cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Kinetics of mouse antibody and lymphocyte responses during intranasal vaccination with a lipooligosaccharide-based conjugate vaccine

We investigated the kinetics of humoral immunity and its related cellular immune responses to intranasal (IN) immunization with a detoxified lipooligosaccharide (dLOS)-tetanus toxoid (TT) conjugate against nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) in mice. IN vaccination with dLOS-TT elicited high titers of LOS-specific IgA in nasal washes and IgG in sera during a course of 4 inoculations while high titers of TT-specific IgA and IgG were found in sera. A significant increase of LOS-specific IgA antibody forming cells (AFCs) was observed in nasopharyngeal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) and nasal passages. However, TT induced broad responses with higher numbers of IgA and IgG AFCs found in NALT and nasal passages, less but significant IgA AFCs in cervical lymphoid nodes (CLN), spleen, and lungs. Phenotypic analysis revealed a significant rise of total B220+ B-lymphocytes in NALT and CLN, particularly a rise in IgA+/IgM+ cells in the NALT after the immunization. The latter result was complied with a significant rise of IL-4 but not IFN-gamma positive CD4+ T-lymphocytes in NALT. Analysis of IgG antibody subclasses showed that an IgG1 response to both LOS and TT epitopes dominated in serum when compared to IgG2a. These kinetic antibody patterns and cellular responses may provide useful information regarding to effective mucosal vaccines against NTHi infections.
Technology-Supported Change: A Staff Development Opportunity

In spite of significant staff development in technology, implementation is difficult. Even when hardware and software are accessible, teachers must be skilled in the use of technology and in its application to the instructional program. Staff development that responds to teachers' concerns and provides follow-up support will increase the likelihood of implementation.
Optimizing synaptic conductance calculation for network simulations

High computational requirements in realistic neuronal network simulations have led to attempts to realize implementation efficiencies while maintaining as much realism as possible. Since the number of synapses in a network will generally far exceed the number of neurons, simulation of synaptic activation may be a large proportion of total processing time. We present a consolidating algorithm based on a recent biophysically-inspired simplified Markov model of the synapse. Use of a single lumped state variable to represent a large number of converging synaptic inputs results in substantial speed-ups.
Effect of Starter Fertilizer on Corn Silage Yields on Medium and High Fertility Soils

Use of a starter fertilizer banded near the row with the planter is an efficient method of fertilizer application for corn (Zea mays L.), but application of excessive rates is uneconomical and can contribute to nutrient loading of surface and ground water. The objective of this study was to evaluate yield response to starter fertilizer in the silage production systems common in the dairy faming areas of the northeastern USA. Three N-P-K starter fertilizer rates―none, low (11 to 14 Ib P/acre), and high (22 to 22 to 28 Ib P/acre)―were compared on 12 on-farm sites in northwestern Vermont from 1986 to 1989 (...)
Developmental Patterns of Selected Characteristics of the Gastrointestinal Tract of Young Turkeys

Developing embryos and hatchling poults were sampled (n = 4) at Days 22, 24, 26, and 28 of incubation and at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 days after hatching, and selected characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) were measured. Body weight increased linearly up to day of hatching and also from 2 to 8 days posthatching. Residual yolk weight decreased rapidly starting on Day 26 of incubation and was nearly depleted by 4 days posthatching. Changes in weight of segments of the GIT nearly paralleled the increase in body weight until day of hatching. Thereafter, weights of the proventriculus, small intestine, and pancreas increased more rapidly than body weight until 6 days after hatching. At this time, change in weight of small intestine and pancreas seemed to parallel that of body weight, whereas proventriculus weight continued to increase more rapidly. Gizzard weight, as a percentage of body weight, increased until Day 4 posthatching and then remained relatively constant through 8 days. Specific activities (SA) of pancreatic amylase, lipase, and trypsin were low until after hatching. Subsequently, amylase SA increased nearly threefold by Day 6. Lipase SA remained nearly constant between Days 1 and 8, and trypsin SA increased only slightly. Total activities of pancreatic enzymes, however, increased substantially after hatching, mainly because of increased pancreas weight. Jejunal maltase SA was high at hatching but decreased markedly by Day 4. This decrease in SA resulted in a notable reduction in total maltase activity of the jejunum despite an increase in jejunum weight.
Model-based combination of spatial information for stream networks

Evolutionary improvements in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) now routinely allow the management and mapping of spatial-temporal information. In response, the development of statistical models to combine information of different types and spatial support is of vital importance to environmental science. In this paper we develop a hierarchical spatial statistical model for environmental indicators of stream and river systems in the United States Mid-Atlantic Region by combining information from separate monitoring surveys, available contextual information on hydrologic units and remote sensing information. These models are used to estimate the indicators throughout the riverine system based on information from multiple sources and aggregate scales. The analysis is based on information underlying the Landscape Atlas of the mid-Atlantic region produced by the US Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). We also combine information from two overlapping separate monitoring surveys, the EMAP Stream and River Survey and the Maryland Biological Streams Survey. We present a general framework for comparative distributional analysis based on the concept of a relative spatial distribution. As an application, the spatial model is used to predict spatial distributions and relative spatial distributions for a watershed.
Ephrin B1 regulates bone marrow stromal cell differentiation and bone formation by influencing TAZ transactivation via complex formation with NHERF1.

