cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Introducing Operational Research

Operational research aims to explain the phenomena of operating systems scientifically and to use this knowledge to engineer solutions to problems arising in the operations of these systems. Therefore, books, courses, and curricula introducing O.R. should treat this full spectrum of knowledge and activity, especially the involvement with real systems. In particular, undergraduate training programs, currently biased in the direction of models and methods, need to achieve a proper balance of theory and clinical experience, and to experiment to determine what this balance should be and how to achieve it. This paper reports one such experiment: An introductory undergraduate course given at the beginning of the second year that centres much of its attention on actual experience with real operating systems.
Workshop on global health trends for health professional education

Global finance, trade, communication, media, politics, and the cultivation of overseas relationships to advance U.S. interests are among the forces that have engendered what we now know as globalization, a historical development towards worldwide interconnectedness. While manifest in diverse realms, globalization powerfully influences human health and health services and poses challenges for physicians and other health care professionals. To review these challenges and their ramifications, a workshop was convened at Howard University to consider the implications of global health trends for medical education. Highlights of the discussion are summarized here.
Intercrystalline Structure Distribution in Alloy 304 Stainless Steel

The intercrystalline structure distribution function (ISDF) describes the probability density for the occurrence of grain boundaries in the polycrystalline medium with five specified geometrical parameters: three describing intercrystalline lattice misorientation and two describing the orientation of the grain boundary plane. This paper extends the ISDF analysis to Bunge’s formalism which represents the distribution in terms of a series expansion of symmetric generalized spherical harmonics. An exemplary calculation of the ISDF is illustrated for alloy 304 stainless steel tubing. The results confirm the observation that gS3 and gS9 boundaries, arising from twinning, are prevalent in the structure. The distribution of twinning boundaries and other special boundaries is represented by Euler plots in the five geometrical parameters defining boundary structure. One remarkable feature of this material is a nearly isotropic distribution of boundary misorientation in the two parameters defining the boundary plane orientation. These results are compared with other published experimental data and theoretical calculations for the distribution of special boundaries.
Augustinianism and the social service state

This article explores the thought of St Augustine and its relevancy to acceptance or rejection of the social service state. It notes Augustine’s emphasis on the transitory nature of modernity and the primacy of the spiritual. It examines Augustine’s pessimistic scenario concerning the secular state and its accomplishments. It suggests that Augustinianism would be fare less receptive to the social state and its strengthening of secular power than the more optimistic and more “incarnational” Thomism.
From Mad Ritual to Philosophical Inquiry: Ancient and Modern Fictions of Continuity and Discontinuity

This paper will explore one of the more creative and influential moments of mythmaking and fictionalizing from the ancient Mediterranean world: the (re-)invention of prophetic madness as recorded in Plato's Phaedrus . The fictionalized encounter between Socrates and Phaedrus ranged over topics ranging from homoerotic lovers to the skills of rhetoricians. In the midst of this dialogue Socrates famously interrupts himself with the palinode where he invokes ancient rites of purification that facilitate human access to knowledge of the divine. Here Socrates investigates the links between prophecy and divine madness, and ultimately applies the purported gifts of this madness to pursuits that are generally considered to be more rational. Overlapping social identities and cultic traditions are alluded to in the palinode; drawing from the work of Walter Burkert, Eric Hobsbawm, Bruce Lincoln and Jonathan Z. Smith the paper concludes with an inquiry into whether the multiple religious identities that lie behind this dialogue could be thought to advance and invent a tradition that later came to be known as philosophy.
Amine adsorption in H-ZSM-5

Abstract We have examined the adsorption of simple amines, including methylamine, ethylamine, n-propylamine, isopropylamine, t-butylamine and pyridine on H-ZSM-5 using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission infrared spectroscopy. For each adsorbate, a well-defined adsorption state corresponding to a coverage of one molecule per aluminum atom could be easily identified in TPD-TGA. With the exceptions of methylamine and pyridine, the 1:1 complexes formed by each amine reacted completely to desorb as ammonia and alkene products. Amine molecules adsorbed in excess of one per aluminum atom desorbed unreacted at much lower temperatures. Approximately half of the 1:1 species formed by methylamine also reacted to form a complex mixture of products, while the 1:1 species formed by pyridine desorbed unreacted above 700 K. Infrared spectroscopy was used to demonstrate that the stoichiometric complexes for each amine were protonated and associated with the hydroxyls at the aluminum sites in the zeolite. These results imply that the acid sites in H-ZSM-5 are simple Bronsted sites and that TPD-TGA measurements of amine adsorption can be used to quantify the acid site density.
Repeated uncoordinated information dissemination by flooding

