cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cigarette smoke-induced left ventricular remodelling is associated with activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases

Aim: To determine the effects of cigarette smoke (CS) exposure on the expression/activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) (extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK1/2], p38-kinase [p38] and c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase [JNK]), norepinephrine (NE) and myocardial structure and function. Methods: Rats were randomised to two groups: CS-exposed (n = 12) or room air (CON) (n = 10). After 5 weeks, the animals underwent echocardiography with pulse-wave Doppler flow measurements. Hearts were removed for microscopy and Western blot analysis. Results: CS exposure was associated with significant increases in NE urinary levels and larger ventricular dimensions (mm) (CON = left ventricular end diastolic dimension [LVEDD] 7.99±0.10, LV end systolic dimension [LVESD] 4.55±0.20, CS=LVEDD 8.3±0.10, LVESD 5.3±0.09, p=0.026, p=0.003). There was also evidence of systolic dysfunction in the CS-exposed group compared to the CON (fractional shortening %, CON=43±2, CS=36±.09, p=0.010). In CS-exposed hearts, significant increases in phosphorylated p38/total (0.975±0.05) and phosphorylated ERK1/2/totalERK1/2 (1.919±0.050) were found compared to CON hearts (0.464±0.008, 0.459±0.050, respectively). No significant differences were found in JNK levels between the groups. Conclusions: Increased NE levels and MAPK activation are associated with CS-related left ventricular remodelling. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.
Catecholamine-secreting paraganglioma of the thoracic spinal column: report of an unusual case and review of the literature.

Background and importance Paragangliomas are rare tumors of neuroendocrine origin that arise from paraganglionic tissue of the extrachromaffin cell system. These lesions may be seen at various sites along the neuraxis. Primary thoracic paragangliomas have rarely been reported in the literature, with secretory thoracic lesions being exceedingly rare as only 3 previous cases have been cited. Clinical presentation A 49-year-old woman presented with episodes of hypertension, palpitations, and diaphoresis. Workup revealed positive urine catecholamines and a thoracic spine mass extending into the thoracic apex. Preoperative α-blockade with phenoxybenzamine was used followed by posterior decompression and tumor resection. Arthrodesis from C5 to T4 was subsequently performed, and the patient received postoperative radiation. Conclusion Two years postoperatively, the patient has continued to have regression of her symptoms. We report a rare case of a catecholamine-secreting primary thoracic paraganglioma in a 49-year-old woman. These tumors should be treated carefully by the neurosurgeon with preoperative assistance from endocrinology for α-blockade, followed by gross total resection and postoperative radiation if residual tumor remains.
Magnetostrictive Microcantilever as Micro-Biosensor Platform

In this paper, a novel micro-biosensor platform - magnetostrictive microcantilever (MSMC) - is reported. The resonance behavior and the sensitivity of MSMC as sensor platform were characterized and compared to the theoretical calculation. The detection of yeast cells using the biosensor made of MSMC was reported. The results demonstrate the feasibility of MSMC as a high performance biosensor platform. Compare to current microcantilevers, which is widely considered as the state-of-art sensor platform, the MSMCs have following advantages: 1) remote/wireless driving and sensing; 2) easy to fabricate. More importantly, it is experimentally found that the quality merit factor (Q value) of MSMC can reach more than 250, which is much higher than other cantilevers.
Parallel scheduling for cyber-physical systems: analysis and case study on a self-driving car

As the complexity of software for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) rapidly increases, multi-core processors and parallel programming models such as OpenNP become appealing to CPS developers for guaranteeing timeliness. Hence, a parallel task on multi-core processors is expected to become a vital component in CPS such as a self-driving car, where tasks must be scheduled in real-time. In this paper, we extend the fork-join parallel task model to be scheduled in real-time, where the number of parallel threads can vary depending on the physical attributes of the system. To efficiently schedule the proposed task model, we develop the task stretch* transform. Using this transform for global Deadline Monotonic scheduling for fork-join real-time tasks, we achieve a resource augmentation bound of 3.73. In other words, any task set that is feasible on m unit-speed processors can be scheduled by the proposed algorithm on m processors that are 3.73 times faster. The proposed scheme is implemented on Linux/RK as a proof of concept, and ported to Boss, the self-driving vehicle that won the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. We evaluate our scheme on Boss by showing its driving quality, i.e., curvature and velocity profiles of the vehicle.
Process mapping as organizational assessment in academic libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the value of process mapping to libraries as a first step in promoting a culture of organizational assessment. In addition, this paper offers a case study of the University of Michigan Library’s experience in building up a process mapping skill set and the workflow improvements resulting from these efforts. Design/methodology/approach – This case study is a description and assessment of a program to train library employees on process mapping. Findings – Process mapping in library settings empowers librarians and staff to identify and implement elements for improvements in routine work. When given the tools to assess processes, employees at the University of Michigan made several such improvements. Practical implications – While library staff tend not to be familiar with process mapping, these skills are critical for retaining institutional knowledge, training staff, and identifying areas for improvement in common and rarely used workflows alike. Originali...
Rapid recruitment and proliferation of antibody plague-forming cells in the absence of natural antibody

