cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fluctuation of Voids in Hadronization at Phase Transition

Starting from the recognition that hadrons are not produced smoothly at phase transition, the fluctuation of spatial patterns is investigated by finding a measure of the voids that exhibits scaling behavior. The Ising model is used to simulate a crossover in quark-hadron phase transition. A threshold in hadron density is used to define a void. The dependence of the scaling exponents on that threshold is found to provide useful information on some properties of the hadronization process. The complication in heavy-ion collision introduces the possibility of configuration mixing, which can also be studied in this approach. Numerical criteria on the scaling exponents have been found that can be used to discriminate phase-transition processes from other hadronization processes having nothing to do with critical phenomena.
Large Proton Anisotropies in the 18 August 2010 Solar Particle Event

The solar particle event observed at STEREO Ahead on 18 August 2010 displayed a rich variety of behavior in the particle anisotropies. Sectored rates measured by the Low Energy Telescope (LET) on STEREO showed very large bidirectional anisotropies in 4 – 6 MeV protons for the first ∼ 17 hours of the event while inside a magnetic cloud, with intensities along the field direction several hundred to nearly 1000 times greater than those perpendicular to the field. At the trailing end of the cloud, the protons became isotropic and their spectrum hardened slightly, while the He/H abundance ratio plunged by a factor of approximately four for about four hours. Associated with the arrival of a shock on 20 August was a series of brief (< 10 minute duration) intensity increases (commonly called “shock spikes”) with relatively narrow angular distributions (∼ 45∘ FWHM), followed by an abrupt decrease in particle intensities at the shock itself and a reversal of the proton flow to a direction toward the Sun and away from the receding shock. We discuss the STEREO/LET observations of this interesting event in the context of other observations reported in the literature.
Optimization of the Production of Hydrogen From Syngas Using a 1∶7 Mass Ratio of Hematite to Calcium Oxide in a Pressurized Fluidized Bed

Abstract A set of response surface experiments were designed to determine the optimum conditions for the production of high‐purity hydrogen from wet syngas of composition (44% CO, 23% steam, and 33% hydrogen) using 50 grams of a 1∶7 mass ratio of Fe2O3: CaO loaded into the fluidized bed reactor. Pressure was varied between 50 psi and 515 psi and temperature between 725°C and 800°C. Results indicated: High purity hydrogen production is possible at reactor conditions of 725°C & 50 psi, as well as 725°C & 250 psi; Optimum high purity hydrogen production (largest mass in 15 minutes with no COx) occurred near conditions of 725°C and 250 psi; Mass of produced high‐purity hydrogen increased most significantly with pressure; Methane production increased linearly with pressure due to the catalytic effect of the high nickel content of the reactor walls; The chemical reaction rate is predicted to be a controlling factor in the percentage of CO and CO2 in the outlet at lower pressures.
The role of psychology in the ENH-Bariatric Services Program.

Obesity is a disease resulting from a complex interaction of genetics, behavioral, and environmental factors that affects nearly one-third of the adult American population. Obesity causes at least 300,000 deaths in the U.S., and healthcare costs of American adults with obesity amount to approximately $100 billion. Obesity is second, only to tobacco, as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with significantly increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders, and arthritis, among other illnesses, in obese patients. 1,2 To determine a person’s level of obesity, his/her Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated by the following formula:
Daptomycin Use After Vancomycin-Induced Neutropenia in a Patient with Left-Sided Endocarditis:

Objective:To report a positive outcome in a patient treated with daptomycin for left-sided endocarditis associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) subsequent to vancomycin-induced neutropenia.Case Summary:A 55-year-old African American male was diagnosed with left-sided endocarditis, brain abscesses, and septic arthritis due to community-acquired MRSA. He began treatment with intravenous vancomycin to achieve a trough concentration of 15–20 μg/mL and oral rifampin 600 mg/day. A repair and resection of the mitral valve was completed on day 15 of hospitalization. Vancomycin was discontinued on day 36 secondary to drug-induced neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count nadir 162 cells/μL). Intravenous therapy with daptomycin 6 mg/kg every 24 hours was then initiated and the neutropenia resolved. The patient was discharged from the hospital on day 56.Discussion:Upon discontinuation of vancomycin, treatment options were limited to a small number of alternatives. Documented clinical experien...
Ubiquitylation of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type I γ by HECTD1 regulates focal adhesion dynamics and cell migration.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type I γ (PIPKIγ90) binds talin and localizes at focal adhesions (FAs). Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate (PIP2) generated by PIPKIγ90 is essential for FA formation and cell migration. On the other hand, PIPKIγ90 and the β-integrin tail compete for overlapping binding sites on talin. Enhanced PIPKIγ90-talin interaction suppresses talin binding to the β-integrin. It is unknown how PIPKIγ90 is removed from the PIPKIγ90–talin complex after on-site PIP2 production during cell migration. Here we show that PIPKIγ90 is a substrate for HECTD1, an E3 ubiquitin ligase regulating cell migration. HECTD1 ubiquitinated PIPKIγ90 at lysine 97 and resulted in PIPKIγ90 degradation. Expression of the mutant PIPKIγ90K97R enhanced PIP2 and PIP3 production, inhibited FA assembly and disassembly and inhibited cancer cell migration, invasion and metastasis. Interestingly, mutation at tryptophan 647 abolished the inhibition of PIPKIγ90K97R on FA dynamics and partially rescued cancer cell migration and invasion. Thus, cycling PIPKIγ90 ubiquitylation by HECTD1 and consequent degradation remove PIPKIγ90 from talin after on-site PIP2 production, providing an essential regulatory mechanism for FA dynamics and cell migration.
Ultrawideband Antenna With Triple Band-Notched Characteristics Using Closed-Loop Ring Resonators

