cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recent literature on bryophytes—109(2)

Abolina, A. & I. Reriha. 2005. West-Latvian bryophytes—the peculiarities of separate species distribution and novelties. Pages 9–13. In O. M. Afonina, A. D. Potemkin & I. V. Czernyadjeva (eds.), Actual Problems in Bryology: Proceedings of the International Meeting Devoted to the 90-th Anniversary of A. L. Abramova (Saint Petersburg, November 22–25, 2005). V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Peterburg, Russia. Acar, O. & A. Yayintas. 1994. Die Moosflora von Dumanli Dag (Izmir). Journal of the Faculty of Science, Ege University 16: 16–23. Afonina, O. M. & L. S. Blagodatstkih. 2005. Mosses of the protected natural areas of Orenburg Province. Pages 13–19. In O. M. Afonina, A. D. Potemkin & I. V. Czernyadjeva (eds.), Actual Problems in Bryology: Proceedings of the International Meeting Devoted to the 90-th Anniversary of A. L. Abramova (Saint Petersburg, November 22–25, 2005). V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Peterburg, Russia. [In Russian with English abstract.] ———, A. D. Potemkin & I. V. Czernyadjeva (eds.). 2005. Actual Problems in Bryology: Proceedings of the International Meeting Devoted to the 90-th Anniversary of A. L. Abramova (Saint Petersburg, November 22–25, 2005). 204 Pages V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Peterburg, Russia. [Individual articles listed separately.] Ahonen, I. 2005. Evolutionary Relationships of Liverworts with a Special Focus on the Order Porellales and the family Lejeuneaceae. 47 Pages þ 6 reprints/manuscripts. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. [Doctoral dissertation.] Ahrens, M. 2004. Ulota macrospora (Bryopsida, Orthotrichaceae) im Nordschwarzwald. Carolinea 62: 69–79. [‘‘U. macrospora is a distinct species’’] ———. 2004. Zum Vorkommen von Orthotrichum acuminatum H. Philib. und O. consimile Mitt. (Bryopsida, Orthotrichaceae) im Nordschwarzwald. Carolinea 62: 81–85. [O. acuminatum new to Germany.] Al-Masri, M. S., S. Mamish, M. A. Al-Haleem & K. Al-Shamali. 2005. Lycopodium cernuum and Funaria hygrometrica as deposition indicators for radionuclides and trace metals. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 266: 49– 55. Allen, B. 2005. Maine mosses. Sphagnaceae–Timmiaceae. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 93: i–xii, 1–420, 216 figs. [New: Schistidium crassithecium sp. nov., Syntrichia rupicola sp. nov.] ——— & R. A. Pursell. 2005. Maine mosses [scheda]. Fasciculus 6 (Nos. 301–325): 20 pages, 1 fig. [St. Louis, MO [copies available from bruce.allen@mobot.org. New: Schistidium apocarpum ssp. canadense (Dupret) comb. & stat. nov.] Amblard-Gross, G., A. Maul, J.-F. Ferard, F. Carrot & S. Ayrault. 2004. Spatial variability of sampling: Grid size impact on atmospheric metals and trace elements deposition mapping with mosses. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 49: 39–52. Anderson, D., J. Brandt, L. Wright & D. Davidson. 2005. Ecology and floristics of Knife Island, a gull and cormorant rookery on Lake Superior, near Two Harbors, Lake County, Minnesota. The Michigan Botanist 44: 95–104. [Moss list on p. 101.]
IRREVERSIBLE CLIMATE CHANGE WILL ALSO CHANGE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Environmental and management methods and procedures developed for the planet’s present climate will not be effective after irreversible climate change occurs. To quote Rubin (2009, p 17) ‘‘Suddenly the text books seem to be describing some other world than the one we live in.’’ Because the results of climate change cannot be known until they do occur, the focus of new environmental and management methods and procedures is unknown at present, but professionals should be prepared to act when they are known. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, and reaching zero discharge of carbon dioxide is not probable as long as fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, natural gas) are a major source of energy. As a consequence, environmental changes that have already occurred are not likely to be reversed. ‘‘The severity of damaging human-induced climate change depends not only on the magnitude of the change but also on the potential for irreversibility . . . the climate change that takes place due to increases in carbon dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for 1,000 years after emissions stop’’ (Solomon et al. 2009, p 1704). ‘‘Global average temperatures increase while CO2 is increasing and then remain approximately constant (within __ 0.58C) until the end of the millennium despite zero further emissions . . . ’’ (Solomon et al. 2009, p 1705). Therefore, humankind is likely to experience climate change for 1000 years after anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions cease. Nonanthropogenic carbon is in the atmosphere—e.g., drying wetlands, thawing permafrost—and these positive feedback loops are likely to accelerate. Rapid climate change may soon become the norm, and all humankind must adjust to it effectively. Obviously, global problems require global collaborations from the world’s nations. Failure to do so effectively will ensure that climate change continues. The encouraging aspect of collaboration and improvisation is that ‘‘carbon dioxide is the only greenhouse gas whose falloff displays multiple rather than single time constraints . . . Current emissions of major non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as methane or nitrous oxide are significant for climate change in the next few decades or century, but these gases do not persist over time in the same way as carbon dioxide’’ (Solomon et al. 2009, p 1705).
Resection of gastrinoma in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Patients with the Zollinger—Ellison syndrome have been managed by total gastrectomy and more recently, by the use of H2-receptor antagonists. An alternative approach has been to identify those who might be cured by excision of a pancreatic islet-cell tumor without removal of the stomach. The course of such a patient is reported. A 40-yr-old man with massive gastric hypersecretion, acid-peptic disease, diarrhea, and elevated serum gastrin was treated by excising a pancreatic gastrinoma. Serum gastrin and gastric secretion became and have remained normal for 7 yr. Symptoms ceased and provocative tests with secretin and calcium have remained normal. Three additional patients with Zollinger—Ellison syndrome in whom pancreatic islet-cell tumor resection alone has resulted in long-term cures have been identified. All were middle-aged men with severe diarrhea. These successes, the availability of techniques that permit early identification and localization of gastrinomas, and the advent of H2-receptor antagonists that can control gastric hypersecretion without gastrectomy must be considered in managing patients with gastrinomas.
Outdoor advertising as experiments