Nachweis, dass «Plaque»-bildende Antikorperzellen gegen somatische Antigene vonVibrio cholerae sich in der Milz immunisierter Mause schnell und «treppenartig» nach ubereinstimmender Latenzzeit von 42 h entwickeln, ohne dass dabei ein «background» an Antikorper bildenden Zellen zu erfassen war.
Corrosion and Deposits From Combustion of Solid Waste—Part IV: Combined Firing of Refuse and Coal

Combined firing of processed municipal refuse with coal has been investigated in a stoker-fired boiler. The refuse preparation consisted of shredding, magnetic separation of metals, and air classification. The nature of the deposits and the extent of corrosion of simulated boiler tube surfaces was determined by inserting probes into the boiler. For amounts of refuse up to 35 percent on a heating value basis, the corrosion rate of carbon steels was reduced substantially below that found from previous measurements for refuse alone, and below that calculated on the basis of dilution by the coal. The temperature of the boiler flue gases also was found to be an important factor in corrosion. The emissions of sulfur oxides from high sulfur coal were reduced by the action of the alkaline components of the refuse.
A New Optical Method of Storing and Retrieving Information

The analogy between electronic filters or networks and optical filters placed in the focal plane of an imaging arrangement has drawn attention to the potentialities of optical arrangements for information processing. This paper develops the theory of the filter in the focal plane whose transmission at each point is proportional to the intensity of the light from the object. This intensity filter—in imaging arrangements using coherent light sources—has the property of forming a “ghost image” of the whole object, when only a small fragment of the original object is shown. This ghost image can be utilized in principle for recognizing and locating a small fragment in the original object.
A non-classical third-order shear deformation plate model based on a modified couple stress theory

A non-classical third-order shear deformation plate model is developed using a modified couple stress theory and Hamilton’s principle. The equations of motion and boundary conditions are simultaneously obtained through a variational formulation. This newly developed plate model contains one material length scale parameter and can capture both the size effect and the quadratic variation of shear strains and shear stresses along the plate thickness direction. It is shown that the new third-order shear deformation plate model recovers the non-classical Reddy-Levinson beam model and Mindlin plate model based on the modified couple stress theory as special cases. Also, the current non-classical plate model reduces to the classical elasticity-based third-order shear deformation plate model when the material length scale parameter is taken to be zero. To illustrate the new model, analytical solutions for the static bending and free vibration problems of a simply supported plate are obtained by directly applying the general forms of the governing equations and boundary conditions of the model. The numerical results show that the deflection and rotations predicted by the new plate model are smaller than those predicted by its classical elasticity-based counterpart, while the natural frequency of the plate predicted by the former is higher than that by the latter. It is further seen that the differences between the two sets of predicted values are significant when the plate thickness is small, but they are diminishing with increasing plate thickness.
An Innovative, Effective and Cost Effective Survey Method Using a Survey-Check Response Format

Maximizing the response rate to surveys involves thoughtful choices about survey design, sampling and collection methods. This paper describes an innovative survey method, to provide immediate reinforcement for responding and to minimize the response cost. This method involves using a questionnaire printed as checks on security (anti-fraud) paper with questions and responses separated using a perforated tear off section. Once a participant completes the survey, the response area is detached from the questions, thus protecting the confidentiality of the subject, and the check is returned via the banking system. This report describes the survey-check methodology, the survey flow process, and the results from four research studies which have used this method. These studies include (1) a technology accessibility survey of parents with children enrolled in a low-income preschool program; (2) a parent report of their child’s behavior used as screening criteria for inclusion in a computer-mediated parent education project; (3) a follow-up questionnaire as part of a longitudinal study of child behavior, covering home and classroom interventions, and service utilization, and; (4) a survey of dentists in support of efforts to recruit them to participate in a randomized control trial of tobacco cessation in dental offices. The results of using this method show great improvement in response rates over traditionally administered surveys for three of the four reported studies. Results are discussed in terms of future applications of this method, limitations, and potential cost savings.
Ligand-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the IL-2 receptor beta chain and receptor-associated proteins.

