cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Circular economy rebound

Summary The so-called circular economy—the concept of closing material loops to preserve products, parts, and materials in the industrial system and extract their maximum utility—has recently started gaining momentum. The idea of substituting lower-impact secondary production for environmentally intensive primary production gives the circular economy a strong intuitive environmental appeal. However, proponents of the circular economy have tended to look at the world purely as an engineering system and have overlooked the economic part of the circular economy. Recent research has started to question the core of the circular economy—namely, whether closing material and product loops does, in fact, prevent primary production. In this article, we argue that circular economy activities can increase overall production, which can partially or fully offset their benefits. Because there is a strong parallel in this respect to energy efficiency rebound, we have termed this effect “circular economy rebound.” Circular economy rebound occurs when circular economy activities, which have lower per-unit-production impacts, also cause increased levels of production, reducing their benefit. We describe the mechanisms that cause circular economy rebound, which include the limited ability of secondary products to substitute for primary products, and price effects. We then offer some potential strategies for avoiding circular economy rebound. However, these strategies are unlikely to be attractive to for-profit firms, so we caution that simply encouraging private firms to find profitable opportunities in the circular economy is likely to cause rebound and lower or eliminate the potential environmental benefits.
A novel mouse-friendly cognitive task suitable for use in aging studies.

Tests of cognition in mice frequently employ deprivations or aversive stimuli to motivate learning. Such manipulations may confound interpretation of differences in performance. Concerns arising from the potential confounding are accentuated when the object of the experiment is to compare cognitive function of young and old animals because aging alters many processes that affect maze performance. To assuage some of these concerns, we tested the potential of a novel reward procedure to motivate maze learning. Food-and water-satiated mice of two genetically heterogeneous groups that gained access to their home cage after reaching the goal box of a Lashley III maze attained the acquisition criterion as quickly as did mice motivated by hunger and given food reward. We suggest that “return to home cage” is a useful reinforcer in tests of cognition. This reward procedure is unusual in that it offers an important animal-friendly alternative to the usual ways of motivating cognitive performance, is economical of experimenter time, and may avoid the potentially confounding effects of physiological deprivations and aversive stimuli on maze performance of aged mice.
Reducing adhesion energy of micro-relay electrodes by ion beam synthesized oxide nanolayers

Reduction in the adhesion energy of contacting metal electrode surfaces in nano-electro-mechanical switches is crucial for operation with low hysteresis voltage. We demonstrate that by forming thin layers of metal-oxides on metals such as Ru and W, the adhesion energy can be reduced by up to a factor of ten. We employ a low-energy ion-beam synthesis technique and subsequent thermal annealing to form very thin layers (∼2 nm) of metal-oxides (such as RuO2 and WOx) on Ru and W metal surfaces and quantify the adhesion energy using an atomic force microscope with microspherical tips.
Statistical Testability of Uncertainty Models

Abstract Statistical model validation is treated for a general class of nonparametric uncertainty models. This problem is shown to reduce, in many cases of interest, to computing the limit of a sequence ( V k ) 1 ∞ of relative weighted volumes of convex sets in R k . An associated decision problem is shown to reduce to a pair of likelihood ratio tests. The notion of testability is introduced to describe uncertainty models that can be statistically validated with arbitrary reliability using input-output data records of sufficient (finite) length. It is then shown that some common uncertainty models, such as those involving l 1 or H ∞ norms, do not possess this property.
Ubiquitin Chains Modified by the Bacterial Ligase SdeA Are Protected from Deubiquitinase Hydrolysis.

The SidE family of Legionella pneumophila effectors is a unique group of ubiquitin-modifying enzymes. Along with catalyzing NAD+-dependent ubiquitination of certain host proteins independent of the canonical E1/E2/E3 pathway, they have also been shown to produce phosphoribosylated free ubiquitin. This modified ubiquitin product is incompatible with conventional E1/E2/E3 ubiquitination processes, with the potential to lock down various cellular functions that are dependent on ubiquitin signaling. Here, we show that in addition to free ubiquitin, Lys63-, Lys48-, Lys11-, and Met1-linked diubiquitin chains are also modified by SdeA in a similar fashion. Both the proximal and distal ubiquitin moieties are targeted in the phosphoribosylation reaction. Furthermore, this renders the ubiquitin chains unable to be processed by a variety of deubiquitinating enzymes. These observations broaden the scope of SdeA’s modulatory functions during Legionella infection.
Contemporary Epidemiology of Heart Failure in Fee-For-Service Medicare Beneficiaries Across Healthcare Settings

BackgroundTo assess the current landscape of the heart failure (HF) epidemic and provide targets for future health policy interventions in Medicare, a contemporary appraisal of its epidemiology acr...
US Health Care Clinicians' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: A Qualitative Systematic Review.