Can outdoor advertising substantially influence in purchase rates? The answer in brief: the limited evidence from field experiments indicates that outdoor advertising is likely to increase sales. The evidence from survey research studies in the form of verbal reports indicates substantial increases in shopper/visitor traffic and purchase rates associated with the use of outdoor advertising signs. However, only two published and no unpublished studies could be found that include the use of true experimental or quasi-experimental designs to learn the effects of outdoor advertising on purchase rates. Research on the sales effects of another form of advertising media signage is available for comparing the relative quality of outdoor advertising effectiveness studies. Telling evidence does exist indicating that indoor (point-of-purchase) advertising increases purchase rates. A substantial number of field studies using true experimental and quasi-experimental designs are needed to provide similar hard evidence that outdoor advertising works. Some suggestions for using such research designs are provided for the outdoor advertising industry.
Eicosanoid imbalance in the NOD mouse is related to a dysregulation in soluble epoxide hydrolase and 15-PGDH expression

Eicosanoids promote or resolve inflammation depending on the class produced. Macrophage from nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse produce increased proinflammatory lipid mediators and low levels of antiinflammatory lipoxin A4 (LXA4). The enhanced proinflammatory eicosanoids is secondary to increased cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) expression and low levels of prostaglandin/leukotriene catabolic enzyme, 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH). Deficient LXA4 production is not due to deficient lipoxygenase (LO) activity, but is related to increased soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), involved in metabolism of anti-inflammatory epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EET). These aberrations in eicosanoid biology suggest that inflammation in the NOD mouse is likely to be prolonged and robust and may contribute to type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis.
frazzled Encodes a Drosophila Member of the DCC Immunoglobulin Subfamily and Is Required for CNS and Motor Axon Guidance

We have identified a Drosophila member of the deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) gene family. The frazzled gene encodes transmembrane proteins that contain four immunoglobulin C2 type domains, six fibronectin type III repeats, and a cytoplasmic domain of 278 amino acids. Like vertebrate members of the DCC family, Frazzled is expressed on axons in the embryonic central nervous system and on motor axons in the periphery. Frazzled is also expressed on epidermis and gut epithelium. Null mutants in frazzled are defective in axon guidance in the central nervous system and in motor axon guidance and targeting in the periphery. The phenotypes strongly resemble those of a deletion of the two Drosophila Netrin genes. We have rescued the frazzled CNS and motor axon defects by expressing Frazzled specifically in neurons; expression in target tissues does not rescue the phenotype. These data, together with vertebrate studies showing binding of DCC to netrin, suggest that Frazzled may function in vivo as a receptor or component of a receptor mediating Netrin-dependent axon guidance.
Endfire radiation characteristics of HF horizontal dipoles near the Earth's surface

Using a variety of computed radiation pattern profiles and a limited measurements program, the authors document some characteristics of endfire radiation from low-elevation horizontal wire dipole antennas. The numerical electromagnetics code (NEC) is used to investigate radiation pattern profiles selected to show the features of the endfire radiation. The on-axis field predicted from NEC is compared to measured values for an 18.1 MHz lambda /2 dipole at several heights above real ground to illustrate the reliability of the predictions of the code. >
Decentralized receding horizon control of multiple vehicles subject to communication failure