A dynamic database in a communications network consists of a set of messages, where a sequence of different versions of each message is generated over time in a repeated and uncoordinated process and where the appearances of the various message versions are distributed among the nodes. The message versions are to be disseminated in the network so that each message version eventually resides at each node. Flooding is a distributed procedure for disseminating message versions. The use of flooding to disseminate repeated and uncoordinated message versions is an integral part of a generic adaptive routing mechanism similar to that used in ARPANET and proposed for the INTER NET and is an element of a method proposed for improving survivability in intra-LATA networks. A model is formulated to analyze the performance of the dissemination by flooding of repeated and uncoordinated message versions. The worst-case time complexity is established, showing that flooding is an optimal procedure in terms of this measure. Special properties of flooding in a tree are also established. A key parameter is a separator, which is a lower bound on the time interval between the initial generation of a particular version of any message and the initial generation of the next version of that message. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Subchronic Dermal Application of N,N-Diethyl m-Toluamide (DEET) and Permethrin to Adult Rats, Alone or in Combination, Causes Diffuse Neuronal Cell Death and Cytoskeletal Abnormalities in the Cerebral Cortex and the Hippocampus, and Purkinje Neuron Loss in the Cerebellum

N,N-Diethyl m-toluamide (DEET) and permethrin have been implicated as potential neurotoxic agents that may have played an important role in the development of illnesses in some veterans of the Persian Gulf War. To determine the effect of subchronic dermal application of these chemicals on the adult brain, we evaluated histopathological alterations in the brain of adult male rats following a daily dermal dose of DEET (40 mg/kg in 70% ethanol) or permethrin (0.13 mg/kg in 70% ethanol) or a combination of the two for 60 days. Control rats received a daily dermal dose of 70% ethanol for 60 days. Animals were perfused and brains were processed for morphological and histopathological analyses following the above regimen. Quantification of the density of healthy (or surviving) neurons in the motor cerebral cortex, the dentate gyrus, the CA1 and CA3 subfields of the hippocampus, and the cerebellum revealed significant reductions in all three treated groups compared with the control group. Further, animals receiving either DEET or permethrin exhibited a significant number of degenerating (eosinophilic) neurons in the above brain regions. However, degenerating neurons were infrequent in animals receiving both DEET and permethrin, suggesting that neuronal cell death occurs earlier in animals receiving combined DEET and permethrin than in animals receiving either DEET or permethrin alone. The extent of neuron loss in different brain regions was similar among the three treatment groups except the dentate gyrus, where neurodegeneration was significantly greater with exposure to DEET alone. The neuron loss in the motor cerebral cortex and the CA1 subfield of all treated groups was also corroborated by a significant decrease in microtubule associated protein 2-immunoreactive elements (15-52% reduction), with maximal reductions occurring in rats receiving DEET alone; further, the surviving neurons in animals receiving both DEET and permethrin exhibited wavy and beaded dendrites. Analysis of glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity revealed significant hypertrophy of astrocytes in the hippocampus and the cerebellum of all treated groups (24-106% increase). Thus, subchronic dermal application of DEET and permethrin to adult rats, alone or in combination, leads to a diffuse neuronal cell death in the cerebral cortex, the hippocampal formation, and the cerebellum. Collectively, the above alterations can lead to many physiological, pharmacological, and behavioral abnormalities, particularly motor deficits and learning and memory dysfunction.
Theoretical Study of Semiconductor Interfaces

We perform self-consistent density functional calculations on semiconductor heterojunctions, using ab initio nonlocal pseudopotentials, and derive valence band discontinuities for many different lattice matched interfaces. Spin-orbit effects are included a posteriori. A comparison is made with previous calculations, which used empirical pseudopotentials, and with other heterojunction theories. We find reasonable agreement with reported experimental values, and derive some important conclusions about the nature of the lineups.
Multivariate autoregressive time semes modeling: one scalar autoregressive model at-A-time

Multivariate (or interchangeably multichannel) autoregressive (MCAR) modeling of stationary and nonstationary time series data is achieved doing things one channel at-a-time using only scalar computations on instantaneous data. The one channel at-a-time modeling is achieved as an instantaneous response multichannel autoregressive model with orthogonal innovations variance. Conventional MCAR models are expressible as linear algebraic transformations of the instantaneous response orthogonal innovations models. By modeling multichannel time series one channel at-a-time, the problems of modeling multichannel time series are reduced to problems in the modeling of scalar autoregressive time series. The three longstanding time series modeling problems of achieving a relatively parsimonious MCAR representation, of multichannel stationary time series spectral estimation and of the modeling of nonstationary covariance time series are addressed using this paradigm.
Integration of a Pulsating Heat Pipe in a Flat Plate Heat Sink