Clinicians' recommendation for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine appears to be an important driver of parental decisions about vaccination. Our aim was to synthesize the best available evidence exploring the perceptions and experiences regarding HPV vaccination, from the perspective of the US clinician. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Consumer Health Complete (EBSCOhost), ERIC, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, MEDLINE with full text, and PsycINFO databases. We identified 60 eligible articles: 48 quantitative and 12 qualitative. We extracted the following information: study purpose, use of theory, location, inclusion criteria, and health care provider classification. Results were organized into 5 categories: 1) clinicians' knowledge and beliefs about HPV and the HPV vaccine, 2) clinicians' attitudes and beliefs about recommending HPV vaccines, 3) clinicians' intention to recommend HPV vaccines, 4) clinicians' professional practices regarding HPV vaccination, and 5) patient HPV vaccination rates. Although clinicians were generally supportive of HPV vaccination, there was a discrepancy between clinicians' intentions, recommendation practices, and patient vaccination rates. Studies reported that clinicians tended not to provide strong, consistent recommendations, and were more likely to recommend HPV vaccines to girls versus boys and to older versus younger adolescents. Analyses revealed a number of facilitating factors and barriers to HPV vaccination at the clinician, parent/patient, and systems levels, including clinician knowledge, clinician beliefs, and office procedures that promote vaccination. This review provides an evidence base for multilevel interventions to improve clinician HPV vaccine recommendations and vaccination rates.
Rational engineering of synthetic microbial systems: from single cells to consortia.

One promise of synthetic biology is to provide solutions for biomedical and industrial problems by rational design of added functionality in living systems. Microbes are at the forefront of this biological engineering endeavor due to their general ease of handling and their relevance in many potential applications from fermentation to therapeutics. In recent years, the field has witnessed an explosion of novel regulatory tools, from synthetic orthogonal transcription factors to posttranslational mechanisms for increased control over the behavior of synthetic circuits. Tool development has been paralleled by the discovery of principles that enable increased modularity and the management of host–circuit interactions. Engineered cell-to-cell communication bridges the scales from intracellular to population-level coordination. These developments facilitate the translation of more than a decade of circuit design into applications.
Δ5-3β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Activity in Human Fetal Adrenals

Human fetal adrenal tissue (from fetuses 9–19 weeks old) was studied for Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity by 3 methods: (a) conversion of dehydroepiandrosterone to Δ4-3-ketosteroids during in vitro incubation of tissue homogenates; (b) enzymatic assay based on the rate of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione formation from dehydroepiandrosterone; (c) enzymatic assay based on histochemical methods. Δ5-3β- Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity was demonstrated by each of the 3 methods. The activity varied markedly among individual adrenals without any correlation with fetal age within the period studied. The absolute levels were of the same order of magnitude as those present in human adult adrenal tissue, with activity present as early as the 9th week of gestation. Δ5-3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity was also found in testis tissue removed from a 12-week-old fetus.
The Status of Perturbative QCD

The advances in perturbative QCD are reviewed. The status of determinations of the coupling constant αs and the parton distribution functions is presented. New theoretical results on the spin dependent structure functions of the proton are also reviewed. The theoretical description of the production of vector bosons, jets and heavy quarks is outlined with special emphasis on new results. Expected rates for top quark production at hadronic colliders are presented.
Analysis of Single Work Stations

We start the analysis of manufacturing systems by first explaining the way we perceive them. Then we will focus on some simple cases of work stations with and without failures and demonstrate how these systems can be analyzed. A work station can be thought of as a work place in the shop floor as depicted in Fig3.1, where jobs arrive to be processed or machined. They are kept in the buffer zone (work-in-process (WIP) inventory) until their process begins and are transferred to other areas in the facility after their process is completed. The machines may experience random failures. Our approach in studying work stations in manufacturing environments is to perceive them as queueing systems. The flow of incoming jobs, either one by one or in batches, forms the arrival stream, which can be identified by the statistical characteristics of the time between consecutive arrivals. Service times are usually the processing times of jobs in the work station. Processing times may be augmented by random failures and repairs. Thus, a work station may very well be looked at as a queueing system with single or multiple servers, with finite or infinite waiting room (input buffer), and with a service policy depending on the operating characteristics of the work place. Queueing theory is a fairly well-developed field, and a considerable amount of research is being done on a variety of queueing systems and queueing networks. We demonstrate in this and other chapters that with some level of abstraction, queueing theory and queueing networks can be very useful in the analysis and design of manufacturing systems. In fact, queueing modeling of numerous systems have already been studied and can be found in Gross and Harris ([1974]), Cooper ([1990]), and Kleinrock ([1975]), among various others. Next we give a short introduction on the formulation and the analysis of queueing systems.
Mandated Masquerade: Disability, Metatheater, and Audience Complicity in The Fair Maid of the Exchange and What You Will