Abstract Interleukin-2 (IL-2) stimulates the rapid phosphorylation on tyrosine of several specific cellular proteins. However, the high-affinity human IL-2 receptor, composed of an alpha (p55) and beta (p70/75) subunit, does not contain a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase domain. In this study, we investigated the identities of the proteins phosphorylated on tyrosine in response to IL-2 stimulation to examine possible pathways of signal transduction. By the use of immunoblotting with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies, we demonstrate that IL-2 augments tyrosine phosphorylation of the IL-2 receptor beta chain in human cell lines expressing either high-affinity (alpha/beta) receptors or only the beta chain. In IL-2-dependent mouse T cell lines, a 100,000-Da protein was phosphorylated on tyrosine in response to IL-2 and is proposed to be the mouse IL-2 receptor beta chain. Two other cellular proteins, pp55 and pp105 in human or pp55 and pp115 in mouse cell lines, were phosphorylated on tyrosine in response to IL-2 and coimmunoprecipitated with the high-affinity IL-2 receptor after chemical crosslinking of IL-2-stimulated cells. Thus, the IL-2 receptor may associate with additional subunits or with cellular proteins involved in signal transduction.
Biochemical analysis of bacterial macromutations.

A mutant (DNA GC 70%) of Pseudomonas testosteroni (DNA GC 60%) has been shown to produce new strains of P. testosteroni having the same GC content as the parent strain 78 (60 moles %). Analyses of the protein and analogous enzymes by electrophoresis reveal an acidic alteration in the charge of all soluble proteins. Evaluation of the organisms in the Bacillus and Paracolon systems clearly demonstrates that total protein charge alterations from acidic to basic or basic to acidic are common features associated with alterations of DNA base compositions. The reported DNA content changes of mutants appears to follow a rule of single or multiple 25% substitution of parental adenine-thymine content to guanine-cytosine content in the mutant produced. The accuracy of this prediction of such a percentage change in mutant DNA content is presented. The common features of extent of GC alteration and protein charge changes observed in the Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Paracolon systems suggest the possibility of a single mutational event producing an organism which is classified in a genus other then the parent.
An FPGA based parallel architecture for music melody matching

We propose an FPGA-based high performance parallel architecture for music retrieval through singing. The database consists of monophonic MIDI files which are modeled into strings, and the user sung query is modeled as a set of regular expressions (regexp), with consideration of possible key transpositions and tempo variations to tolerate imperfectly sung queries. An approximate regexp matching algorithm is developed to calculate the similarity between a regexp and a string, using edit distance as the metrics. The algorithm supports user sung queries starting anywhere in the database song, not necessarily from the beginning. Using the proposed formal models and algorithms, the similarity between the user sung query and each song in the database can be evaluated and the top-10 most similar results will be reported. We designed the approximate regexp matching algorithm in such way that all terms of the regexp can execute concurrently, which perfectly fits the massive parallelism provided by FPGA. The FPGA implemented melody matching engine (MME) is a parameterized modular architecture that can be reconfigured to implement different regexps by simply updating their parameter registers, and can therefore avoid the time-consuming code re-synthesis. MME also includes an on-board DDR2 memory to store the database, so that they can be read in to calculate edit distances locally on the board. This way, each MME forms a self-contained system and multiple MMEs can be clustered to increase parallel processing power, with virtually no overhead. MME is evaluated using the query corpus of ThinkIT with 355 sung files and database of 5563 MIDI files. It achieves a top-10 hit rate of 90.7% and a runtime of 19.4 seconds, averaging 54.6 milliseconds for a single query. MME achieves significant speedup over software-based systems while providing the same level of flexibility.
Exercise and Eating Disorders in College-Aged Women: Profiling Excessive Exercisers

This study examined associations among excessive exercise, eating disorders, and selected psychological characteristics in college women (N = 586). Participants were recruited from university classes and administered the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, Eating Disorders Inventory-2, Bulimia Test-Revised, and other psychosocial measures. Results indicated that obligatory exercise is best viewed as multidimensional. These dimensions were used, through cluster analysis, to generate a typology of exercisers. One identified group clearly manifested eating disorder traits and behaviors, as well as signs of psychological disturbance. Another group who exercised with equal intensity but less emotional fixation showed the fewest signs of eating disorders and psychological distress.
Effects of Rotor Tip Clearance on Tip Clearance Flow Potentially Leading to NSV in an Axial Compressor

This paper investigates non-synchronous vibration (NSV) mechanism of a high-speed axial compressor with three different rotor tip clearances. Numerical simulations for 1/7th annulus periodic sector are performed using an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS) solver with a fully conservative sliding boundary condition to capture wake unsteadiness between the rotor and stator blades. The simulated NSV shows that the frequency and amplitude are strongly influenced by the tip clearance size and shape. The predicted NSV frequency is in good agreement with the experiment. The maximum amplitude of the NSV occurs at about 78% span of the rotor suction leading edge regardless of tip clearance due to a strong interaction of incoming flow, tip leakage flow and tip vortex. The instability of tornado like tip vortex oscillating in streamwise direction appears to be the main cause of the NSV observed in this study.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Large-eddy simulation of turbulent premixed flames in the flamelet regime

Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of turbulent premixed flames in the flamelet regime are carried out using a new subgrid combustion model. This model explicitly incorporates the effects of large-scale advection through a Lagrangian volume transport scheme and the effects of small-scale turbulent stirring and flame propagation (subgrid effects) using a one-dimensional linear eddy model. Three-dimensional turbulent stagnation point premixed flames are simulated with the new model and a conventional flame speed model. It is seen that the conventional model implemented using a finite difference discretization of the scalar equations on a typical three-dimensional LES grid is unable to capture the flamelet nature of the stagnation premixed flames. On the other hand, the subgrid model in the new formulation provides enough fine-scale resolution to accurately capture the flamelet nature of undisturbed laminar flame propagation and small scale wrinkling of the flame surface. As a result, the intermittency associated ...
TECHNIQUE TO MEASURE EMULSION CREAMING BY VELOCITY OF ULTRASOUND

ABSTRACT A new non-intrusive, Instantaneous technique to monitor the creaming/sedimentation of colloidal dispersions is reported. Here the technique is used to determine the detailed concentration profiles of water-continuous emulsions as a function of height and time. The emulsions consist of hexadecane stabilised by nonionic surfactant (Brij 35) In water In the presence and absence of a polysaccharide thickener (hydroxyethylcellulose). The technique involves the measurement of the velocity of ultrasound through the emulsion, which depends simply on the velocity through the individual phases and the bulk composition of the emulsion (provided the individual droplets are smaller than the wavelength of the ultrasound). Applications of the technique may include In-line monitoring of composition during the processing of dispersions and predictive testing of dispersion stability (shelf-life).
Growth-specific carbide precipitation at annealing twins in 304 stainless steel

Here the authors report some unique and specific growth features for lamellar M{sub 23}C{sub 6} precipitates in aged type 304 stainless steel which are not only directional with regard to {l_brace}111{r_brace} trace directions, but also very specific with regard to their alignment with specific annealing twin boundaries -- boundary geometry and crystallography. This growth specificity has not been reported previously in connection with coherent twins in FCC stainless steels.
Hydrogen incorporation in olivine from 2–12 GPa

We performed new experiments on incorporation of hydrogen in olivine at high pressures (2–12 GPa) and temperatures (1000–1300°C). OH concentrations were calculated using the Bell et al. (2003) calibration applied to principal-axis infrared absorption spectra synthesized from polarized measurements on randomly oriented grains. Starting materials for the experiments included both fi ne-grained powders and larger single crystals. Hydrogen was incorporated during grain growth in the former case and by volume diffusion in the latter. The spectra of Fe-bearing olivines exhibit similar structure regardless of the starting material, and are dominated by bands in the wavenumber range from about 3500 to 3650 cm^(–1). We do not observe bands at 3525 and 3573 cm^(–1), which are predominant in many natural olivines as well as olivines annealed in experiments at lower pressures, and are attributed to humite-related defects. Furthermore, bands between 3300 and 3400 cm^(–1), attributed to high silica activity or high oxygen fugacity, are weak or non-existent. Our measurements indicate that OH solubility in Fe-bearing olivine is 2.5–4 times higher than that measured by Kohlstedt et al. (1996). Although this is largely due to the use of a new calibration in our study, correction of previous values is not straightforward. In the pure Mg-system, in contrast to Fe-bearing olivine, order-of-magnitude apparent differences in OH solubility can be obtained using different experimental procedures. This raises questions about attainment of equilibrium in experimental studies of hydrogen incorporation in nominally anhydrous minerals, particularly when crystals are grown from a hydrous melt.
Use of lithium N,O-dimethylhydroxylamide as an efficient in situ protecting agent for aromatic aldehydes

Abstract The use of lithium N , O -dimethylhydroxylamide as an alternative in situ protecting agent for aryl aldehydes with low ortho -directing properties has been evaluated and subsequently applied to two practical multi-step one-pot syntheses of developmental drug candidate intermediates.
Compositional changes of AP-1 DNA-binding proteins are regulated by light in a mammalian circadian clock

Recent reports have shown that the nuclear phosphoprotein Fos is induced by light in a mammalian circadian clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus. To learn how light and circadian phase affect the binding of Fos to DNA, we analyzed the photic and temporal regulation of immunoreactive Jun protein expression and AP-1 DNA-binding activity in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus. Immunohistochemistry and gel mobility shift assays suggest that AP-1 activity during the night and after a light pulse consists of constant, as well as variable, protein components; JunD could be identified as a constituent of both dark- and light-activated binding complexes, whereas binding by JunB and Fos could be implicated only after photic stimulation. Since JunD or JunB could be colocalized with Fos in individual suprachiasmatic nucleus cell nuclei, light may be acting in at least some suprachiasmatic nucleus cells by altering AP-1 protein composition rather than binding site occupancy.
Radio waves, wireless signals, and public health: Is this the next silent spring?