The ongoing development of faster and smaller electronic components has led to a need for new technologies to effectively dissipate waste thermal energy. The pulsating heat pipe (PHP) shows potential to meet this need, due to its high heat flux capacity, simplicity, and low cost. A 20-turn flat plate PHP was integrated into an aluminum flat plate heat sink with a simulated electronic load. The PHP heat sink used water as the working fluid and had 20 parallel channels with dimensions 2 mm × 2 mm × 119 mm. Experiments were run under various operating conditions, and thermal resistance of the PHP was calculated. The performance enhancement provided by the PHP was assessed by comparing the thermal resistance of the heat sink with no working fluid to that of it charged with water. Uncharged, the PHP was found to have a resistance of 1.97 K/W. Charged to a fill ratio of approximately 75% and oriented vertically, the PHP achieved a resistance of .49 K/W and .53 K/W when the condenser temperature was set to 20°C and 30°C, respectively. When the PHP was tilted to 45° above horizontal the PHP had a resistance of .76 K/W and .59 K/W when the condenser was set 20°C and 30°C, respectively. The PHP greatly improves the heat transfer properties of the heat sink compared to the aluminum plate alone. Additional considerations regarding flat plate PHP design are also presented.© 2014 ASME
ZEOLITE MCM-49 : A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MCM-22 ANALOGUE SYNTHESIZED BY IN SITU CRYSTALLIZATION

As-synthesized MCM-49 is a three-dimensional (3D) microporous aluminosilicate zeolite with the MCM-22 framework topology. It is formed hydrothermally in a reaction gel and is the first example of a zeolite with this topology to be produced by direct synthesis, in contrast with the conventional procedure in which a precursor is formed first and is then calcined. When hexamethyleneimine (HMI) is used as the directing agent, a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the framework as low as 17/1 can be achieved. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed base desorption (TPBD) experiments, and multinuclear NMR analyses of this zeolite and others in this series (viz., calcined MCM-22 and its precursor) provide new insights into the novelty of this class of materials. TPBD and 13C NMR experiments, for example, provide experimental evidence that support the coexistence of different dual pore systems within both the MCM-22 precursor and MCM-49. The 27Al MAS NMR spectra of MCM-22 and calcined MCM-49 exhibit three distinct...
Establishing the impact of acid mine drainage through metal bioaccumulation and taxa richness of benthic insects in a tropical Asian stream (the Philippines)

The Boac-Makulapnit River (The Philippines) is contaminated with heavy metals primarily due to acid mine drainage (AMD). Heavy-metal levels in river water, sediment, and algae suggest that Cu is the primary contaminant in this system. Copper concentrations decrease longitudinally, indicating a contamination gradient away from the mine. This is also reflected in the whole-body metal concentration of the caddisfly Hydropsyche, wherein higher Cu levels are observed in upstream stations (677-980 microg/g in 2001). In 2002, AMD formation was observed in a midstream station resulting from the oxidation of mine tailings in floodplains deposited during a 1996 tailings spill event. This consequently increased heavy-metal concentrations locally in environmental media and is likewise perceived to have caused the absence of aquatic insects in the midstream reach. Copper concentrations also increased in Hydropsyche found downstream of the new AMD site during this year. Furthermore, even the lower Cu concentrations in Hydropsyche observed in downstream stations are still at least six times higher than the established regional baseline value (29.9 microg/g), which is calculated from samples from clean tributary streams. These tributary streams also showed higher taxa richness for aquatic insect community in riffle zones. Both biomonitoring tools suggest that the whole length of the river is severely impacted. Rehabilitation projects will be underway next year; therefore, such monitoring programs will truly be beneficial when gauging river habitat recovery.
Application stream ordering for mapping real-time applications to a heterogeneous, distributed target platform

Mapping, i.e., allocating resources to applications and finding I/O routes between resources, is a crucial step in meeting real-time/multi-media applications' end-to-end timing requirements. Given a set of real-time applications, the order in which they are mapped can also greatly impact whether these timing requirements are met. Because the optimal ordering solution is intractable, this paper introduces a logical application stream laxity metric that can be used to order the application streams in linear time that produces excellent results. We apply this metric to an example audio/video application set to illustrate our approach and to compare our solution to the optimal one. >
Chemical entity extraction using CRF and an ensemble of extractors

As we are witnessing a great interest in identifying and extracting chemical entities in academic articles, many approaches have been proposed to solve this problem. In this work we describe a probabilistic framework that allows for the output of multiple information extraction systems to be combined in a systematic way. The identified entities are assigned a probability score that reflects the extractors' confidence, without the need for each individual extractor to generate a probability score. We quantitively compared the performance of multiple chemical tokenizers to measure the effect of tokenization on extraction accuracy. Later, a single Conditional Random Fields (CRF) extractor that utilizes the best performing tokenizer is built using a unique collection of features such as word embeddings and Soundex codes, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been explored in this context before, The ensemble of multiple extractors outperforms each extractor's individual performance during the CHEMDNER challenge. When the runs were optimized to favor recall, the ensemble approach achieved the second highest recall on unseen entities. As for the single CRF model with novel features, the extractor achieves an F1 score of 83.3% on the test set, without any post processing or abbreviation matching. Ensemble information extraction is effective when multiple stand alone extractors are to be used, and produces higher performance than individual off the shelf extractors. The novel features introduced in the single CRF model are sufficient to achieve very competitive F1 score using a simple standalone extractor.
Molecular Control of Iron Transport

The iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin is a 25-amino acid peptide that is synthesized in hepatocytes. Hepcidin binds to the cellular iron export channel ferroportin and causes its internalization and degradation and thereby decreases iron efflux from iron exporting tissues into plasma. By this mechanism, hepcidin inhibits dietary iron absorption, the efflux of recycled iron from splenic and hepatic macrophages, and the release of iron from storage in hepatocytes. Hepcidin synthesis is stimulated by plasma iron and iron stores and is inhibited by erythropoietic activity, ensuring that extracellular plasma iron concentrations and iron stores remain stable and the erythropoietic demand for iron is met. During inflammation, increased hepcidin concentrations cause iron sequestration in macrophages, resulting in hypoferremia and eventually anemia of inflammation. Hepcidin deficiency plays a central role in most iron overload disorders. The role of hepcidin abnormalities in anemias that are associated with renal disease and in resistance to erythropoietic therapies remains to be elucidated.
DNA reference alignment benchmarks based on tertiary structure of encoded proteins

Motivation: Multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) are at the heart of bioinformatics analysis. Recently, a number of multiple protein sequence alignment benchmarks (i.e. BAliBASE, OXBench, PREFAB and SMART) have been released to evaluate new and existing MSA applications. These databases have been well received by researchers and help to quantitatively evaluate MSA programs on protein sequences. Unfortunately, analogous DNA benchmarks are not available, making evaluation of MSA programs difficult for DNA sequences. Results: This work presents the first known multiple DNA sequence alignment benchmarks that are (1) comprised of protein-coding portions of DNA (2) based on biological features such as the tertiary structure of encoded proteins. These reference DNA databases contain a total of 3545 alignments, comprising of 68 581 sequences. Two versions of the database are available: mdsa_100s and mdsa_all. The mdsa_100s version contains the alignments of the data sets that TBLASTN found 100% sequence identity for each sequence. The mdsa_all version includes all hits with an E-value score above the threshold of 0.001. A primary use of these databases is to benchmark the performance of MSA applications on DNA data sets. The first such case study is included in the Supplementary Material. Availability: The databases, further details and the Supplementary Material are publicly available at http://csl.cs.byu.edu/mdsas/http://csl.cs.byu.edu/mdsas/ Contact: hyrumdc@gmail.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Assessing the quality of online courses from the students' perspective

The purpose of this study was to develop a survey based on the findings in existing research regarding students' perceptions and preferences related to online course delivery. Researchers have found that the following areas are important for student satisfaction with online instruction, interaction among students, quality and timely interaction between student and professor, consistent course design across courses, technical support availability, and flexibility of online courses compared to face-to-face. The student survey, once developed, was used to assess the quality of online course delivery by the faculty at a small upper level university in Texas. Results of the survey indicate that faculty at this institution are delivering online classes that meet the students' needs in regard to interaction with professors and classmates and course content. Results also indicate the need to develop a consistent course structure across classes and to provide extended technical support hours.
Control of cell fate by the formation of an architecturally complex bacterial community

Bacteria form architecturally complex communities known as biofilms in which cells are held together by an extracellular matrix. Biofilms harbor multiple cell types, and it has been proposed that within biofilms individual cells follow different developmental pathways, resulting in heterogeneous populations. Here we demonstrate cellular differentiation within biofilms of the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis, and present evidence that formation of the biofilm governs differentiation. We show that motile, matrix-producing, and sporulating cells localize to distinct regions within the biofilm, and that the localization and percentage of each cell type is dynamic throughout development of the community. Importantly, mutants that do not produce extracellular matrix form unstructured biofilms that are deficient in sporulation. We propose that sporulation is a culminating feature of biofilm formation, and that spore formation is coupled to the formation of an architecturally complex community of cells.
Optimisation of porcine oocyte activation following nuclear transfer.

Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of (a) different activation methods, (b) incubation time in calcium-free medium and (c) bisbenzimide staining on the activation and subsequent development of pig oocytes. Oocytes were matured in vitro and activated by one of the following methods: combined thimerosal/dithiothreitol (DTT) treatment, calcium ionophore A23187 treatment followed by incubation in the presence of 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP), electroporation, and electroporation followed by incubation with cytochalasin B. There were no significant differences in the activation rate (ranging from 70.0% to 88.3%) and the percentage of cleaved embryos after activation (ranging between 48.8% and 58.8%) among the four treatment groups (p < 0.05). The rate of development to the blastocyst stage in oocytes activated by thimerosal/DTT (10.0%) or electroporation followed by cytochalasin B treatment (12.3%) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in the group activated with A23187/6-DMAP (2.5%). Both the activation rate and the rate of blastocyst formation in oocytes that were incubated in Ca2+-free medium for 8 h before thimerosal/DTT activation were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than in those incubated for 0, 1 or 4 h. Intracellular Ca2+ measurements revealed that the Ca2+ homeostasis in these oocytes were severely altered. Staining of oocytes with 5 μg/ml bisbenzimide for 2 h decreased the quality of blastocysts and increased the rate of degenerated embryos at day 6. Two activation protocols (thimerosal/DTT and electroproation) were used for activation after nuclear transfer; the rate of nuclear formation did not differ in the oocytes activated by the two different methods.
Transborder Membership Politics in Germany and Korea