This chapter explores collaborative spectatorship in the counterfeit-disability tradition. The self-consciously theatrical tradition requires playgoers to suspend their disbelief and, simultaneously, remain critically attentive to theatrical mechanics in order for the drama to work. By looking at the metatheatrical contexts for dissembling disability in John Marston’s What You Will (c. 1601) and the anonymous The Fair Maid of the Exchange (1607), Row-Heyveld argues that the tradition deliberately exposes its theatrical work to break down divisions between playgoer, playmaker, and player. In doing so, counterfeit-disability plays reveal audience complicity in creating performative disability. Yet, the tradition also discloses the costs of such skepticism, showing how requiring performativity from disability incriminates audiences in that performance.
Building Aerial Empires: technology and geopolitics in American and British juvenalia through the 1930s

In the later 1800s a new form of popular literature, juvenalia, emerged to cater to children as programmes of universal literacy were put in place throughout the industrialised world. This had its greatest impact on the transatlantic English-speaking world. British writers such as G. A. Henty romanticised views of life on the imperial frontier and became massively popular in America. By 1900 American juvenalia was beginning to favour imperial world views, in particular in many of the several thousand titles published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Such juvenalia ‘educated’ teenagers, boys especially, in their responsibilities to their society and persuaded American boys to support imperialism, in particular by focusing on the exciting role of new technologies in militarism. Victorian and Edwardian juvenalia are filled with optimism and such new technologies as airplanes and submersibles were seen as the solution to many geopolitical problems. Such optimism faded with the appalling experiences of World War I. In the 1920s Hollywood movies such as Wings and Hells’s Angels began to romanticise such air combat. In Britain Captain W. E. Johns responded negatively. Johns’ view of the technologies, expressed through the experiences of his main character, Biggles, and based on his own air combat experience in the war, was realistic and well aware of their deadly nature. The Biggles novels also clearly encouraged air policing of the Empire. American pulp magazines and novels continued to romanticise air war but by the early 1930s they had exhausted wartime topics and began to focus on the building Japanese threat. As an American ‘Empire’ developed in the period between World Wars I and II it focused heavily on the Pacific and the growth of American geopolitical interests there. L. Ron Hubbard’s many novels of aerial warfare are about America’s need to support China against Japanese aggression. Both British and American juvenalia culturally conditioned their country’s young males to fight what both authors clearly saw would be the next aerial war.
Electoral fortunes reverse, mindsets do not.

Conservatives and liberals have previously been shown to differ in the propensity to view socially-transmitted information about hazards as more plausible than that concerning benefits. Given differences between conservatives and liberals in threat sensitivity and dangerous-world beliefs, correlations between political orientation and negatively-biased credulity may thus reflect endogenous mindsets. Alternatively, such results may owe to the political hierarchy at the time of previous research, as the tendency to see dark forces at work is thought to be greater among those who are out of political power. Adjudicating between these accounts can inform how societies respond to the challenge of alarmist disinformation campaigns. We exploit the consequences of the 2016 U.S. elections to test these competing explanations of differences in negatively-biased credulity and conspiracism as a function of political orientation. Two studies of Americans reveal continued positive associations between conservatism, negatively-biased credulity, and conspiracism despite changes to the power structure in conservatives’ favor.
Should N-body integrators be symplectic everywhere in phase space?

Symplectic integrators are the preferred method of solving conservative $N$-body problems in cosmological, stellar cluster, and planetary system simulations because of their superior error properties and ability to compute orbital stability. Newtonian gravity is scale free, and there is no preferred time or length scale: this is at odds with construction of traditional symplectic integrators, in which there is an explicit timescale in the time-step. Additional timescales have been incorporated into symplectic integration using various techniques, such as hybrid methods and potential decompositions in planetary astrophysics, integrator sub-cycling in cosmology, and block time-stepping in stellar astrophysics, at the cost of breaking or potentially breaking symplecticity at a few points in phase space. The justification provided, if any, for this procedure is that these trouble points where the symplectic structure is broken should be rarely or never encountered in practice. We consider the case of hybrid integrators, which are used ubiquitously in astrophysics and other fields, to show that symplecticity breaks at a few points are sufficient to destroy beneficial properties of symplectic integrators, which is at odds with some statements in the literature. We show how to solve this problem in the case of hybrid integrators by requiring Lipschitz continuity of the equations of motion. For other techniques, like time step subdivision, {consequences to this this problem are not explored here}, and the fact that symplectic structure is broken should be taken into account by $N$-body simulators, who may find an alternative non-symplectic integrator performs similarly.
Pharmacy-based infectious disease management programs incorporating CLIA-waived point-of-care tests

There are roughly 48,000 deaths caused by influenza annually and an estimated 200,000 people who have undiagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These are examples of acute and chronic illnesses that can be identified by employing a CLIA-waived test. Pharmacies across the country have been incorporating CLIA-waived point-of-care tests (POCT) into disease screening and management programs offered in the pharmacy. The rationale behind these programs is discussed. Additionally, a summary of clinical data for some of these programs in the infectious disease arena is provided. Finally, we discuss the future potential for CLIA-waived POCT-based programs in community pharmacies.
Refined composition of Solar Wind xenon delivered by Genesis NASA mission: Comparison with xenon captured by extraterrestrial regolith soils

