

Mobile Radiologist 360, rolled out as part of the voice dictation system upgrade from Nuance Powerscribe 5.0 to PS360 allows an attending radiologist to edit and sign-off a report assigned by a trainee or that has been started by the radiologist on a workstation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adoptability and impact of this application. Report turnaround time data was extracted from the RIS (GE-Centricity RIS-IC) for 60 days before- (period-1) and 60 days after- (period-2) the application implementation and then, for 60 days after end of period-2 (period-3). Adoptability of the application was evaluated using two metrics; first, the number of attending radiologists who signed-off reports using the application in periods 2 and 3, and second, the proportion of reports signed-off by the top five users of the mobile application using the application. Impact of the application was evaluated by comparing the time from initial dictation to final sign-off (time_PF) for the top five users of the mobile application to the time_PF by other five radiologists who did not use the application. 41% radiologists used the mobile application at least once during the study period; the proportion of cases signed-off using the mobile application ranged from 1% to 20%. ANOVA revealed no statistically significant effect of the mobile application system on time_PF ( p=0.842 ). In conclusion, there was low initial adoptability and no impact of the mobile dictation and reporting system in reducing the time from initial dictation to final sign-off on a radiology report.
Amino Acid Transporter Slc38a5 Controls Glucagon Receptor Inhibition-Induced Pancreatic α Cell Hyperplasia in Mice.

Glucagon supports glucose homeostasis by stimulating hepatic gluconeogenesis, in part by promoting the uptake and conversion of amino acids into gluconeogenic precursors. Genetic disruption or pharmacologic inhibition of glucagon signaling results in elevated plasma amino acids and compensatory glucagon hypersecretion involving expansion of pancreatic α cell mass. Recent findings indicate that hyperaminoacidemia triggers pancreatic α cell proliferation via an mTOR-dependent pathway. We confirm and extend these findings by demonstrating that glucagon pathway blockade selectively increases expression of the sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter Slc38a5 in a subset of highly proliferative α cells and that Slc38a5 controls the pancreatic response to glucagon pathway blockade; most notably, mice deficient in Slc38a5 exhibit markedly decreased α cell hyperplasia to glucagon pathway blockade-induced hyperaminoacidemia. These results show that Slc38a5 is a key component of the feedback circuit between glucagon receptor signaling in the liver and amino-acid-dependent regulation of pancreatic α cell mass in mice.
Height Control of Picea spp. and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana with Uniconazole and 6-Benzyladenine

Abstract The use of plant growth retardants (PGRs) could benefit conifer growers by enabling them to produce more uniform, live tabletop Christmas tree specimens. We applied two PGRs to determine effectiveness on height control and terminal bud density for the following species of conifer seedlings: Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca var. densata), Serbian spruce (P. omorika), Colorado blue spruce (P. pungens), and Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). The chemicals were applied at 2-week intervals throughout an 8-week period for a total of four applications. Uniconazole was applied as a foliar spray and soil drench (5 and 1 ppm, respectively), 6-benzyladenine (BA) was applied as a foliar spray (500 and 1000 ppm), and the control did not receive a PGR application. Uniconazole was generally effective on the spruces but not on Port Orford cedar, whereas BA reduced height of all species and increased spruce bud densities. However, BA treatments were phytotoxic in all species tested. The drench of unico...
Integrated Weed Management Strategies in Cover Crop—based, Organic Rotational No-Till Corn and Soybean in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Cover crop—based, organic rotational no-till (CCORNT) corn and soybean systems have been developed in the mid-Atlantic region to build soil health, increase management flexibility, and reduce labor. In this system, a roller-crimped cover crop mulch provides within-season weed suppression in no-till corn and soybean. A cropping system experiment was conducted in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware to test the cumulative effects of a multitactic weed management approach in a 3-yr hairy vetch/triticale—corn—cereal rye—soybean—winter wheat CCORNT rotation. Treatments included delayed planting dates (early, intermediate, late) and supplemental weed control using high-residue (HR) cultivation in no-till corn and soybean phases. In the no-till corn phase, HR cultivation decreased weed biomass relative to the uncultivated control by 58%, 23%, and 62% in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, respectively. In the no-till soybean phase, HR cultivation decreased weed biomass relative to the uncultivated treatment planted in narrow rows (19 to 38 cm) by 20%, 41%, and 78% in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, respectively. Common ragweed was more dominant in soybean (39% of total biomass) compared with corn (10% of total biomass), whereas giant foxtail and smooth pigweed were more dominant in corn, comprising 46% and 22% of total biomass, respectively. Common ragweed became less abundant as corn and soybean planting dates were delayed, whereas giant foxtail and smooth pigweed increased as a percentage of total biomass as planting dates were delayed. At the Pennsylvania location, inconsistent termination of cover crops with the roller-crimper resulted in volunteer cover crops in other phases of the rotation. Our results indicate that HR cultivation is necessary to achieve adequate weed control in CCORNT systems. Integration of winter grain or perennial forages into CCORNT systems will also be an important management tactic for truncating weed seedbank population increases.Nomenclature: Common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.; giant foxtail, Setaria faberi Herrm.; smooth pigweed, Amaranthus hybridus L.; cereal rye, Secale cereale L.; hairy vetch, Vicia villosa Roth; triticale, × Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus [Secale × Triticum]; corn, Zea mays L.; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.; winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L.
Strategies to improve the hemocompatibility of biodegradable biomaterials