Mutations of ephrin B1 in humans result in craniofrontonasal syndrome. Because little is known of the role and mechanism of action of ephrin B1 in bone, we examined the function of osteoblast-produced ephrin B1 in vivo and identified the molecular mechanism by which ephrin B1 reverse signaling regulates bone formation. Targeted deletion of the ephrin B1 gene in type 1α2 collagen-producing cells resulted in severe calvarial defects, decreased bone size, bone mineral density, and trabecular bone volume, caused by impairment in osterix expression and osteoblast differentiation. Coimmunoprecipitation of the TAZ complex with TAZ-specific antibody revealed a protein complex containing ephrin B1, PTPN13, NHERF1, and TAZ in bone marrow stromal (BMS) cells. Activation of ephrin B1 reverse signaling with soluble EphB2-Fc led to a time-dependent increase in TAZ dephosphorylation and shuttling from cytoplasm to nucleus. Treatment of BMS cells with exogenous EphB2-Fc resulted in a 4-fold increase in osterix expression as determined by Western blotting. Disruption of TAZ expression using specific lentivirus small hairpin RNA (shRNA) decreased TAZ mRNA by 80% and ephrin B1 reverse signaling-mediated increases in osterix mRNA by 75%. Knockdown of NHERF1 expression reduced basal levels of osterix expression by 90% and abolished ephrin B1-mediated induction of osterix expression. We conclude that locally produced ephrin B1 mediates its effects on osteoblast differentiation by a novel molecular mechanism in which activation of reverse signaling leads to dephosphorylation of TAZ and subsequent release of TAZ from the ephrin B1/NHERF1/TAZ complex to translocate to the nucleus to induce expression of the osterix gene and perhaps other osteoblast differentiation genes. Our findings provide strong evidence that ephrin B1 reverse signaling in osteoblasts is critical for BMS cell differentiation and bone formation.
Multivalued Decision Diagrams for Sequencing Problems

Sequencing problems are among the most widely studied problems in operations research. Specific variations of sequencing problems include single machine scheduling, the traveling salesman problem with time windows, and precedence-constrained machine scheduling. In this work we propose a new approach for solving sequencing problems based on multivalued decision diagrams (MDDs). Decision diagrams are compact graphical representations of Boolean functions, originally introduced for applications in circuit design by Lee [7], and widely studied and applied in computer science. They have been recently used to represent the feasible set of discrete optimization problems, as demonstrated in [2] and [3, 4]. This is done by perceiving the constraints of a problem as a Boolean function f(x) representing whether a solution x is feasible. Nonetheless, such MDDs can grow exponentially large, which makes any practical computation prohibitive in general.
Supporting the Needs of State Health Policy Makers through University Partnerships

State Medicaid programs and other state health agencies need to monitor and evaluate changes in health insurance coverage, access to care, financing, and the quality of health care delivery. The availability of new financial resources through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is accompanied by raised expectations for such accountability. While state agencies often contract with universities on an ad hoc basis for specific policy projects, fourteen states have established formal state-university partnerships so that their analytic and technical needs can be addressed more readily. After a brief overview of these partnerships, this article provides examples of their projects, which most often affect Medicaid policy, including work on program eligibility, provider payments, and optional benefits. State-university partnerships are working on policy-relevant projects that influence decision making. Like the variation in Medicaid programs across the country, no two partnerships are alike. They thrive in a mix of structures, using different means of contracting, and with varied degrees of data access. All partnerships are interested in building a national network to share innovative practices and projects, spawn comparative policy studies across states, and support the development of new state-university partnerships.
ASSEMBLY AND DYNAMICS OF AN ANASTRAL:ASTRAL SPINDLE : THE MEIOSIS II SPINDLE OF DROSOPHILA OOCYTES