Dr. George Carlo is a public‐health practitioner and a . As chairman of Health Risk Management Group, he oversees work assessing the public‐health impact of consumer products, drugs, workplaces, an...
Lateral Cervical Spine Dislocation and Vertebral Artery Injury

Although anterior and posterior traumatic displacement of cervical vertebrae are commonly noted, and the devastating neurological deficits associated with these injuries have been amply defined, lateral displacement with fractures has been rarely recognized, and the clinical significance of this injury has been overlooked. This report describes five cases of cervical spine fractures with lateral dislocation. All patients had lateral and anteroposterior cervical spine radiographs as well as cervical angiography or postmortem study demonstrating either complete occlusion or significant impairment of flow of the vertebral arteries. Two cases had traumatic vertebral artery occlusion with secondary medullary and cerebellar infarction resulting in the patient's death. Vertebral artery injury apparently is not uncommon in this particular type of fracture. The diagnosis of these vascular injuries may require angiography or magnetic resonance angiography. A vertebral occlusion or dissection is a problem of considerable complexity, requiring individualized management depending on the patient's symptomatology, location and nature of the injury, and time lapsed since the injury.
Tissue-specific Activation of a Single Gustatory Receptor Produces Opposing Behavioral Responses in Drosophila

Understanding sensory systems that perceive environmental inputs and neural circuits that select appropriate motor outputs is essential for studying how organisms modulate behavior and make decisions necessary for survival. Drosophila melanogaster oviposition is one such important behavior, in which females evaluate their environment and choose to lay eggs on substrates they may find aversive in other contexts. We employed neurogenetic techniques to characterize neurons that influence the choice between repulsive positional and attractive egg-laying responses toward the bitter-tasting compound lobeline. Surprisingly, we found that neurons expressing Gr66a, a gustatory receptor normally involved in avoidance behaviors, receive input for both attractive and aversive preferences. We hypothesized that these opposing responses may result from activation of distinct Gr66a-expressing neurons. Using tissue-specific rescue experiments, we found that Gr66a-expressing neurons on the legs mediate positional aversion. In contrast, pharyngeal taste cells mediate the egg-laying attraction to lobeline, as determined by analysis of mosaic flies in which subsets of Gr66a neurons were silenced. Finally, inactivating mushroom body neurons disrupted both aversive and attractive responses, suggesting that this brain structure is a candidate integration center for decision-making during Drosophila oviposition. We thus define sensory and central neurons critical to the process by which flies decide where to lay an egg. Furthermore, our findings provide insights into the complex nature of gustatory perception in Drosophila. We show that tissue-specific activation of bitter-sensing Gr66a neurons provides one mechanism by which the gustatory system differentially encodes aversive and attractive responses, allowing the female fly to modulate her behavior in a context-dependent manner.
Driving Regulation: Using Topic Models to Examine Political Contention in the U.S. Trucking Industry

Public comments submitted during agency rulemakings can provide rich insight into stakeholders' viewpoints around contentious political issues but have been largely untapped as a data source by social scientists. This is in part due to the lack of access to comments in machine-readable formats and in part due to the difficulty in analyzing large corpora of textual data. However, new online repositories and analytic methodologies are beginning to open up this trove of data for researchers. Using data from the online portal regulations.gov, we employ probabilistic topic modeling to identify latent themes in a series of regulatory debates about electronic monitoring in the U.S. trucking industry. Our model suggests that different types of commenters use alternative discursive frames in talking about monitoring. Comments submitted by individuals were more likely to place the electronic monitoring debate in the context of broader logistical problems plaguing the industry, such as long wait times at shippers' terminals, while organizational stakeholders were more likely than individuals to frame their comments in terms of technological standards and language suggesting cost / benefit quantification.
Effect of blood group on idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a condition caused by deficiency of ADAMTS13 resulting in accumulation of ultra large Von Willebrand factor multimers (ULVWF), leading to micro thrombi in multiple organs. The varying susceptibilities of blood group antigens to ADAMTS13 have been demonstrated. A and B antigens are protective of VWF; and VWF purified from blood group O individuals has been shown to be cleaved faster by ADAMTS13 compared to VWF from blood group AB individuals. We proposed that there may be a difference in the incidence of blood groups in TTP patients compared with the general population. We felt this to be important for a life-threatening disease with poorly understood epidemiology. We report a retrospective analysis of 74 patients presenting from 1993 to 2008 with idiopathic TTP. We studied the incidence across various blood groups and also estimated the recurrence and mortality in each group. The incidence of various blood groups were as follows: O 36%, A 36%, B 25%, and AB 2%, compared with expected frequencies in the Detroit area: O 44%, A 33% B 20%, and AB 3%. There was a trend of lower than expected frequency of blood group O. There were 24 recurrences and 14 deaths, uniform across blood groups. We hypothesized that there may be an association between blood groups and the risk of TTP; however the differences in our study were not statistically significant. Recurrence and disease specific mortality did not appear to be impacted by blood group. J. Clin. Apheresis 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
An assessment of the behavior of compact thermal models of electronic packages in a printed circuit board level environment