This paper examines changing German and Korean policies towards transborder coethnics (Germans in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and Koreans in Japan and China) during the high Cold War and post-Cold War eras. The paper contributes to the emerging literature on transborder forms of membership and belonging by highlighting and explaining the selective, variable, contingent, contested, and revocable nature of states’ embrace of transborder coethnics. The explanation highlights the relationship of transborder populations to predecessor polities; changing geopolitical contexts and domestic political conjunctures; the constitutive, group-making – and group-unmaking – power of state categorization practices; and the enduring institutional legacies and unintended consequences of such practices.
Myocardial Matrix Remodeling and the Matrix Metalloproteinases: Influence on Cardiac Form and Function

It is now becoming apparent that dynamic changes occur within the interstitium that directly contribute to adverse myocardial remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI), with hypertensive hear...
A comparison of sentinel node biopsy before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: timing is important.

Abstract Background Because neoadjuvant chemotherapy is being used more frequently, the optimal timing of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) remains controversial. We previously evaluated the predictive value of SNB before neoadjuvant chemotherapy in clinically node-negative breast cancer. Our identification rate of the sentinel node among 52 patients before chemotherapy with a mean tumor size of 4 cm was 100%. In this study, we compared the identification rates of SNB before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and evaluated the false-negative rate of SNB after chemotherapy. Methods A retrospective institutional database review identified 36 women who underwent SNB after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer from 1999 to 2004. The initial clinical tumor size and lymph node status, SNB pathology, axillary lymph node dissection pathology, and residual pathologic tumor size were reviewed. Results Sixteen of 36 patients had a clinically negative axilla before neoadjuvant therapy. SNB after neoadjuvant therapy was successful in 29 patients (80.6%), although 7 patients did not map (19.4%). Six of the 7 patients who failed to map had a clinically positive axilla initially. Axillary disease was found in 6 of 7 of these patients at dissection (85.7%). Of the 29 patients who mapped successfully, 13 (45%) were SNB negative, and 16 (55%) were SNB positive. Of the 13 SNB-negative patients, 2 had a positive axillary lymph node dissection, yielding a false-negative rate of 11%. Thirteen patients who mapped had a clinically positive axilla before therapy (45%). Of the 11 patients with true-negative SNBs, 7 (64%) were clinically node negative at presentation. The initial tumor sizes on examination ranged from 2 to 9 cm (mean, 5.0 cm), and residual pathologic tumor sizes ranged from 0 to 6 cm (mean, 1.8 cm). Failure to map correlated with a clinically positive axilla at presentation (100% vs 45%) but did not correlate with initial tumor size. Conclusions Sentinel node identification rates are significantly better when mapping is performed before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (100% vs 80.6%), with failure to map correlated with clinically positive nodal disease at presentation and residual disease at axillary lymph node dissection. Among patients who map successfully after chemotherapy, the false-negative rate is high (11%). Given these findings, we currently recommend SNB before neoadjuvant chemotherapy for clinically node-negative patients, and raise concerns about the use of SNB after neoadjuvant therapy in patients with an initially clinically positive axilla.
A general procedure for rational inequalities

Recently Bhatt, Chaukiyal and Dimri proved a fixed point theorem for a pair of maps satisfying a rational type inequality. It is the purpose of this paper to show that this result, along with a number of others, are all special cases of a general theorem of Sehie Park.
Organization of Disparity-Selective Neurons in Macaque Area MT

Neurons selective for binocular disparity are found in a number of visual cortical areas in primates, but there is little evidence that any of these areas are specialized for disparity processing. We have examined the organization of disparity-selective neurons in the middle temporal visual area (MT), an area shown previously to contain an abundance of disparity-sensitive neurons. We recorded extracellularly from MT neurons at regularly spaced intervals along electrode penetrations that passed through MT either normal to the cortical surface or at a shallow oblique angle. Comparison of multiunit and single-unit recordings shows that neurons are clustered in MT according to their disparity selectivity. Across the surface of MT, disparity-selective neurons are found in discrete patches that are separated by regions of MT that exhibit poor disparity tuning. Within disparity-selective patches of MT, we typically observe a smooth progression of preferred disparities (e.g., near to far) as our electrode travels parallel to the cortical surface. In electrode penetrations normal to the cortical surface, on the other hand, MT neurons generally have similar disparity tuning, with little variation from one recording site to the next. Thus disparity-tuned neurons are organized into cortical columns by preferred disparity, and preferred disparity is mapped systematically within larger, disparity-tuned patches of MT. Combined with other recent findings, the data suggest that MT plays an important role in stereoscopic depth perception in addition to its well known role in motion perception.
Hydroprene Prolongs Developmental Time and Increases Mortality in Wandering-phase Indianmeal Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Larvae