The meiosis II spindle of Drosophila oocytes is distinctive in structure, consisting of two tandem spindles with anastral distal poles and an aster-associated spindle pole body between the central poles. Assembly of the anastral:astral meiosis II spindle occurs by reorganization of the meiosis I spindle, without breakdown of the meiosis I spindle. The unusual disk- or ring-shaped central spindle pole body forms de novo in the center of the elongated meiosis I spindle, followed by formation of the central spindle poles. gamma-Tubulin transiently localizes to the central spindle pole body, implying that the body acts as a microtubule nucleating center for assembly of the central poles. Localization of gamma-tubulin to the meiosis II spindle is dependent on the microtubule motor protein, Nonclaret disjunctional (Ncd). Absence of Ncd results in loss of gamma-tubulin localization to the spindle and destabilization of microtubules in the central region of the spindle. Assembly of the anastral:astral meiosis II spindle probably involves rapid reassortment of microtubule plus and minus ends in the center of the meiosis I spindle - this can be accounted for by a model that also accounts for the loss of gamma-tubulin localization to the spindle and destabilization of microtubules in the absence of Ncd.
The Equal Rights Amendment Reconsidered: Politics, Policy, and Social Mobilization in a Democracy

In the early 1970s, fifty years after its first appearance in the U.S. Congress, the Equal Rights Amendment came the closest it ever would to ratification. The ERA declared: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” After sailing through Congress in 1972 with bipartisan support, the amendment went to the states for ratification. The response was positive and immediate: Hawaii approved the ERA the same day, twenty-one other states approved it before the end of the year, and eight more states the following year. Yet, by 1982 the amendment lay dead, having fallen three states short of the thirty-eight states needed for ratification.
Differential responses to changes in growth temperature between trees from different functional groups and biomes: a review and synthesis of data

Summary The response of tree growth to a change in temperature may differ in predictable ways. Trees with conservative growth strategies may have little ability to respond to a changing climate. In addition, high latitude and altitude tree growth may be temperature-limited and thus benefi tf rom some degree of warming, as opposed to warm-adapted species. Using data from 63 studies, we examined whether trees from different functional groups and thermal niches differed in their growth response to a change in growth temperature. We also investigated whether responses predicted for a change in growth temperature (both reduced and elevated) were similar for increased temperatures by repeating the analysis on the subset of raised temperature data to confirm the validity of our results for use in a climate-warming scenario. Using both the temperature-change response and the warming response, we found that elevated temperatures enhanced growth (measured as shoot height, stem diameter and biomass) in deciduous species more than in evergreen trees. Tropical species were indeed more susceptible to warminginduced growth declines than temperate or boreal trees in both analyses. More carbon may be available to allocate to growth at high temperatures because respiration acclimated more strongly than photosynthesis, increasing carbon assimilation but moderating carbon losses. Trees that developed at elevated temperatures did not simply accelerate growth but followed different developmental trajectories than unwarmed trees, allocating more biomass to leaves and less to roots and growing taller for a given stem diameter. While there were insufficient data to analyze trends for particular species, we generated equations to describe general trends in tree growth to temperature changes and to warming for use at large spatial scales or where data are lacking. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of a changing climate and highlight the areas of greatest uncertainty regarding temperature and tree growth where future research is needed.
Zebrafish: a tool to study hemostasis and thrombosis.

Purpose of reviewIn the past eight years our laboratory has developed the zebrafish model to study hemostasis and thrombosis. The purpose of this review is to explore current developments involving the zebrafish model in the study of hemostasis and thrombosis because the time is now ripe to apply th
Electrophysiological neuroimaging of brain activity

We review the recent development in electrophysiological neuroimaging of brain activity by solving the inverse problem of electroencephalography (EEG). Different approaches to solve the EEG inverse problem have been reviewed, and the recent trend of multimodel integration for high-resolution neuroimaging has been discussed. Examples on electrophysiological neuroimaging are also be provided.
Yield, composition and feeding value of irrigated Sesbania sesban var. Nubia leaves harvested at latitude 38°N during a mediterranean summer

Abstract A Sesbania variety obtained in equatorial Kenya was grown for two summers in California at 38°N latitude. Leaves rich in protein (24–30%) and calcium (2.15–2.70%) were included at 15 and 30% of diets for broilers. When compared with a diet containing 15% alfalfa meal, the Sesbania -containing diets significantly depressed growth rates and increased mortality of broilers (to 100% mortality with 30% Sesbania ). The possible role of canavanine or some unidentified alkaloid in these apparent toxic effects is discussed.
Transmit selection diversity with maximal-ratio combining for multicarrier DS-CDMA wireless networks over Nakagami-m fading channels

We propose the scheme to integrate transmit selection diversity/maximal-ratio combining (TSD/MRC) with multicarrier (MC) direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) for various wireless networks. Applying this TSD/MRC-based scheme, the transmitter jointly selects the optimal subcarrier-and-antenna pair to significantly decrease the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which is one of the main problems inherently associated with MC DS-CDMA communications. Over the frequency-selective Nakagami-m fading channels, we develop the unified analytical framework to analyze the symbol-error rate (SER) of the scheme implemented in different types of wireless networks, while dealing with the perfect and imperfect channel state information (CSI) feedbacks, respectively. The imperfect feedbacks we focus on include delayed feedbacks and erroneous feedbacks. Taking the imperfectness of the feedback into account, the resultant SER is compared with that of both conventional selection diversity (SD)/MRC-based and space-time block coding (STBC)/MRC-based schemes. Our analyses show that in a wide variation of the feedback imperfectness, our proposed TSD/MRC-based scheme has significant advantages over the other two schemes for both downlink cellular networks and ad hoc wireless networks. However, our analytical findings indicate that TSD/MRC-based scheme cannot always outperform SD/MRC-based and STBC/MRC-based schemes even when the perfect CSI feedbacks are available.
Petrology and pairing of mesosiderites from Victoria Land, Antarctica