Abstract The Genesis mission captured Solar Wind (SW) and delivered it to Earth for laboratory analyses. Due to advanced mass spectrometric techniques developed specifically for analyses of returned Genesis SW-collectors, SW-oxygen, nitrogen and noble gas isotopes have been successfully measured providing new insights for cosmo- and geochemistry. SW-Xe collected by Genesis is the heaviest and the least abundant SW element analyzed. Here we describe in detail the experimental improvements we made over last 5 years and a latest refined SW-Xe isotopic composition. Combined with earlier, already published SW-Xe analyses, our new results provide the best current estimate for SW-Xe collected by Genesis: 136Xe/130Xe = 1.818 ± 0.004; 134Xe/130Xe = 2.242 ± 0.005; 132Xe/130Xe = 6.063 ± 0.010; 131Xe/130Xe = 5.010 ± 0.012; 129Xe/130Xe = 6.314 ± 0.013; 128Xe/130Xe = 0.510 ± 0.001; 126Xe/130Xe = 0.0256 ± 0.0004; 124Xe/130Xe = 0.0292 ± 0.0004 (all errors are 1σ). The achieved precision allows resolving small, but now statistically significant isotopic difference between solar wind Xe and Xe trapped in lunar regolith samples. This emerging difference, not apparent prior to this study, likely points to the composition of indigenous lunar Xe and to the temporal evolution of terrestrial Xe. Combining our Xe fluence with that for other high first ionization potential (FIP) elements, we find that the depletion of elements with the FIP greater than 12 eV is not constant but monotonically decreases as FIP increases.
Building secure distributed applications the DECENT way.

Remote attestation (RA) authenticates code running in trusted execution environments (TEEs), allow trusted code to be deployed even on untrusted hosts. However, trust relationships established by one component in a distributed application may impact the security of other components, making it difficult to reason about the security of the application as a whole. Furthermore, traditional RA approaches interact badly with modern web service design, which tends to employ small interacting microservices, short session lifetimes, and little or no state. This paper presents the Decent Application Platform, a framework for building secure decentralized applications. Decent applications authenticate and authorize distributed enclave components using a protocol based on self-attestation certificates, a reusable credential based on RA and verifiable by a third party. Components mutually authenticate each other not only based on their code, but also based on the other components they trust, ensuring that no transitively-connected components receive unauthorized information. While some other TEE frameworks support mutual authentication in some form, Decent is the only system that supports mutual authentication without requiring an additional trusted third party besides the trusted hardware's manufacturer. We have verified the secrecy and authenticity of Decent application data in ProVerif, and implemented two applications to evaluate Decent's expressiveness and performance: DecentRide, a ride-sharing service, and DecentHT, a distributed hash table. On the YCSB benchmark, we show that DecentHT achieves 7.5x higher throughput and 3.67x lower latency compared to a non-Decent implementation.
Chapter 6 – Device Discovery

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the device discovery that is a key part of any JABWT application. In Bluetooth terms, device discovery is known as inquiry. There are two types of inquiry: general and limited. Devices respond to inquiry requests according to their discoverable mode. There are three types of discoverable mode: not discoverable, limited discoverable, and general discoverable. When a device issues a general inquiry, all devices that are limited and general discoverable respond. When a device performs a limited inquiry, only devices that are limited discoverable respond. The chapter defines how to retrieve additional information on local and remote devices. The Local Device class provides methods that allow the applications to request the current discoverable mode, retrieve the friendly name of the local device, and retrieve information on the JABWT implementation. The Remote Device class provides similar methods for retrieving additional information on the remote device. The Remote Device class also provides methods for setting and retrieving different security settings on the link to the remote device.
Consumption of animal and plant foods and risk of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