In this paper, the decentralized receding horizon control (DRHC) of multiple cooperative vehicles with the possibility of communication failure is investigated. The neighboring vehicles exchange their computed trajectories at each sample time to maintain cooperation objectives. It is assumed that the communication failure is partial in nature, which in turn leads to large communication delays. A new reconfigurable DRHC approach is developed that guarantees the safety of the entire fleet in the presence of inter-vehicle communication failures. The concept of tube RHC is introduced to guarantee the safety of the fleet against collisions during faulty conditions. In this approach, a tube shaped trajectory set is used instead of a trajectory for the neighboring vehicles experiencing the communication failure.
An evolving paradigm for the workup and management of high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Background No established standard of care exists for aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Objective We sought to establish an aggressive CSCC management protocol by reviewing high-risk CSCC (HCSCC) and very high-risk CSCC (VCSCC) cases at our institution. Methods This was a retrospective review of all CSCC cases treated at our institution. Results A total of 27 patients were identified of 1591 cases treated between 2000 and 2011. Four patients with HCSCC received surgery alone and 1 received surgery and radiation. All remain disease free (median follow-up 5 years). Among patients with VCSCC, 4 received surgery alone: 1 (25%) showing a complete response and 3 (75%) showing disease progression. Eleven received surgery and radiation: 4 (36.4%) with complete response (median follow-up 3 years) and 7 (63.6%) with disease progression (median time to recurrence 6 months). Six received surgery and cetuximab: 3 (50%) had a complete response (median follow-up 3 years), 2 (33%) had disease progression, and 1 (14%) could not be assessed because of inability to tolerate infusions. One patient received surgery, cetuximab, and radiation, and remains disease-free after 4 years. Limitations Lack of randomization, blinding, a true control arm, or standardization of treatment protocols are limitations. Conclusions Patients with very HCSCC may have improved outcomes with surgery and adjuvant cetuximab.
Predicting Middle School Students' Use of Web 2.0 Technologies Out of School Using Home and School Technological Variables

AbstractThis study used multiple regression to identify predictors of middle school students' Web 2.0 activities out of school, a construct composed of 15 technology activities. Three middle schools participated, where sixth- and seventh-grade students completed a questionnaire. Independent predictor variables included three demographic and five computer use variables and three interaction examinations. A regression model, accounting for 25% of the variance, revealed student's ethnicity, access to technologies at home, in-school technological activities, and the school a child attends, predicted students' Web 2.0 activities out of school. Ethnicity-based (but no gender-based) technology participation gaps existed in and out of school, with students of Hispanic ethnicity showing statistically lower use of Web 2.0 activities out of school. The interaction of the school attended and in-school Web 2.0 use was a strong predictor but revealed both significant positive and negative relationships in different sch...
The Blind Men and the Elephant: What "Elephanomics" Can Teach "Muromics"

W ritten by American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) in the mid-nineteenth century, “The Blind Men and the Elephant” is the relatively contemporary version of a parable that traces its roots back to the Asian subcontinent and Jainism, thought to be the religious precursor to Buddhism (Saxe 2005). In this parable, six blind scholars attempt to describe the outward appearance (or “phenotype”) of an elephant. The first blind man runs into the elephant’s “sturdy side” and declares the animal a “wall.” The second feels the elephant’s tusk “so very round and smooth and sharp” and pronounces the elephant to be a spear. The third feels the squirming trunk in his hands and proclaims the elephant to be a snake. The remaining three blind men declare the elephant as, respectively, a tree trunk (based on the leg), a fan (based on the ear), and a rope (based on the tail). And so . . .
Health and Economic Impacts of Antimicrobial Resistance

For comparison of the impacts of infections due to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria with those of infections due to antimicrobial-susceptible strains of the same bacteria, data were evaluated from 175 published and unpublished reports of investigations of nosocomial and community-acquired infections with selected bacteria. The evaluation of outcomes of hospital-acquired infections with resistant organisms was often confounded by risk factors also associated with poor outcomes. Nevertheless, for both nosocomial and community-acquired infections, the mortality, the likelihood of hospitalization, and the length of hospital stay were usually at least twice as great for patients infected with drug-resistant strains as for those infected with drug-susceptible strains of the same bacteria. Poor outcomes could be attributed both to the expected effects of ineffective antimicrobial therapy and to the unexpected occurrence of drug-resistant infections complicated by prior antimicrobial therapy for other medical problems. Although the adverse economic and health effects of drug-resistant bacterial infections can only be roughly quantified, it is concluded that antimicrobial resistance is an important health problem and an economic burden to society.
Dip and anisotropy effects on flow using a vertically skewed model grid.

Darcy flow equations relating vertical and bedding-parallel flow to vertical and bedding-parallel gradient components are derived for a skewed Cartesian grid in a vertical plane, correcting for structural dip given the principal hydraulic conductivities in bedding-parallel and bedding-orthogonal directions. Incorrect-minus-correct flow error results are presented for ranges of structural dip (0 < or = theta < or = 90) and gradient directions (0 < or = phi < or = 360). The equations can be coded into ground water models (e.g., MODFLOW) that can use a skewed Cartesian coordinate system to simulate flow in structural terrain with deformed bedding planes. Models modified with these equations will require input arrays of strike and dip, and a solver that can handle off-diagonal hydraulic conductivity terms.
Body‐wave deconvolution for variable source parameters; application to the 1978 December 6 Kuriles earthquake