Petrological data on mesosiderites from Reckling Peak (RKP) and Allan Hills (ALH), Antarctica, are presented. The results suggest that the Allan Hills mesosiderites A77219, A81059, and A81098 are probably paired (being of similar texture, modes, and mineral composition), and ALHA 81208 is, most likely, a clast from one of these mesosiderites. RKPA 80258 is a weakly poikilitic plagioclase-poor mesosiderite, completely different from ALHA 77219, 81059, and 81098. On the other hand, RKPA 79015, 80229, 80246, and 80263 are very similar, belonging to subgroup C diogenitic mesosiderites. These mesosiderites contain orthopyroxene and recrystallized orthopyroxenite clasts in a metal-troilite matrix. The silicate fraction of mesosiderites ranged from diogenitic (RKPA 79015) to analogous to polymict eurcrite (Dyarrl Island). On the basis of petrologic data, the mesosiderite subdivision scheme was amended, making it possible to classify the formerly 'anomalous' RKPA 79015.
The contribution of built, human, social and natural capital to quality of life in intentional and unintentional communities☆

Abstract Ecovillages, co-housing communities, and other types of intentional communities (ICs) have proliferated in recent years. There are currently several thousands of these communities worldwide and their numbers are increasing rapidly. We surveyed a subset of these communities to learn more about their characteristics, including their world view or vision, the status of four basic types of capital (built, human, social, and natural), and the quality of life (QoL) they provide for their residents. Survey results indicate that ICs have a better balance between built, human, social, and natural capital than unintentional communities (based on a parallel survey of neighborhoods in Burlington, VT, USA) and that this results in a higher QoL among residents. It is difficult to assess the sustainability of ICs, but the data indicates that within ICs, social capital is substituted for built capital thereby reducing the level of material throughput.
Design Issues in a Bare PC Web Server

We present a bare PC Web server design that runs on any Intel 386 based PC without any hard disk and other supporting software. This server design is based on simplicity and minimal functionality. We identify design issues related to such server and provide our preliminary performance measurements in comparison with IIS and Apache servers. We have found that our Web server performs comparable to commercial servers and it can be enhanced to perform even better when it is optimized for certain design factors. This work also has motivated us to pursue further research in building bare PC Web servers that can be scalable to run large applications. In addition, as the Web server is self-contained with all necessary code, it inherently provides ubiquity on the network, which allows for moving the server dynamically on the network during emergency and catastrophic situations. Furthermore, bare PC software may also provide alternate ways of building secure systems for critical applications.
Mortality-related resource utilization in the inpatient care of hypoplastic left heart syndrome

Quantifying resource utilization in the inpatient care of congenital heart diease is clinically relevant. Our purpose is to measure the investment of inpatient care resources to achieve survival in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), and to determine how much of that investment occurs in hospitalizations that have a fatal outcome, the mortality-related resource utilization fraction (MRRUF). A collaborative administrative database, the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) containing data for 43 children’s hospitals, was queried by primary diagnosis for HLHS admissions of patients ≤21 years old during 2004–2013. Institution, patient age, inpatient deaths, billed charges (BC) and length of stay (LOS) were recorded. In all, 11,122 HLHS admissions were identified which account for total LOS of 277,027 inpatient-days and $3,928,794,660 in BC. There were 1145 inpatient deaths (10.3 %). LOS was greater among inpatient deaths than among patients discharged alive (median 17 vs. 12, p < 0.0001). BC were greater among inpatient deaths than among patients discharged alive (median 4.09 × 105 vs. 1.63 × 105, p < 0.0001). 16 % of all LOS and 21 % of all BC were accrued by patients who did not survive their hospitalization. These proportions showed no significant change year-by-year. The highest volume institutions had lower mortality rates, but there was no relation between institutional volume and the MRRUF. These data should alert providers and consumers that current practices often result in major resource expenditure for inpatient care of HLHS that does not result in survival to hospital dismissal. They highlight the need for data-driven critical review of standard practices to identify patterns of care associated with success, and to modify approaches objectively.
Fairness to Idleness is There A Right Not to Work