Wandering phase Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hubner), larvae were exposed to the label rate of hydroprene (1.9 × 10−3 mg [AI]/cm2) sprayed on concreted petri dishes. Larvae were exposed for 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 h and maintained at 16, 20, 24, 28, and 32°C and 57% RH until adult emergence. Larval developmental time and mortality were significantly influenced by temperature and exposure intervals. Maximum developmental time (47.2 ± 1.3 d) occurred at 16°C, and the minimum developmental time (7.0 ± 0.5 d) occurred at 32°C. Larval mortality generally increased at all of the five tested temperatures as exposure period increased. The greatest mortality (82.0 ± 0.1%) occurred when larvae were exposed for 30 h at 28°C, and minimum mortality (0.0 ± 0.5%) occurred at 16°C when larvae were exposed for 1 h. The relationships between temperature, exposure period, and developmental time were described by polynomial models, based on lack-of-fit tests. Hydroprene has potential to be an effective alternative to conventional insecticides in surface treatments for Indianmeal moth management. Response-surface models derived from this study can be used in simulation models to estimate the potential consequences of hydroprene on Indianmeal moth population dynamics.
Echoes of Preeclampsia: Can Echocardiography Help Predict Recurrence?

See related article, pp 748–753 Preeclampsia is a hypertensive complication of pregnancy, a major cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and death, and the leading cause of premature delivery worldwide. Despite significant recent insights into the pathophysiology of the condition,1–3 predicting which pregnancies are at risk for developing de novo or recurrent preeclampsia remains an important clinical challenge. Women with a previous episode of preeclampsia constitute a particularly high-risk group, with >7-fold increased risk of developing preeclampsia in a subsequent pregnancy. Early identification of women more likely to have recurrence would greatly assist counseling the consideration of another pregnancy; planning appropriate monitoring during the recurrent pregnancy; and potentially treating the condition when therapy becomes available. In this edition of Hypertension , Valensise et al4 propose an interesting approach to identify, among women with a history of preeclampsia, those at highest risk for recurrence. The approach relies on cardiac echocardiography during the nonpregnant interval. Preeclampsia profoundly affects the maternal vascular system, most strikingly causing systemic vasoconstriction, elevated total vascular resistance (TVR), and consequent hypertension. In part as a result of these hemodynamic changes, cardiac function, both systolic and diastolic, is frequently affected in preeclampsia.5,6 Interestingly, in a subset of women, many of these changes persist months after resolution of preeclampsia.7 Could the persistence of these changes identify women at highest risk of recurrent preeclampsia? The authors showed previously that elevated TVR and other hemodynamic changes can be detected early during pregnancy in high-risk women who go on to develop preeclampsia, …
Palladium-catalysed transannular C–H functionalization of alicyclic amines

An approach to selectively manipulate the C–H bonds of alicyclic amines at sites remote to nitrogen is demonstrated by the synthesis of new derivatives of several bioactive molecules, including varenicline, a drug used to treat nicotine addiction. Saturated nitrogen-containing heterocycles are found in many pharmaceuticals. This paper describes a new approach to the selective manipulation of the C–H bonds of alicyclic amines at sites remote to nitrogen that provide a convenient route to 4-aryl piperidines from simple piperidine cores. Piperidines are ubiquitous in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and alkaloid natural products, with piperidines bearing aryl substituents at the 4-position especially common in bioactive molecules. The method is demonstrated by the synthesis of new derivatives of several bioactive molecules, including the anti-smoking drug varenicline. Discovering pharmaceutical candidates is a resource-intensive enterprise that frequently requires the parallel synthesis of hundreds or even thousands of molecules. C–H bonds are present in almost all pharmaceutical agents. Consequently, the development of selective, rapid and efficient methods for converting these bonds into new chemical entities has the potential to streamline pharmaceutical development1,2,3,4. Saturated nitrogen-containing heterocycles (alicyclic amines) feature prominently in pharmaceuticals, such as treatments for depression (paroxetine, amitifadine), diabetes (gliclazide), leukaemia (alvocidib), schizophrenia (risperidone, belaperidone), malaria (mefloquine) and nicotine addiction (cytisine, varenicline)5. However, existing methods for the C–H functionalization of saturated nitrogen heterocycles, particularly at sites remote to nitrogen, remain extremely limited6,7. Here we report a transannular approach to selectively manipulate the C–H bonds of alicyclic amines at sites remote to nitrogen. Our reaction uses the boat conformation of the substrates to achieve palladium-catalysed amine-directed conversion of C–H bonds to C–C bonds on various alicyclic amine scaffolds. We demonstrate this approach by synthesizing new derivatives of several bioactive molecules, including varenicline.
Continuum Shape Sensitivity with Spatial Gradient Reconstruction of Nonlinear Aeroelastic Gust Response