Summary A method to determine the depth and mechanism of subevents in earthquakes with complex rupture is developed. Complex body-waves are deconvolved using a damped Lanczos inversion to retrieve the source time function. Some constraints on the mechanism and depth of the first subevent are assumed, though not required. The data set is deconvolved using the Green's function for the first subevent to obtain a best-fitting source time function. This source time function is then windowed in time around the first pulse and the corresponding synthetic seismogram is subtracted from the data. This process is repeated on residual data to determine mechanisms and depths of subsequent subevents. This method is applied to the 1978 December 6 Kuril Islands earthquake, a complex event which ruptured vertically from 100 to 220km in depth, and represents tearing of the Pacific plate as it subducts beneath the Kuril and Honshu arcs. Using long-period WWSSN data, we found three main subevents with the mechanism o= 150°, δ= 80°, and λ= 20° at depths of 120, 165, and 210km. In this particular case one nodal plane is very well constrained and there is some a priori evidence for significant vertical rupture.
On the critical phase transition time of wireless multi-hop networks with random failures

In this paper, we study the critical phase transition time of large-scale wireless multi-hop networks when the network topology experiences a partition due to increasing random node failures. We first define two new metrics, namely the last connection time and first partition time. The former is the last time that the network keeps a majority of surviving nodes connected in a single giant component; while the latter is the first time that the remaining surviving nodes are partitioned into multiple small components. Then we analyze the devolution process in a geometric random graph of n nodes based on percolation-theory connectivity and obtain the sufficient condition under which the graph is percolated. Based on the percolation condition, the last connection time and first partition time are found to be on the same order. Particularly, when the survival function of node lifetime is exponential, they are on the order of log(log n); while if the survival function is Pareto, the order is (log n)1/ρ, where ρ is the shape parameter of Pareto distribution. Finally, simulation results confirm that the last connection time and first partition time serve as the lower and upper bounds of the critical phase transition time, respectively. Further, an interesting result is that the network with heavy-tailed survival functions is no more resilient to random failures than the network with light-tailed ones, in terms of critical phase transition time, if the expected node lifetimes are identical.
Materials Innovation Cyberinfrastructure

This chapter describes some of the emerging concepts in materials innovation cyberinfrastructure that combine the elements of data sciences and information sciences. The motivations and the importance of e-collaborations to the successful realization of the vision of the Materials Genome Initiative are expounded.
Multidisciplinary Approach to Prevention and Health Protection by Monitoring: Role of Individual Disciplines. Labour Inspectors/Compliance Officers II

This paper presents a description of the occupational health programme administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), of the U.S. Department of Labor. The paper discusses the agency’s major functions and the duties and responsibilities that the compliance safety and health officer (in this case an industrial hygienist) assumes in the execution of those functions. The requirements mandated by the agency’s new health standards are examined, and particular attention is given to the crucial role that both ambient and biological monitoring play in assuring adequate worker protection from workplace health hazards and the challenges inherent in an effective occupational health programme outlined.
Intellectual Liability in Context

In Intellectual Liability, Daniel Crane reemphasizes that a “right to exclude” is only one part of a Hohfeldian package of rights, privileges, powers, or immunities that government can grant an intellectual property (IP) owner. Crane points out that an overly vigorous right to exclude, one backed up by a strong presumption of injunctive relief against continued infringement, could result in a suboptimal IP package even from the IP owner’s perspective. Drawing on examples of antitrust-influenced behavior of collective-rights organizations and standard-setting organizations, Crane argues that forgoing property-rule treatment in the Calabresi–Melamed sense can be more than compensated, socially and possibly even privately, by IP owners’ gains of privileges and powers to participate in one or more practices of “bundling,” as through a collective-rights organization or standard-setting organization, or through acquisition of large numbers of patents in the manner of a so-called “patent troll.” Crane’s bottom line thus expands on the prescription underlying Louis Kaplow’s “ratio test” of more than a quarter century ago: the optimal package to be granted IP owners should be developed by providing “those rights that grant just enough reward to induce... inventive or creative activity at the lowest social cost possible.”
Delineation of post-KPg carbonate slope deposits as a sedimentary record of the Paleogene linkage of De Soto Canyon and Suwannee Strait, northern Gulf of Mexico

AbstractSeismicity generated from the Chicxulub impact has been postulated as the cause for the dramatic alteration of basin margin morphology and catastrophic movement of sediments in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Immediately following the impact, the formation of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary deposit (KPBD) was widespread and caused considerable erosion as portions of the Florida Escarpment collapsed, inducing sediment failure on the northern Florida Platform and formation of the ancestral De Soto Canyon. Overlying the more prominent KPBD existed a distinct, younger, post-Cretaceous/Paleogene carbonate slope deposit (CSD) confined within the De Soto Canyon bathymetric feature. Presence of this discrete unit provided insight into the post-impact history of De Soto Canyon and its long-duration connection to the Suwannee Strait, which linked the GOM with the Atlantic Ocean for almost 40 ma. We have postulated that the bathymetric low of the De Soto Canyon acted as a conduit for west to east sediment moveme...
Abstract 294: Thrombolytics Improve Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation After 30 Minutes of Untreated Cardiac Arrest