This paper outlines research aimed at testing compact thermal models in various board level environments. Results for two generic package types are presented: CPGA and a BGA. A validated fully detailed finite element model and a compact thermal model (CTM) were generated for each. A smeared finite element model of the JEDEC standard thermal test PCBs for each package was built. The boards were modeled assuming both isotropic and anisotropic effective (smeared) thermal conductivities for the PCB. The CTM and fully detailed model (FDM) for each package were "mounted" to its respective test boards. Finite element analysis was performed for each board and package system for a set of five convective boundary sets chosen to test the limits of the models. Runs were also conducted in which heated components were placed with varied proximity to the package model on a larger test board. Comparisons were made of the temperatures predicted by the package FDM/board models and the CTM/board model. The CTM models were found in general to predict junction temperatures to within 5% of the results found using the FDM of the chip packages/board in realistic cooling scenarios.
Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of Thermal Impedance in a Hybrid Silicon Evanescent Laser

We present experimental and theoretical analysis for thermal impedance (ZT) in a hybrid silicon evanescent laser. For an 850 mum long Fabry-Perot, we observe ZT of 41.8degC/W experimentally and 43.5degC/W theoretically, which is in excellent agreement.
Cancer: a "stem-cell" disease?

Nowadays, we believe that cancer is a genetic disease. We focus on the genetic targets and epigenetic changes in a tumor. Remarkably, many crucial signal pathways in a malignant cell involve “stem-ness” genes. The prevalence of stem-ness in cancer suggests that cancer has a stem-cell origin and is a stem-cell disease. The observation that many innate stem-ness properties are easily interchangeable with malignant hallmarks needs to be further elucidated. There appears to be a malignant potential in every stem cell and a stem cell potential in every malignant cell. I hypothesize that cancer is a stem-cell disease rather than a genetic disease. We will use homeobox genes to endow a certain progenitor cell with specific stem-ness properties and confer different stem-cell phenotypes to the particular cell type in a hierarchical manner. We will demonstrate that an earlier homeobox gene plus a genetic defect (such as Pten loss) tend to form a more virulent tumor, while a later homeobox gene plus the same genetic defect tend to express a more indolent phenotype. Importantly, we will show that in clinically relevant cancer subtypes, those with worse clinical outcomes may paradoxically harbor fewer genetic mutations than those with better outcomes do. The recognition that cancer is a stem-cell disease will instigate major paradigm shifts in our basic understanding of cancer. Many fundamental principles of oncology, such as multistep carcinogenesis, need to be reconciled. The realization that cancer is a stem-cell disease will also have profound clinical implications on personalized care. Many aspects of our current clinical trials need to be reevaluated.
Communication state transfer for the mobility of concurrent heterogeneous computing

In a dynamic environment where a process can migrate from one host to another host, communication state transfer is a key issue of process coordination. We present a set of data communication and process migration protocols to support communication state transfer in a dynamic, distributed parallel environment. The protocols preserve the semantics of point-to-point communication; they guarantee message delivery, maintain message ordering, and do not introduce deadlock when blocking send or receive operations are performed during process migration. Analytical proofs and prototype implementation are conducted to confirm the correctness of the protocols. Analytical and experimental results show the proposed design is valid and has a true potential in network computing.
Risk perceptions and behavioral intentions for Hepatitis B: how do young adults fare?

Young adults are at risk for Hepatitis B infection. Little is known about their attitudes and beliefs concerning Hepatitis B, which are determinants of getting immunized. This investigation examined risk perceptions and behavioral intentions concerning Hepatitis B among a convenience sample of 1070 young adults, 18–24 years old who participated in a Hepatitis B campaign that aired a prevention-based advertisement in movies. The campaign did not produce any significant effects. Therefore, analyses presented in this paper explored whether risk perceptions and intentions vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Most young adults do not perceive themselves to be at risk for Hepatitis B, but perceive other people to be at risk. Gender and ethnic differences in behavioral intentions to seek out Hepatitis B information were also observed. This study offers insight about important factors to consider when designing Hepatitis B prevention interventions for young adults and suggests that increasing health-promotion efforts for this group, while accounting for differences in age, culture and gender, are warranted.
Sexual Dimorphism in the Flowers of Aegiphila odontophylla (Lamiaceae)

Abstract Little is known about the sexuality of the woody Neotropical genus Aegiphila. For a long time species of Aegiphila were thought to be heterostylous, but more recently it has been reported that a few species are dioecious and suggested that likely most Aegiphila are functionally dioecious. In this note, dioecy is confirmed in Aegiphila odontophylla from live plants in the Talamanca mountains in Costa Rica. Further, comparison of total flower size revealed that male and female reproductive structures are displayed at similar heights, likely resulting in accurate pollen uptake and delivery by pollinators. The length of the corolla tube as an estimate of flower showiness on the other hand was significantly different between male and female individuals. Male individuals had longer corolla tubes, suggesting a possible role for sexual selection in the evolution of floral dimorphism in this species.
Are There Separate Neural Systems for Spelling? New Insights into the Role of Rules and Memory in Spelling from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