The design of a simple multilayered triple band-notched ultrawideband (UWB) antenna is presented in this letter. The proposed antenna is compact in size, suitable for ultrawideband applications, and exhibits triple narrow frequency band notches to suppress the interference of the nearby wireless communication systems within a UWB frequency range. The narrow band notches are realized by adding closed-loop ring resonators designed to cover the 3.3-3.7-GHz, 5.15-5.35-GHz, and 5.725-5.825-GHz bands. The center frequencies of the band notches can be adjusted by varying the ring resonators' mean diameters. The designed antenna has a compact volume of 33 × 30 × 1.524 mm3. The antenna is fabricated and tested providing broadband impedance matching, appropriate gain, and stable radiation pattern.
Party System Polarization and Ideological Congruence: Causal Mechanisms

The ideological congruence between the median citizen and the government is shaped by various institutional features, especially the party system. The polarization of the party system has large and robust effects on ideological (in)congruence across a variety of political systems. As captured by several approaches to measuring congruence, and across a substantial span of time, more polarization makes it more difficult to form congruent governments in parliamentary democracies. This paper focuses on the process of parliamentary government formation as the causal linkage between polarization and congruence. The analysis supports our expectation that polarization works somewhat differently under the different election rules. In the PR systems we find polarization shaping congruence through its association with greater distances of the plurality or pre-election coalition plurality vote winner, but also through the distances of the legislative median party, the previous government, and even the runner-up plurality party. In the SMD systems the effects are entirely through the plurality (or pre-election coalition plurality) vote winner.
Effects of the control bounds in the stochastic optimal control problem

This paper proposes a method to solve the stochastic optimal control problem with fixed state terminal conditions and control bounds. Being applicable to strongly nonlinear stochastic systems under parametric and external excitations, the method makes use of Bellman's principle of optimality and the short-time Gaussian approximation. The solution found is global in the sense that optimal controls for all the initial conditions in a bounded region of the state space are obtained. A Markov chain with a control dependent transition probability matrix is built using the generalized cell mapping method. This allow us to study the transient and stationary effects of the control on the system response in the probability sense. The method is applied to a few systems resulting in excellent control performances. The dependence of the response on the control bounds is studied for a 1D-state nonlinear system and the Van der Pol oscillator.
Local Phase Coherence and the Perception of Blur

Humans are able to detect blurring of visual images, but the mechanism by which they do so is not clear. A traditional view is that a blurred image looks "unnatural" because of the reduction in energy (either globally or locally) at high frequencies. In this paper, we propose that the disruption of local phase can provide an alternative explanation for blur perception. We show that precisely localized features such as step edges result in strong local phase coherence structures across scale and space in the complex wavelet transform domain, and blurring causes loss of such phase coherence. We propose a technique for coarse-to-fine phase prediction of wavelet coefficients, and observe that (1) such predictions are highly effective in natural images, (2) phase coherence increases with the strength of image features, and (3) blurring disrupts the phase coherence relationship in images. We thus lay the groundwork for a new theory of perceptual blur estimation, as well as a variety of algorithms for restoration and manipulation of photographic images.
A Descriptive Study of the Handwashing Environment in a Long-Term Care Facility:

The authors present a clinical research project accomplished by a nurse during her first year of practice after graduating from a B.S.N. program. In her caregiving at a long-term care facility subacute unit, she was unable to do proper handwashing. The poorly placed pump-style paper towel dispensers were inadequate for the task. She knew that handwashing before and after resident contact is the single most effective infection control measure to prevent nosocomial infections. In consultation with her university professor, she designed and implemented a descriptive study of the facility's handwashing environment. She mapped and measured handwashing areas, explained constrictions the environment placed on handwashing technique, collected random cultures from the sinks and dispenser levers, and illustrated for administrative and auxiliary personnel the basic principles of microbiology. Implications for infection prevention and control in long-term care facilities are discussed in light of increased "high-end skilled nursing" being offered in subacute units.
Power-Limited Contraction Dynamics of Vorticella convallaria: An Ultrafast Biological Spring