Introduction: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) after prolonged cardiac arrest (CA) often fails to restore cardiac and cerebral function. The primary limiting factor is presumed to be ischemia duration. An alternative hypothesis is that intravascular coagulation prevents tissue reperfusion. Hypothesis: Adding thrombolytics to ECPR after prolonged untreated CA improves cardiac and cerebral recovery when compared to ECPR alone. Methods: We developed a porcine model of 30 minute untreated ventricular fibrillation followed by ECPR for 6 hours. Animals were instrumented for hemodynamic and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring and continuous EEG. Two groups were studied: t-ECPR (n=7) with streptokinase 1 MU added to prime circuit; c-ECPR (n=6) with no streptokinase. ECPR goals included: flow >50 ml/kg/min, MAP >70 mmHg, PaO2 150±50 mmHg, PaCO2 40±5 mmHg, core temperature 33±1 °C. Recovery of heart function was assessed by echocardiography and weanability from ECPR. After 6 hours, animals wer...
Anxiety associated with birth trauma.

This study was based upon the Rankian theory (1) of the birth trauma and was designed to test the hypotheses that (a) individuals delivered by pre-scheduled Caesarean section should be less anxious than those delivered vaginally; (b) there is a relationship between anxiety and the amount of stress to which the individual was subjected at birth. Sixty-eight subjeas between the ages of 18 and 24 yr., 33 females and 35 males, were given both the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, A-Trait Scale (2), and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (3). Scores were correlated with data from individual birth histories. Non-significant differences in levels of anxiety were noted between subjects who reported being delivered by pre-scheduled Caesarean section and those who reported being delivered vaginally. From the 48 subjects delivered vaginally, scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were correlated with duration of labor, one of the three dependent measures of stress. This produced a mean of 8.60 hr. for length of labor (u 5.97) and a mean score of 36.62 on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (u 11.98; r = .467, p < .01). This correlation suggested a relationship between anxiety and the amount of stress to which the individual was subjected at birth. For Taylor scores and duration of labor, r was only -.078. Giving the State-Trait Anxiecy Inventory and then the Taylor scale may have produced demand characteristics which contaminated the Taylor scores. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which was designed to measure trait anxiety, is different from the Taylor scale and may be more sensitive. A Pearson coefficient between scores on State-Trait Anxiety Ioventoq and duration of labor with pre-scheduled Caesarean sections at zero labor time was nonsignificant. The absence of biological triggering in pre-scheduled Caesarean sections and the relationship of mother and child after delivery may account for the inconsistent results. In a follow-up srudy mote and reliable data on birth histories are needed for physicians supplied only 21% of the relevant information and mothers reported the ocher 79% retrospectively. REFERENCES
Supercrystals of DNA-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles: A Million-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

We use million-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study body-centered cubic (BCCS) and face-centered cubic (FCCS) supercrystals of DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles, which are solvated with water and neutralized with sodium ions. The two supercrystals contain 2.77 and 5.05 million atoms. Having large numbers of DNAs and hexanethiols attached to 3 nm diameter gold nanoparticles, we observe smooth changes of the averaged DNA structures over the simulation time. We find that, after 10 ns, the DNA structures are different from the canonical B-DNA structures in terms of root-mean-square deviations, base–base stacking structures, and hydrogen bonds. We also examine ion distributions around DNAs and estimate the melting temperature increases for the supercrystals from the ion distributions, which are ΔTBCCS = 12.9 K and ΔTFCCS = 8.0 K. The radial distribution functions for the correlation between ions and DNA show that ions bind stronger in BCCS than FCCS. This correlation explains the higher melting tem...
Excystment In Vitro of Cotylurus cornutus (Trematoda: Strigeidae) Metacercariae

An acid-medium pretreatment appeared to be essential for in vitro excystation of Cotylurus cornutus metacercarial cysts. Both acid-pepsin or acid-saline were effective but optimum excystation occurred after 15 min acid-pepsin pretreatment and subsequent 2 hr treatment at 41.5 C in an alkaline bile salt-trypsin medium. The rate of excystation was rapid, reaching 78.1% by 1 hr and increasing to 84.3% after 2 hr. Storage of metacercarial cysts up to 16 wk at 4 C in sterile Locke's 1:1 solution did not alter cyst viability.
Dose Responses of Ibuprofen In Vitro on Platelet Aggregation and Coagulation in Human and Pig Blood Samples.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Ibuprofen is commonly used by warfighters in the deployed environment. This study investigated its dose effects on in vitro coagulation in human and pig blood. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 6 normal volunteers and 6 healthy pigs and processed to make platelet-adjusted samples (100 × 103/μL, common transfusion trigger in trauma). Ibuprofen was added to the samples at concentrations of 0 μg/mL (control), the concentration from the highest recommended oral dose (163 μg/mL, 1×), and 2×, 4×, 8×, 10×, 12×, 16×, and 20×. Platelet aggregation by Chrono-Log aggregometer and coagulation by rotational thrombelastogram (Rotem) were assessed at 15 minutes after the addition of ibuprofen. Results: A robust inhibition of ibuprofen on arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation was observed at all doses tested in human or pig blood. Collagen-stimulated platelet aggregation was inhibited starting at 1× in human blood and 4× in pig blood. Rotem measurements were similarly compromised i...
The iron retention rate in noodles cooked with different iron forms fortified wheat flours