It is universally agreed that involuntary unemployment is an evil for unemployed individuals, who lose both income and the non-pecuniary benefits of paid employment, and for society, which loses the productive labor that the unemployed are unable to expend. It is nearly as widely agreed that there is at least a prima-facie case for alleviating this evil – for reasons of justice and/or benevolence and/or social order. Finally, there is little doubt that the evils of involuntary unemployment cannot be adequately addressed in contemporary societies without state intervention – whether through monetary or fiscal policies, cash payments or other subsidies to the unemployed, direct provision of employment by the state, or some combination of these measures.
Viewing the Cathedral from Behind the Color Line: Property Rules, Liability Rules and Environmental Racism

For more than twenty-five years, property scholars have been applying the theorem developed by Ronald Coase and systematized in the now-classic law review article, Property Rules, Liability Rules and Inalienability: One View of the Cathedral, by Guido Calabresi and A. Douglas Melamed. More recently, property theorists and proponents of behavioral law and economics have begun to challenge the assumptions stemming from Coase, Calabresi and Melamed and to develop alternative accounts of nuisance and takings theory. This literature has entirely sidestepped, however, the role of race and poverty in the location of polluting industries. Using the story of Waterfront South, a segregated, environmentally beleaguered community in Camden, New Jersey, I explore the historical role of government in creating racially segregated and polluted inner cities. This article's unique contribution is to fashion a remedy to common law nuisance claims that: (1) forces polluters to internalize the harmful effects of their actions, (2) responds to the market distortion in property value caused by the long history of racism; and most importantly, (3) optimizes the utility of residents. According to what I call a Residents' Choice Rule, courts should pre-set a damages award at the replacement cost of each residents' home in a nearby non-segregated community, and allow the residents to choose either injunctive relief or damages by majority vote. Building upon insights from cognitive decision theory, this hybrid rule allows residents of the community to decide whether they would be better off with a damages remedy or an injunction and minimizes the externally constructed impediments to their decision-making. The rule also has implications for takings jurisprudence because I contend that when the government exercises its power of eminent domain in segregated and underserved communities, compensation should be adjusted to reflect the devaluation caused by systematic racism.
Freedom of Contract With Chinese Legal Characteristics: A Closer Look at China's New Contract Law

The enactment of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China in 1999 not only marked an end of China's "triarchy" period of contract law legislation, but also to certain extent implicated official recognition of freedom of contract - a concept once deemed an enemy of socialist ideology in the country. The most notable features of the Chinese Contract Law include (a) a hybrid of civil and common law traditions, (b) a move toward market economy from the planned economy, and (c) incorporation of provisions of international treaties. Although freedom of contract is allowed, the parties' contracting power is limited by such hurdles as the state plan mandate and government approval, as well as administrative supervision. In addition, there are still many issues that are left unsolved, e.g., third party interests.
Risk factors for severe anemia requiring red blood cell transfusions in lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy

19537 Background: Anemia is a frequent complication in lymphoma pts receiving chemotherapy (CT). However, the exact incidence of anemia with the current regimens and risk factors for severe anemia ...
Hadronic Weak Interaction Studies at the SNS

Neutrons have been a useful probe in many fields of science, as well as an important physical system for study in themselves. Modern neutron sources provide extraordinary opportunities to study a wide variety of physics topics. Among them is a detailed study of the weak interaction. An overview of studies of the hadronic weak (quark-quark) as well as semi-leptonic (quark-lepton) interactions at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is presented. These measurements, done in few-nucleon systems, are finally letting us gain knowledge of the hadronic weak interaction without the contributions from nuclear effects. Forthcoming results from the NPDGamma experiment will, due to the simplicity of the neutron, provide an unambiguous measurement of the long range pion-nucleon weak coupling (often referred to as h π ), which will finally test the theoretical predictions. Results from NPDGamma and future results from the n + 3 He experiment will need to be complemented by additional measurements to completely describe the hadronic weak interaction.
Experiments in the Laboratories of Democracy: State Scientific Capacity Building

State initiatives that build innovation capacity by supporting local academic research, attracting eminent scholars, and building research excellence have become prominent among the 50 states over ...
Comparison of tubal surgery with the CO2 laser and the unipolar microelectrode

The uterine horns of 40 New Zealand White female rabbits were resected and anastomosed to compare microsurgical anastomosis of the horns excised with microscissors, with a laser, and with a microelectrode. The rabbits were divided into four groups. In the first group of ten rabbits, 3cm of tissue was resected by microscissors from each uterine horn; the cut ends were then anastomosed in one layer with 8-0 Vicryl sutures using the operating microscope. In the second group of ten rabbits, 3cm of tissue was resected by laser from each uterine horn; the cut ends were then anastomosed in one layer with 8-0 Vicryl. In the third group of ten rabbits, 3cm of tissue was resected by laser from each uterine horn; the cut ends were then anastomosed by "welding" the tissues with the laser. In the fourth group of ten rabbits, 3cm of tissue was resected by a microelectrode; the cut ends were then anastomosed in one layer with 8-0 Vicryl sutures using loupe magnification. All the rabbits in the first and fourth groups became pregnant, only four became pregnant in the second group, and none became pregnant in the third group. It is concluded that the CO 2 laser beam as used in this study has no place in tubal resection and reconstruction.
Specificity of mono- and divalent salt transduction mechanisms in frog gustation evidenced by cobalt chloride treatment.