Abstract Biomaterials, of either natural or synthetic origin, have become essential to current medical practice. Unfortunately, all materials that come in contact with the biological milieu are subjected to almost immediate and ubiquitous protein biofouling. This interfacial protein layer typifies the beginning of the inherent biological response to an invading foreign body, the foreign body response (FBR). Manipulating the pathology of the FBR response to a material has become of critical importance for clinical care. Despite numerous commercial biomaterials with coatings to mask the material and provide “seamless” integration with biology, many challenges, facets of biocompatibility, remain for novel biodegradable polymers, including hemocompatibility. As with the majority of issues surrounding the biocompatibility of a material, hemocompatibility is mediated by the interaction at the blood-material interface. In addition to the ubiquitous host protein coating, biocompatibility is also influenced by material degradation, as degradation products often provoke coagulation. Hence, the advent of hybrid biodegradable biomaterials, which provide material flexibility to improve the overall hemocompatibility of the implant, may prove promising alternatives. In this chapter, different types of biodegradable and hybrid biodegradable materials along with their underlying polymer compositions and modifications are discussed in the context of hemocompatibility.
The shaker-1 mouse myosin VIIa deafness mutation results in a severely reduced rate of the ATP hydrolysis step.

Mutations in the MYO7A gene, encoding the motor protein myosin VIIa, can cause Usher 1B, a deafness/blindness syndrome in humans, and the shaker-1 phenotype, characterized by deafness, head tossing, and circling behavior, in mice. Myosin VIIa is responsible for tension bearing and the transduction mechanism in the stereocilia and for melanosome transport in the retina, in line with the phenotypic outcomes observed in mice. However, the effect of the shaker-1 mutation, a R502P amino acid substitution, on the motor function is unclear. To explore this question, we determined the kinetic properties and the effect on the filopodial tip localization of the recombinant mouse myosin VIIa-5IQ-SAH R502P (myoVIIa-sh1) construct. Interestingly, although residue 502 is localized to a region thought to be involved in interacting with actin, the kinetic parameters for actin binding changed only slightly for the mutant construct. However, the rate constant for ATP hydrolysis (k+H + k−H) was reduced by ∼200-fold from 12 s−1 to 0.05 s−1, making the hydrolysis step the rate-limiting step of the ATPase cycle in the presence and absence of actin. Given that wild-type mouse myosin VIIa is a slow, high-duty ratio, monomeric motor, this altered hydrolysis rate would reduce activity to extremely low levels. Indeed, the translocation to the filopodial tips was hampered by the diminished motor function of a dimeric construct of the shaker-1 mutant. We conclude that the diminished motor activity of this mutant is most likely responsible for impaired hearing in the shaker-1 mice.
Airway Anatomy, Physiology, and Inflammation

Approximately 10,000 l of air and 8,000 l of blood transit the respiratory system each day driven by small pressure gradients developed in response to rhythmic contraction and relaxation of striated muscle under both voluntary and involuntary control of the central nervous system. Matching of air- and blood flow results from central and local reflexes responding to both internal and external stimuli and subsequently controlling the pumps, as well as the smooth muscle in walls of the airways and blood vessels. A wide range of neural and immune mechanisms protect the lungs against environmental insults, and many are adaptive in nature, resulting in memory that increases sensitivity and responsiveness upon repeated exposure to stimuli. In over 10 % of the population, the responses to environmental stimuli become pathological, resulting in excessive sensitivity and aberrant responses to both specific and nonspecific stimuli, and culminate in physical remodeling of the airways and lungs. Prevention, definitive diagnosis, and effective treatment of the disorders require a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying excessive responses to environmental stimuli.
Tests of Hemostasis and Thrombosis

Testing of hemostasis is done for three reasons: to screen for coagulation disorders, to diagnose these disorders, and to monitor therapy. Tests of hemostasis and thrombosis are performed on nearly every patient in the hospital. The bleeding history is the strongest predictor of bleeding risk with any procedure. It is essential that this history includes more questions than just “are you a bleeder?” A good history for bleeding can be obtained in minutes by asking a few specific questions as outlined in Chap. 3. Bleeding due to coagulation defects is unusual, recurrent, and excessive, but rarely spectacular.
A Triangle Divided: Investigating Equal Areas.