When the noodles made from fortified flours are cooked in boiled water as usual way,the nutrient iron may be dissolved into the soup.For the study of the retention rate of iron and added iron fortificants,we designed four kinds of fortified flours by adding electrolyte iron,carbonyl iron,ferrous sulfate and NaFeEDTA and made five types of wet noodles from them including the basic control flour by hand.We measured the total iron content of the cooked noodles,and then calculated the retention rate of iron and added iron fortificants.Test results showed that most of the iron was retained in the cooked noodles,all the rates were more than 80%,which of the electrolyte iron,carbonyl iron,ferrous sulfate,NaFeEDTA fortified flour and basic flour were respectively 94.3%,96.1%,96.2%,93.9%,80.6%.Projected to be four types of iron fortificants in the cooked noodles retention rates were 96.8%,97.0%,93.6%,74.8%.As we know that ferrous sulfate and NaFeEDTA were soluble in water and electrolyte and carbonyl iron were insoluble in water and dilute acid,the retention rate of ferrous sulfate is basically same with electrolyte and carbonyl iron and has greater differences with NaFeEDTA.The result shows that the form of ferrous sulfate existence in the cooked noodles may have been changed substantially.
Trade-offs in sampling-based adversarial planning

The Upper Confidence bounds for Trees (UCT) algorithm has in recent years captured the attention of the planning and game-playing community due to its notable success in the game of Go. However, attempts to reproduce similar levels of performance in domains that are the forte of Minimax-style algorithms have been largely unsuccessful, making any comparative studies of the two hard. In this paper, we study UCT in the game of Mancala, which to our knowledge is the first domain where both search algorithms perform quite well with minimal enhancement. We focus on the three key components of the UCT algorithm in its purest form — targeted node expansion, state value estimation via playouts and averaging backups — and look at their contributions to the overall performance of the algorithm. We study the trade-offs involved in using alternate ways to perform these steps. Finally, we demonstrate a novel hybrid approach to enhancing UCT, that exploits its superior decision accuracy in regions of the search space with few terminal nodes.
Antisperm antibody binding to human acrosin : a study of patients with unexplained infertility

Objective Antisperm antibody binding to acrosin was investigated by Western Blotting. The clinical significance of this binding specificity was assessed in a 2-year clinical follow-up. Design Consecutive serum samples positive for antisperm antibodies by both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunobead testing were evaluated for acrosin-binding specificity. Setting The patients were followed in an outpatient setting by private infertility specialists. Patients Sixty-five consecutive infertile referral patients with positive antisperm antibody were evaluated. Clinical follow-up was obtained on 8 of 9 females with evidence of antibody binding to acrosin and 19 of 26 females with no specific binding to acrosin. Interventions Prednisone therapy was given during six courses of intrauterine insemination with husband’s sperm. All treatment decisions were made by private physicians independent of the acrosin-binding result. Main Outcome Measures Pregnancy status was obtained as part of a 2-year follow-up. Results Acrosin-binding specificity was demonstrated in 10 (15%) of the 65 patients. Two of the 8 women (25%) with antibody binding to acrosin and 6 of the 19 women (32%) with antisperm antibodies but no specific binding to acrosin delivered normal children. Conclusions Although antibody-binding specificity to acrosin could be demonstrated, a 2-year clinical follow-up showed no difference in pregnancy rates when compared with women with antisperm antibodies showing no binding specificity to acrosin.
Clopidogrel Pharmacogenetics: Beyond Candidate Genes and Genome-Wide Association Studies

While it is well established that genetic variation is a significant contributor to interindividual variability in clopidogrel efficacy, candidate gene and genome-wide approaches have failed to reproducibly identify genetic determinants of antiplatelet response, apart from variants in CYP2C19, prompting the need for more innovative study designs. Herein, we highlight the potential benefit of exome sequencing of patients at the extremes of clopidogrel responsivity through examination of data reported in this issue of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
Soil greenhouse gas emissions from agroforestry and other land uses under different moisture regimes in lower Missouri River Floodplain soils: a laboratory approach