AIMS Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is an early heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) phenotype that is reversible. Identifying dietary predictors associated with LVDD in diverse populations may help broadly improve HFpEF primary prevention. METHODS AND RESULTS This longitudinal analysis included 456 individuals of the Bogalusa Heart Study (27% Black, 63% women, baseline age = 36.1 ± 4.4 years). Diet was measured at baseline through food frequency questionnaires. LVDD was defined at follow-up (median = 12.9 years) through echocardiographic measurement of the E/A ratio, E/e' ratio, isovolumic relaxation time, and deceleration time. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression estimated the risk of LVDD according to dietary predictor, adjusting for traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. Compared with the lowest tertile, participants in the middle tertile of total protein (OR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.46, 7.45) and animal protein (OR = 2.91, 95% CI: 1.34, 6.34) consumption experienced the highest risk of LVDD. There was a 77% and 56% lower risk of LVDD for persons in the middle vs. lowest tertile of vegetable (OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.49) and legume consumption (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.85), respectively. Total protein, animal protein, processed meat, and egg consumption indicated a quadratic trend towards increased risk of LVDD, while legume and vegetable intake conferred a quadratic trend towards decreased risk of LVDD (all quadratic P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Diets higher in animal foods and lower in plant foods are associated with an increased risk for LVDD. These findings suggest threshold effects of diet on LVDD, past which more traditional cardiometabolic determinants occupy a larger role in HFpEF risk.
CommBo: Modernizing Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Abstract For every 100,000 people, there are 536 individuals with speech impairments who can benefit from the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices (Creer et al., 2016). Existing AAC devices can suffer from the shortcomings of being difficult to adjust to the user’s specific needs or simply being expensive to own and maintain. We aim to reduce the impact of these problems with CommBo: a web-based, speech-generating picture communication board meant to alleviate some major difficulties commonly experienced by AAC users. CommBo offers customizability beyond that of a physical picture board and leverages machine learning to provide intelligent suggestions. It supports heightened communication that can be brought to a multitude of computing devices, including those that are low-cost or have limited internet access. CommBo is designed for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and patients suffering from any trauma that impacts the person’s ability to communicate effectively, e.g., stroke-induced aphasia. Across two studies, target and non-target participants evaluated CommBo in terms of functionality and usability, and results showed significant benefits of the system.
Exosite binding drives substrate affinity for the activation of coagulation factor X by the intrinsic Xase complex

Factor X activation by the intrinsic Xase complex, composed of factor IXa bound to factor VIIIa on membranes, is essential for the amplified blood coagulation response. The biological significance of this step is evident from bleeding arising from deficiencies in factors VIIIa or IXa in hemophilia. Here, we assess the mechanism(s) that enforce the distinctive specificity of intrinsic Xase for its biological substrate. Active-site function of IXa was assessed with a tripeptidyl substrate (PF-3688). The reversible S1 site binder, 4-aminobenzamidine (pAB), acted as a classical competitive inhibitor of PF-3688 cleavage by Xase. In contrast, pAB acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor of factor X activation. This disconnect between peptidyl substrate and protein substrate cleavage indicates a major role for interactions between factor X and extended sites on Xase in determining substrate affinity. Accordingly, an uncleavable factor X variant, not predicted to engage the active site of IXa within Xase, acted as a classical competitive inhibitor of factor X activation. Fluorescence studies confirmed the binding of factor X to Xase assembled with IXa with a covalently blocked active site. Our findings suggest that the recognition of factor X by the intrinsic Xase complex occurs through a multistep "dock-and-lock" pathway in which the initial interaction between factor X and intrinsic Xase occurs at exosites distant from the active site, followed by active-site docking and bond cleavage.
Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infection: Implications of Antimicrobial Resistance on Clinical Outcomes and Therapy.

The age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate of Gram-negative bloodstream infection (GN-BSI) is 84 [...].
A vector theory for forward propagation in a structured ionosphere

Abstract The scalar forward propagation equation, most often with the parabolic approximation, has been used extensively for simulating ionospheric radio propagation. More recently, the formalism has been applied at HF frequencies where external magnetic field effects must be accommodated. This paper presents a generalization of the forward propagation equation to accommodate vector fields with forward-marching integration. The ramifications for characteristic mode identification are explored.
Physiologically distinct neurons within the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray are not defined by mu-opioid receptor expression but are differentially activated by persistent inflammation

Abstract The ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) is a key structure within the descending pain modulatory pathway and an important target for opioid-induced analgesia. This area contains heterogeneous neurons with respect to neurotransmitter and receptor expression so it is difficult to define vlPAG neurons that contribute to pain and analgesia. Characterization of intrinsic membrane properties of 371 vlPAG neurons from female and male Long-Evans rats identified 4 neuron types with distinct intrinsic firing patterns: Phasic, Tonic, Onset, and Random. Phasic and Tonic neurons comprise the majority of the neurons sampled. Mu-opioid receptor (MOR) expression was determined by the ability of the selective MOR agonist DAMGO to activate G protein-coupled inwardly-rectifying potassium channel (GIRK) currents. Opioid-sensitive and -insensitive neurons were observed within each neuron type in naive rats and in rats pretreated with Complete Freund’s adjuvant in a hindpaw to produce persistent inflammation. The presence of low threshold spikes (LTS) did not correlate with MOR-mediated GIRK currents indicating that MOR expression alone does not define a physiologically distinct neuron type in the vlPAG. MOR activation inhibited firing in nearly all spontaneously active neurons, both in naive and persistent inflammation conditions. CFA-induced inflammation increased Fos expression at both acute (2 h) and persistent inflammation (5-7 d) time points. However, persistent, but not acute, inflammation selectively enhanced spontaneous firing and lowered firing thresholds of Phasic neurons which was maintained in the absence of synaptic inputs. Taken together, persistent inflammation selectively activates Phasic neurons, of which only a subset was opioid-sensitive. Significance statement Intrinsic membrane properties define separate vlPAG neurons types that are functionally important. Persistent, and not acute, inflammation selectively activates Phasic firing vlPAG neurons that are not defined by MOR expression. Although the vlPAG is known to contribute to the descending inhibition of pain, the activation of a single physiologically-defined neuron type in the presence of inflammation may represent a mechanism by which the vlPAG participates in descending facilitation of pain.
Automatic Crack Segmentation in Pavements using a Dilated Encoder-Decoder Network