If you found only thirty solutions, then you are just scratching the surface ometimes beneath a simple problem statement lies unexpected mathematical depth. Consider this challenge from the Connected Geometry curriculum (Education Development Center 2000): "Find as many ways as you can to divide an arbitrary tri angle ABC into four equal-area triangles." Before reading further, try solving the problem yourself. Figure 1 shows a method in which points D, E, and F divide AB into equal fourths. This approach leads to three separate solutions, since any of A ABC's three sides can be evenly quartered. By using this generous counting scheme, in how many ways could you subdivide A ABC?
Active colloids: Toward an intelligent micromachine

Abstract Active colloids are particles suspended in a liquid environment that can perform active motion, not induced by Brownian motion. These particles move in the liquid either subserviently or autonomously by converting other forms of energy into kinetic energy, which can enhance mass transport in liquids or be directed remotely by external fields or concentration gradients. Depending on the propelling mechanism, two classes of active colloids can be broadly identified. In this chapter, we will discuss three major active colloids based on magnetophoresis, dielectrophoresis, and self-driven mechanism powered by chemical energy harvested from the environment, and some other noted emergent active colloids. Their potential applications in environmental monitoring, therapeutic treatment, lab-on-a-chip diagnostics, and others will also be summarized and discussed.
Detection and Evaluation of Antibody Response to a Baylisascaris-Specific Antigen in Rodent Hosts with the Use of Western Blotting and Elisa

ABSTRACT Diagnosis of parasitic diseases that involve tissue-stage larvae is challenging, and serology remains the most effective antemortem test for detecting these infections. Baylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm, is a zoonotic ascarid. Raccoons are the usual definitive host, and humans may be infected as accidental hosts. More than 150 species of birds and mammals may act as paratenic hosts, and rodents play an important role in the transmission and maintenance of this parasite in nature. Migratory larvae in paratenic host tissues can produce ocular disease and severe to fatal neurologic disease, but not all infected hosts develop signs. A sensitive and specific Western blot (WB) assay based on a recombinant Baylisascaris-specific antigen (rBpRAG-1) has been developed for use in humans. We evaluated the use of this antigen to detect Baylisascaris spp. infections in rodent paratenic hosts. With the use of 4 species of Peromyscus mice (Peromyscus californicus, Peromyscus leucopus, Peromyscus ma...
Prevalence and Distribution of E-Cigarette Use Among U.S. Adults: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2016

Given the rapid adoption of e-cigarettes despite unclear benefits and harms, understanding use patterns, together with those of combustible cigarettes, is important for efforts to safeguard public ...
Constraints on Appalachian Orogenesis and Continental Rifting in the Southeastern United States From Wide-Angle Seismic Data

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 124(7), (2019): 6625-6652, doi: 10.1029/2019JB017611.
The Â-genus as a Projective Volume form on the Derived Loop Space

In the present work, we extend our previous work with Gwilliam by realizing $\hat {A}(X)$ as the projective volume form associated to the BV operator in our quantization of a one-dimensional sigma model. We also discuss the associated integration/expectation map. We work in the formalism of L ∞ spaces, objects of which are computationally convenient presentations for derived stacks. Both smooth and complex geometry embed into L ∞ spaces and we specialize our results in both of these cases.
Indications of Online Adaptive Replanning Based On Organ Deformation.

Abstract Purpose Although vital to account for interfractional variations during radiation therapy, online adaptive replanning (OLAR) is time-consuming and labor-intensive compared with the repositioning method. Repositioning is enough for minimal interfractional deformations. Therefore, determining indications for OLAR is desirable. We introduce a method to rapidly determine the need for OLAR by analyzing the Jacobian determinant histogram (JDH) obtained from deformable image registration between reference (planning) and daily images. Methods and Materials The proposed method was developed and tested based on daily computed tomography (CT) scans acquired during image guided radiation therapy for prostate cancer using an in-room CT scanner. Deformable image registration between daily and reference CT scans was performed. JDHs were extracted from the prostate and a uniform surrounding 10-mm expansion. A classification tree was trained to determine JDH metrics to predict the need for OLAR for a daily CT set. Sixty daily CT scans from 12 randomly selected prostate cases were used as the training data set, with dosimetric plans for both OLAR and repositioning used to determine their class. The resulting classification tree was tested using an independent data set of 45 daily CT scans from 9 other patients with 5 CT scans each. Results Of a total of 27 JDH metrics tested, 5 were identified predicted whether OLAR was substantially superior to repositioning for a given fraction. A decision tree was constructed using the obtained metrics from the training set. This tree correctly identified all cases in the test set where benefits of OLAR were obvious. Conclusions A decision tree based on JDH metrics to quickly determine the necessity of online replanning based on the image of the day without segmentation was determined using a machine learning process. The process can be automated and completed within a minute, allowing users to quickly decide which fractions require OLAR.
Influence of postmortem aging and post-aging freezing on pork loin quality attributes