Changes in land use management practices may have multiple effects on microclimate and soil properties that affect soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Soil surface GHG emissions need to be better quantified in order to assess the total environmental costs of current and possible alternative land uses in the Missouri River Floodplain (MRF). The objective of this study was to evaluate soil GHG emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) in MRF soils under long-term agroforestry (AF), row-crop agriculture (AG) and riparian forest (FOR) systems in response to differences in soil water content, land use, and N fertilizer inputs. Intact soil cores were obtained from all three land use systems and incubated under constant temperature conditions for a period of 94 days using randomized complete block design with three replications. Cores were subjected to three different water regimes: flooded (FLD), optimal for CO2 efflux (OPT), and fluctuating. Additional N fertilizer treatments for the AG and AF land uses were included during the incubation and designated as AG-N and AF-N, respectively. Soil CO2 and N2O emissions were affected by the land use systems and soil moisture regimes. The AF land use resulted in significantly lower cumulative soil CO2 and N2O emissions than FOR soils under the OPT water regime. Nitrogen application to AG and AF did not increase cumulative soil CO2 emissions. FLD resulted in the highest soil N2O and CH4 emissions, but did not cause any increases in soil cumulative CO2 emissions compared to OPT water regime conditions. Cumulative soil CO2 and N2O emissions were positively correlated with soil pH. Soil cumulative soil CH4 emissions were only affected by water regimes and strongly correlated with soil redox potential.
Optogenetic interrogation of integrin αVβ3 function in endothelial cells

ABSTRACT The integrin αVβ3 is reported to promote angiogenesis in some model systems but not in others. Here, we used optogenetics to study the effects of αVβ3 interaction with the intracellular adapter kindlin-2 (Fermt2) on endothelial cell functions potentially relevant to angiogenesis. Because interaction of kindlin-2 with αVβ3 requires the C-terminal three residues of the β3 cytoplasmic tail (Arg-Gly-Thr; RGT), optogenetic probes LOVpep and ePDZ1 were fused to β3ΔRGT–GFP and mCherry–kindlin-2, respectively, and expressed in β3 integrin-null microvascular endothelial cells. Exposure of the cells to 450 nm (blue) light caused rapid and specific interaction of kindlin-2 with αVβ3 as assessed by immunofluorescence and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, and it led to increased endothelial cell migration, podosome formation and angiogenic sprouting. Analyses of kindlin-2 mutants indicated that interaction of kindlin-2 with other kindlin-2 binding partners, including c-Src, actin, integrin-linked kinase and phosphoinositides, were also likely necessary for these endothelial cell responses. Thus, kindlin-2 promotes αVβ3-dependent angiogenic functions of endothelial cells through its simultaneous interactions with β3 integrin and several other binding partners. Optogenetic approaches should find further use in clarifying spatiotemporal aspects of vascular cell biology.
A Frequency Swept Low-Cost Capacitive Fringing Field PCB Sensor

Abstract Reliable, low-cost sensors are important for many applications, including agriculture, pollution monitoring and weather forecasting. Commercial printed circuit board technology is being used to develop simple sensors for these applications, where the resistance or capacitance of the sensor is measured at a single frequency to determine useful information about an environmental parameter of interest. However, by measuring the complex impedance of the sensor over a wide frequency range, additional useful information can be obtained about the sensing environment. As a proof of principle, a suitable sensor was developed and evaluated in various aqueous solutions of interest using this technique. The measured sensor impedance was reduced to a capacitance versus frequency plot and a resistance versus frequency plot. Different aqueous solution chemistries resulted in characteristic signatures on these plots that could be useful in identifying the chemical compositions of the various solutions. Di-ionize...
Visual computation of surface lightness: Local contrast vs. frames of reference

Seeing black, white and gray surfaces, called lightness perception, might seem simple because white surfaces reflect 90% of the light they receive while black surfaces reflect only 3%, and the human retina is composed of light sensitive cells. The problem is that, because illumination varies from time to time and from place to place, any amount of light can be reflected from any shade of gray. Thus the amount of light reflected by an object, called luminance, says nothing about its lightness. Experts agree that the lightness of a surface can be computed only by using the surrounding context, but they disagree about how the context is used. We have tested an image in which two major classes of theory, contrast theories and frame-of-reference theories, make very different predictions regarding what gray shades will be seen by human observers. We show that when frame-of-reference is varied while contrast is held constant, lightness varies strongly. But when contrast is varied but frame-of-reference is held constant, little or no variation is seen. These results suggest that efforts to discover the exact algorithm by which the human visual system segments the image received by the retina into frames of reference should be given high priority.
Remarkable decrease in stiffness of aspirin crystals upon reducing crystal size to nanoscale dimensions via sonochemistry

Nano-dimensional single crystals of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) Form I are generated through sonocrystallization and are shown to exhibit Young's modulus values in the MPa range, which is significantly softer (5-fold reduction) than macro-dimensional single crystals. The change is attributed to structural consequences of the size-dependent surface-to-volume ratio effect, particularly as related to intermolecular forces.
Renormalizability of the Local Map

The local component of the sawtooth kicked-oscillator dynamics is the renormalizable, piecewise linear mapping K of a square Ω onto itself, $$ K:\Omega \to \Omega ,K\left( u \right) = C \cdot u\bmod \Omega , $$ (2.1) Here the “mod” operation is a lattice translation to enforce K(u) ∈ Ω. The current chapter is a thorough examination of the map K for an important class of renormalizable models.
Designing Global Health Experiences