Accurate modeling of the aeroelastic response due t o gust loads is becoming a design necessity for many novel concepts. Both the high a spect ratio wings of high altitude long endurance (HALE) aircraft and flexible membrane wings of micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) are susceptible to large deformations, geometric no nlinearities, and rigid body motion when gust loads are encountered. Using gradient based o ptimization for aeroelastic shape design of such configurations can be computationally expensive. Furthermore, multidisciplinary design optimization frameworks that use gradient-based algorithms are becoming increasingly popular. A major challenge in developing such frameworks is implementing accurate and efficient sensitivity analyses for the various disciplines. This becomes especially challenging when a “black box” analysis tool is used and access to the source code is not possible. Presented in this paper is a cont inuum shape sensitivity method which does not require access to or knowledge of source code f ormulation. A static nonlinear beam bending problem and a static linear plate bending p roblem are presented as benchmarks. In addition, continuum shape sensitivities are compute d for an aeroelastic gust response of both a one- and two-dimensional structure. In all cases , the analysis tool is treated as a “black box”.
Catalan Numbers and Algebraic Widgits

Consider a binary operation defined on a set \( \mathcal{A} \) that is represented by juxtaposition. If the operation is not associative, then a word of the form abcd is not well defined unless we insert parentheses. For the word abcd, there are five ways this can be done: $$ \begin{array}{lllll}\left((ab)c\right)d,\hfill & (ab)\;(cd),\hfill & \left(a(bc)\right)d,\hfill & a\left((bc)d\right),\hfill & a\left(b(cd)\right)\hfill \end{array} $$ We would like to count the number of ways there are to a word $$ w={a}_1{a}_2\cdots {a}_n $$ of length n. We will assume that a full parenthesizing does not include parentheses surrounding the entire word, as in (a(bc)) or parentheses surrounding a single letter, as in a((b)c). A full parenthesization contains just enough parentheses to disambiguate the expression.
In Vivo Biotinylation of the Toxoplasma Parasitophorous Vacuole Reveals Novel Dense Granule Proteins Important for Parasite Growth and Pathogenesis

ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that invades host cells and replicates within a unique parasitophorous vacuole. To maintain this intracellular niche, the parasite secretes an array of dense granule proteins (GRAs) into the nascent parasitophorous vacuole. These GRAs are believed to play key roles in vacuolar remodeling, nutrient uptake, and immune evasion while the parasite is replicating within the host cell. Despite the central role of GRAs in the Toxoplasma life cycle, only a subset of these proteins have been identified, and many of their roles have not been fully elucidated. In this report, we utilize the promiscuous biotin ligase BirA* to biotinylate GRA proteins secreted into the vacuole and then identify those proteins by affinity purification and mass spectrometry. Using GRA-BirA* fusion proteins as bait, we have identified a large number of known and candidate GRAs and verified localization of 13 novel GRA proteins by endogenous gene tagging. We proceeded to functionally characterize three related GRAs from this group (GRA38, GRA39, and GRA40) by gene knockout. While Δgra38 and Δgra40 parasites showed no altered phenotype, disruption of GRA39 results in slow-growing parasites that contain striking lipid deposits in the parasitophorous vacuole, suggesting a role in lipid regulation that is important for parasite growth. In addition, parasites lacking GRA39 showed dramatically reduced virulence and a lower tissue cyst burden in vivo. Together, the findings from this work reveal a partial vacuolar proteome of T. gondii and identify a novel GRA that plays a key role in parasite replication and pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE Most intracellular pathogens reside inside a membrane-bound vacuole within their host cell that is extensively modified by the pathogen to optimize intracellular growth and avoid host defenses. In Toxoplasma, this vacuole is modified by a host of secretory GRA proteins, many of which remain unidentified. Here we demonstrate that in vivo biotinylation of proximal and interacting proteins using the promiscuous biotin ligase BirA* is a powerful approach to rapidly identify vacuolar GRA proteins. We further demonstrate that one factor identified by this approach, GRA39, plays an important role in the ability of the parasite to replicate within its host cell and cause disease.
From the Outside In: Suburban Elites, Third-Sector Organizations, and the Reshaping of Philadelphia, by Carolyn T. Adams

Interest in regional planning ebbed and flowed during the 20th century. Since the turn of the 21st, writing about the issue has meandered. Several good volumes appeared around the turn of the mille...
The Performance of Relative-Value Equity Strategies