The objectives were to determine 1) the interaction between aging duration and post-aging freezing on pork loin quality attributes and 2) the relationship between pork loin star probe (SP) and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS). Loins from 20 carcasses were collected 1 d postmortem. Chops (n = 9; 2.54-cm thick) were fabricated from each loin and vacuum packaged. Four chops from each loin were aged at 4°C for 1, 8, 14, and 21 d and immediately evaluated (Fresh). Four adjacent chops were aged (1, 8, 14, and 21 d), frozen for 14 d, and thawed for evaluation (Frozen). An additional chop was used for evaluation of sarcomere length, intact desmin, and troponin-T degradation. Purge, objective color, pH, subjective color and marbling score, cook loss, SP, and WBS were evaluated at each aging period. Desmin and troponin-T degradation, and sarcomere length were measured on fresh samples at each day of aging. Post-aging freezing had no significant impact on SP, WBS, pH, and subjective color or marbling score at any aging period. Fresh chop purge increased at each day of aging (P 0.05). Aging, without freezing, for 14 or 21 d did not improve SP or WBS observed at 8 d, corresponding with changes in desmin degradation.
Chapter 3 – Statistical Methods and Error Handling

Publisher Summary This chapter presents specific techniques used to edit and analyze oceanographic data. The most basic descriptive parameter for any set of measurements is the sample mean. The mean is generally taken over the duration of a time series (time average) or over an ensemble of measurements (ensemble mean) collected under similar conditions. The probability mass function yielding the probability of a specific event or probability of a range of events is used. In most oceanographic applications, the population parameters are unknown and must be estimated from a sample. Statistical analysis is used to present criteria that allow determining how well a given sample represents the population parameter; and to provide methods for estimating these parameters. There are two different types of measurement errors that can affect data. Random errors, usually equated with “noise,” have random probability distributions, and are generally small compared to the signal. Random errors are associated with inaccuracies in the measurement system or with real variability that is not resolved by the measurement system. The well-accepted statistical techniques for estimating the effects of such random errors are based largely on the statistics of a random population.
Optimization of impedance-measured reflux events in GORD utilizing acid exposure time.

Combining impedance with pH monitoring improves the detection and characterization of gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR), yet the two modalities frequently differ in GOR quantification. Ambulatory 24-h pH-impedance monitoring often reveals more significant oesophageal acid exposure than impedance-measured reflux activity in patients with symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). The purpose of this study is to elucidate the discrepancies between these modalities by assessing the predictive accuracy of impedance compared to acid exposure standards. A single-institution, retrospective review of sequential 24-h pH-impedance results of 72 patients with symptomatic GOR off anti-secretory therapy was conducted. Reflux events measured by impedance were stratified by patient position and compared to oesophageal acid exposure time (AET). Oesophageal AET limits for GORD detection were utilized as gold standards to generate serial receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves to assess the sensitivity and specificity of current impedance GORD detection limits and identify optimized impedance standards based on area under the curve (AUC) analysis. Mean total AET time was 10.5% (± 9.9%), and 63.8% of patients had elevated AET. By impedance, median GOR frequency was 43 (IQR 21–68), and 22.2% exceeded conventional GOR frequency limits of normal. ROC curve analysis revealed the current impedance standard of > 73 GOR events has a sensitivity of 32.6% and specificity of 96.5% (AUC 0.74) for GORD detection. By AUC analysis, an impedance threshold of > 41 GOR events is optimal for GORD detection (sensitivity 69.6%, specificity 80.7%, AUC 0.83). Conventional impedance standards for abnormal GOR frequency are weakly sensitive for the detection of GORD, providing a possible explanation to discrepancies in AET and impedance interpretation. Lowering impedance-measured GOR frequency limits to > 41 optimizes sensitivity and specificity while increasing congruence between pH and impedance metrics.