Vorticella convallaria is one of the fastest and most powerful cellular machines. The cell body is attached to a substrate by a slender stalk containing a polymeric structure—the spasmoneme. Helical coiling of the stalk results from rapid contraction of the spasmoneme, an event mediated by calcium binding to a negatively charged polymeric backbone. We use high speed imaging to measure the contraction velocity as a function of the viscosity of the external environment and find that the maximum velocity scales inversely with the square root of the viscosity. This can be explained if the rate of contraction is ultimately limited by the power delivered by the actively contracting spasmoneme. Microscopically, this scenario would arise if the mechanochemical wave that propagates along the spasmoneme is faster than the rate at which the cell body can respond due to its large hydrodynamic resistance. We corroborate this by using beads as markers on the stalk and find that the contraction starts at the cell body and proceeds down the stalk at a speed that exceeds the velocity of the cell body.
Hunting with dogs in Nicaragua: an optimal foraging approach

Although dogs are used by subsistence hunters in many locations throughout the world, hunters with dogs have not been studied from an optimal foraging perspective. A study of indigenous Mayangna and Miskito hunters in Nicaragua indicates that the use of dogs affects both the encounter rates and the pursuit times of several prey types. Before hunters can identify the prey type and initiate a pursuit, they must first catch up to the dogs, and their dogs sometimes chase unprofitable prey types. These costs are incorporated as an additional constraint in the optimal prey choice model. The results of the optimal foraging analysis indicate that hunters generally focus on prey types that are in the optimal diet set. However, hunters do not consume two rarely encountered species that are in the optimal diet set, giant anteaters and northern tamanduas. Although hunting with both rifles and dogs increases the likelihood of harvesting tapirs, the return rates of hunting with dogs, hunting with rifles, and hunting wi...
The spatial distribution of known predictors of autism spectrum disorders impacts geographic variability in prevalence in central North Carolina.

Background The causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remain largely unknown and widely debated; however, evidence increasingly points to the importance of environmental exposures. A growing number of studies use geographic variability in ASD prevalence or exposure patterns to investigate the association between environmental factors and ASD. However, differences in the geographic distribution of established risk and predictive factors for ASD, such as maternal education or age, can interfere with investigations of ASD etiology. We evaluated geographic variability in the prevalence of ASD in central North Carolina and the impact of spatial confounding by known risk and predictive factors.
Effects of Transforming Growth Factor-β (Isoforms 1–3) on Amyloid-β Deposition, Inflammation, and Cell Targeting in Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Cultures

The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family consists of three isoforms and is part of a larger family of cytokines regulating differentiation, development, and tissue repair. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that TGF-β1 can increase amyloid-β protein (Aβ) immunoreactive (Aβir) plaque-like deposits in rat brain. The aim of the current study was to evaluate all three isoforms of TGF-β for their ability to affect the deposition and neurotoxicity of Aβ in an organotypic, hippocampal slice culture model of Aβ deposition. Slice cultures were treated with Aβ either with or without one of the TGF-β isoforms. All three isoforms can increase Aβ accumulation (over Aβ treatment alone) within the slice culture, as determined by ELISA. However, there are striking differences in the pattern of Aβir among the three isoforms of TGF-β. Isoforms 1 and 3 produced a cellular pattern of Aβ staining that colocalizes with GS lectin staining (microglia). TGF-β2 produces dramatic Aβ staining of pyramidal neurons in layers CA1–CA2. In addition to cellular Aβ staining, plaque-like deposits are increased by all of the TGF-βs. Although no gross toxicity was observed, morphological neurodegenerative changes were seen in the CA1 region when the slices were treated with Aβ plus TGF-β2. Our results demonstrate important functional differences among the TGF-β isoforms in their ability to alter the cellular distribution and degradation of Aβ. These changes may be relevant to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Finding HTML presentation failures using image comparison techniques

Presentation failures in web applications can negatively affect an application's usability and user experience. To find such failures, testers must visually inspect the output of a web application or exhaustively specify invariants to automatically check a page's correctness. This makes finding presentation failures labor intensive and error prone. In this paper, we present a new automated approach for detecting and localizing presentation failures in web pages. To detect presentation failures, our approach uses image processing techniques to compare a web page and its oracle. Then, to localize the failures, our approach analyzes the page with respect to its visual layout and identifies the HTML elements likely to be responsible for the failure. We evaluated our approach on a set of real-world web applications and found that the approach was able to accurately detect failures and identify the faulty HTML elements.
Dose-Dependent Alterations in Androgen-Regulated Male Reproductive Development in Rats Exposed to Di(n-butyl) Phthalate during Late Gestation