This paper examines investment strategies that combine time-series and cross-sectional stock sorts based on scaled price-to-earnings ratios, which I describe as relative-value strategies. Relative-value strategies buy (short) stocks that are below (above) their long-run historical absolute or market-relative valuation. I test the performance of relative-value strategies versus a traditional value strategy. I find that a relative-value effect exists, but is dwarfed by the traditional value effect. On average, the tested relative-value strategies deliver long-short returns of 1.25% p.a. and long-only excess returns of 0.69% p.a. over 1990 to 2014. The traditional value strategy produces long-short returns of 5.50% p.a. and long-only excess returns of 4.33% p.a. Relative-value strategies offer an alternative but not necessarily superior source of returns. I evaluate returns after adjusting for common risk factors. I explore the effect on returns from alternative portfolio formation and rebalancing rules. I discuss possible explanations for the findings and implications for investors.
Antimicrobial stewardship programs that target only high-cost, broad-spectrum antimicrobials miss opportunities to reduce Clostridium difficile infections

Antimicrobial stewardship programs are promoted as a strategy to reduce Clostridium difficile infections. We implemented an antimicrobial stewardship program comprised of formulary restriction plus prospective audit with feedback for high-cost and broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Subsequently, we reviewed all heath care facility-onset, health care facility-associated C difficile infections. We found that most of these infections were associated with the antecedent receipt of nonaudited, and often unnecessary, antimicrobials.
Distributed southwell: an iterative method with low communication costs

We present a new algorithm, the Distributed Southwell method, as a competitor to Block Jacobi for preconditioning and multigrid smoothing. It is based on the Southwell iterative method, which is sequential, where only the equation with the largest residual is relaxed per iteration. The Parallel Southwell method extends this idea by relaxing equation i if it has the largest residual among all the equations coupled to variable i. Since communication is required for processes to exchange residuals, this method in distributed memory can be expensive. Distributed Southwell uses a novel scheme to reduce this communication of residuals while avoiding deadlock. Using test problems from the SuiteSparse Matrix Collection, we show that Distributed Southwell requires less communication to reach the same accuracy when compared to Parallel Southwell. Additionally, we show that the convergence of Distributed Southwell does not degrade like that of Block Jacobi when the number of processes is increased.
Laparoscopic Ileostomy Reversal

Ileostomy closure is the ideal operation for reduced port laparoscopic surgery. While the operation is commonly performed through a circumstomal operation incision without ever entering the abdomen, using two 5 mm ports to identify the afferent and efferent limbs and free the small bowel from the hernia sac around the stoma site will make the external abdominal dissection much easier. Further, it has the potential to reduce postoperative small bowel obstructions and other complications that plague this procedure by directly visualizing the stoma and anastomosis.
Homologous stress adaptation, antibiotic resistance, and biofilm forming ability of Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg ATCC8326 on different food-contact surfaces following exposure to sublethal chlorine concentrations1

Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg (American Type Culture Collection; ATCC 8326) was examined for the ability to adapt to the homologous stress of chlorine through exposure to increasing chlorine concentrations (25 ppm daily increments) in tryptic soy broth (TSB). The tested strain exhibited an acquired tolerance to chlorine in TSB with the tolerant cells growing in concentrations up to 400 ppm. In addition, the chlorine stressed cells displayed rugose morphology on tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates at 37°C. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of chlorine for adapted (rugose and smooth) cells was determined to be 550 ppm and 500 ppm, respectively whereas the MIC for the control was 450 ppm. The biofilm forming ability of the adapted and control cells were examined on both plastic and stainless steel surface at room temperature and 37°C. The rugose variant, in contrast to the smooth (adapted and control) showed the ability to form strong biofilms (P ≤ 0.05) on a plastic surface at room temperature and 37°C. Rugose cells compared to smooth and control attached more (P ≤ 0.05) to steel surfaces as well. The possibility of cross-adaptation was examined by exposing the adapted and control cells to different antibiotics according to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Adapted cells exhibited reduced susceptibility to some of the antibiotics tested as compared to control. The findings of this study suggest that exposure to sublethal chlorine concentration during the sanitization procedure can result in tolerant Salmonella cells. Chlorine may confer cross-protection that aids in the survival of the tolerant population to other environmental stresses.
Resident Perceptions of Neighborhood Conditions, Food Access, Transportation Usage, and Obesity in a Rapidly Changing Central City

There is a lack of research on obesity that uses primary data and fine-grained information on neighborhoods. I use primary data for 367 participants in Detroit to examine neighborhood predictors of obesity. These data were supplemented with public data. I considered multilevel and spatial modeling, but the data lent itself best to ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. I find that socioeconomic factors, the built environment, transportation usage, and perceptions of neighborhoods are important predictors of obesity. Importantly, litter is associated with higher levels of obesity. Planners can take measures to reduce litter and collaborate with other policy-makers to encourage less driving, though drawing direct lines of causality is complicated.
Gauge freeness for Cuntz-Pimsner algebras

To every $C^*$ correspondence over a $C^*$-algebra one can associate a Cuntz-Pimsner algebra generalizing crossed product constructions, graph $C^*$-algebras, and a host of other classes of operator algebras. Cuntz-Pimsner algebras come equipped with a `gauge action' by the circle group and its finite subgroups. For unital Cuntz-Pimsner algebras, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the gauge actions (by either the circle or its closed subgroups) to be free.