Enthusiasm around global health is burgeoning across medical institutions. More students are entering the field of medicine versed in the language of global health and equipped to take on roles with social and humanistic dimensions. They look to institutional administrators to not only provide them with avenues to engage this interest, but to exemplify the goals and vision of the global health movement. In the face of this momentous expectation, program leadership has an opportunity to guide the next generation of citizens of the world: individuals who will become leaders in global health, creators of scientific knowledge, and instruments of change in the dispelling of disparities.
Automated proactive anomaly detection

To address the increasing complexities of fault management, we propose an automated, proactive monitoring system using adaptive statistical techniques. Requiring only a minimal amount of network specific information a priori, the system continually collects data, uses the data to learn the normal behavior of the network, and detects deviations from the norm. The proposed system is thereby able to detect unknown or unseen faults. Experimental results on real network data demonstrate that the proposed system can detect abnormal behavior before a fault actually occurs.
The effects of knee support on the sagittal lower-body joint kinematics and kinetics of deep squats.

Abstract Little work has been done to examine the deep squat position (>130° sagittal knee flexion). In baseball and softball, catchers perform this squat an average of 146 times per nine-inning game. To alleviate some of the stress on their knees caused by this repetitive loading, some catchers wear foam knee supports. Objectives This work quantifies the effects of knee support on lower-body joint kinematics and kinetics in the deep squat position. Methods Subjects in this study performed the deep squat with no support, foam support, and instrumented support. In order to measure the force through the knee support, instrumented knee supports were designed and fabricated. We then developed an inverse dynamic model to incorporate the support loads. From the model, joint angles and moments were calculated for the three conditions. Results With support there is a significant reduction in the sagittal moment at the knee of 43% on the dominant side and 63% on the non-dominant side compared to without support. These reductions are a result of the foam supports carrying approximately 20% of body weight on each side. Conclusion Knee support reduces the moment necessary to generate the deep squat position common to baseball catchers. Given the short moment arm of the patella femoral tendon, even small changes in moment can have a large effect in the tibial-femoral contact forces, particularly at deep squat angles. Reducing knee forces may be effective in decreasing incidence of osteochondritis dissecans.
Photoluminescence and reflectance spectroscopy analysis of the carrier escape and recombination mechanism in GaAsN/GaAs symmetric and asymmetric quantum solar cells

We have previously shown that the incorporation of periodic symmetric and asymmetric resonantly coupled multi-quantum wells of GaAsN/GaAs in the intrinsic region of p-i-n GaAs cells allows both a significant sub-GaAs-band gap photo-current generation while maintaining a high open circuit voltage, approaching the radiative limit (Woc=Eg-Voc $\sim 0.4\mathrm{V})-$for resonantly coupled wells. Here, and in order to gain a better understanding of photo-generated carrier escape and recombination mechanisms in these devices we examine their optical and electrical properties by temperature dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), modulated photoreflectance, photo-current spectroscopy and current-voltage (IV) measurements. Bias dependent photo-current analysis shows improved carrier collection efficiencies for the asymmetric QW devices with a significantly lower thermionic carrier escape activation energy in compared to symmetric wells where PL analysis indicate an activation energy corresponding the that of the electron well depth. Finally, an evaluation of the electronic temperature of the photo generated carriers’ in the wells in both type of devices reveals presence of hot carriers with electronic temperatures approaching 700K for a lattice temperature of 300K. However, while the carrier temperature appears to monotonically increase with increased lattice temperature for the device with symmetric wells the device with resonantly coupled wells showed a wide lattice temperature plateau (100-300K) where strong and nearly constant hot carrier effects are predominant.
Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) brachiopods from the Rosablanca Formation, Colombia, South America: Biostratigraphic significance and paleogeographic implications

Abstract The Mesozoic fossil record of brachiopods in northern South America is relatively scarce and their biogeographical history is not well understood. Cretaceous brachiopods in this region are restricted to carbonate platforms of Colombia. Here we examine the brachiopod fauna from the middle part of the Rosablanca Formation near the town of Zapatoca, Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. We describe Sellithyris elizabetha nov. sp. combining traditional morphometrics and serial sectioning. This new terebratulide species shows morphological similarities with other species of the genus Sellithyris, including a Valanginian species from the ancient Gulf of Mexico. Using a semi-quantitative taphonomic analysis, we identified reworked specimens restricted to a single stratigraphic horizon, and consistent with a large-scale erosional hiatus that may affect the biochronology of the Rosablanca Formation. In addition, phosphatic shells of the lingulide Lingularia sp. were recovered from two stratigraphic horizons and are valuable for local correlations. Although much of the material is fragmentary, it represents the oldest occurrences of Cretaceous lingulides in the region so far. Lingulide brachiopods have traditionally been considered as rare elements in Cretaceous near-shore marine communities, however, the material reported here suggests that they may have been common locally.