Structural degradation of pavements has a direct impact on road safety. Due to weather conditions, moisture, and intensive use, pavements tend to crack which requires maintenance and repair. Over the last few years, crack detection has become an active research area with the advances of deep learning techniques. Nowadays, multiples techniques are being explored to automatically detect cracks in images. In this paper, we consider the crack detection problem as a semantic segmentation task where we differentiate between crack and noncrack pixels. To do so, we use an encoder-decoder architecture equipped with a dilated convolution module to better capture the contextual information and preserve the spatial resolution. The evaluation of the proposed architecture demonstrates its effectiveness at detecting cracks in pavements and achieves an mIoU of 81%.
A Comparative Approach for Environmental Justice Analysis: Explaining Divergent Societal Distributions of Particulate Matter and Ozone Pollution across U.S. Neighborhoods

Numerous environmental justice (EJ) studies demonstrate that U.S. racial and ethnic minorities experience disparate hazard exposures, but we lack knowledge about how the societal distribution of ri...
Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of NAC transcription factors in Ziziphus jujuba Mill. reveal their putative regulatory effects on tissue senescence and abiotic stress responses

Abstract Here, 55 genes encoding NAC were identified in the jujube genome. Based on gene structures, protein motifs, and phylogenetic relationships, the jujube NAC family was classified into five groups and 15 subgroups. All ZjNAC genes were distributed on 12 chromosomes and four tandem duplication events were detected. The publicly available RNA-Seq data revealed that ZjNAC genes were differentially expressed in various tissues, but a few genes were highly expressed in fruit. Target genes of NAC were predicted and these genes were enriched in stress responses, catabolism and hydrolysis process. Analyses of the cis-acting elements, homology relationship and genes expression levels under abiotic stresses showed that several genes, such as ZjNAC6, ZjNAC35, ZjNAC47 and ZjNAC55, may be identified to be involved in responses to abscisic acid (ABA) and cold, drought, and salt stresses. Additionally, the differences in expression levels between the young and mature tissues imply ZjNAC genes may respond to tissue senescence. These results could lay a solid foundation for investigations of the biological roles of NAC, breeding improvement for stress resistance and retarding senescence in jujube.
An Efficient Parallel Architecture for Resource-Shareable Reed-Solomon Encoder

Reed-Solomon (RS) codes are adopted in many digital communication and storage systems to ensure data reliability. For many of these systems, the encoder and decoder are not active at the same time. In previous designs, RS encoders implemented as linear feedback shift registers in a concatenated structure are reused to compute the syndromes so that the decoder complexity is reduced. However, the parallel versions of such encoders have very long critical path and hence can not achieve high speed. This paper proposes a new parallel resource-shareable RS encoder architecture based on the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT). The generator polynomial of RS codes is decomposed into factors of degree one and state transformation is developed to enable the sharing of the hardware units for syndrome computation. As a result, the critical path is reduced to only one multiplier and one adder, regardless of the parallelism. Additionally, by utilizing the property that the degrees of the decomposed polynomial factors are one, optimizations are also developed to greatly simplify the CRT-based encoder. For example encoders of a (255, 229) RS code over GF(28), our proposed design can achieve at least 29% higher efficiency in terms of area-time product for moderate or higher parallelisms compared to the previous resource-shareable RS encoder and traditional parallel RS encoders combined with syndrome computation units that implement the same functionality.
Abnormalities in the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids.

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a discussion on the irregularities in the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids. The chapter begins by stating that disorders in the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids have an honored place in the history of biochemistry and medicine. The latter disease was also one of the biochemical defects upon which Garrod based the concept of the inborn errors of metabolism. The chapter states that biochemistry has profited from the metabolic studies of patients with cystinuria, and cystathioninemia might have remained a clinical enigma had not the biochemists discovered the details of the pathway from methionine to cysteine. The chapter focuses on specific clinical entities, which are now recognized as genetic defects in the metabolism of methionine, homocysteine, and cystathionine. Metabolic transfer across membranes deserves special consideration, and abnormalities in the intestinal and renal transport of methionine and cysteine are discussed in the same context as the more generally accepted inborn errors of metabolism. The chapter also discusses cystinosis, although it is premature to consider it as an established genetic defect of amino acid metabolism.
Origin and significance of autoreactive T cells.