1. Discrimination among stimuli with similar physical properties represents a formidable problem in sensory neurophysiology. The differential effect of cobalt chloride treatment on gustatory responses to monovalent and divalent salts may help to explain aspects of how the frog gustatory system encodes these stimuli. 2. Gustatory neural responses recorded from the glossopharyngeal nerve to divalent stimuli (CaCl2 and MgCl2) were inhibited by CoCl2 treatment, whereas monovalent responses (NaCl and KCl) were greatly augmented. Both effects were highly significant and completely reversible. 3. Intracellular recordings from the gustatory receptor cells, which synaptically initiate the impulses in the glossopharyngeal afferents, imply that these neural events are not a simple reflection of the receptor potential magnitude. Monovalent receptor potentials magnitudes (millivolts of depolarization) were enhanced by cobalt chloride, but receptor potentials to divalent stimuli were not inhibited. Rather they were either unaffected (MgCl2) or augmented (CaCl2). 4. Membrane resistance change during salt stimulation with cobalt chloride treatment followed the qualitative pattern observed with the neural response. Membrane resistance (in megohms) of the receptor cell was greater for divalent stimuli with cobalt treatment compared with divalent stimuli alone. Membrane resistance changes for monovalent stimuli were less with cobalt treatment compared with monovalent stimuli alone. These observations indicate that the glossopharyngeal neural response is not a simple reflection of the magnitude of the receptor potential but must be considered in conjunction with membrane resistance as an indicator of synaptic transmission. 5. These data were interpreted in terms of leading models of salt taste transduction, i.e., adsorption theories, phase boundary theories, and the direct penetration theories. Relevant mechanistic considerations for salt taste transduction in the frog include binding by divalents to membrane surface changes and amiloride-sensitive monovalent cation channels. It was concluded that the surface potential alone was not a critical variable in the mechanism of cobalt chloride alteration of salt responses.
Learning From Hidden Traits: Joint Factor Analysis and Latent Clustering

Dimensionality reduction techniques play an essential role in data analytics, signal processing, and machine learning. Dimensionality reduction is usually performed in a preprocessing stage that is separate from subsequent data analysis, such as clustering or classification. Finding reduced-dimension representations that are well-suited for the intended task is more appealing. This paper proposes a joint factor analysis and latent clustering framework, which aims at learning cluster-aware low-dimensional representations of matrix and tensor data. The proposed approach leverages matrix and tensor factorization models that produce essentially unique latent representations of the data to unravel latent cluster structure—which is otherwise obscured because of the freedom to apply an oblique transformation in latent space. At the same time, latent cluster structure is used as prior information to enhance the performance of factorization. Specific contributions include several custom-built problem formulations, corresponding algorithms, and discussion of associated convergence properties. Besides extensive simulations, real-world datasets such as Reuters document data and MNIST image data are also employed to showcase the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.
An Experimental Arrangement to Estimate the Failure Behavior of an Uncrosslinked Polymer Under High Spatial Constraint

In the search for the “constitutive behavior” of uncrosslinked and damaged polymers near the failure point we have identified a method for experimentally estimating such behavior. This work involves interferometrically measured displacements in a bonded cantilever-type specimen (DCB specimen). The method as outlined in references 1 and 2, consists basically of determining the displacement profile of the adherend in the region of the interlayer “crack tip”, plus the determination of the relation between the force and displacement at the point of load application on the specimen. The interferometry measurements which allow precise evaluation of displacements are outlined here. In the process of developing a suitable specimen it has been demonstrated that increased pressure in the bond formation process generates superior bond durability including that in a wet environment.
Relationships Between Dissolved Organic Matter Composition and Photochemistry in Lakes of Diverse Trophic Status

The North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research site includes seven lakes in northern Wisconsin that vary in hydrology, trophic status, and landscape position. We examine the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) within these lakes using Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and quantify DOM photochemical activity using probe compounds. Correlations between the relative intensity of individual molecular formulas and reactive species production demonstrate the influence of DOM composition on photochemistry. For example, highly aromatic, tannin-like formulas correlate positively with triplet formation rates, but negatively with triplet quantum yields, as waters enriched in highly aromatic formulas exhibit much higher rates of light absorption, but only slightly higher rates of triplet production. While commonly utilized optical properties also correlate with DOM composition, the ability of FT-ICR MS to characterize DOM subpopulations provides unique insight into the mechanisms through which DOM source and environmental processing determine composition and photochemical activity.
Information Rx: Evaluation of a new informatics tool for physicians, patients, and libraries