Di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) is a commercially important plasticizer and ubiquitous environmental contaminant. Since previous, limited dose-response studies with DBP that reported alterations in male reproductive development and function failed to establish a NOAEL (no-observed-adverse-effect level), an extensive dose-response study was conducted. Pregnant CD rats were given DBP by gavage at 0, 0.5, 5, 50, or 100 mg/kg/day (n = 19-20) or 500 mg/kg/day (n = 11) from gestation day 12 to 21. In male offspring, anogenital distance was decreased at 500 mg DBP/kg/day. Retained areolas or nipples were present in 31 and 90% of male pups at 100 and 500 mg/kg/day, respectively. Preputial separation was not delayed by DBP treatment in males with normal external genitalia, but cleft penis (hypospadias) was observed in 5/58 rats (4/11 litters) at 500 mg/kg/day. Absent or partially developed epididymis (23/58 rats in 9/11 litters), vas deferens (16/58 animals in 9/11 litters), seminal vesicles (4/58 rats in 4/11 litters), and ventral prostate (1/58 animals) occurred at 500 mg/kg/day. In 110-day-old F(1) males, the weights of the testis, epididymis, dorsolateral and ventral prostates, seminal vesicles, and levator ani-bulbocavernosus muscle were decreased at 500 mg/kg/day. At 500 mg/kg/day, widespread seminiferous tubule degeneration was seen in 25/58 rats (in 9/11 litters), focal interstitial cell hyperplasia in 14/58 rats (in 5/11 litters), and interstitial cell adenoma in 1/58 rats (in 1/11 litters). For this 10-day prenatal (embryonic and fetal) exposure to DBP, the NOAEL and LOAEL (lowest-observed-adverse-effect level) were 50 and 100 mg/kg/day, respectively. This is currently the lowest NOAEL described for the toxicity of DBP.
Police Power and Race Riots in Paris

This article looks at riots that consumed Paris and much of France for three consecutive weeks in November 2005. The author argues that the uprisings were not instigated by radical Muslims, children of African polygamists, or despairing youth suffering from high unemployment. First and foremost, they were provoked by a terrible incident of police brutality, a tragedy among a litany of similar tragedies. Black and Arab youth were already frustrated: decades of violent enforcement of France's categorical boundaries—both racial and geographic—had filled many with rage. When Minister of Interior Nicholas Sarkozy responded to the violent death of three teenage boys on October 25, 2005, by condemning the boys rather than the police officers who had killed them, he merely reaffirmed what many young blacks and Arabs already believed: that their lives have no value in France.
Assessing Program Visualization Systems as Instructional Aids

Recently, program visualization systems have received much attention as learning tools and as software understanding aids. How to evaluate these systems, however, is an open and unexplored area. In order to determine what factors may be important, we conducted an exploratory study using XTango, an algorithm animation system. First, we asked professors to complete surveys intended to solicit information regarding current practices in the teaching of algorithms. Next, we observed two groups of students: one group received a handout and viewed an animation of the Shellsort algorithm, the other received the same handout and listened to a lecture featuring drawings on the blackboard. The students were queried on their understanding of the sort and their impressions of the animation system. Comments indicated a high perceived value for the system, with most students favoring its use as a teaching tool. It was clear from students' responses that an algorithm animation system can be used more effectively as a supplement in the classroom environment than as a substitute for the teacher. The results of this study identified changes to the animation system that will help integrate it into the classroom environment, and provided several important factors to consider in future empirical studies.
A Murine Homologue of the Drosophila brainiac Gene Shows Homology to Glycosyltransferases and Is Required for Preimplantation Development of the Mouse

The neurogenic gene brainiac was first isolated in Drosophila melanogaster, where it interacts genetically with members of the Notch signaling cascade. We have isolated a murine homologue of the Drosophila brainiac gene and delineated its highly specific expression pattern during development and adult life. We find particularly strong expression in the developing central nervous system, in the developing retina, and in the adult hippocampus. Targeted deletion of mouse Brainiac 1 expression leads to embryonic lethality prior to implantation. Null embryos can be recovered as blastocysts but do not appear to implant, indicating that mouse Brainiac 1, likely a glycosyltransferase, is crucial for very early development of the mouse embryo.
Arizona pine (Pinus arizonica) stand dynamics: Local and regional factors in a fire-prone madrean gallery forest of Southeast Arizona, USA

In southwestern North America, large-scale climate patterns appear to exert control on moisture availability, fire occurrence, and tree demography, raising the compelling possibility of regional synchronization of forest dynamics. Such regional signals may be obscured, however, by local, site-specific factors, such as disturbance history and land use. Contiguous sites with similar physical environments, lower and middle Rhyolite Canyon, Arizona, USA, shared nearly the same fire history from 1660-1801, but then diverged. For the next 50 years, fires continued to occur frequently in lower Rhyolite, but, probably as result of flood-induced debris deposition, largely ceased in middle Rhyolite. We related stand dynamics of Arizona pine (Pinus arizonica) to fire history and drought severity and compared the dynamics in the two sites before and after the divergence in fire frequency. Fires occurred during unusually dry years, and possibly following unusually moist years. Arizona pine exhibited three age structure peaks: two (1810–1830 and 1870–1900) shared by the two sites and one (1610–1640) only in middle Rhyolite. The latter two peaks occurred during periods of unusually low fire frequency, suggesting that fire-induced mortality shapes age structure. Evidence was mixed for the role of favorable moisture availability in age structure. As expected, moisture availability had a prominent positive effect on radial growth, but the effect of fire was largely neutral. The two sites differed only moderately in stand dynamics during the period of divergence, exhibiting subtle age structure contrasts and, in middle Rhyolite only, reduced growth during a 50-year fire hiatus followed by fire-induced release. These results suggest that, despite local differences in disturbance history, forest responses to regional fire and climate processes can persist.
V2O5 aerogel-like lithium intercalation host