Publisher Summary Antigen-specific, MHC-restricted peripheral T cells must, nevertheless, derive from thymic precursors that expressed a functional affinity for self-MHC, perhaps in association with other self-molecules. The basis for this transition from an autoreactive thymic precursor to an antigendependent, MHC-restricted peripheral T cell is not understood. Autoreactive T cells and T cell lines derived from normal individuals have been independently described in many laboratories. Such T cells are activated in the absence of any identifiable foreign antigen by class II MHC syngeneic stimulators, but not MHC allogeneic stimulators. In particular, autoreactive responses have been demonstrated in the absence of xenogeneic serum components. Several independent lines of evidence developed and other laboratories suggest that the autoreactive T cells derive from antigen-stimulated precursors that have undergone a physiological transition that restores their ability to respond to self. This could be a normal and reversible transition that frequently accompanies specific T cell activation. The functional capabilities of autoreactive T cells have been investigated in a number of laboratories. There may be important qualitative and quantitative differences in helper functions of different autoreactive T cell clones. Some of these differences may arise during the process of in vitro adaptation. The best characterized autoreactive responses are those of in vitro-adapted continuous T cell lines that may never revert to a fully resting state. The autoreactive responses manifested by some antigen-specific T cell lines might reflect the proportion of that population that is in an activated state.
A distributed algorithm for dynamic channel allocation

Recent demand for mobile telephone service has been growing rapidly while the electro-magnetic spectrum of frequencies allocated for this purpose remains limited. Any solution to the channel assignment problem is subject to this limitation, as well as the interference constraint between adjacent channels in the spectrum. Channel allocation schemes provide a flexible and efficient access to bandwidth in wireless and mobile communication systems. In this paper, we present an efficient distributed algorithm for dynamic channel allocation based upon mutual exclusion model, where the channels are grouped by the number of cells in a cluster and each group of channels cannot be shared concurrently within the cluster. We discuss the algorithm and prove its correctness. We also show that the algorithm requires at most (worst case) O(Ng · Nn log Nn) messages, where Ng is the number of groups and Nn is the number of neighbors. This is compared to Choy's algorithm which requires O(Ng2 · Nn), where Ng is the number of groups and Nn is the number of neighboring cells in the system. We report our algorithm's performance with several channel systems using different types of call arrival patterns. Our results indicate that significant low denial rate, low message complexity and low acquisition time can be obtained using our algorithm.
Zoledronic Acid Exhibits Inhibitory Effects on Osteoblastic and Osteolytic Metastases of Prostate Cancer

Purpose: In this study we have examined the effects of zoledronic acid (ZA), a new-generation bisphosphonate, on prostate cancer (CaP) cells in vitro , and on both osteoblastic and osteolytic CaP metastases in animal models. Experimental Design: In vitro , CaP cells were treated with ZA, and the effects on proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis were determined. In vivo , PC-3, and LuCaP 23.1 s.c. and tibial tumors were treated with ZA. Effects on bone and tumor were determined by histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry. Results: ZA decreased proliferation of CaP cells, and caused G 1 arrest and apoptosis of CaP cells in vitro . In vivo , s.c. CaP tumor growth was not affected by ZA. However, growth of osteoblastic and osteolytic metastases of CaP was inhibited significantly in vivo . Matrix metalloproteinase-2, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and Cathepsin K levels were decreased in osteolytic bone metastases after ZA administration. Conclusions: In conclusion, we have shown that ZA has significant antitumor effects on CaP cells in vitro and in vivo . Antiosteolytic activity and the antitumor effects of this compound could benefit CaP patients with bone metastases.
PLACENTAL TRANSMISSION OF TRITIUM AND CARBON-14 LABELED HISTIDINE ENANTIOMORPHS IN PRIMATES.

Abstract 1. 1. Tritium labeled D-histidine has been synthesized by a series of known reactions. The radiochemically and optically pure material was subjected to degradation procedures, which indicated that most of the activity was in the β-hydrogen atoms rather than the imidazole ring. 2. 2. The isolation of labeled histidine from blood filtrates by the carrier dilution method was investigated. A procedure is described whereby a quantitative recovery can be obtained. 3. 3. A mixture of tritium labeled D-histidine and carbon-14 labeled L-histidine was injected intravenously into pregnant rhesus monkeys. The tritium and carbon-14 (histidine) activity in maternal and fetal blood samples collected over a period of several hours was determined by isolation and analyses of the pure D- and L-carrier mixtures. 4. 4. L-histidine was found to disappear from the maternal bloodstream about two and one half times faster than the D-isomer. Both enantiomorphs crossed the placenta rapidly. The ratio of the transfer rates for D- and L-histidine was found to be 1:1.40. 5. 5. During the passage through the placenta, tritium labeled D-histidine does not undergo inversion as shown by enzymatic degradation of carrier mixtures isolated from fetal blood. 6. 6. The ratio of D- to L-histidine in maternal urine secreted during this period of observation was 25 and 28:1. The faster urinary secretion of the D-isomer is best explained as a stereospecific renal mechanism in addition to a preferential metabolism of the L-form.
Effect of Multiphase Flow on Corrosion

The sections in this article are Chapter Overview Introduction Multiphase Flow Three Phase Oil/Water/Gas Flows Flow Regime Map Oil/Water Flow Industrial Concerns Slug Flow Characteristics Profile of Slug Mixing Zone of Slug Bubble Collapse Froude Number Effect of Slug Flow on Corrosion Turbulence and Mass Transfer Mass Transfer and Pressure Measurements Surface Damage in Slug Flow Corrosion Corrosion Rates in Multiphase Oil/Water/Gas Systems Conclusions
Molecular modeling in the design of phospholipase A2 inhibitors.