This paper reports selected results from two comprehensive evaluation studies of the Information Prescription (or “Information Rx”) Program implementation conducted from 2002-05 by the American College of Physicians Foundation (ACPF) and the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). In this Program physicians are provided with Information Prescription pads, analogous to pads used to prescribe medications, that are used to direct patients to the MedlinePlus web site and its contents that are applicable to a patient's health condition. The results describe the Program's potential to enhance patient education and interpersonal communication from physician and patient perspectives. The findings suggest once physicians adopt the use of an information prescription, they perceive they are providing an additional clinical service that enhances patient education and interpersonal communication. For physicians, participation in information prescription may improve patient communication, encourage information seeking, and lessen the number of poor quality Internet searches that patients frequently self-perform and bring to a doctor's office. Similarly, once patients receive a recommendation from a physician to seek health information on the web, patients may be more comfortable with health seeking on the Internet and discussing their findings with their doctor. The conclusions of the two evaluation studies imply an Information Prescription fosters a dialogue between providers and patients, helps patients use the Internet more effectively and seems to favorably impact patient education. As the medical community and patient advocacy groups continue to emphasize the importance of evidence-based information as the gold standard for accepted care, it can be expected that informatics tools such as Information Rx will come to play an increasingly important role as a vehicle to help identify and access high quality health information on the Internet.
Electrophoretic analysis of the serum of the chicken during development.

Moore, Shen, and Alexander (1) and Marshall and Deutsch (2) have studied the serum of the developing chick. Their results are not in agreement concerning certain fundamental aspects. Thus Moore et al. (1) reported that components with the mobility of aor P-globulin constitute a major portion of the 8 to 10 day serum, whereas Marshall and Deutsch (2) find that albumin and several components of higher mobility (hereafter referred to as prealbumin) are predominant. By using Verona1 buffer, Marshall and Deutsch (2) found three prealbumin components in the serum of the embryo but not in that of the adult. Moore et al. (l), using NaClphosphate buffer, did not report prealbumin components, although use of this buffer reveals one or more such components in the serum of the laying hen (3). Preliminary studies showed that borate buffer may be used to demonstrate prealbumin components in sera of both the adult and the embryo. Electrophoretic patterns, with borate buffer used uniformly for all stages of development, including certain neglected posthatching stages, are reported here. Tobacco mosaic virus was added to certain of the sera to aid in the identification of the components.
Perioperative Management of the Tobacco User

Tobacco use remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality and can produce myriad adverse effects on the oral and maxillofacial complex. As smoking negatively impacts both anesthetic management and healing and surgical outcomes, it is incumbent upon oral and maxillofacial surgeons to address tobacco use in the patients for whom they render care. This chapter will address nicotine addiction, systemic and oral consequences of tobacco use and environmental tobacco smoke, perioperative concerns, and the available, effective office-based tobacco interventions.
Gender, Intersections, and Institutions. Intersectional Groups Building Alliances and Gaining Voice in Germany

Davidson-Schmich’s edited volume brings together nine renowned scholars of German politics to explore how intersectional groups not only can make their voices heard in the German policy process but...
Discovering Commonsense Entailment Rules Implicit in Sentences

Reasoning about ordinary human situations and activities requires the availability of diverse types of knowledge, including expectations about the probable results of actions and the lexical entailments for many predicates. We describe initial work to acquire such a collection of conditional (if--then) knowledge by exploiting presuppositional discourse patterns (such as ones involving 'but', 'yet', and 'hoping to') and abstracting the matched material into general rules.
Quasi-Symmetry and Reversible Markov Sequences in Sedimentary Sections

Quasi-symmetry can be defined as a purely mathematical property of a matrix—that is, any matrix whose entries are strictly positive possesses quasi-symmetry if it can be written as a product of a diagonal and a symmetric matrix. A unique inverse solution for a quasi-symmetric matrix is readily obtained when the nondiagonal elements of the symmetric and quasi-symmetric matrix are set equal. Then it is shown that a Markov sequence is reversible if and only if it has a quasi-symmetric tally matrix. Because a properly counted Markov sequence must have marginal homogeneity, a simple chi-square test for symmetry on the tally matrix is sufficient to determine if an observed matrix is symmetrical and hence whether the Markov chain is reversible. Applications to sedimentary sequences are illustrated by the use of classical examples and with cyclothem data to determine if the sequence conforms to a reversible or nonreversible Markov process. Should the tally matrix lack marginal homogeneity, it is likely that a sampling bias was introduced by the counting procedure. However, a chi-square test for symmetry on a direct inverse of the tally matrix can be used to determine if the sedimentary sequence conforms to a reversible or a non-reversible Markov process.
Tax Systems and Economic Development: What Can We Learn from Fiscal Indicators?