Abstract Thin self-standing films and powders of highly amorphous V2O5 have been prepared via a combined sol-gel and solvent exchange procedure. The amorphous V2O5 is a highly interconnected porous material with very thin solid walls and shows a unique lithium intercalation behavior. Electrochemical tests performed on composite cathodes made by mixing the material with carbon particles demonstrated a very high lithium insertion capacity.
Accumulation-based congestion control

This paper generalizes the TCP Vegas congestion avoidance mechanism and uses accumulation , buffered packets of a flow inside network routers, as a congestion measure based on which a family of congestion control schemes can be derived. We call this model Accumulation-based Congestion Control (ACC), which fits into the nonlinear optimization framework proposed by Kelly. The ACC model serves as a reference for packet-switching network implementations. We show that TCP Vegas is one possible scheme under this model. It is well known that Vegas suffers from round trip propagation delay estimation error and reverse path congestion. We therefore design a new Monaco scheme that solves these problems by employing an out-of-band, receiver-based accumulation estimator, with the support of two FIFO priority queues from the (congested) routers. Comparisons between these two schemes demonstrate that Monaco does not suffer from the problems mentioned above and achieves better performance than Vegas. We use ns-2 simulations and Linux implementation experiments to show that the static and dynamic performance of Monaco matches the theoretic results. One key issue regarding the ACC model in general, i.e., the scalability of bottleneck buffer requirement, and a solution using a virtual queueing algorithm are discussed and evaluated.
Linguistics and/or Reading or is Applied Linguistics a Caveat Emptor Technology?

That linguistics, and particularly applied linguistics, is not viewed with uniform affection, can be deduced from modern literature. Vladimir Nabokov, for example, wrote in Pnin: ...nor did Pnin, as a teacher, ever presume to approach the lofty halls of modern scientific linguistics, that ascetic fraternity of phonemes, that temple wherein earnest young people are taught not the language itself, but the method of teaching others to teach that method; which method, like a waterfall splashing from rock to rock, ceases to be a medium of rational navigation but perhaps in some fabulous future may become instrumental in evolving esoteric dialets — Basic Basque and so forth — spoken only by certain elaborate machines (Nabokov, 1953: 10).
Virtual Sensor for Mobile Sensor Data Cleaning

Missing data is a common data uncertainty occurring in mobile wireless sensor networks. Node mobility prevents existing data cleaning techniques designed for stationary counterpart to properly estimate the missing data. We propose a novel method to clean the missing data in mobile sensor environments. Our method employs computation and memory resources at the base station to establish virtual static sensors collaborating with traditional adaptive filters in prediction model. With certain constraints given below, implementing the proposed algorithm cleans more than 80% of missing data, an increase in performance as compared to existing cleaning methods without any additional hardware implementations.
Therapeutic Targeting of Transcription in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia by Use of an Inhibitor of Histone Deacetylase

Background Acetylation of DNA-associated histones is linked to activation of gene transcription, whereas histone deacetylation is associated with transcriptional repression. Recent studies have shown that inhibitors of histone deacetylases can relieve transcriptional repression caused by the products of certain oncogenes. We tested whether these findings could be applied clinically to a patient with highly resistant acute promyelocytic leukemia. Methods A patient who had experienced multiple relapses was treated with all-trans-retinoic acid alone and in combination with sodium phenylbutyrate, an inhibitor of histone deacetylases. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were used to assay for histone hyperacetylation in mononuclear cells from the patient's blood and bone marrow. Marrow mononuclear cells and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of messenger RNA encoded by the PML/RAR-alpha oncogene were used to assess minimal residual disease. Results The patient proved clinically resistant to treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid alone. However, 23 days after sodium phenylbutyrate was added to the treatment regimen, visible leukemic cells had been eliminated from her bone marrow, and she achieved a complete clinical and cytogenetic remission shortly thereafter. With a second treatment course, analysis for minimal residual disease by RT-PCR proved negative. Immunofluorescence and western blot analysis showed that phenylbutyrate caused a time-dependent increase in histone acetylation in blood and bone marrow mononuclear cells. Conclusions Clinical treatment with an inhibitor of histone deacetylase induces histone hyperacetylation in target cells and may restore sensitivity to the anti-leukemic effects of all-trans-retinoic acid in acute promyelocytic leukemia. Similar therapy may prove useful in other neoplastic diseases that are associated with oncogenic repression of gene transcription due to recruitment of histone deacetylases.
KAMINALJUYU STELA 10: Script classification and linguistic affiliation