— How do people spell the thousands of words at the tips of their tongues? Are words with regular sound-to-letter correspondences (e.g., “blink”) spelled using the same neural systems as those with irregular correspondences (e.g., “yacht”)? By offering novel neuroimaging evidence, we aim to advance contemporary debate about whether people use a single lexical memory process or whether dual mechanisms of lexical memory and sublexical phonological rules work in concert. We further aim to advance understanding of how people read by taking a fresh look at the related yet distinct capacity to spell. During functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, 12 participants heard low-frequency regular words, irregular words, and nonwords (e.g., “shelm”) and responded whether a visual presentation of the word was spelled correctly or incorrectly. While behavioral measures suggested some differences in accuracy and reaction time for the different word types, the neuroimaging results alone demonstrated robust differential processing and support a dual-route model of spelling, with implications for how spelling is taught and remediated in clinical and educational contexts.
A Pathoadaptive Deletion in an Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Outbreak Strain Enhances Virulence in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) strains are important diarrheal pathogens. EAEC strains are defined by their characteristic stacked-brick pattern of adherence to epithelial cells but show heterogeneous virulence and have different combinations of adhesin and toxin genes. Pathoadaptive deletions in the lysine decarboxylase (cad) genes have been noted among hypervirulent E. coli subtypes of Shigella and enterohemorrhagic E. coli. To test the hypothesis that cad deletions might account for heterogeneity in EAEC virulence, we developed a Caenorhabditis elegans pathogenesis model. Well-characterized EAEC strains were shown to colonize and kill C. elegans, and differences in virulence could be measured quantitatively. Of 49 EAEC strains screened for lysine decarboxylase activity, 3 tested negative. Most notable is isolate 101-1, which was recovered in Japan, from the largest documented EAEC outbreak. EAEC strain 101-1 was unable to decarboxylate lysine in vitro due to deletions in cadA and cadC, which, respectively, encode lysine decarboxylase and a transcriptional activator of the cadAB genes. Strain 101-1 was significantly more lethal to C. elegans than control strain OP50. Lethality was attenuated when the lysine decarboxylase defect was complemented from a multicopy plasmid and in single copy. In addition, restoring lysine decarboxylase function produced derivatives of 101-1 deficient in aggregative adherence to cultured human epithelial cells. Lysine decarboxylase inactivation is pathoadapative in an important EAEC outbreak strain, and deletion of cad genes could produce hypervirulent EAEC lineages in the future. These results suggest that loss, as well as gain, of genetic material can account for heterogeneous virulence among EAEC strains.
Discriminative Modeling of Extraction Sets for Machine Translation

We present a discriminative model that directly predicts which set of phrasal translation rules should be extracted from a sentence pair. Our model scores extraction sets: nested collections of all the overlapping phrase pairs consistent with an underlying word alignment. Extraction set models provide two principle advantages over word-factored alignment models. First, we can incorporate features on phrase pairs, in addition to word links. Second, we can optimize for an extraction-based loss function that relates directly to the end task of generating translations. Our model gives improvements in alignment quality relative to state-of-the-art unsupervised and supervised baselines, as well as providing up to a 1.4 improvement in BLEU score in Chinese-to-English translation experiments.
A microfabricated flow chamber for optical measurements in fluids

The fabrication and initial testing of silicon micromachined flow chambers for applications in flow cytometry are reported. The flow chambers consist of a hexagonal flow duct with inlet and outlet ports, thin-film windows on the top and bottom of the duct, and integrated optical waveguides positioned to intercept the center of the duct within the visible area defined by the windows. An opening for a hypodermic needle allows injection of a suspension of microscopic particles into a liquid stream flowing through the duct. Each component of the device was tested individually, and good agreement between the experimental data and theoretical models was observed. Laminar flow was observed in several prototypes up to mean flow speeds of 3 m/s. No leaks were detected for inlet pressures as high as 30 psi. >
Adaptive power control and selective radio activation for low-power infrastructure-mode 802.11 LANs

We present an integrated dual approach to reduce power consumption in infrastructure-mode 802.11 wireless LANs. A novel distributed power control algorithm adoptively adjusts the transmit power of the 802.11 radio/NIC to achieve power savings in the presence of mobility and RF noise. An adaptive radio activation algorithm selectively sleeps the 802.11 radio/NIC, to reduce idle power consumption. We analyze the performance of these algorithms in an 802.11 testbed using Web traces of HTTP/TCP user data accesses. Our application-level architecture integrates the two approaches into an incrementally deployable and application-transparent solution for power management of the RF interface on 802.11-enabled laptops.
Synthesis of Experimental Molecular Biology and Evolutionary Biology: An Example from the World of Vision