In this paper I examine a variety of political economy indicators that have become popular in recent years in order to see what we can learn about tax systems and economic development across countries. While each of the indicators is intended to reveal some aspect of the institutional policy context thought to be important in supporting economic development, the indicators have inherent flaws and weakness. I pay particular attention to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom and the World Bank's Doing Business index, analyzing each indicator for its design and implementation. I also describe and analyze several less well known indices that have been developed specifically for transition economies. The paper concludes with a summary of the weaknesses of all such indicators and provides suggestions for rationalizing and improving these tax system indicators.
The Effects of Job Loss on Crime: Evidence from Administrative Data

This paper investigates the effects of job loss on recidivism using a novel merge of employer-employee wage data to administrative records on crime. I first use firm-level employment shocks to study the reduced form impact of job loss on offending. I then use a kink in unemployment insurance benefits to distinguish economic incentives from other factors, such as incapacitation through time spent at work, as a mechanism. I find that property crimes and domestic violence rise sharply after a layoff and remain elevated for up to two years. Economic incentives are an important mechanism, consistent with Becker-Ehrlich models.
Hard x-ray bursts observed in association with Rayleigh-Taylor instigated current disruption in a solar-relevant lab experiment

Measurements by multiple X-ray detectors show transient emission of a 1 μs pulse of non-mono-energetic ∼6 keV X-rays by a cold, dense MHD-driven plasma jet. Because the collision mean free path is much smaller than the jet dimensions, the acceleration of particles to high energy was not expected. The X-ray pulse occurs when the jet undergoes a kink instability which accelerates the jet laterally so that a fast-growing secondary Rayleigh-Taylor instability is triggered which then breaks the jet. The jet breaking is correlated in time with several other fast changing phenomena. It is proposed that despite the short collision mean free path, an inductive electric field associated with this breaking accelerates a certain subgroup of electrons to keV energies without any of these electrons undergoing collisions. It is further proposed that after being accelerated to high energy, these fast electrons are suddenly decelerated via collisions and radiate X-rays.
Collaborative need identification and definition of machine design class projects

This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents a collaborative effort by two faculty members of different disciplines into creating machine design class projects. Machine design classes involve the coverage of theoretical aspects of design and failure theories and culminates with students working on a design project following the standard design process: Identification of need, definition of problem, synthesis, analysis and optimization, evaluation, and finally presentation. The design project topics are usually proposed by the instructor and/or are solicited from external parties. Very often, instructors run out of design project topics and the external parties might not be willing to put a budget aside for machine design project. It is very rare to see faculties of different engineering discipline collaborate in creating design project topics. In this paper, we will present the collaborative efforts of two faculty members, a civil engineering professor (a principal investigator of a materials laboratory) and a mechanical engineering professor (the instructor of a machine design class and user of the materials laboratory) in identifying a need and defining a machine design projects. The need was collaboratively identified in such a way that the products will be useful in Materials laboratory exercise and in conducting research. Accordingly, the need for several testing apparatuses was identified and competitive products were built that saved the university a significant amount of money. Some of the apparatuses have went through several iterations, each time a better alternative design was developed and built. Students have benefitted from these iterative and innovative processes. Some of the products and their benefits will be discussed and conclusions will be presented in this paper.
Predictors of atrial ectopy and their relationship to atrial fibrillation risk.

AIMS Premature atrial contractions (PACs) are known to trigger and predict atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to identify the determinants of PACs and the degree to which PACs mediate the effects of established risk factors for AF. METHODS AND RESULTS Predictors of baseline PAC frequency were examined using a Holter Study among 1392 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a community-based cohort of individuals aged ≥65 years. Participants were then followed for their first diagnosis of AF. Independent predictors of PACs were identified, and the extent to which PACs might mediate the relationship between those predictors and AF was determined. The median hourly frequency of PACs was 2.7 (interquartile range 0.8-12.1). After multivariable adjustment, increasing age, increasing height, decreasing body mass index, and a history of myocardial infarction were each associated with more PACs. Regarding modifiable predictors, participants using beta-blockers had 21% less [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 9-30%, P = 0.001] and those performing at least moderate intensity exercise vs. lower intensity exercisers had 10% less (95% CI 1-18%, P = 0.03) PACs. Higher PAC frequency explained 34% (95% CI 22-57%, P < 0.0001) of the relationship between increasing age and AF risk and 27% (95% CI 10-75%, P = 0.004) of the relationship between taller height and AF risk. CONCLUSION Enhancing physical activity and use of beta-blockers may represent fruitful strategies to mitigate PAC frequency. A substantial proportion of the excess risk of AF due to increasing age and taller height may be explained by an increase in PAC frequency.