This paper examines various lines of evidence for the classification and linguistic affiliation of writing at Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyu. The linguistic evidence for the ethnic composition of the Maya highlands and Pacific slopes during the Late Preclassic period points to contact among Ch'olan-Tzeltalan, Greater K'iche'an, and other non-Mayan languages, and to a dominant political economic role of Ch'olan-Tzeltalan. The epigraphic evidence supports classifying the script together with the Lowland Mayan script, and separately from the Epi-Olmec script, and hints at the presence of uniquely Ch'olan traits, some of which have been pointed out by other authors. A comparison with contemporaneous texts of unambiguous Lowland Mayan (Ch'olan or Yukatekan) affiliation suggests an overlap of orthographic, calligraphic, and semantic traits. Both lines of evidence support the hypotheses that Ch'olan-Tzeltalan speakers were the innovators of the Maya script, and that such a development perhaps took place in the Maya highlands. At the very least, the evidence points to a much closer relationship between the Maya highlands and lowlands during the Late Preclassic than previously thought.
Stem-cell therapy for diabetes mellitus

Summary Context Curative therapy for diabetes mellitus mainly implies replacement of functional insulin-producing pancreatic β cells, with pancreas or islet-cell transplants. However, shortage of donor organs spurs research into alternative means of generating β cells from islet expansion, encapsulated islet xenografts, human islet cell-lines, and stem cells. Stem-cell therapy here implies the replacement of diseased or lost cells from progeny of pluripotent or multipotent cells. Both embryonic stem cells (derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst) and adult stem cells (found in the postnatal organism) have been used to generate surrogate β cells or otherwise restore β-cell functioning. Starting point Recently, Andreas Lechner and colleagues failed to see transdifferentiation into pancreatic β cells after transplantation of bone-marrow cells into mice ( Diabetes 2004; 53: 616–23). Last year, Jayaraj Rajagopal and colleagues failed to derive β cells from embryonic stem cells ( Science 2003; 299: 363). However, others have seen such effects. Where next? As in every emerging field in biology, early reports seem confusing and conflicting. Embryonic and adult stem cells are potential sources for β-cell replacement and merit further scientific investigation. Discrepancies between different results need to be reconciled. Fundamental processes in determining the differentiation pathways of stem cells remain to be elucidated, so that rigorous and reliable differentiation protocols can be established. Encouraging studies in rodent models may ultimately set the stage for large-animal studies and translational investigation.
Interstudy repeatability of self-gated quantitative myocardial perfusion MRI

Purpose To evaluate the interstudy repeatability of multislice quantitative cardiovascular magnetic resonance myocardial blood flow (MBF), myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR), and extracellular volume (ECV). A unique saturation recovery self-gated acquisition was used for the perfusion scans. Materials and Methods An ungated golden angle radial turboFLASH pulse sequence was used to scan 10 subjects on two separate days on a 3T scanner. A single saturation pulse was followed by a set of four slices. Rest and hyperemia scans were acquired during free breathing. The images were reconstructed using an iterative algorithm with spatiotemporal constraints. The ungated images were retrospectively binned (self-gated) into near-systole and near-diastole. Deformable registration was performed to adjust for respiratory and residual cardiac motion, and the data were fit with a Fermi model to estimate the interstudy repeatability of quantitative self-gated MBF and MPR. Results The coefficient of variation (CoV) of the territorial MPR using the self-gated near-systole data was 18.6%. The self-gated near-diastole data gave less good CoV of MPR, equal to 46.2%. For MBFs, and using smaller (segmental) regions, the CoVs were 20.1% and 22.7% for the estimation of myocardial blood flow at stress and rest, respectively, using the self-gated near-systole data. The self-gated near-diastole data gave CoV = 48.6% and 44.9% for stress and rest. Conclusion The self-gated free-breathing technique for quantification of myocardial blood flow showed good repeatability for near-systole, with results comparable to published studies on interstudy repeatability of quantitative myocardial perfusion MRI using ECG-gating and breath-holds. Self-gated near-diastole data results were less repeatable. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015.
An Institutional Self-Survey: Integration in the Christian Liberal Arts College

(1957). An Institutional Self-Survey: Integration in the Christian Liberal Arts College. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 349-350.
LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY OF MAMMALS: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DENSITY AND PATCH SIZE