The X-ray structures of pancreatic bovine and porcine phospholipases A2 have been used along with interactive computer graphics to design conformationally rigid, novel compounds (1-meta-hydroxybenzyl-2-substituted acenaphthenes) directed at the active sites of these enzymes. In vitro testing confirmed that the designed compounds are potent inhibitors of the porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 and exhibit both stereoselectivity and structure-activity relationships that are consistent with the proposed mode of binding. These compounds take advantage of a hydrophobic “slot” positioned between residues Leu-2 and Tyr-69 while positioning hydrogen-bonding functionality directed at the nd1-N of His-48. Experimental evidence shows a regioselective preference for this H-bond acceptor. A second part of the strategy used a tethered amine to displace the essential calcium providing a bisubstrate analog.
Synthesis and Characterization of Some Thallium Cyclopentadienide Fused Ring Pyridazines

Abstract Thallium cyclopentadiene (Cp) salts are important precursors for the synthesis of a variety of compounds having materials and commercial applications. The synthesis of 5,6-fused ring thallium Cp pyridazines 2a–d from previously reported 5,6-fused ring pyridazines is described herein. This route was quite general, and features an efficient and convenient two-step synthesis of a series of TlCp salts in a THF solution of thallium ethoxide. Full characterization of newly formed TlCp salts 3a–d are reported.
$\aleph_0$-Categorical Modules

It is shown that the first-order theory Th R ( A ) of a countable module over an arbitrary countable ring R is ℵ 0 -categorical if and only if A i finite, n ∈ ω , κ i ≤ ω . Furthermore, Th R (A) is ℵ 0 -categorical for all R -modules A if and only if R is finite and there exist only finitely many isomorphism classes of indecomposable R -modules.
Fluoroquinolone therapy in Mycobacterium chelonae keratitis after lamellar keratectomy

Purpose To characterize a rabbit model of Mycobacterium chelonae keratitis after lamellar keratectomy and assess the effectiveness of fluoroquinolone therapy. Setting University Laboratory, University of California, Irvine, California, USA. Methods Twenty-eight New Zealand white rabbits had unilateral lamellar keratectomy with placement of 2.5 × 10 5 colony-forming units of log-phase M chelonae under each flap. Eyes (7 per group) were randomized and treated with sterile balanced salt solution, gatifloxacin 0.3%, ciprofloxacin 0.3%, or levofloxacin 0.5% 4 times daily. Two masked observers examined all eyes on days 2, 5, and 7 and weekly for 4 weeks. Severity of disease and bacterial culture results were the main outcomes measured. The means and standard deviations were calculated, and differences between the groups were statistically analyzed. Results All eyes developed clinical disease. At the time the rabbits were killed, eyes treated with balanced salt solution, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and gatifloxacin were culture positive in 6 (85.7%), 7 (100%), 6 (85.7%), and 3 (42.9%) of 7 eyes per group, respectively. Frequency of positive culture and the severity of clinical disease in gatifloxacin-treated eyes were significantly less ( P Conclusions The rabbit model of M chelonae keratitis was successfully developed in our study. A fourth-generation quinolone (gatifloxacin) showed the best performance among the fluoroquinolones tested in our experimental approach. The fourth-generation fluoroquinolone, gatifloxacin, could be effectively used for the treatment of mycobacterial keratitis.
Acetylcholinesterase: theory of noncompetitive inhibition

The theory of noncompetitive inhibition of acetylcholinesterase based on the binding of inhibitor to the acetylenzyme and the free enzyme was proven correct by demonstrating that tripropylammonium ion increases the steady-state concentration of acetylenzyme, as predicted by the theory. By contrast, the traditional theory that the inhibitor binds to the enzyme-substrate complex and the free enzyme predicts that the amount of acetylenzyme will be drastically reduced when the inhibition is high. A third theory involving all three types of binding remains possible.
An extrapolation chamber for the calibration of beta-ray applicators

A simple, easily constructed extrapolation chamber is described for the calibration of Β‐ray applicators.
Organic Compounds in Carbonaceous Chondrites

Aromatic hydrocarbons in carbonaceous chondrites investigated by time-of-flight mass spectrometry and hypothesized as formed in solar nebula under thermodynamic equilibrium