Natural selection has played an important role in establishing various phenotypes, but the molecular mechanisms of phenotypic adaptation are not well understood. The slow progress is a consequence of mutagenesis experiments in which present-day molecules were used and of the limited scope of statistical methods used to detect adaptive evolution. To fully appreciate phenotypic adaptation, the precise roles of adaptive mutations during phenotypic evolution must be elucidated through the engineering and manipulation of ancestral phenotypes. Experimental and quantum chemical analyses of dim-light vision reveal some surprising results and provide a foundation for a productive study of the adaptive evolution of various phenotypes.
Habitat affinity, the seasonal flood pulse, and community assembly in the littoral zone of a Neotropical floodplain river

AbstractThe annual flood pulse in tropical lowland rivers creates a continually moving land–water margin that forces aquatic organisms of the littoral zone to relocate to new habitats at intervals ranging from days to weeks. Thus, species assemblages in patchy littoral-zone habitats have large potential to be influenced by stochastic colonization dynamics, whereby organisms may exhibit weak selection for mesohabitat features and arrive on a patch in no particular sequence. We examined species assemblages of fishes and macroinvertebrates occupying habitats of varying structural complexity through an annual flood cycle of the Cinaruco River, a species-rich floodplain river in the southern llanos of Venezuela. We collected 268 standardized samples that contained 54,596 individual fishes representing 156 species (23 families) and 6973 macroinvertebrates representing 8 families. Analysis of species-specific patterns of habitat occupancy based on a randomization procedure indicated greater species selectivity d...
Using proximal hamstring tendons as a landmark for ultrasound- and CT-guided injections of ischiofemoral impingement

Ischiofemoral impingement has been reported in a number of cases as an association between hip pain and quadratus femoris MRI signal abnormality, with concurrent narrowing of the ischiofemoral space. While the literature has included much emphasis on the imaging characteristics useful in the diagnosis of this entity, information on treatment has been scant, with few case reports of surgical resection of the lesser trochanter and incomplete descriptions of steroid injection techniques. We report a case of ultrasound- and CT-guided steroid injection into the ischiofemoral space via the proximal hamstring tendons in a 57-year-old female who had imaging and clinical characteristics of ischiofemoral impingement. The technique is described as a safe alternative to other possible injection techniques.
CORROSION OF STEEL IN CRACKED CONCRETE: EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

The polarization response of a steel bar with an established macrocell is presented. A simple circuit-based model, which allows for predicting the polarization response of the macrocell is described. The results indicate that there is a spatial variation in the potential relative to the crack. It is shown that the applied current is primarily confined to the active steel located near the crack. Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the main causes of damage in concrete structures. Thus, the detection and prevention of corrosion of steel in concrete is impor- tant for the condition assessment and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures. Often the corrosion process of steel embedded in concrete is influenced by factors such as cracks in the concrete. Cracks in the concrete are often produced due to action of loads, restrained shrinkage or thermal gradients. Once a crack is formed, it provides an easy access for ingress of water, chloride ions and oxygen to the steel surface. Further- more, a crack introduces a physical discontinuity in the material medium and also pro- duces spatial variation in the ionic concentration of ions, oxygen and moisture throughout the length of steel bar. Relatively little work has been done to understand the mechanism of corrosion of steel embedded in cracked concrete 1-5 . This paper presents the results of an experimental program which aims to investigate the influence of a crack on the corrosion mechanism and the polarization response of steel in reinforced concrete. It is shown that steel embedded in cracked concrete forms a macro-cell, which results in a spatial variation in the potential of the steel bar. The results from external polarization of steel embedded inside cracked concrete are also presented. Finally, it is shown that due to the low polarization resistance of the active area close to the crack, the applied current is confined to the active area.
Experimental observation of a new chirped continuous pulse-train soliton solution to the Maxwell-Bloch equation

Coherent propagation of trains of optical pulses through a two-level absorber has been investigated, from a theoretical viewpoint, by many researchers.
The Effect of Convection on the Propagation of Spinning Waves

Spinning waves are common in gas turbine, rocket and scramjet systems. In the inlet and exhaust of gas turbines these waves are excited by noise generated by the propulsion system. Spinning waves are also manifest in propulsion systems when heat release and the acoustic field couple resulting in combustion instability. Heretofore there has been no significant explanation of the of the nature of the spin in these waves. In this research the nature of the spin is identified as the result of the convective part of the wave equation. Models for the wave propagation for propulsion systems assume negligible flow, simplifying the equations for wave propagation to the wave equation. Because of the findings in this research models for the wave propagation must include the convective terms in order to be able to resolve the spinning nature of the circumferential waves.