A much discussed issue in landscape ecology is how processes that operate within spatially subdivided subpopulations scale-up to create a larger, landscape-level dynamic. A first step in answering this question is to ask to what degree subpopulations within a landscape vary in performance. Here we test the null hypothesis that densities of mammalian populations are constant over patches of varied size, i.e., that performance, as estimated via density, does not covary with patch area. Using a composite database from published studies, we found that densities of 20 of 32 species did not vary with patch area, while five showed increasing and seven decreasing density-area relationships. Studies reporting significant density-area relationships tended to include a greater number of patches of a greater range of sizes than those that reported no relationship, suggesting that statistical power may be an issue. Landscapes comprised of smaller, less-isolated patches tended to have negative density-area relationships and landscapes with larger, more isolated patches tended to have positive density-area relationships. Our results suggest that no consistent density-area relationship operates over all systems of patches. Instead, the patterns appear to be scale-dependent : frequent movement of individuals in the process of selecting habitats (patches) over smaller-scaled landscapes produced negative density-area relationships; movement of individuals among more isolated patches appeared to involve larger- and longer-scale population processes involving colonization and extinction and positive density-area relationships. Despite the fact that patches represent a central focus in landscape ecology, they appear to be a construct of human convenience rather than biological entities with a set number and kind of processes.
Mirex incorporation in the environment: In Situ decomposition of fire ant bait and its effects on two soil macroarthropods

The decomposition rate of fire ant baits and the consequent leaching of the pesticide mirex from the bait were investigated for one year in three types of environments (i.e., on the ground, in the soil, and in the pond) by means of the nylon litter bag method. There was no significant difference in the decomposition rates between toxic and non-toxic baits. The bait proved to be stable and slow to decay. After one year of exposure in the field, about 75% of bait material remained in the bags that were deployed on the ground, 60% in the soil, and 25% in the pond. The removal of mirex from the bait was due to leaching from, and natural decay of the bait. The loss of mirex from the bait to the environment varied significantly among the three habitats. At the end of 12 months, mirex disappearance from baits exposed on the ground was 41.1%, in the soil 56.3%, and in the pond 83.9%. The rate of mirex loss was slower during fall and winter.
Electrochemically Controlled Auger Quenching of Mn2+ Photoluminescence in Doped Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Auger processes in colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals have been scrutinized extensively in recent years. Whether involving electron-exciton, hole-exciton, or exciton-exciton interactions, such Auger processes are generally fast and hence have been considered prominent candidates for interpreting fast processes relevant to photoluminescence blinking and multiexciton decay. With recent advances in the chemistries of nanocrystal doping, increasing attention is now being paid to analogous photophysical properties of colloidal-doped semiconductor nanocrystals. Here, we report the first investigation of the effects of electron-dopant exchange interactions on dopant luminescence in doped semiconductor nanocrystals. Using electrochemical techniques, electrical control of charge-carrier densities in films of colloidal Mn(2+)-doped CdS quantum dots has been achieved and used to demonstrate remarkably effective Auger de-excitation of photoexcited Mn(2+). The doped nanocrystals are found to be substantially more sensitive to Auger de-excitation than their undoped analogues, a result shown to arise primarily from the long Mn(2+) excited-state lifetime. This observation of exceptionally effective Auger quenching has broader implications in areas of high-power, single-particle, or electrically driven luminescence of doped semiconductor nanocrystals, and also suggests interesting opportunities for modulating Mn(2+) photoluminescence intensities on sublifetime time scales, or for imaging charge carriers in nanocrystal-based devices.
Beyond Totalitarianism: (Re)Introducing Secularization Theory to Liberal Narratives of Progress

This article concerns secularization theory and the concept of political religion, specifically their analytic scope. It begins by noting that their recent revival after the Cold War displays a strong fixation on totalitarian ideologies: whereas Nazism and Bolshevism have received extensive attention, liberalism has been ignored. While this secularization–totalitarianism nexus is not without precedent in earlier scholarship, the article argues that it is arbitrary; ample space exists within secularization theory to accommodate other modern narratives of progress and perfection, including liberal ones. The article unlocks and recovers this space by revisiting the early stages of secularization theory to reveal that many of its initial proponents, such as classical realist scholars of international relations, included liberalism on their agenda. Concluding passages give some thought to why contemporary political religion historiography has not progressed beyond totalitarianism and why it should pick up on t...
Influence of Solvating Plasticizer on Ion Conduction of Polysiloxane Single-Ion Conductors

Lithium ion conduction is investigated for a polysiloxane-based single-ion conductor containing weak-binding borates and cyclic carbonate side chains, plasticized with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The addition of PEG increases the conductivity by up to 3 orders of magnitude compared to the host ionomer. A physical model of electrode polarization is used to separate ionic conductivity of the ionomers into number density of simultaneously conducting ions and their mobility. A reduction in Tg with increasing PEG content boosts ion mobility owing to an increase in polymer chain flexibility. Further, the PEG ether oxygens lower the activation energy of simultaneously conducting ions (from 14 to 8 kJ/mol), significantly increasing conducting ion content by 100X, suggesting that ion aggregates observed in the host ionomer are solvated by PEG. This directly reflects the disappearance of an ion aggregation peak observed in X-ray scattering, and an initial large increase in static dielectric constant (es), upon add...
Edible Encounters and the Formation of Self in Baltasar Lopes' Chiquinho and Paulina Chiziane's Niketche: uma história de poligamia

Food tropes remain potent literary devices to both dissimulate political critique and revitalize individual agency. In what follows, we propose a comparative analysis of Baltasar Lopes’ Chiquinho and Paulina Chiziane’s Niketche: uma historia de poligamia that examines their respective literary use of food. Through food tropes both authors navigate their respective worlds of change where scarcity and abundance coexist as constant reminders that sustenance is not merely a part of their modern realities, but fully embedded into their search for self-fulfillment and self-realization. Through this scope, it is argued that food tropes allow the authors to unmask the fractures within colonial and post-colonial modalities of oppression. Lastly, we ultimately suggest that food tropes provide a space in which characters embark on a return journey to “wholeness” and self-liberation. This article is published under a CC-BY license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Investigation on mosquitoes in earthquake areas of Longnan

Objective To investigate the population composition and dynamics of mosquitoes in earthquake areas of Longnan.Methods Trapping with tent and person,capturing with net.Results There were 5 genera and a total of 30 species belonging to Culicidae.Among them,4 species of Anopheles,9 species of Aedes,1 species of Culiseta,1 species of Armigeres and 15 species of Culex.Among Culex,the density of C.pipiens pallens was the highest,C.modertus was the second,C.pipiens fatigans was the third,other species(C.jacksoni,C.halifaxia,C.vegans and C.tritaeniorhynchus)were the lowest.Conclusion The composition and distribution of mosquitoes in earthquake areas of Longnan and the day dynamics of dominant species of Culex have been grasped,which can provide scientific basis for mosquito control.
Empirical analysis of the correlativity between the size and structure of the teaching staff and the strength of higher institutions

The paper analyzes empirically the correlativity between the size and structure of the teaching staff and the strength of higher institutions. Correlativity has been arrived at between the number of academicians, Yangtse scholars and doctorial tutors and the ranking of higher institutions. Results show that the actual strength of a higher institution is in right proportion to the size of the teaching staff, especially the number of academicians, Yangtse scholars and doctorial tutors.
The tipping point: Tamoxifen toxicity, central serous chorioretinopathy, and the role of estrogen and its receptors.

Abstract Purpose To describe a case of tamoxifen toxicity superimposed on central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). We review the role of estrogen and the effect of tamoxifen on ocular tissues. Observations A 32-year-old Hispanic female with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the left breast (T2N1M0, triple-positive), status post chemotherapy and bilateral mastectomy, presented with complaint of a floater and decreased central vision of the right eye (OD). Symptoms began three weeks after initiating tamoxifen and five months after the last cycle of chemotherapy and dexamethasone. Visual acuity (VA) was 20/30 OD at presentation. Clinical examination and multimodal imaging revealed subretinal fluid (SRF) and pigment epithelial detachment (PED) suggestive of CSCR. After one month of monitoring, VA improved to 20/20; there was SRF resolution, small PED, and focal ellipsoid zone (EZ) band loss. Two weeks later, after undergoing surgery and starting a topical steroid, she returned with count fingers (CF) VA and large SRF OD. Steroid cessation improved SRF after one month, but VA was unchanged. Tamoxifen was discontinued, and VA improved to 20/100 with near-complete resolution of SRF at three weeks, and significant reduction in choroidal thickness at two months. At final follow-up, VA was 20/200, and there was focal EZ band loss sub-foveally, minimal SRF, and small PED. Conclusions and Importance Treatment with tamoxifen may lead to ocular toxicity and can complicate the recovery course of patients affected with CSCR. Variations in levels of the estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α) and treatment with tamoxifen (ER-α partial agonist) may lead to loss of the protective effect of estrogen in the retinal pigment epithelial cells in premenopausal women. Furthermore, tamoxifen toxicity can lead to focal photoreceptor loss. Treatment in these cases should be coordinated together with the oncologist.
Ascorbinsäuregehalt im Plasma und in Leukozyten bei Patienten mit chronischer Hämodialysebehandlung

Patienten mit chronischer Hamodialysebehandlung zeigten bei einem regelrechten Ascorbinsaurewert im Plasma eine herabgesetzte Konzentration der Ascorbinsaure in den Leukozyten. Daher sollte die Ascorbinsaure diesen Patienten in hoher Dosierung zugefuhrt werden, um einen Vitamin-C-Mangel in den Leukozyten zu verhindern.
Tracers for tracing neutrophils.

In this issue of Blood, Lahoz-Beneytez et al use deuterium as a nonradioactive tracer to study neutrophil kinetics; their analysis shows that neutrophils originate from a large marrow progenitor pool and have a rapid blood turnover.1